Podcast (attitude): Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: RSS
Part One:
We speak with Alex Shephard, staff writer at the New Republic, about the media’s inadequate coverage of Elizabeth Warren’s claim to Native American heritage. Sen. Warren was born and raised in Oklahoma — a state whose very name means “red people,” & the state with the third highest proportion of Native American population. A huge majority of Oklahoma families passed down lore about their Native ancestors, and young Warren believed her family’s lore. Raised poor, she did not receive an elite education, as some Republicans and media imply. Instead, her intelligence and hard work qualified her for an appointment teaching at Harvard. Her successful career was not related to her claimed ethnicity.
We also discussed how the media could better help the voting public if they spent more time covering Sen. Warren’s policy proposals — including a wealth tax to eliminate the enormous disparities between the 1% and everyone else — and her work to protect ordinary people/consumers from the excesses of banks, multinational corporations and the like. The media should not let Pres. Trump distract voters’ debate away from these important issues by hammering away at the ethnicity discussion.
Part Two:
We speak with Maj. Gen. Dennis Laich about a proposal that women as well as men be required to register for the draft, to be consistent with society’s current recognition that women are no less able than men to perform any job or task that is asked of them.
We also discuss the impact — on society and on American foreign policy — of having an all-volunteer military instead of mandatory conscription. Both of these are different from the idea of universal service of some kind to our country (whether in the military, peace corps, or some other service role). All of these issues should be discussed openly, especially during the upcoming election cycle.
