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Readings 2008

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  • The Audacity of Government – Ira Glass, This American Life
    Stories of the Bush Administration, its unique style of asserting presidential authority, and its quest to redefine the limits of presidential power. – American Public Radio, March 28, 2008

  • A country whose people rule – Mickey Edwards
    Reminded of the public's disapproval of the war in Iraq, now five years old, the vice president shrugged off that fact (and thus, the people themselves) with a one-word answer: "So?" – StartTribune, March 29, 2008

  • American Public Says Government Leaders Should Pay Attention to Polls – Program on International Policy Attitudes, University of Maryland
    In sharp contrast to Vice President Cheney, a new poll finds that an overwhelming majority of Americans that the public should generally have more influence over government leaders than it does. – WorldPublicOpinion.org, March 21, 2008

  • Coming home – Kendall Anderson
    Minnesota female veterans face unique challenges. Nearly 1/3 of a nationwide sample of female veterans seeking V.A. health care said they experienced rape or attempted rape during their service. – Minnesota Women's Press, March 18, 2008

  • Election Guide 2008 – New York Times
    Compare the three presidential candidates' positions and statements on Iraq, Iran, and more. – 2007 - 2008

  • A Permanent Presence? Dangers of a Long-Term U.S. Security Commitment to Iraq – Council for a Livable World
    On November 26, 2007, President George Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki released a "Declaration of Principles for a Long-Term Relationship of Cooperation and Friendship between the Republic of Iraq and the United States of America." – January-February 2008

  • The FBI Deputizes Business – Matthew Rothschild
    More than 23,000 representatives of private industry are working quietly with the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security. This rapidly growing group, called InfraGard, receive secret warnings of terrorist threats before the public does — and, at least once, before elected officials. In return, they provide information to the government, which alarms the ACLU. – The Progressive, March 2008

  • Foreign Policy and the President's Irrelevance – George Friedman
    What the candidates are saying after the passion is boiled away, and what they are likely to do if they become president. – Stratfor, February 5, 2008

  • Truth or Terrorism? The Real Story Behind Five Years of High Alerts –Tim Dickinson
    "Sometimes we disagreed with the intelligence assessment. There were times when some people in the administration were really aggressive about raising the threat level, and we said, 'For that?!'" – Rolling Stone, February 7, 2008

  • Going Bankrupt – Chalmers Johnson on TomDispatch.com
    The neoconservatives in the White House and the Pentagon failed to address how to finance the imperialist wars and global domination. Now the debt crisis is the greatest threat to the American republic. – CommonDreams.org, January 23, 2008

  • Six Years of Guantanamo: Enough Is Enough! – Andy Worthington
    Six years ago, on Jan. 11, 2002, the first of 778 prisoners -- referred to as "detainees" and identified only by numbers -- arrived at a hastily erected prison in the U.S. naval base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, where, ever since, they have been subjected to a disturbingly lawless experiment. – AlterNet, January 11, 2008