$#%@& Stop spinning me!

Warning: This is a rant, and I've been writing it for days... although due to a planetary convergence (and the outrageous gall of our commander-guy,) I am posting it at the apex of my fury. Because I started it several days ago, you will be spared much of my current vitriol. Know that it is there.

I am no longer asking... I am demanding impeachment. I am not kidding.

Master of Destruction

America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves. - Abraham Lincoln

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal; endowed by their Creator with inherent and inalienable 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 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." --Declaration of Independence as originally written by Thomas Jefferson, 1776.

Money for nothin

I keep receiving emails from the DCCC, asking for money.

This of course is no surprise; every day I am bombarded with requests for money from presidential candidates, environmental groups, independent progressive newsletters and advocacy campaigns. I try to support progressive candidates that I know will really step up and make a difference.

My trust in the Democratic Party, however, has worn quite thin. Quite thin indeed. The DCCC can get in line. The last few emails I've received illustrate perfectly the moral bankruptcy inherent in this money-based election system. Rather than governing, the party is focused only on the next election - a year and a half away.

Meanwhile, our democracy is falling apart before my eyes. Our morality as a nation - not RELIGION, but the basic morality of our grandfathers and ancestors who DID NOT TORTURE, honored HABEAS CORPUS, and who believed in THE RULE OF LAW, separation of church and state -- and simple REASON: all of this is disintegrating.

And the DCCC writes emails, singing about some upcoming election - shades of the emails I received less than a year ago, about another 'upcoming election' and how that one would rock my world.

Right. Tell that to some other sucker.

Perhaps I wouldn't mind as much - that the DCCC is already hanging around in my inbasket, daily begging for my money - if I could see that the Democrats really meant business: that they plan to clean up this disaster that once was our Federal Government.

But from what I heard in April - supposedly from Democrat staffers 'in the know' - they plan to investigate solely to draw attention to Bush and Cheney's mishandling of our government; then leave them untouched, so they can use these scandals to draw voters to the Democratic Party.

The reason we should all vote for Democrats? "Because we aren't as lousy as the neocons!"

Friday's DCCC email was supposedly from Rahm Emanuel, and entitled 'Dick Cheney':

According to Dick Cheney, everything we learned in school is wrong. Instead of three branches of government, there are now four – the legislative, the executive, the judicial, and Dick Cheney.

In an attempt to obstruct meaningful oversight and avoid being held accountable, the Vice President said he did not consider himself part of the executive branch.

We both know the power to hold Dick Cheney accountable belongs to Congress. Could you possibly think of a better reason to have a stronger Democratic Majority?

My reply?

"When you decide to actually use that power to 'hold Dick Cheney accountable' and file impeachment articles against him.... then I will donate."

In other words: We already GAVE you the majority you need to impeach. Now pay me what you owe me, by honoring your constitutional oaths of office, before you come back asking for money! (That, and give me a little time to get over my disappointment in your lack of performance after the last election... please...)

Stop spinning me! Damn it! I'm sick to death of this endless propaganda! I know what 'nothing' looks like - and you're giving me nothing!

The DCCC obviously thinks that I am really stupid (or they are hoping that I'm really stupid.) Because by the time Rahm's fellow congresscritters are elected, in theory, Dick will be out of office.

I say 'in theory' because of course, we cannot bank on that, can we? No, we cannot bank on that because no one will touch him, so it's really up to Dick whether he steps down... or not. Our Constitution has been thrown under the bus, and the Democratic majority is refusing to lift a finger to save it.

We daily read about amazing breaches of governmental law, accountability and Constitution, and still impeachment is "Off the table." That is so outrageous it is very nearly criminal.

Madam speaker, if I may respectfully remind you... you swore an oath to protect the Constitution! I intend to hold you to that oath, and I suspect a huge percentage of my fellow Americans concur.

For God's sake: FIND A TABLE!

Cheney is still in office; a very real, constant danger to our democracy and to the world. And in spite of their majority, the Democrats sit on their hands. They don't even use impeachment as a threat.

NO: I won't give you any more money for not representing me or honoring your oaths of office - sorry guys. I like some return on my investment. I'm sure the lobbyists got theirs, now I want mine.

I think what irritates me the most is that Rahm (or someone pretending to be Rahm) thinks he only has to mention the word 'Dick Cheney' and I will immediately pull out my checkbook - even though he doesn't plan to actually do anything about Dick Cheney and his rampant abuse of power. Is Dick Cheney now the DCCC's bestest-buddy fundraiser-helper? Say it isn't so!

Anyway - I refuse to play.

Saturday's email was entitled 'Bush's 15 million':

Midnight tonight is the deadline. We are just $65,000 away and just hours from our Million Dollar Challenge before the critical June 30th FEC deadline where we report our fundraising totals and the media and pundits will use them to judge our chances for success in 2008.

What the hell...? Now I am supposed you give you money because you are cowering about what the 'media pundits' will say?

Like hell!

You don't care about protecting the rule of law and democracy - you just want us to help keep the media off your backs. Could you not - perhaps - have taken a different tack, and requested our citizen contributions so that you wouldn't have to go crawling to big business for cash? I might have signed on for that, because then I would know you were truly accountable to me - the voter.

No - of course you didn't say that, because you plan to go crawling to big business anyway. You always do. And you represent them quite well, I might add. Tell them about Bush's millions. Don't bother me again until you plan to represent me.

It's this poll thing - this fear of the bully media, that motives you guys, not the interests of your base. The media is now nothing more than a giant, corporate bully club; used by corporations and their lobbyists to beat you, intimidate you, and keep you all in line. And of course, to keep you from actually doing anything on my behalf.

Sorry, I won't play.

No free lunch

I don't give a flying @&$*% what the media pundits say. Because you don't give a flying @(*$*% what I am saying right now. Damn it: FIX MY GOVERNMENT. Fix it right now, and get your eyes off the damn 2008 calendar. We just elected you!

Imagine if an employee was hired on the basis of his willingness to do a job, and several months later - after doing absolutely no productive work, including the job he was hired to do (get us out of Iraq) - came asking for a raise. He'd be tossed right out of the employer's office, and most likely find himself in the unemployment line. Think about that.

The future is promised to no one... and that is especially true right now. How do you know we won't be at war with Iran in 2008? You're taking a huge chance with our freedom, and with the safety of the world. These guys won't even take nukes off the table. Imagine what their hero Reagan would think of that... he'd think they are madmen.

You couldn't even do the one thing that we absolutely demanded you accomplish: get our troops out of Iraq. You couldn't manage to exercise your budget oversight and cut the gravy train - which was your job, not some scary option - and you did nothing to demand your lawful oversight for any planned attacks on Iran. Oh some smart progressives that we sent to Washington suggested this, but you wouldn't have it.

You totally caved.

And sure, Bush was going to say 'no' anyway. We all knew this. You could at least have stood your ground, don't you think? Once again, you were worried about what he would say about you, while you were out of town and on vacation.

Did you give UP your vacation to do the right thing? HELL NO.

Terrific representation and dedication to country! We have people dying for us in Iraq and Afghanistan - sent there by you - and you couldn't even give up your Memorial Day on their behalf? What a sick way to honor their sacrifices.

This president has one of the lowest approval ratings in history, and is breaking laws and issuing signing statements at a rate that puts Nixon to shame -- and you refuse to hold him accountable. Oh sure you are investigating... but to what end? Simply to win an election that is over a year away? What about responsibility for the future - setting a precedent that should have been set with Nixon? Yes, that national nightmare is back! That you refuse to impeach Bush and Cheney for behaving worse than Nixon... is mind-boggling to me.

Cheney is outright lawless... and you won't even support one of your own, Dennis Kucinich, who had the courage to move forward with impeachment seemingly on his own. Brave Dennis, the people's champion. He must drive you crazy. Always whipping out that Constitution. Well let me tell you -- I'd take an entire Congress full of Dennises right now! A Congress full of Dennises and a Senate full of Russes. That might do the trick.

Even angry Republicans are supporting you, hoping and praying that you would reign in their own party - and still you fold, repeatedly, like a cheap suit!

Last night at the Giant's game, as the National Anthem began some unidentified people unfurled a banner about 14 feet long and 5 feet high that simply said IMPEACH. They were up in the walkway above the bleachers so the majority of the fans could have seen it, though it would have been easy enough to miss.

Within a minute, stadium people were on the scene and the banner was taken down. I took a picture on my camera phone which isn’t great, but good enough.

Frankly you're worth neither my vote or my money without action.

As they say in business - and this is something you should understand: it's all about results. I'll pay you when I see a return on my last investment.

Right now, I'm losing - and losing big. I'm losing my Constitution, my Bill of Rights, my country's troops are still in Iraq, my Federal agencies of oversight have all been outsourced, my food - and my pets' food - is tainted, my planet is heating up, our jobs have been outsourced, our Federal coffers are being looted (and that's my Social Security money you're blowing, or should I say 'handing off to Halliburton.')

Leahy, Feingold, Conyers and Waxman are the exceptions to your party capitulation, along with a handful of other progressives that you label 'fringe' because they actually get it. Dennis Kucinich is an American hero. And do you intend to back them as they deal with this 'larger-than-Watergate' scandal in the Executive Branch?

All over the world, people are watching you... watching us. Watching this once great democracy, and beacon of freedom for the world flounder around like a gutted carp in a row boat. They are waiting to see what YOU WILL DO:

Vice-President Dick Cheney was personally responsible for American policies that subjected terrorist suspects to cruelty and denied them the right to a fair trial, according to revelations from senior US government officials.

The details have laid bare more than ever before the remarkable influence of Mr Cheney in shaping the prosecution of the war on terror which led to the scandals at Guantánamo Bay and Abu Ghraib.

You wring your hands and you cower - and secretly you think you can just leave Bush and Cheney there to draw our ire so that we will magically re-elect you with an even greater majority - all for doing NOTHING. You haven't even reigned in the war profiteers, and you gutted your own oil-gouging legislation. And you wonder why you're polling so low? You're polling low because you have betrayed us!

That dog won't hunt

My own 'Blue Dog' representative is a total disgrace; simply a lump in the system, clogging up the workings of democracy. He's not a Republican - and he certainly isn't a Democrat. He's a lump. Slightly better than a Joe Lieberman, and slightly better than the Republican he replaced. But that's about all.

That dog won't hunt; and both the DCCC and Moveon.org actually asked me to spend hours calling voters on his behalf, insisting he was part of this 'great and glorious Democratic majority' that would change the world (or at least reign in the Bush Administration.)

I'm quite sure - especially given the letter I received from him concerning impeachment of Dick Cheney - that he is one of the reasons impeachment is 'off the table.' He doesn't want to 'rile his Republican friends.' I'd recall him for failure to honor his oath of office if I could. He is no representative of mine, and as far as I am concerned -- he is an oath-breaker!

I will give what little money I can spare to progressive candidates - even if they're other people's representatives, because I obviously can't get any decent representation of my own. I will give to the online, independent media that keeps me informed while the corporate media talks about Paris Hilton. I will support the environmental causes that are fighting to save the places that I love, and I will do whatever I can to make a difference with my money. But I no longer trust Moveon or the DCCC to spend it wisely.

If once you forfeit the confidence of your fellow-citizens, you can never regain their respect and esteem. - Abraham Lincoln

A word of advice to this Democratic Majority: I'm not the only one that feels this way. You'd better wise up and start acting on those campaign promises - start defending our constitutional rights - or you're going to be very unhappy when the 2008 elections finally do roll around.

Paybacks are a mother.

All it will take is one credible Independent candidate... and people will start flocking to the banner. I know you think it can't be done, but you have completely misread the seriousness of this situation, and underestimated the wrath of the Democrat and Republican masses that feel entirely unrepresented out here.

We're pissed - no, we're MAD AS HELL - and we want results. We demand justice! This is a nation of law, of order. That goes from the 'lowliest citizen' to the highest official. No special favors, no double standard. With Liberty and Justice FOR ALL.

We want our Constitution protected, this Executive Branch reigned in and prosecuted for breaking the LAW, starting this ILLEGAL WAR, TORTURING PEOPLE and TAKING THEM HOSTAGE WITHOUT DUE PROCESS, and destroying everything this country once represented around the world... and yes, we want our government back.

WE THE PEOPLE. You may have forgotten, but I'll be damned if we have.

Oh... and if you do impeach these monsters? If you do come through for us? I'll personally walk all the way from Indiana to Washington D.C. and bring you cookies. Seriously. It will be well worth it.