Venezuela – Podcast January 4, 2026

Posted on January 14, 2026 by Gary LaMaster

Return Of Imperialism. Steve Williamson and Karen McClelland discuss the Trump regime’s invasion of Venezuela and kidnapping of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Though Maduro was a brutal dictator who caused millions of people to flee the nation, the invasion and his removal break numerous international norms and laws. And lest you think the action was based on human rights, Trump proudly announced it was all about oil – taking control of the largest known oil reserves in the world.  

The implications for the takeover are far-reaching. It not only leaves a leadership vacuum in Venezuela, but it could also further embolden our rivals to take similar actions – a Chinese takeover of Taiwan and a further escalation of Russia’s war against Ukraine.

Moreover, where does it stop? Does the Trump regime invade Cuba next? Greenland? Mexico? Iran? Canada?

Posted in Autocracy, Big Oil, Constitutional Issues, Democratic Governance, Foreign Affairs, Government, Human Rights, International Relations, Military, National Politics, National Sovereignty | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Year-End Review – Podcast December 28, 2025

Posted on January 14, 2026 by Gary LaMaster

A Look Back At The First Year Of Trump’s Second Term. Steve Williamson, Jessica Williamson and Gary LaMaster review what they consider the biggest stories of 2025.

Steve focuses on the impact of Trump’s borderline personality on U.S. foreign policy. Jessica focuses on Trump’s exploitation of the federal government to enrich himself, his family and his friends. And Gary sorted through a laundry list of the regime’s destruction of the rule of law to focus on the government’s increased surveillance of American citizens and its multifaceted invasion of privacy.

Posted in Autocracy, Civil Liberties, Constitutional Issues, Corruption, Drug Trafficking, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, Government, Human Rights, Immigration, International Relations, Justice System, National Politics, Surveillance Programs | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Pratte Interview – Podcast December 21, 2025

Posted on December 24, 2025 by Gary LaMaster

Imagining A Corporation Commission That Serves The People. Steve Williamson and Karen McClelland welcome Clara Pratte, candidate for Arizona Corporation Commission. Pratte is a member of the Navajo Nation and has a varied and successful background. She has worked for the federal government as well as for tribal communities and numerous small businesses. Pratte is also co-founder of Navajo Energy, a clean energy enterprise.

To explain why she’s running for the office, she says, “You know, I just got tired of not having what I think we deserve as Arizonans to have the best policies in place for our ratepayers.”

Pratte describes the Commission this way, “You have an elected five-member body with an incredible amount of influence over something that impacts all of us every single day when we open our utility bills. And they do regulate utilities, they regulate infrastructure, they also operate if you’re filing an LLC, or a C-Corp, S-Corp in the state. They also have a hand in that as well. They are elected, so we the people are their oversight.”

She notes that the office should not be partisan. “There’s no such thing as conservative water or liberal water or conservative electricity or liberal electricity…I’m hoping that we have a lot of voters who see past the letter after a name and really look at what the candidates are bringing to the table.”

Posted in Arizona Politics, Corporations, Energy Policy, Environmental Issues, Government, Infrastructure, Interviews, Political Candidacy, Public Service, Regulation, Technology, Water Policy | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

ICE – Podcast December 14, 2025

Posted on December 23, 2025 by Gary LaMaster

ICE: What You Need To Know About America’s Secret Police. Steve Williamson, Karen McClelland and Gary LaMaster discuss the history, structure, recent actions and excesses of ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement).

This year, the agency has sent heavily armed masked agents into communities across the U.S. to round up migrants who are “the worst of the worst.” Instead, it has arrested, abused, and detained your neighbors, co-workers, military veterans, American citizens, even elected officials. As a result, there are currently more than 68,400 people being held in often deplorable conditions.

It could be argued that all of this has ties to last week’s show on oligarchy. Because a strongman/tyrant needs a loyal and compliant police force to make the nation safe for themselves and the oligarchs.

Posted in Arizona History, Autocracy, Bigotry, Civil Liberties, Community, Constitutional Issues, Department of Homeland Security, Domestic Extremism, Government, Human Rights, Immigration, Law Enforcement, Mass Incarceration, Policing, Private Prisons, Racism, Refugees, Resistance, Surveillance Programs | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Oligarchy – Podcast December 7, 2025

Posted on December 13, 2025 by Gary LaMaster

The United States Of Oligarchy. Steve Williamson and Karen McClelland welcome frequent contributor Mik Jordahl to discuss oligarchy. Jordahl begins by offering a definition of oligarchy which he says means “rule by the few” in which political power is concentrated in the economic elites.

Interestingly, Williamson found that, when he asked AI about oligarchy and Donald Trump, the AI responded that it couldn’t talk about that yet. “AI is afraid to comment about current policy,” he says. Jordahl adds, “There are a few oligarchs behind that.”

Williamson continues to note the growing influence of billionaires in the media, politics and social media platforms. “Modern oligarchy systems form around tech wealth and resource wealth that stretch social influence,” he says, “Oligarchy is not usually something that happens with a big bang.”

Indeed, the United States has transformed over time. As Jordahl states, “The bottom 50 percent has stagnated. It’s share of the wealth of the United States since 1989 has diminished over time…the share of the super wealthy has shot way, way up. In 1990, there were 66 Americans qualified as billionaires. In 2025 there are over 900 billionaires in the United States. This is something we’ve chosen through policy, through tax rates.”

Posted in Arizona Politics, Autocracy, Automation, Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, Rural Economy,, Business, Campaign Finance, Capitalism, Citizens United, Class Conflict, Corporate Welfare, Corporations, Dark Money, Domestic Policy, Education, Fiscal Policy, Government, Income Inequality, inherited Wealth, Mass Media, National Politics, Oligarchy, Tax and Investment Policy, Tax Law, Tax Revenues, Taxation, Technology, Wealth Inequality | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Oligarchy – Podcast December 7, 2025

Jordahl Interview – Podcast November 30, 2025

Posted on December 9, 2025 by Gary LaMaster

Woke, Cancel Culture And Tribalism. Steve Williamson and Karen McClelland welcome back Mik Jordahl to discuss the concept of Woke. Williamson begins by noting that Woke began when the great blues singer Huddie William Ledbetter (aka Lead Belly) used the term in his 1938 song “Scottsboro Boys” in which he asked people to be aware of social injustices they may face. The term gained popularity during the Civil Rights movement of the 50s and 60s and grew more popular with the Black Lives Matter movement making it a target of the political right.

Jordahl says, “It has become a real pejorative term in general, so I almost hesitate to use it because it sort of lends credence to the rightwing perspective.” He adds, “There is a twin called cancel culture, and the Republicans have honed that to a great degree.” He goes on to explain, “There is a real effort across the board to suppress speech. And people are afraid, whether it’s on the right or left, to speak their minds.”

McClellan notes that such tribalism has been used by the right to divide us in what they decry as identity politics.

Posted in Bigotry, Civil Rights, Class Conflict, Conservatives and Reactionaries, Corporations, Cultural Diversity, Digital Revolution, Domestic Extremism, Economic Policy, Education, Funding, Genocide, Government, Interviews, Jobs and Employment, LIberals and Conservatives, National Politics, Political Polarization, Race and Class, Racism, Religion, Slavery, Tolerance, Women's Issues | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Jordahl Interview – Podcast November 30, 2025

Raheb Interview – Podcast November 23, 2025

Posted on December 8, 2025 by Gary LaMaster

The Theology Of Liberation. Steve Williamson welcomes theologian Dr. Mitri Raheb, former pastor of the Christmas Lutheran Church in Bethlehem and founder and president of Dar al-Kalima University in Bethlehem.

Raheb combines liberation theology with political action. He says, “The Bible itself, which really came out of Palestine, was written in the context of occupation…a Babylonian occupation, a Greek occupation, a Roman occupation and so the theme of the Bible, the main theme is liberation because of the context of occupation. And so, the Bible itself talks about liberation in the real sense of the word, which unfortunately later became the salvation of the soul which you don’t find in the Bible at all.”

Asked about Christian Zionists who believe Israel should dominate the Holy Land, Raheb replies, “We consider Christian Zionism to be a heresy because these are people who hijack the Bible for not only political ends…they are antisemitic, too. They want to bring all of the Jews to Palestine with the intention that two-thirds of the Jews will be killed, and the last third will convert to Christianity so that Jesus will come back.”

Raheb continues, “Palestinians have been living in Palestine for the last 3,000 years, and they are the native people of Palestine. They changed maybe over time their religion.” He adds, “Palestinian Jews were always part of the Palestinian people. Our problem is not with the Jewish people. Our problem is with European Zionists who came as settler colonialists to take the land and to replace the Palestinians.”

Posted in Foreign Affairs, Genocide, Human Rights, Interviews, Israel, Journalism, Mass Media, Middle East, Palestinian/Israeli Conflict, Palestinians, Religion, Zionism | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Raheb Interview – Podcast November 23, 2025

Failures of the Democratic Party – Podcast November 16, 2025

Posted on December 1, 2025 by Gary LaMaster

Reimagining The Future Of The Democratic Party. Steve Williamson, Karen McClelland and Gary LaMaster break down what they believe are the Democratic Party’s failings that have allowed MAGA to destroy our government and put us on the path to dictatorship. In our view, the Party has become far too reactive and transactional – only communicating with voters through appeals for money and support during election season.

While it is true that the Democratic Party has made great social progress over the decades, its accomplishments have been poorly communicated. Moreover, its achievements are often incremental in nature. Too often they address the symptoms rather than the causes of our rigged economy and the pain being felt by Middle America, particularly in rural areas.

Posted in Civil Rights, Class Conflict, Climate Change, Compassion, Constitutional Issues, Corporations, Corruption, Democratic Governance, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Justice, Domestic Extremism, Economic Policy, Elections, Fiscal Policy, Government, Health Care Policy, Health Insurance, Income Inequality, Inflation, Justice System, LIberals and Conservatives, National Politics, Political History, Political Parties, Political Polarization, Public Accountability, Regulation, Supreme Court, Surveillance Programs, Taxation, Tolerance | Tagged , | Comments Off on Failures of the Democratic Party – Podcast November 16, 2025

Sommer, Mahan Interview – Podcast November 2, 2025.

Posted on November 4, 2025 by Gary LaMaster

Addressing The Mythology Of Climate Change. Karen McClelland welcomes Stefan Sommer and Erin Mahan of NAZCCA (Northern Arizona Climate Change Alliance) to discuss the impending climate crisis. Mahan is also Vice-President of Membership and Regulatory Affairs of SunSpec Alliance, a global trade association that brings renewables to the grid faster and makes interconnection possible.

Sommer begins the discussion by noting that greenhouse gas emissions from the burning of fossil fuels change the Earth’s average temperature by acting as a blanket to hold in the heat from the sun. “We’ve known this since about 1850,” he says. “The really scary thing that we now see is that the warming has accelerated. It’s hard to reverse this, but we desperately need to because we are now affecting every ecosystem on Earth. We are affecting our agricultural ecosystems. We are driving people out of their homes because they can no longer live where they once lived.”

Sommer and Mahan go on to explain that climate change can be reversed through good leadership and policies. That may be costly. But the cost is far less than the impact on health and that of rebuilding infrastructure following damage from our increasingly extreme storms and other weather events.

Posted in Agricultural Policy, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Cultural Change, Education, Energy Policy, Environment, Global Warming, Health Care, Human Rights, Immigration, Infrastructure, Infrastructure Investment, Interviews, Mass Migration, National Politics, Renewable Energy, Science, Sustainable Development, Technology | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Sommer, Mahan Interview – Podcast November 2, 2025.

Emmerich, Mock-Jones Interview – Podcast October 26, 2025

Posted on November 3, 2025 by Gary LaMaster

When Enough Is Enough. Karen McClelland welcomes Jen Emmerich and Janis Mock-Jones to discuss their community activism and the success of their recent “No Kings” march in the Village of Oak Creek.

Mock-Jones has been involved in all of the “No Kings” protests in VOC and she notes that they are getting larger each time.

Asked why they chose to get involved in the protests, Emmerich says, “I come from another place where protest is a vital part of life. And sitting here looking at the warped value system of racism, prejudice, materialism, self-aggrandizement, vulgarity, pseudo-Christianity, I’m not going to sit here and say nothing. It’s time to speak out.” She adds, “This is part of the tyranny playbook. There’s an emboldening of hate with a blatant disregard of the facts.”

As for the continuing growth of protests against the regime, Mock-Jones explains it this way, “He’s offending more and more people every day. And people are starting to realize, hey, this is going to affect me.”

For those who want to get involved, the two encourage everyone to join a local chapter of Indivisible and to get out and vote.

Posted in Arizona Politics, Autocracy, Bigotry, Civil Liberties, Civil Society, Community Activism, Elections, Government, Human Rights, Immigration, Interviews, Legal Issues, LGBTQ Issues, Local Politics, Misogyny, Morality, National Politics, Racism, Refugees | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Emmerich, Mock-Jones Interview – Podcast October 26, 2025