Another Town Votes to Impeach Bush
Wednesday, May 31, 2006
This time, Brookline, Massachusetts.
They Eat Their Own
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
The head of the United Methodist Board of Church and Society calls for Bush's impeachment causing a Ben Stein loving, conservative rag to make idiotic arguments in opposition thereof.Bueller? Bueller?
Do-It-Yourself Impeachment
Saturday, May 27, 2006
This was originally posted by the great Mary Scoot O'Connor at My Left Wing.A recent press release from California Assemblyman Paul Koretz:
Koretz Impeachment Resolution Passes First Hurdle
Sacramento - Legislation by Assemblyman Paul Koretz (D-West Hollywood) calling for the impeachment of President George W. Bush and Vice President Richard Cheney advanced Thursday when the Assembly Rules Committee voted 4 to 3 to have the issue referred to the Committee for further consideration.
While the vote is considered procedural in nature, this action enables the language on impeachment to be amended into Assembly Joint Resolution 39 (AJR 39), replacing the prior language, which had been unrelated to the impeachment topic. The resolution had been initially proposed on April 21, when Koretz submitted language to amend AJR 39.
It is great news that the resolution is moving forward, said Koretz. The American public is increasingly angry and concerned about the misdeeds and failures of the Bush administration. Just look at the current headline about how they approved the secret collection of phone records of millions of ordinary Americans. This is a horrific abuse of our civil liberties, yet its the kind of thing that seems to happen all the time under this administration. We need a leveling with the public, we need accountability, and we need dramatic change and right now, the impeachment process seems to be the most appropriate way to achieve all three.
The impeachment resolution references Section 603 of Jeffersons Manual of the Rules of the United States House of Representatives, which allows federal impeachment proceedings to be initiated by joint resolution of a state legislature.
The key reasons cited for impeachment include the Bush Administration intentionally misleading the Congress and the American people regarding the threat from Iraq; exceeding constitutional authority to wage war by invading Iraq; exceeding constitutional authority by Federalizing the National Guard; conspiring to torture prisoners in violation of the Federal Torture Act and indicating intent to continue such actions; spying on American citizens in violation of the 1978 Foreign Agency Surveillance Act; leaking and covering up the leak of the identity of Valerie Plame Wilson, and holding American citizens without charge or trial.
Joining Koretz in support of the Resolution are: Assemblyman Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) as a joint author and Assemblymembers Rudy Bermudez (D-Norwalk), Ron Calderon (D-Montebello), Jackie Goldberg (D-Los Angeles), Loni Hancock (D-Berkeley), Jerome Horton (D-Inglewood) and Mark Ridley-Thomas (D-Los Angeles) as co-authors.
Section 603 allows federal impeachment proceedings to be initiated by a state legislature.
It gets better. State Assemblyman Paul Koretz (D-West Hollywood) authored Assembly Joint Resolution 39 (or AJR 39) which made it through the Assembly Rules Committee 4 to 3. Next step is a vote.
Contact the representatives and tell them you want it to happen.
1. California Legislature Contact Info
Find out who your representatives are -- or, if you don't live in California, pick a couple Democrats...
2. Call and/or send email letting them know that you support AJR 39 and that you're letting all your friends know, too.
3. Forward this. Send out emails. Let people know that they can be heard.
AfterDowningStreet.org Launches Impeachment Resource Center
Friday, May 26, 2006
AfterDowningStreet.org has now launched an Impeachment Resource Center. Check it out!
William Rivers Pitt Plays the Impeachment Card
William Rivers Pitt's latest article on impeachment discusses all of the benefits from a Democratic takeover in November-- and it's not just about impeachment, as far as Pitt is concerned.
Excerpt:
"Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) sits on the Committee on Government Reform, and will become chairman should the Democrats re-take the House in November. Waxman, in 1998, founded the Special Investigations Division within the minority offices on this committee, "to conduct investigations into issues that are important to the minority members of the Government Reform Committee and other members of Congress."
"There are more than fifty investigations that have been performed and continued to be performed by Waxman's Special Investigations Division. Among these are investigations into the torture at Abu Ghraib, Cheney's notorious energy task force meetings, a variety of Halliburton payoffs, electronic voting, the administration's response to Hurricane Katrina, and the vast scandal surrounding administration abuse of Iraq intelligence and the exposure of CIA agent Valerie Plame.
"There is enough meat on that bone to keep Rep. Waxman, armed with subpoena power, busy as a beaver for the foreseeable future. It is also worth noting, when considering the formidable arsenal of information Waxman can bring to bear against the Bush White House, the legacy of Dan Burton.
"Rep. Dan Burton (R-Ind.) became notorious as chairman of Government Reform during the Clinton administration. He fired off enough subpoenas to fill an oil tanker, almost all of them inspired by baseless and scurrilous accusations. Without actually proving much of anything, beyond the fact that subpoena power is an astonishingly large stick to hand to someone, Burton managed to keep the Clinton administration tied in knots for years.
"Burton was throwing mud. Waxman will be throwing fire, if handed the opportunity. Beyond Waxman and Conyers, there will be Barney Frank chairing the House Financial Services Committee. There will be Louise Slaughter chairing the House Committee on Rules. There will be Charlie Rangel chairing the Ways and Means Committee. This list goes on, and on."
More HERE
Fox News Analyst Wants a Guarantee Not to Impeach
Thursday, May 25, 2006
This is truly pathetic. Fox News wants the Democrats to guarantee that they will not impeach Bush if they win back the Congress in November. Somehow, without having conducted any meaningful investigations on the run-up to the war with Iraq, or the administration's role in the outing of Valerie Plame, or the NSA wiretapping, or the violations of the FISA laws, or the use of torture in violation of international law, or the 750 presidential signing statements, Fox News believes that Dems should blindly fold their cards.
Sorry, but it isn't about politics, it's about the freaking US Constitition. When you violate ratified international treaties, US statutes, and the US Constitution (knowingly and repeatedly), it's not about a political witch hunt, it's about insuring the integrity of our form of government.
Nice try, Fox News.
The decision to impeach Bush is not a political one.
Book Review-- "The Case For Impeachment"
Wednesday, May 24, 2006
I recently had a chance to read the new book by David Lindorff and Barbara Olshansky entitled The Case for Impeachment
(published by Thomas Dunne Books).Now, I fancy myself as being somewhat of a news junkie. I read a lot. I keep up on the blogs. I avoid television news. I believe this gives me a pretty good understanding of the current state of affairs in this country. But when I read The Case for Impeachment
, something happened. Suddenly, everything just clicked together. All of it.The Case for Impeachment
is a well-researched and concisely written book about the Bush presidency, including all of its transgressions and political crimes. With an informed basis in constitutional law, the book tackles a laundry list of high crimes and misdemeanors.There is a profound lesson to be learned by witnessing all of the administration's crimes, juxtaposed one after the other. Even for a news junkie like myself, I came away from this book with a far greater appreciation for the need to impeach our pitiful President.
But you don't have to be a news junkie to love this book. The book is so concisely written that the book would also speak well to those people who don't have time to stay up on all the news. I'd say this book would be a great purchase for anybody trying to convert a recovering W lover. I highly recommend The Case for Impeachment
.
Quote of the Day
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
"Let them call me a rebel and I welcome it; I feel no concern from it; but I should suffer the misery of demons should I make a whore of my soul." -- Thomas Paine
Another Coward-- Democratic Senator Evan Bayh
From Pam Paulding at Pandagon:
"As for me, I tried to think of a question that the Shakers would like to see answered, and what I came up with was asking the Senator whether he supported Nancy Pelosi's decision to take impeachment off the table in the House, even though thorough investigations of the administration haven't been done and polls show that Americans increasingly support impeachment. Bayh said (paraphrasing), "Remember when the Republicans were going nuts in pursuit on Clinton...?" And because I apparently cannot control my smart-assitude even when sitting two feet away from a Senator, I said, "No, I don't remember that at all. When was that?" Okay, the other bloggers laughed, but Bayh didn't seem to find it all that funny. Sorry, Senator.
He went on to say that the American people didn't like it when the Republican Congress went after Clinton when they should have been paying attention to jobs and the economy and shit, and there was a backlash, and the Dems won seats during midterms—and if the Dems tried to impeach Bush, the same thing would happen, because it would be viewed as motivated by a vendetta.
Pam Paulding continues...
"Sis points out, rightfully so, that the Dems have no brain or a spine, because there was no backlash against the Rethugs — here we are in the nightmare term 2 of this administration (and the only reason the Rethugs are in trouble is because of their own corruption and malfeasance).
What's ridiculous is that this position presumes that there is some equivalence between a lying about a BJ and Dear Leader's torching of the Constitution to suit his needs. What on earth what would qualify in Dem minds as grounds for impeachment when all they are worried about is imaginary political "backlash?" How about considering what might be the best thing to do for the country when the executive branch is power-mad and out of control? Taking it off the table as a strategy is a worthy question for these Dems to answer fully, given there so much up in the air that could come crashing down on the Bushies.
(Why is it that the Democrats always seem to overthink an issue? This administration has gone well beyond the standards for impeachment. Everybody with a brain sees it. To hell with the concern for "backlash". It's about the Constitution, stupid!)
Support Impeachment, the IBC, and ImpeachPAC
Thursday, May 18, 2006
Today, we are unveiling our new T-shirt design. If you buy a T-shirt, your money will go to a worthy cause. You will be helping to support this site, as well as ImpeachPAC, a federally registered PAC aimed at electing a Congress to impeach George W. Bush and Dick Cheney. After all, we will be donating a portion of all sales of this T-Shirt to ImpeachPAC.
Please buy one today!
Learning From Nuremberg
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
Excerpt: "The Nazis who were sitting in the dock in Nuremberg, Germany, on November 21, 1945, heard the following charge when US Chief of Counsel Robert H. Jackson addressed the International Military Tribunal:
"We have also accused as criminal organizations the High Command and the General Staff of the German Armed Forces. We recognize that to plan warfare is the business of professional soldiers in all countries. But it is one thing to plan strategic moves in the event war comes, and it is another thing to plot and intrigue to bring on that war. We will prove the leaders of the German General Staff and of the High Command to have been guilty of just that. Military men are not before you because they served their country . . . They are not here because they lost the war, but because they started it."
The lies and deceptions of Commander-in-Chief George W. Bush, his Cabinet, and his military leaders were part and parcel of the "plot and intrigue to bring on" the war against Iraq. It has been a war that "they started." The guilty verdict rendered at Nuremberg surely informs us as to what the primary indictment in the impeachment of George W. Bush ought to be." (Emphasis Added.)
More HERE
The Right Wing is Talking Impeachment....in Spanish
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
The right-wing is talking impeachment...in Spanish.
The Progressive Nails It
Monday, May 15, 2006
Excerpt: "This shows how bankrupt the Democratic leadership is.
They worry that the mere mention of the "I" word will so galvanize Republicans that Democrats won't gain control of the House or the Senate and won't therefore be able to slow Bush down, much less impeach him.
This argument has two key flaws.
First, it's unprincipled. Impeachment is not a partisan issue. It goes way beyond which party is in the White House or who controls Capitol Hill. It's about whether we're a democracy or not.
You should support impeachment if you believe in the Constitution, whatever party allegiance you have. But even for those who only speak tactics, it's foolish.
If your goal is impeachment, you need to clamor for it now. You need to build a mass base for impeachment, otherwise Pelosi will continue to abandon this issue.
And if I were a Democratic strategist, and I'm not, I'd favor impeachment because it galvanizes the Democratic base, and Karl Rove has proven time and time again that you need to get your base out to win. For years, Democrats have taken their base for granted.
Now, with impeachment, they are doing so again."
(Emphasis Added.)
More HERE
Quote of the Day
Friday, May 12, 2006
"The greatest menace to freedom is an inert people."-- Supreme Court Justice Louis D. Brandeis
Oh, the Hypocrisy
Don't you just love how the same group of right-wingers that brought this country the impeachment of Bill Clinton at a time when there was no chance for impeachment to pass through the Democratic Senate, are now making arguments that the impeachment of George W. Bush would be a "political dead end"?
Lest these people forget that after being put on trial for impeachment, Bill Clinton had the highest approval ratings ever during his presidency (68%).
Meanwhile, W is at 31%, and sliding, with more indictments looming.
Oh, the hypocrisy!
Getting Tired of it Yet?
Thursday, May 11, 2006
Still okay with what's going on?How much more of this can you take?
Four More States Considering Impeachment Resolutions
Are Wisconsin, New Mexico, Nevada and North Carolina next?
The Washintgon Post on the GOP's Bankruptcy of Ideas
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Is somebody reading this site?Excerpt:
"The emerging Republican game plan for 2006 is, at bottom, a tautology: If the Democrats retake Congress it will mean, well, that the Democrats retake Congress. (Cue lightning bolt and ominous clap of thunder.) Karl Rove and his minions have plumb run out of issues to campaign on. They can't run on the war. They can't run on the economy, where the positive numbers on growth are offset by the largely stagnant numbers on median incomes and the public's growing dread of outsourcing. Immigration may play in various congressional districts, but it's too dicey an issue to nationalize. Even social conservatives may be growing weary of outlawing gay marriage every other November. Nobody's buying the ownership society. Competence? Ethics? You kidding?"
More HERE
Chapel Hill's Town Counil is Unanimous
Tuesday, May 09, 2006
"On the political front, the council voted 8-0 in favor of a call for impeaching President Bush..."More HERE
The GOP Strategy
Monday, May 08, 2006
The GOP believes that they can use the specter of impeachment to dissuade voters from voting Democratic in the mid-term elections.Are they serious?
Have they seen the polls?
It's not as though Bush is a popular president. According to the latest Gallup Poll, he is at a 31% approval rating.
Telling potential voters that, essentially, "voting Democrat= voting for impeachment" is not only pathetic, as a campaign strategy, but the strategy will backire. If anything, their strategy will coax the growing anti-Bush crowd to vote Democrat.
It's not as if Bush has a 60% approval rating. The people have grown tired of the rampant corruption and the excessive policies of this administration. The people want accountability. Telling people that a Democratic House would, in essence, bring accountability will only serve to coax people into voting Democrat in the next election.
It's now plainly obvious that the GOP leadership is completely out of touch with the current political climate. After all, if they bothered to look, they would realize that 70% of the country does not approve of Bush. That being the case, the "threat of impeachment" serves more to help Democrats than it does to hurt Democrats.
Quote of the Day
"In the beginning of a change, the patriot is a scarce man, brave, hated, and scorned. When his cause succeeds however, the timid join him, for then it cost nothing to be a patriot."
-- Mark Twain
Gallup Says 31%
Yesterday, I discussed the AP-Ipsos poll and the Mendoza line. Well, it turns out that it's not 33%, it's more like 31%. Bush is in a free fall!
Compare that with Nixon's numbers...
The "Mendoza Line" for Resignation
Sunday, May 07, 2006
In baseball, batting less than .200 is considered to be batting below the "Mendoza line". When a ballplayer bats below the Mendoza line for a long period of time, it means trouble for the ballplayer-- perhaps looming a trade or a demotion to the minor leagues.In baseball, the Mendoza line is clearly set at .200. What is the Mendoza line for a president? When should a president step down?
The latest AP-Ipsos poll shows that Bush's job approval numbers continue to fall. According to the Associated Press:
Just 33 percent of the public approves of Bush's job performance, the lowest of his presidency.
Now....
I usually stay away from mentioning approval ratings on this site because impeachment isn't about popularity, it's about the violation of law. And God knows we have certainly documented countless Bush transgressions on this site.
Today, I am drawing attention to Bush's (dis)approval ratings to point out that W is coming damn close to Richard Nixon's "Mendoza line" for resignation.
Compare W's numbers to these:
President: John F. Kennedy
Lowest Rating: 56 percent
Date: September 1963
President: Dwight Eisenhower
Lowest Rating: 49 percent
Date: July 1960
President: Bill Clinton
Lowest Rating: 37 percent
Date: June 1993
President: Gerald Ford
Lowest Rating: 37 percent
Dates: January and March 1975
President: Ronald Reagan
Lowest Rating: 35 percent
Date: January 1983
President: Lyndon Johnson
Lowest Rating: 35 percent
Date: August 1968
President: George H.W. Bush
Lowest Rating: 29 percent
Date: July 1992
President: Jimmy Carter
Lowest Rating: 28 percent
Date: June 1979
President: Richard Nixon
Lowest Rating: 24 percent
Dates: July and August 1974
Quote of the Day
Friday, May 05, 2006
"To sin by silence when they should protest makes cowards of men."-- Abraham Lincoln
Jefferson Manual Section 603
Oh yes, it's really happening.
Of course, we were talking about it back in January. And don't forget our letter writing campaign.
Have YOU sent your email? It's not too late.
Quote of the Day
You may think your actions are meaningless and that they won't help, but that is no excuse, you must still act. -- Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi
Impeachment Isn't Comfortable, But...
Excerpt:
"In opposing the proposed Town Meeting resolution calling for President Bush's impeachment, Anil Adyanthaya asked in the April 27 TAB, "Do Town Meeting members really want to tell Brookline's schoolchildren that their president is a criminal and a liar who should be thrown out of office?
No one wants to tell their children that the president is a criminal and a liar. Unfortunately, our president is a criminal and a liar. We can either tell our children the truth as we try to defend our democracy, our Constitution and our Bill of Rights, or we can stand idly by, our heads in the sand, as more harm is done to the security of our nation and to our civil liberties.
This president has led us into a disastrous war through lies and deceit. He misled us with false tales of "weapons of mass destruction" that he knew did not exist. He told us that there were ties between Saddam Hussein and Al Queda when he knew of none. These were lies. It is a high crime and misdemeanor to lead a country into war through lies and deceit."
More HERE
Actor Speaks Out For Impeachment
Wednesday, May 03, 2006
"We have right now a media that is wilfully ignoring the high crimes and misdemeanours of the President of the United States. Clinton lied about a blowjob, and got impeached by the media and Congress. (Bush) got us into (the Iraq) war based on lies that he knew were lies... His war has recruited more al Qaeda members than Osama Bin Laden could ever have dreamed for... yet no one in the media is calling for impeachment..."--actor, Tim Robbins
More HERE
Quote of the Day
"There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest." -- Elie Wiesel
Guerrilla Impeachment: At the Pump
Tuesday, May 02, 2006
While standing at the gas pump today, watching the dollars and cents spinning far too fast in comparison to the gallons dial, I stood there muttering to myself, "What the hell will it take to impeach this criminal son of a bitch?"Then it dawned on me.
These days, there is no better place to get your point across to the average American than while he/she is standing there at the gas pump. Aren't we all muttering at the gas pump these days?
So here is my (latest) call to arms.
Let's reach the American gas consumer at the moment he/she is most open to our message, while he/she is pumping gas.
How?
Guerrilla Advertising!!
A nicely placed "Impeach" sticker, right next to the "Dollars and Cents" dial on your local gas pump will do the trick.
It's one word. Impeach. But sitting there on the Exxon gas pump, juxtaposed with the cost of fuel, it really says it all, doesn't it?
And for pete's sake, the oil companies have been shitting on the environment without any conscience, so don't feel too bad about putting one sticker on their gas pump. Sometimes disobedience is required.
It's damn easy. Print out a sheet of "Impeach" stickers on your computer. Put the sheet in your car. Everytime you stop to fill your tank up with gas, place an "Impeach" sticker on the pump. And don't forget to take your receipt!
If anything, it should provide you with a bit of catharsis.
Quick Scorecard on Impeachment
So far, twelve (12) US cities have passed impeachment resolutions. They are:
In California: Arcata, Berkeley, San Francisco, and Santa Cruz.
In New York: Woodstock
In Vermont: Battleboro, Brookfield, Dummerston, Marlboro, Newfane, Putney, and Rockingham.
So far, the California, Illinois, and Vermont State Legislatures are each considering impeachment resolutions, which, if passed, would fast track the impeachment issue to the US House.
So far, 17% of US House Democrats now support the impeachment probe
So far, 8% of all US House Representatives now support the probe.
More HERE
Impeachment Resolutions Delivered to the U.S. House
Three Vermont impeachment resolutions passed this spring in the national spotlight were hand delivered to the office of House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., on Monday.
More HERE
Howard Dean on Impeachment
Monday, May 01, 2006
An hour ago, Howard Dean was interviewed by guest host Norah O'Donnell on MSNBC's Harbdall. Here is just one of her questions, and Howard Dean's response:O'DONNELL: If Democrats win in the midterm elections in November, will the Democrats in Congress move to impeach this president?
DEAN: I doubt it. It's possible. I mean, no doubt, there will be investigations because there's been so much corruption in the White House and the vice president's office, even the Republican Senate president is under investigation for insider trading. The Republican House leader had to resign. The new Republican House leader just killed all the ethics legislation.
It's pretty much of a culture of corruption on the Republican side in Washington now, and I think you're certainly going to see some investigations.
The Democrats believe that we need to do something about jobs, we need to fix our security or especially our port security. We want honesty and openness back in our government, so we want to have real ethics reform. That's a big list of important things.
You know, unless there's a terrible smoking gun, I think impeachment is going to come pretty low on the list, because we have got to really turn this country around and that is a big job.
More HERE
Quote of the Day
If we make peaceful revolution impossible, we make violent revolution inevitable. -- John F. Kennedy
