Consequences of Republicanism

Why We Must Prosecute Bush For War Crimes

2008-12-16T15:59:00.004-06:00

Image by InfiniteWorld via FlickrIf you haven't already read this excellent article by Mike Ferner at Information Clearinghouse, do so now. It explains why we must hold Bush and his administration accountable for the war crimes they committed. Our Congress failed us by not seriously pursuing impeachment, but it is not too late to send the world a message that we Americans do not simply play by our own rules. With all the effort being expended to polish his legacy in these final days, we must hold the Bush administration accountable. Our reputation, and indeed our very future, may depend on it.

Sign the Kucinich Petition to Impeach Bush

2008-06-21T06:04:00.003-05:00

Now is the time for every American interested in making sure our leaders are held accountable for their crimes to join Congressman Dennis Kucinich in calling for the impeachment of George W. Bush. It is time to defend our Constitution and send a message to those from both parties who have colluded in these crimes. Sign the official petition here.

Democrats to Cave on Telecom Immunity?

2008-03-05T20:27:00.002-06:00

According to Democracy Now,

House and Senate Democratic leaders are reportedly preparing to cave in to threats by President Bush and grant some form of immunity to the telecommunication companies that helped the government spy on Americans.

If democrats in Congress refuse to impeach Bush and Cheney, are unwilling to stop the war in Iraq, and continue to roll over and play dead on Bush's most outrageous attempts to cover his ass, what good are they? Presidential politics aside, I cannot help wondering sometimes if our two-party system is really a sham.

Tags: Bush, politics, Congress, telecom immunity, spy

Bush To Veto Torture Ban

2008-02-17T13:38:00.002-06:00

According to CBS News and the Associated Press, President Bush announced Friday that he plans to veto a bill passed by both the House and Senate preventing the CIA from torturing terror suspects. Every time I think that Bush cannot sink any lower, he manages to surprise me. He seems determined to go down in flames, taking America's reputation with him.

No matter how the administration tries to spin this one (choosing "enhanced interrogation techniques" instead of "torture" to describe the atrocities they want to inflict), it still stinks. Worst of all, they are holding it out as a choice for Americans between torture and terrorism on American soil.

White House press secretary Dana Perino characterized the confrontation in partisan terms, saying Americans will have to choose between supporting a ban on waterboarding and protecting national security: "They’ll have to ask themselves, 'Do you trust the intelligence community more than you trust Democrats who are beholden to their left wing?' And that’s the debate that this country is going to have."

Ms. Perino should be ashamed, as should her bosses. And then there is John McCain, the likely GOP candidate who has taken pandering to unimaginable levels by adopting a pro-torture position.

Still, what is becoming increasingly clear to this observer is that President Bush needs to be impeached and then tried for war crimes.

Although President Bush has stated that the United States has not and will not torture people, it has been learned that Mr. Bush himself has authorized the use of waterboarding on detainees (a practice previously prosecuted by the United States as a war crime), and has claimed the authority to do so again in certain circumstances.

Waterboarding is torture. The president authorized waterboarding. The president authorized torture. This is not a complicated matter. Mr. Bush is guilty of war crimes and should be held accountable.

H/T to ReligionNewsBlog

Tags: President Bush, torture, waterboarding, CIA, Senate, House, Congress, Bush, veto

Help Impeach Cheney

2007-11-12T06:11:00.000-06:00

The following action alert is from Democrats.com. All of us who have been wishing that the Democratic Congress would grow a spine and hold administration officials accountable for their crimes now have a number of concrete steps we can take to help this happen. Please join me in doing what you can to start this important process.

This week Dennis Kucinich led an heroic effort to put the impeachment of Dick Cheney ON the table by requesting a floor vote on H.Res. 333. As expected, Bush Democrat Steny Hoyer moved to table the bill. And then all hell broke loose as 165 Republicans voted with Kucinich and 85 brave Democrats to force a debate on impeachment over the objections of Nancy Pelosi. To block that debate, Hoyer moved to send H.Res. 333 back to the Judiciary Committee, and this motion passed. Watch David Swanson explain the events to Paul Jay of The Real News.

Kucinich is urging Judiciary Chairman John Conyers to start hearings immediately because Cheney is desperately manipulating the National Intelligence Estimate on Iran to justify a U.S. attack, just as he did with the pre-war NIE on Iraq. But Judiciary Democrats are deeply divided on impeachment, with Robert Wexler (FL-19) calling for immediate impeachment hearings, while fellow Palm Beacher Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-20), who is close to Speaker Pelosi, told Ed Schultz she adamantly opposes hearings.

So what do we do next to move impeachment forward?

1. E-mail all of the Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee and call them.

2. If you live in the district of a House Judiciary Committee member, call their office and tell them you're a constituent and you want immediate hearings on H.Res. 333. Then join your Congressional District Impeachment Committee and organize a HonkToImpeach rally
in front of your Representative's district office. Then keep up the pressure on your Representative every way you can, including letters to the editor, op-eds, calls to local talk shows, protests at local media offices, and pointed questions at every community forum attended by your Representative.

3. If your Congress Member is not on Judiciary, ask them to cosponsor H Res 333.

4. Ask pollsters to poll the public on impeachment, especially of Cheney and promote impeachment through media activism.

5. Watch for updates and notice of a national conference call with Rep. Dennis Kucinich.

Tags: politics, impeach, Cheney, Dennis Kucinich, Congress, activism, Steny Hoyer, John Conyers, National Intelligence Estimate, Iran, Iraq, Robert Wexler, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Nancy Pelosi, Democrats, House Judiciary Committee, H.Res 333, H Res 333, House Resolution 333

Monday Blogswarm at Blue Gal

2007-08-04T07:28:00.000-05:00

Ripley at Zencabin has organized a blogswarm for Monday, August 6, to commemorate the 6-year anniversary of the Presidential Daily Briefing entitled "Bin Laden Determined to Strike in US." I applaud her efforts because we all know that this is going to be ignored by the mainstream media. Bush still has not faced any sort of accountability for the many intelligence failures which have occurred on his watch, perhaps because he doesn't want you to know that he has been outsourcing intelligence work to private corporations.

Join the blogswarm.

Tags: blogswarm, Bush, intelligence, Presidential Daily Briefing, 9/11, 9-11, Bin Laden, accountability, politics, media, outsourcing

Perjury Charges for Gonzales?

2007-07-27T07:28:00.000-05:00

From DemocracyNow,

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales Could Face Perjury Probe Over Sworn Testimony on Domestic Spying

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is facing a possible perjury investigation over his sworn testimony on the Bush administration¹s domestic spy program.
Gonzales faces scrutiny over his insistence that a March 2004 meeting with Congressional leaders was not called to address the warrantless spying.
Gonzales was questioned during a testy Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Tuesday on misconduct at the Department of Justice.

Listen/Watch/Read

Gonzales Must Go

2007-07-26T06:06:00.000-05:00

Alberto Gonzales' testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee this week was embarrassing. This administration is making a mockery of the Justice Department and eroding citizens' confidence in the American legal system. I join others in calling once again for Congress to do something.

Tags: Alberto Gonzales

Cindy Sheehan to Nancy Pelosi: Impeach or Else

2007-07-09T06:20:00.000-05:00

Cindy Sheehan has issued a challenge to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi - introduce articles of impeachment against Bush in the next two weeks or risk losing your seat in 2008. Specifically, Sheehan says that she will run against Pelosi in 2008 if Pelosi fails to do what the Democrats should have started the moment they took Congress - impeach Bush and Cheney.

It is about time someone makes it clear to the Congressional leadership that the American people favor accountability for this administration.

Tags: politics, Cindy Sheehan, Nancy Pelosi, Congress, Bush, Democrats, 2008 election, Cheney

Viral Video Makes Strong Case for Cheney Impeachment

2007-07-07T15:21:00.001-05:00

Tags: Vice President Cheney, Dick Cheney, Cheney, impeach, politics