Retired Professor of History, State University of New York
Retired Professor of History at the State University of New York; Editor of Communism in America and author of Socialism in America: From the Shakers to the Third International, McCarthyism: The Great American Red Scare, and FDR and His Enemies
'Socialism' and Political Rhetoric, Past and Present Barack Obama wants to raise taxes on incomes over $250,000 and use part of the money for tax credits on all workers, even those who don't earn enough to pay income tax. John McCain says that borders on "socialism" and crowds cheer. In 2001, McCain voted against the Bush tax cuts he now wants to extend, saying the benefits went the "the most fortunate among us at the expense of middle-class Americans." But the progressive income tax has been redistributing income for almost 100 years. The Bush Administration, proudly conservative, is nationalizing banks; the auto and nuclear industries want guaranteed government loans. Meantime, Communist Russia and China are looking like free-marketeers. Does the word "socialism" still have the political force it did during the Cold War? Are McCain's charges likely to stick?
Who's to blame for the opioid crisis? Some of the lawyers who took on Big Tobacco are now going after Big Pharma. It’s all about the deadly epidemic of opioid use. Are the drug companies to blame? What about the users? Later, on today’s Talking Point: making sense of Britain’s upset election.
Is the threat from Russia missing from the Russia meddling probe? There's much being made about the Trump administration's possible ties with Russia. But the bottom line is Russia's effort to influence American democracy. Do the President and his aides care enough to take action before voters go back to the polls?
Trump's new look at civil rights and global warming President Trump is reportedly ready to pull the US out of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. We look at the possible consequences. On the second half of the program, we hear about cuts in Obama-Era civil rights programs called for by the Trump Administration's first budget plan.
Venezuela spirals into economic and political chaos Venezuela, a country whose potential for prosperity is unmatched, finds itself on the verge of civil war. What sustains the repressive government? With time running out, guest host León Krauze looks at what the international community can do to pull the country from the edge of collapse.