Category: Action

Appearing on “The View” TV show July 28th, Speaker Pelosi admitted that she did not know of a single crime that had been committed by the Bush Administration.  Joy Behar, one of the 5 co-hosts on the show, asked Pelosi why she had taken Impeachment off the table and continues to keep it off.  Pelosi responded by reiterating how important it is to stay focused on the many domestic issues requiring our attention and not to get distracted by such issues as Impeachment.  She went on to say that…

If somebody had a crime that the President had committed, that would be a different story.

You can watch a You Tube clip of both Pelosi on The View” and snips from the HOR JUd comm hearings “Shame on Pelosi”.  Be sure to watch to the end for a great surprise.

How sad!  Pelosi obviously needs our help; we must refresh her memory and the memory of “we the people”, who might have been confused by Pelosi’s lapse of consciousness.    

Compassion for her condition restrains me from being sarcastic when I ask, “Where has Madam Speaker been for the past 7 years?  Was Rip Van Pelosi asleep and therefore unable to read Kucinich’s Articles of Impeachment?”

The time is right; Ron Suskind has just come out with new allegations of Bush crimes and Impeachable offenses.  These can all come together by holding a Press conference to repair this dangerous-RIP-loss of awareness.

Suggestions for repair below the fold–

Appearing on “The View” TV show July 28th, Madam Speaker virtually admitted that she did not know of a single crime that had been committed by the Bush Administration.  Joy Behar, one of the 5 co-hosts on the show, asked Pelosi why she had taken Impeachment off the table and continues to keep it off.  Pelosi responded by reiterating how important it is to stay focused on the many domestic issues requiring our attention and not to get distracted by such issues as Impeachment.  She went on to say that…

If somebody had a crime that the President had committed, that would be a different story.

 This is most sad.  Obviously, Pelosi needs our help; we must refresh her memory and the memory of “we the people.”  

I don’t mean to be sarcastic. but it is very tempting to ask where she has been for the past 7 years,  

Now Cong. Wexler is a victim of the same type of Republican attempts to run him out of office, the same that Kucinich suffered.

Impeachment Support Makes Wexler a Target

“Have those people who support this war ever been at the receiving end of a bomb? Do they know what war is?  War is: your house is gone, no water, no electricity, your roads are blown up and….your family is dead.”

The conversation started not about war, but about Peace.

We had just come from a planning meeting to discuss planning the plans for a “Peace Event.”

I am usually restless, squirming in my chair, at peace meetings.

This night was a particular challenge, as a decision needed to be made as to whether this event was going to be about ‘Creating peace within ourselves, as a way to greater peace’ or ‘peacefully demonstrating against our military culture’.  

It was a lively discussion, no decision was reached.

It was the conversation afterwards during dinner that resonated.

D.F., my 87y/o WWII veteran friend, knows struggle; WWII, the Labor Movement, Civil Rights, he has been around.  

Over dinner he puzzled, “Have those who support this war ever been at the receiving end of a bomb? Do they know what war is?  War is: your house is gone, no water, no electricity, your roads are blown up and….your family is dead.”

He wasn’t looking for an answer more stating reality for those of us who did not truly know war….which was everyone at the table besides him.    After a complicated meeting about Peace I think he didn’t want us to lose sight of why we were doing it.

“Sometimes people use the call to inner peace as a reason not to take action against injustice, let’s not do that,” he added.  

Later he suggested, “We don’t really know how to act together as a society. The Cold War scared people, taught them to shut up, not question or challenge government, and look where it has gotten us.”

Then he went on to ask/state, “How do you hold your candidate accountable when he falters in a way that improves his candidacy and does not give ammunition to his opponent?”

We did not come up with a concrete answer to this question over chopped steak (his) and a veggie reuben (mine).

As we left he smiled at me, wonderful lines of wisdom creasing his face.  “Call tomorrow and we’ll work on the unanswered question,” he said with a wink.

What is the point of this diary?  I am not sure, it is my first on this site.  I am just happy to share some insights from a wise old friend with anyone willing to listen.  

I guess this is Episode I or Volume I or whatever. I don’t know about the rest of you but I’m well past outrage. That tank ran empty a ways back. I had hopes for Obama and the Constitution but I guess I’m just stuck with an over-fondness for basic human rights. Meanwhile, the propaganda machine goes on spewing its excrement everywhere and it’s gotten so that you just can’t avoid it anymore. Bottomline, like we used to say back in the day, there is some shit I will not eat!

I volunteered in an earlier response to an FP essay today to record O’Reilly tonight and compile a list of his sponsors with contact info. The idea is that we can share that input to output our feelings to the Uhmerican and otherwise corporations that pay Fox News Corpse and its deviant trolls to display their ignorance and arrogance whilst spewing their excremental effluence. (Run that one by BillO for translation.)

So, apologies for missing the first set of commercials (I’ll be taping the 11:00 re-run and will UPDATE if someone out there can pass along the secret of how to do that.) The commercials went like this:

8:12 EDT

DirectTV   directtv.com

ExxonMobil   exxonmobil.com

BMW   bmwusa.com

Capital One capitalone.com

Keep reading and writing and calling, please:

I’m updating this diary because I really think we have a good chance to get some accountability and justice on this.  Please check the links in Lisa Lockwood’s comment below (it’s about the 4th comment).  Please read these links and take action.  ADS site link has toll free numbers to Congress and lists Jud Comm members.  The AtLarge link has really good prosecutable points!  end this update 7/9

House subpoenas

Karl Rove!!!

Rove’s lawyer claims that Rove will

NOT TESTIFY  UNDER OATH.  In

response, the House Judiciary

Committee has SUBPOENAED the

former White House adviser

He is to appear July 10 to testify.

Now his lawyer says he will not

even show up. Conyers says Rove

is not above the law & he will take

action.

This is breaking news which I heard at about 11:15 A.M. (7/8/08) on the Thom Hartmann show on Air America Radio.  Hartmann announced that not only has Karl Rove refused to testify under oath at his hearing before the House Judicial Committee on Thursday, 7/10; Rove’s attorney said today that Rove is not going to show up at all.  Rove will defy the subpoena completely.  Hartmann further reported that Pelosi has just said she will oppose prosecuting Rove for Contempt of Congress and has told Conyers not to proceed with such prosecution.

Thom Hartmann had Don Siegelman on his program to discuss this.  I have not been able to get further confirmation on Pelosi’s position; Spiegelman was not certain either.  Pelosi’s phone is busy/busy/busy!  Both Spiegelman and Hartmann urge all of us to take action.  Call our Congresspersons, call the speaker, call members of House Judiciary committee.

The person I spoke to in Conyers’ office claimed they didn’t know anything more that that Rove was scheduled at the hearing for this Thursday.  If anyone gets any confirmations of this, please post in comments.

More information at Don Siegelman dot com and Thom Hartmann dot come.

As xofferson says, “DO SOMETHING.”    

And, Thanks for doing something!  

TomP has posted a diary calling on everyone to sign Russ Feingold’s petition against the “compromise” FISA bill.

From Russ Feingold:

In recent days, people across the country have voiced the opinion that the so-called “compromise” FISA bill working its way through the Senate must be stopped.

As you already know, I am working hard to strip retroactive immunity for the telecommunications companies that allegedly cooperated with the President’s illegal warrantless wiretapping program from the bill.

But that is not the only problem. This FISA legislation gives enormous powers to the government: including the ability to read emails and text messages and listen to phone conversations of anyone communicating with their family members, friends, associates, reporters, ANYBODY who may be overseas – all with zero court review.  Nobody should be supporting this legislation.

We can defend our country from terrorists while at the same time protecting the rights and freedoms outlined in the Constitution.   It’s time for our elected officials to stand up for the values on which our country was founded.

We should celebrate our Constitution this Fourth of July – and do everything we can to prevent it from being torn up when the Senate returns to Washington next week.

Progressives everywhere have already had a tremendous impact – with phone calls, emails, and letters pouring into offices by the hundreds (in some cases thousands), but the pressure on my colleagues to give in to this so-called “compromise” and President Bush is strong.

I’m going to continue to do everything I can to stand up for the rights and freedoms we all share.  Thanks again for doing your part.

Sincerely,

Russ Feingold

Honorary Chair

Progressive Patriots Fund

An easy way to get active. Sorry this is so short. Wanted to get it out quick.

As you may know, Netroots For The Troops, a collaborative effort by members of the Daily Kos, IGTNT and Mojo Friday communities,  will be holding a Special Event/Seminar at Netroots Nation on Saturday, July 19th from 2 PM to 4 PM.

We are pleased to announce some special guests with an important and unique perspective on the topic of Troop Care Packages who will be joining us to talk about both the past and the future.

Join us on the flip for more information, plus some new ways that you can help our efforts!

^{Crossposted at The Big Orange and ePluribus Media}

The title quote comes from the movie The Shift, not yet released.  My niece is involved with it and sent me the following preview.  It was just the kick in the ass I needed to shift my doom and gloom, so I offer it here.  I considered placing it as a comment in dharmasyd’s terrific essay, but decided this is a bit too off the point of the important substance there.

I’m trying to get my feet back under me.  I’m not going to have my hope buried by the dense, unconscionable acts of the fatally fearful and greedy.  I’m going to join with the spirit dharmasyd’s essay offers.

Maybe this movie is too easy, maybe it’s as shallow as recycling, but it renewed my sense of hope.  Maybe most of our hope comes from NGO’s non-profits, informal groups, brave individuals acting alone.  Here’s what Derrick Ashong says:

Making the world a better place is not only your responsibility.  It’s your choice, it is your blessing, it’s a gift, it’s your opportunity to make your life mean something.  So take it.

It’s Monday, and that means everybody supports the troops! Here at NFTT (Netroots For The Troops), we’re we’re preparing care packages to ship to soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq.

It warms my heart to know that people take the time, money, and effort to pack and ship a box 8000 miles across barren land with only the hope that it bring a smile to someone’s face. You will never know how much your support means to all of us, how a bite into your favorite candy bar can bring you home.

That’s from a letter a soldier sent to a perfect stranger who shipped him a care package.  A little comfort can go a long way.  You know you want to be a part of that comfort, so give us a little time and/or a little money.

And speaking of money, I’ll put some where my mouth is. I’ll match the first $500 donated today from here and from dailykos. That’s right. I made this challenge and posted this over at the GOS, too.  When you chip in, I’ll make it double.

Please join me below for the details.  

In the wake of numerous press reports detailing the deaths of 83 people in ICE custody since its inception five years ago, countless cases of sick or mentally ill immigration detainees denied even the most basic care they require, the illegal detention of legal residents and citizens, expedited criminal hearings of those apprehended in immigration raids without providing basic legal representation or judicial review, and the illegal drugging of both detainees and  deportees, there have been growing calls for the reform of the immigration detention system.