Episodes
Friday Mar 01, 2024
Friday Mar 01, 2024
At least 112 hungry and desperate Palestinians were killed early Thursday morning trying to get much needed food and medical aid. Some of the dead were gunned down by Israeli troops, others were run over by the aid trucks attempting to flee the scene.
In a huge announcement, Starbucks officially announced that it will no longer work to oppose unionization efforts by its employees. Now that nearly 400 Starbucks stores have voted to unionize, and founder and former CEO, Howard Shultz, is no longer running the company, it seems that Starbucks Workers United will now be heading to contract negotiations in good faith. In a joint statement, Starbucks and Workers United said they will, “begin discussions on a foundational framework designed to achieve … collective bargaining agreements for represented stores and partners”
Thousands of academic workers are on strike at York University in Toronto. On Thursday, members of other unions across Ontario joined the picket lines in support of their striking brothers and sisters.
Last week, the Pennridge School District - the first in the nation to hire the Hillsdale-inspired Vermillion Education to rewrite their social studies and English curriculum through a Christian nationalist lens - officially scrapped the Hillsdale proposed curriculum.
An Illinois court has kicked Trump of this year’s Republican Primary ballot, all but assuring another round of Supreme Court decisions. The order has been put on hold pending appeal. Early voting has already begun in the state.
Mitch McConnell announced he’s retiring from Senate leadership after this year’s election. Let the all out Senate Republican civil war commence.
“Uncommitted” is set to win two delegates from Michigan as the protest over Biden’s unwillingness to stop the Israeli government’s genocidal war in Gaza.
Washington State’s largest labor union - the United Food and Commercial Worker - has endorsed “uncommitted” in this year’s Democratic Primary.
In one of the most brazen statements of late from Big Oil, Exxon scolded the world in a recent interview in Fortune magazine saying that Exxon and other fossil fuel companies are not to blame for the climate crisis. Who is? Everyone else but them it appears. Exxon CEO Darren Woods told the magazine, “the world waited too long” to develop green technologies and that "people who are generating the emissions need to be aware … and pay the price." Who are those people? You guessed it, you and me.
Treacherous blizzard is bearing down on the Sierra Nevada mountain range in California. The storm is expected to dump up to 10 feet of snow with winds already peaking at 145 mph.
The Smokehouse Creek Fire in Texas has now become the second largest wildfire in U.S. history, burning more than a million acres of land just north of Amarillo - an area larger than the entire state of Rhode Island.
Former professor at Albert Einstein College to cover all future medical school tuition.
Monday Feb 26, 2024
Monday Feb 26, 2024
On today’s show, I welcome Steve Oross and Lorrie McKinley to the show.
Steve Oross is an Associate Professor of psychology at Kutztown University and as listeners of this show will recall, in Fall 2021 Steve Oross was denied ADA accommodations by Kutztown University’s administration. Oross had a heart transplant in February 2021. Following months of physical therapy and treatment, his doctors cleared him to return to work in Fall 2021 provided that he taught his classes online given that COVID was still rampant and would pose a significant risk to his life. Rather than providing Oross with accommodations, the administration said the only way they would allow him to return to work would be if he taught in-person. Rather than risk his life or being forced to go on unpaid leave pr losing his job, Oross decided to fight. Thanks to his determination and the amazing advocacy of his attorney, Lorrie McKinley, Oross won his case. Steve’s experience has led him to wider spheres of advocacy as well.
Steve is a Team Member with the World Health Network focusing on Legal Action for Policy Change. He has also become involved in the Organ Donation Awareness Corporation which is a student-led organ donation advocacy group with chapters in NYC and Nashville, Tennessee, involving other students from around the country. He will be participating in a series of webinars with this group focused on promoting organ donation among young adults.
Lorrie McKinley, is one of the few lawyers in the Philadelphia area with undisputed expertise in both employment law and special education advocacy and litigation. She is a passionate, bold and creative advocate with a long track record of protecting the civil rights of employees and students under the nation’s civil rights law at every level of the state and federal courts.
Lorrie is widely recognized for her contributions in the employment provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act as well as her advocacy on behalf of children with special needs.
Prior to entering private practice in 1997, Lorrie served as Project Head for the Employment Law Project at Community Legal Services, Inc. in Philadelphia. In 1997 she argued before the U.S. Supreme Court in a case involving constitutional due process issues for people receiving medical benefits pursuant to the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act. Her work in that case is highlighted in an exhibit in the Supreme Court Section of the United States Constitution Center in Philadelphia.
For over a decade, Lorrie has been selected by her peers as one of the “Best Lawyers in America.” Since 2008, she has also been listed as a “Super Lawyer” by Thompsons Reuters based on peer recognition and professional achievement.
LINKS:
- Oross v. Kutztown University | https://casetext.com/case/oross-v-kutztown-univ
- McKinley & Ryan, LLC | https://www.mckinleyryan.com/
- "Kutztown professor with heart transplant should have been able to teach from home, judge says," Susan Snyder, The Phildadelphia Inquirer | https://bit.ly/49PcBNL
- Out d'Coup LIVE | Steve Oross - Kutztown U Demands Faculty Member to Choose Between Life and Livelihood, Sept. 6, 2021 | https://bit.ly/3h9EuqZ
- Disability Rights PA | https://www.disabilityrightspa.org/
If we want a progressive future, we need progressive media. Support pull-no-punches, homegrown progressive media today by becoming a patron of Raging Chicken for as little as $5/month. Simply go to https://www.patreon.com/rcpress. Help keep the media in the movement and the movement in the media. Become a patron for as little as $5/month by going to https://www.patreon.com/rcpress.
Join our Discord to continue the conversation all week long: https://discord.gg/BnjRNz3u
Monday Feb 19, 2024
Monday Feb 19, 2024
On today’s show, we'll get into a little news tonight. We had Kathryn Joyce on the show this past Friday, so we're swapping our Monday for a news roundup. What's on your mind?
If we want a progressive future, we need progressive media. Support pull-no-punches, homegrown progressive media today by becoming a patron of Raging Chicken for as little as $5/month. Simply go to https://www.patreon.com/rcpress. Help keep the media in the movement and the movement in the media. Become a patron for as little as $5/month by going to https://www.patreon.com/rcpress.
Join our Discord to continue the conversation all week long: https://discord.gg/BnjRNz3u
Friday Feb 16, 2024
Friday Feb 16, 2024
On today’s episode, I welcome Kathryn Joyce to the program. We'll be talking about her recent article in Vanity Fair, "How the Far Right Took Over a Pennsylvania School Board - And How Parents Took It Back." Yes, we're talking about the Pennridge School Board and the unexpected and game-changing victory by the Pennridge Community Alliance candidates this past fall that flipped five open seats on the board.
Kathryn Joyce is an investigative editor at In These Times, a freelance investigative reporter, and the author of two books: The Child Catchers: Rescue, Trafficking and the New Gospel of Adoption and Quiverfull: Inside the Christian Patriarchy Movement.
Kathryn was formerly a reporter with Type Investigations and Salon, a contributing editor at The New Republic, and a contributing writer at Highline. Her work has also appeared in numerous publications including Mother Jones, The Marshall Project, Longreads, The New York Times Magazine, Vox, The American Prospect, The Intercept, The Nation, Cosmopolitan, Adirondack Life, The Atlantic, Ms., The Harvard Divinity Bulletin, and many others.
She is formerly the editor of Political Research Associates’ quarterly magazine The Public Eye, and teaches as an adjunct lecturer in Brooklyn College’s political science department.
If we want a progressive future, we need progressive media. Support pull-no-punches, homegrown progressive media today by becoming a patron of Raging Chicken for as little as $5/month. Simply go to Patreon.com/RCPress. Help keep the media in the movement and the movement in the media. Become a patron for as little as $5/month by going to Patreon.com/RCPress.
Join our Discord to continue the conversation all week long: https://discord.gg/BnjRNz3u
Monday Feb 12, 2024
Monday Feb 12, 2024
On today’s show, you probably already heard the news. Taylor Swift won the Super Bowl. Yup, that's what happened. Meanwhile, our democracy continues to deteriorate and our collective politics get more unhinged. All the more reason to get with the people in your communities and continue to organize on principles of care.
What's on your mind? Would love to know.
If we want a progressive future, we need progressive media. Support pull-no-punches, homegrown progressive media today by becoming a patron of Raging Chicken for as little as $5/month. Simply go to Patreon.com/RCPress. Help keep the media in the movement and the movement in the media. Become a patron for as little as $5/month by going to Patreon.com/RCPress.
Join our Discord to continue the conversation all week long: https://discord.gg/BnjRNz3u
Monday Feb 05, 2024
Monday Feb 05, 2024
On today’s show, we’re taking a break from our focus on PA and head north to the Central New York region…yes, the place I grew up. We’ll be talking to James Meyers, a Democrat running for the New York State Senate in the 53rd District. The 53rd is significantly different following New York’s redistricting in 2022. The district now includes my hometown of Utica, NY. Meyers hopes to defeat Republican Joseph Griffo in this fall’s general election.
Meyers is running for the 53rd New York State Senate District with the aim of bringing a fresh approach to representing Central New Yorkers in their state government. He is a veteran with a strong background in service and leadership. Meyers grew up in a working-class environment in Upstate New York in a family who dedicated their professional lives to the service of others. After graduating from SUNY Brockport via an ROTC scholarship with a degree in history, he accepted a commission into active service as an intelligence officer in the United States Army. He currently holds the rank of Major in the Army Reserve.
While serving in the U.S. Army Reserve, he earned a master’s degree in strategic intelligence. His military service led to a position with Alion Science and Technology, a government contracting firm in Rome, NY where he was responsible for the management and completion of million-dollar projects. His love for central New York, the influence of his family, his education, military career and civilian experience, James is motivated to serve our community with the same passion and dedication he has and continues to serve our country.
Meyers is running on a platform of transparency, accountability, and putting the needs of his constituents first. He is an advocate for public safety, economic development, and accessible and affordable healthcare.
LINKS:
- James Meyers for State Senate webpage: https://www.james-meyers.com/
- Follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MeyersforNY
- Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meyersforstatesenate
- Follow on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/meyersforsenate
If we want a progressive future, we need progressive media. Support pull-no-punches, homegrown progressive media today by becoming a patron of Raging Chicken for as little as $5/month. Simply go to Patreon.com/RCPress. Help keep the media in the movement and the movement in the media. Become a patron for as little as $5/month by going to Patreon.com/RCPress.
Join our Discord to continue the conversation all week long: https://discord.gg/BnjRNz3u
Friday Feb 02, 2024
Friday Feb 02, 2024
Can you believe it's already February?!? What's going on folks? We'll get into some of the good, the bad, and ugly in state and national politics.
Today:
- Have we seen the end of Moms for Liberty? Don’t count on it.
- GOP operative Clarice Shillenger’s hypocrisy heading to trial. Who knows, maybe we’ll find out the Paul Martino will be chipping in on her legal bills too? I mean, he did bankroll her attacks on public schools…but that was before his Philly restaurant went bust…so, who knows.
- And we’re seeing Souderton School District and the Kutztown Area School District organizing to beat back the kind of right-wing extremism we’ve been dealing with in Pennridge and Central Bucks.
- New coalition, PAWInS, launches to coordinate information and organizing against extremist attacks on public schools in PA.
If we want a progressive future, we need progressive media. Support pull-no-punches, homegrown progressive media today by becoming a patron of Raging Chicken for as little as $5/month. Simply go to Patreon.com/RCPress. Help keep the media in the movement and the movement in the media. Become a patron for as little as $5/month by going to Patreon.com/RCPress.
Join our Discord to continue the conversation all week long: https://discord.gg/BnjRNz3u
Monday Jan 29, 2024
Monday Jan 29, 2024
On today’s show, we're throwing off the blankets and diving into 2024. What's happening in your neck of the woods?
If we want a progressive future, we need progressive media. Support pull-no-punches, homegrown progressive media today by becoming a patron of Raging Chicken for as little as $5/month. Simply go to Patreon.com/RCPress. Help keep the media in the movement and the movement in the media. Become a patron for as little as $5/month by going to Patreon.com/RCPress.
Join our Discord to continue the conversation all week long: https://discord.gg/BnjRNz3u
Friday Dec 15, 2023
Friday Dec 15, 2023
It's been quite a year and I think we can all use a little rest before the 2024 election season kicks off. If we want a progressive future, we need progressive media. Support pull-no-punches, homegrown progressive media today by becoming a patron of Raging Chicken for as little as $5/month. Simply go to Patreon.com/RCPress.
Help keep the media in the movement and the movement in the media. Become a patron for as little as $5/month by going to https://www.patreon.com/rcpress.
Join our Discord to continue the conversation all week long: https://discord.gg/BnjRNz3u
Monday Dec 11, 2023
Monday Dec 11, 2023
On tonight’s show, I welcome Ashli Giles-Perkins and Adrienne King to the show. Ashli is a staff attorney with the Education Law Center and Adrienne King is the President and Founder of the PairUp Society and a parent of two children in the Pennridge School district. Today we’ll be talking about the discrimination complaint against the Pennridge School Districts filed with the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights.
The complaint charges that the Pennridge School District has discriminated against LGBTQ+ students and students of color in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Title IX of the Educational Amendments Act of 1972. We’ll talk about what all that means and the history of ongoing and systemic discrimination in the districts. And, we’ll talk about what the election of a new school board majority may mean for how this complaint addressed.
Ashli Giles-Perkins joined the Philadelphia office of the Education Law Center in October 2020 as an Independence Foundation Public Interest Law Fellow. Ashli’s work centers on addressing the significant educational injustices for youth involved in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems in the Philadelphia area who enter, reside in, and leave residential facilities. Ashli provides representation of students and families, training for families and communities, and significant outreach to stakeholders to ensure oversight, accountability, and access to quality education for system-involved youth.
Originally from Bridgeport, Connecticut, Ashli graduated with a J.D. from Loyola University Chicago School of Law with a certificate in child & family law, as well as with an M.Ed. in cultural educational policy studies from Loyola Chicago’s School of Education. While at Loyola, Ashli interned with Advocates for Children of New York and the Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights.
Adrienne King is a wife, mother of two daughters in the Pennridge School District, and an outspoken leader and advocate in the community. Adrienne founded The PairUP Society , a 501c3 non-profit organization after experiencing difficulties in her children's school district and realizing the difficulties of navigating that system for her and other underrepresented students and their families. The PairUp Society helps build community among underrepresented students and their families and provide them with resources to advocate for their needs while also activating allies to provide support.
Adrienne holds a BS in Chemistry from the University of Pittsburgh, MS in Quality Assurance and Regulatory Affairs from Temple University and leadership certifications from Duke University and Cornell University. Adrienne and her family currently reside in Perkasie, PA where she is committed to putting roots down in their community and doing the work to create a sense of psychological safety, belonging and inclusion for all community members
LINKS
- Education Law Center | https://www.elc-pa.org/
- The PairUp Society | https://www.thepairupsociety.org/
- Civil Rights Complaint against Pennridge School District | https://bit.ly/3RBZCZB
- WHYY article on the Civil Rights complaint | https://bit.ly/4agzU47
- "Civil RIghts Complaint Filed Against Pennridge School District," Jenny Stephens, Bucks County Beacon | https://bit.ly/3NnFbNH
- "Understanding OCR complaints, like in the Pennridge School District, and their role to ensure equal access to high-quality public education," Jenny Stephens, Bucks County Beacon | https://bit.ly/3GBhHAP
If we want a progressive future, we need progressive media. Support pull-no-punches, homegrown progressive media today by becoming a patron of Raging Chicken for as little as $5/month. Simply go to Patreon.com/RCPress. Help keep the media in the movement and the movement in the media. Become a patron for as little as $5/month by going to Patreon.com/RCPress.
Join our Discord to continue the conversation all week long: https://discord.gg/BnjRNz3u