If you were to somehow become President, Mrs. Pelosi, would you use the unConstitutional powers Bush/Cheney have amassed for the Unitary Executive Branch?

Would you torture? Illegally spy? Lie to get the US to occupy more countries to steal their resources? Kill hundreds of thousands of people for no right reason? Retain the right to martial law for no real reason? Imprison and seize the possessions of those who disagree with your policies? Declare yourself the only Definer of a National Emergency wherein you could take totalitarian power?

Would you keep Bush's recent Executive Orders in place? Refuse all subpoenas and accountability to the American people? Fire government employees for political gain and get away with it? Keep corrupt and incompetent "leaders" at the highest level of government?

Dear Americans, both in Congress and outside of Congress,

What was done yesterday by George W. Bush is the final straw. His commutation of Scooter Libby's sentence is almost certainly obstruction of justice based on the the bald, self-serving aim of keeping evidence from the courts that would incriminate himself and Cheney.

This, on top of Cheney's ridiculous recent assertion that he isn't really part of the Executive branch of government (also very likely done to protect himself from having to provide evidence that would incriminate him and Bush) leaves me and many Americans nearly speechless with incredulity and rage.

And the straws before that: Pelosi and others refusing to even open impeachment investigations, despite the 2005 Downing Street Memos asserting that Bush and Blair "fixed the intelligence" around the plan to invade Iraq, the lies about weapons of mass destruction, the revelations about DOJ political firings, the US policies of torture, the illegal spying on American citizens. . . need I go on?

Yes, I will go on, to add what I can barely keep in my awareness: the hundreds of thousands of needless human deaths, and the current angling to kill more humans in Iran.

I will go further. On May 9th, Bush signed a presidential directive, viewable at http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/ 2007/05/20070509-12.html, which greatly increases Presidential powers in the case of a "national emergency", defined by (you guessed it) Bush himself. This is not generally known, as there was insufficient coverage of it in the mainstream media.

Do the American people and this 110th Congress really trust Bush and Cheney enough to let this pass?

Before this directive, in a NY Times editorial on February 19 of this year, aptly entitled "Making Martial Law Easier," The New York Times wrote: "Beyond cases of actual insurrection, the President may now use military troops as a domestic police force in response to a natural disaster, a disease outbreak, terrorist attack, or to any 'other condition.' Changes of this magnitude should be made only after a thorough public airing. But these new Presidential powers were slipped into the law without hearings or public debate."

Hey activists how can we help this young guy Eli Israel, who just put himself in a lot of danger for his peace convictions?

SEE HIS LETTER BELOW, from Iraq Veterans Against the War.

I'm asking you for brainstorming & ACTION about how to get this out to the mainstream media to 1 - protect this kid, and 2 - get more peace/impeachment activism inside & outside of Congress.

Incredibly brave kid - see below.  And in a LOT of danger now.

Blessings,

Kim Hughes
Brooklyn

http://groups.google.com/group/WeThePeop leLeadNow

vote to impeach Cheney:  http://www.usalone.com/cheney_impeachmen t.php  

---------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------
From: Iraq Veterans Against the War <kelly@ivaw.org>
Reply-To: Iraq Veterans Against the War

Subject: Soldier in Iraq Resists the Occupation
Date: Wed, 20 Jun 2007 07:18:58 -0700 (PDT)

>Yesterday, June 19, 26 year old SPC Eli Israel put himself at great personal risk by making the courageous decision to refuse further participation in the U.S. occupation of Iraq. Eli told his commanding officer and sergeants that he will no longer be a combatant in this illegal, unjustified war. Eli believes that the U.S. government used the attacks of September 11, 2001 as a pretense to invade Iraq and that "we are now violating the people of this country (Iraq) in ways that we would never accept on our own soil." Eli is stationed at Camp Victory in Baghdad with JVB Bravo Company, 1-149 Infantry of the Kentucky Army National Guard. This soldier's decision to refuse orders puts him at great risk, especially because he is in Iraq, isolated from legal assistance and other support. The following is a message that Eli sent yesterday to a friend back home:

>"I have told them that I will no longer play a 'combat role' in this conflict or 'protect corporate representatives,' and they have taken this as 'violating a direct order.' I may be in jail or worse in the next 24 hours.

>Please rally whoever you can, call whoever you can, bring as much attention to this as you can. I have no doubt that the military will bury me and hide the whole situation if they can. I'm in big trouble. I'm in the middle of Iraq, surrounded by people who are not on my side. Please help me. Please contact whoever you can, and tell them who I am, so I don't 'disappear.'"

Eli is taking an incredible risk by refusing orders in Iraq and will most likely be court martialed. Please help him by contacting his Senator and requesting that he take any steps necessary to support and protect this soldier and ensure that the Army respects his rights and does not illegally retaliate against him.

>Senator Mitch McConnell:
>http://mcconnell.senate.gov/contact.cfm
>Washington Office
>361-A Russell Senate Office Building
>Washington, DC 20510
>Phone: (202) 224-2541
>Fax: (202) 224-2499