Category Archives: Culture

David Daley & Paul Pierson: Post-midterms 2022

This Forthright Radio is devoted to digesting the results of the 2022 mid-term elections. Days after the election, there are still many crucial races that are too close to call, and it is too early to know which parties will control either chamber of congress. However the predicted Red Wave – or what some were projecting as a Red Tsunami – has not occurred. So, we were delighted to welcome back two distinguished guests, David Daley and Paul Pierson.

Dave Daley was our guest in June of 2020, when his book, UNRIGGED: HOW AMERICANS ARE BATTLING BACK TO SAVE DEMOCRACY, came out. His earlier book, RATF**KED: THE TRUE STORY BEHIND THE SECRET PLAN TO STEAL AMERICA’S DEMOCRACY, did much to educate us about the nationally organized, anti-democracy efforts to seize political control from the majority of voters via gerrymandering, and what citizens across the country are doing to wrestle majoritarian democracy back. His articles appear in many outlets, including The Guardian, The New Yorker, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, Rolling Stone, among others.

Paul Pierson was our guest in July of 2020, when his book, co-written with Jacob Hacker, director of the Institution for Social and Policy Studies and a Political Science Professor at Yale University, LET THEM EAT TWEETS: HOW THE RIGHT RULES IN AN AGE OF EXTREME INEQUALITY, came out. Paul is is the John Gross Professor of Political Science at U. C. Berkeley. They have many earlier books, including, WINNER-TAKE-ALL-POLITICS: How Washington Made the Rich Richer and Turned Its Back on the Middle Class; and Off Center: The Republican Revolution and The Erosion of American Democracy.

Articles pertinent to this interview:

Will this Ohio judge’s retirement spell the end of fair elections in the state? https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jan/26/ohio-judge-maureen-oconnor-republicans-gerrymandering-elections

Midterms bring major constitutional wins for abortion rights https://www.axios.com/2022/11/09/abortion-election-results-midterm-constitution-amendment

‘I never doubted it’: why film-maker Michael Moore forecast ‘blue tsunami’ in midterms https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/nov/14/us-midterms-film-maker-michael-moore-blue-tsunami

Mike’s Midterm Tsunami Truth #41 https://www.michaelmoore.com/p/midterm-tsunami-truth-41?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=320974&post_id=83466690&isFreemail=true&utm_medium=email

Critical Maine Congressional Race Heads To Runoff https://www.huffpost.com/entry/maine-race-runoff-golden-poliquin_n_636bea42e4b04925c8939612

Marijuana Is About to Be Legal for Half of the U.S. https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/marijuana-legalization-midterm-results-1234628966/

‘Canary in the Coal Mine’: Did Elissa Slotkin’s Win Reveal Trumpism’s Self-Defeating Toxicity? https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2022/11/11/elissa-slotkin-michigan-election-00066278

Let’s talk about Republicans losing more than the youth https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QOwb_7cTf0

Young voters hailed as key to Democratic successes in midterms https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/nov/11/young-voters-us-midterms-democratic-youth

Hispanics could make more historic gains in U.S. House https://www.axios.com/2022/11/10/midterm-elections-latino-democrat-republican

New York Democrats spoil House party https://www.axios.com/2022/11/10/new-york-democrats-house-majority

Putin ally Yevgeny Prigozhin admits interfering in US elections https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/nov/07/putin-ally-yevgeny-prigozhin-admits-interfering-in-us-elections

See Which 2020 Election Deniers and Skeptics Won in the Midterm Elections https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/11/09/us/politics/election-misinformation-midterms-results.html

Trump Is the Republican Party’s Biggest Loser https://www.wsj.com/articles/donald-trump-is-the-gops-biggest-loser-midterm-elections-senate-house-congress-republicans-11668034869?mod=hp_opin_pos_4#cxrecs_s

The Fever Is Breaking https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/10/opinion/the-fever-is-breaking.html

Young Voters Helped Democrats. But Experts Differ on Just How Much https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/12/us/young-voter-turnout-election-democrats.html

The Biggest Election Wins And Losses For America’s Public Lands https://www.huffpost.com/entry/public-lands-wins-losses-2022-elections_n_636eb9aee4b002e88211aa66

The Supreme Court’s Hands Are All Over The 2022 Midterm Election Results https://www.huffpost.com/entry/2022-midterm-supreme-court_n_636ea0f2e4b002e882118a88

A Running List Of All The Election Deniers Heading To Congress In 2023 https://www.huffpost.com/entry/election-deniers-congress-big-lie_n_63694188e4b0eb51ab12d3cd

Adam Hochschild AMERICAN MIDNIGHT: The Great War, A Violent Peace, and Democracy’s Forgotten Crisis

Award winning author and journalist, Adam Hochschild, is the author of eleven books. He returned to Forthright Radio to discuss his latest book, AMERICAN MIDNIGHT: THE GREAT WAR, A VIOLENT PEACE, AND DEMOCRACY’S FORGOTTEN CRISIS, published by Mariner Books.

While a college student in the early 1960s, Adam Hochschild worked on an anti-government newspaper in South Africa, and he was also a civil rights worker in Mississippi. He was a writer and editor for Ramparts magazine, and a co-founder of Mother Jones. He has been a lecturer in the UC Berkeley School of Journalism for many years. In 2014, he was elected a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

In our earlier interviews, he discussed his books, BURY THE CHAINS: PROPHETS AND REBELS IN THE FIGHT TO FREE AN EMPIRE’S SLAVES, and KING LEOPOLD’S GHOST: A STORY OF GREED, TERROR AND HEROISM IN COLONIAL AFRICA.

Military Intelligence Chief for NYC and virulent anti-immigrant proponent, John B. Trevor’s, *“ethnic battle map”* of upper Manhattan. Red for Jews, brown for Italians, grey for Blacks, blue for Irish. Circles are meeting halls. Stars are publication offices.

We spoke with him via telephone from his home in the Bay Area on October 25, 2022.

Articles pertinent to this interview:

A Forgotten Assault on the Constitution https://ucbjschool.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/A-Forgotten-Assault-on-the-Constitution.pdf

What You Don’t Have and Why https://tomdispatch.com/what-you-dont-have-and-why/

When Is a Lynching a Lynching? https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/oct/25/lynching-michael-williams-iowa-police-prosecutors

Supreme Court Declines To Take Case Aimed At Overturning 100-Year-Old Racist Precedents https://www.huffpost.com/entry/supreme-court-insular-cases-racist_n_634d7c5fe4b051268c4c6a17

To change our future, we should change how we teach history to children https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/oct/18/change-future-teach-history-children

Fiona Hill: ‘Elon Musk Is Transmitting a Message for Putin’ https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2022/10/17/fiona-hill-putin-war-00061894

Jailed for their words https://www.montanapbs.org/programs/JailedforTheirWords/

The Palmer Raids | The Bombing of Wall Street https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvFZmBJNZUc

Emma Goldman https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTCMcO4WTjE

Utah Phillips covers Joe Hill’s “Pie in the Sky” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJ236CwhlPw

Rhodri Jeffreys-Jones A Question of Standing: The History of the CIA

On September 18, 1947, the National Security Act, a major restructuring of the US Military and intelligence agencies went into effect. It created The National Security Council and The Central Intelligence Agency, headed by the Director of Central Intelligence. Our guest today on Forthright Radio is Professor of American History, emeritus, at the University of Edinburgh, Rhodri Jeffreys-Jones. His latest book, A QUESTION OF STANDING: THE HISTORY OF THE CIA, published by Oxford University Press, examines how the influence of the CIA has shifted with its standing with different presidents, Congresses, and the US as well as international public over time.

His reputation as an intelligence authority has been long established
with earlier books such as, THE CIA AND AMERICAN DEMOCRACY; CLOAK AND DOLLAR: A HISTORY OF AMERICAN SECRET INTELLIGENCE; IN SPIES WE TRUST: THE STORY OF WESTERN INTELLIGENCE; and THE FBI: A HISTORY. We spoke with Professor Jeffreys-Jones on October 11, 2022 via Skype from his home in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Articles pertinent to this interview:

The inside story of the CIA v Russia – from cold war conspiracy to ‘black’ propaganda in Ukraine https://theconversation.com/the-inside-story-of-the-cia-v-russia-from-cold-war-conspiracy-to-black-propaganda-in-ukraine-188550

Has the C.I.A. Done More Harm Than Good? https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/10/10/has-the-cia-done-more-harm-than-good?utm_source=nl&utm_brand=tny&utm_mailing=TNY_Magazine_Daily_100322&utm_campaign=aud-dev&utm_medium=email&bxid=5be9dcd924c17c6adf43abf9&cndid=24611174&hasha=a6252e8e1a4afcf8f16af402c223ed5a&hashb=41a28f2320837a2fbc8a7a5a890aad11f1bcae9f&hashc=c69dd0ac8ee9b9f68834963c34476bde472773e79c68ee6c6f59d276224b5c0d&esrc=&utm_term=TNY_Daily

Covert CIA websites could have been found by an ‘amateur’, research finds https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/sep/29/cia-websites-security-sources-communication-safety

China ‘dismantled’ CIA spying operations and killed sources – report https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/may/20/china-dismantled-cia-spying-operations-new-york-times

64 Years Later, CIA Details Long-Hidden Role in Iran Coup https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wihoBNG94QQ

Thom Hartmann Neoliberalism: How Reaganism Gutted America and How to Restore Its Greatness

Broadcaster, journalist, author, and four time winner of the Project Censored Award, Thom Hartmann returned to Forthright Radio with his latest book in The Hidden History Series: THE HIDDEN HISTORY OF NEOLIBERALSIM: HOW REAGANISM GUTTED AMERICA AND HOW TO RESTORE ITS GREATNESS.

This is number eight in the series, and it joins his more than thirty other books.

After the interview with Thom Hartmann, we share excerpts from a speech by Bernie Sanders at a rally of the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers in the UK on August 31, 2022.

Articles/videos pertinent to this interview:

“Tell The Oligarchs They CANNOT Have It All!” – Bernie Sanders At RMT Rally https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjnPpxMx5Wk&t=1s

Will America See a 2nd Major Renewal of the Middle Class? https://hartmannreport.com/p/will-america-see-a-2nd-major-renewal

A Personal Apology to Young Americans for Failing to Stop Ronald Reagan https://www.commondreams.org/views/2022/07/13/personal-apology-young-americans-failing-stop-ronald-reagan?utm_source=daily_newsletter&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=daily_newsletter_op

When Will Americans Again Believe in America? https://hartmannreport.com/p/when-will-americans-again-believe

It’s Time to Enforce the Constitution & Ban Seditious Republicans from Congress https://hartmannreport.com/p/its-time-to-enforce-the-constitution

Student Loan Debt Is an American Malignancy Born of Ronald Reagan https://www.commondreams.org/views/2022/08/26/student-loan-debt-american-malignancy-born-ronald-reagan?utm_source=daily_newsletter&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=daily_newsletter_op

What Is It that Republicans Actually Do Love? https://hartmannreport.com/p/what-is-it-that-republicans-actually?triedSigningIn=true

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

Gaia Vince NOMAD CENTURY: How Climate Migration Will Reshape Our World

Returning to Forthright Radio, award winning science journalist, broadcaster and author, Gaia Vince, has a new book out from Flatiron Press, NOMAD CENTURY: HOW CLIMATE MIGRATION WILL RESHAPE OUR WORLD.

We last spoke with her in 2020 when her book, TRANSCENDENCE: HOW HUMANS EVOLVED THROUGH FIRE, LANGUAGE, BEAUTY AND TIME, came out. That interview can be heard here: https://forthright.media/2020/04/01/gaia-vince-transcendence-how-humans-evolved-through-fire-language-beauty-time/

Her first book, Adventures in the Anthropocene: A Journey to the Heart of the Planet We Made, won the 2015 Royal Society Winton Prize for Science Books, making her the first woman to win that prize outright.

We spoke with her via Skype on August 22, 2022.

The original broadcast included audio excerpts from the 100th birthday programs honoring James Lovelock, whose Gaia Theory revolutionized the way we approach global crises. Links to the full programs can be found below.

Articles/videos pertinent or referred to in the program can be found here:

Does climate breakdown mean we’re doomed? No: if we’re brave, big change can happen fast https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/apr/11/climate-breakdown-climate-crisis-solutions-idea

Lovelock Centenary Panel 1: What can we learn from Gaia (towards Gaia 2.0) (Gaia Vince’s portion begins at 5:40) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUPJcXDVOgY

How to save humankind (according to James Lovelock) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuGj5n_vYz4

Song for Gaia Official – Plant for the Planet https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLR–gK9-cQ

The century of climate migration: why we need to plan for the great upheaval https://www.theguardian.com/news/2022/aug/18/century-climate-crisis-migration-why-we-need-plan-great-upheaval

Cloud Wars: Mideast Rivalries Rise Along a New Front https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/28/world/middleeast/cloud-seeding-mideast-water-emirates.html

Are 15-minute cities the future? https://www.bbc.co.uk/ideas/videos/are-15-minute-cities-the-future/p0cqty38

The floods tell us the river is sick. We should listen to Indigenous knowledge to help Country heal https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/aug/18/the-floods-tell-us-the-river-is-sick-we-should-listen-to-indigenous-knowledge-to-help-country-heal

Taking Action on Climate Change Requires Coming Together https://www.yesmagazine.org/opinion/2022/08/11/climate-change-coming-together

‘Extreme Heat Belt’ Forming in U.S. South, Midwest, Report Says https://www.huffpost.com/entry/extreme-heat-belt-south-midwest_n_62fc9837e4b077bb77a6d886

China deploys cloud-seeding planes and cuts electricity use as record heatwave takes toll https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/aug/18/china-deploys-cloud-seeding-planes-and-cuts-electricity-use-as-record-heatwave-takes-toll

Make it rain: US states embrace ‘cloud seeding’ to try to conquer drought https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/mar/23/us-stated-cloud-seeding-weather-modification

Cloud spraying and hurricane slaying: how ocean geoengineering became the frontier of the climate crisis https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jun/23/cloud-spraying-and-hurricane-slaying-could-geoengineering-fix-the-climate-crisis

Tree loss due to fire is worst in far northern latitudes, data shows https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/aug/17/tree-loss-due-to-fire-is-worst-in-far-northern-latitudes-data-shows

Weeks of heat above 100F will be the norm in much of US by 2053, study finds https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/aug/15/extreme-heat-risk-temperatures-2053-study

Every Dollar Spent on This Technology Is a Waste https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/16/opinion/climate-inflation-reduction-act.html

Climate activists fill golf holes with cement after water ban exemption https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-62532840

A majority of Americans see an ‘invasion’ at the southern border, NPR poll finds https://www.npr.org/2022/08/18/1117953720/a-majority-of-americans-see-an-invasion-at-the-southern-border-npr-poll-finds

US government diet guidelines ignores climate crisis https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/aug/26/usda-diet-guide-myplate-climate-crisis

Stan Rushworth WE ARE THE MIDDLE OF FOREVER: Indigenous Voices from Turtle Island on the Changing Earth

In 2019, we interviewed Dahr Jamail when his book, THE END OF ICE: BEARING WITNESS AND FINDING MEANING IN THE PATH OF CLIMATE DISRUPTION, was published by The New Press. In addition to interviewing scientists from around the world, he consulted with Indigenous people as well, investigating some of the cultural and spiritual dimensions of the climate crisis.

After THE END OF ICE came out, he joined with writer and teacher, Stan Rushworth, in interviewing 11 Native women and 9 men from different generations and walks of life to solicit their perspectives. This collaboration has resulted in the book, WE ARE THE MIDDLE OF FOREVER: INDIGENOUS VOICES FROM TURTLE ISLAND ON THE CHANGING EARTH, also published by The New Press.

Stan Rushworth was a full time, tenured professor at Cabrillo College from 1992 til 2008, where he taught Native American Literature and Critical Thinking. He continued teaching and developing Native classes there until 2022. He is the author of three earlier books, GOING TO WATER: THE JOURNAL OF BEGINNING RAIN; SAM WOODS: AMERICAN HEALING; and DIASPORA’S CHILDREN.

Stan and Dahr told their interviewees: “Our focus is the disruption of Earth; how did we get here? how do we move on in the right way? What’s in the way of that? And no matter the outcome, how do we carry ourselves?”

We spoke with Stan Rushworth on August 3, 2022 via Skype.

Links to articles and videos pertinent to this interview:

“WE ARE THE MIDDLE OF FOREVER” is from a poem by John Trudell, The Cleansing (from his first album, Tribal Voice).

The Cleansing (Red Earth Song) – John Trudell https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rYxUjedmNM

We Are Shapes of the Earth (John Trudell) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PK6tP23oCes&list=PLOnzFQVEgXSRNdJSYF4KWAJm_nnzsX-dW&index=3

From the Heart of the World: The Elder Brothers’ Warning – Kogi Message to Humanity https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRgTtrQOiR0

HOPI PROPHECY – Thomas Banyacya – Two Paths: Destruction or Survival https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UkHwjz4i1k&t=0s

Fawn Sharp: Quinault Indian Nation – President of The National Congress Of American Indians (NCAI) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUBaGfzjcg8

Climate Disruption Presentation – Gregg Castro & Dahr Jamail https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9oAkR3-H_YI

Ilarion Merculieff – The Womb at the Center of the Universe https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rycqVPANBKQ

Lyla June Johnston on Forgiveness https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnBWEBt7nk0

SHANNON RIVERS ON RELIGIOUS FREEDOM THROUGH AN INDIGENOUS LENS https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imLGYFWL4zQ

Melissa Nelson – Revitalizing Indigeneity https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gwsg_tRiBjo

Indigenous Insights & Decolonization with Kanyon Sayers Roods https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAKCZ5mdJBk

Corrina Gould You Are Not In California https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ip6OgBsl7mc

Natalie Diaz: Post Colonial Love Poem https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pm6poGV9H_Q

Natalie Diaz: Manhattan is a Lenape Word https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEGxc9ZeCPk

A Just Transition to an Equitable Future – Melina Laboucan-Massimo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3WF_AgnnCM

Power to the People – Melina Laboucan-Massimo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QriDgfmyqqA

Native Land in Native Hands: Why the Land Back Movement Makes Economic Sense https://greenamerica.org/divided-we-fall/native-land-native-hands-why-land-back-movement-makes-economic-sense

‘A stepping stone’: Indigenous-led initiative at MSU helps bolster native food sovereignty https://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/news/agriculture/a-stepping-stone-indigenous-led-initiative-at-msu-helps-bolster-native-food-sovereignty/article_291fdf99-feb8-549c-a30c-0ab9a5d96e2f.html

Tim Giago, Native American Newspaperman, Is Dead at 88 https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/28/us/tim-giago-dead.html?action=click&module=Well&pgtype=Homepage&section=Obituaries

James Lovelock, Whose Gaia Theory Saw the Earth as Alive, Dies at 103 https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/27/climate/james-lovelock-dead.html?action=click&module=Well&pgtype=Homepage&section=Obituaries

James Lovelock talks about his Gaia hypothesis and climate change in 2014 interview – video https://www.theguardian.com/environment/video/2022/jul/27/james-lovelock-talks-about-his-gaia-hypothesis-and-climate-change-in-2014-interview-video

State of Alaska Recognizes 229 Tribes in Historic Bill https://indiancountrytoday.com/news/state-of-alaska-recognizes-tribes-with-historic-bill

‘We’re dwindling like the salmon’: the Indigenous nations fighting for water rights https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/aug/26/california-indigenous-water-rights-bay-delta

Jacob Grumbach LABORATORIES AGAINST DEMOCRACY: How National Parties Transformed State Politics

Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Washington, Jacob M. Grumbach, is a Faculty Associate with the Harry Bridges Center for Labor Studies. His research focuses on the political economy of the United States, with an emphasis on public policy, racial and economic inequality, American Federalism, health policy, climate change and statistical methods.

His book, LABORATORIES AGAINST DEMOCRACY: HOW NATIONAL PARTIES TRANSFORMED STATE POLITICS, which investigates the causes and consequences of the nationalization of state politics since the 1970s, is published by Princeton U. Press.

You can access Professor Grumbach’s State Democracy Index here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/qe9pkneyt93i6cs/grumbach_state_democracy_index.csv?dl=0

Thanks to Mother Jones for Ari Berman & Nick Surgey’s article: Leaked Video: Dark Money Group Brags About Writing GOP Voter Suppression Bills Across the Country – “We did it quickly and we did it quietly,” said the executive director of Heritage Action. https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2021/05/heritage-foundation-dark-money-voter-suppression-laws/

Articles pertinent to this interview:

Inside the Secret Working Group That Pushed Anti-Trans Laws Across the Country https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2023/03/anti-trans-transgender-health-care-ban-legislation-bill-minors-children-lgbtq/

Just 27 billionaires spent $90 million to buy GOP Congress: report https://www.commondreams.org/news/2022/07/18/just-27-billionaires-have-spent-90-million-buy-gop-congress-report

The Supreme Court Just Rolled Democracy Back. You Can Measure How Much. https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2022/06/30/court-made-america-less-democratic-00043549

How Ohio Republicans dodged court rulings to keep gerrymandered maps https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/jul/21/ohio-republicans-gerrymandered-maps

Federal judge blocks Biden’s directives to protect LGBTQ people from discrimination – The temporary block coincides with a lawsuit claiming that the directives infringe upon states’ rights https://www.salon.com/2022/07/17/blocks-bidens-directives-to-protect-lgbtq-people-from-discrimination/

The Supreme Court’s Role in the Degradation of U.S. Democracy https://campaignlegal.org/sites/default/files/2022-07/CLC%202022%20SCOTUS%20Report_final.pdf

Could the US supreme court give state legislatures unchecked election powers? https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/jul/07/us-supreme-court-state-legislature-power

Our Fourth of July nightmare: A republic in the tightening grip of minority rule https://www.salon.com/2022/07/01/our-fourth-of-july-nightmare-a-republic-in-the-tightening-grip-of-minority-rule/

‘We don’t have to pretend anymore’: Greens ready to bail on D.C. https://www.politico.com/news/2022/06/30/greens-readying-to-bail-on-d-c-00043591

Political Violence Is The New American Normal https://www.huffpost.com/entry/political-violence-the-new-american-normal_n_62c07c37e4b0ffe00a1260a6

Children Should Not Have to Suffer the State’s Injustice https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/11/opinion/tennessee-schools-transgender-bathroom-laws.html

ALEC Focuses on “Woke Capitalism,” Bodily Autonomy and More at Annual Meeting https://truthout.org/articles/alec-focuses-on-woke-capitalism-bodily-autonomy-and-more-at-annual-meeting/?eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=b8da5b6e-f3cd-4b2b-9187-bb4382560860

Conservative push to recruit election deniers as poll workers causes alarm https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/jun/30/republican-recruit-poll-workers-election-integrity

Wisconsin Court Validates a Republican Strategy to Preserve Power https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/29/us/wisconsin-supreme-court-natural-resources-board.html

Voting is significant determinant of health, US medical association declares https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/jul/14/voting-health-us-medical-association

The Israel Lobby’s New Campaign Playbook https://jewishcurrents.org/the-israel-lobbys-new-campaign-playbook

Richard Gray MURDER AT YELLOWSTONE CITY

Richard Gray has directed movies such as Robert the Bruce, Broken Ghost and Sugar Mountain. His latest film, MURDER AT YELLOWSTONE CITY, is the first feature length film to have been shot at the new Yellowstone Film Ranch outside of Pray, MT.

In this interview, we discuss the challenges of filming during Covid; his partnership with Livingston’s Carter Boehm and Chico Hot Spring proprietor, Colin Davis, in building the Yellowstone Film Ranch; their efforts to help pass The Montana Economic Development Industry Advancement (MEDIA) Act; and prospects for the Montana Film Industry after its passage.

The Bozeman Film Society will be premiering MURDER AT YELLOWSTONE RANCH on Friday, July 22 at the historic Ellen Theater. They post this at their website: The once peaceful and booming Yellowstone City has fallen on hard times, but when a local prospector strikes gold, things seem to be turning around. Any hope is soon shattered when the prospector is found dead and the Sheriff quickly arrests a mysterious newcomer. But nothing is so simple in this sleepy western town, and more than a few of the locals have secrets to keep and reasons to kill. As the brutal murders continue, pitting neighbor against neighbor, Yellowstone City goes down a bloody path to a final showdown that not all will survive. 123 minutes. NR. Starring: Gabriel Byrne, Thomas Jane, Isaiah Mustafa, Anna Camp, Aimee Garcia, Emma Kenney, with Nat Wolff, and Richard Dreyfuss.

We interviewed director/producer Richard Gray on July 11, 2022.

Articles pertinent to this interview:

https://bozemanfilmsociety.org/event/murder-at-yellowstone-city/

‘Murder at Yellowstone City’ Review: A Well-Crafted Mix of Traditional Western and Murder Mystery Elements https://variety.com/2022/film/reviews/murder-at-yellowstone-city-review-1235301280/

Yellowstone Film Ranch https://bigskyjournal.com/yellowstone-film-ranch/

Jamie Susskind THE DIGITAL REPUBLIC: On Freedom & Democracy in the 21st Century

Jamie Susskind is a British barrister and the author of the multiple awards winning bestseller, FUTURE POLITICS: LIVING TOGETHER IN A WORLD TRANSFORMED BY TECH.

His latest book is THE DIGITAL REPUBLIC: ON FREEDOM AND DEMOCRACY IN THE 21st CENTURY, published on July 5, 2022 by Pegasus Books.

In it he addresses questions like: Is it possible to “democratize” digital technology? What kinds of rules and standards should govern important algorithms? Should powerful figures in the tech industry be regulated, like doctors or lawyers, or even hair salon workers? Is anti-trust law fit for the purpose? What rules should govern the use and abuse of personal data? Can we regulate social media without stifling freedom of speech?

With more and more news reports of the damage that digital technology is doing to individuals as well as our democracy, Jamie Susskind’s insights into the problems and challenges to reforming this largely unregulated industry are helpful for citizens grappling with the many issues with which we are faced.

We spoke with him via Skype on July 6, 2022.

Articles pertinent to this interview:

Facebook gave police their private data. Now, this duo face abortion charges https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/aug/10/facebook-user-data-abortion-nebraska-police

Amazon Admits Giving Ring Camera Footage to Police Without a Warrant or Consent https://theintercept.com/2022/07/13/amazon-ring-camera-footage-police-ed-markey/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=The%20Intercept%20Newsletter

The Uber files tell a simple truth: democracy depends on curbing mercenary tech giants https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/jul/11/uber-files-democracy-silicon-valley

‘Frankly it blew my mind’: how Tron changed cinema – and predicted the future of tech https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/jul/05/tron-steven-lisberger-interview

Police sweep Google searches to find suspects. The tactic is facing its first legal challenge. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/police-google-reverse-keyword-searches-rcna35749?utm_source=pocket-newtab

Push to rein in social media sweeps the states https://www.politico.com/news/2022/07/01/social-media-sweeps-the-states-00043229

Parents Sue TikTok, Saying Children Died After Viewing ‘Blackout Challenge’ https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/06/technology/tiktok-blackout-challenge-deaths.html

Families sue TikTok after girls died while trying ‘blackout challenge’ https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/jul/05/tiktok-girls-dead-blackout-challenge

‘Asleep at the Wheel’: Canada Police’s Spyware Admission Raises Alarm https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jul/07/canada-police-spyware-admission-surveillance-experts

How long will Twitter stand by as ‘online violence’ curtails our right to know? https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/jul/01/twitter-online-violence-journalists-rana-ayyub

The future of privacy rights in a post-Roe world https://www.axios.com/2022/06/29/privacy-right-roe-v-wade-dobbs-v-jackson-online-data

Google says it will delete users’ location history at abortion clinics, other ‘personal’ data https://www.politico.com/news/2022/07/01/google-abortion-delete-history-00043841

Deleting Your Period Tracker Won’t Protect You https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/30/technology/period-tracker-privacy-abortion.html

Fact Check-Does ‘2000 Mules’ provide evidence of voter fraud in the 2020 U.S. presidential election? https://www.reuters.com/article/factcheck-usa-mules-idUSL2N2XJ0OQ

Chatbots Are a Danger to Democracy https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/04/opinion/chatbots-ai-democracy-free-speech.html?searchResultPosition=1