ari melber
GRITtv: Apr. 13 2010
As the community around the Upper Big Branch mine in West Virginia mourns its dead and papers report that miners are not being allowed to attend their friends' funerals, S&P Equity Research upgraded the company's stock from a "hold" to a "buy." Just another example of profits before people, notes Jeff Biggers, author of Reckoning at Eagle Creek: The Secret Legacy of Coal in the Heartland. Biggers joins us via Skype to talk about the tragedy at the Massey Energy mine and the legacy of coal, and warns that while it might be easy to point fingers at Massey's egregious violations of safety rules and its grandstanding CEO Don Blankenship, the entire mining culture is fraught with the same problems. Dawn Johnsen was one of Barack Obama's most progressive nominees; a strong voice for the rule of law, her nomination to the Office of Legal Counsel would have been clear message to the world that the days of torture memos and overreaching executive power were behind the U.S. So when she withdrew her nomination after over a year without a Senate vote, progressives and civil libertarians were distressed--not least because of the administration's apparent lack of willingness to fight for its stellar nominee.
Email this pageGRITtv: Who Threw Dawn Johnsen Under the Bus?
Dawn Johnsen was one of Barack Obama's most progressive nominees, a strong voice for the rule of law, her nomination to the Office of Legal Counsel would have been clear message to the world that the days of torture memos and overreaching executive power were behind the U.S. So when she withdrew her nomination after over a year without a Senate vote, progressives and civil libertarians were distressed--not least because of the administration's apparent lack of willingness to fight for its stellar nominee.
GRITtv: Media Panel: Van Jones' Resignation, Obama's Healthcare Speech and More Foreclosures
In the headlines this week: Obama's much anticipated healthcare speech, Glenn Beck's attack on Van Jones and his subsequent resignation and another wave of foreclosures hits the country. How did our trusted newsmakers cover these stories? To discuss, we welcome Rana Foroohar, senior editor at Newsweek; independent filmmaker and blogger Danny Schechter, Ari Melber, The Nation Net Movement correspondent and a columnist for Politico. And joining us from Oakland, California, Aimee Allison, host and producer of KPFA Pacifica Radio Morning Show.
GRITtv: September 10, 2009
In the headlines this week: Obama's much anticipated healthcare speech, Glenn Beck's attack on Van Jones and his subsequent resignation and another wave of foreclosures hits the country.
