02 October 2007
Immigrants Everywhere! Let's have Congress Work on Other Things
This 110th Congress is turning out to be a big disappointment for me. I thought the Democratic Party leadership in Congress would have a different set of priorities than "more of the same old bulls--t." We, the People, have had other, more pressing legislation than the ones Nancy Pelosi and Whatshisname (oh, yes, it's Harry Reid)in the Senate have been doing. The November 2006 election was the first time that the voters rejected the Neocon's Contract on America. But this poor leadership in the party existed before, without such lightning rods as Tip O'Neal and Lyndon Johnson at the helm.
What is wrong with voting "No" as a block regardless of the presence of a majority present in either house? What's wrong with sending the President a bill he has said he will veto? But, no, the Congressional leadership (Harry Reid, for the Senate) speak about compromise, bipartisanship, etc. as if the Republicans have shown any willingness to do the same since 1984 when they took control. Well, Ms. Pelosi and Mr. Reid, here are my priorities to attend to in the 110th Congress:
1. Begin the impeachment process in the House of Representatives for George W. Bush, Dick Cheney and their chiefs of staff for lying to the American people, to the United Nations regarding the need for Congressional authority to invade Iraq.
a. for conspiracy to violate U.S. law regarding the interrogations and imprisonment of those "declared" to be enemy combatants and then to deny them the right of habeus corpus, violating international law by cruel and unusual punishment while under U.S. control.
b. for violating U.S. law forbidding domestic surveillance by federal authorities without first obtaining a warrant from the Judiciary's FISA court.
c. for countermanding the intent and letter of legislation sent to the President
and signed into law by him with the use of Signing Statements that the President and Vice President consider to be more authoritative than the intent and letter of the laws sent from Congress for his signature. President Bush acts on policy and procedure legislation in the same way President Reagan wanted a line-item veto that would change the manner of implementation by his administration. Reagan never got the line-item veto power, nor should Congress and the Judiciary enable the President to use Signing Statements to alter legislation from Congress.
d. for ordering the military to attack the sovereign state of Iraq, ignoring the military's advice as to the required resources for such an action, ignoring international law, in the absence of a sufficient threat to the people of the United States by Iraq. Then, with empirical evidence of a lack of preparedness in the military's equipment and armor requirements. With a police action already active in Afghanistan under United Nations authority for the capture and punishment of Osama bin Laden of Saudia Arabia, the Al Qe'da terrorist cells in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and to reinforce the government of the elected president of Afghanistan, Mr. Karzai.
e. for the lack of authoritative control and accountability over the military, over cash owned by Iraqi nationals that had been sequestered in United States banks, for the absence of sufficient supervision of private contractors retained by the Provisional Coalition Authority and subsequently in support of Mr. Maliki the President of Iraq's new government. Included in this laxity on the part of the President as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, over the 20,000+ combattants supplementing U.S. and its Coalition forces for armed combat, for standards of conduct and accountability required of members of the U.S. military forces.
f. for Vice President's and the President's deceptive use of commercial and public media in order to present the American people with distorted or false information about the conduct of the war and the wounded and killed American military and the extent of damage, deaths and wounded Iraqis who were non-combatant, the "collateral damage." For restricting independent news reporters from observing the arrival of troops killed in action so as not to have the images of flag-draped coffins on the evening news across the nation.
g. for failing to provide the moral and ethical standards within the Administration resulting in politicization of the office of federal prosecutors, the appointment of unqualified persons to high level positions within the government based on the person's loyalty to Mr. Bush and Mr. Cheney. (FEMA, Defense, Homeland Security, Treasury, and key scientific positions out of step with current expertise in those areas under their administrative authority.)
h. for allowing the inspection and regulatory functions of the federal government to atrophy to the extent that the health and safety of the populace are at risk.
What about it, Speaker Pelosi, shouldn't these crudely stated but accurate points be sufficient grounds for beginning impeachment proceedings against George Bush and Dick Cheney?
What is wrong with voting "No" as a block regardless of the presence of a majority present in either house? What's wrong with sending the President a bill he has said he will veto? But, no, the Congressional leadership (Harry Reid, for the Senate) speak about compromise, bipartisanship, etc. as if the Republicans have shown any willingness to do the same since 1984 when they took control. Well, Ms. Pelosi and Mr. Reid, here are my priorities to attend to in the 110th Congress:
1. Begin the impeachment process in the House of Representatives for George W. Bush, Dick Cheney and their chiefs of staff for lying to the American people, to the United Nations regarding the need for Congressional authority to invade Iraq.
a. for conspiracy to violate U.S. law regarding the interrogations and imprisonment of those "declared" to be enemy combatants and then to deny them the right of habeus corpus, violating international law by cruel and unusual punishment while under U.S. control.
b. for violating U.S. law forbidding domestic surveillance by federal authorities without first obtaining a warrant from the Judiciary's FISA court.
c. for countermanding the intent and letter of legislation sent to the President
and signed into law by him with the use of Signing Statements that the President and Vice President consider to be more authoritative than the intent and letter of the laws sent from Congress for his signature. President Bush acts on policy and procedure legislation in the same way President Reagan wanted a line-item veto that would change the manner of implementation by his administration. Reagan never got the line-item veto power, nor should Congress and the Judiciary enable the President to use Signing Statements to alter legislation from Congress.
d. for ordering the military to attack the sovereign state of Iraq, ignoring the military's advice as to the required resources for such an action, ignoring international law, in the absence of a sufficient threat to the people of the United States by Iraq. Then, with empirical evidence of a lack of preparedness in the military's equipment and armor requirements. With a police action already active in Afghanistan under United Nations authority for the capture and punishment of Osama bin Laden of Saudia Arabia, the Al Qe'da terrorist cells in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and to reinforce the government of the elected president of Afghanistan, Mr. Karzai.
e. for the lack of authoritative control and accountability over the military, over cash owned by Iraqi nationals that had been sequestered in United States banks, for the absence of sufficient supervision of private contractors retained by the Provisional Coalition Authority and subsequently in support of Mr. Maliki the President of Iraq's new government. Included in this laxity on the part of the President as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, over the 20,000+ combattants supplementing U.S. and its Coalition forces for armed combat, for standards of conduct and accountability required of members of the U.S. military forces.
f. for Vice President's and the President's deceptive use of commercial and public media in order to present the American people with distorted or false information about the conduct of the war and the wounded and killed American military and the extent of damage, deaths and wounded Iraqis who were non-combatant, the "collateral damage." For restricting independent news reporters from observing the arrival of troops killed in action so as not to have the images of flag-draped coffins on the evening news across the nation.
g. for failing to provide the moral and ethical standards within the Administration resulting in politicization of the office of federal prosecutors, the appointment of unqualified persons to high level positions within the government based on the person's loyalty to Mr. Bush and Mr. Cheney. (FEMA, Defense, Homeland Security, Treasury, and key scientific positions out of step with current expertise in those areas under their administrative authority.)
h. for allowing the inspection and regulatory functions of the federal government to atrophy to the extent that the health and safety of the populace are at risk.
What about it, Speaker Pelosi, shouldn't these crudely stated but accurate points be sufficient grounds for beginning impeachment proceedings against George Bush and Dick Cheney?
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