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| Letters To Congress 2007 |
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| Click Here for Letters to My Senators and Congressional Representative through 2006 |
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FAX to Senators Dodd, Lugar, Bayh, Kennedy, Reid, and Rep. Hill No Telecom Immunity in FISA. Restore the Constitution and Rule of Law Instead Posted December 16, 2007 I have emailed the following to my friends this morning urging them to support Sen. Dodd in his effort to stop this illegal and unconstitutional attack on the civil liberties of the American people. Please consider it also a message to you if you are my elected representatives in Congress for the state of Indiana. As for the others, Feingold and Kennedy, thank you for honoring your oath of office. As for Sen. Reid, when are you going to start doing the same? Please consider going to the following URL, and supporting Sen. Dodd, who has promised to take the Senate floor today, 12/17/2007, and filibuster any FISA bill which contains retroactive immunity for the telcoms, who have been massively violating the law and spying on the private phone conversations of American citizens to an extent unparalleled in our history, all with absolute disregard of warrants or due process. We stand on the cusp of history here. Either we are a nation of laws, or we become a police state peopled by citizens cowering in fear, constantly secretly under surveillance and monitoring, even in our most private moments as we talk on the phone or even check a book out of the library, all without warrant, due process, or any vestige of reference anymore to the Bill of Rights and the Constitution. I hope you will consider taking part in expressing your support for Sen. Dodd and his willingness to uphold his oath of office, and try to finally draw a line of defense of our nation and its principles, and the right of its citizens to live under the rule of law, not in a lawless police state. http://www.thankyoudodd.com/ The following is my communication today by FAX to Senators Lugar, Bayh, Rep. Hill, Sen. Reid, and Sen. Dodd: Sen. Dodd, This is not just a question of one piece of legislation. This is a question of whether or not Congress will assert itself finally and insist that the executive branch and all the actors in the Bush/Cheney administration be held accountable to one simple principle: To act in accordance with the rule of law under the Constitution and Bill of Rights, ensuring adherence to the principles of due process that require reasonable warrants for all legal activities of surveillance. To pass the proposed legislation that retroactively provides blanket amnesty for any company that broke the law at the direction of the executive branch is to legitimize what has become the hallmark of this administration, namely a total and complete disregard for any adherence to the rule of law in their actions. Bush has signed over 1,000 signing statements avowing he will not respect laws passed by Congress. Cheney has declared himself openly a fourth branch of government, denying he is even part of the Executive if it means his office must obey the laws on record keeping or any other activity. It has really come down to this. We as a nation are skating on thin ice that separates us from the dark, cold waters of fascism and police state totalitarianism, where all citizens are subject to full time warrantless surveillance. Where does it end if not here? I was watching Democracy Now TV earlier this week. They were interviewing small-scale organic farmers. They report that even the smallest of farms are going to be required to register with the so-called office of Homeland Security, and register all their animals, down to the last chicken and goat. Where does this end? How does ANYTHING that the Bush / Cheney regime has done differ one whit from Hitler's Germany as that nation slid towards dictatorship in the mid-1930's? Even speaking the above words will rate me as a possible domestic terrorist, according to handbooks and guidelines published in the past few years by the FBI and the so-called department of Homeland Security, because they suggest I might be a dangerous 'Super Patriot', because I protest too much about the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, and the need to adhere to the rule of law. This really needs to be a defining moment, when the few remaining members of the Senate who actually paid attention to their oath of office when they recited it wake up, and start on the salvation of this nation, before it is too late. December 17th, 2008, Chris Dodd will take to the floor the Senate and begin his filibuster of telecom immunity. |
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FAX to Senators Lugar and Bayh and Congressman Baron Hill on Kucinich Bill to Impeach Cheney, Cowardice of Democrats, Hypocrisy of Republicans Posted November 7, 2007 Why have we refused and will continue to refuse to donate to any aspect of the Democratic party or any Democratic candidates, unlike in the last several election cycles, even though we usually vote Democratic? Why have we sworn that we will NEVER vote for a Republican again under any circumstances? I think the last paragraph of the op ed I quote below, published yesterday in "The Hill", sums it up pretty well: "Whether it's Iraq funding or the Michael Mukasey confirmation, Democrats continue to give away the store without receiving any concessions in return. It's a one-way street in a town that has ceded Article I of the Constitution for a unitary, non-compromising executive. The public is sick of this administration's betrayals. Why aren't Democrats?" This nation has gone insane, both Congress and the fourth estate, and have allowed Bush and Cheney to trample under foot the fundamental idea of the rule of law under a Constitution and Bill of Rights. We verge in a corporate police state. We have abandoned our most treasured principles and beliefs in justice and humanity. We torture and deny it. Yesterday Kucinich offered a bill of Impeachment against Dick Cheney. Despite the overwhelming, obvious and inescapable proofs that Cheney is in fact guilty of the charges Kucinich levies, beyond any reasonable doubt, the House wallows in cowardice and delusion, the Democrats cowering cowards, the Republicans treating everything with the same contempt they have shown for years to Congress, the American People, and the Law. They treat procedure and rules of the House as if they were a bunch of school yard bullies at playtime, revealing in their obstructionism and hypocrisy. The Senate is not a whole lot better, either. And the proof of how corrupt our society is, and the media has just become a conglomerate corporate tool of the wealthy ruling class? The networks report the entire incident as another example of Democratic incompetence, and COMPLETELY IGNORE reporting the actual list of the bill of impeachment. The media has failed America. How can you, who continue to allow this to happen, enabling this criminal administration in vote after vote, even look in the mirror in the morning? It is pretty clear your oath of office, which was to uphold the Constitution of these United States, means absolutely nothing to you. Blind Eye to Betrayal. Markos Moulitsas. The Hill Op-Ed. |
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FAX to Senators Lugar and Bayh and Congressman Baron Hill on Torture and the Nomination of Mukasey to Office of Attorney General Posted November 5, 2007 Subj: Torture is Illegal. Mukasey Must Not be Confirmed. (This memo was faxed to Senators Lugar and Bayh) The Bush / Cheney regime has violated our laws and our traditions by consciously fostering the use of torture of prisoners. There is no doubt of this. Every denial by Bush and Cheney is a blatant and obvious lie. The current pressure on Congress to approve the nomination to replace the criminal Attorney General Gonzales stems in great part from the realization that their crimes are finally becoming so obvious to the American people that there must be a legal response. The proper place for Bush, and Cheney, and Gonzales, and Rumsfeld, and Rice, is in jail in the Hague awaiting war crimes. They and their administration are an abomination to everything decent this nation has stood for. They have destabilized the Middle East, and strengthened the hands of our enemies. They have destroyed hundreds of thousands of innocent lives. They act in defiance of the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the rule of law, day in and day out. Yet Congress refuses to stop them. Why is that? Why do you refuse to uphold your oaths of office and not defend the very foundation of our Republic in the face of the onslaught of these blatant criminals? I am including a memorandum signed by prominent members of the intelligence community and sent to the Chair of the Judiciary Committee on the nomination of Mukasey. These are professionals who have devoted their lives to our nation. Mukasy is not fit to be Attorney General. Not only does he support it by refusing to categorically state that water boarding is torture, he refuses to take a definitive position that torture is illegal, immoral, and we should not be engaging in it. We teeter on the brink of tyranny, and the rule of law grows more threatened and tenuous each day. American citizens live in fear of their own government. Shame on all of you in Congress for each and every one of your votes that has enabled and continues to enable the destruction of America. Mukasey Nomination: Letter from Intelligence, Military, Diplomatic & Law Enforcement Professionals |
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FAX to Senators Lugar and Bayh and Congressman Baron Hill on Need to Vote No on Telecom Immunity Posted October 25, 2007 Subj: Vote No on Retroactive Immunity for Telecoms! Support Filibuster if Necessary Sen. Dodd, who has announced he is prepared to filibuster to stop this assault on the rule of law, has gained my support as the Democratic presidential candidate as a result. The Bush administration is pushing for this only in order to stop the pending lawsuits against telecoms, because they know that discovery is going to further demonstrate the depths of illegal, unconstitutional surveillance and activities to which this criminal administration have stooped. It is time for Congress to defend the Constitution and Bill of Rights, NOT the most corrupt and lawless executive administration in the history of our nation. A vote to include retroactive immunity in this bill is a repudiation of every member's oath of office to uphold the Constitution. The following open letter has been submitted to Senator Reid by leaders in the progressive community who, like us, believe in the Constitution and Bill of Rights, still, despite all that this administration has done to destroy them. We demand that you refuse to vote for legislation that includes this immunity clause We demand that you start upholding your office to protect us, the citizens of these United States, from the illegal actions of this administration and their assault on the rule of law. Dear Senator Reid, Senator Chris Dodd recently announced his intention to place a 'hold' on any bill coming before the Senate that includes provisions for so-called 'amnesty' for large companies involved in illegally spying on Americans, and to filibuster any such bill if necessary. We are writing to ask you use your position as Majority Leader to honor this hold and join Sen. Dodd's leadership efforts to stop legislation that would allow these companies to escape liability. For decades, it has been against the law in the United States for companies to give data about their customers, or access to their customers' conversations, to the Government without a warrant. But it now appears that for the last five years-at least-AT&T, Verizon, and numerous other politically connected corporations have repeatedly broken the law, turning over to the Bush administration unfettered access to the telephone calls, Internet activities, and calling records of millions and millions of Americans. As a result of this lawbreaking, their customers, along with privacy groups, have sued them in federal court, and they are making progress. One federal judge, an appointee of the first President Bush, emphatically rejected the excuse put forward by the corporate lawyers that the companies mistakenly thought that what they were doing was legal. U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker wrote: AT&T's alleged actions here violate the constitutional rights clearly established [by the U.S. Supreme Court]. . . . AT&T cannot seriously contend that a reasonable entity in its position could have believed that the alleged domestic dragnet was legal. These companies have now asked Congress to pass a special law asking for 'amnesty.' The law would prohibit courts from ruling on whether these companies broke the law and force the dismissal of all court proceedings against them. We know of at least one company, Qwest, that refused these illegal government requests, a factor that adds weight when considering whether these companies were 'just doing' what the government requested. The companies seeking immunity clearly chose to break the law. Providing amnesty to lawbreaking corporations is a complete assault on the rule of law and on the basic fairness of our political system. When ordinary American citizens are accused of breaking the law, they are forced to go to court and, if the accusations are proven, they suffer the consequences. If the telecoms really did nothing wrong, they should prove that in court, like all Americans must do. Congress has faced up to this before. In 1965, some of our nation's largest banks were found by courts to have broken our anti- trust laws and also wanted amnesty from Congress for what they did. Senator Robert F. Kennedy spoke out forcefully against this. As The New York Times reported: He objected to the basic philosophy of retroactive immunization which, he said, might logically be applied to 'murder or any other crime.' The rule of law is the basic guarantee in our society that all Americans are treated equally. Amnesty for big business is an assault on that principle. To grant retroactive amnesty would be to announce that our wealthiest corporations are free to break the laws we pass, and amnesty would be yet another huge step in eroding our core political principles. Sincerely, American Civil Liberties Union Matt Stoller, OpenLeft ColorOfChange.org Taylor Marsh, TaylorMarsh.com Electronic Frontier Foundation Digby, Hullabaloo Moveon.org Political Action Duncan Black, Atrios Working Assets Wireless John Aravosis, Americablog Glenn Greenwald, Salon Chris Bowers, OpenLeft Jane Hamsher, Firedoglake John Amato, Crooks and Liars Markos Moulitsas Zuniga, Dailykos Howie Klein, DownWithTyranny Christy Hardin Smith, Firedoglake Cc: Senator Hillary Clinton, Senator Dick Durbin, Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee The above letter's text and signatories at time of this post can be read at this URL on www.dailykos.com. |
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FAX to Senators Lugar and Bayh and Congressman Baron Hill on Fox News Attack on American Generals Posted September 30, 2007 Subject line of the fax: WE DEMAND YOU DENOUNCE FOX NEWS FOR ITS VICIOUS ATTACKS ON THE HONOR AND INTEGRITY OF AMERICAN GENERALS. The rest of the fax was the text of Glenn Greenwald's reporting on Fox News online commentary, for instance Fox had this to say, and this is all direct quotes from the Fox News web site: Our generals are betraying our soldiers . . . again. Our generals in both the Army and Marine Corps have cared more about their precious careers and reputations than their soldiers and Marines under them. The Marines have actually prosecuted a Marine for shooting a terrorist too many times . . . . In Iraq, the story is the same. The Army rediscovered a trick we used in 'Nam' called "baiting," where you leave ammunition and pieces of explosive devices out and shoot whoever takes them. We used to leave exploding ammo to put in your AK -- when you try to fire it, the gun blows up. It worked then and it works now . . . but guess what the Army is now putting on trial: Ranger Snipers for doing their jobs. The rules of engagement were once again being followed and once again our generals put their careers over their men's lives. The chilling effect that these actions have over our soldiers is dramatic; this distrust weakens the very foundations of our military. It causes soldiers to second-guess themselves and their chain of command. We cannot fight like this and hope to win. We should be putting these generals on trial, first for going along with Rummy and just as important for not trusting their soldiers. . . . As Greenwald points out in his commentary, referenced below, how great is the insane hypocrisy both of Fox News, for putting this drivel up as news, but worse, of Congress, who rushed to pass a resolution condeming Moveon.org last week for simply reporting what the soldiers in Iraq called Gen. Petraeus, namely, Gen. Betray Us. Glenn Greenwals, Saturday September 29, 2007 08:02 EST. |
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FAX to Senators Lugar and Bayh and Congressman Baron Hill. Rush Limbaugh Calls Veterans "Phony Soldiers" Posted September 27, 2007 We are sure, in light of Congress' recent patriotic rush to pass a resolution to denounce the horrible, nasty, vicious Moveon.org ad that simply quoted the label soldiers in Iraq had placed on Gen. Petraeus, "General BetrayUs", thus impugning supposedly our fighting men and women, that that same Senate, in order to be consistent and demonstrate their commitment to principles and honor, will be rushing to the floor of the Senate tomorrow to pass a resolution condemning the conservative radio figure Rush Limbaugh. Rush Limbaugh today announced that soldiers such as the two whose comments I quote below, both veterans of actual service in Iraq, unlike Limbaugh, who never wore a uniform or had boots on the ground in his sorry life, were 'phony soldiers' if they opposed Bush and the Iraq war. Of course twice in the past year this same Limbaugh called Sen. Hagel 'Sen. Betray Us' for his opposition to the Iraq war. We feel absolutely certain that a resolution will be immediately forthcoming condemning Limbaugh for this vicious attack on the integrity and service of these American veterans, who served their country in uniform with honor, and represent their fellows in Iraq and around the world serving their country. Naturally we don't plan on holding our breath, given the realities of the total lunacy and hypocrisy that the Senate and the House have been engaging in for the past six years But we thought we would point out this incident, in light of Congress rush to condemn earlier this week. Seems pretty obvious you owe the soldiers and the American people another resolution, this one denouncing Rush Limbaugh and his disgusting remark. "So I'm a "Phony Soldier," Rush?", Jon Soltz, Iraq War Veteran and chairman of VoteVets.org "My thoughts on Rush", John Bruhns, Iraq War Veteran, www.IraqCampaign.org |
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FAX to Senators Lugar and Bayh and Congressman Baron Hill on Moveon.org ad Resolution, and the Emerging American Police State Posted September 24, 2007 Subj: Moveon.org "Betray Us" Ad, Why I just donated $100 to Moveon.org The U.S. Senate appears to host a majority, almost 75% of its members, who are craven cowards who are in fact every day betraying the American people, our troops in combat, and the Constitution and Bill of Rights. The Senate produced a majority and voted to suppress freedom of speech by passing a resolution condemning a political ad paid for by Moveon.org. The ad contained no falsehoods, and was based on nothing but factual information about Gen. Petraeus reported even in the mainstream media. Petraeus has been made a lapdog lackey and water carrier of Bush in an effort to extend the fantasies and falsehoods regarding the true situation in Iraq. Petraeus appeared on Faux News Network, the propaganda ministry of the Bush/Cheney administration, and was allowed to speak for 14 uninterrupted minutes, giving his absurd powerpoint slide show, nothing but lies, lies, and more lies. Another exclusive appearance on the Faux propaganda machine was scheduled this weekend as part of the Orwellian big lie techniques of this administration. And the Senate and House just continue to lap these lies up, and work themselves into a dither of faux outrage over a political ad by a liberal group, an ad that portrays the truth. Using the VERY SAME WORDS Rush Limbaugh used on his radio show last September and again this past January to describe Sen. Hagel, or Sen. BetrayUs, as Limbaugh said. Where is the outrage and the resolution on that? Meanwhile our soldiers die, more and more every day. Our military veers towards collapse and over extension. Our national debt approaches 10 TRILLION DOLLARS. This week things got so bad in Iraq that Americans are now forbidden to travel anywhere outside the so-called Green Zone without full military escorts. We have destroyed Iraq. We have overseen the disappearance of billions of dollars, some of it in giant pallets of cash which simply disappeared and cannot be accounted for. We have lost uncounted numbers of weapons that have disappeared and cannot be accounted for, an event that happened under Petraeus' watch, for what it is worth. We have stood by while Iraqis have committed ethnic cleansing of entire neighborhoods. Over a million excess deaths of Iraqis civilians have occurred as a result of our invasion. Over two million Iraqis have fled the country. The displacement of Iraqis internally was reported to have risen an astounding 71% just this past month according to news reports. Meanwhile Al Qaeda is stronger than ever. Al Qaeda, which was NOT IN IRAQ before we invaded and destabilized the nation and the region, and created such hatred for America that Al Qaeda is overwhelmed with recruits now. And Bin Laden roams free in Pakistan. And all the Senate can do is pass a meaningless, pathetic resolution condemning a political ad, and thereby confirm their contempt for one of the key components of the Bill of Rights, freedom of expression, on the vote of 21 Democratic cowards, in the same week that the Senate could not muster enough votes to stop Republican filibusters of legislation that would restore proper out of combat zone rotation time to our troops, and legislation that would have restored the right to Habeas Corpus, a right GUARANTEED IN THE CONSTITUTION. No wonder the American people are revolted by Congress, whose approval ratings now have plunged to the mid-teens in the latest polls. Now the Republicans LOVE the filibuster, when only last year 'up or down vote', no evil filibusters allowed by Democrats was their watchword. Such hypocrisy, it is mind bending. No, it is disgusting and reprehensible and immoral. Congress, and in the above instances specifically the Senate, has demonstrated its members are unwilling to uphold their oaths of office on even the most obvious, blatant acts of unconstitutional betrayal of America, laws that unconstitutionally suspend Habeas Corpus. Laws that are rapidly turning America into a police state, with full time secret surveillance. Pretty soon there will be no more unsavory political ads to pass useless resolutions about, because the American people will be living in fear of opening their mouths. Or checking a book out of the library. Or reading a book on an airplane or even in a coffee shop. Recently the FBI is reported to have tracked down and questioned an American citizen who was spotted by a vigilant Bush supporter reading an article in a coffee shop, an article critical of Fox News. The FBI went to this person's home and grilled them as if they were criminals! The Washington Post reported this weekend that the Bush/Cheney police state apparatus now is recording the travel habits of Americans on airlines, including the books and magazines they read? And they are doing this even on flights that do not touch down on American soil! How is this not already a police state? American citizens crossing our borders are being challenged and confronted with printed out copies of their contributions to printed and online publications and blogs if those published statements include anything critical of the Bush/Cheney regime or the illegal war and invasion of Iraq. Citizens are being threatened and bullied in scenes that should be only in some movie about third world police state tactics. How is this not already a police state? And yet the Senate can vote a meaningless resolution to condemn an ad that does not begin to touch the venom of the sick attacks directed at veterans such as Max Cleland, or John Kerry when he ran for President. I recall Republicans parodying Kerry, a true patriot who actually served in combat, in the most disgusting imaginable fashion on the floor of the Republican convention. The hypocrisy is a stench in the nostrils of the Founding Fathers. These are dark days for America, the very foundations of our system are under siege. When will members of Congress stop this descent into chaos, and restore the rule of law under the Constitution, and most importantly right now, GET OUR TROOPS OUT OF IRAQ WITHIN THE NEXT SIX MONTHS. Man reading article critical of FOX gets turned in to FBI Washington Post: Collecting of Details on Travelers Documented Bush raises half a million for MoveOn after the Senate's shameful vote |
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FAX to Senators Lugar and Bayh and Congressman Baron Hill on Habeas Corpus Restoration Act (S.185) Posted September 18, 2007 This fax is to demand that you review your oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States, and recall one basic principle: the Constitution is not optional. Nor are the guarantees of the Bill of Rights. The right to Habeas Corpus was so important that the founding fathers embedded it, as they did no other, as a civil liberty EXPRESSLY GUARANTEED in the Constitution. Congress cannot legislate away this commitment, as they did in the tragically flawed legislation passed in the Fall of 2006. We demand that you support Amendment S. 2202 (same text as the Habeas Corpus Restoration Act (S.185) to the DOD Authorization bill (HR 1585). America and its citizens simply can no longer tolerate the destruction of the fundamental rule of law that the Bush and Cheney administration have undertaken, with the compliance of a Congress a majority of whom seem to have totally forgotten just what their oath of office was to. It was to our system and its fundamental laws. It was not to individuals or incumbents of the moment. Our system was wisely designed to free us and keep us free of the tyranny of the individual. For six years, you have repeatedly enabled the violation of our most fundamental rights, from the misnamed Patriot Act, to the abrogation of Congressional ownership of war making powers expressly reserved in the Constitution, to acts such as last years awful rushed FISA legislation which abandoned any pretense of judicial oversight of surveillance and spying on American citizens, to refusal to stop this administration from breaking treaties and from arresting and torturing prisoners. This is not America. You should be ashamed for your role in allowing us to come to this tragic moment in our history. Vote YES on Amendment S. 2202 (same text as the Habeas Corpus Restoration Act (S.185) to the DOD Authorization bill (HR 1585). You should also vote YES on Sen. Webb's amendment to insure that soldiers in combat operations are rotated out of theater for proper and long established periods for recovery. Your failure to vote yes on this amendment demonstrates your contempt for our armed forces, and supports the miserable misuse of them by the current administration. |
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FAX to Congressman Baron Hill, Similar Versions to Senators Lugar and Bayh, Subject: Recent FISA Law is Unconstitutional, Must be Repealed. Posted August 18, 2007 We were utterly appalled and disgusted at your recent vote SUPPORTING legislation that purports to not only legitimize the illegal, unconstitutional wide spread spying on American citizens by the current Bush / Cheney regime over the past six years. That legislation went even further, abolishing control by courts even further, and granting even broader discretionary powers to the office of the Attorney General, whose current incumbent has now appeared at least a half dozen times before Congress and demonstrably committed perjury and spat in Congress' face on every appearance. You may have noted that Congress and the Democrats approval rating has COLLAPSED in polls as a result. This is simple cause and effect. Why you continue to support legislation and acts by this administration that are clearly unconstitutional, and are destructive of the most fundamental guarantees of civil liberties under the Bill of Rights, at this point completely escapes us. Do you not accept our Constitutional system which is based on the rule of law? You and the other 40 so-called 'Blue Dog Democrats' who voted for this are a disgrace. Until you change your actions to indicate you believe in America and the Constitution and the law, and are willing to have the courage to reject the current administration, we will neither donate to nor support your incumbency as we did in the last election. You took an oath to uphold the Constitution and protect and defend this nation. You did NOT take an oath to continue to support an administration that lied us into an illegal war and is rapidly turning this nation into a full-time, warrantless surveillance police state. That you continue to act in fear every time this lying administration says 'Boo' and trots out their latest lies about the terrorist boogey-men would be laughable if the consequence were not so serious. If you did not run to take the oath to uphold the Constitution, and protect the rights and privileges of American citizens, what DID you run for office for? I am including in this fax two documents for your serious review. The first is the press release from the American Civil Liberties Union (and yes, we are proud card carrying members), announcing that even the FISA court has declared the Bush / Cheney regime is out of bounds and must obey the law. The second is a cogent and timely article by John Dean, of the Watergate era in American history, pointing out the severe dangers to our nation that this legislation represents. It MUST BE REPEALED IMMEDIATELY. And Cheney and Bush should be impeached. ACLU: In Unprecedented Order, FISA Court Requires Bush Administration to Respond to ACLU's Request That Secret Court Orders Be Released to the Public (8/17/2007) John Dean: The So-Called Protect America Act: Why Its Sweeping Amendments to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act Pose Not Only a Civil Liberties Threat, But a Greater Danger As Well |
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FAX to Senators Lugar and Bayh and Congressman Baron Hill on Enabling the Suspension of the Constitution by your Vote: FISA Act Posted August 3, 2007 When you vote to legitimize the massive abuses and illegal actions of the current Bush administration, their wholesale assault on our civil liberties and the Constitution, you do nothing less than align yourself with history of the rise of Hitler in Germany. Following is the key paragraph from the legislation passed in Germany after the Reichstag fire. The decree nullified many of the key civil liberties of German citizens. With Nazis in powerful positions of the German government, the decree was used as the legal basis of imprisonment of anyone considered to be opponents of the Nazis, and was used to suppress publications not considered "friendly" to the Nazi cause. The decree is considered by historians to be one of the key steps in the establishment of a one-party Nazi state in Germany. This is what you vote for, when you abandon any pretence of respect for the Constitution and Rule of Law, and vote once again to enable and support the current criminal regime of Bush, Cheney, and Gonzales and their massive attack on our civil liberties and rights. Decree of the Reich President for the Protection of the People and State (The Reichstag Fire Decree February 28, 1933 1. Articles 114, 115, 117, 118, 123, 124 and 153 of the Constitution of the German Reich are suspended until further notice. The following are therefore permitted: limits on personal freedom, freedom of opinion, including the freedom of the press, the freedom to organize and assemble, the privacy of postal, telegraphic and telephonic communications, and warrants for house searches, orders for confiscations of property as well as restrictions on property beyond the legal limits otherwise prescribed. Reichstag Fire Decree, From Wikipedia |
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FAX to Senators Lugar and Bayh and Congressman Baron Hill on Unconstitutional FISA Legislation and Violation of their Oath of Office Posted August 4, 2007 This morning it is reported that by a bare agreed on 60 votes the Senate of the United States voted to continue their record of ignoring the Constitution, which is NOT supposed to be optional, and to grant President Bush legislation that not only legitimizes the illegal spying operations his criminal regime have put in place over the past six years, but in fact expands the suspension of the civil liberties guaranteed American citizens by the Constitution and Bill of Rights. You are putting the final nails in the coffin in which any concept of due process and court reviewed legal procedures will be buried by this regime. Every Member of Congress who votes to support this legislation is an enemy of the people, and has violated their oath of office, yet again, an oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States, not an oath of personal allegiance to a man that history is already recording as the absolute, bar none, worst president in the history of our Republic. Attorney General Gonzales has appeared repeatedly before Congress. And in every appearance, he has lied through his teeth. He has refused to answer the legitimate oversight questions of Congress. He and the Bush administration have leaked and dribbled information in a manner to obfuscate and cover-up the extensive illegal activities they have engaged in from the beginning of this administration. Congress should find it is very easy to tell when Gonzales is lying: his lips are moving. He should be impeached and removed from office immediately. And you are passing legislation to remove any court oversight, and turn over this illegal spying program to the DOJ? Under this administration? Under this attorney general? I am including in this letter an article describing the latest manifestation of the emerging American police state being put in place by the criminal Bush / Cheney regime. This occurred this week in Indianapolis, here in Indiana, and has been reported on by at least the Indianapolis media, although, like everything else the mainstream media should be reporting to the American People, this has pretty much been ignored. The department of "Homeland Security" (a phrase that sounds more like Nazi Germany than America, there is NO BASIS for such a name in American traditions or thought), has been doing warrantless screening and searches of passengers at bus terminals. This is part, apparently, of a program with the acronym VIPR, and it is clearly nothing more and nothing less than one more dry run of police state tactics by the emerging brown shirt operations of the "Department of Homeland Security". We personally believe that Bush and Cheney and this criminal administration will do anything to hold on to power. They have violated the Hatch Act by politicizing the bureaucracy. They have violated our laws and traditions by running secret prisons all over the world and detaining people without any recourse to law or due process. They have engaged in torture, thus destroying our credibility and moral standing, and exposing our soldiers to expectations of similar treatment in current and future conflicts. They have used the military to pursue corporate profiteering and geopolitical engineering on a scale previously unheard of in our history, and in the process destroyed our military and its readiness. They have engaged and continue to engage in massive, illegal, warrantless spying on Americans citizens. The Constitution and Rule of Law mean NOTHING to this administration. It is truly frightening to see a Congress that has literally been spit on and shown nothing but contempt to continue to kowtow to these criminals, and in fact pass legislation that legitimizes their crimes. THE CONSTITUTION IS NOT OPTIONAL. Every vote you as a member of Congress pass that enables the ongoing illegal actions of this administration is a violation of your oath of office to uphold the Constitution. This is not business as usual. This is not a case of goodwill or good faith actions by an administration. The time has come for you as a member of Congress to decide just which side you are on, and history will judge you accordingly. Do you support the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, the rule of law, and rights and privileges to the due process and protections these afford the American people? Or will you continue to stand by the most incompetent, criminal, failed administration in the history of this nation. Which will it be? Federal Agents Searching People at Indianapolis Bus Stops: Air Marshals Patting Civilians Down |
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FAX to Senators Lugar and Bayh and Congressman Baron Hill Iraq Withdrawal, Republican Hypocrisy, the new Dolchstosslegende P.S. Impeach Bush and Cheney NOW. Posted July 23, 2007 Finally it is dawning on even the most hardcore Bush / Cheney enablers of the Republican party that the American people have seen through the lies about invading Iraq, and the subsequent war that has dragged on now longer than WWII. Suddenly Republicans, who only last week FILIBUSTERED to prevent a simple up or down vote on an amendment to set timetables for withdrawing our troops, are starting to claim that in this past Friday's release of new talking points that, well, they WERE ready to take action, but those nasty old Democrats just interfered with them doing so. I know from the experience of the past 15 years or so that members of Congress and the mainstream press have proceeded on the seemingly well-founded assumption that the American people are idiots, who will believe anything they are told. But this is just so pathetic and transparent an example of the blinding hypocrisy of the Bush-enabling Republican party that it is breath-taking. For the past six years we and others who opposed this illegal war and predicted the disaster that would result have been called Commies, Surrender Monkeys, Islamo-fascists, and just plain vanilla Nazis and fascists, every ugly and vicious name Republicans could think of. Well, we are a little tired of it. We are tired of the American people being lied to by their government. We are tired of our patriotism being questioned when we stand up to evil in power, and speak the truth. This administration lied us into war. This administration continues to lie on a daily basis, trying desperately to convince the American people that victory is possible, without even defining what victory would look like. Our troops are in the middle of a civil war in Iraq. The Iraqis can now determine their own future. Our troops should be withdrawn AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, starting immediately, and true sovereignty returned to the Iraqi people. Right now we have a puppet Iraqi government, whose major benchmark expected by the Bush / Cheney regime is passing a law giving us control of the majority of profits from their oil for the next half century. And they have not even passed that. Gee. We wonder why. Do you suppose it could have anything to do with the fact they are resisting an invader who is demanding they turn over control of their country's oil? This is going to require and Bush and Cheney give up their global quest to control the flow and availability of oil through military force. This is going to mean closing the obscene, $600 million dollar wreck of a non-functional embassy in Baghdad. This is going to mean closing the permanent military bases this administration has been building in Iraq while continuing to lie to the American people about the non-permanence of our presence in that country. Republicans are now frantically trying to push talking points into the media suggesting that now the new, improved, and latest compelling reason for staying in Iraq is to clean up the mess we created. Well, the talking points are not worded that way, but that is what they boil down to. It is NOT our duty to stay and try and solve 2,000 years of cultural differences in the Middle East. It is our duty to acknowledge we have no further legitimate reason to be in Iraq, and GET OUT NOW. Every day more Americans die. Our soldiers are dying. Our private industry war profiteers are being killed in almost as great numbers. It is not even safe to be in the green zone now with flak jacket, helmet, and armed escort. And THOUSANDS of innocent Iraqi citizens die every month. Thousands. Blood on the hands of America. So after the Republicans get through whining about how they were prevented from taking action, while they were trying to "get comfortable" with having to face a difficult reality, maybe they can find it in their heart, e.g. in the Senate, to STOP FILIBUSTERING EVERY VOTE, and allow a simple up or down vote on legislation to end this madness, and end it NOW. Paul Craig Roberts and the Threat of "False Flag" Operations |
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FAX to Senators Lugar and Bayh and Congressman Baron Hill on Paul Craig Roberts Warning of False Flag Operations, and Need to Impeach Posted July 21, 2007 Paul Craig Roberts was Assistant Secretary of the Treasury in the Reagan administration. He was Associate Editor of the Wall Street Journal editorial page and Contributing Editor of National Review. I am faxing you his statement recently, in which he lays out why our nation faces a Constitutional crisis, in fact, a threat to the very existence of our Constitutional system which posits a rule of law designed to protect the people from the arbitrary tyranny of those in power. In only the latest example of his lawless arrogance, Bush this week signed an executive order giving the Treasury office, per his instructions, the right to seize property of anyone "interfering" with efforts to "establish stability in Iraq". The order is so broadly worded it could be used, without any due process or recourse at all by those affected, to attack and take the property of any American citizen who even dared speak a political opinion. Each passing day brings a new outrage from this administration. This week this same sorry excuse for a President had the audacity to publicly attack the Democrats for not passing the Defense Authorization bill, which he emphasized included a raise for the military. Of course he, in his typical lying hypocrisy, failed to mention this is the exact same pay raise he had threatened to veto only a few weeks earlier. Further, Bush has announced that it is his belief that Executive Privilege trumps any subpoena by Congress of his staff or former staff. Congressional oversight? Not for him. At what point will the Senator grasp that he has enabled and supported a regime that has trashed the very foundations of our nation, and exposed us to the very real threat of collapse into dictatorship? We are already virtually a full time surveillance police state, thanks to the provisions of the unconstitutional and obscenely named Patriot Act. This administration has engaged in and admitted to felonious acts of warrantless surveillance. Yet you continue to support this administration. At what point will you stop? When it is too late? When Bush and Cheney use the excuse of a manufactured false flag operation to suspend elections and the Constitution? These people have demonstrated they have no shame, and no respect for the fundamental legal structure of this nation. This will go down in history as the absolute, worst executive administration in history, bar none. We only hope American can survive it and emerge as a nation ruled by laws, not evil men, once again. Every claim made to justify the invasion of Iraq has been proved to have been a lie. Falsified and distorted intelligence, lies upon lies upon lies. Paul Craig Roberts is not far from the truth of the evil of which this administration is capable. Impeach Now, Or Face the End of Constitutional Democracy. counterpunch.org |
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FAX to Senators Lugar and Bayh and Congressman Baron Hill on Collapse of Rice
and Bush Iran Diplomacy and Dollar, Threat to Attack Iran, and Need to Impeach Posted July 15, 2007 NOTE: This is the text of a letter just faxed to Sen. Lugar. The sentiments, although directed specifically to Sen. Lugar, address our concerns, which you as a member of Congress must address. We commend Sen. Lugar for his willingness to start breaking with the current administration and its insane foreign policy, which to date has led us into an illegal war based on disinformation and trumped up intelligence, among many other crimes, including the treasonous act of outing a CIA agent as revenge against her husband's exposure of their lies, and the recent commutation of the prison sentence of Libby, who is of course just covering up the fact that Rove and Cheney are guilty of felony and treason in this matter. Sen. Lugar must realize, however, that at this point no fig leaf or band-aid is going to save our nation from the tragic disaster the Bush/Cheney cabal have led us into. His suggestion that Bush be forced to seek reauthorization is just that, a meaningless fig leaf, and the kind of failure of Congress that enabled this criminal regime, and led us in to this tragic situation. It is just a cover to try and fend off the growing and clear realization by the vast majority of the American people that we must withdraw our troops from Iraq, and we must do it NOW, without further delay. The same must be said for the other bill that a group of Republicans is planning to introduce, a motion to supposedly modify the defense authorization bill (HR 1585) by adding the recommendations by the Iraq Study Group. But the language of what they are presenting is the same, failed, stay the course and continue to lie to the American people disinformation that has failed, and it is a travesty to say it implements the Iraq Study Group, for it does not. It is a sham. We are opposed to anything but honest and immediate action to get our troops out of Iraq, and stop this failed exercise in neo-imperialism and neo-colonialism and geo-political engineering of the Middle East. Under the Constitution, war is clearly defined as being the responsibility of Congress. Congress failed terribly in its duty by unconstitutionally delegating this power to the Executive. As a result, an incompetent and criminal regime has made war their Orwellian handmaiden in their pursuit of geopolitical power and their efforts to use propaganda and disinformation to instill constant fear and doubt in the minds of the American people, propaganda aimed at nothing less than covering their many crimes, and cowing Congress into submission. Bush and Cheney have wasted over 600 million dollars on the largest U.S. Embassy in the world. It is built so shoddily it is already falling apart. They continue to construct permanent military bases, while Congress looks the other way, complicit in their crime. These acts demonstrate they have no intention whatsoever of leaving Iraq till they get the oil they sent our soldiers in to die for. Billions of dollars have disappeared into the hands of criminals and terrorists and war profiteering American companies in Iraq. Al Qaeda was NOT present as a force in Iraq before we invaded. But as a result of this illegal war, we have strengthened Al Qaeda's hand, done their recruiting for them, and worst of all, allowed their leadership to escape from Afghanistan into Pakistan and flourish. Now even the stability of Pakistan is threatened. We are less safe now than we were six years ago. Meanwhile, the puppet Iraqi government refuses to pass the enabling legislation that Bush and Cheney sought, their real purpose in this war, legislation that would hand over profits from Iraqi oil to American and British corporations for the next 50 years. This is insane. Every word that Bush speaks in public demonstrates that he is utterly delusional in regards to the reality on the ground in Iraq. The American people are tired of this man's lies. ENOUGH! Now, as can be seen in the outline of facts included in an article quoted at the end of this letter, Condi Rice has proven that she was not only a totally incompetent advisor in the lead up to the Iraq war, she is perhaps even more inept and incompetent as Secretary of State. While she and this administration beat the drums of expanded war, at this very moment positioning three air carrier battle groups in obvious preparation for an attack on Iran, her efforts have not only failed and been shown for the sham they are, but the rest of the world is coming to terms with Iran, and Iran has now moderated its stance and is negotiating with the U.N. And part of the agreements being made will undermine America further, for they will start moving the global oil economy away from dependence on the dollar to other currencies. As a result, the already weak dollar is falling even faster in value. It is crystal clear that the neo-con leaders and would-be thinkers who continue to influence this administration have as their clear goal ever widening war to justify their power grab and keep Congress at bay and the American people in a constant state of fear and confusion. A war with Iran is not only unjustified, it is sheer, utter madness. Our army is broken. It is verging on collapse. You yourself could not even vote for a decent rotation schedule to support our troops, namely Sen. Webb's legislation last week. Shame on you. Shame on Congress. You don't support the troops. You support this criminal administration. It is time to stop this madness. It is time to impeach Bush, Cheney, and Gonzales, and remove them from office, before they plunge the world into a third world war, and America into a lawless, corporatist fascist dictatorship and police state, where the Constitution is nothing more than what George W. Bush is reported to have called "just a God-damned piece of paper". Bush is publicly on record as having said it would be so much easier for him if this were a dictatorship. At what point is Congress going to stop enabling the transformation of America into just that? A police state dictatorship. Crude Hits the Fan: Friday 13th Soft-power collapse: Iran, Oil and the Neo-Con Wars |
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FAX to Senators Lugar and Bayh and Congressman Baron Hill on Subversion of the Department of Justice and Need to Impeach Posted July 8, 2007 Subj: Impeachment of Bush, Cheney, and Gonzales I attach a letter published in The Denver Post by a U.S. Department of Justice attorney since 1981. This man has put his career on the line by daring to speak truth to evil. It is the greatest crisis our nation has faced since the Civil War that to date Congress has chosen to continue to turn a blind eye to the rampant lawless and unethical acts of the Bush / Cheney administration, from the illegal invasion of Iraq on knowingly falsified intelligence, down to the latest outrages that are revealed daily, including the commutation of Libby's prison sentence. It is irrefutable that Bush and Cheney have engaged in felonious acts through warrantless wiretapping. They make a mockery daily of Presidential records keeping legislation. They have knowingly destroyed millions of email messages to cover up their crimes. They spit in the face of Congress daily as they refuse to honor legal subpoenas and other requests for information. They act in total disregard for the law, and do so with impunity because Congress has failed to uphold its Constitutional role of oversight. They inserted party hacks and religious theocratic dogmatists in the DOJ. They have now widened this tactic to all branches of the Executive. It is reminiscent of the system of political apparatchiks that characterized life in the Soviet Union under Stalin at its worst. They have almost destroyed the Civil Rights division of the DOJ. They have subverted justice by forcing unwarranted investigation into so-called voting irregularities time and again, all targeted at attacking political opponents at election time. Alberto Gonzales has been the handmaiden and partner in crime in this, and shares full responsibility for the institution of illegal torture and rendition that has destroyed our moral standing abroad and at home, and repudiated the rule of law in a way that threatens the stability of our system of government by laws here at home. They have repudiated Habeas Corpus, the cornerstone of common law and democracy. Gonzales has appeared before Congress repeatedly, and has lied through his teeth every time. The overtly political act of commuting Libby's pardon, in order to remove any possibility he would speak and reveal the direct involvement of Cheney and others in the treasonous outing of a proven covert CIA agent, is merely the latest repugnant act by the most sordid group of criminals to ever hold high office in the history of this nation: Bush and Cheney. Bush justice is a national disgrace. By John S. Koppel. The Denver Post. |
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FAX to Senators Lugar and Bayh and Congressman Baron Hill on Libby Pardon Posted July 2, 2007 It appears that President Bush is willing to spare nothing to demonstrate that he and his administration represent the party and the administration of utter disregard for the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the rule of law. We are utterly disgusted and appalled that he today pardoned and commuted the prison sentence of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby. This is an act of infamy capping the record of an administration that tramples the Constitution under their feet with every passing day. Libby was found guilty of perjury, his acts preventing a successful investigation into who outed the identity of an undercover CIA agent. No judge at any point could find fault with the verdict or the process. Is there no depth to which Bush and this administration will stoop to demonstrate that the law does not apply to them? This president signs almost every bill crossing his desk with a signing statement that declares he will simply ignore parts of the bill he does not accept. This president was involved in developing the policy that has not just allowed, but encourage the torture of prisoners of war held by American forces, a gross violation of the Geneva Convention and our precious legal and moral traditions. This president has admittedly committed repeated felonious acts by causing warrantless wiretapping and spying on the activities of American citizens. This president (and this Congress) are guilty of suspending Habeas Corpus, the very cornerstone of our legal system, tracing its origin back to the Magna Carta. This is the last straw. IMPEACH BUSH, CHENEY, and GONZALES NOW! Remove these criminals from power, while we still have a Constitution left. From this day forward, any member of Congress who violates their sworn oath to uphold the Constitution by continuing to support Bush and Cheney places themselves beyond any pale of respect or right to continue to hold their office. [I]f the President be connected, in any suspicious manner, with any person, and there be grounds [to] believe he will shelter him, the House of Representatives can impeach him; they can remove him if found guilty... Democratic Elected Officials React Democratic Candidates React |
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Fax to Senator Richard Lugar (IN) on his Speech on Iraq Policy Posted June 25, 2007 Dear Senator Lugar, We have just read that you today addressed the Senate and called on Bush "to downsize the U.S. military's role in Iraq and place much more emphasis on diplomatic and economic options." We can only say: about time. Too bad it is after so much blood, and the destruction of America's standing in the world as a force of good and justice. After Bush and Cheney lied and with malicious intent cooked intelligence to commit an illegal invasion of another nation that was planned by PNAC and Cheney years before 9/11, for the sole purpose of geopolitical control of their oil and its flow to the U.S. and Britain. An invasion claiming Al Qaeda involvement in Iraq that was and remains a total lie and fabrication. And starting last week, the administration has the army lying and claiming all attacks in Iraq, all engagements, are against Al Qaeda operatives. More lies. At the cost of the lives of almost 4,000 good and true American soldiers. At the cost of almost that many private contractors engaged in the war profiteering spawned by this, the worst, most tragic misstep in foreign relations in the history of our nation. At the cost of over 600,000 excess deaths of Iraqi civilians, and an estimate displaced two million Iraqis, internally and forced into exile, many of them young women this week reported to now be supporting themselves by prostitution in Syria This is the legacy of the Bush and Cheney administration. The real tragedy for you, Senator Lugar, is that YOU SUPPORTED THIS EVERY STEP OF THE WAY. You also have supported the insanely unconstitutional Patriot Act, the suspension of Habeas Corpus, warrant-less wiretapping, search and seizure, and the obscene, immoral practice of torture of prisoners held by American forces. We can only hope that this is the first step on your road to recovery as a Senator to uphold your oath of office, which was to the Constitution, not to the criminal Bush and Cheney regime. Can we now hope that you will take stands that will right the other wrongs we have enumerated, and start the restoration of a rule of law under our Constitution of which we are in such desperate need? Report on Sen. Lugar's Speech on the Floor Regarding Iraq Policy June 25, 2007. |
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A Note to Nancy Pelosi via Speaker of the House Web Form Posted June 17, 2007 I have contributed over $1,000 during past election cycle to elect Democrats. I will no longer donate to Democrats, because the Democrats in Congress are cowards. You have caved on Iraq, you have refused to stop the Iraq war, you allow the madman in the White House to continue to trample the Constitution and Bill of Rights under the jackboots of the Bush/Cheney criminal cabal. IMPEACH CHENEY AND BUSH. NOW. There is literally no excuse. By NOT doing so, you and every member of the House and Senate betray their oath of office, which SWORE TO UPHOLD THE CONSTITUTION AND LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES. We are in the middle of a Constitutional crisis. America is dying. QUIT THINKING YOU CAN WHISTLE PAST THE GRAVEYARD. IMPEACH NOW. Contact House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and tell her to do what is right for America. |
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A Reminder to Blue Dog Democrats About that Oath of Office A Fax to Senator Lugar, Senator Bayh, and Rep. Baron Hill (IN-09) Posted June 10, 2007 I am faxing you a diary which appeared today on the progressive web site dailykos.com. This diary is by a Hoosier who reports on receipt of an answer to his letter to his congressman asking that Dick Cheney be impeached. The congressman, who is not identified, refuses. This diary outlines in detail why impeachment must be on the table. At this point the crimes of Bush and Cheney are so clear, so numerous, and so unavoidable that for Congress to refuse to address them through impeachment is, frankly, a violation of the oath of office members took to uphold the Constitution. This administration more so than any in our history has trampled the Constitution and rule of law under their feet. They have corrupted the administration of government with multiple violations of the hatch act. They have corrupted the electoral process. The Department of Justice is still led by a man who has perjured himself multiple times before Congress, and almost destroyed the integrity of the DOJ. They have created an army of private mercenaries, run by companies like Blackwater, and engaged in war profiteering. They are building the biggest embassy in the world in Iraq, along with permanent bases, while continuing to lie daily to the American people about why we invaded and why they insist on staying in Iraq, namely to loot the country of its oil and spread the conflict and destabilization of the area into Iran. They have engaged in warrantless search and seizure, warrantless wiretapping, and have in general demonstrated a total disregard for the law and the fundamental rights of American citizens. Right now a bill has been introduced to cancel the nullification of Habeas Corpus that the members of the last Congress passed in the final military authorization act of last year. We insist, no we DEMAND that you support this legislation, and restore Habeas Corpus. This concept is at the very heart of democracy and the common law tradition going back to the magna carta. Habeas Corpus underlies the fundamental principle that the government does not have the power to arrest and detain without warrant and cause, and without any legal proceedings guaranteeing the rights of the accused. The destruction of Habeas Corpus basically turns us into a dictatorship, where prisoners can be "disappeared", as though we were in a South American dictatorship of the late 20th century. Then of course this criminal administration advocated and implemented acts of secret imprisonment and torture. How can you as an American and a human being rationalize or justify supporting anyone that supports torture? Shame on you. Shame on Congress. Shame on the American People for letting us come to this pass. Calling Out My Blue Dog Congressman. Diary on DailyKos.com. |