Where’s the Outrage?

I interviewed Mike Finnigan from Crooks and Liars about six month ago.  Mike is a great piano/Hammond B-3 organ player and we talked about Miles Davis and the 50th anniversary of Kind Of Blue.  After that interview, I asked Mike if we could chat about some other aspects of music.  He was very agreeable.  Unfortunately, when I decided to do a show on the origins of Funk, Mike was busy.  He told me he was touring with Joe Cocker!!!  He said that he had a friend in Texas, a bass player who would be perfect.  Mike was right. Larry Fulcher was/is perfect.  Larry has recorded with Smokey Robinson, Willie Nelson, Eric Clapton and the Crusaders, just to name of few.  He has won two Grammys playing with Taj Mahal.

We begin the show by talking about the death of Michael Jackson and how very important he was to the music business.  Michael was truly loved world-wide.  We then begin talking about Funk.  Funk is all about the bass and the drums.  Everything started with James Brown.  I play “Livin’ in America,” “Sex Machine” and “Cold Sweat” as examples of James’ music.  Sly and the Family Stone is next up.  Sly’s bassist was a man named Larry Graham.  Graham, like many of the bassists whom we talk about, came out of gospel music.  Wanting more of a percussive sound, he began playing the bass with his thumb since there was no drummer.  Larry did form his own group called Graham Central Station.  I play a tune called “Hair” that has one of the best bass lines I have ever heard.  We then go back to James Brown and talk about Bootsy Collins who started playing with James Brown when he was just a teenager.  Bootsy Collins became the sound that was Parliament, the group that is most associated with Funk. (!)  Part one ends with the Ohio Players and their tune “Skin Tight.”

This is a great interview.  This is part one.  I should have part two up in a little while now.  The internet has been down in North and South Carolina, according to Charter Cable.  So I have been struggling all afternoon.

Update: Part 2 of my interview - Larry Fulcher discusses how governments need to work on how to bring people together and not breaking us apart.  We then talk about George Clinton and Parliament, Funkadelic.  I play “Theme from the Black Hole” and “Dr. Funkenstein” from Parliament and “One Nation under a Groove” from Funkadelic.  We end up coming full circle in this conservation.  We started by talking about how gospel music drove Funk in the early days.  Now, to find Funk we went back to Gospel music.  Kirk Franklin - Stomp and Sounds of Blackness - Testify.  I mention how the bass line is being played by the synthesizer and Larry adds Stevie Wonder’s great hit Livin’ for the City as probably the first tune that was really driven by synthesizer.  Larry Fulcher leaves us with some words of wisdom about music and its lasting value.  George Duke takes us home with “Reach for it.”

Enjoy!

 

 The Errington Thompson Show 7-4-09 interview with Larry Fulcher part 1 [13:15m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Part 2 of my interview with Larry Fulcher Grammy award winning bass player [11:06m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Tags: Countdown, Music, Podcasts by ecthompson
1 Comment »

More goodness.

 

 The Errington Thompson Show 5-30-09 [52:45m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Tags: Podcasts by ecthompson
No Comments »

Ain’t we partying now?  Enjoy.

 

 The Errington Thompson Show 5-23-09 [52:20m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Tags: Podcasts by ecthompson
No Comments »

Both fun and informative. You can’t beat that.

 

 The Errington Thompson Show 5-16-09: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Tags: Podcasts by ecthompson
No Comments »

Man, I’m way behind on posting my shows but… I’m going to catch up day. 

 

 The Errington Thompson Show 5-09-09: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Tags: Podcasts by ecthompson
No Comments »

More fun.

 

 The Errington Thompson Show 5-02-09 [47:47m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Tags: Podcasts by ecthompson
No Comments »

Now, this is good stuff.

My special guest is Marcy Wheeler who scooped the mainstream media I actually reading the torture memos. She was one of discovered that Khalid Shaikh Mohammed was waterboarded over 100 times. I discussed with my producer, Agnes, who’s back from a long hiatus, the importance of people being involved in the government.

Marcy Wheeler and I go into some detail about the torture memos. This should not be missed. Abu Zubaydah and Khalid Shaikh Mohammed.

From the Bybee memo:

Our advice is based upon the following facts, which you have provided to us. We also understand that you do not have any facts in your possession contrary to the facts outlined here, and this opinion is limited to these facts. If these facts were to change, this advice would not necessarily apply.  Zubaydah is currently being held by the United States.  The interrogation team is certain that he has additional information that he refuses to divulge.  Specifically, he is withholding information regarding terrorist networks in the United States or in Saudi Arabia and information regarding plans to conduct attacks within the United States or against our interests overseas.  Zubaydah has become accustomed to a certain level of treatment and displays no signs of willingness to disclose further information. Moreover, your intelligence indicates that there is currently a level of “chatter” equal to that which preceded the September 11 attacks. In light of the information you believe Zubaydah has and the high level of threat you believe now exists, you wish to move the interrogations into what you have described as an “increased pressure phase.’”

We spend some time discussing this paragraph.  It is very important.  I think that it shows, since none of the criteria were met, that even under the Bush torture memos, we violated even that standard.  This is a great interview.  enjoy!

 

 The Errington Thompson Show 4-25-09 [47:43m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Tags: Podcasts, State and Local Politics, Torture by ecthompson
No Comments »

Now, this was a fun show. My special guest Eric Boehlert of Media Matters. We talk about his new book, Bloggers on the Bus (more later).

 

 The Errington Thompson Show 06-13-09 [49:38m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Tags: Podcasts by ecthompson
No Comments »

This is a great show.  It takes place after the famous tea bagging parties, so  I go out of my way not to talk about tea, tea bags, tea baggers, taxes, tax cuts or anything else that has to do with tea bagging.  The subject has been done so many times.  We can’t go there anymore.

Aaron is preparing to go to a broadcast convention in Las Vegas.  We spend a little time talking about Vegas and some of the great comedians that I’ve seen in Vegas, including Bill Cosby, Jackie Mason and Bob Newhart.  I also talk about some of the great shows which can be seen in Vegas, which would include Cirque du Soleil.

The torture memos, four separate documents, were released this week.  The first is a memo by Jay Bybee, who at the time was Assistant Attorney General in the Office of Legal Counsel.  The second memo was written approximately three years later by Stephen Bradberry, acting Assistant Attorney General at the Office of Legal Counsel.  Steven Bradbury has a second memo from that same date, May 10, 2005.  This is the third of the four memos.  Finally, Stephen Bradberry writes a last memo on May 30, 2005.  These memos are eye-opening.  I have had an opportunity to read all of them.  Of course, Marcy Wheeler has.

A new law in Afghanistan is passed in which a man does not need to have consent in order to have sex with his wife.  This is crazy with a capital “C.” I’m figuring the phrase “human rights” and “Afghanistan” don’t belong in the same sentence… at least not at this time.

Susan Boyle.

Elizabeth Warren, who is overseeing the TARP funds, is on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.  They’re in the middle of an interesting yet depressing discussion about how we have handed billions of dollars to these large corporations with little or no accountability.  Just as I think Jon Stewart’s head is about to explode (and mine), Professor Warren launches into a thoughtful history of banking regulation in the United States since the early 1800s.  It is a famous explanation and I play her whole discussion point.  It is extremely insightful.  As Jon Stewart said, “That was like financial chicken soup for me.”

Credit default swaps, no-money-down mortgage loans, deregulation… I spend a good deal of time trying to make sense out of the craziness in the financial system.  Basically, I don’t think that there’s any one thing that has caused our financial implosion.  Instead, I believe it was a series of things.  I guess the point of my discussion is that we need more regulation of the financial industry in order to prevent meltdowns like this in the future.  Expect a financial institutions to push back against any regulation.  There’s going to be significant opposition both from Democrats and Republicans over reigning in the banks.

Why is everything so complex? I discuss some recent trouble I’ve had with my blog.  I’ve had trouble posting and updating my blog.  My computer gurus were somewhat stumped at what was wrong.  I’m not sure that there’s anything else in American society that can be so frustrating as a computer or computer program that is not working as it should.  I’m not sure why it’s so frustrating but it is.  By the way, we did figure out the problem with my blog and it’s now up and running.

I cover these topics and more.  My podcasts are also available on iTunes.  Enjoy!

 

 The Errington Thompson Show 4-18-09 [47:03m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Tags: Domestic Issues, Podcasts, The Daily Show, Torture by ecthompson
No Comments »

Although I will have the whole show up on my blog soon, I wanted to post my interview with Rep. Susan Fisher.  She has done a great job representing North Asheville.  We talk about the budget woes.  We talk about alternatives to cutting services.  We also discuss some the bills that she has introduced in the House.  We talk about a bill called “Healthy Youth” which is an excellent bill on accurate sex education.  This is an excellent interview.  Enjoy.

You can contact Susan Fisher through her web site at www.electsusanfisher.com or through her legislative office in Raleigh.

 

 The Errington Thompson Show - Rep. Susan Fisher [20:04m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Tags: Education, Podcasts, Rep. Susan Fisher, State and Local Politics by ecthompson
No Comments »

As usual, there’s so much to talk about.  I start off discussing the California Supreme Court and its upholding the ban on same-sex marriage.  I readily admit that I did not read Proposition Eight.  I also must say that I’m not criticizing the court, but it is clear that this is an untenable situation.  In the United States we are supposed to be equal.  What ever the state recognizes as a union between two adults (whether that is marriage, civil unions or Vulcan mind melding) should be the same for heterosexuals as it is for homosexuals.  The state should not discriminate.  The benefits two partners get should be available to gays and lesbians.  To me it is a simple case of civil rights.  General David Patreaus was on FOX News.  I play a rather long clip of him as he explains why Guantánamo needs to be closed.  He also states that we need to trust our justice system.  I was very surprised and pleased by his statements.  Finally, I give an update on the swine flu (Influenza A: H1N1).  There are now almost 9000 cases in the United States.  They’re have been over 15 deaths reported.  The swine flu is not going away.  We need to continue to be diligent.

I interviewed Dr. Jonathan Kotch from UNC Chapel Hill.  He is part of a group called Physicians for National Health Program.  We discuss the important aspects of health care refor, how we need to improve patient access and patient care.  Whatever system we come up with needs to be portable and cost-effective.  One of the big questions is whether the single-payer plan would be a viable alternative.  If the reason for health care reform is primarily cost, then what value does insurance add?  This is an excellent discussion.

Linda Monk is a constitutional scholar and author of the fabulous book, Words We Live By.  She is a graduate of Harvard Law School.  I invited her on the show to discuss what we should look for in a Supreme Court Justice.  A candidate for the Supreme Court should interpret the law narrowly.  There shouldn’t be an attempt for broad, over-arching interpretations.  We also discuss Barack Obama’s nomination of Sonia Sotomayor.  This is a great discussion and well worth a listen.

I wrap up the show with more discussion on healthcare.  In my opinion, healthcare needs to be more integrated.  Physicians have to find a way to work together better.  As patients become more and more complex, there’s a need for better communication.

Enjoy the show.

 

 The Errington Thompson Show 5-30-09 [52:45m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Tags: Civil Rights, Healthcare, Podcasts, Senate, Supreme court by ecthompson
2 Comments »

I’m going to air this interview tomorrow on my radio show, but because I think that healthcare is extremely important, I’m posting this interview now. I interview Jonathan Kotch, MD from the School of Public Health at UNC Chapel Hill.  Dr. Kotch is a pediatrician and a doctor of preventive medicine. He has been active in health care policy for over 15 years and is part of an organization called Physicians for a National Health Program. This is an excellent converstaion. Enjoy.

 

 ET Show discussion on Healthcare [13:43m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Tags: Healthcare, Podcasts by ecthompson
3 Comments »

Now this is a great show. I discuss recent events, including the recent rash of trauma.

My guest is Amy Goodman from Democracy Now. We discuss her thoughtful and well-written book, Standing Up to the Madness, Ordinary Heroes in Extraordinary Times.  This really isn’t an interview.  It is a real discussion.  We cover many topics.  Enjoy!

 

 The Errington Thompson Show 4-11-09 [50:03m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Tags: Books, Economy, Katrina, Podcasts by ecthompson
Comments Off

The show is/was pre-recorded.

• Is the Afghanistan War the good war? I don’t think so. I don’t think that anyone in history has ever pulled or pushed a country into a “modern” era. How much money do we want to spend in this country? We need to have a serious discussion about the situation in this country. The discussion should start with this position paper from the Center for American Progress.
• I continue to be amazed at the enormous scope of Barack Obama’s agenda.
• Spain is investigating the Bush administration. From Daily Kos - “The Spanish complaint names six senior lawyers from the Bush administration: former Attorney-General Alberto Gonzales, David Addington, William Haynes, John Yoo, Jay Bybee and Douglas Feith, the former under secretary of defense for policy. Feith went on record in a Wall Street Journal op-ed piece in May 2004 in support of observing the Geneva Conventions in the context of the War on Terror and his inclusion on the list raises some intriguing questions.”

I have as my guests Eric Boehlert from Media Matters and then Mark Karlin from Buzzflash. Mark and I discuss the weather and then talk about Senator Roland Burris who was the smartest person in the room and in less than 2 weeks he became the dumbest person. Although this segment was prerecorded, Mark mentions that Former Governor Rod Blagojevich will be indicted. Sure enough, he gets indicted two days after our interview. Eric Boehlert and I discuss the way the press has treated the Norm Coleman - Al Franken struggle and compare this case to the Al Gore - George Bush case. The press was calling Al Gore a sore loser almost the before the recount starts. Eric notes that no one in the mainstream media has called Norm Coleman a sore loser. Why?

Finally, I call in from Seattle to discuss the new unemployment numbers. Yuck. Unemployment is at 8.5%, with 694,000 Americans unemployed.

Go Tar-heels.

Great Show.  Enjoy.

 

 The Errington Thompson Show 4-04-09 [48:13m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Tags: Media, Obama administration, Podcasts by ecthompson
Comments Off

Hey, Aaron has his computer back and running. We are happy for him.

• Regulators thought that it would be safe for coal companies to dump slurry into mines. So who was surprised that this really wasn’t good for anyone? The stuff leaked into the water supply. There was an increase in renal failure and cancers in the area.Who’s surprised?  How often do we need to do this to learn from this stuff?
• GAO found that labor Department was not enforcing Labor laws. No duh. Government workers posing as low wage workers called the Labor Department.
• Senator Byron Dorgan spoke out against the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act from back in 1999.
• What do former Governor Elliot Spitzer and baseball great A-rod have in common?  They both used the same escort service!!! Sweet.
• Amanda Terkel, from Think Progress, gets stalked by an O’Reilly producer. Think Progress and progressives fight back.
• Stephen Colbert wins a on-line contest to name the next NASA space station.

Rick Newman, the business editor of US News and World Report, is back on the show.  GM gets a quality award.  AIG CEO went to Congress to get his tongue-lashing.  Rick does a great job at explaining what’s going on.  Again, I appreciate his time and his knowledge.

 

 The Errington Thompson Show 3-28-09 [48:02m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Tags: Podcasts by ecthompson
Comments Off

Yep, I’m behind again. I’m not sure why. I just am. New resolve.

Motorcycle ride for Sheriff Van Duncan, today. Gordon Smith, progressive blogger here in Asheville, is running for City Council. He announced his candidacy today. I support these candidates, both of whom have been on the show, whole-heartedly. Guys, don’t let me down!!

President Barack Obama was on the Tonight Show. Remarkable interview with Jay Leno. Obama gives some great and detailed answers.

I spend most of the show saluting Miles Davis and the 50th anniversary of his album Kind of Blue. I give away a copy of the CD on my show!! I also interview Mike Finnigan, a musician, from Crooks and Liars.

Enjoy.

 

 The Errington Thompson Show 3-21-09 [48:37m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Tags: Podcasts by ecthompson
Comments Off

What a great show. I start off discussing the confrontation between Jim Cramer of CNBC and Jon Stewart of the Daily Show. I had summarized the agrument earlier in the week here. Jon Stewart invited Cramer to be on his show on Thursday and, to his credit, Jim Cramer came on the Daily Show and took his beating like a man. As I mentioned before, the problem with CNBC and the other financial networks is that they are mouthpieces for Wall Street. There is no investigative reporting.

My first guest is the author of Bad Samaritans, Ha-Joon Chang, a professor of economics at Cambridge University. We discuss the myth (lie) of Free Trade and Globalism. Neither Britian nor the US practiced free trade in order to become the economic powerhouses that they are (and, in the case of England), were. Instead, they both protected their economies with high tariffs. In the case of the US, our tariffs from the time of the Civil War until after World War II were the highest in the world. (If you click on my sidebar you can buy and read Bad Samaritians, which I highly recommend.)

My second guest, whom I recorded earlier this week, is  Brian Katulis, a Fellow at the Center for American Progress. He has been on the show several times before. We discuss Afghanistan. What to do? Where to go? The complete interview about the Middle East can be found here.

Finally, I wrap up the show discussing a post that I did on the Daily Kos. It was about the healthcare debate that we really aren’t having. I haven’t heard any deep discussions on the subject, so I figured that I would start the conversation.

Enjoy!

 

 The Errington Thompson Show 3-14-09 [34:47m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Tags: Afghanistan, Economy, Podcasts, The Daily Show by ecthompson
2 Comments »

I talk with Middle East expert Brian Katulis from the Center for American Progress. We discuss Clinton’s recent Middle East trip, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Iraq, Afghanistan and the multiple issues with Pakistan. This is an information discussion. Enjoy.

 

 Special Edition of the Errington Thompson Show - Middle East [27:33m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Tags: Afghanistan, Iraq, Israel, Podcasts by ecthompson
2 Comments »

Now this is fun. I’m out of town, so I’m recording the show at the Rational Radio studios just north of downtown Dallas. David Clifton and Sean Compton of Rational Radio were extremely helpful in getting my show on the air this morning. Back at the mother ship, Aaron helped mix and edit everything so that it would sound great. Thanks to everyone for your help.

I start the show with the new labor stats. It isn’t good. There are over 650,000 new unemployed and it looks pretty bad. I discuss the flow of more money to AIG and the stupidity of Credit Default Swaps. This should have been regulated. I’m not sure why it wasn’t, except that Democrats and Republicans drank from the Free Market fountain. Al Franken had a good week this week.

My special guest is Scott Horton. Scott has been on the show before. We discuss these new John Yoo memos. We discuss Karl Rove and former governor of Alabama Don Seigelman, whose case was set back yesterday. This is a great discussion. Scott is very informative.

Enjoy.

 

 The Errington Thompson Show 3-07-09 [41:25m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Tags: Legal, Obama administration, Podcasts by ecthompson
Comments Off

Okay, here’s my problem. President Barack Obama is moving too fast. He has this proposal to help homeowners… I haven’t even had a chance to read that proposal and Obama has released his budget. Slow down. I can read everything.

Obama is trying to get troops out of Iraq.

My guests:  Greg Mitchell and Bill Scher.

Greg and I discuss his new book, How Obama Won. This is a great book that really reveals that Barack Obama was not the Liberal choice two years ago. Barack Obama didn’t even have the black vote two years ago. Yet Obama slowly but surely kept pushing forward, using modern technology and an outstanding ground organization to overwhelm his competition.

It is just enjoyable to sit back and listen to Bill Scher. He has a great body of knowledge. This is fun and informative.

Enjoy.

 

 The Errington Thompson Show 2-28-09 [48:29m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Tags: Podcasts by ecthompson
Comments Off