Nonviolence: Twenty-Five Lessons from the History of a Dangerous Idea
A Force More Powerful: A Century of Nonviolent Conflict
Waging Nonviolent Struggle: 20th Century Practice and 21st Century Potential
A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and Speeches of Martin Luther King, Jr.
The 35 Articles of Impeachment and the Case for Prosecuting George W. Bush
The Trial of Donald Rumsfeld
The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder
Cowboy Republic: Six Ways the Bush Gang Has Defied the Law
United States v. George W. Bush et al.
The Genius of Impeachment: The Founders' Cure for Royalism
Articles of Impeachment Against George W. Bush
The Impeachment of George W. Bush: A Practical Guide for Concerned Citizens
The Case for Impeachment
Impeach the President: The Case Against Bush and Cheney
George W. Bush versus the U.S. Constitution: The Downing Street Memos and Deception, Manipulation, Torture, Retribution, and Cover-ups in the Iraq War and Illegal Domestic Spying
Verdict and Findings of Fact
Impeach Bush: A Funny Li'l Graphical Novel About the Worstest Pres'dent in the History of Forevar
Pretensions to Empire: Notes on the Criminal Folly of the Bush Administration
The Twilight of Democracy: The Bush Plan for America
Impeachment: A Moral Imperative
By Mikael Rudolph, http://www.opednews.com
I am hearing the following specious argument from various sources: Now that the "good guys" will rule the roost, all is well in D.C. and it is best just to ignore the past and let Pied Piper Pelosi guide us into an American Eden full of buttercups and lollipops and free beer for all.
I am also hearing a veritable Greek chorus of: "Impeachment will never happen" from those that actually do think it would be a great idea if it were possible.
That ain't the way a participatory democratic republic works, folks.
No doubt the future is suddenly much, much brighter. House Representative Pelosi's (D-CA) "First 100 Days" plan is a good one, certainly. The talk of finally extricating ourselves from the Iraq debacle is welcome news as is discussion of reversing the potential horrors of the Military Commissions Act and other horrible recent pieces of legislation.
The Democratic Congress' positive agenda will move our country forward, repairing some of the damage done and innovatively breaking new ground as well. Even actual conservatives can look forward to the end of this NeoCon tangent and work for the restoration of fiscal conservativism, citizen privacy, "States Rights" and smaller, less invasive government with a balance of power among the three branches again.
Choosing to ignore the past, however, would be as naive as a victim of domestic assault not wanting to press charges. The result will eventually be more of the same. You are just going to get beaten again, and probably much more viciously. It is not a matter of "if", but "when" - maybe next time to death.
We were bitten by a snake. The wound must be lanced and the venom removed, or it will leech into our collective bloodstream and inevitably target our national heart. Allowing this wound to "heal over" not only won't lead to a healthy future, it will assure the exact opposite.
Crimes have been committed. Not a few. Very, very many. Not just the break-in of a campaign office or a President getting lipstick on his cigar in the Oral Office. People have died because of these crimes - the lives of hundreds of thousands of families irretrievably destroyed. Some of these crimes are gross violations of the Geneva Accords and Nuhremberg Principles - identical to those for which Nazis were convicted and put to death. Our national treasury has been looted to the benefit of crony corporations. Our international reputation is in shambles. Our global Intelligence capabilities have been severely, treasonously compromised. The Constitution has had its throat cut and is lying in the gutter with no promise of a single Democratic Senator bending a knee to save its life.
The investigative work into prewar lies and related matters by Representative John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI). is already well underway. An excellent preliminary treatise: "George W. Bush versus the U.S. Constitution" has been researched and published by his staff.
The Center for Constitutional Rights, The Bush Crimes Commission, World Can't Wait, After Downing Street and ImpeachforPeace.org, among others, have laid out remarkably comprehensive reports on the crimes of George W. Bush, Dick Cheney and their Administration.
The case for impeachment is undeniably solid. Conyers will head the Judiciary Committee with the threat of full subpoena power if needed to rapidly confirm the crimes we are already aware of. More crimes are likely to be unearthed in the process as the antiseptic of truth throws light on this dark era.
New head of the Government Reform Committee, Representative Henry Waxman (D-CA) has said that "I'm going to have an interesting time because (the GRC) has jurisdiction over everything..." and "The most difficult thing will be to pick and choose." (AP).
We are a nation of laws. No American is above the law. The appropriate remedy for the temporary resident public servants in federal offices who violate the law is impeachment. We aren't shopping for shoes here, Condi. This isn't an optional step. This is prosecution of law deeply seated in the Constitution of the United States as it used to exist - indeed our very, inalienable moral fiber. To not enforce these laws is to set ourselves up for history to repeat itself in short order. To not undo the new preposterously overgrown Executive authority is to invite some future President - ANY future President - to snap his or her fingers and become a virtual dictator in a heartbeat. To "do nothing" would be a slap in the face of every patriot who bled for our freedoms. Give me liberty.
The Nancy Pelosi-led (D-CA) Senate will continue to advance a positive agenda in other committees and votes as the information made public during House hearings led by Waxman and Conyers should quickly make an impeachment recommendation unavoidable. In short order a recommendation to impeach should reach the floor of the House for a vote.
A simple majority in the House voting to recommend impeachment to the Senate should be a "slam dunk" after the public finally more fully awakens from its FAUXnews-induced slumber. They will become apprised of the full devious intent of these traitors and DEMAND that their Representatives sign onto the bill that will replace H.R. 635 - which expired along with the Bill of Rights and Habeas Corpus as the heinous 109th Congress recessed.
There is the kicker. It is up to us. It is up to you. The "People's House" must hear from us. Your Representative must hear from you. Four Hundred and Thirty Five Representatives must be buried in letters, e-mails, phone calls and visits demanding thorough investigations leading to impeachment. If they "drag anchor" on us, then veteran and first-time protesters must take up permanent residence outside their offices and expose their complicity.
What will this mean? Does it mean we'll get another "President Dick"? Hardly. Vice President Cheney, who has indicated he may ignore subpoenas, will be triple indicted for every "W" crime revealed and could easily be convicted through "open source" evidence discovered by a googling High School "C" student. Richard "Stand Down" Cheney may quickly resign for "health reasons" in hope of a rapid "skapegoat" conviction and a Presidential pardon for confirmed felonies before the flood of evidence reaches the top office. This would force Bush into a situation akin to his recent campaigning where some candidates were "no-shows" for fear of adverse association with this President and his now 31% approval rating.
How eager are national Republicans facing re-election to have this President, whose approval rating has scuttled to a depth to which neither Nixon nor Clinton ever suffered, to be the national face of their party in the two year run-up to the election of 2008 which commenced November 8th?
Of course Pelosi, Democratic National Committee Chair Howard Dean and even Conyers have downplayed impeachment - as they should. It isn't up to them. It isn't up to the House. It isn't up to the new Democratic Senate majority. An impeachment conviction requires a two thirds vote in the Senate. It will be up to the Republican Senate minority.
More to the fact, it is up to you. You are the one you have been waiting for. Your vote on November 7th was critical. Your commitment to holding this Administration comprehensively accountable is absolutely essential.
Senate Republicans, if handed a recommendation to impeach by the House will be faced with a very tough choice as the world watches them confront a most stubborn, arrogant and unrepentent Connecticut Cowboy President and his mephistophelian inner circle:
a). Fight impeachment and continue to be revealed as rubber-stamping, lickspittle enablers of Treasonous War Criminals who were intent on a heavy-handed crackdown and takeover of all things American. Vote "No" and get washed out in the second Blue Wave of 2008.
b). Play the "I had no idea all of this was going on" card to desperately distance themselves from Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rice, Abramoff, Ney, DeLay, Foley, et al, vote "Yes" and possibly hang onto their cushy position of power through the next election cycle.
Would you go down with this Titanic?
Impeachment isn't a good or bad idea. Impeachment is a moral imperative. It is the proper remedy proscribed by our founding fathers for circumstances precisely such as these. Impeachment is essential for the hope of future health of our nation.
We the People must impeach those who regard America, its military, its electorate and a soverign foreign nation simply resources to exploit in order to fatten their bank accounts and expand their personal power.
Leaders all over the nation are calling out for justice. Follow, or get the hell out of our way.
~ Mikael Rudolph, American Citizen damn proud of that fact once again.
www.VelvetRevolution.us
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I just don't get it. Why are these people so damn scared of holding this president accountable?! I have to wonder if POINDEXTER has anything to do with it... technology has come a long way since Hoover.
M7
Let's party like it's 2006!
We won! There should be dancing in the streets.
We should be rejoicing our victory, instead some would rather look at the glass, and say it is empty. I realize there is still a lot to be accomplished, however, we won!! We didn't have to don orange and storm the capital in order to achieve this goal. We simply cast our ballots and their house of cards began crumbling around them.
Nancy Pelosi recently told Wolf Blitzer, "Impeachment is off the table". That does not mean that it is off the table forever. At this time of upheaval and change, it seems that she may be attempting to tread lightly. She understands, as do all of the new members in the House and Senate, that this election was a referendum on Iraq and the President. However; she wants to be smart about it, and conduct oversight thoroughly and above-board.
There is so much at stake, such as the upcoming 2008 Presidential election, not to mention the lives of the soldiers who are still in Iraq. When the Judiciary Committee, headed up by John Conyers, begins looking into the crimes of this administration, and subpoenas are issued, then we can fight to make sure that justice is done. No justice, no peace! Already, Henry Waxman, who takes over the Government Reform Committee, has talked of the investigations which will be undertaken. His main dilemma now, it seems, is choosing where to start; which unlawful offense should be investigated first?
Watching Bush squirm during his press conference the day after the election, was the ultimate vindication. The piece de resistance came when he announced the dismissal of their latest fall guy, Don Rumsfeld. I expected Bush to say "You done a heck of a job, Rummy" at some point. Isn't it ironic that both Rumsfeld and his good buddy Saddam Hussein both received harsh sentences in the same week? The King of the house of cards cried "off with their heads!" in well-timed manipulative fashion.
Robert Gates, another Bush crony and a member of the "bipartisan" Iraq Study Group, will most likely be Rumsfeld's successor (meet the new boss, same as the old boss). A simple Google search brings up many interesting facts on Gates, a former CIA Director appointed by Bush's Daddy. I'm hopeful that the now powerful Democrats will fight this nomination.
The comedy of errors which is the Bush Administration is better than any aspiring writer could ever hope for; the punchlines just write themselves. Truth (or their facsimile of) is truly much stranger than any fiction could ever be. Case in point: who could have ever created a plot line involving the head of FEMA having no qualifications other than being a former Commissioner for the International Arabian Horses Association? Approximately 230 books have been written about this administration during Bush's 6 years as President, compared to 157 published on the Clinton presidency from 1993 to 1998. I would be willing to wager that a vast majority of the Bush books have had a negative view of our now Lame Duck President.
The levee has been breached, and the sea of change is on it's way.
Donna