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More Care Not Less!!

admin — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 11:56:06 +0000

Starting this year an American will turn 65 every eight seconds. (Thank the boomers.) While Barack Obama is calling on Democrats to accept "trimming benefits" for the future's sake, seven hundred people are gathering in Washington at the Hilton recently with a very different approach.

As the nation's primary product these days seems to be jobless, poor people and old folk - how about hooking them up? The Caring Across Generations campaign, one of the most remarkable coalition efforts yet, has a plan: value caregivers, forge good jobs out of bad, give quality home health care to those who need it - and create two million jobs while you're at it!It might seem way too smart to get traction in DC but take a look at the coalition behind Caring Across Generations and you'll find groups who've quietly been pulling off long-shot victories for years.

On the panel I hosted: Sarah Leberstein, staff attorney at the National Employment Law Project which has been raising and enforcing wage and hour standards for home care workers, Ellen Bravo, director of the Family Values @ Work Consortium, a network of 15 coalitions scoring paid sick days and family leave insurance around the states; Leonila Vega, director of the Direct Care Alliance, an advocate for older adults, Rahnee K. Patrick, Director of Independent Living at the disability-led advocacy center Access Living, Angelica Salas, executive director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles which helped win in-state tuition for undocumented immigrant students and established day laborer job centers that have served as a model for the nation.

Doing the introductions was by Ai Jen Poo, executive director of The Domestic Workers Alliance, the group that led the successful fight to pass New York's Domestic Workers Bill of Rights -first piece of legislation in U.S. history to recognize domestic workers.

After lunch, Health Care for America Now held a “Medicaid Matters Across Generations” action on Capitol Hill. Keep an eye out for more Caring Across Generations conventions coming to other major cities this fall.

[This post was updated on July 13, 2011]

Protests for Peace in Palestine

admin — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 16:46:47 +0000

The Friends of the Israel Defense Force held a fancy fundraiser in Manhattan last night, but hundreds of Palestine solidarity activists gathered outside to protest. Jews Say No!, a Jewish anti-occupation group, called the protest, which was co-sponsored by over 20 activist groups, including Adalah-NY, American Jews for a Just Peace, Jewish Voice for Peace, and the National Lawyers Guild NY Chapter, and was endorsed by two Palestinian groups from the village of Bil’in and four Israeli groups.

Amer Shurrab, a Middlebury College graduate from Khan Yunis in Gaza, whose father and two brothers were killed in Operation Cast Lead, and Dorothy Zellner, founding member of Jews Say No!, join us to talk about the protests, Joe Biden's condemnation of Israeli settlement building, and more.

LIVE AT NOON: David Kirby: Animal Factory

admin — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 16:00:59 +0000

Swine flu, bird flu, cancer, parasites, E. Coli...what do they all have in common? Factory farms, says investigative reporter David Kirby. In his new book, Animal Factory, he exposes the deep problems with the factory farming system and how it hurts people and the environment. He joins Laura in studio at noon to talk about the book and what we can do to fix our food supply, and Rick Dove of the Waterkeeper Alliance, featured in the book, will check in by phone.

LIVE AT NOON: Daniel Ellsberg: Can The People Take Back Power?

admin — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 16:45:43 +0000

The Bush administration thrived on secrecy; Obama promised more transparency, but has yet to really deliver. What's more, when information does come out, it seems that accountability is nearly impossible to get: the torture memos were released, but there will be no trials. We ask Daniel Ellsberg, one of the world's most famous whistleblowers if there's anything the people can do to take the power back.

Update: Due to forces outside his control, Glenn Greenwald won't be able to join us for the live show today.

LIVE AT NOON: The Iranian Movement & Obama’s New Strategy

admin — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 16:45:43 +0000

Not long ago on GRITtv, Hamid Dabashi told us that the Iranian protests are turning into a civil rights movement with long-term potential for change. We'll talk to Hooman Majd, Hadi Ghaemi, and Kelly Golnoush Niknejad at noon about the protests, the regime, and what happens next.

Also, President Obama made news with his question and answer session with Congressional Republicans. Now he's planning a televised health care summit with the GOP. We ask Mother Jones' David Corn if this new strategy will work, and why he's calling for more question time.

LIVE AT NOON: Whose News Is It, Anyway?

admin — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 16:45:19 +0000

Discussions on the future of journalism are happening so often now that they're almost trite. But Robert McChesney, John Nichols, Tracy Van Slyke and Kate Giammarise are not only interested in saving journalism; they're interested in having all of us have a say. They'll join us at noon to discuss.

Nichols and McChesney have a new book out, The Death and Life of American Journalism: The Media Revolution that Will Begin the World Again that documents the decline of the commercial press and makes the case for publicly-funded media, and Van Slyke has a book out as well, co-authored with Jessica Clark, Beyond the Echo Chamber: How a Networked Progressive Media Can Reshape American Politics, documenting the rise of a new media culture. Giammarise is featured in Nichols and McChesney's book and since being laid off from the Toledo Blade has founded Rustwire.com.

If you can't get enough of this discussion, and you're in New York, come see Laura with Nichols, McChesney, Pamela Newkirk and David Carr at the Society for Ethical Culture TONIGHT at 7 PM. It's free! (If you're not in New York, don't despair, we're taping the event and it should show up on GRITtv soon!)

LIVE AT NOON: What Happened to the Grassroots Obama Movement?

GRITtv — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 16:30:52 +0000

The Obama campaign was a massive grassroots mobilization, but a year later, has the organization that grew out of it failed to keep up the momentum? Micah Sifry of Personal Democracy Forum says yes and furthermore that the campaign was never as grassroots as billed; Karoli of the blog Odd Time Signatures says no, Organizing for America is keeping up the good work. We'll also be speaking to Geoff Berman, New York Deputy Field Director for OFA. Join us live, right here at noon!

LIVE AT 12:30: Year In Review/Decade In Review

GRITtv — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 16:30:29 +0000

The year is almost over, and it's certainly been an eventful one. We've seen a new president, some huge bank bailouts, a dramatic election season and we're closer than we've ever been to national health care reform--whether that's a good thing or not. It's also about to be 2010 and the end of a decade that Time magazine suggested might've been the worst ever. Hyperbole? We'll discuss the year that was and the decade that was with a roundtable of our favorite guests, including Katrina vanden Heuvel of The Nation, Mark Green of Air America, Danny Schechter of News Dissector, Max Blumenthal, author of Republican Gomorrah, Maya Wiley of the Center for Social Inclusion, Faye Wattleton of the Center for the Advancement of Women, and Nancy Giles of CBS News Sunday Morning. We'll also have an interview with Robert Greenwald of Brave New Films on progressive organizing through media. We'll be live right here for a full hour, starting at 12:30 EST. Hope you'll join us!

LIVE AT NOON: Is Capitalism Worth Saving?

GRITtv — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 16:56:10 +0000

With the economic collapse last year, many mainstream voices suddenly started to talk about alternatives to capitalism. The economy seems to be stabilizing a bit, but as we've discussed many times, people are still suffering and jobless. Yet Citigroup is getting more tax breaks, and Ben Bernanke is Time's Man of the Year. Can capitalism be saved, and is it worth saving? We're thinking big this Wednesday with Nicole Gelinas of the Manhattan Institute and Max Fraad Wolff of the New School.

LIVE AT NOON: Can We Learn From Polanski?

GRITtv — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 16:57:20 +0000

Roman Polanski was arrested in Switzerland on a 31-year-old statutory rape charge earlier this year, and many Hollywood stars immediately rallied to his defense. As Polanski remains under house arrest, we ask Trish Kinney, Michael Musto and Dominic Lawson if any good can come of a trial, and why stars seem to be given a free pass on horrific behavior. We want to hear from YOU! Post your comments and questions at www.grittv.org, or tweet them @grittv, and we'll ask our guests!