We've Opened the Door, How Do We Keep It Open?

EXTENSIVE Articles of Impeachment are now pending in Congress, more than anyone ever expected, 39 all together, 333-3, 1258-35, and 1345-1, all presented to Congress by a resolute Rep Dennis Kucinich, and the inquiring Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Rep John Conyers, has now held his first EXTENSIVE Hearing, more than anyone ever expected, lasting nearly six hours, on the potential and probable abuses of executive power by the Bush administration.

Democratic Members of the Judiciary Committee made probing statements and asked crucial questions, and distinguished and learned witnesses gave their expert testimony.

Some Committee Members were even dosing off (a brief power nap) and some Republican Members didn't bother to show up, and those that came didn't stay for the finale.

The delictable Table is now set for Congress to sit down and feast on this 39 course meal. There is something on the table for everyone, even those on a diet.

WE can only hope and even pray for them
that this 110th Democratic Congress shows up for dinner.

"We'd all LOVE to nail these fascist bastards for our favorite offenses, but we'd also all HATE for them to get off scott free"

THANK YOU for proving that this is purely political and it's being done because you HATE the president, the Republicans, and anything that is more conservative than Karl Marx.

So, does this mean that in the 111th Congress, you're going to work to try and impeach a former sitting president? Has that ever been done before? (And do you realize that NO ONE is going to take that seriously?)

You could also try one or more of the following:

1) Beg and plead with members of congress while you are down on your knees in front of them.

2) Bribe them with an obscene amount of money to move foward with impeachment.

3) Offer to help them get re-elected if they move forward with impeachment.

4) Offer to become their personal assistant around the house and work for dirt cheap.

Not saying that any of these would work, BUT, nothing else has really worked thus far either.

One thing is egregiously clear. If the Judiciary Committee fails to act in a timely manner on this mountain of passionate testimony concerning violations of the highest order, then the Judiciary Committee itself should be prosecuted for abetting MURDER.

Rep Debbie Wasserman Schultz, when she came to Congress was not even familar with signing statements, as she stated, NOW TACKLES the extensive (nearly 1,100 so far) and abusive use of signing statements by the President Link CLICK HERE http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQScXo7lawQ

A thorough Rep Dennis Kucinich presented to Congress his Impeachment "Article XXVII FAILING TO COMPLY WITH CONGRESSIONAL SUBPOENAS AND INSTRUCTING FORMER EMPLOYEES NOT TO COMPLY-In his conduct while President of the United States, George W. Bush, in violation of his constitutional oath to faithfully execute the office of President of the United States and, to the best of his ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States, and in violation of his constitutional duty under Article II, Section 3 of the Constitution "to take care that the laws be faithfully executed", has both personally and acting through his agents and subordinates, refused to comply with
Congressional subpoenas, and instructed former employees not to comply with subpoenas.

Subpoenas not complied with include:
1. A House Judiciary Committee subpoena for Justice Department papers and Emails, issued April 10, 2007;
2. A House Oversight and Government Reform Committee subpoena for the testimony of the
Secretary of State, issued April 25, 2007;
3. A House Judiciary Committee subpoena for the testimony of former White House Counsel
Harriet Miers and documents , issued June 13, 2007;
4. A Senate Judiciary Committee subpoena for documents and testimony of White House Chief of Staff Joshua Bolten, issued June 13, 2007;
5. A Senate Judiciary Committee subpoena for documents and testimony of White House Political Director Sara Taylor, issued June 13, 2007 (Taylor appeared but refused to answer questions);
6. A Senate Judiciary Committee subpoena for documents and testimony of White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove, issued June 26, 2007;
7. A Senate Judiciary Committee subpoena for documents and testimony of White House Deputy Political Director J. Scott Jennings, issued June 26, 2007 (Jennings appeared but refused to
answer questions);
8. A Senate Judiciary Committee subpoena for legal analysis and other documents concerning the NSA warrantless wiretapping program from the White House, Vice President Richard Cheney, The Department of Justice, and the National Security Council. If the documents are not produced, the subpoena requires the testimony of White House chief of staff Josh Bolten, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, Cheney chief of staff David Addington, National Security Council executive director V. Philip Lago, issued June 27, 2007;
9. A House Oversight and Government Reform Committee subpoena for Lt. General Kensinger.

In all of these actions and decisions, President George W. Bush has acted in a manner contrary to his trust as President, and subversive of constitutional government, to the prejudice of the cause of law........"

BY not complying with Congressional subpeonas the Bush administration is effectively telling the American people, forget about this, you, the American people, are not allowed to have this information, it's our secret and it's going to stay our secret, and we're NOT GOING TO GIVE IT TO YOU NOW OR EVER. Take that to the bank or lump it, it's YOUR CHOICE. Now get lost. We're running things here in the White House, and that's final.

Only scoundrels in the Bush administration, not worthy to serve, would presume to deny the American people and their representatives in Congress their just DUE.

The most important thing to do to achieve success is to stay on top of what the other side plans to argue. I heard one potent argument made by them that many Americans would buy and that we will have to grapple with.

Neocons believe that defending US Corporations with our military is 'Defending America'. They see defending global energy resources for US Corporations as 'Defending America" Flat global oil production is a sign that there may very well be a serious energy issue that seriously affects our national security. As this is no doubt the case and a TOP SECRET topic in our Government that has Democrats also heavily involved, we have to be concerned that 'lying to congress', but not to leadership, will be sold to Americans as 'In the US's national interest'.

Torture and the murder of a million innocent Iraqis might be 'in the national interest' when the ramifications of 'not doing so' are so large and secret. It doesn't matter if everyone on both sides agree that they botched much of the effort. I personally believe that they succeeded in achieving most of their objectives. But if the test is whether they abused their power, they won't lose if they 'USED their power in the national interest'.

I am supposing that issues of corruption will have more staying power. They've lined their pockets with billions of extorted dollars. Follow the money.

1) The war is the moral option but it's too unweildy and too many Democrats are complicit.

2) Signing statements is not properly focused enough and Americans will fall asleep through the process.

3) Subpoenas are clear enough and have a simplicity Americans can understand, or

4) Outing a secret agent. Nicely focused, easy to understand, many facts in place, sexy (for those who need this), tied to subpoena avoidance.

I choose option FOUR!

If there was no Torture prior to their self-admitted events, then why was there an Executive Order from 20 July 2007 released? This allowed bush to give US Intelligence Officials the Right to reinterpret Article 3 of Geneva as applied to Section 2441, under Title 18 in reference to TORTURE????
What occured prior to this date? Everything is signed by the MURDERER.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/07/print/20070720-4.html
Section 2441(d) of Title 18USC
http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Eecutive_Order_on_torture_by_US_Intelligen...
can't understand the rest of that link sorry.
Truths2ndChance

It has to be kept simple because this has to be done quickly. If Congress tried to handle all the incredible crimes of this administration they would get bogged down. Also, it appears that Rep King is not above fabricating evidence and telling bold-faced lies. If he would do that, perhaps other Repubs would too. Maybe Nancy would too. I would not put it past her to betray her party as well as her country.

We must help them direct their attention to the simple crimes like signing statements and ignoring subpoenas. The panel was awesome but I was brought back to earth by having my brainwashed nephew with me. I realized how much he wanted to believe that Bush did not do anything wrong.

The sheeple are committed to their ignorance and immorality sometimes.
4Peace

There is confusion over what the term "impeachment" really means. This confusion may be the main obstacle to our progress.

A good interpretation of "impeachment" is: "a fair trial for the accused high official".

A mistaken interpretation of "impeached" is: "guilty".

Another mistaken interpretation is that "impeachment" means "removal from office".

If, when we say "impeach the President", we meant "we have already proven the President is guilty", that takes the discussion into another realm of argument. But instead, we should regard impeachment as the necessary trial so that the guilt or innocence can be legally investigated and substantiated. (That's what's supposed to happen DURING impeachment.)

If, when we say "impeach the President", we meant "remove the President from office", then similarly as above we would be allowing the argument to enter a different realm.

If we allow people to misinterpret what "impeachment" really means, we will lose, and their misguided arguments will seem relevant to the moment (which actually they are not).

The usual arguments against impeachment that I hear are:
(1) "it'll never happen",
(2) it's too late to finish it,
(3) it's too late to matter as the Administration will change anyway,
(4) there won't be enough votes in the Senate to convict.
But none of that matters to the question of whether we should impeach, BECAUSE the main purpose of impeachment is to inform the public and Congress of the truth. Every step in the impeachment process informs us more of the truth.

An example of "truth" is how and why our nation was misled into war. Maybe YOU know and I know, but the general public does not sufficiently know yet -- that's why the Bush Administration is not stopped yet.

Also: The Republican argument against impeachment that I hear amounts to "the guilt is not proven yet". This is yet another play on the mistaken notion that "impeachment" equals "conviction and removal from office". It is more appropriate to regard "impeachment" as "a fair trial for the suspect".

Nothing less than impeachment suffices. The Bush Administration brushes off subpoenas and is generally uncooperative in the quest for truth. Rather than lynching, rather than armed revolution, rather than letting other countries solve our problem for us, we impeach as the humane, legal, appropriate remedy for this situation.

Also: the success of an impeachment effort may take many forms. As with other interactions with government, sometimes the best we can do is confront and then document what happens. For example, regarding those people in Congress who don't support impeachment, I want it made really clear just how negligent they are, so that fewer people will support them in the future.

Sometimes, one approaches a government office, not because one expects it to respond appropriately, but rather to build a case to show that it is NOT responding appropriately.

-- John Lehman
San Jose, California
jrlmail@gmail.com

I'd like strategy ideas and clear direction from the impeachment expert witnesses: Bruce Fein, Elizabeth Holtzman, Rocky Anderson, Bob Barr, and communication and cooperation from the committee members who say they believe impeachment is the best remedy: Tammy Baldwin, Robert Wexler, and perhaps Keith Ellison, Hank Johnson, Steve Cohen, Sheila Jackson-Lee. If they want our support and activism to play a role (do they?) then we need to hear from them to know their intentions and suggestions for how we can help.
I plan to deliver this message to them this week in DC. I'll be here until the August recess. If you want to help get the message to them to meet with the National Impeachment Network please call them and give them my phone #: 510-333-6097
Cynthia Papermaster
National Impeachment Network
DC Lobbying Campaign Coordinator

Where there's a political will, there's a way, and that will must come from the "silent majority" through community organizing. Most members of Congress don't care about the facts, they are motivated by self-interest and know that being puppets of the Corporate Goliath is their safest action while the masses are disorganized and uninvolved. Unfortunately, the peace and justice movement hasn't figured that out. This Nation of Sheep must become a nation of ACTIVISTS to demand Bush/Cheney's impeachment and an end to the War for Oil in the Middle East. That is the only way to change the course of U.S. history...

I have been getting the word out and giving information about impeachment in a series of posts on my blog...

http://ideasandrevolution.net/

ideasandrevolution.net - If you're not outraged you're not reading this blog

I have been a political activist for over 40 years, and consider myself pretty well educated and informed about matters of politics and social justice. But I cannot for the life of me figure out why there is so much resistance to impeachment on the part of this Congress. I am not surprised about hard-line Republicans who have always acted along party lines doing what they can to derail impeachment. But what motivates the so-called "moderates" in Congress, to say nothing of the liberals and even a number of so-called progressives to prevent impeachment from moving forward? I realize that many feel that some of their actions will make them look at least complicit in some of the crimes that form the basis for impeachment. But I would have thought that such concerns would not fully counter-balance or overtake the wholesale disempowerment of Congress by this administration. I just don't get it. Can anyone enlighten me on this? I literally lie awake at night trying to figure it out.

Well, regardless of the reasons, I would submit that any member of Congress who does not support impeachment, in view of the prima facie evidence in support of impeachment, is in violation of their own oath of office to support the Constitution of the United States of America. Technically, this should make shem subject to impeachment. I realize that would be so wide-spread as to be impractical. But how about launching a serious recall campaign at least against those members of Congress who are actively impeding impeachment proceedings against George Bush and Dick Cheney? Could that be a good strategy? We must do something to rescue our democracy, if it is not already too late.

Why the Resistance to impeachment from this Congress?? Simple. Since 2001, when the NSA spying on Americans began, WHO do you think the Neocons started with on the spying part as they contemplated and planned what it would take to seize the pervasive power they wanted? Congress, of course. The Neocons were bugging the UN missions of countries opposed to the Neocon false-flag story of WMDs and the impending invasion of Iraq, also for example.

Can anyone doubt for a moment that the quickest way to get your way in the Halls of power is to threaten and intimidate congress people...many of whom probably have skeletons in their closet? And can anyone doubt that this gang of mafia thugs would *not* resort to bugging as a tactic? They have murdered 1,000,000+ Iraqis and 4000+ American service members in their drive for Oil in Iraq. A few more wiretaps never bothered their conscience.

Where is the courageous whistleblower in the bowels of Capitol Hill who *knows* this wiretapping of Congress has been going on?? Probably in fear of his safety/life or that of his family's.

These hearings are the cruelest joke on us yet. They are wasting our time, they could care less about the wishes of the American people. A CNN poll showed 90% of Americans want impeachment hearings. Congress is rotten to the core, as is the executive branch and attorney general who provides obstruction of justice.

Americans slept too long, we have lost our country. For the last 30 years our civil rights have slowly been erroded, and nobody said a word. From the coup of 2000, we have lost all our rights, including habeas corpus, a right of man since 1015.

It's too late. The FISA bill was the final nail in the coffin of our late republic. We are in a totalitarian dictatorship. Some of us are making plans to emigrate to another country, we cannot stay here much longer. I am joining the ranks of expatriots; it is too heartbreaking to stay here and experience the destruction of the next few years.

The president "Commander in Chief" holds the powers of a supreme dictator, complete with high technology spying backed by Blackwater troops quartered in every state of the union. There are two types of political situations that are intolerable; Anarchy or totalitarian. We are in a totalitarian dictatorship. George W. Bush will be remembered as the man who destroyed the US Republic and started WW III. This Democratic controlled congress will go down as the worst in modern history. We are now a one-party system, there is little difference between the two. Democrats talk a good game, but vote with the dictator.

I truly love this country, and cannot bear to stay and watch the torturous death of everything we once were, or might have been. I have never run from a fight in my life, but I know when a cause is dead; with FISA we are finished. Defeating FISA was more important than impeachment; we have lost both battles.

This is no longer a nation of laws by law, we now face the laws of evil men and women choking the lifeblood out of our nation. They are spilling the blood of millions, and plundering our treasures. They are responsible for a holocaust in Iraq, but the surge is working. What goes up must come down. We are crashing, our republic is dead.

Marilyn Gjerdrum

John J. Coghlan

I think complicity with the crimes that would be exposed during impeachment hearings, is one reason for Congres's doing nothing. I also strongly believe that Congress is being blackmailed by the Bush Administration. Wire taping was going on before 9/11, and I think they have the goods on everybody. They have gathered enough information to destroy the carriers, and reputations, of most politicians. Evidence supporting this theory, is that they have done it already. The anthrax letters sent to Democrats who were questioning the run up to war, sends another message to everyone, that they will not hesitate to kill you, if you get in their way. There can not be any other explanation for the strange behavior of Congress. Their actions do not make any logical sense, until one considers, that they were involved in some of the crimes, or they are being blackmailed, or both.

Pledging not to impeach Bush and Cheney in the face of wrongdoing is tantamount to abolishing all standards of official conduct and constitutes collusion with the wrong-doers. Is that what Demz want to stand for in this election? If lying under oath about a private sexual incident is obstruction of jsutice, surely refusing to comply with a subpoena to testify about matters of state is obstruction of justice as well. Go for it. Demz can repeat the phrase "rule of law" ad nauseum, just like Repugs did.