The Attacks on Paris — Podcast November 16, 2015


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.

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


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?

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

Sandy Bahr Interview — Podcast November 2, 2015


Conservation vs. Development: Follow the Money. Democratic Perspective welcomes Sandy Bahr, Director of the Sierra Club’s Grand Canyon (Arizona) Chapter back the program for a discussion of the threat posed by an alliance of mining interests, anti-government oligarchs, and tea-party libertarianism to natural resource and wilderness conservation in Arizona.

Posted in Arizona Politics, Environment, Interviews, Podcasts, Special Interest Legislation, Sustainable Development | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Sandy Bahr Interview — Podcast November 2, 2015

Benghazi, Benghazi, Benghazi: Was There Ever Really Any There There? — Podcast October 26th, 2015


Eight Investigations, Fifty-Plus Meetings, and More Than Fourteen Million Dollars Later, What Do We Know? Democratic Perspective’s Mike Cosentino, Gary LaMaster, and Steve Williamson report on the outcome of the Benghazi frenzy in Congress. Was there ever any point to it other than to sabotage Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign? Apparently not….

Posted in Conspiracy Theories, Corruption, Democratic Governance, Disinformation, Elections, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, Intelligence Agencies, International Terrorism, Middle East, Middle East Policy, National Politics, Podcasts, Political Polarization | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Benghazi, Benghazi, Benghazi: Was There Ever Really Any There There? — Podcast October 26th, 2015

Who Are These Lunatics, and Why Are They Running Things? The Freedom Caucus and the Demise of the Republican Party in the House — Podcast October 19, 2015


Rage, Ignorance, and Obstructionism in the House of Representatives: If Hating the Government Is the Only Qualification a Politician Needs to Get Elected to Congress, Maybe We’re in More Trouble Than We Thought. Paul Schwartz, publisher and democratic activist, pulls up a microphone and joins Democratic Perspective’s regular crew, Mike Cosentino, Gary LaMaster, and Steve Williamson, for a free-wheeling analysis of our dysfunctional House of Representatives. Manufactured debt-ceiling and Planned Parenthood controversies, government shutdown threats, and the seemingly interminable search for acceptably loony candidates for Speaker of the House, starring Paul Ryan and his godawful now-you-see-it-now-you-don’t fan dance. Why can’t these people just do their jobs already?

Posted in Anti-Federalism, Conservatives and Reactionaries, Constitutional Issues, Democratic Governance, Economic Policy, Government, LIberals and Conservatives, Movement Conservatism, National Debt Ceiling, National Politics, Podcasts, Political Polarization, Scandal Mongering, Taxes and the Deficit, U.S. Budget | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Who Are These Lunatics, and Why Are They Running Things? The Freedom Caucus and the Demise of the Republican Party in the House — Podcast October 19, 2015

Barbara Litrell Interview — Podcast October 12, 2015


Why We Can’t Have Nice Things: The Money Behind the Attacks on Keep Sedona Beautiful and the Sedona Verde Valley Red Rock National Monument Coalition. Democratic Perspective welcomes Barbara Litrell, former Sedona City Council member, and veteran Sedona community activist, for a closer look at the financial and ideological interests behind the recent attacks on Keep Sedona Beautiful and the National Monument Coalition, and a discussion of the real issue, stewardship or economic exploitation, which lies at the heart of the current controversy.

Posted in Federal Lands, Interviews, Podcasts, Public Lands, Water Policy | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Barbara Litrell Interview — Podcast October 12, 2015

Politics and the Environment: a Review — Podcast October 5, 2015


Are We There Yet? Opinions May Be Changing, But Meaningful Action Seems As Far Away As Ever, Democratic Perspective’s Mike Cosentino and Gary LaMaster look at the politics of planetary stewardship. Can the gridlock of conflicting interests be broken in time to save what’s left of a natural environment that has nurtured us throughout our long evolution as a species?

Posted in Climate Change, Cultural Change, Democratic Governance, Energy Policy, Environment, Environmental Issues, Environmentalism, Global Warming, National Politics, Podcasts | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Politics and the Environment: a Review — Podcast October 5, 2015

Eva Lee Sargent Interview — Podcast September 28, 2015


The Endangered Species Act, the Mexican Gray Wolf, and the Arizona Game and Fish Department: Yet Another Instance of Science Held Hostage by Right-Wing Ideology.  Eva Lee Sargent, Southwest Program Director for Defenders of Wildlife, joins Democratic Perspective’s Mike Cosentino, Gary LaMaster, and Steve Williamson, for a discussion of the Defenders’ programs to preserve and defend Arizona’s endangered species of wildlife, and the political barriers erected by the states’ rights extremists of the Arizona Game and Fish Department.

Posted in Anti-Federalism, Arizona Politics, Climate Change, Constitutional Issues, De-regulation, Democratic Governance, Environment, Environmental Issues, Federal Lands, Interviews, Nullification, Paul Gosar, Podcasts, Political Polarization, Public Lands, Public Policy, Regulatory Agencies, States' Rights, Sustainable Development | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Eva Lee Sargent Interview — Podcast September 28, 2015

Jan Nichols Interview — Podcast September 21, 2015


Feeding at the Public Trough: The Sleazy Economics of Charter School Scams and Ripoffs. Jan Nichols, Arizona native, retired Phoenix teacher, and education activist, joins Democratic Perspective hosts Mike Cosentino and Gary LaMaster for a discussion of charter school funding abuses — discover how and why much of the tax money earmarked for innovative projects in Arizona K-12 public education has instead been diverted to support private and religious schools, and to boost the profit margins of private education corporations with questionable connections to our state legislators.

Posted in Arizona Politics, Corruption, Education, Education Policy, Interviews, Podcasts, Privatization, Public Education, Special Interest Legislation | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Jan Nichols Interview — Podcast September 21, 2015

Sedona and the National Monument Controversy: a Closer Look — Podcast September 14, 2015


The Sedona Verde Valley Red Rock National Monument Proposal: What’s Really At Issue In the Current Controversy. Democratic Perspective looks deeper into the current flap over a National Monument designation for the Sedona area.

Posted in Federal Lands, Podcasts, Public Lands, Water Policy | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Sedona and the National Monument Controversy: a Closer Look — Podcast September 14, 2015