Impeachment is Not about Getting Revenge

Impeachment is Not about Getting Revenge

It is Reaffirming the Constitution, Bill of Rights and the Rule of Law

WE are now seeing the same reaction that followed the Nixon era. As the evidence mounted about Nixon’s high crimes and misdemeanors the call for impeachment grew from a murmur to a roar heard round the country. Article II Section 2 of the Constitution gives the President of the United States the power of “reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States, except in cases of Impeachment.” Nixon knew that if he was impeached, he would be tried for his crimes with no possibility of pardon. A deal was cut, he resigned and was pardoned for his high crimes and misdemeanors and allowed to go his way. One of the arguments at the time was that the nation had gone through a time of great travail and it was time to move on. Some thought an impeachment and trial would denigrate the presidency.

    Nothing could have denigrated the office of the President more than letting a liar; thief and crook walk away from his crimes, unpunished. That sent a signal that any well placed two-bit crook could gain the office of the President, do anything he wanted, then walk away with no consequences. Look at what has happened since.

    The legislation punched through by Bush and his minions has gutted the Constitution of the United States, and the Bill of Rights, which is the list of the Inalienable Rights of Man that were to be forever protected by this government, so long as it should exist. The treasury of the United States, the collective wealth of the people, has been stripped away and given to a wealthy and powerful few at the expense and impoverishment of the many. The Congress has the sole right to declare war and that has been usurped by the Executive.

    We have been involved in a war and occupation of a foreign sovereign nation which has cost us over two thousand lives, many billions of dollars, the Iraqis over a half million lives and has left their nation in ruins, all based on lies and cooked intelligence. Not to mention Afghanistan, which has been eating armies since the time of Alexander.
   New Orleans and the surrounding area is still a ruin after Katrina, despite millions in no-bid contracts to Bush Gang cronies, most of which, like Iraq restoration contracts to some of the same companies, has gone missing, unaccountable.

    What is needed today is not revenge, but justice. The badly tattered Constitution of the United States and its almost totally destroyed Bill of Rights must be restored, intact and functioning to the halls of government. To do this properly, the rules and laws of the Constitution must be enacted and again carried out. This requires impeachment of the Bush Gang and, if found guilty, removal from office and remanded for trial. To go back to business as usual, leaving such a miscreant and his cronies in office, to continue to cover their tracks and do more harm for another two years is an act of moral cowardice that could well destroy what is left of our Constitutional government.

    When you consider that the President’s oath of office is, “I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”  And then remember that, when one of Bush’s staff suggested that one of his acts might be unconstitutional, he replied in a rage, “Stop shoving the Constitution in my face! It’s just a goddamned piece of paper!” That, in itself, should provide sufficient grounds for impeachment.

    Since 2000, when the Supreme Court took the election out of the hands of We the People, appointing a president by a 5-4 majority, the Constitution has been slowly, but steadily eroded. No people in history have ever received back the freedoms that they have once given up to entrenched authority, except by bloody revolution.

    This is a time to break that losing streak and invoke our own Constitution to provide the people redress of grievances and restore our nation to health. To repair the damage done to the United States by this lawless bunch is going to require enormous effort and sacrifice over many years. It will be possible only if We the People start once again using our Constitution as the rule and guide of our actions, reaffirming the Rights of Man and bringing justice and the rule of law back to the nation.

    Impeachment is the first step toward this goal. Let us not let it slip away yet again and leave chaos in its wake. A successful impeachment will serve notice to all that the government of the United States is no longer up for grabs; that those who wish to usurp the power of the Constitution and use public office for personal gain will face justice under that Constitution.

    Perhaps this will once again give rise to true statesmen in office rather than power seekers. If our lawmakers realize that the oath they took to support and defend the Constitution of the United States means what it says and refers to them, then perhaps the legions of lobbyists seeking votes for sale to the highest bidder will begin to dry up. Then, We the People will once again have a nation to be proud of, that will be looked up to once again by the world, not for having a preponderance of weapons of mass destruction and a willingness to use them, but as a nation of law and respect for the Rights of Man and the environment everywhere, but more especially at home.

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    The above article was written and posted on 11 November 2006 while we were still being Bushwhacked. At one time, we thought Mr. Obama would see that justice was done. Instead, he immediately increased the wars, the giveaways to the rich, protected the Bush syndicate and continued the further destruction of the middle and working "classes."
    Now, the Nazional Security Agency, under his auspices, claims the right to watch and listen to everybody in the world, including all US citizens, 24/7. Everything in Obama's new "transparency" is classified secret or above, every whistleblower must run for his life, for the policy is to imprison the whistleblower and hide the crimes the whistleblower uncovered..
    If We the People do not reassert the Constitution of the United States and insist on its being restored to the Halls of Government, intact and functioning, then I fear the United States of America is truly lost..
   Read the Constitution! You will see that impeachment is not some last ditch, horribly expensive process. It is considered much as a Grand Jury, to investigate and indict. It is not restricted to the President. It extends to all government employees, such as Senators and Congressmen, who have violated their trust to serve We the People and adhere to the Constitution of the United States, which is We the People's contract with America.
Article II, Section 4  The President, Vice President and  all civil officers shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery or other High Crimes and Misdemeanors.
Article I Section 3  The Senate shall have the sole Power to try all Impeachments. When sitting for that purpose, they shall be on Oath or Affirmation. When the President of the United States is tried, the Chief Justice shall preside: And no Person shall be convicted without the Concurrence of two thirds of the Members present.
    Judgment in Cases of Impeachment shall not extend further than to removal from Office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any Office of honor, Trust or Profit under the United States: but the Party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to Indictment, Trial, Judgement and Punishment, according to Law.
     And there lies the rub. With a bought and paid for Senate and a bought and paid for Supreme Court, how can an honest trial be held?
     So, perhaps it may be up to We the People once more. While you are at it, read the Declaration of Independence carefully. About the only difference you will see today is that the enemies of the people are not in England, they are here in DC.
     Please, think about it.

The Enemy Within

MANY years ago, during the unlamented “Cold War” we were warned to beware the “enemy within” which referred to communist infiltrators into the government and industry. We were all supposed to be ever vigilant against this threat. There were witch hunts galore and people like McCarthy were in their ascendency. HUAC (House Un-American Activities Committee) destroyed the lives of countless Americans who believed in our Constitution and Bill of Rights. (A subversive concept according to HUAC) The “Enemy Within” was supposed to be able to cause much trouble, for us and for the government. For a time, everyone was suspect, your friends, your neighbors, the butcher, the baker. You were to watch everyone and report suspicious behavior to the FBI. Those you watched were also to be watching you, and making their reports.
    With the fall of the CCCP, everyone relaxed. The Enemy Within was gone! What few realized was that not only was the enemy within still there, but we had misidentified it, it was stronger than we had dreamed and was growing stronger every day.
    The Enemy Within is the Corporate State, and the minions who do its bidding are the United States Government! For over two centuries, the United States of America was a Constitutional Republic. Its government was ruled by the Constitution of the United States. That Constitution provided a system of checks and balances to ensure that no one body could gain control over the government and turn it into a dictatorship. There was a Legislative body, the Senate and Congress, that legislated, made rules and taxes, provided for the welfare of the nation and its people. There was the Executive branch which did the nuts and bolts operation of the nation, constrained by the Legislature and the Constitution. There was a third body, the Supreme Court, which was to study and rule on the constitutionality of legislation, to see that it fell within the confines of the Constitution, which was the ultimate authority.
    There were challenges over the years, but most or all were met and overcome ultimately by the Constitution. The Constitution was added to over the years as times and conditions changed, but it remained the authority. Under the Constitution, the ultimate authority was We the People. We were the ones that approved or disapproved an amendment to the document.
    All of that seems to have ended with the (probably) false flag attack on September eleventh. Immediately afterward, the long prepared, illegal, misnamed and unconstitutional “Patriot Act” was put forward, voted into law, unread, and the Constitution was rendered nothing more than an old piece of parchment. This is the oath taken by every Congressman and Senator at the start of their term, and at the beginning of each session of Congress.
        I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God.
    The President of the United States takes an even shorter oath, which is specified in article II, Section 1. of the Constitution
        I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.
    Please note, that oath is to support the Constitution of the United States, against all enemies, foreign and domestic. It says nothing about protecting the banksters, or invading foreign nations, or kill lists, indefinite detentions, torture.  Virtually every legislator, and many presidents are oath breakers! They are guilty of treason! Even the “Supreme” Court basically ignores the Constitution in favor of big business, spying, detention, torture, etc.
    So, what is the Enemy Within? It is the corporate bodies that worship only greed and profit and trample upon the people, both here and abroad, that protest this greed. It is the bought and paid for legislators, who put their tongues firmly in cheek and cross their fingers when taking their “Oath of Office.” It is the Presidents who begin to lie when they put their hands on the Bible at their inauguration, and continue to do so for the next four years at the behest of their wealthy masters.
    It is the Military-Industrial-Intelligence-Congressional-Complex, warned about by President Eisenhower as he left office. It is the endless revolving door between business and government that keeps the greed and giveaways on track. It is the tightly controlled press that rarely prints anything that would put the corporate or military bodies in a bad light.
    Take note of the comments on bills. “Lobbyists spent $350 million this weekend to defeat this bill.”
“Lobbyists spent $250 million this week to ensure the passage of the bill.”
    That, in any sane government, would be called bribery, but in the United States, that’s just the cost of doing business. Legislators are much too busy raising funds for their next election to actually pay attention to what their lobbyist instructed staff tell them to vote for or against. They just count the “contributions” to their campaign and make sure they don’t offend the larger “donors.”
    So, unless We the People force the Constitution to be put back in the Halls of Government, intact and functioning, the Enemy Within will stay in power and We the People will cease to be citizens and will become nothing but their subjects and serfs.
    I fear it is up to us, and there is a very steep hill to climb.

Crossing the Line

Crossing the Line

(A guest editorial by Cliff Carson)

    Much discussion has been bandied about in the past few days concerning the use of Sarin gas on the Syrian population, and what we as a moral Nation should do about it. Of course the inference is that the Assad Regime is the user of that poison gas. The Media is full of the Obama statement, warning Assad, that using gas on the people would be "crossing the Line" and if such was to occur, the United States would become involved on the side of the Rebels.

    Well the charge has now been made, so what to do next is the question.

    I pose that first we need to do some fact checking and then some soul searching.

    Has gas been used? According to reports, gas was used in a limited way on March 15th.  Can this be proven and if it was used who did it - the Assad Regime or the Rebels?  By the way, who are the Rebels and when did this all start?

    We can go back as far in history as you might desire, but I choose to wander back to Plato and report some of his writings on Elites and State leaders, and as you might guess the nobility of wars.

    Plato espoused that for the Elites and the State to lie to the people was perfectly acceptable as long as it was good for the State as a whole. But in Plato's world the State leadership was made up of the Elites.  His reasoning for allowing the Elites, and thus the Government, to lie?  The State and the Elites will only act for the good of the people as a whole and there the people should look upon the State and the Elites as a form of Gods.

    "If anyone at all is to have the privilege of lying, the rulers of the State should be the persons, and they, in their dealings either with enemies or with their own citizens, may be allowed to lie for the public good.".  - Plato

    You might not be surprised to learn that Plato, who believed in Reincarnation, thought that the deceased would return in either a higher calling or lower status depending on their performance  at their previous level in life.  Plato thought that the highest level into which anyone could be reincarnated would be  -  Politician.

   Back to the question - was Sarin gas used?  At this time there is no way to prove whether or not it was used, unless it was immediately tested, because Sarin gas and any evidence of it disperses rapidly and it is too late now to find any evidence pertaining to use back on the 15th of March.

    But if it was used, who did the deed?  Some information to ponder:

   Once Gaddafi was deposed and the new Libyan Government was in control, it was reported in one of England's Newspapers, The Daily Telegraph that:  

    "Syrian rebels held secret talks with Libya's new authorities on Friday, aiming to secure weapons and money for their insurgency against President Bashar el-Assad's Regime.  Syrian rebels held the secret talks ( in Turkey) with Libya’s new authorities on Friday, aiming to secure weapons and money for their insurgency against the President Bashar al-Assad’s regime"

    A Libyan source speaking on the condition of anonymity stated, "There is something being planned to send weapons and even Libyan fighters to Syria. There is a military intervention on the way.  Within weeks you will see."  Later that month over 600 Libyans were reported to have entered Syria to begin Combat operations and more fighters and weapons have  followed continuously since.

    After the longest war in American History ( Iraq) which was entered into based on false information ( A Presidential lie) that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction, isn't it hypocrisy to see the Western powers, including America, arming, funding, and politically backing rebels in Syria, whose army consists of Al-Qaida terrorists and religious Sunni's fighting to oust the Alawite Religion of Assad and based on that initial report of the use of Sarin gas on March 15th? It was first reported to the world by European news Media as follows:

     "At least 25 are reported dead after a chemical weapons attack targeting Syrian soldiers was carried out by NATO-backed terrorists in the northern city of Aleppo."

    So here we are. If the gas was used, by whom was it used?  Keep in mind that the statement about "crossing the line" was uttered by Obama prior to this gas attack.  Was the gas attack something the Assad Regime initiated?  Or was it by the foreign fighters brought in by the United States and its allies?  Or maybe it was a False Flag operation conducted by those wanting a new Profit Stream opened up due to a new War in Syria?

    Finally there is a final question that should be asked and answered:

    Is the United States war crowd  immoral enough to want to instigate a new war for the war profits that accrue to the Elites and the Federal Government which the Military Industrial Complex controls?

    Let me take you back to Operation Northwoods.  At the time this False Flag concept was hatched up by the War Crowd in our Government, the Cuban Missile Crisis had caused planners to work up a plan to rile up the public, to support a war against Cuba.   This was to be done by initiating raids against American Citizens conducted by US special forces.  This series of raids was to kill American Citizens and blame it on Cuban Terrorists. The only reason Operation Northwoods wasn't carried out was because President John Kennedy told the War Crowd it wasn't going to happen while he was President.  Later both he and his brother Robert were assassinated, by - well you know the story.

    There are those who want War as a means of profiteering. They have been on Earth since man rose up to walk upright. They will always be among us. We need to be vigilant and learn to recognize them by their actions.

    It is they who have crossed the line.

A Little Child Shall Lead Them

A Little Child Shall Lead Them

Isaiah 11:6

AN eight year old child made a poster in his third grade class. His proud teacher took a photo of him holding his poster. I’ve spent quite a bit of time looking at that photo, which now has been seen around the world. I have looked at his expression, the way he delicately holds his poster up for his teacher. He has a small smile, including the gaps of missing baby teeth, but his eyes caught me. I see a sadness, a pleading, in his eyes. He means what his poster says, “No more hurting people. Peace” On either side of the word Peace is a heart and below it is a peace symbol.

    This eight year old child has just solved the major problem of the world, and he wants the world to understand it and do it. No More hurting people. If that is accomplished, then Peace may result.

    I don’t know what it was that influenced him to write that poster. Perhaps he had heard people discussing drones and the killing of women and children around the world. Perhaps he had watched a schoolyard bully beat up a little kid and steal his lunch money. Maybe it was a kindly old lady who lived down the street and sat on the porch swing, feeding him cookies, petting her cat, and telling him stories of her youth. Perhaps it was just common sense, which is much more common in small children than it is in  adults, but is rarely recognized by us.

    A few days, or perhaps a week or so later, his shattered body was lying on a street in Boston, surrounded by many hurting people, including his mother, sister and, his father.

    A bit earlier, I had seen a photo of a bunch of Pakistanis, with a row of dead children laid out in a row before them. Victims of an Obama sponsored drone. Perhaps he saw that, though I doubt it. It was not widely published here in the US.

    Mr. Obama came to Boston for a brief photo-op, vowing to bring the perpetrators to “justice” and announcing that he is sending in guns, tanks and drones to “pacify” yet another poor country in Africa.

    Mr. Obama, what part of Martin Richard’s poster do you not understand?

 No More hurting people.

Peace

    Isaiah 11:6 says, “a little child shall lead them.” I see that Martin’s picture is slowly fading away as the mass media has milked it for what it can get in the short attention span of the American public. I hope, though, that this simple photo will remain as a lesson in the hearts and minds of many around the world who weary of endless wars, endless “hurting people” for the profits and power of the arms and war makers.

    Wouldn’t it be wonderful if the memory of this innocent little martyr and his simple poster could, in fact, lead the world toward the path of peace?

    Bless you Martin Richard. May your memory stay green and bright and may we bring your simple plea to fruition.

Steve Osborn

18 April 2013

Remembrance Day

    Now is the day that we remember
    Our dead, the wars, each falling ember.
    Veterans, Poppy clad, march in sadness and pride,
    Ever mindful of the dwindling companies they once marched beside.
    Men, long turned grey, who remember the youth and strength
    Bourne by them into war, adventure, endless length,
    Ever yearning, at last, for home, for hearth, for peace.
    Remembering all their lives the horrors that wars release.

    Eleven, eleven, the day the guns fell still,
    Leaving only the stench of gas, and bodies, and graves to fill.
    Eleven, eleven and the “War to end all wars,” had ceased.
    Vengeance and madness! Again the dogs of war unleashed!
    Ever rending a new generation to feed their maw.
    Now, war follows war, each more cruel, more raw,
    Tears the fabric of life, slays man, woman, child; death in the rough.
    Heaven itself must cry in pain, “For the love of God! Enough! Enough!”

Steve Osborn
For Remembrance Day 2008
© Stephen M. Osborn 11/11/2008

“I’m mad as Hell and I’m not going to take it anymore!”

MANY of you are old enough to remember the movie Network. There are two clips you should watch. The first is Mr. Beale telling everybody to open their windows and shout, “I’m mad as Hell and I’m not going to take it anymore!” and it worked! The politicians listened. Changes were made. The second clip is more somber, but lays out the program of the 0.01% in a nutshell.

    If you are tired of reading of women and children being killed by drones, of all males in a country between the ages of puberty and senility being deemed combatants, so killing them bolsters our alleged success and is not considered a terrorist act, if you are tired of Obama’s kill list, of the NDAA and the ability to pick up anyone and disappear them for life if someone feels they are a danger, if you are tired of endless surveillance, no fly lists, no border crossing lists; If you remember the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution of the United States, the Bill of Rights and remember that this nation met terrible crises and survived under the above documents; if you remember habeas corpus; if you remember what life was like before the misnamed and unconstitutional “Patriot Act,” and its various clones supplanted the Constitution; if you remember what the world and the US was like before it was given to the banksters and Hedge Fund CEO’s, to rob at will. If you remember these things and would like our world and our nation back in the hands of the people, then it is time.

    It is time to remind Mr Obama and his henchmen that he has just been re-elected, mainly because the Republicans put up an even crazier and greedier opponent to run against him.

    But We the People expect our country back! We want our Constitution back in the halls of government, intact and functioning. We want transparency in government, we want whistleblowers protected and the crimes they expose investigated and corrected. We want the Bill of Rights recognized as the rule and guide of this nation as it has been for two centuries.

    So contact your alleged representatives, buttonhole the press, write Mr. Obama and the various appointees of his cabinet. Tell them We are mad as Hell and we’re not going to take it anymore!

    We want the change that was promised in 2008, not the change we got, with more wars, more dead, more trillions given to the banksters, more homeless and jobless than ever before. We want single payer medical. We want to be free again! You work for us! That is what your jobs are about. Our taxes paid belong to us, you just hold it in trust to help our nation prosper. It is not given to you to spend as you see fit on war and oppression and spying. Legislation is to protect the people, not make them subjects of an expanding Empire.

    Just keep hammering them until they get the idea, and if they don’t, impeach them, recall them, search for honest men and women to replace them and help them get in office.

    It is time for We the People to take our country back, to make an end to greed, bigotry, hatred, poverty.
 Let that beacon of liberty shine again with pride!

Memorial Day 2012

Memorial Day 2012
A Remembrance

    My memory of war starts with World War II. I was just a boy during the war and it was largely an adventure to us, but I remember the quiet pride and the sadness in the eyes of the increasing number of mothers who hung a gold star in their window, never knowing if my mom might be next and my big brother, a Pearl harbor survivor, gone.

    The wars, great and small, were legion in the last century. My dad lost his leg in the Horse Cavalry in the Phillippines in 1913. WW-I, was the “Great War to end all wars.” An entire generation died in the trenches. One of my uncles, who lied about his age, was the first, and youngest, soldier from Oregon to die in that war, at the battle of Chateau Thierry.

    The memory of man is short and only twenty years passed before another generation was thrown into the meat grinder to stave off domination by Hitler’s Nazis, Mussolini’s Fascists and Imperial Japan’s expansion.

    We had hardly buried the dead and recovered from the shock of the realities of nuclear annihilation when East and West went at it in Korea, a war which still goes on, the fighting finally just stopped by mutual agreement.

    The cold war and the covert wars went on, then along came Vietnam. Since then, the “little” wars have gone on all over the world, like bush fires in the California hills, consuming human and material resources.

    In 2001, we saw  the tragedy of 11 September and its aftermath. Then we watched another war in Afghanistan, which has been swallowing up armies since the time of Alexander the Great. We are now in the tenth year of a horrendous war in Afghanistan, Iraq, and now Pakistan, which has killed US troops in the thousands, Iraqis and Afghans and Pakistanis in the hundreds of thousands and fosters still more hatred and unrest. Every year, our wars expand and poverty increases here at home. We have prosecuted yet another war in Libya and are facing yet more "preemptive" wars in Iran and possibly Syria.

    Along with our endless wars, we are faced with increasing oppression at home, with endless surveillance of our citizens, police repression of dissent, a Supreme Court that rules in favor of business and fascism, a nation where torture has become the norm and the military may pick anyone up and incarcerate them for life with no charges and no evidence.

    Once more the toll will be enormous, at home and abroad.

    Amongst the dead may be the man who would have discovered the cure to cancer and other deadly diseases, the composer who may have surpassed Mozart or Brahms, the playwright or poet who might have succeeded Shakespeare, the statesman who could have brought about world peace or the person who might have been able to end world hunger.

    Those are the might-have-beens. The reality is the millions of humans who have died, fathers, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, fighters and civilians in this past century, all with the dream of peace and human dignity before them. Yet, with the new millennium, war and repression still goes on around the world.

    Let us give pause in remembrance of those who died, often alone and forgotten, victim of mine and booby trap, sniper fire or disease and infection, whose resting place is unmarked save for perhaps a little more verdant growth where they have nurtured the soil.

    Let us give pause in remembrance for those who survived, maimed in body or soul by the atrocity of war.

    Let us give pause in remembrance for those who survived to carry on, with nothing but memories, of which they do not speak.

    Let us give pause in remembrance for those whose lives ended abruptly, without warning, on 11 September. And those of all nations and beliefs who continue to die by war and terrorism.

    Let us give pause and reflect, that we might carry out our lives in such a way that love and tolerance might overbalance hatred and bigotry in the scales of life and the dream of peace might become a reality, so those we remember today did not die in vain.

Steve Osborn