Replies: 85 Comments

Comment #1: WildBill said on 6/9/05 @ 11:45am ET...

Mr. Conyers,
Thank you for your efforts but I fear the powerful corporate controlled media and the neocons will sweep this under the rug regardless of all the efforts. Please show me I'm wrong.

Comment #2: Joe said on 6/9/05 @ 11:49am ET...

Dear Representative Conyers,

Thank you for what you are doing. With Moveon.org joining the fight for justice, you should get half a million easily.

Do you have a running tally as of today? I saw a number from a couple of days ago (145,000), but I'm sure that it has risen since then.

Thanks for your work,
Joe from Chicago

Comment #3: Ray said on 6/9/05 @ 11:53am ET...

Mr. Conyers,
The more the better. However, I fear that keeping the issue alive in the press (such as it is) and it's impact might lose steam if you wait too long to deliver the letter to the White House. Can we have a daily update on the number of signatures?
Thanks again for all your hard work in bringing this to light.

Comment #4: Thorne said on 6/9/05 @ 11:54am ET...

Thanks a bunch too Rep. Conyers. I also agree with Joe. I signed when you were under 50 K and my only recent political joy is to check for the new count. A counter would satisfy the OCD in my character.
I keep waiting for the Churchillian factor to kick in:
"You can always count on Americans to do the right thing, once they exhaust all other possibilities."
Keep up the good work.

Comment #5: Neerav B. Trivedi said on 6/9/05 @ 12:05pm ET...

Mr. Conyers:

Even though we reach 500,000 signatures, if we can reach 1 million or even 2 million signatures, that would strenghtehn our voice even more.

Once you get the signatures (500,000 or a million), then you can present the case for impeachment

Make sure you get all of the House Democrats, and if you can, a good handful of House Republicans behind you before you presenet teh Downing Street Memo, this petition, and the articles of Impeachment to the U.S. House of Representatives.

Best of luck to you!!!

Comment #6: hank said on 6/9/05 @ 12:07pm ET...

Mr. Conyers:

Do the math! If every single one of your two percenter rabble in America signed this petition that would be 5 MILLION people!

You are now calling success getting only 1 out of every 10 of the two percenters in America to sign!

If you do not know what a two percenter is: it is the people in America that hate America's success, that despise our power in the world, that want to end the military in the US, and would prefer a Socialist form of Government in this country.

Comment #7: hank said on 6/9/05 @ 12:09pm ET...

Mr. Conyers:

YOu are spending far too much time on resolutions and dead end projects and blogging.

Every day more GM jobs in Michigan are being lost.

Why aren't you urging your fans here to sell their foreign cars and buy GM cars?

Please go to work on jobs in America that are being lost because too many of the people here think Unions are great when it comes to voting, but then they apparently think that they make too crappy of a car to buy.

Comment #8: Joe said on 6/9/05 @ 12:16pm ET...

Hank-

I don't know who you're referring to. People who are active in U.S. politics obviously do not hate this country. We may dislike the direction in which we are heading, but we certainly don't hate the country.

I am offended that you would imply that I hate the military. I have a friend serving in Iraq right now. I want what is best for American soldiers and Iraqi civilians. With the death toll rising for both of the aforementioned groups, the status quo is NOT working.

If you are confident that the president is not a liar, please sign Rep. Conyers' petition urging the president to explain the claims made in the Downing Street Memo. After all, if you believe that the president is 100% truthful, signing the petition would give Mr. Bush a chance to explain himself and clear his name.

Joe

Comment #9: Thorne said on 6/9/05 @ 12:18pm ET...

Hank, that stuff will make you go blind.

Comment #10: Pat said on 6/9/05 @ 12:23pm ET...

Mr. Conyers,

I am glad that Moveon.org is going to help out. I hope that this will really get the ball rolling, especially if they send out an e-mail to all of their members asking them to sign on.

Comment #11: Neerav B. Trivedi said on 6/9/05 @ 12:24pm ET...

Hey Joe, Thorne, how about I give you a hand so we can throw Hank out of ConyersBlog.

Hank, either you shut up, or we will ALL throw you out!!!

Comment #12: Hank said on 6/9/05 @ 12:25pm ET...

Joe:

I have heard Mr. Bush say time and again there was no plan to invade Iraq before he went to Congress for their approval. He just said it again the other day. But no matter what he says, you will not believe him; so what is the point?

You can certainly think that ramping up actions to send signals to Saddam or what-if war planning is evidence, but that is a fools game being played by a Mr. Conyers for campaign contributions and pandering.

America sent very strong signals to Saddam that we were serious that the 17 UN resolutions would be enforced; he bet we were bluffing and/or the UN would not support us and he bet wrong. Would you have preferred that after all the rhetoric for Saddam to disarm and obey the 17 resolutions; that we just walk away from the issue and let every single person in the world know that the UN stands for NOTHING and they can do whatever they want?

Joe: Mr. Blair indicated yesterday to Katy Couric that no FEWER than 4 investigations in Britian have proven this "Downing Street Memo" wrong and in our own country the 911 Commission clearly stated they could find now evidence of any pressure to fix intelligence and DO NOT be fooled by those saying they never looked. It was a big part of their responsibility.

Joe: It is obvious to all but the most ignorant and naive in America that you are all being played fools because of your anger towards Bush and Republicans. It is an age old political trick and you are all falling for it.

Comment #13: hank said on 6/9/05 @ 12:26pm ET...

Joe:

I have heard Mr. Bush say time and again there was no plan to invade Iraq before he went to Congress for their approval. He just said it again the other day. But no matter what he says, you will not believe him; so what is the point?

You can certainly think that ramping up actions to send signals to Saddam or what-if war planning is evidence, but that is a fools game being played by a Mr. Conyers for campaign contributions and pandering.

America sent very strong signals to Saddam that we were serious that the 17 UN resolutions would be enforced; he bet we were bluffing and/or the UN would not support us and he bet wrong. Would you have preferred that after all the rhetoric for Saddam to disarm and obey the 17 resolutions; that we just walk away from the issue and let every single person in the world know that the UN stands for NOTHING and they can do whatever they want?

Joe: Mr. Blair indicated yesterday to Katy Couric that no FEWER than 4 investigations in Britian have proven this "Downing Street Memo" wrong and in our own country the 911 Commission clearly stated they could find now evidence of any pressure to fix intelligence and DO NOT be fooled by those saying they never looked. It was a big part of their responsibility.

Joe: It is obvious to all but the most ignorant and naive in America that you are all being played fools because of your anger towards Bush and Republicans. It is an age old political trick and you are all falling for it.

Comment #14: Ben said on 6/9/05 @ 12:26pm ET...

I'm also worried that by waiting this will lose steam, even though I'd like to see 10 million signatures on this. Ii would also like to see a running tally, it's something to look at during my work breaks.

Comment #15: Thorne said on 6/9/05 @ 12:32pm ET...

...Hank is a danger to himself and others...
His anti-social personality disorder is respectfully requested to leave.
C'mon Hank, come clean...what is your REAL diagnosis?

Comment #16: Constant said on 6/9/05 @ 12:33pm ET...

15 Jun 05 GSFP meeting w/Congress on DSM.

Comment #17: Steve said on 6/9/05 @ 12:36pm ET...

Mr. Conyers, you are an inspiration. Thanks for bringing up issues that others refuse to talk about.

Steve

Comment #18: Ren said on 6/9/05 @ 12:38pm ET...

All we really need is enough pressure to reach critical mass. No specific number is going to achieve that, even the original request for 100,000 is more than enough signatures that it should not be ignored.

if anything, we need to release this when we hit critical mass, not when a specific number is reached. my guess is within the next couple of weeks before we lose steam.

Comment #19: Joe said on 6/9/05 @ 12:39pm ET...

Hank-

Please do not EVER refer to the 9/11 Commission (or the Senate Intelligence Committee). Both are jokes. Neither was given the power to completely investigate the Bush administration - in fact, the Senate Intel. Committee didn't investigate the possibility of a White House conspiracy. They only looked into the failures of the intelligence committee.

Blair has NEVER denied the authenticity of the DSM. He has denounced some of the claims made in the memo, but he failed (along with Bush) to explain why the DSM is wrong and what REALLY happened. Richard Clarke, the former terrorism czar appointed by President Reagan, has said the same thing that the DSM implies. He said that he, along with the FBI and CIA, looked into the possibility of Iraq having WMD and found that there was little or no evidence of such a claim. Clarke reported the findings to the Bush administration, but was told "wrong answer".

You can read about Clarke's comments at http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/03/19/60minutes/main607356.shtml

Another set of documents was leaked to the British press in 2004 that did not receive as much attention as the DSM, but these papers say the same thing about fixing intelligence and justifying war:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/analysis/story/0,3604,1308977,00.html

Please feel free to read them.

Joe

Comment #20: Constant said on 6/9/05 @ 12:40pm ET...

# 12

Hank,

You're making misleading represenationas about the scope of teh investigations.

This outlines the limitations of the investigations you site.

Hank realizes that spamming doesn't stop the truth; now he's using outright distortions. It looks like Hank is taking lessons from O'Reilly on selectively ignoring information.

Comment #21: Constant said on 6/9/05 @ 12:42pm ET...

#20
#12

Hank,

Here is the link on the limitations of the investigations cited.

Comment #22: Neerav B. Trivedi said on 6/9/05 @ 12:46pm ET...

Administrator,

Can you please delete all posts by Hank and ban his IP from this forum (i.e. the ConyersBlog). Thanks.

Comment #23: Thorne said on 6/9/05 @ 12:50pm ET...

I second #22.
Please ban Hank. Thanks

Comment #24: Markus said on 6/9/05 @ 12:53pm ET...

Dear Mr. Conyers,

Excuse me, but you are stalling. What happens when (if) we get to 500k? Do you then raise it to a million? What when a million is reached, then to two? Will you continue to exponentially raise the required number of signatures before you bring this issue before your peers, while soldiers continue to die in Iraq, while President Bush continues to deny the facts presented by the Downing Street Minutes?

I am sorry, but this is really lame.

We're on the verge of making your second request for 250k signatures, you told Randi Rhodes on the air that when that number was reached that you, personally, would begin the inquiry and, if necessary, draft the articles of impeachment yourself.

It is notable that MoveOn.org has joined the fray, but, really, how many of their members do you think don't already know about this petition?

I respectfully reject your new benchmark, and I think it's important that this be acted upon sooner than later. The signatures are symbollic, but they are not the important part of this. You need to get to work on this, President Bush needs to be held publically accountable for the questions you present in your letter, and following that his answers are unsatisfactory the Articles of Impeachment must be drawn up, and the inquiry must begin.

Please, please don't keep changing your signature goal, it stinks to me like an avoidance tactic.

Thank you.

Comment #25: Alix said on 6/9/05 @ 12:55pm ET...

Dear Rep. Conyers,

Thank you, thank you, thank you! For all you are doing and have done over the years to hold power accountable to the people. Your efforts are greatly appreciated.

Comment #26: Erik said on 6/9/05 @ 1:00pm ET...

#3: Ray
#14: Ben
We'll fix that. (The steam that is.)

Comment #7: hank
Not worth commenting.

And Congressman,
How about 500,000 by next friday?

Comment #27: Constant said on 6/9/05 @ 1:00pm ET...

DSM dropped at a time unrelated to the United States Election

Someone commented [I can't find the link] that Bush and Blair are plaing a game. Did you notice that Bush referred to the memo as "not relevant" in that he said the memo was timed to coincide with the UK election.

Small problem, which this to be credited blogger points out: "it wasn’t dropped in the middle of Bush’s race. And it deals with Bush"

Links about DSM

Report that Congressman Conyers isn't waiting for the Media. He's moving faster than the media!

Look who's talking.

MA editorial calling for action on "premeditated war." Common Dreams has a lengthy overview for those who want to get into the investigation.

Some ask for specifics on what to look into. Glad you asked! Here are some thoughts on what to investigate: The Commander in Chief's state of mind and a strategy to review specific documents.

Comment #28: Neerav B. Trivedi said on 6/9/05 @ 1:14pm ET...

WE HAVE JUST CROSSED THE 200,000 SIGNATURE MARK!!!!

We are now at 200,116 signatures and counting!!!

Move-On.org counter update:
We've achieved 40 % of our 500,000 goal (200,116)!

Comment #29: Vyan said on 6/9/05 @ 1:18pm ET...

Salon.com
Vyan

Comment #31: Vyan said on 6/9/05 @ 1:20pm ET...

Salon.com has an excellent new peice on the Downstreet Street Minutes, which focuses on how poorly the Mainstream Media has done at reporting it and most importantly - why!

Vyan

Comment #32: Mimi said on 6/9/05 @ 1:20pm ET...

I take full responsibility for the possible sleu of idiots that may start posting here, since I posted your blog at a place which is getting way too much mercury in their systems, just ignore the brain damaged, it's the compassionate way.

THANK YOU, THANK YOU FOR ALL YOU DO!

GET PLENTY OF REST!! WE NEED YOU TO BE HEALTHY!!!

We haven't forgotten all you tried to do in Ohio.

Comment #33: Brian said on 6/9/05 @ 1:23pm ET...

After hearing Bush and Blair lie in front of the World at that press conference, I think this issue deserves as many signatures as possible. Especially since Blair is obviously lying being that it was reported to HIM.

Cons can dispute and disagree all they want, but the true patriots aren't the ones that have yellow ribbons on their SUV's, they're the ones over their DYING because of a irresponsible and arrogant Administration that MUST be held accountable.

Comment #34: Mimi said on 6/9/05 @ 1:24pm ET...

I take full responsibility for the possible sleu of idiots that may start posting here, since I posted your blog at a place which is getting way too much mercury in their systems, just ignore the brain damaged, it's the compassionate way.

THANK YOU, THANK YOU FOR ALL YOU DO!

GET PLENTY OF REST!! WE NEED YOU TO BE HEALTHY!!!

We haven't forgotten all you tried to do in Ohio.

Comment #35: Tigress DEM said on 6/9/05 @ 1:27pm ET...

Need the new count for the DU, we can only sign once, but we like to keep up on the numbers.

Also, where's my book?

Comment #36: Thorne said on 6/9/05 @ 1:28pm ET...

#24 Markus.
You have a point. Since I signed this one a way-long time ago I have felt like Charlie Brown with Lucy holding the football more than once.
It isn't OK to keep moving the target, even though I strongly support the effort.

Comment #37: Ohiodem1 said on 6/9/05 @ 1:31pm ET...

Constant #27 - I have experienced the "back option" on my computer at my workplace office. I do not have the problem on my home office computer, it may be a local setting on your computer, but I have not tried to diagnose.

Also, if you are on a computer where the back option works, and after you post, and you use your browser "back" button, it takes you back to this edit screen with your previous post. When you try to get out, you get a double post.

Neerav, Thorne, This is a free speech forum, Hank the troll has a right to be here, consider it a constitutionally protected petition for redress of grievances. If Hank gets thrown out, he goes to Free Republic, Little Green Footballs or such and initiates another Freeper attack on this site because his feelings are hurt.

This is an open forum, with few rules, the ability to express political views, some of which have the possibility of some level of validity, and Hank has rights.

I noticed today that the Hank persona posting above #12 and #13 (double post) is the one who can spell and make a somewhat cogent argument. Hank may be a composite person, working out of some Freeper site, where different people can be Hank one shift, then someone can be Hank on another. The only reason I say that is that there is wide varation in the quality of his spelling, use of the English language, level of articulation, and cogency of argument.

I think it would be a mistake to ban Hank. I never thought I would be defending Hank, but there it is.

I think Marcus #24 has a much more interesting point than anything Hank has ever done in this forum. I agree that a cut date before delivery is a good thing to do, and after that date, signatures should continue to be collected and reported. John Kerry did this on one of his initiatives, and it worked quite well.

Comment #38: Murphy said on 6/9/05 @ 1:36pm ET...

Congressman Conyers:

You and your staff are a ray of hope in a very dark city right now. I can't tell you what your efforts on our behalf have meant to me - especially on this very important issue.

This new goal of 500,000 signatures is a welcome one - I can't wait to see you and your colleagues present the letter and our signatures to the White House. Try as they might - BushCo won't be able to ignore this much longer.

Keep up the great work.

Comment #39: Tobes said on 6/9/05 @ 1:38pm ET...

Mr. Conyers & Markus,

AMEN to what Markus wrote (#24). I was dismayed to hear you are raising the bar yet again, this time to 500,000. We do not need signatures past a quarter million; we need action. With the numbers we already have (last I heard was 158,000 as of Monday or Tuesday), we have set a record for the number of citizens coming together to request an investigation into possible Presidential and Administration-based war crimes. Something of this scope, with so many people, has never been done in the US before. This is great! So, enough already; I think 250,000 is plenty. We are in danger of worshipping the golden cow of signatures when we need to be focusing on the real goal of launching an investigation.

This effort should not be stalled, Mr. Conyers. We should not become confused: the meat and potatoes of this movement is the investigation, *not* the signatures.

The longer we as a people wait to start an upfront conversation with our Administration about the Memo, the greater the opportunity for them and their conservative talk radio bubbleheads to dismiss the Memo as old news, irrelevant, and our efforts a lame partisan attack on Bush (which they already have started doing, a la Bush's dismissal of the Memo this week; so why give them more ammo with which to confuse their sorry, confused right-wing listeners and followers?)

Whether we have 100,000, 250,000, or 500,000 signatures is largely irrelevant, in my opinion. The fact of the Memo remains, and in a sane and just America, the Memo *alone* would have been enough to prompt serious discussion between our congressional representatives and the Administration.

Thanks for the awesome work you do, Mr. Conyers.

Can we have an update on the # of signatures?

Comment #40: Vyan said on 6/9/05 @ 1:41pm ET...

Where is the counter on the MoveOn.org site?

Vyan
vyan.blogspot.com

Comment #41: Dr. Alan H. Levinson said on 6/9/05 @ 1:48pm ET...

Mr. Conyers, (or Admin),

Has the site determined the set of rules for posting. I was wondering whether there will be any way to deter people from providing false information (i.e., e-mail addresses, multiple user-names, etc) For example, I can 'click' on Hank's name and send e-mails to bb, zz, Nancy Pelosi, but never to the real Hank. I think its a shame that someone with such strong opinions is unwilling or (with all due respect), too cowardly to use their own handle.

And to Hank,

I have no problem when you take a point of view...never did. I only have a problem when you negate, refuse to answer questions, name-call, etc. Personally, I wish people on this site would just ignore you when you go into one of your frequent rants. But, alas, when they don't, you certainly stir the pot...and thanks for that!

Alan

Comment #42: Patrick said on 6/9/05 @ 1:52pm ET...

Dear Hank, Free Speech, ain't it grand, even Nattering Neocon Nabobs of Negative Non-sense have that right. Enjoy it while you still can.

Comment #43: Patrick said on 6/9/05 @ 2:04pm ET...

THORNE, I like the Lucy analogy, (also am addicted to aliteration).
Agree with your comment. When 250 reached, Rep.Conyers and allies should WALK them down with press coverage, repeat every time another 250 gathered, keeping up the pressure and publicity.

Comment #44: Neerav B. Trivedi said on 6/9/05 @ 2:09pm ET...

Patrick:

We are getting very close to the 250,000 signature mark, which is the half-way point of our goal. We have already more than 223,000 sigantures and going up fast. That means we have only 277,000 signatures left until our goal is reached!!!

I think 500,000 is reachable by Tuesday of next week, so we should stick to that goal. The more we advertise, the faster we can reach this goal.

Comment #45: Other Patrick said on 6/9/05 @ 2:19pm ET...

Where did you get that 223,000 figure? I haven't seen an updated count. I don't doubt that we're getting more signatures if MoveOn just joined. You said there was a counter somewhere?

Comment #46: hank said on 6/9/05 @ 2:22pm ET...

http://www.csis.org/

Robin Niblett of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank, says it would be easy for Americans to misunderstand the reference to intelligence being "fixed around" Iraq policy. " 'Fixed around' in British English means 'bolted on' rather than altered to fit the policy," he says.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/usatoday/20050608/pl_usatoday/downingstreetmemogetsfreshattention

End of story. We have been telling you for a month now that the word "fixed" in Britain has a different connotation than in America.

Truly unbelievable that you all have sent so much money to Conyers for this fiasco.

I feel your pain.

Comment #47: Tobes said on 6/9/05 @ 2:30pm ET...

#46 Hank:

I'm sorry, Hank, and what does "bolted on" mean?

I'm not familiar with that phrase and defining what you claim to be an obscure phrase by using another obscure phrase was less than helpful.

Comment #48: Tobes said on 6/9/05 @ 2:32pm ET...

Also, Hank,

would you mind providing a direct link so we can read this for ourselves? i tried searching the CSIS website for her name but to no avail.

Comment #49: Joe said on 6/9/05 @ 2:35pm ET...

Hank-

It might be easier to believe you if several other sources hadn't made the same claim that the intelligence was being manipulated. As I mentioned before, Richard Clarke said that same thing, as well as other British documents. An anonymous White House official said that the memo was an accurate description of what transpired before the war.

If the word "fixed" has no significance, why was it used in the memo at all?

Comment #50: hank said on 6/9/05 @ 2:44pm ET...

Joe:

Richard Clarke is selling books isn't he? Books sell better when they allude to conspiracies than not.

By the way, wasn't it Richard Clarke that laid in the weeds for almost 2 years about who authorized the Saudis to fly out of the country two days after 9/11? Then he finally BUT reluctantly stated under oath to the 911 Commission it was HE who authorized their departure!

Until he was put under oath, he was perfectly willing to sit and let the President take the crap for his shortsightedness!

Comment #51: Constant said on 6/9/05 @ 2:45pm ET...

#46

Absurd! First, the downingstreet memo is from UK, and UK readers have been outraged as have the UK press.

Second, let's consider the actual use of the word, even with the "new" defintion QUOTE: "But the intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy."

Either definition shows that the information was "bolted around" or "fixed" or "aligned" in the wrong direction.

This simply confirms that the they're splitting hairs.

You don't "bolt facts" around a predermined policy.

You look at the facts and then figure out what to do. The "new definition" now "bolts into" more confirmation that they have no defense.

Warning

This is a classic "introduce a new definition" to create the actionable conduct somehow permissible. Do not take the bait, as the argument doesn't advance their position.

Let's take a look at the definition in UK.

Why would UK readers "using this definitin" be outraged? Answer: because the "new definition" is irrelevant.

Read the sentence again: "But the intelligence and facts were being fixed [ CHEAT, FASTEN, ARRANGE, STOP REPRODUCTION ] around the policy."

Conclusion

The "UK Definition" uses "fix" as in "Cheat". What we have here is a ruse.

Why is a US-consultant at CSIS [Robin Niblett of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank] speaking for "how the word is used in the UK"?

Answer: There's no reason.

Game on!

Comment #52: hank said on 6/9/05 @ 2:45pm ET...

Joe:

Oh, by the way, your "anonymous White House Official"......... is RICHARD CLARKE!

Comment #53: hank said on 6/9/05 @ 2:49pm ET...

Constant: Niblett is a Briton in the US.

Mr. Robin Niblett, Executive Vice President of the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, is a Briton who thinks that Americans are upset about the Downing Street memo because they have a mistaken idea of what British people mean when they say that something is “fixed around” something else. Today, according to this Mark Memmott piece in USA Today, Mr. Niblett, in reference to the famous phrase ("intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy") attributed to British Intelligence Chief Sir Richard Dearlove in the memo, reportedly said:

“‘Fixed around’ in British English means ‘bolted on’ rather than altered to fit the policy.”

http://www.btcnews.com/btcnews/index.php?p=970

End of story.

Comment #54: Constant said on 6/9/05 @ 2:49pm ET...

Downing Street memo raises new questions about the documents at the Hutton Inquiry.

* How widespread is the "fixed facts" problem? Appears to be not isolated to the intelligence community.

* Were the fixed facts about the "WMD-terrorists" used as an excuse to "justify" torturing those "not covered" by the Geneva Conventions?

Apparently so. Look at the conversations back and forth between the UK and US legal advisors.

Comment #55: Joe said on 6/9/05 @ 2:51pm ET...

Hank (#50&52)-

Richard Clarke was trusted by three separate administrations (2 were Republican) before George W. Bush became president. He has as much credibility as anyone, and is an expert in his field. You respond to my PROOF by hurling insults at people that hold no water.

The anonymous source was not Clarke. Clarke has no need to remain anonymous anymore.

Comment #56: Knot said on 6/9/05 @ 2:59pm ET...

you are waiting to long Rep Conyers...if you wait much longer the DSM issue will be way to COLD to heat up again....

and what the heck took MOVEON so long to join this effort???

Shame on them.

Comment #57: chabuka said on 6/9/05 @ 3:00pm ET...

When Richard Clarke released his book..there was still much support for the "war"...there is little support now...people are starting to wake up...Bush's policies have come home to roost and seems as no one is immune, except for (1% of the wealthiest Americans) I fear it might be forgotten, too...the old bait and switch that the GOP (Rove) plays so well...the next big scandal..etc. If Bush keeps blindly pushing forward with his imaginary crisis (SS) and living in his alternate world, ignoring the real problems...we will get our signatures (and more) we must work on Congress...either they will investigate (for real) or they will "go down with the ship" as corrupt, complicit, enablers...

Comment #58: Jack said on 6/9/05 @ 3:03pm ET...

Just called Conyers office and they were very cagey, but they said he would be delivering the letter Thursday, a week from today and to listen to the Randi Rhodes show today to learn why Thursday is important. They said he would be on at 3:30pm. I assume he will make an announcement here as well.

Comment #59: Constant said on 6/9/05 @ 3:08pm ET...

#53

We're not talking about just "Americans" getting upset. The memo was released by the UK and the British are upset.

UK dictionary: Fixed = cheat.

Go re-read 51. Even If we use "the new definition" it makes no sense to "explain away the memo" based on arranging facts or "bolting them on" to policy.

That is backwards.

This is actually good news for Downing Street memo: because it means even the British are worried to start the spinning.

* What role did CSIS have in spreading information about WMD [We still don't have that -- so does this mean that CSIS was pumping out "independen reports using MI6 info from OSP . . . could very well be];

* What's their relationship to the RNC -- are they "really" independent; Guess who is former chaiman of the RNC: CSIS Trustee William E. Brock.

* Did the CSIS have firms that would substantially get anything for provoding inputs to the war effort; Guess how CSIS and PNAC are intertwined: THough

Comment #61: Neerav B. Trivedi said on 6/9/05 @ 7:20pm ET...

350,000 signatures and counting!!!!!

From MoveOn.org's "Tell the Truth" section:
"We've achieved 70 % of our 500,000 goal (350,206)!"

Source: http://www.moveonpac.org/tellthetruth/

Comment #62: Rachel said on 6/9/05 @ 7:31pm ET...

Both raw story and afterdowningstreet.org are running stories about a Hearing and rally scheduled for June 16th in which additional documents will be introduced, so those of you who are worried that this will lose steam can rest assured that Mr. Conyers will not let this fall to the wayside. One way or another Bush will be made to answer.

Comment #63: Teresa said on 6/9/05 @ 7:37pm ET...

I think the slow unfolding of the DSM situation is a good strategic move. Keeping it strong and steady while continuing to gain momentum. This is big. Patience and timing are of the utmost importance. The more we can arouse and motivate people the louder the noise will be. We are gathering the forces now and I trust that this will not dissipate at all.
You have witnessed this administration crush all opposition, so bringing them down is a mighty task. We have to be smart and not move too quickly.

Comment #64: Teresa said on 6/9/05 @ 7:41pm ET...

Repeat, repeat, repeat.
We should be talking about this endlessly therefore keeping it in the front of our minds.
I dislike being made a fool of. The country was suckered but we can make up for it.

Comment #65: Charlie said on 6/9/05 @ 7:49pm ET...

Well I just finished reading all your blogs. Hank is a neo-con and a goob. Thants right if he is going to throw spit balls at my side of the isle then I will throw them back. Hank is a prime example of someone who fails to adress the truth. He does not formulate questions on his own, he just listens to the propaganda and uses their talking points. He is a victim of what I fear is the worst form of propaganda since the Nazi's during WWII. Truth has no meaning to Hank, because what is the truth? To Hank truth is merely perspective, and his perspective is strongly supported, in the highest level by propaganda. Liberals have been on the right side of history many times before because we seek truth. Liberal is not a bad word, it is something to be proud of, and I am. I would ask Hank, if your convictions are so strong..." Why dont YOU go join the military and help out our boys that are getting shot at every day in Iraq?". Simple, you aren't willing to put your money where you mouth is. If the spread of democracy is so important to you, then go find a gun. Sept 11 was not the end of the world. Perhaps just a means that justified the end. Where we are now.
Charlie

Comment #66: Teresa said on 6/9/05 @ 8:14pm ET...

Out of 65 comments supposedly about the DSM, 24 were about Hank.

No wonder this government manipulates the people so easily when you are so suckered by one uninteresting person.

Comment #67: Jonathan Gold said on 6/9/05 @ 8:17pm ET...

Please watch the "9/11 Omission Hearings" chaired by Representative Cynthia McKinney. They will make you cry, but they will remind you what this is all about.

The 9/11 Omission Hearings

Comment #68: Vyan said on 6/9/05 @ 8:20pm ET...

Hi Hank,

America sent very strong signals to Saddam that we were serious that the 17 UN resolutions would be enforced; he bet we were bluffing and/or the UN would not support us and he bet wrong.

The flaw in this argument is that Saddam did comply with all relevant UN resolutions, and delivered thousands of pages of documents to that fact just prior to the start of the war.

In fact, the UN did not support the start of a War with Iraq - Germany, Spain and Italy all voted against it.

Would you have preferred that after all the rhetoric for Saddam to disarm and obey the 17 resolutions; that we just walk away from the issue and let every single person in the world know that the UN stands for NOTHING and they can do whatever they want?

No, we should have honored our promise to seek to use all diplomatic means (as outlined by HJ 114), starting with allowing the inspectors who were re-introduced into Iraq in November of 2002 as (authorized by UN Resolution 1441) - to finish their job. The final decision on going to War didn't come from Saddam, all evidence now shows that he was complying with the UN, and it didn't come from the UN either - again, they voted against it - it came from just one place, Bush.

Vyan

Comment #69: Mary said on 6/10/05 @ 5:52am ET...

#68 Vyan And why don't we ever hear about those documents from Saddam concerning his WMDs? Because they were truthful. Does anyone know of a link to a news story about that report's truthfulness?

Comment #70: Kryten42 said on 6/10/05 @ 6:52am ET...

Hia ll,

Vyan #68: You beat me too it. Spot on again, as usual. :-)

And as usual, hunky panky is dead WRONG! Is anyone keeping score? LOL NO need... every post of his has been wrong. That makes his credibility... a big fat *ZERO*! (Just like his fantasy father Bushmonkey). Too bad...

The facts is that the invasion of Iraq had nothing to do with anything except the insane agenda of the religious right fanatics. They tried it with Reagan (the whole Iran Contra scandal was to start a war in the Mid East. James Baker III and Olly North were both self-confessed *born again* Christians--that was a lie!) They even persuaded Clinton to pave the way for Bush. The oil is simply an added bonus.

I laugh when I think that Ollie North practically created the current FEMA. And very few are questioning their motives. Why do you think Bush wants something bad enough to happen so he can declare Martial Law?

And once Bush is impeached, if indeed he is... then what? We repeat this again in 10 years. unless something is also done about the MIC and the Religious right! They are the problems, Bush is just a puppet.

Comment #71: scott d said on 6/10/05 @ 7:34am ET...

hank- have you noticed that every time you site a source of information, no can seem to find it. every tidbit a information you site, there are 10 Facts to discredit it. you said the white house annonymous source is richard clarke. where is your proof of that statement? these threads would be that long if you would stop showing us how stupid you are. go blog on rush's site where someone might believe you.

Comment #72: Joel said on 6/10/05 @ 11:25am ET...

Hello all,
This is my first post to this list and I just want to offer my sincere thanks to Mr. Conyers and everyone else who is helping us take our country back. These are very exciting times and we must keep pressure on the media to do their patriotic duty in getting the facts out to the rest of America about the treasonous crimes committed by the Bush regime.

Regarding Hank, I suspect that he indeed does have a job: He has been assigned to this target in order to cause us to lose focus and waste our time confronting the ramblings of what would appear to be a semi-litereate nutjob. He was probably schooled in effective disruption techniques by the cabal. I suggest we ignore him.

Impeachment soon,

Joel

Comment #73: Chris Parks said on 6/10/05 @ 12:53pm ET...

Thank Mr Conyers. Your efforts, as well as those if us who want TRUTH are to be applauded. We will not allow this country to be run by LIES. One of the reasons this country was started was to have TRUTH & JUSTICE rule the land. This is only part of the process of KEEPING that TRUTH & JUSTICE.

Keep fighting the good fight and I'm in the trenches with you/everyone who is!

Comment #74: Chris Parks said on 6/10/05 @ 12:57pm ET...

Thank Mr Conyers. Your efforts, as well as those if us who want TRUTH, are to be applauded. We will not allow this country to be run by LIES. One of the reasons this country was started was to have TRUTH & JUSTICE rule the land. This is only part of the process of KEEPING that TRUTH & JUSTICE. The bully will not mess with th kid who stands and fights. We make our stand now! I am a registered Republican, but a Christian first - TRUTH is first and foremost to me - political party means nothing, because EVIL does not discriminate!

Keep fighting the good fight and I'm in the trenches with you/everyone else who is!

Comment #75: mary said on 6/10/05 @ 9:15pm ET...

I will also say thank you to Mr. Conyers and to Air America for speaking up and keeping us focused on what is really happening. I have one question being new to the blog, is Hank actually Carl Rove or Dick Chaney. I'm confused......

Comment #76: Patriot - aka Mary said on 6/11/05 @ 3:18am ET...

I'm changing my name here to Patriot because that's the screen name I use on my network and because there's another Mary here.

Admin, how many signatures are there now?

Comment #77: Amy Sasser said on 6/11/05 @ 11:13am ET...

http://www.mltoday.com/Pages/IraqWar/IraqCensored.html

the United States itself that had removed over 8,000 pages of the 11,800 page original report.

Comment #78: David said on 6/11/05 @ 2:37pm ET...

Moveon is showing just shy of 487,000 on the petition. It appears that people are signing at a rate of about 1/sec. That means there could be 1,000,000 by the end of the week. A million signatures should be hard to ignore.

Comment #79: Allan Branchau said on 6/12/05 @ 12:32pm ET...

I'm glad someone is doing something . It seems that the mainline press is complicit in all of the administrations dirty tricks.

Comment #80: Allan Branchau said on 6/12/05 @ 12:32pm ET...

I'm glad someone is doing something . It seems that the mainline press is complicit in all of the administrations dirty tricks.

Comment #81: Vyan said on 6/12/05 @ 12:47pm ET...

That's it - 500,000!. MoveOn.org has reached the goal.

Vyan
vyan.blogspot.com

Comment #82: Mike said on 6/12/05 @ 5:19pm ET...

NO REASON WHATSOEVER TO STOP HERE ...

Rep. Conyers: keep collecting signatures, deliver the 500k, and don't let up for one second on the excellent, POPULAR work.

Comment #83: diane said on 6/17/05 @ 9:16pm ET...

You are a pathetic moron and a traitor

Comment #84: r said on 6/19/05 @ 7:03am ET...

Dear Congressman Conyors:
Democratic Underground was reporting you had over 500,000 signatures and as I've pointed out in previous e mail to your threads, Operation Trojan horse, is listing these protestors that in the event of a Martial law decree they'll be the first to be rounded up and sent to those FEMA Concentration camps already constructed.

Can there be anything more sinister?

Americans who enjoy watching Suvivor, glorifying Greed, will be spared, as long as they pay their taxes for the Wars for Israel's expansion and for the oil industry, and New world order. They'll have to send their sons and daughters and grandchildren to fight them too, as long as they do the'll be allowed to get poorer and poorer by being robbed by credit card practices, and of course the rich will get richer and richer, as they pschologically through the tv commericials. tell Americans to buy, buy buy, while the jobs go overseas, and the middle class shrinks.

They'll stop living so long, with unions decreasing helath benifits, and the Social Security problem will be solved , since it stands in the way of military spending.

The poorest will only be able to join the military because they'll be no other jobs available with health benfits. That's just what the New World order wants.

The rule of dynasties is common throughout history, in every human society, and it is sad to think it's happening here, with the Rockerfeller take over of the Federal reserve, and the Bush NOT SEE Administration.

Unless you confront the real facts of 911, Oklahoma, WAC) you are in the NOT SEE government too.

Comment #85: r said on 6/19/05 @ 7:07am ET...

How can President Bust NOT SEE the threat he created to America, along the Mexican government. The weapons of mass destruction the US gave to Iraq, are reportedly stolen by terrorists becuase the military didn't secure them. Yet Bush does NOT SEE a threat from the Mexican border!