The Washington Post on Tuesday published a massive investigation into the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)’s nefarious dealings entitled, “The intelligence coup of the century.” In it reporters explain that a Swiss company named Crypto AG for years built encryption devices and sold them to governments around the world including Iran, India, Pakistan and Latin American nations. But it turns out that the CIA, in collaboration with a German Intelligence agency, had been working with Crypto AG to allow the devices to be hacked so that they could be spied on. The Washington Post explained that as part of its joint reporting project with a German media outlet, “The decades-long arrangement, among the most closely guarded secrets of the Cold War, is laid bare in a classified, comprehensive CIA history of the operation.” The report explains, “how the United States and its allies exploited other nations’ gullibility for years, taking their money and stealing their secrets.” Specifically, “From 1970 on, the CIA and its code-breaking sibling, the National Security Agency, controlled nearly every aspect of Crypto’s operations — presiding with their German partners over hiring decisions, designing its technology, sabotaging its algorithms and directing its sales targets…Then, the U.S. and West German spies sat back and listened.”

In other news, New Hampshire voters head to the polls on Tuesday for the second primary race of the year. Unlike the Iowa process, New Hampshire relies on a traditional election, which is likely to make results available quicker. Candidates have been crisscrossing the state hoping to make their case to voters including Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren whose poll numbers have slipped in recent weeks. Warren has struggled to distinguish herself from Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and touted her accomplishment of creating and leading the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau. Senator Amy Klobuchar, who has been increasing from single digit to double digit poll numbers, has been contrasting herself from former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg saying she won’t beat his campaign spending but can beat him in a debate. South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg, fresh from his declaration of victory in Iowa has high hopes and former Vice President Joe Biden has all but given up on New Hampshire, heading to South Carolina where he hopes the primary race coming up in that state will buoy his flagging candidacy. 

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump on Monday held a rally in Manchester, New Hampshire, clearly aimed at attempting to make Democrats nervous. Among the things he touted to rile up his base was his impeachment acquittal at the Senate. He also brought up House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, to which chants of “lock her up” emerged from the crowd. Trump also urged his supporters to try to sabotage the Democratic race in New Hampshire by voting in the party’s open primary and choosing “the weakest” candidate for him to take on in the November general election. Additionally, according to AP, “Advisers hoped that Secret Service moves in downtown Manchester to secure the area for the president’s arrival would also make it harder for Democratic candidates and their supporters to transverse the state’s largest city in the hours before the primary’s first votes are cast, according to Trump campaign officials not authorized to discuss internal deliberations publicly.”

In other news, Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy

FEATURING DR. ROB DAVIDSON – The Trump administration released its 2021 fiscal year budget to the tune of $4.8 trillion. Enjoying special status in the budget was predictably the US military but also according to Trump, Social Security and Medicare. But not only are those facing cuts, programs like Medicaid and Food stamps are also on the chopping block to apparently help balance the budget. 

In recent weeks the Trump administration has taken aim at the Affordable Care Act’s expansion of Medicaid to low-income Americans seeking to impose serious caps on the program’s budget. Governors of numerous states, including Republicans, have warned the plan would deeply impact healthcare for those who need it the most. A recent viral video of an interaction between an Emergency Physician named Dr. Rob Davidson and Vice President Mike Pence went viral and highlighted the Trump administration’s plan to undermine Medicaid. That Emergency Physician happens to be the Executive Director of the Committee to Protect Medicare and is now my guest. 

Dr. Rob Davidson, Executive Director of the Committee to Protect Medicare, and an emergency physician who serves families in small communities across West Michigan. His recent video-taped interaction with Vice President Mike Pence went viral.

FEATURING NAOMI MCDOUGALL JONES – It was just a few years ago that movie mogul Harvey Weinstein was a fixture at the annual Academy Awards ceremony hobnobbing with actors and directors, overseeing the entertainment empire he formed. Today, Weinstein’s fall from grace has exposed the on-going and myriad reasons women and people of color are marginalized from the industry that shapes pop culture. A new book by an industry insider and activist tells the story of how and why Hollywood has been a sexist boys club for so long. 

Naomi McDougall Jones is an award-winning actress, writer, producer, and women in film activist. She is a vocal advocate for bringing gender parity to film, both on and off screen. Her Ted talk called What it’s Like to be a Woman in Hollywood, has been viewed over a million times. Her new book is called The Wrong Kind of Women: Inside Our Revolution to Dismantle the Gods of Hollywood.

President Donald Trump defended his decision to demote Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman on Friday and escort him off White House premises. Vindman was a key witness in the House impeachment hearings that preceded Trump’s impeachment. His brother Yevgeny Vindman who also served on the National Security Council was also escorted out. Trump blasted him as “very insubordinate,” just after claiming, “I don’t know him, never spoke to him, or met him.” Trump also claimed that Vindman had, “problems with judgement, adhering to the chain of command and leaking information.” Vindman’s lawyer denounced the President’s actions as part of a “campaign of intimidation.” Trump also fired Gordon Sondland, another impeachment witness and the US Ambassador to the European Union. Top Republican Senators reportedly tried to talk the President out of his openly vindictive actions. The New York Times explained, “Among the Republicans who warned the White House was Senator Susan Collins of Maine, who after voting to acquit Mr. Trump said she thought he had learned a lesson.” Meanwhile Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer wrote a letter to Inspectors General around the country calling on them to protect whistleblowers in light of Trump’s treatment of Vindman.

In other news Trump posted a doctored video of his State of the Union address showing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi appearing to rip up the transcript of his speech during his honoring of a Tuskegee airman. The video was titled, “Powerful American Stories Ripped to Shreds by Nancy Pelosi.” Pelosi ripped up the transcript after the speech ended but Trump’s video gives the impression she did it in the middle of the speech. Pelosi and other Democrats have called on Facebook and Twitter to take down the video but the social media companies demurred. A Facebook spokesperson named Andy Stone responded saying, “Sorry, are you suggesting the President didn’t make those remarks and the Speaker didn’t rip the speech?” Pelosi’s chief of Staff Drew Hammill shot back saying, “What planet are you living on? this is deceptively altered. take it down.” The Trump campaign is now claiming the video is a parody.

In election news, Iowa’s Democratic Party released its final official results from last week’s disastrous caucuses declaring South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg the winner and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders the runner-up. Buttigieg was awarded 14 delegates and Sanders 12. However, Sanders reportedly won more votes. His campaign has asked for a partial recanvass. Although mathematical mistakes in the awarding of delegates at some precincts were documented, Iowa Democratic Party spokespeople said they would not go back and correct the math. The next primary takes place this Tuesday in New Hampshire – as a traditional election rather than a ...

FEATURING DR. DARNELL HUNT – Just as Americans are gearing up for the 2020 Academy Awards, the annual Hollywood Diversity Report was released and – just as in previous years – the news especially where film directing and writing is concerned, is not good. Hollywood, the heart of film and television story telling in America and the English-speaking world, continues to be dominated by white men in spite of growing diversity among the population. Where lead actors are concerned, some improvement was documented, but people of color and women are still underrepresented compared to white men.

Read UCLA’s latest Hollywood Diversity Report HERE.

Dr. Darnell Hunt is Dean of the Division of Social Sciences at UCLA, and professor of sociology and African American Studies at UCLA. 

FEATURING HOWARD BRYANT – President Donald Trump has for much of his White House tenure attempted to woo African Americans. He has touted massive gains in employment and other fields for this traditionally Democratic Party leaning demographic. He has showcased token individuals to boast of black support. But, like America in general, Trump’s promise to African Americans has been hollow. 

Now in a new book of essays, outspoken writer and commentator Howard Bryant explores all the ways in which he sees “an uneven playing field.”

Howard Bryant is a senior writer for ESPN the Magazine and is a correspondent for NPR’s Weekend Edition. He has won several awards for his commentary writing. His books include The Heritage, Juicing the Game, and The Last Hero.

Days after being acquitted by Senate Republicans over two articles of impeachment, President Donald Trump has reportedly shown no desire to pursue reconciliation. Instead the President has moved into high gear seeking revenge for those who wronged him. Alexander Vindman, the National Security Council aide whose testimony at House impeachment hearings helped strengthen the case for impeachment is being transferred to another position in the Defense Department. According to the Washington Post, “Trump is eager to make a symbol of the Army officer soon after the Senate acquitted him.” White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham in an interview on Fox News seemed to confirm the President’s post-impeachment strategy saying, “People should be held accountable for anything they do to hurt this country and this president.” Senate Republican allies of the President have also started their vengeful post-impeachment tactics. On Thursday Treasury Department officials turned over sensitive information on Joe Biden and his son Hunter to Senators Chuck Grassley and Ron Johnson who lead committees.

 Walter Shaub, the former head of the U.S. Office of Government Ethics and a frequent Trump critic warned, “We’re in the heads-on-pikes phase of burgeoning authoritarianism.” In a two part-tweet Shaub explained, “Trump is going after witnesses for testifying to Congress, Trump and his allies are going after Romney, Senators, with help from Trump’s Treasury Dept., are going after Trump’s political rival and his son, Senators are preparing to go after the whistleblower, DHS is going after New York, Barr is investigating DOJ employees for investigating Trump, Barr issued a policy requiring DOJ investigations of Trump or his political rivals to go through Barr.” He added, “This is just the start.”

Trump enjoyed another lesser-known victory in the case over his violations of the Emoluments Clause. An Appeals Court on Friday dismissed a major lawsuit by about 200 Democratic lawmakers over the emoluments issue. The Constitution’s Emoluments clause has not been so severely tested by any other President before. Foreign diplomats and heads of state have been far more likely to spend their money at Trump’s many properties in an obvious means of currying favor with him. But even taxpayers appear to be funneling money into Trump’s pockets – through the Secret Service. The Washington Post published an investigation that found, “President Trump’s company charges the Secret Service for the rooms agents use while protecting him at his luxury properties — billing U.S. taxpayers at rates as high as $650 per night.” The paper explained,

FEATURING KEVIN MARTIN – Despite reports of US tensions with Europe under President Donald Trump’s tenure, the NATO alliance formed between US and European nations remains strong. A deployment of tens of thousands of US troops to Europe next month has been announced, to conduct military exercises in a show of force against Russia. It is to be the largest US deployment of troops to Europe in 25 years. 

The Defender Europe 20 as it has been dubbed, will be, in the words of the US military, “”the deployment of a division-size combat-credible force from the United States to Europe, the drawing of equipment and the movement of personnel and equipment across the theater to various training areas.”

Kevin Martin, President of Peace Action and convener of the Korea Peace Network.

FEATURING KORI MALIA AND DILAN GOHILL – In late January climate activists with groups like Extinction Rebellion Los Angeles targeted JP Morgan Chase Bank in Hollywood calling on account holders to divest from a bank they say is the most responsible for financing fossil fuel companies. Several people were arrested. Now, activists are gearing up for their next action.  

The day before the annual Academy Awards on Sunday, climate activists with Extinction Rebellion Los Angeles are planning a major protest at the iconic Hollywood Sign. In a statement, the group said, “we do not believe that Hollywood as a whole has taken an acceptable stance on the climate crisis. Business as usual is killing us all, and every aspect of society needs to take urgent action on climate, including film and media. There is no Hollywood on a dead planet.”

For more information about this event visit www.xrla.org.

Kori Malia, City Lead of Youth Climate Strike Santa Monica, and Dilan Gohill, an organizer with Extinction Rebellion Youth Los Angeles.

FEATURING MUMIA ABU JAMAL – Mumia Abu Jamal is an award-winning journalist and political prisoner. He recently filed this commentary about Australia’s wildfires. 

You can listen to all his commentaries at prisonradio.org.