This week’s show revisits two excellent interviews Errington had with Amy Goodman from Democracy Now, who is the author of Standing up to the Madness, and Media Matters’ Eric Boehlert. The first interview with Ms Goodman reminds us of the ongoing fight for our civil liberties, even here in these United States. Goodman chronicles the story of a group of librarians who were served with so-called “National Security Letters” and, along with the help of the ACLU, stood up for their rights, for our rights, in a case against the United States Patriot Act. We hear, too, about some sneaky legal maneuvers with regard to shutting down public housing in New Orleans after Katrina. This was attempted under the guise of cleaning up the mess, during and after one of former President Bush’s extended vacations in the hurricane’s aftermath. In what Goodman calls a “microcosm of injustice in this country,” some residents of New Orleans’ public housing structures were not allowed to return to their homes, even though they were neither swamped nor destroyed.
Reminding us to remain vigilant in the face of the degradation of civil liberties, Errington and Goodman also cover the story of some brave Americans who test the No-Fly List mentality. One man’s choice of a particular tee-shirt found him in custody at a US airport. “We will not be silenced,” from the original anti-Holocaust slogan, was too inflammatory for him to go unnoticed on an American flight, especially because the tee included Arabic writing, as well!
Eric Boehlert’s interview continues the insightful commentary, as he and Errington delve into how the blogosphere has changed American journalism forever. The plethora of information grows as fewer people get cut out of the conversation. So much more discussion of what is important to our country gets covered, thanks to sites like firedoglake.org and the Huffpost… oh, and erringtont.sg-host.com!
Now this is Progressive radio!
