MOMocrats

Well, that was a drubbing wasn’t it? Last week’s bad election news – the voter suppression, the apathy, the disenchantment with Democratic messaging and a disconnect with actual achievements – has another and truly awful dimension. What will Congress be like now that some dangerously fringe right-wing elements will be going to the Hill? Claire Connor, author of Wrapped in the Flag: A Personal History of America's Radical Right joins us today to give her perspective on the radical right’s wins in statehouses and Congress. Later in the show we’ll have some upbeat news and how you can support girls by supporting the Sheroes campaign to highlight female STEAM achievers and encourage girls in grades 3-8 to pursue careers in fields where women are under-represented.

Buy Claire's book here.

Donate to SheHeroes here.

Political discussion from the progressive point of view by the MOMocrats. Produced by Engender Media Group.

A lame duck Congress went back to work today, which makes us wonder: Can it be any lamer than it's been the last four years? MOMocrats Cynematic, Karoli and Donna Schwartz Mills are not encouraged by reports that Harry Reid will not pursue confirmation of Attorney General nominee Loretta Lynch, leaving it to the next session when Mitch McConnell will be the leader. Judging from McConnell's record since vowing to just say no to everything the President proposes, we don't think this will go well. Political discussion from the progressive point of view by the MOMocrats. Produced by Engender Media Group.

We knew the odds were against Democrats in yesterday's midterm election, and even if we hadn't known, the breathless horserace reporting of the mainstream media made sure of it. It pains us to acknowledge that the pollsters' "likely voters" predictions came true -- we allowed the Republicans to win by not casting votes of our own. Cynematic, Karoli and Donna Schwartz Mills conduct the post-mortem and look at the few bright spots in yesterday's results. Political discussion from the progressive point of view by the MOMocrats. Produced by Engender Media Group.

California's "top two" primary system has left many voters with a Hobson's Choice between two candidates of the same party. Queen of Spain Blog's Erin Kotecki Vest joins MOMocrats Karoli and Donna Schwartz Mills to talk about the dilemma of choosing between a conservative Republican and an extremely conservative Republican. The women also talked about the mandatory quarantine of healthcare professionals returning from humanitarian work fighting Ebola in West Africa and the ongoing media narrative that Democrats will not turn out for this election. Political discussion from the progressive point of view by the MOMocrats. Produced by Engender Media Group.

The official date for the 2014 election is less than two weeks away, but early voting in several states has already begun. That hasn't stopped the now-typical wrangling over voting rules in states governed by Republicans. Saturday morning we got a little October surprise from the Supreme Court, which upheld yet another discriminatory voter ID law designed to disenfranchise minority voters. That decision came with a little extra: a scathing dissent from Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (joined by Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan). This election year has been a bumpy ride and it isn't over until it's over. The good news is that states that were written off by the MSM as an easy win for the Republicans are now neck and neck, with Democrats either tied with Republicans or just behind and within the margin of error. If only the polls could be trusted! MOMocrats Cynematic and Donna Schwartz Mills discuss the 2014 midterm elections from a progressive point of view. Produced by Engender Media Group.

We all agree: Ebola is scary, and the news that two healthcare workers in Dallas have contracted the disease is very disturbing.

But the media coverage is not helping the situation. Fear sells papers and gets people to watch the news -- but reporting every rumor as if it is an inevitable disaster is not giving the public the information they need to understand the situation. Neither is politicization of it by GOP candidates who clamor for closing the borders (which would not help) or appointing a "czar" (hey, Sen. McCain, you mean like a surgeon general?) -- or accusing the President of trying to make the US like Africa. How about looking at how austerity has slashed the budgets of the agencies we entrust to ensure public health? 

MOMocrats Cynematic, Karoli and Donna Schwartz Mills review the latest news on Ebola and election politics from a progressive POV, also touching on the races in Kentucky and Texas. Produced by Engender Media Group.

The MOMocrats' first podcast of October coincides with the opening of the 2014 term of the Supreme Court, which lately has been the source of horror stories like Citizens United and the gutting of the Voting Rights Act. RH Reality Check legal analyst Jessica Pieklo joins Cynematic, Karoli and Donna Schwartz Mills for a preview of what might get on the SCOTUS calendar and what we might expect this year. Political discussion from the progressive point of view by the MOMocrats. Produced by Engender Media Group.

Disturbing revelations about the Secret Service, after last week's incident with a White House intruder: The right wing is quick to blame the President himself for the agency's disarray - but really, how much of the problem can be traced to understaffing and underfunding the people charged with keeping our President safe? Also: MOMocrats Cynematic, Karoli and Donna Schwartz Mills look at the 2014 midterm electoral map, California's flurry of new progressive legislation and looking ahead to 2016. Political discussion from the progressive point of view by the MOMocrats. Produced by Engender Media Group.

Cynematic of K-12 News Network and Karoli of Crooks and Liars discuss current events.

In recognition of Banned Book Week and student walkouts over attempts to "conservatize" AP American History curriculum, community outrage over a Christian Biblical slant to Texas schoolbooks, and parental pushback to book banning at schools, we welcome as our guest Pat Scales, a retired middle school and high school librarian whose programs have been featured on the Today Show and in various professional journals. She is a champion of free speech and intellectual freedom rights at schools and libraries everywhere. She received the ALA/Grolier Award in 1997, and has served as chair of the prestigious Newberry, Caldecott, and Wilder Award committees. She is a past president of the Association of Library Service for Children, a division of the American Library Association. Scales has been actively involved with ALA's Intellectual Freedom Committee for a number of years, is a member of the Freedom to Read Foundation, serves on the Council of Advisers of the National Coalition Against Censorship, and acts as a spokesperson for First Amendment issues as they relate to children and young adults. She write a bimonthly column for School Library Journal, a monthly column for the Random House website, and is a regular contributor to Book Links magazine. She is the author of Teaching Banned Books: Twelve Guides for Young Readers and Protecting Intellectual Freedom in Your Library, and her latest book is Books under Fire: A Hit List of Banned and Challenged Children's Books, available at the American Library Association website: http://www.alastore.ala.org/detail.aspx?ID=11135

Political discussion from the progressive point of view by the MOMocrats. Produced by Engender Media Group.

Cynematic of K12 News Network hosts a "Back to School" K12NN/MOMocrats Book Club interview with author Jose Luis Vilson.

Jose Luis Vilson has written a powerful and moving memoir of his own childhood spent in NYC schools and how he became a teacher. He's taught middle school math for the past ten years. He is a father of a young son, a math educator, blogger, speaker, activist, and author of _This Is Not A Test: A New Narrative on Race, Class, and Education_. Jose has written and spoken about education, math, and race for a number of organizations and publications, including The New York Times, Al Jazeera, CNN, Edutopia, and others.

His book can be purchased directly from the publisher, Haymarket Press, and is also available at Amazon and other major online book outlets. His speaking and book-signing schedule is available at thejosevilson.com.

MOMocrats is an EngenderMediaGroup production.