the attitude with Arnie Arnesen the Wed. edition noon to 1pm EST Aug 27

[Arnie Arnesen]

The attitude with arnie arnesen

opening thoughts: Amanda Gorman Hymn for the Hurting

producers: Dave Scott and Stephanie Collins
Chloé LaCasse (the best of the attitude)
streaming live at wnhnfm.org noon&7pm EST on the dial-94.7FM Concord NH

podcasts available at https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/attitude-with-arnie-arnesen/id1634055179

 opening thoughts:

 Hymn For The Hurting

by Amanda Gorman

Everything hurts,

Our hearts shadowed and strange,

Minds made muddied and mute.

We carry tragedy, terrifying and true.

And yet none of it is new;

We knew it as home,

As horror,

As heritage.

Even our children

Cannot be children,

Cannot be.

Everything hurts.

It’s a hard time to be alive,

And even harder to stay that way.

We’re burdened to live out these days,

While at the same time, blessed to outlive them.

This alarm is how we know

We must be altered —

That we must differ or die,

That we must triumph or try.

Thus while hate cannot be terminated,

It can be transformed

Into a love that lets us live.

May we not just grieve, but give:

May we not just ache, but act;

May our signed right to bear arms

Never blind our sight from shared harm;

May we choose our children over chaos.

May another innocent never be lost.

Maybe everything hurts,

Our hearts shadowed & strange.

But only when everything hurts

May everything change.

opening though 2:

When I was a little girl I was so inspired by the Diary of Anne Frank that for a number of years I kept a diary and each page began with Dear Kitty like Anne often did...and now I read that her book has been banned. What are they doing???? Her book has been translated into 75 different languages but in Florida it has been pulled from the shelves. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/aug/16/florida-new-book-bans

Part One: Aneri Pattani at KFF Health News 

Goliath vs. David: Optum Rx invokes open meetings law to fight Kentucky counties on opioid suitsUnitedHealth Group’s pharmacy benefit manager sues 5 counties in attempt to protect itself from national opioid litigation https://kentuckylantern.com/2025/08/19/goliath-vs-david-optum-rx-invokes-open-meetings-law-to-fight-kentucky-counties-on-opioid-suits/

bio: Aneri Pattani, senior correspondent, reports on a broad range of public health topics, focusing on mental health and substance use. Her work spans text and audio stories, and she has been heard on NPR and Science Friday. Her stories have received national recognition, including a 2021 award from the Institute for Nonprofit News for reporting on the flawed oversight of addiction treatment facilities in Pennsylvania. She was also part of a team that received the News Leaders Association’s 2021 Batten Medal for Coverage of the Coronavirus Pandemic. Before joining KFF Health News, Pattani wrote for Spotlight PA, a collaborative newsroom investigating the Pennsylvania state government. She was a 2019 recipient of the Rosalynn Carter Fellowship for Mental Health Journalism.

Part two: a conversation with Harold Meyerson editor at large at The American Prospect

A Federal Appellate Court Finds the NLRB to Be UnconstitutionalAnd just like that, it frees Elon Musk—and any fellow employers—to violate whatever rights their workers thought they enjoyed. https://prospect.org/justice/2025-08-25-federal-appellate-court-finds-nlrb-unconstitutional/

Will Next Week’s DNC Meeting Call for a Ban on U.S. Arms to Israel?Today on TAP: The committee can either put the party on record opposing those sales, or regurgitate Biden’s do-nothing policy. https://prospect.org/blogs-and-newsletters/tap/2025-08-22-will-dnc-meeting-ban-arms-to-israel/