Today, Johnny offers a fascinating idea. The GOP in Arizona has been forced to back down on some of its worst immigration policies — purely because of the economic impact. What if the 26 million or so American consumers who fall into the general category of the Left (and the anti-war Right) just stopped spending money on anything beyond essentials for one week — a boycott against the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and in favor of taxes on the rich. Would it make anyone in Washington listen? You, of course, can listen all you want, after the jump.
SFBG Radio
SFBG Radio: Good news from Wisconsin — maybe
A judge in Wisconsin has tossed out the governor’s anti-labor law — but does that just mean the Republicans are going to go back and do it again? And what’s going on in Michigan, where the governor wants to get rid of labor contracts by taking control of local government? Check out our discussion after the jump.
sfbgradio3182011 by endorsements2010
SFBG Radio: Wavy Gravy on Owsley
In a special episode today, Johnny talks to Wavy Gravy, founder of the Hog Farm, patron of Camp Winnarianbow, MC at Woodstock and close friend of Stanley Owsley, the late acid avatar. Hear him talk about Owsely’s home in Australia, the dangers of the platypus, the acid test days, the all-meat diet and much more after the jump.
sfbgradio3/16/2011 by endorsements2010SFBG Radio: What is NPR afraid of?
Today we discuss why everyone seems to be afraid of a few right-wing nuts and why an undercover videographer whose work is consistently shown to be shoddy keeps getting all this attention. Listen after the break.
sfbgradio3/24/2010 by endorsements2010SFBG Radio: The end of Democrats?
Today, Johnny Angel (check out his new tune here) and Johnny Venom talk about the situation in Wisconsin, how the Republicans are trying to defund the Democratic Party — and why they may live to regret it. Listen after the jump.
SFBG Radio: From Rodney King to Tasers
Today we remember the 20th anniversary of the Rodney King beating — and talk about police accountability, videos and why the SFPD should not have Tasers. Listen after the jump.
sfbgradio372011 by endorsements2010SFBG Radio: protecting obnoxious speech
In today’s episode, Johnny Angel and Johnny Venom talk about the Supreme Court, free speech, the asshole Fred Phelps — and why we have to stand up for the rights of people to be really, really obnoxious. Listen after the jump.
SFBG Radio: The right’s agenda failed
Today Johnny has a profound revelation at the gym: For 30 years, the right wing in this country has had its way. Almost every part of the right’s economic and foreign-policy agenda — tax cuts for the rich, cuts in welfare, deregulation of financial institutions, dramatic increases in the military budget — has come to pass. We’ve seen, and we see today, the results of that agenda. It doesn’t work. So why does anyone still take it seriously? Listen after the jump.
SFBG Radio: North Africa, oil, and cotton
Today Johnny talks to economist Johnny Venom about the situation in North Africa and explains how there’s a surplus of oil right now in the United States, how the real price hike is going to be cotton — and how the revolutionary fervor is going to play out over the next few weeks. Listen after the jump.
SFBG Radio: Talking with Jim Goad
Today’s special treat: Johnny talks to Jim Goad, publisher of the short-lived ANSWER Me magazine, the subject of an obscenity trial in Washington in the 1990s, and the author of The Redneck Manifesto. Listen after the jump.
sfbgradio2242011 by endorsements2010SFBG Radio: People power, from Libya to Wisconsin
In today’s episode, we talk about that remarkable moment when people realize that they aren’t alone — and that tends of thousands or maybe millions of their neighbors are willing to go out in the streets and do something about it. Listen after the jump.
SFBG Radio: The message of Wisconsin
Today Johnny talks to Johnny Venom from Chicago about the story behind what’s happening in Wisconsin. Listen after the jump.
SFBG Radio: Chris Daly on Twitter
Former Sup. Chris Daly has an opinion piece in today’s Guardian on the Twitter controversy; today, Johnny interviews him and gets more details on his argument that giving Twitter a tax break is a bad idea (among other things, he raises the question: what happens if Google buys Twitter and moves most of its operations down the Peninsula anyway?) Listen after the jump.
SFBG Radio: Howie Klein, part II
In today’s installment, Johnny continues his interview with Howie Klein, founder of 415 records, contemporary of Harvey milk and Bill Graham. Listen after the jump.
SFBG Radio: Talking to Howie Klein
Today we continue Johnny’s interview with local music legends — he talks to Howie Klein, the co-founder of 415 Records, about his start in the music industry, Harvey Milk, Bill Graham, and more. We’re keeping these things short, so this is part one; we’ll post part two to the interview Feb. 14. Listen after the jump.
SFBG Radio: Cheetah Chrome’s new book
Today we take another break from hard-core politics while Johnny gets back into his history in hard-core punk and talks with the legendary Cheetah Chrome, who has a new book out. Listen after the jump.
CheetahChrome by endorsements2010SFBG Radio: Why the HuffPo deal sucks
Arianna Huffington just sold the Huffington Post to AOL for $352 million. Johnny and Tim talk about why it’s a bad deal for everyone except Arianna and her investors. Check it out after the jump.
sfbgradio272011 by endorsements2010SFBG Radio: Is the recession over?
Is the recession really ending? The government says so — but what do small businesses need to make that prediction real? Johnny and Tim discuss after the jump.
SFBGRadio: Kids, God and lies
A little bit of a break from our usual political ranting: Johnny talks about telling his kids about death and we discuss why it’s so easy to sugarcoat it (and talk about God and an afterlife) but in a secular household, it’s better to tell your kids the truth about everything, from death to sex and drugs. Agree? No? Listen and argue with us after the jump.
sfbgradio222011 by endorsements2010SFBG Radio: From Cairo to here
In today’s episode, Johnny points out that the protests in Egypt have been driven by young people — and that youth unemployment in the United States is at alarmingly high levels. So why aren’t young people out in the streets here? Check out the discussion after the jump.
sfbgradio1/30/2011 by endorsements2010Can they shut off the Internet?
Proverbs for paranoids: If they can catch you asking the wrong questions, they don’t have to worry about answers.
— T. Pynchon
Indulge me here while I get a little paranoid and venture into a realm where it’s easy to get dismissed as a nutcase. And I’ll say this upfront: I really don’t know how much I ought to worry about this.
But: The Egyptian government just tried to decapitate the protests in the streets by shutting down the Internet, and it was relatively easy; four ISPs threw the switches at government command, and bingo — no more email or websites talking about how to toss the bums out. John Weber at the Bay Citizen (who is neither a nutcase nor a paranoid) says this is a first (although China and other countries have censored internet traffic and limited use, this is different; it’s a total sudden shutdown of what was an open service).
So it’s worth asking, anyway: Could that happen in other countries, including ours?
Well, you don’t have to be way out in loony land to be worried about the Lieberman Protecting Cyberspace as a National Asset Act. Yes, I realize all the talk of an Internet Kill Switch sounds batty. We talked about this today on sfbg radio, and Johnny told me I was way wacko: the Internet is so essential to commerce in this country that the corporate powers that be would never allow it to be throttled. Tens of billions of dollars would be lost in moments; the stock market and the banking system couldn’t function.
But the scary thing is that it wouldn’t be all the difficult. All you’d have to do is cut off the domain name servers and nobody could find anything. (Yeah, you can bypass that with website numbers — IP addresses — but most people don’t have those handy.) And one company, Sprint (I think) owns most of the switches that direct all the traffic in this country; shut them off and every city would be isolated.
The web was designed to be redundant; a natural (or unnatural) disaster in New York or Chicago wouldn’t cripple Internet traffic around the country. And I’m not saying that Obama (or his successors) would ever actually try to squelch protest in the U.S. by taking such a drastic step.
But the fact remains that technically, it wouldn’t be that hard to do what Egypt did, and shut things down for a while. And since so much of our political communication in this country is based on the web, it seems somehow that our ability to talk to each other in times of crisis is a wee bit fragile.
Or am I out of my mind here? It wouldn’t be the first time.
SFBG Radio: Egypt and the Internet
Protests erupting all over Egypt as democracy comes to life in North Africa — and the government’s response is to shut off the internet. Could that happen here? Johnny thinks Tim is just a delusional conspiracy nut. Check it out after the jump.
sfbgradio1282010 by endorsements2010SFBG Radio: Obama is like the Seattle Seahawks
Okay, these webcasts have been getting long, and nobody has the time, and we get it. So it’s a new era for SFBG Radio: This one’s less than nine minutes. Here Johnny explain why Obama is like the Seattle Seahawks (really, it makes sense). Take eight minutes to check it out after the jump.
sfbgradio1/27/2100 by endorsements2010SFBG Radio: The economics of pearl handled dildos
In today’s episode, we discuss the economics of pearl-handled dildoes — and how supply, demand and income inequality impact the unemployment rate. Just in time for the State of the Union speech. You can check it out after the jump.