John Fitzgerald, not a Kennedy–but a fiery progressive. Fitzgerald is challenging 21-term Rep. George Miller in the June primary, to send a message from progressive Democrats to their leaders: “don’t ignore us”. From healthcare to warfare, failure to hold BushCo accountable, to Wall St. bailouts, Fitzgerald has strong and thoughtful progressive positions detailed here. He is a home painting contractor who’s been burned by the housing bubble burst, and Fitzgerald has never run for office before. And he gets extra points for political courage: he calls for a new investigation of the events of 9/11.
Info on Podcast #112
Analyst David Kersten on California Prop. 16; Francis Moore Lappe on her new book, Getting a Grip 2. Kersten is a former legislative staffer and progressive lobbyist who has just published a strong analysis of Prop. 16, a constitutional amendment that would strengthen the monopoly power of utility Pacific Gas & Electric by requiring a 2/3 vote for any community to set up its own utility. Ms. Lappe, known as “Frankie” is an inspiring activist best known for writing Diet for a Small Planet. She talks about today’s “thin democracy” and how we can use our own power and resources to promote our issues, viewpoints and values.
Info on Podcast #111
Phyllis Bennis: Ending Afghan War; Ian Fletcher: Free Trade Doesn’t Work. Bennis is a fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies in D.C, and co-author of the new “primer”: Ending the US War in Afghanistan. She explains that the war is illegal, not supported by most Americans, and appears unwinnable. We talk about Obama’s weak arguments for adding US troops, why this is not the “good war” that’s advertised, and Dennis Kucinich’s recent efforts to debate withdrawal. Bennis also comments on recent developments in the MidEast, as Israel has provoked an angry round of exchanges with the administration over proposed new settlements. Fletcher’s new book is Free Trade Doesn’t Work: What Should Replace it and Why. He is good at explaining complex economic concepts, and is strong and clear in his opposition to free trade. He proposes a 25% tariff on all imports, explains our trade deficit, and also talks about recent economic crises in Greece and Haiti.
Both books can be purchased here.
Info on Podcast#110
Coleen Rowley, courageous whistleblower, still. Rowley is the 24-year FBI agent who exposed the Bureau’s failures prior to 9/11 in the investigation of “20th hijacker” Zacarias Moussaoui, and joins Sibel Edmonds and PBC for the next installment of the Boiling Frogs series. Rowley remains outspoken on Bush-era interrogations and torture, accountability for torture and other offenses, new legislation to protect whistleblowers, especially national security workers, our irrational security at airports, and the rise of the security-surveillance complex since 9/11.
California Prop 16 covered on TV
Your humble host is now co-host of a new local cable interview show in Marin County, CA. The powerful utility, Pacific Gas & Electric is fighting the launch of a new public power agency that will allow us to buy electricity generated from renewable resources. We bring you two voices in this important debate, the first skirmish in the statewide battle over Prop. 16 on the June ballot. Click over to www.marinvoicesandviews.com and take a look!
Info on Podcast #109
Voices for Justice for the Palestinians, Part 2. This is the final episode of interviews from the Sabeel Conference March 5-6 in Marin County, California. Powerful voices who decry Israel’s brutal domination of the West Bank and lockdown of Gaza.
–Dr. Mads Gilbert, a medical doctor from Norway who has provided health care in Gaza for many years, describes the death, injuries and destruction caused by Israel’s massive assault on Gaza at the end of 2008 and the disproportionate impact on women and children;
—Mark Braverman, an American Jew and former Zionist, talks about his views of the occupation and the way Israel uses its power and influence to continue massive human rights violations. His new book is Fatal Embrace. Christians, Jews and the Search for Peace in the Holy Land;
–Dr. Jeff Halper, an American who moved to Israel and founded the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions talks about the dominant framing and language of the conflict, which heavily favors Israel;
–Paul Larudee, founder of the Free Palestine Movement and leader of the successful sea-based challenges to Israel’s blockade of Gaza, talks about new ways to challenge the blockade this year;
–Ms Neha Masri, an American Muslim who was born in Jerusalem, describes in her own vivid way the humiliating experience of being treated as a Palestinian at Israeli checkpoints.
Please share this podcast with friends, especially those who are staunchly pro-Israel.
My sincere thanks to the conference organizers, and Tom McAfee, Hassan Fouda and Dr. Walt Davis.
Info on Podcast #108
Voices for justice for the Palestinians. Part 1 of a 2 part series of interviews from activists who participated in the Sabeel Conference held March 5 and 6 in Marin County, California. Sabeel means “The Way” in Arabic, and this conference brought a range of participants from around the world. PBC opens the program with an update on concessions from Palestinian leaders, agreeing to hold indirect talks with Israel; just 24 hours later, VP Joe Biden arrived in Israel to a defiant announcement: Israel says it will build 1600 more housing units in E. Jerusalem, ignoring demands from the Obama administration to stop the illegal construction. This podcast features:
–Prof. Hisham Ahmed of St. Mary’s College, who was born in a refugee camp and became a Fulbright scholar;
–Rev. Don Wagner of North Park U in Chicago, an expert on Christian Zionists;
–Sama Adnan, founder of NewPolicy.org, which has started a political action committee to support Congress members who have a balanced position on Israel-Palestine issues;
–Omar Barghouti, a founding member of the Palestinian Civil Society Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign against Israel;
–Anna Baltzer, an American Jew and articulate advocate for the rights of the Palestinians.
Part 2 will be released in the next day or two.
Info on Podcast 107
Air America and liberal talk radio. Former Air America host Jon Elliott joins PBC to discuss the Obama administration’s recent discovery that conservative talk radio is a major obstacle to its agenda. We talk about the promising launch of Air America in 2004, and how the ever-changing lineup of managers and investors bungled the effort in many different ways. We also talk about the failure of Democrats and left institutions to support the separate efforts of Elliott and Collins to build and sustain a progressive media infrastructure, including talk radio. Hear how all the progressives who covered the Denver DNC convention were hidden under the escalators, while Fox was given the choice location. We reveal some inside stories that have never been made public before, and talk about how Air America’s failures have damaged the prospects for progressive talk, present and future. Be sure to listen to the end, you could win a prize and help Mr. Elliott decide what to do next.
my apologies for download glitches!
Lately, many of you loyal listeners have had to put up with way too many problems downloading my podcasts, especially iTunes users. Your humble host extends sincere apologies. In response to one profanity-laced email from a tech-savvy guy, I changed the file name protocol to include the podcast number, starting with #106. But then I failed to update all of the code referring to the file name (in 3 different places), and got a well-deserved flurry of emails.
As of Friday 3/5 at 11:40 am pbc time, the problem is fixed.
The iTunes service is extremely finicky about minor code errors–a single errant keystroke in the show information text can block your access to the audio file. To quote Springsteen’s Point Blank: “one false move and, baby, the lights go out”.
I’ve just started testing each release with cool software called “Feed Validator”, but even that did not detect my mistake on the file name on #106. I work pretty hard to keep up my technical chops, but you pay the price as I learn from my mistakes. My web guru, Ian Sherr, has patiently been teaching this old dog new tricks, and I hope things go smoothly from here forward.
So keep downloading, keep listening, and please tell a friend!
cheers
pbc
Info on Podcast #106
Dr. Justin Frank puts Obama on the couch; Dr. Bill Perry on nuclear disarmament; Gary Chew on the Oscars. Dr. Frank wrote Bush On The Couch a few years ago, and is in the process of writing Obama On The Couch. He offers some interesting thoughts about Obama’s excessive need for bipartisan approval, how intentional his manipulation of voters was during the campaign, and the contradictions of his decision making regarding escalation in Afghanistan. Dr. Bill Perry was Defense Secretary from 1994-98, and PBC talked with him at an event in San Francisco hosted by the Ploughshares Fund where they previewed a new documentary about the “tipping point” in nuclear disarmament. Perry, along with Reagan’s Secretary of State George Schultz, former Sen. Sam Nunn and Nixon Secretary of State Henry Kissinger (!) are working together on disarmament efforts. Gary Chew, who is not a doctor, joins me to talk about this year’s Oscar nominees.