Read, once again, Thomas Jefferson's text of the Declaration of Independence (from King George!)

…when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security…

…The history of the present King ….. is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world…

…He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good…

…He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries…

…He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures…

…He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power…

…He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws…

…For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury…

…For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments…

…He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation…

******

Does all this sound eerily familiar?

Recount George Bush’s & Dick Cheney’s usurpation of power from Congress:


Excessive use of 750 executive signing statements, executive privilege, and executive orders, violating Congress’s laws over 1200 times,


Refusal to abide by congressional inquiries by fraudulently claiming to be outside “executive branch,”


Denial of our basic civil rights (warrantless wiretapping before 9/11 -> 4th Amendment), indefinite imprisonment of citizens without trial, a lawyer, or charge -> 6th Amendment, and suspension of habeas corpus -> Article One, Section 9, kidnapping and use of torture (extremely cruel and unusual punishments! -> 8th Amendment),


Use of Blackwater standing armies (brutal and accountable to no one),


Misleading the Congress to transfer authority to wage an illegal pre-emptive war under false pretenses (long in the making & the folly of which was well known to them -> Article One Section 8),


Outing an undercover agent, whose mission was to protect us from weapons of mass destruction, placing her colleagues in grave danger and undermining our national security -> Article 3, Section 3,


Halliburton no-bid contracts (out of control war profiteering)


and more…indeed, a history of repeated injuries and usurpations fit for a King!






Here are some questions I'm quite sure Thomas Jefferson would be posing to fellow members of Congress were he alive today:

It is a matter of public record as published in the Congressional Record that the rationale for the resolution purporting to authorize the military occupation of Iraq was based on false and misleading statements by executive branch officials, acting with the full knowledge and acquiescence of the president. Isn’t lying to Congress a felony under federal law?

It is a matter of public record supported by unrebutted sworn testimony that executive branch officials are holding prisoners without access to legal process, with the full knowledge and acquiescence of the president. Isn’t this kidnapping?

It is a matter of public record supported by unrebutted sworn testimony that executive branch officials conducted warrantless wiretapping of Americans, with the full knowledge and acquiescence of the president. Isn’t this a felony under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act?

It is a matter of public record supported by unrebutted sworn testimony that federal prosecutors were removed for political reasons and that the former attorney general committed perjury when he claimed not to remember critical facts relevant to their removal. Is there any doubt that the attorney general’s perjury, a felony, was committed at the direction of and with the full knowledge and acquiescence of the president?

It is a matter of public record supported by unrebutted sworn testimony that the federal prosecutorial function was corrupted in at least nine jurisdictions by political interference, with the full knowledge and acquiescence of the president. Doesn’t this constitute felonious conduct under the laws prohibiting obstruction of justice?

It is a matter of public record and an incontrovertible fact that the president has defied subpoenas duly issued by Congress. Isn’t it the duty of Congress to enforce its subpoenas with a contempt citation and to enforce that citation by appropriate legal means?

It is a matter of public record as published in the Federal Register that the president has issued “signing statements” instructing federal employees to violate selected provisions of duly enacted laws. Isn’t this contrary to his constitutional oath to see that the laws are faithfully executed?

It is a matter of public record supported by unrebutted sworn testimony that officials of the executive branch maintain contracts with armed civilians that purport to authorize the killing of other civilians, with the full knowledge and acquiescence of the president. Isn’t this a violation of the laws prohibiting homicide?

Aren’t the members of the House of Representatives the only people in America who can hold the president accountable for these crimes and isn’t it your responsibility to do that, regardless of the political consequences?

If you fail to hold the president accountable, aren’t you setting a precedent for future presidents and future congresses not to hold the executive accountable for high crimes?

Aren’t you concerned that your failure to act will be seen as a deliberate step in the creation of a presidency that is no longer subject to the rule of law?