ben nelson
GRITtv: Apr. 27 2010
Financial reform came up for a test vote this week in the Senate--and the Republican party (plus Ben Nelson) voted to filibuster the bill before even debating the subject. Will GOP political posturing continue to hold progress hostage? What's the point of being the Party of No, and will the Republicans' apparent decision to stick to that line finally push Obama to decide that there's no point in trying to win them over, and lead him to making progressive choices--for the Supreme Court, say? Joining us to make sense of the confusion in Washington, D.C. is regular GRITtv guest Melissa Harris-Lacewell, columnist for The Nation and professor at Princeton. She also has some thoughts on Nightline's recent special on the purported marriage crisis among black women. Lisa Shannon literally had her life changed by an Oprah show. She watched a program about the suffering of women in Congo and was inspired to do something. But each step wasn't enough--sending money, organizing a Run for Congo Women, getting in touch with other runners, even traveling to Congo to meet the women she was helping. Her new book "A Thousand Sisters: My Journey into the Worst Place on Earth to Be a Woman" details her transition from affluent businesswoman to dedicated activist in a global movement, and she joins Laura in studio to talk about Congo and what all of us can do to help. SUPERFRONT is a gallery and space in Brooklyn, New York where architecture meets art, dance, sound, and more. Currently on display are the graphic-novel-like drawings of Jimenez Lai, who challenges his discipline to be more humanistic and experimental. GRITtv's Sarah Friedland visited the space and brought us this report. Jimenez Lai's work will be on display until May 9. If you're in Brooklyn, we encourage you to check it out. Finally, as the debate over financial reform heats up, Laura once again looks at some of the folks who made out like bandits when the economy collapsed.
Email this pageGRITtv: Melissa Harris-Lacewell: We Don't Have to Agree
Financial reform came up for a test vote this week in the Senate--and the Republican party (plus Ben Nelson) voted to filibuster the bill before even debating the subject. Will GOP political posturing continue to hold progress hostage? What's the point of being the Party of No, and will the Republicans' apparent decision to stick to that line finally push Obama to decide that there's no point in trying to win them over, and lead him to making progressive choices--for the Supreme Court, say? Joining us to make sense of the confusion in Washington, D.C. is regular GRITtv guest Melissa Harris-Lacewell, columnist for The Nation and professor at Princeton. She also has some thoughts on Nightline's recent special on the purported marriage crisis among black women. GRITtv with Laura Flanders brings participatory democracy onto your computer screen and into your living room, bridging the gap between audience and advocates. Watch any show, at any time: http://grittv.org Distributed by Tubemogul.
GRITtv: To Kill or Not to Kill the Bill
The progressive community is at each other's throats over the health care bill: some say kill it and start over, others say pass it now and fix it later. Without a public option, Medicare buy-in, or other cost-controlling measures, and with Stupak and Nelson holding women's rights for ransom, is there anything good left in this bill? We ask Chris Hayes, Washington editor for The Nation, Lizz Winstead, host and producer of Shoot the Messenger, and Miriam Yeung of Women of Color United for Health Care what's in, what's out, and what the best course of action is now for progressives who want to see real reform.
GRITtv: Dec. 22, 2009
Without a public option, Medicare buy-in, or other cost-controlling measures, and with Stupak and Nelson holding women's rights for ransom, is there anything good left in te healthcare bill? We ask Chris Hayes, Lizz Winstead and Miriam Yeung what's in, what's out, and what the best course of action is now for progressives who want to see real reform. Sarah Schulman joins Laura in the studio to talk about homophobia in the family and more. Street Films made a humorous list of ten things to be thankful for when Gridlock Alert hits. New America Media looks at an alternative program in San Francisco that offers low-cost short-term loans to keep people out of the clutches of the payday lenders. Circus Amok takes its brand of avant-garde political theater to Washington Square Park. William K. Black, a former senior deputy chief counsel at the federal Office of Thrift Supervision is an expert on the shady dealings of banks and corporations. David Heath of the Huffington Post interviewed him for this report.
GRITtv: The F Word: Pocketbook Politics in the Senate
No sooner had they voted to move the health debate forward, than Senators. Joe Lieberman, I/D-Conn., and Ben Nelson, D-Neb., threatened to stop it in its tracks. Both "indicated Sunday that they will not vote to pass the package if it includes a government-run insurance program," no matter what the people in their states actually want, no matter what positive difference it might make. At least in the House, so called Blue Dog Democrats claimed their opposition was based on some semblance of political calculus. What's playing out is pocket book politics - the legislator's pocket book. Lieberman's received over $4 million from health related business and private insurance companies over his career. It's not people politics, it's campaign contribution politics that are playing out in the Senate. The F Word is a regular commentary by Laura Flanders, the host of GRITtv.
GRITtv: Nov. 23, 2009
During the Great Depression, the labor movement was a major player pushing a progressive agenda and helping to put people back to work. While we have heard plenty of comparisons between the current recession and the Depression, we haven't seen a return of the kind of militancy that came from labor in the '20s and '30s. With all the anger swirling around right now, where's the organizing? Paula Finn, Editor of the New Labor Forum, Thomas Frank, author of "What's the Matter with Kansas?" and "The Wrecking Crew" and Wall Street Journal columnist Tom Geoghegan, labor lawyer, recent congressional candidate, and author of "Which Side Are You On?: Trying to Be for Labor When It's Flat on Its Back" joins Laura to talk about labor's problems and suggest some solutions to help all of us, whether we're union members or not.
