#DJ Trump conviction

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

June 3, 2024

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

JUN 04, 2024

The fallout from the New York jury’s conviction of Donald Trump on 34 felony counts last Thursday, May 30, continues. Trump’s team continues to insist that the guilty verdict will help him, but that’s nonsensical on its face: if guilty verdicts are so helpful, why has he moved heaven and earth to keep the many other cases against him from going to trial? And why are he and House speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) calling for the Supreme Court to overturn the convictions? 

As political consultant Stuart Stevens put it: “I worked in five presidential races and helped elect Republican governors or Senators in over half the country. I have never heard anything more transparently desperate than a party trying to spin that there is some non-MAGA pool of voters who can't wait to vote for a convicted felon.”

On Friday, Morning Consult conducted a poll to gauge how voters were reacting to the guilty verdict. It showed that 54% of registered voters approved of it, while only 34% disapproved. Perhaps worse for Trump was that 49% of Independents and 15% of Republicans thought he should end his campaign. A Reuters/Ipsos poll found that 10% of registered Republican voters and 25% of Independents said that his conviction made it less likely that they would vote for him for president. 

Then, on Saturday, there was what Danny Westneat of the Seattle Times called a plot twist. It turns out the state of Washington has a law on the books that prevents felons from running for office. But because a candidate has to be certified to be on a ballot before they can be challenged, the issue can’t be resolved until Trump officially becomes the Republican Party’s presidential nominee at the July convention. Westneat asked, “Republicans: You sure you want to go down this road?”

On Sunday, Trump appeared on Fox and Friends for his first interview since his conviction. The interview was heavily edited, suggesting his comments were problematic in some way, but what was there was still bad enough. He repeated his plans to fire generals who refuse to do his bidding and to deport immigrants by using local police to round them up. Notably, considering his own looming sentencing, he claimed he never said “lock her up” about Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, a claim that reporters on social media promptly shredded with video clips of him doing exactly that. 

Media figures are puncturing Trump’s image. The verdict buried a story by The Apprentice producer Bill Pruitt, who is now free of a nondisclosure agreement, explaining how he and others created an illusion that Trump was a successful businessman and alleging that Trump used the n-word on set. On Saturday, an image circulated on social media of Trump leaving Trump Tower and waving as if to a crowd, but there was no one there.

Also on Saturday, top sports talk host Colin Cowherd pushed back on the idea that the trial was rigged, telling his listeners: “If everybody in your circle is a felon, maybe it’s not rigged. Maybe the world isn’t against you.” “Donald Trump is now a felon,” Cowherd said. “His campaign chairman was a felon. So is his deputy campaign manager, his personal lawyer, his chief strategist, his National Security Adviser, his Trade Advisor, his Foreign Policy Adviser, his campaign fixer, and his company CFO. They’re all felons. Judged by the company you keep. It’s a cabal of convicts.”

Cowherd went on: “[Trump’s] trying to sell me an America that doesn’t exist.” “Stop trying to sell me on ‘everything’s rigged, the country’s falling into the sea, the economy’s terrible,’” he continued. “The America that I live in is imperfect. But compared to the rest of the world, I think we’re doing okay.”

This morning, Robert Faturechi, Justin Elliott, and Alex Mierjeski of ProPublica reported that Trump’s businesses and campaign committees have funneled significant financial benefits to at least nine witnesses in the criminal campaigns against Trump, often at crucial moments in the legal proceedings. The pay of one campaign aide doubled; another got a $2 million severance package that barred him from cooperating with law enforcement. The daughter of one of the campaign’s top officials was hired onto the staff and is now the fourth-highest-paid employee, with a salary of $222,000. Payments to the companies of certain witnesses dramatically increased.

Faturechi, Elliott, and Mierjeski note that it is not uncommon for bosses to find themselves defendants, complicating their relationship with employees who might have witnessed alleged crimes. In such cases, lawyers advise the defendant not to provide any unusual benefits or penalties, to avoid the appearance of witness tampering.

Trump’s attorney, David Warrington, sent ProPublica a cease-and-desist letter saying that if the outlet and its reporters “continue their reckless campaign of defamation, President Trump will evaluate all legal remedies.” He demanded that ProPublica kill the article, keeping it from publication.

And then, this afternoon, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams, along with the U.S. Department of Labor and the State Department, unsealed an indictment charging Weidong Guan, also known as Bill Guan, the chief financial officer of the global news outlet The Epoch Times, with using the outlet to launder at least $67 million. The Epoch Times is affiliated with the ultraconservative Chinese anticommunist religious group Falun Gong and supports Donald Trump and other right-wing U.S. politicians with both press and cash. It was a major promoter of Dinesh D’Souza’s film 2000 Mules that claimed the 2020 presidential election was stolen. A voter depicted in that film sued for defamation, and just last week the distributor settled with the plaintiff, issued an apology, and stopped distributing the film.

The allegation that The Epoch Times is a money-laundering operation comes on top of yesterday’s story by Joseph Menn in the Washington Post, reporting that the editor of another media site that pushes disinformation from both the far right and the far left, The Grayzone, has worked for Russia’s Sputnik as well as taken money from Iranian government-owned media. One of the people who retweets Grayzone stories is Senator Mike Lee (R-UT).

In the middle of all this bad news for MAGA Republicans, it felt like desperation today when the House Oversight Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic tried to resurrect Covid conspiracy theories against Dr. Anthony Fauci. Fauci was director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) from 1984 to 2022, serving under seven presidents. President George W. Bush awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award in the U.S., for his work on combating the global AIDS epidemic. 

Fauci’s position as NIAID director put him at the center of U.S. attempts to grapple with Covid-19, and for his work on developing a vaccine, Trump awarded him a presidential commendation. But first QAnon and then MAGA Republicans centered him as a villain who either started or covered up the pandemic, or forced people to mask or to get vaccines they told their supporters were unnecessary or even dangerous. QAnon conspiracy theorist Ivan Raiklin and convicted January 6 rioter Brandon Fellows were seated behind Fauci today; Fellows made pouty faces when Fauci was describing the death threats he, his wife, and his daughters have endured. 

Video creator and political commentator Michael McWhorter noted that Raiklin has made dramatic threats of violence against those he considers members of “the Deep State” and that he should have been nowhere near Fauci. McWhorter also noted that the two men were likely invited to the hearing and that it would be useful to know who invited them.  

Committee member Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), who has skipped seven of the last ten hearings and who has expressed sympathy for QAnon in the past, attacked Fauci by saying he should be prosecuted: “You know what this committee should be doing? We should be writing a criminal referral because you should be prosecuted for crimes against humanity,” she said. “You belong in prison, Dr. Fauci.” For all the nastiness, the hearing turned up nothing.

Later, Greene told Manu Raju of CNN that Speaker Johnson should shut down the government over the Trump verdict and prosecutions. “We're literally a banana republic. So what does it matter funding the government? The American people don't give a sh*t.” 

While MAGA Republicans are insisting that a Manhattan jury’s conviction of Trump means that President Joe Biden has weaponized the Department of Justice and that they must take revenge, the trial of Biden’s son Hunter on federal gun charges, brought by a Trump-appointed U.S. attorney whom Biden kept on, started today. Former top Justice Department prosecutor Andrew Weissmann noted that Biden is “living the rule of law…in the most personal way. He is not telling DOJ to stand down…. He is not pardoning his son…. He is living what it means to have a rule of law in this country…. If you want to know if he believes it, you can actually see what is happening with his own son.”

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

[the-firebird69]

The Thing 4K HDR | Spider Head

You keep your brain alive to The bitter end and people can tell it's on purpose and really your people want your brain and stuff. This is one of the three idiots who threatening my husband when he was stuck with bja who threw a rock and it hit Emily blunt and she was trying to have my husband do it and she was pissed off for years and she made a huge deal listen to Three down Trump and son and grandson this is actually the grandson that came down and this is coming up and they're going down there because they need to see what this big deal is about a huge computer and a big machine that opens the gate and they're completely without information and Tommy f is in the way but his own father is forced to burn his son and usually they don't think a huge deal out of it than they take their stuff and use clones but in this case they're running low on people

Hera Zues

Put this up there because these three idiots keep bothering him and pretty soon it'll be two and then after a short time they'll be one and the last one is Trump and he's going to understand that he got his kids killed. Pretty much all of them

Thor Freya

Today's a huge day this massive amounts of death huge losses by morlock mostly and really really bad attitude for people who really have to have a good one and they're losing people all over the world to just general hatred and they're losing them to the cities or seeking the gold and other precious metals and more and they're losing them in the Parks a huge huge numbers of going there and getting hit and in the tunnels after ships they sent 30 more out this morning and they're trying to take over this idiot area which the kind of just roll in and kind of running anyways so yeah they're stupid. But they have a large army attacking the outside and they're losing their ships and they're sending out waves of 1 to 200 million to Venus and so far they lost 600 million ships and that's probably 1/5 of their Force and 3 billion is probably around where it is it's more like 4.5 billion since 16 and there's a lot of other things that are happening there are court cases in town and Trump and son and grandson and DJ and his brother were convicted yesterday no the hearing started and the court case started and it was today it actually physically began and it began by then going to court and the court case was introduced they said Hulu victims were and evidence and they're being held no they managed to get out of it on bail for homicide believe it or not it was about 20 million dollars each person but each offense as well for each person and they didn't care but they don't have money they can use here and also going to court for their assets it's probably another one's eighth of it and so far we're up to lake almost 3/8 and this would make it half gone already to the court and to keep harassing our son like it's nothing and people come by and beat them up and tell them not to they do it again they tell them not to beat them up take this stuff take him to court I mean it's ridiculous these people are obnoxious idiots the rude stupid people and we need more controls and we're sending them in shortly. There are other things happening that are huge the quest for the ships is pushing the clones very hard and soon they will be attempting for lunch the ships that are ready that are mega class have been on and cycling for 2 and 1/2 Weeks and it seems like an eternity once a week too long but they had to make adjustments they were real. And it will go off probably tonight or tomorrow night we're thinking and the fighting is intense. And they're going after George's but for real this is turning into a massive fight over the ships and they have to go to ground bases and section. Tomorrow late afternoon Pluto begins to go behind the Sun once it's behind the Sun and out of you of Earth they'll be a war in space

Olympus

[gaiapaia]

Kermit and Friends: Drew Lane

Drew Lane is an American radio personality that currently hosts The Drew and Mike Show. Drew has been in radio for almost 40 years, working in Virginia, Phoenix, Charlotte, Boston, and finally Detroit, Michigan, where Drew has made his home the last 30 years covering Detroit sports, politics, and pop culture.

Despite Kermit and Friends airing during the middle of a Detroit Lions game, Drew kindly made his glorious KAF debut so he could discuss the interview Elisa had with Stuttering John Meledez last week.

Not only was Elisa’s interview with Stuttering John featured on Radar Online, but Elisa received heaps of praise from multiple shows regarding it, most notably from The Drew and Mike Show, which Elisa has guest appeared on many times to mostly talk about her former engagement to Andy Dick.

After the Stuttering John interview though, Drew learned that there’s a lot more to Elisa than who she dates... she’s actually quite talented at this podcasting thing. Drew still thinks she needs an engineer and better equipment, but in time those things will come!

But Drew was all smiles as he joined Elisa, happy to talk about his career, what a thin-skinned sleezeball Stuttering John is, Elisa’s current status with Andy, the time Elisa was asked out on a date by Donald Trump, Adam Carolla and his stance on the COVID-19 shots, among other topics.

It was a superb 45 minute interview. Elisa and Drew bounce off each other very well. Hopefully the KAF and TD&MS can continue to work together and merge their audiences. It can only lead to good things.

Kermit and Friends Wrap-Up Show host ‘Arf Arf Bark Bark’ James Tsai appeared during Elisa’s interview with Drew to share some grievances he has with how the KAF Discord fanclub is ran. He does not like how people aren’t frequently banned or silenced, and he feels Leaf King and Elisa are hurting Elisa’s stardom potential by letting KAF characters run amok both in the Discord and on the show itself.

James brought up the conviction of Mark Connors to make his point that it makes KAF look really bad to feature someone like that, which seemed a bit hypocritical since James welcomed Mark on his Wrap-Up show last week. Elisa believes the more controversial a person is, the better. And I tend to agree with her. Controversy creates cash and most importantly, entertainment. Entertainment = fun, and that is KAF’s main goal at the moment - to have fun.

I am sad to report that since yesterday’s episode, James has quit the Kermit and Friends Discord and all things related to KAF. He got in a tussle in the Discord last night with a friend of Elisa’s named Tammy, which made him very upset. Maybe someday he will come back but if not, James was fun while he lasted and I wish him the best going forward.

I do have some good news though... Kermit made an awesome new friend yesterday named DJ Jeff Duran!

Jeff Duran is a former child actor (worked on shows like The Wonder Years and Step by Step, two of my favorite shows when I was a kid) turned shock jock and stand-up comedian. You can check out his newest comedy album If You Can’t Dazzle ‘em With Brilliance by clicking here. 

Jeff appeared on the show fired up after listening to Elisa and Drew talk about Stuttering John so much. Jeff is NOT a Stuttering John fan! He believes guys like John have ruined stand-up comedy by stealing spots from up-and-comers just because they have name value due to a show they once appeared on. After saying guys like Stuttering John need to die off, Elisa hilariously asked, “Is Stuttering John the COVID of comedy?” to which of course Jeff said yes.

DJ Jeff was simply terrific. He brought a lot of energy and intensity to the show. I can really see him thriving as a regular on Kermit and Friends. Hopefully Jeff agrees!

Now, on to Kleenex....

The Friday before last, Elisa surprisingly met with Kleenex in person for dinner along with Stuttering John and a couple of her co-workers. Elisa made it clear what a delight Kleenex was on last week’s KAF episode and how happy she was that she got to spend time with him in person.

In my review last week, I said, “No one has made more threats towards Elisa or cursed her out more times than Kleenex.” This is what made it a surprise she would meet him. And while I wanted to give Kleenex the benefit of the doubt - I and everyone familiar with him knew he would say or do something to screw up Elisa’s positive feelings towards him.

Well, Kleenex did exactly that.

Kleenex appeared on the What The Fuck podcast, hosted by ‘Crazy Joker’ Mark Connors and ‘BadCore’ Corey Beffert. They asked Kleenex about his experience meeting Elisa, and Kleenex mentioned being disappointed in Elisa’s looks, he said he was mad she wouldn’t meet him at a hotel she recommended he stay at, and he claimed Elisa tried to make a client out of him by attempting to sell him gold on the phone a few days after they met.

Was Kleenex being malicious? In my opinion, no. Kleenex knew Mark and Corey aren’t big fans of Elisa, and he wanted to fit in. This is how Kleenex always is, at least until he gets angry about something. If he’s not angry, Kleenex is going to tell you exactly what he thinks you want to hear.

Regardless, Kleenex was wrong. Words hurt, and Kleenex hurt Elisa’s feelings with his words. She was so nice to him and so complimentary towards Kleenex after the meet-up... how could he say anything bad about Elisa after that?

Elisa’s looks? We all know Elisa is beautiful. Maybe she does look her best while on the show but we’ve all seen Elisa on apps like Periscope where she has no lighting, filter, make-up, etc. many times and she’s still drop dead gorgeous during those occasions. When you’re in Elisa’s position in Beverly Hills, surrounded by other beautiful women, I can’t imagine how it must feel to hear, “You’re not as pretty as I thought you were” coming from someone you considered a friend.

I bet every time Elisa has been rejected for a role she auditioned for or dumped by someone she dated, her first thought always is, “I must not have been pretty enough.” That’s natural for a woman in that city to feel that way, so for someone like Kleenex to say Elisa wasn’t up to par for his standards, it set Elisa off.

Elisa jumped out of her character and started hurling insults and putting unflattering pictures of Kleenex onscreen. While this was very funny and entertaining, it’s not who Elisa is... but no one is themselves when they’ve reached a breaking point.

As angry as she was, in Elisa’s mind, Kleenex deserved to have his feelings hurt just like he hurt her feelings. And it worked. After the show, Kleenex gave a sincere apology on Twitter and hopefully he learned a valuable lesson (probably unlikely). Also to address his other allegations... Kleenex told Elisa when they met that he had $100K in the bank and was interested in buying some gold, so Elisa calling him about it a couple of days later to see if he’s qualified was all of Kleenex’s own doing. As far as Elisa not wanting to meet Kleenex at a hotel... gee, I wonder why?

While on this topic, I must give props to KAF OG Krystal who made her return to Kermit and Friends for the first time since its revival. Krystal did her best to reel Elisa back in when Elisa’s head was close to exploding while she was confronting Kleenex. It was nice to see Krystal back on the show and I hope she becomes a more regular presence on it.

On a more heartwarming note, I also need to give a special shout out to Sharmin Smith, who sweetly shared with us yesterday how she found out after his funeral that her late nephew’s favorite hip-hop group was Bone-Thugs-N-Harmony. If you remember, Flesh-N-Bone from the group was featured on Kermit and Friends twice this past year. Sharmin felt this was a serendipitous sign and was brought to tears talking about it, which almost made Elisa cry. Very beautiful moment.

As you can see, Kermit and Friends struck every emotional cord this week, which is what the show strives to do. Whenever you think the previous week can’t be topped, Elisa finds a way to top it. It really is remarkable at this point. Can’t wait to see what’s in store next :) 

[kegasyo-blog]

And will they be able to rebound with Michigan State?

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[raygarraty]

Rap: December 2018

ALBUM OF THE MONTH

MIKE – War in My Pen

My late year discovery. There is something broken in MIKE. Sometimes it seems he outEarled Earl Sweatshirt.

In the other news:

DJ Skizz – High Powered – You forget about it the second you’ve turned it off.

Ghostface Killah – Ghost Files – Pretty lame except for the line where he says he shits in his car.

21 Savage – I am ) I was – His music’s gone commercial which is not something you want to listen to. Money def spoiled him.

70th Street Carlos – 777 – Dumb shit. And I like my shit dumb. I already listened to it like 777 times.

Fmb Dz – The Gift 2 – DZ turned into someone like Detroit’s Philthy Rich. He became more mature and crafted rapper but spontaneity is gone. The gift came secondhanded.

Mac x C-Murder – Wrongfully Convicted – Looks like old material got paired together, and yet it’s the horrorcore rap album of the year.

Chris Crack – Thanks Uncle Trill – This is hilarious. Dumb and smart as fukk.

Sauce Walka – Sauce Ghetto Gospel – More quiet release than his previous one. He’s the best thing that came out of Dirty South this year.

Boosie Badazz – Boosie Blues Café – Boosie’s gone mad. Like *totally* mad.

Mozzy x Messy Marv – Chow Time – The question is why did they even pair?

Homeboy Sandman – Humble Pi – Standup comedy material. Unbelievably good.

Eto and Vinyl Villain – New Crack Era – First track is ok but the rest is generic CRC rap.

Philthy Rich – Fake Love – Solid album from Philthy who gets better and better if not for annoying ‘interludes’. He even stands up for Bill Cosby.

Shoreline Mafia – OTXmas – Solid piece of ignorance.

Yhung TO – Trust Issues – I’m losing trust in him. This is totally forgettable.

ShooterGang Kony – 612 – Not on the level with his other releases but pretty solid.

Ice Cube – Everythangs Corrupt – This’s been how long in the making? 4-5 years? Nobody expected anything groundbreaking and we already listened to like half of it. He’s anti-drugs here and is suffering from Trump-Russia delusional syndrome. But I always liked late career Cube.

[jswdmb1]

Put the Message in the Box

“Put the message in the box

Put the box into the car

Drive the car around the world

Until you get heard”

- World Party

Yes, I have enjoyed my break, thanks for asking, but it’s time to get back to work.  While I was off, I had plenty of time to read through all of the wonderful questions you sent.  Well, actually, it was only one.  But, given my difficulties sometimes grasping with reality, I couldn’t be sure if it was the only one I got, or if there were more just coming from my head.  Turns out, I was mixing up the voices in my head with the radio.  So, to avoid any confusion, I’ve included all of them here in my version of (bow to David Letterman) viewer mail.  Here we go:

“Astrology. Do you believe there is something to it? I mean like real astrology - like Ptolemy, Cassini, and Nostradamus practiced - not the one-size-fits-all horoscope you find in the newspaper.” - anonymous

Great question.  I definitely agree that these silly newspaper horoscopes are a waste of time, but the notion that the stars and planets somehow dictate what happens to us here on Earth is not something that I dismiss.  The problem I have is how could anyone possibly figure that out.  I am a very analytical person, and I just can’t believe someone like Nostradamus could have had the tools and data available to him at that point in time to make any sort of informed conclusions.  Frankly, I think he was just throwing a lot of shit up against the wall and just seeing what sticks.  That being said, the vastness and grandeur of our universe certainly suggest that there are forces out there that could have a significant impact on our lives. Unfortunately, I’m a bit too cynical and/or agnostic to believe that anyone will ever be able to prove that, in my lifetime anyway.  I guess that relegates me back to the astrology section in the newspaper, but I pass right by it to the crossword puzzle anyway, so I guess I’ll just have to keep finding things out one day at a time for now.  But, I’m open to any foresight that can be given to me, with proof of course.

“What’s going on?” - Marvin G., Detroit, Michigan

Gee, Marvin, where do I begin?  It seems if you even take a couple of days off there is “shocking” news that has already been replaced with something even more unbelievable.  I think, however, that this most recent story of a certain lawyer who worked for a certain boss who made him pay certain porn stars and committed a bunch of laws in the process is going to stick.  I think what everyone has to remember, including our president, is that impeachment is a political process and not a legal one.  Whether he can be indicted for a crime, or even if one exists that can be proven beyond a reasonable doubt is irrelevant.  If the legislative branch feels from a political standpoint that the president needs to be removed due to his actions (or inaction) then they must proceed with impeachment proceedings.  If you look at impeachment processes in history, notably Andrew Johnson, Bill Clinton, and even Richard Nixon, what got them in trouble pales in comparison to what this guy looks to have done.  I happen to think that means this is going to be going on for a long time and well into the 2020 election cycle.  No matter which side you are on, this is going to be political theater at its highest level, so enjoy it if you are into that thing.

“Can you get to that?” - Mavis S., Chicago, Illinois

Personally speaking, Mavis, I can definitely get to impeachment proceedings commencing at some point in the next six-to-twelve months.  The question is where do they go once they start and do they ever leave the committee level?  Even if they do, it seems unlikely to me that things could move fast enough to the House voting for impeachment by the 2020 primaries.  Furthermore, a Senate trial with a conviction appears even further far-fetched given eighteen Republican senators would have to flip on their sitting president (remember that a 2/3 majority is needed to convict).  I’m actually okay with that scenario playing out as it allows a lot of probing and debate that hasn’t happened in the past two years and gives the voters in the next election much better information than they had last time.  I also think that it gives other Republicans cover to challenge a sitting president in the primaries, which hasn’t happened seriously since Ted Kennedy took on Jimmy Carter in 1980.  My prediction is that impeachment never really gets off the ground, but it damages Trump so badly that he never makes it out of his party’s primaries.  Of course, this could all change tomorrow with the next bombshell that drops, but for now that’s what I see happening.

“What’s the frequency, Kenneth?” - Michael S., Athens, Georgia

Thanks for the note, Michael.  The name’s Jim, actually.  Anyway, if you happen to be driving through the Chicago area, I’ll recommend two frequencies for you to try on your FM dial.  The first, of course, is 93.1 or WXRT.  It is the last true FM rock station left in Chicago that plays everything from blues to classic rock to 80′s new wave to 90′s grunge up to new music from today and everything in between.  The DJ’s are knowledgeable and stay out of the way of the music.  My favorite is Terri Hemmert on weekday mornings from 10:00 to 1:00.  Saturday mornings are also a can’t miss with the three-hour flashback show to a particular year in rock.  The other frequency to try is 88.7.  This one is fun because in the city it will be Loyola University’s WLUW, but as you drive out west (around Harlem on the Ike) it turns into Elmhurst College’s WRSE.  WLUW is the quirkier of the two as you may find an obscure Icelandic electronica song played right after Glen Campbell’s “Southern Nights”.  Nothing wrong with either song, but it helps to be in college and on drugs to enjoy those so close together and I am not in or on either.  As such, I’m more partial to WRSE as they focus on rock variety with the occasional surprise thrown in.  They actually remind me a lot of an amateur version of XRT in many ways.  Whichever you listen to, it’s fun to hear college kids learning their way and it makes me feel just a little hip that they let me tune in.

“How bad do you want it?” - Don H., Linden, Texas

You have no idea how bad I want it Mr. H.  We’ve been waiting over thirty years in this town for a football team with a real shot at winning the Super Bowl, and I think we have one here.  This defense is that good.  Plus, as well as the D played against the Rams, I thought seeing the running game going well was a really good sign.  We’ll still need Mitch to get it back after hurting his shoulder, but I don’t think the Bears have to ride his arm to the Super Bowl.  Now, to get there, they are going to have to win two road games, probably in New Orleans and L.A., but I really think they would have an outside chance at a run if the momentum carries from last week.  If they do get to the Super Bowl, I predict they dominate any team that represents the AFC as I think they are better than them all (including the Chiefs and the Pats who they should have beat a few weeks ago).  The best thing about this team is that they have a ton of young talent that still has a lot of upside, so even if a Super Bowl isn’t in the cards this year, the Bears are a team to be reckoned with for a while in the NFC.   But, first let’s take care of business and win the NFC North title at home over the Packers.  After so many years of misery, I can’t think of a better way for this team to make a statement that it is back and the rest of the league will be messing with them at their own peril for years to come.

“Who are you?” - Pete T., London, England

I get it, Pete, I know that I have no authority to really speak on any of these subjects, but I can’t help myself.  I just love to answer questions and was very grateful for the one question that came to me from a blog reader.  I also think I have done a service by answering some of these additional questions that you all have been singing about for years.  I mean, as far as I know, there never have been any real responses to questions like yours.  I know there are a lot more out there too, so I’m happy to do it again.  I will, so long as I can get some blog reader questions to go along with them.  You know, just so people don’t think I’m completely insane. So, Take a Chance and Read Some Crap readers, hit that question button and keep this going as I’m sure Bob M. (Could You Be Loved?), George H. (What is Life?), and Whitney H. (How Will I Know?) would love answers to their questions too.  Until then, I hope at least some of these answers have satisfied your nagging questions, but the job is never complete.  I think the tide has finally turned for the question and 2019 is going to be full of them.  It may get uncomfortable at times, and maybe even downright nasty, but that is part of life and we are never going to evolve without continuing to challenge those with power and always asking why.

It’s good to be back everyone.  Until next time.

- Jim

[sarahfazli]

Eid: For the Conflicted Muslim that I am

Growing up, I remember my mother’s students referring to the shalwars she wore to work as MC Hammer Pants. Having a lighter complexion than my other Pakistani classmates, made it a little easier for me to dodge being called (an otherwise very derogatory) “Paki”. But it was upsetting, nonetheless; because it felt like the “locals” didn’t see us for who or what were. Rather, it felt like all they could see was yet another brown or yellow somebody – lumped into a demeaning generalization driven by ignorance.

Then, September 11 happened and I realized how different it was to be the subject of active hate.

As far as insults went, “Paki” was downright mean. But it would cut right through me, to be advised to careful at airports and on the streets while travelling abroad, so as to avoid being told to “go back to where I came from”. And so, standing at the end of Ramzan in anticipation of the upcoming Eid Al-Fitr, I am grappling with the faith that I born into and was raised with. This has been going on for several years now.

My parents are devout and from the very onset, I was made to understand that straying from Islam was not an option. There was no explanation per se, of what that meant, what other religions meant, or what the repercussions of not believing in a higher power could potentially mean – as a Muslim. I learnt my obligatory prayers; with time, I kept my fasts during Ramzan and I made sure to keep up with my due charity donations. But it was all too stifling.

Question: did I really want to be Muslim; would I be more enamored with another religion? I wanted a chance to find out for myself, but doing so was never a question.

Over time, I had more and more reservations about Islam. Things like having to dress up in the clichéd “modest attire” (a.k.a., not being able to wear shorts in public), to knowing women in Saudi Arabia cannot try on clothes before buying them were very hard to reconcile with my views on being an “independent woman”.

As an adolescent, I worked on developing myself independent (and / or liberal) of what I “perceived” my religion meant. Given my western appearance (coloured eyes and a light complexion) and how I carried myself through life, it was easy; how many times I recall the looks I would attract at work, when somebody would see me get up to pray. “You don’t seem like the sort who ever prays”, they would say. And I worked hard to establish the logic behind how I conducted my life; in a way, if something did not make sense, it would be disregarded immediately. To simplify: I knew enough to know that the sky is blue because of scattering light and tiny molecules, not because Allah said so.

But that all changed in the not too distant past.

Recall the atrocities Al Qaeda and the Taliban executed in the name of Islam and what ISIS claims to represent – again in the name of religion. Islam needs real allies in the face of barbaric acts that we saw in the November 2020 Vienna  shootings, the Mozambique attacks in March 2021 or the attack on the Abdullah Shah Ghazi shrine back in 2010.

 So, within the last five years I doubled down on Islam – my faith. I am making an attempt to learn about the role of Islam in politics, race and feminism; I know I will probably will never wear a niqab and I still have a lot to learn about Islam and myself. And that is completely ok, because by all accounts I cannot truly imagine abandoning Islam – I just have to find a way to practice.

And I know it might be tough – but not impossible. This is because I essentially never disavowed my religion in its entirety – even though, I regularly felt that the overtly religious were either or both of ignorant and narrow-minded. Truth be told, I never really stopped believing in God; and I never abandoned rituals like my regular prayers, or reciting the Bismillah before eating or absentmindedly asking the Higher Orders for guidance when lost.

Like any other religion, there is spectrum of belief for Muslims. As a child, I never had progressive Muslim role models growing up, but that thankfully changed over time. I see minority groups at work speaking up, using their experiences to relentlessly rally on behalf of inclusion. And I use those interactions as my “aha moments” – making me realize that my being independent or liberal is by no means ever mutually exclusive or disjoint of what it truly means to identify as a Muslim. So when Bella Hadid said she was proud of being Muslim, DJ Khaled owned his faith, Mayor Sadiq Khan wrote a cheeky essay on fasting and Mike Tyson responded to Trump’s call to ban Muslims from entering the US – I knew thigs are changing. The “Muslim experience” is no longer a monolith.

When you’ve spent most of your life as a confused Muslim, days like Eid genuinely come hard – and this has now made commemorating such days a political act, of sorts. I guess this is an inevitable part of growing up and taking into account perspectives. So while Eid days are hard for me, I will understand if somebody else’s version of Eid (and, hence, Islam) is full of merriment. And this, I believe is the most inclusive way to celebrate.

Now, with every terrorist attack that is somehow wrongfully attached to Islam, we need to understand the sentiment when Jarrah Sheikh (in East Jerusalem) is forcefully evicted, or why Muslims in India live with a continuous internal turmoil – triggered by an ongoing political climate that challenges the secular principle that India’s nation concept was built on. Unfortunately, I cannot do much to stop any of that.

But what I can do, is celebrate Eid with a conviction – showing by example what it means to be Muslim: that it can be as varied as it is to be human.

[the-firebird69]

As far as the storyline goes this is fairly accurate it leaves a bunch of stuff out when he does go in and he breaks out of prison and he's not riot they did a word game on there didnot work.

There's a lot of people are confused about the storyline but here is stated fairly clearly and breaks out goes around killing people and venomen he has started this enemy thing and he's saying to me with a lot of people and off rodeo Beach is odd that's where he was for one day couldn't stand it and people are nasty and it sound like they do now here we looked at I can't figure out what it is and there's a certain chemical there and it's not found here so wondering why the people here are doing it and figured out something they're infected with Venom and they can't handle it most people can't what he can off and on that handles it and I'll send him very well he's really mad cuz he should be kind of covers up the fact that he's handling it tell moving on to the storyline Woody harrelson is going to be in this prison that you see pictured here and yes it is North of San Francisco it is in Marine county and it's not very close to rodeo drive or rodeo beach now that's an LA county reason why the movement is because San Francisco is trying to grab a stuff and sent to mention a bunch of homos down there to retrieve him and the Terminator series is going on at the same time but he goes out there first to make a note it becomes possessed he tries to get here over and over and over and then he goes north and tries to get the key he finally gets it he goes up and he hits some targets comes back down to the Bronx and he gets fired then he goes to Massachusetts by then Massachusetts is embroiled because of what's going on up there with monsters and everything else and that's the storyline and the importance of it is that because of what happens to Trump the incident occurs with the ISS the new one which is now called the antenna ISS and it happens with the queen Elizabeth and Lily as well and they come crashing down down there and it's a few of them and Tommy favino it's going to be in Apocalypse Now in between movies between Venom Carnage and zombie Land Tommy savino will be tried and convicted and they'll send in machine is actually bja and after that it's the Bronx movie and he gets fired and BGA gets fired but DJ makes it out and Trump makes it out for a while gets Brian comes back as Freddy Krueger knocks around for a long time comes down here bothers our son gets beat up a whole bunch of his guys die every day finally I couldn't take it anymore it goes back to Westport to face his demons and back to Stowe and Concord to find out who did it and why he did figure it out and Johnny Depp helped they both getting a lot of trouble for it and then Trump goes missing and they find his head as Stefan with no breathing and then they find his body with no head on it she don't know what happened to him or where he went if he went somewhere that was after Freddy Krueger after Star wars The phantom menace

Thor Freya

[kuciradio]

Death Grips + Ministry @ Hollywood Palladium, 11/4/17

 gif

This weekend, I had the privilege of seeing a group of artists I never thought I would see live. Death Grips, the experimental hip-hop (to put it simply) band from Sacramento, California, first made their debut with a free mixtape titled Exmilitary in 2010. Since then, they have acquired online and nationwide notoriety from the underground and beyond. Most fans such as myself nearly worship the elusive and aggressive front man, Stephan Burnett (MC Ride). Ride is an incredibly talented and passionate performer– his words, his voice, and his stage presence are like no other. I have been following Death Grips since about 2013, when I was just a wee high schooler; they do not tour too often, so seeing them perform was an incredible experience. 

The hour-long set seemed to have ended in minutes. Instead of interacting with the audience at all, the set began with the familiar scream-rapping from Ride accompanied by blissfully blinding strobe lights. It ended the same way. Moving from one song to the next without a moment of pause, Ride maintained the same level of conviction and power throughout the entire performance; recording engineer Andy Morin and drummer Zach Hill brought just as much energy to the stage. Slower, deeper cutting tracks like No Love evoked some visceral responses from the audience, but overwhelming violence wasn’t one of them. The crowd seemed more reverent and transported than angry, which is what someone may expect from hearing just a sample of Death Grips’s music. Upon further listening, though, this attitude might make more sense. The instrumentation of each song is carefully crafted with various influences, including noise, industrial, and hip-hop (and of course, Bjork samples). This unique blend of synths, heavy, dragging bass, and slurred distorted lyrics is what makes Death Grips and their performance stand out from others, hip-hop or otherwise. To top it off, the audience involvement is minimal, but it isn’t alienating. Ride is not performing for me. He may not even be performing for himself. He is performing at the world, forcing it to listen, and no amount of screaming, fist-pumping, or moshing from us will match his energy, so standing there respectfully as the off beats of Guillotine flows through your body is the only way to go.  Death Grips lyrics range from vague to almost nonsense, so their collaborative tour with the second band we saw that night, Ministry, was a bit surprising to me. Ministry is an industrial metal band from the 80s that made its way through the synth pop scene and found its home in metal land. The crowd switched out almost immediately. The leather-clad fans there for Ministry were a bit older, and definitely more politically motivated. The band started out by placing two big inflatable chickens with anti-swastika logos at each end of the stage. The microphone stand was adorned with a horn-bearing demon statue. To complete the look, projected videos played behind the lead singer, Al Jourgensen, as he sang straightforward and confrontational lyrics. Songs like “We Are Antifa” off of their new album were paired with videos of edited caricatures of government figures, including President Trump (seen below), Hillary Clinton, and Hugo Chavez. Their message was clear to the audience, as they waved their flags and sang about government overthrow and general anarchist sentiment. It was almost a 180 flip from seeing Death Grips, but the experience was interesting, all the same. 

The next stop on their tour is at the Van Buren in Phoenix, AZ.

written by Angelica Sheen, DJ Anj from gloss (thursday mornings from 6am-8am PST)

[wakingthefury]

Everyone needs a civics lesson on impeachment

Listen to Today's Program JD: You know David I’m sure it’s been a while since any of us had a government or civics class in high school. So maybe it would be really helpful to briefly take a moment and discuss exactly what the founding fathers put into place concerning impeachment including both the grounds and the process of impeachment. DJ: One of the foundational principals in our country and that makes it unique in the history of the world as a system of checks and balances that are built into our Constitution. This means that we have three equal and yet separate branches of government the Executive, Legislative and Judicial branches. And within that system is the prevision for the removal from office of the President, Vice President and all civil officers of the United States if Congress finds him guilty of treason, bribery or other high crimes and misdemeanors.

Since 1789 nineteen Federal officials have been brought up on impeachment chargers by the House of Representatives with eight people convicted after a Senate trial. Now two Presidents have actually been impeached by the House that would be Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton but neither were convicted in the Senate. Back in April of 1974 the Judiciary committee approved three articles of impeachment against Richard Nixon and when it became clear he would be impeached and convicted he resigned in August. So of the eight persons impeached and convicted in Congress all were judges who faced charges including perjury, tax evasion, bribery and in one case supporting the Confederacy.

So the language for the standard for impeachment is high crimes and misdemeanors and it’s been some what of a controversial statement and continues to be a source of confusion. The general intent of the framers was high crimes and misdemeanors with involved contact that would seriously harm the public including the security of the country and seriously compromise the person’s ability to faithfully execute the duties of their office.

JD: David James with a short civics course on impeachment.

We report this information because it is setting the stage for Bible prophecy to be fulfilled.

Each of us need a refresher course in civics even the members of the United States House of Representatives. As the world watches our endeavor to impeach President Trump we must consider how important this responsibility is. Removing a President from office is a major political decision and it must be done in humility and prayer not because you hate the man.

God established human government, Genesis 9:6, in order to direct human kind in the will of God. The future is in His hands, Revelation 17:17, and will happen. Mans responsibility is to follow the Lords will for the end times.

via Jimmy DeYoung's News Update https://ift.tt/2PgxivI

[checkmarch79-blog]

Official: Pipe-bomb suspect had hit list of targets

CURT ANDERSON and MICHAEL BALSAMO Associated Press

Law enforcement officials aren’t sure whether they’ve discovered the last of the pipe bombs mailed to prominent Democrats and other opponents of President Donald Trump. They’ve said the packages were staggered, and more could be somewhere in the U.S. mail system.

What’s more, an official tells The Associated Press that the man suspected of sending the bombs kept a list of elected officials and others who investigators believe were intended targets.

The disclosure of the list came as 56-year-old Cesar Sayoc made his initial court appearance in Miami federal court Monday, and after bomb squads were called to a post office in Atlanta about a suspicious mailing to CNN that was similar to the pipe bomb packages recovered last week.

The official said authorities had recovered soldering equipment, a printer, and stamps similar to those used on the package bombs after arresting Sayoc last week in Florida. Authorities believe he was putting explosives together in his van.

The official also said authorities have been scrutinizing Sayoc’s social media posts. The official wasn’t authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation and spoke on condition of anonymity to the AP.

The FBI said via its Twitter account that the recovered package in Atlanta was “similar in appearance” to the bubble-wrapped manila envelopes authorities say were sent by Sayoc to intended targets from Delaware to California, including former President Barack Obama, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former Vice President Joe Biden.

CNN President Jeff Zucker says all mail to CNN has been screened offsite since last week, when a series of package bombs began appearing around the country. Among them were two apparent mail bombs sent to CNN.

At least some listed a return address of U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, former chair of the Democratic National Committee.

She represents the South Florida district where the former male stripper, pizza driver and strip club DJ lived in an old van covered with bumper stickers praising Trump, disparaging Democrats and CNN, and showing rifle crosshairs over liberals including Clinton, commentator Van Jones and filmmaker Michael Moore.

Sayoc was arrested Friday outside a South Florida auto parts store after investigators said they identified him through fingerprint and DNA evidence. He faces more than 50 years in prison if convicted on all charges. None of the bombs exploded and no one was injured.

At Monday’s hearing, federal prosecutors said they will seek to keep Sayoc jailed until trial as a flight risk and a danger to the community. A judge set another hearing for Friday on whether to grant bail to Sayoc and to discuss when he will be sent from Miami to New York, where five federal charges were filed.

Shackled at the wrists and ankles in a tan jail jumpsuit, Sayoc became weepy at one point, but said little at the hearing.

Defense attorney Daniel Aaronson urged people not to rush to judgment.

“Right now, we know very, very, very little,” Aaronson said. “We do not know all the evidence the government has. You have to keep in mind he has not been found guilty of anything.”

The FBI said it believes the package intended for CNN headquarters in Atlanta that was discovered Monday is similar to those that Sayoc is accused of sending. Law enforcement officials have said they believe the packages were staggered and more could be discovered.

The New York Times said in a staff memo that it was notified by the FBI on Monday that one of its editors was on a list of potential targets of the mail-bomb suspect. Later that day, an envelope addressed to the editor raised concerns, but New York police determined that it was a false alarm. The editor was not identified.

___

Balsamo reported from Washington.

Source: http://www.smdp.com/official-pipe-bomb-suspect-had-hit-list-of-targets/170409

[global-news-station]

NEW YORK: A supporter of President Donald Trump was sentenced to 20 years in prison on Monday for mailing crude bombs to prominent Democrats including ex-president Barack Obama and former presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.

Cesar Sayoc, a one-time pizza delivery man who lived in a white truck plastered with pro-Trump and anti-Democrat stickers, broke down and wept as the sentence was handed down in a New York court.

His case fueled the debate about extremism in the Trump era, which intensified at the weekend following two shootings that left 31 dead and dozens wounded in Texas and Ohio.

“The nature and circumstances of the crimes are by any nature horrendous,” said District Judge Jed Rakoff as he delivered the sentence.

Sayoc, a one-time strip club DJ and pizza delivery man, pleaded guilty in March to 65 charges relating to 16 package bombs he sent from a Florida post office to leading Democrats and the Manhattan offices of CNN.

The 57-year-old admitted making the homemade devices from materials including plastic piping, a digital alarm clock with electric wiring attached, fireworks and glass fragments.

Besides Obama and Clinton, those targeted included billionaire George Soros, former president Bill Clinton, former vice president Joe Biden, and actor Robert De Niro.

Several Democratic lawmakers, including 2020 presidential hopefuls Cory Booker and Kamala Harris, were also targeted.

None of the packages exploded and most did not come anywhere near their intended recipients but they sparked a two-week panic and heightened political tensions in the lead-up to the US midterm elections in November 2018.

Critics say Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric helps fuel white nationalist thinking that engenders violence. On Monday Trump said the US “must condemn racism, bigotry, and white supremacy.”

Estranged from his family and in financial distress, Sayoc discovered a passion for Trump just as the president’s political star was rising.

He shared pro-Trump images on social media and posted articles from ultra-conservative and conspiracy-driven websites such as Infowars and Breitbart. In one post he was seen wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat.

He reportedly ranted to colleagues about Jews as well as blacks and gays.

Trump’s inner circle initially attempted to distance the president from Sayoc until filmmaker Michael Moore released footage of the bomber attending a Trump rally, one month after the inauguration.

Prosecutors had called for life imprisonment for Sayoc. His defense said the minimum of a decade behind bars was appropriate, arguing that Sayoc suffered mental health problems and only intended to scare the recipients.

The martial arts practitioner was arrested in Florida in October five days after the first device was discovered in Soros’s upstate New York mailbox.

Police found Sayoc’s fingerprints and DNA on the packages. He apologized for his actions

Sayoc has a criminal record dating back to 1991, peppered with convictions for theft, fraud, violence and a threat to blow up his electric utility company.

The post Trump supporter jailed for sending bombs to Democrats appeared first on ARYNEWS.

https://ift.tt/2Kh1eW4

[marilynngmesalo]

FBI says suspicious parcel was addressed to CNN in Atlanta

FBI says suspicious parcel was addressed to CNN in Atlanta FBI says suspicious parcel was addressed to CNN in Atlanta https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

MIAMI — Investigators and bomb squads were called to a post office in Atlanta on Monday about a suspicious package sent to CNN, the FBI said Monday, just hours before a court hearing for a Florida man accused of sending packages containing explosive material to prominent Democrats.

The FBI said via its Twitter account that the recovered package was “similar in appearance to others” and confirms the announcement earlier in the day by CNN President Jeff Zucker, who said a suspicious parcel being sent to the network had been intercepted at an Atlanta post office.

Zucker says all mail to CNN has been screened offsite since last week, when a series of package bombs began appearing around the country. One of those bombs was mailed to CNN offices in New York.

The latest suspicious package comes just hours before a federal court hearing was to begin in Miami for 56-year-old Cesar Sayoc, whom authorities accuse of sending explosive material to Democrats and other prominent critics of President Donald Trump.

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Sayoc is accused of sending bubble-wrapped m

anila envelopes to Democrats such as Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden. The packages were intercepted from Delaware to California. At least some listed a return address of U.S. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, former chair of the Democratic National Committee.

She represents the Florida district where the former male stripper, pizza driver and strip club DJ lived in an older van covered with bumper stickers praising Trump, disparaging Democrats and CNN and showing rifle crosshairs over liberals like Clinton and filmmaker Michael Moore.

CNN said the “package looks similar in appearance to the wave of pipe bombs that were mailed last week to prominent Democrats around the country, including two that were addressed to CNN’s New York bureau.” Authorities did not immediately say who might be responsible for sending the most recent package to CNN, but law enforcement officials have said they believe the packages were staggered and more could be discovered.

Sayoc was arrested Friday outside a South Florida auto parts store after investigators said they identified him through fingerprint and DNA evidence. He is being prosecuted in New York, so his Florida hearing will likely be brief and process-oriented. The main issue will be whether he waives extradition to New York and whether he seeks release on bail.

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Authorities say Sayoc faces more than 50 years in prison if convicted on all charges. None of the bombs exploded and no one was injured.

Click for update news Bangla news https://ift.tt/2RoBVlG world news

[go-redgirl]

FBI says suspicious parcel was addressed to CNN in Atlanta By CURT ANDERSON 15 minutes ago

FBI says suspicious parcel was addressed to CNN in Atlanta.

MIAMI (AP) — Investigators and bomb squads were called to a post office in Atlanta on Monday about a suspicious package sent to CNN, the FBI said Monday, just hours before a court hearing for a Florida man accused of sending packages containing explosive material to prominent Democrats.

The FBI said via its Twitter account that the recovered package was “similar in appearance to others” and confirms the announcement earlier in the day by CNN President Jeff Zucker, who said a suspicious parcel being sent to the network had been intercepted at an Atlanta post office.

Zucker says all mail to CNN has been screened offsite since last week, when a series of package bombs began appearing around the country. One of those bombs was mailed to CNN offices in New York.

The latest suspicious package comes just hours before a federal court hearing was to begin in Miami for 56-year-old Cesar Sayoc, whom authorities accuse of sending explosive material to Democrats and other prominent critics of President Donald Trump.

Sayoc is accused of sending bubble-wrapped manila envelopes to Democrats such as Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden. The packages were intercepted from Delaware to California. At least some listed a return address of U.S. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, former chair of the Democratic National Committee.

She represents the Florida district where the former male stripper, pizza driver and strip club DJ lived in an older van covered with bumper stickers praising Trump, disparaging Democrats and CNN and showing rifle crosshairs over liberals like Clinton and filmmaker Michael Moore.

CNN said the “package looks similar in appearance to the wave of pipe bombs that were mailed last week to prominent Democrats around the country, including two that were addressed to CNN’s New York bureau.” Authorities did not immediately say who might be responsible for sending the most recent package to CNN, but law enforcement officials have said they believe the packages were staggered and more could be discovered.

Sayoc was arrested Friday outside a South Florida auto parts store after investigators said they identified him through fingerprint and DNA evidence. He is being prosecuted in New York, so his Florida hearing will likely be brief and process-oriented. The main issue will be whether he waives extradition to New York and whether he seeks release on bail.

Authorities say Sayoc faces more than 50 years in prison if convicted on all charges. None of the bombs exploded and no one was injured.

[the-final-straw-blog]

"Nonviolence Ain't What It Used To Be"

Interview This week, we air our conversation with Shon Meckfessel.  Shon is a longtime anarchist and activist from Sacramento, CA.  He has penned numerous articles and the book "Suffled How It Gush: A North American Anarchist in the Balkans."  In this interview we talk about his most recent book, "Nonviolence Ain't What It Used To Be: Unarmed Insurrection and the Rhetoric of Resistance." We spend the hour chatting about concepts of Nonviolence in the U.S. and how they've developed, the threat and use of violence in and by anti-capitalist and anti-racist social movements.  The chat moves through Lockean Liberalism, Insurrectionalism, Ghandian-Kingian non-violence, Anarchism, Nihilism and more. It was a fun chat and we talked in some real depth that we couldn't fit into this one hour.  So, we made a podcast episode that's just over an hour PLUS another hour-long podcast of the secondary materials.  They'll be linked up on this blog for download once we finish producing them.

Thanks a lot to Julie and Scott for help in prepping for this episode :B Asheville Announces On April 7th there will be a MARATHON BENEFIT DAY for two things, the first being a show at the Odditorium on Friday April 7th to benefit the fast approaching Asheville Anarchist Bookfaire, keep in touch with the event and request housing at acab2017.noblogs.org.

The second will be a dance party across town at the Lazy Diamond to benefit IGNITE! NC's efforts for May Day organizing. All door proceeds will go toward direct action training led by one of the co-organizers of the Charlotte uprising. DJd by Lamar B. and DJ Malinalli. On April 15th, shake/run/play it out with folks at Anarchist Field Day in Asheville NC! Festivities will begin at 1pm and go til 7pm at the West Asheville Park at 198 Vermont Ave. Athletes and non athletes of all levels welcome, as well as kids! Other Announces: On April 15th in Berkley CA, there will be a bloc party and cookout to oppose an alt right gathering in MLK Civic Center Park from 10am to 2pm. There will be speakers and events, bring food and games to share if you can! It's also suggested that folks bring discreet face coverings to help keep your and others identities safe from fascist and alt right creeps, who love to doxx and harrass people over the internet. It may come as a surprise to some that we are at the VERY BEGINNING of a week of resistance to the Trump administration and everything it stands for and has empowered. From April 1st thru 7th, actions, informational events, film screenings, and benefits will all take place across so-called North America and beyond. The purpose of the week of action is simple: to come together and push back against a wave of repression that has been growing in the United States and accelerated by the coming to power of the Trump administration. You can check this article for more on this subject, and either plug into existing events in your area or start planning one of your own! Free Jennifer BabyGirl Gann! Jennifer Gann is a trans woman and anarchist prison rebel who has been held captive since 1990. While serving a seven year sentence for robbery, she became politicized during the 1991 Folsom Prison Food Strike and survived more than a decade of torture in solitary confinement at Pelican Bay SHU. She was convicted of the non-violent prison offenses and given multiple 25 year-to-life sentences under the “Three Strikes” law, but now qualifies for a sentence reduction under California’s Proposition 36 and early release under the newly enacted Prop. 57, which Governor Grown supported. She is currently asking for help in raising just under 3 grand for a case evaluation, which will help her lawyer put together a game plan for fighting her conviction and sentence. Currently, she only has $300 saved and needs at least $1,000 for the down payment on the NLPA legal consulting fee. Donations of any amount are appreciated and can be sent to her online legal fundraiser, by cashier’s check, or money order(marked “for Jennifer Gann”) sent to: National Legal Professional Associates Margaret A. Robinson Advocacy Center 11802 Corney Rd., Ste. 150 Cincinnati, OH 45249 You can donate to this lovely and powerful person here Playlist

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