Category: Guest Commentary

In July 2005, 122 members of Congress, along with more than 500,000 Americans, sent a letter to President George W. Bush, asking him to verify whether the assertions set forth in the so-called “Downing Street Minutes” were accurate. The president never responded. That lack of response prompted Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.), Ranking Member of the…

Lewis Lapham, essayist extraordinaire and editor of Harper’s magazine, asked Congressman John Conyers what he thought the point was of publishing a lengthy report laying out evidence of Bush’s impeachable offenses. Conyers’ response was: “to take away the excuse that we didn’t know.” But Lapham still wanted to know what the hurry was: why not…

Laughter, cheers and applause filled the Steelworkers union headquarters in Pittsburgh when Allegheny County Labor Council President Jack Shea introduced steelworkers who had forced Florida Gov. Jeb Bush to flee into a subway closet the day before. Bush had ventured into this steel town to try to boost the campaign of Republican Sen. Rick Santorum,…

This country is in the middle of a moral meltdown. What should one call it but immoral when a country tortures people; when it kidnaps them off the street; when its Department of Justice writes disgraceful memoranda approving the kidnapping and torture; when it causes the deaths of tens of thousands of persons by artillery,…

“Loyalty to the country always. Loyalty to the government, when it deserves it.” – Mark Twain Washington, D.C. If you need a boost to your morale, or better yet, something to restore your faith in our fast-fading Republic, then I suggest that you make room on your schedule to attend a hearing of the “Out…

For the last four years I’ve traveled to Washington, D.C. to participate as a panelist or moderator of a workshop during the annual legislative conference put on by the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation. An annual event for the last 36 years, the four-day confab brings together thousands of people, namely African Americans, to meet with…

On Monday and Tuesday 21-22 August HBO aired Spike Lee’s awaited documentary: “When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts” about the devastation dropped on New Orleans in the wake of hurricane Katrina. Acts 1-2 aired on Monday night for two hours and fifteen minutes and acts 3-4 aired on Tuesday night for two…

“America simply does not have the will, resources, patience, care, or ability to “run” an empire or even an effective counterinsurgency. War, for Americans, is like a football game: one “wins” and then goes home. For many Americans, war means watching Oliver North on Fox TV and then cursing the foreigners for not doing what…

Across the U.S. political and media spectrum, there was wide agreement yesterday: Name-calling and personal attacks are bad for national and global dialogue. Prompting the unity were Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez’ comments that President Bush was the devil incarnate, “El Diablo”. Among those exercised (and exorcized) about Chavez’ name-calling were some of the loudest name-callers…

Jimmie Lee Jackson did not live to see his grandfather, Cager Lee, finally receive a voting card in his early 80s at the Marion, Alabama Town Hall, August 20, 1965. The day came just two weeks after the Voting Rights Act had been signed into law by President Johnson. Congress might not have passed the…