WPKN Archives: 02.17.20: Counterpoint host Scott Harris discusses the threat of tyranny posed by Pres. Trump & AG Bill Barr; Trump Adm proposes deep cuts to Social Security & Medicare; Bernie Sanders' relation with the term socialism & CT Marijuana legalization effort

Episode Info

Show:
Counterpoint

Original Aired:
Monday, February 17th, 2020
8:08PM to 10:04PM

Duration:
1 hour, 56 minutes

Posted:
Monday, February 17th, 2020 8:02PM

Tags:
marijuana connecticut cuts fascism socialism socialsecurity doj gop trump berniesanders budget coldwar europe impeachment medicare medicaid authoritarianism ruleoflaw tyranny nedlamont williambarr legalization rogerstone socialdemocrats taxrevenue


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Episode: 02.17.20: Counterpoint host Scott Harris discusses the threat of tyranny posed by Pres. Trump & AG Bill Barr; Trump Adm proposes deep cuts to Social Security & Medicare; Bernie Sanders' relation with the term socialism & CT Marijuana legalization effort

Counterpoint, hosted by Scott Harris, is heard every Monday night on WPKN 89.5 FM, Bridgeport, CT between 8:00 - 10:00 pm ET. Webstreaming and audio archive at http://wpkn.org

1) Jason Stanley is the Jacob Urowsky Professor of Philosophy at Yale University. He is the author of five books, including How Propaganda Works, winner of the Prose Award in Philosophy from the Association of American Publishers, and How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them, called by historian Jan T. Gross a “must-read for all of us who take seriously our responsibility as citizens.” Professor Stanley will discuss his views on Donald Trump's post-impeachment acquittal behavior, i.e. revenge firings and apparent interference in Roger Stone's DOJ sentencing recommendation. He'll also explore the role of mass protests in this critical moment for democracy and the status of institutions that are in place to provide checks and balances on presidential abuse of power.

2) Alex Lawson, Executive Director of Social Security Works, examines President Trump's proposed budget that would cut Medicare by $850 billion, cut Medicaid by $920 billion and cut Social Security by $30 billion over the next decade -- and discusses the work his group is doing to educate the public on this threat posed by the Trump regime.

3) Victor Wallis, professor of Liberal Arts at the Berklee College of Music, was the managing editor of Socialism and Democracy for twenty years and has been writing on ecological issues since the early 1990s. He's the author of, "Red-Green Revolution: The Politics and Technology of Ecosocialism," and Democracy Denied: Five Lectures on U.S. Politics." Prof. Wallis will discuss the media's interpretation of the word socialism, as it applies to Bernie Sanders' self described, "Democratic Socialism," in the context of the current Democratic presidential primary campaign. He'll also examine the history of the cold war stigma applied to the term socialism, compared with how the rest of the world views the word today.

4) Paul Kirchberg, Executive Director of the Connecticut chapter of NORML (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws) talks about the progress of the campaign advocating the legalization of recreational marijuana in Connecticut, the proposal to coordinate laws in adjacent states New York and Rhode Island -- and NORML's Scorecard on CT Governor Ned Lamont's action on this issue.

Some segments featured on Counterpoint are edited for re-broadcast on the syndicated Between The Lines radio news magazine. Visit their web site at http://www.btlonline.org for free subscriptions to mp3 - podcast audio files, program summaries and interview transcripts. An archive of current and past Counterpoint interviews are accessible for free at our Counterpoint Radio web site: http://counterpointradio.org The full 2-hour unedited program can be accessed for a 2 week period after the show, at the WPKN Radio archives: http://archives.wpkn.org/bookmarks/search/counterpoint

 

Show: Counterpoint

Counterpoint, hosted by Scott Harris, is heard every Monday on WPKN 89.5 FM, Bridgeport, CT between 8:00-10:00 pm ET. Webstreaming is at http://wpkn.org/ . Interview segment archives are at counterpointradio.org .

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