This has been coming for a long time. I’ve been watching the politicians in Washington very closely to see exactly how they intended to manage an administration that is so extremely neo-conservative that they are dangerous to this country and the world. I’ve seen heroic stances by some like Dennis Kucinich, Bernie Sanders, Patrick Leahy, Russ Feingold and even Ron Paul. However, this is not enough. We’ve seen Cynthia McKinney disenfranchised as well as others that have stood up to tyranny and war. Meanwhile, while all of this has taken place, the Democratic Party has been split down the middle and has offered no protection or support to any that oppose the horrendous regime in Washington.

The news that senior Bush administration officials not only approved the use of torture but actually micromanaged the application of it should be the last straw for dithering Democrats in the House of Representatives.

We have known for years that the president and the vice president approved war crimes, including torture, on the basis of legal opinions provided by Justice Department functionaries authorizing the president to break any law in the name of national security. Now we know that Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Colin Powell, Condoleezza Rice and other top officials dictated specific combinations of outlawed interrogation techniques—including waterboarding and physical beatings—for specific prisoners.

One of the great tragedies of the Bush administration is the lassitude, often appearing to shade into cowardice, displayed by those in opposition to it. The Democratic leadership in Congress refuses to consider impeachment as an option for dealing with a transparently criminal president and vice president, and very few major voices on the liberal end of the spectrum have chided them for it. Liberal blogging powerhouse Atrios today called Rice and company "monsters" and "war criminals" who should all be in jail for their actions; what, then, does that make House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Judiciary Committee chairman John Conyers and others who have the option of at least attempting to evict the monsters from the national house but have failed to act?

From Black Agenda Report

It is happening. The plans for the Bush administration to begin mass murder of the Iranian people have been put in motion. The plot was stalled temporarily by the National Intelligence Estimate report released last fall, a report which said that Iran did not have a nuclear weapons program. Bush and Cheney were thrown off their game, but not by much and not for long. They were inconvenienced but ultimately took the small set back in stride because they both knew they had nothing to worry about.

From Freedom Rider Blog

I think we can stop asking if Bush will attack Iran. This little gem was reported by the German news service DPA.

"The Saudi-based King Abdul-Aziz City for Science and Technology has prepared a proposal that encapsulates the probabilities of leaking nuclear and radiation hazards in case of any unexpected nuclear attacks in Iran, the Okaz Saudi newspaper said."

Well, that little NIE report last fall was just a minor inconvenience. Bush and Cheney know that if they keep lying they get their way. They also know that the Democrats will do nothing. John Conyers swears that he really, really means it this time. He claims he will hold impeachment hearings if Bush attacks Iran. Puhleeze. Spare us. The Democrats will do nothing and Bush knows it.

There's a new rule on Capitol Hill: the Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee can remove impeachment from the Constitution, but cannot also use telephones, Email, or fax machines, because the flood of pro-impeachment communications from outraged citizens is overwhelming each of those devices. Don't believe me? Try phoning, Emailing, or faxing John Conyers' office.

Congressman John Conyers' telephone, by many reports, rang endlessly on Monday, approximately 60 times per minute, or as fast as people could get through. The same thing appears to be happening today (Tuesday).

If you try to get through at 202-225-5126, chances are you'll hear a busy signal. Other times it will simply ring forever until a recorded voice tells you "Your party is not answering, please try your call later." Some people have had better luck by calling the Capitol Hill switchboard at 202-224-3121 or through one of the toll-free numbers that activist groups use, and asking to be connected to John Conyers' office. Others have just run into busy signals that way too.

On Thursday, Chairman John Conyers' House Judiciary Committee held a hearing at which Attorney General Michael Mukasey said that he would not investigate torture (video) or warrantless spying (video), he would not enforce contempt citations (video), and he would treat Justice Department opinions as providing immunity for crimes (report).

None of this was new, but perhaps it touched something in Conyers that had not been touched before. Following the hearing, he and two staffers met for an hour and 15 minutes with two members of Code Pink to discuss impeachment.

Conyers expressed fear of what might happen following an impeachment, fear of installing a Bush replacement or losing an election. The "corporate power structure", he said, would not allow impeachment without unleashing "blowback." Conyers told Ellen Taylor and Manijeh Saba: "You need to be more than brave and courageous. You need to be smart."

From Black Agenda Report

HELP WANTED:

"Democrat in Michigan's 14th district needed to replace House member. Must stand up to evil, tyrant boss from San Francisco. Long hours required to uphold Constitution. Applicant pledges to fight Bush regime. Must also be willing to fight Democrats."

Congressman John Conyers has served 21 terms in office and is now Chairman of the House Judiciary committee. He once promised to hold impeachment hearings against President Bush or Vice President Cheney, but now those words mean nothing. If he cared about the future of the country he would either fight for the Constitution as he once did, or make plans to retire. If he makes neither choice, he needs a hard fought primary race to convince him that his political time has passed.

Who's minding the store in Washington?

While President George W. Bush was standing before the members of Congress on January 28 laying out his plans, such as they are, for the final year of his second term in the White House, he was also seriously and perhaps fatally undermining the authority of Congress with a new signing statement, attached to the latest National Defense Authorization Act, in which he declared that he would simply violate or fail to comply with four provisions.

Let me say that again. The president states in writing that he is not going to obey and will not be bound by four parts of a law duly passed by the Congress.

House Majority "leader" Steny Hoyer has announced that Democrats are preparing to abandon attempts to impose conditions on new funding for the occupation of Iraq. The Washington Post is reporting that Hoyer, Senate Majority "Leader" Harry Reid and other top Democrats have caved on imposing a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq in exchange for a presidential promise not to veto an appropriations bill containing modest increases in non-military spending. And Roy Blunt, the House Minority Whip, says he doesn't think the president even needs to countenance the additional spending: "There's no reason to make a bad bargain. The president holds all the cards."

This business with new NIE report on Iran and the revelation of the further astonishing bad faith by Bush and Cheney on little matters such as, oh, war, raises again the issue of impeachment.

If having lied yet again about such matters doesn't constitute grounds for impeachment, pray WHAT DOES?

But the Democrats who control this issue in Congress shake their wise heads, Conyers and Pelosi, and say: Sorry, we just don't have the votes.

Really? Apart from how then will we ever have a chance at an accounting of the radical criminality (no hyperbole) of this Administration, I want to point out this:

"My best friends are my biggest problem," he told me, out of the blue, as we leaned up against a wine bar at the Hyatt Regency in Dearborn Saturday night. He wanted to talk about the possibility of impeaching the president.

Impeachment is something a lot of people talk about, but this guy's a little different. For one thing, he knows a lot more about it than anyone on the planet.

For another, he has the power, if anyone does, to do it. Nor can anyone launch a legal effort to impeach George W. Bush or Richard Cheney without his say-so. I was talking, of course, to Congressman John Conyers.

Was it retaliation by the the Democratic Leadership that exempted Dennis Kucinich from appearing with fellow Presidential candidates at Friday's Jefferson Jackson Day fundraiser in Iowa?

Was it Speaker Pelosi's vindictive payback to Kucinich for his impudent dismissal of her "impeachment is off the table" dictum that kept Kucinich out of the Jefferson Jackson Day party? After all, hadn't Kucinich introduced HR 333 on the House Floor just that week, calling for the impeachment of Vice President Cheney, in defiance of the prescripted cowardice in Pelosi's House of Wacks? (http://kucinich.house.gov/UploadedFiles/int2.pdf)

The fix is in. It is now official. The corporate powers-that-be have officially sanctioned the Democrats in the 2008 elections. According to The Center for Responsive Politics and their Campaign Finance website “Open Secrets”, the political gift giving program for the “own your own politician” has turned to the left. Democrats now get more of the corporate “manna” than the Republicans.

So where does that leave the corporations? Have they finally become aware of the evil mechanizations of Darth Cheney? Have they finally decided to follow the good side of “the force”? Hardly, in reality the corporate kingmakers have seen the writing on the wall and are now doing “damage control” on their swiftly sinking ship. The ship seems to be listing so badly, that instead of trying to repair a ship that surely has a date with destiny at the bottom of the political sea, they are climbing aboard another ship that seems a bit more seaworthy.

I received an e-mail from Congressman John Conyers office today stating that he was going to introduce a bill in the House as soon as the calendar was open. This bill would formerly charge the administration with “Contempt of Congress” for not giving Congress the material on the firings of the Assistant US Attorneys that had been requested last summer. The letter is here:

Dear Timothy,

I wanted to take the opportunity to update you on the status of the contempt of Congress resolution in the House of Representatives.

As you may know, the Judiciary Committee passed a resolution before the August recess holding the White House and Harriet Miers in contempt of Congress for their failure to provide documents and appear before the committee as legally required by subpoena.

From Black Agenda Report

The American people are utterly alone and completely defenseless from the power of an increasingly authoritarian state. The Bush administration "accidentally" flies nuclear warheads over our cities, seizes American citizens as enemy combatants who can be tortured and held indefinitely, and issues orders to seize assets for "undermining efforts to promote economic reconstruction and political reform in Iraq." All of these acts have taken place with the acquiescence of the Democratic party and the national corporate media.

As a child I would ask for things that I wanted. If I asked for something my parents weren't comfortable with - or just didn't want to be bothered with - they'd say "We'll see". It didn't take long for me to grasp that as "no". Which is ok for a parent to tell their child.

But every time I hear "September" and then "Spring" when our "leaders" talk about ending the Iraq Occupation, I think of my parents saying "We'll see". And that's NOT ok.

Team Bush - the Bush Administration and their enables in BOTH parties - have ABSOLUTELY NO intention of ever leaving Iraq if we do not force them....somehow.

Rep. John Conyers, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, says that impeachment is not off the table. That's a nice sound-bite, Congressman, almost as nice as Sen. Larry Craig's insistence that he has never had sex with a man. We all know it's a crock, and Conyers and Craig both know it when they say it, but it sounds good.

Impeachment is so far off the table it may as well be at another restaurant. As a tool for the removal of the cancer on the executive branch, impeachment is no longer operational, as they say. We've simply run out of time, because people like Conyers, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid have been too scared to use their Constitutional powers for the good of the nation. They prefer to SOUND like they're serious about it, as per Conyers' insistence at a town hall meeting in Michigan this week. They have no intention of actually walking the walk, but they need to keep talking the talk, even as they continue to fund Bush's illegal war.

I have dropped a couple comments recently about setting up a telephone protest to coincide with the the massive 9/15 Iraq Moratorium Protest. These have received a few positive comments in return.

I think it would be a popular idea if communicated to enough people fast enough. Thus, my next step is to post the formal suggestion. Are YOU interested in protesting the Bush Administration but cannot get to the 9/15/07 Protest in DC?

Most people cannot go to this. Lots of people can and thats as it should be but America is huge and transportation and days off from work are scarce for a lot of people. Most people that really want to go likely cannot.

There is a way to join in in solidarity and it's pretty easy.

After the jump.

This past Friday, several dozen Angelenos, organized by the Los Angeles National Impeachment Center (LANIC) under the leadership of LANIC Executive Director Peter Thottam, appeared before the Los Angeles City Council to demand that Los Angeles become the 82nd city in the nation to draft a resolution to impeach George W. Bush and Dick Cheney.

Supporting these un-elected everyday patriots in their quest to save their nation was Progressive Democratic Councilmember, Bill Rosendahl, who promises to introduce an impeachment resolution in the Council as soon as ONE of his fellow Councilmembers agrees to be a co-sponsor.

Now how pathetic is that!

On July 20th, House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers discussed the prospects for impeachment at greater length than has previously been widely reported. What has previously been known is that Congressman Conyers gave a speech in San Diego at which he said:

"We need to have three Members of Congress from anywhere come and say, 'Congressman, if you... if you are willing to support an inquiry into a resolution of whether there had been acts of impeachability conducted by, the Vice President of, and the President of the United States, that could lead to High Crimes and Misdemeanors, then we will join you if you introduce such a resolution.'"