A View from the Left Side

Season 3, Episode 6 of a View from the Left Side -- Grijalva Speaks Truth to Power ... a Retrospective -- is a tribute to former Southern Arizona Congressman Raul Grijalva, who passed away after a battle with cancer on March 13, 2025. 

Time Stamps
 | Introduction: Raul and Me  | 00:29
 | Union Roots  | 02:04
 | Background on Today's Speeches  | 04:26
 | Raul's Words in 2011 Foreshadow 2025  | 05:0...

Well, it certainly didn’t take long for President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance to revive the Ugly American brand.

Welcome to Season 3: Episode 5 of A View from the Left Side, New Strategies for a New World Order.

As the seventh week of Trump’s second term comes to a close, the United States, the world and the global financial markets are reeling from his decisions and walkbacks. Trump is not just a f...

Mean-spirited authoritarians—backed by greedy billionaires and bolstered by weak legislative branches—are leading many countries, including ours. I’m really concerned about the future of our world and our shared economy going forward. 

Do you remember the massive loss of jobs, homes and businesses after Wall Street crashed the world economy in 2008-2009? I do. Do you remember the unnecessary death and disease, the shattere...

The title of this podcast, The Storm Before the Calm, is taken from a book by George Friedman, founder of Geopolitical Futures. 

A good friend of mine gave me this book for Christmas. Initially, I balked at the title. I was not eager to read about “the storm” since we have been living in the eye of a hurricane since January 20, 2025, when Donald Trump took office. The last thing I wanted to do was read anything about Trump...

Season 3: Episode 2 of A View from the Left Side includes a variety pack of five segments. 

The first three segments -- Musk's Takeover, White Men In Black Are Snooping on You and Deregulation Fever -- cover aspects of Elon Musk's takeover of the US government in just 17 days.
 
Segment 4 -- Melania Wore a Hat -- begins with a "you go girl" to the First Lady and her Inauguration Day hat and offe...

Welcome to Season 3: Episode 1 of A View from the Left Side (AVLS). 

It's a Brave New World out there -- the perfect time to restart my podcast. 

Time Stamps for Season 3: Episode 1
 Introduction  | 00:17
 Is This What You Voted For?  | 1:47
 Trusted News Sources  | 5:48
 Turn Off Tune In and Be Here Now  | 9:29
 Tarot for a Brave New World  | 12:21
 Closing Remarks  | 15:53

A...

Season 2 Episode 13: Creation of a National Infrastructure Bank | 0:44
The US Has Had Four National Infrastructure Banks  | 1:17
Crumbling Infrastructure Hurts Competitiveness  | 2:30
Rep. PPH Interview with Economics Experts on the Proposal for NIB  | 4:24
Alphecca Muttardy, Board Member, NIB Coalition  | 4:53
What Is an NIB and Why Do We Need One?  | 5:00
Projects that Could Be Funded by the NIB  | 5:19

Season 2 Episode 12 of  A View from the Left Side focuses on Arizona's primary election races -- from the Legislature to Statewide, Corporation Commission and Congressional races.

Joining me today for this podcast are three long-term colleagues of mine at Blog for Arizona Michael Bryan, Larry Bodine and David Gordon. Mike is the founder and managing editor of Blog for Arizona. He is a local attorney and served as a pr...

Season 2, Episode 11 of a View from the Left Side is a compilation of footage that I recorded on June 24, 2022, the day the Supreme Court of the United States struck down Roe v Wade, the landmark abortions rights decision from 1973. The Roe decision made abortion care up to the age of viability of the fetus legal in the US for nearly 50 years. 

Now, SCOTUS has decided that access to legal and safe abortion care is a state...

Season 2, Episode 10 of A View from the Left Side focuses on the fight to maintain abortion rights in the United States. [This podcast was recorded before the June 24, 2022 Supreme Court decision on abortion.]

Senator Nancy Barto brags that Arizona is the #1 "Pro-Life" state in the country. That's because, for years, Arizona Republican politicians have followed the extreme anti-abortion agenda laid out by C...

Season 2, Episode 9 of a View from the Left Side focuses on our country's epidemic of gun violence. 

My opening commentary, recorded on June 1, 2022, refers to the mass shootings at a Buffalo, New York grocery store and at the Uvalde, Texas elementary school. There have been more since then, most notably the Highland Park. Illinois Fourth of July Parade mass shooting. There have been more than 300 mass shootings in th...

The Arizona Legislature surpassed Day 150 this week. You'll remember that the target length for a session is 100 days. That shipped sailed in mid April.

Season 2 Episode 8 of A View from the Left Side is a compilation of Legislative Updates recorded between April 18, 2022 and May 31, 2022. 

Three of these updates focus on the stalled budget process. The House Republican Caucus is fractured and there is no col...

As the Arizona Legislature approaches the 100-day target for the end of session, the Republican Legislators have shifted their focus to passage of their party's most extreme bills.

In Season 2, Episode 7, Rep. Pam Powers Hannley's Legislative updates focus on the Culture War raging in the Legislature -- from the 15 week abortion ban and school voucher expansion to homeless encampments and inequitable ambulance se...

Season 2, Episode 6 of A View from the Left Side is a compilation of Legislative Updates from Arizona House member Rep. Pamela Powers Hannley. These updates were recorded during March 2022. They range in topic from the social media drama around HB2839 (the PC Bill) to wasting time in the Legislature, anti-worker bills and remembering Senator David Bradley.

Time Stamps ...
Introduction to Season 2 Episode 6 of A View fr...

Season 2, Episode 5 of A View from the Left Side is a compilation of Legislative Updates from Arizona House member Rep. Pamela Powers Hannley. These updates were recorded in late February and early March, 2022. They range in topic from bullying in the Arizona House to building the Border Wall, voter suppression and more.

Time Stamps ...
 Season 2 Episode 3 Introduction  0:50
 Bullying in the Arizona House Is Unprof...

Season 2, Episode 4 of A View from the Left Side is a compilation of Legislative Updates from Arizona House member Rep. Pamela Powers Hannley. These updates were recorded in February 2022. They range in topic from banning the COVID vaccine and critical race theory in schools but making it easier to have guns at schools -- you can't make this stuff up. 

 Time Stamps ...
A View from the Left Side, Season 2, Episode ...

Season 2, Episode 3 of A View from the Left Side is a compilation of Legislative Updates from Arizona House member Rep. Pamela Powers Hannley. The original video updates were recorded between January 24 and February 3, 2022 and can be viewed on my YouTube channel.

  Season 2,  Episode 3 Introduction  |  0:51
 Should Marijuana Be Regulated like Other Recreational Drugs? January 24  | 1:30
 There's Progress in M...

Season 2 Episode 2 of "A View from the Left Side" is a collection of Legislative Updates from the first two weeks of the 2nd Session of the 55th Arizona Legislature. These brief clips represent a wide range of topics from the Opening Day COVID Super spreader event and subsequent outbreak at the capital to food and housing security, prenatal care and clean elections. These updates were recorded and published on social medi...

This podcast is a collection of speeches from the January 6, 2022 Vigil for Democracy in Tucson, Arizona. The event was a solemn commemoration of the January 6, 2021 insurrectionist attack on the US Capitol. 

Several current and former Arizona Legislators and two Arizona Congressman were highly involved in the Stop the Steal movement to disrupt the certification of the 2020 elections. Arizona is Ground Zero for voter suppr...