Fundraiser Off to a Slow Start

By Robert Parry
June 30, 2008

Our mid-year fundraiser is off to a slow start. So far we’ve raised only $2,000 toward our goal of $40,000.

I realize times are tough – and there are plenty of financial demands on everyone – but sadly a big part of the reason for the mess we’re in is that the American people were not armed with the information they needed to make sound judgments at key moments.

Simply put, those of us who tried to tell the truth were out-gunned by powerful interests who had the money to spread lies and propaganda.

Read on.

Iran-Contra’s ‘Lost Chapter’

By Robert Parry
June 30, 2008

As historians ponder George W. Bush’s disastrous presidency, they may wonder how Republicans perfected a propaganda system that could fool tens of millions of Americans, intimidate Democrats, and transform the vaunted Washington press corps from watchdogs to lapdogs.

To understand this extraordinary development, historians might want to look back at the 1980s and examine the Iran-Contra scandal’s “lost chapter,” a narrative describing how Ronald Reagan’s administration brought CIA tactics to bear domestically to reshape the way Americans perceived the world.

Read on.

It Was Oil, All Along

By Bill Moyers and Michael Winship
June 27, 2008

Oh, no, they told us, Iraq isn’t a war about oil. That’s cynical and simplistic, they said. It’s about terror and al Qaeda and toppling a dictator and spreading democracy and protecting ourselves from weapons of mass destruction.

But one by one, these concocted rationales went up in smoke, fire and ashes. And now the bottom turns out to be….the bottom line. It is about oil.

Read on.

Bush ‘Torture’ Lawyers Duck Questions

By Jason Leopold
June 27, 2008

Mixing haughty disdain with semantic quibbling, two key legal architects behind George W. Bush’s “war on terror” tactics brushed aside congressional questions about how the administration fashioned its harsh interrogation policies that human rights experts say crossed the line into torture.

Former Justice Department lawyer John Yoo and Vice President Dick Cheney’s chief of staff David Addington also downplayed their roles in formulating the theories of presidential power that gave Bush wide latitude to order that detainees be subjected to painful treatment to break them down.

Read on.

Defending the President as Tyrant

By Robert Parry
June 27, 2008

All over the world down through history, political leaders who have engaged in torture and other grotesque crimes of state have justified their actions as necessary to protect their governments or their people or themselves.

It was true when England’s King Edward I had William Wallace – “Braveheart” – drawn and quartered in 1305 for resisting the crown’s rule in Scotland, and a gruesome death was what King George III foresaw for America’s Founding Fathers in 1776 when they stood up to his abuses in the Colonies.

Read on.

Monsanto Criticized for Practices

By TheRealNews.com
June 26, 2008

Monsanto is a world leader in industrial agriculture, providing the seeds for 90 percent of the world’s genetically modified crops.

Read on.

Moon Shot,, Obama

By Brent Budowsky
June 25, 2008

America should mobilize to mass-produce, within five years, a “patriot car” that achieves 100 miles per gallon or runs on entirely gasoline-free fuels.

The next president should issue a call to action and a moon shot-magnitude program to enlist all Americans to a new generation of technology, science and research leadership, similar to JFK reaching the moon within a decade.

Read on.

Saudis Blame Others for High Oil Prices

By TheRealNews.com
June 25, 2008

At a recent summit in Saudi Arabia between oil-producing and oil-consuming nations, Saudi King Abdullah said his country was not to blame for soaring oil prices.

Read on.

Help Us Cover Campaign 2008

By Robert Parry
June 24, 2008

Campaign 2008 could well be the hinge that swings open the door to the future of the American Republic – and arguably to the survival of the planet – or it may slam the door shut. (To do the work necessary to cover this historic election, we at Consortiumnews.com need your help.)

While the choice between Barack Obama and John McCain is surely not a perfect one – both candidates have weaknesses and strengths – they nevertheless represent clear choices on crucial questions about how a Republic must function and how America should approach the world.

Read on.

Health-Care Crisis Endangers Economy

By Jason Leopold
June 24, 2008

If the United States does not act soon to address health-care costs, federal and state governments as well as American businesses could face a cascading fiscal crisis with devastating long-term consequences, says a new report by the Government Accountability Office.

In the report entitled, “Long Term Federal Fiscal Challenge Driven Primarily by Health Care,” the GAO, the investigative arm of Congress, said an immediate “multi-pronged solution” must be pursued before the “window of opportunity” to address the issue closes.

Read on.