“After long thought, we of the University of Tennessee College Democrats Executive Board have decided to support Tim Barnes in the Primary Race. Tim Barnes is a statesman, not a politician. He is concerned first and foremost with his constituents. Barnes has no hidden agenda or lust for power; he simply wants to serve his community. In particular, Barnes is dedicated to education, an issue extremely important to the College Democrats. He supports the continued expansion of the HOPE Lottery Scholarship Guidelines to include as many students as possible. In addition, he supports efforts to expand vocational opportunities and increase funding for education so that Tennessee’s schools become second to none.”

This move is “unusual,” Kelly said, “but considering the recent actions of Senator Kurita (D-Clarksville), we believe it to be warranted.” Kelley charged that Senator Kurita “has chosen to advance herself over the best interest of her district.”

Kelley noted that in 2007, Senator Kurita voted to oust Tennessee’s most senior statesman, John Wilder (D-Somerville), in favor of a Republican for Lt. Governor. For this, she was rewarded with a leadership position in the Republican controlled chamber. This vote led to the stalemate that exists in the Tennessee State Senate today, as well as the hold up of several important pieces of legislation including issues of Lottery Scholarship GPA and Judicial Selection. It is clear to this board that Rosalind Kurita can no longer claim to represent the values of our party.

In supporting Tim Barnes, Kelley said that “Tim Barnes is a democrat we can trust. On issues like education, we know that Tim Barnes will put the interest of this state above his own personal interest. We know that Tim is dedicated to his district and dedicated to his party. That’s the kind of democrat we need and that is why we have chose to support him. On August 7, 2008 we encourage all our members in the 22nd Senatorial District to come out and support Tim Barnes.”

The 22nd Senate District includes Cheatham, Houston and Montgomery Counties.

George W. Bush is perhaps the worst American president who has ever served.  To this day it is a mystery to me how the man was able to gain the Republican nomination, steal the election, start two wars, get re-elected and then drag on a failed war for five years and drive the economy into the ground without getting impeached. 

Although the light is fading on the Presidency of Bush, it is not too late to impeach the man who lied to us about weapons of mass destruction.  As of result of the President’s deception, over four thousand American soldiers have died in Iraq and tens of thousands have been wounded, not to mention the one million or so Iraqis who have died directly or indirectly due to Bush’s interference in their country. 

Click here to view the embedded video.

The case for impeachment is strong, so strong that it has been supported by numerous Congressional representatives, most notably by Representative Dennis Kucinich of Ohio, who introduced articles of impeachment in early June.  Kucinich had the courage and the tenacity to say what needs to be said and to do what needs to be done.  President Bush has violated the will of the people, but more importantly, he has violated the Constitution of the United States of America, a document that he was sworn to uphold and defend, and for this indiscretion President Bush deserves to be impeached.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi made it clear when she was elected Speaker of the House that impeachment was not on the table, and she has been true to her word since that date, betraying the trust of the American people and showing her true colors as well as those of the Democratic party generally, except for a few brave individuals such as Kucinich.  The irony is that the Democratic Party and the left would be stronger if they called the President to account for his actions.  In any event, there are numerous candidates outside of the two party duopoly who support impeachment because we believe this should be a campaign issue.  We feel strongly about our rights as Americans and do not believe that a corrupt administration can compromise those rights.  When they try, we believe that it is time to call them to account.

Bush must be called to account for the lies he has made in order to manipulate the general public.  Bush claimed that Saddam Hussein was an immediate threat to America but the truth is that we were a real threat to Iraq.  His administration lied about the issue of significant quantities of uranium being brought into Iraq from Africa.  He lied about the connections between 9/11 and Iraq, continuously misleading the American people into believing there was a relationship.  Bush lied about Iraq and Al Qaeda, misleading the American people into believing there was a collaborative relationship between the two.  The President lied about weapons of mass destruction, insisting that there was evidence which consisted mostly of forged documents.  The United Nations found no evidence of weapons of mass destruction and intelligence services produced no credible information to support Bush’s claim.  As a result of these lies and misleading statements the United States was led into a war it could not win, spending hundreds of billions of dollars and causing the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people.

By supporting impeachment Kucinich has set in motion a process which calls to public light the terrible misdeeds of this administration.  The tide of public opinion has turned against Bush and across the nation people are calling for impeachment.  President Bush has condoned the use of torture on men, women and even boys in Iraq and at secret prisons around the world in the name of national security.  He violated the constitution by denying habeas corpus and has called for domestic spying on Americans. 

We can wait for the elections to remove Bush from office, but why wait until November? Indeed, although it is not a crime to be the worst President in the history of the United States, it is a crime to lie, mislead, deny constitutional rights, torture, spy and violate international law.  There has never been a better case to impeach a sitting President than now.  The people of Iraq, our soldiers abroad and ordinary Americans everywhere will all be better off once this criminal has been removed from office, and I say the sooner the better.

Wolf enters a male-dominated political commentary arena dominated by men to make a compelling argument for civil rights. Her analysis falls closer to the bones of political discourse as presented by Emma Goldman, and presents her case with an energetic urgency as she cautions Americans of a dangerous “fascist shift” brought about by the Bush administration.

Chapters outline the “Ten Steps to Fascism” citing historical corollaries (as well as the pigs in Orwell’s Animal Farm), with headings like “Invoke an External and Internal Threat,” “Establish Secret Prisons,” “Surveil Ordinary Citizens,” “Restrict the Press,” and “Target Key Individuals,” making a case for the existence of fascism outside of a dictatorship.

Her book’s publication through the small press, Chelsea Green Publishing of White River Junction, Vermont, which is committed to politics and “sustainable living.” Here is Naomi Wolf, speaking out an this October 2007 videotaping.

Click here to view the embedded video.