Category Archives: Government

What We Do Know About Police Brutality Is Bad: What We Don’t Know May Be Worse — Podcast May 4, 2015

Police Violence: a Statistical Black Hole. Democratic Perspective’s Mike Cosentino, Gary LaMaster and Steve Williamson review the shocking lack of statistical information on the frequency of unprovoked police violence against a citizenry they’re sworn to protect and to serve. Our cellphone cameras have now given … Continue reading

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Terry Goddard Interview — Podcast March 2, 2015

Dark Money: How Industrialized Lying Poisons the Well of Democracy. Democratic Perspective’s Mike Cosentino and Gary LaMaster welcome Terry Goddard, former Mayor of Phoenix, Attorney General of Arizona, and twice Democratic Party candidate for Governor, to another in our series of discussions on the … Continue reading

Posted in Arizona Politics, Citizens United, Constitutional Issues, Corruption, Dark Money, Democratic Governance, Elections, Government, Interviews, Media Campaigns, National Politics, Podcasts, Political Action Committees, Political Contributions, Propaganda, Special Interest Legislation, Supreme Court | Tagged | Comments Off on Terry Goddard Interview — Podcast March 2, 2015

The Senate Select Committee’s Study of the CIA’s Detention and Interrogation Program — Podcast January 12, 2015

Is This REALLY Who We Are? How Torture Became Enhanced Interrogation, and Moral Depravity Became Official U.S. Policy: Mike Cosentino, Gary LaMaster, and Steve Williamson evaluate the 576 page summary of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence’s still unreleased Study of the Central Intelligence Agency’s … Continue reading

Posted in Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, Government, Intelligence Agencies, Military Policy, National Security, Podcasts | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on The Senate Select Committee’s Study of the CIA’s Detention and Interrogation Program — Podcast January 12, 2015

2014: Democratic Perspective’s Year in Review — Podcast December 29, 2014

Looking Back AND Forward: Democratic Perspective’s 2014 in Review. Mike Cosentino, Gary LaMaster, and Steve Williamson review the most prominent themes of Democratic Perspective’s broadcasts in 2014. From the growing inequality in income and wealth in the U.S. to dark money and phony Republican scandals in national … Continue reading

Posted in Affordable Care Act, Anti-Federalism, Anti-Gay Discrimination, Arizona Economy, Arizona Politics, Bigotry, Capital Accumulation, Capitalism, Citizens United, Civil Rights, Class Conflict, Conservatives and Reactionaries, Constitutional Issues, Corruption, Dark Money, Democratic Governance, Department of Veterans Affairs, Domestic Extremism, Economic Policy, Economic Theory, Government, Immigration, Income Inequality, Jobs and Employment, Journalism, Law Enforcement, LGBT Issues, Localist Movement, Marriage Equality, Mass Incarceration, Middle East, Middle East Policy, National Politics, National Security, Nullification, Paul Gosar, Podcasts, Political Action Committees, Political Contributions, Political Lies, Political Polarization, Racism, Scandal Mongering, Supreme Court, Unemployment, Veterans' Issues | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on 2014: Democratic Perspective’s Year in Review — Podcast December 29, 2014

President Obama and Edward Snowden: Two Perspectives On the State of the Nation — Podcast December 1, 2014

American Dream or American Nightmare? It Depends On Who You Ask: Democratic Perspective’s Mike Cosentino reflects on the story of the United States in the Twenty-First Century as told from two very different viewpoints: first, that of Laura Poitras’s film Citizenfour, about the fugitive NSA … Continue reading

Posted in Bigotry, Capitalism, Class Conflict, Constitutional Issues, Corrections Policy, Democratic Governance, Economic Policy, Financial Sector, Fiscal Policy, Foreign Policy, Government, Homeland Security, Immigration, Income Inequality, Intelligence Agencies, International Relations, Jobs and Employment, Justice System, Law Enforcement, Mass Incarceration, Military Policy, Minimum Wage, National Politics, National Security, Penology, Podcasts, Policing, Poverty, Public Education, Racism, Renewable Energy, Surveillance Programs, Unemployment | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on President Obama and Edward Snowden: Two Perspectives On the State of the Nation — Podcast December 1, 2014

General Election 2014: a Review of the Candidates — Podcast September 29, 2014

Who’s Running For What, and Why You Should Care: a Review.  Gary LaMaster and Steve Williamson take a look at the candidates for Governor, Secretary of State, Attorney General, and the Corporation Commission in Arizona, as well as the candidates for U.S. House … Continue reading

Posted in Arizona Politics, Dark Money, Democratic Governance, Elections, Energy Policy, Federal Lands, Government, Podcasts, Political Action Committees, Public Education, Public Lands | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on General Election 2014: a Review of the Candidates — Podcast September 29, 2014

Terry Goddard Interview — Podcast September 22, 2014

Making Democracy Work In Arizona: Terry Goddard for Secretary of State.  Having served as Mayor of Phoenix from 1983-1990, and as the state’s Attorney General from 2002-2010, Terry Goddard is well-known to the citizens of Arizona as an effective executive, a courageous … Continue reading

Posted in Arizona Economy, Arizona Politics, Campaign Finance, Dark Money, Democratic Governance, Elections, Government, Interviews, Podcasts, Political Action Committees, Political Contributions | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Terry Goddard Interview — Podcast September 22, 2014

Juan Cole Interview — Podcast September 8, 2014

Whatever Happened to the Arab Spring? Professor Juan Cole on the Continuing Aspirations of the Millennial Generation in the Middle East: Dr. Juan Cole, Richard P. Mitchell Collegiate Professor of History at the University of Michigan, expert on Middle Eastern affairs, and … Continue reading

Posted in Democratic Governance, Demographic Trends, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, Government, International Relations, Interviews, Middle East, Middle East Policy, Military Policy, Palestinian/Israeli Conflict, Podcasts, Political Polarization | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Juan Cole Interview — Podcast September 8, 2014

Michael Austin Interview — Podcast July 21, 2014

The U.S. Constitution: Holy Writ, Or a Framework for Democratic Governance? Professor Michael Austin, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Newman University in Wichita, Kansas, returns to Democratic Perspective to continue his earlier discussions with Mike Cosentino, Gary LaMaster and Steve Williamson on … Continue reading

Posted in Constitutional Issues, Democratic Governance, Founding Fathers, Government, Interviews, Legal Issues, National Politics, Podcasts | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Michael Austin Interview — Podcast July 21, 2014

Capital Punishment: Justice or Revenge? — Podcast June 2, 2014

The Death Penalty: Cruel, Unjust, and Irreversible. There is ample evidence that the U.S. has executed innocent people, and continues to do so. There is also considerable evidence that the death penalty is disproportionately applied to the poor and to minorities, yet many people … Continue reading

Posted in Arizona Law Enforcement, Arizona Politics, Capital Punishment, Constitutional Issues, Corrections Policy, Government, Law Enforcement, Legal Issues, National Politics, Penology, Podcasts, U.S. Court System | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Capital Punishment: Justice or Revenge? — Podcast June 2, 2014