Re-Construction.US

Since the murder of George Floyd in late May, people from all over the country have marched to express their outrage and to support the Black Lives Matter movement. In Portland, Oregon, these rallies have continued peacefully throughout the summer until just a few weeks ago when President Trump made good on his threat and sent in a new team of federal officers. These forces joined other largely unidentified "security forces" that appeared in the city just weeks earlier. They threw tear gas and instigated much (though not all) of the violence that erupted in the days that followed. It took some time and the filing of several law suits, but local leaders were able to get these unidentified federal forces to back off and leave the city.

However, this is by no means the end of the conflict. One particularly ominous tactic used by these "officers" as well as other new "private security" teams is the kidnapping of people directly off the streets. For several weeks now, protesters have been removed from streets by force, thrown into vans without seats and then dropped off at police stations by unidentified personnel -- often in unmarked vehicles. Similar incidents have occurred in other U.S. cities during rallies or even during the day with no march in sight.

It is now clear that our president is willing to go to virtually any length to ensure his re-election. Trump has threatened to send these same officers -- a separate federal force that he has created and controls -- to create havoc in other democrat-leaning American cities. Such actions by a siting U.S. president are unheard of and may mark the beginning of a much darker phase of Trump's strategy. This should be of great concern to everyone who believes in democracy.

Today's interview is with Teressa Raiford, one of the key leaders of the Black Lives Matter movement in Portland. She is the founder of Don't Shoot Portland, an organization she founded in 2015 after loosing her nephew to gun violence. Teressa and her colleagues are doing phenomenal work and have created strategies and tools that can be effective for organizing in other American cities to move the fight for equity forward in your community.

One thing is clear: President Trump will go to any lengths to win re-election, even if he destroys American democracy in the process. Once you have listened to this interview, please pass it on.

On today’s podcast, I will be discussing the events on January 6th with two previous guests: Teressa Raiford of Don’t Shoot Portland and Steve Pierson from Swing Left. I asked both of these progressive leaders to join me to discuss what can be done in the days and weeks ahead and how, most importantly we can work together strategically to combat the real threat of fascism that now lies before us.

Those of us who believe in the ideal of an equitable America and the democratic process cannot allow ourselves to get lost in the storm. There are some things that we can all support and take action on now. We can write letters to congress supporting Trump’s removal and prosecution for sedition. We can talk to our friends, family and neighbors urging them to do the same; and we can look support unity. Unity among all progressive and democratic organizations in standing up together to oppose the tidal wave of white supremacy President Trump has leveraged to create a cult of supporters. People have been convinced that his remaining in office – even as a dictator - is preferable to the inauguration of President-elect Biden and Kamala Harris. Both of whom were duly elected by the majority of the people of the United States.

Click HERE to sign Adam Schiff’s letter.
Watch this podcast on YouTube HERE.

One hallmark of the Trump administration was a rise in visibility and his support of white nationalism. Even before his insurrection on the U.S. Capitol, the year 2020 saw a record number of such attacks in the U.S. Then last week, the Department of Homeland Security warned that "the United States faced a growing threat from 'violent domestic extremists' emboldened by the attack" on January 6th. The former president pushed a false narrative of rioting people of color in American cities to win votes through fear mongering. But while hate crime by white supremacists has increased nationally, a closer look at the facts on the ground has consistently revealed that large cities with highly diverse populations have actually seen a drop in such incidents.

California's Los Angeles County, for example, boasts over 10 million residents. It also has one of the most diverse populations in the United States. Yet over the last 20 years, hate crimes have actually dropped by nearly half. 2019 saw only 524 reported incidents. This is a success story that needs to be told, including lessons that might apply in other communities across the country.

Today's guest, Marshall Wong has served as a Senior Human Relations Consultant with the L.A. County Human Relations Commission since 1999. He is the Commission’s Hate Crime Coordinator and the principal author of the agency’s annual Hate Crime Report. Marshall is a native of Los Angeles and also staffs a countywide coalition, the Network Against Hate Crime, and provides training for law enforcement and service providers. In this interview he shares insights into what drives and reduces these crimes in our communities.

Watch on YouTube: Marshall Wong

It's late August and for millions of students, that means going back to school. But because of the Coronavirus, parents, students and teachers across the country are facing some truly harrowing choices. Go back to the classroom or stay home and do our best long distance? Should my school try a hybrid approach? Differing approaches in each state are also adding to the confusion. Here in my home state of Minnesota, for example, the governor is taking it county by county. In person learning is moving forward where infection rates are lower. But reopening schools now could ignite an explosion of infection because it's happening just as the pandemic is moving into rural America.

Neither children nor teachers are immune from Covid-19. Therefore Trump's policy could be a death sentence for many teachers and students alike. It's a short term solution, but the consequences of reopening schools too soon could have terrible long term consequences. We could loose a generation of teachers. The argument to reopen is primarily economic. We need to get the economy going and help people get back to work so that means getting kids must go back to school. But this raises an important question:

Do we really want to put the burden of this health and economic crisis on the shoulders of American teachers?

Today's interview addresses all of these questions with an educator who has looked at all angles. Gina McKuen has been a California middle school teacher for 27 years and knows all about what happens when you put 30+ kids together in a classroom. She joins us today to share her perspective as a teacher and as the mother of two second-graders. Her family's journey highlights what is happening in homes across our country. With candor, wit and wisdom she describes her fears about what may happen in the coming months and alternative approaches that could save the lives of many students and teachers alike.

It’s January, and people all over the world are celebrating the end of the year 2020. It was harrowing for so many reasons, not the least of which was our year with the Coronavirus. Thousands of American families who have lost loved ones and millions lost their jobs too. But there is hope on the horizon as millions of Americans have started receiving the new vaccines. Three options have already been released and a fourth is on it’s way.

The speed with which our scientific community has identified the virus and developed these vaccines is unprecedented. Never before have researchers been able to conduct thousands of tests in such a short period of time. In fact, it may be that the biggest impact over the long term will be the revolution in research science that made this unprecedented speed possible.

Today’s Guest, Dr. Thomas Hartung is the Director of the Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing (CAAT), a laboratory for developmental neurotoxicity research based on genomics and metabolomics at Johns Hopkins University. Hartung has been leading a movement within the world of research to move away from animal testing and utilize new technologies that can save millions of dollars and lead to faster testing with more accurate results. I’ve asked him to join me today to share his insights on this revolution in a field that has been highly reliant on old methodologies.

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