michigan
GRITtv: Oct. 4 2010
"We need a grassroots coalition that's comparable to the Tea Party movement in many respects. It needs to be fairly decentralized, easy for people to join, and it needs to be audacious," says Bill Fletcher, Jr. of the way forward after the success of this past weekend's One Nation rally in Washington, D.C. This rally, he notes, needs to not simply be a nice day out for progressives--it needs to be a turning of the tide, a reversal of course away from anger and toward solidarity.Bill joins guest host Richard Kim of The Nation to discuss the rally this weekend, the media's reaction to it, and what it really means to be audacious.Laura was a cohost for Free Speech TV's coverage of the One Nation march this weekend, and she and Thom Hartmann spoke to two participants there who remember another march on Washington--one in 1963, for civil rights.
Email this pageGRITtv: John Conyers: Jobs and Justice
"The reason there are so many Detroiters here at this march is that we're trying to climb out of a continuing depression, that has yet to be addressed by the trillions of dollars we've spent to pull Wall Street out of its malaise," says Congressman John Conyers, chair of the judiciary committee and longtime representative from Michigan. Conyers checked in with Laura and Thom Hartmann at this week's One Nation rally to talk about jobs, justice, and the midterm elections.
GRITtv: Farai Chideya: Media and Aiyana Jones
On Sunday, seven-year old Aiyana Jones was shot and killed during a failed murder investigation. What happens when the police accidently shoot and kill a seven-year old black girl and the media reaction is muted? Somehow, the dangerous guerilla tactics frequently used by police are overlooked. Radio correspondent Farai Chideya reports that in the face of a lacking media, it is necessary to use tools such as Wikipedia to investigate and piece together the facts. Distributed by Tubemogul.
Thom Hartmann: Outrage at Blackwater President's Racism
Jeremy Scahill is outraged that Erik Prince says, Afghani's are just barbarians who crawled out of the sewer. Scahill talks about the tape he obtained that contains a rare recording of one of Prince's private lectures, and it is in this recording that Prince made that comment and more.
GRITtv: The F Word: Solving a Problem Like Stupak
Bart Stupak is retiring. The man who earned the enmity of pro-choicers across America with his grandstanding over the rights of women in health care reform has decided not to run for reelection, stating as his reason that the bill he did his best to kill got passed. Is it time to celebrate? Rep. Stupak, from upper Michigan, represents a chunk of rural residents who tended, before him, to elect Republicans. He's now found himself in the unenviable position of being hated by women's rights advocates AND the criminalization crowd. In terms of gains for Democrats, Michael Moore has noted that Stupak hasn't been all bad -- he's supported gun control legislation, taking on the NRA -- Moore calls him a “decent guy.” Now he's politically defunct. Stupak, in other words, is the most prominent face of a big problem for progressives within the Democratic party: what to do about the conservadems? They may snatch a seat from the GOP, but what's the good, if they spend most of their time in office fighting against the party and wearing down the supposedly Democratic agenda while they're at it. The good news in this case, is there's no longer any reason for Democrats in Michigan not to support prochoice former schoolteacher Connie Saltonstall for Stupak's seat. But the bigger question's this. What's politics? If you're a party that claims to have beliefs, do you go to where the voters are, perfecting the art of the easy road to a graspable majority? Or is politics, rather, the effort to shift opinion towards what you believe is right? The worst outcome of all is Stupak's -- falling victim to a bit of both. 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. Support us by signing up for our podcast, and follow GRITtv or GRITlaura on Twitter.com. Distributed by Tubemogul.
"Democracy Now!": Tues. Mar. 30 2010
Examining the "rage on the right": a Christian militia was raided in Michigan this week and a Tennessee skinhead pleads guilty to an Obama assassination plot; Pentagon Papers whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg talks about President Obama and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. "Democracy Now!"is a daily independent newshour.
GRITtv: John Nichols: Money For Jobs From TARP
In several regions of the United States -- Michigan, parts of Ohio and Indiana, stretches of New England and the rural south, historically depressed urban areas -- the jobless figures are so acute that they have become the definitional social, economic and political concern. John Nichols of the Nation has a suggestion for the President: use the bank bailout dollars to put regular Americans back to work.
GRITtv: Dec. 7, 2009
Since U.S. presidents and Congress have dragged their heels on climate-change legislation, local activists and governments have often taken the lead in pushing for stronger regulations and innovations. Miquela Craytor, James Gennaro and Dale Bryk discuss working locally to create sustainable jobs and fight climate change. John Nichols of the Nation calls for the government to shift TARP money to create a jobs program. Mary Mcbride talks songwriting and being out of the closet as a musician with a very mixed audience. Finally, we revisit Honduras, where the recent election was boycotted by supporters of ousted President Manuel Zelaya.
GRITtv: Kate Clinton: We Will Remember Maine
Kate Clinton talks about the LGBT equality measures that passed in Kalamazoo, Michigan and Washington State, and the marriage equality law that was overturned in Maine on Election Day. "We're not just like you. You've got rights; we don't," she notes, calling for heterosexuals to have to ask people to vote on their rights.
