Tag Archives: Dick Cheney

Kucinich Conference Call: The People and Impeachment

Dennis Kucinich will introduce privileged resolution to force a vote on V.P. Cheney’s impeachment resolution this week, probably Tuesday. It is critical that we voice our support and contact our Representatives ASAP to let them know how we feel.

However, he is reaching out to us, the American people, to do our part and claim responsibility to reclaim our constitutional democracy. Dennis understands that real change and meaningful reform can’t happen without the active support of the people, and so he will be holding a live, national conference call Monday evening, November 5th, to explain how everything will work and what we can do to help. From the Kucinich campaign website:

Dennis will host a live, nationwide conference call on  Monday, November 5th, beginning at about 7:30 p.m. (Eastern Time), to announce what will be happening in the House of Representatives this week regarding the Cheney impeachment resolution – and to ask for your help.

The call-in number is (641) 715-3300.
When the operator asks for an access code, key in 324341#.
The call is  open to all interested citizens.

The time to act is now. We have to contact our Representatives to gain support. We have to contact the Democratic leadership and explain that no part of our Constituion, including impeachment, is “off the table”.

Off the table!? It is important to note why Kucinich is moving this forward: there is wide popular support for it! Over 80 cities/towns have now passed impeachment resolutions, with 50 more pending, and major polls, such as Zogby, have indicated a majority of Americans support impeachment proceedings. However, the Democratic leadership, members of Congress, and the MSM have failed to listen to the American people. As Kucinich noted at the San Mateo Straw Poll:

“If Congress did the right thing, they would be talking … about impeachment…

“I introduced House Resolution 333 because I heard from the American people and they said they wanted some response to make Dick Cheney accountable for the statements that he made that took us into a war based on lies. And the statements he made that would take us into a conflict against Iran. Again, more lies.

“The President is now openly invoking the specter of World War III with respect to Iran. He ought to be held accountable also. I’m the only member of Congress who stepped forward on the issue of making Dick Cheney accountable. And now we have 21 members who’ve joined me. That’s a step in the right direction. But I’m going to go beyond that. I’m going to call a privileged resolution, at which point, would force a vote — at least if it’s only on a procedural motion — members are going to have to confront this issue of impeachment. They’re not going to escape it. This is a question of defending our Constitution. It really is.

Just as our Congressional Representatives have gone deaf to the voice of millions of Americans, we, like the Constitution, have gone dumb to this Administration. And Kucinich understands this:

“Despite this groundswell of opposition to the unconstitutional conduct of office, Vice President Cheney continues to violate the U.S. Constitution by insisting the power of the executive branch is supreme.

Congress must hold the Vice President accountable. The American people need to let Members of Congress know how they feel about this. The Vice President continues to use his office to advocate for a continued occupation of Iraq and prod our nation into a belligerent stance against Iran. If the Vice President is successful, his actions will ensure decades of disastrous consequences.”

So here we are. Kucinich is giving us a chance to let Congress know how we feel, while holding them and this Administration accountable for their actions. There will be a vote. People will have to make a decision. People will have to take action. And we who believe in the principles of this country have to act first. This is our country, our government and our consequences if we stand idly by.

Call your Representatives here. Call the Democratic Leadership here. Call in to the conference call tommorow night. Recommend, Digg, pass along this diary and raise your voices. There isn’t much time. 

Articles of Impeachment against V.P. Cheney:

1.) In his conduct while Vice President of the United States, Richard B. Cheney, in violation of his constitutional oath to faithfully execute the office of Vice President of the United States and, to the best of his ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States, and in violation of his constitutional duty to take care that the laws be faithfully executed, has purposely manipulated the intelligence process to deceive the citizens and Congress of the United States by fabricating a threat of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction to justify the use of the United States Armed Forces against the nation of Iraq in a manner damaging to our national security interests

2.) In his conduct while Vice President of the United States, Richard B. Cheney, in violation of his constitutional oath to faithfully execute the office of Vice President of the United States and, to the best of his ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States, and in violation of his constitutional duty to take care that the laws be faithfully executed, purposely manipulated the intelligence process to deceive the citizens and Congress of the United States about an alleged relationship between Iraq and al Qaeda in order to justify the use of the United States Armed Forces against the nation of Iraq in a manner damaging to our national security interests

3.) In his conduct while Vice President of the United States, Richard B. Cheney, in violation of his constitutional oath to faithfully execute the office of Vice President of the United States and, to the best of his ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States, and in violation of his constitutional duty to take care that the laws be faithfully executed, has openly threatened aggression against the Republic of Iran absent any real threat to the United States, and done so with the United States proven capability to carry out such threats, thus undermining the national security of the United States

Kucinich’s list of supporting documents are here.

Co-sponsors for Articles of Impeachment:

H. Res. 333, Articles of Impeachment against the Vice President, has 21 cosponsors. They are: Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Robert Brady (D-PA), Yvette Clarke (D-NY), Rep. William Lacy Clay (D-MO), Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN), Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN), Rep. Sam Farr (D-CA), Rep. Bob Filner (D-CA), Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-TX), Rep. Henry Johnson (D-GA), Rep. Carolyn Kilpatrick (D-MI), Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA), Rep. Jim McDermott (D-WA), Rep. James Moran (D-VA), Rep. Donald Payne (D-NJ), Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Rep. Edolphus Towns (D-NY), Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), Rep. Diane Watson (D-CA), Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-CA) and Rep. Albert Wynn (D-MD).

Kucinich Will Force Impeachment Vote Before Thanksgiving

Tuesday night in a nationwide phone call organized by Progressive Democrats of America, Dennis Kucinich reportedly announced:

he will go before the U.S. House of Representatives on a point of personal privilege to move the impeachment of Dick Cheney.  Mr. Kucinich stated he will bring the impeachment forward before Thanksgiving.

Kucinich introduced articles of impeachment against Vice President, Dick Cheney, back in April. H.R. 333 consists of three articles of impeachment, with supporting examples:

1.) In his conduct while Vice President of the United States, Richard B. Cheney, in violation of his constitutional oath to faithfully execute the office of Vice President of the United States and, to the best of his ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States, and in violation of his constitutional duty to take care that the laws be faithfully executed, has purposely manipulated the intelligence process to deceive the citizens and Congress of the United States by fabricating a threat of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction to justify the use of the United States Armed Forces against the nation of Iraq in a manner damaging to our national security interests

2.) In his conduct while Vice President of the United States, Richard B. Cheney, in violation of his constitutional oath to faithfully execute the office of Vice President of the United States and, to the best of his ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States, and in violation of his constitutional duty to take care that the laws be faithfully executed, purposely manipulated the intelligence process to deceive the citizens and Congress of the United States about an alleged relationship between Iraq and al Qaeda in order to justify the use of the United States Armed Forces against the nation of Iraq in a manner damaging to our national security interests

3.) In his conduct while Vice President of the United States, Richard B. Cheney, in violation of his constitutional oath to faithfully execute the office of Vice President of the United States and, to the best of his ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States, and in violation of his constitutional duty to take care that the laws be faithfully executed, has openly threatened aggression against the Republic of Iran absent any real threat to the United States, and done so with the United States proven capability to carry out such threats, thus undermining the national security of the United States

Kucinich also provided roughly 50 supporting documents for the articles, on his Congressional website.

Over 80 cities/towns have now passed impeachment resolutions, with 50 more pending, and major polls, such as Zogby, have indicated a majority of Americans support impeachment proceedings. However, the MSM and members of Congress have failed to listen to the American people.

H.R. 333 has picked up 21 cosponsors, far short of what is needed to start proceedings, and House Speaker Pelosi has continually insisted that impeachment is “off the table”.

But, as Kucinich holds nothing higher than his duties to defend the Constitution and represent the people of the United States, Kucinich is making sure that it gets back on. when asked about the Congress’ failures to protect the Constituion, at the San Mateo Presidential Straw Poll, Kucinich replied:

“If Congress did the right thing, they would be talking … about impeachment…

“I introduced House Resolution 333 because I heard from the American people and they said they wanted some response to make Dick Cheney accountable for the statements that he made that took us into a war based on lies. And the statements he made that would take us into a conflict against Iran. Again, more lies.

“The President is now openly invoking the specter of World War III with respect to Iran. He ought to be held accountable also. I’m the only member of Congress who stepped forward on the issue of making Dick Cheney accountable. And now we have 21 members who’ve joined me. That’s a step in the right direction. But I’m going to go beyond that. I’m going to call a privileged resolution, at which point, would force a vote — at least if it’s only on a procedural motion — members are going to have to confront this issue of impeachment. They’re not going to escape it. This is a question of defending our Constitution. It really is.

Kucinich proves yet again his courage and leadership in Representative Democracy against fear and political calculation. He proves that he will not play party politics if it is against the interests of the United States and American citizens. He proves, again, his credentials for holding our highest office. Support Dennis Kucinich!

A New Spin on “Asleep At The Wheel”

Fourthbranch Cheney is not all that interested in fires he didn’t actually cause with bombs.

During a cabinet meeting yesterday, Vice President Cheney fell asleep on camera while President Bush was discussing wildfires in California. A Cheney spokeswoman “laughed it off,” telling CNN that the vice president was “practicing meditation.” CNN’s chyron reported that Cheney was seen “meditating” – rather than sleeping – during the cabinet meeting.

In the comments, please write the mantra that Cheney was chanting over and over during this meditation session.

Missing the Point with Chris Reed: Libby’s Bad and All, I Guess

In a shining example of the heights to which fair and balanced journalism aspires, Chris Reed yesterday reacted to the Libby Verdict by reminding us Libby may be a convicted felon, but that doesn’t make Joe Wilson a hero.  He does at least have the decency not to “blame administration critics for crowing over Libby’s trial at all.”  He just feels as though lost in the midst of lying to federal investigators, perjury, obstructing justice, the premeditated release of secret government information, the falsification of intelligence reports to justify an optional war, torture scandals, thousands of dead American soldiers and marines, tens of thousands of dead Iraqis, increased terrorist activity and Middle Eastern instability, and the complete collapse of American credibility around the world, is the fact that Joe Wilson is, in fact, not a candidate for sainthood.  Once again, Chris Reed has missed the point.

Perhaps it’s just that he has nothing original to add to the (woefully and horrifyingly) incomplete list above.  It’s been well documented over the years(!), and I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s sick of talking about it or thinking about it.  In that regard, he’s like most of us.  But glossing over it isn’t going to accomplish much of anything.

Reed says that “[t]he bipartisan conclusion of the U.S. Senate is that when it comes to telling the truth, he and Lewis Libby have a lot in common.”  The implication, of course, being that Wilson’s exaggerations are somehow morally equivalent to the actions of Libby and the Bush administration as a whole.  Well Mr. Reed, there’s this whole thing called degrees.

The Bush Administration and Lewis Libby set about to knowingly misled the American people, break federal law, and engage in actions that would result in tens of thousands of people dying violent deaths.  It amounted to a fundamental fraud perpetrated against this country by the executive branch of the federal government.

On the other hand, Joseph Wilson publicly and vehemently spoke out against this behavior.  Did he get some things wrong? I have no reason to doubt the Senate report.  But in a media populated by people like Chris Reed who need to be beaten over the head with overly dramatized truth before they’ll pay it any attention, how else was he going to get noticed?

I’m not interested in making excuses or apologies for Joseph Wilson.  He is, in fact, no saint.  But when you stack him up against the villains involved in this case on the other side, he comes out smelling like a rose.  If Chris Reed really thinks that the relevant story of this verdict is anything other than the deceptive, vindictive, and criminal behavior on the part of the people leading this country, he needs to get his head of the sand and stop missing the point.

Photos from Cheney San Diego visit

A dark cloud descended on San Diego today. And yes, it is true, the dark cloud always travels with an ambulance.
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Fresh from fundraising for Doolittle (CA-04) and Pombo (CA-11), two of the worst and most corrupt representatives in congress, Dick Cheney flew down to San Diego to fundraise for former congressman-now-lobbyist Brian Bilbray. He chose the Harbor Island Sheraton, which is about 100ft from the airport (google satellite map), for maximum lack of exposure to the unwashed masses. Because the unwashed masses (all but the backwash 18% of them) have a message to send him that he doesn’t want to hear. We hate your war, we hate your incompetence and we hate your corruption. We hate what you’ve done to this country. We hate what you’ve done to this world. And by the way, if Brian Bilbray is a friend of Dick Cheney, Brian Bilbray is no friend of the citizens of CA-50. Ray Nanninga of the Coast News summed it up perfectly:

Dick Cheney is a lying piece of corporatist flesh.

Dick Cheney is all about oil and war, and wars for oil. Cheney wants to expand oil drilling along the California coast. …Dick Cheney represents the politics of oil extraction, partisan posturing and poisonous patriotism. Dick Cheney does not represent the best interests of California’s 50th District.

Dick Cheney represents Halliburton …

Dick Cheney wants you to vote for Brian Bilbray.

Cost of a photo w/Cheney at the luncheon fundraiser: $2100

Bilbray showing his true (anti-moderate) colors: priceless

Here are the pics (click to enlarge):

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Hiding behind “The War is a Lie” is a great one “[STOP sign] the Lying / Spying / Dying”–that pretty much sums up this administration.
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The “Illegal?” sign was quite a message. She held the sign over her tiny baby (in a snugli, you can just see his head). Bilbray has been one of the loudest voices in favor of elimintaing citizenship for babies born in the United States, if their parents are not here legally. Would just minutes-old infants be felons as well, under the new House bill? Sad.
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That’s me and the mini-mes. The text on their shirt are the names of Iraqi children killed in airstrikes, that are roughly the same age and gender. I don’t blame the military–maybe I’m gulible but I do think they’ve been doing their darndest to prevent civilian casualties. No, the fault is with Bush, Cheney, Rumsfled, Wolfowitz, et al. There is no such thing as a war without civilian casualties. When you CHOOSE to go to war, you choose to kill children that somebody loves just as much as I love these cuties. Someone at the protest commented on their cuteness, saying “you have an embarrassment of riches.” It is true. But there are mothers in Iraq, and mothers here in the US, who are poor beyond words at the loss of their richest blessings.
 

Thanks to Iraq Body Count and their database of recorded civillian casualties in Iraq for the information.

Here is one of the T-shirt images:

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The birth year is approximate based on the age given (2 yr old).

(cross-posted at dailykos)