Good Politics Radio

Hurricanes, earthquakes, fires, nor?easters, terrorist activities, avian flu? the list seems endless. One disaster (or the threat of one) after another. When such situations occur, people can react in one of two major ways. For some, they will be overwhelmed and unable to cope. For others, they may not be happy but they can cope and rise above the problems. What?s the difference? Most likely it has to do with being prepared for whatever the disaster may be. In being prepared you are more likely able to handle the possible troubles and being prepared also means that you have taken whatever control you can over the situation. Paul Purcell is the author of a book called ?Disaster Prep 101? and he is also the guest of Chuck Harder on Chuck?s show For the People. They spend some time talking about avian flu. Purcell recommends using the acronym GERM to help you remember what to do if avian flu arrives. And if you should face quarantine then you also need to prepare for cabin fever as well. Purcell believes the greatest threat, however, comes from the bureaucracy in the Beltway because economic factors will outweigh potential deaths in taking the proper steps be taken to stop the influx of contaminated people from other countries. Oh, and to find out what GERM stands for,
click here to listen.What do you think?

Good Politics Radio welcomes all viewpoints. Every political party, every ideology may be represented here. Our only rules are: no mudslinging, nothing illegal, no hate messages. We also offer our broadcasts to the schools, so nothing that would not pass a pg rating will be released here. We do not edit content here. Your message goes out as you created it. If you have an opposing or supporting viewpoint on this issue or any other political topic or issue, you can contact Good Politics Radio by email:
bonnie@goodpoliticsradio.com.

Our post-hurricane disaster responses are disasters in and of themselves. Professor Alyson Flournoy of the College of Law at University of Florida, Gainesville, is the guest on the Chuck Harder show, For the People. She and other attorneys and law professors have collaborated on a paper titled ?An Unnatural Disaster- the Aftermath of Katrina?. In it they say that Katrina was not a wake-up call but ?rather a consequence of past wake-up calls unheeded.? In other words, bad choices were made long before Katrina arrived that caused many of the problems that were evident in the aftermath. Flournoy says she and her colleagues feel that money must be put into infrastructures, such as the levee systems. And a word a caution, trimming the fat from government may look like the way to pay for these programs but often what happens is that it?s not the fat that is trimmed but the bones and skin, the necessary components. Their suggestion is that there should be a post 9-11 type committee to look at what our responses were, not to point fingers but to learn from our mistakes so we don?t get caught with our pants down again. You can click here to listen to this podcast.

What do you think?

Good Politics Radio welcomes all viewpoints. Every political party, every ideology may be represented here. Our only rules are: no mudslinging, nothing illegal, no hate messages. We also offer our broadcasts to the schools, so nothing that would not pass a pg rating will be released here. We do not edit content here. Your message goes out as you created it. If you have an opposing or supporting viewpoint on this issue or any other political topic or issue, you can contact Good Politics Radio by email:
bonnie@goodpoliticsradio.com.

If you own your home (or you and the bank) you may think that if you sell it and downsize you will be sitting pretty for a long time to come. Think again. The price that you think you will get for your house may be up to 30% less than what you expected. Why? Well, you know the housing bubble you hear people talk about? It may be about to lose altitude. That?s what the guest of Chuck Harder says on this episode. He is Dr. Dean Baker of the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR.net). He is an economist and he spends a good portion of his time researching the housing market and educating people about the way things are going. Chuck?s concern is that with the high price of heating fuels, people will find they are unable to pay their mortgages come spring and will default on their payments. Add to the mix the fact that utility prices are increasing, along with insurance rates and property taxes and it?s a wonder that the bubble is still afloat at all. Click here to listen to this podcast.

What do you think?

Good Politics Radio welcomes all viewpoints. Every political party, every ideology may be represented here. Our only rules are: no mudslinging, nothing illegal, no hate messages. We also offer our broadcasts to the schools, so nothing that would not pass a pg rating will be released here. We do not edit content here. Your message goes out as you created it. If you have an opposing or supporting viewpoint on this issue or any other political topic or issue, you can contact Good Politics Radio by email:
bonnie@goodpoliticsradio.com.

You?ve probably heard of the Trickle Down theory- that?s where the money at the top trickles down to the people at the bottom and thus it benefits everyone. According to Dr. Ben Bagdikian, that?s pretty much cow pies. Actually what he says is that the trickle down theory is like if you give a horse more that enough to eat he will deposit some stuff on the street and then there might be enough for a sparrow to pick out a couple of seeds. Bagdikian is the guest on the Chuck Harder show, For the People, and he is forthright in his feelings about how President Bush has embraced the trickle down theory to the detriment of the American economy. Years ago, back in 1964, Bagdikian wrote a book called ?In the Midst of Plenty the Poor Get America?. He believes that the poor in our country are more numerous now than then and in worse straits. The money does not trickle down because the monied people do not spend their money locally or even nationally now. And wait to you hear his thoughts about campaign financing and why several regulatory organizations are in the mess they are in. Click here to listen.

What do you think?

Good Politics Radio welcomes all viewpoints. Every political party, every ideology may be represented here. Our only rules are: no mudslinging, nothing illegal, no hate messages. We also offer our broadcasts to the schools, so nothing that would not pass a pg rating will be released here. We do not edit content here. Your message goes out as you created it. If you have an opposing or supporting viewpoint on this issue or any other political topic or issue, you can contact Good Politics Radio by email:
bonnie@goodpoliticsradio.com.

When you go to the market and choose a head of lettuce you probably don?t give any consideration as to who picked that lettuce from the farm. Or when you select a chicken for your Sunday dinner you probably never give a thought as to who pulled all the feathers off that bird and got it ready for you to put in your oven. Perhaps you should. That?s the message from Lester Rosen of Employment Screening Resources, Inc. (ESRcheck.com). Lester is the guest on For the People, the TalkStarRadio Show hosted by Chuck Harder.
Lester has written a book called ?The Safe Hiring Manual: The Complete Guide to Keeping Criminals, Imposters and Terrorists out of Your Workplace?. (Click here to own.) What Chuck is concerned with is the very real possibility of illegal aliens working in the fields and in the poultry farms and in many businesses. These people, Chuck contends, are often getting below minimum wage and therefore using the resources of the welfare program, thus costing the American taxpayer. It is up to each business owner to use due diligence in hiring says Rosen. Safe hiring practices must be followed if we are to keep illegal aliens, and others such as rapists and murderers, from invading the workplace wherever it may be. It is against the law now to hire illegal aliens but it is well known that the practice does occur. How do we stop this from happening? Rosen suggests that not until the cost of taking that risk is greater than the money saved by paying below low wages will the practice decrease. And Chuck has one more question: Are terrorists able to slip in under the radar and get jobs as well? Click here to listen to Rosen?s answer.

What do you think?

Good Politics Radio welcomes all viewpoints. Every political party, every ideology may be represented here. Our only rules are: no mudslinging, nothing illegal, no hate messages. We also offer our broadcasts to the schools, so nothing that would not pass a pg rating will be released here. We do not edit content here. Your message goes out as you created it. If you have an opposing or supporting viewpoint on this issue or any other political topic or issue, you can contact Good Politics Radio by email:
bonnie@goodpoliticsradio.com.

Say you had the opportunity in your business to make a quick buck. It wasn?t exactly illegal but it also wasn?t exactly ethical either. Now say you had the opportunity to make some money in your business; it wasn?t going to be easy but it would be ethical and legal. Which path would you take? If you chose number two you have more of the mind set of a special ops leader than if you chose number one. Retired General William Cohen is the guest of Chuck Harder on Chuck?s For the People show. He says that special ops leaders will take the harder right rather than the easier wrong and that?s just the type of leaders that we desperately need in our country. The general also says that terrorism is going to be here for some time-no surprise there- but that we are getting better at doing the job of taking care of the bad guys. We can?t be, what he calls, nice-nice to them: that?s not going to work. Does this mean that we target the families of the suicide bombers, asks Chuck? No, he does not support that scenario. What we must do is elect officials who will go on the offensive, take action and take charge. We are looking for leadership, not a mob of vigilantes. Cohen?s book is called ?Secrets of Special Ops Leadership: Dare the Impossible- Achieve the Extraordinary? and can be owned by clicking here.
Listen to this podcast by clicking here.
What do you think?

Good Politics Radio welcomes all viewpoints. Every political party, every ideology may be represented here. Our only rules are: no mudslinging, nothing illegal, no hate messages. We also offer our broadcasts to the schools, so nothing that would not pass a pg rating will be released here. We do not edit content here. Your message goes out as you created it. If you have an opposing or supporting viewpoint on this issue or any other political topic or issue, you can contact Good Politics Radio by email:
bonnie@goodpoliticsradio.com.

I?m sure you have heard of the Phoenix, the mythical bird that lives to be about 500 years, throws itself on a funeral pyre and then emerges as a young bird from the ashes. It kind of reinvents itself. New Orleans has that opportunity says Robert Fishman, author of The American Planning Tradition: Culture and Policy. He is the guest of Chuck Harder and he says that New Orleans has been given the chance to do it better than before. There would be no ghettos that would separate the poor from the rich. There would be public transportation that would be for all people, not just the tourists. There would be no suburbia since that, he believes, is the antithesis of a healthy city. And we need to desperately rebuild the educational system as well. ?No other country has the power and ability to build houses with the efficiency as does America?.
Fishman also says that the government misses the mark when it makes travel trailers available for victims of hurricanes- he calls that plan a ?crazy waste of money?. His suggestion instead? Section 8 Housing Vouchers such as were issued after the 1994 Northridge earthquake.
You can click here to listen to this podcast and click here to own his book.

What do you think?

Good Politics Radio welcomes all viewpoints. Every political party, every ideology may be represented here. Our only rules are: no mudslinging, nothing illegal, no hate messages. We also offer our broadcasts to the schools, so nothing that would not pass a pg rating will be released here. We do not edit content here. Your message goes out as you created it. If you have an opposing or supporting viewpoint on this issue or any other political topic or issue, you can contact Good Politics Radio by email:
bonnie@goodpoliticsradio.com.

Way back when I was in school, I vaguely remember reading George Orwell?s ?1984?. Basically what I remember is feeling a little scared about the prospect of that scenario ever occurring. Chuck Harder asks ?Are we there now?? of guest Jonathon Greenberg. Greenberg is the author of a novel titled, ?America 2014: an Orwellian Tale.? He says that he wrote it as a sequel to Orwell?s book but agrees with Chuck that in many ways we are already in that time warp. You can own the book by clicking here. Greenberg, who wrote the book using the pseudonym of Dawn Blair, feels that government should not increase its power using the war on terrorism as an excuse to do so. And how do we keep what Chuck calls the Elite from running the country at the expense of the ?little person?? One way is level the playing field, suggests Greenberg, by using only public campaign financing. Click here to listen.

What do you think?

Good Politics Radio welcomes all viewpoints. Every political party, every ideology may be represented here. Our only rules are: no mudslinging, nothing illegal, no hate messages. We also offer our broadcasts to the schools, so nothing that would not pass a pg rating will be released here. We do not edit content here. Your message goes out as you created it. If you have an opposing or supporting viewpoint on this issue or any other political topic or issue, you can contact Good Politics Radio by email:
bonnie@goodpoliticsradio.com.

Were you aware that in the 1940?s there was a cartel of oil and automobile companies that worked toward the demise of our national transportation system- our trains? So reports Douglas Morris, author of ?It?s a Sprawl World After All: the Human Cost of Unplanned Growth?and Visions of a Better Future?. (Click here to own this book.)
All involved were found guilty and fined the grand sum of $1.00 each. I?m sure that taught them a lesson. Morris and TalkStarRadio host Chuck Harder talk about the correlation between the suburban sprawl that started right after WWII and the increase in violence across America. And they talk about how we can take back our country to what it used to stand for. Morris? first suggestion is to say ?I?m mad as hell!? and then become active in the political process. Know who you are voting for; make sure it?s someone who supports public transportation and then take the time to vote. Chuck, who has long advocated the revival of trains, has a thought about Dubya- He says Junior is doing everything he can to destroy Amtrak. Whew!Click here to listen to this podcast. Morris also has a website at ItsaSprawlWorld.com.

What do you think?

Good Politics Radio welcomes all viewpoints. Every political party, every ideology may be represented here. Our only rules are: no mudslinging, nothing illegal, no hate messages. We also offer our broadcasts to the schools, so nothing that would not pass a pg rating will be released here. We do not edit content here. Your message goes out as you created it. If you have an opposing or supporting viewpoint on this issue or any other political topic or issue, you can contact Good Politics Radio by email:
bonnie@goodpoliticsradio.com.

Some of us have probably felt that we were living through a personal hell at one time or another. So has the guest of Chuck Harder, except that her hell lasted a long time. Her name is Ghazal Omid and she was raised in Iran. She has written a book called ?Living in Hell: A True Odyssey of a Woman?s Struggle in Islamic Iran against Personal and Political Forces.?
(Click here to own the book.) Omid, at Chuck?s request gives a brief background as to her life but from there Chuck has some questions for her. Are all Muslims out to kill so-called infidels? And what are the young people in Iraq going to do with no jobs? Omid has some answers. Infidels are those who do not believe in God she says and as for the young people, they need to find something to do, whether it is volunteer work or whatever. They also need to realize that although they may feel they have no control in what is going on, one always has control of some things and that realization keeps you sane. This is an articulate woman with interesting views. Click here to listen. Here is a quote from her book: ?If Iran becomes a nuclear power, we should all start digging either shelters or graves.? Hmmm.

What do you think?

Good Politics Radio welcomes all viewpoints. Every political party, every ideology may be represented here. Our only rules are: no mudslinging, nothing illegal, no hate messages. We also offer our broadcasts to the schools, so nothing that would not pass a pg rating will be released here. We do not edit content here. Your message goes out as you created it. If you have an opposing or supporting viewpoint on this issue or any other political topic or issue, you can contact Good Politics Radio by email:
bonnie@goodpoliticsradio.com.

How is it that other countries, such as Mexico and China to name two, can manufacture items so much more cheaply than we can? Ari Kelman, a history professor at the University of Calif at Davis, has an answer. It?s not just that their labor is cheaper but they also do not have all the environmental regulations that we do. Kelman also says that we are now known as the great debtor nation- not exactly the moniker that we used to be known by. Our economic standing, he says, is internationally precarious and is only supported by Asian investments and if they ever decide to pull out, we will literally go down the drain. Kelman is the guest of Chuck Harder on his show, For the People. Kelman, who has authored a book called ?A River and Its City: The Nature of Landscape in New Orleans? (click here to own) and an article titled ?America?s Underclass Disclosed?, has a possible solution. He suggests that we need to reverse the political climate; that instead of government getting smaller we need for it to become bigger and support a massive public works program to rebuild the Gulf Coast. You can click here to listen to the entire podcast. And make sure you listen all the way to the end when you will hear Chuck?s ideas for getting us out of this mess. Are they any good? Well, Kelman, after listening, said, ?Sign me up!?

What do you think?

Good Politics Radio welcomes all viewpoints. Every political party, every ideology may be represented here. Our only rules are: no mudslinging, nothing illegal, no hate messages. We also offer our broadcasts to the schools, so nothing that would not pass a pg rating will be released here. We do not edit content here. Your message goes out as you created it. If you have an opposing or supporting viewpoint on this issue or any other political topic or issue, you can contact Good Politics Radio by email:
bonnie@goodpoliticsradio.com.

Haloscan commenting and trackback have been added to this blog.

Most of us probably don?t remember the Spanish Flu of 1918-at least it was before my time. But for those who were alive then, I?m sure they remember with a feeling of dread and awe. It was a potent and powerful and deadly flu, killing over 15 million people. Just recently, it has been discovered that the Spanish Flu was a variant of what is known today as the avian flu. Are we in for the same type of lethal flu outbreak today as what happened 87 years ago? Gil Smolin believes so. He is a professor at the University of Calif. and is an expert in infectious diseases. He is also the author of the book, ?Reign of the Rat? (which you can own by clicking here). The fiction book has to do with a deadly outbreak of flu (and was written over three years ago) but what he and host Chuck Harder are talking about is not make believe. Smolin says that the average death rate from so-called regular flus is ?%. The mortality rate of avian flu is 60%. There is no cure for avian flu, there is no vaccine. How sure is Smolin that avian flu will come to America? Very sure. How long will it be before it arrives here? 6-12 months. What is our government doing to protect us Chuck wants to know? Not a whole lot. What can we do to protect ourselves? Stay healthy. Avoid areas where there are large groups of people. Hope a vaccine is created. There is something called Tamiflu, a prescription. It can help to lessen the symptoms but guess what? Only 1% of what is necessary for our population is currently available. Click here to listen to this podcast.

What do you think?

Good Politics Radio welcomes all viewpoints. Every political party, every ideology may be represented here. Our only rules are: no mudslinging, nothing illegal, no hate messages. We also offer our broadcasts to the schools, so nothing that would not pass a pg rating will be released here. We do not edit content here. Your message goes out as you created it. If you have an opposing or supporting viewpoint on this issue or any other political topic or issue, you can contact Good Politics Radio by email:
bonnie@goodpoliticsradio.com.

John Ackerly is president of International Campaign for Tibet! (SaveTibet.org.) and is the guest with Chuck Harder on his show, For the People. Chuck has long held the belief that China is slowly taking over the world- or at least trying to- and guest Ackerly is not about to disagree with him. Witness the invasion of Tibet in 1949 by China. Why would China want Tibet? Ackerly says that although Tibet is strategically placed and has minerals, the issue is that the government of China has always had designs on Tibet because they believe that Tibet should be part of China. However, the older people of China remember and feel that Tibet is a separate entity. And the Tibetans, of course, feel the same. Ackerly says they are not looking for independence but rather autonomy. Not sure what that would mean for the Dalai Lama who has been in exile since 1959. Here?s a question from Chuck: As our national debt grows and the more indebted we become to China on a daily basis, how dangerous a thing is that? You can
click here to listen to Ackerly?s response.

What do you think?

Good Politics Radio welcomes all viewpoints. Every political party, every ideology may be represented here. Our only rules are: no mudslinging, nothing illegal, no hate messages. We also offer our broadcasts to the schools, so nothing that would not pass a pg rating will be released here. We do not edit content here. Your message goes out as you created it. If you have an opposing or supporting viewpoint on this issue or any other political topic or issue, you can contact Good Politics Radio by email:
bonnie@goodpoliticsradio.com.

First was NAFTA, then CAFTA, and now along comes AFTA. Eric Rubin of Florida Fair Trade (FLFairTrade.org) says that this latest alphabet soup agreement that is in the works may be the final blow to Florida?s sugar industry. AFTA stands for Andean Free Trade Agreement. Right now the Andean part of it refers to Columbia and Ecuador, although other South American countries may be included later. Eric and host Chuck Harder talk about the impact of these various trade agreements on the farmers and manufacturers in the US. Eric says that fair trade is good as long as it is good and fair for everyone- the farmers as well as the big corporations. If you want to know what Eric says is the only way to first, stop the wave and then turn it around before it swamps us all, click here to listen.

What do you think?

Good Politics Radio welcomes all viewpoints. Every political party, every ideology may be represented here. Our only rules are: no mudslinging, nothing illegal, no hate messages. We also offer our broadcasts to the schools, so nothing that would not pass a pg rating will be released here. We do not edit content here. Your message goes out as you created it. If you have an opposing or supporting viewpoint on this issue or any other political topic or issue, you can contact Good Politics Radio by email:
bonnie@goodpoliticsradio.com.

If a worker in a factory in China sneezes does it cause a ripple in the economy in AnyCity, USA? Probably not but if a natural disaster or a strike occurs in another country will we feel the economic ripple here? Most probably yes and it may be more than just a ripple. So says Barry Lynn, author of ?End of the Line: The Rise and Coming Fall of the Global Corporation?. He is the guest of Chuck Harder on TalkStarRadio. What he basically says is that because we have outsourced our production jobs globally that when there is a problem anywhere then there will be a problem everywhere. The global system works wonderfully in a perfect world but- Hello- we do not live in a perfect world. Lynn believes that our production system is breaking down and that will be followed by a breakdown in our financial system. By that time it may be too late- our leaders need to wake up and smell the coffee. You can click here to own Lynn?s book. And click here to listen to this intriguing and thought provoking podcast.

What do you think?

Good Politics Radio welcomes all viewpoints. Every political party, every ideology may be represented here. Our only rules are: no mudslinging, nothing illegal, no hate messages. We also offer our broadcasts to the schools, so nothing that would not pass a pg rating will be released here. We do not edit content here. Your message goes out as you created it. If you have an opposing or supporting viewpoint on this issue or any other political topic or issue, you can contact Good Politics Radio by email:
bonnie@goodpoliticsradio.com.