Hightower speaks on the Capitol steps in Madison, WI during the worker protests in March 2011.
Reassembling America’s Democracy
On the Fourth of July, we celebrated Jefferson, Franklin, Adams, Madison and all the other great men who created our democracy, right?
Not exactly. The Founders did create the framework for a democratic republic, but they didn’t create much democracy. Indeed, in America’s first presidential election, only 4 percent of the people were even eligible to vote.
Read the rest of this column on Creators.com
The GOP’s Genetic Link to Big Oil
If scientists were to compare the DNA of Republican congress-critters and of oil corporations, I’ll bet they’d find that they match perfectly. After all, the two species have identical political instincts and seem to have a natural affinity for each other — so I’m pretty sure they sprang from the same genetic pool.
Read the rest of this column on Creators.com
Powerful, Moving Video from GoLeftTV
Our friends at Ring of Fire Radio and GoLeftTV put together a very moving and powerful video about the oil spill in the Gulf as Sarah Palin is chanting: Drill, Baby, Drill.
watch this video
GritTV with Laura Flanders
Hightower joined Laura Flanders in studio at GritTV recently to talk about the economy, populism, the Supreme Court and Citizens United, and more.”The problem is us,” says Hightower. The problem is progressives, weak-willed Democrats, and others who have forgotten that our politics is meant to serve the people. We’ve allowed conservative demagogues like Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin to seize the title of “populist” from the left.
Last Episode of Bill Moyers Journal
Watching the last episode of the great PBS show “Bill Moyers Journal” was bittersweet for the Hightower staff. We were sad to see it end, but honored to see Hightower on as a guest:
http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/04302010/watch2.html
From The Austin American-Statesman
Here’s a sweet story from Austin’s daily newspaper, The Austin American-Statesman:
“Whither populism? Or to put it in other words: What is populism, really, what the heck happened to it and is it still alive? To hear Jim Hightower talk about it, populism most definitely is alive; it just might not call itself populism. And it has nothing to do with Tea Party activists.”
http://www.statesman.com/life/books/jim-hightower-talks-about-populism-642210.html?printArticle=y
Schedule for The Living Spirit of Texas Populism: In Our Politics, In Our Culture
The Wittliff Collections, Texas State University, San Marcos, Saturday May 1, 2010
1:00-2:30 pm Panel Discussion: “Populism in Texas Politics”
-Fred Harris, former U.S. Senator (D-OK) and author of “The New Populism”
-Bob Moser, editor of The Texas Observer and author of “Blue Dixie: Awakening the -South’s Democratic Majority”
-Linda Chavez Thompson, former executive VP of the national AFL-CIO and Democratic nominee for Texas Lt. Governor
-Jim Cullen, editor of the Progressive Populist
2:55 music by Jimmy LaFave, tours with a Woodie Guthrie tribute project
3:00-4:30 pm Panel Discussion: “Populism in Texas Culture”
-Carolyn Mugar, executive director of Farm Aid
-Ben Sargent, Pulitizer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist
-Alan Pogue, Texas Center for Documentary Photography,
-Tom Pittman, Musician
-Dr. Bill Stouffer, moderator, Texas State faculty
4:30-5:30 pm Reception & Viewing of Exhibition: Swim Against the Current: Highlights from the Jim Hightower Archive
5:30-6:00 pm Jim Hightower
6:00-7:00 pm Live Music with:
Austin Lounge Lizards
Carolyn Wonderland (with Shelley King)