albany
GRITtv: March 31, 2011
The single-payer health care plan that recently passed the Vermont state assembly "is truly an example of democracy at its finest. It is the people of Vermont banding together as human beings and as a community," according to Mary Gerisch of the Health Care is a Human Right campaign of the Vermont Workers Center. Organizing around human rights framework, Mary notes, helped unite the people around a universal plan that leaves no one out. Mary joins Laura in studio to explain how Vermonters managed to do the impossible, why she's sure the Senate will do the right thing, and how other states can follow Vermont's lead. "If these actions are allowed to stand in these places, there's going to be an assault on public workers around this nation. They are the testing ground to see how people are going to respond to this. And people are responding gloriously, whether it was Indianapolis, whether it was in Madison, they came out. Even those workers who may have been exempt from this takeover, even those workers came out," says actor and humanitarian Danny Glover. Danny Glover has a long history of activism and hasn't slowed down. Just recently, he flew back to Haiti with exiled former president Jean-Bertrand Aristide, and stopped in Indiana to lend his voice to the struggle of workers there to retain their right to organize. Glover stopped in New York to speak to the memorial gathering for the Triangle Shirtwaist workers, and he took some time to chat with Laura about the struggles of people around the world right now. Then, last night the New York State Capitol could've been mistaken for Madison, as protesters danced and sang inside the hall and then spent the night to protest Democratic Governor Cuomo's budget cuts. The bill passed, but Laura has a few thoughts looking forward to Monday's We Are One actions. Distributed by Tubemogul.
Email this pageGRITtv: Scandal in Albany Again: David Paterson's Troubles
It wasn't that long ago that New York had a governor embroiled in scandal. Eliot Spitzer resigned in disgrace in 2008 and was replaced by David Paterson, who became New York's first African-American governor--and the second legally blind governor of any state. Paterson is now in the midst of his own scandal: accusations that he pressured a woman to change her story of abuse at the hands of one of his close aides. He's already said he won't run for reelection, but should he become the second governor in two years to step down? Joining guest host Esther Armah to discuss are Dan Gerstein of Gotham Ghostwriters and Forbes and Erica Gonzalez of El Diario/La Prensa.
GRITtv: Mar. 10 2010
Arun Gupta in the latest issue of the Indypendent, on the way neoliberal "reforms" are being pushed Haiti's way. Gupta joins guest host Esther Armah in the studio, along with Reverend Osagyefo Sekou, who just returned from Haiti, to talk about the rebuilding effort underway and how people in the U.S. can help make sure Haiti is rebuilt for the Haitian people. Simon Kashama learned English listening to music like the Rolling Stones and James Brown--he was born in the Congo but spent his childhood in Belgium. Through his music and his theater work--starring in Lynn Nottage's Pulitzer prize winning play 'Ruined'--he aims to raise awareness of the situation in the Congo, and he joined us in studio recently to play two of his songs. Eliot Spitzer resigned as New York governor in disgrace in 2008 and was replaced by David Paterson, who became New York's first African-American governor--and the second legally blind governor of any state. Paterson is now in the midst of his own scandal: accusations that he pressured a woman to change her story of abuse at the hands of one of his close aides. He's already said he won't run for reelection, but should he become the second governor in two years to step down? Joining guest host Esther Armah to discuss are Dan Gerstein of Gotham Ghostwriters and Forbes and Erica Gonzalez of El Diario/La Prensa.
