By David Swanson

I'll be uploading video and photos, so watch http://afterdowningstreet.org

When Bush opened his mouth to speak I shouted "Defend the Constitution, Impeach Bush!" I repeated that several times, as people nearby knocked me over, cops handcuffed me, people gave me smiles and thumbs up signs. They threw me out and a couple of more defenders of our Constitution behind me, and then a few more, and then a few more. The handcuffed citizens who'd done their duty kept comign down the hill. They did not arrest us but did give us a ride down the mountain where we joined a crowd of protesters in the road who greeted Bush's limo coming and going.

Why did we do this? Here's why:
http://afterdowningstreet.org/busharticles

I'm not one to cry "the sky is falling" every time the media puts out a negative story about a Democrat.

But it is worrisome that Barack Obama needed two press conferences today to clarify his position on Iraq. Here's the AP version:

Arriving in Fargo, Obama hastily called a news conference to discuss news of a sixth straight month of nationwide job losses, but the questioning turned to Iraq policy and his impending trip there.

"I am going to do a thorough assessment when I'm there," he said. "I'm sure I'll have more information and continue to refine my policy."

He left the impression that his talks with military commanders there could refine his promise to remove U.S. combat troops within 16 months of taking office.

Sadly, Obama "listened" to us but chose to ignore us.

But I also believe that the compromise bill is far better than the Protect America Act that I voted against last year. The exclusivity provision makes it clear to any President or telecommunications company that no law supersedes the authority of the FISA court.

We don't need a new exclusivity provision - the current one is already sufficient, as a Bush 41 judge just affirmed.

By David Swanson

Congressman Virgil Goode recently responded to a statement I'd blogged about him. Here's what I wrote and his response:

"The Unitary Executive is scheduled to disgrace the grounds of Thomas Jefferson's house, Monticello, in Charlottesville, Va., making a speech on the morning of July 4, 2008. The event is open to the public, and is Monticello's annual Independence Day Celebration and Naturalization Ceremony. Numerous immigrants will become citizens in an event besmirched by the presence of a war criminal, and held in the district of Congressman Virgil Goode, whose entire reelection campaign platform consists of hatred for immigrants."

Goode replied:

The coalition of groups and individuals planning to protest President George W. Bush's Fourth of July visit to Charlottesville on Friday continues to grow. Participating organizations include RVA4Peace, the Augusta Center for Peace and Justice, CODEPINK Women for Peace both National and Charlottesville, AfterDowningStreet, Democrats.com, and Charlottesville MoveOn.org. Many other people expected to participate are not members of any of these groups.

The protest will take place at Route 20, outside and a ways removed from the grounds of Monticello. Participants will gather at 7 a.m. at Quarry Park [Come at 6!!], the entrance to which is on the west side of Rt. 20 just north of Interstate 64.

Organizers of the protest are drawing a connection between the charges found in the Declaration of Independence and the abuses of power in which the current president has engaged.

By Dave Lindorff

I’m certainly no hero, but since some readers of my last post have
reacted by attacking my courage and integrity on the grounds that I
“never served,” I want to at least set the record straight on my
youthful response to war.

A growing coalition of groups and individuals plans to protest President George W. Bush's Fourth of July visit to Charlottesville on Friday. Participating organizations include the Augusta Center for Peace and Justice, CODE PINK Women for Peace both National and Charlottesville, AfterDowningStreet, Democrats.com, and Charlottesville MoveOn.org. Many other people expected to participate are not members of any of these groups.

The protest will take place at Route 20, outside and a ways removed from the grounds of Monticello. Participants will gather at 7 a.m. at Quarry Park, the entrance to which is on the west side of Rt. 20 just north of Interstate 64.
Organizers of the protest are drawing a connection between the charges found in the Declaration of Independence and the abuses of power in which the current president has engaged.

The full remarks as provided by the White House:

THE PRESIDENT: Distinguished guests, fellow citizens, and future citizens: the grounds of this house, which saw so many changes during President Thomas Jefferson's lifetime provide an ideal setting to reflect on the history of our nation. We have progressed so far in so many ways since that day on which the Declaration of Independence was signed, in that distant time when slaves inhabited this place.

We have also progressed in dramatic ways since that horrific day on which the forces of evil and Islamic extremism flew airplanes into the World Trade Center. This is not the same world it was in 2001, and not the same nation it was in 1776. In the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson and the members of the Continental Congress complained of certain actions taken by the King of England which were not then justifiable.

Progressive challenger Regina Thomas (GA12) debated incumbent BushDemocrat John Barrow in a debate on Georgia Public TV and attacked him for supporting Bush's warrantless wiretapping, according to the Savannah Morning News:

The Democratic primary challenger to U.S. Rep. John Barrow accused him of dragging his feet on reducing gas prices and supporting illegal wiretapping of Americans during a televised debate Tuesday.

Is James Baker the real White House puppetmaster?

Did he write the plan to invade Iraq in April 2001, five months before 9/11?

Two years before the invasion of Iraq, oil executives and foreign policy advisers told the Bush administration that the United States would remain “a prisoner of its energy dilemma” as long as Saddam Hussein was in power.

While George Dubya will desecrate Monticello with some dishonest remarks from a podium on Friday as new citizens swear to defend the Constitution he has destroyed, this AP story has the plans of the man in charge. Dick Cheney will make his remarks on a ship named the Constitution and talk about fighting pirates rather than being one:

Dick Cheney to visit Boston on July Fourth
By Associated Press

WASHINGTON - Vice President Dick Cheney will be in Boston on July Fourth to attend a ceremony aboard the USS Constitution.

Cheney spokeswoman Megan Mitchell said today that Cheney will attend Friday’s military reenlistment ceremony on the historic warship, known as "Old Ironsides."

The Constitution was commissioned in 1797 and is docked at Boston’s historic Charlestown Naval Yard, a national park. The ship never lost a battle, from fighting pirates in the Caribbean to British in the War of 1812.

By David Swanson

The number and variety of the excuses for failing, in various ways, to resist the transition we are in from democratic republic to dictatorship never ceases to amaze me. A lot of the time I imagine that Congress members hold all the prizes in this regard, with perhaps some dishonorable mentions for party leaders and directors of national activist organizations. But I've been repeatedly jolted out of that notion by being involved in specific plans to organize protests, most recently protests being planned for Bush's Fourth of July visit to my town of Charlottesville, Virginia.