Resignations Now

The time has come for President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney to resign in disgrace. After Hurricane Katrina, America can no longer afford a fake effort to protect us, or further decimation of our infrastructure. Since a Republican Congress is unlikely to impeach, we must ask for their resignations now. 300,000 (not just "100,000 or more" as generally reported) marched in Washington, D.C. on Sept. 24 to call for an end to the war that is at the root of this crisis; a position now shared by a clear majority of Americans. Since this administration is committed to retaining power at any cost, pressure must be applied at least as a matter of conscience. We can't wait for the 2006 elections for a Democratic Congress to introduce impeachment proceedings. And would they have the spine to do so, even if they had the power? Besides, it's clear that unless a major overhaul is done to our election systems, the Republicans will steal yet another "election."

It needs to be understood that we no longer have a real democracy in the United States. Exit polls have always been accurate in every previous election within 1%, and were correct this time only in precincts without computerized voting. The polls clearly showed a John Kerry victory nationwide by 5 million votes, along with victories in Ohio and Florida securing the Electoral College; disenfranchisement of minorities notwithstanding. A hand recount of Ohio has still not been attempted because of malfeasance by precinct heads who have now been belatedly indicted for not allowing the full state recount required by Ohio law. Not to mention the duplicity of Ohio's Secretary of State also acting as Bush's reelection chairman--eerily similar to the Florida fiasco in 2000. This is all without even considering Florida's continued problems in 2004.

The vulnerabilities in electronic voting machines were known years before last November, yet were inexplicably never addressed. Only Congressional hearings with full subpoena power can force the private companies that count our votes to release their source code for public scrutiny. These companies are run by some of Bush's biggest campaign contributors, and are run under a veil of secrecy without accountability to the American people. Unless they are stopped, Republicans will continue building a super-majority to cut off all debate, even in mid-term elections when the party in power usually loses some clout. It will take a monumental scandal to expose the depth of corruption gripping our nation, and some Republicans with integrity willing to investigate themselves.

A new report from the Carter/Baker Commission makes two half-way reasonable suggestions: A verifiable paper trail for computerized voting (the problem with this is that true recounts are rarely done), and elections run by nonpartisan officials (better than nothing, but a little late, since two major elections have already been tainted). The other recommendation is the draconian national I.D. card idea, which is part of a Republican scheme to blame Democrats for "voter fraud," while disenfranchising millions of voters nationwide. Though there is little actual evidence of such fraud, they would like to deflect criticism from their own manipulation of the voting process. Most of these problems would be easily solved by adopting Oregon's successful mail-in elections on a national scale, thus eliminating the need for absentee ballots, provisional ballots, or electronic voting machines altogether.

We should be very concerned about the major decisions being made now that will affect generations to come. This is a time when our main focus should be on delivering relief for the victims of Katrina and Rita, yet Supreme Court appointments are being rammed through Congress by a president that can't even prove he was ever legitimately elected. A candidate few had heard of three months ago is being catapulted to Chief Justice with nary a whimper from the so-called mainstream press. Whittling away at Roe v. Wade is just the beginning of an onslaught geared to destroy federal oversight of many hard-won benchmark decisions. States' rights are important, but we need a strong federal government to withstand a breach in the common fabric that unifies us. We need protection from the tyranny of the majority as provided in the Bill of Rights, especially when the majority is proven illegitimate.

This country is in serious trouble because of the Bush administration, and another attack inside the United States might just finish us off. Unfortunately, that is the position we now find ourselves in. The war in Iraq has left us vulnerable, and Homeland Security is obviously not up to the task of protecting America or helping us withstand any cataclysm. Bush himself asked whether we are prepared for the next emergency. That's reassuring to hear from the supposed leader of our government; maybe something should have been done sooner to improve this scenario. One step might have been to have the National Guard here at home where they belong, instead of in Iraq. This left Louisiana 30,000 troops short, forcing the Guard to fly in reinforcements from other states.

Immediately after Katrina, Dick Cheney's office ordered electricity switched from hospitals and relief efforts in order to get some oil pipelines back in service. With priorities like this, there is little hope that things will really get better. Also, the company doing the body count in Louisiana has ties to the Bush administration, and is known in the past to be involved in cover-ups reaching all the way back to Bush's tenure as Governor of Texas. The heads of FEMA (Federal Emergency Response Administration) and Homeland Security were both political appointees with little experience except with President Bush's election campaigns. Cheney's former company, Halliburton, received no-bid contracts for the oil cleanup, just like in Iraq. We can do much better than this kind of blatant cronyism, and it's time to expose the truth before they literally get away with murder.

Mainstream news sources need to look for practical solutions to this mess, and that must include talking about impeachment. Even though some columnists are willing to criticize the administration strongly, they are strangely silent about the obvious remedy provided by our fore-fathers. Could it be that the media are owned by the same special interests that support the president unequivocally? Of course they are. Big Energy is behind much of this, and Bush has admitted that we can't leave Iraq without "protecting" the oil. I'm waiting for someone to accuse liberals of not understanding the importance of this, even though we have known it was the main reason for the war from the beginning. It must be remembered that it is not our oil to take, and if we had not been such bullies in the first place, we wouldn't have such difficulty obtaining a fair share.

It is now becoming clear what has long been suspected, that the continued chaos in Iraq is not merely a result of incompetence by our civilian leaders, but a purposeful prolongation of the conflict. As soon as the "insurgency" is quelled, there will be no logical reason to maintain our military presence. The Bush administration wants permanent bases, and even the threat of a civil war gives us an excuse to stay. Also, leaving without controlling the region and the oil would appear to be a defeat for Bush, something he could never admit. Actually, an immediate pullout of all of our forces is the only way to prevent more "terrorism." The Iraqis should be allowed to conduct their own elections without U.S. interference, and international forces could help clean up whatever mess remains.

Our resources would be much better spent here in America, developing alternative energy sources such as solar and wind, and spending money on a more sustainable economy. A strong response to the global warming that is the cause of increasingly powerful hurricanes and other natural disasters would improve the image of the U.S. worldwide, and be profitable for business at the same time. We need to be looking at long-term solutions, instead of complying with the special interests of the oil and nuclear industry. Renewable energy sources could be spread out over the country so it wouldn't be such a problem every time another storm hits.

Much of New Orleans will probably be mostly uninhabitable for at least five years, maybe longer, according to a top expert with the Environmental Protection Agency. Yet the corporate press is mostly reporting how the cleanup is proceeding better than expected, and the situation is not as bad as previously thought. It's just like after 9/11 when the Bush administration covered up the true extent of the toxicity of the twin towers debris, to the extent of actually changing the EPA report; they apparently wanted Wall Street up and running as soon as possible. Many recovery workers have irreversible damage because of this, and we have to be concerned that it's happening again. People should not be allowed back into most of the city or any of the other affected areas until it is proven completely safe, especially with further hurricanes possible.

A truly independent inquiry into both the response to Katrina and the underlying lack of funding for levee reparation is absolutely necessary, though the administration is fighting it just like they resisted having a 911 Commission (weak as it was). However, since more than 80% of Americans want such an investigation at the very least, some semblance of a real inquiry can be blocked for only a short time. This is the beginning of a far-reaching reckoning that should never end. Even though Bush claims to accept responsibility, he still blames everyone but himself or his friends. In the face of all these scandals and more, it's time to call for the impeachment or resignations of all the top officials in our government. This would create a constitutional crisis, but our country is strong enough to handle it. The general welfare must take precedence over protecting the executive branch from prosecution. Our national security itself depends on it.


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