Trump needs at least five or six million more votes than Romney in 2012. Where can he get them? A look at longstanding patterns in American voting suggests that it’s pretty much an impossible task.
READ the piece at TheNation.com HERE
Life and Death in Gay Orlando: The Nation podcast 6/16
Listen HERE
O rlando has long been one of the most gay-friendly cities in the South—and still is, says Nadine Smith of Equality Florida. If people want to help, there’s a GoFundMe campaign to aid families and survivors.
Also: Bernie Sanders won the war of ideas in the Democratic party—what does that mean for Hillary Clinton now? Harold Meyerson comments.
And historian Adam Hochschild talks about the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, made up of American leftists who fought the fascists in the Spanish Civil War of the 1930s. His new book is Spain in Our Hearts.
David Cole conversation: “The Power of Citizen Activists to Make Constitutional Law”: ACLU event
My conversation with David Cole about his new book “Engines of Liberty: The Power of Citizen Activists to Make Constitutional Law,” sponsored by the SoCal ACLU:
June 15, 2016, 7pm Ward AME Church, 1177 West 25th St. in LA.
New Tasks for the Bernie Movement in California KPFK 6/15
Bernie’s movement in California should challenge the big money behind “moderate Democrats” in the state legislature, HAROLD MEYERSON argues.
Also: TOM LUTZ has been travelling – he talked politics in Jordan, and observed the Chinese army in Tibet – we’ll talk about his new book is Drinking Mare’s Milk on the Roof of the World. (book event Friday 7pm at Chevalier’s on Larchmont Blvd.)
Plus: politics isn’t everything – there’s also movies. we don’t have to talk about Donald Trump all the time – we can also talk with JOHN POWERS about Wong Kar Wai, the great Hong Kong filmmaker—their new book is WKW: The Cinema of Wong Kar Wai.
“Witness to the Revolution”: New York Times Book Review 6/12
The new book Witness to the Revolution: Radicals, Resisters, Vets, Hippies, and the Year America Lost Its Mind and Found Its Soul, by Clara Bingham, is an oral history of 1969-1970. It’s surprisingly moving and powerful.
Read my review HERE.
What Happened in California? The Nation podcast 6/9
Listen HERE
E erything you need to know about the California primary, where Hillary got 56% and Bernie 43%—John Nichols explains it all to producer Alan Minsky.
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Also: Andrew Cockburn of Harper’s Magazine explains how Obama’s drone “kill list” is approved—and what happens after.
Andrew’s book Kill Chain: Drones and the Rise of High-Tech Assassins is out now in paperback.
And: because politics isn’t everything, we talked about the great Hong Kong filmmaker Wong Kar Wai with John Powers—the films include “In the Mood for Love” and the cult favorite “Chunking Express.”
John is critic at large on Fresh Air with Terry Gross–his book WKW: The Cinema of Wong Kar Wai is out now.
Does Bernie’s Movement Have a Future? The Nation podcast 6/2
ernie Sanders’s campaign rallies in California have brought out more than 100,000 people—many of whom think he can win the state’s primary next week. Nicky Woolf of Guardian US has been following the campaign; he thinks they may be right.
Also: Elizabeth Warren seems to be Donald Trump’s most effective critic—and she seems to enjoy the work. Margaret Talbot of The New Yorker comments.
Plus: Can the millions of Bernie supporters become a long-lasting force in American politics? D.D. Guttenplan examines four efforts to organize progressives for the years after November 2016.
Pico Diary #3: LA Review of Books 6/2
When the circus came to Pico Blvd;
a look inside the karate studio;
and the mystery of the Pico Teriyaki House: they’re never open, but the guy is always in there.
http://blog.lareviewofbooks.org/essays/pico-diary-3/
Can Bernie Win California? KPFK 6/1
Many of Bernie’s supporters think he can win the California primary next Tuesday. Could they be right? Harold Meyerson of The American Prospect comments.
Plus: Most “independent” voters in fact have long-standing ties to one party or the other—very few swing from one party to the other between elections. Joshua Holland of The Nation has the facts.
Also: The Somali terrorism trial in Minneapolis ended today—three men in their twenties accused of conspiracy to commit murder outside of the US and providing material support for a terrorist organization. Matt Pearce of the LA Times reports on the surprising Somali community in Minneapolis.
Can the Democratic Party be United? The Nation Podcast 5/25
Listen HERE
B ernie Sanders has stopped his direct attacks on Hillary, and he’s been able to make some strong appointments to the platform committee for the Democratic National Convention. Is the unification of the party underway? Harold Meyerson explains.
Plus: Most “independent” voters in fact have long-standing ties to one party or the other—very few swing from one party to the other between elections. Joshua Holland has the facts.
And Tom Frank examines the “Hillary Doctrine,” her long-standing commitment to microfinance as the best way to help poor women around the world. It doesn’t work, he argues. Tom’s new book is Listen, Liberal!