March 2007

By David Swanson

If you build a big enough empire with enough enormous military bases in enough countries, sooner or later you’re going to displease just about everyone. The list of those unhappy with recently proposed expansions of imperial outposts includes artists and architects.

In the tradition of the trashing of the artistic treasures of Iraq, the U.S. military has set its sites on the Italian Renaissance. Many Americans are familiar with the work of Andrea Palladio.

After all, Thomas read more

By David Swanson

For George W. Bush and Dick Cheney, 2008 is too soon to end a war that they intend to last forever. 2008 is too soon to stop constructing enormous military bases in Iraq and abandon them. 2008 is too soon to bring our men and women home to their families and the criminally inadequate health care and nonexistent job assistance that we travel around the world to murder whole nations in defense of.

If Bush vetoes or signing-statements the supplemental war bill, he is saying he wants read more

By David Swanson

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is right to point Unitary Executive George W. Bush toward a copy of the Constitution. The President (should Bush care to resume that legal role) is permitted to veto bills but not to write them. In particular, the President cannot rewrite legislation after it has been voted on and before he signs it. Nor can any member of Congress.

Bush’s longstanding habit, of course, has been to rewrite laws after he signs them, by the use of “signing read more

By David Swanson

You are one today, March 29, 2007, Wesley Neil Swanson, and 365 days ago you had not yet seen the light of day. Now you love it. Now you wake up every morning with the sun and shout your delight at being alive. You make the hand sign for light, and then you hear a bird and flap your arms like a bird. And it breaks my heart to think that the world may not be or may not stay as delightful a place as you suppose it is.

And yet, for the moment anyway, within our house and yard and town read more

By David Swanson

Seventy-one members of Congress, all Democrats, most House Members, two Senators, belong to the Congressional Progressive Caucus. For a couple of years now, the CPC has had a staff person. More recently it created a website http://cpc.lee.house.gov

Since most of the positions generally labeled progressive are backed by either a majority or a large minority of Americans, it certainly seems useful to have at least a small minority in Congress pushing for them. If anything good read more

By David Swanson

I think Karl Rove should be permitted to testify to Congress in private, without taking any oath, and without any record being kept of what he says. I had hoped we could avoid the indecency of having to spell out the reason why, but apparently we can’t. So please remember this and then never say it aloud again: he wants to lie. Sssshhh. There, we said it. And you’re making it very difficult for him, and that’s not very nice or respectful.

Just think about read more

By David Swanson

“A liberal is the kind of guy who walks out of a room when the argument turns into a fight.” – Saul Alinsky

The Congress that was elected to end the war just voted to fund the war. Congresswoman Barbara Lee was not permitted to offer for a vote her amendment, which would have funded a withdrawal instead of the war. Groups that supported Lee’s plan and opposed Pelosi’s included United for Peace and Justice, Progressive Democrats of America, US Labor read more

By David Swanson

If you could secretly tell a magic genie “Yes” and receive a million dollars but cause the deaths of a million people you’ve never met in China, would you say No? This is no longer just a philosophical brain teaser. The U.S. House of Representatives is expected to vote Friday morning on funding for a war that has already caused the deaths of possibly as many as a million Iraqis. Some of the money might very well go to funding an attack on another nation (Iran). read more

By David Swanson

The Supplemental spending bill proposed by Speaker Nancy Pelosi funds the war. It gives Cheney and Bush roughly another $100 billion. And you can be quite sure they will spend it as they choose, which may include attacking Iran. In fact, a measure in the bill requiring Bush to get Congress’s approval before attacking Iran (an attack that would violate the US Constitution and the UN charter) has been removed.

The bill also requires Iraq to turn much of its oil profits read more

Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey is leading efforts to block the Supplemental bill in the House to fund the war. Here’s a video (wmv) of her speaking about this at a rally on Sunday in Fresno, California. Here’s a video (wmv) of David Swanson on the same topic at the same rally. Here’s an edited video read more