Hey! It’s time for another show! I took a month off and there is a lot to talk about. Catch me tonight at 7 pm.
This was a fun show. I hope that you enjoy it. If you have suggests about improving my show, please let me know.
The Errington Thompson Show will look at, discuss and dissect meteorites, volcanoes, nuclear proliferation, terrorism, the state of the financial sector, the progress of the financial bill in the Senate, taxes and the tea partiers. We are happy to welcome from the popular blog, Jack and Jill Politics, Rikyrah. Join me this Friday for some fun, entertaining and progressive discussion at 6 PM (EST).
GREAT show. If you missed it, I’ll have the podcasts up later.
After taking a two-week hiatus, I am back, rested and energized. As usual, I will review the week’s top stories. I’ll talk about Tiger Woods, Donovan McNabb, nuclear disarmament, Sarah Palin, Michelle Bachmann and that terrible mining accident in West Virginia. My special guest is Meteor Blades of The Daily Kos. Join me at 3 pm EST today, April 9th. This will be fun and entertaining.
Now, this is progressive radio!
This was a GREAT show. Let me know what you thought of it? Thanks!!
Today at 5 pm EST, I’ll have Heidi Shierholz from the Economic Policy Institute. I will also have Andy Coates from Physicians for a National Healthcare Program. This is going to be a GREAT show. Now, this is truly Progressive Radio.
Now, this is progressive radio. Enjoy.
I thought I was current with my shows. I’m not sure why I thought that. I’m never current.
Hope for Haiti raises $57 million for Haiti. Military contractor DynCorp has lost millions in Iraq. James O’Keefe was arrested for trying to wiretap Mary Landrieu. This is really crazy. We have never gotten the real story on O’Keefe and ACORN. These stories and more.
Now, this is progressive radio! Enjoy!
I’ll be on BlogTalkRadio at 5 pm today. Give me a listen. I really appreciate it.
Errington starts the show by congratulating Aaron on his new full-time gig with Local Edge Radio, Monday through Friday 3 to 6 and then hits upon a few topical insights, starting with a private citizen’s billboard on Highway 1 in Wisconsin which suggests brazenly that we “impeach Obama.” The lawyer for this guy says it’s only an expression suggesting a change in Washington and a better focus on small business! We then go over a few other erstwhile concerns, like needing some definitive explanations about Afghanistan and how the 400 highest-earning American households grew by $345 million dollars in 2007, according to the IRS. Sure would be nice if my household had increased by 31%! Before heading into the segment with two great guests, Errington covers CPAC’s maverick-y no-show, Ms Sarah Palin, the inescapable and unexplainable tragedy of Joseph Andrew’s Stack’s last flight and the unnerving number of condoms distributed to each visiting athlete in Vancouver.
Errington’s guests for the show are Mark Karlin from Buzzflash.com and Professor Juan Cole from Informed Comment. With Mark Karlin, the conversation begins with the absurdity of Tiger Woods’ personal life coming before the healthcare crisis, the controversy about building nuclear power plants and the rising number of American deaths in Afghanistan. Karlin calls Republicans “complete hypocrites” with regard to the stimulus package, which did stabilize the economy, and challenges Democrats to give the Republicans the “back of the hand” and demonstrate some strength!
Professor Juan Cole, an expert on the Middle East who teaches history at the University of Michigan, lays out for us short-term and long-term rationale for the Obama Administration’s presence in and withdrawal from Afghanistan. Professor Cole, distinguished author of Engaging the Muslim World, puts into perspective the real concern about a “nuclear Taliban.” About purported exit strategies, he claims that, “stabilizing Afghanistan in an 18-month period is far-fetched.”
Errington wraps up with a reminder about his Foreign Policy Week blog posts, revisiting some important notes on North Korea’s bargaining chips and the mismanagement of the situation by the last administration. Now this is some great progressive radio!
Errington talks with two great guests on this show. The first is Linda Monk, constitutional scholar and author of The Words We Live By, who tries to make sense for us the very complicated Supreme Court decision regarding corporations. In what Ms Monk calls an “astounding example of judicial activism,” corporations have been deemed to have the same rights to free speech that individual Americans enjoy. Given that they retain limited liability, however, the rights of corporations become “Super Rights.” An individual’s liability would limit defamatory claims… not so for a corporation’s campaign ad! What to do? Monk supports a constitutional amendment prohibiting for-profit companies’ participation in elections. Such an endeavor would be, in Monk’s words, “a hallmark of the new populist movement.” I like it.
Errington’s second guest is Patrick Fitzsimmons, the regional executive director of the Red Cross for western North Carolina. Mr. Fitzsimmons explains some of the ways our donations make it to help in Haiti. At least three million of Haiti’s 10 million citizens have been immediately affected by last month’s massive earthquake. That’s one third of the population! Stepping up to the challenges like the decimated infrastructure, debilitated power grid, the lack of water and gasoline, the Red Cross is coming to the rescue the best they can. They’re operating hospitals and first aid and helping to distribute food, water, blood products and other emergency supplies. Remember, 91 cents of every dollar gets directly to those who need it after negligible but necessary administrative costs.
Both of these issues spark insightful debate. Now that’s progressive radio!
This week’s show revisits two excellent interviews Errington had with Amy Goodman from Democracy Now, who is the author of Standing up to the Madness, and Media Matters’ Eric Boehlert. The first interview with Ms Goodman reminds us of the ongoing fight for our civil liberties, even here in these United States. Goodman chronicles the story of a group of librarians who were served with so-called “National Security Letters” and, along with the help of the ACLU, stood up for their rights, for our rights, in a case against the United States Patriot Act. We hear, too, about some sneaky legal maneuvers with regard to shutting down public housing in New Orleans after Katrina. This was attempted under the guise of cleaning up the mess, during and after one of former President Bush’s extended vacations in the hurricane’s aftermath. In what Goodman calls a “microcosm of injustice in this country,” some residents of New Orleans’ public housing structures were not allowed to return to their homes, even though they were neither swamped nor destroyed.
Reminding us to remain vigilant in the face of the degradation of civil liberties, Errington and Goodman also cover the story of some brave Americans who test the No-Fly List mentality. One man’s choice of a particular tee-shirt found him in custody at a US airport. “We will not be silenced,” from the original anti-Holocaust slogan, was too inflammatory for him to go unnoticed on an American flight, especially because the tee included Arabic writing, as well!
Eric Boehlert’s interview continues the insightful commentary, as he and Errington delve into how the blogosphere has changed American journalism forever. The plethora of information grows as fewer people get cut out of the conversation. So much more discussion of what is important to our country gets covered, thanks to sites like firedoglake.org and the Huffpost… oh, and whereistheoutrage.net!
Now this is Progressive radio!
He’s back! The Errington Thompson Show was snowed in two weeks ago and MIA last week, but this week’s show brings back the progressive radio fun with New Year’s resolutions, the Blackwater travesty, healthcare and more. Errington’s guest is Mark Karlin from buzzflash.com. Among the highlights of their review of 2009 is a thoughtful discussion about the healthcare legislation and why it is going the way it is. Of course everybody’s favorite Filibusterer-in-the-Mud, Mr. Joe Lieberman, figures into the mix, as does Nebraska’s Ben Nelson. Both of these guys represent states that are pretty well saturated by the insurance industry (Mutual of Omaha, anyone?) Is it any wonder they’re so gung-ho about status quo?
Another point of contention is the would-be Christmas Day Bomber, the struggling United States economy and Obama’s presidential performance so far. Where are all these new jobs going to come from? Is Obama making mistakes or, as Mark Karlin asks, is he really a great political chess player and we have yet to see the deciding move? Has Main Street been sacrificed to Wall Street or is there a light at the end of the tunnel? The corporate rule of America must be discussed if we are to have hope of attaining the change that we progressive thinkers want for this country.
Now this is progressive radio!
Now, this is GREAT radio. My special guest is Lance Ulanoff, Editor and Chief of PC Magazine. He is here to help us with Christmas electronic purchases. We’ll chat about the do’s and don’ts. Then I talk with Igor Volsky of the Wonk Room at Think Progress. He has been following the ins and outs of the Healthcare legislation. Plus, I promise… NO Tiger Woods jokes.
I gave away another copy of the GREAT book, Pops by Terry Teachout and another $100 gift certificate to Amazon.com. If you listen, then you can win too!!
I talk with Joan McCarter from the Daily Kos about what the heck is going on in the Senate. Joan has been following the ins and outs of the Healthcare legislation with posts two or three times per day.
This is clearly worth a listen.
Update from McJoan:
According to USA Today, there’s a new, influential voice pushing reconciliation to get a healthcare reform bill passed.
USA TODAY’s Washington bureau chief Susan Page reports that John Podesta, president of the Center for American Progress and the former head of President Obama’s transition, said some Democrats may be taking another look at the so-called reconciliation process, a budget procedure that would let Democrats pass a health care bill with only 51 votes….
The issue, Podesta said, is whether Lieberman “is trying to get to ‘no’ ” on health care. He said Democratic congressional leaders were surprised by Lieberman’s negative language Sunday on the emerging Democratic plan.
“I suspect musty folders on reconciliation got dusted off this morning” on Capitol Hill in the wake of Lieberman’s comments. “If you don’t have Lieberman and you don’t have Nelson, the question is whether you can get Snowe and Collins.” He said the Democrats were “very close” to 60 and might still be able to get there.
On Lieberman: “I’ve given up on him” — that is, on trying to figure out what he will do.
Snowe says that she’ll only support a bill if they slow things down (because being at the heart of negotiations in the Finance committee for the past year, and being one of the bipartisan Gang of Six that drug on, and on, and on, and on, and knowing this bill inside and out just hasn’t given her enough time to make up her mind). Collins isn’t going anywhere Snowe doesn’t go first. Nelson still wants his abortion amendment.
Figure out enough compromises to make any of the “moderates” happy enough to get to 60, and you risk losing progressives, particulary Brown (who personally invested a great deal in the compromise Lieberman just blew up), Sanders, Feingold, and Burris. You also risk losing a 218 majority in the House.
Let’s hope that those musty folders are being dusted off, because there very well may be no other way to achieve this. And let’s hope the issue compromises a large part of the discussion in the Senate Dem caucus meeting this afternoon.
The Errington Thompson Show - Special Healthcare edition 12-14-09 [14:23m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | DownloadThis snowy day in Asheville starts off with Obama’s huge speech and the 30,000 troop surge to Afghanistan. All the trust we have put into Obama… is this the right way to go? His speech about the troop increase was written and spoken well, as always, but should this be where we are headed? Errington’s guest, Brian Katulis, has some compelling insights and shares details about Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq that might slip through the cracks if we don’t perk up and listen. Katulis is a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress and an expert on Middle Eastern affairs. Errington and he discuss how Yemen and Somalia are not getting the attention they deserve while we pour money and American soldiers into Afghanistan. The importance of this issue can’t be overstated and Katulis makes it understandable. Are the estimated one to two hundred Al Queda members left in Afghanistan (according to Jim Jones, Obama’s National Security Advisor) worth this huge surge of American troops and money? What is to be done about the nuclear power of Pakistan? What is our legacy in Iraq?
This huge show bundles in healthcare, with Errington’s thoughts on Michael Moore’s movie Sicko. In the movie, and played here in this broadcast, a former influential member of Britain’s Parliament explains how democracy gave the poor the vote and changed Britain’s healthcare system. If money can be found for war, why shouldn’t it be available to help within a country’s own borders? Their system isn’t free. They pay for it with tax dollars.
In addition to the giveaways during the show, the biography about Louis Armstrong, Pops and a $100 amazon.com gift card, some exciting stuff for upcoming shows is announced… a visit from someone from PC Magazine and some time talking about music with two-time Grammy winner Larry Fulcher. Which twenty CDs would you take with you to a desert island?
From global climate change to gangs on Twitter, this show is investigative and fun. Thanks and congratulations to John and Terry for their calls and prizes! Now this is progressive radio!
Why can’t we start our own stimulus package? So, without further ado, here for the Christmas season, I’m starting the Errington Thompson show’s own stimulus package. I’m giving away a $100 gift certificate to Amazon.com and a copy of Terry Teachout’s new book Pops: A Life of Louis Armstrong. Listen and get stimulated!
My special guest, Bill Scher, from Campaign for America’s Future and Liberal Oasis.
Prizes? Errington has some seasonal surprises in this week’s show, including upcoming giveaways for listeners and for those who check out the blog. Along with some Amazon.com gift cards and gift certificates to Malaprop’s, there will be some lucky new owners of a great new biography of Louis Armstrong, Pops: A Life of Louis Armstrong by Terry Teachout. Free stuff… what a great way to get started thinking about the holidays, and Errington (unlike your local grocery store) has the grace to wait until after Thanksgiving!
Getting down to business, this show runs the progressive gamut from corporate responsibility (or lack thereof) to the formerly tax-exempt “religious” sanctuary, C Street in Washington, to H1N1 and a guy with fifteen live lizards strapped to his body trying to smuggle them into the U.S. on a plane. Errington and Aaron touch on Big Pharmacy’s price increase this year, up approximately nine percent, and pose the question: is this coincidence, right before probable health care reform, jacking up their prices to increase profit margins? Don’t these guys owe the American public some kind of restraint and responsibility? How about the women in the news lately shut down and shut up by US contractor, KBR after their repugnant practices safeguarding policies sanctioning gang rape in their Iraq facility?
Of course healthcare is all over this episode, looming large as it does is all of our minds right now, hefty bills going back and forth in Congress, progressives and conservatives duking it out over ways it can be improved and wrestling some really big numbers. As a trauma surgeon, of course Errington brings a unique point of view to the debate. What if we focused on promoting healthy habits and tried to move the focus back to the general practitioner and away from Urgent Care and the ER? “Jerry” calls in, wondering about proposed penalties for people who won’t voluntarily get health insurance under some of the suggested healthcare legislation. At least in jail you’d get health insurance… a bed, and three squares!
Now this is progressive radio!
There’s a lot of territory covered in this episode of The Errington Thompson Show. First up, why can’t I talk to a guy here in the United States about my frozen computer? The lack of real customer service only highlights the fact that these jobs could be done by out-of-work computer workers here at home. This brings us to the economic numbers. Errington’s guest Heidi Shierholz of the Economic Policy Institute sheds light on the job news, reminding us that it’s bad, yes, but it’s better than it has been. The number of jobs we’re losing is getting smaller, but we are still losing jobs.
Looking at the unemployment rates for racial and ethnic minorities isn’t pretty, either, as 15.7% of black Americans and 13.1% of Hispanic Americans are out of work, compared to an overall rate of an alarming 10.2%. This recovery promises to be rocky, coming out of a deep recession without the housing market to bolster our growth. We’ve weathered other recessions and recoveries, but Ms Shierholz warns of “many, many years of weakness in the labor market.”
Errington plays a bit of Obama’s inspiring speech after the tragic and unpredictable events at Ft. Hood. He reminds us in his Dare to Be Stupid segment about the former Louisiana Congressmen who was busted with $90K in his freezer and is looking at thirteen years behind bars for it. The Bonehead of the Week Award goes to the guy who drove his million-dollar Bugatti into a southwest Texas bayou. Some questionable conservative choices, like stopping Senator Franken’s proposed anti rape-clause amendment and the importance of abortion choices on the health care bills, also come up. Now this is real progressive radio!
Now this is a great show. We should take a little time and listen to the show. (BTW, I’m still on Michael Jackson kick. I saw This is it. Man, that was great stuff.)
I start off by congratulating our progressive City Council candidates — Gordon Smith, Cecil Bothwell and Esther Manheimer. Crazy mad props. Also, Mayor Terry Bellamy wins her second term. Congrats!!
Do you remember that gang rape of that high school student out in California? Will new details are emerging. The victim was drugged and beaten. Remember this occurred during a homecoming dance in late October. It appears there were as many as 20 bystanders and none of them were compelled to call the police. This reminds me of that famous case of the New York, it happened in the mid-80s. This woman was beaten and killed if I’m not mistaken in many people watch the whole thing and nobody called the police. If the speculated that many people either photographed or filmed the incident with their cell phones. This is an extremely sad commentary.
By now, everyone is aware of the tragedy at Fort Hood. Sergeant Kimberly Munley appears to be the hero. She fired at the suspect Major Nidal Malik Hasan and continued to fire after she was wounded. Now comes the endless speculation. For reasons that are unclear, we, as Americans, always after these major tragedies, think they’re something that we should’ve noticed where we could have intervened. We have several of these major tragedies every year. In my opinion, what we should’ve learned, is that we cannot predict human behavior. I just don’t think we have that ability.
Senator Tom Coburn of Oklahoma has single-handedly holding up The Veterans Caregivers and Omnibus Health Benefits Act of 2009. He thinks it’s too expensive. Maybe, he would like to tell the troops that they aren’t worth it.
A New Zealand artist uses manure to sculpt the bust of a Environmental Minister. At least the artist has a sense of humor. The Pennsylvania State police botched a prostitution investigation by sending the informant into a massage parlor multiple times and filming everything. They might have been okay if the officers watching the various sex acts were not laughing and making lewd comments. The Pennsylvania Court of Appeals threw out the case.
My special guest is Alex Koppelman of Salon.com’s War Room. We discuss health care reform, we talk about what is wrong with the media and how we, as Americans, seek out information that agrees with our point of view. What do the Tuesday Elections mean? What about gay rights? We talk about this and more.
BTW, the book that Alex and I were trying to remember is called True Enough: Learning to live in a Post-fact Society by Farhad Manjoo.
There is more! Listen to the Errington Thompson Show – this is great progressive radio!
It’s another beautiful day in the neighborhood on the Errington Thompson Show. It’s Halloween, but that’s not what’s scary. Mark Karlin from Buzzflash.com is Errington’s guest. They discuss the frightening audacity of Walmart, the largest American employer in China, and subsidizing the Chinese economy while some of Walmart’s employees here on American soil receive food stamps and Medicaid. Other freaky topics include Dick Cheney’s surprise appearances, surfacing from “undisclosed locations” for just enough time to “dis” President Obama with that special Republican flair for hypocrisy.
Realistic plans for Afghanistan come up, but the main focus of this Halloween show is the unpredictable state of healthcare, as it bounces around the House and Senate, bandied about by Joe Lieberman and Evan Bayh, both of whom have wives whose professional interests in insurance companies and big pharmaceuticals make health care personal and profitable. Come for the spooky Halloween tunes and stay for the serious discussion of real goblins and ghouls. This one’s a treat.
Now this is good stuff.
Errington C. Thompson, MD, is a surgeon, scholar, full-time sports fan and part-time political activist. He is active in a number of community projects and initiatives. Through medicine, he strives to improve the physical health of all he treats...
