Recorded Talks

REAL HISTORY

A four part (2 hours) lecture series Part one/four
THE MYTH OF THE FOUNDING FATHERS
As the United States government claims to spread democracy around the world and is deeply involved in ghost writing constitutions for other countries, the spotlight falls back on this country. Is the current US system a democracy, - has it ever been one? In The Myth of the Founding Fathers Michael Parenti takes us back to the early days of the republic. Who were the founding fathers, what were their goals in writing the US constitution? Whom did they exclude and whom did they favor? What was their attitude towards slavery? How many of them actually wanted to create a monarchy? And who - in the end - ratified the constitution after it was written?

Part two/four
THE SPANISH AMERICAN WAR AND THE RISE OF US IMPERIALISM
Michael Parenti uses the history of the Spanish American War to answer several very intriguing questions. Who first expressed the desire to annex the island of Cuba - and when? Why was the US government concerned about Spanish repression of the rights of Cubans while the repression of African Americans within the US was ignored? Why did the US attack the Philippines when it was Cuba they supposedly wanted to rescue? Why did the US give verbal support to the Cuban liberation movements against Spain while selling weapons to Spain to fight the popular movement? The Spanish American War was an important turning point in the transition of the US to an imperial power and many of the forces at work are eerily contemporary.

Part three/four
THE FUNCTIONS OF FASCISM
Parenti says that fascism is a pseudo-revolutionary movement that serves the same old power structure and promises to solve the ills of the many while really protecting the interests of the few. He answers in detail who financed the Fascist parties and what services the fascists rendered in return. Many of the measures enacted by fascists were frighteningly similar to those enacted today: They include the privatization of state owned enterprises, reduction of corporate taxes and inheritance taxes, defeat of unions, and the suspension of civil liberties.

Part four/four
THE REAL CAUSES OF WORLD WAR II
Who inside Germany was resisting the rise of Hitler and why were they not supported by Britain and France? Why did the Western Allies allow Hitler to take over Austria and Czechoslovakia? Why did Britain and France refuse to enter an anti fascist alliance with the Soviet Union? Why did Britain and France do nothing while Hitler conquered Denmark and Norway even though they had finally already declared war against Germany in 1939. The West, says Parenti, saw Hitler as a bulwark against communism and the Soviet Union and were hoping that the two countries would bleed each other to death.
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Additional Lectures - About 1 Hour Each
Available for Purchase at TUC Radio

The Two-Party Monopoly

How the electoral system is rigged to favor the major parties and discourage the emergence of more diversified and inclusive political views.

Welfare for the Wealthy

How corporate America feeds out of the public trough while preaching virtues of self-reliance to the rest of us.

Lazy Law and Social Control

The police and the law are dedicated less to fighting crime and more to defending the socio-economic status quo.

The Myth of the Liberal Press

How conservatives dominate media ownership and commentary, and why they complain about “liberal bias” in the media.

The Supremely Political Court

While portrayed as above the political fray, the Supreme Court has always been up to its ears in politics - mostly of the conservative variety.

The Ivory Tower Myth

Far from independent citadels of learning, our universities are wedded to the military-industrial complex and have a history of violating their own professed standards of academic freedom.