Impeachment: Which of the 35 articles do you consider most important and why?

[JackRiddler]

Pick one of the below and tell us why you think it's important.

Then do what I did today: Call or write someone in the media and demand that they give coverage to the resolution.

Then pass the news of the resolution on to others. So many have no idea it's happened.

& Please kick this thread on the way out. Thanks.

Full text and further links here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x3418214

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Article I
Creating a Secret Propaganda Campaign to Manufacture a False Case for War Against Iraq

Article II
Falsely, Systematically, and with Criminal Intent Conflating the Attacks of September 11, 2001, With Misrepresentation of Iraq as a Security Threat as Part of Fraudulent Justification for a War of
Aggression

Article III
Misleading the American People and Members of Congress to Believe Iraq Possessed Weapons of Mass Destruction, to Manufacture a False Case for War

Article IV
Misleading the American People and Members of Congress to Believe Iraq Posed an Imminent Threat to the United States

Article V
Illegally Misspending Funds to Secretly Begin a War of Aggression

Article VI
Invading Iraq in Violation of the Requirements of HJRes114

Article VII
Invading Iraq Absent a Declaration of War.

Article VIII
Invading Iraq, A Sovereign Nation, in Violation of the UN Charter

Article IX
Failing to Provide Troops With Body Armor and Vehicle Armor

Article X
Falsifying Accounts of US Troop Deaths and Injuries for Political Purposes

Article XI
Establishment of Permanent U.S. Military Bases in Iraq

Article XII
Initiating a War Against Iraq for Control of That Nation's Natural Resources

Article XIIII
Creating a Secret Task Force to Develop Energy and Military Policies With Respect to Iraq and Other Countries

Article XIV
Misprision of a Felony, Misuse and Exposure of Classified Information And Obstruction of Justice in the Matter of Valerie Plame Wilson, Clandestine Agent of the Central Intelligence Agency

Article XV
Providing Immunity from Prosecution for Criminal Contractors in Iraq

Article XVI
Reckless Misspending and Waste of U.S. Tax Dollars in Connection With Iraq and US Contractors

Article XVII
Illegal Detention: Detaining Indefinitely And Without Charge Persons Both U.S. Citizens and Foreign Captives

Article XVIII
Torture: Secretly Authorizing, and Encouraging the Use of Torture Against Captives in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Other Places, as a Matter of Official Policy

Article XIX
Rendition: Kidnapping People and Taking Them Against Their Will to "Black Sites" Located in Other Nations, Including Nations Known to Practice Torture

Article XX
Imprisoning Children

Article XXI
Misleading Congress and the American People About Threats from Iran, and Supporting Terrorist Organizations Within Iran, With the Goal of Overthrowing the Iranian Government

Article XXII
Creating Secret Laws

Article XXIII
Violation of the Posse Comitatus Act

Article XXIV
Spying on American Citizens, Without a Court-Ordered Warrant, in Violation of the Law and the Fourth Amendment

Article XXV
Directing Telecommunications Companies to Create an Illegal and Unconstitutional Database of the Private Telephone Numbers and Emails of American Citizens

Article XXVI
Announcing the Intent to Violate Laws with Signing Statements

Article XXVII
Failing to Comply with Congressional Subpoenas and Instructing Former Employees Not to Comply

Article XXVIII
Tampering with Free and Fair Elections, Corruption of the Administration of Justice

Article XXIX
Conspiracy to Violate the Voting Rights Act of 1965

Article XXX
Misleading Congress and the American People in an Attempt to Destroy Medicare

Article XXXI
Katrina: Failure to Plan for the Predicted Disaster of Hurricane Katrina, Failure to Respond to a Civil Emergency

Article XXXII
Misleading Congress and the American People, Systematically Undermining Efforts to Address Global Climate Change

Article XXXIII
Repeatedly Ignored and Failed to Respond to High Level Intelligence Warnings of Planned Terrorist Attacks in the US, Prior to 911.

Article XXXIV
Obstruction of the Investigation into the Attacks of September 11, 2001

Article XXXV
Endangering the Health of 911 First Responders

[LWolf]

1. How can you pick just one?

I can't.

I don't even know where to start.

Except to contact the media, as you suggested, and to contact Conyers, Pelosi, etc..

[csziggy]

2. Tampering with Free and Fair Elections, Corruption of the Administration of Justice

If it were not for that, Bush would never have been sitting in the Oval Office. Although Kucinich concentrated on the 2004 Ohio misdeeds, there was at least as much tampering in Florida in 2000 topped off by the SCOTUS appointing Bush to the office.

Until we can have fair, legal elections, we cannot have leaders that we can trust.

[grannylib]

3. Article 27 - Free and Fair elections

[Hart2008]

5. Pelosi can't seriously say that the political option is best when the elections aren't free and fair

Nancy needs to answer this one.

[TahitiNut]

4. All 60.

Go Dennis! :party:

[ColbertWatcher]

6. The one the Supremes addressed today with the new ruling...

...Article XVII: Illegal Detention: Detaining Indefinitely And Without Charge Persons Both U.S. Citizens and Foreign Captives

[Nictuku]

7. My Biggest

Response (of revulsion)... is Torture. Civilized Human Beings do not do that.

[stillcool]

8. Invading Iraq...

I wish we could try the media for treason as well.

[low_phreaq]

9. Imprisoning Children

In two words, it so viscerally conveys the brutal tyranny that so many are unaware is going on. If I had written the articles, I might have even written "Imprisoning and Torturing Children" because I think I have heard the evidence is there.

And if you haven't seen it yet, please check out my post re-framing the 35 articles:

Declaration, Reloaded
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=3434534&mesg_id=3434534

[JackRiddler]

10. Art. 2: Lying about 9/11 to invade Iraq...

Of course these are all crimes on a similar scale, and this thread is meant as an exercise to encourage you all to tell others about the articles.

But I think this particular charge outlines the central plot of the Bush regime, and includes the two most important events (9/11/2001 and 3/19/2003). This is what the criminal organization seized power to do: tell lies, exploit fear to start a war of aggression, as part of a plan for capturing the key pieces on a global chessboard and achieving world hegemony, and to hell with the victims or the price.

[bdamomma]

11. all of them are important.

[JackRiddler]

13. Of course... this is about crystallizing our thoughts on each

[ThomWV]

12. XX and XXII

[MrCoffee]

14. Any Articles dealing with the war are for show...Article XXVI is the one with teeth.

[JackRiddler]

15. Interesting. Signing statements...

are tantamount to a confession of law-breaking in advance.

This is also true of XVIII and XXII. When they write down verbiage that clearly comes out as "Fuck the Constitution," a real court doesn't need to hear any more to convict.

Nevertheless, that's abstract to a lot of people. I think it's important to name all of the vast crimes they've committed, starting with the greatest: Murder.

[MrCoffee]

19. I agree. I read "most important" as being the most likely to succeed

and I just don't see the Articles that implicate the War Powers to be all that likely.

[JackRiddler]

20. No, in the usual American climate perhaps not.

But they need to be said - a formal violation no matter how obvious needs to be coupled with something people understand as crime.

[mdmc]

16. #9

We need to protect the troops.
According to Bush on 5-1-03, the mission had been "accomplished". Why buy body armor for soldiers after the war is over?

Because Bush had politically ended the "Hot" war, he made a political decision to refuse the troops body armor.

Most American deaths occurred after 5-1-03, many could have been prevented with the proper equipment.

[Thothmes]

17. XXIX, XXVIII & XXIV

Appear the best to obtain an impeachment and conviction.

[JackRiddler]

18. That would be renditions, election fraud and NSA spying program...

I would agree with the first and third; election fraud prompts denial and bogus equivalence arguments. I fear renditions do not seem like a threat to the average person; the NSA spying program should, however.

Thanks.

I think if you're going to pick (impeachment only requires one!) which to emphasize, it should be the one with the most airtight legal case that is politically the most obvious to the greatest number.

[Thothmes]

21. Fully agree

A number of the charges will not hold water. Several presidents have done similar actions and no one called for impeachment over those actions. My choices were the ones that I think could result in an impeachment. But they are only my opinion.

[JackRiddler]

22. kick for focus

[mdmc]

23. kick