don?t ask don?t tell
GRITtv: December 20, 2010
This weekend saw critical votes on Don't Ask Don't Tell and the DREAM Act--one victory and one defeat for progressives. Kai Wright of ColorLines notes that it was grassroots organizing and militant activism that brought both these bills to the point of passage. "In the end it's the outside that moves people. Literally outside the White House, chained to the fence, or DREAM act students hunger striking," he notes. Kai joins Laura in studio to talk about what can be learned from the movement around the DREAM Act and Don't Ask Don't Tell, moving beyond "inside/outside" strategy, and why the military is traditionally a first step toward wider equality and rights for all Americans. "I think a comic's job is always to question authority and question the status quo," says Kelly Carlin, daughter of famous political comedian George Carlin. Now, with more Americans trusting Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert to provide not only information, but even political rallies, it seems that political comedy is more relevant than ever. Kelly joins GRITtv contributor John Fugelsang and comic Lee Camp for a discussion on the place of political comedy--when your guy is in the White House, when the subject is popular and when it's not, parody and satire and the difference between, and much, much more. Finally, militant action moved Don't Ask Don't Tell, and now it's time to come out against war--and for Bradley Manning.
Email this pageGRITtv: May 25 2010
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.
GRITtv: Apr. 21 2010
Matt Taibbi called Goldman Sachs a "giant vampire squid," and it appears that they've finally overstepped their bounds. The Securities and Exchange Commission has filed charges against Goldman, accusing it of "Fraud in Structuring and Marketing of CDO Tied to Subprime Mortgages." Well, what does all that mean? And what's going on with financial regulation, anyway? We ask economist Dean Baker of the Center for Economic and Policy Research and the blog Beat the Press to explain it all to us. This week in front of the White House, uniformed members of the United States Armed Services were arrested for handcuffing themselves to the fence in a call for the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell. President Obama has promised to overturn the Clinton-era rule, but so far hasn't done it. The action, along with another action this week demanding a swift vote on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, were coordinated by GetEQUAL, and are part of what may be a new wave of direct action targeting Obama and Democrats. Among the arrestees were Lt. Dan Choi, Petty Officer Autumn Sandeen, Capt. Jim Pietrangelo II, Petty Officer Larry Whitt, Cadet Mara Boyd, and Cpl. Evelyn Thomas. Joel Silberman was in D.C. helping to coordinate the action, and he joins us via Skype along with Kenyon Farrow, Executive Director of Queers for Economic Justice, in studio to talk about Don't Ask Don't Tell, ENDA, direct action, and the Obama administration. Finally, Laura takes on the SEC, as it's taking on Goldman.
GRITtv: Kate Clinton: Drones, Crones and Oscars
It's drones, crones, Toyota, the Super Bowl, and one-line summaries of the ten (yes, ten!) Best Picture nominees for this year's Oscars in Kate Clinton's latest commentary.
GRITtv: Feb. 4, 2010
CBS has changed its longstanding policy of not allowing issue ads during the Super Bowl to accept an anti-choice advertisement from Focus on the Family, and women's groups are furious at the double standard: CBS still rejected an ad from a gay dating service. Jehmu Greene and the Women's Media Center are calling for CBS to pull the ad, and other groups have joined the protest. Meanwhile, Nona Willis Aronowitz has a new book, Girldrive: Criss-Crossing America, Redefining Feminism, aiming to find out what kind of feminism women around the country, and Shelby Knox came from a southern conservative background to become an activist for sex education. We ask them what feminism means now and whether we should be focused on women in the media or other issues. "Would President Obama speak at a prayer breakfast organized by the KKK? Would Jim Wallis and other 'progressive' Christians attend?" That's what Frank Schaeffer wants to know, asking why Obama can't seem to break with the tradition of the White House National Prayer Breakfast. Bill Withers is responsible for so many songs you know and love. ?Ain?t No Sunshine,? ?Lean On Me,? ?Lovely Day,? ?Grandma?s Hands,? and ?Just the Two of Us" are just some of his familiar recordings. Filmmakers Damani Baker and Alex Vlack created an intimate portrait of Withers years after fame transformed him from a working-class guy with a family to a star. In Still Bill, they talk to Withers and his friends and family, and they joined us in studio to tell the story behind the film. It's drones, crones, Toyota, the Super Bowl, and one-line summaries of the ten (yes, ten!) Best Picture nominees for this year's Oscars in Kate Clinton's latest commentary. South Florida's Raging Grannies have a little message for CBS over its Super Bowl ad policy. Tim Tebow isn't the only male pro athlete with an opinion on women's reproductive choices, it seems. Former Minnesota Vikings football player Sean James and former Olympic Gold Medalist Al Joyner (brother of Olympic track star Jackie Joyner-Kersee) speak up for women's choices in this video from our friends at RH Reality Check. New media and new technology are going to save the world, or at least the media, right? Well, our friends at Yo! TV headed down to the Girls in Tech Conference to talk to some of the women who are shaping tech now.
GRITtv: The F Word: Integrity Isn't Just a Military Value
On Tuesday, several the nation's top military officials, including Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Defense Secretary Robert Gates, spoke out in favor of ending Don't Ask, Don't Tell, the Clinton-era policy that can get a lesbian or gay service person fired if their sexuality becomes known. Mullen tweeted later: ?Stand by what I said: Allowing homosexuals to serve openly is the right thing to do. Comes down to integrity.? Hoorah! But before we pat our leaders on the back for talking about integrity, can we just point out that the military is mostly a grand symbol in this debate. For many the biggest problem with the US military is not how it treats its own, but how it treats outsiders it considers "other" --Iraqis or Pakistanis for example. It's possible that unteaching machismo within could improve the institution's respect for the human rights of all. But -- I hate to mention it -- eliminating Don't Ask Don't Tell will not create full equality in the USA. Workplaces around this country in a world of different professions and places are dangerous places for LGBT people. Willing and able workers they can be fired for who they are. The National Gay And Lesbian Task Force, which is about to hold its annual Creating Change conference in Texas this weekend, points out that it's still legal in 29 states to fire someone because of their sexual orientation. In 38 states, people can be fired for being transgender -- not fitting in to gender stereotypes. Where's our integrity as a nation that claims to be founded on the principles of Every Person Is Created Equal? The President's push to hold hearings on Don't Ask Don't Tell is a step up from not talking about it at all. But a year of hearings on the military, past present and future? What we need is an inclusive employment non-discrimination act that applies to ALL jobs, and all people -- not just the military -- and we need it now. The F Word is a regular commentary by Laura Flanders, the host of GRITtv.
