Obama's Cabinet Takes Strategic Form

The appointments of President-Elect Barack Obama receive critical judgement from journalist Naomi Klein, Robert Kuttner and Michael Hudson in this Democracy NOW segment.

Democracy Now Discusses Significance of Historic Run with Green Party Presidential Candidate McKinney

This video, while two weeks old, is still timely, given the concern of little media attention provided to a third party villified for having "spoiled" the election in 2000. Green Party Presidential Candidate Cynthia McKinney speaks with Amy Goodman about the international significance of the Green Party and the responsibility the Party has to state its case and be heard. Vice-Presidential Running Mate, Rosa Clemente, who is a hip-hop activist and journalist, also spoke to Goodman about the media "whiteout", a term used to describe the perceived suppression of the voices of people of color by media gatekeepers .

Democracy Now Focuses Conversation On Bucky's Goal of Sustainability

Democracy Now uses a historical clip of Buckminster Fuller to launch a conversation about sustainability and energy.

According to guest Jamie Snyder, Obama and McCain support nuclear energy, despite its costs, because it's BIG and people can grab onto the concept easily. However, the numbers on nuclear do not work out. And the cheapest way for us to gain sustainable energy is to change the way we use the energy we have.

Another guest, John Todd talks about sustainability particularly as it relates to restoring the damaged lands of the Appalachian Mountains, using "New Economy". Social, economic and environmental justice figure high in his solutions.

Congress to Grant Immunity to Telecoms

In a hurry to take their summer recess, the Democrats have capitulated again to the Republicans.

Democracy Now reports:

Leaders in the Democratic-controlled House and Senate have agreed to rewrite the nation’s surveillance laws and to give what amounts to legal immunity to phone companies that took part in the Bush administration’s secret domestic surveillance program. The bill has been described as the most significant revision of surveillance law in three decades. The legislation gives the government new powers to eavesdrop on both domestic and international communications. One provision would allow the government to wiretap Americans for up to a week without a court order. The House is expected to approve the measure today. The Senate will vote next week. Several prominent Democratic Senators criticized the bill. Senator Russ Feingold said, “The proposed FISA deal is not a compromise; it is a capitulation.”

Amy Goodman, Democracy NOW! Covers Ground in Bay Area

Host of "Democracy NOW!" Amy Goodman has been touring Northern California for the last couple of days.

Today's show featured Nader's Vice-Presidential running mate Matt Gonzalez who had some comments on the CBS Democratic Debate held on Wednesday. He hopes that Nader will be allowed into the debates so that issues which are not currently addressed by the two major parties, like living wage, and election reform solutions like Instant Runoff Voting (IRV) would get some attention from the public. He expects that if people could hear Nader, many would be persuaded to consider him.

Also, Lawrence Lessig, law professor at Stanford comments on Net Neutrality and its significance to growing democracy in a corporate media world. He sees the trafficking influence of service providers as a threat to a system that has, until recently, spawned the development of democracy in other nations as well as our own.

Democracy Now! introduces "Body of War"

Amy Goodman of Democracy NOW! interviews filmmakers Phil Donahue and Ellen Spiro regarding the documentary "Body of War" which intimately follows the individual efforts of one young veteran paralyzed from injuries suffered in the war. The movie effectively intercuts shots of its subject, Tomas Young with shots or voice overs of the politicians who voted for the war and argues that the senate put on a show that was fairly well scripted.



This segment is part 2 of 5 posted on YouTube. Here is the entire segment from Democracy Now

Young joined up to make a difference in Afghanistan but was plowed down after several days on the ground in Iraq. Shipped back to an unprepared VA hospital, Young languished for a month without proper rehabilitation and is now on a list of medications, including an increasing dosage of morphine. His fiance and mother help him with his physical needs and he has become an anti-war activist. Somehow, he keeps his sense of humor, despite the real discomfort that he feels.