VETERANS’ IMPEACHMENT PETITIONS SPURNED BY REP. CONYERS

[babylonsister]

VETERANS’ IMPEACHMENT PETITIONS SPURNED BY REP. CONYERS
Submitted by davidswanson on Tue, 2008-06-10 16:48.


Members of Veterans for Peace will deliver 22,000 signatures to Conyers’ office and sit-in until he agrees to meet

Visuals include:

* 5 x 2-foot banner, “IMPEACHMENT: IT’S THE LAW!” and oath of office excerpt;
* 30 x 40-inch poster enlargement of laws and treaties violated by Bush administration;
* VFP members wearing red, white and blue “Veterans For Peace” garrison caps.

Washington D.C.: At 1:00pm, June 11, in room 1629, Longworth House Office Building, members of a national veterans’ organization will hold a news conference to display the 22,000 names they collected on a petition to impeach President Bush, then go directly to Representative John Conyers’ office to deliver them. After trying for two months to get a 10-minute meeting with the Chair of the House Judiciary Committee, Veterans For Peace (VFP) members from New York, North Carolina, New Jersey, Ohio and the District of Columbia decided to conduct a sit-in until he agrees to meet with them.

VFP Executive Director, Michael McPhearson, said, “By invading and occupying Iraq, the Bush administration every day violates legally binding international treaties and domestic laws. Congressman Conyers and his colleagues must hold them accountable and our Constitution prescribes how: impeachment. It's not enough to simply watch the Bush administration retire. Unless we hold them accountable we and Congress are complicit in their war crimes and put U.S. soldiers at risk of retaliation.”

In letters requesting the meeting and transmitting the signatures, VFP president, Elliott Adams, emphasized that the Bush administration has committed numerous impeachable offenses by violating domestic laws, binding international treaties and the U.S. Constitution by condoning torture in Iraq, violating the Geneva Conventions, U.N. Charter and resolutions, the Nuremberg Principles and the Laws and Customs of War on Land.

Attached to his transmittal letter, the former Army paratrooper and Viet Nam combat vet included the VFP “Case for Impeachment” consisting of “six single-spaced pages documenting claims of war crimes, crimes against humanity and crimes against peace committed or encouraged by the Bush administration.” He also included a video CD of testimonies selected from the Iraq Veterans Against the War’s “Winter Soldier” hearings held in March of this year documenting many additional violations.

more...

http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/33986

[Tangerine LaBamba]

1. What's the point?

They deliver the petition, having done a great job, and they go home. What with demanding to meet Conyers?

Sometimes displays of ego get in the way of the message, and this seems to be one of those cases. Acting like spoiled children doesn't add anything to their righteous cause.

[babylonsister]

3. Read this and you tell me:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x3414315

What exactly is Conyers doing? I'd like to know. I'd prefer honesty to whatever this is.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

4. Are you kidding?

My comment was about the vets delivering the petition and demanding to see Conyers.

This link has nothing to do with my comment.

[babylonsister]

7. My point is he wants rebuttals on his objections on impeachment

one day, and another day he can't meet with vets to accept petitions and discuss it? More than most people, the vets have been impacted by the actions of this admin. I think they deserve to be heard.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

10. That has nothing to do with meeting with veterans

I think you have something to say, but, really, completely misreading my post is hardly the way to make some sort of superfluous point.

[babylonsister]

12. No, dear, you seem to think Conyers' time is too valuable to

share some of it with vets. I totally disagree with you. And always will.

And PS, he's meeting with Code Pinkers again. Why don't vets deserve the same courtesy?

[Tangerine LaBamba]

13. It wasn't about Conyers's time

You really do need to read just what's written - that's the point.

I wrote about the group's collective ego.

Now, relax. I'll always love you.

[babylonsister]

14. Their ego? They are trying to accomplish something not many

people give a damn about. I applaud their egos, or whatever inspires them to make the effort.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

15. You conflate ego with objective

Lots of people do very fine work without having to be applauded publicly for it, and those are the ones to whom I direct my applause. Demanding to meet with the Chairman is, in my opinion, a boundless exercise in "Look At Us!" and I believe it detracts from the message, however meaningful, these veterans are trying to deliver.

The most powerful forces are the anonymous ones. That's what I believe, anyway. And my affection for you remains undiminished.

[babylonsister]

16. You mentioned ego initially, I didn't. I WANT these vets to get noticed-

they've been ignored way too long. It has nothing to do with ego and everything to do with moving the impeachment agenda forward. Conyers is ignoring them and he shouldn't. If nothing else, they deserve his respect, and they're not getting it.

'The most powerful forces are the anonymous ones'. Oh really? Did you make that up, oh sage one? Those are also the ones that never get noticed, or heard. But we wouldn't know, because they're also ignored. These vets shouldn't be; it's disgraceful. And that's what I think.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

17. You're upset, I can see that

And that's unfortunate. I'm sure your intentions are good. And, as before, you are loved.

[ORDagnabbit]

9. He is a representative of the people refusing to meet with the public. whats wrong with that?

[Tangerine LaBamba]

11. Get real

Petitions are delivered to committee chairmen every day. Groups have things to say all the time. If every Congressman or Senator had to meet with every citizen or group who demanded to meet, there'd be precious little time for anything else. Our elected representatives - especially Conyers right now - have demanding job that leave them no time for ceremonial matters.

Welcome to the real world.

[DJ13]

2. ........

[mmonk]

6. Great cartoon.

Think I'll send it to my representatives.

[mmonk]

5. Godspeed to the vets.

Hope they sit until they are publicly arrested and it is shown on TV.

[Swamp Rat]

8. k&r