By David Swanson
As the 111th Congress was being sworn in on Tuesday, a seemingly endless line of figures dressed all in black with stark white masks slowly marched single-file around Capitol Hill. Each wore a placard bearing the name of someone who had died in the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Palestine, their age, and the date of their death. This March of the Dead (video) was intended to remind yet another Congress that we elected it
By David Swanson
How did a Democratic challenger defeat a Republican incumbent in an enormous rural district in southern Virginia? A Democratic group in Charlottesville called Left of Center organized a forum on that topic Monday night. Speakers included three staffers on Tom Perriello’s victorious campaign: Brian Bills, his personal assistant; Kelli Palmer, who registered African American voters in the southern most part of Virginia’s
How Did Perriello Beat Goode? Read More »
WHAT: A long column of figures dressed all in black with white death masks and bearing the names of those killed in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Palestine. The march will be followed by a dramatic nonviolent action intended to awaken Congress to the need to end the wars.
WHEN: March from noon to 1:00 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2009. Additional dramatic action 2:15 p.m.
WHERE: The march will approach the U.S. Capitol on Pennsylvania Ave. SE and turn north on 1st Street to pass between the Capitol
March of the Dead to Greet Congress on Tuesday Read More »
After five days of citizen voting at President-elect Obama's Change.gov website, the top-ranked question seeks a non-partisan Special Prosecutor to investigate the crimes of the Bush Administration:
"Will you appoint a Special Prosecutor – ideally Patrick Fitzgerald – to independently investigate the gravest crimes of the Bush Administration, including torture and warrantless wiretapping?" -Bob Fertik, New York City
The second round of questions began on December
Bush Special Prosecutor Is Top Question for Obama Read More »
Dick Cheney today previewed a likely argument defense attorneys will employ when he and Bush and their subordinates are tried, an argument that some of us have been predicting for years: If we weren’t impeached and it was “war time” anything we did must have been legal. But, of course, none of the many arguments against impeachment that were frequently employed by the Democrats in Congress
Cheney Previews Legal Defense Read More »
By David Swanson
“It is the job of thinking people not to be on the side of the executioners.”
— Albert Camus
Washington Post editorial writer Ruth Marcus has joined the side of the executioners and provided a clear example of how that is respectably done in our time and place.
Her recent column begins:
“Should Bush administration officials be put on trial for crimes such as authorizing torture?”
Assuming that we intend to live in what John Adams called a nation of laws,
Ruth Marcus Supports Torture Read More »
By David Swanson
Congress will be greeted on day 1 this year by a march of war dead on Capitol Hill.
The word epiphany comes from a Greek word meaning to manifest or to show. In Christian tradition the Feast of Epiphany is celebrated on January 6th, marking the day when the three wise men from three foreign lands visited the baby Jesus, the last of the 12 days of Christmas. Epiphany is also used to mean a sudden realization, comprehension, or inspiration.
This January 6th may be the 12th day of
JAN. 10 Come to the VIRGINIA PEOPLE’S ASSEMBLY
Delegates from across Virginia will put together a PEOPLE’S AGENDA
to present to the General Assembly
Among other things, we will demand a MORATORIUM ON LAYOFFS, CUTBACKS, EVICTIONS & FORECLOSURES
9 am – 4 pm
Asbury United
Methodist Church
324 N. 29th St.
Richmond, VA 23223
$5 donation requested to help cover cost of lunch & space, but no one will be turned away for lack of funds.
JAN. 14 Come to a RALLY to demand ‘Bail Out the
A Virginia People's Assembly Read More »
By David Swanson
New Year’s resolutions come in a lot of shapes and sizes. I don’t think New Year’s 2009 is a year to aim low. So, I’m resolving to create peace on earth. And I intend to follow through. The catch, of course, is that unless a couple of million other people make the same resolution and really commit to it, then I will have been a liar.
I do think just a couple of million people would be enough, especially if they are heavily concentrated in the United
Resolved: Will Create Peace on Earth Read More »
President-Elect Obama’s website asked for questions. People submitted and voted on questions, and finishing in sixth place was this one:
“Will you appoint a Special Prosecutor – ideally Patrick Fitzgerald – to independently investigate the gravest crimes of the Bush Administration, including torture and warrantless wiretapping?”
Bob Fertik, New York City
Now round two begins, and we’d appreciate your voting for this question:
“Do you believe the pardon
