Talking Left w/ Danielle & Shane-O

The root of all evil is corporate power! This week on Talking Left, we unintentionally focused on corporate power - and the damage that power does to our nation.   First, we spoke with Nicole Flatow, of Think Progress Justice, about how corporate interests have corrupted our court system - all the way from the local level to the U.S. Supreme Court.  Nicole explained how, once again, the Supreme Court Justices ruled in favor of big business in a case between American Express and small business merchants.  We also talked about the lack of regulation on harmful arbitration clauses and Senator Elizabeth Warren's recent speech about corporate control of the courts.  Nicole does an amazing job keeping us up to date on the latest pro-corporate court news, so be sure to check out all her posts on Think Progress, and watch out for updates on her Twitter feed. Next, we spoke to our good friend, Justin Duckham, reporter for The Talk Radio News Service.  Justin helped us unravel the chaotic vote on the FARRM Act, and consider what the political implications are for the future.  Justin has been holding out on us - and we realized he's been keeping his brilliant commentary under cover.  Hopefully, we'll be able to have him on more often - and we'll get even more time with Justin Duckham! Last, but certainly not least, we were joined by Lee Camp - author, activist, comedian, and host of The Moment of Clarity Show.  Lee recently recorded an awesome rant on the so-called "free market" - and it inspired a great conversation.  As usual, Lee managed to bring his brilliant humor to an otherwise-frustrating conversation.  Be sure to keep up with all Lee's appearances, MOC podcasts, and more at LeeCamp.net - and follow along with his posts on Twitter.   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, Progressive Blend Radio, 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!  

The NSA isn't the only news this week! On this episode of Talking Left, we had to continue the ongoing discussion about the NSA and government surveillance...BUT - we wanted to remind our listeners that there are still many other important issues we need to be focusing on.  We talked about a few of those, and featured some additional analysis of government over-reach, with the help of three great guests. First, we heard from the lovely Desi Doyen, of The Green News Report.  Desi shared a few of the amazingly-under-reported environmental stories that have been absent from our news cycle.  For instance, did you know there have been two huge oil spills and two more chemical plant explosions?  She gave us the update on those stories, but we didn't have time to get into all of the amazing reporting she does for The Green News Report.  For more information, and more important stories you should be following, be sure to check out GreenNews.BradBlog.com, and follow all Desi's updates on Twitter. Next, Brad Friedman of the Brad Blog joined us to talk about his incredible interview with Daniel Ellsberg, the "Pentagon Papers" whistleblower.  Brad spoke with Ellsberg on The Brad Cast - his radio show on KPFK - about Edward Snowden, and how things have changed since 1974.  As Brad has been a long-term defender of our democracy, I got his take on what these recent revelations mean for the future of our nation.  You don't want to miss any of the hard-hitting articles and interviews posted at the Brad Blog, so be sure to subscribe to their notifications, and follow Brad on Twitter. In the third hour, we spoke with John Fugelsang, host of Viewpoint on Current TV.  John's recent rant about how rapists are serving less time than the hacker who exposed them is an amazing snapshot of the media coverage of Edward Snowden.  Instead of focusing on the huge scandal, many in the media have decided to report on Snowden's education, girlfriend, and personal life.  John always manages to inject some humor into these serious moments, and he certainly didn't disappoint.  To keep up with all John Fugelsang's videos, shows, and upcoming appearances, be sure to check out his website, and follow his hilarious Twitter feed.   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, Progressive Blend Radio, 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!  

These people aren't just talking about the issues - they're doing something about them! On this episode of Talking Left, we spoke with four incredible guests.  These people aren't sitting on the sidelines complaining - they're actively trying to make our nation better. First, we spoke with David Bender, the political director of Progressive Voices.  David's experience with political campaigns helped us analyze the thought process behind New Jersey Governor Chris Christie's decision to hold a special election to fill Senator Frank Lautenberg's now-vacant Senate seat.  David gave us his outlook for 2014 and 2016, and explained how informative progressive news will help people understand the issues.  David Bender isn't waiting for more terrestrial radio stations to be bought up by right-wing corporate billionaires - he's working to make Progressive Voices a one-stop show for all your progressive news and entertainment. After that, Ian Millhiser of Think Progress joined us to explain the importance of President Obama's recent nominations to the DC Circuit Court of Appeals.  Ian broke down the reasons Republicans are trying to block nominations to that court, and even eliminate the additional judgeships entirely.  He also gave us a prime example of why court nominations are so important in general, by explaining the background of Judge Edith Jones - which you seriously have to read to believe.  Ian Millhiser is the Constitutional Policy Analyst for The Center for American Progress Action Fund, and the editor of Think Progress Justice - and he is actively working to keep us informed about important issues on a daily basis. Next - we welcomed Josh Eidelson, a contributing writer to The Nation, Salon.com, and many other news outlets.  Josh covers the important issues facing workers, and the ongoing to fight to protect labor.  He was in Arkansas this week, covering the amazing Walmart workers' strike at the company's corporate headquarters, and he was in the room when labor activists spoke out at the company shareholders' meeting.  He told us what he witnessed there, and how he believes the labor movement has adapted to the pro-corporate court system and the overall pro-business legislation that they are constantly fighting.  Josh Eidelson is an amazing asset to the labor movement, and he's helping to give workers a voice. During the last half hour, we played an interview with the Electronic Frontier Foundation's senior staff attorney, Lee Tien.  The EFF has been defending our First Amendment - and our privacy - for over twenty years, and Lee explained how they've been working to combat government surveillance.  As Americans got confirmation this week about various government spying programs, there's been a claim from Administration officials that everything they're doing is legal.  Lee helped us understand how they're claiming it's legal, and why that doesn't necessarily mean it's constitutional.  Lee Tien, and everyone at the Electronic Frontier Foundation are actively fighting to protect our rights, and we should all be thankful for their amazing work.   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, Progressive Blend Radio, 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!  

Tax dodgers, Targeted Killing, and Taking on the Big Banks! On this episode of Talking Left, we tried to get into all the major news stories of the week, and we spoke with three amazing guests. First, our lovely friend Nicole Belle of Crooks and Liars joined us to talk about President Obama's counter-terrorism speech this week.  We spoke about his apparent defense of the on-going use of drone strikes, his calls to finally close Gitmo, and the importance of repealing the Authorization for Use of Military Force.  Who knows if we'll see any real changes after this speech, but we must keep fighting to wind down this perpetual war. After that, we spoke with Josh Silver, of Represent Us.  His group is fighting to enact The American Anti-Corruption Act, which would replace limitations on corporate money in politics, and return power back to the American people.  Please add your name to the petition on their website, and share it with all your friends. During the last hour, we played an interview with Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown.  We spoke with Sen. Brown about his "Terminating Bailouts For Taxpayers" bill, and how important it is to end the practice of "Too-big-to-fail."  Please support Sen. Brown's bill by signing up at his website, SherrodBrown.com, and call your Senators and tell them to support the bill too! 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, Progressive Blend Radio, 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!  

It's Scandal-Gate 2013! On this episode of Talking Left, we wanted to give everyone a break from the "serious" scandal coverage.  So, we thought there was no better way than to ask two of our favorite comedians to give us their thoughts on this week's scandal-gate.  And, we had a few moments to highlight the up-coming Occupy Monsanto protest. First, we heard from Adam Eidinger, of Occupy Monsanto.  He gave us his thoughts on the anti-GMO movement, the recent Monsanto case ruling by the Supreme Court.  Adam also told us about the upcoming world-wide march against Monsanto, on May 25th.  You can follow the movement on Twitter using hashtag #NoGMO, and you can find a march near you on Occupy MonsantoOccupy-Monsanto.com. After that, Hal Sparks joined us in studio to talk about comedy, scandal-gate, and much more.  Hal is going to back in the area very soon, so be sure to check his website to see when and where you can catch his live comedy show.  And, don't forget to tune in to The Hal Sparks Radio Program MEGA World Wide every week to here's Hal's brilliant, and often hilarious, take on the news. In the last hour, we spoke with Julianna Forlano, host of Absurdity Today, about how comedy helps us digest information.  She gave us her take on "Scandal-gate" and her thoughts on some actual media ethics issues that came up during the week.  Be sure to subscribe to Julianna's email list by sending an email to AbsurdityToday@gmail.com so you don't miss new episodes of Absurdity Today, and don't forget to share it with all your friends. 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, Progressive Blend Radio, 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!  

Immigration, Benghazi, and the Supreme Court, Oh my! On this episode of Talking Left, we tried to catch up on all the news we missed last week, and tell you about a few of the stories we've been following this week too. First, we had a discussion about nullification, armed protests, and other attempts to attack our Union.  At what point do these efforts become treason?  We considered the legal definition, and the history, but we'll leave it up to you to form your own opinion. Next, Cliff Schecter, of Libertas LLC, gave us his take on the so-called Benghazi conspiracy, and what it means for our political process.  We can't wait to read Cliff's next column on Al Jazeera English!  Be sure to follow Cliff on Twitter, because you never know what show he may appear on next! After that, we spoke with Nicole Flatow, the deputy editor of Think Progress Justice.  She helped up understand a recent study, which found that this Supreme Court is the most "business friendly" court in 65 years.  Her analysis shows how important it is that we pay attention to court nominations, and why we must push our senators to put in judges that will actually fight for the people. Last, but certainly not least, Juan Escalante, of DreamActivist.org, gave us his thoughts on this week's immigration hearing.  In considering just a few of the 300+ amendments that have been submitted, it is clear that some in Congress really want to gum up the works of this bill.  Be sure to follow all of the amazing work Dream Activist is doing, and get help understanding the amendments being submitted to this legislation, by following the group on Twitter. 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, Progressive Blend Radio, 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!  

It's federal alphabet soup day! F.A.A. - S.E.C. - N.L.R.B. - C.F.P.B. - E.U. - and typical G.O.P B.S.!   {play}archive/TalkingLeft4-28-13.mp3{/play}  Right click on this line, "save file as" to download the MP3 to your computer.   If you haven't heard by now, the pro-austerity Reinhart-Rogoff study has been debunked! Not only that, but debt-obsessed billionaire Pete Peterson was behind the whole thing! On this episode we explained how all of that was discovered and what some leaders in the European Union are doing about it.  After all that, we couldn't help but ask, why are the Republican austerity measures being reversed here in the U.S.?? After that, Shane-O helped us all understand what "Miranda Rights" really are, and how they came about in our nation.  We discussed the legal and political implications of authorities delaying reading Tsarneav his Miranda Rights, and explained why this "exception" was used in the Boston Marathon Bombing investigation. To continue our discussion about Boston, Matthew Filipowicz, host of the Matthew Filipowicz Show, joined us to talk about the political reaction to the bombing and treatment of the suspect.  Matthew gave us his brilliant take on the whole spectrum of reactions, and explained why we should be wary of anyone who exploits fear for political or monetary gain.   Next, we were joined by David Bender, the political director of Progressive Voices, to talk about our political process as a whole.  David wasn't surprised by the political backlash against Senators that voted against background check legislation.  As he said, the Congress is obviously broken when they can't pass legislation that over 90% of voters support.  And David's right - our system is broken - but with people like him fighting to keep people informed, we have hope that things will eventually turn around. And last, but certainly not least, we spoke with GottaLaff of The Political Carnival.  As Laffy covers many major stories everyday, we wanted to speak with her about a few of the week's major headlines.  Did you know that Dick Cheney's son-in-law is behind the deregulation of fertilizer plants like the one that just exploded in West, Texas?  Or that President Obama recently took a stand to protect Planned Parenthood?  Or that there's even more evidence of the on-going culture war in the Republican party?  We talked about all these topics - so you can hear a bit about there here - but be sure you check out The Political Carnival to learn more! 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, Progressive Blend Radio, 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!  

After a week of tragedy, we must come together to work towards solutions. {play}archive/TalkingLeft4-21-13.mp3{/play}  Right click on this line, "save file as" to download the MP3 to your computer.   This week, our nation experienced what seemed like unending tragedy.  And, while Talking Left certainly doesn't pretend to have all the answers - we were able to come up with one.  It just so happens that our answer can be a solution to many of the problems we face.   First, we played an interview we recorded with our friend Ray Mederios, who lives in Boston, and discussed what he experienced between Monday's bombing through the capture of Dzokhar Tsarnaev. According to Ray, the city of Boston never doubted the ability of authorities to apprehend the bombing suspect, and residents were more than willing to help by staying out of the way.  In typical Ray fashion, he had some specific words to political pundits who have expressed criticism about the decision to lock down the entire city...which just gives us another reason to love Ray.  Thanks to the find work of the FBI and the Boston Police, the city of Boston is breathing a little easier.  Now it's up to the people of Boston, and of our entire nation, to come together and heal from this horrific event. Next, we spoke with Bill Press, host of The Bill Press Show, and author of The Obama Hate Machine.  Given that progressives have plenty to criticize President Obama about - chained CPI, Keystone XL, drones, etc - we wanted Bill's take on how it is that we express our frustration without becoming part of "the machine."  Of course, Bill gave us his brilliant answer - that we must work together as progressives to keep pushing our President and our Congress to pursue the will of the people.  Well, Bill said it much better than I can, but you'll have to listen to find out. With all the breaking news this week, many people may not have remembered that this week marked the third anniversary of the BP oil disaster.  To get an update on the situation in the Gulf, BP's response, and what the future holds we spoke with Dan Favre of The Gulf Restoration Network.  Dan gave us his thoughts on how well the Gulf is doing since the 2010 disaster, and about how people shouldn't believe BP's slick marketing campaign to say everything is A-Okay.  Thankfully, there are amazing people like Dan working everyday to help rehabilitate the waterways, plant life, and animals all around the Gulf region.  Please don't forget about the on-going efforts, and lend your support - via clicks, time, or donation - to The Gulf Restoration Network. And, for the entire last hour, we were joined by our friend and fellow radio host, Jacob Dean of Filter Free Radio.  If Jacob is about anything, it's about getting active and participating in democracy.  He often speaks on his show about how we come together to solve problems, and his visit to Talking Left was no exception.  We are inspired by Jacob's on-going positive attitude, and his ability to focus on solutions.  We think you will be too. Jacob is competing for a Democracy for America scholarship to attend Netroots Nation 2013, and there are few people on Earth who could possibly deserve it more.  Please take a few seconds to show support for one of the best people we know... vote for Jacob and share the link with all your friends. So, although it was unintentional, this show seemed to have a theme of working together to solve the many problems we face as a nation.  But to us, it is not just rhetoric.  Our lives are not only effected by politics every election year, and we must effect politics every day to promote the change we want to see.  We're progressives. We're smart.  There is no issue to big, and no problem so horrible, that we can't solve it together.  We want more from our elected leaders, so let's start demanding it - together. Thanks to Rocky Mountain Mike for writing and producing our incredible theme music! Please check out his amazing Sound Cloud! Thanks

Elections, Budgets, and Guns...Oh My! {play}archive/TalkingLeft4-14-13.mp3{/play}  Right click on this line, "save file as" to download the MP3 to your computer.   On this episode of talking left, we tried to cover all the major news of the week... and throw in a few of our own ideas in between! First, we spoke with Brad Freidman of The Brad Blog about the on-going election fraud prosecutions - that nobody seems to know about - from the 2012 election, and the on-going election rigging efforts of the Republican Party.  As usual, Brad's investigative journalism uncovered information that everyone should be talking about, yet never seems to get the attention it deserves.  It's only our democracy at stake! Thankfully, even though the mainstream media is asleep on the job - again - Brad Friedman is hard at work trying to preserve our democratic process. Up next, we invited Talk Radio News Service's Geoff Holtzman to join us for Talking Left's first debate.  Our discussion focused on what government's role should be in promoting responsible gun ownership, and whether requiring insurance on firearms would be an effective solution. Geoff is a great friend, and unsurprisingly, we found  we had plenty to agree on.  Not sure it was technically a debate, but we had a great time speaking with Geoff! Then, we tried to squeeze in our Trust Buster's segment of the week between all our great guests.  This week's topic was the potential merger of American Airlines and US Airways.  If this merger goes through, the new company would control up to 98% of the market in some areas of our country.  The Senate just held a hearing to consider allowing the merger, and we should all be contacting our senators to demand they say "no" to the soon-to-be Monopoly Airlines! It wouldn't have been a show this week without talking about the Obama Administration's recent budget.  As it's such an important issue, we had not one, but two, great guests to help us sort it out. First, we spoke with Joshua Holland, editor-at-large of Alternetand author of The 15 Biggest Lies About Our Economy.  Joshua helped us understand the actual economic effects of the so-called Chained CPI, and why it's a bad idea to be cutting spending at all in a struggling economy.  We have learned a ton from Joshua every time we've spoken with him, and today was no exception! Last, but absolutely-certainly-positively far from least, was our lovely friend Nicole Belle of Crooks and Liars.  Nicole wrote an incredible post this week about why she's fed up with the media considering cuts to our social safety net "reasonable."  As she said, until we've considered raising (or removing) the FICA cap, lowering the retirement age, or allowing Medicare negotiate with drug companies - it is certainly not reasonable to ask the poor and elderly to bear the burden of more spending cuts.  It's far from reasonable...and we should not accept it. 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, Progressive Blend Radio, 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!  

It's Talking Left's biggest show yet! With great guests, conversation, and analysis of Republican attempts to view the Bible, the Constitution, and the Budget as a la carte! {play}archive/TalkingLeft4-7-13.mp3{/play}  Right click on this line, "save file as" to download the MP3 to your computer.   First, we had a chance to hear from Mark Potok, Senior Fellow at the Southern Poverty Law Center.  In a recent intelligence report on SPLCenter.org called The Year in Hate and Extremism, Mark went through the rise of so-called "Patriot" groups in our nation, and the recent political assassinations by White Supremacist groups in two states.  With another three years of President Obama, and the fight for commonsense gun control in several states, we can expect the growth of these anti-government groups.  You can stay informed on the issue at Southern Poverty Law Center's website and by following them on Twitter. Next, we featured out Trust Busters segment of the week - insurance companies.  Some people may not know that insurance companies are protected by an anti-trust exemption known at the McCarren Ferguson Act.  Although FDR originally proposed the exemption as a temporary measure, it's still law 60 years later.  The Affordable Care Act originally removed this exemption, but some in Congress fought to keep it's removal out of the final bill.  Only one other industry in our nation has such an exemption - Major League Baseball.  It's time for Congress to repeal the McCarren Ferguson Act.  Write or call your Representative and tell them that no one should have a monopoly on our health care! After that, we were joined by Tim Carpenter, President of Progressive Democrats of America.  PDA is working hard to fight for the issues that effect our lives - through activism, legislation, and progressive unity.  At the forefront now is preserving our social safety net... join their fight at PDAmerica.org and follow them on Twitter at @PDAmerica. After that we were joined by the one-and-only Congressman with Guts - Representative Alan Grayson of Florida's 8th district. Congressman Grayson is well known for telling it like it is, and his appearance on today's show was no exception.  He's leading the fight in Congress to prevent cuts to Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid with his No-Cuts.Com campaign.  Be sure to sign up for his newsletter at CongressmanWithGuts.com, sign your name at No-Cuts.Com, and share it with your friends using #NoCuts on Twitter. And last, but certainly not least, was our friend - brilliant comedian and activist, Lee Camp! In addition to hosting his amazing Moments of Clarity podcast, Lee's now even putting together a Moments of Clarity show.  You can check out his amazing work on his website, and be sure to subscribe to his YouTube Channel!  And - check back soon - we'll be adding a link to Lee's KickStarter campaign as soon as we get it. 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, Progressive Blend Radio, 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!  

It's the Easter Sunday edition of Talking Left!  {play}archive/TalkingLeft3-31-13.mp3{/play}  Right click on this line, "save file as" to download the MP3 to your computer.   Sorry about the delay in bringing you this great episode of Talking Left! We had a little fun this week and threw caution to the wind! We talked about lots of interesting topics, like the history of the Easter Bunny and Peeps, and why Walmart needs a better plan to compete with Amazon.   We also heard from our new best friend - Zach Ford, the editor of Think Progress LGBT.  He shared his brilliant analysis of the DOMA and Prop 8 arguements before the Supreme Court and where the LGBT-Equality movement goes from here.   We also feature a new Trust Busters segment, featuring Monsanto.  Not only is the biotech giant obviously a monopoly, but they're constantly working to keep other players out of the market.  Monsanto should be prosecuted under the Sherman Anti-Trust Act and should be broken up for the benefit of all.  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, Progressive Blend Radio, 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!  

United Citizens vs. Citizens United - together we can change our nation! {play}archive/TalkingLeft3-24-13.mp3{/play}  Right click on this line, "save file as" to download the MP3 to your computer.   This week on Talking Left we talked about coming together to change our nation.  We can do it by effecting politics, by fighting corporate power, and by unifying around important causes like equality for all! First, we spoke with Al Brooks and Carl Willis - the co-chairs for African American Outreach for the Prince William Country Democratic Party.  These two amazing gentlemen are shining examples of how we can get involved and help shape the world around us.  Politics doesn't just happen every two years, or every four years - it's constantly effecting our lives.  If we want to change our communities, and our nation, we must constantly be effecting politics.  Al and Carl explained how that's possible, and what they're doing in Prince William County to make a difference. After that great interview, we spoke about another way we can change the world around us - by standing up to corporate power.  We introduced our new Trust Busters campaign, which will now be a regular segment on our show each week.  This week we explained how together we can push the Justice Department and The President to stand up to corporations that use their enormous size to abuse workers, consumers, and the political process. And they can do this by using laws we already have on the books!  Be sure to like Trust Busters on Facebook and follow the campaign on Twitter.  As we roll this out, we will post each week's segment on TrustBusters.org - so be sure to check back there regularly! Together, we can make a difference! Next, we spoke with Dean Dafis of Marriage Equality USA about the upcoming challenge to the Defense of Marriage Act in the Supreme Court.  Dean helped us understand the history of this discriminatory law, and how this challenge came before the court.  This landmark case could pave the way to full equality for gay and lesbian families throughout our nation, and we'll be covering the actual arguments during next week's show.  Marriage Equality USA is holding rallies on the Supreme Court steps this week to support the equality fight. Be sure to follow their Twitter account to find out how you can get involved - whether you're in DC, or in any other town around the world. And, to talk about the other major LGBT equality case before the court this week, Ian Millhiser of Think Progress joined us to talk about the challenge to California's Proposition 8.  As Ian so brilliantly explained, Prop 8 is being challenged as a violation of the Constitution's right to equality under the law.  Hopefully, Ian's prediction is correct and both laws will be overturned.  Gay rights are civil rights, and it is time that everyone in our nation has the right to marry the person that they love.   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, Progressive Blend Radio, 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!  

It's the St. Patrick's Day edition of Talking Left - with great guests, in depth analysis, and of course - a story about beer! {play}archive/TalkingLeft3-17-13.mp3{/play}  Right click on this line, "save file as" to download the MP3 to your computer.   In our first hour, we heard from progressive activist and former/future candidate Lance Enderle.  He helped us understand how the people of Michigan feel about Detroit's new Emergency Manger Kevyn Orr, and what we can do to fight the anti-democratic laws being rammed through that state's legislature.   Next, we spoke with our dear friend - and fellow We Act Radio family member - Daniel Marans.  In addition to being the Executive Producer of Take Action News with David Shuster, Daniel also works hard to protect our social safety net as Policy Director of Social Security Works.  He wrote an incredible piece on Huffington Post earlier this year that explains how Obama's Chained CPI proposal will really effect seniors, and why Progressives shouldn't support it.  In addition, Daniel's helping to fight changes to Social Security and other vital programs by spreading the word about Alan Grayson's "No-Cuts.Com" petition.  Be sure you sign it and share it! In the last hour, we weighed in on the various budget proposals recently proposed by Congress.  Both Paul Ryan's extreme-Right budget and Patty Murray's middle-of-the-road plan are up for consideration, but the budget most people support - the "Back to Work" budget proposed by the House Progressives - hasn't even been up for debate by lawmakers.  In stark contrast to both the Democratic and Republican plans, the "Back to Work" budget calls for huge investments in infrastructure and jobs, and substantial tax increases on billionaires.  While none of these plans will ever be passed as they stand now, it sure would be nice to see the Progressive plan get an equal amount of consideration.  Call Congress and tell them you'd like to hear the Progressive's "Back to Work" budget discussed! 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, Progressive Blend Radio, 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!  

It's your perpetuation of liberal entitlement!   {play}archive/TalkingLeft3-3-13.mp3{/play}  Right click on this line, "save file as" to download the MP3 to your computer.   On this episode of Talking Left, we wanted to focus on some of the major civil rights issues going on in our nation today. First, we spoke with David Schoen, council for ACLU of Alabama in the recent Voting Rights Act challenge before the supreme court.  David gave us a great background of the case before the court and understanding of how groups like the ACLU are fighting to protect our most important right - the ability to participate in our democratic process.  He also explained the on-going fight for voting rights throughout our nation, and explained how we can all get involved, even if we're not in a state subject to the "pre-clearance" requirement that's currently under the consideration of the court. We then spent some time mocking Sean Hannity - well, because it's fun - about his recent interaction with Rep. Keith Ellison.  We can't call it an interview because that would imply that Sean Hannity is actually a journalist.  The Congressman called Hannity out for the lies and deception on his program and for that, he's our hero!  After that we spent a full hour with one our nearest and dearest friends, Jacob Dean, host of Filter Free Radio.  Jacob helped us analyze the State Department's recent report stating the Keystone XL pipeline is "environmentally sound," and what we can do to band together to fight the toxic tar sands project.  Then we discussed the insanity that paved the way for Congress's failure to compromise on the Sequester, and how the drastic cuts will hurt many vital programs that people depend on. Overall, this episode highlights the fact that we have a lot of work to do in our nation.  But with great people like David Schoen and Jacob Dean helping us, we can accomplish anything!  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, Progressive Blend Radio, 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!  

Crazies, more crazies, and birthers! {play}archive/TalkingLeft2-24-13.mp3{/play}  Right click on this line, "save file as" to download the MP3 to your computer. ***Our audio podcast is now 100% commercial free! That means more time listening to the great guests we have on and less time downloading the show!*** On this episode of Talking Left we had three amazing guests! First, we spoke with David Kearns of Rick Scott Watch, about the recent news of Gov. Scott accepting Obamacare funding to expand Medicaid in Florida.  Like most things the Florida Governor does, it's not without an ulterior motive... in this gave handing over the program to for-profit companies.  If you want a real look into the evil of Rick Scott - and the questionable manner in which he got elected - check out David Kearns' book, Rick Scott: Enemy of the State. Next, we spoke with our friend Cliff Schecter about old, white guys and their crazy attempts to "stop the government from stealing their guns." Cliff is an accomplished author, pundit, and public relations expert.  He writes an amazing syndicated column, which you can follow on Al Jazeera English, Huffington Post, and various other sites! Last, but certainly not least, we heard from Angelo Carusone of StopBeck, Dump Trump, and Media Matters.  Angelo made big news this week, as Donald Trump has threatened him with a $25 million lawsuit over Carusone's "Dump Trump" campaign, which is petitioning Macy's to drop the birther as a spokesperson.  We certainly applaud Angelo's refusal to back down after the bully's legal threats... and we hope the lawsuit backfires on Trump.   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, Progressive Blend Radio, 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!