Solartopia Green Power and Wellness Hour – 05.19.16

Solartopia celebrates the amazing life & unmatched activism of the legendary MICHAEL MARIOTTE, a truly one-of-a-kind No Nukes activist, pamphleteer, researcher and strategist who recently passed away from pancreatic cancer.

Michael’s legendary career as a nuke-buster, grassroots organizer, writer, speaker, rock drummer and husband/parent/friend has inspired a whole generation. For decades he has been at the core of fighting the nuke industry in general, with particularly powerful impact at Calvert Cliffs in Maryland, the uranium project in Louisiana he helped defeat, and much much more.

Our tributes begin with MARY OLSON from the NUCLEAR INFORMATION & RESOURCE SERVICE, which Michael has helped lead since the 1980s. PAUL GUNTER then joins us, along with KEVIN KAMPS, both from BEYOND NUCLEAR.

ALFRED MEYER chimes in from PHYSICIANS FOR SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY along with BOB BACKUS from the Seabrook fight, ROCHELLE BECKER from Diablo Canyon, TIM JUDSON (the new Executive Director of NIRS), DIANE D’ARRIGO of NIRS, ALLISON FISHER from PUBLIC CITIZEN, attorney DIANE CURREN, Michael’s band-mate and more.

For those of us who knew him, the hole Michael leaves in our movement and in our hearts will be impossible to fill.

There are few greater things one can do to further our power and wellness than what Michael accomplished in his lifetime.

Thank you, brother. We hope you enjoy the show….

Solartopia Green Power and Wellness Hour – 05.05.16

The Trans Pacific Partnership is a catastrophe poised to kill what’s left of our nation, says Dr. Margaret Flowers. Long-time activist and Green Party candidate for Senator from Maryland, Margaret works to FLUSH THE TPP and warns that this proposed trade deal is “NAFTA on steroids”. These terrible trade deals turn every ounce power over to giant corporations who rig our economies to the benefit of the super rich. NAFTA utterly destroyed America’s industrial base, and the TPP will be even worse, says Flowers.

We’re joined 30 minutes in by Bob Fitrakis, who recalls the dynamics of the Democratic campaign of 1992, when NAFTA was downplayed by candidate Bill Clinton, only to have him pass it once in the White House.

The question then becomes: now that Donald Trump has labelled NAFTA “the worst trade deal ever signed,” how will Hillary duck the issue in the upcoming presidential contest. And would she, once in the White House, stick it to the American economy the way she and Bill did in the 1990s.

Sadly, the question answers itself. Is the only answer that Bernie Sanders must now run as a Green with Jill Stein? Stay tuned!!!!

This Can’t Be Happening – 04.27.16

The guest today is Alfredo Lopez on the Bernie Sanders campaign.

We’re talking about Sanders in the wake of the Tuesday primaries in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, Connecticut and Rhode Island, about why Sanders has been unable to win the black vote anywhere and about where his campaign goes from here.

Jim Sleeper – The Best Reason for Bernie Sanders to Fight On: Hawkish, Neoliberal Clintons Need a Watchful Eye From Progressives

Because Bernie Sanders didn’t do nearly as well in three of the five “the Acela primaries” — so named because Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Rhode Island are all on the route of Amtrak’s high-speed Washington-to-Boston Acela route—as he did in heartland primaries and caucuses last month, the wise and the mighty of the Democratic Party and the press who regularly travel that route will now …

Gun deaths in US remain highest among high-income nations

Gun deaths are a serious public health issue in the United States and the scope of the problem is often difficult to illustrate. A new study published inThe American Journal of Medicine lays out the risk in concrete terms. When compared to 22 other high-income nations, Americans are ten times more likely to be killed by a gun than their counterparts …

Economic Update – Economics and Real Issues – 01.03.16

Updates on economics vs “free press,” Nevada vs public education, and bikes displace autos in Europe. Responses to listeners on economics of closed ACA health coops and on inflation’s dangers and impacts. Major discussion of Massachusetts Senate Bill to tax rich universities and beginning to answer “What is Capitalism?”

Warrior Connection – 11.22.15

The November 22 edition of Warrior Connection was a discussion between host Dr. Doug Rokke and exceptional educators Dr Sharon Weiss, Superintendent, Jerry Sanderson Associate Superintendent, and Bill Engelbrecht, Associate Superintendent of Schools for the Peoria Illinois Catholic Diocese ( www.cdop.org ) on what makes a good school for our children / families. It was very clear from the conversation as data verify that solutions exist for the current public school crises. But more important it provides parents information on a choice to ensure their child receives an excellent education for the “whole” child. This choice is not limited at all to just Catholic children and families but is available for all.

http://www.peoriamagazines.com/ibi/2015/aug/why-catholic-schools-do-well

Leid Stories – 11.16.15

Terrorist Attacks in Paris and the Rise of the Orwellian State;
Democratic 2016 Candidates Go Blank on Foreign Policy and Rise of ISIS
French journalist Gilbert Mercier, cofounder and editor in chief of the independent online magazine News Junkie Post, says that Friday’s terrorist attacks in Paris that claimed the lives of more than 130 people will be used by France and other global powers to justify unprecedented authoritarian rule. Mercier recently published The Orwellian Empire.
The second Q&A session (not “debate”) with Democratic presidential hopefuls Saturday—featuring former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and former Maryland governor Martin O’Malley—astutely avoided making any connection between U.S. foreign policy and the rise of ISIS.

Ajamu Baraka – War, Repression and International Gangsterism

A mere two months after clashes between black youth and police in Baltimore following the murder of Freddie Gray while in police custody, President Obama’s Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the indictment of twenty-four year old Raymon Carter for his alleged involvement in the torching of a CVS pharmacy. The national government’s intervention into the case had an unmistakable message …

Tony Cartalucci – There and Back Again – Your Trip Through the American Empire

Enter the American Empire The hearing is one of many interfaces between corporate-financier funded policy think tanks and the politicians who will ultimately rubber stamp their schemes and designs into law. It consists of a panel of bought-off, self-serving senators, listening to think-tank academics with no practical experience along with retired generals drawing paychecks by keeping big-defense, big-oil, big-ag, big-finance, …