Ready for war...

"We have nothing to fear from the Iranians," Amiram Levi told me. "If they become too much of a threat we can deal with them just as we dealt with the Iraqis when they tried to build a nuclear bomb."

Amiram, a 20-year-old computer science student at Tel Aviv University, was of course referring to the daredevil raid made by Israeli fighter jets against Iraq's Osirak nuclear reactor in 1981, which destroyed at a stroke Saddam Hussein's dreams of turning his country into a nuclear superpower.

Most Israelis believe their country will do the same again if the outside world fails to call a halt to Iran's controversial uranium enrichment programme, which few in Israel doubt is ultimately aimed at giving the ayatollahs a nuclear weapons arsenal to fulfil Ahmadinejad's pledge to erase the Jewish state from the map.

Having already suffered a near-apocalypse in the form of the Holocaust, the Jewish people have no intention of being the hapless victims of Ahmadinejad's genocidal designs. Ehud Olmert, the Israeli Prime Minister, last month gave his most explicit warning to date that Israel was prepared to use military force to prevent Teheran from obtaining a nuclear weapon: "The Jewish people, with the scars of the Holocaust fresh on its body, cannot afford to allow itself to face threats of annihilation once again."

That single sentence sums up the consensus among most of the Israeli people. If the wider world is not prepared to take pre-emptive action to stop Iran from fulfilling its nuclear ambitions, then Israel is ready to act alone.

Source: Ready for war Uk News News Telegraph

Technorati tags: Israel, Iran, nuclear proliferation, nuclear weapons, war on Iraq, war, news, politics

How U.S. Is Failing Its War Veterans

The US has always failed it's war veterans. Back in the late 70's and early 80's I had a very good friend who was a social worker at a VA hospital in NYC. She would tell me about the awful conditions and systemic failure to provide adequate care for the then Vietnam Vets that needed mental health care. I guess some things never change...

Schulze, who earned two Purple Hearts for wounds sustained in Iraq, was initially reluctant to turn to the VA. Raised among fighters—Schulze's father served in Vietnam and over the years his older brother and six stepbrothers all enlisted in the military—Jonathan might have felt asking for help didn't befit a Marine.

But when the panic attacks got to be too much, he started showing up at the VA emergency room, where doctors recommended he try group therapy. He resisted; he didn't think hearing other veterans' depressing problems would help solve his own. Then, early last month, after more than a year of anxiety, he finally decided to admit himself to an inpatient program. Schulze packed a bag on Jan. 11 and drove with his family to the VA center in St. Cloud, about 70 miles away. The Schulzes were ushered into the mental-health-care unit and an intake worker sat down at a computer across from them. "She started typing," Marianne says. "She asked, 'Do you feel suicidal?' and Jonathan said, 'Yes, I feel suicidal'." The woman kept typing, seemingly unconcerned. Marianne was livid. "He's an Iraqi veteran!" she snapped. "Listen to him!" The woman made a phone call, then told him no one was available that day to screen him for hospitalization. Jonathan could come back tomorrow or call the counselor for a screening on the phone.

When he did call the following day, the response from the clinic was even more disheartening: the center was full. Schulze would be No. 26 on the waiting list. He was encouraged to call back periodically over the next two weeks in case there was a cancellation. Marianne was listening in on the conversation from the dining room. She watched Jonathan, slumped on the couch, as he talked to the doctor. "I heard him say the same thing: I'm suicidal, I feel lost, I feel hopelessness," she says. Four days later Schulze got drunk, wrapped an electrical cord around a basement beam in his home and hanged himself. A friend he telephoned while tying the noose called the police, but by the time officers broke down the door, Schulze was dead.

CONTINUED

Source: How U.S. Is Failing Its War Veterans - Newsweek National News - MSNBC.com

Technorati tags: Iraq, Iraq war, soldiers, war veterans, US, news

US generals ‘will quit’ if Bush orders Iran attack

I wonder if this is true? Can they resign? Why aren't generals and admirals subject to the same laws as the troops that serve under them? Soldiers can't resign.

SOME of America’s most senior military commanders are prepared to resign if the White House orders a military strike against Iran, according to highly placed defence and intelligence sources.

Tension in the Gulf region has raised fears that an attack on Iran is becoming increasingly likely before President George Bush leaves office. The Sunday Times has learnt that up to five generals and admirals are willing to resign rather than approve what they consider would be a reckless attack.

“There are four or five generals and admirals we know of who would resign if Bush ordered an attack on Iran,” a source with close ties to British intelligence said. “There is simply no stomach for it in the Pentagon, and a lot of people question whether such an attack would be effective or even possible.”

Source: US generals ‘will quit’ if Bush orders Iran attack-News-World-Iraq-TimesOnline

Technorati tags: Bush, Iran, war, USA, politics, news, opinion

Iran "ready for war"

Adam Fresco and Agencies

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said that there is no stopping his country's work to produce nuclear fuel, comparing it to a train with no brakes, as as the United Nations Security council meets this week to discuss further sanctions.

One of his deputy foreign ministers is also reported as warning that the country is ready for any scenario it its nuclear row with the West, “even for war” as the country announced it had launched a rocket into space.

Mr Ahmadinejad said: “Iran has obtained the technology to produce nuclear fuel and Iran’s move is like a train ... which has no brake and no reverse gear,” according to Iran’s student news agency ISNA.

Manouchehr Mohammadi, an Iranian deputy foreign minister, echoed the tough talk, saying the Islamic Republic, which is accused by the West of trying to build nuclear weapons, was ready for any possible scenario.

“We have prepared ourselves for any situation, even for war,” Mr Mohammadi was quoted as saying at a conference in the central city of Isfahan.

“If they issue a second resolution, Iran will not respond and will continue its nuclear activities,” he said.

Source: Iran "ready for war" in nuclear sanctions row-News-World-TimesOnline

Technorati tags: Iran, nuclear weapons, politics, news

Impeach07 Launched, States Push Impeachment, Cheney Indictment?

Impeach07 Campaign Launched The impeachment movement is uniting and expanding. Democrats.com is joining with many other organizations to launch Impeach07, a coordinated series of nationwide actions aimed at impeaching Bush and Cheney through widespread public protest, creative dissent, media activism, education, and lobbying: http://www.impeach07.org Bush and Cheney have misled this nation into an aggressive war, spied in open violation of the law, and sanctioned the use of torture - among numerous other offenses. Newsweek reported in October that a majority of Americans favor impeachment, and in January that 58% said they wished the Bush administration were over. "Only a great popular upheaval," historian Howard Zinn said recently, "can push both Republicans and Democrats into compliance with the national will." We need to end the Iraq War and prevent an Iran War, and impeachment is the way we will do it. On March 17, the anniversary of the start of the Iraq war (and the 40th anniversary of the famous 1967 March on the Pentagon), Impeach07 will mobilize for a March on the Pentagon to demand peace and impeachment: http://www.marchonpentagon.org On March 18-20, Impeach07 will organize local events for peace and impeachment around the country: http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/event Impeach07 is also planning: A "Make Hip Hop, Not War" bus tour promoting peace and impeachment on March 19 - April 21: http://www.hiphopcaucus.org A boycott of major corporations that are profiting from the Bush administration's policies, making a killing off of killing, on April 15- 22: http://www.wearenotbuyingit.org And a nationwide day of protest: Impeachment Day, April 28, 2007: http://www.a28.org Initial participating organizations represent hundreds of thousands of antiwar, military family, peace, youth and women activists and lawyers. They include After Downing Street, Backbone Campaign, Center for Constitutional Rights, Citizens Impeachment Commission, CODE PINK Women for Peace, Constitution Summer, Consumers for Peace, Democrats.com, Democracy Rising, Gold Star Families for Peace, Green Party of the United States, Hip Hop Caucus, Impeach the President, ImpeachBush.org, Military Free Zone, National Lawyers Guild, Patriotic Response to Renegade Government, Progressive Democrats of America, Independent Progressive Politics Network, Velvet Revolution, and World Can't Wait: Drive Out the Bush Regime. http://www.impeach07.org NM Leads State Race to Send Impeachment Resolution to Congress House rules allow impeachment to begin with a Resolution from one state legislature. Three states have begun the process - NM, WA, and VT - and NM has an early lead... 1. New Mexico's resolution (SJR 5) cleared its first hurdle last Friday when it passed the Rules Committee on a unanimous 5-0 vote. Citizens turned out in force and gave powerful emotional appeals for impeachment. Incredibly, not a single Republican showed up to defend Bush! (Is that a signal that Republicans want to quietly help Democrats impeach Bush before the 2008 election to avoid a repeat of the 2006 GOP wipeout?) The NM bill must clear two more committees before it goes to the full Senate. Video and details here: http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/nm http://impeachbush.tv/impeach/state_nm.html 2. In Washington State, Senator Eric Oemig's Resolution (SJM 8016) will have its first hearing on March 1. Activists led by "state-at-home mom" Linda Boyd will hold a rally for impeachment and investigations in Olympia on the Capitol steps in at 1:00 p.m. Video and details here: http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/wa http://impeachbush.tv/impeach/state_wa.html 3. In Vermont, Rep. Daryl Pillsbury's resolution (JRH-15) has 22 co-sponsors, with 75 needed for passage. State legislators are getting heavy anti-impeachment pressure from Vermont's Members of Congress, so a strong grassroots movement is urgent. Cindy Sheehan and John Nichols will barnstorm VT for impeachment from March 2-4. Audio and details here: http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/vt http://impeachbush.tv/impeach/state_vt.html The main argument against state (and local) resolutions has been that states (and towns) should not get involved in national policy. Of course states have always been involved - state legislatures actually appointed U.S. Senators until 1913, and have always weighed in on national issues. Right now 20 legislatures are considering resolutions against Bush's escalation in Iraq. It's time for all state legislatures to call for the impeachment of Bush and Cheney! _________________________ Scooter Libby Lied to Cover Up Cheney's Crimes - Impeach Cheney First! "There is a cloud over the Vice President," special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald told the jury in the Scooter Libby trial. Libby lied to Fitzgerald in 2003 to cover up Cheney's direct role in outing covert CIA operative Valerie Plame by having his staff leak her identity to reporters. And why did Cheney "out" Plame at great damage to the CIA's war on terror? Because her husband Joe Wilson had exposed Bush's State of the Union Big Lie about Iraq trying to buy uranium from Niger - a lie that was thoroughly debunked by the CIA but included in the SOTU at the insistence of Dick Cheney's neocon agent on the National Security Council. Based on the evidence revealed at the Libby trial, Emptywheel has written a detailed indictment of Cheney for his direct role in outing Valerie Plame: http://thenexthurrah.typepad.com/the_next_hurrah/2007/02/indicting_dick_.html We certainly hope Fitzgerald will prosecute Cheney: http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/022107A.shtml But even if he doesn't, Emptywheel provides more than enough evidence for Congress to begin Cheney's impeachment. Sign our petition to Impeach Cheney First: http://www.democrats.com/peoplesemailnetwork/73 If you received this from a friend, you can subscribe at: http://archive.democrats.com/elandslide/subscribe_module.cfm?campaign=ads

Support Our Troops*

By Mike Luckovich , Atlanta Journal-Constitution
© Cartoonist Group, 2006

Source: Support Our Troops*

Technorati tags: political cartoons, cartoons, political satire, politics, soldiers, troops

Politics by Ann Telnaes

Source: Welcome to goComics Web Site featuring Ann Telnaes - Online Comics, Editorial Cartoons, Email Comics, Political Cartoons

Technorati tags: politics, news, political cartoons, cartoons, humor

150+ cities organizing for March on the Pentagon, March 17!

I'm going to this protest (unless I have to have surgery...then I can't)...are you going?

Over 150 cities are organizing buses, vans, car caravans and anti-war trains to bring people from across the country to March on the Pentagon in Washington DC on Saturday March 17!

Click for details about buses from across the U.S.

The National Office of the A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition has received an enormous response from people all around the country who are planning to travel to Washington DC to march on the Pentagon on the 4th anniversary of the start of the criminal invasion of Iraq.

Huge numbers will come from every major city on the East Coast, Midwest and South - New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Boston, Detroit, Chicago, Cleveland, Atlanta, Birmingham, Charlotte and elsewhere - and from many smaller cities. Gulfport, Mississippi; Muskogee, Oklahoma; and New Bedford, Massachusetts are just a few of the cities organizing for this demonstration. People will be driving from as far away as Denver, Colorado - a 26 hour drive to DC.

Until Wednesday: 30% Off NYC Bus Tickets!

Tickets for buses from New York City can still be purchased now online at a 30% reduced price! Click for details on how you can purchase tickets for buses from New York City online, by phone or in person.

Click on this link for details about buses from across the U.S.

If you are organizing transportation and are not yet listed, fill out the March 17 Transportation Form.

More ways to get involved:

• Donate
• Download flyers and other promotional materials
• Endorse
• Student organizing

Make sure you’ve read these important recent updates:

• Soldiers, veterans, and soldiers' families sign antiwar letter for March on Pentagon
• Free Speech Victory! Permits Secured for Pentagon Protest
• Youth & Student organizing for March on Pentagon

Your donation is urgently needed for the March on the Pentagon

Please make an urgently needed donation today. We must immediately raise funds to pay for the sound and stage at Constitutional Gardens and at the Pentagon and for the hundreds of thousands of flyers, stickers and posters that are being disseminated in nationwide outreach. Please make a much needed online donation, or click for information to write a check.

Source: A.N.S.W.E.R.

Technorati tags: activism, peace protests, protests

This is not 1938, Iran is not Nazi Germany

This is not 1938, Iran is not Nazi Germany

Found 10 hours ago on

haaretz.com

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Sunday rejected any comparison between the international community's handling of Iran's nuclear program and its policy of appeasement toward Nazi Germany in 1938. In the interview, Rice said Israel's relationship with Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas ...

Source: This is not 1938, Iran is not Nazi Germany

Technorati tags: Iran, politics, government, Israel, opinion, news

Big Easy to Big Empty

Brasscheck TV

What really happened in New Orleans?

Tomorrow is Mardi Gras in New Orleans.

It's the big festival that comes before Lent, traditionally forty days oflight fasting and self-denial beforebefore Easter.

Today, while people the world overcelebrate "Carnival," let's feast on the rarest commodity in America today, a little bit of truth.

It's a pretty safe bet these daysthat if a story appears on thefront page of the newspaper, you can assume the facts have been 100% spun, distorted and manufactured.

* Weapons of mass destruction?

* Bush won the 2000 election?

* The 9/11 plot was hatched in a caveand carried out with box cutters?

All total and complete BS, but that'swhat the modern mass media reports - and they're sticking to their story.

Here's another one for you...but first a simple multiple choice quiz:

You are a federal agency.

You observe by air reconnaisance that the levee system of major America city is in the process of collapsing endangering the lives of many tens of thousands of people.

What do you do?

A. Nothing

B. Report it immediately to local public safety officials so they can alert citizens and rescue workers

C. Delay telling local officials fortwelve hours

D. Delay informing the locals so you can figure out how best to spin the story - and meanwhile let hundreds ofpeople drown to death.

If you picked D, you understand America today.

Details: http://www.brasschecktv.com/page/79.html

A video from GregPalast.com

This excerpt of Greg Palast's "Big Easy to Big Empty" also appears on "Food Music Justice", a web site for people who care about the people of New Orleans.
If you want to know what's really going on in New Orleans and how you can help, please visit:
http://www.FoodMusicJustice.com

Source: Big Easy to Big Empty

Technorati tags: politics, causes, media, video, Brasscheck TV, indie, independent media, alternative media

Weapons used in Iraq come from the US

Weapons used in attack in southeastern Iran come from U.S.: report 18 Feb 2007 Explosive devices and arsenals used in a terrorist attack in the southeastern Iranian city of Zahedan on Wednesday came from the United States, the semi-official Fars news agency reported on Saturday. Relevant documents, photographs and film footage, which show that the explosives and arsenals used in the attack were American, would soon be made public, an "informed source" was quoted as saying.

Source: Citizens for Legitimate Government - Index

Technorati tags: Iraq, weapons, Iraq war, war on terror, news Corp, opinion

Who can stop the war?

Trailer for the film "Sir! No Sir!"

It's a little known fact, but it was the GIs who ultimately shut down the Vietnam War.
There's nothing the military hates more than a widespread mutiny. And that's exactly what they were facing in the latter half of the war. Many informed analysts believe this was the true cause of the US withdrawal from Vietnam.
Can history repeat itself?

Source: Who can stop the war?

Technorati tags: media, war on Iraq, anti-war, war, Iraq

"Senate gridlocks on Iraq war resolution"

the government isn't listening at all... I was watching "A Huey P. Newton Story" by Roger Guenveur Smith around the time they were voting today. I highly recommend this film...especially during times like these. I know I'm justified in my anger toward the establishment. Although, I do disagree with violence as a means to evoke change...I wonder how long the American people will continue to allow their government to act in it's own best interests and not the people they are supposed to represent...

WASHINGTON - The Senate gridlocked on the Iraq war in a sharply worded showdown Saturday as Republicans foiled a Democratic bid to repudiate President Bush’s deployment of 21,500 additional combat troops.

The 56-34 vote fell four short of the 60 needed to advance a nonbinding measure identical to one the House passed Friday. Seven GOP senators broke ranks, compared with only two during an earlier test on the issue.

Democrats swiftly claimed victory. “A majority of the United States Senate is against the escalation in Iraq,” said Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada. “As for the Republicans who chose once again to block further debate and protect President Bush, the American people now know they support the escalation” in troops.

Source: Senate gridlocks on Iraq war resolution - Politics - MSNBC.com

Watch "The War Tapes"

Democracy for America and TrueMajority Action have united to keep the pressure on the President and Congress to not only stop the escalation, but end the occupation and bring our brave men and women home.

Attend a screening of The War Tapes and after the movie we’ll send postcards to our senators demanding action.
Straight from the front lines in Iraq, The War Tapes is the first war movie filmed by soldiers themselves. You have never seen film like this before. The film is powerful and moving conveying both the passion and mindset of American soldiers and the incredible human and community cost of war. There is little wonder why the film won Best Documentary at the Tribeca Film Festival. You will leave this movie more motivated than ever to end the occupation and bring our troops home.

(click on this link to find a screening near you... )

Source: DFA-Link: Search events

Technorati tags: soldiers, media, The War Tapes, DFA, Democrats, Democrats for America

DoD Deployment Accerated

DoD Deploys 1,000 Troops As House Passes Resolution Condemning Troop Surge --Army Unit's Deployment Accelerated 16 Feb 2007 The 3rd Infantry Division Headquarters, based in Fort Stewart, Ga., will deploy to Iraq sooner than originally scheduled, DoD officials announced today. The unit was scheduled to begin its deployment in June, but will now begin its deployment in March. This three-month acceleration affects about 1,000 servicemembers.

Source: Citizens for Legitimate Government - Index

Technorati tags: army, Citizen's for Legitimate Government, DefenseLink, war, news, opinion

"Pakistani Official: Taliban insurgency becoming 'liberation war'"

I agree...it is...

Pakistani official: Taliban insurgency becoming 'liberation war' 16 Feb 2007 Taliban-led insurgents are winning ever-greater public support in Afghanistan for a struggle that is taking on the character of a "liberation war" against foreign troops, a senior Pakistani official claimed Friday. [It is.]

Source: Citizens for Legitimate Government - Index

Technorati tags: insurgents, insurgency, Pakistan, Taliban, freedom, liberation, news, Citizen's for Legitimate Government

The Forgotten Families

Grandparents raising slain soldiers' children are denied a government benefit intended to sustain the bereaved.

The Forgotten Families

By Donna St. George
The Washington Post

Her daughter was killed by a bomb in Iraq. Eight months later, Susan Jaenke is both grief-stricken and strapped - behind on her mortgage, backed up on her bills and shut out of the $100,000 government death benefit that her daughter thought she had left her.

The problem is that Jaenke is not a wife, not a husband, but instead grandmother to the 9-year-old her daughter left behind. "Grandparents," she said, "are forgotten in this."

For the Jaenkes and others like them, the toll of war can be especially complex: They face not only the anguish of losing a son or daughter but also the emotional, legal and financial difficulties of putting the pieces back together for a grandchild.

They confront this without the $100,000 "death gratuity" that military spouses ordinarily get - a payment intended to ease the financial strain as families await government survivors' benefits.

"It really does get complicated for them," said Joyce Raezer of the National Military Family Association. The load of responsibilities placed on that generation - both during deployment and if a service member is injured or killed - "is a huge issue."

The case of Petty Officer 2nd Class Jaime S. Jaenke, a Navy construction-battalion medic killed last June in Anbar province, is particularly striking because she was a single parent who clearly meant to assign her mother the benefit. Jaenke, 29, filled in her mother's name on a form and carefully spelled out her wishes in a letter.

But by law, the $100,000 benefit goes first to a spouse or a child. So 9-year-old Kayla Jaenke collects the $100,000 - plus $400,000 in life insurance - after she turns 18, leaving Susan Jaenke to ask, "What about the next nine years?"

In some other families, the $100,000 death benefit has gone to neither the children nor the grandparents who are raising them.

(more... )

Source: The Forgotten Families

Technorati tags: soldiers, troops, society, government

Anne Telnaes on troop withdrawal...

Source: Welcome to goComics Web Site featuring Ann Telnaes - Online Comics, Editorial Cartoons, Email Comics, Political Cartoons

Technorati tags: troops, troop withdrawal, Iraq, cartoons, political cartoons, political humor, humour

What about November 7th???

Source: GoComics-Editorial Cartoons, Comics, Political Cartoons

Technorati tags: political cartoons, political humor, humour, cartoons

Murtha Is Democrats' Face in Iraq Debate

By mid-March, Democratic Congressman John Murtha will offer legislation that he says would set such stringent rules on combat deployments that Bush would have no choice but to begin bringing troops home.

Representative Murtha, a decorated Marine, proposing bill to force troops home.

Washington - Rep. John Murtha is quickly emerging as one of President Bush's most formidable foes in the Iraq war debate.

Many Democrats, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, match Murtha's fiery opposition to Bush's policies. But the Marine combat veteran's prowess on military matters, strong relationships with Republicans and - most important - control of the Pentagon's spending bills has put him at the forefront of the debate.

The Pennsylvania Democrat is leading the charge among members of his party to end the war by limiting funding. That fight, which will probably be waged next month, is expected to overshadow this week's battle over a nonbinding resolution opposing Bush's troop buildup.

Part kindly Irish Catholic grandfather and part political pit bull with two Purple Hearts in his pocket, Murtha seems the Democrats' best chance of using the budget to curtail the war without appearing to be leaving troops in the lurch.

"Many of the roads (in Congress) lead through Murtha," said Darrell West, a political science professor at Brown University. "So Bush has to deal with him."

Murtha retains clout among his Democratic colleagues, especially on defense issues, despite losing a postelection challenge to Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., to become majority leader. Hoyer and Pelosi, D-Calif., have tapped Murtha to address caucus meetings on the issue of the war and used him to assure the more liberal members of their base that Democrats will do everything they can to bring troops home.

So far, Democrats and Republicans alike are listening closely.

"Do most people have enormous respect for Mr. Murtha? Oh, yes," said Pelosi.

By mid-March, Murtha will offer legislation that he says would set such stringent rules on combat deployments that Bush would have no choice but to begin bringing troops home.

His legislation would dictate how long troops can stay, the equipment they use and whether any money could be spent to expand military operations into Iran. Murtha says few units could meet the high standards he envisions, meaning Bush's plan to keep some 160,000 troops in Iraq for months on end would be thwarted.

Under his plan, he says, Democrats would be helping and not hurting troops by making sure they have what they need before being thrown into combat.

"This vote will be the most important vote in changing the direction of the war," Murtha, D-Pa., told an anti-war group in an interview broadcast on the Internet Thursday.

"The president could veto it, but then he wouldn't have any money," he later said.

(more... )

Source: Murtha Is Democrats' Face in Iraq Debate

Technorati tags: John Murtha, Iraq war, Iraq, Iraq debate, Democrats, The Way Out

The Decider

By Matt Wuerker , The Politico
© Cartoonist Group, 2006

Source: The Decider

Technorati tags: political humor, political cartoons, cartoons, humor, The Politico, Matt Wuerker

Soldiers and veterans' sign antiwar letter for March on Pentagon

Soldiers, veterans, and soldiers' families issue
anti-war statement supporting March on the Pentagon.

Darrell Anderson, Iraq War Veteran, Iraq War Resister, and Anita Dennis (L), his mother.

You can make a big difference in building support for the March on the Pentagon by circulating the letter below to family members, friends, neighbors, and co-workers. It is a letter signed by active-duty service men and women, and families with loved ones who have served or are serving in Iraq, and veterans of past and present wars, who support the March on the Pentagon on March 17, 2007.

If you are a soldier, veteran or affected family member, please sign the letter below. And all of us can support this letter by circulating it and getting other soldiers, veterans and family members to sign.

Click to sign the letter on MarchOnPentagon.org

Soldiers, veterans, and soldiers' families
issue statement in support of March on the Pentagon
Sign on by filling out the form below the statement!

"Why we are marching on the Pentagon"

We, active-duty service men and women, and families with loved ones who have served or are serving in Iraq, and veterans of past and present wars, support the March on the Pentagon on March 17, 2007 to say: "Stop the War -- Bring the Troops Home Now." On that day, the Iraq war will become the second longest in U.S. history, after only the Vietnam war. The war is an unmitigated disaster for the people of Iraq and the people of the United States. Hundreds of thousands of Iraqis have been killed and Iraq society torn apart. More than 3,100 U.S. soldiers have died and "non-mortal casualties" are nearing 55,000. The cost of the war is now over $8 billion per month, $280 million per day, $12 million per hour. All of this death, suffering and loss for a war justified by lies and deception.

Despite overwhelming public opposition, expressed through the November elections and in countless opinion polls, the Bush Administration and the Pentagon have decided to escalate the war. Escalation will only mean a deepening spiral of death, destruction and wasted resources. We call for the troops to come home, not be redeployed for some other military adventure and for the war funding to be used to provide accessible education, job training and comprehensive health care.

A growing number of families with loved ones in Iraq are now questioning the reasons they are there. Every death or life-changing injury devastates a family, friends and the community they come from. Every redeployment means months more of worry. For veterans of previous wars there are disproportionate numbers of suicides, homelessness, and untreated illnesses. Is there any reason to think that the veterans of the current war won't face the same fate? We are outraged that Bush, who talks endlessly about “supporting the troops,” has proposed cutting funds for the Veterans Administration in his new budget

It is for these reasons that active duty service members, their families and veterans can and must play a vital role in ending this unjust war. Join us at the Pentagon on Saturday, March 17!

(click to sign...)

Soldiers and veterans' sign antiwar letter for March on Pentagon

Technorati tags: anti-war, activism, Iraq war, Iraq, war, soldiers, protests

my new favorite quote...

"My goal in life is to survive. Everything else is just a bonus." - The Lockhorns - View more Random Quotes...

Source: Random Quotes

Technorati tags: quote, quotations, life

"Congress Must Act on Iraq"

Congress Has No Choice But to Act on Iraq

By Reps. Lynn Woolsey, Barbara Lee and Maxine Waters
Roll Call

Thursday 15 February 2007

As leaders of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and Out of Iraq Caucus, we are proud that the House has begun to take up the moral dilemma of our times - our continued military occupation of Iraq. Congress finally will have the opportunity to express its disapproval of President Bush's escalation plan, a flawed strategy piled on a 4-year-old failed policy.

By deepening our engagement, escalation will further stoke the fires of civil war in Iraq while increasing the cost to Americans in lives, limbs and treasure.

The political battle lines are clear: On one side we have a bipartisan Congressional majority, roughly two-thirds of the American people, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Iraq Study Group and former military leaders such as Colin Powell. On the other: an unpopular, lame-duck president; too many Congressional Republicans; and the editors of The Weekly Standard - all of whom are willing to accept more American casualties in the name of a policy that is making us less secure and damages our standing in the world.

(more...)

Source: Woolsey, Lee and Waters Congress Must Act on Iraq

Technorati tags: activism, Iraq war, Iraq, anti-war, politics, opinion

TomPaine.com - Cue the Smear Machine

Paul Waldman

February 13, 2007

Paul Waldman is a senior fellow at Media Matters for America and the author of the new book, Being Right is Not Enough: What Progressives Can Learn From Conservative Success. The views expressed here are his own.

In June of 2004, I wrote a column for The Gadflyer asking why the right wing seemed so slow in getting its machinery of anger and innuendo aimed at presumptive Democratic nominee John Kerry. “Where are the anti-Kerry books?” I asked. “The conspiracy theories? The intimations of murder and drug-running? The maniacal ravings of the unhinged Right we've come to know and love?” Before long, of course, they got their act together, and Kerry never recovered from the blizzard of lies told by the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth and other assorted conservative dirty tricksters.

We all know how early the 2008 presidential campaign has begun. It is nearly a year before the first primary vote will be cast, and the smear machine is already taking aim at the Democratic contenders, hoping to replicate the successes it had in torpedoing the last two Democratic nominees and hamstringing Bill Clinton’s presidency. But it isn’t just the candidates that are readying themselves for a campaign that will be longer and more arduous than ever before. And what about the reporters who have so often been the right’s gleeful partners? There are reasons for both hope and concern.

In their repugnant book The Way to Win, ABC News political director Mark Halperin and John Harris of The Politico (and formerly of The Washington Post ) explain that, as journalists, “Matt Drudge rules our world.” In other words, when Drudge—a right-wing operative who closely coordinates his activities with the Republican National Committee—puts up a sensational story on his website, Halperin, Harris and the rest of their cohorts simply have no choice but to run off and cover it, whether it is true or not. What’s that, you say? Barack Obama once killed a man in a barfight? John Edwards is a pedophile? Hillary Clinton knows where Bin Laden is, but won’t say because they’re lovers? Run that baby! After all, “questions are being raised.”

(more...)

Source: TomPaine.com - Cue the Smear Machine

Technorati tags: Tom Paine, propaganda, elections, voting, opinion, blogs

Al Franken as Senator?

sounds good to me. I wonder how the people of Minnesota will feel...

MINNEAPOLIS - Comedian Al Franken said Wednesday he will run for U.S. Senate in 2008, confirming his long-suspected plans to seek the Democratic nomination to challenge Republican Sen. Norm Coleman.

Franken’s announcement came on the final day of his radio show on Air America. The former “Saturday Night Live” performer’s celebrity instantly makes him a heavyweight contender and brings national attention to the Minnesota race.

“Minnesotans have a right to be skeptical about whether I’m ready for this challenge, and to wonder how seriously I would take the responsibility that I’m asking you to give me,” Franken said in a video clip posted on his Web site.

“I want you to know: nothing means more to me than making government work better for the working families of this state, and over the next 20 months I look forward to proving to you that I take these issues seriously,” Franken said in a transcript of the clip.

Source: Al Franken jumps into Senate race - Politics - MSNBC.com

Technorati tags: politics, news, Senate, Minnesota, Al Franken, opinion

Bush: 'I intend to do something' about Iran...

By Rex Nutting

Last Update: 11:43 AM ET Feb 14, 2007

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Insisting he isn't angling toward another war in the Middle East, President Bush said he intends "to do something" about the Iranian presence in Iraq that's harming U.S. troops. At his first news conference of the year, Bush said he knows Iranian forces have provided bombs to insurgents in Iraq, but doesn't know whether Tehran's "top echelon" ordered it. Last weekend, anonymous U.S. officials told reporters in Baghdad that Iran's leaders were responsible for the bombs. Bush said U.S. troops in Iraq are counting on Congress to approve the funds they need. Bush said a U.S. pullout would lead to the collapse of the Iraqi government, which would be "disastrous" for the American people.

(more... )

Source: Bush: 'I intend to do something' about Iran presence in Iraq - MarketWatch

Technorati tags: Iran, Bush, Iraq war, war on terror, Iraq, news, politics, opinion, propaganda

Powell tried to push Iran talks in 2003 and ‘couldn’t sell it at the White House.’

'couldn’t sell it at the White House'?...in other words, it didn't work for the propaganda machine...

Former Bush National Security Council official also says Rice likely lied about not seeing document

Former Bush National Security Council official Flynt Leverett, speaking on Wednesday at a forum held by the New America Foundation, told a crowd in a Senate office building that in 2003 then-Secretary of State Colin Powell received a “grand bargain” offer from Iran and was rebuffed by the White House, RAW STORY can reveal.

“I know as a fact from multiple sources this went all the way up to Secretary Powell,” Leverett said, citing multiple sources at the State Department and the NSC. “In [Secretary Powell’s] words, he ‘couldn’t sell it at the White House.’”

Source: The Raw Story Powell tried to push Iran talks in 2003 and was rebuffed, former official says

Technorati tags: Iran, Colin Powell, The White House, government, propaganda

"Shut Up And Stop The War"

Of course, it could be worse. Just look at the Senate, where the debate is over whether or not to have a debate on a nonbinding resolution that "opposes" the escalation while affirming eternal support for the war. This is a sad state of affairs for a Senate in which a strong majority of members claims to oppose the escalation. But the escalation has already happened, and the White House is focusing on the next war.

A growing number of representatives favor real action. The 71-member Progressive Caucus favors ending the war in six months. Congress members Lynn Woolsey of California, Jim McGovern of Massachusetts and Jerrold Nadler of New York each have bills that would use the power of the purse to end the war. (In the Senate, Russ Feingold of Wisconsin has a bill to do the same.) Last week, Pelosi assured Congresswomen Woolsey, Barbara Lee of California and Maxine Waters of California that committees would soon address these and other bills opposing the war, and that the sponsors of the bills would be given time to discuss them during weekly Democratic Caucus meetings.

If members of Congress could hear the public's reaction during the endless speeches this week, more members would find the nerve to do more than talk. Toward that end, numerous peace organizations, including United for Peace and Justice and Progressive Democrats of America, are promoting a national call-in day today. The After Downing Street coalition sent out this message:

De-Escalate! Investigate! Ask your Congress member to oppose the escalation and support Woolsey's, McGovern's, or Nadler's bill to stop funding the war. And tell your Congress member you want an investigation into the lies that were used to launch this war. Phone and fax numbers for your Congress member: http://www.democrats.com/congress.

Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada are big proponents of an idea they credit to the Republicans, but which they themselves repeat more than anyone else in Washington: the idea that ending the war by defunding it will somehow harm U.S. troops. What will harm U.S. troops is keeping them in Iraq. Bringing them home will keep them alive. And the money needed to bring them home is minimal in comparison with the funds being used to keep them there.

McGovern has rewritten his bill, and Nadler and Woolsey have specifically written their bills to address the nonsensical idea that by bringing the troops home Congress would be putting them in harm's way. Nadler's bill avoids the charge of "cutting off funds" by instead limiting funds to only two uses: 1) protecting troops, and 2) withdrawing. The first of the two is simply in there to repel the Pelosi-Reid argument. The only meaningful way to protect the troops is to withdraw them.

If none of these bills pass in the next month or two, Congress will have a choice of ending the war or funding its continuation by means of an emergency supplemental spending bill. (There's another one of these "emergency" bills already in the works for 2008.) If the Democrats can't manage to defeat that bill, they can attach amendments to it that limit the funds to withdrawal or otherwise improve the bill. But Pelosi and Congressman John Murtha of Pennsylvania are aiming quite low. Murtha has proposed including a provision banning the Pentagon from sending troops without adequate training and equipment. This is, of course, supposed to be a "pro-troop" proposal. But it's secretly supposed to, almost accidentally, end the war, because Murtha claims no units meet the requirement.

Source: TomPaine.com - Shut Up And Stop The War

Technorati tags: politics, war, Iraq war, anti-war, opinion

If You Question Us...

By Nick Anderson , Houston Chronicle
© Cartoonist Group, 2006

Source: If You Question Us...

Technorati tags: politics, Bush, government, war on terror, Iraq war, Iraq, war, cartoons, political humor, political cartoons

"Discovering What Democracy Means"

Have we all lost our vision? I wonder as I read this oped piece by Bill Moyers if most people in America are totally blind to what they don't know, or what they don't want to know?

As we face that challenge even today, a story about Helen Keller is worth remembering. Toward the end of her career, as she was speaking at a Midwestern college, a student asked: “Miss Keller, is there anything that could have been worse than losing your sight?” Helen Keller replied: “Yes, I could have lost my vision.”

Source: TomPaine.com - Discovering What Democracy Means

Technorati tags: democracy, opinion, editorial, Bill Moyers, politics

Bush's Toy Soldiers

look now people the dog even knows we're in deep sh*t...



By Mike Luckovich , Atlanta Journal-Constitution
© Cartoonist Group, 2006

Source: Bush's Toy Soldiers

Technorati tags: cartoons, political humor, political cartoons, Iran

‘An Average Joe’ explodes

watch as society implodes upon itself...

“His expression stayed totally calm. He didn’t seem upset, or like he was on a rampage,” said Smith, who crawled to an employee restroom to hide with others. He looked like “an average Joe,” she said.

Killed in the attack were two 28-year-old women, a 52-year-old man, a 24-year-old man and a 15-year-old girl, Snyder said. Four people were hospitalized — a man and a woman in critical condition and two men in serious condition, Snyder said.

Source: Officer called hero after Utah rampage - Crime & Punishment - MSNBC.com

Technorati tags: news, society, opinion

"No evidence Iran is arming Iraqis"

all it takes is a few good men to remember their honor is to their country and it's people...not to the group of spin doctors that call themselves our leaders...

JAKARTA, Indonesia - A top U.S. general said Tuesday there was no evidence the Iranian government was supplying Iraqi insurgents with highly lethal roadside bombs, apparently contradicting claims by other U.S. military and administration officials.

Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said U.S. forces hunting down militant networks that produced roadside bombs had arrested Iranians and that some of the material used in the devices were made in Iran.

“That does not translate that the Iranian government per se, for sure, is directly involved in doing this,” Pace told reporters in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta. “What it does say is that things made in Iran are being used in Iraq to kill coalition soldiers.”

Source: U.S. general: No evidence Iran is arming Iraqis - Conflict in Iraq - MSNBC.com

Technorati tags: Conflict in Iraq, news, Iran, Iraq war, Iraq, US, anti-war

a quote on the people and their leaders...

"Why, of course, the people don't want war ... the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. " - Hermann Goering
http://www.snopes.com/quotes/goering.htm

what's new online: http://reddit.com/

The Media Escalates Its Lies about Iran

the propaganda machine...all a matter of a few words...

The headline on the AP story mentioned above reads "U.S. Considers Proof About Iran: Government Weighs How Much to Divulge About Iraq Connection." The authors of the piece, Katherine Shrader and Anne Gearan, assure us that there is 200 pages of proof, but that sadly and inexplicably it's classified. Of course, "No one who has seen the files has suggested the evidence is thin." Another way to say this might be: "No one who would suggest the evidence was thin has been permitted to see the files." It sounds less impressive that way though.

Source: AlterNet: MediaCulture: The Media Escalates Its Lies about Iran

Technorati tags: media, news, opinion, propaganda, government, Iran

They refuse to be identified?

If "they" refuse to be indentified then I refuse to believe a word "they" say. I learned a long time ago not to believe anything "they" say and pay attention to the facts. In turn, it has become increasingly obvious to me that "they" are very much the purveyours of the propaganda machine that constantly misleads the American people into wars. The propaganda machine is a terrorist act against the American people. The fear that it installs in us is worse than any foriegn nation can make us feel. This is our country terrorizing us ( YES, us the American People ) by lies and manipulations into yet another conflict? I don't know about you but, I refuse to let my rich uncle fiddle with my mind. Our government is akin to an abusive, incestuous uncle who always thinks he'll get away with it. Because he always does. It's time for us to stop him.

Bush and 3 of the geniuses behind Iraq soil America's Medal of Honor.

On Sunday, "under unusually secretive circumstances," three US officials attempted to show that Iran was aiding the insurgency in Iraq. That is to say, the three Defense and Intelligence officials would not allow their identities to be made public.

Source: AlterNet: Blogs: PEEK: Bush's masked men make case for attacking Iran...

Technorati tags: opinion, political opinion, oped, politics, Iran, news

March 17 -- March on the Pentagon!

Introducing the March on the Pentagon
Saturday, March 17, 2007

~ 40th anniversary of the historic 1967 march on the Pentagon ~
~ 4th anniversary of the start of the Iraq war ~

On March 17, 2007, the 4^th anniversary of the start of the criminal invasion of Iraq, tens of thousands of people from around the country will descend on the Pentagon in a mass demonstration to demand: U.S. Out of Iraq Now! 2007 is the 40^th anniversary of the historic 1967 anti-war march to the Pentagon during the Vietnam War. The message of the 1967 march was "From Protest to Resistance," and marked a turning point in the development of a countrywide mass movement.

In the coming days and weeks, thousands of organizations and individuals will begin mobilizing for the upcoming March on the Pentagon. Organizing committees and transportation centers are being established to bring people to the March on the Pentagon.

The March 17 demonstration will assemble at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial (Constitution Gardens) at 12 noon in Washington, D.C.and march to the Pentagon.

Click here to read the full ANSWER statement on why we're marching.

Initial endorsers include:

Ramsey Clark, former U.S. Attorney General
Maxine Waters, Congresswoman
Alice Walker, Pulitzer prize winning author
Cynthia McKinney, Congresswoman
Cindy Sheehan, co-founder Gold Star Families for Peace, author
Ron Kovic, Vietnam Veteran, author, Born on the 4th of July
Malik Rahim, Founder, Common Ground Collective, New Orleans
Bishop Thomas Gumbleton, Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit
Paul Haggis, Director of Crash, 2005 Academy Award for Best Picture
Elias Rashmawi, National Coordinator, National Council of Arab Americans (NCA)
Howard Zinn, Author, A People's History of the United States
Rev. Luis Barrios, St. Mary's Church
Heidi Boghosian, Executive Director, National Lawyers Guild
Chaplain James Yee, former Army chaplain, Guantánamo Detention Center
Mahdi Bray, Executive Director, Muslim American Society Freedom Foundation
Father Roy Bourgeois, Founder, School of the Americas Watch
Leonard Weinglass, Attorney for the Cuban Five
Eric LeCompte, National Office, School of the Americas Watch
Mara Verheyden-Hilliard, Co-founder, Partnership for Civil Justice
Brian Becker, National Coordinator, ANSWER Coalition
Mounzer Sleiman, TV commentator and Vice Chair, National Council of Arab Americans
Waleed Bader, Vice chair of the National Council of Arab American, Chair of NCA NY/NJ Chapter, Former President of Arab Muslim American Federation - NY
Ben Dupuy, Co-Director, Haiti Progres
Juan Jose Gutierrez, Executive Director, Latino Movement USA
Calvin Gipson, Former President, San Francisco LGBT Pride Committee
Rev. Graylan Hagler, Senior Pastor, Plymouth Congregational Church, Washington D.C
Kay Lucas, Director, Crawford Peace House, Crawford, TX
Iglesia de San Romero - United Church of Christ
Claudia de la Cruz, Director, Dominican Women’s Youth Development Center
Chuck Kaufman, Co-coordinator of the Nicaragua Network
Al Garcia, Alliance for a Just & Lasting Peace in the Philippines
Macrina Cardenas, Mexico Solidarity Network
Eugene Puryear, Howard University, student leader
Gloria La Riva, Coordinator, National Committee to Free the Cuban Five
CAAAV: Organizing Asian Communities
Nodutdol for Korean Community Development
Iglesia de San Romero - United Church of Christ
Da Urban Butterflies
KAWAN: Korean Americans Against War and Neoliberalism
Justice Committee
Ed Asner, Actor
Shirley Knight, Actor
Debra Sweet, National Coordinator, World Can't Wait -- Drive Out the Bush Regime
Jennifer Harbury, Human Rights Lawyer, author
United Teachers of Los Angeles (UTLA)
Jim Lafferty, Director, National Lawyers Guild - Los Angeles
James Petras, Professor Emeritus, SUNY Binghamton (State University of New York)
Mimi Kennedy, Actor (Dharma & Greg)

Source: March 17 -- March on Pentagon!: March on the Pentagon

Technorati tags: politics, protests, activism, peace protests, March on the Pentagon, the Pentagon

Israel testfires anti-missile system in 'message' to Iran

1 hour, 51 minutes ago

JERUSALEM (AFP) - Israel carried out a successful night-time test of its Hetz (Arrow) anti-missile missile system in what public television described as a "message to Iran".

The defence ministry confirmed the test-firing, the first since December 2005 when the military announced the system was fully operational.

"This test-firing was aimed at checking the functioning of the Hetz at night and in extreme conditions against a ballistic missile," a ministry statement said. "All the system's components worked perfectly."

Public television said that a Hetz fired from the Palmahim base, south of the commercial capital Tel Aviv, intercepted a missile fired from a high-altitude aircraft, the television said.

Public radio said the missile firing was designed to imitate Iran's Shahab-3, which has a range sufficient to reach Israel.

Army radio noted that the firing coincided with the Iranian regime's celebrations for the anniversary of its overthrow of the Western-backed shah in the 1979 Islamic revolution.

For the first three years after its launch in 1988, the United States paid 80 percent of the Hetz project's cost, but now the costs are shared equally.

Since the 2003 overthrow of Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq, the project's primary focus has been Iran, which Israel now sees as its main threat.

Source: Israel testfires anti-missile system in 'message' to Iran - Yahoo! News

Technorati tags: politics, news, Israel, Iran, war

Call Congress on Tuesday

Call Congress on Tuesday

The U.S. House of Representatives begins a debate on Iraq policy on Tuesday, February 13th. Democrats.com and AfterDowningStreet.org are joining with United for Peace and Justice, Progressive Democrats of America, and other groups in creating a national call in day on Tuesday. Our simple message is "De-Escalate, Investigate." Ask your Congress Member to oppose the escalation and support Woolsey's, McGovern's, or Nadler's bill to stop funding the war and bring our troops home safely. And tell your Congress Member you want an investigation into the lies that were used to launch this war.
Phone and fax numbers for your Congress Member:
http://democrats.com/congress

Also please call Senator Carl Levin and thank him for the hearing he held on Friday at which the Inspector General of the Pentagon admitted that the Pentagon had cooked the intelligence to help start the war. Republican committee members complained that the Inspector General had not interviewed Stephen Hadley, Scooter Libby, or Condoleezza Rice, and Levin said not to worry, that he would question them. Encourage him to send the subpoenas now, and to include Cheney!

Senator Carl Levin: (202) 224-6221.

Technorati tags: congress, Iraq war, war, activism

Impeach Cheney First

Vice President Cheney was a key architect of the illegal and disastrous invasion of Iraq. Behind the scenes, Cheney was in charge of assembling bogus "evidence" of weapons of mass destruction, both by "stovepiping" evidence from paid liars and by visiting the CIA to personally intimidate analysts who disputed those lies. In public, Cheney uttered the Administration's most egregious and bald-faced lies, especially about Iraq's non-existent nuclear program. When his nuclear lies were exposed by Ambassador Joe Wilson, Cheney led the criminal campaign to attack Joe Wilson, including "outing" Wilson's wife Valerie Plame to reporters. By "outing" Plame, Cheney destroyed Plame's covert network which was fighting the spread of weapons of mass destruction in Iran and elsewhere. Cheney's former chief of staff, Scooter Libby, committed perjury and obstruction of justice to keep Cheney from being indicted for his role in outing Plame. Cheney adamantly refuses to take any responsibility for the war or for his crimes. To hold Cheney accountable - and to deter future Vice Presidents from committing similar crimes - Congress must begin impeachment proceedings against Vice President Cheney immediately.

In contempt of the majority of Americans who want Bush to be impeached, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the Democratic leaders in Congress insist impeaching Bush is "off the table." Why? Because they are afraid of the vicious backlash from Bush supporters led by FOX.

If Democratic leaders are afraid to impeach Bush, then they should Impeach Cheney First - both because he is the "real" President (as John Nichols proves in his book Dick), and because he is the only politician in the U.S. who is more unpopular than Bush himself.

What are the grounds for impeaching Cheney?

1. Cheney Led the Campaign to Attack Joe Wilson, which led to the Outing of Covert CIA Operative Valerie Plame

The trial of Scooter Libby has produced overwhelming evidence that Vice President Cheney personally led the campaign to attack Joe Wilson through the media. This "get Wilson" campaign included telling numerous reporters that Wilson was sent to Niger by his wife Valerie Plame, a CIA operative. Cheney was told by the CIA that Valerie Plame worked as a covert agent in the CIA's Nonproliferation Division, which is the critical division of the CIA responsible for stopping the spread of nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons. Cheney's efforts to expose Plame actually exposed her entire covert network, at tremendous cost to the CIA's secret war against terrorism. If Plame's work had been exposed by a double-agent in our government like Aldrich Ames or Robert Hanssen, that person would face prosecution for espionage and treason. The evidence of Cheney's role is more than enough to start an impeachment investigation.

2. There are many other reasons to impeach Dick Cheney.

The Scooter Libby trial also exposed the lead role of Vice President Cheney's office in manipulating pre-war intelligence to defraud Congress into authorizing the invasion of Iraq. Sworn testimony revealed that Cheney's office managed the evidence of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction, all of which proved to be lies. Cheney personally visited the CIA several times before the invasion to pressure the CIA to distort pre- war intelligence.

Dick Cheney also created the secret Energy Task Force which operated in defiance of open government laws. Cheney's lawyer, David Addington, advocated the "Unitary Executive Theory" which is used by the White House to defy laws duly enacted by Congress and thereby justify dictatorial action.

Source: Impeach Cheney First Democrats.com

Technorati tags: impeachment, Cheney, government