Dysfunctional America: The Politics Behind a Government Shutdown

Loud & Clear

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Jacqueline Luqman, the co-editor-in-chief of Luqman Nation, which hosts a livestream every Thursday night at 9:00 p.m. on Facebook, and Sputnik news analyst Walter Smolarek.
Wednesday’s weekly series, In the News, is where the hosts look at the most important ongoing developments of the week and put them into perspective. Today they look at the government shutdown and moves by possible 2020 presidential contenders.
Wednesday’s regular segment, Beyond Nuclear, is about nuclear issues, including weapons, energy, waste, and the future of nuclear technology in the United States. Kevin Kamps, the Radioactive Waste Watchdog at the organization Beyond Nuclear, and Sputnik news analyst and producer Nicole Roussell, join the show.
The government shutdown entered its 12th day today, and meanwhile, everything from the Environmental Protection Agency to the IRS to the national parks and the Department of Homeland Security are closed. That didn’t stop border guards from firing tear gas at would-be migrants. Brian and John speak with Juan José Gutiérrez, the executive director of the Full Rights for Immigrants Coalition.
The 2020 race for president is heating up--for both parties. Massachusetts Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren effectively announced over the weekend that she was running for president, the first of as many as two dozen Democrats thinking of making the leap. Meanwhile, Utah’s new Republican Senator Mitt Romney harshly criticized President Trump in a New Year’s Day op-ed in the Washington Post. And he’s not the only Republican being talked about as a primary challenger to President Trump. Sputnik News analyst Walter Smolarek joins the show.
A new Congress is about to be sworn in, and Democrats will assume control of the House of Representatives, threatening to use their committee chairmanships to escalate the Mueller investigation and other investigations targeting the Trump administration. What does 2019 hold for Russiagate? Daniel Lazare, a journalist and author of three books—“The Frozen Republic,” “The Velvet Coup,” and “America's Undeclared War,” joins Brian and John.
In a New Year’s address, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said that he was ready to meet again with President Trump at any time and he reaffirmed his commitment to denuclearization. But Kim also warned that his country might have to pursue what he called a “new way” if the United States insisted on imposing new sanctions. President Trump, meanwhile, said that he welcomes another meeting. Hyun Lee, a member of the Solidarity Committee for Democracy and Peace in Korea and writer for Zoominkorea.org, joins the show.
Yesterday was Jair Bolsonaro’s inauguration, and Brazil’s new president is very much in the mould of Donald Trump, but even more bombastic. He has said that he will “rid Brazil of socialism,” and would open vast portions of the Amazon rainforest to developers. President Trump tweeted to Bolsonaro, “The USA is with you!” Brian and John speak with Aline Piva, a journalist and a member of Brazilians for Democracy and Social Justice.