Unreported

Listen to the new episode of Citizen Radio and subscribe to the free podcast.

Surprise! More right-wing bigots caught being extremely gay, poor people running out of places to live, GOP continues its war against women, Obama widens use of surveillance drones, Listener Mail.

Special announcement: Check out Thrive Food Direct, and use the code “CitizenRadio” to receive a discount. Your purchase will go towards a Maniac receiving FREE meals!

Citizen Radio is a member-supported show. Visit http://wearecitizenradio.com to sign up and support media that won’t lead you to war, and to keep CR Productions growing!

Listen to the new episode of Citizen Radio and subscribe to the free podcast.

Interview with Immy Humes, director of ”F**KED: The United States of Unemployment,” the new Salon series that explores the lives of the 99ers. Humes discusses the epidemic of long-term unemployment and why it’s essential to not forget the millions of jobless Americans.

Jamie mocks McDonald’s, Allison discusses Adbusters’ latest call for 50,000 people to Occupy Chicago in May for the G8, and Mayor Emanuel’s authoritarian ordinances.

Citizen Radio is a member-supported show. Visit http://wearecitizenradio.com to sign up and support media that won’t lead you to war, and to keep CR Productions growing!

Listen to the new episode of Citizen Radio and subscribe to the free podcast.

Occupy played a big role in President Obama’s State Of The Union address, Jamie responds to the president’s idea to outlaw dropping out, and Listener Mail.

Citizen Radio is a member-supported show. Visit http://wearecitizenradio.com to sign up and support media that won’t lead you to war, and to keep CR Productions growing!

Listen to the new episode of Citizen Radio and subscribe to the free podcast.

Obama administration denies Keystone permit, updates on Occupy, Jamie’s therapy corner, 16-year-old atheist harassed for filing First Amendment suit.

Citizen Radio is a member-supported show. Visit http://wearecitizenradio.com to sign up and support media that won’t lead you to war, and to keep CR Productions growing!

Listen to the new Citizen Radio and subscribe to the free podcast.

HR3 passed the House which allows the IRS to audit abortions. Governor Scott Walker offers a ridiculous consolation prize to his state’s abused public workers, the Obama administration plans corporate tax cuts in a year of record profits, and Vermont passes universal health care.

Jamie talks about Affirmative Action and white, privileged people’s reaction to the Osama bin Laden assassination.

Special guest: Republican baby

Allison continues to blog at The Nation. Share her articles on Facebook and Twitter! Latest post: Wisconsin-Style Occupation Planned in California.

Listen to the new Citizen Radio and subscribe to the free podcast.

Singer-songwriter and lead vocalist of Otep, Otep Shamaya, visits Citizen Radio to talk about vegetarianism, coming up in the metal scene, recording an album in post-Katrina New Orleans, her disappointment with President Obama, and how much she loves laughing at crazy Republicans. Check out Otep’s awesome body acceptance campaign: All Shapes And Sizes.

It’s the one-year anniversary of BP’s disastrous oil spill, and things are still very bad in the Gulf. During a time of economic austerity, the government still hugely subsidizes the industry. Allison talks about how doing away with some oil subsidies could bring in $45 billion in the next ten years and save countless essential social services.

Also, interviews with the glorious governor of Arizona, Jan Brewer, and Negotiator-in-Chief, Obama himself.

Allison continues to blog at The Nation. Share her articles on Facebook and Twitter! New post: Thousands Protest Snyder’s Authoritarian Power Grab.

Listen to the new Citizen Radio and subscribe to the free podcast.

Dispatches from their deathbeds: Allison and Jamie bring you tales of Russian spies, awful, awful David Cameron, a private security firm which has targeted blogger Glenn Greenwald, Egypt’s evolving revolution, and more on Obama’s austerity cuts.

This, and all CR podcasts, are brought to you by the good folk at Vegan Essentials (http://veganessentials.com/). Buy cruelty-free products there and tell ‘em Citizen Radio sent you!

This is the biggest austerity cut yet.

President Obama’s proposed 2012 budget will cut several billion dollars from the government’s energy assistance fund for poor people, officials briefed on the subject told National Journal.

…

The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, or LIHEAP, would see funding drop by about $3 billion from an authorized 2009 total of $5.1 billion.  The proposed cut will not touch the program’s emergency reserve fund, about $590 million, which can be used during particularly harsh cold snaps or extended heat spells, three officials told National Journal.

I guess we’ll have to take them at their word that cutting $3 billion from the pot won’t result in poor people getting their services cut off during emergencies. But let’s ponder what will happen if that isn’t entirely truthful. How many people could this screw?

The American Gas Association predicts that 3 million Americans eligible for the program won’t be able to recieve it unless LIHEAP funding stays at its current level.

Heat and air-conditioning are more expensive because gas prices are going up due to weather and fuel prices. I would go off on a tangent here about global weirding and the need for alternative energy sources, but you know, Al Gore is fat.

“A lot of people in the Northeast are going to be unhappy,” an administration official briefed on the budget said.

Is ‘unhappy’ the new euphemism we’re using for ‘dead?’ In 2006, at least 225 people died in the US during a heat wave. Imagine how many more would have died if they couldn’t afford air-conditioning, or the energy companies were allowed to cut off services for people who were late with their bills.

Critics say that the program is poorly administered and that, contrary to intentions, it’s become a subsidy for energy companies, most of whom are prohibited by law from turning off services to delinquent bill-payers during weather emergencies.

So, it’s now considered a “subsidy” to not allow people to die. Am I reading that correctly?

I’m told Progressives should be applauding emphatically for this move because it shows just how serious Obama is about cutting the budget, and that while he’s making concessions to Republicans left and right, a move like this one isn’t uber-bad because he’s not cutting nearly as much as the Republicans want him to. So like, instead of 3 million people going without heat, it might have been seven million, which is really super bad.

This is the kind of cynical pragmatism that turns off people from both sides of the aisle.

The winner for Youtube’s “Ask Obama” contest is a video from a pro-legalization retired cop.

If Obama sees the video, hopefully he’ll make it through without breaking into the giggle fits, or accusing MacKenzie Allen of being a huge stoner for thinking the arrests of 858,000 people for marijuana possession (in 2009 alone) may not be the best way to Win The Future.

As of October 2010, a new high of 46% of Americans were in favor of legalizing marijuana. Last year, eight in 10 Americans supported legalizing marijuana for medical use. The growing consensus calls for a leader who acts like an adult when this topic comes up. Obama is always preaching the value of open-mindedness and negotiation. Well, it’s time to invite the pro-legalization crowd to the table.