David Swanson's Blog, page 234
February 7, 2011
Why Did the President Cross the Road?
By David Swanson
To kneel before the corporate throne of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. And here's what he had to say there on Monday.
President Obama again stressed that he wanted to freeze non-war/military spending well into the next president's tenure:
"That's why I've proposed that we freeze annual domestic spending for the next five years. Understand what this means. This would reduce the deficit by more than $400 billion over the next decade, and bring this spending -- domestic discretionary spending -- down to the lowest share of our economy since Eisenhower was president. That was a long time ago."
War Is Racism By Other Means
What makes the most fantastic and undocumented war-launching and war-prolonging lies credible are differences and prejudices, against others and in favor of our own. Without religious bigotry, racism, and patriotic jingoism, wars would be harder to sell.
Religion has long been a justification for wars, which were fought for gods before they were fought for pharaohs, kings, and emperors. If Barbara Ehrenreich has it right in her book "Blood Rites: Origins and History of the Passions of War," the earliest precursors to wars were battles against lions, leopards, and other ferocious predators of people. In fact, those predatory beasts may be the base material from which gods were invented — and unmanned drones named (e.g. "the Predator").
February 6, 2011
Connect the Dots With David Swanson, Bob Edgar, Jeff Halper
CONNECT THE DOTS
Host: Lila Garrett
Monday morning 7AM to 8AM
Tune in or Log on:
KPFK 90.7 FM in LA; 98.7 Santa Barbara; 93.7 San Diego
http://archive.kpfk.org/parchive/index.php?shokey=ctd
David Swanson, author of WAR IS A LIE brings us up to date on Bradley Manning, the 23 yr old Am. soldier who is still being tortured and held in solitary by the Marines for revealing American killings of innocent civilians. Is Bush's secret government still in place?
Bob Edgar, President of Common Cause fills us in on the petition it filed with the US Justice Dept. to investigate Supreme Ct. Justices Scalia and Thomas. Should they have recused themselves in the case involving the Citizens United decision which gave corporations free reign in funding elections. Both Justices have attended retreats organized by conservative financier Charles Koch whose company operates a foundation that is a major contributor to right wing political advocacy groups.
(Since it handed Bush the presidency in 2000 the US Supreme Ct. has been assuming unprecedented power. How long will we tolerate the myth that the Supreme Ct. is above politics? It is about to interfere with the Healtcare Bill. Will it again assume veto powers on a partisan basis? Is it obsolete as an institution? Does it interfere with our democracy rather than enhance it?)
Israeli peace activist Jeff Halper, director of ICAHD, Israeli (Com. Against House Demolitions) joins us. He describes what he & his followers consider the only remaining path to peace in the middle East. For more info on his events in L.A. this week go to http://www.lajewsforpeace.org/.
Lila Garrett (Host of CONNECT THE DOTS)
KPFK 90.7 FM in LA; 98.7 Santa Barbara; 93.7 San Diego
Airs Mondays from 7AM to 8AM.
To pod cast or download the broadcast just use this link:
http://archive.kpfk.org/parchive/index.php?shokey=ctd
Each show is online for three months.
At Stake in Egypt: Reading Gaza Mom
The danger of permitting the Egyptians democracy, rather than replacing a dictator with his (and our) torturer lies, let us be honest, not in the possibility that Egyptian politics will approach the religiosity of our own Republican Party, and not in the possibility that the civil liberties we have helped deny Egyptians for decades won't all be immediately established, and certainly not in the possibility that the Egyptians would commit collective suicide by attempting to attack the United States, but rather in the possibility that other peoples would be inspired to attempt self-rule as well, and -- more directly -- in the probability that Egypt would cease to uphold the collective punishment of the people of Gaza.
February 5, 2011
The Case for Prosecuting Bush
From Feral House
Congressman Dennis Kucinich With Additional Material by David Swanson and Elizabeth de la Vega
trade paperback edition • 156 pages • 5.5 x 8.5 • ISBN: 978-1-932595-42-0 • $12
$12.00
Feral House offers this important and urgent publication of Dennis Kucinich's Articles of Impeachment in two formats: an offset-printed paperback book available for the cost of $12 and a free downloadable PDF available below.
David Swanson's additional article explains how the Impeachment process is possible and necessary even after the guilty perp leaves office, and how they can be used for prosecution of crimes. Those wishing to purchase over ten copies of the printed book can obtain them at discount from Feral House directly. Please contact info@feralhouse.com for costs.
"More than two centuries ago, the Founders of this country set forth a procedure for Congress to follow in the event of grave abuse of power by the Chief Executive. That process is impeachment. In the face of the monumental deceit and disregard for the Constitution that we have witnessed on the part of the President over the past seven years, Congressman Kucinich's initiation of this process is neither fanciful nor futile, neither vengeful nor vindictive; it is the sober fulfillment of his sworn duty as a Congressman to follow the law without regard to personal consequence and misguided political stratagem. It is, quite simply, an act of patriotism."
—Elizabeth de la Vega, Former Federal Prosecutor and author of United States v. George W. Bush et. al.
"This collection of impeachable offenses should be viewed as a sampling of the crimes and abuses of President George W. Bush and his subordinates. Bush has had many accomplices — first and foremost Vice President Cheney. But our Founders created a single executive precisely so that we could hold that one person accountable for the actions of the executive branch. It is high time we did so, and millions of Americans will be urging their representatives to support the effort being led by Congressman Kucinich. These articles establish, and hearings would establish further, that President Bush was 'the decider' behind countless abuses of power. And, of course, his public comments have time and again advertised his indifference to the laws he is violating. Not only does overwhelming evidence show us that Bush knew his claims about WMDs to be false, but the president has shown us that he considers the question of truth or falsehood to be laughably irrelevant. When Diane Sawyer asked Bush why he had claimed with such certainty that there were so many weapons in Iraq, he replied: 'What's the difference? The possibility that [Saddam] could acquire weapons, If he were to acquire weapons, he would be the danger.' What's the difference? Hundreds of thousands of corpses and a fatal blow to the rule of law among nations. That's the difference. Unless we remove impeachment from the Constitution by failing to exercise it, in which case truth will no longer matter any more than justice or peace."
— David Swanson, creator of ImpeachCheney.org, Washington Director of Democrats.com and co-founder of the AfterDowningStreet.org.
"Overload is the main problem—I call it outrage fatigue. The sheer multitude, not to mention magnitude, of impeachable offenses tends to dull the senses. The opportunity to dig into just one or two provided some space and focused the mind. At the same time, the deeper one digs, the more unimaginable the dirt that comes up. Earlier, I had not taken the time to sift through the abundant evidence of the unconscionable ways in which George Bush and George Tenet teamed up—including, in Tenet's case, lying under oath—to stave off charges of misfeasance/ malfeasance before the attacks on 9/11. The Founders pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor to create a system in which we could protect ourselves from unbridled power. Today, we cannot let a 21st Century string of abuses and usurpations stand without challenge. But the experience of the past several years shows that there is a very high hurdle in our way: no Common Sense. I refer, of course, to the courageous independent journalism of the likes of Tom Paine who stirred the innate dignity of Americans toward sacrifice for independence and freedom. Tom Paine would be horrified to see what has become of his profession today—with browbeaten journalists and former general officers doing the bidding of the corporations that own/pay them.In my view, impeachment proceedings are essential to:
Reestablish the separation of powers in our Constitution as a check on the so-called unitary executive
Prevent a budding—and catastrophic—US attack on Iran by exposing it as yet another war of aggression against a country posing no threat to the US;
Call attention to the blood already drained from our civil liberties and staunch the bleeding.
"Impeachment proceedings may be the only way to force the captive media to inform normal citizens about what has been going on in our country. Thomas Jefferson underscored the importance of this when he said: 'Whenever the people are well informed, they can be trusted with their own government.'"
—Ray McGovern; former Army officer and CIA analyst; co-founder, Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity
"President Bush, Cheney and other US officials have violated numerous domestic and international laws governing crime of aggression, war crime, torture, etc., and they should be not only impeached by the US Congress but also be prosecuted by a special prosecutor, to the full extent of the law before or after impeachment. That is the best way to uphold the US Constitution and the rule of law at home and abroad."
—John Kim, Esq., Attorney; author of The Crime of Aggression Against Iraq
"The breadth of impeachable offenses committed by the Bush/Cheney administration is likely unparalleled in our nation's history. Equally unparalleled, and in many cases even more alarming and outrageous, is the lack of accountability brought to the perpetrators of these High Crimes and Misdemeanors. It is the Constitutional duty of members of Congress—members from any political party—to bring such accountability, particularly when the list of crimes began with the very acts that brought this administration into office during their elections, and right up through today when the same sort of crimes continue, and are in place to try and affect our next Presidential Election. This is not about politics, it's about the Constitutional duty of Congress. If a line in the sand is not drawn immediately and clearly in the face of such corruption and disdain for our American values, such as the Rule of Law, the historical bar for criminality in our Executive Branch will have been forever lowered, no matter who happens to serve in the White House in the future."
—Brad Friedman, creator/ editor of The Brad Blog, and co-founder of the watchdog organization VelvetRevolution.us.
"I have provided the legal architecture and evidence for a trial to prosecute the President for murder. My book lends credence to a powerful case for impeachment laid out persuasively by Congressman Dennis Kucinich's 35 Articles of Impeachment."
— Vincent Bugliosi, Former District Attorney, author of The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder
Download the entire book free!
February 4, 2011
Rumsfeld Overheard: "War Lies Are Cool Now"
Donald Rumsfeld began his new book tour with some frank comments, including these:
"War lies? Does anybody really give a rat's ass now? You know what? You know what? They do. They do because war lies are actually cool now. We began the invasion of Iraq in October 2001, but the invasion of Iraq paid off."
Rumsfeld revealed the strategy behind the revelations made in his book about the illegal secret operations he helped set in motion shortly after the terrorist acts of September 11, 2001:
"Former President Bush has not admitted to torture or fraud or aggression or the rest of it, and do you know why? You do know why, but it is an unknown known, if you know what I mean. Yes, it is funny. He hasn't admitted to any such things because he has chosen to claim them proudly instead.
February 3, 2011
Rule of Law Radio
Hour 1 guest: David Swanson (www.WarIsALie.org, www.DavidSwanson.org) discusses democracy and the events in Egypt.
Hour 2 guest: Professor Stephen Zunes, University of San Francisco (www.StephenZunes.org) discusses the events in Egypt.
February 2, 2011
February 1, 2011
Public Says Cut Military, Obama Says Increase It
By David Swanson
Did you know that the U.S. public wants military spending cut? Did you know that President Barack Obama wants to increase it for his third year in a row? Actually I already know that most of you didn't know either of these things.
