Hearing on Limits of Executive Power: Lamar Smith

[guruboy5]

R.I.P. LAMAR SMITH :c

[420shaker]

LAMAR SMITH CAN GO FUCK HIMSELF!

[mickj6]

@420shaker They should throw this jackass out of office.

[barone04]

I cannot believe this is a hearing held in the land of the free...USA where truth and justice shall always be given a fair voice......just a note here,,,The last guy to speak on this clip just stated that in all the major wars the US went into, later were found to be unjustified? So my point is, with history as an example, shouldnt it ring alarm bells and really question the reasons for war first?

[a2dli]

What idiots, ppl like that disgust me

[djpoppyt]

The idiots in my country need to swallow this "american pride" and see that it was a provoked attack.My gov has been occupying the middle east for years.If people were attacking rich countries then countries all over the world would be in danger but it is the u.s. that is attacked that is obvious evidence that our foreign policy is flawed. If you bully people then you will eventually get kicked in the nuts, and when you are on the ground in pain you will be stomped on by the people u made hate u

[djpoppyt]

If the people could actaully pick out of the few hundred million people in my country then the candidates would be completely different. When the people realizes that we can't let the gov try and police the world they will see. The media makes americans think that we need to to stop threats, but the only reason people would attack us is because the gov does the same. Then when Ron Paul stated this the rest of the republicans started trying to make him look bad but he is right.

[djpoppyt]

toeg1 I dislike my government just as much as you but until people open their eyes in my country they will be blind.Officials swear to uphold the constitution but they don't.Did you know that it is easier to get info about the actions of the cia than it is to find out what the government is doin with this illusion of money. the greenback only has monetary value be the banks say it does. Most of the mass media in my country is owned by three companies and they are told what they can and can't say

[toeg1]

djpoppyt,

Well said. Join us on the forum where we are trying to identify specific actions to perform in order to awaken the sheeple. And I'm not kidding myself thinking this is a slam dunk. Most Americans are programmed to spout the appropriate bumper sticker response whenever anyone even suggests that the US doesn't walk on water. Quite frankly, it's sickening.

[JackieRaphBrown]

may this idiot get what he deserves.

[hugo082004]

Unfortunately, what he's got is a position on the faculty of George Mason University. He's out there every day molding young minds.  Just what America needs--more poorly informed citizens. Scary huh?

[johndownunder]

A proffesor stating those who want Bush impeached are overought and demented.Has he spent the last 7 years on the Moon or does he just have no respect for his fellow citizens or the constitution.Shame on him.

[d1015125l]

Agree, rabkin is a disgrace. How can someone so poorly aquainted with constitutional law be allowed to teach at university level?? And, as hyped up as he looked while presenting his pathetically weak case he's the last person who should be calling anyone demented. Honestly, my jaw was on the floor as I listened to his lunacy. George Mason University should be asked why they have someone so intellectually dishonest on their staff. If not dishonest, then a moron. Don't know which is worse.

[toeg1]

john,

It's time to wake up. He is part of a LARGE group of Americans who believe exactly the same. Bush has done nothing wrong. If all you saw was American TV, you'd pretty much come to the same conclusion. Clinton was evil because he had an extramarital affair. Bush is okay because he only started two illegal wars that have seen more than a million people die. That's the American mentality today and the world better start realizing that.

[djpoppyt]

Most of the people in my country are too busy watching tv to give a shit. Americans have this illusion that they are invincible but I assure they are sorely wrong, and when they realize this then hopefully if it is not too late revolution will happen.The foreign policy that has been adopted in my country is bankrupting the taxpayers and the FED keeps pumping nonexistant money into the economy to keep it afloat.When the bubble pops the dollar will become worthless.Then people will open their eyes

[Matthappy420]

See how he slouches in his chair. The other guy said the truth, when he said Bush's actions are impeachable. If they aren't allowed to state Bush directly he can't ask for specifics until Bush is removed and their threat is erased and Congress can speak freely.

[toeg1]

Matt,

Congress is speaking as freely as they can now (which isn't saying much). Remember, Bush didn't go to war alone. It wasn't 535 Congressmen against the president. The majority in Congress voted for war BOTH times, voted for the Patriot Act both times and voted for legal wiretapping. THAT'S THE MAJORITY. And they are our representatives. They were voted in office to speak on our behalf. That's the America of today. Wake up and see it for what it really is!!

[Matthappy420]

Smith is a piece O.S. 

Behold the Traitors!

[Yankhadenough]

Matthappy420 Behold , Lamar Smith laments the "5 minute rule", while thousands of American soldiers and Iraqis continue to die in Bush's criminal war!

[toeg1]

WORLD, one more thing,

The Iraq War is now barely mentioned on TV here. Less than one hour per week!!! Americans don't care anymore how they are destroying Iraq and causing deaths to so many. It interferes with their leisure time. They want funny stuff on TV, not reality.

Americans have stopped caring a long time ago how they are the cause of so much destruction around the world. The ratings weren't high enough to keep them interested. Besides, Fox News shows pretty women and beer. They win.

[djpoppyt]

It's not the fault of the people, it's the corruption of the government. Americans are taught their whole lives to grow up, start a family, and make money. It's a ridiculous accusation to say that the population is at fault when clearly there is something much bigger than entertainment at work here. To say the people are at fault here is like accusing the Iraqi civilians of Saddam's crimes.

[toeg1]

dj,

I'm impressed with your logic. You say the American people aren't to blame for their government's actions. That's rather startling news. So if Americans DID'T vote them into office can you tell me who did?? Did the French vote them into office? Perhaps the Croats???

You know, when the Iranians no longer supported the Shah, a miracle happened. They rode him out of town on a rail. Imagine that. The people, taking back their government. No,it was the Irish who did that in Iran, right??

[chicadee5113]

Yes toeg, and amazingly, there are still 20+ percent of Americans who despite having lived through the worst 8 years this country has seen in decades, still support Bush and the republicans. I'm at a loss to explain what drives people to continue to vote against their own interests. I have a cousin and a neighbor who explain away bush's crimes and incompetence in one breath and in the next express fear of Obama the "secret muslim". Someone's drinkin' the koolaid that fox news is serving up.

[djpoppyt]

It's propaganda and misinformation they only get voted in because they are the choices. My government is not a democracy because to become president you need money and money doesn't stand for intelligence it just means that they are wealthy.60% of the people in my country are not happy with this terms choice of candidates and the media is used as a tool to tell people what to think. Now if someone goes against the gov and exersizes their rights they slapped with the label terrorist by the media.

[toeg1]

Patricia,

two things astonish me, that he bothered to write back and he didn't call you a traitor. I'm afraid that the vast majority of Americans have absolutely no understanding of how the world operates, nor do they care.

Bush's evils around the world has only affected a select few in the US. The vast majority see the Iraq War as some kind of grotesque game show out of control, and after 5 years, rather boring. I'm sure they'd like the show cancelled and "Survivor" put in its place.

[toeg1]

BETTER WAKE UP, WORLD. THIS IS HOW MILLIONS OF AMERICANS THINK TODAY!!

Do you really want to know why the US has such a horrible reputation around the world??? Listen to these clowns. They find it perfectly normal activity for a president to start two illegal wars, destroy the bill of rights, spend hundreds of billions of dollars of American taxpayer money on no-bid contracts to Cheney's buddies, wiretap its citizenry, commit torture and all the rest.

Sickening, isn't it??

[toeg1]

WORLD - URGENT MESSAGE

This recent clip shows how Americans are not only asleep, but are closed minded as well. The three idiots cannot find anything impeachable by Bush. I'm serious.

Please understand that there are tens of millions of Americans out there who agree 100%While it has already been proven that him and his administration lied to the American people nearly 1,000 times to date, they can find nothing wrong.

Now here's the kickr. These people will also decide the next president.

[PatriciaR8865]

After having seen Rabkin, who is on the faculty of the university my son attends, I was so astonished that an educator could be either so clueless, or so corrupted, that I wrote him an email in care of George Mason University.  To my surprise, he responded, but as I read it to my somewhat astonished husband, his comment was that he either completely missed the point of the hearings, or simply has no defense and was grasping at straws. I'll copy and paste his response in my next post...

[PatriciaR8865]

Thanks for taking the trouble to contact me. Sorry you didn't like what I said or how I said it. But I agree that what matters is how we all look back on this in 20 or 30 years. Two years ago -- before the surge -- I was very doubtful. I'm now much more optimistic. But there's no point in trying to persuade you now of reasons for hope. I hope we will both live long enough to see how things turn out. I hope we can agree in wishing the best for the Iraqis. Jeremy Rabkin

[PatriciaR8865]

The reference to "20 or 30 years" is in response to my contention that if he is blessed with another 20 or 30 years, he'll find that he was on the wrong side of history. I found it interesting that he failed to address the purpose of the hearing--the limits of executive power. No mention in his reply of  the politicization of the justice dept, wiretapping, torture, and of course, the use of cherrypicked intelligence to lead us into an illegal war. Interesting.

[PatriciaR8865]

It is utterly astonishing that he seems to justify all the crimes of the bush admin, by saying in his email that the surge has brought some progress. I wonder if someone broke into his house and ransacked it, he'd forego pressing charges because the burgler fed his goldfish while he was there. I have to keep reminding myself that this guy is a law professor. As an aside, he once introduced Ann Coulter at her speech at Cornell. Sums it up nicely, doesn't it?

[djpoppyt]

That is what the dishonest do, when you speak they babble to try to sidetrack u. This is especially noticeable when listening to bush answer questions from the press.

[HemiHead66]

Presser didn't even answer the question. Rabkin puts three things out there by former presidents that don't have anything to do with what Bush did. Bush knew Iraq wasn't a threat to the United States and changed documents to get us into a war. He trashes the constitution, breaks the laws of this country, then says he don't have to answer to anybody. This is totally crazy. He don't have a leg to stand on. He's Guilty.

[Argonaut22j]

There should be impeachment hearings if these aren't them, though.

[Argonaut22j]

Wait, I guess because like he said these aren't impeachment hearings.

[Argonaut22j]

Why is there all this debate? Bush either broke the law or he didn't. His actions were illegal or they weren't. It isn't a historical issue. He either lied and that was illegal, or what he said isn't considered a lie. That's all. WHy don't they just address that?

[jerryb9105]

Uncle Fester -- and Mr. Potato Head // what a laughable 'republican' choice you two folks were to this serious hearing. And you Republican Congressional Representatives that insisted upon addressing them -- ha ha ha ha!

[AAAngels08]

Jeremy Rabkin once introduced a speech by Ann Coulter at Cornell University. Pretty clear he's bought and paid for by the right wing. His academic credentials have been exposed as pretty shaky after his embarrassing performance. I emailed him at GMU to let him know that he is a disgrace. No reply, I expect his mailbox is overflowing.

[ToritoNL]

at the end of this video Mr Rabkin names the exact false flag covert operations that the USA governments (or those who pull the strings) are guilty of! And then he says: but we don't know if that was true. Yes we do, just look in to the archives! The man is much more valuable for an impeachment procedure than for a defense of Bush. He's immensely 'demented': a word he himself here uses for those who want to have things investigated.

[ToritoNL]

The second 'witness' in this video, professor 'Repkin' (or so) sees a need to literally move in strange directions and groteske shapes, in a try to make the accusations look just as strange and groteske. And then, in a Freudian way, he even names Bush the exact names that would fit the man: "a Shakespearian villan". He calls the charges 'demented', caused by frustration, rage about other things. Just look at his gestures, is facial expression, to know he has a serious problem.

[Gurualvin]

The whole of this panel are elite whores!

how can serious evidence of this nature about the bush administration be brushed aside?

its ridiculous. and its not down to these whores to individually decide that there is no evidence

that is for a court and jury to decide period!

[thomasw78]

Those examples he gave weren't very good. McKinley didn't know that Battleship Maine wasn't blown up by the Spanish he found out after. Roosevelt imposed sanctions and froze the Japanese's assets but he never attacked the Japanese pre-emptively. The Gulf of Tonkin was a mistake made by the naval officers on the ship who thought they had been fired upon.

[bizwiz13]

BTW - Presser must be blind to see no impeachable offenses!!!! And yes, Rabkin must be on meth or something, and obviously is a major kiss-ass.

[bizwiz13]

In answer to the teh oil connection, Lindsey Williams in his book "The Energy Non-Crisis" speaks of the conspiracy of big oil execs pushing OPEC around through a deal made by Kissinger decades ago. Saddam Hussein was wanting to break the agreement and he had to be dealt with. G.H.W. Bush failed in the Gulf war to retaliate, and then was not re-elected so leave it to Georgie Porgie to finish the job. Check it out and you be the judge.

[bizwiz13]

Smith is obviously a neocon sunk deep in the cesspool of corruption and justification for crime. Consider that we don't elect many of the people working in the white house...they are appointed by the President and they know that his ass as well as their jobs are on the line, so if a mistake is made the only option they consider is to cover it up and then it can snowball.

[minidish]

All of them need to go to Jail.

Aiding and abetting is a crime also.

[minidish]

What an asshole that Egg Head is.

Why is this not on main stream news?

[AMERICALOVESHER0S]

Because the mainstream media is owned by big republican contributers. I guarantee Amy Goodman on Democracy Now will have lots to say about it tomorrow. Democracy Now is carried on Pacifica radio. On Dish Network it's carried by Free Speech TV and on Direct TV it's carried by LINK. Or you can find it at democracynowdotorg. Check your local listings. I've completely given up on the major networks and listen only to Indy news, PBS (Bill Moyers is the best) and of course, the Internet.

[minidish]

Agree with you 100%.

My question was provocative.

It makes the fools think.

Thanks for the plug, any body who get the "news" from mainstream, lives in the dark.

[AMERICALOVESHER0S]

Oh my god!! This is the dumbest argument I've ever heard! Someone must have paid him to say this. How could he ever show his face on any college campus after this? The man is a total joke. How embarrassing.

[AMERICALOVESHER0S]

What's funny though is watching rabkin with the sound muted. It looks like he's being fast forwarded. I think maybe he's on something. What a strange dude.

[sodoku50]

Wow!!!?!!

[EzraTTT]

So the president should have no accountability.

[coachkemp34]

This apologist should be ashamed of himself.

[coreyjoy]

LOL

[Patrizzi]

Prof. Radkin (sp?) uses as his main brick of dissent against impeachment of GWB et administration as it would be: Simply unbelievable of any president. The whole administration would have to be considered evil. Any impeachable offense of this magnitude is beyond the realm of possibility.

Save his students!

[spongebathe83]

BUSH CRONEY

[truefictions]

OK so the logic behind these arguments is that stupidity is excusable if you are the President of the United States. In other words ignorance is an excuse to get out of the consequences of breaking laws. Hear no evil, see no evil, and your evil deeds are excused. Oh brother..

[chaostherie]

Who's pain

paying this guy??

[hugo082004]

To chaostherie, He is employed by George Mason University in Virginia. Write to them and let them know how you feel about someone so ignorant being allowed to act as an educator.

[localtruth]

Presidents should not make decisions on the basis of limited information. That just doesn't make logical sense. How can you make such a powerful and important decision as going to war on limited information? I guess they do it because a precedent has been set for these kinds of decisions over the history of the United States.

[treysparker]

This video is blatant proof of corruption within the American Government. As if we needed any more proof anyway...

[AHughman08]

and so the theatre begins.

[tlkshowhst]

The questions lamar smith asks are clearly planted.

[tlkshowhst]

NO evidence of misconduct?

They LIED to the public 935 times since 911.

[beauxpaint]

this is ridiculous -

Kucinich and Bugliosi were told they were not allowed to bring evidence.

They were told they were not allowed to bring evidence.

Again ... they were told they were not allowed to bring evidence.

....

They were told this was not an impeachment hearing.

Again?

And now, Lamar Smith, after not allowing them to make their points, he then says, "so, does anyone see any evidence? No, ok then."

This is bizarre.

[threelegduck]

president bush jerked off on the constutution and now this guy wants to use it as a placemat

[rotobeam]

What an embarrassing tool. This is the equivalent of defending Hitler and denying his murderous actions. Lamar Smith is the definition of loyal to a fault. He is like all the other Republican hacks. They serve the elitists assholes by lying to their constituents. It is a fucking shame. He should go down with the other treasonous bastards. Clearly he has no conscience.

[jjrglobal]

Well the one thing these clowns got right was that there are a lot of other presidents like Roosevelt, Wilson, and Truman that should have been not only impeached but prosecuted. Presidents are not above the rule of law put forth in our constitution. Does anyone believe for a second that President Bush has lived up to his oath of office,to defend and obey the constitution? I can't believe they are using the excuse "other presidents have done it too"!

[zoerocks7]

The difference being that there is clear evidence that Bush knew that Hussein was not an imminent threat and, along with Cheney and others, continued to cite that as a reason to attack.

Saying that "a US president wouldn't behave that way" and therefore the truth can't be true is idiotic.

[Yankhadenough]

LBJ did lie... so this makes Bush lies ok?

[Yankhadenough]

The "conspiracy theory" is real > IASPS, PNAC , AEI, Committee for Liberation of Iraq, let me count the ways...

[Tackleqb]

lol he is mr. smith like in the matrix

[1DarkWingDuck]

presser is a paid puss...bush bitch for sure

[extinctionism]

.. that the president lied about the facts that led us into war.

...not addressed here.

[AAAngels08]

dude looks like he's on crystal meth.

[chicadee5113]

Contact George Mason University in Virginia and demand to know why they have hired someone with such a flimsy understanding of constitutional law to teach it to their students. Jeremy Rabkin is a disgrace and an embarrassment.

[diogeneslaertius666]

Lamar Smith, Jeremy Rabkin and Stephen Presser

=

TRAITORS

[sommeflame34]

Jul.26.08 Presser, Rabkin teaching Law? No wonder all right-wing Idiots from shrub (Bush) right down to the lawless Republicans sitting behind the bench up there. Infect I recommend we put all lawless loving Republicans on a one way trip oversees for training (rendition) for about one Year or so. Do some fingernail stretching, a little water boarding

For relaxation over night a little jazz music so no one can fall a slip. After a year we bring them all back and let them write new GOOD LAWS.

[MasterMark123]

These God Damn apologists !!! If Bush shot the First lady in the head with in the rose garden LIVE on CNN .. These guys would upright and maintain that it never happened. It was all photo shop and that the first lady was out of the country on vacation at the moment

[HugeJohn51]

What planet do these guys come from?

[orinocojones]

Corrupt scum.

[HugeJohn51]

they are the lowest of the low...it's like they got thier talking points from Fox on the way in

[orinocojones]

It's likely they're either clandestinely compromised or directly benefiting from this illegal Presidency. Their one salient point for dismissal was that they could site a bunch of previous criminal actions (alleged or otherwise) that former Presidents made who got away with it... even the Gulf of Tokin came up - used as a point to dismiss impeachment hearings?!!!

Fucking outrage.

[jjshen83]

wow, thats disgusting, comparing Bush to Washington and Jefferson.

[HugeJohn51]

that fucking scumbag- punishing a president for rushing to war without the facts doesn't make it impossible for future presidents to act, it makes them accountable for thier actions and perhaps in the future won't rush to war. And everyone knows nothing happened in the Gulf of Tonkin and the whole Vietnam war was bullshit

[Hallonsylt]

Amen. Understand Rabkin knows EXACTLY what he's doing. The whole grab for unlimited executive power is all about setting these sorts of precedences.

[salome2114]

email rabkin at jrabkinatgmudotedu to let him know what you think.

[ficote72]

You should be ashame with such last name "rabkin", to support a facist dictator like Bush.

[kamahl75]

what about the intended misinformation of the white papers?

[viskarenvisla]

All three of those guys are jokes - Lamar Smith looks like a necrophiliac and is about as exciting a speaker as a rock - the second simpering little bald dude looks like something you scrape off from underneath a rock, and that third guy is way, way, way overcompensating in trying to make the entire situation seem insane.

Pay attention - this is a notable Republican tactic, deriding the truth and belittling the other side because they can rarely ever fight with anything besides empty rhetoric.

[jaasum]

I think it is kinda funny how he disclosed that almost every major war in the last century was based on questionable intelligence - and then blew it off as matter of fact and and holding no wrongdoings. Pathetic. We have a chance here to make things right in history for once.

[sheepman24]

Ultimately it has to come down to whether Bush knowingly misrepresented the truth. All the other examples were based on actually limited information in a time of tipping points to war. If, for instance Truman knew that the Tonkin incident was not an actual Vietnamese attack and lied about this, he should have been impeached as well. It's not about punishing people for getting into a bad war it's about people lying to get into wars.

[clarkslick]

rabkin should be utterly embarrassed. totally disgraceful.

[kenjams]

republican creeps that need to GO!

[AAAngelsO6]

Rabkin is a law professor?? My son goes to Mason--good thing he's not majoring in law or I'd ask for my money back. Seriously, this guy is a disgrace and seems to have a very shaky understanding of constitutional law. What a poor performance. He should be embarrassed.

[videocafeblog]

Someone wrote over at KOS, and I haven't fact checked this that he's a history professor at a law school, that he's someone that got in there because they were pushing for more conservative teachers, and that he had some relation to Ann Coulter where she possibly attended his classes. Like I said I haven't checked on whether that's true or not, but none of it would surprise me if it is.

[ziggytedly]

arrgh, 'let's make a list of other people that should of been impeached'. I'd say that's unrelated to the topic. cheers, Kucinich's wife is in the background.

[surfjerr]

mr rapkin we will find you against the ppl we will find u guilty

[yivaya]

There is plenty of evidence, there is NO way to ignore the FACTS.

First we impeach, then we charge with murder.

Email, phone & fax numbers of Conyers and your rep can be found here: houseDOTgov and SenateDOTgov and judiciaryDOThouseDOTgov

Send them a FREE online fax at faxzeroDOTcom

DEMAND IMPEACHMENT

Check out afterdowningstreetDOTorg and freewaybloggerDOTcom

Contact Media: fairDOTorg

and spread the video around titled "the prosecution of george bush for murder" on here.

GET BUSY.

[godsrightarm]

what a fucking goon.

[officialusa]

note and vote these people out of office

[rh7onda7]

Prof. Rabkin looks and sounds like he's done a few lines of coke!

[moreaudan]

BUSH GOONS

[mmm413]

To compare Bush's war crimes to Clinton's lying about sex is obscene.

[hugo082004]

How true mmm413 and I was glad to hear Bugliosi say it out loud.  He put rabkin in his place. The absolute disgrace is that rabkin is actually teaching college students. I hope people make a complaint to the university that hired him.

[Wendy62]

Unbelievable. What a wave of obfuscation. Ohhh, EVERY PRESIDENT IN HISTORY, has lied us into war, it's NO BIG DEAL!!! ...But a bj in the Oval Office? OMG, start impeachment proceedings now!

[pooldesigner]

LOL,

He can't understand why someone would invade over oil??

It must be a hate and anger issue he says...

Then he tries to distort the difference between deliberate and accident. Standard confusion tactic. I am so confused. Maybe Bush made an accident when he said delete these lines?

50,000 citizens understand you are turning a blind eye to your friends and obstructing justice.

[neotoy]

what a goddamn snake in the grass. of course he's from Texas. What's that Mr. Smith? Sorry I can't hear you, maybe you should take George W. Bush's dick out of your mouth..

[hugo082004]

LOL neotoy, that's the best laugh I've had all day!

[diogeneslaertius666]

Lamar Smith, Jeremy Rabkin and Stephen Presser

traitors and cowards to america

[thid1]

laughable display of absolute nonsense.

[Muzztein]

WHAT A LOAD OF SHIT!!!

[lpferris]

What a smug bastard. Lamar Smith is obviously completely disinterested in a legitimate investigation.

[Wendy62]

Well put.

Only he's VERY interested, isn't he? What he's interested in, is foiling the legitimate investigation.

[mmm413]

I've gotten to the point I can tell a GOPher just by their looks. Smarmy.

[JimboTHC]

Republicans always seem to have slick down light brown hair, Dems seems to always have poofy salt and pepper or silver hair.

John Kerry/Mondale/Dukakis/Dodd

Bush/Lott/Haggert/L.smith

I think that's just how the shadow government sorts them out.

[lordy1952]

MR SMITH FAIL