GRITtv with Laura Flanders

GRITtv: Spelling Sustainability: Brower Youth Awards

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 23:16:30 +0000

The Earth Island Institute created the annual Brower Youth Awards to honor six young people for their outstanding activism and achievements in the fields of environmental and social justice advocacy. Each winner is awarded $3000 and brought to San Francisco for the award week and a backcountry camping trip. Adarsha Shivakumar used his proceeds from winning a spelling bee to co-found a project growing sustainable jatropha, a plant that can be used as biofuel, in India. His work provides an ecologically friendly and economically profitable crop for farmers who would otherwise grow tobacco, a much more harmful plant. This video from Rikshaw Films shows the impact Adarsha and his project have had around the world.

GRITtv: Books with Grit: Responding to National Book Awards

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 23:15:32 +0000

The National Book Awards were announced this week; Colum McCann was honored for his fiction work Let the Great World Spin: A Novel, and T.J. Stiles' biography of Cornelius Vanderbilt won the nonfiction prize. Dave Eggers, author of Laura's book of the year, Zeitoun, received this year's Literarian Award. In honor of the book awards, today on GRITtv we discuss other books we loved. From a biography of progressive icon Molly Ivins to Tracy Kidder's tale of a young medical student from Burundi, Jeannie Vanasco of Lapham's Quarterly, Julian Brookes of the Progressive Book Club and Sir Harold Evans, of The Week magazine and former president and publisher of Random House trade group, talk about the books that they think deserve more recognition. Which books impressed you this year? Leave them in comments or email to grittv@grittv.org and maybe we'll discuss them on the air.

GRITtv: Salvador Reza: Fighting Sheriff Joe

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 23:13:21 +0000

Sheriff Joe Arpaio is a household name for all the wrong reasons. Known for accusations of racial profiling and immigration raids in Maricopa County, Arizona, Arpaio is held up as a hero by anti-immigrant groups but has created a climate of fear in his state, where the Latino community is afraid to call the police for common complaints for fear of deportation. Recently stripped of his federal authority to make immigration arrests, Arpaio continues to conduct raids and appears not to fear repercussions. Salvador Reza, U.S. Air Force veteran, community organizer and renowned immigrants rights activist, joins Laura for an exclusive interview on Arpaio's ongoing mistreatment of his community. Reza notes that the Obama administration, specifically Homeland Security secretary and former Arizona governor Janet Napolitano, have mostly made symbolic moves to control Arpaio, but in practice allow him to do whatever he wants. Going forward toward immigration reform, Reza calls for nationwide action. Thanks to Dennis Gilman for the video footage in this segment.

GRITtv: Veterans Speak Out on Afghanistan

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 23:12:02 +0000

On Tuesday, John Nichols told us that the dire jobs situation in the U.S. has had an effect on the debate surrounding escalation in Afghanistan, and that the administration is actually meeting with peace groups for the first time to discuss alternate plans. Brave New Films has been a tireless advocate against escalation, with the film Rethink Afghanistan exploring the problems there and proposing peaceful and diplomatic solutions and a responsible exit strategy. With this video, they bring together U.S. military veterans, including Matthew Hoh, to ask Obama not to send more troops to continue a war that is on its way to being America's longest in history.

GRITtv: My Community is my Downfall

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 23:11:40 +0000

According to New America Media, "federal experts estimate that at least 1.6 million juveniles leave or are put out of their homes each year. Other research has found a 40% spike in the number of homeless youth over the past year." One young woman tells her story of being homeless in San Francisco, shuttling back and forth from her mother's and sister's houses. She feels drawn to her community, but also realizes that she needs to get out, that she gets into trouble over and over again.

GRITtv: The F Word: Man-Made Disaster in New Orleans

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 23:11:27 +0000

Hurricane Katrina is often referred to as a natural disaster as if it was all nature's fault. Not man's. The reality of course is that federal, state and local governments ignored warnings from scientists for years, both that climate change would lead to increased storm activity, and that destruction of wetlands outside of New Orleans had hurt the city's natural defenses against a storm surge. Calls for fixing levees and infrastructure investments went unheeded while the doctrine of markets and profits held sway. Well, this week a federal district judge finally ruled that the Army Corps of Engineers was indeed responsible for part of the devastation in New Orleans' Lower Ninth Ward and parts of St. Bernard Parish. The failure of the Corps to recognize the hazards wetland destruction had created was "clearly negligent on the part of the Corps," said U.S. District Judge Stanwood Duval Jr.. "Furthermore, the Corps not only knew, but admitted by 1988" the threats to human life ... And yet it did not act in time to prevent the catastrophic disaster that ensued." In this decision alone the government could wind up paying $700,000 in damages -- doesn't sound like enough. More importantly, though, the ruling could open the gates to judgments that could reach into the billions. No judgment of course will bring back the Ninth Ward, which years after Katrina and Rita is still largely a ghost town. But this acknowledgment that the destruction didn't have to happen is important. Long neglect of federal infrastructure by governments more concerned with tax cuts than human safety... It's not a phenomenon limited to New Orleans. By way of reparations, how about not just $700,000 to the plaintiffs but a recommitment to federal infrastructure spending. You want national security? Stimulus? Jobs? That's it, and this is the time. The F Word is a regular commentary by Laura Flanders, the host of GRITtv which broadcasts weekdays on satellite TV (Dish Network Ch. 9415 Free Speech TV) on cable, and online at GRITtv.org and TheNation.com. Follow GRITtv or GRITlaura on Twitter.com.

GRITtv: And Out Come The Wolves

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 23:11:20 +0000

One of the many things that angered people about Sarah Palin was her support for aerial hunting of wolves. In honor of the release of Palin's book (and Nation editors Betsy Reed and Richard Kim's response book, Going Rouge), our Got Docs feature this week is Return to the Wild: A Modern Tale of Wolf and Man from MoFilms. Wolves have been around for ages, and the myths and stereotypes about them have been around almost as long. Laws that protected the wolves have led to an increase in their population, but that has brought them into contact with more people who aren't used to predators in their midst. This documentary takes a look at the ways people and wolves can and do coexist, as well as the conflicts that inevitably arise.

GRITtv: November 19, 2009

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 22:53:01 +0000

Maricopa County, Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio was recently stripped of his federal authority to make immigration arrests after repeated complaints that he abuses power and uses racial profiling to target Latinos in his community. Salvador Reza, U.S. Air Force veteran, community organizer and renowned immigrants rights activist, joins Laura for an exclusive interview on Arpaio's ongoing abuses.

Dennis Gilman brought us video footage from an Arpaio raid and from protests in Arizona, where white supremacist groups showed up to support Arpaio's policies.

GRITtv: Imagining Radical Change with David Harvey & Alexander Cockburn

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 23:09:48 +0000

The word "Change" has been used so much lately that it often seems almost meaningless. What's change really? Is it having Barack Obama in the White House, talking about withdrawing from Iraq, a stimulus bill that spends some federal dollars on infrastructure? David Harvey, author of A Brief History of Neoliberalism, and Alexander Cockburn, author of End Times: The Death of the Fourth Estate, don't think small when it comes to change. They aren't afraid to think about significant, even radical changes to the social order we've grown so used to, whether it's requiring full employment, reimagining urban living, or repudiating credit card debt and abolishing Wall Street speculation. Cockburn and Harvey joined Laura for an event at CUNY's Center for Place, Culture & Politics, and we bring you part of that discussion today.

GRITtv: Moving Forward from Maine

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 23:07:22 +0000

Yesterday, we looked at the Maine Equality campaign leading up to the election, watching volunteers from around the country working to help Mainers keep the marriage rights granted by the state legislature. In the second half of this video, from Chase Whiteside and Erick Stoll of New Left Media, we see election day go from elation to heartbreak as Maine voted, by a thin majority, to revoke marriage rights from gay and lesbian couples. Reactions from volunteers range from defiant to determined, discussing accountability--from national organizations, politicians, and especially President Obama and the DNC, who ignored the No On One campaign.

GRITtv: A Heartbeat and a Guitar: Antonino D'Ambrosio on Johnny Cash

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 23:05:38 +0000

Johnny Cash isn't necessarily the first person to come to mind when one thinks about 60s protest music. Yet in his new book, A Heartbeat and a Guitar: Johnny Cash and the Making of Bitter Tears, Antonino D'Ambrosio connects Cash to the tradition of folk and political music in America, from Woody Guthrie to Pete Seeger to Bob Dylan and the 60s scene. At the peak of his fame, just after "Ring of Fire," Cash cut a record of songs about the Native American experience, many written by the now-forgotten songwriter Peter La Farge. D'Ambrosio joined us in the GRITtv studio to talk about the history of protest music, the myth of Johnny Cash, and why music is one of the best ways to carry a progressive message. Then, in a special performance, he was joined by Anthony Roman and David Milone of the band Radio 4 to perform Cash's song "Apache Tears" live.

GRITtv: November 18, 2009

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 22:47:40 +0000

What are the alternatives to the way we live? Since last fall's financial collapse, we've heard more honest discussion about capitalism's failings than in years. Yet real change is still hard to find. Wall Street is still handing out bonuses, we're still at war, and even Guantanamo might not actually be closed by the deadline Obama set upon taking office. As Americans question whether change is possible in an election cycle, we stop and think about what an alternative social order would look like.

David Harvey, author of A Brief History of Neoliberalism, and Alexander Cockburn, author of End Times: The Death of the Fourth Estate, don't think small when it comes to change. They aren't afraid to think about significant, even radical changes to the social order we've grown so used to, whether it's requiring full employment, reimagining urban living, or repudiating credit card debt and abolishing Wall Street speculation. Cockburn and Harvey joined Laura for an event at CUNY's Center for Place, Culture & Politics, and we bring you part of that discussion today.

Johnny Cash is an American icon, but one rarely discussed when one talks about protest music or thoughts of change. Yet in his new book, A Heartbeat and a Guitar: Johnny Cash and the Making of Bitter Tears, Antonino D'Ambrosio connects Cash to the tradition of folk and political music in America, from Woody Guthrie to Pete Seeger to Bob Dylan and the 60s scene. At the peak of his fame, just after "Ring of Fire," Cash cut a record of songs about the Native American experience, many written by the now-forgotten songwriter Peter La Farge.

D'Ambrosio joined us in the GRITtv studio to talk about the history of protest music, the myth of Johnny Cash, and why music is one of the best ways to carry a progressive message.

GRITtv: Slap on Wrist for Killing Workers?

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 23:11:08 +0000

16 workers a day die from work-related injuries, according to this latest video from Brave New Films. Charles Jeffress, former Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration), notes that there are hardly any consequences to employers for failing to comply with guidelines--and with four million injuries on the job each year, it seems that employers have decided that it's easier to flout the law than to comply. The law is inadequate, Jeffress says. With a new and supposedly labor-friendly administration and a labor secretary, Hilda Solis, who announced "There's a new sheriff in town" upon her confirmation, perhaps we can do better than one OSHA inspector per 63,000 workers?

GRITtv: Risk Analysts Risk Little Themselves

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 23:08:00 +0000

Mortgage rating agencies Moody's, Standard & Poor's, and Fitch were responsible for rating nearly all the investments that went bad, causing last year's financial collapse. Securities from AIG and Lehman Brothers were rated double and triple A--the highest ratings possible--right before the bottom fell out. Though the Bush administration and many other insiders claimed that no one could've seen the collapse coming, construction workers, whose own pension funds were invested in these companies, knew that there was a housing bubble and feared for their own retirement money. This video from the Huffington Post Investigative Fund takes a look at the rating agencies and their future.

GRITtv: Changing The Jobs Debate with Dean Baker & John Nichols

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 23:07:43 +0000

The Nation's John Nichols , author of Tragedy & Farce: How the American Media Sell Wars, Spin Elections, and Destroy Democracy calls the unemployment crisis a "social, economic and political threat," writing of the growing sense of urgency within an administration facing a purported recovery that hasn't extended to everyday people. Around the country, decaying manufacturing towns and communities are suffering in ways that are hidden by the statistics, and a rising GDP doesn't do much for Main Street. Economist Dean Baker of the Center for Economic and Policy Research and author of Plunder and Blunder: The Rise and Fall of the Bubble Economy wrote:

Even with the prospect of extended benefits, unemployment is still a crisis for the families affected, as they struggle to pay their mortgage or rent and cover other essential expenses. Millions will end up falling behind, losing their home ? in some cases leading to homelessness and/or family break-ups.

Since Obama is convening a jobs summit and soliciting suggestions on how to put people back to work (that don't involve the dirty word "stimulus"), we had Baker and Nichols put their heads together and talk about ways to create good, meaningful, well-paid jobs and rethink the way Americans look at work.

GRITtv: The F Word: Real News Pales Next to Palin

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 23:07:13 +0000

Palin Palin all the time, and never a peep of complaint. That's the long and short of the news cycle these past few day but there are just a few stories on which I'd like to see some follow up. Take the one about Peter W. Galbraith, a former United States ambassador who advocated tirelessly for Kurdish independence. Galbraith wrote scores of op-ed pieces for the New York Times and other outlets, while never disclosing to readers - or apparently, to editors -- that he stood to benefit, financially, from Kurdish independence. Now it turns out he had ties to a Norwegian oil company that scored an enormous stake in at least one of Kurdistan's oil fields -- a stake made possible by independence -- and worth something like $100 million to Galbraith. That's eyebrow-raising stuff. For your other eyebrow, how about the story about Afghanistan, heroin and the CIA. Is it Vietnam redux? Just maybe. Ahmed Wali Karzai, the brother of the Afghan president, apparently gets regular payments from the CIA and has for much of the past eight years. According to current and former American officials, the CIA pays Karzai for a variety of services, including helping to recruit an Afghan paramilitaries and stationing special forces. The hitch -- Karzai's long accused of being one of the country's chief narcotics dealers and Afghan opium sales are through the roof. If it sounds familiar, it should -- while the CIA operated in Vietnam, CIA assets controlled the world's heroin trade. Now it's Afghanistan. The story that hung around for a day or two, then poof. It's disappeared. Leave your news to the cable pundit shows and Palin's an easy, constant diet. We participated ourselves, so no one's innocent, but think you can leave reporting to fend for itself? You can't. This week it's Palin, last week it was Murdoch. Sitting for a television interview with Sky News Australia, he agreed with the claim made by Glenn Beck that President Obama (aka "this guy") was a "racist" with a "deep-seated hatred for white people." That's just out there, too.... But now back to Palin's book. The F Word is a regular commentary by Laura Flanders, the host of GRITtv which broadcasts weekdays on satellite TV (Dish Network Ch. 9415 Free Speech TV) on cable, and online at GRITtv.org and TheNation.com. Follow GRITtv or GRITlaura on Twitter.com.

GRITtv: Fighting for Equality on the Ground

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 23:06:51 +0000

In Maine, advocates of marriage equality suffered a setback in this past election, where voters overturned a decision by the state legislature to legalize gay marriage. Thousands of volunteers, both Maine residents and passionate out-of-staters, worked countless hours on the campaign, going door to door and making phone calls in an attempt to convert popular support in the state to votes. This video, from Chase Whiteside and Erick Stoll of New Left Media, gives an inside look at the No On One campaign, from get-out-the-vote training to a rally and candlelight vigil the night before election day. Watch for Part 2 tomorrow!

GRITtv: Into the Obama Era with Hendrik Hertzberg

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 23:06:38 +0000

Hendrik Hertzberg of the New Yorker describes himself as being "aboard the Obama express," and his new book, ?OB?MANOS!: The Rise of a New Political Era, collects his essays on the Obama generation and the way the campaign changed politics. A year into the administration, Hertzberg is still hopeful, though like many progressives he offers criticisms of the way the health care reform fight and others have been conducted. "During the campaign," he notes, "we agree to a fantasy," that electing a new president will change everything. Progressives should know better than to expect change so quickly, especially from a Senate hampered by the filibuster.

GRITtv: November 17, 2009

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 22:58:21 +0000

The unemployment number officially hit double digits recently, though the actual truth is that it's been in double digits for a while. The Nation's John Nichols , author of Tragedy & Farce: How the American Media Sell Wars, Spin Elections, and Destroy Democracy calls the unemployment crisis a "social, economic and political threat," writing of the growing sense of urgency within an administration facing a purported recovery that hasn't extended to everyday people. Economist Dean Baker of the Center for Economic and Policy Research and author of Plunder and Blunder: The Rise and Fall of the Bubble Economy agrees, noting that unemployment is still a crisis for the families affected, who struggle to pay the bills and put food on the table.

Hendrik Hertzberg of the New Yorker describes himself as being "aboard the Obama express," and his new book, ¡OBÁMANOS!: The Rise of a New Political Era, collects his essays on the Obama generation and the way the campaign changed politics. A year into the administration, Hertzberg is still hopeful, though like many progressives he offers criticisms of the way the health care reform fight and others have been conducted.

In Maine, advocates of marriage equality suffered a setback in this past election, where voters overturned a decision by the state legislature to legalize gay marriage. Chase Whiteside and Erick Stoll of New Left Media brought us an inside look at the No On One campaign, from get-out-the-vote training to a rally and candlelight vigil the night before election day. Watch for Part 2 tomorrow!

Though the Bush administration and many other insiders claimed that no one could've seen the financial collapse coming, construction workers, whose own pension funds were invested in these companies, knew that there was a housing bubble and feared for their own retirement money. We have video from the Huffington Post Investigative Fund that takes a look at the rating agencies and their future.

16 workers a day die from work-related injuries, according to this latest video from Brave New Films.

GRITtv: Sarah Palin: Sex, Lies & Book Deals

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 23:14:34 +0000

Sarah Palin's book, Going Rogue: An American Life, comes out tomorrow, and she doesn't appear likely to fade from public prominence anytime soon. Pundits and political observers wrote her off after the Republican ticket's loss in 2008 and again after her rather unconventional exist from the Alaska governorship, but Palin remains popular with the Republican base and has demonstrated her ability to drive the discourse, whether it's her Facebook post about "death panels" or her jumping into the race in New York's 23rd district. Richard Kim, senior editor at The Nation, is co-editor of a new book timed for release along with Palin's. Titled Going Rouge: Sarah Palin, An American Nightmare, the book collects essays from around the progressive media analyzing the mysterious appeal of Sarah Palin. Richard joins us along with contributors Rebecca Traister of Salon, Max Blumenthal, Daily Beast contributor and author of Republican Gomorrah: Inside the Movement that Shattered the Party, and Shannyn Moore of Smart Radio in Alaska to talk about the books, the Right, and why Palin just won't go away.

GRITtv: San Francisco Strike for Health Care

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 23:12:02 +0000

San Francisco is a popular tourist destination, but an expensive city in which to live. Hotel workers at the Grand Hyatt, many of them Chinese immigrants, were recently told that their new contract would require them to pay for their own health insurance, despite their full-time jobs doing physical labor. A couple of hundred dollars a month make a huge difference for the hotel workers, so they went on strike to protest the unfair labor practices. Thanks to New America Media for the video.

GRITtv: The F Word: Bonanza for Big Builders

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 23:10:27 +0000

I just don't get it. When Congress approves gifts worth billions of dollars to exactly the people who don't deserve it, why isn't it front page news? On Nov. 6, when President Obama signed the Worker, Homeownership and Business Assistance Act of 2009, he extended unemployment benefits and renewed the first-time homebuyer tax credit, but hidden deep inside the law was a bonanza to exactly the big home builders that overbuilt us into a mortgage meltdown. The tax break would help struggling businesses, Obama declared. But the act actually lets big companies as well as small offset losses incurred in the bad years of 2008 and 2009 against profits booked as far back as 2004. In case you were wondering, there's no requirement that companies claiming the tax refunds create jobs with it or need any of that cash. No quid pro quo worked so well for banks and lending, why not hit repeat again, with builders? Those with the biggest boom followed by the biggest bust are exactly the companies like to benefit the most. Among them, you guessed it, home builders -- companies like Pulte Homes, which will receive refunds exceeding $450 million under the new law. Pulte has $1.5 billion in cash and cash equivalents on its balance sheet. Standard Pacific, which is poised to reap cash refunds of $80 million, has $523 million. Will the builders build with the bonanza? Not likely. In building it's not supply that's the problem; it's demand. Overbuilding and over-lending is what got us in to this mess and that river's run dry. What the companies are likely to do is keep on lobbying. Gretchen Morgenstern of the New York Times reports that, "Securing this tax break was a top priority for home builders. " According to lobbying records, home builders paid $6 million to their lobbyists through the end of October this year, "much of focused on arguing for the tax loss carry-forward." Pulte Homes for example, spent $210,000, -- for which it'll receive $450 million in refunds. Nice. "The problem here is that this public policy decision was made with little to no input from the public," reports the ever-vigilent Morgenstern in her Sunday column. But her own paper could help solve that problem. How about reporting on this -- before it's a done deal -- on the front page?

GRITtv: No More Drones

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 23:10:17 +0000

In Syracuse, New York this weekend, about 250 people gathered to protest drone aircraft, controlled from the Hancock Air National Guard Base. Among them were Kathy Kelly, Daniel and Jerry Berrigan. Drone aircraft strikes in Afghanistan and Pakistan have increased under the Obama administration. Thanks to Essential Dissent for the video.

GRITtv: Bernie Sanders: Far From Perfect

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 23:10:09 +0000

Senator Bernie Sanders has been a leader in Congress in the movement for single-payer health care, or Medicare for all, but he's also working with the Senate leadership to ensure that the bill that does pass, while it won't be single-payer, will contain more positive steps than negative ones. In this segment from Brave New Films, Sanders lays out the good (more coverage, no preexisting conditions), the bad (proposed tax on existing benefits), and the ugly (the Stupak amendment) in the current House and Senate plans.

GRITtv: Amy Goodman: Listening and Healing

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 23:09:46 +0000

When you think of progressive independent broadcasting, Amy Goodman's name is often the first one that comes to mind. Goodman, longtime host of Democracy Now!, sees journalism as a social justice mission, and has been an inspiration to young journalists and a voice for the oppressed for years. She has a new book out, Breaking the Sound Barrier, a collection of her syndicated columns, and she joined Laura in the studio to talk about creating independent media in a corporate world, the responsibility of people in the U.S. to be aware and active in the world, and the broken health care system she faced down recently while dealing with her mother's terminal illness.

GRITtv: Bodies as Battlefields: Yoga in Rwanda

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 22:43:01 +0000

In Rwanda, the bodies of women were too often the site of battles--rape and abuse were used as weapons of war. Trying to overcome that trauma, the women and children--many of whom are HIV-positive--have an almost unimaginable struggle. When Deirdre Summerbell was approached about teaching yoga to the women in Rwanda, she was skeptical, but she decided to try it. ?Yoga is slow medicine but it is medicinal in character," she says now of Project Air, where she helps women and girls reconnect with their bodies and heal their spirits. Summerbell joined us in the GRITtv studio to talk about her project and her plans to expand it into the Congo and other areas of the world, like Gaza and Afghanistan.

GRITtv: Who Asks the Real Questions?

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 22:42:30 +0000

The biggest media news this week came last night when it was announced that Lou Dobbs would be leaving his CNN program. Yet there were plenty of other questions to ask this week about news coverage, from health care and the Stupak amendment to the Fort Hood shootings and the newest, scariest unemployment numbers, and Jon Stewart can't be the only one critiquing the major media outlets. Every Thursday, we look at the way the stories of the day get told, point out the problems and offer some solutions with a variety of media makers. Rose Aguilar, of Your Call Radio and author of Red Highways: A Liberal's Journey Into the Heartland, John R. MacArthur, president and publisher of Harper's Magazine and author of You Can't Be President: The Outrageous Barriers to Democracy in America, Dan Gross, columnist at Newsweek and author of Dumb Money: How Our Greatest Financial Minds Bankrupted the Nation, and Hendrik Hertzberg of The New Yorker and author of ?OB?MANOS!: The Rise of a New Political Era look at the media's biggest hits and misses of the past week.

GRITtv: Taking the Mystery Out of Solar Panels

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 22:41:15 +0000

Environmental journalist Karl Grossman gets the dirt on solar energy from Dean Hapshe of Majestic Son & Sons Solar Energy. Since the Reagan years, where government tax credits for installing solar panels were killed, we've come a long way as far as efficiency and costs are concerned. In New York, on top of the federal tax credit recently passed in the stimulus bill, you can get a state and local tax credit for installing the panels--and then it's possible to produce more than enough energy to run your whole home. Learn more in this video exclusive for GRITtv.

GRITtv: Speaking Out: Transgender Detainee Faces Twice the Abuse

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 22:41:07 +0000

Esmeralda came to the U.S. seeking asylum from her native Mexico. She tried twice to enter the country legally, each time forced into detention. As a transgender woman, she was segregated and subjected to abuse from guards on her first attempt, and when she tried again, she was held with male detainees. Eventually, her claim was successful and today she works as an advocate for others who have survived sexual violence. In this video from Breakthrough, she tells her story of speaking out against abuse. To help, check out RestoreFairness.org.

GRITtv: From Baghdad to Brooklyn

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 22:41:02 +0000

Last December, videojournalist Jennifer Utz and Mohamed, an Iraqi refugee, joined us at GRITtv to talk about Mohamed's journey from Iraq to the U.S. This week, our Got Docs feature is Jennifer's documentary in production, From Baghdad to Brooklyn, telling Mohamed's story, from his exile from Iraq after Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani called for the killing of homosexuals "in the worst, most severe way possible." Mohamed, who is gay, wound up in Syria, where Jennifer met him and took up his cause. Mohamed's story may have ended happily, but over a million Iraqis are still displaced. More of their stories are available here.

GRITtv: November 12, 2009

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 22:12:43 +0000

Why aren't reporters asking the real questions? That's what our media panelist Rose Aguilar asked today, and it's a valid question. With the Stupak amendment and the Fort Hood shootings, new unemployment numbers in the double digits and questions over troop escalation in Afghanistan, not to mention the resignation of embattled CNN host Lou Dobbs, there was a lot to cover this week. Every Thursday, we look at the way the stories of the day get told, point out the problems and offer some solutions with a variety of media makers.

Rose Aguilar, of Your Call Radio and author of Red Highways: A Liberal's Journey Into the Heartland, John R. MacArthur, president and publisher of Harper's Magazine and author of You Can't Be President: The Outrageous Barriers to Democracy in America, Dan Gross, columnist at Newsweek and author of Dumb Money: How Our Greatest Financial Minds Bankrupted the Nation, and Hendrik Hertzberg of The New Yorker and author of ¡OBÁMANOS!: The Rise of a New Political Era look at the media's biggest hits and misses of the past week.

“Yoga is slow medicine but it is medicinal in character," Deirdre Summerbell says. She's the founder of Project Air, where she uses yoga to help women and girls in Rwanda, survivors of the genocide, reconnect with their bodies and heal their spirits. Summerbell joined us in the GRITtv studio to talk about her project and her plans to expand it into the Congo and other areas of the world, like Gaza and Afghanistan.

Last December, videojournalist Jennifer Utz and Mohamed, an Iraqi refugee, joined us at GRITtv to talk about Mohamed's journey from Iraq to the U.S.

GRITtv: Can Capitalism Work For Good?

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 22:44:05 +0000

With all the depressing news about corporations and the government today, we thought we'd add some of the brighter side of capitalism. Social Capital Markets aims to help save the world--and still make a profit.

GRITtv: Unemployment, Homelessness Greet Vets

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 22:41:38 +0000

In 2007, a VA survey found that 18 percent of recently discharged veterans were unemployed and that of those who had found a job, 25 percent made less than $22,000 a year. Those numbers have only gotten worse since the recent recession, but with ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, more and more servicemembers are returning home and trying to find work. This video from New America Media takes a look at the struggles of veterans to readjust to civilian life.

GRITtv: The Secret Global Empire(s): Russ Baker & John Perkins

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 22:41:09 +0000

U.S. history has seen many presidents elected on a wave of progressive promises, only to see them compromise again and again once in office, caving to the very interests, military and corporate, that they railed against so effectively. Barack Obama is only the latest to get elected on a promise to end a war and take care of working people, only to preside over an administration stacked with Wall Street types and wind up continuing a war he wanted to wind down. Americans voted for change and are getting frustrated with the lack of it, but our guests have both written about the powerful forces holding the status quo in place. John Perkins is the author of Hoodwinked and Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, and has written about how corporations push politicians around and even threaten them with violence. Russ Baker, meanwhile, is the author of Family of Secrets: The Bush Dynasty, the Powerful Forces That Put It in the White House, and What Their Influence Means for America and has written extensively about the military-industrial complex. They argue the only weapon we have is public opinion and public pressure--and we need to bring it to bear not just on the government, but on the corporations.

GRITtv: Collapse: Portrait of a Loner

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 22:40:51 +0000

Michael Ruppert is a former Los Angeles police officer turned independent reporter, and he gained some credibility after predicting the financial meltdown that most politicians claimed no one had seen coming. Ruppert has plenty of other apocalyptic theories, from peak oil to drugs to, yes, 9/11. In the new film Collapse, filmmaker Chris Smith follows Ruppert and looks into his theories. Is he a genius, or just paranoid? The film allows you to make your own judgments, while showing the risks and rewards of having--and publishing--unpopular opinions. Smith joined Laura in the studio to discuss his film and whether or not he believes Ruppert.

GRITtv: The F Word: Peace Without Victory For Working Class

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 22:39:54 +0000

Armistice Day reminds us that when wars end, the winners and losers are supposed to make peace. For the first time, in 2009, leaders of World War II enemies, Germany and France, commemorated the date together as a sign of new mutual respect. But this week also marked the ten-year anniversary of a different kind of war -- a war on Americans' assets and the poor. Ten years later, while the winners and losers are obvious, there's no armistice in sight. On November 12, 1999, after decades of banking deregulation, congress repealed the 1933 Glass-Steagall Act, which up until that point had kept Main Street banks and commercial financial speculation apart. Glass-Steagall's repeal unleashed a wave of derivative marketing that rewarded shameless loan sharks for selling the most vulnerable Americans into a bubble of debt. The bubble having burst, now the stock market is up. Companies are reporting strong earnings and Wall Street's clearly at peace. The top three banks announced this week that they'll be giving out their biggest bonuses yet. But this week's news also brought US double-digit unemployment and regardless of those good earnings, the layoffs just don't stop; Sprint says it's cutting another 2,500 jobs; Pfizer, 2,000 jobs; even supposedly new and growing parts of the economy aren't growing -- software developer Adobe's cutting 6 percent of its workforce, game-maker Electronic Arts is cutting 1,500 jobs. And that's just this week. Winners and losers? You betcha. And the winners have won some serious loot. Having suppressed wages for decades, now employers are suppressing jobs. Workers are not only making do with less -- they're working harder than ever, and there are no new hires, because fewer people seem to get the job done just fine. In fact they're productivity's up. And the personal costs are off the books. Call me crazy, but the spoils are pretty nifty: fewer workers, lower wages, a more terrified workforce. From a winners' point of view, what's not to like? The proof of no peace is in the fact that the president and congress keep talking about recovery and jobs bouncing back...but there's no real structural change on the table, no new economic tools, no regulation -- certainly no reparations -- in sight. The losers are weak and the winners are stronger than ever. The US economy has lost some 10 million jobs since the recession began. Do you really think those 10 million jobs are coming back? It seems to me, the war is far from over and the spoils are just getting divvied up. The F Word is a regular commentary by Laura Flanders, the host of GRITtv which broadcasts weekdays on satellite TV (Dish Network Ch. 9415 Free Speech TV) on cable, and online at GRITtv.org and TheNation.com. Follow GRITtv or GRITlaura on Twitter.com.

GRITtv: Roots of Change: Brower Youth Awards

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 22:39:38 +0000

The Earth Island Institute created the annual Brower Youth Awards to honor six young people for their outstanding activism and achievements in the fields of environmental and social justice advocacy. Each winner is awarded $3000 and brought to San Francisco for the award week and a backcountry camping trip. This video, made by Rikshaw Films, gives a little bit of insight into the kind of work the Institute is promoting with this award. Diana Lopez is a food justice activist in San Antonio, Texas, and she created the Roots of Change community garden in the Eastside of San Antonio to provide fresh organic food to community residents.

GRITtv: November 11, 2009

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 22:09:12 +0000

Conspiracy theories abound on the left and the right--the "Birthers" are only the most recent incarnation. But there are plenty of scary secrets out there that are real and well-documented, from Max Blumenthal's investigations into the religious right to Jeremy Scahill's work on Blackwater. It can be hard to tell where the conspiracy theories begin and the truth ends. Our guests today talk about shady global conspiracies, corporate overlords, and the military-industrial complex, and what we can do about any of it. John Perkins is the author of Hoodwinked and Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, and has written about how corporations push politicians around and even threaten them with violence. Russ Baker, meanwhile, is the author of Family of Secrets: The Bush Dynasty, the Powerful Forces That Put It in the White House, and What Their Influence Means for America and has written extensively about the military-industrial complex. They argue the only weapon we have is public opinion and public pressure--and we need to bring it to bear not just on the government, but on the corporations. In the new film Collapse, filmmaker Chris Smith follows Michael Ruppert, a former Los Angeles police officer who publishes a newsletter where, among other things, he predicted the economic crisis. But his theories often range into the apocalyptic. Smith joined Laura in the studio to discuss his film and whether or not he believes Ruppert. Is he a genius, or just paranoid? Today is Veterans Day, and we are supposed to honor those who have served in the military. This video from New America Media takes a look at the struggles of veterans to readjust to civilian life, and asks what more we could be doing to truly honor them. With all the depressing news about corporations and the government today, we thought we'd add some of the brighter side of capitalism. Social Capital Markets aims to help save the world--and still make a profit. The Earth Island Institute created the annual Brower Youth Awards to honor six young people for their outstanding activism and achievements in the fields of environmental and social justice advocacy, and we take a look at another of their winners, a food justice activist in Texas who is redefining environmentalism.

Laura Flanders on The Ed Show, 11/10/2009

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 21:39:54 +0000

Laura Flanders on The Ed Show, 11/10/2009

GRITtv: Disturbing the Universe: Sarah and Emily Kunstler

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 22:34:20 +0000

Do I dare Disturb the universe?
-T.S. Eliot, "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock"

William Kunstler was perhaps best known for his defense of the "Chicago Eight," but he represented many of the best-known radicals of the sixties. His daughters Emily and Sarah were born after most of his biggest cases, but still grew up in the shadow of his fame. Now Emily and Sarah Kunstler have made a documentary about their father. William Kunstler: Disturbing the Universe tells the story of a man both beloved and written off as a publicity hound. Emily and Sarah join us to talk about their film and their production company, Off Center Media, explaining that their father understood the courtroom as a stage, and used his celebrity status--as well as that of allies like Henry Belafonte--to bring attention to causes about which he cared deeply. The film opens in New York City Friday, November 13, at the Village Cinema East, 22 East 12th Street. For information and tickets, click here.

GRITtv: Compromise On Women's Backs Again

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 22:34:10 +0000

The passage of the Stupak-Pitts amendment came as a shock to many prochoice activists and writers, but it's not a secret that "pro-lifers" would like to roll back the right to abortion at any chance they get. Now that the amendment is in the House bill, progressives have to fight twice as hard to make sure it stays out of the final bill, and with some of the allies we've got, that's going to be an uphill slog--after all, Rep. Stupak is a Democrat. Jill Filipovic of the blog Feministe, Frances Kissling, contributor to RH Reality Check and Visiting Fellow at the Center for Bioethics, University of Pennsylvania, Diane Archer, Special Counsel & Director, Health Care Policy, Institute for America's Future, and Eesha Pandit of Raising Women's Voices for the Health Care We Need join us to talk about strategies for responding to Stupak, and what activists, feminists, and allies can do to make Democrats understand that women are not bargaining chips.

GRITtv: Tear Down This Wall

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 22:34:07 +0000

20 years from the fall of the Berlin Wall, there are other walls in other parts of the world still keeping people separate and unequal. In Ni'ilin yesterday, Palestinian activists tore down a segment of the wall across the West Bank in protest of increasing Israeli settlements and in memory of the Germans who tore down the Berlin wall and helped bring a close to the Cold War.

GRITtv: Deconstructed: Iraq Lies & Realities

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 22:31:58 +0000

Casey J. Porter is an Iraq veteran making powerful videos about the war experience. In this clip, he contrasts statements from officials and pundits before the invasion with stark footage from inside Iraq, interviews with soldiers, and shows the grim reality of the war.

GRITtv: Nothing Resolved in Honduras

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 22:31:45 +0000

The announcement that the ousted president of Honduras, Manuel Zelaya, would be returned to power in a power-sharing agreement seems to have come too soon. In this video from The Real News, we learn that the agreement seems to be doing more to legitimize the coup government than to get rid of it. Citizen activists' end goal is not only restoration of the democratically-elected president but also a constituent assembly to rewrite a constitution that largely favors those with wealth and power, and they are still fighting despite pressure from outside and restrictions from Micheletti's coup regime.

GRITtv: The F Word: Unequal Power, Unequal Access

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 22:31:23 +0000

"If women are denied a chance to develop their full human potential, including their potential to lead healthier and at least somewhat happier lives, is society as a whole really healthy? " It's not my question -- it's the question raised by Dr. Margaret Chan, Director General of the World Health Organization which just finished up it first -- first? -- study of women's health. Their verdict? Societies are still failing women. While women provide the bulk of health care, they rarely receive the care they need. Sound familiar? Worldwide, WHO reports women do the caring -- at home, at hospital, at clinics -- yet those very same institutions fail them. Take HIV/AIDS. Up to 80% of all health care and 90% of care for HIV/AIDS-related illness is provided in the home - almost always by women. Yet women remain uncared for, poorly protected and as a result, HIV is now the leading cause of death and disease among women between the ages of 15 and 44. Survive to older age, and the two leading killers of women are heart disease and strokes. Why? Because women show what one friend of mine was told were "atypical" symptoms. And as long as the male minority on the planet is considered the typical patient -- women will keep dying because of that fact. Sound strident? No it's just common sense -- the WHO tries to win governments over by offering economic incentives to act: because women tend to live longer than men, better deal with their health problems now or pay more later. But really. "We will not see significant progress as long as women are regarded as second-class citizens in so many parts of the world," Dr Chan said. Unequal power relations, she continued, "translate into unequal access to health care and unequal control over health resources." "What does this say about the state of social progress in the 21st century?" asks Dr. Chan. One can only wish she'd ask Rep. Stupak and the House Democrats. The F Word is a regular commentary by Laura Flanders, the host of GRITtv which broadcasts weekdays on satellite TV (Dish Network Ch. 9415 Free Speech TV) on cable, and online at GRITtv.org and TheNation.com. Follow GRITtv or GRITlaura on Twitter.com.

GRITtv: November 10, 2009

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 22:13:59 +0000

The health care bill passing the house with a public option should've been cause for celebration, but the Stupak-Pitts amendment came as a shock to many prochoice activists and writers. It's not a secret that "pro-lifers" would like to roll back the right to abortion at any chance they get, but most of us didn't think that we'd see a move like this supported by 64 Democrats.

Jill Filipovic of the blog Feministe, Frances Kissling, contributor to RH Reality Check and Visiting Fellow at the Center for Bioethics, University of Pennsylvania, Diane Archer, Special Counsel & Director, Health Care Policy, Institute for America's Future, and Eesha Pandit of Raising Women's Voices for the Health Care We Need join us to talk about strategies for responding to Stupak, and what activists, feminists, and allies can do to make Democrats understand that women are not bargaining chips.

We also check in with the situation in Honduras, with video from The Real News. We learn that the agreement seems to be doing more to legitimize the coup government than to get rid of it.

Finally, we have video from an Iraq veteran, Casey J. Porter, who put together this clip contrasting statements made before the war with the grim realities of combat. And 20 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, in Ni'ilin yesterday, Palestinian activists tore down a segment of the wall across the West Bank in protest of increasing Israeli settlements.

GRITtv: Micha Kurz: Soldiers and Silence in Israel

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 23:26:56 +0000

Micha Kurz was an Israeli soldier during the second intifada, and when he left the military he co-founded Breaking the Silence, an organization that collects stories from members of the service (which is compulsory in Israel for young men and women) who served in the occupied territories. Breaking the Silence allows soldiers to confidentially speak out about the things they did and saw while in the military. Kurz is now with Grassroots Jerusalem, where he helps bring together grassroots social justice activists from across Israel. Kurz notes that his Jewish upbringing is what caused him to question the way Israel conducts the occupation and to speak out against it, and he talks to Laura about what Americans can do to help bring peace in Israel and Palestine.

GRITtv: Whose Health Do We Care About?

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 23:25:40 +0000

With the astounding vote on the health care reform bill in the House this weekend, progressives were forced to consider what kind of compromises were worth making for health care. When certain people are excluded from health care simply because of who they are, how "public" would even a public option be? Tammy Johnson of ColorLines asks these questions and more in this commentary.

GRITtv: For Today's Veterans, What Does Survival Mean?

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 23:25:26 +0000

Thursday, November 11th, is Veterans Day. Originally Armistice Day, after the day that World War I ended, it is a day commemorating what we have survived. These days, though, despite the constant political back-and-forth over the two wars, today's veterans get far too little attention and the war is far from the minds of most people as they go about their day. "Support the troops" bumper stickers do little to actually support the troops, especially after they've returned from war. The shootings at Fort Hood this week called up more questions about veterans and military servicemembers and especially their treatment and counseling. How are soldiers surviving the wars, and readjusting to life at home? What are we doing to help them, and is it enough? We discuss these questions and more with Anuradha K. Bhagwati, executive director of the Service Women's Action Network, Dr. Anna Burton, psychiatrist with The Soldiers Project, Dahr Jamail, independent journalist and author of The Will to Resist: Soldiers Who Refuse to Fight in Iraq and Afghanistan, and Nadia McCaffrey, Gold Star mother and founder of the Patrick McCaffrey Foundation.

GRITtv: Making Money Blocking Health Reform

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 23:23:49 +0000

Andy Cobb used to be a "spokesjerk" for Blue Cross Blue Shield health insurance, yet now he says "American health care is a mess and everybody knows it." Brave New Films takes a look at Andy's past work and gives you an opportunity to vote on where he should work next. Blackwater? Goldman Sachs? FOX News? Head to their Facebook page and vote!

GRITtv: Stories From the Street

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 23:23:30 +0000

According to New America Media, "federal experts estimate that at least 1.6 million juveniles leave or are put out of their homes each year. Other research has found a 40% spike in the number of homeless youth over the past year." It's Homeless Youth Awareness Month, and in this video, we hear one story of a young man, his family, hopes, and dreams, and how he ended up without a home. He credits becoming a father for helping him create stability in his life, and is working toward a degree so he can help people like himself.

GRITtv: Essential Dissent: Syracuse Protests Wealthcare

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 23:23:08 +0000

Protesters in Syracuse, New York protested for single-payer, "Medicare for All" outside of Wellpoint last week. They spoke out against the proposed mandate and subsidies for private insurance companies in the coming health care reform bill. The arrest of one protester and the picket line were captured on video exclusively for GRITtv by Wilton Vought of Essential Dissent, as well as commentary by an Iraq veteran, who points out that more people die from lack of health care each year than died on 9/11.

GRITtv: The F Word: Stupak is a Step Back

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 23:23:06 +0000

The House passed its version of health-care legislation Saturday night by a vote of 220 to 215 after the approval of an amendment which amounts to a not-very-back door abortion ban for everyone but the very rich. Presented by Democrat Bart Stupak of Michigan with the strong backing of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the amendment would prohibit abortion coverage in the government-run plan and any private plan on the new marketplace that accepts people who are using government subsidies to buy coverage. It's sexist, it's classist, it goes well beyond the heinous Hyde Amendment ban on public funding for abortion--and it passed with the support of 64 Democrats, roughly a quarter of the caucus. House liberals say they voted for it to keep the process of reform moving forward towards a majority but women are the majority -- of Americans, of voters, of Democrats, and pro-choice women outnumber the other sort. The House move had less to do with majority than it had to do with theocracy. Why is it that from Bangor to the Beltway, church pressure works on even liberal Democrats, even as no politician in America seems to be afraid of losing votes over being anti-choice? Obama left the abortion issue unmentioned Sunday when he appeared in the White House Rose Garden to congratulate the House on its "courage." Bunk. "Now it falls on the United States Senate to take the baton and bring this effort to the finish line on behalf of the American people," said Obama. Now, it seems to me it falls on pro-choicers to demand an answer to the question raised by Jodi Jacobson on RH Reality Check. "What does Henry Waxman, Nancy Pelosi or any other member of Congress owe the Catholic Bishops that they do not owe the majority of women in this country? What does Obama owe the Bishops that he does not owe you and me?" It's not too late for voters to lay siege to their Senators. And it's not too late for the liberal campaign contributors to close their wallets until they find out.

GRITtv: November 9, 2009

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 22:59:54 +0000

Veterans Day is this week, and the shootings at Fort Hood this week brought to the forefront many questions about soldiers and military personnel: how are soldiers surviving the wars, and readjusting to life at home? What are we doing to help them, and is it enough?

GRITtv: Frank Schaeffer: Fears of Fundamentalism

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 22:32:27 +0000

In Max Blumenthal's book Republican Gomorrah and in his GRITtv appearance, he introduced us to Francis Schaeffer, one of the important figures in the anti-choice and religious right movements in the United States. Frank Schaeffer, Francis's son, wrote a book about growing up in the religious right, Crazy for God: How I Grew Up as One of the Elect, Helped Found the Religious Right, and Lived to Take All (or Almost All) of It Back. Schaeffer has a new book now, Patience with God: Faith for People Who Don't Like Religion (or Atheism), and in it he takes on both the "incipient fascism" of the religious right and what he called "proselytizing" atheism of Richard Dawkins and others. He joins Laura on GRITtv for a fascinating interview about his own journey, and how people, religious or irreligious, are all looking for answers to the same questions.

GRITtv: The Stimulus: Too Little, Too Late?

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 22:28:47 +0000

The Dow might be up and the economy might be growing, but where are all the jobs? With a multibilliondollar stimulus package facing criticism from Republicans for growing the deficit and from some on the left for being too small, we wonder just where the money did go. Beyond just creating jobs, our panelists say, any real economic stimulus needs to make sure that the jobs created are good, with good benefits, living wages, and targeted to the people who need them the most. Max Fraad Wolff, professor of economics at The New School, Myles Lennon of the Laborers' Union, Local #10, Bettina Damiani of Good Jobs First and Nathan Newman of the Progressive States Network debate whether the stimulus has stopped the bleeding or whether it's more like a band-aid on a bullet wound.

GRITtv: Kate Clinton: We Will Remember Maine

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 22:27:25 +0000

Kate Clinton talks about the LGBT equality measures that passed in Kalamazoo, Michigan and Washington State, and the marriage equality law that was overturned in Maine on Election Day. "We're not just like you. You've got rights; we don't," she notes, calling for heterosexuals to have to ask people to vote on their rights.

GRITtv: Green for All: Weatherize NYC

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 22:27:24 +0000

We often think of pollution as something that comes from factories and large corporations, but in fact much of the greenhouse gases causing climate change come from everyday homes. Green for All is leading the charge for sustainable jobs that support working people; this video from Green for All and GOOD magazine takes a look at companies weatherizing homes in New York and the benefits to consumers, workers, and the world.

GRITtv: Got Docs: La Danse, The Paris Opera Ballet

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 22:26:53 +0000

"Movies are about movement," says documentary filmmaker Frederick Wiseman, and in his newest film, La Danse: The Paris Opera Ballet, he examines the movement of ballet. The film gets inside the workings of the ballet, from rehearsals to marketing sessions, and follows the company through the production of seven ballets: Genus by Wayne McGregor, Le Songe de Med?e by Angelin Preljocaj, La Maison de Bernarda by Mats Ek, Paquita by Pierre Lacotte, Casse Noisette by Rudolph Noureev, Orph?e and Eurydice by Pina Bausch, and Romeo and Juliette by Sasha Waltz.

GRITtv: November 5, 2009

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 22:08:08 +0000

Economist Brad DeLong noted on his blog that part of the productivity gain in the U.S. economy comes not from job production, but from squeezing more work out of employees scared to lose their jobs.

GRITtv: On The Street: New Yorkers on Obama One Year Later

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 23:43:56 +0000

GRITtv's Natalia Ospina and Sophie Gore-Browne hit the streets to talk to New Yorkers about the anniversary of Obama's election and what it means for them, one year later. Are they disappointed, pleased, still hopeful?

GRITtv: Hope: After a Year, What Does It Mean?

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 23:43:42 +0000

Hope. It was the word for the Obama campaign, epitomized by the famous Shepard Fairey poster, with eyes uplifted, bright primary colors declaring that Americans believed in something good again. Last year on election day, we discussed the election and the future of America; hoping for an Obama victory and with it some restoration of the things we'd lost under Bush. This year, we look back with some of our guests from that day on what they said then and what they think now. Chris Hayes of The Nation remembers the feeling of social solidarity from the Obama campaign, hundreds of thousands of people coming together to work for a common cause, while Danny Schechter of MediaChannel and NewsDissector points out that Obama had plenty of support from Wall Street as well as Main Street. Air America's Ron Reagan wonders why Maine managed to expand its rights to medical marijuana while closing off rights to same-sex couples, and Esther Armah of WBAI notes that Obama's election maintains its symbolic importance, even if dealing with the reality is somewhat more complicated.

GRITtv: One Year Later, Still Politics as Usual?

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 23:42:04 +0000

Election 2009 was a mixed bag for all sides. Democrats lost the governorship in New Jersey, a "blue" state, and Virginia, a "red" state that had seen two successive Democratic governors. Maine voters overturned a law passed by the state legislature that allowed same-sex marriage, joining Californians in taking away marriage equality after it had been granted. Yet New York's 23rd Congressional District defeated a Palin- and Beck-backed Conservative Party candidate and sent its first Democrat to Congress since the Ulysses S. Grant administration, and openly gay public officials were elected all over the country. But what did these results have to do with Obama? Our panel agrees on one thing: Democrats neglected the base that Obama worked so hard to build up. Jehmu Greene, of the Women's Media Center and formerly Rock the Vote, notes that Democrats reverted back to the old way of doing things, and Jane Hamsher of FireDogLake points out that the candidate who supported the public option, Bill Owens in NY-23, won, while Creigh Deeds in Virginia, who said he might opt the state out if he was governor, lost. Mark Green of Air America, who once ran against Michael Bloomberg, noted that despite the massive outlay of cash, Bloomberg ran a tight race and could've been defeated if the Democrats put more effort into supporting his opponent. Katrina vanden Heuvel of The Nation notes that the youth vote was critical in 2008, and warns Democrats of what they risk losing if they ignore the young voters now.

One Year Later, What's Changed? Election 2009 & Obama

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 23:10:53 +0000

"I'd like to celebrate the accomplishments and not the occasion," says one New Yorker interviewed by GRITtv of the anniversary of Barack Obama's historic election. One year ago today, November 4, Obama defeated John McCain with the support of new voters, young voters, and thousands upon thousands of small donors and volunteers who gave time and money that were in short supply. He's already been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, but health care and other promised changes have been slower to come about, and the economy is still battered and struggling.

Election day 2009 was called a referendum on Obama's presidency by many mainstream pundits, but things are a bit more complicated than that. Still, what has been achieved? What have we changed, and what do we still need to change? And most importantly, we saw so much talk of hope on the campaign trail. Do we still feel that hope, or did Republican victories in New Jersey and Virginia, coupled with a defeat for marriage equality in Maine, have us feeling more like our old cynical selves?

In a special one-hour show, we convene two panels of GRITtv regular guests to talk about these questions, the election results, and what progressives need to do better going forward into 2010. Joining us are Katrina vanden Heuvel and Chris Hayes of The Nation, Jehmu Greene of the Women's Media Center and formerly of Rock the Vote, James Rucker of Color Of Change, Danny Schechter of News Dissector, Jane Hamsher of FireDogLake, Ron Reagan and Mark Green of Air America, and Esther Armah of WBAI.

We also took to the streets of New York City to find out what the word on the street is about Obama and the changes that have--and haven't--happened in the past year.

Extras: No On One in Maine

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 23:22:47 +0000

GRITtv: Morals, Motivation, and Movements: What the Left Can Learn from Religion

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 23:12:56 +0000

One year ago, Americans were energized to elect Barack Obama president, casting more votes than had ever been cast in a U.S. election. Now it's election day again, and with Democratic candidates facing tough races in several states, we take a look at what the left can learn from religious organizations, who manage to keep people coming back week after week. Does religion have a place in social justice movements, and does the right have a lock on religious motivation to act? Joining us to debate the proper place of religion and spirituality on the Left are Michael De Dora of the Center for Inquiry, Reverend Osagyefo Sekou, Senior Minister of Lemuel Haynes Congregational Church, Kim Gandy, Fellow, Institute of Politics, Harvard Kennedy School and former president, National Organization for Women, and Rabbi Michael Feinberg, Executive Director of the Greater New York Labor-Religion Coalition.

GRITtv: Generation Obama: Where Are They Now?

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 23:12:08 +0000

After years and years of listening to pundits bemoan the lack of engagement among America's youth, the kids finally came out for Barack Obama. Many of the volunteers and organizers that put Obama in the White House were young and working on a political campaign for the first time. From the Iowa caucuses to November 4, a new generation worked day and night to change their country. A year later, we round up a few of them and ask whether they're still involved. Lana Wilson, founder of Obamaerobics, Mike Jones, NYU sophomore and Obama 2008 campaign volunteer, and Ebonie Johnson Cooper, campaign organizer in Ohio and Pennsylvania join Elizabeth Mendez-Berry, who wrote about the Obama youth organizers and what they're up to now for an upcoming issue of The Nation, to talk about what they've done and how Obama changed their generation.

GRITtv: Rural South Suffers Stigma of HIV

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 23:11:09 +0000

From RH Reality Check, this video looks at the state of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections in South Carolina. Much of the state is poor and rural, and suffers from a lack of both proper health care funds and proper education for the population. Activists in the state note that the stigma and the lack of information are still as bad in parts of South Carolina as they were in 1981, when the virus first hit the American consciousness. Activists are calling for a massive public health initiative to slow the spread of HIV and to treat people who have already contracted the virus. RH Reality Check has more on how you can help.