Charming Billy

I have to say, I was about to give up on impeachment, thank God for Dennis Kucinich, who introduced articles of impeachment against George Bush on Monday.  Here they are:

From Impeach.org

Articles of Impeachment for President George W Bush
by Dennis Kucinich

Introduced in Congress June 9, 2008.

Resolved, that President George W. Bush be impeached for high crimes and misdemeanors, and that the following articles of impeachment be exhibited to the United States Senate:

Articles of impeachment exhibited by the House of Representatives of the United States of America in the name of itself and of the people of the United States of America, in maintenance and support of its impeachment against President George W. Bush for high crimes and misdemeanors.

In his conduct while President of the United States, George W. Bush, in violation of his constitutional oath to faithfully execute the office of President of the United States and, to the best of his ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States, and in violation of his constitutional duty to take care that the laws be faithfully executed, has committed the following abuses of power.

1. Article I - Creating a Secret Propaganda Campaign to Manufacture a False Case for War Against Iraq.
2. Article II - Falsely, Systematically, and with Criminal Intent Conflating the Attacks of September 11, 2001, With Misrepresentation of Iraq as a Security Threat as Part of Fraudulent Justification for a War of Aggression.
3. Article III - Misleading the American People and Members of Congress to Believe Iraq Possessed Weapons of Mass Destruction, to Manufacture a False Case for War.
4. Article IV - Misleading the American People and Members of Congress to Believe Iraq Posed an Imminent Threat to the United States.
5. Article V - Illegally Misspending Funds to Secretly Begin a War of Aggression.
6. Article VI - Invading Iraq in Violation of the Requirements of HJRes114.
7. Article VII - Invading Iraq Absent a Declaration of War.
8. Article VIII - Invading Iraq, A Sovereign Nation, in Violation of the UN Charter.
9. Article IX - Failing to Provide Troops With Body Armor and Vehicle Armor
10. Article X - Falsifying Accounts of US Troop Deaths and Injuries for Political Purposes
11. Article XI - Establishment of Permanent U.S. Military Bases in Iraq
12. Article XII - Initiating a War Against Iraq for Control of That Nation's Natural Resources
13. Article XIII - Creating a Secret Task Force to Develop Energy and Military Policies With Respect to Iraq and Other Countries
14. Article XIV - Misprision of a Felony, Misuse and Exposure of Classified Information And Obstruction of Justice in the Matter of Valerie Plame Wilson, Clandestine Agent of the Central Intelligence Agency
15. Article XV - Providing Immunity from Prosecution for Criminal Contractors in Iraq
16. Article XVI - Reckless Misspending and Waste of U.S. Tax Dollars in Connection With Iraq and US Contractors
17. Article XVII - Illegal Detention: Detaining Indefinitely And Without Charge Persons Both U.S. Citizens and Foreign Captives
18. Article XXVIII - Torture: Secretly Authorizing, and Encouraging the Use of Torture Against Captives in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Other Places, as a Matter of Official Policy
19. Article XIX - Rendition: Kidnapping People and Taking Them Against Their Will to 'Black Sites' Located in Other Nations, Including Nations Known to Practice Torture
20. Article XX - Imprisoning Children
21. Article XXI - Misleading Congress and the American People About Threats from Iran, and Supporting Terrorist Organizations Within Iran, With the Goal of Overthrowing the Iranian Government
22. Article XXII - Creating Secret Laws
23. Article XXIII - Violation of the Posse Comitatus Act
24. Article XXIV - Spying on American Citizens, Without a Court-Ordered Warrant, in Violation of the Law and the Fourth Amendment
25. Article XXV - Directing Telecommunications Companies to Create an Illegal and Unconstitutional Database of the Private Telephone Numbers and Emails of American Citizens
26. Article XXVI - Announcing the Intent to Violate Laws with Signing Statements
27. Article XXVII - Failing to Comply with Congressional Subpoenas and Instructing Former Employees Not to Comply
28. Article XVIII - Tampering with Free and Fair Elections, Corruption of the Administration of Justice
29. Article XXIX - Conspiracy to Violate the Voting Rights Act of 1965
30. Article XXX - Misleading Congress and the American People in an Attempt to Destroy Medicare
31. Article XXXI - Katrina: Failure to Plan for the Predicted Disaster of Hurricane Katrina, Failure to Respond to a Civil Emergency
32. Article XXXII - Misleading Congress and the American People, Systematically Undermining Efforts to Address Global Climate Change
33. Article XXIII - Repeatedly Ignored and Failed to Respond to High Level Intelligence Warnings of Planned Terrorist Attacks in the US, Prior to 911.
34. Article XXXIV - Obstruction of the Investigation into the Attacks of September 11, 2001
35. Article XXXV - Endangering the Health of 911 First Responders

Here are two videos that in my opinion sum up the state of our current executive branch. 

First there's W, either ignoring or pretending not to hear what the American people have to say (this is priceless, if you haven't seen it yet, you're in for a treat).

Then there's Dick Cheney who openly displays the fact that he doesn't give a rat's ass about you, me or any of us peons.

From Democrats.com

March 19 marks the 5th Anniversary of Bush's disastrous invasion and occupation of Iraq - yet there is no end in sight.

The costs so far are staggering: 4,000 young Americans killed, tens of thousands maimed... 1 million Iraqis killed, millions maimed... $562 billion in tax dollars stolen from our children... $3 trillion cost to our economy through veterans care, weapons replacement, higher oil prices, and the collapsing dollar. All that in just 5 years!

We elected a Democratic Congress in 2006 to bring our troops home, but they keep giving Bush blank checks. Incredibly, Congress will soon vote on another $102 billion blank check.

On this 5th Anniversary, it is time for everyone who hates this occupation to do something about it. And we're making it as simple and effective as we can.

We're calling it a Fax-In. It's like a sit-in, only you can do it from home.
http://iraqfaxin.com

1. Fax an image to Congress that visually expresses how you feel about the endless occupation of Iraq. We've posted a few ideas here, but we welcome all of yours (post thumbnails please with link to original).
http://iraqfaxin.com

Iraq Protests

Iraq War Art

Just print it out in black & white and make sure it's readable enough to go through a fax.

Make a simple cover page with your name(s), street address, email address, and the number of years you have voted. Write a brief message explaining the image you chose and why you want to bring our troops home. It's easiest if you do this in your word processor and save the document (see below).

In big thick letters, write "OutOfIraq.org" on the cover page and the image itself.

Look up the fax (and phone) numbers of your Representative and Senators by entering your address on the right side here:
http://usalone.com/
or use this directory:
http://www.congress.org/congressorg/directory/congdir.tt?command=congdir

2. Email your Representatives by signing our "Out of Iraq" petition on the right side here:
http://iraqfaxin.com

As you fill out the form, copy/paste your fax cover message (see above) into the "personal message" box.

This will accomplish several goals:

a. Tally how many people participate - we really need a million or more!
b. Let you forward this message to your friends.
c. Let your Representatives respond to you easily via email.

3. Share with Democrats.com your "personal message" and other thoughts on this effort by copy/pasting it as a comment reply here (login required):
http://iraqfaxin.com

4. Spread the word about this effort through other blogs, social networks like Facebook, talk radio, etc. Just tell everyone to visit IraqFaxIn.com

Polls show over 60% of Americans believe the war in Iraq wasn't worth fighting. That translates to 140 million Americans!

If we can get just 1 out of 100 Americans who oppose the war to join our fax-in, that's 1.4 million people.

So please participate - and pass this on to everyone you know who doesn't want to waste one more soldier, civilian, or dollar in Iraq.

As always, thanks for all you do.

Code Pink peace activist Leslie Angeline began fasting on Feb. 4 (Rosa Parks' birthday).  Her goal is for Congressman John Conyers to open impeachment hearings for Dick Cheney. 

"I want to present him with a strong, concise argument from the perspective of the Civil Rights Movement...and my father, one of the original Freedom Riders.  I hope to remind him of a time when the government told the people to "Be patient!" and the country said "NO!"

Read more at Pax Americana

She has an appointment with Mr. Conyers tomorrow (Feb. 12).

Lend your voices to the conversation and make phone calls, send faxes and Email Congressman Conyers on Monday and Tuesday (Feb. 11-12). Let the Chairman know that only impeachment hearings:

1-will reach a broad TV audience
2-will force compliance with subpoenas by eliminating "executive privilege"
3-will hold brazen criminals accountable
4-will convince citizens that Congress cares about upholding the Constitution.

Call: 202-225-5126
Fax: 202-225-0072
Email: john.conyers@mail.house.gov

2245474054_8e4fbe4def

Among other things, Elizabeth Holltzman uses this article to spell out and then counter many of the arguments people have against impeachment.

Congressional leaders don't defend the administration, nor do they contend that its actions are unimpeachable or less serious than Nixon's. Instead they argue there is no time, or that impeachment proceedings would distract the Congress from other work, or divide the country. The subtext seems to be fear that impeachment could undermine Democratic election prospects in 2008.

But even these "pragmatic" arguments are wrong. Let's take them one at a time:

Insufficient time. In the case of Nixon, the House officially instructed the Judiciary Committee to act in early February 1974. The committee finished voting on articles of impeachment July 29, less than six months later. No presidential impeachment proceeding had taken place for almost 100 years, so the committee had to start from scratch, analyzing the Constitution and developing procedures for the impeachment inquiry. Now that the relevant legal spade work is done and a road map for proper impeachment proceedings exists, Congress might conduct them even faster than in 1974.

Distraction. During Watergate, the impeachment inquiry didn't prevent Congress from getting its work done. In fact, the House Judiciary Committee also worked on other matters during impeachment, just as the Senate did during its impeachment trial of former President Bill Clinton.

Divisiveness. True, President Clinton's impeachment was a highly partisan process that divided the country - because most Americans didn't support it. They believed his conduct was reprehensible, but not an impeachable offense. Impeachment therefore had negative repercussions for the Republicans who instigated it.

Nixon's impeachment united the American people. The process was bipartisan, demonstrating this wasn't just a Democratic ploy to undo an election. The fairness of the process, the seriousness of purpose, the substantial evidence - all gave the public confidence that justice had been done. This reinvigorated the shared value that the rule of law and preservation of democracy are more important than any president or party.

This value is again asserting itself in grassroots impeachment movements across America. The Vermont Senate, several state Democratic parties, and many municipal governments have adopted resolutions supporting impeachment. More state legislatures would have acted except for pressure from Washington. Many polls show a majority of Americans support impeaching Cheney (a Nov. 13 American Research Group poll says 70 percent of Americans believe he abused his office), and slightly less than a majority support impeaching Bush.

Stonewalling such widespread public sentiment is itself divisive, leading at least half the country to feel their concerns about upholding the Constitution are being ignored. Only a serious airing of evidence in hearings would heal the split.

Undermining election prospects. When the impeachment process began, Nixon had just been reelected in one of the largest landslides in history. Few, if any, worried about whether impeachment was a political winner for Congress or the Democrats. Public opinion simply forced Congress' hand when Nixon fired Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox. After the Judiciary Committee conducted impartial hearings and voted on impeachment, Congress' approval ratings soared. Republicans were swamped in the November 1974 elections.

Read full article in The Philadelphia Inquirer

Support impeachment?  Here are some simple actions you can take:

Support Congressman Robert Wexler's campaign for Impeachment hearings by sending a message to congress through his website:  http://wexlerwantshearings.com/

    Impeachcheney.org great information about the movement to impeach Cheney, plus more online actions for you!!!

    Cheney Impeachment Poll vote in the national Cheney Impeachment Poll

Impeach Bush and let's not forget our second in command!

"In short, the Bush administration led the nation to war on the basis of erroneous information that it methodically propagated and that culminated in military action against Iraq on March 19, 2003," reads an overview of the examination, conducted by the Center for Public Integrity and its affiliated group, the Fund for Independence in Journalism.

Full Article on CNNPolitics.com

President Bush obviously doesn't care about the Constitution and Mike Huckabee certainly has some strange ideas about it:

"I believe it's a lot easier to change the Constitution than it would  
be to change the word of the living God. And that's what we need to  
do is amend the Constitution so it's in God's standards rather than  
trying to change God's standards so it lines up with some  
contemporary view of how we treat each other and how we treat the  
family."

Read Full Article

Urge Judiciary Committee Members to co-sign Wexler's letter to Conyers, and we're asking the rest of Congress to send their own letters to Conyers. Please email your Congressmember here:
http://www.democrats.com/peoplesemailnetwork/125  

On Wednesday, please call your Congressmember through the Capitol Hill Switchboard (202) 224-3121, toll-free at 1-800-828-0498, or directly (http://www.democrats.com/congress). Tell your Congressmember to urge Chairman Conyers to begin impeachment hearings for Dick Cheney. Then tell your friends and call and email the media.