Keeping Democracy Alive

The Burt Cohen Show - Despite Losing in the 19th, The South Won Much in the 20th Century - 05/09/13

Beginning in the 1930s, liberalism and Southern-style white supremacy worked well together. Today's guest Jeremy Kessler argues that it is liberals themselves who shoulder the blame for accomdating racist Jim Crow policies. As a result, Southern values controlled the implementation of much of FDR's New Deal. And the Cold War, that too came out of the dominance of Southern values. Today, in many ways, we continue to pay the price.

Good Food and Social Activism: The Story of the White Dog Cafe - 05/02/13

Judy Wicks' new book is Good Morning Beautiful Business; The Unexpected Journey of an Activist Entrepreneur and Local Economy Pioneer. It's a new 21st century way of doing business. And in this discussion she describes a model both left and right can agree on, and it can help feed the six billion of us better than the corporate dictated homogenuous imposition of blandness. And it's a fascinating story.

The Burt Cohen Show - New Report on Torture: What If We Don't Learn? - 04/25/13

A major new report on the use of torture was recently released. It is an unquestionably non-partisan report that raises deeply troubling questions about the status of America itself in the wake of the approval of the use of torture at the highest levels. Guest is the Constitution Project's senior researcher and writer Alka Pradhan. The most troubling aspect is the current lack of accountability. The report details what happened, how it happened, but does not answer the question of: what if we do as Obama suggested, don't look back just look forward. What does it mean for America if we do just put this matter behind us? That's the truly frightenting part. Of course we still can face history and face ourselves.

The Burt Cohen Show - Tax Day Came and Went. Was it Good For You? - 04/18/13

Most Americans see money go from their pocket to...who knows where? Today's guest is the National Priorities Projects' Mattea Kramer, who leads their research program on the federal budget, spending and tax policy. From what she found, it turns out the priorities of the average taxpayer would serve the country a lot better, and more realistically than current taxing and spending priorites. Yes, we know better than the government! Now we need to keep up the pressure.

The Burt Cohen Show - Public Utilities On the Rise/Marriage Equality and the Supremes - 04/04/13

There used to be momentum privatizing public utilities. But now it's swinging back to public ownership and control. On part one, Slate columnist Matt Yglesias looks at what it means for the common good.And on part two, Ian Millhiser, Senior Constitutional Policy Analyst for American Progress looks inside what's now before the Supreme Court: Prop 8 which ended marriage equality in California and the Defense of Marriage Act. Odd look, well, decent, for equality.

The Burt Cohen Show - 03/28/13

Survey Says: The Rich Have Different Priorites, And Tend to Get Their Way The wealthiest Americans in the country have disproportionate influence over our nation's leaders. Problem is, as F Scott Fitzgerald noted, the rich are different. Today’s guest, Professor Benjamin Page, is co-author of a new study of the attitudes of wealthy Americans. It found that wealthy Americans tend to have different political priorities than the rest of us and have a lot more influence over shaping governmental policies. Rich people care much more about the deficit than the rest of us, who care a lot more about jobs and the economy. Some attitudes are surprising. Give a listen.

The Burt Cohen Show - Opportunities in The Faith Communities: Iraq and The New Pope - 03/21/13

America's war on Iraq started ten years ago on March 19 Some four thousand Americans and well over a hundred thousand, possibly close to a million Iraqis died. On part one, journalist Greg Barrett talks about what he witnessed among Americans and Iraqis on the ground, and what he calls "subversive interfaith friendships." And on part two, Ed Wilson of Voice of the Faithful takes a look at the chances for positive change in the battered Catholic Church with the installation of the new pope, Francis I.

The Burt Cohen Show - The Klan of the 1960s: What Was It and Where Is It Now? - 03/14/13

We all have images of the Ku Klux Klan as rabid terrorists. But the frightening reality is they were just average white men of the South. In his new book, Klansville USA, author and sociologist David Cunningham delves into the American cultural and poilitical contexts which gave rise to the klan. How similar are today's right wing movements? And what is the role of a perception of threatened manhood? A word of warning: the Klan's rally song is played with its offensive words not bleeped out.

The Burt Cohen Show - Senator Bernie Sanders Leads on Climate Legislation/Taking on AIPAC - 03/07/13

A bill to help business create jobs, tax carbon, and save billions on disaster relief has been introduced by Senators Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Barbara Boxer (D-CA). Here Darren Springer, Senator Sanders' chief counsel, describes what it is and how it would work, along with what obstacles stand in the way. And on the second half, Alli McCracken of CODE PINK talks about a recent action in Washington challenging the political power of AIPAC in the US. It's up to us on both these issues.

The Burt Cohen Show - Hollywood Movie Awards: Not Those Guys, The Progies! - 02/28/13

The military industrial complex is well aware of the power of Hollywood, that's why they spend gobs of money to influence those productions. But artists will be artists and not all Hollywood productions satisfy the desires of the militaristic plutocrats. There remains great independence in Tinseltown and some great movies are being recognized as such. No not by the Academy Awards but by the just-named 2012 Progressive Movie Awards, described by Hollywood's own Ed Rampell in this entertaining and educational show.