The X Factor in the Midterms
…nd the author of Black Nationalism in the United States: From Malcolm X to Barack Obama. Prof. James Taylor: These midterms are so important for one reason is that they determine the redistricting that happens every 10 years. And what we’re experiencing now is the after effect of the Republicans winning in 2010 in the year of the Tea Party and their outrage over Barack Obama’s successful passage of the Affordable Healthcare Act. This system is se…
Drones: A New Death From Above – Medea exclusive
…standing is quite astounding. And when the present and past members of the Obama administration talked to The New York Times about this they, it seems it was part of an election strategy that they wanted to make the president look like a tough guy and make sure that these independent voters who might be still a little squeamish about President Obama as some kind of socialist or not, would be reassured that he is as tough as it comes, that he can m…
Obama 2012: The Lesser Evil?
…n Obama campaign poster. Photo by (cc) Flickr user loop_oh The election of Barack Obama generated hope for a new progressive national agenda. The reality, however, has been a disappointment for many, and leaves open the question for those on the left—is voting for Obama in 2012 the best route to take? On this edition, we hear excerpts of a panel discussion at the 2012 Left Forum, titled “The 2012 Elections: Lesser Evil or Left Alternative?” Specia…
The War Comes Home: Washington’s Battle Against America’s Veterans (encore)
…tle to stem this crisis. But a new day seemed to dawn with the election of Barack Obama. In the United States Senate, Obama championed the cause of veterans with legislation and votes for additional funding. In his campaign for president, he spoke regularly about supporting the troops, even after they came home from war. And after he was elected, when he announced his plan for a phased withdrawal from Iraq at Camp Lejeune in February 2009, Obama d…
The War Comes Home: Washington’s Battle Against America’s Veterans
…tle to stem this crisis. But a new day seemed to dawn with the election of Barack Obama. In the United States Senate, Obama championed the cause of veterans with legislation and votes for additional funding. In his campaign for president, he spoke regularly about supporting the troops, even after they came home from war. And after he was elected, when he announced his plan for a phased withdrawal from Iraq at Camp Lejeune in February 2009, Obama d…
Ten Years Later: Counting the Costs of War in Iraq
…and to try to explain that to people without coming across as simply anti-Obama in the sense that, you know, many other more conservative people are anti-Obama is challenging. [MC] And so ten years later, how would you describe the state of the anti-war movement at this point. Is it weaker, or have people moved on to other issues? [JP] Well, I don’t think there is an anti-war movement that resembles like it was in 2003, 2004, and 2005, and that’s…
Jeremy Scahill on Obama’s Dirty Wars
…on at Guantanamo is still in operation. As we enter the 6th year of Barack Obama’s presidency, his foreign policy legacy is becoming more clear. Independent journalist Jeremy Scahill investigated Obama’s “Dirty Wars” and says the President has put Americans in more danger through actions that fuel hatred and extremism. This speech was excerpted from a presentation by the Lannan Foundation. Featuring: Jeremy Scahill, author of Dirty Wars: The World…
Redefining Black Power in the Age of Obama
….org; www.actorstheatre.org Does a black president equal black power? Will Obama’s presidency create lasting change for African-Americans? Or will anything change at all? On this edition, we present a round table discussion, featuring three African-American community leaders, about how Obama’s election, and presidency, has changed their perspective on what black power is…and what it isn’t. *Special thanks to Esther Manilla of KPFA for guest produc…
Angelic Troublemaker: Bayard Rustin (ENCORE)
…Floyd. Clip of protest sounds Twenty-six years after his death, President Barack Obama honored Bayard Rustin with the nation’s highest civilian award, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Pres. Barack Obama: The day of the March on Washington, the National Mall was far from full and some in the press were beginning to wonder if the event would be a failure. But the march’s chief organizer, Bayard Rustin, didn’t panic. As the story goes, he looked d…
Cornel West & Carl Dix: Pursuing Justice in the Age of Obama
…y USA spokesman Carl Dix about the future of America’s youth in the age of Obama. Featuring: Cornel West, professor at the Center for African American Studies and Department of Religion at Princeton University; Carl Dix, co-founder of the Revolutionary Communist Party, USA. Special thanks to Alton Byrd and Revolution Books. ***WEB EXCLUSIVES*** Full speeches by Carl Dix and Cornel West, which took place at the University of California, Berkeley on…
How to Occupy the Economy, According to Richard Wolff
…t time, on the economics page, the first homepage quotation from President Obama, then candidate Obama had to do with the wonders of the private enterprise system in bringing us peace and prosperity, etc. As long as that’s the governing ethos for both parties what we have are Tweedledum and Tweedledee. Two different parties that are two different ways of celebrating capitalism. Look for example, occasionally Obama, who has been unable to tax the r…
Grace Lee Boggs in Conversation with Angela Davis — Transcript, web extra only
…aid it was not possible, the vast majority of Black people did not support Obama initially, they supported Hilary because Obama was unelectable. The problem was I think we all assumed that was all we had to do; was elect him and then go back to doing what we were doing before. The reason I said I’m going to say something controversial. Is that I think that despite all the disappointments and we could go on and on and on about what Obama has not do…
Michelle Alexander on the New Jim Crow
…istics through mass incarceration. And affirmative action, the election of Barack Obama has helped to create kind of a happy face on America’s racial reality. But if you take a look, a close look at the data and include prisoners within it, you see that African-Americans as a group are actually not better off than they were in 1968, when Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated and an uprising swept inner city communities across America. We are tod…
Michelle Alexander on the New Jim Crow
…istics through mass incarceration. And affirmative action, the election of Barack Obama has helped to create kind of a happy face on America’s racial reality. But if you take a look, a close look at the data and include prisoners within it, you see that African-Americans as a group are actually not better off than they were in 1968, when Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated and an uprising swept inner city communities across America. We are tod…
Giving Bayard Rustin His Flowers (Encore)
…nation’s highest civilian award, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Pres. Barack Obama: The day of the March on Washington, the National Mall was far from full and some in the press were beginning to wonder if the event would be a failure. But the march’s chief organizer, Bayard Rustin, didn’t panic. As the story goes, he looked down at a piece of paper, looked back up and reassured reporters that everything was right on schedule. The only thing…
The Penalty is Exile: How Immigration and Criminalization Collide
… people who were deported from the United States in 2011. Under President Obama, more than one million immigrants were deported between 2008 and 2012. Alex had not committed any crime, he happened to be profiled which led to his detention and then, deportation. Many people listening to Alex’s story would be sympathetic, because Alex is not a criminal. The rhetoric around immigration enforcement and deportation has mostly focussed on crimin…
Environment Desk
…e rivers.[…] The Greening of America: A New Deal for Everyone? President Obama wants a New Deal–– only this one is green. Obama plans to create more than two-and-half million “green” jobs over the next two years. But will these jobs be as plentiful and equitable as the new administration[…] The War Dance of the Winnemem Wintu A small tribe in Northen California tell the story of their struggle to prevent the flooding of the sacred land they ha…
Sex, Lies, and the Classroom
…a program called Community Based Abstinence Education. That was cut by the Obama administration and instead replaced by funding for comprehensive sex education. Now the new funding under the Obama Administration is not all that we would want it to be. It’s still a little bit narrow in its scope, in terms of its very specifically focused on teen pregnancy prevention. However, it does require that the information be medically accurate, that it inclu…
Rosa Brooks on How Everything Became War and the Military Became Everything
…Spending Since 1950 Goes To………The Peace Candidate, Barrack Obama Episode Transcript Hi, Jasmine Lopez, here. If you like what you’re hearing, you can donate to us by going to radioproject.org and click on the big Donate button. And don’t forget to rate us on iTunes, which helps other listeners find us. Thanks, and here’s the show. [MUSIC PLAYING] I’m Andrew Stelzer, and this is Making Contact. If your only tool is a hammer, every…
The Costs of War: A Reflection on Eight Years in Iraq
…an Berg, U.S. Marine; Starlyn Lara, U.S. Army; Jordan Towers, U.S. Marine; Barack Obama, U.S. President; Aaron Glantz, journalist. For more information: KALW News Aaron Glantz, reporter and author of The War Comes Home Answer Coalition Iraq Veterans Against the War Swords to Plowshares Coalition for Iraq + Afghanistan Veterans for Peace Civilian-Soldier Alliance War Resisters League Veteran Artists Articles and Books: Happy anniversary, Iraq War b…
