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TechnoratiAs the House Judiciary Committee took up the question of how best to address what its chairman described as "the Imperial Presidency of George W. Bush," it was the ranking Republican in the room, Iowa Congressman Steve King, who observed that, "We are hear having impeachment hearings before the Judiciary Committee."
"These are impeachment hearings before the United States Congress," King continued. "I never imagined I would ever be sitting on this side when something like this happened."
King was not happy about the circumstance.
A resolute defender of President Bush and Vice President Cheney, the congressman was objecting to the very mention of the "I" word.
As it happened, impeachment was mentioned dozens of times during the hearing, often in significant detail and frequently as a necessary response to lawless actions of the president and vice president.
King's statement addressed the uncertain character of Friday morning's attempt by the relevant committee of the chamber empowered by the founders to impose accountability on presidents and vice presidents to tackle what Judiciary Committee chair John Conyers, D-Michigan, referred to as "numerous credible allegations of serious misconduct by officials in the Bush Administration."
Conyers explained that "to the regret of many, this is not an impeachment hearing." For that to happen, Conyers argued, the committee would need clearer authorization from the full House.
But members of the committee, the Democrats and the Republicans, as well as a bipartisan panel of House members and another panel of former House members, and academics and activists, repeatedly put the impeachment on the table of a chamber where the speaker had once denied it a place.
Congressman Maurice Hinchey, D-New York, told the committee that President Bush and Vice President Cheney had committed acts that make theirs "the most impeachable administration in the history of our country."
Texas Democrat Sheila Jackson-Lee, held up a copy of the Constitution and announced, "There is a real question of whether this Constitution is being protected."
Republican members of the committee griped. Indiana Congressman Mike Pence complained that the entire session - with its discussion not just of impeachment but of legislative initiatives to address executive secrecy and overreach - caused him to worry about "the criminalization of American politics."
Addressing his remarks to Ohio Democrat Dennis Kucinich, the author of articles of impeachment against President Bush and Vice President Cheney that provoked Friday's hearing, Pence said, "I just believe the gentleman from Ohio is wrong."
Kucinich, who is not a member of the Judiciary Committee, stood his ground, arguing when he addressed the committee that a failure to impeach would not merely let Bush off the hook but signal to future presidents that they, too, may reject the rule of law and refuse to cooperate with Congress.
Several members of the committee were, if anything, more passionate in their remarks than Kucinich.
Georgia Democrat Hank Johnson told his colleagues that if they failed to act and President Bush authorized an illegal attack on Iran, they might look back on their dismissal on the neglect of their duty to check and balance an errant executive as a deadly mistake.
It was that sense of urgency that motivated committee member Tammy Baldwin, D-Wisconsin, to say explain that, "What this Congress does, or chooses not to do in furthering the investigation of the serious allegations against this administration - and if just cause is found, to hold them accountable - will impact the conduct of future presidents, perhaps for generations."
"Mr. Chairman," Baldwin continued, "there are those who would say that holding this hearing - examining whether or not the president and vice president broke the law - is frivolous. I not only reject this, I believe there is no task more important for this Congress than to seriously consider whether our nation's leaders have violated their oath of office. The American public expects no less. It is, after all, their Constitution. No president or congress has the authority to override that document, whereby 'We the People' conferred upon the branches of government limited and defined power, and provided for meaningful checks and balances."
There can be no question at this late date in the Bush presidency that the issue of whether the American system will be characterized by "meaningful checks and balances" is at stake - and that goes to the heart of the matter of why Friday's hearing ought not be the end of a process but a beginning.
Even after George Bush and Dick Cheney have left the White House, the definition of the presidency that they have crafted will remain.
"On January 20, 2009, the next president and vice president of the United States will stand before the American people and take an oath of office, swearing to '... preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.' This commitment and obligation is so fundamental to our democracy that our nation's founders prescribed that oath in our Constitution. They also provided for the removal of the president and vice president for, among other things, 'high crimes and misdemeanors,'" Baldwin explained to the committee. "Presidents and vice presidents do not take that oath in a vacuum. They are informed by the actions or inactions of past presidents and congresses, who establish precedents for the future."
It is in the power of the Congress to begin setting the precedent to which Baldwin addressed herself. That power was defined by the framers of the Constitution, as were the practices and procedures to be used in executing it.
With that in mind, Baldwin correctly outlined the next steps for a committee and a Congress that has begun to place not just the matter of impeachment but the broader question of the imperial presidency on the table but that certainly has not completed the process"
(The) American people have been forced to sit by while credible allegations of abuse of power mount:
• We have seen this Administration fabricate the threat of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction and allege, despite all evidence to the contrary, a relationship between Iraq and al Qaeda. These lies dragged our country into a preemptive and unjustified war that has taken the lives of more than 4,000 U.S. troops, injured 30,000 more, and will cost our nation more than a trillion dollars.
• We watched as this Administration again undermined national security by manipulating and exaggerating evidence of Iran's nuclear weapons capabilities and openly threatened aggression against Iran, despite no evidence that Iran has the intention or capability of attacking the U.S.
• We have looked on in horror as the Administration suspended habeas corpus by claiming the power to declare any person an "enemy combatant" - ignoring the Geneva Convention protections that the U.S. helped create.
• We have seen torture and rendition of prisoners in violation of international law and stated American policy and values, and destruction of the videotaped evidence of such torture, under the tenure of this Administration.
• We have seen this Administration spy on Americans without a court order or oversight in violation of the Fourth Amendment.
• We watched as U.S. Attorneys pursued politically-motivated prosecutions in violation of the law and perhaps at the direction of this White House.
• We watched as Administration officials outed Valerie Plame Wilson as a covert agent of the CIA and then intentionally obstructed justice by disseminating false information through the White House press office.
As we know, the framers of our Constitution called for impeachment only in the case of high crimes and misdemeanors. The standard is purposely set high because we should not impeach for personal or political gain - only to uphold and safeguard our democracy. Sadly, in my judgment, at least two high ranking administration officials have met that standard. Although the call to impeach is one I take neither easily nor lightly, I now firmly believe that impeachment hearings are the appropriate and necessary next step.
--John Nichols
Copyright © 2008 The Nation
51 Comments so far
Show AllGood idea, metal. How about let's start with Neil Young's, "Let's Impeach the President"!!! Sing it LOUD, clear, & often!!!
To Williameon and others who write poetry about contemporary Bush Amurka and our multiple crises:
Either pick up a musical instrument or get with a musician and a guitar and start writing song versions of these poems. Play them and sing them and share them with others. Play them in little bar dives and holes in the walls. Organize free festivals and invite other protester/musicians & poets. This era needs good, well-crafted songs of protest more than any other in the history of the U.S. Write and sing from your heart and the music will flow.
Special esteem is reserved in heaven and earth for the great poets and minstrels... Go and be GREAT!
ONE CORPORATION RULES THE WORLD!
Decorpiratize and Democratize!
Privatization = Corporatism = FASCISM ='s SLAVERY
Repatriate!
ONE CORPORATION RULES THE WORLD with
Interlocking boards.
TRILLIONAIRES-R-US
The Game is FIXED!
You are the monkey in the middle.
Jumping between their Two Hand Puppets.
They have Privatized 75% of our Government and Military.
The Dark Army anyone?
A Corpirate Mercenary Army is standing on American soil in San Diego as we speak.
While our local Militia dies in IRAQ!
The last time we had a Mercenary Army on American soil, it was The British Army at The Battle of New Orleans in The War of 1812.
Funny how history repeats itself, if your watching?
European Aristocratic Euro Trash occupies the Black House.
He was selected, never elected.
The Alien Aristocracy's Golden Child
The King of thieves:
King George II
Everything is being sucked into
The Corpirate's Black Hole
Where is the accountability and oversight?
Who will stop their:
Spying, Lying, Torture and Terror?
All are UNCONSTITUTIONAL and ALL are
IMPEACHABLE OFFENSES!.
Shut it DOWN!
Invest in yourself and your local community.
Punch the Corpirate Boogie Man
The Halliburton Hunchback,
DEAD EYE DICK,
Gas-bag Chainey
In the face.
Withdraw your support from The Corporate System.
We need Consumer and Human Rights!
Stop watching and buying their hypnotic, poisonous Garbage.
It is the conditioning, used to enslave you.
Corporate GREED is imploding on itself as we speak.
Stand clear
STAND BACK 500 FEET
Then:
Repatriate.
Turn off The FAUX Media.
Shut it down and start over.
Decorpiratize and Democratize!
Survive and Prosper!
Self-sufficiency, efficiency, conservation and decentralization.
Let's take the best of what we know and start over.
Take out the bad and put in the good.
Reaffirm our common positive, inalienable, Humanistic, Constitutional: Rights, Goals and Ideals.
All for one and one for all.
Remember to take a Baby Step for Mankind.
SURGE
PURGE
UPDATE and
REBOOT!
This discussion must continue.Rep Conyers, the head of te House Judiciary Committee, said after the meeting, that the next 5 days were to be spent in acquiring more
material--letters,other key witnesses, which will be reviewed, presumably to provide the basis for planning further meetings and possible actions.
"Texas Democrat Sheila Jackson-Lee, held up a copy of the Constitution and announced, "There is a real question of whether this Constitution is being protected.""
God I HATE this weasel word crap.
There is NO question that the Constitution IS being dismantled.
Despite the fact the hearings were scheduled on the 'non-news' day of Friday (intentionaly I'm sure) this exercise was not a waste of time. A door doesn't open all at once, but a bit at a time. Previously, thanks to the traitor Pelosi, it has been double-bolted, padlocked, with a chair propped against the knob.
Several points came out in the hearings of great importance.
First, valid grievances against this administration were aired publicly (Despite a Republican committee member requesting Conyers clear the room of spectators. Isn't this typical of Republicans to want to hold secret hearings? If this 'dirty laundry' is so clean, then why not put it on public display to prove the point?), AND the testimony officially became part of the Congressional record.
Second, the point was made that there is no statute of limitations on murder charges, so members of the Bush administration remain liable to criminal prosecution even AFTER they leave office. Bugliosi, who prosecuted Charles Manson successfully, even stated emphatically he had no doubt he could also successfully convict a number of Bushies for the same crime of murder, including those at the very top.
Third, it was determined that with a simple up-or-down vote in the House impeachment hearings could be brought to bear, and there is no executive privelege that applies that would allow them to not testify or deny any information sought. Refusing to comply is also in of itself a separate impeachable offense. This was the quickest of the 'alternate' means of impeachment also discussed, and ultimately the one that could dismantle the Bush cabal of cohorts EVEN BEFORE THE END OF THE TIME LEFT FOR THIS CROOKED CRIMiINAL ADMINISTRATION EXPIRED.
Did anyone else notice how the MSM typically conspired to give the hearing, one which John Conyers called the most important during this administration, short shrift in the news. I had to do quite a bit of digging to find an article in the New York Times, and I think it was on page three of thie Washington Post. Shouldn't this have been front page news?
Impeachment - an idea long past due.
On an anti-war march in ?Feb. '03 in NYC, saw a sign that said "Want to save the USA? Vote to impeach Mr. Bush today!" There was enough known to warrant impeachment hearings on the basis of lying us into war before the LAST election. And, though I have soured on the Dem. establishment, I have been a Kucinich fan for some time - for this reason, among others. I don't care what party you belong to, if you are standing up for what is right, I applaud and support you to the extent you keep up the fight, as opposed to giving it lip service only.
This would have been a good fight for Rep. to join as well, if only for the survival of their party - Bush/Cheney is an albatross around their necks. The problem for them is that they, including their Pres. cand., have openly endorsed Bush for too long. Nonetheless, I think it would be good for all you folks who have Rep. reps to encourage them to support impeachment "to restore some semblance of honor to their Party" (pretend you think this is possible). Actually, now that I think of it, this would be a good argument to use on Dem. reps as well .....
The Dem. Party needs more Kucinichs and fewer Clintons, Obamas, Kerrys, etc. The only way to convince them to wise up to that fact is to vote ONLY for REAL Progressives of WHATEVER stripe until they do.
Fighting the good fight doesn't mean you will win, but refusing to fight it does mean you will lose.
Forever being jerked around by the "Democratic" Party. sigh.
I'm not sayin' they've treated us unkind,
They could have done better (but ...do we really mind?),
They just sort of wasted our precious time,
So don't think twice, it's alright.
If Bush is impeached, I'll eat my hat! Congress thinks he and they are above the law and they've been working hard to make us believe it too. Years ago I would have given them the benefit of the doubt but it's been .... years and years of waiting for the "party of the people" to show some muscle. The only muscle they use is to protect their corporate paymasters. FISA is the most recent clue as to what the agenda is. What more proof do people need?
Bail now! Let our collective voices be heard! We stand for decency, honor, truth, the Constitution.
We, the People, will prevail!
Nader 08!
Stay the course. Don't rock the boat. Everything's going to be all right.
Have been a READER here at CD for 6 or so years.Always learn soo much.1st comment though,as c-pan callers say,"I'm a little nervous."
Vincent Bugliosi is 'the man' and stole the horse and pony show.
Nice post metal.
Impeach and Prosecute all who have broken with the Constitution.....the system is not about any of these individuals .... the jobs, which they are not doing, ie standing their oaths of office, can and should be done by others...the system is set up to continue......how is it that so many in this government can continue their criminal ways and nothing is done? Are we a nation of law or not? What difference Democrat or Republican a crook is a crook you either have broken a law or you haven't. We hold these TRUTHS to be self evident.... or maybe we don't any more.
I personally would prefer that they were impeached after the November elections and new people were aboard in January.
The thing that amazes me about most Amurkan liberals and progressives these daze is that they are so hell-bent on impeaching Team Bush on, assuredly, justifiable Constitutional grounds that they forget that in war-time (even in Bush's self-generated war-time in places like Iraq, Somalia, Lebanon and his covert war in Iran) a "war-time" prezdint like Shrublette must also be confronted with a ROCK-SOLID national security argument for his impeachment.
One can't have the former Atty. General, the current Republican presidential candidate and the corporate media echo chamber all--unquestioned--endlessly repeating the same unanswered charges that (A) Bush's methods are disreputable, but he has reduced the threat of terrorism enough to protect us from another domestic terrorism attack like 9/11 for almost seven years now, and (B) "the surge is working!"
It just so happens there is an excellent national security argument to impeach Bush, Cheney, and Condi-sleaza but I have never heard a single Dimocratic politician or member of the corporate barbecue press dare mention it.
The fact is that Team Bush have never reduced the threat of terrorism since their illegal 2003 invasion of Iraq. In point of fact they have only radically increased it. And when I mean threat, I mean decades to come of enemies determined to gain revenge against us for the crimes committed upon them, their families and their tribes, during Team Bush's reign. How does one know this?
Once a year the United States State Department releases its annual report on global terrorism. After 9/11/2001 there was a negligible global increase in terrorism attacks. The sympathy of much of the world and most of the Muslim nations was with us then.
However, after Bush's illegal, "preemptive" 2003 invasion of Iraq and in the interval of years since, according to State Department figures there has been a SIX-FOLD increase in the numbers of global terrorist attacks with no sign--despite Bush's and the Pentagon's illegal, dishonest and incompetent tactics and strategies--of significant decline. This was both confirmed and elaborated upon in the only university study on this specific topic of which I am aware. I am referring to "The Iraq Effect" published in early 2007 by Peter Bergen and Paul Cruikshank, research fellows at the Center on Law and Security at the NYU school of law (rhymes with "rule of law").
This study examined the period from 9/12/2001 to 3/20/2003 (the invasion of Iraq), and the period from 3/21/2003 to 9/30/2006. It found that, during the post-invasion period, the number of global jihadist terrorist attacks had multiplied approximately SEVEN-FOLD and that attacks from Al Quaeda cells or self-declared affiliates had risen SIX-FOLD; that the invasion and occupation of Iraq has been a catalyst FOR the globalization of jihad (not an effective counterforce against it), motivating jihadis to see their various regional activities as part of a global effort; and that Bush's garbled war/occupation in/against Iraq not only radicalized Pakistani jihadists, but gave them the opportunity to go to Iraq to get on-the-job training in a perfect storm of urban guerilla warfare.
Now Team Bush and the run amok military-industrial-simplex knew Saddam didn't have nukes. But we damn sure know that Pakistan does. And Bush's bungles in Iraq and Afghanistan have made Pakistan more radicalized and unstable every single year since 2003. Taliban jihadis are now burning down dozens of girl's schools in the Swat valley--known for as a bastion for peaceful moderate Muslims until almost 3 years ago. Assassinations, cross-border skirmishes and collateral damage are now common INSIDE Pakistan. THAT represents a serious increase of a direct national security threat to the United States directly attributable to George Duhhhbya Bush.
As for the dubious repetition of the GOP mantra, "the surge is working!"--the Iraq Surge as defined by the Bush maladministration itself had 18 BENCHMARKS by which to measure its success:
1. Perform Constitutional review.
2. Enact de-Baathification reform.
3. Implement oil legislation [political blowback ensues].
4. Form semi-autonomous regions.
5. Hold provincial elections.
6. Address amnesty.
7. Disarm militias [don't hold your breath].
8. Establish support for Baghdad Security Plan.
9. Provide military support in Baghdad.
10. Empower Iraqi Security Forces [riddled with corruption].
11. Ensure impartial law enforcement [right].
12. Establish support for Baghdad Security Plan by Maliki
government.
13. Reduce sectarian violence [strong evidence of this].
14. Establish neighborhood security in Baghdad.[walls, blood]
15. Increase independent Iraqi Security Forces.
16. Insure minority rights in Iraqi legislature.
17. Distribute Iraqi resources equitably [give me a break].
18. Keep Iraqi Security Forces free from partisan
interference [read: sectarian, tribal interference].
Of all the above benchmarks the two only and most critical economic components (numbers 3 & 17) are still unmet.
There is still no solid political reconciliation between the various factions, sects, tribes, parties, etc., and no amnesty program for all the sectarian/paramilitary death-squad activities of recent years, let alone the Sunnis who aided and abetted actual Al Quaeda jihadis running around in the fringes of the Sunni communities. The Iraqi Security Forces are hit and miss, many of them still riddled with corruption and overriding sectarian and tribal loyalties.
Our supine, paycheck cashing masturbatory "mainstream" media lack the integrity or desire to actually investigate just how much of the surge has failed and how little has actually worked. But all this chaos and oil predation at the behest of Bush's Amurkan invasion was unnecessary from the git-go and increased the threat of terrorism to the U.S. by, first and foremost, creating the perfect guerilla warfare training environment for present and future terrorists from around the Muslim world with plenty of scores to settle.
It's clear now that Nancy Pelosi, Jay Rockefeller, Jane Harmon and others of their DLC ilk were complicit in Team Bush's surveillance and torture crimes [see "The Motivation for Blocking Investigations Into Bush Lawbreaking" by Glen Greenwald elsewhere on this site]. These self-serving, self-protecting cowards and traitors to the Constitution know that any substantial impeachment hearings would delve into these matters and that Republicans going down would take them with them.
But liberals and progressives in and out of Congress confronting these goons and their legions of dupes could at least putting up a FIGHTING CHANCE by arguing the national security points I spelled out above. Great heavenly days!
The only thing that keeps what's left of my sanity now is old Marx Brothers movies...
Don't you know that cynicism is a failure to overcome whatever losses life or people have inflicted on us?
I would like to propose signs in yards and cars that call for impeachment, and handing out straightforward, simple, leaflets. It seems to me, that summer, with highschool and college out for the next few weeks would be an ideal time to undertake this citizen task.
This Country has an energy emergency, we're at war, we are facing tough economic times and these idiots want to impeach???? I say impeach Kookcinich!! Liberalism is a mental disease!!!
When we needed impeachment hearings was in 2006 as soon as the Democrats took control of Congress, not now 3 months before the election when the Democrats realize they are in trouble with a 9% approval rating for not holding them. Now with Congress getting ready to recess, if they haven't already, hearings are no more than a dog and pony show for the voters back home.
Lobo Gris
America continues to shake itself awake ... the evidence is there ... all steps towards impeachment by the US Congress are positive steps....
incidently, has anyone else figured out what the worse "weapon" of mass destruction is?? hints: it is everywhere, we are all using them, they have been in use for almost a hundred years, spreading everywhere, slowly killing the planet .... and so much FUNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN ....
if you guessed the internal combustion engine, you guessed right !!!!!!!!! and what is it's most common form ??? if you guessed the automobile, you guessed right !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
but that is a distraction, it is of the utmost importance for Congress to impeach the president and other members of his cabinet ................
matti -
I appreciate to what you focus and can sympathize with the struggle of seeing human potential stacked up against it's reality.
"Before enlightenment (impeachment) there's fetching water and gathering wood, after enlightenment (impeachment) there's fetching water and gathering wood."
kman2 - I agree with Arry, though of course if Marx could speak today he'd say something like "thank God I'm not a Marxist." Wilhelm Reich's works of the The Mass Psychology of Fascism and People In Trouble were great eye openers for me on understanding the difference between a person's work and what those who follow do with it.
kman2 - Time to read some Marx. You'll be surprised. (it won't kill you, I promise) And rent a movie called "Metropolis" It's a silent flick from 1917, when the labour situation strongly resembled what's going on today - no really - you'll recognize some of the situations - and Charlie Chaplin's Modern Times. Orwell's 1984 is good, too, and Children of Men, 2007.
For now, have a look at those; they're kind of a short-cut if you want to skip all the heavy reading. You can always decide later it's all crap, but you do need to get started on informing yourself. Dismissing people as lefties and socialists was an old strategy of the 40'sand 50's, when the US wanted an excuse to build big bombs and push people around (McCarthy, anti-union forces).
Everything human is politicial, even your morning coffee, so no matter whom you read/watch/hear, you'll get a slant. It's up to you to examine objectively and honestly what you encounter, according to your own experience and not some prefab, predigested, obsolete hand-me-down thought pattern/propaganda.
RE: opeluboy July 25th, 2008 8:02 pm
Yes, the applause when he called for Bush to be indicted for murder (and Katzman pointing out there is no statute of limitations so this can be prosecuted even AFTER this administration ends), and did you notice a Republican on the judiciary immediately called on Conyers to clear all spectators from the hearing? Typical of that side of the aisle for even as important a hearing as this one was (useful or not) to want to exclude the public & proceed in secrecy. Haven't we had enough of this obsessive secrecy already? Isn't this the root of all our problems now?
Damn straight! This article rocks! Nice one John.
I love this part:
"Georgia Democrat Hank Johnson told his colleagues that if they failed to act and President Bush authorized an illegal attack on Iran, they might look back on their dismissal on the neglect of their duty to check and balance an errant executive as a deadly mistake."
Wow, the first comment in this thread is just ridiculous.
Impeach the man; or, just don't enforce any laws in this country.
Why should a person be pulled over for speeding when the president of the united states illegally invades another country, violates our rights and trashes the constitution and nothing is done?
Frank Lieb July 25th, 2008 3:30 pm, of course you're right, but try not to feed the brain-dead ditto-heads here, as they're already out of control here. All they want to do is trash Obama and the Democrats.
kman2 -- You don't know what you are talking about re: Marx.
Gg Re said "WHO ARE YOU GOING TO LISTEN TO? BUSH-CHENEY CORPORATE C.E.O.'S? OR
JESUS GANDHI KING X MARX GOLDMAN PARKS CHAVES THOREAU NADER HUGHES"
Marx?? Are you friggin' serious???
I've already knew CommonDreams.org is far far left, but it amazes me that people posting are so far ultra left that they are comfortable to start spouting Marx's name.
and you CDer's wonder why 95% of the country laughs out loud at your leftwing candidates?
Starting to spout Karl Marx makes you a person who believes in totalitarian government. Understand? Marx did not believe in democracy. Understand? Why the f**K do I even have to explain this?
But nothing surpises me anymore on CommonDreams.org.
Personally, I was thrilled to hear Vincent Bugliosi explain how Bush should be indicted for murder before this panel. I enjoyed hearing the applause of the spectators. I enjoyed the looks on the faces of those, Dem and Rep, as he gave his testimony and was allowed to plug his new book, The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder.
Personally, I was thrilled to hear Vincent Bugliosi explain how Bush should be indicted for murder before this panel. I enjoyed hearing the applause of the spectators. I enjoyed the looks on the faces of those, Dem and Rep, as he gave his testimony and was allowed to plug his new book, The Prosecution of George w. Bush for Murder.
Congress Matters!
The entire House and a third of the Senate can be changed this fall.
Vote for president, even for Obama if you really feel like it.
But really THINK about your vote for Congress.
Really THINK about your vote for State rep., or Governor, or Mayor, or City Council.
Until we honestly and fully engage with the tools of democracy that we already -at least in the story we tell ourselves - have in our hands, we will never become a TRUE democracy.
If you don't like the Greens or the Libertarians, then organize a new party!
The People have the Power -they just THINK they don't.
It drives me off a wall sometimes.
-matti.
Do we have to "Impeach" before he and Cheney and mob are "ARRESTED"- "Held Accoutable to the Global Community" - and/or "Do we simply wait until we get nuked for their insane, billerent and inappropriate war"
The respect and dignity of the United States has plummeted since these clowns have run this country as an Imperial Force! Invading and occupying and lying to this country as well as declaring a war on civilians, destroyong the lives and livlihoods of more than a million people, after sanctions of terrrible consequences...We must regain the trust of the world not through intimidation but "DEPLOMACY"
.
Works for me!!!!
IMPEACH both Bush and Cheney...............NOW
Vote Pelosi and the other Democratic Leadership, who have shielded this Republican Administration for the last 3 years, out of office.
.
"There can be no question at this late date in the Bush presidency that the issue of whether the American system will be characterized by "meaningful checks and balances" is at stake..."
How's that again? There is no longer a meaningful system of checks and balances in America - isn't that the f**king point here? It's not "at stake," it's been eliminated.
And both corporate-approved candidates BO and JM have made it clear that they plan on continuing the phony "war on terror," which, since terrorism is a tactic that can never be eradicated, means perpetual "war powers" which means even less "checks and balances" that might hinder the King's benevolent efforts to keep the "homeland" safe from "evil," and doers of such.
Ya want checks and balances, ya vote for Congressman Dr. Ron Paul or lifelong public servant Ralph Nader. Period.
Impeach! Indict! Do all you can! Thank you Dennis, Tammy, Vincent, Maurice, Sheila, Hank, John and to all progressive Dems, Greens and Indys for doing so much to put an end to the Bush/Repug horrorshow forever.
The last eight years have been nothing but a rotten joke of administration and government in our country. Absolutely no one seems to have the answer or means to stop this steady erosion of Constitutional rights we are witnessing. We may as well just eat, drink, and be merry until they come for us as unlawful combatants, as that apparantly is what our nation now stands for.
tj-- how about THIS classic tidbit? Substitute "impeachment" for "tariff", and it's funky fresh!:
__________________________________
Rufus T. Firefly: And now, members of the cabinet... [pounds gavel]
Rufus T. Firefly: we'll take up old business.
Cabinet Member: I wish to discuss the tariff.
Rufus T. Firefly: Sit down, that's new business. No old business? Very well... [pounds gavel]
Rufus T. Firefly: we'll take up new business.
Cabinet Member: Now, about that tariff...
Rufus T. Firefly: Too late, that's old business already. Sit down.
Some of the testimony at today's hearing was very convincing. Most impressive was Vincent Bugliosi who made a strong case for war crimes trials - charging Bush with murder.
This is much better than impeachment. The Bush Indictment Project can happen, BUT only if voters vote for State Attorneys General, and county Prosecutors who will bring forth indictments. It is now up to the voters. I have written an article explaining all this. If you Google "The Most Important Vote You Will Ever Cast" and my name you will find it.
If you missed the Hearing, here is a link.
http://www.c-span.org/
I apologize for not being able to get through the editing function.
These hearings (that are not hearings at all) are a truly sad exercise that would be funny if they weren't about something so serious.
They certainly outdo Beckett, Kafka, Heller and Carroll -- you could probably throw in a touch of of Orwell and Huxley too. And don't forget Marx (Groucho, not Karl).
While Rep. Tammy Baldwin makes a whole lot of sense, her words are rendered mute and moot because this dog-and-pony show DOES NOT MEAN ANYTHING. This is an unofficial venting of a profound national and moral political crisis to make people feel better. I sure don't.
All I see is a bunch of people who collectively show off their political impotence (and for many, aboslute stupidity ignorance) in a public forum.
My momma told me not to act this way in public. She said it shows a lack of self-respect and brings disgrace to the family.
You'd think that they'd know better.
You'd think that the Nation would know better than to take a poorly-written and acted farce so seriously.
I fear, with many others, that these hearings are all "sound and fury, signifying nothing." Nothing will come of it. There won't be impeachment hearings, and there won't be trials or special investigators or 'truth' commissions. The congress has sold out--especially the dems. It's a sad, sad state of affairs, and I'm afraid it's going to get worse.
Impeachment Hearings MUST be convened. The Judicial Committee as a branch of Congress has heard the legitimate justification for IMPEACHMENT. Impeachment can't be denied any longer. If Nancy Pelosi denies Impeachment Hearings, she needs to be arrested and put in jail or recalled for cause, because an imperial presidency can not be allowed.
NO IMPERIAL PRESIDENCY
DO NOT CONTINUE TO ALL AN IMPERIAL PRESIDENCY
IMPEACH THE IMPERIALISTS
IMPEACHMENT HEARINGS NOW!!!!!!!!!
If an impeachment does go forward in the House, the Speaker may have to step down because she was in the first meetings which gave Bush those powers.
She is an accomplice to this administrations crimes.
If they don't hold hearings it sucks and if they do well, that sucks too so I wonder what the people really want. I say have the hearings and if nothing else set precedent for future problems. That is if we survive the current one.
I wonder how many of these honorable politicians are banking on the this issue to get them re-elected. I will not vote for my 1st term Democratic Congressman from Iowa. I have written him and he has not replied in kind about this issue. Might as well have left Leach in for all this one has done!
It's only theater because "we the people" are not holding our representatives responsible for their lack of action. Bush and Cheney have shredded the constitution, and only a handful of true patriots in congress are living up to their oath to defend it.
While our brave men and women toil away in Iraq and Afghanistan, "fighting for freedom", the true enemies to this country and it's founding principles have systematically dismantled the balance of power. They have set the precedent that all future presidents (and probably more importantly, vice-presidents) may freely abstain from the following the rule of law.
I have written and called my congressman and many others, begging for the support of impeachment hearings. We must all act now to ensure that the foundation of our system of government is secured for our children.
I must admit, I am afraid that our state run media will continue to do a disservice to the citizenry, and perpetuate the existence of a fear driven electorate, by ignoring the brave actions of Mr. Kucinich and others.
Without impeachment, I fear for our future. Please do what you can to support Kucinich and his efforts, and bombard Pelosi with calls and letters on the issue. None of us should sleep until her office is in gridlock dealing with this single most important issue.
Gg Re,
Excellent poetry, thanks.
Gig Re - nobody reads a long post of gibberish like that. Please refrain in the future. Put up a few lines and then link to the rest.
Impeachment:
i will believe it, when i see it.
In the mean time, what shall "We, the People" do? Blog about it?
Shall we:
Stop paying federal income tax?
Slash our energy use?
Stop all non-essential spending?
Organize our families, our neighborhoods, our workplaces?
Commit civil disobedience?
Stop taking drugs and "entertainment"?
Speak in public forums about the actual challenges humanity faces?
Disobey orders?
Blow the whistle on our own organizations?
Put our own lives at risk?
Do we face a real threat, or not?
Shall we act, or not?
Just some ideas.
RichM July 25th, 2008 3:44 pm: "What you have here is the very same traitors who helped the administration perpetrate all the criminal disasters, now pretending to be horrified by them, & conducting a fake effort to "look into them.""
I concur. I'm beginning to get the impression that Democratic supporters, in the absence of any positive grounds for leaning the way they do, are simply in the desperate denial phase of a victim of domestic abuse that feels that they have nowhere to turn, and so they stay in the abusive relationship.
Frank Lieb (3:30 pm) writes, "Sorry Terri, but this administration is to be held accountable for the disasters we are now experiencing..."
- I don't know who "terri" is, but you are incredibly naive to think that these hearings have the slightest thing to do with "holding the administration accountable."
What you have here is the very same traitors who helped the administration perpetrate all the criminal disasters, now pretending to be horrified by them, & conducting a fake effort to "look into them."
Again and again--we must DO something. I have been told that boycotts are meaningless but if we choose any single company--say Exxon, since they so obviously profit from this war--and move their stocks down just a notch, we reclaim our power. These pieces of crap don't care about democracy, or justice, or the right to vote--they care about PROFIT, and nothing else. Let's hit "em where they live!!!!Let's DO SOMETHING!!!
Sorry Tetti, but this administration is to be held accountable for the disasters we are now experiencing.
Whether there will be impeachments or not, we must expose the hypocrites and abusers of our constitution.
Thanks to the Nation and John Nichols for their continued effort to maintain a free America!
More Democratic propaganda from The Nation.
Nothing will come out of these sham hearings. Absolutely nothing. This will only serve to make the fools believe that Dems are a contrast to Republicans. Theater of the worst kind.