Between The Lines - NARAL Pro-Choice America's Nancy Keenan on new anti-choice legislative proposals in Congress and in state legislatures(Week Ending 2/4/11)

Award-winning Investigative Journalist Robert Parry (1949-2018)

Award-winning investigative journalist and founder/editor of ConsortiumNews.com, Robert Parry has passed away. His ground-breaking work uncovering Reagan-era dirty wars in Central America and many other illegal and immoral policies conducted by successive administrations and U.S. intelligence agencies, stands as an inspiration to all in journalists working in the public interest.

Robert had been a regular guest on our Between The Lines and Counterpoint radio shows -- and many other progressive outlets across the U.S. over four decades.

His penetrating analysis of U.S. foreign policy and international conflicts will be sorely missed, and not easily replaced. His son Nat Parry writes a tribute to his father: Robert Parry’s Legacy and the Future of Consortiumnews.

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The Resistance Starts Now!

Between The Lines' coverage and resource compilation of the Resistance Movement

"The man who predicted Trump presidential win now says Trump impeachment could happen," AM Joy with Joy Reid, MSNBC, Jan. 21, 2018
"Sketchy Kazakh money finds its way into Trump dealings," The Rachel Maddow Show, MSNBC, Jan. 15, 2018
"Red flags seen in many Trump real estate deals," The Rachel Maddow Show, MSNBC, Jan. 15, 2018
"Secret Money: How Trump Made Millions Selling Condos To Unknown Buyers," BuzzFeed, Jan. 12, 2018
"The Scandals of Donald Trump: Presidential Edition," The Atlantic, May 15, 2017
"Here's what we know so far about Team Trump's ties to Russian interests," Washington Post's ongoing compilation
"What Comey Was Investigating, Explained," The Moscow Project, Center for American Progress

"Donald Trump's Financial Ties to Russian Oligarchs and Mobsters Detailed In Explosive New Documentary from the Netherlands," Dutch TV documentary, Alternet.org, May 12, 2017
Ongoing compilation of Trump's creeping authoritarianism," MotherJones.com
Full resource list ...

SPECIAL REPORT: "The Resistance - Women's March 2018 - Hartford, Connecticut" Jan. 20, 2018

Selected speeches from the Women's March in Hartford, Connecticut 2018, recorded and produced by Scott Harris

SPECIAL REPORT: "No Fracking Waste in CT!" Jan. 14, 2018

Jen Siskind Jennifer Siskind, local coordinator for Food and Water Watch, describes the campaign to stop fracking waste in Connecticut, which so far has led to fracking waste bans in 34 towns around the state. Interviewed by Richard Hill on Mic Check, WPKN Radio, Bridgeport, CT

SPECIAL REPORT: "Resistance Round Table: The Unraveling Continues..." Jan. 13, 2018

Lindsay Kanaly The panel discusses Trump's long history of racism and the Republican voter suppression juggernaut confronting Democrats leading up to the 2018 elections. Special guest: Lindsay Kanaly, a lead organizer of the Women's Marches planned for Jan. 20, 2018. Panel: Scott Harris, Ruthanne Baumgartner and Richard Hill on Resistance Roundtable, WPKN Radio, Bridgeport, CT.

SPECIAL REPORT: "Capitalism to the ash heap?" Richard Wolff, Jan. 2, 2018

Richard Wolff, Economics professor Richard Wolff declares U.S. capitalism to be beyond repair and suggests the need for a radical alternative. Interviewed by Richard Hill

SPECIAL REPORT: Maryn McKenna, author of "Big Chicken", Dec. 7, 2017

Maryn McKenna, investigative journalist and author of Big Chicken, talks about the widespread use and dangers of antibiotics in commercial poultry, beef and fruit production. Interview by Bill Duesing, Richard Hill and Guy Beardsly on WPKN's Organic Farm Stand.

SPECIAL REPORT: Nina Turner's address, Working Families Party Awards Banquet, Dec. 14, 2017

Nina Turner, president of Our Revolution, talks about the fight ahead for progressives as she receives the Working Families Organization Award for Exceptional Leadership Towards Advancing Progress. The event was held in Meriden, CT. Produced by Richard Hill.

SPECIAL REPORT: Mic Check, Dec. 12, 2017

Working Families Party of CT talks strategy and issues for 2018.
Lindsay Farrell, executive director of the Working Families Party of Connecticut, discusses the state's electoral landscape and lays out the issues and strategies that could lead to progressive victories in 2018. Interviewed by Richard Hill.

SPECIAL REPORT: Resistance Roundtable, Dec. 9, 2017

Disturbing developments in the Trump/Republican Agenda
Focus on the tax bill, destruction of our public lands, North Korea and Trump's private CIA. Panel: Scott Harris, Ruthanne Baumgartner and Richard Hill. Special guest: Jo Macallero of Rise and Resist.

SPECIAL REPORT: On Tyranny - one year later, Nov. 28, 2017

Professor Timothy Snyder, author of the highly acclaimed resistance manual On Tyranny, discusses his book and offers a fresh assessment of the state of our beleaguered republic. Timothy Snyder, history professor at Yale, is introduced by Stanley Heller, administrator of Promoting Enduring Peace, a Connecticut-based organization that sponsored this event at the United Church Parish House in New Haven on Nov. 28. A brief interview with Snyder conducted by WPKN radio producer, Richard Hill, follows his talk.

SPECIAL REPORT: Mic Check, Nov. 12, 2017

Lynne Ide, director of program and policy with the Universal Health Care Foundation of Connecticut, talks about the current state of health care coverage in Connecticut. Interviewed by Richard Hill, WPKN radio producer

SPECIAL REPORT: Resistance Roundtable, Nov. 11, 2017

Focus on the Republican tax plan, the just-released autopsy on the Democratic Party, and Internet censorship by Google, Facebook and Youtube. Including an interview with Hilary Grant, a lead organizer with Action Together Connecticut, who discusses the local results of the recent election, with hosts Richard Hill, Scott Harris and Ruth Baumgartner WPKN producers

SPECIAL REPORT: Rainy Day Radio, Nov. 7, 2017

Two leaders from Redneck Revolt, an anti-racist, anti-capitalist movement, talk about their work organizing with white working class people in Suffolk County, New York. Interviewed by Richard Hill, WPKN radio producer

SPECIAL REPORT: Rainy Day Radio, Nov. 7, 2017

Bruce Gagnon, coordinator for the Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space, describes the extent of -- and motives underlying -- the vast US network of military bases around the globe. Interviewed by Richard Hill, WPKN radio producer

SPECIAL REPORT: Resisting U.S. JeJu Island military base in South Korea, Oct. 24, 2017

Joyakol, South Korean peace activist and singer, discusses the crisis on the Korean peninsula and focuses on the resistance to the U.S. huge military base being constructed on Jeju Island. The event was sponsored by the Greater New Haven Peace Council and this audio was recorded by Richard Hill, WPKN producer.
Joyakol discusses Americans' biggest misconceptions about the conflict between North and South Korea and the U.S., Interview by Richard Hill, WPKN producer.

SPECIAL REPORT: John Allen, Out in New Haven

John Allen, founding director of the New Haven Pride Center, Connecticut, talks about his new LGBTQ television show, Out in New Haven, which presents a range of political and cultural issues to the community. Interviewed by Richard Hill on WPKN's Rainy Day Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2018.

2017 Gandhi Peace Awards

Promoting Enduring Peace presented its Gandhi Peace Award jointly to renowned consumer advocate Ralph Nader and BDS founder Omar Barghouti on April 23, 2017.

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THANK YOU TO EVERYONE...

who helped make our 25th anniversary with Jeremy Scahill a success!

For those who missed the event, or were there and really wanted to fully absorb its import, here it is in video

Jeremy Scahill keynote speech, part 1 from PROUDEYEMEDIA on Vimeo.

Jeremy Scahill keynote speech, part 2 from PROUDEYEMEDIA on Vimeo.

Between The Lines on Stitcher

Between The Lines Presentation at the Left Forum 2016

"How Do We Build A Mass Movement to Reverse Runaway Inequality?" with Les Leopold, author of "Runaway Inequality: An Activist's Guide to Economic Justice,"May 22, 2016, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, The City University of New York, 860 11th Ave. (Between 58th and 59th), New York City. Between The Lines' Scott Harris and Richard Hill moderated this workshop. Listen to the audio/slideshows and more from this workshop.

Listen to audio of the plenary sessions from the weekend.

JEREMY SCAHILL: Oscar-nominated documentary filmmaker "Dirty Wars"

Listen to the full interview (30:33) with Jeremy Scahill, an award-winning investigative journalist with the Nation Magazine, correspondent for Democracy Now! and author of the bestselling book, "Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army," about America's outsourcing of its military. In an exclusive interview with Counterpoint's Scott Harris on Sept. 16, 2013, Scahill talks about his latest book, "Dirty Wars, The World is a Battlefield," also made into a documentary film under the same title, and was nominated Dec. 5, 2013 for an Academy Award in the Best Documentary Feature category.

Listen to Scott Harris Live on WPKN Radio

Between The Lines' Executive Producer Scott Harris hosts a live, weekly talk show, Counterpoint, from which some of Between The Lines' interviews are excerpted. Listen every Monday evening from 8 to 10 p.m. EDT at www.WPKN.org (Follows the 5-7 minute White Rose Calendar.)

Counterpoint in its entirety is archived after midnight ET Monday nights, and is available for at least a year following broadcast in WPKN Radio's Archives.

You can also listen to full unedited interview segments from Counterpoint, which are generally available some time the day following broadcast.

Subscribe to Counterpoint bulletins via our subscriptions page.

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Anti-Abortion Bills High on New GOP-Controlled House Agenda

Posted Jan. 26, 2011

Real Audio MP3

Interview with Nancy Keenan, president of NARAL, Pro-Choice America, conducted by Melinda Tuhus

socialsecurity During last November's congressional campaign, the issue of abortion was barely raised, and GOP conservative candidates ran mostly on economic issues, calling for jobs and balancing the budget. Now that the new Congress has been seated, pro-choice groups are counting a majority of anti-choice legislators in both the House and Senate. On the 38th anniversary of the landmark Roe vs. Wade Supreme Court ruling legalizing abortion, pro-choice groups are dismayed.

Despite not campaigning on abortion issues, the first legislative proposals to come out of the House deal with reducing funding for women's health programs -- including birth control -- and placing new restrictions on access to abortion. Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., is the chief sponsor of bill H.R. 3 which goes under the deceptive title, "No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act," and what some critics are calling "Stupak on Steroids." The bill goes further than Rep. Bart Stupak's original failed legislation by forcing millions of Americans to pay more taxes if their health plan covers abortion care.

Between The Lines' Melinda Tuhus spoke with Nancy Keenan, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America. She talks about some of the anti-choice proposals at the both the federal and state levels, and what the movement to protect a woman's right to choose might expect from the country's so-called millenials -- Americans under age 30 for whom abortion has always been legal.

NANCY KEENAN: It's the hypocrisy. They ran on jobs and the economy; they did not run as being anti-choice, and the first order of business was to take up issues that are going to attack a woman's right to choose. In the Congress we have what we call "Stupak on Steroids"; they're talking about cutting family planning and Title X -- this is birth control for women across this country. So, yeah, they say one thing and actually their actions are another.

BETWEEN THE LINES: What about the issue of choice in state legislatures, many of which have flipped from Democratic to Republican, with many more Republican governors?

NANCY KEENAN: Yeah, let me just mention three to you. For example, in Nebraska we have the Nebraska abortion ban or copycat ban. It was modeled after a law targeting Dr. Leroy Carhart. In effect, it bans abortions at 20 weeks, without an adequate exception for women's health and in cases in which the pregnancy was the result of rape or incest or fetal anomaly. So this is a really dramatic bill, started in Nebraska, now spreading across the country. Another one is banning insurance coverage of abortion in state-based health systems. Again, these anti-choice lawmakers are trying to make it illegal for health insurance plans to include abortion as a basic benefit. Let's talk about that for a second, because if you keep in mind that 90 percent of health plans offer that coverage right now, so banning it would have a terrible effect on women's access to basic essential care.

And a third one -- and you're seeing this one pop up a lot of places -- is forcing women to view an ultrasound before abortion, even if it is against their will. We believe women should have the option of an ultrasound if they request it, or if their doctor recommends it for medical reasons. But these politicians out there want to override a doctor's recommendations, mandate -- mandate -- that a woman view an ultrasound image regardless of the situation or what her doctor says.

BETWEEN THE LINES: Does anyone know what difference viewing an ultrasound has on women's decision whether to go through with an abortion or not?

NANCY KEENAN: You know, somebody like (The) Guttmacher (Institute) might have a better sense of how that data is being drawn up. I'm not out there in every clinic, so I mean every woman has a different situation. But I think the point here is not what effect it has ultimately; it is that they are mandating a medical procedure without her permission. It is the interference of politicians in that decision between a doctor and a woman. And again, like we said, they should have the option if they want one, but they should not be mandated.

BETWEEN THE LINES: Nancy Keenan, is this the most anti-choice Congress ever seated since Roe v. Wade in 1973?

NANCY KEENAN: You know, I don't know if it's the most anti-choice Congress ever seated, but it is so dramatic to what we had over the '06 and '08 elections. You know, we've never had a fully pro-choice Congress, but the numbers were moved dramatically in those two elections, and we've lost ground.

BETWEEN THE LINES: So, the Republicans in the House just voted to repeal the health care reform law. They won't succeed, but that law contained a lot of important provisions for women's health.

NANCY KEENAN: This is a law that provided prenatal care for women. They voted to repeal that. It had the promise of birth control for millions of women in this country. Here again -- if you can prevent an unintended pregnancy, you can reduce the need for abortions in this country. So they're not looking for solutions here; they're just looking to attack.

BETWEEN THE LINES: Abortion's been legal since 1973, and in almost 40 years millions of women have grown up without that history of the struggle. Do you see a split in demographics in terms of people who are willing to go to the barricades on this issue?

NANCY KEENAN: We just embarked -- almost a year ago now, we're just in another phase -- of the Millenial Research Project, taking a look at those young people -- 30 and under -- and their attitude about abortion care. What you find is that they are very pro-choice, but they do not connect, yet, the personal with the political. They don't see that the personal holding of that belief is something they act on politically. And that's our challenge, quite honestly, as an abortion rights advocacy organization, it's our challenge to get them to connect the personal with the political. These millenials are the most diverse in the country; they will represent about 40 percent of the voting electorate in about ten years, so you see the political power they have, and will have, in us continuing to defend the freedom and privacy of women and the right to abortion.

Contact NARAL Pro-Choice's America Washington, D.C. office at (202) 973-3000 or visit their website at www.naral.org