[Sosfbay-discuss] Kucinich on DemocracyNow

[Duende]

I heard him on KPFA yesterday and he was amazing (as usual). He  
pointed at the Democratic party as being in league with with the neo  
con agenda (as well as the media of course). He pulled no punches.  
What was brilliant was that he was going after Cheney first since if  
we impeached Bush, then Cheney would be prez and then we'd have to  
impeach Cheney. Dennis felt it would be too difficult to impeach two  
Presidents in a row, but but a vice president and then a president  
would be more doable.

paz

Duende

On Nov 10, 2007, at 12:23 AM, kaisha_marie at comcast.net wrote:

> Great discussion on impeachment with Kucinich on DemocracyNow,  
> Friday 11/09/07. He articulated the urgency to keep on trying to  
> impeach Cheney since this administration can do a lot of damage in  
> 14 months. It was quite terrifying, frankly.
>
> Transcript below:
>
> On Tuesday, Dennis Kucinich nearly forced the full House to vote on  
> his measure to impeach Cheney. House Resolution 333 accuses Cheney  
> of deliberately manipulating intelligence and deceiving the public  
> to build support for the invasion of Iraq and now towards a possible  
> attack on Iran. [includes rush transcript]
>
> Despite the best efforts of the Democratic leadership, impeachment  
> was indeed on the table this week in Washington. On Tuesday,  
> Congressmember and presidential hopeful Dennis Kucinich nearly  
> forced the full House to vote on his measure to impeach Vice  
> President Dick Cheney. House Resolution 333 accuses Cheney of  
> deliberately manipulating intelligence and deceiving the public to  
> build support for the invasion of Iraq and now towards a possible  
> attack on Iran. Twenty-one House Democrats have supported the bill,  
> but it's met fierce opposition from the Democratic leadership.
>
> Democratic leaders were able to send the bill to the House Judiciary  
> Committee, where they expect it to languish. In a bizarre sequence,  
> Republican lawmakers initially voted against tabling the bill after  
> their leadership apparently decided a House debate would embarrass  
> the Democrats. The bill was eventually sent to committee after a  
> back-and-forth wrangling between Kucinich and Majority Leader Steny  
> Hoyer.
>
> Democratic leaders have famously declared that impeachment is off  
> the table. But their view does not fall in line with recent polling  
> figures. An American Research Group poll in July found that fifty- 
> four percent of Americans support beginning impeachment proceedings  
> against Vice President Cheney. Seventy-four percent of Democrats  
> were also in favor.
>
> Congressmember Dennis Kucinich of Ohio introduced the measure. He  
> joins me now from Washington.
>
> Rep. Dennis Kucinich, Ohio Congressman and Democratic presidential  
> candidate. Introduced House measure to impeach Vice President Dick  
> Cheney.
> RUSH TRANSCRIPT
>
> This transcript is available free of charge. However, donations help  
> us provide closed captioning for the deaf and hard of hearing on our  
> TV broadcast. Thank you for your generous contribution.
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>
> JUAN GONZALEZ: Despite the best efforts of the Democratic  
> leadership, impeachment was indeed on the table this week in  
> Washington. On Tuesday, Congress member and presidential hopeful  
> Dennis Kucinich nearly forced the full House to vote on his measure  
> to impeach Vice President Dick Cheney. House Resolution 333 accuses  
> Cheney of deliberately manipulating intelligence and deceiving the  
> public to build support for the invasion of Iraq and now towards a  
> possible attack on Iran. Twenty-one House Democrats have supported  
> the bill, but it's met fierce opposition from the Democratic  
> leadership.
>
> Democratic leaders were able to send the bill to the House Judiciary  
> Committee, where they expect it to languish. In a bizarre sequence,  
> Republican lawmakers initially voted against tabling the bill after  
> their leadership apparently decided a House debate would embarrass  
> the Democrats. The bill was eventually sent to committee after a  
> back-and-forth wrangling between Kucinich and Majority Leader Steny  
> Hoyer.
>
> AMY GOODMAN: Democratic leaders have famously declared impeachment  
> is off the table. But their view does not fall in line with recent  
> polling figures. An American Research Group poll in July found 54%  
> of Americans support beginning impeachment proceedings against Vice  
> President Cheney. 74% of Democrats were also in favor.
>
> Congressmember Dennis Kucinich of Ohio introduced the measure. The  
> presidential candidate joins us now from Washington, D.C. We welcome  
> you to Democracy Now!, Congressman Kucinich.
>
> REP. DENNIS KUCINICH: Good morning. Good morning, Amy.
>
> AMY GOODMAN: Explain exactly what you did this week.
>
> REP. DENNIS KUCINICH: The articles of impeachment that were  
> introduced under a privileged resolution cite the Vice President's  
> persistent lies relating to Iraq. He claimed that Iraq had weapons  
> of mass destruction, that necessitated the US response. He claimed  
> that Iraq somehow was connected to al-Qaeda's role in 9/11. He has  
> been beating the drums for war against Iran. Those are the elements  
> of the articles of impeachment that were introduced into the House  
> this week.
>
> JUAN GONZALEZ: And why introduce your resolution in regards to Vice  
> President Cheney and not to President Bush?
>
> REP. DENNIS KUCINICH: Well, certainly President Bush also has to be  
> held accountable. However, I think that any constitutional process  
> that begins for the removal of an official, when you have the Vice  
> President, who led the effort to deceive this country with respect  
> to a war against Iraq, it’s appropriate that he be dealt with first,  
> so that you don’t create a condition where you remove the President  
> first and then Mr. Cheney becomes his successor, and then you have  
> to have an impeachment of two presidents consecutively.
>
> AMY GOODMAN: Explain the leadership's position and why you chose to  
> do what you did this week.
>
> REP. DENNIS KUCINICH: I think it’s very difficult to explain their  
> position, because I don’t think their position is defensible. I  
> think when you consider that our whole nation is at risk, our  
> constitutional form of government has been undermined by lies, by  
> illegal war, by massive debt, how can you explain the position of  
> Democratic leaders?
>
> I think that the American people and their response is becoming more  
> and more powerful, and we’re seeing that there being rising  
> discontent among Democrats in Congress about the direction that our  
> leaders have said is not possible. I think that people want to see  
> this administration held accountable. After all, what could be more  
> important than having an opportunity to get to the truth of what  
> happened in Iraq, that the war was based on lies; that over almost  
> 4,000 of our brave young men and women who represent this country  
> have lost their lives because of those lies; that over a million  
> innocent Iraqis, noncombatants, civilians, have lost their lives  
> because of those lies; that we will spend between one and two  
> trillion dollars for this war, even borrowing money from China? And  
> our whole domestic agenda is being capsized by this war. And the  
> administration is preparing still to take us in another war against  
> Iran, similarly lying about a cause for war. So what can be more  
> impor tant? Our country is at risk, and it’s time for our Democratic  
> leaders to take a stand.
>
> JUAN GONZALEZ: What do you say to those who will argue that even  
> though they may agree with you on a lot of your concerns, that the  
> impeachment process itself would drag out for so long that it may as  
> well -- people should just move forward toward the elections and  
> elect a new president?
>
> REP. DENNIS KUCINICH: Right, well, you think about that. You know,  
> the administration will be in office for at least fourteen more  
> months. They can cause a lot of damage in that time. They’re  
> planning to attack Iran. When you think about the defense  
> authorization budget including a provision that would retrofit  
> Stealth B-2 bombers so they can carry 30,000-pound bombs, which  
> would then be dropped on nuclear research labs, creating an  
> humanitarian and ecological disaster, “What are we waiting for?” is  
> the question, not “Why don’t we wait for the election?”
>
> AMY GOODMAN: The other argument that the leadership has used is that  
> they’re concerned about losing in a landslide vote against them,  
> that that is bad strategically, Congressman Kucinich.
>
> REP. DENNIS KUCINICH: Since when does it become unfashionable to  
> stand up for the Constitution, to stand up for our nation's laws, to  
> stand up for international law, to stand up for moral law? Since  
> when does it become inconvenient to take a stand that would help  
> secure our democracy once again? I mean, we’re really -- it’s all at  
> risk right now, and it’s time that the Democratic leadership exerted  
> an effective influence. As a coequal branch of government, Congress  
> cannot stand by and let this administration continue to undermine  
> our Constitution. That’s why I introduced those articles of  
> impeachment.
>
> AMY GOODMAN: What happens now? Is it over?
>
> REP. DENNIS KUCINICH: Not at all. I mean, Representative Wexler,  
> who’s a member of the committee, sent a note to the members of the  
> committee two days ago saying that we ought to proceed with  
> hearings. Members have been talking to John Conyers on a regular  
> basis since the impeachment resolution was introduced, asking him to  
> take this up, and I’m hopeful that he will.
>
> AMY GOODMAN: Do you feel Conyers has changed his position from, when  
> he was in the minority, calling for impeachment, and then, when he  
> became head of the House Judiciary Committee, stepping back with  
> pressure from the House leadership?
>
> REP. DENNIS KUCINICH: I think John Conyers wants to do the right  
> thing, and I’m hopeful that he will.
>
> JUAN GONZALEZ: Congressman, I’d like to ask you, on another matter,  
> a vote this week in Congress over the Peru free trade bill. Many  
> Democrats supported the administration position on this. You’ve been  
> outspoken in your opposition to many of these free trade agreements.  
> Your perspective on this vote?
>
> REP. DENNIS KUCINICH: It’s a disaster for the people of Peru. It’s a  
> disaster for farmers whose land is being poisoned by gold mining and  
> the cyanide that’s used in that process. And American workers have  
> absolutely no protection about jobs being moved out of this country.  
> It’s basically a modeling of NAFTA sent to Peru. This is really a  
> continuation of the stripping of rights of peoples of both nations.  
> And a reason why NAFTA has to be canceled -- and I’ve said that I  
> would do that as President -- that we must get out of the WTO -- I  
> said that I would withdraw from the WTO -- and to have trade that is  
> wholly and solely based on workers' rights, human rights and  
> environmental quality principles. And it’s time that we recognize  
> that this whole trade model has been about nothing but a race to the  
> bottom for workers. It’s time we stood up for workers, no matter if  
> they’re in Peru or anywhere else in the world, but certainly in the  
> United States. We should have some con cern a bout what the effect  
> of these trade agreements are on American workers.
>
> AMY GOODMAN: Congressman Kucinich, you are head of the Domestic  
> Policy Subcommittee, which has oversight over the FCC. Today in  
> Seattle, there is going to be the last of the FCC hearings, as Kevin  
> Martin, the chair, wants to expedite media consolidation. He says  
> perhaps they’ll be taking a vote around December 18th. What control  
> do you have over this?
>
> REP. DENNIS KUCINICH: Well, as the chairman of the Domestic Policy  
> Subcommittee, I can and will hold hearings on the FCC's decision- 
> making process. I think that we are in a time when media  
> consolidation is having a material and adverse impact on our  
> exercise of First Amendment rights in a democratic society. The  
> public may be largely unaware that the electronic media are  
> regulated because the airwaves belong to the people. And the Federal  
> Communications Act of 1934 said that the electronic broadcast media  
> must serve in the public interest, convenience and necessity. And  
> the more monopolization that happens, the less likely it is that the  
> public interest is going to be protected. So there is a long and  
> historic train here of thought that says that media consolidation is  
> a danger to our democracy and that, notwithstanding what the FCC  
> does, Congress should intervene to block any effort that would  
> enable further media consolidation.
>
> JUAN GONZALEZ: And the argument of those who say that the advances,  
> the technological advances in communications, the development of the  
> internet, basically has made -- outmoded a lot of the regulations  
> that the FCC operates now to regulate media ownership.
>
> REP. DENNIS KUCINICH: There’s a lot of people who think the  
> Constitution is outmoded, too. I think that when we realize the  
> concentration of wealth in our society has accelerated wealth to the  
> top, the concentration of information in our society and control  
> over information accelerates the intellectual wealth of the country  
> and the First Amendment rights of the country into the hands of  
> fewer and fewer.
>
> You know, A.J. Liebling years ago famously said freedom of the press  
> belongs to the man who owns one. But when you’re talking about  
> electronic broadcast media, the people own the airwaves. I mean,  
> that is the fundamental understanding that the American people  
> should have. Those airwaves do not belong to those networks or to  
> those big media companies. The airwaves belong to the public, and  
> they're supposed to serve in the public interest.
>
> AMY GOODMAN: We’re talking to Congressmember Dennis Kucinich, not  
> only a Congress member from Ohio, but Democratic presidential  
> candidate. I wanted to ask you about the issue of exclusion of  
> presidential candidates from various debates, most recently Mike  
> Gravel, the former Alaska senator. You weren’t invited to the  
> Democratic Party’s Jefferson Jackson dinner in Des Moines, that the  
> six other Democratic contenders are; your response?
>
> REP. DENNIS KUCINICH: Well, it’s pretty interesting when you  
> consider the fact that I’ve been running consistently fourth in a  
> number of national polls, ahead of three of the candidates who have  
> been invited. So what does that say? It says that there’s an attempt  
> to rig the presidential election, using the Iowa Democratic Party as  
> an accomplice. That’s not acceptable. This election doesn’t belong  
> to one state or, for that matter, to one party. And so, you know,  
> look of the national polls, and you’ll see what I’m talking about.
>
> Amy, while we’re still on the air, there’s something I want to  
> mention to you that I think is really important. Last night I was  
> reading the Defense Authorization Bill, and there is a section in  
> the bill that I want to read to you: Section 1615 requires the  
> Secretary of Defense to, one, “determine the military-unique  
> capabilities needed to be provided by the Department of Defense to  
> support civil authorities in an incident of national significance or  
> a catastrophic incident.” And then it goes on to say provide funds  
> to develop a plan. What’s going on in this country? How can we stand  
> by and see our basic liberties undermined?
>
> AMY GOODMAN: We’re talking to Congressmember Dennis Kucinich in  
> Washington, D.C., running for president. I wanted to ask you about  
> the comment you made during one of the presidential debates, that  
> issue of seeing an unidentified flying object. Can you explain what  
> it is that you saw?
>
> REP. DENNIS KUCINICH: Well, first of all, you know, I was kind of  
> taken aback when I was asked that question, but I understand in  
> Washington the truth is an unidentified flying object, so I guess I  
> could admit that I saw something, found out later that Ronald Reagan  
> on two occasions was said to have seen a UFO, that Jimmy Carter was  
> said to have seen a UFO. So I’m assuming that now becomes a  
> prerequisite for becoming President of the United States.
>
> AMY GOODMAN: Final comment on media coverage right now of the  
> presidential race that you’re a part of.
>
> REP. DENNIS KUCINICH: Well, you know, I mean, the New York Times has  
> yet to discover that I’m a candidate. I could -- if I suddenly catch  
> fire in New Hampshire, where we’re running fourth and closing in on  
> third place, I would imagine that I could even win the election, and  
> the New York Times would have a big story about second, third, and  
> fourth place and fail to mention that I won.
>
> There is an attempt by the media to manage this election, to try to  
> determine the outcome of the election prior to the people casting  
> votes. It’s just another way to try to defeat the public interest  
> and to make of the election a kind of a farce.
>
> You know, all I need is an opportunity to debate Senator Clinton on  
> the war. She has voted for the war. She voted to fund the war. She  
> wants to stay in Iraq through 2013. And, frankly, her positions  
> aren’t much different than Barack Obama’s, John Edwards’s. I mean,  
> when I break into the top three, the whole election changes. And I’m  
> working on that.
>
> I realize I’m a long shot. I don’t have any delusions about that.  
> But I also know that right now democracy is a long shot in America,  
> and I realize that our constitutional protections are kind of a long  
> shot. So I’m willing to take that stand, and I think that the people  
> of New Hampshire are going to have an opportunity to append the  
> political process by voting for my candidacy, which will give them a  
> chance to have a voice and a consistent supporter, not just of peace  
> and workers' rights and healthcare for all, but of the basic  
> constitutional principles that brought us together to form a nation  
> so many years ago.
>
> AMY GOODMAN: Congressmember Kucinich, I want to thank you very much  
> for being with us, Congress member from Ohio and Democratic  
> presidential candidate.
>
>
> From: Jean Comfort <jean_comfort at yahoo.com>
> Date: November 9, 2007 4:52:38 PM PST
> To: sosfbay-discuss at cagreens.org
> Subject: [Sosfbay-discuss] "Oil Apocalypse" on History Channel,  
> Tues, Nov.13
>
>
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___________________________________
The one conspiracy theory I can always count on to be a lie is the one  
proposed by the government and main stream media. 9/11 and Weapons of  
Mass Destruction being perfect examples.


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