The Cablization of Network News

By David Swanson

On Tuesday, September 5th, at least three things will change. Congress will finish vacationing and return to its long and difficult task of destroying the world; many of us will welcome our Congress Members back to Washington with a giant protest camp called Camp Democracy; and Network News will officially go Cable with Katie Couric playing the role of Edward R. Murrow.

That’s right, Katie will be “anchor” and “managing editor” of CBS Evening “News”. read more

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The Best War Ever

By David Swanson

Sheldon Rampton and John Stauber have a new book, which is always a good thing; but this one is especially good. It’s called “The Best War Ever: Lies, Damned Lies, and the Mess in Iraq.” It’s 206 pages and you’ll read it in one sitting, because it’s more entertaining than the corporate media whose infotainment is the book’s focus. While this book is every bit as well researched as Congressman John Conyers’ 350-page report “The read more

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Camp Democracy to Open in DC

Camp Democracy: Demonstration for Peace, Justice, and Impeachment in Washington, D.C., in September

Cindy Sheehan’s Camp Casey to Move from Texas

Press Conference Planned for August 29 at National Press Club

WHAT: Press Conference Announcing Camp Democracy
WHERE: National Press Club, Murrow Room, Washington, D.C.
WHEN: 10 a.m. ET, August 29, 2006
SPEAKERS: Leaders of the organizations sponsoring Camp Democracy (see below).

On September 5, 2006, Cindy Sheehan will move her camp from Crawford read more

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AWOL Sergeant to Turn Himself in Today Resisting Illegal Iraq War

By David Swanson


CLICK FOR PHOTO GALLERY

SEATTLE — Ricky Clousing, a Sergeant in the U.S. Army, and a veteran of the Iraq War who has been AWOL for a year announced today at the Veterans for Peace convention in Seattle that he will turn himself in later today at the gates of Fort Lewis and face whatever punishment the military chooses to impose.

Clousing said he did not apply for conscientious objector status because he is not certain he would oppose every possible war, such as one fought read more

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Veterans for Impeachment

By David Swanson

Remarks at Veterans for Peace convention, Seattle, Wash., Aug. 11, 2006

It’s an honor to be speaking at a Veterans for Peace event. For as long as I’ve been working in the peace movement, VFP has been a powerful ally. To us nonveterans, veterans for war sometimes seem like a hostile and exclusive club. But veterans for peace have always treated me as a brother in the cause for peace. And I’m sorry that my brother Mike Ferner could not be here today. We’ll read more

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Bush Versus the Constitution

By David Swanson

Last December, when Congressman John Conyers released a huge report documenting the evidence that Bush and Cheney had lied us into a war, he also introduced a bill (H. Res. 635) to start a preliminary investigation of the matter and make recommendations on impeachment. This showed far more courage, not to mention long hours of work, than any other member of Congress had mustered at that time or since. But it was disingenuous. Impeachment is itself an investigation; a preliminary read more

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Conyers Releases Massive New Report on Bush-Cheney Crimes

The minority staff of the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee, under the leadership of Congressman John Conyers (D., Mich.) has produced over the past many months a staggering report, just released, which documents the hard evidence of crimes and abuses committed by President Bush and his administration (breaking 26 specific laws). This report, “The Constitution in Crisis,” should provide the raw material for numerous news reports and point reporters toward fertile ground read more

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Planning an Impeachment Blog Action

Starting at noon ET on September 1, 2006, and lasting 24 hours, websites and blogs all across the internet are being asked to replace their front pages with the single word “Impeach” in simple white text on a black background. Here’s an example: http://impeachnet.net

Visitors to those sites and blogs will be able to click and link to the sites’ usual front pages. But first they will see a word that, standing alone, is as powerful as any word right now: it is banned by our read more

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The Shame of Not Being Mexican

By David Swanson

I’ll grant you that in the United States our two big political parties never nominate a candidate of, by, or for poor people. Nonetheless, we have now established a pattern of stolen elections, and we have NOT taken over our nation’s capital to demand justice. This fact alone would make me ashamed right now not to be a Mexican. The Mexicans are doing the only sensible thing they can, the only thing that can prevent a slide into far more serious dangers.

Here in the read more

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Where Were You When They Took Your Rights Away?

By David Swanson

Can you name the one country on earth where the government can steal elections, strip away basic rights, spy on citizens, and launch wars based on lies, but where the people do not take over the nation’s capital in protest?

If you said the United States, you’ll be wrong on September fifth when Camp Democracy begins on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.
http://www.campdemocracy.org

At long last, Americans are preparing to say “Enough is enough,” and to read more

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"Luring Illegals"

By David Swanson

My representative in the U.S. House of Representatives is Virgil Goode Jr., and I couldn’t be prouder. He was recently reported as saying: “Increasing the minimum wage in America will be a magnet for illegal aliens to come to this country. We do not need a strong magnet to lure illegals here.”

I always find this sort of leadership inspirational. Congressman Goode has inspired me to propose a few other changes – in addition to lowering the minimum wage – to read more

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Impeachment: Why and How

Impeachment: Why and How
By David Swanson

WHY

Many previous presidents and vice presidents have committed one or two of the following crimes. Never before has any approached this total level of assault on the Constitution. If we do not impeach now, we never can again, and the legislative branch will not maintain power over the executive or judicial. We will be unable to end the war, stop global warming, fund education, challenge stolen elections, win elections, or accomplish any of our other read more

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Friday Night Impeachment Teach-In

National Impeachment Teach-In

Friday
July 21, 2006
6 to 8 p.m.
Busboys and Poets Restaurant
2021 14th St. NW
Washington, D.C.
Corner of V Street
Near U Street Metro

Watch a screening of the 30-minute documentary HOW TO IMPEACH A PRESIDENT, produced by the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR). Then join a discussion with David Swanson, Cofounder of AfterDowningStreet.org; Jamie Raskin, professor of constitutional law at American University; Steve Cobble, Cofounder of AfterDowningStreet.org, Andy read more

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Conservatives and Conscience

By David Swanson

John Dean, former legal counsel to Richard Nixon, is 95% recovered from a long bout of conservatism, and he doubts that many others can make the same recovery, but I don’t.

Dean’s published two excellent books on the Bush-Cheney administration’s abuses of power. The first was “Worse Than Watergate.” The new one is “Conservatives Without Conscience.” The title is a play on former Senator Goldwater’s “The Conscience of a Conservative,” read more

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Rupert Murdoch Hosted Hillary Fundraiser

By David Swanson

On Monday, July 17, 2006, at Fox News headquarters in New York City, Rupert Murdoch hosted a fundraiser breakfast for Hillary Clinton. Then he rushed off to a fundraiser lunch for John McCain, and Hillary rushed off to announce her unqualified support for Israel’s and Bush’s war policies.

Hillarupert Murdoclinton strikes some people as an unusual combination. I’m sure someone could create a funny cartoon out of that name and a merger of their two smirking masks. read more

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Containing the Military Industrial Complex

By David Swanson

Remarks at Democracy Fest, San Diego, July 15, 2006

More than any other weapons system, the chief products of the military industrial complex are lies. We just learned this week that Congress was cracking down on corruption by denying another contract to Halliburton. In reality, Halliburton has completed its main task of building five permanent bases and doesn’t care as much about more contracts for services for soldiers. And, in fact, last month the Senate rejected, nearly read more

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