The former author and former Roosevelt justice department member Thurman Arnold formulated a truism that impressed many of us who have read it, and that I will attempt to pass along by paraphrase.
In referring to numerous statutes on the books condemning various living room and bedroom moral practices abhorred in certain biblical passages as well as what passed as “polite society” Thurmond noted that citizens insist that such passages be enacted since it makes us feel moral but openly shun them because of an insistence that we will do what we please.
Frank Rich’s column last Sunday in the New York Times on the swiftness of condemnations of Illinois Governor Rod Bagojevich alongside the corruption of pillory and destruction of U.S. democracy and the Constitution makes the Illinoisan look comparatively like a naughty choir boy grabbing some spare change from a collection plate.
Take those meetings of the leading nations of the New World Order in Cheney’s office along, including his own company of Halliburton, the no-bid contracts that ensued culminating with death, destruction and occupation in Iraq to set the super rich of the corporate world in power and Blagojevich’s activities shrink all the more.
I mean, what we are talking about on a comparative scale is a small timer, a modest tip for a cab ride, compared with taking America on a long and painful journey concluding with inflaming the Arab world, making Iraq a daily hotbed for death and strife.
Their actions resulted in the deaths of some 1.25 million according to European estimates, that our mainstream media is too frightened to discuss, and an estimated 2.5 million Iraqis who fled their own nation and have crowded neighboring countries.
Now here is Dick Cheney, having emerged Tuesday from his undisclosed bunker, delivering another side-of-the-mouth, in-your-face pronouncements. Boiled to its essence, Cheney declared “Yeah, we invaded Iraq and so what?” What he did not say, but was so evident from is words, is “If you’ve got the guts to impeach us, go ahead!”
Clearly Cheney believes that the U.S. Congress lacks the requisite backbone to do what is obligated under our system. When impeachable offenses exist Members of Congress are duty bound to impeach.
Note that Cheney in his current deliverance has said that Guantanamo should remain open and that he sees nothing wrong with waterboarding.
Following World War Two Japanese military officers were sent to their death for waterboarding American prisoners of war. Waterboarding has a tortured history leading back at least as far as The Inquisition.
My congressional representative from the Queen Anne area of Seattle, Congressman Jim McDermot, has gone on record stating that it is essential under the Constitution to impeach Bush and Cheney.
Hopefully Congressman McDermot will help lead such an effort under the incoming Congress convening in January 2009. If the Constitution holds any meaning in present parlance impeachment against those who have defiled that document with impunity must face public scrutiny.
Remember also that Rod Blagojevich might be corrupt but he is responsible for zero deaths during his tenure in office. Can we say the same for Bush and Cheney?
(Also running in My Left Wing, Political Cortex and The Smirking Chimp)
