AUDIO: Counterspin Radio on Benchmarks and Leprosy

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David Swanson on ‘benchmarks,’ Mark Potok on Dobbs and leprosy


Counterspin (5/18/07-5/24/07)

This week on CounterSpin: “benchmarks” is the new key word in the talk about pulling out of Iraq. It seems, according to the New York Times and others, that the best way to end the war is to draw up a To Do list… for Iraqis. Our guest finds something ludicrous in the whole discussion; we’ll hear from David Swanson of AfterDowningStreet.org. LISTEN

Also on the show: CNN’s read more

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What Do These Crimes Have in Common?

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By David Swanson

Another day, another impeachable offense. If this one were on a television show we’d all flip it off in disgust as too unlikely. The President phones up a hospital to demand that the ailing Attorney General (who has turned over his duties and is disoriented) admit the President’s legal counsel and chief of staff so that they can ask him to sign off on an illegal spying program. The AG refuses to sign off. The acting AG, who is fully conscious but considers the program read more

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It's Year Five, Do You Know Where Your Senators Are?

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By David Swanson

On Wednesday morning, the U.S. Senate voted on a proposal from Senator Russ Feingold (D., Wisc.) to end the war by next March. The amendment would have really ended the war, in so far as it would have cut off funding to illegally continue it. But the amendment included loopholes and exceptions, so that US imperial control of Iraq and its oil was not seriously threatened. And, remember, this was to end the war – or at least scale it back – by March 31, 2008. Hardly the swift read more

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How to Spot a Peace Candidate

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By David Swanson

I think you could spot a peace candidate in a crowd of warmongers pretty easily if you asked each candidate these questions.

Do you oppose wars of aggression?

Do you oppose an aggressive US war on Iran?

Did you oppose the 2003 US war on Iraq?

Did you oppose the 2001 US war on Afghanistan?

Did you oppose the 1999 US war on Yugoslavia?

Did you oppose the 2006 Israeli war on Lebanon?

Have you ever spoken in support of, or voted to authorize, or voted to fund any portion of any of these wars? read more

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Agnew v. Cheney – How Did the Good Guys Finally Win?

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By David Swanson

Nailing Dick Cheney for tax evasion would be like nailing Al Capone for tax evasion. But the last time a U.S. president faced a strong movement for impeachment for actual impeachable offenses, one of the major road blocks was fear that an unpopular vice president would take his place, and this road block was removed when Spiro Agnew resigned in the face of criminal charges of cheating on his taxes.

As every American is aware, including even those who have never heard of impeachment, read more

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Questions for Candidates

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By David Swanson

If, like General Electric and Fox News, ordinary citizens were permitted to ask questions of candidates for U.S. President, these are a few of the questions I think they might ask:

If you are elected president, which of the new presidential powers assumed by the Bush-Cheney administration will you use? Which will you leave available in case you decide to use them? Which will you issue orders banning the use of?

Will you ever spy on Americans in violation of the Foreign Intelligence read more

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They're Not Benchmarks

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By David Swanson

The new war money bill passed by the House on May 10 does not include even a nonbinding end date for the war. It does fund the war for a shorter period of time at one shot, but the Senate doesn’t like that idea, and the bill must be reconciled with whatever the Senate passes. So, what’s left in the bill that Bush doesn’t like? Benchmarks!

But there are two problems with this. Bush DOES like them. And they’re NOT benchmarks. A benchmark is a standard read more

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Powell's Chief of Staff Proposes Impeachment

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By David Swanson

On Thursday, May 10, 2007, Lawrence Wilkerson, speaking on National Public Radio, proposed impeaching President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney. Here’s the audio.

Wilkerson is a Retired Army Colonel, the former Chief of Staff at the State Department from 2002 to 2005 under then Secretary of State Colin Powell, a Vietnam War veteran, the former Acting Director of the Marine Corps War College at Quantico, and currently a teacher of national security at William read more

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Rep. Maxine Waters Speaks Out for Impeachment

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By David Swanson

Congresswoman and House Judiciary Committee Member Maxine Waters (D., Calif.) has spoken up in support of impeaching President Bush and Vice President Cheney. Waters said she advocates impeaching Cheney first, which is the same approach taken by Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D., Ohio) in his bill, H. Res. 333. Waters has not yet cosponsored that bill.

Audio of Rep. Waters’ statement:
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/downloads/watersimpeach.mp3

Rush Transcript:

“I was a read more

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Puzzling Out Pelosi

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By David Swanson

President Bush vetoed a war spending bill because it included a deadline for ending the war, albeit a non-binding one. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has proposed to hold a vote on Thursday on a new bill that will not include even a nonbinding “timeline.” The media and even activist groups have almost immediately and almost unanimously described this as standing tough and refusing to give in to Bush.

In fact, most of the media coverage has dropped any mention read more

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