"The Price Of Citizenship"

While military industrial complex businesses like Halliburton have set up a mail drop only in the Cayman Islands JUST to avoid taxes payment of appropriate taxes to the American/federal government/IRS, Prospect offers a recommendation that the ultra-rich (and the mega corps they own) lose U.S. citizenship :

"When the super-rich use offshore tax havens to avoid paying what they owe in taxes, the consequence ought to be the loss of their U.S. citizenship."

Let me propose an amendment: defense contractors who are American in nature CANNOT bid for contracts UNLESS they not only pay their share of the taxes we mere mortals already do; they also must be up-to-date with their tax payments.

A couple of years ago, there was quite a story about how many "favored" Bush no-bid defense contractors were in default for both very large sums of money due to the feds and sometimes for years at a time. Yet they were being pretty promptly handed checks for their invoices, as if the feds "overlooked" their whopping defaults to the taxmen.

Bush Does It Again! Promotes a Surgeon General With Extremely Questionable Skills And Agenda

What? Bush hire someone with an agenda (which is always totally supposed to promote only the benefits to the Bushies? You must be joking! [Or you're getting an early start on raising the blood alcohol as high as... well, quite possibly, NOT as high as the president's. Note too I refrain from past tense.

Here's a Buzzflash editorial on Dubya's next ass clown.:

Dr. James Holsinger was tapped by President Bush Thursday to be the nation's next Surgeon General. Sure enough, Holsinger's record is mired with incompetence, zealous conservatism, and, of course, sizable campaign contributions to Republicans.

As Chief Medical Director of the Department of Veterans Affairs under Bush's father, Dr. Holsinger was neglecting our vets long before Walter Reed made it fashionable. A government investigation found "several cases in which incompetence and neglect led to the deaths of patients." Dr. Holsinger was forced to admit blame for the deaths of six patients in less than a year at a single Chicago hospital alone.

But the problems weren't limited to Chicago. In a Wyoming, a patient scheduled for surgery for a treatable cancer died after he was ignored for 45 days following the resignation of the staff urologist over a contract dispute. Thirty VA hospitals were found to have "high numbers of patient complications and other indicators of substandard care."

It gets worse as you read on, including the Bushies' standard moralist homophobia.

Which leads us ever to the burning question, "Why Do George Bush AND Dr. Holsinger Hate Our Soldiers? And no, this is neither rhetorical nor mere sarcasm. The troops have had plenty enough trouble with the White House eager to veto a slight raise for American soldiers.

In The "More People Have Been Inside Paris Hilton Than Have Been In The Hilton In Paris Department

You know, life is just better when you can ignore the silly news the so-called news stations push at you. "Things" like Paris Hilton.

But I took umbrage this week when I saw that Paris, already having gotten her jail sentence halved for a parole violation before she ever got near a cell, was walking around carrying two books (and just her having a book seems ridiculous since it's clear she can't read). [You're welcome to guess the two books so long as you do so before you look below.]

• The Bible
• "The Power of Now"

Now, I happen to be a Christian who believes in God but believes the Bible to be a 2000-year-old work in progress that is FAR more of a fiction borne of myths perpetuated by different political and religious and moneyed rulers than the exact word of God or Christ (don't get me started on how many "gospels" were excluded).

But even then, seeing Paris with the Bible tucked just under her clearly freemoving nipple (although, indeed, God made nipples once he evolved us out of the sea!) just seemed pretty perverse. [Neither book showed any evidence, however, of ever having been open. This is a publicity/sympathy stunt.]

What hurt, however, was "The Power of Now." I read that book. It helped me a bit because I constantly operate in the future and past (although, by my current tense, you can tell I wasn't a complete success); specifically, what was presented about surrendering your resistance to come alive in the now. [Oh jeez; this is sounding stupid now like those stupid "self-help" books I've been asked to write but won't.]

Also, why would Paris need a book postulating "The Power Of Now"? I really can't believe she thinks. She seems to invest herself fully, if pink-and-gold fluffily, in whatever skanky now in which she participates.

Anyway, now that you know Paris is reading them, you may not want to bother reading it/them yourself.

Republicans Find New Ways To Suppress The 2008 Presidential Vote

Color me pissy (is that a chartreuse or a golden ginger ale sort of tint?):

Well, having successful stolen the last two presidential elections, Karl Rove and the GOP have found a new way to keep America from voting: the "polling tax" of the first digital millenium, guaranteed to make it nearly impossible for some to vote. For example, forget your ID and you don't get in. BradBlog has the story of the voter suppression tuck-in to the immigration reform act to either kill immigration reform OR greater voter participation.

But there's a bigger issue here. Many people - including some very thoughtful and learned ones I've talked with - find that the use of a photo ID makes it potentially much easier for operatives in a polling place to determine how you (that's little ole you) cast your votes. Then, if your candidate doesn't get in, the opposing party that did could use that vote against you.

Did You Miss The Unskilled, Unimpressive, And Certainly Skanky Monica Goodling?

Well, if you want to keep up on the latest in GonzoGate, read here. Nancy Pelosi's office blog offers video highlights.

For latecomers, GonzalesGate is the seemingly well-documented allegation that the White House forced the U.S. Department of Justice, through the corrupt actions of Karl Rove and Bush and the incompetency of U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales (Bush's personal attorney and not exactly Bobby Kennedy kind of material), to morph into a situation where the nation's top cops and prosecutors into a taxpayer-financed GOP hit squad.

If The Bird That Shat On President Bush Ever Makes It To Vermont

... I'd be most happy to feed that bird his due for dropping a poop nuke on Dubya during Thursday's LieFest Press Conference right on live TV.

Say hello to...

The Project for The Old American Century.

Ha! Take that, neocons!

TwoFer: Covert Iran War AND Frank Zappa

Happened to catch this post from Ezra Klein on "leaked" covert operations and potential for Bush waging war on Iran ("That sound you hear? Those are the drums of war.") , but also found this quote I adore posted in Comments. [Zappa was as astute about the American government as any musician I've ever heard.]

Government is the entertainment division of the military-industrial complex.

Excuse Me? Cheney Thinks Bush Takes Diplomacy With Iran TOO Far?

I must have read this story through seven times on Cernig's Newshog (aka The Newshoggers) before I could get my jaw up from my toes (yeah, I'm short, but not THAT short it doesn't hurt). It still has me speechless, which I've already been at least five times today just in pol reading.

Steve Soto has a tale for you - a tale of dumb and dumber...or more like crazy and crazier.

Multiple sources have reported that a senior aide on Vice President Cheney's national security team has been meeting with policy hands of the American Enterprise Institute, one other think tank, and more than one national security consulting house and explicitly stating that Vice President Cheney does not support President Bush's tack towards Condoleezza Rice's diplomatic efforts and fears that the President is taking diplomacy with Iran too seriously.

This White House official has stated to several Washington insiders that Cheney is planning to deploy an "end run strategy" around the President if he and his team lose the policy argument.

Wait!

Let me picture this.

George "Nuke 'em first, then we'll see if they're the enemy!" Bush is just TOO willing to let diplomacy take its course. The same man, we're told, who's been upset with Condi Rice because (allegedly) she tells the president he should not have this "give Israel anything it wants, damn the criticism" because it's messy up the entire Middle East and hurting the U.S. [And if true, the only true "reason" we have ever heard from this Secretary of State.]

On Bush's Iraq War Second Blank Check; How They Voted

David Sirota updates us on the House Dem vote and proposed filibuster on the latest Bush demand for a blank check in Iraq (see here for the earlier post and keep reading to hear how opinion polls - notably the latest New York Times/CBS News poll - tell us this war is now more unpopular with Americans than at ANY time in its four-plus year combat history).

To update my post earlier today, House Democrats passed the key rule vote by a vote of 218-201. This is the most important vote on Iraq since the authorization in 2002, because it deliberately sets the stage to give president Bush a blank check for the Iraq War. The Roll Call vote can be found [here].

Those Democrats with the courage to vote no were: Waters Harman, Clay, Moore (WI),McNerney, Kucinich and Stark. Democrats not voting were Cardoza, DeGette, Engel, Gutierrez, Jones (OH), Lewis (GA), Oberstar and Shea-Porter. House Democrats are expected to be delivering speeches later tonight claiming they actually oppose giving Bush a blank check because they are expected to vote against a Republican amendment. But as noted earlier today, this is an obvious effort to confuse the public. The rule vote that most Democrats voted for was the key vote in that it deliberately set up the situation whereby Republicans could pass their blank check amendment.

In other news, Sens. Kerry and Leahy are the latest Senate Democrats to issue statements saying they will vote against the blank check in the Senate, but to date not a single senator has indicated they will filibuster. This all happened just as the New York Times put a story on its website announcing that "Americans now view the war in Iraq more negatively than at any time since the war began, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll."

More Dirty Tricks on Iraq?

David Sirota writes that Dick Cheney may have been onhand to help "hide" who really voted today to give Bush's latest dark fantasy a blank check re: Iraq War funding.

Bush Gives Kiss of Death to Dems on Day That Will Live in Ignominy

You have to hand it to Dubya. (I doubt the spoiled frat boy thinks these up himself since it would interfere with his naps, his four days off from every seven day week, and scratching himself. Also, that's why he's got The Dick Cheney and Karl(oad) of Rove on hand.)

Today, he walked into the White House Rose Garden and gave the Democrats the kiss of death - much as he planted on Senator Joe Lieberman (D... no, I.... who the F knows anymore) on that infamous night a few years ago at one of his famous addresses.

By "kissing" the Dems today with his thanks for their capitulation on Iraq, he made sure that the vast majority of thinking Americans will be SURE to hold the Democrats responsible for the work of his corrupt administration that still holds razor grip on all of Capitol Hill. [Did you also note how Bush was saber rattling even louder at Iran as well? Is this the reason for doubling the American troop presence in Iraq when he originally wanted to send less than 20K more soldiers to Iraq?]

I suspect the Democratic 2008 presidential candidates who can show their concern for the troops WITHOUT letting Bush steamroll anymore are the ones most Americans will listen to in the coming months. So far, I'm not seeing standouts (and we need them, badly).

Your take?

The New Big Damned Bush Lie: "The Troops Will Have to Walk Home If We Don't Fund This War!"

Excuse me, but this is a total lie. One of so damned many. It's another Bush-Rove-Cheney spin to keep the weak-minded going "America's #1 So Let's Rustle Up Some Muslims and Their Oil." The media then repeats the damned lies until most of America knows the story by heart.

If the war stopped tomorrow, there would be plenty of money to bring all these troops home. What will hurt our troops is one more day on the job, and May's looking to be the deadliest this year for our soldiers, not to mention Iraqi civilians.

What the president - none of the Bush Administration in fact - will NOT tell you is that they want this funding bill signed not to pay for what we've done, but to:

• secure the Iraq oil we're stealing through a forced mandate to the Iraqi government in which we demand oil/energy companies get record-high takes on Iraqi crude that we've already been stealing for four plus years now
• help Republican politicians who are happy to use U.S. troops and Iraqi civilians as expendable photo ops
• shore up Bush's delusional base
• (quite probably) help fund Bush's next mecca: an (extremely ill-advised and not just bordering ON the lunatic) attack on Iran

Bush and the loyal GOP have proven everyday, in every way (cuts in services, filthy or ill-equipped medical services, opposition to combat pay and pay raises, educating troops' children - I could list these all night) that an American soldier or an Iraqi citizen does not begin to rate the value of billions and billions of dollars of crude oil.

This isn't about our soldiers at all, folks. It's about An Empire of Diminishing Crude Oil" and those lovely coming $4-5-6? dollar per gallon fuel prices we're paying while the Bushies tell us we need to write big corporate welfare checks to mega-profitting energy companies to build their refineries for free. This, while they de-fund fuel alternatives.

Falwell Vs. Phelps: Quite A Dynamic Duo

Oh, I just love this. I do. Both the late (but hardly great) Rev. Jerry Falwell and the Rev. Fred Phelps deserve - and if justice prevails will be eternally assigned - a spot in the far lower molten dungeons in hell in which not even Satan will visit. Maybe if they're really lucky, Jerry and Fred can bunk together and have their own "Chemical Romance" of a conjugal nature. ::choke::

Poetic justice among those who too often and too rabidly confuse extreme fascism with fundamentalist Christianity, reported by 365Gays.

"(Not that I'm naming anyone and I certainly did not myself infer that the (purple?) teletubby was gay or that liberals were to blame for September 11th (9-11-01)!" - I learned this kind of disclaimer from Falwell.)

[Hey, perhaps it kept Phelps' hateful screwballs from attending the funeral of some dead Iraq or Afghanistan combat-American soldier snuck back into the U.S. in flag-draped coffins usually under cover of darkness.]

Leo Iacocca: President Gets Free Pass To Ignore Constitution

I dunno... I don't picture someone who headed one of the country's bigger auto manufacturers as much of a liberal lefty lotus eater. Do you? But I'm sure the rightwing does... at least now.

This headline from Buzzflash about the piece here says it all:

An outraged Lee Iacocca spells out Bush's personal shortcomings: Curiosity, Creativity, Communication skills, Character, Courage, Conviction, Charisma, Competence, Common Sense, and Crisis response skills. That's a good list, Lee, but what about the other 25 letters of the alphabet?

This discusses former auto czar Lee Iacocca's book, "Where Have All The Leaders Gone?"

My favorite quote? This:

You can't call yourself a patriot if you're not outraged.

[Note: I passed outrage six years and six months ago.]

Of Hitler, Chamberlain, Iraq War I Revisited

[The reference to the "Neville Chamberlain Moment" was made in Keith Olbermann's Special Comment from Wednesday's Countdown on MSNBC available by transcript and video link here. Also, I strongly recommend - if you have the chance - to catch HBO's reshowing of the entry into the first war a Bush (Dubya's dribbling dad)... it's a POWERFUL retrospective compared against this Bush's war. And if you don't know who Neville Chamberlain is, shame on you and get thee to a Wikipedia immediately!] I happened to catch Keith and then flipped the channel to HBO-West which was just starting to show "Live From Baghdad", an HBO film of high quality that recounts CNN's days in Baghdad and Kuwait just as George Bush (the 41st) declared war with Iraq (from a book by Robert Weiner, part of the CNN production team on the ground and getting bombed in Baghdad). I also wrote about Olbermann's piece here and here.]

The degree of retrospective comparisons between THEN and Bush 43rd horrific NOW is astonishing, including:

• how quickly the American public was sold on lies of "dumped incubators" killing babies in Kuwait (disproven as any substantial event)
• how hard the press was bashed for everything from interviews with Saddam Hussein and high Iraqi officers (and we repeated this in March 2003, Dan Rather was hated for interviewing Saddam again and CNN's main war reporter in the Bush 1 Iraq War was hated then and during Bush 2's great adventure, fired from MSNBC for suggesting there might be two sides to the story)
• Bush 41's comparison of Saddam to "Hitler Revisited" (a powerful comparison, given that Bush 43, 41's son, may now be responsible for more deaths of Iraqi civilians than Saddam ever was) when I think a case can be made for seeing Bush 43 as a perpetrator of racial hatred (substituting Muslims for Jews in the terrible old saying, "When all else fails, gather up the Jews") against what Keith said about the Dems' Neville Chamberlain moment
• Just see the difference in the city then as opposed to now, after all those years of sanctions (estimated to have claimed the lives of UP TO one million Iraq children, primarily through incredible restriction on medical care and food that turned one of the most advanced countries in the Middle East into a shell of its former self)
• As Weiner wrote, "When the talking stops, that's when people die. So let's keep talking until we're old men."

Keith Olbermann Rates Home Run Status For His Special Comment on Government Failure with Iraq

Keith Olbermann in a special comment tonight on Countdown on MSNBC took no prisoners, extremely critical of the president's lies to take us to war in Iraq, of the Republicans who always prop up the puppetmaster in chief (we know this isn't Bush, but whether it's Karl Rove, Dick Cheney, or Dr. James Dobson is anyone's guess), and of the Democrats whom, Keith said, "had their Neville Chamberlain moment" yesterday in falling (again) under the wheels of the Energy Corps and Defense Contractor's Biggest Ever Wet Dream of Iraq Funding called the Bush Administration policy of Iraq War Surge.

No American should miss reading or viewing this special comment here. Snippets:

You, the men and women elected with the simplest of directions—Stop The War—have traded your strength, your bargaining position, and the uniform support of those who elected you… for a handful of magic beans.

A Special Comment about the Democrats’ deal with President Bush to continue financing this unspeakable war in Iraq—and to do so on his terms:

This is, in fact, a comment about… betrayal.
Story continues below ↓
Few men or women elected in our history—whether executive or legislative, state or national—have been sent into office with a mandate more obvious, nor instructions more clear:

Get us out of Iraq.

Yet after six months of preparation and execution—half a year gathering the strands of public support; translating into action, the collective will of the nearly 70 percent of Americans who reject this War of Lies, the Democrats have managed only this...

And this President!

How shameful it would be to watch an adult... hold his breath, and threaten to continue to do so, until he turned blue.But how horrifying it is… to watch a President hold his breath and threaten to continue to do so, until innocent and patriotic Americans in harm’s way, are bled white.

You lead this country, sir?

You claim to defend it? And yet when faced with the prospect of someone calling you on your stubbornness—your stubbornness which has cost 3,431 Americans their lives and thousands more their limbs—you, Mr. Bush, imply that if the Democrats don’t give you the money and give it to you entirely on your terms, the troops in Iraq will be stranded, or forced to serve longer, or have to throw bullets at the enemy with their bare hands.

How transcendentally, how historically, pathetic.

Any other president from any other moment in the panorama of our history would have, at the outset of this tawdry game of political chicken, declared that no matter what the other political side did, he would insure personally—first, last and always—that the troops would not suffer. A President, Mr. Bush, uses the carte blanche he has already, not to manipulate an overlap of arriving and departing Brigades into a ‘second surge,’ but to say in unequivocal terms that if it takes every last dime of the monies already allocated, if it takes reneging on government contracts with Halliburton, he will make sure the troops are safe—even if the only safety to be found, is in getting them the hell out of there.

Well, any true President would have done that, Sir.

You instead, used our troops as political pawns, then blamed the Democrats when you did so.

Pretty Please?

[Could someone please bring back the nicer Monica? The one who wanted to get screwed by a president (heretofore known as a Lewinsky), rather than the one wanting to screw with every damned one of the rest of us who aren't to the far right (Badthing... er... Goodling)? Pretty please?]

Turning The Face Of American Justice Into A Partisan Clown Parade

Anyone who watched (or read the transcript from) today's "testimony" (what Washington calls what any of us would call a bullshit session) from former Dept of Justice White House liaison Monica Goodling, who cried "5th Amendment" (and damn, I'm not sure DoJ honchos RATE that right given how they hold our lives in their filthy talons) then ran and hid, only coming out under "limited immunity", should be far more than infuriated. [bhfrik did a good piece on this here.]

What U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and the White House, particularly Karl Rove and George Bush, have done is turn the highest level of justice of our nation into no less than criminal and leans heavily toward treasonous. For if the American people cannot believe in the possibility their duly elected government will behave responsibly, then we won't be much beyond where we said the Iraqi people were under Saddam Hussein.

In this case, there was no one simple infraction. We have a huge staff hired with a heavy tilt toward a law school which is considered among the worst possible in the nation (where the fundamentalist fascist form of Christianity is what they teach rather than law), that staff administered by people with no competency and then used exclusively to suppress investigations into corrupt Republicans (lawmakers, election fraud, lobbyist payoffs, et al) while forcing investigations (even when their own people reviewed the facts and found no reason to proceed with cases) of Democrats and Democrat supporters.

If we let this slide, we say, "Fine. Turn the DoJ into another wing of the extreme fascist right. It's just dandy with me if they decide to toss up a charge on me with nothing but partisan hate to back up their claims, prosecute me, and then give me the only right of ultimate appeal being the now completely partisan Supreme Court which Bush and Rove and Cheney already rigged."

Personally, I'm not willing to say that. You? [Scary part is how many Americans are far more concerned tonight with who won American Idiot... Idol.]

Fellow Independent Voters: Time To Stop Fence Sitting?

What do you think?

If the Democrats could not get a secure majority to override a veto from Bush on the Iraq War timetable/exit strategy issue, is it time for like-minded registered Independent voters to jump off the fence they sit upon and register Democrat so they can better participate in the process? Remember, most states require only registered Republicans or Democrats can vote in a primary; fairly few allow independents to cast a vote for presidential nominee.

Carter Is Worth More Than A Stinking Bush With Root Rot Anyday

Over the weekend, there was much hooing and hawing in Washington and the media as a whole about remarks ventured forth by former President Jimmy Carter that touched on, among other things, foreign policy - how men like Nixon and even Reagan (to some degree) worked the idea while the current (Bush) administration is either "anything goes" kissing cousins or "we'll nuke ya if we don't like the set of your eyes".

Bush fired back with his dismissive smirk, in which he not only dismissed Carter as irrelevant but more than 7 out of 10 of his fellow Americans because they don't see the great Bush "vision". [I also hear Bush gets very ticked when any former president is addressed as "Mr President" when that is the proper address.]

Hey, Carter was not a perfect president, but he's probably the most intelligent, walks the walk as well as talks the talk, well reasoned, and American-and-world loving a former president we have... or have had. Carter's built homes, monitored voter fraud watches, and done so much more since he left office that it's not hard to day Jimmy became a great man only after he left the Oval Office. Compared to the "never will be a MAN" in office since January 2001, give me Jimmy anyday. Bill Clinton's gifts to America need another decade yet to see if any of his acts do more than for his memory and Hillary.

Cheerfully signed, one of only two thirds of all Americans whom Bush finds irrelevant.

Of Kings and Dissidents

With this news piece that the necropolis of King Herod the Great has been uncovered in Jerusalem, can it really be any surprise that this man, so hated by Jews and allies of Christ alike as a pawn to Rome, that the whole chump's body is long since gone?

It's believed his "non" fans broke the extremely unique sarcophagus and did not nice things to the remains perhaps not so long after he died and was interred.

Note to Herod the ingrate in the White House. You may end your reign, but - God(s) willing - history, even the shortest history, will NOT be kind to you.

Rock, Paper, Scissors... and Politics

I have a rather uh.... um... sad ass thing to admit. I mean besides by Web host ate some of my graphics.

I understand the childhood game of "rock, papers, scissors" about as well as I do politics. I mean, I get the whole bit about paper covering rock and such. I just don't understand why anyone would possibly bother playing this.

Same being true for politics. We've made this huge, megolithic "rock, papers, scissors" bureaucracy of politics when all we need to do is bring two minds together and make a decision based on all available evidence.

So why does anyone play either?

Missing Rove Emails Show How The Bushies Hijacked American Democracy And Accountability to Citizens

Here's the piece at Truthout, but I'd call it more like treason that a mere violation of the records act.

Three years ago, Robert Luskin, the attorney who defended White House Political Adviser Karl Rove in the CIA leak case, made a startling discovery: a July 2003 email Rove sent to then-Deputy National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley that proved Rove was far more involved in the leak of covert CIA operative Valerie Plame Wilson, and the campaign to discredit her husband, former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, than he had let on during interviews with federal investigators and in testimony before a federal grand jury.

Curiously, the email Rove sent to Hadley that Luskin had found never turned up during an exhaustive document search ordered a year earlier, in September 2003, by Alberto Gonzales. At the time, Gonzales, who was White House counsel, enjoined all White House staff members to turn over any communications pertaining to Plame Wilson and her husband, a vocal critic of the Iraq war, who had accused the Bush administration of twisting pre-war Iraq intelligence. Gonzales's order to turn over documents and emails came 12 hours after former White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card had informed him that the Justice Department was launching an investigation into the leak.

The order Gonzales sent to Karl Rove and other administration officials demanded "documents that relate in any way to a contact with any member or representative of the news media about Joseph C. Wilson, his trip to Niger in February 2002, or his wife's purported relationship with the Central Intelligence Agency."

The Rove/Hadley email was not included in the thousands of pages of documents turned over to the FBI. The reason? Apparently the "right search words weren't used," Luskin told Newsweek in October 2005. The email Rove sent to Hadley in July 2003 has never been released publicly. It's unclear whether the email was sent via the White House computer system or from Rove's email account maintained by the Republican National Committee (RNC), which, according to the National Journal, is what Rove uses to conduct 90 percent of his White House business, in what would appear to be a violation of the Presidential Records Act.

"Bush Won't Fire Alberto Gonzales, But YOU Can Impeach Him!"

I don't usually hand out press releases verbatim, but hey, some folks are noticing that Vermont has been the most vocal and demanding of accountability on the Iraq War of ANY state in this damned nation. Is Vermont small? Hell, yes! There aren't a million of us total, not even if you count moose and fishers (fishers is not the kind with rods but the kind with four feet and a taste for kitties). [Black fly season, however, we probably match mainland China. ::cough::]

Viral Video and Nationwide petition Call for Attorney General Alberto Gonzales's Impeachment Robert Greenwald's Brave New Films and Democracy for America launch impeachgonzales.org and lead major Movement for Impeachment

Petition States: "President Bush won't fire Attorney General Alberto Gonzales... but YOU can!"Los Angeles and Vermont? A nationwide campaign calling for Attorney General Alberto Gonzales's impeachment was launched today by Filmmaker Robert Greenwald's Brave New Films and Democracy For America.

A viral video about Gonzales and a petition calling for the House Judiciary
Committee to begin the Impeachment process are being circulated across the
internet, YouTube and at the website impeachgonzales.org today in a
nationwide movement for his removal.

The petition at impeachgonzales.org calls for the House Judiciary committee, the committee that can begin the impeachment process, to "Impeach Gonzales and restore accountability and ethical leadership to the United States Justice Department." Both Democratic and Republican leaders and citizens across the country have been calling for the Attorney General's removal over the firings of U.S. attorneys. Evidence against Gonzales has continued to mount and today's launch marks the start of an organized, nationwide effort to remove the Attorney General by Impeachment.

"Americans around the country are standing up to voice opposition to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and his politicization of the Department of Justice," said Democracy for America chair Jim Dean. "Our message is clear: Impeach Gonzales."

"President Bush will not fire the Attorney General, but the American people can call for his Impeachment" said filmmaker Robert Greenwald who directed the Impeach Gonzalez video "the video shows Gonzales has no respect for the truth, for the rules of Congress and for the people of this country- how can he lead our Justice department?

The petition will be sent to all members of the House Judiciary committee, who can begin the impeachment process as outlined in Article II of the U.S. Constitution. This massive call for impeachment comes at a time where Senate leaders Diane Feinstein and Chuck Schumer are calling for a Senate No Confidence vote against the Attorney General.

Democracy for America is a political action committee dedicated
to supporting fiscally responsible, socially progressive candidates at all
levels of government?from school board to the presidency. Robert Greenwald's Brave New Films uses film and viral video to create social
change.