Is it ‘Treason’ Not to Clap for the President? Joan Walsh, plus Nomi Prins on financial deregulation and Ann Jones on Norwegians

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In a speech in Ohio on Monday, Trump said it was “treason” for the Democrats not to applaud him during his State of the Union speech. Tuesday, his spokesperson said he was just kidding. Joan Walsh says it’s not treason—and he wasn’t kidding. Maybe he was just diverting attention from another issue: What happens if Trump refuses to meet with special prosecutor Robert Mueller?
Also, here comes the next financial crisis: maybe not this week, but eventually—and Republican deregulation, undermining the institutions designed to protect us, will make it much worse. Nomi Prins explains.
Plus: Remember when Trump said we should get fewer immigrants from “shithole countries,” and more from places like Norway? Ann Jones lived in Norway for four years; she explains what Norwegians might bring to the United States if they did come: a commitment to equality in health care, education, and a dozen other necessities. 2/7/18

The whiteness of Trump’s working class supporters: Gary Younge; plus Amy Wilentz on Ivana

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Gary Younge traveled from Maine to Mississippi interviewing Trump’s white working-class supporters. He found anxiety, pain, and a loss of hope. For many, he concludes, “Whiteness is all they’ve got.”
Plus, Amy Wilentz talks about Ivana Trump’s new memoir, ‘Raising Trump’—stories about Don Jr., Ivanka, and little Eric, and their mom and dad. It’s like a reality show about “Real Housewives of Trump Tower.”

Jill Lepore conversation: “Who is the ‘We’ in “We the People?” UC Irvine

Panel with New Yorker writer and Harvard historian Jill Lepore, Harvard Law Professor and MacArthur Genius Annette Gordon-Reed, Bancroft Prize winner and Princeton Professor Sean Wilentz, and local hero and LA Times columnist Gustavo Arellano.  Opening session of conference on “American Identity and the Ideal of Democracy in the 21st Century,” organized by Amy Wilentz.  Feb. 9, 2018,
more info HERE

Was There Anything Actually True in Trump’s State of the Union? Harold Meyerson on Trump, and Meehan Crist and Tim Requarth on phony forensics.

Trump’s Teleprompter reading of his State of the Union speech was reprehensible in so many ways—why bother listening at all? Don’t we already know enough about him? Harold Meyerson of The American Prospect comments on the lies, and the inadvertent truths, in the president’s speech.
Plus, injustice in America: It’s not just the police, it’s also the prosecutors—and their reliance on “forensics”—who create much of the injustice in the American justice system. Despite the portrayal on TV of forensic analysts on the show CSI as crime-solving seekers of truth, prominent scientists, and criminal-justice experts have questioned whether suspects can really be identified by forensic techniques like matching bite marks, hairs, shoe prints, tire tracks, or even fingerprints. According to the Innocence Project, faulty forensic science is a factor in nearly 50 percent of wrongful convictions. Meehan Crist and Tim Requarth explain in their Nation cover story, “The Crisis of American Forensics.”
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Women Run Against Trump: John Nichols, plus Alfred McCoy on Fortress America

Trump’s not on the ballot this year, but that’s not stopping Democratic women from running against him in races across the country. John Nichols reports on recent Democratic victories where female candidates in special elections in state races flipped formerly Republican seats—they show how to do it in the mid-term elections in November.
Also: Fortress America is crumbling—the rise of China started long before Trump, but he’s alienated allies and abandoned alliances in a way that may now make the process irreversible. Alfred McCoy explains.
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Women Show How to Run, & Win, Against Trump’s GOP: John Nichols, plus Alfred McCoy on Fortress America & the Rev. William Barber on white nationalism

Trump’s not on the ballot this year, but that’s not stopping Democratic women from running against him in races across the country. John Nichols reports on recent Democratic victories where female candidates in special elections in state races flipped formerly Republican seats.
Also: Fortress America is crumbling—the rise of China started long before Trump, but he’s alienated allies and abandoned alliances in a way that may now make the process irreversible. Alfred McCoy explains.
And the Rev. Dr. William J. Barber talks about white nationalism, patriotism, and Donald Trump—he’s the architect of the Forward Together Moral Monday Movement, president of the North Carolina NAACP and pastor of the Greenleaf Christian Church in Goldsboro, North Carolina.
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How Trump Revived Feminism: Katha Pollitt; plus David Bromwich on Trump’s Ruling Passions

Since Trump took office a year ago, Katha Pollitt says, women have been unleashing decades of pent-up anger: starting with the Women’s March, then in some amazing political victories, and in the #MeToo movement. But Trump has also shown how terrible the loss of the White House has been.
Also: David Bromwich says there are no surprises with Trump: he’s been the same for decades, a “wounded monster” with a history of racism and a contempt for people he considers “losers.” But defeating him requires more than an issue—it has to be a cause.
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California Fights Trump: Harold Meyerson; plus Father Greg Boyle on Working with Ex-Gang Members

Trump has targeted California, the biggest blue state, with his tax and immigration policies, but the state has been resisting—and some vulnerable Republican House members have been withdrawing from their reelection races. Harold Meyerson of The American Prospect comments.
Plus: Father Greg Boyle of Los Angeles talks about his amazing work with former gang members—he’s the founder and head of Homeboy Industries, the biggest and best job training and reentry program in America for previously incarcerated men and women. His new book is Barking to the Choir.
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How Trump Brought Feminism Back With a Vengeance: Katha Pollitt, plus Bob Dreyfuss on Russiagate and David Bromwich on Trump’s ruling passions

Since Trump took office a year ago, Katha Pollitt says, women have been unleashing decades of pent-up anger: starting with the Women’s March, then in some amazing political victories, and in the #MeToo movement. But Trump has also shown how terrible the loss of the White House has been.
Also: David Bromwich says there are no surprises with Trump: he’s been the same for decades, a “wounded monster” with a history of racism and a contempt for people he considers “losers.”But defeating him requires more than an issue—it has to be a cause.
And Bob Dreyfuss explains the secrets behind the creation of the Trump-Russia dossier assembled by Christopher Steele and Fusion GPS—as revealed in congressional testimony released last week by Diane Feinstein, against the wishes of the Republicans.
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Should Celebrities Really Run For President? John Nichols on Oprah, Harold Meyerson on California’s resistance to Trump, and Father Greg Boyle on ex-gang members

John Nichols points out the problems with a celebrity like Oprah running for president—and serving as president; he also analyzes the real significance of Michael Wolff’s new book Fire and Fury, and of Trump’s attempt to stop its publication.
Also: Trump has targeted California, the biggest blue state, with his tax and immigration policies, but the state has been resisting—and some vulnerable Republican House members have been withdrawing from their reelection races. Harold Meyerson of The American Prospect comments.
Plus: Father Greg Boyle of Los Angeles talks about his amazing work with former gang members—he’s the founder and head of Homeboy Industries, the biggest and best job training and reentry program in America for previously incarcerated men and women. His new book is Barking to the Choir.
Listen HERE