The Jeff Farias Show Interviews

James W Douglass author of JFK and the Unspeakable: Why He Died and Why It Matters In James W. Douglass’ outstanding new book, “JFK and the Unspeakable,” the author explains the title in his introduction. Coined by spiritual writer Thomas Merton, The Unspeakable refers to “an evil whose depth and deceit seemed to go beyond the capacity of words to describe.” Regarding the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, the Unspeakable succeeded due to deniability by the nation’s citizens of the horrifying truth of the event and to plausible deniability by the government agencies responsible for the murder.

The Warren Report gave us the unspeakable in prose, with a void at the center of its almost one thousand pages. Remember Merton’s description of the unspeakable. It sounds as if he is describing the Warren Report: It is the void that contradicts everything that is spoken even before the words are said; the void that gets into the language of public and official declarations at the very moment when they are pronounced, and makes them ring dead with the hollowness of the abyss. It is the void out of which Eichmann drew the punctilious exactitude of his obedience … The Warren Report is a monument to the unspeakable. Yet it provoked no revolution. That void of citizen response remains at the heart of our national security state. The unspeakable that rules us now took power on November 22, 1963, and was confirmed by the Warren Report. By denying the void at the heart of our system, we have allowed it to undermine everything. The unspeakable rules by the power of our denial. … Is it not our right as a people to abolish the military-industrial complex and its intelligence agencies that have murdered our leaders and millions of other brothers and sisters? As we begin to be jolted out of our long sleep … how can we come together again? What are the present seeds of that nonviolent revolution needed to abolish war, poverty, and racism, a global Poor People’s Campaign? Must we begin by facing our own denial of the blood of the Sixties? Compassion is the most powerful force on earth and in heaven. – Compassion and the Unspeakable in the Murders of Martin, Malcolm, JFK, RFK, James W. Douglass, keynote address to the International Thomas Merton Society, Mobile, AB, 13.Jun.97.

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Dr Bryant Welch returns to the program to discuss his latest article – Fort Hood: A Harbinger of Things to Come? Bryant Welch has been a nationally-prominent psychologist/attorney and author for over thirty years. Dr. Welch graduated from Harvard College and Harvard Law School before receiving his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1976. He is also a Research Associate graduate of the Washington Psychoanalytic Institute. Dr. Welch is an experienced psychotherapist. He has provided over 35,000 hours of direct clinical care to individuals and couples from all walks of life. He is a Distinguished Practitioner member of the National Academy of Practice and holds the Diplomate in Clinical Psychology. In August of 2005, Dr. Welch was awarded the American Psychological Association’s Presidential Citation for his “seminal and unique contribution to professional psychological practice.” Dr. Welch has written regular monthly columns in the mental health trade press for twenty years and is currently a blogger with Huffington Post. Most recently Dr. Welch has published his first book, State of Confusion: Political Manipulation and the Assault on the American Mind, (Thomas Dunne Books, St. Martins Press, June, 2008). The book is a psychological analysis of contemporary American politics. Political blog “Buzzflash” in its review said, “This is one of those few books — and a bit undernoticed — that is a virtual Rosetta stone to understanding how so many Americans are living in an alternative reality.”

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We spoke with Spider Robinson Since he began writing professionally in 1972, Spider Robinson has won the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer, three Hugo Awards, a Nebula Award, and countless other international and regional awards. Most of his 36 books are still in print, in 10 languages.

“Nobody’s perfect, but Spider comes pretty damned close“ – Ben Bova

His short work has appeared in magazines around the planet, from Omni and Analog to Xhurnal Izobretatel i Rationalizator (Moscow), and in numerous anthologies. The Usenet newsgroup alt.callahans and its many internet offshoots, inspired by his Callahan’s Place series, for many years constituted one of the largest non-porn networks in cyberspace. In 2006, he became the only writer ever to collaborate on a novel with First GrandMaster of Science Fiction Robert A. Heinlein, posthumously completing Variable Star. That same year the Library of Congress invited him to Washington D.C. to be a guest of the First Lady at the White House for the National Book Festival. In 2008 he won the Robert A. Heinlein Award for Lifetime Excellence in Literature. His wife’s Jeanne film project Stardance is here looks like a must-see art project. Diehard Callahan fans can meet up in many esoteric places, such as Second Life or Callahans.org, but remember, All Time Travellers Strictly Cash! Spider On The Web, the FREE podcast, is updated twice a month with fresh content.

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At 5 PM MST – Barbara Ehrenreich is an American feminist, democratic socialist, pop sociologist and political activist, a prominent figure in the Democratic Socialists of America. She is a widely read columnist and essayist, and the author of nearly 20 books. Most recently Bright-sided: How the Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking Has Undermined America (2009)

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We spoke earlier today with Starhawk! Starhawk is one of the most respected voices in modern earth-based spirituality. She is also well-known as a global justice activist and organizer, whose work and writings have inspired many to action. She is the author or coauthor of eleven books, including The Spiral Dance: A Rebirth of the Ancient Religion of the Great Goddess, long considered the essential text for the Neo-Pagan movement, and the now-classic ecotopian novel The Fifth Sacred Thing. Starhawk’s newest book is a picture book for children, The Last Wild Witch. Her works have been translated into Spanish, French, German, Danish, Dutch, Italian, Portuguese, Polish, Greek, Japanese, and Burmese. Her essays are reprinted across the world, and have been included in numerous anthologies. Starhawk’s writing is influential and has been quoted by hundreds of other authors, turning up in magazines, trade and academic press, and even inspirational calendars. Written by Starhawk is another acclaimed pagan reference, The Pagan Book of Living and Dying: Practical Rituals, Prayers, Blessings, and Meditations on Crossing Over Her books are often found in college curriculums. Starhawk is perhaps best known as an articulate pioneer in the revival of earth-based spirituality and Goddess religion. She is a cofounder of Reclaiming, an activist branch of modern Pagan religion, and continues to work closely with the Reclaiming community. Her archives are maintained at the Graduate Theological Union library in Berkeley, California. She is a panelist for the Newsweek/Washington Post website on religion, “On Faith,” and also contributes to Beliefnet and ZNet, as well as maintaining her own blog, “Dirt Worship” She consulted on and contributed to the popular trio of films known as the Women’s Spirituality series, directed by Donna Read for the National Film Board of Canada:

·         Goddess Remembered,

·         The Burning Times, and

·         Full Circle.

Starhawk and Donna Read recently formed their own film company, Belili Productions . Their first release is Signs Out of Time (2004), a documentary on the life of archaeologist Marija Gimbutas, the scholar made major discoveries about the Goddess cultures of Old Europe. Starhawk and Donna are at work on their next film, an introduction to permaculture. Starhawk has also made several short documentaries which can be found on YouTube:

·         “The Spiral Dance Ritual“;

·         “Reclaiming’s Spiral Dance—Three Decades of Magic“,

·         “Permaculture in the City” and

·         “Permaculture Principles at Work.”

Starhawk is a veteran of progressive movements, from anti-war to anti-nukes, and is deeply committed to bringing the techniques and creative power of spirituality to political activism. Her web site Her blog, Dirt Worship!

The Last Wild Witch by Starhawk, illustrated by Lindy Kehoe is special, right from the paper up. It is printed on recycled paper using a soy based ink, so it’s an eco-fable that puts it’s money where it’s mouth is. On the inside cover, it even has the information about what resources were saved by using recycled paper (21 full grown trees and 4, 658 gallons of water). It’s published by Mother Tongue Ink, who publishes the We’Moon Datebook. This is their first children’s book. … Besides being so well written, it is also a book of the times; a way of helping kids to realize that yes, adults have tried to suck the natural magic out of this planet, but you can make a difference! You can work to change things, and you can even teach your parents a thing or two. A lot of the wild places might be gone, but we can work to save what is left and try to heal the rest the best we can.

Illustrator Lindy Kehoe creates a rich, lush, swirly world in The Last Wild Witch with simple, yet gorgeous paintings. From the fabulous royal purple endpapers to the to the trees that are bursting with life and the children that are themselves the richest colors of the earth and sea, rarely has a book had such inviting pages. Together, Starhawk and Lindy Kehoe have together created their own wild magic.

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We spoke with Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL) Go to his site Congressman with Guts!

During his first term in office, Grayson gained attention for an exchange with Federal Reserve System Vice Chairman Donald Kohn on the disposition of the $1.2 trillion that the Fed had lent as part of the 2008 bank bailout, during which Grayson said (to Kohn), “…Have people ever said we won’t take your $150 billion because people might find out about it?” and questioned the authority of the Fed in funds dispersal. After the exchange received attention from various national media outlets, Grayson was the subject of an interview on the subject by Salon.com writer Glenn Greenwald. A later hearing, during which Grayson had an exchange with Elizabeth A. Coleman about spending by the Federal Reserve, became widely reviewed on YouTube, receiving nearly 3,000,000 views in the first few months after posting. On March 23, 2009, following the AIG bonus payments controversy, Grayson joined with fellow freshman Democrat Jim Himes of Connecticut to introduce the Grayson-Himes Pay for Performance Act, legislation to require that all bonuses paid by companies that had received funds under the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 to be “based on performance”. The bill was co-sponsored by eight other members of the House. On March 26, the bill was approved by the House Financial Services Committee by a vote of 38-22. On April 1, the bill was passed by the full House of Representatives by a vote of 247-171. The bill is viewed by some as giving Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner extraordinary power to determine the pay of thousands of employees of American companies that have received taxpayer bailout money. Grayson is a co-sponsor of the Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2009, which would audit the Federal Reserve. On September 29, 2009, Grayson made a speech regarding health care proposals in the U.S. House. During it he said, “The Republican health care plan is this: ‘Don’t get sick, and if you do get sick, die quickly.’” His remarks drew immediate calls for an apology from Republicans and condemnation from media sources, and, according to Grayson, resulted in positive emails from constituents which outweighed negative ones four to one and over five thousand supporting campaign contributions. Grayson raised $347,000 for his reelection campaign during the third quarter, much of it attributed to his remarks. Republican Congressman Jimmy Duncan called Grayson’s speech “the most mean-spirited partisan statement that I’ve ever heard made on this floor”. National Republican Congressional Committee spokesman Andy Sere said, “This is an unstable man who has come unhinged. The depths to which Alan Grayson will sink to defend his indefensible comments know no bounds.” Grayson described these comments as “Republican hissy fits”, and the next day gave a speech from the House Floor, saying “I would like to apologize: I apologize to the dead and their families that we haven’t voted sooner to end this holocaust in America.” He cited a September 2009 Harvard study that found 44,000 Americans die each year due to being uninsured. Grayson, who is Jewish, apologized to the Anti-defamation League for those offended by his generic use of the word ‘holocaust‘. On October 21 Grayson released a website, NamesOfTheDead.com, which, “aims to memorialize Americans who die because they don’t have health insurance.” Shortly after his site was announced, the names listed on the website’s roatating list included fraudulent names. The name rotator was shortly removed. Grayson criticized Senator Jon Kyl who said “I’m not sure that it’s a fact that more and more people die because they don’t have health insurance.″ Republicans accused Grayson of violating campaign ethics guidelines because the website links to Grayson’s campaign website. However, according to Grayson, no formal complaint has been lodged against him Grayson specialized in war profiteer and whistleblower cases aimed at Iraq war contractors who allegedly overbilled the U.S. government. One contractor, Custer Battles, allegedly billed the government $15 million for inspecting allegedly non-existent civilian flights at Baghdad Airport, and $10 million on a time and materials contract that had cost $3.5 million. The contractor received payment in newly printed cash direct from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Grayson was enabled to prosecute fraud through the False Claims Act and its qui tam provisions While pursuing the whistleblower cases, Grayson worked from a home office in Orlando where he lived with his wife and five children. In 2006, a Wall Street Journal reporter described Grayson as “waging a one-man war against contractor fraud in Iraq” and as a “fierce critic of the war in Iraq” whose car was “emblazoned” with bumper stickers such as “Bush lied, people died”.

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At 5 PM Richard D. Wolff is Professor of Economics Emeritus, University of Massachusetts, Amherst where he taught economics from 1973 to 2008. Capitalism Hits the Fan: The Global Economic Meltdown and What to Do About It. Capitalism Hits the Fan chronicles one economist’s growing alarm and insights as he watched, from 2005 onwards, the economic crisis build, burst, and then dominate world events. The argument here differs sharply from most other explanations offered by politicians, media commentators, and other academics.

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We spoke  with Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz. Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz is a lifelong social justice activist and a leading historian of indigenous struggles in the Americas. She is professor emeritus of Ethnic Studies at California State University and works in a variety of political capacities. The daughter of a landless farmer and a half-Indian mother, Dunbar-Ortiz grew up in rural Oklahoma. In the 1960s, she worked in the anti-war movement, spent time in a clandestine group, and organized in support of anti-imperialist movements in Cuba, Nicaragua, South Africa, and elsewhere. Through her involvement in the feminist group Cell 16, she became a key figure in the women’s liberation movement. In 1974, she became active in the American Indian Movement (AIM) and the International Indian Treaty Council. This engagement marked the beginning of a life-long commitment to advancing indigenous struggles. In 1981, Dunbar-Ortiz traveled to Nicaragua to investigate the Miskitu Indians’ land-tenure issues. Over the next eight years, she made more than 100 trips to Central America to monitor the conflict between the Contras and Sandinistas. Dunbar-Ortiz’s first book, The Great Sioux Nation: An Oral History of the Sioux Nation and its Struggle for Sovereignty, was presented as the fundamental document at the first international conference on Indians of the Americas, held in 1977 at the UN headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. In the years since, she has continued to write works concerned with indigenous struggles for self-determination and the politics of place and land. In the last decade, she has written a trilogy of acclaimed memoirs – Red Dirt: Growing Up Okie, Outlaw Woman: A Memoir of the War Years, 1960-1975, and Blood on the Border: A Memoir of the Contra War.

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Dan LaBotz As a writer, La Botz is best known in the labor movement for his book The Troublemaker’s Handbook, a rank-and-file activist organizing manual, and for Rank and File Rebellion: Teamsters for a Democratic Union, an account of the Teamster reform movement. He has written several other books on labor and politics in México including The Crisis of Mexican Labor, Mask of Democracy: Labor Suppression in Mexico Today, and Democracy in Mexico: Peasant Rebellion and Political Reform. He is also the author of a study of labor in Southeast Asia, Made in Indonesia: Indonesian Workers Since Suharto, a book he wrote with assistance from the Fund for Investigative Journalism. In 2005, Peason Longman published his biography César Chávez and La Causa. He is the editor of Mexican Labor News and Analysis (MLNA), a monthly electronic report on workers and unions in México. More recently, Dan La Botz has worked in Cincinnati to organize protests against police killings of African Americans. He was one of the organizers of the March for Justice in 2001 and again in 2002. He then worked with other Cincinnati area activists to help create Cincinnati Progressive Action (CPA), a local human rights organization. In 2004, La Botz helped organize the Coalición por los Derechos y la Dignidad de los Inmigrantes (Coalition for Immigrant Rights and Dignity), an organization of Latino immigrants in the Cincinnati area. An independent scholar La Botz writes for Against the Current, Counterpunch, Labor Notes, Monthly Review, New Labor Forum and is a member of the Editorial Board of New Politics.

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Andy Bichlbaum & Mike Bonanno , gonzo activist geniuses behind “The Yes Men” We saw them in the acclaimed documentary, The Yes Men… well, they’ve been busy:

The Yes Men have received the first Leonore Annenberg Prize for Art and Social Change, presented to artists or artist groups whose work reflects a commitment to social change. The Yes Men will give an interactive lecture Oct. 23 during the opening ceremony for the Creative Time Summit: Revolutions in Public Practice at the New York Public Library. Amy Goodman, the host of the award-winning program Democracy Now!, will introduce and MC.

The Yes Men Fix The World is a screwball true story about two gonzo political activists who, posing as top executives of giant corporations, lie their way into big business conferences and pull off the world’s most outrageous pranks. From New Orleans to India to New York City, armed with little more than cheap thrift-store suits, the Yes Men squeeze raucous comedy out of all the ways that corporate greed is destroying the planet. Brüno meets Michael Moore in this gut-busting wake-up call that proves a little imagination can go a long way towards vanquishing the Cult of Greed. Who knew fixing the World could be so much fun?

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