frank schaeffer

What's happening as the manufactured controversy over the "Ground Zero Mosque" continues, Frank Schaeffer notes, is nothing less than a new form of antisemitism--one directed this time at Muslims and people of Arab descent. Schaeffer, a former member of the religious right, notes that if comments like the ones being made at the Muslim community were being made about American Jews, there would be outrage, but Islamophobia is socially acceptable now. Schaeffer, author of Crazy for God and Patience with God, joins guest host John Fugelsang via Skype to discuss the conservative arguments against the Cordoba House, and just what is and is not "sacred." Democrats are backing down over freedom of religion, Social Security privatization, and pretty much anything else we can think of these days in the name of winning midterm elections. Funny, we thought we were voting for people who believed in something. Allison Kilkenny and Jamie Kilstein of Citizen Radio join guest host John Fugelsang to dissect the flip-flops, backtracking, and all-around spinelessness of all too many Democrats, and more of the ridiculousness from this week's news. Finally, John has a few thoughts about a media issue coming up--the endless discussion of John Lennon's murder and his killer.

The Olympics have seen more than their share of controversy this year, from the death of a Georgian luger early on to the ongoing debate about policing, spending and co-opting Native land for sports. But many people still love the games, and tune in to watch sports that get forgotten the other three years--or to see dream teams put together to compete for gold. To talk about the good, the bad, and the corporate at the Vancouver games, we're joined by two veteran sports journalists, Ann Liguori of WFAN and Robert Lipsyte, PBS contributor and former New York Times contributor. And of course, we couldn't talk sports without touching on the media's ongoing fascination with Tiger Woods... You've seen them: the signs that pop up everywhere, with just a phone number and a seemingly-unbelievable promise. "We Buy Houses" "Make $45 an Hour." They're becoming even more common during this recession, the Huffington Post Investigative Fund has found, and they made this video in Baltimore with Robert Strupp, director of research and policy at the Community Law Center. President Obama revealed his health care plan this week, and activists across the country are gearing up to push to actually pass health care reform. In this video from Ramblin' Man Films, we check in with protesters in Los Angeles outside of Anthem Blue Cross's office, angered by a 39% rate hike by the insurer. Frank Schaeffer, author of Crazy for God and Patience with God, has had enough of claims that America is now in a "post-racial" era; if that's true, he asks, why does so much of the opposition to Obama's actions seem to have a nasty undertone? Last week, while Esther Armah held down the fort here at GRITtv, Laura was in Santa Fe meeting with activists. Of course, she took a camera with her, and captured this interview with Maude Barlow, author of Blue Covenant: The Global Water Crisis and the Coming Battle for the Right to Water and one time Senior Advisor on Water to the 63rd President of the United Nations General Assembly. We've also got the trailer for the documentary film FLOW, which Barlow also appeared in. Jose Alcoff was in Honduras recently, and contributed this exclusive report recapping the turmoil, and checking in with the social movements there about what's happening next. Finally, Laura and Mother Jones magazine have some suggestions for what we could do with the bankers' $20 billion.

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.

What happened to rational thought, reasonable argument, disputes that didn't end in name-calling and learning from those who disagree with us? We ask Susan Jacoby and Frank Schaeffer to talk about the problems with our politics, our discourse, our religious disputes and why "moderates" don't get off the hook for this. When he took office, Barack Obama promised to close the prison at Guantanamo within the year. This week, the anniversary of that promise brought a fresh round of protests at the capitol rotunda, since Guantanamo is still open. To mark another year of its existence, we thought we'd share some voices from those who've been inside with an ACLU video. From the Rainforest Action Network, a s video on the destructive processes of harvesting palm oil, which makes it into many of the products and onto your breakfast table. Tricia Wang and Alex Pasternack talk about the issues that come with China/Google spat. Jill Filipovic weighs in on a recent decision by the New York State Bar Association to have an all-male panel of lawyers offer advice to women. Nuclear energy is back on the table, and Laura asks Democrats to clarify what "security" spending is, anyway.