Al Franken: Is Jeff Sessions a Lying Little Weasel?

Questions for Al Franken, and answers, about Trump voters, Bernie voters, and Russians.  Our Q&A for “Start Making Sense,” The Nation’s weekly podcast, edited and condensed for print.  His new book is Al Franken: Giant of the Senate.
(His answer to the question, “Is Jeff Sessions a Lying Little Weasel?”: “That’s not how I would characterize the attorney general of the United States.”
Read HERE

Naomi Klein: No is Not Enough

It’s not enough to say “no” to Trump, Naomi Klein argues; we need to transform ourselves and our movement to bring about the change we need.  Her new book is No is Not Enough.
And we revisit our 2003 interview with Al Franken about his number one bestseller, Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them. Now he has a new number=one bestseller: Al Franken, Giant of the Senate.
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 Al Franken Versus the De-Humorizer

Al Franken talks about the dangers of humor in politics, about the voters who supported Trump, the “deep hole” Attorney General Jeff Sessions has dug for himself, and the need for a public option in health care in America.  His new book is Al Franken: Giant of the Senate.
Also: Joan Walsh comments on Donald Trump Jr.’s meeting with a Russian government representative promising dirt on Hillary: It may make him a criminal, and it certainly made him a liar.
And Ari Berman explains what the Russians did to hack voting, and what it would take to make our systems less vulnerable—and why Trump’s commission on “electoral integrity” should be disbanded.
Listen HERE

Amy Wilentz: Does Jared Kushner Know Anything About the Countries He’s Supposed to Be Doing Diplomacy With?

Q.  Jared Kushner, the most trusted man in the Trump White House, has been on page one of the Los Angeles Times recently. One story was headlined, “Nations feel cut off from the Trump White House.” What was that about?
Amy Wilentz: Trump has a problem, especially at the State Department: He has not made appointments or filled ambassadorships throughout the world. So foreign ministries don’t know how to communicate. They’re used to dealing with the desk and the ambassador from the United States, who know about their area or their specific country, and that doesn’t exist right now. So they’re calling Jared. It’s kind of frightening, because he doesn’t really know anything about these places.
… continued HERE

Trump’s voting commission fiasco: John Nichols; plus ‘Our Dishonest President” and Young voters and old socialists.

45 out of 50 of the state governments are resisting Trump’s voting commission, headed by Mike Pence and Kris Kobach – even the red states. And the five others are not complying; they simply haven’t decided yet. It’s pretty amazing — John Nichols comments, HERE.
Also: The LA Times series of editorials about Trump, titled “Our Dishonest President,” was published as a book on July 4. When they first appeared online they got more than seven million page views. Nick Goldberg, editor of the paper’s editorial pages, explains what the series argued, and why it was such a success.
Plus: young people are voting – for old socialists – in many countries. Why is that? Sarah Leonard has some answers; she wrote about it for the New York Times op-ed page.
Listen HERE

Naomi Klein: We’re all in Trump’s reality show now

Trump’s presidential reality show is nonstop, Naomi Klein says in Part 2 of our interview, HERE—and, as a result, people really die.  Naomi’s new book, No Is Not Enough, debuted at number two on the New York Times bestseller list.
Also: The Jared Report: Amy Wilentz talks about the most trusted man in the Trump White House—his real-estate holdings, his efforts to bring peace to the Middle East, and his first speech as a public official—sad!
And we revisit our 2003 interview with Al Franken about his number one bestseller, Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them. Now he has a new number-one bestseller: Al Franken, Giant of the Senate.
Listen HERE

Winning back the White Working Class from Donald Trump: Harold Meyerson

Harold Meyerson of The American Prospect proposes concrete programs to win back white working class voters who switched from Obama in 2012 to Trump in 2016–starting with infrastructure and public works programs that include rural America, where support for Trump was high.  The New Deal provides examples of how government programs like the TVA can stimulate economic growth in poor regions.
plus George Zornick of The Nation talks about the Senate Republicans’ healthcare fiasco–we call it “Trumpcare,” even though Trump probably doesn’t understand much about it.  We also talk about future of Obamacare, and single payer/Medicare-for-all coverage.
and legendary LA activist attorney Carol Sobel makes the case for the rights of homeless people–she’s sued the LAPD and the city of LA dozens of times and won many crucial victories.  She recently received a lifetime achievement award from the ACLU of Southern Califonira.
Listen HERE

 Naomi Klein: Kill the Trump Within

It’s not enough to say “no” to Trump, Naomi Klein argues on our new podcast, HERE; we need to transform ourselves and our movement to bring about the change we need.
Also: Senate Republicans postponed voting on their “health-care” bill, after the CBO revealed its terrible consequences; Zoë Carpenter comments.
And, David Cole, national legal director of the ACLU, explains the Supreme Court’s decision to hear arguments in October about Trump’s travel ban.=
Listen HERE

The Jared Report: Trump’s Most Trusted Advisor Goes to the Mideast–Amy Wilentz

Amy Wilentz talks about Jared Kushner, the most trusted man in the Trump White House, as he arrives in Israel seeking peace in the Mideast.  She reviews Jared’s history as a New York real estate maven; as publisher–and destroyer–of the New York Observer; and she comments on his first public speech as a government official, addressed to Silicon Valley tech CEOs assembled at the White House — a pathetic effort.
Also Harold Meyerson of The American Prospect comments on the fate of Trumpcare in the Senate and the implications for winning single-payer Medicare-for-all coverage; and he looks for lessons for Democrats in the defeat of Jon Ossoff for Congress in suburban Atlanta.
Plus: John Nichols of The Nation makes the case that Trump is guilty of high crimes and misdemeanors, and thus should be impeached by the House and put on trial in the Senate.
Listen HERE

Trumpcare is the Most Unpopular Legislation in History

Listen HERE
Only 17 percent of Americans approve of Republican efforts to repeal and replace Obamacare; George Zornick says maybe that explains the secrecy of Senate Republicans in drafting their bill.
Also: Why are young people voting for old socialists?  Sarah Leonard comments on the support for Bernie Sanders, Jeremy Corbyn, and similar candidates across Europe.
And Jedediah Purdy responds to critics of Henry David Thoreau and Walden, outlining the radicalism of his politics and his writing.