I SMELL A SKUNK …EXECUTIVE PRIVILEGE …WHAT IS BUSH HIDING

"Fool me once, Shame on you.

Fool me twice, Shame on me."

George W Bush has lost sense of reality. He thinks he is King Bush apparently. To me he appears to believe that he is above the law. I mean, the word “outlaw” seems to fit his behavior. He appears to think that truth is something to be toyed with. And as long as this behavior works for him, as long as the United States’ citizens enable him, as long as he is not held accountable, he will keep on keeping on. He actually looks bored, unattached and oblivious.

How does Tony Snow, his Press Secretary, do it? How does he maintain a brain and say what he has to say every day to prop up GW? How does he keep his self-respect? Is it some dark sense of humor that keeps him sane?

I feel like my own sanity is being tested by GW. But a close second is the apathy that is shown by us. Okay I do laugh at George at times, but it’s only because crying is too depressing and would add to the knot in my stomach.

If I lived in Washington, D.C. I am sure that I would have arrived at my present state a long time ago. Maybe, the trouble is that Washington, D.C. is so far removed from the central part of the country that it seems untouchable to the average USA citizen. This guy is unraveling and fast. He is falling apart before our eyes. And are we noticing? The rest of the world is. Some, if not, rare, journalist in the USA are. I feel like screaming, but what good would that do? So I watch, blog and wait. And then he does some other mindless thing. It’s more than annoying. It’s more than embarrassing. And yet. And yet, there are those who stand by this guy. I just don’t get it. Well, I sort of do. I mean I “know” these people, they are my family. See, he “says” enough to keep them happy. You know…that abortion is wrong…that stem cell research is wrong…that gay people are wrong…that he is a “born again Christian”. Recently he used a phrase from a hymn that I recognized. I knew he was saying it for his fundamentalist Christian base. The phrase: "Wonder-working power". The thing is he really “used" the fundamentalist Christians when he campaigned. There is nothing compassionately Christian about his behavior. He has helped big business and left the average American in the ditch. He has no idea how to handle Iraq, so we have “stayed and stayed and stayed the course. He has taken the “Peter Principle” to the extreme. That is when you rise to the level of your incompetence. He has taken justice and stomped on it, shredded it and disrespected the integrity of the word.

Below are two articles. The links are below the article. The first one is from Great Britain’s website for the BBC. There were plenty of other sources for this same subject but I like to check out the take from outside the country. There are thousands of places around the world that get no attention, no media coverage, not a thought as to their importance or their happy or sad, hellish daily lives, but the whole world watches us, the United States of America. When we have a President who blunders time and time again, it is reported all over the planet. That’s what you get when you supposedly are the “strongest” country in the world. But, that could change. And sooner than thought possible. Stength is measured in money and military power. And we are in debt so far beyond imagination as a nation. You can get the cost of the Iraq Invasion. The monetary cost changes by the second at this link: http://costofwar.com/ As of this writing it is nearing $445 Billion. And our taxes haven’t been raised. How do you think that is going to play out? Seriously, if the next executive administration is fiscally responsible they will raise the taxes. And they will get blamed for it.

Our military power relies on the backs of the volunteers who sign up, and who wants to sign up? It isn’t the children of the politicians primarily. Primarily who do you think signs up to go to Iraq?

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Bush says aides will not testify

“US President George W Bush has invoked executive privilege to deny requests by Congress for the testimony of two aides over the firing of federal prosecutors.

US President George W Bush has invoked executive privilege to deny requests by Congress for the testimony of two aides over the firing of federal prosecutors.

The row hinges on whether the attorneys were sacked for political motives.

Democratic leaders say they could go to court to challenge Mr Bush's move. He invoked the same little-used power last month to withhold subpoenaed documents.

The White House says Mr Bush is acting in good faith and has offered to let the aides do off-the-record interviews.

The pair in question are Harriet Miers, former White House counsel, and Sara Taylor, former political director for the White House.

Ms Miers has been summoned to appear under oath before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday and Ms Taylor to testify before the House Judiciary Committee the next day.

'Unreasonable' demands

The Democratic heads of the two judiciary committees had set a deadline of Monday for the White House to explain the first invocation of privilege last month and to log what documents were being withheld.

US ATTORNEYS

93 nationwide

Serve at the discretion of the president, with the approval of the Senate

Prosecute criminal cases brought by the government

Prosecute or defend civil cases in which the government is a party

Collect debts owed to the government

Source: US Department of Justice

In a letter to congressional leaders, White House counsel Fred Fielding said their demands were ‘unreasonable’ because they represented ‘a substantial incursion into presidential prerogatives’.

John Conyers, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, responded with a warning that Congress was prepared to go to court over the matter.

‘Contrary to what the White House may believe, it is Congress and the courts that will decide whether an invocation of executive privilege is valid, not the White House unilaterally,’ he wrote.

Simmering row

The row over the firing of eight federal US attorneys in 2006 has been building for several months.

Democrats in Congress have been trying to force the resignation of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, accusing him of firing the prosecutors for political reasons and then lying about the reason for their dismissal.

Some Republicans have also backed the moves.

But the White House maintains the prosecutors were fired because they were ineffective. Mr Bush has dismissed the attempts to remove Mr Gonzales as being themselves political.

US presidents have occasionally used executive privilege to try to prevent themselves and their aides from having to answer questions or give information to Congress or the courts.

From http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6285658.stm

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Attorney General: He's got to go

SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER EDITORIAL BOARD

“It seems that Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has a far worse memory than we thought.

Well, either that, or he's a liar.

Congress is still investigating how eight U.S. attorneys -- including Western Washington's John McKay -- were fired. Don't ask Gonzales what happened. He doesn't recall. He's too busy doing important things like coming to Seattle (the nerve!) to speak before a group of technology executives on protecting intellectual property.

And now, The Washington Post reports that while trying to get the USA Patriot Act renewed in 2005, Gonzales testified before the Senate that ‘There has not been one verified case of civil liberties abuse.’ But less than a week before that testimony, the FBI had sent Gonzales a report indicating that agents had overstepped in their information-gathering procedures, accessing more personal info than they legally ought to have. In fact, according to FBI documents obtained by The Post, for three months prior to his testimony, Gonzales had been receiving reports of ‘legal or procedural violations,’ including an illegal property search and unauthorized surveillance. The Justice Department spokesperson says Gonzales' statements were ‘consistent with statements from other officials.’ Which could mean that they were all lying or that no one, including Gonzales, had read the reports.

That Gonzales lacks the sense of honor to resign is clear. Too bad we can't demand that his boss, President Bush, fire him. Bush has his hands full stonewalling the congressional investigation into the firings of the U.S. attorneys. But, America, you are the boss of Gonzales' boss. You can have the attorney general -- a civil officer -- impeached. Your representatives in Congress can start those proceedings any day now.”

From http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/323153_fredoed.html

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My Headline: PRESIDENT BUSH - HE’S GOT TO GO

………………………..
President George Bush
202-456-1111
email: president@whitehouse.gov

The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC. 20500, USA
…………………….…………..
These people who have voluntarily taken on the role as leader need to be held accountable.

Do you think President Bush is acting honorably and living with truth as his guide.

I don’t.
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Freedom of Speech means
nothing
if you don’t exercise it.

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Someone else has a blog post that I like:

http://thestrangedeathofliberalamerica.com/does-the-bush-afministration-need-straight-jacket.htmlv

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As a human rights activist, I bring to your attention the four year, 6 month old genocide in Darfur, Sudan.

Genocide flourishes when there is no accountability.

WE CAN’T SAY THAT WE CARE ABOUT JUSTICE

WHEN WE DO NOTHING TO STOP THE INJUSTICE

THAT SINCE THE HOLOCAUST

HAS BEEN called - GENOCIDE.

We each have a voice.

W each have a presence.

Let us not be silent.

We have been called to be human

 in the most basic way

 on this subject.  

Where there is a will - there is always a way.  

And where there is no will - there is never way.

Silence is necessary for genocide to go on.  

Our collective silence is a weapon used by the genocidaires.  
Silence kills.  

And we are responsible for our personal silence.

One World.

One humanity.

One Human Race.

One.

• http://www.Savedarfur.org
• http://www.ajws.org/
• www.sudandivestment.org/
• http://www.genocideintervention.net/
• http://www.standnow.org/

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Please, consider supporting the movement to abolish slavery and human trafficking in the United States of America

and around the world.

It still goes on today, while we go about our lives.

PLEASE, sign the petition of Amazing Changes Campaign
http://www.theamazingchange.com/abolish.html

Zach Hunter, a teen young man, wants to put an end to world-wide slavery
Zach’s website:
http://www.myspace.com/amazingchange

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