Political Ideas

By David Swanson

From the pains Democrats take to out-argue and/or to compromise with the fringe minority party called the Republicans you’d think no other course of action was available, specifically you’d have to assume that the filibuster — the power of senators representing 11 percent of us to block all work by the House and Senate — is written in stone. In reality, 51 senators could eliminate the filibuster or change the number of votes required to use it. This nation read more

The embedding doesn’t work for part 2, but both parts are now posted here.

By David Swanson

President Obama wants to avoid criminalizing policy differences and avoid partisan witch hunts. This is taken to mean that Holder will not appoint a special prosecutor for torture.

But the only reason everyone is focused on torture as something to prosecute is that Obama has sought to make it a policy difference. We could prosecute illegal aggressive war and attacks on civilians, but Obama is continuing the illegal occupations in Iraq and Afghanistan and has already attacked read more

This is part 1 of a two-part debate, in which my opponent (not to mention the moderator) pretty well agreed with me that Bush and Cheney should be prosecuted. But it was probably not a topic she would ever have brought up if not asked. Such is the power of the media, and the need to support the Real News Network.

The Center for Constitutional Rights has expressed concern that President Obama’s executive order banning torture may contain a loophole. But no president has any right to declare torture legal or illegal, with or without loopholes. And if we accept that presidents have such powers, even if our new president does good with them, then loopholes will be the least of our worries.

Torture is, and has long been, illegal in every case, without exception. It is banned by our Bill of Rights, the read more

By David Swanson

History cannot be the judge of Bush and Cheney. The corporate news really is the first draft of history, and there will be no magical leap from its dishonesty to an honest account. Most in the Washington establishment want to protect Bush and Cheney and gang, although the New York Times has now printed one column admitting the obvious point that if the outgoing criminals are not punished, their heirs will repeat their crimes.

What is Bush’s legacy? Wars, ruined economy, read more

Cindy Sheehan asked if I could record a 3-minute goodbye message to Bush and Cheney for her radio show, so I wrote down and read the following:

Never more than in this moment, George, have you been a uniter, not a divider. The joy at your departure is world-wide and wonderful. But I don’t want to fully embrace it because I don’t want this to be the last we see of you. When I was four years old I watched Richard Nixon leave, and that was just about the last we saw of him, and that read more

JAN. 10 Come to the VIRGINIA PEOPLE’S ASSEMBLY
Delegates from across Virginia will put together a PEOPLE’S AGENDA
to present to the General Assembly
Among other things, we will demand a MORATORIUM ON LAYOFFS, CUTBACKS, EVICTIONS & FORECLOSURES
9 am – 4 pm
Asbury United
Methodist Church
324 N. 29th St.
Richmond, VA 23223
$5 donation requested to help cover cost of lunch & space, but no one will be turned away for lack of funds.

JAN. 14 Come to a RALLY to demand ‘Bail Out the read more