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The Plot Against Liberal America
Thomas Frank, author of What's the Matter with Kansas and The Wrecking Crew, writes for the New Statesman: "The most cherished dream of conservative Washington is that liberalism can somehow be defeated, finally and irreversibly, in the way that armies are beaten and pests are exterminated. Electoral victories by Republicans are just part of the story. The larger vision is of a future in which liberalism is physically barred from the control room - of an "end of history" in which taxes and onerous regulation will never be allowed to threaten the fortunes private individuals make for themselves. This is the longing behind the former White House aide Karl Rove's talk of 'permanent majority' and, 20 years previously, disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff's declaration to the Republican convention that it's 'the job of all revolutions to make permanent their gains.'"

States Rush to Dump Touchscreen Voting Systems
Julian Sanchez writes for Ars Technica: "It's a good time to pick up an electronic voting machine on the cheap - provided you're not a stickler for things like 'accuracy' or 'security.' States are scrapping tens of thousands of pricey touchscreen systems in response to mounting concerns about the machines' reliability."

Same Old White Guys Run the Debates
Marie Cocco writes for Truthdig: "A presidential campaign in which a prevailing theme is 'change' makes it all the easier to see just how much things remain the same. Take the presidential debates to be broadcast this fall. The Commission on Presidential Debates plans three events, as usual, with one a 'town hall' format featuring questions from voters, a recent custom on its way to becoming routine."

Republicans Jumping Ship
Hans Johnson writes for In These Times: "A wave of GOP state legislators and other officials is defecting from the Republican Party, exposing the role that an increasingly hard line on social issues may be playing in driving out moderates. The departures weaken the GOP as it confronts another challenging election."

Jerome Corsi: How a Racist, Conspiratorial Crank Became a Top GOP Anti-Obama Point Man
Max Blumenthal writes in The Nation: "These are good times for Jerome Corsi. Already notorious for his factually challenged book-length takedown of 2004 Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry, Unfit For Command, the 61-year-old Corsi has another hit on his hands. His new book, Obama Nation: Leftist Politics and the Cult of Personality, has made Corsi a hot commodity again on the right-wing radio circuit, the bane of the Obama campaign and catapulted to the top slot on the New York Times bestseller list. With his newfound notoriety, Corsi has brought his pathographic anti-Obama narrative to hundreds of thousands of readers--and millions on radio and TV--just as he did with Kerry. Corsi has become the court bard of the conservative movement. 'The goal is to defeat Obama,' Corsi told the New York Times. 'I don't want Obama to be in office.'"

Same Sex Marriage Affects the Whole Country
Suzi Steffen writes for Alternet: "Patchwork, partying, pessimism, politics: That's the state, so to speak, of same-sex marriage around the U.S. since same-sex couples began lining up to get married in California on the afternoon of June 16. News of the California Supreme Court's May 15 decision, which said that denying marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples was unconstitutional, surprised some observers because it came from a Republican-appointed court -- and thrilled couples across the country because California does not have residency requirements for marriage."

When Education is Unequal
Cheryle Jackson writes about the Illinois educational funding in the Chicago Tribute - Kansas should take note: "This week, in a lawsuit brought against the State of Illinois and the State Board of Education, the Chicago Urban League and Quad County Urban League called on the courts to end the discriminatory and unconstitutional way public school education is funded in Illinois. This is not just an educational issue, but a civil rights issue, too, for thousands of African-American and Latino students whose social and economic future is being shortchanged by a flawed state policy."

SPECIAL LIVE COVERAGE: Unconventional: Pacifica's Live 2008 Convention Broadcasts

Loking for an alternative to mass media coverage of the national presidential conventions? Pacifica will provide live coverage of the Democratic and Republican National Conventions.

DATES:
DNC: Monday, 8/25/08; Tuesday, 8/26/08; Wednesday 8/27/08; Thursday 8/28/08
RNC: Monday, 9/1/08; Tuesday, 9/2/08; Wednesday 9/3/08; Thursday 9/4/08

TIME: 5:00 PM – 9 PM Pacific / 6:PM – 10 PM Mountain / 7:PM – 11:PM
Central / 8:PM – Midnight Eastern.*
*There is a small chance that the demands of live event coverage will prompt the broadcasts to run over. In that event, notice will go out over PacificaAnnounce, and the broadcast will continue until the top of the following hour.

To listen, click on the title of this announcement - you will be taken to the Pacifica homepage - and then choose a Pacifica station from the list in the upper right hand corner.