“A little knowledge that acts is worth infinitely more than much knowledge that is idle.” — Kahlil Gibran

We continue our series examining the Impact of W, we’ll look at how the last eight years of George W Bush’s presidency have affected the lives of the poor, of women and minorities, of immigrants, gays and lesbians. It’s part 2 of our three part, end-of-the-year series. How much has been devastated? And how will we ever recover?

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As we approach the end of 8 years of George W Bush, we launch today a three part series examining the impact of this president, leaving office with one of the worst approval ratings in history. Today we focus on the war abroad and the war at home: the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the loss of civil liberties and privacy and massive expansion of powers of the executive branch of government.

GUEST: Robert Parry, veteran reporter, editor of ConsortiumNews.com, a reader-supported investigative webpage. Parry broke many of the Iran-Contra stories for Associated Press and Newsweek. His books include “Neck Deep: The Disastrous Presidency of George W. Bush,” written with two of his sons, Sam and Nat Parry.

To read Parry’s work, visit www.consortiumnews.com.

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Empire Notes are weekly commentaries filed by Rahul Mahajan, author of Full Spectrum Dominance and The New Crusade. Today’s commentary is on Israel’s War on Gaza.

GUEST: Rahul Mahajan, author of Full Spectrum Dominance and The New Crusade.

Visit www.empirenotes.org for more information.

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by Subversive Historian Gabriel San Roman

Ninety-eight years ago on this day in people’s history, Mexican revolutionary Praxedis G. Guerrero died on his feet. On December 29th 1910, the anarchist contemporary of the Flores Magon brothers was killed fighting federal troops in Janos, Chihuahua in the course of the Mexican revolution. All too often overlooked by history, Guerrero left his privileged background as a son of a hacendado, to dedicate his life to the winds of change that swept Mexico. Gifted with the pen, he wrote poetically about revolution in the pages of Regeneracion in addition to other newspapers. It was Guerrero who first said “It is better to die on your feet than to live on your knees,” and held true to his word dying for …

“We have now sunk to a depth at which restatement of the obvious is the first duty of intelligent men.” — George Orwell

As the countdown begins for the end of 8 years of George W. Bush, we’ll spend the hour live with Bob Parry, author of “Neck Deep: The Disastrous Presidency of George W. Bush,” and we’ll take your calls about Bush’s war abroad and the war at home. It’s part 1 of a three part series examining the “Impact of W.” How much has been devastated? And how will we ever recover?

Boogieman: The Lee Atwater Story (originally aired on Sep 30 ’08)

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Many of us know Karl Rove as Bush’s Brain. But we don’t hear as much about Karl Rove’s mentor, the late Lee Atwater. Credited with helping elect W’s father against Democrat Michael Dukakis in 1988, Atwater legitimized the Republican playbook of negative campaigning, coded racism, working the rumor mill, and worse, to get candidates elected. Starting at a very young age in his home state of South Carolina, Atwater began his ascent into the Republican Party by leading the College Republicans where he started practicing his approach to election campaigning. His audacity and success led him to be a Ronald Reagan aide, and then chief campaign strategist for George H W Bush, and finally, Chair of the Republican National Committee. His reputation …

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“The Largest Mass Execution in US History” by Subversive Historian Gabriel San Roman

One-hundred and thirty-six years ago on this day in people’s history, thirty-eight Dakota men were hanged. On December 26th, 1862, the mass execution of the condemned men in Mankato, Minnesota was the largest such act ever carried out in the history of the United States. The hangings marked an end to the Dakota Sioux Uprising that had taken place earlier that year in August. With tension building over broken treaties between the U.S. government and Dakota people, a council of chiefs opted for an uprising after five white settlers were ambushed and killed by a hunting expedition. The Dakota launched attacks on New Ulm and Fort Ridgely before being defeated at Wood Lake after white settlers were reinforced by the …

“An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.” — Martin Luther King, Jr.