america
GRITtv: Feb. 16, 2011
"People who want to see the budget cut are people who are advocating throwing people out of work, it's that simple," says Dean Baker of the pressure from conservatives on Obama's budget--pressure, it appears, that Obama is conceding to as he brags that discretionary spending will be the lowest since Eisenhower's administration.So Obama's budget includes cuts to infrastructure, education, and more, and for Republicans, that's still not enough. Dean joins us from D.C. via Skype to talk about what the president should be arguing as the budget fight heats up.They're calling him the Mubarak of the Midwest: Wisconsin governor Scott Walker might have gone too far threatening to call the National Guard on union workers who might fight back against his draconian bill to strip their collective bargaining rights. Walker's union-busting has brought out thousands of protesters, who packed the capitol building and even drew support from the Super Bowl-winning Green Bay Packers. The protests continued today with a "sick-out" from Madison schools, and support just might be eroding for Walker's policies..."It's a reimagining of the middle east, what is possible," says poet Remi Kanazi of the revolution in Egypt, and Laila El-Haddad notes the direct impact that the Mubarak regime had on Palestinian people, particularly in Gaza, which shares a border with Egypt. ; Laila and members of her family--including her small children--had been detained by the Mubarak regime.What does regime change mean for the Palestinian people? And what effect will the wave of civil rights protests and activism across Bahrain, Jordan, Yemen, Iran and Libya have? Laila and Remi join us to discuss.Finally, Laura has a few thoughts about Obama's budget--and all the things we shouldn't forget.
Email this pageGRITtv: The F Word: Obama Should Be Ashamed of His Budget
“This freeze would cut the deficit by more than $400 billion over the next decade, bringing this kind of spending -- domestic discretionary spending -- to its lowest share of our economy since Dwight Eisenhower was President. Let me repeat that...." That was our president announcing his 2012 budget. And indeed let's repeat that — and note a few things he didn't say. Distributed by Tubemogul.
GRITtv: Jan. 26, 2011
"There was no there there. There wasn't a whole lot you could sink your teeth into, but it was very much Obama in 2008 in terms of 'let's spend responsibly, let's all get along, let's be scientific and smart and go forth and be Americans and we're exceptional,'" said ColorLines editor Kai Wright of Obama's State of the Union speech last night. Obama made the case for "winning the future" with investment in education and green technology, Kai notes, but didn't lay out specifics for how to get there--but with Republicans putting up Paul Ryan and Michele Bachmann putting up her own Tea Party response to the speech, he may still get four more years. Campaign 2012 begins now, and Kai joins Laura to discuss what's coming next. Michele Bachmann isn't the only one who believes in American exceptionalism--there was plenty in Barack Obama's State of the Union speech that reiterated the notion that the US is somehow above the rest of the world. But what does all that mean now? Richard Wolff says "We are exceptional these days not only in the nice and happy things but in things that are not so good." And Maya Wiley points out "It's good if we feel strongly about the importance of our nation. What's complicated is what's behind it." Maya and Richard join Laura in the studio for a discussion of American exceptionalism in 2011--the hard truths we're not acknowledging, what Obama spoke about in his speech, and what changes need to be made to live up to some of the promises being made by politicians on both sides. What happens in Tunisia apparently doesn't stay in Tunisia. Cairo, the capital city of Egypt, has been rocked by protests for the past two days that show no sign of stopping. While the US State department is issuing statements that the government is stable, everyone's paying attention to unconfirmed reports that President Mubarak's wife and family have landed in Heathrow airport in London, landing with 97 pieces of luggage. Al Jazeera English, which can be seen on Free Speech TV alongside GRITtv, had this report from the early morning hours in Cairo. In the State of the Union speech, Barack Obama did get applause for saying that the US stands with the people of Tunisia. Now, he didn't mention the two decades of support the US had given the dictatorship. Laura has some thoughts on the US response to the protests in Cairo as well. Distributed by Tubemogul.
GRITtv: The F Word: Protests in Cairo Forgotten by Obama
In the State of the Union speech, Barack Obama did get applause for saying that the US stands with the people of Tunisia. Now, he didn't mention the two decades of support the US had given the dictatorship. Distributed by Tubemogul.
GRITtv: Nov. 12, 2010
"We have a choice," says Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author Chris Hedges. "You can either be complicit in your own enslavement or you can lead a life that has some kind of integrity and meaning."
GRITtv: Chloe Angyal: Voting Rights and Responsibilities
Where I come from, voting is compulsory. If you don’t show up on Election Day, you’re fined $20. I’m from Australia, where voting, like paying taxes, is a part of being an adult and being a citizen. I’m also a citizen of the United States, where voting is not compulsory, and where voter turn-out, with a few exceptions, gets thinner with every election cycle. Chloe Angyal is a contributor to Feministing.com. Distributed by Tubemogul.
GRITtv: Mooz-lum: Universal Stories, Muslim Families
Mooz-lum is a new film, directed by Qasim 'Q' Basir and starring Evan Ross, Nia Long, Danny Glover, Roger Guenveur Smith, Summer Bishil and Dorian Missick. Focused on the story of a Muslim family living in the United States, it illuminates not only the usual coming-of-age issues, the struggle of parents and children to understand one another, but the unique struggle of a Muslim family to retain their identity in a country where fear and hatred for their religion is increasingly commonplace. Laura is joined in studio by Qasim Basir and actor Roger Guenveur Smith checks in via Skype to talk about the film, its intended audience, and what it's like dealing with the current political climate, where new angry anti-Muslim rhetoric seems to be around every turn.
GRITtv: Sept 17 2010
Mooz-Lum is a new film, directed by Qasim Basir and starring Evan Ross, Nia Long, Danny Glover, Roger Guenveur Smith, Summer Bishil and Dorian Missick. Focused on the story of one Muslim family in the U.S. after 9/11, it illuminates not only the usual coming-of-age issues, the struggle of parents and children to understand one another, but the unique struggle of a Muslim family to retain their identity in a country where fear and hatred for their religion is increasingly commonplace. Laura is joined in studio by Qasim Basir and actor Roger Guenveur Smith checks in via Skype to talk about the film, its intended audience, and what it's like dealing with the current political climate, where new angry anti-Muslim rhetoric seems to be around every turn.Simone Weil was a philosopher, a mystic, and an activist; she inspired those who read her work to reconsider their position on suffering, on politics, on action and religion. Documentarian Julia Haslett found herself so inspired and began work on a film that deals with Weil's legacy today, over sixty years after her death.An Interview with Simone Weil needs your help for completion; you can support the film here.
GRITtv: Andrew Bacevich: The Bipartisan War Project
"War has become normal and the wars we engage in have become open-ended enterprises," notes historian and best-selling author Andrew Bacevich. More importantly, our ongoing state of war is one that has been created by politicians from both parties, and our entire way of life in the U.S. is implicated in its creation. In part one of a two-part interview, Bacevich joins Laura in studio to talk about his new book, Washington Rules: America's Path to Permanent War, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the moment when he, as an army officer, realized that the story he'd been told about why we fight wasn't the full tale.
GRITtv: Aug. 3 2010
"Anything BP does and doesn't do is to preserve their profits and their future ability to operate in the United States, no more, no less." That's according to "Martha," a hazardous waste worker in the Gulf, who joins us via Skype anonymously to report on the conditions workers are facing cleaning up BP's mess. "Martha" has been reporting on conditions to the blog The Political Carnival, where more of her stories of workers being fired, prisoner labor used in cleanup, improper training and safety conditions, and of course, following the money around the trail of contracts and confusion that is the Gulf Coast post-Deepwater Horizon. War has become normal, and the wars we engage in have become open-ended enterprises, notes historian and best-selling author Andrew Bacevich. More importantly, our ongoing state of war is one that has been created by politicians from both parties, and our entire way of life in the U.S. is implicated in its creation. In part one of a two-part interview, Bacevich joins Laura in studio to talk about his new book, Washington Rules: America's Path to Permanent War, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the moment when he, as an army officer, realized that the story he'd been told about why we fight wasn't the full tale.
