Hi. I can't add anything to either article, but I can urge you to read and consider them seriously and as a unit. Actually, what I can add to the impeachment article is that, whether or not impeachment can succeed, the platform provided by the attempt will catch the attention and mood of the public, now more open to politics than any time since the 1960's. It would educate, grow in force and greatly advance politics, generally. Look at how much things are changing over this week, even in congress. Seize this time - We need it. Ed
http://select.nytimes.com/2007/01/19/opinion/19krugman.html?th&emc=th Surging and Purging By PAUL KRUGMAN Published: January 19, 2007 There's something happening here, and what it is seems completely clear: the Bush administration is trying to protect itself by purging independent-minded prosecutors. Last month, Bud Cummins, the U.S. attorney (federal prosecutor) for the Eastern District of Arkansas, received a call on his cellphone while hiking in the woods with his son. He was informed that he had just been replaced by J. Timothy Griffin, a Republican political operative who has spent the last few years working as an opposition researcher for Karl Rove. Mr. Cummins's case isn't unique. Since the middle of last month, the Bush administration has pushed out at least four U.S. attorneys, and possibly as many as seven, without explanation. The list includes Carol Lam, the U.S. attorney for San Diego, who successfully prosecuted Duke Cunningham, a Republican congressman, on major corruption charges. The top F.B.I. official in San Diego told The San Diego Union-Tribune that Ms. Lam's dismissal would undermine multiple continuing investigations. In Senate testimony yesterday, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales refused to say how many other attorneys have been asked to resign, calling it a "personnel matter." In case you're wondering, such a wholesale firing of prosecutors midway through an administration isn't normal. U.S. attorneys, The Wall Street Journal recently pointed out, "typically are appointed at the beginning of a new president's term, and serve throughout that term." Why, then, are prosecutors that the Bush administration itself appointed suddenly being pushed out? The likely answer is that for the first time the administration is really worried about where corruption investigations might lead. Since the day it took power this administration has shown nothing but contempt for the normal principles of good government. For six years ethical problems and conflicts of interest have been the rule, not the exception. For a long time the administration nonetheless seemed untouchable, protected both by Republican control of Congress and by its ability to justify anything and everything as necessary for the war on terror. Now, however, the investigations are closing in on the Oval Office. The latest news is that J. Steven Griles, the former deputy secretary of the Interior Department and the poster child for the administration's systematic policy of putting foxes in charge of henhouses, is finally facing possible indictment. And the purge of U.S. attorneys looks like a pre-emptive strike against the gathering forces of justice. Won't the administration have trouble getting its new appointees confirmed by the Senate? Well, it turns out that it won't have to. Arlen Specter, the Republican senator who headed the Judiciary Committee until Congress changed hands, made sure of that last year. Previously, new U.S. attorneys needed Senate confirmation within 120 days or federal district courts would name replacements. But as part of a conference committee reconciling House and Senate versions of the revised Patriot Act, Mr. Specter slipped in a clause eliminating that rule. As Paul Kiel of TPMmuckraker.com - which has done yeoman investigative reporting on this story - put it, this clause in effect allows the administration "to handpick replacements and keep them there in perpetuity without the ordeal of Senate confirmation." How convenient. Mr. Gonzales says that there's nothing political about the firings. And according to The Associated Press, he said that district court judges shouldn't appoint U.S. attorneys because they "tend to appoint friends and others not properly qualified to be prosecutors." Words fail me. Mr. Gonzales also says that the administration intends to get Senate confirmation for every replacement. Sorry, but that's not at all credible, even if we ignore the administration's track record. Mr. Griffin, the political-operative-turned-prosecutor, would be savaged in a confirmation hearing. By appointing him, the administration showed that it has no intention of following the usual rules. The broader context is this: defeat in the midterm elections hasn't led the Bush administration to scale back its imperial view of presidential power. On the contrary, now that President Bush can no longer count on Congress to do his bidding, he's more determined than ever to claim essentially unlimited authority - whether it's the authority to send more troops into Iraq or the authority to stonewall investigations into his own administration's conduct. The next two years, in other words, are going to be a rolling constitutional crisis. *** Date: Thu, 18 Jan 2007 13:20:38 -0500 (EST) From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [Last Friday, a full-page ad in The New York Times demanded Bush's impeachment. See the URLs below for more info on the campaign. -NYTr] sent by Don Stacey Wow! A full page ad in Friday's New York Times (Jan 12, 2007). In the front section, no less. Take a moment and look at the ad by clicking on link just below the picture (.PDF file). Is impeachment impossible? No. Is it non-productive (ie, it would elevate Cheney to President)? Maybe but why not impeach both of them at the same time? And as an indication of how things are going in the White House these days, be sure to read the article at the end of this message. Don Stacey Please circulate widely... http://www.impeachbush.org/ http://www.impeachbush.org/site/DocServer/impeachbush_2007_FINAL.pdf?docID=121 Jan 12, 2007--Today's New York Times carries the full page ad calling for the impeachment of George W. Bush (Jan. 12, 2007). Congratulations to all members of ImpeachBush/VoteToImpeach.org who helped place this New York Times ad. This is the third full-page impeachment ad to run in the New York Times. With everyone's support, we have also placed ads in the San Francisco Chronicle, Boston Globe, USA Today, and other newspapers around the country. The timing for the ad is excellent. Coming 36 hours after Bush brazenly announced an expansion of his criminal war and occupation in Iraq, the country is seething with anger. Because Bush remains in office, thus far escaping impeachment, thousands more Iraqis and U.S. soldiers will be killed and wounded in a war that should never have happened. We want to seize the momentum and place the ad in various other newspapers. We will also be having a major impeachment contingent on March 17, the 4th anniversary of the war in Iraq, at the March on the Pentagon in Washington DC. We can place more ads and organize the nationwide grassroots campaign, including this contingent, with everyone's continued support and commitment to ImpeachBush.org. If you can help, click here. The danger that Bush poses is extreme. His speech of Wednesday night, directly in opposition to the wishes of the American people, not only announced his plan to deepen the war in Iraq, but made clear his direct threat to attack Syria and Iran. Impeachment is imperative. Congress must act before more and more are killed and before Bush's war spreads into other countries. We cannot wait two more years. Please take action today: 1. Forward this email to all of your lists and your friends and families. 2. Be sure to sign the referendum for impeachment and get everyone you know to sign it too. We will be announcing the new calendar and plan of action shortly to everyone who has signed up. 3. Donate now, your help is urgently needed for the impeachment effort. The coming months are critical for the impeachment movement. Not only do 70% of the people oppose Bush's expansion of the Iraq war, the so-called "surge," the majority believe that Bush should be impeached if he lied about the reasons for the Iraq war, or if he engaged in illegal wiretapping. He did both. This is a people's movement and everyone's help is needed. As ImpeachBush.org has stated, "The Constitution cannot defend itself. The people must act." [donation pitch - see the website to donate] If every member and supporter of the impeachment movement made a donation, this ad could be placed in newspapers across the country. If you have contributed before, consider making another donation now. If you have never donated this is the time to take action. Your work and support has taken the Impeachment movement to a significant moment in U.S. politics. People throughout the United States are now openly and frequently discussing the possibility of impeachment and urging their Congressional representatives to take the right step. The letters to the editor and full page ads that you have worked to place have forced the mass media to acknowledge that impeachment is a real issue for this President. Check your email in the coming days for announcements of the next steps and actions, and be sure to get as many as you can to sign the referendum and get involved. 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