| Topic: |
Religions > Atheism |
| User: |
"stoney" |
| Date: |
03 Apr 2004 11:25:27 AM |
| Object: |
{Shrubs} Impeachable Offenses |
http://www.tompaine.com/feature2.cfm/ID/10176
Impeachable Offenses
John Bonifaz is an attorney in Boston and the author of Warrior-King:
The Case for Impeaching George W. Bush (NationBooks-NY, January 2004).
Bob Fertik is the co-founder of democrats.com, an independent community
of Democratic activists.
President George W. Bush —whose own election was dubious— has seized
monarchical powers in sending this nation into war without any
legitimate congressional declaration of war or equivalent congressional
action. He has lied to the United States Congress and to the American
people about the rationale for the war. He has imprisoned American
citizens without charges and denied them access to lawyers and the
courts. He has thus trampled on the United States Constitution and he
has violated his oath of office.
This nation is at a crossroads. These are not simply issues to be
debated in a presidential election. These are "high crimes" in the most
profound meaning of the phrase, and they require the most serious of
legal responses.
Our Constitution lays out a specific process for addressing high crimes
committed by a president: impeachment. The time has come for Congress to
investigate these crimes and begin impeachment proceedings. Our loyalty
to our Constitution requires nothing less.
Marches, like those held on March 20, 2004, which drew hundreds of
thousands of protesters, are important, but they are not enough.
Petitions, like those initiated by MoveOn.org and its allies, calling
for censure of the president are important, but they are not enough.
Voter mobilization campaigns focused on defeating George W. Bush on
Election Day are important, but they are not enough.
Impeachment is essential because George W. Bush should be labeled for
who he is: A president who has gone beyond the bounds of the
Constitution, who has defied the rule of law, and who therefore deserves
the ultimate constitutional punishment.
Former President Bill Clinton was impeached on charges of perjury and
obstruction of justice. But no one died as a result of the Monica
Lewinsky affair. President Bush has sent this nation into an illegal war
based on lies, resulting in the deaths thus far of more than 575 United
States soldiers and thousands of Iraqi civilians. This war has no end in
sight, and officials warn that U.S. troops could be there, fighting and
dying, for 10 years or more.
Where is the political accountability? Where is the constitutional
consistency? Where are the voices of our nation's leaders calling for
the investigation of impeachable offenses?
If we believe in the Constitution and its timeless vision of democracy,
we must now stand up and call for impeachment. History will judge us for
how we responded when faced with a president who would be king. Did we
rely on the badly flawed election process to set us free? Or did we
demand, as the Constitution provides, the removal of that president from
power? Did we speak the truth and charge that president with the highest
of crimes?
Some will argue that we are too close to an election to make the call
for impeachment. But we cannot afford to provide immunity for
presidential high crimes so long as they are committed (or fully
revealed) close to an election cycle. We must hold the president
accountable for high crimes at any point in his or her term.
Moreover, we would be foolish to assume that the 2004 election will be a
fair one. Millions of Americans still believe George W. Bush stole the
2000 election, thanks to the Supreme Court's controversial and partisan
5-4 decision which threw out 175,000 Florida votes that had never been
counted. None of the documented crimes of 2000 —including the deliberate
disenfranchisement of tens of thousands of voters through a fraudulent
purge of "felons" by Katherine Harris— have been prosecuted. Worse yet,
many of the infamous punch card machines have been replaced with even
more controversial electronic voting machines that make a recount
impossible.
No president in our history has presented a greater threat to our
Constitution and our democracy than George W. Bush. If we fail to place
the proper charges of high crimes on this president, we invite him to
engage in further lawlessness, further illegal war-making, further lies
and further unnecessary bloodshed—now, or even more so in a second term.
If we fail to protect the Constitution today, we invite its shredding
tomorrow by an administration with even less regard for the Constitution
than the present one.
Is lying to the United States Congress and the American people about the
reasons for sending the nation into war an impeachable offense? Is
violating the War Powers Clause of the Constitution by launching a
unilateral first-strike invasion of another nation without congressional
authorization an impeachable offense? Congress must debate these
questions now. Congress may be in Republican hands, but all of its
members swore to uphold the Constitution when taking office.
There are two roads in front of us. One takes us toward tyranny behind
the mask of wartime necessity. The other returns us to our basic
democratic principles where the Constitution is supreme and where no
one, not even the president, is above the law.
We call upon Americans of all political persuasions to join the call for
impeachment. We ask you to call or write your Member of Congress to urge
him or her to introduce articles of impeachment. We also encourage you
to sign a petition at www.impeachcentral.com, to send a letter to the
editor of your local newspaper, and to forward this article to all of
your friends. Raise your voice now, at this critical moment.
Let us take the road back to democracy. Let us demand our country back
from a lawless and unaccountable administration. Let us honor the oath
this president has betrayed: to "preserve, protect and defend the
Constitution of the United States."
Click here to subscribe to our free e-mail dispatch and get the latest
on what's new at TomPaine.com before everyone else! You can unsubscribe
at any time and we will never distribute your information to any other
entity.
Published: Mar 31 2004
Stoney
"Designated Rascal and Rapscallion
and
SCAMPERMEISTER!"
When in doubt, SCAMPER about!
When things are fair, SCAMPER everywhere!
When things are rough, can't SCAMPER enough!
/end humour alert
alt.atheism military veteran #11
{so much for the 'no atheists in foxholes' rubbish}
.
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| User: "Ph˙ltęr" |
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| Title: Re: {Shrubs} Impeachable Offenses |
04 Apr 2004 09:00:48 AM |
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stoney <stoney@the.net> astounded us with:
news:fmst60d0g1b2fj7ce43b1d2jgmvcs1o9u9@4ax.com:
http://www.tompaine.com/feature2.cfm/ID/10176
Impeachable Offenses
John Bonifaz is an attorney in Boston and the author of Warrior-King:
The Case for Impeaching George W. Bush (NationBooks-NY, January 2004).
Bob Fertik is the co-founder of democrats.com, an independent community
of Democratic activists.
President George W. Bush —whose own election was dubious— has seized
monarchical powers in sending this nation into war without any
legitimate congressional declaration of war or equivalent congressional
action. He has lied to the United States Congress and to the American
people about the rationale for the war. He has imprisoned American
citizens without charges and denied them access to lawyers and the
courts. He has thus trampled on the United States Constitution and he
has violated his oath of office.
This nation is at a crossroads. These are not simply issues to be
debated in a presidential election. These are "high crimes" in the most
profound meaning of the phrase, and they require the most serious of
legal responses.
The fact that George W Bush became the "President of the United States of
America" shows that nepotism, skullduggery and cronyism is alive and well
in a country that should have the wherewithall to ensure that the
aforementioned shouldn't EVER have come to pass.
Clearly, there is a secret network that can bypass all these things.
Skull and Bones perhaps??
--
Ph˙ltęr
Denizen of Darkness #44 & AFJC Antipodean Attaché
http://afjc.clickhalah.com/forum/index.php
Change "freeway" to "hotmail" to respond
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| User: "Fred Stone" |
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| Title: Re: {Shrubs} Impeachable Offenses |
03 Apr 2004 11:49:33 AM |
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stoney <stoney@the.net> wrote in
news:fmst60d0g1b2fj7ce43b1d2jgmvcs1o9u9@4ax.com:
...an independent community of Democratic activists.
Now there's an oxymoron if I ever heard one.
--
Fred Stone
aa# 1369
Cthulhu for President! Why vote for a lesser evil?
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| User: "Yang AthD \h.c.\ eacmole@AWOLGWBmail,com" |
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| Title: Re: {Shrubs} Impeachable Offenses |
04 Apr 2004 12:59:20 AM |
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"Fred Stone" <fstone69@earthling.com> wrote in message
news:Xns94C0827B7209Bfstone69@207.69.154.205...
stoney <stoney@the.net> wrote in
news:fmst60d0g1b2fj7ce43b1d2jgmvcs1o9u9@4ax.com:
...an independent community of Democratic activists.
Now there's an oxymoron if I ever heard one.
You mean like this?
"A bad Republican doesn't justify what a bad Democrat does"
-Fred Stone, 1/1/2004
" I can't help laughing at how hypocritical the Democrats are for
complaining about it now, after defending Clinton for doing it."
-Fred Stone, 3/11/2004
"Because we're hypocrites. Deal with it."
-Fred Stone 2/25/2004
--
Yang
a.a. #28
AthD (h.c.) conferred by the regents of the LCL
a.a. pastor #-273.15, the most frigid church of Celcius nee Kelvin
EAC Econometric Forecast and Socerey Division
Proudly plonked by Lani Girl and Crazyalec
The Bush 'balanced' budget: 1.2 trillion and worsening
The Bush 'economic' policy: -3 million jobs and counting
The Bush Iraq lie: -602 GIs, one friend's co-worker's son and mounting
Having Bush ***** up my country: Worthless
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