Kangaroo Courts and the Facade Of Democracy Or The Republic

This IS very important, Sean-Paul. Thanks for publishing to The Renewed Activist.

This man is a friend of Al Queda. A classic America hater. He would rather see the islamo facist win than see Geoge W Bush succeed.

Democrat / Republican, where has statesmanship gone. the time to oppose Bush has long since gone. bush co-opted the Democrats in Congress and they let him do it.

Where does it say we have to have a two party system?

Hey Charles you are a joke, you know that? A caricature. All you do is repeat slogans. There are no ideas, no thoughts, no logic behind your words. All that is there is a raw, unsatified longing to hate and despise. You are no more an honorable man as Osama bin Laden is an honorable man. You two are one in the same, worship the same thing: power. You don't care about the law. You don't respect precedent, or common values. All you want to do is destroy. Typical radical Republican nonsense. Please take it somewhere else.

Charles, you are certainly no friend of American if all you can do is knee-jerk support Bush. Why, I would call that authoritarian cult-leader worship. Are in the cult of personality? Is that it?

43 is using an illogical argument to distract legislators and citizens from the real issue. His actions (setting up secret CIA prisons internationally) were illegal and immoral. Now, he's distracting us from that point by forcing our attention on what to do @ Gitmo.

We're talking two separate issues here. And he's masterfully combined them, apparently in order to [continue to] do whatever the @#!% he pleases, under the guise of "protecting freedom".

Sean-Paul, if you ask the question, "What are Democrats to do?" you play into the devisive hand of Bush and the rest by making the entire argument political rather than logical. In dealing with the people who have been held at Gitmo, and in secret prisions, Americans must be compassionate and just, NOT Democrat or Republican.

For the life of me, I have never understood why these wrong-doers are not being tried at the Hauge? That seems a much more fair course of action than subjecting them to some courts that our government creates just for the purpose of trying them.

I agree with Shawn. But an American revolution is liable to make things even worse, unless the two poles left and right start to realize the spirit of this thing we call America. The last revolution, The Conservative Revolution, was a horror show. Now a Liberal Revolution could in up being a Rocky Horror Picture Show. It would be nice if we radically changed towards the very balanced, gyroscopic center.

How do we try them in the Hague when they have all the power in the country? Where is the counterweight to Bush's power in this country? And the argument cannot be logical, because logical doesn't work in 30 second political television ads. That's the critical ingredient here. Look, I don't like that it is that way, but it doesn't make it any less of a reality.

Abu, this isn't about revolution, it's about a slow and methodical evolution happening in the media and elite culture of our country. This is what happens when the people are no longer a part of their government. The sad thing is, I'm by nature a centrist, but I realize that tactically, we need a strong left to make the center safe for those on the moderate right. It gives them cover.

It's possible to try them in an international court, but the grassroots movement to do such a thing would have to reach way out past Demacrooks and Repiglacans, like what Ann was saying. Logic vs. political hat dancing, could draw back into the political arena the 60% of Americans who don't even register to vote (or some such God Awful Number).

I'm talking theory here. You are correct, of course, none of what I said will work in the 8 weeks or so before the mid-terms.

What we NEED is some real strategy. What we're getting is politics. I believe that's the case.

Was your essay rhetorical? Or are you looking for something truly concrete? Because (and I truly HATE to sound so cynical) I don't know if there is a leader out there who can stand up to the political pressure and "sell" strategic solutions.

Suppose it's too late to to deal with this present issue. It shouldn't be too late to reach in both directions and pull towards the center.

Ann I know where you are coming from and do very much feel the same way, but what's critical to me in the next 8 weeks is that we get at least the House or the Senate. One portion of Congress. Then we can stop a war with Iran. Then we can start to hold the president accountable. Then we can start all the logical and real things that need to be done in this country, but if we cannot win at least one house in this election I really do fear for the future.

And in a decade or so, you just might have a party to pit against the tide. But, as Tom Wait sings, "The ship is singing. And there's a leak, there's a leak in the boiler room. The poor, the lame the blind."

Abu, it's never to late for the issue, never. It's only too late when it is over. Call me idealistic, but I've seen a lot of miralces in my life pulled off by a lot of hard work and a little luck.

And also, please rate this post. Charles the troll rated it waaaay down so if you like it, please rate it up and don't let the trolls trash all of our good work.

And who knows. You just might be able to patch the leak. Which, if you mobilized them the way the repiglakkkans mobilized the evangelicals....

I agree that we need to "get" a portion of congress, if not one or both Houses. The thing is, I don't believe in "any Dem INSTEAD of Bush." Let's just say that we have a radical shift to the left. Fine. If the Dems (not necessarily the LEFT, per se) can't fix things, then what?

You may be right. It may just BE armageddon.

I already gave it a ten, my man.

Name me one Democrat that is worse than Bush, except Joe Leiberman and Joe Biden. C'mon, you know the Democrats are better than Bush. It's an attitude like that that got Bush [s]elected in 2000 by people who thought Gore and Bush would be the same. Oh, what could have been, you know? There are some really good candidates running and some good Democrats in Congress that are much better than Bush even on his best day.

Gracias Abu, muchas gracias!!

So how do you propose to patch the leak, Sean-Paul, my man?

What got Bush elected is not one white Democrat stood up and protested the count in Florida, not even Gore. Go figure.

Abu, I literally get sick every time I think of this: What got Bush elected is not one white Democrat stood up and protested the count in Florida, not even Gore. Go figure. But I don't think it's fair to lump Gore with the rest of them. I can't imagine being in his position at that moment, presiding over that circus under the circumstances.

Sean - I agree that this is a critical event in American history. The lawyer who argued against the secret prisions said tonight that President Bush et.al are attempting to do do something that has never ever been done in American History, namely to force a vote authorizing his anti legal and totally immoral military tribunal courts in the name of terror protection. Apparently President Bush is purposefully failing to mention that if the congress enacts this perverted travesty of justice into law it is sooner than later going to be used against our military when they are captured by our enemies. Perhaps this is the defence that the Democrats should use. Now is truly the time when reasonable citizens should stand tall and come out fighting. I don't wish to have my son and daughters question me as to why I helped make the world safe for hypocrisy.

The only rational choice I can think of, is for the Dems to stay completely away from the vote. By not voting at all they at least make a point about the sham they're confronted with.

I'm a Wes Clark fan from way back -- say 5 years ago.

Democrats who actually reflect the platforms that the party was built on (who are few and far between right now) are a significantly better choice than Bush, Cheney, etc al. I like our Senator Boxer (D-CA) a great deal.

My fear is politicizing what should be issues-based discussion. The Bush philosophy if you're not with us, you're Anti-American. It goes back to the Love It or Leave It mentality of the late 60s, which was crazy.

Washington lobbyists right now are FIRING Republicans and hiring Democrats. That's a problem. If the lobby machine on K street just pushes whatever is currently popular, we'll end up with whoever has the better marketing plan.

The problem is that Bush not only marketed, but he slip-slided stuff into LAW. Which is exactly what he's trying to do with Gitmo.

I'm with you, Sean-Paul. We need Democrats in November. But I still maintain that we need a PLAN, too.

Nice chatting with you. You too, Abu.

I can. He wanted to be president, Sandy. He wanted to be the man. His kairos moment came and went, and he stood by the party rather than standing by his constiuents, and the principles that this country was built on. Yes I blame him, and all the rest of the party. They proved their loyalty to the status quo, and the fact that there is no left.

I don't agree, Abu. I think he stood alone.

Nite Ann.

That's when the good leaders stand, Sandy.

Abu, I'm afraid I agree with you to a certain extent, and with Sandy too, but more with you. Gore didn't fight. He should have fought. He should have fought for those who had been disenfranchised, meaning all of Florida. But, and here's where I'm probably in line with Sandy, I think Gore didn't fight like he should have because he truly believed that the election was like that between Kennedy and Nixon when Nixon let it go. I think Gore truly believed in the American way and that he would get his chance again. I don't think he realized how ruthless the Republicans would become.

As to fixing the leak, lemme think on that, because it is late, and I will post on that tomorrow. Fair enough, Abu?

And yes, Ann, we do need a plan, that is why I like Wes. He actually has one.

And Gibbs, this is excellent and I think might answer Abu's question of where to start: Sooner [rather] than later [Bush's GITMO strategy is] going to be used against our military when they are captured by our enemies. Perhaps this is the defence that the Democrats should use.

I think that is a good position for the Democrats to take. A winning position if you ask me.

This is the second time the Bush Juggernaut cooked the books to make sure the neo con agenda won an election. If Gore was so thick that he didn't see that there were bees in that trees hole after he got stung all the hell the first time... and he's the best The Party had to run? Shame on the party. Dig.

Are the democrooks trying to reach out to the one's who have been most loyal to them? Are the issues of the poor, the lame, and the blind the premier issues of the party? Hell no. Clinton cut welfare for po black folks and increased welfare for nuclear armed Israel.

My brothers and sisters. If the change is not radically balanced, pulling both ends towards the middle, then we're just spinning our wheels. And as Muslim, a shia, a writer, and black as the ace of spades, you know George's speech gave me the hebejebes. But I don't trust the Democrooks to do a damned thing about it. Not even abstain from the vote.

Tomorrow night is Shabaane Nifs. The 15th of Shaban (the eighth lunar month. The month before Ramadan. I gotta rack. We spend tomorrow night in prayer. When you get to Iran, ask some of the more spiritual and devout about his night, Sean. By the way, you never answered me about those tapes of The Murder of Imam Husayn.

Abu, I dig. The Dems need a lot of work, I am the first one to admit it. But better a Dem than a Republican any day. Also, there are a lot of us working inside and outside the party to rid it of its shameful, DLC, Sister Souljah moment-like, cutting welfare people and make the party a party of the people, the common people. We are doing the work and I encourage you to come aboard and recapture the Democratic party from the elite in DC and bring it home. Ya dig?

Night yawl. Peace.

What passes as conservatism today is an aberration. No true conservative would pursue or mandate the teaching of "intelligent design" or school prayer, much as he would oppose sex education. What he would do is abolish the Dept. of Education. I don't need the federal government and its teams of social engineers to put filthy thoughts in the minds of my children. That's my job.

Abu, shoot me an email about the tapes so as to jog my memory.

You gonna have to show me one hell of a plan to get me in that crap again, my man. Seriously. Cuz they never listened to us. And I'm not sure they ever will.

Nite Carl.

Nite Abu!

And, more seriously than my last post, I do want to present the position that the smaller the government is, the less harm it can do and that is an old conservative view that has long been abandoned.

Carl,

I hope we can hold this ship together long enough to get to that.

The Democratic party recently has been plagued by unnecessary infighting which is leading to foolish decisions and candidates that do not appeal to the moderate voters of America. The die-hards don't win elections, folks, those in the middle do. I hope the Dems can get their act together before the 2008 election and I also hope that they take control of Congress in November.

Between the Lions and the Lambs, or the Hawks and the Doves, which would you think is best equipped to fight ?

After actually creating the situations that are to be feared, who is it that steps forward claiming leadership that purports to stop the need for fear ... yet constantly beats the drum of fear ?

Why do they do it ? Because it seems to work for them !

As Abu says, we need to not play their game by their rules, we need to stand for a more humane center that best serves the better desires of true (not neo) conservatives, as well as the liberal interests that are not of such an extreme position that they serve best as the ammunition for their counterpart right-wing extremists to use in promoting their divisive and hateful agenda of supporting their own hate-mongering leaders.

Somehow we must overcome this ever-increasing polarization which only creates more of the same. It is what the present leadership counts on and thrives on.

If any have not figured this out yet, and wants to understand it, I am about half way through a very informative book about that thinking, how and why it works as it does.

That book is; Conservatives Without Conscience by John W. Dean (and he should know, as he worked on the side of many of them at one time).

Personally, I have basically given up hope for a real and lasting change for the better in this nation, or even the world, from the materialistic greedy and power hungry creatures that have already consolidated so deeply their control and manipulation of our social process. It is just too far gone in corruption to be saved, short of giving them enough rope to hang themselves.

Sure, I know, that is called negative thinking, even 'they' would not want 'us' to give up and roll over, they would much rather have the Doves and Lambs keep fighting them on their terms ... so they can claim how pitiful and weak we are, as we deserve the fate they hand us.

I do not know the answer for most, but for myself, I do have a solution that I expect to work for me. I have written a book about it (BOOK) but I would not expect most to get much from it, as most are not yet that desperate, But at the rate things are going, you may well soon be.

Meanwhile I wish us well, I will keep on thinking about it with the hope of finding a solution that works. I do rate the article a 10 for effort. Peace, j.

"The consciousness of being at war, and therefore in danger, makes handing-over of all power to a small caste seem the natural, unavoidable condition of survival...It does not matter whether the war is actually happening, and, since no decisive victory is possible, it does not matter whether the war is going well or badly. All that is needed is a state of war should exist. The war is waged by each ruling group against its own subjects, and the object of the war is not to make or prevent conquests of territory, but to keep the structure of society intact." --George Orwell, "1984"

Thanks for posting this article. I've never bothered to hate a politician before, but the things Bush have done have become up close and personal. Here in lower Manhattan we've finally received the horrible news that 70% -- that's SEVENTY PER CENT -- of the people who heroically rescued people on 9/11, and remember that some 25,000 people were saved that day; who worked an the "pile" afterwards, and who have taken part in a study of the aftereffects on their health, suffered DEFINITE physical damage to their lungs. That doesn't include those of us who live downtown and haven't been officially included in any study yet.

Some 70% of these people are not only damaged, but many are already very sick, coughing up blood, and in fact some have already died, while others are close to death. Why so much damage?

That's why I personally now hate George Bush. At last it's also very clear, at least some of the documents have been found and made public in the last few days, that the government officially lied to us -- on orders from the White House -- about the air quality downtown. Why? Two obvious reasons have come out. To get Wall St. functioning again as quickly as possible, and to protect powerful real estate interests! Far more thousands of people have been injured and will die because of the Bush administration NOT WANTING TO SPEND THE MONEY to provide even minimal immediate protection to the workers, not only those on the "pile" but who worked in the area, so they lied for several months. Nobody had any reason to not believe the EPA reports that the air was safe.

If Bush is willing to kill off the citizens of this country, who could easily have been protected by doing simple things like closing windows and wearing cheap masks, why would he see anything wrong with torturing and refusing legitimate trials to a few people he's dubbed "terrorists"? Don't expect anything that looks like even minimal morality from this bunch.

I'm with you: ANY Dem is better then Bush.

As for the issue in this article, we need brave leadership. I believe McCain, who I would not support, could win favor across the board by OPPOSING his party on this.

This issue is almost unreal. It goes against the very foundations of our land. What happened to fair trials, habaes corpus, innocent before proven guilty. Someday George Bush will be tried in the Hague. You can bet on it.

Wow, I'm a moonbat! How cool is that. Thanks Flounder. Your deep insight has shown me my true inner self. You are a hero among fish.

Flounder, you said: "Why can't you moonbats get the fact that we do not agree with everything Bush but we are against everything far left because that's where the real idiots reside. Your blind hatred for everything Bush is obvious and ignorant.

Most of the comments are Paranoid and delusional.

If you include me in the paranoid and delusional group I would like to kinow how you arrived at that conclusion; and if I am not in that group I would appreciate you refuting me with facts please and not dismissive name calling. If you do so I will drop my characterization of you as Floundering .

I think we need some more soaring eagles among us to do battle with politics. ones in office who really know the score and can fix things

The only thing Bush apologists have to offer is name calling and inane White House administration rhetoric. Even the most staunch conservatives - those with a brain and who aren't into kissing Dubya's butt - are speaking up against this administration. It's a sad day when I find myself on the same side as Chuck Hagel!!!

In any case, I find the Democrats lacking these days. So far, the only reason people are starting to like them better is they're NOT Republicans. They do need a plan because just hating Bush - something that's quite easy to do - isn't enough of a reason for me to trust them any more than I trust the right at this moment.

We do need some serious reforms in the way we do business in Washington.

Sean-Paul,

thanks for being a courageous patriot. You're right. National security was the only issue Bush had and that has not stood up to scrutiny.

Fear, myth, greed, laziness, corruption, hubris. arrogance, and basic intellectual dishonesty are hallmarks of this president and his foreign policy. We have become a misguided rogue nation. It is difficult for allies to join us against terror because of our wreckless disregard for basic, universal human rights. Bush would have us abandon our own priciples in a false fight for security.

America needs more performance and less swagger. It would be wonderful to have leadership grounded in reality. Instead, we have a fear-based, permanent war mentality. We need a President who will inspire us all to be courageous in the face of threats, not one telling us to surrender our rights to him.

Very well said Thomas.

This is yet another, in an unending string of stark examples of utter lawlessness by this rogue, corrupt, fascist administration, in which the nation is literally crying out for an opposing voice, but unfortunately, will undoubtedly be left dejected and disappointed again.

The democratic party has shown absolutely no ability to stand up to this illegal president at any previous time, and as a result, he's been able to get away with flagrant violations of federal and constitutional law without any fear whatsoever of recourse.

This latest incident shows that, even when he HAS been cornered and proven to have violated the law and constitution, all he has to do is ramrod something through congress, and everything is washed away without further discussion.

The ONLY way that this nation will ever be able to restore honor and integrity to the white house, as well as to restore our moral authority around the world, is to remove this corrupt president and his entire cabinet, and hand them over to an international court for war crimes tribunals.

Short of this remedy, we will forever be viewed as a nation without real laws or moral integrity. We will never again be viewed as serious brokers of good will or good intentions. We will be forever weakened as a world power, and our presidency will never recover.

I truly believe that it is critical to the very survival of the democracy of this nation, and to the stability of the entire world, for this vile administration to be held accountable for their numerous crimes. Nothing short of a full accounting will suffice, imo.

As for expecting the democrats currently in power to do so, particularly if their minority status remains after November, forget it. It's not going to happen. Not only do they hold no power to carry out investigations and hold the criminals accountable, but they also do not control the media message.

Even if they did gain a majority in November, and even if they did pursue a legal accounting, the fact remains that the "liberal media" would skewer them mercilessly for doing so.

I still hope and pray for a peaceful solution to this rogue administration, but more and more, as facts like this latest thread topic come to light, I become more and more convinced that it will require a general uprising of the masses in order to restore a semblence of democracy.

Imagine, for a moment, what might happen if 100 million Americans suddenly refused to go to work and generate tax revenue for this corrupt government? How long would it be before they no longer held the stranglehold of power that they seem to now? Hours? Days? I doubt weeks.

I would certainly rather see this type of mass uprising as opposed to a violent one with millions marching with pitchforks and axes in the streets, but frankly, if that's what would be required in order to restore democracy, I would find it very difficult to not be in support.

I cherish this country, the freedoms that it represents, and the democracy that it is capable of being enough to fight for it, if necessary. I certainly do not intend to sit by quietly and graciously accept a continuation of our current slide towards fascism, particularly at the hands of those as viciously corrupt as this administration.

I will continue to pray that democratic leaders and TRUE conservatives rise up to demand a full accounting of this president's illegal behavior for as long as I can remain even remotely hopeful, however.




Apu, thanks for never failing to show us all just how diseased and bereft of ideas and rational thoughts your extremist collection of wacky wingnuts is.

Thank you for posting this most prescient article, Sean. This is truly a time for all Americans to pay attention. Once a certain point is reached, there may be no turning back.

Knee-jerk responses (to Bush's policies or to the Left Wing) are unproductive. We need thought, discourse and action to turn this country around. It doesn't matter if you are conservative or liberal - we all need to hear both kinds of arguments. What does matter is balance among the three branches of government. The lack of balance is what's destroying us and making people act or sound extreme.

The extraordinary gerrymandering conducted over the past six years, combined with the onset of plausibly crooked vote-counting techniques, could lead us to that point of no return. Americans need to pay attention, think for themselves and come to the polls in droves for every election.

P.S. I'll give you a '20' for this one, SPK.

Clark makes some great points. The violent uprising thing doesn't work for me but - the idea of millions of Americans just not showing up for work one day really makes one think.

As a lawyer for one of the supposed "terrorists" pointed out today, Congress doesn't have to do anything at all to ensure that these terrorists receive trials. In fact, she asked why it's taking so many years to get around to it, considering that there were plenty of trials and convictions of terrorists before 9/11. Good question. How quickly we forget facts like those.

Even if congress should pass this immoral, dangerous, and destructive bill, isn't it going to be found to be unconstitutional when lawsuits against it finally reach the Supreme Court? This is just a pre-election ploy.

"isn't it going to be found to be unconstitutional when lawsuits against it finally reach the Supreme Court?"

Are you forgetting who sits on the bench?

Indeed, Clark, just who is sitting on the bench?

The idea presented earlier about a coordinated 'protest' by concerned citizens, such as missing a day of work, has much merit. Yet it may take more than a single day.

Has anyone else ever thought of the power of coordination ... could you even begin to imagine what would happen if there were a synchronized flushing of toilets, or simultaneous switch on or off of electrical devices in the households of a major city ... the s#*t would really hit the fan !

Now you know, if you think about it that way, why our controllers would really like to limit our Internet freedoms. The Internet is our only saving grace to so coordinate anything constructive (or 'destructive' as was done by the getting out the vote for Bush by the churches in the last couple elections).

I hope someone comes up with 'our' coordinated plan before they take away our 'tool' ... hush..don't tell 'them'... oops, to late, they are already 'wire tapping' us 'Traitors'!!!

I think everybody is over reacting a bit on a slick political move. The administration got slapped in public for attempting to use tribunals without Congressional approval. The Supreme Court ruled he has to have Congressional approval and treat them as POW's. Prisoners of war have historically always been held until the end of hostilities, and war criminals tried by the military tribunal afterwards. Some countries have refused to take some of these guys back by the way.
Bush still disagrees with that, but has no choice except of course to do nothing.
Congress has to decide, stand up, earn your pay, do something. That's both parties I'm talking about.
What has everybody fired up, is not wanting to vote on this before an election to see where they stand. There are sure to be many that don't want to do that for their own political reasons. One question would be why? What are they afraid we might find out before electing them? Of course this is politics, has it ever been different in an election year........?
I've said it a couple of times before, but if the Geneva Accords were updated to include non-uniformed, no particular country, type combatants/militias this would not be an issue.
Thanks.

Dear lefitist and friends of Al Queda,facism and America haters , I'm back from a hard days work and am trying to catch up with all your trasonous whining. I'll get through all of your post and after vomiting, I'll have some feedback.
I did catch the cult labeling. I guess if people like you hear an opposing view, and support my President , during a time of war, I'l am cult follower. Smell like facism to me.
I do declare " Bsides being traitors, You are all facist!!!
Later

Hey Charles, I sure hope spelling isn't important to your "hard days work," because if it is, well, you might need to find another job. But again, I am so glad to have you here, as a part of this debate. Why? Well, each time you post in this thread, or in response to any of my threads or rate a post, even a low rating, I get Gather points that lead to a nice check every month. So, once again, I really appreciate you helping my family out and all. We welfare folks need all the help we can get. I like money.

"If their militant activism is rejected, Americans may discard their neo-Trotskyites, both Republicans and Democrats keen on spreading their "world democratic revolution", in favour of isolationists who prefer building to spreading. Supporters of spreading - from George W. Bush to Hilary Clinton - are great friends of Israel. The bipartisan support of Israel within the US political elites means also their subservience to the Jewish Lobby. Rejection of the Lobby may become the single slogan of a new American revolution, of a new American political party of independence and non-interference on the way to creating a United States the world can live with."

-Israel Shamir

http://signs-of-the-times.org/signs/editorials/signs20060907_WillRussiaStoptheWar.php

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Why don't you just hand us all over to the terroists. This is war damn it.......Do you think these people care what we do or say.....they would likely cut or throats than sit at a table and talk.....they are laughing at us Americans all the way.....Death to Americans is all they think......I honestly think some things should be swept under the rug.....As they say alls fair in love and war.....and we are being too fair and getting abused for that.......Give me a break....am ready for a 4 party choice and the heck with these money grabbing 2 parties.......

You are all dellusional Nebishes. President Bush has given a series of significant and historic speeches. In the end, all you facist left wingers will be spared the islamic sword

Seanie boy.....you are so clever and quite the entrepreneur!!! My spelling may be wrong but the position is correct, true and simply right. Seanie, don't you realize how patheic you sound bloviating how you are making money!! In the end, it's worth the $4 you may earn to make sure that you people know what you really are.

Fascist left wingers? Are you truly that ignorant? ;-)

Charles R, what position. I have read all your posts and have yet to find a lucid comment from you. While others in this post may not agree with some of my own thoughts on this subject, I at least try to provide some factual evidence for my position or argument instead of spouting a line of rhetoric bs about supporting my president.

While I dislike Bush myself, I don't find anything commendable to oppose him. Congress (Made up of Republicans and Democrats) gave him the ability to do what he is doing and only the congress will be able to hold him accountable for his actions in the absence of any action from the people of this country.

I tend to agree that grass roots activism is about the only way to change this and I completely agree with Clark. What exactly do we have to lose to the terrorists if what makes the country great is being undermined by an individual who is also smart enough to surround himself with extremely sharp and devious political minds. What are we defending? If this nation is worth defending
from terrorists, it should be equally defendable from individuals who undermine the checks and balances designed in our government in the first place. Why is Bush getting away with the undermining of consistutional rights? Because he is not being held accountable. If I take a sweet and you don't slap my hand, guess what, I''m going to take another one, and another one!

Why is there not a call for impeachment? Hasn't this president stated in the past that there were no secret prisons? Not that other politicians haven't lied, but come on..we impeached a president for lying about the definition of sex? Accountability, Accountability, Accountability. This president is a joke and an embarassment to Americans.

Charles- REALLY? I say YOU are the America Hater!

Sean-Paul- Don't you know that Intellectuals are the new Fascists? I expect the George II regime to start hauling us off to Gitmo any day now.

There is a call for Impeachment but those people are all America Haters so nobody will talk to them.

Jennifer, I think that's just plain wrong. The America Haters are the ones willing to go down with this sinking ship instead of trying to save her. impeach Bush

What do we need as Democrats VOTES. Pure and simple. And we will not get them unless we change some of our thinking. We must move more toward the center while keeping all the important things so near and dear to us.
Examples:
Let's cool it on guns. Back way off here. Lead the fight to deregulate guns totally. Get some red neck vote in return. (Guns will never be deregulated, Shirley, we just say that we are for it and pop the NRA balloon.)
Forget the death penalty--leave it to the states--sort of be quiet on the subject. Come down hard on life means life. No parole without a successful appeal. Be tough on crime. Lots of votes here.
Let affirmative action sort of slowly slip away. No race based promotions or hiring or anything. Yes on civil rights, no on any preferential treatment. Needs more thinking, I know. But it should be looked into.
Bring all troops home.
Abolish Homeland Security and vow to fight terrorism with police, new police, special secret police who can actually speak Farci.

Well, there's more of course. We just need to slim down a bit. There is simply to much to lose if we blow this election, including the party itself.

Bob, the Never question my party loyalty, I ALWAYS vote a straight ticket.

A move to the center was tried by the Senate Democrats in 2002 and by Kerry in 2004. It won't work. Americans had a choice between Republicans and fake-Republicans. They chose the real thing and I don't blame them. We need a vibrant left wing in this country so that people can move to the center and have cover. But there has to be a vibrant, alive and well coordinated progressive left in this country first or the drift farther to the right will continue. All of your ideas are good ideas Robert. But they will never happen because the right wing radicals in this country are ruthless. Until there is a competent left to balance them out the radical righties will continue to win elections.

Sean, I think we need a vibrant new party. The left is the left of the same old whole. Somehow, if we are to save The Republic, we have to come up with an economic paradigm that will free public servants from the "Catch A Wave" TV demagoguery that forces candidates into a faustian contract with The Rich and Invisible. This evil symbiosis has crucified issues and canonized personality.

We need a new thing. We need a stinging ringing thing that's got that we-the-people-sho-nuff American swing thing.

If we just come up with some more, elitists leftists drivel, we will not only spin our wheels, if we win, we'll turn into the same monsters we seek to dethrone.

George Kennan, who a teacher of mine, observed some years ago that the US had become ungovernable with the current centralization of power in DC. The growth of a large central government went hand in hand with the government policy of developing a "consumer culture" after World War II. He thought we might establish 4 or 5 relatively independent regions which had similar economic and other interests. More than 20 years ago, he had called for a temporary moratorium on immigration. He was the creator of our Cold War Soviet containment policy in 1947, when he was our ambassador to Moscow. He lost favor in the State Department by the late 50's - early 60's for opposing the arms race and a policy of aggressive confrontation with the Soviet Union.

Robert L- "....new secret police, special police....", now you are scaring me.

Nice Sean Paul! great article !! I agree with you 100%.
Kelly