What? IT'S ALIVE! Republicans vote FOR impeachment, Dems vote AGAINST!

The Democratic Activist
Just when it seemed politics in America couldn't get more surreal ... House Republicans today voted en masse IN FAVOR of the impeachment of Vice President Dick Cheney, while the Democrats voted against it!

Excellent articles on this potential watershed political event are linked below:

Cheney Impeachment Resolution Sent to House Committee

Debate on Cheney Impeachment Averted

The Die is Cast

Here's the text of the resolution:

Rep. Dennis Kucinich Privileged Resolution

In a characteristic display of bullying arrogance and overconfidence, Republicans, thinking they could gain political traction by once again stealing the Democrats' leaders' lunch money and making them look like the wimps and fools they are, dared the fearful, cowardly Democratic Party to debate the impeachment resolution brought to the floor by their own Dennis Kucinich ... by voting FOR the impeachment resolution ... despite the best attempts of the panicked Democrats to make the awful thing go away!

Suffering as it's been for the past two decades from a political version of "battered wife syndrome," the Democratic Party doesn't even know anymore when it's being abused and spat on, so this seemed a pretty safe move on the part of congressional Republicans.

Cowering in fear, afraid to follow the majority of Americans (who by a 54-40% margin already favor impeaching Cheney) and openly debate Kucinich's impeachment resolution on the floor of the House, the Dems' only alternative was to send the resolution to the House Judiciary Committee ... which is where articles of impeachment originate!

So ... by a strange twist of fate fortuitously created by the precise pathologic dysfunctions present in both parties, a reality warp so bizarre it wouldn't be believed as an episode of "The Twilight Zone" ... it looks like impeachment of Dick Cheney may now actually be a serious and imminent possibility!!

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To read the full text of the impeachment resolution:

1. go to: http://thomas.loc.gov/;
2. enter "H. RES. 799" (without the quotes) into the field titled "Search Bill Text;"
3. select "Bill Number" (immediately below the search field);
4. click the "Search" button.

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It's now time to FLOOD the offices of members of the House Judiciary committee with communications (phone calls, emails, letters, etc.) demanding that they do NOT allow this impeachment resolution to die in committee ... but, rather, that they pass the resolution along immediately to the full House for consideration.

The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee is Illinois representative John Conyers. He's the one who will have the greatest influence on the outcome of this historic opportunity for America to save its dying democracy.

In addition to Mr. Conyers, all other members of the House Judiciary Committee also need to hear our demand for the will of the American people to be heard, and no longer ignored, by the very party we put into power in 2006 to change course and restore the Constitution and accountability to our government.

The toll-free Capitol Switchboard phone number is:

1-800-828-0498.

Below are links to pages where you can get full information on committee members' names and full contact info:

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http://judiciary.house.gov/CommitteeMembership.aspx

http://www.house.gov/

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Now is the time to let Mr. Conyers and others on his committee know that we demand he and the rest of the Democrats stop collaborating with neocon criminals, fully support the impeachment resolution presented by Dennis Kucinich (the bill is H. Res. 799), and put American democracy, the rule of law, and impeachment of criminals in the Bush Administration back "on the table" where it has always belonged!

This could actually happen, as unbelievable as it sounds, despite the seemingly intractable corruption in both parties ... if we really pour the pressure oto the right people, right now.

Call everyday, if you can, till the impeachment resolution is passed out of committee to the full House for their consideration.

Please ... do all you can to support this crucial effort, at this most critical time (to read an important action alert update on this, click here).

Thank you.

Pass it on.
The Democratic Activist

Action Plan: Cheney Impeachment Resolution

The Democratic Activist
(Note: this post has been updated, here.)

Of the 38 members of the House Judiciary Committee (HJC), 23 are Democrats, 15 are Republicans.

The Dems on the HJC voted to support the resolution 14 to 9. That's 61% of the Dems on the committee -- a MUCH higher percentage than among all House Dems (that's encouraging).

However, we still need 6 more Dems to have a majority of committee members who will vote to move H. Res. 799 (the new version of H. Res. 333, the original Cheney impeachment resolution introduced by Kucinich back in April that's now before the HJC) through the committee process and on the full House.

So, our job is to convert 6 of 9 recalcitrant Dems on the committee.

Here's a list of the Dems on the HJC, showing how they who voted to on the motion to table the Cheney impeachment resolution (a "Nay" vote indicates support for the resolution; a "Yea" vote indicates opposition to it; those Democratic reps who voted "Yea," against the resolution, are in bold, and are the ones we need to concentrate on):

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Adam B. Schiff - (D) California, 29th
Yea

Anthony D. Weiner - (D) New York, 9th
Nay

Artur Davis - (D) Alabama , 7th
Yea

Betty Sutton - (D) Ohio, 13th
Nay

Brad Sherman - (D) California, 27
Nay

Debbie Wasserman Schultz - (D) Florida, 20th
Yea

Hank Johnson - (D) Georgia, 4th
Nay

Howard L. Berman - (D) California, 28th
Yea

Jerrold Nadler - (D) New York, 8th
Yea

John Conyers, Jr. - (D) Michigan, 14th
Nay

Keith Ellison - (D) Minnesota, 5th
Nay

Linda T. Sánchez - (D) California, 39th
Yea

Luis Gutierrez - (D) Illinois, 4th
Nay

Maxine Waters - (D) California, 35th
Nay

Melvin L. Watt - (D) North Carolina, 12th
Nay

Rick Boucher - (D) Virginia, 9th
Yea

Robert C. Scott - (D) Virginia, 3rd
Nay

Robert Wexler - (D) Florida, 19th
Nay

Sheila Jackson Lee - (D) Texas, 18th
Nay

Steve Cohen - (D) Tennessee, 9th
Nay

Tammy Baldwin - (D) Wisconsin, 2nd
Nay

William D. Delahunt - (D) Massachusetts, 10th
Yea

Zoe Lofgren - (D) California, 16th
Yea

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Action Plan:

The easiest way to do contact congressional representatives (in the House or Senate) is to call the Capitol Switchboard toll-free at:
1-800-828-0498, and ask to speak to the office of a particular congressperson or senator.

Here's what you can do:

1. Contact House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers (either by calling the Capitol Switchboard number below, or by calling his Washington D.C. office number: 202-225-5126), expressing support for Cheney impeachment resolution H. Res. 799 and demanding that Congressman Conyers make passing this resolution the committee's top priority, hold a hearing on the resolution as quickly as possible, and work hard to swiftly move the resolution out of committee and on to full debate and consideration by the entire House.

2. Contact each Democratic member of the HJC who voted "Yea" to table H. Res. 799 in opposition to the Cheney impeachment resolution (names in bold in list of Democratic committee members, above), express your own ardent support of the resolution, and insist that recalcitrant Democrats on the committee fully and enthusiastically support the resolution and its quick passage to full debate and consideration by the entire House (you might also want to contact all the "Nay" voters to applaud them for their support of the Cheney impeachment resolution, and the office of Rep. Dennis Kucinich to thank him for his courage and commitment in authoring and presenting the resolution to congress).

3. Contact House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Majority Steny Hoyer (call the Capitol Switchboard number, above) to express your support of the Cheney impeachment resolution and demand that they obey the will of a solid majority of Americans and the vast majority of Democrats to immediately impeach Dick Cheney, to put impeachment back on the table where it belongs, and to energetically work as leaders of the Democratic Party to see that Cheney and other criminals in the currently administration are removed from office and held fully accountable before the law.

4. Contact your own representative in the House (click here to find your representative's name and web site), express your fervent support of the Cheney impeachment resolution, urge him or her to co-sponsor the resolution to impeach Dick Cheney, and ask him or her to lobby members of the HJC to work hard to advance the resolution swiftly through the committee and on to the full House.

5. Contact national mass-media outlets and request full coverage of this important news story (click here to go to a page listing addresses, phone numbers, and live email links to major U.S. news outlets).

Afterdowningstreet.org has their own action page (click here) with additional ideas and ways to further the cause of impeachment.

Be creative!

Add to this list of action items by including your own ideas and links in comments to this post, so others can benefit from them.

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Carrying out the full action plan above requires that you make 12 short phone calls.

12 calls to the Capitol Switchboard takes about 15 minutes. Committed individuals could easily do it on their lunch break, using their cell phones (not at all a difficult or onerous task, for those who really care). In addition, you can quickly and easily send email messages to your congressperson and senators, Speaker Pelosi, the HJC, and a letter to your nearest daily newspaper in support of the Cheney impeachment resolution by clicking here.

Activists should implement the action plan each day, till the resolution is moved to a hearing, and until we get public commitments to support the Cheney impeachment resolution from HJC Chairman John Conyers and at least 6 more Dems on the HJC.

Direct action is only half the battle, though. The other half is enrolling others in the fight.

In addition to making these critically important calls yourself, it is VERY IMPORTANT that activists email a link to this page and the information it contains to as many people as possible, with an short explanation of the crucial issue at hand and a request for their own active involvement at this critical time.

Letters to representatives are also extremely effective, more so even than phone calls ... though they do, of course, take more time to generate and mail. Please consider writing a short letter template, and then printing out and mailing a separate copy of your letter to each of the HJC members who voted "Yea" to table H. Res. 799 (for mailing addresses, click here to go to the HJC main page, then click on a member's name to go to that representative's web site and contact page). Make clear your unequivocal support for Cheney's impeachment, and that your continued support of the Democratic Party, financially and otherwise, depends on Democratic members of the Judiciary Committee acting speedily and decisively to move the Cheney impeachment resolution through the committee to the full House.

Although most House members only accept email messages sent through the contact page of their web sites from zip codes within their home districts, HJC Chairman John Conyers can be contacted directly via email at the following address:

John.Conyers@mail.house.gov

Letters to Chairman Conyers can be addressed to:

Honorable John Conyers, Jr.
2426 Rayburn Building
Washington, DC 20515

Click here to read the text of the Cheney impeachment resolution, and here to view supporting documents.

Dick Cheney, in addition to conceiving and committing the high crimes outlined in the impeachment resolution, is the man most responsible for the insane plan to attack Iran, probably timed to occur next spring or summer, before the election ... which Republicans fear they're otherwise almost sure to lose.

Are the American people ready for another outrageous, ridiculous, felonious, wasteful war based on greed, deceit, and power-madness?

Are we as a people and as individuals willing to lose America to a budding dictatorship, risk the advent of WW3, and ignore the most fundamental principles of American democracy ... by leaving criminals like this in office one day longer?

This is it. We actually have a real chance to impeach Dick Cheney.

It's now, or never. Time to move. It will take work. But we can do it.

Please forward this information to as many people as possible, make calls and send letters yourself, and urge others to do the same.

(Click here to read the update to this post.)

Thank you.

Pass it on.
The Democratic Activist

Santa Rosa City Council Passes Impeachment Resolution!

The Democratic Activist
Great news ...

Last night, the city council of Santa Rosa, California overwhelmingly approved a resolution calling for the U.S. Congress to impeach President Bush and Vice President Cheney!

The vote was 5 to 1 in favor of the resolution, with one abstention. Santa Rosa now joins Sebastopol, Santa Cruz, San Francisco and other cities across America that have endorsed impeachment. Advocates of the resolution presented signatures of more than 2,000 Santa Rosa residents, and the massive show of citizen endorsement convinced at least two council members to change their minds and vote in favor of the resolution. The city council will now send an official letter to Washington to "petition congress to start impeachment hearings."

Click here and here to read articles on the council's resolution that appeared on the web site of the local Santa Rosa newspaper, The Press Democrat.

Here's how the individual council members voted, along with their contact info:

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Mayor Bob Blanchard
100 Santa Rosa Avenue, Room 10
Santa Rosa, CA 95404
Phone: (707) 543-3017
Fax: (707) 543-3030
bblanchard@srcity.org

Voted "No."

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Vice Mayor Lee Pierce
100 Santa Rosa Avenue, Room 10
Santa Rosa, CA 95404
Phone: (707) 579-1449 ext. 300 ("The Tiosk Group")
Fax: (707) 579-0882
lpierce@srcity.org

Voted "Yes."

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Councilmember Jane Bender
100 Santa Rosa Avenue, Room 10
Santa Rosa, CA 95404
Phone: (707) 538-9644
Fax: (707) 543-3030
jbender@srcity.org

Abstained.

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Councilmember Carol Dean
100 Santa Rosa Avenue, Room 10
Santa Rosa, CA 95404
Phone: (707) 575-3350
Fax: (707) 543-3030
cdean@srcity.org

Voted "Yes."

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Councilmember Susan Gorin
100 Santa Rosa Avenue, Room 10
Santa Rosa, CA 95404
Phone: (707) 525-8335
Fax: (707) 543-3030
sgorin@srcity.org

Voted "Yes."

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Councilmember Veronica Jacobi
100 Santa Rosa Avenue, Room 10
Santa Rosa, CA 95404
Phone: (707) 575-5594
Fax: (707) 543-3030
vjacobi@srcity.org

Voted "Yes."

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Councilmember John Sawyer
100 Santa Rosa Avenue, Room 10
Santa Rosa, CA 95404
Phone: (707) 578-6006
Fax: (707) 578-6006
jsawyer@srcity.org

Voted "Yes."

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Unfortunately, the Council is taking a lot of heat from local residents for passing the resolution. Those opposed to impeachment are leaving negative comments under The Press Democrat article linked above, and, presumably, others are contacting the council directly to register their displeasure.

It's important that impeachment supporters, especially those that are Santa Rosa residents, contact their city council members to express their thanks for the courage and patriotism showed by the council in passing this important resolution. Our city has joined others in setting the right example, and it's critical that these local governmental leaders hear applause and appreciation from grateful citizens.

Here's what you can do:

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1. Contact the Santa Rosa City Council members individually to extend your personal thanks for their appropriate, principled stand in support of impeachment at this critical time in our nation's history. Phone calls, emails, letters, and faxes to council members would go a long way to balance the opposition they're currently receiving from local Bushites.

2. Read articles in The Press Democrat discussing the resolution here and here, and add your own supportive comment at the bottom of the page. You will need to register, to do so. (Comments are limited to 250 characters – so keep yours short, but passionate! And don't worry ... they take a few minutes to show up on the comments page).

3. Send a "letter to the editor" to Santa Rosa's local newspaper, The Press Democrat!

Here's the address:

letters@pressdemocrat.com

Keep your message under 200 words, and be sure to include your name and address (they'll print your name and city).

Why not forward a separate copy of your letter to The Press Democrat to all seven city council members, to let them know of your active support? (But don't cc the council members – "letters to the editor" cc'd to others are unlikely to get printed.) Using the links under "Media" in the side bar to the right, it just takes a few more clicks to send your message to editors of other local and national newspapers and major electronic media outlets. (You could also use the text of your message to easily craft individual emails, faxes, and/or letters to council members.)

4. Send a short message about this story, along with a link to this post, to as many impeachment supporters as possible (those both inside and outside Santa Rosa) -- or to your entire email circle!

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Thank you.

Pass it on.
The Democratic Activist

Wexler Wants Hearings ... Sign His Petition!

The Democratic Activist
The struggle for the conscience of the Democratic Party continues.

As party leaders continue to refuse to hold criminals in high office accountable for a long list of "high crimes and misdemeanors" in direct violation of their oaths of office and against the wishes of the vast majority of rank and file party members, vertebrate Democrats in congress are standing up and pushing back.



Congressman Robert Wexler of Florida (D - 19th) has begun a petition drive demanding that hearings begin immediately on H. Res. 799, the Cheney Impeachment Resolution now in the House Judiciary Committee. Together with fellow HJC members Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Wexler needs to convince reluctant Democrats on the committee that, in America, elected leaders who commit egregious felonies and war crimes should not be put above the law, and that the founders designed the tool of impeachment for just such an occasion as this. A few days ago, this trio of principled fighters for democracy in America issue an op-ed titled "A Case For Hearings" to launch the petition effort.

Wexler, who set an initial goal of 50,000 signatures total, got 30,000 the first day the petition was online. Public response has been strong, with approximately 20,000 new signatures signatures coming in each day (currently 111,000+ as I write this). Wexler's current goal is to gather at least 250,000 signatures by midnight, 12/31/07. It is noteworthy that the mainstream media is ignoring the Wexler petition, as it has the impeachment movement generally, but that nevertheless both the petition and nationwide support for impeachment continue to grow and expand by viral methods and the innate power of a righteous idea.

It is urgent that impeachment supporters sign the Wexler petition, encourage others to do the same, and demand mass-media coverage of this important news story.

Here's what you can do:

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1. Sign the petition here!

2. Spread the word! Write a short message on the Wexler petition containing a link to the information in this post, and email it to everyone and anyone you know who may be interested in supporting the impeachment effort.

3. Lobby the main stream media! Calls and email messages sent to electronic media outlets and local and national newspapers have a real effect on news coverage.

CNN Viewer Comment Line:

1-404-827-1500.

MSNBC (ask to leave a message on their Viewer Comment Line):

1-201-583-5000, or 1-212-664-4444.

Click here for dozens of email links to key departments in mainstream media organizations, and see the links in the "Media" section of the sidebar of this blog for links to local, national, and international newspapers.

4. Call congressmembers Robert Wexler, Luis Gutierrez, and Tammy Baldwin, and thank them for their patriotic stand in support of impeachment. While you're at it, call HJC Chairman John Conyers and the "Ninny Nine" and demand that they either join the impeachment effort or get out of the way! (Click here for complete info on contacting these key individuals to encourage their support of the Cheney impeachment resolution.)

Here's the toll-free Capitol Switchboard number:

1-800-828-0498.

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Thank you.

Pass it on.
The Democratic Activist

Support Wexler's Impeachment Presentation!

The Democratic Activist
(Update: It looks like we got the details wrong on this. Apparently, Congressman Wexler was scheduled to make a pro-impeachment speech to congress the evening of Wednesday, 1/15 and to present his online petition and letters appealing for impeachment hearings to House Judiciary Committee Chairman Conyers and the other members of the HJC sometime on Wednesday, 1/16 [here is the speech, and here are the letters]. Sorry about that. At least we were early!)

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The pressure for impeachment appears to be building.

Last month, Congressman Robert Wexler (D – Florida, 19th) and two fellow members of the House Judiciary Committee and launched a high-profile effort to lobby other HJC members to support the Cheney Impeachment Resolution, H. Res. 799. Congressman Wexler started an online petition urging Cheney's impeachment that so far has garnered nearly 200,000 signatures, and will be presenting his petition to Congress this Tuesday, 1/15/08, between 7 and 10pm, EST.

In a further indication that things are heating up on this issue, the New York Sun reported on the recent arrest of activists engaged in civil disobedience to support the impeachment effort.

From the Sun's article on 1/4/08:

"Four anti-war protesters were arrested at Rep. Jerrold Nadler's Brooklyn office Wednesday night when they refused to leave after closing hours.

The demonstrators, part of a group of about 15, sought to convince Mr. Nadler, who sits on the House Judiciary Committee, to impeach President Bush and Vice President Cheney."

Congressman Wexler needs a huge deluge of support for impeachment right now to bolster his important presentation to congress this Tuesday evening!

The word has gone out to activists to get back on their phones and fax machines, and inundate key House reps with calls and faxes supporting Cheney's impeachment from early on Monday, 1/14/08 through 10pm EST on Tuesday, 1/15/08. In your communications to congressional reps, tell them of your enthusiastic support of the effort to impeach Dick Cheney, ask them for immediate hearings on H. Res. 799, and urge these reps to co-sign Wexler's impeachment letter to HJC Chairman John Conyers and to send their own formal pro-impeachment letters to the HJC chairman.

Here's what you can do, specifically, to join the effort:

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1. Sign Congressman Wexler's petition here urging the immediate impeachment of Vice President Dick Cheney, if you haven't already done so.

2. Call the Capitol Switchboard toll free at 1-800-828-0498, and ask to speak to your own congressperson, House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, and each of the nine Democratic members of the HJC opposed to impeachment (the infamous "Ninny Nine," listed below). About 15 minutes is all it takes to make these calls!

Congressman Jerrold Nadler, whose local office was the target of pro-impeachment civil disobedience earlier this month, is one of the "Ninny Nine" and chairman of the HJC subcommittee where the Cheney impeachment resolution is currently stalled. Right now, and until H. Res. 799 is moved forward to a hearing, it's especially important to contact Mr. Nadler ... in every way possible, as often as possible.

3. Compose a short letter template, and fax personalized copies of it to Chairman Conyers, Speaker Pelosi, and each of the "Ninny Nine" (snail-mail letters likely won't arrive in time before 1/15/08, but are always good for follow-up). See below for a complete listing of names and full contact info.

4. Spread the word! Publish and/or email a link to this post to as many people as possible who may be interested in working to support the cause of impeachment at this critical time.

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Other ideas:

I've received reports that at 11:00AM on Monday, 1/14/08, Cindy Sheehan will be delivering between 7,000 and 10,000 pro-impeachment letters to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's San Francisco office. Pro-democracy activists will also be on hand to deliver thousands of petition signatures urging Cheney's impeachment. Right now, your additional calls and faxes to Nancy Pelosi's local office (see Pelosi's contact info, below) sent in conjunction with activist efforts taking place early this week could have an even greater impact.

These days, we activists have to lobby the mainstream media as well as government representatives. It's easy, in a very short time, to send dozens of emails to key media outlets urging greater coverage of the impeachment issue and particular attention to Wexler's upcoming presentation to congress using the letter template you created (in step 3, above) and the live email links provided on this blog's media contact page.

Finally, a call and/or fax to Congressman Wexler thanking him for his principled, patriotic stand in support of impeachment is certainly appropriate and always greatly appreciated.

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The "Ninny Nine:"

Hon. Howard Berman
2221 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
Phone: 202-225-4695
Fax: 202-225-3196

Hon. Frederick Boucher
2187 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: 202-225-3861
Fax: 202-225-0442

Hon. Artur Davis
208 Cannon H.O.B.
Washington, D.C. 20515
Phone: 202-225-2665
Fax: 202-226-9567

Hon. William Delahunt
2454 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: 202-225-3111
Fax: 202-225-5658

Hon. Zoe Lofgren
102 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
Phone: 202-225-3072
Fax: 202-225-3336

Hon. Jerrold Nadler
2334 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: 202-225-5635
Fax: 202-225-6923

Hon. Linda Sanchez
1007 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: 202-225-6676
Fax: 202-226-1012

Hon. Debbie Wasserman Schultz
118 Cannon H.O.B
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: 202-225-7931
Fax: 202-226-2052

Hon. Adam B. Schiff
326 Cannon House Office Building
Washington D.C. 20515
Phone: 202-225-4176
Fax: 202-225-5828

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Hon. Robert Wexler
213 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: 202-225-3001
Fax: 202-225-5974

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Chairman John Conyers, Jr.
House Judiciary Committee
2426 Rayburn Building
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: 202-225-5126
Fax: 202-225-0072

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Speaker Nancy Pelosi
Office of the Speaker
H-232, US Capitol
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: 202-225-4965
Fax: 202-225-4188

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To find your own congressional representative (on any other congressperson), click here.

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Okay, now ... let's get moving!

Make those calls! Send those faxes! Distribute this info!

Thank you.

Pass it on.
The Democratic Activist

The Problem? It's Nadler ...

The Democratic Activist
For weeks, now, activists supporters of democracy all over the world have been waiting for a miracle to occur ... namely, for Democratic leaders to grow a spine, remember their oaths to defend the Constitution, learn to throw a punch, and begin impeachment hearings against American Vice President Dick Cheney.

What's the problem? It's Nadler.

The Cheney impeachment resolution is stalled in the House Judiciary Committee .(HJC) ... specifically, in the sub-committee headed by Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY, 8th). Despite overwhelming pubic support of impeachment, and growing pro-impeachment pressure in the House, Nadler and company are, apparently, determined to defend not the Constitution but rather Republican criminals and emperor wanna-bes currently holding our nation's top elected offices.

Democrats like HJC Chairman John Conyers are even floating a proposal for non-impeachment hearings on the "imperial presidency" that they hope will enable them to run out the clock while mollifying the burgeoning impeachment movement that's been giving anti-impeachment Dumb-o-crats all such a headache.

Whether his policy of no-impeachment for imperial presidents and vice presidents is his own or was handed to him by Democratic Fuhrer Nancy Pelosi, it appears that Nadler is now the pivot point on the impeachment issue. He's the decider right now ... and as I opined in an earlier post, Mr. Nadler has become the man whose mind we need to change.

Here's what you can do:

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1. Call, fax, and/or write Congressman Nadler to express your ardent support for impeachment and demand that he respect his oath of office, stop stalling impeachment hearings, and allow the Cheney impeachment resolution (H. Res. 799) now stuck in the HJC subcommittee he chairs to advance out of committee to full hearings before the House.

Nadler is the man, at this moment. He's the pivot point. Call him every day, if possible! (It really only takes a minute.)

Contact info:

Hon. Jerrold Nadler
2334 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: 202-225-5635
Fax: 202-225-6923
Email (only for those in Nadler's district):
http://www.house.gov/nadler/emailform.shtml

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2. Call, fax, and/or write HJC Chairman John Conyers to communicate your pro-impeachment message, question the delaying tactics he and other Democratic leaders are using to stonewall impeachment, and insist that hearings be held on Cheney's impeachment immediately.

Conyers's flip-flop on impeachment is unconscionable. Let him know!

Contact info:

Chairman John Conyers, Jr.
House Judiciary Committee
2426 Rayburn Building
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: 202-225-5126
Fax: 202-225-0072
Email: John.Conyers@mail.house.gov

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3. Call, fax, and/or write to the "Quilsing Queen" herself, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, to tell her that she has no right to take constitutional provisions like impeachment "off the table" and that she and other leading Democrats must get out of the way of the people and allow impeachment to go forward.

Further, make sure that Ms. Pelosi understands that, absent a quick turn-around in the priorities of invertebrate Democratic Party leaders, she and other Democrats will pay with their jobs as a vast number of inflamed, irate democratic activists work to remove them from office and replace them with progressive candidates who do value the constitution and the privilege of representing us.

(Note: Cindy Sheehan is opposing Nancy Pelosi in the upcoming November election. Please ... lend all the support you can to Cindy's attempt to unseat Pelosi in California's 8th district! Click here to go to Cindy's campaign site.)

Contact info:

Speaker Nancy Pelosi
Office of the Speaker
H-232, US Capitol
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: 202-225-4965
Fax: 202-225-4188

Email: AmericanVoices@mail.house.gov

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4. Call, fax, and/or write to your own congressperson. It's easy! Just call the toll free Capitol Switchboard number during business hours and ask to speak to the office of any member of the House or Senate (if you're not sure who your representatives are, they can tell you).

Here's the number:

1-800-828-0498.

Click here to find your own congressperson's web site.

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It literally takes just five minutes to make calls to these four congressional reps. Do it every day, if you can!

Again ... here's the toll-free Capitol Switchboard number (have you memorized it yet?:

1-800-828-0498.

In addition, it's important to lobby the mainstream media to publicize the impeachment, and the problem currently posed by sticks-in-the-mud Pelosi, Conyers, and Nadler. Click here to go to this blog's media contact page where you'll find dozens of live email links to key national media outlets. Please also consider contacting local, national, and international newspapers to express your support for impeachment and request more coverage of the issue.

Contrary to the president's stated belief, the constitution is not just a "goddamned piece of paper" but the living foundation of law in our nation. And contrary to neocon collaborators Pelosi, Conyers, and Nadler, impeachment is not optional. Impeachment is a requirement written into the constitution by our nation's founders to equip us to deal with exactly the kind situation we find ourselves in today ... with an iniquitous president and vice-president who fancy themselves dictators, men above the law, and rulers over us.

Time to get out those calls, faxes, and letters, people!

Right now ... it's Nadler.

Let's nail him!

Thank you.

Pass it on.
The Democratic Activist

Retire The Savage Weiner! NO SAVAGE!

The Democratic Activist
Michael Weiner, a.k.a. Michael Savage , is the third most popular talk show host in America, and reaches 8 million listeners every day 400 radio stations throughout the U.S. with his ultra-right extremist radio talk show, The Savage Nation.

Savage's message is truly savage: unyielding hate, authoritarian demagoguery and bullying, and fascist persecution. The same kind of religious hate, intolerance, bigotry, racism, and fascism that in the 1920's through 1940's turned democratic Germany into the sickest, most brutal nation the world has yet seen.

Click here for a sample (warning: this audio is upsetting ... but after hearing it, you'll likely want to do something to stop this guy). Then, on the same page, scroll slightly down and look to the left for a list of a few of Savage's other contemptible and chilling remarks (text and audio).

Don Imus was taken off the air and humbled for his offensive remarks, and rightly so. But Michael Savage, who's ten -- no -- a hundred times worse than Imus ever was, is for some strange reason still sponsored and allowed with impunity to continue using our publicly owned and funded airwaves to spew his crazy, disgusting, hateful daily diatribes.

An article recently appearing in The New York Times recounts the rise of The Savage Weiner, the controversy surrounding him, and the boycott now facing sponsors of his show. Hoping to further complicate things for The Weiner, activists at bravenewfilms.org have recently initiated a NO SAVAGE campaign to remove the stench of this man's message from American radio.

The good news is that several major sponsors of The Savage Nation have pulled their advertising since the NO SAVAGE movement began: Citrix Systems, Office Max, Intuit (TurboTax), TrustedID, Chattem (Gold Bond, Icy-Hot, Garlique), Union Bank of California, ITT Technical Institute. Congratulations and thanks to these companies for admitting their error and doing the right thing! Please reward them with your patronage and messages of approval.

The bad news is that, as of 1/25/08, the "still proud sponsors" of Savages's radio bullying include: Geico Insurance, Office Depot, Wyeth Consumer Healthcare (Advil, Robitussin, Centrum), and Stamps.com.

Citizens concerned with beating back the reactionary, fascist bigotry, unvarnished hate, and savage brutality that Savage and others like him promote every day across the public airwaves should urge Savage's remaining commercial sponsors to pull all advertising from his show.

Here's what you can do to help finally retire Michael Savage:

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1. Call, email, or snail-mail the sponsors of The Savage Nation, using the links above.

Don't attack them, but let the sponsor know that Savage's insane bigotry and hate mongering is shocking and unacceptable, that you're sure they wouldn't want to be associated with such cruel and ugly behavior, that you'll not be a customer of theirs if they continue to sponsor Savage, and that you'll be encouraging others to act likewise.

2. Then have some fun!

The call-in number for his radio show is 800-449-8255, and he is generally on the air between 6-9pm ET. Bite your tongue in order to get by the phone monitors, but when you do and you get on the air, enjoy yourself. Take the high road. Don't go to his level. You might consider expressing your dismay that particular sponsors are supporting and promoting this sickness.

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Together ... we can retire the Savage Weiner!

NO SAVAGE!

Thank you.

Pass it on.
The Democratic Activist

Net Neutrality Ninjas Needed NOW

The Democratic Activist
A nondiscriminatory, open, equally available internet represents perhaps the greatest advancement in human society since the invention of the printing press. A level playing field for all people, businesses, and ideas has supercharged the possibilities for democracy and real freedom in the world and for vastly improved economies and lifestyles across the globe.

However, the free and equal internet as we have always known it may be nearing extinction.

The Critical Issue ...

Telecom conglomerates (ATT, Viacom, Comcast, etc.) are trying to “buy” the internet! Their plan is to create a two-tiered system to maximize their private profits from an internet system originally created by public, government funding: a super fast new fiber optic internet for their best paying customers, and a slow “dirt road” for the rest of us. Only the biggest companies would be able to afford placement on the “super internet,” relegating other medium and small businesses, individuals, and organizations to the uncompetitiveness and obscurity of their internet “slow lane.”

The internet, under this horrible system, would quickly devolve into just another medium of commerce and advertisement for the biggest businesses in America, as happened with television several decades ago. Why would anyone patronize “Mom and Pop" bookstores or get their news at “So and So’s Blog” if using “Borders.com” or “Fox News” was 100 time faster, more convenient, and more reliable?! The critical democratizing aspect – the “level playing field” – of today’s internet, would be dead and gone.

That’s why groups as diverse as the conservative Gun Owners of America and the Christian Coalition on the right, and liberal MoveOn.org and the American Civil Liberties Union on the left, together with companies such as Google and Microsoft that depend on a free, vibrant, healthy internet for their survival, have come out strongly in support of re-enacting legislation to protect Net Neutrality (to replace laws put in place at the inception of the internet but allowed to expire in 2006 during the Republican 109th Congress).

Contrary to the deliberately deceitful pronouncements of giant telecoms and their supporters in Congress, the "Net Neutrality" movement does NOT seek to impose new regulations on the internet, but only to keep in place the legal protections and safeguards that have been in existence since the internet began -- the very laws which have enabled the amazing growth and innovation that has always characterized the internet, and for the tremendous social and economic advancement that a free and open internet has brought to our own country and to nations and peoples throughout the world.

But unfortunately, the fantastic, miraculous, nondiscriminatory internet as we know it may soon disappear from our lives ... without your support, and that of your concerned friends and associates.

Visit the following site to get full and complete information on the subject, and to find out what you can do to protect the internet from yet another attempt by “free market” oligarchs to kill competition and build an undemocratic information monopoly:

http://www.savetheinternet.com/.

Here's another wonderful site that does an excellent job of presenting the true motives and intentions of the telecom industry, and how bad things could get if they succeed in turning the now public internet into their own private cash cow:

http://www.weownthenet.org/.

The following video, produced by savetheinternet.com, is a great introduction to critical need to reinstate strong federal Net Neutrality regulations:



For an entertaining if slightly irreverent look at the issue, click here to watch another video.

The Current Opportunity ...

We have already seen blatant moves towards making a two tier, censored toll road out of our wide open democratic internet. Comcast recently began unfairly discriminating against particular users and disfavored content, and, after first calling Net Neutrality a solution in search of a problem, AT&T then censored Pearl Jam's criticism of Bush during a live internet concert broadcast and Verizon likewise censored NARAL's pro choice text messages.

The FCC has bowed to pressure and is investigating complaints that Comcast is selectively blocking traffic. On 1/14/08, the FCC released a request for public comment on the establishment of rules to govern "network management practices by broadband network operators" -- i.e. the reinstitution of formal Net Neutrality regulations. The outcome of this investigation and the collecting of public comment on this question could be critical in the fight to defend the internet from usurpation by private corporate interests.

This is our chance ... to save the internet!

The deadline for filing public comments with the FCC on this issue is 2/13/08. To facilitate submission of public comments on this issue, John Leasch (a great "New Democrat" with a real shot at winning the congressional seat in Dennis Hastert's old district) and PEN (People's Email Network) have created an action page that pipes your personal comments into the FCC electronic filing system and also sends your messages to your congressional representatives at the same time!

The Urgent Call To Action ...

Now is a critical moment in the effort to save the internet, a pivot point in time when your action is urgently needed and its effectiveness will be greatly multiplied.

Here's what you can do:

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1. Speak out! Use the action page to send your comment strongly supporting the adoption of strict federal Net Neutrality rules to the FCC and your congressional reps. Tell them that you ardently support federal regulations guaranteeing true Net Neutrality, and that you oppose any attempts by giant telecoms to weaken or dismantle the foundational principle of internet freedom and neutrality for all people, organizations, and businesses, large or small.

2. Spead the word! Send a link to this post to everyone you know who appreciates the internet miracle or who depends on it in their business or daily lives (isn't that just about everyone?), and urge them to send their comments in support of Net Neutrality to the FCC before the 2/13/08 deadline passes.

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If enough of us put out enough energy on this, doing our duty as citizens and internet users, we can keep the precious public internet out of clutches of corporate media conglomerates, and keep it the free, open, neutral, miraculous shared resource it is today.

Let's do it!

File those comments!

Spread the word!

Thank you.

Pass it on.
The Democratic Activist

Tell the Senate: NO IMMUNITY for Bush and his telecom buddies!

The Democratic Activist
(Note: in my haste to get this action alert out, I copied, pasted, and modified material from various email alerts I'd recently received, in order to get this alert up and out as quickly as possible; therefore, much of the text below was not authored by me.)

Tomorrow, 1/27/08, the Senate will vote on reauthorization of the "Protect America Act." For those of you who don't speak Orwellian, the plain English translation of the "Protect America Act" is the "Destroy America by Eviscerating the Constitution (which IS America) Act." Ostensibly an update to the FISA law, the bill rushed to the Senate floor would make the Orwellian PAA permanent U.S. law, and includes language granting retroactive immunity to telecom companies that wiretapped Americans illegally, without warrants, as required by FISA and the 4th Amendment (activity first denied by Bush during the 2004 presidential campaign but then outed much to his chagrin in December, 2005). What's worse is that any bill that grants telecoms immunity -- and codifies that warrantless wiretapping is legal -- could also grant President Bush immunity from prosecution for spying on Americans and breaking the law. As a blogger on Daily Kos succinctly framed it: "telecom immunity is Bush immunity."

To stop this assault on our right to privacy, Senator Chris Dodd has reaffirmed his promise to filibuster any Senate bill that contains retroactive immunity for telecommunications companies. Senator Dodd needs our full support (see below, for what you can do to help in this critical effort to save our civil liberties).

An amendment offered by neocon collaborator Senator Diane Feinstein (D - California) would have the secret FISA court itself -- instead of a public court -- determine whether the telecoms deserve immunity. According to Feinstein's amendment, the FISA court's decision would be based on whether the telecoms had a "good faith, reasonable belief that assistance was legal."

That's ridiculous!

Here's what you can do:

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1. Call your two U.S. Senators – to express your fervent opposition to any provision for telecom immunity in the new FISA bill before the senate vote on telecom immunity that will likely occur the morning of Monday, 1/28/08. Urge your two senators to fully support Senator Dodd's promised filibuster of any FISA bill containing immunity provisions for criminal telecom companies that colluded with Bush in blatant and flagrant violation of the law. Don't let them give Bush and his friends in the telecom industry a "get out of jail free" card!

The easiest way to call your U.S. senators is to call the toll-free Capitol Switchboard number, and ask to speak to the office of a particular U.S. senator or congressperson (Capitol Switchboard operators can tell you who your two senators are, if you're not sure):

1-800-828-0498.

To find complete contact info for your senators (Washington D.C. and district office phone and fax numbers, email and web site links, etc.), click here and then enter your zip code in the field indicated for finding your elected officials.

2. Call Senator Diane Feinstein – and urge her to drop any effort to "compromise" on the question of telecom immunity in FISA. Tell her that you and millions of Americans are terribly concerned about letting crooks off the hook, that we're watching carefully what she does on this issue, and that you expect her to do the right thing and support Senator Dodd's courageous filibuster of any FISA bill containing immunity provisions.

Senator Feinstein can be contacted through the Capitol Switchboard (see above), or directly through her senate offices in Washington, D.C. and California (why not call and/or fax all her offices ... just to be sure she gets the message!):

Washington, DC office
Phone: 202-224-3841
Fax: 202-228-3954

Los Angeles office
Phone: 310-914-7300
Fax:310-914-7318

San Francisco office
Phone: 415-393-0707
Fax: 415-393-0710

San Diego office
Phone: 619-231-9712Fax: 619-231-1108

Fresno office
Phone: 559-485-7430
Fax: 559-485-9689

Click here to email Senator Feinstein.

3. Send out a link to this post – to anyone and everyone you know who thinks the rule of law in America is important, and that criminals in giant corporations and in our nation's highest offices should not be allowed to place themselves above the same laws that would put you or I in jail for the rest of our lives.

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When you ask Senator Feinstein to support Senator Dodd's filibuster, a staffer may respond that Senator Feinstein has introduced amendments to the bill reauthorizing FISA.

Wiretapping Americans without a warrant is illegal. And Feinstein's "good faith" amendment is totally unacceptable.

FISA is a secret court. Of the many thousands of requests for wiretaps that it has considered over the last 30 years, it has rejected a small handful -- perhaps as few as five. This is not the same as a court of law, where the public has the right to examine evidence and file their own claims. FISA courts do not provide for the protection of basic rights. And to allow the FISA courts to determine the legitimacy of telecom actions is to take this crucial decision out of the hands of the courts, therefore undermining the rule of law.
Bradley Whitford filmed a great short video for couragecampaign.org explaining the issue and asking Senator Feinstein and the rest of the U.S. senate to stand up for the Constitution.

Check it out:



Time is of the essence.

Your calls need to go out as early as possible on the morning of Monday, 1/28/08 – the senate may vote on FISA immunity provisions as early as the start of business that day.

Please ... spread the word ... far, wide, and with haste.

Then make your calls!

Thank you.

Pass it on.
The Democratic Activist