While it's easy to call for the closure of Guantanamo Bay, President Obama is realizing that there are legitimate reasons that it can’t easily be done.  No other country wants to house these dangerous terrorists on their soil.  And, most Members of Congress are saying they don’t want them either.  For instance, Congressman John Kline and I introduced legislation to keep them out of Minnesota. 

However, after months of talk, America has found a country to take some of the detainees, and all it took was a little financial incentive.

Palau, a Pacific archipelago and long-time ally of the United States will take in 17 Uighur, or ethnic Chinese Muslims, detainees for the sum of $200 million in foreign aid. To put that number into context, the Wall Street Journal reports that that aid package breaks down to $11.7 million per detainee. For a country with 20,000 residents with a GDP of $164 million, talk about a boost to the economy!

Seventeen detainees gone, and only around 230 left. It looks like the President is going to be writing some pretty big checks in the next several months to deal with our detainees. Or he can admit that he’s learned since coming to office that his campaign promise is simply not the best plan for America. 

It is absolutely shocking to see what's taking place at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

President Obama’s new Secretary, Janet Napolitano, has recently been criticized for issuing a nine-page memo prior to the nationwide “Tea Parties” last week, warning of right-wing political extremism, referring to United States citizens with "dangerous" political leanings.

An official document of the DHS  lists right-wing extremists as "groups and individuals that are dedicated to a single issue, such as opposition to abortion or immigration," and includes those "rejecting federal authority in favor of state or local authority." So, apparently, according to Homeland Security Department, the American ideal of federalism is a threat to American ideals.

In the case of the tea parties, these dangerous extremists were American citizens – Moms and Dads, Children and Grandchildren, Husbands and Wives -who were upset with how the federal government was spending their money. They were fed up with what they saw as massive and excessive government spending.  They were peaceably assembled, yet were deemed a "threat" by our federal government. This is a dangerous line of thinking and reasoning from our government leaders and a direct infringement on First Amendment rights.

We're not talking about wire-tapping calls of suspected terrorists to foreign countries to protect our nation against acts of violence like we saw on 9/11 – though the New York Times has reported that domestic wire-tapping is now at an unheard-of high level, we're talking about the government watching you, your family, your neighbor because your political views differ from those of the people in control in Washington.

Congressman Thaddeus McCotter points out in a piece with the American Spectator that despite the Department of Homeland Security having "'no specific information that domestic rightwing terrorists are currently planning acts of violence,' the memo specifically smears returning veterans and a host of other sovereign citizens who may hold conservative views; and generally smears conservatism by equating it with 'Right-wing extremism."

To me, it looks like the extremists are those running the DHS.

I was pleased to see today that the Supreme Court upheld our nation’s greatest document, the Constitution, by restoring Second Amendment rights long denied to D.C residents by their extraordinarily restrictive firearm ban.

The Second Amendment guarantees the individual a right to bear arms, and for too long it has been attacked by Washington politicians. Our Founding Fathers wrote this Amendment to protect the rights of our citizens, and their voices were heard today by the Supreme Court as their freedom to own a firearm was protected.

I was also pleased  that yesterday the House Financial Services Committee adopted language I offered  to protect the Second Amendment rights of public housing tenants during a mark-up on H.R. 6216, the Public Housing Asset Management Improvement Act.  Recently, several public housing authorities were forcing law-abiding citizens to give up their Second Amendment rights in order to reside in taxpayer subsidized public housing.  

At events taking place across the country this Saturday, Americans are taking time to reflect on the services and sacrifices of the heroic and brave souls that have allowed our nation to fly our flag high and proud for so many years. 

Later today I'll be attending a flag-retirement ceremony at Veteran's Lake in Ramsey where hundreds of flags will be respectfully burned after years of service.

The American Legion writes on their website that Congress approved most provisions of the Flag Code in 1942, first formulated as a set of civilian flag etiquette rules at a national conference in 1923. The Flag Code outlines that "when a flag has served its useful purpose, it should be destroyed, preferably by burning. For individual citizens, this should be done discreetly so the act of destruction is not perceived as a protest or desecration."

Many veterans groups such as the American Legion and the VFW hold flag-disposal ceremonies on Flag Day.

Our nation must endeavor to remember forever the sacrifices of the past and present - as our flag and the freedom, safety, and prosperity it represents have not been easily purchased.

Today’s ruling by the Supreme Court is completely unacceptable.  Alien combatants should not be allowed to have access to American courts forcing our nation’s hardworking taxpayers to pay their legal costs. These terrorists have openly condemned America and the values we stand for, they should not have the privilege to use our rights. This ruling threatens Americans’ freedom and sets a very bad precedent for future rulings with violent terrorists. 

I believe that Justice Scalia hits the nail on the head when he said, "The game of bait-and-switch that today’s opinion plays upon the Nation’s Commander in Chief will make the war harder on us. It will almost certainly cause more Americans to be killed. That consequence would be tolerable if necessary to preserve a time-honored legal principle vital to our constitutional Republic."

My office just got word from the White House that the President signed H.R. 4008, the Credit and Debit Card Receipt Clarification Act of 2007 into law this morning. As the chief co-sponsor of this bi-partisan bill, I'm pleased to report the good news to you all today.

There's video below of me speaking on the floor, but to give you a quick summary, the purpose of this legislation is to ensure that consumers suffering from credit or identity theft are protected while also limiting abusive lawsuits that result in increased cost to business - especially small businesses -  and potentially increased prices to consumers.

This bill amends the Fair Credit Reporting Act with respect to rules for printing an expiration date on certain credit and debit card receipts. This is all part of the Fair and Accurate Credit Tranactions Act of 2003 (FACTA) that was passed to prevent identity theft and credit card fraud. This bill makes the previously passed legislation much more sound, and leaves Americans more secure.

On Sunday, residents of Hugo, Minnesota were hit hard by an EF-3 class tornado, with gusts of wind at the speed of 136-165 mph. Tragically, a 2 year boy was killed during the disaster. The initial assessment of damage to personal property is estimated to be $25 million.  Fifty homes are so devastated that they are uninhabitable.  Another 159 homes suffered tornado damage, and 61 homes suffered storm-related damage.  The local communities estimate that they will have substantial clean-up costs as well.

While tragedies like this are never anticipated, it’s how we react that’s important. I issued a statement yesterday informing the media should Governor Pawlenty make a disaster declaration, I would do all I could to ensure that the full array of federal aid and resources are available to the families, businesses, farms, and communities affected.

I have sent a letter to both the Administrators of FEMA and the U.S. Small Business Administration asking that should the threshold be met and the Governor request federal aid their offices be prepared to step in promptly.

To give you an update on where we stand with funding, Gov. Pawlenty’s office contacted my office this morning to tell us that after an examination of the area, the damage sustained to public infrastructure does not meet the threshold for FEMA assistance because most of the damage was to personal properties and insured by private insurance. SBA can separately declare a federal disaster because they have different thresholds for assistance, and it remains unclear as to whether they will reach those benchmarks.  

The greatest public need at this time is for clean-up assistance.  For those wishing they could lend a hand, please consider a donation to help Hugo’s families.

WCCO has compiled a resource guide for those looking to contribute to the cause:

The city of Hugo has opened a relief fund. Monetary donations may be sent to:

Lake Area Bank
1400 East Highway 96
White Bear Lake, MN 55110
(651) 653-9619

Monetary donations are also being accepted by U.S. Banks. You can drop off donations at any U.S. Bank. For information you can call (651) 429-7758.

Volunteers at the Hugo Fire Department are accepting donations of water, food, personal care, bedding and other items for the storm victims.

The Hugo Fire Dept.
5323 140th St. N.
Hugo, MN 55038
(651) 429-6366

Donations are also being accepted at the Hugo Public Works Department.

Public Works Department
6900 137th Street
Hugo, MN 55038

The city is asking for volunteers to help clean up the area affected by Sunday's tornado. As of this writing, the city's web site only says volunteers should plan on meeting at 8 a.m. this coming Saturday, May 31. A meeting place has not been set, but will be posted on their site in the future.

Red Cross

The Red Cross Service Center opened at 9 a.m. Monday in Hugo at Oneka Elementary School. The Red Cross is also asking for emergency donations. They may be made either online by clicking here, or checks may also be sent to:

Twin Cities Red Cross
NW 5597
PO Box 1450
Minneapolis, MN 55485-5597

Thank you for your thoughts and prayers.