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This week on Uprising

* Can Obama Save the U.S. Economy?
* Chavez Supporters Prevail in Venezuelan Elections
* Black Agenda Report on the Decline of American Dominance
* Will Michelle Obama Challenge Expectations of a First Lady?

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Can Obama Save the U.S. Economy?

President Elect Barack Obama unveiled his economic team earlier in the week at his second press conference since winning the election. The named economists were greeted with strong enthusiasm from Wall Street and the Republican Party. Obama also promised to unveil …

American Indians Eye the Obama Presidency with their hopes for Change; a conversation with Randy Shaw, author of Beyond the Fields: Cesar Chavez, the UFW and the Struggle for Justice in the 21st Century. And, with the start of the holiday shopping season, we’ll look at the on-going battle over toy safety standards. Plus Empire Notes with Rahul Mahajan.

Tune into KPFK at 8 am on Thursday and Friday November 27-28 for a special look at 40th anniversary programming from the Pacifica Radio Archives examining the tumultuous events of 1968 with the Poor People’s Campaign and the Mexican American Experience.

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As Americans get ready to gorge on turkey and trimmings tomorrow, children in Haiti are facing mass starvation. A series of deadly storms battered crops and livestock on the impoverished island this summer, worsening the existing food crisis. UNICEF estimated that 300,000 children are at risk of severe malnutrition as a result. Unknown numbers have died across the country of starvation and many more are at risk of dying, particularly in inaccessible hilly regions. In fact, last month, 26 children reportedly died in the southeastern village of Baie d’Orange from severe malnutrition. The dangers facing Haitian youth were in the news recently after the collapse of a school that killed 100 and injured over 150. More unsafe buildings weakened by storms are expected to collapse …

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While most news is focused on President Elect Barack Obama, the nation’s first Black First Lady is receiving a very different kind of attention. The Financial Times sums it up thus: “Her husband is the nation’s foremost politician and her main job is to help him do his. But she must always remember that she holds no elected office and wields no independent political power. She is the chief ceremonial female – literally the First Lady – in a country still unsure about the proper role of women in public and private life. If she happens to be African-American, she is a symbol of her race. Oh, and she must be able to choose precisely the right dress for every occasion.” A graduate of Princeton and …

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With the Iraq War’s coverage waning, many Americans have changed their focus to the failing US economy. But for war veterans and troops still serving, the effects of the war and mistreatment by government loom large. The LA Times reported yesterday that the Pentagon recently quietly changed its definition of combat-related disabilities, rendering many wounded veterans ineligible for medical benefits to treat their war wounds. One such veteran is James Dixon, a Marine who was wounded in Iraq twice, by a roadside bomb and a land line. His injuries, which include “a traumatic brain injury, a concussion, a dislocated hip and hearing loss,” as well as Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, were ruled non-combat related by the Pentagon. With Obama’s transition to the White House, many veterans are hopeful that …

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The First National Thanksgiving by Subversive Historian Gabriel San Roman

Two-hundred and nineteen years ago on this day in people’s history, the United States observed its first formal national Thanksgiving holiday. The date November 26th, 1789, was designated by President George Washington when he published the Thanksgiving Proclamation in the Massachusetts Centinel. President Washington was responding to Congress who sought a “Day of Public Thanksgiving and Prayer” to be “observed by acknowledging the favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness.” Lord knows there have been enough subversive histories over the past months to construct a counter narrative to such grandiose notions of Thanksgiving but if more is needed consider the …

“The problem in defense is how far you can go without destroying from within what you are trying to defend from without.” — Dwight D. Eisenhower

We’ll examine attitudes toward America’s first Black First Lady: How the press defines Michelle Obama’s role. And, we’ll find out why war vets are optimistic about Barack Obama’s presidency. Plus, children face mass starvation in Haiti after deadly summer storms. We’ll look at the politics of the on-going food crisis and what can be done about it.

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President Elect Barack Obama unveiled his economic team yesterday at his second press conference since winning the election. The named economists were greeted with strong enthusiasm from Wall Street and the Republican Party. Obama also promised to unveil an economic stimulus package as soon as he takes office next year that is three times larger than what was proposed earlier, focusing on serious job creation through roadworks and other infrastructure development. Obama backed off from including in his plans, the repeal of tax cuts to the wealthy – a point he campaigned on before the election. The news of Citigroup’s impending failure strongly framed the press conference and has brought renewed characterizations that are now all-too-familiar: that this bank is too big to fail, prompting yet another …