Author name: davidswanson

George and the Water Board

By David Swanson

George W. Bush has been compared to Curious George the monkey for many years, but the comparison didn’t quite fit until now. Every Curious George story must include these plot elements:

1. The man with the yellow hat shows George something irresistible, asks him to leave it alone, and then wanders off.
2. George resists everything except temptation and causes all kinds of trouble.
3. Someone makes the bizarre claim that George has done more good than harm, gives read more

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Holder's Plans As Clear As Gonzales' Memory

"I don’t recall" is now "that would depend." While then-Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, when testifying before Congress, was oddly unable to remember anything prior to that morning’s breakfast, now Attorney General Eric Holder is oddly unable to forecast what, if anything, he will do to hold government officials accountable to the rule of law.

On Thursday, Holder testified before the House Judiciary Committee. Congressman Brad Sherman asked Holder what he would read more

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76 Members of Congress Oppose Staying in Afghanistan Forever

By David Swanson

Imagine if Spain indicts Gonzales, Bybee, Haynes, Yoo, Addington, and Feith, but the United States fails to extradite them and in fact appears guilty of having harbored and possibly even employed them at good salaries. Then suppose — use your imagination! — that Spain invades and occupies the United States. Now, imagine that seven years later we still aren’t happy with being occupied by Spain, and the people of Spain oppose their own government’s crimes read more

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Dear Media, Now That You're Connecting Torture to War, Can We Talk?

By David Swanson

Dear Producers and Editors,

Now that you’re beginning to talk about the fact that our country tortured people in order to elicit war rationales, can we talk for a minute? I’d like to point a few things out that you can verify without spending a dime on investigative reporting. First, we now know that we tortured in hopes of producing justifications for a war. Let’s suppose that this was done in “good faith” and that the lies al Libi told to stop read more

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Healthcare Has a Chance on the House Side of the Hill, Peace Maybe Too

By David Swanson

I left a hearing this morning at which senators debated the merits of torturing people (Lindsay Graham took the pro-torture side). I went to a rally for single-payer healthcare in Upper Senate Park. No senators were there. Yesterday Senator Baucus had more doctors and nurses arrested for asking to speak in a hearing. But House members, including John Conyers and Jim McGovern crossed the hill to be at the rally.

And the big news was that last night single-payer activists had read more

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