David Krikorian, challenger to GOP Rep. Jean Schmidt of Ohio, on Schmidt’s efforts to squelch Krikorian’s First Amendment rights; attorney Jeff Haas on the govt. murder of Black Panther Fred Hampton 40 years ago; Arlo Guthrie sings Alice’s Restaurant. Krikorian ran against Mean Jean in 2008, got 17% of the vote as an independent. After he announced he would challenge her again in 2010 as a Dem, Schmidt filed legal actions over Krikorian’s sharp criticism of her support from Turkish interests. Schmidt’s lawyer is Bruce Fein, an erstwhile friend of the PBC show for his support of impeachment for Bush and Cheney; Fein is counsel to the Turkish American Legal Defense Fund and an apologist for Turkey’s denial of the Armenian genocide.
Jeff Haas has written The Assassination of Fred Hampton: How the FBI and Chicago Police Murdered a Black Panther PBC covered the trials that followed the murders as a young talk show host in Chicago in the ’70′s, and he asks Haas to compare the illegal actions of J. Edgar Hoover’s FBI with those occurring now. Haas appears in Berkeley at Books, Inc on Monday 11/20 at 7pm, and at City Lights in San Francisco on 12/1 at 7pm. Look for an in-depth conversation with Haas in a few weeks here, and get more info at www.hamptonbook.com And we continue our Thanksgiving tradition of playing the full length version of Arlo Guthrie’s hippie classic, Alice’s Restaurant.
Info on Podcast #70
Previous post: Info on Podcast #69
Next post: Info on Podcast #71
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Hey Peter B,
Just wanted to leave you a little note of thanks for some of your podcasts in the past few months, particularly the Boiling Frogs segments. I admit that with lots of names and complex relationships, I get lost at times (can’t really take notes from your bike), but the information is precisely what we need more of, not only in America but here in Japan as well.
Just wanted to send a word of caution about David Kirkorian. I’m not sure what to believe about him as I came across this post at Ohio’s best progressive blog:
http://www.plunderbund.com/2009/11/24/oh-02-close-the-book-on-this-election-schmidt-is-likely-to-be-re-elected/
But hey, anyone other than Mean Jean would be an upgrade. She’s a disgrace to the Buckeye state.
btw Peter, you know politics inside and out, but isn’t Cincy itself fairly Democratic? It’s had many Dem mayors including Jerry Springer. Suburban Cincy is John Boehner country. I think Schmidt’s district is the eastern Cincy suburbs and the counties along the Ohio River to Portsmouth.
Speaking of Jerry Springer, I’d love for a progressive to challenge Gov. Strickland (D) for the Dem nomination next year. Strickland has taken his left flank for granted since taking office and has balanced budgets on the backs of the working and middle class. Ohio might as well have a Republican governor if the budget is going to be balanced with such cuts.
It’ll be difficult getting Ohio’s Democratic base out in 2012 the way Strickland and Obama have been governing, IMHO.
Here’s a Daily Kos post that drafts Springer for Ohio governor that I authored:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/10/15/793599/-Jerry-Springer-for-Ohio-Governor-in-2010
I won’t be holding my breath
Happy Thanksgiving
Peter B., thanks for saving Thanksgiving for me by playing Alices Restaurant. It should be played every Thanksgiving because if you want to end war and stuff, you gotta sing loud!
Hard to believe that a politician can be sued on the grounds that they have made less than truthful statements about another politician. It would seem that there are now grounds to keep every pol tied up in litigation for the rest of their lives. Mean Jean in particular.