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2012 Program Archive
November 6 - A Dark Money Dump in California; The Progressive Dilemma; Paul Ryan's Judeo-Christian Dog Whistle
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We begin with the last-minute influx of dark money to support a venal and misleading so-called “political reform“ proposition on the California ballot. Derek Cressman, the Vice President for State Operations for Common Cause joins us to discuss efforts to prevent anonymous billionaires from buying the election with eleven million dollars that has been laundered through a series of fronts that appears to have the fingerprints of Karl Rove and the Koch brothers. |
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Then we speak with Matthew Rothschild, the Editor of The Progressive magazine, published in Madison Wisconsin, where President Obama and Bruce Springsteen held a final campaign rally yesterday. We discuss the division and dilemma amongst progressives who want to voice their opposition to the president’s policies without helping elect a reactionary representative of the one percent who is beholden to Tea Party extremists. |
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Then finally we try to interpret Paul Ryan’s charge that President Obama is putting America “on a dangerous path that compromises Judeo-Christian Western Civilization values”. Sarah Posner, Senior Editor at Religion Dispatches joins us to discuss last-minute attempts to whip up religious fervor amongst Christian fundamentalists to vote against their nemesis, the Anti-Christ Barack Hussein Obama. |
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| MUSIC: The Beatles - Money (That's What I Want); Flaming Lips - Waitin' for a Superman; Sonic Youth - Do You Believe in Rapture |
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November 5 - America Ferrera on the Youth and Latino Vote; Is the Electoral College just as Dysfunctional as our Elections?; Does Mainstream Media Make this Election Appear More of a Competition than it is?
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We begin with an update on how much of the youth and Latino vote will show up at the polls tomorrow. America Ferrera, the star of the ABC comedy series “Ugly Betty” joins us. She has just completed filming a movie on the life of Cesar Chavez and has teamed up with the national youth empowerment organization Voto Latino with a media and grassroots campaign America4America.org, to get out the youth and Latino vote. |
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Then we speak with Robert Alexander, Professor of Political Science at Ohio Northern University who is writing a book examining the Electoral College. We assess what the likely reaction might be to the possibility that Obama will win in the Electoral College but not in the popular vote. We also discuss voting irregularities in the key state of Ohio, and the disturbing reality that not only are elections open to manipulation, the Electoral College itself could be influenced in the contentious month following a close the election, before the Electoral College votes in December. |
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Then finally we look into whether this race is the toss-up that the mainstream press are claiming it is, or whether as some analysts believe, Obama will win handily, at least in the Electoral College. The former director of political advocacy and communication for MoveOn.org, Ilyse Hogue joins us to discuss the polls and her article at CNN, “GOP Push to Suppress Vote Threatens Democracy”. |
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| MUSIC: MGMT - The Youth; Bruce Springsteen - Land of Hope and Dreams; Tokyo Police Club - Your English is Good; Tom English - Democrats Are Stupid When They Don't Vote, and Republicans Are Stupid When They Do! |
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November 4 - "The Voting Wars" Heat up on the Home Stretch; Blue States Subsidize Socialist Red States with Right-wing Welfare; Mormon "Royalty" and Theological Fraud
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As Tuesday’s election looms, we begin with an overview of voting in America with a nationally recognized expert in election law and campaign finance regulation. Richard Hasen, the author of “The Voting Wars: From Florida 2000 to the Next Election Meltdown” joins us to discuss fraudulent charges of voter fraud on the right, and voting machine conspiracy theories on the left, that together have diminished confidence Americans have in the integrity of voting. |
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Then we speak with one of the world’s leading analysts of popular culture, media and their connection to everyday life. Joining us is Toby Miller, a professor at the City University of London where he has an article at their website, “The Race for the White House 2012: The New American Dream”. We discuss the irony that wealth-producing and knowledge-generating centers in the Blue States of the country like New York and California that vote Democrat, subsidize Republican right-wing welfare in socialist Red States who vote Republican. |
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Then finally, we examine how much Mitt Romney has got away with in the election due to our pathetic press and the feckless Democrats who have not forced him to reveal his taxes and list of bundlers. We discuss another aspect of Mitt Romney that has also been off-limits, his role as a member of Mormon “royalty” and his connection to the vast finances generated by tithing that the secretive hierarchy of the Mormon Prophet and his Disciples have at their disposal. Kay Burningham, the author of “An American Fraud: One Lawyer’s Case against Mormonism” joins us. |
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| MUSIC: Leonard Cohen - Democracy; Xavier Rudd - 4th World; My Morning Jacket - The Day is Coming; The Book of Mormon - I Believe |
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November 1- Will Romney Get Away with Unprecedented Secrecy?; "Don't Know Much About American Presidents"; The Geopolitical, Security, and Economic Implications of Global Warming
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We begin with how much Mitt Romney has got away with in this election, having not released his tax returns, his list of bundlers and not having spoken to the press for over three weeks at the close of a critical election. Alec MacGillis, a senior editor at The New Republic who is the magazine’s chief correspondent for the 2012 campaign, joins us. He has an article at The New Republic “Romney’s Secrecy: Did He Get Away With It?” |
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Then we speak with Kenneth Davis the best-selling author of “Don’t Know Much About History” and the Don’t Know Much About series of books. We discuss his latest book “Don’t Know Much About the American Presidents” and his article at CNN “Economy Not Key to Incumbent Winning”, which contradicts the conventional wisdom and political mantra “It’s the Economy Stupid”. |
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Then finally, with the cover of Business Week boldly stating “It’s Global Warming Stupid”, we look into the geopolitical, security and economic implications of global warming with Cleo Paskall, the author of “Global Warring: How Environmental, Economic, and Political Crises Will Redraw the World Map”. We discuss how much the U.S. is denying global warming while other powers are exploiting the new geostrategic landscape as the planet changes from global warming. |
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| MUSIC: Titus Andronicus - Four Score and Seven; Sam Cooke - Wonderful World; Arcade Fire - Wake Up; Otis Redding - Sitting on the Dock of the Bay |
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October 31 - The "Car Guy's" Desperate Lies; Reality Pushes Back Against Global Warming Deniers; The "Safe State/ Swing State" Strategy
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We begin with Michigan, the critical state which, Obama’s campaign advisor David Axelrod has vowed if they lose it, he will shave off his mustache. The former governor of Michigan Jennifer Granholm joins us to discuss the willfully dishonest ads the Romney campaign are running claiming Detroit is moving production to China, which have prompted angry denials from the heads of GM and Chrysler. Governor Granholm has an article at The Huffington Post “Ohioans Won’t Be Fooled By ‘Car Guy’s’ Desperate Car Lies”. |
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Then we speak with an insurance expert Jeffrey Stempel, Professor of Law at the University of Nevada Las Vegas’s School of Law where he teaches insurance law. We discuss the growing losses insurers are experiencing from monster storms like Andrew, Katrina, Irene and now Sandy, and how much Wall Street which was just flooded, and the insurance giants, will recognize the economic reality of global warming and push back against the deniers funded by big oil and coal. |
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Then finally, we speak with Jeff Cohen the founder of the media watch group FAIR and the co-founder of RootsAction.org who have launched a “safe state/swing state” voting strategy to enable progressives to signal their displeasure with establishment candidates while avoiding helping elect their worst possible nightmare. As happened in Florida in 2000, with Ralph Nader helping elect George W. Bush. |
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| MUSIC: Sufjan Stevens - Say Yes to Michigan!; The Eagles - Lying Eyes; Xavier Rudd - Messages; Velvet Underground - I Found a Reason |
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