BS: A Declaration of Impeachment

Subject: RE: BS: A Declaration of Impeachment
From: Amos
Date: 14 Jul 06 - 09:33 AM

Website Seeks to Impeach Bush


Grassroot website seeks impeachment of the President.

(PRWEB) July 14, 2006 -- A new grassroots website, whose sole purpose is to impeach President George Bush, has made its debut on the internet. The website, http://www.timeforchanges.com/ , seeks to gather signatures for a petition that will be forwarded to select politicians, as well as the White House itself.

who thinks that he does not have a say anymore. Now they can have their say   
The impetus behind this website is one Vashek Pokorny of Eatonville, Washington. "The President has overstepped his bounds", Pokorny said. "The war in Iraq is getting worse, and our personal freedoms are starting to disappear. What next – a personal crusade against Muslims throughout the world?"

The website looks to gather millions of signatures in order to make its statement heard in the Capital. "There are just too many problems throughout the world," Pokorny continued. "We have the ability and capacity to change things. All we need to do is make the effort, and the obvious start would be to impeach the President."

"We are engaged in a war that no one wants – least of all the Iraqis. Our personal liberties are slowly, but surely, being taken away. It seems that the only happy people are big business, especially oil companies who have posted record profits. And we all know how the Bushes made their money," Pokorny added.

The website is not limited to problems in the U.S. only. People from around the world can now let their voices be heard. Anyone, from any country with political instabilities, can post their concerns on the new website. "Our website is geared to accommodate the "average Joe" who thinks that he does not have a say anymore. Now they can have their say," Pokorny added. "It's about time that politics goes back to where it belongs – with the people."

http://www.timeforchanges.com/

Subject: RE: BS: A Declaration of Impeachment
From: Amos
Date: 14 Jul 06 - 11:03 PM

Teach to impeach
Events nationwide aim to educate public about impeachment
By Kathryn Casa | Vermont Guardian

Posted July 14, 2006 at http://www.vermontguardian.com/local/072006/TeachImpeach.shtml

Here's an impeachment pop quiz: true or false?

If impeached, a public official is removed from office.
One U.S. president has been impeached.
Impeachment can occur only at the federal level.
The answers are: false, false, and false. Impeachment is the first of two distinct phases to remove a government official. Presidents Bill Clinton and Andrew Johnson were impeached. Impeachment can occur at the state and federal levels.

Many in the United States don't know much about the impeachment process, according to organizers of a national day of impeachment teach-ins. So on Wednesday, they are seeking to change that.

Impeachment teach-ins have been organized in more than 100 U.S. communities, including three in Vermont — Waitsfield, Burlington, and Brattleboro — where they are precursors to a month-end impeachment organizing effort featuring anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan.

The July 19 teach-ins will feature the premiere of a short documentary, How to Impeach a President, featuring lawyers from the Center for Constitutional Rights who have developed a legal case for the impeachment of Pres. George W. Bush.

The New York-based center, along with Melville House Books, has developed an impeachment how-to kit, including the video and a 144-page handbook, Articles of Impeachment Against George. W. Bush.

The pamphlet details four articles of impeachment on four separate charges: warrantless surveillance, misleading Congress on the reasons for the Iraq War, violating laws against torture, and subverting the Constitution's separation of powers.

"We were interested in making a book that would be like a handbook to the legal case for impeachment," said Melville House publisher Dennis Johnson. "We wanted an inexpensive handbook that the average person can buy to understand what's going on, the relevant rules and laws, and that the Constitution has a means in it to deal with exactly this kind of situation."

Subject: RE: BS: A Declaration of Impeachment
From: Peace
Date: 14 Jul 06 - 11:40 PM

Neat site here, too.

Subject: RE: BS: A Declaration of Impeachment
From: Amos
Date: 15 Jul 06 - 11:50 AM

America's bread and circuses
From staff reports

Lake County Record-Bee, Lakeport CA

Let's impeach the neo-cons before they do any more damage, or before Bush declares himself the Emperor of America for life ... He has already named himself the "Decider", probably because he has not yet learned to pronounce the word emperor.
The "decider" remark was a joke of course, but his claims of unprecedented and unchecked executive powers are not, and are about as un-American or as anti-American as anything could ever be, because they oppose the constitutional balance of powers upon which this government and this nation are founded.

There is a growing, nationwide movement to impeach Bush and Cheney; impeachment resolutions have been introduced in state legislatures in Illinois, California and Vermont so far, and resolutions supporting impeachment have been passed in the following California cities, among other cities in the nation: Santa Cruz, Arcata, San Francisco, Berkeley, Sebastopol and Fairfax.

Perhaps the breaking of some domestic laws, the disregarding of the Bill of Rights and of congressional authority, the breaking of some international laws such as the Geneva Conventions, all of these things and more, which are said to warrant impeachment by people who are a lot more informed and knowledgeable than I am, could be eclipsed by a transgression which, in the myopic eye of the media, is supreme, if Bush and Cheney were to fool around outside of their marriages as did Clinton.

After all, who really cares about the Constitution when a president can be dragged into a soap opera, the supreme American entertainment! (Let them have bread and circuses, as the Roman Emperor Nero said with an arrogance which sounds familiar ... )

Raphael Montoliu

Lakeport

Subject: RE: BS: A Declaration of Impeachment
From: Amos
Date: 17 Jul 06 - 10:03 PM

From "OpEd News" - a private citizen's essay:

Gods Among Ordinary Men


by Charles Sullivan

http://www.opednews.com

When a man abuses the power that was entrusted to him by the people there is clearly a void between what the people want and what they receive. Such abuse stems not only from immense hubris, but from contempt for the people and for civil law. The president, we will recall, is a man who referred to the Constitution to one of his Whitehouse aides as "...just a god-damned piece of paper." Bush and his cacophony of neo-conservative fascists clearly hold the most sacred institutions of this nation in contempt, including the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

The Bush regime's contempt for human rights and their disdain for the earth are systemic. They have resulted in a litany of abuses that would rival those of Hitler and Mussolini combined. Most of the key players cut their teeth in the Reagan regime where they perfected the dark arts. These abuses occur equally at home and abroad. Characterized by hypocrisy without bounds, they are reflected in a foreign policy that is putting the world in peril as never before. Those policies have resulted in imprisoning people indefinitely without criminal charges and without access to legal council, widespread torture, extraordinary rendition, unprovoked attacks upon sovereign nations, occupation, and unprecedented secrecy and domestic spying on law abiding citizens on a broad scale.

The Bush regime operates in unprecedented secrecy under the pretense of fighting a war on terror. They are, in fact, waging a war of terror and they and their corporate pay masters are the terrorists, not Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda. Their success depends upon keeping the people and thus democracy out of the equation.

Democracy, as opposed to the Plutocracy we have in America, operates in the open under the supervision of the citizenry. Democratic government is transparent, not secretive. In a democracy the people know what the government is doing and are active participants in the decision making process. Clearly that is not the kind government we have.

Mr. Bush's extraordinary contempt for the law is in part the result of his Plutocratic upbringing. It is reflected in his unprecedented use of presidential signing statements which, in effect, allow him to circumvent the law and do as he pleases. Don't like a law that keeps a corporation from spewing toxic waste into a river? Just issue a signing statement and ignore it. Bush has used presidential signing statements more than 750 times since his inauguration-more than all of the other presidents combined during the 230 year history of our nation. He has yet to veto any legislation that the corporate lobbyists have put before him.

Civil law is essentially a social contract that is supposed to guarantee justice to all of the people, regardless of their social position or economic status. What does it say about a president who flagrantly thumbs his nose at the law and routinely violates that social contract?

If the government does not respect the law why should any citizen? Why should the government operate outside of the law while the citizens remain subject to it?
If one group of people is forced to adhere to a specific code of conduct and another group is not, what will be the result? We have only to look around us for the answer.

The ruling elite believe they should enact the laws which the rest of us have to obey, which gives them dominion over us. It is imperative that the citizens see to it that the government, especially the president, obeys the law; or impeach him. Perhaps that is the very definition of patriotism. If the law does not apply to everyone equally and at all times, it should not be applied to anyone at any time. If that is the case, then let us have anarchy.

Bush and his cadre of neo-conservatives may think that they are above the law and that they can act with impunity and without consequences. They may think of themselves as Gods who operate above the strata of ordinary mortals, as the result of their socioeconomic privilege. That is because other people have always born the cost of their wrong doing.

When a president behaves as if the law does not apply to him in essence he is expressing his contempt for the people and the rules that govern civil behavior. That is why we have the enormous gulf between rich and poor, tax cuts for the wealthy, Iraq and the whole Middle East debacle.

George Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rice and the entire supporting Plutocratic cast, truly believe that they are better than the rest of us. Like the spoiled brats they are, each of them became who they are because no one ever held them accountable for their actions. We are not holding them accountable now and innocent people are paying the cost.

Not only should these Cretins be impeached, they should be permanently warehoused in an asylum for the criminally insane. Their visions of grandeur are getting a lot of innocent people in trouble, or killed. Other people should not be forced to incur the cost of crimes committed by their so called leaders. Make the criminals pay for their own misdeeds. Force them to take ownership of the reality they are forging.

Government that is not accountable to the people is a monstrosity. Some refer to it by its more common names: dictatorship and totalitarianism. That is what we will soon have if we are not careful.



Charles Sullivan is a photographer, social activist and free lance writer residing in the hinterland of West Virgina.

Subject: RE: BS: A Declaration of Impeachment
From: Amos
Date: 18 Jul 06 - 09:50 AM

From a recent speech by David Swanson, "Containing the Military Industrial Complex":

...The Secretary of the Navy came from General Dynamics, and the Deputy Secretary of State from Raytheon and Boeing – a company that Karl Rove owned $100,000 to $250,000 worth of stock in. Then there are those, like James Woolsey, who serve on advisory boards to the Bush Administration, while simultaneously profiting from the policies they advise on. The LA Times had a lengthy article a year ago yesterday on the long list of people who helped promote a war on Iraq and then set up new companies to profit from it. Bush himself has an uncle and two brothers profiting from this war. But then he had a grandfather who profited from the Nazis and worked with one of Hitler's top funders. So there is a substantial family tradition to uphold. Speaking of which, well known people connected to the Carlyle Group include not just the bin Laden family, but also James Baker, Frank Carlucci, and George Bush the First. The Carlyle Group owns an arm of the British Ministry of Defense, a former branch of the Italian military, and the company in Santa Clara, United Defense, where Bush Jr. gave a speech after waddling across a flight deck to declare mission accomplished.

And then there is Cheney. As Secretary of Attack he paid Halliburton to write a report recommending shifting more work to companies like Halliburton, which got most of the work. Cheney then worked for Halliburton for 5 years and $44 million before going back to what he calls governing. But he continued to receive a salary and hold stock options.

We've moved beyond the sort of war profiteering that Truman called treason. We've moved into a threat to our democracy that is exactly what Madison and Jefferson meant by high crimes and misdemeanors. There is only one thing we can decently do, and that is to impeach the criminals and remove them from office.

And while it is obscene to put electoral considerations ahead of our duty to impeach, those who do so should attempt to remember that no matter how many times they're told impeachment is good for Republicans, all of the evidence points exactly the other way.

....

---

Subject: RE: BS: A Declaration of Impeachment
From: DougR
Date: 18 Jul 06 - 06:05 PM

Impeachment! Has he been sneaking into the White House galley with young female interns? Damn! I missed tht story in the NY Times.

DougR

Subject: RE: BS: A Declaration of Impeachment
From: Amos
Date: 18 Jul 06 - 07:06 PM

Madison: Dump Bush, eat brats
By Doug Moe
MADISON MAY have dropped out of Money magazine's top 50 best small cities in which to live in America, but we are the No. 1-ranked city in the entire world when it comes to wanting to see President George W. Bush impeached.

I can make this startling - well, maybe not so startling - statement after spending much of Monday playing with a new toy from the wired minds at Google.

Google Trends, which you can access at google.com/trends, allows you, in Google's words, to "compare the world's interest in your favorite topics."

You can enter a phrase and see how often it has been searched for on Google. Better yet, you can learn in which cities the most searches originated.

On Monday, when I typed "impeach Bush" in on Google Trends, I got a list of the 10 cities where people have searched the most for that phrase.

Madison ranked first, followed by Portland, Ore., San Francisco and Seattle.

If you wonder, as I did, how Google knows where the searches originate, you can visit the "About Google Trends" link on the site and read the answers to nine questions about methodology and privacy issues.

Unlike me, you might even understand it. On Monday I was having too much fun finding out what Madison Google users were searching for to worry about it.

Madison showed up all over the place. Maybe the new city motto should be, "When in doubt, Google."

Subject: RE: BS: A Declaration of Impeachment
From: Amos
Date: 18 Jul 06 - 07:09 PM

San Francisco Rep. Nancy Pelosi is the most dangerous liberal in America, who would open U.S. borders to immigrants and terrorists, raise taxes, retreat from the war on terror, and attempt to impeach President Bush if she wins the speakership of the House of Representatives in November.

That's the charge from current House Speaker Dennis Hastert in a sharply worded e-mail to Republican donors.

"You can be sure that under a Pelosi-led Congress, the conservative ideals of family values and an unwavering commitment to our troops will be ignored, while the interest of San Francisco liberals and trial lawyers will be heard loud and clear by Nancy Pelosi and her liberal friends," the letter reads.

The undated appeal asks for contributions from $50 to $500 in the next 48 hours to "help me make sure the Pelosi agenda doesn't become law."

Republicans have used Pelosi's liberal credentials before as a way to rally conservatives, though Hastert has mostly refrained from singling out the House Democratic leader.

"Let's be honest for a moment. This is a tough year for conservatives. Democrats and their friends in the media are anticipating a victory in November and unless we stop her, Nancy Pelosi will take over my chair as Speaker of the House and control Congress. I don't know about you, but that sure sounds like a nightmare scenario to me," Hastert's plea reads.

---

A prediction: look for the GOP-controlled elements of the press to do all they can to exaggerate Pelosi's weaknesses and dramatize her flaws with vitriol and falsification to the point of demonization. Mark my words. They's gonna Dean her if they can. A.

Subject: RE: BS: A Declaration of Impeachment
From: Amos
Date: 18 Jul 06 - 07:12 PM

From a small-town press in Rhode ISland reporting on a town meeting:

"The changes in the bills were passed by the Chariho School Committee, but did not make it through any of the three town councils. Leaving some to think the Chariho Act has been violated. There were two different versions of the school budget bill, which added to the confusion. None of the bills were passed by any of the three town council's.
"We have been told by our legislators that they would not approve any legislation that was not approved by all three towns," said Deborah Carney, President of Charlestown Town Council. Carney went on to say,
"There is no guarantee this won't happen again. I'm not really concerned with the all-day referendum or disposal bill but the fact that the general assembly passed the bill despite protests from the town councils. Hopkinton openly protested the disposal bill and was ignored. No town got preferential treatment, we were all equally ignored."
"Right now the only thing we have are the words 'in each town', if those words are left off any bill passed out of the general assembly all three towns loose their individual veto power, and there is nothing stopping them from doing that."

Governor Carcieri's office said the bills were allowed to go into effect because they would still require voter approval.

In other events during the meeting was the motion by 83 year old resident John V. Hardiman of Indian Trail. He spoke to the council and asked them to motion a resolution for the impeachment of President George W. Bush. The driving force behind his the motion was to scale back the war effort in Iraq and "stop killing the kids".
Councilor Forrester Safford retorted, "You personally are putting young men and women in danger. Insurgents look at the propaganda.""

---

Curious that asking folks to stop killing each other is viewed as propoganda. Hmmmmmm.

A

Subject: RE: BS: A Declaration of Impeachment
From: Amos
Date: 18 Jul 06 - 08:41 PM

From the Brattleboro, Vermont Reformer:

Impeaching a president
By ANDY ROSEN, Reformer Staff


Tuesday, July 18
BRATTLEBORO -- Area political organizers have scheduled an "Impeachment Teach-In" this week, hoping community education will accelerate efforts to hold President Bush accountable for his actions.
The event runs from 7 to 9 p.m. Wednesday in the community room at Brattleboro Savings & Loan on Main Street.

Organizer Dan DeWalt said the teach-in is designed to shed some light on the impeachment process, because there many public misconceptions about it.

Impeachment, he said, is not as drastic a measure as some people think it is. It's not an immediate removal from office, but a public process to hold officials accountable.

"This is a primer in one small aspect of our constitutional rights as citizens," DeWalt said of the teach-in. "There are certain things we can do to trigger a response."

He said this event will be an opportunity to learn about the types of recourse available to those who feel that President Bush has broken the law.

The teach-in is one of several being held around the country by the Center for Constitutional Rights, an advocacy organization.

It will feature a screening of the center's film "How to Impeach a President," followed by a discussion about the process, and the center's case for impeachment.

The center has outlined four separate charges against Bush.

One takes issue with his authorization of a domestic surveillance program. Another accuses him of misleading Congress in advance of the war in Iraq. A third alleges that Bush violated laws against torture, and the final charge says Bush has breached the constitutional separation of powers.

The discussion will be moderated by Jeffrey Taylor of Clarendon. A former U.S. Department of Justice attorney, Taylor wrote the "Rutland Resolution," adopted by that county's Democratic Committee.

One focus of that resolution was the role that state legislatures can play in the impeachment process.

DeWalt said if the Vermont Legislature passed an impeachment resolution, the U.S. House of Representatives would have to bring it up for discussion.

Several towns in the state, including Newfane, Brattleboro, Marlboro, Dummerston, Putney and Rockingham, have called for some action against Bush. So have most of Vermont's county Democratic committees, and the statewide Democratic committee.

A petition is also circulating in Westminster that calls for a town vote on impeachment.

DeWalt said residents of any town can call for such a vote by gathering signatures. In many small Vermont towns, he said, less than 200 voters would have to sign on to call for a special town meeting.

In a news release, the Center for Constitutional Rights calls the teach-in non-partisan. DeWalt said this event isn't about politics, it's about reining in the power of the executive branch.

"Impeachment is there to deal with a government that's abusing power," DeWalt said. "This is a crisis, so in my mind, impeachment is a fairly measured response, and it's a response that's outlined in the Constitution."

Subject: RE: BS: A Declaration of Impeachment
From: Amos
Date: 19 Jul 06 - 04:27 PM

From Manitoba, a review of Crospy, Stills, Nash and Young in their current "Freedom Tour" -- or should that be French Tour?

"Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young shuffled onstage of the MTS Centre shortly after 7 p.m. on Friday, June 15 for the fourth show of their "Freedom of Speech '06" tour. A sold-out crowd comprised predominantly (but not exclusively) of balding quasi-hippies was clearly delighted by the performance, or, more specifically, by the presence of local favorite Neil Young — who used to live here, as we will never, ever tire of reminding ourselves.

Young, ever lovable and ever snarling, fresh from being awarded the Order of Manitoba (a ceremony which unceremoniously took place in the Manitoba Moose dressing room), clearly dominated the band both physically and musically: he looked the most comfortable on the stage and the gargantuan set list, when not democratically focused on CSNY songs, was full of rollicking numbers from his recent Living with War album, including opener "Flags of Freedom" and personal favorite "After the Garden."

Young's newest material was also accompanied by video screens featuring assorted Iraq-war imagery: portraits of fallen soldiers, tanks rolling into Fallujah and spoof-CNN-style graphics. For "Impeach the President" the band was backed by video (and audio) of George W. Bush saying, as he tends to do, an assortment of stupid things. Though the presentation wasn't subtle, there was a certain satisfaction to be had in witnessing the outpouring of Young's ire. In light of all this, CSNY classic "Ohio" felt genuinely relevant, though it also led some credence to the belief that without Young, CSN would be a nostalgia act and little else.
...[snip]...


A

Subject: RE: BS: A Declaration of Impeachment
From: Amos
Date: 19 Jul 06 - 05:32 PM

From the Contra Costa Times regarding a recent session of Berkeley's City Council:

"...In another matter, the council made Berkeley the first city in the country to ask its citizens to vote on whether to impeach President Bush and Vice President Cheney by approving a ballot measure for the November election.

The measure would be purely advisory, since only Congress has the power to remove a president or vice president.

This is the latest in a long line of national and international issues on which Berkeley has taken an early stand. In many cases, Berkeley's position eventually became majority opinion, including desegregating the schools, opposing the Vietnam War, ending apartheid in South Africa, and mandating curb cuts for wheelchairs.

The council also approved two other ballot measures.

One would allow conversion of rental units to condominiums, providing sitting tenants are protected and an affordable housing mitigation fee is paid to the city.

The other is an advisory measure supporting aggressive efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions...."

A

Subject: RE: BS: A Declaration of Impeachment
From: Amos
Date: 19 Jul 06 - 05:49 PM

July 19, 2006
Readers' voice section from the Charleston, WV, Gazette

"Since the DEP determined the terrible slide at Coonskin Park was "an act of God," I suppose that God was at the controls of the backhoe shown in the picture accompanying the article.
Considering the increase in dangerous criminals in this country, the billions spent in Iraq could be much better used for prisons and police. Crime is our No. 1 growth industry in the U.S.

If you are out there and you are pro-life based on your beliefs of the Bible then consider that God said he breathes your soul into you. When you breathe your first breath you get your soul.

Let's impeach Bush and Cheney. Let's have some good government.
The Republicans lie about the tax cuts. The fact is the tax cuts are jackpots for the wealthy and peanuts for the peons."

A

Subject: RE: BS: A Declaration of Impeachment
From: Amos
Date: 19 Jul 06 - 10:06 PM

Impeach the President of the United States
by William M. Cross, James C. Ryan, and Joseph J. Wojcik,

West Point Graduates Against the War

We have pledged to help reclaim the honor of the United States of America. Accordingly, we call for the impeachment of the president of the United States, George W. Bush.

Since lying in combat could needlessly cost the lives of fighting men and women, West Point graduates have been trained to live by a code of honor, that is, neither lying, cheating, nor stealing. Since the military forces of the United States are responsible to civilian authority, that is, the president of the United States, we expect that same honorable behavior from the commander-in-chief. Sadly, such has not been the case with President George W. Bush, nor with his vice president, nor with many in the civilian chain of command.

Furthermore, West Point graduates have been trained to lead by example. The example set by our civilian leadership has been deplorable and immoral, casting utter discredit upon the United States of America. Our organization, West Point Graduates Against the War, has described the lies told by President Bush, his vice president, and others in his command. We have cited the numerous laws, treaties, protocols, and conventions, including the Constitution of the United States, that this administration has violated. The time has come to hold the president of the United States accountable for these high crimes and misdemeanors. We call for the impeachment of the president of the United States, George W. Bush. Clearly, he is unfit to lead.

As West Point graduates, we bring a unique perspective to this issue. As we reflect upon our academy days, we remember that if a cadet was found guilty of an honor violation, there were direct consequences, that is, dismissal from the academy. Many hopes and aspirations of young potential officers were abruptly terminated by violations of the honor code, regardless of the "severity" of the lie.

Yet, our President, the commander-in-chief of our armed forces, having lied to the world about our need for entry into the war in Iraq, is still not being held accountable for his deceitful behavior. Incredibly, he is still allowed to perform his duties without rebuke, indeed without any negative consequences whatsoever, to him. Meanwhile, thousands of our young people have died, tens of thousands have been grievously maimed, hundreds of thousands of Iraqis have been slaughtered, yet the president and his dishonorable ilk remain in command.

The deceit of President Bush continues to place our fighting forces, and our nation, in grave peril. The president must be impeached. We know of no other action but impeachment that can remedy this dire situation.

Time is of the essence.

William M. Cross, USMA 1962
James C. Ryan, USMA 1962
Joseph J. Wojcik, USMA 1962
Cofounders
West Point Graduates Against the War

Subject: RE: BS: A Declaration of Impeachment
From: Amos
Date: 19 Jul 06 - 10:32 PM

John Dean has been a student of impeachment, both at one remove and up close and personal as the first of Nixon's aides to come clean back in 1972-4.

Here is an interesting essay by John Dean on the present face of Conservatism and the scenario for impeachment compared to the past instances.

A

Subject: RE: BS: A Declaration of Impeachment
From: Amos
Date: 20 Jul 06 - 05:05 PM

July 20, 2006 at 12:24:25

Wanna bring peace to the Middle East? Get the Burning Man crew on the job!
   
by Jane Stillwater


http://www.opednews.com

Let's dump the Bush bureaucracy. Whether by accident or on purpose, everything they touch falls apart. In the last six years, they haven't done one single thing to make America freer, more prosperous, more moral or even more safe. That's inefficiency!

Let's impeach the Bush losers and bring in a team of guys who know what they are doing -- the folks who bring us "Burning Man" every year.

Every year in September, these guys turn the Nevada desert into paradise. They can turn the deserts of the Middle East into paradise too. What's their secret? They CREATE instead of DESTROY. Is this such a difficult concept to grasp that it is totally beyond the Bush bureaucracy's mentality to even imagine? Duh, yeah.

America needs to learn how to use fire to create and inspire -- not just to burn stuff down and blow stuff up. There's a BIG difference between creating a powerful sculpture under the stars of the Nevada desert and setting it afire in the name of peace and creativity and art -- and what is happening in places like Gaza, Afghanistan, Lebanon and Iraq. Pouring napalm on a five-year-old in Fallugah and watching it writhe in agony before it dies miserably in front of its mother's eyes or constantly bombarding the homes of innocent civilians in Beirut with thousands of TONS of missiles and bombs or setting a young girl on fire in some Iraqi village in order to cover up that she has been brutally raped by American soldiers? There's a big difference all right. Duh, yeah.

The Bush bureaucrats are destroyers. The Burning Man folks are creators. Who would you rather have running YOUR show?

PS: The apartment complex where I live is in the middle of a MAJOR rehab project. Just to keep the roofs from leaking and to bring the place up to code will cost six million dollars. Imagine how much more it will cost to re-build the inestimable numbers of buildings, shops and homes in Afghanistan, Iraq, Beirut, Haifa (yes, I said Haifa. What goes around comes around) and Gaza that the Bush bureaucracy and their cronies have destroyed. It will take generations to even begin to re-do the rabid destruction they have committed in just six short years. The mind boggles.

PPS: Here's a typical "conservative" radio talk show host quote: "Let's go over there and bomb 'em all to bits!" You may feel that way now, buddy, but will you still feel that way if someone retaliates and bombs YOU to bits too? I think not.

Bush's indiscriminate bombing spree is not making ANY of us safe -- and especially not Israel. Nope. Hiring the Burning Man crew is the only way out of this mess. And if the Burning Man crew was put in charge of fixing our shabby sorry failed Middle East foreign policy, even the most blood-thirsty neo-con "bring it on" lunatic in America would love it! All those macho adrenolin-rush fireworks? They'd be in hog heaven -- even if no one got hurt. And the Muslims would like it too. And so would the Jews.



http://jpstillwater.blogspot.com

http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_jane_sti_060720_wanna_bring_peace_to.htm

Subject: RE: BS: A Declaration of Impeachment
From: Amos
Date: 20 Jul 06 - 05:08 PM

Bush foes explore impeachment road
By Ben Broeren
"The British called impeachment 'the most powerful weapon in the political armory, short of civil war,'" said Buzz Davis, a member of Veterans for Peace. "But I do not want civil war."


Davis, along with David Schwartz, a UW law professor and member of the Center for Constitutional Rights, and Ben Manski, a fellow with the Liberty Tree Foundation, presented arguments for impeachment of President Bush to a crowd of nearly 120 people Wednesday at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The event was part of a national network of teach-ins organized by the center.

"Impeachment is the most patriotic thing we can do," said Manski. "It's a debate over executive power versus popular power. We are struggling over the soul of a nation."

In a video, the Center for Constitutional Rights proposed four articles of impeachment: warrantless surveillance and wiretaps, using torture and denying due process to detainees at Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib, misleading Congress into the Iraq war, and violating the separation of powers.

Schwartz said impeachment would begin if the U.S. House of Representatives found the articles adequate reason to investigate the president.

From the Madison, WI, Capital Times

http://www.madison.com/tct/news/index.php?ntid=91803&ntpid=4

Subject: RE: BS: A Declaration of Impeachment
From: Amos
Date: 20 Jul 06 - 11:49 PM

Top cities (normalized)         Number of searches at Google for "Impeach Bush":
        
1.        Madison, WI, USA        

2.        Portland, OR, USA        

3.        San Francisco, CA, USA        

4.        Seattle, WA, USA        

5.        Pleasanton, CA, USA        

6.        Irvine, CA, USA        

7.        Denver, CO, USA        

8.        San Diego, CA, USA        

9.        Sacramento, CA, USA        

10.        Minneapolis, MN, USA

Subject: RE: BS: A Declaration of Impeachment
From: GUEST,Larry K
Date: 21 Jul 06 - 11:10 AM

69 messages from Amos including 21 of the last 23.    Nice to have a dialog with yourself. (roses are red and violets are blue, I'm a schizophrenic and so am I)

Name the 67 senators that will vote for impeachment.   (dream on)

If hell freezes over, folk music is played on top 40 radio, the earth stops spinning, Bobert buys an SUV, and Bush is impeached... I have two words for you

PRESIDENT CHEYNEY!

Subject: RE: BS: A Declaration of Impeachment
From: Amos
Date: 21 Jul 06 - 02:00 PM

I'd like to see them both impeached on the same charges. They coudl blame each other.


A

Subject: RE: BS: A Declaration of Impeachment
From: Amos
Date: 21 Jul 06 - 08:01 PM

Impeachment Teach-Ins Seek to Oust Bush, Sell Books
By Nathan Burchfiel
CNSNews.com Staff Writer
July 21, 2006

(CNSNews.com) - A coalition of liberal groups this week launched a nationwide campaign to educate Americans on impeachment and encourage them to support impeaching President Bush.

"Since 9/11 it has been clear that the principle enemy of democracy has been in the White House," said Bill Goodman, legal director for the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) in the group's documentary "How to Impeach a President."

The group claimed that Bush should be impeached because of the warrant-less wiretapping program, alleged torture of Muslim detainees in U.S. custody, and because he "committed fraud on Congress."

In order to promote the video and its goal of impeaching Bush, CCR has teamed with AfterDowningStreet.org, CODE PINK and Iraqi Americans for Peaceful Alternatives to organize "teach-ins" in at least 27 cities around the country.

CCR is a civil rights advocacy group that promotes reparations for descendants of slaves and urges the government to lift the travel and commerce embargos against Cuba, among other causes listed on its website.

Subject: RE: BS: A Declaration of Impeachment
From: Amos
Date: 21 Jul 06 - 09:00 PM

A brief dialogue from Slashdot:

""By denying security clearance to federal attorneys from the Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) seeking to gather evidence in the NSA illegal surveillance scandal, President Bush has effectively blocked the Justice Department's investigation into the matter of who exactly authorized the illegal actions to take place. The president is apparently able to strictly control who does and does not have security clearance to examine documents regarding the program, citing that giving more people access would endanger national security. His denial is the first of its kind in American history. To quote the article, 'Since its creation some 31 years ago, OPR has conducted many highly sensitive investigations involving Executive Branch programs and has obtained access to information classified at the highest levels,' chief lawyer H. Marshall Jarrett wrote in a memorandum released Tuesday. 'In all those years, OPR has never been prevented from initiating or pursuing an investigation.'"

---

He sure as hell wouldn't have done that had it been an opportunity to point the finger at any of his rivals. Even if he wasn't responsible, he's now responsible for the cover up. If American voters aren't happy with his decision they can always vote him out. I'm sure by the time of the next election there'll be some other bogeyman to deal with - presumably lebenese or syrian terrorists, angry at all the US built/paid for planes and tanks pounding lebenon.

---

If there was a vote for impeachment that the public could vote in, I would vote. But the only things I can do, is spread the word, and send a letter to my congressman. Then hope my congressman helps set up the process for impeachment. So, technically, the only way this is going to get started is if my congressman wants to discipline the president. Otherwise, everything I do and say is for naught.

Subject: RE: BS: A Declaration of Impeachment
From: Amos
Date: 21 Jul 06 - 09:02 PM

Other thoughts on the subject from John Dean as discussed by David Swanson:

John Dean, former legal counsel to Richard Nixon, is 95% recovered from a long bout of conservatism, and he doubts that many others can make the same recovery, but I don't.

Dean's published two excellent books on the Bush-Cheney administration's abuses of power. The first was "Worse Than Watergate." The new one is "Conservatives Without Conscience." The title is a play on former Senator Goldwater's "The Conscience of a Conservative," and Dean originally intended to co-write it with Goldwater.

In the new book, on pages 70 and 71, Dean lists in two columns the beliefs and characteristics of "Conservatives Without Conscience" and "Conservatives With Conscience". From my earliest memories, I have been disgusted by the very idea of conservatism, but - with the exception of one of the characteristics - I turn out to be a Conservative With Conscience. That is to say, a "Conservative With Conscience", as defined by Dean, turns out to be a progressive, a leftist, or even a - dare I say it? - liberal, or at least not in disagreement with those people.

If I were to list the characteristics of a progressive, I would add a number of things that are not in Dean's list, but I wouldn't need to change or remove the existing items. One almost gets the impression that Dean is clinging to the idea of an unshameful, non-destructive conservatism simply out of....well, conservatism. I say "almost", because there is an area in which Dean's thinking in this book clashes drastically with my own and with that of many on the left, an area in which he is still a conservative and an authoritarian. A "Conservative With Conscience" actually turns out to be a liberal without a movement, without populism, without any faith that masses of people can do anything to improve their lives.

Dean begins his book with a lengthy preface which ends with these words: "Much of what I have to report is bad news. But there is some good news, because while authoritarians have little self-awareness, a few of them, when they learn the nature of their behavior, seek to change their ways. Thus by reporting the bad and the ugly, it may do some good. At least that is my hope." Dean places his hope in actually saving members of the Bush administration from their authoritarianism, not in urging the public to force Congress to impeach them and remove them from office.

Dean stresses this point again in the final pages of the book: "It was not public opinion that forced Nixon from office....Nixon resigned 'because [Nixon's] attorney had forced the disclosure of evidence so damaging that it seemed certain he would be convicted of high crimes by the Senate.'...The reason Nixon did not go to trial was not his loss of support on Capitol Hill...but rather because he lost the support of his defenders, principally on the White House staff."

But the strength of the evidence disclosed does not dictate conviction in the Senate or even impeachment in the House or even the initiation of an investigation. Dean himself has noted elsewhere that Bush is the first president to have confessed to an impeachable offense (violation of FISA). You don't get much stronger evidence than a repeated public confession, but the current House and Senate are not prepared to act. Why? It's not, I would argue, because Cheney or Addington has failed to receive Dean's therapy. It's because - given the increased corruptness of our media and of our electoral system - there is an even greater need than there was under Nixon for millions of Americans to rise up in protest, and millions of Americans have failed to do so.

Subject: RE: BS: A Declaration of Impeachment
From: Amos
Date: 21 Jul 06 - 11:33 PM

Most Recent Posts from the Impeach Bush Coalition

A

Subject: RE: BS: A Declaration of Impeachment
From: Amos
Date: 21 Jul 06 - 11:37 PM

From the above link:

Add Obstruction of Justice to the List
Tuesday, July 18, 2006

"Well, we can now add "Obstruction on Justice" to the list of impeachable offenses. According to the AP and testimony by Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez, Bush personally blocked the Department of Justice's probe into illegal wiretapping.
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said Tuesday that
President Bush personally blocked Justice Department lawyers from pursuing an internal probe of the warrantless eavesdropping program that monitors Americans' international calls and e-mails when terrorism is suspected."

Subject: RE: BS: A Declaration of Impeachment
From: dianavan
Date: 22 Jul 06 - 12:22 AM

From your last post, Amos - "...there is an even greater need than there was under Nixon for millions of Americans to rise up in protest, and millions of Americans have failed to do so."

I have a theory for that.

We used to all be bleeding heart liberals. It was fashionable for the middle classes who had been well educated. We ached for the Jews, we ached for the Blacks, we ached for Native Americans, we ached for the Japanese Americans who were sent to internment camps, we ached for the Vietnamese. We all put down our differences and joined forces to say STOP with one loud voice.

Now Blacks (African-Americans) are integrated and many have reached middle class, the Jews are aligned with the policies of the Bush administration, and the middle classes are fat and happy riding around in their SUV's, how many people are actually going to 'put themselves out' for someone else? Not many.

In fact, the 'dumbing down of America' by underfunding education and feeding them a steady diet of t.v. has created a generation of people who are totally self-centered. Add to this 911, control of the media, the climate of fear and any fascist would have a cake walk. That is exactly what George Bush is doing.

Don't get me wrong. Harper is doing it in Canada and Blair has done it in Britain.

Millions of people do not protest because millions of people don't give a damn.

Subject: RE: BS: A Declaration of Impeachment
From: Amos
Date: 22 Jul 06 - 01:15 AM

Well, do what you can DV. Every spark makes a little difference,


A

Subject: RE: BS: A Declaration of Impeachment
From: Amos
Date: 22 Jul 06 - 06:18 PM

What do you think?
Email this story to a friend
         Printer-friendly format
         Tell us what you think? Write a letter to the editor




More Headlines
Winkie kills Tennessee handlerNurse's drug error caused teen's deathLegion on a mission to take care of its 'family'

Forums
Kevin Barrett: A matter of trust
Drug error caused teen's death?
Editorial: Jack Abramoff, Reed & Green
Shortage of horse exercise space troubles fair participants
Editorial: Bush and the stem cell lie
Bush foes explore impeachment road
By Ben Broeren
"The British called impeachment 'the most powerful weapon in the political armory, short of civil war,'" said Buzz Davis, a member of Veterans for Peace. "But I do not want civil war."

Davis, along with David Schwartz, a UW law professor and member of the Center for Constitutional Rights, and Ben Manski, a fellow with the Liberty Tree Foundation, presented arguments for impeachment of President Bush to a crowd of nearly 120 people Wednesday at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The event was part of a national network of teach-ins organized by the center.

"Impeachment is the most patriotic thing we can do," said Manski. "It's a debate over executive power versus popular power. We are struggling over the soul of a nation."

In a video, the Center for Constitutional Rights proposed four articles of impeachment: warrantless surveillance and wiretaps, using torture and denying due process to detainees at Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib, misleading Congress into the Iraq war, and violating the separation of powers.

Schwartz said impeachment would begin if the U.S. House of Representatives found the articles adequate reason to investigate the president.

Sam Johnson, one of several supporters of President Bush in the audience, countered that impeachment posed a threat to the two-party system.

"It is a conspiratorial action that is not helping our democracy," he said this morning.

He added that he thought impeachment is unnecessary because such things as the Abu Ghraib abuses and wiretaps are being addressed.

With regard to the lead up to Iraq, Johnson, who is vice president of Vote No to Cut and Run, said there are always problems weighing intelligence.

John Nichols, associate editor of The Capital Times, said war is not a reason to withhold judgment.

Manski told the crowd that they must take action by writing to their representatives and putting impeachment on the ballot.

Davis has contacted Democrats across Wisconsin to push for local votes in November to support impeachment.

The referendums will send a message to state legislators, he said. They can adopt a joint resolution requesting the U.S. Congress impeach Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney.

"All it takes is one state to demand it," Davis said.

(Madison, Wisconsin)

Subject: RE: BS: A Declaration of Impeachment
From: Amos
Date: 22 Jul 06 - 06:21 PM

See also this press release.

A

Subject: RE: BS: A Declaration of Impeachment
From: GUEST
Date: 23 Jul 06 - 12:23 AM

Report: Presidents Washington Through Bush May Have Lied About Key Matters

December 4, 2002

WASHINGTON, DCâ€"In allegations likely to further erode Americans' faith in the office of the presidency, presidents George Washington through George W. Bush may have lied about key matters of national import during their tenures as chief executive, an independent-counsel investigation asserted Monday.

Implicated in the presidential-lying scandal are George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, John Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson, Martin Van Buren, William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, James K. Polk, Zachary Taylor, Millard Fillmore, Franklin Pierce, James Buchanan, Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Johnson, Ulysses S. Grant, Rutherford B. Hayes, James Garfield, Chester Arthur, Grover Cleveland, Benjamin Harrison, William McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt, William H. Taft, Woodrow Wilson, Warren Harding, Calvin Coolidge, Herbert Hoover, Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, John Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush.

The report states that the integrity of the presidency "may have been compromised by criminal misdirection, obstruction of justice, and deliberate clouding of the truth for political advantage and/or personal gain by as many as every president since the nation's inception."

While conventional wisdom holds that only two U.S. presidents, Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton, have ever openly lied about anything, the report offers substantial evidence linking all 42 presidents to deliberate acts of deception and dishonesty. Among its assertions are that Thomas Jefferson lied about impregnating one of his slaves; Ulysses S. Grant deceived Congress regarding his role in the Whiskey Ring scandal; Ronald Reagan intentionally withheld key facts in the Iran-Contra Affair; Warren G. Harding told untruths during the Teapot Dome scandal; James K. Polk, Martin Van Buren, and Chester A. Arthur fibbed about the details of trade pacts; and Franklin Pierce was less than forthcoming regarding details of the Kansas-Nebraska Act.

"Shockingly, even William Henry Harrison, a president who was in office for a month and spent most of it on his deathbed, seems to have found time to lie during the famously lengthy inaugural address that would speed his demise," independent-counsel investigator James McManus said. "And so-called 'father of our country' George Washington is not exempt, either. A story familiar to any schoolchild tells us that, as a boy, Washington confessed to chopping down a cherry tree, saying, 'I cannot tell a lie.' Evidence suggests, however, that the entire tale may have been bogus from the start. This is doubly damning to the presidency's reputation, for it is not merely a lie, but a lie about not telling lies."

The report calls into question the integrity of the presidency at a particularly inopportune moment. Coming on the heels of alleged Bush Administration involvement in the Enron and WorldCom corporate scandals, as well as the "Monicagate" impeachment trial of former president Bill Clinton, the implication of every president in U.S. history will likely deepen the public's mistrust and further undermine the credibility of the nation's highest elected office.

"If these allegations turn out to be true, this country faces a crisis of confidence of unfathomable proportions," an anonymous Beltway insider said. "If the leader of the most powerful nation on Earth cannot be trusted to tell the truth, then who, in the name of God in heaven, can?"

Four of the 137 known presidential mistresses.

"We are shocked by these allegations," White House press secretary Ari Fleischer said. "The president wishes to assure the public that he has never lied, and that every one of these accusations of lyingâ€"from the 18th century all the way to the 21stâ€"will be thoroughly investigated and, we are confident, disproved."

Calling the report "just the tip of the iceberg," McManus said incidents of lying may plague the government at all levels.

"Every day, new evidence surfaces suggesting that this lying trend is more far-reaching than we ever imagined," McManus said. "It may well extend all the way to the offices of Vice-President, Speaker of the House, Secretary of State, Secretary of Defense, Secretary of the Treasury, White House Press Secretary, secretary to the White House Press Secretary, Senator, Representative, State Assemblyman, Governor, Lieutenant Governor, County Board Supervisor, Alderperson, Mayor, Assistant to the Mayor, City Councilperson, Assistant City Councilperson, Comptroller, Town Coroner, County Librarian, and County Clerk."

On Capitol Hill, the report prompted calls for a thorough investigation of each and every allegation, from the possibility of Bush-Cheney lies regarding Haliburton during the 2000 presidential campaign all the way back to alleged lies told by the John Adams Administration regarding the Huron Indians in 1798.

"The idea that presidents and other elected officials have violated the public trust by telling lies is disturbing and deeply disappointing," U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) said. "We are adopting a 'zero tolerance' position regarding the telling of untruths on the part of any politicianâ€"past, present, or futureâ€"and we will not rest until each and every lie-teller has been punished to the fullest extent of the law."

Added Hatch: "You have my solemn word on that."

Subject: RE: BS: A Declaration of Impeachment
From: Amos
Date: 23 Jul 06 - 12:59 AM

LOL!!! Very funny, Nameless One.

A

Subject: RE: BS: A Declaration of Impeachment
From: Amos
Date: 23 Jul 06 - 07:03 PM

From the Concord, New Hampshire, Monitor:

ealth and birth', PAUL HAGUE, Weare - Letter

By For the Monitor
July 22. 2006 9:30AM


P
resident Bush's veto (his first) of a bill to federally fund embryonic stem cell research is the latest misguided and ignorant decision by our fearless leader. Stem cell research will continue, but the medical benefits will be delayed because of insufficient funding.
If the Bushies have had one overarching principle in their governing, it is to increase wealth to the rich and power to the powerful.

Their ideal government is a plutocracy. Science, the arts and the rest of us have all suffered because of this principle. When will enough people wake up to this fact and demand that Congress impeach this lawless and corrupt administration?

Thomas Jefferson said in a letter to John Adams in 1813: "There is an artificial aristocracy founded on wealth and birth, without either virtue or talents - this artificial aristocracy is a mischievous ingredient in government, and provision should be made to prevent its ascendancy."

It's up to us to do the preventing. Back democratic and progressive candidates. Organize, get active. Vote in November for change!

---

A

Subject: RE: BS: A Declaration of Impeachment
From: Amos
Date: 23 Jul 06 - 11:47 PM

From David Swanson:

"In the long run, we can reduce the influence of authoritarian structures like religions and militaries, and improve early childhood care and education. In the short run, we can persuade many Americans that they have been misled. We're well on the way to doing so already. Investor's Business Daily recently warned that 25% of Republicans are planning to vote for Democrats this year, and that that could lead to – horror of horrors – impeachment.

Sunday, July 23rd, is the four-year anniversary of the meeting at #10 Downing Street that produced the Downing Street Minutes, which were made public about 15 months ago. A year ago on this date, citizens held hundreds of public forums and house parties around the country to increase awareness of the Downing Street Minutes, which showed that Bush and his gang of thugs intentionally lied about the reasons for attacking Iraq. Now, of course, dozens of other smoking guns have been stacked in the corner beside that one (and posted on the left side of http://www.afterdowningstreet.org ).

Those who continue to claim that Bush meant well and really believed his own hype are willfully blind. We should be so outspoken about Bush's and Cheney's lies and the need to impeach, remove, indict, convict, and imprison them that those still clinging to their blanket of faith in Bush's goodness see themselves as having been deceived.

On Wednesday, July 19th, hundreds of impeachment teach-ins were held around the country. At the one I spoke at, people expressed surprise at the size of the crowd and shock at the poll statistics I presented. People don't know the size of the impeachment movement. As they learn it, those who only join majority movements will join this one in greater numbers.

And as more and more of us become increasingly eager to take the necessary action to force change in Washington, we will make plans to occupy the place with an impeachment encampment. Here's a way we can do that: http://www.campdemocracy.org "

A

Subject: RE: BS: A Declaration of Impeachment
From: GUEST
Date: 24 Jul 06 - 01:31 AM

Well it has that classic Amos ambiance dosn't it?

Subject: RE: BS: A Declaration of Impeachment
From: Amos
Date: 24 Jul 06 - 09:25 AM

"NEWS BRIEF: Impeachment Review Now Has 37 Co-Sponsors
By Matthew Cardinale, News Editor and National Correspondent, Atlanta Progressive News (July 23, 2006)

(APN) ATLANTA -- As APN's second print issue goes to press, H. Res 635 has a total of 37 sponsors and cosponsors. The bill, sponsored by US Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) would create a Select Committee to look into the grounds for impeaching President Bush over misleading the public on the need to go to war; retaliating against public officials who disagree with him; and encouraging torture.

The most recent co-sponsors are US Rep. Chaka Fattah (D-PA), Jesse Jackson, Jr., (D-IL), and Hilda Solis (D-CA).

Over 18% of US House Democrats now support the impeachment probe; over 8% of all US House Representatives now support the probe.

The best represented states on H. Res 635 are California (9), New York (6), Illinois (3), Massachusetts (3), Minnesota (3), Georgia (2), and Wisconsin (2).

The current 37 total co-sponsors are Rep. Neil Abercrombie (D-HI), Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Rep. Michael Capuano (D-MA), Rep. Lois Capps (D-CA), Rep. William Lacy Clay (D-MO), Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), Rep. Danny Davis (D-IL), Rep. Sam Farr (D-CA), Rep. Chaka Fattah (D-PA), Rep. Bob Filner (D-CA), Rep. Maurice Hinchey (D-NY), Rep. Mike Honda (D-CA), Rep. Jackson, Jr., (D-IL), Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-TX), Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA), Rep. John Lewis (D-GA), Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MN), Rep. Jim McDermott (D-WA), Rep. Cynthia McKinney (D-GA), Rep. Gwen Moore (D-WI), Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Rep. James Oberstar (D-MN), Rep. John Olver (D-MA), Rep. Major Owens (D-NY), Rep. Donald Payne (D-NJ), Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY), Rep. Martin Sabo (D-MN), Rep. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Rep. Hilda Solis (D-CA), Rep. Fortney Pete Stark (D-CA), Rep. John Tierney (D-MA), Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-NY), Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-CA), and Rep. David Wu (D-OR).

"Congressional oversight is a responsibility that should be taken seriously. There are questions that need to be answered no matter where those answers lead," Rep. Fattah said in a statement prepared for Atlanta Progressive News.

"

Atlanta, GA "Progressive".

Subject: RE: BS: A Declaration of Impeachment
From: Amos
Date: 24 Jul 06 - 04:05 PM

Further insight: Wiretapping Unbound.


A

Subject: RE: BS: A Declaration of Impeachment
From: Amos
Date: 25 Jul 06 - 11:48 AM

WASHINGTON: The powerful American Bar Association charged president George Bush with flouting the constitution and undermining the rule of the law by assuming power to disregard selected provisions of bills he signs.

An 11-member bipartisan panel of the bar association said in a report that Bush had used the provision of "signing statements" far more than his predecessors, raising constitutional objections to over 800 provisions in more than 100 laws as they infringed on his prerogatives.

The panel said these uses of power by the president amounted to "veto" and deprived the Congress of the opportunity to override the veto.

A signing statement is a statement attached to a legislative bill when the president signs it to make it a law. Usually, such statements pertain to instructions to law enforcing agencies on how to use the law.

The panel cited laws relating to ban on torture and other national security laws, where Bush had, through the signing statements, reserved the right to disregard them.

Subject: RE: BS: A Declaration of Impeachment
From: Amos
Date: 25 Jul 06 - 11:56 AM

Specter seeks to challenge Bush's power on bills

By Thomas Ferraro
Reuters
Monday, July 24, 2006; 6:46 PM

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A top Senate Republican said on Monday he will challenge U.S. President George W. Bush's practice of claiming a right to ignore or not enforce sections of bills that he signs into law.

Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter said he plans to introduce legislation this week that would give the U.S. Congress the right to bring a lawsuit against Bush's "signing statements."

Bush has used these statements to reserve the right not to enforce certain provisions of laws if he believes they impinge on his authority or interpretation of the Constitution.

An American Bar Association task force issued a report on Monday that said Bush has flouted the U.S. constitution by issuing more than 800 signing statements to highlight provisions of laws he might not enforce, more than every previous U.S. president combined.

ABA President Michael Greco noted that under the Constitution there is a balance of power in which Congress is to pass bills and the president is to sign or veto them, and give lawmakers an opportunity to override any veto.

"By using a signing statement to ignore an entire or portions of a new law, the president undermines this entire system of checks and balances," Greco told reporters in releasing the report. ...

Subject: RE: BS: A Declaration of Impeachment
From: Amos
Date: 25 Jul 06 - 01:29 PM

From the Washington Post:

...

A New York Times editorial this morning states: "The A.B.A. called Mr. Bush's use of presidential signing statements 'contrary to the rule of law and our constitutional system of separation of powers' and recommended that Congress enact legislation clarifying the issue.

"We agree on both points, even though we fear that if Congress passes a bill, Mr. Bush will simply issue a new signing statement saying he also does not intend to follow it."

Hamdan Revisited

Georgetown University Law Professor David Cole writes in the New York Review of Books to remind us of the significance of the Supreme Court's Hamdan decision.

"The Justice Department has maintained that the President can order torture, notwithstanding a criminal statute and an international treaty prohibiting torture under all circumstances. President Bush has authorized the National Security Agency to conduct warrantless wiretapping of American citizens, despite a comprehensive statute that makes such surveillance a crime. He has approved the 'disappearance' of al-Qaeda suspects into secret prisons where they are interrogated with tactics that include waterboarding, in which the prisoner is strapped down and made to believe he will drown. He has asserted the right to imprison indefinitely, without hearings, anyone he considers an 'enemy combatant,' and to try such persons for war crimes in ad hoc military tribunals lacking such essential safeguards as independent judges and the right of the accused to confront the evidence against him.

"In advocating these positions, which I will collectively call 'the Bush doctrine,' the administration has brushed aside legal objections as mere hindrances to the ultimate goal of keeping Americans safe. It has argued that domestic criminal and constitutional law are of little concern because the President's powers as commander in chief override all such laws; that the Geneva Conventions, a set of international treaties that regulate the treatment of prisoners during war, simply do not apply to the conflict with al-Qaeda; and more broadly still, that the President has unilateral authority to defy international law. In short, there is little to distinguish the current administration's view from that famously espoused by President Richard Nixon when asked to justify his authorization of illegal, warrantless wiretapping of Americans during the Vietnam War: 'When the President does it, that means that it is not illegal.'

"If another nation's leader adopted such positions, the United States would be quick to condemn him or her for violating fundamental tenets of the rule of law, human rights, and the separation of powers. But President Bush has largely gotten away with it, at least at home, for at least three reasons. His party holds a decisive majority in Congress, making effective political checks by that branch highly unlikely. The Democratic Party has shied away from directly challenging the President for fear that it will be viewed as soft on terrorism. And the American public has for the most part offered only muted objections.

...

Subject: RE: BS: A Declaration of Impeachment
From: katlaughing
Date: 25 Jul 06 - 01:56 PM

Amos, I watched the live coverage on Cspan, last night, of the ABA Task Force presenting their findings and recommendations to the press. It was brill. I was really pleased they stressed the importance of the press getting the word out to the American people.

You can find more about the ABA's statements, etc. about half-way down, in the center of the CSpan site in Featured Links. (It leads to a pdf.) It was really excellent.

Subject: RE: BS: A Declaration of Impeachment
From: Amos
Date: 25 Jul 06 - 04:09 PM

Thanks, Kat!

On the web today:

From Dave Lindorff: 10 Reasons to Impeach
Saturday, July 22, 2006
Dave Lindorff
OpEdNews.com

The Center for Constitutional Rights, which has been playing a leading role in battling the Bush administration's attacks on the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and international law, has declared today to be Impeachment Day, with teach-ins scheduled around the country.

Seems like a great occasion to offer up 10 reasons for impeaching the president, as presented in Barbara Olshansky's and my new book The Case for Impeachment: The Legal Argument for Removing President George W. Bush from Office.

The case for impeachment just grew much stronger, with the US Supreme Court's powerful decision in Hamdan v Rumsfeld. In that decision, the justices didn't simply say that the President was wrong and in violation of U.S. and the international law in arbitrarily claiming that the Guantanamo detainees were not subject to the Geneva Convention on Treatment of Prisoners of War. The five-justice majority, which included conservative Anthony Kennedy, declared the President's bogus claim to have "special powers" as commander in chief in "time of war" to be just that--bogus. (...) (See link for list of major grounds for impeachment).

A

Subject: RE: BS: A Declaration of Impeachment
From: katlaughing
Date: 25 Jul 06 - 08:32 PM

Thought this was worth a read:

Wednesday, July 26, 2006

Civil war won't end until troops leave Iraq

By PATRICK COCKBURN
THE INDEPENDENT

On a bend in the Tigris River in north Baghdad people try to prevent their children from seeing the headless and tortured bodies that drift ashore every day. The number of civilians being killed in Iraq may top 1,000 a week in July after reaching 3,149 in June.

I have been visiting Baghdad in peace and in war since 1978 and I have never seen this city of 6 million people so paralyzed by fear. The streets are empty in the middle of the day because Sunni and Shiite Muslims are terrified of running into a checkpoint manned by members of the other community who may kill them after a glance at their identity cards.

Civil war is raging across central Iraq. Baghdad, a city whose population is almost the same as London, is splitting into hostile and heavily armed districts. Minorities, be they Sunni or Shiite, are being killed or forced to flee. People dare not even take their furniture in case this might alert their neighbors to their departure and lead to their deaths. Sunni no longer let the mostly Shiite police enter their districts.

"If this isn't civil war," a senior Iraqi official said last weekend, "I don't know what is."

It is at this moment that the new Iraqi prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, arrived in London to see Prime Minister Tony Blair and to deny Iraq is sliding into civil war. He spoke confidently about disarming militias. He has now gone to the U.S. to see President Bush, and, if he follows the ignoble and cowardly tradition of Iraqi leaders visiting the U.S. over the past three years, will most likely repeat what he said in London.

"When our so-called leaders go to Washington they always produce a rosy picture of what is happening in Iraq for the Americans, though they know it is a lie," sighed one veteran Iraqi politician.

Iraqi leaders are not what they seem. They live in the Green Zone, the heavily fortified enclave guarded by U.S. troops, in the heart of Baghdad. Many never leave it except for extensive foreign travel. Eighteen months ago, an Iraqi magazine claimed to have discovered that at one point the entire cabinet was out of the country at the same time.

The government remains reliant on the U.S. One former minister told me: "There is a culture of dependency. Part of the time the Americans treat us as a colony, part of the time as an independent country."

Al-Maliki became prime minister only because the U.S. and Britain were determined to get rid of his predecessor, Ibrahim al-Jaafari. Al-Maliki is inexperienced, personally isolated without his own kitchen cabinet, guarded by U.S. guards and heavily reliant on shadowy U.S. advisers.

The quasi-colonial nature of the Iraqi government may not be obvious to outsiders who see that it has been democratically elected. But its independence has always been a mirage.

For instance, its own intelligence organization should be essential to a government fighting for its life against a violent insurgency. At first sight, Iraq might appear to have one under Maj.-Gen. Mohammed al-Shahwani, but it has no budget because it is funded directly by the CIA, to the tune of $110 million to $160 million a year and, not surprising, it is to the CIA that it first reports. Not surprising, Iraqis will need a lot of convincing that Al-Maliki is not one more U.S. pawn.

In theory he should be in charge of a substantial army force. The number of trained Iraqi soldiers and police has grown from 169,000 in June 2005 to 264,000 this June. But the extra 105,000 armed men have not only made no difference to security in Iraq but that security has markedly deteriorated over the past year. The reason is that the armed forces put their allegiance to their own communities -- Kurd, Sunni or Shiite -- well before their loyalty to the state. Shiites do not believe they will be defended from a pogrom by Sunni units and the Sunni feel the same way about Shiite units.

This is why the militias are growing in strength. Everybody wants an armed militia from their own community to defend their neighborhoods. In any case, the largest political parties making up the present Iraqi government -- the Kurds and the two biggest Shiite religious parties -- all have their private armies, which they are not going to see dissolved.

Not only is Al-Maliki's suggestion that the militiamen might be stood down untrue but also the trend is entirely the other way. The army and police are themselves becoming sectarian and ethnic militias. This makes absurd Bush's and Tony Blair's claim that at some stage the U.S.-trained Iraqi security forces will be strong enough to stand alone.

Al-Maliki's visit to Washington has more to do with the White House's domestic political agenda than with the dire reality of Iraq. The Bush administration wants to have live Iraqis say in the lead-up to mid-term elections in November that progress is being made in Iraq. A frustration of being a journalist in Iraq is that the lethal anarchy there cannot be reported without getting oneself killed in the process.

Can anything be done to lead Iraqi out of this savage civil war even if it is now too late to stop it? Friction among Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds was always likely after the fall of Saddam Hussein. But what has divided the communities most is their differing attitude to foreign occupation. Ending that is essential if this war is to be brought to an end.
Patrick Cockburn writes for The Independent in Britain.

Subject: RE: BS: A Declaration of Impeachment
From: GUEST
Date: 26 Jul 06 - 12:25 AM

Wanta Explains Details Of Massive 4.5 Trillion Dollar Recovery
In Monies Allegedly Stolen By Bush And Clinton Crime Families
By Greg Szymanski
7-19-6

In one of the major stories of the century, former Ambassador Leo Wanta provided details of a massive 4.5 trillion dollar settlement reached as a way to get back into U.S. coffers at least part of the 27.5 trillion stolen by the Bush and Clinton crime families in the biggest bank heist in world history.

The vast sum of money, used illegally by corrupt insiders inside the U.S. government, was amassed by Wanta as part of a plan he and several other financial whizzes devised on behalf of President Ronald Reagan to destabilize the Soviet currency, bringing a quick end to the Cold War.

Wanta, jailed illegally for over a decade, began trying to recover the money when released on house arrest more than a year ago.

Although working with limited resources and trying to recover the 27.5 trillion which more than doubled over the years, Wanta on June 12 entered into an agreement to stop his search, obtaining 4.5 trillion as 1.575 trillion will be placed into the U.S. Treasury after taxes and other expenses are paid.

Further, Wanta said based on private interest investments based on the original money made at the end of the Cold War more that 192 billion a day can be generated for American taxpayers on a daily basis, money he said that could wipe away America's 8 trillion dollar debt in rapid fashion.

"It is a done deal. For any disbelievers, I am ready with all the paperwork," said Wanta Wednesday on Greg Szymanski's radio show, The Investigative Journal, this interview and its archived broadcast available at www.gcnlive.com "Right now the only thing holding up the money being placed into the U.S. Treasury is a hold put on by the Federal Reserve.

Subject: RE: BS: A Declaration of Impeachment
From: Amos
Date: 26 Jul 06 - 10:13 AM

Wednesday, July 26, 2006

Impeachment would lead
to Republican redemption


Some congressional Republicans have made a show lately of opposing President Bush. We suspect it is for show only, with elections in mind, because the opposition never seems to come to anything. The only thing Republicans could do now to reclaim credibility after supporting Bush for so long would be to impeach him.

Lawrence Manes

Augusta

Subject: RE: BS: A Declaration of Impeachment
From: Amos
Date: 26 Jul 06 - 10:27 AM

From a current review of Crosby Stills Nash and Young:

"Reviews of CSNY's current dates mention shimmering renditions of the airy ballad "Guinnevere" by Crosby and Nash; "Long Time Gone" (highlighted by dueling solos from guitarists Stills and Young); the 40-year-old "For What It's Worth," recorded by Buffalo Springfield; and the still-relevant "Ohio," about the government's tragic attempt to stifle student protest at Kent State. The audiences at the shows span multiple generations.

"This tour isn't about playing it safe," says Nash, who lives in Encino. "It's about involving people in the process of rediscovering their power, to awaken people (to the knowledge) that they have the ability to put pressure on their elected officials to start impeachment proceedings. They have to realize it could happen."

Aside from politics, the CSNY dates are also a celebration of some ageless music as well as a famously gnarly four-way collaboration that has somehow withstood the years.

"We recognize our strengths and we're amplifying them," Nash says. "We know what happens when we get weak. This is unifying the four of us in a way that hasn't happened before."

"


A

Subject: RE: BS: A Declaration of Impeachment
From: Amos
Date: 26 Jul 06 - 04:10 PM

"In Fiasco, his damning new book about the Bush administration's tragic bungling of Iraq, Thomas Ricks quotes a colonel assigned to the Coalition Provisional Authority unforgettably describing his team's mission as "pasting feathers together, hoping for a duck." Just how many more Americans have to die in the vain attempt to turn feathers into a duck?" (Arianna Huffington)

Subject: RE: BS: A Declaration of Impeachment
From: Amos
Date: 26 Jul 06 - 08:25 PM

Hug a tree, impeach a Bush
Wednesday 26 July @ 17:35:06
by Kaythlyn Stone

Daniel Fearn is hoping you'll hear about the "Blackout of National Shame" and start turning your lights off at home every Wednesday from 9 to 9:30 p.m. What's that about?

The lights out protest is the latest of many ideas Minneapolis resident Fearn has presented, hoping one will be the tipping point that ignites people to actively support impeachment. Fearn is aiming his message at anyone dissatisfied with the hard right turn the country has made under President George W. Bush.

Fearn, a former Marine sergeant, is an impassioned proponent of impeaching Bush, and one of a growing number of dedicated impeachment activists taking their work to the national stage. The impeachment coordinator for Veterans For Peace Chapter 27 in the Twin Cities, Fearn is also hoping the national VFP leadership will adopt his "Impeach for Peace and Justice" campaign on a national scale. In the meantime, the campaign and others like it are generating intense interest around the country.

Like many progressives, Fearn is fed up with the war, the Patriot Act and domestic spying, torture, tax breaks for the wealthy, lobbyists' influence over legislators, conservatives' stranglehold on all branches of government, and with Bush's consolidation of power. But instead of fighting on numerous fronts, Fearn believes the country can only change course through impeachment.

He grew up in a household headed by an "Eisenhower Republican," says Fearn. "Eisenhower coined the term Military-Industrial Complex, and warned us to watch out. At that time it was assumed people had the power."

Fearn believes that people can take their power back through impeachment. "We have to save ourselves," he wrote on the IFPJ website. "Stop deluding yourself that there is any other solution to our Bush and Cheney problems besides impeachment. Impeachment is the only way."

His website contains calls to action, numerous downloadable posters, and the how-to guide for do-it-yourself lobbying, "The Citizen Lobbyist."

Fearn recently teamed up with Impeach for Peace, a national effort maintained by Minnesota members of World Can't Wait. Mikael Rudolph (Twin Cities organizer for World Can't Wait), and Fearn share resources, ideas and a belief that there can be no peace, no justice without impeachment.

Impeach for Peace members, consistent with the revolutionary flair of the World Can't Wait organization, have two incidents involving activists under consideration for possible action by the ACLU and a Minneapolis attorney specializing in First Amendment rights. One member was prevented from handing out impeachment leaflets at "Grand Old Days," an annual street party in St. Paul; a couple others were told by law enforcement officers that they couldn't display an impeachment banner on a highway overpass, even if they were holding the banner.

Impeach for Peace is seeking court orders to guarantee freedom of speech at future Twin Cities protests, including the Oct. 5 rally at the Federal Building in Minneapolis. World Can't Wait has designated October 5 "A Day of Mass Resistance" and events are being planned in cities nationwide.

Says Rudolph: "For those paying attention to the comprehensive assault on democracy in America and the U.S. Constitution that is being waged by this White House, the time for the national debate as to 'Why?' impeach President George W. Bush has long passed. The only remaining question is 'How?' The appropriate time is Now!"

Democratic minority leader Nancy Pelosi, who would become president of the House of Representatives should the Democrats take control of that body in November, said recently that impeachment would not be on the table if Democrats take the majority of the House seats this fall. It is, however, already on the table of many U.S. citizens and all signs point to an expanding movement. More examples:

Progressives in Minnesota hoped to make an impeachment resolution part of the state DFL (Democratic-Farmer-Labor) party platform. Impeachment resolutions were passed at numerous precinct caucuses this spring, but delegates to the state convention failed to put an impeachment resolution in the state DFL platform.

The Democratic party of Wisconsin added "Support for Congress to begin immediate impeachment proceedings against President Bush, Vice President Cheney, and Defense Secretary Rumsfeld for sacrificing Americans' civil rights in order to wage the war against terror" to its party platform during the state convention last month.
The Berkeley City Council voted a couple weeks ago to add impeachment of Bush and Cheney on the municipal ballot this November. Among at least 21 towns and cities passing impeachment resolutions are Brookfield, Dummerston, Marlboro, Newfane and Putney, Vt., San Francisco, Santa Cruz, and Arcata, Calif., and Chapel Hill, N.C.

Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, introduced H. Res. 635, a resolution creating a committee to investigate the Administration's possible impeachable offenses. Among the 36 co-sponsors are Minnesotans Oberstar, Sabo and McCollum.

ImpeachBush.org, the long running campaign with the black and yellow artwork, may have been the first national impeachment group on the scene. Since 2003 the group has amassed about 730,000 signatures for its citizens' referendum to impeach Bush, and placed newspaper ads in the New York Times, USA Today, Boston Globe and the San Francisco Chronicle.

The Green Party of the United States called for Bush's impeachment back in June 2005 when the Downing Street Memo, proving Bush used deception to start the war in Iraq, came to light. The Green Party has reiterated that call many times since then. ||

Subject: RE: BS: A Declaration of Impeachment
From: GUEST,michaelr
Date: 26 Jul 06 - 08:42 PM

Guest, 12:25 --

Wanta provide some background on that incredible story?

Subject: RE: BS: A Declaration of Impeachment
From: katlaughing
Date: 26 Jul 06 - 09:42 PM

Thanks for that latest posting, Amos.