Anyone who follows the drumbeat for war with Iran or the campaign for the civil rights of Bradley Manning knows that the tireless radio host Scott Horton has done some of the best work here, including lately interviews with Marcy Wheeler, Gareth Porter, Flynt Leverett, Daniel Ellsberg, Philip Giraldi, Chase Madar, Karen Kwiatkowski and David Bromwich. Horton and I differ politically– he lives in Texas and is big on the Second Amendment– but ideological diversity is crucial to a movement, and I’ve gone on Horton’s show whenever I’ve been invited because we know that this mission requires creative coalition. We oppose a war on Iran, we embrace Manning as our generation’s Ellsberg, and we want to call out the Israel lobby’s workings inside US political life. (When we’ve won on those fronts, he and I can quarrel all we like.)
As Horton reminded us today, quoting the Council on Foreign Relations feed: “We continue to assess that Iran is not on the verge of achieving a nuclear weapon.” U.S. NatSec spokesman Tommy Vietor.
Or as Horton described an encounter he had with another expert pushing Iran war on youtube not long ago: “Scott Horton refutes the lies of some third-string neocon water-carrier.”
Horton left antiwar.com a few weeks back and is now on his own, on Liberty Radio based in Los Angeles. You should listen to Horton’s shows to keep him going, but more than that he needs donations to keep up the good work. I’m going to be sending him a check in Austin, Texas, but there are plenty of other ways at the link to keep Horton on air. We need him.
thanks phil
Thanks for the heads up Phil!
Thanks Phil- just donated via PayPal. I first learned about you and your invaluable work when you were interviewed by Scott Horton in the summer of 2008.
Thanks for the info Phil – just made a donation. Scott has been doing important interviews for a long time. He needs our help.
Thanks Phil. Horton just did another great interview with Flynt Leverett over at RACE FOR IRAN. unable to link. How often do you see Chris Matthews have Flynt or Hillary Mann Leverett on.. retired Lt Col Karen Kwiatowski? Anyone else questioning the push to attack Iran?
Phil know you are a very busy guy but have you and Adam and the rest of the Mondo team ever thought about doing live interviews on line about the I/P issue where we could participate? Was one of my favorite things about Firedoglake when Valerie Plame, John Dean others came for live chats. Great questions, answers…so much learning went on.
I was confused about this, and I suspect other people might be, too, so as a public service here’s what I just discovered on the About page of the Scott Horton Phil is talking about: “He is a fan of, but no relation to the lawyer from Harper’s.” It’s the latter Scott Horton, a law professor, who writes the excellent “No Comment” blog about the law, torture, “national security,” Central Asia, and other subjects.
A fun tidbit: back in 2007 Scott Horton the radio host interviewed Scott Horton the law professor and blogger.
Thanks for this, Henry. I’d never heard of the radio show, and hadn’t read No Comment in awhile, so wondered if maybe Scott had left Harper’s for a new career in broadcasting! In the context of my confusion, I found Phil’s comments re: 2nd Amendment advocacy extra puzzling. Though I don’t know his views on guns, SH @ Harper’s just never seemed like the NRA type to me. ;-)
Now to go check out his radio doppelganger…
Phil says, “Horton and I differ politically– he lives in Texas and is big on the Second Amendment.”
Well, we know Phil never served in the US Army so he does not know “this is my rifle, this is my gun, this is for fighting, this is for fun.” And, it’s obvious from what Mr Weiss has told us about his childhood, he never was confronted with any physical bully or bullies who made him think twice about the Second Amendment. Can we get Phil’s notions about the fact that the first Hitler law took away private ownership of guns?
Can we get Phil’s notions about the fact that the first Hitler law took away private ownership of guns?
You can get mine: It’s not a fact at all.
Private ownership of guns had first been restricted – but by no means abolished, neither in law nor in practice – in the 1920s by the Weimar Republic government, partially because the victors of WW1 insisted on disarming the German people as well as the state. (Pre-WW1 Imperial Germany had no general restrictions on gun ownership.) The comprehensive 1928 gun laws regulated the possession and carrying of firearms in a way basically similar to what Germany has today.
After the Nazis came to power, they did not change this law – it was certainly not the “first Hitler law”. Instead, they abused it to confiscate guns owned by Jews and political opponents by means of the considerable leeway the police had in enforcing the existing laws.
When the Nazi government finally got around to reforming gun laws in 1938, they confirmed these practices as law: Gun ownership by Jews and politically “unreliable” people was outlawed. However, restrictions on gun ownership by “Aryan” Germans were actually relaxed. For example, ownership of rifles (as opposed to handguns) was no longer regulated at all, even though it had been under the Weimar republic laws.
Actual disarmament, the near-total ban of private gun ownership, was only effected post-WW2 by the victorious allies, including the US.
“You can get mine: It’s not a fact at all.”
Thank you, Koshiro. I appreciate your willingness to try and inject a little reality into the gun thing. But it won’t work. In America, guns (as Citizen shows us) are a religion and their positive attributes a matter of faith. The gun is worshipped, and dramatic liturgies to the gun’s wisdom, intergrity and power are unquestioned and transcendant rites for gun worshippers.
“Can we get Phil’s notions about the fact that the first Hitler law took away private ownership of guns?”
So, basically, Citizen, you want one America for those with good vision, a steady eye, and the ability to survive some wounds, and another for the very young, the very old, the vision disabled, the palsied, those who can’t run fast when they run out of ammo. Or are you going to protect them with your guns?
I can never understand what you guys are getting at. Do you think if the guy comes with a tax lien or a judgement, you can shoot him and the whole thing gets forgotten about, since you shot him fair and square?
Man, you would think that somebody who actually served in Nam would reject the Hollywood conception of gun use, but hey, whatever makes you feel good.
Anytime you want to present me with the overwhelming statistics on guns being used to prevent crime, or heal family or romantic or financial disputes, or how guns can ameliorate the ravages of mental illness, please go ahead. I know the media is suppressing all these stories, so it’s time they were exposed for it.
And, oh yes, the number of times guns are used in preventing gun accidents. The media won’t acknowledge that at all. Even worse is their failure (probably the AMA is behind it) to acknowledge that gun safety training makes a person perfect in every way, proof against rash decisions, bad marriages, financial entanglements, adultery, and cures all mental illnesses.
RE: “You should listen to [Scott] Horton’s shows to keep him going, but more than that he needs donations to keep up the good work. I’m going to be sending him a check in Austin, Texas, but there are plenty of other ways at the link to keep Horton on air.” ~ Weiss
MY COMMENT: I’ve been listening to Scott’s podcasts at Antiwar.com for years. He is very knowledgeable and has excellent guests.
I am making modest monthly contributions to his program via Paypal (using my verified bank account as the payment source so that there is no Paypal charge) like I do for Richard Silverstein, Mike Malloy, Peter B. Collins, Tikkun/NSP and a few others.
Of course, since Scott recently went out on his own, I’m certain that even modest one-time contributions would be very helpful to him at this particular time.
Scott Horton’s Radio Shows – link to scotthorton.org
Chronological List of all of Scott’s Interviews – link to scotthorton.org
TO DONATE – link to scotthorton.org
The page is no longer there… ?
“Could not connect to remote server”
:-(