Kucinich: Taxation without Representation

Apparently I am not the only voter now disenfranchised by Obama after this epic 'giveaway' to Wall Street. I am also not the only one who has noticed that the Democrats are now marching in closer lockstep to Bush than many Republicans. We live in interesting times.

In an excellent essay, Chris Hedges takes Obama to task for pushing the bailout bill and offering no alternatives - after promoting himself as a candidate who will not bow to lobbyist demands. Given the choices - Obama or McCain - many of us feel we will have to choose the lesser risk (Obama,) but he has greatly hurt his credibility with this promotion of bankers over home owners.

That said, the best quotes in this essay were from Kucinich:

"This was the largest single act of class warfare in the modern history of this country," Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, who led the fight in the House against the bailout, told me by phone from Cleveland. "It is a direct attack on the American people's ability to be able to stabilize their homes and their neighborhoods. This single vote will define the careers of everyone. We are back to taxation without representation, to markets that are openly rigged."

"We buried the New Deal," he said of the vote. "Instead of Democrats going back to classic New Deal economics where we prime the pump of the economy and start money circulating among the population through saving homes, creating jobs and building a new infrastructure, our leaders chose to accelerate the wealth of the nation upwards. They did so in a way that was destructive of free-market principles. They ripped away all the familiar moorings. We are in an uncharted sea where the traditional roles of the political parties are being switched. The Democrats have unfortunately become so enamored and beholden to Wall Street that we are not functioning to defend the economic interest of the broad base of the American people. It was up to the Republicans to protect not just a so-called free market but the American taxpayer and attempt to block this. This is an outrage. This was democracy's Black Friday."

In his phone interview with Hedges, Kucinich went on to say:

"Some of the most powerful speeches against this were given by members of the Republican Party who are on the political right," Kucinich said. "They did a superb job in poking holes in the underlying assumptions of the bailout. They say what they believe. Give me somebody who says what they believe and I can figure out how to get them to a new place. When people say one thing and do another it is very hard to be able to move a debate."

"We had two take-it-or-leave-it propositions and the second one was worse than the first," Kucinich said, referring to the plan that came loaded with pages of tax cuts. "Tax cuts are antithetical to a bailout. We never solved the problem. There were never any hearings on the bill. This premise, that we could prop up the stock market with a $700-billion investment and create some liquidity, was flawed. The problem is that banks do not want to loan to each other. It is not a liquidity problem. Banks are afraid they are going to collapse in short selling. There is a war going on between security firms and banks. Banks are under assault. They are not loaning. The dynamic is driven by the Accounting Standards Board, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Fed."

"We face a perfect financial storm," Kucinich warned. "The elements are the deficit spending for the war of 3 to 4 trillion dollars, the trillion and more tax cuts, the war itself and the lack of serious investment in the country. We are being hollowed out. We are going to see more unemployment and more people losing their homes. With $700 billion we could have made a real investment in the country, in jobs, in infrastructure and in homes. Instead, we got robbed."

Yes, definitely.

And this obviously has done nothing to calm the growing economic storm. We may as well all step out of our houses (those of us who still have houses,) and toss our life savings into the wind, as to throw $700 billion of borrowed money at Wall Street hoping that the hurricane will move back out to sea.

This bill was all about bailing out corporate donors. You know it. I know it. Many in congress know it. And yet so many voted for it anyway. Black Friday indeed.

It is our job as voters to pay attention to which members fought it - fought for us - and to vote for them. The rest should be tossed out of government forever. I'm sure their Wall Street buddies will be happy to take them in.

As for Obama... he is obviously less economically clueless than McCain. But I have lost my faith that he is the solution, the leader we need in this time of economic calamity. He has shown that he is no Roosevelt; he has shown that he doesn't vote the talk of helping the average American.

Obama has quite a bit of answering to do for his part in epic fleecing of the American people. If elected president, I can only assume that one day he will realize the consequences of his actions. Hopefully he will one day learn to be a real Democrat, or at least a real leader of the people.

Kucinich tells it like it is

Kucinich: This is not the plan

Kucinich expresses his reservations

Dennis Kucinich: Main Street Recovery Plan

Kucinich’s Main Street Recovery Plan

1. Health Care for All: Insurance companies make money not providing health care. As the co-author of HR 676, a universal, single-payer, not-for-profit health care system, Medicare for All, I understand millions of Americans want health care that is accessible and affordable.

Medicare for All will help businesses large and small, create jobs as well as save the jobs of thousands of people including those of doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers who are currently leaving medicine because it is run by the insurance companies. $1 in every 3 dollars of the $2.4 trillion spent annually in America for health care goes to the insurance companies. If we take that money ($800 billion in unproductive wasteful spending) and put it directly into care, we will have enough money to cover everyone. We are already paying for Medicare for all, but not receiving it. HR 676 changes that!

2. Prescription Drug Benefit for Seniors: HR 6800 is the MEDS Act, which provides a fully paid prescription drug benefit, under Medicare, for all seniors. I wrote this bill to help alleviate the economic pressure that comes from the high cost of prescription drugs. We can pay for it by letting the government negotiate drug prices with the pharmaceutical companies as well as by permitting re-importation.

3. Stop the Oil Companies’ Price Gouging: As you know, I was the first one to step up to challenge of the corrupt price gouging and market speculation of the oil companies by proposing a windfall profits tax, on oil and natural gas companies, with revenues put into tax credits for the purchase of fuel-efficient American-made cars. However, it may be that nationalization is the only way to put an end to the oil companies' sharp practices.

4. Protecting the American Homestead: As Chairman of the Domestic Policy Oversight Subcommittee, I am working to protect your basic right to have a roof over your head, whether as an owner or renter. I have investigated and helped to expose the manipulation of mortgage markets, and I am crafting a new federal policy so that neighborhoods with the highest number of foreclosures get the most help.

5. Jobs for All: Congressman LaTourette and I have co-authored the bi-partisan New Deal-type jobs program, HR 3400, "Rebuilding America's Infrastructure." It will create millions of good-paying new jobs rebuilding our roads, bridges, water systems and sewer systems.

6. American Manufacturing Policy: I am drafting the American Manufacturing Policy Act, which for the first time, will state that the maintenance of U.S. steel, automotive, and aerospace industries are vital to our national economic security and must be maintained through integrated public-private cooperation, new trade policies, and investment.

7. Works Green Administration: I am also drafting plans for a green New Deal jobs program, in which the government creates millions of jobs by incentivizing the design, engineering, manufacturing, distribution and maintenance of millions of wind and solar micro-technologies for millions of homes and businesses, dramatically lowering energy costs and reducing our dependence on oil.

8. Fair Trade: The U.S. has lost millions of good-paying jobs, and more jobs have been out-sourced. As you know, I have helped to lead the way in opposition to trade giveaways. I strongly urge repeal of NAFTA. We must include workers' rights, human rights and environmental quality principles in all trade pacts. We must also protect the Great Lakes' water resources from the reach of multi-national corporations.

9. Education for All: I know families need help with the rising cost of day care. That is why I introduced HR 4060, a universal pre-kindergarten program to ensure that all children ages 3-5 have access to full-day, quality day care.

10. Protecting Pensions: I am working to change bankruptcy laws so pensioners' claims will be first, ahead of banks, and that corporate executives who misuse workers' pension funds are subject to criminal penalties. I want to fully fund the Pension Benefit Guarantee Board.

11. Social Security: From my first moments in Congress, I have exposed Wall Street's efforts to privatize Social Security and attacked it in the Democratic Caucus when it was being proposed. Can you imagine where seniors would be today if Social Security had been turned over to the stock market? Social Security is solid through 2032 without any changes.

12. Protect Bank Deposits: I will work to make sure the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has sufficient funds to provide for insurance of deposits up to $200,000 at all banks and savings and loans. This is an urgent matter since so many banks are said to be vulnerable.

13. Protect Investors: Bring back strong regulation to Wall Street. As Chairman of the Domestic Policy Subcommittee, I challenged the Wall Street hedge fund speculators as a threat to small investors. I intend to keep active watch over the machinations on Wall Street.

14. Strength through Peace: You'll remember when I led the effort against the ill-conceived Iraq war, which has now cost more than 4,100 US soldiers' lives, cost U.S. taxpayers between $3 trillion and $5 trillion, and resulted in the deaths of more than a million Iraqis. We must bring our troops home and end the war. We must engage in diplomacy. We must reduce the military budget, and we must stop outrageous cost overruns by the likes of Halliburton.

15. Safety in America: I am proud of my work for peace. In July 2001, I introduced a bill, which today is HR 808, that for the first time creates a comprehensive plan to deal with the issues of violence in American society, particularly domestic violence, spousal abuse, child abuse, gang violence, gun violence, racial violence, and violence against gays by establishing a Cabinet-level Department of Peace and Restorative Justice. This proposal has sparked a national movement and when implemented will save tax payers millions of dollars.

16. Monetary Policy: It is long past the time that we looked at the implications of our debt based monetary system, the privatization of money created by the 1913 Federal Reserve Act, the banks fractional reserve system and our debt-based economic system. Unless we have dramatic reform of monetary policy, the entire economic system will continue to accelerate wealth upwards. I am currently working on drafting legislation for an 'American Monetary Act' to address these and other issues in order to protect the economic wellbeing of America.

Dennis Kucinich: Protecting the public interest

Dennis Kucinich via email:

Protecting the public interest in any economic "bailout"

The U.S. government has been turned into an engine that accelerates the wealth upwards into the hands of a few. The Wall Street bailout, the Iraq War, military spending, tax cuts to the rich, and a for-profit health care system are all about the acceleration of wealth upwards. And now, the American people are about to pay the price of the collapse of the $513 trillion Ponzi scheme of derivatives. Yes, that’s half a quadrillion dollars. Our first trillion dollar compression bandage will hardly stem the hemorrhaging of an unsustainable Ponzi scheme built on debt "de-leverages."

Does anyone seriously think that our public and private debts of some $45 trillion will be paid? That the administration's growth of the federal debt from $5.6 trillion to $9.8 trillion while borrowing another trillion dollars from Social Security has nothing to do with this? Does anyone not see that when we spend nearly $16,000 for every family of four in our society for the military each year that we are heading over the cliff?

This is a debt crisis, not a credit crisis. Just as FDR had to save capitalism after Wall Street excesses, we have to re-invigorate our economy with real - not imaginary - growth. It does not address the never-ending war on the middle class.

The same corporate interests that profited from the closing of U.S. factories, the movement of millions of jobs out of America, the off-shoring of profits, the out-sourcing of workers, the crushing of pension funds, the knocking down of wages, the cancellation of health care benefits, the sub-prime lending are now rushing to Washington to get money to protect themselves.

The double standard is stunning: their profits are their profits, but their losses are our losses.

This bailout will not bring real jobs back to America. It will not bring back jobs that make things. It does not rebuild our schools, streets, neighborhoods, parks or bridges. The major product of this financial economy is now debt. Industrial capitalism has been destroyed.

In the next few days I will push for a plan that includes equity for every American in any taxpayer investment in this so-called bail-out plan. Since the bailout will cost each and every American about $2,300, I have proposed the creation of a United States Mutual Trust Fund, which will take control of $700 billion in stock assets, convert those assets to shares, and distribute $2,300 worth of shares to new individual savings accounts in the name of each and every American.

I will also insist that all of the following issues be considered in whatever Congress passes:

1. Reinstatement of the provisions of Glass-Steagall, which forbade speculation
2. Re-regulation of the finance, insurance, and real estate industries
3. Accountability on the part of those who took the companies down:

• resignations of management
• givebacks of executive compensation packages
• limitations on executive compensation
• admission by CEO's of what went wrong and how, prior to any government bailout
  

4. Demands for transparency

• with respect to analyzing the transactions which took the companies down
• with respect to Treasury's dealings with the companies pre and post-bailout
  

5. An equity position for the taxpayers

• some form of ownership of assets

6. Some credible formula for evaluating the price of the assets that the government is buying.
7. A sunset clause on the legislation
8. Full public disclosure by members of Congress of assets held, with possible conflicts put in blind trust.
9. A ban on political campaign contributions from officers of corporations receiving bailouts
10. A requirement that 2008 cycle candidates return political contributions to officers and representatives of corporations receiving bailouts

And, most importantly, some mechanism for direct assistance to homeowners saddled with unreasonable or unmanageable mortgages, as well as protection for renters who have lived up to their obligation but fall victim to financial tragedy when the property they live in undergoes foreclosure.

These are just some thoughts on the run. You will hear more from me tomorrow.

Thanks as always Dennis. And good luck.

Dennis hits it out of the park

I was astounded to see that the DNC allowed Dennis to speak. His Democratic colleagues always seem so wary of him - he of the 'pocket Constitution,' and the willingness to speak uncomfortable truths.

The commercial media has held an almost perfect Kucinich media blackout for years. It is as though he doesn't even exist. When he does exist - when they absolutely can't avoid talking about him - they lay waste to him by calling him 'short' and reporting odd comments about UFOs (Clinton and Truman both saw UFOs, by the way; if the media likes you, its OK to see whatever you happen to see.)

But Dennis never fails us. He has always spoken truth to power, ala Stephen Colbert. If he had a weekly spot on the Daily Show, we'd probably all be the better for it.

I have often thought that Dennis is our Abraham Lincoln. Too short, too much integrity for Washington, cares too much, fiery orator, great speech writer, inspirational... and he never gives up.

In this day and age, we'll probably never see another Abraham Lincoln in the White House. The White House no longer belongs to us. This is no longer our government. It was sold to the highest bidders - the corporations.

The corporations who pay for elections won't allow a Lincoln - a Dennis Kucinich - to be president; they could never control him. He has much too much integrity.

If truth be told, the fledgling Republican Party of the 1860s couldn't control Abraham Lincoln either. They thought he would be a front man... a hick from the Midwest, country lawyer who would do as he was told. They miscalculated (thank God.)

Dennis reminds me of Lincoln - how Lincoln would react and act today, if he saw the wretched state of Washington. Lincoln never let up either. He was endlessly patient, but with a backbone and determination of steel. Dennis keeps coming back and fighting the battles no one else in either party will take on, and he won't give up any more than Lincoln gave up in the 1860s (and well before, when he was a Senator from Illinois.)

As long as Dennis is around somewhere, speaking truth to power, there is perhaps some hope for this country.

Go Dennis! Some of us are awake... although its painful as hell.



Wake Up America!

By Dennis Kucinich, given at the Democratic Convention, 2008 (blacked out by the media)

It's Election Day, 2008. We Democrats are giving America a wake up call. Wake up America. In 2001, the oil companies, the war contractors and the neo-con artists seized the economy, and have added four trillion dollars of unproductive spending to the national debt.

We now pay four times more for defense, three times more for gasoline and home heating oil, and twice what we paid for health care. Millions of Americans have lost their jobs, their homes, their health care, their pensions. Trillions of dollars for an unnecessary war paid with borrowed money. Tens of billions of dollars in cash and weapons disappeared into thin air, at the cost of the lives of our troops and innocent Iraqis, while all the President's oilmen are maneuvering to grab Iraq's oil.

Borrowed money to bomb bridges in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. No money to rebuild bridges in America. Money to start a hot war with Iran. Now we have another cold war with Russia while the American economy has become a game of Russian roulette.

If there was an Olympics for misleading, mismanaging and misappropriating this Administration would take the gold. World records for violations of national and international laws. They want another four year term to continue to alienate our allies, spend our children's inheritance and hollow out our economy. We can't afford it America.

Wake up America, the insurance companies took over health care. Wake up America, the pharmaceutical companies took over drug pricing. Wake up America, the speculators took over Wall Street. Wake up America, they want to take your Social Security. Wake up America, multinational corporations took over our trade policies, factories are closing, good paying jobs lost.

Wake up, America. We went into Iraq for oil. The oil companies want more. War against Iran will mean $10 a gallon gasoline. The Oil Administration wants to drill more -- into your wallet. Wake up, America. Weapons contractors want more. An Iran war will cost five to ten trillion dollars.

This Administration can tap our phones. They can't tap our creative spirit. They can open our mail. They can't open economic opportunities. They can track our every move. They lost track of the economy while the cost of food, gasoline, and electricity skyrockets.

They skillfully played our post- 911 fears and allowed the few to profit at the expense of the many. Everyday we get the color orange, while the oil companies, the insurance companies, the speculators, the war contractors get the color green.

Wake up America. This is not a call for you to take a new direction from right to left.

This is call for you to go from down to up. Up with the rights of workers.

Up with wages.

Up with fair trade.

Up with creating millions of good paying jobs rebuilding our bridges, ports and water systems. Up with creating millions of sustainable energy jobs to lower the cost of energy, lower carbon emissions and protect the environment.

Up with health care for all.

Up with education for all.

Up with home ownership.

Up with guaranteed retirement benefits.

Up with Peace.

Up with Prosperity.

Up with the Democratic Party

Up with Obama - Biden

Wake up, America.

Wake up, America.

Wake up, America.

As per Lincoln's words above: its time to sign

Let every lover of liberty, every well-wisher to his posterity, swear by the blood of the revolution never to violate, in the least particular, the laws of the country and never to tolerate their violation by others. As the patriots of '76 did to the support of the declaration of independence, so to the support of the constitution and laws, let every American pledge his life, his prosperity and his sacred honor.

Let every man remember that to violate the laws is to trample on the blood of his fathers and to tear the charter of his own and his children's liberty. Let reverence for the laws be breathed by every American mother to the lisping babe that prattles on her lap. Let it be taught in schools, in seminaries, and in colleges. Let it be preached from the pulpit, proclaimed in the legislative halls, and enforced in courts of justice. In short, let it become the political religion of the nation.

- Abraham Lincoln

I have enormous respect for this man, Dennis Kucinich. And for the law. And for the sanctity of the Constitution: the piece of paper that guarantees our rights and our freedom.

And I have enormous respect and reverence for all of those patriots - everyday men and women who came before us - that risked everything they had to build this nation, this 'bastion of freedom' for future generations.

It is up to us to defend it now from rampant corruption; from the darkness that is closing in on it, and on us.

It's time to sign.

Sign the petition to put Impeachment on the table.

For the record: The 'Impeachment Hearing'

View it here on C-Span (click on the red 'flash video' button to view it for free.)

Or see the individual segments via YouTube below:

Kucinich enters hearing to cheers:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2MWTh0QF40

Rep. Robert Wexler:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_T1ojrKhp6E

Rep. Steve King:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4eZxCloEbQk

Rep. Jerrold Nadler:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hL7259BAP9s

Rep. Dennis Kucinich:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRAcenaTVkQ

Bruce Fein:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80IphtHrFzg

Vincent Bugliosi:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDAFozFn4kU

Bruce Fein:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXyDK2-p4fU

Vincent Bugliosi:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q53p34yzZac

Vincent Bugliosi:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7abu9a0xtNI

Lamar Smith:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epf0QpeFcag

Rep. Baldwin:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFNmanXtZ9o

Maurice Hinchey:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CHKV-7vvYk

Rep. Dan Lungren:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKc5e0oAvYM

Protesters ejected:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uosDxv1bjCc

Rep. Walter Jones:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iU5HKfes0cE

Congressman Steve Cohen:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZezNyKmKF1M

Must-see TV

History will smile on this man.

Dennis and his 'radical truth'

History will recognize him as the man who sounded the alarm when the Bush administration moved America closer to the brink of disaster.

John Nichols wrote a short but powerful blog entry about Dennis Kucinich and his lonely road as the 'speaker of truth' in a time of lies and deceptions. (I noticed that Nichols posted it at 12:53 AM on the 16th. Apparently he doesn't sleep much either.)

Dennis has been on the right side of history and truth from the very beginning. He has a perfect track record: he spoke out against the war before it started, voted against the Patriot Act, spoke out against the privatization of Iraqi oil, has filed impeachment papers against Cheney, and is now warning of the Bush administration's attempts to bring the US closer to a state of open war with Iran.

Power to the Dennis.

Nichols:

Such is the case with Kucinich's appropriate answer to the latest move by the Bush-Cheney administration to ramp up hostilities with Iran. That move -- the unprecedented attempt to label Iran's 125,000-strong Republican Guard as a "specially designated global terrorist" group -- is, as the congressman says "nothing more than an attempt to deceive Americans into yet another war -- this time with Iran."

No one who has paid even the slightest attention to the Bush-Cheney administration's approach to Middle East affairs can doubt that Kucinich is right. Yet, his is a lonely voice of clarity amid the din of Democratic obfuscation that aids and abets this White House's worst instincts.

"The belligerent Bush Administration is using this pending designation to convince the American public into accepting that a war with Iran is inevitable," argues Kucinich.

"This designation will set the stage for more chaos in the region because it undercuts all of our diplomatic efforts," he adds. explaining that, "This new label provides further evidence for Iran's leaders that there is no point to engage in diplomatic talks with the United States if our actions point directly to regime change."

Delivering the response that should be coming from New York Senator Hillary Clinton, Illinois Senator Barack Obama and especially from Delaware Senator Joe Biden, who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee when he isn't campaigning for president, Kucinich argued that, "Our nation is better served by demanding sensible and responsible diplomatic foreign policy initiatives from the Bush Administration."

Kucinich, who has proposed impeaching Vice President Cheney for continually prodding the country toward an unnecessary war with Iran, may not get the political credit he deserves for calling out this administration. But history will recognize him as the man who sounded the alarm when the Bush administration moved America closer to the brink of disaster.

Dennis grills Rumsfeld about Tillman cover-up

Dennis talks about Impeachment

July 4th Message from Dennis Kucinich

I really like this guy. And not just because he was the only man with the balls to press for impeachment against Cheney. No, he seems to turn up on the right side of every issue, often well in advance of everyone around him. He flies in the face of corporate lobbyists and speaks truth to power. It's no wonder the media marginalizes him... it is the very reason I admire the man. This is the kind of president I long to have, within my lifetime.

I like the ones the media hates

Because of the reason the media doesn't like them: they speak the truth.

They don't have huge, corporate bank accounts, fancy jets and lobbyists following them around. They aren't spinning, aren't smirking, aren't hedging; they are taking chances, actually listening, taking action and working for change... not just flying around giving careful speeches and posing for photo ops.

Instead of worrying about making a costly mistake, they are listening to our anger, and spending time connecting with us. They are in the mix, fighting our battles when no one else will listen. Dennis Kucinich stood up and warned Congress -- and us -- that the war would drag on and on if we allowed our government to privatize Iraqi oil. He also brought impeachment charges against Cheney. The man actually understands the Constitution, history and the law.

Meanwhile Chris Dodd is trying to restore our Constitution, apparently with no real hope that his party will do anything at all to punish Bush and Cheney. And Dodd obviously 'gets' the media circus.

I'd love to see these guys in a real debate, with a real moderator. Perhaps on PBS. Perhaps with Katrina van Heuvel or Bill Moyers or Amy Goodman, or Dan Rather or Ted Koppel -- even Bill Maher or Jon Stewart would ask better questions than these mainstream morons. And Stephen Colbert... imagine if he were moderating the Republicans! I'd pay to see that...

The corporate media is now so self-righteous and so smug: like those snobby rich kids that pushed you around in school, anointed 'cool' (i.e. rich) kids, and dissed the rest. Heaven help the smart kid in glasses who actually does his homework. Think back on how they dissed Al Gore, and swooned all over George W. Bush. They told us Bush was such a 'fun guy' and Gore was boring and 'too smart'. They had the gall to actually say, and I will never forget this: that it didn't really matter who was elected anyway. As if it was only American Idol, and not our democracy at stake.

Their debates are shallow and ridiculous, their questions lame, their sensationalism premature, and their ability to judge real character, completely flawed. I like Edwards a lot more now that they are attacking them. Knowing Hillary has Murdoch in her pocket, I refuse to listen when she moves her lips. I don't own any Hillary stock. I won't be receiving dividends.

Why impeachment is "off the table"

A few days ago I read a story about impeachment, from the McClatchy Bureau. I was frankly so disgusted by it that I didn't think I could write about it yet. Oddly, the frustration and anger came pouring out anyway, in a comment to a fellow Hoosier on my Daily Kos diary.

This story comes right out and states in black and white what I have believed all along: the Democrats won't consider impeachment because they believe that allowing Bush and Cheney to stay in office will help their chances in the 2008 election.

According to the story, "Democrats in Washington want to keep impeachment off the table," By Steven Thomma:

There are both policy and political reasons that Democratic leaders are risking the anger of their base.

One is that some don't see an impeachable offense in what Bush has done, what the Constitution calls "high crimes and misdemeanors." They might find such evidence in any of the many congressional investigations, but they haven't yet.

Let's debunk that one right now.

There are literally volumes of works by brilliant legal minds laying out the basis for impeachment.

First of all, anything that deliberately undercuts the Constitution is a 'high crime,' if you have taken an oath to uphold the Constitution as part of the swearing in process. Bush, Cheney, Gonzales -- all swore the oath.

High crimes might include:

1. Outing Valarie Plame, a verified covert CIA agent. I believe this is actually a felony offense.
2. Lying to Congress and to the American people. At least one of these lies lead to our invasion of Iraq. If that isn't a 'high crime,' I honestly don't know what is.
   
3. Illegal rendition
4. Holding prisoners without due process
5. Secret torture camps... promoting torture in the first place.
6. There is the growing proof that they tampered with the election process (felony)

But the biggest case for impeachment, according to most legal scholars, is the warrantless wiretapping of American citizens.

Elizabeth De la Vega, a 20-year federal prosecutor has probably laid out the best legal case for impeachment in her book "United States V. George W. Bush et al." This is a brilliant and well crafted legal analysis, and there are many others.

Here are a few of the better ones:

1. The Case for Impeachment: The Legal Argument for Removing President George W. Bush from Office, by Dave Lindorff


2. Articles of Impeachment Against George W. Bush, from The Center for Constitutional Rights


3. Impeach the President: The Case Against Bush And Cheney, by Dennis Loo


4. George W. Bush Versus the U.S. Constitution: The Downing Street Memos and Deception, Manipulation, Torture, Retribution, Coverups in the Iraq War and Illegal Domestic Spying, by John Conyers Jr.


5. The Impeachment of George W. Bush: A Practical Guide for Concerned Citizens, by Elizabeth Holtzman

There is enormous popular support for impeachment. The entire State of Maine is trying to impeach Bush and Cheney. Detroit voted to impeach - with a unanimous vote - bringing the total number of cities demanding impeachment to 70. The people of Vermont are lobbying for impeachment. The people of Massachusetts are trying to bring impeachment charges as well. California wants to impeach. Dennis Kucinich already brought impeachment charges against Cheney in the House. Conyers says he supports it.

And still, Pelosi says impeachment is off the table.

The Democrats are either remarkably illiterate when it comes to the impeachment process, or are pretending to be ignorant in the hope that the American people will somehow 'buy' that they are helpless. They are not helpless.

We have never - in our entire history - actually removed a president from office via the impeachment process. Rather, the process is in fact an investigation into wrong-doing; with charges filed by the House, and the case tried in the Senate with the Supreme Court acting as the judges.

The chances that Bush would be impeached by these particular Senators and these particular Justices seems remote, but the point is to dig out the dirt - to file the charges and hold them accountable. Let the democratic process work. It was the prospect of the impeachment process (and the dirt that would be uncovered) that led to Nixon's resignation... not impeachment itself.

Even Norman Ornstein, a scholar at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, said, "I think if we're going to be intellectually honest here, this (domestic spying) really is the kind of thing that Alexander Hamilton was referring to when impeachment was discussed."

Dear God, how can Pelosi be this clueless... unless....

Another is that they fear a political backlash from voters similar to the one that punished Republicans after they impeached Bill Clinton. One factor on the side of the pro-impeachment crowd: Clinton was much more popular than Bush.

Get out. Ludicrous. That is patently ridiculous.

First of all, there apparently wasn't enough 'backlash' against the GOP after their impeachment attempt against Clinton to stop Bush from being elected president in 2000, along with numerous other necons.

Backlash? The American people thought the entire Clinton impeachment was partisan posturing at best, disgusting and pathetic to take a mild stand... but the dirt they splashed all over the media about Bill did affect Gore and his run for President.

There was absolutely no backlash against the GOP at all -- none -- although God knows there should have been. There would have been, had we the services of an impartial media corps.

If the GOP could do that much damage with a bogus impeachment trial against a very popular president -- how on earth could impeaching a criminal president with a 28% rating; a guy who started an entire WAR based on lies, has been undercutting Constitutional protections, spying on American citizens without a court order, leaked the identity of an undercover CIA agent, tampered with election results... how could this possibly bring a backlash? My God -- this is a slam dunk!

If we are to the point where entire States - not to mention 70 individual cities, including Detroit - are trying to impeach Bush and Cheney... how on earth can the Democrats claim they 'fear a backlash?' (More likely they fear Cheney will magically make their small planes crash into a corn field in Nebraska.)

In a working democracy, they should fear the backlash of ignoring the will of the people. The people have made their wishes very clear. The people want impeachment. The people want justice.

The third is that they're eager to keep Bush and Cheney around as punching bags for Democratic candidates in the 2008 campaign.

Ah, here it is... the truth at last. This is all a partisan game.

This is the crux of why I became an Independent. This is just so... immoral. I cannot be a party to this. I can not be a part of this party, or any party that will put partisan gain ahead of lives, morality and justice.

How are they any different or any better than Karl Rove?

Consider me a conscientious objector. There are people dying while the Democratic party plays these partisan games, while ignoring the will of the people, justice, morality -- and their own oath to defend the Constitution of the United States of America.

I cannot go along with this. I just can't do it.

Lincoln, a veritable font of inspiriation these days, said:

I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true. I am not bound to succeed, but I am bound to live by the light that I have. I must stand with anybody that stands right, and stand with him while he is right, and part with him when he goes wrong. - Abraham Lincoln

That is why I became an Independent, in a nutshell. I have a conscience.

Controlling the spigot

Apparently the same day Dennis Kucinich gave his hour long presentation - to an ambivalent House - about US Oil pressure to privatize oil in Iraq, Rep. Jim McDermott (D-WA) made the following statement on the House floor:

Mr. Speaker: (wouldn't this be Ms. Speaker?)

This President and Vice President have vowed to repeat the mistakes of history, and they have put into motion a plan to do just that in Iran, even as the House is about to send the President a box of blank checks for Iraq, against the will of the American people.

The history is worth knowing.

In 1953, the United States and United Kingdom launched Operation Ajax, a covert CIA operation to destabilize and remove the democratically elected government of Iran, including then Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadegh.

Why? Oil.

Under Mossadegh, the Iranian government decided to reclaim Iranís rightful ownership of its national oil treasure, which had been exclusively controlled by the British who were taking 85 percent of the profits.

Oh, and by the way, the UK also kept the books secret, merely telling Iran what its 15 percent take was.

As soon as Mossadegh began to reclaim Iranís oil treasure, it was all over. Operation Ajax was set into motion.

The U.S. embassy in Tehran provoked phony internal Iranian dissent, while the Brits engineered an Iranian financial crisis by orchestrating a global boycott of Iranian oil. We brought down the Iranian government and installed the Shah.

For two decades, we propped up the Shah against the will of the Iranian people. It was all about controlling Iran. It still is. Today, ABC News is reporting exclusively that this President has authorized a new covert CIA plot to bring down the Iranian government.

I ask unanimous consent to enter into the record the journalism produced by chief investigative reporter Brian Ross and Richard Esposito of ABC News.

This is their lead sentence in the story.

“The CIA has received secret presidential approval to mount a covert "black" operation to destabilize the Iranian government, current and former officials in the intelligence community tell the Blotter on ABCNews.com.”

We’re back in 1953 and that worked out so well.

Of course, the Vice President wanted to invade Iran, so we can be sure he will spin new tales of fear in coming days to keep his preferred option, invasion, very much alive.

The President knows only one way -- my way or the highway.

His Vice President knows only one way- invade and seize control of what you want- and he wants the oil treasure of Iraq and Iran to become wholly owned subsidiaries of the western oil companies he so favors.

With Iraq in civil war, the President has authorized a secret plan to repeat the doomed mistakes of history in Iran.

How many billions of reconstruction money for Iraq will be siphoned off for the deconstruction of Iran?

The American people are virtually shouting at us to pay attention and get our soldiers out of Iraq, now.

Vast sums of U.S. taxpayer money are flowing into Iraq and billions of US dollars are missing.

The Special Inspector for Iraq Reconstruction told a San Antonio newspaper last week that corruption in Iraq is endemic and debilitating.

But, Prime Minister al-Maliki has granted ministers and former ministers immunity from prosecution by Iraq’s Commission on Public Integrity.

And, in turn, the ministers can shield their own employees from prosecution.

And, a government that has been told by this President and Vice President to pass an oil law that transfers control- and profits- to western oil companies, just like the good old days in Iran.

Overthrowing Iran in 1953 was all about oil. Invading Iraq was all about oil. And the new secret plot against Iran is all about oil.

Oil is the only benchmark this President and Vice President want, and they will keep American soldiers fighting and dieing until an oil law is passed in Iraq that gives western oil companies control of the spigot.

It is time to unmask the latest doomed plot to overthrow Iran and past time to get out soldiers out of Iraq.

Nothing less than protecting our troops is acceptable.

Thank you.

Those who voted no

Just say no.

Ron Paul was one of only two Republicans in the House to vote against the war. Yes, officially this was a vote to provide the 'war funding' without deadlines or consequences attached.

Senator Hillary was smart enough to know she should vote against the funding bill, and from what I have heard, Obama voted against it at the very last moment (once he knew it would pass? That is what I have heard, but I'll give him the benefit of the doubt.)

Congressman Dennis Kucinich - of course - voted against the blank check, and a few other Democratic Senators voted against: Leahy, Feingold (of course,) Kerry and Kennedy. Representatives Barbara Boxer and Jerry McNerney also voted nay - I know without looking, because they sent out emails expressing their dismay at the outcome.

Tough (GOP) guys don't cry

Meanwhile, House Minority Leader John Boehner wept openly on the House floor, asking when America was going to 'make the killers of the 3000 9/11 victims accountable for their crimes.'

Well, sir that is a good question. Because you see, the actual terrorists were from Saudi Arabia, not Iraq - and are all dead. The man who took credit for the attack on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, Osama Bin Laden, is apparently in Pakistan - not Iraq.

So you have a valid point... sort of. Whither Bin Laden? Are we even looking for him? Of course, he is much more useful to Bush alive than dead; he makes a terrific and very convenient boogyman with which to scare the American populace.

Mr. Boehner, sir: everyone knows that Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11. The only people who don't understand this after years of bungled warfare, are the people who persist in watching Fox News. Perhaps you are one of them, and you really don't have any idea what you are talking (or crying) about. This honestly wouldn't surprise me.

If your tears are in earnest, and you really do want justice... try looking for Bin Laden. Try talking to the Pakistani government. Of course, you can't take their oil, so why would you bother? If you aren't seriously looking for Bin Laden - don't talk to us about 9/11 victims. That is Giuliani's shameless territory.

Don't need no more lies.

Read it and weep

Full tally of yesterday's vote:

House vote

Senate vote

Representative Julia Carson was the lone hero from Indiana - in either the House or the Senate. We're not terribly surprised. I called her office and thanked her.

Truth or consequences

I wonder if we as Americans can ever break free of media influence and elect a president that will really represent us.

Oh we have plenty of leaders: candidates with integrity, honesty, new and creative solutions to serious national issues - even a little 'fire in the belly' from time to time. We also have legislators with strong records of defending our interests in congress, instead of toeing the lobbyist line.

Yet for some mysterious reason, we we allow our television media - and powerful corporate donors - to pick our candidates for us, and the best people seem to fall right off the radar. If a candidate doesn't have that desired 'look' or 'slick packaging', they are marginalized - ignored - summarily dismissed as irrelevant. We are letting corporations and the media dictate our democracy to us, based on... appearances and sound bites.

Why is that? Can't we think for ourselves anymore?

I often find myself comparing our current, broken electoral system with the one that was in place just before the Civil War, when the fledgling Republican party had recently formed out of a coalition of former Whigs, Northern Democrats, and Free-Soilers who opposed the expansion of slavery (hint to angry Democrats and Republicans - we've formed new parties before, and quite successfully.)

Abraham Lincoln made made a national name for himself as an outspoken critic of slavery, and as a brilliant orator during a series of debates with popular and charismatic Democrat Stephen A. Douglas in 1858 (both were running for the US Senate seat from Illinois.) In spite of his gawky, tall frame, ill-fitting suits and high, reedy voice, Lincoln had a rare gift: he could inspire an audience by connecting with them on a human level, and by telling them the truth.

Lincoln lost the Senate race in 1858, but beat Douglas two years later in the 1860 presidential campaign, to become President of the United States. By this time, everyone knew who he was and remembered his fiery and persuasive arguments from the Illinois debates.

The two differed in more than background and education (Douglas received a classical education, and Lincoln was from a humble background and self-taught.) Douglas had chaired the Senate Committee on Territories, and helped enact the Compromise of 1850, which included the highly controversial Fugitive Slave Act. Passage of the Fugitive Slave Act outraged many abolitionists, and heightened their resolve to put an end to slavery once and for all. This act also served to bring the the subject of slavery squarely into the public eye, and many people who had previously been ambivalent began to question the morality of the institution.

Douglas was a proponent of 'Popular Sovereignty,' and was responsible for the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854, which led to the outbreaks of unprecedented violence in Kansas. In contrast, Lincoln represented the growing anti-slavery movement that was taking hold across the nation, and believed that the country could not survive as one nation, half slave and half free. The country was being torn apart by the divisive issue of slavery, and people were paying close attention to the opinions held by each candidate - as demonstrated in both their words, and their actions.

The media of the time - which consisted solely of newspapers - was undoubtedly every bit as slanted as it is today, with the exception that there was no television: the people actually read, and thus were able to see actual transcripts of the candidates' speeches and debates, rather than relying on sound bites picked out by the television media. By reading the actual words of the candidates, citizens could discern where each one stood on important issues. And if a candidate was a talented writer/speaker, he could often sway many readers solely by his choice of words, the intensity of his argument, and his intellectual prowess as he made his case.

People have a pretty good sense for when they are being told the truth. In recent years, our contact with our candidates has been carefully screened by 'handlers' and edited by the powerful, corporately-owned media. But surely, people really do want the truth. They crave the truth. They have simply lost track of how to connect with the authenticity of the person for whom they plan to vote.

In the old days of 'stumping,' the people gathered around and actually listened to live speeches and debates. There was no hiding for these politicians - no lights, no make-up, no leading questions. They duked it out in a clever and intelligent war of words, and to the victor went both popular support... and the nod of his party. In those days, intelligence and grasp of issues easily trumped looks, lighting or corporate sponsors. The candidate sank or swam on his own merit.

Candidates were picked by their own party leaders - who had known them for years, and could vouch for their character. The chosen candidate's intelligence and ability was well established, and generally anyone who was picked to represent his party in a general election had the education, stability and leadership skills to eventually run the nation. It is believed that members of Lincoln's new party underestimated his independent nature, and expected him to take direction from more powerful leaders behind the scenes and basically toe the party line.

However once elected, Lincoln showed creativity and an unusual willingness to embrace non-partisanship, by picking for his cabinet political opponents and politicians who frankly and openly disliked him - all on the basis of their credentials. Lincoln demonstrated a remarkable ability to pick the most effective and competent person for each of his cabinet positions, and placed his loyalty to party - and personal comfort - behind the best interests of the nation as a whole.

We don't have to go back to Lincoln's time to find examples of political courage and devotion to 'nation over partisanship.' Lately we have been treated to some rather remarkable acts of political courage and devotion to truth, in presidential debates and on the House floor.

Last Wednesday, Dennis Kucinich claimed an hour of time on the House floor, and delivered a powerful and truthful expose on the inner workings of the oil industry and their designs on Iraqi oil. Kucinich explained how this lust for Iraqi oil led us directly into this current and disastrous war, and implied that we will never extricate ourselves while the Iraqi people manage to hold out against the interests of Exxon, Chevron and BP.

This was amazing, truthful and critically relevant testimony. Yet it received no mainstream, corporate media coverage, was largely ignored by other members of the House - even members of the Democratic party. I find it hard to imagine that something so critical and so fundamental to our current situation could have been swept under the rug, but there it is: it happened.

Kucinich is often laughed at or simply ignored by the national media. Whereas Lincoln was 'too tall,' Kucinich is apparently 'too short'; he speaks his mind, and sometimes comes across as a bit folksy or 'off the cuff,' (similar in many ways to Lincoln and his famous yarns.) The media pundits will also tell you something else - something that would have spelled disaster for Lincoln if he were to run for the presidency today. According to television media 'experts,' Kucinich doesn't look presidential.

I have often wondered if 'doesn't look presidential' really translates to 'we can't bully, influence or control you.'

The media would have us believe that issues are of far less importance... than how the candidate looks, and how well he or she 'spins.' Since most Americans claim that they do not want a president that lies or 'spins' every word, but rather gives it to us straight: it would appear that the television media and our best interests are at cross purposes.

In his own time, Lincoln suffered many of the same, lame media abuses. Cartoonists mocked him, portrayed him as an ape, a hillbilly and made fun of his home-spun humor, while describing him as an ignorant farmer. Of course as we know today, the truth was vastly different. Lincoln was one of the sharpest minds and wits in our presidential history, with a firm grasp of law, government, and even military strategy.

Somehow, the people saw through all of the media slander and connected with the character of the man. And they were rewarded with 'presidential courage,' and dedicated, bipartisan leadership during a time of national crisis.

If not for Lincoln's leadership, America would be two separate nations today... or perhaps it would have ceased entirely to exist. Perhaps we would now be a region of Canada, a 'state' in Mexico, or worse... the Nazis or Japanese would have eventually invaded and enslaved us during WWII. It is impossible to know where we would be today, had there been no President Abraham Lincoln to bring us through the bloody Civil War as one nation, intact.

I often wonder if we have lost our way as people, and as a nation. We seem to have forgotten to use our minds, but instead sit dumbly and passively in front of the television set, feeding on whatever garbage the media has served up for our consumption. Perhaps this is the result of several generations of Americans growing up with televisions as glorified babysitters; or perhaps there is some other brain deadening effect built into the medium that allows us to abandon our natural skepticism and reason when we flip on the set.

Do we really want the truth? Because candidates like Dennis Kucinich and Ron Paul would be happy to tell us everything we say we want to hear, and more. Or are we instead willing to settle for a political 'American Idol;' with blow-dried, clean-cut and good-looking actor/politicians, posing for the cameras while carefully avoiding the issues - or heaven forbid - letting slip with any comments that might be construed as an actual opinion?

What about the pathetic state of our health care system, our disappearing jobs, the poisoning of our food, pollution, climate change, inflation, loss of our constitutional protections, and this horrific, bloody, illegal and budget-breaking war? These are issues that affect us all, every single day. Who on earth really cares or is affected by how much John Edwards paid for a haircut? How on earth can that possibly be relevant in a presidential campaign? When will we tire of this media circus, and demand some real honesty, authenticity and straight answers?

Dennis Kucinich gave us issues and answers, and he sounded a very loud trumpet of alarm. So did Ron Paul, when he lectured Rudy Giuliani on the finer points of U.S. history - and our years of intervention in Middle Eastern politics - during the second GOP debate. It is time for us to pay attention... even if this means occasionally watching C-Span, to find out what is really happening in our government (yes, it is boring to watch the House and Senate plod around.) It is time for us to break free of media influence, especially that of television, and instead turn on our active brains and doggedly pursue the truth.

Why are we in Iraq? What is the best plan of action to get our troops out? Every voting American should be asking these questions and actively seeking out the candidate that will best accomplish this end. John Edward's haircut has nothing to do with our nation's role in this bloody 'War on Terror.' Mitt Romney's declaration that he would like to 'double the size of Guantanamo,' and Rudy Giuliani's shameless promotion of torture are frighteningly relevant to our future as a nation.

What do we the people of this nation think it means to be 'American,' and what is our system of values? What do we believe in - what do we consider moral? Is torture moral? Are cluster bombs that kill hundreds of innocent civilians... moral? And are we truly willing to give up our democracy for a little 'temporary safety?' If not, we had better get off the couch and take charge of our government: it is ours, and we have been entrusted with its protection so that it will survive for future generations.

The Internet provides many new opportunities to hear our candidates as they wish to be heard, speaking in their authentic voices - whether via personal blogs, their own video and YouTube presentations (free of media influence,) or their own written dispatches. There is no longer any reason to settle for sugar-coated drivel dished out by mainstream television pundits. We don't need a cynical middle man editing our democratic dialog... we need truth.

I believe it was Mulder of 'X-Files' fame who said "the truth is out there." The opportunity to wake up, pay attention, and meet our candidates is available to us. The choice is in our hands.

Dennis menaces the oil industry

This morning, I actually turned on C-Span.

I try to avoid this - honestly, I'd be better off avoiding all news these days, it gives me nightmares - but today was going to be special. Monica Goodling was scheduled to speak before the House Judiciary Committee, and Dennis Kucinich planned to speak for an entire hour about Congressional and White House efforts to privatize the oil of Iraq.

I somehow missed the Goodling testimony (although I suspect it will pop up on YouTube any moment,) but I did catch the tail end of Dennis' presentation. All I can say is - wow - this man is "Elliot Ness goes to Congress." His talk was carefully researched and crafted, harrowingly specific, named a vast assortment of sources, facts, numbers, dollars - and pointed fingers.

If this remarkable hour of 'truthiness' makes it to YouTube, I will definitely post the entire video here on this blog, because honestly everyone should see it.

Wonder what we're really doing in Iraq? Dennis lays it all out.

You already knew it was about the oil - the Baker Group even admitted that much. But the entire web of facts and figures behind the lies; the greed and deceit that the Cheney administration wove into an open war of aggression against Iraq -- well, let me just say that the sum total of this indictment will blow your mind.

Sometimes reality is more riveting even than Hollywood. And a lot more frightening.

UPDATE: There is literally no news coverage, anywhere, about his hour long talk. It seems to have been completely blacked out. I found one blurb about it in 'The Hill,' and the writer even mentioned that the members of the House ignored him when he spoke.

And we wonder why this war will never end.

Kucinich blasts efforts to ‘privatize’ Iraq’s oil
By Mike Soraghan
May 23, 2007

Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio), a fervent Iraq war opponent and dark horse presidential candidate, claimed an hour of floor time Wednesday to criticize Iraq’s hydrocarbon law.

Kucinich argued that the proposed law would privatize Iraqi oil. He said the Iraq supplemental expected to pass the House tomorrow sets passage of the law as a benchmark the Iraqi government must meet. He says that provision should be removed.

“We must not be a party to any attempt by multi-national oil companies to take over Iraq’s oil resources,” he said. “This is an outrageous exploitation of a nation torn apart by American intervention.”

His declarations went largely ignored. No one sought to intervene, and when he was done, the House quickly moved to a non-controversial bill revising the boundaries of The Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site.

Yeah. Carl Sandburg would be rolling in his grave at the sight of these congressional cowards ditzing around with his home at a time like this.

Fortunately, Dennis has it all printed up and out on his website. Even the visual aids! Hopefully video coming soon. When I find one, I'll post it.

Keep the faith Dennis. Lincoln would support you -- hell, Lincoln would have been standing up there next to you - and I hear he was one hell of an orator, as Sandburg would no doubt tell you.

Sometimes I wish we could bring Abe back - just for a few hours - and set him loose, so he could knock the cobwebs off the rafters in that stale congressional chamber. He'd wake em up. I swear - after all of these years of reading his letters and speeches, I can almost hear him, railing against this lobbyist corruption. He left a lot of quotes and letters -- its not hard to imagine what he'd be saying, and how loudly he'd be saying it, if only he were here today.

But we've got you Dennis. Thankfully, we've at least got you to speak for us.


UPDATE 5/26/2007: I can't find a video of his presentation in the House. This is the closest thing I can find... apparently, Dennis has been trying to get this news out for a long, long time.

'Presidential Courage,' and where to find it

It's so freeing to be an Independent now... I can finally toss all partisanship to the wind and just look at personal character.

I don't agree completely with either party's platform - nor do I trust the current batch of candidates, on either side, to be 'as advertised.' The only candidate who seems authentic (true to himself) is Dennis Kucinich. That said, the media ignores him and his own party doesn't give him much support.

Mike Gravel also seems to be the real deal. By the way, this is the same Mike Gravel who released the Pentagon Papers during the Nixon Administration! Seems he's been here before. Courage demonstrated; and during a similar, war-torn era. Gravel has already proven that he is willing to take risks for his convictions - and on behalf of the nation - so I consider him a good risk when it comes to potentially demonstrating 'Presidential Courage' if the need should arise.

Our biggest problem is the media; and of course, behind them in the shadows, corporate America. I have no idea how a Kucinich or a Mike Gravel can get elected in this age where candidates are picked on the basis of how much money they can raise (from 'big money' sources with big money agendas.) Its not about us anymore... its about money. Its not even about issues. Candidates tap dance around the issues whenever possible, so as to never offend anyone or any corporation that might be ready to pony up and donate that 'big money.'

Based on our current system of picking candidates, I don't know how Abraham Lincoln could have been elected - so Kucinich and Gravel are in good company. What would possess any serious candidate to take risks (or tell the truth) if they are continually pandering to big money interests? Gravel spoke out in the first Democratic debate, and brought some life to the drone of predictably canned answers by speaking out against the use of nukes.

Imagine that we are now to an age where speaking out against nukes is seen as 'taking a risk.' My God - President Reagan was against nukes.

Ironically, in a time when GOP candidates are falling all over themselves to compare favorably with the Gipper, they seem to have forgotten that the Gipper actually reduced our nuclear arsenal. Yes, the Gipper didn't want all of those nukes lying around - and he certainly didn't plan to actually USE them. He also didn't condone or utilize torture, and he was willing to engage in diplomacy to make peace with the Soviets and end the Cold War. Amazing, in hindsight. Actually guys, I'm not sure he'd really approve of you. Maybe McCain, but the rest of you? Doubt it. Of course he's dead, and so unavailable to defend his name, or your cheap abduction of his image.

Speaking of cheap... words are damn cheap, in a GOP debate. Romney drew huge applause from an apparently sadistic audience when he bragged that he would actually increase the size of Gitmo. And I loved his creation of a new word - "enhanced interrogation techniques" (meaning torture) - while saying he would 'never condone torture,' just make 'greater use of enhanced interrogation techniques.' It all sounded so strangely corporate, didn't it? So slick. Enhanced interrogation techniques. Is Rove helping you with your campaign spin, Mitt?

As I start scanning potential candidates for 2008, I'm looking for someone with presidential character - never mind that a guy like that could probably never get elected. Its my job to look for he or she and to desire this. I'm looking for a potential president who will tell the truth, even if it isn't politically advantageous. I want a president that can write his or her own speeches the way Abraham Lincoln labored over his; and who will mean the words he or she has penned.

I want a leader who will inspire me to be a better citizen, as in 'ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.' I want a president that will make sound, rational decisions - decisions that will take into account the best interests of all citizens of this nation, not just cater to the interests of the highest bidders.

I want someone who isn't blinded by - or worse - completely ruled by partisan politics. We desperately need a leader that will put the interests of the nation as a whole over the interests of his or her own party. I'd prefer a candidate that surrounds him or herself with intelligent and progressive thinkers from both parties... a candidate who can draw the best out of everyone, and create bridges between opposing viewpoints. I want a president that will represent all Americans, of every economic status, race, religion and region. I want a president that will restore dignity and honor to our nation.

Is that asking too much? A better question might be, do we really dare ask for any less?

I just finished reading the Newsweek article with an excerpt from the new book "Presidential Courage," by Michael R. Beschloss, and it made me think once again about the truly great presidents I have admired over the years. Some have risked and lost, others have risked and saved the nation. Those who risked nothing, slipped into obscurity. So far, no president has lost our democracy or our freedom - yet, although this one is certainly trying. There has always been that risk. Its time we took it a little more seriously.

In this day, when money dictates who receives each party's nod, it is questionable whether we the citizen voters can even choose an ethical president from between the two candidates finally offered to us by these corporate-subsidized parties. As Beschloss writes:

The way we choose presidents now can penalize the courageous. As early as 1955, Sen. John F. Kennedy complained that politics had become "so expensive, so mechanized and so dominated by professional politicians and public-relations men" that "any unpopular or unorthodox course arouses a storm of protests." This was long before presidential candidates were compelled to show their seriousness by raising $50 million or $100 million each. It is hard to imagine Andrew Jackson going after Biddle's bank if Jackson had to raise that kind of money to become president.

Somehow, some way, we must find a leader who can meet the standards set by the courageous presidents of our past.

Thus the third party option.

Right now, I believe our best bet for a real choice is Unity08. Delegates to the Unity08 online convention will actually choose the candidates that will run on the party ticket. Imagine that. The people choosing the candidate rather than corporations and bankers. Yes, I'm liking this 'Unity08' party more every day.

But there is still the question of Hagel.

Republicans scream that he hasn't been loyal to his party, because he has taken such a strong stand against the war. Democrats scream about his conservative voting record. I look at him and see a man who speaks from conviction first, partisan 'political correctness' a distant second.

That is exactly the kind of guy I want in the White House.

There is your demonstration of 'presidential courage' - as if his days as a foot soldier in Vietnam weren't indication enough.

When I look at Hagel, I see a man who thinks for himself and carries the weight of a real conscience; a man who fought in and survived Vietnam (those with real combat experience are much less likely to start a war unless every other option has failed. They've seen enough bloodshed.) I see a man marked by the controversy of that war, and one who has learned the searing lessons of that conflict, as well as the politics that led to its escalation. I see a man who believes in democracy, and appears to have actually read the Constitution.

Hagel appears to be the embodiment of everything McCain has claimed to be: an honest politician - a 'people's' representative in a world crawling with lobbyist lapdogs. McCain has changed, in ways I still can't quite grasp. He seems to be flipping and flopping all over the place - he's not at all the man he was in 2000. McCain 'version 2000' would be leading every poll today. Today's voters crave authenticity. I guess he was ahead of his time.

And that leaves Hagel.

Hagel is the man who could pick up the 'McCain v 2000' mantle and wear it straight into the White House. He has demonstrated that he has courage and patriotism - the real kind, not empty words on flag-draped stages. He is more than willing to use diplomacy (he has been advocating for discussions with Iran and Syria since the beginning of the Iraq war.)

Most encouraging to me, Hagel is a student of history.

If you read enough history, it is impossible to escape the realization that there is truly nothing new under the sun. If it happened once, it will happen again. If you learn what came before you, you will have a much better chance of heading off the bad outcomes and facilitating the good ones. This is simple logic. Forewarned is fore-armed.

Those who don't know history are 'doomed to repeat it.' Everyone has heard the saying, but nobody really thinks about it - the dire implications of putting your faith in a leader who doesn't read, and doesn't really care about history. A president who doesn't grasp history, will doom the entire nation to repeating it right along with him.

Thanks to our current president and vice president - who obviously learned nothing from Vietnam - we are entangled in the same kind of mess in Iraq. Not only are we there: we're even escalating.

Nothing new under the sun. You'd think a lesson this harsh could have been learned, at least within one generation. I imagine this has been excruciating for our Congressional Vietnam vets to watch, after everything they have been through in their own lives.

Hagel has something else... something I can't quite put my finger on (actually I can, but I can't explain to you how I sense it.) Hagel still believes in honor. Hagel didn't grow up with a silver spoon in his mouth, he went through the kinds of life challenges that build real character. His character is etched on his face, and his eyes are sad in a way you often see in people who think a lot, and think deeply. They remind me a bit of the eyes staring out of Lincoln photos from around the end of the war. With battle, time and struggle comes wisdom... to some anyway.

I don't know that he won't change, the way McCain has changed, or that he will even run. But there is something different about this guy.

For example, while Democrats shuddered at the very thought of 'putting impeachment on the table,' Hagel - conservative Republican - brought it up himself during an interview with Esquire magazine:

"The president says, 'I don't care.' He's not accountable anymore," Hagel says, measuring his words by the syllable and his syllables almost by the letter. "He's not accountable anymore, which isn't totally true. You can impeach him, and before this is over, you might see calls for his impeachment. I don't know. It depends how this goes."

The conversation beaches itself for a moment on that word -- impeachment -- spoken by a conservative Republican from a safe Senate seat in a reddish state. It's barely even whispered among the serious set in Washington, and it rings like a gong in the middle of the sentence, even though it flowed quite naturally out of the conversation he was having about how everybody had abandoned their responsibility to the country, and now there was a war going bad because of it.

"Congress abdicated its oversight responsibility," he says. "The press abdicated its responsibility, and the American people abdicated their responsibilities. Terror was on the minds of everyone, and nobody questioned anything, quite frankly."

Refreshing, hearing 'truth' from the mouth of a politician.

And so the wait goes on. Will Hagel run? If he does, he has my vote. There are times in life when you have to go on gut instinct alone, because talk is cheap (and talk is everywhere these days.) My gut instinct says 'Hagel' every time.