• Occupy Wall Street – Why are the Republicans worried or nervous about this movement? Why aren’t they more worried about corporate influence on our political system? One of the stories currently circulating is that this organic movement was really started by George Soros. There’s actually no evidence to back this up, but since George Soros is one of the conservatives bogeymen, why not throw it out there?
• Texas Governor and Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry has introduced his “jobs plan.” It looks as if he’d like to give away a lot of our money to big oil. No surprises here. By the way, the House Republican plan, released several months ago, is only 10 pages long and that includes large pages of what are basically cartoons. The plan is a joke.
• Michele Bachmann has publicly stated that she would like to revert back to the Reagan tax plan. Clearly she doesn’t understand that taxes were higher under Ronald Reagan than they are today.
• Was Herman Cain‘s tax plan (“999 plan”) based on the computer game Sim City? Doesn’t his plan place a higher tax burden on the poor and middle class? Bachmann doesn’t like the plan.

Enjoy.

Update: The HuffPo has also tackled this subject (listen to the personal story in the podcast below)-

Journalists occasionally shine light on a public policy that is so disgusting it literally stuns you – just takes your breath away and leaves you speechless.

Your first thought is they’ve made a mistake. Or this is ratings hype. It can’t be true.

After the initial shock wears off, you realize it actuallyis happening – that it’s the system – and it hurt real people today; and it will hurt others the same way tomorrow, and others the day after that, and others the day after that. And you just want to urp.

That happened today when I saw this clip on CNN (from Houston station KPRC) that showed the attorney general of Texas (my home state) is sending letters to women who have been raped threatening their credit will be ruined unless they pay for the part of the criminal investigation known as the rape kit.

(A rape kit is a set of items that specially trained medial staff use to gather and preserve evidence of a sexual assault. A woman can decline the process, which can take up to four hours, but going to an emergency room and undergoing this additional intrusion helps document the attack and gives law enforcement evidence it needs to investigate the crime and prosecute the rapist.) The cost, according to CNN/ KPRC, runs $1,200 to $1,800. (more…)

BTW, next Tuesday (9/14), @ 3 pm (EST) I’ll wipe the dust off of BlogTalkRadio. I’ll be back on the air (really I’ll be on the internet). My guest will be Markos Moulitsas founder of the Daily Kos. We’ll chat about his new book, American Taliban.

This was a fun show. I hope that you enjoy it. If you have suggests about improving my show, please let me know.

GREAT show. If you missed it, I’ll have the podcasts up later.

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.

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!

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’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!

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!

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!

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!!

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.

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!