October 2010

A Tale of Two Tribes

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By David Swanson

On Friday evening, Charlottesville, Virginia’s liberals were lined up the length of the pedestrian street known as the Downtown Mall waiting to get into an event with President Obama and Congressman Tom Perriello. Meanwhile the rightwingers (or some of them, because the Tea Party had an event elsewhere) were at an Americans for Prosperity event in a nearby park. And we misfits were handing the same flyers to both groups and observing the different reactions.

We were unable read more

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A Debate on Violence: Ted Rall and David Swanson

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A Nonviolent Exchange of Views in Four Parts
1. Don’t You Know That You Can Count Me Out – In
By David Swanson

Ted Rall’s new book “The Anti-American Manifesto” advocates for violent revolution, even if we have to join with rightwingers and racists to do it, and even if we have no control over the outcome which could easily be something worse than what we’ve got. We have a moral duty, Rall argues, to kill some people.

Now, I much prefer a debate over what radical read more

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This New 1994 Could Have Been 1974

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By David Swanson

If the Democrats had used 2009 and 2010 to end the wars and prosecute Bush and Cheney, not to mention Wall Street, for their crimes; put prisoners on trial or free them; expose and hold accountable those behind the torture, warrantless spying, assassinations, and war lies; if they had thrown out the filibuster rule; restored the right to organize a union; created Medicare for All; and guaranteed a job to anyone in need through a new green energy program and huge investments in read more

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Perriello and the President

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By David Swanson

When Tom Perriello replaced Virgil Goode as our representative in the Fifth District of Virginia, I was glad to see an outspoken bigot thrown out of office. Heck, I’m glad to see almost anyone thrown out of office. When one quarter of the races being in play makes for an extraordinary election year, something’s wrong with the system.

But what would Perriello do to represent us? When I spoke to him in person, on a few occasions, early in his tenure, his most common read more

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FOIA Appeal to DOJ on Torture Cites Effort to Conceal Crimes

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The Robert Jackson Steering Committee
http://lawsnotmen.org
October 29, 2010
For Immediate Release

Contacts:
Charlotte Dennett,
David Swanson,

FOIA Appeal to DOJ on Torture Cites Effort to Conceal Crimes

The U.S. Department of Justice severely watered down an internal report on the conduct of its lawyers responsible for authorizing torture and has failed to comply with the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), depriving the public of necessary information about the conduct of our government.  The read more

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Emergency Demonstration: Protest Obama and Perriello War Spending and War Crimes

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The candidates don’t want to talk about it, let’s make it an issue when President Obama visits Charlottesville to campaign for Tom Perriello this Friday!

Friday Oct. 29
4:30-7:30
In front of the Charlottesville Pavillion on the Downtown Mall (700 E. Main St. Charlottesville, Va)

Bring a sign, we’ll have a few extra but we’ll need more!

Come early and craft a special t-shirt to wear inside the campaign rally, especially if you plan on being heard at that rally!
(wear read more

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The Living Dead Liberal Class

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Chris Hedges began a recent column, in these days just prior to congressional elections by announcing:

“The lunatic fringe of the Republican Party, which looks set to make sweeping gains in the midterm elections, is the direct result of a collapse of liberalism. It is the product of bankrupt liberal institutions, including the press, the church, universities, labor unions, the arts and the Democratic Party. The legitimate rage being expressed by disenfranchised workers toward the college-educated read more

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An Ocean Full of Oil

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By David Swanson

Earlier this year, we put millions of barrels of oil, billions of cubic feet of gas, and 1.5 million gallons of chemical dispersants into the Gulf of Mexico. Of those dispersants, designed for use on the surface, 800,000 gallons were sprayed directly into the oil gusher on the dark ocean floor, potentially multiplying the damage while keeping it out of sight. Already people are dying.

Frontline on PBS is now airing The Spill, read more

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Jefferson's Eternal Sweatshop

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I attended a rally at the University of Virginia Monday evening that was organized by students who would like UVA to pay its workers a living wage. The event was inspiring, but it could easily have been aggravating — for the simple reason that 12 years ago I and a lot of other students held similar rallies to make the same demand.

Back then our demand was for a minimum of $8 per hour, and we displayed that $8 in orange and blue on buttons and stickers, on shirts and in store windows, and read more

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