Call it impeachment according to Palermo. Citing Italian social theorist, Antonio Gramsci, Joseph Palermo explains over at Huffington today why impeachment is necessary and why a Democratic victory in '08 is insufficient.  Gramsci's argument is that the dominant ideas of the ruling elite create a kind of "cultural hegemony" because they have so much weight behind them from the rich and powerful.

The Democrats in the Congress are making a fatal error by playing nice with Bush and his gang of bandits. They are sacrificing the long-term interests of the progressive movement for short-term electoral gain, (just like Clinton did in the 1990s). Our body politic must be cleansed with a long bath in hot sudsy water. And the only way to do so is to impeach Bush now! Start the water, and grab the soap!

Full article here.

More soon,

Ticia

I'm a Californian. At issue is a 2002 California law requiring automakers to cut emissions by 25 percent from cars and light trucks and 18 percent from sport utility vehicles starting with the 2009 model year. California officials estimate this would lead to an 18 percent reduction in global-warming emissions from cars here in my state by 2020.

But the law can't take effect unless California gets a federal waiver. Pressuring the Bush administration yesterday to allow us and 11 other states to impose our own regulations on vehicle emissions, State Attorney General Brown appealed to the Environmental Protection Agency for a waiver so California can impose rules on car and truck emissions more stringent than federal regulations.

 Brown told the Senate panel Tuesday, "This is bigger than Iraq. It is bigger than immigration. It's not tomorrow but it's coming around. The stakes have never been higher."  He said that California is prepared to sue the EPA if the waiver is blocked. "This is a worldwide crisis," Brown said. "There's no excuse any longer."

More soon,

Ticia

David Swanson, co-founder of After Downing Street, muses:

It took 13 colonies to throw out the last King George. Thirteen state Democratic parties have now passed resolutions demanding impeachment, nine of them since Nancy Pelosi ordered the Democratic Party away from impeachment.

Little reported in the mainstream media, Swanson well summarizes the picture in his article at OpEd.

Look at this list: Nevada, Wisconsin, North Carolina, New Mexico, Vermont, Colorado, Alaska, Hawaii, Maine, and New Hampshire. That's 10 state Democratic Parties demanding impeachment by June of last year, and seven of them after Pelosi ordered impeachment off the table, and before the elections. Predictably, these states did very well for the Democrats in the elections, as Nevada did in 2004 as well. And, of course, Wolfowitz is on his way out (though not yet prosecuted).

September 2006, still pre-elections, Washington State's Democratic Party called for Bush and Cheney to be impeached.

In March 2007, the Oregon Democratic Party did the same.

In April 2007, California called for "appropriate remedies and punishment, including impeachment," for Bush and Cheney.

On May 19, 2007, the Massachusetts Democratic Party passed a resolution calling on "the U.S. House of Representatives to investigate these charges and if the investigation supports the charges, vote to impeach George W. Bush and Richard B. Cheney." 

For further reseach, visit the Impeachment Resource Center.

More soon,

Ticia

Let us insert the following quotations into a time capsule preserving today's historical moments:

"I think as far as the adverse impact on the nation around the world, this administration has been the worst in history," President Carter said Saturday.

"I've always believed in separation of church and state," Carter said, "and so have all other presidents, I might say, except this one."

 "We now have endorsed the concept of pre-emptive war...a radical departure from all previous administration policies," he said.

Carter, who won a Nobel Peace Prize in 2002, criticized Bush for having "zero peace talks" in Israel.

Carter said the administration "abandoned or directly refuted" every negotiated nuclear arms agreement, as well as environmental efforts by other presidents.

Carter also lashed out at British prime minister Tony Blair, calling his support of Bush, "Abominable. Loyal. Blind. Apparently subservient."

Historian and Carter biographer Douglas Brinkley called the former president's remarks unprecedented. "Those are fighting words."

More on the story here, here and here.

Can Jimmy still run?

Tish