March 11 - The Rise of Anti-Intellectualism in the Republican Leadership; Inside the Secret Drone Program; Congress Prevents Ban on Cop-Killer Bullets

Full Program

Part 1

We begin with outrage expressed by Secretary of State Kerry at the blatant attempt to sabotage nuclear negotiations with Iran and examine the rise of foreign policy neophytes and ignoramuses such as the author of the letter signed by 47 Republican senators Tom Cotton, and the Republican front-runner for president Scott Walker who claims that Ronald Reagan’s firing of a bunch of air traffic controllers was the “most consequential foreign policy decision of his lifetime.” Michael Cohen, a former chief speechwriter for the U.S. Representative to the U.N. and a columnist at the Boston Globe who has an article at Foreign Policy “State of the Union Buster”, joins us to discuss growing anti-intellectualism in Republican leadership ranks that began with John McCain’s choice of Sarah Palin as a presidential running mate.

Part 2

Then we speak with Andrew Cockburn, the Washington Editor of Harper’s magazine about his new book “Kill Chain: The Rise of the High-Tech Assassins”. We will discuss the increasing reliance of targeted assassination by the White House, the Pentagon and the CIA and the little-know history of the burgeoning drone program that is led by a shadowy eccentric figure as well as the deficiencies and flaws in these high-tech weapons that are making contractors like Northrop Grumman rich with their $300 million Global Hawk drone that Pentagon insiders call “a piece of junk”.

Part 3

Then finally we look into the decision by the ATF to abandon an effort to ban so-called “green tip” bullets that can pierce police protective vests, particularly when fired from handguns that now fire this type of assault rifle ammunition. Daniel Webster, a Professor of Health Policy and Management at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health where he serves as the Director of the Center for Gun Policy and Research, joins us to discuss why the White House caved in the face of an NRA campaign that enlisted 291 members of Congress who claim that banning “cop killer” bullets is an assault on the 2^nd Amendment.