Category: National politics

Programs and podcasts that discuss national podcasts.

Posted on

Miller Center Forum: The End of Conservatism?

Lee Edwards

Lee Edwards

LEE EDWARDS, widely regarded as the leading historian of the American conservative movement, is the Heritage Foundation’s Distinguished Fellow in Conservative Thought and serves as an Adjunct Professor of Politics at the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC. The founding Director of the Institute on Political Journalism at Georgetown University, he is a frequent commentator on FOX News, PBS, C-SPAN, and NPR. The author of the first biography of Ronald Reagan, his other books include To Preserve and Protect: The Life of Edwin Meese III (The Heritage Foundation, 2005) and The Essential Ronald Reagan: A Profile in Courage, Justice and Wisdom (Rowman & Littlefield, 2005).

Mr Edwards spoke at a Miller Center Forum on February 27, 2009.



Posted on

Miller Center Forum: Abraham Lincoln and William Shakespeare

William Lee Miller

William Lee Miller

WILLIAM LEE MILLER is Scholar in Ethics and Institutions at the Miller Center. From 1992 until his 1999 retirement, he was Thomas C. Sorensen Professor of Political and Social Thought and Director of the Program in Political and Social Thought at U.Va. A speechwriter for Adlai Stevenson’s 1956 presidential campaign and a contributing editor and writer for The Reporter magazine, he was the founding director of the Poynter Center on American Institutions at Indiana University. He is the author of eight books, including Lincoln’s Virtues: An Ethical Biography.

Mr. Miller spoke at a Miller Center Forum on February 23, 2009.



Posted on

The Financial Crisis – Which Inning Are We In?

Professor Edwin T. Burton of the University of Virginia Economics Department spoke on the current economic crisis at a Senior Statesmen of Virginia forum on January 14, 2008. Professor Burton is a well known economic expert who is a frequent guest on WINA. He is the former head of the Virginia Retirement System and is the author of the Burton Finance Blog.

Burton received his B.A. in Economics from Rice University in 1964 and his Ph.D. in Economics from Northwestern University in 1971. He is currently professor of economics at the University of Virginia, a post he has held since 1998. He is also currently a trustee of Virginia Retirement System. His past positions include head of Investment Banking and Municipal Finance at Interstate Johnson Lane from 1994 to 1995, president of Rothschild Financial Services, Inc. from 1987 to 1994, senior vice President of Smith Barney from 1975 to 1984 and assistant and associate professor of economics at Cornell University from 1969 to 1979.

The topic of today’s presentation is “The Financial Crisis – Which Inning Are We In?”. Bill Davis, SSV board member and secretary, moderated today’s program.

Posted on

Napolitano Tapped by Obama for Homeland Security Secretary

In today’s show, adapted from an article written by Mary Wood, Director of Communications for the School of Law at the University of Virginia, we discuss UVa Graduate, Janet Napolitano, who was named as the next secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, a Cabinet-level post, by President-elect Barack Obama.

Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano, a 1983 graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law, has been nominated as the next secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Dean Paul G. Mahoney said, “Governor Napolitano has dedicated her career to public service, fulfilling an ideal that the University of Virginia Law School holds dear. The nation is fortunate that President-elect Obama has chosen to bring her wide-ranging talents to a vitally important position.”

For more information about the show or to see the full text, visit the Oscar Show’s blog


Posted on

UVa and the Obama Transition Team

In today’s show, adapted from an article written by Mary Wood, Director of Communications for the School of Law at the University of Virginia, we look at The University of Virginia’s connections to the transition team for President-Elect Barack Obama.

Over the past weeks, candidates for President -elect Obama’s cabinet and transition team have been vetted so that the president-elect can make them offers to be part of the new team that will lead our nation over the next 4 years, following the inauguration scheduled for January 20, 2009.

Since the Commonwealth of Virginia went “blue” for the first time since 1964, there names connected to the Commonwealth that have been considered for posts in the new administration.

For more information about the show or to see the full text, visit the Oscar Show’s blog



Posted on

Habeas Corpus and Ensuring Constitutional Protections

In today’s show, adapted from an article written by freelance writer Karen Doss Bowman, we discuss the work of UVa Professor Paul Halliday, and his research of Habeas Corpus, the only specific right enshrined in the US Constitution.

Habeas corpus, the judicial means by which prisoners may demand that their jailer show a valid reason for their detention, is considered a bedrock of personal liberty in U.S. law–and is the only specific right enshrined in the U.S. Constitution.

For more information about the show or to see the full text, visit the Oscar Show’s blog


Posted on

Gitmo and “The Response”

In our previous show we reflected on several of the movies showcased at this year’s Virginia Film Festival. In today’s show, we will examine “The Response,” a short film about the Guantanamo Bay War Tribunals and the plight of Guantanamo detainees by Sig Libowitz, screened at this year’s Virginia Film Festival.

During the course of the seven years since 9-11, the United States and its elected representatives have made calculated moves to deal with the declared “War on Terror.” Because of the nature of this global war, which is based more in backrooms around the world than on battlefields, it has become increasingly difficult to have concrete ideas about whom and where we are, or should be fighting.

Because of the clandestine nature of the war, the measures to combat it have also taken a more covert form, including… Abu Ghraib… and more recently, Guantanamo Bay. These Prisoner Detentions Camps were set up in an effort to isolate suspected enemy combatants from battle regions and interrogate them so that the war in the Gulf, and on Terror could be mitigated.

For more information about the show or to see the full text, visit the Oscar Show’s blog


Posted on

Vincent Bugliosi on the Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder

Author Vincent Bugliosi photographed during Manson trials.
Author Vincent Bugliosi photographed during the Manson trials.

Vincent Bugliosi, New York Times Bestselling author of Helter Skelter and The Prosecution of George W. Bush For Murder, joined Coy Barefoot on WINA’s “Charlottesville-Right Now!” to discuss the evidence and his conclusion that President George W. Bush is guilty of first degree murder.

Bugliosi discusses his role and methods as a true crime writer and lays out his case against George W. Bush for pursuing an illegal war for personal reasons that resulted in the deaths of over 4,000 American soldiers. Vermont Attorney General candidate Charlotte Dennett has pledged that, if elected, she will pursue this prosecution. Bugliosi firmly believes that, if brought to court, he will get a conviction.

The main issue is whether Mr. Bush brought the nation to war out of self defense. If it can be proven that the war was made based on false pretenses, as Mr. Bugliosi’s collected evidence appears to suggest, then murder can be proven. Mr. Bugliosi believes that the death penalty may be appopriate if Mr. Bush is convicted. Bugliosi spoke from Charlottesville, Virginia prior to his talk at the Albemarle County Office Building

Posted on

Steven Waldman on religion in politics and the film Religulous

On Thursday, October 16th, Steven Waldman, author of Founding Faith: Providence, Politics, and The Birth of Religious Freedom In America joined host Coy Barefoot on WINA’s “Charlottesville-Right Now!” Waldman is the founder and editor of Beliefnet.com, the largest website for religion and spirituality on the internet.

They discussed the final presidential debate and each candidate’s strategy on the abortion issue, speaking to moderates or partisans. Waldman talked about the groundbreaking new Twelve Tribes of Politics study, which has discovered how the relationship between religion and politics is changing. For example, religion is much less correlated with votes in many cases now, with the exception of Evangelicals who prefer McCain, and Protestants who prefer Obama.

Waldman discusses Bill Maher’s new film Religulous, calling it funny but criticizing its presentation as a documentary because it has “completely flouted normal documentary standards,” using a gotcha film style more similar to Sacha Baron Cohen’s Borat.