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OK, somebody keep John H. Kennedy's feet on the ground... ;-)

This has just been released on the web by "Foreign Policy" magazine. It's an excerpt of a much broader work "The Impeachment of George W. Bush: A Practical Guide for Concerned Citizens."

Former Congresswoman Holtzman's catalog, and evaluation, of the offenses of the current occupant of the White House is impressive. The sooner the current occupant and his lawless minions are squashed, the better. Regardless, I know that the next Democratic President will take office in 663 days.   Read More »
Seems like I spend too much time cutting and pasting articles and opinions of others, I actually have a few ideas that may or may not be viable.

Publicly financed elections for starters, to include any party that wants to express their ideas. Green, Communist, Socialist, Libertarian, etc.. Bernie Sanders was elected as a Socialist senator. Look, the way I see it each candidate gets a piece of the district pie and the best message for the buck wins, they might even stay on topic and express solutions rather that personal attacks. Right now we have Republican and Republican light and in safe Democratic districts we have a big yawn. As it appears there is a monopoly of power in the two mainstream parties, the infusion of new blood seems to be crucial. Public financing and serious debate on PBS seems to be the only answer, for all the "how dare yous'" I am sure to get, I am also reasonably assured of "why the hell nots." Democracy is diverse, it's messy, but it's necessary to promote the voice of the minority. Those that don't want that voice heard are those that have all the power because of their economic prowess. A $ million a district works out to $ 435 million every two years, figure 100 million taxpayers, that works out to $217 each year for a better democracy. The way I see it, publicly financed elections will be the only way to attract those that can actually LEAD and not those that are skillful at attracting corporate financing and puckering up to the same.

Secondly, I'd like to see the Attorney General an elected position, there is really no room on the scales of justice for politics. Does anyone think for a second that Alberto Gonzales could win a national election for AG? There are not enough Ken Salazar's out there.

Thirdly, I'd like the defense budget cut in half, just for starters. We need the $250 billion for schools and colleges. Maybe then we can produce less paranoid bigots and more engineers, scientists, teachers and doctors. That's $50 billion per state with a tangible return of 40 to one, making the coffers of each state fat enough to educate every man woman and child. Eventually states will be able to figure out their problem in energy, transportation and urban sprawl.

Fourthly, use the other half of the defense budget for diplomacy, As my pappy used to tell me, you get a lot more with sugar than with lemons
Mike May must be desperately searching for a time machine. That is building up to be the only way he can work his way out of the Stafford-1338 Coercion Scandal.

Rather than squashing this debacle, he's digging a deeper hole even as full revelation uncovers more Radical Republican misdeeds. Yesterday, it was a report of apparent roguish behavior by some GOP legislators and a developer lobbyist. Now we can add GOP leadership denial and the use of a lyin' and cheatin' robo-call by a GOP financier developer.   Read More »
Here we go again…a good Democratic initiated bill is rapidly approaching passage, and of course, Colorado Representative Kevin Lundberg (R-Berthoud) must resort to fear, smear and irrational exaggeration in his opposition Link. Lundberg is the champion of all causes of the radical rightwing regardless of the harm it would cause in Colorado, and this is no exception.

Senate Bill 34 is an important measure that closes a dangerous gap in Colorado's concealed weapons law, and restores vital authorities to County Sheriffs. The highly suspicious practice of a Colorado resident applying to an out-of-state law enforcement entity to get concealed weapon permit will end with its approval.

All Coloradoans should be suspicious of someone who would bypass applying to the local Sheriff, or defy the denial of a concealed carry permit by getting one mail-order from Florida (or other places). This is no threat to the 2nd Amendment to the US Constitution; it's just wrong.

From its inception this has been recognized as a good bill Link. The opposition of Lundberg and other Radical Right WingNuts is clearly irresponsible. Thankfully, there appear to be enough favorable votes for this bill to go to Governor Ritter and become law.   Read More »
Another crack is showing in the walls of the Colorado Republican Radical Right WingNut fortress. This time it's the revelation that one of the less than gentlemanly GOP members of the Colorado House attempted to lay the heavy hands of intimidation and coercion against Representative Debbie Stafford, R-Aurora, for her support of HB 1338 (introduced by Rep Jack Pommer, D-Boulder).

I present with authority that it was one of the male members of the GOP House contingent because it is inconceivable that the other female GOP Representatives, Ellen Roberts, Stella Hicks, amy Stephens and Masha Looper, would stoop to such vile conduct. Unfortunately, that leaves too large a list of likely suspects and only a few "couldn't be" gentlemen with an ethical standing equal to Stafford.

Having lived in Colorado Springs, Douglas County and now in Larimer County there is a clear short-list of likely assailants. It probably won't take the deductive prowess of Nero Wolfe (or even Maxwell Smart) to crack this case. The weasel will likely crack under the pressure of public disclosure, or reveal himself as a nervous nelly brute lurking in the back corner of the House chamber unable to sit for more than 10-seconds without jumping up to spout an irrelevant Rove-Wadhams talking point in protest to a Democratic bill. But, I'm only speculating at this point.

Precisely identifying the thug who accosted Rep. Stafford is less an issue than pointing out the many deplorable points of this story. On one-hand we see an admirable elected representative casting her vote to address the wrongs done to her constituents. The Colorado GOP needs MANY more like her.

This is in contrast to the disreputable Right WingNuts who have clearly shown us that they serve to advance to agendas of well-moneyed special interests. Any legislator who defends the practice of inserting these non-negotiable liability waivers into housing sales contracts doesn't merit their seat in the General Assembly, and should (but undoubtedly won't) resign immediately.

Cronyism crosses the line when the integrity of the Legislature is compromised to appease special interest campaign donors over the welfare of people. Colorado's home building industry is already at risk because of rampant over-building and the abuse of sub-prime mortgages. Now we see a Republican representative attacked by her colleagues for choosing the rights and welfare of homeowners over the protests of builders who have abused an unscrupulous practice.

Representative Stafford deserves our praise. While the perpetrator of this offense against the People and the institution of the General Assembly deserves to be rooted out and punished.
My girlfriend just left me a message saying that Senator Salazar has called for his friend Alberto Gonzales to resign.

But resignation is not enough for the Decider's cohort because the Decider's administration is nothing but a criminal enterprise that preys upon America and its peoples.

I'm glad that Senator Salazar has taken a tiny, baby step forward but he needs to be at the leadership of restoring our nation's honor by going back to our founding fathers intent within the Constitution, Bill of Rights, and the Declaration of Independence (especially the bill of particulars against the Crown).
Will this be the campaign season in which biological terrorism copycats use fake white powder packed envelopes to disrupt Democratic presidential candidate operations?

The never caught Anthrax killer only targeted Democratic party politicians.

Read the rest here.

Now that I have your attention read on!

As the wheels come off the KKKarl Rove hate machine and impeachment of the top officials in the Bush crime syndicate hangs in the air because resignation for high crimes and misdemeanors against the Constitution is insufficient (read this  by Kargo X for a detailed reason).

The actions by the top officials in the Prosecutor Purge shows that there is no resemblance of a code of conduct or ethical guidelines that King Bush and Queen Cheney or their minons will follow.  The cancer of a corruptive executive branch, aided and abbeted by an equally corruptive 
Republican legislative branch, has shown that the majority of American people
will reject and call for indictments.  Justice and the rule of law as the founding fathers understood that elected officials will become corrupt because of the addiction to power.  The Constitution has checks and balances for that very reason.

The Constitution has a remedy for those who act willfully against it: Impeachment.

We know that this is the only purgative that will restore the trust of the people in our government.

We know that the Constitution and Bill of Rights is not just "a goddamn piece of paper" to be shunted aside for the hubris of being a divinely appointed King.  

This is why the Prosecutor Purge is being spun by those who have the most to fear from an awakened peoples after the drum beat of fear has long since lost its impact to their old schtick of "a mid-level flunky" inserted the language into the revised PATRIOT ACT or had a list of prosecutors that were not being partisan enough.

Use the tools at ProgressNowAction to send letters to your Reps/Senators and to the media to let them know that you are holding them accountable for their duty to the Constitution.

Join in the protests/vigils/marches because politicians/media organizations are aware, do notice, and can change their positions.  

Join with DeGette on St. Patrick's Day Parade here in Denver and walk/talk to her on the parade route.

Our time has come.  ACT NOW.


 

I just submitted my Master's thesis prospectus with the catchy title of:
The “Unitary Executive” theory: It’s implementation by the Presidential Signing Statement
and its impact on Our System of Governance




Now I'm catching up on some current political happenings via Josh Marshall (his TPM and TPMmuckraker are vital for the latest news 
and analysis of the Prosecutor Purge) and caught this little tidbit:

Perhaps as telling, according to the new Times article, Kyle Sampson, Alberto Gonzales's Chief of Staff and the guy who was actually in charge of drawing up the list ... well, he resigned today.

Believe me, his boss won't long outlast him. And one other tidbit -- Sampson had a partner in assembling the list: then-White House Counsel Harriet Miers.
Now tell me that if this isn't the 21st Century "Saturday Night Massacre" (from the NYT)?

Last October, President Bush spoke with Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales to pass along concerns by Republicans that some prosecutors were not aggressively addressing voter fraud, the White House said Monday. Senator Pete V. Domenici, Republican of New Mexico, was among the politicians who complained directly to the president, according to an administration official.

The president did not call for the removal of any specific United States attorneys, said Dana Perino, a White House spokeswoman. She said she had “no indication” that the president had been personally aware that a process was already under way to identify prosecutors who would be fired.

But Ms Perino disclosed that White House officials had consulted with the Justice Department in preparing the list of United States attorneys who would be removed.

Within a few weeks of the president’s comments to the attorney general, the Justice Department forced out seven prosecutors.

Previously, the White House had said that Mr. Bush’s aides approved the list of prosecutors only after it was compiled.


If Bush is done in (i.e., impeached) it will be on a domestic issue not on Iraq or Iran.

Read Josh Marshall's piece here.

Read NYT here.
I wrote about forcing Bush to become a stateless person a while back, but this is interesting about Hitler!

From Der Spiegel:

Hitler May Be Stripped of German Citizenship

By Per Hinrichs

Almost 62 years after his death, Adolf Hitler could lose his German citizenship. A German politician from Braunschweig wants to revoke the Nazi leader's 1932 naturalization -- as a "symbolic step."
Read the rest here.

Senator Schumer called for the resignation of Alberto Gonzalez today.

Read the rest here.

(h/t to Talkingpointsmemo.com)

Guess who is a  big player in this unprecedented political scandal?  

Karl "Turdblossom" Rove.

Maybe it should be time to indict Rove the Traitor because he is at the center of this Teapot Dome sized scandal.

While King Bush and Queen Cheney preside over the fall of America due to their willingness to place partisanship over the Constitution, the real reason for the prosecutor purge has but one name- Carol Lam.

Josh Marshall writes:

I'm not sure Lam would have been canned simply for prosecuting Cunningham. His corruption was so wild and cartoonish that even a crew with as little respect for the rule of law would have realized the impossibility of not prosecuting him. But she didn't stop there. She took her investigation deep into congressional appropriations process -- kicking off a continuing probe into the dealings of former Appropriations Committee Chairman Jerry Lewis. She also followed the trail into the heart of the Bush CIA. Those two stories are like mats of loose threads. That's where the story lies. 

 Read the rest here.

When will the lying stop?

First it is that King Bush needs more than the 21,00+ troops for his escalation "dog and pony show" in Iraq. He needs an additional 4,000+ troops announced last week.

Now those troops are needed through February 2008. So when will King Bush stop his lying and simply tell the Truth?

U.S. Lt. General  Raymond T. Odierno is the "day to day" commander of U.S. forces in Iraq.  NYT reports:

WASHINGTON, March 7 — The day-to-day commander of American forces in Iraq has recommended that the heightened American troop levels there be maintained through February 2008, military officials said Wednesday.

The White House has never said exactly how long it intends the troop buildup to last, but military officials say the increased American force level will begin declining in August unless additional units are sent or more units are held over.
Read the rest here.
(h/t to HuffingtonPost.com)

It's time to pull the plug!  Fully fund troop withdrawl from Iraq.

Come to DeGette's office today!

What Colorado can do too!

The Nation -- When Vermont Governor Jim Douglas, a Republican with reasonably close ties to President Bush, asked if there was any additional business to be considered at the town meeting he was running in Middlebury, Ellen McKay popped up and proposed the impeachment of Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney.

And this:

Late Tuesday night, there were confirmed reports that 36 towns had backed impeachment resolutions, and the number was expected to rise.

In one town, Putney, the vote for impeachment was unanimous.

(H/T to DailyKos.com) Read the rest here.

Americans want the King and Queen of America to be held accountable for their actions that have killed our fellow citizens.

Come to demand that impeachment begin at the federal and state levels of elected officials.

Thursday for a day of action at DeGette's office.  I would think that it time for action at the Republican Criminal Syndicate's "elected" officials on a daily basis.  Hold those who support King Bush and Queen Cheney to the same standard that we hold Democratic leaders- actions to make them painfully aware that the majority of Americans do not want them to support actions that will kill more Americans.

My take is that it will all come down like this...

Bush & Cheney know Scooter
knows too much & may turn on them.
(the US House Democrats don't Impeach Bush/Cheney)

Bush pardons Scooter (very soon)
(the US House Democrats don't Impeach Bush/Cheney)

Cheney resigns.
(the US House Dems still don't Impeach Bush or indict Cheney)

Bush appoints a pretty face as VP.........................
(to win the 08 election and pardon Bush & Cheney if needed).
(the US House Dems still don't Impeach Bush/Cheney)

Bush resigns when Impeachment fever gets hot
and it will... trust me. ( We are working on that)

The new appointed Republican President takes office.
(Even though the Dems have the Goods on both Bush & Cheney, the Dems don't indict either for anything after Bush & Cheney resign)

and the New Republican President pardons them all

or in 2009

the Next Democratic US Attorney General under a Democratic President indicts them all.



naah...!!!!!

NO... even with that much power the US House Dems
still haven't the moxie

to make a President and VP who lied to Congress
to affect a vote on permission to go to war...

( getting thousands of Americans killed and badly wounded unecessarily. losing the War in Afganistan, ruining our relations with the Oil producing Middle East for 50 years, losing the War On Terror,

Attacking the wrong Country (Iraq) after 9-11 when the Saudis attacked us, Covering up for the Saudis, the Bush/Cheney base's business partners, Blowing Trillions in hard earned tax dollars on Iraq by No Bid Contracts to Bush/Cheney buddies, and on and on...)

.... pay for the crime.

Too bad. Truly sad.


OR We could all work hard to

pressure the US House Democrats to Impeach.


What a novel idea.
The latest neo-con induced scandal to rise from the current mis-adminstration is a clear threat to the basic American principle of Rule of Law. While Karl (1.0) Rove is preaching for Colorado Republicans to hold to their principles, and Dick (Rove 2.0) Wadhams dutifully parrots the same line, we see yet another case of Republicans willing to abandon a critical principle of American Democracy.

My view of the road to the elections of 2008 is a compromised Republican Party continuing to follow a failing agenda of intrusive moral issues, while Democrats strive to protect and restore founding principles that have sustained this nation for centuries. The pursuit of political power has so intoxicated the neo-cons that they are willing to destroy the foundational strengths of America in order to achieve their goals.

The agenda of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has been suspect since his service as compromiser of Human Rights and Constitutional Rights in the White House. Now we're seeing that padding the political resumes of cronies to Rove 1.0 is a higher priority than integrity in the office of US Attorneys.

So much for enforcing Federal Law and bringing criminals to justice. This is an indication that Gonzales has taken on the priority of building Rove's stable of Radical RightWingNut candidates for future elections.

Something must be up because White House denier-in-chief Tony Snow claims there is no subterfuge in the departure of Gonzales' hatchet-man Mike Battles. Sure, he likely had a six-figure job waiting for him in the private sector, but that does not exclude that he sought to separate himself from unconscionable acts at the Department of Justice.

Just 685 days until the next Democratic President can clean house at DoJ. Unless, of course, Congress puts enough heat on Gonzales to see him packing for Texas before then.
From Talkingpointsmemo.com:

Get out the pardon pen: Libby guilty on multiple counts. Update: The four counts are here. -- Josh Marshall
From CNN:

Libby was convicted of:

obstruction of justice when he intentionally deceived a grand jury investigating the outing of CIA operative Valerie Plame;

making a false statement by intentionally lying to FBI agents about a conversation with NBC newsman Tim Russert;

perjury when he lied in court about his conversation with Russert;

a second count of perjury when he lied in court about conversations with other reporters.

Jurors cleared him of a second count of making a false statement relating to a conversation he had with Matt Cooper of Time magazine.

Libby, 56, faces a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison and a fine of $1 million. A hearing on a presentencing report is scheduled for June 5.

CNN senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin said, "He is virtually certain to go to prison if this conviction is upheld."
Read the rest of the CNN story here.

If you read the lead on CNN it is just that Libby was a White House aide, but that is totally misleading.  

Send out info to the local news outlets stating that I. Lewis Libby was no mere White House aide but he was the Chief of Staff for Vice President Dick Cheney.

People who read the mass media need to be aware of just how powerful "Scooter" Libby was in this administration.  People need to be aware of the fact that the destruction of a CIA asset in the fight against nuclear weapons proliferation is an act of treason that should be punished to the full extent of the law.




From the pages of the Denver Post rises a message of hope and wisdom, Link pass HCR 1001 (Representative Al White and Senator Peter Groff) and protect the Colorado Constitution. The path to seeing my New Year's Resolution fulfilled is clear Link.

HCR 1001 Link seeks the vital solution to the ridiculously easy, and often harmful, ease of amending the Colorado Constitution. Citizen initiatives are protected, and the State Constitution gains heightened protection.

Those who have the best interest of this great State and its people are well served to see HCR 1001 pass, and then to work hard to secure supporting votes in the General Election. Because it is certain that those who seek to play special interest political games with the State Constitution will oppose HCR 1001 at every step of the way.
The Denver Post provides a small item today (Sunday) that reinforces my suspicion of build-crazy developers. On multiple fronts the quality of life in Colorado is at risk before the forces of profit hungry real estate speculators eager to market starter-castles and sub-prime foreclosure magnet mortgages.

This latest report details the disastrous efforts by residential speculators to drop 1,600 homes into currently restricted acreage at the end of the runway for Centennial Airport on the Douglas-Arapahoe county border. This matches the more onerous proposal in Aurora for a similar project along the flight-path for Buckley Air Force Base.

The City of Centennial will confront this issue in a hearing Monday, March 5th, at 7:00 PM at their City Hall, 12503 E. Euclid Drive (Arapahoe Road and Revere Parkway). Both the City of Centennial and community residents surrounding Centennial Airport should stop Armstrong Capital Development, LLC (Tanterra) in their tracks before irreparable harm is done.

Too often out-of-state investment and development interests scoop up a sub-division sized acreage in Colorado with no greater interest than to build, sell and transfer the profits out of state. When they attempt it in the form of the Buckley and Centennial schemes they endanger the future residents of those homes and the viability of the airfields themselves.

The Post notes that Centennial Airport has suffered 69 crashes in the past 15-years, and an increase in noise complaints to 6,625 in 2005. Buckley is home to the F-16s of the Colorado National Guard and serves as a mid-continent service stop for thousands of military flights a year (including Air Force One). The extended value and importance of both facilities does not warrant compromising their futures to drop in new housing.

Changing flight-path property use rules and zoning definitions to allow housing on serves the interests of developers at a high cost to the airports, the communities and the eventual residents. Sure, it's a poor investment for the land speculator to have to wait for a non-residential (industrial/commercial) buyer, but that's the market.

Public policy makers in Centennial and Aurora need to stand firm. Protect your airports. Protect the welfare of future residents who do not deserve to live under those flight paths, and send a message to the land speculators to back off.
Among the many good news items today is an important revelation on the latest effort by American Talibangelist Mullah James Dobson (Focus on the Family, Colorado Springs, CO) to enforce his will with the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE). Now Mullah Dobson seeks to squelch the heresy that Christians have a biblical imperative to protect (God's) Earth.

The focus of Mullah Dobson's latest attack is the NAE Vice-President for Government Relations, the Reverend Richard Cizik. In this crusade Mullah Dobson has already enlisted/coerced/intimidated/wrestled the support of some two-dozen co-signers to stop Rev. Cizik's "relentless campaign."

This makes it clear that Mullah Dobson only has room in his agenda to seek ever greater control over the free will and fundamental freedoms of God's creation. Certainly those who follow the Mullah will accept that. But, there is some hope that within the claimed 30-million members of the NAE some still posses enough freedom of thought and decision to support Rev. Cizik.
The concern of genetically modified food has been pretty much hushed up here in the USA but not in Europe:

Sick people used like laboratory rats in GM trials
By Geoffrey Lean, Environment Editor
Published: 04 March 2007

Genetically modified potatoes developed by Monsanto, the multinational biotech company, have been fed to sick patients in an experiment. Rats that ate similar potatoes in the research suffered reductions in the weight of their hearts and prostate glands.

Dr Michael Antoniou, reader in molecular genetics at Guy's, King's and St Thomas' School of Medicine, said use of humans was "irresponsible and totally unethical, especially when already ill subjects were enrolled. These people truly were guinea pigs." Other scientists said the trials were too short, on too few people, to give meaningful results of long-term effects.
There has already been contamination with GM crops and non-GM crops in both Canada and the US.

The study done is unethical and illegal.  Monsanto has a legal and ethical responsibility to society to stop the research into genetically modified food for human consumption.

Read the rest here.

The Army knew that privatization of support functions at Walter Reed Hospital was not working:

The committee also released an internal Army memorandum reportedly written in September in which the Walter Reed garrison commander, Col. Peter Garibaldi, warned Weightman that "patient care services are at risk of mission failure" because of staff shortages brought on by the privatization of the hospital's support workforce.
This but another example of the extremist obessession with "privatization" that has hurt the American soldier.

The privatization of support services in Iraq has lead to bacterial infested drinking water and spoiled food for our service men and women by private contractor KBR or its subsidiaries.

Rather than do the right thing there is only the monetary factor that overrides all other considerations by private contractors.  This mania has lead to deadly consequences for employees by those private contractors, including the infamous murder of four employees of Blackwater in Fallujah.

Coupled with a complete lack of accountability and oversight by the Bush administration because those people, from Bush on down, have an ideological obessession with "privatization equals better than government doing a specific job".

The case should be made by the Democratic leadership on all levels that Republicans cannot be trusted to do the job "right" and "privatization is not a one size fits all solution" to all problems facing this country.

Read the rest here.

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