On today’s premiere edition of the now-daily BradCast, we cover the violence on the ground in Baltimore during protests of the death of Freddy Gray in police custody, and the ongoing disaster following the weekend’s earthquake in Nepal.
Then, I speak to legendary ‘Pentagon Papers’ whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg from the National Press Club in D.C. about the Obama Administration’s unprecedented prosecution of national security whistleblowers and the slap-on-the-wrist sentence given to disgraced CIA director General David Petraeus, versus the severe treatment to actual recent whistleblowers such as Chelsea Manning and Edward Snowden.
“Our democracy has eroded very very heavily since 9/11,” Ellsberg tells me in a fascinating conversation. “More than people realize. And maybe not more than they were willing to see, but it hasn’t been an informed change on their part. When they think ‘I’m willing to give up a little democracy here to have more security,’ they don’t know how much they’re giving up and they don’t know how little more security they’re getting.”
Near the end of our conversation, Ellsberg was also kind enough to say some very nice things about the work we’ve been doing here at The BRAD BLOG for so many years. Coming from someone like him, that means a great deal.
Plus, Loretta Lynch finally sworn in as the next AG; Dubya criticizes Obama’s Mid-east foreign policy (!) and climate deniers head to the Vatican…
For more details on our now-daily BradCasts, where you can automagically download it via free RSS subscription, etc., see this item from late last week…
Kicking off the new show with Daniel Ellsberg. Not bad at all.
Dick Cavett”s Vietnam aired on PBS last night and featured Mr. Ellsberg as well as other famous people and soldiers. I always considered Cavett to be leaps and bounds above Carson and the show last night just reinforced my view on that. Carson would always cut to commercial when things got embarrassing for his guests, who were usually stars. If you went on the Cavett show, you better have something important to say.
Thanks for the new forum!
I thought one of Dan Ellsberg’s observations with respect to both public officials and high level corporate officials was rather profound.
“Accountability,” Ellsberg observed, “is not in their interest. It is in the public’s interest.”