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The Democracy Hour with Tom De Luca
Guest: Professor Frances Fox Piven
Tuesday, February 8th, 8PM
Topic: Glenn Beck’s Demonization of Frances Fox Piven
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Frances Fox Piven has been the target of a campaign of demonization by Glenn Beck that has led to vicious insults and even death threats to her by Beck’s followers. There has been no effort by Beck or Fox News to tamp down the rhetoric or warn their followers against violence. The Beck/Fox attacks are not surprising, because they are part of campaign to demonize and discredit liberal and progressive thought and politics in general.
This week on The Democracy Hour our guest is Frances Fox Piven. We will ask Professor Piven how this all started, what has been happening in recent days, and what she and others are doing to counter the campaign of demonization against her. Professor Piven will have the opportunity to state exactly what her political views and priorities are, and give her opinion as to why they are really so threatening to Glenn Beck and Fox News.
Frances Fox Piven is Distinguished Professor at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York.
She is an expert in social welfare policy, American electoral politics, and social movements. She is the recipient of numerous awards, including the American Sociological Association's Career Award for the Practice of Sociology, and was herself president of the American Sociological Society. Her writings include: Poor People’s Movements (1977), Why Americans Don’t Vote (1989), Regulating the Poor: The Functions of Public Welfare (updated edition, 1993), The War at Home: The Domestic Causes and Consequences of Bush's Militarism (2004), and Challenging Authority: How Ordinary People Change America (2006).
Scholar and activist, President Bill Clinton gave Piven one of the pens he used to sign into law the National Registration Act of 1993 (the "Motor Voter Law")--in recognition of the central role she played in conceiving it and lobbying for its passage.
To find out more about Beck’s attacks on Piven and their consequences please see articles at:
New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/...
The Nation: http://www.thenation.com/...
For Professor Piven’s bio at the GUNY Grad Center go to: http://cuny.edu/...
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