Topic: Bush

2007 Democratic Party honors labor with sights on 2008 election

By David W. Shelton | September 9, 2007 |

When Democrats from five Tennessee counties gather at the Charles Hand farm, Ben Johnson is sure to be there with his campaign buttons, lapel pins, and bumper stickers. Johnson, who lives in Lebanon, Tennessee, was quick to point out that he makes his wares “for democrats only,” and will use only Union vendors to print his products.

In fact, the theme of the day was a strong support of Unions throughout the area. The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), which represents Trane workers locally, was a major sponsor of today’s event.  The strong Union presence was in honor of the Labor Day event.

According to the Department of Labor, Labor Day was first celebrated in New York City on Tuesday, September 5, 1882. By 1894, the US Congress had passed its recognition of Labor Day as a national holiday to be celebrated on the first Monday of September of every year. «Read the rest of this article»

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Beware the Wounded Beast: Bush Has Lost the Iraq War

September 4, 2007 |

The Iraq War is lost, but Bush & Co. appear to be planning a major, and criminal, diversion: an all-out blitzkrieg against Iran. So far Congressional Democrats are doing nothing about it.

The British are acknowledging this fact by pulling out their troops from Basra, Iraq’s second largest city, handing over the city to the control of Shia militias. For all intents and purposes, the “Coalition of the willing” is now dead. America is now going it alone.

Bush is not acknowledging defeat, but has indirectly admitted it by saying that some troops can start being brought home soon, even though clearly nothing has been accomplished with the addition of 30,000 troops for the last six months.

He acknowledged defeat too, by flying into Iraq stealthily in the dead of night this week, landing at a remote desert outpost in western Iraq, instead of going to Baghdad, and meeting with American military officials, instead of with the Iraqi government. (So much for Iraq’s being a “sovereign nation”! Can you imaging a head of state of some foreign government, together with his war secretary and his secretary of state, flying in unannounced to some remote American state, and not even meeting with American government officials?) Clearly the US military could not guarantee the president’s safety in Baghdad and the Green Zone, so he had to go to a remote outpost where he was safe behind razor wire, mines and an obscene arsenal of soldiers, tanks and gunships. «Read the rest of this article»

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The Leaf Chronicle: Get the facts before discussing Iraq

By Bill Larson | August 19, 2007 |

The Leaf Chronicle has a checkered history, especially when you look their statements in reference to our military misadventures in Iraq. As recently as June, they suggested that those who oppose the war should just shut up. Today they attacked those who are still calling for our troops to be brought home out of harms way.

The Leaf Chronicle statements demonstrate that they are sadly ignorant of the true situation on the ground in Iraq.

President Bush frequently defers questions about the surge by explaining that we must wait for that progress report from Petraeus.

Many Senate Republicans also have said they are waiting on the report before making any decisions regarding withdrawals..

…Such a strategy would make sense. The United States cannot simply pull up and leave Iraq overnight. Anyone who thinks that is hopelessly naive. - The Leaf Chronicle, Don’t reverse Iraq surge too quickly

Embarrassing things like this can happen when you drink the kool-aid served to you by the Bush administration and their lackeys in the corporate media. Lets take this editorial and break it down piece by piece and see what the facts really show. «Read the rest of this article»

Sections: Opinion, Politics | 7 Comments

Bush Is Coming to Nashville TOMORROW

By Debbie Boen | July 18, 2007 |

Join Nashville Progressives in Two Anti-Bush Rallies!! President George W. Bush Jr. will be in Nashville Thursday, July 19, 2007. Let’s get together and make some noise!  He’ll be here to talk about his economic agenda.  He’ll be going to the Nashville Bun Company at around 11:00 a.m. (2975 Armory Drive, Nashville, TN  37204) until 11:20 or 11:30 a.m., likely to show support for small business.  

We imagine that this will be a media event with lots of press — a golden opportunity for progressives to get our unified message out about CUTTING THE MILITARY BUDGET and SPENDING ON EDUCATION, JOBS, etc. FOR OUR FUTURE.  Please join us in protest of Bush and his war agenda at 10:30 a.m. at the Nashville Bun Company.  We will convene as close to the entrance as possible (looks for our signs).  «Read the rest of this article»

Sections: Issues, Politics | 11 Comments

Keith Olbermann’s Special Comment on Resignation

By Bill Larson | July 5, 2007 |

Keith Olbermann’s special comment on July 3rd covered George W. Bush’s commutation of Scooter Libby’s prison sentence. He enumerates precisely, and cuttingly, the crimes of the current Administration against the rule of law, the separation of powers, our Constitution, and our nation.

It’s not about Republican or Democrat, conservative or liberal, any longer, it’s about what’s right and wrong. «Read the rest of this article»

Sections: Opinion, Politics | 1 Comment »

Video: Rev. Yearwood: Bush is Over! (if you want it)

By Bill Larson | April 24, 2007 |

Make Hip Hop Not War speaks truth to power at West Park Presbyterian Church in NYC. Rev. Lennox Yearwood calls for impeachment and an end to the war, and encourages people to mobilize for the April 28 nationwide impeachment protests.

BREAKING: Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) announced April 23rd, that he will file articles of impeachment against Dick Cheney. Further details will be released at a press conference on Tuesday, April 24, 2007 at 5 p.m. on the Cannon Terrace, intersection of Independence and New Jersey Avenue.

George Bush and Dick Cheney have lied the nation into a war of aggression, are spying in open violation of the law, and have sanctioned the use of torture. These are high crimes and misdemeanors that demand accountability. Since Congress doesn’t seem to get it, on April 28 Americans from Miami, Florida to North Pole, Alaska are going to spell it out for them: IMPEACH! It’s time to say NO to impunity for lying, spying, and torture.

«Read the rest of this article»

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Resisting the drums of war: Countering appeals to our five core concerns

By Bill Larson | April 5, 2007 |

The Bush administration promoted the misguided and destructive war in Iraq by targeting our concerns about vulnerability, injustice, distrust, superiority, and helplessness. The continued occupation of Iraq—or an attack on Iran—will likely be sold to us in much the same way. This video examines these warmongering appeals and describes how to counter them.

This video is by Roy J. Eidelson Ph.D who is a psychologist who studies, writes about, and consults on the role of psychological issues in political, organizational, and group conflict settings. He is also an Executive Director of the Solomon Asch Center for Study of Ethnopolitical Conflict at the University of Pennsylvania.

The five core conerns are according to his blog, Dangerous Ideas are:

«Read the rest of this article»

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Targeting Iran

By Bill Larson | April 2, 2007 |

Remember when we reported on the US invasion of Iran? The article that we wrote about the entry of U.S. troops into an Iranian consulate in Irbil, Iraq, on January 11th. Well, the UK news site The Independent is reporting that our troops missed their real targets, the deputy head of the Iranian national security council, Mohammed Jafari, and General Minojahar Frouzanda, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Chief of Intelligence.

This is as Independent’s author Patrick Cockburn aptly describes it “…as if Iran had tried to kidnap the heads of the CIA and MI6 while they were on an official visit to a country neighboring Iran, such as Pakistan or Afghanistan.”

The attempted provocation of the Iranian government did not stop with that attack. On the fourth of February, Iraqi commandos likely under U.S. Command seized an Iranian diplomat Jalal Sharafi, who was the second secretary of the Iranian Embassy in Baghdad. «Read the rest of this article»

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