Rep. Jay Inslee (D WA-01) calls for Impeachment charges against Alberto Gonzales
RESOLUTION Directing the Committee on the Judiciary to investigate whether Alberto R. Gonzales, Attorney General of the United States, should be impeached for high crimes and misdemeanors.
1 Resolved, That the Committee on the Judiciary shall
2 investigate fully whether sufficient grounds exist for the
3 House of Representatives to impeach Alberto R. Gonzales,
4 Attorney General of the United States, for high crimes
5 and misdemeanors.
Thank you, Rep. Inslee. You, and Patty Murry, owe us after quashing the Bush Impeachment Resolution brought to the Washington State Senate earlier this year. You squished freshman Senator Eric Oemig and his impertinence like a bug.
This action goes a long way in redeeming yourself, Jay. Gonzales is the linch pin that keeps the Bush administration together: He has been involved, to a greater or lesser degree, in almost every over-reaching aspect of this cabal. Your call might be the start of the great unravelling.
Thank you, Jay for this resolution urging the judiciary committee to get a move on. It's about time.
None of the ’08 candidates, or national party leaders, or the congressional leaders, have gone for the gut GOP-style, with something like this:
Grainy slow-motion footage of Osama bin Laden and activity at his training camps. Cue ominous music.
“Six years after Sept. 11, this man still roams free — thanks to George W. Bush and his Republican allies. They promised they would be tough. They promised to protect us here at home. But instead they took their eye off the ball, spending $2 billion a week in a futile war half a world away from our real enemy, imperiling our brave servicemen and women, and emboldening those who would come here to kill us. America can no longer afford the party of weakness. Vote Democratic, as if your life depended on it.”
Oscar, the so-called hospice "Death Cat" of recent fame, appeared in Washington, DC earlier this week. It is reported that he senses a career on life support.
It's not clear, yet, whether or not this Administration is in Contempt of Congress. But, it's getting more clear that Congress is certainly in contempt of this Administration.
When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one portion of the family of man to assume among the people of the earth a position different from that which they have hitherto occupied, but one to which the laws of nature and of nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes that impel them to such a course.
We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men and women are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; that to secure these rights governments are instituted, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. Whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of those who suffer from it to refuse allegiance to it, and to insist upon the institution of a new government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness.
Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and, accordingly, all experience has shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they were accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their duty to throw off such government and to provide new guards for their future security. Such has been the patient sufferance of the women under this government, and such is now the necessity which constrains them to demand the equal station to which they are entitled.
The history of mankind is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations on the part of man toward woman, having in direct object the establishment of an absolute tyranny over her. To prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid world.
He has never permitted her to exercise her inalienable right to the elective franchise.
He has compelled her to submit to law in the formation of which she had no voice.
He has withheld from her rights which are given to the most ignorant and degraded men, both natives and foreigners.
Having deprived her of this first right as a citizen, the elective franchise, thereby leaving her without representation in the halls of legislation, he has oppressed her on all sides.
He has made her, if married, in the eye of the law, civilly dead.
He has taken from her all right in property, even to the wages she earns.
He has made her morally, an irresponsible being, as she can commit many crimes with impunity, provided they be done in the presence of her husband. In the covenant of marriage, she is compelled to promise obedience to her husband, he becoming, to all intents and purposes, her master -- the law giving him power to deprive her of her liberty and to administer chastisement.
He has so framed the laws of divorce, as to what shall be the proper causes and, in case of separation, to whom the guardianship of the children shall be given, as to be wholly regardless of the happiness of the women -- the law, in all cases, going upon a false supposition of the supremacy of man and giving all power into his hands.
After depriving her of all rights as a married woman, if single and the owner of property, he has taxed her to support a government which recognizes her only when her property can be made profitable to it.
He has monopolized nearly all the profitable employments, and from those she is permitted to follow, she receives but a scanty remuneration. He closes against her all the avenues to wealth and distinction which he considers most honorable to himself. As a teacher of theology, medicine, or law, she is not known.
He has denied her the facilities for obtaining a thorough education, all colleges being closed against her.
He allows her in church, as well as state, but a subordinate position, claiming apostolic authority for her exclusion from the ministry, and, with some exceptions, from any public participation in the affairs of the church.
He has created a false public sentiment by giving to the world a different code of morals for men and women, by which moral delinquencies which exclude women from society are not only tolerated but deemed of little account in man.
He has usurped the prerogative of Jehovah himself, claiming it as his right to assign for her a sphere of action, when that belongs to her conscience and to her God.
He has endeavored, in every way that he could, to destroy her confidence in her own powers, to lessen her self-respect, and to make her willing to lead a dependent and abject life.
Now, in view of this entire disfranchisement of one-half the people of this country, their social and religious degradation, in view of the unjust laws above mentioned, and because women do feel themselves aggrieved, oppressed, and fraudulently deprived of their most sacred rights, we insist that they have immediate admission to all the rights and privileges which belong to them as citizens of the United States.
In entering upon the great work before us, we anticipate no small amount of misconception, misrepresentation, and ridicule; but we shall use every instrumentality within our power to effect our object. We shall employ agents, circulate tracts, petition the state and national legislatures, and endeavor to enlist the pulpit and the press in our behalf. We hope this Convention will be followed by a series of conventions embracing every part of the country.
The one photo the GOP does not want anyone to see was snapped at yesterday's NAACP GOP Presidential Candidate Forum. The NAACP invited all 9 Republican candidates to the forum, but only one showed up: Tom Tancredo. All the Democratic Presidential hopefuls showed up for their forum.
"In France, the government is afraid of the people. In America, it's the opposite"
I saw SiCKO last night. It was brilliant.
Moore went to France to speak to a room full of expats living in Paris to discuss the French healthcare system. What he found was a group of people who loved it. "I've found France to be the most family-friendly country around" one woman said. As evidence of this she pointed out that;
All health care is free in France
The doctors will make house calls 24-7... for free.
Sick leave is unlimited - if you're sick, you get time off.
As a new-hire, companies are mandated to provide 5 weeks of vacation when you join
College is free
Parents get regulated, professional day care for about $1 per hour
Parents get respite care - including doing your laundry.
Did the French get this system because they're a bunch of effete intellectuals who need this kind of coddling? On the contrary, they have this system because they're unafraid of their government and realize that it's a tool that they as citizens wield for their benefit.
In this country, the government has no reason to listen to the people. In France, they do. Ask Marie Antoinette.
The US government likes it that we're afraid. They want us ignorant, insecure and demoralized. If we, as individuals, keep our heads down and hope for the best, maybe it'll all work out. This is rarely true.
From Pink Floyd's Sheep Harmlessly passing your time in the grassland away; Only dimly aware of a certain unease in the air. You better watch out, There may be dogs about Ive looked over jordan, and I have seen Things are not what they seem.
What do you get for pretending the dangers not real. Meek and obedient you follow the leader Down well trodden corridors into the valley of steel. What a surprise! A look of terminal shock in your eyes. Now things are really what they seem. No, this is no bad dream.
The lord is my shepherd, I shall not want He makes me down to lie Through pastures green he leadeth me the silent waters by. With bright knives he releaseth my soul. He maketh me to hang on hooks in high places. He converteth me to lamb cutlets, For lo, he hath great power, and great hunger. When cometh the day we lowly ones, Through quiet reflection, and great dedication Master the art of karate, Lo, we shall rise up, And then well make the buggers eyes water.
Bleating and babbling I fell on his neck with a scream. Wave upon wave of demented avengers March cheerfully out of obscurity into the dream.
Have you heard the news? The dogs are dead! You better stay home And do as youre told. Get out of the road if you want to grow old.
On April 26, 1999, at the dedication of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) facility named for him, former President George H. W. Bush said: "We need more protection for the methods we use to gather intelligence and more protection for our sources, particularly our human sources, people that are risking their lives for their country....I have nothing but contempt and anger for those who betray the trust by exposing the name of our sources.They are, in my view, the most insidious of traitors." George H. W. Bush, 41st President of the United States, Remarks at the Dedication Ceremony for the George Bush Center for Intelligence (Apr. 26, 1999).
You should have told that to your kid, Poppy!
Here is the complete text of the lawsuit. (4M PDF) So folks, buck up. The fun ain't over yet. Could there be further chances of perjury charges? Don't know, I ain't a lawyer. This will be interesting regardless.
Melanie Sloan, legal counsel to Joe and Valerie Wilson “First, President Bush said any person who leaked would no longer work in his administration. Nonetheless, Scooter Libby didn’t leave office until he was indicted and Karl Rove works in the White House even today. More recently, the vice president ignored an executive order protecting classified information, claiming he isn’t really part of the executive branch. Clearly, this is anadministration that believes leaking classified information for political ends is justified and that the law is what applies to other people.”
Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, and presidential candidate “This decision to commute the sentence of a man who compromised our national security cements the legacy of an Administration characterized by a politics of cynicism and division, one that has consistently placed itself and its ideology above the law. This is exactly the kind of politics we must change so we can begin restoring the American people’s faith in a government that puts the country’s progress ahead of the bitter partisanship of recent years.”
Sen. Charles Schumer, D-New York “As Independence Day nears, we are reminded that one of the principles our forefathers fought for was equal justice under the law. This commutation completely tramples on that principle.”
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada “The President’s decision to commute Mr. Libby’s sentence is disgraceful. Libby’s conviction was the one faint glimmer of accountability for White House efforts to manipulate intelligence and silence critics of the Iraq War. Now, even that small bit of justice has been undone. Judge Walton correctly determined that Libby deserved to be imprisoned for lying about a matter ofnational security. The Constitution gives President Bush the power to commute sentences, but history will judge him harshly for using that power to benefit his own Vice President’s Chief of Staff who was convicted of such a serious violation of law.”
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-California “The President’s commutation of Scooter Libby’s prison sentence does not serve justice, condones criminal conduct, and is a betrayal of trust of the American people. The President said he would hold accountable anyone involved in the Valerie Plame leak case. By his action today, the President shows his word is not to be believed. He has abandoned all sense of fairness when it comes to justice, he has failed to uphold the rule of law, and he has failed to hold his Administration accountable.”
Sen. Joe Biden, D-Delaware, presidential candidate “Last week Vice President Cheney asserted that he was beyond the reach of the law. Today, President Bush demonstrated the lengths he would go to, ensuring that even aides to Dick Cheney are beyond the judgment of the law. It is time for the American people to be heard — I call for all Americans to flood the White House with phone calls tomorrow expressing their outrage over this blatant disregard for the rule of law.”
Former Sen. John Edwards, presidential candidate “Only a president clinically incapable of understanding that mistakes have consequences could take the action he did today. President Bush has just sent exactly the wrong signal to the country and the world. In George Bush’s America, it is apparently okay to misuse intelligence for political gain, mislead prosecutors and lie to the FBI. George Bush and his cronies think they are above the law and the rest of us live with the consequences. The cause of equal justice in America took a serious blow today.”
New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, presidential candidate “It’s a sad day when the President commutes the sentence of a public official who deliberately and blatantly betrayed the public trust and obstructed an important federal investigation,” said Governor Richardson. “This administration clearly believes its officials are above the law, from ignoring FISA laws when eavesdropping on US citizens, to the abuse of classified material, to ignoring the Geneva Conventions and international law with secret prisons and torturing prisoners.
There is a reason we have laws and why we expect our Presidents to obey them. Institutions have a collective wisdom greater than that of any one individual. The arrogance of this administration’s disdain for the law and its belief it operates with impunity are breathtaking.
Will the President also commute the sentences of others who obstructed justice and lied to grand juries, or only those who act to protect President Bush and Vice President Cheney?”
Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-New York, presidential candidate “Today’s decision is yet another example that this Administration simply considers itself above the law. This case arose from the Administration’s politicization of national security intelligence and its efforts to punish those who spoke out against its policies. Four years into the Iraq war, Americans are still living with the consequences of this White House’s efforts to quell dissent. This commutation sends the clear signal that in this Administration, cronyism and ideology trump competence and justice.”
Stash, The Northwest, resident muck thrower WTF?!?! Everyone expected a pardon near the end of the term. But, this? Now? The goddam ink isn't dry on the judges decision.
First he is stuck in his Iraq Quagmire, then in the waters of Maine. Notice how he's offering as much assistance here as with everything else in which he's involved.
President George W. Bush watches as fishing guide Billy Bush tries to pull up the stuck anchor during a fishing trip Sunday, July 1, 2007 in Kennebunkport, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
Title IX celebrates XXXV years By DONNA A. LOPIANO-Seattle Post-Intelligencer
It's the 35th anniversary of Title IX, the federal law that ignited opportunities for girls in sports. OK, I remember 1972 pretty well. I could tell you I was barely out of diapers, but the fact of the matter is I was 25.
I was about to begin my career in athletic administration and I remember thinking about girls and women in sports -- how far we've come, how far we have to go -- and never would I have dreamed that:
A coach of a women's team would be paid a $1 million salary -- much less more than one (Pat Summit at the University of Tennessee and Gail Goestenkors of the University of Texas-Austin).
Women would be playing professional soccer and basketball -- much less win World Cups and Olympic gold medals and become household names like Mia Hamm, Julie Foudy, Sue Bird and many more.
A woman would be an astronaut -- much less a nationally ranked tennis player (Sally Ride).
The president of Gatorade would be a woman -- much less an All-American swimmer and softball player at Yale University (Sue Wellington, now retired).
The U.S. secretary of state would have been a competitive ice skater -- much less an accomplished pianist (Condoleezza Rice).
As we enter a society where these imaginations are now reality, we need to create a culture that encourages girls to be strong and active. By the age of 17, a girl will see 250,000 television commercials that portray her as a decorative or sex object. The times they are a changin.' Thirty five years ago, I could not have imagined a television program like "Dancing With the Stars," much less a female athlete performing on the show and needing knee surgery because of the intensive training for those performances.
But I am learning. I can now imagine a female president of the United States who used to be a respectable field hockey player. The whole article
With SCOTUS' recent butchering of Brown v. Board of Education on race, can spending on gender be far behind? More spending on women's sports led to the women's great showing in Atlanta in '96 and Brandi Chastain's moment (and ours, of course) in the sun in '99.
