ImpeachmentWatch Day 29 (2008-07-08)

banned from Daily Kos

syndicated at impeachmentwatch.wordpress.com

“All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” — Edmund Burke

Welcome to Day 29 of ImpeachmentWatch™, your daily diary that tracks Impeachment, whether the Mainstream Media covers it or not.

Because the continued success of government in this country, including, of course, the criminal justice system, depends upon a most fundamental and simple precept: No person is above the law. When I first started as a prosecutor, judges would sometimes phrase it more archaically: The law is no respecter of persons. But however it’s phrased, this basic premise has never changed. In the United States of America, regardless of a person’s station in life or political affiliation, he is entitled to be judged — and must be judged — according to the same laws as every one else.

buddydrama :: ImpeachmentWatch Day 29 (2008-07-08)

Impeachment Video of the Day

Ralph Nader on Letterman – “We’re All Screwed”

Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, that whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

Recent Highlights

I believe we should let George Bush get away with breaking the law because the attempt to hold him accountable would be used to the advantage of the pro-Bush media.

Why We Interrupted Bush at Monticello

When Bush opened his mouth to speak I shouted “Defend the Constitution, Impeach Bush!” I repeated that several times, as people nearby knocked me over, cops handcuffed me, people gave me smiles and thumbs up signs. They threw me out and a couple of more defenders of our Constitution behind me, and then a few more, and then a few more. The handcuffed citizens who’d done their duty kept coming down the hill. They did not arrest us but did give us a ride down the mountain where we joined a crowd of protesters in the road who greeted Bush’s limo coming and going.

Why did we do this? Here’s why.

Here’s how the propaganda model works: Take an issue that is at odds with how elite policy makers view the world, say Rep. Dennis Kucinich’s (D-OH) bid to impeach President Bush in early June 2008, and evaluate the media coverage of the event. Kucinich’s attempt to impeach the President elicited a mere 132 words in every major media outlet including the New York Times, Washington Post, and CNN.com.

In this case, the mainstream media (MSM) did not conduct any of its own reporting or writing, instead it presented the public with an Associated Press (AP) report, which lacked depth and context regarding Kucinich’s argument. The paltry word count aside, the article was rarely found in print, but left to be discovered on the websites of major media players, designated to an obscure link on the margins. The only remnants of the media coverage can be found in an exact and precise Google search, which will lead readers to the brief article.

This is something that most people were never taught in history class. Instead, anyone receiving a public education in the U.S.A. is told that the Roman Empire collapsed because it was attacked by barbarians and “sacked.” This supposed “sacking” did take place, but it happened about 500 years after the Praetorian guards sold the empire to a senior Senator, convinced by his wife and daughter “and his parasites…that he deserved the throne.”

This refusal to impeach has left this country with a situation where we actually have only two branches of government, the executive branch and the Supreme Court. This has been the case since September 11, 2001. This Global War on Terror effectively silenced Congress as far as acting as a check on the executive branch. The Democrats were handed what amounted to carte blanche when they captured Congress in 2006.

But no one did. Even when Democrats retook the House and Senate, the first thing they did was declare — almost pridefully — that “impeachment was off the table.” It was like a fire chief announcing that “response to house fires is off the table,” or a district attorney declaring that “rape prosecutions are off the table.”

“This is not intended to be a mere discussion of violations of law that have occurred,” said convener Lawrence Velvel, dean and cofounder of the school. “It is, rather, intended to be a planning conference at which plans will be laid and necessary organizational structures set up, to pursue the guilty as long as necessary and, if need be, to the ends of the Earth.”

The corporate media does not want to take on this issue and will not be able to handle its actual existence the way it handles the threat of impeachment proceedings. If impeachment hearings get underway, the corporate media will have to deal with the substance of the charges. It will be impossible to simply avoid the matter or treat it dismissively. You know the substance of the charges as well as anyone, but apparently you have not considered what all that information could accomplish.

The blogs are alive with the sound of Impeachment. The notices are rolling into my computer faster than I can open them, sign them and send them out to friends or family. That’s called activism, pushing back against this destructive force called Bush.

I think, perhaps, we are focusing on issues of impeachment through the wrong end of the telescope. We keep asking: how might this, potentially, negatively affect our Dems in the coming election cycle. Maybe we should turn the telescope around, for a wide-angle perspective, and ask: how might impeachment negatively affect every Republican running for office in the upcoming election?

The Speaker’s excuses are frivolous. One does not agree to remain complicit with tyranny on the illusion fact finding might be divisive. Division is the intent of the Framers: To ensure power is not centralized, and divided. Pelosi supports centralizing unchecked power under tyranny.

For this blackout to be broken, Progressive Democrats of America, Move On and every other progressive group need to call for Senator Obama to publicly call for Impeachment.

Brain scans revealed that the politically biased are virtually addicted to lying to themselves to maintain their view that their party and leaders are flawless. People of both political “sides” are equally affected by bias.

When viewing truth that doesn’t suit our ideals, most of us deny it and go on as if it never happened mainly because few of us even understand the way bias affects us and makes us completely irrational.

Millions of Americans suffer from this, and nationalism bias runs even deeper. Most people think that blindly believing what our government tells us is patriotism. That is false.

Most people doubt that our leaders would ever do anything that isn’t in our best interest. Most of us live in a delusional reality based on denial as a result. By definition most of us are in fact “sheeple”.

Vital Links

Full Text of the Articles of Impeachment (PDF)

Full Text Version of the Articles of Impeachment (TXT)

List of the Articles of Impeachment (TXT)

Entire Kucinich Impeachment Video (complete) [thanks to cspanjunkie]

Part 1 – Part 2 – Part 3 – Part 4 – Part 5

“Ernest Hemingway once wrote, ‘The world is a fine place and worth fighting for’. I agree with the second part” — Seven

Mainstream Story Counts

front pages as of 10:00 am PST – 2008-07-08

CNN.com: 0

FoxNews.com: 0

MSNBC.com: 0

Google News: 0

Reuters: 0

AP: 0

Google News Search: Impeachment: 5,831 –

Number of Days until Rep. Kucinich plans to re-introduce the 35 Articles of Impeachment: 3

Current Co-Sponsers: Rep Wexler, Robert [FL-19], Rep Woolsey, Lynn C. [CA-6], Rep Lee, Barbara [CA-9], Rep Hinchey, Maurice D. [NY-22], Rep Baldwin, Tammy [WI-2], Rep Farr, Sam [CA-17]

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has. — Margaret Mead

Daily Impeachment Tracker

Day 29 – 2008-07-08

OEN: Should John Conyers Hold Impeachment Hearings Anyway?

GATHER: IMPEACHMENT IS TOO GOOD FOR HIM

PRESS-DEMOCRAT: Impeaching Bush on council agenda

RAW-STORY: As FISA nears toward vote, Feingold warns against immunity

RAW-STORY: ‘Science fiction like’ weapons on tap for political conventions (video)

ADS: The Fateful Vote to Impeach — Time Magazine, August 5, 1974

ADS: Nationwide Protests at Canadian Consulates Wednesday

ADS: G8 summit: Gordon Brown has eight-course dinner before food crisis talks

ADS: Bush Arrested at Monticello (video)

ADS: Pelosi Opposing Contempt for Rove

ADS: National Assembly offers blueprint for antiwar action

Day 28 – 2008-07-07

ALTERNET: Impeach Bush Now

THIRD-PARTY-WATCH: Barr calls Bush greater threat to liberty than Bill Clinton

BUZZ-FLASH: Independence Day … What Does It Really Mean … It’s All In The Language

LUFKIN-DAILY-NEWS: When will leaders do something?

ADS: Ron Paul: I hear members of Congress saying “if we could only nuke Iran”

ADS: AMERICA’S CULTURE OF WAR NOT AN ISSUE THIS ELECTION

ADS: Boston Rebelled Against Dick Cheney on July Fourth (video)

ADS: National Campaign for Nonviolent Resistance, Year 2008 Resistance Against the War Update

ADS: Code Pink Actions This Week Opposing Plans to Attack Iran

ADS: Where to Protest McCain

ADS: Iranian Reactions to Threat of Aggressive War by United States (video)

ADS: Video of Bush Threatening War on Iraq in January 2000 (video)

ADS: Photographer Kicked Out of Iraq Embed For Showing Photo of Dead Marine

ADS: On Protests and Patriotism

BELTWAY-BEAST: Civil resistance intensifies to evil policies so far this year

Day 27 – 2008-07-06

CAPITOL-TIMES: Pelosi should push impeachment, stop war funding

DISSIDENT-VOICE: Ode to Impeachment: Kucinich, McClellan, and the Propaganda Model

NYTIMES: Remembering Brainwashing

ADS: New Enlistment Regulations: The Pentagon Will Own You

ADS: An Open Letter to Barack Obama on Iran

ADS: John McCain Says He Hates Bloggers (video)

NORTHWEST-HERALD: Checks on power

Day 26 – 2008-07-05

AP: Bush Honors Troops, Celebrates New Citizens in Radio Address

FOXNEWS/AP: Bush Honors Troops, Celebrates New Citizens in Radio Address

VOICE OF AMERICA: Bush Honors Troops, Celebrates New Citizens in Radio Address

WAPO: Bush Welcomes New American Citizens

OEN: Please vote for impeachment in Moveon.org’s poll

OEN: This pathetic U.S. Congress

ADS: JFK and the Unspeakable: Why He Died and Why It Matters

ADS: Florida Sheriff Advocates Shooting Peace Demonstrators

ADS: Memo to Arianna: Radical Right Wing Destruction of Basic Rights Is Not Centrist

ADS: BUSH FUNDING TERRORISTS IN IRAN

ADS: A Not-So-Glorious Fourth (video)

Day 25 – 2008-07-04

RAWSTORY: Kucinich’s July 4th message: Help me restore ‘rule of law in America’

RAWSTORY: Protesters disrupt Bush’s July 4th address at Monticello

ADS: Why We Interrupted Bush at Monticello (video)

ADS: Ray McGovern’s Response to Obama’s FISA Explanation

ADS: Independence Day: Let Us Remember Who We Are (video)

OEN: NEW Action Plan to Stop War with Iran and Move Impeachment Along!

OEN: The interests of justice require that we postpone the 2008 election

OEN: Barack Obama: A Black Face, for a Racis$t EMPIRE?

DAILY-PROGRESS: Protestors have creative message for Bush

CNN: ‘War criminal!’ protesters yell at Bush

MSNBC: Bush salutes new Americans at July 4 ceremony

FOXNEWS: Protesters Interrupt Bush at Independence Day Ceremony for New Citizens

REUTERS: Bush v. hecklers

AP: Bush welcomes new US citizens on 4th of July

OEN: Impeach Cobbler: Or, How I Celebrated the Fourth

Day 24 – 2008-07-03

NEWS-WITH-VIEWS: THE PROSECUTION OF GEORGE W. BUSH FOR MURDER

ADS: Bush’s July 4 Speech Transcript

ADS: Coalition Plans to Protest Bush in Charlottesville

ADS: Rabbi Waskow on Bush at Monticello

EMPTY-WHEEL: Dean and Bush and Pardons

BLOG: It’s All About the Oil Baby

BLOG: Questions and Answers

BLOG: Impeach the President, Part II

DOUGS-MOUTHPIECE: 10 Reasons to impeach Bush

FLICKR: Why don’t all Gas Pumps say “Impeach Bush” on them?

Day 23 – 2008-07-02

OEN: IMPEACHMENT: Call to Action

OEN: 101 Reasons Not to Resist Bush’s Power Grab

OEN: Have you checked whtether your rep has read Kucinich’s 35 articles of Bush impeachment?

OEN: So, Barack Is Merely THE Black “BILLARY”?

BUZZFLASH: Barbara’s Daily BuzzFlash Minute for July 2, 2008

CUMBERLAND-TIMES-NEWS: Murder prosecution for Bush, not so preposterous

AMERICAN-CHRONICLE: Some Ways You Can Help Impeach Bush

ADS: Peace activists stop the virtual killing at music festival

ADS: Hard to Believe: American Mercenaries to Be Subject to Iraqi Law!

ADS: Cheney to Join Bush in Celebrating Constitution (R.I.P.) on Fourth of July

ADS: Some Ways You Can Help Impeach Bush

ADS: China Inspired Interrogations at Guantánamo

ADS: Alan Morphew Performs His Impeachment Song “No Accountability” (video)

ADS: Surveillance Protest Group Tops Obama Website

TPMCAFE: Impeachment: Conyers “Seriously” Affirms “Duty” On Impeachment Allegations

OEN: The Case for Impeachment

OEN: Mugabe or Bush? Who should leave rather than lead?

OEN: Sheeple: You are free to do as you’re told

STATION-STOPS: Why We Must Impeach Bush

BLOG: Honk To Impeach; Weekly Bush Protest at the Art Institute of Chicago

OEN: The Coming Attack on Iran: A Perfect Storm of Madness

Day 22 – 2008-07-01

ADS: Bush at Monticello: Tickets and Protests

ADS: Theory on Why Bush Is Coming to Monticello

ADS: The Coming Attack on Iran: A Perfect Storm of Madness

ADS: 75% blame Bush’s policies for deteriorating economy

ADS: …They Ignore You, Then They Laugh at You, Then They Attack You

ADS: Where Do Congress Members Stand (or Sit or Bow and Scrape) on Impeachment?

LA-TIMES: Should Bush be impeached over tainted tomatoes?

BLOG: Whatever it Takes

POPULIST-AMERICA: None Dare Call it Treason

NORTHEAST-IMPEACHMENT-COALITION: FUNDS NEEDED FOR NATIONAL IMPEACHMENT DELEGATION TO DC ! ! !

BLOG: I SUPPORTT IMPEACHMENT PROCEEDINGS

PFF: An Appeal to the American Conscience

OEN: Declaration of Impeachment

Day 21 – 2008-06-30

ADS: Sacrilege at Monticello

ADS: VIDAL: ‘The United States is not a republic anymore’

RAWSTORY: Judges cite nonsense poem in Guantanamo case

PWW: High crimes charge leveled at Bush, Cheney

BLOG: This is Your Moment. Impeach Bush NOW! Sign the Petition.

ADS: Will Bush bring out red, white, and boos?

CHIMP: Kucinich’s Articles of Impeachment: A Three-Part Guide

ALTERNET: The ‘Mortgage Meltdown’ Was No Accident

SALT-LAKE-TRIBUNE: Impeach Bush

PWW: High crimes charge leveled at Bush, Cheney

GLOBAL-RESEARCH: What’s Up with The Democratic Congress?

EDITOR-AND-PUBLISHER: 5th Anniversary of Bush’s ‘Bring Them On’ Statement on Iraq Nears

Day 20 – 2008-06-29

ADS: Monster chickens are coming home to roost

COUNTERCURRENTS: Real Journalists Don’t Make

$5 Million A Year

SCOOP: George W. Bush to Speak at Monticello on July 4

BLOG: Impeach Bush.  Villagers, come with your torches for Dick Cheney.

BLOG: The Constitutional solution would be to impeach, try, convict and remove George Bush and Dick Cheney from their high offices

ADS: Quick! There’s No Time Left! Do Nothing for Seven More Months!

ADS: David Swanson at Marquette University

ADS: Preparing the Battlefield

ADS: Hersh: Cheney Trying To Create Casus Belli For War With Iran

STARNEWS: More On Bush

OEN: Independence Day Is Coming – Let’s Make It A Real Day For America’s Independence!

Day 19 – 2008-06-28

NEWS-LEADER: President needs impeachment

INDYBAY: Mumia Abu-Jamal: The Crimes of Kings

OEN: The Un-American Lies of Antonin Scalia

SUN-SENTINEL: Wexler/Kucinich effort to impeach has nothing to do with party politics

CONNIE-TALK: North Carolina Congressional Hopeful Runs On Impeach Bush Platform

OEN: I Hate to Say We Saw it Coming, But

ADS: Neil Young on Impeaching Bush

ADS: Revolution March Promoted by Ron Paul Supporters

ADS: Kucinich won’t rally for Obama until he gets answers

ADS: Primary Season Over, Barack Channels Hillary

OEN: Buying Power: The Sale of the Empire

BUENOS-AIRES: Bush, oil executives, criminally liable for Iraq War, says Congressman

TMPCAFE: Exploring Possible Federalist Society Connections To War Crimes, FISA Violations, Wecht Jury Tampering, US Attorney Firings

TMPCAFE: Mukasey’s War Crimes Problem In Light of FBI 302

Day 18 – 2008-06-27

PUBLIC-RECORD: Kucinich’s Articles of Impeachment: A Three-Part Guide

CONCORD-MONITOR: Put impeachment back on the table

TIMBERJAY: The old dog has to want to change its ways

LRC-BLOG: Maybe NOW They’ll Impeach Them

OEN: Call to Action July 4th- Get off the internet, I’ll see you in the streets!

PRESS-GAZETTE: Kucinich has the right idea

DES-MOINES-REGISTER: Media ignore move to impeach Bush

NAPA-VALLEY-REGISTER: It’s time to impeach

ADS: Momentum Building For Bugliosi’s Case Against George W. Bush For Murder

Day 1-17 archived in previous versions of ImpeachmentWatch

Day 0 – 2008-06-09

RAWSTORY: Kucinich presents Bush impeachment articles (video)

Pre-Impeachment

ALTERNET: Colbert says Impeach Bush now or you’re a bunch of pussies… (video)

MSNBC: Poll: Do you believe President Bush’s actions justify impeachment? – 89% YES, 700,218 votes

RAWSTORY: Murtha revises: Impeachment is ‘on the table’

ALTERNET: Why Is Impeachment Important? (video)

ALTERNET: George McGovern Calls for Bush and Cheney’s Impeachment

ALTERNET: Olbermann & Maddow: Why Are Democrats Afraid to Impeach Cheney? (video)

ALTERNET: Obama and Clinton believe accountability is “off the table.”

ADS: If the People Want Impeachment, Why Can’t it Happen?

TIMESNEWS: The President “serves at our pleasure” and I’m not pleased

DEMOCRATIC UNDERGROUND: International Justice: The World Has its Eye on George W. Bush

PBS: Moyers: Tough Talk on Impeachment (video)

How to Help

We need to put serious pressure on Conyers, Pelosi and the rest of the House Judiciary. FAX them. A fax, unlike a voicemail or an email, is a physical piece of paper that CANNOT BE IGNORED or easily deleted. Use FaxZero to send 2 free faxes everyday. [h/t Randgrithr]

Nancy Pelosi: 202-225-4188

Harry Reid: 202-224-7327

Jerrold Nadler: 202-225-6923

John Conyers: 202-225-0072

Sending them the List of the Articles of Impeachment might not be a bad idea.  Maybe they just haven’t had a chance to read the list yet. Or maybe they’d like the complete text.  

Other Ways to Help

- Write a letter to your local newspaper in suppport of Impeachment.

- Write a letter to your Congressman supporting impeachment.

- Post stories about Impeachment on your blog and other political websites.

- Wear Orange Every Friday! (and ask your friends and family to wear orange)

- Sign the Petition To Impeach Bush

- OEN: Some things we can do to help impeachment along

- ADS: Some Ways You Can Help Impeach Bush

Don’t let the talk of Impeachment die.  Dennis will re-introduce in less than 10 days.  It’s up to us, the  independent bloggers of the internet to keep this story going.  The RULE OF LAW demands that we Impeach President Bush and Vice President Cheney for the high crimes and misdemeanors they have committed against the people of this country and the world.  We are the media now.  Stand up and help Rep. Kucinich.  Keep this story alive!

A future without impeachment paints a frighteningly bleak picture, a picture that at this point many of us can see but too few of us are acting to prevent. If ever there was a time to act, now is that time. Congressman Kucinich has promised to re-introduce the 35 Articles of Impeachment against Bush within 30 days of the first introduction if the judiciary committee does not act. That’s just a few short weeks from now. It’s time, right now, to promote the necessity of impeachment as widely as possible. It is imperative that the Bush regime be driven from office and held accountable for its many crimes – it’s time to act now.

At this point the future in unwritten; which one we get is up to us.

Learn More about Impeachment [thanks to Revisionist]

Nancy Pelosi’s Table – ImpeachmentWatch on Youtube  - ImpeachmentWatch on VodPod

Be the change that you want to see in the world. — Mahatma Gandhi