Virginia’s Koch Royalty

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By David Swanson

While most of us Virginians don’t feel we have a tight grip of control over our national government, Virginia’s Koch Royalty have a very different perspective. While many states are completely unrepresented at the Koch Brothers’ gatherings that determine the agenda for moneyed interests in our politics each year, Virginia has a major presence, more than any other state, and that’s not counting the sizeable contingent from across the Potomac in Washington, read more

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Election Guide for Election Haters

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By David Swanson

I’ll admit it right now. My name is David and I hate elections. (HI, DAVID!) I hate choosing the evil of two lessers. I hate attack ads. I hate endless repetitive debates that exclude all the interesting questions. I hate painting one candidate as all bad and the other as infallible even when I have to squint to see a difference between them. I hate that there are only two candidates who have a chance at winning. I hate that most of what we hear is through advertisements read more

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Your Voice CAN Count

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In a recent survey, 86 percent of Americans said our government was broken. How wrong they were!

That’s right, Virginia, you CAN have a say in how our government works. You just have to be among the very wealthiest of rightwing Americans.

A secretive gang of these people is all over the news right now.

See CBS:
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20020184-503544.html

See the NY Times:
http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/10/20/secretive-republican-donors…

Here’s a memo that read more

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We the Plutocracy

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Remarks at the Lincoln Memorial, October 20, 2010

It’s an honor for me to help welcome Robin Monahan and Laird Monahan to this city, not because I can take any pride in this place, but because we can all take pride in what they’ve done and encourage others to do it. Walking across the country, talking to people directly and through local media outlets and through the internet, and walking here to the seat of our misrepresentative government, is a model for us all.

Phoning in our concerns read more

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John Lennon's Death Was Faked

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The shooting of John Lennon in 1980 was staged, or at least he didn’t immediately die. Or at least that’s the premise that launches a hilarious work of fiction called “Life After Death (For Beginners)” by Michael Gerber, in which — among other things — Lennon tries to discover who killed him and whether it was for money or politics or love.

I guess it doesn’t sound very hilarious, and I’m guessing that Yoko Ono, who has been a friend to the peace read more

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Speed Dating Politics

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The only debate thus far between the Republican and Democratic candidates for Congress from Virginia’s Fifth District was held Wednesday evening. It excluded a third candidate who is on the ballot and was finished in 27 minutes minus the time devoted to advertisements. Somehow, I’m not overwhelmed with the health of our democracy. Have we really got this democracy thing down well enough to be bombing other nations in the name of spreading it — something that both Robert Hurt read more

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U.S. Wars Are Bankrupting the World

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The endless and infinite “war on terra” is bankrupting the planet. I don’t mean moral bankruptcy; that goes without saying. I mean financial bankruptcy. And don’t take my word for it. This is the argument made in a new book called “Terrorism and the Economy: How the War on Terror Is Bankrupting the World,” by Loretta Napoleoni, a financial reporter for Internazionale, l’Unita, il Caffe, Mondo e Missione, El Pais, Vanity Fair Spain, and Vanity Fair Italy.

Perhaps read more

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Will Sanity Be Restored and Fear Be Kept Alive?

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By David Swanson

“It’s not meant to ridicule activism,” Jon Stewart tells NPR, speaking of his planned rally on the National Mall. But you can see where someone might have gotten that impression. In the video of Stewart’s announcement of the event, he rejects crazy right wing ideas and the idea that Bush allowed 9-11 to happen; he condemns read more

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The Rule of Law Is Alive . . . Abroad

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The World Justice Project on Thursday published a “Rule of Law Index,” and there’s no easy way to say this. Let me put it this way: as when rankings on education, infant mortality, work hours, lifespan, retirement security, health, environmental impact, incarceration rates, violence, concentration of wealth, and other measures of quality of life come out, it is time once again for we Americans to shout “We’re Number One!” more loudly than ever. Because, of course, read more

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The Pro-Perriello Argument

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By David Swanson

This debate over the merits of one Democratic congress member may have relevance for others around the country.

I recently posted On Voting for Bad Democrats: the Perriello Predicament, expressing doubts about exactly how progressive Congressman Tom Perriello (D., VA-05) is.

Bill Lankford sent me a response, arguing in favor of supporting Perriello. I said I would post it, but asked if there was any way to strengthen it by mentioning even one thing Perriello had done in the past read more

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The Book the Pentagon Burned

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The Pentagon spent $50,000 of our money to buy up the first edition of “Operation Dark Heart” by Lt. Col. Anthony Shaffer and destroy every copy. The second printing has lots of words blacked out. Wikileaks claims to have a first edition, but hasn’t shared it. However, reading the bleeped-through version reveals plenty.

Shaffer and others in the military-spying complex knew about U.S. al Qaeda cells and leaders before 9-11 and were prevented from pursuing the matter. Shaffer read more

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Don't You Know That You Can Count Me Out – In

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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 steps to take to a debate over whether it’s really appropriate for President Obama to whine about people’s read more

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