Category Archives: history

David Neiwert THE AGE OF INSURRECTION: The Radical Right’s Assault on American Democracy

This interview was originally broadcast on July 14, 2023, Bastille Day, when the French celebrate the storming of the Bastille on July 14, 1789. It was a day of insurrection, so it was fitting that we shared our interview with award winning journalist and author, David Neiwert, that day discussing his latest book, THE AGE OF INSURRECTION: THE RADICAL RIGHT’S ASSAULT ON AMERICAN DEMOCRACY, published by Melville House.

For over four decades he has worked in newspapers, television, the blogosphere, as well as having been the Pacific Northwest correspondent for the Southern Poverty Law Center. Among his nine books are RED PILL, BLUE PILL: HOW TO COUNTERACT THE CONSPIRACY THEORIES THAT ARE KILLING US; ALT-AMERICA: THE RISE OF THE RADICAL RIGHT IN THE AGE OF TRUMP; and OF ORCAS AND MEN: WHAT KILLER WHALES CAN TEACH US. We spoke with David Neiwert on July 9, 2023 via Skype.

© 2023 Clay Bennett / Chattanooga Times Free Press / dist. by Counterpoint Media. Used with Permission

Articles pertinent to this interview:

More of Clay Bennett’s editorial cartoons here: https://www.gocomics.com/claybennett/2023/07/11

Fourteenth Amendment song by Don Caron https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJcW-BEpgGk

Rise of the Freemen https://www.montanapbs.org/programs/rise-of-the-freemen/

US white supremacists found guilty of gay pride riot plot https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-66271505

Republican women learn the hard way: Complicity will not protect you https://www.salon.com/2023/07/11/women-learn-the-hard-way-complicity-will-not-protect-you/

The Age of Insurrection review: how the far right rose – and found Trump https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/jul/05/the-age-of-insurrection-review-far-right-trump-david-neiwert

As Trump is arraigned, Republicans honor the insurrectionists https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/06/16/house-gop-trump-indictment-reaction-jan-6

Republicans reignite the red scare in service of Trump https://www.salon.com/2023/06/28/reignite-the-red-scare-in-of/

“Trump thinks he has this big army out there still”: A MAGA movement betrayed has now morphed https://www.salon.com/2023/06/27/trump-thinks-he-has-this-big-army-out-there-still-a-maga-movement-betrayed-has-now-morphed/

Family of activist killed in alleged ‘spray of bullets’ by US police files lawsuit https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jul/13/michael-reinoehl-activist-killed-police-family-lawsuit

“Unfriending” America: The Christian right is coming for the enemies of God — like you and me. Rising far-right Christian movement linked to GOP calls for “kingdom revolution” led by an “army of believers” https://www.salon.com/2023/06/17/unfriending-america-the-christian-right-is-coming-for-the-enemies-of-god–like-you-and-me/

How Europe’s far right is marching steadily into the mainstream https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jun/30/far-right-on-the-march-europe-growing-taste-for-control-and-order

Trump Denies Inciting The Capitol Attack, But 174 Jan. 6 Defendants Blame Him For It https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-jan-6-incitement_n_64a717a1e4b0e5efaada8926

Moms for Liberty is part of a long history of rightwing mothers’ activism in the US https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/jul/06/moms-for-liberty-long-history-rightwing-activism

A Jan. 6 “Moms” Group Funded by Big Lie Donors Is Stoking Voter Suppression https://truthout.org/articles/a-jan-6-moms-group-funded-by-big-lie-donors-is-stoking-voter-suppression/?utm_source=Truthout&utm_campaign=fb7a46e5e2-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_3_20_2023_13_41_COPY_05&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_bbb541a1db-fb7a46e5e2-651106009&mc_cid=fb7a46e5e2&mc_eid=f9703b4752

Major ”Grassroots” Parents’ Rights Group Rakes in Big Right-Wing Money https://www.importantcontext.news/p/major-grassroots-parents-rights-group

School boards get death threats amid rage over race, gender, mask policies https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/usa-education-threats/

Moms for Liberty Uses Hitler Quote To ‘Scare’ Parents https://www.vice.com/en/article/ak3kz5/moms-for-liberty-hitler-quote

Inside Moms for Liberty’s Close Relationship With the Proud Boys https://www.vice.com/en/article/5d93qd/moms-for-liberty-proud-boys

Held v State of Montana Day 7 Closing Arguments

This special edition of Ecotones is the final daily audio digest of the historic Held v State of Montana trial.

On the final day of this trial, one day before the summer solstice, on June 20, 2023, closing arguments were given before Judge Kathy Seeley, presiding judge of the Lewis and Clark District Court in Helena, MT.

Our Children’s Trust Senior Staff Attorney, Nate Bellinger, delivered the plaintiffs’ closing arguments, followed by Montana Assistant Attorney General, Michael Russell, delivering closing arguments for the State.

Judge Kathy Seeley presides as plaintiffs’ attorney, Nate Bellinger, delivers closing arguments.

Before these remarks, plaintiffs’ attorney Philip Gregory, offered further information attacking the credibility of the State’s lone outside expert witness, economist Dr. Terry Anderson, submitting a report documenting errors of his sources and information, and asking the court to take judicial notice, which the court granted. The audio of this portion of the proceedings, which came before the closing arguments was problematic, and our best efforts only made marginal improvements, so we have put this portion at the end of this recording after the closing arguments.

Held v State of Montana – Day 6 Part 2 Cross Examination of Sonja Nowakowski & final witness, Dr. Terry Anderson

This is a special edition of Ecotones, Part 2 of our daily audio digest for June 19, 2023, Day 6 of the historic Held v State of Montana. It was the second week of the trial, which began on June 12, 2023 in the Lewis & Clark County District Court in Helena, MT – Judge Kathy Seeley presiding. Attorneys for The 16 youth plaintiffs rested their case on Friday, June 16th.

Because of limited radio broadcast time, we had to leave Part 1 of the June 19, 2023 session after the direct examination of Sonja Nowakowski, Administrator for the Air, Energy, and Mining Division at Montana DEQ. We now continue with the cross examination of Administrator Nowakowski by Barbara Chillcott, Senior attorney with the Western Environmental Law Center (WELC).

This is followed by The final of only 3 state witnesses, Dr. Terry Anderson, an economist and senior fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, and emeritus professor at Montana State University. He presented a brief testimony of under 15 minutes of carefully limited inquiry from defense attorneys related to Energy Information Administration data on GHG emissions.

Under blistering cross examination by plaintiff attorney, Philip Gregory, Of Counsel with Our Children’s Trust, who asked about errors in his math and misinterpretation of data in Dr. Anderson’s expert report. The State initially objected, stating the questions exceeded the scope of their direct examination, which consisted of only five questions. However, plaintiffs’ counsel argued that the cross examination went to credibility of the witness. Judge Kathy Seeley overruled the State’s objections, allowing Mr. Gregory to pursue beyond scope of the direct to probe questions of his credibility.

The state had originally listed Dr. Judith Curry as one of their expert witnesses, however they withdrew her name last week without explanation, after pre-rebuttals by numerous plaintiff’s expert witnesses.

Held v State of Montana – Day 5 Daily Digest Dr. Lise Van Susteren & Lander Busse

We have been recording and producing daily audio digests of the historic Held v State of Montana trial, brought by 16 youth plaintiffs asserting that their constitutional rights are being violated by the State of Montana, which began on June 12, 2023, in the Lewis and Clarke County District Court in Helena, MT, Judge Cathy Seeley presiding.

We share the testimony of the final two witnesses for the plaintiffs, Dr. Lise Van Susteren, an internationally recognized psychiatrist and expert on how climate change affects the physical and mental health of youth differently and more drastically than adults. http://kgvm.org/show/held-v-state-of-montana-lise-van-susteren-testimony-6-16-23/

We end with the final words of the plaintiffs’ case given by youth plaintiff, Lander Busse, after which the Plaintiffs rested their case. http://kgvm.org/show/held-v-state-of-montana-lise-van-susteren-testimony-6-16-23/

We will continue to record and produce these daily audio digests of the Held v State of Montana trial as it continues on July 19, 2023 as the Defense presents their case with witnesses Terry Anderson, Christopher Dorrington and Sonja Nowakowski.

Dramatic week in Montana climate trial as youngsters tell of toll on lives https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jun/17/montana-climate-trial-helena

Climate change is harming my mental health https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-65633082

Held v State of Montana – Day 4 Daily Audio Digest

Welcome to this special edition of Ecotones. We continue our coverage on this fourth day of the historic Held v State of Montana proceedings, sharing this audio daily digest from June 15, 2023. In this edition, we feature three witnesses, but not in the order in which they actually testified on Thursday June 15th. Testifying first was youth plaintiff, Kian Tanner, followed by Montana Environmental Information Center Director of Policy and Legislative Affairs, Anne Hedges, and then youth plaintiff, Claire Vlases.

Claire Vlases testifies on 6-15-23, while Judge Kathy Seeley listens intently

Our digest begins instead with Bozeman youth plaintiff, Claire Vlases. We include the link to our October, 2018 interview with Claire when she was a Bozeman High School sophomore. http://kgvm.org/show/claire-vlases-solar-makes-sense/ http://kgvm.org/show/held-v-state-of-montana-claire-vlases-testimony-6-15-23/

Next is testimony from Anne Hedges, who is the Director of Policy and Legislative Affairs at the Montana Environmental Information Center, including cross examination by Defense Attorney for the State of Montana, Bain Johnson (apology if his name is misspelled). http://kgvm.org/show/held-v-state-of-montana-anne-hedges-testimony-6-15-23/

Youth plaintiff, Kian Tanner is the final witness we feature in this digest. http://kgvm.org/show/held-v-state-of-montana-kian-tanner-testimony-6-15-23/

Due to radio broadcast time restraints, we were not able to include the testimony of the final witness on June 15, 2023, Peter Erickson, a climate change policy researcher for the Stockholm Environment Institute in Seattle, Washington. He provided expert testimony on Montana’s contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions – via fossil fuel consumption, extraction, and infrastructure that the state of Montana permits – and how these emissions are both nationally and globally significant. “We are at a decision point about taking action on climate change,” Mr. Erickson said. “The world community has decided we must. Montana continues to issue fossil fuel permits.” http://kgvm.org/show/held-v-state-of-montana-peter-erickson-testimony-6-15-23/

We will include audio of his testimony, as well as those of others we could not previously share, in later programs.

Meet the kids behind the historic Montana climate trial https://www.eenews.net/articles/meet-the-kids-behind-the-historic-montana-climate-trial/

Experts in Youth Climate Trial Say Montana’s Legislative and Executive Branches Favor Fossil Fuel Industry https://flatheadbeacon.com/2023/06/16/experts-in-youth-climate-trial-say-montanas-legislative-and-executive-branches-favor-fossil-fuel-industry/

Indigenous experiences headline third day of Held v. Montana trial https://montanafreepress.org/2023/06/15/indigenous-experiences-headline-third-day-of-held-v-montana-trial/

Young People in Historic Climate Trial Rest Their Case https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/young-people-in-historic-climate-trial-rest-their-case/

Held v State of Montana – Day 3 Daily Digest

We continue our coverage of the historic Held v State of Montana proceedings with this audio daily digest of the hearing from June 14, 2023. Dr. Lori Byron continued her testimony from June 13th, discussing Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and human generated catastrophic climate change. http://kgvm.org/show/held-v-state-of-montana-dr-lori-byron-testimony-6-13-23/

After cross examination of Dr. Byron by Defense Attorney for the State of Montana, Mark Stermitz, attorneys for the plaintiffs called Dr. Shane Doyle to the witness stand, testifying on behalf of his daughters, two of the youth plaintiffs, Ruby and Lillian Doyle. http://kgvm.org/show/held-v-state-of-montana-shane-doyle-testimony-6-14-23/

They then called Michael Durglo, Jr., head of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes’ Tribal Historic Department. http://kgvm.org/show/held-v-state-of-montana-michael-durglo-jr/

Our Children’s Lungs Are Uniquely Vulnerable to All This Wildfire Smoke https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/02/opinion/wildfire-smoke-air-quality-kids-children-health.html

Ian Garrett GROUNDWORKS

GROUNDWORKS travels from traditional acorn gathering spots to the studios where the “Groundworks” performance was rehearsed before being shared at sunrise on Alcatraz—nearly 50 years after the Indians of All Tribes occupied the island and brought attention to Native American rights. Originally initiated by contemporary dance company Dancing Earth Creations, the “Groundworks” project was designed to amplify the oft-forgotten Native presence everywhere in the Americas.

Groundworks weaves together four artists’ stories and their contemporary ways of sharing traditional Indigenous knowledge. By exploring their creative practices, it highlights these Native artists’ contemporary relationships to the Pomo, Ohlone, Tongva, and Wappo/Onastatis territories, languages and traditions. Their efforts to “re-story” the land through creative reclamation are important facets of the Land Back movement.

Bernadette Smith is a Pomo singer, musician, and playwright from the Point Arena Manchester Band of Pomo Indians. She is an activist leader involved with Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and brought her whole family to Standing Rock to protect water rights. She is currently working on reclaiming land traditionally used by her tribe for their acorn harvest, and on protecting the source of those acorns—the tan oak—from hack-and-squirt clearing to make way for managed redwoods.

Profiled in the documentary are Ras K’dee, Pomo, a musician with ties to multiple bands in Sonoma and Mendocino Counties; Bernadette Smith, singer and dancer from the Manchester-Point Arena Band of Pomo Indians; Kanyon Sayers-Roods, a multidisciplinary Ohlone artist from Indian Canyon, a sovereign Indian Nation outside of Hollister, California; and L. Frank, a Tongva-Acjachemen artist, tribal scholar, canoe builder, and language advocate.

We spoke with director, producer, writer and cinematographer, Ian Garrett, about his film, GROUNDWORKS, via Skype on May 16, 2023.

GROUNDWORKS will be screening at the Mendocino FilmFestival on June 4 at 3pm in the Festival Tent. A special program with Coastal Pomo dancers will open the program and a panel discussion will follow.

The Pirate Radio Broadcaster Who Occupied Alcatraz and Terrified the FBI https://getpocket.com/explore/item/the-pirate-radio-broadcaster-who-occupied-alcatraz-and-terrified-the-fbi?utm_source=pocket-newtab

Red Natural History https://socialtextjournal.org/periscope_topic/red_natural_history/?link_id=3&can_id=26389c9ba4e6ef1db60b08fdce8085f1&source=email-duplicate-me-4-section-template-2&email_referrer=email_1839282&email_subject=red-natural-history-a-growing-movement-of-scientists-and-scholars

TOWN DESTROYER: Alan Snitow & Deborah Kaufman

As a nation, we are in the throes of a re-examination of history, but whose history, and who gets to tell it, and how do we live today with various versions of our history, that were memorialized in the past? How do we best evaluate and live with the impacts of different versions of history and the potential harm and even re-traumatization that a particular version creates?

What role does art play in this process? whose art? and for whom?

These are among the questions addressed by the filmmakers, Alan Snitow and Deborah Kaufman, in their documentary, TOWN DESTROYER, which screens on Friday, June 2nd, at 1:00 PM at The Coast Cinemas.

You may recall the furor over whether or not to destroy or cover up the 13 panels of the 1930s murals by Popular Front artist, Victor Arnautoff, THE LIFE OF WASHINGTON, at San Francisco’s George Washington High School. Snitow & Kaufman film students, parents, Native American activists, artists of different ethnicities, scholars, and museum directors, all against a background of vivid cinematography of the controversial panels, as well as many other relevant works of art, both at the high school, and elsewhere across the country.

Alan Snitow and Deborah Kaufman’s films include the award-winning “Company Town,” “Between Two Worlds,” “Thirst”, “Secrets of Silicon Valley”, and “Blacks and Jews.”

Alan was a producer at the KTVU-TV News, the Bay Area Fox affiliate, for 12 years. Before that, he was an award winning News Director at KPFA-FM. He has served on the Boards of the National Federation of Community Broadcasters, Film Arts Foundation, California Media Collaborative, Food and Water Watch, and much more.

Deborah Kaufman founded and for 13 years was Director of the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival, the first and largest independent Jewish film showcase in the world. She has been a Board member of the California Council for the Humanities, the New Israel Fund, and Amnesty International USA. She has been a consultant, programmer, lecturer, and activist with a variety of human rights, multicultural and media arts organizations.

We spoke with Deborah and Alan on May 8, 2023 via Skype.

“Early Days” Pioneer Monument by Frank Happersberger, Installed 1894 in SF Civic Center Plaza

These High School Murals Depict an Ugly History. Should They Go? https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/11/arts/design/george-washington-murals-ugly-history-debated.html?searchResultPosition=1

Think Confederate monuments are racist? Consider pioneer monuments https://theconversation.com/think-confederate-monuments-are-racist-consider-pioneer-monuments-100571

San Franciscans demand removal of anti-native monument https://sf.curbed.com/2017/8/22/16184590/pioneer-monument-confederate-statues

California reparations panel OKs state apology, payments https://www.sfgate.com/news/politics/article/california-reparations-task-force-to-vote-on-18082723.php

David Treuer – The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee: Native America from 1890 to the Present https://forthright.media/2019/03/14/david-treuer-the-heartbeat-of-wounded-knee-native-americafrom-1890-present/

Benjamin Madley – AN AMERICAN GENOCIDE: The United States and the California Indian Catastrophe 1846-1873 https://forthright.media/2016/10/05/benjamin-madley-an-american-genocide-the-united-states-and-the-california-indian-catastrophe-1846-1873/

Clarence Lusane – TWENTY DOLLARS AND CHANGE: Harriet Tubman and the Ongoing Fight for Racial Justice and Democracy https://forthright.media/2023/01/12/clarence-lusane-twenty-dollars-and-change-harriet-tubman-and-the-ongoing-fight-for-racial-justice-and-democracy/

Stan Rushworth – WE ARE THE MIDDLE OF FOREVER: Indigenous Voices from Turtle Island on the Changing Earth https://forthright.media/2022/08/11/stan-rushworth-we-are-the-middle-of-forever-indigenous-voices-from-turtle-island-on-the-changing-earth/

Daniel Golding – CHASING VOICES: The Story of John Peabody Harrington https://forthright.media/2022/05/10/daniel-golding-chasing-voices-the-story-of-john-peabody-harrington/

Gale Anne Hurd MANKILLER https://forthright.media/2018/05/31/gale-anne-hurd-mankiller/

William Hogeland – THE AUTUMN OF THE BLACK SNAKE: The Creation of the U.S. Army and the Invasion That Opened the West https://forthright.media/2017/07/19/william-hogeland-the-autumn-of-the-black-snake-the-creation-of-the-u-s-army-and-the-invasion-that-opened-the-west/

JAMIE MACGILLIVRAY: The Renegade’s Journey by John Sayles, 2022

BODY PARTS: Kristy Guevara-Flanagan & Helen Hood Scheer

The documentary, BODY PARTS, traces the evolution of “sex” on-screen from a woman’s perspective, uncovering the uncomfortable realities behind some of the most iconic scenes in cinema history and celebrating the courageous individuals leading the way for change. It’s an eye-opening investigation into the making of Hollywood sex scenes, shedding light on the actors’ real-life experiences, and tracing the legacy of exploitation of women in the entertainment industry, as well as recent hard fought changes in that industry.

On May 1, 2023, we spoke with Director, Kristy Guevara-Flanagan, and Producer, Helen Hood Scheer, about BODY PARTS, which will be screening at this year’s Mendocino Film Festival at Crown Hall on Sunday June 4 at 1pm.

Kristy Guevara-Flanagan is an Associate Professor at UCLA’s School of Theatre, Film and Television, where she heads the MFA Directing Documentary concentration. She has been making documentary films that focus on gender and representation for nearly two decades, starting with a 1999 experimental documentary about a blow-up doll (which screened at the Los Angeles Country Museum of Art, among other venues). Guevara-Flanagan’s documentary and experimental films have screened at the Sundance, Tribeca, SXSW, and HotDocs film festivals and the Getty Museum. Her work has been broadcast on PBS and the Sundance Channel, received numerous awards, and been funded by ITVS, the Sundance Institute, the Tribeca Institute, Latino Public Broadcasting and California Humanities.

Helen Hood Scheer  is an award-winning documentary filmmaker, freelance producer, and associate professor at California State University Long Beach, where she spearheads the creative nonfiction track and serves as the internship advisor for students in the Department of Film and Electronic Arts. In 2023, she won CSULB’s Distinguished Teaching Award. Throughout her instruction, service, and professional work, Helen is a strong advocate for students. In 2020, she  received the  Advancement of Women Award from the  CSULB President’s Commission on the Status of Women, and both Helen and her students were  featured in Claiming the Director’s Chair, an article expressing the CSU’s commitment to preparing  the next generation of female filmmakers for California’s multi-billion dollar entertainment industry.

Actors’ deal includes pay rises and intimacy co-ordinators, union says https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-67387475