it is wrong, i suggest, it is a misreading of the constitution for any member here to assert that for a member to vote for an article of impeachment means that that member must be convinced that the president should be removed from office. the constitution doesn't say that. the powers relating to impeachment are an essential check in the hands of the body of the legislature against and upon the encroachments of the executive. the division between the two branches of the legislature, the house and the senate, assigning to the one the right to accuse and to the other the right to judge, the framers of this constitution were very astute. they did not make the accusers and the judgers -- and the judges the same person.
we know the nature of impeachment. we've been talking about it awhile now. it is chiefly designed for the president and his high ministers to somehow be called into account. it is designed to "bridle" the executive if he engages in excesses. "it is designed as a method of national inquest into the conduct of public men."² the framers confided in the congress the power if need be, to remove the president in order to strike a delicate balance between a president swollen with power and grown tyrannical, and preservation of the independence of the executive.
the nature of impeachment: a narrowly channeled exception to the separation-of-powers maxim. the federal convention of 1787 said that. it limited impeachment to high crimes and misdemeanors and discounted and opposed the term "maladministration." "it is to be used only for great misdemeanors," so it was said in the north carolina ratification convention. and in the virginia ratification convention: "we do not trust our liberty to a particular branch. we need one branch to check the other."
"no one need be afraid" -- the north carolina ratification convention -- "no one need be afraid that officers who commit oppression will pass with immunity." "prosecutions of impeachments will seldom fail to agitate the passions of the whole community," said hamilton in the federalist papers, number 65. "we divide into parties more or less friendly or inimical to the accused."³ i do not mean political parties in that sense.
thank you, mr. chairman.
mr. chairman, i join my colleague mr. rangel in thanking you for giving the junior members of this committee the glorious opportunity of sharing the pain of this inquiry. mr. chairman, you are a strong man, and it has not been easy but we have tried as best we can to give you as much assistance as possible.
earlier today, we heard the beginning of the preamble to the constitution of the united states: "we, the people." it's a very eloquent beginning. but when that document was completed on the seventeenth of september in 1787, i was not included in that "we, the people." i felt somehow for many years that george washington and alexander hamilton just left me out by mistake. but through the process of amendment, interpretation, and court decision, i have finally been included in "we, the people."
the marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the negro community must not lead us to distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny and their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom.
we cannot walk alone.and as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall march ahead. we cannot turn back. there are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "when will you be satisfied?" we can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. we cannot be satisfied as long as the negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. we can never be satisfied as long as a negro in mississippi cannot vote and a negro in new york believes he has nothing for which to vote. no, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.
it is obvious today that america has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. instead of honoring this sacred obligation, america has given the negro people a bad check which has come back marked "insufficient funds." but we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. we refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation.
so we have come to cash this check -- a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.
we have also come to this hallowed spot to remind america of the fierce urgency of now. this is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. now is the time to open the doors of opportunity to all of god's children. now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood.
it would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment and to underestimate the determination of the negro. this sweltering summer of the negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning.
those who hope that the negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. there will be neither rest nor tranquility in america until the negro is granted his citizenship rights. the whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.
but there is something that i must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. in the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.
we must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. we must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.
The world we live in is becoming more and more intolerable because of environmental destruction. For example forest destruction results in decrease of planting land and unpleasant weather. In addition man is faced with problems of water pollution and air pollution.
A lot of measures have been taken. Planting trees helps improve and beautify the environment. Besides laws concerning environmental protection have been put into effect and achieved good results.
However the problem of environmental protection remains far from being solved. On the one hand the environment pollution and destruction are getting worse and worse in the modern world. On the other hand the lack of knowledge about the importance of protecting environment hinders the solving of the problem. In a word there is a long way to go before we enjoy a clean and comfortable world.
The world we live in is becoming more and more intolerable because of environmental destruction. For example forest destruction results in decrease of planting land and unpleasant weather. In addition man is faced with problems of water pollution and air pollution.
A lot of measures have been taken. Planting trees helps improve and beautify the environment. Besides laws concerning environmental protection have been put into effect and achieved good results.
However the problem of environmental protection remains far from being solved. On the one hand the environment pollution and destruction are getting worse and worse in the modern world. On the other hand the lack of knowledge about the importance of protecting environment hinders the solving of the problem. In a word there is a long way to go before we enjoy a clean and comfortable world.
we have heard time and time again that the evidence reflects the payment to defendants money. the president had knowledge that these funds were being paid and these were funds collected for the 1972 presidential campaign. we know that the president met with mr. henry petersen 27 times to discuss matters related to watergate, and immediately thereafter met with the very persons who were implicated in the information mr. petersen was receiving. the words are: "if the president is connected in any suspicious manner with any person and there be grounds to believe that he will shelter that person, he may be impeached."
justice story: "impeachment" is attended -- "is intended for occasional and extraordinary cases where a superior power acting for the whole people is put into operation to protect their rights and rescue their liberties from violations." we know about the huston plan. we know about the break-in of the psychiatrist's office. we know that there was absolute complete direction on september 3rd when the president indicated that a surreptitious entry had been made in dr. fielding's office, after having met with mr. ehrlichman and mr. young. "protect their rights." "rescue their liberties from violation."
the carolina ratification convention impeachment criteria: those are impeachable "who behave amiss or betray their public trust."4 beginning shortly after the watergate break-in and continuing to the present time, the president has engaged in a series of public statements and actions designed to thwart the lawful investigation by government prosecutors. moreover, the president has made public announcements and assertions bearing on the watergate case, which the evidence will show he knew to be false. these assertions, false assertions, impeachable, those who misbehave. those who "behave amiss or betray the public trust."
james madison again at the constitutional convention: "a president is impeachable if he attempts to subvert the constitution." the constitution charges the president with the task of taking care that the laws be faithfully executed, and yet the president has counseled his aides to commit perjury, willfully disregard the secrecy of grand jury proceedings, conceal surreptitious entry, attempt to compromise a federal judge, while publicly displaying his cooperation with the processes of criminal justice. "a president is impeachable if he attempts to subvert the constitution."
if the impeachment provision in the constitution of the united states will not reach the offenses charged here, then perhaps that 18th-century constitution should be abandoned to a 20th-century paper shredder.
has the president committed offenses, and planned, and directed, and acquiesced in a course of conduct which the constitution will not tolerate? that's the question. we know that. we know the question. we should now forthwith proceed to answer the question. it is reason, and not passion, which must guide our deliberations, guide our debate, and guide our decision.
i yield back the balance of my time, mr. chairman.
We Are The World ,We Are The Future
Someone said “we are reading the first verse of the first chapter of a book, whose pages are infinite”. I don’t know who wrote these words, but I’ve always liked them as a reminder that the future can be anything we want it to be. We are all in the position of the farmers. If we plant a good seed ,we reap a good harvest. If we plant nothing at all, we harvest nothing at all.
We are young. “How to spend the youth?” It is a meaningful question. To answer it, first I have to ask “what do you understand by the word youth?” Youth is not a time of life, it’s a state of mind. It’s not a matter of rosy cheeks, red lips or supple knees. It’s the matter of the will. It’s the freshneof the deep spring of life.
A poet said “To see a world in a grain of sand, and a heaven in a wild flower, hold infinity in the palm of your hand, and eternity in an hour. Several days ago, I had a chance to listen to a lecture. I learnt a lot there. I’d like to share it with all of you. Let’s show our right palms. We can see three lines that show how our love.career and life is. I have a short line of life.
What about yours? I wondered whether we could see our future in this way. Well, let’s make a fist. Where is our future?
Where is our love, career, and life? Tell me.Yeah, it is in our hands. It is held in ourselves.
We all want the future to be better than the past. But the future can go better itself. Don’t cry because it is over, smile because it happened. From the past, we’ve learnt that the life is tough, but we are tougher. We’ve learnt that we can’t choose how we feel, but we can choose what about it. Failure doesn’t mean you don’t have it, it does mean you should do it in a different way. Failure doesn’t mean you should give up, it does mean you must try harder.
this morning, in a discussion of the evidence, we were told that the evidence which purports to support the allegations of misuse of the cia by the president is thin. we're told that that evidence is insufficient. what that recital of the evidence this morning did not include is what the president did know on june the 23rd, 1972.
the president did know that it was republican money, that it was money from the committee for the re-election of the president, which was found in the possession of one of the burglars arrested on june the 17th. what the president did know on the 23rd of june was the prior activities of e. howard hunt, which included his participation in the break-in of daniel ellsberg's psychiatrist, which included howard hunt's participation in the dita beard itt affair, which included howard hunt's fabrication of cables designed to discredit the kennedy administration.
we were further cautioned today that perhaps these proceedings ought to be delayed because certainly there would be new evidence forthcoming from the president of the united states. there has not even been an obfuscated indication that this committee would receive any additional materials from the president. the committee subpoena is outstanding, and if the president wants to supply that material, the committee sits here. the fact is that on yesterday, the american people waited with great anxiety for eight hours, not knowing whether their president would obey an order of the supreme court of the united states.
at this point, i would like to juxtapose a few of the impeachment criteria with some of the actions the president has engaged in. impeachment criteria: james madison, from the virginia ratification convention. "if the president be connected in any suspicious manner with any person and there be grounds to believe that he will shelter him, he may be impeached."
but there is something that i must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. in the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.
we must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. we must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.
the marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the negro community must not lead us to distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny and their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom.
we cannot walk alone.and as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall march ahead. we cannot turn back. there are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "when will you be satisfied?" we can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. we cannot be satisfied as long as the negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. we can never be satisfied as long as a negro in mississippi cannot vote and a negro in new york believes he has nothing for which to vote. no, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.
five score years ago, a great american, in whose symbolic shadow we stand signed the emancipation proclamation. this momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. it came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of captivity.
but one hundred years later, we must face the tragic fact that the negro is still not free. one hundred years later, the life of the negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. one hundred years later, the negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. one hundred years later, the negro is still languishing in the corners of american society and finds himself an exile in his own land. so we have come here today to dramatize an appalling condition.
in a sense we have come to our nation's capital to cash a check. when the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the constitution and the declaration of independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every american was to fall heir. this note was a promise that all men would be guaranteed the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
Who arrived at the place all belong to yesterday. Even if the mountains green again the water to show that water again gentleness. Too deep linger became a fetters trip over not only have two feet and in the future.
How can you don't like to start? It is a pity that haven't seen on lofty mountains; See the lofty mountains and have not seen the sea vast is still a pity; See the vastness of the sea have never seen a vast desert still sad; See the vast desert have not seen the mystery of forest or regret. There are a lot of scenery in the world I have not old.
I know dashan is rocky the sea waves the desert sand forest have a beast of prey. Even so I still like it.
Break the peace of life is another scene. Glad I haven't old. What about even old not words called hale and hearty?
So I would also like to learn from the mountain I also want to learn from the brave I also want to learn from the desert I also want to learn from the forest alert. I want to learn to taste a colorful life.
How far one can go? This is not to ask two feet but ask ambition; Man can climb much higher? This thing is not to ask his hands but asked will. So I want to use the youth blood raise a lofty goals for yourself. Is not only to win a glorious but also in pursuit of a kind of state. Goals is glorious goal not life will be because of the wind and rain all the way walk becomes rich and colorful; In my opinion this is not to life.
Yes I like to start I wish you also like it.
In life often have numerous blow from outside but what effect will these blows to you the final say in your hands.
today i am an inquisitor. an hyperbole would not be fictional and would not overstate the solemnness that i feel right now. my faith in the constitution is whole; it is complete; it is total. and i am not going to sit here and be an idle spectator to the diminution, the subversion, the destruction, of the constitution.
"who can so properly be the inquisitors for the nation as the representatives of the nation themselves?" "the subjects of its jurisdiction are those offenses which proceed from the misconduct of public men."¹ and that's what we're talking about. in other words, [the jurisdiction comes] from the abuse or violation of some public trust.
it is wrong, i suggest, it is a misreading of the constitution for any member here to assert that for a member to vote for an article of impeachment means that that member must be convinced that the president should be removed from office. the constitution doesn't say that. the powers relating to impeachment are an essential check in the hands of the body of the legislature against and upon the encroachments of the executive. the division between the two branches of the legislature, the house and the senate, assigning to the one the right to accuse and to the other the right to judge, the framers of this constitution were very astute. they did not make the accusers and the judgers -- and the judges the same person.
we know the nature of impeachment. we've been talking about it awhile now. it is chiefly designed for the president and his high ministers to somehow be called into account. it is designed to "bridle" the executive if he engages in excesses. "it is designed as a method of national inquest into the conduct of public men."² the framers confided in the congress the power if need be, to remove the president in order to strike a delicate balance between a president swollen with power and grown tyrannical, and preservation of the independence of the executive.
it is obvious today that america has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. instead of honoring this sacred obligation, america has given the negro people a bad check which has come back marked "insufficient funds." but we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. we refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation.
so we have come to cash this check -- a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.
we have also come to this hallowed spot to remind america of the fierce urgency of now. this is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. now is the time to open the doors of opportunity to all of god's children. now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood.
it would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment and to underestimate the determination of the negro. this sweltering summer of the negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning.
those who hope that the negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. there will be neither rest nor tranquility in america until the negro is granted his citizenship rights. the whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.