Author Archives: forthrightradio

Stephen Marche THE NEXT CIVIL WAR: Dispatches from the American Future

Stephen Marche is a Canadian novelist and journalist. He writes for The Atlantic, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The New Yorker and Esquire, among other outlets. His latest book, which we’ll be discussing in this interview is THE NEXT CIVIL WAR: DISPATCHES FROM THE AMERICAN FUTURE, published by Avid Reader Press, a division of Simon & Schuster.

He writes, “There will be those who say that the possibility of a new civil war is alarmist. All I can say is that reality has outpaced even the most alarmist predictions.”

“The intelligence services of other countries are preparing dossiers on the possibilities of America’s collapse. Foreign governments need to prepare for a post-democratic America, an authoritarian and hence much less stable superpower. They need to prepare for a broken America, one with many different centers of power. They need to prepare for a lost America, one so consumed by its crises, that it cannot manage to conceive, much less to enact, domestic or foreign policies.

The purpose of this book is to give readers access to the same advance information. These dispatches are projections but not fantasies. The next civil war isn’t science fiction anymore. The plants to the first battle have already been drawn up. And not by novelists. By colonels.”

We spoke with Stephen Marche on April 19, 2022.

Links to articles pertinent to this interview:

Where Will This Political Violence Lead? Look to the 1850s. https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2022/10/29/political-violence-1850s-paul-pelosi-00064107

Biden says US democracy is under threat. Here’s what he can do to help fix it https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/sep/16/biden-says-us-democracy-is-under-threat-heres-what-he-can-do-to-help-fix-it

The January 6 hearings are a brilliant spectacle. That’s also their danger https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/jul/21/january-6-hearings-trump-consequences

With the end of Roe, the US edges closer and closer to civil war https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/jun/26/second-civil-war-us-abortion

Effort to Remove Marjorie Taylor Greene From Ballot Can Proceed, Judge Says https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/18/us/politics/marjorie-taylor-greene-jan-6.html

Judge Blocks Effort to Disqualify Cawthorn from Ballot as ‘Insurrectionist’ https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/04/us/politics/madison-cawthorn-north-carolina-insurrectionist.html?action=click&module=RelatedLinks&pgtype=Article

Legal Effort Expands to Disqualify Republicans as ‘Insurrectionists” https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/07/us/politics/insurrectionists-congress.html?action=click&module=RelatedLinks&pgtype=Article

How Do We Break the Cycle Of Political Violence? https://hartmannreport.com/p/how-do-we-break-the-cycle-of-political?s=r

Self-proclaimed Leader of Sovereign Citizen Group Sentenced to Federal Prison for Promoting Tax Fraud Scheme https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/self-proclaimed-leader-sovereign-citizen-group-sentenced-federal-prison-promoting-tax-fraud

Sovereign citizen Bruce Doucette sentenced to 38 years in prison https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2018/05/23/sovereign-citizen-bruce-doucette-sentenced-38-years-prison

Everything We Know About Jerad And Amanda Miller, The Las Vegas Couple Who Went On A Shooting Rampage https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/mikehayes/everything-we-know-about-jerad-and-amanda-miller-the-suicida

Florida Neo-Nazi leader gets 5 years for having explosive material https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/florida-neo-nazi-leader-gets-5-years-having-explosive-material-n836246

Extremists like Marjorie Taylor Greene are the future of the Republican party https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/apr/13/extremists-like-marjorie-taylor-greene-are-the-future-of-the-republican-party

Why the Past 10 Years of American Life Have Been Uniquely Stupid https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2022/05/social-media-democracy-trust-babel/629369/ also: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKRuvKtFvqo

For a Black Man Hired to Undo a Confederate Legacy, It Has Not Been Easy https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/17/arts/confederate-statue-removal-contractor.html

Fearing a Trump Repeat, Jan. 6 Panel Considers Changes to Insurrection Act https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/19/us/politics/trump-jan-6-insurrection-act.html

Ray McGovern – Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity – Russia & Ukraine

Ray McGovern earned a Masters’ degree with honors in Russian Language, Literature and History from Fordham University. In the early 1960s, he served as a US Army Infantry Intelligence Officer in the analysis division on Soviet foreign policy, especially with respect to China and Indochina, which includes Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Burma, and Thailand.

In the CIA, he served under seven presidents from 1963 to 1990, beginning with John F. Kennedy. In the 1980s he chaired the National Intelligence Estimates and prepared the President’s Daily Brief. In 2003, he co-founded Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS) dedicated to analyzing and criticizing the mis-use of intelligence, specifically the false claims leading to the Iraq War. In 2006, he returned to CIA headquarters to protest the CIA’s involvement in torture, when he returned his Intelligence Commendation Medal.

We spoke with Ray McGovern on April 6, 2022. The next day, The United Nations General Assembly voted to expell Russia from The Human Rights Council.

Articles or videos referenced or pertinent to the interview:

The War in Ukraine Has Unleashed a New Word https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/22/magazine/ruscism-ukraine-russia-war.html

With Us or With Them? In a New Cold War, How About Neither. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/24/world/asia/cold-war-ukraine.html

Malcolm Nance, TV pundit turned fighter in Ukraine: ‘I believe in the defense of democracy’ https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/apr/29/malcolm-nance-msnbc-pundit-ukraine-soldier-michael-harriot

Russia’s standing in G-20 not threatened by Ukraine invasion https://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/ap_news/business/russias-standing-in-g-20-not-threatened-by-ukraine-invasion/article_ba1b1888-5011-5459-a469-1730cb3013a9.html

Building a Just & Peaceful World with Anatol Lieven and Ray McGovern https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=joqd6tZ714k

Putin’s Invasion of Ukraine Salon | Ray McGovern, John Mearsheimer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppD_bhWODDc

Lev Golinkin on Russia’s New Offensive & War Crimes in the Donbas by Both Sides over Past 8 Years https://www.democracynow.org/2022/4/12/russia_russian_offensive_eastern_ukraine_donbas

Ukraine War Causing Fractures in the Peace Movement When It’s Needed Most https://www.commondreams.org/views/2022/04/01/ukraine-war-causing-fractures-peace-movement-when-its-needed-most?vgo_ee=Y82RBGepzJGygaHT4lvL4KyPUFd7JHyq9acdSgULWaM%3D

A Three-Step Plan For Ending War in Ukraine and Building a Global Peace Movement https://www.commondreams.org/views/2022/04/01/three-step-plan-ending-war-ukraine-and-building-global-peace-movement?vgo_ee=Y82RBGepzJGygaHT4lvL4KyPUFd7JHyq9acdSgULWaM%3D

Ukraine profile – Timeline https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-18010123

Ukraine, the UN and history’s greatest broken promise https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-61021862

The U.S. Has Its Own Agenda Against Russia https://theintercept.com/2022/04/01/russia-ukraine-proxy-war-washington-diplomacy/

Russia’s Newest Weapon in Ukraine May Be Mercenaries Linked to Putin https://theintercept.com/2022/03/31/ukraine-war-russia-wagner-group-mercenaries/

Ukraine: The Mess that Victoria Nuland Made https://consortiumnews.com/2022/02/26/robert-parry-the-mess-that-nuland-made/

The Azov Battalion: Extremists defending Mariupol https://www.dw.com/en/the-azov-battalion-extremists-defending-mariupol/a-61151151

There’s One Far-Right Movement That Hates the Kremlin https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/04/17/theres-one-far-right-movement-that-hates-the-kremlin-azov-ukraine-biletsky-nouvelle-droite-venner/

Nazis & Hitler are verbal daggers in the Ukraine war https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/04/06/world/ukraine-russia-war-news

Amid Reports of Radiation Sickness, IAEA Says Russia Has Withdrawn From Chernobyl https://www.commondreams.org/news/2022/03/31/amid-reports-radiation-sickness-iaea-says-russia-has-withdrawn-chernobyl?vgo_ee=Y82RBGepzJGygaHT4lvL4KyPUFd7JHyq9acdSgULWaM%3D

Is Russia committing genocide in Ukraine? A human rights expert looks at the warning signs https://theconversation.com/is-russia-committing-genocide-in-ukraine-a-human-rights-expert-looks-at-the-warning-signs-180017

NBC Off by 18 Years on US’s Last Use of Cluster Bombs https://fair.org/home/action-alert-nbc-off-by-18-years-on-uss-last-use-of-cluster-bombs/

The Geopolitics of Hell https://www.commondreams.org/views/2022/03/08/geopolitics-hell

How the World’s Not-So-Great Powers Are Miscalculating on Ukraine https://truthout.org/articles/how-the-worlds-not-so-great-powers-are-miscalculating-on-ukraine/?eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=8d69f12c-3197-4a1b-a9db-303ad359273d

What if Putin Didn’t Miscalculate? https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/29/opinion/ukraine-war-putin.html

Digitally Disappeared: YouTube Has Deleted Six Years of My Show https://www.commondreams.org/views/2022/03/29/digitally-disappeared-youtube-has-deleted-six-years-my-show?vgo_ee=Y82RBGepzJGygaHT4lvL4KyPUFd7JHyq9acdSgULWaM%3D

‘No hope for science in Russia’: the academics trying to flee to the west https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/apr/02/no-hope-science-russia-academics-trying-flee-to-west

The big idea: how to win the fight against disinformation https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/apr/04/the-big-idea-how-to-win-the-fight-against-disinformation

Don’t assume Russia and China are on the same page. The US can work with China https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/apr/04/us-china-relationship-xi

The starvation of a nation: Putin uses hunger as a weapon in Ukraine https://www.politico.eu/article/the-starvation-of-a-nation-how-putin-is-using-hunger-as-a-weapon-in-ukraine/

Mark Sullivan THE LAST GREEN VALLEY https://forthright.media/2021/04/28/mark-sullivan-the-last-green-valley/

Henry Giroux PEDAGOGY OF RESISTANCE Against Manufactured Ignorance

Henry Giroux is McMaster University Chair for Scholarship in the Public Interest & The Paulo Freire Distinguished Scholar in Critical Pedagogy.

An internationally renowned writer and cultural critic, Professor Giroux has authored, or co-authored over 65 books, written several hundred scholarly articles, delivered more than 250 public lectures, and been a regular contributor to print, television, and radio news media outlets.

He is on the Board of Directors for Truthout, and he is on the editorial and advisory boards of numerous national and international scholarly journals, and he has served as the editor or co-editor of four scholarly book series. He co-edited a series on education and cultural studies with Paulo Freire for a decade. His books have been translated into many languages and his work has appeared in the New York Times and many other prominent news media

His latest book is PEDAGOGY OF RESISTANCE AGAINST MANUFACTURED IGNORANCE, which will be published on April 21, 2022 by Bloomsbury Academic.

We end this archived edition of Forthright Radio with a song by the Ukrainian group, Beton.

From the Guardian article of March 19, 2022 headlined:

Kyiv calling: famous Clash anthem reborn as call to arms
Ukrainian punk band Beton win blessing of the Clash to record new version of song to raise funds for support network
“The Clash have given their blessing to a new version of their song London Calling by a Ukrainian punk band called Beton. Kyiv Calling, recorded near the front line, has lyrics that call upon the rest of the world to support the defense of the country from Russian invaders.
All proceeds of what is now billed as a “war anthem” will go to the Free Ukraine Resistance Movement (FURM) to help fund a shared communications system that will alert the population to threats and lobby for international support. Its mission is to restore territorial integrity and strengthen Ukraine’s sovereignty.”

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/19/kyiv-calling-famous-clash-anthem-reborn-as-call-to-arms-beton

Articles referenced or pertinent to this interview:

The real – and far scarier – reason Republicans think Biden is illegitimate https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/mar/21/republicans-biden-trump-election-democracy

In an age of fascist counterrevolution, our biggest problem may be the death of ethics https://www.salon.com/2022/02/13/in-an-age-of-fascist-counterrevolution-our-biggest-problem-may-be-the-of-ethics/

Convoy Movement Isn’t a Struggle Over Freedom, It’s an Attempt to Kill Democracy https://truthout.org/articles/convoy-movement-isnt-a-struggle-over-freedom-its-an-attempt-to-kill-democracy/

Banning books and ideas meant to ban democracy itself https://www.thespec.com/opinion/contributors/2022/02/06/banning-books-and-ideas-meant-to-ban-democracy-itself.html

Texas Librarian Fired for not pulling books off the shelves in banned book purge https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/3/21/2087261/-Texas-librarian-fired-for-defying-Gov-Abbott-s-banned-book-purge?detail=emaildkre

GOP’s Banning of Books and Attack on Teachers Expose the Party’s Rising Fascism https://truthout.org/articles/gops-banning-of-books-and-attack-on-teachers-expose-the-partys-rising-fascism/

Progressives are resisting right wing book banning campaigns – and are winning https://www.theguardian.com/education/2022/mar/22/educators-resisting-rightwing-book-banning

Fighting back against the age of manufactured ignorance: Resistance is still possible https://www.salon.com/2021/07/03/fighting-back-against-the-age-of-manufactured-ignorance-resistance-is-still-possible

Right-Wing Authoritarianism and the Crisis of Education https://www.counterpunch.org/2021/12/10/right-wing-authoritarianism-and-the-crisis-of-education/

New wave of teachers’ strikes rolls across US https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/mar/25/teachers-strikes-us-low-pay-covid

Jim Crow Politics Have Descended on Education https://truthout.org/articles/politics-have-descended-on-education/?fbclid=IwAR3tNqsaCm7PbxscA00zHKFlUqYplWddplIHB8eqCa3aNjAve4emEY8UMiQ

How higher education can win the war against neoliberalism and white supremacy https://www.salon.com/2021/10/24/how-higher-education-can-win-the-against-neoliberalism-and-supremacy/?fbclid=IwAR2C-WmiDFx3Qa7pp7_eh9bBx0PxIxMpc8UzV1m8ZtRgpIIJ7R5zRCYk8hY

The Politics of Racial Cleansing and Erasing History https://www.tikkun.org/the-politics-of-racial-cleansing-and-erasing-history/

To End Racial Capitalism, We Will Need to Take On the Institution of Policing https://truthout.org/articles/to-end-racial-capitalism-we-will-need-to-take-on-the-institution-of-policing/

America’s Nazi Problem and the End of Policing https://www.counterpunch.org/2021/06/04/americas-nazi-problem-and-the-end-of-policing/

Tucker Carlson Is Just the Tip of the Iceberg in Right-Wing Media’s War on Truth https://truthout.org/articles/tucker-carlson-is-just-the-tip-of-the-iceberg-in-right-wing-medias-war-on-truth/

America Radiates Violence: Challenging the Politics of Isolated Incidents https://www.counterpunch.org/2021/03/26/america-radiates-violence-and-it-cannot-be-dealt-with-as-isolated-incidents/

Are white Christians under attack in America? No, but the myth is winning https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/mar/18/are-white-christians-under-attack-in-america-no-but-the-myth-is-winning

Putin’s war propaganda becomes ‘patriotic’ lessons in Russian schools https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Putin-s-war-propaganda-becomes-patriotic-17015134.php

Amid Apocalyptic Cynicism, Let’s Embrace Radical Hope in the New Year https://truthout.org/articles/amid-apocalyptic-cynicism-lets-embrace-radical-hope-in-the-new-year/

How Europe Got Hooked on Russian Gas Despite Reagan’s Warnings https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/23/climate/europe-russia-gas-reagan.html?action=click&module=Well&pgtype=Homepage&section=Climate%20and%20Environment

Thom Hartmann The Hidden History of BIG BROTHER IN AMERICA: HOW THE DEATH OF PRIVACY & THE RISE OF SURVEILLANCE THREATEN US & OUR DEMOCRACY

With the latest addition to his Hidden History Series, veteran author, journalist, Thom Hartmann, returns to discuss THE HIDDEN HISTORY OF BIG BROTHER IN AMERICA: HOW THE DEATH OF PRIVACY AND THE RISE OF SURVEILLANCE THREATEN US AND OUR DEMOCRACY. It was just published by Barrett-Koehler on international women’s day, March 8, 2022.

He explores how the government and corporate America misuse our personal data and shows how we can reclaim our privacy. Thom Hartmann documents exactly how the government and corporations are tracking our every online move and using our data to buy elections, employ social control, and monetize our lives. Thom Hartmann traces the history of surveillance and social control, looking back to how Big Brother invented whiteness to keep order, and how surveillance began to be employed as a way to modify behavior. As he writes, “The goal of those who violate privacy and use surveillance is almost always social control and behavior modification.”

Along with covering the history, he shows how we got to where we are today, how China — with its new Social Credit System — serves as a warning, and how we can and must avoid a similarly dystopian future. By delving into the constitutional right to privacy, Hartmann reminds us of our civil right and shows how we can restore it.

And particularly now, with the Russian invasion of Ukraine, cyberwarfare is a factor, whether control of information or disruption of infrastructure. We spoke with Thom Hartmann on March 9, 2020 via Skype.

We end this edition of Forthright Radio, mindful of the suffering of the Ukrainian people enduring the crimes against humanity at the hands of Russian military forces at the behest of Vladimir Putin. First, Russians unplugged live – with Sting introducing his live performance. This is followed by Ukrainian poet/composer, Valentin Silvestrov’s, Prayer for Ukraine performed by the Kyiv Chamber Choir in 2014 as part of the Maidan Cycle. And finally, a little girl, Amelia, singing “Let It Go” in Ukrainian while sheltering in a crowded basement under Russian Bombardment.

Prayer for Ukraine

Links to articles/videos/films pertinent to this edition of Forthright Radio:

With Roe Under Threat, Sale of Location Data on Abortion Clinic Patients Raises Alarm https://www.commondreams.org/news/2022/05/04/roe-under-threat-sale-location-data-abortion-clinic-patients-raises-alarm?utm_source=weekly_newsletter&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=weekly_newsletter&vgo_ee=Y82RBGepzJGygaHT4lvL4KyPUFd7JHyq9acdSgULWaM%3D

Valentin Silvestrov: Prayer for Ukraine https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YuzS_ZS2czY

Little girl singing “Let it go” in a shelter in Kyiv https://twitter.com/Ankita20200/status/1500496884255051776?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1500676050593980426%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es3_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffpost.com%2Fentry%2Fukrainian-girl-amelia-let-it-go_n_62261f06e4b04a0545da2350

Violinists Across the World Play for Ukraine https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQSIeD-x6dQ
Russians unplugged live – Sting 2022 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5qhS9Ic96A

HOW THE WOMEN WENT FROM DOVER https://allpoetry.com/How-The-Women-Went-From-Dover

Winter on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzNxLzFfR5w&t=6s

Mr. Jones https://www.hulu.com/movie/mr-jones-c622d638-82ec-447f-9b64-24f8111980cf

Evgeny Maslin, Russia General Who Secured Nuclear Arsenal, Dies at 84 https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/09/world/europe/evgeny-maslin-dead.html

‘We are not ready’: a cyber expert on US vulnerability to a Russian attack https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/mar/10/us-russia-cyber-attack-prepared

As the Fourth Great Turning Unwinds, Ukraine has become the George Floyd of the World https://hartmannreport.com/p/as-the-fourth-great-turning-unwinds?s=r

‘We Are the First in the World to Introduce This New Warfare’: Ukraine’s Digital Battle Against Russia https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2022/03/08/ukraine-digital-minister-crypto-cyber-social-media-00014880

Can the World Learn from the Failure of the Budapest Accords? https://hartmannreport.com/p/can-the-world-learn-from-the-failure?s=r

Investigation Shows Police Are Still Secretly Surveilling Minnesota Activists https://truthout.org/articles/investigation-shows-police-are-still-secretly-surveilling-minnesota-activists/?eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=e297aee3-d279-418c-8617-603fd0711d10

Exposed: The Trump, Putin & Saudi Connection to High Gas Prices https://hartmannreport.com/p/exposed-the-trump-putin-and-saudi?s=r

Social media turn on Putin, the past master https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/06/social-media-turn-on-putin-the-past-master

I’ve Dealt With Foreign Cyberattacks. America Isn’t Ready for What’s Coming https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/04/opinion/ive-dealt-with-foreign-cyberattacks-america-isnt-ready-for-whats-coming.html

How Can America Avoid the Bloodshed & Chaos of Civil War? https://hartmannreport.com/p/how-can-america-avoid-the-bloodshed?utm_source=url

This is how we defeat Putin and other petrostate autocrats https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/feb/25/this-is-how-we-defeat-putin-and-other-petrostate-autocrats

Ukraine Again Shows Why Decentralized Energy is Essential https://hartmannreport.com/p/ukraine-again-shows-why-decentralized?s=r

Russia’s War Crime in Targeting Nuclear Plant Makes Clear the Urgency for Renewable Energy https://www.commondreams.org/views/2022/03/04/russias-war-crime-targeting-nuclear-plant-makes-clear-urgency-renewable-energy?vgo_ee=Y82RBGepzJGygaHT4lvL4KyPUFd7JHyq9acdSgULWaM%3D

Santa Claus Is About To Drop a Bomb On Biden https://hartmannreport.com/p/santa-clause-is-about-to-drop-a-bomb?s=r

Past Forthright Radio Interviews with Thom Hartmann:

Thom Hartmann – The Hidden History of American Healthcare: Why Sickness Bankrupts You & Makes Others Insanely Rich https://forthright.media/2021/08/18/thom-hartmann-the-hidden-history-of-american-healthcare-why-sickness-bankrupts-you-makes-others-insanely-rich/

Thom Hartmann The Hidden History of American Oligarchy: Reclaiming Our Democracy from the Ruling Class https://forthright.media/2021/02/03/thom-hartmann-the-hidden-history-of-american-oligarchy-reclaiming-our-democracy-from-the-ruling-class/

Thom Hartmann MONOPOLIES: How Big Business Destroyed the American Dream https://forthright.media/2020/09/02/thom-hartmann-monopolies-how-big-business-destroyed-the-american-dream/

Thom Hartmann: The War on Voting & Jane Kleeb: Harvest the Vote https://forthright.media/2020/02/27/thom-hartmann-the-war-on-voting-jane-kleeb-harvest-the-vote/

Thom Hartmann The Hidden History of the Supreme Court + The Hidden History of Guns & the 2nd Amendment https://forthright.media/2019/10/02/thom-hartmann-the-hidden-history-of-the-supreme-court-the-hidden-history-of-guns-the-2nd-amendment/

Jonathan Katz GANGSTERS OF CAPITALISM: Smedley Butler, The Marines, and the Making and Breaking of the American Empire

This interview was first broadcast as the sovereign nation of Ukraine was being invaded by the Russian Army. Terrible as this was, it was also an appropriate time to examine our own history, which Jonathan Katz has done in his most recent book, GANGSTERS OF CAPITALISM: Smedley Butler, The Marines, and the Making and Breaking of the American Empire, published in January 2022 by St. Martin’s Press.

He is an award winning journalist, whose earlier book, The Big Truck That Went By, chronicles his time in Haiti, where he was the only full-time American correspondent in Haiti, when the devastating earthquake struck on January 12, 2010 and the ensuing disasters brought on by the multiple failures of international aid projects. More than 230,000 people were killed.

As he describes in our interview, Smedley Butler was there from the very beginning of the United States’ imperialism, first as a 16 year old lieutenant in the Spanish-American War, when we secured Guantanamo Bay, then on to Puerto Rico, The Philippines, China, Honduras, Panama, Nicaragua, Mexico, the Dominican Republic and Haiti.

After a long career in the Marines, in which he pioneered counter-insurgency methods and the militarization of police forces to enforce the prerogatives of capitalist oligarchs, who he eventually came to understand were calling the shots, he retired with the rank of General, the most decorated Marine in history, as well as the first of only 19 Marines to have been awarded the Medal of Honor twice.

He became the Head of Public Safety for the City of Philadelphia, where he militarized that city’s police force. He eventually synthesized his experiences and understanding from his years subduing nationalist forces in those many countries – as well as battling gangsters in Prohibition era Philadelphia – to write his book, War Is a Racket, published in 1935.

He wrote, ”War is a racket. It always has been. It is possibly the oldest, easily the most profitable, surely the most vicious. It is the only one international in scope. It is the only one in which the profits are reckoned in dollars and the losses in lives. A racket is best described, I believe, as something that is not what it seems to the majority of the people. Only a small ‘inside’ group knows what it is about. It is conducted for the benefit of the very few, at the expense of the very many. Out of war a few people make huge fortunes.”

He spent his final years promoting democracy here in the United States and fighting fascism here and abroad, as well as trying to prevent what became World War II. Smedley Butler died of cancer at the age of 59 on June 21, 1940.

This edition of Forthright Radio ends with a tribute to Dr. Paul Farmer, who died on on February 21, 2022 at the age of 62. It is followed by Paul Farmer’s own voice speaking of his work.

Links to articles pertinent to this interview:

The US drew up a plan to invade Canada in 1930. Now Trump is reviving old fears https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jan/27/trump-canada-us-war-plan

Gorsuch Calls for Overruling ‘Shameful’ Cases on U.S. Territories https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/02/us/politics/gorsuch-supreme-court-insular-cases.html?searchResultPosition=1

Civil Rights Groups To Biden DOJ: Stop Using 100-Year-Old Racist Precedents In Court https://www.huffpost.com/entry/biden-doj-insular-cases-racism_n_620bc80ae4b032302470eae8

As Honduras’s New President Seeks End to Narco-State, Will US Stand in Her Way? https://truthout.org/articles/as-hondurass-new-president-seeks-end-to-narco-state-will-us-stand-in-her-way/?eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=75f265c3-570c-48ec-a36c-8c3be3ffa4c4

Former Honduras President Detained After a U.S. Extradition Request https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/15/world/americas/honduras-president-juan-orlando-hernandez-detained.html?searchResultPosition=3

Dominican Republic begins building border wall with Haiti https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/2/21/dominican-republic-begins-building-border-wall-with-haiti

Paul Farmer, Pioneer of Global Health, Dies at 62 https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/21/obituaries/paul-farmer-dead.html?action=click&module=Well&pgtype=Homepage&section=Obituaries

A Moment in the Sun a novel by John Sayles

John Leshy OUR COMMON GROUND: A History of America’s Public Lands

John D. Leshy is Professor Emeritus at the University of California, Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco. He was Solicitor (General Counsel) of the Interior Department throughout the Clinton Administration. Earlier, he was counsel to the Chair of the Natural Resources Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives, Associate Solicitor of Interior for Energy and Resources in the Carter Administration, an attorney-advocate with the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and a litigator in the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division. He led the Interior Department transition team for Clinton-Gore in 1992 and co-led it for Obama-Biden in 2008.

The U.S. government owns and manages more than six hundred million acres, which is about 30% of the nation’s land. These lands and the agencies that manage them—the National Forest Service, the National Park Service, the U. S. Fish & Wildlife Service, and the Bureau of Land Management—are a presence in our western communities.

John Leshy’s forthcoming book, OUR COMMON GROUND: A HISTORY OF AMERICA’S PUBLIC LANDS, soon to be published by Yale University Press. In 600+ pages, it chronicles this history of our public lands and suggests how Congress, the executive and the federal courts have responded to the numerous challenges facing these lands.

Articles pertinent to this interview:

From Yosemite to Bears Ears, Erasing Native Americans From U.S. National Parks https://www.collectorsweekly.com/articles/erasing-native-americans-from-national-parks/

Utah Wants to Disable the Law That Led to the Creation of Four of Its Magnificent National Parks https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/05/opinion/national-parks-bears-ears-monuments.html

Private Landowners Bar Access to 500,000 Acres of CA Public Lands https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/calif-public-land-access-barred-17764934.php

Judge halts oil and gas leases in Gulf of Mexico; the largest offshore auction in U.S. history https://www.salon.com/2022/02/05/halts-oil-and-gas-leases-in-gulf-of-mexico-the-largest-offshore-auction-in-us-history_partner/

Guest column: The U.S. Forest Service’s access contradictions https://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/opinions/guest_columnists/guest-column-the-u-s-forest-services-access-contradictions/article_3564cf1a-adda-5beb-9593-1c1a51026bc7.html

Guest column: Making progress on access in the Crazy Mountains https://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/opinions/guest_columnists/guest-column-making-progress-on-access-in-the-crazy-mountains/article_5c773a1e-9456-53e9-9d7e-8f5206f0f3ac.html

Plan to Reduce Feral Cattle in New Mexico Draws Objections https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/08/us/feral-cattle-gila-national-forest.html

Activist Renew Push for Moratorium in Jackson State Forest – Six Arrested https://www.counterpunch.org/2022/01/11/activists-renew-push-for-moratorium-in-jackson-state-forest-six-arrested/

Native Americans are at the heart of Yellowstone. After 150 years, they are finally being heard https://www.theguardian.com/environment/commentisfree/2022/feb/28/native-americans-are-at-the-heart-of-yellowstone-after-150-years-they-are-finally-being-heard-aoe

Kehinde Andrews THE NEW AGE OF EMPIRE: How Racism & Colonialism Still Rule the World

Kehinde Andrews is Professor of Black Studies in the School of Social Sciences at Birmingham City University. He is the director of the Center for Critical Social Research, founder of the Harambee Organisation of Black Unity,
and co-chair of the UK Black Studies Association. In fact, he was the first black studies professor in the UK and led the establishment of the first black studies program in Europe at Birmingham City University.

Among his books are Resisting Racism: Race, Inequality, and the Black Supplementary School Movement and Back to Black: Retelling Black Radicalism for the 21st Century.

His most recent book is THE NEW AGE OF EMPIRE: HOW RACISM & COLONIALISM STILL RULE THE WORLD, published in the US by Bold Type Books.

“Where knowledge is duty, ignorance is a crime.” Thomas Paine
http://Public Good: Being an Examination Into the Claim of Virginia to the Vacant Western Territory and of the Right of the United States to the Same to Which Are Added, Proposals for Laying Off a New State, to Be Applied Asa Fund for Carrying on the War

Articles referred to or pertinent to this interview:

‘These connections are overlooked’: how British companies profited from slavery in Brazil long after abolition https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/mar/17/connections-overlooked-how-british-companies-profited-slavery-brazil-after-abolition

The Psychosis of Whiteness https://drive.google.com/file/d/16FAFidJPpee2RqEH4hcYAoWfZ0kTDR1o/view

I Don’t Mourn the Queen https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2022/09/13/for-black-britons-the-late-queen-is-the-number-one-symbol-of-white-supremacy-00056262

His Name is George Floyd by Robert Samuels & Toluse Olorunnipa review – the murder that shamed the US https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/may/22/his-name-is-george-floyd-by-robert-samuels-and-toluse-olorunnipa-review-the-that-shamed-the-us

THE RANSOM – The Root of Haiti’s Misery: Reparations to Enslavers https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/20/world/americas/haiti-history-colonized-france.html

D.C.’s Enslavers Got Reparations. Freed People Got Nothing. https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2022/06/17/washington-emancipation-day-00038824

Jamaican Leaders Shun Prince William, Kate Middleton Visit, Demand Slavery Reparations https://www.huffpost.com/entry/royal-visit-jamaica_n_62396bc3e4b0c727d48265ab

As a historian of slavery, I know just how much the royal family has to answer for in Jamaica https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/mar/25/slavery-royal-family-jamaica-ducke-duchess-cambridge-caribbean-slave-trade

My family benefited from slavery. Why can’t we accept white people still owe a huge debt? https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/jan/11/slavery-enriched-family-accept-white-people-owe-huge-debt

A Bill Proposed to Teach History. It Got the History Wrong. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/14/us/virginia-lincoln-douglas-debates-bill.html

Rich Countries Lure Health Workers From Low-Income Nations to Fight Shortages https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/24/health/covid-health-worker-immigration.html

We can afford to reverse poverty and climate breakdown. What we can’t afford is the alternative https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2022/jan/24/we-can-afford-to-reverse-poverty-and-climate-breakdown-what-we-cant-afford-is-the-alternative

When will Britain face up to its crimes against humanity? https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/mar/29/slavery-abolition-compensation-when-will-britain-face-up-to-its-crimes-against-humanity

Built on the bodies of slaves: how Africa was erased from the history of the modern world https://www.theguardian.com/news/2021/oct/12/africa-slaves-erased-from-history-modern-world

Reparations to the Caribbean could break the cycle of corruption – and China’s grip https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2022/jan/25/reparations-caribbean-cycle-of-corruption-china

There was a time reparations were actually paid out – just not to formerly enslaved people https://caricomreparations.org/there-was-a-time-reparations-were-actually-paid-out-just-not-to-formerly-enslaved-people/

Why climate change is inherently racist https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20220125-why-climate-change-is-inherently-racist

80 Years Ago the Nazis Planned the ‘Final Solution.’ It Took 90 Minutes. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/20/world/europe/lake-wannsee-conference-final-solution-holocaust.html

Lessons to remember this Holocaust Memorial Day https://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/opinions/guest_columnists/guest-column-lessons-to-remember-this-holocaust-memorial-day/article_cfc570ed-e546-5465-b990-8dc730b1b039.html

Our people will be mourning on 26 January, but it can still become a day of healing https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/jan/25/our-people-will-be-mourning-on-26-january-but-it-can-still-become-a-day-of-healing

The west was built on racism. It’s time we faced that – video https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/video/2017/jan/18/the-west-was-built-on-racism-its-time-we-faced-that-video

Native American tribes reclaim California redwood land for preservation https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/jan/25/native-american-tribes-california-redwood-preservation

White women and fascism: Seyward Darby on how right-wing women embrace their “symbolic power” https://www.salon.com/2022/01/28/women-and-fascism-seyward-darby-on-how-right-wing-women-embrace-their-symbolic-power/

Fascism’s “Legal Phase” Has Begun. Threats of White Vigilante Violence Are Real. https://truthout.org/articles/fascisms-legal-phase-has-begun-threats-of-white-vigilante-violence-are-real/?eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=fb0f0c17-eea0-4e37-91c0-a78a05a727f5

David Lammy requests pardon for 1823 slave rebellion convicts https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/feb/13/david-lammy-requests-pardon-for-1823-slave-rebellion-convicts

Ecotones – Butch Larcombe – MONTANA DISASTERS: True Stories of Treasure State Tragedies and Triumphs

When we read Bozeman Daily Chronicle’s Managing Editor, Michael Wright’s article headlined, “New book examines major disasters of Montana’s past,” on the very first day of 2022, we just had to find out more.

The piece was about Butch Larcombe and his book, MONTANA DISASTERS: TRUE STORIES OF TREASURE STATE TRAGEDIES AND TRIUMPHS, published in December 2021 by Farcountry Press in Helena.

Butch Larcombe is a fourth-generation Montanan who grew up in Malta. He worked for more than thirty years as a reporter and editor for Montana newspapers and at Montana Magazine.

We spoke with him from his home near Bigfork on January 12, 2022.

The Methodist church in Three Forks sustained heavy damage from the 1925 Clarkston Valley earthquake. U.S. Geological Survey

Articles pertinent to this interview:

New book examines major disasters of Montana’s past https://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/news/dailyfeatures/new-book-examines-major-disasters-of-montanas-past/article_abee918f-01b6-5839-80ff-f2c074716883.html

Groups request independent investigation into Hebgen Dam malfunction https://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/news/environment/groups-request-independent-investigation-into-hebgen-dam-malfunction/article_44784f51-0113-5f11-b766-c6e07bdc95fe.html

‘Worst in history’ https://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/news/worst-in-history/article_3574a1c0-ab7e-588b-a183-34e972994c60.html

Authorities identify victim from explosion https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=NewsBank&t=pubname%3ABZMB%21Bozeman%2BDaily%2BChronicle%2B%2528MT%2529/year%3A2009%212009/mody%3A0309%21March%2B09&action=browse&year=2009&format=text&docref=news/126D81DE4E5DFE68

30 homes destroyed in Bridger Foothills fire https://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/news/30-homes-destroyed-in-bridger-foothills-fire/article_538b6f6e-3508-51e7-a8f9-7e39c2a1f860.html

The Hebgen Lake Earthquake http://kgvm.org/show/the-hebgen-lake-earthquake/

Karen Greenberg – SUBTLE TOOLS: The Dismantling of American Democracy from the War on Terror to Donald Trump

Karen Greenberg is the Director of The Center on National Security at Fordham University. Her 2016 book, ROGUE JUSTICE :The Making of the Security State, explores the War on Terror’s impact on justice and law in America.

Her latest book, SUBTLE TOOLS: The Dismantling of American Democracy from the War on Terror to Donald Trump, is published by Princeton University Press.

We spoke with Karen Greenberg on January 7, 2022, one year and a day after a momentarily united, bipartisan Congress fled in fear for their lives from a mob, who had violently invaded the capitol, preventing the fulfillment of their obligation under the Electoral Count Act of 1887 to meet on January 6 and count the electoral votes of the 2020 presidential election. They were unable to do so until January 7, 2021, one year to the day that Karen Greenberg and I spoke.

Articles pertinent to this interview:

The U.S. drops an average of 46 bombs a day: Why should the world see us as a force for peace? https://www.salon.com/2022/01/11/the-us-drops-an-average-of-46-bombs-a-day-why-should-the-world-see-us-as-a-force-for-peace/

The 20-Year War on Terror Was an Amazing Success—If You Were Terrorism https://www.commondreams.org/views/2022/01/04/20-year-war-terror-was-amazing-success-if-you-were-terrorism?vgo_ee=Y82RBGepzJGygaHT4lvL4KyPUFd7JHyq9acdSgULWaM%3D

Crisis of Command: The Pentagon, The President, and January 6 https://www.justsecurity.org/79623/crisis-of-command-the-pentagon-the-president-and-january-6/

Timeline for Anniversary of January 5: DOJ Election Fraud Investigations and GA Senate Runoff https://www.justsecurity.org/79743/timeline-for-anniversary-of-january-5-doj-election-fraud-investigations-and-ga-senate-runoff/

The American polity is cracked, and might collapse. Canada must prepare https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-the-american-polity-is-cracked-and-might-collapse-canada-must-prepare/

Links to audio additions to the broadcast version of this interview:

Tapping My Own Phone (Ron Whitehead) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Orrsv7kkxYo

Uncivil War (Shemekia Copeland) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtYnzXdhkm0

The Dance – Ron Whitehead & The Storm Generation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZLaNzQH6Dg