The State of the Union: A Study in Contrasts — Podcast January 18, 2016

Posted on January 19, 2016 by William Timberman


President Obama vs. the Republican Mud-Wrestlers: Who’s Actually Worthy of Our Trust? Democratic Perspective reviews the state of the nation, and of our national politics. President Obama, in his State of the Union address, asks the American people to take seriously the issues facing us in the coming year. The Republican candidates, predictably, respond with  hysterics — climate change is a hoax, all Muslims should be deported, the liberals want to take our guns away, repeal Obamacare now, bomb Iran now, now, now. On this Martin Luther King Day, Mike Cosentino, Gary LaMaster, and Steve Williamson try to make some sense of our real choices — not an easy task in the toxic political climate of a presidential election year.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Posted in Civil Rights, Climate Change, Conservative Paranoia, Conspiracy Theories, Cultural Change, Democratic Governance, Digital Revolution, Economic Policy, Education Policy, Elections, Energy Policy, Environmental Issues, Fiscal Policy, Foreign Policy, Global Warming, Government, Gun Control, Health Care, Industrial Policy, International Relations, International Terrorism, Iran, Islamic Republic, Labor Unions, LIberals and Conservatives, Mass Incarceration, Mass Shootings, Minimum Wage, National Politics, National Security, Podcasts, Policing, Political Lies, Political Polarization, Poverty, Propaganda, Public Education, Renewable Energy, Social Contract, Sustainable Development, Unemployment | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on The State of the Union: A Study in Contrasts — Podcast January 18, 2016

The Failure of Ideologically-Driven Public Policies: Minnesota vs. Arizona — Podcast January 11, 2016

Posted on January 13, 2016 by William Timberman


Red States and Blue States: Ideology vs. Service to the People. Democratic Perspective looks at why the ideological preoccupations of the Republican right have proven so disastrous for the people who live in red states. Mike Cosentino and Gary LaMaster compare unemployment, wealth distribution, health care and education statistics for the quintessential red state, Arizona, with those of blue state Minnesota. The results are unequivocal: effective state governments are characterized not by ideological crusades, but by a genuine concern for the welfare of their citizens.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Posted in Anti-Federalism, Arizona Budget, Arizona Economy, Arizona Politics, Democratic Governance, Economic Policy, Education Policy, Federal Lands, Government, Income Inequality, Jobs and Employment, Movement Conservatism, Podcasts, Political Theory, Private Prisons, Public Education, Public Lands, Public Policy, Special Interest Legislation, States' Rights, Tax Law, Taxation, Unemployment, Women's Rights | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on The Failure of Ideologically-Driven Public Policies: Minnesota vs. Arizona — Podcast January 11, 2016

2015: Democratic Perspective’s Year in Review — Podcast January 4, 2015

Posted on January 7, 2016 by William Timberman


The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same: Democratic Perspective’s 2015 in Review. Democratic Perspective looks back at the state of the nation in 2015, and isn’t exactly thrilled with what the record of events reveals. The prospects for 2016 don’t look a whole lot better, even with a presidential election in the offing.

From the white privilege performance art of the Bundys in Oregon to the open season on black people by increasingly militarized and politicized local police forces; from the tightening stranglehold of an apparently unprincipled oligarchy on our national politics to the struggle of displaced people to find refuge in an increasingly hostile US; from an economy still struggling to recover from the events of 2007-08 to the unprecedented collapse of oil prices, there’s much to be concerned about. And that’s not to mention a host of other unresolved issues, from the fiscal and refugee crises in the European Union to the struggle to arrive at an internationally coordinated response to accelerating climate change and global warming.

Is there any light at the end of the tunnel? Mike Cosentino, Gary LaMaster, Dick Searle, and Steve Williamson do what they can to untangle a very confusing moment in time, and to ascertain what it all might mean for what looks at this point to be an increasingly uncertain future.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Posted in Anti-Federalism, Arizona Politics, Bigotry, Capital Accumulation, Capitalism, Civil Rights, Class Conflict, Climate Change, Constitutional Issues, Corruption, Democratic Governance, Digital Revolution, Domestic Extremism, Domestic Terrorism, Economic Policy, Elections, Energy Policy, Environmental Issues, European Union, Eurozone, Federal Lands, Foreign Policy, Global Warming, Gun Control, Immigration, Income Inequality, inherited Wealth, International Terrorism, Middle East Policy, National Politics, National Security, Podcasts, Public Lands, Racism, Technology, Unemployment | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on 2015: Democratic Perspective’s Year in Review — Podcast January 4, 2015

Roger Clark Interview — Podcast December 21, 2015

Posted on December 24, 2015 by William Timberman


Preserving the Grand Canyon and Its Watershed: a Textbook Example of the Continuing Struggle Between Public and Private Interests Over the Future of Federally Protected Lands. Roger Clark, Grand Canyon Program Director of the Grand Canyon Trust, joins Democratic Perspective’s Mike Cosentino, Gary LaMaster, and Steve Williamson, for a discussion of the environmental consequences of a recent decision by U.S. District Court Judge David Campbell to deny a request by the Havasupai Tribe and a coalition of conservation groups to halt new mining by Energy Fuels, Inc. at the Canyon uranium mine.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Posted in Environmental Issues, Federal Lands, Interviews, National Politics, Podcasts, Public Lands, Public Policy | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Roger Clark Interview — Podcast December 21, 2015

The Paris Agreement: Do They Really Mean It This Time? — Podcast December 14, 2015

Posted on December 18, 2015 by William Timberman


COP21 in Paris: 196 National Governments Finally Agree On a Global Plan To Reduce Carbon Emissions. Now What? Democratic Perspective looks at the significance of the agreement in Paris by 196 national governments on a coordinated international plan to address climate change and global warming. The agreement itself is unprecedented, but in the final analysis, the plan that results from it can only be as effective as its implementation. Whether we like it or not, it may be years before we’ll be able to judge the full significance of the COP21 agreement. In the meantime, we need to keep a cautious eye on the implementation process, even as we work with everyone else in the world toward a successful outcome.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Posted in Climate Change, Environment, Environmental Issues, Environmentalism, Global Warming, Podcasts, Public Policy, Renewable Energy, Sustainable Development | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on The Paris Agreement: Do They Really Mean It This Time? — Podcast December 14, 2015

Climate Change and Local Activism — Podcast December 7, 2015

Posted on December 12, 2015 by William Timberman


The Threat of Anthropogenic Climate Change: Awareness Raising in Local Communities. Democratic Perspective welcomes three activists from Inspiration of Sedona for a discussion of actions which can bring the serious threat of fossil fuel-driven climate change to the attention of local communities. Marty Landau, Bob McCormick, and Pash Galbevy are from diverse backgrounds, but all three are committed to a single goal: to leave a planet to our posterity in as good a shape as it came to us from our ancestors.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Posted in Climate Change, Environment, Environmental Issues, Environmentalism, Global Warming, Interviews, Localist Movement, Podcasts, Public Policy, Renewable Energy, Sustainable Development | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Climate Change and Local Activism — Podcast December 7, 2015

Sam Wercinski Interview — Podcast November 30, 2015

Posted on December 1, 2015 by William Timberman


The Arizona Advocacy Network: Protecting the Voting Rights of Arizona’s Citizens. Democratic Perspective’s co-hosts Mike Cosentino and Steve Williamson talk to Sam Wercinski, Executive Director of the Arizona Advocacy Network, about the protection and extension of citizen voting rights in Arizona.

It’s a sad fact that these days there are a number of very powerful anti-democratic forces at work in Arizona, and elsewhere in the U.S., which aim at curtailing effective citizen participation in our electoral processes. Sam Wercinski lays out what the non-partisan Arizona Advocacy Network is doing to counter what dark money, cynical voter identification laws, questionable  ballot certification processes, and top-two primary schemes are doing to limit our constitutional right to  fair and impartial elections.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Posted in Arizona Politics, Campaign Finance, Citizens United, Constitutional Issues, Corruption, Dark Money, Democratic Governance, Elections, Interviews, Podcasts, Political Contributions, Political Parties, Political Polarization | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Sam Wercinski Interview — Podcast November 30, 2015

Sheila Healy Interview — Podcast November 23, 2015

Posted on November 26, 2015 by William Timberman


The Arizona Democratic Party: the Battle for the Nation’s Future. Democratic Perspective interviews Sheila Healy, new Executive Director of the Arizona Democratic Party, about the party organization in Arizona, the crucial issues facing the state and the nation, and the upcoming 2016 elections.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Posted in Arizona Politics, Elections, Interviews, National Politics, Podcasts, Political Action Committees, Political Parties, Political Polarization | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Sheila Healy Interview — Podcast November 23, 2015

The Attacks on Paris — Podcast November 16, 2015

Posted on November 17, 2015 by William Timberman


What Comes After Paris: Do The Most Recent Attacks Change Anything Significant, or Were They Simply One More Atrocity in What Will Prove To Be a Very Long Conflict? Mike Cosentino and Steve Williamson discuss the recent terrorist assaults in Paris, and their likely consequences. Was ISIS really behind them? Where did the attackers come from, and who recruited them? Who is supplying them with arms? Are the Saudis implicated? What does France do in response? Is its entire Muslim population now considered a threat to public order? Should the U.S. re-evaluate its foreign policy initiatives, or plan new military strikes in the Middle East in concert with its allies in Europe? The questions are simple enough. Unfortunately, providing meaningful answers to them is far from simple.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Posted in European Union, Intelligence Agencies, International Terrorism, Middle East, Middle East Policy, Military Policy, Podcasts | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on The Attacks on Paris — Podcast November 16, 2015

A Not-So-Magnificent Obsession: The History, Psychology, and Politics of Gun Ownership in America — Podcast November 9, 2015

Posted on November 13, 2015 by William Timberman


Unfinished Business: The Second Amendment, the NRA, the Arms Industry, and 30,000+ Shooting Deaths per Year in the U.S.: Is Anyone EVER Going to Connect These Dots?  Democratic Perspective’s Mike Cosentino, Gary LaMaster, and Steve Williamson try to make some sense of the controversy over gun ownership in the U.S. How much worse does the current outbreak of mass shootings have to get before we deal seriously with the gun fetishism of the political right?

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Posted in Anti-Federalism, Arizona Politics, Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives, Child Protection, Constitutional Issues, Criminology, Domestic Terrorism, Firearms and Explosives, Firearms Legislation, Founding Fathers, Gun Control, Law Enforcement, Podcasts, Policing, Political Polarization, States' Rights | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on A Not-So-Magnificent Obsession: The History, Psychology, and Politics of Gun Ownership in America — Podcast November 9, 2015