John Conyers, Jr. - 40 Years Of Jobs, Justice And Peace
Main Index » Archives » February 2006 » The Case for Impeachment - Harpers Magazine Cover Story

[Previous entry: "13 Judiciary Committee Members Join Me in Seeking Port Answers from the Administration"]
[MAIN INDEX]
[Next entry: "Congressman Conyers Honored"]

Blogged by JC on 02.25.06 @ 08:54 AM ET

The Case for Impeachment - Harpers Magazine Cover Story


The March issue of Harper's Magazine has a great cover article by its editor Lewis H. Lapham explaining, "Why We Can No Longer Afford George W. Bush." Mr. Lapham spends a lot of his article discussing my work and the "The Constitution in Crisis." I would link to the story if there were an online version, but here is an excerpt from the article discussing the NSA warrantless wiretaps:
"We're at war," the President said on December 19, "we must protect America's secrets."

No, the country isn't at war, and it's not America's secrets that the President seeks to protect. The country is threatened by free-booting terrorists unaligned with a foreign government or an enemy army; the secrets are those of the Bush Admnistration, chief among them its determination to replace a democratic republic with something more safely totalitarian. The fiction of permanent war allows it to seize, in the name of the national security, the instruments of tyranny.
more...
It is the business of the Congress to prevent the President from doing more damage than he's already done to the people, interests, health, well-being, safety, good name, and reputation of the United States - to cauterize the wound and stem the flows of money, stupidity, and blood.
The article is a must read. I highly recommend that you find a copy.

Replies: 45 Comments


Comment #1: koryannder said on 2/25/06 @ 10:38am ET...

Since I subscribe to Harper's, I read the article first thing. It IS excellent. (but then, Lapham is always good - I hope his retirement is not going to reduce the quality of the magazine.)

Last night, my wife (who is old enough to be JC's older sister) could not sleep, because she was burning up with ideas which needed to be expressed. So she sat down and wrote them out, and asked me this morning if I would post them here. Needless to say, I am happy to oblige. She has summed up the whole thing in her own inimitable style. It is rather long, but worth reading, I think. I may from time to time, interject something. If I do, it will be in brackets [].

At last I know why Congressmen are so reluctant to say or do anything to challenge the behavior of the members of the Executive Branch. It's because they're afraid someone may take them out in the woods and shoot them! I wonder what that poor joker did to Cheney? [He should be glad the limp Dick was not hunting deer]
How many people do you have to be responsible for killing before you rate the title of "Murderer?" [No, Jan, ONE death is a tragedy; a thousand are a statistic.]
I was raised to believe one killing in cold blood was enough.

Funny - I thought Texas was especially hard on killers [or alleged killers who have lousy lawyers] Why are the Prez and his controllers exceptions?

Turning to a general critique of the chief Honcho, The man was never taught the value of a dollar. He thinks ge's still playing Monopoly. He has no conception of what the life of an ordinary working American is like. [unfortunately the same can be said of many members of Congress, typified by Senator Frist]

He has no idea of what the word "Christian" means, either. See Matthew 5 - 7. [Neither do the right-wing fanatics who support him..]

Back to whatever is "Governing" us - not necessarily elected officials - - - Oklahoma City, Waco, 9/11 - have all the earmarks of diversions or distractions. They were "Shock and Awe" practiced at home. Smoke and mirrors. Maddening, to people who can see beyond the illusion.

Our Government is supposed to be "Of, by, and for the people." Leave it up to them, and if they have all the data, they'll generally get it right. [but with an Executive practicing secrecy in everything and a Congress that can't get the data out of them, how are the people to act, except by instinct, which is frequently faulty?]

Well, I'm sort of a mature type observer who has known a lot of political thieves.

Putting it all together, I would say that our Government, (whoever is running it) isn't. They are carefully, connectedly, and thoughtfully [and deliberately] killing our entire planet. This is being done both secretly and blatantly, and in several different modalities.

1. Producing induced insanity in the population by secrecy and deceit. [If the data are faulty or missing, proper conclusions cannot be reached. That's the very definition of 'insanity']

2. Producing an increasingly inferior food supply [thereby increasing obesity and degenerative disease - a sick person cannot think straight.]

3. Allowing water supplies to become increasingly polluted. [and thanks to the appointment of Alito and the antics of Pombo, the clean water act is about to be gutted.]

4. Polluting the atmosphere with increasing frequency as in Chemtrailing, whicch drops various minerals, petrochemicals, and biological agents on the earth below. The resulting pollution is already beginning to have an effect. Plants and animals cannot be subjected to this stuff with impunity. It seems that the smaller creatures are already being affected. The simple insects we take for granted are noticeably decreasing; flies, mosquitoes, gnats, grasshoppers, spiders - butterflies[!] are vanishing. Without these creatures, which are vital components of the web of life, how long will WE last? The very diet we depend on depends itself on these lesser creatures.

5. We've mined the seas. Our best eating fish are mostly gone. We are eating third rate (and down) seafood, at ever increasing prices as scarcity drives costs up. (And what do chemtrail contaminants do to seaborne critters?) Has our Government done ANYTHING to protect our oceanic food supply ??? NO.

6. On the "People" level, whatever is destroying us is employing interesting tactics. Almost every Agency which was originally set up to help people by protecting our air, water, food supply, medical services, infrastructure, and education has been systematically scuttled. [at the insistence of people like Grover Norquist who claims to believe that Government is the problem, and who wants all of its protective qualities destroyed]

7. The Science and Technology which got us to where we are has been similarly destroyed wherever possible.

8. The only large industries kept in America are those with rather large kill rates. We have exported our manufacturing capability to cheap labor places, so that we can buy the products back at inflated prices to the enrichment of the already obscenely wealthy - the people who do not give a damn for the Country which made it possible for them to become fat cats.
Advertising is no longer truthful or accountable.
Agribusiness develops the least possible nutrition for the people.
Pharmaceuticals - good grief! The "Prescription drug" business is no longer about getting you well - it's about keeping you suffering and selling you high-priced palliatives! This project is, knowingly or not, aided and abetted by Doctors, Nurses, and Hospitals. In fact, the leading cause of death in this Country is now the "Side-effects" of prescription Drugs!

9. An uninformed, fear-ridden Congress, which is a lot of sound and fury, accomplishing nothing. [nothing positive, that is - they are doing a masterful job of dismantling everything which made this Nation great.]

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Those members of the Congress who believe they would like to continue to HAVE a Congtess, had better get busy and replace the "Executive" with honest Americans who believe in "Open Covenants, popenly arrived at," Toute damn' suite! Or else Congress, and the America we love, go down the drain. [or perhaps gets shot in the Bush - es]



Comment #2: A Concerned Citizen said on 2/25/06 @ 11:08am ET...

Excellent sample of how people are finally waking up to the corporate takeover of our country. I'm glad another media, besides the internet or late night talk shows, is finally going to tread the dangerous "un-American" waters of Bush's corruption and the dangers we're in. My hat is off to the editor and I will be buying a copy. The "war on terror" is just a cover to the selling and giving away of our nation to the rest of the world by this nazi administration. ALL OF THEM but 6 or 7. Are the 6 or 7 just a smokescreen? Who do we believe anymore?

The only justice this country will accept, if we survive and recover, is to know that this entire administration rots in jail the rest of their miserable lives and they are NOT allowed to go off into the sunset untouched and enjoy the profits from what they have done. However, with a heavy sigh I realize the deck is now stacked on the legal side, so that may not happen.

Thank you Mr. Conyers. I hope the wall that has been tumbling down for these past several months will be low enough soon, for others to see the truth and join you on your/our side. Just a question of who's on the corporate payroll and who isn't. God help us if there are only 6 or 7 of you who aren't. God help us if we don't get a fair election again.



Comment #3: sanitysojourner said on 2/25/06 @ 11:09am ET...

So Harper's has come around. William Brinkley, George Will and even Bill O'Spankme have admitted the futility of this non-war and state that we should get out. The majority of American citizens have reached the same conclusion.

Rep. Conyers has stated flatly that Iraq is not a war, yet far-reaching war powers have been granted and/or seized by the sitting WH administration.

When will the rest of our elected dems figure it out and take action? Or will they allow this administration to go full blast into Iran while working on their "repugnican lite" agenda?



Comment #4: cali said on 2/25/06 @ 11:11am ET...

Why in the world do we have HS if there was ONLY one person there and they didn't listen?
Homeland Security Objected to Ports Deal

Stewart Baker, a senior Homeland Security official, said he was the sole representative on the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States who objected to the ports deal. Baker said he later changed his vote after DP World agreed to the security conditions. Other officials confirmed Baker's account.

"We were not prepared to sign off on the deal without the successful negotiation of the assurances," Baker told the AP.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060225/ap_on_go_pr_wh/ports_security



Comment #5: A Concerned Citizen said on 2/25/06 @ 11:35am ET...

#1 koryannder - Wow, your wife covered quite a bit. Nothing could be said any better and I agree with every word. Excellent.

I especially agree with the paragraph where the two of you said, "An uninformed, fear-ridden Congress, which is a lot of sound and fury, accomplishing nothing. [nothing positive, that is - they are doing a masterful job of dismantling everything which made this Nation great.]" Perfect summary. Amen. Only thing I might add would be "corporate-owned and controlled" when talking about Congress. Will we survive? Will we ever recover? Will it make us stronger in the end? I sure hope so.

Looking forward to reading the article, thank you for the insight!



Comment #6: Jay Lechnyr said on 2/25/06 @ 1:46pm ET...

Please people. Do not be idiots! Don't you see what's happening here?

We are going to need all the war time powers we can muster once we take the presidency away from the neocons. That will be the only way we have to set things straight. Without it, the next president will not have the legal power he needs to bust the dirty deals of this administration. Without that, most of the dirty deals that establish tyranny in this country will remain forever. Is that what you want? Institutionalized tyranny?

Are you going to let your own desire for justice push you into a short term partial solution? That is exactly what you will do unless we get a president patriotic enough to know what's right for democracy and courageous enough to do the job no matter what. It'll be political suicide, but one good person with four years can do it.

But if we take all the war time powers from the office while this one is still there, the next one will not be able to fix the problem no matter how much he wants to. Nor will any others after him. Without war time powers, a president cannot rip contracts from companies like diebold, dubai and hallibuton. Without it, the next president will not be able to interrogate these people to get to the truth so they can act on the information. Without it, a president cannot detain the real domestic terrorists and traitors, seize their assets and hold them long enough to make a decent investigation. There is simply too much investigating to do that it will literally take a decade to do it without those war time powers. Without war time powers, the president cannot redirect enough funding into the investigative branches to enable them to get to the bottom of such a giant pile of corruption. Without war time powers, the president will not be able to overcome the roadblocks that the congressional neocons will throw into his way.

But with those powers, one president can do it all in one brutal, bloody term. In short, this country badly needs a purge of corruption now, but without war time powers, the next president cannot purge so much corruption no matter how badly it's needed.

We are now so far in deep that it literally will take a dictator to get us out! One who will not care how much the neocons and their media dogs howl. One who has the guts to steamroll over every roadblock put into his way. We need a real four year crackdown if democracy is to survive. And if this idea scares you, rest assured, the average person would not be affected by it any more than this war already has. And it will affect you far less than the next four decades without it will.

We need to turn this war inward upon ourselves if we are to right this wrong.

But nobody will be able to do it without those wartime powers. Don't kid yourself into thinking that once we've taken W's toys away, that everything will get better. It won't get better that way. Like cancer, it has already spread throughout the body politic. Now we need draconian actions to purge it all. We have a BIG mess to clean up and if we don't do it in the next presidential election, the stink will be with us for decades.

This is it. America has entered a nexus of events. America may survive the next 80 years without it, but sooner or later, the corruption is going to kill our country - unless we do something extraordinary.

We need those powers.

IMHO.



Comment #7: feline said on 2/25/06 @ 3:28pm ET...

JC, thank you for sharing; Mr. Lapham's words resonate with the opinions expressed here.

I think we all agree that members of this Administration need to be removed by impeachment and perhaps prosecutions.

We need legislation enacted that would manage the out-of-control corporate-run "government" and corporate-controlled "media".

And we need legislation that assures our elections will be fair and accurate.

The catch is that we may also need a major overhaul in Congress to return those elements that define a Democracy, and at present there is no guarantee that will happen.

Which leaves us citizens the task of continuing to exercise our rights protected by the Constitution. Many have risked much overseas in the belief that they are ensuring Democracy. We are probably going to have to take great risks here, as well.

We have the greatest organizational tool of history under our fingertips, the internet, and we have yet to fully understand that potential. It's time we pull our resources together, present some ultimatums, get out in numbers to assert our Constitutional rights and responsibilies.

Until Congress really starts addressing the topics of IMPEACHMENT and CORPORATE THEFT OF OUR RESOURCES, how can we tackle all of the important domestic and foreign policy issues that we face? We can't wait for Fitzgerald to gather all of the evidence and present all of the arguments. We can't wait for all of the hearings and investigations. We can't wait for journalists with integrity and whistleblowers to gradually get their voices squeezed through the spin of the corporate mainstream media. And, we really can't wait any longer for Congress to get on board with you, JC. Something has to change before November.

That's my opinion.



Comment #8: Citizen J said on 2/25/06 @ 4:47pm ET...

JC, glad to see any news like this-it suggests that people could be *finally* waking up somewhat, and combined with the fact that the fools "in charge" can't seem to get out of their own way lately, perhaps things will start to line up in the right ways, finally. We're running out of time to kick the criminals and thieves out, though: Iran.

#1- Great post! Couldn't have put it better. I especially like "Maddening, to people who can see beyond the illusion." So true.

#6- Interesting ideas, but who could we trust in that position of Unitary Executive? JC, and that's about it. Considering the new advance of Diebold in CA, how could we be CERTAIN to get the trustworthy one in?

I agree with your basic premise that things are SO corrupt, extraodinary actions need to be taken, however. But, by WHO? What is it they say about power and corruption again?

"The greatest tyrannies are always perpetrated in the name of the noblest causes." --Thomas Paine



Comment #9: Nolip said on 2/25/06 @ 5:15pm ET...

Can we have a Hollywood ending to the saga known as Bush? Will we find a Deep Throat among the Bushicons who will step forward and bleed for the media? Will we have a media that will finally do what its supposed to do and report malfeasance instead of delaying reportage because the Emperor wants it? Will we have a two party system instead of what we have now, one party with balls the size of Texas and another party who can't find their balls? Will we have an election in '06 that follows the rights guaranteed by the Constitution instead of dying with Diebold at the polls? These and other questions need to be answered this year? Is Congress and America up to the task?



Comment #10: sanitysojourner said on 2/25/06 @ 8:27pm ET...

#6 Jay. Interesting points, however I believe that the focus has been on impeaching this particular president, who appears to have no interest in following any laws, war powers or not.

There have been numerous and, IMHO, legitimate complaints/concerns about how this president applies his real and assumed powers, but I don't recall any significant campaign to remove war powers.



Comment #11: bill_o_carolina said on 2/25/06 @ 8:46pm ET...

This may be old news or even BS, but
http://www.nypost.com/news/worldnews/64126.htm



Comment #12: Reed31463 said on 2/25/06 @ 9:06pm ET...

Grassroots movement is spreading into the South.
Bush losing support in "must have" states.

Grassroots Impeachment Call in North Carolina
BY JENNIFER FERRIS : The Herald-Sun

Wes Hare, co-chairman of the Orange County Peace Coalition, calls Bush a "criminal" and said Friday he will not rest until he sees the president brought up on charges in an impeachment hearing.
.....
U.S. Rep. John Conyers, D-MI, has introduced a bill that calls for impeachment and so far 26 other House members have signed on to co-sponsor the bill.
.......
Chapel Hill Mayor Kevin Foy was recently seen wearing an "Impeach Bush" button, and said Friday he would support any effort to investigate the president.


I sent an email to Jennifer thanking her and The Herald-Sun for the courage writing and printing this article. I encourage others who post and read Conyersblog to do the same. Our support will help foster other communities to do the same.
jferris@heraldsun.com

For those near Chapel Hill, NC, please consider attending this event:

What: Orange County Peace Coalition presents The Case for Impeachment

Where: Chapel Hill Town Hall

When: Tuesday, 7 p.m.

How Much: Free



Comment #13: Ohiodem1 said on 2/25/06 @ 10:13pm ET...

Koryander's wife #1 - Good insight.

Just some observations from the last couple of days.

The first case the Roberts/Alito court chooses to take involves abortion. Intended to follow the Alito-developed strategy of chipping away at Roe v Wade.

South Dakota enacts legislation that makes illegal all forms of abortion except where the life of the mother is directly threatened, such as an ectoptic pregnancy, where the egg implanted in the fallopian tube. This legislation is in contravention of Roe v Wade in that Roe v Wade does not make pregnancy as a result of rape or incest illegal. Nor does it make an abortion legal when the life of the mother is at stake. This legislation is fully intended to be litigated up to the Supreme Court, and the intention is to have the "liberal" Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, where SD is located rule in accordance with Roe v Wade, which the stare decis concept would bind the court to do, since it is settled law by Rowe v Wade that this would be the logical outcome of a case challenging the law. Since a first term is limited to 3 months, it is likely that the test case will be fast tracked. Will the Roberts/Alito court choose to hear the test case, or would they let the lower court ruling stand, by not agreeing to take the case? The court was 6 to 3 the last time Roe v Wade was litigated. It is likely to still be 5-4 against overturning Rowe v Wade this time. Would the court wait for another right wing justice before taking such a case, or will they decide that this is the last opportunity they will have before the poltical winds or pendulum swings to the left from the extreme right position that it hangs in now?

Kansas is now working legislation through its legislature that defies logic and human nature. Attempting to criminalize all sexual behavior between teens under the age of sixteen. Articles I have read indicates that the bill defines nearly all acts kids who are in the phyisical and emotional maturing process do, including petting, to be criminal acts. This is in a state that legalizes marriage to 13 year-olds! There are those who are of the mind that people get exactly the government that they deserve. All legislation that goes against human nature are doomed to failure. The first time parents of two fifteen year-olds who are dating and caught making out after the basketball game, the first time they have to go to jail to bail the miscreants out, will be the beginning of the end of such silly legislation. In reality, this would expose the so-called delilberative body that is the Kansas Legislature, and the governor who signs such legislation to be complete idiots. I say let them do this one, in fact we should encourage such idocy. Antioch College in Ohio had a famous and infamous experiment with setting silly rules concerning petting and sexual behavior between consenting adults. The student government inplemented the rules, the school administration allowed the implementation, the school itself was a laughingstock, which included skits on SNL, or some other comedy programs, and the absurd unworkability made the student government rescind the rule after a very short time. That experiment went against human nature of young people in a location where hormones raged and social interaction was forced by close proximity. These same conditions exist in every high school in America, including Kansas. Let the Kansas Legislature do it. It will fail within 6 months, and the right wing will be exposed. Maybe some sanity will return to the voters of Kansas when the see what an absurd excess this is. Maybe they will start looking at other intrusions into their life such a government is doing.

The Bush administration "found" 250 emails that according to sources, tend to give the lie to protestations by Cheney that he was not involved in outing Valerie Plame Wilson, and that he did not know her covert status. Remember when the Right Wing Sound Machine castigated the Clinton White House for months after the billing records were "found" in the White House? It will be interesting if the Right Wing Sound Machine raises a similar ruckus about the "found" emails that allegedly implicate the Vice President of the United States of America in a Treasonous Act. Will Rush Limbaugh devote time every day for a month to this event. Or will he say that the VP was "just like a college kid blowing off a little steam"? What will it be, Mr. Limbaugh? How about you, Mr. O'Reily? Ann? Michelle? Or will you accuse Mr. Fitzgerald of being an "overzealous prosecutor who is politically motivated"? What is it? What is good for the goose is good for the gander.

A contractor associated with the Duke Cunningham bribery scandal who is on trial implicated two other US Congressmen (one is actually a woman, one of our favorites) in the illegal sending of $80,000 into their campaign warchests? When will the Republican corruption in Congress end, and how many are implicated? It is time to clean house of all corrupt members of the House and Senate.

A friend from Wisconsin sent an article outlining all of the corrupt activities in Wisconsin's one party Republican rule of that state, including pay to play, campaign finance chicanery and other stuff.

I live in Ohio, and a defendant in one of the Coingate trials admitted that he was a conduit of illegal campaign cash to both state candidates, and was a conduit for over $47,000 directly into the campaign for the re-election of the president (creep, as opposed to the offically named CREEP of Nixon) in 2004. This individual is expected to flip in the federal investigation that is being conducted in Toledo, so that he can avoid jail, which is the normal practice in campaign finance money laundering cases. On other Coingate related matters, the Ohio AG and a grand jury investigation returned 53 felony indictments against Tom Noe. Almost every Republican in Ohio has received money from this man. Of course he is a Bush Pioneer. It has been alleged in the last couple of days that Mr. Noe also used money stolen from the workers of Ohio and directly contributed it to Republican candidates and causes.

This kind of behavior is going on coast to coast, and many states have one party Republican Rule. This illegal and unethical behavior is being unearthed coast to coast in the local press in many cities and states. This reporting, plus reporting of Republican misdeeds, bribery corruption, the port deal, Katrina, the Civil War that has started in earnest in Iraq, with our troops right in the middle of it, Treasongate, Spygate, Lying to war, massive mismanagement of government finances through tax giveaways to the rich, tax shifting to the middle and low income wage earners, shifting the tax burden to our children and grandchildren for generations to come, the attack on freedom, the attack on Social Security and other social programs, massive selling of legislation and tax breaks to the highest bidder. It is time to throw this bunch out. The impeachment hearings should start Monday.

Sorry for the long post. I just get going sometimes.



Comment #14: Dr Jay said on 2/26/06 @ 12:13am ET...

Date: Fri, 24 Feb 2006

From: "ROSE KING"

Subject: RIDE ON THE PARADE OF TRUTH!

2-24-06

RIDE ON THE PARADE OF TRUTH!

And the wagons of truth roll on as the people are finding a new awareness like never before. We the righteous and prayerful offer great cups of gratitude for this now to further this awakening. The Blood Brothers are getting it together. Everyone wants to ride on the Parade of Truth because it is the right thing to do!

Its 1:15pm, 2-24-06, and Alex you are defending yourself from energies that you need not have to. It’s your discussion about John 16. Everyone knows God sent his son to save us and this we are grateful for. The question is will they listen to him if he shows up? Have the knowledge Alex that if there were this manifestation of the Christ in a man again, he would most likely be with you now and together laugh with you at those that use history books and things they no not of to dominate over peoples freedom to express their own spirituality in their own way. Stuck in the past muck they are. It’s the biggest headache in Gods entire mind when contemplating all those blind sheep that are the power of God’s serious muscle and seeing they have been effectively subdued by the false prophets in todays Church's that keep them from exploring anything knowledge wise besides the one history book the Bible is. There is so much more to know about and a closed mind never learns.

Granted, the Bible is full of great wisdom but what good is the wisdom of history if it keeps generations trapped in that past? A past that was and still is governed by the expression of suppression. Do we remain in the past and watch as the future swallows us? Can we push on in the higher pursuits of knowledge and can we incorporate the past into the now to create the future? Alex, prepare to push past the old paradigm to create the new answers and to later, write a new book. And Alex, please listen to the people. You just shut down two people that could have been Gods messengers and if you shut them down, their words might not get to the people. Open minds and open hearts are truly Gods spirituality manifest in people like you. Master the art of listening to grow greater Alex.

Now listen up. We have a chance to stop the madness if all the people will care now as they never have before. We must all sing out loudly and PRAY!!! Yes pray that Mr. Patrick Fitzgerald the only man in America with the power to stop the insanity of the potential coming WW III, will go forth now and DO WHAT MUST BE DONE! He can order the arrests of all these neo-cons that are spiraling us down into the pit of destruction. He can stop the P2OG from committing any more atrocities in Iraq or Iran that will stir up more instigated agitations amongst those poor innocent peoples over there. He can save the future for his children. He can save the future for all the worlds’ children if he will ACT NOW!!!

http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/iln/osc/

We are so sorry for all the crimes committed against all those Islamic people over there. We must all make amends and repent for the sins committed IN OUR NAME over there in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other places. It’s horrible as far as what has taken place in history there to this date. Americans can no longer afford to fight Israel’s un-holy wars. We have about a month to stop this insane planed attack that could escalate us all into more world wars. It’s the bankster backed Israeli plan to bring this war into your living rooms. You will be fighting in Baghdad type streets soon America if you don’t stop this planned terror attack coming to your country and the reasoning behind that plan to have an excuse to go after those mean ol Iranians over there. The hydra has got to act soon or lose it all because the Truth Parade is coming for them now! Homeland in-security instructs us all to watch out for terrorists in our midst’s that might do something. Well America, let’s closely watch them globalist bankster backed neo-cons and their puppets to see what they are going to do next and then report it loudly when you catch them. Just as loudly as those that know they have caught the P2OG again blowing up that holy place in Iraq to kick up the bee hive over there. STOP THE P2OG from doing any more acts of instigation and innocents murdered. This is a set up for their ‘planed reprisals’ over here. It’s so plane as day.

http://www.ratical.org/ratville/CAH/P2OG.html
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Proactive_Preemptive_Operations_Group
http://www.globalresearch.ca/articles/CHO301B.html
http://www.chemtrailcentral.com/ubb/Forum6/HTML/001021.html

We have about a month or less as our first time table to beat without having a planed gov sponsored event, and then it’s the time we will need to get to the elections that will be our next window to close. If the Democrats are smart, they will organize and take advantage of a country that is fed up with the rich mans war to destroy all our people’s way of life. Everyone is ready for change and it can come about if the people will stand together and forget the false divide and conquer methodologies that are employed by the adversarial darkness from the tombs of bankster-world.

Those zionist neo-cons, their PNAC rulers, and trotskyite delusionists are the heads of the hydra headed snake beast that is responsible for this insanity that is all going down NOW!! The hounds of Justice are at the door for these types and they will not be allowed to get away with this insanity because God commands the whistle-blowers and truth-sayers to come out now and support the real Justice that comes soon. Support it by getting louder than ever NOW and e-mailing all those people that might be able to make a difference while you can EVERY DAY to save your futures.

The time of history is Now! This is the last round up and those of you that still ignore the warnings of this heart and those of all the others that see this insane plan for what it is will regret it later when you and your families are rounded up and put into the camps according to the evil plans that are in place. For a tune up to reality go and watch the movie “Red Dawn” again. This was a real wake up for this heart to see this coming possibility again and it brought a good amount of tears watching it. Share this movie all you can with all those you can while you can for the closest picture of what could come if these whackos are not stopped NOW!!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Dawn

What would Jesus do? Listen to the lies or seek the power of Gods instruction and get it together with his brothers? What walls divide the righteous that can’t be overcome by God’s holy Love? Is not Gods holy Love knowledge? If we are his children, do we listen to the voice of ego or the voice of our heart that is the direct conduit to God? In the decision processes, ask your selves this. Is it Love or Fear that keeps us all apart? Is it Love that divides, or is it Fear? Our Father might say to us all, if it’s not Love, what is it? Let this be the standard.

Now to get it all together. We must all be the Brothers/Sisters we all are and GET IT TOGETHER! We are all the same tribe of man and we all have the commonality of loving our freedom to grow. It is under direct threat by this out-of-control government and must be totally cleansed. The knowledge is the key and getting the knowledge out is vital to the survival or not of this country. We are running out of time fast as we head towards a total meltdown. There is no time for petty material based limits to the free expression of truths, and the overcoming of fears that hold many back. Fear not lack in Gods world of plenty. We must fully empower Mr. Patrick Fitzgerald to be the One man that can stop these crazy people now. We must unite and get the knowledge of where to find the knowledge out to everyone on the planet.

The idea of a million man march is a good one but affords a handy target. Five hundred thousand serious Americans can get the job done. Talking it up all over the net is the last chance we have now to get it together. Pounding loudly NOW on the doors of the congress critters and senate toads is our last hope of getting our opinions to them. As if it mattered, but still, we must make it hard for them to get through the day without the considerations of what all out World War will mean to their personal lives. And do not accept the form letter they have for every subject you write to them about. Start researching their personal information and speak your truth now while you can to them. Tell them you are not able to plan a future if they continue to support this madness and an out of control administration that is headlong for WORLD WAR! Be creative people because we are going into the last innings. We must use the squeaky wheel theory until the very end!!! Do you think all those that saw WW II coming and did nothing to stop it didn’t regret it later? Bet on it and only God knows how they suffered for being so ignorant, lazy, and malignant when small actions in a free state could have changed history. Step up to the plate Neo; it’s time to make history instead of being its unsung victim!

Passing the networks info and offering free downloads is Gods way of getting info to the needy. Needy for information is the blind nation now but the good news is, they are ready for the truth and it must get out NOW!!!

Here is the next step to over come the evil that is about to overcome us all. The democrats can run a platform based on truth! Truthful people can change the course of the ship. How hard can that be?

WIN WITH THE TRUTH PARTY!

Democrats can take back the leadership of this country if these things happen, and ONLY if these things happen:

a. They all take the total constitutional approach to everything they do and say.
b. They all only come from a place of documented truth. No more corruption allowed.
c. Because many of today’s problems are directly from the planning chambers of the CFR, TRI-LAT, BILDIBERGER, COMM OF 300, AND THE CLUB OF ROME, we must not elect a single Democrat that is a member of any of these un-Godly and totally un-American groups.
NOT A SINGLE ONE!
d. Stop the corrupt media now by launching our last barrage of truth and written works to all the employees and sub-management levels of the media and government asking for their support to get the truths out that will save the nation from the evil neo-con warmongering Trotskyites. Nothing the main stream media reports is based on truth and this is recognized by the world. Fan this fire peoples and take advantage of this fact NOW. Be the Truth!

This is a short list for the now as the everyday is fast changing. We must impeach the head of the monsters that are running the ship aground. All hands on deck now or forever go down with the ship. Communication of the truth now is our only saving grace. Get out the emails, faxes, calls, and word of mouth as fast as you can to stop the coming potential war on innocent Iran. Your summer is at stake here and as far as next Christmas, well that is in jeopardy also. If the democrats will come out on a platform of truth, they will take back America. We are time constrained to end the corruption of our system now. We have about a month and then it’s a hopeful if we reach the elections to purge out all the corrupt officials there. Every one that supported this administration and supported such corruptions like the Patriot Act will be kicked out by honest American Democrats with impeccable histories of serving their communities. Every congress critter or senate toad that supported the Patriot Act by signing on to it is out of there!!! That will just be the beginning.

GET ON THE TRUTH PARADE AND RIDE WITH THE WINNERS!!

Links:
http://www.rbnlive.com/listen.html
http://www.gcnlive.com/mon-frisched.htm
http://www.americanfreepress.net/html/iran_in_neo-con_.html
http://www.commondreams.org/
http://www.infowars.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veteran_Intelligence_Professionals_for_Sanity
http://www.tompaine.com/
http://www.whatreallyhappened.com/
http://www.truthout.com/
http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_melinda060219_action_agenda_oppo.htm

Stories about Impeachment:
http://www.crisispapers.org/topics/impeachment.htm
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/
http://www.carlsheeler.com/
http://www.carlsheeler.com/articles_impeachment_GA.asp
http://www.impeachbush.tv/
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2005/05/31/the_i_word/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impeach_Bush_campaign

Stories about the Cheney cover lie:
http://www.infowars.com/articles/us/cheney_shooting_scientific_proof.htm
http://www.rense.com/general69/clsoe.htm
http://www.capitolhillblue.com/blog/2006/02/secret_service_agents_say_chen.html#comments
http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0223-33.htm
http://www.infowars.com/articles/us/cheney_shooting_media_ignores_smoking_gun.htm

In Service of the Office of the Christ…a subsidiary of God’s Army of One!

ROSE KING

“Blood brothers getting it together…….”



Comment #15: koryannder said on 2/26/06 @ 4:49am ET...

Well said, Dr. Jay #14 - it is finally beginning to sink in to the great unwashed public that 9/11 was Bu$h's "Reichstag Fire." Now it is absolutely open that they are planning some sort of "Terrorist" act that they can use as an excuse to violate Iran, bring oil prices to $125.00 per barrel, and utterly destroy what is left of our military so that they can institute a draft (with, of cour$e, $uitable "Deferment$ for the $cions - and daughter$ - of the wealthy) This tactic can, of course, backfire. If enough people are aware of the intent of the neo-cons to create a "Terrorist" incident, the triggering of it could bring down the whole rotten structure, since it could be that our military will not stand still for being sent into sure destruction in Iran. Nobody wants us, after our Iraqi fiasco, to get bogged down in a country that is harder to fight in than Korea ever was! And, now that a real Civil War has broken out in Iraq in spite of our pitiful attempts to "Democratize" that poor suffering country, it might even be that saner heads will prevail and the neo-cons will pull in their horns. (Don't bet on it - THEY'RE not doing any fighting! Theirs is J/ Wellington Wimpy's motto - "Let's you and him fight.") But yes - having read all these posts, I feel that there is some minuscule hope. GET THE WORD OUT! Not to blow my wife's horn too loudly, but the post (#1)is not copyrighted - if all of us send a copy of it to all our correspondents, and ask them to send it to theirs, perhaps the litany of wrongs done to us by this Administration will wake the Public. It's worth a shot - and any others of the excellent exhortations I have seen on this blog, as well. DON'T GIVE UP! The hydra can be beheaded, if enough swords are drawn. Go for it; it's late - but maybe not too late.



Comment #16: Nolip said on 2/26/06 @ 7:48am ET...

Bush is smoking a huge Dubai and manipulating his cronies in Congress to support his addiction to foreign money. GOP Congress are enablers, enabling Bush to feed his own ego while retaining power themselves (and collecting big bucks from special interests through their lobbyists). These people need straight jackets and a great deal of "medication" (read unemployment come election day) before they will recover. In the case of Bush, he needs a more serious remedy..jail time.



Comment #17: Jay Lechnyr said on 2/26/06 @ 9:36am ET...

Comment #10: sanitysojourner
The 'war on terror' is the sole source of the presidents war time powers. The Iraqi war have been over for several years now. Any call to cancel the "war on terror" is a call to strip the presidency of those powers. As we approach the end of this term, expect to see an ever greater call to cancel this 'war on terror'. The more nervous the neocons are about the next presidential election, the more they will support this. If the liberals are all behind it, and half the neocons are behind it, guess what happens? The next president will be the one stripped of those powers. It will be the next president that is rendered powerless to handle the mess BushCo left behind.

Think about it, how does one make war on a concept? How does one fight a method - an abstraction? Terrorism is a means, how does one use military force against a means? The argument that this is a legitimate war is ridiculous - absurd. But the neocons needed any excuse in a rainstorm to give this president - their president - war time powers so he could do the things he has done. Now that he'll be finished in about two years, we can expect them to argue against the idea. And they will even be viewed as reasonable for doing it. All the limbaugh robots and media dogs will suddenly begin arguing that the whole concept of 'making war on an abstraction' was absurd in the first place. And they will be right. It's a simple matter of them "waking up" to the fact. Think about that, we're seeing people "waking up" to the absurdities of this "war on terror" now. The next obvious step is to forment a popular movement to cancel it.

Once cancelled, the next president will be prevented from dismantling the institutions built by BushCo.

The neocons will not care if another one of 'their own' gets into office without war time powers. The neccessary institutions have already been put into place. He will only need to help cover things up and maybe move some things along. Another four years and our chance to restore democracy without violence is reduced to nearly nothing.

It all sounds so reasonable, and that is why it might actually work. To fight it is to make yourself sound unreasonable and illogical.

The only thing that could disrupt this scenario is a sea change in both houses. And I simply do not see that happening.

BTW, there's a new book out that some of you may find interesting. I heard about it on NPR. You can listen to an interview of the author as a download, podcast, or by streaming it.

The Gods of Business

He gives insight into how and why fundamentalist Christians can be so corrupt in business and government.



Comment #18: Beverly said on 2/26/06 @ 2:25pm ET...

Ohiodem1: Please don't apologize for going "on and on."

Your lucid summary of the current status of Ohio corruption is very important for those of us who just can't follow it everyday. There is just too much to keep up with now days. Thank you.



Comment #19: koryannder said on 2/26/06 @ 3:54pm ET...

I said it before, and I'll keep saying it until everyone understands it! "Terrorism" is a Civil Crime! We have (and had) plenty of State and Federal laws on the books to deal with it; we DID NOT NEED that monstrosity miscalled the USAPATRIOT Act, which was a license to convert the country into a Police State, and our law enforcement forces into a Gestapo or Schutzstaffel. To see a subservient Congress renewing the more onerous provisions of it, when a Congress which gave a damn' for the Constitution the individual members are sworn to uphold would repeal the whole misbegotten thing, is simply sickening. Where are the guts of Congress? Better still - where are the Congresscritters who care about the people they are supposed to be representing? We need to clean house. Yes, JC deserves to stay where he is - unless he decided to become a Senator - too bad I can't vote for him, being in a different State. But I can vote against the corrupt shyster who supposedly represents me. Trouble is, this is a safe Rethuglicam district, and the odds against unseating him are heavy. But we can try!



Comment #20: sanitysojourner said on 2/26/06 @ 3:57pm ET...

#17 Jay: Again, interesting postulation. If you think yours is a good approach, go for it.

To be honest, I don't know the legal machinations involved in transferring "war powers" between presidents and administrations.

Unfortunately, process-impaired or not, I don't think we will have the luxury of encountering such a dilemma.

Several things I would bet money on:
1. dems don't need to worry about winning elections. The voting machine debacle will take care of that;

2. the neocons would do anything to prevent a dem from having any power like that;

3. with apologies to the gentleman from Michigan, the dems wouldn't know what to do with such power in the very unlikely instance that it landed in their laps and whispered "use me like a nickel whore."

Restoration of any semblance of democracy will only happen if people like us -- and that includes everybody from all backgrounds and political perspectives decide that we want an open, honest, fair and balanced government. And not accepting anything less.



Comment #21: feline said on 2/26/06 @ 4:17pm ET...

March 8, 1992: Raw U.S. World Dominance Plan Is Leaked to the Media

Crafted by Cheney, Libby, Wolfowitz



Comment #22: feline said on 2/26/06 @ 4:27pm ET...

Executive Power Grab on tap at White House?

Published September 27, 2001.

Just some reaffirmations that this information has been around for years. We've gotten distracted and disinformed by the Administration's corporate-backed media. I'm sure there's much more we can find.

Thanks to all for your contributions here. Nolip, I like your analogy! Of all the addictions, Bush's addiction to money (and power) are the most dysfunctional to our health and security. Hopefully, citizen's will continue to overcome the addictions to fear and denial of the truth.



Comment #23: katinmn said on 2/26/06 @ 7:13pm ET...

Glad to hear about Harper's.

Congressman Conyers,
I have been asking my (formerly accountable) representative Betty McCollum to sign on as a co-sponsor to H Res 635. She replied: "Congress is not and will not consider impeachment of GWB. The best strategy is to get a Dem majority in the House and Senate this fall."

I don't believe that is the answer. After all, a MAJORITY of sitting Democrats voted for the Iraq War Resolution. A majority of sitting Democrats have also voted for the worst of Bush's failing policies. Why are these same leaders waiting for newbies to come in and kick some Republican ass?

What strategy do you recommend for those of us who want our elected officials, especially Democratic ones, to follow the peoples' will? Phone calls, marches, petitions and letters are not working.

Thank you for all you are doing. I wish I had you as my representative.



Comment #24: Rusty said on 2/26/06 @ 10:14pm ET...

"Huge March Planned for Eve of Katrina Evictions
By David Swanson
t r u t h o u t

A march had been planned for February 28th, the eve of the scheduled March 1st evictions of Hurricane Katrina victims. FEMA moved the evictions to March 15th, so activists have moved the march to March 14th. A press conference on Capitol Hill will be followed by a march through Washington, DC, past FEMA, past the Department of Homeland Security, and to the White House, where a permit has been obtained to rally in Lafayette Square Park until midnight. IF BUSH DOES NOT MEET THE MARCHER'S DEMANDS, HOWEVER, MANY PLAN NOT TO LEAVE.

The demands are for a serious housing plan for those already evicted and those still in hotels, and an end to evictions. Another way of putting it is that the marchers will be demanding that the federal government cease violating the law by working to exclude people from a city on the basis of race and class."

FEMA Ethnic Cleansers vs. American Democracy

I ran out of verbal ammunition to fire at these Bush fascists and their abusive regime a battlethread or two ago, but I'm RELOADING. In the meantime, the first March on Washington of 2006 is only two weeks away. There will be more, so get your democracy boots out of storage and get ready to rumble this year.

The dismantling of Fortress Bush by the American people begins March 14. Congress can either help us or get the hell out of our way.



Comment #25: ljm said on 2/26/06 @ 11:18pm ET...

We know Bush is bad for America, but how do we get his partners in crime in Congress to impeach him?



Comment #26: feline said on 2/26/06 @ 11:56pm ET...

American Library Association information on Patriot Act
The ALA expresses disappointment in the recent compromise regarding the Patriot Act, as it does not explicitely protect the rights of electronic use at public libraries.
They are endorsing the SAFE Act, which I hope to research and provide a link here soon.

PLEASE, LINK TO THE FOLLOWING ASAP!

CITIZEN ACTION: PLEASE CONTACT YOUR SENATORS AND ASK THEM TO VOTE 'NO' ON CLOTURE OF DEBATE OF PATRIOT ACT BEFORE TUESDAY, FEB. 28, 2006!

Please, pass this along to everyone you know. If anyone could please post this on Kos, it would be greatly appreciated.



Comment #27: feline said on 2/27/06 @ 12:41am ET...

Senate homepage

On the right side of page, Senate is scheduled to consider S2271, amendment of provisions of Patriot Act on Mon., Feb. 27, 2006.
However, I cannot locate schedule for Tue., Feb. 28, 2006 to confirm if that's the date set to vote on cloture of debate. If anyone could please assist me with this, I would appreciate it. Tomorrow may be the day we can make massive contacts to let Senate know where we stand on the issue.

Also, JC, I know you sponsored H.R. 1526, the Security and Freedom Ensured Act. Is this resolution still open? Dead? If you could please provide an update, would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.



Comment #28: alizaryn said on 2/27/06 @ 2:59am ET...

Congratulations Congressman! I can't wait to read the full article. Your voice in the storm is being heard more and more.



Comment #29: Pissed Off American said on 2/27/06 @ 9:47am ET...

From the Huffington blog.....

Whistleblower Charged With Three Felonies for Exposing Diebold's Crimes

A whistleblower in Los Angeles is in legal trouble and needs our help. Stephen Heller is alleged to have exposed documents in Jan. & Feb. 2004 which provided smoking gun evidence that Diebold was using illegal, uncertified software in California voting machines. The docs also showed that Diebold's California attorneys (the powerful international law firm Jones Day) had told them they were in breach of the law for using uncertified software, but Diebold continued to use the uncertified software anyway.

Heller is alleged to have come across these docs while temping as a word processor at Jones Day, and he is further alleged to have taken the docs and exposed them to the bright light of day. Now, after sitting on this for 2 years, the Los Angeles District Attorney, under pressure from Jones Day, is going after this whistleblower with 3 felony charges, each of which carries the potential of time in state prison. Here is a story in the LA Times. Heller's lawyer believes the 2 year wait to file charges was due to the then-impending 2004 election, and that Diebold and their attorneys didn't want the information to be made public in the lead up to the election.

The documents also look bad for Diebold's California lawyers, Jones Day. According to Bev Harris, author of the book Black Box Voting, the docs "provided evidence that the Jones Day law firm was helping Diebold to cover up the fact that they were installing uncertified software which, as it turns out, caused thousands of voters to be unable to vote just weeks later."

Bev Harris continues, "Jim March, another investigator for Black Box Voting, and I immediately took the documents to both the California Attorney General's office and to Kevin Shelley, who was then the California Secretary of State. Just days later, the secretary of state decertified Diebold." At the time, Shelley called the company's conduct "reprehensible" and said "their performance, their behavior, is despicable," and that "if that's the kind of deceitful behavior they're going to engage in, they can't do business in California." In an interview, Shelly said "We will not tolerate the deceitful conduct of Diebold, and we must send a clear message to the rest of the industry: Don’t try to pull a fast one on the voters of California." Shelley then requested Cal. Attorney General Bill Lockyer to investigate taking criminal and civil actions against the company based on what he called "fraudulent actions by Diebold." Lockyer eventually dropped the criminal probe of Diebold but he sued the company on behalf of California, and Diebold settled out of court for $2.6 million.

Let's make this clear, folks. The docs Heller is accused of exposing were important evidence. First, they show that Diebold and their attorneys, Jones Day, conspired to mislead the California secretary of state, and that the lie they told was material, and resulted directly in the disenfranchisement of voters. Second, another document demonstrates that Diebold lied to the secretary of state when it represented that certain problems with its software were "fixed." This document, the release notes for the new software, showed that the problems were not fixed. Third, the documents showed that Diebold had been advised by Jones Day that what it had been doing with its uncertified software was illegal. Fourth, the documents show that Jones Day advised Diebold that it was subject to criminal prosecution. So in a nutshell, Diebold was defrauding the state government and taxpayers of California, and disenfranchising the voters of California. And the documents PROVE it.

And for allegedly exposing Diebold's felonious behavior (which led directly to Diebold being de-certified in California), for allegedly helping protect the taxpayers and voters of California, for allegedly helping to keep elections clean and fair, what happens? Diebold, the true criminal in this case, and their powerful international law firm Jones Day, press the L.A. District Attorney's office to hammer Heller, a whistleblower. Three felonies! Diebold was (and probably still is) screwing California voters, Heller is alleged to have seen the smoking gun evidence of Diebold's crimes, and, like a true patriot and whistleblower, allegedly exposed that smoking gun evidence, and now HE'S the one facing jail time. Only in Bush's America!

And the irony is, if Heller is convicted of a felony for exposing Diebold's crimes against the California voters, he'll lose his right to vote. Diebold will win. We can't let that happen!

But we can help. Let's flood the Los Angeles DA's office with phone calls, letters and emails asking them not to crucify this whistleblower.

Now of course, BE POLITE. Remember you are writing, calling and emailing the office of the Los Angeles District Attorney, which is a branch of law enforcement. Being harassing, rude, or threatening will only get you in legal trouble of your own, and it won't help Steve Heller, the whistleblower.

Talking points:

Don't prosecute Stephen Heller. He's a whistleblower, not a criminal, and he should not be prosecuted.

Diebold is the criminal here. Stephen Heller is alleged to have exposed Diebold's criminal activity, and that makes him a whistleblower. He should not be prosecuted.

Diebold's election malfeasance strikes at the very heart of our democratic republic. Without clean elections, we don't have democracy anymore. Those who expose such crimes are whistleblowers and should not be prosecuted.

America has a long history of whistleblowers exposing criminal activity, and prosecuting them is wrong; it puts a chilling effect on others who might see criminal activity and want to expose it.

Heller is getting pounded. He's the victim of bullies; a huge, powerful, wealthy, politically connected corporation and their equally huge and powerful international law firm are slamming him, grinding him up in legal machinery for allegedly lifting up the pretty skirt Diebold shows to the world, exposing the dirty, stinking criminal secrets that lie beneath. For what he's alleged to have done, there was nothing in it for him. No financial gain (in fact a serious financial loss, because he got fired from his job, and he's had to pay 10s of thousands of dollars to his lawyers, and owes them 10s of thousands more). And he's now at risk of over 3 years in state prison. It's insane. His cause is a worthy one, and he needs our help. Please call, write and email today.

Email the Los Angeles District Attorney's office at lada@co.la.ca.us.

A good old fashioned snail mail letter is very powerful tool:

District Attorney's Office
County of Los Angeles
210 West Temple Street, Suite 18000
Los Angeles, CA 90012-3210

And of course, phone calls:

Telephone (213) 974-3512
Fax (213) 974-1484
TTY (800) 457-7778 (8:30am - 5:00pm M-F)

Let's help defend a whistleblower from Diebold and their attorneys!



Comment #30: Truth_in_action said on 2/27/06 @ 11:30am ET...

The stealing of our taxes to fatten Halliburton and Dick Cheney’s pockets is criminal.

Army to pay Halliburton subsidiary most of the disputed funds questioned by audit

AND more fattening is on the way.

Halliburton subsidiary awarded open ended detention camps contract = cost overruns?

The state of our government and the country these days reminds me of a sick, co-dependent family. The father and mother abuse, the children act as if nothing is happening. By being complicit, the children are a party to it, whether they are awake or not. It is a web and this Administration and Corporatocracy is counting on us staying in this role of being silent and complicit.

THAT is why the Patriot Act is being passed. The Administration needs to silence the voice and actions of the rest of the family.

Nothing could be more important than using our voice to express ourselves.

Congressman Conyers, thank you so much for expressing your voice publicly to protect the American People. You are truly an awake and aware individual. Your courage to step out of the mold of complacency and express yourself in what you truly believe, going against the rest of the Administration-enabling congress-sheeple and senate-sheeple makes me so proud. Your strong and courageous example is a model for the rest of us.



Comment #31: Truth_in_action said on 2/27/06 @ 11:35am ET...

#29: POA, a very important post. Thanks.

Note that Jones Day is one of the lawfirms involved in representing Libby in the Valerie Plame case. They must be getting a lot of directional advice from somewhere HIGH UP...



Comment #32: feline said on 2/27/06 @ 2:08pm ET...

#30 Truth in action,
"THAT is why the Patriot Act is being passed..."
Do you have any further information on details of scheduled Senate vote? I would appreciate anyone providing more information on this.

All of the posts here are important, Harper's article, Halliburton, Diebold. I just want to make sure that the Senate doesn't ram through more legislation while we're not looking!

Thank you.



Comment #33: Ron said on 2/27/06 @ 4:07pm ET...

#19: koryannder #26,,27,,& 30 feline

"I said it before, and I'll keep saying it until everyone understands it! "Terrorism" is a Civil Crime! We have (and had) plenty of State and Federal laws on the books to deal with it; we DID NOT NEED that monstrosity miscalled the USAPATRIOT Act, which was a license to convert the country into a Police State, and our law enforcement forces into a Gestapo or Schutzstaffel. "

I couldn't agree with you folks more! Now with the (UN) Patriot Act coming up again to discussion ,shouldn't we be screaming as loud as we can,to avoid it being made permanent!
The Port deal is a sham,Bushit will not worry about the UAE pulling any shit,because the only shit pulled here in America,was orchestrated ,and conducted by him,and his sick pack of Playmates!

WE ALL KNOW THAT !!

Bush and all of his bible NAZI brown shirt buddies, need to be tied up to a pew in some village church,on bread and water until God tells them to repent(<:

GEE I believe that there is little hope of that happening!

Down with Tyranny!!

Long live OUR Constitution!



Comment #34: Truth_in_action said on 2/27/06 @ 4:56pm ET...

Sorry, feline, slip of the fingers. It hasn't passed yet.

I see right now on C-SPAN at not quite 5:00 pm that it says "U.S. Senate Quorum Call.



Comment #35: Truth_in_action said on 2/27/06 @ 5:10pm ET...

The Patriot Act will be continued in discussion tomorrow after morning business per Mitch McDonnell who just made a motion.

At 2:30 tomorrow (Tues.) there will be a vote on cloture. Following the vote on cloture (which I guess he thinks will pass???) - on Wednesday a vote on the passage of the Patriot Act bill. I didn't hear if there was a time for that vote.

There you go, feline - hot off C-SPAN2.

OK, we have our work cut out for us.



Comment #36: feline said on 2/27/06 @ 6:01pm ET...

Truth in action, thank you very much for the update!

We had a great last-minute response on the Stop Alito Challenge; we might as well give it our best effort in the next 20 hours; please, contact our Senators asking them to vote 'NO' on cloture of debate, and/or vote 'NO' on extension of the Patriot Act. I agree with Ron, that the Patriot Act existing at all is reduntancy of laws, and quite probably even in violation of the Constitution. At the very least, perhaps we can buy some time for groups to put added pressure on Congress to revise provisions.

Why the heck hasn't Kos brought any attention to this? Where is all the outrage? Are there any other websites with petitions/contact information about this?

I know some have posted on this issue here over the last several weeks; I feel I should have acted sooner, I didn't know the timeline, and I didn't realize that Congress was going to try to sneak it by us while all of the other media distrations were going on. That's how it looks to me, anyway.



Comment #37: Jay Lechnyr said on 2/27/06 @ 9:36pm ET...

Comment #33: Ron
Sorry I can't agree with you Ron. I see a real need for the Patriot Act, assuming a real patriot with some guts gets into the White House next term. He's going to need it to whisk those responsible for the current mess away and out of reach of our own courts. That way they can be interrogated properly. That's the only way of getting all the investigations done in a mere 4 years now. We're talking about everything from Halliburton to 911 to diebold, to Rovegate, to everything else. We simply do not have enough investigators in this country. (I happen to know that there are a lot of Russian investigators who would be very happy to have a good paying job - and we all know how good Russian investigators can be)

You see, the patriot act is a tool that these neocons used to get us in so deep that using the patriot act is the only way we're going to get out. We have plenty of laws - sure. But we don't have that much time or qualified investigators in this country to do it all by ordinary means. Thus, only a president having the patriot act and wartime powers will have the power and authority to cut through all the B.S. and roadblocks to get to the truth in a single term.

That is the litmus test I'll be using for the next presidential election. If the person wants to get to the bottom of all the corruption - I'll vote for him no matter what his party affiliation - except a repugnican liar; we all know we can't trust them.

Besides, I have this strong sense of irony. As such, I consider it quite ironic that the very tools used to bring about the destruction of democracy should be the same tools used to bring about its restoration.

And at the time it's happening, the patriot who does it will be the most hated man alive. But history will say that he saved American Democracy.

Kind of like when Paul Volker saved the American Economy from stagflation. (JC will remember - raising interest rates in the face of high unemployment was tough, but it had to be done, once inflation was tamed, the economy started growing again)

Bush is now a lame duck. He can't do much more harm to democracy unless he takes on a real scorched earth policy. Trying to impeach him in two years is going to be incredibly tough - I would enourage it, but I would not spend too much time and resources on it.
I'm now concerned with getting someone into office that will do what it takes to undo the damage to democracy. And I believe that will take some real acts of fascism to do it. Once the deed is done and all the threats to democracy are exposed and excised and all the thousands of 'Bushies' removed from their offices (and preferably shot), then this silly 'war on terror' can end and the patriot act buried forever. Then perhaps we can all agree with hand on heart: never again.

And by the time a real patriot is done with all that, the republicans will probably agree as well: never again should a president accumulate that much power.



Comment #38: Ron said on 2/28/06 @ 3:13pm ET...

#37: Jay Lechnyr

Jay if you actually mean what you just wrote,you are a sick person !
Your answer to fascism is Fascism?
That makes a hell of a lot of sense.
How about justice?
Are you willing to torture those not willing to tell the truth and reveal what we already know,that ALL those involved with Bush ,belong in prison!
How can anything justify Fascism?What would make you anything different from them?

If we get the right person in office, we have all the time in the world,to bring those criminals to justice.If justice is real,those people will pay for their crimes. The world is not big enough to hide from ALL those that they have hurt! You couldn't pay pay me enough to be on their side,or become one of them just to bring them to justice.



Comment #39: Ohiodem1 said on 2/28/06 @ 3:41pm ET...

Jay, Ron,

The time to end the patriot act is now, not some undefined time in the future. I believe if the patriot act is renewed, in the form it is now, or in the vastly more expansive version that is on the table, then we have given up our freedom on the altar of the Global War on Terror, which has no goals, no strategy, and no way to win.

If the Patriot Act is renewed, in either form, it is an admission by our elected officials that they are unwilling or unable to provide a constitutional check on the unlimited power of the executive at the expense of our freedom. If the patriot act is renewed, this is an abject admission that the United States has LOST the war on terror.

The Bush administration, and it seems millions of other radical republicans seem perfectly content to have lost the war on terror, at the expense of our freedom, just to impose a narrow set of values from an absolutist point of view. No shades of gray, black or white, right or wrong, for or against, no debate, no middle ground, no freedom of expression except their expression, no rational discourse, no separation of church and state, no recourse in the courts for wrongs perpetrated on people by massive government connected corporate interests.

That is the choice those folks have made. I am unwilling to accept that choice. I agree with Ron, that if we stoop to their level, we are no better than they are, and we cannot commit the same crimes in the name of retribution. Such a course would put us in the same situation as the unending cycle of violence and revenge that we are observing in the Middle East right now. Until fundamental changes are made, that situation will never end. Neither would it end if we decided to be the bad guy in the name of good. That is exactly what the Bush administration is doing, and I want no part of it.



Comment #40: koryannder said on 2/28/06 @ 4:36pm ET...

For PoA #29
I was a Californian, born and bred. and thought to be one for the rest of my life, even after retirement. Then we elected Ronnie Reagan, who said, "Taxes ought to hurt," and they did - everyone but him - - - he didn't pay any because of unlimited tax shelters which held his million$. I hadn't retired yet - but did, soon after. Later on, we elected George Deukmejian, and EVERYTHING which was not compulsory, became forbidden, and about the only freedom we had left was to take our own trash to the dump. (Excuse me - "Landfill.") So I moved to Florida to get out of the morass which California had become. And then Florida Politics became Mafia involved, so I went elsewhere. I'll send an email to the LA D.A., but expect he will go ahead with the persecution of Mr. Heller, because - "Gee! we can't reward whistleblowers! That would send the wrong message! Maybe someone in MY office would blow the whistle on ME -" (Of course, I don't KNOW that the LA D.A. is crooked, but if he isn't, he's a rara avis in CA politics!) We can hope that a snowstorm of emails will influence him to do the RIGHT, if politically inexpedient, thing. Couldn't hurt.



Comment #41: Jay Lechnyr said on 2/28/06 @ 10:05pm ET...

I am offering a clearly stated end to both the fascism, the patriot act, the corruption, the war, and the tyranny. It will take four years of house cleaning to get things back to the way they were before PNAC lackeys siezed control of our government. The alternative is to have a slightly corrupted democracy for decades. Sick is accepting a little bit of fascism because allowing it also allows us to have immediate results, it's safe and it's the convenient thing to do to destroy part, but not the whole. I'm not about to advocate even a little corruption of our democratic process out of convenience or instant gratitude or because it's the safe thing to do. We fought and died for our freedom from the British 230 years ago. We've been fighting and dying for liberty ever since. We fought for liberty in Europe. We fought each other for the liberty of our black brothers. We fought for liberty in Korea, and in Vietnam, and in Iraq and we are not about to roll over just because we have to fight for it here in our own nations capital. It is certainly not sick to accept no compromises to the very principles of liberty and freedom that we have fought and died for. Pull out your history books again, friends, and read about it again. We did not win the revolutionary war by playing by the rules. The rules are: you win. All other rules are totally meaningless if you do not win. If we lose, we will be stood up and shot regardless of our ethics or moral standards. The only difference is if your children and their children live free or enslaved to tyranny. That, in my opinion, is the only difference that will matter 6 years or 106 years from tomorrow.

And it is you that decide how our children will live. You might be willing to trade decades of a little tyranny for some of your own personal safety or sense of ethics or in the preservation of your own moral codes. But I will not compromise the very foundation upon which my country stands for anything so trivial as my own personal beliefs. So if full and complete justice and the full restoration of liberty and democracy for our nation takes four years of fighting with the kid gloves off and if I have to sacrifice a few of my own personal ideals for my country, then so be it. For over 230 years others have sacrificed far more than that and their blood paid for far more than my own ever could.

This war on terrorism must be turned inward upon itself if we are to win it.

Now, I really do understand your convictions, Ron. It actually took me a long time get to the point of being willing to sacrifice my own personal beliefs for the good of my country. A couple of decades ago, I had the same choice, and chose not to make that sacrifice. It's why I'm not career military today. The needs of my country at the time did not outweigh my own personal convictions. But today, they do. But I would not go into it so foolishly that I would not have a timetable and a clear goal to accomplish as the Bush Administration has done. We would restore democracy as it was before 9/11 or at the end of the presidential term. No longer than four years no matter what does or does not happen.

But if you eliminate the Patriot Act and rescind this war first, those who institutionalized a little bit of tyranny will not have to hide from the world. They will continue to walk tall among us, boasting that they remain untouchable.

No, Mr Ron and Mr. Ohiodem1. What I propose is not madness, it's a stand. And I do not stand alone. I stand where Thomas Paine once stood when he said "These are the times that try men's souls." Not because of any physical hardships we must endure, but because of the sacrifices these times demand of us.

Please take heart to his words:
Now is the seed-time of Continental union, faith and honour. The least fracture now will be like a name engraved with the point of a pin on the tender rind of a young oak; the wound would enlarge with the tree, and posterity read in it full grown characters...

Though I would carefully avoid giving unnecessary offence, yet I am inclined to believe, that all those who espouse the doctrine of reconciliation, may be included within the following descriptions. Interested men, who are not to be trusted, weak men who cannot see, prejudiced men who will not see, and a certain set of moderate men who think better of the European world than it deserves; and this last class, by an ill-judged deliberation, will be the cause of more calamities to this Continent than all the other three.

No, my dear friends, the actions of our counterparts have made it neccessary for even bolder actions on our part. Would you still think the constitution is still in force? And indeed, it is still enforced upon the rest of us. But as you very well know, there are those within the ranks of our conservative counterparts who have made themselves above and beyond even the constitution. If we proceed meekly, or with the timidity common among our political leadership today, you both know these people will remain - as will the majority of their institutions of tyranny.

Would you cast your lot among those who cannot or will not see? Would you argue because you think better of this small group among our counterparts than they deserve?

They have kidnapped, they have tortured, they have murdered, they have lied, they have invaded, they have pillaged, they have cheated, they have corrupted, they have bullied, they have terrorized, they have stolen; would you accord them with any better than they deserve?



Comment #42: Ohiodem1 said on 2/28/06 @ 11:54pm ET...

Jay Lechner #41 - I have for about a year in this forum stated a consistent stand that the Bush administration has committed Impeachable offenses and should be Impeached by the House, tried and convicted by the Senate.

I share your passion about getting rid of this bunch using the mechanism provided in the Constitution.

In your first paragraph of #37, you support the Patriot Act, which is unconstitutional, as a means to permit some kind of enhanced interrogation technique in order to get at the "truth". You go on to suggest we get some unemployed Russian interrogators (former KGB?).

The patriot act does not create legal framework for torture. This an extra-legal mechanism that the Bush administration, and its so-called legal team of Gonzolaes, and others that have "found" justification for torture, and those in the official legal community have been censured, marginallized or even fired for making legal arguments contrary to what the admin wants.

For us, those who seek to defend the constitution, those who seek to walk on the moral high ground, to stoop to the Bush level is wrong, in my view, and even though we would like to seek retribution, we should limit ourselves to obtaining justice. We cannot administer justice by behaving in a inhumane, illegal and immoral fashion.

It is my opinion that the damage done to America by Bush and his supplicants will take 20 to 50 years to repair. This includes paying off the debt, repairing broken alliances, stopping the reignited arms war, ending the weaponization of space, dealing with the massive confrontation in the Middle East which was forced by the Bush administration, fixing Social Security if we allow Bush to get his way now, and so many other things.

The first thing is to restore confidence that our government will not lie to us, followed by government action necessary to repair our nearly destroyed Social Contract.

I respectfully disagree with your stand on that point. I appreciate your heartfelt desire to make things right in America. I disagree with the proposed method.



Comment #43: Jay Lechnyr said on 3/1/06 @ 5:21am ET...

If it were just about removing this administration, I would agree with you. But Ohiodem1, the use of torture has never been limited to this administration. They are guilty of raising it to the level of the American consciousness, but whether you knew of it or not, it's been a tool of our intelligence for many decades now. We are not as clean as you might want to believe. I don't blame you for not wanting to believe this, or to believe that it's always been with us. Nobody would want to admit that their own people are evil in any way. But in truth, we Americans have become exceedingly good at interrogations not because we were quick studies. We've become exceedingly good because we have been doing it so much for so long. Everyone involved agrees, this should always remain below the level of awareness for most Americans. They go out and do it quietly so the rest of us can sleep at night; blissful in our ignorance. And that is the way it should have always been.

But now that it's in the public's awareness - and half the public actually approves of it (as long as it's on some foreign them instead of on any of us), there is no denying it. Sparing certain people because your own conscience will remain clear in the sparing will not clear the American conscience in any way. It only means that vital information will be lost. We are dealing with people most of whom do not need any torture to talk. Mere isolation and the occasional threat will be enough. But there are a few who would take their dirty little secrets to the grave in the name of some twisted charicature of God, or simply out of spite; because they hate us so much. Simply taking these men away from the reach of the courts will send enough of a message to them that all but a few would sing like birds.

But if you seek to exonerate America (and perhaps thereby exonerating yourself) by not using this tool on certain well placed persons, it's simply not going to happen. These people are no less a danger than Al Qaida, and simply removing them from power will not dismantle their works. You can spend the next decade or two discovering and then dismantling their works and you still may not learn of it all. You would also let slip all the damage that these works do to democracy in the meantime. We do not reverse the votes of those elected, even fraudulently. We do not undo the damage that it causes. It self perpetuates and the longer it takes you to discover and remove it, the more damage is done.
Best to stop it fast and brutally, than slow and be brutalized by it.



Comment #44: Ohiodem1 said on 3/1/06 @ 7:22am ET...

Jay Lechner #43 - Please do not mistake me for someone who is naive about the way the world operates.

We have ample means at our disposal to uncover the crimes of the administration and their enablers. We do not need to resort to illegal and immoral means to achieve the ends we seek. I will not travel down that road, and I hope you will rethink your position, I think it is wrong. We will agree to disagree.



Comment #45: Jay Lechnyr said on 3/1/06 @ 10:07am ET...

Agreed.


New Comment
Name:
Password:
E-Mail:
Homepage:
Password is required to post a comment.
If you are not registered, please click here
to register. Please allow 24 to 48 hours for the
registration to be completed.
John Conyers'
ConyersBlog

· Main Index ·
· RSS Feed ·
ConyersBlog RSS 1.0 FEED


Paid For And Authorized By Conyers for Congress
Michael J. Remington, Treasurer
P.O. Box 17204
Alexandria, Virginia 22302
Phone: 313-438-2004
Email: campaign@johnconyers.com
Photographs Copyright Kim M. Simpson All Rights Reserved


Campaignoffice.com