ImpeachmentWatch Day 71 (2008-08-19)

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 71 of ImpeachmentWatch™, your daily diary that tracks Impeachment, whether the Mainstream Media covers it or not.

“What did he know, and when did he know it?”

ABCNEWS – It may be the Bush-era version of “What did he know, and when did he know it?”, the famous question that dogged Nixon through the Watergate break-in scandal.

Before the court of public opinion, White House spokespeople have long maintained President Bush had no involvement in the firing of nine U.S. Attorneys, the central decision that mushroomed into one of the biggest scandals in eight years of the Bush administration.

On the one hand, experts say, the White House finds it politically necessary to make clear statements insulating Bush from the scandal. But in court, “If they said [Bush] wasn’t involved at all they would undermine their case for executive privilege,” Vladeck said.

The Bush Indictment Project has begun. The difference between Impeachment and Indictment is like the difference between night and day. The call for Impeachment looks like a Sunday School picnic by comparison. Impeachment has its flaws. It trivializes the war crimes. It is better than nothing, but not by much. Impeachment can result in removal from office. The criminal prosecution of George W. Bush could result in a life sentence or the death penalty.

Imagine Nuremberg. Imagine hundreds of indictments all across the country. Approximately one thousand public officials have the legal authorization to bring forth an indictment – fifty State Attorneys General, and nine hundred-fifty county prosecutors. No criminal action can be brought by a private citizen. The citizen’s power to act is limited to the voting booth; therefore, the most important vote cast in the upcoming election will be for the candidate who is authorized to take legal action – your State Attorney General.

It is really very simple. Get the facts which are clearly laid out in ‘The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder’. Find a candidate who supports your view. Pull the correct lever. Get the popcorn ready. The war crimes trials will be televised.

Cindy Sheehan is running as an Independant against Nancy Pelosi in a very liberal district.  

The Speaker of the House can be defeated.  It has happened before.

Let’s take Nancy off the table.

buddydrama :: ImpeachmentWatch Day 71 (2008-08-19)

Impeachment Video of the Day

Bush: America’s Funniest President

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 upset a sizeable portion of Americans who wouldn’t like that a President they (allegedly) elected and then (allegedly) re-elected is now facing impeachment.

NEW YORK TIMES — When House Speaker Nancy Pelosi set out to promote her new motivational book this month, she simultaneously touched off her national why-haven’t-you-impeached-the-president tour.

At the moment, the House is officially scheduled to meet for less than three weeks in September before adjourning for the elections and perhaps the year – hardly enough time to mount an impeachment spectacle even if top Democratic lawmakers wanted one.

Note the specious word choice: an impeachment spectacle.  It’s not about law and order, holding the administration accountable for their crimes and ensuring that no future President will ever yield such imperial power, it’s a “spectacle”, a circus, or as Wikipedia says:

In general spectacle refers to an event that is memorable for the appearance it creates.

Please note that we’ve seen this dismissive frame before: CNN Anchor Slams Impeachment as “Kabuki Theatre”

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.

Pelosi kept saying – if you want change, vote for Obama. Someone in the crowd yelled out, “that’s what we elected you to do – make change.” The democratically controlled Congress has been limited in passing anything progressive because of the almost unanimous number of republicans and a strong group of conservative democrats who have stopped those type of bills. But when it came to funding the wars, funding the torture and funding the death – many of us believe there were enough Democrats to stop funding bills from passing. But this never happened. Pelosi and “her” democrats went along with all and more of Bush’s deluded requests for money. The death and torture went on. People continued to die. Michael Krasny never asks those type of questions of the celebrities who he seems so enamored with. And why is impeachment off the table? It’s not about what is right and honest – it’s about whatever Pelosi says it is and she somehow decided that it was her personal prerogative to take impeachment off the agenda. If Richard Nixon has only had her as Speaker – he might have survived.

NPR Interview of Suskind – Amazingly, as with every previous piece of evidence, NPR begins the story claiming that without this new piece of evidence Bush and Cheney’s lies have looked like well-intended honesty. The nice thing about this is that authors will be able to make big scandals with books for decades to come, each time they find a new smoking gun. The downside is that we may not survive for decades to come if we don’t face up to these crimes and prevent new ones like them.

A late Wednesday afternoon call showed the Judiciary Committee now claiming congressional procedures will require the official transcripts of the six hour hearing to be held for 90 days, meaning the official transcripts will not be made available to the American public until just before the November elections. A staffer who declined to give her name claimed that Monday’s statement that the transcripts would ready for the public on Aug. 3rd was an “intern error,” explaining that there are “new people in the office and they don’t know.”

One of two things indisputably happened. Either a dozen senior Congress members and several well-known expert witnesses went certifiably and collectively insane, or charges of the most extreme executive abuses of power ever heard in the history of this nation were backed up by overwhelming evidence during a six-hour hearing of the House Judiciary Committee focused on the possible need to impeach the President and the Vice President. Either way, a nation with a public communications system worthy of a democracy would have learned the news.

“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 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.

H.RES.333 – Impeaching Richard B. Cheney, Vice President of the United States, for high crimes and misdemeanors. [2007-04-24]

Sponser: Rep Kucinich, Dennis J. [OH-10]  Co-Sponsers (27)

Complete Text – Complete Video

H.RES.1258 – Impeaching George W. Bush, President of the United States, of high crimes and misdemeanors. (35 Articles) [2008-06-09]

Sponser: Rep Kucinich, Dennis J. [OH-10]  Co-Sponsers (7)

Complete Text – Complete Video: Part 1 – Part 2 – Part 3 – Part 4 – Part 5

H.RES.1345 – Impeaching George W. Bush, President of the United States, of high crimes and misdemeanors. (1 Article) [2008-07-10]

Sponser: Rep Kucinich, Dennis J. [OH-10]  Co-Sponsers (2)

Complete Text – Complete Video

videos thanks to cspanjunkie.org

“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

ABCNEWS: 0

CBSNEWS: 0

MSNBC: 0

FOXNEWS: 0

CNN: 0

AP: 0

REUTERS: 0

Google News: 0, Impeachment: 19,097 – (4)

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 71 – 2008-08-19

ABCNEWS: Bush Involved in U.S. Attorney Scandal?

AFP: Bugliosi is Going for the Big One

WELT-ONLINE: Dennis Kucinich posts online impeachment petition

OEN: The Urgency of Impeachment

SCHOLARS-ROGUES: Impeachment? Truth and reconciliation commission? Never mind that – haul George Bush into a court of law, part 1

RAWSTORY: Woodward’s ‘secret history’ of Bush admin. to debut Sept. 8

ADS: Amy Goodman Interviews House Judiciary Chairman Conyers and “Way of the World” Author Ron Suskind. Part 2 (video)

ADS: Out Damned Blot: A Letter to Colin Powell

ADS: September 10th – A Message from Rep. Dennis Kucinich

ADS: What Is a Common Good Bank? (video)

ADS: Bush Has Reasons to Stiff Vermont

ADS: Did Washington Waste Millions on Faulty Voting Machines?

CNN: CAFFERTY: Is McCain another George W. Bush?

TPMCAFE: Russia Heeds Bush’s Example, Parses Written Obligations

Day 70 – 2008-08-18

ADS: Conyers Calls Committee Back from Summer Recess to Investigate Suskind Allegations

ADS: Pelosi Gets “Booked” & Confronts Her Own Past

ADS: Willie Nelson Stands Up for Our Returning Troops – Will You? (video)

ADS: Huffing and Puffing at the Pentagon

ADS: Democracy Dreaming

IMPEACH4PEACE: IF YOU WOULD NOT IMPEACH GEORGE BUSH, WHO WOULD YOU IMPEACH?

RABBLE: Nader in Canada: ‘Unreasonable man’ runs again

PAGEONEQ: Intelligence agency seeks gays

Day 69 – 2008-08-17

CHICOER: City Council asked to pass resolution regarding impeaching Bush, Cheney

AFP: Globalization is indeed leading to a New World Order

AFP: CNN Anchor Slams Impeachment As Kabuki Theatre. FIRE HER!!

ADS: Electronic Vote Tampering Is a Real Flipper: Diebold Talks Garbage! “It’s Not a Clock Function! It Changes Votes!”

ADS: Memo Instructed CIA To Document Both Torture Techniques And Agents Participating In Interrogations

ADS: Bill Would End Ban on Photos of Returning Military Dead

ADS: A Free Press? Not This Time

ADS: Waterboarding At Coney Island: The Thrill That Chills

DIRT&NOISE: Impeach Bush. You’ll sleep better if you try.

Day 68 – 2008-08-16

LATIMES: Robert Wexler: Meet me in Denver to impeach Bush

DAILY-RECORD: Bush should be impeached

OEN: It’s Distractions That Are Destroying Us And We’re Allowing It!

OEN: HIS SATANIC MAJESTY

ADS: Is It Worse Than Watergate? Americans Won’t Know – Unless We Investigate, Charge and Prosecute

ADS: The RoveCyberGate Campaign: Stunning Revelations About Election Fraud & How You Can Help Preserve the Integrity of Your Ballot (video)

ADS: Judge Bates Slams the Bush White House’s Claims of Congressional Immunity: Why There May Be No Consequences for the White House

ADS: Lawsuit Filed Against Gonzales & DOJ Officials

ADS: The “Magic” of Disappearing Votes (video)

ADS: Vote Fraud: What They Aren’t Telling You

ADS: House Judiciary Committee Continues to Pursue White House On Politicization of the Justice Department

ADS: Wag The Dog: How to Conceal Massive Economic Collapse

ADS: Will Pelosi’s San Franciscan Constituents Demand to Know Why She Obstructed Impeachment?

RAWSTORY: Bush protesters get $50,000 state settlement

Day 67 – 2008-08-15

NYT: The Why-Haven’t-You-Impeached-the-President Tour

POLITICKER: Peace activist Cindy Sheehan qualified to take on Pelosi in CA-8 race this November

THIRD-PARTY-WATCH: What about third parties?

STATESMAN: Bluest of blue states is the only one that Bush hasn’t visited

MYOPOLIS: Impeach Bush! The people speak.

MYOPOLIS: Impeach Bush by sending a message to Pelosi

SOCIALIST-WORKER: Challenging Nancy Pelosi

POPULIST-PARTY: Pelosi on Impeachment and Defending the Constitution: It’s Just Not Worth It

TPMCAFE: Geneva Fallout: NYT Indirectly Recognizes President’s Political Prosecution Against Wecht

RAWSTORY: News crew crashes Denver’s DNC ‘concentration camp’

NYT: On the Trail, With Gonzo’s Wife

DEMOCRATS.COM: Conyers Investigates New Impeachable Crimes

DEMOCRATS.COM: Pelosi Confesses Knowing the Truth About Bush’s War Based on Lies: “I don’t know what could have been done…” Tell her! (video)

ADS: You Vote. You Think You’ve Voted. But How Could Your Vote Be Hacked? (video)

ADS: Is It Worse Than Watergate? Americans Won’t Know – Unless We Investigate, Charge and Prosecute

ADS: Is Perpetual War Our Future? Learning the Wrong Lessons from the Bush Era

ADS: Pelosi Scapegoats Republicans for Her Failure to Protect & Defend Constitution – Admits She’s Impotent Against Them

ADS: Starry, Starry Night – LA Serenades Pelosi on Book Tour (video)

Day 66 – 2008-08-14

ABCNEWS: Documents: Julia Child Part of WWII-Era Spy Ring

ABCNEWS: Deal: Clinton’s Name Will Be Placed in Nomination at Dems Convention

CBSNEWS: Consumer Prices Twice As High As Expected

DEMOCRACY-NOW: Suskind on How the Bush Admin Deliberately Faked an Iraq-al-Qaeda Connection (video)

GJ-FREE-PRESS: Former Star Wars program director to speak in GJ today

DEMOCRATS.COM: Pelosi Denies Impeachment Reality in San Rafael

DEMOCRATS.COM: The War Criminals Cannot Define the Democratic Party

ADS: The Fix Is In – Again!

ADS: American Psychological Association Considers Resolution on Torture

ADS: Conyers Announces Review of Allegations of Bush Administration’s Forged Iraq Intelligence

ADS: Report Claims Large US Military Build-Up Prepping to Partially Blockade Iran

Day 65 – 2008-08-13

PUBLIC-RECORD: EXCLUSIVE: Pelosi Clashes With Protesters Over Impeachment (video)

MARINIJ: Critics don’t divert Pelosi in speech at Dominican

ABCNEWS: Presidential Vacation Delayed

LATIMES: Pelosi slammed in L.A. on failure to impeach Bush

RAWSTORY: House Judiciary to examine claim of White House intel forgery

RAWSTORY: Man continues quest to depose Dick Cheney

RAWSTORY: Turley: Attorney General Mukasey acting ‘without principle’

RAWSTORY: Appeals court denies Plame’s attempt to sue US officials

TPMCAFE: Improper FBI Access to Wecht Juror Files Taints Prosecutor Reviews of 9-11 Investigation

ADS: The RoveCyberGate Campaign: Stunning Revelations About Election Fraud & How You Can Help Preserve the Integrity of Your Ballot

ADS: AG Mukasey’s “Elmer Fudd Defense” on Justice Department Politicization Invites Independent Counsel (video)

ADS: Protestors Dog Pelosi on Her LA Book Tour at American Jewish University

ADS: Pelosi Clashes With Protesters Over Impeachment

ADS: Most Corporations Don’t Pay Income Taxes

ADS: Attorney General Mukasey Refuses Justice Dept Prosecution: “Not Every Wrong, Or Even Every Violation Of The Law, Is A Crime”

DEMOCRATS.COM: Pelosi Arrests Citizens Who Challenge Her

Day 64 – 2008-08-12

HUFFPO: No Take-Home Swag: Stripping Bush and Cheney of Retirement Perks

STAR-TRIBUNE: Two more RNC protest suits filed in state court

MEDIAMONITORS: The Sad Saga of American Politics

RAWSTORY: Arkansas town imposes ‘martial law’ style lockdown

RAWSTORY: Mukasey: No prosecutions in Justice hiring scandal

RAWSTORY: Pelosi indicates openness to offshore drilling vote

ADS: Iraq demands ‘clear timeline’ for US withdrawal

ADS: This War Report Has Been Approved by Your Government

ADS: More Wars…Other Wars (video)

Day 63 – 2008-08-11

POLITICAL-AFFAIRS: The Cover-up of the Impeachment Coverage

OEN: Bush the Uniter

DEMOCRATS.COM: DCCC Opposes Progressives in Upcoming Primaries

DEMOCRATS.COM: Pelosi Video Contest Award Winner #1

ADS: Springsteen: Silence Is Unpatriotic

ImpeachmentWatch Archives: 1-17 – 18-28 – 29-36  – 37-40 – 41-51 – 52-62

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)

ALTERNET: Why Is Impeachment Important? (video)

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

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 has re-introduced the articles of impeachment.  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. 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 [h/t Revisionist]

Nancy Pelosi’s Table – Youtube  – VodPod – Digg – MyBlogLog – FriendFeed – Scribd – ImpeachmentWatch Mobile – Technorati

Cindy Sheehan Will Be on Ballot and she will win. – Removing the Speaker of the House who “took impeachment off the table” will be an important first step to holding the war criminals accountable for their crimes.  Cindy Sheehan is running as an Independant against Nancy Pelosi in a very liberal district.  She will win.  The Speaker of the House can be defeated.  It has happened before.

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