December 13, 2004
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(Swans - December 13, 2004)
From monuments to magnificence to the constitutional banning of gay/lesbian marriage, from deciphering lies to pointing out blatant contradictions, from experiencing déjà vu while fascists create another sham democracy to trembling while self-fulfilling prophecies conjured by the illuminati take shape as an American Hegemon, it was a banner year for material if one is driven to write protest poetry and political exposition.
Powerful words have been used to express the dissatisfaction that at least 50% of Americans feel toward current domestic and foreign policy. Organizations such as Swans, Indy Media, Counterpunch, MoveOn, Blackboxvoting, and other alternative, progressive outlets have turned the airwaves and the broadband into a battlefield. Progressive talk-show hosts like Ed Shultz, Marc Maron and Mark Riley, Al Franken, Randi Rhodes and Mike Levine give the conservative, Christian right wing, and other neo-cons the thorough dubbing they deserve. Such insurgency in the heartland and from the coasts should remind everyone that democracy isn't dead and that patriotism doesn't mean supporting the government despite its immoral, unethical and illegal behavior. Indeed, the US Constitution promises its citizens that, Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.These words should support the conviction that truth should triumph over propaganda, that reasonable discourse by "enlightened' and "well-educated" citizens should triumph over the cultist behavior of partisan group-think, that citizens be allowed to assemble without fear that they will be targeted by internal security. Though no law has been passed each promise has been violated by "god-appointed" leaders and their collaborators in the major news media who exercise their free speech according to their political ideology. The US Constitution also promises its citizens that, The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.These words should protect the citizens from spy-ware that tracks internet browsing, from attempts to secure library records and book purchases, from being arrested without being charged with a crime. These promise of protection against a tyrannical government supposedly ensured liberty, ensured a paper trail so that the truth of the facts alleged could be verified. Each protection has been breeched by the government itself in the past year, under the auspices of the Patriot Act. The US Constitution holds that the President of the United States Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the following Oath or Affirmation:If he/she should fail in upholding this oath, the Constitution makes it clear that "The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors." What high crimes have been committed in the last year? What misdemeanors have been passed off as "intelligence errors"? If the president, vice president or any other civil officers of the United States allow any citizen's vote to be denied, then they must be removed from office: The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied [...] on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude[...] shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State by reason of failure to pay any poll tax or other tax.In 2000 and in 2004, voters were disenfranchised and members of both parties knew that thousands of votes had not been counted. For this reason alone, the president and vice president should have been impeached. By not protecting each and every vote, because he did not call for a recount in all states that used electronic voting, the Bush administration is in breech of contract, for they have broken their oaths. Yet more evidence exists that members of the Bush administration have violated their oaths of office. They have waged war illegally, and have lied to the Congress and to the American people about the reasons for that war. They have created non-constitutional acts that circumvent and abridge the Constitution itself. They have conspired to help corporations profit from war, profit from the extortion of the American tax-payer. They have sent soldiers to die, ordered the indiscriminant bombing of cities, and have violated the Geneva Conventions. Sadly, the insurgent word has not rallied enough Representatives to call for the removal of these conspirators who developed the New American Century, who promoted the Wolfowitz Doctrine as the best national foreign policy, who created an ideology of fear to support their perpetual War on Terror, and created an act to punish those patriots who expose their hypocrisy. The Declaration of Independence was and still is an insurgent's document, written by an insurgency tired of foreign occupation. I stand by that insurgent document, and call upon my representative to impeach all politicians who support though lies and acquiesce to lies those who wage illegal wars and commit the following acts against the citizens of other nations: He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.These were the insurgent words of Washington, Jefferson, Hamilton, Adams, Franklin, and three dozen other great Americans. If these were reasonable words 200 years ago, then has reason changed? If the U.S. is guilty of these crimes against humanity now, then should not the same consequence be applied? Through its own history, the United Sates of America condemns its current practice, through its own documents the United States finds itself guilty of those crimes which led to its creation. · · · · · ·
Resources America the 'beautiful' on Swans US Elections & Democracy on Swans Gerard Donnelly Smith on Swans (with bio). Do you wish to share your opinion? We invite your comments. E-mail the Editor. Please include your full name, address and phone number. If we publish your opinion we will only include your name, city, state, and country. Please, feel free to insert a link to this work on your Web site or to disseminate its URL on your favorite lists, quoting the first paragraph or providing a summary. However, please DO NOT steal, scavenge or repost this work on the Web without the expressed written authorization of Swans. This material is copyrighted, © Gerard Donnelly Smith 2004. All rights reserved. |
This Week's Internal Links
2004: A Case Study In Forensic Irony - by Phil Rockstroh
2004: Diary Of A Man In Despair - by Michael Doliner
Empire Of Amnesia, 2004 - by John Steppling
2004: Reality in Perspective - by Jan Baughman
2004: Another Best and Worst Year - by Joe Davison
2004: The Lost Year - by Eli Beckerman
2004: Perspectives And Opportunities - by Louis Proyect
Retrospective On 2004, Or Why I Need More Sleep - by Joel Wendland
Beyond The Beyond: Reflections on a November Visited Upon us . . . Again - by Milo Clark
2004: We Could Use Some People Power In The U.S. - by Frank Wycoff
2004: The Superpower Kept Sinking - by Philip Greenspan
The Message Of 2004 - by Charles Marowitz
2004: A Year Of Frightening Regression - by Edward S. Herman
2004: The Year Of Disillusion - by Manuel García, Jr.
Death Genes: The Second Coming - Book Excerpt by Walker Percy
Libertad Bajo Palabra - Poem by Octavio Paz (also in French and in English)
Plantation Politics? Mimes, Minstrels And Miscalculation - by S. Jeffrey Jones
Blips #8 - From the Editor's desk