Category Archives: Politics

Robert P. Jones THE HIDDEN ROOTS OF WHITE SUPREMACY and the Path to a Shared American Future

Robert P. Jones is the author of the book, THE HIDDEN ROOTS of WHITE SUPREMACY and the PATH to a SHARED AMERICAN FUTURE, published by Simon and Schuster.

His earlier award winning books include WHITE TOO LONG: THE LEGACY OF WHITE SUPREMACY IN AMERICAN CHRISTIANITY; THE END OF WHITE CHRISTIAN AMERICA; and PROGRESSIVE AND RELIGIOUS: HOW CHRISTIAN, JEWISH, MUSLIM AND BUDDHIST LEADERS ARE MOVING BEYOND THE CULTURE WARS AND TRANSFORMING AMERICAN PUBLIC LIFE.

In this latest book, he reminds us that the enslavement of Africans was not America’s original sin, but rather the continuation of a pattern of genocide and dispossession that began with the first European contact with the Indigenous peoples of this land. His reframing of America’s origins explores how the founders of the US could build a democratic society on the foundations of mass racial violence, and why this paradox survives today in the form of White Christian Nationalism. Through three stories from our history and current re-examination and reckonings by those living today, he has illuminated the possibility of a new American future in which we finally fulfill the promise of true democracy.

We spoke with him on September 20, 2023 via Skype.

Articles or videos pertinent to this interview:

Nearing Her 109th Birthday, and Still Waiting for Her Day in Court https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/07/us/tulsa-race-massacre-lawsuit-oklahoma-supreme-court.html

“Apocalypticism”: Polling expert reveals the root of “panic among conservative White Christians” https://www.salon.com/2023/11/06/apocalypticism-polling-expert-reveals-the-root-of-panic-among-conservative-christians/

The Embodiment of White Christian Nationalism in a Tailored Suit https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/01/opinion/mike-johnson-christian-nationalism-speaker.html

Man in MAGA Hat Charged at Protest Against Reinstallation of Statue Honoring Spanish Conquistador in Española, New Mexico https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/sep/30/man-maga-hat-new-mexico-shooting-charged

Judge dismisses charges against activists accused of disrupting Enbridge Line 3 https://www.startribune.com/judge-dismisses-charges-against-activists-accused-of-disrupting-enbridge-line-3/600305634/

This Supreme Court’s dangerous vision of ‘history and tradition’ https://religionnews.com/2022/07/04/this-supreme-courts-dangerous-vision-of-history-and-tradition/

The Unmaking of the White Christian Worldview https://time.com/6102117/white-christian-americans-sins/

White American Christianity Needs to Be Honest About Its History of White Supremacy https://time.com/5929478/christianity-white-supremacy/

The call is coming from inside the house: White Christian churches as incubators of anti-democratic sentiment https://baptistnews.com/article/the-call-is-coming-from-inside-the-house-white-christian-churches-as-incubators-of-anti-democratic-sentiment/

Colorado mountain honoring governor who led Indigenous massacre renamed https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/sep/16/colorado-mountain-renamed-blue-sky-indigenous-massacre

Joe Biden Is Going To Have To Talk About Leonard Peltier https://www.huffpost.com/entry/leonard-peltier-joe-biden-clemency-indigenous-rights_n_64e7737ae4b07a9e3f5bc6dc

Tribes Strike Historic Deal for Return of Children Buried at Residential School https://truthout.org/articles/tribes-strike-historic-deal-for-return-of-children-buried-at-residential-school/?utm_source=Truthout&utm_campaign=a596a5632b-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_3_20_2023_13_41_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_bbb541a1db-a596a5632b-651106009&mc_cid=a596a5632b

Artifacts from the Tulsa Race Massacre https://getpocket.com/explore/item/artifacts-from-the-tulsa-race-massacre?utm_source=pocket-newtab-en-us

The Cure at Troy by Seamus Heaney https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iiOaoOYNXpY

Look At Us (Peltier and AIM Song) – John Trudell https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5szsygmZmY

John Trudell ” Religious vs Spiritual” Perception of Reality https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xbjzujo1Qx8

Naomi Oreskes THE BIG MYTH: How American Business Taught Us to Loathe Government and Love the Free Market

Naomi Oreskes is Henry Charles Lea Professor of the History of Science and Affiliated Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Harvard University. A world renowned earth scientist, historian and public speaker, she is the author or co-author of nine books, including the best-selling book, Merchants of Doubt, and a leading voice on the role of science in society, the reality of anthropogenic climate change, and the role of disinformation in blocking climate action.

Her latest book, co-written with Erik Conway, is The Big Myth: How American Business Taught Us to Loathe Government and Love the Free Market,  published by Bloomsbury Press.

Articles pertinent to this interview:

‘It’s slavery for modern times’: how children of 12 toil in Colorado’s fields https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2023/sep/06/how-children-of-12-toil-in-colorado-san-luis-valley-farms

US ‘university’ spreads climate lies and receives millions from rightwing donors https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/sep/06/prageru-climate-change-denier-republican-donors

Supreme Court backs Nestle, Cargill in child slave labor suit https://www.politico.com/news/2021/06/17/supreme-court-ruling-child-slave-labor-495022

Prominent Anti-Trump Attorney Asks the Supreme Court to Let Companies off the Hook for Child Slavery https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/12/neal-katyal-supreme-court-nestle-cargill-child-slavery.html

Masters of Crowds: The Rise of Mass Social Engineering https://thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/masters-of-crowds-the-rise-of-mass-social-engineering/

Private equity profits from climate disaster clean-up – while investing in fossil fuels https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/sep/07/private-equity-climate-crisis-disaster-cleanup

Broadcast of this interview on KZYX included this parody:

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

“Necessary to defend our republic”: Republicans sue to keep Trump off ballot in battleground state https://www.salon.com/2023/09/06/navy-secretary-slams-tuberville-for-aiding-and-abetting-communists-with-military-blockades/

Held v MT, Alliance for the Wild Rockies, Green Amendments for the Generations

The week beginning August 14th, 2023 has been historic for first rulings and actions for the environment and democracy. That morning, MT District Court Judge, Kathy Seeley, rendered her masterful 103 page closely reasoned and well cited verdict in the case of Held v MT, ruling that the 16 youth plaintiffs’ constitutional rights under the Montana State Constitution were being violated by the Montana government’s laws and practices, including amendments to the Montana Environmental Policy Act (MEPA) that specifically prohibited consideration of climate change in the granting of permits by the Dept of Environmental Quality.

Ann Hedges of MEIC

We spoke with Anne Hedges of the MT Environmental Information Center https://meic.org/, who testified in the case, as well as Claire Vlases, one of the youth Plaintiffs who testified.

Claire Vlases testifies as Judge Kathy Seeley listens intently

Then, on August 17, in The United States District Court for the District of Montana, Federal Judge Donald Molloy, rendered his judgment in favor of The Alliance for the Wild Rockies & Native Ecosystems Council suit against the US Forest Service, to protect the dwindling remnant grizzly bears population and  to stop the Black Ram massive old growth logging project in its tracks. https://allianceforthewildrockies.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/093-ORDER-Granting-MSJ-2023-08-17.pdf This is historic, because it’s the first time in the Federal Courts that climate change was cited in a ruling. We spoke with Mike Garrity of the Alliance for the Wild Rockies https://allianceforthewildrockies.org/ about that decision.

Mike Garrity

An update on the case from April 30, 2024:

Alliance stops 100 miles of roads and 5,000 acres of clearcuts on Montana’s public lands https://dailymontanan.com/2024/04/30/alliance-stops-100-miles-of-roads-and-5000-acres-of-clearcuts-on-montanas-public-lands/

Then, on Sunday, August 20th, Ecuador became the first country in history to restrict fossil fuel extraction through the citizen referendum process. Nearly 60% of Ecuadorian voters backed a binding referendum opposing oil exploration in Block 43, a section of Yasuní National Park, the most biodiverse area of the imperiled Amazon rainforest, which is home to uncontacted Indigenous tribes, as well as hundreds of bird species and more than 1,000 tree species.

Maya K. van Rossum

Finally, we spoke with Maya van Rossum, founder of Green Amendments for the Generations http://www.ForTheGenerations.org about her decades long efforts to secure Green Amendments in state constitutions nationwide.  According to van Rossum, currently only 3 states benefit from Green Amendment constitutional environmental rights — Montana, Pennsylvania and New York. In addition to leading the effort that secured New York’s Green Amendment just over 2 years ago, and being responsible for the litigation that brought strength to Pennsylvania’s amendment, van Rossum is working to pass Green Amendments in 15 other states with more getting in contact since hearing about the Held victory.

It is worth quoting the relevant parts of the Montana State Constitution, upon which Judge Seeley based her verdict.

Article II, Bill of Rights, Section 3, Inalienable Rights:

All persons are born free and have certain inalienable rights. They include the right to a clean and healthful environment and the rights of pursuing life’s basic necessities, enjoying and defending their lives and liberties, acquiring, possessing and protecting property, and seeking their safety, health and happiness in all lawful ways. In enjoying these rights, all persons recognize corresponding responsibilities.

Article 9, Environment & Natural Resources, Section 1. Protection and improvement.

(1) The state and each person shall maintain and improve a clean and healthful environment in Montana for present and future generations.
(2) The legislature shall provide for the administration and enforcement of this duty.
(3) The legislature shall provide adequate remedies for the protection of the environmental life support system from degradation and provide adequate remedies to prevent unreasonable depletion and degradation of natural resources.

I recorded the entire proceedings and produced Daily Audio Digests. After the trial, I produced archived editions of each witness’s testimony, as well as closing arguments. Unlike the trial transcript, from which the plaintiffs’ witnesses’ pre-rebuttal testimony was stricken, in these archived recordings of their testimony is intact. Here are the links to those recordings in the order in which they occurred:

Mae Nan Ellingson http://kgvm.org/show/held-mae-nan-ellingson-testimony-6-12-23/

Ricki Held http://kgvm.org/show/held-v-state-of-montana-ricki-held-testimony-6-12-23/

Dr. Steven Running http://kgvm.org/show/held-dr-steve-running-testimony-6-12-23/

Grace Gibson-Snyder http://kgvm.org/show/held-v-state-of-montana-grace-testimony/

Eva http://kgvm.org/show/held-v-state-of-montana-eva-testimony-6-12-23/

Dr. Cathy Whitlock http://kgvm.org/show/held-dr-cathy-whitlock-testimony-6-13-23/

Mica http://kgvm.org/show/held-v-state-of-montana-mica-testimony-6-13-23/

Dr. Daniel Fagre http://kgvm.org/show/held-v-state-of-montana-dr-dan-fagre-6-13-23/

Badger Busse http://kgvm.org/show/held-v-state-of-montana-badge-testimony-6-13-23/

Dr. Lori Byron http://kgvm.org/show/held-v-state-of-montana-dr-lori-byron-testimony-6-13-23/

Dr. Shane Doyle http://kgvm.org/show/held-v-state-of-montana-shane-doyle-testimony-6-14-23/

Michael Durglo, Jr. http://kgvm.org/show/held-v-state-of-montana-michael-durglo-jr/

Sariel Sandoval http://kgvm.org/show/held-v-state-of-montana-sariel-sandoval-testimony-6-14-23/

Taleah Hernández http://kgvm.org/show/held-v-state-of-montana-taleah-hernandez-testimony-6-14-23/

Georgianna Fischer http://kgvm.org/show/held-v-state-of-montana-georgianna-fischer-testimony-6-14-23/

Kian Tanner http://kgvm.org/show/held-v-state-of-montana-kian-tanner-testimony-6-15-23/

Anne Hedges http://kgvm.org/show/held-v-state-of-montana-anne-hedges-testimony-6-15-23/

Claire Vlases http://kgvm.org/show/held-v-state-of-montana-claire-vlases-testimony-6-15-23/

Peter Erickson http://kgvm.org/show/held-v-state-of-montana-peter-erickson-testimony-6-15-23/

Mark Jacobson http://kgvm.org/show/held-v-state-of-montana-mark-jacobson-testimony-6-16-23/

Olivia V. http://kgvm.org/show/held-v-state-of-montana-olivia-v-testimony-6-16-23/

Dr. Lise Van Susteren http://kgvm.org/show/held-v-state-of-montana-lise-van-susteren-testimony-6-16-23/

Lander Busse http://kgvm.org/show/held-v-state-of-montana-lander-busse-testimony-6-16-23/

Christopher Dorrington & Sonja Nowakowski http://kgvm.org/show/held-v-state-of-montana-day-6-christopher-dorrington-sonja-nowakowski/

Sonja Nowakowski & Dr. Terry Anderson https://forthright.media/2023/06/20/held-v-state-of-montana-day-6-part-2-cross-examination-of-sonja-nowakowski-final-witness-dr-terry-anderson/

Closing Arguments https://forthright.media/2023/06/21/held-v-state-of-montana-day-7-closing-arguments/

Here are links to the Daily Audio Digests

Day 1 https://forthright.media/2023/06/13/held-v-state-of-montana-day-1-daily-digest/

Day 2 https://forthright.media/2023/06/14/held-v-state-of-montana-day-2-daily-digest/

Day 3 https://forthright.media/2023/06/15/held-v-state-of-montana-day-3-daily-digest/

Day 4 https://forthright.media/2023/06/16/held-v-state-of-montana-day-4-daily-audio-digest/

Day 4 https://forthright.media/2023/06/18/held-v-state-of-montana-day-4-daily-digest-peter-erickson/

Day 5 https://forthright.media/2023/06/17/held-v-state-of-montana-day-5-daily-digest-dr-lise-van-susteren-lander-busse/

Day 5 https://forthright.media/2023/06/18/held-v-state-of-montana-day-5-daily-digest-dr-mark-jacobson/

Day 6 https://forthright.media/2023/06/20/held-v-state-of-montana-day-6-daily-digest-christopher-dorrington-sonja-nowakowski/

Day 6 https://forthright.media/2023/06/20/held-v-state-of-montana-day-6-part-2-cross-examination-of-sonja-nowakowski-final-witness-dr-terry-anderson/

Andrew Seidel AMERICAN CRUSADE: How the Supreme Court Is Weaponizing Religious Freedom

Andrew Seidel is a constitutional and civil rights attorney and the author of two books: The Founding Myth: Why Christian Nationalism Is Un-American and American Crusade: How the Supreme Court is Weaponizing Religious Freedom. He’s also co-editor of an academic text, Law and Religion: Cases and Materials 5th Edition, with Prof. Leslie Griffin of UNLV law school.

He has been fighting to keep state and church separate for more than a decade. Currently, Andrew is the Vice President of Strategic Communications at Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the largest organization fighting for that founding principle. Previously, he served as a constitutional attorney at the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) beginning in 2011 and later as the Director of Strategic Response, running a nimble unit known as the Strategic Response Team.

Andrew Seidel is a Senior Correspondent at Religion Dispatches, a prolific author of op-eds and  scholarly articles. He organized and contributed to the groundbreaking report “Christian Nationalism at the January 6, 2021, Insurrection,” which was published by the Baptist Joint Committee and FFRF and which aroused considerable congressional interest. He has appeared on Fox News to debate Bill O’Reilly, MSNBC, and hundreds of other media outlets. 

Andrew graduated cum laude from Tulane University (’04) with a B.S. in neuroscience and environmental science and magna cum laude from Tulane University Law School (’09, part of the first post-Katrina class), where he was awarded the Haber J. McCarthy Award for excellence in environmental law. He studied human rights and international law at the University of Amsterdam and traveled the world on Semester at Sea. Andrew completed his Master of Laws at Denver University Sturm College of Law (’11) with a perfect GPA and was awarded the Outstanding L.L.M. Award for his work as the Erik Bluemel International Environmental Law Fellow.  
 
Before dedicating his life and law degree to keeping state and church separate, Andrew was a Grand Canyon tour guide and an accomplished nature photographer.

Tennessee Pastor burning THE FOUNDING MYTH: Why Christian Nationalism Is Un-American

Articles pertinent to this interview:

What Ginni Thomas and Leonard Leo wrought: How a justice’s wife and a key activist started a movement https://www.politico.com/news/2023/09/10/ginni-thomas-leonard-leo-citizens-united-00108082

Another Right-Wing Supreme Court SHAM RULING is Exposed for FAKE FACTS https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZEh5R3Bkf4

Oklahoma’s Religious Public Charter School Would Be an Affont to Taxpayers Everywhere https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/01/opinion/religion-schools-constitution-oklahoma.html

Oklahoma sued for funding US’s first ‘state-sponsored’ religious charter school https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/aug/13/oklahoma-lawsuit-religious-public-charter-school

Religious identity and Supreme Court justices – a brief history https://theconversation.com/religious-identity-and-supreme-court-justices-a-brief-history-146999

CHRISTIAN NATIONALISM AND THE JANUARY 6, 2021 INSURRECTION https://ffrf.org/uploads/legal/Christian_Nationalism_and_the_Jan6_Insurrection-2-9-22.pdf

Clarence Thomas’ 38 Vacations: The Other Billionaires Who Have Treated the Supreme Court Justice to Luxury Travel https://www.propublica.org/article/clarence-thomas-other-billionaires-sokol-huizenga-novelly-supreme-court

Trump’s assault on American justice gives inspiration to authoritarians everywhere https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/aug/06/donald-trump-assault-american-justice-gives-inspiration-authoritarians-everywhere

Americans United applauds updated federal guidance on religion and prayer in public schools https://www.au.org/the-latest/press/guidance-religion-prayer-public-schools/

COURT FOR SALE Supreme Court Corruption | Don Caron https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fXwDifHPds

This lawmaker and rabbi was scheduled to deliver an invocation. His colleagues replaced him with a Christian  https://forward.com/news/547677/montana-lawmaker-rabbi-invocation-prayer-legislature-ed-stafman-legislature-house/#:~:text=%E2%80%9CI%20was%20never%20given%20a,the%20rest%20of%20the%20session

Montana Rep (And Rabbi) Confronts Christian Lawmakers after Invocation Cancellation https://momentmag.com/montana-rep-and-rabbi-confronts-christian-lawmakers-after-invocation-cancellation/

Thom Hartmann The Hidden History of American Democracy & Robert Pape ‘The Dangers to Democracy’

This edition of Forthright Radio is in in two parts. In our first segment, radio& TV host/journalist and author, Thom Hartmann, returned with the latest in his Hidden History series, THE HIDDEN HISTORY OF AMERICAN DEMOCRACY: REDISCOVERING HUMANITY’S ANCIENT WAY OF LIVING, published by B-K, Barrett-Kohler Publishers. This is the 8th book in the series and the 32nd of the books he has written. He has hosted his nationally syndicated show, The Thom Hartmann Program, since 2003. We spoke with Thom via Skype on July 24, 2023.

In our second segment, we spoke with University of Chicago Political Science Professor, Robert Pape, about the Project on Security and Threats (CPOST). You may recall their initial study published a few months after the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection, analyzing those who had been arrested & the surprising details they discovered. They have published a follow-up study and report from their most recent of 7 surveys since then, from this June, 2023, titled “The Dangers to Democracy.”

Robert Pape has been studying and writing about the causes and solutions to political violence since 1992 during the Bosnian War; and the 1999 War in Kosovo. In the 2000s, he studied suicide terrorism, as well as humanitarian intervention centering on appropriate international responses to political violence related to the Arab Spring in Libya and Syria. Professor Pape has testified before Congress, briefed the National Security Council and the UN Counter-Terrorism Executive Directorate. In 2020, he published the results of his analysis of the impact of the deployment of Homeland Security agents on political violence in Portland, OR, during the George Floyd demonstrations. In 2021, he published the first systematic study of the demographic profile and political geography of individuals arrested for assaulting the US Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. The Project on Security and Threats, has continued the surveys, and recently released the report on their 7th survey, titled The Dangers to Democracy. We spoke with Professor Pape on July 26, 2023 via Skype.

What the Glorification of Luigi Mangione Reveals About America https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/12/opinion/luigi-mangione-united-healthcare-ceo-shooting.html

You can see THE DANGERS TO DEMOCRACY report here: https://d3qi0qp55mx5f5.cloudfront.net/cpost/i/docs/2023-04_CPOST-NORC_Survey_Report.pdf?mtime=1690380798

Articles pertinent to these interviews:

‘Anger and radicalization’: rising number of Americans say political violence is justified https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jul/25/us-political-crisis-radicalizing-republicans-democrats-alike

Understanding American Domestic Terrorism https://cpost.uchicago.edu/publications/understanding_american_domestic_terrorism_mobilization_potential_and_risk_factors_of_a_new_threat_trajectory/

How Trump’s Plan for the Military Could Topple America https://hartmannreport.com/p/how-trumps-plan-for-the-department-b10

Trump and Allies Forge Plans to Increase Presidential Power in 2025 https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/17/us/politics/trump-plans-2025.html

How Democracy Dies the First Month of the Next Trump or GOP Presidency https://hartmannreport.com/p/how-democracy-dies-the-first-month-6a3

Trump’s plans for 2025 sound like a vengeful disaster https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/trump-presidential-power-second-term-2024-autocracy-rcna95098?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

How Long Will Politicians Be Able to Ignore the Planet Becoming Unlivable? https://hartmannreport.com/p/how-long-will-politicians-be-able-ed4

DeSantis’s Apartheid Pedagogy in the Age of Fascist Politics https://www.laprogressive.com/election-reform-campaigns/apartheid-pedagogy

The Redneck Army Refuses to Stay Buried https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/21/opinion/culture/west-virginia-strike-coal-miner-history.html

Everything They Owned Burned, and They Still Can’t Get Restitution 102 Years Later https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/28/opinion/tulsa-race-massacre-reparations.html

“Anonymous” Miles Taylor: Trump Second Term Would Focus Solely on Revenge | Amanpour and Company https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Eqm5wuSN9s

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 Claire Vlases & Georgi Fischer Testimony

Since the historic Held v. State of Montana trial began on June 12, 2023, in the Lewis and Clark County District Court in Helena, MT, Judge Kathy Seeley presiding, we have recorded and archived the audio testimony to preserve the record to inform our listeners, and allow you to hear for yourselves what transpired.

In this special Ecotones edition of Forthright Radio, we share the testimony of our own Bozeman youth plaintiffs, Claire Vlases and Georgianna “Georgi” Fischer.

For the first time in the United States, youth plaintiffs were able to present their case in a court of law, that their inalienable constitutional rights under Article II Section 3 of the Montana State Constitution “to a clean and healthful environment and the rights of pursuing life’s basic necessities, enjoying and defending their lives and liberties, acquiring, possessing and protecting property, and seeking their safety, health and happiness in all lawful ways.” ….. were being denied and violated by the policies and actions of their government. Further, that The State was in violation of their responsibilities as required under Article IX, Environment and Natural Resources, Section 1. Protection and Improvement that “The state and each person shall maintain and improve a clean and healthful environment in Montana for present and future generations. Section 2. The legislature shall provide for the administration and enforcement of this duty. and Section 3. The legislature shall provide adequate remedies for the protection of the environmental life support system from degradation and provide adequate remedies to prevent unreasonable depletion and degradation of natural resources.”

Furthermore, the Montana State Constitution includes under Article II Declaration of Rights: Section 15. “Rights of persons not adults. The rights of persons under 18 years of age shall include, but not be limited to, all the fundamental rights of this Article unless specifically precluded by laws which enhance the protection of such persons.” It is said that it is the only state constitution to specify this, and the youth plaintiffs in Held v State of Montana are holding the state to the letter of this supreme law of the state of Montana.

In this special Ecotones edition of Forthright Radio, we bring you the testimony of two of the youth plaintiffs from Bozeman, MT, Claire Vlases and Georgianna “Georgi” Fischer. Although they and the other 14 youth plaintiffs are the first to have their case heard in the United States, they are by no means alone in their efforts. There are at least five other youth led climate change suits.

In the matter of Juliana v United States, filed by 21 young Americans in 2015, in the US District Court in Oregon, asserting that the federal government’s fossil fuel energy system and its affirmative actions that cause climate change violate their constitutional rights to life, liberty, and property, as well as their rights to essential public trust resources like air and water. It had seemed that the legal maneuvers by the administrations of Barack Obama and Donald Trump had succeeded in blocking their efforts. However on June 1, 2023, Federal Judge Ann Aiken, of the US District Court in Oregon, granted their motion to amend their complaint, putting their case back on track to trial, where evidence of the government’s conduct will be heard in open court.

These 21 youth plaintiffs are seeking a judicial declaration that the US fossil fuel energy system is unconstitutional, and violates their fundamental right to a safe climate. According to ourchildrenstrust.org’s website, “A victory in their case would mean that U.S. climate and energy policy – whether executive or legislative in nature, and regardless of political majority or party – would need to adhere to the court’s declaratory judgment, protecting the rights of our nation’s children and ending the physical and mental harm they have experienced due to the actions of their own government.”

However on June 22, 2023, The Department of Justice of the Biden Administration filed yet another motion to dismiss Juliana v. United States, one day after receiving an online petition signed by more than 255 organizations and over 50,000 individuals delivered by the People vs. Fossil Fuels coalition, urging Attorney General Merrick Garland to end opposition to the Juliana case proceeding to trial, and only two days after the plaintiffs rested their case in Held v. State of Montana, which now awaits the decision of Judge Cathy Seeley.

Meanwhile, the 14 youth plaintiffs in Navahine F. v Hawaii Department of Transportation, whose case was filed in June of 2022, succeeded on April 6, 2023 when the Environmental Court of First Circuit in Honolulu denied the State’s motion to dismiss. They are awaiting a trial date to be determined, after their motion to maintain their September, 2023 trial date was denied, when Judge Crabtree granted the State’s motion to continue the trial date to give the State more time to prepare their defense.

‘I cried like 10 times’: Bozeman plaintiffs reflect on youth climate trial https://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/news/environment/i-cried-like-10-times-bozeman-plaintiffs-reflect-on-youth-climate-trial/article_bbdb990a-11dc-11ee-aa76-a7baaf9171d7.html

Claire Vlases – Solar Makes Sense http://kgvm.org/show/claire-vlases-solar-makes-sense/

‘Nothing Short of Outrageous’: Attorneys for Youth Climate Plaintiffs Blast Biden DOJ https://www.commondreams.org/news/doj-dismiss-juliana-climate

Held v State of Montana Opening & Closing Arguments

Since the historic Held v. State of Montana trial began on June 12, 2023, in the Lewis and Clark County District Court in Helena, MT, Judge Kathy Seeley presiding, we have been recording and archiving the audio to preserve the record, to inform and allow listeners to hear for what transpired.

For the first time in the United States, youth plaintiffs were able to present their case in a court of law, that the state of Montana was denying them their inalienable constitutional rights under Article II Section 3 of the Montana State Constitution

“to a clean and healthful environment and the rights of pursuing life’s basic necessities, enjoying and defending their lives and liberties, acquiring, possessing and protecting property, and seeking their safety, health and happiness in all lawful ways.” ….. were being denied and violated by the policies and actions of their government.

Further, that The State was in violation of their responsibilities as required under Article IX, Environment and Natural Resources, Section 1. Protection and Improvement that “The state and each person shall maintain and improve a clean and healthful environment in Montana for present and future generations. Section 2. The legislature shall provide for the administration and enforcement of this duty. and Section 3. The legislature shall provide adequate remedies for the protection of the environmental life support system from degradation and provide adequate remedies to prevent unreasonable depletion and degradation of natural resources. ”

In this edition of Ecotones, we share the opening arguments given in Held v State of Montana on Monday, June 12, 2023, as well as the closing arguments from Tuesday, June 20, 2023

Here is a list of the unedited testimonies of witnesses in this trial in chronological order of their appearance:

Mae Nan Ellingson   http://kgvm.org/show/held-mae-nan-ellingson-testimony-6-12-23/

Ricki Held http://kgvm.org/show/held-v-state-of-montana-ricki-held-testimony-6-12-23/

Dr. Steven Running http://kgvm.org/show/held-dr-steve-running-testimony-6-12-23/

Grace Gibson-Snyder http://kgvm.org/show/held-v-state-of-montana-grace-testimony/

Eva  http://kgvm.org/show/held-v-state-of-montana-eva-testimony-6-12-23/

Dr. Cathy Whitlock  http://kgvm.org/show/held-dr-cathy-whitlock-testimony-6-13-23/

Mica  http://kgvm.org/show/held-v-state-of-montana-mica-testimony-6-13-23/

Dr. Daniel Fagre  http://kgvm.org/show/held-v-state-of-montana-dr-dan-fagre-6-13-23/

Badger Busse  http://kgvm.org/show/held-v-state-of-montana-badge-testimony-6-13-23/

Dr. Lori Byron  http://kgvm.org/show/held-v-state-of-montana-dr-lori-byron-testimony-6-13-23/

Dr. Shane Doyle  http://kgvm.org/show/held-v-state-of-montana-shane-doyle-testimony-6-14-23/

Michael Durglo, Jr.  http://kgvm.org/show/held-v-state-of-montana-michael-durglo-jr/

Sariel Sandoval  http://kgvm.org/show/held-v-state-of-montana-sariel-sandoval-testimony-6-14-23/

Taleah Hernández  http://kgvm.org/show/held-v-state-of-montana-taleah-hernandez-testimony-6-14-23/

Georgianna Fischer  http://kgvm.org/show/held-v-state-of-montana-georgianna-fischer-testimony-6-14-23/

Kian Tanner   http://kgvm.org/show/held-v-state-of-montana-kian-tanner-testimony-6-15-23/

Anne Hedges  http://kgvm.org/show/held-v-state-of-montana-anne-hedges-testimony-6-15-23/

Claire Vlases  http://kgvm.org/show/held-v-state-of-montana-claire-vlases-testimony-6-15-23/

Peter Erickson   http://kgvm.org/show/held-v-state-of-montana-peter-erickson-testimony-6-15-23/

Mark Jacobson  http://kgvm.org/show/held-v-state-of-montana-mark-jacobson-testimony-6-16-23/

Olivia V.  http://kgvm.org/show/held-v-state-of-montana-olivia-v-testimony-6-16-23/

Dr. Lise Van Susteren  http://kgvm.org/show/held-v-state-of-montana-lise-van-susteren-testimony-6-16-23/

Lander Busse  http://kgvm.org/show/held-v-state-of-montana-lander-busse-testimony-6-16-23/

Christopher Dorrington & Sonja Nowakowski  http://kgvm.org/show/held-v-state-of-montana-day-6-christopher-dorrington-sonja-nowakowski/

Sonja Nowakowski & Dr. Terry Anderson  https://forthright.media/2023/06/20/held-v-state-of-montana-day-6-part-2-cross-examination-of-sonja-nowakowski-final-witness-dr-terry-anderson/

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.