http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/group_rss/VeteransforProgress Join the growing ranks of progressive military Vets. We were counted on to defend our country in military service. And we're still defending our country as Vets and as citizens. Click here to join this group. I've just read a New York Times story from Wednesday that is a crushing blow to the Honor of my Army, and another indictment of the current occupant of the White House. While there have been previous reports of young soldiers and marines descending into criminal behavior, this report contends that a First Sergeant, a 20+ year professional, orchestrated murder in front of his troops who complacently stood by and watched the crime. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/27/world/middleeast/27abuse.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss This should not have happened. The list of Army Values ideals of professional and ethical conduct that have been violated in this incident are staggering. The possible charges under the Uniform Code of Military Justice are equally broad and severe. Although the criminals in uniform who committed these crimes appear to approaching their day in Courts Martial, I fear that the current mis-administration's depravations that inspired this conduct will never be held responsible. This is an arguable progression from the lies and deceit of the Iraq invasion decision, the dehumanization of the insurgents, the embrace of torture, and the "do whatever it takes" doctrine of the current occupant and his mis-administration. http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/ralphtrenary/Cq7M http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/ralphtrenary/Cq7M/commentary#comments Wed, 27 Aug 2008 10:01:26 MDT http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/ralphtrenary/Cq7M Ralph T http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/profile_picture/22970b0cb82ab5861b_e6yymv1de.jpg Ralph T 1 http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/comment_rss/Cq7M/ So, for all you uber-liberals out there in the blogosphere, hooting and screeching about how Obama is about to blow it, here's something to chew on.... We're all waiting for the iPhone-like announcement for who the Democartic VP nominee is going to be. (I wonder if Obama will be wearing a black turtleneck and jeans on Saturday?) There's been the same list of contenders out there for weeks, and the "informed" seem to think it's going to be Sen. Biden, while others pine for GEN Clark or Jim Webb. Today, Rep Pelosi threw out a name that shows howsmart the Obama Campaign (and Carolyn Kennedy) is: Rep. Thomas "Chet" Edwards. Now, for that collective WHO? I've just heard bounce thru cyberspace, go to either to OpenCongress.org or Project VoteSmart and look up his record, and then bounce on over to his official Congressional website: http://edwards.house.gov/ Here's the quick briefing: Southern Baptist From Texas, and his district includes the biggest US Army Post in the world (Ft Hood) Multiple awards from Veteran Groups, esp the DAV Been in Congress since 1990, and on the House Appropriations and Budget committees Fiscal Conservative Fought the Bush Administration on Vet funding (among others) Awarded the "Spirit of Enterprise" y the US Chamber of Commerce for several years. Christian, Southern, Pro-Business, Pro-Vet & Military, knows the House and it's warfare, and connected. Let's see what happens today... http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/KevlarLiberal/Cq4Y http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/KevlarLiberal/Cq4Y/commentary#comments Fri, 22 Aug 2008 10:13:29 MDT http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/KevlarLiberal/Cq4Y SSG_Dan http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/profile_picture/27da3aa426a47b5f56_f3bmv2g7x.gif SSG_Dan 2 http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/comment_rss/Cq4Y/ Just acting as a conduit here....does anyone know an OIF/OEF vets who live in CD4? Someone willing to be in a spot, either broadcast or radio? http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/KevlarLiberal/Cq4T http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/KevlarLiberal/Cq4T/commentary#comments Thu, 21 Aug 2008 08:56:17 MDT http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/KevlarLiberal/Cq4T SSG_Dan http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/profile_picture/27da3aa426a47b5f56_f3bmv2g7x.gif SSG_Dan 0 http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/comment_rss/Cq4T/ AP is reporting that Sen. Joe Lieberman will be speaking at the GOP Convention, where Bush Clone John McCain will be accepting his Party's Nomination. The Democratic Party has put up with Turncoat Joe since the '06 elections, since on occasion he votes with them on key issues. They've bribed him by allowing him to keep his committee chairmanships, including the Senate Armed Services Committee, even though he's not a Democrat. But this is too much - The Democratic "Leadership" needs to strip Turncoat Joe off all three committee chairmanships, and send his ass back to the superminority of the Senate. He needs to be reminded that that position on those committees are the benefit of the Majority Party, and if he wants to follow McSame around the country kissing his ass until it's white as a soda cracker, then he gets to sit with the rest of the Republican'ts. Letting Turncoat Joe shake the Devil's hand, and then say he's only kidding has got to end. http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/KevlarLiberal/Cq4D http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/KevlarLiberal/Cq4D/commentary#comments Wed, 20 Aug 2008 08:32:30 MDT http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/KevlarLiberal/Cq4D SSG_Dan http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/profile_picture/27da3aa426a47b5f56_f3bmv2g7x.gif SSG_Dan 1 http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/comment_rss/Cq4D/ From a story in the Economist "UNPOPULAR, isolated, and facing the humiliation of impeachment, Pervez Musharraf resigned as president of Pakistan on Monday August 18th.... they (the people)were dancing in the streets." ------------------------------------------------ We here in America can cause accountability for President Bush and Vice President Cheney, but you have to take action before the election. You the voter have the power to force our Incumbent Democratic Congressmen(and women) to honor their oath of office to protect our Constitution by calling for immediate impeachment hearings. It is not necessary that impeachment hearing be finished prior to the election, only that they are started. We the voters have the power to make this happen, but you will have to call your congressman repeatedly over the next two months. Contact information for Colorado congressmen can be found here . In addition, US House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers is calling the membership of the House Judiciary Committee back from their Fall recess to investigate Ron Suskind's revelations about the forged letter that falsely said that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. It has been reported that the order to the CIA to have the letter forged came on White House Stationary. On Democracy Now today Conyers said "The 110th Congress isn't over. We're starting our work, and then we're doing it in a period where the Congress is in recess. I'm calling everybody back. We've got a huge amount of work to engage in." Please contact the Judiciary Committee to urge them to impeach now: 202-225-3951 FAX: 202-225-7680 THE GRAVES OF THE 4,134 Murdered US Soldiers CRY OUT FOR IMPEACHMENT for the WMD LIES Impeachment. More important than ever. Plenty of time. Impeachment Is Coming! John H Kennedy, 43 yr Democratic voter, Obama delegate to the Denver County Democratic Convention, and organizer of the IMPEACH COLORADO COALITION ImpeachCO.com http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/kennedyjohn/Cq4F http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/kennedyjohn/Cq4F/commentary#comments Mon, 18 Aug 2008 07:36:48 MDT http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/kennedyjohn/Cq4F John H Kennedy http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/profile_picture/5e4c96e6db734362f3_l5hmv2v71.jpg John H Kennedy 5 http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/comment_rss/Cq4F/ US House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers is calling the membership of the Judiciary Committee back from their Fall recess to investigate Ron Suskind's revelations about the forged letter that falsely said that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. It has been reported that the order to the CIA to have the letter forged came on White House Stationary. On Democracy Now today Conyers said "The 110th Congress isn't over. We're starting our work, and then we're doing it in a period where the Congress is in recess. I'm calling everybody back. We've got a huge amount of work to engage in." Here's the link to Democracy Now Please contact the Judiciary Committee to urge them to impeach now: 202-225-3951 FAX: 202-225-7680 Please help by contacting all media outlets and members of Congress . Impeachment. More important than ever. Plenty of time. Impeach Colorado Coalition ImpeachCO.com IMPEACHMENT IS COMING .. http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/kennedyjohn/Cq4c http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/kennedyjohn/Cq4c/commentary#comments Thu, 14 Aug 2008 15:46:49 MDT http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/kennedyjohn/Cq4c John H Kennedy http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/profile_picture/5e4c96e6db734362f3_l5hmv2v71.jpg John H Kennedy 0 http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/comment_rss/Cq4c/ OK, this idea is beyond crazy.... The Obama Campaign is having a series of Solutions for Colorado meetings on a number of topics. They're being hosted by different Colorado Dems, at different locations across the State. Looking at the lineup, it does mostly match up experts on the Topic with a state politician. Rep Romanoff is talking about education, but Ed Perlumtter is talking Vets issues when it should be Mark Udall (considering committee assignments.) But there's one that leaves me speechless - Rep. Diana DeGette is hosting the forum on healthcare. That's right - the Congresswoman who's recieved over $170,000 in contributions from the Health Care Industry. The Congresswoman who was named by the BioTech Industry as their "Legislator of the Year." One of the few people in Congress specifically called out by Michael Moore for her opposition to single payer health care (HR676).... The Congresswoman from CD1, who's in the pocket of the Health Care Industry, is promoting Sen. Obama's health care plan. It's like having Dick Cheney in charge of reforming the Energy Industry. This fine event is being held at North High School on Saturday, August 16th at 11:30 AM. I encourage all readers of this fine website to RSVP to http://my.barackobama.com/page/s/cosolutions or call 720.982.9244 to get entrance to this event, and let's call out the Congresswoman from CD1 on her record. http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/KevlarLiberal/Cq4W http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/KevlarLiberal/Cq4W/commentary#comments Thu, 14 Aug 2008 14:46:08 MDT http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/KevlarLiberal/Cq4W SSG_Dan http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/profile_picture/27da3aa426a47b5f56_f3bmv2g7x.gif SSG_Dan 1 http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/comment_rss/Cq4W/ Whispers of a Watergate for Bush By Clive Crook the FT's chief Washington commentator. The response in the US to startling new allegations that the White House directed the forgery of evidence to support its case for the war in Iraq has been surprisingly muted so far. The charges may be false, of course, but if they are seriously examined and turn out to be true, this is - or ought to be - a Watergate-sized scandal. Ron Suskind is a heavyweight: a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, and the author of a well-regarded book on the administration's security policies, The One Per Cent Doctrine. His new book, The Way of the World: A Story of Truth and Hope in an Age of Extremism, which was published last week, contains the extraordinary new charge. It says that late in 2003 the White House ordered the Central Intelligence Agency to forge a memo dated July 2001 from Tahir Jalil Habbush, Saddam Hussein's intelligence chief, to Saddam himself, affirming that Mohammed Atta, the September 11 2001 bomber, had contacts with the regime and that Iraq had an ongoing weapons of mass destruction programme. YOU need to read this Now! The rest of the story is here You may have to Register (for free) to read it. John H Kennedy, 43 yr Democratic voter, Obama delegate to the Denver County Democratic Convention, and organizer of the IMPEACH COLORADO COALITION ImpeachCO.com .. http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/kennedyjohn/CqPY http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/kennedyjohn/CqPY/commentary#comments Wed, 13 Aug 2008 10:21:12 MDT http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/kennedyjohn/CqPY John H Kennedy http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/profile_picture/5e4c96e6db734362f3_l5hmv2v71.jpg John H Kennedy 0 http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/comment_rss/CqPY/ Is this the "smoking gun"? Will our Democratic Congressmen honor their Oath and call for Impeachment Hearings? Tape: Top CIA official confesses order to forge Iraq-9/11 letter came on White House stationery. In damning transcript, ex-CIA official says Cheney likely ordered letter linking Hussein to 9/11 attacks A forged letter linking Saddam Hussein to the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks was ordered on White House stationery and probably came from the office of Vice President Dick Cheney, according to a new transcript of a conversation with the Central Intelligence Agency's former Deputy Chief of Clandestine Operations Robert Richer. The transcript was posted Friday by author Ron Suskind of an interview conducted in June. It comes on the heels of denials by both the White House and Richer of a claim Suskind made in his new book, The Way of The World. The book was leaked to Politico's Mike Allen on Monday, and released Tuesday. See the rest of this story at: RawStory.com WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP BRING ACCOUNTABILITY TO BUSH & CHENEY Rep. Kucinich and five other co-sponsors of his articles of impeachment (Robert Wexler, Tammy Baldwin, Keith Ellison, Maurice Hinchey, Sheila Jackson Lee, and Hank Johnson) are calling on all Americans to contact their representatives (202-224-3121) 24 hours, seven days a weekand 365 days/year and urge them to join in co-sponsoring those articles and in calling for a formal impeachment hearing PRIOR TO THE ELECTION. You can call after normal business hours and leave a message urging your Congressman to join in co-sponsoring those articles and in calling for a formal impeachment hearing. ALSO And Very Important: PLEASE CALL ALL of Colorado's Democratic Congressmen/women and demand they immediately Call For Impeachment Hearings Prior To The Election. Contact info for Colorado's Congressmen ------------------------------------------------ And if you have time on any Saturday around Noon-1:00 pm Our group holds an Impeachment Protest at East 6th & Speer in Denver every Saturday. We have lots of Impeach Signs so just show up and help. OR JUST DRIVE BY REPEATEDLY and HONK TO IMPEACH. John H Kennedy, organizer Impeach Colorado Coalition ImpeachCO.com ( other groups around Colorado do similar events and are listed on our Calendar at ImpeachCO.com ) .. http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/kennedyjohn/CqP8 http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/kennedyjohn/CqP8/commentary#comments Sat, 09 Aug 2008 10:46:13 MDT http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/kennedyjohn/CqP8 John H Kennedy http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/profile_picture/5e4c96e6db734362f3_l5hmv2v71.jpg John H Kennedy 0 http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/comment_rss/CqP8/ The latest round of elections in Colorado is coming up on August 12th. Some of us will use the mail-in ballot, while some will make the trip to our local polling place and vote the (somewhat) old fashioned way on an unreliable, easily-hacked computer voting machine. There's a number of worthy and bogus initiatives on this year, but we're also voting in the primary round for both parties. For those readers in House District One, I have a request. DON'T Vote for DeGette. I've railed numerous times against the absentee Congresswoman from CD1. Among other things, she's forgotten about the people of CD1, and is more interested in morphing herself into the ultimate DC Insider than working on the issues we care about. She's now broken party rules twice with early endorsements of two presidential candidates, each time with the hopes of scoring some high-level cabinet office. She's completely ignored her constituent's calls for impeaching the President, working on health care, the War in Iraq, the mortgage crisis, oil profiteering, war profiteering, and (my personal bitch) couldn't be bothered to vote for the GI Bill because she didn't want to miss her child's graduation. Regretfully, we need every democratic seat in Congress we can get our hands on...even if those Congresspeople don't do anything. But this doesn't mean that we have to be played for suckers by a politician that seems to have nothing but distain for her constituents. So, taking a cue from the corporate world, we can send a vote of no-confidence by withhold the vote from her primary contest. She's going to win - that's the easy part of a one-candidate race. But if the vote tally is low, maybe she might get the message that we think her job performance stinks, and it's time to start doing her job. And if the vote tally is low enough, maybe the state Party will start considering another candidate for her job, and let there be a real primary in '10. http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/KevlarLiberal/CqPr http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/KevlarLiberal/CqPr/commentary#comments Tue, 05 Aug 2008 07:38:02 MDT http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/KevlarLiberal/CqPr SSG_Dan http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/profile_picture/27da3aa426a47b5f56_f3bmv2g7x.gif SSG_Dan 0 http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/comment_rss/CqPr/ If you too are disgusted with how low Cheney and the Bush administration have stooped, take action: Weekly impeachment protests are listed on front page of Progress Now Action:  http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/event/detail/visibilitysignwaving/4jrx9  Seymour Hersh articles: To Provoke War, Cheney Considered Proposal To Dress Up Navy Seals As Iranians And Shoot At Them http://thinkprogress.org/2008/07/31/cheney-proposal-for-iran-war/ Preparing the Battlefield: The Bush Administration steps up its secret moves against Iran. http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/07/07/080707fa_fact_hersh          http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/wynnandbarbara/CqPZ http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/wynnandbarbara/CqPZ/commentary#comments Sat, 02 Aug 2008 09:45:08 MDT http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/wynnandbarbara/CqPZ Wynn & Barbara http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/profile_picture/fe1b02175312ffd441_xcbmv2l5w.gif Wynn & Barbara 0 http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/comment_rss/CqPZ/ Friday's House Judiciary Hearing on Impeachment: A Victory and a Challenge by Dave Lindorff at Commondreams.org The dramatic hearing on presidential crimes and abuses of power held on Friday by the House Judiciary Committee was both a staged farce, and at the same time, a powerful demonstration of the power of a grassroots movement in defense of the Constitution. It was at once both testimony to the cowardice and self-inflicted impotence of Congress and of the Democratic Party that technically controls that body, and to the enormity of the damage that has been wrought to the nation's democracy by two aspiring tyrants in the White House. As Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), chairman of the committee, made clear more than once during the six-hour session, this was "not an impeachment hearing, however much many in the audience might wish it to be." He might well have added that he himself was not the fierce defender of the Constitution and of the authority of Congress that he once was before gaining control of the Judiciary Committee, however much his constituents, his wife, and Americans across the country might wish him to be. At the same time, while the hearing was strictly limited to the most superficial airing of Bush administration crimes and misdemeanors, the fact that the session -- technically an argument in defense of 36 articles of impeachment filed in the House over the past several months by Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) -- was nonetheless a major victory for the impeachment movement. It happened because earlier in the month, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), who has sworn since taking control of the House in November 2006, that impeachment would be "off the table" during the 110th Congress, called a hasty meeting with Majority Leader Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD), Rep. Conyers, and Rep. Kucinich, and called for such a limited hearing. It was no coincidence that shortly before Pelosi's backdown, peace activist and Gold Star mother Cindy Sheehan announced that her campaign had collected well over the 10,000 signatures necessary to qualify for listing on the ballot as an independent candidate for Congress against Pelosi in the Speaker's home district in San Francisco. Sheehan has been an outspoken advocate of impeaching both Bush and Cheney. "Pelosi is trying to throw a bone to her constituents by allowing a hearing on impeachment," said Sheehan, who came to Washington, DC to attend. "It's just like her finally stating publicly that Bush's presidency is a failure -- something it has taken her two years to come to, but which we've been saying for years." So determined were Pelosi and Conyers to limit the scope and intensity of the hearing that they acceded to a call for Republicans on the Judiciary Committee to adhere to Thomas Jefferson's Rules of the House, which prohibit any derogatory comments about the President, which was interpreted by Chairman Conyers as meaning no one, including witnesses or members of the committee, could suggest that Bush had lied or deceived anyone. Since a number of Rep. Kucinich's proposed articles of impeachment specifically charge the president with lying to Congress and the American People, this made for some comic moments, with witness Bruce Fein, a former assistant attorney general under former President Ronald Reagan, to say he would reference his listing of crimes to the "resident" of the White House. In the end, the rule imposing a gag on calling the president a criminal fell by the wayside, with witness Vincent Bugliosi, a former Los Angeles deputy district attorney, accusing Bush of being guilty of the murder of over 4000 American soldiers and of hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqi civilians because he had "lied" the country into an illegal and unnecessary war, and with committee member Sheila Jackson Lee (D-CA) suggesting that the president may have committed treason in invading Iraq, and that he appeared to be preparing to do it again with an unprovoked invasion of Iran. Conyers also acquiesced in a Republican effort to minimize public monitoring and involvement in the hearing, allowing the minority party to fill most of the available seats in the hearing room with office staffers who showed little interest in the proceedings. Only a few dozen of the hundreds of pro-impeachment activists who had come to the Rayburn Office Building at 7 am in order to get seats in the Judiciary Committee hearing room were allowed in, with the rest having to remain in the hall or go to two remote "overflow" rooms to watch the proceedings on a TV hookup. Conyers also went along with a call by Republican members of the committee to have some of those who did make it into the hearing ejected simply for wearing buttons on their shirts calling for impeachment (the Republican members referred to these as "signs"), though such small personal tokens are routinely allowed in congressional hearing rooms. It was clear that this was to be a tightly controlled and strictly limited hearing. It was also clear that it was intended to go nowhere. At one point, after hearing witnesses like Fein, Bugliosi, former representative and Nixon impeachment committee member Elizabeth Holtzman, former Salt Lake City mayor and impeachment activist Rocky Anderson, former House Clinton impeachment manager Bob Barr, former Watergate Committee counsel and current senior counsel of the Brennan Center for Justice Frederick A.O. Schwartz, and Elliott Adams, president of the board of Veterans for Peace, lay out the administration's crimes and abuses of power -- which included charges of usurping the legislative powers of Congress, violating international treaties, war crimes, lying to Congress, an illegal war, felony violation of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and the Fourth Amendment, defying Congressional subpoenas, obstruction of justice and more, Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), chair of the Constitution subcommittee of the Judiciary Committee, appeared convinced that the abuses were real and serious. But Nadler, who for two years has been a major obstacle on the Judiciary Committee to any efforts to move impeachment to a formal hearing, said, "No president has been removed from office through impeachment." He asked the witnesses, "How would you approach impeachment today so it would be a viable option?" Former Rep. Holtzman responded, "The real remedy to a president who believes he is above the law is impeachment. There is no running away from that." She said, "An impeachment inquiry, handled fairly, could work. Maybe I'm a cockeyed optimist, but I believe it could work." The basic point, made by Holtzman, by Fein and by many others, including this writer, is that worrying about the political opposition to impeachment, both in the House, and in the Senate, not to mention among the broader public, is completely wrongheaded. Even when impeachment articles were first filed against Nixon, the public and the bulk of the Congress were against the idea. It was during the hearings that the tide turned, as evidence of malfeasance, criminality and abuse of power became evident through hearing testimony. The same would happen in the case of President Bush and/or Vice President Cheney. Most Americans don't even know that the president made up evidence to justify the war against Iraq out of whole cloth. They don't know what the Geneva Conventions are with regard to torture. They don't know why Congress passed the FISA act, which Bush has been feloniously violating to spy on them (it was passed because Nixon was using the National Security Agency to spy on Americans without judicial warrants!). They don't know the Bush has been refusing to enact laws passed by the Congress. Public hearings by an impeachment panel would make all these high crimes and misdemeanors clear on national TV to all sentient Americans. Moreover, as Holtzman pointed out, the president would not be able to use the claim of "executive privilege" to withhold testimony from aides in an impeachment inquiry, the way he has done when they have been subpoenaed by other House and Senate committees. Impeachment would be about violations of the very executive actions he would be claiming privilege on. As well, an impeachment committee, unlike any other committee of the Congress, is specifically sanctioned and empowered in the Constitution, meaning that even strict "constructionist" Federalists on the bench would have a hard time backing presidential obstruction. As Holtzman noted, "There is no executive privilege in impeachment, because refusing to testify is itself an impeachable offense." Committee Republicans, aided by two law professors they had brought in to testify, Stephen Presser of Northwestern University School of Law and Jeremy Rabkin of George Mason University School of Law, tried to argue that impeachment was only meant for crimes in which the official, or the president, was seeking personal gain. This nonsense was knocked down by most of the speakers, who quoted numerous founders who made it clear that what high crimes referred to were actions -even taken with the noblest of intentions -- that undermined the Constitution or abused the powers of the office. As Rep. Nadler said, "Impeachment has nothing to do with intentions or with good faith. Impeachment has to do with abuse of power which weakens the balance of power." In the end, the hearing petered out, taking no action of any kind -- exactly the result that Pelosi, Hoyer and Conyers cynically intended. Now it is up to the public and the impeachment movement to call their bluff and take impeachment to the next level. Noting that even Rep. Conyers ended the hearing by saying, "We are not done yet, and we do not intend to go away until we achieve the accountability that Congress is entitled to and that the American people deserve," Rep. Kucinich and five other co-sponsors of his articles of impeachment (Robert Wexler, Tammy Baldwin, Keith Ellison, Maurice Hinchey, Sheila Jackson Lee, and Hank Johnson) are calling on all Americans to contact their representatives (202-224-3121) and urge them to join in co-sponsoring those articles and in calling for a formal impeachment hearing. They are also calling on everyone to contact their local and national media, nearly all of whom have blacked out news of impeachment. Incredibly, the New York Times, for example, has not even reported on Friday's hearing, even as a news "brief." Those news organizations, like the Washington Post and the Philadelphia Inquirer, that did report on the hearings did so only in short, inside articles. Though the hearing was aired in full on C-Span (and is still available for download), many Americans don't even know it happened. Time is short, but even at this late date, it would be a simple matter to impeach the president on some issues. As several of Friday's witnesses pointed out, President Bush has essentially dared Congress to act, admitting that he openly violated the FISA law -- a felony, and openly admitting that he has refused to enact laws passed by the Congress, claiming a power-unitary executive authority not even mentioned in the Constitution. He has openly admitted to having known about, and approved, "enhanced interrogation techniques" devised by his subordinates -- techniques like waterboarding which clearly violate the Geneva Conventions and US law. No hearings would be required to establish these high crimes and misdemeanors. They could simply be voted on by an Impeachment Committee and sent to the full House for a vote. Even if there were no time for a Senate trial, the simple act of impeaching the president for one or more abuses of power would serve notice on future presidents that future such abuses would not be tolerated. Failure to do so, and allowing this administration to leave office unimpeached, would send the opposite message: that Congress is no longer a co-equal branch of government, but is merely a consultative body, at best, and that a president is in effect a dictator. That Pelosi buckled and permitted a hearing on impeachable crimes by the Bush/Cheney administration is a major victory for the impeachment movement, but it must not be the end of the line. Impeachment activists need to now redouble their efforts to make Congress do its Constitutional duty, and initiate a formal impeachment proceeding. As former Republican representative Bob Barr, now the Libertarian candidate for president, told Friday's hearing, "We had a nuclear clock during the Cold War. In the '90s we had a debt clock. Now we have a Constitution Clock." That clock is getting close to midnight, and it is ticking. Dave Lindorff is a Philadelphia-based investigative journalist and columnist. ---------------------------------------------------- Rep. Kucinich and five other co-sponsors of his articles of impeachment (Robert Wexler, Tammy Baldwin, Keith Ellison, Maurice Hinchey, Sheila Jackson Lee, and Hank Johnson) are calling on all Americans to contact their representatives (202-224-3121) and urge them to join in co-sponsoring those articles and in calling for a formal impeachment hearing. This phone number is staffed 24 hours, seven days a week and 365 days per year. You can call after normal business hours and leave a message urging your Congressman to join in co-sponsoring those articles and in calling for a formal impeachment hearing. ------------------------------------------------ And if you have time on Saturday around Noon-1:00 pm Our group holds an Impeachment Protest at East 6th & Speer in Denver every Saturday. We have lots of Impeach Signs so just show up and help. OR JUST DRIVE BY REPEATEDLY and HONK TO IMPEACH. John H Kennedy, organizer Impeach Colorado Coalition ImpeachCO.com ( other groups around Colorado do similar events and are listed on our Calendar at ImpeachCO.com ) .. http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/kennedyjohn/CqPX http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/kennedyjohn/CqPX/commentary#comments Thu, 31 Jul 2008 15:36:25 MDT http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/kennedyjohn/CqPX John H Kennedy http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/profile_picture/5e4c96e6db734362f3_l5hmv2v71.jpg John H Kennedy 0 http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/comment_rss/CqPX/ This story required a time delayed double-take when it appeared in a Denver paper this weekend (read once, put it aside in disbelief, and then read it again). The extended full story comes from the traditional mouthpiece of the GOP in Colorado Springs, the Gazette (go to the Extended Post Text). Denver area readers didn't get to see El Paso County Sheriff Terry Maketa's full response. Also, it seems that the Gazette reporter and the Heritage Foundation comedian, James Carafano, have never read the National Response Plan (NRP - the Nation's real Homeland Security policy) and are totally out of touch when it comes to the concept of preparedness and local response. One of my most memorable duties was to clear the way at Fort Carson for the Colorado National Guard to move the M-577 Armored Command Post vehicle that responded to the Columbine tragedy. Even that process took hours for authorization and travel time. It is absolutely commendable that local law enforcement has found 52 missions for the vehicle. That proves to me that it is multi-functional and that El Paso County Sheriff's Deputies and Colorado Springs Police are fully trained to use it. In the horrible event of another large-scale hostage crisis I'm more confident that they are ready. This is a disappointing piece of reporting that seems pre-disposed to criticize the cops. Rapid response by local first responders is a key factor in the NRP. There's no doubt in my mind that this BEAR could respond very quickly to any hostage or large-scale shooting incident between Pueblo and Fort Collins. Trying to imply that this is a boondoggle and waste of Federal funds is irresponsible. Of course the new operators of the vehicle needed training. That's just being thorough and responsible. Mechanical adjustments for high altitude operations are far from design flaws. Pity what Ms Zubeck and Mr. Carafano would have as comments for the hundreds of Modification Work Orders (MWOs) that are applied to US military vehicles of all types every year. Without a doubt this "BEAR" should be in Colorado Springs and not some Federal Depot waiting for FEMA to decide it's OK to use it for a state or local purpose. http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/ralphtrenary/CqPS http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/ralphtrenary/CqPS/commentary#comments Sun, 27 Jul 2008 17:47:08 MDT http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/ralphtrenary/CqPS Ralph T http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/profile_picture/22970b0cb82ab5861b_e6yymv1de.jpg Ralph T 0 http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/comment_rss/CqPS/ "The Democrats are trying very hard to show ... that they're not going to re-open these issues and that the Bush crimes will remain buried for all time," Turley told MSNBC's Keith Olbermann on Tuesday. "It would start a new administration on the same level that George Bush left it. And that's a very sad thing." "Turley was particularly concerned about a recent statement by law professor Cass Sunstein, an Obama adviser, that only "egregious" crimes by Bush officials should be prosecuted by an Obama administration." "There are very few obligations that a president has to do under the Constitution, but one of them is not to violate the laws that he is supposed to enforce," explained Turley. Turley further pointed to Speaker Nancy Pelosi's refusal to initiate impeachment proceedings against the president, saying, "I don't understand why some Democrats can't just simply accept a very straightforward proposition, that we'll prosecute any crimes committed by this administration, an Obama administration, a McCain administration. Because they're crimes. They're all egregious." From an article by RawStory.com John H Kennedy, 43 yr Democratic voter, Obama delegate to the Denver County Convention and organizer of the Impeach Colorado Coalition ImpeachCO.com Join our Impeachment Protests, see the Calendar on the website .. .. http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/kennedyjohn/CqPg http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/kennedyjohn/CqPg/commentary#comments Thu, 24 Jul 2008 16:47:00 MDT http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/kennedyjohn/CqPg John H Kennedy http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/profile_picture/5e4c96e6db734362f3_l5hmv2v71.jpg John H Kennedy 0 http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/comment_rss/CqPg/ Kucinich, Barr, Bugliosi, Holtzman,"Rocky" Anderson, and Elliott Adams, President of the Board, Veterans for Peace are among those testifying. The House Judiciary Committee has released a witness list for its hearing to examine "the imperial presidency" of George W. Bush. Testifying Friday morning will be Rep. Dennis Kucinich, who has introduced several resolutions calling for President Bush's and Vice President Dick Cheney's impeachment; former Rep. Bob Barr, the Libertarian presidential candidate who led the charge to impeach Bill Clinton in 1998; Vincent Bugliosi, author of the just-released book The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder; and 10 other current and former members of Congress, constitutional experts and human rights activists. The hearing is scheduled for 10 a.m. Friday on Capitol Hill and will be carries on CSPAN. Late Thursday afternoon, the committee released the full witness list, broken down into two panels. Panel One The Honorable Dennis Kucinich, Representative from Ohio The Honorable Maurice Hinchey, Representative from New York The Honorable Walter Jones, Representative from North Carolina The Honorable Brad Miller, Representative from North Carolina Panel Two The Honorable Elizabeth Holtzman, Former Rep. from New York The Honorable Bob Barr, Former Rep GA Nominee for President The Honorable Ross C. "Rocky" Anderson, Stephen Presser, Raoul Berger,Northwestern Univ.School of Law Bruce Fein Asst.Dep Atty General 81-82 Chair Vincent Bugliosi, former Los Angeles County Prosecutor Jeremy A. Rabkin, Professor of Law, George Mason Univ Elliott Adams, President of the Board, Veterans for Peace Frederick A O Schwarz Jr Senior Counsel, NYU School of Law Conyers (D-MI) previously laid out six areas the hearing would explore: (1) improper politicization of the Justice Department and the U.S. Attorneys offices, including potential misuse of authority with regard to election and voting controversies; (2) misuse of executive branch authority and the adoption and implementation of the so-called unitary executive theory, including in the areas of presidential signing statements and regulatory authority; (3) misuse of investigatory and detention authority with regard to U.S. citizens and foreign nationals, including questions regarding the legality of the administration's surveillance, detention, interrogation, and rendition programs; (4) manipulation of intelligence and misuse of war powers, including possible misrepresentations to Congress related thereto; (5) improper retaliation against administration critics, including disclosing information concerning CIA operative Valerie Plame, and obstruction of justice related thereto; and (6) misuse of authority in denying Congress and the American people the ability to oversee and scrutinize conduct within the administration, including through the use of various asserted privileges and immunities. Rep. Kucinich has offered four impeachment resolutions so far: >According to article on Rawstory.com John H Kennedy, 43 yr Democratic voter, Obama delegate to the Denver County Convention and organizer of the Impeach Colorado Coalition ImpeachCO.com Join our Impeachment Protests, see the Calendar on the website .. .. .. http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/kennedyjohn/CqPC http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/kennedyjohn/CqPC/commentary#comments Thu, 24 Jul 2008 15:44:28 MDT http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/kennedyjohn/CqPC John H Kennedy http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/profile_picture/5e4c96e6db734362f3_l5hmv2v71.jpg John H Kennedy 0 http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/comment_rss/CqPC/ USAToday.com has published an editorial criticising Denver Mayor Hickenlooper's handling of free speech issues that affect all voters who treasure their Constitutional right to speak out. The Mayor wrote his own rebuttal and I added my comments about the threats our Impeachment Group received from the Denver Police recently. Both the USAToday Editorial, Hickenloopers opposing view & My Comments are at this url. My Comments are below the Mayor's piece (Opposing view: We support free expression By John Hickenlooper). John H Kennedy, 43 yr Democratic voter, Obama delegate to the Denver County Convention. Impeach Colorado Coalition http://ImpeachCO.com .. http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/kennedyjohn/Cq74 http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/kennedyjohn/Cq74/commentary#comments Mon, 21 Jul 2008 12:23:55 MDT http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/kennedyjohn/Cq74 John H Kennedy http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/profile_picture/5e4c96e6db734362f3_l5hmv2v71.jpg John H Kennedy 0 http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/comment_rss/Cq74/ See entire article at http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/hearingday Impeachment Begins! Preliminary Hearing Friday July 25th By David Swanson www.afterdowningstreet.org At 10 a.m. on Friday July 25th, the House Judiciary Committee will hold a preliminary hearing in Rayburn Building Room 2141 on the topic of impeachment, with a presentation by Congressman Dennis Kucinich. This is not yet a true impeachment hearing, but it is our opportunity to push for one, and it represents a tremendous victory after years of effort by millions of Americans who want to keep the Constitution alive. This never would have happened without your hard work. And we can't let up now! The National Impeachment Network is organizing a rally and asking everyone who can to take a day off for justice and meet at 9 a.m. on Friday July 25th in front of the Rayburn House Office Building on the Independence Avenue side. Bring impeachment shirts and posters! For more information contact ningroup@gmail.com. David Swanson reports that Veterans for Peace had a meeting on impeachment already scheduled with Conyers for the 25th. He notes that they'll be in town and could perhaps take a lead in organizing people.  He also suggests contacting CodePink for organizing assistance. WHAT WE CAN DO HERE IN COLORADO:  1.  Join our weekly impeachment protest this Saturday 7/19 at noon: http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/event/detail/visibilitysignwaving/4jrxd  Want to get involved?  Contact: protestinthestreet@yahoo.com  2.  Contact your Congressional Representative to cosponsor H Res 1258 (35 Articles of Impeachment George W. Bush http://afterdowningstreet.org/bush ) Call at 202-224-3121 and email http://www.democrats.com/35-articles-of-impeachment   3.  Contact the media to cover the hearing, like independent media does: Denver Post newsroom: newsroom@denverpost.com 303-954-1201 Rocky Mountain News newsroom: 303-954-5201 4.  Contact the U.S. House Judiciary Committee and urge them to begin impeachment proceedings against Bush and Cheney: http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/judiciarycommittee 5.  Sign the petition at Congressman Kucinich's website: http://impeachment.kucinich.us/petition/ http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/wynnandbarbara/Cq7k http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/wynnandbarbara/Cq7k/commentary#comments Fri, 18 Jul 2008 09:43:20 MDT http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/wynnandbarbara/Cq7k Wynn & Barbara http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/profile_picture/fe1b02175312ffd441_xcbmv2l5w.gif Wynn & Barbara 0 http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/comment_rss/Cq7k/ I just received this email from someone I know in California who is politically indeterminate, but knows that we need to change the way our government is run. It's a response to the "Backstage with Barack" campaign solicitation email: "Dear Idiot Democrats, "Backstage" with Barack????" Is this a rock concert now? This is F**KING undignified. Is this how the democrats are trying to seem hip and cool now? Get this..... Bush got elected because people thought they could have a beer with him. That somehow this is a valid method of choosing a President. It's not, and neither is this. I don't want to have a party backstage experience with Obama. I want a serious candidate who will win the election and pull us out of this moronic tailspin Bushco has put America in. What is the matter with you people?" Now, I'm sure that several, ok, most of the people who tour this fine website that would agree with most of the sentiment "expressed" in this email. And maybe there's a reason for this much anger directed at the Obama campaign - is a historic moment like this appropriate to be presented like Van Halen's appearance at the US festival? But whatever the validity of this author's opinion, this is the classic example of how the Left engages in self-destructive behavior when we want to make a point. I'm certain that Tom McMahon is NOT monitoring his inbox to judge the feedback of this fundraising email, but I'm sure someone is. And by insulting the Party in the first line of the email, the author has guaranteed that his or her email will either be promptly dispatched to the deleted folder, or marked as spam and blocked from any further reception. In that, it did not accomplish a damn thing, other that to let the author vent some political steam. Ladies and Gentlemen, Veterans and honor guests, if we want our voices heard among our peers and our enemies, we need to be calm, collected and honest. Hooting and screeching like so many flustered hens only makes the right-wing noise machine's job that much easier. If we need to make a point on the facts, doing it angry and livid only makes it easier for the Right to dismiss it. Think about it - how many times has our claims about this Deserter President been dismissed as "just the ranting of angry latte-drinking liberal?" Yes, it's easy, but it works. And we haven't been smart enough to stop doing it. SO the next time you jump into the fray of political opinion and you want to posts an angry, vicious comment about something that's going on, please follow this bit of wisdom imparted to my by a wise old NCO in Public Affairs: "Engage Brain before Releasing Mouth." http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/KevlarLiberal/Cq7z http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/KevlarLiberal/Cq7z/commentary#comments Thu, 17 Jul 2008 10:15:47 MDT http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/KevlarLiberal/Cq7z SSG_Dan http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/profile_picture/27da3aa426a47b5f56_f3bmv2g7x.gif SSG_Dan 1 http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/comment_rss/Cq7z/ From David Swanson: The peace movement has stood for peace and justice, for ending wars, preventing new ones, and building peace. Our top priority in Washington, D.C., has been ending the funding of the occupation. That work is over for the next year, because Congress has provided that funding. We can still work against recruitment, we can still educate, we can still agitate, we can still oppose an attack on Iran. But one of our secondary priorities in Washington has been imposing a penalty for the illegal attack on Iraq in order to discourage future attacks on Iran or anywhere else. We have pushed half-heartedly for impeachment, with our main lobbying focus on cutting off the money. Now, at the same time that the money is a done deal for another year, the possibility of impeachment is beginning to spark. After over two years of declaring impeachment "off the table," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has relented and suggested that some sort of preliminary hearing be held in the Judiciary Committee - and specifically on the impeachable offense of misleading a nation into war. If the peace movement is not just a movement against one war or occupation, but a movement for peace, we should push with everything we've got for that (impeachment) hearing to happen, happen soon, and happen well. We should ask everyone who cares about peace to phone Pelosi and Committee Chairman John Conyers, as well as their own representatives, whom they should ask to introduce their own articles of impeachment. We've been on a losing streak, brothers and sisters, and the door is cracking open toward a major victory. Let's open that door fully and lead a peaceful march of millions through it. http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/34705 PLEASE CALL and demand that Impeachment Hearings be started BEFORE the Election House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers, Jr.: (202) 225-5126 House Speaker Nancy Pelosi: (202) 225-4965 And your Congressman: Contact info Please join our weekly Impeachment Events, see our Calendar on the website ImpeachCO.com or in the Calendar here on ProgressNowAction.org John H Kennedy, organizer Impeach Colorado Coalition ImpeachCO.com .. http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/kennedyjohn/CqyT http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/kennedyjohn/CqyT/commentary#comments Fri, 11 Jul 2008 16:32:28 MDT http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/kennedyjohn/CqyT John H Kennedy http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/profile_picture/5e4c96e6db734362f3_l5hmv2v71.jpg John H Kennedy 0 http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/comment_rss/CqyT/ We're proud to call Jim a longtime friend here at ProgressNow, and during Monday's multistoried "town hall" in Denver, he didn't disappoint. Watch as he hammers McCain about misrepresenting his record on veteran's issues, courtesy MSNBC: Bravo, Jim. Update: Veterans for Progress release. http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/al/CqyL http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/al/CqyL/commentary#comments Thu, 10 Jul 2008 10:02:42 MDT http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/al/CqyL Alan Franklin http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/profile_picture/1b6fb917dd91e10cc0_ge5omv53a.jpg Alan Franklin 10 http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/comment_rss/CqyL/