Norman Ornstein and Thomas Mann Explain Why Congress is Failing Us
Political scholars Norman Ornstein and Thomas Mann argue that congressional dysfunction is mostly the fault of right wing radicals within the Republican Party.
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Showing posts with label by Bill Moyers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label by Bill Moyers. Show all posts
Drones and Democracy
Vicki Divoll and Vincent Warren on Drones and Democracy
February 1, 2013
Bill explores the moral and legal implications of using drones to target our enemies — both foreign and American — as well as other intelligence issues with Vicki Divoll, a former general counsel to the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and former deputy legal adviser to the C.I.A.’s Counterterrorism Center, and Vincent Warren, Executive Director of the Center for Constitutional Rights. MORE
Elie Wiesel on if Humanity is Good or Evil
Facing Hate with Elie Wiesel
Nobel Laureate and human rights advocate Elie Wiesel talks with Bill Moyers about his own childhood experiences at Auschwitz and analyzes the source of Nazi hatred toward Jews — “we
The Poetry of Philip Appleman
The Poetry of Philip Appleman July 6, 2012 Bill talks with and invites readings by renowned poet, novelist, and editor Philip Appleman, whose creativity spans a long life filled with verse, fiction, philosophy, and religion. The author of nine books of poetry, three novels, and six volumes of non-fiction, Appleman’s most acclaimed work includes explorations of the life and theories of Charles
“United States of ALEC,”
Encore: United States of ALEC
November 30, 2012
In an encore broadcast, Moyers & Company presents “United States of ALEC,” a report on the most influential corporate-funded political force most of America has never heard of — ALEC, the American Legislative Exchange Council. A national consortium of state politicians and powerful corporations, ALEC presents itself as a “nonpartisan public-private partnership”. But behind that mantra lies a vast network of corporate lobbying and political action aimed to increase corporate profits at public expense without public knowledge.
In state houses around the country, hundreds of pieces of boilerplate ALEC legislation are proposed or enacted that would, among other things, dilute collective bargaining rights, make it harder for some Americans to vote, and limit corporate liability for harm caused to consumers — each accomplished without the public ever knowing who’s behind it. One Wisconsin politician describes ALEC as “a corporate dating service for lonely legislators and corporate special interests.”
“United States of ALEC” is a collaboration between Okapi Productions, LLC and the Schumann Media Center, headed by Bill Moyers, which supports independent journalism and public watchdogs including the Center for Media and Democracy, whose investigators are featured in the report.
In state houses around the country, hundreds of pieces of boilerplate ALEC legislation are proposed or enacted that would, among other things, dilute collective bargaining rights, make it harder for some Americans to vote, and limit corporate liability for harm caused to consumers — each accomplished without the public ever knowing who’s behind it. One Wisconsin politician describes ALEC as “a corporate dating service for lonely legislators and corporate special interests.”
“United States of ALEC” is a collaboration between Okapi Productions, LLC and the Schumann Media Center, headed by Bill Moyers, which supports independent journalism and public watchdogs including the Center for Media and Democracy, whose investigators are featured in the report.
What It’s Like to Go to War
November 20, 2012
America has been at war for over a decade, with millions of soldiers having seen death and dying up close in Afghanistan and Iraq. But most Americans — watching comfortably on their TVs and computers, witness to statistics, speeches, and “expert” rhetoric — don’t get what’s really going on there. In this encore broadcast, Bill talks to Karl Marlantes — a highly-decorated Vietnam veteran, Rhodes Scholar, author, and PTSD survivor — about what we on the insulated outside need to understand about the minds and hearts of our modern warriors. Marlantes shares with Bill intimate stories about how his battlefield experiences both shaped and nearly destroyed him, even after returning to civilian life.
“’Thou shalt not kill’ is a tenet you just do not violate, and so all your young life, that’s drilled into your head. And then suddenly, you’re 18 or 19 and they’re saying, ‘Go get ‘em and kill for your country.’ And then you come back and it’s like, ‘Well, thou shalt not kill’ again. Believe me, that’s a difficult thing to deal with,” Marlantes tells Bill. “You take a young man and put him in the role of God, where he is asked to take a life — that’s something no 19-year-old is able to handle.”
Editor’s Update:
During this conversation, Bill and Marlantes discuss the case of Staff Sgt. Robert Bales, a U.S. soldier accused of murdering Afghan civilians on March 11, 2012. Since this show was taped, a pretrial hearing into Bales’ alleged crimes concluded on November 13 at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington. The Army charged that Bales should receive the death penalty for killing 16 Afghan civilians. His defense attorney argued there were remaining questions about the crime, and issues involving Bales’ mental and physical state. Senior officials in the Army will make the final decision whether to proceed to a court-martial trial, though no timeline has been provided for when that decision will be reached.
TOPICS: Veterans & WarKarl Marlantes on the Mindset of a Modern Warrior
What the 2012 Election Reveals About America
Bob Herbert and Reihan Salam on What the 2012 Election Reveals About America
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