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GRITtv: The F Word: Learning From Health Care Reform
So this is what I learned from the last weekend of the health care reform debate. First, lay a coffin at a white house fence and you're subject to arrest. Spit and yell abuse at members of the Black Caucus as they enter the Capitol and you'll be left in peace. The same goes for screaming epithets at Barney Frank. If you're going to mass half a million strong for immigration reform, don't expect coverage on CSPAN when they're covering live events in and around Capitol Hill -- not if there are hundreds of epithet throwers somewhere close to cover. And I learned that after all, it has to be said, some Democrats do have spine. Unfortunately the rest could take some lessons in how to negotiate from the teeny weeny criminalize-abortion caucus and Rep. Bart Stupak. Finally I learned that Nancy Pelosi is one hell of a house leader. She really can corral a majority when she wants. In fact, she and President Barack Obama can be really persuasive, when they want to be. So let's not hear any more bunk about the impossibility of the aforementioned immigration reform, or repealing Don't Ask Don't Tell, or actually coming up with some real financial regulation. They can do it when they want to. The one thing that remains a mystery is how to make them want to. If you don't have a mountain of cash, that is.
The F Word is a regular commentary by Laura Flanders, the host of GRITtv which broadcasts weekdays on satellite TV (Dish Network Ch. 9415 Free Speech TV) on cable, and online at GRITtv.org and TheNation.com. Follow GRITtv or GRITlaura on Twitter.com.
Email this pageGRITtv: Mar. 22 2010
The House of Representatives, under Speaker Nancy Pelosi, passed historic health care reform late Sunday night. That's a fact. Also a fact is that the bill is far from perfect, and legislators from all sides will be working to shape the bill more to their liking. Progressives regret the lack of a public option, let alone single payer, and the use of women's reproductive choice as a political football in the negotiations--Obama was forced into an executive order reaffirming the Hyde Amendment's commitment not to use federal dollars for abortions. But what does it all mean? Will the protests die down, or just get worse? What can we do to get REAL change we can believe in, with a country this polarized? Laura asks Chip Berlet, an expert on right-wing populism and senior analyst with Political Research Associates, and Nina Agrawal, pediatrician and director of community outreach with the National Physicians Alliance. The flawed health care bill that finally made it through Congress might show the limitations of democracy in the U.S., but Gary Younge, correspondent for the Guardian and the Nation, assures us that it's worse in Europe. Gary joins Laura to talk about Greece, England, the rise of fascist parties across Europe--and how it all relates to our own tea party movement. With all the news over health care reform's passage, the beginning of the eighth year of the war in Iraq seems to have slipped out of the headlines. But over the weekend, antiwar protesters took to the street across the U.S. Rod Laughridge sent us this video from one protest in San Francisco. Don't forget, if you're making video where you live, we'd love to see it and maybe even play it in the show! Finally, Laura remarks on what she learned through the weekend in health care reform news.
GRITtv: David Corn: Enhancing the Debate
On January 29, Barack Obama took questions from House Republicans at their "issues retreat," televised on CSPAN. Experienced Washington reporters and political amateurs alike were riveted, passing along information on Twitter and other social networks David Corn of Mother Jones is one of those experienced Washington reporters, and after he watched the event (and dubbed it #questiontime on Twitter) he joined with a loose coalition across party lines to create a petition to demand more question time. He joins Laura via Skype to explain why he thinks more events like this can make the political debate in Washington and around the country better.
GRITtv: Feb. 10 2010
Not long ago on GRITtv, Hamid Dabashi told us that the Iranian protests are turning into a civil rights movement with long-term potential for change. Wel talk to Hooman Majd, author of The Ayatollah Begs to Differ: The Paradox of Modern Iran, Hadi Ghaemi, director of the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, and Kelly Golnoush Niknejad of Tehran Bureau about the protests, the regime, and what happens next. On Jan. 29, Barack Obama took questions from House Republicans at their "issues retreat," televised on CSPAN. David Corn of Mother Jones joins Laura via Skype to explain why he thinks more events like this can make the political debate in Washington and around the country better. The Winter Olympics are headed to Vancouver, British Columbia, but activists are pointing out the way international sporting events lead to police crackdowns and displacement of locals. Thanks to our friends at the Vancouver Media Cooperative for the video. The 2010 census is starting up, and as New America Media shares, for Southeast Asian community, organizers are making sure that they get the proper representation, and not undercounted. Did you know that in Utah, you're more likely to get chlamydia than the chicken pox or the flu? Well, a Republican State Senator, who says he's from the most conservative part of the state, is leading the fight to allow teachers to teach contraception. Health care reform isn't dead yet, and a coalition of progressive groups, including Bold Progressives and Democracy for America, are increasing the pressure in Washington for Democrats to pass reform--by any means necessary. Finally, in this new documentary, filmmakers David Ridgen and Nicholas Rossier follow Norman Finkelstein, the son of Holocaust survivors called a self-hating Jew for his response to Israeli and US policy over Palestine, around the world in pursuit of his principles.
