January 15 - The Republican War on the Poor; Democrats Sabotaging Obama's Foreign Policy; The On-Going Assault of West Virginia's Health and Environment

Full Program

Part 1

We begin with the Senate Republican’s rejection of an effort to restore unemployment benefits to 1.3 million Americans who were cut off on December 28. Joining us is Thomas Hirschl, who recently co-authored a new report at the Associated Press on the widening gap of wealth inequality in the U.S. where 4 out of 5 adults have struggled with joblessness and near poverty. 50 years after the war on poverty was declared, we discuss the war on the poor by Republicans who have cut food stamps and unemployment benefits in an apparent effort to increase poverty in America rather than end it.

Part 2

Then we look into the efforts underway on Capitol Hill to sabotage the P5+1 diplomatic deal with Iran with a new sanctions bill being pushed in the Senate by Republican Mark Kirk and Democrat Robert Menendez.  M.J. Rosenberg, a special correspondent for The Washington Spectator, who worked on Capitol Hill for a number of Democratic Senators and House member for 15 years, and also worked for AIPAC, the lobby behind efforts to scuttle the deal, joins us to discuss what is driving Israel’s Defense Minister to insult America’s Secretary of State and why is AIPAC working overtime to kill Obama’s diplomatic opening with Iran.

Part 3

Then finally we speak with Bob Kincaid, the co-founder of the Appalachian Health Emergency Campaign and Chair of the Board of the Coal River Mountain Watch about the broader environmental and health issues effecting the people of West Virginia beyond the current crisis over a chemical spill that has the nation’s attention at the moment.  Apparently the 300,000 residents in the Kenawha Valley are merely the latest West Virginia residents to be exposed to deadly toxins which are routinely used across the state in mining and mountaintop coal removal.