Playlist: GOVERNMENT
Compiled By: Erika McGinty
Corporations, Congress - and the lack of daylight between the two.
What does it take to represent the people? A quid-pro-quo with private industry and any lobby with a wad of cash.
Moral outrage provides justification for unnecessary, ineffective, and often unconstitutional legislation.
Private interests create solutions without problems, supply without need.
Corporate, governmental - and the lack of daylight between them
The Surprising History of the Second Amendment and the NRA
From Burton Cohen | 59:31
Up until an internal coup in 1977, the NRA supported gun control and recognized that the second amendment has never been for unrestricted access to all guns, that is until Scalia in 2007.
The belief that the Second Amendment guarantees every individual the right to possess and carry any sort of gun anywhere is exceptionally recent. Guest on this show is Alternet senior fellow Stephen Rosenfeld, who has written a series of articles revealing history that is very inconvenient to the 2013 leadership of the NRA. He reveals that gun rights and gun control have existed side by side steadily since America's founding. And he also shows that the NRA leadership itself favored reasonable gun regulations until an internal coup in 1977. This is a fascinating history, which should be very useful to move us forward.
The Electoral College's Dirty History
From Making Contact | Part of the Making Contact series | 29:00
Yale University Law & Political Science Professor Akhil Reed Amar says the electoral college discourages voting, lessens the power of the states, and could work to the disadvantage of either major political party. Professor Amar speaks with Angela McKenzie of Initiative Radio about how the US constitution can be changed to create a more fair and just society.
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- The Electoral College's Dirty History
- From
- Making Contact
Who are the electors, anyway? And will the United States ever join the rest of the world, and adopt a popular vote for president? Yale University Law & Political Science Professor Akhil Reed Amar says the electoral college discourages voting, lessens the power of the states, and could work to the disadvantage of either major political party. On this edition, Professor Akhil Reed Amar speaks with Angela McKenzie of Initiative Radio about how the US constitution can be changed to create a more fair and just society.
Featuring:
Akhil Reed Amar , Yale University Sterling Professor of Law and Political Science; Angela McKenzie, Initiative Radio Host.
Obama 2012: The Lesser Evil?
From Making Contact | Part of the Making Contact series | 29:01
Barack Obama’s first term has been a disappointment for many, and leaves open the question for those with a progressive agenda—is voting for Obama in 2012 the best route to take? We hear excerpts of a panel discussion titled “The 2012 Elections: Lesser Evil or Left Alternative?”
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- Obama 2012: The Lesser Evil?
- From
- Making Contact
The election of Barack Obama generated hope for a new progressive national agenda. The reality, however, has been a disappointment for many, and leaves open the question for those on the left—is voting for Obama in 2012 the best route to take? On this edition, we hear excerpts of a panel discussion at the 2012 Left Forum, titled “The 2012 Elections: Lesser Evil or Left Alternative?”
Special thanks to People of Color Organize.
Featuring:
Glen Ford, Black Agenda Report co-founder and editor; Margaret Kimberley, Black Agenda Report columnist; Suren Moodliar, Massachusetts Global Action coordinator
Motherhood by Choice not Chance
From Making Contact | Part of the Making Contact series | 29:00
Before it was legal in the United States, some doctors would risk arrest to provide women with access to safe abortions. When that wasn’t possible, some sought abortions from unsafe providers, often with deadly consequences. The Supreme Court legalized abortion, in 1973, and the numbers of people dying after having an abortion dropped, but are we now seeing a return to the past? On this edition, what can the time before abortion was legal, tell us about the dangers of restricting access to abortion today? We’ll hear a special radio adaption of "Motherhood by Choice not Chance" a documentary produced and narrated by Dorothy Fadiman.
- Playing
- Motherhood by Choice not Chance
- From
- Making Contact
Before it was legal in the United States, some doctors would risk arrest to provide women with access to safe abortions. When that wasn’t possible, some sought abortions from unsafe providers, often with deadly consequences. The Supreme Court legalized abortion, in 1973, and the numbers of people dying after having an abortion dropped, but are we now seeing a return to the past? On this edition, what can the time before abortion was legal, tell us about the dangers of restricting access to abortion today? We’ll hear a special radio adaption of "Motherhood by Choice not Chance" a documentary produced and narrated by Dorothy Fadiman.
The Business of Shock
From Business Matters | Part of the Business Matters series | 59:00
This week, Business Matters will explore how the lame-duck Bush Administration and the Federal Reserve are applying a kind shock therapy to the economy, and we’ll spend the hour with the best-selling author of The Shock Doctrine, Naomi Klein.
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- The Business of Shock
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- Business Matters
In her book, The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism, Naomi Klein delves into the secret history of capitalism, and explains how the “free-market” has expanded by exploiting periods of shock and crisis. She spent years traveling to disaster zones to see how the policies forced through in crisis impact people on the ground, and her insight is particularly valuable in this time of crisis in the US and world economy.
Today, we are in such a time of political upheaval and economic crisis. Just as outlined by Naomi Klein, in this time of shock, large banks and financial interests are trying to push through corporate-friendly policies. Can we somehow break the cycle of shocks with a new administration?
Moyers & Company #134 The Resurrection of Ralph Reed
From Moyers & Company | Part of the Moyers & Company series | 54:00
PLEASE NOTE: Program-specific and generic promos available now. Full show available Friday, August 31th. While Romney, Ryan, Christie, and Rubio get the lion’s share of attention during the Republican Convention this week, three one-time college Republicans who are now the party’s real power-brokers -- Karl Rove, Ralph Reed, and Grover Norquist -- are busy doing what they do best: leveraging their political, religious, and financial resources to back pro-corporate, anti-government objectives at the core of the conservative agenda.
The true surprise at the Tampa convention is Ralph Reed’s resurrection. When the former head of the Christian Coalition was discovered to have raked in millions of dollars from the super lobbyist -- and eventually convicted felon -- Jack Abramoff, Reed wound up in political purgatory. But outraged by the election of Barack Obama, and responding to what he describes as God’s call (via Sean Hannity), Reed returned to start the Faith and Freedom Coalition with the aim of toppling Barack Obama from the White House. To succeed, Reed needs to win the allegiance of many of the trusting Christian followers he had duped and double-crossed while working with Abramoff. Can he pull it off? That’s the story this week on Moyers & Company (check local listings).
Later on the show, Bill also talks with Mike Lofgren, a long-time Republican who says the rise of politicized religious fundamentalism transformed his party and created a de facto religious test for the presidency. Lofgren tells the story in his book The Party is Over: How Republicans Went Crazy, Democrats Became Useless, and the Middle Class Got Shafted.
Catch-22
From The humble Farmer | 01:17
war and business
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- Catch-22
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- The humble Farmer
war and business are the same
Using Wealth to Deny Voting Rights
From Barry Vogel | Part of the Radio Curious series | 29:01
Radio Curious visits with Ari Berman, a contributing writer for The Nation Magazine, who writes regularly on election and voting rights issues. His May 19, 2015 article is titled “How the Money Primary is Undermining Voting Rights.”
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- Using Wealth to Deny Voting Rights
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- Barry Vogel
The financing of political campaigns is the subject of this, July 21, 2015, edition of Radio Curious. Our guest is Ari Berman, a contributing writer for The Nation Magazine, who writes regularly on election and voting rights issues. His May 19, 2015 article is titled “How the Money Primary is Undermining Voting Rights.”
Berman asks: “When the wealthiest Americans dominate every facet of political life—from who runs, to who wins, to which issues are addressed, to how our leaders govern—what happens to the voting rights of everyone else?”
The consequences of the Supreme Court’s 2010 and 2014 decisions in "Citizens United," and "McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission," provide some insight.
When Ari Berman and I visited by phone from his office in Washington D.C. on June 8, 2015, we began when I asked him to define the word “wealth,” that is being used to deny the right to vote.
The books Ari Berman recommends are “Walking With the Wind: A Memoir of the Movement” by John Lewis, and “Housekeeping,” by Marilynne Robinson.
Former FBI Agent, Coleen Rowley Talks About 9/11 Intelligence Failures and GWOT
From Doug Bennett | Part of the Unspun: An Experiment in Truth-Telling series | 57:42
Former FBI Special Agent and whistleblower, Coleen Rowley, joins us to discuss the greatest intelligence failure in American History. She had a front row seat to the incompetence and/or possible complicity of the Bush administration that led to the attacks of 9/11.
Former FBI Special Agent and whistleblower, Coleen Rowley , joins us to discuss the greatest intelligence failure in American History. She had a front row seat to the incompetence and/or possible complicity of the Bush administration that led to the attacks of 9/11. She received the Sam Adams Award in 2002 and was a Woman of the Year on the Time Magazine's cover that same year. She warned about the fraudulent case for the invasion of Iraq and the probable consequences (ISIL anyone?) in 2003. She continues to work with other intelligence professionals and whistleblowers to restore democracy and end the so-called "War on Terror." She recommended the great alternative news site, Consortium News .
Trump and the Politics of Paranoia
From MIchael Goldfarb | 27:30
Donald Trump and the tradition of using fear to win elections in America
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- Trump and the Politics of Paranoia
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- MIchael Goldfarb
Donald Trump is just the latest in a long line of purveyors of fear to rise in American politics. He has reached the top trading on what Richard Hofstadter titel "The Paranoid Style in American Politics." I this documentary, Michael Goldfarb interviews leading historians to tell the story of the "paranoid style." He also interviews early Trump supporters.
What To Do After Paris?
From Open Source | Part of the Open Source with Christopher Lydon series | 58:37
With Amb. Chas Freeman, a freethinking veteran of foreign service, and the French journalist Sylvain Cypel, we’re in the Open Source situation room, trying to see the tragic attacks in Paris and the force called Daesh in the right light, as a hellish problem with causes — and solutions.
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- What To Do After Paris?
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- Open Source
Once again, France is reeling — after the second major terror attack upon defenseless Paris this year.
Eight fighters — all of them young EU citizens supposed to be working for ISIS, or Daesh — took 129 lives, with guns and suicide bombs, on Friday.
At the bloodiest site of the violence, the Bataclan concert hall, the shooters told their victims they were seeking revenge for French bombing of Syria. The next day, the embattled French President, François Hollande, responded to the attack with revenge of his own: a wave of new bombings in Syria, especially in Raqqa, Daesh’s capital city.
Hollande, who pushed for a Gallic “Patriot Act” this winter after the killings at Charlie Hebdo, has now proposed a series of changes to the French constitution designed to allow military action in a national state of emergency.
It’s a script we saw after September 11th: lock down at home, arm up abroad. With deep condolences for grieving France, we’re all wondering how this cycle of violence finally ends?
With Amb. Chas Freeman, a freethinking veteran of foreign service, and the French journalist Sylvain Cypel, we’re in the Open Source situation room, trying to see the tragic attacks in Paris and the force called Daesh in the right light, as a hellish problem with causes — and solutions.