Author/activist David Swanson is coming to speak at the Tisbury Senior Center from 4 to 6 p.m. on Nov. 7.

Hosted by the Martha’s Vineyard Peace Council, Mr. Swanson will be introducing his latest book, Daybreak: Undoing the Imperial Presidency and Forming a More Perfect Union, released Sept. 1 by Seven Stories Press. Copies will be available at this event.

Daybreak is described as a citizen’s guide to the long-term task of removing power from the hands of one person, placing it in a body of representatives, and making that body truly representative of the American people. Mr. Swanson’s analysis argues the imperial presidency, which advanced so dramatically during the Bush-Cheney era, will not be stopped merely by electing better presidents. Major structural changes are needed to rein in the presidential empire. He argues that only active citizens can bring about these changes,

Mr. Swanson also wrote the introduction to The 35 Articles of Impeachment and the Case for Prosecuting George W. Bush. He was press secretary for Dennis Kucinich’s 2004 presidential campaign, media coordinator for the International Labor Communications Association, and spent three years as communications coordinator for ACORN, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform.

He is cofounder of AfterDowningStreet.org, creator of ConvictBushCheney.org and Washington director of Democrats.com, a board member of Progressive Democrats of America, the Backbone Campaign, and Voters for Peace, a convenor of the legislative working group of United for Peace and Justice, and chair of the accountability and prosecution working group of United for Peace and Justice.

John Nichols of The Nation wrote that, “When people ask about how and where to follow what is happening with the movements to end the war in Iraq, to prevent a war with Iran and to hold to account those who launched one mad war and now seek to initiate another, the answer is always AfterDowningStreet.org site. Constantly updated by the indefatigable David Swanson, the site is fresh — there were even six posts on Christmas Day — and it features local actions (via YouTube) as well as national interventions. Because it is so thorough and so engaged with local and regional protests and events, the site provides the best illustration of the extent to which mainstream media has neglected the most vital movements of the moment.”