Thom Hartmann: Professor Herb Boyd is with us, he’s with FreeSpeechTv, he’s a special correspondent for Free Speech TV, an activist, a journalist, a teacher, managing editor at Blackworld today, author of 19 books. His most recent is "Pound for Pound, the life and times of Sugar Ray Robinson." Website, FSTV, actually it’s FreeSpeech.org, and professor Herb Boyd, welcome to our program.

Herb Boyd: How are you Thom?

Thom Hartmann: I am very well, I’m very honored to have you on the show.

Herb Boyd: It’s a pleasure to be with you.

Thom Hartmann: You’re going back down to Haiti. Have you been to Haiti since the earthquake?

Herb Boyd: Not since the earthquake. I made four visits there over the last six years.

Thom Hartmann: And so you’re quite familiar with the country.

Herb Boyd: Yeah I’ve been to just about all four corners of it now. Thanks to Ron Daniels, Dr. Ron Daniels of the Haiti Support Project. Each time I’ve gone down there, in fact he will be leading this delegation, Thom.

Thom Hartmann: Uh huh. Can you tell us your sense of where Haiti was before the earthquake, how in part it got there, and what you’re expecting to find when you go.

Herb Boyd: Well you know it’s been in pretty terrible shape and has been for a number of years. Each time I’ve gone down there it’s been with the mission of assisting them in various endeavors. We took down clothing, we took down shoes, we took down electronic equipment, transistor radios, all those kind of materials each time we’ve gone down there, just to improve, you know, their communication system first and foremost, so they can be in touch with each from one end of the country to another. And that’s particularly slow in the central plateau where they’re just virtually isolated up there. When you get down along the coast in Port au Prince and that’s of course the epicenter of the earthquake, it’s a little bit more, you know you get a little urban development, some urbanization there, but still it’s pretty backwoods. It’s a typical third world country in the jargon we use, but even worse so, because you talk about, and often the media does the job, in explaining how it’s the poorest of the nations in the western hemisphere, if not the world, you know.

Thom Hartmann: Yeah. The last time I was down there was I think in the late 1980s or early 1990s. And in Port au Prince. And many of the streets, we were, I was working with an international relief agency and so we were in many of the poor neighborhoods and the streets are open sewers. I mean People don’t get this that, and there were pigs rooting around and wild dogs and things and children foraging for garbage to eat. I mean and that was before the earthquake.

Herb Boyd: It was before, right. You can understand how really desperate it is and the whole conditions, I think the infrastructure, the kind of housing they have down there, which was really built to kind of secure themselves against the hurricanes that occur.

Thom Hartmann: Right and thus it had a lot of brick and a lot of stone.

Herb Boyd: A lot of concrete.

Thom Hartmann: A lot of concrete which just came falling down. Now professor Boyd, when the earthquake first happened we did three hours, two hours on my radio show and this hour of television as well on how American policy going all the way back to the Jefferson administration has played a role in the impoverishment of Haiti not to mention French policy I mean they were paying up until I guess the 1950s or ‘60s, they were paying France the money that they “owed” France because of the slave rebellion, because of France’s loss of their own slaves or what they considered their slaves. How, you’re quite familiar with that history. I’m curious going forward, are you seeing any signs of political transformation or change that, is it conceivable given the horror, I mean acknowledging the horror of what’s happened, is it conceivable that positive change is gonna come out of this or are we gonna see Naomi Klein's shock doctrine writ large?

Herb Boyd: I think you’ll see that writ large Thom because I think the Heritage Foundation when they put out that this is a glorious opportunity for the various corporations and companies to go in, to say nothing of mercenaries, security operations, Blackwater and all that…

Thom Hartmann: They’re already there.

Herb Boyd: All of them see, it's something like vultures are circling, looking for an opportunity.

Thom Hartmann: Yeah. How do we, we’re talking with professor Herb Boyd, FreeSpeech.org the website, who’s on his way down to Haiti and we’ll be talking to you when you get down there and when you get back as well, we’re very much looking forward to that. How do we, what do we do, what can our viewers, our listeners, what can Americans do to prevent the friedmanization, Thomas and Milton, the shock doctrine, the corporate takeover of, I mean there already was one. Arastide was this one little shining moment and they blew him out of the water a couple of times and in fact the Republicans in congress, when Clinton was President, were conspiring with the military to defeat Clinton’s attempts to bring Arastide back which were feeble but they were there. So what can we do? We have a minute until we’re, until the end of this segment, I’m sorry. But in that minute, what’s the advice that you would give to me and to our listeners and viewers?

Herb Boyd: I think one of the things they can do, and certainly millions of Americans have already dug into their meager pocketbooks to assist in the relief effort there. But I think one of the easiest things for them to do is to acquire as much information as they can about this country and the relationship between this country and the United States. They have that obligation, they have that responsibility. If they’re donating their money to relief agencies and what have you, study who those relief agencies are, make sure that the money is going to a reputable one.

Thom Hartmann: Any in particular you recommend?

Herb Boyd: I would think, I’ve been really supportive of the Yele, with Wyclef Jean, although he’s under severe attack and investigation but I think thats a pretty sound one.

Thom Hartmann: Yeah. That’s a good one. Doctors without Borders seems to be doing great work down there. Mercy Corps.

Herb Boyd: Paul Farmer and those individuals, yeah.

Thom Hartmann: Yes. Some of the ones that aren’t the big institutions. Professor Herb Boyd. FreeSpeech.org the website. We’ll continue this conversation. Dr. Boyd thanks for being with us.

Herb Boyd: It’d be my pleasure.

Thom Hartmann: Great speaking with you today.

Transcribed by Suzanne Roberts, Portland Psychology Clinic.