A brutal, searing, visceral reaction unexpectedly kicked my entire ass today.

[WilliamPitt]

I am sitting here with a newly acquired bit of utterly useless wisdom. This new wisdom was delivered to me just before noon today. It arrived without warning, disguised as just another story about Cheney doing his Cheney thing. I've seen so many appalling Cheney stories over the last few years that I'd started to wonder if my capacity to be appalled had finally been spent.

My new and useless wisdom: I now know how a flood plain along the Mississippi River feels after the flood waters finally recede. I can tell you everything about what it feels like to be the land beneath an unstoppable wall of water, about the quick relief that comes once the waters roll away, and about the speed with which relief is replaced by the hollow exhaustion of aftermath, just barely strong enough to take stock of the damage done.

I did not enjoy the manner in which this odd wisdom came my way.

I got absolutely savaged by an unexpected and wholly surprising emotional detonation today. For the better part of five hours, a long parade of very hard feelings marched across all my main streets, all my avenues, along all my side streets, before coming together on my Town Square for a festival of rage.

Every rough emotion I am capable of experiencing - anger, fear, sorrow, rage, bitterness, despair, loathing, astonishment, woe, regret, horror, fury - erupted in my poor, unprepared chest. They had their parade on every one of my streets, blaring furious sadness from shining brass horns, before they took over Town Square and refused to leave until they were all damned good and ready.

They finally left, and here I sit, trying to type an accurate description of an internal eruption that, among many other things, completely paralyzed my vocabulary.

Well, not completely. I had enough functioning words to volunteer to write a report on the thing that kicked off the avalanche, but volunteering to write this report was a big mistake. For the first time since high school, I was completely unable to write three straightforward paragraphs of context and comment. I failed the assignment I'd volunteered for, because all my words were trapped by the emotional massacre within me. For the first time in a long, long, long time, I blew the deadline.

What, you ask, was powerful enough to huff and puff and blow my house down? What manner of mind bomb could blow me so far off my keyboard that I actually blew a deadline?

It was, of course, Dick Cheney.

And the story was, of course, about Dick being Dick, doing his Dick thing the way Dick always does. As an aside, if they ever hold a contest to decide which politician has the most appropriate first name, bet the farm, the barn, the house, the cow, every crop, every truck, and throw in all your shoes besides, on Dick winning in a walk. Dick would win in such dominant fashion as to make the NBA Finals appear competitive by comparison.

But anyway...and bear with my tangents, because I got really freaked out when I couldn't write today, so this is me doing enough keyboard push-ups to chase the aftertaste out the door...

But anyway, it was Dick, and he got me today, but good. If given the choice between Dick shooting me in the face and enduring another Dick-inspired China Syndrome of the Soul, I'd choose to praise the Lord and pass the ammunition...to Dick.

You've probably already heard the story, and I'm holding out a tiny bit of hope that someone else here reacted like I did, even a little bit.

The National Archives is basically the federal filing cabinet where all governmental paper records are filed, have been filed, and will be filed. Thus, the Archives is an invaluable repository of our governmental history. These documents are publicly available, and are a giant treasure trove for historians, biographers or anyone who loves to feel a bit of history between his fingers.

So the Archives people send a perfectly cordial note to Cheney's VP office, letting him know that it's time for his office to hand over any non-confidential paperwork, because doing this is the law, because those papers are the property of the people, because we pay for their printing and we pay for their storage, and the return on our investment can be found in the History/Biography/Politics section of any bookstore in America.

Dic-k turns the National Archives down flat. Bite me, you can't have my papers.

That's Dic-k, always gotta be the hardass, but this mania he has about his papers is getting extreme, like, spookily non-Dic-kish in nature, and just the other day he bellowed at his staffers, "I'll give baby aspirin to a legless Iraqi orphan before I let those sumbitches get my papers!" and that was really weird, because you just know Dic-k, waking up in Hell with his back broken is paradise next to feeding some damned Iraqi orphans.

(apologies, I was channeling the president of the country)

Here's what nuked my day. Not only did he turn them down, he wrote - actually wrote on paper - his reasons for refusing to hand over his papers.

If you've not heard this, brace yourself. It's a bit like a Zen koan, in that it has the power to stop your mind.

Dick had the fire-breathing gall, the awe-inspiring temerity, the light-bending arrogance to write down - actually write down on paper - his opinion, which is that the OFFICE OF THE VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES is not actually PART OF THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH OF GOVERNMENT, and is therefore not required to give any papers to anyone, ever. In other words, bite me.

Breathe. Breathe. It'll pass.

The exact words of the Cheney argument were summed up in an amazingly polite response letter sent to The VP by the Archives people. The words: "It does not consider itself an entity within the executive branch..."

See for yourself: http://oversight.house.gov/documents/20070621095027.pdf

I could use a thousand words to describe what this amazing thing did as it ripped through me. I tried all day to do it, and failed time and again. I have finally fixed upon the one word that truly explains how I felt after slopping through the slime-bucket they pulled this argument out of.

I was offended.

Yep. These people offend me on a daily basis, but for some reason, the fact that the Vice President of the United States actually defended his insane lust for secrecy by claiming, with his bare face hanging out, that the OVP is not a part of the Executive Branch. That argument, by the way, is a damned good reason to fire that golem post-haste. It soulds like he pretty much quit his Constitutionally mandated next-in-line post. If he's not doing that anymore, send his ass back to Oklahoma.

It offended me. It offended my patriotism, it was a rank insult to anyone who took grade-school civics, and it was pure horrid hubris-flecked power run amok, power so deranged that it is dangerous to every American. It was all-encompassing, the most crystalline example of why these guys suck with the gravity of a billion black holes that I have ever seen.

It offended me.

Dick...Dick...such a perfect name for him. I'm saying it as I type it. Dick. Whenever I talk about Dick, which is a common event, I add a bit of extra emphasis to the 'k' at the end, a little staccato snap from the back of my mouth. It makes the word linger in the air, which is fun, because that wee half-second between "Dic" and the crack of the "k" is enormously gratifying to hear. Yes, I know, I'm an insane person, but don't knock it 'till you try it. Dic-k. The only thing better than a perfectly named politician is giving that perfect name a few more ticks of sonic life. one tiny sound made mostly of spittle somehow speaks volumes, a small spitball of emphasis in honor of Dic-k.

A shrink would probably read all that garbage above and tell me I'm supressing the feelings of deep anger I have for Dic-k. That shrink would earn their pay with that conclusion, because it's spot-on, and all this meandering keyboard abuse is leading towards a moment I am actually nervous about. Dick is prsonally responsible for the human volcano that once was simply me, until noon, until one small news report brought the earthquakes that released scourging rivers of molten wrath and sulphrous fury.

It's personal now. Somehow, another news story about Dic-k just being Dic-k while doing his Dic-k thing caused a tectonic shift. Encompassing the awesome, towering, astonishing, awful, brutal, sick, deadly thing that is alive within the man, a thing that once upon a time was mistaken for mere arrogance, was enough to get me thinking in Biblical terms. There are stories in that Book that describe the moment a prophet, apostle or ordinary man stares into the very face of God, and the moment they actually see as much of I Am Who I Am as their minds can handle, they wind up getting clobbered for their trouble.

I saw Cheney in the raw today, undistilled Cheney, the core essence of Dic-k, and the monstrous things I saw in him left me writhing like Saul in the dust of that Damascus road. It was holy, in a weird way, because it brought about a profound experience that hurt even as it cleansed. I think, and believe I now know, that a glimpse of evil can be a holy and spiritual moment, if you make it through the aftermath. The difference, perhaps, is that anyone who sees God is blinded by the sight. I got a look at evil walking like a man, and I see so much now that I didn't see before.

I actually owe Dic-k a bit of gratitude. I was worried that his actions, and the actions of his crew, had abused the fabric of my capacity for surprise beyond the limit, had worn down one of the better human emotions by just being Dic-k.

I was wrong. Thanks. You proved I am still capable of awe, and you inspired me to take my inner army across the Rubicon at last. Ever wonder what Emperor Honorious thought as he watched the Visigoths come over the seventh hill of Rome? Maybe you'll get a chance to experience something similar. Maybe you'll feel what he did. Maybe. Dic-k.

[EFerrari]

1. Yes, that's evil on its hind legs.

And sometimes it is searing to be the memory, Will.

[young_at_heart]

2. I've often wondered just how this man has become so powerful

It seems like everyone is afraid of him and does his bidding. I cannot fathom decent Republicans going along with him.

[grace0418]

17. I can't fathom decent Republicans. Full stop.

At least not anymore. There used to be some.

[southern_belle]

75. decent republican=oxymoron

:shrug:

[calimary]

179. There aren't any.

Great piece here! I know how it is, though. Sometimes I, too, just get stopped in my tracks with my loathing for these bastards. Sometimes it causes words to escape me, also. Every time I think they've just gone too far, they top themselves, and floor me again. To the point of indescribability. :grr:

This has GOT to be OVER - SOME day...

[nannah]

49. remember the wire taps and sex parties;

i believe those factors explain the voting in congress. dirty little secrets rule the day.

[mopinko]

117. sex parties- i think this creates a visceral bond

something left over from the monkey days. especially when it is something "kinky".
i bet most of us here can remember some moment from adolescence when we timidly shared some moment. and remember the change that it wrought in that relationship.

[Buns_of_Fire]

84. Just remember who chaired the original VP selection commitee for BananaBreath

and, after all was said and done, chose... himself as the VP candidate. It becomes clearer, in retrospect, how we wound up with the DICK branch of government.

[femrap]

132. I think he's the one

who's in charge of the anthr*x.....that keeps them in line....the politicians and the Media.

[KittyWampus]

3. Laughing/Sobbing. As another DU'er noted. If he's not Executive Branch, he hasn't Exec. Priveledge

:D

[rwenos]

13. This Could Backfire for Cheney

The Law of Unintended Consequences . . . . if anyone in Congress has any cojones, they'll subpoena Cheney's papers, and when he erects executive privilege, petition the Rules Committee to stick this up Cheney's ass.

Interesting theory. I wish I could be more confident someone would DO something with this situation.

[Vilis Veritas]

116. Arrest the AG.

The fact that the letter stated in the last paragraph to rec this issue to the AG has me floored.

The AG is a TOOL. Congress needs to arrest him and START THE PROCESS to fry these assholes.

I work in an office full of 'wingers. Even they are livid about this...That fact alone has me hopeful. Cheney just pointed his 15 thousand dollar gun in his own face an pulled the trigger.

Can anyone else see that Pendulum swinging? I can.

Peace

[OwnedByFerrets]

127. Therein lies the conumdrum.......

no ONE has any balls. Even the ones who are pretending to by issuing some seemingly meaningless subpoena's are proving that they are spineless. Its being proven every day that this administration can do anything it wishes and get away with it, lock, stock and barrel.

[MonkeyFunk]

23. but that's not exactly

the argument he's making. He's saying for the purposes of the executive order in question, he's not covered as an "agency" of the executive branch.

[rwenos]

27. Got it - If he's not in Executive, he's in Legislative

And thus (1) no executive privilege; and (2) subject to Congressional discipline and subpoenas.

[MonkeyFunk]

29. As fun as is it is to

come up with these scenarios, his argument pertained only to the executive order in question, not to the constitutional role of the vice-presidency.

[rwenos]

30. It's Fodder for a Subpoena, and

potentially a motion to compel production, if there's a US Attorney with balls enough to prosecute.

[KoKo]

92. He can't have it both ways....And, it's a Constitutional question...If we still had a Constitution.

Since they've shredded and made a mockery of it with help from Congress...I guess the law and Constitution are only what Dick and the Chimperor say it is.

We've gone that low. In another time no VP would have dared utter such idiocy. But...there's no one up there to do anything about it. Rush Limbaugh and the RW will support this. Then the issue will just go away.

[Marnieworld]

95. Doesn't he work in the Executive Office Building?

Will he have to leave now? I'm pissed that the Archives didn't blow the whistle at the time. A seventh grade social studies class could beat his arguement in court.

[pacalo]

44. From the letter written by the director of Information Security Oversight Office

to David Addington:

Furthermore, if the OVP is not to be considered an entity within the executive branch, I am concerned that this could possibly impede access to classified information by OVP staff, since such access would be considered a disclosure outside the executive branch.

http://oversight.house.gov/documents/20070621095027.pdf

That sentence could have been written by firedoglake bloggers. :)

[madeline_con]

4. Why would we send this DICK to OK?

I thought he claimed to hail from Wyoming. :shrug:

[KatyaR]

76. We don't want his ass in Oklahoma, believe me.

Send him to South America to live on the *ush ranchero--surely there's plenty of space for them to coexist peacefully.

What a crock of crap--every freaking reporter in the country should be jumping up and down about this, but where are they? I haven't really seen anything about this except on DU.

Throw their asses out of office, that's what I say.

[SharonRB]

143. KO covered it last night

But, of course, he's the only one I've seen so far.

[Truth2Tell]

150. Seattle Times had it today

I think they picked up from McClatchy:

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/homepage/story/17210.html

[Lars39]

5. I've read a lot of your stuff, Will,

and I gotta say this is one of your best. To Dic-k ! :toast:
And welcome to my intuition/Spidey-sense nightmare. :(

[ReadTomPaine]

6. You too, eh?

They manage to top themselves in their expressions of hubris regularly and it's by far the greatest accomplishment of this administration. Hubris without bounds, gall without limits, arrogance without measure.

[Mythsaje]

7. Damn, Will...

It was funny...I didn't notice who'd written this until I'd finished it and then I just nodded. Not a surprise at that point.

Dick is a dick. You're certainly right about that. And I gotta say, that's definitely a "WTF" moment if I've ever seen one.

[The Straight Story]

8. He and his little buddy gilligan are selfish ass munchers

I hope we get off this island soon, but we will need a new skipper and a boat without all the holes.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

9. My dear Will...

Permit me to congratulate you on this ...

It is outstanding, even more so considering that everything you write is outstanding.

Thank you!

You have communicated your feelings with extraordinary clarity...

K&R

:patriot:

[lonestarnot]

10. I thought his attorney "wrote it down."

[mmonk]

11. History always gives us a monster every once in awhile.

It becomes a test of nerve and resolve.

[ConsAreLiars]

12. Pure poetry!

Man, when passion and eloquence combine their powers to communicate, you turn out a piece of what, prosetry? - we don't even have a word - that is just a stunningly brilliant bit of writing! Thank you. Top Rant Ever (well, excepting some of your others).

(edit because I can't write a couple sentences without tripping over something.)

[Gold Metal Flake]

14. Impeach Dick.

He is the source. Seal off that spring of evil. Impeach Dick and you will scuttle *. Impeach that evil fuck because it will annoy the shit out of him. Impeach, because it will feel good. Impeach for Must See Politics. Impeach Dick because Washington, Jefferson and Madison would do it if they were here, but they are not. Whatever the reason you might muster, muster it and say "Impeach Dick". For once and for all, agree on one thing. Let it be this.

Impeach Dick.

[Warpy]

15. Dick the dick just declared open season on himself

No more claims of executive privilege can now be made. Every one can now gleefully file suit against him to pry open his file cabinets and examine his computer discs.

He can't have it both ways.

Dare we even dream that this sort of erratic behavior alarms his own party?

[EFerrari]

22. I love it when they knaw on their own tail!

:toast:

[LSK]

16. Article II, Section 1

The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America. He shall hold his Office during the Term of four Years, and, together with the Vice President, chosen for the same Term, be elected, as follows:

http://www.archives.gov/national-archives-experience/charters/constitution_transcript.html

What the hell part of the Govt does he think he is part of then?

[rwenos]

28. Doesn't Get You There

Article II is not the handle -- the VP is President of the Senate too, and that's where Cheney appears to be hanging his hat. He's got part of a point -- i.e., he has a vote in the Senate, in the case of ties. He has no actual Constitutional power in the Executive Branch. He has actual voting power, and the power to preside, in the Senate.

No more executive privilege for Dick. So when does the House Judiciary Committee subpoena the records of those minutes of the Oil Industry Summit, during the transition, when Cheney promised Big Oil a war in Iraq?

[SeattleGirl]

34. I don't know if it would matter if the HJC subpoenaed the records.

People have been trying to get those records forever, and I believe the Court (was it the Supremes?) sided with Dic-k and said he didn't have to turn them over.

[KoKo]

96. The Supreme Court must be a little peeved at Dick's latest, though...

If his executive privilege covers him not turning over his "secret meetings" and he claims he isn't part of the executive branch....well...seems there's a teeny problem there. :eyes:

[tavalon]

37. The "Republican" government, of course

[Vilis Veritas]

118. NWO.

Not the US. No more US, only them and the sheep.

Bahhhh!

Screw bah....

No Peace.

[MsKandice01]

18. You're not alone. This news kicked my ass today too.

I'm STILL pissed. How fucking STUPID does he think the American people are??? And why the FUCK isn't this the top story on every fucking news channel, website, radio station, etc.? I'm so sick of this bastard getting away with thumbing his nose at the entire country. You work for US, bitch, not the other way around.

My outrage fatigue has now vanished.

[Art_from_Ark]

31. He works for us

the same way a mobster with a protection racket works for the neighborhood greengrocer

[IDemo]

19. If your government has had a Dick branch for more than 4 years, please impeach

[mmonk]

24. An office of the Dickhead.

[MonkeyFunk]

20. so

in short... Cheney pissed you off?

[LSK]

21. Keith O said he is a rogue country that should be invaded

[SeattleGirl]

25. Will, you expressed perfectly the reaction I had to this galling shit

by the ever-more galling Dic-k. I felt all the circuits in my brain sizzle and fry, and swear I saw smoke coming out of my ears. Thanks for giving voice to what I could not.

[tavalon]

39. As I mentioned to Will

I laughed in a creepy sort of way. But I also felt a bit of disappointment. I didn't realize until today how much I enjoy the game of figuring out who will be the number one conservative idiot each week. He stole my fun, the bastard.

[SeattleGirl]

45. Yeah, I do the same thing, try to figure out who will be number one

on the hit parade. Hell, Cheney does so many evil, rotten things, he could be numbers one THROUGH ten!

[DFW]

26. Evil, thy name is Cheney

About the only thing left is for him to order the Potomac to be covered with
a thick pane of glass, so he can walk across it.


If he does, you can be sure it will be an executive order even though
he doesn't issue executive orders, as the VP is not part of the executive
branch.

Here's what I'm waiting for: some totally incriminating stuff about Bush
leaks out, Cheney tells Georgie to say he isn't part of the executive,
either, and U.S. Marshalls show up the next day to cuff them both, screaming
for President Pelosi to grant them clemency.

To dream the impossible dream..........

[tavalon]

32. Three things

First, it's Montana, not Oklahoma, though they are both so backwards as to be interchangeable (unfortunately, Montana is prettier and much closer to me). Second, dude, it was always personal for you and that's one reason I'm a huge fan of you. And finally, um, I'm guessing you've moved over to the impeachment camp, yes? Plenty of room over here, pull up a chair, we've been expecting you or at least I have.

Now, on the more empathetic side, I have in times past been where you went today. It's not crazy, it is a most sane response to an insane situation. That said, it sucks. Today's atrocity wasn't one of my watersheds but there were others. I have cried tears of rage many times in the last seven years. Today, I laughed, but it was the creepy laugh of the slightly demented. I think your response was the healthier one.

Blessed be, fellow patriot.

[Blue_In_AK]

57. Wyoming, isn't it?

:shrug:

[tavalon]

60. Actually, I think you're right

Still too close for comfort.

[anitar1]

167. Dic k is from Wyoming. I lived there long ago . I remember

him. I am out of words due to RFS.

[prairierose]

33. I hear you Will...

it was definitely a wtf moment for me. He did not really say that did he? But yes, he did.

Dic-k. You're right.

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

35. Refresh my memory- is his impeachment on the table, or off?

:shrug:

[tavalon]

46. For me or thee?

Or for the idiots who pretend to represent us?

Oops, is my bias showing?

[supernova]

36. 31 Dic-Ks

by my count. I didn't count the mentions of "cheney" though.

OMG what a side-splittingly hilarious rant, Will. :rofl: :thumbsup: I think I'm all dicked out.

I think the outrage-o-meter just exploded at the volcano red end. :nuke:

Isn't there some way this nutball can be arrested for dereliction of duty? He's approaching being past impeachable IMO.

[vixengrl]

38. When I get p-o'd at Dic-k,

I just remind myself--he's already dead. I know. He walks among us like a man, talks like a man, reacts somthing like and endures something like--a living man, but I beg to differ:

You note that I refer to Dick Cheney as the *Eater of Souls*. This is not merely a Lovecraftian shout-out, nor a reflection, however vague, on my opinion that power corrupts, and absolute power absolutely eats souls. It is not literally intended. Most right-thinking people do not believe that a Shoggoth lurks in the Pentagon and still fewer believe that it roams the earth since the Pentagon was breeched on 9/11. That would be not merely absurd--but patently noticeable, mostly on account of the numerous blighted and blasted corpses that would be left in its eldritch wake, with the attendant missing persons and naturally weeping and gnashing of teeth and propitiatory blood-sacrifices by our leaders. Obviously. This is because of a situation that was brought to my attention shortly after the saga of Election 2000--to whit:

As you may recall, mere months after being installed, some would say by the Supreme Court and others would say by the sufferance of the people of the United States, Mr. Cheney experienced a "heart event." This followed what they called a "mild heart attack" after the election: http://archives.cnn.com/2001/HEALTH/06/29/cheney.chrono ...

The rest at:

http://vixensden-vixen.blogspot.com/2007/05/rumors-on-i ...

http://vixensden-vixen.blogspot.com/2007/05/rumors-on-i ...

If I just prefer to see him as a not exactly living, I kind of almost like him. In the way one roots for zombies. I also expect that a part of him is already roasting in a tangent-hell-like-dimension. This gets me through the day.

[WillyT]

40. That Was Awesome Will... Dic-k Is The Supermassive Black Hole Of American Politics

There is no bigger suck, than Dic-k!

Yeah... it pretty much bowled me over when I heard it. At first I thought, "They must have misquoted him or one of his aides." My next thought, before actually reading about it was, "Knowing Cheney (Dic-k), this isn't a misquote at all."

I used to take 8th graders from California to D.C. to show them the sights and let them experience first hand the stuff we learned and talked about in class. My god... I wonder what they are thinking today.

[Ghost in the Machine]

41. Sometimes you have to cut the head of off the beast to kill it. This time we have to

cut off the Dic-k. Just think about it. Even if we got rid of Rove (cutting off the brain) we'd still have Dick, and Dick would still be Dick.


NO MORE DICK!

[smalll]

42. You forgot "primal" -

And with brutal, searing and visceral already there, I'm amazed you could forget primal. Just don't write any book blurbs or movie reviews without my input, is alls I'm sayin'.

[WilliamPitt]

52. Argh.

THAT was precisely the word I couldn't summon. I stared at the 'p' key for maybe an hour, but finally gave up and went softly with 'visceral' etc.

Primal. Bingo. Argh.

Thanks. :toast: :hug:

[frogcycle]

43. funny, it is all in the timing

I heard this, shrugged, sort of went, no surprise there...

Anybody remember the movie "How to murder your wife" ?

There is a great scene where Joey Bishop is caught by his wife in bed with some bimbo. She starts ranting, they both get out of bed, naked, and start dressing. She keeps ranting, Bishop just looks at her and says "what girl?" This goes on until they are both dressed and the girl leaves, Bishop sits down in an easy chair and picks up the paper, repeats "what girl?"

The wife kind of runs out of steam, shakes her head, and goes off to fix dinner.

I am that wife.

[Skittles]

73. not me

I would have chased that bimbo's ass and kicked the shit out of it, THEN confronted that bastard

[lfairban]

176. That's not right.

It is not from How to murder your wife, it is from A Guide for the Married Man.

Perhaps you confused Matthau with Lemmon, they were both in "Odd Couple" or second leads Terry-Thomas with Robert Morse, they both have a gap between their front teeth.

[ProgressiveAmPatriot]

47. In fairness to Dick, most times people don't take his statements to their logical conclusion

This time, however, someone did. It is going to make for some great hearings. If you are not part of the Executive Branch, you have no executive privilege to wave.

[WilliamPitt]

54. The part that finally deranged me

was how unnecessary it was. He's President of the Senate, and as such could declare whatever papers he wants to keep as being products of legislative work. In that sense, the OVP actually isn't part of the Executive. This argument would have probably stood up to scrutiny.

But no, they go and deploy the DUMBEST ARGUMENT IN THE HISTORY OF COVER-UPS. I mean, fa chrissake, how can the dude who is one bad heartbeat or one mismanaged pretzel away from the big seat in the room with the curved walls...I'm already exhausted just trying to frame the question.

I will probably lose it again, soon, if this is allowed to slide into oblivion...or if it is something besides what I hope it is, which is an animal brought to bay, a thief out of running room, or a con man who has used his last flimsy excuse.

Selah. We shall see.

[ProgressiveAmPatriot]

65. I don't think you understand what his exact "argument" was

His office is quoted as saying that because he is a member of the both executive and the legislative branches, he is therefore he was not required to reply. The quote from the letter is "...the OVB spokesperson indicated, 'This has been reviewed and it's been determined that the reporting requirement does not apply to The Office of the Vice President, which has both legislative and executive functions.'" So, in fairness to Cheney, he didn't say the law doesn't apply to him because he's not a member of the executive, he said it doesn't apply to him because he is both a member of the executive and a member of the legislature. The logic of this statement goes like this

(1) Records law applies to the executive branch
(2) The Office of the Vice-President is in both the executive and legislative branch
<1,2> (3) The records law does not apply to VP

It is this "polite" letter that takes this unbelievably faulty logic to its inevitable conclusion and brings us back to reality

(1) Records law applies to the executive branch
(2) Records law does not apply to the Vice-President according to Vice-President
<1,2> (3) The Vice-President is not a member of the executive branch

And I am sure Democrats on the hill will be able to take it even further

<3> (4) The Vice-President lacks executive privilege

The conclusion of any logical person of course is that the Vice-President is insane and should be impeached. But let's be fair: he acknowledges being a part of the executive branch, he just thinks that this law should not apply to him because he is also a member of the legislative branch. I really don't know how The White House or Republicans, or the press is going to spin this. Then again, they could spin it the same way they sold torture. Just repeat something over and over again, have no shame, and eventually people will come to believe the big lie. Torture is patriotic when done for the right reasons. Global warming is a myth. Science is inconclusive on the subject. Constitutional experts disagree as to whether the Vice-President is exempt from laws governing the executive as he is a member of the executive and the legislature.

I swear to God they are going to find a "constitutional expert" to say that the Constitution is ambiguous on whether laws governing the executive apply to the VP. And the press is going to quote both sides in a "fair and balanced way." This is the problem with American journalism which teaches that there are two equal sides to any story. Crazy people with no shame come along and they justify crazy things by making things up and repeating them over and over and over until people start to believe the big lie. And the "fair and balanced" press just continues quoting both sides in an equal manner. Signing statements Bush style are no longer unprecedented attacks on the Constitution according to CNN. Why? Because that is what the White House says and every story has two equal sides. Cheney doesn't think the law applies to him. Democrats SAY the Constitution says otherwise. They disagree. Fair and balanced requires that we present both sides equally, thus Cheney gets quoted on an equal footing with sane people who think the law applies to them.

They've done it. They have done what Nixon couldn't do. They announce their criminal behavior in advance and claim it is morally just and they get away with it. Or when they classify their crimes and they get caught, they say after the fact that it was morally just and they get away with it. Then the press reports "the Democratic position," they broke the law, and the White House position, we are morally righteous in what we do so shut up and write our side of the story or we'll out your CIA wife. That of course isn't criminal. See, this is where Nixon screwed up. He acknowledged that if he had done what he was accused of doing, that it was wrong. Nixon's problem was he said he didn't do it. He should of just said, yeah I did it and it was legal, and it was good for democracy and he could have had 8 years like Bush. Unbelievable. I am a member of the executive and legislative so the laws governing the executive do not apply to me.

Alright, I'm done ranting.

[WilliamPitt]

68. Outstanding post.

Thanks for that. :toast:

[ProgressiveAmPatriot]

78. NPR says Cheney "exempted himself," totally spins the story with fair and balanced

Even NPR was able to spin it. He failed to comply with the law, which is a polite way of saying he broke the law. He didn't have the power to "exempt himself." But according to NPR, it is a story of Democrats vs Cheney. They quoted him as saying that his office is not an entity in the executive branch and that was the end of the story. The "journalist" said it with a straight voice. Unbelievable. How can you say that without laughing at its absurdity? An 8th grade civics education makes the statement absurd.

[WilliamPitt]

79. "An 8th grade civics education makes the statement absurd."

That is one of the things that offended me so deeply.

You said it perfectly. I spent a whole day trying to explain this madness. That sentence you wrote is precisely on point.

Cheers. :toast:

[KoKo]

98. "they've done what Nixon couldn't do....." BINGO! It's their whole

strategy....It's even what the Gingrich Congress put in place that has continued. Announce it beforehand and get away with it. They have their massive media echo chamber supporting them...and they get away with it while the rest of us fall back gasping once again. Don't believe your lying eyes....

Great Post....put's it all into perspective. :hi:

[DeeDeeNY]

102. Excellent points

Your summary of the problems with the press is exactly right. In their zest to be "balanced," they ignore the basic fact that there is only ONE side to the truth. And this bunch of thugs plays the press like a fine violin.

[ProgressiveAmPatriot]

104. I expanded this a little posted this as its own thread and on my blog

If you like here is my blog: http://progressiveamericanpatriot.blogspot.com/2007/06/cheney-did-not-say-he-is-no-longer.html

and here is the DU link: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=1159371&mesg_id=1159371

[DeeDeeNY]

106. Thanks. I will check it out.

[MADem]

149. That was a fine and plainspoken explanation of the way it all went down, well done! nt

[Morgana LaFey]

152. yeah, and plainspoken is in short supply in this thread

so double appreciated. DU's star writer could take a lesson, or three.

[Decruiter]

48. Will, you are just amazing when you let your "Mad" loose. Bless you.

When the angry Will Pitt is around, well just stand back and get out of the way.

Thanks for everything you have unleashed and let loose.

[BlooInBloo]

50. From here on out, he's just a dick.

[byronius]

51. You're right -- that was a defining moment. 'I do not consider myself an actual American.'

Holy Dick, Batman.

[SeattleGirl]

53. I must disagree: there is NOTHING holy about Dic-k!

But then, you already knew that.

[WilliamPitt]

55. A defining moment not heralded today, or tomorrow,

but when they finally start untangling this byzantine disaster, statements like this will be met by future (and hopefully smarter) generations with the same confused awe that started popping off whenever people actually started listening to Gerald Ford.

Poland, eh? Wow.

[Hekate]

56. So much hubris...Where is the goddess Nemesis? Where are the Furies?

Will we get to see him poke out his own eyes some day? Will eagles eat his liver?

When, oh gods, will Dick Cheney finally come crashing down? And how many will go down with him?

Hekate

[SeattleGirl]

58. I believe Nemesis and the Furies are currently in Gitmo.

Can't have them rabble rousing now, can we? Not if we want to be good soldiers. :banghead: :banghead:

[ContraBass Black]

59. Whereas you've produced two or three pages of ire and disgust,

All I have to day is, "I don't fucking believe it."

[puebloknot]

61. Good to "hear" your righteous anger because...

"The Greatest Sedition is Silence."

[WilliamPitt]

63. You get a free toaster with that joke?

:P

[puebloknot]

156. Thanks for the toaster, but...

...it wasn't a joke! :)

[puebloknot]

172. Oh....?

Nope, no bribes to tout your book!

[Ellipsis]

62. A calculated maneuver, or a desperate one?

They have to expect blow-back on this... curious to see what the next 48 hours brings.


A great read.





GLOUCESTER: 'Tis the time's plague, when madmen lead the blind.

[WilliamPitt]

64. Best. Sig Quote. EVER.

:toast:

[Ellipsis]

180. I'm Honored ...and the saga continues. "White House of Mirrors" NY Times article

:toast:

Posted by Hissyspit
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x1171282

[radfringe]

66. TIME TO PRUNE THE BRANCH

we now have 4 branches of the government

the Executive Branch
the Legislative Branch
the Judicial Branch
and the...
DICK BRANCH

time to prune the DICK BRANCH...

NOW CAN WE F**KING IMPEACH HIS ASS?

unrelated: take a deep breath, and pause for this moment of beauty http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1k08yxu57NA&mode=related&search=

this guy is a contestent on England's version of "Idol".. he works at a cell phone store. I had tears streaming down my face. all I can say is Pavoratti - move over

[Marnieworld]

100. oooh!

I can't remember where but I saw his story on TV recently. It was great. At his audition they laughed when he said Opera but then blew them away. What an amazingly inspiring story and beautiful voice. Thanks for the link. :hi:

[sallyseven]

109. Forget Impeach. Ship him to Iraq front line.

[snappyturtle]

112. OMG! That voice! Thank you for sharing....I cried for fifteen minutes...

tears of joy...beautiful. Thanks, again.

[mnhtnbb]

120. Thanks for the link to Paul Potts. What a voice.

[Vilis Veritas]

121. Not as long as the AG is their TOOL.

Congress has the power to remove him and START THE PROCESS.

As for the link you provided...thanks.

We must never forget that it is the beautiful in life that makes the struggle worth while.

Thanks again for the link.

Peace.

[Greyskye]

139. The Dick Branch

[Norrin Radd]

67. Agreed, but, for me, the camel's proverbial back was broken long before this.

[DemReadingDU]

69. The letter is stamped June 2006

Why is it being released now in 2007?

http://oversight.house.gov/documents/20070621095027.pdf

[blondie58]

70. wow, awesome rant!

remind me never to upset you so- I don't think that I could take the backlash.

[H2O Man]

71. Impeach Dick Cheney.

Now, more than ever.

[WilliamPitt]

80. Lather, rinse, repeat

;)

[Tsiyu]

83. The old "Because I Said So" Policy

Dic-k is basically saying "I challenge you to tell ME what to do." Like a two-year-old, basically.

Unfortunately for Dic-k, the VP is well represented under the Executive in the Constitution. There are no loopholes.

[Vilis Veritas]

123. Not until the AG is removed.

I am sounding like a broken record.

It will never happen. Even the letter rec'd it to the AG. Letter is DATED. It is old. Why no action? AG.

Nothing to see here, move along...

Peace.

[Skittles]

72. I reacted pretty badly, William

screamed and threw the remote across the room - yup

[GeorgeGist]

74. I'd call it Tricky Dick Syndrome ..

but that would be an insult to Nixon. So maybe Shrinky Dick syndrome would be more appropriate.

I wonder how small Dick can get?

[Peace Patriot]

77. I don't know why you're so surprised, William. Thomas Jefferson and Co. told us

to expect this. Executives WILL get out of control. They knew from experience and from long study of the history of government perfidy. And the remedy they gave us was impeachment.

But I did enjoy your description of the erupting volcano that was you. I guess we all have our eruption points. This one didn't affect me much. I picked it up casually from a few subject lines at DU over the course of the day. My reaction? Cheney asserting yet another insane tyranny? What else is new?

I'm trying to think what my volcano point was. First thought: their torturing prisoners. (I felt like Al Gore: "How dare they? HOW **DARE** THEY?!" All those dead G.I.s in World War II, hoping and praying, with their dying breaths, that their sacrifice would create the rule of law, world peace, human rights, the UCMJ, the Geneva Conventions--spat upon, by Bush, Cheney & cabal. Their corpses violated.) Then I thought of that dreadful moment, in mid-March 2003, and that dreadful phrase, "Shock and Awe--that horror, that deliberate, cold, callous, greedy slaughter of 100,000 innocent people in the initial bombing alone (according to the British doctors' report). The U.S. had become the barbarians at the door.

Third, I thought of the day I was going along, doing some research on election fraud, post-2004, and found out how many Democratic Senators had voted for electronic vote counting, run on "trade secret," proprietary programming code, owned and controlled by rightwing Bushite corporations. All but two!* It was like your volcano. The IWR and...."trade secret" vote counting. Same month. October 2002. And almost all the Democrats went along with it. Ping! Whoosh! Up went my hot lava! The bastards! The dirty bastards! They're fucking IN ON IT!

Now that you mention it, though, I can understand your fire at this latest Cheney mind-boggle. Not part of the Executive Branch. What IS he part of, do you suppose? Will we ever know?

----------------------------

*(The two who voted against the election theft machines are an odd pair: Hillary Clinton and Charles Schumer. The ONLY two who voted against it. Go figure.)

[babylonsister]

81. Wow, most excellent and thank you! Not only that, but he wants to 'abolish

the oversight unit'; how's that for big ones?

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/22/washington/22cheney.html?em&ex=1182657600&en=61bd555103897b83&ei=5087%0A

snip//

For four years, Vice President Dick Cheney has resisted routine oversight of his office’s handling of classified information, and when the National Archives unit that monitors classification in the executive branch objected, the vice president’s office suggested abolishing the oversight unit, according to documents released yesterday by a Democratic congressman.

[Hubert Flottz]

82. I'm thinkin'

PRICK Cheney...

Prick, noun,
7. Slang: Vulgar.
a. penis.
b. an obnoxious or contemptible person.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/prick

[Skidmore]

85. Dick is Nixon on steroids and psychotic to boot.

The other Dick at least was capable of shame.

[Olney Blue]

86. "horrid hubris-flecked power run amok"

Indeed.

[kww355]

87. I need a blood pressure pill...

AND a valium. Dick is thumbing his nose ate all of us ( "neener, neener, neener !" ).

Can Leahy, Schumer and the judiciary committee do something about this ?

:argh:

WILL they ?

[iamahaingttta]

88. My response when I read about this...

...and I wrote this on another thread, is that...

Impeachment, conviction, removal from office, war crimes tribunal and execution by hanging from the neck until dead is just too good for this criminal. I don't know what's worse than that, but whatever it is, Dic-k deserves it!

[Major Hogwash]

89. Don't get mad, get even - tell Pelosi and Reid to drag Dic-k's ass up before Congress.

Get him sworn in, before any Congressional committee they want, and then point the tv cameras of C-Span on him and ask Dic-k anything.
Anything at all.

You know what Dic-k will do - he'll lie.
He can't help it.
He'll lie because that is what Dic-k thinks he is good at.
Dic-k has been lying his whole life.
Dic-k thinks he is clever for lying, that the truth is just a matter of greys among black and white images, hidden somewhere amongst the shadows, that the truth can't be known, that the truth has no real meaning anymore.
That there is no truth.
Except for what he sez.

Then, after Dic-k has told his lies before Congress and before the tv cameras of C-Span, before the entire American people, then, and only then, force him to resign or impeach his ass for perjury.

Because you know he will lie to them.
He wants to lie to them.
He gets off on it.
It's a power trip for him.
It's like when it is raining lightly and someone says "oh look, it's raining" and Cheney smirks at them and says "it's not raining."
He just dares someone to contradict him.
He wants to lie his ass off, and see if anyone is willing to even dare to try to stop him from lying.
Dic-k is throwing down a gauntlet to Congress - make me stop lying!

Does this Congress have the cojones to pick up that gaunlet?
Does this Congress have what it takes to make Dic-k stop lying?

The entire world is watching.
They are waiting.
They want to see who is going to pick up that gauntlet.

[loudsue]

124. He would just tell them to shove their subpoena up their back sides.

Cheney would NEVER appear before a Democratic-run congress under oath. Not in this lifetime. Not ever.

He has NO respect for any part of the law. In his mind, it simply does not apply to the rich and powerful, including, but not limited to, him.

:kick::kick::kick:

[JHB]

90. I used to hold up Newt as an "aptly-named" pol...

...but it looks like Dick has stuffed him.





:evilgrin:

[Marnieworld]

91. You've inspired me

Now when I fantasize about all of them in the Hague I will imagine them being forced to hear the Constitution read to them endlessly on a loop. It's the abuses against The Constitution that make my blood boil the most too. Previously Republicans just had policies that I disagreed with. These war criminals want to tear down the very foundation of this country, redefine the President as Dictator. They hold everything precious and pure and honorable about our Founders intent in contempt. This news plus the crickets after the 4th Circuit's ruling against the White House on the 11th can make you feel that they will never be stopped. That they truly are destroying the Country in plain sight.

Now I'm getting worked up too and I can't cry my rage tears at work, but you are not alone in how it affects you. Anyone paying attention who truly loves this country cannot possibly get by without a meltdown occassionally. Really how many ammendments do we have left anymore?

[livvy]

93. Dic-k...love it. It really is quite satisfying to say it that way.

Love the whole post, but Dic-k, that says it all.

[kiteinthewind]

94. Oh, Will. What an exquisite post. I do share your pain. Absolutely immobilizing. Dic-K.

:hug: :kick:

[WinkyDink]

97. Everyone needs to start laughing at him. Make Cheney THE national laughing-stock.

Make him the American Idol of Politics. The Vice-President of Banjo-Playing "Deliverance". Make "Cheney" a popular slang term for "moron" ("Don't be such a Cheney, fool!"). Send Leno quips about him.

That is the one thing DICK couldn't stand: Being laughed at. For he craves being FEARED.

[Marnieworld]

103. Um, didn't that already happened when he shot his friend in the face?

Then he made the friend apologize for getting in the way of his shot. He's always been a punchline and he just keeps on telling us to fuck ourselves. His a cartoon character now. Jon Stewart just does an impression of the penguin from Batman to quote Dic-K. The not funny show Lil' Bush showed him biting off the heads of chickens and drinking their blood. I bet even now if someone asks him he'd tell you Mohammed Attta had a meeting in Prague with an Iraqi, and that Sadamn was developing nuclear weapons. He just completely doesn't give a shit about anything or anyone besides this dream of turning a Constitutional Democracy into a Fascist DicK-tatorship. In plain sight he works to do this and continues. A little laughter will not stop him. Will anyone?

[MADem]

153. Father Time, perhaps...or Cousin Cholesterol. or Auntie Attack or Uncle Blockage...

Unless they've already replaced that beating hunk of meat in his chest cavity with a machine...

[WinkyDink]

160. Dang, you just bummed me out! :) I forgot about the shooting thing, including Dana What'shisName in

orange on KO's show.

[mnhtnbb]

99. Evil is truly something to behold, isn't it, Will? Dic-k. How much more

is this Congress going to tolerate? There should be a stampede to sign
onto Kucinich's bill to impeach Dic-k. What's sad, truly sad for all of us,
is that I doubt this will have much effect.

[chelaque liberal]

101. I've read this all the way through three times.

I'm entranced. Why does this rant feel so satisfying?
Because it is cathartic!
I need a cigarette and I don't even smoke.
Thanks Will.
I hope it was good for you too.

[happygoluckytoyou]

105. TONY "SNOWJOB" SNOW HERE to sell you this upside

Tony Snow here, to explain why this is great news...

We have a DICK for vice-president. He is a big dick, a strong dick, the kind of dick that makes "gay but not lesbians" out of women. He is a dick for all times, and he is OUR dick. Love the dick, even his heart strokes the dick. And that is why the terrorists lose.

LONG BE DICK.
FINALLY A VICE PRESIDENT WITH SOME BALLS!!!

I love god
I love america
I love dick
I love lamp

I am the ever loving baghdad-bob of this administration

[Raven]

107. WILLYUM!!! GO TO YOUR ROOM!

You can't talk about our VP like that! :-)

Great rant...I hope you feel better.:loveya:

[Loki]

108. Behold the sociopath called Dic-k Cheney

Two weeks ago I was in Washington DC, and in fact, in the most hallowed place called the National
Archives. In the rotunda, on one side you have the Magna Carta, and in the great hall, all the documents of our country lining the half circle wall. It is dimly lit and hushed. I read lines from the Bill of Rights, The Constitution, The Emancipation Proclamation, The Declaration of Independence. In my heart, I don't want anything that has to do with this Dic-k defiling that place. Tyrants always fall, always. This is the only thing that comforts me in these dark days.

Lee

[Harry Monroe]

158. We should all get over to the National Archives more

before these documents are shredded forever by this Administration.

Will the last one leaving a democratic United States please turn off the lights??

[lonestarnot]

110. Mine too, but it was different than yours

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=1151144&mesg_id=1151144

[Flying Dream Blues]

111. Can I just say "amen"? I was right there, in all my incoherent

primal rage, ranting while my husband sat too stunned to reply, mouth slightly agape. My bottom line was something like "Aren't you tired of hearing F(&^ YOU from DICK (you work for US, a'hole!!) CHENEY?" Everything you said, I experienced, and I thank you for validating my complete emotional meltdown. I was useless for the rest of the day. You said it all so beautifully, even moreso than usual, which is something.
:toast:

[The Wizard]

113. We sit here hammering our keyboards

complaining to each other about crimes against America and humanity committed by the criminal cartel knows as the Bush Administration.
Write a letter to your Congressman demanding Cheney's removal for (pick a crime. I like war profiteering). Send the letter to everyone on your mailing list encouraging them to copy and paste your letter and send it to their respective Congressional Representatives.
Inform your local news outlets that they are abdicating their Constitutional responsibly and privilege by ignoring Cheney's crimes against America. Enough already. Impeach, Indict, Incarcerate and.......

[theboss]

114. Did you just win some sort of bet involiving metaphors?

You are a river. You are a parade. You are a town square. You are an avalanche.

What you are not is someone who gets to the point. It took you 17 paragraphs to state what the hell you are talking about.

[WilliamPitt]

159. Thanks for counting them.

_|_

[theboss]

162. I live to give...

And, on occasion, edit.

[Vilis Veritas]

115. So now what?

It was recommended to the AG in the last paragraph. That is like farting in a hurricane and trying to discern what you had for dinner last night by the smell.

Right. The AG.

Breathe. Go ahead. Breathe.

Because it will be a cold day in hell before the current AG does anything that would make anyone with half a brain think that he was actually anything more than a COMPLETE AND UTTER TOOL.

Congress needs to slap AG in jail for impeding the business of the United States Legislative branch of Government and START THE PROCESS.

PEACE.

[Kablooie]

119. We don't need impeachment for Cheney. He's obviously mentally ill and can't remain.

But since he owns the justice department, they will decide he's perfectly right and is totally free from any of the laws of the United States.

[Harry Monroe]

122. Emperor Palpatine

There is just no other comparison. Everytime I watch a Star Wars snip with the evil emperor in it, Dick Cheney runs through my mind. It is an automatic thought by now.

[Seabiscuit]

125. Translation: Cheney stonewalls National Archives by absurdly claiming the OVP

is not part of theExecutive Branch.

Whew! I can breathe again.

I almost choked to death swallowing all those adjectives in the OP.

[Harry Monroe]

126. I would think that the constitutionality of his proclamation would be in question

The Founding Fathers intended for there to be 3 branches of government. And unless I misread the document the VP is second in the chain of command behind the President, making him a member of the executive branch. Dick Cheney would like his own separate branch of government just for himself. I don't recall the Constitution making a provision for a 4th branch of government. Why doesn't Cheney just go ahead and declare himself an independent nation. Then perhaps we could invade him and restore democracy to Dick Cheney; the dictator Dick Cheney is now a totalitarian government unto himself and must be stopped. He his proved to us that he is harboring weapons of mass distraction and is a terrorist. He certainly frightens me!!

Anyway, starting to ramble. Will Pitt thanks for the post. Great as always!! You expressed my feelings succinctly.

[ShortnFiery]

128. Now now, no need to get upset because Our House Leader has taken IMPEACHMENT

off of the table? How can you blame him? After all, the popularity of The Democratic Congress is only a few points above his ... and that's precisely because the Leadership of Our Democratic Congress is both cowardly and gutless.

So there you have it, not all that much like (well, save his was personal and Dick's trashing the entire country :wow:) Bill Clinton choose to be unfaithful with Monica, Dick is breeching Our Constitution because HE CAN! :grr:

That's right folks, Dear Leader with his scores of signing statements and Dick Cheney with his figurative shot-gun are now "shredding our Constitution" and getting away with it.

Why? Because Our pseudo-Leaders in The Congress also are not following The Constitution by filing Articles of Impeachment.

Dick Cheney constantly flips off The American People, The Constitution while taunting Congress: "Whatcha gonna go about it?"

What is our illustrious minus 23% Congress going to do about Dick Cheney OPENLY breeching our beloved Constitution? .... That's right *nothing.*

Yes, I despise Dick Cheney's TRAITOROUS actions with all my heart and soul. However, I also know that we must have "the moral courage" to hold OUR Leaders accountable if they won't do their DAMN JOBS. That is filing Articles of Impeachment does not have a clause: Only file when you're sure that you have the votes to win. YOU FILE Articles of Impeachment when The Executive Branch has *overstepped* it's authority with regard to our beloved Constitution.

[indie_voter]

129. don't you know? they don't have the votes, poor poor hapless congress

So why bother, right?

:eyes:

/sarcasm.

I share your anger.

[Harry Monroe]

155. I totally agree with your last paragraph

Congress needs to do what is morally right. Impeachment is an imperative; it is the only way to tell this Administration that they will be held accountable for their actions.

Imagine this coming from a Democratic VP. Or imagine if a Democratic president had taken us to war on fabricated lies, wiretapped on American citizens without probable cause and picked and chose the laws he would follow by the issuance of signing statements. This Democratic president would have been impeached by the House and removed from office by the Senate long ago by the previous Republican majority. And they would have been absolutely right and correct to do so. Clinton was impeached for far, far lesser transgressions than these. The Republicans set the bar very low for impeachment; what a tragedy and a travesty that the current President and Vice President can get away with crimes much, much greater than Clinton's and have blood on their hands to boot. The utter hypocrisy of it all simply astounds me and makes me sick to my stomach.

[Mark D.]

130. In the Court of Public Opinion

In simplest terms, even for the idiots who think all this
'executive' stuff is way over their heads. Maybe they can
get this. Maybe beyond all else, give them a soundbyte...
Gore never did this. Quayle and so on, never did this...
The soundbyte follows: "WHAT ARE THEY HIDING?" The guy
who RAN that office is in jail. Put 2+2 together you
ignorant masses. Care about this. The Supreme Court
HAS a precedent, the action of every other VP ever!
But then, we've seen this Admin ignore rulings we
know they didn't like anyway. Signing statements
vs. obeying laws they sign. It's part of a giant
case of all of them, AG included, thinking they
are above the law. Fighting this is patriotism
and we have to sell that notion to others too.

[New Era]

131. After hearing this yesterday

I lashed out at every republican in sight, most, of course, didn't see the big deal with it. Others who were more apathetic did not seem to care much. My feelings of rage could not be suppressed either. I was deeply, truly, angry, and god damn it, I have and still have every fucking right to be. I don't like my constitution being pissed on but anybody, no matter what side of the isle they sit on. What added even more fuel to my raging brush fire was that this, the single biggest abuse of power that has been completely out in the light since Nixon's Watergate, barely made a blip on the news radar. It was #4 on Countdown and that's it. But Olbermann had a great point; We MUST invade Cheney. Fuck you agent Mike, I am past caring at this point. I'm already on your fucking terrorist list. Why does no one seem to care about this massive abuse of power. All my faith is in Dennis Kucinich and other 8 brave congressmen standing with him. If this man does not get impeached/jailed/hung for treason, then our government is broken and it is time to start over. Jefferson said that every generation needs its own revolution and I think ours is past due.

[Maestro]

133. My only question is that if he has the temerity to say

that he is not part of the Executive Branch, of which branch is he a member? If he is not of any branch, he is not protected as such and couldn't his files be accessed through the Freedom of Information Act? :shrug:

BTW, nice write-up. I could feel the emotion. :thumbsup:

[librechik]

134. what got me was the story about how the SCOTUS found in Dick's favor

over secrecy at the Energy Meetings.

We are screwn.

The Archives story is an old story, it's been out for over a year. I don't know why we dragged it out today--just to make you mad, I think.

[ieoeja]

135. Will, repeat after me, "no executive privilege."

You want some zen, then go for it.

No executive privilege.
No executive privilege.
No executive privilege.
No executive privilege.
No executive privilege.
No executive privilege.
No executive privilege.
No executive privilege.
No executive privilege!
NO EXECUTIVE PRIVILEGE!

[Beetwasher]

136. REVOKE DICK'S SECURITY CLEARANCE IMMEDIATELY! This Shit's Not Funny Anymore

If it ever was.

I especially like this line from The ISOO's letter: "Furthermore, I am concerned that this could possibly impede access to classfied information by OVP staff, since such acess would be considered a disclosure outside the executive branch."

Revoke Dick and his staff's security clearances immediately, then impeach.

[KC21304]

175. BINGO !

This is all about classified materials, not run of the mill stuff that we peons would ever get to see in the archives. I think dic k may live to regret this very soon. Looks like the archive people are not going to take his nonsense.

[IChing]

137. So Will, now you know about Cheney-What about his 911 timeline?

What about his bunker timeline?

http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/timeline.jsp?day_of_9/11=dickCheney&timeline=complete_911_timeline

What about his War Games on 911?

http://www.fromthewilderness.com/free/ww3/011805_simplify_case.shtml#bullopp

Still a doubter, I guess.

[Cheap_Trick]

138. fuck you dick

you goddamn pacemaker with legs.

[paparush]

140. The Executive Branch has Rendered Subpoena Power Virtually Useless

They simply ignore them.

They have established themselves above the law; beyond oversight.

The only thing that will change this is handcuffs, waist-chains and shackles. Federal Marshals, MP's, Mounted Police, Texas Rangers.

[SharonRB]

141. Bravo, Will

I'm glad someone can put into words what I feel on a daily basis with these bastards. Just when you think it can't get worse...it gets worse. The scary thing is that none of it shocks or surprises me anymore. It's just a way of life.

CAN WE IMPEACH THE BASTARDS YET?

[TrogL]

142. OK, so tell us what you REALLY think

(sorry, couldn't resist)

[toymachines]

144. I minored in poli sci this last semester

and I distinctly remember the simple idea that changed my view of government drastically. Power is created, it is not given. Cheney has taken this idea to an extreme. It is truly stunning.

[valerief]

145. We need to make the U.S. Constitution the new Bible. nt

[DS1]

146. This is about Cheney, and "It does not consider itself an entity within the executive branch..."

for those of you who are into that whole brevity thing

[tavalon]

164. Ewwwww

Creepy and yet eerily accurate. That scene in Silence of The Lambs made me sick to my stomach. Using it in this context, well, read my first sentence.

[KamaAina]

147. Time for a spinoff of "Li'l Bush"

you got it. "Li'l Dic-k". Brought to you by Viagra, of course.

Here it is: your moment of Zen!

http://www.whitehouse.gov/government/cabinet.html

President Bush's Cabinet


The tradition of the Cabinet dates back to the beginnings of the Presidency itself. One of the principal purposes of the Cabinet (drawn from Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution) is to advise the President on any subject he may require relating to the duties of their respective offices.

The Cabinet includes the Vice President and the heads of 15 executive departments-the Secretaries of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, Labor, State, Transportation, Treasury, and Veterans Affairs, and the Attorney General. Under President George W. Bush, Cabinet-level rank also has been accorded to the Administrator, Environmental Protection Agency; Director, Office of Management and Budget; the Director, National Drug Control Policy; and the U.S. Trade Representative.

[whistle]

148. Impeach Cheney now

[Cyrano]

151. There's only one fitting response to the hubris of Dick.

He needs to be smote. (Smitten?) If ever that Old Testament God needed to do an encore, this is the moment. As a devout agnostic, I don't expect to see this happen any time soon, but one can dream.

In the meantime, thanks for giving voice to your (our) immeasurable rage. I don't think the taste of bile will ever leave my mouth.

[eppur_se_muova]

154. So this is what SUPPRESSED feelings of deep anger look like ??

"A shrink would probably read all that garbage above and tell me I'm supressing the feelings of deep anger I have for Dic-k. That shrink would earn their pay with that conclusion, because it's spot-on,..."

Note to Will: Keep away from the bar. Do not risk opening that asbestos-lined door.

[WinkyDink]

161. Of course. UNsuppressed would = much more than words on a website.

[tavalon]

165. Yeah, because Will never, ever does anything else!

:eyes:

[Mich Otter]

157. Thinking logically....

...if Cheney is not a part of the Executive branch, and he is not part of either the Judicial or Legislative branches, (which happen to be all the branches of our government), then Dick has been getting paid for doing nothing. He owes us all that pay we erroneously gave him.
Pay up, ass-wipe!!! Or turn over the papers!

[Catherine Vincent]

163. He got us all!

Especially the Republicans out there that voted for the Bush team. If you all remember Cheney was chosen to help Bush choose a running mate and it ends up being Cheney himself. Tell me this wasn't the plan all along?

[Connonym]

166. I'm trying really hard to think of even a fictional character who is this scary

It's surreal

[anitar1]

168. Connonym, How about Hannibal Lechter ? n/t

[Connonym]

169. nah, he was at least charming

[proud patriot]

170. Righteous Rant

He's from Montana though .

:)

[Seen the light]

171. Great post

Probably my favorite one I've read of yours.

[Divine Discontent]

173. lots of big words...

lol.. but I liked it. I pared down my letter to the editors in hopes of getting it in something.

There are many of us feeling more anger than even after 9/11 happened. He's giving us the MIDDLE FINGER and seeing if the country will do anything, if not, they know they have full control over everything and can set martial law in place with only a bunch of grumbling!!!!!

I think that's there ploy, they know there days are passing and they're getting older, but this is for their power-group of white men to take over, and take all the oil from the arab countries they decimate and Iraq was their test and they've been allowed to destroy the country, all while driving prices up with "war".


www.cafepress.com/warisprofitable <<-- check it out, top '08 stuff

[orleans]

178. (so what was will's point?) n/t

[Rex]

174. Why not!?!

No one in Congress will STOP THESE INSANE WARMONGERS! So...Dick gets to be Dick. Bush gets to be Bush. We ALL get fucked over and the Branches of Gummit (minus Dick) just hum along.

Humm.

[Blue_Tires]

177. ttt