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Tag(s): Congress; Congress 109th; Congress 110th; Congress Failed Oversight $$; Congress Failed Oversight Democracy; Congress House Legislation; Congressional Coverups; Congressional Crime; Congressional Ethics
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October 18, 2007 at 11:03:27

123 Silent Congress Members

by David Swanson Page 1 of 1 page(s)

www.opednews.com

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Over two years ago, the following 123 Democratic Congress Members did something extraordinary.

Abercrombie; Allen; Baird; Baldwin; Becerra; Berkley; Bishop; Blumenauer; Brown, Corrine; Brown, Sherrod; Butterfield; Capps; Capuano; Carson; Christensen; Clay; Cleaver; Clyburn; Conyers; Cooper; Cummings; Davis, Danny; Davis, Susan; DeFazio; DeGette; Delahunt; DeLauro; Dingell; Doggett; Doyle; Eshoo; Farr; Fattah; Filner; Ford; Frank; Green; Grijalva; Gutierrez; Hastings; Hinchey; Holt; Honda; Hooley; Inslee; Jackson; Jackson-Lee; Jefferson; Johnson, Eddie Bernice; Kaptur; Kennedy; Kildee; Kilpatrick; Kucinich; Larsen, Rick; Larson, John; Lee, Barbara; Levin; Lewis; Lofgren; Maloney; Markey; Matsui; McCarthy; McDermott; McGovern; McKinney; McNulty; Meehan; Meek; Meeks; Michaud; Millender-McDonald; Miller, Brad; Miller, George; Moore, Gwen; Moran; Nadler; Napolitano; Neal; Oberstar; Olver; Owens; Pallone; Pascrell; Pastor; Payne; Pelosi; Price, David; Rangel; Rothman; Rush; Sanchez, Linda; Sanders; Schakowsky; Scott, Bobby; Serrano; Sherman; Skelton; Slaughter; Smith, Adam; Solis; Stark; Strickland; Tauscher; Thompson, Bennie; Tierney; Towns; Tubbs Jones; Udall, Mark; Udall, Tom; Van Hollen; Velazquez; Wasserman Schultz; Waters; Watson; Watt; Waxman; Weiner; Wexler; Woolsey; Wu; Wynn.

They delivered a letter, also signed by over half a million other Americans, to the White House. The letter asked the following questions about the Downing Street Minutes:

1) Do you or anyone in your administration dispute the accuracy of the leaked document?
2) Were arrangements being made, including the recruitment of allies, before you sought congressional authorization to go to war?
3) Was there an effort to create an ultimatum about weapons inspectors in order to help with the justification for the war, as the minutes indicate?
4) At what point in time did you and Prime Minster Blair first agree it was necessary to invade Iraq?
5) Was there a coordinated effort with the US intelligence community and/or British officials to “fix” intelligence and facts around the policy, as the leaked document states?

One of the 123 signers of that letter has for the past 10 months been the Speaker of the House of Representatives. She and the other 122 have, for 10 months, gone completely silent on the matter.

Following up on the letter, 84 Congress Members did something else. They signed onto a privileged Resolution of Inquiry sponsored by Congresswoman Barbara Lee "requesting the President and directing the Secretary of State to transmit to the House of Representatives not later than 14 days after the date of the adoption of this resolution all information in the possession of the President and the Secretary of State relating to communication with officials of the United Kingdom between January 1, 2002, and October 16, 2002, relating to the policy of the United States with respect to Iraq."

After a huge effort by citizens to drive the issue forward, the resolution came within a vote or two of passing the House International Relations Committee but failed. An identical fate met a second resolution sponsored by Congressman Dennis Kucinich and taken to the House International Relations Committee by Lee. This one had 110 signatures "requesting the President of the United States and directing the Secretary of State to provide to the House of Representatives certain documents in their possession relating to the White House Iraq Group."

Neither Lee nor Kucinich has reintroduced these resolutions. In their defense, they and a total of 22 congress members have signed onto a bill that cuts to the chase and proposes the impeachment of Dick Cheney. But where are the roughly 100 members of Congress who claimed to want to know the truth when Republicans controlled the House and its committees? What is the House Intelligence Committee doing other than wasting time on destructive bills that are signed into law and decent ones that are vetoed? What is the House International Relations Committee doing? Where is John Conyers? And where in the world is Nancy Pelosi?

http://www.davidswanson.org

DAVID SWANSON is a co-founder of After Downing Street, a writer and activist, and the Washington Director of Democrats.com. He is a board member of Progressive Democrats of America, and serves on the Executive Council of the Washington-Baltimore Newspaper Guild, TNG-CWA. He has worked as a newspaper reporter and as a communications director, with jobs including Press Secretary for Dennis Kucinich's 2004 presidential campaign, Media Coordinator for the International Labor Communications Association, and three years as Communications Coordinator for ACORN, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now. Swanson obtained a Master's degree in philosophy from the University of Virginia in 1997.

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10 comments

I am a Musician, political Junkie, Father, Husband, who cares very much about the United States of America and what is being done to the Ideals and citizens of this great Nation.

I want to restore the Constitution and the Bill of Rights to what the founders of this nation intended to protect us from.

I was born in Niagara Falls, N.Y. and I now reside in Florida. I am tired of the media being manipulated by Faux News and right wing propaganda that leading our Democracy i...

to see more of bio, click on member name
Michael ChaversI am a Musician, political Junkie, Father, Husband, who cares very much about the United States of America and what is being done to the Ideals and citizens of this great Nation.

I want to restore the Constitution and the Bill of Rights to what the founders of this nation intended to protect us from.

I was born in Niagara Falls, N.Y. and I now reside in Florida. I am tired of the media being manipulated by Faux News and right wing propaganda that leading our Democracy i...

to see more of bio, click on member name

Dig up some dirt

It almost seems that the White House has something on them if they are not moving forward on this. I am sure if you put a pack of neo-convict investigators on someone you could dig up some dirt on anyone.

by Michael Chavers (50 articles, 0 quicklinks, 15 diaries, 178 comments) on Thursday, October 18, 2007 at 12:17:39 PM

Erik Larson, Human Being and concerned Citizen. I only advocate and practice non-violent methods of social and political activism & change.
Better World OrderErik Larson, Human Being and concerned Citizen. I only advocate and practice non-violent methods of social and political activism & change.

Please contact her office, just sent this

I know honey catches more flies, but i think Rob was right when he called Reid a slug, I don't think Pelosi would turn into a fly, if even GW Bush kissed her.

123 Silent Congress Members
http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_david_sw_071018_123_silent_congress_.htm

Boy, are the real people of the US looking forward to seeing you get
replaced by Cindy Sheehan when your seat is up for election, Ms.
Plastic and Useless Pelosi.

We know the Bush administration and their backers in the financial-military-industrial-intelligence-media Establishment stole the last 2 elections and they lied us into war, we know 9/11 was an inside job, we know the Federal Reserve banks and the IRS are privately owned, and we know you Republocrat Dems should damn well at least be investigating, and the fact that you aren't means you're effectively covering up for the most criminal, treasonous administration in US history. You are part of the problem- you say, you want someone to show you the evdence- you work in Congress, down the street from all kinds of Executive offices which you have oversight of, and you signed the letter re: the Downing Street Memo-
you're swimming in the evidence, you can go get it, you can impeach
this Administration and their cronies in the DoJ if they won't comply
with subpoenas, and you can make the case to the American people a lot
easier than Bush lied us into the Iraq war. The Dems moving to impeach
Nixon improved their results in the next elections,

Regardless of whether impeachment would be a political advantage to
you, you swore an oath to defend the Constitution, against all
enemies, foreign and domestic. Resign, if you can't or won't uphold
your oath of office. Mind you, you had an obligation to tell the truth
to the voters in your campaigns, if your real loyalty is to your
misguided vision of a career in public service and left wing
Republocrat control of the government, rather than to represent the
People's will and our interests in having a government that serves us,
instead of attacking on us and sucking on us like a leech. Growing
millions think you're total scum, and We the People employ you; you
are there to serve US. Good luck to you, i hope you find your heart
somewhere in that hollow shell and do the right thing. We the People
will have a 9/11 Truth and Reconciliation Commisison, and you will be
compelled to testify under oath, i'm sure.

Erik Larson

--
9/11 Family Steering Committee Review of the 9/11 Commission Report:
http://911truth.org/images/resources/Family%20Steering%20Cmte%20review%20of%20Report.pdf

Jersey Girl's Petition: Public's Right to Know
http://www.petitiononline.com/july10/petition.html

Complete 9/11 Timeline
http://cooperativeresearch.org/project.jsp?project=911_project

115 ommissions and distortions of the 9/11 Commission:
http://www.911truth.org/article.php?story=20050523112738404

The Top 40 Reasons to Doubt the 9/11 Story
http://www.911truth.org/article.php?story=20041221155307646

http://www.911blogger.com

by Better World Order (4 articles, 432 quicklinks, 29 diaries, 925 comments) on Thursday, October 18, 2007 at 12:42:08 PM

Pelosi Contact info

If you're in her District in SF

sf.nancy@mail.house.gov

If you're not

americanvoices@mail.house.gov

Phone: (202) 225-4965

Fax: (202) 225-8259

by Better World Order (4 articles, 432 quicklinks, 29 diaries, 925 comments) on Thursday, October 18, 2007 at 1:04:08 PM

Election Issues Committee Chairman for the Pinellas County, FL Democratic Executive Committee. I want to put a link to your site on our homepage, and I'm working on getting permission to do so.
GitarChrisElection Issues Committee Chairman for the Pinellas County, FL Democratic Executive Committee. I want to put a link to your site on our homepage, and I'm working on getting permission to do so.

Pelosi Terrorized

The only explanation for the behaviour of all of the House leadership is terrorism. They are too smart to fall for Bush's lies, and they know the country is ready for impeachment. They have ten times the evidence they need.

The only possible reason this insanity is happening is the old carrot and stick routine. The carrot is, of course, millions of Euros waiting in French banks. The stick is the notion that one of their grandchildren will be fed, limb by limb, through a tree shredder.

It is the only sane explanation. They are too smart for any other.

by GitarChris (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 124 comments) on Thursday, October 18, 2007 at 1:47:36 PM

Kevin Gosztola goes to Columbia College in Chicago where he is studying film. He hopes to become a documentary filmmaker. He is currently working as a production assistant on a documentary called "Seriously Green" which traces the development of the Green Party throughout the 2008 election. He has a passion for journalism and writes articles or press releases in his spare time. Kevin Gosztola is also a student activist who believes in questioning the way America's systems work(its electoral sys...

to see more of bio, click on member name
Kevin GosztolaKevin Gosztola goes to Columbia College in Chicago where he is studying film. He hopes to become a documentary filmmaker. He is currently working as a production assistant on a documentary called "Seriously Green" which traces the development of the Green Party throughout the 2008 election. He has a passion for journalism and writes articles or press releases in his spare time. Kevin Gosztola is also a student activist who believes in questioning the way America's systems work(its electoral sys...

to see more of bio, click on member name

Yes but...

We have people like Dennis Kucinich and Ron Paul who prove time and time again that is not a valid excuse.

by Kevin Gosztola (230 articles, 127 quicklinks, 72 diaries, 894 comments) on Thursday, October 18, 2007 at 1:53:27 PM

Margaret Bassett is an 86-year old, currently living in senior housing, with a lifelong interest in political conumbrums. She hopes to hold out for one more presidential election. Bachelors from State University of Iowa (1944) and Masters from Roosevelt University (1975) help to unravel important requirements for modern communication. Early introduction to computer science (1966) trumps them. It's payback time. She's been "entitled" so long she hopes to find some good coming off the keyboa...

to see more of bio, click on member name
Margaret BassettMargaret Bassett is an 86-year old, currently living in senior housing, with a lifelong interest in political conumbrums. She hopes to hold out for one more presidential election. Bachelors from State University of Iowa (1944) and Masters from Roosevelt University (1975) help to unravel important requirements for modern communication. Early introduction to computer science (1966) trumps them. It's payback time. She's been "entitled" so long she hopes to find some good coming off the keyboa...

to see more of bio, click on member name

Silent? Or are they unsure how to talk straight?

From the beginning of Bush's takeover, the Democrats have played a careful hand to prevent the country from being in turmoil. Gore at SCOTUS time. Lots of folks after 9/11. Kerry too soon on the Ohio question. After 2006, it was as if "civility" trumped "action."

Impeachment is action by the citizenry. Sparring with Congress is not the way to go, especially since Congress exemplifies sparring. It has to be "hell no" time and we're not going to take it any more. Intimation is that Congress is beholden to someone for something other than the country's best interest. If we the citizens are sure we are unbought and unbossed, why aren't we acting that way?

by Margaret Bassett (31 articles, 1956 quicklinks, 30 diaries, 1269 comments) on Thursday, October 18, 2007 at 2:24:08 PM

I think that all people must be held accountable for their actions under the law. Everyone must be treated the same under International Law, National Laws, and Local Laws, NO EXCEPTIONS! ----- Let only God enforce the laws created by God and let Humans only enforce the laws created by Humans. ----- www.CitizenAmendments.org ----- I support the Mike Gravel National Initiative for Democracy (WWW.NI4D.US) -----
Anton GrambihlerI think that all people must be held accountable for their actions under the law. Everyone must be treated the same under International Law, National Laws, and Local Laws, NO EXCEPTIONS! ----- Let only God enforce the laws created by God and let Humans only enforce the laws created by Humans. ----- www.CitizenAmendments.org ----- I support the Mike Gravel National Initiative for Democracy (WWW.NI4D.US) -----

AIPAC is the problem

I think that AIPAC is the problem. It gives marching orders to Israel and its puppet the United States.

by Anton Grambihler (1 articles, 0 quicklinks, 4 diaries, 296 comments) on Thursday, October 18, 2007 at 4:18:09 PM

My goal at this point in my life is to wake up the sleeping American public. Am a lowly public servant who'll likely be working til I'm 65 since universal healthcare doesn't seem to be on its way to our nation any time soon. My spare time is spent speaking out for Peace and an end to war as the solution to any problem our country sees as affecting it.
paz loveMy goal at this point in my life is to wake up the sleeping American public. Am a lowly public servant who'll likely be working til I'm 65 since universal healthcare doesn't seem to be on its way to our nation any time soon. My spare time is spent speaking out for Peace and an end to war as the solution to any problem our country sees as affecting it.

simplistic

We cannot blame all the problems on AIPAC. As long as the citizenry quietly accepts the inability of the Congressional Dems to do anything at all that goes against the current neocon administration, the Dems will continue toeing the mark. What amazes me is that they haven't developed any guts in light of the fact that polls apparently show that the people think even less of them than they do the president. Isn't that pathetic?

Dennis Kucinich is still the only person who is running for President who actually shows respect for the people and for their rights and their needs.

by paz love (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 71 comments) on Thursday, October 18, 2007 at 10:55:50 PM

The States need to take Action

Since Congress is not going to act and Impeach the President, it is up to the States to take Action.

The Federal Government has become a government of Special Interests, by Special Interests, and for Special Interests.

This Federal Government was created by the original States to be a government of the people, by the people, and for the people. It is therefore the the States Duty, Responsibility, and Obligation to amend the Federal Constitution as necessary to make it once again a government of the people, by the people, and for the people.

Taxation with false representation
is worse than knowing you have
Taxation without representation!

I sent a letter to this effect to all the State Governors and Legislatures. You can get your free copy of this letter and the Citizen Amendments at:

www.citizenamendments.org

Also Checkout the National Initiative for Democracy and then vote on it.

It will give the people the right to a National Initiative.

http://ni4d.us/

by Anton Grambihler (1 articles, 0 quicklinks, 4 diaries, 296 comments) on Friday, October 19, 2007 at 1:41:41 AM