The Moles discuss the financial crisis and Sarah Palin and the Christian Right.
Get the Moles’ underground analysis of the current financial crisis as Bill Resnick interviews John Miller from the Union of Radical Political Economists (URPE), and Tom Becker reads from The Nation’s William Greider. Also on the show, Jan Haaken will be talking with Cynthia Burack about Sarah Palin and the Christian Right. Burack is the author of Sin, Sex and Democracy: Anti-Gay Rhetoric and the Christian Right.
Jacob Anderson-Minshall speaks with Lisa Mottet from the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (thetaskforce.org). The interview was supposed to air on Tuesday, the 9/16th edition of Gender Blender, the new KBOO show on gender issues. The topic addressed is gender and homelessness. Lisa Mottet is the author of a 2003 publication Transitioning Our Shelters: A Guide to Making Homeless Shelters Safe for Transgender People.
Prostitution is flourishing in the Rose City. Some Portlanders blame it on city hall's decision to let the prostitution exclusion zones lapse. They want the zones back and more efforts made to put prostitutes in jail. Other city residents say that rehabilitation, not more police, is the answer. In the meantime, Mayor Tom Potter has announed a new initiative to fight prostitution on 82nd Ave. through enhanced enforcement and prosecution combined with treatment options. How should we deal with prostitution in our city? Do we really understand the problem of prostitution?
Hosted by Clayton Morgareidge, this program features the life and music of Victor Jara, the legendary singer-songwriter who helped elect the democratic-socialist President of Chile Salvador Allende, and was murdered by the Pinochet coup supported by the US in 1973. His music lives on, as we hear today. Also on the show, Bill Resnick talks with Paul Joseph about the possibility that Americans are becoming more peaceful -- or at least less patient with war, and how that might lead to a more potent peace movement. The Well-read Red, Frann Michel, takes on Sarah Palin, and Clayton Morgareidge analyzes the political rhetoric of the two major parties. To hear the whole show, hit the arrow above. For individual segments, go to the links below:
Frann Michel, today's Red, reads today from several satirical takes on the Sarah Palin persona and political phenomenon. You can read this piece here, where you will also find links to the orginal sources.
Dr. Rusty Barceló is the Vice President and Vice Provost for Equity and Diversity at the University of Minnesota and a nationally-recognized leader in the field, with more than 30 years of experience in equity and diversity in higher education. She is also a Chicana with deep roots in the Mexican-American community, and a singer-songwriter. Luz María Gordillo talks with her about her life, her community, her music, and her educational philosopy, and we hear several of her songs.
The Moles celebrate Labor Day by burrowing into issues surrounding several kinds of labor. Labor Historian Nathan Lichtenstein talks labor movement strategy and the SEIU with Bill Resnick. Mike Snedker and Jan Haaken consider the plight of sex workers in Portland. Frann Michel analyzes controversies about women's labor and women's sexuality. And Clayton Morgareidge reviews progressive takes on Barack Obama. Hear the whole show by hitting the arrow above, or separate pieces by following the links below:
Old Mole Frann Michel draws on Margaret Atwood's novel The Handmaid's Tale to focus on the exploitation and coercion of of women's reproductive labor. More specifically, she examines recent political battles over access to abortion, contraception, and sex education, and the need for women to be free to choose when and whether to bear and raise children. You can read her piece with many links to follow up on right here.
Attorney Mike Snedeker and the Old Mole's Jan Haaken reflect on the place of sex work --especially prostitution-- in society. They discuss the controversy in Portland about "prostitution free zones" along SE 82d Avenue, and the different approaches to these matters in European countries like the Netherlands, emulated by Proposition K on the November ballot in San Francisco.
Today is Labor Day. Most nations celebrate Labor day on May first, to commemorate the eight hour work day and the Haymarket riot, while we in the US celebrate instead the less radical date associated with outdoor barbecue and the end of white shoe season.
But this Labor Day, I’m thinking about Margaret Atwood’s 1985 novel The Handmaid’s Tale, set in a future American theocracy in which declining fertility has led to assigning still-fertile women the role of designated breeders, or handmaids.
