What Would Bernie Sanders Do - The Podcast

Did you hear that your Congress overwhelmingly approved a $717 billion military spending bill which included an $82 BILLION INCREASE (more than the entire military budget of Russia)? Or that Bernie Sanders' amendment to audit the Department of Defense, (which somehow lost track of up to $20 TRILLION over the past few years) was voted down by Republicans and Democrats alike? How about Bernie's bill to end our involvement in Saudi Arabia's illegal bombing of Yemen...again blocked by Democrats? Of COURSE you didn't, because everyone's obsessing over the Trump circus and Russia's meddling in our "democracy..." diverting attention from the fact that neither party actually cares about democracy!  But Democrats really do care about immigrants and refugees, right? Then why are there messages from Democrats at all levels warning that calls to abolish ICE serve as a "distraction" and "allow president Trump to paint Democrats as being for open borders?" Why are Dems unwilling to stand up against a rogue agency spawned a

The What Would Bernie Sanders Do Podcast is back! Why? Well, even when broadcast media thinks they are "fact-checking" or dispelling the lies about immigration coming from the Trump administration, the lies are still repeated far more than the truth. The lack of accurate and persistent pushback from the talking heads on CNN, MSNBC and NPR led Dr K to revive the podcast. If THEY are going to let Republicans and conservatives continue their fearmongering unabated, WE aren't! To counter the five biggest immigration lies, we offer facts you can use when confronted with conservative excuses for our punitive and superfluous immigration policy.    As Democratic Socialist Alexandria-Ocasio Cortez emerges victorious over establishment Democrat Joseph Crowley in New York's 14th Congressional District, her statement on the virtues of Democratic Socialism resonates with constituents of all colors and religions. What it reveals is that the current conflict in our country is not left versus right or Republican versus Democ

We tell Hillary Clinton "What Happened" because apparently nobody else will. In plain black and white, Clinton unwittingly exposes PRECISELY what happened by delivering a memoir which includes the kind of deception and divisiveness that turned the Democratic Party against its core values, all for the sake of serving the interests of Queen Clinton and her donor class. Yes, in plain black and white... but you'll see red after hearing her accusations against Bernie and the way blame is projected onto everyone -- except herself.    Clinton must be jealous she's never possessed the prescience of Bernie Sanders, because the very Single Payer program Clinton predicted will (her quote) "never, ever come to pass" less than two years ago now has 16 prominent Democratic co-sponsors in the Senate. Bernie Sanders was ridiculed by corporate media (and corporate Democrats) for insisting that if enough people stand together they can implement fundamental change. But of course, Bernie is proven right again, as the same Democ

Donald Trump fans wish it were 1861 again. Emboldened by Republican leaders who've reinforced hatred of the Federal Government that's existed since "liberals" took away their slaves, we all must suffer the ravages of an unresolved violent and racist history as Trump continues the party's "patriotic" mission of reducing access to education and health care for people of color and the poor. Speaking of health care, Bernie Sanders is going to introduce his Medicare For All bill in the Senate, although he knows it won't pass. But in light of the Republican's mercenary and highly unpopular attempts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, Bernie understands now IS the time to keep the conversation going on a Single Payer plan--the American people are waking up to the fact that for-profit insurers are interested in one thing, and it's not their health. Keep fighting for what we know is right! We can help Bernie by attending Town Halls with our representatives and becoming active on a local level. Make your voi

Recorded May 5, 2017. Both parties have put us at the mercy of the for-profit health insurance industry for too long, and while Democrats sing "Nah-nah-hey-hey" at House Republicans for passing the treacherous "American Health Care Act", all this political football diminishes the health of millions of Americans . But the present charade on both sides of the aisle appears to have awakened many Americans and some politicians to the only viable answer: single payer healthcare.   Debbie Wasserman Schultz says "MYOB" to Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren for DARING to question the judgment of Barack Obama for accepting a $400,000 speaking fee from a Wall Street investment firm.  But the Democrats' close ties to Wall Street and Big Pharma are not only "our business"--they are a major reason we have Trump in the White House. Debbie and the Dems can run but they can't hide as we continue to call them out for working for the donors -- and against the interests of the 99%.    "Progressive" media from MSNBC to Daily K

Let them eat chocolate cake...while we kill civilians. Who'll save us from WWIII? Certainly not the Republicans... but not the Democrats either! Prominent Democrats praise Trump's response to Syria and call for one of their own to be ousted from Congress for telling the truth! Of course, when what Tulsi Gabbard says exposes Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, Democrats once again choose party over people. Speaking of party over people, Democrats start their "Unity Tour" with new DNC Chair Tom Perez visiting seven states with Bernie Sanders. And (we suppose) in the spirit of unity, Hillary Clinton now decides she's delighted with New York's free public college tuition plan, a plan she ridiculed during the presidential primary debates. Bernie starts his own podcast (see below)! He offers reliable information about vital issues. This is the stuff that SHOULD be on MSNBC, but it appears Rachel Maddow and the rest think deflecting blame from the Democrats rests in massive amounts of coverage regarding.....RUSSIA! We

Recorded February 17, 2017. Turn on NPR or other corporate media, and you're likely to hear Russia and/or Putin mentioned hundreds of times in a matter of hours. Dr K counted! But how much did we hear about Gen. John Nicholson's statement to the Senate Armed Services Committee that after 15 years at war we're at a "stalemate" in Afghanistan? We discuss the general's underreported request for thousands more troops and billions in additional spending in the context of the propaganda campaign against Tulsi Gabbard's trip to Syria in search of a peaceful solution to our perpetual wars. What's the reason for so much discussion about Russia and so little mention of the consequences of our ongoing wars? During their Town Hall debate on Obamacare, Bernie Sanders and Ted Cruz embody the ideological rift between Americans. Bernie believes health care is a right and that we need to pool our resources to provide care for our fellow Americans. Ted Cruz follows the logic Hillary Clinton used during her primary campaign, th

Recorded January 27, 2017. You always hurt the one you love, and Trump loves the middle-class and veterans. Is it any surprise his first executive actions will inflict pain upon...the middle-class and veterans? Bernie asks Trump's HHS cabinet nominee Tom Price if he believes healthcare is a right. When Dr. Price responds with the typical conservative dodge "we are a compassionate country", Bernie sets him straight. Unfortunately, the numbers place the United States toward the bottom of industrialized natIons when it comes to taking care of their most vulnerable. Alternative facts are much less alternative when scientific facts are silenced. And the fossil fuel industry and agribiz are more profitable when they're able to pollute and poison. Let's join the "rogue" agencies trying to keep Americans informed about reality. We'll be transitioning to emphasize direct action and information about how YOU can make a difference by infiltrating the political process at all levels. It's what Bernie Sanders has asked al

Recorded January 13, 2017. Back in 1971, when Democrats were Democrats and Republicans were Republicans, Ted Kennedy opposed Nixoncare because it put Americans' health in the insurance industry's hands. Single payer was the only answer. Nearly 40 years later, the more conservative Obamacare is reviled by Republicans but unanimously embraced by Democrats and their media. Why do we stand by and cheer while both parties pass legislation benefiting the health of their donors' stocks and portfolios? (Listen in for the INSANE profit percentages insurers have made!) Should our lives be dependent on coverage through health insurers who invented the dreadful "pre-existing condition?"  Bernie tells a "moderate Democrat" student at a CNN Town Hall ,who is concerned about "demonizing the wealthy," that we have to "change the culture" of our political system and our country. With Donald Trump preaching the "prosperity gospel" at his inauguration, have both parties conspired to get us past the point of changing the culture

  WWBSD #68, recorded 12/29/16. Do we have the power to head off Trump's agenda and push ahead with our own? Executive Director of Chicago Progress Andre Vasquez says we do, but not just through posting on social media. If we sit back while "our" party's administration is infiltrated by Goldman Sachs and the rest of Wall Street, and dismiss Hillary's financial industry entanglements, we can't be shocked when the Republican president-elect does essentially the same thing. Trump's cabinet is a natural extension of how Republicans and Democrats alike have been populating positions of influence in our government.   Neoliberal or real liberal, we have the power to heal the Democratic party from the ground up. We can help Keith Ellison become head of the DNC, the first major post-election indicator as to which way the Democratic Party is headed. We can avert and dispel corporate and party media's brainwashing, which includes such messages as "It's not Free Trade, it's automation!" Um, actually, automation has taken

Recorded November 12, 2016. Donald Trump defeated Hillary Clinton and will be sworn in as President of the United States. If ONLY there were someone who could have TOLD us this might happen! Well, someone did tell us, and it was the same guy who in the past has correctly predicted so many other things: BERNIE SANDERS! We tell that story and give clear data that, as we stated repeatedly on this podcast months ago, indicates that Bernie Sanders would have beaten Trump. Listen for the debate that should have been as we put "Donald" up against "Bernie." Hear Trump call Bernie a socialist -- and Bernie's response! ... The U.S. is now a subsidiary of the Trump Organization -- find out why. ... Bernie and Trump, a match made in heaven?? Sure! Until Bernie gives him hell!    The What Would Bernie Sanders Do Podcast is Dr. Barry Kaufman with Host Darren Stephens and is produced in Chicago by Ruth Kaufman. Information on the podcast is supported by the Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/whatwouldberniesande

Recorded on November 7th, 2016. Podcast Extra! David Bender, Community Organizer at Chicago's American Indian Center, tells us about the Dakota Access Pipeline and upcoming No DAPL rally. And Dr K goes Columbo on Host Darren's President Obama as he unravels the mystery of why the president is "going to let it play out for several more weeks" instead of halting pipeline construction with a stroke of his pen. Stand up in Chicago and around the nation with Standing Rock to fight climate change, protect our environment, counter the influence of Wall Street on our politicians, and call out racial and social injustice in the continued oppression and exploitation of Native Americans. It's what Bernie Sanders would do!   The What Would Bernie Sanders Do Podcast is Dr. Barry Kaufman with Host Darren Stephens and is produced in Chicago by Ruth Kaufman. Information on the podcast is supported by the Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/whatwouldberniesandersdo/. Learn more about how you can help the campaign b

If Donald Trump's favorite response to uncomfortable debate questions is to defer to his indisputable greatness as the remedy for the country's ills, Hillary's defaults are the Children's Defense Fund and Russia. While the media conglomerate's reality show, partially scripted by the Clinton campaign, has been constructed to keep us on the edge of our seats in a neck and neck presidential "race", the timely release of a video featuring the same stuff Trump has been saying and doing his entire adult life seems to be the final contrivance to hand Clinton a victory. Perhaps if America was better educated we would not be witnessing such a tragic spectacle as the current presidential campaign. We talk with Kiah Nolan, former Chicago Teachers Union delegate and current Chicago Public School teacher about the recently averted strike and why it seems our wealthy leaders see public education as a burden instead of a priority. We thought because Rahm Emanuel was planning to run for re-election that he was making nice wi

Recorded October 13, 2016. They're Putin Us On! Red-baiting and fear mongering have been part of American exceptionalism since the 1950s and McCarthyism. Now the Democratic Party pulls out all the stops to divert attention from leaked e-mails from John Podesta and Clinton herself (among others). We discuss the clear evidence of how far Democrats will go to program the electorate by influencing media. We also see the futility of believing that somehow this election and Bernie Sanders have transformed Hillary Clinton into a progressive. In episode 64 we called out the Obama administration and Secretary Clinton for approving $118 billion in arms sales to Saudi Arabia, which engages in war crimes in Yemen. Oh, man.... Those bomb fragments found at the site of a horrendous "oops" bombing in Yemen in which 140 civilians were killed and over 500 injured? The bomb was produced by Raytheon, the third largest military contractor in the United States. If you want to hear the story of a representative who is motivated by

Recorded October 2, 2016. State Representative Will Guzzardi of Illinois' 39th District is heading up a sane, actionable effort called Tuition-Free Illinois, which will work for free tuition at Illinois public colleges and universities! As you'll hear, Illinois CAN AFFORD THIS. If you don't think so, listen here -- and to our last podcast with Tom Tresser, author of the book CHICAGO IS NOT BROKE, FUNDING THE CITY WE DESERVE, which discusses how much tax-payer-generated TIF money is sitting around, when it's not being ripped away and given to corporations like Target and the wealthy Pritzker family. Also on the show, hear how President Obama WOULD do more according to the interests of his heart, the same heart that drove him to be a community organizer all those years ago -- but for political reasons (read: the interests of big dollar donors) he cannot. Aaaand TRUMPAPHOBIA -- are YOU infected?? In the current media landscape, few are immune.    The What Would Bernie Sanders Do Podcast is Dr. Barry Kaufman with

  Recorded September 16, 2016 SAME PODCAST AS 63, just Tom Tresser interview.  The What Would Bernie Sanders Do Podcast is Dr. Barry Kaufman with Host Darren Stephens and is produced in Chicago by Ruth Kaufman. Information on the podcast is supported by the Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/whatwouldberniesandersdo/. Learn more about how you can help the campaign by going to www.berniesanders.com. Find us on Twitter and Instagram @wwbsdpodcast. Music by Robin Bienemann http://robinb.org/music.html. 

Recorded September 16, 2016. Special "Transparency" Episode!  Bernie Sanders speaks out, at their conception, against abominations against our environment and tribal rights like the Dakota Access Pipeline. So why does it take public embarrassment or outrage to get leaders like President Obama and Hillary Clinton to take action? Could it be that they don't want to offend their friends and donors in high places? President Obama promised the most transparent administration in history, which is probably why it takes e-mail leaks to prove that the usual pay-to-play and influence-peddling has completely painted over that "transparency." If you've got millions to stuff into the president's campaign coffers, you can be head of the FDA or get a cushy ambassadorship. And Colin Powell's leaked e-mails add to the list of ways Hillary Clinton has shown her incompetency. In our Chicago Progress segment, we interview public defender, educator and grassroots organizer Tom Tresser about his revealing and disturbing book Chica

Recorded September 5, 2016. Why do our Democratic leaders speak out only AFTER the fact, whether it's EpiPens or pipelines? After Mylan raised the price of the EpiPen some 300% over 7 years, Hillary Clinton expressed outrage over their greed....on the campaign trail, of course. Darren and Dr. K. express outrage over Mylan's intermingling with the Democratic party, including its close ties and donations to the Clinton Foundation and its close family connection to Senator Joe Manchin -- "Hi, Dad!" And President Obama visits flood ravaged Louisiana but is conspicuously silent about climate change while his Interior Department auctions off 24 MILLION acres in the Gulf for fossil fuel drilling and exploration. Current Democratic Party leadership and their pragmatic progressivism is endangering our health and our planet. But we DO have the power to change things! Our interview with Andre Vasquez of Chicago Progress offers hope for unifying the progressive movement, starting at the local level. We preview the goals

Recorded August 19, 2016. Hillary Clinton continues to show why the excitement over Bernie "pushing her to the left" and the "most progressive Democratic platform ever" is just empty rhetoric. Clinton chooses ardently pro-TPP, pro-fracking Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar to chair her transition team, which means thousands of appointments will be made by a free-trade, fossil-fuel industry stalwart. Argh.  The debate between Tim Canova and Debbie Wasserman Schultz reveals the truth--Hillary and Debbie were separated at birth. And according to Dr K., both are afflicted with DFS, Donor Fronting Syndrome, and both clearly feel entitled to say anything and do anything to maintain their positions of power. The main problem with a privatized health care system, aka Obamacare, rears its head as Aetna's CEO asserts his authority over the Department of Justice and pulls his company out of most health care exchanges. Perhaps Democrats will tone down their cheering for a system that puts bankers in charge of our hea

Recorded August 12, 2016. The FDA just ordered the DEA to maintain marijuana as a Class 1 (prohibited) substance, because it has no "currently accepted medical use" and "the known risks of marijuana use have not been shown to be outweighed by specific benefits." We tell you how Bernie saw it coming and why the FDA would make such anti-scientific claims (and it's not because of what they're smoking). What?? Dr K. is a "privileged, sexist lunatic?" Well, he according to posts on social media pertaining to those who accuse Hillary Clinton of being the evader-in-chief. Are we as a people following the example of Clinton, Trump and their media in using identity politics to change the subject -- and obscure the truth? It's a slippery slope, choosing name-calling over reality.    The further we get from the DNC, the more she's slip slidin' away... As soon as Hillary's not on stage holding Bernie's hand, she starts reaching for the hands of war criminals from the past. Host Darren is incredulous: Is she allying herse