On today’s briefing:
Trump’s Favorite Judge Shows How Protesting Against Government Cruelty Can Get You 30 Years in Prison Even If You Weren’t at the Protest
We begin with outrageous sentences of demonstrators against ICE handed down by a far-right District Judge in Texas Reed O’Conner yesterday including 30 years for Daniel Sanchez Estrada for moving a box of antifascist magazines after the protest at an ICE facility. Joining us is Matt Sledge, a political reporter at The Intercept who has written previously for the Houston Landing, The Times-Picayune, New Orleans Advocate, and The Huffington Post. We discuss his latest article at The Intercept, “Prairieland Defendant Sentenced to 30 Years in Prison for Moving a Box of Antifascist Zines.”
Instead of Walls, A Welcome Table
Then we look into how the combination of fossil fuels, capitalism and colonialism is killing the planet because coal and oil generates huge profits for the owners of mines and oil companies making it no surprise that “drill baby drill” Trump is killing off solar and wind, because you can’t own the sun and the wind. Joining us is Josh Fox, an independent filmmaker and founder and artistic director of the International WOW Company. Best known as the Oscar-nominated, Emmy-winning writer and director of Gasland Parts I and II, his documentaries also include “Awake, A Dream From Standing Rock” and “The Truth Has Changed.” In 2018, he created The Truth Has Changed, a solo performance which toured to over 25 cities in the US and Europe and spawned a book and feature film adaptation. He is the host of Staying Home With Josh Fox, a nightly interview program, and his new HBO documentary just out is The Welcome Table.
As Trump Tries to End Our Democracy, How Can We Celebrate Our 250th Birthday He is Hijacking?
Then finally we question whether the nation can really celebrate its 250th birthday when the birthday party is being hijacked by Donald Trump who is doing everything he can to destroy our democracy so that he can rule over us like a depraved Roman emperor. Joining us is Judith Levine, a Brooklyn-based journalist, essayist and author of five books. Her Substack is Today in Fascism and she has an article at The Guardian we discuss, “America’s 250th birthday celebration is replacing history with toxic myth.”
Background Briefing offers an educational approach to providing information in an era of “fake news.”