I AM LOSING PATIENCE WITH PEOPLE WHO CLAIM TO BE "OUR LEADERS".
IMPEACH BUSH AND CHENEY: AN ECLECTIC NEWS AND MESSAGE MIX POST...
"HarmsJK@aol.com" -to va11thimpeach
This should be sent to every member of Congress as well as King George
President Is Denied Executive Privilege
"HarmsJK@aol.com" -to va11thimpeach
This should be sent to every member of Congress as well as King George
President Is Denied Executive Privilege
Washington Post Staff WritersWednesday, May 6, 1998; Page A01
A federal judge has ruled that President Clinton cannot use the power of his office to block prosecutors from questioning his senior aides, rejecting Clinton's assertion of executive privilege in the Monica S. Lewinsky investigation, lawyers familiar with the decision said yesterday.
In a ruling issued under court seal Monday, Chief U.S. District Judge Norma Holloway Johnson concluded that independent counsel Kenneth W. Starr's need to collect evidence in his obstruction of justice probe outweighs Clinton's interest in preserving the confidentiality of White House discussions, the lawyers said.
The decision made Clinton the first president to take a claim of executive privilege to court and lose since the dramatic Watergate showdown in 1974, when the Supreme Court unanimously ordered Richard M. Nixon to turn over the secret Oval Office tapes that ultimately led to his resignation. Clinton's case also seems headed for the high court as sources indicated that the White House likely will appeal.
Johnson's ruling could amount to a significant political as well as legal setback for Clinton, lending ammunition to Republican critics, such as House Speaker Newt Gingrich (Ga.), who have charged that Clinton is trying, in Nixonian fashion, to impede Starr's investigation with invalid privilege claims.
Clinton invoked both executive privilege and attorney-client privilege to prevent Starr from asking deputy counsel Bruce R. Lindsey, communications adviser Sidney Blumenthal and other top officials about conversations regarding the Lewinsky case. According to the lawyers, Johnson also dismissed the attorney-client privilege claim on the grounds that Clinton could not use government-paid White House lawyers to aid his defense in a criminal probe.
The executive privilege dispute has been one of many legal hurdles erected in Starr's path as he investigates whether Clinton lied under oath about having a sexual relationship with Lewinsky and asked her to do so as well. But Starr has won a string of victories in recent weeks. Johnson has also sided with Starr by ordering Lewinsky's first attorney to comply with a subpoena and by rejecting the former White House intern's claim of a binding immunity agreement with prosecutors.
Word of the decision overshadowed other important developments yesterday in Starr's multi-faceted investigation into the Clinton White House. A day after charging former Clinton business partner Susan McDougal with criminal contempt and obstruction, the Little Rock grand jury that has been investigating Whitewater for 4 1/2 years disbanded without issuing more indictments.
While the White House took that as a hopeful sign that the long-running Whitewater investigation is nearing its end without producing charges against the president or first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, officials were careful not to read too much into it, at least publicly. Indeed, a parallel Washington grand jury can still take testimony or issue indictments and Starr's spokesman suggested that he still could impanel a new Little Rock grand jury.
Johnson's executive privilege ruling came as prosecutors yesterday infused new energy into their Lewinsky grand jury investigation, bringing back one of the central players in that saga, Clinton confidant Vernon E. Jordan Jr., to testify. Another key witness, presidential secretary Betty Currie, is slated to return today.
Jordan, a prominent Washington attorney, arranged job interviews in New York for Lewinsky at Currie's request and found a lawyer to help Lewinsky draft an affidavit denying a sexual relationship with Clinton in the now-dismissed Paula Jones case. But Jordan has denied that he was trying to encourage her to lie.
"Today, as twice before, I answered all the questions completely, truthfully and honestly and to the best of my ability," Jordan said as he left federal court after his third appearance before the grand jury.
A Jordan associate said prosecutors yesterday asked him about the timing and substance of telephone calls he made to the president, as well as calls he made to various prospective employers on Lewinsky's behalf in December and January. Many of the questions went over ground covered in previous appearances, but Jordan was told he will have to return again.
In another legal judgment related to the investigation, the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District yesterday upheld Johnson's decision to keep secret the hearings related to executive privilege and other disputes. Citing grand jury confidentiality rules, a three-judge panel unanimously rejected a motion filed by news organizations, including The Washington Post, seeking access to the proceedings.
The continued secrecy surrounding the dispute over executive privilege has meant that both sides have not publicly explained their arguments in a high-stakes constitutional struggle, just as the White House and Starr's office offered no official comment on Johnson's ruling.
While presidents have claimed a form of executive privilege to shield their internal deliberations since George Washington, the Nixon ruling in 1974 was the seminal case establishing that such a privilege exists and setting the broad parameters of White House secrecy for the modern era.
At the time, Nixon was defying special prosecutors seeking Oval Office tapes that implicated him in the Watergate cover-up. In an 8-0 decision, the Supreme Court found that the president does have a right to confidentiality, particularly in national security or law enforcement situations, but that it must be balanced against the need for disclosure. In Nixon's case, the court judged that the interests of the Watergate probe outweighed the privilege. Two weeks later, Nixon resigned.
Judge Johnson applied a similar test in the Clinton case, according to lawyers familiar with her ruling. While she found some validity to the argument for confidentiality of the disputed conversations, she concluded that the prosecutors' needs were more compelling, the lawyers said.
She also relied heavily on an earlier appeals court ruling involving another Clinton White House claim of attorney-client privilege, citing a decision that called the use of White House lawyers in Whitewater criminal matters affecting the Clintons a "gross misuse of public assets."
That case involved Starr's efforts to subpoena notes taken by White House lawyers in discussions with Hillary Clinton during 1995 and 1996. The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with Starr that government lawyers cannot be enlisted in private defense work and the Supreme Court refused a White House request to hear an appeal.
The White House has 10 days to file a notice of appeal of the latest privilege ruling. If Clinton's lawyers seek a hearing in the appeals court, Starr likely would ask the Supreme Court to grant an immediate hearing instead, just as Watergate prosecutors did. The White House may decide to forgo an appeal rather than run the risk of a highly visible defeat on the executive privilege issue in the Supreme Court.
While Starr has been criticized by the White House for spending four years and more than $30 million on his investigation, yesterday's ruling underlines how much of his resources have been absorbed fighting various court challenges. In nine instances, witnesses or defendants -- including the White House, McDougal and former Arkansas governor Jim Guy Tucker -- have challenged criminal convictions or court rulings, only to be rebuffed by the courts.
But Starr's time has also been split between his private law practice and his public duties. Just yesterday, Starr argued at the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on behalf of the Meineke muffler chain, which was appealing a $397 million judgment awarded to franchisees who claimed that the firm defrauded them of millions of dollars that were supposed to go to advertising.
Clinton partisans seized on yesterday's argument to illustrate their contention that Starr has not devoted full energy to the taxpayers. "When he got up Tuesday morning, Mr. Starr had the choice to serve the public interest or his own," said White House spokesman James Kennedy. "He chose the latter course."
Starr deflected questions about his work at Kirkland & Ellis, where he continues to earn up to $1 million a year, after the three-hour session in Richmond. Instead, he seemed to relish his brief furlough from government business. Far from appearing unprepared, Starr seemed sure-footed during aggressive questioning by judges seated at a wood-paneled dais in green leather swivel chairs.
At one point, he complained "there has been a vilification" of his client. And in an allusion to a famous Watergate phrase, he waved a black binder of company letters and dismissed their significance, saying, "These are not smoking guns."
If Starr has found a smoking gun against the first family in his Whitewater probe, he was not saying yesterday. The Little Rock grand jury disbanded two days before its official expiration date without any charges being brought against Hillary Clinton in connection with her legal work involving Whitewater. Starr and his deputies interviewed the first lady under oath for nearly five hours at the White House last month and presented a videotape of that session to the grand jury before closing it down.
Starr could still decide to bring a Whitewater-related perjury or obstruction case in Washington, since the testimony of many witnesses, including Hillary Clinton, has also been given here, either before the grand jury or in depositions. While the expiration of the Arkansas grand jury signals Starr's efforts there are nearly at an end, his spokesman, Charles Bakaly, said he could not rule out the possibility another grand jury would be impaneled there in the future if evidence warrants.
During 4 1/2 years of operation involving three successive groups of Arkansas citizens, the Little Rock grand jury handed up nine indictments, including charges against Tucker, McDougal and her late ex-husband, James B. McDougal. Starr's office also obtained several guilty pleas in the investigation.
The latest group to serve on the grand jury celebrated the end of their two years on the job with a pizza party at the courthouse. The White House, by contrast, said the president was not ready to celebrate yet.
"He's not expecting that it will fundamentally change things one way or another," said White House press secretary Michael McCurry. "The persistent quest for something in Whitewater will likely continue."
Staff writers Lena H. Sun in Washington and Spencer S. Hsu in Richmond contributed to this report
"Whether ours shall be a government of laws and not of men, is now for Congress, and ultimately, the American people." Archibald Cox
WE LIVED THROUGH THIS IMPEACHMENT AND WHAT IS GOING ON NOW MAKES IT LOOK SILLY!
Tue, 2007-06-26 12:46. at After Downing St.
http://courtofimpeachmentandwarcrimes.blogspot.com/2007/06/impeachment-impeach-bush-and-cheney_26.html
Tue, 2007-06-26 12:46. at After Downing St.
http://courtofimpeachmentandwarcrimes.blogspot.com/2007/06/impeachment-impeach-bush-and-cheney_26.html
A REPORT:
U.S. PRESIDENTIAL ACCOUNTABILITY 2007
A Grassroots Town Hall Forum http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-9045283753984491811
June 23rd, 1-4 PMGeorge Mason University - FairfaxMason Hall Conference Center
The Forum was definitive in revealing the horrifying depth of frustration with which concerned Americans are living. The participants ran the gamut from those who intellectually understand the wounds that have been inflicted upon the fabric of this nation, the corruption that has been visited upon our system of Government, the violence visited upon our Constitution and basic legal system, and dangers which “We The People” face from our government, and want to cling desperately to the hope that institutions: the Congress, the media, and the masses of unengaged Americans, will awaken and rise to the occasion to right the wrongs that confront us as a people, to those who have all but abandoned that hope and are prepared to march down the road of escalation from protest, to rebellion, to the type of militant resistance we experienced during the Civil Rights Movement and the Vietnam Era.
Regardless of where the participants stood, they were in unanimous agreement that the war in Iraq must end, and the both President Bush and Vice President Cheney must be impeached.
SHOULD IMPEACHMENT BE ON THE TABLE?
During the founding or our nation George Mason asserted, "No point is of more importance than that the right of impeachment should be continued." Now, in the early years of the 21st Century, Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, has decreed, "Impeachment is off the table."
What has happened to the United States that might justify the Speaker's view? Whose position is more essential to the protection and preservation of our Republic today and in the future?
Come to a grassroots town hall forum to explore these questions publicly with fellow citizens and special guests (see below) who are making themselves available during this special Northern Virginia citizens event.
Special Guests
Bruce Fein, Constitutional lawyer; Associate Deputy Attorney General, Reagan Administration; Principal, the Litchfield Group; Principal, the American Freedom Agenda; former General Counsel, FCC.
Lawrence Wilkerson, Chief of Staff for Secretary of State, Colin Powell; Visiting Professor, College of William & Mary; former Director, USMC War College, Quantico, VA; Colonel, US Army, retired.
PBS. Org (The Darkside Front Line Interviews)
CNN.com Tuesday, August 23, 2005
(CNN) -- A former top aide to Colin Powell says his involvement in the former secretary of state's presentation to the United Nations on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction was "the lowest point" in his life.
"I wish I had not been involved in it," says Col. Lawrence Wilkerson, a longtime Powell adviser who served as his chief of staff from 2002 through 2005. "I look back on it, and I still say it was the lowest point in my life."
They Have Stolen My Party and I want it back!
Neocons Lobbied For Taiwan To Declare Independence Despite…
An ex-chief of staff to Colin Powell was quoted in `Congressional Quarterly' magazine as saying that hawkish US officials encouraged Chen Shui-bian to declare independence.
Wilkerson said that the actions had the potential to generate a conflict -- possibly nuclear -- between the US and China.
Cheney's Impeachable Crimes Highlighted at UDC Forum
On May 7, a group of leading U.S. intelligence and military veterans joined investigative authors Peter Eisner and Knut Royce in a forum at the University of the District of Columbia (UDC), that provided, among many revelations, dramatic new evidence as to why Vice President Dick Cheney should be impeached for "high crimes and misdemeanors." Originally convened as a book-signing forum for Eisner and Royce's new book, The Italian Letter: How the Bush Administration Used a Fake Letter To Build the Case for War in Iraq, an invaluable documentary account of the Bush Administration lies that led the country to war against Iraq, the authors decided to open the event to a panel of leading retired intelligence officers, to comment on the just-released memoirs of retired CIA Director George Tenet.
The event, which drew over 100 students, faculty, and community activists, provided one of the most damning indictments of the Bush-Cheney Administration's manipulation of intelligence and other crimes. The panelists who joined Eisner and Royce—former CIA officers Larry Johnson and Mel Goodman; retired Defense Intelligence Agency Middle East chief Col. W. Patrick Lang; and former chief of staff to Secretary of State Colin Powell, Col. Lawrence Wilkerson—presented such a significant amount of previously unknown documentation about the crimes of Bush and Cheney, that EIR has decided, as a public service, to publish an only slightly edited transcript of the entire event. This transcript appears in the May 25, 2007 issue of Executive Intelligence Review.
As with everyone else on the program, I have provided additional informational linkages to allow readers far beyond the lovely grounds of George Mason University to develop just a bit more flavor of the participants. To say that Larry Wilkerson was a hit would be a gross understatement. One can safely assume that the participants numbered only a few Republicans, disaffected if any, on Saturday. Wilkerson was direct, candid, and conversant upon questioning; he did not spin skirt or squirm out of, or around issues.
In baseball parlance; you threw him the pitch and he sent it sailing to the delight of all. The only problem one had after a healthy dose of Mr. Wilkerson, was that one not only wanted to Impeach Bush and Cheney, but you got the feeling that backing a big dumpster up to the White House and taking out all of the rest of the incompetent trash would be just as important. Was he being honest and forthright with us? I don’t think there is any question, and that is just plain scary!
Marcus Raskin, Co-Founder, Institute for Policy Studies, Washington, DC; Professor, the George Washington University; author "Four Freedoms Under Siege," and "In Democracy's Shadow."
Presidential Disrespect
A history of presidential denigration from Washington to Clinton
Marcus Raskin: You Want A New Direction? Here’s One
If you have been involved in the American Political experience as long as I have been and you have devoted thirty-one (31) years to teaching American History and Political Science, attempting to convey the message that the study of history, that research, is an unending pursuit of the truth, and you live with the hope that people can grasp those truths with open and inquisitive minds and a willingness of their being to have a reasoned faith in our way of life, and the strength of character and moral conviction to take a stand in the name of, and for, the America most of us believe should exist; then you will find Marcus Raskin one of the most spell binding intellects you could encounter. More than any other Forum participant he provided the historical perspectives that other could spin off from and or take focus from. I found him to be an absolute joy.
At the outset of this writing I was determined that I would attempt to be as even handed as possible given the subject and circumstances, but intention was quickly lost in the conviction, reinforced, for me, Saturday that we are past the point of political correctness for “correctness sake”. Being polite to, and about, the blight that this administration has brought down on this land just does not make any sense. I despise what they have done and continue to do. I hold them in contempt, and I certainly entertain no notions of respect where they are concerned, so I am going to give credit where credit is due.
I had few moments alone with Professor Olshansky in a conference room while she was endeavoring to review her notes. That was unnecessary and I think she was really just trying to rest a bit from her flight in from New York. I found her to be refreshingly candid with an intelligence that makes a conversation a joy. And where she is rather gentle and soft spoken in a one-on-one conversation, as soon as she was seated at the guests table her demeanor changed into one of those beautiful confident presences that says: I’m in my element; so let’s get it on!”
For every woman in America who is disappointed or disgusted with Nancy Pelosi, having trusted that, hoped for, a roll model marching into History writing one of the finest pages of “Women In American Politics”, only to profoundly disappointed as the Speaker has surely squandered that opportunity; I commend you to Barbara Olshansky, a woman who can be held up as a roll model for any young woman in America, not only as a woman, but an inspiration and example for all of us should be like in advocating for right, and for the America we are striving to protect, defend and save.
Barbara is an American of genuine integrity. She is also a very approachable woman, and I left her with this picture in my mind, sitting on the floor talking with participants, signing a copy of the Lindorff/Olshansky book, and she wasn’t just signing her name, and on the floor again, earlier in the day, she took as much delight in signing the huge “We The People Canvas” as anyone else…no pretense, a good person.
When the rather sedate tone of the session was broken and everyone let loose their passions and perspectives, her recounting a personal “informal fact finding” trip to the world of horror and torture froze the room as her voice trembled just a bit, the only time in the day, as she made the point: “America does not know how really bad the situation is….”
Barbara Olshansky, Professor, Stanford Law School; former Deputy Director, Center for Constitutional Rights; Co-Author "The Case for Impeachment." And the author of Secret Trials and Executions: Military Tribunals and the Threat to Democracy. Barbara Olshansky
BARBARA OLSHANSKY is the Leah Kaplan Distinguished Professor in Human Rights at Stanford University. Previously, she was deputy legal director for the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) and director counsel of the Guantánamo Global Justice Initiative there. She was one of the lead attorneys who brought the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case that resulted in a decision allowing the nearly 600 detainees held at the Guantánamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba to challenge their unlawful indefinite detentions. She’s the coauthor most recently of The Case for Impeachment: The Legal Argument for Removing George W. Bush from Office (St. Martins, 2006), among other titles, and author of Secret Trials and Executions: Military Tribunals and the Threat to Democracy (Open MediaSeries/Seven Stories Press, 2002).
She came to CCR in September of 1995 from the Environmental Defense Fund, a national, not-for-profit environmental organization. Barbara's current docket at the Center includes class action lawsuits concerning immigrants' rights, race discrimination in employment and education, environmental justice and public health, prisoners' rights, and Native American rights.
During her four years at the Environmental Defense Fund (now called Environmental Defense or "ED"), Barbara specialized in addressing community and workplace exposures to environmental toxins. During her tenure at ED, Barbara was instrumental in incorporating environmental justice concerns into the organization's docket and worked on a number of environmental racism cases, including those addressing the construction and operation of the Brooklyn Navy Yard Incinerator and the Bronx Lebanon Medical Waste Incinerator; and the exposure of workers in chemical and dye manufacturing industries.
Prior to her employment at ED, Barbara worked at a small plaintiffs' employment discrimination and union representation firm in New York City. During her work in these areas, Barbara focused not only on the enforcement of traditional workplace issues such as wages, hours, and benefits, but also the occupational safety and health concerns of employees working in a wide range of industries.
Barbara graduated from Stanford Law School in 1985, and clerked for two years for Rose E. Bird, Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court. She has written several articles on environmental racism, immigrants' rights, public access to radio programming and ownership, and a chapter on occupational exposures for the 2000 ABA treatise on environmental justice.
Democracy DetainedSecret Unconstitutional Practices in the U.S. War on TerrorBarbara Olshanskydue out in August 2007
Will American democracy become the true casualty of the U.S. war on terror?
America’s Disappeare dSecret Imprisonment, Detainees, and the “War on Terror”Rachel Meeropol, Barbara Olshansky, Michael Ratner, Steven Macpherson Watt 2005 Edition
This book provides detainees’ own testimonies with a comprehensive framework for understanding the issues by the leading constitutional scholars working for their release.
Against War with IraqAn Anti-war PrimerJennie Green, Barbara Olshansky, Michael Ratner2003 Edition
In this Open Media Series special edition, three legal scholars from the Center for Constitutional Rights argue persuasively that the looming war against Iraq is both unnecessary for national security, and illegal.
Secret Trials and ExecutionsMilitary Tribunals and the Threat to DemocracyBarbara Olshansky2002 Edition
"Olshansky lays out a skillful argument which, point by point, shows how the "war on terrorism" at home amounts to a declaration of war on the Constitution itself. "—Criminal Defense Weekly
Barbara Olshansky '85: Public Interest Lawyer of the Year
By David McKay Wilson
Barbara Olshansky '85 won the biggest case of her legal career when the U.S. Supreme Court in 2004 ruled that detainees at the U.S. facility in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, could challenge their incarceration in federal court. Rasul v. Bush, which The New York Times hailed as "the most important civil liberties case in half a century," reined in presidential power in prosecuting the war on terror.
But more than a year later, despite help from hundreds of pro bono lawyers working under Olshansky's oversight, not one habeas corpus petition has been heard in federal court. Having lost on the habeas corpus issue, the U.S. Department of Justice is now arguing that "enemy combatants" simply have no rights to enforce. Worse, the Supreme Court's ruling may be negated as a practical matter if the Graham-Levin amendment, a measure limiting detainees' rights which passed the Senate in late November, becomes law. "I feel like I'm arguing Rasul all over again," said Olshansky, deputy legal director of the Center for Constitutional Rights in New York City.
Mark Levine, Host "Inside Scoop" radio, internet and TV talk show; former U.S. Congressional staff attorney.
Biography
Taking a Closer Look at Levine
When you attend a Forum such as Saturday’s, everyone is going to come away with his/her favorites, and folks are going to make judgments about each and every participant. I heard comments indicating that some felt Mark wasn’t up to par or as forceful a charismatic presence as he could have been.
Oh well, I can see where that opinion formed in the early segment of the presentations where everyone was in fact giving their opening statements, so to speak, and everything was placidly proper…and Levine was placid. That’s just a fact. One also must take into account that this was not a panel of light weights and wall flowers. Some of these people are used to daily advocacy at some high levels of performance and confrontation with other peoples lives in the balance, so I didn’t expect Mark to be Attila The Liberal Hun, but once the ice at this conference was broken early on in the question and answer period, and everyone began to let it all hang out and the unspoken words of “blood and in the streets” were breached people’s passions and most troubling questions welled up.
They didn’t want to quit. The planned small group wrap up sessions became truncated, and that was fine, because a more important dynamic had set in, a dynamic that revealed how deeply disturbed we are as a people. Our frustrations are serious, our rage is growing. At that point Levine exhibited more life, passion and pointed discourse.
Dennis Loo, Professor, Cal Poly Pomona, Co-Editor "Impeach the President: the Case Against Bush & Cheney."
Voter Fraud Analysis: More Questions than answers
Dr. Dennis D. Loo
Dennis Loo, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of Sociology at Cal Poly Pomona. He graduated with honors from Harvard in Government and received his Ph.D. from the University of California at Santa Cruz in Sociology. He has been a journalist, including as a Photo Editor at the Harvard Crimson and an Associate Editor at the Hawaii Observer. His research and writings revolve mostly around polling and public policymaking, with an emphasis on the roles of media, public officials and social movements. His most recent article,
Impeach the PresidentThe Case Against Bush and CheneyDr. Dennis D. Loo, Peter Phillips2006 Edition
A gripping call for action from the leading political analysts of our time.
Contributions
Censored 2008The Top 25 Censored Stories of 2006-7due out in September 2007The breaking news stories you won’t find anywhere else.
Barbara Bowley, Associate Professor & Director Education Services, Woodbury University; contributor "Impeach the President: the Case Against Bush & Cheney."The Team of Loo and Bowley did not come into play until after the Q an A session but one is left with the impression that Mr. Loo’s forte is research and publication, and as sometimes happen with these events one or more of the player may have a bit of ego show through. It did here but with no harm done. He is young, and I’ll leave it there.
Ron Pinchback (Moderator), General Manager, WPFW (89.3 FM), Pacifica Radio, Washington, D.C.
Mr. Pinchback is another one of those personalities that brings a solid perspective to the table that needs to be heard and with his practiced media voice and delivery, he is heard. I heard nothing but good comments as regards his performance and contribution.
On The Other hand!
Gil Davis, distinguished attorney represented Paula Jones in the first private civil case in U.S. history against a sitting President for personal wrongdoing, winning a unanimous Supreme Court decision that a President is not immune for personal misconduct (Clinton v. Jones, 1997). He is parliamentarian for Virginia’s 11th CD Republican Committee, and is a past Bush Campaign Rules Committee Counsel.
Gil Davis is owner of the law firm of Davis & Associates. Gil earned a B.A. from Cornell College and a J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law. He directed two state agencies following graduation from college. Before entering law school, he was a teacher of American history, a factory worker, custodian, and basketball coach. He is currently president of the Fairfax; Virginia based Para-Legal Institute and chairman of the board of Yorktown University.
Gil was Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia from 1969 to 1973 and is admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of the United States, the District of Columbia Superior Court, the Supreme Court of Virginia and many other federal district and circuit courts. Gil Davis has tried cases in 20 states and the District of Columbia.
He was Associate Editor of the 1969 revision of the Virginia Lawyer Handbook and authored the Criminal Trial Manual for the United States Attorney's office in the Eastern District of Virginia. He served as Parliamentarian for the Reagan White House Conference on Small Business in 1986. During a distinguishedlegal career, Gil brought the first prosecution under the Clean Air Act and the first prosecution of an aircraft hijacker.
Gil has also served as a FOX and MSNBC TV news analyst and was a founder of The Virginia State Police Association.
In 1996 Gil was awarded the Freedom Legal Defender Award by the co-sponsors of the Conservative Political Action Conference and in 1999 he was awarded the Job Award by the Christian Action Network “in recognition of steadfastprinciples, outstanding character, and unwavering perseverance in the defense of truth, justice and freedom.”
Friends:
American Conservative union
Our American Values
Americans For Prosperity
Family Research Council
Yorktown University.com
Human Events
Americans Have Had Enough
American Solutions
Right Talk
The Heritage Foundation
The Leadership Institute
NEWT - Winning the Future
Thomas More Institute
Interview with Gil Davis
The Pedigree should give you a good idea of just where the following commentary is heading. Unlike the organizers of the Forum I feel no need to be nice about Mr. Davis. I am an advocate; he is an advocate; so let’s have it.
Gil Davis calls himself a "country lawyer"…and he tries to bring the act off. He is a true right wing Republican lawyer through and through who tried to play the polite country lawyer flipping his bait on the water waiting for you to bite on any of his introductory presentation’s assumption. His arrogance was suppressed but showed through in a quiet air of superiority and condescension. Any suggestion of administration fault of any significance was quietly, deftly dismissed as someone else’s fault or responsibility. Most every day citizens would not be familiar with or able to detect the practiced verbal skills he brought to the table. As the expression goes; been there; done that; seen it all before…no problem.
When you sit on a panel with Barbara Olshansky these days there is almost an obligation for a peer to acknowledge her triumph over the administration. Mr. Davis’s acknowledgment was muted, without eye contact, and his vocal tone disapproving and perfunctory.
The organizers of the Forum, whom I have only recently come to know, (all very good dedicated thoughtful people), were serious in trying to present both sides of the issue, and I thought it might be refreshing to have an administration supporter who was willing to engage in a thoughtful dialog. Mr. Davis was not and time after time simple dismissed issues as non existent. He was the party line, and the assemblage seethed and squirmed in their seats and tried to appeal for “political correctness/polite conduct” chastising mildly any interruption of points he attempted to make that fell on people’s ears like the repetition of lies we have to despise so vehemently.
One man would not be silenced, and rage filled he had his say and left the room. Following him outside in his departure, I managed to engage him conversation and let him vent and explain the depth of his rage. He will be alright, insofar as, he is aware of the depth of his emotions and the need to do something about them for his own good.
Gil Davis calls himself a "country lawyer" who represented Paula Jones in her lawsuit against President Clinton. This first part of the interview was interesting to us because he used the classical method of answering our questions... he gave examples of the difficulty individuals have when faced with decisions.
Helen: We'd like to remind Americans today about the foundations of America. We had all been reminded, during President Reagan's funeral, that once one has a firm grasp of one's core principles, it's a lot easier to make decisions. So we'd like to hear some of your current ideas and work, but also to delve into the basic principles that sustain you. Too often we hear people complaining they don't know how to make a decision one way or the other. Sometimes a bit of American history and knowledge of basic foundational principles of our country will help. We're trying to fill the gap where the current educational system is failing.
Gil: We have to have everyone feel sensitive and socially adjusted and so we have classes on that, yet civics are sometimes ignored.
Helen: Few people realize America was called the Great Experiment because it is an experiment in human freedom and self-government what do you see as the strengths and weaknesses of this system of government?
Gil: When you say it's an experiment, that's right. It really was the new thing on the block. We were the first republic since the Roman republic. George Washington was the first leader of a nation who voluntarily relinquished his job as leader to go back to his home. He wasn't assassinated or deposed. He could have been a king if he had wanted to, because he was the only one they trusted.
Peter: Let me clarify something. You mentioned that the American republic was the first republic since the Roman republic. It's pretty obvious how a republic differs from a monarchy, but how would you distinguish it from the term we generally use, 'democracy'?
Gil: A republic is a representative government where the people choose those who make the decisions; the people themselves don't make the decisions. The Athenian model is a direct democracy where the people themselves made the decisions. It was interesting in that they had rotating leaders and big committees of three or four hundred, so in a sense they were representative, but they were all involved directly in the decisions. It was wise of our founders to construct our system the way they did because it was easier to put in checks and balances so that the majority could work its will, but still maintain rights for the minority.
In a direct democracy, minority rights could be squelched. Plus a direct democracy for this country as it's developed and grown would be an almost impossible way to govern.
Now, ironically, with the internet, maybe everyone could have direct access. However, probably everyone wouldn't want to take the time it would require, especially now, with a government that's into everything.
Free America Web.com (The end of the pedigree)
Invitations have been extended to Hon. Tom Davis, Virginia 11th Congressional District, and Hon. Jim Moran, Virginia 8th Congressional District.
They were not in attendance. That problem of avoidance behavior is all too common and has to be brought to a stop through more aggressive contacts with these people. He hired them; we pay them and we can fire them.
And where does this leave us? I think everyone went away committed to all those normal things identified as protest and opinion formation, but more importantly they walked away with a better perspective on the longer road that may very have to escalate from protest, to resistance and finally rebellion.
A Kent State Graduate an on scene for our Vietnam War Era tragedy, I am painfully aware of the cost that might lay ahead; as a historian I know that great change has been accompanied by controversy and often bloodshed, and philosophically I have always been aware that human freedom and liberty have been purchased from one gallows to the next gallows, and that justice has all too often been acquired, nurtured and sustained by the blood that has flowed down the gutters of the streets of history.
The forum speakers made the point repeatedly that our Republic has no guarantee of continued existence, and I am of the opinion that we are wrapped up in a self absorbed national existence at the moment that negates our ability to appreciate the broad canvas of history.
After all, we are merely a Republic fashioned by ideas, given form by words on paper of long ago. We are an idea, and while history tells us that ideas in confrontation cannot be killed; ideas can be abandoned by choice, set aside as anachronism, replaced with new ideas by those who would transplant them and have a different vision that advance with the vigor and vitality of the true believer, the new evangelist.
The notion that somehow America in our own self-defined immunity from the ills of time and history was clearly dismissed as all were reminded of the fragility of nations and the menace of our current crisis, a crisis precipitated in the main by men and women who have a different vision of a different America.
Our greatest dangers lay in simple words, in the words of Sinclair Lewis, adopted by Larry Lindorff for his web site: “It can’t happen here”, and in the words: “I believe”. How many human problems and tragedies have welled up in history from those two words, how many?
But let us conclude this post with earlier reminders that this nation, this Republic does not have some exclusive warrantee of eternal existence.“America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter, and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves”.~Abraham Lincoln
“The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing”.~Albert Einstein
“The voice of protest...is never more needed than when the clamor of fife and drum...is bidding all men...obey in silence the tyrannous word of command”.~Charles Eliot Norton
“Peace...is the product of Faith, Strength, Energy, Will, Sympathy, Justice, Imagination, and the triumph of principle”.~Dorothy Thompson
Allow the president to invade a neighboring nation, whenever he shall deem it necessary to repel an invasion, and you allow him to do so whenever he may choose to say he deems it necessary for such a purpose—and you allow him to make war at pleasure.~Abraham Lincoln
:Benjamin Franklin (1706–90) QUOTATION:“Well, Doctor, what have we got—a Republic or a Monarchy?”
“A Republic, if you can keep it.” ATTRIBUTION: The response is attributed to BENJAMIN FRANKLIN—at the close of the Constitutional Convention of 1787, when queried as he left Independence Hall on the final day of deliberation—in the notes of Dr. James McHenry, one of Maryland’s delegates to the Convention.
McHenry’s notes were first published in The American Historical Review, vol. 11, 1906, and the anecdote on p. 618 reads: “A lady asked Dr. Franklin Well Doctor what have we got a republic or a monarchy. A republic replied the Doctor if you can keep it.” When McHenry’s notes were included in The Records of the Federal Convention of 1787, ed. Max Farrand, vol. 3, appendix A, p. 85 (1911, reprinted 1934), a footnote stated that the date this anecdote was written is uncertain.
THINK ABOUT; ACT ON IT!
In Alexandria we are preparing to act as we plan for a petition drive of Impeachment and transmission to the City Council.
In Alexandria, Virginia…Ed. Dickau, The Precinct Master In The Court of Impeachment and War crimes…
Proposed Petition Source #1
Proposed Petition Source #2
For Your Convenience (This Post)
The Black Quill Letters (Appropriate Here)
Alexandria Advocates Alliance Home Page
Columbus Free Press - Columbus,OH,USA"Deval, what's your view on state action for impeachment of Bush and Cheney?" His chagrin quickly changed to excitement, as he explained that as an active ...
Impeachment is a priority
Impeachment is a priority
Rutland Herald - Rutland,VT,USAWe mixed with a large number of Americans who shared our positions of opposition to the war(s) and impeachment of the fomenters. There was music. ...See all stories on this topic
Unimpeachable Conservative Calls for Bush/Cheney ImpeachmentOpEdNews - Newtown,PA,USAFein helped draft the articles of impeachment for Clinton. This is stunning. Someone needs to send it to Nancy, tape her eyelids open and make her watch it. ...See all stories on this topic
"An impeachment is not a constitutional crisis. Impeachment is the ...By lambert Bingo. I couldn't agree with Fein more. I don't want anybody exercising monarchical power. Say, where are Hillary and Obama on signing statements? I'm sold. Impeachment now. I'm sorry it took so long.Corrente - http://www.correntewire.com
Bill Moyers: Tough Talk on Impeachment (video link; Fein; Nichols) By dandelionsalad A public opinion poll from the American Research Group recently reported that more than four in ten Americans -- 45% -- favor impeachment hearings for President Bush and more than half -- 54% -- favored impeachment for Vice President Cheney ...Dandelion Salad - http://dandelionsalad.wordpress.com
Bill Moyers' Roundtable On Impeachment Of Bush & Cheney By Logan Murphy Congress must put impeachment on the table because if they do nothing to stop Bush and Cheney now, we will see future presidents follow in their footsteps which would be a disaster for our country. This is definitely worth a look...Crooks and Liars - http://www.crooksandliars.com
Unimpeachable Conservative Calls for Bush/Cheney ImpeachmentOpEdNews - Newtown,PA,USAFein helped draft the articles of impeachment for Clinton. This is stunning. Someone needs to send it to Nancy, tape her eyelids open and make her watch it. ...See all stories on this topic
"An impeachment is not a constitutional crisis. Impeachment is the ...By lambert Bingo. I couldn't agree with Fein more. I don't want anybody exercising monarchical power. Say, where are Hillary and Obama on signing statements? I'm sold. Impeachment now. I'm sorry it took so long.Corrente - http://www.correntewire.com
Bill Moyers: Tough Talk on Impeachment (video link; Fein; Nichols) By dandelionsalad A public opinion poll from the American Research Group recently reported that more than four in ten Americans -- 45% -- favor impeachment hearings for President Bush and more than half -- 54% -- favored impeachment for Vice President Cheney ...Dandelion Salad - http://dandelionsalad.wordpress.com
Bill Moyers' Roundtable On Impeachment Of Bush & Cheney By Logan Murphy Congress must put impeachment on the table because if they do nothing to stop Bush and Cheney now, we will see future presidents follow in their footsteps which would be a disaster for our country. This is definitely worth a look...Crooks and Liars - http://www.crooksandliars.com
Bastille Day Impeachment party opens By Alice(Alice) To the posts! tofubo suggests some legislation. HowthCastle&Environs says that if this President and Vice-President don't deserve impeachment, none ever will. Bastille Day Impeachment Party Blogswarm.GOTV - http://gotv.blogspot.com/
Time for ImpeachmentIn fact, most Americans are in favor of impeachment. PBS reported on the show that 45% of Americans believe that President Bush should be impeached and 54% of Americans feel that Vice President Cheney should be impeached
July 23 (Monday) 10 a.m.Plan on Marching with Cindy Sheehan, Tina Richards,Iraq Veterans Against the War, Veterans For Peace andmore from Arlington National Cemetary to the Capitol to demand Impeachment.---
Has anything changed since I wrote this in my blog in February and wrote ingood faith to below?
I don't think so, unless you consider the recent crimes that have piled up on top.
From my February 11, 2007 blog:
Dear Congressman Davis:
When President Bush took office he vowed to defend and uphold theConstitution of the United States. He has not done so and should bei mpeached and removed from office.
Before 9/11 George Bush ignored warnings that a terrorist attack wasimminent.
He ignored reports prepared for him with intelligence warning ofthe 9/11 attacks.
Attorney General Ashcroft even knew at that time that it was dangerous to fly on commercial airplanes and instead took a private jeton his travels.
After 9/11 President Bush, with the assistance of Congress, enacted thePatriot Act. The Patriot Act must have been prepared in advance becausewithin days of the attack it was already ready to be given to Congress.
I doubt Congress fully understood the implications this act had. With thePatriot Act in hand President Bush has expanded his powers and suspendedsuch precious rights as Habeas Corpus. Wiring tapping and spying on ourcitizens is a crime against the Constitution. This act has been used tojustify the imprisonment and torture of people rounded up haphazardly in thewilds of Afghanistan.
People who might be in the wrong place at the wrongtime have been denied their rights under International Law and refused atrial.All this occurred before the Iraq War.
The evidence is now clear that the Bush administration falsifiedintelligence to persuade Congress to enact a war resolution against Iraq.
Some in Congress and public life were not fooled, but many went along withthe President and gave him the money and backing he needed to start the warwith Iraq.Before we invaded Iraq it was a dictatorship, but in the context of the region, it was not a worse dictatorship than many of the other countries around it.
The evidence is now clear that the Bush administration falsifiedintelligence to persuade Congress to enact a war resolution against Iraq.
Some in Congress and public life were not fooled, but many went along withthe President and gave him the money and backing he needed to start the warwith Iraq.Before we invaded Iraq it was a dictatorship, but in the context of the region, it was not a worse dictatorship than many of the other countries around it.
It had no viable way to threaten the United States. The 1991 attack on Kuwait had been thwarted during George H. W. Bush'sadministration. Saudi Arabia is a dictatorial monarchy, and this dangerouscountry, which produced most of the 9/11 hijackers and has promoted hatred toward non-Muslims throughout the world through its funding of ultra-conservative schools, is an absolute monarchy that seems to find the Bush family extremely friendly to its interests.
The Bush family's unusually close ties to the Saudi Royal family needs to be investigated.
Is it possible we got involved in the Iraq war because it wasbetter for Saudi interests? If not, why is it that we removed our military presence from Saudi Arabia and put it in Iraq?
Why was our presence in Saudi Arabia suddenly not needed?
It's not sane to consider that we removed them because this was Usama bin Laden's biggest beef against us, is it?
After we were lied to about the intelligence leading to the Iraq war,members of the Bush Administration from the top brass in Dick Cheney'soffice outed a CIA undercover agent because of a grudge against her husband.Whoever did this is clearly a traitor to this country who put the lives of many agents in danger.
The trial for this crime is going forth, but very slowly.
I demand that whoever is found guilty in this trial be treated as the traitor that they are.
We need to know how information is disseminatedwithin the administration.
Who has knowledge of our undercover agents?
Ibelieve it is Cheney and his top staff and they clearly should be impeached for this traitorous act and imprisoned for this crime.
If Cheney was not theone responsible, then he clearly was very negligent about Top Secret information that should have been withheld from journalists, and he and his staff should be impeached and tried just for the negligence.
This does not take Bush off the hook for this crime. He should have demanded an immediate investigation and taken personal action to cleanse this administration and right the wrong.
But the Bush administration cares littlefor the safety and efficiency of its intelligence community. Homeland Security is such a huge organization with such inefficient tools to do their work that I wonder who benefits from this inefficiency.
After the Iraq War Commission gave its findings and recommended gradual troop withdrawal, Cheney was summoned to Saudi Arabia. Why? After he returned, Bush announced that he would be working on a strategic plan forIraq.
Shortly after Christmas he announced that he would not only not take the measured bipartisan advice offered by the Commission, he decided to do the reverse and throw more lives into this war in Iraq.
This administrationhas increased its threatening rhetoric against Iran. Are we throwing precious lives away for the benefit of Saudi Arabia, so that weak monarchy can feel safe around its neighbors?
I demand that the elected officials in this country represent the best interests of the people of the United States and the Constitution that upholds our wonderful county.
Our interests over the past six years have been gravely neglected.
A beautiful city has not returned to its former glory, Americans are suffering from the economy where jobs pay less and lessand housing and health care have sky rocketed.
You have the obligation tolook to these issues as well, but first we must extract ourselves from this insane situation in Iraq. Impeach the President and Vice President quicklys o we can enact the plan put forth by the bipartisan Iraq Commission.
Sincerely,Nancy Maynard
Dear Madam Speaker:
Enclosed you will find my letter to my Congressman, Tom Davis. As a
concerned citizen of this great country and a loyal volunteering and
contributing Democrat, I demand that you put impeachment back on the table.
Why was our presence in Saudi Arabia suddenly not needed?
It's not sane to consider that we removed them because this was Usama bin Laden's biggest beef against us, is it?
After we were lied to about the intelligence leading to the Iraq war,members of the Bush Administration from the top brass in Dick Cheney'soffice outed a CIA undercover agent because of a grudge against her husband.Whoever did this is clearly a traitor to this country who put the lives of many agents in danger.
The trial for this crime is going forth, but very slowly.
I demand that whoever is found guilty in this trial be treated as the traitor that they are.
We need to know how information is disseminatedwithin the administration.
Who has knowledge of our undercover agents?
Ibelieve it is Cheney and his top staff and they clearly should be impeached for this traitorous act and imprisoned for this crime.
If Cheney was not theone responsible, then he clearly was very negligent about Top Secret information that should have been withheld from journalists, and he and his staff should be impeached and tried just for the negligence.
This does not take Bush off the hook for this crime. He should have demanded an immediate investigation and taken personal action to cleanse this administration and right the wrong.
But the Bush administration cares littlefor the safety and efficiency of its intelligence community. Homeland Security is such a huge organization with such inefficient tools to do their work that I wonder who benefits from this inefficiency.
After the Iraq War Commission gave its findings and recommended gradual troop withdrawal, Cheney was summoned to Saudi Arabia. Why? After he returned, Bush announced that he would be working on a strategic plan forIraq.
Shortly after Christmas he announced that he would not only not take the measured bipartisan advice offered by the Commission, he decided to do the reverse and throw more lives into this war in Iraq.
This administrationhas increased its threatening rhetoric against Iran. Are we throwing precious lives away for the benefit of Saudi Arabia, so that weak monarchy can feel safe around its neighbors?
I demand that the elected officials in this country represent the best interests of the people of the United States and the Constitution that upholds our wonderful county.
Our interests over the past six years have been gravely neglected.
A beautiful city has not returned to its former glory, Americans are suffering from the economy where jobs pay less and lessand housing and health care have sky rocketed.
You have the obligation tolook to these issues as well, but first we must extract ourselves from this insane situation in Iraq. Impeach the President and Vice President quicklys o we can enact the plan put forth by the bipartisan Iraq Commission.
Sincerely,Nancy Maynard
Dear Madam Speaker:
Enclosed you will find my letter to my Congressman, Tom Davis. As a
concerned citizen of this great country and a loyal volunteering and
contributing Democrat, I demand that you put impeachment back on the table.
Sincerely, Nancy maynard
http://demnan.typepad.com/demnans_blog/2007/02/index.html
La la la la We Can't Hear the I Word La La La
Submitted by davidswanson on Sat, 2007-07-14 19:24.
Congress Miers Warned of Contempt Citation for Ignoring House SubpoenaBy James Rowley, Bloomberg The U.S. House Judiciary Committee threatened former White House Counsel Harriet Miers with criminal contempt charges if she continues to defy its subpoena to testify about the firing of eight U.S. attorneys.
Committee Chairman John Conyers of Michigan gave Miers until 5 p.m.Washington time on July 17 to say whether she will comply.
Miers failed to appear yesterday to answer questions under oath before the panel's commercial-law subcommittee, which then voted 7-5 along party lines that her refusal to testify had no valid legal basis.
The contempt threat against Miers further escalates Congress's legal confrontation with President George W. Bush over his refusal to let aides testify under oath about private White House discussions. Congressionalinvestigators are trying to determine whether federal prosecutors were replaced to spur investigations of Democrats or quash probes of Republicans.
"We must insist on compliance with the subpoena," Conyers said in a two-pageletter to George T. Manning, an Atlanta lawyer representing Miers. Herrefusal "could subject her to contempt proceedings."Refusing to testify or produce documents to Congress can lead to prosecution for a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail and a fine of as muchas $1,000.
The Judiciary Committee and the full House of Representatives would have tovote to refer the case to the U.S. attorney in Washington, a Bush appointee,for prosecution.Republican Subpoena The panel today also subpoenaed the Republican National Committee to producee-mails written by White House staff members about the firings.
Bush has asserted executive privilege over any documents produced by his advisers,including those in the possession of the Republican committee.Congressional investigators previously subpoenaed the White House fordocuments.Congress has only issued subpoenas for two members of Bush's staff at thetime of the firings, Miers and Sara M. Taylor, who resigned earlier this year as White House political director. Taylor, 32, testified two days ago before the Senate Judiciary Committee, answering some questions and refusing to answer others.
The chairman of the Senate panel, Vermont Democrat Patrick Leahy, said afterward that he wanted to study the transcript of Taylor's testimonybefore determining whether to seek contempt charges against her.
Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter, the panel's top Republican, said he would oppose a contempt citation against Taylor. Rhode Island Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse told reporters he didn't sense "much appetite" among hiscolleagues to hold Taylor in contempt.
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/24681
Takoma Park MD to take up impeachment....Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Takoma Park impeachment resolution vote tentatively July 23
* takomaparkibc.wordpress.com"
According to the rolling agenda document posted at the city's web site, the Takoma Park City Council has tentatively put a resolution calling for the impeachment of George Bush and Richard Cheney on the agenda for the meeting of July 23 (7:30pm, Takoma Park Community Center, 7500 Maple Avenue). If you support impeachment:
Call or contact your council member between now and the 23rd and let him or her know you support the resolution. Phone and e-mail contact information for the mayor and each ward's council member are available on the City Council web page (click on their photographs.)*
Attend a city council meeting between now and the 23d, to thank the council for considering the resolution, and to speak for it. You'll have three minutes during the public comment period, and are expected to give your name and address.**
Attend the July 23d city council meeting, and speak for the impeachment resolution during the comment period preceding the vote.
Visit the Takoma Park Impeach Bush & Cheney web site to learn more about impeachment and about how you can help.
Nobel laureate calls for removal of Bush
Irish peace activist's speech at Dallas event gets standing ovation
10:52 AM CDT on Thursday, July 12, 2007
By JAMES HOHMANN / The Dallas Morning News
Nobel Peace Prize winner Betty Williams came from Ireland to Texas to declare that President Bush should be impeached.
In a keynote speech at the International Women's Peace Conference on Wednesday night, Ms. Williams told a crowd of about 1,000 that the Bush administration has been treacherous and wrong and acted unconstitutionally.
"Right now, I could kill George Bush," she said at the Adam's Mark Hotel and Conference Center in Dallas. "No, I don't mean that. How could you nonviolently kill somebody? I would love to be able to do that."
About half the crowd gave her a standing ovation after she called for Mr. Bush's removal from power.
"The Muslim world right now is suffering beyond belief," she said.
"Unless the president of the United States is held responsible for what he's doing and what he has done, there's no one in the Muslim world who will forgive him."
When an audience member told Ms. Williams that Vice President Dick Cheney would become president if George Bush were impeached, she said, "Can't you impeach them both?"
"It's twisted. It's all wrong," she said. "There are so many lies being told. It's hard to be an American and go out into the world right now."
Ms. Williams started her speech by asking every member of the audience to hug everyone around them. Then she cut to what amounted to both a call for peace and a stinging rebuke of the American government.
Conference organizers have said that the conference is nonpartisan and that no one was invited to speak about the war in Iraq. After Ms. Williams finished her speech, conference chairwoman Carol Donovan took the podium to say that Ms. Williams did not speak for the conference - only herself.
"It's important for us to separate the opinion of the person and the position of the conference," Ms. Donovan said.
Two other Nobel Peace Prize winners, American activist Jody Williams and Rigoberta Menchú Tum of Guatemala, will speak this week as part of the conference. Jody Williams, who was in the audience Wednesday, has also indicated she would speak about Mr. Bush.
"We believe very strongly it was important to have the opportunity to hear these three peace prize winners," Ms. Donovan said.
Betty Williams won the Nobel Prize in 1976 for creating a group that helped start peace talks in Northern Ireland.
In 1992, Texas Gov. Ann Richards appointed Betty Williams to the Texas Commission for Children and Youth.
Many in the crowd found out that Lady Bird Johnson had died when Jan Sanders, the wife of U.S. District Judge Barefoot Sanders and a close friend of the former first lady, gave an impromptu eulogy.
"She was a friend, a doer, an influencer of world events," Ms. Sanders said. "She lived a full life. If she were here, she would say to you, 'Keep on being women doers.' "
You cannot have daily democracy without daily citizenship- Ralph Nader.
Cheney's Actions Put Impeachment on the TableYahoo! News - Jul 13, 2007333, the measure that outlines articles of impeachment against Vice President Dick Cheney for actively and systematically seeking to deceive citizens and ...15 Congress Members for Impeachment Scoop.co.nzImpeachment not the answer Rutland HeraldWhy Are Dems Such Cowards on Impeachment? TPMCafeDaily Illiniall 9 news articles »
Impeachment: Wyden would have "open mind" in the newsBlueOregon, OR - 14 hours agoIt was buried in the second-to-last paragraph of a story on page 20 of Willamette Week, but Senator Wyden's comments regarding impeachment of the President ...
It's Highly Unlikely but Just in Case: Here's Impeachment 101Twin Cities Planet, Minnesota - 21 hours agoBy Eric Black , Minnesota Monitor Who can be impeached and why, who can impeach and how, and how impeachment differs from removal from office. ...
Impeachment is a priority Rutland HeraldFor the Record Los Angeles TimesThe West Hollywood City Council to Consider a Resolution in ... Business Wire (press release)Bay Area Indymediaall 6 news articles »
-Bill Moyers Puts Impeachment Back on the Media TableOpEdNews, PA - Jul 14, 2007by Dave Lindorff Page 1 of 1 page(s) Bill Moyers has put impeachment in the news, in the process shaming both the national media and House Speaker Nancy ...Unimpeachable Conservative Calls for Bush/Cheney Impeachment OpEdNewsall 7 news articles »
Governor of Massachusetts favors impeachmentColumbus Free Press, OH - Jul 14, 2007"Deval, what's your view on state action for impeachment of Bush and Cheney?" His chagrin quickly changed to excitement, as he explained that as an active ...
Mainstream Media Silent While Calls for Impeachment GrowZNet, MA - Jul 14, 2007On the same day activists in cities across the country took to the streets calling for the impeachment of Bush and Cheney, more than a thousand people ...Allentown Armory Activists get rocking for Iraq Allentown Morning CallNall: Mainstream Media Silent While Calls for Impeachment Grow Bay Area Indymediaall 3 news articles »
Leave him There, and He'll Start Another War!Mathaba.Net, UK - 13 hours ago(LPAC) - "If Hillary Clinton were to step forward to issue a clarion call for the immediate impeachment of Vice President Dick Cheney, she could win the ...
Impeachment advocates set sights on WelchBoston Globe, United States - Jul 11, 2007BURLINGTON, Vt. --Emboldened by peace activist Cindy Sheehan's plan to run against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Vermont impeachment advocates plan to put up ...
On the Road for ImpeachmentFree Market News Network, FL - Jul 13, 2007Austin--I just spent the weekend in this state capital, talkin' impeachment at a meeting organized by the Texas Green Party, World Can't Wait, Code Pink and ...
Council to Consider Bush/Cheney Impeachment PetitionTelluride Watch, CO - Jul 12, 2007By Douglas McDaniel TELLURIDE – The Town Council this Tuesday will consider nothing less than a petition proposing an ordinance calling for the impeachment ...
Sheehan challenges Pelosi to back Bush impeachmentReuters - Jul 9, 2007"If Nancy Pelosi doesn't support articles of impeachment ... by the time we get there, then I will announce my candidacy against her," she said in a ...
High Crimes and Misdemeanors The Impeachment of Vice President CheneyCanada Free Press, Canada - Jul 12, 2007On April 24, 2007, Ohio Democrat Dennis Kucinich filed Articles of Impeachment against sitting Vice President Richard Cheney alleging unconstitutional ...
Farr signs on to Cheney impeachment billSanta Cruz Sentinel, CA - Jul 12, 2007Sam Farr has joined a small group of House Democrats seeking the impeachment of Vice President Dick Cheney over the origins of the Iraq war. ..
Allentown Armory Activists get rocking for IraqAllentown Morning Call, PA - 16 hours agoBy Joanna Poncavage Of The Morning Call July 15, 2007 The latest ''impeach-nic,'' or picnic for impeachment, got off to a slow start Saturday at South ...Nall: Mainstream Media Silent While Calls for Impeachment Grow Bay Area Indymediaall 3 news articles »
Bush impeachment support growingParadise Post, CA - Jul 12, 2007Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid have said impeachment won't be pursued. Politically they may be smart not to pursue ...
Impeachment obviousNews & Observer, NC - Jul 11, 2007Thanks for the article "Impeachment HQ faces an uphill battle" July 5. My question is: What can the American people do to take back their government from an ...
Kathryn El-Assal: This administration merits impeachmentThe Capital Times, WI - Jul 12, 2007Bill Cinton had a dalliance with Monica Lewinsky and had to face impeachment charges for it, while George W. Bush commits crimes against the Constitution, ...
Half of Americans favour Bush impeachmentDaily Times, Pakistan - Jul 7, 2007WASHINGTON: Nearly half of the US public wants President George W Bush to face impeachment, and even more favour that fate for Vice President Dick Cheney, ...
Kathryn El-Assal: This administration merits impeachmentThe Capital Times, WI - Jul 12, 2007Bill Cinton had a dalliance with Monica Lewinsky and had to face impeachment charges for it, while George W. Bush commits crimes against the Constitution, ...
-Americans Assess Case for Bush ImpeachmentAngus Reid Global Monitor, Canada - Jul 11, 2007In a survey by Gallup released by USA Today, 36 per cent of respondents believe there is justification for Congress to begin impeachment proceedings against ...
Case for impeachment clearly made alreadyMontgomery Advertiser, AL - Jul 12, 2007By now there is more than enough evidence to impeach both Bush and Cheney and place them in jail where they belong. Their crimes are well known, ...
Case for impeachment clearly made alreadyMontgomery Advertiser, AL - Jul 12, 2007The writer didn't say that there was no terrorism. He said our presence there is the reason for MORE terrorism, and that parts seems to be accurate. ...
-15 Congress Members for ImpeachmentOpEdNews, PA - Jul 11, 2007is the latest member of Congress to respond to intense pressure from his constituents and co-sponsor H Res 333, articles of impeachment against Vice ...
Impeachment activists targeting Peter WelchBarre Montpelier Times Argus, VT - Jul 11, 2007By Daniel Barlow Vermont Press Bureau MONTPELIER – Vermont impeachment activists said Tuesday that they will run an independent candidate next year against ...
-Notes to myself on ImpeachmentOpEdNews, PA - Jul 11, 2007(location and directions at bottom of article) so I'm thinking even more than usual about impeachment. Some thoughts; I want Bush out... and before him ...
Jackson wants Congress to revisit impeachmentChicago Daily Southtown, IL - Jul 11, 2007Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-2nd) wants his fellow Democrats in Congress to put the impeachment of President Bush "back on the table." Jackson noted that House ...
Bush Has Photos of PelosiOpEdNews, PA - 21 hours agoSo, the Democrats would not just do the right thing for the future of our nation but achieve electoral victories by moving on impeachment, whether they ...Less popular than Bush, can't be good YourHub.comall 286 news articles »
Bush has photos of Pelosi doing… WHAT?
Here's the situation Nancy Pelosi finds herself in.
A full 54% of Americans and 76% of Democrats want Dick Cheney impeached. Cheney's 13% favorability makes him the least popular president or vice president ever.
The Washington Post reports that Republicans are turning against Cheney. By failing to act, the Democratic Congress has made itself less popular than Bush.
Were the Congress to impeach Cheney and the Senate to acquit him, the Democrats would win a significant majority in the Senate because the public would toss some Republicans who voted for Cheney out on their asses. So, the Democrats would not just do the right thing for the future of our nation but achieve electoral victories by moving on impeachment, whether they manage to succeed with it or not. There's no known downside to trying.
Could there be an unknown downside? Could there be a reason we don't know about to explain Pelosi's unconstitutional position that Congress will not impeach no matter what? Couldn't Pelosi point out at least that she was only talking about Bush? Couldn't she allow justice to run its course for Cheney?
Could it be that Bush and Cheney have photos of Nancy Pelosi doing something she wouldn't want us to see?
I tend to doubt it. I think Pelosi actually believes that the way to win elections is to spit in the faces of three-quarters of your voters, and that elections matter more than upholding the rule of law. But it's important to investigate all possibilities.
Now, when the Bush Administration had complete control of a Senate office building following the anthrax incident, it could only have found dirt on Pelosi that at least one Senator also possessed. And which Senator has most frequently bellowed about how he was about to stand up to Bush and Cheney and then shrunk away and done the opposite?
Arlen Specter seems like exactly Nancy Pelosi's type. He straddles the aisle, tries to please everyone, ends up pissing everyone off, and accomplishes nothing in the end. So far be it from me to suggest anything inappropriate may have occurred, but the circumstantial evidence certainly points in the direction of a political romance.
Still, this being Washington, the probability always has to be that the sexual secrets are homosexual secrets. So probably it's a woman we should be looking for. And, while I would never condone such speculation, I would be remiss if I did not make note here that the possibilities of both animals and aliens have been raised, I think more out of frustration with Pelosi's actions in Congress than on the basis of any evidence.
(Nancy, are you beginning to get the idea that what we can image about you is worse than whatever is holding you back on impeachment?)
And, of course, no Senator need be involved in whatever scandalous thing Pelosi has done. When Bush tossed aside the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, it wasn't in order to spy on terrorists more quickly than the law allowed, since the law allowed retroactive warrants and nothing is faster than that. It was clearly to do what the law was put in place to prevent: spy on political opponents. Bush almost certainly knows something of Pelosi's telephone, Email, and snail mail communications. Congressional Email is run by Lockheed Martin for godsake. Such communications could contain anything.
Maybe there's some financial scandal waiting in the wings to scandalize us. You don't come to lead a political party in the age of the almighty dollar without touching a lot of dirty money. Maybe there's some embarrassing comment. Maybe Pelosi told her closest friend of the phone some words she wouldn't want known, like:
"For people who seriously believe in God and all that crap…"
or
"If we keep the war going till '08…"
or
"Oh, it's that bitch Hillary again…"
And there's the possibility, of course, that the Karl Rove Research Group has found out something else as well. Perhaps Pelosi had an abortion as a teenager. Perhaps someone she knows was involved in a hit-and-run accident and she kept quiet. Who the hell knows?
Well, I have to believe someone knows, or at least someone can make it up. So, until a better explanation is found, I'd like to ask patriotic Americans to post at http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/pelosiphotos what they believe Bush and Cheney have photos of Pelosi doing. And, please, nothing obscene. This is war time after all.
http://www.davidswanson.org
DAVID SWANSON is a co-founder of After Downing Street, a writer and activist, and the Washington Director of Democrats.com. He is a board member of Progressive Democrats of America, and serves on the Executive Council of the Washington-Baltimore Newspaper Guild, TNG-CWA. He has worked as a newspaper reporter and as a communications director, with jobs including Press Secretary for Dennis Kucinich's 2004 presidential campaign, Media Coordinator for the International Labor Communications Association, and three years as Communications Coordinator for ACORN, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now. Swanson obtained a Master's degree in philosophy from the University of Virginia in 1997.
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La la la la We Can't Hear the I Word La La La
Submitted by davidswanson on Sat, 2007-07-14 19:24.
Congress Miers Warned of Contempt Citation for Ignoring House SubpoenaBy James Rowley, Bloomberg The U.S. House Judiciary Committee threatened former White House Counsel Harriet Miers with criminal contempt charges if she continues to defy its subpoena to testify about the firing of eight U.S. attorneys.
Committee Chairman John Conyers of Michigan gave Miers until 5 p.m.Washington time on July 17 to say whether she will comply.
Miers failed to appear yesterday to answer questions under oath before the panel's commercial-law subcommittee, which then voted 7-5 along party lines that her refusal to testify had no valid legal basis.
The contempt threat against Miers further escalates Congress's legal confrontation with President George W. Bush over his refusal to let aides testify under oath about private White House discussions. Congressionalinvestigators are trying to determine whether federal prosecutors were replaced to spur investigations of Democrats or quash probes of Republicans.
"We must insist on compliance with the subpoena," Conyers said in a two-pageletter to George T. Manning, an Atlanta lawyer representing Miers. Herrefusal "could subject her to contempt proceedings."Refusing to testify or produce documents to Congress can lead to prosecution for a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail and a fine of as muchas $1,000.
The Judiciary Committee and the full House of Representatives would have tovote to refer the case to the U.S. attorney in Washington, a Bush appointee,for prosecution.Republican Subpoena The panel today also subpoenaed the Republican National Committee to producee-mails written by White House staff members about the firings.
Bush has asserted executive privilege over any documents produced by his advisers,including those in the possession of the Republican committee.Congressional investigators previously subpoenaed the White House fordocuments.Congress has only issued subpoenas for two members of Bush's staff at thetime of the firings, Miers and Sara M. Taylor, who resigned earlier this year as White House political director. Taylor, 32, testified two days ago before the Senate Judiciary Committee, answering some questions and refusing to answer others.
The chairman of the Senate panel, Vermont Democrat Patrick Leahy, said afterward that he wanted to study the transcript of Taylor's testimonybefore determining whether to seek contempt charges against her.
Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter, the panel's top Republican, said he would oppose a contempt citation against Taylor. Rhode Island Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse told reporters he didn't sense "much appetite" among hiscolleagues to hold Taylor in contempt.
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/24681
Takoma Park MD to take up impeachment....Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Takoma Park impeachment resolution vote tentatively July 23
* takomaparkibc.wordpress.com"
According to the rolling agenda document posted at the city's web site, the Takoma Park City Council has tentatively put a resolution calling for the impeachment of George Bush and Richard Cheney on the agenda for the meeting of July 23 (7:30pm, Takoma Park Community Center, 7500 Maple Avenue). If you support impeachment:
Call or contact your council member between now and the 23rd and let him or her know you support the resolution. Phone and e-mail contact information for the mayor and each ward's council member are available on the City Council web page (click on their photographs.)*
Attend a city council meeting between now and the 23d, to thank the council for considering the resolution, and to speak for it. You'll have three minutes during the public comment period, and are expected to give your name and address.**
Attend the July 23d city council meeting, and speak for the impeachment resolution during the comment period preceding the vote.
Visit the Takoma Park Impeach Bush & Cheney web site to learn more about impeachment and about how you can help.
Nobel laureate calls for removal of Bush
Irish peace activist's speech at Dallas event gets standing ovation
10:52 AM CDT on Thursday, July 12, 2007
By JAMES HOHMANN / The Dallas Morning News
Nobel Peace Prize winner Betty Williams came from Ireland to Texas to declare that President Bush should be impeached.
In a keynote speech at the International Women's Peace Conference on Wednesday night, Ms. Williams told a crowd of about 1,000 that the Bush administration has been treacherous and wrong and acted unconstitutionally.
"Right now, I could kill George Bush," she said at the Adam's Mark Hotel and Conference Center in Dallas. "No, I don't mean that. How could you nonviolently kill somebody? I would love to be able to do that."
About half the crowd gave her a standing ovation after she called for Mr. Bush's removal from power.
"The Muslim world right now is suffering beyond belief," she said.
"Unless the president of the United States is held responsible for what he's doing and what he has done, there's no one in the Muslim world who will forgive him."
When an audience member told Ms. Williams that Vice President Dick Cheney would become president if George Bush were impeached, she said, "Can't you impeach them both?"
"It's twisted. It's all wrong," she said. "There are so many lies being told. It's hard to be an American and go out into the world right now."
Ms. Williams started her speech by asking every member of the audience to hug everyone around them. Then she cut to what amounted to both a call for peace and a stinging rebuke of the American government.
Conference organizers have said that the conference is nonpartisan and that no one was invited to speak about the war in Iraq. After Ms. Williams finished her speech, conference chairwoman Carol Donovan took the podium to say that Ms. Williams did not speak for the conference - only herself.
"It's important for us to separate the opinion of the person and the position of the conference," Ms. Donovan said.
Two other Nobel Peace Prize winners, American activist Jody Williams and Rigoberta Menchú Tum of Guatemala, will speak this week as part of the conference. Jody Williams, who was in the audience Wednesday, has also indicated she would speak about Mr. Bush.
"We believe very strongly it was important to have the opportunity to hear these three peace prize winners," Ms. Donovan said.
Betty Williams won the Nobel Prize in 1976 for creating a group that helped start peace talks in Northern Ireland.
In 1992, Texas Gov. Ann Richards appointed Betty Williams to the Texas Commission for Children and Youth.
Many in the crowd found out that Lady Bird Johnson had died when Jan Sanders, the wife of U.S. District Judge Barefoot Sanders and a close friend of the former first lady, gave an impromptu eulogy.
"She was a friend, a doer, an influencer of world events," Ms. Sanders said. "She lived a full life. If she were here, she would say to you, 'Keep on being women doers.' "
You cannot have daily democracy without daily citizenship- Ralph Nader.
Cheney's Actions Put Impeachment on the TableYahoo! News - Jul 13, 2007333, the measure that outlines articles of impeachment against Vice President Dick Cheney for actively and systematically seeking to deceive citizens and ...15 Congress Members for Impeachment Scoop.co.nzImpeachment not the answer Rutland HeraldWhy Are Dems Such Cowards on Impeachment? TPMCafeDaily Illiniall 9 news articles »
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It's Highly Unlikely but Just in Case: Here's Impeachment 101Twin Cities Planet, Minnesota - 21 hours agoBy Eric Black , Minnesota Monitor Who can be impeached and why, who can impeach and how, and how impeachment differs from removal from office. ...
Impeachment is a priority Rutland HeraldFor the Record Los Angeles TimesThe West Hollywood City Council to Consider a Resolution in ... Business Wire (press release)Bay Area Indymediaall 6 news articles »
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Sheehan challenges Pelosi to back Bush impeachmentReuters - Jul 9, 2007"If Nancy Pelosi doesn't support articles of impeachment ... by the time we get there, then I will announce my candidacy against her," she said in a ...
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-15 Congress Members for ImpeachmentOpEdNews, PA - Jul 11, 2007is the latest member of Congress to respond to intense pressure from his constituents and co-sponsor H Res 333, articles of impeachment against Vice ...
Impeachment activists targeting Peter WelchBarre Montpelier Times Argus, VT - Jul 11, 2007By Daniel Barlow Vermont Press Bureau MONTPELIER – Vermont impeachment activists said Tuesday that they will run an independent candidate next year against ...
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Bush Has Photos of PelosiOpEdNews, PA - 21 hours agoSo, the Democrats would not just do the right thing for the future of our nation but achieve electoral victories by moving on impeachment, whether they ...Less popular than Bush, can't be good YourHub.comall 286 news articles »
Bush has photos of Pelosi doing… WHAT?
Here's the situation Nancy Pelosi finds herself in.
A full 54% of Americans and 76% of Democrats want Dick Cheney impeached. Cheney's 13% favorability makes him the least popular president or vice president ever.
The Washington Post reports that Republicans are turning against Cheney. By failing to act, the Democratic Congress has made itself less popular than Bush.
Were the Congress to impeach Cheney and the Senate to acquit him, the Democrats would win a significant majority in the Senate because the public would toss some Republicans who voted for Cheney out on their asses. So, the Democrats would not just do the right thing for the future of our nation but achieve electoral victories by moving on impeachment, whether they manage to succeed with it or not. There's no known downside to trying.
Could there be an unknown downside? Could there be a reason we don't know about to explain Pelosi's unconstitutional position that Congress will not impeach no matter what? Couldn't Pelosi point out at least that she was only talking about Bush? Couldn't she allow justice to run its course for Cheney?
Could it be that Bush and Cheney have photos of Nancy Pelosi doing something she wouldn't want us to see?
I tend to doubt it. I think Pelosi actually believes that the way to win elections is to spit in the faces of three-quarters of your voters, and that elections matter more than upholding the rule of law. But it's important to investigate all possibilities.
Now, when the Bush Administration had complete control of a Senate office building following the anthrax incident, it could only have found dirt on Pelosi that at least one Senator also possessed. And which Senator has most frequently bellowed about how he was about to stand up to Bush and Cheney and then shrunk away and done the opposite?
Arlen Specter seems like exactly Nancy Pelosi's type. He straddles the aisle, tries to please everyone, ends up pissing everyone off, and accomplishes nothing in the end. So far be it from me to suggest anything inappropriate may have occurred, but the circumstantial evidence certainly points in the direction of a political romance.
Still, this being Washington, the probability always has to be that the sexual secrets are homosexual secrets. So probably it's a woman we should be looking for. And, while I would never condone such speculation, I would be remiss if I did not make note here that the possibilities of both animals and aliens have been raised, I think more out of frustration with Pelosi's actions in Congress than on the basis of any evidence.
(Nancy, are you beginning to get the idea that what we can image about you is worse than whatever is holding you back on impeachment?)
And, of course, no Senator need be involved in whatever scandalous thing Pelosi has done. When Bush tossed aside the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, it wasn't in order to spy on terrorists more quickly than the law allowed, since the law allowed retroactive warrants and nothing is faster than that. It was clearly to do what the law was put in place to prevent: spy on political opponents. Bush almost certainly knows something of Pelosi's telephone, Email, and snail mail communications. Congressional Email is run by Lockheed Martin for godsake. Such communications could contain anything.
Maybe there's some financial scandal waiting in the wings to scandalize us. You don't come to lead a political party in the age of the almighty dollar without touching a lot of dirty money. Maybe there's some embarrassing comment. Maybe Pelosi told her closest friend of the phone some words she wouldn't want known, like:
"For people who seriously believe in God and all that crap…"
or
"If we keep the war going till '08…"
or
"Oh, it's that bitch Hillary again…"
And there's the possibility, of course, that the Karl Rove Research Group has found out something else as well. Perhaps Pelosi had an abortion as a teenager. Perhaps someone she knows was involved in a hit-and-run accident and she kept quiet. Who the hell knows?
Well, I have to believe someone knows, or at least someone can make it up. So, until a better explanation is found, I'd like to ask patriotic Americans to post at http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/pelosiphotos what they believe Bush and Cheney have photos of Pelosi doing. And, please, nothing obscene. This is war time after all.
http://www.davidswanson.org
DAVID SWANSON is a co-founder of After Downing Street, a writer and activist, and the Washington Director of Democrats.com. He is a board member of Progressive Democrats of America, and serves on the Executive Council of the Washington-Baltimore Newspaper Guild, TNG-CWA. He has worked as a newspaper reporter and as a communications director, with jobs including Press Secretary for Dennis Kucinich's 2004 presidential campaign, Media Coordinator for the International Labor Communications Association, and three years as Communications Coordinator for ACORN, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now. Swanson obtained a Master's degree in philosophy from the University of Virginia in 1997.
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