Tuesday, July 29, 2003
Spec. Clinton Dietz - A gutsy patriot
Yes, we have heard his complaints have made it all the way up and down the chain of command. He is the soldier who said, "If Donald Rumsfeld was here, I'd ask him for his resignation." While there was much sturm und drung from the White House, I didn't notice Shrub or Rummy offering to take Dietz's place in the nightmare they foisted upon the world. The fact of the matter is, not only does Dietz have more guts than all of the chickenhawks in the administration combined - he has more guts than all of the members of Congress combined too. I bet he would stand up to introduce a motion to impeach the Resident. If Dietz is old enough to run for Congress and runs in my district, he has my vote.
Yes, we have heard his complaints have made it all the way up and down the chain of command. He is the soldier who said, "If Donald Rumsfeld was here, I'd ask him for his resignation." While there was much sturm und drung from the White House, I didn't notice Shrub or Rummy offering to take Dietz's place in the nightmare they foisted upon the world. The fact of the matter is, not only does Dietz have more guts than all of the chickenhawks in the administration combined - he has more guts than all of the members of Congress combined too. I bet he would stand up to introduce a motion to impeach the Resident. If Dietz is old enough to run for Congress and runs in my district, he has my vote.
Friday, July 04, 2003
The Return of King George the Tyrant
July is as good a time as any to re-read the Declaration of Independence. Much to my surprise I found history repeating itself. America faced a tyrant in King George over 200 years ago. The Declaration had more than just that stirring first paragraph. It also had a laundry list of grievances the Colonists held against the Empire. A list that sounds shockingly familiar today.
We hold these truths to be self-evident
I will not be relying on Fox News, Tom Delay or William Safire for validation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. --That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.
The above paragraph would have earned Tom J and John H a one way ticket to Guantanamo.
He has refuted his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
George Bush has single handedly (without the advise and consent of the Senate) abrogated more treaties than all of his predecessors combined.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
Okay, he hasn't gotten this far, yet. But he and his minions have called into question the patriotism and loyalty of any and all who have questioned his policies.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.
Long held judicial constructs that have served this country for centuries, habeas corpus, presumption of innocence, trial by jury are suspended when it is a terrorist. ???? What American jury would have trouble convicting and sentencing to death or life imprisonment someone that has been proved to be guilty of terrorism? None that I know of and yet Bush's Attorney General has put together a system where the President and his appointees will be prosecutor, judge, jury, court of last resort and executioner.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.
Did you know the Department of Fatherland... err Homeland Security is the largest bureaucracy ever?
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
See Patriot Act I. Soon to be followed by Patriot Act II.
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
American corporations' brands are suffering from the anti-American sentiment engendered by Bush's policies.
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
While no billionaire is left behind, states, cities and schools are having to charge fees to use public parks, libraries or are having to cut back vital services like police and fire. A hidden tax increase obscured by the tax cuts for rich people.
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury:
See Guantanamo reference above.
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:
See Guantanamo reference above.
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
Trial by a jury of peers and presumption of innocence - extravagence or essential?
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
Why, exactly, is Bush afraid of an unfettered 9/11 investigation?
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
Oh, wait, they are called the coalition of the willing but more accurately, they have been referred to as the Coalition of the Billing...
In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.
15 million people peacefully protested Bush's lies before he condemned the first American soldier to death. He dismissed them as "a focus group."
Just a quick note, before Ashcroft gets his panties in a twist, all passages marked in italics are from the The Declaration of Independence. I suggest he reads it right after he reads the Constitution of the United States of America, the quaint document he swore to uphold when he took office.
(edit - changed post date to the 4th of July and added title)
We hold these truths to be self-evident
I will not be relying on Fox News, Tom Delay or William Safire for validation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. --That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.
The above paragraph would have earned Tom J and John H a one way ticket to Guantanamo.
He has refuted his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
George Bush has single handedly (without the advise and consent of the Senate) abrogated more treaties than all of his predecessors combined.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
Okay, he hasn't gotten this far, yet. But he and his minions have called into question the patriotism and loyalty of any and all who have questioned his policies.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.
Long held judicial constructs that have served this country for centuries, habeas corpus, presumption of innocence, trial by jury are suspended when it is a terrorist. ???? What American jury would have trouble convicting and sentencing to death or life imprisonment someone that has been proved to be guilty of terrorism? None that I know of and yet Bush's Attorney General has put together a system where the President and his appointees will be prosecutor, judge, jury, court of last resort and executioner.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.
Did you know the Department of Fatherland... err Homeland Security is the largest bureaucracy ever?
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
See Patriot Act I. Soon to be followed by Patriot Act II.
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
American corporations' brands are suffering from the anti-American sentiment engendered by Bush's policies.
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
While no billionaire is left behind, states, cities and schools are having to charge fees to use public parks, libraries or are having to cut back vital services like police and fire. A hidden tax increase obscured by the tax cuts for rich people.
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury:
See Guantanamo reference above.
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:
See Guantanamo reference above.
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
Trial by a jury of peers and presumption of innocence - extravagence or essential?
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
Why, exactly, is Bush afraid of an unfettered 9/11 investigation?
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
Oh, wait, they are called the coalition of the willing but more accurately, they have been referred to as the Coalition of the Billing...
In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.
15 million people peacefully protested Bush's lies before he condemned the first American soldier to death. He dismissed them as "a focus group."
Just a quick note, before Ashcroft gets his panties in a twist, all passages marked in italics are from the The Declaration of Independence. I suggest he reads it right after he reads the Constitution of the United States of America, the quaint document he swore to uphold when he took office.
(edit - changed post date to the 4th of July and added title)
