Saturday, December 15, 2007

Morning Papers - continued...

Michael Moore Today

http://www.michaelmoore.com/


Thank you, Robert Wexler

Information on
Representative Robert Wexler
of Congressional District number 19 of Florida

http://www.visi.com/juan/congress/cgi-bin/newmemberbio.cgi?lang=&member=FL19&site=ctc&address=&city=&state=FL&zipcode=&plusfour=


Impeachment

"That, for the first time, will show that the Democratic majority is here and that, in fact, we have the courage of our convictions -- and that, in fact, we listen to the people who sent us there in the first place."
-- U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler



"...it is the obligation -- not discretionary -- but it is the obligation of this congress to investigate and that's what I and some of my colleagues are beginning to call for!" -- Rep. Robert Wexl...


December 11th, 2007 12:40 pm
Wexler urges hearings on Cheney trial
By George Bennett /
Palm Beach Post
What do higher fuel-efficiency standards, expanded children's health care and improved relations with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono have in common?
According to U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler, D-Delray Beach, those are just a few of the benefits America can reap if Congress holds hearings on the impeachment of Vice President Dick Cheney.
Wexler, who represents an ultra-Democratic Palm Beach-Broward district, recently took an e-mail poll of about 3,000 constituents and found 61 percent in favor of impeaching Cheney and removing him from office. Wexler insists he hasn't prejudged the matter but wants hearings to probe whether Cheney manipulated intelligence to bamboozle the U.S. into war with Iraq, which Wexler voted to authorize in 2002.
At last week's Palm Beach County Democratic Executive Committee meeting, Wexler took issue with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's declaration that impeachment should be "off the table." And Wexler disputed the notion that impeachment hearings would be a distraction, asserting instead that they would help the Democrats' domestic agenda and lift America's status abroad.

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=10552



Congressman Calls for Dick Cheney Impeachment Hearings


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wncBOEmOYeE



"Of course the Constitution provides the president the powers of the pardon." -- White House

December 11th, 2007 2:15 pm
Libby Drops His Appeal in Leak Case
By Philip Shenon /
New York Times
WASHINGTON, Dec. 10 — I. Lewis Libby Jr., Vice President Dick Cheney’s former chief of staff, announced Monday that he was dropping the appeal of his conviction for perjury and obstruction of justice in the C.I.A. leak case.
The move comes five months after President Bush commuted the 30-month prison sentence imposed on Mr. Libby, who was found guilty of lying to investigators and a federal grand jury about the circumstances of the leak of the identity of Valerie Wilson, a formerly covert employee of the Central Intelligence Agency.
Mr. Libby’s lawyer, Theodore V. Wells Jr., said in a statement that “we remain convinced of Mr. Libby’s innocence” but that “after five years of government service and several years of defending against this case, the burden on Mr. Libby and his young family of continuing to pursue his complete vindication are too great to ask them to bear.”
The decision means that unless Mr. Libby receives a White House pardon, a prospect that Mr. Bush has declined to rule out, he remains a convicted criminal whose term of probation will last until 2009. He has already paid a $250,000 fine.

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=10553



Mike on Capitol Hill, June 20th, 2007

'SiCKO' voted best documentary

http://www.michaelmoore.com/


December 10th, 2007 8:43 am
D.C. Critics choose 'Country'
'Men' named best picture, Clooney takes actor
Variety
On Sunday, the Washington, D.C. Area Film Critics Assn. announced its selection of "No Country for Old Men" as best film of 2007.
The Miramax/Paramount Vantage film won four awards including director for Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, acting ensemble and supporting actor for Javier Bardem.
George Clooney took the actor prize for his portrayal of an ethically challenged lawyer in Warner Bros.' "Michael Clayton," while Julie Christie was garnered the actress prize for her turn as an Alzheimer's patient in Lionsgate's "Away From Her."
Amy Ryan walked away with supporting actress kudos for "Gone Baby Gone" and Ellen Page was awarded breakthrough performance for her portrayal of a pregnant teen in "Juno."
The writing awards went to Aaron Sorkin for his adaptation of "Charlie Wilson's War" and Diablo Cody for her original screenplay for "Juno."
Miramax's "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" was named best foreign film; Disney/Pixar's "Ratatouille" was named best animated feature; and Michael Moore's "Sicko" from the Weinstein Co. was voted best documentary feature.
Paramount's "Sweeney Todd" was honored for art direction.
The Washington, D.C. Area Film Critics Assn. is comprised of 39 D.C.-based film critics from television, radio, print and the Internet.

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/mikeinthenews/index.php?id=10549



New York critics vote 'SiCKO' best documentary, too

December 10th, 2007 8:44 am
New York online critics go for 'Blood'
NEW YORK, Dec. 10 (
UPI) -- The New York Film Critics Online group awarded five of its prizes to Paul Thomas Anderson's oil epic "There Will Be Blood."
"There Will Be Blood" and "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" shared the honor for best picture of 2007, while "Blood" star Daniel Day-Lewis was named best actor and "Away From Her" star Julie Christie earned the prize for best actress.
"Blood" also earned Anderson the honor for best director and garnered the awards for best cinematography and best music/score.
Javier Bardem won the prize for best supporting actor for his work in "No Country for Old Men," while Cate Blanchett earned the equivalent actress honor for her performance in "I'm Not There."
Wes Anderson, Jason Schwartzman and Roman Coppola grabbed the award for best screenplay for "The Darjeeling Limited."
"The Lives of Others" and "Persepolis" tied as best foreign picture, Michael Moore's "Sicko" was named best documentary and "Persepolis" won the award for best animated feature.
The cast of "Before the Devil Knows You're Dead" was also recognized for best ensemble performance.

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/mikeinthenews/index.php?id=10550



December 10th, 2007 2:13 pm
'07 deadliest for U.S. troops in Iraq
By Amit R. Paley /
Washington Post
BAGHDAD — The U.S. military announced Tuesday that five soldiers and a sailor had been killed a day earlier, making 2007 the deadliest year for U.S. troops since the start of the war in Iraq.
The record death toll of at least 853 U.S. military personnel killed this year underscores the high cost of the U.S. troop increase, launched in February, which has begun to drive down the sectarian violence that once gripped much of the country.
"The strategy was to interject our soldiers between the Iraqi citizens and the terrorists, insurgents and militias," said Lt. Col. Douglas Ollivant, chief of plans for U.S. forces in Baghdad. "A regrettable consequence of that is your casualties go up."
But the grim milestone belied a much more optimistic trend: Troop casualties have declined sharply since early summer. In October, the death toll for U.S. troops fell to 39, its lowest level since March 2006, according to The Associated Press, which tracks military fatalities more rapidly than the Pentagon makes its numbers public.

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=10551



"[Torture] was a policy decision that was made at the White House..." -- former CIA interrogator

December 12th, 2007 2:42 am
US intel chief faces grilling amid torture claims
By Roland Lloyd Parry /
AFP
WASHINGTON - The CIA chief was grilled by US lawmakers Tuesday over the destruction of interrogation videos, as the White House insisted that the United States does not practice torture.
Michael Hayden was being questioned behind closed doors by members of the Senate Intelligence Committee about his revelation last week that tapes made in 2002 were destroyed in 2005, when Congress was investigating allegations that terror suspects were tortured.
"I'm very delighted to come on down and lay out the facts as we know them," Hayden said before the encounter. A similar hearing was to follow Wednesday before members of the lower House of Representatives.
Pressed by reporters at the White House, spokeswoman Dana Perino refused to comment on what methods are allowed to interrogate terror suspects, insisting however that the United States does not practice torture.

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=10554



December 13th, 2007 2:31 pm
Nurses' Ad Takes Cheney To Heart, Sort Of
Advocacy Group Says, Without Government-Sponsored Health Care, V.P. Would Be Dead
(
CBS) "If he were anyone else, he'd probably be dead by now."
So begins a health care union's newspaper advertisement which ran in Iowa Monday, pointedly referring to Vice President Dick Cheney as a beneficiary of government-sponsored health care unavailable to most other Americans.
The California Nurses Association and the National Nurses Organizing Committee, based in Oakland, hope the ad will bring attention to the issue of health care reform.
The ad depicts a patient, Cheney, whose history and prognosis - "four heart attacks, quadruple bypass surgery, angioplasty, an implanted defibrillator" - might disqualify him when applying for health coverage if he did not happen to be a member of the Executive Branch or Congress.

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=10557



H.R.676
Title: To provide for comprehensive health insurance coverage for all United States residents, and for other purposes.
Sponsor:
Rep Conyers, John, Jr. [MI-14] (introduced 1/24/2007) Cosponsors (87)
Latest Major Action: 2/2/2007 Referred to House subcommittee. Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d110:HR00676:@@@N



"Which congressional district am I in?"
CLiCK here and enter your address to find out.
If there is already a green check next to your Representative's name, don't hesitate to thank them.

http://www.michaelmoore.com/sicko/what-can-i-do/boxscore/index.php?action=print


Thank you !

Information on
Representative Sanford D. Bishop, Jr.
of Congressional District number 2 of Georgia

http://www.visi.com/juan/congress/cgi-bin/newmemberbio.cgi?lang=&member=GA02&site=ctc&address=&city=&state=GA&zipcode=&plusfour=


See 'SiCKO' for Free:

Our Regular Monthly Meeting: December 13, 2007 Thursday at 7:00 PM
This meeting will be at Grace Church in Salem, 385 Essex St, Salem MA
Topics:
We will be showing Sicko, Michael Moore's movie on health care. Refreshments will be served. Admission will be free, but donations will be appreciated (and suggested).
Please invite friends and neighbors. We are eager to grow the group as there are so many serious issues that require discussion and action.
After the successful showing in Beverly, we also decided we'd like to have at least one and possibly two more evenings showing the Moyer's program on impeachment and to have discussions afterward, with suggestions for action. We are discussing have them near Newburyport, and in either Salem or Swampscott. We cannot wait for this administration to leave office and not have held the Vice-president and President accountable for their criminal conduct. We discussed having the impeachment programs in other parts of the District (Phyllis suggested Newburyport). The previous evening was in Beverly; perhaps Swampscott or Lynn would be a good second location. Any suggestions for venue?

http://www.northshoreprogressives.org/



Around Your Town
Published on Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Around Your Town serves to inform readers of nonprofit events happening in our communities that are open to the public. Please send items to
svhnews@transedge.com, or send by regular mail to: Around Your Town, Sierra Vista Herald/Bisbee Daily Review, 102 Fab Ave., Sierra Vista AZ 85635. Or fax items to 459-0120, attn. Around Your Town. Items should include time, date, location, organization’s name, purpose or description of event, and a phone number or e-mail address and person to contact. Please try to submit your item two weeks in advance of the event. Regular club meetings will be posted on Tuesday in our Living section. For questions or comments, please call 515-4614. Items will not be accepted by phone.

http://www.svherald.com/articles/2007/12/12/news/doc475f81902c574615495617.txt



Join Congresman Wexler's Call for Cheney's Impeachment

http://www.wexlerwantshearings.com/


One, Two, Three,
What are We Fighting For?!?

December 14th, 2007 7:29 pm
Soldier father is in box daughters open at school
Associated Press
ELKTON, Ky. -- All Mariah Wilder said she wanted for Christmas was her daddy.
Sgt. Matthew Wilder had been deployed to Iraq, but found out he would be home in southern Kentucky for the holidays while going to aviation school.
His wife, Desire', got administrators at North Todd Elementary School in Elkton to call an assembly Thursday at which a letter from Matthew Wilder was read as his daughters stood in front of big box. It was his present to them.
When Mariah and Destiny pulled the paper off the box with the big red bow on top, out stepped Wilder in his battle dress uniform to hugs and cries of "Daddy."

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=10558



Wish Cheney a Merry Christmas

Contacting the White House
[En Español]
Mailing Address
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
Phone Numbers
Comments: 202-456-1111
Switchboard: 202-456-1414
FAX: 202-456-2461
TTY/TDD
Comments: 202-456-6213
Visitors Office: 202-456-2121
E-Mail
Please send your comments to
comments@whitehouse.gov. Due to the large volume of e-mail received, the White House cannot respond to every message. For further up-to-date information on Presidential initiatives, current events, and topics of interest to you, please continue to use the White House website.
Vice President Richard Cheney:
vice_president@whitehouse.gov
Communications With Other Federal Government Agencies
If you have a question about a particular government benefit, program or service, contact
USA.gov.
USA.gov is the official U.S. gateway to all government information and is a catalyst for a growing electronic government.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/



Free "SiCKO

AZgreyhounds will have an adoption day on Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at Ramsey Canyon Feed and Pet on Highway 92 and Glenn Road. Contact Dave at 378-1763, or visit
azgreyhounds.com.

The Southeast Arizona Democrat Club will meet Saturday, from 3:15 to 5:45 p.m., in the Mona Bishop Room of the Sierra Vista Public Library. The club will screen “Sicko,” a film by Michael Moore that examines the American health care system. Everyone is welcome. Call Janice Wheeler, 458-5452, or Phil Micheau, at 459-8728.

The Veterans of Foreign Wars Post & Ladies Auxiliary 9972 will hold its annual children’s Christmas Party on Sunday from 1 to 3 p.m., at the post, 549 Veterans Drive. All children, from infants to 12 years old, are welcome but must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. Refreshments and entertainment will be provided, and a surprise guest is expected at about 2 p.m.

http://www.svherald.com/articles/2007/12/12/news/doc475f81902c574615495617.txt



December 15th, 2007 1:25 pm
House Judiciary Trio Calls for Impeach Cheney Hearings
By John Nichols /
The Nation
Three senior members of the House Judiciary Committee have called for the immediate opening of impeachment hearings for Vice President Richard Cheney.
Democrats Robert Wexler of Florida, Luis Gutierrez of Illinois and Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin on Friday distributed a statement, "A Case for Hearings," that declares, "The issues at hand are too serious to ignore, including credible allegations of abuse of power that if proven may well constitute high crimes and misdemeanors under our constitution. The charges against Vice President Cheney relate to his deceptive actions leading up to the Iraq war, the revelation of the identity of a covert agent for political retaliation, and the illegal wiretapping of American citizens."
In particular, the Judiciary Committee members cite the recent revelation by former White House press secretary Scott McClellan that the Vice President and his staff purposefully gave him false information about the outing of Valerie Plame Wilson as a covert agent as part of a White House campaign to discredit her husband, former Ambassador Joe Wilson. On the basis of McClellan's statements, Wexler, Gutierrez and Baldwin say, "it is even more important for Congress to investigate what may have been an intentional obstruction of justice." The three House members argue that, "Congress should call Mr. McClellan to testify about what he described as being asked to ‘unknowingly [pass] along false information.'"

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=10560



December 15th, 2007 1:38 pm
Grijalva backs Kucinich's plan to impeach Cheney
By Daniel Scarpinato /
Arizona Daily Star
TUCSON, AZ -- U.S. Rep. Raúl Grijalva is the latest Democrat to endorse Dennis Kucinich's "Articles of Impeachment Against Dick Cheney."
Energized by his move, a local group of activists seeking to drum up support for an impeachment is now looking to pressure neighboring Democratic Rep. Gabrielle Giffords to join the effort.
Grijalva, a co-sponsor, said the impeachment bill has a "limited chance" at best of gaining the support it needs. But he signed on because of what he sees as major abuses by the Bush- Cheney administration.
"At least for me personally, it's more of a statement than anything else," said Grijalva, who represents Southwestern Arizona. "There has got to be some accountability."

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=10561



December 15th, 2007 1:44 pm
Steady stream of White House staff departures continues
Associated Press
WASHINGTON - President Bush is losing two more key aides as his presidency winds toward its end, with his chief speechwriter and lobbyist both announcing today that they are leaving.
The departures of speechwriter William McGurn and legislative affairs director Candida Wolff were disclosed at the daily senior staff meeting that starts almost every day at the White House, deputy press secretary Scott Stanzel said. The White House expects to make their replacements known by the end of the day, he said.
The last high-level departure from Bush’s team came just two weeks ago, when his top economic adviser announced he would be leaving. National Economic Council director Al Hubbard is being replaced by his deputy, Keith Hennessey.

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=10562



December 15th, 2007 1:48 pm
Bush: Use of Steroids Has 'Sullied' Baseball
By Michael Abramowitz /
Washington Post
President Bush said yesterday that steroids have "sullied" baseball but cautioned fans not to jump to conclusions about individual players identified as abusers in the report this week from a commission headed by former Senate majority leader George J. Mitchell.
Speaking for the first time about the new report, Bush said he was troubled by the allegations of steroid use and urged owners and players to take the report seriously.
"My hope is that this report is a part of putting the steroid era of baseball behind us," Bush told reporters in the Rose Garden. "I understand the impact that professional athletes can have on our nation's youth. And I just urge . . . those in the public spotlight, particularly athletes, to understand that when they violate their bodies, they're sending a terrible signal to America's young."
As a former owner of the Texas Rangers and a big baseball fan, Bush has appeared especially troubled by the report, which identified 91 current and former players, including some of the biggest names in the sport, as possible steroid abusers.

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=10563

continued...