Impeachment is not a constitutional crisis. We are in a constitutional crisis already. Impeachment is the cure.

I completely forgot about Bill Moyer's Journal tonight on PBS! But from what I hear its a must see... historic actually, since Bruce Fein (!!!!) Bruce Fein, constitutional scholar and author of the first article of impeachment against Bill Clinton, was discussing and agreeing with John Nichols of The Nation, AND associate editor at The Capital Times ( The Madison Capital Times - weeeee!) about the need to impeach George Bush and Dick Cheney.

{THUD}

Yep, that was me falling out of my chair.

Additionally, I want to add, even though I'm fairly sure a majority of people feel the same way, that every time Bush invokes executive privilege, you know hes neck deep in the shit. With that said, and in case you missed the breaking news tonight, Bush has gone and invoked executive privilege yet again this week, to cover up and keep from releasing documents relating to the cover up of Pat Tillman's death by friendly fire.

Now the White House has always blamed the military further down the chain for the cover-up, but if thats the case, why the hiding? The White House already threw the military under the bus on that one.. right?

Gaaah, I planned on linking all sorts of information pertaining to this, but I just looked at the clock and its 1:30AM. I'll add some links tomorrow for those interested. Can't wait? Then google is your friend

NiNight!

Oh and P.S. IMPEACH!

I've really got nuthin' today. Theres not even any knitting I can show you (I did a considerable amount of work on the super double secret contract project last night - socks on hold until I get a good amount done on this)

So how about I spread around some more linky love?

• A new to me blog that I Stumbled Upon, Confessions Of A Pioneer Woman. I also LOVE her cooking blog, The Pioneer Woman Cooks. Her pictures are breathtaking.
• Running The Numbers, An American Self Portrait. Statistic Art. I can't explain it, you must see it.
• Proppian Fairy Tale Generator. Click buttons to define elements of the fairy tale you seek, Click generate, BadaBing!
• Top Secret Recipes. I like this one too. But I received some alarming news there. Apparently Spatini Spaghetti sauce mix was discontinued by the company in December 2006. No wonder I haven't been able to find it! This was the "secret" to my meatloaf.. (not a secret anymore huh?) Everyone loves my meatloaf.. this is a bummer for sure.
• shoes.com .. just as good as zappos. And easier to browse in my opinion (occasionally zappos just ticks me off with their search results) I'm particularly smitten with these.
• ImpeachBush.org. Do I need to say more? No, I didn't think so.
• Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows. Are you counting down too? With as much necessary knitting I have going on this month, how am I going to fit this in too? I'm not one of those people who can wait to read it "later". I usually come home from the bookstore at 1AM and stay up all night reading. Maybe I should buy the audio book instead? Naaaaah! Another reason why I always talk about needing more time and less sleep.

Now I need to go get ready for Connor's teacher's arrival. We've had a full week's vacation from therapy and sessions. Time to get back in the groove!

I watch my site traffic closely. Where people come from, what brought them here, and where they're going when they leave. Some may call it an obsession, I call it plain fun. But what is even more fun, is that since I posted the entry including Keith Olbermann's Worst Person In The World from Monday, more or less for the person taking the gold (George W. Bush), my incoming traffic from search engines has increased significantly. Why? Search terms like "Sean Hannity" and "Sean Hannity + Freedom Concert + Hong Kong Tourism".

It makes me wonder what made people enter those search terms. Looking to see if its true? Looking to see who else is talking about it? What? All I know is that this little ol' liberal knit blogger is getting a kick out of knowing that Sean Hannity's hypocrisy is bringing in traffic!

And with that..

Happy Independence Day, or Happy July 4th for the non-Americans!

Let freedom ring!

Keith's special comment tonight, was indeed special.

Anger, passion, truth. It had it all. Among Keith's best.

Read the transcript after the fold

But wait, before you do, see this little nugget originally posted at dkos (pdf, filing from Judge Reggie B. Walton. Pay particular attention to footnote.) As Pontificator at dkos rightfully stated: "Talk about incompetence. Bush can't even get Obstruction of Justice right!"

From The Tony Snow Show today (or rather the White House Press Briefing):

Q How does the President justify this commutation when there are thousands of others in jail with a similar request?

MR. SNOW: I'm not sure that -- thousands in jail with similar requests?

Q Three thousand.

MR. SNOW: Three thousand in jail with similar -- I'm not sure that you can take anybody who has a perjury count and say that they're all the same. Every count has to be considered differently. The President, as you know, looks very carefully at these things. And furthermore, not every one of these cases comes before a President, as you're well aware. Attorneys quite often petition for these and that is one of the procedures by which they do it.

Q Can I follow on that? There are more than 3,000 current petitions for commutation -- not pardons, but commutation -- in the federal system under President Bush. Will all 3,000 of those be held to the same standard that the President applied to Scooter Libby?

MR. SNOW: I don't know.

Unless those 3,000 petitions for commutation, are former staff to the President (or Vice President), that answer would be Zip, Zilch, Nada. See.. we, us, Americans.. we're just commoners.

Another nugget I got from Keith's blog:

Then there is also the cold shower of Mr. Bush’s record as governor of Texas, during which time he rarely even read the clemency petitions of death row inmates (152 executions during his two terms as governor). About that time, Mr. Bush told his presumed ghostwriter in his autobiography A Charge to Keep “I don’t believe my role is to replace the verdict of a jury with my own.” Back to the facts: in the case of Karla Faye Tucker, a killer who became a born-again Christian on death row, he refused clemency requests from Pope John Paul the Second, Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell (usually strong death penalty proponents) and apparently even one of his own daughters. To the Pope, it seems he gave false reasons for why he could not grant said clemency, and to his staff, he even joked about Ms. Tucker’s pending execution. All of which raises questions of whether there was some kind of quid pro quo in the Libby case.

Don't forget Keith Olbermann's special comment tonight. Theres a preview of what he'll say tonight on his blog.. you can read it here.

Its no secret, I'm a Keith Olbermann groupie. And just one of the reasons why is gems like last night during the "Worst Person In The World" segment..

Just in case you resist clicking the button to watch, I've included the segment's transcript and highlighted the good stuff at the end..

The bronze to Senator Joe Lieberman of Connecticut. On ABC yesterday, “I hope these terrorist attacks in London wake us up here in America to stop the petty partisan fighting, he said, a partisan gridlock over the question of whether the American government can listen in to conversations or follow e-mail trails of non-American citizens.

Actually, Senator, if you had been paying attention, the NSA spying program included surveillance of American citizens. And you‘re right, it is petty partisan fighting between people who support the United States constitution and people like you.

The silver tonight Sean Hannity of Fox noise, reminding us that the fourth annual Hannity Freedom Concert is coming up in September, an evening of patriotism and inspiration, featuring Hannity, Lee-Ann Rhymes, Lee Greenwood and Oliver North. A flag waving, all American, don‘t tread on me, love it or leave it, god bless the USA occasion, which is sponsored by the Hong Kong Tourism Board.

Our winner by unanimous decision, the 43^rd president of the United States who has tonight commuted the sentence of one of the key members of his own administration and has done it gutlessly by press release, who has buried it on the Monday of the longest fourth of July weekend possible, and who has, in so doing, forfeited his claim to being president of anything larger than a small, privileged, elitist, undemocratic, anti-constitutional cabal.

As Oliver Cromwell said to the infamous Rump Parliament in England more than 350 years ago, you have sat too long for any good you have been doing lately. Depart, I say, and let us have done with you. In the name of god, go. George Walker Bush, today‘s Worst Person in the World. As you may have suspected, tomorrow night here on COUNTDOWN, a special comment calling on this vice president and this president to resign. Tomorrow night on COUNTDOWN.

I'm angry. But I'm not shocked. Nothing that Bush does or says anymore surprises me. However it doesn't make it right. Richard and I were talking earlier tonight about it and we both agree on something - Impeachment. Democrats have been saying "impeachment is off the table" because "he isn't worth it". Leader Pelosi? You know what is worth it? Our country. The rule of law. Just because this jackass has only 18 months left in office, doesn't dismiss everything thats been done. Its about doing the right thing. Quit being spineless and lazy.

Bush said in his statement:

My decision to commute his prison sentence leaves in place a harsh punishment for Mr. Libby. The reputation he gained through his years of public service and professional work in the legal community is forever damaged. His wife and young children have also suffered immensely. He will remain on probation. The significant fines imposed by the judge will remain in effect. The consequences of his felony conviction on his former life as a lawyer, public servant, and private citizen will be long-lasting.

So Valerie Plame hasn't suffered? Her children? Or how about the undercover agents Valerie Plame Wilson was working with. All of their lives (as well as ours seeing as they were working on WMD) were put in danger.

Furthermore... That little issue of the Clinton impeachment, which republicans like to repeat over and over, is that it was not about a sexual indiscretion but rather lying under oath, and obstruction of justice. Serious high crimes they yelled! But one of their own does it... is indicted by a republican, tried by a republican and even reviewed by a republican appeals board.... *sigh* then its all political theater, right? Thats what we're to believe?

I don't often agree with Hillary Clinton, but tonight I do..

"Today's decision is yet another example that this Administration simply considers itself above the law. This case arose from the Administration's politicization of national security intelligence and its efforts to punish those who spoke out against its policies. Four years into the Iraq war, Americans are still living with the consequences of this White House's efforts to quell dissent. This commutation sends the clear signal that in this Administration, cronyism and ideology trump competence and justice."

From Rolling Stone:

Rudy giuliani is a true American hero, and we know this because he does all the things we expect of heroes these days -- like make $16 million a year, and lobby for Hugo Chávez and Rupert Murdoch, and promote wars without ever having served in the military, and hire a lawyer to call his second wife a "stuck pig," and organize absurd, grandstanding pogroms against minor foreign artists, and generally drift through life being a shameless opportunist with an outsize ego who doesn't even bother to conceal the fact that he's had a hard-on for the presidency since he was in diapers. In the media age, we can't have a hero humble enough to actually be one; what is needed is a tireless scoundrel, a cad willing to pose all day long for photos, who'll accept $100,000 to talk about heroism for an hour, who has the balls to take a $2.7 million advance to write a book about himself called Leadership. That's Rudy Giuliani. Our hero. And a perfect choice to uphold the legacy of George W. Bush.

Yes, Rudy is smarter than Bush. But his political strength -- and he knows it -- comes from America's unrelenting passion for never bothering to take that extra step to figure shit out. If you think you know it all already, Rudy agrees with you. And if anyone tries to tell you differently, they're probably traitors, and Rudy, well, he'll keep an eye on 'em for you. Just like Bush, Rudy appeals to the couch-bound bully in all of us, and part of the allure of his campaign is the promise to put the Pentagon and the power of the White House at that bully's disposal.

I'm merely a New Yorker by geographical circumstance, but even I know what a pig Giuliani is. A farce. His "leadership"? His thumping his chest about "the lessons of 9/11"? Yeaaah.. thats why New Yorkers practically packed his bags for him and showed him the door.

Oh yeah.. and he reminds me of Skeletor with a lisp.

And Fred Thompson. THAT story in itself makes me laugh. Funny how the wingnuts hate "librul hollywood elites", until they're looking for a president. Even that trophy wife of his doesn't help the fact that he just looks creepy.