This Is Hell!

 

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Your bitter blind broke gap-toothed radio show host Chuck Mertz interviewed …

• Tom Engelhardt is co-founder of the American Empire Project and runs the Nation Institute’s TomDispatch.com. Tom’s latest book is, “The American Way of War: How Bush’s Wars Became Obama’s” (Haymarket Books). This week, Tom posted the article, “The Opposites Game: All the Strangeness of Our American World in One Article.”
• Greta Christina is the author of “Bending,” an erotic novella that’s part of the three-novella collection, “Three Kinds of Asking For It,” (Simon & Schuster). Greta is the editor of “Paying For It: A Guide by Sex Workers for Their Clients” (Greenery Press). They are both available through her web site. She also edited the anthology, “Best Erotic Comics.” This week, she posted the article, “5 Stupid, Unfair and Sexist Things Expected of Men: We know the many ways sexism hurts women. But we don’t talk as much about how sexism hurts men.”
• Charles Bowden is the author of, “Murder City: Ciudad Juárez and the Global Economy’s New Killing Fields” (Nation Books). Chuck will be on to discuss his article, “Who Is Behind the 25,000 Deaths In Mexico?.”

Live from Budapest, Todd Williams reported on why he’s an ex-pat in Hungary.

Live from Haiti, Danny Muller will gave a relatively optimistic ‘Wasted Energy Report.’

Live from Oakland, Elvis DeMorrow gave a rundown of recent theories in the Konspiracy Korner.

Live from Los Angeles, Jeff Dorchen delivered a Moment of Truth which was, sadly, the best analysis yet on the Shirley Sherrod scandal.

 

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Our guests were:

• Melvin Goodman is the national security and intelligence columnist for truthout.org. Melvin’s most recent writing at truthout includes, Too Much Bang, Bang: The Need to Demilitarize US ‘National Security’,” “The Secret History of Gen. Alexander Haig,” and the two-parter, “President Obama and the CIA: What Must Be Done,” and “CIA and Intelligence Community Mythologies.” Mel spent 42 years with the CIA, the National War College, and the US Army. He is also a senior fellow at the Center for International Policy and adjunct professor of government at Johns Hopkins University. His latest book is “Failure of Intelligence: The Decline and Fall of the CIA” (Rowan & Littlefield).
• Dr. Samuel S. Epstein is founder and chairman of the Cancer Prevention Coalition. Dr. Epstein is professor emeritus of Environmental and Occupational Medicine at the University of Illinois School of Public Health. His most recent book is 2009′s “Toxic Beauty:How Cosmetics and Personal Care Products Endanger Your Health and What You Can Do About It,” which he co-wrote with Randall Fitzgerald. Dr. Epstein is a regular contributor to the Huffington Post.
• Thomas Frank is a regular columnist for the Wall Street Journal. Tom’s latest book is “The Wrecking Crew: How Conservatives Rule” (Metropolitan Books). Tom’s earlier book, “What The Matter With Kansas,” has been made into a documentary. His recent Journal columns include, “The Rise of the Reactionary Right,” “A New Age of Monopolies,” “What’s the Matter With Democrats?,” “Washington’s ‘Deficit of Trust’,” and “Populism Is Democracy at Work.”
• nationally syndicated columnist Robert Scheer is the executive editor of truthdig.com and a contributing editor for The Nation. Robert conducted the famous Playboy magazine interview in which Jimmy Carter confessed to the lust in his heart. Robert was Vietnam correspondent, managing editor and editor in chief of Ramparts magazine and served as a national correspondent for the Los Angeles Times. He is the author of, most recently, “The Pornography of Power: How Defense Hawks Hijacked 9/11 and Weakened America” (Hachette Book Group). His most recent truthdig columns include, “An Oscar for America’s Hubris,” “Don’t Blame Bunning,” and “No Banker Left Behind.”

Todd Williams, our man in Budapest, was scheduled to bring Timea Szabo on the show to discuss the upcoming elections and the new Lehet Mas a Politika party. Timea was called away at the last minute and may appear on an upcoming show. Instead, we got Todd’s insight as an American ex-pat on April’s elections.

Michael Roper of Chicago’s Hopleaf, 5148 North Clark Street, returned with a segment on ‘extreme beer and back.’

Jeff Dorchen delivered a Moment of Truth.