This is my draft draft created 2/3/05 as of 2/5/05. Please comment on
additional argument and links, or any errors I may
have made. I will continue to update this as I have
time.

Reasons to Remove Bush

1. Constitution

   
   
   
   
   1. Calling Debt into Question
   
   
   
   
   • 5/24/2005: The president said

     And all that's left behind in Social Security is a group of file cabinets with IOUs in it.

     Those IOUs are Treasury bonds. The fourteenth amendment section four says

     The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned.

   
   
   
   
   2. Interpreting Article II and AUMF as allowing unlimited Executive Power, unitary executive (in NSA warrantless spying program)
      
      
      
      • Article II-

        The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States

      
      
      • 4th Amendment on probable cause standard, which trumps any inherent power in Article II since it amends the Constitution:

        The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

        
        
      • Gonzales on reasonable belief standard:

        This program, described by the President, is focused on international communications where experienced intelligence experts have reason to believe that at least one party to the communication is a member or agent of al Qaeda or a terrorist organization affiliated with al Qaeda.

        
        
      • AUMF-

        That the President is authorized to use all necessary and appropriate force against those nations, organizations, or persons he determines planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, or harbored such organizations or persons, in order to prevent any future acts of international terrorism against the United States by such nations, organizations or persons

        (note that the AUMF only authorizes force against 9/11-related attackers, excluding Iraq)
        
      • FISA, which was developed to codify to limits of presidential spying, domestically and internationally, in peacetime, and at war, on domestic spying (not foreign!):

        In the event that such application for approval is denied[of an emergency search begun without court approval, with 72 hours to get approval], or in any other case where the physical search is terminated and no order is issued approving the search, no information obtained or evidence derived from such search shall be received in evidence or otherwise disclosed in any trial,

      (1) Notwithstanding any other law, the President, through the Attorney General, may authorize electronic surveillance without a court order under this subchapter to acquire foreign intelligence information for periods of up to one year if the Attorney General certifies in writing under oath that—

      (A) the electronic surveillance is solely directed at—

      (i) the
      acquisition of the contents of communications transmitted by means of
      communications used exclusively between or among foreign powers, as
      defined in section 1801 (a)(1),
      (2), or (3) of this title; or

      (ii) the acquisition of
      technical intelligence, other than the spoken communications of individuals,
      from property or premises under the open and exclusive control of a foreign
      power, as defined in section 1801 (a)(1),
      (2), or (3) of this title;

      (B) there is no substantial likelihood that the surveillance will acquire the contents of any communication to which a United States person is a party; and

      Seems pretty clear the warrantless wiretapping is only allowed for foreign powers as long as they're not in the United States, because the 4th Amendment applies in the USA. And the FISA law is the exclusive means of wiretapping.

      Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 shall be the exclusive means by which electronic surveillance, as defined in section 101 of such Act, and the interception of domestic wire, oral, and electronic communications may be conducted.

      • Insinuating that the NSA program was used in breaking up a 2002 plot to attack Los Angeles, though the Administration's history suggests it would have definitively linked the program to breaking up the plot had there been a link.

        "We use all available sources and methods in the intelligence community, but we have to protect them," Ms. Townsend said. "So I'm not going to talk about what ones we did or didn't use in this particular case."

      • Using sneaky language to suggest that doing the surveillance in America is international when one end of the communication is abroad.

        Q Back to the NSA. The White House last night put out paper backing up its claims that this was a terrorist surveillance program, saying the charges of domestic spying -- you defined what "domestic" meant. Isn't one end of that phone call on domestic soil? Why is the charge of it being domestic spying so far off?

        MR. McCLELLAN: For the same reasons that a phone call from someone inside the United States to someone outside the United States is not a domestic call....

        See Bush surprised by this point.
      
      
      
      
   
   
   3. AG Gonzales Deciding FISA is unconstitutional because Article II somehow supercedes both Amendment 4 and the FISA law.

   We do not have to decide whether, when we are at war and there is a vital need for the terrorist surveillance program, FISA unconstitutionally encroaches -- or places an unconstitutional constraint upon -- the President's Article II powers.

   First he notes the conditions for government searches

   Finally, let me explain why the NSA's terrorist surveillance program fully complies with the Fourth Amendment, which prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures.

   Then he ignores the Amendment's need for probable cause for a warrant and changes unreasonable search into reasonable cause.

   The key question, then, under the Fourth Amendment is not whether there was a warrant, but whether the search was reasonable. This requires balancing privacy with the government's interests -- and ensuring that we maintain appropriate safeguards. We've done that here.

   If we conduct this reasonable surveillance -- while taking special care to preserve civil liberties as we have -- we can all continue to enjoy our rights and freedoms for generations to come.

   
   
   4. Not abiding by law as passed by congress

      noting that section 1005 does not confer any constitutional right upon an alien detained abroad as an enemy combatant, the executive branch shall construe section 1005 to preclude the Federal courts from exercising subject matter jurisdiction over any existing or future action, including applications for writs of habeas corpus, described in section 1005.

   
   
   
   




2. Iraq / War on Terror

   
   
   
   
   1. Fixing Intelligence (WMD), See CH 12, 13, 14 here and below
   
   
   2. Ignoring CIA Investigations= fraud against usa,
   
   
   3. false statements to congress
   
   
   4. war powers resolution,
   
   
   5. Misuse of government funds- -$8.8 Billion Lost, Oversight Needed. Don't you think that war profiteering should be criminal, if not treason? Our troops shouldn't die so that Halliburton etc. make dirty money.
      
   
   
   6. Attacking and occupying a soverign nation against its will,
      
      
      
      1. UN pretext (Bush attacked Iraq, against the decisions of the United Nations, and thus
      
      
      2. violated the UN Charter.
      
      
      3. Planning and committing a war of aggression is a violation of the Nuremberg Charter.
      
      
      4. According to the US Constitution, these international treaties are part of the "supreme Law of the Land" (Article VI). Bush has violated the Nuremberg Charter and the UN Charter
      
      
      
      
   
   
   7. changing plan from prevent WMD attack to "spread freedom to region, transform middle east, domino theory of democracy"

      This is a massive and difficult undertaking --it is worth our effort, it is worth our sacrifice, because we know the stakes. The failure of Iraqi democracy would embolden terrorists around the world, increase dangers to the American people, and extinguish the hopes of millions in the region. Iraqi democracy will succeed -- and that success will send forth the news, from Damascus to Teheran -- that freedom can be the future of every nation. (Applause.) The establishment of a free Iraq at the heart of the Middle East will be a watershed event in the global democratic revolution. (Applause.)

   
   
   8. making it a hotbed for terrorists, inflaming anti-american feelings in the region
   
   
   9. not preparing for aftermath. thought we would be welcomed as liberators and didn't plan otherwise Iraq-no exit strategy till complete victory... not honest that insurgencies take 10 years to put down
   
   
   10. no statistics on civilian casualties
   
   
   11. torture, due process- extraordinary rendition. The UN has called for the Guantanamo site to be closed down and all prisoners released or brought to trial.
       

       The report, summarizing an investigation by five U.N. experts, called on the U.S. government "to close down the Guantanamo Bay detention center and to refrain from any practice amounting to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment."

       The report's findings were based on interviews with former detainees, public documents, media reports, lawyers and a questionnaire filled out by the U.S. government.

   
   
   12. calling prisoners of war "enemy combatants" so as to justify not charging them with crimes and prisoning them indefinitely
   
   
   13. using wartime powers without a declaration of war
   
   
   14. trading osama for sadaam because iraq had better military targets, confusing americans 26% still think sadaam was involved in 9/11 attacks (Yet the evidence says that the only relationship is that Al-Qaeda asked Iraq for support and they were rebuffed.). See speeches link Saddam and al Qaeda 10/7/02, 9/25/02.
   
   
   15. Fighting a war for Israel and oil
   
   
   
   




3. Lying

   
   Lying about
   
   
   
   1. Uranium from Niger,
   
   
   2. Iraq and 9/11 - repeatedly linking them in his speeches,
   
   
   3. Congress Knew,
   
   
   4. Aluminum Tubes-For nuclear weapons
   
   
   5. Iraq and Al Qaeda- The nature of the relationship seems to be that Al Qaeda asked for help and Iraq refused
   
   
   6. Weapons of Mass Destruction -His "evidence" consisted mostly of forged documents, plagiarised student papers, and vague satellite photos. The United Nations was on the ground in Iraq and could find nothing. After extensive searches Bush was finally forced to admit that Iraq did not have weapons of mass destruction.
   
   
   7. Unresolved questions surrounding the reasons for the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
   
   
   8. The global war on terror.
   
   
   9. The Downing Street documents.
   
   
   10. The Yellowcake forgery. Froomkin writes:

       Murray Waas writes in the National Journal: "Vice President Cheney and his then-Chief of Staff I. Lewis 'Scooter' Libby were personally informed in June 2003 that the CIA no longer considered credible the allegations that Saddam Hussein had attempted to procure uranium from the African nation of Niger, according to government records and interviews with current and former officials. The new CIA assessment came just as Libby and other senior administration officials were embarking on an effort to discredit an administration critic who had also been saying that the allegations were untrue. . . .

       "Despite the CIA's findings, Libby attempted to discredit former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, who had been sent on a CIA-sponsored mission to Niger the previous year to investigate the claims, which he concluded were baseless. . . .

   
   
   11. From Froomkin:

       In the latest Washington Post/ABC News poll, for instance, 53 percent of Americans said they do not consider him honest and trustworthy. A recent New York Times/CBS News poll found 52 percent of Americans believe the Bush administration intentionally misled the public in making its case for war in Iraq.

   
   
   
   



4. 
   

   Terrorism/Security/Disaster Preparedness

   
   
   
   
   1. Ignoring a very clear briefing indicating bin Laden was looking to attack in New York with airplanes using cells already in place. The attack was not a surprise
   
   
   2. Clinton-warned about osama and terrorism.
   
   
   3. Clinton- impeached for lying about a blow job(high crimes and misdemeanors IN THE EXERCISE OF EXECUTIVE POWER"lying under oath ""obstructing justice " this cleverly placed the crime on his "lying" about what he
      did before he became president whereas this is about what bush is doing as president). now people are dying. isn't that worse?
   
   
   4. slow response to katrina, not fulfilling promises to build new orleans
   , GAO report
   
   5. Warrantless wiretapping, no checks and balances, fisa, patriot act, quote that we need court order, helping enemies "only incomming calls". Majority of Americans consider this impeachable.
   
   
   6. revealing id of cia agent
   
   
   7. retaliating against witnesses
   
   
   
   




5. Ethics

   
   
   
   
   1. Intefering with American and Iraqi media by buying off journalists
   
   
   2. allowing automatic weapons onto american streets
   
   
   3. being unpatriotic- calling john murtha a michael moore cut and run democrat
   
   
   4. using 9/11 and threat of another attack as a cudgel to get his way
   
   
   5. used phony numbers and misleading argumentation in promoting social security plan
   
   
   6. using repetition and talking points to promote issues rather than logic.
   
   
   7. election fraud- illegally purging over 57,000 mostly democratic florida voters from the rolls in 2000. 2004 widespread fraud and intimidation, fake phone calls and leaflets from "kerry camp". switch to hackable electronic voting claiming to be a uniter, not a divider when 49% of the country considers him a divider.
   
   
   8. commenting on an ongoing investigation for rep delay, when delay is documented (CH 10) as supporting forced abortions in saipan
   
   
   9. Won election in 2004 using fear tactics. See Al Franken, The Truth, Chapter 2, p 25-28 and Chapter 4 for smear tactics. See also Chapter 5, 7
   
   
   10. Following radical rightwing policies even when unpopular with the majority of Americans
   
   
   
   




6. Diplomacy / Seeking Peace

   
   
   
   
   1. Missle Treaties-termination of the ABM treaty between the United States and Russia
   
   
   2. showing cultural ignorance by calling his campaign on muslim iraq a "crusade" while not knowing that iraq is populated by varying and vying ethnic groups
   
   
   
   




7. Caring for People / Environment

   
   
   
   
   1. Kyoto Treaty
   
   
   2. Diverting money from social programs such as medicare, social security, and education to the war effort.
   
   
   3. Environment sold out. In the State of the Union, he said

      And here we have a serious problem: America is addicted to oil, which is often imported from unstable parts of the world....

      Breakthroughs on this and other new technologies will help us reach another great goal: to replace more than 75 percent of our oil imports from the Middle East by 2025. (Applause.) By applying the talent and technology of America, this country can dramatically improve our environment, move beyond a petroleum-based economy, and make our dependence on Middle Eastern oil a thing of the past. (Applause.)

      But the next day, the Secretary of Energy said

      'This was purely an example,'' Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman said

      Interesting article on ethanol as fuel
   
   
   
   




8. Governance

   
   
   
   
   1. Making us beholden to our Asian lenders who own our ballooning debt. See (New York Times and Salon on Tax Cut and Spend Government

      The White House has announced that in 2006, the deficit will climb back to more than $400 billion, or around 3 percent of GDP, "a significantly higher share than last year and high for a country that is expected to experience its fifth straight year of economic growth," as the New York Times puts it. The administration blames Hurricane Katrina for this bad news and still insists, contrary to all objective measurements, that it will reduce the deficit by half by 2009. (That's why they call this a faith-based presidency.)

   
   
   2. Running records deficits while cutting taxes and social programs. Doesn't want to balance budget.
   
   
   3. Using fake numbers and misleading arguing in his quest to "save social security" by destroying it (CH 11) .
      
   4. Poor Department of Defense accounting
      
   
   

See also Wikipedia: Movement to Impeach Bush: Reasons