Group Urges Americans to Speak Out Against Planned Bush Blanket Pardons

The group says it is extremely important to block the pardons before they can happen.

Image courtesy: blog.reidreport.com

(SALEM, Ore.) - A group called The People's Email Network, is urging Americans to do what they can to stop the Bush Administration from issuing pardons that will absolve Vice-President Dick Cheney and others from future retribution over alleged crimes committed during the presidency.

They say a recent round of pardons from President Bush are just a sign of things to come.

"Pay no attention to the handful of Christmas pardons granted by Bush. This is mere political window dressing to distract from the bumper crop of blanket absolutions, including one for himself, scheduled to be released just before midnight on Jan 19th," the group said.

Cheney will be remembered for his implication that waterboarding is not torture, despite the fact that such practice can be prosecuted as a war crime in most civilized countries.

Critics point to a recent interview with the Washington Times, during which Mr. Cheney said "I felt very good about what we did. I think it was the right thing to do."

The People's Email Network said, "Cheney would not so arrogantly be bragging on TV about how he authorized torture if it were not so."

I witnessed a result of the U.S. policy on treatment of Iraqi detainees last summer, it isn't the kind of thing any person would soon forget. (see: A Disturbing Night in Iraq: Witnessing the Abuse of 'Insurgent' Prisoners)

Ten members of Congress have already gotten behind a resolution in Congress, House Resolution 1531, preemptively condemning the Presidential self-pardon. More Congressmen and women need to sponsor the resolution to get it off the ground.

Concerned citizens have the right to contact their representative and make their feelings on the matter known. Sometimes contact with elected officials can bring surprising results.

The Action Page To Stop The Bush Pardons is located at this link: usalone.com/hres1531.php.

The group says each action page submitted "is another lump of coal in Cheney's stocking."

"Some have speculated on the possibility of post inauguration impeachment, especially considering the fact that many insiders are waiting until then to spill the beans. Maybe they don't want to get bumped off in a suspicious plane crash like Mike Connell." (see: SF Gate: Cheney wielded the war to deceive)

They say a self pardon at the very last minute would certainly be grounds for some kind of action, "perhaps even impeachment, if and only if Congress would react and take action immediately."

"So we will still continue to distribute the impeachment message items until the very last minute as well," they added.

The group says they hope to raise a renewed hue and cry "when the expected happens" on January 19th.

"How hard could it be to get members of Congress to simply raise their hand and declare that a presidential self pardon, let alone pardon of his criminal co-conspirators, is maybe not such a good idea? If we are to draw the line anywhere, this is where is must be drawn."

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Tim King is a former U.S. Marine with twenty years of experience on the west coast as a television news producer, photojournalist, reporter and assignment editor. In addition to his role as a war correspondent, this Los Angeles native serves as Salem-News.com's Executive News Editor.
Tim spent the winter of 2006/07 in Afghanistan with Oregon troops. Tim recently returned from Iraq where he covered the war there while embedded with an Oregon Guard aviation unit. Serving the community in very real terms, Salem-News.com is the nation's only truly independent high traffic news Website, affiliated with Google News and several other major search engines and news aggregators.
You can send Tim an email at this address: newsroom@salem-news.com