arun gupta

It's become common to hear that the Republicans are just "the Party of No," with no ideas beyond obstructing the Democratic agenda. But Arun Gupta of the Indypendent has a new piece out at Truthout.org where he questions that view. The Republicans have deftly turned being the "Party of No" into a positive stance: They signal to their base they are working to defeat an alien ideology while defending real Americans and traditional values and institutions. Arun joins Laura in studio to discuss his piece, the "Party of No" strategy, and where the Left is in all of this. The popular TV show "24", which many argued was a conservative, pro-war and pro-torture program, had its finale this week. Barry Eisler, who used to work for the CIA, argues that the Right has done a better job of seeding its ideology into American pop culture, from television and movies to books. Eisler is now a novelist himself, and his new book "Inside Out" is based on real events involving the disappearance of videotapes documenting American torture of suspected terrorists. Eisler joins us in studio to discuss the way that the media is complicit in issues of war and torture, and how progressives can use fiction and art to fight for our own ideals. "This is my backyard, you shouldn't take a risk in it," says Troy Wetzel, Louisiana charter boat captain, to conservationist Rick Steiner of the BP oil spill. In this clip from our friends at Greenpeace, Wetzel takes Steiner out on his boat to see the immediate effects on the water and the community of the oil that continues, over a month in, to gush out into the Gulf of Mexico. Finally, it's over a year into an Obama administration, and already that word "compromise" has been heard too much. Yet when the news hit Monday night that the administration had agreed to a compromise that would see Congress voting on overturning "Don't Ask Don't Tell", hopes rose again.

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.