The Justice Department Is Phasing Out Its Use of Private Prisons: Will the States Follow Suit? — Podcast August 29, 2016

Posted on August 30, 2016 by William Timberman


Has the Justice Department Just Struck the First Significant Blow In the Battle Against Rent-Seeking In Our Correctional Systems? Democratic Perspective hosts Mike Cosentino, Gary LaMaster, and Steve Williamson review the Justice Department’s announcement that some federal contracts with private prison corporations are being phased out. This may be a small step, but it appears to be a significant one. A number of states are already reviewing their private prison contracts, and the new federal precedent may make it easier for state legislators to end, or at least curtail, private prison contracts in their states. Democratic Perspective certainly hopes that this will be the case, as Arizona in particular has suffered far too long from the profiteering, corruption, violence, and human rights abuses that have plagued private prisons everywhere.

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Posted in Arizona Law Enforcement, Arizona Politics, Corrections Policy, Corruption, Criminal Justice Reform, Justice System, Law Enforcement, National Politics, Penology, Podcasts, Private Prisons, Privatization | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on The Justice Department Is Phasing Out Its Use of Private Prisons: Will the States Follow Suit? — Podcast August 29, 2016

Nancy McCulla Interview — Podcast August 22, 2016

Posted on August 25, 2016 by William Timberman


And Now For Something Completely Different: Democratic Perspective takes a break from the craziness of our current election cycle to talk to one of our favorite non-politicians. Nancy McCulla, chef and owner of the Café Daily Fare Restaurant and Simply Delicious Full-Service Catering, has been serving up incredibly good food to the people of Northern Arizona for over 30 years. We aren’t in the restaurant guide business, but if we were, we would definitely award Café Daily Fare a full four stars.

If you want to know what it takes to run a successful small business without compromising your art or your originality, this is the show for you. If you’ve ever spent time slaving over a hot stove, let alone run a business with a highly perishable inventory, and lots of competition crowding your profit margins, you already know that it can’t be easy to make consistently satisfying food for a public with widely varying tastes, and to do it at a price most of them can afford.  If you’ve got the chops for it, though — as Nancy clearly has — cooking for people can be a rewarding way to make a living, not to mention a source of lasting delight for your customers.

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Big Data, the Internet of Things, and Artificial Intelligence: The Future of Our Discontents — Podcast August 15, 2016

Posted on August 17, 2016 by William Timberman


Are Robots Taking Our Jobs? Yes, but That May Be the Least of Our Worries: Democratic Perspective takes a long look at accelerating developments in the related fields of robotics and automation, big data and the cloud, the internet of things, and artificial intelligence. There’s a technological tsunami overtaking our familiar social, political, and economic relationships, and hardly anyone outside Silicon Valley, least of all our legislators, has any idea how to deal with the consequences.

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The National Party Platforms: Haven’t We All Been Here Before? — Podcast August 8, 2016

Posted on August 11, 2016 by William Timberman


The Democratic and Republican Party Platforms: Promises, Promises…. Democratic Perspective hosts Mike Cosentino, Gary LaMaster, and Steve Williamson take a closer look at the Democratic and Republican Party platforms. 51 and 58 pages, respectively, of wonkery, neither of which, if history is any guide, is likely to be fulfilled in its entirety. Nevertheless, as statements of intent, they do tell us a lot about the very real differences between the two parties, and what they would make of our American future should things go their way in November.

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Posted in Democratic Governance, Education Policy, Elections, Firearms Legislation, Food Insecurity, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, Global Warming, Government, Gun Control, Health Care, Health Care Delivery, Health Insurance, Immigration, Income Inequality, Industrial Policy, International Relations, Jobs and Employment, Justice System, Labor Unions, LIberals and Conservatives, National Politics, Podcasts, Political Parties, Political Polarization, Poverty, Presidential Elections, Propaganda, Public Policy, Regulatory Agencies, Social Contract, Social Security, Taxation, U.S. Budget, Unemployment, Welfare, Women's Rights | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on The National Party Platforms: Haven’t We All Been Here Before? — Podcast August 8, 2016

The Democratic Convention: A Different America — Podcast August 1, 2016

Posted on August 3, 2016 by William Timberman


The Democratic Party Holds Up Its Mirror To an America Which Isn’t Afraid, Isn’t Angry, and Isn’t All White or All Male: Democratic Perspective regulars Mike Cosentino, Gary LaMaster, and Steve Williamson review the Democrats’ vision of the American future. It’s quite a different picture than the one presented last week at the Republican convention.

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Posted in Cultural Change, Cultural Diversity, Democratic Governance, Demographic Trends, Domestic Policy, Elections, Foreign Policy, Government, LIberals and Conservatives, Misogyny, National Politics, Podcasts, Political History, Political Parties, Political Polarization, Presidential Elections | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on The Democratic Convention: A Different America — Podcast August 1, 2016

The Republican Convention: Postscriptum or Postmortem? — Podcast July 25, 2016

Posted on July 27, 2016 by William Timberman


Peak Lunacy: Trump Takes the GOP Over the Edge. Democratic Perspective commentators Gary LaMaster, Chuck Williamson and Steve Williamson review the week Republicans succumbed to the right-wing populism they’ve been exploiting for almost 40 years. Their karma has just run over their dogma, and none of them seems to have a clue how it happened.

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Posted in Bigotry, Conservative Paranoia, Conspiracy Theories, Cultural Change, Democratic Governance, Disinformation, Elections, Foreign Policy, Government, LIberals and Conservatives, Mass Media, Media Campaigns, National Security, Podcasts, Political Gaffes, Political Lies, Political Parties, Political Polarization, Presidential Elections, Propaganda, Racism, Unemployment | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on The Republican Convention: Postscriptum or Postmortem? — Podcast July 25, 2016

Tay Wiles Interview — Podcast July 18, 2016

Posted on July 21, 2016 by William Timberman


The Sagebrush Insurgency: Is the Developing Alliance Between the Land Transfer and Militia Movements in the West Increasing the Threat of Violence Against Federal Agency Employees? Tay Wiles, reporter and online editor for the High Country News, joins Democratic Perspective hosts Mike Cosentino and Steve Williamson for a discussion of the increasingly heated conflict between the miners, ranchers, and ideological conservatives supporting the movement to transfer Federal lands to state and local control, and the Federal agencies currently charged with administering them. The recent involvement of armed members of so-called citizens’ militia groups, as seen in the armed confrontation of Cliven Bundy and his fellow ranchers over federal grazing fees, and in the armed occupation by his sons of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, is worrying Federal law enforcement officials.

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Posted in Bureau of Land Management, Department of Homeland Security, Department of the Interior, Domestic Extremism, Domestic Terrorism, Environment, Environmental Issues, Federal Lands, Interviews, Law Enforcement, National Politics, Podcasts, Public Lands, U.S. Forest Service | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Tay Wiles Interview — Podcast July 18, 2016

Juan Cole Interview — Podcast July 11, 2016

Posted on July 12, 2016 by William Timberman


Syria: Such As It Is, the Logic of an Intractable Conflict. Dr. Juan Cole, Richard P. Mitchell Collegiate Professor of History at the University of Michigan, expert on Middle Eastern affairs, and author of the widely read and influential blog Informed Comment, returns again to Democratic Perspective, this time to share his insights into the seemingly interminable bloodbath in Syria. How did mass protests against a secular one-party state devolve into a sectarian war of attrition which has  killed tens of thousands — civilians as well as combatants — and displaced 40% of the country’s population? What do Saudi Arabia, Iran, Turkey, Russia and the United States expect to gain from their direct and indirect involvement in what has become  an increasingly obscure and brutal civil war? To what extent have Syrian refugees contributed to a destabilization not only of the Middle East, but potentially of the European Union itself? Professor Cole offers our interviewers some informed answers to these questions, while at the same time contributing a number of interesting policy recommendations of his own.

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Posted in European Union, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, International Relations, International Terrorism, Interviews, Iran, Islamic Republic, Middle East, Middle East Policy, Military Policy, Palestinian/Israeli Conflict, Podcasts, U.S. Armed Forces | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Juan Cole Interview — Podcast July 11, 2016

Ashley Dawson Interview — Podcast July 4, 2016

Posted on July 6, 2016 by William Timberman


Dominion Over All the Earth: Mass Extinction and the Challenge of Human Stewardship. Ashley Dawson, professor of English at the College of Staten Island, City University of New York, and author of the new book,  Extinction, a Radical History, joins Democratic Perspective regulars Mike Cosentino, Gary LaMaster, and Steve Williamson, for a discussion of the toll human exploitation has taken on Earth’s biodiversity. What does it imply for our future that in the past fifty years alone, 40% of the planet’s species have disappeared? The inescapable answer: we have to change our perspective. Simply put, the ruthless exploitation of natural resources has limits. If we refuse to acknowledge them, we may wind up without a home.

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Posted in Biodiversity, Capitalism, Climate Change, Energy Policy, Environment, Environmental Issues, Food Insecurity, Global Warming, Interviews, Jobs and Employment, Mass Extinction, Podcasts, Public Lands, Renewable Energy, Sustainable Development | Tagged , | Comments Off on Ashley Dawson Interview — Podcast July 4, 2016

Hillary Clinton and the Machinery of Republican Character Assassination — Podcast June 27, 2016

Posted on June 30, 2016 by William Timberman


Assessing Hillary Clinton’s Record: How NOT To Do it. Democratic Perspective recalls the sad history of over-the-top Republican caricatures of Hillary Clinton. How a 25-year campaign of snobbery, misogyny, and carefully crafted disinformation has altered public perceptions of what, by any honest standard, is a solid record of achievement in a viciously competitive political environment.

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Posted in Conspiracy Theories, Cultural Change, Democratic Governance, Disinformation, Elections, Foreign Policy, International Relations, Middle East Policy, Military Policy, Misogyny, National Politics, Palestinian/Israeli Conflict, Podcasts, Political Lies, Political Polarization, Presidential Elections, Scandal Mongering, Women's Issues | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Hillary Clinton and the Machinery of Republican Character Assassination — Podcast June 27, 2016