I've been leaving versions of the following information all over my community....in the grocery store carts, the produce section among the melons and Vidalia onions, at the Jiffy Lube, dentist and doctor's offices among the magazines, and in the bars in which I play pool. It is simple. It does not scream "activism" which, here in the South, would never fly. But people will pick up a piece of paper and read it.
A few people here have asked for this information....so, here is one of the simplest. Please add, subtract, and re-word to fit the citzenry in your area of the world. I keep it in a Word document and use many different versions, depending on the venue.
The people currently in charge of policy on many different fronts have tried to change things in the U.S. Some of these things are absolutely 100% against what America stands for. Regardless of how you vote, think about these items....
Torture is now legal and accepted. In the United State of America.
Our military men and women are dying in Iraq. For what? Do you know?
Vice President Cheney held "energy meetings" at the beginning of the first term in office. He has ignored subpeonas and won't tell us who he met with or what they talked about. Is that right, in a government for, of, and by the people?
President Bush has admitted to illegally wiretapping people. He's admitted to lying about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction. He lied and lied big, a number of times.
Valerie Plame was a CIA agent working on the underground market for weapons of mass destruction. She was not Jack Bauer, but she was working behind the scenes, collecting information, giving us an idea of where those weapons were, how they were procured, who was buying them and how. Someone in the White House leaked her name and ruined her cover. It is explained very clearly in our laws that it is illegal to "out" a CIA agent. It was done to hush up her husband who had proof the president lied about WMD in Iraq, which makes it even worse. And all of the information the CIA had gathered on WMD is gone now too. So, now we don't know who has them or where the WMD's are. Is that how the United States of America should operate? Petty revenge on someone that ends up putting the whole nation at risk?
The president has just commuted the sentence of Lewis Libby, who was found guilty of obstructing justice and lying. Those are the same crimes that were used to impeach Bill Clinton. The president is using his power to cover up a cover-up, the same crimes that were used to impeach Richard Nixon.
The United States Attorneys....you've no doubt heard alot about this in recent months. It is confusing and complicated. Do you know the problem? Eight US Attorneys were relieved of their posts for various reasons, none of which were legal. Justice is supposed to be blind and non-political. Every US Attorney that was let go was replaced with a political ally of the administration, in direct violation of laws. That means your vote may not be counted. Corruption in your state may not be investigated. Cases that should be brought may not be brought. Do you want to live in a lawless society like that?
Alberto Gonzales, The Attorney General of the United States of America, the person who is supposed to uphold the laws of the Constitution no matter what, has been caught lying about the US Attorneys scandal. He has been caught trying to stretch the law to give the president more power than was ever granted to him in our Constitution. Is that right? Should one man be in charge of every decision? Our Constitution says no.
These are just some of the high crimes and misdemeanors (the phrase used in our Constitution) for which we must hold our leaders to account. The future of our country depends on everyone defending that one document that gives us the unique ability to call ourselves Americans. The people in Washington right now are abusing that sacred document for their own gain. It really must be stopped or it will be considered o.k. for future politicians. We already hold them in low esteem. It seems now we will let them get away with crimes. Please, pay attention to what they are doing.
Go find out more about these crimes. Use the internet, look in old newspapers, talk to your friends, family and neighbors. Think about the country you want to leave your children. Do you want politics as it has become, or do you want better?