December 31, 2008
The U.S. government’s torture of detainees in the “war on terror” can be traced directly to a Feb. 7, 2002, memo signed by President George W. Bush.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Torture & the Crime of Aggressive War
By Peter Dyer
December 31, 2008
December 31, 2008
GOP Judge Gives Bush a Gitmo Victory
By Robert Parry
December 31, 2008
Civil libertarians hailed last June’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling requiring habeas corpus hearings to justify indefinite detentions at Guantanamo Bay, but there remained the question of which federal judges would hear the evidence. It was clear that many would be right-wing Republican appointees.
Read on.
December 31, 2008
Civil libertarians hailed last June’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling requiring habeas corpus hearings to justify indefinite detentions at Guantanamo Bay, but there remained the question of which federal judges would hear the evidence. It was clear that many would be right-wing Republican appointees.
Read on.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
How Hypocrisy on 'Terrorism' Kills
By Robert Parry
December 30, 2008
Israel, a nation that was born out of Zionist terrorism, has launched massive airstrikes against targets in Gaza using high-tech weapons produced by the United States, a country that often has aided and abetted terrorism by its client military forces, such as Chile’s Operation Condor and the Nicaraguan contras, and even today harbors right-wing Cuban terrorists implicated in blowing up a civilian airliner.
Read on.
December 30, 2008
Israel, a nation that was born out of Zionist terrorism, has launched massive airstrikes against targets in Gaza using high-tech weapons produced by the United States, a country that often has aided and abetted terrorism by its client military forces, such as Chile’s Operation Condor and the Nicaraguan contras, and even today harbors right-wing Cuban terrorists implicated in blowing up a civilian airliner.
Read on.
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Henry Kissinger: Eminence Noire
By Robert Parry
December 28, 2008
The recent release of 40-year-old tape recordings of President Lyndon Johnson complaining about “treason” by Richard Nixon’s campaign for sabotaging Vietnam peace talks in 1968 also reflects darkly on one of Washington’s enduring Wise Men, a person whose views are still sought and respected: former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger.
Read on.
December 28, 2008
The recent release of 40-year-old tape recordings of President Lyndon Johnson complaining about “treason” by Richard Nixon’s campaign for sabotaging Vietnam peace talks in 1968 also reflects darkly on one of Washington’s enduring Wise Men, a person whose views are still sought and respected: former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger.
Read on.
Saturday, December 27, 2008
The Dilemma That Is Gaza
By Morgan Strong
December 27, 2008 (Republished in view of new Israeli bombing raids)
Gaza was and is an anomaly, a piece of land left over from the calamity of history, created it seems in a moment of distraction.
Read on.
December 27, 2008 (Republished in view of new Israeli bombing raids)
Gaza was and is an anomaly, a piece of land left over from the calamity of history, created it seems in a moment of distraction.
Read on.
Friday, December 26, 2008
Two Dangerous Bush-Cheney Myths
By Robert Parry
December 26, 2008
As George W. Bush and Dick Cheney make their case for some positive legacy from the past eight years, two arguments are playing key roles: the notion that torturing terror suspects saved American lives and the belief that Bush’s Iraq troop “surge” transformed a disaster into something close to “victory.”
Read on.
December 26, 2008
As George W. Bush and Dick Cheney make their case for some positive legacy from the past eight years, two arguments are playing key roles: the notion that torturing terror suspects saved American lives and the belief that Bush’s Iraq troop “surge” transformed a disaster into something close to “victory.”
Read on.
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Washington Needs a Makeover
By Robert Parry
December 24, 2008
In four weeks, the long national nightmare of George W. Bush’s presidency will come to an end, but the big question then will be whether much will change – even with a solid Democratic majority in Congress and the nation’s first African-American President in the White House.
Read on.
December 24, 2008
In four weeks, the long national nightmare of George W. Bush’s presidency will come to an end, but the big question then will be whether much will change – even with a solid Democratic majority in Congress and the nation’s first African-American President in the White House.
Read on.
'Gran Torino': Clint Eastwood in Winter
By Lisa Pease
December 24, 2008
Clint Eastwood stars in and directs this amazing film. Fresh and original, hilarious and heart-rending, this film will seize a hold of your heart and not let go. And if you enjoy snappy dialog, consider "Gran Torino" this year's "Juno."
Read on.
December 24, 2008
Clint Eastwood stars in and directs this amazing film. Fresh and original, hilarious and heart-rending, this film will seize a hold of your heart and not let go. And if you enjoy snappy dialog, consider "Gran Torino" this year's "Juno."
Read on.
'Australia' Makes Worthy Apology
By Lisa Pease
December 22, 2008
December 22, 2008
Baz Luhrmann, the creative force behind "Moulin Rouge" and "Strictly Ballroom," has written and directed an epic valentine to 1940s-style films with his latest effort, "Australia."
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Democrats Need Their Own Cheney
By Brent Budowsky
December 23, 2008
Dick Cheney is what Margaret Thatcher called a conviction politician. Yes, with some luck, that may become a play on words, since I believe torture and warrantless eavesdropping violate the law – and the Vice President has proudly announced his role in those decisions by the Bush administration.
Read on.
December 23, 2008
Dick Cheney is what Margaret Thatcher called a conviction politician. Yes, with some luck, that may become a play on words, since I believe torture and warrantless eavesdropping violate the law – and the Vice President has proudly announced his role in those decisions by the Bush administration.
Read on.
Cheney Defends Waterboarding Order
By Jason Leopold
December 23, 2008
Vice President Dick Cheney, in another stunning admission during his campaign to burnish the Bush administration’s legacy, said he personally authorized the “enhanced interrogations” of 33 suspected terrorist detainees and approved the waterboarding of three so-called “high-value” prisoners.
Read on.
December 23, 2008
Vice President Dick Cheney, in another stunning admission during his campaign to burnish the Bush administration’s legacy, said he personally authorized the “enhanced interrogations” of 33 suspected terrorist detainees and approved the waterboarding of three so-called “high-value” prisoners.
Read on.
Monday, December 22, 2008
Cheney's Contempt for the Republic
By Robert Parry
December 22, 2008
As Vice President Dick Cheney goes public in exit interviews about his vision of expansive executive powers, it's getting clearer how close the American Republic came to suffering major deformity – if not destruction – in the past eight years.
Read on.
December 22, 2008
As Vice President Dick Cheney goes public in exit interviews about his vision of expansive executive powers, it's getting clearer how close the American Republic came to suffering major deformity – if not destruction – in the past eight years.
Read on.
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Obama Triangulates His 'Base'
By Brent Budowsky
December 20, 2008
Many of the cable-television Democrats are smirking, chortling and smiling as they say how clever it was for Barack Obama to name Rick Warren to give the Inaugural invocation.
Read on.
December 20, 2008
Many of the cable-television Democrats are smirking, chortling and smiling as they say how clever it was for Barack Obama to name Rick Warren to give the Inaugural invocation.
Read on.
Bush's Blind Eye to Afghan Corruption
By Michael Winship
December 20, 2008
Just when you’ve finally gotten your mind around the enormous $700 billion financial bailout – even if none of us are really sure where all that money’s going – there comes an even greater, breathtaking price tag.
Read on.
December 20, 2008
Just when you’ve finally gotten your mind around the enormous $700 billion financial bailout – even if none of us are really sure where all that money’s going – there comes an even greater, breathtaking price tag.
Read on.
Friday, December 19, 2008
Deterring Torture Through the Law
By Coleen Rowley and Ray McGovern
December 19, 2008
“First, let’s kill all the lawyers” may have made sense in that Shakespearian scene, but there is a far simpler solution to the legal ambiguities regarding what to do now about the torture approved by the administration of George W. Bush. Perhaps this variant: First, let’s have the lawyers review their notes from Criminal Justice 101.
Read on.
December 19, 2008
“First, let’s kill all the lawyers” may have made sense in that Shakespearian scene, but there is a far simpler solution to the legal ambiguities regarding what to do now about the torture approved by the administration of George W. Bush. Perhaps this variant: First, let’s have the lawyers review their notes from Criminal Justice 101.
Read on.
CIA Warned Condi on Niger Claim
By Jason Leopold
December 19, 2008
December 19, 2008
A high-ranking CIA official warned Condoleezza Rice in September 2002 that allegations about Iraq seeking yellowcake uranium from Niger were untrue and that she, as national security adviser, should stop President George W. Bush from citing the claim in making his case against Saddam Hussein’s regime, according to new evidence released by a House committee.
Read on.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Obama v. Washington Mythmaking
By Robert Parry
December 18, 2008
December 18, 2008
Over the years, Washington has evolved into a city of deceptions where semantics cloud reality and where a hazy mix of lies, half-truths and mythology can combine to unleash the devastating military might of the United States for no good reason.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Cheney Admits Detainee-Abuse Role
By Jason Leopold
December 16, 2008
Vice President Dick Cheney said for the first time Monday that he helped get the “process cleared” for the brutal interrogation program of suspected terrorists.
Read on.
December 16, 2008
Vice President Dick Cheney said for the first time Monday that he helped get the “process cleared” for the brutal interrogation program of suspected terrorists.
Read on.
Monday, December 15, 2008
Bush's Misguided Offensive Strategies
By Ivan Eland
December 16, 2008
General David Petraeus, the former military commander of U.S. forces in Iraq and author of the military’s most recent counterinsurgency manual, learned the lessons of the successful British counterinsurgency experience in Malaya in the 1950s.
Read on.
December 16, 2008
General David Petraeus, the former military commander of U.S. forces in Iraq and author of the military’s most recent counterinsurgency manual, learned the lessons of the successful British counterinsurgency experience in Malaya in the 1950s.
Read on.
The Dilemma That Is Gaza
By Morgan Strong
December 15, 2008
Gaza was and is an anomaly, a piece of land left over from the calamity of history, created it seems in a moment of distraction.
Read on.
December 15, 2008
Gaza was and is an anomaly, a piece of land left over from the calamity of history, created it seems in a moment of distraction.
Read on.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Obama and US-Russia Tensions
By Consortiumnews.com
December 14, 2008
With U.S.-Russian relations already at their lowest point since the end of the Cold War, President-elect Barack Obama has picked two key foreign policy officials who are likely to continue the Bush administration’s confrontational policies that have aggravated Russia and disrupted European security alignments and transatlantic relations.
Read on.
December 14, 2008
With U.S.-Russian relations already at their lowest point since the end of the Cold War, President-elect Barack Obama has picked two key foreign policy officials who are likely to continue the Bush administration’s confrontational policies that have aggravated Russia and disrupted European security alignments and transatlantic relations.
Read on.
Saturday, December 13, 2008
The Bigger Pay-to-Play Picture
By Brent Budowsky
December 13, 2008
Let’s ignore the righteous pundits who chortle sweet nothings about the scandal in Illinois and speak to a larger truth that they ignore.
Read on.
December 13, 2008
Let’s ignore the righteous pundits who chortle sweet nothings about the scandal in Illinois and speak to a larger truth that they ignore.
Read on.
Friday, December 12, 2008
Torture Trail Seen Starting with Bush
By Jason Leopold
December 12, 2008
A bipartisan congressional report traces the U.S. abuse of detainees at Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib to President George W. Bush’s Feb. 7, 2002, action memorandum that excluded “war on terror” suspects from Geneva Convention protections.
Read on.
December 12, 2008
A bipartisan congressional report traces the U.S. abuse of detainees at Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib to President George W. Bush’s Feb. 7, 2002, action memorandum that excluded “war on terror” suspects from Geneva Convention protections.
Read on.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
A Time Machine to Save America
By Robert Parry
December 11, 2008
Looking out over the bleak landscape of economic and national security disasters that George W. Bush is leaving behind, I sometimes think the best use of the trillion-dollar bailout funds might be to invent a time machine that could take the world back eight years to the fateful decision of the U.S. Supreme Court to give Bush the White House.
Read on.
December 11, 2008
Looking out over the bleak landscape of economic and national security disasters that George W. Bush is leaving behind, I sometimes think the best use of the trillion-dollar bailout funds might be to invent a time machine that could take the world back eight years to the fateful decision of the U.S. Supreme Court to give Bush the White House.
Read on.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Will Obama Buy Torture-Lite?
By Ray McGovern
December 11, 2008
You’ve got to hand it to them. Torture aficionados at the White House and CIA have conned key congressional leaders into insisting not only that torture-lite would be a swell idea, but advocating that the overseers of torture be kept on.
Read on.
December 11, 2008
You’ve got to hand it to them. Torture aficionados at the White House and CIA have conned key congressional leaders into insisting not only that torture-lite would be a swell idea, but advocating that the overseers of torture be kept on.
Read on.
Tuesday, December 09, 2008
We All Failed Gary Webb
By Robert Parry
December 10, 2008
Since Gary Webb’s suicide four years ago, I have written annual retrospectives about the late journalist’s important contribution to the historical record -- he forced devastating admissions from the CIA about drug trafficking by the Nicaraguan contra rebels under the protection of the Reagan administration in the 1980s.
Read on.
December 10, 2008
Since Gary Webb’s suicide four years ago, I have written annual retrospectives about the late journalist’s important contribution to the historical record -- he forced devastating admissions from the CIA about drug trafficking by the Nicaraguan contra rebels under the protection of the Reagan administration in the 1980s.
Read on.
Condi's Advice to India on Terror
By Ivan Eland
December 9, 2008
As rage coursed through India after the Mumbai terrorist attacks, Condoleezza Rice, the Bush administration’s Secretary of State, flew to India and cautioned the Indian government on avoiding a knee-jerk and counterproductive response.
Read on.
December 9, 2008
As rage coursed through India after the Mumbai terrorist attacks, Condoleezza Rice, the Bush administration’s Secretary of State, flew to India and cautioned the Indian government on avoiding a knee-jerk and counterproductive response.
Read on.
Monday, December 08, 2008
The Significance of Nixon's 'Treason'
By Robert Parry
December 9, 2008
December 9, 2008
You might have thought that when audiotapes were released of President Lyndon Johnson accusing Richard Nixon’s 1968 campaign of “treason” for sabotaging Vietnam peace talks – as 500,000 U.S. troops sat in a war zone – the major U.S. news media would be all over it, providing insight and context.
Saturday, December 06, 2008
Mukasey's 'Nixon Defense' of Bush
By Jason Leopold
December 6, 2008
When it comes to protecting George W. Bush and his administration, Attorney General Michael Mukasey is stretching legal arguments as far as his predecessor Alberto Gonzales ever did – now even invoking the “Nixon Defense” for justifying presidential wrongdoing.
Read on.
December 6, 2008
When it comes to protecting George W. Bush and his administration, Attorney General Michael Mukasey is stretching legal arguments as far as his predecessor Alberto Gonzales ever did – now even invoking the “Nixon Defense” for justifying presidential wrongdoing.
Read on.
Friday, December 05, 2008
Everybody Needs 'Milk'
By Lisa Pease
December 5, 2008
Sean Penn is a standout in this story of assassinated gay-rights politician Harvey Milk, says Lisa Pease.
Read on.
December 5, 2008
Sean Penn is a standout in this story of assassinated gay-rights politician Harvey Milk, says Lisa Pease.
Read on.
Nixon's 'Treason' and Historical Gaps
By Robert Parry
December 5, 2008
In listening to newly released audiotapes of President Lyndon Johnson, the U.S. news media has stumbled upon one of those unmentionable chapters of recent American history, Richard Nixon’s sabotage of the Paris peace talks in 1968.
Read on.
December 5, 2008
In listening to newly released audiotapes of President Lyndon Johnson, the U.S. news media has stumbled upon one of those unmentionable chapters of recent American history, Richard Nixon’s sabotage of the Paris peace talks in 1968.
Read on.
Thursday, December 04, 2008
Saving US Autos the American Way
By Brent Budowsky
December 4, 2008
Let's build a patriot car within five years that moves into the 21st century with leapfrogging technology, historic gains in fuel efficiency and new standards of automotive excellence.
Read on.
December 4, 2008
Let's build a patriot car within five years that moves into the 21st century with leapfrogging technology, historic gains in fuel efficiency and new standards of automotive excellence.
Read on.
Tuesday, December 02, 2008
Obama v. King, on War and Peace
By Peter Dyer
December 3, 2008
Can we successfully fight for social and economic justice in the United States while simultaneously escalating a war in Asia? Barack Obama says we can. But 41 years ago, Dr Martin Luther King Jr. warned against doing exactly that.
Read on.
December 3, 2008
Can we successfully fight for social and economic justice in the United States while simultaneously escalating a war in Asia? Barack Obama says we can. But 41 years ago, Dr Martin Luther King Jr. warned against doing exactly that.
Read on.
Thinking Bigger on US Autos
By William John Cox
December 2, 2008
When the Big Three CEOs previously descended on Washington in their fancy corporate jets with inflated egos and high hopes for a juicy piece of the government's $8.6 trillion corporate welfare pie, they were sent home hungry to do their homework and to write an essay about how they plan to spend bailout funds.
Read on.
December 2, 2008
When the Big Three CEOs previously descended on Washington in their fancy corporate jets with inflated egos and high hopes for a juicy piece of the government's $8.6 trillion corporate welfare pie, they were sent home hungry to do their homework and to write an essay about how they plan to spend bailout funds.
Read on.
Holder Must Balance Security, Rights
By Jason Leopold
December 2, 2008
One of the top challenges facing Barack Obama’s Justice Department will be striking a balance between fighting terrorism and protecting individual civil liberties, says a recent memo from the department’s inspector general.
Read on.
December 2, 2008
One of the top challenges facing Barack Obama’s Justice Department will be striking a balance between fighting terrorism and protecting individual civil liberties, says a recent memo from the department’s inspector general.
Read on.
Monday, December 01, 2008
Bush Still Lies about Iraqi Inspections
By Robert Parry
December 2, 2008
December 2, 2008
In what’s been called George W. Bush’s first exit interview, the outgoing President continues a lie that he first unveiled several months after launching the Iraq War, justifying the invasion by claiming that Saddam Hussein didn’t let the U.N. inspectors in.
Obama's Fateful Choice of Gates
By Robert Parry
December 1, 2008
Barack Obama may have thought he was going out on a limb – at least with the Democratic “base” – by keeping Bush Family operative Robert Gates on as Defense Secretary, but it turns out that Gates sees himself as doing a favor for the President-elect.
Read on.
December 1, 2008
Barack Obama may have thought he was going out on a limb – at least with the Democratic “base” – by keeping Bush Family operative Robert Gates on as Defense Secretary, but it turns out that Gates sees himself as doing a favor for the President-elect.
Read on.
Obama's Risky 'Team of Rivals'
By Lisa Pease
December 1, 2008
It’s good to see President-elect Barack Obama studying history. How wonderful to have a President who actually reads book such as Doris Kearns Goodwin’s A Team of Rivals about Abraham Lincoln’s inclusion of political opponents in his war-time Cabinet.
Read on.
December 1, 2008
It’s good to see President-elect Barack Obama studying history. How wonderful to have a President who actually reads book such as Doris Kearns Goodwin’s A Team of Rivals about Abraham Lincoln’s inclusion of political opponents in his war-time Cabinet.
Read on.
Saturday, November 29, 2008
'Slumdog Millionaire' Tells a Tale
By Lisa Pease
November 29, 2008
“Slumdog Millionaire” may prove to be the surprise movie hit of the year.
Read on.
November 29, 2008
“Slumdog Millionaire” may prove to be the surprise movie hit of the year.
Read on.
The Establishment's Thanksgiving
By Robert Parry
November 29, 2008
November 29, 2008
Surprisingly this Thanksgiving, the Washington Establishment had a lot to give thanks for. And its chief mouthpiece – the Washington Post’s neoconservative editorial page – was glowing over its good fortune in the three-plus weeks since Barack Obama's election.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Thanksgiving Check on America's Food
By Michael Winship
November 27, 2008
The writer and activist Michael Pollan has no interest in becoming Barack Obama's Secretary of Agriculture, thank you very much, even though there are a lot of people who think he'd be perfect for the job.
Read on.
November 27, 2008
The writer and activist Michael Pollan has no interest in becoming Barack Obama's Secretary of Agriculture, thank you very much, even though there are a lot of people who think he'd be perfect for the job.
Read on.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Kafka and Uighurs at Guantanamo
By Ray McGovern
November 26, 2008
“There is no right to due process for an alien who is not here,” insisted the 44th Solicitor General of the United States, Gregory G. Garre, proudly representing the President of the United States, George W. Bush.
Read on.
November 26, 2008
“There is no right to due process for an alien who is not here,” insisted the 44th Solicitor General of the United States, Gregory G. Garre, proudly representing the President of the United States, George W. Bush.
Read on.
Washington Old Guard Wins on Gates
By Brent Budowsky
November 26, 2008
November 26, 2008
With Bob Gates as Secretary of Defense and Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State, the incoming Obama administration is shaping up to be a reunion of strong supporters of the Iraq War.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Seeking Integrity at the CIA
By Ray McGovern
November 26, 2008
November 26, 2008
The Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) must be a person whose previous professional performance has been distinguished by unimpeachable integrity and independence. The director must have the courage of his or her own convictions.
Obama Can End Iraq War 'Responsibly'
By Peter Dyer
November 26, 2008
One of Barack Obama's most compelling and popular campaign promises was his pledge to end the war in Iraq “responsibly.” But what does “responsibly” mean in this context?
Read on.
November 26, 2008
One of Barack Obama's most compelling and popular campaign promises was his pledge to end the war in Iraq “responsibly.” But what does “responsibly” mean in this context?
Read on.
Obama, Ask the Kremlin about Gates
By Robert Parry
November 25, 2008
Nearly 16 years ago, during the last transition from a President Bush to a Democrat, Moscow made an extraordinary gesture to Washington: The Kremlin supplied a summary of its intelligence information about secret U.S.-Iranian contacts in the 1980s.
Read on.
November 25, 2008
Nearly 16 years ago, during the last transition from a President Bush to a Democrat, Moscow made an extraordinary gesture to Washington: The Kremlin supplied a summary of its intelligence information about secret U.S.-Iranian contacts in the 1980s.
Read on.
Monday, November 24, 2008
Iraq War Foes Get Short Shrift
By Robert Parry
November 24, 2008
Arguably, Barack Obama’s most promising promise of the presidential campaign was his vow to not just end the war in Iraq but “to end the mindset that got us into war.”
Read on.
November 24, 2008
Arguably, Barack Obama’s most promising promise of the presidential campaign was his vow to not just end the war in Iraq but “to end the mindset that got us into war.”
Read on.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Gates and the Urge to Surge
By Ray McGovern
November 23, 2008
It may become a biennial ritual. Every two years, if the commander-in-chief (or the commander-in-chief-elect) says he wants to throw more troops into an unwinnable war for no clear reason other than his political advantage, panderer-in-chief Robert Gates will shout “Outstanding!”
Read on.
November 23, 2008
It may become a biennial ritual. Every two years, if the commander-in-chief (or the commander-in-chief-elect) says he wants to throw more troops into an unwinnable war for no clear reason other than his political advantage, panderer-in-chief Robert Gates will shout “Outstanding!”
Read on.
Friday, November 21, 2008
The GOP Judge Who Bolted on Gitmo
By Robert Parry
November 22, 2008
To understand how thin the evidence must have been against five Algerians held at Guantanamo Bay for nearly seven years – and who were just ordered released by a U.S. District Court judge – you have to know the history of that judge, Richard J. Leon.
Read on.
November 22, 2008
To understand how thin the evidence must have been against five Algerians held at Guantanamo Bay for nearly seven years – and who were just ordered released by a U.S. District Court judge – you have to know the history of that judge, Richard J. Leon.
Read on.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Obama Team Tilts Toward Gates
By Jason Leopold
November 20, 2008
November 20, 2008
Barack Obama’s Pentagon transition team is sitting down with Defense Secretary Robert Gates in a move that some Beltway observers believe signals that the President-elect does plan to keep Gates on despite protests from Iraq War opponents.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
What Must Be Done Now!
By Robert Parry
November 20. 2008
Having spent more than three decades in Washington, I’ve seen enough mistakes made – and opportunities missed – for a lifetime. So, at this turning point in American history, I’m venturing beyond my normal role as reporter to offer a few ideas about what must be done now.
Read on.
November 20. 2008
Having spent more than three decades in Washington, I’ve seen enough mistakes made – and opportunities missed – for a lifetime. So, at this turning point in American history, I’m venturing beyond my normal role as reporter to offer a few ideas about what must be done now.
Read on.
Robert Gates: As Bad as Rumsfeld?
By Ray McGovern
November 19, 2008
"As Bad As Rumsfeld?" The title jars, doesn't it? The more so, since Defense Secretary Robert Gates found his predecessor, Donald Rumsfeld, such an easy act to follow.
Read on.
November 19, 2008
"As Bad As Rumsfeld?" The title jars, doesn't it? The more so, since Defense Secretary Robert Gates found his predecessor, Donald Rumsfeld, such an easy act to follow.
Read on.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
A View of Obama from Middle Earth
By Michael Winship
November 18, 2008
QUEENSTOWN, New Zealand – You might think it hard to think about politics when you’re in a place as extraordinary as this on New Zealand’s South Island.
Read on.
November 18, 2008
QUEENSTOWN, New Zealand – You might think it hard to think about politics when you’re in a place as extraordinary as this on New Zealand’s South Island.
Read on.
Detroit-Washington Shotgun Wedding
By Brian Barger
November 18, 2008
American automakers are sinking fast in a quagmire of their own making.
Read on.
November 18, 2008
American automakers are sinking fast in a quagmire of their own making.
Read on.
An FDR War Cabinet
By Brent Budowsky
November 18, 2008
President-elect Obama will take office with a mission similar to Franklin Roosevelt’s: establishing both a war Cabinet and an emergency economic Cabinet.
Read on.
November 18, 2008
President-elect Obama will take office with a mission similar to Franklin Roosevelt’s: establishing both a war Cabinet and an emergency economic Cabinet.
Read on.
Monday, November 17, 2008
Obama Risks Clinton-Era Mistakes
By Robert Parry
November 17, 2008
November 17, 2008
After a masterful campaign, Barack Obama seems headed toward some fateful mistakes as he assembles his administration by heeding the advice of Washington’s Democratic insider community, a collective group that represents little “change you can believe in.”
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Predictable Disaster of George W. Bush
By Robert Parry
November 16, 2008
In his trademark goofy way, George W. Bush explained why he supported a bailout of the U.S. financial markets, saying he was “a free-market person, until you're told that if you don't take decisive measures then it's conceivable that our country could go into a depression greater than the Great Depression.”
Read on.
November 16, 2008
In his trademark goofy way, George W. Bush explained why he supported a bailout of the U.S. financial markets, saying he was “a free-market person, until you're told that if you don't take decisive measures then it's conceivable that our country could go into a depression greater than the Great Depression.”
Read on.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Lieberman's Weak Record on Oversight
By Jason Leopold
November 13, 2008
November 13, 2008
Most of the attention on whether Joe Lieberman should be ousted from his Senate committee chairmanship has focused on his disloyalty to Democrats and his control of homeland security issues, but there’s also the question of how well he has handled his panel’s broad government oversight responsibilities.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
The Danger of Keeping Robert Gates
By Robert Parry
November 13, 2008
Press reports say Barack Obama may retain George W. Bush’s Defense Secretary Robert Gates as a gesture to war-time continuity, bipartisanship and respect for the Washington insider community, which has embraced Gates as something of a new Wise Man.
Read on.
November 13, 2008
Press reports say Barack Obama may retain George W. Bush’s Defense Secretary Robert Gates as a gesture to war-time continuity, bipartisanship and respect for the Washington insider community, which has embraced Gates as something of a new Wise Man.
Read on.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Obama: Beware the Lesson of '93
By Robert Parry
November 11, 2008
Barack Obama seeks a new era of bipartisanship, but he should take heed of what happened to the last Democrat in the White House – Bill Clinton – in 1993 when he sought to appease Republicans by shelving pending investigations into Reagan-Bush-I-era wrongdoing and hoped for some reciprocity.
Read on.
November 11, 2008
Barack Obama seeks a new era of bipartisanship, but he should take heed of what happened to the last Democrat in the White House – Bill Clinton – in 1993 when he sought to appease Republicans by shelving pending investigations into Reagan-Bush-I-era wrongdoing and hoped for some reciprocity.
Read on.
Sunday, November 09, 2008
Can the Republicans Change?
By Robert Parry
November 9, 2008
Amid the global euphoria surrounding Barack Obama’s victory – and the hopeful talk about a new bipartisanship in Washington – the Democrats are forgetting a powerful truth: modern Republicans are tied inextricably to slash-and-burn politics.
Read on.
November 9, 2008
Amid the global euphoria surrounding Barack Obama’s victory – and the hopeful talk about a new bipartisanship in Washington – the Democrats are forgetting a powerful truth: modern Republicans are tied inextricably to slash-and-burn politics.
Read on.
Friday, November 07, 2008
Obama Shows the Future, the Past
By Michael Winship
November 7, 2008
Whether you’re Democrat, Republican or Mugwump, you look at Tuesday night’s remarkable election results and the nationwide reaction and can’t help but wonder at how far our young country has come – and, at the same time, how long it’s taken.
Read on.
November 7, 2008
Whether you’re Democrat, Republican or Mugwump, you look at Tuesday night’s remarkable election results and the nationwide reaction and can’t help but wonder at how far our young country has come – and, at the same time, how long it’s taken.
Read on.
President-elect's Queries for Briefers
By Ray McGovern
November 7, 2008
November 7, 2008
After a week lecturing at Kansas State University and then in Kansas City, Missouri, I could not shake the feeling that what Kansas and Missouri need most is the equivalent of Radio Free Europe, which was so effective in spreading truth around inside Eastern Europe during the Cold War.
Obama Demands Iraq War Changes
By Jason Leopold
November 7, 2008
November 7, 2008
President-elect Barack Obama, in one of the first policy statements of his transition, demanded that the Bush administration either submit the proposed U.S.-Iraq “status-of-forces agreement” to Congress or leave an opening for him to change it next year.
Wednesday, November 05, 2008
At the White House, an Obama Party
By Robert Parry
November 5, 2008
November 5, 2008
Around midnight, when the election outcome was clear, thousands of young people walked and skipped and ran to the north gates of the White House, celebrating not just the election of Barack Obama but the repudiation of George W. Bush.
Tuesday, November 04, 2008
Palin Gets Positive 'Troopergate' Ruling
By Jason Leopold
November 4, 2008
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin got the favorable ruling she hoped for when she referred the “Troopergate” controversy to the state personnel board whose three members are gubernatorial appointees. Their investigator rejected the findings of an earlier legislative inquiry that Palin had abused her power.
Read on.
November 4, 2008
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin got the favorable ruling she hoped for when she referred the “Troopergate” controversy to the state personnel board whose three members are gubernatorial appointees. Their investigator rejected the findings of an earlier legislative inquiry that Palin had abused her power.
Read on.
Monday, November 03, 2008
Fear and Racism on the Campaign Trail
By Brian Barger
November 3, 2008
Visitors are greeted at the edge of Virginia’s Caroline County with a giant billboard proclaiming it “McCain Country.” It’s also become a call-to-canvassing priority for the Obama campaign, which sees this as a central battleground to win the swing state.
Read on.
November 3, 2008
Visitors are greeted at the edge of Virginia’s Caroline County with a giant billboard proclaiming it “McCain Country.” It’s also become a call-to-canvassing priority for the Obama campaign, which sees this as a central battleground to win the swing state.
Read on.
Sunday, November 02, 2008
McCain's 'Real-ly Stupid' America
By Robert Parry
November 2, 2008
Sarah Palin may be wrong about the existence of a “real” America where people are decent and patriotic – and a “fake” America where they’re not. But John McCain’s election chances now appear to hinge on the existence of a “real-ly stupid” America.
Read on.
November 2, 2008
Sarah Palin may be wrong about the existence of a “real” America where people are decent and patriotic – and a “fake” America where they’re not. But John McCain’s election chances now appear to hinge on the existence of a “real-ly stupid” America.
Read on.
Saturday, November 01, 2008
Sounds of Voting and Check-Writing
By Bill Moyers and Michael Winship
November 1, 2008
Our Manhattan offices are in a building that also houses the New York City Board of Elections. So this is the season when we hear above our heads the sounds of heavy objects rolling across the floor into freight elevators.
Read on.
November 1, 2008
Our Manhattan offices are in a building that also houses the New York City Board of Elections. So this is the season when we hear above our heads the sounds of heavy objects rolling across the floor into freight elevators.
Read on.
Friday, October 31, 2008
Justice Department Balks on Ohio Vote
By Jason Leopold
October 31, 2008
Despite pressure from Ohio Republicans and President George W. Bush, the Justice Department has declined to intervene in a voter dispute in Ohio that could have purged at least 200,000 voters from registration rolls.
Read on.
October 31, 2008
Despite pressure from Ohio Republicans and President George W. Bush, the Justice Department has declined to intervene in a voter dispute in Ohio that could have purged at least 200,000 voters from registration rolls.
Read on.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
More 'Troopergate' Problems for Palin
By Jason Leopold
October 31, 2008
Sarah Palin faces another likely setback in an investigation into whether she entangled her duties as Alaska governor in a family feud with her ex-brother-in-law, a state trooper, according to a senior state legislator. But the new finding is not expected before next Tuesday’s presidential election.
Read on.
October 31, 2008
Sarah Palin faces another likely setback in an investigation into whether she entangled her duties as Alaska governor in a family feud with her ex-brother-in-law, a state trooper, according to a senior state legislator. But the new finding is not expected before next Tuesday’s presidential election.
Read on.
The New Technology of Repression
By Robert Parry
October 30, 2008
In its final months, the Bush administration is pressing ahead with a new generation of spy technology designed to strengthen the U.S. military’s ability to detect and eliminate suspected insurgents in Iraq and elsewhere based on computer analyses of their movements and activities.
Read on.
October 30, 2008
In its final months, the Bush administration is pressing ahead with a new generation of spy technology designed to strengthen the U.S. military’s ability to detect and eliminate suspected insurgents in Iraq and elsewhere based on computer analyses of their movements and activities.
Read on.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Two Troubling Election Arguments
By Robert Parry
October 29, 2008
Eight years ago in the Bush-Gore race, there were two election arguments that I heard often that now have resurfaced in the Obama-McCain contest as reasons to vote for third-party candidates.
Read on.
October 29, 2008
Eight years ago in the Bush-Gore race, there were two election arguments that I heard often that now have resurfaced in the Obama-McCain contest as reasons to vote for third-party candidates.
Read on.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
The A-Word Intrudes on Campaign '08
By William Loren Katz
October 28, 2008
Two white skinhead believers in “white power” who allegedly planned to assassinate Barack Obama in a shooting spree that also targeted African-American school children have been arrested by federal authorities in Tennessee.
Read on.
October 28, 2008
Two white skinhead believers in “white power” who allegedly planned to assassinate Barack Obama in a shooting spree that also targeted African-American school children have been arrested by federal authorities in Tennessee.
Read on.
Monday, October 27, 2008
The Logic of al-Qaeda's McCain Choice
By Ivan Eland
October 28, 2008
In the battle for endorsements in the presidential campaign, Barack Obama snared a strong nod from former Secretary of State Colin Powell – and John McCain received an equally strong recommendation from al-Qaeda.
Read on.
October 28, 2008
In the battle for endorsements in the presidential campaign, Barack Obama snared a strong nod from former Secretary of State Colin Powell – and John McCain received an equally strong recommendation from al-Qaeda.
Read on.
Bush's Looming Defeat in Iraq
By Robert Parry
October 27, 2008
John McCain continues to talk about a U.S. “victory” in Iraq and Sarah Palin baits Barack Obama for not using the word “win” when he discusses the war. But the hard reality facing whoever becomes President is a looming strategic defeat.
Read on.
October 27, 2008
John McCain continues to talk about a U.S. “victory” in Iraq and Sarah Palin baits Barack Obama for not using the word “win” when he discusses the war. But the hard reality facing whoever becomes President is a looming strategic defeat.
Read on.
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Bush Intervenes in Ohio Voter Dispute
By Jason Leopold
October 25, 2008
In a déjà vu moment from Campaign 2006, President George W. Bush again is asking his Attorney General to launch an investigation into the registration of hundreds of thousands of new voters, many of whom are expected to vote Democratic.
Read on.
October 25, 2008
In a déjà vu moment from Campaign 2006, President George W. Bush again is asking his Attorney General to launch an investigation into the registration of hundreds of thousands of new voters, many of whom are expected to vote Democratic.
Read on.
Military Voices Like Colin Powell's
By Julie Bergman Sender
October 25, 2008
October 25, 2008
I have been hearing voices in my head for the last four years. No, I have not been driven completely around the bend by eight years of the Bush administration.
Friday, October 24, 2008
For Whom the Bailout Tolls
By Michael Winship
October 24, 2008
During the Stock Market Crash in 1929, that curtain raising overture to the Great Depression, stories abounded of Wall Street brokers rushing to their office windows and leaping to their deaths. But according to the late John Kenneth Galbraith and other economic historians, those accounts of suicide were, by and large, fairy tales.
Read on.
October 24, 2008
During the Stock Market Crash in 1929, that curtain raising overture to the Great Depression, stories abounded of Wall Street brokers rushing to their office windows and leaping to their deaths. But according to the late John Kenneth Galbraith and other economic historians, those accounts of suicide were, by and large, fairy tales.
Read on.
McCain Enflames 'Partisan Rancor'
By Robert Parry
October 24, 2008
Perhaps the biggest lie of John McCain’s campaign – from a list that is long and growing daily – was his claim during his acceptance speech in early September that he would be the leader who would end “partisan rancor.”
Read on.
October 24, 2008
Perhaps the biggest lie of John McCain’s campaign – from a list that is long and growing daily – was his claim during his acceptance speech in early September that he would be the leader who would end “partisan rancor.”
Read on.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
McCain-Pundits: End of a Love Affair?
By Brent Budowsky
October 23, 2008
October 23, 2008
When John McCain famously said the press was part of his political “base,” he was right. The press has been in love with John McCain for years, and McCain has benefited from the adoration and friendly bias of the press for almost his entire career.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Al-Qaeda Leaders Root for McCain
By Robert Parry
October 22, 2008
Gloating over the U.S. economic crisis, al-Qaeda strategists are telling each other that a John McCain victory is crucial if the slide of their American enemies is to continue and possibly accelerate.
Read on.
October 22, 2008
Gloating over the U.S. economic crisis, al-Qaeda strategists are telling each other that a John McCain victory is crucial if the slide of their American enemies is to continue and possibly accelerate.
Read on.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
New Front in Palin's 'Troopergate' Mess
By Jason Leopold
October 21, 2008
In a new front for Gov. Sarah Palin’s “Troopergate” troubles, a top Alaska Democratic lawmaker has called on the state’s attorney general to appoint an independent investigator to probe whether operatives in Sen. John McCain’s presidential campaign broke Alaska’s criminal witness-tampering laws.
Read on.
October 21, 2008
In a new front for Gov. Sarah Palin’s “Troopergate” troubles, a top Alaska Democratic lawmaker has called on the state’s attorney general to appoint an independent investigator to probe whether operatives in Sen. John McCain’s presidential campaign broke Alaska’s criminal witness-tampering laws.
Read on.
Palin, the Energy Expert?
By Barbara Koeppel
October 21, 2008
October 21, 2008
Gov. Sarah Palin’s claim of energy expertise – and her promise to send Alaskan natural gas through a new pipeline to heat homes in the Lower 48 – may be as dubious as her boast about foreign policy expertise based on Alaska’s proximity to Russia.
Monday, October 20, 2008
Why Listen to Colin Powell, or Brokaw?
By Robert Parry
October 20, 2008
Retired Gen. Colin Powell made what sounded like a heartfelt endorsement of Barack Obama – hailing the Democrat’s presidential qualities and criticizing the nasty tone of John McCain’s campaign. But why should anyone care what George W. Bush’s first Secretary of State thinks?
Read on.
October 20, 2008
Retired Gen. Colin Powell made what sounded like a heartfelt endorsement of Barack Obama – hailing the Democrat’s presidential qualities and criticizing the nasty tone of John McCain’s campaign. But why should anyone care what George W. Bush’s first Secretary of State thinks?
Read on.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
The GOP's 'FBI-Is-Investigating' Smear
By Robert Parry
October 19, 2008
Trailing in the polls with the election barely two weeks away, John McCain has dug deep into the Lee Atwater/Karl Rove playbook, now portraying Barack Obama as a combination of class-warfare socialist, terrorist fellow-traveler and crooked pol.
Read on.
October 19, 2008
Trailing in the polls with the election barely two weeks away, John McCain has dug deep into the Lee Atwater/Karl Rove playbook, now portraying Barack Obama as a combination of class-warfare socialist, terrorist fellow-traveler and crooked pol.
Read on.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Attack on Iran Off the Table?
By Ray McGovern
October 18, 2008
On Sept. 23, the neo-conservative chiefs of the Washington Post’s editorial page mourned, in a tone much like what one hears on the death of a close friend, that “a military strike by the United States or Israel [on Iran is not] likely in the coming months.”
Read on.
October 18, 2008
On Sept. 23, the neo-conservative chiefs of the Washington Post’s editorial page mourned, in a tone much like what one hears on the death of a close friend, that “a military strike by the United States or Israel [on Iran is not] likely in the coming months.”
Read on.
Friday, October 17, 2008
The Republican ACORN Hoax
By Michael Winship
October 18, 2008
ACORN and election fraud. Hang on. As soon as I can get the alligator that crawled out of my toilet back into the New York City sewers where it belongs, I can turn my attention to this very important topic.
Read on.
October 18, 2008
ACORN and election fraud. Hang on. As soon as I can get the alligator that crawled out of my toilet back into the New York City sewers where it belongs, I can turn my attention to this very important topic.
Read on.
GOP Exploits ACORN Probe
By Jason Leopold
October 17, 2008
October 17, 2008
In a replay of a tactic used to help secure President George W. Bush’s second term, Republicans – aided by investigative agencies of the federal government – are making a campaign issue out of voter-registration forms with fake names like “Mickey Mouse.”
Read on.Thursday, October 16, 2008
Is John McCain Losing It?
By Robert Parry
October 16, 2008
October 16, 2008
One danger of a political campaign is not just losing an election, but losing one’s dignity, becoming a laughingstock or a caricature. After three flailing debate performances – including Wednesday night’s twitchy anger – that is a danger now confronting John McCain.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Are You Palling Around with Terrorists?
By Nat Parry
October 15, 2008
Although John McCain and Sarah Palin have toned down their rhetoric when it comes to associating Barack Obama with “domestic terrorist” Bill Ayers, the damage may already be done -- and not just to Obama's reputation.
Read on.
October 15, 2008
Although John McCain and Sarah Palin have toned down their rhetoric when it comes to associating Barack Obama with “domestic terrorist” Bill Ayers, the damage may already be done -- and not just to Obama's reputation.
Read on.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
US Journalists & War-Crimes Guilt
By Peter Dyer
October 15, 2008
October 16 is an anniversary that should hold considerable interest for American journalists who have written in support of ”Operation Iraqi Freedom” – the invasion and occupation of Iraq.
Read on.
October 15, 2008
October 16 is an anniversary that should hold considerable interest for American journalists who have written in support of ”Operation Iraqi Freedom” – the invasion and occupation of Iraq.
Read on.
Palin's New 'Troopergate' Troubles
By Jason Leopold
October 14, 2008
In defiance of the facts, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin claims that the Oct. 10 investigative report on “Troopergate” cleared her of both legal and ethical wrongdoing, but the fallout from the case continues to expand with lawsuits now likely against the Republican vice presidential nominee.
Read on.
October 14, 2008
In defiance of the facts, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin claims that the Oct. 10 investigative report on “Troopergate” cleared her of both legal and ethical wrongdoing, but the fallout from the case continues to expand with lawsuits now likely against the Republican vice presidential nominee.
Read on.
Monday, October 13, 2008
How America Fell
By Robert Parry
October 14, 2008
As the American people pick through the wreckage left by the Bush administration, many may wonder how the most powerful nation on earth got so far off track. An illustrative case study is the bogus story of Al Gore’s “Chinagate” scandal.
Read on.
October 14, 2008
As the American people pick through the wreckage left by the Bush administration, many may wonder how the most powerful nation on earth got so far off track. An illustrative case study is the bogus story of Al Gore’s “Chinagate” scandal.
Read on.
New York, Slavery & the Truth
By William Loren Katz
October 13, 2008
October 13, 2008
As some southern legislatures, prodded by African-American representatives, expressed regret over their states' role in slave trading and exploiting slave labor, a kind of “truth and reconciliation” movement has stirred educators.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Why Are McCain Backers So Angry?
By Robert Parry
October 12, 2008
From Republicans at political rallies to GOP lawmakers on TV talk shows, McCain-Palin supporters are angry, very angry – and they seem to think their anger justifies whatever they do: from calling Barack Obama a “terrorist” to shouting “kill him” and “off with his head” – to getting huffy when their violent rhetoric is challenged.
Read on.
October 12, 2008
From Republicans at political rallies to GOP lawmakers on TV talk shows, McCain-Palin supporters are angry, very angry – and they seem to think their anger justifies whatever they do: from calling Barack Obama a “terrorist” to shouting “kill him” and “off with his head” – to getting huffy when their violent rhetoric is challenged.
Read on.
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Gov. Palin Cited in Ethics Violation
By Jason Leopold
October 11, 2008
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin abused her authority and broke state ethics laws by sanctioning a campaign to pressure subordinates to fire her former brother-in-law, state trooper Mike Wooten, according to an investigative report released by state lawmakers.
Read on.
October 11, 2008
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin abused her authority and broke state ethics laws by sanctioning a campaign to pressure subordinates to fire her former brother-in-law, state trooper Mike Wooten, according to an investigative report released by state lawmakers.
Read on.
Friday, October 10, 2008
Todd Palin Defends Trooper Actions
By Jason Leopold
October 10, 2008
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s husband admits he was obsessed with getting his wife’s estranged brother-in-law fired from the state troopers, so much so that Gov. Palin once told him to “stop talking about it with her,” according to a 25-page sworn affidavit given to a state investigator.
Read on.
October 10, 2008
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s husband admits he was obsessed with getting his wife’s estranged brother-in-law fired from the state troopers, so much so that Gov. Palin once told him to “stop talking about it with her,” according to a 25-page sworn affidavit given to a state investigator.
Read on.
Thursday, October 09, 2008
Should Palin Forgive Bill Ayers?
By Sherwood Ross
October 10, 2008
The desperation of the McCain camp over its sagging fortunes is nowhere better revealed than in its ridiculous attacks on Barack Obama for sitting on the same board of a Chicago philanthropy with William Ayers, a onetime bad boy in the Weather Underground.
Read on.
October 10, 2008
The desperation of the McCain camp over its sagging fortunes is nowhere better revealed than in its ridiculous attacks on Barack Obama for sitting on the same board of a Chicago philanthropy with William Ayers, a onetime bad boy in the Weather Underground.
Read on.
McCain Detours to the Low Road
By Michael Winship
October 9, 2008
And so it has begun. The final month of the presidential race, the campaign that feels as if it commenced some time during the Coolidge administration.
Read on.
October 9, 2008
And so it has begun. The final month of the presidential race, the campaign that feels as if it commenced some time during the Coolidge administration.
Read on.
McCain-Palin Put 'Country Last'
By Robert Parry
October 9, 2008
Once Barack Obama emerged as a viable candidate for President – given the nation's grim history of violence toward African-American political figures – the worries began about Obama’s safety, and they have not gone away.
Read on.
October 9, 2008
Once Barack Obama emerged as a viable candidate for President – given the nation's grim history of violence toward African-American political figures – the worries began about Obama’s safety, and they have not gone away.
Read on.
Tuesday, October 07, 2008
GOP Judges Aid White House Cover-up
By Jason Leopold
October 7, 2008
A Republican-dominated federal Appeals Court panel has blocked the enforcement of a congressional subpoena, effectively guaranteeing that George W. Bush will leave the White House without his senior aides having to explain the firings of nine prosecutors.
Read on.
October 7, 2008
A Republican-dominated federal Appeals Court panel has blocked the enforcement of a congressional subpoena, effectively guaranteeing that George W. Bush will leave the White House without his senior aides having to explain the firings of nine prosecutors.
Read on.
Monday, October 06, 2008
Election '08: Here Comes the Sludge
By Robert Parry
October 6, 2008
Sarah Palin’s charge that Barack Obama is “palling around with terrorists” may mark the descent of Campaign 2008 into the sewer that has marked so many other recent U.S. elections. But her comments operate on another level, too, continuing to brand anyone who criticizes George W. Bush’s neoconservative foreign policy as un-American.
Read on.
October 6, 2008
Sarah Palin’s charge that Barack Obama is “palling around with terrorists” may mark the descent of Campaign 2008 into the sewer that has marked so many other recent U.S. elections. But her comments operate on another level, too, continuing to brand anyone who criticizes George W. Bush’s neoconservative foreign policy as un-American.
Read on.
Sunday, October 05, 2008
Alaska GOP's Last-Ditch Palin Defense
By Jason Leopold
October 5, 2008
Only days before the scheduled release of an investigative report on whether Sarah Palin abused her power as Alaska’s governor in the “Troopergate” case, six pro-Palin lawmakers have lodged an emergency appeal asking the state Supreme Court to shut down the inquiry.
Read on.
October 5, 2008
Only days before the scheduled release of an investigative report on whether Sarah Palin abused her power as Alaska’s governor in the “Troopergate” case, six pro-Palin lawmakers have lodged an emergency appeal asking the state Supreme Court to shut down the inquiry.
Read on.
Friday, October 03, 2008
Neocon Desperation Is Showing
By Robert Parry
October 3, 2008
October 3, 2008
The neoconservatives and their Republican allies did all they could after Thursday’s vice presidential debate to turn Sarah Palin’s peppy, personable but ultimately goofy performance into a turning point for another four-year lease on the White House.
Wall St. Bailout: 'Plan B' for Buffett
By Brent Budowsky
October 3, 2008
Plan A is Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson’s plan to spend about $50 billion a month buying distressed assets for resale later. With current law – and with the Paulson bill as written – the government can increase the odds of success by simultaneously executing a Plan B that tracks the recent moves of America’s most respected investor, Warren Buffett.
Read on.
October 3, 2008
Plan A is Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson’s plan to spend about $50 billion a month buying distressed assets for resale later. With current law – and with the Paulson bill as written – the government can increase the odds of success by simultaneously executing a Plan B that tracks the recent moves of America’s most respected investor, Warren Buffett.
Read on.
Thursday, October 02, 2008
John McCain v. The Truth
By Robert Parry
October 2, 2008
John McCain’s greatest character flaw as a potential President may be his brash self-righteousness, often expressed in a combative manner that shows little tolerance for even well-founded criticism.
Read on.
October 2, 2008
John McCain’s greatest character flaw as a potential President may be his brash self-righteousness, often expressed in a combative manner that shows little tolerance for even well-founded criticism.
Read on.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
New Witness Said to Implicate Palin
By Jason Leopold
October 1, 2008
A key witness in the “Troopergate” investigation of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has backed off an earlier defense of Palin and now says the governor’s associates applied pressure to deny workers compensation to her estranged ex-brother-in-law, according to three state officials briefed on the case.
Read on.
October 1, 2008
A key witness in the “Troopergate” investigation of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has backed off an earlier defense of Palin and now says the governor’s associates applied pressure to deny workers compensation to her estranged ex-brother-in-law, according to three state officials briefed on the case.
Read on.
To Joe Biden: Time for Confession
By Ray McGovern
September 30, 2008
Dear Senator Biden,
I don’t have to remind you of the importance of this Thursday’s debate from a political perspective. But as you prepare, I invite you to spare a few minutes to look at the opportunity from a moral and religious perspective.
Read on.
September 30, 2008
Dear Senator Biden,
I don’t have to remind you of the importance of this Thursday’s debate from a political perspective. But as you prepare, I invite you to spare a few minutes to look at the opportunity from a moral and religious perspective.
Read on.
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Debate Evades Dark Realities
By Robert Parry
September 27, 2008
Perhaps it’s unrealistic to expect a U.S. presidential debate to deal substantively – and honestly – with wrongful actions by the American government, even at the end of George W. Bush’s eight-year reign as one of the planet’s preeminent rogue operatives.
Read on.
September 27, 2008
Perhaps it’s unrealistic to expect a U.S. presidential debate to deal substantively – and honestly – with wrongful actions by the American government, even at the end of George W. Bush’s eight-year reign as one of the planet’s preeminent rogue operatives.
Read on.
Friday, September 26, 2008
Wanted: Another Franklin Roosevelt
By Michael Winship
September 26, 2008
September 26, 2008
We thirst for leadership, vision, someone who can speak to us in a way that refuses to avert its eyes from the crisis but shines a light of truth upon the problem, then offers hope and possible solutions.
Alaskan Officials Allege Palin Cover-up
By Jason Leopold
September 26, 2008
An attorney for Alaska’s legislative investigation of Gov. Sarah Palin says John McCain’s presidential campaign is seeking to derail the inquiry because its findings could “cause serious damage to the Republican ticket.”
Read on.
September 26, 2008
An attorney for Alaska’s legislative investigation of Gov. Sarah Palin says John McCain’s presidential campaign is seeking to derail the inquiry because its findings could “cause serious damage to the Republican ticket.”
Read on.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
America Pays the Piper, Big Time
By Robert Parry
September 24, 2008
After a 28-year binge of drunken optimism and blind nationalism – often punctuated by chants of “USA, USA!” and “We’re No. 1!” – Americans are waking up with a painful hangover, facing a grim “morning in America,” not the happy vision that Ronald Reagan famously sold them on.
Read on.
September 24, 2008
After a 28-year binge of drunken optimism and blind nationalism – often punctuated by chants of “USA, USA!” and “We’re No. 1!” – Americans are waking up with a painful hangover, facing a grim “morning in America,” not the happy vision that Ronald Reagan famously sold them on.
Read on.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Rich Reign: Wall St. to Yankee Stadium
By Bill Moyers and Michael Winship
September 22, 2008
From our offices in Manhattan, we look out on the tall, gleaming skyscrapers that are cathedrals of wealth and power – the Olympus ruled by the gods of finance, the temples of the mighty, the holy of holies, whose priests guard the sacred texts of salvation – the ones containing the secrets of subprime lending and derivatives as mysterious and elusive as the Grail itself.
Read on.
September 22, 2008
From our offices in Manhattan, we look out on the tall, gleaming skyscrapers that are cathedrals of wealth and power – the Olympus ruled by the gods of finance, the temples of the mighty, the holy of holies, whose priests guard the sacred texts of salvation – the ones containing the secrets of subprime lending and derivatives as mysterious and elusive as the Grail itself.
Read on.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Will International Law Reach Bush?
By Peter Dyer
September 21, 2008
Q: What do Radovan Karadzic, former French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin, and George W. Bush have in common? A: Each lives under the slowly growing shadow of a body of international criminal law.
Read on.
September 21, 2008
Q: What do Radovan Karadzic, former French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin, and George W. Bush have in common? A: Each lives under the slowly growing shadow of a body of international criminal law.
Read on.
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Palin's 'Troopergate' Battle Rages
By Jason Leopold
September 20, 2008
As Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin works to derail a legislative inquiry into her firing of the public safety commissioner, state officials are vowing to finish a report on the controversy by Oct. 10 and to weigh contempt proceedings against Palin’s husband early next year.
Read on.
September 20, 2008
As Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin works to derail a legislative inquiry into her firing of the public safety commissioner, state officials are vowing to finish a report on the controversy by Oct. 10 and to weigh contempt proceedings against Palin’s husband early next year.
Read on.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Lipstick on Polar Bears
By Michael Winship
September 16, 2008
Where would politicians be without the Titanic? As metaphors go, it's far more majestic than putting lipstick on pigs or pit bulls.
Read on.
September 16, 2008
Where would politicians be without the Titanic? As metaphors go, it's far more majestic than putting lipstick on pigs or pit bulls.
Read on.
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Palin Claims Right to See All State Files
By Jason Leopold
September 14, 2008
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is maneuvering to stop an investigation into an alleged abuse of power, in part, by claiming that she has an unlimited right to pry into the personnel records of all state employees, including the state trooper who divorced her sister.
Read on.
September 14, 2008
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is maneuvering to stop an investigation into an alleged abuse of power, in part, by claiming that she has an unlimited right to pry into the personnel records of all state employees, including the state trooper who divorced her sister.
Read on.
Will McCain-Palin Lies Hurt Them?
By Robert Parry
September 13, 2008
Despite all the chatter about how “historic” Campaign 2008 has been, it is the McCain-Palin ticket that it is truly testing the limits, not of race or gender politics, but whether the United States is ready to enter into a new dimension of political lying.
Read on.
September 13, 2008
Despite all the chatter about how “historic” Campaign 2008 has been, it is the McCain-Palin ticket that it is truly testing the limits, not of race or gender politics, but whether the United States is ready to enter into a new dimension of political lying.
Read on.
Friday, September 12, 2008
The Truth and Sarah Palin
By Robert Parry
September 12, 2008
When Sarah Palin was plucked from obscurity, we didn't focus on her personal life; we zeroed in on her record -- and discovered a very different reality from what was first reported. September 12, 2008
Read on.
September 12, 2008
When Sarah Palin was plucked from obscurity, we didn't focus on her personal life; we zeroed in on her record -- and discovered a very different reality from what was first reported. September 12, 2008
Read on.
A 9/11 'What-If?'
By Peter Dyer
September 11, 2008
What if we had never gone to war? What if, after the shocking crimes of September 11, 2001, the United States had pursued a different course?
Read on.
September 11, 2008
What if we had never gone to war? What if, after the shocking crimes of September 11, 2001, the United States had pursued a different course?
Read on.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Did al-Qaeda Succeed?
By Robert Parry
September 11, 2008
Ten years after the neoconservatives laid out plans for permanent U.S. global dominance – and seven years after the brutal 9/11 attacks gave them the opening to carry out those plans – the neocons instead have guided the United States onto the shoals of a political/military disaster and the prospect of rapid decline.
Read on.
September 11, 2008
Ten years after the neoconservatives laid out plans for permanent U.S. global dominance – and seven years after the brutal 9/11 attacks gave them the opening to carry out those plans – the neocons instead have guided the United States onto the shoals of a political/military disaster and the prospect of rapid decline.
Read on.
Iran's Road Less Traveled to Nukes
By Ray McGovern
September 10, 2008
Thomas Fingar, the U.S. government’s top intelligence analyst, in a public speech on Sept. 4, repeated the intelligence community’s key judgment that Iran’s work on the “weaponization portion” of its nuclear development program “was suspended” in 2003.
Read on.
September 10, 2008
Thomas Fingar, the U.S. government’s top intelligence analyst, in a public speech on Sept. 4, repeated the intelligence community’s key judgment that Iran’s work on the “weaponization portion” of its nuclear development program “was suspended” in 2003.
Read on.
Mocking Constitutional Rights
By Nat Parry
September 10, 2008
On the third day of the Republican National Convention, GOP vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin mocked Barack Obama for believing that individuals accused of terrorism actually have rights under the law.
Read on.
September 10, 2008
On the third day of the Republican National Convention, GOP vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin mocked Barack Obama for believing that individuals accused of terrorism actually have rights under the law.
Read on.
Tuesday, September 09, 2008
Fox Guest Attacks Rachel Maddow
By Brent Budowsky
September 10, 2008
Even by the low standards of the Republican News Network, a.k.a. Fox News, the attack on Rachel Maddow, as a "Lesbian Air America host," was a despicable new low.
Read on.
September 10, 2008
Even by the low standards of the Republican News Network, a.k.a. Fox News, the attack on Rachel Maddow, as a "Lesbian Air America host," was a despicable new low.
Read on.
Palin's Strange Probe of a Trooper
By Jason Leopold
September 9, 2008
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin – collaborating with her husband Todd and several senior aides – conducted what amounted to a rogue investigation into suspicions that her ex-brother-in-law was faking a job-related injury as a state trooper, according to state documents, law enforcement officials and former aides to Palin.
Read on.
September 9, 2008
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin – collaborating with her husband Todd and several senior aides – conducted what amounted to a rogue investigation into suspicions that her ex-brother-in-law was faking a job-related injury as a state trooper, according to state documents, law enforcement officials and former aides to Palin.
Read on.
Monday, September 08, 2008
The Rising Cost of the Iraq 'Surge'
By Robert Parry
September 9, 2008
Since Jan. 10, 2007, when George W. Bush announced his troop “surge,” more than 1,000 U.S. soldiers have died in the Iraq War – about a quarter of the total war dead – but now an even higher cost may loom ahead, the indefinite continuation of the conflict under President John McCain.
Read on.
September 9, 2008
Since Jan. 10, 2007, when George W. Bush announced his troop “surge,” more than 1,000 U.S. soldiers have died in the Iraq War – about a quarter of the total war dead – but now an even higher cost may loom ahead, the indefinite continuation of the conflict under President John McCain.
Read on.
Storm Troopers at the RNC
By Ray McGovern
September 8, 2008
Ten days ago, as the nation focused attention on the hurricane nearing the Mississippi delta, another storm was brewing far upstream in St. Paul, Minnesota — a storm far more dangerous, it turned out, but one by and large overlooked by the Fawning Corporate Media (FCM).
Read on.
September 8, 2008
Ten days ago, as the nation focused attention on the hurricane nearing the Mississippi delta, another storm was brewing far upstream in St. Paul, Minnesota — a storm far more dangerous, it turned out, but one by and large overlooked by the Fawning Corporate Media (FCM).
Read on.
Sunday, September 07, 2008
Bush Still Fights House Subpoenas
By Jason Leopold
September 8, 2008
The Bush administration still is resisting a congressional subpoena seeking testimony from former White House counsel Harriet Miers on the firing of nine federal prosecutors in 2006, taking the unprecedented executive privilege battle to the U.S. Court of Appeals.
Read on.
September 8, 2008
The Bush administration still is resisting a congressional subpoena seeking testimony from former White House counsel Harriet Miers on the firing of nine federal prosecutors in 2006, taking the unprecedented executive privilege battle to the U.S. Court of Appeals.
Read on.
Sarah Palin's Media No-Show
By Mary MacElveen
September 7, 2008
During the GOP national convention, Republicans were openly hostile towards the news media.
Read on.
September 7, 2008
During the GOP national convention, Republicans were openly hostile towards the news media.
Read on.
Saturday, September 06, 2008
Palin's 'Trooper-gate' Cover-up
By Robert Parry
September 6, 2008
Ripping a page from George W. Bush’s playbook on obstructing investigations, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and her senior aides are maneuvering to thwart an abuse-of-power investigation that Palin initially vowed to assist.
Read on.
September 6, 2008
Ripping a page from George W. Bush’s playbook on obstructing investigations, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and her senior aides are maneuvering to thwart an abuse-of-power investigation that Palin initially vowed to assist.
Read on.
Friday, September 05, 2008
Convention Police Bust the Press
By Michael Winship
September 5, 2008
September 5, 2008
Chronicling his life as a journalist in the colonial British Raj, a young Winston Churchill wrote that “nothing in life is so exhilarating as to be shot at without result.” Nor, I’d add, is there anything in life quite so discombobulating as to turn a corner and unexpectedly walk into a wall of tear gas.
McCain-Palin: 'Phonies Squared'
By Robert Parry
September 5, 2008
The Republican ticket of John McCain and Sarah Palin has been dubbed “Maverick Squared,” with much of the U.S. news media hailing the pair as reformers who are above partisanship and eager to challenge corrupt Washington.
Read on.
September 5, 2008
The Republican ticket of John McCain and Sarah Palin has been dubbed “Maverick Squared,” with much of the U.S. news media hailing the pair as reformers who are above partisanship and eager to challenge corrupt Washington.
Read on.
Thursday, September 04, 2008
The Anti-Obama Hate-Fest
By Robert Parry
September 4, 2008
The Republican Party, which has defined modern-day negative politics, was back at it again, bashing Barack Obama and the news media in an ugly display that rivaled the old days of Nixon-Agnew – or George W. Bush’s last convention where GOP operatives passed out “Purple Heart Band-Aids” to mock John Kerry’s war wounds.
Read on.
September 4, 2008
The Republican Party, which has defined modern-day negative politics, was back at it again, bashing Barack Obama and the news media in an ugly display that rivaled the old days of Nixon-Agnew – or George W. Bush’s last convention where GOP operatives passed out “Purple Heart Band-Aids” to mock John Kerry’s war wounds.
Read on.
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
Palin's 'Reformer' Myth
By Jason Leopold
September 3, 2008
When John McCain trotted out Sarah Palin as his vice presidential running mate, his campaign and much of the U.S. news media depicted the Alaska governor as an ethics “reformer” whose meteoric political rise came from her confronting corruption within her own state Republican Party.
Read on.
September 3, 2008
When John McCain trotted out Sarah Palin as his vice presidential running mate, his campaign and much of the U.S. news media depicted the Alaska governor as an ethics “reformer” whose meteoric political rise came from her confronting corruption within her own state Republican Party.
Read on.
Tuesday, September 02, 2008
Supposed Reformer Secured Earmarks
By Brent Budowsky
September 3, 2008
Now John McCain learns, as we do, that Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin sent a 70-page memo to Sen. Ted Stevens, another Alaskan Republican, in February seeking $200 million for new Alaska earmarks. As mayor of the village of Wasilla, she lobbied hard for and won more than $26 million of earmarks.
Read on.
September 3, 2008
Now John McCain learns, as we do, that Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin sent a 70-page memo to Sen. Ted Stevens, another Alaskan Republican, in February seeking $200 million for new Alaska earmarks. As mayor of the village of Wasilla, she lobbied hard for and won more than $26 million of earmarks.
Read on.
Did Palin Family Feud Affect Troopers?
By Jason Leopold
September 2, 2008
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s vendetta against the state trooper who divorced her sister may have spilled over into a broader retaliation against Alaska’s police with more than $2 million slashed from their budget as well as the elimination of temporary staff positions and the firing of the public safety commissioner, according to police representatives.
Read on.
September 2, 2008
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s vendetta against the state trooper who divorced her sister may have spilled over into a broader retaliation against Alaska’s police with more than $2 million slashed from their budget as well as the elimination of temporary staff positions and the firing of the public safety commissioner, according to police representatives.
Read on.
Monday, September 01, 2008
Palin's Trouble with the Police
By Robert Parry
September 1, 2008
You have to admire the Republican chutzpah. Still confronting a national scandal about packing the Justice Department with “loyal Bushies,” they pick a vice presidential candidate who – in her two executive jobs in Alaska – ousted top law-enforcement officials because they were insufficiently loyal or not malleable enough.
Read on.
September 1, 2008
You have to admire the Republican chutzpah. Still confronting a national scandal about packing the Justice Department with “loyal Bushies,” they pick a vice presidential candidate who – in her two executive jobs in Alaska – ousted top law-enforcement officials because they were insufficiently loyal or not malleable enough.
Read on.
Saturday, August 30, 2008
McCain VP Pick Has History of Clashes
By Jason Leopold
August 30, 2008
The political career of Sarah Palin, Sen. John McCain’s vice presidential pick, has been marked by conflicts, score-settling and her own claim that she faces “enemies – powerful enemies.”
Read on.
August 30, 2008
The political career of Sarah Palin, Sen. John McCain’s vice presidential pick, has been marked by conflicts, score-settling and her own claim that she faces “enemies – powerful enemies.”
Read on.
Friday, August 29, 2008
How the Republicans Win
By Robert Parry
August 29, 2008
Barack Obama made it across the tightrope of the Democratic National Convention, gaining solid endorsements from Bill and Hillary Clinton and giving a rousing speech before some 80,000 supporters at Invesco Field in Denver. But now comes the time when the Republicans win elections.
August 29, 2008
Barack Obama made it across the tightrope of the Democratic National Convention, gaining solid endorsements from Bill and Hillary Clinton and giving a rousing speech before some 80,000 supporters at Invesco Field in Denver. But now comes the time when the Republicans win elections.
Over the past four decades, Republicans have dominated the outcomes of presidential races by mixing negative campaigning in public with illicit dirty tricks behind the scenes, as I've recounted in my last two books, Secrecy & Privilege and Neck Deep.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Should Clinton Backers Back McCain?
By Mary MacElveen
August 28, 2008
In her clarion-call to the Democratic convention, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton reminded ALL of her supporters, “You haven't worked so hard over the last 18 months, or endured the last eight years, to suffer through more failed leadership."
August 28, 2008
In her clarion-call to the Democratic convention, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton reminded ALL of her supporters, “You haven't worked so hard over the last 18 months, or endured the last eight years, to suffer through more failed leadership."
She also said to her supporters, "No way. No how. No McCain." So, listen to her.
Bush Escalates Tensions with Russia
By Ivan Eland
August 28, 2008
The U.S. missile defense program, which contributed to the deterioration of U.S.-Russian relations that helped generate the Russian-Georgian conflict, has benefited from that conflict and may cause a further downward spiral in the relationship between these two great powers.
August 28, 2008
The U.S. missile defense program, which contributed to the deterioration of U.S.-Russian relations that helped generate the Russian-Georgian conflict, has benefited from that conflict and may cause a further downward spiral in the relationship between these two great powers.
Along with the recognition of Kosovo’s independence from Serbia and repeated rounds of an expanding NATO — a Cold War alliance the Russians perceive as hostile — to Russia’s doorstep, the unilateral U.S. abrogation of the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty to pursue missile defense humiliated a weakened Russia.
Read on.Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Hillary's Still-Angry Supporters
By Robert Parry
August 28, 2008
August 28, 2008
Hillary Clinton gave an eloquent speech calling for Democratic Party unity, but some of her supporters are making clear that they so hate Barack Obama that they would prefer that John McCain extend neoconservative rule in the United States rather than let Obama into the White House.
Some of these die-hard Clinton backers claim they have suffered various slights, such as receiving inferior hotel rooms in Denver or finding the Obama campaign insufficient in its ardor courting their support. Others blame Obama for examples of sexism and unfairness that arose in the long primary campaign.
Double Standards on Russia-Kosovo
By J. Victor Marshall
August 27, 2008
August 27, 2008
In Russia even more than in America, “Kosovo” rhymes with “I told you so.”
Many Americans don’t realize that the former Serbian province of Kosovo, which broke away in 1999 after US-led NATO forces bombed Serbia for 78 days, helped set the stage for the recent conflict between Russia and neighboring Georgia.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Court Rebuffs White House Immunity
By Jason Leopold
August 27, 2008
August 27, 2008
Facing a new reversal in federal court, the Bush administration is finding its options narrowed in its effort to stop congressional testimony from former White House counsel Harriet Miers and chief of staff Joshua Bolten regarding the firing of nine U.S. attorneys in 2006.
The administration had asserted a blanket claim of executive privilege in the face of congressional subpoenas, but U.S. District Judge John Bates rejected that claim as unprecedented and, on Tuesday, denied the Justice Department’s request for a stay pending an appeal.
Democratic Divisions & a World to Win
By Brent Budowsky
August 26, 2008
August 26, 2008
The lion in winter brought tears to the eyes and a convention to its feet as Ted Kennedy passed the torch to Barack Obama. Michelle Obama brought light to the eyes of Democrats with an all-American story about dreams that do come true.
The battle has begun in earnest.
What a McCain Victory Would Mean
By Robert Parry
August 26, 2008
August 26, 2008
In judging the shape of a future John McCain presidency, there are already plenty of dots that are easy to connect. They reveal an image of a war-like Empire so full of hubris that it could take the world into a cascade of crises, while extinguishing what is left of the noble American Republic.
McCain has made clear he would continue and even escalate George W. Bush’s open-ended global war on Islamic radicals. McCain buys into the neoconservative vision of expending U.S. treasure and troops to kill as many Muslim militants as possible.
Read on.Saturday, August 23, 2008
Curious Rules for Convention Parties
By Michael Winship
August 24, 2008
August 24, 2008
Another humid August, a long time ago, and I was working in my father’s small town drugstore, the last summer before my first year of high school.
Today, cash registers are as computerized as ATM’s and tell you everything instantly, from the change owed and the status of inventory to the date, time and wind chill factor in Upper Volta.
Making Money on a New Cold War
By Morgan Strong
August 23, 2008
August 23, 2008
The Russia-Georgia clash has generated heated anti-Moscow rhetoric from John McCain and U.S. neoconservatives about a new Cold War, a prospect that most people might see in a negative light but which many military contractors surely view as a financial plus.
One unstated reality about revived tensions between Washington and Moscow is that it will mean a bonanza in military spending – billions of additional dollars for anti-missile weapons systems, larger armies, construction of new bases in Eastern Europe, etc.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Conyers Questions Iraq 'Forgery'
By Jason Leopold
August 21, 2008
House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers has asked current and former White House aides and ex-CIA officials to respond to questions about an alleged scheme to create a bogus letter in late 2003 linking Saddam Hussein to al-Qaeda.
Read on.
August 21, 2008
House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers has asked current and former White House aides and ex-CIA officials to respond to questions about an alleged scheme to create a bogus letter in late 2003 linking Saddam Hussein to al-Qaeda.
Read on.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Mixed Truth of the Russia-Georgia War
By Ivan Eland
August 21, 2008
August 21, 2008
Despite significant U.S. and Georgian culpability in the crisis in Georgia, most U.S. politicians and media painted Russia as the diabolical “evildoer.”
As if the Russian military incursions into Georgia, Abkhazia, and South Ossetia — the latter two are autonomous regions of the former that do not want to be part of that country — happened out of the blue, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice implied that Russia was attempting to bring back the Cold War.
McCain's Ties to Neocon Hard Lines
By Jason Leopold
August 20, 2008
August 20, 2008
Randy Scheunemann, one of John McCain’s top foreign policy advisers, represents a key link in neoconservative strategy that seeks simultaneously to remove hostile regimes in the Middle East and to box in Russia through an expanded NATO that incorporates former Soviet bloc countries.
Scheunemann has come under scrutiny in recent weeks for his past lobbying work on behalf of the government of Georgia, even while he was advising McCain who vowed to bar lobbyists from his campaign.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Musharraf, Not Bush, Follows Nixon
By Ray McGovern
August 20, 2008
August 20, 2008
Most of the fawning corporate media (FCM) coverage of Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf’s resignation Monday was even more bereft of context than usual.
It was as if Musharraf looked out the window and said, “It’s a beautiful day. I think I’ll resign and go fishing.”
The Limits of American Power
By Michael Winship
August 20, 2008
August 20, 2008
In a letter written in 1648, the Swedish statesman, Axel Oxenstierna, chancellor to both King Gustavus Adolphus and Queen Christina, counseled, “Know, my son, with how little wisdom the world is governed.”
The fighting between Russia and the former Soviet republic of Georgia is an unnerving reminder of that, and of how quickly the balance of global power can be tilted from unexpected directions with barely a warning.
Being Stupid, Sounding Strong
By Stephen Crockett
August 19, 2008
August 19, 2008
The conflict between the nations of Georgia and Russia, which grew very hot last week, has very long historical roots and has been potentially ready to explode since the collapse of the Soviet Union.
The comments of John McCain on the recent outbreak of war has demonstrated the close connection between “sounding strong” for domestic political considerations and “being stupid” in the execution of American foreign policy.
A Book Written to Defeat Obama
By Beverly Bandler
August 19, 2008
August 19, 2008
“The goal is to defeat Obama,” author Jerome Corsi said in a telephone interview. “I don’t want Obama to be in office.”
Books used to be written to educate, inspire, or entertain. These days they are written to serve as political weapons. And the intellectual standards of book publishers appear to have been degraded significantly.
Monday, August 18, 2008
McCain's 'Cone of Silence' Caper
By Robert Parry
August 18, 2008
August 18, 2008
Millions of Americans who watched Barack Obama and then John McCain respond to nearly identical questions from evangelical minister Rick Warren were surely impressed by McCain’s quick and sharp answers. Supposedly he had been in a “cone of silence” while Obama was getting grilled during the preceding hour.
However, as it turned out, TV viewers and other Americans were misled. McCain had not been in any “cone of silence” shielding him from hearing Warren’s questions and Obama’s answers.
Saturday, August 16, 2008
John McCain's Party of Hate
By Brent Budowsky
August 16, 2008
August 16, 2008
As Campaign 2008 unfolds, it is increasingly clear that the Republicans are a party with little left but hate, anger and the politics of slandering their opponent.
John McCain has become a candidate reduced to doing a Karl Rove imitation as a sleazy, divisive campaigner, while making bellicose pronouncements about war reminiscent of the childish Confederates at the beginning of “Gone With the Wind,” drinking their brandy and smoking their cigars with fantasies about the glorious war that they hunger to fight.
Friday, August 15, 2008
Out Damn Blot: A Letter to Colin Powell
By Ray McGovern
August 15, 2008
August 15, 2008
Dear Colin,
You have said you regret the “blot” on your record caused by your parroting spurious intelligence at the U.N. to justify war on Iraq. On the chance you may not have noticed, I write to point out that you now have a unique opportunity to do some rehab on your reputation.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
WPost and the Great Disconnect
By Robert Parry
August 13, 2008
August 13, 2008
On Tuesday, the sub-head for the Washington Post’s lead editorial read, “The West confronts an unfamiliar sight: a nation bent on conquest.”
The nation in question, of course, was Russia and the “conquest” was its border clash with neighboring Georgia over two breakaway provinces that want to join the Russian Federation.
The Lies About Obama
By Brent Budowsky
August 12, 2008
August 12, 2008
What is the responsibility of reporters, editors and publishers when a candidate for high office is the target of a campaign of attack and personal destruction employing the systematic use of lies, smears, innuendo and character assassination?
J'accuse: What is happening in the 2008 general election is that Senator McCain has (literally) hired highest level operatives who worked for George Bush and Karl Rove (this is simply a fact) and is employing the carbon copy tactics that Rove used against his political opponents (including McCain himself).
Monday, August 11, 2008
Neocons Now Love International Law
By Robert Parry
August 12, 2008
August 12, 2008
It’s touching how American neoconservatives who have no regard for international law when they want to invade some troublesome country have developed a sudden reverence for national sovereignty.
Apparently, context is everything. So, the United States attacking Grenada or Nicaragua or Panama or Iraq or Serbia is justified even if the reasons sometimes don’t hold water or don’t hold up before the United Nations, The Hague or other institutions of international law.
The Tense Standoff in Palestine
By TheRealNews.com
August 11, 2008
August 11, 2008
The fighting between Palestinian factions, Hamas and Fatah, has calmed down for the time being, but the deadly conflict continues to reverberate.
Saturday, August 09, 2008
WPost Admits Bungling Obama Quote
By Robert Parry
August 10, 2008
August 10, 2008
The Washington Post’s ombudsman says the newspaper’s original source for a quote that was used to portray Barack Obama as a megalomaniac now disputes the Post’s negative interpretation that has spread across cable TV, the Internet and even into a John McCain attack ad.
Post ombudsman Deborah Howell also acknowledges that neither Post reporter who relied on the misleading quote spoke directly with the source, checked out its accuracy, or made any independent effort to determine the context of the remark, which was made to a closed Democratic caucus meeting on Capitol Hill on July 29.
Friday, August 08, 2008
Where's Al Gore?
By Brent Budowsky
August 9, 2008
August 9, 2008
Anyone can champion the Earth when it's easy, yet too many remain silent when it's hard.
The forces behind oil are taking charge in the great energy debate – and the issue of global warming has virtually disappeared from the political campaign, with barely a word from its strongest advocate.
A Novel Approach to Politics
By Bill Moyers and Michael Winship
August 9, 2008
August 9, 2008
ABC News’ political blog, “The Note,” points out this week that Paris Hilton is issuing policy statements while John McCain nominates his wife for a topless beauty contest. The world’s turned upside down.
Who could blame a person for thinking that chronicling such oddness is beyond the skills of simple journalists? This is a job for the novelists.
Thursday, August 07, 2008
The Hamdan Principle and You
By Robert Parry
August 7, 2008
August 7, 2008
The U.S. military commission’s split guilty verdict on Ahmed Hamdan, a former driver for Osama bin Laden, has drawn praise from the Bush administration and criticism from civil rights groups, but what has been overlooked is the chilling message that “the Hamdan principle” sends about future prosecutions in the “war on terror.”
This new principle holds that anyone – regardless of how tangential a connection to actual acts of terrorism – can be prosecuted through the kangaroo court of the military commissions and be sentenced to a long prison term (or even death). Though Hamdan is a Yemeni, the principle would seem to apply to U.S citizens, too.
Wednesday, August 06, 2008
McCain Adopts Cheney's Energy Plan
By Jason Leopold
August 7, 2008
August 7, 2008
John McCain, who once was regarded as a top Republican ally of the environmental movement, has embraced an energy plan nearly identical to Vice President Dick Cheney’s National Energy Policy, which was drafted largely by industry executives and which pushed their desire for more oil drilling and nuclear power.
Now echoing those views, McCain declares repeatedly, “We need to drill here and we need to drill now.” Beyond opening up large tracts of protected coastal waters for oil exploration, McCain has called for a massive expansion of nuclear power.
McCain's Future Wars
By TheRealNews.com
August 6, 2008
Energized by the supposed success of the Iraq War troop “surge,” John McCain now sees the neoconservative vision of a Long War against Islamic extremists back on track.
Read on.
August 6, 2008
Energized by the supposed success of the Iraq War troop “surge,” John McCain now sees the neoconservative vision of a Long War against Islamic extremists back on track.
Read on.
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
Why McCain May Well Win
By Robert Parry
August 6, 2008
August 6, 2008
It might seem unlikely that the United States would elect John McCain to succeed George W. Bush when that would ensure continuation of many unpopular Bush policies: an ill-defined war with the Muslim world, right-wing consolidation of the U.S. Supreme Court, a drill-oriented energy strategy, tax cuts creating massive federal deficits, etc., etc.
But there are reasons – beyond understandable concerns about Barack Obama’s limited experience – that make a McCain victory possible, indeed maybe probable.
Monday, August 04, 2008
We Don't Need a 'War on Terror'
By Ivan Eland
August 5, 2008
August 5, 2008
Many opponents of the Bush administration's invasion and occupation of Iraq have always argued that this conflict is an irrelevant and even counterproductive sideshow to the real "war on terrorism" in Afghanistan.
In fact, Barack Obama led the parade to initiate a troop surge in Afghanistan after having opposed it in Iraq. The more hawkish John McCain, not to be outdone by a weak-kneed Democrat, proposed that even more troops be sent to Afghanistan.
Readers' Comments
August 4, 2008
Editor’s Note: Readers had thoughts about the news media’s treatment of Barack Obama, why the energy crisis has grown so bad over the past three decades, and other serious challenges facing the United States.
Read on.
Editor’s Note: Readers had thoughts about the news media’s treatment of Barack Obama, why the energy crisis has grown so bad over the past three decades, and other serious challenges facing the United States.
Read on.
CIA Accuses Pakistan of Terror Links
By TheRealNews.com
August 4, 2008
During a visit to Washington this past week, Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani had an exclusive meeting with CIA chief Michael V. Hayden, who reportedly presented him with accusations that Pakistani intelligence agencies were involved in jihadi activities.
Read on.
August 4, 2008
During a visit to Washington this past week, Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani had an exclusive meeting with CIA chief Michael V. Hayden, who reportedly presented him with accusations that Pakistani intelligence agencies were involved in jihadi activities.
Read on.
Saturday, August 02, 2008
McCain, Anthrax & the Afghan Blunder
By Robert Parry
August 3, 2008
August 3, 2008
The scene of John McCain – during the anthrax attacks in October 2001 – opining to David Letterman that Iraq might be responsible underscores McCain’s central role in what may go down as one of the biggest strategic blunders in U.S. military history, the premature pivot from Afghanistan to Iraq.
Not only has it been clear for many years that McCain’s speculation about Iraq’s role in the anthrax attacks was reckless – made even more apparent by the FBI now pinning the crime on dead U.S. bio-defense scientist Bruce Ivins – but McCain also told Letterman in that Oct. 18, 2001, interview that “the second phase is Iraq.”
Tax-Factless Wall Street Journal-omics
By Alice Cherbonnier
August 2, 2008
On July 29, the Wall Street Journal forfeited a full half page of op-ed space to a specious article called "Obamanomics Is a Recipe for Recession," written by Michael J. Boskin, a Stanford University economics professor and "senior fellow" of the Hoover Institution. Boskin chaired the Council of Economic Advisors under President George H. W. Bush.
Read on.
August 2, 2008
On July 29, the Wall Street Journal forfeited a full half page of op-ed space to a specious article called "Obamanomics Is a Recipe for Recession," written by Michael J. Boskin, a Stanford University economics professor and "senior fellow" of the Hoover Institution. Boskin chaired the Council of Economic Advisors under President George H. W. Bush.
Read on.
Friday, August 01, 2008
Justice Probe Still Threatens Gonzales
By Jason Leopold
August 1, 2008
August 1, 2008
Former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales will face new legal jeopardy when the Justice Department’s Inspector General issues his next report on how the Bush administration let politics influence prosecutorial judgments, says ex-U.S. Attorney David Iglesias.
That installment is expected to address the firings of nine U.S. Attorneys in 2006 and could set the stage for criminal charges against Gonzales and his former deputy, Paul McNulty, according to Iglesias, the former U.S. Attorney for New Mexico who was one of those fired in the purge.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Dan Ellsberg on Past, Present, Future
By Glenn Greenwald, Salon Radio
August 1, 2008
Daniel Ellsberg was the key figure in the Pentagon Papers controversy in the early 1970s – the leaking of the secret history of the Vietnam War – and today is one of the most incisive commentators on a whole variety of current political issues.
Read on.
August 1, 2008
Daniel Ellsberg was the key figure in the Pentagon Papers controversy in the early 1970s – the leaking of the secret history of the Vietnam War – and today is one of the most incisive commentators on a whole variety of current political issues.
Read on.
Cameras 'Shooting Back' in Palestine
By TheRealNews.com
July 31, 2008
Under an initiative promoted by an Israeli human rights group, Palestinians were armed with 100 cameras to film real-life interactions and confrontations with Israeli settlers and troops.
Read on.
July 31, 2008
Under an initiative promoted by an Israeli human rights group, Palestinians were armed with 100 cameras to film real-life interactions and confrontations with Israeli settlers and troops.
Read on.
Wave of 'Capitol Crime' Continues
By Bill Moyers and Michael Winship
July 31, 2008
July 31, 2008
Like the largesse he spread so bountifully to members of Congress and the White House staff -- countless fancy meals, skybox tickets to basketball games and U2 concerts, golfing sprees in Scotland -- Jack Abramoff is the gift that keeps on giving.
The notorious lobbyist and his cohorts (including conservatives Tom DeLay, Grover Norquist and Ralph Reed) shook down Native American tribal councils and other clients for tens of millions of dollars, buying influence via a coalition of equally corrupt government officials and cronies dedicated to dismantling government by selling it off, making massive profits as they tore the principles of a representative democracy to shreds.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
WPost Calls Out 'Uppity' Obama
By Robert Parry
July 31, 2008
July 31, 2008
At this pivotal moment in American history, the major U.S. news media is back to its old game of drawing sweeping character judgments about a presidential candidate based on misleading “quotes,” a sickening replay of other recent elections.
The latest example of this wearisome gamesmanship was a column by the Washington Post’s Dana Milbank, who distorted a reported quote from Sen. Barack Obama at a closed Democratic caucus and used it to prove Obama was a “presumptuous nominee.”
McCain Lies about Obama on Troops
By Brent Budowsky
July 30, 2008
July 30, 2008
John McCain personally told Larry King that Barack Obama wanted to bring reporters, cameras and campaign aides to a meeting with wounded troops in Germany.
When he said this, John McCain was lying. Let me spell this correctly: L-Y-I-N-G.
Is Iraq Ready to Explode?
By TheRealNews.com
July 29, 2008
Three female suicide bombers and a roadside bomb struck Shiite pilgrims taking part in a massive religious procession in Baghdad on Monday. Police said at least 32 people were killed and 102 wounded.
Read on.
July 29, 2008
Three female suicide bombers and a roadside bomb struck Shiite pilgrims taking part in a massive religious procession in Baghdad on Monday. Police said at least 32 people were killed and 102 wounded.
Read on.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
McCain Spin on the 'Surge'
By Jason Leopold
July 29, 2008
July 29, 2008
Over the past several weeks, John McCain and his backers have touted his early endorsement of the Iraq War “surge” as evidence of his political courage, but it could be equally viewed as an act of political desperation, to forestall total calamity in Iraq and to avert disaster for broader neoconservative objectives in the Middle East.
McCain’s endorsement of the “surge” in January 2007 also represented a repudiation of his previous support for Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld’s concept of using a light force of mobile U.S. troops, backed by technology and air power, to win the war.
Monday, July 28, 2008
McCains Goes Over-the-Top Negative
By Brent Budowsky
July 28, 2008
July 28, 2008
The man who used to be John McCain is reacting to the pressures of a campaign by becoming Meat Ax McCain with low-road attacks that raise core questions of presidential temperament.
On Monday, as Barack Obama hosted a meeting with financial leaders from across America, the anger-ridden, increasingly desperate McCain campaign accused Obama of creating a future depression.
Americans Move Left; NYT Misses It
By Jeff Cohen
July 28, 2008
July 28, 2008
The headline atop Saturday’s op-ed page was a hallowed standby for the New York Times: “Americans Move to the Middle.”
Assembled by Times “visual columnist” Charles Blow, the text of the column was dwarfed by 15 graphs tracking recent movement in American public opinion, based on Gallup polls. There was one problem: the headline totally distorted the data.
Big Media Hectors Obama on 'Surge'
By Robert Parry
July 28, 2008
July 28, 2008
For six years, with few exceptions, the Washington press corps has been cheerleading for the Iraq War – and the pattern is continuing in Campaign 2008 with the endless demands that Barack Obama apologize for not supporting the troop “surge.”
On Sunday’s “Meet the Press,” NBC’s Tom Brokaw became the latest Big Media star to hector Obama about his opposition to George W. Bush’s troop “surge,” which the U.S. press corps and Republican John McCain credit with reducing violence in Iraq.
Assessing the Iraq Troop Surge
By TheRealNews.com
July 27, 2008
At every opportunity for the past week or more, U.S. reporters and commentators have badgered Barack Obama about his refusal to admit that he was wrong about the Iraq troop “surge” and that John McCain was right.
Read on.
July 27, 2008
At every opportunity for the past week or more, U.S. reporters and commentators have badgered Barack Obama about his refusal to admit that he was wrong about the Iraq troop “surge” and that John McCain was right.
Read on.
Obama's Palestine Visit Was Brief
By TheRealNews.com
July 27, 2008
July 27, 2008
On his world tour, Barack Obama spent less than an hour in Palestine compared to 32 hours in Israel, prompting some Arab commentators to talk about the old U.S. political tilt toward Israel.
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Bush's Mass Pardons Predicted
By Brent Budowsky
July 26, 2008
July 26, 2008
Before leaving office George W. Bush will issue a mass pardon, the largest collection of presidential pardons in American history.
Bush will pardon himself, Vice President Cheney, and a long list of officials involved in torture, eavesdropping, destruction of evidence, the CIA leak case, and a range of other potential crimes.
The Endless Smearing of Joe Wilson
By Robert Parry
July 26, 2008
July 26, 2008
Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee reminded everyone that rules barred personal attacks on George W. Bush during Friday’s hearing on his presidential abuses, but they didn’t feel obliged to forego the lashing of a favorite whipping boy, former U.S. Ambassador Joseph Wilson.
In a continuation of what has amounted to a five-year campaign to destroy Wilson’s reputation, Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, flourished two pieces of evidence that supposedly showed that Wilson was a perjurer and that President Bush was right all along when he accused Iraq of seeking yellowcake uranium from Niger.
Friday, July 25, 2008
The Torturing Company We Keep
By Michael Winship
July 25, 2008
July 25, 2008
At one point during the five and a half years John McCain spent as a prisoner of war in North Vietnam, he was tortured and beaten so badly he tried to kill himself.
After four days of this brutality, he gave in and agreed to make a false confession, telling lies to end the unbearable pain.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Bush's 'Surge' Gets Mixed Reviews
By Jason Leopold
July 24, 2008
July 24, 2008
President George W. Bush’s Iraq War troop “surge,” which is now ending, got a mixed report card from congressional investigators, who found that many of Bush’s stated goals remain unmet.
The Government Accountability Office reported that violence in Iraq has dropped over the past year, but that the training of Iraqi security forces still lags, Sunni insurgents have not been defeated, cease-fires with Shiite militias are fragile, and political reconciliation has not been achieved.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Rove End-Runs House Democrats
By Jason Leopold
July 24, 2008
July 24, 2008
Former White House political adviser Karl Rove, who has refused to appear before the House Judiciary Committee, ran an end-around against Democratic leaders by having his denial of sponsoring a political prosecution inserted into the Congressional Record by a senior Republican.
Rep. Lamar Smith of Texas, the committee’s ranking Republican, submitted a written question-and-answer exchange with Rove in which the political strategist said he played no role in the controversial prosecution of Alabama’s former Democratic Gov. Don Siegelman.
Protecting McCain; Pounding Obama
By Brent Budowsky
July 23, 2008
July 23, 2008
John McCain, presumably advised by Karl Rove and definitely imitating the politics of George Bush, is now saying that Barack Obama would rather lose a war than lose an election.
This is a defamation; this is a slander; this is a lie. McCain should apologize to Obama.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
The Exaggeration of Terror
By Ivan Eland
July 23, 2008
July 23, 2008
After having begun a series of investigative stories criticizing the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) in May 2008, CNN reporter Drew Griffin reports being placed with more than a million other names on TSA’s swollen terrorism watch list.
Although TSA insists Griffin’s name is not on the list and pooh-poohs any possibility of retaliation for Griffin’s negative reporting, the reporter has been hassled by various airlines on 11 flights since May. The airlines insist that Griffin’s name is on the list.
Little Progress Seen in Iran-Nuke Talks
By TheRealNews.com
July 22, 2008
U.S. Undersecretary of State William Burns left Geneva without making a public comment on the talks he witnessed between Iran and European negotiators about Iran’s nuclear program.
Read on.
July 22, 2008
U.S. Undersecretary of State William Burns left Geneva without making a public comment on the talks he witnessed between Iran and European negotiators about Iran’s nuclear program.
Read on.
McCain's Afghan Strategic Blunder
By Robert Parry
July 22, 2008
July 22, 2008
John McCain has denounced Barack Obama as being “completely wrong” on Iraq, but it was McCain who advocated what turned out to be the fundamental strategic blunder in the post-9/11 conflicts, the hasty – and premature – pivot from Afghanistan to Iraq.
Only weeks after the Taliban were routed from Kabul and the remnants of al-Qaeda had fled from bases in Tora Bora, McCain took the lead in urging the Bush administration to turn its attention toward Iraq.
Monday, July 21, 2008
Iraqi Resistance to US Bases Grows
By TheRealNews.com
July 21, 2008
Iraqi political resistance to the indefinite presence of U.S. troops is growing, limiting what the Maliki government can do and what the Bush administration can expect.
Read on.
July 21, 2008
Iraqi political resistance to the indefinite presence of U.S. troops is growing, limiting what the Maliki government can do and what the Bush administration can expect.
Read on.
Obama's National Security Challenge
By TheRealNews.com
July 20, 2008
What kind of movement and leader would it take to really try to change America’s very rigid national security state – and how might Barack Obama measure up to that challenge?
Read on.
July 20, 2008
What kind of movement and leader would it take to really try to change America’s very rigid national security state – and how might Barack Obama measure up to that challenge?
Read on.
Gitmo 'Justice' for US Citizens?
By Robert Parry
July 21, 2008
July 21, 2008
A conservative-dominated U.S. Appeals Court has opened the door for President George W. Bush or a successor to throw American citizens – as well as non-citizens – into a legal black hole by designating them “enemy combatants,” even if they have engaged in no violent act and are living on U.S. soil.
The federal Appeals Court in Richmond, Virginia, ruled 5-4 on July 15 that Bush had the right, while prosecuting the “war on terror,” to hold Qatari citizen (and Peoria, Illinois, resident) Ali al-Marri indefinitely as an “enemy combatant.”
Friday, July 18, 2008
'Justifying' Torture: Two Big Lies
By Coleen Rowley and Ray McGovern
July 19, 2008
July 19, 2008
One can assume that former Attorney General John Ashcroft didn’t mean it to be funny, but his testimony on Thursday before the House Judiciary Committee might strike one as hilarious, were it not for the issue at hand — torture.
Ashcroft is the Attorney General who approved torture before he disapproved it, but committee members spared him accusations of flip-flopping.
Mother's Milk of Politics Turns Sour
By Bill Moyers and Michael Winship
July 18, 2008
July 18, 2008
Once again we're closing the barn door after the horse is out and gone.
In Washington, the Federal Reserve has finally acted to stop some of the predatory lending that exploited people’s need for money.
Iraq's Falling Fig Leaf
By Peter W. Dickson
July 18. 2008
July 18. 2008
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s call for a timetable on American troop withdrawals has touched off a dramatic change in the debate over the future U.S. engagement in Iraq – essentially, it marks a falling away of the fig-leaf rationales for the five-plus years of occupation.
As these fig leaves drop to the ground, they are exposing raw geo-strategic objectives that were present in the original calculations of Republican foreign policy experts going back to the early 1990s, a desire for a firm U.S. foothold in the Middle East to protect the West's access to oil and to defend the state of Israel from, then, primarily its Arab enemies.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Conyers Plans Impeachment Substitute
By Jason Leopold
July 18, 2008
July 18, 2008
Rebuffing Dennis Kucinich’s calls for impeachment hearings on George W. Bush, the House Judiciary Committee instead will hear testimony about Bush’s “imperial presidency” and several of his administration’s scandals.
In a press release issued Thursday, Rep. John Conyers, House Judiciary Committee chairman, said his panel will explore a variety of Bush controversies, including manipulation of prewar Iraq intelligence, politicization of the Justice Department, and refusal to cooperate with congressional investigations.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Bush Hides 'Plame-gate' Testimony
By Jason Leopold
July 16, 2008
July 16, 2008
In the latest twist in the “Plame-gate” scandal, President George W. Bush has asserted executive privilege to block release of Vice President Dick Cheney’s interview with a special prosecutor about possible criminal violations in the leaking of a CIA officer’s covert identity.
Rep. Henry Waxman, chairman of the House Oversight Committee, promptly denounced the White House legal reasoning as “ludicrous,” noting that executive privilege covers advice that an aide gives the President, not responses to legal questions posed by a prosecutor about a possible crime.
Maliki's 'Timetable' Shakes Iraq Debate
By Ray McGovern
July 16, 2008
July 16, 2008
You say you expected more rhetoric than reality from Senators Obama and McCain in their speeches about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Well, that’s certainly what you got.
What I find nonetheless amazing is how they, and the pundits, have taken such little notice of the dramatic change in the political landscape occasioned by Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s bombshell on July 7 — his insistence on a “timetable” for withdrawal of U.S. troops before any accord is reached on their staying past the turn of the year.
Monday, July 14, 2008
The High Cost of Bush's Iraq Gambit
By Robert Parry
July 15, 2008
July 15, 2008
Most Americans who have followed the twists and turns of the Iraq War would agree that George W. Bush misled the nation into the conflict with false claims about WMD and Saddam Hussein’s links to al-Qaeda. But it’s less understood that Bush never stopped deceiving the public.
Indeed, one of President Bush’s favorite lines – telling the American people to listen to what the enemy says and thus to know that al-Qaeda considers Iraq the “central front” in the “war on terror” – has been every bit as misleading as his earlier false assertions about WMD.
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Kucinich Pushes on Impeachment
By Jason Leopold
July 12, 2008
Congress has plenty of evidence that George W. Bush deserves impeachment for misleading the nation into war in Iraq, authorizing torture and other grave crimes, and violating the Constitution – and it is now time to act, says Rep. Dennis Kucinich.
Read on.
July 12, 2008
Congress has plenty of evidence that George W. Bush deserves impeachment for misleading the nation into war in Iraq, authorizing torture and other grave crimes, and violating the Constitution – and it is now time to act, says Rep. Dennis Kucinich.
Read on.
Obama Helps Give Bush a Victory
By TheRealNews.com
July 12, 2008
After vowing in January to filibuster any wiretap bill that included retroactive immunity for telecommunication companies, Barack Obama changed his mind, voting on Wednesday for legislation that included immunity.
Read on.
July 12, 2008
After vowing in January to filibuster any wiretap bill that included retroactive immunity for telecommunication companies, Barack Obama changed his mind, voting on Wednesday for legislation that included immunity.
Read on.
Iran Sees Nuclear Bomb as Deterrent
By TheRealNews.com
July 12, 2008
July 12, 2008
Iran does not intend to build a nuclear bomb, unless it is confronted with an external threat, according to Muhammad Sahimi, the National Iranian Oil Company chair in petroleum engineering and a professor at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.
Read on.Thursday, July 10, 2008
Bush Looks to His (Secret) Legacy
By Jason Leopold
July 11, 2008
July 11, 2008
George W. Bush, who has expanded his power to access the e-mails and other electronic communications of Americans, is resisting congressional demands that White House e-mails be saved for later research by historians.
Bush signaled he would veto a House-passed bill that seeks to overhaul the Presidential and Federal Records Act to ensure that e-mails and other government documents are preserved in the age of the Internet.
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