If you missed the hearing today on the Downing Street Memo you missed some of
the most compelling and interesting testimony in the capital since Iran-Contra.
The stories ranged from heart-breakers of soldiers who have given the ultimate
sacrifice up to our vice-President over seeing the intelligence to make sure it
fits the administrations agenda.

Even if you were a skeptic the testimony today should at least make you want
to hear the administrations defense on it. This is probably why the Republican
controlled Congress tried every thing they could to block the hearing or
interrupt it. Not only was it a total shame to the American people that we had
to hear about how our soldiers gave their life from a tiny room in the capital
basement, but in order to prevent the members of the House from keeping in full
attendance numerous votes and hearings were also scheduled for the same time.
This just proves the ironic portrayal the right gives the left when they
question the war by dubbing them unpatriotic. In all actuality the fact that the
right tried everything within their power to interrupt this hearing proves they
are afraid of what might come out.

This is also evident in the White House press briefings. For a small example
read how Scott McClellan answered two separate questions today regarding the
Downing Street Memo.

Q Scott, on another topic, has the President or anyone else from the
administration responded to the letter sent last month by Congressman John
Conyers and signed by dozens of members of the House of Representatives,
regarding the Downing Street memo? Has the President or anyone else
responded?

McCLELLAN: Not that I’m aware of.

Q Why not?

McCLELLAN: Why not? Because I think that this is an individual who voted
against the war in the first place [Conyers] and is simply trying to rehash
old debates that have already been addressed. And our focus is not on the
past. It’s on the future and working to make sure we succeed in Iraq.

These matters have been addressed, Elaine. I think you know that very
well. The press —

Q Scott, 88 members of Congress signed that letter.

McCLELLAN: The press — the press have covered it, as well.

Q But, Scott, don’t they deserve the courtesy of a response back?

McCLELLAN: Again, this has been addressed….

And now for the second round:

Q Scott, on John Conyers, John Conyers is walking here with that letter
again, as you have acknowledged from Elaine’s comment. But 88 leaders on
Capitol Hill signed that letter. Now, I understand what you’re saying about
him, but what about the other 88 who signed this letter, wanting
information, answers to these five questions?

McCLELLAN: How did they vote on the war — the decision to go to war in
Iraq?

Q Well, you have two — well, if that’s the case, you have two
Republicans who are looking for a timetable. How do you justify that?

McCLELLAN: I already talked about that.

Q I understand, but let’s talk about this.

McCLELLAN: Like I said —

Q Well, just because — I understand — but if you’re talking about
unifying and asking for everyone to come together, why not answer, whether
they wanted the war or not, answer a letter where John Conyers wrote to the
President and then 88 congressional leaders signed? Why not answer that?

McCLELLAN: For the reasons I stated earlier. This is simply rehashing old
debates that have already been discussed.

It should be no secret to any of us, left or right, that President Bush is
notorious for constantly rehashing his views and points in order to let himself
be heard. On May 25 of this year he even made a famous DubYa quote about it:

“See in my line of work you got to keep repeating things over and over and
over again for the truth to sink in, kind of catapulting the propaganda”

This makes you start to think “What has changed in 3 weeks?”. The Bush
administration is standing firm behind their allegation that all questions
regarding the intelligence have been addressed by the 9/11 commission and other
groups. Now think of this analogy using their logic behind this:

O.J. Simpson has finally started waving the knife around he used to kill
Nichole. He is not worried about it since a jury has already looked at the
evidence and no need to rehash it.

The fact is it would be grounds for a new trial, such as the Downing Street
Memo is. When new evidence is found in a criminal trial, even after a verdict
has been reached then that is grounds to re-try the suspect.

The fact that the administration is so hush about the DSM is simple. They are
afraid of saying something incriminating. They know that it is looking more and
more like they will be answering about it under oath and they want to make sure
they play their cards right on it. Simple fact is they are scared right now.

They need to answer to this memo. It is something that is deserving to not
only those who lost their lives in the war, but the American and Iraqi people.
If our President has waged war knowingly using falsified intelligence, and even
took effort to make sure that intelligence was being fixed to gain international
and legal support then he is guilty of a high crime against the Constitution and
should be impeached along with all other members involved.

The hearing today started laying some concrete evidence to that charge, and
as time goes on I am sure more evidence will surface. There is going to be more
hearings and more witnesses. The loved ones of those 1700+ soldiers that have
fallen not only deserve the truth but they also deserve to be heard. American’s
and Congress also need to hear the stories. We live under a freedom the people
of our armed services fight to protect and every citizen of this country needs
to demand that the true reason so many have died gets heard!!