The House Judiciary committee explicity addressed criminality in their report on impeachment and its history in February 1974

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/clinton/stories/watergatedoc_8.htm

State and federal criminal laws are not written in order to preserve the nation against serious abuse of the presidential office. But this is the purpose of the consitutional [sic] provision for the impeachment of a President and that purpose gives meaning to “high Crimes and Misdemeanors.”

The nation can’t have laws to cover every possible way in which a president might misuse (or fail to use) their power. Even the Founders knew that. That’s why there is an impeachment process.

So some crimes are okay, others not?

What your ego doesn’t want you to understand is that the world and our ideas about the world are two separate, independent things, so any of us could always be wrong about anything, or even everything.

It’s interesting you would say that.. This actually dovetails nicely with my sermon for today, “The Wisdom of Doubt, Part IV.” It’s a series. This morning’s topic is on the nature of fanaticism and ego attachment.

It is true that generally our ideas and reality are two separate things. Most people walk through life like that. As a Zen student, I am more than aware of the delusion/reality thing. However, that does not translate into “my reality is just as valid as your reality.” There is objective reality and absolute reality and places where opinions crumble away in the face of empiricism.

You have made assumptions about me based on your prejudices. Yet you do not address the serious nature of the challenges we face; you just insult me. This tells me that what I said bumped into your ego, so look to yourself.

Are you not alarmed at the Bush Administration’s “unitary executive” theory, the gross violations of the constitutional balance of powers, the erosion of habeas corpus, and the extremes the Bush Administration goes to to avoid oversight, among other things? If you don’t know what I’m talking about, you need serious educating. If you do know what I’m talking about, then explain to us how you want these issues to be addressed. If you want to make an argument that impeachment is not the appropriate way to do this, then by all means go ahead and tell us what you think. If you can make a reasoned argument based on facts I’m perfectly willing to consider it.

But don’t come here and throw temper tantrums, OK? I’m too old and tired to deal with children any more. Further content-less comments from you will be deleted.

And I repeat, people like you who make knee-jerk defenses of the Bush Administration are killing America. Wake up.

=P=

People like you are killing America.

Exactly. I have to be, right? Because if it’s not true and I’m just another decent person, then you would be wrong. And that’s not possible, is it?

What your ego doesn’t want you to understand is that the world and our ideas about the world are two separate, independent things, so any of us could always be wrong about anything, or even everything.

But then again, I could be completely wrong. =8^)

I hope your hatred doesn’t devour you completely.

yours/
peter.

What’s important to me is to make it clear beyond any shadow of doubt that they are wrong.

No, what’s important to you is some external verification that YOU are right. This isn’t about Cheney. He’s done nothing other than piss you off by contradicting your worldview. It’s all about you, because to you all of these fantasy crimes and conspiracies of e v i l are more plausible to you than the possibility that YOU are (gasp) simply wrong in your ideation of cause and effect and the way the world works.

yours/
peter.

(spit)