"Following New York Governor David Paterson's controversial selection of Kirsten Gillibrand to fill the U.S. Senate vacancy created by the resignation of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and with the impeachment trial of Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich for abuses of office allegedly including the bartering off of the vacant Senate seat of President Barack Obama, Wisconsin Sen. Russ Feingold wants to require that Senate vacancies be filled by the voters rather than individual governors...."
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"Will Obama bring the Bushies to account? Will Congress? Some local DA? A judge in Europe? Anyone...?"Illustration: Roberto Parada (Mother Jones)
"If Congress won't, these folks might...."
"The president-elect wants to work with the Pakistani government to "stamp out" terror. It's not nearly that simple." Continue reading.Photo Credit: Juan Cole. The Vineyard of the Saker: Amy Goodman interviews Professor Juan Cole on Iran, Iraq, Turkey and Kurdistan
While I understand your desire to put the mistakes and failures of the Bush administration behind us and to focus on the future with a positive agenda of change, I believe it is absolutely necessary to the credibility of your promise of change that you investigate the abuses of the Bush administration and hold accountable anyone who has abused his or her power of office or participated in criminal acts.
Without holding government responsible for past abuses, there is nothing to preclude those same abuses from recurring. When you take the oath of office on January 20th, you will swear to uphold the Constitution. You cannot do so while allowing those who have disgraced it to fail to pay consequences for their actions.
Those who voted for you are passionately hopeful that you will live up to your campaign rhetoric and act boldly to do what is right for our country--no matter the political cost. We are facing unprecedented problems domestically and internationally. We need bold actions, truth, and real solutions.
I implore you to do what is necessary to restore the faith of Americans in our country's leadership by upholding your duties to protect the Constitution.
Thank you.
"...[A]bout Mr. Obama: while it’s probably in his short-term political interests to forgive and forget, next week he’s going to swear to “preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States.” That’s not a conditional oath to be honored only when it’s convenient...."
"...The former chief judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces and general counsel for the Department of the Army has spoken. Her clear words have been picked up around the world. And that takes the prospects of accountability and criminal investigation onto another level. For the Obama administration, the door to the do-nothing option is now closed. That is why today may come to be seen as the turning point."
"Obama cannot let former Bush administration officials get away with breaking the law without violating his own oath of office...."
