Just a reminder...

The war in Iraq was not for oil.

Please keep that in mind:

After five grueling years of war, Iraq's most cherished prize — its mammoth hydrocarbon reserves — might finally be within reach of Western oil companies. Exxon Mobil, Shell, Total and BP appear set to win no-bid contracts allowing them to work in some of Iraq's rich oil fields. The negotiations between Iraqi officials and those companies, first reported in Thursday's New York Times, are for "technical support agreements" for two years and renewable for a third, rather than for lucrative contracts to pump oil out of the ground. Under the envisaged deals, the companies would help Iraqi oil managers overhaul decrepit operations and modernize their equipment in the hope of boosting Iraq's output by about 500,000 barrels a day — an increase of nearly 20% over the best days the Iraqi industry has had since the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003. At the current sky-high oil prices, that could bring in billions more every week for the Iraq government, which sorely needs funds to rebuild the country. And the companies, which had for decades been partners in the Iraq Petroleum Corporation before Saddam Hussein nationalized the industry, would tentatively return to some of the biggest oil fields on the planet. Such arrangements, the corporations hope, will position them to seek long-term access to proven reserves that are second only to Saudi Arabia's.

That is all.

Kucinich

Had I been forced to name my favourite Democratic candidate for the nomination for president, it would have been unquestionable Dennis Kucinich. Say what you want about his appearance (and many have), but that simply makes you shallow and foolish.

His early career was sketchy, but it looks to have been vindicated, and since being elected to Congress, he has repeatedly stood up and told the current administration where to stick it. Last November (I think), he brought articles of impeachment against Dick Cheney, which were essentially dismissed.

Aside from his stance on abortion (which is hardly militant) and on sex education, I support the man, and I wish the Dems had had the courage to nominate a man who is sincere, patriotic, and brave.

Yesterday, he introduced articles of impeachment of Dubya, knowing full well that the shmucks in Congress are going to let it die. It's shameful. This administration is infinitely more impeachable than Clinton, and ought to face consequences for their actions. Not only have they abused their offices, they've violated international law, waged an illegal war (incidentally, without the consent of Congress), and ignored several treaties, including the Geneva Convention. They've pissed all over the Middle East, the Constitution, and the American people, and the Democrats took Congress promising to clean things up. I hope you throw all the cowards in Congress out at the first available opportunity.

Here's something else that should upset you. Here is the NYT article on the impeachment, in its entirety:

Representative Dennis J. Kucinich, Democrat of Ohio, defied his party leadership on Monday by calling for the impeachment of President Bush for starting the war in Iraq — but his move was not expected to go anywhere. Mr. Kucinich, a former presidential candidate, outlined his intention to propose more than two dozen charges against Mr. Bush on the floor of the House. He accused Mr. Bush of executing a "calculated and wide-ranging strategy" to deceive citizens and Congress into believing that Iraq posed an imminent threat to the United States. Speaker Nancy Pelosi has repeatedly said she opposes trying to remove Mr. Bush, calling such an effort divisive and most likely unsuccessful.

The Washington Post is much better (printing a story on A2), but the L.A. Times isn't covering it at all. CNN has this on their website (on a clickthrough, not on the main page), and not surprisingly, FoxNews isn't carrying it at all. No sign of the story on MSNBC.com.

The most coverage of the story I've seen is here, in the Belfast Telegraph:

Former Democratic presidential contender, Dennis Kucinich, has called for the impeachment of George W Bush claiming that the president set out to deceive the nation, and violated his oath of office with the Iraq war.

The Ohio representative yesterday introduced 35 articles of impeachment against Bush on the floor of the US House of Representatives.

Kucinich unveiled a list of alleged illegal and improper acts by Bush, including war crimes.

He accused Bush of executing a "calculated and wide-ranging strategy" to deceive citizens and Congress into believing that Iraq posed an imminent threat to the United States.

He went on to say that Bush and Cheney lied to Congress and the American public about the reasons for invading Iraq in 2003 and abused their offices in order to conduct the "War on Terror" following the 9/11 attacks.

"Bush misled the American people and members of Congress to believe Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction so as to manufacture a false case for war. President George W. Bush, by such conduct, is guilty of an impeachable offense warranting removal from office," Kucinich said.

The Telegraph also includes the 35 articles of impeachment, a damning indictment of Dubya's last six years in office.

A man is standing up to the war criminal that is running your country, is taking steps to remove him from office, and trying to salvage the reputation of America abroad. Your media is largely ignoring the story. Nobody seems to give a shit.

House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) suggested yesterday that engaging in a lengthy debate over impeaching Bush in the waning days of his administration is not a productive use of the House's time. (washingtonpost.com)

It's been said that people get the government they deserve. I'd like to think you deserve better.

Prove it.