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Activism, politics, and beer from PA-based Raging Chicken Press
Episodes
Wednesday Jul 27, 2022
Wednesday Jul 27, 2022
On today’s show, Cyril and I will be digging the on-going school board saga at Central Bucks School District - in particular, the School Board’s new book banning policy. The School Board met again last night and passed the controversial policy by a 6-3 vote. Parents, student, and community members rallied outside the meeting and expressed their opposition to their policy in the meeting. Once again Central Bucks is putting itself in the national spotlight for what happens when extremists take over.
Check out all the great work at the Bucks County Beacon at https://buckscountybeacon.com/ and you can sign up for Cyril’s newsletter on Substack: https://cyrilmychalejko.substack.com/
You can help support this show by becoming a patron for as little as $5/month at patreon.com/rcpress. Your support has helped make today’s show possible.
Don’t Let Paul Martino & his Oligarch Friends Buy Our Schools and push extremist politics in our community. Raging Chicken has teamed up with LevelField to launch a truly community rooted PAC to invest in organizing, support local and state-wide progressive candidates, and unmask the toxic organizations injecting our communities with right-wing extremism. We’re putting small-dollar donations to work to beat back the power of Big Money. You can get more information and drop your donation at https://ragingchicken.levelfield.net/.
And make sure to join our Discord Server to continue the conversation all week long. Just click on the link in today’s show notes: https://discord.gg/WMW98RQEYV
Monday Jul 25, 2022
Monday Jul 25, 2022
On this week's show, I welcome Alyssa Bowen back to the program. Alyssa is a Senior Researcher and Managing Editor at the progressive watchdog organization True North Research. Tonight our focus turns to the right-wing dark money that is funding the anti-abortion movement's push to take over state legislatures and deepen the devastation wrought by the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
Alyssa received her PhD in History from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill in 2021 with an interest in fascism and antifascism, solidarity and social movements, immigration/exile and transnational history. She has bylines in the Nation and in Truthout, where she is a regular contributor. More of her public writing can be found on True North Research’s website and Substack. Follow Alyssa on Twitter @AlyssaAnnBowen.
We'll be talking about two of Alyssa's recent co-authored articles for TruthOut, "Dark Money Fuels the Anti-Abortion Movement's Push to Control State Legislatures" and "Right-Wing Dark Money is Coming for Reproductive Rights in Your State." Links to both articles are in today’s show notes.
Articles
- “Dark Money Fuels the Anti-Abortion Movement's Push to Control State Legislatures" https://bit.ly/3zlU5gz
- "Right-Wing Dark Money is Coming for Reproductive Rights in Your State" https://bit.ly/3RMoWdx
Resources
- True North Research: https://truenorthresearch.org/
- Documented: https://documented.net/
- Center for Media and Democracy: https://www.prwatch.org/
- Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse’s bill on public disclosure: https://bit.ly/3zzTEQ5
You can support this show by becoming a patron for as little as $5/month at https://www.patreon.com/rcpress.
Don’t Let Paul Martino & his Oligarch Friends Buy Our Schools and push extremist politics in our community. Raging Chicken has teamed up with LevelField to launch a truly community rooted PAC to invest in organizing, support local and state-wide progressive candidates, and unmask the toxic organizations injecting our communities with right-wing extremism. We’re putting small-dollar donations to work to beat back the power of Big Money. You can get more information and drop your donation at https://ragingchicken.levelfield.net/.
Join our Discord to continue the conversation all week long: https://discord.gg/BnjRNz3u
Friday Jul 22, 2022
Friday Jul 22, 2022
NOTE: The audio was lost after the break around the 59 minute mark. If I can figure out what happened and can correct, I'll post it later. The first hour of the show is fine. Sorry that you're not going to hear the discussion of the Mastriano campaign, Buck County GOP official heading to jail, and cool new D&D stuff!
The January 6th Committee brought part 1 of their public hearings to a close last night by showing the world what Donald Trump DIDN’T do during the insurrection. We also got to see tough guy Josh Hawley running from the mob like a frightened bunny.
Yes, the climate is in crisis. It’s not something that will happen; it’s happening. The UK saw record-setting temperatures of 104 degrees and much of Western Europe and the United States experienced and continue to experience extreme heat.
Moms for Liberty held its first national conference this week in Florida and pledged to deepen their assault on school boards and multiracial democracy. Florida Governor and GOP presidential hopeful Ron DeSantis and National Republican Senatorial Committee Chair, Senator Rick Scott, headlined the event.
A new survey finds that more than half of higher education workers are making plans to leave their jobs or academe altogether. 57.2% said they were somewhat likely to leave their jobs while about 35% said they are likely or very likely to get out within the next 12 months.
The House voted to codify marriage equality into law with the “Respect for Marriage Act.”. Will Democratic Senate leaders fumble the ball?
And, writing in The Guardian, Steve Phillips is asking the right question: Why are Democratic billionaires backing white candidates over better candidates of color? As he writes, “not only is it a bad look and a continuation of institutional racism in a party that is nearly half people of color, but, most immediately is bad electoral politics”
Monday Jul 18, 2022
Monday Jul 18, 2022
On this week's show, I welcome William Horne back to the show to talk about his new article, "Why I Use the 'F' Word (and You Should Too)." Horne is an Arthur J. Ennis Postdoctoral Fellow at Villanova University & co-founder of the Activist History Review. He just launched a new newsletter on substack, In Case of Emergency, that will be a space to engage critical anti-fascist thinkers; expose the history and growing threat of fascism in the U.S.; and, amplify the ways disrupt systems of exploitation the far-right are actively working to permanently codify in American culture and governance.
You can check out his newsletter at https://drwilliamhorne.substack.com/ and you can check out all the great work over at the Activist History Review at https://activisthistory.com/
You can support this show by becoming a patron for as little as $5/month at https://www.patreon.com/rcpress.
Don’t Let Paul Martino & Friends Buy Our Schools and push extremist politics in our community. Raging Chicken has teamed up with LevelField to launch a truly community rooted PAC to invest in organizing, support local and state-wide progressive candidates, and unmask the toxic organizations injecting our communities with right-wing extremism. We’re putting small-dollar donations to work to beat back the power of Big Money. You can get more information and drop your donation at https://ragingchicken.levelfield.net/.
Join our Discord to continue the conversation all week long: https://discord.gg/BnjRNz3u
Friday Jul 15, 2022
Friday Jul 15, 2022
Raging Chicken's Friday Politics Roundup for June 24, 2022. So much to catch up on! It’s great to be back after a two-week hiatus for family vacation. Today we had a great community initiated discussion about organizing for the midterms, the differences in how the GOP and the Dems run their parties and campaigns, the critical importance of the PA gubernatorial race, how the right-wing is coming for our public libraries, and so much more.
Articles mentioned today:
- “What legislation did Gov. Tom Wolf approve or veto during budget season?” Pennsylvania Capital-Star: https://www.penncapital-star.com/campaigns-elections/what-legislation-did-wolf-veto/
- “Manchin Pulls Plug on Climate and Tax Talks, Shrinking Domestic Plan,” New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/14/us/politics/manchin-climate-taxes.html
- “What’s Happening With The Vinton (IA) Public Library?” https://iowastartingline.com/2022/07/13/whats-happening-with-the-vinton-public-library/
- “House votes to make it easier to report UFOs” Politico https://www.politico.com/news/2022/07/13/house-votes-easier-report-ufos-00045640
You can support this show by becoming a patron for as little as $5/month at https://www.patreon.com/rcpress.
Don’t Let Paul Martino & Friends Buy Our Schools and push extremist politics in our community. Raging Chicken has teamed up with LevelField to launch a truly community rooted PAC to invest in organizing, supporting local and state-wide progressive candidates, and unmasking the toxic organizations injecting our communities with right-wing extremism. We’re putting small-dollar donations to work to beat back the power of Big Money. You can get more information and drop your donation at https://ragingchicken.levelfield.net/.
Join our Discord to continue the conversation all week long: https://discord.gg/BnjRNz3u
Friday Jun 24, 2022
Friday Jun 24, 2022
Raging Chicken's Friday Politics Roundup for June 24, 2022. We're back at our regular time and there's a lot going on. We're here to dig into the good, the bad, and the ugly in state and national politics.
It’s a dark day in America. The Supreme Court just overturned Roe v. Wade.
The Supreme Court rules that we must all return to the Wild West, arming ourselves in public in case there is a call for a showdown, effectively turning all our Main Streets into OK corrals. Apparently, Westerns are part of the “American Tradition” in the Constitution. And, as you might imagine, shares of Smith & Wesson rose more than 9% on Wall Street.
Update on January 6th hearings.
According to a new report by the Education Data Initiative, in Pennsylvania, 661,000 student loan borrowers between the age of 25 and 34 owe an average of more than $35,000 each - more than $23 billions collectively. 35 - 49-year-olds owe an average of $46,377 each, or $20.74 billion. Those between 50 - 61 owe an average of $46,929; and, borrowers over 62 owe an average of $45,539 each. In total, American student loan borrowers owe more than $1.7 trillion in student loan debt.
The Biden Administration’s Department of Education has agreed to cancel $6 billion in student loan debt for more than 200,000 borrowers who were defrauded by their mostly for-profit colleges or universities. That is on top of the more than $25 billion in student loan debt the administration already canceled for more than 1.7 million borrowers. Supposedly, the Biden administration will decide by August 31 if it will make good on Biden’s campaign promist to cancel at least $10,000 in student loan debt across the board.
Kim Bedillion of the Pennridge GOP goes all in on her anti-LGBTQ crusade.
You can support this show by becoming a patron for as little as $5/month at https://www.patreon.com/rcpress.
Don’t Let Paul Martino & Friends Buy Our Schools and push extremist politics in our community. Raging Chicken has teamed up with LevelField to launch a truly community rooted PAC to invest in organizing, support local and state-wide progressive candidates, and unmask the toxic organizations injecting our communities with right-wing extremism. We’re putting small-dollar donations to work to beat back the power of Big Money. You can get more information and drop your donation at https://ragingchicken.levelfield.net/.
Join our Discord to continue the conversation all week long: https://discord.gg/BnjRNz3u
Friday Jun 17, 2022
Friday Jun 17, 2022
January 6th hearings are doing an exceptional job making it abundantly clear that Trump and those close to him were consciously planning a coup. And yet, the hearings also seem to have a side project of rehabilitating the Republican Party. Maybe Nancy Pelosi will get her wish of an even stronger GOP after all.
AFL-CIO sets a goal of organizing a million new workers over the next 10 years. However, as Hamilton Nolan explains in In These Times, that’s a nice soundbite but it sets the stage for further decline in union density.
The Labor Notes Conference gets underway in Chicago today.The Labor Notes Conference is the biggest gathering out there of grassroots union activists, worker center leaders, and all-around troublemakers.
The recent stock market nose-dive has wiped out more than $3 trillion in retirement savings this year. One more example of the consequences of leaving retirement up to a glorified casino. The House always wins.
And remember that big bipartisan deal on new federal gun reform? Yeah, well, the big GOP “partner” on the talks, John Cornyn from Texas just walked away from negotiation and put any potential deal in question. Their self-imposed deadline was yesterday, before Senators went on vacation. But, vacation comes first.
The Wolf Administration is still trying to get $2000 checks out to Pennsylvanian, but state Republicans don’t want you to have them.
State Senator Steve Santisiero becomes the new chair of the Bucks County Democrats. Can his leadership help right the ship?
Doug Mastriano introduced a bill in the State Senate Government Committee that would make it law that "the liberty of a parent to direct the upbringing, education, care & welfare" of their child is "a fundamental right."
PA legislature punts bills on gun reform. Gov. Wolf calling the move “shameful.” Democrats are trying to use a procedural motion to get a vote.
PASSHE Chancellor Greenstein announced a new funding scheme for remaining universities, but no one really seems to understand what the consequences will be. Par for the course, I guess. Space X employees draft letter criticizing Elon Musk. Musk goes ahead and fires at least five of them.
NASA’s Perseverance Mars Rover spots trash on the Red Planet, reminding us all that wherever we go, we trash it up.
Launch of first D&D campaign - Lost Mine of Phandelver!
You can support this show by becoming a patron for as little as $5/month at https://www.patreon.com/rcpress.
Don’t Let Paul Martino & Friends Buy Our Schools and push extremist politics in our community. Raging Chicken has teamed up with LevelField to launch a truly community rooted PAC to invest in organizing, support local and state-wide progressive candidates, and unmask the toxic organizations injecting our communities with right-wing extremism. We’re putting small-dollar donations to work to beat back the power of Big Money. You can get more information and drop your donation at https://ragingchicken.levelfield.net/.
Join our Discord to continue the conversation all week long: https://discord.gg/BnjRNz3u
Wednesday Jun 15, 2022
Wednesday Jun 15, 2022
It's a special Wednesday show that's not THE Wednesday Show. We've had some scheduling craziness this past week and a half, but we're finding out way through. Can things get crazier? Yes. Yes, they are about to. What's on your mind and what's happening in your neck of the woods?
LINKS:
- "The Future of Public Education in Pennsylvania Rests on the Governor's Race," Mindy Isser, Bucks County Beacon
- "White Nationalist Book Publisher Revealed," Hannah Gais, Megan Squire, Jason Wilson and Michael Edison Hayden, Southern Poverty Law Center.
You can support this show by becoming a patron for as little as $5/month at https://www.patreon.com/rcpress.
Don’t Let Paul Martino & Friends Buy Our Schools and push extremist politics in our community. Raging Chicken has teamed up with LevelField to launch a truly community rooted PAC to invest in organizing, support local and state-wide progressive candidates, and unmask the toxic organizations injecting our communities with right-wing extremism. We’re putting small-dollar donations to work to beat back the power of Big Money. You can get more information and drop your donation at https://ragingchicken.levelfield.net/.
Join our Discord to continue the conversation all week long: https://discord.gg/BnjRNz3u
Wednesday Jun 01, 2022
Wednesday Jun 01, 2022
On this episode of the Wednesday Show, Cyril and I will take a look at what's happening with the Bucks County Beacon and the decision by Gannett News to cut the columns of Cyril and other community voices out of the the Bucks County Courier Times & The Intelligencer. What does that tell us about the corporate takeover of local newspapers and what we need to do in the progressive media community.
Check out all the great work at the Bucks County Beacon at https://buckscountybeacon.com/
You should also sign up for Cyril’s newsletter on Substack: https://cyrilmychalejko.substack.com/
You can help support this show by becoming a patron for as little as $5/month at patreon.com/rcpress. Your support has helped make today’s show possible.
Don’t Let Paul Martino & Friends Buy Our Schools and push extremist politics in our community. Raging Chicken has teamed up with LevelField to launch a truly community rooted PAC to invest in organizing, support local and state-wide progressive candidates, and unmask the toxic organizations injecting our communities with right-wing extremism. We’re putting small-dollar donations to work to beat back the power of Big Money. You can get more information and drop your donation at https://ragingchicken.levelfield.net/.
And make sure to join our Discord Server to continue the conversation all week long. Just click on the link in today’s show notes: https://discord.gg/WMW98RQEYV
Monday May 30, 2022
Monday May 30, 2022
Tonight, I welcome Kierstyn Zolfo back to the show. Kierstyn is the PA Indivisible Legislative Chair and Bucks County organizer. We'll be ripping the moderate mask of Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick by digging into is anti-abortion record, his "election integrity" gaslighting, his use of "alternative facts" to cover his unpopular votes, and his relationship with the Philly Republican ballot harvester.
What, that's not enough? Maybe we'll add in his "surprise" visit to Ukraine while still refusing to hold town halls for his constituents in the #PA01. We'll also highlight her latest article in the Bucks County Beacon, "Rep Brian Fitzpatrick's Use of Dirty Campaign Money is Shameful." And maybe, just maybe, we'll talk about why re-electing Brian Fitzpatrick this fall will bolster Republican's efforts to repeal many of the gains of the 20th century.
LINK:
- Channel Your Rage - Info and Resource session by Indivisible Lanbertville/New Hope: https://indivisiblelnh.com/
- "Rep Brian Fitzpatrick's Use of Dirty Campaign Money is Shameful," in the Bucks County Beacon.
You can support this show by becoming a patron for as little as $5/month at https://www.patreon.com/rcpress/
Don't Let Paul Martino & Friends Buy Our Schools: If you want to help us end the domination of right-wing money tipping the scales to the extreme on our school boards and in our communities, we’ve made that easy. Simply drop a donation to the Raging Chicken Community Fund at https://ragingchicken.levelfield.net/.
Help us support community organizing and school board candidates that our communities and our children deserve.
Join our Discord server: https://discord.gg/WMW98RQEYV