Elections

Elections in the South

By David Swanson, Special to http://globalresearch.ca

Free Speech TV will be covering the elections Tuesday evening from Busboys and Poets restaurant in Washington, D.C. I’ll be on the same channel earlier in the day via Al Jazeera, but the evening extravaganza at Busboys promises to be a lively affair with commentary from a variety of panels, as well as people who’ve just shown up to dine and to try their best to digest what’s becoming of our democracy.

Norman Solomon and I will read more

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Perriello and the President

By David Swanson

When Tom Perriello replaced Virgil Goode as our representative in the Fifth District of Virginia, I was glad to see an outspoken bigot thrown out of office. Heck, I’m glad to see almost anyone thrown out of office. When one quarter of the races being in play makes for an extraordinary election year, something’s wrong with the system.

But what would Perriello do to represent us? When I spoke to him in person, on a few occasions, early in his tenure, his most common read more

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This New 1994 Could Have Been 1974

By David Swanson

If the Democrats had used 2009 and 2010 to end the wars and prosecute Bush and Cheney, not to mention Wall Street, for their crimes; put prisoners on trial or free them; expose and hold accountable those behind the torture, warrantless spying, assassinations, and war lies; if they had thrown out the filibuster rule; restored the right to organize a union; created Medicare for All; and guaranteed a job to anyone in need through a new green energy program and huge investments in read more

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A Tale of Two Tribes

By David Swanson

On Friday evening, Charlottesville, Virginia’s liberals were lined up the length of the pedestrian street known as the Downtown Mall waiting to get into an event with President Obama and Congressman Tom Perriello. Meanwhile the rightwingers (or some of them, because the Tea Party had an event elsewhere) were at an Americans for Prosperity event in a nearby park. And we misfits were handing the same flyers to both groups and observing the different reactions.

We were unable read more

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Election Guide for Election Haters

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

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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Speed Dating Politics

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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