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Vol. 11 Issue 25…Dedicated to the Dialogue on Race…June 22, 2008
Venue for an Artist
Impeachment: A Constitutional Duty
By
Ramsey Clark
Impeachment is not a political question. Impeachment is a constitutional duty.
It is the one power and highest duty the Constitution rests in the Congress to
preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the US when the President,
Vice President, and other civil officers commit treason, bribery, or other High
Crimes and Misdemeanors.
George W. Bush deliberately, falsely and systematically misled the Congress and the American people concerning the most criminal, costly and harmful acts of his administration, leading us to war, tragic loss of life, the devastation of Iraq, military expenses reaching trillions of dollars, disruption of the economy that will take decades to overcome, a contemptuous assault on the Bill of Rights, an international humanitarian disaster, deliberate antagonism and provocation of nations and people, and an enlarging assault on the earth's environment.
On June 5, 2008, a long delayed five year U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence study and 170-page report unanimously found President Bush, Vice President Cheney and other top officers had made false charges and systematically presented a more dire picture about Iraq than justified by intelligence provided only to them. The Committee included both Democrats and Republicans.
Today President Bush is exerting all his power and influence to repeatedly urge Europe, Israel and others to support an attack on Iran which he intends to commence in the remaining months of the presidency. Iran is larger than Iraq and Afghanistan, has millions of people, richer by a multiple, unimpaired by recent war and will fight fiercely if attacked. He is negotiating a permanent US military presence in Iraq placing the U.S. on Iran's border.
The next several Presidents of the United States will spend their time in office miserably fighting wars started by Bush, as our economy is consumed in military spending.
Impeachment, a constitutional duty, is the only
way to prevent Bush and his cabal from vastly enlarging the disastrous wars he
has already inflicted on the world and the American people. The House of
Representatives must quickly consider Bills of Impeachment long overdue, and
the Senate must prepare to sit in judgment of President Bush, Vice President
Cheney other officers who are implicated.
About Me: The 66th United States Attorney
General under President Lyndon B. Johnson, William Ramsey Clark is an activist
known for his advocacy for civil and human rights.
Impeach Him Now!!!
By
sweet_one4now
Bodies were floating
The president was gloating
The waters were rising
The children were crying
The President is lying
In Iraq people are dying
The war is a lie
Our men will all die
He's sending off more men
We keep letting him
When will it stop
When the world is a flop?
Red Pills and Blue Pills...You take your Pick
As for me, BUSH MAKES ME SICK!!
Bush has gone too far
He's almost unstoppable now
Impeach him I say
IMPEACH HIM NOW!!
How We Got Here: A Human Story
By John Burl Smith
Human rights are special or basic rights and freedoms that are inalienable
entitlements which bestow dignity and make life tolerable. Irrespective of
race, nationality, or membership in any particular social group, they make
people equal by virtue of their humanity. Human rights specify the minimum
conditions for life and liberty, freedom of thought and expression, as well as
equality before the law. Such considerations only became normative during the
last half of the twentieth century. Getting here is the story of humanity which
has been a struggle played out on many levels from biblical to biological.
When life began, whether one adheres to creationism or evolution as the origin of humans, one must admit, the fossil record is evidence that the development of Homo sapiens was not only physical but intellectual. Human advancement took millions of years to arrive at its present state. Take the biblical account for instance, eating from the tree of knowledge made man self-aware. This acknowledges that the mind underwent an evolutionary process. Knowledge began with the questions, "Who am I, and why am I here?" Whether a wooly ape-like creature or someone made in God's image asked these questions, desires and emotions, like lust, greed, envy and love, set the stage for the age old battle of good versus evil. Succinctly, what is one's purpose in living?
The history of mankind from that point forward is a struggle with choice. What to do? The biblical answer was given to Moses as the Ten Commandments. God's laws specified man's relations and obligations towards Him and one another. However, even with the inspired words of God and prophets, like Elijah, Daniel, Jeremiah and Amos, as well as leaders, like David and Solomon, to guide them, humans (basically Jews) spent thousands of years fighting to subdue idolatry and emperor worship before the coming of Jesus Christ, who established love as the greatest human purpose. He brought humanity to the world, "Love ye one another," which gave law a chance to replace war.
Historically, before Christianity universal love for individuals was not a concept. Love is a choice of conscience which makes humans moral beings. Consideration for someone other than oneself became a matter of conscience and the measure of one's humanity. Humans had to choose to be greedy, selfish and miserly. Although in the beginning this concept struggled, like Christianity against Idolatry, surviving the Dark Ages, the Inquisition and slavery, the concept of humanity began to thrive during the Age of Enlightenment. Finally, the individual human being had value. One's humanity presupposed inalienability in regards to ideals like freedom, liberty and equality, entitling one to the right to pursue fulfillment and happiness.
Albeit, the twentieth century was the bloodiest on record, with two world wars and several minor ones, humanity took a giant step forward when the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. For the first time, an international forum agreed that the individual was sovereign and that governments had to respect rights ascribed to people regardless of race, creed, color or national origin. If governments or individuals who represent governments violate such rights en masse, those acts are considered crimes against humanity.
However, following the election of George W. Bush, who made the claim that he was a born again Christian and that Jesus Christ was the most important person he knew, and September 11, 2001, not only did Bush turn back the clock on Civil Rights for slave descendants, he dealt a mortal blow to the concept of human rights. Under the guise of "the War on Terror," collective punishment became the United States of America's policy portfolio. Individual rights took a back seat to the needs and demands of power. Might made right, whatever was done in the name of national security. Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness became "just words on a piece of paper," according to Dick Cheney.
This is how we got here. Everything Bush has done
over the last eight years has undermined and eroded the world's understanding
and acceptance of human rights. This, in and of itself, is a crime against
humanity. By thrusting the war in Afghanistan and Iraq upon the world, through
lies and other forms of deception, he not only killed thousands of innocent
people (mostly children, women and elderly), war killed off many programs and
efforts that would have advanced the cause of freedom, as well as addressed
racism, poverty and economic disparities around the world. While
simultaneously, his policies have caused the greatest transfer of wealth from
the have-nots to the haves in the history of the world. The real crime is he
will get off scot-free and live to enjoy his ill-gotten gains along with his
cronies.
US
Impeachments (1797-1999)
"An impeachable offense is whatever a
majority of the House of Representatives considers it to be at a given moment
in history." House Minority Leader Gerald R. Ford (1970), who would
become president when Richard M. Nixon resigned under the threat of impeachment
(1974).
The US Constitution, Articles I and II, establishes the procedure for removing
officials from office for abuses of power, generally referred to as
"treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors."
Originating in the US House of Representatives, impeachment is a legal
statement of charges or formal accusation against a public official similar to
a criminal indictment. It is the initial step in the two-phase process to
remove an official from office. The second phase is a trial by the Senate. As
President pro tempore of the Senate, the vice president presides over
the trial of all officials except the president, whose trial is presided over
by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
To impeach an official, a majority vote by the members of the House is necessary. A two-thirds vote by the Senate is required for a conviction, which automatically removes the defendant from office. If the Senate fails to secure a two-thirds majority vote on any charge, the defendant is acquitted and no punishment is imposed. However, after a conviction, the defendant remains liable for criminal prosecution, and the Senate could vote to bar the individual from holding future office.
Technically, an official may be impeached after he/she has left office in order to disqualify the individual from holding any future office or receiving certain compensation from having held their previous position, such as a pension.
Since 1789, the US House of Representatives has initiated sixty-two (62) impeachment proceedings. Sixteen (16) cases have been tried in the Senate. Thirteen (13) of these cases involved federal judges; the remaining cases involved a cabinet officer and two presidents. Of these cases, two were dropped because the individuals had left office, seven ended in acquittal, and seven in conviction. All seven convictions involved judges.
The first US official impeached, Senator William Blount of Tennessee. Blout was accused of aiding the British in instigating an attack by the Cherokee and Creek Indians on the Spanish colonies of Louisiana and West Florida. The British hoped to take control of these colonies, and Blount would have profited greatly. However, on January 14, 1797, the Senate dismissed the charges, but expelled Blount the day after his impeachment.
On March 12, 1804, Judge John Pickering of New Hampshire became the first impeached and convicted official. He was found guilty of drunkenness and unlawful rulings. Impeached for judicial bias against anti-Federalists, Associate Supreme Court Justice Samuel Chase was acquitted on March 1, 1805 by the Senate, which established that political differences were not grounds for impeachment. Other judicial officials impeached were implicated in bribery, cheating on income tax, perjury, and treason.
One cabinet officer, William W. Belknap (Secretary of War), resigned before his trial; he was later acquitted.
To date, the US House of Representatives has filed impeachment charges against nine US presidents, i.e., John Tyler, Andrew Johnson, Grover Cleveland, Herbert Hoover, Harry S. Truman, Richard M. Nixon, Ronald W. Reagan, George H. W. Bush and William J. Clinton. Of these, only Clinton and Johnson were actually impeached. No US president has been convicted and removed from office.
Johnson, the Southern Democrat who became president after Abraham Lincoln's assassination, angered the Radical Republicans controlling Congress over his lenient policy of Reconstruction in favor of former Southern rebels following the Civil War. Johnson's violation of the newly created Tenure of Office Act in ousting Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton became the basis for his impeachment in 1868. He was acquitted by the Senate on May 26, 1868. Partially repealed in 1887, the Tenure of Office Act was declared unconstitutional in 1926.
On December 19, 1998, the House of
Representatives held its historic vote to impeach President Bill Clinton on
grand jury perjury and obstruction of justice, charges stemming from an affair
with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. On February 12, 1999, the Senate
acquitted Clinton on both counts. (Sources: www.infoplease.com,
www.pbs.org, and www.uic.edu)
Kucinich's
Impeachment Resolution
On June 9, 2008, Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) introduced thirty-five (35)
articles of impeachment against George W. Bush. According to Rep. Kucinich,
"There is arguable evidence that President Bush has committed war crimes.
We have a moral obligation to have hearings in Judiciary to make a
determination whether or not this is so. George Bush has acted in a way that
has separated him from the rule of law. Congress must hold him accountable. And
to say, "Well, we have more important things to do" -- what could be
more important than finding out whether or not the President of the United
States has committed war crimes, whether or not he's violated United States law
and repeatedly violated the Constitution?
You know, you look at the price of gasoline today. Does anyone have any idea that the United States invaded Iraq for oil, that there were meetings with the oil companies laying out maps of oil fields in Iraq, that Congress has not been able to get full documentation from the Vice President as to what was said in those meetings? What about the pressures that are being put on the Iraq government right now to try to get it to turn over its sovereignty so that the United States can facilitate the control of Iraq oil for the international corporations?
We have to stand up for this country and for its people, and that's what I'm doing. And I am going to be challenging my colleagues to look at the evidence. And if they look at the evidence, I think that they'll want to do what's right."
The first ten articles are : (1) Creating a
Secret Propaganda Campaign to Manufacture a False Case for War Against Iraq,
(2) 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) Misleading the
American People and Members of Congress to Believe Iraq Possessed Weapons of
Mass Destruction, to Manufacture a False Case for War, (4) Misleading the
American People and Members of Congress to Believe Iraq Posed an Imminent
Threat to the United States, (5) Illegally Misspending Funds to Secretly Begin
a War of Aggression, (6) Invading Iraq in Violation of the Requirements of
HJRes114, (7) Invading Iraq Absent a Declaration of War, (8) Invading Iraq, A
Sovereign Nation, in Violation of the UN Charter, (9) Failing to Provide Troops
With Body Armor and Vehicle Armor, and (10) Falsifying Accounts of US Troop
Deaths and Injuries for Political Purposes. The remaining twenty-five articles
cover obstruction of justice in the Valerie Plame
affair, torture, violation of the Posse Comitatus
Act, spying on Americans and much more. To read the articles in their entirety
and to learn more about the efforts of Rep. Kucinich to hold the Bush
administration accountable, visit http://impeachment.kucinich.us/.
Bush
War Crimes Trial
On September 13-14, 2008, the Massachusetts School of Law (MSL) at Andover will
hold a conference to plan the prosecution of George W. Bush and other
administration officials for war crimes. Issues to be discussed include the
nature of domestic and international crimes committed, which high-level Bush
officials can be charged with war crimes, the foreign and domestic tribunals
that can be used to prosecute them, and the establishment of an umbrella
coordinating committee with representatives of legal groups concerned about the
war crimes, such as the Center for Constitutional Rights, American Civil
Liberties Union (ACLU), National Lawyers' Guild and others.
According to Lawrence Velvel, dean and cofounder of the MSL, "This is not intended to be a mere discussion of violations of law. Plans will be laid and organizational structures set up to pursue the guilty as long as necessary, if need be, to the ends of the Earth. We must try to hold Bush administration leaders accountable in courts of justice. And, we must insist on appropriate punishments, including, if guilt is found, the hangings visited upon top German and Japanese war-criminals in the 1940s." He noted in the years since their prosecution and punishment after WWII, those nation's leaders changed their countries' aggressor cultures.
In the US, the past practice has been to allow those responsible for war crimes in Vietnam and elsewhere to enjoy immunity from prosecution upon leaving office. According to Velvel, "President Johnson retired to his Texas ranch and his Defense Secretary Robert McNamara was named to head the World Bank; Richard Nixon retired to San Clemente and his Secretary of State Henry Kissinger was allowed to grow richer and richer. For Bush, Richard Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld and John Yoo to spend years in jail or go to the gallows for their crimes would be a powerful lesson to future American leaders."
To attend the conference or for more information,
contact Jeff Demers at demers@msl.edu or
(978) 681-0800. Or, contact MSL media consultant Sherwood Ross at sherwoodr1@yahoo.com.
Disgruntled feels:
Emboldened! When US voters overwhelmingly chose Democrats over Republicans in
the 2006 mid-term elections, they gave the in-coming Congress a mandate to end
the cowboy antics of the Bush administration and change the disastrous
direction in which the country was headed. Within days of assuming the
leadership of the House of Representatives, Speaker Nancy Pelosi declared
impeachment was "off the table." This declaration or capitulation,
i.e., refusal to hold George W. Bush accountable, sent shock waves across the
nation. With the evidence of "high crimes and misdemeanors" mounting,
a concerned public wondered anew - why did Congress impeach former President
Bill Clinton? With nothing to impede his criminal stampede, Bush is emboldened.
He can ignore Congress, the Court and the wishes of the American people, thanks
to the leadership or lack of it on the part of Democrats.
Disgruntled wants to know: Once again,
thanks to CNN, we were reminded of the shameful manner and disregard shown to
victims of Hurricane Katrina. This time, the federal government warehoused
hundreds of items that should have been distributed to the victims in
Louisiana; these items would have aided in their recovery. When it sought to
save funds by ending the warehousing, the federal government donated the goods
to other states, rather than the Katrina victims still struggling to recover
from that natural disaster. US Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA) has asked that
those items be returned and distributed to the people for whom they were
originally intended. Of course, that probably will not happen. News of the
flooding and levee breaches in the mid-west also revived the Katrina disaster.
This time around there has been no scenes like those in New Orleans with people
clinging to roof tops and bridges begging for assistance or crowded in a
convention center without adequate facilities, food and water. I look at the
news and wonder, is the difference in treatment accorded these new disaster
victims all about lessons learned or is the difference all about the color of
the victims' skin?
Disgruntled says: The media's role is
essential in informing the public. US mainstream media played a huge part in
the lead up to the impeachment of former President Bill Clinton and the
resignation of former President Richard Nixon. It was the constant drumbeat of
the press that forced Congress to act or at least not ignore possible criminal
conduct on the part of the men in the Oval Office. After all, this is the US
where no man is supposed to be above the law. However, in regards to the
current administration, the press has faded into the woodwork. The drumbeats
for justice and the American way have fallen silent. Mainstream media no longer
informs the public, keeping citizens abreast of what is happening in our
government. Instead, mainstream media provide plenty of propaganda and useless
entertainment to dull the senses. No wonder more folks cast votes for
contestants on American Idol than vote in presidential elections.
Mailbox: E-Mails, Faxes and
Telephone Calls
Email www.consortiumnews.com...The Republic On A Knife's Edge...By Robert Parry...There are two ways of looking at the landmark 5~4 Supreme Court decision recognizing the habeas corpus rights of detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba: As a stirring victory for individual liberty over collective fear -- or as a reminder that the one more right-wing justice could make George W. Bush's imperial presidency "constitutional." At the heart of the June 12 decision was the majority's recognition that President Bush and his political allies have been playing games with the Constitution by turning Guantanamo into a legal black hole for the indefinite imprisonment (or kangaroo-court trials) of people Bush deems "unlawful enemy combatants." By the narrowest majority, the Court rejected Bush's legal loophole, declaring that the U.S. government cannot evade the constitutional tradition of judicial oversight simply by citing an indefinite "war on terror" and by placing detainees off-shore at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay.
Email www.theadvertiser.com Panel: Impeachment possible for U.S. judge from Metairie - The disciplinary case against U.S. District Judge Thomas Porteous has been sent to the U.S. House of Representatives. It's the latest step toward a possible impeachment trial. U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, confirmed that the U.S. Judicial Conference, notified a House committee Wednesday that impeachment proceedings may be warranted. Smith says documents provided to the Judiciary Committee by the conference are currently under review. In a certificate sent to the House, U.S. Judicial Conference secretary James Duffy said the panel found six areas of misconduct. The panel found there was substantial evidence that Porteous committed perjury by signing false financial disclosures to conceal cash and things of value that he solicited from lawyers appearing before him. The certificates says Porteous repeatedly committed perjury during his personal bankruptcy case to obtain a discharge of debts "while continuing his lifestyle at the expense of his creditors."
Email ccandid2008@hotmail.com ...When Leaders Are Afraid to Lead...By Walter Brasch ..Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) says the House has so much to do that impeachment proceedings against Vice President Dick Cheney and President George W. Bush would be a distraction. John Conyers (D-Mich.), chair of the House judiciary committee, says there aren't enough votes to impeach the President or Vice-President. Both Pelosi and Conyers are right. There are at least a couple of dozen reasons not to initiate impeachment proceedings, and only one reason to do so. Because it's right. It's right because the two men who swore to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States have violated that oath, and caused others to violate that oath for whatever reasons they may or may not have had. It's right because a failure to hold them accountable would be a failure to hold any elected federal official, now and in the future, accountable. It's right because failure to impeach is a signal to allow unchecked abuses of power by future presidents and vice-presidents.
Email www.brasschecktv.com ...Robert Wexler...Do you recognize the name? He's one of the only US Congressmen who regularly challenges the criminals in the White House. Articulate, focused, thorough...his message is all but censored by the US news media. Instead we hear endless nonsense about the two zero candidates Obama and Clinton who have already both pledged on bended knee at the recent AIPAC convention to continue Israel's policy of endless war in the Middle East. Here's what a real representative of American citizens looks and sounds like since you're not likely to see him on TV: http://www.brasschecktv.com/page/338.html.
Email www.opednews.com
...Liberty Betrayed by Len Hart...Et tu, Democratic Party? The American people have now suffered
what must surely be the ultimate betrayal! Those elected to represent and serve
their interests in Congress have 'winked and nodded' to Bush's heinous crimes,
abuses, usurpations of unconstitutional power, aggressive war and villainy.
Democrats in Congress have quashed a move by Dennis Kucinich to impeach the
usurper who still occupies the White House. In a single act of cowardice and
betrayal, if not treason, the US congress has 'scuttled' the Articles
of Impeachment drawn up and carefully researched by Dennis Kucinich. The US
government, therefore, may no longer assert or claim legitimacy. By turning a
blind eye to the numerous specific crimes that Kucinich outlined and proved in
some 35 Article of Impeachment, the people are left adrift. There is no rule of
law!
Email drnewswatch@aol.com ...Senate Panel Accuses Bush of Iraq Exaggerations...By Scott Shane...In a report long delayed by partisan squabbling, the Senate Intelligence Committee on accused President Bush and Vice President Cheney of taking the country to war in Iraq by exaggerating evidence of links between Saddam Hussein and Al Qaeda in the emotional aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. "The president and his advisers undertook a relentless public campaign in the aftermath of the attacks to use the war against Al Qaeda as a justification for overthrowing Saddam Hussein," Sen. John D. Rockefeller IV, the committee's Democratic chairman, said in a statement accompanying the 171-page report.
Email www.7days.ae ...Floating prisons ...The United States has operated more than a dozen "floating prisons" as part of its so-called "war on terror," a British rights group claims. Reprieve, the legal action charity, said it believed as many as 17 ships had been used to interrogate prisoners "under tortuous conditions before being rendered to other, often undisclosed, locations." The US military has previously confirmed that it has used ships to hold prisoners during its operations in Afghanistan. Other bodies including the Council of Europe, national parliaments, the media and former prisoners, have also raised the issue, Reprieve said. The group said it will issue a full report on the use of "floating prisons" later this year. Its director, Clive Stafford Smith, said: "The US administration chooses ships to try to keep their misconduct as far as possible from the prying eyes of the media and lawyers. We will eventually reunite these ghost prisoners with their human rights." The United Nation's special rapporteur on torture, Manfred Nowak, said in June 2005 that there were "very, very serious accusations" about US prison ships acting outside international legal norms, mainly in the Indian Ocean.