It's long past time for impeachment. Now we find out about Bu$hCo's active role in allowing the predatory lending practices. I wonder if the gagglers will ask about this? I wonder if anyone this Sunday will ask about it? As usual, I'm not holding my breath.
Not only did the Bush administration do nothing to protect consumers, it embarked on an aggressive and unprecedented campaign to prevent states from protecting their residents from the very problems to which the federal government was turning a blind eye.
The administration accomplished this feat through an obscure federal agency called the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). The OCC has been in existence since the Civil War. Its mission is to ensure the fiscal soundness of national banks. For 140 years, the OCC examined the books of national banks to make sure they were balanced, an important but uncontroversial function. But a few years ago, for the first time in its history, the OCC was used as a tool against consumers. In 2003, during the height of the predatory lending crisis, the OCC invoked a clause from the 1863 National Bank Act to issue formal opinions preempting all state predatory lending laws, thereby rendering them inoperative.
My emphasis.
Here's a letter I just received from my Senator, Russ Feingold. He gets it, almost. It's sad that he, too, is buying into this time bullcrap. Oh well, the letter is worth a read anyway. My emphasis.
February 15, 2008
Dear Mr.
Thank you for contacting me regarding presidential impeachment. I appreciate hearing from you.
The Constitution grants the House of Representatives the authority to draft articles of impeachment, and gives the Senate the power to try an impeachment. Each decision as to whether or not to convict on each article must be made separately, and a conviction on any single article is sufficient grounds for removal from office.
On August 3, 2007, I introduced two censure resolutions condemning President Bush, Vice President Cheney and the then-Attorney General Alberto Gonzales for misconduct relating to the swar in Iraq and for repeated assaults on the rule of law.
One resolution, cosponsored by Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), censures the President and the then- Attorney General for undermining the rule of law with respect to the following: (1) the illegal NSA warrantless wiretapping program, (2) extreme policies on torture, the Geneva Conventions, and detainees at Guantanamo Bay, (3) the refusal to recognize legitimate congressional oversight into the improper firings of U.S. Attorneys, (4) misleading the American public about the Patriot Act, and (5) the issuance of signing statements suggesting the President does not believe he has to follow the laws Congress passes.
The other resolution, cosponsored by Senator Harkin and Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA), censures the President and Vice President for misconduct relating to the war in Iraq. This misconduct includes the following: (1) overstating the case that Saddam
Hussein had WMD, particularly nuclear weapons, and falsely implying he had a relationship with al Qaeda and links to 9/11, (2) failing to plan for the civil conflict and humanitarian problems that the intelligence community predicted, (3) over-stretching the Army, Marine Corps and Guard with prolonged deployments, and (4) seeking to justify our military involvement in Iraq by distorting the situation on the ground there.
I have attached for your review a copy of each of the resolutions. I hope you find this information useful.
Introducing these resolutions of censure is an appropriate and necessary step that allows Congress to rebuke an administration that is responsible for such egregious misconduct. When future generations look back at the actions of this administration, they need to see that a co-equal branch of government stood up and held to account those who violated the principles on which this nation was founded. I am pleased to be working with Representative Maurice Hinchey (D-NY), who has introduced companion legislation in the House with 19 cosponsors.
I appreciate your support for impeachment, and I respect the anger many Americans feel at the outrageous actions of this administration. I believe that the President and Vice President may well have committed impeachable offenses, but with so many important issues facing this country and so much work to be done, I am concerned about the great deal of time impeachment would take. Because censure does not require multiple impeachments in the House and trials in the Senate, or the support of two-thirds of Senators, it is far less cumbersome than impeachment. However, if the House of Representatives does decide to move forward with impeachment, I will take seriously my role as a sworn impartial juror in any impeachment trial.
Thank you again for contacting me regarding holding the President accountable for his actions. I look forward to hearing from you in the future.
Sincerely,
Russell D. Feingold
United States Senator
If you wish to contact me again, please visit
http://feingold.senate.gov/contact.html.
Censoring the assholes will not be the appropriate punishment for what they have done to this country.
1 comment:
Be warned, my loyal four readers, that the above comments links to a site that has an awful lot of FAUX News stuff. You may need to take a shower after viewing it. The claims that the poster makes, via his book recommendation, are bogus, as any intelligent reader knows. The points have been reliably rebutted time & time again. These dead-enders just can't give it up, however. I wish they would crawl into bed with, say, a Bible, & read all about peace & the alabaster breasts, as described in Proverbs. What they do after, that's up to them & will not judge them. You know, us DFH don't like to judge people, or the movement of their hands & forearms, if you know what I mean.
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