In 2007, the State of the Union was not as we were told it was; nor is it as we were told it would be. Each year, and for eight long years, George W. Bush promised to unite us, and perhaps he has more so than most other Presidents. Collectively, Republicans and Democrats alike understand that as a nation we are not strong.
The facts, the fabrications, it is all a matter of perspective. The Center For Pubic Integrity in conjunction with the Fund for Independence in Journalism released a database, False Pretenses which allows users to search terms and locate statements made by the Bush Administration, post-September 11, 2001. The Progressive portion of the public is elated. Finally, there is an archive of information. Those in support of impeachment are satisfied. High crimes and misdemeanors have been documented. Nearly one thousand of these pronouncements are stored in a single place.
President George W. Bush and seven of his administration's top officials, including Vice President Dick Cheney, National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, made at least 935 false statements in the two years following September 11, 2001, about the national security threat posed by Saddam Hussein's Iraq. Nearly five years after the U.S. invasion of Iraq, an exhaustive examination of the record shows that the statements were part of an orchestrated campaign that effectively galvanized public opinion and, in the process, led the nation to war under decidedly false pretenses.
Americans each have taxied to the dark side in recent years. Vice President Cheney, with the blessings of George W. Bush, was our guide. We were the followers. Citizens of the United States claim to care. Yet, collectively, we allow an Administration to torture detainees in Guantanamo Bay and at Abu Ghraib prison. Our fellow countrymen once honored the Rules of the Geneva Convention. This standards are now thought quaint. Americans no longer subscribe to the theory that intentional physical and psychological torment is a abhorrent. Violations of human dignity are accepted, even endorsed.
May I offer my sincerest gratitude to Representatives, Robert Wexler, Luis Gutierrez, and Tammy Baldwin. These glorious members of the House Judiciary Committee, recently raised the volume on the issue of impeachment for Vice President Cheney. The three invite us, the average citizen, to join them. Please express your distress; sign the petition. Call for Hearings. Without you the Vice President will continue to avoid an official and necessary censure.
Please do not stop there. Americans have seen what occurs when we are complacent. For too long Congressman Dennis Kucinich spoke of what many thought obvious, and only a few listened.
Copyright 2007, Paul Kane. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
For the past few years the Bush administration in concert with Congress has led America down a path based on fear backed with little in terms of real facts. As the truth begins to be seen over time we find much of what we were assured was factual in nature was in honest truth distorted or fabricated in many instances. We, the people, were misled into a war of aggression in Iraq. Today we find our military stretched to the limits as the situation collapses before our eyes. Violence within the country continues with attacks against civilian populations on a near daily basis. American deaths are increasing and now exceed 3800. Death of and injury to military contractors are increasing in numbers, too, even though those numbers are not in the news these days.
The lovely and graceful Press Secretary Dana Perino stood before correspondents and the country. She stated, while at war the United States slaughters no guiltless men, women, or children. The innocent are not blameless. They are indeed, the enemy. Young, old, and middle age alike, all once thought to be above suspicion, are now considered terrorist. Friends are foe as Americans endeavor to spread good will and democracy.
John Conyers put impeachment on the table. Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi said to place such a 'distraction' on the table is tantamount to treason. Newly appointed, anointed Pelosi let it be known, there was business to be done and Democrats would do the deeds she deemed necessary. These did not include prosecution of the President or his Vice. Hence, Conyers removed censure from the agenda He had other concerns. His own appointment as Chair to the Judiciary Committee hinged on whether he honored the wishes of the recently selected Speaker.
Once again, all but one of our Democratic Congresspersons demonstrates that they do not fully understand what it means to represent Americans. Dennis Kucinich marches to the beat of a different politico drummer. This Presidential hopeful is a man of the people. Today as he presented a privileged resolution Kucinich echoed the concerns of America. This Administration has lied and caused many to die needlessly. They, the president George W. Bush and the most powerful Vice President ever, Richard Cheney, must be impeached. Nonetheless, fellow Democrats worked to avert the action and debate.
Today is as yesterday was. Some of the players remain the same. Vice President Dick Cheney helped to expand Presidential power three decades ago. Today, he pushes the envelope further. As Americans stand on the brink of self destruction, we might ponder the past. Perhaps we can learn from it. Bill Moyers, of Public Broadcasting Services offers a bit of perspective. He asks us to . . .
Remember"The Lives of Others" - the movie that won this year's Academy Award for best foreign language film . . . a story of life under East Germany's secret police. The critic Roger Ebert said: "The movie is relevant today, as our government ignores habeas corpus, practices secret torture, and asks for the right to wiretap and eavesdrop on its citizens. Such tactics, he said, did not save East Germany; they destroyed it, by making it a country its most loyal citizens could no longer believe in." You want to say it couldn't happen here but we've been close before. During the cold war with the Soviet Union and then the hot war in Vietnam, a secret government mushroomed in this country.
"I just want you to know that, when we talk about war, we're really talking about peace."
~ George W. Bush, June 18, 2002 "War is Peace"
~ Big Brother in George Orwell's 1984
Many believe impeachment is not likely. Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi will not consider it. Presidential candidate John Edwards thinks the process is a distraction. Many Americans forget that until impeachment was proposed and investigations began, there was no evidence to convict Richard M. Nixon. When asked to assess the past people only recall the spectacular. Sex scandals are dicey!
Talk of intimate physical intercourse could stimulate a climatic end to the George W. Bush, Dick Cheney supremacy. However, we do not see love scenes in the making of this President. Under this Bush, it is dark, damp, and dank. This Bush is all about war! George W. Bush has raped the land and ripped the cloth known as the Constitution. Many acknowledge his crimes and the corruption he and his mate Cheney propagate. Yet, since these are not sexual in nature they evoke no censure.
Sit down my child and you shall hear the tale I tell of what was once revered. I know you are sleepy and need your rest. Perhaps, this parable will be the best anecdote for a body too busy to slumber. Close your eyes and count the sheep, as I whisper words that might make you weep. The fable is horrific, as most fantasies are. Nonetheless, my hope is the narrative will bestow great wisdom. When we contemplate the harsh realities of life we learn lessons. There are principles to digest, my darling. Too few discover; too many forget.
On this auspicious occasion, the nominee for America's Attorney General is announced, I cannot help but notice the lack of enthusiasm in the voice of the President of the United States. As the George W. Bush introduced Michael B. Mukasey, it was obvious, he felt no connection to the man he met for the first time only weeks ago.
George W. Bush solemnly noted with little passion the "remarkable" record of the man that stood before him and the nation. Expressionless, the President apathetically proclaimed the Judge brings impressive credentials to the office of Attorney General. Mister Bush selected a candidate that was able to assure allies and appease foes.
Tonight we heard the President speak. George W. Bush prepared this September 13, 2007, speech days in advance. The event was well staged. Our Commander-In-Chief was eloquent in his communication. The environment was controlled. A profoundly Presidential background helped to communicate strength. The media broadcast the message. There was nothing to fear. Perhaps, the White House learned its lesson after another interview. Please peruse the performance presented above. In Ireland, perhaps the Press is still free to think, observe, inquire, and invite explanation.
Might we muse? The leader of the "free world' is no longer welcome in other nations. The image of America now imprinted on minds of men and women worldwide is not what it once was or what Americans might wish it to be. We are considered reckless warriors, without compassion. I ponder. This interview says much of us, of our chosen leader, of our credibility, and of our confrontational manner.
I weep. I wonder. At present, I offer no opinion. I rather read yours. Dear Reader, please express yourself. Share your impressions of an interview banned in America. The text of the speech the President of the United States, George W. Bush, wants you to read and hear is offered below for your review.
I wish I could applaud. I long to feel hopeful. As Congress continues to succumb to the current Administration, I watch all the antics, listen to the rhetoric and cringe again.
The question is often posed. Each day a few Progressives ponder the possibility and offer their plea. Conservatives on the "Right" and "Left' languish when they discuss what may be apt. They state there is no time. Some posit, impeachment will distract a nation at war. Ah, how the White House welcomes that theory. Many dismiss the notion. They question the feasibility. Others are ready, willing, and waiting to start the impeachment proceedings. Rants, rage, reasons fill the air; they flood the airwaves. Cyberspace is clogged with conversations. Congress declares the topic is "off the table." Yet, here it is. Few have stated the rational so concisely. I present the position for impeachment as detailed by the Voice of the Environment. I invite a discussion.
Voice of the Environment's August 9, 2007 advertisement appeared in the San Francisco Bay Guardian, Santa Monica Mirror and New York Times.
Karl Rove, prominent Presidential Adviser, long-time friend, and close associate of President George W. Bush resigned on August 13, 2007. The announcement startled many if not all of us. The news rocked the world and caused much wonder. Politicians and pundits ponder the possible reasons.
The father son relationship is an interesting one. Tales of Oedipal and other oppositions flourish when we speak of Dad and his male offspring. This last June, after Father's Day, a male friend mentioned to me, his children, now parents of their own brood are not as "warm and fuzzy as I might wish them to be." George Herbert Walker Bush, father of the current President George W. Bush may state the same. Indeed, perhaps he implied this at a recent ship launch.
The rivalry theory flared up again last year, at the christening of the Navy's newest Nimitz aircraft carrier, the George H. W. Bush. The president joked that given the ship's qualities - "she is unrelenting, she is unshakeable, she is unyielding" - it should have been named for his mother. The line brought a laugh, but some close to the elder Mr. Bush winced at what seemed a subtle dig.
Please help save an endangered species or ourselves. Assist and secure a natural balance. Scientists warn if we continue as we have, fifty percent of all living species will soon be extinct. We cannot wait for others to do, or undo what we, humankind has done. This entreaty is not meant to address only the dire circumstances of wolves. You have the opportunity to sign two petitions, pleas, asking the current Administration to protect the wolves.
President Bush and members of the administration continue to say America must stay the course in Iraq until victory is achieved. At what cost will that victory be gained one should be moved to ask. As of this morning 3665 American casualties have been reported. Recent reports put the cost of the continuing occupation of Iraq at near $12 billion per month. In addition there are cultural costs with
the disappearance of some of the most important archaeological pieces of all time
and the displacement of various populations within Iraq.
A Bush Aide, William R. Steiger, blocked a report. The Global Health Draft 2006 was rejected. It was not released because the research was deemed politically incorrect. This study detailed a correlation between poverty and poor health worldwide. Steiger realized this information might hurt the Administration, or hinder the Bush Cheney cause. Thus, this man helped to hide what might harm the "right" agenda.
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