Peter's On Air Guests:
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G uests on Peter's Detroit Sunday shows air on WCSX 94.7, WMGC 105.1 & WRIF 101.1. All are FM. Times are: WCSX and WMGC at 6-7am, & WRIF at 1:00am Sunday night/Monday morning following NightCall, the 11pm-1am phone-in talk show. All are Eastern time. Click on "on the air" above for information on repeat, archived and Ipod broadcasts of the programs.For podcasts of interviews, click here. They are at the end of the podcast following the phone-in talk show hosted by Peter and Juline. Most books listed are available at independent book stores in the Detroit area. See Books for more information on authors and titles. Or, check here for books by interesting guests.
February 7 Craig Homan, Government Affairs lobbyist for Public Citizen, described the impact on elections that will result from the Supreme Court's decision to recognize corporations as persons that can donate unlimited funds to candidates.
January 31 Brita Belli, editor, E: The Environmental Magazine, celebrated the 20th anniversary of her publication, and gave an assessment of the current state of ecology and the movement to support it.
January 24 Lisa Dodson, author, The Moral Underground: How Ordinary Americans Subvert an Unfair Economy, described how middle-class managers bend the rules to help underpaid workers the supervise.
January 17 Si Kahn, author, Creative Community Organizing: A Guide for Rabble-Rouser, Activists, and Quiet Lovers of Justice, drew on his years of experience in the civil rights and labor movement to suggest local ways to organize to revitalize cities like Detroit.
January 10
January 3
December 20
December 13 Tom Juravich, author, At the Alter of the Bottom Line: The Degradation of Work in the 21st Century, discussed the nature of labor in a declining economy.
December 6 Reese Ehrlich, a freelance reporter, who visited Afghanistan, several months ago, commented on President Obama's troop surge.
November 29 Linda Nordquist, author, Beyond the Tipping Point, spoke about her fiction thriller that has the climate change crisis as its focal point.
November 22 Winslow Myers, author, Living Beyond War: A Citizen's Guide, described the world-wide effort to abolish nuclear weapons.
November 15 Dahr Jamail, author, The Will to Resist: Soldiers Who Refuse to Fight in Iraq and Afghanistan, spoke about the shootings at Ft. Hood.
November 8 Francis Moore Lappe, described her work with her foundation's work to create an environmentally sound planet.
November 1
October 25 John Major Jenkins, author, 2012: The Myths, Fallacies, and Truth Behind the Most Intriguing Date in History, explained that the Maya concept of a time cycle ending doesn't imply an apocalypse, but rather calls for new beginnings.
October 18 DC and Marvel Comics award winning illustrator, Rick Geary, discusses his look at the powerful, and definitely crazy head of the FBI in, J. Edgar Hoover: A Graphic Biography.
October 11 Linda Nathan, headmaster, Boston Arts Academy, and author, the Hardest Questions Aren't on the Test: Lessons from an Innovative Urban School, described her her untraditional approach to education among students often thought to be the most challenging.
October 4 John Higgs, author, I Have America Surrounded - The Life of Timothy Leary, discussed the life of the LSD guru and his impact on American society.
September 27 Bruce Gagnon, coordinator, Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space, discussed President Obama's decision to not place missile defense systems in Eastern Europe.
September 20 Norman Solomon, executive director, Institute for Public Accuracy, described his recent visit to Afghanistan where he met with American officials, tribal leaders, and government politicians.
September 13 Cherien Dabis, director of Amreeka, described her film about Arab immigrants to the U.S. and the challenges they face.
August 30
August 23 Elizabeth Gould and Paul Fitzgerald, authors of Invisible History: Afghanistan's Untold Story, discussed Obama's search for "metrics" to decide when the U.S. has achieved its military and political goals in Afghanistan.
August 9 David Margolick, author, Beyond Glory: Joe Louis vs. Max Schmeling, and a World on the Brink, described the famous fight and its political and racial implications. Repeat program.
August 2 Dirk Hanson, author, The Chemical Carousel: What Science Tells Us About Beating Addiction, reviewed existing theories of addiction and treatment and suggested news ones are required to be successful.
July 26 Jim Nuerackas, editor, Extra, the publication of FAIR, discussed the implications of the disappearance of many print media sources and what may replace them.
July 19 John F. Wasik, author, The Cul-de-Sac Syndrome: Turning Around the Unsustainable American Dream, talked about the consequences of today's costly and damaging suburban lifestyle.
July 12 Mark Bauerlein, author, The Dumbest Generation: How the Digital Age Stupefies Young Americans and Jeopardizes Our Future (Or, Don't Trust Anyone Under 30) discussed the effect of the proliferation of electronic communication on learning and cognition.
June 28 Michael Klare, author, Rising Powers, Shrinking Planet: The New Geopolitics of Energy, discussed how the world demand for oil will soon outstrip the supply and the political consequences for our economy. His recent essay is at www.tomdispatch.com. Click here for its URL
June 21
June 14
June 7
May 31
May 24 John Nichols, Washington D.C. correspondent for The Nation magazine, discussed the town hall meeting he is hosting in Detroit about the economy and solutions to repair it.
May 17
May 10 John Taylor Gatto, author, Weapons of Mass Instruction: A Schoolteacher's Journey Through the Dark World of Compulsory Schooling, said that contemporary schools cripple imagination and discourage critical thinking leaving education empty as a vehicle for imparting crucial knowledge and problem solving.
May 3
April 26 Paul Gunter, Director of Reactor Oversight, at Beyond Nuclear, and Keith Gunter, Co-chair, Peace Action-Michigan, discussed the problems with nuclear power and suggested clean energy alternatives to power the future.
April 19 Chuck Collins, senior scholar at the Institute for Policy Studies, discussed the release of their study, "Reversing the Great Tax Shift: Seven Steps to Finance Our Economic Recovery Fairly."
March 29 Matthew Rothchild, editor of The Progressive, told about the centenary of his magazine and how it has intersected with the history of the last hundred years. He described an upcoming celebration with Robert Redford as host and a new book with selections from the magazine's century of publishing.
March 22 Matthew Stein, author, When Technology Fails: A Manual for Self-Reliance, Sustainability, and Surviving the Long Long Emergency, spoke about preparedness for everything from a simple power failure to an absolute collapse of civilization. Be prepared, he says.
March 8
Bonnie Garvin, writer and
producer of "The Killing Yard,"
described the different aspects of
constructing film particularly as it
relates to her film which chronicled the
story of Detroit attorney and his
defense of an Attica Uprising defendant.
March 1 Christine Guarino, Director of Cultural Affairs for Macomb Community College, described the upcoming conference, "The 60s: How a Decade Shaped a Generation." A full schedule of concerts and workshop is at www.lorenzoculturalcenter.com.
February 22
February 15
February 8
February 1 Charles Bracelen Flood, author 1864: Lincoln at the Gates of History, talked about how the Obama presidency uses the Lincoln iconography and sense of historical moment as it begins its entry into a period of crisis for the country.
January 25
Charles and
Sandra Simmons, directors of The Hush
House Community Museum and Leadership
Training Institute for Human Rights,
described the work of their facility in
providing models of excellence for young
people in their poor Detroit
neighborhood. The Hush House is open to
the public; call 313-896-2521 for
visiting information. Lamar Waldron, author, Legacy of Secrecy: The Long Shadow of the JFK Assassination, described his research which has uncovered those responsible for killing President Kennedy and Martin Luther King.
January 11
January 4
December 28
December 21
December 14
December 7 Daniel J. Weiss, Senior Fellow and Director, Climate Strategy, for the Center for American Progress, discussed the proposed auto company bail out and now the Big 3 have to begin manufacturing environmentally friendly cars as a way to financial stability.
November 30 Barbara Harvey, founding member, American Jews for a Just Peace, described her travels to Israel and Palestine and spoke about the prospects for peace in that region.
November 23
November 16 Robert Kuttner, senior fellow, Demos Institute, and author, Obama's Challenge: America's Economic Crisis and the Power of a Transformative Presidency, said the problems facing the new president and the solutions he offers will determine his success in the office.
November 9 Ron Aronson, author, Living Without God: New Directions for Atheists, Agnostics, Secularists, and the Undecided, described how free thinkers live in a society that gives claims to great religiosity.
November 2
October 26 Lew Daly, senior fellow at Demos, and author, Unjust Deserts: How the Rich are Taking Our Common Inheritance and Why We Should Take It Back, discussed how disproportionately distributed wealth hurts the economy and democracy.
October 19
October 12 Fred Pearce, author, Confessions of an Eco-Sinner: Tracking Down the Sources of My Stuff, discussed his 100,000 mile journey to investigate the origins of everyday commodities and the impact they have on the environment.
October 5 Chuck Collins, senior scholar at the Institute for Public Policy, described the effects the proposed bailout will have on states like Michigan and metropolitan areas such as Detroit.
September 28 Ashar Usman, one of three comics who star in the film, Allah Made Me Funny: The Movie, spoke about how he extracts humor from the Muslim experience and community in America.
September 21 Stuart Townsend, director, Battle in Seattle, starring Charlize Theron and Woody Harrelson, discussed his film and public policy relating to the World Trade Organization (WTO) and protests against its 1999 meeting.
September 14 David W. Moore, former senior editor with the Gallup polling organization, and author, The Opinion Makers: An Insider Exposes the Truth Behind the Polls, talked about the manner in which poll results are more of an aid to the media and politicians than to the population.
September 7 Harvey Wasserman, author, Solartopia: Our Green Powered Earth, spoke about the proposal of John McCain to build 45 new nuclear power plants August 25
August 18
August 17 Henry Rosemont, Visiting Scholar, Brown University Department of Religion, discussed the evolution of China from a fractured society into a world power that still suffers great problems.
July 27
July 20 Joseph Nevins, author, Dying to Live: A Story of U.S. Immigration in an Age of Global Apartheid, used the death of Julio Cesar Gallegos, who died trying to enter this country illegally, to amplify the larger questions of American immigration policy.
July 13 Tyler Colman, author, Wine Politics: How Governments, Environmentalists, Mobsters, and Critics Influence the Wines We Drink, discussed each of the issues contained in the subtitle of the book.
June 29
June 22 Susan Quinn, author, Furious Improvisation: How the WPA and a Cast of Thousands Made High Art Out of Desperate Times, discussed the history of the 1930's Federal Theatre Project, and how such a program today would be of benefit.
June 8 Historian Bruce Chadwick, in his book, 1858: The War They Failed To See, described the political situation in the year prior to the historic election of Abraham Lincoln and drew parallels to today.
June 1
May 25
May 18 Thom Hartmann, author, Walking Your Blues Away: How to Heal the Mind and Create Emotional Well-Being, described an approach to using walking to heal emotional trauma and bring forth optimal mental functioning.
May 11 James Gustave Speth, Yale University dean and author, The Bridge at the Edge of the World: Capitalism, the Environment, and Crossing from Crisis to Sustainability, discussed the ecological, social and political crises the planet faces, and said his organization, 1 Sky, is addressing them with solutions.
May 4 Mark Juergensmeyer, author, Global Rebellion: Religious Challenges to the Secular State, described the how radical religionists are confronting a modern world through force of arms.
April 20 Katarina Walhberg, social and economic policy program coordinator, The Global Policy Forum, described the current world wide food crisis and said it will only worsen unless immediate steps are taken to address it.
April 6 Michael Rubyan, co-director, "Life is for the Living," a documentary about the controversy over stem cell research described the impact of disease on the six families he featured in his film, and their hopes for cures. Also, Amber Shinn, communications director, Stem Cell Research Ballot Question Committee, discussed the bi-partisan effort to have Michigan lift its restrictions on stem cell research.
March 30 Larry Adelman, executive producer of the PBS four-hour special on stress and health, Unnatural Causes: Is Inequality Making Us Sick, described how one's economic status was a greater determiner of health than previously assumed.
March 23 Ismael Ahmed, director, State of Michigan director, Department of Human Resources, discussed the extent of poverty in our state, its causes, and what his department is doing to turn it around.
March 16 Peter Linebaugh, author, The Magna Carta Manifesto: Liberties and Commons for All, described how this centuries old document formed the basis of the U.S. Constitution, the anti-slavery movement, and its continuing relevance for today.
March 9 Ali Abunimah, from Electronic Intifada, discussed the issue of Palestine/Israel.
March 2 Marnia Lazreg, author, Torture and the Twilight of Empire: From Algiers to Baghdad, discussed why powerful nations fighting small insurgent groups resort to torture.
February 24 Jamey Lionette, essayist in Manifestos on the Future of Food & Seed, described the impact of mass-produced, industrialized food production and convivial alternatives.
February 17
February 10
February 3
January 27 Chalmers Johnson, author, Nemesis: The Last Days of the American Republic, drew upon his experience as a CIA consultant and Naval officer, to warn about the direction the military/industrial complex is taking the country both economically and politically.
January 20 Graphic novelist, Rick Geary, creator of J. Edgar Hoover: A Graphic Biography, discussed the history of the FBI under its legendary first director and what his reign said about institutionalized power.
January 13 Edwin Black, author, Internal Combustion: How Corporations and Governments Addicted the World to Oil and Derailed the Alternatives, described the manner in which elites have created energy monopolies for their benefit, but ones that do great harm to the majority of people and the planet. Ismael Hossein-Zadeh, author, The Political Economy of U.S. Militarism, described how the military-industrial complex not only enriches the ruling elite, but also acts as a strategy to destroy social programs hated by conservatives.
December 24
December 16 Chris Albers, former president, Writers Guild of America-East, explained the ongoing issues in the writers' strike from the unions perspective.
December 9
December 2 Joel Kovel, author, OVERCOMING ZIONISM: Creating a Single Democratic State in Israel/Palestine, discussed the current Middle East peace talks.
November 25
November 18 Craig Covey, mayor-elect, city of Ferndale, Michigan's first openly gay mayor, spoke about this achievement and also described his work with the Michigan AIDS project.
November 11 Naomi Klein, author, The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism, discussed the use of public disorientation following massive collective shocks--wars, terrorist attacks, natural disasters--to push through highly unpopular economic policies, particularly ones that privatize government programs.
November 4 Graham W.J. Beal, Director, of the Detroit Institute of Arts, discussed the $158 million renovation the museum has undertaken and the impact it will have on it visitors for an appreciation of the arts, movies and music presented there.
October 21
October 14 Robert Jensen, author, Getting Off: Pornography and the end of Masculinity, discussed the impact sexually explicit material has on male self-definition and the results women experience.
October 7 David Barsamian, author, Targeting Iran, said Iran and the United States are on a collision course. He discussed the 1953 CIA coup and the rise of the Islamic regime; Iran's internal dynamics and competing forces; relations with Iraq and Afghanistan; and the consequences of U.S. policy.
September 30 Frank Joyce, labor communications consultant, evaluated the terms of the UAW/GM labor pact.
September 23 David Cole, co-author, Less Safe, Less Free: Why America is Losing the War on Terror, said that the Bush administration's anti-terror policies are counter-productive. He suggested other means to confront the threat of domestic security.
September 9
September 2
Cristina
Page, author,
How the Pro-Choice Movement Saved
America: Freedom, Politics and the War
on Sex, and spokeswoman for
birthcontrolwatch.org, said that
widespread availability of birth control
will satisfy both pro-choice and
anti-abortion viewpoints by reducing
unwanted pregnancies. Larry Birns, director Council on Hemispheric Affairs, described the effect of the North American Free Trade Agreement on Michigan and Detroit.
August 12
August 5
July 29
July 22
July 15
July 1
Norman
Solomon, author of the dialogue for the
DVD,
"War Made Easy: How Presidents and
Pundits Keep Spinning Us to Death,"
charged that intentional dishonesty and
marked the reasons for U.S. war from
Vietnam to Iraq. The video is narrated
by Sean Penn. Felicia Kornbluh, author, The Battle for Welfare Rights: Politics and Poverty in Modern America, described how welfare is administered, how the general population conceives of it, and how the poor in the U.S. still are an unresolved problem for the country.
June 17 Josh Breitbart, organizers for the Allied Media Conference coming up in Detroit, June 24, talked about the event and how independent media producers represent a field of information and creativity sometimes lacking in the mainstream media.
June 10 Gerald Horne, author The Deepest South: The U.S., Brazil and the African Slave Trade and White Pacific: U.S. Imperialism and Black Slavery in the South Pacific after the Civil War, described how slave owners, faced with the defeat of the Confederacy, tried moving their institution to South America, Hawaii, and the South Pacific
June 3
Melissa
Rossi, author,
What Every American Should Know About
Who Really Rules America,
described the different elite groups
in the U.S. who use a variety of
techniques to achieve their policy
goals, usually to the detriment of the
average person. Anne Ellinger, co-director, the Bolder Giving Initiative, described her project which urges wealthy people to contribute 50 percent of their income to social causes.
May 20
May 13
May 6 Fred Pearce, author, With Speed and Violence: Why Scientists Fear Tipping Points in Climate Change, defined what the changes the world will suffer unless there are large and immediate changes to how humanity lives on the planet.
April 29
April 22 Gene Baur, president, Farm Sanctuary, America's leading farm animal protection organization, described the effects of factory farming on animals, the humans that consume them, and the environment.
April 15
April 8
April 1 Bill McKibben, author, The End of Nature, discussed the dire consequences of global warming unless strict controls are placed on fossil fuel energy sources.
March 25
March 18 Helen Caldicott, founder of Physicians for Social Responsibility, and Nuclear Policy Research institute, and author, War in Heaven: The Arms Race in Outer Space, spoke about the dangers of such a policy that not only makes the world less safe, but diverts funds from domestic programs.
March 11 Dean Baker, co-director, Center for Economic and Policy Research, commented on the recent sudden dip in stock prices, the potential for a housing bubble burst, and de-industrialization, and how it affects Detroit and Michigan. His book, Conservative Nanny State: How the Wealthy Use the Government to Stay Rich and Get Richer, is available for free downloading.
March 4 Karolyn Smardz Frost, author, I've Got a Home in Glory Land: A Lost Tale of the Underground Railroad, described the flight and plight of a slave couple who left their owners in Kentucky in 1831, came to Detroit, their adventures of escape from slavecatchers in the city, and their eventual journey to freedom in Canada.
February 25 Martin Garbus, author, The Next 25 Years: The New Supreme Court and what it means for Americans, discussed how the current composition of the highest bench will effect many of the long-standing contentious legal issues such as abortion.
February 18 William Rivers Pitt, author, House of Ill Repute: Reflections on War, Lies, and America's Ravaged Reputation, said that America can experience a renewal only if leaders or a movement emerges with a vision of how a new nation.
February 11
February 4 Dilip Hiro, author, Blood of the Earth: The Battle for the World's Vanishing Oil Resources, gave a history of how oil gained a central place in the world's economy, and what the alternatives are.
January 28 Peter F. Smith, Chief Operating Officer, Citizens Energy Corporation, described his organization's program for delivering discounted fuel oil to low income families in Michigan. Citgo Oil company provides the product as a gift from the Venezuelan government to the poor of this country.
January 21 Heather Wokusch, author, The Progressive's Handbook: Get the Facts and Make a Difference Now, described European reaction to Bush's recent plan for escalating the war in Iraq from her vantage point in Vienna.
January 14 Dan Georgakas, director of the Greek American Studies Project at City University of New York, and author, My Detroit: Growing Up Greek and American in Motor City, described the Greek-American experience from the old country to the Detroit factories and Greektown, with explanations on how the community interacted with the labor and civil rights movements.
January 7
December 17
December 10
December 3 Jeff Cohen, founder of FAIR, and author, Cable News Confidential; My Misadventures in Corporate Media, told of his work as an on-air commentator on CNN, Fox, and MSNBC, as well as producing the "Donahue Show" at the latter. He described how executive demands and timidity kept programming within limits acceptable to the network owners.
November 26
Steve Lehto,
author,
Death's Door: The Truth Behind
Michigan's Largest Mass Murder,
chronicled what is known as the 1913
Italian Hall Massacre where more than
six dozen people, mostly children were
crushed to death following the false cry
of "Fire!" at Christmas party for
striking miners. He told the history of
the region, its labor struggles, and the
economic and social conditions which
exist in the state's Upper Peninsula
today. Kim Jensen, author, The Woman I left Behind, described her novel as a tale of love between a Palestinian exile and a young American woman. She said some of it was autobiographical, but mostly characters were created in a manner to discuss intercultural relationships and to display Palestinian history and culture.
November 12
David Suzuki, author, David
Suzuki: The Autobiography, at age 70, is
one of North America's leading
environmentalists. He reflected on his
life and his work to bring to public
attention the problems of ecology and
also solutions.
Michele
Wucker, author,
Lockout: Why America Keeps Getting
Immigration Wrong When Our Prosperity
Depends on Getting It Right,
said that most popular conceptions about
immigrants are incorrect, that the
system itself is broken, and that it is
imperative that a legal and operational
process be established that meets the
needs of all involved. John Higgs, author, I Have America Surrounded: The Life of Timothy Leary, talked about the LSD advocate and what effect his advocacy of the drug had on society and a generation of young people.
October 22 Jeff Faux, founder, Economic Policy Institute, discussed globalization and how it effects the economies of Michigan and Detroit. He said current policy works to the detriment of the middle class and trade agreements should be re-negotiated with the majority of people's needs taken into consideration.
October 8 Ian Williams, author, Rum: A Social and Sociable History of the Real Spirit of 1776, told about the role played by the beverage in colonial history, and how it was to that period as oil is to today.
October 1
Carol Leigh, author, Unrepentant Whore: Collected Works of Scarlot Harlot, described the sex workers rights movement of which she was a founder. She also spoke about the abusive of women and children and their depiction in pornography.
September 24 Anne E. Brodsky, Professor of Psychology, University of Maryland, and author, With All Our Strength, described the situation in Afghanistan based on her five recent trips. She emphasized the deteriorating conditions for women and the educational system as the conflict continued and warlords and the Taliban re-asserted their power.
September 17 Fr. Roy Bourgeois, founder of the School of the Americas Watch (SOAW), talked about his group's opposition to the Ft. Benning, Georgia facility that trains soldiers for Latin American governments. He said that the US House of Representatives had twice denied funding to the School of the Americas.
September 10 Sasha Abramsky, a senior fellow at the Demos Institute, described the effects on the democratic process of large scale incarceration which denies convicted felons, even following release and time served, from voting. His book is Conned: How Millions Went to Prison, Lost the Vote, and Helped Send George W. Bush to the White House.
August 27
August 20 Gerald Horne, author, The Final Victim of the Blacklist: John Howard Lawson, Dean of the Hollywood Ten, described the anti-communist crusade of the 1940s and 50s, and how it affected film content. He related to today's charges that critics of the War on Terror are soft on terrorism.
August 13 Penny Coleman, author, Flashback: Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, Suicide, and the Lesson of War, described her own experience with a suicidal Vietnam veteran husband. She said there is no statistics on the total number of men from that war who have taken their own lives, but some experts think the total may be greater than the battle deaths. She advocated paying more attention to the men and women serving in the Iraq war today, and to have services available for their problems when they return home.
August 6 Nicholas von Hoffman, author A Devil's Dictionary of Business, summarized the world of finance and commerce in a alphabetical style of entry of activities that shape the world.
July 30 Doug Henwood, editor and publisher, the Left Business Observer, spoke about how Federal Reserve policies effect local economies such as those of Detroit and Michigan. He also talked about the impact of de-industrialization on our region. Henwood's book, Wall Street, which explains the stock market crap shoot, is avail on-line for free download.
July 23 Victor Navasky, former publisher and editorial director of The Nation magazine, discussed his political memoir, A Matter of Opinion. He spoke about the importance of small opinion journals such as his in shaping ideas and politices that effect the country.
July 16
July 9 Mary-Wynne Ashford, author, Enough Blood Shed: 101 Solutions to Violence, Terror, and War, discussed ways to begin the process in one's personal life, our cities, and in our political structure.
July 2
June 25
June 18
June 11
June 4 Elwood Reid, author, D.B., a novel based on the legendary plane hijacker, D.B. Cooper.
May 28
Barbara
Murray, executive director,
AIDS Partnership Michigan,
discussed the current state of the
HIV/AIDS epidemic on the 25th
anniversary of the identification of the
disease. She advocated numerous
prevention steps, talked about the
advancement in medical intervention, and
urged people to attend the
organization's upcoming fundraiser. Dean Baker, author, The Conservative Nanny State: How the Wealthy Use the Government to Stay Rich and Get Richer, debunked the myth that the right wing favor the market over government intervention. The book is available on line for a free download.
May 14 Dave Lindorff, co-author, The Case for Impeachment: The Legal Argument for Removing President George W. Bush from Office, laid out legal and Constitutional arguments for beginning such proceedings.
May 7 Philip Dray, author, We Are Not Afraid, retold the story of the murder of Civil Rights workers, Goodman, Chaney, and Schwerner in 1964 Mississippi. The book has been re-issued following 18 years since its original release. Dray said he thinks the story is important not only because of the sacrifice of the young men, because it shows how people can actively create history.
April 30
Nancy
McLean, author,
Freedom is not Enough: The Opening of
the American Workplace,
talked about the social and political
process that led to on the job
diversity. She focused on several
individuals instrumental in this
including several from the Detroit area. Betsy Leondar-Wright, co-author, The Color of Wealth: The Story Behind the U.S. Racial Wealth Divide, related the differences between economic groups based on race, and what can be done to alleviate the situation.
April 16 Julian Sher, co-author, Angels of Death: Inside the Biker Gangs' Crime Empire, spoke about the myths and realty of motorcycle gangs like the Hell's Angels. He traced a pattern of crime and murder that reached not only in California, but throughout the world and including the Detroit area.
April 9 Carolyn Nordstrom, author, Shadows of War: Violence, Power, and International Profiteering in the Twenty-First Century, described the immediacy of war-zone survival, and took us into the offices of power brokers, and then to the vast extra-legal networks that fuel war and international profiteering.
April 2 Labor reporter David Bacon compared the different Senate and House bills regarding immigration. He always described the economic impact of immigration on wages and profits.
March 26 Christopher Baker, author of
Cuba
Classic: A Celebration of Vintage American Automobiles, and Cuba: A Moon
Handbook, used his new pictorial book about US cars as a way of discussing
the embargo against the island and its implications for politics in Cuba and in
Florida, and what he thinks will occur after Fidel Castro leaves office. Elliot Lewis, author, Fade: My Journeys in Multiracial America, discussed how different concepts of racial identify are becoming more prevalent and challenging more traditional ways of looking at ethnicity.
March 12 Mike Hoffman, founder of Iraq Veterans Against the War, and a Lance Corporal in a Marine Corps artillery battery during the March 2003 invasion of Iraq, explained his transformation into an anti-war leader. He condemned the war and expressed concern for the men and women in the army who are stuck in a quagmire with no exit strategy and not even proper equipment. He also condemned the way in which returning and wounded vets are treated by the government.
March 5 John Clark, professor of Philosophy at Loyola University in New Orleans, described how the devastation of his city still remains six months after Katrina struck and discussed how preparedness plans are necessary for all big cities including the Detroit area.
February 26
Lawrence D.
Hogan, author,
Shades of Glory: The Negro Leagues and
the Story of African-American Baseball,
described a hundred years of leagues
comprised of players who were excluded
from the Major Leagues because of racist
restrictions.
February 12 Karen Dolan, a fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies, discussed the budget proposed by President Bush and the impact on Michigan. She noted that 140 programs will eliminated, many with local ramifications.
February 5 Medea Benjamin, co-founder, Global Exchange and Code Pink: Women for Peace, described her recent visit to the World Social Forum in Caracas. She said that mass movements, not elites, were defining the social and economics of South America.
January 29
January 22
Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, author,
Blood on the Border: A Memoir of the
Contra War,
spoke about her
experiences in Nicaragua during the
US-financed war against the Sandinista
government and its impact on the Indian
people of the Atlantic coast. Leonard Steinhorn, author, The Greater Generation: In Defense of the Baby Boom Legacy, said Boomer values have permeated the culture. Although political positions may seem polarized in the country today, he says, there are few who really wish to return to 1950s sorts of social arrangements. Most people want a cleaner environment, more transparency in government, a friendlier workplace, a more skeptical press, respect for minority rights—things that the Boomers began insisting upon when they came of age in the `60s. After exploring the Boomer influence on various aspects of the culture (women`s rights, diversity, religion, environment, higher education), he ended by offering some challenges to the Boomers as they enter their twilight years.
January 8 Paul Gunter, director of the Reactor Project of the Nuclear Information and Resource Service, comment on the attempt site new nuclear power plants in the U.S. He spoke with concern about the amount of spent nuclear fuels accruing at facilities such as Monroe, Michigan's Fermi II plant that currently have no permanent secure site.
January 1
December 25 Thom Hartmann, nationally syndicated talk show host and author, We the People: A Call to Take Back America, described the process whereby corporations and political elites have taken control of the political process and are jeopardizing democracy. He called for greater popular participation in the political and electoral process.
December 18 Beth Shulman, author, The Betray of Work: How Low Wage Jobs Fail 30 Million Americans, described the plight of those who work full-time yet remain below the poverty line and with little or no health insurance.
December 11 Derek Jensen, author, Strangely Like War: The Global Assault on Forests, told about the widespread deforestation that is occurring worldwide. He described the impact on wildlife, but also on indigenous people in the Third World, the pollution and environmental degradation, soil erosion, and other negative effects of uncontrolled logging. He advocated conservation of wood and paper products to start, but also long-term policies that would protect the remaining forests.
December 4 Larry Birns, director, Council on Hemispheric Affairs, spoke about Venezuela's recent election and what it portends for American policy. He also discussed Venezuela's donation of home heating oil at discounted prices to poor Americans.
November 27 Richard Heinberg, author, The Party's Over: Oil, War & the Fate of Industrial Societies, told us that oil production will peak in the decade, leaving in its wake a scramble over an ever more scare resource. He advocates an immediate end to dependence on oil, foreign or domestic, conservation, and a scaling down of energy requirements.
November 20 Michael Ratner, president, Center for Constitutional Rights, discussed the current public and political debate regarding the government's use of torture and legislation in Congress about the subject.
November 13 Irish Times reporter and author of The Battle of Venezuela, Michael McCaughan, discussed his first hand accounts of the rise of the country's president Hugo Chavez, his opposition, and the impact of his oil policies on U.S. gas prices.
November 6 David Engwitcht, author, Mental Speed Bumps: The Smarter Way to Tame Traffic, discussed ways to control automobile problems by the use of non-technical means beginning with an invigorated community that views roads as public space, not just as highways. He also has innovated concepts such as the Walking School Bus and the Neighborhood Pace Car to reduce traffic volume and to slow down what remains.
October 30 Herb Boyd, author of We Shall Overcome, described his personal interviews with Rosa Parks and her significance to the civil rights struggles.
October 23
Meredith Fort,
co-editor,
Sickness and Wealth:
The Corporate Assault on Global Health,
examined how institutional actors of
globalization—multinationals, the IMF
and World Bank, the WTO, and First World
governments—have enacted policies that
virtually sentence millions to disease
and premature death.
Hussein Ibish, vice chair, Progressive Muslim Union, described how Muslims and Arabs are portrayed in the media and in Hollywood films and the impact it has on how Middle Eastern people are perceived.
October 9 David Sirota, senior editor at In These Times, discussed the implications of the nomination of Harriet Miers as Supreme Court Justice for future cases she may rule on that directly effected her tenure as Bush personal attorney.
October 2
David
Margolick, author,
Beyond Glory: Louis vs. Schmeling and a
World on the Brink, retold
the story of the famous fight within a
context of race, the Depression, and a
looming war. Suzanne Mattei, head of the Sierra Club's New York City office, discussed the environmental and toxic aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. She based many of her opinions on her work in the wake of the 9/11 World Trade Center attacks. She advocated greater preparedness and government honesty in reporting on the effects left in both incidents.
September 11 Capt. Paul Watson, founder and president, Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, spoke about the impact of industrialized fishing and illegal whaling on ocean creatures. He warned that overfishing may soon crash fish stocks that millions of humans depend upon. Watson is appearing in the area this week.
September 4
August 28 William Blum, an ex-US State Department official and author, Killing Hope: U.S. Military and CIA Intervention Since World War II, commented on Pat Robertson's remarks regarding the assassination of Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez.
August 21
Ed Mead,
president,
California Prison Focus, spoke
about the large number of prisoners in
America, and conditions in prisons. He
said without large scale rehabilitation
programs like he participated in during
18 years in jail, recidivism will
continue. Detroiter Herb Boyd, author, We Shall Overcome, described the history of the civil rights movement from its origins and through the days of Martin Luther King up until the passage of the Civil Rights Act. Boyd said race remains a problem that still has to be faced by all Americans.
July 31 David Bacon, a labor reporter whose most recent article is, "Reconnecting Labor with Its Radical Roots," attended the recent AFL-CIO conference in Chicago where two of the largest unions split from labor federation. He said the jury was out on whether this would strengthen the labor movement or weaken it, but said that unless something is done, organized labor, as we know it, could soon be reduced even further from its current low numbers.
July 24 Prof. Kevin Boyle, author, Arc of Justice: A Saga of Race, Civil Rights, and Murder in the Jazz Age, told the story of the Sweet Case, where armed black men defended their home against a white mob on Detroit's East Side in 1925. The trial, with famed attorney Clarence Darrow for the defense, brought national attention to the city and the NAACP's battle against growing residential segregation in the North.
July 17 Allistair Millar, director of the Counter-TerrorismEvaluation Project, commented on the London transportation bombings, their causes and suggestions on how to prevent further ones.
July 10
July 3
June 26 Norman Solomon, executive director, Institute for Public Accuracy, returned from his journalist visit to Iran during that country's national election. He described the differences between the competing Iranian political factions, commented on the fairness of their electoral process, their nuclear program, and how all of it has an impact on U.S. policy in the Middle East.
June 19
June 12 Norman Solomon, executive director, Institute for Public Accuracy, commented on the revelation of the identity of Deep Throat, the Washington Post's secret source for its Watergate scandal articles, and how it related to today's problems with government secrecy. Solomon said the was traveling to Iran as an election observer and would be a guest at a later time.
June 5 Also, repeat show: Maureen Sullivan, author of The Family of Woman: Lesbian Mothers, Their Children, and the Undoing of Gender, put a human face on family units comprised of gay women and their offspring--ones born from natural birth. She said there was little difference in the statistics of success of parenting and relationships than with the society's traditional families.
May 29 Ben Scott, Policy Director, for the public interest media group, Free Press, gave us a report on the National Conference for Media Reform, held in St. Louis the weekend before. The over 2500 delegates expressed a concern about the concentration of media ownership, access to DSL for all people regardless of income, cable TV issues, and the attempt of government to alter programming on the Public Broadcasting System. He advocated a series of remedial efforts that came out of the many workshops.
May 22 Martin Duberman, author, Haymarket: A Novel, discussed how his rendition of a famous 19th century Chicago riot that left numerous police and strikers dead following a rally for the eight-hour day has bearing on today's labor movement.
May 15 Victoria de Grazia, professor of History and Columbia University, and author, Irresistible Empire: America's Advance Through 20th Century Europe, described the effect of U.S. consumer values in altering that of Europe over the last 50 years. She also discussed the Slow Food movement which resists the "MacDonaldization" of the dining experience as a model for how we can bring daily life back to a more convivial quality and pace
May 8 Graphic novelist, Peter Kuper, explained the expanding art genre formally identified as "comic art," and how he employed it to adapt Upton Sinclair's classic muckraking title, The Jungle. He said he was attracted to the story's plot line that showed the deplorable health and labor standards in Chicago's slaughterhouses at the beginning of the last century. Sinclair's original book led to the passage of numerous food safety statutes.
May 1
Celebrate this holiday as the labor and
pagan festival it originally was. Dr. David DiChiera, founding general director of the Michigan Opera Theatre, described the enduring popularity of the art form, the huge scope and personnel of its productions, and its centrality to the vitality of Detroit and Michigan. He also described the upcoming MOT world premier of "Margaret Garner," a contemporary opera with lyrics by Toni Morrison, which tells the poignant story of a mother's plight as a fugitive slave prior to the US Civil War.
April 24 Chuck Collins, coordinator, Responsible Wealth, labeled the impact of the U.S. House of Representatives vote to repeal the Estate Tax as having an negative impact on our economy which is already in deficit, and will lead to a further concentration of wealth which erodes democratic principles.
April 17
Suzanne
Gordon, author,
Nursing Against the Odds: How health
Care Cost Cutting, Media Stereotypes and
Medical Hubris Undermine Nurses and
Patient Care, described the
nursing shortage, its causes and the
impact it is having on patient care. She
said that when profit becomes the sole
justification for medical policy,
everyone involved suffers. Christopher Philips, author, Six Questions of Socrates: A Modern Day Journey of Discovery Through World Philosophy, described his travels throughout the world, including Detroit, where he posed six fundamental questions of existence to people assembled in what he calls Socrates Cafes.
April 3 Tom Hayden, author, former California state legislator, and social activist, discusses the potential for changing the Democratic Party into a more progressive and responsive political institution. Peter thinks he's dreaming. Hayden will be in Detroit, April 9 for a teach-in on Iraq. See calendar on main page.
March 27 Jean Kilbourne is internationally recognized for her pioneering work on alcohol and tobacco advertising and the image of women in advertising. She discussed the Terri Schiavo case as to how it related to the stroke produced by an eating disorder. She said that unrealistic models of beauty and weight lead to a self-loathing of women's bodies when they realize they can't meet the cultural standards imposed upon them in advertising.
March 20 Alfred W. Blumrosen, professor of law, Rutgers University, and author, Slave Nation, How Slavery United the Colonies and Sparked the American Revolution, told of the role slavery played in the Declaration and the US Constitution, and how the advocates of universal human freedom, such as Thomas Jefferson, had to compromise with the Southern slave owners.
March 13
March 6
February 27 Jay Cantor, author, The Death of Che Guevara, told how he used the novel form for an exploration of the nature of truth and storytelling and the psychology of radical activism.
February 20
February 6 Gerald Horne, author, Black and Brown: African Americans and the Mexican Revolution, stressed the importance of Black History Month in understanding the American experience. He explained how this small piece of forgotten history put into perspective the role of minorities in the Armed Forces today. http://www.edunow.com/0814736734.shtml
January 30 David L. Marcus, Pulitzer Prize-winning U.S. News & World Report journalist, and author, What It Takes To Pull Me Through: Why Teenagers Get in Trouble and How Four of Them Got Out, told the story of how one therapeutic facility in Massachusetts helps teen-agers with problems. He described how conditions are worse than ever for young people who have less supervision, less contact with parents, and more access to addition to everything from drugs to the Internet. www.davemarcus.com
January 23 David Clements, photographer, and Bill Harris, author, of Talking Shops: Detroit Commercial Folk Art, spoke about the uniquely Detroit self-decorated places of business primarily in inner-city areas. They talked about the desire of small-scale entrepreneurs to realize the American Dream under circumstances that made it almost impossible but who retained a desire to make their meager shops more attractive through the creative application of folk art. http://wsupress.wayne.edu/glb/art/clementsts.htm
January 16 Michael Ratner, president, the Center for Constitutional Rights, and author, Guantanamo: What the World Should Know, drew a graphic picture of interrogation techniques at the American base in Cuba and in Iraq and Afghanistan, that violated US and international law and the Geneva Accords. He said that not only was torture ineffective in gaining information, but will endanger our troops if they are captured. www.ccr-ny.org.
January 9 Dean Baker, co-director of the Washington DC-based Center for Economic and Policy Research, discussed the idea of privatization of Social Security. He denied that the system has any systemic problems and said it is basically sound. http://www.cepr.net
January 2
December 26
Huwaida Arraf, a Detroiter of
Palestinian ancestry, and Adam Shapiro,
her Jewish American husband, discussed
their efforts through the International
Solidarity Movement to alter the image
of the Palestinian desire for a secure
homeland and to bring peace to the
region.
www.palsolidarity.org Gloria H. Albrecht, Professor of Religion at University of Detroit/Mercy, and author, Hitting Home: Women's Work and the Betrayal of Family Values, argued that government and business have abandoned their social responsibility to sustain the well being of families. That modern families will continue their plight if left solely to the vagaries of the market. http://continuumbooks.com/(qkd2jrb043zcx5yrahkwht45)/BookDetail.aspx?BookID=10726
December 12 Rod Coronado, spokesperson for the Tucson-based Center for Biological Diversity, told about the struggle to save mountain lions in a national park from being hunted out of existence. Although on the face of it, a story about hunting and wildlife preservation, it was as much about development and government resource allocation policy. http://www.earthfirstjournal.org/efj/feature.cfm?ID=187&issue=v23n3
December 5 Howard Mansfield, author, Bones in the Road, talked about the loss of cultural memory through the impermanence of cyberspace and television. He also discussed the consequences of paving over large portions of the earth with asphalt giving the illusion of freedom through transportation, but instead making us ever more rootless. www.howardmansfield.com
November 28 Greil Marcus, co-editor, The Rose & the Briar: Death, Love and Liberty in the American Ballad, told us how enduring folk songs, some 400 years old, continue to be present in popular culture and reiterate themes not otherwise treated in mass media. He noted that ballads weren't slow songs as they such are popularly described, but rather songs which told stories. http://www.wwnorton.com/catalog/fall04/005954.htm
November 21
Susan
Bennett, co-author, President Kennedy
Has Been Shot, recounted the JFK
assassination through the words and
photos of journalists who were in Dallas
on that day.
November 14
Journalist
Dave Lindorff examined the battle for
Fallujah and its implications for US
Iraq policy. He compared this battle for
a large city to that of a similar one
during the Vietnam war in Hue. Joe Sherman, author, Gasp!: The Swift and Terrible Beauty of Air, described everything about what we breathe and depend upon for life. He described the first breath of life, to historic scientific views of air, to the challenge of increasing pollution in the atmosphere and the effect it will have on us and future generations. http://www.shoemakerhoard.com/catalog/air.html
October 31
Mike
Hoffman, founder of Iraq Veterans
Against the War, and a Lance
Corporal in a Marine Corps artillery
battery during the March 2003 invasion
of Iraq, explained his transformation
into an anti-war leader. He condemned
the war and expressed concern for the
men and women in the army who are stuck
in a quagmire with no exit strategy and
not even proper equipment. He also
condemned the way in which returning and
wounded vets are treated by the
government.
www.ivaw.net Joseph F. Kennedy, editor, Building Without Borders: Sustainable Construction for the Global Village, outlined pioneering efforts to create sustainable shelter for billions currently under-housed. He described projects around the world that are housing the homeless without destroying natural habitats to do so, by drawing upon local traditions such as bamboo, straw bale and earthen construction. http://www.newsociety.com/bookid/3837
October 17
John
Sperling, author, The Great
Divide: Retro vs. Metro America,
spoke about the great division in the
United States and how much of it can be
broken down regionally. He compared how
much taxes one region pays
disproportionately to another, and,
which region benefits from government
programs.
http://www.retrovsmetro.org/ Carolyn Nordstrom, author, Shadows of War: Violence, Power, and International Profiteering in the Twenty-First Century, described the immediacy of war-zone survival, and took us into the offices of power brokers, and then to the vast extra-legal networks that fuel war and international profiteering. http://www.ucpress.edu/books/pages/10101.html
October 3
Elwood Reid,
author, D.B., described his
latest novel based on a fictionalized
account of the famous early '70s plane
hijacker who parachuted into the
mountains of Washington and was never
heard from again. Reid said his themes
include how men react under stress, the
desire for a life of adventure and
escape from humdrum daily existence, and
theconsequence of obsessions. Harvey Wasserman, author of "Free and Green," in the Jan.-Feb. Mother Jones magazine, cited the crisis in fossil fuels in terms of decreasing availability, their environmental impact, and increasing costs such as gasoline, natural gas, and fuel oil prices in Michigan. He called for an end to taxpayer subsidies to the fossil fuel industries and for them to compete on an equal basis with renewals such as wind and solar power. He said Traverse City, Mich., and Bowling Green, Ohio were examples of how wind power could be used successfully. www.harveywasserman.com September 12 Jonathon Adelstein, Commissioner, Federal Communication Commission, spoke about issues before the regulatory body such as fines for broadcasting indecency, media consolidation, citizen input into the decision making process, and whether to allow low frequency broadcasting. http://www.freepress.net/future/page.php?n=points September 5 Julie Hurwitz, executive director of the Detroit-based Maurice and Jane Sugar Law Center described the kind of work they do on behalf of workers in industries that are fleeing overseas, how they have supported municipal living wage ordinances, and suits for environmental justice to protect students at a Detroit elementary school. www.sugarlaw.org August 29 Ellen Frank, author, The Raw Deal: How Myths and Misinformation about the Deficit, Inflation, and Wealth Impoverish America, spoke about the effects of the concentration of wealth on a democratic system. She explained much about the workings of the economy, such as the stock market and Fed rate changes, and was critical of much of the reporting on these matters in the mainstream press. http://www.beacon.org/catalogs/sp04/frank.html August 22 Christopher Baker, author of Cuba
Classic: A Celebration of Vintage American Automobiles, and Cuba: A Moon
Handbook, used his new pictorial book about US cars as a way of discussing
the embargo against the island and its implications for politics in Cuba and in
Florida, and what he thinks will occur after Fidel Castro leaves office. August 15 Dave Dempsey, policy advisor for the Michigan Environmental Council and author, On the Brink: The Great Lakes in the 21st Century, warned that the unique bodies of water surrounding us are in grave peril. He named industrial pollution, municipal waste, and invading species as the greatest dangers. He said short-sighted policies have inflicted wounds on the lakes on such a scale that only large scale commitment to reversing the damage will save them from becoming fishless dead zones. www.davedempsey.org August 8 David Solnit, editor of Globalize Liberation: How to Uproot the System and Build a Better World, weaved together the experiences and insights of community organizers, direct action movements, and global justice struggles from around the world. The totality of the book poses a vision of a radically altered world free from hunger, disease, war and poverty. http://globalizeliberation.org/ August 1 Marjorie Cohn, professor of law at the Thomas Jefferson School of Law in San Diego, and vice-president of the National Lawyers Guild, analyzed the findings of the US Commission on the 9/11 attack on the US. She recommended not only an increase in security but getting to the root causes of the Muslim hostility toward our country based on US foreign policy. www.nlg.org July
25 Eric Zuesse, author, Iraq War: The Truth, charged that Bush did not rely on "faulty intelligence" as a rationale for invading Iraq, but purposely lied knowing there were no weapons of mass destruction. He also said that the invasion was part of a long range plan to turn the US into a Christian theocracy instead of secular, constitutional democracy. http://liberty.hypermart.net/Reviews/Iraq_War_The_Truth.htm July 18 Laura Flanders, author, The W Effect: Bush's War On Women, argued that Bush administration gender politics have hurt women dramatically from endangering their right to choose to weakening the family and a women's economic status. www.lauraflanders.com July 11 Sarah Triano, national coordinator of Disabled and Proud, told about the upcoming national Disability Pride march that will occur July 18 in Chicago. She spoke about increased opportunities for disabled people and the continuing prejudices against them. She said there are many Detroit and Michigan groups which aid the cause of the disabled. www.disabledandproud.com July 4 George A. Collier, author, Basta: Land & The Zapatista Rebellion in Chiapas, described the Indian people's uprising in the southern most state of Mexico. He said that this small area has had an enormous impact on plans for regional globalization and acts as a model for people living outside the Western and international paradigm who want to maintain much of their traditional ways. www.foodfirst.org. June 20 June 6 Robert W. McChesney, author, The Problem of the Media: U.S. Communication Politics in the 21st Century, spoke about how American media system functions, and how citizens can play an active role in shaping policy. www.freepress.net May 30 May 23 Howard Markel, U-M Professor of Pediatrics, and author, When Germs Travel: Six Major Epidemics That Have Invaded America Since 1900 & the Fears They Have Unleashed, told the story of the social and medical impact that mass outbreaks of illness have had. He said that often panic about an epidemic leads to scapegoating ethnic groups. He said that access to public health facilities for all insures the health of everyone. more info May 16 May 9 Paul Rieckhoff, a returned Iraq war GI and 9/11 first responder in New York City, described his experiences with the 3rd Infantry Division. He said the armed forces were unprepared for the conflict and his unit frequently did not have enough equipment, ammunition or water. He said morale was low and may plummet with extended tours and the recent torture scandals. www.paulrieckhoff.com May 2 Jim Motavalli, editor, E: The Environmental Magazine, discussed his special issue on the "Politics of Paper." He described the impact on our national forests, the increase of paper use with the advent of computers, the effect of the clorine bleaching process on paper on the environment, and impact of tree plantations. Motavalli advocated a huge reduction in forest products by switching to other plants for the basis of paper fibers and a huge increase in paper recycling. www.emagazine.com April 25 April 18 Rev. Edwin Rowe, senior pastor, Central United Methodist Church, spoke about the history of his church which has sought improvement in Detroiter's well being since it was established in 1865. He commented on the "Passion of the Christ," and talked about the necessity of the message of Jesus which promoted peace and tolerance April 11, Tyson Slocum, research director, Public Citizen's Energy Program, and author, "How Oil Companies Keep Gasoline Prices High," described the process of how this is accomplished. Through mergers and the vertical integration of all functions from well head to pump, the oil companies control the price of gas to their benefit. Slocum called for laws which forbid holding back oil or refining of gasoline, and for an increase in fuel standards, plus general conservation of energy use. www.citizen.org April 4 Alan Sager, co-director, Health Reform Program at Boston University's School of Public Health, commented on the recent report that Medicare will run out of money for benefits by 2026. He said that there is enough funding in that system alone to provide good health care for everyone, not just seniors, but that half the money expended is waste and genuine cost controls are needed. He opposed privatization of medicine and said this will worsen the situation. www.healthreformprogram.org March 28 Meredith Maran, author of Dirty: A Search for Answers Inside America's Teenage Drug Epidemic, exposed the suffering and the thrills that an adolescent experiences on the road to addiction, and during recovery. She focused on several case studies from her book to suggest that the problem of teen-age alcohol and drug abuse is not being properly addressed and that the problem is increasing, not decreasing. www.meredithmaran.com March 21 Alistair Millar , Senior Analyst at the British American Security Information Council, spoke about the situation in Iraq on anniversary of the U.S. invasion. He said that the country shows little sign of stability and has a great possibility of falling into civil war once the U.S. turns its administration back to an Iraqi authority. www.fourthfreedom.org March 14 Jennifer Gonnerman, author, Life on the Outside: The Prison Odyssey of Elaine Bartlett, told the story of the woman in the book's title who was released from prison after serving 16 years on a drug charge and how she fared during the period of re-entry into civilian society. She discussed the consequence of harsh sentencing policies, particularly on poor families, in states like New York and Michigan. www.lifeontheoutside.com March 7 Bruce J. Miller, author of Take Them at Their Words: Shocking, Amusing & Baffling Quotations from the GOP and Their Friends, charged that much of what comes out of the Republican right is destructive to community debate over important issues. He chose quotes to illustrate his point which involves statements from Republicans of racism, sexism, misogyny, homophobia, ultra-nationalism as well as threats of violence to liberals. He called for a ramping down of the discourse and a concentration on the issues rather than name calling. www.academychicago.com February 29 February 22 Thom Hartmann, author, The Edison Gene: ADHD and the Gift of the Hunter Child, said that children with the syndrome have gifts, not liabilities. He asserted that most innovators have the ADHD gene which provide a highly adaptive and useful skill set for people who excel in their fields. He presented ways in which school situations can accommodate children with those genes, not the other way around, particularly utilizing drugs to gain a non-creative conformity. www.thomhartmann.com February 15 Tom Tomorrow, political cartoonist. www.thismodernworld.com February 8 Thomas Ponniah, editor, Another World is Possible: Popular Alternatives to Globalization at the World Social Forum, attended the international meeting mentioned in the title of his book in Mumbai, India last month. He told us that over a thousand workshops addressed the question of creating globalization from below, rather than having decisions forced upon countries by elites. He said the big issues addressed were adequately waged jobs, an economy that works for everyone, water and other environmental topics, and war and peace. www.globalexchange.org February 1 Dedrick Muhammad,
coordinator, the Racial Divide Project, United for a Fair Economy, explained the
conclusions of the study he authored, "The State of the Dream: Enduring
Disparities in Black and White," which deals with the gap between racially based
income and life chances. He said that the statistics associated with a
generation ago still prevail today in income, housing, education, employment,
life expectancy, etc. He said that often the behavior or situation we associate
with minority groups is more accurately keyed to class rather than
ethnicity. He called for an economy which provides increased employment and
equal benefits and opportunity. January 25 Lynn Landes, a jounalist specializing in voting technology issues, warned of the pitfalls of touchscreen voting which she said has poor security, is prone to errors, and leaves no paper trail for verification. She advocated a return to paper balloting until the voting technology can assure that each vote is counted properly. Landes also expressed similar concerns about the validity of the Michigan Democratic Party primary which will be carried out over the Internet. www.ecotalk.org .January 18 January 11 December 28 December 21 Robert Scheer, nationally syndicated columnist, and, author, The Five Biggest Lies Bush Told Us About Iraq, charged that the invasion and occupation of Iraq was based upon false information purposely communicated to the American people. He said that such intentional misinformation erodes the democratic process. www.fivelies.com Gerald Horne, author, Race War!: White Supremacy and the Japanese Attack on the British Empire, told the amazing story of the wide spread support for the Japanese prior to World War II among the colonized people of Asia, but also from many African-Americans. The racial, anti-white propaganda of the Asian empire appealed to many of those under the yoke of European domination and subject to racial discrimination in this country. Horne contended that it was this confrontation which began a reversal of racism in the US and the British colonies. http://www.nyupress.org/product_info.php?cPath=&products_id=3228December 14 Vijay Prashad, associate
professor and director of International Studies at Trinity December 7 Derek Jensen, author,
Strangely Like War: The Global Assault on Forests, told about November 30 November 16 Prof. Adolph Reed, Jr., co-chair
of the Committee for Free Higher Education, argued November 9 November 2 October 26 Steven Watson, author, Factory
Made: Warhol and the Sixties, chronicled October 12 October 5 September 28 Richard Heinberg, author, The Party's Over:
Oil, War & the Fate September 21 September 14 Derek Coronado, policy and research coordinator, Citizens September 7 Jerry Lembcke, Vietnam veteran,
and author, CNN's Tailwind Tale: August 31 Joe Conason, author, Big Lies,
The Right-Wing Propaganda Machine & August 17 Jerry Lubin,
curator, "The Art of Labor," described the exhibition that August 10 Jim Embry,
director, Detroit's James and Grace Lee Boggs Center. August 3 July 27 July 20 Christopher
Nyerges, author, Extreme Simplicity: Homesteading in the City, asked us to rethink and reprioritize our way of living. He described his home in Los Angeles which uses alternative May 18 April 27 April 20 April 13 April 6 February 23 February 16 February 9 February 2 January 26 Sunday, January 12 Sunday,
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