Science fiction fans will recognize the title as an allusion to a Robert A. Heinlein novella dealing with the overthrow of an American theocratic dictator, Nehemiah Scudder, known as the "First Prophet."

George Bush, Dick Cheney, Karl Rove, Don Rumsfeld, Paul Wolfowitz, Andrew Card, Condoleezza Rice -- the seven deadly sinners. Perhaps we should not only impeach the two at the top and remove them from office, but then arrest them all and hold them ... at the jail center in Guantanamo Bay. There, they can be subjected to "harsh interrogation techniques," and if that doesn't work, an "extraordinary rendition" trip to, say, Syria might be in order. Oh yes -- they can also be labeled as "enemy combatants" and held indefinitely without trial, without access to a lawyer, without even a list of specific formal charges.

The time has come to pepper House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, the Chairman of the Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties -- Jerrold Nadler -- and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi with letters demanding an immediate investigation leading to impeachment. It is clear that not only have Bush and Cheney put America in serious danger through their actions, but also that their continued presence in office further endangers this country's safety and security.

And that is the purpose of impeachment. The three reasons for impeachment listed in the Constitution, "Treason, Bribery and other high Crimes and Misdemeanors," are all based on this idea. (For those who missed former Senator Dale Bumpers' excellent speech during the Clinton impeachment trial, "high Crimes and Misdemeanors" has an exact definition -- it means "political crimes against the state," which in this case is the United States.)

For those who say that such an investigation will take too long, and disrupt the business of government, I ask if you have been paying attention. The budget for FY08, now almost three months late, is far from done (shades of 20 years in Albany). Attempts to change course in Iraq have derailed. The hate crimes bill appears dead. The energy bill is bogged down, and all but certain to fall apart. In short, practically nothing is happening anyway, so why not stop to smell the rose garden rot?

Furthermore, by not impeaching Bush and Cheney, this Congress will send a message that as long as a President and Vice President can get away with the most heinous crimes into their second term, they can get away with them forever. That is about as un-American a statement as a member of Congress can possibly make.

My letters are going out tomorrow.

I think all the impeachment talk in the world will not get us to articles of impeachment. Congress members appears so misled, fragmented and dispirited it calls to mind that line from Yeats' Second Coming "the best lack all conviction while the worst are full of passionate intensity." None the less, we need to keep those cards and letters coming, folks. Even if its unrealistic to expect impeachment movement from this congress, if we're silent, our electeds may mistake that silence for consent.