Meeting with Rep. Price's staff about impeachment, December 7th

There will be a meeting with David Price's Durham
stafd to present petitions and discuss impeachment
December 7th at 4pm at the Mutual Life Building (411
West Main St.).  There is visitor parking by the
office.  We should meet outside the office 10 minutes
early.  This meeting is to find out if Price's
position on holding Bush accountable has become more
active now that the Democrats will control Congress
and after further anti-democratic acts by the Bush
Administration. Updates will be posted at
downingstreetactionnc.blogspot.com.  Help
publicizing the meeting is appreciated.

The petition is online at
www.petitiononline.com/dsmnc/petition.html and on
paper at the Durham Food Co-op, The Peoples Channel
studio, and Internationalist Books.

A petition to the Durham City Council is
online at www.petitiononline.com/durimp and one for a

State resolution is at www.petitiononline.com/ncres.

Democrats.com called for impeachment committees to be
set up in all Congressional districts, and there are
now committees in all (?) of the districts in the
Triangle (link from www.impeachbushcheney.net).
Meetup.com impeachment groups are active in Durham

(next meeting November 29th) and Raleigh (soon to ask the

City Council to pass resolutions) and GRIM is planning

events in December and January.  There will be a demonstration

in DC January 27th and there will probably be charter buses from the Triangle.

Changes to DSA-NC

There is now a new mission statement, reflecting my view that impeaching Bush and others is necessary, but that many leading Democrats must answer for their actions (or inactions). Now that the Democrats control Congress, it is definitely their duty to oppose Bush's bad policies, and they will be more to blame when the Federal government (inevitably) betrays democratic principles.

I had hoped that this blog would be a hub for the local impeachment movement, but instead it has been more like a personal impeachment blog. I'm still open to the option of a joint effort. I hope to increase the originality of content, usefulness of commentary, and regularity of postings on Downing Street Action. Thank you to the people who do read and post here. The struggle to hold Bush accountable is mainstream now, through the work of GRIM and other local and national groups.

I changed the official name of the blog. I decided against using After Downing Street, but I didn't get around to changing it here. It's time to stop copying the After Downing Street Coalition's name! It could be time for an entirely new name, but I say keep DSA-NC, because that is the name in circulation and it commemorates the start of our local movement.

The old header is:

This blog grew out of the Chapel Hill, NC meeting on the July 23, 2005 day of action on the Downing Street memos (called by Rep. John Conyers, Jr. and the After Downing Street Coalition). This is a site for discussing and organizing action on the Downing Street memos and the impeachment of Bush & Co in North Carolina.

Meeting at Price's Durham office in December on impeachment

I'm scheduling a petition delivery meeting with Tracy
Lovett at Rep. Price's Durham office (411 W. Chapel
Hill St, the Mutual Life Building).  Thursday,
December 7th or 14th, at 4 or 5pm is available.  I
think December 7th would be good, since the After
Downing Street Coalition is calling for impeachment
events for Human Rights Day, on the 10th, and I assume
if we meet at 4pm we could talk longer than at 5pm, if
there is more to say.  What do you all think?  

 

There are more signatures on the first petition (online version at

www.petitiononline.com/dsmnc/petition.html) and there is a similar petition 

from over the summer to present.  The situation in Congress has of course

also changed since the last time we met with Price's staff (in Chapel Hill) and

Bush has pushed further against the Constitution and the Bill of Rights

(for example, with the Military Commissions Act, which can be used against

citizens).  As I said, I don't expect a lot from Price on

truly holding Bush accountable, but maybe something has changed, and it is

necessary to show what we think, even if it is not yet enough to move Price to act. 

Impeachment events around Human Rights Day, December 10th

This is another message from David Swanson, of the After Downing Street Coalition, sent Tuesday the 14th.  The local Grass Roots Impeachment Movement (www.impeachbushcheney.net ) is already using some of the tactics called for below.  The meeting at Rep. Price's office in Durham to present more petitions will probably be around December 10th. It might be on a Thursday in the late afternoon. 

Now that the Democrats control Congress impeachment is more likely, but we still face an uphill battle.  Rep. Nancy Pelosi and others have already rejected impeachment (or say they do).  I think Rep. Brad Miller rejected it (see the post about the CCR video showing in the summer).  Price might vote for impeachment, but I'm sure he won't be in the lead on it.  If the members of Congress do their Constitutional duty and impeach, it is likely they will be soft on Bush and others, since many Democrats in Congress support some of the illegal and anti-democratic policies pursued by the Bush Administration.  For example, many supported the attack on Iraq.  The Bush Administration was lying in its case for War, but many Democrats ignored the evidence that Bush was lying and these Democrats wanted "regime change" anyway.  Some wanted a UN Security Council seal of approval and a stronger coalition, but they still wanted to wage a war of aggression against a developing country that was not a threat to the USA and did not have weapons of mass destruction or ties to al-Qaida (unlike 'our allies' Pakistan and Saudi Arabia).  Many Democratic politicians are still advocating increased force in Afghanistan (instead of in Iraq) and harsh measures, possibly military force, against Iran and the DPRK (meanwhile some Democrats, such as Price and I think Miller, voted for Bush's nuclear deal with India, rewarding India for violating the non-proliferation treaty).  The Democrats might be more firm on Bush's signing statements and actions against Congressional oversight - we'll see.      

From David Swanson:

Can you modify any elements of this you want to use and send to the largest list you have? 

IMPEACHMENT BY SPRING: HERE'S THE PLAN

________________

Plan Events on December 10th, Human Rights and Impeachment Day

December 10 is Human Rights Day, and this year we're making it Human Rights and Impeachment Day. Slogan: "Putting Impeachment on the Table."

We encourage you to organize a town hall forum or rally on this day for the impeachment of Bush and Cheney.

You can create a public listing of your event here. You will be able to communicate with the people who sign up for your event, and to edit the listing for your event, changing or filling in details later.

You can view existing events and sign up to attend one here.

Here is a list of available speakers with their contact info.

Be sure also to invite your Congress Member or newly elected future Congress Member to speak.

Here are resources that will make your event easy and effective.

http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/december10

________________

Collect Signatures on Petitions
Collect millions of them, especially in front of your Congress Member's offices. Use this to build local organizations as well as a national list of names.

http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/petition

________________

Join a Congressional District Impeachment Committee
Organize locally to lobby your Representative:

http://www.democrats.com/cdic

________________

Pass State and Local Resolutions
Pass impeachment resolutions in your town or city, state, political party, or labor union. Use the petitioning (above) to help make this happen:

http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/resolutions

________________

Be a Media Activist
Work the media for impeachment:

http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/media

________________

Talking Points and Other Resources to Assist You

http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/resourcecenter

________________

Impeachment Conference Call November 13, 2006
81 organizers and activists from across the country took part in a conference call Monday evening to discuss upcoming actions to advance the impeachment of Bush and Cheney. You can listen to the 90-minute call to catch up and get involved. We'll post the transcript and notes ASAP.
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/downloads/impeachcall.mp3

________________

Audio and Video from Philadelphia on Veterans Day
Here is video of our impeachment movement launch:
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/phillyvideo

Here is audio:
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/phillyaudio

________________

We Now Have Shirts With Long Sleeves

http://www.wavelengthclothing.com/impeach_bush.html

________________

Invite the Bush Chain Gang to Your Town
Reduce fear and roadside trash: put them to work.

http://backbonecampaign.org/chaingang.cfm

Impeachment events around Human Rights Day, December 10th

This is another message from David Swanson, of the After Downing Street Coalition, sent Tuesday the 14th.  The local Grass Roots Impeachment Movement ( www.impeachbushcheney.net ) is already using some of the tactics called for below.  The meeting at Rep. Price's office in Durham to present more petitions will probably be around December 10th. It might be on a Thursday in the late afternoon. 

Now that the Democrats control Congress impeachment is more likely, but we still face an uphill battle.  Rep. Nancy Pelosi and others have already rejected impeachment (or say they do).  I think Rep. Brad Miller rejected it (see the post about the CCR video showing in the summer).  Price might vote for impeachment, but I'm sure he won't be in the lead on it.  If the members of Congress do their Constitutional duty and impeach, it is likely they will be soft on Bush and others, since many Democrats in Congress support some of the illegal and anti-democratic policies pursued by the Bush Administration.  For example, many supported the attack on Iraq.  The Bush Administration was lying in its case for War, but many Democrats ignored the evidence that Bush was lying and these Democrats wanted "regime change" anyway.  Some wanted a UN Security Council seal of approval and a stronger coalition, but they still wanted to wage a war of aggression against a developing country that was not a threat to the USA and did not have weapons of mass destruction or ties to al-Qaida (unlike 'our allies' Pakistan and Saudi Arabia).  Many Democratic politicians are still advocating increased force in Afghanistan (instead of in Iraq) and harsh measures, possibly military force, against Iran and the DPRK (meanwhile some Democrats, such as Price and I think Miller, voted for Bush's nuclear deal with India, rewarding India for violating the non-proliferation treaty).  The Democrats might be more firm on Bush's signing statements and actions against Congressional oversight - we'll see.      

From David Swanson:

Can you modify any elements of this you want to use and send to the largest list you have? 

IMPEACHMENT BY SPRING: HERE'S THE PLAN

________________

Plan Events on December 10th, Human Rights and Impeachment Day

December 10 is Human Rights Day, and this year we're making it Human Rights and Impeachment Day. Slogan: "Putting Impeachment on the Table."

We encourage you to organize a town hall forum or rally on this day for the impeachment of Bush and Cheney.

You can create a public listing of your event here. You will be able to communicate with the people who sign up for your event, and to edit the listing for your event, changing or filling in details later.

You can view existing events and sign up to attend one here.

Here is a list of available speakers with their contact info.

Be sure also to invite your Congress Member or newly elected future Congress Member to speak.

Here are resources that will make your event easy and effective.

http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/december10

________________

Collect Signatures on Petitions
Collect millions of them, especially in front of your Congress Member's offices. Use this to build local organizations as well as a national list of names.

http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/petition

________________

Join a Congressional District Impeachment Committee
Organize locally to lobby your Representative:

http://www.democrats.com/cdic

________________

Pass State and Local Resolutions
Pass impeachment resolutions in your town or city, state, political party, or labor union. Use the petitioning (above) to help make this happen:

http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/resolutions

________________

Be a Media Activist
Work the media for impeachment:

http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/media

________________

Talking Points and Other Resources to Assist You

http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/resourcecenter

________________

Impeachment Conference Call November 13, 2006
81 organizers and activists from across the country took part in a conference call Monday evening to discuss upcoming actions to advance the impeachment of Bush and Cheney. You can listen to the 90-minute call to catch up and get involved. We'll post the transcript and notes ASAP.
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/downloads/impeachcall.mp3

________________

Audio and Video from Philadelphia on Veterans Day
Here is video of our impeachment movement launch:
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/phillyvideo

Here is audio:
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/phillyaudio

________________

We Now Have Shirts With Long Sleeves

http://www.wavelengthclothing.com/impeach_bush.html

________________

Invite the Bush Chain Gang to Your Town
Reduce fear and roadside trash: put them to work.

http://backbonecampaign.org /chaingang.cfm

Invitation to an Impeachment - announcement

> From: David Swanson [of the After Downing Street Coalition, which I endorse through 2 supporting groups]
> Date: Thu, 2 Nov 2006 23:57:57 -0500
> To: 00David Swanson
> Subject: Invitation to an Impeachment
>
> Invitation to an Impeachment
>
> We're organizing a new campaign for the impeachment
> ofd Bush and Cheney and
> need your input and participation.
>
> We've planned a conference call for 9 p.m. ET on
> Monday, November 13th.
> Conference Dial-in Number: (402) 756-9100
> Participant Access Code: 462356#
> RSVP to [David Swanson]
>
> For those who can make it, we'll also have a
> face-to-face strategy meeting
> on Saturday, November 11th, in Philadelphia, Penn.,
> from 3:00 - 4:00 p.m.
> ET. The meeting will follow a forum at the National
> Constitution Center
> entitled: "Organizing for Impeachment: Announcing a
> Movement". In the first
> hour (1:00 - 2:00 p.m.) speakers will include:
> Elizabeth Holtzman, former
> Congress Member; David Swanson, Co-Founder of
> AfterDowningStreet.org,
> Washington Director of Democrats.com; Tim Carpenter,
> Co-Founder of
> AfterDowningStreet.org, Director of Progressive
> Democrats of America; Jodie
> Evans, Co-Founder of CODE PINK Women for Peace; Bill
> Perry, Delaware Valley
> Veterans For America; Cindy Sheehan, Co-Founder of
> Gold Star Families for
> Peace; and moderator Bob Fertik, President of
> Democrats.com.
> Representatives of other participating organizations
> will attend. From
> 2:00 - 3:00 p.m. we will lead a Blogger Panel to
> discuss the issues we raise
> in the first hour. If you can attend, please sign
> up and get a ticket here:
> http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/impeach
>
> Why are we moving so quickly on impeachment?
>
> GOP scaremongering persuaded Nancy Pelosi to declare
> impeachment "off the
> table." She even pledged there would be no
> impeachment on "60 Minutes."
> But after Election Day - assuming a Democratic
> takeover of the House - we
> are determined to put Impeachment back "on the
> table" over the objections of
> the Republican Party, the GOP-controlled corporate
> media, and cowardly
> Democrats. Pelosi has a 100-day plan to pass
> "positive" legislation, but
> she will get a rude shock when Bush nullifies her
> bills with
> unconstitutional signing statements. With 51
> percent of Americans
> supporting impeachment (according to Newsweek) and
> an election just behind
> us, the moment seems ideal to create the public
> pressure needed to allow
> those Members of Congress who favor impeachment to
> act.
>
> Grounds for impeachment are detailed in our
> petition:
> http://www.democrats.com/peoplesemailnetwork/88
>
> We are looking for suggestions and proposals for
> changes and additions to
> the following tentative plan:
>
> 1. Declare a mandate for Impeachment based on
> election results, exit polls,
> and local impeachment referenda in CA, IL, WI, and
> VT.
>
> 2. Start a grassroots petition drive to collect 1
> million signatures. (Each
> group keeps the names and contact info it collects,
> as well as Emailing it
> to us to add to the petition, and we pay $0.25 per
> valid Email address.)
> http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/petition
>
> 3. Form Impeachment Committees in 435 Congressional
> Districts to lobby every
> Member of Congress:
> http://www.afterdowningstreet .org/cdic
>
> 4. Hold Town Hall Meetings and rallies on
> impeachment around the country on
> December 10th (Human Rights Day):
> http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/december10
>
> 5. Pass Impeachment resolutions in state
> legislatures, cities, towns,
> unions, political parties:
> http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/resolutions
>
> 6. Expand our Citizens Impeachment Commission to add
> prominent citizens,
> celebrities and bloggers:
> http://impeachpac.org/citizens
>
> If you would like to be listed on the Citizens
> Impeachment Commission or
> want to recommend someone else to include, please
> send that information to
> david [at] davidswanson [dot] org
>
> If you are available to speak at an event on
> December 10th, please let us
> know and tell us what contact info for you can be
> posted publicly and what
> area of the country you can speak in.