Center Left Radio

Defeat from the Jaws of Victory? : The Friday Show

CLR Show 1807. Air Date March 31, 2023. At long last, the first shoe has dropped and Donald has been indicted by the Manhattan DA. But the liberal media seems uncomfortable with the prospects for success, and even seems to be anticipating some arcane trumpian strategy to secure the republican nomination and even win the 2024 election. This is worse fantasy than the garbage Donald spews on a daily basis.  And it is irresponsibility in the extreme. We must allow history and the legal process to play itself out. All rational signs point to Donald's demise.  With Friday Co-Host, David Bach.  

’Know When to Fold’: The Friday Show

CLR Show 1806. Air Date March 24, 2023. Republicans are playing the worst of losing presidential hands, yet feel compelled to pretend they are not––for the sake of the base. Donald will continue to implode as the indictments and convictions add up and the culture wars issues will appear all the more meaningless. Trump and DeSantis are setting republicans up for a loss of Dukakis proportions. With Friday Co-Host, David Bach.

Event Horizon

CLR Show 1805. Air Date March 21, 2023.  The indictment of Donald by the Manhattan DA is a foregone conclusion. Once that happens, he will have crossed the legal equivalent of the Event Horizon of a Black Hole. There is no backing out, only going forward to an uncertain conclusion. The only way to prevent the system from working as it inevitably will is to destroy or hobble it. Incredibly, the republicans, out of fear of the base, are telegraphing their willingness to go this route.

A Little March Madness: The Friday Show

CLR Show 1804. Air Date March 17, 2023.  For the first time in four years the St. Patrick's Day Parade will take place in New York City. Maybe, just maybe, it can induce memories of more inclusive times and remind us for a moment that we can not only function but flourish when our differences are subordinated to that which unifies us as Americans. With CLR Friday Co-Host, David Bach.

Why Stop Politics at the Water’s Edge?

CLR Show 1803. Air date March 14, 2023. The longstanding US policy that politics stops at the water's edge is based on a recognition that American strength and world stability demand a predictable consistency in American positions and its willingness to fulfill its international commitments over the long term.  The cynical redefining of of Russia's invasion of Ukraine as a 'territorial dispute' by both Trump and DeSantis can only be sending shockwaves throughout the international community and create further questions about America's long-term capacity to lead.

(Not) In A Family Way: The Friday Show

CLR Show 1802. Air Date March 3, 2023.  For as conscious as we are of the political divide in this country, it becomes all the more lamentable when we consider how it plays out in families. The all too frequently heard 'we can't talk about politics' is an unacceptable response. Our politics are superseding even familial bonds and if we don't confront the reasons––within families––we run the risk of undermining the necessary strength of our most fundamental unit of measure. With Friday Co-Host David Bach.    

A Noble Hearts Forum: Ukraine One Year Later

CLR Show 1801. Air Date February 24, 2023.  Dr. Stephen Bronner, Co-Director of the International Council for Diplomacy and Dialogue (www.icdd.info) and Dr. Charles Webel of the State University of New York in Prague share their considerable knowledge and insights relative to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and lay out (perhaps the only viable) pathways to a functional, sustainable peace.  A must-listen podcast.  

Ukraine Redux

CLR Show 1800. Air Date February 21, 2023.  There are any number of competing narratives about how and why the Ukrainian war began, who is to blame and how it needs to end. While Putin and Russia may still be pushing for a military solution, most of the planet recognizes that a negotiated peace is the only safe and rational way out for all sides. But a negotiated peace under current or likely future military positions would leave Putin with nothing more, or even less, than he started with, and a one way trip to oblivion.  Can the best interests of all parties be achieved and internally 'sold' in a non-military win?  

The Sound of Dropping Shoes: The Friday Show

CLR Show 1799. Air Date February 17, 2023. Donald's protestation that the partial release of the Fulton Country Special Grand Jury Report somehow 'exonerated' him barely rises to the level of fantasy. No rational person believes him, and certainly not his attorney-enablers. Fani Willis appears posed to bring the first Donald et al indictment and a deluge of others will follow. The national response, threatened by Donald's sycophants to be one of violent outrage, will more likely be a collective sigh of national relief. With Friday Co-Host David Bach.

Tyranny of the Minority

CLR Show 1798. Air Date February 14, 2023. Claiming chronic unaddressed grievances, the republican minority has, over the last 20 years, maneuvered its way into imposing its will on the majority, effectively undermining and overruling the established mechanisms and levers of governance. Guns proliferate, lost elections are openly challenged and established rights are withdrawn. So long as the majority sees this as another temporary blip in our otherwise constitutionally-based history, we can continue to work through it all.  But the moment this state of affairs begins to feel like a new and permanent order  ... all things will change.