Impeaching President Bush and Co.

United States Constitution, Article II, Section 4

"The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors."

The movement to impeach President George W. Bush has been around for a while now, but this is the beginning of the end, as prominent lawmakers and politicians are taking an interest in the issue.

Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson, before a Washington state Senate panel, called on Congress to restore the country's moral standing and commitment to democracy by ousting President Bush. Anderson spoke on the issue by saying "never before has there been such a compelling case for impeachment and removal from office of the President of the United States."Anderson was one of four people invited to testify for an impeachment resolution sponsored by Democratic state Sen. Eric Oemig. The nestse calls for Congress to investigate whether Bush and Vice President Dick Agendy should be removed from office. Democrats in Congress have said they are not interested in pursuing impeachment. U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-Wash) commented on the issue by saying "I have two words for anyone who want to impeach the President: Dick Cheney."

According to a new report in Esquire Magazine, Senator Chuck Hagel (R-NE) has suggested that Congress may consider the impeachment of President Bush before his term ends. Hagel stated that the President is "not accountable anymore". Hagel is not the first Senator to call for or suggest Bush's impeachment, but this is coming from a conservative Republican from a safe Senate seat in a reddish state.
In his speech, Rocky Anderson listed some of Bush's alleged crimes, such as lying about the nuclear threat posed by Iraq; misleading Americans into believing Iraq tried to buy uranium from Africa; falsely claiming that Saddam Hussein bought aluminum tubes to gain weapons-grade uranium; launching an illegal was against Iraq; violating human rights, committing was crimes and undercutting U.S. Moral standing by condoning torture, kidnapping and incarceration without charges; authorizing unconditional warrantless wiretapping of U.S. citizens.

It has thoroughly been noted that the single biggest disadvantage of impeaching Bush is his successor, Vice President Dick Cheney. Thus, it would make sense to impeach both of the for the same crimes, possibly throwing in a few other prominent White House officials, notably Karl Rove. One must keep in mind that Dick Cheney might actually be the biggest evil of all the White House officials. If Bush were to be impeached before his term is over, the Order of Presidential Succession decrees that The Vice President (Dick Cheney) is next in line, followed by The Speaker of the House (Nancy Pelosi),
The President pro tempore of the Senate (Robert Byrd),
The Secretary of State (Condoleezza Rice),
The Secretary of the Treasury (Henry Paulson),
The Secretary of Defence (Robert Gates),
The Attorney General (Alberto Gonzales).
This scenario would bring the United States to an unprecedented situation where the United States would see it's first female Head of State, even before the possibility of Hillary Clinton being the Democratic frontrunner in the 2008 Presidential Elections: Nancy Pelosi, the first female Speaker of the House, a Democrat.

ImpeachForPeace.org lists a comprehensive list of President George W. Bush's crimes and abuses of the law.

ILLEGAL WAR

Bush intentionally misled the Congress and the public regarding the threat from Iraq in order to justify a war against Iraq, intentionally conspired with others to defraud the United States in connection with the was against Iraq in violation of title 18 United States Code, Section 371 [EVIDENCE]

ILLEGAL SPYING

Bush has admitted to ordering the National Security Agency (NSA) to conduct electronic surveillance of American civilians without seeking warrants from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review, in violation of Title 50 United States Code, Section 1805. [EVIDENCE]

GENEVA CONVENTION VIOLATIONS

Bush comprised to commit the torture of prisoners in violation of the "Federal Torture Act" Title 18 United States Code, Section 113C, the UN Torture Convention and the Geneva Convention, which under Article VI of the Constitution are part of the supreme Law of the Land.Bush also comprised to deny due process to prisoners of war, indiscriminantly bomb cities, transfer prisoners of war from an occupied territory, and planned, prepared, initiated and waged a war of aggression in violation of U.S. military Code Section 2441, Geneva Convention (I Article 3, II Article 18, Article 19, III Article 13, Article 17, Article 33, Article 34, Article 49, VI Article 3), and the 1945 Nuremberg Principles Articles 6(a) and (b). [EVIDENCE]

ILLEGAL DETENTION

Bush acted to strip Americans of their constitutional rights by ordering indefinite detention of citizens, without access to legal counsel, without charge and without opportunity to appear before a civil judicial officer to challenge the detention, based solely on the discretionary designation by the Presiden of a U.S. citizen as an "enemy combatant", all in subversion of law. [EVIDENCE]

ILLEGAL RELEASE OF CLASSIFIED INFORMATION

Bush authorized the leaking of classified national secrets to further a political agenda, exposing an unknown number of covert U.S. intelligence agents to potential harm and retribution while simultaneously refusing to investigate the matter. [EVIDENCE]

ILLEGAL FREEZING OF ACCOUNTS AND RESTRICTION TO FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY

Bush ordered the freezing of financial accounts without limit to how groups were chosen to be on such a list, and also ordered himself the power to create blacklists of any indivi he felt was associated with the aforementioned groups. Thereby creating a system of "guilt by association." [EVIDENCE]

ILLEGAL USE OF SIGNING STATEMENTS

Bush attached signing statements to more that one hundred bills before signing them, within which he has made over eleven hundre challenges to provisions of laws passed by Congress, a figure that exceeds the total number of such challenges by all previous presidents combined, and has used this practice to exempt himself, as President of the United States, from enforcing or from being held accountable to provisions of said laws. By declining to veto even bills, and instead attaching signing statements challenging hundreds of laws passed by Congress, he has sought to exempt the executive branch from accountability to said laws, thereby violating Article I, Section 7 and Article II, Section 3 of the U.S. Constitution. There articles of the Constitution dictate that the President has the option of signing or vetoing a bill, and upon signing the bill to "take care that the laws be faithfully executed." [EVIDENCE]

Which brings up to the million-dollar question: why has America waited this long, and why is Bush still in office? Bill Clinton was impeached by the House (but acquitted by the Senate) for perjury and obstruction of justice arising from the Lewinsky scandal; Richard Nixon left office (while still pardonable) after the House Judiciary Committee had reported articles of impeachment to the floor, as a result of the Watergate scandal which would have led to him being impeachment and conviction. Even a casual glance at Bush's and the Administration's growing list of infractions, offences, and other abuses of the law committed since taking office clearly brings to light the massive injustices of the Bush Administration. (I'll get to that soon...) And let's not forget the gross mistakes and bad political decisions, such as the Abu Ghraib, the handling of the aftermath of Katrina, the horrible treatment of injured soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical, and the purging of U.S. Attorneys who wouldn't play ball, among many many others. (Let's not forget about the federal deficit which stands at 221 trillion, or making life worse for the poor in America by cutting funding for Medicare...)

Compare Nixon, Clinton, and Bush. Which one has done more harm for the United States, better yet, the world? Nixon had his Vietnam, Clinton had Kosovo, and Bush has Afghanistan, Iraq, and the whole War on Terror, which may possibly include Iran and North Korea. Right now, the economy is in a bad state, the average American is witnessing a decline in services and even personal rights, domestic catastrophies such as Katrina are being left behind foreign policy agendas, Bush has brought Iraq to the brink of a civil war (you might as well argue that the situation in Iraq is already a fullblown civil war), and to top it off, think about the American troops who are probably the ones getting the short end of the shrinking stick. They are doing their jobs, to the best of their abilities, yet they are overstretched and underpaid, forced to fight for a political (failing) agenda. Instead of defending a nation or even a principle, there men and women in uniform are sent straight to a place with thousands of insurgents who are only there to do one thing: kill Americans. The Bush Administration has made the U.S. Armed Forces a mere political tool. They aren't in Iraq or Afghanistan to protect America. They're there to manifest Bush's grandiose political plans and pursue an unachievable goal. All this while risking their lifes, not for Bush, but for America. See the conflicting ideals? And how does the Administration and Bush show their appreciation and support for these troops? By sending the injured to roach-infested hospital wards, and deploying the injured back to Iraq.
George W. Bush has repeatedly proved himself to be incapable of leading a nation. His actions have exposed his abuses of power and gross infractions of U.S. and International laws. Bush is unfit to lead

The can only be one conclusion: the American citizens and Congress must exercise their constitutional right to impeach and convict each and every incompetent member of the Bush Administration, while the people still possess some rights.

Sources:
Salt Lake Tribune - Send Bush packing, says Rocky
Think Progress » Hagel Suggests Possibility Of Bush Impeachment: 'He's Not Accountable Anymore'
Impeach Bush for Peace
Impeach Bush
Impeachment in the United States - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Order of Presidential Succession - Infoplease.com
Constitutional Basis For Impeachment
Charges and Evidence regarding the Impeachment

US Intelligence Hot On Bin Laden's Trail, Again/Still...

Armed with fresh intelligence, the CIA is moving additional troops and equipment into Afghanistan and Pakistan in an effort to find Osama bin Laden and his deputy Ayman al Zawahri, playing down doubts that the trail for bin Laden has gone cold.

Wait, haven't they been "hot" on his trail for over 5 years now?

It seems that concerning Bush's War on Terror, a bin Laden, alive and well, taunting the United States from some cave in a far off land is more beneficial to the terror doctrine than a bin Laden rotting in jail or six feet under. It's the classic comic book superhero/archnemesis scenario: On one hand you have the superhero, protecting society from evil; on the other hand you have the supervillain, the superhero's archnemesis, who the superhero persistantly engages in battle, fending off his minions all the time; at times the archnemesis sits back to plan his next move, whilst the superhero spends everyday fighting evil, be it small crooks or other supervillains; the archnemesis strikes at those closest to the superhero, which makes the public beg for the superhero to come and save the day; before the final battle, the public loses love for the superhero for his methods and behavior; the superhero can't attain victory over his archnemesis and the public until the very end of the saga.

Now let's translate that into today's world: Bush is the superhero, Osama is Bush's archnemesis; The War on Terror drags on relentlesly; The United States and Bush battles Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups all the time; Osama has been in hiding for years; The Bush Administration engages in battle everyday against insurgents, terrorists, as well as rogue states and their leaders such as Iran and Ahmadijaned, and North Korea and Kim Il Jon; Osama attacks American soil, American troops around the world as well as American targets, not forgetting Bush's allies; the public rallies behind Bush, sending his approval rating up after the 9/11 terrorist attacks; the ensuing and faltering wars in Afghanistan and Iraq pull Bush's approval rating way down; the hunt for Osama bin Laden continues as time begins to run out before Bush's tenure in office is over.

With Bush's second and final term in the White House drawing to an end, it's time for the superhero to catch his archnemesis. With the known capabilities of the US intelligence agencies and military forces (in addition to the capabilities the public isn't aware of), one would have thought that finding one man wouldn't be too difficult. Maybe it's not time to find him yet. Maybe the Bush Administration has a really good, solid idea of where Osama is at any given moment. Catching Osama right before the 2008 Presidential Elections would be a giant victory for the Republicans, rallying more support and votes, as well as saving Bush's legacy, making him forever the man who caught Osama bin Laden, the devil himself. If Osama is caught by US forces within the next few years, especially around the summer of 2008, the long and arduous hunt for Osama bin Laden will have been a mere political game. Think about it. It makes sense.

By the way, although Osama bin Laden might really be a supervillain, Bush's archnemesis, I am not suggesting George W Bush is a superhero in any sense of the term.

Sources:
CIA Rushing Resources to Bin Laden Hunt - The Blotter
http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2007/03/cia_rushing_res.html (via Digg)

http://digg.com/world_news/USA_hot_on_Bin_Laden_s_Trail

Bush Announces New Aid To Latin America - What About America?

Just days prior to his five-nation tour of Latin America, US President George W Bush announced that the United States will expand U.S. aid for education, health care and housing in the region. His "message is simple: the United States has not forgotten its neighbours to the south." Bush said that "the working poor of Latin America need change and the United States is committed to that change."

If you've been following the news in the past weeks, these issues have truly been in the news lately. Not concerning Latin America, but in the United States.

A great percentage of the American public want change in the American health care system, many wishing for universal health care. Medicare and Medicaid saw their budgets cut for the 2008 fiscal year. Wounded soldiers returning from overseas duty in Iraq and Afghanistan have been ill-treated, poorly compensated for injuries suffered in the line of duty protecting the nation and patriotically following the Bush Administration's agenda in Iraq. The poor received a break from the Democrat-led Congress in the form of higher minimum wage, which sceptics say will possibly lead to more layoffs and unemployment, as small businesses see their profits fall. The American education system needs more funding to educate to future of the United States to the best of their abilities. All this while the United States spends some $100 million every 12 hours in Iraq. (Newsweek) On top of it all, the surge on Baghdad isn't producing results, but rather more American casualties (9 US soldiers killed today in Baghdad).

At the very least the Bush Administration and the republicans are showing a humanitarian side, although one could argue that this is mainly concerning the legacy of the dwindling Administration, as it seems almost certain the next Administration will be led by the Democrats.

One would think that issues at home would be more important in securing America's stance in the world's eyes in the coming years, as the current administration's foreign policies have significantly increased the anti-American sentiment all over the world.

Bush's trip to Latin America comes at a time when Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is stirring up more anti-American sentiment in the region. So is Bush's announcement and trip to Latin America merely a PR stunt, trying to keep key allies favourable to the U.S.? Do keep in mind that many of these nations Bush plans to visit are oil-producing nations, as well as hosts to many American corporations and vital economic partners.

PR, legacy, oil, money and such aside, the aid to Latin America, although a relatively noble thing for the world's wealthiest nation (a gesture which should be taken for granted), the announcement comes at a time when there are numerous other problems at home and in other parts of the world where the United States continues to battle. I am not saying the US should shun it's neighbours to the south, but rather also, in addition to extending a helping hand to those less prosperous in other countries, the United States should shift its primary aid focus on its own people, making the lifes of those who the President represents easier and more align with the image of American prosperity. Keep in mind that this is the man who the rest of the world considers America's representative. What he does, people think this is the mood and beliefs of the entire nation. There's still a long time until November 2008...

Source:
VOA News - Bush Announces New Aid for Latin America
http://www.voanews.com/english/2007-03-05-voa51.cfm