Taughannock Falls

Taughannock Falls
from: althouse.blogspot.com

Thursday, August 9, 2007

Give me Liberty


What shall we do now?


Shall we gather strength by irresolution and inaction? Shall we acquire the means of effectual resistance by lying supinely on our backs and hugging the delusive phantom of hope, until our enemies shall have bound us hand and foot? Patrick Henry, March 23, 1775.


There is no more peaceful village on this fair planet than Trumansburg, NY. Overlooking beautiful Cayuga Lake, this tranquil hamlet is a haven for organic farmers, artists, scholars and poets. Yet the revolutionary firebrand Patrick Henry would be proud of the initiative shown by some of Trumansburg's most civic-minded residents.


Allen Carstensen posts this announcement on his blog.


Saturday, August 4, 2007
Village Board Meets to Consider Impeachment
On September 24, 2007 at 7 pm in the Fire Hall there will be a meeting of the Trumansburg Village Board. The public is encouraged to come. The Board will be considering our resolution (see below)....


We therefore submit the following resolution:VILLAGE OF TRUMANSBURG IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY RESOLUTION PETITIONWHEREAS, substantial evidence has been gathered that indicates that President George W. Bush and Vice President Richard Cheney have committed high crimes and misdemeanors , andWHEREAS, said high crimes and misdemeanors may include, but are not limited to the President and Vice President • Misleading Congress and the American people regarding Iraq's weapons of mass destruction • Misleading Congress and the nation about ties between Iraq and al Quaeda • Using these falsehoods to lead our nation into a war in contravention of U.S. and international law • Authorizing the unlawful use of torture and extraordinary rendition • Engaging in unlawful spying on American citizens and otherwise violating citizens' right to privacy • Declaring their intention to disregard their constitutional duty to faithfully execute the laws of the United States, andWHEREAS, Congress has begun the process of holding hearings to examine several of these charges, andWHEREAS, the Rules of the House of Representatives call for the referral of possible articles of impeachment to the Judiciary Committee for investigation, andWHEREAS, the people of Trumansburg, New York, desire a full and comprehensive review of these charges in an orderly fashion, NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE TRUMANSBURG VILLAGE BOARD That New York State Senator George H. Winner Jr. (53rd Senate District) and Assemblywoman Barbara Lifton (125th Assembly District), be strongly urged to ensure that the Legislature of the State of New York submit charges to the House of Representatives in accordance with the House Rules, and that U.S. House of Representatives Congressman Michael Arcuri (24th Congressional District), be strongly urged to support the formation of an appropriate sub-committee to investigate and review said charges and that such support be evidenced by a written request to that effect addressed to the Speaker of the House, andBE IT FURTER RESOLVED, that copies of this resolution be delivered to Congressperson Michael Arcuri, Senators Charles E. Schumer and Hillary Rodham Clinton, State Senator George H. Winner, Jr., Assemblyperson Barbara Lifton, and the media.


This same spirit can be found in every state of the Union. From the vineyards of Central New York to the computer labs of Silicon Valley, the American people will not be denied the chance to preserve a system of government first fought for by Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson, and countless other men and women of courage. This August recess is the perfect time for all of us to make sure that our representatives in Washington D.C. know the time has come to do the people's business.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Kudos to the good folks of Trumanburg! If regular people make enough noise they will be heard!

Anonymous said...

Hey Ulysses, check this out:

Published: Tuesday, August 7, 2007 7:26 PM CDT
E-mail this story | Print this page


Town Council gives nod of approval to citizen initiative

By Reilly Capps

Telluride became the first town in Colorado to call for the impeachment of President Bush and Vice President Cheney.


The Telluride Town Council passed a citizen-initiated ordinance on second reading yesterday, 5-2.

After the vote was taken, the council received a round of applause.

Counting Telluride, 85 towns, counties and cities have passed similar ordinances, from Chapel Hill, N.C. to Detroit.


You can read the rest of the article here:

http://www.telluridegateway.com/articles/2007/08/08/news/news01.txt

Allen Carstensen said...

Ulysses,

Thanks for the plug.

Here's something I wrote for our local paper last night:

Back To Democracy has taken on the task of collecting signatures petitioning the Village to pass a resolution which would encourage our State Legislators, and Congressional Representatives to inquire into the impeachment of President Bush, and Vice President Cheney. We have collected over 100 signatures, and will continue to collect more through the summer. The Mayor and the village board have agreed to hold a special meeting at the Trumansburg Fire Hall on Monday September 24th at 7pm.

We are not asking them to pass this resolution because we disagree with the policies of the Bush Administration, or because of our strong dislike of Bush and Cheney. It's much more than that. Impeachment is a remedy to protect against serious abuse of power and subversion of constitutional government. Impeachment is a means to secure our democracy against present and also future harm. Impeachment is a method of sending a signal to the rest of the world that we do not condone the behavior of this administration.

George Bush and Dick Cheney have sought to undermine our constitution, statutes, and democratic traditions from day 1. They have repeatedly violated binding international treaties, the constitution and laws of the land, abused their position by refusing to disclose to the congress information and evidence they have appropriately requested and, above all, have lied to the American people regarding the need to invade a nation that had neither attacked us nor posed a serious threat of so doing.

On August 4th the Bush administration pushed their "Protect America Act" through Congress. They used the politics of fear to intimidate all of the Republicans and 1/5 of the Democrats in Congress to vote for this abomination. The Protect America Act legalizes and expands the warrant-less spying program that a federal judge in Detroit ruled illegal last year. Once again, all of the Republicans and enough Democrats caved in to the politics of fear, to roll back our liberties. Should we believe Bush when he tells we have to discard half of the Bill of Rights and authorize his "Terrorist Surveilance Program" Or should we believe Benjamin Franklin who told us that "Those who give up essential liberties for temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety"?

Some people say that impeachment is not something for local government to concern itself with. But the war in Iraq, which is a direct result of the lies of Bush and Cheney, is having a profound effect on our lives in Trumansburg. Military recruiters come to Trumansburg High School to recruit vulnerable young people. The war has cost Trumansburg taxpayers $2,382,000 so far. That is money that could have been spent in our schools. Instead, it represents 2.4 dead Iraqi's that we are responsible for. ($500 Billion / 500,000 killed = $1M each). The day to day business of local government is important, but I don't see how anyone can deny that this issue is of even greater importance.

The impeachable offenses of Bush and Cheney are too numerous to list here. Please go to trumansburgimpeachment.blogspot.com/ to read more about them. The text of the Village Resolution is available there as well. Please comment on the blog if you dissagree with anything there. Please come to meeting at the Fire Hall, and please call me at 273-2186 if you have any questions or would like me to bring the petition by for you to sign.

Anonymous said...

All I gotta say is this kinda stuff makes me proud!