Author: Coy Barefoot

John Ghazvinian holds a Doctorate in History from Oxford University, and recently wrote an essay called “The Curse of Oil” for the Virginia Quarterly Review. On this January 12th edition of Charlottesville–Right Now with Coy Barefoot, he discusses his essay – an eye-opening account of the “Politics of African Oil” in the Niger Delta. It explains the truth about oil drilling in Nigeria, and the incredibly disproportionate distribution of wealth. The essay is just a segment from a book Ghazvinian is releasing in April of this year, called “Untapped: The Scramble for Africa’s Oil.” The VQR’s editor, Ted Genoways, will be a guest later this week on Charlottesville–Right Now to discuss the article further.

Christine Todd Whitman is the forger Governor of New Jersey and former Administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency under President Bush. She joins Coy Barefoot on WINAGuv,!v,,us CharlottesvilleGuv,!vDjkjRight Now to talk about last NovemberGuv,!v,,us elections. Whitman discusses the importance of national parties to cater to a broad spectrum of citizens, and how that can lead to better bi-partisan cooperation. WhatGuv,!v,,us in store for the Republican Party in 2008? Find out, on CharlottesvilleGuv,!vDjkjRight Now. Whitman currently is the head of a PAC called My Party, Too. They also have a blog.

Jeff Benedict is one of the nation’s top investigative journalists, whose articles have appeared in The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, and Sports Illustrated. He joins Coy Barefoot on Charlottesville–Right Now to discuss his new book: “The Mormon Way of Doing Business: Leadership and Success Through Faith and Family.” He shares a few stories about his encounters with top executives in the business world – who just happen to be Mormon. His book is about the many Mormon business leaders (such as the founder of JetBlue and the CEO of Dell Computers), and how their religion affects their work. The Mormon Way of Doing Business: Leadership and Success Through Faith and Family is available now.

Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling discusses the upcoming session of the Virginia General Assembly, which convenes this Wednesday. How will the session be used – tax changes? Alternate revenue sources? Changes to the State Constitution? Illegal immigration? Find out, on this January 8th edition of Charlottesville–Right Now with Coy Barefoot.

Brett Bonda is the Executive Director of Minds in Motion, a highly acclaimed dance program that appeared at First Night Virginia. He speaks with Coy Barefoot of WINA’s Charlottesville–Right Now to talk about the program, which has worked with elementary schools in the Richmond area to teach kids how to be active by dancing. Bonda tries to work with kids in a fun, interactive environment which can help them perform better in their academic life as well. They discuss the possibility of Burnley-Moran and Venable Elementary Schools adopting the Minds in Motion program in the future.

Dan Olmsted is a senior editor for United Press International, and writes a regular column called “The Age of Autism” where he studies the link between Mercury in vaccines and Autism in children. He joins Coy Barefoot on WINA’s Charlottesville–Right Now in response to his recent article, “Problems in CDC data.” Some topics discussed were Mercury-free vaccinations, the necessity of those vaccinations, the Combating Autism Bill, and what parents with Autistic children do to help.

We’re talking about mercury [in vaccines], which is incredibly toxic…but what if we said we had plutonium in flu shots, people would stand up and go, “Get Plutonium out of flu shots!” But it’s Mercury, and somehow we have the public health officials and pediatricians in this country saying, “Ah, just a little Mercury’s not gonna hurt your infant in the womb there.” I just don’t get it.

-Dan Olmsted

Shaun Kenney is one of the most prevalent political bloggers in Virginia. He comes on Charlottesville–Right Now with Coy Barefoot to discuss the Democratic Congress, Mark Warner, and other local and national political issues. The focus of the conversation centered around how the newly-Democratic Congress will change foreign policy in reference to oversight committees and the future of the War on Terror. Whether the Democrats have a plan for post-war Iraq was heavily debated, and several callers shared their opinions on the matter. Virgil Goode’s recent comments about Representative-elect Keith Ellison of Minnesota and Ed Gillespie as the new chairman of the Republican National Committee were also touched upon.

Preston Bryant is the Secretary of Natural Resources for the Commonwealth of Virginia. He speaks with Coy Barefoot about the upcoming session of the Virginia General Assembly, and how the state budget could change as a result. Two issues that Governor Tim Kaine has pledged to deal with this session are land conservation and the clean-up of Virginia’s waters, which are on an Environmental Protection Agency watch list. Bryant will be back on the program soon to comment on the session progresses.

Jim Bacon of Bacon’s Rebellion joins Coy Barefoot to talk about the latest in Virginia politics. The General Assembly reconvenes next week, and the discussion in this interview is over what role transportation will play in this short session. Governor Kaine says he wants the session to focus on how to pay for road and transit projects throughout the state. Bacon outlines how he thinks the session will unfold.

“The governor is still pushing really hard for what he calls a sustainable long-term transportation funding, and the Republicans in the House are just as insistent against it,” says Bacon. “Hopefully what will happen is that there’s some room for agreement.”

In this show, Coy also laments the decision by blogger Norm Leahy to stop posting to his site, One Man’s Trash.

CharlottesvilleGuv,!vDjnjRight Now is broadcast live Monday through Friday on NewsRadio 1070 WINA from 4 to 6pm. Best-selling author and historian Coy Barefoot is the host and producer. To participate in the program, you can call 434-977-1070. Coy can be reached at barefoot@wina.com.

Subscribe to Coy BarefootGuv,!v,,us podcast!

Access the podcast page here to find out how you can subscribe to the show. That means you can get every new episode as it is posted to the Internet. Or, use iTunes.

Captain Chip Harding has been with the Charlottesville Police Department since 1978. He talks with Coy Barefoot on WINA’s Charlottesville–Right Now about Virginia’s DNA Data Bank for suspected and convicted felons. Virginia is the national leader in DNA-based law enforcement, with extensive records helping match unsolved cases with previous offenders. Yet Virginia and other states alike have many felons whose DNA samples were never collected – leaving many cases unsolved.

Harding discusses how DNA can lead not only to convictions, but also to the release of innocent citizens. Organizations such as the Innocence Project have exonerated almost 200 convicted felons since DNA evidence was made available.