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Wisedup (#49.)
Your first question is the killer

‘How much money have you personally made from the war,Mr Cheney?’

I have been wondering about that for a long time,and this leads on very logically to comments by plunger (#39),and once again,I am in complete agreement.It is said that the US is litigation crazy,but I for one sure would welcome a concerted attempt to hit these bastards in the wallet,and hard,and I am of the mind these days that taking the main players in the PNAC(Permanent Negation of American Credibility/Peace,Not A Chance…..) war machine to the financial cleaners is even OK as a gesture of blatant vengeance.

Of course,that would be IN ADDITION to the Impeachment of the Presidunce for his knowingly false references to WMD in the SOTU,AND his “I Am The Law” approach to Warrantless Wiretapping,AND the utter incompetence which he has exercised in domestic affairs,(Instead of having all that talk about government being small enough to drown in a bathtub,couldn’t we have expected that it would have at least been big enough to have prevented the City of New Orleans from drowning in The Gulf Of Mexico ??),AND that crap about Saddam’s alleged role in 911,AND all the other wilful misinformation(aka LIES) over why the war,how goes it and so on.Then of course one could look at Dubya’s frittering away of national resources,(and thereby the increasing of the National Debt) by giving his pals their tax cuts in a similar light to the greasing of the way for Halliburton and all the other repug Cronies.Perhaps you might wish to leave some of the rest for the International War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague(the Unconstitutionality and Illegality inherent in the waging of aggressive war,without UN Security Council approval,oh,yes,and then of course there is the Issue of the Geneva Convention Breaking,UNHCR Ignoring activities in Gitmo/Abu G/Camp Nama,along with various other European and Middle East locations-Secure and VERY Undisclosed-stories of which are somewhat unclear at present,but I am sure the truth will out in time).

I would imagine that for some,participation in such atrocities does eventually prey on the conscience,(if you have one),and I am not sure that all of those currently of the mind to stay silent,will remain that way,whether the system as a whole keeps its dirty secrets or not,there will always be those who are prepared,once their guilt and indignation exceeds their fear or their misplaced sense of “Duty”,to do the decent thing and go public.

The spirit of resistance to government is so valuable on certain occasions,that I wish it to be always kept alive. – Thomas Jefferson

I have been thinking for a while that the resistance to the catalogue of atrocities,deceptions,death and destruction these assholes have wrought in the US and abroad,is a long time coming,at least from the “Opposition” party.FULL CREDIT AND RESPECT,therefore to Russell Feingold,and anyone else who is prepared to make a principled and courageous stand in any way.Sure,we all know that there will be no censure,that on that point,it is very likely that Sen.Feingold will lose,but WHAT there is to gain ?In showing that at least one Democrat is not prepared to stand by and let the NeoCon crazies and criminals pass unchallenged,Sen.Feingold is sending a message out to all who would resist Bushco.JUST DO IT.

As Jane Hamsher opined in her article No Surprise:Poll Shows Feingold’s Popularity Soaring(Huffington Post 17/3)

“Russ Feingold looks pretty damn good for having been the only one to vote against the Patriot Act, and a year hence he (and co-sponsors Barbara Boxer and Tom Harkin) will look even better for having stepped out in the forefront of this because the corruption and mismanagement are only going to become more painfully obvious as the details are unearthed over time.

The question is — who’s going to look good for having stood with him?”

In saying all this though,there is the corollary that the Democrats need to take a swift reality check here.Why are there only 32 names on the motion to Impeach?What is wrong with you guys?What do the Bushies need to do to persuade you that enough is enough,and motivate you to do anything and everything within your capabilities to take this asshole and his cronies down?I sincerely believe that the Democratic Party has,at this juncture,nothing to lose and everything to gain by pursuing a bold campaign based on exposing the problem(as if it needs further exposition),and making firm and credible commitments towards resolving it,and for the number of Dems who supported the war originally,I doubt if any of your supporters or voters would castigate you for now admitting a mistake,or even pointing out that the basis for the decision was a false statement by the Chimp.Either way,the thing which will cause the worst difficulties would be for the Dems NOT to establish a distance between their party,and the activities of their Nation’s Administration these last five years,Vote For Impeachment Now.As Jane Hamsher points out,no one needs to check which way the wind is blowing on this,and surely prevarication here is a much greater danger than boldness.

“Being liberal means one is for civil liberties,equality,social justice,fairness…..How can someone be too liberal?” Dr. P.Z. Myers

Look at the Polls,and tell me how much easier the GOP could make it for you.Tap into the rising tide of discontent which will hopefully wash away the GOP majority in the November Congressional Elections.Bush & Co’s approval ratings are going through the floor,he is out of step with the people,BIG STYLE,and even with sections of his own party.

Make the connection with the majority of people who currently do not share many of the views of your Government.Of these,your own supporters will be energised if they see their leaders making an honourable stand at last.Cast an eye to the expectations of the floating voter(Even if they have political consequences,many of the problems Dubya has caused himself are not of a political nature,after all this is about honour,truth,accountability,competence,the upholding of your Constitution,and even basic compliance with the Law).Show the American people that you hold strong,principled and consistent views on these issues which were so fundamental to your Founders view of the Nation,and this thing should have no difficulty snowballing into something which will cast aside,with no ceremony whatsoever,all the shit which the current White House occupancy stands for.(If in any doubt,consider the impetus given to the Peace Movement in the last 12 months or so by Cindy Sheehan).After that is done can begin the long(VERY LONG) process of recovery and repairing the damage done to your country(and theirs:Oh Why does Bush Hate America so ?)by this bunch of criminals.It will not be easy,America needs to start to move forwards,and before that it needs to cease moving backwards,but even before that,it needs to be taken under the control of those able and willing to instigate that change of direction

All of which brings me to Big Papa #89.YES YES YES.What I REALLY like about your post,BigPapa,is that it deals with the crux of the matter,as you and John in Atlanta correctly observe,this has just been a business venture for the neocons,and their crimes MUST NOT BE SEEN TO PAY.The money which has gone into Halliburton’s and thence no doubt into Cheney’s pockets was the property of the American People,to be spent on those things more necessary than war profiteering,things like
Health,Education,Medicare,maintenance of flood defences,mine safety,alternative energy etc etc,I do not need to make these points here.There is the added fact that in a nutshell,BigPapa,yours is a post which concisely reflects my own opinions over what is the solution to the bastards who are:
1-Asset stripping your country,

2-Riding roughshod over The Constitution and The Law,

3-Breaking The Geneva Convention,

4-Defying EVERY decent and hard fought and won piece of Human Rights legislation,whilst having the outright damned effrontery to criticise the Human Rights Records of other countries,they may sometimes be right,but hey guys,Pots and Kettles,eh ?

5-Sending other people’s children half way across the world to die for their own and their cronies war and oil profits,

6-Neglecting basic infrastructures at home,

7-Debasing your Country and it’s name around the world,

8-Creating instability and fear in The Middle East(Just so they will always have an excuse to keep their Big Guns near all that oil),

9-Hiding behind Religion,and Patriotism to justify their twisted agenda,

10-Risking the future security of the ENTIRE PLANET by their warmongering

and all from the point of view that if things get too hot to handle,well there is always that Secure Undisclosed Location,(Even Chimpy McFlightsuit is not THAT secretive),after all why should they care ?Bush would rather ride his bike,(or has he mastered that Segway yet !!??) than give Cindy S a decent(or in fact any) answer to a perfectly fair and reasonable question.He would rather go to a Birthday Party than attend to the crisis in New Orleans.

“In this world are many like me who have killed their emotions…remember that…“-Shadow,Final Fantasy VI

And a note here for those who still believe Bush as a Christian,go look at your Ten Commandments and see how many of them this administration has left unscathed.

“I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just,His justice cannot sleep forever.“-Thomas Jefferson

What was that one he came out with just after 911 about it matters not whether justice is brought to the guilty,or the guilty are brought to justice…..??

Truth in advertising is so rare these days. Where did I misplace that “liberal media” again? Hmmm…

Comment by John In Atlanta #87

John,

…anyone who doubts this must be done- BEFORE this country can become reunited, and regain its status as a moral leader around the world- is deluding him/herself…

Comment by Marie #20

Marie,

…conservative neocons “CREATE” reality…

They have ALREADY achieved THEIR ulterior goal. Which was to move billion$ of American and Iraqi dollars into their and their corporate supporters’ pockets. All this bickering over lesser issues serves as a distraction from the root of the problem.

TELL A LIE OFTEN ENOUGH AND PEOPLE BELIEVE IT’S THE TRUTH.