December 2009

By David Swanson

The U.S. House of Representatives approved on Wednesday another $130 billion for the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and (it goes without saying) Pakistan, money that will be used to continue the wars and to escalate the war in Afghanistan. In the spring, they will try to pass another $30 billion or more, labeled as funding for the escalation, but 4 out of 5 spineless warmongering congress members will tell their constituents at that point that they can’t vote against something read more

By David Swanson

The U.S. House of Representatives is scheduled to vote today, Wednesday, December 16th, on a war funding bill that will pay for the escalation of the war in Afghanistan. Nobody will tell you that. They’ll tell you it’s a “defense” bill, and that a small part of it — a mere $130 billion — is for wars (which therefore have something to do with “defense”). They’ll tell you the $130 billion was approved in June before the announcement read more

Listen to audio clip here mp3.

More war and more money for war—so what else is new? This time the war-funding bill includes money to extend unemployment benefits for the many Americans who have lost their jobs from the economic meltdown.
At a time when so many Americans are desperately seeking employment, others have lost their homes or are about to, and still others are seeing their wages cut back, the US government is about to authorize $130 billion more to spend on the futile effort in Afghanistan and Pakistan, despite the overwhelming opposition to it.

And they will likely get away with it, in part because the bill includes funding to extend unemployment benefits making it less likely that Congress members will vote against it.

Tell Congress, Vote Yes to extended unemployment benefits — No to more money for war. Click here to take action.

Congress members will soon break for the holidays. They will return to their districts to celebrate with their friends and families while many of their constituents have lost their jobs, their homes, their read more

By David Swanson
Speech at White House, December 12, 2009

video below

Can you imagine the outcries of national shame from liberal commentators if George W. Bush had accepted a peace prize by advocating for war and announcing his right to launch wars of aggression? What an embarrassment that would have been!

But Bush would have made such a speech with fewer troops in the field, fewer mercenaries in the field, a smaller war budget, a smaller military budget, bases in fewer nations, the imperial read more

By David Swanson

Sometimes it’s relief for victims of Hurricane Katrina, sometimes it’s hate crimes legislation, sometimes it’s education funding for veterans. One day soon it will be free kittens for children with cancer. It’s always something. It’s always something that could pass just fine on its own. But it’s included as lipstick on the recurring and ever-fattening pigs of U.S. politics: war funding bills.

Next week, the warfunding bill that was passed read more