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

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.

Article by  William Cormier
for opednews.com

Without impeachment hearings to hold Bush and Cheney accountable for their crimes against America and the world, our next President will know that if they follow Bush’s style of governance, they too will remain above the law - and our constitution, the rule of law, and especially our system of checks and balances will be compromised until America wakes-up to the fact that our Presidents only provide lip-service to the people, and corporations will still be making the laws and decisions that should be decided by the people.

Read Full Article

From Coalitionfortheconstitution.com

Hodding Carter III to moderate historic impeachment debate between Bruce Fein and Michael Tomasky

Conservative Republican and Progressive Journalist will debate Impeachment at the Carrboro Century Center on January 15, 2008 at 7pm. Guess who’s arguing for Impeachment?

 CARRBORO , N.C. : In the tradition of the Lincoln/Douglas Debates, Coalition for the Constitution will host a Debate on Impeachment between Republican Bruce Fein (pro-impeachment) and Democrat Michael Tomasky (anti-impeachment). The Debate will be held on January 15, 2008 at 7pm, at the Carrboro Century Center and will be moderated by UNC Professor of Leadership and Public Policy, W. Hodding Carter III, and hosted by Orange County Commissioner Moses Carey. Seats are limited so preregistration is suggested at http://coalitionfortheconstitution.com/registration/. The debate will also be webcast on the Coalition for the Constitution web site at http://coalitionfortheconstitution.com.

Impeachment is mentioned six times in the United States Constitution, including most clearly in Article II, section 3 which reads:

“The President, Vice President and all civil officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.”

Read full article

Bush and Cheney are clearly guilty of numerous impeachable offenses. They have repeatedly violated the Constitution. They have transgressed national and international law. They have lied to the American people time after time. Their conduct and their barbaric policies have reduced our beloved country to a historic low in the eyes of people around the world. These are truly "high crimes and misdemeanors," to use the constitutional standard.

From the beginning, the Bush-Cheney team's assumption of power was the product of questionable elections that probably should have been officially challenged -- perhaps even by a congressional investigation.

In a more fundamental sense, American democracy has been derailed throughout the Bush-Cheney regime. The dominant commitment of the administration has been a murderous, illegal, nonsensical war against Iraq. That irresponsible venture has killed almost 4,000 Americans, left many times that number mentally or physically crippled, claimed the lives of an estimated 600,000 Iraqis (according to a careful October 2006 study from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health) and laid waste their country. The financial cost to the United States is now $250 million a day and is expected to exceed a total of $1 trillion, most of which we have borrowed from the Chinese and others as our national debt has now climbed above $9 trillion -- by far the highest in our national history.

State Democrats renew Bush impeachment effort

Brad Shannon
The Olympian

The prime backer of a state resolution urging Congress to impeach President Bush and Vice President Cheney plans to return to the state Capitol in January with a slightly revised proposal.

Meanwhile, a South Sound group calling itself Citizens Movement to Impeach Bush/Cheney is gearing up for an "impeachment party" Friday in Olympia.

State Sen. Eric Oemig, D-Kirkland, said Wednesday he is amending his Senate Joint Memorial 8016 to make its intent clearer.

Read Entire Article via The Olympian Online

Elections are coming up in 2008, Bush/Cheney don't have much time left in office, so why impeach?  Besides, no one can prove that they have committed bribery, treason, or any other high crimes and misdemeanors.  So, again, why impeach?

First, let's be clear on what impeachment really is.  It is not the removal of an executive from office, it is merely a statement of charges against said executive.  For example, Clinton was impeached.  It did not result in his removal from office, it resulted in hearings investigating whether or not he lied under oath.  He faced the music and won.  Nixon, on the other hand, was impeached but resigned so that he would not have to go to trial where he most likely would have been indicted and jailed.  So, Nixon's impeachment did result in his removal from office, and gave most of our population the idea that impeachment means automatic removal...which it doesn't.

So, why impeach with so little time left?  I personally want to know as much as possible about the degree to which intelligence was manipulated in order to justify the invasion of Iraq.  I am similarly curious about who outed Valerie Plame and who fired the Attorney Generals.  Impeachment hearings are the only way we'll ever get any of this information-otherwise those pesky liberals who write the history books will just have to  offer  their slanted speculations for future generations to read.  

So, with that in mind, let's address  the second statement (no one can prove that they have committed bribery, treason, or any other high crimes and misdemeanors).  Impeachment hearings are the tools that could help us determine whether or not this is true or false.   To  me in regard to Mistah Cheney, statements such as these are fairly obvious lies, by an executive, who is under oath at all times:

`But we now know that Saddam has resumed his efforts to acquire nuclear weapons . . . Simply stated, there is no doubt that Saddam Hussein now has weapons of mass destruction. There is no doubt that he is amassing them to use against our friends, against our allies, and against us.' August 26, 2002, Speech of Vice President Cheney at VFW 103rd National Convention.

`We learned more and more that there was a relationship between Iraq and Al Qaeda that stretched back through most of the decade of the '90s, that it involved training, for example, on biological weapons and chemical weapons . . .' September 14, 2003, NBC Meet the Press interview with Vice President Cheney.

But, don't take my word for it.  Read House Resolution 333 or watch this video of Republican Bruce Fein on Bill Moyers.

Finally, a very convincing argument in favor of impeachment is that of setting the stage for future administrations.  I do not want any president to think   that he/she has the power to conduct  business with such blatant disregard for the welfare of our nation, its laws and protocols as the Bush administration has.   There should be  consequences for these actions and/or some level of accountability.  To my knowledge, this is why impeachment exists to begin with.