Archives of the show until 2018. For recent archives, go to: The Marc Steiner Show at the Real News Network
In our first hour, we take our weekly look at sustainability issues: in our city, our country, and the rest of the world. Today, we take our first deep look at the economy and its role in sustainability.
The second hour of today's show was separated into two segments.
In the first segment of today's show, Marc spoke with Maryland's Lieutenant Governor Anthony Brown about what new legislation passed (or not) in Annapolis, as well as what progress has been made in the fight against domestic violence.
With today's financial crunch, a clear and concise plan of attack is in order. In his Address to Congress, President Barack Obama outlined his plans for steering the country out of these difficult economic times. Are we convinced that he will deliver?
Today's guests:
Soviet bread lines warned that the communist economic model would fail, as it did in 1991. Western free market capitalism has recently suffered an intense, and possibly mortal, blow. What comes next? What should the world financial system look like? How will President Obama structure American economic policy to get us through this crucial period?
The terror attacks that rocked Mumbai last week reminded everyone that terrorism is still a very present threat. How will the global War on Terror be changed by an Obama administration? What have we learned from the failures and successes of the past seven years?
Last Friday's stabbing of middle-schooler Markel Williams on the grounds of William H. Lemmel Middle School in West Baltimore has focused the city's attention on the culture of violence that surrounds children in Baltimore schools.
Kayford Mountain, West Virginia (photo: Justin Levy)
One point of agreement between the McCain and Obama campaigns was their support of the coal industry, or what they call "clean coal." Have you been wondering what "clean coal" means?
Today, we discuss our energy future. What are the costs of our dependence on coal, and what alternatives are we developing?
We'll be joined in studio by Dave Cooper, a resident of Kentucky and the host of the Mountaintop Removal Road Show. We'll also be joined on the phone from West Virginia by Lorelei Scarbro, an organizer working on the Coal River Wind Project, a wind farm proposed by the community as an alternative to the mining company's plan to open another mountaintop removal site on Coal River Mountain.
Also featured this hour is a short interview with Larry Gibson that we recorded on Kayford Mountain in West Virginia, where he lives, last spring. We walked through the woods to a steep precipice where we could see the active mountaintop removal mining site that has destroyed the land his family has lived on for centuries.
For more of our coverage on coal issues, click here.
Here's a letter that we received and wanted to share with everyone. If anyone else would like to publicize first-hand information about the police misconduct in Charles Village on Election Night, or has other Election Night experiences they'd like to share, please post your comments here or email us at cem@centerforemergingmedia.org.
Marc,
During the night following the election, my roommates and I walked
down to 33rd and St. Paul and started celebrating the election of
Barack Obama. We quickly gained support of local students, and our
group of seven quickly grew to over 400. What was a beautifully
patriotic evening, filled with unity and gentle celebration, quickly
turned into fear and chaos as the Baltimore Police Department randomly
(and illegally) assaulted, intimidated, and arrested many members of a
peaceful crowd.
Last Spring, President Ungar invited you to speak at Goucher to a
group of Goucher students, faculty, and staff. President Ungar
personally invited me at the last moment, claiming it was essential
that I hear you speak. Your discussion inspired me to want to get more
involved with our city, and this semester several of my friends and I
moved down to Charles Village from Towson, in order to become true
Baltimoreans.
On November 4, the six of us - all sophomores at Goucher, voted
for the first time. Sending in my absentee ballot to my native
California was one of the most exciting things I have ever done, and
we were all excited to partake in making history. Just a month before
hearing you speak at Goucher, I had the opportunity to shake now
President-elect Obama's hand at an election rally in Wilmington. I
took the train up to Wilmington by myself, and I instantly befriended
a group of students from the University of Delaware. The feeling of
unity was overwhelming, and I instantly knew this campaign was unlike
anything else in history.
The night of Nov. 4th was no exception. My roommates and I had to get
outside to celebrate. People joined quickly and we were suddenly
flanked by members of the community, students from several
institutions, schoolteachers, and professors - all united and chanting
"USA! USA!". The Hopkins Campus Security respected the crowd and kept
it under control, and it became a truly beautiful event. I was
surrounded by people I had never met before, of all colors: black and
white, Muslim and Jewish, old and young, from near and far all
celebrating under American flags.
You have already heard about what the police did last night. They
arrested two of my roommates and another one of my friends, for
reasons that were never disclosed. I stood and watched while my
roommate, a 19-year-old girl from New Jersey, was grabbed by the
throat by two policemen twice her size and had her arms bound so
tightly behind her back, she was screaming in agony.
I have talked with Goucher President Sanford Ungar, and he has already tried to help us get our
voice heard. The fact is that this happens every night in this city,
without a single mention in the Sun or on the local TV news. These
students and the professor that were arrested were never told their
rights and were fingerprinted, photographed, intimidated, and forced
to spend hours in cells with people charged with violent crimes.
Fortunately, my friends and the rest of these aforementioned sixteen
that were arrested are lucky enough to be backed up by institutions
like Goucher College and Johns Hopkins University.
I know this letter is far from brief, and I appreciate that you have
taken the time to read this. I was inspired by your discussion at
Goucher, and wanted to know what I could do to change something in
this city. I think Baltimore is a beautiful place buried in an
inconceivable amount of filth. Before election day I couldn't fathom
how I could help, or what I could even help with. I now know the
intricacies of how the Baltimore Police Department detains citizens
without Mirandizing them, charging them, or respecting their basic
freedoms. I feel I can speak on behalf of everyone who witnessed
Tuesday night's atrocities when I say that we want to help.
The sixteen people arrested last night were picked randomly. It could
have been anyone. I have spoken with and know personally several of
those arrested and can tell you that they were all respectable and
respectful citizens that have done so much already to make this city a
better place. Will these volunteers, public school teachers, artists,
and professors voices be drowned out?
I hope not.
Thank you again for speaking to us at Goucher. Baltimore needs you,
and is lucky to have you.
Thank you,
Nick Bourland
Goucher College class of 2011
Last night, after long years of campaigning, America made its choice: we elected Illinois Senator Barack Obama as our 44th president.
The decision has been made, the race is finally over--now, the real work begins.
This is truly the race that has reinvented itself hundreds of times. Remember when Hillary Clinton was inevitable? When Rudy Giuliani was a front runner? When breaking news about Obama's former pastor threatened to derail his campaign? When McCain's senior staff had to work for free?
In the beginning, many pundits predicted that race could cost Senator Obama the election. Too many people had strong prejudices against African Americans, conventional wisdom went, to elect a black man as president.
Lenny McAllister, a self-described "Hip Hop Republican," shares his take on the increasingly ugly tone of the campaigns.
Kenneth Morris is both the great-great-great grandson of Frederick Douglass and the great-great grandson of Booker T. Washington! He joins us to discuss his work fighting against modern day slavery, along with Robert Benz, Executive V.P. of the Frederick Douglass Family Foundation.
Then, Marc talks with Frank Schaeffer. In his recent op-ed for the Baltimore Sun, this former supporter of Senator John McCain took McCain to task for "potentially instigating violence" with his recent attacks on Senator Barack Obama.
Marc and his guests discussed last night's riveting second presidential debate between Senator Barack Obama and Senator John McCain. The discussion in the studio was almost as heated as the debate itself. Did McCain condescend to Obama? Did the candidates skirt the questions? Did Obama connect with the audience? What real concrete plans were presented?
The guests were:
How important is honesty in politics? Are politicians hardwired to lie, or have we created a campaigning system where the win inevitably goes to the biggest fish story?
The announcement of Governor Sarah Palin as vice-presidential nominee to the GOP ticket took the political world by surprise. And not because she is a woman. Although, the chances were probably slim that McCain would actually pick a woman. It’s the type of woman selected that has left the average Joe and Jane with much to say.
Click READ MORE below
So, out here in Denver this week, in the middle of everything else we're doing, I've been recording a series of panels hosted by The Nation magazine for podcasts on their site. Today there was a surprise guest right before the panel, Jesse Jackson. That's the Reverend Jesse Jackson, or Jesse Jackson, Sr., not to be confused with his son the Congressman. From what I've heard at this point, he hasn't been too visible during the DNC yet this week, and today's the last day. Word is he flew in from DC this morning. Guess he wasn't invited to speak at the convention, after his unfortunate off-camera remarks became headlines in July.
Wondering what he had to say here today? I'll spare you some suspense; he's supporting Obama! To find out more, you'll have to listen. Click below:
Welcome to a conversation with Thomas McCarthy, the writer and director of a new film called The Visitor.
Tarek teaching Walter the drum
On May 19th, from 6 to 8 PM, I will be hosting a special two-hour, live call-in with Baltimore Schools CEO Dr. Andres Alonso on WEAA, 88.9 FM, your community radio station.
One of the issues we will talk about is violence in our schools. In many city schools, it is palpable when you walk through their halls or when you talk to students and teachers who are in them every day.
It is fine to give more control to individual principals and schools, but there needs to be a system-wide policy to address what is in their control to address. Violence cannot be tolerated. Students who attack teachers and other students have to be dealt with firmly. Students have to know the limitations. The response can be therapeutic and healing, but it must be swift and with consequences.
Then you can talk about what individual schools can do.
So, please, join us on the 19th; it will be great being back on the air with you and taking your calls.
So, I wandered over to the WYPR website yesterday. Don’t do that often. Actually, this may the second or third time I have done it since they kicked us off the air. I thought I would take a gander to see what was going on.
The Board of Directors meeting scheduled for May 20th at the Learning Tree has been turned into an internet meeting to be streamed live. Apparently, so many folks still outraged by the senseless cancellation of our show called in to say they were coming to attend the meeting. So, the folks at the top at the station said we could be in compliance with Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) open meeting rules by streaming it on the web.
It is amazing they really have no respect for the people of this community or their station’s listeners and members. It is outrageous and very telling when the leaders of that station are afraid to face and listen to their listeners.
For a while a few years ago, I was excited by how much underwriting was being brought into the station. It was to be a model for the nation’s public radio stations on how to address the dwindling federal support for public broadcasting. Then I realized that while underwriting grew, funds for expanding and building membership were being eviscerated at the station. Underwriting accounted for over 53% of funds and membership was down to the thirties. Underwriting by large corporations has steadily grown at WYPR since the station's founding. The influence that the corporate money buys is significant, but that is clearly to the liking of the management.
I now realize that this is not the salvation of public radio, but the bells chiming that could be its death knell. Public broadcasting is supposed to be adventuresome, where opinions outside the mainstream are heard and given voice, where creative experimentation is unleashed, where members and listeners actually participate.
We are losing control of our public airwaves and we must demand them back.
I was reading in the Sun about the MTA light rail dilemma, which got me thinking about mass transit. So, more people seem to be using light rail because of high gas prices. That is a wonderful thing. Most seem to believe we can’t get people out their cars into public transit. Well, I think over the long run we can. Keep gas prices high, stop building new developments, squeeze the auto industry to make hybrid/electric/hydrogen vehicles, and for god's sake put money into mass transit and stop building so many bloody highways. Life can change. It takes, it takes patience …… it takes money.
In the meantime, MTA has to get its act together. The state should take some of that highway money (those highway contractors and developers are powerful lobbies in Annapolis) and put it into MTA and the MARC to buy more cars, high speed (give them a lane) hybrid alternative diesel busses, and more maintenance workers and inspectors. In the long, they should build more rail (so MARC runs faster and the Light Rail has at least two tracks with more routes.)
That is the answer. Short term - buy more cars and busses. Long term - give us more rail.
It can be done. Am I nuts? What do you think?
The common wisdom has been, and primary election vote analyses tell us, that higher income people with more education, African-Americans, and younger voters are voting for Obama and that older voters, white women, Latinos, to a degree, and working people with less education are going with Clinton. No matter what happens, a portion of the Hillary voters will never vote for a Black man and a portion of the Barack voters will never vote for Hillary or a woman. The majority of primary voters, many of them new or voting for the first time in many years, could be Democratic voters in the fall.
It means that the two candidates have to come together and convince their supporters to support a new tomorrow together or they may once again lose despite Americans' frustrations and anger over the state of the economy and the war in Iraq.
They have to ignore the demagogic demons of cable talk TV, these so-called pundits with nothing to say but divisive viscera of mistrust and hate. Democrats have to stop talking about Reverend Wright, ignore and rise above the media’s obsession with their “bittergate" and dividing people with emotionally charged rhetoric over race and class. Sure, race and class are at the core of our fears, our mistrust, and the most horrendous parts of our history.
They have to speak forcefully, passionately, persuasively and intelligently about those things that concern Americans. You have to speak to people’s hopes and fears about the future. There is no reason why the wealthiest nation on the planet cannot guarantee a decent income, health care, and schools that we want our children to go to. Someone has to make sense of immigration and our relationship to the world economy honestly and clearly. People will hear it. Americans want us out of Iraq; we did not want to be there in the first place. Now it has to be clear that the Republican mess has to be cleared up, and it won’t be easy. Say it clearly; it will be heard. Most Americans want large corporations and the financial investment industry to be regulated and allow small business to flourish. People want immediate help and a vision for the future. Most folks don’t mind paying if they know where they are going. That is as long as the paying for is equitable where the wealthiest and the major corporations are carrying their weight and then some.
Talk about those issues and bring our future into the clear light of day and most Americans will go..."Reverend WHO?”
The Republicans have their vision and their candidate(s). The Democrats better see to theirs unless they want to sit by the gates of the White House panting like a thirsty dog for the next four years.
So, one of my favorite spots to eat near our new Hampden office is Soup's On, located on 36th Street in Hampden. They're closing this Saturday for three months. Just two days left to get your favorite soup, salad, chicken pot pie, iced coffee and dangerous cupcakes. The lovely Cynthia, proprietor and creator of Soup's On, is going to have a baby. Get her wares while you can, or wait till the end of the summer.
Also, went to Luca's Café in Locust Point, on Fort Avenue across from the Phillips Seafood HQ. The food was just phenomenonal and prices, well, four of with a few drinks was $96 bucks. Great wine list too. Check it out.
At the Baltimore School for the Arts, students and faculty are putting on four one-act Moliere plays. It runs through Sunday. Don’t miss it. The plays are really well acted by adults and students. My old friend Tony Tsendas is hilarious, right in his element (I think he channels the Marx brothers.) Richard Pilcher directs it all. Don’t miss it. Our School for the Arts (and Carver in Baltimore County) is among the best in the nation.
from the New York Times. Read the accompanying article here.
California is one of those places that sets trends. Making restaurants smoke free...the fitness craze..."green living" and nutrition. And if you think about it, they also show us what problems the rest of the country can expect. Illegal immigration, water shortages, gang activity, a real estate market more and more people are getting priced out of....California began to struggle with these problems before anyone else. With that in mind we were interested when we heard about a documentary that will air on the Discovery Channel on Sunday at 9pm called Breaking Point. It is an investigation into the problems of overcrowding in California prisons. Those prisons were built to house about 100,000 people. Today they have more than 170,000 inmates. Prisoners are being segregated by race and gang affiliation in an attempt to keep some kind of peace. Inmates are sleeping on cots in hallways and gyms. And it costs as much to house, clothe, and feed a prisoner each year as it does to send someone to Harvard. We'll talk with Ted Koppel who hosted and produced this documentary, and James Blue, an award w inning producer who worked on the documentary who just happens to live in Baltimore! and then....
"I'm coming for you, WYPR."
He's not seeking the Democratic nomination for President of the United States this time around, but he still has a LOT to say about leadership, citizenship, and politics in America. Marc talks with retired General Wesley Clark about his new book A Time to Lead: For Duty, Honor and Country. -Jessica
-Jessica
-Jessica Phillips
The red dots indicate recovered bodies. The blue flags indicate water stations operated by Humane Borders.
