How the Germans lived with themselves

October 1

GUEST: Eric Draitser, independent political analyst, writer, and host of Counter Punch Radio, talks about the Obama-Biden-Clinton criminal conspiracy to overthrow Gaddafi and destroy Libya.

The Plot Against Libya

Was it just oil? Or was it a combination of politicians eager to make a name for themselves? Was it the recolonization of Africa by getting rid of the country that was the most successful bulwark against US and EU imperialism? 

Eric Draitser has been researching war crimes in Africa for a number of years, and he spins an interesting tale of just how such disasters occur. And it doesn't seem to matter which party in the US is in charge at the moment. Yes, the targets might be different, but the overarching use of military force is just the same. 

And the results of such military invasions? The US is responsible for a string of human disasters going back 70 years. It is almost like our country caught perpetual war from the German and Japanese empires. It wasn't long before we were slaughtering millions in Korea. The came the massive bloodletting in Vietnam. 

At times in US recent history, we have depended on coups and assassinations instead of military invasion. Guatemala is an example of a US backed coup that overthrew an elected president, and then went on to slaughter at least 200,000. The same thing happened in Indonesia, with kill lists supplied by the CIA. The American Century will one day be seen as a time of unimaginable mass killings around the world. How is it that the American people are so unaware?

Ever wonder how the Germans lived with themselves during the Holocaust? Consider how little the citizens of our own country think about the millions of people their military has murdered since World War II. 

So much less wisdom than the average citizen

 

September 24

GUEST: Mike Monetta, National Director of Wolf-PAC, an organization dedicated to working across the states to stop corruption at the federal level and in Congress, talks about ways to end the wholesale buying of politicians by the major corporations.

Wolf-PAC, the organization

As the nation loses confidence in the two party system, what will take its place? As we enter a new election cycle, many of us doubt that either the Republicans or the Democrats really care about what's best for the vast majority of America's working people. 

Will it be a Trump inspired fascism, a fateful alliance of the very rich, the very racist, and the religious right? And how will we be delivered into that new and oppressive political system? Electoral fraud? Armed white nationalists terrorizing election workers? A newly created, far right Supreme Court?

It seems like something will happen this time around. With Sleepy Joe and Demented Donald, we seem to have been propelled back into the late stages of the Roman Empire, when crazed leaders had so much less wisdom than the average citizen. 

Wolf-PAC is an idea that works its way around the disfunction that is the two party, corporate controlled state. It's a grassroots movement to take big money out of our elections, and it has already gained a lot of traction. The goal is to have states pass this type of radical election reform, effectively throwing the kleptocracy out. 

Wolf-PAC hasn't been bought out by the rich elite and their giant corporations yet. It seem like a logical place to begin a restoration of our democracy. 

A credible champion of human rights?

September 17

GUEST: Emmaia Gelman, writer, researcher and PhD candidate at the NYU American Studies Program, describes her recent findings about the ADL (Anti-Defamation League), and how it has funded right wing movements in the US.

Open letter to progressives: The ADL is not an ally

Emmaia has done the research necessary to expose the Anti-Defamation League as a cleverly disguised, Israeli funded propaganda organization. It has a hidden history of attacking all sorts of social justice movements led by Blacks, queer people, immigrants, and Muslims. In fact, the ADL has often come down on the side of the police, right wing fanatics, and perpetrators of racist violence. 

The ADL has also been traced to movements that attack Black Lives Matter, Palestinian rights groups, and  Congressional Rep. Ilhan Omar. Other specifics are equally troubling. The ADL advised police on ways to infiltrate and videotape marchers at the August 2017 Black Lives Matter rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. The International Jewish Ant-Zionist Network has traced over 40 locations around the world where the ADL has worked with state authorities to suppress legitimate dissent. 

The history of the ADL is similarly troubling. The group supported South African Apartheid, the House on Un-American Activities during the McCarthy Era, and the surveillance of Martin Luther King. The ADL also investigated Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR), the Civil Liberties Union, and the American Indian Movement. 

More recently, the ADL has organized attacks on college students who advocate for Palestinian rights on campus, and attempted to brand all criticism of Israel as antisemitic. 

Emmaia is an articulate and courageous reformer, and her work is so important. Groups like the ADL are closely allied with Israel, and ever willing to protect Israel's right to commit racist violence by doing favors for the rich and powerful in America. The ADL is a big Trump supporter. Could it also be a credible champion of human rights?

And then join them in the streets

September 10

GUEST: Angela Walker, US veteran and working class activist with decades of experience advocating for racial and economic justice in social movements and unions, talks about her socialist beliefs and how she became Howie Hawkins’ running mate on the Green Party line.

About Angela Walker

How refreshing it is to interview a politician who is exactly what she seems to be. Angela has been a Black activist her whole life, and a working person devoted to union rights. She is the real thing when it comes to expressing her political beliefs. The system is broken, the super rich control most of our politicians, and we need a dramatic change if the American people are to share in our great wealth. 

Angela has been a leader in many grassroots uprisings against neoliberal policies. She brought her union into the Occupy Wisconsin and Occupy the Hood movements. She is unabashed about her support of socialism, and points proudly at the number of left leaning parties that have endorsed the Hawkins/Walker ticket. A substitute teacher and truck driver, Angela is what democracy looks like. 

The "lesser of two evils" is getting dragged into center stage again. Supposedly we must vote for Joe Biden so that we don't fall into fascism. Trump is certainly a white nationalist, intent on using racial violence to stay in power. But the lesser of two evils is how we got to Trump in the first place. Must we now must choose between this madman in the White House and this thoroughly corrupted corporate stooge who is running against him? 

Maybe the voting process itself has to be changed, including the gerrymandering, the Electoral College, the voter suppression aimed at people of color, and the unlimited funds that get poured into each election cycle. Too afraid to call for a real revolution in our political system? Willing to go over the cliff for Sleepy Joe? There are other ways to attain equality and justice. Try voting for candidates you can believe in. And then join them in the streets, were all change happens. 

I played "Revolution" by Nina Simone

September 3

GUEST: Chuck Collins, writer and a senior scholar at the Institute for Policy Studies and coauthor of a new study entitled "Gilded Giving 2020: How Wealth Inequality Distorts Philanthropy and Imperils Democracy," talks about the institute's plan to reform what charity giving can be deducted for those at the top of the income scale.

White Supremacy is the Pre-existing Condition

Giving is complicated if you have a lot of money. It is a great way to avoid millions in taxes, robbing the poor in the process. When the rich give, it is often not really handing their money to anyone. Donner advised funds let these billionaires hire their friends and relatives, pursue right wing causes, and influence elections. All they need is good accountants and lawyers to set things up. Chuck Collins reveals this giving scam in "Gilded Giving 2020," a depressing exploration of how billions of dollars in wealth keep going to the very richest.

He doesn't avoid the confluence of race and class when it comes to thievery. Our system of racial disparities always robs the poor the most. And usually these poor people are Black. Readers don't have to follow the math to get the idea. Phony "giving" is just one more tool for robbing everyone, especially the most vulnerable.

Of course Trump is king when it comes to shady deals and seedy frauds. But Biden has been on the take from the rich and powerful much longer than our demented President. So no matter who wins the election, the very rich will reap the greatest rewards. And Black people will continue to fight for their very survival in the lowest caste that our great land of liberty has deposited them.

I played "Revolution" by Nina Simone during the break. 

Just a dream some of us had

August 27

GUEST: Thom Hartmann, top rated progressive national and internationally syndicated talk show host and New York Times bestselling author of twenty-six books, talks about his recently published work, The Hidden History of Monopolies - How Big Business Destroyed the American Dream.

The Thom Hartmann Hidden History Series

We were honored to have Thom Hartmann on Activist Radio. His latest book, The Hidden History of Monopolies is a fascinating exploration of how big corporations become even bigger, and in the process came to dominate our public discourse. It has all happened before, during the Gilded Age and  the Roaring Twenties. In each case the apex of corporate power was followed by a catastrophic economic collapse, and then the public demand for regulation and reform. Like always it was the working people who experienced the most devastation.

One question got Thom talking about socialism. According to him, socialism has never worked, although he did make some exception for the socialist oriented democracies of Scandinavia. According to Thom, the lending of capital is always necessary if businesses are to flourish. He gave an example of a travel business he had started at one time. By borrowing capital, he had turned it into a very successful business, and one that he sold for several million dollars.

No, capitalism is something to be reformed, not done away with. His Hidden History series is blueprint for reform aimed at the common man (and woman too). Read them and you will simply know more about the evils that have plagued our democracy for the last hundred years. And we are well past the time when the giant corporation and trusts should have been busted up.

The future of reform doesn't look too promising either. We pay exorbitant prices for everything, making the billionaires at the top richer than even they can imagine. Meanwhile wages have stagnated for so long that the American Dream has taken its place next to the Holy Ghost. Was it "just a dream some of us had," like Joan Mitchell's lament for peace?

I want a dyke for president

I want a dyke for president. I want a person with AIDS for president and I want a fag for vice president and I want someone with no health insurance and I want someone who grew up in a place where the earth is so saturated with toxic waste that they didn’t have a choice about getting leukemia. I want a president that had an abortion at sixteen and I want a candidate who isn’t the lesser of two evils and I want a president who lost their last lover to AIDS, who still sees that in their eyes every time they lay down to rest, who held their lover in their arms and knew they were dying. I want a president with no air-conditioning, a president who has stood in line at the clinic, at the DMV, at the welfare office, and has been unemployed and laid off and sexually harassed and gaybashed and deported. I want someone who has spent the night in the tombs and had a cross burned on their lawn and survived rape. I want someone who has been in love and been hurt, who respects sex, who has made mistakes and learned from them. I want a Black woman for president. I want someone with bad teeth and an attitude, someone who has eaten that nasty hospital food, someone who crossdresses and has done drugs and been in therapy. I want someone who has committed civil disobedience. And I want to know why this isn’t possible. I want to know why we started learning somewhere down the line that a president is always a clown. Always a john and never a hooker. Always a boss and never a worker. Always a liar, always a thief, and never caught.
Zoe Leonard
-Thanks to Colin for this poem.