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Latest Featured Reports | Tuesday, June 10, 2025
Team Trump Inciting Violence, State of Fear in City of Angels, Elsewhere: 'BradCast' 6/10/25
Insurrection Act soon?; Also: Bondi bro bombs in D.C.; SCOTUS does right thing for PA; Trial against 2020 conspiracist Lindell underway...
'Green News Report' 6/10/25
  w/ Brad & Desi
Canadian wildfire smoke more toxic than usual, including in U.S.; Natural gas stoves increase risk of cancers; PLUS: OR woman sues Big Oil for role in deadly 2021 extreme heat wave...
Previous GNRs: 6/5/25 - 6/3/25 - Archives...
Never Mind Elon and Epstein Files, Trump Declares 'Riots' in L.A.!: 'BradCast' 6/9/25
President federalizes CA National Guard, deploys U.S. Marines in defiance of Guv, Mayor, laws to distract from all of his other, ongoing failures...
Sunday 'Breaking Up is Hard Hilarious to Do' Toons
THIS WEEK: Alien vs. Predator...NOAA vs. Nature...David vs. Goliath...In Memoriam ... And more, in our latest collection of the week's most ridiculous toons!...
'Jesus Weeps' at Trump's
'MAGA Murder Budget': 'BradCast' 6/5/25
Dem landslide in SC; Catholic outlet eviscerates Trump GOP's 'big shameful bill'; Bipartisan judges oppose Dugan indictment; Much more...
'Green News Report' 6/5/25
  w/ Brad & Desi
Nat'l Weather Service offices on Gulf Coast seriously understaffed, new docs reveal; SCOTUS further limits enviro reviews; PLUS: Sounding the alarm on Trump's gutting of FEMA...
Previous GNRs: 6/3/25 - 5/22/25 - Archives...
More Than 300k 'Preventable' Deaths Since Trump Shutdown USAID: 'BradCast' 6/4/25
Guest: Brooke Nichols of Boston U.; Also: Admin attacks CBO as budget to add trillions to deficit...
Storm Warnings: 'BradCast' 6/3/25
Musk pretends to turn on Trump; NBC Miami meteorologist warns of degraded forecasts; FEMA chief unaware of hurricane season?; Also: Election and democracy news from Poland, Netherlands, S. Korea...
'Green News Report' 6/3/25
Abnormally long, hot Summer now underway; Canada's fire season off to ferocious start; PLUS: Climate-induced glacial collapse in Swiss Alps, wipes village off map...
SCOTUS Ignores Own Precedents In Recent 'Emergency' Rulings: 'BradCast' 6/2/25
Guest: Chris Geidner; Also: Boulder terror attack; Israel attack on Gaza; Ukraine drone attack inside Russia...
Sunday 'TACO Trump on Every Corner' Toons
THIS WEEK: Tasty Trolling ... Putin's Patsy ... Elon's Exit ... Pardon Payola ... and more, in our latest collection of the week's most corrupt toons...
Sunday 'Cutting Corners' Toons
THIS WEEK: Big Barbaric Bill ... Conman's Clowns ... Anti-Semitism ... In Memoriam ... and much more, in our latest collection of the week's best toons!...
'A World of Tyrants, Bribes, and Influence': 'BradCast' 5/22/25
Guests: Heather Digby Parton of Salon, 'Driftglass' of 'Pro Left Podcast'...
'Green News Report' 5/22/25
States wait for FEMA; Extreme weather upending mortgages; Sea level rise and 'catastrophic' inland migration; PLUS: Record forest loss in 2024...
BARCODED BALLOTS AND BALLOT MARKING DEVICES
BMDs pose a new threat to democracy in all 50 states...
VIDEO: 'Rise of the Tea Bags'
Brad interviews American patriots...
'Democracy's Gold Standard'
Hand-marked, hand-counted ballots...
Brad's Upcoming Appearances
(All times listed as PACIFIC TIME unless noted)
Media Appearance Archives...
'Special Coverage' Archives
GOP Voter Registration Fraud Scandal 2012...
VA GOP VOTER REG FRAUDSTER OFF HOOK
Felony charges dropped against VA Republican caught trashing voter registrations before last year's election. Did GOP AG, Prosecutor conflicts of interest play role?...

Criminal GOP Voter Registration Fraud Probe Expanding in VA
State investigators widening criminal probe of man arrested destroying registration forms, said now looking at violations of law by Nathan Sproul's RNC-hired firm...

DOJ PROBE SOUGHT AFTER VA ARREST
Arrest of RNC/Sproul man caught destroying registration forms brings official calls for wider criminal probe from compromised VA AG Cuccinelli and U.S. AG Holder...

Arrest in VA: GOP Voter Reg Scandal Widens
'RNC official' charged on 13 counts, for allegely trashing voter registration forms in a dumpster, worked for Romney consultant, 'fired' GOP operative Nathan Sproul...

ALL TOGETHER: ROVE, SPROUL, KOCHS, RNC
His Super-PAC, his voter registration (fraud) firm & their 'Americans for Prosperity' are all based out of same top RNC legal office in Virginia...

LATimes: RNC's 'Fired' Sproul Working for Repubs in 'as Many as 30 States'
So much for the RNC's 'zero tolerance' policy, as discredited Republican registration fraud operative still hiring for dozens of GOP 'Get Out The Vote' campaigns...

'Fired' Sproul Group 'Cloned', Still Working for Republicans in At Least 10 States
The other companies of Romney's GOP operative Nathan Sproul, at center of Voter Registration Fraud Scandal, still at it; Congressional Dems seek answers...

FINALLY: FOX ON GOP REG FRAUD SCANDAL
The belated and begrudging coverage by Fox' Eric Shawn includes two different video reports featuring an interview with The BRAD BLOG's Brad Friedman...

COLORADO FOLLOWS FLORIDA WITH GOP CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION
Repub Sec. of State Gessler ignores expanding GOP Voter Registration Fraud Scandal, rants about evidence-free 'Dem Voter Fraud' at Tea Party event...

CRIMINAL PROBE LAUNCHED INTO GOP VOTER REGISTRATION FRAUD SCANDAL IN FL
FL Dept. of Law Enforcement confirms 'enough evidence to warrant full-blown investigation'; Election officials told fraudulent forms 'may become evidence in court'...

Brad Breaks PA Photo ID & GOP Registration Fraud Scandal News on Hartmann TV
Another visit on Thom Hartmann's Big Picture with new news on several developing Election Integrity stories...

CAUGHT ON TAPE: COORDINATED NATIONWIDE GOP VOTER REG SCAM
The GOP Voter Registration Fraud Scandal reveals insidious nationwide registration scheme to keep Obama supporters from even registering to vote...

CRIMINAL ELECTION FRAUD COMPLAINT FILED AGAINST GOP 'FRAUD' FIRM
Scandal spreads to 11 FL counties, other states; RNC, Romney try to contain damage, split from GOP operative...

RICK SCOTT GETS ROLLED IN GOP REGISTRATION FRAUD SCANDAL
Rep. Ted Deutch (D-FL) sends blistering letter to Gov. Rick Scott (R) demanding bi-partisan reg fraud probe in FL; Slams 'shocking and hypocritical' silence, lack of action...

VIDEO: Brad Breaks GOP Reg Fraud Scandal on Hartmann TV
Breaking coverage as the RNC fires their Romney-tied voter registration firm, Strategic Allied Consulting...

RNC FIRES NATIONAL VOTER REGISTRATION FIRM FOR FRAUD
After FL & NC GOP fire Romney-tied group, RNC does same; Dead people found reg'd as new voters; RNC paid firm over $3m over 2 months in 5 battleground states...

EXCLUSIVE: Intvw w/ FL Official Who First Discovered GOP Reg Fraud
After fraudulent registration forms from Romney-tied GOP firm found in Palm Beach, Election Supe says state's 'fraud'-obsessed top election official failed to return call...

GOP REGISTRATION FRAUD FOUND IN FL
State GOP fires Romney-tied registration firm after fraudulent forms found in Palm Beach; Firm hired 'at request of RNC' in FL, NC, VA, NV & CO...
The Secret Koch Brothers Tapes...


Guest: Bob Kincaid of Coal River Mountain Watch | Plus: Trump's rampage of lies in Phoenix; TX Photo ID law found discriminatory again; more...
By Brad Friedman on 8/23/2017 6:20pm PT  

On today's BradCast: The President is an extraordinarily accomplished liar, and real journalist should unambiguously report as much. And, oh, yeah, he doesn't give an actual damn about coal miners or their families, either. [Audio link to show follows below.]

First up today, following Donald Trump's wildly unhinged and indescribably embarassing campaign rally in Phoenix on Tuesday night, a few words on the unapologetic liar who has become President of the United States, and the responsibility that journalists have --- not just "commentators", but actual, hard news journalists --- to call him out as such.

Then, the UN calls out the United States with an "early warning" regarding the rise of racist demonstrations and the failure of "high-level politicians" --- wonder who they're referring to? --- "to unequivocally and unconditionally reject and condemn racist hate speech". And, a science envoy at the U.S. State Department publicly resigns following Trump's response to Charlottesville and the Administrations' ongoing War on Science.

Then, speaking of that "war", we're joined by West Virginia's own Bob Kincaid of the Coal River Mountain Watch, in response to the Interior Department's halt of a study by the National Academies of Sciences regarding the dangers of Mountain Top Removal coal mining to residents of West Virginia and Kentucky's Appalachian communities. Kincaid, co-founder of the Appalachian Communities Health Emergency Campaign (click the link to watch their :30 second video, and get more info about contacting your members of Congress!) is furious over what he describes as an attempt by the Administration and the coal industry to keep the well-established science linking Mountain Top Removal to cancer, death and birth defects from becoming widely known.

"It's not really mountain top removal," Kincaid tells me, explaining the process that is killing not only coal miners and their families, but their jobs as well. "It's mountain removal. You take vast amounts of...high explosives...and then you set it off. Huge clouds of dust then boil off the strip mine site and roll down into the hollers and into the valleys, and onto the places where people live, who then breathe it. Nothing in the human body can stop the dust. Because it's so fine, it's so tiny."

He goes on to explain how this has now been done "to over 500 mountains. They've buried over 2,500 miles of streams. That causes poisons to run into the water, etc., etc., etc. Over 2 dozens reports have shown that there are vastly elevated rates of cancer, birth defects, genitourinary diseases, pulmonary diseases, heart diseases, in areas where this dust falls."

And, he says, even though it was the state of West Virginia which requested the National Academies' study in the first place, the state's two U.S. Senators (Republican Shelly Moore-Capito and Democrat Joe Manchin), not to mention its Repub-turned-Dem-turned-Repub coal billionaire Governor Jim Justice, have been "as silent as a graven image," after the Interior Department halted this study of those "over 2 dozen" studies late last week. "It's sort of like 'Home on the Range', where never is heard a discouraging word, and the coal dust isn't toxic all day."

"You wind up getting this downright un-American suppression of science," tells me. "I'm not kidding. This isn't American! We used to follow science. It's not always been this way. This suppression is the kind of stuff they do in North Korea or the old Soviet Union."

Finally today, breaking news on yet another federal court ruling (it's either the 6th or the 8th, I can't even remember anymore!) finding the Texas GOP's Photo ID voting restriction intentionally discriminates against minority voters, and an all-electric Tesla SUV(!) smokes a half-million dollar Lamborghini in a record-setting drag race...

CLICK TO LISTEN OR DOWNLOAD SHOW!...

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Guest: Former neo-Nazi Tony McAleer on the new rise of white nationalism | Also: U.S., North Korea remain on the knife's edge of World War...
By Brad Friedman on 8/14/2017 6:33pm PT  

On today's BradCast, the disturbing and tragic weekend events in Charlottesville, how they came about, the failure by Donald Trump to single out white nationalism in their wake, and what some former domestic extremists are trying to do about it all. And, the world remains on edge of war as the Trump Administration continues its aggressive threats in response to North Korea's. [Audio link to show follows below.]

With the weekend's tragic events in Charlottesville, Virginia, it's easy to lose sight of the fact that the leaders of North Korea and the United States are still promising annihilation at one another and, as discussed today, should the U.S. shoot first, China has a longstanding treaty obligation to side with its ally North Korea. So, yes, we remain on the brink of what could quickly become another World War under the deft leadership of President Donald Trump today.

Also today, an alleged anti-government militant in Oklahoma attempted to set off what he believed was a 1,000 pound bomb at a Federal Reserve bank, in the fashion of Timothy McVeigh's 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, according to the FBI. The domestic terrorist was charged over the weekend.

And, speaking of aggrieved white men, we get caught up with the White Supremacist march which led to violence and death on Saturday in Charlottesville, Trump's refusal to declare any of it a terrorist incident or single out the armed and dangerous white nationalist neo-Nazi groups, as well as the condemnation of both him and Rightwing hate groups by other officials, including top Republicans. All of that before Trump's "mulligan" remarks today in which he finally condemned the hate movement by name...sort of.

Then, for insight and perspective on all of this, we're joined by TONY MCALEER, co-founder and board chair at LifeAfterHate.org, a non-profit group formed by former members of violent American far-right extremist movements, with the goal of "countering the seeds of hate" they once planted. Life After Hate was promised federal grant funding by the Obama Administration, as part of their anti-extremist efforts targeting both domestic extremism and Islamic terror. But, funding for the domestic Rightwing extremist groups was pulled by the Trump Administration's DHS in June, despite the mountain of evidence revealing that such homegrown terrorists pose a greater immediate threat to Americans.

McAleer, a former skinhead and organizer for the White Aryan Resistance (WAR), explains what the rather well-to-do white nationalists parading in Charlottesville --- and those in the White House and elsewhere who seem to support them --- are actually angry about (it doesn't have much to do with Confederate statues), and why it is that their message is so appealing to some.

"The removal of the statues, I think, is deemed as a battle line that has been drawn, and their perceived threat of political correctness," McAleer tells me. "I think they perceive it as erasing white history. The memory of the Confederacy is being erased. I think that's a philosophical and political battle line that they've drawn. [But,] I think most of the people that were there [in Charlotte] aren't even from the South, so it doesn't make sense from that perspective."

"Their message doesn't thrive unless people are in a place of pain, looking for someone to blame," he explains. "When things aren't going so well, they start looking for someone to blame. And you've got a large group of people looking for answers, and then you've got demagogues stepping forward and offering simplistic solutions and answers that aren't correct and people are buying into them."

McAleer goes on to discuss his own journey into the dark world of neo-Nazism and how he was eventually able to both pull out of it and co-found his organization to help others do the same.

"I actually believe the level to which we're willing to dehumanize another human being is a reflection of how internally disconnected and dehumanized we are within ourselves. Who joins extremist groups?," he asks rhetorically, citing research on terrorism and its causes. "The number one correlated factor in the history of somebody joining a violent extremist group is childhood trauma. Because nobody comes into the world a neo-Nazi."

Finally today, Trump had no problem quickly condemning, by name, an African-America CEO today, after his withdrawal from the President's Manufacturing Council in response to Trump's failure to condemn the racists groups on Saturday. And then, today's show wraps up where it began, with more breaking news on still more dangerous saber-rattling between the US and North Korea...

CLICK TO LISTEN OR DOWNLOAD SHOW!...

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With Brad Friedman & Desi Doyen...
By Desi Doyen on 4/20/2017 11:06am PT  


Follow @GreenNewsReport...

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IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: Saudi Arabia invests $50 billion in renewable energy projects; Wildfires are getting bigger and more frequent, thanks to global warming; The Arctic now has a plastic pollution problem; EPA moves to scuttle more air pollution regulations; PLUS: Scientists fight back in the March for Science and the People's Climate March... All that and more in today's Green News Report!

Listen online here, or Download MP3 (6 mins)...

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Got comments, tips, love letters, hate mail? Drop us a line at GreenNews@BradBlog.com or right here at the comments link below. All GNRs are always archived at GreenNews.BradBlog.com.

IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (see links below): Scientists have discovered vast systems of flowing water in Antarctica; Fossil Fuel Industry Steps in to Help Save Paris Climate Deal for All the Wrong Reasons; Europe's coal-fired power plants are shutting much faster than predicted; Southern Company Says Kemper Not Viable as Coal Plant; EPA Chief Visits Indiana Waste Site Amid Proposed Budget Cuts... PLUS: While Flint waits, Nestle pumps Michigan water on the cheap.... and much, MUCH more! ...

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With Brad Friedman & Desi Doyen...
By Desi Doyen on 4/13/2017 11:20am PT  


Follow @GreenNewsReport...

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IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: State of emergency for entire state of Florida, as they battle unprecedented early wildfire season; Court upholds California's cap-and-trade emissions trading system; Trump's Bureau of Land Management to prioritize fossil fuel extraction; Now's your chance to weigh in on EPA regulations; PLUS: An 'iceberg armada' is invading the Arctic... All that and more in today's Green News Report!

Listen online here, or Download MP3 (6 mins)...

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Got comments, tips, love letters, hate mail? Drop us a line at GreenNews@BradBlog.com or right here at the comments link below. All GNRs are always archived at GreenNews.BradBlog.com.

IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (see links below): Is 100% renewable energy realistic? Here’s what we know; Earth’s melting permafrost threatens to unleash a dangerous climate feedback loop; Rising Salt Levels Threaten Twin Cities Lakes by 2050; Top 10 Most Endangered Rivers in the U.S.; On Navajo Nation, Students Await Water That Doesn't Stink; Alarm Raised As Mystery Pest Destroys Mississippi Delta Marsh; U.S. Steel Chemical Spill Closes Beaches, EPA Measuring Toxic Damage... PLUS: A beginner’s guide to the debate over 100% renewable energy... and much, MUCH more! ...

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Guest: VOA's long-time Asia correspondent, now White House Bureau Chief Steve Herman; Plus: Can democracy save democracy?...
By Brad Friedman on 4/11/2017 5:54pm PT  

On today's BradCast, rising tensions and ratcheted up concerns about Donald Trump's escalating saber rattling against North Korea, even as Americans head to the polls in disapproval of the Administration for the first federal elections of the Trump Era.

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said something incredibly stupid today. And while that's hardly a news flash, our guest today, Steve Herman, Voice of America's White House Bureau Chief, was there and explains what happened.

More importantly, the veteran 26-year journalist who, until recently, had been based in Asia, joins us to offer key background and perspective on the Trump's provocative, arguably aggressive and certainly cryptic new position on nuclear armed North Korea, on the heels of his cruise missile strike last week on Syria, a U.S. Navy strike group now reportedly heading towards the Korean Peninsula in a "show of force", and North Korea warning of a nuclear strike if provoked.

The always-remarkably level-headed Herman offers important insight on what could be yet another new American military confrontation with a nation that has long charged the U.S. is preparing to attack them. Is Trump offering evidence to prove Kim Jong Un correct? Is this all little more than a continuation of decades-old U.S. policy following the Korean War which has never officially been declared over? Should Americans be confident that Trump's military advisers are fully explaining the potential fall-out from an attack on the politically isolated nation? Will he even listen to them if so? And what about China, Japan, South Korea and others in the region? Are they on board with Trump's new show of force?

Herman speaks to all of those questions and many others, while both succeeding, in part, and failing, in part to talk me fully off the ledge regarding my concerns about a potential new provocation and military confrontation with another, even less stable, nuclear power. Just one example: "One thing I've observed about them [North Korea] over many, many decades --- they seem to have this amazing ability to do something provocative without it leading to an actual military retaliation by the South Koreans and the U.S.," Herman reassures, before cautioning: "But, again, we may be in a different era here with President Trump. He may not want to have the same sort of restraint that we saw through both Republican and Democratic administrations over several decades."

I'd suggest today's conversation is a must-listen.

Also today: Voting is underway today in a special election for what is being seen by both Republicans and Democrats to be a remarkably tight race to fill an open Republican U.S. House seat in a deeply Republican district in Kansas. Today's results could be a bellwether for not only 2018, but for another special election next Tuesday for the U.S. House in another GOP district, in Georgia, which is now being regarded by political analysts, incredibly enough, as a "toss-up". Can democracy really save U.S. democracy? And, finally today, in hopes of lightening things up a bit on the way out, some happily ironic news about the Kentucky Coal Museum in a nearly forgotten tiny coal town...

CLICK TO LISTEN OR DOWNLOAD SHOW!...

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With Brad Friedman & Desi Doyen...
By Desi Doyen on 3/23/2017 11:34am PT  


Follow @GreenNewsReport...

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IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: Trump promises to bring back coal jobs by dismantling Obama's climate policies; The world is moving swiftly away from coal, report finds; Flame retardant chemicals found in the Great Lakes; Wind energy blows past another milestone in Europe; PLUS: Across the entire country, wildfire season off to a ferocious early start... All that and more in today's Green News Report!

Listen online here, or Download MP3 (6 mins)...

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Got comments, tips, love letters, hate mail? Drop us a line at GreenNews@BradBlog.com or right here at the comments link below. All GNRs are always archived at GreenNews.BradBlog.com.

IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (see links below): Farm Policy in Age of Climate Change Creating Another Dust Bowl, Critics Say; The Arctic Just Set Another Grim Record For Low Levels Of Sea Ice; California May Face 'Significant Risk' From Dam; Trump's Environmental Spending Cuts Could Cost Republican Districts Billions; Judge Orders Exxon to Turn Over Tillerson's 'Wayne Tracker' Climate Emails; Senate Votes To Lift Limits On Hunting Alaska Grizzlies, Wolves On Fed Land; Brazil Activist Shot Dead By Gunmen While Recovering In Hospital... PLUS: Driverless Future?: If they ever get the bugs out, autonomous cars will put a lot of human drivers out of work... and much, MUCH more! ...

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Guests: Journalists Jacki Schechner and Gaius Publius...
By Brad Friedman on 3/1/2017 4:30pm PT  

While the corporate media have been somewhat beside themselves with effusive praise of Donald Trump's success at reading a speech from a teleprompter at his address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday night, our guests on today's BradCast see it somewhat differently.

Suffice to say journalists Jacki Schechner and Gaius Publius were far less impressed. They both join us today to un-spin Trump's speech and some of the alternative facts he presented --- on healthcare, energy, the hate-crime epidemic, his exploitation of the widow of a Navy SEAL killed recently in Yemen and more --- as well as both the media's and Democrats', at times, beguiling response to it all.

Both also offer thoughts on the very happy "merger" of the Trump and Republican Party brands, as well as the DNC's election of a new party chair over the weekend --- and what all of it means going forward.

That's a very short description for today's very jam-packed BradCast!. Enjoy!...

CLICK TO LISTEN OR DOWNLOAD SHOW!...

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By Brad Friedman on 11/8/2016 5:02pm PT  

On today's BradCast: Documenting trouble for voters at polling places from coast to coast today on Election 2016 (Yes, it's finally arrived!) as Americans struggle to take part in their own democracy. [Audio link to today's program is posted below.]

Among the breaking news stories covered on today's program...

  • After Hillary Clinton wins the first contest of Election Day...
  • Broken voting machines, electronic pollbooks and shamefully long lines are reported in parts of Arizona, New York, North Carolina, Illinois, Kentucky, Texas, Ohio and elsewhere.
  • Misinformation about ID needed to vote and polling place closing times and registration requirements in a number of states is being reported as well.
  • North Carolina's NAACP calls for poll hours to be extended in Durham County.
  • A judge in Nevada firmly rejects the Trump campaign's claim that polls were improperly left open during Early Voting over the weekend (in Hispanic areas.)
  • The woeful Governor of Maine Paul LePage lies about student voting requirements in his state, hoping to intimidate them, after fliers are posted at a local college doing the same.
  • An Idaho county elections office also wildly misleads to discourage student voting.
  • Trump and his campaign misinform voters.
  • Rightwing disinformation expert and dirty trickster James O'Keefe pretends to find "voter fraud" in Pennsylvania.

And many other developing shameful stories (and occassional hopeful ones) from Election Day 2016 --- as a glimmer of light may be shining at the end of our long national tunnel...or is that just an oncoming train?...

CLICK TO LISTEN OR DOWNLOAD SHOW!...

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While we post The BradCast here every day, and you can hear it across all of our great affiliate stations and websites, to automagically get new episodes as soon as they're available sent right to your computer or personal device, subscribe for free at iTunes, Stitcher, TuneIn or our native RSS feed!
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By Brad Friedman on 9/13/2016 6:19pm PT  

Today on The BradCast, hate crimes are on the rise as Trump, Republicans and their supporters pretend to be outraged by "basket of deplorables", and the corporate media is all too happy to help them out. [Audio link posted below]

Amongst the stories covered today's program:

• NYC Trump supporter attacks two Muslim women pushing strollers.
• Muslim woman set on fire in NYC.
• Mosque torched in Fort Pierce, FL.
• Oregon supporter hangs effigy of Clinton on the interstate.
• Trump supporter punches protesters at Asheville, NC rally where Trump accuses Clinton of running a 'hate-filled campaign'.
• Despite her mischaracterized remarks and misreported statement of "regret", Clinton's "basket of deplorables" comments was on the mark.
• AP finally deletes two-week old inaccurate tweet about their misleading report on the Clintons' charitable foundation.
• KY's Republican Governor suggests bloodshed will be needed if Clinton wins.
• Super Typhoon Meranti is strongest of the year, heads toward Taiwan.
• August 2016 is warmest month ever recorded on Planet Earth.

Oh, and some good news for both the economy and the climate. But you'll have to tune in for those!

CLICK TO LISTEN OR DOWNLOAD SHOW!...

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While we post The BradCast here every day, and you can hear it across all of our great affiliate stations and websites, to automagically get new episodes as soon as they're available sent right to your computer or personal device, subscribe for free at iTunes, Stitcher, TuneIn or our native RSS feed!
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Guest: Washington Monthly's David Atkins | Plus: Sanders files for KY 'recanvass' and good news for OH voters!...
By Brad Friedman on 5/24/2016 4:42pm PT  

On today's BradCast, the Bernie Sanders campaign files for a 'recanvass' of Kentucky's exceedingly close May 17th Democratic Primary; Some very good news for voters out of a federal court in Ohio; And an explanation for why Democrats in California should be thanking the Vermont Senator for staying in the race through the Golden State's Presidential Primary on June 7th. [Audio link to show is posted below.]

First up, as Washington state Republicans hold their Primary today (with no surprises expected, even as we explain how one could occur), we report on the breaking news of Sanders' request for a "recanvass" in Kentucky, where Hillary Clinton reportedly defeated him by just 1,924 votes --- less than one-half of 1% out of nearly half a million votes cast --- last week, according to the computer-tallied results. We explain how a "recanvass" is decidedly different from a "recount", and how it remains the case that, thanks to the number of votes cast in the Bluegrass State on 100% unverifiable touch-screen voting systems, we can never actually know who the voters really preferred there. The "recanvass", scheduled for this Thursday, is unlikely to change that or the reported results, as it will largely be little more than a review of the already-existing electronic tally.

Then, a federal court in Ohio finds the shortening of the Early Voting period and "Golden Week" (a period of time when Buckeye State voters used to be able to both register to vote and cast a ballot on the same day) by state Republicans, is in violation of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act as well as the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The U.S. District Court has ordered those days to be restored for the General Election, even as this case and a number of others filed by Democrats and voting rights advocates around the country may be headed to the U.S. Supreme Court, where the vacancy that Republicans refuse to fill is likely to result in continuing chaos and confusion over U.S. voting rights.

Next, I'm joined by David Atkins of Washington Monthly, to discuss at least two reasons why, despite so much whining from Democratic Party establishment apparatchiks, it remains very important for Democrats, both in California and nationally, that Sanders remains in the Presidential race at least through the party's Primary on June 7. Atkins explains how the contest has helped lead to skyrocketing voter registrations for Democrats out here and, as importantly, how the state's "Top Two" primary system could results in disaster for a number of U.S. House races if Dem turnout is depressed. Sanders, Atkins argues, is doing the party a tremendous favor by staying in and continuing to fight the good fight.

He also goes on to ring in on the internecine battle between Sanders and Clinton supporters and on whether he believes the party will ever be able to survive its latest outbreak of (sometimes "messy") democracy.

Finally, Desi Doyen joins us for the latest Green News Report, which includes, among much more, evidence that, while Donald Trump claims to believe climate change is a "hoax", his very own companies believe otherwise...

CLICK TO LISTEN OR DOWNLOAD SHOW!...

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Also: Climate disaster in Sri Lanka; CT institutes automatic voter registration; Federal judge orders KS to restore voting rights to 18,000...
By Brad Friedman on 5/18/2016 5:59pm PT  

Yes, the Democratic Primary cycle continues to continue, as Bernie Sanders wins in Oregon, obtains a "virtual tie" with Hillary Clinton in Kentucky, and the less-than-transparent electoral process in both states triggers more cries of "election fraud!" from Sanders supporters.

On today's BradCast, we look at the results and the concerns about them (debunking some, though not all), along with several important breaking news items. [Audio link to the complete show is below.]

Before diving into Tuesday's primary, we start with the horrific climate change-related mudslides that have buried hundreds in Sri Lanka. Then, some encouraging news for all voters as Connecticut becomes the fifth state to institute automatic voter registration and as a federal judge orders GOP "voter fraud" fraudster and Kansas Sec. of State Kris Kobach to restore full voting rights to 18,000 state voters "suspended" by Kobach's "proof of citizenship" requirement.

Then, the battle between Clinton and Sanders grinds on through two more primary states, with Sanders earning a reported 12 point victory in OR, while battling to a reported margin of less than one-half-of-one percent in KY and vowing to stay in the race through the July convention. We warned earlier this week about the possibilities of a close race in KY, where the state (shamefully) still uses enough 100% unverifiable touch-screen voting systems that it will now be impossible to know who the voters actually hoped to be the winner. The same was true, as we reported at the time, after the Missouri Primaries on both the Republican and Democratic sides, and the same is true in KY whether Clinton or Sanders ultimately end up being declared the official winner in the Bluegrass State. As of airtime today, though AP has appropriately refused to call the state, Clinton is reportedly ahead of Sanders by just under 2,000 votes.

But throughout Primary night on Tuesday, and continuing today, concerns of "fraud" are being heard very loudly from Sanders supporters once again. Some of their concerns are justified, as we explain. Others are decidedly not. For example, some news outlets irresponsibly reported "More than 76 reports of election fraud from 31 counties were called into the Kentucky Attorney General's hotline". That is incorrect. (Happily WSAZ NewsChannel 3 has finally modified their initial bad reporting. Others, like Bipartisan Report, have not.)

Other concerns we examine are from Pike County, KY, where results were, in fact, "zeroed out" for a time last night, resulting in thousands of "disappearing" votes for both Sanders and Clinton, as well as 11,000 thousands votes said to have been added to Clinton's totals in Marion County, OR. (Evidence suggests a typo by AP, as I explain on today's show.) Some concerns, however, for example the evidence from little-known Democratic candidate Rocky de la Fuente suggesting some of his votes simply vanished in recent Democratic contests in NH, MI and SC, cannot be so easily explained away.

We cover, explain and/or debunk all of those concerns and more on today's BradCast, before closing out with our latest Green News Report and the hottest April ever recorded (the 12th such month in a row to set such a record)...

CLICK TO LISTEN OR DOWNLOAD SHOW!...

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Guest: Mary Anne Hitt of Sierra Club's BeyondCoal.org...
By Brad Friedman on 5/17/2016 4:48pm PT  

On today's BradCast, voting is underway in Oregon and Kentucky and new polling shows Donald Trump continuing to gain momentum against Hillary Clinton, even as Bernie Sanders remains more popular than either of them (and is still outpacing Clinton against Trump --- not that the corporate media reports on much of that.)

Then, as more oil spills in the Gulf of Mexico and worldwide protests demanding action on climate change go largely ignored by the U.S. corporate media, we talk with Mary Anne Hitt, director of the the Sierra Club's Beyond Coal campaign, about how sustained grassroots activism has succeeded, once again, this time by blocking a major coal export facility on Native American tribal lands in Washington state.

"Yes, grassroots activism is working and accomplishing amazing things," Hitt tells me as she describes last week's huge victory when "the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued a landmark decision to deny federal permits for the biggest proposed coal export terminal in North America." The successful 5-year effort to block the proposed coal export facility at Xwe’chi’eXen (also known as Cherry Point), is also a major victory for the Lummi Nation and native Americans in general, because the facility would have violated U.S. treaty obligations to protect the tribe's fisheries and ancestral lands.

"Our reliance on coal here in the U.S. has been dropping dramatically thanks to a lot of grassroots activism. We've got a third of the coal plants in the U.S. already announced to retire and we're not building any new ones. We have the biggest coal reserves in the world. Shipping that to Asia was the grand plan of some of these mining companies, and they needed to get the coal out through the Northwest, and they needed these big new coal export terminals to make that happen. It's a big deal," she explains, before adding: "It's demonstrating the power of advocacy. In addition to the Lummi Nation, we had hundreds of thousands of people across the Northwest speaking out against these export terminals. The voices of the people were heard. It's a victory for our climate, it's a victory for our treaty obligations, and it's a victory for democracy."

Environmentalists have had a number of major victories in the U.S. of late, from Obama's rejection of the Keystone XL Pipeline last year to NY Governor Andrew Cuomo's rejection of a major natural gas pipeline more recently. "I think the worst thing you can do for the climate is give up on the power of grassroots advocacy, because I have seen it again and again. I have seen these David and Goliath campaigns where David has won. The Cherry Point export terminal is a perfect example," says Hitt.

The West Virginia native goes on to offer her thoughts on the future of Coal Country and its miners, as well as an opinion or two on whether President Obama has done enough to fight for the environment, against fossil fuel, and in favor of renewable energy.

Finally today, Bernie Sanders offers some candid thoughts on how the corporate media continues to fail in their obligations to the electorate, and a wingnut hissy fit over transgender people and bathrooms takes an ugly turn at a Connecticut Walmart...

CLICK TO LISTEN OR DOWNLOAD SHOW!...

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Guest: Constitutional law expert and author, Ian Millhiser...
By Brad Friedman on 5/16/2016 6:24pm PT  

On today's BradCast, the U.S. Supreme Court's remarkable decision to punt on a 'religious freedom' case (for now) following the death of Scalia, and all hell breaks lose in Vegas over the weekend as Sanders supporters clash with party officials at the Nevada State Democratic Convention.

First up, some very encouraging news today about renewable energy use over the weekend in Germany. Everything else today is not quite as encouraging, beginning with SCOTUS' extraordinary decision to not decide Zubik v. Burwell, a case related to the Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare)'s mandate requiring contraceptive coverage by employers or health insurers.

Constitutional law expert Ian Millhiser, author of Injustices: The Supreme Court's History of Comforting the Comfortable and Afflicting the Afflicted, joins us to explain the Court's latest "punt", sending the case back to the lower courts in search of a compromise, and in hopes of avoiding another 4 to 4 split decision on the High Court as they wait for Republicans in Congress to fill the vacancy left on the Court in the wake of Justice Antonin Scalia's death in February.

Millhiser details both the case itself and the Court's 3-page non-opinion opinion [PDF] today which will, for the moment anyway, help to save access to birth control for thousands of women. He also describes why the Court made the ruling, the havoc that is expected to come from it, and why it underscores, yet again, the desperate need for a 9th Justice on the Court, despite the Senate GOP's unprecedented decision to block hearings on any nominee from President Obama.

Then, speaking of healthcare, while Sanders' policy for a single-payer universal healthcare program remains more popular than the policies of both Clinton and Trump, his supporters are growing increasingly frustrated with what they regard as unfair treatment by the Democratic Party establishment.

That frustration turned to fury over the weekend in Las Vegas, where the Democrats' state party delegate nominating convention devolved into chaos as a number of Sanders supporters were disqualified, party officials denied parliamentary procedure on rules amendments, and officials from the County Sheriff's office were brought in to clear the room as the convention was gavelled to a premature close. All in a huge fight over what might have resulted in 2 more Sanders delegates at the national convention in July.

We try to make sense of all of that (wish us luck!), before offering a preview of tomorrow's Presidential Primary elections in both Kentucky and Oregon...

CLICK TO LISTEN OR DOWNLOAD SHOW!...

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Guest: West Virginia native and champion Bob Kincaid...
By Brad Friedman on 5/11/2016 5:41pm PT  

Today on The BradCast, Bernie Sanders beats front-runner Hillary Clinton once again, this time in the West Virginia Primary. But Exit Polls reveal some bizarre demographics, even as a new national poll now finds Donald Trump surging and tied with Clinton nationally. [Audio link to the show is below.]

Sanders racked up another win on Tuesday, even as his odds for winning the Democratic nomination remain long (if not impossible) against Clinton. But with Trump's GOP competition now finally out of the way, Exit Polling coming out of the Mountain State last night suggests that many "Democratic" voters there are prepared to vote for Trump in November...even if he's running against Sanders, oddly enough. So is that new reason for Dems to be worried?

Ninth generation WV native, Head-On Radio Network host, co-founder of the Appalachian Communities Health Emergency Campaign and President of Coal River Mountain Watch Bob Kincaid joins me to try and make sense of the reported results and Exit Polling. We also examine what effect Clinton's out-of-context remarks about "putting miners and coal companies out of business" may have had on the state's electorate, as well as on the upcoming primary next week in Kentucky, and even for the general election in key swing coal states like Ohio and Pennsylvania (where another new poll this week found Clinton tied or losing to Trump.)

"The coal issue is a considerable part of this process because you've got a lot of people in West Virginia who will clutch at any straw, even though the coal industry doesn't wield the power it once wielded," he tells me. "But the openly anti-coal rhetoric that comes from our side, and of which I am a practitioner, puts a lot of people off."

Kincaid, however, is no fan of Clinton's, at least when it comes to what he sees as her chances in a head-to-match with Clinton nationally. "I've gone on record saying that I fully expect her to lose in November if she's the nominee. She's a terrible candidate. She's an awful campaigner, and --- I don't like saying this, Brad --- I want a Democrat in the White House. I'm a grown-up politically. I know that 'I want a pony' is not on the ballot. But, she's a tone-deaf campaigner. She's got 25 years worth of real and imagined baggage, and a 25-year-old Republican-funded filth machine that runs on 200-proof pure hate, that's humming along on 64 valves, okay?"

The colorful longtime radio host also goes on to offer a no-uncertain-terms warning to Democrats about the party's Gubernatorial nominee Jim Justice who, he predicts, will end up endorsing Trump this Fall.

In related news today: New polling shows Trump surging 13 points over the last week and now tied nationally with Clinton. (Not to say 'we told ya so', but...well...); Also: New indications that the GOP electorate in North Carolina may now be turning against state Republican lawmakers in the wake of their Big Government, anti-business, anti-LGBT 'bathroom law'; and, finally, a follow-up on the stupid, recent investigation against black, female cadets at West Point...

CLICK TO LISTEN OR DOWNLOAD SHOW!...

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Accurate coverage of results in MS, ID, HI, MI and even KY!
PLUS: Listener calls and more!...
By Brad Friedman on 3/9/2016 5:32pm PT  

On today's BradCast, we are live from Pacifica Radio's KPFK studios in Los Angeles, for coverage of last night's amazing nominating contests in MS, ID, HI and, mostly, MI, where Bernie Sanders reportedly overcame a 20pt deficit, according to the pre-election polls, to defeat Hillary Clinton.

Of course, Donald Trump wiped out his GOP competition again almost everywhere (including in Michigan, where there was no polling disparity on the GOP side), leaving Ted Cruz as his only real challenger as John Kasich and, especially, Marco Rubio, fade into near-certain oblivion.

So, how did Sanders' remarkable "win" in MI come about? What does it bode for next Tuesday's big primaries in neighboring (similarly industrial and neighboring) states? Should his supporters worry about reports of "irregularities" already in Chicago? How is it that Sanders ended up losing the delegate count (the real one, not the fake "SuperDelegate" count) anyway yesterday to Clinton? And will the mainstream corporate media continue to ill-inform voters by blatantly misreporting the race?

Also today: Democrats also won three special elections in KY yesterday to maintain control of that state's legislature, and we open the phone line to listener callers to ring in on all of the above and much more today, before Desi Doyen joins us for the latest Green News Report on another very busy and very lively BradCast!

CLICK TO LISTEN OR DOWNLOAD SHOW!...

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