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Activism, politics, and beer from PA-based Raging Chicken Press
Episodes
Friday Jun 30, 2017
Friday Jun 30, 2017
Senate Republicans face round two in their repeal and replace health care debacle. The resistance heats up as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell horse-trades to push a vote before the August recess. Will opioids do the trick? Trump floats Repeal then Replace later plan. Mika Brzezinski fights Trump’s sexism with Cheerios. Cable News is, of course, thrilled at finally being able to cover a story it is trained to cover. Good thing the travel ban still partially in place, right? Are anti-fascists the new right-wing boogeyman? If they are, the NRA seems to have a plan. PennLive provides a “Guide to Antifa,” but misses the story.
It’s budget deadline time. Pennsylvania lawmakers are poised to vote on a $32 billion spending plan, even though they have no idea how to pay for it. Apparently, that’s enough for Lt. Gov. Mike Stack to invite state senators to his office for a party. We’re going to wait until we see where the money for the budget will come from before popping the cork. Will we see severance tax on natural gas? Closing Delaware loophole? Will this be another budget that gets enacted without the Governor’s signature? Meanwhile, across the river in New Jersey, Chris Christie’s insistence upon restructuring the state’s largest insurer, Horizon Blue Cross. Pennsylvania passes Guns in Schools bill...taking their cue from the NRA apparently. Two Democrats join Republicans in voting for taking one more step toward turning schools into Westworld training centers. And, Governor Wolf gets on board to limit public access to police body cam and dashcam recordings.
In today’s last call we’ll talk trailer hitch hell, Fourth of July celebrations, and what we’ll be drinking!
Mahoney's tip: Check out North Slope Brewery if you're near Dallas, PA.
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Friday Jun 23, 2017
Friday Jun 23, 2017
Senate Republicans emerged from their dark lair to unveil their goal to return millions of American’s to the dark ages of pay or die health care. The repair and replace bill is brutal. So-called Republican moderates cry crocodile tears ahead of their vote to strip health care from the neediest. Pennsylvania’s own Senator Pat Toomey is, of course, running point on the health care debacle. Ossoff loses to the surprise of no one on this show. Has Universal Basic Income’s time come? Concerns about automation and a resurgent left put that question front and center. Missouri votes to fire people who use birth control - HULU provides the cultural reference for protest.
Gov. Wolf vetoes plastic bag bill that would have prevented municipalities from banning plastic bags. Some in PA Democratic Party leadership not happy because they love plastic bags. Neither is the American Progressive Bag Alliance - yes, there is actually a trade group with this name. Radio host quits after being told not to criticize Trump. Raging Chicken gets the mention in a great piece the Intercept on an attempt by the gas industry to suppress pipeline protests. Kudos to Sean’s investigative work on that! Delaware County Memorial Hospital nurses continue their fight against corporate health care. Prospect Medical Holdings now in court. As we are recording, protests break out at PA Senator Scott Wagner’s sham hearing on the soda tax in Philadelphia:
Currently happening in @realScottWagner's sham hearing. pic.twitter.com/PTpt1boWZl
— PA Spotlight (@PA_Spotlight) June 23, 2017
Become a member of Raging Chicken for as little at $5/month! Simply go to RagingChickenPress.org and look for the Support and Membership tab. Click “Become a member” and you’re on your way. Not ready to become a member? No problem. You can make a one-time donation by clicking “Donate.” We need you - the progressive community - to help us deepen pull-no-punches, progressive media that will hold power accountable.
KFC in space? This is the future of galactic capitalism. New Portugal The Man album is out and Sean is basking in his glory.
Become a member of Raging Chicken for as little at $5/month! Simply go to RagingChickenPress.org and look for the Support and Membership tab. Click “Become a member” and you’re on your way. Not ready to become a member? No problem. You can make a one-time donation by clicking “Donate.” We need you - the progressive community - to help us deepen pull-no-punches, progressive media that will hold power accountable.
Tuesday Jun 20, 2017
Tuesday Jun 20, 2017
Today the Pennsylvania Conference of Teamsters organized a rally on the Capitol steps in Harrisburg against right-wing Republican attempts to pass so-called "Right to Work" legislation in the state. About 1,000 labor activists and allies converged to for a rally and then lobbying.
After the rally, Kevin and Sean sat down for lunch and beer at McGrath's Pub to reflect on the day's event and the organizing that will be necessary for the weeks and months ahead.
And, remember: We need you to help keep pull-no-punches, progressive media going strong. Become a member of Raging Chicken for as little at $5/month! Simply go to RagingChickenPress.org and look for the Support and Membership tab. Click “Become a member” and you’re on your way. Not ready to become a member? No problem. You can make a one-time donation by clicking “Donate.” We need you - the progressive community - to help us deepen pull-no-punches, progressive media that will hold power accountable.
Special membership offer for (at least) the month of June. Become a member at the $15/month level and we’ll send you Naomi Klein's new book, No Is Not Enough, as a thank you!
Friday Jun 16, 2017
Friday Jun 16, 2017
Last weekend - big contrast between reality-based politics and fantasy-based politics. It was the People’s Summit v. Anti-Sharia protests. Political tactics become the subject of heated discussion on the Left. Republicans shot at baseball practice in Alexandria, VA. The shooter’s apparent progressive politics raises the specter of a crackdown against anti-Trump protests. Victim blaming and false equivalences dominate discussion of confrontation between LGBTQ protestors and big white troll. In the absence of effective political power, we should expect more people to say, “ENOUGH!” Today we’re reflecting on the strategies and tactics of protest.
We close out with Space News, beer, and summer plans. Elon Musk gives his vision for a permanent city on Mars. How about that. The biggest question facing a sustainable city on Mars will certainly be whether or not we can brew beer in space. We’ll find out later on this year!
We need you to help keep pull-no-punches, progressive media going strong. Become a member of Raging Chicken for as little at $5/month! Simply go to RagingChickenPress.org and look for the Support and Membership tab. Click “Become a member” and you’re on your way. Not ready to become a member? No problem. You can make a one-time donation by clicking “Donate.” We need you - the progressive community - to help us deepen pull-no-punches, progressive media that will hold power accountable.
Special membership offer for (at least) the month of June. Become a member at the $15/month level and we’ll send you Naomi Klein's new book, No Is Not Enough, as a thank you!
Friday Jun 09, 2017
Friday Jun 09, 2017
Comey testifies...media thrilled to be back in a normal news-as-entertainment mode as Republicans use the cover of the hearings to advance healthcare bill. Is Jeff Sessions preparing to fall on his sword to save a Trump presidency? Teresa May pretends her party didn’t just get a shellacking. Meanwhile, Jeremy Corbyn shows that true left progressive agendas have broad appeal. Is this the new progressive playbook? California seems to think so as the state advances its single-payer health care program.
It just may be time for a serious discussion of Universal Basic Income. Finland’s experience finds a significant decline of people’s stress levels. Corbyn introduced the idea that UBI may provide a solution to automation. Turns out that there were some experiments with UBI in the U.S. and Canada in the 1970s.
In the resistance this week, March for Truth in cities across the nation. Sean Kitchen was on hand in Harrisburg. In Harrisburg, March for People’s Budget takes over the Capitol rotunda...then the streets. Senator Mike Regan pays a visit to Range Resources as he introduced legislation criminalizing pipeline protesters. Scott Wagner takes to the airways to embrace John Oliver’s scathing critique of Wagner as climate change denier. And looks like there may be a showdown in Harrisburg this week as anti-racist activists plan on blocking an anti-Muslim, white supremacist march.
Planned Parenthood fundraiser this weekend at the Allentown Brew Works. Turzai bowls in Capitol building. Oldest human fossils found...105,000 years older than previously known fossils. Free Will Brewing closes out its indoor beer garden as part of Philly Beer Week. Pizza Boy brings the mint in new release. And so much more.
Tune into the Rick Smith Show on Free Speech TV this and every Saturday at 7 pm EST. I’ll be there giving the weekly #Resistance Report. You can stream the show live at Freespeech.org or you can tune in on Dish Network, Direct TV, and with the FSTV app on Roku. If you miss the show, go to the RickSmithShow.com and click on the FSTV icon in the sidebar.
We need you to help keep pull-no-punches, progressive media going strong. Become a member of Raging Chicken for as little at $5/month! Simply go to RagingChickenPress.org and look for the Support and Membership tab. Click “Become a member” and you’re on your way. Not ready to become a member? No problem. You can make a one-time donation by clicking “Donate.” We need you - the progressive community - to help us deepen pull-no-punches, progressive media that will hold power accountable.
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Friday Jun 02, 2017
Friday Jun 02, 2017
Trump pulls out from Paris Climate Agreement. Silicon Valley comes out strong against the decision. While the Trump organization indulges in right-wing climate conspiracy insanity, will exiting the Paris Agreement lead to a more “muscular movement?” Apparently, the Weather Channel is all in. ExxonMobil shareholders force the company to disclose costs of climate change. Activists flood to the White House in protest of Trump’s announcement.
Hurricane season starts with no one in charge of FEMA or NOAA.
A week after a Portland, Oregon white supremacist, Jeremy Joseph Christian, killed two men and seriously wounded a third after the men intervened to stop Christian from berating two women of color with racist hate speech, how will communities respond? Meanwhile, Washington State Trump campaign operative rewards right-wing “free speech warrior,” with a portrait of Trump for his handy work during the violent clashes at Berkeley in April. And let’s not forget the nooses that are appearing around Washington, D.C. including the new Smithsonian African-American History Museum, Will we still see more pundits telling us to “ignore them and they’ll go away,” or will we be force that will push back the ugly growth of fascism? Time will tell. Maybe take some advice from Timothy Snyder’s new book, On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century.
The March for Truth is happening across the country on Saturday calling for an independent investigation of Trump’s and his campaign’s ties to Russia. Sean Kitchen will be featured in the March for Truth in Harrisburg. Rick Smith will be in New York City.
More than 200 Inauguration Day Anti-Trump protesters facing 80-year prison terms. More than 130 of those arrested have joined a “points of unity” agreement to reject plea deals requiring selling out fellow activists.
It’s budget season in Pennsylvania. Monday will be a day of action in the state Capitol. Legislators return to Harrisburg on Monday and face another contentious session ahead of the June 30th budget deadline. Activists will be filling the Rotunda and the Capitol steps beginning Monday morning. For more details, go to PAChoice.org/BudgetAction.
So-called Republican Moderate Charlie Dent says he’ll welcome the journalist-assaulting freshman congressman from Montana, Greg Gianforte. Dent sticks his head in the sand, saying “we don’t know all the facts” about Gianforte’s assault on Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs.
Philly Beer Week starts today. It’s always Sunny Side Up in Philadelphia. Pizza Boy will be in Philly this week. Summertime convinces Sean and Kevin to get active to break out of Trump fatigue. Shout out to Blooming Glen Farms.
Tune into the Rick Smith Show on Free Speech TV this and every Saturday at 7 pm EST. I’ll be there giving the weekly #Resistance Report. You can stream the show live at Freespeech.org or you can tune in on Dish Network, Direct TV, and with the FSTV app on Roku. If you miss the show, go to the RickSmithShow.com and click on the FSTV icon in the sidebar.
We need you to help keep pull-no-punches, progressive media going strong. Become a member of Raging Chicken for as little at $5/month! Simply go to RagingChickenPress.org and look for the Support and Membership tab. Click “Become a member” and you’re on your way. Not ready to become a member? No problem. You can make a one-time donation by clicking “Donate.” We need you - the progressive community - to help us deepen pull-no-punches, progressive media that will hold power accountable.
- Become a member: https://www.patreon.com/rcpress
- Make a donation: https://www.paypal.me/rcpress