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PSA: Every President ever has broken tons of laws

RightinNYC

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Just a reminder people. I know it's all sorts of trendy to get outraged at presidents of the opposition party and categorize all the things they do that you don't like as "war crimes," but you do realize that every president since the dawn of time has done plenty of things that would be considered "war crimes" under some definition, right? From killing foreign officials to CIA hit squads to authorizing the use of nukes/napalm/etc. to funneling money to armed resistance groups, and on and on and on.

This **** happens every day. It's not new, nor is it limited to the US. Just keep it in perspective.
 
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Bush is historically uncommonly heinous

Worse than using the FBI to target domestic civil rights leaders?
Worse than firebombing civilians?
Worse than faking an attack to get us into Vietnam?

Given that the public has no idea about 95% of the real bad **** that our leaders do, I don't know how we can say with confidence that any one president is better than any other.
 
Worse than using the FBI to target domestic
Worse than faking an attack to get us into Vietnam?

Don't blame the public for that.

LBJ is 100000000000000000% responsible U.S. involvement in Vietnam. Vietnam, and President Kennedy's refusal to get involved there, are pieces of the reason for his assassination.

Kennedy couldn't be bought by the big arms dealers because he was from a wealthy family. This was problem for those who stood to make BILLIONS selling guns, bombs, bullets, tanks, planes, and the like to the American military.

LBJ ... was silly putty in a suit. He was the PERFECT patsy. He gave in to the special interests and led the nation into Vietnam.

Blame LBJ ...

Blame the French ... who were getting raped and needed our assistance with charlie.

DO NOT blame the American public for LBJ's lack of testicular fortitude, jello-like knees, and endless greed.

:shock:
 
Given that the public has no idea about 95% of the real bad **** that our leaders do, I don't know how we can say with confidence that any one president is better than any other.

Well, given that the 5% we know about Bush is almost universally bad, one can only imagine what the reality is
 
It's also important to bear in mind that just because everybody does it doesn't make it right. As an electorate we should take advantage of our unprecedented access to information and hold our govts as accountable as possible.
 
Comparing Bush II's record of war crimes to any other President's is like comparing a tsunami to a water pistol. :lol:

Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, we have never had a President even close to being as bad as George W. Bush.

There are entire web pages devoted to chronicling the war crimes, and many other crimes, of this administration. Herewith a sampling:

List of Bush war crimes:
George W. Bush - Terrorist in the White House - War Crimes

International Commission of Inquiry on Crimes Against Humanity Committed by the Bush Administration | A project of the Not In Our Name statement of conscience

The Raw Story | Andover law school dean convenes Bush War Crimes Conference

The Raw Story | Red Cross finds Bush administration guilty of war crimes

Bush's 'war crimes' & misdemeanors
George W. Bush - Terrorist in the White House - War Crimes

Amnesty International Calls for Prosecutions of U.S. Officials
News no. 12439 from www.uruknet.info :: informazione dall'Iraq occupato :: news from occupied Iraq :: - it

Call on the German Federal Prosecutor to Investigate Rumsfeld and Other U.S. Officials for War Crimes at Abu Ghraib
http://www.ccr-ny.org/v2/whatsnew/action/actionAlert2.asp

Afghan officials confirm US role in massacre of Taliban prisoners

Documents Obtained By ACLU Describe Charges Of Murder And Torture Of Prisoners In U.S. Custody :: www.uruknet.info :: informazione dall'Iraq occupato :: news from occupied Iraq :: - it

US air strikes killed over 100 Somalians
http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=38646
 
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It's also important to bear in mind that just because everybody does it doesn't make it right. As an electorate we should take advantage of our unprecedented access to information and hold our govts as accountable as possible.

I think it's quite likely that every president is faced with multiple situations where they make top secret decisions to do things that, in the abstract, would be considered violations of international law. For one, there's really no doubt in my mind that every president has had times where he's decided to send special forces into other countries to eliminate targets or do other things which could be called crimes. Do I think that should be prosecuted? Not particularly. Unless we're prepared to call everything from the Bay of Pigs to Clinton's policy of extraordinary rendition "war crimes," I think we need to take a step back and realize that we live in the real world and that sometimes bad **** has to happen.
 
I think it's quite likely that every president is faced with multiple situations where they make top secret decisions to do things that, in the abstract, would be considered violations of international law. For one, there's really no doubt in my mind that every president has had times where he's decided to send special forces into other countries to eliminate targets or do other things which could be called crimes. Do I think that should be prosecuted? Not particularly. Unless we're prepared to call everything from the Bay of Pigs to Clinton's policy of extraordinary rendition "war crimes," I think we need to take a step back and realize that we live in the real world and that sometimes bad **** has to happen.
If that is the case, then we need to change laws to reflect it. And then we should remain vigilant against govt's abusing power.
 
Pocket Copraphiliacs Sh!t Does Not Stink

"Pocket Copraphiliacs Sh!t Does Not Stink"

One can legislate the pillage of the US financial institutions at taxpayer expense, and defraud retirement mobility of people's lifetime investments to the tune of trillions of dollars, wrecking economic systems throughout the world and neither the FBI or congress cannot find a culprit.

But mail letters with white powder to free roaming criminals (bank executives, politicians) and the simpletons are all over that.

Philip Gramm is a terrorist!
 
Yeah, it would probably be a good idea for each new US administration to imprision the preceding officials en masse, assuming of coarse, the preceding one was of the other party. :roll:
 
THE CORRUPTION QUOTIENT

There is a fairly objective measure of the corruptness of a Presidential administration.

All you do is count the total number of convictions and forced resignations within that administration. This gives us the "corruption quotient" of the administration, which we can use to determine which Presidents were REALLY corrupt and which were merely CALLED corrupt...

By this measure, we find that, until the current one, the Reagan administration was by far the most corrupt Presidential administration in U.S. history.

The Reagan gang were:
the first administration in American history to have a sitting cabinet member indicted.
the first administration in American history to have an Assistant Secretary of State indicted.
the first administration in American history to have an Assistant Secretary of Defense sent to prison.
the first administration in American history to have over 100 members of an administration charged with crimes.
the first administration in American history to have more members of his administration charged with crimes than the cumulative total of all other presidents in the twentieth century.

(GWB's corruption quotient is already off the charts, of course. But we're still tallying his numbers, so we'll leave him out of this.)

By contrast, the much-maligned Clinton Administration was the cleanest administration of the 20th century. If this comes as a surprise, it shows you what a multimillion dollar smear campaign can do to a man's reputation.

According to the corruption quotient, the Clinton Administration was the cleanest two-term administration since Teddy Roosevelt.

So much for the notion that the two parties are the same. The difference in corruption levels is so great that the Reagan Administration would sometimes rack up more convictions and forced resignations in a single day than the Clinton Administration managed in its entire eight years!
:rwbdonkey
 
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If George Bush would have broken any laws his head would have been served on a plate to the democrats in congress.

Waterboarding is not illegal.

Wiretapping is not always illegal.

If Bush would have broken any US laws he would have been impeached long ago.
 
If George Bush would have broken any laws his head would have been served on a plate to the democrats in congress.

Waterboarding is not illegal.

Wiretapping is not always illegal.

If Bush would have broken any US laws he would have been impeached long ago.

George Bush, Cheney and Rummy have all broken laws. Soon Rummy will be dragged into court over his ordering of torture. After dumb and dumber are out of office they will be fair game.

To say that water boarding is not illegal is representative of what is wrong with this administration and those who have been brainwashed by them. In about 80 days the country will clean house of this scum and start getting the country back on the right track. Oops, not the "right" track, the "correct" track! :lol:

After they're out of office is when it will be easier to drag them into court. My fear tho, is that Obama will let them off the hook "for the good of the country". :roll:
 
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George Bush, Cheney and Rummy have all broken laws. Soon Rummy will be dragged into court over his ordering of torture. After dumb and dumber are out of office they will be fair game.

To say that water boarding is not illegal is representative of what is wrong with this administration and those who have been brainwashed by them. In about 80 days the country will clean house of this scum and start getting the country back on the right track. Oops, not the "right" track, the "correct" track! :lol:
Water boarding is not illegal. A motion to make it illegal failed. So nobody is going to jail for doing what is legal.


After they're out of office is when it will be easier to drag them into court. My fear tho, is that Obama will let them off the hook "for the good of the country". :roll:
Obama can kiss Bush's ass.
 
No, they're not.


Umm... actually ....

They WILL be targets and their attempt at making themselves immune to crime WILL NOT stand up when it hits the SCOTUS.

The SCOTUS ... under a non-necon president WILL toss that law out.

Bush and Cheney WILL be fair game ...
 
Umm... actually ....

They WILL be targets and their attempt at making themselves immune to crime WILL NOT stand up when it hits the SCOTUS.

The SCOTUS ... under a non-necon president WILL toss that law out.

Bush and Cheney WILL be fair game ...

Feel free to bump this thread when that happens and we'll all have a good laugh.
 
FUN FACT: If we count him as an actual President, George W. Bush is the first President to enter the White House with a criminal record.

Another first for the Republicans! :)

BONUS FACT: Dick Cheney also entered office with a criminal record.

Summary of Dennis Kucinich's articles of impeachment:

ARTICLES OF IMPEACHMENT OF PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH

Washington, Jun 10 - Dennis J. Kucinich of Ohio
In the United States House of Representatives
Monday, June 9th, 2008
A Resolution

INDEX

Article I
Creating a Secret Propaganda Campaign to Manufacture a False Case for War Against Iraq.

Article II
Falsely, Systematically, and with Criminal Intent Conflating the Attacks of September 11, 2001, With Misrepresentation of Iraq as a Security Threat as Part of Fraudulent Justification for a War of Aggression.

Article III
Misleading the American People and Members of Congress to Believe Iraq Possessed Weapons of Mass Destruction, to Manufacture a False Case for War.

Article IV
Misleading the American People and Members of Congress to Believe Iraq Posed an Imminent Threat to the United States.

Article V
Illegally Misspending Funds to Secretly Begin a War of Aggression.

Article VI
Invading Iraq in Violation of the Requirements of H. J. Res114.

Article VII
Invading Iraq Absent a Declaration of War.

Article VIII
Invading Iraq, A Sovereign Nation, in Violation of the UN Charter.

Article IX
Failing to Provide Troops With Body Armor and Vehicle Armor.

Article X
Falsifying Accounts of US Troop Deaths and Injuries for Political Purposes.

Article XI
Establishment of Permanent U.S. Military Bases in Iraq.

Article XII
Initiating a War Against Iraq for Control of That Nation's Natural Resources.

Article XIIII
Creating a Secret Task Force to Develop Energy and Military Policies With Respect to Iraq and Other Countries.

Article XIV
Misprision of a Felony, Misuse and Exposure of Classified Information And Obstruction of Justice in the Matter of Valerie Plame Wilson, Clandestine Agent of the Central Intelligence Agency.

Article XV
Providing Immunity from Prosecution for Criminal Contractors in Iraq.

Article XVI
Reckless Misspending and Waste of U.S. Tax Dollars in Connection With Iraq and US Contractors.

Article XVII
Illegal Detention: Detaining Indefinitely And Without Charge Persons Both U.S. Citizens and Foreign Captives.

Article XVIII
Torture: Secretly Authorizing, and Encouraging the Use of Torture Against Captives in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Other Places, as a Matter of Official Policy.

Article XIX
Rendition: Kidnapping People and Taking Them Against Their Will to "Black Sites" Located in Other Nations, Including Nations Known to Practice Torture.

Article XX
Imprisoning Children.

Article XXI
Misleading Congress and the American People About Threats from Iran, and Supporting Terrorist Organizations Within Iran, With the Goal of Overthrowing the Iranian Government.

Article XXII
Creating Secret Laws.

Article XXIII
Violation of the Posse Comitatus Act.

Article XXIV
Spying on American Citizens, Without a Court-Ordered Warrant, in Violation of the Law and the Fourth Amendment.

Article XXV
Directing Telecommunications Companies to Create an Illegal and Unconstitutional Database of the Private Telephone Numbers and Emails of American Citizens.

Article XXVI
Announcing the Intent to Violate Laws with Signing Statements.

Article XXVII
Failing to Comply with Congressional Subpoenas and Instructing Former Employees Not to Comply.

Article XXVIII
Tampering with Free and Fair Elections, Corruption of the Administration of Justice.

Article XXIX
Conspiracy to Violate the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Article XXX
Misleading Congress and the American People in an Attempt to Destroy Medicare.

Article XXXI
Katrina: Failure to Plan for the Predicted Disaster of Hurricane Katrina, Failure to Respond to a Civil Emergency.

Article XXXII
Misleading Congress and the American People, Systematically Undermining Efforts to Address Global Climate Change.

Article XXXIII
Repeatedly Ignored and Failed to Respond to High Level Intelligence Warnings of Planned Terrorist Attacks in the US, Prior to 911.

Article XXXIV
Obstruction of the Investigation into the Attacks of September 11, 2001.

Article XXXV
Endangering the Health of 911 First Responders.
Incertus: Articles of Impeachment of George W. Bush
 
Worse than using the FBI to target domestic civil rights leaders?
Worse than firebombing civilians?
Worse than faking an attack to get us into Vietnam?

Given that the public has no idea about 95% of the real bad **** that our leaders do, I don't know how we can say with confidence that any one president is better than any other.

EXCELLENT POINTS!
 
Umm... actually ....

They WILL be targets and their attempt at making themselves immune to crime WILL NOT stand up when it hits the SCOTUS.

The SCOTUS ... under a non-necon president WILL toss that law out.

Bush and Cheney WILL be fair game ...

While impeachment is a nebulous concept, and a President or other Officer may be impeached for things other than standard crimes, once they're out of office, they're no longer subject to that standard. If they are to be charged with anything, it must be actual criminal activity proved beyond a reasonable doubt.

I.E., something other that inane list of things Kucinich came up that PerryLogan dutifully posted above, or that even more inane list of things that the nutball Ramsey Clark has been pushing.

So, what are those actual crimes going to be?
 
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