Nicole Sandler has lots to process on this Earth Day Friday show. Prince died yesterday, and we're reminded of the power of music. Ari Rabin-Havt of SiriusXM joins in to talk about his new book, "Lies, Incorporated". And Robert "Bobby Tuna" Platshorn updates us on the fight to end cannabis prohibition.
The News used to be the news, but no more. Now what we get is infotainment - not necessarily the news, and not necessarily factual, but presented as if it is both. The problem is that the average TV viewer can't tell the difference - and the corporations that control the broadcast licences for the outlets that propagate these "stories" don't care. They lie to advance an ideology. They promote hate and the sabotage of our country and its laws. If I sound cynical, it's because I am. I don't know that there's any way out of this morass. [...]
What a difference a decade makes! Back in 2002, Time magazine named "The Whistleblowers" the Person(s) of the Year! Today, the same publication - according to whistleblower Jesselyn Radack writing at Daily Kos joins the Obama administration in equating whistleblowers with spies, a characterization aimed at silencing other potential whistleblowers. As I wrote yesterday, the magazine's cover story is a complete disaster. It pictures hacktivist Aaron Swartz, National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden & WikiLeaks defendant Bradley Manning under the screaming words, "THE INFORMERS." Worse, it ignores key facts, the law, and the magazine's prior recognition of whistleblowers when it named "The [...]
My offer stands. Fox can use the slogan "We Make Shit Up" any time, free of charge. It's certainly more accurate than any other slogan they've ever used. So far, they haven't taken me up on it.. but it's there, whenever they want it. The story of the ridiculously named "Fox News" is out, courtesy of our friends at Media Matters. This morning, I spoke with Ari Rabin-Havt, executive director of the venerable organization and co-author of The Fox Effect: How Roger Ailes Turned a Network into a Propaganda Machine. Every Tuesday, I spend the second hour of the show [...]
I knew Mark Halperin was a right wing shill years ago. I used to host a morning show at then-progressive talk WINZ in Miami (before they changed formats to become the 4th sports talk station in South Florida). It was still during the 2008 primaries that Halperin wrote a book called "The Undecided Voter's Guide to the Next President". He was booked on my show, and I quickly noticed his slant to the right, even when he attempted to portray himself as an objective journalist. I've excerpted part of the interview for you here, so you can hear what I [...]
There's a fairly large portion of the population who believe things that make absolutely no sense in the real world. They buy the bullshit from the hucksters and con-men and opportunists and religious zealots who tell them that health care as a basic human right is a bad thing, and that cutting taxes for the richest of the rich - while increasing the burden on the working class and the unemployed - is the right thing to do. It's Opposite World. Where up is down, bad is good, and things that are just plain wrong are right! It's populated by [...]
Tomorrow we come to the end of another year. Today will be my last opportunity to speak with you in 2010, and all I can say to this year is Good Riddance. The year began with a double whammy in January. The Supreme Court overturned democracy with their despicable ruling in Citizens United v. FEC, and opened the floodgates for corporate money to control elections. To add insult to injury, later that very same day, Air America radio shut down for good, leaving me among the millions of un- or under-employed, and leaving America with far fewer liberal voices on [...]
One of the biggest problems Democrats has faced during the past two years has been their lack of messaging skills. Making it more difficult is the mighty megaphone of the Republican party -- their propaganda arm that calls itself a News organization. The fact is that "Fox News" is actually a fake news channel. As they're a cable channel, they're not regulated by the FCC, and there are no consequences for Making Shit Up®. Unfortunately, the relatively small number of people who watch their fabricated facts® don't understand that their only source for "news" is most definitely NOT NEWS. Enter [...]
OK, so I was wrong with a couple of my predictions. Florida's loathsome Attorney General, Bill McCollum, will not be running for Governor after all. Perhaps it was his decision to take Florida's taxpayers money to spearhead a misguided attempt by a group of AGs to sue the federal government over the health care law. But whatever the reason, the Republicans of Florida decided that the sleazy billionaire Rick Scott--who didn't bother to show up at any debates with his opponent, including one just four days ago where he sent his mother in his stead-- would make a better candidate! [...]
The party of No is now the party of hate and intimidation. At least ten Democratic members of the House have been the targets of threats since Sunday's vote on health care reform, with even Sarah Palin getting in on the act. She actually had the audacity to tweet the message "Don't retreat. RELOAD." That message directed her readers to her Facebook page where she posted a map of congressional districts she planned to target, and does so with gun crosshairs! Tonight, I was joined by Christy Harvey of the Center for American Progress and MicCheckRadio.org, who told us about [...]
