Democracy Now! January 29, 2003

9:00-9:01 Billboard: President Bush takes the nation to the brink of war and defends American empire with his State of the Union Address: we ll hear from British journalist Robert Fisk and people s historian Howard Zinn President Bush tries to buck criticism that he cares only about war and not about jobs in his State of the Union Address: Francis Fox Piven and Meizhu Lui analyze his conservative social agenda An alternative State of the Union: we ll hear from Dennis Kucinich, Raul Grijalva and Sheila Jackson Lee of the Congressional Progressive Caucus 9:01-9:06 Headlines 9:06-9:07 One Minute Music Break 9:07-9:20 PRESIDENT BUSH TAKES THE NATION TO THE BRINK OF WAR AND DEFENDS AMERICAN EMPIRE IN HIS STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS; SIMULTANEOUSLY, HE TRIES TO PROVE HE CARES ABOUT THE ECONOMY President Bush delivered his State of the Union Address last night The President s speech took the nation to the brink of war. *Bush declared Saddam Hussein has missed his "final chance" by showing contempt for U.N. weapons inspections *He claimed there is intelligence that shows the secular Iraqi government is helping and protecting Al Qaeda terrorists. He raised the fearsome specter that Iraq could slip a biological weapon to terrorists, who then might bring them to the US and QUOTE bring a day of horror like none we have ever known. *He insinuated Iraq is trying to develop a nuclear bomb. *He defended his so-called pre-emptive military doctrine, and made a case for American empire, saying once again, we are called to defend the safety of our people and the hopes of all mankind. *President Bush vowed the U.S. will wage war without allies if it has to. *And he announced Secretary of State Gen. Colin Powell will go before the Security Council on Feb. 5 to present intelligence on Iraq s illegal weapons programs, its attempts to hid those weapons from inspectors, and its links to terrorist groups. But he offered no proof of any of this in his speech last night. After the speech, Democratic Sen. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts announced he will introduce a resolution to require the president to obtain further Congressional approval before invading Iraq. Kennedy said Bush had failed to make a persuasive case that the threat is imminent and war is the only alternative. Bush also tried to buck criticism that he is ignoring domestic problems as he prepares to invade Iraq. He devoted the first third of last night s address to domestic issues, in particular, the economy. He also called for more federal funding of charitable work by religious groups, greater reliance on private health plans to treat the elderly, and new restrictions on abortions. Among the surprise initiatives were Bush s call for $10 billion to help fight AIDS in Africa and a request to spend $1.2 billion to develop hydrogen-fueled vehicles. He also asked Congress create programs to held Americans addicted to alcohol and drugs and to help the children of prisoners. Tape: President George W. Bush, State of the Union Address, 1-29-03, laying out his conservative economic philosophy Guest: Meizhu Lui, Executive Director of United for a Fair Economy Links: http://www.ufenet.org/Guest: Francis Fox Piven, professor of political science and sociology at the graduate school of the City University of New York and co-author of several award-winning books, including Why Americans Still Don t Vote , Regulating the Poor , The Poor People s Movement , The Breaking of the American Social Compact. 9:20-9:21 One Minute Music Break 9:21-9:40 State of the Union, Cont d Tape: President George W. Bush, State of the Union Address, 1-29-03, claiming Iraq harbors Al Qaeda terrorists, justifying so-called pre-emptive attacks, outlining Iraqi torture methods, and delivering a message to the people of Iraq Guest: Robert Fisk, journalist with the British newspaper The Independent. He is based in Beirut. Tape: President George W. Bush, State of the Union Address, 1-29-03, insinuating Iraq is attempting to build nuclear weapons Tape: President George W. Bush, State of the Union Address, 1-29-03, more orless making the case for American empire Guest: Howard Zinn, historian and author of A People s History of the United States 9:40-9:41 One Minute Music Break 9:45-9:58 AN ALTERNATIVE STATE OF THE UNION: WE LL HEAR FROM DENNIS KUCINICH,RAUL GRIJALVA AND SHEILA JACKSON LEE OF THE CONGRESSIONAL PROGRESSIVE CAUCUS Also on Tuesday, the Congressional Progressive Caucus held an Alternative State of the Union session in the Capitol. California Democrat Barbara Lee, who co-chairs the 53-member caucus, as she opened the session saying, "We are holding an Alternative State of the Union address because we believe that Americans deserve a vision of a future of peace and justice rather than war and economic hardship and inequality. At last year's State of the Union, President Bush gave us the axis of evil. Today, we face crises and possible war on multiple fronts. In fact, we face possible endless war because the doctrine of preemption knows no limits. It also brings us no security." Guest: Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), member of the Progressive Caucus which outlined an alternative State of the Union yesterday. Tape: Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), member of the Progressive Caucus, recorded at the alternative State of the Union yesterday Tape: Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX), member of the Progressive Caucus, recorded at the alternative State of the Union yesterday Links: Congressional Progressive Caucus: http://bernie.house.gov/pc/Rep. Dennis Kucinich: http://www.house.gov/kucinich/Rep. Raul Grijalva : http://www.house.gov/grijalva/Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee: http://www.house.gov/jacksonlee/9:58-9:59 Outro and Credits Democracy Now! is produced by Kris Abrams, Mike Burke, Angie Karran, Ana Nogiera and Alex Wolfe. Mike Di Filippo is our music maestro and engineer.