Talking Left w/ Danielle & Shane-O

We're back! It's been a crazy few weeks in the radio world, but Talking Left is back after a two-week hiatus!  We tried to catch up on a few stories that we didn't get a chance to talk about, and get in to the current news stories that the corporate media is ignoring. In the first hour, we discussed how social media has taken over our so-called news cycle, and how opinion and talking points has replaced facts and analysis.  Although there are a million examples we could point to that prove this point, the latest one is definitely the trade President Obama made to get Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl back from the Taliban.  We gave you our opinion of the people who are smearing a POW and his family, and we ALL have to wait on the real facts to come out.   During the second hour, we talked a lot about the Supreme Court, and their recent refusal to hear an appeal by New York Times reporter James Risen.  The Obama Administration has persecuted more journalists than all other Administrations combined, yet they've also shown public support for a Media Shield law.  Now that Congressman Alan Grayson has introduced - and passed - some protections for journalists, it will be interesting to see where the President stands.   Also in that hour, we spoke with Dr. Frank Empsak of Workers Independent News.  He explained how three different news outlets - the New York Times, Al Jazeera, and The Wall Street Journal - analyzed income data from recent decades to show that the middle class is losing ground to the one percent.  No one can claim that it's partisan talking points when you have that type of across-the-board conclusions.  The fact is that American wages have declined along with the loss of unions, and we have to fight like hell to make up ground.  You can start by supporting Workers Independent News and all the great work being done at LaborRadio.org. In the last hour, we spoke with Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Hedrick Smith, author of "Who Stole The American Dream."  Although many of us only hear about French Economist Thomas Piketty because of his latest book, Hedrick has been following his work for years.  He explained that Piketty's analysis of Capitalism shows why we're in the economic situation that we're in, and why sitting back and doing nothing will never change the system.  As Hedrick explains in his book, we've been in tough economic times before, and the decisions we made then helped to create a strong, robust middle class.  Yes, times are tough and we have an up-hill battle, but we can change the system and take back the American Dream. Thanks to Rocky Mountain Mike for writing and producing our incredible theme music! Please check out his amazing Sound Cloud! Thanks to We Act Radio - 1480AM WPWC, Netroots Radio, SoFlo Radio, and Radio or Not,- for helping to ensure all listeners have corporate-free, independent radio! And, of course, thanks to you, our listeners, friends, and family - for supporting us through all of our crazy shows, dreams, and political addictions!!  You can also follow all of the news about upcoming topics and guests on our Facebook page and on Twitter @TalkingLeft.   And you can subscribe to Talking Left free on iTunes! As always, thanks for listening!  

Let's think outside of the box! This week on Talking Left, we tried to think outside the box to find solutions to some of our nation's most pressing problems... and made sure to celebrate people who are already doing so! First, we spoke with Dave Saldana, the Producer and Director of Keystone PipeLIES Exposed.  Dave explained his theory on why we shouldn't be using climate change to try and stop the Keystone XL Pipeline.  As we know, and talk about often on this show, climate change is pretty much the most important reason to block the tar sands pipeline, but we are never going to convince people to block it when they won't even accept the scientific facts about our environment.  In his latest article, "Climate Change is a Loser," Dave explains many other facts about Keystone that could be used to convince "the other side" that it's a bad idea.  Regardless of how we get there, if we can stop the pipeline, it will be a win for us, and a major victory for our planet. Next we heard from our great friend Brad Friedman, editor-in-chief of The Brad Blog and host of The Brad Cast on KPFK! Brad explained the latest court decisions on voter ID in Arkansas, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Iowa, and why he believes we may have finally seen the "peak" of this type of GOP scheme.  As he explained, the scary part is that one of these cases could end up before our very conservative Supreme Court - where the future of these laws in far from certain.  For now, we should celebrate these victories, and keep pushing back against any attempt to limit our right to vote. Of course, this show wouldn't have been complete without talking about this week's FCC vote on proposed net neutrality rules.  However, we may have a take on that vote that you won't hear anywhere else.  Believe it our not, the proposed rules do provide a pathway to defining internet service providers as common carriers, and protecting a free and open internet for us all.  Obviously, Chairman Wheeler backed down to public pressure, and made some big changes to these proposed rules.  We now have four months to comment and let the FCC know that we won't accept an internet that's divided between the "haves" and "have nots."  Be sure to leave a comment at FCC.gov, and make every internet user you know do the same! Thanks to Rocky Mountain Mike for writing and producing our incredible theme music! Please check out his amazing Sound Cloud! Thanks to We Act Radio - 1480AM WPWC, Radio or Not, and SoFlo Radio- for helping to ensure all listeners have corporate-free, independent radio! Remember - Talking Left will soon be available on the Progressive Voices Channel on Tune In.  We'll let you know when you can tune in to hear the show there.  And, of course, thanks to you, our listeners, friends, and family - for supporting us through all of our crazy shows, dreams, and political addictions!!  You can also follow all of the news about upcoming topics and guests on our Facebook page and on Twitter @TalkingLeft.   And you can subscribe to Talking Left free on iTunes! As always, thanks for listening!  

Courts, Committees, & Congress...When do they have too much power? On this episode of Talking Left, we talked about The Supreme Court, Cecily McMillan, and other instances where courts and legislators value their opinions more than the Constitution or The People. First we spoke with Ian Millhiser, constitutional policy analyst for Center for American Progress and Justice Editor at The Think Progress Blog.  Ian helped us sort through the recent Supreme Court ruling in Greece v. Galloway, and broke down Justice Kennedy's reasoning for weakening The Establishment Clause.  Because of this ruling, government bodies can now open every session with religious prayer, and anyone who may be offended is out of luck.  According to Ian's article on the Ruling, "The Supreme Court Just Blew a Gaping HOle in The Wall of Separation Between Church and State," some members of our nation's highest court have been working for decades to permit lawmakers to establish an official religion.  This case may not seem like a big deal, but it is... and we need to watch out for the Court to work to further their goal.  Thankfully, we have brilliant minds like Ian Millhiser to help us keep an eye out.   During the next hour, we told the story of Cecily McMillan, an Occupy protester who was just found guilty of felony assault on a police officer.  Cecily's story is a prime example of how the Justice System can be used as a sword to fight peaceful protest and weaken many of our Constitutional rights.  If you haven't heard her complete story, you can check out JusticeForCecily.com to learn more and find out how you can get involved to help. And, in the last hour, we wanted to show exactly how Fox so-called News can ramp up a story until every major media outlet is covering it.  In the wake of the latest Benghazi "email scandal," House Speaker John Boehner has announced he will create a Special Committee to investigate, and just about every mainstream media outlet has not jumped on board to cover these talking points. To explain how ridiculous this all really is, and explain how Fox has pushed the narrative, we spoke with Ari Rabin-Havt, host of The Agenda on Siruis XM.  As Ari is also the co-author of the books The Fox Effect and The Benghazi Hoax, he broke down this whole so-called scandal into the political witch hunt it really is.  To completely understand what we mean, be sure to check out both his books and listen to his show every weekday at 6am Eastern. Thanks to Rocky Mountain Mike for writing and producing our incredible theme music! Please check out his amazing Sound Cloud! Thanks to We Act Radio - 1480AM WPWC, Radio or Not, and SoFlo Radio- for helping to ensure all listeners have corporate-free, independent radio! Remember - Talking Left will soon be available on the Progressive Voices Channel on Tune In.  We'll let you know when you can tune in to hear the show there.  And, of course, thanks to you, our listeners, friends, and family - for supporting us through all of our crazy shows, dreams, and political addictions!!  You can also follow all of the news about upcoming topics and guests on our Facebook page and on Twitter @TalkingLeft.   And you can subscribe to Talking Left free on iTunes! As always, thanks for listening!  

Save the internet! This week on Talking Left, we talked about the Supreme Court, the war on unions, and what we need to do to save the internet. In the first hour, we broke down the recent Supreme Court ruling on Affirmative Action in Michigan - and why Justice Sonia Sotomayor was right to read a scathing dissent from the bench.  The plurality of the Court essentially said that it's perfectly fine for the majority of voters to wipe out rights for the minority.  Thanks to that ruling, athletes, children of alumni, and others can easily get a leg up in applying for college, but minorities will have to fight even harder than before.  And, you can expect the Right in other states to love this case, and try to replicate it in their states.  Civil rights should never be put up to a vote, and the majority should never have the power to minimize the possibility of success for minorities.  Next, we spoke with Dr. Frank Emspak of Workers Independent News.  Dr. Emspak broke down the recent news about the UAW pulling back from an NLRB case involving a union vote in a Tennessee Volkswagen plant.  Before this interview, we were completely confused and frustrated about that decision, but Dr. Emspak explained why it may actually have been the best option.  As he explained, we need to move the fight for labor from the workplace to the political arena, and it's time for a new revolution. Last, but perhaps most important this week - we heard from Josh Levy, campaign manager of FreePress.net.  This week, FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler announced proposed rules that would allow internet service providers to create "fast lanes" on the internet for content providers who are willing to pay a higher price.  Not only would that reduce available content on the internet, but it would also limit access to independent shows just like ours.  The internet should be part of our commons, and providers of internet service should have to follow the same rules as the phone companies.  Call Chairman Wheeler's office at 202-418-1000 and tell him to label internet service providers as common carriers.  AND - sign and share the petition at FreePress.net! Thanks to Rocky Mountain Mike for writing and producing our incredible theme music! Please check out his amazing Sound Cloud! Thanks to We Act Radio - 1480AM WPWC, Radio or Not, and SoFlo Radio- for helping to ensure all listeners have corporate-free, independent radio! Remember - Talking Left will soon be available on the Progressive Voices Channel on Tune In.  We'll let you know when you can tune in to hear the show there.  And, of course, thanks to you, our listeners, friends, and family - for supporting us through all of our crazy shows, dreams, and political addictions!!  You can also follow all of the news about upcoming topics and guests on our Facebook page and on Twitter @TalkingLeft.   And you can subscribe to Talking Left free on iTunes! As always, thanks for listening!  

Fighting the Cultural Production of Ignorance! This week on Talking Left, we discussed ignorance harms our nation - and the fact that sometimes that ignorance is the results of deliberate corporate - or governmental - efforts. First, we spoke with political commentator and writer, Sam Sacks, about ZunZuneo - the so-called "Cuban Twitter."  Last week, AP broke the story that the text-message-based social media service was actually a covert op by USAID to undermine the Cuban government.  Although it sounds like the stuff of spy novels, Congressional hearings have been held to get to the bottom of it, and it's quite likely that Cuba wasn't the only country where similar operations were established.  Social media is an amazing tool to get people involved and active for various causes, but no government - especially ours - should be ruining its credibility with schemes like this. Next, we heard from the brilliant and talented Hal Sparks - host of the Hal Sparks Radio Program MEGA World Wide.  Hal gave us his thoughts on the standoff happening in Nevada between a cattle rancher and the US government.  Although this rancher is being hailed as a hero by Fox so-called News and their ilk, he's actually much closer to a corporate war lord who wants to use our commons without paying the price.  The fact that armed militias are showing up to defend this guy's supposed right to use public lands makes this a serious story, but Hal Sparks never fails to find the comedy even in stories like these. Last, but certainly not least, we spoke with Jacob Dean, host of Filter Free Radio - which you can now hear right here on We Act Radio.  Jacob told us about attending the Million Blanket March in Portland, and the Progressive Radio Northwest Forum in Seattle.  Both of these stories show how important it is to get involved and get active, and, as usual, Jacob is great at motivating people to do so.  He's one of the most inspiring people we know, and he puts on one hell of a show on Filter Free Radio. Thanks to Rocky Mountain Mike for writing and producing our incredible theme music! Please check out his amazing Sound Cloud! Thanks to We Act Radio - 1480AM WPWC, Radio or Not, and SoFlo Radio- for helping to ensure all listeners have corporate-free, independent radio! Remember - Talking Left will soon be available on the Progressive Voices Channel on Tune In.  We'll let you know when you can tune in to hear the show there.  And, of course, thanks to you, our listeners, friends, and family - for supporting us through all of our crazy shows, dreams, and political addictions!!  You can also follow all of the news about upcoming topics and guests on our Facebook page and on Twitter @TalkingLeft.   And you can subscribe to Talking Left free on iTunes! As always, thanks for listening!  

The Perils of Corporate Personhood! This week on Talking Left, we covered a few different stories that highlight the problem with corporate personhood and corporate power! First, we spoke with our friend, Mr. Copaulicus - a teacher, musician, historian, and defender of all things progressive - about the history of minimum wage.  As Mr. Copaulicus explained, it took 33 years to enact the first minimum wage, and we can't be discouraged by the uphill battle we're fighting now.  Although Mr. Copaulicus doesn't have his own site, you'll be able to catch him on this show often! Next, we heard from Heidi Weber - whistleblower and former dean of Globe University.  Heidi was on our show a few months ago explaining her case against Globe for wrongful firing.  She was back this week to give us the wonderful news that she won her case, and Globe was even forced to cover her attorney's fees.  Heidi's story is a prime example of why there shouldn't be a profit motive in education, and why for-profit colleges need to be regulated - or even outlawed. Last, but certainly not least, we spoke with Dave Saldana, producer and director of the new documentary - "Keystone PipeLIES Exposed!"  In conjunction with PR Watch, Dave produced this movie to expose Big Oil's misinformation campaign, and to prove that the pipeline is the wrong idea for the US.  As if that documentary didn't expose enough lies, Dave keeps finding more!  He was with us this week to explain how the American Petroleum Institute has created an astroturf veterans' organization to claim that vets support the pipeline.  Dave proved that Vets4Energy is nothing but a Big Oil front group, and that we shouldn't believe any of the hype about KXL. And, this week we have to give a special shout out to Filter Free Radio, and a big CONGRATS to Jacob Dean and Skeptical Scott for their DC terrestrial radio debut! You can now listen to Filter Free Radio every Sunday at Noon ET on We Act Radio, and of course you can listen anytime at FilterFreeRadio.com! Thanks to Rocky Mountain Mike for writing and producing our incredible theme music! Please check out his amazing Sound Cloud! Thanks to We Act Radio - 1480AM WPWC, Radio or Not, and SoFlo Radio- for helping to ensure all listeners have corporate-free, independent radio! Remember - Talking Left will soon be available on the Progressive Voices Channel on Tune In.  We'll let you know when you can tune in to hear the show there.  And, of course, thanks to you, our listeners, friends, and family - for supporting us through all of our crazy shows, dreams, and political addictions!!  You can also follow all of the news about upcoming topics and guests on our Facebook page and on Twitter @TalkingLeft.   And you can subscribe to Talking Left free on iTunes! As always, thanks for listening!  

Let's turn progressive ideas into reality! This week on Talking Left, we talked about how much of our economic system is broken, and how progressive ideas can fix it. First, we tried to cover the ongoing crisis in Ukraine, and give our perspectives on the situation.  We are still trying to find more guests on this topic - so please feel free to send suggestions, ideas, and feedback to TalkingLeft@gmail.com! Next, we spoke to DC's progressive mayoral candidate Andy Shallal about his ideas to fix our nation's capital.  Andy is a "put-your-money-where-your-mouth-is" real deal candidate.  He has a long history of fighting for and implementing the ideas that he talks about.  The capital of our nation shouldn't embody what's wrong with our country - inequality, low-wages, un-affordable housing, and corruption.  It should be the vision of what works for all - and Andy's ideas can make that happen.  The mayoral primary in DC is April 1st, but people can vote early as soon as tomorrow.  Get out there, have your voice heard, and support Andy Shallal, the one-and-only candidate who wants to make DC work for the people who actually live here. After that, we heard from Richard Eskow, host of The Zero Hour and senior fellow with The Campaign For America's Future.  Last week we quoted one of RJ's recent articles about how President Obama's so-called "Progressive" budget does not go far enough.  So, this week we wanted to talk to Richard about that article, and about the Congressional Progressive Caucus' Better Off Budget.  The CPC is the largest caucus in the House of Representatives, and the ideas laid out in this budget are the policies that most Americans are calling for.  Regardless of where you stand on the political spectrum, you'd probably support public works programs to put Americans back to work, a tax code that doesn't only benefit the wealthy, and making oil companies pay for destroying our economy.  These aren't extreme ideas - they're common sense... and it's about time they be taken seriously. Thanks to Rocky Mountain Mike for writing and producing our incredible theme music! Please check out his amazing Sound Cloud! Thanks to We Act Radio - 1480AM WPWC, Radio or Not, and SoFlo Radio- for helping to ensure all listeners have corporate-free, independent radio! Remember - Talking Left will soon be available on the Progressive Voices Channel on Tune In.  We'll let you know when you can tune in to hear the show there.  And, of course, thanks to you, our listeners, friends, and family - for supporting us through all of our crazy shows, dreams, and political addictions!!  You can also follow all of the news about upcoming topics and guests on our Facebook page and on Twitter @TalkingLeft.   And you can subscribe to Talking Left free on iTunes! As always, thanks for listening!  

Issa, the American Dream, and Ukraine! This week on Talking Left, we tried to get into all of this week's important news - foreign and domestic.   First, we spoke with Lou Colagiovanni of Ruthless-Politics.com about Congressmen Darrell Issa and Elija Cummings, and how big-money corrupts our politics.  Representative Issa is the richest man in Congress, so he probably doesn't mind that his political witch hunts have cost our nation millions, yet failed to turn up any real evidence of scandal.  Between Benghazi, Fast and Furious, and the IRS, Issa has proven nothing except that he can provde Fox so-called News with lots of great, phony material.  Lou chatted with us about that, and money in politics, but you can read about so much more over on his great site Ruthless-Politics.com, and on his Facebook page - We Survived Bush, You Will Survive Obama. Next, we had the honor of speaking with Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author Hedrick Smith, about his latest book: Who Stole The American Dream.  Hedrick was part of the team that brought us the Pentagon Papers, and he has an amazing ability to break down complex issues into commonsense ideas.  He explained how the war on the middle class started, what perpetuated it, and what we can do to change it - and he did it all in 15 minutes.  And, that's just a small fraction of what you can find in his latest book!  Next, we spoke with Mikhail Beznosov, Head of the governing board of the East-Ukrainian Society for International Studies, about the latest on the situation in Ukraine.  As we don't claim to be experts in foreign policy or international affairs, it was important to us to have an expert explain his view of Russian, European, and American involvement in the region, and what people on the ground in Ukraine are experiencing.  The American and Western media has provided a ton of anti-Russian news and information, so we wanted a guest who could provide a different perspective.  And, we are still working on getting more guests from Ukraine, so that we can provide a wide-range of coverage.  If you know someone, or have a guest suggestion for this topic - please email us at TalkingLeft@gmail.com. Thanks to Rocky Mountain Mike for writing and producing our incredible theme music! Please check out his amazing Sound Cloud!   Thanks to We Act Radio - 1480AM WPWC, Radio or Not, and SoFlo Radio- for helping to ensure all listeners have corporate-free, independent radio! Remember - Talking Left will soon be available on the Progressive Voices Channel on Tune In.  We'll let you know when you can tune in to hear the show there.  And, of course, thanks to you, our listeners, friends, and family - for supporting us through all of our crazy shows, dreams, and political addictions!!  You can also follow all of the news about upcoming topics and guests on our Facebook page and on Twitter @TalkingLeft.   And you can subscribe to Talking Left free on iTunes! As always, thanks for listening!  

Stand up, Speak out, and Stay informed! This week on Talking Left, we talked about climate, unions, net neutrality, racism, and ways you can make a difference in each of these fights. First, we spoke with Dr. Frank Emspak of Workers Independent News about the recent union vote at the Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee.  Dr. Emspak explained some of the background information about that vote, about labor law, and about the future for workers' rights at that plant.  Volkswagen has announced that they are going to fight for a works council at the plant, and the UAW is calling on the National Labor Relations Board to stand up to intimidation tactics from politicians.  Hopefully, both efforts succeed and workers get the chance to have their voices heard in Chattanooga.  You can get all the updates, and great coverage of everything-union at LaborRadio.org. Next, we spoke with Chancellar Williams, the Associate Policy Director at FreePress.net about what's happening with net neutrality and the Comcast-Time Warner merger.  Chancellar explained that the FCC will not appeal the recent court ruling that struck down net neutrality, and why we need to keep pushing that agency to classify all internet providers as common carriers.  In addition to fighting hard for internet freedom, Chancellar and everyone at Free Press is calling on government officials to block the Comcast merger, and prevent that company from having a monopoly on our online and television media.  There are many reasons why this merger must be stopped.  You can learn about all of them, and get involved with that fight - and more - at FreePress.net. And, in the last hour, we spoke with Joe Madison - the Black Eagle - and the host of the Joe Madison Show on SIRRIUS channel 110.  Joe gave us his thoughts on the Jordan Davis murder trial, racism, and how we fight back.  As Joe explained, we have to speak out to make real change happen in our nation, and we can't wait until the next teenager is murdered before standing up to racism.  Every one of us can make a difference, but it's going to take us being willing to have some uncomfortable conversations to do so.  The future of our country, and of race relations, is too important to pretend like these issues don't exist.  Listen to Joe every weekday morning from 6am to 10am Eastern on SIRRIUS, and - as Joe says - Speak Your Mind.  Thanks to Rocky Mountain Mike for writing and producing our incredible theme music! Please check out his amazing Sound Cloud! Thanks to We Act Radio - 1480AM WPWC, Radio or Not, and SoFlo Radio- for helping to ensure all listeners have corporate-free, independent radio! Remember - Talking Left will soon be available on the Progressive Voices Channel on Tune In.  We'll let you know when you can tune in to hear the show there.  And, of course, thanks to you, our listeners, friends, and family - for supporting us through all of our crazy shows, dreams, and political addictions!!  You can also follow all of the news about upcoming topics and guests on our Facebook page and on Twitter @TalkingLeft.   And you can subscribe to Talking Left free on iTunes! As always, thanks for listening!  

Guns, Gays, and Sexy Liberals! This week on Talking Left, we tried to give you all the news that the corporate media ignored this week - and gave you our take on a few stories that they actually talked about. We talked about Senator Rand Paul's lawsuit against President Obama, and the Comcast-Time Warner merger - which poses a huge risk to internet freedom.  We got into the VW Union vote, the NRA victory in California, and the House Democrats taking a stand against Republican obstructionism. And, somehow - we even had time for two great guests. First, we spoke with Sexy Liberal John Fugelsang about the newest dates added to the Sexy Liberal Comedy Tour.  The Sexy Liberals were invited back to Florida for a last-minute show on Pride Weekend, and you only have a short time to get your tickets before they sell out.  John also gave us his thoughts on Rand Paul, Chris Christie, and the future of the Republican Party - all of which provide brilliant comedians with plenty of material. We also heard from Justin Duckham, the Chief Washington Correspondent for Talk Radio News Service, about House Speaker John Boehner putting forward a "clean" debt limit bill - and the bipartisan majority of the Senate telling Ted Cruz where he can stick it.  Hopefully, Boehner and moderate Republicans will see that the public supports them when they get actual work done, and we see more action like this from them in the future... but, we won't hold our breath on that.  Thanks to Rocky Mountain Mike for writing and producing our incredible theme music! Please check out his amazing Sound Cloud! Thanks to We Act Radio - 1480AM WPWC, Radio or Not, and SoFlo Radio- for helping to ensure all listeners have corporate-free, independent radio! Remember - Talking Left will soon be available on the Progressive Voices Channel on Tune In.  We'll let you know when you can tune in to hear the show there.  And, of course, thanks to you, our listeners, friends, and family - for supporting us through all of our crazy shows, dreams, and political addictions!!  You can also follow all of the news about upcoming topics and guests on our Facebook page and on Twitter @TalkingLeft.   And you can subscribe to Talking Left free on iTunes! As always, thanks for listening!  

Millions of people ARE getting ACTIVE! This week on Talking Left, we covered many issues that are being ignored by the corporate media.  And, we spoke about the millions of people who are getting involved on the issues that matter to you! First, we spoke with Justin Duckham, the Chief Washington Correspondent for Talk Radio News Service, about the GOP's latest talking point: Trust.  House Speaker John Boehner has come out with his latest excuse about why he won't push for comprehensive immigration reform... because Conservatives can't trust the president.  As if they ever did.  This is just more evidence that the GOP can't come up with one single valid reason to oppose immigration reform, so they are trying to blame it on the president.  We need to call John Boehner's office and let him know we see right through his lies. After that, we heard from Zack Ford, the LGBT editor of Think Progress.  As the 2014 Olympics are going on in Sochi, Russia, many people are conflicted about supporting athletes without condoning Russia's anti-gay laws.  Zack talked about the international pressure on Russia to provide equal rights for the LGBT community, and where that nation's anti-gay talking points came from.  He also explained what we can do to get involved, and how we can support brave athletes who are taking a stand in the fight for gay rights. Last, but certainly not least, Jacob Dean of Filter Free Radio joined us a special guest host for the entire third hour.  Jacob told us about an amazing Bill Moyer's progressive strategy called The Movement Action Plan.  You can hear more about that plan on Jacob's show!  We also spoke with Jacob about progressive activism in general - and how it's being ignored by the corporate media - and different ways people can get involved on the issues they care about.  And - we made the big announcement this week that Talking Left will soon be available on the Progressive Voices Channel on Tune In.  We've been a part of the Progressive Voices family for some time on Top of the Hour, but we are very excited that you will soon be able to hear full episodes of our show on your favorite progressive radio outlet! Thanks to Rocky Mountain Mike for writing and producing our incredible theme music! Please check out his amazing Sound Cloud! Thanks to We Act Radio - 1480AM WPWC, Radio or Not, and SoFlo Radio- for helping to ensure all listeners have corporate-free, independent radio! And, of course, thanks to you, our listeners, friends, and family - for supporting us through all of our crazy shows, dreams, and political addictions!!  You can also follow all of the news about upcoming topics and guests on our Facebook page and on Twitter @TalkingLeft.   And you can subscribe to Talking Left free on iTunes! As always, thanks for listening!  

Unions, Elections, and other ways to fight corporate power! This week on Talking Left, we wanted to cover the news that the corporate media refused to talk about, and talk about a few ways we can get involved. First we spoke with Justin Duckham, the Chief Washington Correspondent for Talk Radio News Service, about the government oversight panel that said the NSA spying programs are illegal.  This week, the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board issued a report that called for the end of phone data collection.  The Board said that this NSA program violates our civil liberties, breaks the law, doesn't keep Americans any safer, and should be shut down.  This is a huge development in the fight against government spying, and it will be interesting to see if our President takes anything that the board said to heart. Next we spoke with Doug Cunningham of Workers Independent News about a big labor case that went before the Supreme Court this week.  Harris v. Quinn challenges public unions' ability to collect agency fees from non-members, and this case could be a huge blow to workers if the Justices rule against unions.  Without these fees, unions are stuck negotiating for everyone - regardless of the cost - and non-union members get a free ride.  Our right to unionize has been under attack for decades, but there are things we can do to push back.  Support organizations like Workers Independent News, help low-wage workers form unions, and keep up the fight against corporate power.  After that we heard from Brad Friedman of The Brad Blog about the Presidential Commission on Election Administration.  This week, this bipartisan commission released a series of common-sense recommendations to avoid long lines and chaos on election day.  In addition to expanding early voting and online registration, the commission called for some more worrisome changes like "updating voting machines."  As Brad always explains, these "updated" machines should not include touch-screen and other electronic means that are completely unverifiable.  We could save tons of money, and protect the integrity of our elections, by simply going back to paper ballots.  We also discovered a great resource over at SupportTheVoter.org - where you can find model legislation on issues like instituting a national right to vote. Also during this show, we mentioned the "10 Days to Stop Fast Track" campaign.  If you'd like to join their fight - which will be going on until January 31st - find out how you can get involved at StopFastTrack.com. And, if you haven't already, please be sure to join the fight to restore internet freedom.  You can sign the petition calling on the FCC to restore net neutrality over at FreePress.net! Thanks to Rocky Mountain Mike for writing and producing our incredible theme music! Please check out his amazing Sound Cloud! Thanks to We Act Radio - 1480AM WPWC, Radio or Not, and SoFlo Radio- for helping to ensure all listeners have corporate-free, independent radio! And, of course, thanks to you, our listeners, friends, and family - for supporting us through all of our crazy shows, dreams, and political addictions!!  You can also follow all of the news about upcoming topics and guests on our Facebook page and on Twitter @TalkingLeft.   And you can subscribe to Talking Left free on iTunes! As always, thanks for listening!  

What the corporate media didn't talk about this week... This week on Talking Left, we covered several HUGE stories that the corporate media ignored this week as they obsessed about Chris Christie. First off, we talked about the new, bipartisan proposal to bring back the pre-clearance section of the Voting Rights Act.  While it's a shame that this bill has a carve-out allowing discriminatory voter ID laws, there's a big change to Section 3 of the VRA that could be a major victory for Progressives.  You can read all about it in Ian Millhiser's great article: "Here's The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly About The Bipartisan Bill To Restore The Voting Rights Act." After that we spoke with Desi Doyen of The Green News Report about the West Virginia chemical spill and the Environmental Chapter of the Trans Pacific Partnership.  Believe it or not, these two subjects are closely related, and the massive spill is a preview of what life could be like if the TPP is approved.  Congress already proposed a bill to fast-track the TPP, so we need to act quickly and loudly, and demand that our lawmakers reject this trade deal! Next, Shane-O gave us a rundown of some of the major court cases this week - from the Supreme Court hearing arguments on the National Labor Relations Board and Massachusetts' abortion clinic buffer zones, to Oklahoma's same-sex marriage ban being stuck down as unconstitutional.  These stories are all huge, yet they barely got coverage in the major media.  And, they all show why presidential appointments - like federal judges and Supreme Court justices - are so important. In other legal news, this week the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals struck down the FCC's net neutrality rules, and dealt a major blow to internet freedom as we know it.  Jen Yeh of FreePress.net joined us to explain what net neutrality is, why it's so important, and what we can do to push the Federal Communications Commission to restore internet freedom.  Net neutrality isn't just about who can pay the most to prioritize their internet content, it's about free speech and the free exchange of ideas.  Shows like ours could become nearly impossible to find because we can't compete with the corporate "news" outlets.  To help in this fight, please sign the petition on FreePress.net, and tell the FCC to restore net neutrality. After that we devoted a full hour to talking about President Obama's speech on NSA surveillance.  And, we spoke with Justin Duckham, the Chief Washington Correspondent for Talk Radio News Service about Washington's reaction. During the speech, he did his best to make Americans feel better about government spying, but that's not what his words were really about.  A detailed review of the actual proposals that the President offered shows that these so-called reforms are actually about three things: making people believe that the NSA gives a damn about our privacy, preventing the next Edward Snowden from sharing government secrets, and mooting the legal challenges to government spying.  At no point did the President really address our privacy concerns in his speech, and none of his directives are going to restore our Fourth Amendment rights. Thanks to Rocky Mountain Mike for writing and producing our incredible theme music! Please check out his amazing Sound Cloud! Thanks to We Act Radio - 1480AM WPWC, Radio or Not, and SoFlo Radio- for helping to ensure all listeners have corporate-free, independent radio! And, of course, thanks to you, our listeners, friends, and family - for supporting us through all of our crazy shows, dreams, and political addictions!!  You can also follow all of the news about upcoming topics and guests on our Facebook page and on Twitter @TalkingLeft.   And you can subscribe to Talking Left free on iTunes! As always, thanks for listening!  

The "War on Poverty" vs. The "War on the Impoverished" This week on Talking Left, we wanted to explain the difference between L.B.J.'s War on Poverty and the GOP's "War on the Poor."  Thankfully, we had some great guests to help us sort it out, and help us figure out how to fight it! First, we spoke with David Bender, the political director for Progressive Voices.  David went through the 2014 Senate races we need to pay attention to if we want to be sure that Republicans don't regain control of the upper chamber.  And, just for fun, we had to touch on Chris Christie and "Bridge-gate" and explain why it's a perfect example of the right-wing mindset.   Next, we were joined by progressive commentator and writer Sam Sacks, to discuss Jesse Myerson's new piece in Rolling Stone: Five Economic Reforms that Millennials Should be Fighting For.  As we expected, Sam brilliantly broke down each of Jesse's proposals, and explained how they could fight economic inequality - and why the Right is losing their minds over the suggestions.  Sam is a regular fill-in for the one-and-only Thom Hartmann, and we don't think it will be long before "Sam Sacks" is a household name.   After that we heard from Nicole Flatow of Think Progress Justice.  She recently covered a court ruling against Florida's drug-testing of welfare recipients.  Not only did Nicole explain why the ruling was a victory for low-income Floridians, but she also helped us explain how these policies are nothing more than Republican dog-whistle politics that wage war ON the poor.  People shouldn't be forced to sign away their constitutional rights in order to get government assistance, and Nicole's great coverage clearly shows why these discriminatory policies are wrong for Florida - and our nation. Last, but certainly not least, we spoke with Justin Duckham, the Chief Washington Correspondent for Talk Radio News Service.  Justin gave us a preview of the unthinkable way Congress plans to pay for extending long-term unemployment benefits - by cutting disability checks.  That news nearly left us speechless, but it only provides further evidence that Republicans don't give a damn about fighting poverty.  We need to get active and get loud to put an end to these austerity measures before they completely destroy our nation. Thanks to We Act Radio - 1480AM WPWC, Radio or Not, and SoFlo Radio - for helping to ensure all listeners have corporate-free, independent radio! And, of course, thanks to you, our listeners, friends, and family - for supporting us through all of our crazy shows, dreams, and political addictions!!  You can also follow all of the news about upcoming topics and guests on our Facebook page and on Twitter @TalkingLeft.   And you can subscribe to Talking Left free on iTunes! As always, thanks for listening!  

Talking Left's Best of 2013! On this episode of Talking Left, we wanted to share our own "Best of 2013" lists that you won't hear anywhere else. First, we shared our list of the top under-reported stories of 2013.  In our opinion, the mainstream corporate media ignored Obamacare successes, the President's victories in 2013, the attacks and expansions of Voting Rights, the Trans Pacific Partnership, and of course - Fukushima.  These were major stories that media did a crappy job covering... but, we hope that we keep you up-to-date and informed about all of them throughout 2013. Next, we took a few minutes to cover sports - I know, crazy, right? - with Brian Doyle, contributing writer for the Talk Radio News Service.  Brian gave us his thoughts on some of the College Football Bowl Games, and his predictions for various bowls, and the national championship.  Don't worry, we aren't changing formats, like so many progressive stations, but we wanted to have a little fun on our last show of 2013. After that, we heard from Lee Camp, host of the Moment of Clarity Show.  We went through a whole year of great Lee Camp stories, and picked a few of our favorite topics, and got a few words from Lee about each of them.  If you haven't checked out and subscribed to Lee's amazing podcast, you are seriously missing out.  In 2013, Lee talked about the U.S. government being found guilty of murdering Martin Luther King, Jr., Exxon's cover up of the Mayflower, Arkansas oil spill, the pay gap between CEOs and workers being up 1,000% since 1950, the real people responsible for the global financial collapse, and the amazing work of Chelsea Manning and Edward Snowden.  We can only imagine what incredible stories that Lee will bring us in 2014, and the colorful way he'll cover them - as only Lee can do. Last, but not least, we spoke with one of our favorite people on Earth - Nicole Belle of Crooks and Liars.  We wanted to round out 2013 talking to someone who has been a huge part of our show(s) since the very beginning, and who inspires us to work even harder every day - so, DUH! - Nicole Belle was it.  Nicole shared her list of the most incredible (and not necessarily in a good way) figures of 2013.  She explained why Toronto Mayor Rob Ford, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, hosts David Gregory and Chuck Todd, Senator Rand Paul, and President Barack Obama all made her list... and why the media should and should not have spent so much time focusing on them And, of course, as we do every year - we shared our predictions from 2012, and what we expect for 2014. And, we hope you'll share yours on the Talking Left Facebook page.   To all of our friends, family, fellow hosts, and political junkies - thank you for a great 2013.  We are honored by each and every one of you who tunes in, and we hope to continue growing next year.  Please remember to support your favorite progressive stations, sites, shows, and figures - we need to stick together for the future of progressive media, and the future of our nation.  We hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday season, and we look forward to hanging out with you next year! Thanks to Rocky Mountain Mike for writing and producing our incredible theme music! Please check out his amazing Sound Cloud! Thanks to We Act Radio - 1480AM WPWC, Radio or Not, and SoFlo Radio - for helping to ensure all listeners have corporate-free, independent radio! And, of course, thanks to you, our listeners, friends, and family - for supporting us through all of our crazy shows, dreams, and political addictions!!  You can also follow all of the news about upcoming topics and guests on our Facebook page and on Twitter @TalkingLeft.   And you can subscribe to Talking Left free on iTunes and to our awesome new YouTube Channel! As always, thanks for listening!