crossposted on Evolving Peace (http://evolvingworld…)

Birds of a feather flock togther: I hope that now Scooter Libby has been tried and convicted in the Valerie Plame-CIA leak case we can visualize the convictions of Vice-President Dick Cheney, Presidential Chief of Staff Karl Rove and President George Bush. While one man (and more) has willfully aspired to defraud the people of the United States by discrediting a critic of the administration’s faulty evidence to invoke war, the nation of Iraq burns in turmoil from the occupation by a foreign power, and thousands of American soldiers have died.

To the critics of this judgment, this is more evidence to on how the Presidential administration purposely manipulated evidence to wage war on Iraq. While, there is so much debate about the recent troop surge in Iraq very little attention has been given to the initial claims and justifications for the war. The administration claimed that “Saddam Hussein” was attempting to purchase aluminum tubes and yellow cake uranium from Niger, which is no known to be a lie.

Ambassador Joseph Wilson (Valerie Plame’s husband) fully disputed that claim and the administration was on a full attack mission like a pack of raging pit bulls. No one could dare and stop them. So while they pursued their full attentions to war, anyone who crossed their paths was deemed an enemy. Presidential logic, “that you are either with us or against” is demonstrated by the administrations full scale policy of discrediting its opponents. I suppose that was the same rational that allowed the spying on innocent Americans, and keeping close watches on peace groups such as the Quakers in Pennsylvania.

While many Americans repeatedly saw fabricated evidence that supported the administrations claims for war, a movement of individuals was silenced from debate and discredited by proponents of war. The purposeful and willful policy to discredit war’s critics is a dangerous precedent that shall never be allowed to take place again. Senator Leahy, Senator Sanders and Congressman Welch all need to step it up a notch and press harder on the Presidential Administration.

Yes, all three have been a strong force countering the Presidents resolve, however there needs to be more. Failure to act upon this administration’s crimes is a dereliction of duty by failing to protect the Constitution. As for the Constitution states:

The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.

Around the world, America claims to be spreading democracy, but unfortunately there has been a doctrine propagated by this Presidential administration that places itself higher than the laws they have been sworn to protect. The duty of our members in Congress is to call for the impeachment of the President and Vice-President, anything else is not democracy.

Peace
Robb Kidd

“That said, if we allow ourselves to be intimidated and silenced by the liars, our democracy will not survive. We have to continue to confront them.” Joseph Wilson, Ambassador

( – promoted by Jack McCullough)

The big blogger summit happened Saturday night at the Euro Cafe on Main Street in Burlington. It was great to meet many of the writers, some of them colleagues here at GMD, whom I had only encountered electronically. Conversation ranged pretty widely, from the expected: Clinton, Obama, and the 2008 Democratic ticket; to the mundane: TV shows, vasectomies, and how to resolve husband-wife disagreements; to the mind-numbingly technical: peer-to-peer bit torrent technology, for instance.

Some of Vermont’s alt-media stars were there: Philip Baruth, Peter Freyne, Cathy Resmer, along with a gaggle of lesser-known but committed bloggers.

Philip writes a better story about what happened than I could, but I’ll share some of the pictures I took.

This just in: Scooter Libby has been convicted of four of the five counts against him. Two counts of perjury, one count of lying to a federal officer, and one count of obstruction of justice for lying to the grand jury.

UPDATE:  A jury speaking to the press says that frequently during their deliberations the jury members were asking each other, “What are we doing to this guy? Where’s Rove?” He specifically says that they thought Libby was the fall guy.

I’ve been following this story with increasing interest since Josh started running it a few weeks ago. Today is one of the chances for this story to come to a head, with the purged U.S. Attorneys testifying at the Senate Judiciary Committee. You can watch it streaming here: http://www.cspan.org…

One thing that I was struck by, based on what I’ve seen so far, is that Spector seems to be trying to limit the import of the testimony, constantly trying to pin the witnesses down to say that they don’t know for a fact that they were fired for political reasons. Since he was supposedly miffed at the insertion of language that allows the president to appoint U.S. Attorneys without Senate confirmation, you might think he would be a little better on this issue.

Imagine my deep disappointment yesterday morning when, as I do every morning during my 40 minute commute, I tuned into WTWK 1070 AM to listen to the latest progressive news on the Young Turks. And instead of Cenk, Ben and that vacuous what’s her name, I find that the entire Air America schedule had been replaced by the radio version of the We channel.

Yes, it’s true. Air America has been replaced with Eve 1070: Talk Radio Evolved. So, instead of the Young Turks, I got the Radio Ritas. And on my way home, there’s Women Aloud instead of my girl Randi Rhodes — a loud woman to be sure, but still not the same thing.

Not that there’s anything wrong with women’s programming. And it’s probably a good thing that the old 1070 was put out of its misery. Not only was virtually every transition botched, but I started coming up with my own lyrics for the extended pop song instrumentals that took the place of what should have been local advertising.

But, I’m a political junkie, dammit! And I need my fix! For there to be an Air America station in Brattleboro, and not in Burlington, is wrong man. Just plain wrong.

I don’t believe there’s not a market for progressive radio programming in northern Vermont. It just needs to have a good business strategy. Anybody want to line up some investors? I’ll pitch in 5 bucks as some seed capital. Who else is with me?

Today’s Town Meeting Day, so go to Exit Voices and join in the discussion.

And from Candleblog‘s Bill Simmon, here’s what it’s all about…

Welcome to Exit Voices! Town Meeting Day is here! Please use the comments section of this post to discuss what’s happening in your town. Are you attending a town meeting? Are you going to the polls to vote? What are the issues that concern you?

If you are new to Exit Voices, be sure to look around and read some of our guest posts and watch some video posts. Let us know what you think in the comments sections. We will be continuing to put up new content through Wednesday, so keep checking in.

This post will remain at the top of the page, even as new content is added, so make sure you look below this post for new additions.

Now go get your democracy on!

The word from a friend in Rochester, VT:

Rochester’s town meeting voted 57-53 in favor of impeachment.  A motion to pass over the article had been made and rejected, followed by short discussion and then the vote.

Also, Westminster passed it, 107-29.
It was tabled in Stamford, and wasn’t brought up for a vote in Rupert. More to follow…

Has anyone heard the radio ads for the Revolt & Repeal movement?  Pretty damning stuff.  There was an ad in the Rutland Herald too, so I wonder how extensive their ad campaign is.  Has anyone else seen or heard anything?

(crossposted at five before chaos.)

The NYT’s Frank Rich, one of their better columnists, really tackles one of the biggest problems facing Hillary Clinton. In his ‘Bring Back the Politics of Personal Destruction’, he asks the question that Hillary should be asked every single day until the race is over:

The issue is not that Mrs. Clinton voted for the war authorization in 2002 or that she refuses to call it a mistake in 2007. Those are footnotes. The larger issue is judgment, then and now. Take her most persistent current formulation on Iraq: “Obviously, if we knew then what we know now, there wouldn’t have been a vote and I certainly wouldn’t have voted that way.” It’s fair to ask: Knew what then? Not everyone was so easily misled by the White House’s manipulated intelligence and propaganda campaign. Some of her fellow leaders in Washington – not just Mr. Obama out in Illinois, not just Al Gore out of power – knew plenty in the fall of 2002. Why didn’t she?

Why didn’t she, indeed? The one frustrating thing about this is, isn’t a little too late to be asking this question? I was asking it of John Kerry back in ’04. That’s why John Edwards’ mea culpa doesn’t hold water with me. So many of us knew how bogus this war was from the get go. All it took was a bit of time to seek out the facts. And almost all of what we were saying back then has turned out to be true. How did so many in the Senate and Congress, with all of the resources they have that we don’t, manage to miss something that was so obvious to many Americans? That is a question that they all need to answer, not just Hillary. Considering that the truthful answer probably has to do with fear of the right-wing noise machine and being branded ‘unpatriotic’, I’m not holding my breath waiting for that answer. It seems to be more motivated by a lack of courage, conviction and principle than being taken in by misinformation. And that, folks, should seriously raise a red flag on any of those candidates’ ability to lead.

( – promoted by JDRyan)

Jeb Spaulding continues to use the power of the purse to advance the best interests of Vermont. First he saves millions by combining the management of the state’s three major investment portfolios, then he sensibly stops investment in companies contributing to the holocaust in Darfur and now he has found a way for Vermonters with money to invest to keep it in Vermont.
All while maintaining the return on investment for the funds.
The man is quietly using the office of the Treasurer to advance a pragmatic approach to advancing progressive causes while maintaining a conservative and sustainable financial base.
Am I the only one who thinks he is the best choice to be governor?

Check out his latest press release below the fold.

Contact:  Jeb Spaulding, State Treasurer, 802-828-1452

Montpelier – Vermont State Treasurer Jeb Spaulding is spreading the word that investors interested in buying State of Vermont tax-free bonds should contact their local broker right away.

The State of Vermont will be issuing $14.5 million in “Citizen” and “Citizen Environmental” Bonds on Wednesday, March 7, and they will available for purchase from local brokers throughout the state.  Spaulding advised that any interested residents should contact a broker without delay, because availability of the bonds may be limited.  He also cautioned that purchasing tax-free bonds is not an appropriate choice for all investors.

“Folks who may need their money before the bonds mature or who are in lower tax brackets may be better off investing elsewhere,” Spaulding explained.

“Citizen Bonds have been popular investments for Vermonters because they are free from state and federal taxes, they are available in smaller denominations than usual, and they are an investment in Vermont.  This year we have also broken out $5 million for Citizen Environmental Bonds which will be used to support efforts such as the Clean and Clear Initiative to clean up Lake Champlain’s waters,” Spaulding explained.

Vermont Citizen Bonds are reserved for Vermont residents and are available in denominations as low as $1,000.  Interest on the bonds will be paid semi-annually and the principal will be paid on the date of maturity. This year’s Citizen Bonds will mature on July 15 in the years 2007-2016.

To purchase Citizen Bonds and for more information, Vermonters should contact brokers such as A.G. Edwards, Citigroup, Edward Jones, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, UBS, and Wachovia Securities.