The Mop Up For May 27, 2022

Which one is it Greg Abbott? Are you insane or just plain evil? The answer is both.

May 27, 2022

I’m writing to extend an invitation for tonight’s Office Hours, provide you with a reading list of articles we discussed this week, and a complete rundown of each episode with time stamps that allow you to watch the show exactly how you want to watch it.

David Sirota joined us for Monday’s show. On Thursday it was great to finally get to know Professor Gregg Barak, I hope he keeps coming back. Joe Thompson, the 19-year-old Starbucks union organizer and candidate for California State Assembly returned yesterday as did our old friend Liam McEneany.

Thanks to all the regular guests who show up every week. You make us all better.

Office Hours

Here’s tonight’s invitation for Office Hours which starts at 8:00 PM Eastern and goes until whenever. I host from 8:00 PM to 9:30 PM and that’s when I listen to the listeners. Tell me whatever you think I need to know. Our community of artists, chefs, teachers, musicians, comics, activists, writers and miscreants takes over from there.

We have lectures, screenings, and lively discussions. It’s free. All you need is Zoom and an open heart. Share the invitation with a friend.

Here’s a look at what to expect tonight:

All times are Eastern

Tonight at 10:00 PM on Office Hours

Professor Harvey “Sluggo” Wasserman teaches Why Should the Feldman Community Care About Pacifica Radio?
Professor Wasserman is joined by Myla Reson.
Professor Wasserman is an historian, alternative energy visionary, and election integrity activist.

At 11:00 PM on Office Hours

A Guided Tour of the Twilight Zone with Professor Jonathan Bick
Professor Bick continues his course on The Twilight Zone with a look at yet another classic episode

At Midnight on Office Hours

Investigative Journalism and North Korea with Harsh
A discussion about an investigative journalist in North Korea. A non-US perspective.

On Saturday at 8:30 AM on Office Hours

Professor Adnan Husain continues teaching his course: Jewish and Muslim Parables and Philosophical Fictions

On Saturday at 1:00 PM on Office Hours

Trekking with Professor Jonathan Bick.
Professor Bick continues his course on Star Trek with a look at another classic episode

On Saturday at 2:30 PM on Office Hours

Hammer and Sickle with Andy Brown, Dave in PA, Falco and Sarah Busch
Each week we learn how to fix it, build it, grow it, cook it and organize our communities and workplaces. It’s a celebration of our hands and our fists!

On Saturday at 4:30 PM on Office Hours

Weekly Marx Reading Group
Karl Marx is hard but our weekly study group makes him soft. Roriki Hutchinson takes our hand and walks us into the magical kingdom of Dialectical Materialism

Reading List

Our guests write, and they talk about what they read. Here’s a quick list:

They Are Not Even Pretending Anymore by David Sirota

Democratic leaders don’t just want avocado toast and mimosas — they want an outright counterrevolution. Only not against the GOP insurrection — against the Democratic rank and file, and in many cases for the politicians most hostile to the party’s (purported) agenda.

Some Of The Best And Worst Democrats Running For Congress Are Congregating In The New NY-10 by Howie Klein

NY-10 is a pretty ideal district for a progressive candidate to run in, especially because there is no incumbent. Mondaire Jones was pushed out of his Westchester, Rockland County district by slime bucket Sean Patrick Maloney (with Pelosi's help) and Jones decided not to challenge fellow progressive Jamaal Bowman, whose district now also includes some of Jones' constituents. Instead he decided to run in a district an hour away that spans lower Manhattan and northwest Brooklyn. Unlike Maloney, who would best serve America and the voters if he disappeared, it is imperative to keep Jones, an important future leader, in Congress.

On Monday’s show, both Professor Adnan Husain and David Cobb separately but enthusiastically recommended a piece in the Guardian entitled America Is Now In Fascism’s Legal Phase by Yale Professor Jason Stanley author of “How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them.”

Often, those who employ fascist tactics do so cynically – they do not really believe the enemies they target are so malign, or so powerful, as their rhetoric suggests. Nevertheless, there comes a tipping point, where rhetoric becomes policy. Donald Trump and the party that is now in thrall to him have long been exploiting fascist propaganda. They are now inscribing it into fascist policy.

Professor of Criminology Gregg Barak joined us on Thursday and writes extensively on gun violence

…in order to unpack cultural violence in America, we all have to address or come to terms with patriarchy, domestic abuse, bullying, gun culture, white supremacy, racism, and last but not least, the militarization of policing in America.

Professor Ann Li joins us every Thursday. Here’s what she wrote on the aftermath of Tuesday’s massacre for Daily Kos

Mayor of Uvalde Texas Turns Out To Be The Real "Sick SOB" by Professor Ann Li

Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin yelled at Beto O'Rourke, the Democratic nominee for Texas governor, on Wednesday during a press conference a day after 21 people, including 19 children, were killed, and Governor Greg Abbott claimed there were no mental health issues in this instance. Arming teachers but not allowing them books is the GOP mantra. And spending 60% of the municipal budget on police. Texas is the place where outing LGBTQ children to parents is more important than actually conducting proper drills for integrated law enforcement response rather than “waiting” for a tactical unit.

Uvalde, Texas Shooting A Reminder, Gun Control Is An AAPI Issue by Emil Guillermo

President Joe Biden expressed our nation’s frustration during a nationwide address Tuesday night.

“Why are we willing to live with this carnage,” the president said. “Why do we keep letting this happen? Where in God’s name is our backbone?”
Biden has called on Congress to pass a weapons ban that was federal law in 1994 but was allowed to expire in 2004. That’s when our polarized and divisive politics kicked in. And it remains so to this day. Some like Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) continue to argue for shooters and guns as constitutional rights. Others dare to suggest school shootings wouldn’t happen if teachers had guns.

Thursday’s guest Joe Thompson talked about their campaign for the California Assembly District 28 primary on June 7th. Joe is nineteen, two weeks ago they successfully organized two Starbucks stores in Santa Cruz. Donate to Joe’s campaign.

Starbucks Workers Are Winning 90 Percent of Their Union Elections by Matt Bruenig

Since January, Starbucks Workers United has filed 149 ULP charges with the National Labor Relations Board, alleging Starbucks has retaliated against union organizers and fired workers, among other union-busting tactics. Some of the filings have already resulted in large-scale NLRB complaints alleging the company violated federal labor law.

This week’s shows. Please share, like and subscribe:

Why Don't Police Demand Gun Control?, Episode 1342

Why don't American police demand gun control? Tuesday's massacre in Uvalde, Texas exposed just how terrified American police are of getting killed by assault weapons. So, why the silence from police chiefs when it comes to banning AR-15s? How have gun manufacturers and the NRA purchased silence from American police?

Click on the blue time codes to take you precisely where you want to go:

0:52 David Does the News: NRA Meets today to plan more killings: A look at the NRA's history of draft dodging and spousal abuse; Wayne LaPiere's personal life; Texas Governor Greg Abbott is evil; Republican Senator Tom Cotton says assaults weapons don't exist

56:37 "USA of Distraction" written and performed by Professor Mike Steinel

1:01:51 Gregg Barak (author, "Violence and Nonviolence: Pathways to Understanding" and "Criminology on Trump") Americans have yet to come to grips with just how violent we are. Gregg Barak is the co-founder and North American Editor of the “Journal of White Collar and Corporate Crime” and Emeritus Professor of Criminology & Criminal Justice at Eastern Michigan University. He is the author and editor of 20 books on crime, justice, media, violence, criminal law, homelessness, and human rights. These include “Violence and Nonviolence: Pathways to Understanding,” “Gimme Shelter: A Social History of Homelessness in Contemporary America”, and “Theft of a Nation: Wall Street Looting and Federal Regulatory Colluding”. His newest book is “Criminology on Trump.”

1:36:40 Joe Thompson (organizer w/ Starbucks Workers United, candidate for California State Assembly District 28) Joe Thompson is a 19-year-old non-binary, UC Santa Cruz Student, a Starbucks Union Organizer, and a progressive candidate for California State Assembly District 28 in the nonpartisan primary election on Tuesday June 7th. Joe uses they/them pronouns and, if elected, they would be the first nonbinary official elected to statewide office in California.

2:03:40 The Herschenfelds: Dr. Philip Herschenfeld (Freudian psychoanalyst), and Ethan Herschenfeld (his new comedy special "Thug, Thug Jew" is streaming on YouTube) We talks guns

2:34:09 "Travelin' Light" written and performed by Professor Mike Steinel

2:30:25 Stump The Hump with Quizmaster Dan F. Today's topic: Disney

3:10:17 "Swine Bomb Boogie" written and performed by Professor Mike Steinel

3:13:06 The Rev. Barry W. Lynn (Americans United for Separation of Church and State)

Religious Nut of the Week Rep. Brian Babin (R-TX):

"The United States of America has always had guns. It's our history. We were built on the Judeo-Christian foundation and with guns"

4:07:21 The Professors And Mary Anne: Professors Mary Anne Cummings, Jonathan Bick, Ann Li, Adnan Husain

We talks guns

PLUS: ASMR for your eyeballs -Joe in Norway makes: Homemade glass jelly noodles w/a spicy Sichuanese sauce.

5:10:10 Professor Harvey J. Kaye ("FDR on Democracy") and Alan Minsky (executive director of Progressive Democrats of America) Guns

5:45:04 Emil Guillermo (host of the PETA Podcast, and columnist for The Asian American Legal Defense And Education Fund) Guns

6:10:57 Liam McEneany (Comedian and Producer) Liam plugs his big new tour called L.L.L.L. (Left-Leaning Liberals of Laughter) Presents: Progressive Comedy for America

The Democrats War Against The Left, Episode 1341

With midterms in full swing, we take a closer look at the Democratic party's war against the Left with our very special guest David Sirota who served as Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign speechwriter in 2020.

David also created the financial crisis podcast series Meltdown, and helped Adam McKay create the story for the film Don’t Look Up. He is a columnist at the Guardian, editor-at-large at Jacobin Magazine, and founder and editor of the Lever.

SUBSCRIBE TO THE LEVER:

Click on the time codes in blue to take you precisely where you want to go

00:28 David Does the News: Rudy curses out New Yorkers; The world's richest are losing billions; Warren Buffett owns 26 billions dollars worth of Chevron; Australia elects a prime minister from the Labor party; Biden offends China; Why our president is really just the Funeral Director In Chief; Donald Trump's approval ratings surpass Biden's; Eric Garcetti, mayor of Los Angeles, is half a man; Title 42 is white supremacy; Why economists are frauds; The Truth about apple pie; and our country was founded by drunkards

52:35 "USA of Distraction" written and performed by Mike Steinel

58:53 David Sirota (founder and editor of "The Lever", editor-at-large at "Jacobin Magazine") David Sirota served as Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign speechwriter in 2020, he created the financial crisis podcast series Meltdown, and he helped Adam McKay create the story for the film Don’t Look Up. He is a columnist at the Guardian, editor-at-large at Jacobin Magazine, and founder and editor of the Lever David talks about his latest piece for The Lever on how Democratic leaders are joining with oligarchs to try to permanently destroy the progressive movement

1:31:32 Jason Myles and Pascal Robert (co-hosts of "This is Revolution" podcast) An update on how France and America drained Haiti's economy. Also what did Karl Marx have to say about capitalism and the slave trade?

1:58:33 Howie Klein (founder and treasurer of The Blue America PAC and author of Down With Tyranny) What dirt is Congressman Madison Cawthorn going to spill on his way out? Howie Klein knows. Howie gives us a preview of tomorrow's big elections in Georgia and the runoff between Henry Cuellar and Jessica Cisneros in Texas.

2:33:03 David Cobb (environmental activist and Green Party Presidential candidate) David Cobb on the rise of fascism in the Republican party. He talks about Yale Professor Jason Stanley's book, “How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them.” His latest article in The Guardian is titled “America is now in fascism’s legal phase."

2:57:18 Dr. Harriet Fraad (host of "Capitalism Hits Home") Replacement theory

3:32:42 "I'm Traveling Light" written and performed by Professor Mike Steinel

3:35:23 Professor Adnan Husain ("Guerrilla History" and "The Majlis" podcasts) How Central Asia's instability is aggravated by war in Ukraine; The Khodayari assassination in Iran; and how American oligarchs are financing the end of our Democracy.

4:10:36 Peter B. Collins (Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame) Meet two reformists running for sheriff in California: Carl Tennenbaum in Sonoma County, carltforsheriff.com Sean Allen in Santa Clara County, seanallenforsheriff.com

4:46:58 Professor Mary Anne Cummings (physicist and parks commissioner Aurora, Illinois) The latest on Ukraine

5:14:19 Professor Mike Steinel (Jazz historian and Dylanologist)

"Talk Is Cheap" written and performed by Professor Mike Steinel

That’s it for this week!

Thank you for subscribing to this newsletter and listening to my show.

Stay Strong! Protect The Weak!

Best Wishes,

David

David Feldman Show

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