A few highlights:

“No philosophy or political party has a monopoly on patriotism.”

“What makes America great has never been its perfection, but the belief that it can be made better…. [W]e can be governed by laws, not men, …we could be equal in the eyes of those laws; …we could be free to say what we want and assemble with whomever we want, and worship as we please; … we could have the right to pursue our individual dreams, with the obligation to help our fellow citizens pursue theirs.”

“Patriotism is always more than just loyalty to a place on a map, or a certain kind of people…. It’s also loyalty to America’s ideals…. It is the application of these ideals that separates us from… Zimbabwe… Burma…. or Iraq….”

“Patriotism can never be defined as loyalty to any particular leader, or government, or policy. As Mark Twain… once wrote, ‘patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.’ That’s what patriotism is. That’s what patriotism is.”

“When our laws, when our leaders, or our government are out of alignment with those ideals, then the dissent of ordinary Americans may prove to be one of the truest expressions of patriotism.”

“Recognizing a wrong being committed in this country’s name, insisting that we deliver on the promise of our Constitution, these are the acts of patriots, men and women who are defending what is best in America, and we should never forget that, especially when we disagree with them, especially when they make us uncomfortable with their words. That’s part of the American tradition. That’s part of why we are proud to be Americans.”

“It is our responsibility as Americans and as parents to instill that history in our children, both at home and at school. The loss of quality civic education from so many of our classrooms has left too many Americans without the most basic knowledge of who our forefathers are or what they did, or the significance of the founding documents that bear their names. Too many children are ignorant of the sheer effort, the risks and sacrifices made by previous generations to ensure that this country survived war and depression through the great struggles of civil and social, and workers’ rights. it is up to us then, too teach them. It is up to us to teach them that even though we have faced great challenges and made our share of mistakes, we have always been able to come together to make this country stronger, and more prosperous, and more united, and more just. And sometimes to teach them that America has been a force for good in the world, and that other nations and other peoples have looked to us as the last best hope on earth.”

That’s what patriotism is. That’s what patriotism is.

Happy Independence Day, everyone.

BB,

Vivienne

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Rep. Dennis Kucinich has filed articles of impeachment with Congress and Robert Wexler  has co-sponsored.

Though the argument against impeachment is that it is too late, millions of people across the United States feel that the principle of justice, the preservation of our Constitution, and the prevention of a nuclear war with Iran before November are more important than “political timing.” “Impeachment is necessary.” says Stephen Heller. “It is not a matter of politics, of right versus left, Democrat versus Republican. Rather, it is a matter of law. The current administration has repeatedly violated the Constitution and civil law. If there is no accountability for these violations, then why have a Constitution? Why have laws?” “Without impeachment hearings, the full spectrum of the crimes of the Bush administration may never be known,” notes Barbara Bowley, “and many of the incursions it has made on our democratic society will be hidden in the legal and bureaucratic structures they have developed….. [F]or the sake of the maintenance of our democracy, we must impeach this administration.” Richard Mathews points out that “[u]sing impeachment to get Bush out of office is not what is most important since he is going out anyway. I want to see him impeached even if it happens on his last day in office because we need to set a precedent that this abuse of power will never be considered acceptable.” Bush’s arrogance and hatred for our democracy must be punished. “It is unthinkable” says Tobi Dragert, “to have a president who calls the Constitution, the same one he sends our young men and women to kill and die for, ‘just a goddamned piece of paper.’” (emphases added).

Among the crimes of which Bush stands accused:

Article IX: Failing to Provide Troops With Body Armor and Vehicle Armor

Article X: Falsifying Accounts of US Troop Deaths and Injuries for Political Purposes

Article XIV: Misprision of a Felony, Misuse and Exposure of Classified Information And Obstruction of Justice in the Matter of Valerie Plame Wilson, Clandestine Agent of the Central Intelligence Agency

Article XV: Providing Immunity from Prosecution for Criminal Contractors in Iraq

Article XVII: Illegal Detention: Detaining Indefinitely And Without Charge Persons Both U.S. Citizens and Foreign Captives

Article XVIII: Torture: Secretly Authorizing, and Encouraging the Use of Torture Against Captives in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Other Places, as a Matter of Official Policy

Article XIX: Rendition: Kidnapping People and Taking Them Against Their Will to “Black Sites” Located in Other Nations, Including Nations Known to Practice Torture

Article XX: Imprisoning Children

Article XXIV: Spying on American Citizens, Without a Court-Ordered Warrant, in Violation of the Law and the Fourth Amendment

Article XXV: Directing Telecommunications Companies to Create an Illegal and Unconstitutional Database of the Private Telephone Numbers and Emails of American Citizens

Article XXVI: Announcing the Intent to Violate Laws with Signing Statements

Article XXVII: Failing to Comply with Congressional Subpoenas and Instructing Former Employees Not to Comply

Article XXVIII: Tampering with Free and Fair Elections, Corruption of the Administration of Justice

Article XXIX: Conspiracy to Violate the Voting Rights Act of 1965 

and many others totaling 35 articles of impeachment, any one of which would be enough to impeach. The full text of all 35 articles can be found here. Call your congressman today to demand he or she supports Rep. Kucinich’s articles, or sign the petition in support found here.

As an additional note, according to Robert Wexler, on June 20th, 2008 at 10AM, Scott McClellan,  author of

What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington’s Culture of Deception
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and Former White House Press Secretary, has agreed to give sworn testimony as he has been called to do by Judiciary Committee Chairman Conyers.

There is hope for justice yet.

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 Part 1:

 Part 2:

Part 3:

Part 4:

Tags: Current Events, Politics, Religion, Vivienne D'Avalon by Vivienne D'Avalon
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In the summer of 2007 Harriet Myers and Joshua Bolton, two key players in the Bush administration, were held in contempt of Congress for refusing to appear to testify regarding the U.S. Attorney firings, in defiance of a congressional subpoena requiring them to do so. The Bush administration is claiming executive privilege.

John Conyers, the chairman of the House Judiciary, then filed a resolution that was passed on Feb. 14, authorizing the filing of a civil suit to enforce the subpoenas if Michael Mukasey, the attorney General, would not do so.

Just yesterday, on Feb. 28, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi sent a letter to Jeffrey Taylor, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia. “Taylor is required by law to bring the matter before a grand jury. However, Mukasey has indicated that the Justice Department intends to prevent Taylor from complying with the law.” So Pelosi also sent a letter to Attorney General Michael Mukasey stating: “If, however, you intend to persist in preventing Mr. Taylor from carrying out his statutory obligation to present this matter to the grand jury in the District of Columbia, we respectfully request that you inform us of that decision within one week from today, so that the House may proceed with a civil enforcement suit in federal district court.” The full text of both letters can be found here.

Let us hope that Speaker Pelosi and the House Judiciary Committee are successful in holding these two members of the Bush administration accountable, and that they no longer get away with flouting the law.

BB,

Vivienne

Tags: Current Events, Government, Politics, Vivienne D'Avalon by Vivienne D'Avalon
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