bill fletcher
GRITtv: Dec. 9, 2010
"In the last two days alone, I've gotten 2000 telephone calls, and 99% said this agreement is a bad agreement; we can and must do better," says Senator Bernie Sanders of President Obama's deal with Republicans to extend the Bush tax cuts for all in exchange for a one-year extension of unemployment benefits and other concessions. "You can't do better unless you get out there and fight. Maybe it's time for our Republican friends to start compromising."Senator Sanders joins us via Skype from Washington, D.C., where earlier today House Democrats voted not to take up the compromise agreed to by the president. He discusses the compromise as it stands, tax breaks, unemployment insurance, and the need for Democrats to get off the defensive and push back."The Democratic base would be less angry at our leadership if they would really stand up for something," notes Loretta Ross of SisterSong, "Democrats need to stop flinching every time someone says the word 'abortion'." ; Democrats are on the defensive, and meanwhile anti-choice activists are ramping up their efforts to deny women the right to an abortion, not just in the South, where the "Freedom Rides for Life" that we detailed here at GRITtv in our "Conspiracy Tactics" series began, but across the country.Loretta joins us in studio along with Lynn Paltrow of National Advocates for Pregnant Women to discuss the state of the reproductive justice movement: what are the latest tactics from the anti-choicers, what can be done to fight back, and why we need to not be afraid of the word abortion.Environmental advocates in Cancun were appalled this morning when Thomas Goldtooth of the Indigenous Environmental Network was denied entry to the UN Climate Change Conference following his participation in a demonstration of environmental groups on Thursday.
Email this pageGRITtv: The F Word: Attacks On Govt. Workers in Tax Deal
Republican activist Grover Norquist once famously declared that he'd like to shrink the federal government to the point where he could drown it in a bathtub — but a little-noticed provision in the “tax cut compromise” we discussed today with Bernie Sanders might well drain the states' sinks first. Distributed by Tubemogul.
GRITtv: Bill Fletcher Jr.: Remembering Dorothy Height, Benjamin Hooks
Dorothy Height and Benjamin Hooks both passed away recently; as trailblazing leaders in the movements for civil rights, they both worked to make a better world not just for African-Americans, but for everyone. Height was a feminist and an outspoken activist for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people, and Hooks led the NAACP through a transitional period in its long history. Joining us via Skype from Washington, D.C. to remember Drs Height and Hooks and to talk about the next steps in progressive movements is regular guest Bill Fletcher Jr. of Black Commentator and the Center for Labor Renewal.
GRITtv: Apr. 23 2010
President Obama came to New York to deliver a speech at Cooper Union this week, critiquing the financial crisis and making the case for the financial regulation bill heading for a Senate vote. He made the case for both free markets and for regulations on those markets, and called for Americans to come together to support financial regulation. GRITtv headed to Cooper Union as well, and spoke to Sarah Ludwig of the Neighborhood Economic Development Advocacy Program about Obama's speech and whether government intervention is the solution, and Kai Wright of ColorLines and The Nation about the ongoing problem with foreclosures and whether Obama's solutions will help anyone keep their home. Dorothy Height and Benjamin Hooks both passed away recently. As trailblazing leaders in the movements for civil rights, they both worked to make a better world not just for African-Americans, but for everyone. Height was a feminist and an outspoken activist for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people, and Hooks led the NAACP through a transitional period in its long history. Joining us via Skype from Washington, D.C. to remember Drs Height and Hooks and to talk about the next steps in progressive movements is regular guest Bill Fletcher Jr. of Black Commentator and the Center for Labor Renewal. "We are gathered here because the so-called developed countries didn't meet their obligation of establishing substantial commitments to cutting greenhouse gas emissions in Copenhagen," said Bolivian president Evo Morales at the World People's Conference on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth. Tami Woronoff and Jennifer Utz are in Cochabamba for the conference, and sent us this report from their conversations with activists, organizers, and representatives on the ground.
GRITtv: Henry Louis Gates' Arrest: A Teachable Moment?
There's been an endless cycle of commentary on the Henry Louis Gates affair since the Harvard Professor was arrested in his home and President Obama made the off script remark that the Cambridge police had "acted stupidly." Both men are now saying it is time to move on and that what happened was a teachable moment. But what, if anything, have we learned? Bill Fletcher, Jr., Executive Editor of Black Commentator, Ron Kuby a Civil Rights Attorney and the host of Doing Time with Ron Kuby on Air America, Dennis Parker, Director of the Racial Justice Program at the American Civil Liberties Union, and Rev. Irene Monroe, a Ford Fellow and Doctoral Candidate at Harvard Divinity School on race, class, and law enforcement in America. The ACLU has recently published a report on racial profiling that you can find here.
