Today you'll hear exposed as a falsehood the pervasive myth -- pushed hardest by the right-wing -- that there is great economic mobility in the United States. You'll see that the real picture is not so pretty.The conventional political wisdom has always been, the public doesn't care much about income and wealth inequality, because of the widely shared belief that everyone has a shot at becoming
Jan 10, 2008
Today we'll review what the right-wing was up to in 2007, as you heard it on Blast The Right. Plus, I'll have some updates for you.Usually this podcast covers one or two topics in depth. Today you'll hear a summation of over 40 podcasts, so the pace will be brisk.In order to get a handle on this year's subjects, I grouped the podcasts by subject matter, and that's how I'll go through them. You
Dec 27, 2007
Today you'll hear how extreme right-wing policies of the United States literally cause starvation and death in the Third World.And, I'll show you the link between this unfortunate situation, and two hot button front page issues in the US, health care, and the occupation of Iraq. The microcosm will be Malawi, where right-wingers in the US and international financial institutions insisted that the
Dec 13, 2007
Today you'll hear a whirlwind tour of my thoughts on right-wing Christians, especially on how to effectively debate them.The centerpiece of this week's show is my Equivalent Alternative Solutions challenge. Right-wing Christians, from the roots of their right-wing ideology to the fruits of their policies, violate the most fundamental of the teachings of Jesus regarding how we're to interact with
Nov 29, 2007
Today you'll hear all about the true bottom line when it comes to the right-wing.As part of this, you'll hear some breathtaking clips of Franklin Delano Roosevelt condemning the right-wingers of his time.A preview:One of my favorite quotes of all-time is from John Kenneth Galbraith: The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a
Nov 15, 2007
Today we'll revisit the troubling issue of the right-wing's continuing obsession with torturing people. The pro-torture "enhanced interrogation" crowd is in some pretty ugly historical company: the Inquisition, Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union, Pol Pot. The second segment, in a departure from the usual, will be about...me! You'll learn my real name, and more.(PS: Right-wingers, if you want to
Nov 01, 2007
A headline early this past summer said it all:Young Americans Are Leaning Left, New Poll FindsA few tidbits:Pew Research found that since Reagan the percentage of young adults calling themselves Republicans has declined from 55 to 35%. That loses out to young Democrats, who now account for 48% of young adults.On specific issues:While 47% of the public would support a "universal,
Oct 18, 2007
What do antifreeze in toothpaste, lead paint on toys, and Bush's veto of health insurance for children have in common? They're three more examples in the headlines recently of how right-wing policies increase human misery, suffering, pain and death.Also, you'll hear Fox news amping up the propaganda for war with Iran.Plus some good news: the right falters in its attempt at a California elections
Oct 04, 2007
Mainstream poll after mainstream poll has consistently shown solid majorities of your fellow citizens -- often 2/3 or more -- endorse all of these progressive positions:--the government should provide more, not less services--the government should take care of those who can't take care of themselves--the government should guarantee health care for every American--the distribution of wealth in
Sep 20, 2007
In today's podcast you'll see beyond a shadow of a doubt that we progressives are not the fringe, the right-wing is. You'll hear how our progressive views are indisputably shared by the majority of Americans. This will be, in sum, a cheer yourself up podcast. Smile, Mr. or Ms. Progressive, you're not on candid camera, but you still have reason to smile.Perhaps the most daunting right-wing myth of
Sep 06, 2007
A slight change of pace today. Instead of one long segment, we'll discuss two topics. First up, debunking some of the latest right-wing talking points against universal health care, including the lies that we already have the best health care system in the world, and that universal health care leads to long waiting times for treatment.One of the Blast The Right rules of thumb is, whatever a
Aug 24, 2007
Today we're going to hear from some conservatives who have banded together to stop Bush's power grab. You heard me correctly, conservatives.You'll get an overabundance of ammo to use when next you have the pleasure of engaging in conversation, a right-winger who hasn't yet been enlightened by these conservative brethren of his.There's been increasing talk lately of impeaching Bush and Cheney.
Aug 10, 2007
Today the focus is on health.I'll tell you how gag orders and censorship seem to be the preferred right-wing prescription for improving the health of the American public.It all relates to recent revelations by Bush's former Surgeon General.Dr. Richard H. Carmona recently testified before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee that he felt his duty as surgeon general was to address
Jul 26, 2007
Today I'm going to discuss with you the recent controversy over Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's not renewing the broadcast license of a television station in that country.All nations license the right to use their public airwaves, since the demand for use of the airwaves far outstrips the supply. In the US the Federal Communications Commission performs this function, granting terms of 8 years.
Jul 13, 2007
Today we're going to come back to an issue we last discussed in depth over a year ago, immigration. We'll examine several aspects of this most contentious subject, and I'll present a way of looking at the situation you may not have heard before. In short, I'll tell you why, it's not about amnesty--it's about keeping our part of the bargain.Included will be some clips of right-wingers that will
Jun 28, 2007
Today we're going to discuss yet another example of GOP racism: their recent attempts to disenfranchise African-American voters.The modern day Republican Party is not the party of Lincoln. Quite the opposite.Modern day Republicans don't walk around in Ku Klux Klan robes. But the GOP has engaged in a decades-old and still ongoing massive and intense effort to prevent African Americans from voting.
Jun 21, 2007
Today we're going to show how the right-wing is playing directly out of the Soviet Union playbook.That should be something to throw in their face, huh?Nothing, probably not even the Iraq War itself, has soured world opinion on the United States, as much as the Bush administration's embrace of torture.Actually, something probably has: the Bush administration's denial of that embrace, and its
Jun 14, 2007
Today we'll follow up on an earlier podcast about how the Bush administration is putting you at risk on the roads, in the area of safety regulations applicable to truck driversThe listener comments we'll go over will provide yet more evidence that putting profit before the public good, is the right-wing way.Safety group and insurance industry research shows thatAfter 8 hours of consecutive
Jun 07, 2007
A change of pace today. Not a lot of numerical stats and percentages, but some political and moral theory.We'll delve into three interrelated subjects: --the value of charity--right-wing charity vs. the consequences of their public policies, and--liberal vs. progressive prescriptions for a better world.My friend Jeff from gopexposed.com left a comment a while back containing a couple of points.
May 31, 2007
Today we're going to discuss another major step towards achieving economic and social justice in Venezuela: no-nonsense land reform that allows malnourished, hungry people to grow food to feed themselves and their families. And, we'll learn what it really takes to be in solidarity with the Third World poor. Taking back the fertile farmland in Venezuela from the multinationals and the local elites
May 24, 2007
Maryland has passed the first statewide living wage statute.Under the law, employers with state contracts will generally have to pay workers a minimum amount — $11.30 an hour in the Baltimore-Washington corridor and $8.50 an hour in the rural counties, where wages and prices are usually lower.Among those workers mostly likely to be lifted above the poverty line by this measure are those who work
May 17, 2007
Today, we're going to discuss another example of the right-wing letting their ideology trump science, and in the process, increase human misery, suffering, pain and death.It concerns...microwave popcorn, of all things. You wouldn't think manufacturing popcorn would be a dangerous job, that could severely injure, or even kill you. Well, think again.And what about you, eating that popcorn? Has the
May 10, 2007
Today, I have great news for you. New polling data gives you and me some really heavy-duty ammo to fight back against a particular type of name-calling by the right, that some of us have endured for decades.It all relates to wealth distribution in America.Here are the three main pieces of ordnance, which come in the form of the conclusions of a recent Gallup poll:A large majority of Americans
May 03, 2007
Today, we'll listen to Bill O'Reilly explain to us why world public opinion opposes the Bush administration's foreign policy. The reason is…. Rosie O'Donnell.O'Reilly's propaganda is part of a concerted effort by the right-wing fog machine to divert attention from the disaster in Iraq, and pin the blame elsewhere.You're going to laugh and shake your head in disbelief. Maybe it will also make you
Apr 26, 2007
Today we're going to discuss an incredibly immoral way to make huge sums of money: vulture funds which prey on destitute Third World nations. As you might imagine, there's a strong right-wing connection.First I'll give you an overview of the vulture fund process. Next we'll go over some specific examples of vulture funds in action. Finally we'll discuss the right-wing connection to all this,
Apr 19, 2007
As a general rule of thumb, everything right-wingers do is designed to accomplish one of two goals: either (a) transfer wealth to the already-rich from everyone else, or (b) distract everyone else from the fact that (a) is occurring. As far as (a), transfer wealth to the rich from everyone else, the right-wingers are succeeding probably beyond even their wildest expectations.Figures just released
Apr 12, 2007
Today we're going to hear a progressive Third World leader in his own voice. Throughout Latin America, the impoverished masses, who sometimes constitute on outright majority of their nations' populations, are rising up and electing progressive leaders. These progressive leaders promise to rule in the interests of the majority, not a small elite super-wealthy group at the top. And that's just what
Apr 05, 2007
George Bush ran for President as a "compassionate conservative." Yet his proposed federal budget belies that claim. Bush would slash programs that provide critical assistance to our most vulnerable citizens, including children and the elderly. At the same time, Bush proposes tax breaks for the richest 1% among us. And Bush's bloated Pentagon budget seems to serve no purpose but to enrich his
Mar 29, 2007
U.S. government pre-war planning documents stated that the new Iraqi government would have to privatize its oil industry. The Iraq Study Group said the same thing after the war.The new Iraqi oil law just unveiled would do just that:A new oil law set to go before the Iraqi Parliament this month would, if passed...transform Iraq’s oil industry from a nationalized model closed to American oil
Mar 22, 2007
Bruce Fein, a conservative scholar who's none too happy with George Bush, makes these three points in the concluding part of our interview:1. the threat level from terrorism is not insignificant, but nowhere near the threat levels we faced in WWII or the Cold War; 2. civil liberties violations are clearly not justified by any such honest evaluation of the threat level; and 3. the civil liberties
Mar 15, 2007
