Naomi Klein: The Politics of the Green New Deal; plus Dahlia Lithwick on Trump’s ‘Emergency’

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Naomi Klein says the Green New Deal needs to follow the example of the New Deal of the 1930s, when nothing would have happened without “massive pressure from social movements” that “changed the calculus of what was possible.” Naomi is a contributing editor at The Nation and author of several number one bestsellers, including “This Changes Everything.”
Plus Dahlia Lithwick talks about the national challenge to Trump’s “national emergency”—the constitutional issues, the political issues, and the dangers of treating as normal his rambling, fact-free, egomaniacal performance in the Rose Garden announcing his “emergency.” Dahlia writes about the courts and the law for Slate and hosts the podcast ‘Amicus.’
2/28/19

Political Action: A Practical Guide to Movement Politics, by Michael Walzer

Introduction by Jon Wiener.  A how-to book for activists written at one of the darkest moments of the Nixon years, it remains relevant and useful today.  The book takes up the question of what we can do, what we should do, about a president who fills us with dread and rage.  “What is to be done?” is of course the classic question for leftists facing oppressive regimes and long odds.  Walzer’s book is “an invitation to commitment and participation,” to get together in groups, to argue at meetings, and then to go out and talk to people.  The book has been republished in 2019 by New York Review Books at the suggestion of some high school students in Los Angeles.

Naomi Klein: The Green New Deal Is Changing the Calculus of the Possible

JW: How would you describe the Green New Deal resolution introduced by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ed Markey?
Naomi Klein: It’s a sweeping plan to radically transform how we get energy, move ourselves around, live in cities, and grow our food; and it puts justice at the center—justice broadly defined, from racial and gender justice to making sure no worker is left behind, battling inequality at every level. It’s really about multitasking. It’s about understanding that we are in a time of multiple overlapping crises, and that we are on an incredibly tight deadline . . .
continued at TheNation.com, HERE

The Case for Universal Child Care: Katha Pollitt; plus David Klion on Bernie’s New Foreign Policy

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Medicare for All, a Green New Deal, free college tuition, a $15 minimum wage – and now it’s time to add Child care for all to the Progressive agenda. That’s Katha Pollitt’s proposal—she argues it will help huge numbers of people. (And Elizabeth Warren just made it a campaign issue of hers.)
Also: Bernie’s foreign policy: in 2016 he ran on domestic issues almost exclusively. This time around, he’s going to say more about foreign policy—a lot more. David Klion explains; he’s profiled Bernie’s foreign policy advisor, Matt Duss, for The Nation.  2/21/19

Naomi Klein: To Fight Climate Change, We Have to Radically Rethink What Is Possible; plus Dahlia Lithwick and Manuel Pastor

Listen HERE
Naomi Klein says the Green New Deal needs to follow the example of the New Deal of the 1930s, when nothing would have happened without “massive pressure from social movements” that “changed the calculus of what was possible.” Naomi is a contributing editor at The Nation and author of several number one bestsellers, including “This Changes Everything.”
Plus Dahlia Lithwick talks about the national challenge to Trump’s “national emergency”—the constitutional issues, the political issues, and the dangers of treating as normal his rambling, fact-free, egomaniacal performance in the Rose Garden announcing his “emergency.” Dahlia writes about the courts and the law for Slate and hosts the podcast ‘Amicus.’
And we’ll also look at California’s resistance to Donald Trump: Manuel Pastor will explain the past, the present, and the future of the fights over climate justice and immigration between the biggest state and the worst president. Manuel’s new book is “State of Resistance.” 2/20/19

Podcast Spotlight: “Start Making Sense”

“As the host of Start Making Sense, the weekly podcast of The Nation magazine, Jon Wiener ’66 promises “political talk without the boring parts,” and the show delivers, featuring interviews with a mix of Nation contributors and other leading journalists and experts. (Recent guests include author Naomi Klein, New Yorker staff writer Elizabeth Kolbert, and Princeton historian Sean Wilentz.). . . ”  continued at the Princeton Alumni Weekly, 2-21-19, HERE

The Green New Deal in California: David Dayen; Plus Isabel Wilkerson on ‘The Warmth of Other Suns’

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The Green New Deal in California: bad news is that the governor seems to be pessimistic about high-speed rail; meanwhile, in Los Angeles, the mayor had good news about stopping natural gas plants – David Dayen reports.
Next up, February is Black History Month in America – we revisit an interview with Pulitzer-prize winning author, Isabel Wilkerson, where she talks about her book ‘The Warmth of Other Suns’ and the great migration of Black people out of the South.  2/14/19

 

Child Care for All belongs on the Progressive Agenda: Katha Pollitt, plus David Klion on Bernie’s foreign policy and Antony Loewenstein on Afghanistan

Listen HERE
Medicare for All, a Green New Deal, free college tuition, a $15 minimum wage – and how about adding Child care for all to the Progressive agenda?  That’s Katha Pollitt’s proposal—she argues it will help huge numbers of people.
Also: Bernie’s foreign policy: in 2016 he ran on domestic issues almost exclusively. This time around, if he runs—and it looks like he will–he’s going to say more about foreign policy—a lot more. David Klion explains; he’s profiled Bernie’s foreign policy advisor, Matt Duss.
Plus: Peace in Afghanistan?  Trump says it’s close – and Antony Loewenstein says it will bring massive corruption around mining the minerals of that country—and do nothing to help local communities.  2/13/19

Trump and ‘Socialism’: Harold Meyerson, plus Manuel Pastor: Calif. vs. Trump, and Elizabeth Kolbert, Trump vs. Climate change

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Harold Meyerson of The American Prospect on the president’s State of the Union speech Tuesday night — and whether “socialism” is as big a negative for Americans as Trump thinks it is.
Also: as of October, 2018, California had filed 44 lawsuits against Trump, and more are expected for 2019. We talk with Manuel Pastor about climate, immigration and the future of California v. Trump.  His book is “State of Resistance.”
Plus Elizabeth Kolbert, Pulitzer-prize winning author of “The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History,” on Trump, climate and endangered species. 2/7/19