Out d’Coup Podcast

Out d'Coup | It's Shut Down Friday!; Deportation Nation; Stormy Daniels; Good News for Some J20 Protesters; Metcalfe Needs Mommy; Pitt Post-Gazette Racism; PA Gerrymandering Case; Space News and Beer!

It’s Shut Down Friday! As of this morning, we are on a path toward a government shutdown by midnight tonight unless the Senate agrees to pass the House’s continuing resolution for the budget. The GOP is doing its best to hold children’s health hostage and stage a conflict between children’s health v. undocumented immigrants. So far, Senate Democrats and a handful of Republicans are not willing to vote for the CR unless a DACA solution and funding for children’s health care. Will Senate Democrats be able to hold their ground, or will they flinch? In the meantime, Trump seems committed launching mass deportations. Trump’s deportations still have not reached Obama levels, but they are on their way and accompany an overt racist message. Remember, we’re just a week out from Trump’s “shithole” comments. Good thing Stormy Daniels is there to provide for some distraction. She says she can describe Trump’s junk perfectly. Fracking lobbyists plan to spend big at Trump’s DC hotel. No conflicts of interest there. Department of Health and Human Services, HHS, announces a new “Conscience and Religious Freedom Division.” Are we seeing the rise of an Appalachian Norma Rae? Paula Jean Swearengin will be taking on Joe Manchin in WV Democratic primary. Department of Justice drops charges against 129 J20 defendants. And Congressional Republicans using US Capitol Police to go after “Alt-Left,” aka constituents, who speak out against their disastrous policies.

 

Daryl Metcalfe says only Mommies and Daddies can be on birth certificates. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette posts Op-Ed defending racism on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Pittsburgh’s largest philanthropic organization, the Heinz Foundation, gives the Post-Gazette the Game of Thrones “shame” treatment. Note to our readers: Sean has not officially made his first Game of Thrones reference. Not sure he’s actually watched the series yet, though. The Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh pens a letter to the Post-Gazette editors denouncing the racist editorial.  The Post-Gazette declines to publish so the Guild published it on Facebook. Pennsylvania Democrats finally drafting a sexual harassment plan in the year and a half since a delegate was assaulted at the 2016 DNC Convention. Pennsylvania Gerrymandering case throwing out the Congressional maps makes it to the heavily Democratic State Supreme Court. PASSHE begins a search for a new chancellor. They are seeking a “Seeks ‘visionary’ leader to guide System Redesign.” And, the Keystone Progress Summit in Harrisburg is right around the corner!

On today’s Last Call: The privatization of space not off to a great start as Space X and Boeing are behind schedule to get humans to the International Space Station. Is Luxembourg positioning itself to be the Mecca for the privatization of space? You can watch the NFC Championship game between the Eagles and the Vikings this coming Sunday in the Free Will Brewing taproom in Perkasie if you’re in the area. Saucony Creek Brewery just spilled the beans on their upcoming Mardi Gras release: “Buckwheat Kingcake.” Pizza Boy releases barrel aged wild sour, Blueberry Permasmile.

Out d'Coup | The Shithole President; Dossier Drama; Oprah or NOprah?; Turn PA Blue Event; More Sexual Harassment Fallout in Capitol; Daylin Op-Eds; Beer and More!

Donald Trump introduces “shitholes” into the presidential lexicon. That’s gone well. Even the notorious Frank Luntz is piling on saying: “43% of immigrants from ‘shithole’ African countries have a bachelor’s degree or higher, compared to 33% of the overall American population. Nigerian-Americans, for instance, have a median household income well above the American average.” Trump now seems to be locking himself in his TV room and staying in his jammies for the rest of his presidency. He cancels a planned trip to the UK. Sure...it’s about the embassy. Or is it because Obama. Or, maybe, it’s about the hundred thousands of protesters that would have greeted him. The Washington Post and the Partnership for Public Service say that 245 of the 626 critical executive branch jobs remain without even a nominee. Dossier drama. Senator Diane Feinstein owns Republicans and releases the transcript of Fusion GPS’s testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee. And, will it be #Oprah or #NOprah in 2020?

PA Dems hold an event in Del Co as part of their Turn PA Blue campaign. Guests included Leanne Kreuger-Braneky, Art Haywood, and Keith Ellison. The Me Too movement keeps moving forward in PA. Top PA Senate security officer resigns after allegations that he sent inappropriate text messages to female staffers. Former State Senator Tim Solaby resigns from the Wolf Administration after stories surface of him slapping a staffer on the back end. Wolf Administration settles a 900k sexual harassment incident that occurred in the Department of Revenue between 2011-2013. Daylin Leach publishes an Op-Ed explaining his sexual harassment allegations & he appears to still be running for office. What’s up with PA Senate Securities secrecy? Whatcha hiding, huh?

Free Will’s next Sour Sunday will be January 28 from 12-8. They’re also teasing the release of “Peachy McPeachface” a barrel-aged sour ale. More on that when we hear about a release date. Saucony Creek is getting ready to release an Imperial Coffee Stout from their X Reserve line. That promises to be a good one. Pizza Boy has got Sour Frontside Lipslide on tap!

Winter 2018 Membership Special! Now through the end of February, you can get your own copy of Steven Singer’s new book, Gadfly on the Wall: A Public School Teacher Speaks Out on Racism and Reform, by joining at the $10/month level.

Out d'Coup | C-YA 2017; What's in Store for 2018; PA's Third Most Famous Groundhog; Sean's Camera Lens; and, more!

It’s (finally) the end of 2017. We’ll give the year a big C-YA and look forward to 2018. It’s a little more casual talk today. Sean and Kevin talk about the year gone by, the holidays, and Sean’s on-going saga with buying a new camera lens. You’ll probably hear kids and Minecraft in the background; and, those long silences will be Sean staring at the new poster he put up in the wee hours of the morning. And who is the third most famous groundhog in PA? You can find out! All that and more on today’s podcast.

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Thanks to all of our members, contributors, listeners, readers, and supporters! Have a safe and happy New Year! Here's to keeping the fight going strong in 2018!

Out d'Coup Xtra | Collaborative Podcast with Inside 254! We Talk Sexual Misconduct in PA Capitol; Believing Women; and, the Opportunity to Organize for Power

We have a special Out d'Coup Xtra for you as the New Year fast approaches. Today Sean and I are joined by Amanda Morris and Colleen Clemens from Inside 254 Podcast! It's our first-ever collaborative podcast and it's a good one! We talk about recent allegations of sexual misconduct in Pennsylvania state government and the need to hold the PA Democratic Party to account for its role in perpetuating a culture of repressive sexism. We also talk about why its necessary to start by believing the women who are speaking out against sexual misconduct and a toxic sexist culture. As more pressure is brought to bear on state and national legislators, we see hope in organizing efforts emerging in communities across the state. 

Be sure to check out Inside 254 and consider becoming a patron or making a donation to support their awesome work.

You can also support all the work we do at Raging Chicken by becoming a member today!

Out d'Coup | Tax Bill Disaster; Toomey's Bucket List; Turning Point USA Scandal; J20; Dems Cave on DACA; Collab with Inside 254; Space News; Beer, and more!

Yes, Rep. Tom Cole, a God did make Republicans to cut taxes. A demon God, but a God nonetheless. Pat Toomey celebrates crossing off another item on his bucket list with the passage of the GOP tax disaster bill. Turning Point USA - that billionaire-backed dark money group looking to bring extreme right-wing politics to college Student Government is embroiled in a scandal. Jane Mayer tells the story in the New Yorker. The first group of J20 protestors found not guilty. 

We preview our collaborative podcast with Inside 254 talking about sexual misconduct allegations in the State Capitol, toxic masculinity, and positive signs of organizing for power. 

In today's last call, Galactic Capitalists starting their lobbying campaigns to call for full privatization of space. Need a last minute Xmas gift? Look no further than this son-of-a-Koch, Wyatt. He's got some shirts to sell. Free Will's ready for the holidays. Pizza Boy's special releases, and more!

 

Out d'Coup | Roy Moore and the Horse He Rode in On; FCC Ends Net Neutrality; #MeToo Daylight Coming to Harrisburg; SB3; DSA on the Rise; Space News and Beer!

Roy Moore. You and the horse you rode in on. Tom Perez, Chair of the DNC, still framing politics in Wall Street language. Says he’s “bullish” about Dems chances of taking back the Senate in the wake of Doug Jones’s win in Alabama. Charles Barkley having none of it. The tax bill is a done deal - or is it? Republicans with presidential hopes put on a good show to get minor adjustments to the bill. I’m betting they come around after they get the spotlight for a couple of days. Chair of the FCC, Ajit Pai, drinks from his stupid big Reese’s mug after killing net neutrality on Thursday. And can we talk about his Daily Caller video? I didn’t realize a 13-year-old is running the FCC. Disney is already positioning itself for a post-net neutrality landscape, buying a big chunk of 21st Century Fox. I think it’s time to start talking about the Internet at a public asset. Maybe we should take a look at what they’re doing in Chattanooga. And Paul Ryan wants women to live up to their potential and start having more kids.

Daylight is coming to Harrisburg Capitol. That’s according to State Representative Leanne Krueger-Braneky. Krueger-Braneky and a bipartisan group of women introduce a package of bills designed to go after a culture of harassment in the Capitol. In an article this week, Jan Murphy of the Patriot-News seems to be forecasting the coming storm of #MeToo allegations in the State Capitol. Pittsburgh DSA does not endorse John Fetterman or any other Democratic Party candidate seeking their support. What a difference a year makes for emerging left politics in the state. PA House passes SB3, the 20-week abortion ban. Wolf promises a veto. Paycheck deception bill fails. We’ll have to wait until the Supreme Court decision to really gut union power.

In today’s last call, we bring back more space news! Sean brought back Voyager last week. This week we’ve got space manufacturing, Elon Musk’s car, and lunar bases! Woo Hoo. Kevin has an awesome lunch at Saucony Creek along with pogo sticks, hoverboards, and misfit toys. And, a new edition of the podcast was hatched. Free Will has got Safeword in cans! Sean saddles up for a busy holiday season at Pizza Boy.

Out d'Coup | Alt-Right Trolls Fail to Silence Sam Seder; CA Burns; Congressional Resignations; Daryl Metcalfe Heterosexual; Dark Money in PA; Space and Beer News!

Trump is working hard to ignite an all-out war in the Middle East. It will be a great war, a fantastic war. California wildfires continue to rage with little containment in a dystopia window into our climate future. Irony abounds as climate-change denying Rupert Murdoch’s $30 million home burns to the ground.  Sam Seder, the host of the Majority Report, is fired by MSNBC, after alt-right troll, Mike Cernovich tried to use a tweet Seder wrote in 2009 to discredit him. By Thursday, MSNBC reversed course saying they had messed up to cave to alt-right troll misinformation. Shout out the Majority Report crew for letting us use the sound clip from Jamie Peck for our intro music today. Rep. John Conyers and Senator Al Franken resign following sexual harassment and/or assault allegations. Republican Rep. Trent Franks resigns following revelations that he tried to get staffers to carry his baby as a surrogate. House ethics probe begins to look into Republican Rep. Blake Farenthold after it was revealed that he used $84,000 of taxpayer money to settle a sexual harassment suit brought by his former communications director. Meanwhile, the Republican Party throws its full support behind Roy Moore in Alabama. And, not one peep about the assaulter-in-chief.  Koch brothers tax strategy memo leaked. “Avoid getting distracted” on the deficit, their counsel. And, net neutrality protests took place around the country yesterday. Get ready for “Break the Internet” on December 12.

Pennsylvania state Rep. Daryl Metcalfe went off the rails this week. He used a state committee hearing to come out as a heterosexual. We thought he deserved his very own remix (click here to listen). Oh, yeah, Metcalfe warns that the “illegal aliens” are coming. PA Student Power Network continues to build momentum for their Free College Campaign with a Free College Town Hall yesterday at the Community College of Philadelphia. They are Dark money beginning to do its work in the state.  Koch brothers funded Campus Reform targets Kutztown University faculty member for encouraging students to attend tax bill rally. FreedomWorks and the Commonwealth Foundation caught using union busters to support Paycheck Deception legislation. Pennsylvania House Republicans attempted to strip health care coverage from members of the transgender community this week, but it got derailed. A

In space news, Voyager fires its thrusters successfully for the first time in over 37 years. NASA had to wait for nearly 19 hours to find out - kind of like a taste of a post-net-neutrality world. Kevin deals with his depression from not being able to attend SpaceCom this past week. Free Will released “Stay Tuned,” a nice imperial stout. And This Sunday they are hosting a Beer and Breakfast with Santa event with food from Down to Earth Cafe.

Out d'Coup | GOP Tax Scam; Assault on Net Neutrality; Senator Blankenship?; Roy Moore; NY Times White Nationalist Controversy; TPUSA in PA; March on Harrisburg; and, more!

Republican #TaxScam is delayed, but not dead. We are on the brink of significant changes to American society, folks. If the GOP gets this, they also get legal status for fetuses and allow churches to become arms of conservative politicians. Rubio admits that once #TaxScam is passed Republicans are coming for Social Security, Medicaid, and Medicare. Net Neutrality scheduled to be destroyed on December 14 thanks to former Verizon lawyer turned FCC chair, Ajit Pai. Fight for the Future, Demand Progress, and Free Press Action Fund calling for protests at Verizon stores around the country on December 7. Go to VerizonProtests.com for an action near you.

Former Trump National Security Advisor Michael Flynn gets charged with making false statements, lying to the FBI. Does this mean that Flynn is now cooperating? Don Blankenship, Former CEO of Massey Energy and criminally responsible for the deaths of 29 miners at the Upper Big Branch Mine in West Virginia, now running for U.S. Senate for that state against Joe Manchin. And, Roy Moore is gaining ground in Alabama. That right, the child predator may actually make it to the Senate. Looks like Rex Tillerson - aka Wayne Tracker - is out at the head of the state department. Bring in the deep state. This follows reports that Tillerson is doing an excellent job of gutting the state department as more senior staffers leave or are forced out. Matt Lauer’s out at NBC and now wants $30 million. And Maleficent pays a special visit to the White House to decorate for the holidays. Or was it the Ice Queen? Depends on the time of day I guess.

The New York Times was at the center of a major controversy surrounding their profile of a white nationalist. Sean and I go deep into the issues surrounding both the article and the controversy. And Turning Point USA - an astroturfed, billionaire-backed, right-wing organization begins showing up on Pennsylvania college campuses. Kudos to some awesome reporting form a student journalist at IUP. Wonder who’s going to this year’s Turning Point USA Student Action Summit at the end of the semester? Gorka will be there! Sean gives us the lowdown on last week’s Capitol action by March on Harrisburg.

And it’s beer holiday time! Free Will have a tent at tomorrow’s Perkasie tree lighting. Saucony Creek wins with their first crowler event. New beers out from Pizza Boy as the holiday season gets underway.

Out d'Coup Xtra | Noam Chomsky Interview from November 22, 2011

We didn’t want to leave you without a show this week, so we decided to give you a bit of a treat for Thanksgiving. Today you’re going to hear our first Raging Chicken interview from back in November 2011. Raging Chicken Press was just about four months old, but we were able to score an interview the day after he spoke at Kutztown University for World Philosophy Day.

We talked about the Occupy Movement - then in its second month of occupations around the country; social movements in the wake of the Tea Party victories and the Wisconsin Uprising; and the role of the university in social movements.

I’ll warn you ahead of time that the audio is less than stellar. Frankly, we were learning on the fly and our interview location was really noisy. But, still, it was a great talk that we wanted to share with you again as left political organizing is on the rise.

Out d'Coup | It's Monday?; Paradise Papers; Billionaire Media Play; GOP Tax Plan; Direct Actions in PA Capitol; Rick "Godly Heritage" Saccone for Congress; Sean talks "Wooder;" Beer and More

It's an uncharacteristically short Out d'Coup today. AND it's a Monday? What's up with that? We talk a bit about the Paradise Papers. Koch brothers throw in $500 million in bid to purchase Time, Inc. Sinclair Media basically writes the regulations to build a right-wing media network to challenge Fox - from the RIGHT. Republican Tax Plan amounts to another massive redistribution of income and wealth to the top fraction of the 1%. 

Wishing Colleen Clemens a Happy Birthday! Check out her Raging Chicken article and interview on Out d'Coup Xtra! PA Student Power Network continues it's organizing for free tuition. March on Harrisburg readies for a day of direct action in the PA Capitol. And, believe it or not, the PA GOP has tapped Rick "Godly Heritage" Saccone to run in a special election for the disgraced Tim Murphy out in western Pennsylvania. 

Sean tells a riveting tale of trying to get a glass of "wooder" at a bar. Some great local beer for Thanksgiving holidays from Free Will and Saucony Creek. No live show next week, but we just might have a pretty cool surprise for you!

End of the year membership special: Chris Robé’s book, Breaking the Spell: A History of Anarchist Filmmakers, Videotape Guerrillas, and Digital Ninjas, is our pick to close out 2017 and we're adding it to our bookshelf. You can too. Now through the end of the year, we will send your very own copy of Breaking the Spell if you become a member of Raging Chicken Press at the $10/month level. And, we'll send you some cool swag too! Become a member of Raging Chicken Press today!