It should be apparent that my favorite show segment is “Day in History” or DIH, by my shorthand.  (Easy to figure out MB, GNM and WOTW!)

Tackling today’s social, political and moral dilemmas requires context and the willingness to draw on past lessons, both learned and unlearned.

April’s garment factory collapse in Dhaka, Bangladesh, occurred just a month after DIH-3/25 – the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire.  Leading the committee to recommend reforms after that New York City tragedy was a young social worker named Frances Perkins, who went on to become FDR’s Labor Secretary and the first woman cabinet member in US history.  Much of the New Deal was inspired by her acumen.  What would she say 102 years later upon seeing the carnage in Bangladesh?  What do we say when we vote with our dollars?

The exploitation of cheap (or slave) labor was the subject of DIH-5/2 – establishment of the Congo Free State by Belgian King Leopold II.  His plunder of rubber and ivory from Africa left millions dead; unmet quotas were punished by mutilation and murder.

As we debate immigration reform, it’s interesting to note how many conservatives lambast “undocumented” (or, as they prefer, “illegal”) workers in the US without a whiff of indignation for the businesses who hire them. But necessary labor scalded by xenophobia is as American as cherry pie.

Howard Zinn writes:

“By 1880, Chinese immigrants, brought in by the railroads to do the backbreaking labor at pitiful wages, numbered 75,000 in California, almost one-tenth of the population.  They became the objects of continuous violence.  The novelist Bret Harte wrote an obituary for a Chinese man named Wan Lee:  ‘Dead my revered friends, dead.  Stoned to death in the streets of San Francisco. In the year of grace 1869, by a mob of half-grown boys and Christian school children.’

“In Rock Springs, Wyoming, in the summer of 1885, whites attacked five hundred Chinese miners, massacring twenty-eight of them in cold blood.”

Income inequality?  We’ve seen it before.  In her book, Plutocrats:  The Rise of the New Global Super-Rich and the Fall of Everyone Else, Chrystia Freeland draws a spectacular parallel between today’s economy, where the .1% (point 1%) rule, and the late 1880s, where concentrated, prodigious wealth towered over abject poverty.  She highlights 19^th Century economist Henry George, whose bestseller, Progress and Poverty, proposed solutions withincapitalism, as opposed to Marx’s damnation of it.

I enjoy interviewing guests such as Chrystia, who seamlessly weave American history into “the fierce urgency of now.”  (An extra star if you can attribute the quote.)

United States v. Windsor (2013)?  See Loving v. Virginia (1967).

The end of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”?  See desegregation of the military.

State versus federal power.  Don’t get me started on the Articles of Confederation.

Or do.

Lines are open 7 am to 9 am, PT, @ 877-CARL-066.

Send this list to everyone you know.  Let’s work to change their mind or VOTE THEM OUT OF OFFICE.

Alexander (R-TN)
Ayotte (R-NH)
Barrasso (R-WY)
Baucus (D-MT)
Begich (D-AK)
Blunt (R-MO)
Boozman (R-AR)
Burr (R-NC)
Chambliss (R-GA)
Coats (R-IN)
Coburn (R-OK)
Cochran (R-MS)
Corker (R-TN)
Cornyn (R-TX)
Crapo (R-ID)
Cruz (R-TX)
Enzi (R-WY)
Fischer (R-NE)
Flake (R-AZ)
Graham (R-SC)
Grassley (R-IA)
Hatch (R-UT)
Heitkamp (D-ND)
Heller (R-NV)
Hoeven (R-ND)
Inhofe (R-OK)
Isakson (R-GA)
Johanns (R-NE)
Johnson (R-WI)
Lee (R-UT)
McConnell (R-KY)
Moran (R-KS)
Murkowski (R-AK)
Paul (R-KY)
Portman (R-OH)
Pryor (D-AR)
Risch (R-ID)
Roberts (R-KS)
Rubio (R-FL)
Scott (R-SC)
Sessions (R-AL)
Shelby (R-AL)
Thune (R-SD)
Vitter (R-LA)
Wicker (R-MS)

My thoughts are with the victims and their families.

I have full faith in Boston Mayor Tom Menino, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick and President Obama.

The President’s message hit all the right notes of compassion, caution, resolve and national unity.

How many of us would run away from the carnage rather than run toward those who needed help?

First responders can’t be thanked or paid enough.

Those who guard civil liberties during crises are heroes as well.

No one should jump to conclusions about who might be responsible – left or right, foreign or domestic.

Violence should be condemned. Violence solves nothing.

I love Boston. A dozen trips there have deepened my affection for the city. On our last trip to Boston, Gary and I stayed in the Back Bay, only blocks from where this tragedy occurred.

The Boston Marathon is also a charitable event.

Think about the best in us today.

Although Republicans claim to be the party of business, their Paul Ryan, austerity budget chokes off investment in everything that builds a vibrant economy, from infrastructure to vital R&D. For the wealthy, there are more tax breaks; for the working poor, there are only cuts in the social safety net and no increase in minimum wage – this for the very people who would spend that extra money and stimulate local businesses.

Shrinking the federal government to bathtub-drowning size may be a catchy slogan for ideologues, but its adoption as policy by the GOP is another reason the party is seen as “out-of-touch” with Americans and our historic values of shared sacrifice.

Transportation expert Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR) hit the House floor this month to sound the alarm – again – about our crumbling infrastructure. Citing a report from the American Society of Civil Engineers that graded our bridges, highways, aqueducts, etc. a D+, DeFazio put the facts on the table:

“Without increased investment, over the next seven years, businesses would lose $1.2 trillion in sales and families would lose $611 billion due to delays, blackouts, brownouts and water main breaks. [This] would cost American families an average of $3,100 a year in disposable personal income by 2020.”

In an interview on “Carl in the Morning” (listen here), DeFazio said we have three choices to make up a deficit in the Highway Trust Fund, projected to grow to $7.1 billion by FY 2015. We can borrow the money, do nothing (the Republican answer) or fully fund the HTF by double-indexation of the gas tax, which would raise $177 billion over the next 10 years. The federal gas tax of 18.4 cents/gallon has not been raised for 20 years and is not indexed for inflation.

But talk of any new revenue is anathema to Republicans. Even if it could put millions back to work, upgrade our infrastructure to 21st century standards, and allow US companies to compete and win in the global marketplace. Many tea partiers advocate zero federal spending on infrastructure; just leave it to the states, they say.

Dante Atkins, blogging at Daily Kos, reports on the Krystal restaurant chain (350 stores in 11 states) leaving Chattanooga, Tennessee (where it was founded in 1932) for Atlanta. The reason? The Chattanooga Airport has direct connections with only three of Krystal’s cities, while Atlanta’s Hartsfield has nonstops to all of its markets. Plus, Krystal finds Atlanta’s rapid transit a huge plus.

Atkins sums it up:

“Chattanooga’s crappy airport and lack of rapid transit – not gun laws, state tax rates, immigration laws, or the Ten Commandments on the courthouse walls – cost Tennessee an iconic, native employer.

“Yep, we’re talking big, socialist, government-funded infrastructure projects like a larger airport and high-speed rail…that create tons of jobs when you’re doing them and keep employers in your state when you’re done. The kind of projects that build communities.”

Whatever compromise, if any, results from negotiation over the Ryan House budget and Patty Murray’s Senate version, we are, for now, stuck with the Republican-induced sequestration cuts. And contained within those are more damage to American jobs and progress.

Alana Semuels and Adolfo Flores of The Los Angeles Times filed this story on the sequester hatchet hitting the National Institutes of Health. Cutting $1.6 billion from the country’s largest supporter of biomedical research is simply horrible business.

“The federal government’s $4 billion investment in the Human Genome Project,” they write, “helped create $796 billion in economic growth from 2000 to 2010. More generally, every $1 of the agency’s funding generates $2.20 in economic growth.”

Jon Bartholomew, with the Oregon Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association, and a frequent guest on our show, stresses the importance of federal grants and funding to the group’s core mission. He has lauded President Obama’s action in budgeting more dollars for a disease that affects five million Americans and 16 million of their caregivers – numbers that will rise dramatically with an aging baby boomer population. To curtail NIH research into Alzheimer’s, cancer, and other diseases now is unconscionable; losing students and scientists to other countries is unworthy of a great nation.

All private companies depend on a well-trained and educated workforce, healthy employees, efficient transportation system, clean environment, well-maintained courts and dependable public safety. From the sequester to their fundamental rejection of government, today’s “bathtub” Republicans have put vital investment at risk.

It’s as simple as Bill Clinton said. It’s arithmetic.

As reported by The Oregonian, the chair of the Multnomah County Republican Party, Jeff Reynolds, has posted a surveillance video of the home of gun-control advocate State Senator Ginny Burdick (D-Portland).  Reynolds would not name the James O’Keefe wannabe who spent two hours filming the private residence in a clear attempt to intimidate Burdick.

Burdick, who regularly receives hate mail from gun nuts, canceled an appearance at a PSU town hall, and thus got the stalking treatment.

To be clear, there is nothing “unconstitutional” or “un-American” about the gun control legislation Burdick is carrying in the current Salem session.  On our March 5 show (listen here), Penny Okamoto of Ceasefire Oregon runs down the list.

Constructive debate is one thing.  Thuggish town hall mobs are another.  Burdick has every right and reason to avoid the kind of 2009 Tea Party mania that turned an opportunity for vital discussion on healthcare into shouting matches about “death panels.”

Seriously, until I read the Oregonian story, I did not know there was a Multnomah County Republican Party.  But now that I do, I will offer its chair, Mr. Reynolds, some advice:

Keep posting stalking videos and the GOP will become even more marginalized in this state.

Or lead your followers into a discussion of Oregon’s future:  universal access to healthcare, preventive medicine, wave and wind energy, B-corps, the DREAM ACT, marriage equality, sustainable agriculture, cutting-edge R&D, first-class schools, fair trade and rising wages.  For starters.

Point that camera in the opposite direction and take a good look at your party and yourself.

Harkin has long been a solid progressive in Congress, whose accomplishments and vigilance in defending core, liberal principles are worthy of high praise.

He ran for the House in 1972, losing to Republican William Sherle. Two years later, Harkin won the rematch. Sherle’s legacy? He put enormous effort into cutting the budget for the National Endowment for the Arts – a typical conservative resume builder.

Harkin is in the mold of such populists as Fred Harris, Paul Wellstone and Jim Hightower: strong supporters of labor, agriculture and social justice. Harkin worked to strengthen child labor laws and introduced the Americans With Disabilities Act. He has remained true to Roe v. Wade and supported the 2009 Iowa Supreme Court decision validating marriage equality.

And as recently as last month, Harkin stood in the well of the Senate, fending off Republican attempts to weaken Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, even taking a swipe at the administration’s short-lived embrace of Chained CPI:

“As a senior, you’ve found that your budget’s pretty tight. So instead of buying beef for dinner, you buy chicken. So you reduce your costs a little. Chained CPI looks at that and says okay, since your costs have come down, we’ll reduce your COLA. Your COLA is reduced and your budget’s tighter, so you go to beans. Chained CPI says oh you’re eating beans, that means your costs are down, we’ll reduce your COLA even further. Pretty soon you’re drinking warm water for soup. That’s what Chained CPI does to an elderly person.”

On Saturday, President Obama said of the man: “During his tenure, he has fought passionately to improve quality of life for Americans with disabilities and their families, to reform our education system and ensure that every American has access to affordable health care. Senator Harkin will be missed.”

Before the President says goodbye, it would be wise for him, and us, to study Senator Harkin’s Rebuild America Act. It’s a comprehensive blueprint for kicking our economy into gear the progressive way. That is by fashioning a 21st Century infrastructure, tackling trade reform, and ensuring the kind of fair wages that will grow a manufacturing-based middle class.

And, last week, it would have been wise for Majority Leader Harry Reid to heed Harkin’s call to end the silent filibuster.

Of course, Tom has two years left in the Senate, and I have no doubt his passion and purpose will move us in the direction of a brighter future.

If only more people would follow.

John Boehner’s calculations in the final days of the 112^th Congress qualify him to be a Mayan calendar writer.

Watch Alex Jones defend “guns” without distinguishing between the killing capacity of a derringer and an AK-47.  Then remember that the Texas Republican Party’s platform opposes the teaching of critical thinking in schools.

Re: The Zero Dark Thirty controversy, torture does not work. The only surefire confession technique is to sit the person in front of Oprah.

Jodie Foster officially came out at the Golden Globes.  Who’s next – Anderson Cooper?  Oh, Anderson already came out?  Then you’re up, Lindsay Graham.

After he said odds favor Seattle vs. New England in the Super Bowl, Nate Silver reveals himself to be human.

Republicans are so embarrassed by Mitt Romney’s 2012 campaign, they’ve hired Argo director Ben Affleck to sneak him out of the country.

On Monday, Justice Clarence Thomas spoke during oral arguments for the first time in seven years.  The Court then voted 8-0 for another seven years of silence.  Thomas abstained, but did not say why.

Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) says Republicans should shut down “certain portions” of the government.  I’m for shutting down the “Marsha Blackburn” portion.

Donald Trump continues to be a leading candidate for The Darwin Awards, Lifetime Achievement.

If it’s Andrew Cuomo vs. Chris Christie in 2016, the South will re-secede in 2017.

Al Jazeera America’s local show, “Al Jazeera Arizona” will struggle in the ratings.

Eric Cantor continues to be an incredible dick.

Eric Cantor said as much to Boehner by voting against the bill – the latest reminder that he stands ready to lead mutinous tea partiers when they’ve sniffed enough of the Speaker’s blood.  The President says there will be no compromise on the debt limit, but Cantor wants concessions.  Can Boehner last another round in between?

Then, after adjournment, Boehner sustained one of the most vicious intraparty one-two punches in memory.  New York Congressman Peter King and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie were upset (with good reason) that the Sandy supplemental aid bill was not even put before the House.

King said it was “a betrayal of trust” and that the party had “turned its back on the people.”  He vowed that New York would no longer be a piggy bank for GOP candidates.

Christie named names:  “There’s only one group to blame … the House majority, and their Speaker, John Boehner.”

The Speaker quickly scheduled a vote for Friday, which then enraged a plethora of right-wing groups such as Americans for Prosperity who want the cash drawer locked.

King went beyond advocating help for his district and addressed the underlying GOP conundrum.  This is another reason, he said, why the party cannot compete in the Northeast.

He’s correct.  And nothing is going to change.

To hardcore righties who already blame “moderates” McCain and Romney for eight years of Obama, King and Christie can go f*#k themselves.  Their brand of Ideology bears no fruit of practical politics.

In the Midwest, Republicans have placed their competitive chips on union busting.  But that has backfired.  It will turn the region even bluer.  Reagan Democrats, many of them union members, are far less likely to be bought off these days by “gays” and “abortion.”

In the West, New Mexico, Colorado and Nevada have already joined “the left coast,” and the Hispanic vote will soon add more territory to the Democratic column.

Which is to say there is no way out for Republicans, except to leave the old, white, evangelical South behind.  But without a toehold in any other region, that would be suicide.

Lyndon Johnson made the calculation that he could lose the South and keep enough of the New Deal coalition intact to keep Democrats competitive.  Listen to his phone calls with party leaders concerning the Mississippi delegate controversy at the 1964 convention, and you’ll hear his political genius.

LBJ has no realpolitik peer in today’s Republican Party.  Theirs is a roster of petulant lightweights.

It’s enough to make a Speaker cuss.  Or cry.

Oregon ranks fifth best, after Illinois, Maine, California and Michigan. Washington follows at number six.

The worst five states are New Mexico, South Dakota, Iowa, North Dakota and Kentucky.

In praising Oregon, the report noted that our state has felony penalties for cruelty and fighting; adequate standards of basic care; full range of statutory protections; and increased penalties for repeat animal abusers. In addition, Oregon peace officers “have an affirmative duty to enforce animal protection laws” and humane agents “have broad law enforcement authority.”

This is the fifth straight year that Oregon has ranked in the top five.

“ALDF encourages those who care about the welfare and protection of animals to contact their elected officials about the importance of having strong, comprehensive laws in this field, and to alert law enforcement should they ever witness animal abuse or neglect,” the report says.

As Huffington Post has chronicled, factory farms continue to resist anti-abuse efforts, and animal rights activists say “the patchwork of state and local laws governing animal treatment at factory farms is demonstrably inadequate.”

You can learn more about the Animal Legal Defense Fund here.