David Swanson |

David Swanson and David Rovics

David Swanson – Author ‘War is a Lie’
David Rovics – Musician

Host: Basima Farhat

Previously Aired On: Tuesday, February 21, 2012 – Listen to the Show!

ABOUT David Swanson
David Swanson is an American author, blogger, and anti-war activist. He served as press secretary for Ohio congressman Dennis Kucinich’s 2004 presidential campaign. He was a key figure in making the Downing Street Memo known across America. The memo, the leaked minutes of a meeting of the British war cabinet, exposed the lies behind the war in Iraq and was a key element in turning the majority of American people against the war in Iraq.

ABOUT ‘WAR IS A LIE’
WAR IS A LIE is a thorough refutation of every major argument used to justify wars, drawing on evidence from numerous past wars, with a focus on those wars that have been most widely defended as just and good. This is a handbook of sorts, a manual to be used in debunking future lies before future wars have a chance to begin.

“David Swanson’s War Is A Lie (Charlottesville, VA, 2010) may be the most comprehensive antiwar statement available in the English language.” — Kevin Young, ZNet

“David Swanson despises war and lying, and unmasks them both with rare intelligence. I learn something new on every page.” — Jeff Cohen, founder of FAIR and author of Cable News Confidential.

“There are three insightful books I’ve read that explain how and why no good can come of the current U.S. reliance on military force and war in seeking its desired ‘Pax Americana’: War Is A Racket by General Smedley Butler; War Is A Force That Gives Us Meaning by Chris Hedges, and War Is A Lie by David Swanson.” — Coleen Rowley, former FBI special agent, whistleblower, and Time magazine person of the year.

“If you stop and think, and genuinely wonder; and long for a new, better world, I urge you to read a book I’ve just finished. It’s self-published, brilliantly and passionately written, and while being truthful is full of hope of destroying the military-industrial-media-congressional-imperialpresidential-complex. It’s “War Is A Lie” by David Swanson.” – Mumia Abu-Jamal.

“If decisions to go to war were really made on the basis of reason and facts, rather than greed and power, David Swanson’s brilliant new book would put a stop to them. Those of us who know David understand that he writes quickly and eloquently, speaks honestly and powerfully, and follows a logical point all the way to its conclusion. He has a philosopher’s mind with a computer’s precision. And he always maintains a justifiable moral outrage at the lies of the war criminals — calling out their crimes, detailing their carnage, poking holes in their excuses. Reading ‘War Is a Lie’ is like reading Mark Twain’s ‘War Prayer,’ only in book form.” — Steve Cobble, IPS Associate Fellow, PDA co-founder, AfterDowningStreet.org co-founder, Jackson & Kucinich campaign advisor.

“While Americans elect leaders whom they trust are honest, truthful and really care about the kids they send to kill for our country, War Is A Lie reveals decade after decade the sordid side of our history — that our elected officials lie us into war with stunning and embarrassing regularity and are little concerned about the harm to innocent civilians, much less to members of our own military.” — Colonel (retired) Ann Wright, author of Dissent: Voices of Conscience.

“This book is every American’s best defense against the greatest danger we face as human beings: the threat of war. Swanson reveals how American leaders (from both major political parties) have confused the public to create the illusion of consent for endless destruction and slaughter. Behind the fear-mongering, flag-waving and lies of George W. Bush and the blandishments of Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama lies the ugly reality that our leaders have been seduced by political ambition, delusions of military superiority, and the promise of secrecy and impunity to commit otherwise unthinkable crimes.” — Nicolas J. S. Davies, Author of Blood On Our Hands: the American Invasion and Destruction of Iraq.

“David Swanson is an antidote to the toxins of complacency and evasion. He insists on rousing the sleepwalkers, confronting the deadly prevaricators and shining a bright light on possibilities for a truly better world.” — Norman Solomon, author of War Made Easy: How Presidents and Pundits Keep Spinning Us to Death.

For more information visit WarIsALie.org.

ABOUT DAVID ROVICS – Musician
David Rovics grew up in a family of classical musicians in Wilton, Connecticut, and became a fan of populist regimes early on. By the early 90′s he was a full-time busker in the Boston subways and by the mid-90′s he was traveling the world as a professional flat-picking rabble-rouser. These days David lives with his family in Portland, Oregon and tours regularly on four continents, playing for audiences large and small at cafes, pubs, universities, churches, union halls and protest rallies.

He has shared the stage with a veritable of who’s who of the left in two dozen countries, and has had his music featured on Democracy Now!, BBC, Al-Jazeera and other networks. His essays are published regularly on CounterPunch elsewhere, and the 200+ songs he makes available for free on the web have been downloaded more than a million times. Most importantly, he’s really good. He will make you laugh, he will make you cry, he will make the revolution irresistible.

Most recently David wrote a tribute to Khader Adnan that you may listen to here:

For more about David Rovics please visit: http://DavidRovics.com

David Swanson

Author of “Daybreak: Undoing the Imperial Presidency and Forming a More Perfect Union”

Host: Basima Farhat

Previously Aired On: Tuesday, October 20, 2009 – Listen to the Show!

David Swanson is the author of the new book “Daybreak: Undoing the Imperial Presidency and Forming a More Perfect Union” by Seven Stories Press and of the introduction to “The 35 Articles of Impeachment and the Case for Prosecuting George W. Bush,” by Dennis Kucinich.

Swanson holds a master’s degree in philosophy from the University of Virginia. He has worked as a newspaper reporter and as a communications director, with jobs including press secretary for Dennis Kucinich’s 2004 presidential campaign, media coordinator for the International Labor Communications Association, and three years as communications coordinator for ACORN, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now.

Swanson is Co-Founder of AfterDowningStreet.org, creator of ProsecuteBushCheney.org and Washington Director of Democrats.com, a board member of Progressive Democrats of America, the Backbone Campaign, Voters for Peace, and the Liberty Tree Foundation for the Democratic Revolution, a convenor of the legislative working group of United for Peace and Justice, chair of the UFPJ working group on Accountability and Prosecution, and a member of the Robert Jackson Steering Committee.

Swanson’s website AfterDowningStreet was named a Most Valuable Progressive by the Nation Magazine’s John Nichols in 2005, 2006, and 2007.

Swanson contributed a chapter to “Project Rewire: New Media from the Inside Out,” by Judy Daubenmier.

Swanson contributed a chapter called “Flame-Broiled Shark: How Predatory Lending Victims Fought Back and Won,” to “The Wealth Inequality Reader” by Dollars and Sense and United for a Fair Economy.

Swanson contributed his article “2009: Year of the Filibuster” to At Issue: Does the U.S. Two Party System Still Work? published by Gale, a part of Cengage Learning.

In 2009, Swanson created a website for CODE PINK and Global Exchange to market a company investing in wind energy in Iran: http://windsofchangeiran.com and another website for Cindy Sheehan’s counter recruitment effort: http://nomorecannonfodder.org He also created a website for a book by Les Leopold: http://lootingofamerica.org

Swanson has created Drupal websites for lots of peace and justice groups, including http://charlottesvillepeace.org and http://acpjva.org and http://www.vawn.org and many others, including sites for short-lived campaigns like this one http://johnsonmustgo.org

Swanson regularly serves as a judge in the annual labor media contest overseen by the International Labor Communications Association.

In 2008, Swanson hosted a weekly radio show at http://thepeoplespeakradio.net

In April and May 2007, Swanson consulted part-time for Kucinich for President 2008.

Swanson was the organizer in 2006 of Camp Democracy.

He has served on the steering committee of the Charlottesville Center for Peace and Justice (2006-2008).

He has served on the Executive Council of the Washington Baltimore Newspaper Guild (2005).

Swanson has been …

Published in Baltimore Sun, Washington Examiner, Humanist.

Quoted in and reported on in the Nation, In These Times, Progressive, Mother Jones.

Published often on: DavidSwanson.org, Democrats.com, PDAmerica.org, AfterDowningStreet.org, Truthout.org, Alternet.org, TomPaine.com, HuffingtonPost.org, OpEdNews.com, American Chronicle, Democratic Underground, DailyKos.com, MichaelMoore.com, BuzzFlash.com, ConsortiumNews.com.

Heard often on Pacifica, Air America, other progressive radio.

Hosted programs on Pacifica, and a long-running show on The People Speak Radio.

Seen on Fox, CNN, PBS, C-Span, Democracy Now!, Free Speech TV, Link TV, RealNews.com.

Swanson works for Democrats.com as its Washington Director and spends a lot of time in our nation’s capital. He does paid work for other peace and justice groups, including creating websites and organizing campaigns. He consults for Dennis Kucinich each time he runs for president. He also earns money speaking at events, selling ads and raising donations on AfterDowningStreet.org, and writing articles and books. The AfterDowningStreet website is funded by VelvetRevolution.us.

Swanson lives in Charlottesville VA with his wife Anna Swanson and son Wesley Swanson, and can see Thomas Jefferson’s house Monticello from his window. James Madison’s house is also close enough for Swanson to feel it when he rolls in his grave.

Peace Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning – David Swanson

David Swanson was a previous guest of our show in April 2006, January 2007, and May 2007.

Here’s an opt-ed piece David recently wrote for opednews.com:

If you haven’t already, you really should read Chris Hedges’ book “War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning.” The portrait of war and wartime propaganda and emotion is brilliant and deadly accurate. But the headline is misleading. War does not give us lasting solid self-assured meaning. War gives us a temporary high that is rooted in desperate self-deception. Hedges’ book carries on the cover a photo of people with candles and U.S. flags, holding hands, eyes closed, mouths open. These people are smoking crack, they’re taking a two-week cruise of the Caribbean, they’re on stage at American Idol, they’re kneeling in church, they’re tapping shoes in airport men’s rooms. These people are escaping from their lives, not building lives that mean something to them.

David Swanson

AfterDowningStreet.org

Previously Aired On: April 26, 2006 – Listen to this Show!
Also our Guest On: February 20, 2007 – Listen to this Show!
Also our Guest On: May 15, 2007 – Listen to this Show!

David Swanson is the Washington Director of Democrats.com and of ImpeachPAC.org. He is co-founder of the AfterDowningStreet.org, CensureBush.org coalition, creator of MeetWithCindy.org and KatrinaMarch.org, and a board member of Progressive Democrats of America.

He has worked as a newspaper reporter and as a communications director, with jobs including Press Secretary for Dennis Kucinich’s 2004 presidential campaign, Media Coordinator for the International Labor Communications Association, and three years as Communications Coordinator for ACORN, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now.

Swanson serves on the Executive Council of the Washington Baltimore Newspaper Guild. He obtained a Master’s degree in philosophy from the University of Virginia in 1997. His website is www.davidswanson.org. in writing to your school districts superintendent.

May 15th, 2007 --Previous Guests--, David Swanson | one comment