Keeping Democracy Alive

The Burt Cohen Show

A Look Inside Occupy Congress Congress came back to work on January 17th 2012 and they were met by crowds of Occupy Wall Street demonstrators. This interview with Mark Bray, part of the original press team for OWS, looks at the goals, the strategies, and answers concerns about how Occupy,  if they appear too radical, might unintentionally push elected officials away from their agenda. Be forewarned: the optimism may be contagious.

The Burt Cohen Show

Christmas and Hanukkah Both Challenge Injustice

It's more than the similar time of year. According to guest Rabbi Michael Lerner, of Tikkun Magazine and chair of the Network of Spiritual Progressives, both holidays mark times in which people without power successfully took on the powers of tyranny and economic injustice. He argues that the real spirit of the holidays can be found in movements such as Occupy Wall Street. Listen in!

Taking on Washington Corruption: Buddy Roemer

Why has Buddy Roemer been kept out of Republican debates? He was governor of Louisiana and a member of congress and maybe the reason is that he's talking about taking on the real power behind both parties. But as frontrunners come and go, he's getting more attention. The powers that be don't want him and he's counting on that issue to connect him with voters from the Tea Party right and the Occupy Wall Street left, and middle class voters who may be a bit upset too. He says he wants America to be a republic again. Pretty radical stuff.

Democrats Go After Religious Voters in '12 Election

It used to be that the Republicans marched in lock step with religious-driven voters. According to Josh Lederman, who covers campaigns and elections for The Hill, the congressional daily newspaper, the days of the right's monopoly on support from faith based, values voters may be ending.

North Dakota Takes On The Big Banks and Wins

The big banks, together with the privately run Federal Reserve, are strangling our economy. Nearly half the money we pay when we buy virtually anything is for interest payments. But there's no reason why states, regions, or municipalities can't start their own banks and use the profit to both reduce taxes and pay for much needed public projects. Today's informative guest is Ellen Brown, author of Web of Debt: The Shocking Truth About Our Money System and How We Can Break Free. It's already working in conservative North Dakota.

The Militarization of America's Police

The police are there to serve citizens and protect us from dangers. The military makes war on enemies. A big difference, obviously. But for a number of reasons, America's police have been morphing into more of a military force. Burt's gust is Alex Pareene, a columnist for Salon.com who has researched and written about the extent of this historic and rather chilling change.

Democracy? In the USA? Yes, Ending Corporate Personhood.

Have you ever wondered about the legal fiction of corporate personhood? You are hardly alone. There's a movement rapidly gaining steam to amend the Constitution to do away with this tremendous power now given to corporate entities at the expense of actual  human persons. Today's guest is David Cobb, spokesperson for MoveToAmend.org, which is pushing a constitutional emandment to restore government to its intended beneficiaries: we, the people.

Occupy the School of the Americas

It's known as a school for assassins and military coups. Though it was supposed to be shut down years ago, instead they just changed the name to Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation. The Defense Dept argues it's just a few bad apples but School of The Americas Watch differs, and they are keeping up the pressure to close the school, hated throughout Central and South America, except for the wealthy elite of those countries. Today's guest is Becca Polk, youth organizer for SOAW. Listen in and learn more about our tax dollars at work and how little it's changed under Obama.

Would Our Founders Recognize Today's Independence?

Many Americans see our freedom to choose as consumers as what independence is all about. But recovering corporate CEO and Huffington Post columnist Richarde Eskow on this show shines a light on how far we've veered from what the founders envisioned as the meaning of Independence.