http://www.federfiles.com/ en-us 2012-02-02T12:29:38-05:00 http://www.federfiles.com/archives/000136.html THE UNITED STATES OF FEAR by Tom Englehardt, long-time book editor --now manager/editor of TomDispatch (a wonderful on-line political cultural commentary site). An historical review and current summary of the way the Pentagon and a combination of crazed right-wing ideologues and corporate interests served us up two unnecessary and criminal wars; and how a national security state, in league with the CIA and the Defense Dept. has progressively swallowed up American freedoms-- Strangelovian but true details of the great cost; in money, lives and to our basic freedoms of our military empire overseas and our "security" empire here at home. Tom is a journalist par excellence and writes with style and passion. CORPORATIONS ARE NOT PEOPLE, Why They Have More Rights Than You Do and What You Can Do About It by Jeffrey Clements (with a foreword by Bill Moyers). Clements is a former Assistant Attorney General of Massachusetts and... Magazine mikefeder 2012-02-02T12:29:38-05:00 http://www.federfiles.com/archives/000135.html The CURRENT RADIO SHOWS page (See link to your left) has finally been updated. Info on the various radio shows I do is yours for the clicking. This website, which I was considering donating to the Museum of Ancient Websites (MAW), will slowly but surely be rebuilt so that it reflects the modern world; or at least as much of it as I can reasonably be expected to deal with.... mikefeder 2012-01-18T11:48:05-05:00 http://www.federfiles.com/archives/000134.html Friends, For several weeks now, I've been devoting one hour of my SiriusXM program on Saturday night to the Occupy movement. I've had people calling in live from various cities (Chicago, Oakland, Denver, Boston, Atlanta, and several other places) and I've been interviewing activists, economists, historians, lawyers and journalists familiar with the issues this movement is concerned about. With all it's faults, I believe this Occupy movement, including all it's international antecedents and parallel groups, is, possibly, a last ditch stand against an increasingly Corporate/Military controlled government in the USA and the rest of the world. As a lot of you know, I've won the Gold medal in pessimism many times over the years, but, for once, I actually see some hope--as expressed in these various protests, demostrations, et. al. With all this in mind, I've started a new program on PRN (Progressive Radio Network It's on Wednesdays from 1-2pm... mikefeder 2011-11-02T09:47:47-05:00 http://www.federfiles.com/archives/000133.html SINCE I'M HAVING TROUBLE UPDATING VARIOUS PAGES ON MY WEBSITE, A REMINDER ABOUT MY RADIO LIFE... I'M ON EVERY THURSDAY AFTERNOON FROM 1-2PM EASTERN ON THE PROGRESSIVE RADIO NETWORK (PRN) AT: http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com Archives of all shows are available at: http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/the-turning-point/ I'M ALSO ON EVERY SATURDAY FROM 5-8PM (EASTERN) ON SIRIUSXM 127. (I'm not on WBAI right now but that's always a possibility-- the management and I are only a couple of million apart on my contract) A FEW OF THE BEST OF MY RADIO STORIES ARE ON THE VINTAGE RADIO SHOWS PAGE. LISTENER RESPONSES TO ALL RADIO SHOWS, NEW OR OLD, ARE COMPULSORY--THEY COUNT FOR 75% OF YOUR FINAL GRADE.... Magazine mikefeder 2011-10-28T10:21:52-05:00 http://www.federfiles.com/archives/000132.html I know we're all worried about the state of our Republic and whether or not anyone seems to understand what America means anymore… Also, what can we do to heal things? Well, there's one guy who has the answers and I thought I'd just extend this recent invitation from a prominent PR firm so that you might drop in and find out for yourselves... The following is the first paragraph of a notice sent to me just yesterday: "Hi Mike- For consideration, please see a media advisory for a special panel discussion with HOUSE MAJORITY LEADER ERIC CANTOR (R-VA) on Sunday October 9, 2011 at 7:30 pm at the West Side Institutional Synagogue located at 120 West 76th Street in New York City. The public panel [.addresses the question], "ARE AMERICAN VALUES IN DECLINE AND HOW CAN THEY BE FIXED?" So, there you go, bunky-- The man who has almost... mikefeder 2011-10-06T12:01:44-05:00 http://www.federfiles.com/archives/000131.html For new (and some old) visitors… Please take the time to check out my Vintage Radio Shows and MP3 page. There are some selected stories that I consider to be among the best of my 30 year career. Some are funny, some sad, some a mixture of both; and, occasionally even (not to be grandiose) inspiring— All are, at the very least, extremely good entertainment. As always, if you like them, get in touch with me and consider telling other people...... mikefeder 2011-09-02T18:28:14-05:00 http://www.federfiles.com/archives/000130.html Upper West Side- Manhattan, Sunday, August 28th- about noon… Well, it's almost all over... Just took a walk and it's CLEAN outside- There was (and is) so much wind and water, the streets and the air and the buildings got washed (though not dried). The air smells like air, the tree smell like trees-- all the usual pavement-reflected heat and vehicle exhaust has disappeared (especially as they stopped running the subways and buses). The wind and water were messengers from another part of this very troubled planet: "It's not just streets, cars, subways.. bricks, glass and steel-- There are more things out there than that.. We spared you this time, but remember, this city of yours is no isolated fortress, no slice of pie in the sky... We'll be back sometime again. And, by the way, how'd you like the earthquake?!" Most of Manhattan was spared flooding and power-outages though... Magazine mikefeder 2011-08-29T09:31:34-05:00 http://www.federfiles.com/archives/000129.html It is obviously a very dark time in the world-- and in our country. It's hard to even look the paper or TV- or listen to the radio (however you get your regular dose of news). Maybe, like me, you're just exhausted from the relentless shocks to the system that all these visions and reports of wars, murders, disease, corruption, poverty and pure insanity engender. In particular, after last Tuesday's great giveaway by The President, it's hard to have any hope that the country can be reclaimed from the pirates and their hired (or, at the very least, cowed and brainwashed) politicians, judges and agency heads. But, once in a while, there is a brief glimmer of hope in this bleak landscape... One such glimmer is a man named Tim DeChristopher who was sentenced to two years in Federal Prison in Federal Court in Salt Lake on July 26th. Briefly--here's... Magazine mikefeder 2011-08-07T11:14:18-05:00 http://www.federfiles.com/archives/000128.html I wanted to plug a book by a friend of mine, David Evanier-- called: All The Things You Are, the Life of Tony Bennett. David is a short-story writer, novelist (Red Love, The Great Kisser) and screenplay writer. He has written two previous biographies of Italian Pop singers, one about Jimmy Roselli (Making The Wiseguys Weep) and another about Bobby Darin (Roman Candle). David writes with honesty, clarity and passion for his subject and the music. He also does exhaustive research on his subject and dozens of interviews. Obviously, you have to be interested in these guys and/or the kind of music they recorded. If you are, you couldn't find better books on their lives and music. And now, (as Mr. Python used to say), for something completely different... I'm listening (audiobook) to Henry Fielding's The Life of Tom Jones, A Foundling--published in 1749. I'll tell you, if I thought... Magazine mikefeder 2011-08-05T12:46:55-05:00 http://www.federfiles.com/archives/000127.html Scene: The Oval Office of The White House Time: Midnight, Sunday, August 1st… Present: Barack Obama, President of The United States (PR) Representative John Boehner, Speaker of The House (JB) The Devil (DEV) (DEV is visible only to PR and JB as a ten foot tall, steaming, blood-red monster, with horns, cloven hooves and a tail. To anyone else who might accidentally observe him, he appears to be Lloyd Blankfein, CEO of Goldman Sachs). ------------------------------ PR- (heaving a deep sigh, leaning back in his chair): “God- Damn! That took long enough. I’m wiped out.” JB- (downing a large glass of straight scotch): “Fuckin’ tell me about it! You don’t have deal with those loony tea- party assholes”. PR- “Yeah, well—you try handling those whiny liberal pains- in-the-ass.” (leans forward)… “OK, now look John. This is a done deal right? And I just want to say- (JB interrupts, lowers his voice... mikefeder 2011-08-01T15:30:17-05:00 http://www.federfiles.com/archives/000125.html Update on Radio shows. I’m having trouble updating the radio page of this site, so, from time-to-time, I’m going to post this brief bit of info about my radio work. For those of you who have listened for years on Sirius, (or who have recently joined from XM… OR, who are going to be in a car or place where they have the service available), I on Sirius XM 127, Saturdays from 5-8pm Eastern Time. I’m also on Progressive Radio Network (PRN) on Thursdays from 1-2pm Eastern. This is an internet radio station, so you can listen live or download shows from archives. They tend to be around 55 minutes in length. The show sometimes starts late as the previous show occasionally runs over. Home Page of PRN http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com Archives: http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/the-turning-point/ ** Note: For those of you who want to get in touch with me about anything you hear on... Magazine mikefeder 2011-07-17T07:38:13-05:00 http://www.federfiles.com/archives/000124.html A few books I've read and/or listened to in the last few weeks... MATTERHORN by Karl Marlantes: This is a novel, but—in many ways, a memoir—of the author's experiences as a Marine Lieutenant in Vietnam. There is much gruesome description (feels more re-living) of combat; internal (racial) strife among the soldiers and officers, and the almost unbearable trials of existence in the jungle experienced by the dissociated and displaced young Americans. This is an intelligent and unrelenting search for meaning/truth in the experience of that absurd and needless war—from one soldier’s point of view. Sometimes the author seems to almost grasp some essential verity but, often as not, the experience remains either a despairing or an ecstatic mystery. I don't think this was primarily intended to be an anti-war novel but that's very much what it adds up to in the end. It takes some getting used to because the... Magazine mikefeder 2011-07-13T17:45:24-05:00 http://www.federfiles.com/archives/000123.html So the other day I read an obituary in the New York Times: ROSALYN S. YALOW, NOBEL MEDICAL PHYSICIST, DIES AT 89. ... Dr. Yalow was the co-discoverer of a process called: radioimmunoassay, which was, according to The Times, "an extremely sensitive way to measure insulin and other hormones in the blood". Without going into the details, her discovery led to great advances in the research and treatment of diabetes and various other hormonal diseases. That discovery, in itself, makes her one of those rare humans who, by virtue of innate genius, great will, and a desire to help her fellow sufferers—on what Clarence Darrow once called " this graveyard planet"—achieved something truly good in the world. We can throw most of the Kings, Presidents, Generals and Captains of Industry (save for the ones who actually invented something useful) right into the trash— But to have discovered and made practical... Magazine mikefeder 2011-06-07T12:44:04-05:00 http://www.federfiles.com/archives/000122.html (NOTE: MY SHOW IS ON A NEW CHANNEL AT SIRIUS-- IT'S NO LONGER SIRIUS LEFT 146. NOW I'M ON SIRIUS XM 127. SAME DAY AND TIME-- SATURDAYS, 5-8PM EAST, 2-5 WEST). THE MONSTER IS DEAD! No doubt you all saw the pictures/videos of the crowds of thousands of people outside the White House and in Times Square-- waving American Flags (now there's a sadly-used and almost used-up piece of cloth); laughing and shouting "USA!" "USA!" --As if the War in Afghanistan is nothing but an international football game and we just took out the quarterback of the opposing team. I'm guessing most of these "Americans" were young, drunk or high—and probably tourists. Indeed, one woman who was interviewed in Times Square said she was visiting from Minnesota. I doubt she'd be as witless and superficial, at least in public, if she was back home in St. Paul. People often act... Magazine mikefeder 2011-05-03T19:11:28-05:00 http://www.federfiles.com/archives/000121.html OK—I’ve had it… Spending the last 30 years as a liberal on the radio—especially the last 8 years as a “talk-show” host--is a dead-end occupation. I’m tired of trying to discover the actual facts of a political, economic, environmental or cultural situation—tired of interviewing experts who actually know what they’re talking about, and fed up with trying to persuade listeners and callers that unadulterated bigotry, delusional religious beliefs and uncritical patriotism are harmful to every one, including themselves. So, I’m out of the Liberal business and I’m going where the audiences and the big bucks are. From now on it’s right-wing all the way for me! For instance, here’s the latest PR blurb for my next radio show…... Magazine mikefeder 2011-04-30T13:52:44-05:00