Tag: Democracy

Democracy Forum 2/15/19

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine
Engineer: Amy Browne

Participatory Democracy: The Free Press and a Functioning Democracy

We talk about democracy, journalism, the state of play in American news.
Can fact-based journalism survive?
Can democracy survive otherwise?

Guests:
Earl Brechlin, Earl was the founding editor of the Mount Desert Islander. friendsofacadia.org/news/friends-acadia-welcomes-earl-brechlin-communications-director/
Burt Neuborne, Burt Neuborne is the Norman Dorsen Professor of Civil Liberties and founding Legal Director of the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law School. He is the author of the book, Madison’s Music, that explores a deep reading of the First Amendment. its.law.nyu.edu/facultyprofiles/index.cfm?fuseaction=profile.biography&personid=20165
Judy Woodruff, Judy Woodruff is the anchor and managing editor of the PBS Newshour. www.pbs.org/newshour/about/judy-woodruff

To learn more about this topic:
More Important But Less Robust? Five Things Everybody Needs to Know about the Future of Journalism Reuters Institute Report, January, 2019
Does Journalism have a Future? Jill Lepore in The New Yorker, January 28, 2019
Is journalism’s `pivot to dust’ arriving? Megan McArdle in the Washington Post, January 26, 2019
How We Know Journalism is Good for Democracy, Josh Stearns, posted at Medium, a publication of PACE: Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement, June 26, 2018
Local newspapers have already been gutted. There’s nothing left to cut. Steve Cavendish, the Washington Post, January 25, 2109.
Madison’s Music: On Reading the First Amendment, Burt Neuborne, 2015.

The all-volunteer team at the League of Women Voters – Downeast who plan and coordinate this series includes: Starr Gilmartin, Maggie Harling, Sheila Kirby, Ann Luther, Maryann Ogonowski, Pam Person, Leah Taylor, Linda Washburn

This episode of Democracy Forum was produced with support from the Maine Humanities Council.

FMI re League of Women Voters of Maine: www.lwvme.org

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Democracy Forum 11/18/16

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine    
Engineer: Amy Browne

Issue: Participatory Democracy

Program Topic: Election Reflections

Key Discussion Points:
What just happened?
Why were we surprised?
What role did voter suppression play in the election?
And what does it mean for the future of democracy?

Guests:
Prof. Mark Brewer, Professor of Political Science at the University of Maine https://umaine.edu/polisci/faculty-and-staff/mark-brewer/
Kathy Colliton-Gonzalez is Senior Counsel at Demos, a national civil rights organization, where she participates in litigation and policy advocacy to ensure an inclusive democracy and equal opportunity for all. FMI: www.demos.org

The all-volunteer team at the League of Women Voters – Downeast who plan and coordinate this series includes:
Linda Hoskins
Ann Luther
Pam Person
Leah Taylor
Linda Washburn
FMI re League of Women Voters of Maine: www.lwvme.org

Democracy Forum 6/18/12

Producer/Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters
Engineer: Amy Browne

Issue: Participatory Democracy

Program Topic: Wealth and income inequality in the U.S. and why it matters for democracy
Key Discussion Points:
a) What are the trends in wealth and income disparity? Who is affected?
b) What structural or public policy factors are contributing to this trend?
c) What are the consequences for democracy and the general well-being?
d) What can citizens do?

Guests:

A) Professor Susan Feiner, Professor of Economics and Professor of Women and Gender Studies, University of Southern Maine, http://www.usm.maine.edu/eco/susan-feiner.
B) Dr. Richard Freeman, Herbert Ascherman Chair in Economics at Harvard University and director of the National Bureau of Economic Research, http://www.nber.org/~freeman/.

Call In Program: Yes
Political Broadcast: No

WERU Special 4/25/11

Producer/Host: Meaghan LaSala

Topics:

Segment1: Interview with Annie Sprinkle and Beth Stephens, about their art collaborations, upcoming performances in Maine, sex positivity, and their role in creating the ecosexual movement. What is sex positivity? What does it mean to be ecosexual? FMI: http://www.loveartlab.org/

Segment 2: Audio from a panel “Journalism and Democacy: Rebuilding Media for Our Communities,” from the National Conference for Media Reform. Is journalism finding new models in the age of the internet, as newspapers continue to fold? Is American journalism supporting democracy? NCMR website (for the full panel and more audio from the conference):
http://conference.freepress.net/

Weekend Voices: Democracy Forum 10/04/08

Producer: Marge May,  Host: Ann Luther, Co-president, League of Women Voters of Maine

Topic: Case Study in Democracy:  Health Care Reform

How do things work that we don’t yet have universal coverage?  Other industrialized countries have universal health care systems which provide better health outcomes than ours at a lower cost.    What does our failure to enact meaningful health care reform say about the state of our democracy?  Describe the ongoing impasse within the Congress with respect to passage health care reform.  How is health care reform legislation is drafted?   Who are the key players?  How do the House and Senate differ in their treatment of legislation in this area?  Over the years, health care has become increasingly privatized and run for profit.  What role has this played in the decision making process?   How big a factor is campaign finance?   What can be done to get the health care reform most people want in the U.S.?

Guests:
Brian Biles, Professor in the Department of Health Policy at George Washington University.  In various roles, he has been helping to analyze and shape the nation’s health care policy for more than three decades. He spent much of that time in government service, having served as staff director of the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health and later, as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health at the Department of Health and Human Services.
Trish Riley, currently serving as the Director of the Maine Governor’s Office of Health Policy and Finance.  Prior to joining the Governor’s staff, she served as president of the nonprofit Center for Health Policy Development and the executive director of its National Academy for State Health Policy.  She has served in appointive positions under four Maine governors and in numerous other leadership positions nationally and here in Maine in the field of health policy.
FMI: www.lwvme.org

Weekend Voices 8/02/08

Executive Producer: Amy Browne

Producer: Marge May

Host: Ann Luther, Co-president, League of Women Voters of Maine

Topic:  Part of the on-going monthly “Democracy Forum” series.  Today: Corporations and Democracy

Private vs public:  what’s appropriate for the public sector, what’s appropriate for the private sector?
What would be the function of government if everything possible were privatized?   Why is it important to consider in a democracy?  What spheres have been privatized, considered or debated to be privatized?  Are there appropriate safeguards and oversight in place to protect against corruption?   What are the reform proposals?

Guests:

Paul Verkuil is a litigator, counselor, businessman and scholar.  He is Professor of Law at Cardozo Law School, Yeshiva University, and Senior Counsel at the law firm of  Boies, Schiller & Flexner.   In addition to his current roles, he has served as Dean of the Cardozo and Tulane Law Schools and President of the College of William & Mary.  He has written numerous books and articles on public law issues, including his most recent book, Outsourcing Sovereignty: Why Privatization of Government Functions Threatens Democracy and What We Can Do about It.  You can read more about his background at the website for BSF LLP or at the website for Cordoza School of Law.

Si Kahn is a singer, songwriter and activist.  He is executive director of Grassroots Leadership, where their goal is to put an end to abuses of justice and the public trust by working to abolish for-profit private prisons.  Si is the author of the book, The Fox in the Henhouse: How Privatization Threatens Democracy.  You can read more about him and his work at www.sikahn.com.