Sometimes I feel like I'm living in a bizarre alternate universe where pod people do not notice the significance of crucial evidence like the Downing Street memos (or melting ice caps, to give another example). Many thanks to Molly for sticking with it when the "big boys" of the press are squelching the voice of reason on every side.

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I never thought I would need to quote the Viagra salesman.
"Where is the anger, America? Where is the rage?"
The people who talk constantly of morals and truth have gotten away with the biggest lie ever told, and when that lie is exposed, nobody wants to see it. It's no big deal.
Those of us who have been skeptics all along have been relegated to the "lunatic, fanatical left" by the right wing media bloviators. What Ms. Ivins used to call the "Establishment Press" has been moved to "Liberal Media" by the same people.
Before the 2004 election, I blamed the Bush Administration. The closeness of that election, after all that was made apparent about the Bushies, indicated to me not only that this nation truely has its head in the sand, but that it knows it and likes it there.
If you want to save the country from itself, get to work on the 2006 election in your district and state.

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After watching the movie, "The Fog of War" I got really scared. When the guy said that he believed that he was a war criminal my jaw dropped. All of the the stuff going on in Iraq is really horrible. It's hard for me to admit this because I love my country and I support the troops. But when I started learning more about the war from websites that my friends said were all just anti-american and propaganda and reading stories from actual soldiers I have to beleive them too. I very confused about why we are killing Iraqis. I know that they didn't bomb us.
The reason that people want to hide this information and not report it is that they are protecting someone, or being told not to report it. Even John Kerry is saying that the Memo's are not important. I think John Kerry is a big loser, and he can't be trusted same as Bill Clinton. Kerry has no real convictions, not even wrong ones, he just is so wishy washy becasue he wants to look good. If he's saying there is nothing about the memo's then there really must be alot of bad stuff in there that will prove the President lied.

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What else is there to say? Where are the left's Newt and Linda? Who will break this open on the Hill?

No one.

Of course.

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To rephrase a new adage: when Nixon lied, no one died. What gets me is that people are defending WAR. That means people are looking for reasons to send innocent soldiers whose only crime is growing up poor in America, to go kill innocent Iraquis whose only crime is being born in Iraq. On the flip side, reporters and many others are ignoring evidence that the war was based on lies and not necessary to national defence or security. Why wouldn't reporters jump at the chance to debunk the lies that have led to killing and chaos in the Middle East?

Well, the Neo-cons learned from Watergate, bought up mass media outlets, put the fear of retribution into the hearts of reporters everywhere and now the "liberal" media cows to the White House. Thankfully, there are some true liberals left out there, among them, our friend Molly Ivins.

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There is an 800 pound gorilla sitting in the living room of the main stream media drinking a latte and they just don't see him there. This is the tip of the iceberg of the biggest crime story of the century. Piss on Friedman, Kinsley and Kerry....not a ball among them. Ivans, Pitt and a scarce few other writers are the ones we need to hoist up on broad shoulders and parade through the village.... shouting out... "HERE'S THE TRUTH!!!"

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Was this war pre-planned,of course it was! Have we done it before? You bet...WW2. We drafted the only plan that would defeat our new radar system,gave it to the enemy(?),sank the only sub that would call an alarm,then went to war.
9/11 is no diffrent.Alot of cooperation from them and us brought a major redevelopment to NYC,and,the People into a protracted war against an enemy(?) that once again WE created

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C'mon Molly, I'm sure you know that these memos DO represent an impeachable offense!

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Your analogy is apt, but the Gorilla is not drinking a latte; he's ripping our young people (read Americans and Iraqis) apart with his bare hands.

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Molly, I've read your column for years and always discounted your trashing of The Shrub as biased reporting.

May I say "Sorry - you were right" or am I too late?

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Let's suppose that the public clamor rises to such a pitch that a sufficient number of congress persons are forced to find the courage to look into these revelations. Suppose an investigation finds that the allegations are true. We would have to do something about it. Indeed, not only would we have to impeach the president, but probably bring criminal charges against most of the major players in this administration; Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, Rice, Tenet, Powell and Franks at least. All of them, including Bush, could probably be indicted as war criminals. And we would be compelled to do it. Are we ready for that? Are we really ready for another impeachment, that most extreme measure under our laws to remove a sitting president and which has occurred only twice in over two centuries? And how would you punish them? What punishment could possibly fit a crime of such magnitude? Would we be willing to turn the elected leadership of this country over to the War Crimes tribunal in the Hague?

But if the allegations were proved to be true and we did nothing, what then? It seems to me that it would be the end of constutional government as we know it. I don't know what it would be, but it would not be a representative democracy ruled by law.

The stakes involved in running this issue to ground are enormous. I'm not sure we could survive it.

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If you are still not sure, have you been to pnac.com? Check out their letter to President Clinton, where they urged invading Iraq in 1996. Or check out their 90 page manifesto, where they state it will take a "Pearl Harbor event" to be able to justify invading the Middle East (page 51 I think). Or how about their view that the "peace process" is unworkable, and what we really need to do is "provoke" the other side and then murder them all. The people that signed on to these theories are the same people who now run the country. They have provoked the other side, we have had the "Pearl Harbor event", and we are now in Iraq. Coincidence? Still not sure?

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Molly Ivins is an individual, who, as she says, reads multiple newspapers every day. This, and the other research she does as a responsible and thoughtful (and often humorous) journalist, is the hallmark of liberals in this country. We are individuals who listen to the facts, think about them, and then form an opinion, which often takes the form of more than a ten-word answer.

The righteous right, on the other hand, don't seem interested in facts, let alone in thinking. Most public statements they make are practically devoid of facts, but rest on the "convenant" of Belief. As if to project the idea that they aren't individuals, but a monolithic majority, which they aren't, (and thank goodness that's changing!). Don't think, believe. Believe in us, discard all the rest, because we have done the thinking for you (presumably, but, in light of the Iraq war, clearly they haven't), and we have distributed the ten-word answers in talking points to all of our neo-con talking heads that intend to come anywhere near a microphone or word-processor. Ten-word answers are appealing and easy to digest, and ideology, not individual thought, depends on that.

No debate, no opposition, no America?

I miss the debate. Thanks for keeping the debate going, and helping to light a fire under the Democrats, Molly Ivins. Here's hoping the pendulum will swing the other way, toward individuality and free and open debate.

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"When did we come to the point where the minority has no place?" In 2000, when the Supremes handed the presidency to "The Little Dictator."

How pathetic: A draft-dodgin', desertin' dumbbell who never saw a day of combat can pound his little fists and stomp his feet, and – backed up by his Republican bullies, who do all his fightin' for him – browbeat the rest of the nation into approving his lunatic schemes.

Even more pathetic: We keep letting him get away with it.

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Expediency trumps courage.

An impeachment will never see the crack of the light of day - unless.

The Republicans and the conservative members of the media will not disrupt this administration. Moderates don't have the passion to self-start anything political. The Democrats and liberal members of the media don't want to see Cheney as president and provide at least a 2 year build-up of name recognition and power base to a new VP.

Consequences for actions taken? Not unless someone with enough strength and support demands accountability.

Here's the unless
We -you and I - care enough to preserve, perhaps better stated, we re-build the integrity of the representative system of government with its appropriate checks and balances. We, the people, hold one truth to be self evident - it ain't going to happen unless we make it happen.

I've been a Republican, I've been a Democrat. I am always an American. I want to return to being a proud American.

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I love her when she, well, heck, I just love her. Period.
Change is coming, sooner or later the elitist media will taste revenge and go for W's jugular. It'll probably happen after the 06 election, but at some point - Please GOD! - the media will have had enouhg bullying by the Bush Mafia and bully back.
Then again, the Pentagon might turn on a dime if the neo-nuts try to invade Iran. I can't believe that the Pentagon, who is really in charge anyway, will humor the neo's for another three years.

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Excellent article, though as others have said "one which will go unnoticed." ...but we don't have to let that happen. Despite the overwhelming situation in this country of the extreme right overlooking anything damning...we free-thinking, intelligent, responsible liberals still have a voice. And the only people who can silence it, are ourselves. So what do we need to do? Do we take this to our congresspeople? Do we write letters and call and demand that it be taken out of the 'closet' and into a real debate? Do we take it to the media, and demand a cogent explanation as to why this isn't being taken seriously? Let's decide what to do, what approach to take, and let's do it. Outcry from the American public still has a place in this country, and can have an effect. But we have to commit to it!

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Thank you Molly,
my thoughts exactly.
The WMD stuff was so obviously a bluff and pretence for the rest of the world from the start, and now it beggars belief that they can still get away with it.
Living oustide the US, it seems simply uncomprehensible that press & politicians seem to be in blank and bland denial after the DSMs. At least if you purport to be living in an open, democratic society. How can it be possible?
I think you're spot on to ask who else Dearlove talked to.
And I would like to suggest, as is always good advice when something seems incomprehensible: FOLLOW THE MONEY.
Who profits, or hoped/stll hopes to profit from the rapture of Irak?

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G.W. is a bald faced liar, Hussein did not attack us or possess any WMD (as many of us claimed before the invasion), but we won't hold him accountable.
As we approach the inevitable tightening of the world oil supply, the global economy would benefit if there happens to be a communicative and rational government in Iraq by that time.
His biggest blunders have occurred after the fall of Saddam, and unfortunately he may be one of the last to realize it. But he will claim credit for whatever positive results emerge from it. And he's determined that they will have freedom and democracy in Iraq even if we have to kill most of them to accomplish that goal.
Naturally, freedom and democracy (as applied to any smaller country with resources that we desire) are code words for a regime that will cooperate with our corporations and fall in step with our foreign policy.
But the entirety of our involvement in Iraq is just one prominently visible calamity that tends to distract us from the much worse realities currently facing us.
Meanwhile, too many of us seem to think that our current situation is the result of not living right these last 50 years or so. The solutions can be found by revving up the scriptures and glorifying the white-bread days of Ike and the Cleavers.
And it's tough work educating the willfully ignorant.

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Dear Molly,
You're right on target as usual. Without the MSM treating this as a serious story it will go nowhere. Perhaps it's time for the people who care to go to DC. Masses of people demanding the press dig into this story to uncover the truth can't be ignored as easily as Rep. Conyers forum was. One question that truly bothers me is just how in the name of God did 8 or 9 wacky neocons manage to steal America?

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The reason they are dismissing it is because they were complicit in misleading the American public (and still are).


Make EVERY Street (and car) DOWNING ST. Campaign:

Read the discussion and post your pics here.

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If the Downing Street Memo(s) don't turn the trick than I doubt there is any hope for the Empire until at least after 2008. By then there won't be much left to salvage, anyway. About the best we can expect is to sit in the bleachers and watch the events take place in the three ring circus that passes itself off as the seat of American democracy.

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are the provisions in the No Child Left Behind act which require school districts to allow military recruiters on high school campuses and requires them to turn over personal information on students to recruiters.

Now NCLB was passed prior to 9/11 when the military had no problems recruiting.

How is it that the Bush administration knew, prior to 9/11, that giving military recruiters this kind of access to High school students was going to be needed???????

That these provisions were even stuck in a law that was supposed to be intended to raise educational standards was a surprise to many districts.

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The repugnicans threw a four-year-long, hundred-million-dollar temper tantrum when Bill lied about his sex life. Then they turned around and "elected" a man who lies every time he opens his mouth.

He lied about his reasons for killing tens of thousands of people. It's plain as day to those who can think for themselves.

That's not 'an impeachable offense' - that's a war crime; an atrocity; a grevious crime against humanity; treason

And not a peep out of the Anne Coulter.

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First post here, but I need to get this off my chest.

This column does nothing more than serve as a caricature of what's wrong with the liberal, progressive movement. Doesn't anyone see the big picture here? Don't any of you Big Brain elites see that we NEED a Big Picture? For Pete's sake, Molly. This was 'news' to you? Your 'eyes bugged out' and your 'jaw fell open'???. You could not believe what you were reading??? And you read all those papers? Every day?

Molly if I were your employer, you'd be fired.

Here's what's happening from the POV of my Small Brain: We have...let's see...Paul O'Neil, Scott Ritter, Richard Clarke, the DSM, the FBI interrogation logs, the Abu pictures, flagrant abuses of civil rights, secret industry influence to our energy policy via our President's and VP's incestuous relationship with them.
And on,
And on,
And on,

And they have the Bible. And so far, they've been winning.

You don't have to be a shrink to understand the power of groupthink

No one on our side seems able to put it all together and market it to those who need it the most, mainstream America. We all just lick our chops everytime another morsel is tossed our way and then slink away when it falls thru the cracks. This is why I won't register as a Democrat (yet) because they just look like a bunch of children with pea-shooters unable to come together and form an alliance and clarify a mission.

C.

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Molly you say you are unsure about whether Downing Street Memos suggest the high crimes and misdemeanors which are the core of impeachable offenses.
Suggest you read pages 138, 140 et seq of "Worse Than Watergate" by former Nixon White House Counsel John Dean, also "The I Word" by Ralph Nader who finally got it right in that May 31st Boston Globe op-ed.
Sadly, it doesn't appear that the Republicans will clean up their own mess. Some party they are. Now it's little more than the familar stone-wall and cover-up. Sound familiar?
... Dave Schneider, non-practicing member Illinois Bar.

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Is MoveOn or any other national grassroots-based organization doing anything about this?

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There are already more comments in this thread than I have time to read, so please excuse any duplication here, but --

Nixon ran for president in '68 claiming to have a secret plan to end the Vietnam war, which had already killed many, many more people than the Iraq war has to date. But he actually intended to hang in and win. That strikes me as much worse, considering how much destruction and loss of life got racked up in Nam by the time it finally ended. And some have claimed that Nixon also seriously considered using nukes.

Watergate per se may not have killed anyone, but let's not let our focus get too narrow where Nixon is concerned.

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Dear Molly,

Re: US foreign policy under President George W. Bush / the significance of the invasion of Iraq.



The significance of the illegal invasion of Iraq is that US foreign policy has signaled contempt for the UN Charter ( see: Downing street memo – read below), coupled with a disdain for multilateralism. The US has diverted its post World War 11 foreign policy course ( however previously flawed and/or hypocritical in operation) from a republic’s professed commitment to internationalism, to an aspirant empire’s desire for global domination. In a world where “globalisatisation is the mantra – President George W. Bush’s foreign policy is not merely inherently contradictory, but it is assuredly harmful for the American people in its jingoistic stance vis-à-vis the world community, and consequently destructive vis-à-vis other nations. Ultimately, all of humankind is impacted by the policies of the world’s most powerful nation. Unprovoked military attacks ( as with the US invasion of Iraq) will lead to more instability regionally in the Middle East, and more bloodshed globally via terrorism, as anti-American resentments grow.



The reality just described is the actuality facing the world, as an identifiable consequence of the foreign policy course steered under President George W. Bush. The foreign policy of the United States of America is not an inevitability, for the American people in conjunction with the world community can assist to return American foreign policy to some semblance of sanity. Without sustained resistance, George W. Bush and his cabal will continue down the disastrous and destructive path they have so far advanced on.



Courtenay Barnett



THE WAR AND OCCUPATION IN IRAQ ARE ILLEGAL

Courtenay Francis Raymond Barnett*



The author is a lawyer who has defended human rights cases. His web site is www.globaljusticeonline.com

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No shit! You said it all and extremely well. My thoughts exactly. Thank you, thank you. At least we have you, Molly.

I'm so frustrated and tired of trying shed light on these things to others, being "heard," and getting a response that reminds me of the statue of the 3 monkeys...hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil.

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Once again, Frau Ivins gets it right. Our news media everywhere seem to march right along Dubya's charade in leading us into this horrible war and since these memos made news, most news companies seem to ignore it.
Well if these memos were an unsightly zit right on their noses, would they lance it or leave it alone? How can editors wake up in the morning realizing they're not reporting on it. Oh, it's "old news. No one cares."
I work in the media-at a newspaper and our organization hasn't devoted one damned word to it. Might as well catch it on Fox News. I am ashamed.

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As Noam Chomsky says: "Any dictator would admire the uniformity and obedience of the U.S. media." Sadly, these reporters are merely parroting Scott McClelland's party line. The way the mainstream media has treated the Downing Street memo proves this. It's equally sad when the weight of uncritical coverage during the lead up to the war is now pinning them to status quo reporting. Thank you Molly for continuing to cover this. I too believe these are impeachable offenses. Here's an idea: How about doing some 'reverse' war campaigning? How about a column that interviews those Americans (or better yet, the Senators and Congress) who raise the war pom poms from the sidelines, but aren't willing to physically go over there? Just an idea.

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Hey, Molly,
A word of encouragement. I was there for the "summers of Nixon" and see the parallel of the growing movement to get answers as well as the growing resistance to giving them. What you are doing is working, so keep going after 'em honey, and keep it hot as Texas under those guys' feet.
It's been a while.
Theresa Alexander

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Our nation leads the world in starving people for money. It leads the world in using its resources to topple governments. It leads the world in supporting the worlds worst dictators, murderers, fiends. It leads the world in lying to its own people. It leads the world in using trillions of dollars needed not just for the bettermeant of mankind but to insure the survival of mankind. Spending our childrens future.

Never mind this. There is no question as to impeachment when the commander in chief, the president presents false evidence and goes to war illegally against other nations. Causing the deaths of tens of thousands of human beings. Taking money from the poor and giving it to wealthy contractors engaged in immoral privatization of other nations resources. Spreading immoral capitalism to support their greed for more.
The question isn't whether these are impeachable offenses. The question is how those in office who should be conscious of this, who are aware of this, do nothing about it. How they can still call themselves human beings never mind Americans. And have the audacity and insanity to claim a direct line to our Creator to justify their actions.

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Maybe we should look at the events surrounding the generation of this Downing Street Memo. Tony Blair was re-elected about the time that this memo made itself known. His re-election ticket was based on working on concerns at home and not abroad. Could this be the beginning of Great Britain's withdrawal of troops helping us in Iraq?

What do you think?

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I want everyone to ask the President why his service aged daughters are not fighting in his noble cause in Iraq. It's almost over anyway, right?

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The true function of war is to "Subordinate the mass of the population to exploitation at the hands of the Dominant class."

The true target of the current group of enemies of humanity in Washington are "We the people of the United States."

We are a Despotism, way before the recent administration. Our tax dollars are used to support religious institutions, the largest beneficiaries are the Christian churchs. The reason that we give them tax free status is because they provide a politically useful function, and that is they "Foster mindless behavior." That translates into, "It makes the slobs easier to jerk around."

The desert dwellers have embededded their cannibal cults into our political structure and use these structures to teach people to be stupid.

Surveys indicate that 51% of Americans agree with the war in Iraq. The mass media is designed to, "Never give them a clear thought."

No doubt about it, the criminal class laughs at us, yet they should not laugh to hard or to long, because history has proved that the, "Mopes always figure it out." This time when the criminal class goes, they will stay gone.

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I have no idea if this will make any difference at all, but one thing to do is go to MoveOn.org's Action Forum and rate this issue as very important. Maybe, just maybe, something will happen... Here's the link: www.actionforum.com/ forum/index.html?forum_id=266

Delete the space between ".com/" and "forum" when you paste the address in your browser.

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That takes some audacity, really. I remember the first few weeks of the war, every neo-con warmonger anxiously awaiting the arrival of WMDs. Well, duh... If they would have been right, the weapons would have been used against our soldiers. So, I guess we should all be happy they didnt have any WMDs? Right?

The proponents of this war could give a crap about the soldiers or their families.

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Dear Molly:

In answer to your question about eager young reporters at the WP, the answer is no. Instead they have Dana Milbank who thinks its all right to make fun of a meeting in the basement of the House in the face of the fact that the House leadership wouldn't allow any of their regular meeting rooms to be used. They also have Dana Milbank making fun of a woman whose son was killed in Iraq a year ago. I guess it is thought that she should be over it by now.

Perhaps the reason why the "establishment press" is holding back on the Downing Street Memos is that the Administration has won. By going after Dan Rather (no one ever proved that the facts in the memos were false, just that the memos were not the originals). The Commander's secretary, Mrs. Knox said she had typed memos which covered the same material as the false memos. Why didn't anyone ever follow up on that. Then there is the "Newsweek" retraction. Do you really believe that a book which is not considered significant by the person in control and which fell into the toilet would be retrieved. It would probably be flushed.

The establishment media has been embarassed often enough so that they are now sufficiently cowed to be afraid to report fully on an item like the Downing Street Memo(s).

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I'd like to emphasise that I have no financial interest in this whatsoever; I'm not a shareholder, just a reader. If you want to know about the Dark Side of British politics, then let me recommend "Private Eye" magazine. It's humorous, satirical, clever and hugely disliked (and often sued) by the British Establishment. It's a non-Partisan magazine (in the sense that the Governement is always the Government whatever they call themselves) and has exposed the majority of British political and financial scandals since the sixties. It's also very, very funny; if you never read anything else from the UK, treat yourself to Private Eye once in a while.

holojojo

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www.afterdowningstreet.org

Afterdowningstreet.org is a coalition of veterans' groups, peace groups, and political activist groups that announced a campaign to urge that the U.S. Congress to launch a formal investigation into whether President Bush has committed impeachable offenses in connection with the Iraq war.

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Don't forget Krugman! He has been "right on" since the start. Lighting the way, much as Molly has. I wait for words from both of them the way I would wait for a cool breeze in the desert.

Not much is left of a once a proud media. It has been co-opted. Bought and sold. The government has done this in collusion with big business or vise versa…it matters not. It has been done.

But we still have some who have not, and will not be bought or cowed by the Goebbels of our time. I am thankful to have them around at this time. Otherwise all we would have is the bought Media who give us a show and call it news. Puppets who call everyone who does not say yes to the big lie traitors. We have leaders who with there puppets use fear to change ours country and make a mockery of our constitution and what the founding fathers stood for.

We must stand and we must fight to get the media back to a place where it can tell the truth and not worry about ratings or being invited to the white house press conferences. We must re-draw a clear line between Government and the news media, the entertainment industry and the news Media. We must demand access for our press to the white house press conferences regardless of the questions they ask. Our Press holds an unparalleled place of importance when it comes to holding the government accountable. They must be protected. They are the forth estate. The peoples watch dog.

Let the News Media be rewarded for being honest and unbiased mirrors into which we can peer and see ourselves and this country. There is much dignity in being that Mirror. We need it like the air we breathe.

It is so important to this country that we be able to see ourselves and what we as a country are doing clearly. Not through the fog of propaganda.
We must not have the foxes guarding the henhouse. We ignore this fact at our own peril.

This and reestablishing the separation of church and state are two things which I see as going a long way towards putting back together my beloved country which to my horror has begun to unravel and become what the forefathers talked about fighting against. A Government much like its lackey press corp. Bought and paid for and
Representing no one but those that pay them. The lobbyists and big biz. But that’s another story.

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3 points

1. I would never have been approving of this illegal attack on Iraq, no matter what the outcome. I do not believe in the use of preemptive force as a cut and dried policy, which is the bush plan. Just look at the catastrophy that this action has caused, SHAME, SHAME, SHAME. And I sure as hell would not kiss the feet of this monster called bush under any circumstance. (He may be too much of a moron to realize the extent of harm his actions have caused, or more likely he could not care less. In any event he is something to be abhorred not revered)

2. Molly, you state great sympathy for American losses but dont even mention the horrific losses of others involved--they too suffer just as Americans do and in this round as in most rounds of hell and brimstone flung so recklessly by the US from time to time, there is tremendous hurt going on, surely enough that it warranted an inclusion of the others in your regrets comments.

3. Otherwise--good article. Certainly has provoked many Posts.

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I am wondering when someone in the Brtish press will make the link between these memo's and the suicide of the British diplomat whome the Guardian quoted as saying the government was guity of "sexing up" British intelligence to justify the Iraq war. Seems they were right after all and I would think they would be shouting it from the rooftops.

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Right on, Molly; I'm still waiting for the investigation of members of the Fourth Circuit meeting with dinosaurs Helms and Faircloth from North Carolina. Which of course shortly thereafter resulted in Fisk being replaced by Kenneth Starr.

By the way, how do think Shrub would hold up after years of 200 FBI agents and a staff of partisan lawyers chasing him? Any chance we'd get more for our money than an ill-advised tryst?

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Thomas Friedman is right and Molly Ivins is wrong. You leftists don't really stand for a positive agenda that you dare reveal to the American people. I don't blame you for not telling the public what you want to do. "We want to raise your taxes, take over your health care (because you are too damn stupid), pull the military back to our shores and wait for the UN's permission to defend ourselves, regulate the hell out of private businesses and homeowners......" The lack of an honest agenda from the left is the reason that the Dem. party has become mentally ill. In lieu of an honest agenda you have become a party of scandal mongers and paranoia peddlers, the Downing St. memos are just the latest false hope. I just finished reading paragraph after paragraph of innuendo and paranoia. The Dem. party has spent this last year besmirching one cabinet member after another and telling horrible lies about the president. It shows at the ballot box. People like DICK Durbin (the darling of Al Jazeera) actually represent the true Dem. party. It hurts the whole country, not just your party. JINGOIST

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"I have a right to my anger, and I don't want anybody telling me I shouldn't be, that it's not nice to be, and that something's wrong with me because I get angry."

-Maxine Waters (US Congresswoman from California)

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"Progressives have pressed for the rights of workers; insisted upon freedom of conscience and the separation of church and state; demanded the abolition of slavery; campaigned for the equality of women; confronted the power of property and wealth; opposed the tyrannies of fascism and communism; fought a second American Revolution for racial justice and equality; and challenged our own government's authorities and policies, domestic and foreign."

Harvey J. Kaye,
Rosenberg Professor of Social Change and Development at
the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay
found on Jason Miller's "Thomas Paine's Corner"
http://civillibertarian.blogspot.com/

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Molly,

As a long-suffering Texan I really appreciate the article, although I am not surprised by the memo.

Many friends remember me saying before the war that although I mistrusted Bush, I did not think he was so cynical as to manufacture a causus belli out of whole cloth. I also said that I hoped that he had some idea of what it would take to occupy Iraq, as the initial campaign was not going to be that difficult.

Well, I lost on both counts. Rather, our country has. Our military has. Only the Halliburton interests et al have not.

However, since the "Establishment Press" (you and I are rough contemporaries) seems not to acknowledge any of this, I am sort of at a loss. But I did find this at cnewmark.com, and I think it sort of presents how things work now:

How many members of the Bush administration does it take to change a light bulb?

1. One to deny that a light bulb needs to be changed;

2. One to attack the patriotism of anyone who says the light bulb needs to be changed;

3. One to blame Clinton for burning out the light bulb;

4. One to arrange the invasion of a country rumored to have a secret stockpile of light bulbs;

5. One to give a billion dollar no-bid contract to Halliburton for the new light bulb;

6. One to arrange a photograph of Bush, dressed as a janitor, standing on a step ladder under the banner: Light Bulb Change Accomplished;

7. One administration insider to resign and write a book documenting in detail how Bush was literally in the dark;

8. One to viciously smear #7;

9. One surrogate to campaign on TV and at rallies on how George Bush has had a strong light-bulb-changing policy all along;

10. And finally one to confuse Americans about the difference between screwing a light bulb and screwing the country.

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Speaking of Downing Street reminds me of how when I watch Parliament in action I truly envy the British for what I see as a much more accountable form of Government. They don’t have to impeach someone if that someone acts in an inappropriate or unpopular way. They have a vote of no confidence and vote himthem out. Wouldn’t that be nice? It seems to me we should not have to put up with someone like Bush for four years at a time regardless, and no matter what he and his party do. No matter the lies told, and misdeeds done, we only have recourse to impeachment. And it seems we don’t even have that in the case of his party being in power. This is not good for this country. Also, I would love to see Bush have to answer the questions I see put to his British counterpart in Parliament. Ours format is not perfect in this way and I suggest a change in light of our leaders inclination to do what ever they want, answering to no one for four years at a time. What do you think? How do we make them more accountable to those that are supposed to hold the reins in this country? The people. More and more this seems to be only a myth. Especially with the people who are building the voting machines being on the reelection comities of of the contenders. At least in recent history this is a fact that we must deal with. How do we deal with it? Can we afford to wait four years at a time to have recourse to change who is running things in a world that moves as fast as this one. Should we not be able to throw out the bums if it turns out they are just that? And should not be running things weather or not they stole or won an election. Perhaps we should think about a change for the better. Let’s stop electing four year Kings. The British have taken away the power of their kings. We might learn from their example.

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For three days I've been having an e-mail conversation with the Executive Editor at the Tacoma News Tribune, David Zeeck over the Downing Street Minutes. After several exchanges, he sent me the Michael Kinsley piece, saying that he'd "let Michael Kinsley say it".
Until I read Molly's "Don't Dismiss DSM", I had used my own brain to put forth my argument that a full and independent investigation is needed to determine whether W has committed an impeachable "high crime". Three minutes ago, I e-mailed Molly's piece to Zeeck--I can't think of a better brain to borrow than hers!

I'm not giving up on DSM and it's great to have Alternet and people like Ivins on our side!

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'Impeachable offense'? Voter opinion does not matter to anything close to a majority in either the House or the Senate.

Polls of voters showed they were not much interested in the impeachment of Clinton, but because his opposition owned Congress, it went forward. The threat to impeach Nixon had weight because his opposition owned Congress at that time. So either elect a Democratic Party House of Representatives or stop kidding us about impeachment.

Voters knew Bush and his campaign were lying when he was reelected. But all politicians/administrations lie.

What does matter is that the situation in Iraq gets worse for the US every day, and it is becoming clearer that we will have to become a permanent occupation force to keep a foothold there. But going in, we knew from the Brits' experience in Northern Ireland, our experience in Vietnam, and Israel's experience in Palestine that civil war is hell.

Still, it is an opposition's job to protest, not to resolve the administration's problems. It's what the Repugs did during the years of Demo control. Since they only want to turn back the clock, however, they are good at that.

Yes, the immediate issue is to regain power. So keep clear on who it is that now has the power to change things. We only have the power to change who's in charge.

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The"Downing Street Memos", are definitely "revealing", however, but no more so than actual facts that have been right in front of our faces since the beginning of this administration. The ignorance that has bloomed in this country since the Republicans introduced the "fear tactics" to keep us in line, has escalated to a point, where I almost feel like George Romero is directing, & we're all considered mindless zombies. I believe it's been apparent, from the beginning, that this administration, has lied, cheated, and murdered, etc., yet although, each of these offenses should be considered impeachable, we don't do anything. It's only recently, that the "red" state comatose voters are beginning to wake up & say, "duh".

I am so proud to be able to honestly say, that I did not vote for ther person who history will decide as "the worst president in the history of the U.S."

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Molly, why has no one interviewed "C", Sir Richard Dearlove being that he wrote the memo? I've been struck by the fact that I haven't even read that he's declined to be interviewed. Has any British publication attempted to interview him?

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It would be a dilemma, if we had a choice. We don't. Impeachment is performed by the duly elected representatives of the country - our (?) House of Representatives votes the impeachment process started, our (?) Senate is the judge and jury. Frankly, it is out of our hands unless there is a whole lot of effective campaigning for the next set of elections. At this point, impeachment is the second step, dependent on a successful challenge of the status quo next year.

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For what it's worth. Artemesia.
Would like to know what you think of the content of what I wrote and also the way I expressed it. In other words content and form.
IMHO Molly Ivens judicious comments coincide with what Jeremy Scahill and others are saying. Bush not only lied about Iraq, but he and his cronies tried to cover up what the Downing St. memo shows. Mainly Bush lied even before officially invading Iraq. For the memos show as Molly Ivens shows, the invasion was planned from the get go.
To me the reporter Jeremy Scahill of www.democracynow.com is basically saying and trying his best to convince his readers Bush unofficially declared war on Iraq significantly before there was a declaration of war on Saddam Hussein.
"The Sunday Times of London recently reported on new evidence showing that "The RAF and US aircraft doubled the rate at which they were dropping bombs on Iraq in 2002 in an attempt to provoke Saddam Hussein into giving the allies an excuse for war."
I read the above and I recall former US Secretary of State Colin Powell's claim Bush bent over backwards to avoid war. If the quote above is true, some bending over backwards. Provoking Hussein until he's forced to attack. It seems to me, Powell ought to read the dictionary more. How in the world does dropping bombs to provoke war equal bending over backwards to prevent such a thing?
Suppose many readers would counter argue all this talk about the Downing Street memo by claiming they were fakes, written after the fact or simply Hussein had to be deposed.
Question. Have the Downing Street memos ever been proven fake?

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I am sick and tired of hearing excuses from the White House for its incompetence. I am sick of the President’s tired old line of “this is playing right into the hands of the enemy” and how he uses it as an excuse for not answering for his incompetence and mistakes. We need to start responding "stop making excuses." We need to start telling the President: "stop using the 'this is just playing right into the hands of the enemy' as an excuse for everything wrong that you do."

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.
Part 1 --- When did the U.S. policy on Iraq begin? I'll let the Democrats and the documented dates tell the tale.

"One way or the other, we are determined to deny Iraq the capacity to develop weapons of mass destruction and the missiles to deliver them. That is our bottom line." - President Clinton, Feb. 4, 1998

"If Saddam rejects peace and we have to use force, our purpose is clear. We want to seriously diminish the threat posed by Iraq's weapons of mass destruction program." - President Clinton, Feb. 17, 1998

Iraq is a long way from [here], but what happens there matters a great deal here. For the risks that the leaders of a rogue statewill use nuclear, chemical or biological weapons against us or our allies is the greatest security threat we face." – Madeline Albright, Feb 18, 1998

"He will use those weapons of mass destruction again, as he has ten time since 1983." - Sandy Berger, Clinton National Security Adviser, Feb 18,1998

"[W]e urge you, after consulting with Congress, and consistent with the US Constitution and laws, to take necessary actions (including, if appropriate, air and missile strikes on suspect Iraqi sites) to respond effectively to the threat posed by Iraq's refusal to end its weapons of mass destruction programs." - Letter to President Clinton, signed by Sens. Carl Levin (D-MI), Tom Daschle (D-SD), John Kerry (D - MA), and others Oct. 9,1998

"Saddam Hussein has been engaged in the development of weapons of mass destruction technology which is a threat to countries in the region and he has made a mockery of the weapons inspection process." - Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D, CA), Dec. 16, 1998

"Hussein has chosen to spend his money on building weapons of mass destruction and palaces for his cronies." > - Madeline Albright, Clinton Secretary of State, Nov. 10, 1999

It is convenient to forget the past to blame the present.
- Roger W Hancock - Poetpatriot

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Molly wrote:

"...when I read the first Downing Street Memo, my eyes bugged out and my jaw fell open. I could not believe what I was reading. It was news to me, and as I have tried to indicate, I'm no slouch at keeping up. "

Why does it sometimes seem like I was the only one who knew at the time that Bush and his fellow neocon bastards were lying through their teeth to get their war off the ground?

And...

"I have said from the beginning that if this thing worked out the way Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz and Cheney all said it would, I would be perfectly happy to get down on my knees and kiss George Bush's feet."

Now why would anyone kiss Bush's feet for illegally invading a sovereign nation while killing untold thousands and lying his ass off to do it, regardless of the outcome?

C'mon Molly! I expect more than the usual politically correct drivel from you.

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The Iraqi people are now better off then under Saddam Hussein. You do not believe so, prove me wrong. More Children attend school than under Saddam. More Schools have been renovated and more schools established. Women are no longer required to be treated as dogs. More Iraqi citizens enjoy electricity. 25 students from Iraq have gone to the United States for education under the Fulbright program. Iraq now has a police force to protect the citizens rather than rape and pillage. When a suicide bomber kills Iraqi citizens in a line of 100 waiting to apply to become police, the line increases to 300 the next day. The Monies left over from the Oil for Food program stopped going into corrupt pockets. The citizens can now criticize their government and the U. S. presence but most are thankful. Many Iraqi citizens participated in an election for the first time exercising free choice. Iraqi new found freedom of speech has enabled an independent media that has 75 radio, 10 television stations, and 180 newspapers. Confidence in Iraq is shown by increase cell phone usage, up nearly 160 percent. Iraq now has an air force, a counter-terrorist unit, a Commando battalion and a Navy that protects and defends the Iraq nation, not Saddam. International confidence in Iraq has increased that now nearly 50 countries have embassies in Iraq. Mistakes have been made but this was new territory for any military. I see the Middle East as more stable than before. The Iraqi people enjoy more freedom and prosperity today than most can remember. The Iraq War has been won. Now it is the War on Terror.

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Whether or not the Iraqis are better (they're not) is not the main issue. The US attacked a nation for no GOOD reason, and this is the act of a Caesar, a Genghis Khan, a Napoleon, a Hitler, an empire. It is empire-building that is a world crime.

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