April 2, 2006, A Question of Governance:

An edited letter to citizens and friends:

Does it matter to you if President Bush lied to us to take us to war? Why does this one question make so much difference?

Those with Bush let blame slip off their tongues easily. They say that he himself was misled with bad intelligence and there was poor oversight of his speech writer and the words uttered do not constitute a lie by strict definition, anyway.

But, I say that at the edge of a shadow, there is a line which marks dark from light. Which side is he on?

Deception (even with the best intentions) crosses the line. From deception flows secrecy. From secrecy drains integrity. From the loss of integrity oozes tyranny. The enormity of what has happened seems too terrible to contemplate, but for freedom, we must take responsibility for our government.

As best as I can tell, 221,490 people have died, as of April 1, 2006, as a result of military action in Iraq and Afghanistan. The U.S. government is not releasing and perhaps not counting casualities among Iraqi citizens. If you project out to 24 years like Saddam Hussein had in power . . .

And, because the U.S. is at war, the president justifies executive authority. Slowly, the targets of warrentless surveillance are coming to light. The list includes organizations such as Food Not Bombs, in Texas, where citizens distribute surplus food to the less fortunate. President Bush would like to keep this surveillance outside of regular review.

In an example of this adminsitration's intention, miltary commissions Bush has crafted deny due process protections to the accused provided for in the Uniform Code of Military Justice. "The accused can be convicted and sentenced to death based on evidence he never sees, in proceedings where he cannot be present. Hearsay is admissible and the standard for admissibility of evidence falls below that required by US military and civilian courts," according to Marjorie Cohn, professor at Thomas Jefferson School of Law, President-elect of the National Lawyers Guild, and the US representative to the executive committee of the American Association of Jurists.

President Bush drew the line in the sand and challenged us to choose. I know I am not with terrorists, because I do not condone violence, but I am not with the President. He is on the side which profits from war. He is on the side which keeps torture open as an option. He is on the side which justifies lies.

We must right this wrong path. There is enough evidence to proceed. Go to your local Councils and work for consensus. Ask for action.

Impeachment may seem "politically incorrect." That's O.K. The questions we have to work on are beyond that. The people must speak up in great numbers forcibly enough to demand adherence to the law. This is a job of tremendous magnitude, have no doubt.

"Only Impeachment will warn the next Presidents that the American people will hold them accountable if they lawlessly lead us into wars, aggression and criminal acts to control foreign government and exploit their peoples. "

"Only Impeachment will assure governments and peoples around the world that the American people understand what their government has done, that the American people are strong and good, and have impeached and removed their lawless leaders from office for violating all the principles America has always espoused, and that We, the People of the United States will remain vigilant and see to it that the government of the United States will hereafter seek peace, friendship, equality of nations and peoples, and respect for the human dignity of every child, woman, and man on Earth." - Ramsey Clark, former U.S. Attorney General.

Pokey and Mia.

The Dog Leg Diaries
Tales of Restoration
by Karen Riggs

Archive:

Mar. 13 Pokey's Timing
Sept. 2 Mia at Work
Mar 15 Mookie's Door
Feb. 15 Kisses in the Wind
Feb. 8 Mookie at the Window
Feb. 5, Raking Weather



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