Dennis Kucinich Makes a Serious Push to Ban Govt. Assassinations of US Citizens

(TheNation) – Lawyers for US citizen Anwar al-Awlaki, who has reportedly been targeted for assassination by the CIA and Joint Special Operations Command, had to fight the US government to have the right to represent him. On Wednesday, following a lawsuit by the ACLU and the Center for Constitutional Rights, the Treasury Department issued a license to the pro-bono lawyers. Now the battle for due process begins. In a statement, al-Awlaki’s new lawyers said the license would “allow us to pursue our litigation relating to the government’s asserted authority to engage in targeted killings of American civilians without due process.”

Al-Awlaki is originally from New Mexico and now lives in Yemen. He has been accused of providing inspiration for Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the alleged “underwear bomber,” and Major Nidal Malik Hasan, the alleged Fort Hood shooter.

Most lawmakers have been mute about the Obama administration’s policy to target a US citizen for assassination. Representative Jane Harman, who serves on the Homeland Security Committee, said recently that Awlaki is “probably the person, the terrorist, who would be terrorist No. 1 in terms of threat against us.” One of the few who has spoken against the policy is Ohio Democrat Dennis Kucinich. “The assassination policies vitiate the presumption of innocence and the government then becomes the investigator, policeman, prosecutor, judge, jury, executioner all in one,” Kucinich told me in April. “That raises the greatest questions with respect to our constitution and our democratic way of life.” He called the policy “extrajudicial.”

Dozens of U.S. Citizens on Assassination List, White House Adviser Hints

REPOST – (AlterNet) – When it was confirmed last winter by then-Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair that the Obama administration had authorized the assassination of American citizens working with terrorist groups overseas, it appeared that no more than three Americans were being targeted in this manner.

In an interview last week with the Washington Times, however, Deputy White House National Security Adviser for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism John O. Brennan suggested the number might actually amount to “dozens.” Read More Here

Video: ‘Dozens’ of US citizens on assassination list, White House adviser hints

(RawStory) – When it was confirmed last winter by then-Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair that the Obama administration had authorized the assassination of American citizens working with terrorist groups overseas, it appeared that no more than three Americans were being targeted in this manner.

In an interview last week with the Washington Times, however, Deputy White House National Security Adviser for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism John O. Brennan suggested that the number might actually amount to “dozens.” View More Here

See Also:

Video: Americans Targeted For Assassination

Kucinich: White House Assassination Policy Is Extrajudicial

(TheNation) – There has been almost universal silence among Congressional Democrats on the Obama administration’s recently revealed decision to authorize the assassination of a US citizen, Anwar al-Awlaki. Al-Awlaki, who now lives in Yemen, has been accused of providing inspiration for Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the alleged “underwear bomber,” and Major Nidal Malik Hasan, the alleged Fort Hood shooter. In recent weeks, there has been a dramatic surge in US government chatter about the alleged threat posed by al-Awlaki, with anonymous US officials accusing him of directly participating in terror “plots” (his family passionately disputes this). Read More Here

Confirmed: Obama authorizes assassination of U.S. citizen – Glenn Greenwald

(updated below – Update II – Update III)

(Salon) – In late January, I wrote about the Obama administration’s “presidential assassination program,” whereby American citizens are targeted for killings far away from any battlefield, based exclusively on unchecked accusations by the Executive Branch that they’re involved in Terrorism.  At the time, The Washington Post‘s Dana Priest had noted deep in a long article that Obama had continued Bush’s policy (which Bush never actually implemented) of having the Joint Chiefs of Staff compile “hit lists” of Americans, and Priest suggested that the American-born Islamic cleric Anwar al-Awlaki was on that list.  The following week, Obama’s Director of National Intelligence, Adm. Dennis Blair, acknowledged in Congressional testimony that the administration reserves the “right” to carry out such assassinations.

Kucinich Kisses the Ring as Obama Deceptively Sells Totalitarian Care in Ohio

(KurtNimmo) – In Obama’s bizarro world, health care at gunpoint will reduce premiums. Obama went to Cleveland recently and peddled his fantasy world. “You’ll be able to buy in, or a small business will be able to buy into this pool,” Obama said. “And that will lower rates, it’s estimated, by up to 14 to 20 percent over what you’re currently getting. That’s money out of pocket,” reports the Associated Press. “Your employer, it’s estimated, would see premiums fall by as much as 3,000 percent, which means they could give you a raise.”

Kucinich Sells Out On Health Care After Ride In Air Force One

(SteveWatson) – Democratic Congressman Dennis Kucinich has bowed to intense pressure, culminating in a jaunt onboard Air Force One with president Obama, and decided to to flip his vote on the pending health care bill to help ensure its passage.

Video: War in a Box

(Truthout) – The event on the House floor Wednesday afternoon was monumental – the first major Congressional debate about US military operations in Afghanistan since lawmakers authorized the invasion of that country in autumn 2001. But, as Rep. Patrick Kennedy noted with disgust on Wednesday, the House press gallery was nearly empty. He aptly concluded, “It’s despicable, the national press corps right now.”

Video: House Votes Against Ending Afghan War

(AntiWar) – It may have produced hours of fiery debate, but in the end Rep. Dennis Kucinich’s (D – OH) House Concurrent Resolution 248, which would have mandated the end of the US military presence in Afghanistan by December 31 ultimately failed, as was widely expected.

Kucinich Will Vote To Kill Government Run Health Care

(SteveWatson) – Ohio Congressman says he will not vote in favor of a bailout for the insurance industry

How Kucinich’s Resolution to End the War Will Help Us End the War

(AfterDowningStreet) – Tomorrow, Thursday, March 4, Congressman Dennis Kucinich plans to introduce a privileged resolution to end the Afghan War. The resolution requires that the House debate, within the next week, the continuing war in Afghanistan, now the second longest war in American history.

The Silence of the Sheep

(OpEdNews) – “In an admission that took the intelligence community and its critics by surprise, Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair acknowledged in a congressional hearing Wednesday that the U.S. may, with executive approval, deliberately target and kill U.S. citizens who are suspected of being involved in terrorism.”
That’s the lead paragraph of the news story I wrote for InterPress News Service last Friday. Since then, I just haven’t been able to get this thing out of my mind.
Think about it: “…may, with executive approval, deliberately target and kill U.S. citizens who are suspected of being involved in terrorism.”
Read More Here

MSM: Extrajudicial Killing – Intelligence Chief ‘US Can Kill Americans Abroad’

(WPost) – Director of National Intelligence Dennis C. Blair acknowledged Wednesday that government agencies may kill U.S. citizens abroad who are involved in terrorist activities if they are “taking action that threatens Americans.”

Video: House Overwhelmingly Passes Cyber Security Bill

Following the Halloweenesque scare fest on Capitol Hill earlier this week — where National Intelligence director Dennis Blair and CIA director Leon Panetta warned of impending terrorist doom — the has House has The Cybersecurity Enhancement Act (H.R. 4061).

Video: Intel Boss Blair – Government Plans to Kill Citizens

Patsies take heed. The U.S. government will kill you. That’s what the Director of National Intelligence Dennis C. Blair told a House intelligence committee yesterday. The Department of Defense will “follow a set of defined policy and legal procedures that are very carefully observed” in the use of lethal force against U.S. citizens who make the mistake of joining organizations created by the CIA and the Mossad.

Kucinich shreds Democrats for betraying the promise of change

(RawStory) – Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) on Wednesday said the Massachusetts election was a “wake up call” for Democrats and that his party had better change course or it could suffer devastating losses come November.

Video: Dennis Kucinich – US War Presidents ignore Congress & Constitution

(RussiaToday) – Anger is growing among Americans – who say less money should be spent on the country’s overseas military campaigns and more on tackling the country’s domestic problems. U.S. congressman Dennis Kucinich, who spoke exclusively to RT’s Dina Gusovsky, says America can no longer afford war-based economy.

Kucinich: ‘Class war is over, working people lost’

(RawStory) – Reflecting on the growing divide between Wall Street and Main Street, Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) on Wednesday offered a powerful critique on the state of the economy in an open committee hearing.

Video: Dennis Kucinich – These Wars Are Corrupting our Nation!

On Sat., Dec. 12, 2009, Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich (D-OH) was one of the featured speakers at the emergency End-the-U.S.-Wars rally. See for background: EndUSWars.org The event was held in Lafayette Park, opposite the White House. Rep. Kucinich has acted as the conscience of the House of Representatives in opposing U.S. wars of aggression in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Video: Kucinich – The Truth About Afghanistan

Video: Dennis Kucinich Speaks out on Obama & Afghanistan – Democracy Now

Congressman Kucinich Addresses Escalation in Afghanistan – MSNBC ‘s Ed Show ->

Why I Voted NO – Dennis Kucinich

We have been led to believe that we must make our health care choices only within the current structure of a predatory, for-profit insurance system which makes money not providing health care. We cannot fault the insurance companies for being what they are. But we can fault legislation in which the government incentivizes the perpetuation, indeed the strengthening, of the for-profit health insurance industry, the very source of the problem.

Kucinich: Why is it we have Finite Resources for Health Care but Unlimited Money for War?

Following a statement on the Floor of the House of Representative, Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) today made the following statement:

Kucinich: Health reform legislation ‘a bailout for insurance companies’

(RawStory) – According to Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), the Democrats’ health reform legislation is basically a sham.

Video: Dennis Kucinich – Is the 2-Party System truly capable of representing the American people?

Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) today made the following statement about the health care debate in America:
“Providing health care to all Americans is the moral responsibility of our government, consistent with the Preamble in the Constitution. Yet we are being told that it is not possible to have the kind of single payer health system which every industrialized democracy in the world has.”

Big Brother “Fusion Centers” Part of US Domestic Intelligence and Surveillance Apparatus

Speaking at San Francisco’s Commonwealth Club September 15, Director of National Intelligence Admiral Dennis C. Blair, disclosed that the current annual budget for the 16 agency U.S. “Intelligence Community” (IC) clocks-in at $75 billion and employs some 200,000 operatives world-wide, including private contractors.

The March for Answers

The March for Answers is a not just a protest march against further suppression of NYC CAN in its battles with the City of New York City to get the referendum for a new 9/11 investigation on the November ballot.

Health Care is a Civil Right – Dennis Kucinich

There is only one true health care public option: Single payer. It covers everyone, all basic health care needs, with doctor of choice. No more premiums, co-pays or deductibles. All health care assets in America would become not-for-profit. The bill already exists. It is HR 676.

Video: Dennis Kucinich – Labor Day Speech

How long can the bosses keep the plants and offices open if workers don’t show up? How long would this country’s economy function if workers were to walk out? You know the answer. Perhaps it’s time that we remind the bosses, bankster frauds and politicos what the answer is.

Taliban’s Tank-Killing Bombs Came From CIA, Not Iran

Editor’s note: In the 1980s, the CIA trained Afghan terrorists in “sabotage skills” at their camp Virginia.
In support of the official U.S. assertion that Iran is arming its sworn enemy, the Taliban, the head of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), Dennis Blair, has cited a statement by a Taliban commander last year attributing military success against NATO forces to Iranian military assistance.

MSM: Real US unemployment rate at 16 pct – Fed official

The real US unemployment rate is 16 percent if persons who have dropped out of the labor pool and those working less than they would like are counted, a Federal Reserve official said Wednesday.

Health Care Wanted: Dead or Alive – Dennis Kucinich

The masquerade is over! The “public option” is … dead.

Health care reform is now a private option: WHICH FOR PROFIT INSURANCE COMPANY DO YOU WANT? You have to choose. And you have to pay. If you have a low income, under HR3200 government will subsidize the private insurance companies and you will still have to pay premiums, co-pays and deductibles.

Video: Kucinich – the Federal Reserve is paying banks NOT to make loans to struggling Americans!

(C-SPAN -July 21, 2009) – U.S. Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio, 10th District) questions Neil M. Barofsky, the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP), testifying before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, about interest payments made to banks that keep their TARP funds and other government (taxpayer) bailout money with the Federal Reserve, instead of making loans to struggling Americans (the original intent of the TARP, remember?) The Fed makes generous interest payments to the banks for “parking” their “excess reserves” at the Fed.

Ehud Barak warns Iran of possible Israeli strike on nuclear facilities

(Times) – With the US Defence Secretary standing at his side, Ehud Barak, Israel’s Defence Minister, today warned Iran that a military strike on its nuclear facilities was still an option.

Video: Dennis Blair – Iran Has Not Re-Started Its Nuclear Weapons Program

Earlier this month, Joint Chiefs Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen made headlines when he was asked by CNN whether Iran had enough enriched uranium for a nuclear bomb. “We think they do, quite frankly,” Mullen said. This morning, Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI) asked Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair to address the “confusion” about what the intelligence says about Iran’s weapons capacity. Blair said the intelligence community has assessed that Iran does not possess any highly-enriched uranium, and clarified that Mullen had been referring only to low-enriched uranium.

Obama Puts Monsanto Lobbyist In Charge Of Food Safety

Genetically modified foods are not safe. The only reason they’re in our food supply is because government bureaucrats with ties to industry suppressed or manipulated scientific research and deprived consumers of the information they need to make informed choices about whether or not to eat genetically modified foods.

MSM: U.S., South Korean cyber attacks no more harmful than spam, experts say

(CBC-Canada) – Consumers around the globe have been caught up in cyber attacks targeting U.S. and South Korean websites, some coming from unknowingly infected computers that have jammed sites for legitimate users.

Troop Movements Are not a ‘Withdrawal’ – Dennis Kucinich

Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) today made the following statement regarding the announcement that U.S. troops have left the cities and towns of Iraq and turned over formal security to Iraqi security forces.

Video: We are Destroying our Nation’s Moral and Fiscal Integrity

Dennis Kucinich makes a one-minute statement on C-SPAN, June 16, 2009 – “Pretty soon that’s going to be about the only thing made in America. War.”

HR 1207: Battle To Audit The Fed Has Only Just Begun

A great victory in the ongoing battle to wrestle back control of US monetary policy from privately owned special interests was won yesterday with the announcement that HR 1207, Ron Paul’s “audit the Fed” bill, will be debated by the full House of Representatives.