From Tomdispatch today, David Swanson’s timely “Can Congress End the War? Democratic Leaders May Prefer to Claim They Tried but Failed”

Nothing reminds us more of how much the American constitutional system has been transformed, of just how extreme the “imperial presidency” has become, than Congress’s generally woeful record in recent decades in exerting any significant control over, or putting the brakes on White House wars abroad. The imperial presidency read more

By David Swanson

The following is a remarkable interview of Karen Kwiatkowski who retired from the active duty USAF as a Lieutenant Colonel in early 2003. Her final assignment was in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Under Secretary for Policy Near East South Asia (NESA) Policy directorate. In her responses below, Kwiatkowski describes the manipulation of intelligence on Iraq and Iran and what it would take to avoid an attack on the latter.

I began the interview by asking about Undersecretary read more

This includes highlights of the rally in Washington on January 27, and of the Backbone Campaign’s delivery of Spine Thank You Cards and Spineless Citations to Congress Members (including Lieberman, Hoyer, Emanuel) on January 29: Windows Media Video; Real Media Video.

By David Swanson

The New York Times and CBS News recently polled the US public.

After a long list of questions that confused any distinction between health care and health coverage, the New York Times/CBS asked:

“Do you think it would be fair or unfair for the government in Washington to require all Americans to participate in a national health care plan, funded by taxpayers?”

By 48 to 43 percent, respondents said: unfair. But a strong majority had already said they thought it was very read more

By David Swanson

They have taken untold millions that they never toiled to earn,
But without our brain and muscle not a single wheel can turn.
We can break their haughty power; gain our freedom when we learn
That the Union makes us strong.

The House has just passed the Employee Free Choice Act, a bill that would effectively restore to Americans the internationally and domestically recognized but nonexistent right to form unions. The US labor movement has invested untold millions in lobbying for read more

By David Swanson

As war wages on in the Middle East, there’s a heated battle on Capitol Hill over which political party’s proposals to continue the war are more PRO-TROOP. There’s a raging debate over exactly what set of futile recommendations to the dictator living in the Vice President’s mansion on Massachusetts Avenue amounts to the greatest PRO or ANTI TROOP agenda.

Leading contestants are:
1.-a Republican proposal to give Cheney and Bush another $93 billion off read more

By David Swanson

FOR THE WASHINGTON STATE SENATE HEARING CALLING FOR THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES TO INVESTIGATE AND CONSIDER HEARINGS ON EVIDENCE THAT COULD LEAD TO THE IMPEACHMENT OF PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH AND VICE-PRESIDENT RICHARD B. CHENEY

MARCH 1, 2007

I live in Charlottesville, Va., the home town of Thomas Jefferson, who feared we would not be able to maintain a republic and would slip into elected despotism. I am the Washington (DC) Director of Democrats.com and of ImpeachPAC.org. read more

By David Swanson

An interview of Allison Hantschel.

AUDIO 30 Minutes:
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/downloads/allison.mp3

David: This is David Swanson with Allison Hantschel, the blogger of the blog site, First Draft http://www.first-draft.com , and the author of the book “Special Plans, the blogs on Douglas Feith and the faulty intelligence that led us to war.” Allison, it is good to talk to you. How are you doing?

Allison: I’m doing good, thank you so much for having me.

David: read more

By David Swanson

On March 17, a huge mass of people will gather at the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C., and march from there to the Pentagon for the cause of impeachment and peace.
http://www.impeach07.org

A handful of pro-war people, some volunteer and some probably paid to be there, will stage a counter-demonstration. This relatively tiny pro-death contingent will garner 50 percent of the media coverage if those on the side of peace do everything right. If a single demonstrator for peace read more