Trump Regime’s First 20 Days – Podcast February 9, 2025

The Felon-in-Chief’s First 20 Days In Office. Steve Williamson, Karen McClelland and Gary LaMaster review the actions of the new Trump Regime and Project 2025. We begin by reminding listeners that many psychologists have diagnosed Trump as a sociopath and malignant narcissist. And how that sociopath is now disassembling our constitutional democracy with the help of the world’s richest man.

We note that, although Trump was elected on the promise of lowering prices in the grocery store, he now says that he can’t. Indeed, his new tariffs and threats of tariffs to come have negatively impacted our economy and will likely raise prices.

Worse, Trump’s many executive orders and Elon Musk’s invasion of federal databases have created a constitutional crisis and compromised the privacy of millions of Americans.

Posted in Agricultural Policy, Anti-Federalism, Autocracy, Bigotry, Civil Liberties, Climate Change, Congressional Oversight, Constitutional Issues, Corporations, Corruption, De-regulation, Democratic Governance, Department of Justice, Domestic Extremism, Economic Policy, Education, Education Policy, Energy Policy, Environment, Ethics, Foreign Affairs, Funding, Government, Health Care, Human Rights, Immigration, Income Inequality, Industrial Policy, Inflation, Intelligence Agencies, International Relations, Judicial System, Legal Issues, Mass Incarceration, Misogyny, Morality, National Politics, National Security, Pandemic, Political Lies, Public Accountability, Public Education, Public Health Policy, Racism, Regulatory Agencies, Resistance, States' Rights, Supreme Court, Trade Policy, Women's Rights | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Kinsella Interview – Podcast January 19, 2025

Making Representative Government Work. Steve Williamson welcomes Sedona City Councilor Kathy Kinsella back to the show.

Whoever said that you can’t fight City Hall never met Kinsella who claims she actually likes listening to constituents. “I’m a people person,” she says, “So I really like people and knowing what they think.” To that end, she says that she is trying to create additional opportunities for the council to have more dialogue with residents.

Kinsella describes many of the initiatives within the city, ranging from the underpass at Tlaquepaque, which was recently finished, the changes to improve traffic flow, short-term rentals, and emergency evacuation plans.

Regarding traffic, she explains there are not a lot of ways to get around traffic because of the topography, noting that improvements must be incremental. “It’s project after project,” she says. Kinsella also says that new roads require a lot of intergovernmental cooperation. “We have to see ourselves regionally. Not just what happens in Sedona.”

As for short-term rentals, she says that they now comprise more than 17 percent of the city’s housing stock, but she notes, it’s not all bad. “Some of the short-term rentals have taken some depressed properties and improved those properties thereby improving the property values for their neighbors. But at the same time, as those properties go up and up and up, it’s spiraling, and people can’t keep up with the price of housing.”

The City Council is doing what it can to address the issue. But as Kinsella explains. “We’re not a state that allows a lot of local control to municipalities. And, in the case of regulating short-term rentals, we do not have the authorities. I’m a believer in local control. I think the local communities are the most responsive to the people…I would like to see more local control.”

Posted in Arizona Politics, Community, Democratic Governance, Disinformation, Government, Housing, Infrastructure, Interviews, Local Politics, Public Accountability, Public Service, Social Media, Tourism | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Vaughn Interview – Podcast February 2, 2025

The Southwest’s Increasingly Stressed Water Resources. Steve Williamson and Karen McClelland welcome Jacqueline Vaughn, a retired Northern Arizona University Political Science professor and community activist. She just published a reference book entitled Water In The West.

Vaughn begins by explaining details about the Colorado River Compact. She describes as “an old, old agreement among the seven states that draw water off of the Colorado.” She continues, “Unfortunately, they were willing to divide up the Colorado with more water than there actually is in the Colorado. And subsequently, the water levels have even drawn down more. And so, what’s happening is the agreement itself will expire at the end of 2026.”

Vaughn continues, “This document is so essential to understanding who’s going to get water. Who’s going to get what share? It’s divided up by state. And, what’s new this time that didn’t happen when the Compact was originally signed is that tribal entities will have a seat at the table.” She adds that’s critical, especially for some of the communities in southern Arizona and the Four Corners region. “This is going to be one of the major water stories of, not only the decade, but probably the next 50 years.”

Of course, the Compact is just the beginning as the Southwest, including Arizona, is facing numerous critical water issues, not the least of which is this year’s low snowpack.

Posted in Agribusiness, Agricultural Policy, Arizona Economy, Arizona History, Arizona Politics, Big Oil, Climate Change, Corporations, Development, Environmental Issues, Global Warming, Government, Interviews, National Politics, Regulation, Water Policy | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Sidhwa Interview – January 26, 2024

“Trying To Destroy Gaza. Not Just Hamas.” Steve Williamson and guest host Mik Jordahl welcome Feroze Sidhwa to the show. Sidhwa is a trauma surgeon who has served in some of the world’s most extreme trouble spots and situations, most recently, Gaza. He talks about the atrocities he saw during that time as part of the Israeli reprisals, including 13 preteen children as young as two who had been shot in the head – 13 kids in the 14 days he was there.

Sidhwa says, “When I got back, I started talking to other people…we saw some pretty unusual stuff over there. I really wanted to know: Was I the only person who saw these things?”

After reaching out to other physicians who had seen atrocities, he and 44 others signed an open letter to President Biden stating that, based on what they had seen, the Israelis are trying to destroy Gaza. Not just Hamas. He says, “I really thought that there would be media interest in that letter…but there was no corporate media interest whatsoever.” The exception was the New York Times opinion team who wanted to know who exactly saw what. So, they conducted a poll, and 65 volunteer healthcare workers responded.

They were asked: Did you see small children shot in the head or chest? Did you observe severe malnutrition in the population and among their healthcare coworkers and severe psychiatric stress among children, including those who were suicidal? Did you see babies born healthy and returned to the hospital dehydrated and starving? The answers were almost universally yes.

Posted in Bigotry, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, Genocide, Health Care, Human Rights, International Relations, International Terrorism, Interviews, Israel, Journalism, Middle East, Middle East Policy, Military, Morality, National Politics, Palestinian/Israeli Conflict, Racial Discrimination, Racism, Refugees, Zionism | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Abuseif Interview – Podcast January 12, 2025

Islamophobia: “The Last Bastion of Tolerable Hate.” Steve Williamson and guest host Mik Jordahl welcome Azza Abuseif, CAIR Arizona’s Executive Director. She came to the U.S. as a refugee in 1999 from Sudan via Egypt. Though CAIR’s focus is clearly on the Muslim community in the United States, she says, “We cooperate with any community fighting injustice and stand against any injustice that occurs regardless of religion.”

Abuseif notes, “The presence of Muslims in the United States pre-dates the Twentieth Century immigration wave. And it has deep historical roots tied to the African diaspora.” (Islam in the U.S. can be traced to the first arrival of African slaves in the 16th Century.)

In reference to the notion that Islamophobia began following 9/11, she says, “It’s not true. Islamophobia has been present way before that…but the history is just not taught.”

Posted in Arizona Politics, Bigotry, Civil Liberties, Civil Rights, Community Activism, Compassion, Constitutional Issues, Cultural Diversity, Domestic Extremism, Government, Human Rights, Immigration, Interviews, Islamophobia, Legal Issues, National Politics, Racial Discrimination, Racism, Religion, Slavery, Tolerance | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Epstein Interview – Podcast January 5, 2025

Taking The Fight To Billionaires And Big Corporations. Steve Williamson and Karen McClelland welcome Mitzi Epstein, Arizona State Senator, computer analyst and education activist.

Asked to explain the results of the 2024 election, Epstein notes that the Arizona House and Senate were both two seats away from a Democratic majority. Unfortunately, they are now three seats away.

She says, “I was particularly saddened when I would hear things like, well, the Democrats don’t care about working people anymore. And I thought that’s just so not true. Every single day at the legislature, every one of us is working on some project or another that will directly help people who work. But we need to do a better job of getting our message out. And we need to do a better job of helping people recognize what the real problems are.

“The real power that we’re facing at this point is the power of billionaires and big corporations. [Their] profits have increased so much more than inflation has increased that we can see…we can measure…economists can measure that inflation has in large part been caused by the greed of corporations and they are profiting mightily. And then from them our billionaires are becoming super billionaires…Elon Musk over four hundred billion dollars.”

Posted in Agribusiness, Arizona Politics, Big Oil, Capitalism, Corporate Welfare, Corporations, Corruption, Department of Justice, Disinformation, Domestic Policy, Economic Policy, Education, Elections, Fiscal Policy, Government, Health Insurance, Housing, Inflation, Interviews, Misinformation, National Politics, Political Parties, Presidential Elections, Regulatory Agencies, Technology | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Epstein Interview – Podcast January 5, 2025

Jordahl Interview – Podcast December 29, 2024

Israel’s Ongoing Cycle Of Violence. Steve Williamson welcomes Mik Jordahl to discuss the history of Israel and current events in Gaza. Currently, internationally-accepted figures set the number of Palestinian deaths at about 45 thousand from the ongoing war in Gaza – most of them civilian women and children. According to Jordahl, others put the number much higher. He adds that other casualties and non-combat-related deaths are almost incalculable.

Jordahl reports that many children have been shot by snipers and that some Israeli soldiers have shared videos of what appear to be war crimes. As a result, South Africa and now Ireland have accused Israel of genocide.

Regarding Israel’s success with exploding pagers and the assassination of Hezbollah’s leader, Jordahl says, “After that happens, we usually see even more extremist measures. So, I just don’t see the cycle of violence as preventing anything. And Israel’s violence is occurring on the West Bank, too, in terms of fifty villages of Palestinians have been ethnically cleansed during the whole Gaza problem in the last year and a half.”

He says, “There’s a different path that could be done, which is urging for non-violence and equality. Israelis have chosen land over peace.”

Posted in Civil Rights, Foreign Policy, Genocide, Human Rights, International Relations, Interviews, Iran, Israel, Middle East, Middle East Policy, Palestinian/Israeli Conflict, Refugees, Religion, Theocracy, Zionism | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Jordahl Interview – Podcast December 29, 2024

Criminals Prepare Takeover – Podcast December 22, 2024

The United States’ First Openly Criminal Administration. Beginning on January 20, 2025, a convicted felon, adjudicated sexual assaulter, indicted seditionist, indicted thief of classified information, convicted tax cheat, and accused rapist will assume power as president of the United States of America.

As if that’s not bad enough, it gets worse.

The Criminal-in-Chief has also nominated and appointed an impressive array of other criminals, grifters, incompetents, and ne’er-do-wells to manage our government. These include his first nominee for Attorney General Matt Gaetz who, according to the House ethics report, committed statutory rape with 17-year-old and paid tens of thousands of dollars for prostitutes and illegal drugs.

In this show, Steve, Karen and Gary offer the highlights – err, lowlights – of the incoming administration.

Posted in Autocracy, Climate Change, Congressional Oversight, Conservatives and Reactionaries, Conspiracy Theories, Constitutional Issues, Corporations, Corruption, Deficit Reduction, Department of Justice, Domestic Extremism, Drug Trafficking, Economic Policy, Education, Elections, Energy Policy, Ethics, Foreign Affairs, Government, Health Care Policy, Immigration, inherited Wealth, International Relations, Justice System, Legal Issues, Medicaid, Medicare, Military Policy, Monetary Policy, National Debt Ceiling, National Politics, Political Contributions, Presidential Elections, Public Accountability, Public Education, Public Health Policy, Public Policy, Regulatory Agencies, Social Security, Taxation, Trade Policy, U.S. Budget | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Criminals Prepare Takeover – Podcast December 22, 2024

Jordahl Interview – Podcast December 8, 2024

Israel, Jim Crow, And Their Impact On Our Elections. Steve Williamson welcomes Mik Jordahl and his son Lincoln to the show to discuss events in the Middle East, generational political differences, and the recent presidential election.

Mik and Lincoln have both been to Israel and the West Bank. In response to whether the situation for Palestinians resembles the Deep South, Mik says, “For sure on the West Bank…and this may be difficult for some listeners to hear, but it is definitely a Jim Crow system, and what some of the human rights organizations have concluded, meets the international law definition of apartheid.”

Lincoln adds: “There’s such a pervasive cognitive dissidence there. Being in Tel Aviv, being on the beach, out in the nightclubs there, it’s this beautiful progressive-seeming society that does feel like a democracy. And then you cross the line into the West Bank and Palestine, and you see military checkpoints that they set up. You see certain sections of cities that people aren’t even allowed to walk in based on whether they’re Arab or not. And you have this huge class of people that is subjected to a separate legal system, that don’t have the right to vote. It was shocking to see.”

The pair go on to discuss the effect of the Israel-Palestinian War on the Harris Campaign and future elections.

Posted in Bigotry, Citizens United, Civil Liberties, Civil Rights, Civil Society, Corruption, Democratic Governance, Elections, Foreign Affairs, Genocide, Health Care Policy, International Relations, Interviews, Israel, Justice System, Legal Issues, Mass Media, Middle East, Middle East Policy, Misinformation, National Politics, Palestinian/Israeli Conflict, Presidential Elections, Racism, Social Media, Zionism | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Jordahl Interview – Podcast December 8, 2024

Helstein Interview – Podcast December 1, 2024

Will Traditional Media Be Replaced By Social Media? Steve Williamson and Karen McClelland welcome Charles Helstein of KAZM, Mellow Mountain Radio in Sedona, to discuss the current mediascape and its impact on political and social issues. (KAZM, of course, has been the radio home of Democratic Perspective for the past 11 years.)

Asked why he recently purchased the radio station, Helstein responds by saying radio is more critical than we give it credit for. “Radio is kind of that warm blanket you fall back into all the time,” he says, “It’s there whether you’re thinking about it or not…Radio has a really strong reach to a lot of people throughout America that people tend to overlook.”

To further his point, Helstein tells the story of what happened when he changed the station’s programming and missed some baseball games. “You’d be shocked at the people who suddenly just call in. It’s very much part of their routine. Having altered that was upsetting to a lot of people.”

By contrast, Helstein says, “Social media and the things you guys are talking about are not for everybody.”

Posted in Broadcast Schedule, Business, Community, Cultural Change, Disinformation, Elections, Interviews, Mass Media, Misinformation, Public Service, Technology | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Helstein Interview – Podcast December 1, 2024