Dr. Linwood Tauheed, associate professor of economics at the University of Missouri - Kansas City, joins us to discuss the latest congressional effort to address the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. There is both celebration and angst as the bill heads to the president for his signature. The process included major fights with progressive activists over their signature policies, including a minimum wage increase and recurring payments to citizens. The bill also has significant temporary changes to child tax credits.
Ted Rall, a political cartoonist and syndicated columnist, joins us to discuss New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. The odds of the embattled New York Governor surviving are decreasing day by day, as a sixth woman has come forward with a complaint of sexually inappropriate conduct. A woman claimed that she was summoned to the governor's mansion for a work-related issue when Cuomo touched her in a manner that she deemed inappropriate. Her complaints have been referred to the New York Attorney General along with the other five complaints.
Scott Ritter, former UN weapon inspector in Iraq, joins us to discuss the militaristic policy push that is coming from the US Congress. A bipartisan group of 140 members of Congress has authored a letter urging President Biden to abandon the Iran nuclear deal and push for a more extensive agreement. The suggestion will effectively mean ending the JCPOA since Iran has already stated that they will not accept any changes to the agreement.
Dr. Johanna Fernandez, assistant associate professor of history at Baruch College and author of "The Young Lords: A Radical History on the Puerto Rican Counterpart of the Black Panther Party," joins us to discuss Mumia Abu-Jamal. Reports are that Mr. Abu-Jemal is in poor health and currently suffering from COVID in a Pennsylvania detention facility. Mumia's health situation has brought up the issue of whether prisoners should be released early to counter the spread of COVID in detention facilities.
Mark Sleboda, Moscow-based international relations security analyst, joins us to discuss the foreign policy outlook for the Biden administration. Immediately after taking office President Biden proclaimed that “Diplomacy is back at the center of our foreign policy, we must start with diplomacy." Four weeks into Biden's presidency, author Stephen Kinzer argues that "The president has disappointed those who hoped he would begin extricating us from the Middle East." Kinzer goes on to say that Biden's recent bombing of Syria will perpetuate the violence that is created simply by the presence of our troops.
Dan Lazare, investigative journalist and author of America's Undeclared War, joins us to discuss Iran. Progressive activists and politicians are losing patience with President Biden's Iran policy. Biden promised to return to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action developed by the Obama administration while on the campaign trail. Now that he has taken office, the President is pushing for changes to the agreement that will almost assuredly doom the deal.
Caleb Maupin, journalist and political analyst, joins us to discuss American Exceptionalism. Peter Beinart has a substack article about the absurdity and folly of American Exceptionalism. Beinart recalls a recent conversation in which US State Department spokesman Ned Price responded to reasonable questions with evasion and gibberish. Beinart points out that Price was speaking the language of American Exceptionalism. He says that "The essence of American exceptionalism is that the United States possesses a virtue so intrinsic that it cannot be falsified by events."
Dr. Gerald Horne, professor of History at the University of Houston, TX, author, historian, and researcher, joins us to discuss the Senate filibuster, as well as action for unionization by Amazon employees. House legislation aimed at addressing the company's attempts at busting unions passed overwhelmingly, with only one partisan defection from the Democratic party. The legislation comes during a closely-watched struggle between Amazon employees and the online behemoth in Bessemer, Alabama. Meanwhile, activists in favor of ending the filibuster argue that this legislation is doomed to die at the hands of a GOP filibuster and that this instance is a perfect example of why the filibuster needs to be ended.
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