Today on Doing Time - Tuesday October 7th
DEBATE NUMBER TWO
We look forward to the second of three Presidential debates tonight. This time its John McCain’s favored town hall format. Will that give him the upper hand, or will taking questions from actual voters undercut his ability to “take the gloves off” and fight dirty?
Jonathan Alter
will talk with us live from
WOE IS THE ECONOMY
It’s another dreary day for Wall Street, but it was even worse yesterday for global markets. We’ll recap the latest, find out what Congress is doing about it – you should hear the hearings! – and tell you how other Americans are squeaking by with tighter belts.
JUSTICE ETC
It’s not all campaign doom and economic gloom so we’ve got a few fun court cases to tell you about. We’re also pleased to be joined by Ron Arons, author of the Jews of Sing Sing. Find out about the Jewish Mafia from Kuby’s own personal experience!
Plus why 50% of
Comments about Barack Obama from McCain & Palin
Hi Ron, I hope you get to talk about this on the show today. There is a woman out there running for VP and instead of giving campaign speeches in the traditional way she is in fact encouraging race riots and putting ideas out there that killing an honorable man trying to get elected our next President is ok. This can only be a person not part of the 60's when John & Bobby Kennedy and Dr. King had to die to help our nation knock down these barriers or too stupid to understand what we accomplished back then. In Sarah's Palin's case I say it's both. This message has to get out to Republicans, not only Democrats, so they fully understand what kind of a person could very well be our next President. This is very serious and very, very sad. Thanks for listening. Marilyn from Florida
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By missmarilynOctober 7, 2008 - 2:15pmCriminal Law
Ron,
I think you are at your best when you talk about criminal law.
A couple of things:
1. Do you think OJ would have done better with a bench trial? I do. The whole thing sounds kind of stupid, the idea that he was stealing his own stuff back. I don't agree with sending a guy to jail for decades in that situation. Nobody was hurt.
2. This Steven trial is fascinating. Could you explain the trick the prosecution pulled by dumping these conversations and other information out at the last minute. Very interesting trial and constitutional issues.
3. Also, Sarah Palin used to be buddies with thie Veico character. And doesn't toddy boy work for Veico. Can't we drag Sarah into this somehow?
Yours, etc.
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By Dew itOctober 7, 2008 - 2:48pmWhat to do about Fuld et al.
The Obama Justice Department should have a specially assigned Associate Attorney General charged with investigating the illegalities that were committed.
Also, we should institute usury laws and protocols that protect people from credit card companies and their predatory lending policies.
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By Jim.StorbeckOctober 7, 2008 - 3:50pmRon's Question
I think Ron’s question brings up an important and unintended consequence of an otherwise good idea: the fact that Democracy may well be one of the most effective tools of an unjust political system in that it tends to water down the old forms of oppression. It’s just frightening that injustice could be rationalized by simply pointing out that they were done within the context of the democratic system.
I mean how would an individual know when to act. They would always be haunted by the belief that Democracy could not possibly be capable of such things.
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By d63October 7, 2008 - 4:53pmWilliam Ayers
I was involved in the anti-Viet Nam War movement, as was everyone in my family. It's dubious that the Weather Underground played a crucial role in ending the war. I think a larger role was played by middle-class whites that didn't want to die in it. And the uncensored media images raised the conscious of the general public. However, the Weather Underground's actions did fuel the "counter-revolution" that continues to have effects through to today. It's the costs of violence, even when justified, that bring me to reject arms as a viable tactic in the U.S.A.
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By vblcswOctober 7, 2008 - 4:56pmTAKING UP ARMS AGAINST A DEMOCRATIC GOVERNMENT
The social contract should not be lightly violated or rejected with violence. I think the real issue in a democratic free society is that we should never allow ourselves to become instruments of what we believe to be unjust. Thus, if we are called to service in an unjust war, we should refuse to participate, even on threat of jail.
We should not invest or profit from companies or governments that the individual believes to violate human rights or profit on suffering, i.e. gambling casinos, cigarette manufacturers, predatory lenders.
When we see our employers doing things that our wrong. We should speak up or get the hell out. (This is a tough one, isn't it!!)
This is the power of our principles in action.
However, it would not be justifiable in the case of American democracy to take up arms because we disagreed with the actions of government, either in the case of Vietnam or the Iraq war.
I follow the example of the blessed Dr. Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. He didn't throw bombs, but he developed a method of civil disobedience that was so powerful, that he accomplished more to advance the cause of black people in the United States than anybody before and since, and in the face of the most sinister forces with the odds stacked against him.
Before we throw bombs, let's use our brains and remeber what civilization is all about.
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By Dew itOctober 7, 2008 - 5:19pmWilliam Ayers
I agree with those who said that Ayers involvement in destruction of property by bombing as a protest of the Vietnam War was wrong. It was the wrong way to fight violence (with more violence). And it was the wrong way to express dissent because it only enhanced the other side in that disagreement. It did not really contribute to the end of that war - all the peaceful protests and the increasingly pointed news coverage probably did that. At least I'd like to think that because I participated in those peaceful campus demonstrations. (I remember being appalled by groups like Weather Underground, as were many in the anti-war movement.) Ayers was a fool to do that, but obviously he's gone well beyond that with good works apparently in the rest of his life, so it is forgivable. But the bottom line is that the scant relationship between Ayers and Barack Obama is really a non issue. And it's "Palin" in comparison with McCain's relationship with Charles Keating.
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By mblockhartOctober 8, 2008 - 12:14am