minnesota
GRITtv: The Nurses Station: Jean Ross
"The message of public vs. private, fight against each other, isn't working," says Jean Ross of the Minnesota Nurses Association, who joined the protests in Madison, Wisconsin at the Capitol building against Scott Walker's union-busting bill. Jean and the National Nurses United have been traveling and talking to their workers, hearing firsthand about the impact of the economy on nurses and their patients. "The notion of shared sacrifice--there needs to actually be some sharing, but there's been none. All the burden has been on the working people in this country," Jean notes. She joins Laura via Skype from Minnesota to discuss the nurses' plan to take the fight to Wall Street.
Email this pageGRITtv: May 11, 2011
"The message of public vs. private, fight against each other, isn't working," says Jean Ross of the Minnesota Nurses Association, who joined the protests in Madison, Wisconsin at the Capitol building against Scott Walker's union-busting bill. Jean and the National Nurses United have been traveling and talking to their workers, hearing firsthand about the impact of the economy on nurses and their patients. "The notion of shared sacrifice--there needs to actually be some sharing, but there's been none. All the burden has been on the working people in this country," Jean notes. She joins Laura via Skype from Minnesota to discuss the nurses' plan to take the fight to Wall Street. "I imagine a world in which my seven-year-old daughter doesn't say to me 'I can't be the president because I'm a girl.'" Anika Rahman was horrified and yet not surprised when her daughter expressed that sentiment. As the new CEO and president of the Ms. Foundation for Women, Anika works to empower women to fight for their right to control their bodies and their lives. She joins Laura in studio to talk about the latest research on how the recession is hitting women, about why she works for women's rights, and why the attacks on collective bargaining are attacks on women. Teachers right here in New York are facing more than just cinematic attacks—Mayor Bloomberg is laying off 4100 teachers and eliminating another 2000 teaching jobs through attrition. The Mayor blames Governor Cuomo, but the story is the same as the one we've heard in Wisconsin and around the country: there's just no money for those greedy union teachers. Our friend Brian Jones and the Grassroots Education Movement have crafted a response to that message in a film, The Inconvenient Truth Behind Waiting For Superman, and they're premiering it on May 19 in New York City. On May 12, the teachers and a broad coalition of unions and activist groups are descending on Wall Street to make the point that there's actually plenty of money for schools and other social programs, if only Wall Street kicked in its fair share—or if they hadn't tanked the economy in the first place. Check out the links here for more on the May 12 action and the film premiere. Distributed by Tubemogul.
GRITtv: March 23, 2011
"Republicans are moving an agenda to defund programs and agencies that they've never supported," says Bill Fletcher, Jr. "They're not discussing where we get the money to attack Libya if we're broke." Bill, past president of the TransAfrica Forum, says that it's hypocritical of the U.S. to get involved in Libya's conflict while ignoring tyrants in other parts of the world.Bill joins Laura via Skype from Washington, D.C. to discuss the conflict in Libya, the ongoing workers' struggles at home, and his hopes for tactics both at home and abroad."We have to change the balance here and the way you change the balance is a conceptual shift in what you see as the purpose of a nation. The purpose of a nation isn't to make the rich richer or to make the poor poorer, it's to make sure that you have a vibrant economy where there's room for everyone," says Ohio Representative Dennis Kucinich.Laura sat down with Rep. Kucinich in Madison March 12 after his speech at a rally hosted by The Progressive magazine and discussed the attacks on public sector workers and what a real economic democracy would look like--full employment, universal health care and education, and a commitment to peace.Then, with all the talk about attacks on unions recently, Laura reflects on the other jobs unions do for us--including help serve as public education.
GRITtv: Bill Fletcher Jr.: Bombing Libya, Killing Jobs
"Republicans are moving an agenda to defund programs and agencies that they've never supported," says Bill Fletcher, Jr. "They're not discussing where we get the money to attack Libya if we're broke." Bill, past president of the TransAfrica Forum, says that it's hypocritical of the U.S. to get involved in Libya's conflict while ignoring tyrants in other parts of the world. Bill joins Laura via Skype from Washington, D.C. to discuss the conflict in Libya, the ongoing workers' struggles at home, and his hopes for tactics both at home and abroad.
Chicago Independent TV: #45
Stories this month include a follow-up on the Chicago Olympic bid, a Republican National Convention update and a look at the Chicago Air & Water Show protest. "Chicago Independent Television" is the monthly television series of the Chicago Independent Media Center.
GRITtv: The Uptake Bids Farewell to Coleman v. Franken
The Al Franken-Norm Coleman Senate race is finally over. After eight months of ballot counting, charges, and counter charges Minnesota's Supreme Court ruled 5-0 declaring Franken the winner. And Coleman conceded evidently deciding not to appeal to the nation's highest court. Through it all no one has followed the story more closely than The Uptake, a patchwork of community groups and organizations committed to making citizen journalism work. We speak to Executive Director Jason Barnett about the Franken decision, how the race was covered, and what The Uptake will be focusing on now that it's over.
