Down The Center

In perhaps the strongest rebuke of his short presidency, President Barack Obama was told no by the Senate as they voted to block appropriations for the shutdown of the prison at Guantanamo Bay citing that the President did not have a plan for the prisoners held there, and that he would need to come up with a plan before they would pay for the shutdown.

The vote in the Senate wasn't even close with only 6 senators siding with the President. Republicans have been vociferously against closing Guantanamo open, stating that liberties taken at the facility during the Bush administration are a thing of the past and pushing the prison as "state-of-the-art." They have also blasted the Obama Administration's stance that some of the prisoners may be set free on American streets. Senator John Thune of South Dakota was quoted as saying, "The American people don't want these men walking the streets of America's neighborhoods. The American people don't want these detainees held at a military base or federal prison in their backyard, either."

While the question remains of what to do with Guantanamo, most of the President's allies in the Senate believe that this is only a minor setback. President Obama greatly pushed the idea of shutting down the prison camp during the campaign stating that it was a tainted place because of the widespread categorical torture that had taken place there. While many believe that Guantanamo should be closed, many are mixed as to allowing alleged terrorists on American soil.

President Barack Obama today announced new regulations to cut emissions and increase gas mileage. President Obama addressed the issue stating that "The status quo is no longer acceptable...We have done little to increase fuel efficiency of America's cars and trucks for decades."

President Obama made climate change a signature issue during his campaign, promising such controversial measures as a cap and trade for carbon and pushing for more fuel efficient vehicles.

The move comes after bailing out struggling automakers with taxpayer dollars and before a looming deadline the government has set in order to get GM and Chrysler to revamp their product line and restructure their company. If they do not meet the strict standards set by the Obama Administration they will be forced into bankruptcy.

The driving force behind the Obama Administration's moves to cut emissions is the controversial idea that climate change is man made and reversible. While many argue that climate change is caused from trends and via other reasons, President Obama believes that climate change is human made.