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Bush, oil executives, criminally liable for Iraq War, says Congressman
Buenos Aires News.Net
Saturday 28th June, 2008
A U.S. Congressman, who ran for president this year, and in 2004, this week accused the Bush administration of colluding with the nation's oil companies in targeting Iraq's oil reserves.
Surprisingly, the U.S. media has failed to report the allegations, notwithstanding they were aired in the House of Representatives on Thursday.
Ohio Representative Dennis J. Kucinich, a Democrat, in a speech to the House on Thursday, tied the secret meetings of the Cheney Energy Task Force to the recent awarding of non-competitive oil contracts in Iraq, and said that both the Bush Administration and the oil company executives who participated in those meetings in 2001, should be held criminally liable for an illegal war and extortion of Iraq’s oil.
“In March of 2001, when the Bush Administration began to have secret meetings with oil company executives from Exxon, Shell and BP, spreading maps of Iraq oil fields before them, the price of oil was $23.96 per barrel. Then there were 63 companies in 30 countries, other than the U.S., competing for oil contracts with Iraq,' said Kucinich.
“Today the price of oil is $135.59 per barrel, the U.S. Army is occupying Iraq and the first Iraq oil contracts will go, without competitive bidding to, surprise, (among a very few others) Exxon, Shell and BP.'
“Iraq has between 200 to 300 billion barrels of oil with a market value in the tens of trillions of dollars. And our government is trying to force Iraq not only to privatize its oil, but to accept a long-term U.S. military presence to guard the oil and protect the profits of the oil companies, while Americans pay between $4 and $5 a gallon for gas, and our troops continue dying,' said the Democratic lawmaker.
“We attacked a nation that did not attack us. Over 4,000 of our troops are dead. Over 1,000,000 innocent Iraqis have perished. The war will cost U.S. taxpayers between $2 to $3 trillion dollars. Our nation’s soul is stained because we went to war for the oil companies and their profits,' he said. 'There must be accountability not only with this Administration for its secret meetings and its open illegal warfare, but also for the oil company executives who were willing participants in a criminal enterprise of illegal war, the deaths of our soldiers and innocent Iraqis, and the extortion of the national resources of Iraq.'
“We have found the weapon of mass destruction in Iraq,' said Kucinich in his speech to the House of Representatives. 'It is oil. As long as the oil companies control our government Americans will continue to pay and pay, with our lives, our fortunes our sacred honor,” he concluded.
The Democratic Congressman, who has yet to endorse Barack Obama for the presidential election, should also be in the news for his recent efforts to impeach President George W. Bush, however again the media is almost completely silent on the matter. Without U.S. media attention, international news networks too appear to be loathe to pick up on the story.
Earlier this month Kucinich moved a motion to refer to committee Articles of Impeachment concerning the president. 'The sheer volume of the Articles required a referral to provide Members with an opportunity for review,' Kucinich said on June 11.
'It is now imperative that the Judiciary Committee begin a review of the 35 Articles. I will be providing supporting documentation to the committee so that it can proceed in an orderly manner. The weight of evidence contained in the Articles makes it clear that President Bush violated the Constitution and the U.S. Code as well as International law.'
'It is the House's responsibility as a co-equal branch of government to provide an effective check and balance to executive abuse of power. President Bush was principally responsible for directing the United States Armed Forces to attack Iraq,' the Ohio lawmaker said. 'The June 5th Senate Intelligence report convinced me it was time to act.'
In the report, the Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Senator Jay Rockefeller, said: 'In making the case for war, the Administration repeatedly presented intelligence as fact when in reality it was unsubstantiated, contradicted, or even non-existent. As a result, the American people were led to believe that the threat from Iraq was much greater than actually existed.'
'I believe that there is sufficient evidence in the Articles to support the charge that President Bush allowed, authorized and sanctioned the manipulation of intelligence by those acting under his direction and control, misleading Congress to approve a resolution authorizing the use of force against Iraq,' said Kucinich. 'As a result over 4,000 United States soldiers have died in combat in Iraq, with tens of thousands injured, many of them permanently impaired. Over a million innocent Iraqis have perished in a war which was based on lies, a war which will cost the American taxpayers as much as three trillion dollars,' he said.
'Now it is incumbent for the Judiciary Committee to review the evidence. If it fails to hold any hearings on the resolution within the next thirty days, given the gravity of the charges and the moment, I will once again bring a similar privileged resolution of Impeachment to the House. We must not only create an historical record of the misconduct of the Bush Administration but we must make sure that any future Administration is forewarned about the Constitutionally proscribed limits of executive authority and exercise of power contravening the Constitution,' Kucinich said.
Kucinich opposed the Iraq invasion and campaigned against it before the Congress authorized it. He reportedly persuaded a number of his colleagues to vote against the authorization bill. He challenged the legality of the war in court, and put forward a detailed plan over four years ago to end the occupation of Iraq.
Two weeks prior to the March 2003 Iraq invasion, the U.S. Department of Defense said it had plans to protect Iraq’s oil wells and facilities. “Oil is a natural resource of Iraq that provides commerce, income for education and other needs, and infrastructure,' a Pentagon statement said.
In warning that the Saddam Hussein regime had both “the capability and the intent to damage or destroy Iraq's oil fields,” the Defense Department said, “Reliable reports indicate that these activities have been planned, and in some cases, may already have begun. Recent information revealed that Iraq has received 24 railroad boxcars full of pentolite explosives.”
“Economically, destruction of the oil fields could have enormous and lasting effects on Iraq's post-war economy. Iraq's oil is vitally important for the future of the Iraqi people. The department estimates the potential income to the Iraqi people from oil at $20 to $30 billion a year,” the DoD statement said.
“U.S. plans are first to prevent the destruction of Iraq's oil fields and second, if unable to prevent the destruction, to control and mitigate the damage quickly. The department has crafted strategies that will allow U.S. forces to secure and protect the oil fields as rapidly as possible in order to preserve them prior to destruction. U.S. military forces would be responsible for securing and protecting the oil sites, and under appropriate contractual arrangements, private sector companies would extinguish any fires and assess damage to oil facilities,” the Pentagon statement said.
“The department has a plan for dealing, on short notice, with oil well fires that might occur in Iraq. Brown & Root Services a division of Kellogg Brown & Root, Inc., Houston developed the plan, which also addresses assessing damage to oil facilities, for the government,” the statement said. Kellogg Brown & Root, Inc., is a division of Halliburton, the company once headed by Cheney.
On July 17 2003 Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption and abuse, said that documents turned over by the Commerce Department, under court order as a result of Judicial Watch’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit concerning the activities of the Cheney Energy Task Force, contained a map of Iraqi oilfields, pipelines, refineries and terminals, as well as 2 charts detailing Iraqi oil and gas projects, and “Foreign Suitors for Iraqi Oilfield Contracts.” The documents, which are dated March 2001, are available at www.judicialwatch.org
Former Treasury Secretary Paul O’Neill has long argued that Cheney agitated for U.S. intervention in Iraq well prior to the terrorist attacks of September 11. Additional evidence that Cheney played an early planning role is contained in a previously undisclosed National Security Council document, dated February 3, 2001. The top-secret document, written by a high-level National Security Council official, concerned Cheney’s Energy Task Force. It directed the N.S.C. staff to cooperate fully with the Energy Task Force as it considered “the “melding” of two seemingly unrelated areas of policy: “the review of operational policies towards rogue states,” such as Iraq, and “actions regarding the capture of new and existing oil and gas fields.”
Iraq's oil ministry has said it will formally announce the names of foreign oil majors who have been awarded deals on June 30.  Email this story to a friend
Comments on this story
Anonymous
06-29-08, 10:28 AM |
What a lot of Bull.
Someone somewhere said the constitution was dead. Not a bit of it. The constitution is up and running as it should. Protecting everyone. Even thoses who are trying to bring it down. If any froof of misdeeds we would of heared about it - not from the usual cry baby part time politicians we hear all the time. After years of serching for anything to discredit the Gov. Its time to put up or shut up. By that i mean Real proof and not fabricated storys.
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xdockman
06-29-08, 11:26 AM |
War in Iraq
I don’t know how in the hello does so many people blame Bush when other politicans voted to go to war. Do us all a favor and list the names all those who voted to go to war.
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Anonymous
06-29-08, 05:56 AM |
Who's the baby now.
Everybody talking about proof. What proof. What conspiracys. Seems to me no one has any proof. Plenty of theorys though. Good job none of these post have any bearing in OUR Gov. Nothing in the main news either. What a crock.
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Anonymous
06-29-08, 07:22 AM |
Super Grabbers.
So,the weapons of mass destruction is OIL. Ain’t that funny! Are people in the West that dumb,that they can be hoodwinked to go fight a war for the oil companies to profit.
Tell that to the Iragis.
So this is how US became the world’s superpower,by grabbing 50 states that belonged to others. Then,grabbing other countries resources by hook or by crook. Super grabbers that’s what they are.
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Fatma
06-29-08, 05:51 AM |
I’ve never been so ashamed of America in all my life, as is my whole family, and our friends. We are embarrassed and humiliated! Bush, Cheny and his gang need to be tried for war crimes. Corporate America has gone crazy with greed, while lazy Americans sit on their butts eating bon bons and watching t.v. The once beloved America is gone, there is no more freedom there any more, if you say the wrong thing all of a sudden your a terrorist or not patriotic to your country. Not to mention the Jewish run media in America (top five american media groups are run by jews) has nicely put its own slant on everything and determined what we will and will not see on the news. I dont hate jews dont get me wrong, but I disagree with Zionism. Everyone has their agenda that runs America, but none of it is in the interest of the American people. However, like I said, Americans are lazy as hell because they wont stand up for whats right until its to late and they wonder what hit them. Congress is to blame too, they know whats going on and they refuse to do anything about it, they too do not represent the American public. I’m sorry to the Iraqi people, this is horrible for them. Talk about a conflict of interest, no bid oil contracts? America should have no part in those contracts! Iran is next, and it will be the fall of what was once a decent country, America. That stupid Bush is trying to take all the oil rich countries in the middle east, what a narcisstic, arogant, self absorbed, power hungery, war mongering, idiot!!! But no worries, if Americans dont get him, God will in the end.
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Anonymous
06-29-08, 04:23 AM |
Gooday.
Its always been about oil. The life blood of the world. We live in a conspriracy theory infected world where anyone can dream up conspiracy theorys to suit a cause. Myself. I tend to wait and see and try and see through the nutters rantings. The truth is out there.
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haypatto
06-29-08, 01:59 AM |
About bloody time mate!!
We Australians marched against becoming involved in this bloody war. Any fool could see what it was all about before it even started. What’s with you yanks. Get your heads out of the tv and watch real life for a change.
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Anonymous
06-29-08, 02:12 AM |
Just when it was getting interesting. An error. Suits some.
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Lord Jesus
06-29-08, 01:34 AM |
Strange how some people have some much money and yet they feel so poor. they feel as they need more.. Then after all this death and destruction they leave this world as they have arrived.. with nothing but their spirit and consciousness. Why do they feel so poor? I suspect that they are looking in the wrong place
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Anonymous
06-29-08, 01:40 AM |
What would happen to drug dealers
If a drug dealer is caught then they would lose all their assets. Is this no better than a drug dealer? Take their assets, that is what would really hurt them
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ekcolysp
06-28-08, 09:03 PM |
Bush, oil executives, criminally liable for Iraq War, says Congressman
Hi,
Due to an error in our database maintenance process, this thread, and some others have been deleted. We were unable to restore it from our back-up database.
Please feel free to post what you have already posted.
Thank you for your understanding.
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daumyk@aol.com
06-29-08, 11:37 AM |
stephany
when all the plants and animals have been murdered by the species known as humans, what will the rich spend their ill gotten gains on? thank you mr k. stephanyjmra6b
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Anonymous
06-29-08, 05:24 PM |
Iraq war was a response to rewarding terrorist
Anybody could see that the Iraqi regime had to go the minute Saddahm said he was rewarding $25,000. to the family of suicide bombers in Israel. Israel couldn’t let this stand and they would have bombed or attacked Iraq to effect regime change. But that would have only united the Moslem World against Israel. The lesser evil was for the U.S. to cause the Iraqi regime change. I think this was the only reason for our invading Iraq; although the failure of the U.N. Sanction (officials being bribed by Saddahm) was a big factor in keeping him in power. It is not impossible that illegal profiteering has gone on; but I don’t think it was the sole motivation for the war. I am not opposed to an investigation and punishment for those profiteers.
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```~galljdaj+
06-28-08, 09:50 PM |
Impeachment is not enough!
The Next President Needs to Issue an Order for the Arrest and Immediate Transfer of the Entire Gang that participated/managed Crimes, to the ICC for War Crime Trials!
The US Courts are contaminated and cannot be trusted to protect the Constitution!
The ICC Treaty needs to be resigned in January 2009, and submitted to Congress for Ratification as a First Item of the New President! Only Candidates that Have Promised the American People to take these actions should be considered by the American People as 'candidates'! They Must Demand this of each candidate!
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Sammy
06-29-08, 03:10 AM |
ekcolysp
06-28-08, 09:03 PM
It is good way to get rid of all the un-favored opinions, just blame it on the computer database.
I still say; Impeach bush and all of his gang of cut-throats, take all of their assets away, and then turn them over to The International Criminal Tribunal, for crimes, against humanity, torture, and human rights abuses.
P/S Yukon, a good try, use another excuse to try and oppress opinions against you next time, because the database trick is a very old one, keep up with the times, and you have a lot to learn, unless you are playing the innocent Indian, saying; it was not me mama!
Sammy
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afgail
06-29-08, 05:30 AM |
Finally Proof
At long last proof of what was widely suspected and that we already knew intuitively. The war was/is grand theft and the crooks are in the White House. Only the truly depraved defend or dismiss the charges.
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Anonymous
06-29-08, 05:31 AM |
afgail
Only the dumbasses with BDS, like you, make charges without proof. Another fascist in our midst.
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reddragon696
06-30-08, 09:47 AM |
Bush Criminally Liable
There is no way that the American Press would dare to challenge the bush Regime and the illegal actions commited by bush and cheney.
bush has had the press in his pocket since he was appointed president by the 'Rubber-Stamp' Supreme Court in 2000. He has commited numerous crimes against Us, The People, with impunity and the Congress is responsible for allowing him to do so without charging him with Treason.
I have no doubt that he will end his presidency without any charges being filed against him because Republican wannabe Pelosi who is Speaker of the House has refused to even entertain the idea of bringing impeachment proceedings against him.
The American Press has refused to honour its Constitutional Mandate under the 4th Amendment to keep Us, The People, informed of Governmental Wrongdoing and by this refusal has helped bush to set up a Dictatorial Police State in America from which we may never be able to escape.
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Samurai
06-29-08, 05:36 AM |
Kucinich always had it right
This is why Bush and his cronies in Congress have yet to be impeached.
First of all, Ron Paul and Dennis Kucinich have had it right from the start- the Constitution is dead.
Second, there is no liberal media in the US. It has become a propaganda machine for Bush, the neocons and Israel.
Third, Americans don’t read. If they did, we would not be in this mess.
Fourth, there is no military draft so why should Americans get upset over the deaths of Americans and Iraqis.
Fifth, Congress is guilty as Bush and the media. Until people start studying the issues rather than the garbage in blogs, newspapers, and TV, the end of the US era is near. Americans just don’t get it.
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Sammy
06-29-08, 05:37 AM |
Cough it out baby, cough out the truth, it is coming out ofyour mouth
yukon
06-28-08, 05:34 PM
Yukon. it takes a little courage to admit that you are wrong, so cough out the truth, it will make you free.
It is useless to cover the truth with other lies, and accusing others as being mentally retarded, when they evidence the truth to you.
So be brave and accept that your hero is a villan, who has done more harm than good for humanity, and should be brought to face justice for his crimes.
Sammy
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Road-rat, usa
06-29-08, 10:14 PM |
US Senate roll call vote on Iraq War Resolution
Bush lied and many died ...and the war wages on.
http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=107&vote=00237&session=2
Grouped by Home State Alabama: Sessions (R-AL), Yea Shelby (R-AL), Yea
Alaska: Murkowski (R-AK), Yea Stevens (R-AK), Yea
Arizona: Kyl (R-AZ), Yea McCain (R-AZ), Yea
Arkansas: Hutchinson (R-AR), Yea Lincoln (D-AR), Yea
California: Boxer (D-CA), Nay Feinstein (D-CA), Yea
Colorado: Allard (R-CO), Yea Campbell (R-CO), Yea
Connecticut: Dodd (D-CT), Yea Lieberman (D-CT), Yea
Delaware: Biden (D-DE), Yea Carper (D-DE), Yea
Florida: Graham (D-FL), Nay Nelson (D-FL), Yea
Georgia: Cleland (D-GA), Yea Miller (D-GA), Yea
Hawaii: Akaka (D-HI), Nay Inouye (D-HI), Nay
Idaho: Craig (R-ID), Yea Crapo (R-ID), Yea
Illinois: Durbin (D-IL), Nay Fitzgerald (R-IL), Yea
Indiana: Bayh (D-IN), Yea Lugar (R-IN), Yea
Iowa: Grassley (R-IA), Yea Harkin (D-IA), Yea
Kansas: Brownback (R-KS), Yea Roberts (R-KS), Yea
Kentucky: Bunning (R-KY), Yea McConnell (R-KY), Yea
Louisiana: Breaux (D-LA), Yea Landrieu (D-LA), Yea
Maine: Collins (R-ME), Yea Snowe (R-ME), Yea
Maryland: Mikulski (D-MD), Nay Sarbanes (D-MD), Nay
Massachusetts: Kennedy (D-MA), Nay Kerry (D-MA), Yea
Michigan: Levin (D-MI), Nay Stabenow (D-MI), Nay
Minnesota: Dayton (D-MN), Nay Wellstone (D-MN), Nay
Mississippi: Cochran (R-MS), Yea Lott (R-MS), Yea
Missouri: Bond (R-MO), Yea Carnahan (D-MO), Yea
Montana: Baucus (D-MT), Yea Burns (R-MT), Yea
Nebraska: Hagel (R-NE), Yea Nelson (D-NE), Yea
Nevada: Ensign (R-NV), Yea Reid (D-NV), Yea
New Hampshire: Gregg (R-NH), Yea Smith (R-NH), Yea
New Jersey: Corzine (D-NJ), Nay Torricelli (D-NJ), Yea
New Mexico: Bingaman (D-NM), Nay Domenici (R-NM), Yea
New York: Clinton (D-NY), Yea Schumer (D-NY), Yea
North Carolina: Edwards (D-NC), Yea Helms (R-NC), Yea
North Dakota: Conrad (D-ND), Nay Dorgan (D-ND), Yea
Ohio: DeWine (R-OH), Yea Voinovich (R-OH), Yea
Oklahoma: Inhofe (R-OK), Yea Nickles (R-OK), Yea
Oregon: Smith (R-OR), Yea Wyden (D-OR), Nay
Pennsylvania: Santorum (R-PA), Yea Specter (R-PA), Yea
Rhode Island: Chafee (R-RI), Nay Reed (D-RI), Nay
South Carolina: Hollings (D-SC), Yea Thurmond (R-SC), Yea
South Dakota: Daschle (D-SD), Yea Johnson (D-SD), Yea
Tennessee: Frist (R-TN), Yea Thompson (R-TN), Yea
Texas: Gramm (R-TX), Yea Hutchison (R-TX), Yea
Utah: Bennett (R-UT), Yea Hatch (R-UT), Yea
Vermont: Jeffords (I-VT), Nay Leahy (D-VT), Nay
Virginia: Allen (R-VA), Yea Warner (R-VA), Yea
Washington: Cantwell (D-WA), Yea Murray (D-WA), Nay
West Virginia: Byrd (D-WV), Nay Rockefeller (D-WV), Yea
Wisconsin: Feingold (D-WI), Nay Kohl (D-WI), Yea
Wyoming: Enzi (R-WY), Yea Thomas (R-WY), Yea
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cease_the_day
06-30-08, 10:56 AM |
Good Man, Kucinich
I’ve been wondering where the voices of reason have been since the illegal elections that brought Bush to power. Thank You Kucinich and Feingold among others who’ve been against this nonsense from the start. And let’s not stop with impeachment. This is murder. Show Bush the sword he’s used on so many in Texas with WAAAY less evidence. The damage he and his greed have inflicted on the world can only begin to heal when he is put away for good.
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George Dubya Bush
06-30-08, 12:57 PM |
So??
God told me to invade Iraq for oil... my oil buddies need more product to sell in China and India for as long as they can get away with it because the global supply of oil won’t last forever, and Global Warming is not forcing the entire planet to move away from oil anyway. The Oil industry will soon join the makers of the betamax, B&W tv’s, and 8-track players.
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George Dubya Bush
06-30-08, 01:04 PM |
So?? [type corrected... heck, I'm a moron]
God told me to invade Iraq for oil... my oil buddies need more product to sell in China and India for as long as they can get away with it because the global supply of oil won’t last forever, and Global Warming is forcing the entire planet to move away from oil anyway. The Oil industry will soon join the makers of the betamax, B&W tv’s, and 8-track players.
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Anonymous
07-02-08, 10:45 PM |
Bring it on Bush said to the oil execs
What a great story and thank you so much for printing it. Where is the American media on this, why has this been buried? Alan Greenspan confessed last year Iraq was all about oil. And now we find this out. This has been a criminal conspiracy and its about time the American people started demanding answers. Members of Congress should be demanded to take action to investigate this crime. We are not just talking about hundreds of billions in this rip-off but trillions. Where is the US justice department and the FBI? Have they been told to ignore this? People stand up and demand answers!!!!!
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Guinnevere
07-06-08, 02:22 PM |
What About Hugo Chavez?
The man who has been characterized as a Tyrant and a Dictator for taking Venezuela’s natural assets away from the likes of Exxon-Mobil and making gasoline affordable for his nation’s citizens, while providing government-paid universal health care and education to every Venezuelan, is a hero to me. Perfect? No... but an order of magnitude better than any of the stiffs we’ve suffered from having as president here in the last sixty-five years.
This country hasn’t the courage to do anything that forward-looking for itself. The fascists running the USA were so scared of losing their stranglehold on the nation, they completely blanked out coverage of Dennis Kucinich (the only REAL progressive candidate on the ticket) and forced his withdrawal from the presidential race by trying to remove him from the House of Representatives. Something similar then happened to John Edwards (the nearest facsimile of a progressive), and then finally Ron Paul (who isn’t progressive, but like Mr. Kucinich is in favor of restoring the Constitution and the Rule of Law - how frightening!) And the voters just sat in front of their TVs, watching American Idol (American Idle?), and let it happen.
But Dennis Kucinich continues to fight for justice. We don’t deserve your loyal efforts, Mr. Kucinich, but the Constitution does. Go on fighting the good fight! One day, maybe this nation will have the guts - and the brains - to support you.
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yukon
07-06-08, 02:32 PM |
Guinnevere
Guinnevere;89962:
The man who has been characterized as a Tyrant and a Dictator for taking Venezuela’s natural assets away from the likes of Exxon-Mobil and making gasoline affordable for his nation’s citizens, while providing government-paid universal health care and education to every Venezuelan, is a hero to me. Perfect? No... but an order of magnitude better than any of the stiffs we’ve suffered from having as president here in the last sixty-five years.
This country hasn’t the courage to do anything that forward-looking for itself. The fascists running the USA were so scared of losing their stranglehold on the nation, they completely blanked out coverage of Dennis Kucinich (the only REAL progressive candidate on the ticket) and forced his withdrawal from the presidential race by trying to remove him from the House of Representatives. Something similar then happened to John Edwards (the nearest facsimile of a progressive), and then finally Ron Paul (who isn’t progressive, but like Mr. Kucinich is in favor of restoring the Constitution and the Rule of Law - how frightening!) And the voters just sat in front of their TVs, watching American Idol (American Idle?), and let it happen.
But Dennis Kucinich continues to fight for justice. We don’t deserve your loyal efforts, Mr. Kucinich, but the Constitution does. Go on fighting the good fight! One day, maybe this nation will have the guts - and the brains - to support you.
Your rant is laughable and pathetic. LOLAY! “The fascists running the USA”? You are truly a KOOK!
Where do you reside, in Venezuela? Have you ever paid taxes? Or are you a parasite like most “progressives”?
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