Daniel Berrigan: Forty Years After Catonsville

Staff / Truthdig May 23, 2008 Truthdig columnist Chris Hedges recently spoke to Father Daniel Berrigan, who at 87 is observing the 40th anniversary of a crucial act of civil disobedience in Catonsville, Md. The priest offers Hedges a frank assessment of our times: "I have never had such meager expectations of the system." Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

Chalmers Johnson on Our ‘Managed Democracy’

BLANK May 16, 2008 Sheldon Wolin's new book offers a controversial but ultimately convincing diagnosis of how America's democracy has succumbed to an unacknowledged totalitarian temptation. Dig deeper ( 12 Min. Read )

The Imperial Palace of Iraq

Staff / Truthdig Apr 18, 2008 Nothing says permanent U.S. occupation of Iraq more than the construction of the largest embassy in the world, a $474-million compound with 27 different buildings, 619 apartments and an Olympic-size swimming pool -- all, of course, for a country with 26.7 million people and 115 billion barrels of proven oil reserves. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

America in the Time of Empire

Chris Hedges / Truthdig Nov 26, 2007 All great empires and nations decay from within. By the time they hobble off the world stage, overrun by the hordes at the gates or vanishing quietly into the pages of history books, what made them successful and powerful no longer has relevance. Dig deeper ( 4 Min. Read )

Discovery Resurrects Rome’s Founding Myth

Staff / Truthdig Nov 22, 2007 The revered myth holds that Rome was founded by the twins Romulus and Remus, rescued and raised as infants by a she-wolf. Now, scientists say they have discovered an ornate cave that ancient Romans believed to be the wolf's lair. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Chavez and Ahmadinejad Huddle in Iran

Staff / Truthdig Nov 20, 2007 Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez stopped off in Tehran to meet with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Monday after the weekend's OPEC summit in Saudi Arabia, marking Chavez's fourth trip to Iran in two years. During their tête-à-tête, the two least likely leaders to drop in for dinner at the White House discussed, among other things, the dollar's recent and precipitous decline. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Commonwealth Gives Musharraf an Ultimatum

Staff / Truthdig Nov 13, 2007 The Commonwealth, a kind of shadow U.N. for the former British empire, has threatened to suspend Pakistan's membership unless President Pervez Musharraf puts an end to his emergency rule within 10 days. Pakistan was banned from the organization between 1999 and 2004 after Musharraf came to power through a coup. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Dissent From the Front Lines

Robert Scheer / Truthdig Oct 17, 2007 When will we listen to the troops? I'm not talking about soldiers used as props for a George Bush photo op, telling reporters what Washington wants to hear. The Iraq war has produced brilliant messages of dissent from the ranks that should cause us to stop in our tracks and reconsider what we have wrought. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

And Bush Fiddles While the Icecaps Melt

Staff / Truthdig Jun 11, 2007 Cullen Murphy joins Stephen Colbert to compare and contrast the American and Roman empires. For all the old empire's glory, its rampant poverty, disease and corruption, combined with endless war, make for an unwelcome comparison. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Hail and Farewell: the End of the American Empire

Gore Vidal / Truthdig Apr 16, 2007 The iconic author, historian and patriot suggests that perhaps there's a more sinister explanation for the president's fiascos than mere incompetence: He's out to destroy the American empire. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

TD Original

President Jonah, Meet Oliver Cromwell!

Gore Vidal / Truthdig Feb 8, 2006 Building on his "President Jonah" theme, Gore Vidal offers another angle on Bush's presidency, illuminated by the recent spate of wildfires in Southern California.Updated: Internationally-acclaimed man of letters Gore Vidal issues a new conclusion to his essay about the corruption of the Bush administration: "This is what we call dictatorship. Dictatorship. Dictatorship. And it is time we objected." Dig deeper ( 11 Min. Read )