Kucinich: Articles of Impeachment 26.

[L. Coyote]

Run time: 09:58 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luBzvyuJGyY   Posted on YouTube: June 12, 2008 By YouTube Member: Views on YouTube: 0   Posted on DU: June 12, 2008 By DU Member: L. Coyote Views on DU: 335

 

[jgraz]

1. K&R

[L. Coyote]

2. MISLEADING CONGRESS AND THE AMERICAN PEOPLE IN AN ATTEMPT TO DESTROY MEDICARE

ARTICLE XXX
MISLEADING CONGRESS AND THE AMERICAN PEOPLE IN AN ATTEMPT TO DESTROY MEDICARE
In his conduct while President of the United States, George W. Bush, in violation of his constitutional
oath to faithfully execute the office of President of the United States and, to the best of his ability,
preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States, and in violation of his constitutional
duty under Article II, Section 3 of the Constitution "to take care that the laws be faithfully executed",
has both personally and acting through his agents and subordinates, together with the Vice President,
pursued policies which deliberately drained the fiscal resources of Medicare by forcing it to compete
with subsidized private insurance plans which are allowed to arbitrarily select or not select those they
will cover; failing to provide reasonable levels of reimbursements to Medicare providers, thereby
discouraging providers from participating in the program, and designing a Medicare Part D benefit
without cost controls which allowed pharmaceutical companies to gouge the American taxpayers for
the price of prescription drugs.
The President created, manipulated, and disseminated information given to the citizens and Congress of
the United States in support of his prescription drug plan for Medicare that enriched drug companies
while failing to save beneficiaries sufficient money on their prescription drugs. He misled Congress
and the American people into thinking the cost of the benefit was $400 billion. It was widely
understood that if the cost exceeded that amount, the bill would not pass due to concerns about fiscal
irresponsibility.
A Medicare Actuary who possessed information regarding the true cost of the plan, $539 billion, was
instructed by the Medicare Administrator to deny Congressional requests for it. The Actuary was
threatened with sanctions if the information was disclosed to Congress, which, unaware of the
information, approved the bill. Despite the fact that official cost estimates far exceeded $400 billion,
President Bush offered assurances to Congress that the cost was $400 billion, when his office had
information to the contrary. In the House of Representatives, the bill passed by a single vote and the
Conference Report passed by only 5 votes. The White House knew the actual cost of the drug benefit
was high enough to prevent its passage. Yet the White House concealed the truth and impeded an
investigation into its culpability.
In all of these actions and decisions, President George W. Bush has acted in a manner contrary to his
trust as President, and subversive of constitutional government, to the prejudice of the cause of law and
justice and to the manifest injury of the people of the United States. Wherefore, President George W.
Bush, by such conduct, is guilty of an impeachable offense warranting removal from office.

[L. Coyote]

3. KATRINA: FAILURE TO PLAN FOR THE PREDICTED DISASTER OF HURRICANE KATRINA,

Article XXXI
KATRINA: FAILURE TO PLAN FOR THE PREDICTED DISASTER OF HURRICANE KATRINA, FAILURE TO RESPOND TO A CIVIL EMERGENCY
In his conduct while President of the United States, George W. Bush, in violation of his constitutional
oath to faithfully execute the office of President of the United States and, to the best of his ability,
preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States, and in violation of his constitutional
duty under Article II, Section 3 of the Constitution "to take care that the laws be faithfully executed",
has both personally and acting through his agents and subordinates, failed to take sufficient action to
protect life and property prior to and in the face of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, given decades of
foreknowledge of the dangers of storms to New Orleans and specific forewarning in the days prior to
the storm. The President failed to prepare for predictable and predicted disasters, failed to respond to
an immediate need of which he was informed, and has subsequently failed to rebuild the section of our
nation that was destroyed.
Hurricane Katrina killed at least 1,282 people, with 2 million more displaced. 302,000 housing units
were destroyed or damaged by the hurricane, 71% of these were low-income units. More than 500
sewage plants were destroyed, more than 170 point-source leakages of gasoline, oil, or natural gas,
more than 2000 gas stations submerged, several chemical plants, 8 oil refineries, and a superfund site
was submerged. 8 million gallons of oil were spilled. Toxic materials seeped into floodwaters and
spread through much of the city and surrounding areas.
The predictable increased strength of hurricanes such as Katrina has been identified by scientists for
years, and yet the Bush Administration has denied this science and restricted such information from
official reports, publications, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency's website. Donald
Kennedy, editor-in-chief of Science, wrote in 2006 that "hurricane intensity has increased with oceanic
surface temperatures over the past 30 years. The physics of hurricane intensity growth … has clarified
and explained the thermodynamic basis for these observations. Emanuel has tested this
relationship and presented convincing evidence."
FEMA's 2001 list of the top three most likely and most devastating disasters were a San Francisco
earthquake, a terrorist attack on New York, and a Category 4 hurricane hitting New Orleans, with New
Orleans being the number one item on that list. FEMA conducted a five-day hurricane simulation
exercise in 2004, "Hurricane Pam," mimicking a Katrina-like event. This exercise combined the
National Weather Service, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the LSU Hurricane Center and other
state and federal agencies, resulting in the development of emergency response plans. The exercise
demonstrated, among other things, that thousands of mainly indigent New Orleans residents would be
unable to evacuate on their own. They would need substantial government assistance. These plans,
however, were not implemented in part due to the President's slashing of funds for protection. In the
year before Hurricane Katrina hit, the President continued to cut budgets and deny grants to the Gulf
Coast. In June of 2004 the Army Corps of Engineers levee budget for New Orleans was cut, and it was
cut again in June of 2005, this time by $71.2 million or a whopping 44% of the budget. As a result,
ACE was forced to suspend any repair work on the levees. In 2004 FEMA denied a Louisiana disaster
mitigation grant request.
The President was given multiple warnings that Hurricane Katrina had a high likelihood of causing
serious damage to New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. At 10 AM on Sunday 28 August 2005, the day
before the storm hit, the National Weather Service published an alert titled "DEVASTATING
DAMAGE EXPECTED." Printed in all capital letters, the alert stated that "MOST OF THE AREA
WILL BE UNINHABITABLE FOR WEEKS...PERHAPS LONGER. AT LEAST ONE HALF OF
WELL CONSTRUCTED HOMES WILL HAVE ROOF AND WALL FAILURE. … POWER
OUTAGES WILL LAST FOR WEEKS. … WATER SHORTAGES WILL MAKE HUMAN
SUFFERING INCREDIBLE BY MODERN STANDARDS."
The Homeland Security Department also briefed the President on the scenario, warning of levee
breaches and severe flooding. According to the New York Times, "a Homeland Security Department
report submitted to the White House at 1:47 a.m. on Aug. 29, hours before the storm hit, said, 'Any
storm rated Category 4 or greater will likely lead to severe flooding and/or levee breaching.'" These
warnings clearly contradict the statements made by President Bush immediately after the storm that
such devastation could not have been predicted. On 1 September 2005 the President said "I don't think
anyone anticipated the breach of the levees."
The President's response to Katrina via FEMA and DHS was criminally delayed, indifferent, and inept.
The only FEMA employee posted in New Orleans in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina,
Marty Bahamonde, emailed head of FEMA Michael Brown from his Blackberry device on August 31,
2005 regarding the conditions The email was urgent and detailed and indicated that "The situation is
past critical…Estimates are many will die within hours." Brown's reply was emblematic of the
administration's entire response to the catastrophe: "Thanks for the update. Anything specific I need to
do or tweak?" The Secretary of Homeland Security, Michael Chertoff, did not declare an emergency,
did not mobilize the federal resources, and seemed to not even know what was happening on the
ground until reporters told him.
On Friday August 26, 2005, Governor Kathleen Blanco declared a State of Emergency in Louisiana
and Governor Haley Barbour of Mississippi followed suit the next day. Also on that Saturday,
Governor Blanco asked the President to declare a Federal State of Emergency, and on 28 August 2005,
the Sunday before the storm hit, Mayor Nagin declared a State of Emergency in New Orleans. This
shows that the local authorities, responding to federal warnings, knew how bad the destruction was
going to be and anticipated being overwhelmed. Failure to act under these circumstances demonstrates
gross negligence.
In all of these actions and decisions, President George W. Bush has acted in a manner contrary to his
trust as President, and subversive of constitutional government, to the prejudice of the cause of law and
justice and to the manifest injury of the people of the United States. Wherefore, President George W.
Bush, by such conduct, is guilty of an impeachable offense warranting removal from office.

[L. Coyote]

4. Kick. Putting these ducks in row.