Election2009 Videos

What are the alternatives to the way we live? Since last fall's financial collapse, we've heard more honest discussion about capitalism's failings than in years. Yet real change is still hard to find. Wall Street is still handing out bonuses, we're still at war, and even Guantanamo might not actually be closed by the deadline Obama set upon taking office. As Americans question whether change is possible in an election cycle, we stop and think about what an alternative social order would look like.David Harvey, author of A Brief History of Neoliberalism , and Alexander Cockburn, author of End Times: The Death of the Fourth Estate, don't think small when it comes to change. They aren't afraid to think about significant, even radical changes to the social order we've grown so used to, whether it's requiring full employment, reimagining urban living, or repudiating credit card debt and abolishing Wall Street speculation. Cockburn and Harvey joined Laura for an event at CUNY's Center for Place, Culture & Politics, and we bring you part of that discussion today.Johnny Cash is an American icon, but one rarely discussed when one talks about protest music or thoughts of change. Yet in his new book, A Heartbeat and a Guitar: Johnny Cash and the Making of Bitter Tears, Antonino D'Ambrosio connects Cash to the tradition of folk and political music in America, from Woody Guthrie to Pete Seeger to Bob Dylan and the 60s scene. At the peak of his fame, just after "Ring of Fire," Cash cut a record of songs about the Native American experience, many written by the now-forgotten songwriter Peter La Farge.D'Ambrosio joined us in the GRITtv studio to talk about the history of protest music, the myth of Johnny Cash, and why music is one of the best ways to carry a progressive message.

Yesterday, we looked at the Maine Equality campaign leading up to the election, watching volunteers from around the country working to help Mainers keep the marriage rights granted by the state legislature. In the second half of this video, from Chase Whiteside and Erick Stoll of New Left Media, we see election day go from elation to heartbreak as Maine voted, by a thin majority, to revoke marriage rights from gay and lesbian couples. Reactions from volunteers range from defiant to determined, discussing accountability--from national organizations, politicians, and especially President Obama and the DNC, who ignored the No On One campaign.

The unemployment number officially hit double digits recently, though the actual truth is that it's been in double digits for a while. The Nation's John Nichols , author of Tragedy OB MANOS!: The Rise of a New Political Era , collects his essays on the Obama generation and the way the campaign changed politics. A year into the administration, Hertzberg is still hopeful, though like many progressives he offers criticisms of the way the health care reform fight and others have been conducted.In Maine, advocates of marriage equality suffered a setback in this past election, where voters overturned a decision by the state legislature to legalize gay marriage. Chase Whiteside and Erick Stoll of New Left Media brought us an inside look at the No On One campaign, from get-out-the-vote training to a rally and candlelight vigil the night before election day. Watch for Part 2 tomorrow!Though the Bush administration and many other insiders claimed that no one could've seen the financial collapse coming, construction workers, whose own pension funds were invested in these companies, knew that there was a housing bubble and feared for their own retirement money. We have video from the Huffington Post Investigative Fund that takes a look at the rating agencies and their future.16 workers a day die from work-related injuries, according to this latest video from Brave New Films.

In Maine, advocates of marriage equality suffered a setback in this past election, where voters overturned a decision by the state legislature to legalize gay marriage. Thousands of volunteers, both Maine residents and passionate out-of-staters, worked countless hours on the campaign, going door to door and making phone calls in an attempt to convert popular support in the state to votes. This video, from Chase Whiteside and Erick Stoll of New Left Media, gives an inside look at the No On One campaign, from get-out-the-vote training to a rally and candlelight vigil the night before election day. Watch for Part 2 tomorrow!