October 2008

How and Why I Just Voted

By David Swanson

Having spent the past several years trying to end wars and militarism, I have just voted for a presidential candidate who seems intent on expanding them.

Having won the Democratic primary largely on the strength of his extremely limited and inconsistent opposition to the war on Iraq, Senator Barack Obama chose as his running mate Senator Joe Biden, a man who had led efforts in the U.S. Senate to support the invasion. Obama’s staff have told reporters that he is inclined read more

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The Attorney General Candidate Who Promises to Prosecute Bush

Ask her about it yourself tonight online.

Charlotte Dennett is running for Attorney General of the state of Vermont.

David Swanson will be interviewing Charlotte Dennett with your help this Wednesday evening, October 29, 2008, 8:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. Eastern. Go to http://www.thepeoplespeakradio.net/listen-live to listen live. You’ll find instructions there to enter a paltalk chat room where you can post questions.

You can also phone in and ask your questions on the air. Call in tollfree read more

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Frank Breaks Taboo on Military Spending

By David Swanson

When a Congress member steps forward and courageously articulates a forbidden truth that is absolutely necessary for our survival and well-being (and by “our” I mean our species, not just our nation), he must be praised, rewarded, and defended at all costs, without question or hesitation. This is the situation we are in with Congressman Barney Frank having just blurted out the obvious but taboo fact that the U.S. military budget must be cut. “If we are going read more

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Rep. Sherman Feels Heat for Reporting on Threat of Martial Law

By David Swanson

Congressman Brad Sherman said on the floor of the House that a few Congress members had been told there would be martial law in America if they did not pass Paulson’s Plunder. Here’s video.

Sherman has not retracted that statement. He has not suggested that the Congress members who had told him that didn’t really tell him that, or weren’t honest, or didn’t take it seriously, or that it didn’t influence their votes. But he has put out a statement read more

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Virgil Goode Claims to Represent Real Virginia

By David Swanson

Watch this offensive clip from a recent Virgil Goode rally with remarks by Virginia State Delegate Don Merricks and Congressman Virgil Goode:

I grew up in Fairfax County, in Northern Virginia, and I’ve lived for several years in the Fifth District, currently misrepresented by Virgil Goode, who I would think would be the last person to want to bring up discussions of real and fake. His solution read more

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Not Only McCain Palled Around With Pinochet

By David Swanson

The Huffington Post has dug up, and the Daily Kos and everybody else are commenting on evidence that McCain held a private secret meeting with Chilean dictator and torturer General Augusto Pinochet. But this is not just a story about John McCain’s hypocrisy (what a shock that would be!). It’s a teachable moment, and in two senses.

First, it’s an opening to talk about McCain’s more recent support for torture, read more

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See the Warrior

By David Swanson

I know this play is powerful from reading the script, so I can only imagine and look forward to how moving it will be to see it performed live. “The Warrior” by Jack Gilhooley is a play performed by two women, one on-stage and one off. The woman off-stage is a documentary film maker asking questions. The woman on-stage is a veteran of both the 1991 Persian Gulf War and two tours during the current occupation of Iraq. The script brilliantly portrays a story focused on read more

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Pardon Me, Congress?

By David Swanson

Jerry Seib, executive Washington editor of The Wall Street Journal said on the Diane Rehm Show on NPR last week that he expects Bush, Cheney, and their subordinates to be prosecuted for torture. This expectation is spreading.

As we approach W’s last day in office, on which I’m willing to bet you he issues some sweeping pardons of crimes he himself authorized, an act already recommended to him by various voices in the corporate media, we also approach, of course, the read more

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McCain and Hate Mongering DVDs in Virginia

By David Swanson

Unrequested and unwanted, this notorious fear and hate mongering DVD arrived today, October 23rd, in my mailbox in Charlottesville in the swing state of Virginia: http://obsessionthemovie.com

The DVD seeks to teach people that an entire religion, Islam, is aimed at terrorizing and killing them. The distributors of the DVD have clearly determined by some respectable and scholarly method that this information is most edifying for residents of swing states.

The DVD did not arrive inserted read more

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Nonviolence Now

By David Swanson

Change is in the air. How about a change away from violence?

The state of Georgia is preparing to execute a man widely known to almost certainly be innocent. Here is an Amnesty International report on the case of Troy Davis. And here are things you can do to try to prevent this murder, this state killing, this official lynching in the twenty-first century.

And if you don’t live in Georgia, don’t get too self-satisfied. All of us are currently engaged in killing innocent read more

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