Many of the items you wrote of are scarey and indeed need to be worked on in a major way. Please remember though America has some enemies that would at any cost do bring us into harms way. I feel that if you stop and remember what happened and how easily they did on 9/11, something needs to happen.

I value my freedoms and in doing so I know that to have what I have has taken sacrafices on my part and by others through the years. Let us hold on to our freedoms through some sacrafice rather then forfeiting them through strive, sarrow and unnecessary violance and deaths.

Keep fighting for your freedoms and rights.

Hi Adrian!

    For what it's worth, below are a few exchanges involving Rep Arcuri, MoveOn, et al, pertaining to Impeachment. Clearly Arcuri is not "there" yet and needs pressure - LOTS of pressure  ;-)

    I also must apologize in advance - brevity is not my strong suit - but hopefully the messages speak for themselves.

 ===============

 Greetings Fellow Progressives,

    [i'm not even sure this is a functional return e-dress, but justin case...]

   I am not sure if MoveOn attempts to pressure specific congressmen, especially when they profess to be progressive, but thought I would pass along the following exchanges with Rep Arcuri [D- NY-24th] :

================================

Dear Congressman Arcuri,

    I am sending a copy of a message I sent to Senator Leahy concerning filing Contempt of Congress charges against the Administration.

   As stated in the letter, I am urging you...with your colleagues, to ask Rep. Conyers to do the same thing.

   I also AGAIN urge you to join with the [slowly] growing number of colleagues who have joined on as cosigners to Rep Kucinich's bill to impeach Richard Cheney. I sent the following to three colleagues who signed last week:
 =================

      I wanted to take an opportunity to express my sincere appreciation for stepping forward to co-sponsor the Kucinich bill to Impeach the Vice President. The recent revelations in the Washington Post on top of the Vice President's latest lunatic assertion that the Vice President is not part of the Executive Branch only served to remind us what most have known for six years: that he has consistently abused and manipulated power to circumvent law and the legitimate functions of government; falsified intelligence taking America into an illegal War of Aggession; perverted law to institutionalize cruelty and torture as well as nullify universal civil rights; disclosed the identification of covert CIA Agent Plame; and - with his aide Addington has been the driving force behind "signing statement. His  presence in office represents a continuing threat to the Constitution, National Security, and even the environment.

     I understand your action may not be popular in Washington or the media. Even the party leadership refuses to consider Impeachment, arguing there are "more important" needs to be addressed. When the President and Vice President continously ignor law, the Constitution, and even rulings of the Supreme Court, then all other Congressional actions are rendered meaningless. Put simply, NOTHING can be more important than preserving the integrity of the Constitution and Rule of Law. Those who would subvert our Republic MUST be held accountable. The only provision to hold high officials accountable is impeachment.!

    Your public stand was an act of courage. Sadly, the media has all but ignored it. I only learned of it through a Dave Lindorff article on the net. But rest assured...there are millions across the land who applaud and support you!

    Finally, I would urge you and your colleagues to pressure Rep. John Conyers to reintroduce his bill from the last Congress calling for creation of a special committee to investigate possible impeachable crimes by the administration.

   Again....  THANK YOU
=================================

Rep Arcuri responded:
                                                                                         July 13, 2007
Dear Mr. Touse,

      Thank you for contacting me to express your support for the impeachment of Administration officials. I appreciate that you took the time to share your thoughts with me.

      There are many areas where the Administration and I disagree, and I have been outraged by the secrecy and partisanship they have employed in pursuit of their objectives. As a former District Attorney, I am deeply troubled by questions regarding the legality of the NSA warrantless surveillance program, as well as open-ended detention of enemy combatants without access to due process.

    The newly-elected Congress has a critical role to play in getting to the bottom of these secret initiatives, and I am confident that the full facts of these issues will be presented and debated in a public forum. Over 100 hearings on mismanagement of the Iraq War alone have been held since the new Congress began in January. You may also be pleased to learn that I recently voted in favor of Congressman McGovern's Iraq redeployment bill, which would have begun a responsible redeployment of our troops beginning 90 days after passage. Additionally, the House and Senate Judiciary Committees and the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee have been working to shed light on dozens of other questionable Administration policies.

   I assure you, I am in favor of vigorous and extensive investigations into the intelligence behind the Iraq conflict, the Administration's energy policy, domestic surveillance, and other critical issues. However, the new Congress was elected to chart a new direction for America, and I strongly believe that the lengthy, costly impeachment process would not only further divide our country, but would distract us from the goals of true reform and progress. We now have the opportunity to reverse many of the disastrous policies implemented over the past six years, and I am focused on working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to legislate positive change.

Thank you again for sharing your thoughts with me. To receive updates on my work in New York and Washington, visit my website at arcuri.house.gov to sign up for my regular e-newsletter. Please don't hesitate to contact me again if I can be of help on this or any other matter.

Sincerely,

Michael A. Arcuri

Member of Congress

==================================
I answered with the following:

Dear Congressman Arcuri,

    Thank You for your response.

    I applaud the legislative actions you have initiated and supported.

    Certainly America hoped for a new direction in 2006. However, that was not the only - nor even the primary - reason America voted so strongly in favor of Democrats.

    Most voters realized as long as Bush remained in office, there would be little hope of passing a strong Democratic, progressive agenda. He would impulsively veto anything Democratic. We understood that. We also understood it would be all but impossible to override his veto!  Beyond that, America had a five year history of presidential "signing statements" attached to duly passed congressional legislation proclaiming he was not bound by any provision of law he disagreed with.

    In short, no matter what laws Congress pass, no matter what decisions or orders the Federal Courts issued, the President would simply do as he chose - Without Consequence!   

    The People came out in strength to STOP this President's unending assault on the Constitution and Rule of Law.

    The People voted to FINALLY force this President to be held accountable.

    The People elected You and your colleagues Mr Congressman "to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution..."  There is NO higher priority!

    The list of known and suspected high crimes and misdemeanors are common knowledge. Since you have taken office, evidence of additional wrong-doing mounts at an accelerated pace. One can only imagine what still lurks beneath the surface. Perjury, obstruction, and blatant CONTEMPT have become almost a daily routine for this Administration. For Congress to proceed believing they can reach some reasonable accommodation with this President and coast through the next eighteen plus months without additional damage to government and the Constitutional is as delusional as the President's belief in his success in the occupation of Iraq and the War on Terror - and just as destructive!   

    When the traditional checks and balances are no longer operational - as IS the current case - the Constitution provides Only one means to hold an over-reaching executive accountable: Impeachment!

    We are spending $12 Billion per month on an Illegal War of Aggression and you argue it would be too costly to defend the Constitution!! 

    To argue that impeachment would be "too divisive" is to suggest the Democratic caucus and Party, with all the resources available can not use the truth and all the evidence to justify impeachment to construct a message the public could understand and support. Polls suggest the People are already there - and Congress' declining approval may well reflect the publics' Rage that Congress has failed to exercise it's constitutional responsibility.

    This is NOT political.  The Constitution is in jeopardy.

    This issue will not go away.

    I again urge you to support impeachment now.

    Thank You for your attention...

Sincerely,
Dan Touse      
 =================================

     Any additional pressure MoveOn or its members can bring to bear on the progressive Rep Arcuri may inspire him to...reconsider.   ;-)

    In any case,  Thanks for the ear

Dan
------=_
  

Forgot to mention I live in Vernon but lived at Goodyear Lake from 1977-99. My ancestral roots date back to the beginnings of Otsego Co...my great grandparents are buried at Fly Creek...

Feel free to contact me anytime @  dtouse@tds.net

A couple more points:

    Iraq - on paper - is a sovereign nation. If they formally requested or even ordered us to leave tomorrow, by law we would have to leave.

    A majority of the Iraqi legislature signed a petition demanding we leave. If that petition is introduced and passed as a law, we would have to comply.

    The Coalition Forces currently serve under a UN Security Council Resolution which expires 31 Dec.  I believe if that Resolution is not renewed we would lose our legal justification to remain. At a minimum I would assume if it was not renewed, "coalition" forces would bug out in a NY minute!

    Perhaps pressure can be brought to bear on Democrats.com, MoveOn, Codepink, afterdowningstreet, etc to launch a petition drive to urge the UN not to renew our authorization...

     just random thoughts....

     take care ;-)