Investigate, Indict, And Prosecute The Bush Administration. Senators Leahy And Whitehouse Make A Move. The People Rally For The Facts And Justice.
Pelsoi Rises Again As The Pendulum Swings From The Center To The Left. The Right Has No Answer, The Center No Solutions And The Left Comes From The Shadows.
"The action I am taking is no more than a radical measure to hasten the explosion of truth and justice. I have but one passion: to enlighten those who have been kept in the dark, in the name of humanity which has suffered so much and is entitled to happiness. My fiery protest is simply the cry of my very soul. Let them dare, then,
to bring me before a court of law and let the enquiry take place in
broad daylight!"
- Emile Zola, J'accuse! (1898) –
“If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude
than the animating contest of freedom, — go from us in peace. We ask
not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed
you. May your chains sit lightly upon you, and may posterity forget
that ye were our countrymen!”
-Sam Adams-
Leahy Announces List of Witnesses For 'Truth Commission' Hearing
The Public Record - Los Angeles,California,USA
Pelosi, who refused to hold impeachment hearings when George W. Bush was President, signaled that she now prefers a proposal by House Judiciary Committee ...
See all stories on this topic
THERE IS SERIOUS WORK TO BE DONE, SERIOUS ACTION TO BE TAKEN
Full Impeach, Indict, And Prosecute Posting:
Senate To Investigate CIA's Actions Under Bush
By The Huffington Post News Editors
I would question if it is right to allow Bush, Cheney, Rove, Rumsfeld et al. to shred our Constitution, profit from war,, cause the deaths of untold numbers of people, torture, kidnap, illegally spy on us, and loot our treasury. ... if only they had succumed to a hummer ---- they would be impeached by now. the country truly is sick. Reply Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 07:31 AM on 02/27/2009. - + New PerryLogan See Profile I'm a Fan of PerryLogan I'm a fan of this user ...
The Huffington Post | Full News Feed - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/thenewswire/
John Cusack: Basic Algebra: What Will the Verdict Be?
By John Cusack
The Huffington Post community has played a vital role pursuing, demanding, and exposing theBush-Cheney administration's numerous abuses. But there's still more we don't know, and more we must uncover. .... How many times do we have to keep telling them to impeach/prosecute already???? Was it not obvious when Bush got booed on his last day that people have seen through the crap? Dems, we've been waiting for you to enforce the law since 2000 when the election was stolen, ...
The Huffington Post Full Blog Feed - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/theblog/
Camus Cafe Political Coffee House: Virginia Alert: It Is Time To ...
After reading the book it becomes obvious that impeachment, even if it was "on the table," was not justice. Source: http://dc.indymedia.org/newswire/display/143772/index.php. "Bugliosi meticulously lays out a case against George W. Bush for purposefully ... Dear Ed. Dickau, Thank you for signing my petition at BushTruthCommission.com, urging Congress to consider the establishment of a truth and reconciliation commission to investigate Bush-Cheney Administration abuses. ...
Camus Cafe Political Coffee House - http://cafecamuspoliticalcoffeehouse.blogspot.com/
Statement on Prosecution of Former High Officials
We urge Attorney General Eric Holder to appoint a non-partisan independent Special Counsel to immediately commence a prosecutorial investigation into the most serious alleged crimes of former President George W. Bush, former Vice President Richard B. Cheney, the attorneys formerly employed by the Department of Justice whose memos sought to justify torture, and other former top officials of the Bush Administration.
Our laws, and treaties that under Article VI of our Constitution are the supreme law of the land, require the prosecution of crimes that strong evidence suggests these individuals have committed. Both the former president and the former vice president have confessed to authorizing a torture procedure that is illegal under our law and treaty obligations. The former president has confessed to violating the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.
We see no need for these prosecutions to be extraordinarily lengthy or costly, and no need to wait for the recommendations of a panel or “truth” commission when substantial evidence of the crimes is already in the public domain. We believe the most effective investigation can be conducted by a prosecutor, and we believe such an investigation should begin immediately.
Drafted by The Robert Jackson Steering Committee
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/robertjackson
By Emailing david@davidswanson.org
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/prosecutorstatement
http://cafecamuspoliticalcoffeehouse.blogspot.com/2009/02/virginia-alert-it-is-time-to-act-from.html
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Support Senator Leahy's Brave Move. Call And Email Your Senator Today.
Do You Want To Prosecute The Creeps? Click Here: http://www.peaceteam.net
WASHINGTON (Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2009) – Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) announced Wednesday that the Committee will hold a hearing to explore ideas on how best to establish a commission to examine past national security policies. Leahy first discussed a non-partisan commission of inquiry in a speech at Georgetown University on Feb. 9.
In a statement delivered on the Senate Floor Wednesday, Leahy announced a hearing entitled “Getting to the Truth Through a Nonpartisan Commission of Inquiry.” The hearing will be held Wednesday, March 4, at 10:00 a.m., and will be webcast live online.
“We cannot be afraid to understand what we have done if we are to remain a Nation equally vigilant in defending both our national security and our Constitution,” Leahy said. “I hope all members of Congress will give serious consideration to these difficult questions.”
Leahy has suggested an independent panel to focus on national security and executive power as related to counterterrorism efforts. Leahy indicated that he has begun to speak with other members in Congress, outside groups and experts, and officials in the White House about the proposal.
The full text of Leahy’s statement as prepared follows.
February 25, 2009
NOTICE OF COMMITTEE HEARING
The Senate Committee on the Judiciary has scheduled a hearing on “Getting to the Truth Through a Nonpartisan Commission of Inquiry” for Wednesday, March 4, 2009 at 10:00 a.m. in Room 226 of the Senate Dirksen Office Building.
By Order Of The Chairman.
Statement Of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.),
Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee,
On A Commission Of Inquiry
February 25, 2009
AS PREPARED
When historians look back at the last eight years, they will evaluate one of the most secretive administrations in the history of the United States. Last November, the American people made clear their desire for change. I share that desire to move forward, and to reestablish ourselves as a Nation dedicated to the rule of law, respected and trusted throughout the world.
We also know that the past can be prologue unless we set things right. The last administration justified torture, presided over the abuses at Abu Ghraib, destroyed tapes of harsh interrogations, and conducted “extraordinary renditions” that sent people to countries that permit torture during interrogations. The last administration used the Justice Department – our premier law enforcement agency – to subvert the intent of congressional statutes. They wrote secret law to give themselves legal cover for these misguided policies, policies that could not withstand scrutiny if brought to light.
Nothing has done more to damage America’s standing and moral authority than the revelations that, during the last eight years, we abandoned our historic commitment to human rights by repeatedly stretching the law and the bounds of executive power to authorize torture and cruel treatment. As President Obama said to Congress and to the American people last night, “…if we’re honest with ourselves, we’ll admit that for too long we have not always met” our responsibilities. But what the President said about the economy also holds true here, “it is only by understanding how we arrived at this moment” that we will be able to move forward. How can we restore our moral leadership and ensure transparent government if we ignore what has happened?
There has been discussion, and in some cases disagreement, on how best to do this. There are some who resist any effort to investigate the misdeeds of the recent past. Indeed, some Republican Senators tried to extract a devil’s bargain from Attorney General Holder – a commitment that he would not prosecute for anything that happened on President Bush’s watch. That is a pledge no prosecutor should give, and Eric Holder did not.
There are others who say that, regardless of the cost in time, resources, and unity, we must prosecute Bush administration officials to lay down a marker. The courts are already considering congressional subpoenas that have been issued and claims of privilege and legal immunities – and they will be for some time.
Over my objection, Congress has already passed laws granting immunity to those who facilitated warrantless wiretaps and conducted cruel interrogations. The Department of Justice issued legal opinions justifying these executive branch excesses which, while legally faulty, would undermine attempts to prosecute. A failed attempt to prosecute for this conduct might be the worst result of all if it is seen as justifying abhorrent actions. Given the steps Congress and the executive have already taken to shield this conduct from accountability that is a possible outcome.
The alternative to these approaches is a middle ground, a middle ground I spoke of at Georgetown University a little over two weeks ago. That middle ground would involve the formation of a commission of inquiry dedicated to finding out what happened. Such a commission’s objective would be to find the truth. People would be invited to come forward and share their knowledge and experiences, not for the purpose of constructing criminal indictments, but to assemble the facts, to know what happened and to make sure mistakes are not repeated.
While many are focused on whether crimes were committed, it is just as important to learn if significant mistakes were made, regardless of whether they can be proven beyond a reasonable doubt to a unanimous jury to be criminal conduct. We compound the serious mistakes already made if we limit our inquiry to criminal investigations and trials. Moreover, it is easier for prosecutors to net those far down the ladder than those at the top who set the tone and the policies. We do not yet know the full extent of our government's actions in these areas, and we must be sure that an independent review goes beyond the question of whether crimes were committed, to the equally important assessment of whether mistakes were made so we may endeavor not to repeat them. As I have said, we must read the page before we turn it.
Vice President Dick Cheney continues to assert unilaterally that the Bush administration’s tactics, including torture, were appropriate and effective. But interested parties’ characterizations and self-serving conclusions are not facts and are not the unadulterated truth. We cannot let those be the only voices heard, nor allow their declarations to serve as historical conclusions on such important questions. An independent commission can undertake this broader and fundamental task.
I am talking about this process with others in Congress, with outside groups and experts, and I have begun to discuss this with the White House as well. I am not interested in a commission of inquiry comprised of partisans, intent on advancing partisan conclusions. Rather, we need an independent inquiry that is beyond reproach and outside of partisan politics to pursue and find the truth. Such a commission would focus primarily on the subjects of national security and executive power in the government’s counterterrorism effort. We have had successful oversight in some areas, but on these issues, including harsh interrogation tactics, extraordinary rendition and executive override of the laws, the last administration successfully kept many of us in the dark about what happened and why.
President Obama issued significant executive orders in his first days in office, looking to close Guantanamo and secret prisons, banning the use of harsh interrogation techniques and forming task forces to review our detainee and interrogation policies. I support his decisions, and I am greatly encouraged by his determination to do the hard work to determine how we can reform policies in these areas to be lawful, effective and consistent with American values. My proposal for a commission of inquiry would address the rest of the picture, which is to understand how these types of policies were formed and exercised in the last administration, to ensure that mistakes are not repeated. I am open to good ideas from all sides as to the best way to set up such a commission and to define its scope and goals.
A recent Gallup poll showed that 62 percent of Americans favor an investigation of these very issues. Respected groups including Human Rights First, the Constitution Project and thoughtful Senators including Senator Whitehouse and Senator Feingold have also embraced this idea. The determination to look beyond the veil that has so carefully concealed the decision making in these areas is growing. Next Wednesday, the Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing to explore these ideas, and to continue the conversation about what we can do moving forward.
Two years ago I described the scandals at the Bush-Cheney-Gonzales Justice Department as the worst since Watergate. They were. We are still digging out from the debris they left behind while those in the last administration continue to defend their policies, knowing full well that we do not even know the full extent of what those polices were or how they were made. We cannot be afraid to understand what we have done if we are to remain a Nation equally vigilant in defending both our national security and our Constitution. I hope all members of Congress will give serious consideration to these difficult questions.
Whitehouse: To Fix Damage Left By Bush, We Must Learn The Truth
http://whitehouse.senate.gov/issues/issue/?id=1EB012AD-9664-4A90-A3D7-D113A3689C2A
http://whitehouse.senate.gov/newsroom/press/release/?id=F4DAA699-1BE7-4872-8156-311688ABF7B2
February 25, 2009
Mr. WHITEHOUSE. Mr. President, during my brief tenure so far in the Senate, the Judiciary Committee has confronted many difficult issues - battles over judicial nominations, complex legislative matters, the historic investigation into misdeeds of the Bush Administration's Department of Justice.
In that process, the Committee saw U.S. Attorneys fired for political reasons, we saw the Civil Rights Division run amok, we saw declassified legal theories asserting that the President can secretly ignore his own executive orders, we saw unprecedented politicization of a noble Department, and, of course, we saw those Office of Legal Counsel memos approving interrogation techniques long understood - long known - to be torture.
Fortunately, throughout that time, Chairman Leahy sought answers. His efforts were even-handed but unyielding. We know so much of what we know now because Patrick Leahy was satisfied with nothing less than the whole truth. Today, his work continues, and I want to speak in support of his efforts.
Mr. President, the backdrop to this is of course a grim one. Over and over as I travel around my state of Rhode Island, I hear from people facing challenges that seem almost insurmountable; challenges that President Obama spoke about in his address to Congress yesterday. Every day, it gets harder and harder to find a job, to pay the bills, to make ends meet. Every day, it seems more difficult to see a way out.
The Bush Administration left our country deeply in debt, bleeding jobs overseas, our financial institutions rotten and weakened, an economy in free fall. This is the wreckage we see everywhere, in shuttered plants - as my colleague from Pennsylvania sees at home so cruelly - in long lines, and in worried faces.
But there is also damage that we cannot see so well, the damage below the waterline of our democracy - damage caused, I believe, by a systematic effort to twist policy to suit political ends; to substitute ideology for science, fact, and law; and to misuse instruments of power.
If an administration rigged the intelligence process and on faulty intelligence sent our country to war;
If an administration descended to interrogation techniques of the Inquisition, of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge - descended to techniques that we have prosecuted as crimes in military tribunals and in federal courts;
If institutions as noble as the Department of Justice and as vital as the Environmental Protection Agency were subverted by their own leaders;
If the integrity of our markets and the fiscal security of our budget were opened wide to the frenzied greed of corporations, and speculators and contractors;
If taxpayers were cheated, and the forces of government rode to the rescue of the cheaters and punished the whistleblowers;
If our government turned the guns of official secrecy against our own people to mislead, confuse and propagandize them;
If the integrity of public officials; the warnings of science; the honesty of government procedures; and the careful historic balance of our separated powers, all were seen as obstacles to be overcome and not attributes to be celebrated;
If the purpose of government became no longer to solve problems, but simply to work them for political advantage, and a bodyguard of lies, jargon, and propaganda were emitted to fool and beguile the American people...
Well, something very serious would have gone wrong in our country - and such damage must be repaired. I submit that as we begin the task of rebuilding this nation, we have a duty to our country to determine how great that damage is.
Democracy is not a static institution, it is a living education - an ongoing education in freedom of a people. As Harry Truman said addressing a joint session of Congress back in 1947, "One of the chief virtues of a democracy is that its defects are always visible, and under democratic processes can be pointed out and corrected." We have to learn the lessons from this past carnival of folly, greed, lies, and wrongdoing, so that the damage can, under democratic processes, be pointed out and corrected.
If we blind ourselves to this history, we deny ourselves its lessons - lessons that came at too painful a cost to ignore. Those lessons merit disclosure and discussion. Indeed, disclosure and discussion make the difference between this history being a valuable lesson for the bright and upward forces of our democracy, or a blueprint for those darker forces to return and someday do it all over again.
As we work toward a brighter future ahead, to days when jobs return to our cities, capital to our businesses, and security to our lives, we cannot set aside our responsibility to take an accounting of where we are, what was done, and what must now be repaired.
We also have to brace ourselves for the realistic possibility that as some of this conduct is exposed, we and the world will find it shameful, revolting. We may have to face the prospect of looking with horror at our own country's deeds. We are optimists, we Americans; we are proud of our country. Contrition comes hard to us.
But the path back from the dark side may lead us down some unfamiliar valleys of remorse and repugnance before we can return to the light. We may have to face our fellow Americans saying to us, "No, please, tell us that we did not do that, tell us that Americans did not do that" - and we will have to explain, somehow. This is no small thing, and not easy; this will not be comfortable or proud; but somehow it must be done.
Chairman Leahy has embarked on the process of considering a new commission; one appropriate to the task of investigating the damage the Bush Administration did to America, to her finest traditions and institutions, to her reputation and integrity. The hearing he's called in coming days will more thoroughly examine this question, to help us determine how best to move forward. I stand with him. Before we can repair the harm of the last eight years, we must learn the truth.
I thank the presiding officer and I yield the floor.
RACHAEL MADDOW
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Pelosi: Bush Administration Lawbreakers Should Face Prosecution
Raw Story - Cambridge,MA,USA
... now being discussed in the Senate and should instead be prosecuted, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi(D-CA) said in an interview broadcast late Wednesday. ...
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Pelosi butts heads with Obama - John Bresnahan - POLITICO.com
By John Bresnahan
Nancy Pelosi repeatedly stood to applaud Barack Obama when he addressed a joint session of Congress Tuesday night. But in the days since, the speaker of the House has been standing up for herself — distancing herself from the president ...
Politico.com: congress - http://www.politico.com/1
Democrats voice concerns on Obama's Iraq drawdown plan
CNN International - USA
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has questioned the need to keep 50000 troops in Iraq until 2011. At issue: Obama plans to leave between 35000 to 50000 residual ...
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Pelosi Tells Maddow: Leave Fewer Troops in Iraq, Prosecute Bush ...
Women on the Web - New York,NY,USA
By The Staff at wowOwow.com House Speaker Nancy Pelosi sat down with MSNBC phenom Rachel Maddow last night, and wasted no time before speaking her mind. .
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Letter Re: John Yoo; Disbar and Dismiss
RIGHT ON TARGET!
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The Note: Kos-Backed PAC Tells Dems to Toe Populist Line
By Danny
I don't like Moulitsas or Moveon.org. I don't ever want them to be at the forefront of anything with the Dem Party. They do not represent mainstream America and they sure as hell don't represent this left winger! ...
The Note - http://blogs.abcnews.com/thenote/
Bloggers, Liberal Groups Challenge Centrist Dems
By JULIE HIRSCHFELD DAVIS
Associated Press Writer
A coalition of liberal bloggers and activists backed by organized labor announced a campaign Thursday to pressure Democrats to move to the left by financing challenges to centrist members of Congress.
The group, which calls itself Accountability Now, plans to raise money online and recruit liberal candidates to run in the primaries against Democratic incumbents it considers out of step with constituents.
The group has the backing of the Service Employees International Union, one of the most politically active in organized labor, and MoveOn.org. Both have raised and spent tens of millions of dollars in recent elections.
The formation of the group highlights a tricky political dynamic for Democrats that could complicate President Barack Obama's efforts to advance his agenda. The effort threatens to deepen rifts that separate the party's liberal Democratic leaders, personified by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., from the growing group of moderates who have helped the party expand its majority in Congress.
Leaders of Accountability Now say they have no ideological litmus test for their targets, but it's clear they are focusing on Democrats - including some who are members of the fiscally conservative Blue Dogs and the New Democrat Coalition - who typically side with business interests.
"What we're set up to oppose is the influence of lobbying money," said Jane Hamsher of the blog firedoglake.com. "The danger is that (Democrats are) going to become as responsive to the influence of money over their constituents as Republicans did."
Backers of the movement say they're hoping their efforts will give Obama greater latitude to push liberal policies in key areas such as health care by creating an organized and well-funded group of Democrats who can act as a counter to more conservative voices in the party.
They also say Accountability Now is a way to keep Democrats from losing touch with their constituents, which they argue is what sentenced Republicans to minority status.
"This is not an ideological crusade," said Markos Moulitsas, creator of the blog DailyKos and a supporter of the group. "What we want to do is move the Democratic Party to the mainstream."
Still, mainstream is in the eye of the beholder, and Moulitsas said the group will target those who "keep saying this is a center-right nation."
Top Democrats are skeptical of such enterprises. They fear they will highlight damaging divisions within the party and potentially cost Democrats congressional seats.
"Anything that increases the chance of a seat falling into Republican hands is a mistake," said Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., the head of Democrats' House campaign committee.
Sen. Robert Menendez of New Jersey, the Democrats' Senate campaign chief, said he wasn't familiar with the group, but called it "a bad idea."
"The bottom line is that we need candidates who reflect their state, and the values of that state, and their ability to win that state, and having primaries for ideological purposes is not the way in which Democrats continue to have a majority," Menendez said.
The organizers have had one prominent success already. They helped fuel and fund the successful primary campaign by liberal Democratic Rep. Donna Edwards that toppled eight-term Democratic Rep. Al Wynn in Maryland's Prince George's County.
And some of the same players were instrumental in Ned Lamont's successful 2006 primary challenge to Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut in frustration over his backing of the Iraq war. Lieberman switched parties and won re-election as an Independent.
Even Edwards said it's "foolish to believe that one can mount those kinds of efforts successfully in all districts, or even most districts." But she said the effort could add heft to liberal lawmakers' attempts to make their voices heard "as loudly as we've heard from the conservative forces of our party and the Republicans. That will serve President Obama really well," she added.
The group, which has raised $500,000 so far, is scrutinizing lawmakers' voting records and polls reflecting public opinion in their districts to find opportunities to launch challenges.
"The key," said Jeff Hauser, the executive director, "will be where there's a gap between the incumbent and their constituents."
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http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/03/Emma_Goldman_seated.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emma_Goldman
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