Center Left Radio

The Uncomfortable or The Unthinkable: Choose One

CLR Show 1853. Air Date September 19, 2023. If Donald remains the official candidate of his party through the 2024 election, the result will be either a Constitutional crisis––triggered by his self-pardon to avoid prison––if he wins, or a protracted series of mini-insurrections among his most ardent sycophants, if he loses. The only possible way to avoid national paralysis will be to encourage the Judges who have current control over him in his criminal cases to fully enforce the sanctions he has already earned by violating the terms of his parole and taking him off the political playing field, post haste. It will be difficult and contentious, but will result in a mere fraction of problems that will ensue if his is allowed to 'run wild' to and through the 2024 election.  

Red Meat By Any Other Color: The Friday Show

CLR Show 1852. Air Date September 15, 2023. With the Hunter Biden indictment rapidly evolving into a non-event and, still, no impeachable material discovered after five-plus years of investigating Joe Biden, the republicans are left with inference as their sole tool for attacking democrats as the Trump criminal trials move forward. Lacking the fresh red meat their base has been conditioned to demand and consume, they will invariably turn to the last ready source of that meat––themselves. Matt Gaetz's painful excoriation of Kevin McCarthy on the House floor can be viewed as the first of a new round of intra-mural excisions of trumpian flesh. With CLR Friday Co-Host, David Bach.  

The Desperados Return To Town

CLR Show 1851.  Air Date September 12, 2023. With the return of the House, its Trumpian leadership now sets its eyes on an unfounded impeachment of Joe Biden and shutting down the US Government. Their audience remains the sycophantic base and their true and only goal remains the maintenance of power. The good of the United States of America and all its people is an unthinkable irrelevancy. It's time for the democrats to begin pushing back in earnest.  A document eviscerating any basis for an impeachment, to be released today, would appear to be a reasonable first step in that effort. 

The View From Rock Bottom: The Friday Show

CLR Show 1850. Air Date September 8, 2023. It may seem counterintuitive, but there is some comfort to be taken in the knowledge that we have hit the rock bottom of civic knowledge and awareness in this country.  There is nowhere to go but up––or, unthinkably, out of existence as a functional democracy.  But the strength of the criminal justice system as it deals with everyone from 1/6 Capital rioters/insurrectionists to Donald and his entire inner circle, is becoming increasingly apparent and an unavoidable reality for even the most virulent of Trumpian reality deniers. With Friday Co-Host, David Bach.  

A Single Simple Question

CLR Show 1849. Air Date September 5, 2023.  Next time you find yourself in a conversation with a Trumpian, ask a single question in the following form: "Based on what you know, did Donald Trump win the 2020 election? A simple yes or no, please." A 'yes' is a signal to get out of the conversation as quickly as possible, or at least change the subject. Any other reaction––from waffling, to annoyance to an outright admission that he lost, is an invitation to continue the conversation and the possibility of finding some new common ground for discussion.   

Action and Reaction: The Friday Show

CLR Show 1848. Air Date September 1, 2023. Donald's perpetual modus operandi has been to lurch from one scandal or infraction to the next before any consequences can be brought to bear. The result is his hazy air of omnipotence, and the adulation of those incapable of recognizing its false roots. But in the world of criminal justice where Donald is now a star attraction, no statement or action on his part escapes scrutiny or fails to elicit a reaction from the courts. This is the new and future reality for the one time reality show host. With Friday Co-Host, David Bach.   

Donald... the Divine?

CLR Show 1847. Air Date August 29, 2023. Disturbing as the thought may be, Donald is embraced by the base as nothing less than a religious figure, not subject to human law, facts or restrictions of any kind, and the object of persecution by those who cannot recognize the 'truth' of his message. He cannot be argued away by reason, and his actions and demands on followers and foes alike must be respected as the self-justifying wishes of an 'angry god.'  His capacity to capture and leverage 25% of the population against the rest of us is a tribute to his native guile, the failure of our religious institutions and the failure of republican leaders to confront his challenge to the Constitutional structure of our nation. He must be vigorously resisted in every lawful way possible and will, eventually, be revealed as a false god to even the truest of believers. But the punitive consequences of his actions must become apparent in the relatively near future.     

Even His Mug Shot Lies: The Friday Show

CLR Show 1846. Air Date August 25, 2023. Donald (Fulton County Prisoner #P01135809) has already released a fundraising picture of his hyper-bellicose mugshot on a ($36) tee-shirt over the words––NEVER SURRENDER. The problem is, that the picture was taken as, and only because, he surrendered himself to authorities at the notorious Fulton County Jail, posted bail designed to hold him to his conditions of release and was electronically fingerprinted. And yet, 6 of the 8 (alleged) presidential candidates at the first republican debate swore they would support him as the party's candidate for president even if he were convicted and incarcerated. The republican party has lost its mind and has already lost the 2024 election. With Friday Co-Host David Bach. 

Getting Real

CLR Show 1845. Air date August 22, 2023.  A recent poll of likely republican Iowa Caucus voters produced a media-defying statistic: 6 out of 10 Iowan republicans don't want Donald Trump as their presidential candidate. With Donald burdened by 2 impeachments, 4 indictments and the intense likelihood of convictions and incarceration ahead, it would appear to be a long-overdue rational reaction on the part of 'rational' republican voters who represent nearly 75% of the party. The fear of the 'base' and the results of Donald's control over it will soon dissipate. What's left will be dealing with the fear and anger of the most irrational remnants of Donald's support as they realize they never had the power they imagined.    

The (Un?)Making of the American Author: A Noble Hearts Forum

CLR Show 1844. Air Date August 17, 2023. A distinguished panel of academic authors with shared roots in NYC's Regis High School––Drs. John D'Emilio, Bill Mulligan and Charles Webel––discuss the often unanticipated pathways leading to a life of successful academic writing. Topics include the challenges posed by Artificial Intelligence engines like chatgpt and the far greater challenges associated with evolving into a society where critical reasoning skills, once deemed essential to effective writing of all kinds, are no longer stressed or even welcomed. Must listening for all aspiring authors, and all readers.