Libya expert Professor Ali Ahmida on the uprising against Qaddafi and the US response; PBC news and comment on Wisconsin, gas price hikes, NPR gets punked by O’Keefe, Right attacks Planned Parenthood, death penalty abolished in Illinois, GOP blank check to defend DOMA, would Peter King investigate Christians? Will Durst joins at 55:00 to talk about the battle of Madison. Ahmida is chair of the department of Political Science at University of New England, and author of The Making of Modern Libya and Forgotten Voices: Power and Agency in Colonial and Postcolonial Libya. We talk about US media coverage of the conflict, and the different voices of the Obama administration, starting with the president himself. Ahmida is critical of the idea of a US-led no-fly zone, and concerned that Saudi Arabia may take a leading role. Like our failed policy toward Cube, he fears that US support for the rebels could help Qaddafi. At 27:00, PBC comments on recent events while he was away, starting with the assault on the middle class in Wisconsin and 10 other states. He talks about the Michigan plan to appoint powerful emergency managers who can kill union contracts and even fire elected officials; he also talks about a student strike and the prospect of a general strike, the latest O’Keefe attack–this time on NPR–and the assault on Planned Parenthood. He applauds Illinois for abolishing the death penalty, and asks if Rep. King would investigate radical Christians or the Catholic Church. At 55:00, Will Durst offers his views on Wisconsin, where he grew up.
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