July 2009

By David Swanson

Trying to squeeze any sort of peace on earth out of our government in Washington has been a steep uphill climb for years. For the most part we no longer have representatives in Congress, because of the corruption of money, the weakness of the media, and the strength of parties. There are not 535 opinions on Capitol Hill on truly important matters, but 2. Our supposed representatives work for their party leaders, not for us. Luckily, one of the two parties claims to want to read more

By David Swanson

The book I just read is in the running, in my estimation, for second-best text on how to undo the imperial presidency. (Can’t be first, of course.) It’s called “Madison’s Nightmare: How Executive Power Threatens American Democracy,” by Peter M. Shane, and it’s much more about what the problem is than how to solve it, but the two things are not really separable, and the analysis of the problem here is invaluable.

This is a detailed and extensively read more

By David Swanson

There’s a story deeply buried here. Set aside for a moment dishonest ads being run by Republicans against Congressman Tom Perriello of Virginia’s Fifth District attacking his Yes vote on a climate bill. Set aside the fact that the climate bill will actually increase pollution. The story may involve Perriello’s vote for this controversial bill, but it certainly involves his recent vote for the war supplemental / IMF bankster bailout bill — deeply unpopular read more

Eric Mann will host “Voices from the Frontlines” discussion of the Obama administration’s direction thus far: Change that was promised or a presidency in trouble? Guests: Bill Fletcher Jr. and David Swanson. Monday, July 6th, 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. PT (7:00 to 8:00 p.m. ET). Listen live at http://KPFK.org and later to the archived audio at http://www.thestrategycenter.org/radio