Keeping Democracy Alive

The Burt Cohen Show - Raised by Birch Society Parents, Author Knows the Danger of the Far Right - 10/31/13

Claire Conner was raised by two national leaders of the John Birch Society. Her new book is "Wrapped in the Flag," and she is a dedicated fighter for her country, trying desperately to make Americans realize that the John Birch Society is alive and well, and as she puts it, extremely dangerous. Moreso now than ever. Oh yes, today it's called the Tea Party. I highly recommend the book.

The Burt Cohen Show - Reclaiming Our Democracy: Don't Give Up! - 10/17/13

In the new 20th anniversary release of Reclaiming Our Democracy, Apollo astronaut Rusty Schweikert is quoted: "We aren't passengers on spaceship earth, we are the crew. We aren't residents on this planet, we're citizens." In this interview, author Sam Daley-Harris explains the fears people have about being able to make real change, and sets forth specific methods for actually achieving significant improvements to the world, and not just your own neighborhood. The book's subtitle is: Healing the break between people and government. Daley-Harris makes the case as to why it really can be done.

The Burt Cohen Show - Architects Of the Shutdown Labeled "Anarchists." But What is Anarchism, Really? - 10/10/13

Harry Reid and Elizabeth Warren have derided those Republicans who caused the shutdown as "The Anarchy Gang." But this really insults the long tradition of American anarchist thought and practice. On this show author of "Thank You, Anarchy" Nathan Schneider sheds much needed light onto the proud traditions of anarchism which have existed for well over a hundred years in the US, from Emma Goldman to Occupy Wall Street.

The Burt Cohen Show - Movement Toward Overturning Citizens United - 10/03/13

Are you a corporation or a person? Do you think the two deserve the same rights? On this segment, Jonah Minkoff-Zern, coordinator of the Democracy is for People campaign talks about progress in the effort to overturn Citizens United with a constitutional amendment. Find out how you can help make this change to restore democracy and our republic.

The Burt Cohen Show - RIP: The Middle Class 1946-2013 - 09/26/13

For decades, there was a large and robust miuddle class in America. No really, there was. Most Americans could actually expect to be part of it, but no more. Now, for many, the American dream is to simply be out of debt. Author Edward McClelland wrote an article on Salon about the death of the miuddle class. Was it a fluke? Can it exist without government picking winners? What needs to be done to rebuild a middle class. Listen in!

The Burt Cohen Show - Teaching the Constitution/Occupy: Two Years After - 09/19/13

The week of September 17 was Constitution Week and how that cornerstrone of American government is taught is the subject of part one. Guest Bill Bigelow is with the Zinn Education Project and has taught for some thirty years. It matters to our future. And on part two, September 17 was the two year anniversary of Occupy Wall Street. The street actions may have vanished but the impact continues. Journalist RJ Eskow presents the case for why Occupy remains a historic success.

The Burt Cohen Show - Syria: The Legal Case, and The View From Syrians in Beirut - 09/05/13

The use of chemical weapons is unquestionably a violation of many international laws. But our first guest Marjorie Cohn, law professor and expert on this field of law asserts that a military intervention by the United States in Syria would also violate international law. And on part two, we speak with award-winning GlobalPost reporter Tracey Shelton on the ground in Beirut Lebanon, where she sheds light on the views of average Syrians. 

The Burt Cohen Show - The Other Speech. The One That Got MLK Killed - 08/29/13

As we commemorate 50 years since the "I Have a Dream" speech, here is the revolutionary speech King gave one year to the day before he was killed. Listen and you will hear him link the struggle of the people of Vietnam, including the so-called enemy, with his own cause, the cause of economic justice, the Poor Peoples' Struggle here in the USA. This was given in the Riverside Church in NYC April 4th, 1967. By the way, certain murderous organizations leave murder as their calling card one year to the day after the "offense." MLK was about more than just civil rights.

The Burt Cohen Show - Blood Drenched Egypt/The State of the Police State - 08/22/13

The huge crowds in Cairo welcomed the overthrow of the Muslim Brotherhood's Morsi in early July. Now it seems a military dictatorship has been re-introduced to Egypt. On the first part of the show, the Institute of Policy Studies' Middle East expert Phyllis Bennis sheds much needed light into a remarkably messy situation. And on the second half, Huffington Post senior writer and investigative reporter Radley Balko delves into the systems enabling the militarization of our local police, how bad it is, and what might be done to replace violence-oriented tactics with a restoration of community policing, police that serve the common good.

The Burt Cohen Show - NSA: The Obama Spin is A Lie

The NSA's program XKeyscore allows searches--with no prior authorization--through vast databases of emails and online chats and browsing histories of millions of Americans, giving analysts real time access to nearly everything a typical user does on the internet. This is a real violation of the Constitutional protection against unreasonable searches and seizures. At least a million individuals have easy access to this private information. Guest today is Steven Rosenfeld who covers democracy issues for AlterNet. The Obama White House spin that no one has access to this data is simply not true. It is out of control. But Congress could still act.