Civil Liberties Archives - KDA Keeping Democracy Alive Podcast & Radio Show

The Democratic establishment doesn’t get that people vote their morals. So says our guest David Fenton, successful public relations veteran of fifty years. Civil rights, wars, climate change: he says these are moral issues and people vote with their hearts The post PR Professional of the Left: Win by Touching People’s Morals appeared first on KDA Keeping Democracy Alive Podcast & R...

After decades of having to look “Tough on Crime”by jailing teenagers, notably people of color, at last we’re seeing the end of  adult prisons housing kids. Forty four states have dialed back the sequestering of kids in medieval fortresses where The post Freer Kids and Safer Streets appeared first on KDA Keeping Democracy Alive Podcast & Radio Show .

At the nearly two hundred fifty year mark, we’ve already lasted longer than most great nations. As with others which declined and fell, a loss of confidence led to anxiety and the impulse for a strong man to protect us The post Is America on an Irreversible Path to Decline and Fall? appeared first on KDA Keeping Democracy Alive Podcast & Radio Show .

Fear of the other. Fear of woke, of LGBTQ+, of Black liberation, and of course the old big fear: Communism. In the age of the Cold War, right after WWII, Americans believed the Soviet Union was bankrolling worldwide liberation movements, The post Why is There So Much Fear in the Strongest Country in the World? appeared first on KDA Keeping Democracy Alive Podcast & Radio Show .

Remember when we could count on the Washington Post to boldly take the lead on political corruption? And can you imagine a newspaper turning down a really big ad buy? Welcome to Trumpworld 2.0. As Common Cause president and CEO The post Washington Post Changes Bigly: Refuses $115,000 Ad appeared first on KDA Keeping Democracy Alive Podcast & Radio Show .

In being careful to avoid a monarchy or dictatorship, America’s founders adamantly insisted on each government agency being independent. The Federal Communications Commission act of 1934 was created to ensure that the public would have access to news without threat The post Is Freedom of the Press Doomed? appeared first on KDA Keeping Democracy Alive Podcast & Radio Show .

What we’re seeing today is a far cry from justice. Today’s policy of cruelty toward immigrants is an abject failure, yet it’s impractical to have a totally open border with Mexico. As with most solutions, the answer has to involve The post Immigration Justice: Is it Even Possible? appeared first on KDA Keeping Democracy Alive Podcast & Radio Show .

Just the threat of prosecution can be a violation of our First Amendment rights. Look for the fascistic right under Trump to try to impose by force what they failed to win in the culture war. On this show, investigative The post Will There Be A Way to Stop Him? appeared first on KDA Keeping Democracy Alive Podcast & Radio Show .

From the proposed Department of Government Efficiency to possible invocation of the Insurrection Act of 1807 to the Espionage Act of 1917 to the proposal to take away the non-profit status of organizations alleged to have ties to terrorists, there The post The Many All-American Tools Trump Can Use To Chill Freedom appeared first on KDA Keeping Democracy Alive Podcast & Radio Show .

You remember: “that’s not who we are,” related to January 6, 2021? Turns out, maybe it is who we are. Was this too an outlier: Greensboro North Carolina November 1979 when the KKK shot and killed five people demonstrating for The post Greensboro ’79: “White Supremacy Done Correctly” appeared first on KDA Keeping Democracy Alive Podcast & Radio Show .

They love to say America has the strongest military of any nation ever. But boasting usually leads to disaster. On this show, we hear from William J. Astore,  a retired lieutenant colonel of the US Air Force and professor of The post A Military Security State and the Erosion of Freedom appeared first on KDA Keeping Democracy Alive Podcast & Radio Show .

As Trump heads into the 2024 campaign, you might wonder who is behind it, who benefits from destroying our republic. Here is the story. The religious nationalists see him as a fierce leader. They believe God sends such kings to The post What’s Behind Trumpism: The Open Attack on Democracy appeared first on KDA Keeping Democracy Alive Podcast & Radio Show .

It’s not high on people’s reason to choose a president, but the power of pardons today is often corrupt and the promise of a pardon has been known to encourage crimes. In this discussion of her forthcoming book, Law Professor The post The Power of Pardons and Democracy appeared first on KDA Keeping Democracy Alive Podcast & Radio Show .

What do we mean by the word “hero?” Is it not a person of extraordinary courage, putting the good of the country above his or her own safety? That’s Daniel Ellsberg, most famous for the Pentagon Papers which he released The post Dan Ellsberg Died One Year Ago. Long May He Live. appeared first on KDA Keeping Democracy Alive Podcast & Radio Show .

The final chapter in our guest’s new book, Liberalism as a Way of Life asks the question: Requiem for a Liberal Way of Life? Well, is it really over? Reached in Sydney Australia where he’s professor of politics and philosophy The post Under Attack the World Over, What Is Liberalism? appeared first on KDA Keeping Democracy Alive Podcast & Radio Show .

They wanted to stop abortions, instead there were more after the Dobbs decision than before. One the first segment, Mother Jones magazine writer Julianne McShane tells how women are maintaining their reproductive rights despite the attacks. And on the second The post AntiChoice: In A Hole, Keeps Digging appeared first on KDA Keeping Democracy Alive Podcast & Radio Show .

Imagine a Supreme Court whose only agenda was “equal justice under law.” It was real. Unlike today’s court, which is openly an arm of the MAGA movement, when that court ended legal segregation 70 years ago, the Chief Justice was The post When the Supreme Court Was About Fairness to All appeared first on KDA Keeping Democracy Alive Podcast & Radio Show .

It’s a systemic problem: what is “reasonable,” what is acting “in good faith” when America’s police violate citizens rights or even kill them? As of now, police are protected, enjoying unique immunity which no one else has. In this show The post Shielded: How Did Police Become Untouchable? appeared first on KDA Keeping Democracy Alive Podcast & Radio Show .

It’s the bedrock of who we are today. But to believe there was agreement among the “Founding Fathers,” that they aimed to to replace plutocracy with democracy is just wrong. In this lively interview, historian Woody Holton reveals fascinating little-known The post The Truth Behind the Myth of the American Revolution appeared first on KDA Keeping Democracy Alive Podcast & Radio Show .

When you’re in a hole, stop digging. The currently pervasive approach to abuse disorder is a total failure; it exacerbates the problem. Could it be time to stop doing that? On this show experts in the field with personal knowledge The post Not Punishment: Treat Addicts as Full and Complete Humans? appeared first on KDA Keeping Democracy Alive Podcast & Radio Show .

Authoritarianism. Anti-Immigrant. White men fearful of losing control.   Books banned, free press shut down. Widespread domestic spying. Dissent criminalized and many jailed tortured and killed. In his new book, American Midnight: The Great War, A Violent Peace, and Democracy’s The post American Midnight: The Early 20th Century Model for Trump? appeared first on KDA Keeping Democracy Alive Podcast...

It was a crime to even be a member of the “One Big Union.” But even Helen Keller was a member of the IWW, the Industrial Workers of the World. On this show, Ahmed White talks about his new book The post “Courage Unexcelled in US History” appeared first on KDA Keeping Democracy Alive Podcast & Radio Show .

It’s a systemic problem: what is “reasonable,” what is acting “in good faith” when America’s police violate citizens rights or even kill them? As of now, police are protected, enjoying expanded immunity which no one else has. In this show The post Shielded: How The Police Became Untouchable appeared first on KDA Keeping Democracy Alive Podcast & Radio Show .

The Trumpist right today has had no small success erasing the productive history of liberalism. Today’s guest is author, lecturer, and journalist for The Washington Monthly David Masciotra who in this show talks about the renewed interest in Ted Kennedy, The post How Ted Kennedy’s Liberalism Strengthened America, And Still Can appeared first on KDA Keeping Democracy Alive Podcast &...

Authoritarianism. Anti-Immigrant. White men fearful of losing control.   Books banned, free press shut down. Widespread domestic spying. Dissent criminalized and many jailed tortured and killed. In his new book, American Midnight: The Great War, A Violent Peace, and Democracy’s The post American Midnight: Trumpism Before Trump appeared first on KDA Keeping Democracy Alive Podcast & Radio...