. . .All a member of Congress needs to do is stand up and accuse Bush and Cheney of their crimes.

Every day, every member of Congress faces an inescapable choice:

Remain an accomplice for another day
OR
Open their mouths, accuse Bush and Cheney of their crimes, and demand accountability.

Conyers and Feingold have given their colleagues a way to break their silence. Members of the Senate can co-sponsor Censure RIGHT NOW. Members of the House can co-sponsor Conyers resolution RIGHT NOW.

These are first steps in exposing the administration's crimes.

If the Democrats won't stand up to Bush's efforts to undermine our constitutional democracy, how can the nation look to them to stand up to terrorists?

Rationalizations for delay must be rejected. A battered wife who says "I'd better wait until tomorrow to leave" is just giving her abuser another day to abuse.

Delay = Denial that the situation is critical.

When faced with a difficult task, everyone tends to grasp for all sorts of rationalizations that it will be "better" not to start today. To be effective, we must learn to reject the rationalizations. Things are no different in the political arena.

As we confront our "leaders" and challenge the rationalizations they invoke for failing to stand up for Censure or for Conyers resolution, we are challenging rationalizations that block them in many, many other situations. Once a rationalization is clobbered (e.g., once "can't happen, so don't try" has been knocked down), it is less likely to be resurrected in other situations.

Then What?

Ultimately, the nation must face the truth -- that as long as the rogue Bush administration is in power, the United States of America has NO Moral Authority and is incapable of doing ANYTHING positive at home or abroad. Every day that our leaders "keep mum" the spread of this truth is delayed.

When we recognize the reality of our situation, it becomes clear that Impeachment belongs at the top of every agenda.

Want a shot at making progress in Iraq? The first step is to force Bush, Cheney, and their co-conspirators from power and hand them over to the Hague. (They must answer to the world court for the war crimes they committed in our name.) This is the only way to restore our moral authority.

With legitimate leadership, we have a shot at rebuilding trust, renewing international relationships, relinquishing claims on Iraq, getting out of the way, and defining terms for reparations.

On the domestic front, as long as the rogue administration remains in power, our laws and regulations aren't worth the paper they are printed on. The fascist Bush syndicate refuses to enforce and flagrantly violates those laws. We must face facts and stop supporting the pretense of their legitimacy operating as if things are "politics as usual."

Want to see positive action on the environment? Impeach Bush and Cheney, restore legitimate government, and renew participation in shaping rational global policy.

Want to shift the cost of citizenship from those who benefit least from our common infrastructure to those who benefit most? You guessed it. Impeach Bush and Cheney, repeal their lunatic tax kick backs to the rich, and take it from there.