contributions

by Eric Foner
Undoubtedly the most celebrated and influential account of American life by a foreign observer is Democracy in America, written by Alexis de Tocqueville after his visit to the United States in the 1830s. As a French aristocrat, Tocqueville rather disliked democracy, but he understood that it had become central to Americans’ understanding of themselves. Democracy, he recognized, was more than simply the right to vote; it was a habit of the heart, a deeply rooted set of beliefs (…)

By Steve Weissman
As we approach the week when Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald’s grand jury will undoubtedly issue indictments against White House officials, the seldom considered 1982 CIA shield law under which the Plame case was first launched deserves some attention. When Karl Rove, I. Lewis Libby, and possibly others decided to reveal the identity of CIA officer Valerie Plame, they clearly wanted to punish her husband, former Ambassador Joe Wilson, for undermining administration (…)

Another World Really is Possible!
Hosted by Leicester Social Forum Saturday 5th November 12 - 6 pm at the Secular Hall, Humberstone Gate, in Leicester, there will be the National Gathering of people from Local Social Forum in UK
Saturday The discussion in small groups will focus on the role of Local Social Forums answering to questions like
What do Local Forums do now?
Can we have national SF campaigns ?
How we can co-ordinate and support each other nationally ?
Expiriences of (…)

Senator Kerry is scheduled to deliver a searing speech on Bush’s Iraq policy while laying out a decisive path for the future of the Iraqi people, our troops and our country. His bold plan calls for the beginning of troop withdrawal, with 20,000 coming home over the holidays and complete disengagement within 12-15 months. “No more shell games, no more false reports of progress, but specific and measurable goals.”
Kerry doesn’t only target Bush for criticism, he is also clear that the truths (…)

THE POWER TO DESTROY Tax crusader Irwin Schiff found guilty on all counts Faces possible 43 years in prison, $3.25 million in fines for evasion Posted: October 25, 2005 2:50 a.m. Eastern
© 2005 WorldNetDaily.com
Irwin Schiff seen promoting his book, ’The Federal Mafia: How the Government Illegally Imposes and Unlawfully Collects Income Taxes’
Irwin Schiff, the Nevada man who has made a career out of telling Americans that payment of federal income taxes is voluntary instead of (…)

OSEN makes cannon-ball splash opening with release of disclosure testimonial videos
Earth-shattering never-before-seen video testimonials released for the first time, featuring seven energy inventors. Affidavit witnesses urge an end to suppression of new energy technologies that could eliminate our suicidal dependence on fossil fuel.
by Sterling D. Allan, Executive News Editor Open Source Energy Network
Photo by Carmen Muller (OSEN) Carmen Miller (OSEN), daughter of the late inventor, (…)

"I can’t believe that some people in Washington think that after a category 5 hurricane the solution is to unleash a category 5 assault on working families.” That was the sentiment of Hurricane Katrina survivors, brought to Washington to draw attention to mounting needs that continue to go unanswered. Campaign for America’s Future sponsored the visit of several survivors who met today with Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.
The (…)

Former United Nations weapons inspector and Marine Scott Ritter appeared on The Alex Jones Show and stated that he wouldn’t rule out the possibility of the Bush administration staging a terror attack in order to jolt a wavering foreign policy agenda back on track.
Ritter compared the atmosphere within the administration to that during the time of Watergate, where Nixon considered utilizing America’s nuclear arsenal to create a devastating diversion from domestic calamity.
"Nothing this (…)

THE BACKGROUND
To this day, there has been no independent official inquiry into the attacks of September 11, 2001. The Kean Commission, with which most Americans are familiar, was based on the Bush/PNAC version of events. It was charged with probing the breakdown of intelligence prior to the attacks and making suggestions for improving communications among the competing agencies involved. The Commission, formed after more than a year of opposition by the Bush administration, did (…)

from die WELT:
by Jeffrey Gedmin, Director, Aspen Institute Berlin
After attending in Paris recently a meeting of pro-democracy Syrians, I returned sheepishly to Berlin. That’s because I have the strong impression that a majority of Germans think like Peter Scholl Latour, namely that a) the Middle East does not want democracy; b) the outside world could not help anyway; and c) that the Amis should definitely not interfere.
I always wondered why Chancellor Schroeder would pile on his (…)