Wexler, a Dozen Housemates say the "I" word...

(LETTER TO CHAIRMAN CONYERS)

January 16, 2008
John Conyers, Jr., Chairman
House Judiciary Committee
2138 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Chairman Conyers:

You have been a tireless champion of providing oversight to an Administration that has run roughshod over our constitution, that operates with s no limits on executive branch authority and one that has repeatedly flouted the investigations and oversight the 110th Congress has tried to provide over the past year. We have the greatest respect for the work you have done and believe that impeachment hearings pertaining to Vice President Cheney are the best way to move that work forward.

Impeachment hearings will allow for the exact kind of oversight that you and the Democratic leadership have provided regarding the actions of the Administration but without the opportunity for the Bush Administration to ignore lawful requests for information, refuse subpoenas and effectively limit its own oversight.

Impeachment hearings can provide the opportunity to cut through the executive privilege defenses and force this Administration to answer a Congress it has clearly chosen to ignore. We know you would agree that as Members of Congress, we can not allow legitimate oversight to be thwarted or such a dangerous precedent to stand...As you know, the charges against Vice President Cheney include providing Congress and the American people false intelligence leading up to the Iraq war, the revelation of the identity of a covert agent for political retaliation, and the illegal wiretapping of American citizens.

We trust that you will hold a sober investigation and let the facts determine the outcome as you have as Chairman this past year. We sincerely believe that impeachment hearings are the appropriate and necessary next step given what we have seen of this Administration. Chairman Conyers, we are respectfully asking you join us and concerned citizens around the country in supporting impeachment hearings.

Sincerely,

Clarke, Yvette D., NY, 11th
Clay, Wm. Lacy, MO, 1st
Cohen, Steve, TN, 9th *
Farr, Sam, CA, 17th
Grijalva, Raúl M., AZ, 7th
Moore, Gwen, WI, 4th
Moran, James P., VA, 8th
Towns, Edolphus, NY, 10th
Wynn, Albert Russell, MD, 4th
Baldwin, Tammy, WI, 2nd *
Capuano, Michael E., MA, 8th
Gutierrez, Luis V., IL, 4th *
Thompson, Mike, CA, 1st
Wexler, Robert, FL, 19th *

(*= member of the Judiciary Committee)

Here's Ralph Nader on impeachment...

Some say Ralph Nader is a key reason why we ended up with Bush and Cheney in the first place. For many years after the 2000 election, I thought Bush was disproving Nader's main argument: that there wasn't enough difference between the leaderships of the Democratic and the Republican parties. But given that Hillary and the majority of the Democrats in Congress supported the Iraq War - and that most of those same Demos won't pick up the impeachment ball - I'm not so sure that Nader was wrongheaded in his run against Bush/Cheney and Gore/Lieberman.

In this 3-minute YouTube snippet from a 2007 Nader speech, he shares the bizarre reason one Democratic congressman cited when asked why he won't support impeachment despite the fact that a majority of his constituents do:

Need proof of media's anti-change bias?

Here it is, amigos. Fox did it to Ron Paul, too. If I owned a TV, this would make me destroy it:

NBC unplugs Kucinich from Presidential debate

Less than 44 hours after NBC sent a congratulatory note and an invitation to Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich to participate in the Jan. 15 Democratic Presidential debate in Las Vegas, the network notified the campaign this morning it was changing it announced criteria, rescinding its invitation, and excluding Kucinich from the debate.

NBC Political Director Chuck Todd notified the Kucinich campaign this morning that, although Kucinich had met the qualification criteria publicly announced on December 28, the network was “re-doing” the criteria, excluding Kucinich, and planning to invite only Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama and former senator John Edwards. The criteria announced last month included a fourth-place or better showing in a national poll. The USA/Gallup poll earlier this month showed Kucinich in fourth place among the Democratic contenders.

In an email to the Kucinich campaign at 2:35 p.m. on Wednesday, January 9, Democratic Party debates consultant Jenny Backus wrote: “Congratulations on another hard-fought contest. Now that New Hampshire is over, we are on to Nevada and our Presidential Debate on Tuesday January 15. This letter serves as an official invitation for your candidate to participate in the Nevada Presidential Debate at Cashman Theatre in downtown Las Vegas. You have met the criteria set by NBC and the Debate.”

Todd notified the Kucinich campaign this morning that the network had decided to change the criteria and limit participation in the debate to only three candidates.

Osama Bin Laden has been dead for years...

...that's the argument explored in a fascinating post on LittleCountryLost, an superb blog focused on stories left out of the mainstream media. The discussion starts with the clip below, an excerpt of a November '07 interview with Benazir Bhutto, in which she names people who she thinks want to kill her. According to Bhutto, one of these people - Omar Sheikh - "murdered Osama Bin Laden." Watch for yourself:



LittleCountryLost offers a timeline of Bin Laden-related events, and points out a troubling change in Bush administration rhetoric regarding Bin Laden. If he did die some time in the 18 months after 9/11, the case for the war on terror would have suffered, right? In that time period, Bush & Co. certainly shifted the emphasis away from Bin Laden:

September 15, 2001 – President Bush says of bin-Laden, “If he thinks he can hide and run from the United States and our allies, he will be sorely mistaken.”

September 17, 2001 – President Bush says, “I want justice. And there’s an old poster out West, I recall, that says, ‘Wanted: Dead or Alive.’”

November 7, 2001 - Pakistani reporter Hamid Mir interviews Osama bin-Laden in person.

November 16, 2001 - Battle of Tora Bora begins.

November 25, 2001 - Osama bin-Laden gives his last known public speech to his followers in Milawa, Afghanistan, a village located on the route from Tora Bora to the Pakistani border.

November 28, 2001 - Osama bin-Laden reportedly escapes Tora Bora

December 15, 2001 - Osama bin-Laden's voice is reportedly intercepted for the last time communicating with his fighters in Tora Bora via his shortwave radio

December 17, 2001 - US Intelligence and Pentagon officials admit they have lost Osama bin-Laden

December 17, 2001 - United States declares victory at Tora Bora

December 26, 2001 - Article about Osama bin-Laden's funeral is published in Pakistan and Egypt. The funeral allegedly takes place about 10 days earlier. The article is also discussed by Fox News.

December 28, 2001 – President Bush says, “Our objective is more than bin-Laden”

January 18, 2002 – Pakistani dictator Pervez Musharraf tells CNN that he believes Osama bin-Laden to be dead

January 27, 2002 - Vice President Dick Cheney says that Osama bin-Laden "isn't that big of a threat. Bin Laden connected to this worldwide organization of terror is a threat."

January 27, 2002 – White House Chief of Staff Andy Card tells CNN, “"I do not know for a fact that he's alive. I happen to believe he's probably alive… Our overall objective is to defeat terrorism, wherever it is around the world. And so, our objective is not to get Osama bin Laden."

January 29, 2002 – President Bush delivers his first State of the Union address since 9/11. While he labels Iraq, Iran, and North Korea the “axis of evil”, he fails to mention Osama bin-Laden at all.

March 13, 2002 – President Bush says, “Deep in my heart I know the man is on the run, if he's alive at all… He’s a person who’s now been marginalized.… I just don’t spend that much time on him.… I truly am not that concerned about him.”

April 4, 2002 - Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Richard Myers says, "The goal has never been to get bin-Laden"

October 14, 2002 – President Bush says, “I don’t know whether bin-Laden is alive or dead”

October 16, 2002 – Middle East Newsline reports that Israeli Intelligence officials confirmed that Israel and the United States believe Osama bin-Laden was killed in mid-December 2001 during the Tora Bora bombing campaign.

This timeline, with Osama bin-Laden's death allegedly occurring in the middle of December 2001, makes it possible that Omar Sheikh could have committed the murder. From October 2001 through January 19, 2002, Omar Sheikh was living openly in his home in Lahore, Pakistan. His positions as leader of Harkat-ul-Mujahideen (a Taliban and Osama bin-Laden partner) and ISI agent (the source of funds for Harkat-ul-Mujahideen) would also have given him means for access to Osama bin-Laden.

Tony, Tony, Tony...

...congrats on your new job. I always suspected you were working for a higher power, and now I know for sure. And now all your connections are really gonna pay off!

Tony Blair starts $1M bank job

Former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, who left office last June, has taken up a part-time job with a Wall Street bank on an estimated $1 million salary.

Blair will work with JP Morgan Chase, a firm with assets of $1.5 trillion and operations in more than 50 countries. He will advise the bank on global political and strategic issues, a company statement said.

"We operate our business all over the world, and Tony Blair will bring our leaders and clients a unique and invaluable global perspective that is especially critical in turbulent times like these," said Jamie Dimon, chairman and CEO of the company, in the statement.

Neither Blair nor the bank would say how much the former PM would be paid. A New York recruitment consultant though told the Financial Times that the job was likely to be worth more than $987,000 (£500,000) a year.

Advisory jobs such as the one Blair has accepted are popular among former world leaders. His predecessor as prime minister, John Major, took a position with the Carlyle Group, a private investment house, as did former U.S. President George H.W. Bush.

Poems written by Guantanamo inmates...

...read by Hadi Jawad, one of the founders of the Crawford Peace House.

Interesting email from Dennis Kucinich...

...who still strikes me as the only candidate who is talking about the substantive changes our country needs. John Edwards' anti-corporate bluster belies his big-money ties to the Fortress Investment Group. And ABC/Disney's decision to exclude Kucinich from the New Hampshire debate is telling...Kucinich is the candidate that the corporates are really afraid of!

RE: New Hampshire, Iowa and Edwards

Dear Supporter,

For the record:

1. New Hampshire is the first state where we are aggressively campaigning. Due to the Party lockout in Iowa, we chose to focus on New Hampshire.
2. I am the only person running for President who voted against the war, against funding the war 100% of the time, against the Patriot Act, and who stands for a universal single-payer not-for-profit healthcare system. Nevertheless I was excluded from Saturday night's ABC Presidential debate, or four tone monologue as it was.
3. In answer to your questions about why I didn't support former Senator John Edwards on the second ballot in Iowa: I have serious concerns about his connections to a Wall Street hedge fund, Fortress Investment Group. While attacking others for accepting campaign money from Washington lobbyists, he is up to his ears in money from Wall Street special interests.

He made half a million dollars in a single year for attending a few meetings for Fortress and has invested a substantial part of his own personal wealth in the hedge fund whose portfolios are responsible for sub-prime predatory lending practices, Medicare privatization, and an entire range of corporate sharp dealings that are driving the middle class into poverty.

While I indicated Senator Obama as a preferred second choice in Iowa, Progressives have fundamental disagreements with him and all of the other Presidential candidates on most of their major positions on the issues.

We must have the courage of our convictions to fully support and vote for what it is we really want. For once, we must realize our power, stop playing tactical games, and vote as a bloc - which, as you know, is what the religious right does and why they often win.

We Progressives are in the majority in this election. We will win only when we refuse to compromise and vote with integrity.

--Dennis Kucinich

To close 2007...

...a couple members of the Wavelength crew took a trip to Malaysia, visiting cities such as Kuala Lumpur and Melaka. Malaysia is a wondrous country, from jungles to beaches and everything in between. And the people's affectionate respect for citizens of other countries was evident in the many smiles and greetings we received in each area we explored.

Of the many contrasts with the United States, perhaps the most striking to me was Malaysia's lack of free speech, which manifests in forms such as censorship of the press and criminal penalties for critics of the government. A website like Wavelength's would never fly in Malaysia, for example, and the country's citizens could get in trouble for wearing t-shirts like the ones we offer. With this in mind, we feel quite lucky to be Americans, and quite proud of the USA.

Of Malaysia's many similarities with the United States, one that I noticed repeatedly was the sharp differences in living standards across the upper, middle, and lower classes. From gleaming office towers to high-rise dormitories to aluminum-roofed shanties, Malaysia's citizens - like those in the United States, and perhaps all countries - live their lives in a wide range of conditions, and with a broadly varying command of resources.


I hope to write more on Malaysia in future posts. For now, I'll just add that the country was warm, welcoming, beautiful, and steeped in history. And fans of either Indian or Chinese cuisine will love Malaysia's authentic and affordable restaurants.

It took me awhile to figure out Greenspan...

...back in the short-lived era of the in-the-black federal budget, Greenspan told Congress it had to start giving back taxpayer money, lest a ballooning surplus weigh down the economy. When deficits returned a couple years later, he told Congress that Social Security was suddenly in crisis, and only savable with private accounts.

Why hadn't he said anything about Social Security's needs during the surplus? Shenanigans. Greenspan was not on our side on Social Security, and now this NY Times eye-opener shows where he stood on subprime lending:

Edward M. Gramlich, a Federal Reserve governor who died in September, warned nearly seven years ago that a fast-growing new breed of lenders was luring many people into risky mortgages they could not afford. But when Mr. Gramlich privately urged Fed examiners to investigate mortgage lenders affiliated with national banks, he was rebuffed by Alan Greenspan, the Fed chairman.

In 2001, a senior Treasury official, Sheila C. Bair, tried to persuade subprime lenders to adopt a code of “best practices” and to let outside monitors verify their compliance. None of the lenders would agree to the monitors, and many rejected the code itself. Even those who did adopt those practices, Ms. Bair recalled recently, soon let them slip.

And leaders of a housing advocacy group in California, meeting with Mr. Greenspan in 2004, warned that deception was increasing and unscrupulous practices were spreading. John C. Gamboa and Robert L. Gnaizda of the Greenlining Institute implored Mr. Greenspan to use his bully pulpit and press for a voluntary code of conduct.

“He never gave us a good reason, but he didn’t want to do it,” Mr. Gnaizda said last week. “He just wasn’t interested.”

Some fairly heavy promotional activity...

...including an email contact to all of our previous customers, plus links in emails sent by our friends at Democrats.com, generated a wave of site visits. I'll share more on the resulting bump in sales, but for now, here's a look at visits to the page with I Have A Dream, Impeach Bush & Cheney, and Arrest Bush:

The screenshot above came from Wavelength's Yahoo account.

Some new clamoring for Impeach Cheney...

...amongst a trio of members of Congress:

Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.)...and two of his colleagues on the House judiciary committee - Florida's Robert Wexler and Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin - have penned an op-ed piece calling for committee hearings on a bill to impeact Dick Cheney on a variety of charges, including allegations of manipulating intelligence to boost the case for war with Iraq.

"The issues at hand are too serious to ignore, including credible allegations of abuse of power that if proven may well constitute high crimes and misdemeanors under our constitution," the op-ed says. "The charges against Vice President Cheney relate to his deceptive actions leading up to the Iraq war, the revelation of the identity of a covert agent for political retaliation, and the illegal wiretapping of American citizens."

It's heartening to see a few members step up like this. What's discouraging is the response line out of Democratic leadership: "it'll take us away from other, more important things." Ah, love to see them flash that old killer instinct.

Another frustrating note on matter is the response from His Majesty's Media the Mainstream: the three Congressfolks tried but couldn't get their editorial published in any big papers. Fortunately, I found a smaller independent willing to point the finger at Cheney:

"Look into my eyes," Cheneybot commanded,
"And repeat after me: impeachment is not an option."

All we want for Christmas...

...is some justice, in the form of impeachment of Bush and Cheney.

To let everybody know, we've added a shirt that borrows an immortal line from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. In the spirit of Dr. King's rallying cry against the scourge of racial oppression, this shirt calls out the impeachable crimes of the Bush administration.

That justice will prevail, and that Bush and Cheney will be held accountable for their crimes...

A cool map of Demo campaign stops...

...makes for a few moments of interactive and informative fun, courtesy of the New York Times.

Check the map for more candidate-by-candidate info, for candidates from both major parties.

Kucinich supporters like me often lament how the media seems to ignore his campaign, but the maps slices at right offer a different perspective on why he isn't getting much voter traction. He's got New Hampshire covered, but the top 3 candidates seem to be stumping much harder in Iowa and elsewhere.

A note, however: it could be that Kucinich is not hitting Iowa hard because he has bigger plans, beyond the Democratic nomination. Stay tuned...

When a senator bows out...

...with 4 years left in a term, do the voters who elected him get any recourse?

Today, Trent Lott announced he would retire from the U.S. Senate by the end of this year, though he'd just been re-elected in 2006. The reason? To paraphrase MSNBC, it's so he can become a lobbyist before tougher lobbying rules take effect in the next few months. More specifically, here's how one commenter sums it up:

"If you retire after January 1, 2008, you must wait 2 years before becoming a lobbyist. That's the reason Hair Helmet is resigning now. It's all about continuing to enrich himself at the taxpayer's expense."

To me, this is one more example of how we need more than just the money out of our political system - we need to get money fiend personalities out of our political system. In my opinion, congresspeople should take vows of penury; once elected, they should receive the median income of the district they represent - for the rest of their lives.

That would certainly shift the D.C. personality mix a bit. For example, I don't think Bush would have thrown his hat into such a ring. Which is practically grounds for resting the case.

The Best of Bush

"I gotta go to Vegas...Somethin' about - what happens in Vegas stays there or something?"

Outsourcing the military means big bucks...

...for companies like Halliburton, a firm whose stock market value currently totals $35 billion. Recently, I listened to a public conference call between Wall Street analysts and Dyncorp, sort of a mini version of Dick Cheney's HAL. Here are some excerpts from the call, which was led by Dyncorp's CEO Herbert Lanese and offered a firsthand view of the business of war:

"...our CIVPOL program in Iraq was extended through November of this year, and we’ve since been informed that a further extension through February of 2008 will be funded soon. Our CIVPOL program in Afghanistan has been extended through August of 2008, while the Afghanistan Poppy Eradication Program has been extended through September of 2008. We’ve also been re-awarded extensions on both our Contract Field Teams program, our CFT program, and our War Reserve Materiel or WRM contracts, both of those through September of 2008."

"The CIVPOL, or Civilian Police Program, in Iraq and Afghanistan, is a very large and complex program. And as you might imagine, as with other large complex government contracts, it’s not unusual for the contractor and its government customer to identify and address a number of issues that may arise during the course of contractor performance. We are, above all else, serious about the integrity of our operations. Neither I nor any of the people who work for me at this point in our careers are going to damage our good reputations with something silly."

"It is very important for our shareholders to understand that we compete with Blackwater in a very narrow field that currently represents 2% of our revenue. I want to repeat that: 2% of our revenue. So when you compare us to Blackwater, 2% of our revenue is on the same basis as Blackwater. Unfortunately, it is very visible work that tends to attract a disproportionate amount of attention that I believe unfairly distorts the image of Dyncorp."

Herbert Lanese: Yeah, and the Marine Corps has just put out it’s own solicitation for [armored vehicles] and it’s in the 20-some-thousands as well, too, and that’s not in any of the numbers I am talking about yet. So look, I just think it’s got great opportunity for us. It’s something I am really excited about.
Wall Street analyst: Your enthusiasm is palpable.Thank you very much.
Herbert Lanese: [laughter] Yes, thank you. Sorry to be emotional on these calls, but I do get excited about this stuff. I love this stuff I do.

Key facts on Iraq...

...compiled by the Associated Press:

U.S. TROOP LEVELS:
January 2007: 137,000
October 2007: 170,000

CASUALTIES as of 10/31/07:
Confirmed U.S. military deaths: 3,838
Confirmed U.S. military wounded: 28,385
Deaths of civilian employees of U.S. gov't contractors: 1,073
Iraqi civilian deaths from war-related violence: more than 75,000 (est.)
Assassinated Iraqi academics: 336
Journalists killed on assignment: 122

COST:
Stepped-up military operations are costing about $12 billion a month, with Iraq accounting for $10 billion per month, according to congressional analysis. Total cost to the U.S. government so far is more than $464 billion. A January 2007 study by Linda Bilmes of Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government put the total projected cost of providing medical care and disability benefits to veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan at $350 billion to $700 billion.

OIL PRODUCTION:
Prewar: 2.58 million barrels per day
Oct. 21, 2007: 2.36 million barrels per day

ELECTRICITY
Prewar nationwide: 3,958 megawatts. Hours per day (est.): four to eight
Oct. 23, 2007, nationwide: 4,790 megawatts. Hours per day: 13.1
Prewar Baghdad: 2,500 megawatts. Hours per day (est.): 16-24
Oct. 23, 2007, Baghdad: Megawatts not available. Hours per day: 8.9
Note: Current Baghdad megawatt figures are no longer reported by the U.S. State Department's Iraq Weekly Status Report.

TELEPHONES:
Prewar land lines: 833,000
March 13, 2007: 1,111,000
Prewar cell phones: 80,000
March 13, 2007: 8,720,038

WATER:
Prewar: 12.9 million people had potable water
Oct. 18, 2007: 19.6 million people have potable water

SEWERAGE
Prewar: 6.2 million people served
Oct. 18, 2007: 11.3 million people served

INTERNAL REFUGEES:
Oct. 23, 2007: At least 2.3 million people have been displaced inside Iraq...Iraqis have made some 19,800 asylum claims during the first six months of 2007, a 45 percent increase compared to the previous six months, when 13,600 applications were received.

EMIGRANTS:
Prewar: 500,000 Iraqis living abroad.
Oct. 23, 2007: More than 2.2 million in neighboring countries.

Dennis Kucinich rolled into San Diego...

... this past weekend, to speak at a gathering at the home of a UCSD biology professor. Kucinich, his wife Elizabeth, and her mother all turned out for the occasion, and the crowd responded warmly to Dennis's calls for strength through peace, a national health care system, and a "Works Green" Administration.

I was happy to note that the Union-Tribune saw fit to cover the event with a reporter, who filed an article that captured the event quite nicely.

For more on Dennis Kucinich's views, check his website, and maybe even his video updates. If you're in San Diego, join his San Diego team.

Here comes a big day of protest...

...with big regional rallies scheduled for Saturday, October 27. For more info, click here.

Anti-war sentiment up, protests down...

...that's the moral from a Reuters article on dwindling turnout at recent anti-war events, particularly in DC. Issues include fatigue, frustration, in-fighting among activist groups, and the Internet, which may have eclipsed the street corner as the place to protest:

U.S. protests shrink while antiwar sentiment grows
By Andy Sullivan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Crowds at antiwar rallies in Washington have dwindled even as U.S. opinion has turned against the war in Iraq, as organizers feud and participants question the effectiveness of the street protests. Rival antiwar groups, which in years past jointly sponsored massive rallies on the National Mall, have promoted separate protests recently or decided to steer clear of the capital altogether...

United for Peace and Justice, which has tried to focus on ending the Iraq war, drew 100,000 people to a January protest. The group plans 11 regional demonstrations later this month, but none in Washington. ANSWER has called for antiwar groups to join forces for a large rally in the spring...

Antiwar leaders say recent smaller protests reflect new tactics, not disorganization. Smaller activist groups like Code Pink have been a colorful, disruptive presence at congressional hearings and appearances by Bush administration officials. "There's times when we've had half a million people out in the streets, and there's times when it's important just to be there," Langley said.

But others said it is less likely they'll head to Washington at all. "People are tired, they are frustrated because they didn't expect this to go on so long," said Laura Bonham, a spokeswoman for Progressive Democrats of America, which lobbies lawmakers to support a withdrawal. "It's like, well, we can stay home."

Largely absent from the actions are young people, who were the majority of Vietnam-era protesters -- perhaps because they do not risk being drafted into the military or from a sense that they can express their opposition to the war on the Internet, rather than on the streets, [Hamilton College history professor Maurice] Isserman said.