Q&A: Election Reflections with Rob Johnson and Sherle Schwenninger
Written on November 13th, 2012 |
Aired 11/11/12
I will reflect on Tuesday’s election with ROB JOHNSON of the INSTITUTE FOR NEW ECONOMIC THOUGHT and SHERLE SCHWENNINGER of NEW AMERICA FOUNDATION.
Asking things like: Who does the campaign and the result say we are as a nation or a culture? Where are we likely to go from here? What does the election mean — in the broadest sense: about money, politics, power, media, culture, parties, movements, as well as in relationship to Europe, China, the Middle East, and the rest of the world?
We’ll talk about the (ideal) (evolving) (actual) role of the United States in the unfolding global story.
Q&A: RICK JACOBS, Courage Campaign 14 orgs’ progressive advice for CA propositions
Written on November 6th, 2012 |
Aired 11/04/12
The final day to vote in this year’s elections is Tuesday November 6th. Last week I talked with Tom Hayden. Despite failures and frustrations, Tom believes the BARACK OBAMA accomplished more than he gets credit for and that his re-election is critical to many of the issues progressives care about.
YES 30 !!!!
NO 32 !!!!
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No 31
No 33
Yes 34
Mixed 35
Yes 36
Yes 37
Yes 39
Yes 40
http://www.couragecampaign.org/
ALSO: November 2005 with 1972 Democratic presidential candidate GEORGE McGOVERN, who passed away two weeks ago today. As a 24 year old, I worked on his national staff. In fact, I moved to Los Angeles for the first time to run the campaign in what was then the 52nd Assembly district, the most conservative Democratic district in the state at the time.
I recorded the interview with McGovern on the occasion of the release of ONE BRIGHT, SHINING MOMENT: The Forgotten Summer of George McGovern, a documentary on the 1972 campaign I highly recommend you watch on DVD.
http://aworldthatjustmightwork.com/2012/10/special-replay-george-mcgovern-2/
Q&A: TOM HAYDEN – The Long ’60s: From 1960 to Barack Obama
Written on October 31st, 2012 |
Aired 10/28/12
I haven’t done a lot about the election on this show. I’ve been talking more about the foundational issues that underlie the situation we find ourselves in — an age of very imperfect politics, government, finance, and business. Our democracy and our governance are dominated by a handful of billionaires, and a number of multimillionaires and their corporations who do not share the interests of the larger society.
But In early September I read a piece by Tom Hayden at Truthout.com. Over the next several days, it appeared all over the progressive blogosphere – Saving Obama, Saving Ourselves. I immediately contacted Tom to come on and talk about the election.
Among other things, he reminds us of the accomplishments of the first Obama administration in light of the actual political and economic circumstances he faced. He also looks at history of previous social movements. How did they interact with the political process in pursuit of their goals? And what did they gain and sacrifice in the process?
HAYDEN: “History will show that the first term was better than most progressives now think…By their nature, the achievements of social movements are lesser versions of original visions…If Obama loses, it will be unfair to blame the left, but they will be blamed nonetheless. As a consequence they will become more marginal, far less able to connect with the progressive constituencies and mass movements with vital stakes in Obama’s re-election.”
Special Replay – GEORGE McGOVERN
Written on October 21st, 2012 |
May George McGovern rest –as he lived — in peace. We have lost a great and decent man.
At 24, I worked for McGovern’s 1972 Presidential effort, managing the campaign in what was then the 52nd Assembly District in Los Angeles County. This was the most conservative Democratic district in California and likely favored both Hubert Humphrey and George Wallace over the nominee. In 2005, I had the opportunity to interview him for an hour with the release of the documentary, One Bright Shining Moment: The Forgotten Summer of George McGovern.
GEORGE McGOVERN was a decorated World War II bomber pilot (his wartime exploits were at the center of of Steven Ambrose’s The Wild Blue) and professor at Dakota Wesleyan Univeristy. After running the Food for Peace Program under John Kennedy, he represented South Dakota for two terms in the House and three terms in the Senate. His opposition to the Vietnam War fueled a grassroots campaign that won him the 1972 Democratic presidential nomination, only to lose to incumbent Richard Nixon in one of the great landslides in US history. Many members of Nixon’s Committee to Re-Elect the President later served jail time for Watergate-connected crimes.
In 1997, Bill Clinton named him the US Permanent Representative to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization, and in 2000 Clinton awarded him the nation’s highest honor, the Medal of Freedom. He has written nine books including Terry: My Daughter’s Life and Death Struggle with Alcoholism (about his daughter — also named Terrence — who died in 1994), The Essential America: Our Founders and the Liberal Tradition, and Ending Hunger Now: A Challenge to Persons of Faith.
Q&A: Bioneers – Ken Ausubel / Ellen Brown
Written on September 26th, 2012 |
Aired 09/23/12
This radio show aims to offer “pieces of the puzzle of a world that just might work.” I hope that if you listen a few times, you begin to imagine a future of revolutionary and evolutionary success.
My hope is rooted in this vision: Reality is not dead, mechanical, or separate; in fact, it is alive, evolving, and composed of interdependent systems.
I believe this worldview has been shared by indigenous peoples for millennia, revealed by science since early in the 20th century, and obvious every time we walk outside or look into the eyes of another living creature.
This vision inspires the annual Bioneers conference that takes place each fall (this year October 19-21) in San Rafael, just north of San Francisco. I’ll be talking with Bioneers founder and co-director, KEN AUSUBEL, and one of this year’s speakers, ELLEN BROWN, President of the Public Banking Institute and author of WEB OF DEBT.
Human creativity focused on problem solving can explode the narrative of despair. For the most part the solutions to our problems already exist. Bioneers focuses on strategies to help us realize these solutions by restoring community, justice and democracy.
Other speakers this year include BILL McKIBBEN, PAUL HAWKEN, ETHAN NADELMANN, GABOR MATE, and LA’s own JODIE EVANS and ANDY LIPKIS.
http://publicbankinginstitute.org
