Petitioning the Government

On February 27, 2006 I sent the following letter to my representative in Congress. I will post his reply by March 13 and my response.

TO: Congressman Michael McNulty
33 Second St
Troy NY 12180

Over a month ago Representative John Conyers introduced legislation calling for the censure of George Bush, the censure of Dick Cheney, and to create a select committee to investigate the Bush Administration for possible crimes and make recommendations regarding grounds for impeachment.

The first of the three resolutions introduced by Rep Conyers, H.Res.635, asks that the Congress establish a select committee to investigate whether members of the administration made moves to invade Iraq before receiving congressional authorization, manipulated pre-war intelligence, encouraged the use of torture in Iraq and elsewhere, and used their positions to retaliate against critics of the war.

The second resolution, H.Res.636, asks that the Congress to censure the president "for failing to respond to requests for information concerning allegations that he and others in his Administration misled Congress and the American people regarding the decision to go to war in Iraq, misstated and manipulated intelligence information regarding the justification for the war, countenanced torture and cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment of persons in Iraq, and permitted inappropriate retaliation against critics of his Administration, for failing to adequately account for specific misstatements he made regarding the war, and for failing to comply with Executive Order 12958." A third resolution, H.Res.637, would censure Cheney for a similar set of complaints.

Today the U.S. is portraying a form of government which is in the process of replacing democracy with a more repressive form of government as evidenced by George Bush claiming he is above the law when he says he will continue spying on “suspected terrorists” without a warrant because it’s his job to protect the American people which only reminds me of a rap group’s lyrics about if the police are here to protect us who will protect us against the police. He has already decided those “suspected terrorists” include but are not limited to nonviolent activists, anti-war groups, the ACLU, the Catholic Worker Movement, and an anti-war Quaker group in Florida.

Make no mistake about it Congressman McNulty the future of democracy is inextricably woven with the future of House Resolutions 635, 636, and 637. Either we are a nation of laws which govern our social relations with one another or we are a nation where man is above the law when laws are violated and no one is held accountable.

As your constituent, my question to you is when do you intend to cosponsor HR 635, 636, and 637 and if you do you not plan to cosponsor this legislation please explain why.

Sincerely,