Harper's: The Case for Impeachment

[deutsey]

Be sure to get the March issue of Harper's in which Lewis Lapham lays out the case for impeaching Bush.

Excerpt:

We have before us in the White House a thief who steals the country's good name and reputation for his private interest and personal use; a liar who seeks to instill in the American people a state of fear; a televangelist who engages the United States in a never-ending crusade against all the world's evil, a wastrel who squanders a vast sum of the nation's wealth on what turns out to be a recruiting drive certain to multiply the host of our enemies. In a word, a criminal--known to be armed and dangerous.

:thumbsup:

In a footnote, he notes there are better reasons for impeaching Bush "than the one pressed into service against Bill Clinton, whose penis was known to be aimless and shown to be harmless."

[jasmeel]

1. Harmless penises! FUNNY! Who knew there'd be comedy in

there too!

[Tin Man]

2. I'd say Lapham nailed it in his first sentence.

Worst
president
ever.

[deutsey]

3. The excerpt I quote is about five pages into the essay

He really kicks ass in those preceding pages. :evilgrin:

[Tin Man]

5. Oops, well he still nailed it in one sentence!

I'll read the entire essay when I get a chance - thanks for posting!

[im10ashus]

4. Thanks for posting.

Here are some more excerpts from the article:

The nearly complete silence raised the question as to what it was the congressman had in mind, and to whom did he think he was speaking? In time of war few propositions would seem as futile as the attempt to impeach a president whose political party controls the Congress; as the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee stationed on Capitol Hill for the last forty years, Representative Conyers presumably knew that to expect the Republican caucus in the House to take note of his invitation, much less arm it with the power of subpoena, was to expect a miracle of democratic transformation and rebirth not unlike the one looked for by President Bush under the prayer rugs in Baghdad. Unless the congressman intended some sort of symbolic gesture, self-serving and harmless, what did he hope to prove or to gain?

Conyers knew damn well what he was doing. He wanted the recognition of Bush’s illegalities and violations of the Constitution on the record... now.

“I don’t think enough people know how much damage this administration can do to their civil liberties in a very short time. What would you have me do? Grumble and complain? Make cynical jokes? Throw up my hands and say that under the circumstances nothing can be done? At least I can muster the facts, establish a record, tell the story that ought to be front-page news.”

The details of the Administration’s determination to create war out of whole cloth are well known and documented in Conyer’s resolution. For example:

The Conyers report doesn't return to the President's focus on Iraq until March 2002, when it finds him peering into the office of Condoleezza Rice, the national security advisor, to say, "Fuck Saddam. We're taking him out."

more...

http://prairieweather.typepad.com/

[deutsey]

6. Thanks for the link...those who go to it, scroll to the bottom of the page

[im10ashus]

7. You are welcome.

I wonder if this will be posted on their (Harper's) website.

:shrug:

[npincus]

8. WOW

is this available online?

[deutsey]

12. Harper's doesn't normally reprint essays online but

sometimes other sites will reprint full texts (I'm assuming with Harper's permission).

Definitely consider buying a copy when it hits newsstands (I'm a subscriber, so I get my copy a week or two early).

[dweller]

9. check out the townhall meeting

for tickets:
http://www.ticketmaster.com/event/03003C3F89A62FA0

dp

[deutsey]

10. Man, I wish I could go

[im10ashus]

11. I am going.

I just saw that today. Not far from my work at all.

[deutsey]

13. Please write up a summary of what happens for DU

You could even think about sending it to Buzzflash.

[callous taoboy]

14. I've subscribed to Harper's for 4 years now....

Just one hell of a great magazine, and very reasonable at $12 per year. Buying them at the bookstore can be costly. Lapham usually always hits it out of the ballpark.

[wellst0nev0ter]

15. Lapham Is Usually An Ornate Writer

but this time he is almost clear speaking and absolutely shrill. I knew he hated the Bush gang, but I never seen him as angrily lickspittle as this essay.

[patcox2]

16. "spittle emitting" vs "lickspittle."

not to be too pedantic, but you mean "spittle emitting," a cliche referring to someone so angry that spit is flying out of his mouth as he rages. "Lickspittle" is a noun which refers to a sycophant, someone who is a total ass-kisser. Someone who would lick up his boss's spit, as it were. Just didn't want to see Lapham called a lickspittle, because he is just the opposite.

Now, tweety saying that Bush "shines" with a "sunny nobility," thats being a lickspittle.

[wellst0nev0ter]

17. Okay, Thanx For The Correction

No seriously, I mean it. Very informative. :)

[Bucky]

18. "Harmless"? The CLENIS harmless? Is a shark cute? Is a bomb adorable?

My God! Look at all the damage the Clenis has done to America:

9/11
Gay marriage
Causing nonexistant global warming
Loss of family values
Katrina
Rita
The Apprentice: Martha Stewart
Enron
Halliburton
WMDs
Bird flu
Merger of the WB and UPN networks
cancellation of "Friends"

What's next... McSushi?

I fear for my country