Civil Liberties, Crony Capitalism, Gaza, worker's rights
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Understanding Trump Era Capitalism
Just prior to the 2024 presidential election, we interviewed seven leading socialist thinkers and activists on whether, and if so to what degree, they were fearful that if Trump was elected to a second term America’s already weakened democracy would be further weaken and if so, to that extent. And did they think Trump was essentially a would-be fascistic, authoritarian president. Our guests in the past number of weeks were Chris Hedges, Dianne Feeley, Henry Giroux, Bill Mullen, Margaret Kimberley, Kshama Sawant and Richard Wolff. All of them felt Trump and the Project 2025 proposals he was promoting suggested he would, if elected, demonstrate fascistic and authoritarian desires, and act accordingly.
After the election, OR Books published the book, From the Flag to the Cross: Fascism American Style, which provided, in essay form, the contents of the interviews of those seven guests. Today, we interview one of those guests, Richard Wolff on to what extent his fears about Trump’s politics and manner of rule has come to pass and if so, in what ways and to ask him the best ways to fight back against the actions and policies of the Trump Administration.
Guest – Richard Wolff is Professor Emeritus from the University of Massachusetts, and the author of Understanding Capitalism. According to New York Times, Richard Wolff is, probably America’s most prominent Marxist economist. He is the founder of Democracy at Work and host of their national syndicated show Economic Update. Professor Wolff has authorized numerous books on capitalism and socialism, including most recently The Sickness is the System: When Capitalism Fails to Save Us From Pandemics or Itself, Understanding Socialism; and Understanding Marxism, which can be found at democracyatwork.info.
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I Did It for My Country: Sirhan Sirhan, Palestine, and the Assassination of Robert F. Kennedy
Historian Michael Fischbach’s new book I Did It For My Country is on the 1968 assassination of Robert Kennedy by Sirhan Sirhan. He was a Palestinian refugee who shot RFK in the head at a Los Angeles hotel the night Kennedy won the California presidential primary.
Sirhan and his family were driven out of their native country of Palestine by Zionist settlers in 1948. History Professor Michael Fishbach’s book is a unique contribution to our understanding of the unfolding of the tragedy of relatively recent American history. It is unique because of the many books written on the assassination Professor Fischbach’s book is the only one that puts it in the context of the Palestinian catastrophe. In 1948, 750,000 Palestinians were driven from their native land. More than 500 villages were plowed over to establish Israel on the false Zionist slogan that they were “making a country for a people without a land on a land without a people.“
When Robert Kennedy was murdered the night he won to California primary he was destined to become the next United States president. Had he become president modern American history would’ve turned out differently. Robert Kennedy‘s brother John F. Kennedy had been assassinated by elements within the CIA five years before. It Is the consensus of knowledgeable people that JFK was killed because he was trying to pursue peace in Vietnam, Cuba, and especially with Russia.
JFK signed a national security Memorandum in 1963 stating his intention to withdraw all American troops from Vietnam. Instead Lyndon Johnson who succeeded Kennedy escalated the war in Vietnam, which killed 3 million Vietnamese and 53,000 American soldiers before United States was forced out in 1975. Historically “blowback” is understood as the unintended consequences of a foreign policy action. Robert Kennedy’s murder was a blowback phenomenon. In this case, it was America’s unwavering support from 1948 on to establishment of Israel. When Sirhan killed Kennedy yelled out “I did it for my country.” The centrality of American military , diplomatic, and economic support of Israel was never brought to the fore.
Guest – Michael R. Fischbach is professor of history at Randolph-Macon College. His books include The Movement and the Middle East: How the Arab-Israeli Conflict Divided the American Left.
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Civil Liberties, Civil Rights, Executive Branch Law Breaking, Supreme Court, worker's rights
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Unitary Executive Theory
The US Supreme Court just ended a momentous term further entrenching the reactionary Republican agenda. Our sometimes consideration of relevant court cases and other legal developments, today includes a review of the conservative legal doctrine known as the Unitary Executive Theory, now favored by the conservative majority on the Supreme Court, and the conservative doctrine of Originalism. We’ll also look at a new opinion poll of Americans showing that at least half of Americans disapprove of the job the Supreme Court is doing.
Guest – Stephen Rohde is the author of two books and numerous articles and book reviews on constitutional law and history. He is the former president of the ACLU Foundation of Southern California and is a special Advisor on Free Speech and the First Amendment for the Muslim Public Affairs Council. He is host of the new podcast Speaking Freely produced by MS Studios and is available on Spotify and I Heart radio and other streaming platforms. Steve Rohde is also, of course, one of the co-hosts here on the Law and Disorder radio show.
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Hold Your Representative Accountable
A dozen years ago, two professors from prestigious universities, Martin Gillens and Benjamin Gage conducted a study of decision-making in our government. Their conclusion was a bombshell destroying as it did the myth that America is a majoritarian democracy. Their conclusion, in the most widely cited quote from their study, was that “the preferences of the average American appear to have only a minuscule, nearly 0 statistically, non-significant impact on public policy.”
So who decides the policies of the government? Not us. It is the economic leaders, the business interests and the organized lobbies that call the shots. The American people by and large are way to the left of their government. However, they are ignorant of the true record of the Congress people who claim to represent them. What can be done about this?
Guest – Felice Gelman is a long time movement activist and part of The Network For Voter Education, a non-partisan effort that has created an Internet tool called yourreprecord.org which people can use to look up the true record of members of Congress.
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Civil Liberties, Civil Rights, Economics, Supreme Court, worker's rights
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Economic Impact of Billionaires and Trillionaires
When Donald Trump came back to resume the office of presidency a year and a half ago the kind of government we were living under was unclear. It was a government where billionaires dominated our mass media, corporations, universities, courts, and government. Was this oligarchy authoritarianism or was it fascism American style? Last month, the media treated us to the spectacle of Elon Musk becoming the world‘s first trillionaire. One trillion is 1000 billion dollars. One billion is 1000 million dollars. The amount of money $1 trillion represents is difficult to even imagine. It would take a man working 52 weeks a year for $25 an hour 19.23 million years to make $1 trillion. The impact on a democratic society of having a trillionaire and over 1000 billionaires is transformative and a spectacle that has affected all of our lives.
Guest – Professor Henry Giroux – last year Law annd Disorder interviewed seven significant thinkers about the topic of American fascism. We put together a book on the topic titled From The Flag To The Cross: Fascism American Style.. Professor Henry Giroux was one of the seven contributors to the Law and Disorder book He wrote about the transformation of education. Henry Giroux currently holds the McMaster University Chair for scholarship and the public Interest. His most recent book co-authored with Anthony DiMaggio is titled Fascism on Trial: Education and the Possibility of Democracy. Professor Giroux frequently writes for the LA Progressive and has recently authored an article on Elon Musk becoming a trillionaire.
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U.S. Supreme Court Decisions Resetting Precedent Part 2
Back we go to review of more cases from the recent term of the U.S. Supreme Court. We start with the birthright citizen case. Then we take up cases dealing with immigration and executive power, as well as other major cases. We also look at what many have described as corruption among the Justices.
Guest – Ellen Yaroshefsky is the Howard Lichtenstein Distinguished Professor of Legal Ethics, Maurice A. Deane School of Law, at Hofstra University. She is a leading educator and expert in ethics law and serves as an expert witness and advisor to lawyers and law firms. Prof. Yaroshefsky is a former Commissioner on the New York State Joint Commission on Public Ethics. She has previously worked at the Center for Constitutional Rights and has been in private practice. And Prof. Yaroshefsky has received numerous awards, including the New York State Bar Association’s honor for Outstanding Contribution in Criminal Law Education.
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Civil Rights, Criminalizing Dissent, Freedom Of Speech, Human Rights, Racist Police Violence, worker's rights
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We’re Coming for You and Your Whole Rotten System
Tens of thousands of socialists, union members, and working people fought alongside Kshama Sawant and her city council office to win historic victories, like the $15 an hour minimum wage, Amazon tax on businesses, renter rights and more. Long before AOC and Bernie Sanders became household names, Kshama won elections as a socialist to the office of city council in Seattle in 2013.
Twelve years ago the demand for $15 an hour was dismissed as utopian by the Democrats in Seattle and the corporate media. They won and moreover, they won an escalation clause. Seattle workers are now getting over $20 an hour, the highest in the country.
In 2020, her office won the historic Amazon tax which funds affordable housing and other needs to the tune of $214 million a year by taxing the city’s, wealthiest corporations. Sawant launched the people’s budget campaign, organizing hundreds of activists every year and winning millions of dollars in funding for affordable housing, renters needs, including defense against evictions, and social services.
They won a law after the Roe versus Wade decision making abortion free in Seattle for all those who need it. They won a resolution making Seattle the largest city to pass the strongest cease-fire resolution condemning Israel’s genocide against the Palestinian people. Why is KShama and the forces around her been able to defeat big business interests, the right wing, and the Democratic Party establishment again and again whereas Bernie Sanders and the Squad have not?
Guest – Jonathan Rosenblum, the author of the recently published book We’re Coming for You and your Whole Rotten System to answer this question. Mr. Rosenblum worked on the Sawant’s staff at the Seattle City Council office throughout the decade of 2010s. He’s a journalist, labor organizer, and a member of the National Writers Union.
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Netflix Documentary and Innocence Project Help Exonerate Falsely Imprisoned Killers
The black political leader, Malcolm X was assassinated 50 years ago in the Audubon ballroom in Harlem, in the City of New York. Assassination is a political murder. The story that we were all to believe was that Malcolm X, as a member and leader of Elijah Muhammad’s nation of Islam, developed differences with Elijah Mohammad. That he left the nation of Islam. And that he was later killed by members of the NY and Newark chapters, who came across the Hudson River and shot him while he spoke out at the ballroom.
But as we have learned recently, that story is not the full truth. The truth started coming out when Netflix did a six-part documentary on the assassination. This was followed up by the work of the Innocence Project, who along with help from the Manhattan district attorney’s office got two of the falsely imprisoned supposed killers exonerated.
We have learned of the FBI’s intelligence program called Cointelpro. One of its aims was to neutralize any future black leaders. Malcolm X‘s daughters have retained a team of civil rights attorneys who are suing the New York Police Department and the FBI over their possible involvement in the assassination of Malcolm X, and it’s cover-up.
Guest – Flint Taylor of the Peoples Law Office. Taylor is a nationally recognized civil rights attorney. He represented the family of Fred Hampton demonstrating that the Chicago Police Department and the FBI were responsible for the assassination of the young Black Panther leader. He’s written the book “The Killing Machine: Racism and Police Violence in Chicago”. He is one of the editors of the “Police Misconduct Law Reporter. He’s the author of The Torture Machine: Racism And Police Violence In Chicago.
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Animal Rights, Civil Liberties, Civil Rights, worker's rights
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Corporate Media Coverage Analysis of NYC Mayoral Race
The majority campaign of Zohran Mamdani in New York City is the most hopeful development on the left in America today. Mamdani is a charismatic 33 year-old Uganda born one time state legislator and a wholehearted supporter and member of the Democratic Socialists of America. He is challenging former governor Andrew Como, who was recently forced to resign in disgrace after being credibly accused by 13 women of sexual harassment.
Cuomo represents the establishment, the real estate, financial, and big tech interests in America’s largest city. He has the support of major media and even Donald Trump. Meanwhile, none of the leading Democratic Party figures in New York State except Governor Hochul have endorsed Mamdani.
Cuomo’s campaign is run on fear. Mamdani won the primary by a landslide. His support comes mostly from the young, Black people, Asians, and a white working class in neighborhoods throughout New York City. During the primary campaign 50,000 volunteers knocked on 1,500,000 doors with the message that their candidate will work to make their lives better. The major media in New York City have thrown their weight behind Cuomo. But New York City’s grassroots, newspaper, The Indypendent has covered the Mamdani campaign consistently, and extensively since it’s beginning.
Guest – John Tarleton is a co-founder and editor in chief of the Indypendent, a free monthly newspaper and website publishing in New York City since 2000. He’s the cohost of the independent NewsHour on WBAI in New York City.
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Animal Protection Laws Emboldened By Case Precedent
Humankind has, happily, made considerable progress in extending legal rights to the non-human animal world, but certainly from the point of view of animal rights advocates we’ve still got a long way to go. So today on Law and Disorder we’ll speak with an attorney whose practice includes animal rights law to discuss some of the recent pluses and minuses in the battle to secure legal protection for the animals with whom we share this planet.
Guest – Attorney Matthew Strugar was previously Director of Litigation for the PETA Foundation, or the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. Matthew Strugar is now in private practice where, in addition to animal law, his practice includes handling civil rights cases, cases of police misconduct, the First Amendment, prisoners’ rights and the defense of political protesters.
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Civil Liberties, Human Rights, Truth to Power, U.S. Militarism, Violations of U.S. and International Law, War Resister, worker's rights
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From The Flag To The Cross: Fascism American Style
From The Flag To The Cross: Fascism American Style is the title of a recently published anthology edited by Zachary Sklar and our own Michael Smith. Co-host Jim Lafferty wrote the introduction. The book draws from seven key interviews with prominent socialist thinkers in the United States and Canada. They include Margaret Kimberly, Henry Giroux, Dianne Feeley and Bill Mullen. Bill will also be joining Michael and Jim in the guest seat. He’s Professor Emeritus of American Studies at Purdue University and author of We Charge Genocide! American Fascism and the Rule of Law.
Chris Hedges who is also included in this book, writes “when fascism comes to America, it will be mass of recitations of the pledge of allegiance, the Christian cross and the flag.” We’ll explore these frayed boundaries of Christian fascism, capitalism, and the assaults on free speech and censorship while highlighting the strategies of community based actions.
Guest – Michael Steven Smith is the author, editor, and co-editor of many books, mostly recently Imagine: Living In A Socialist U.S.A. and “The Emerging Police State,” by William M. Kunstler. He has testified before committees of the United States Congress and the United Nations on human rights issues. Mr. Smith lives and had practiced law in New York City with his wife Debby, where on behalf of seriously injured persons he sues insurance companies and occasionally the New York City Police Department.
Guest – Jim Lafferty is the Executive Director Emeritus of the National Lawyers Guild in Los Angeles and the host of The Lawyers Guild Show on Pacifica Radio’s Los Angeles station, KPFK. Jim has been a national leader in the peace and social justice movement for 60-years. He served as a national Coordinator of the National Peace Action Coalition, the group that organized the largest protests against the U.S. war in Vietnam, and in leadership positions in other peace coalitions opposing various imperialist U.S. wars. In the early 1960’s he was the national Director of the National Lawyers Guild during its historic work in the South. In the mid-1960’s until the 1980’s, Jim was in the private practice of law in Detroit, Michigan, where he specialized in Selective Service law, employment discrimination law, and civil rights law. He serves on the governing board of the A.C.L.U. of Southern California, is a member of the steering committee of the national Julian Assange Defense Committee, and a Fellow at the Institute for the Humanities at the University of Southern California.
Guest – Bill Mullen is professor emeritus of American studies at Purdue University and the co-founder of The Campus Anti-fascist Network. He’s also co-author of The Black Antifascist Tradition and We Charge Genocide: American Ashes and the Rule of Law. He’s a contributor to the just published Law And Disorder book From the Flag to the Cross: Fascism American Style.
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