Civil Liberties, Criminalizing Dissent, Human Rights, Impeachment, Supreme Court, Truth to Power, War Resister
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Paul Robeson: Ballad of an American by Sharon Rudahl
Paul Robeson, like John Brown before him and Malcolm X after him, was an American of great courage and great accomplishments. Like John Brown and Malcolm the powers that be, vilified him and attempted to reduce him to obscurity. Robeson was born the son of a slave in Somerville, New Jersey In 1898. At Rutgers University he was a Phi Beta Kappa, graduated at the top of his class, and delivered the valedictorian speech. He won 16 letters in sports; football, baseball, track and field, and basketball. He had a beautiful bass voice and sang in the choir. He briefly played professional football and graduated from Columbia Law school.
He was an outstanding actor performing on both stage and screen in America and England. As a concert performer he traveled the world singing spirituals, labor songs, and folk songs of American Blacks. He was outspoken in support of civil rights, union struggles, anti-colonialism, and asserted himself as a socialist.
Because of this he was repressed by the reactionary forces in America in a period of time after World War II known as McCarthyism. In August 1949, a concert that he was to headline in Peekskill, New York was broken up by fascists. The next year a national concert tour had to be canceled because theaters refused to book him. His passport was taken away. He couldn’t travel. He was told he could have it back if he promised not to “ criticize the treatment of American Negroes in the US which should not be aired abroad.“
He was heard before the house un-American activities committee in 1956 and asked why he didn’t stay in Russia. He replied “because my father was a slave and my people died to build this country and I’m going to stay here.“ His films and recordings were taken out of circulation and he disappeared from textbooks and halls of fame. Of Paul Robeson, Cornell West has said that “he was an artistic genius moral titan and courageous freedom fighter whom we must never forget.“
Guest – Sharon Rudahl, author and artist who recently published graphic biography “Paul Robeson: Ballad of an American.” The book was edited by Paul Buhle and Lawrence Ware. Sharon Rudahl marched with Martin Luther King as a teenager and began her career as a cartoonist with anti-Vietnam war underground newspapers. She was one of the founders of the 1970s era feminist “Wimmen’s Comix.“ She is best known for her graphic biography “Emma Goldman: A Dangerous Woman.“
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Constitutional Scholar Stephen Rohde On Impeachment
The American people are enmeshed in and victimized by four overlapping, intertwined and perhaps irreversible crises. They are medical, economic, racial, and political. The Covid 19 virus has infected over 25 million people. It has killed at least 430,000 of us and it rages on unchecked. Half the people in the US are poor or near poor. Twenty million or more are unemployed and their numbers are growing. Hunger and homelessness are widespread. Racism has been institutionalized in our country ever since its founding as a white settler colonial state. Politically except for the scattering of a few progressives there really is no party or leadership that represents the interests of the vast majority of our people.
Former president Donald Trump has been impeached by the Democrats in the House and will stand trial in the Senate beginning the week of February 8th.
He received 75 million votes in the 2020 election, more than he received when he won in 2016. Even though he lost last November his power is barely diminished. He will likely be acquitted of the charge of inciting an insurrection on January 6th. With the help of most of the 50 Republican senators the Democrats won’t be able to get the 60 necessary votes to convict him and prevent him from running for president again. Thus he will continue to control the Republican Party.
There is the possibility of his running again that helps keep him as the powerful leader he has become and keeps the Republicans in line, fearful as they are of being primaried and losing their own power and privilege. Only a few Republicans have shown the integrity and courage to oppose this venal, cruel and cunning man.
Guest – Attorney Stephen Rohde is a constitutional scholar, lecturer, writer, political activist and retired civil rights lawyer. He is a founder and Chair of Interfaith Communities United for Justice and Peace, past President of the ACLU of Southern California, and a Past Chair of Bend the Arc: a Jewish Partnership for Justice. He is the author of two books American Words of Freedom: The Words That Define Our Nation and Freedom of Assembly and co-author of Foundations of Freedom: A Living History of Our Bill of Rights. He has written for the Los Angeles Times, Huffington Post, Truthout and American Prospect, and is a regular contributor to the Los Angeles Review of Books.
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Civil Liberties, Criminalizing Dissent, Human Rights, Surveillance, War Resister
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- GTMO Commentary By Lawyers Guild Show Host Jim Lafferty
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Brian Becker on Inauguration Protests, Security and Reform
Americans have protested incoming presidents throughout history, starting in the 19th century. Four years ago, thousands descended on the nation’s capital this to protest Donald Trump’s inauguration, and more than 200 were arrested. The day before President Woodrow Wilson took office in 1913, up to 8,000 women marched down Pennsylvania Avenue in what one historian says was likely the first large-scale inauguration protest. The suffragists, who’d gotten a parade permit, were pushed, spat upon, and beaten. Many women were hospitalized, and the treatment of the women led to the firing of the capital’s police chief.
In 1969, anti-war protesters threw burning miniature flags and stones at police during Richard Nixon’s inauguration. During Nixon’s 1973 inauguration, a ‘massive anti-war protest was staged at the Lincoln Memorial, with an estimated 100,000 people were present and participated in a “March against Death.” 80 Congressmen joined the demonstrations and boycotted the inaugural ceremonies.
The demonstrations at Bush’s inauguration in 2001 were the first major protests at a presidential inauguration since the protests against Nixon in 1969 and 1973. At least 20,000 people demonstrated in the capital and along the inaugural parade route in defiance of the Supreme Court ruling in Bush v. Gore. “Selected not elected” and “Hail to the thief” were some of the slogans on signs at the protest. Four years later, more than 1,000 demonstrators were at Bush’s inauguration, largely to protest the Iraq war, as the president was sworn in for his second term.
Two weeks before the Biden inauguration, Trump-loving lawbreakers ransacked the Capitol building. Combined with the COVID pandemic, last week’s inauguration was pared down, and a ring of law enforcement encircled the metropolis.
Guest – Brian Becker, director of the ANSWER Coalition and host of The Socialist Program podcast.
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A Path Forward: Professor Jack Rasmus
The word “chaos“ best describes the current American situation. Public health, an economic disaster, institutional racism, and political turbulence were rampant as Trump vacated the White House. America leads the world in the number of COVID-19 cases. The number of deaths, which are now over 400,000, are mounting rapidly.
The economy is in terrible shape.. Perhaps 20 million people are unemployed. Small businesses are shuttered. Millions face eviction. Hunger is rampant, especially among children. What does the future hold? Are we really free of Trump and Trumpism? What will Biden do?
Centrist Democrats like Biden, since the remaking of the Democratic Party beginning with neo-liberal Clinton, have not vigorously defended the social gains secured in the 1930s with the Roosevelt New Deal. Will Biden defend these? Will he extend them?
Can he do this by governing from the center?What does his proposed $1.9 trillion rescue package consist of? Will Bidens proposals hold up in Congress? Is there more needed?
Guest – Dr. Jack Rasmus, he holds a PhD in political economy and teaches at Saint Mary’s College in California. Professor Rasmus has written numerous books and articles on economics and is the host of the weekly radio show “ Alternative Visions“ on the Progressive Radio Network.
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Civil Liberties, Criminalizing Dissent, Human Rights, Political Prisoner, Supreme Court
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Christian Nationalism Vs The U.S. Constituton
Two weeks ago the United States Supreme Court made a 5 to 4 decision in the case of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn and Agadith Israel of America versus Governor Mario Cuomo which reversed a precedent and crashed through the wall separating church and state.
The men who wrote United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights,which separated church and state, were mostly non-Christians. America was not created as a Christian country. That is a myth. Nor was it founded on Judeo Christian principles. This is another myth. The founding fathers were deists. They were products of the enlightenment. They did not believe in a god that played any role in human affairs. They understood from European history the terrible consequences of not separating church and state.
Today’s Christian nationalists and evangelicals, mostly Trump supporters, are relentless in their attempts to tear down the wall of separation. These people have substantial political power. They are much of Trump’s base. They succeeded in getting Amy Comey Barrett appointed to the Supreme Court.
Two weeks ago she along with four reactionary Catholic judges, Alito, Kavanaugh ,Thomas and Gorsuch, prevented Governor Cuomo and his scientific advisors from limiting the number of people who attend Roman Catholic and ultra Orthodox Jewish services in Brooklyn. This decision will cost lives in New York and nationally as it ties the hands of governments trying to limit the human toll of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Guest – Attorney Andrew Seidel, a Constitutional litigator with the Freedom From Religion Foundation and the author of the just published book The Founding Myth: Why Christian Nationalism is Un-American.
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Matt Meyer: Movement Building Post-Trump
In a 2018 Gallup poll half of Americans called the state of moral values in the United States “poor,” and 37 percent say moral values are “only fair.” Over the past four years, a perfect storm of incompetence, misinformation, and reckless decisions by Donald Trump have left a stain not just on moral values but also on democratic institutions and the rule of law. In a chillingly politicized decision, for example, the new overtly right-wing Supreme Court has signaled its preference for religion over public health in its first opinion limiting states’ rights to protect residents from the Covid-19 virus.
As we transition from what no doubt will go down in history as the worst presidential administration in American history, much of the nation is plagued by widespread depression and hopelessness. But bad times for the country provide new opportunities for social justice organizing.
Longtime activist and writer Matt Meyer’s recent blog for Waging NonViolence is called “6 ways to stay focused on movement-building amid the post-election chaos.” He offers concrete suggestions—in effect a moral assignment for the masses– for surviving, and acting—in the wake of four exhausting years under a divisive narcissist.
For more information on David Gilbert
Guest – Matt Meyer, author of several books on resistance and social change chiefly published by PM Press and Africa World Press. He is the Secretary General of the International Peace Research Association, a long-time leader of both the War Resisters League and Fellowship of Reconciliation, the Senior Research Scholar of the Resistance Studies Initiative, and an advisory board member of Waging Nonviolence. He is also on the board of the New York-based A.J. Muste Institute, funding grassroots activist initiatives for half a century.
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Criminalizing Dissent, Human Rights, Iraq War, Political Prisoner, Prison Industry, Torture, Truth to Power, War Resister
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Julian Assange Update With Journalist Kevin Gosztola
The problem of the 2020 United States election between Biden and Trump from the standpoint of defending free national security journalism was that one of them would win. Whereas Trump was a caricatures of the system Biden is its embodiment. He has pledged “nothing will fundamentally change.“ This is the fear of Julian Assange and his defenders.
The Trump administration initiated an indictment against Julian Assange for 17 counts of espionage. Assange revealed U.S. war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan 10 years ago. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called his organization, WikiLeaks, which published his whistleblowing articles, “a non-state hostile intelligence entity.”
Biden has called Assange “a high tech terrorist.” Hillary Clinton said “we should drone him.” One of the legal advisors to Biden was a prosecutor in the Eastern District of Virginia and sent whistle blowers, John Karakuo and Jeffery Sterling, to federal prison. He wanted to indict Julian Assange but left office to join a private law firm before he could get around to it
Julian Assange is now in solitary confinement in Britain’s infamous and Covid wracked Belmarsh prison in London. He is in terrible physical and mental shape. The extradition request of the United States has been litigated. We await the judges decision which is expected at January 4.
The defense has submitted their arguments in support of Julian, principally that this is a political prosecution which is illegal under an American British treaty.
Guest – Kevin Gosztola, a journalist who has covered the recent extradition hearing and writing on whistleblowers for many years. He writes for “Substack” and does the podcast “ Unauthorized Disclosure“. He has closely followed the Julian Assange case.
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Release Aging People In Prison Campaign During Covid 19 Risks
As coronavirus positivity rates have been rising nationwide two states—NY and California—have shown vastly different responses. In New York State, nearly 5% of the state’s prisoners have tested positive for Covid 19. Public health experts have warned that to reduce the spread of the virus, prison populations should be cut to 50% capacity.
While Governor Andrew Cuomo has ordered the release of 3,109 New Yorkers, he hasn’t used his power of clemency, either through a pardon of commutation. In stark contrast, Governor Gavin Newsom of California has expedited the release of nearly 9,000 prisoners and issued 55 commutations and 4 medical reprieves between March and November.
In contrast, Andrew Cuomo has granted 2 commutations in January, and another 3 in June. Critics call that number outrageous. Steve Zeidman, who co-directs CUNY Law School’s Defenders Clinic Second Look Project told Gothamist that clemency is “an urgent necessity that is being ignored.” The clinic currently represents 50 people whose clemency petitions await the governor’s decision.
The governor’s office declined to comment on whether he will issue more commutations this year. For the past six holiday seasons, advocates have gathered to plead with Cuomo to commute more sentences. For the most part, he has ignored their pleas.
Guest – Jose Saldana, executive director of Release Aging People in Prison.
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Civil Liberties, Criminalizing Dissent, Human Rights, Supreme Court, Truth to Power
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Human Rights Attorney Steven Donziger Faces Contempt Trial Without Jury, Before Federalist Society Judge
Since the inception of Law And Disorder Radio 15 years ago we have endeavored to chronicle the decline of democracy and the rule of law in our country. A low point has been reached with the prosecution of human rights ex-attorney Steven Donziger who goes to trial in January. He is charged with criminal contempt. He will be tried without the benefit of a jury before Federalist Society right wing pro-corporate Judge Loretta Presca in the Southern District of New York.
Three decades ago Donziger successfully brought a lawsuit against the oil giant Chevron which had contaminated in the area of Ecuador the size of Rhode Island. He won over $9 billion in an Ecuadorian court. Chevron has not paid a penny of the judgment nor has it cleaned up the area it ruined. Lives of thousands of indigenous Ecuadorians have been wrecked by the cancer causing pollution.
Donziger has been targeted by Chevron which has spent hundreds of millions of dollars and used over 2000 lawyers to prevent the paying of the judgment and to victimize Donziger. It attempted to send a message to environmentalists that we will crush you if you try to protect yourself from us. When federal Judge Louis Kaplan, a former tobacco company attorney, found Donziger in contempt of court for refusing to turn over his computer and cell phone to Chevron’s attorneys on the grounds that it contained privileged information on his clients, Kaplan caused Donziger to be disbarred and put under house arrest. Kaplun assigned his friend Judge Presca to try the contempt case against Donziger without a jury. The trial starts in New York City in January.
Guest – Steven Donziger is a renowned advocate, writer, and public speaker with a focus on addressing human rights abuses and corporate malfeasance. He is part of the team working with indigenous and farmer communities in an area of the Ecuadorian Amazon rainforest suffering from high cancer rates and other health ailments related to the massive oil pollution caused by Texaco, now owned by Chevron. In 2011, the affected communities won a historic $9.5 billon judgment against Chevron for the environmental cleanup of what experts consider to be one of the worst oil-related catastrophes in the world. Known for his “Herculean tenacity” (Business Week), Steven has represented the affected communities since first visiting the region in 1993. Steven also founded Project Due Process, a legal advocacy group for Cuban detainees who arrived in the United States in the Mariel boatlift.
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The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump
Two years ago a Yale School of Medicine professor and psychiatrist told Congress that President Trump is mentally unstable, could be dangerous, and could even be involuntarily committed. Bandy Lee argued in briefings that Trump should undergo a capacity evaluation to assess his fitness for duty. Lee argues that Trump may actually be a dangerous person—one who’s shown a “pattern of violent behavior and violent tendencies”—and she’s considered whether the president should be involuntarily committed to a hospital mental-health program. “We can forcibly commit somebody and could be held legally liable if we don’t when the signs are obvious,” Lee told the Atlantic Magazine.
In Trump’s case, the pattern of violent behavior” includes incendiary tweets, comments about groping women on Access Hollywood, his encouraging violence against protesters at campaign rallies, and his defense of white nationalists. Democrat Jamie Raskin of Maryland, one of a dozen lawmakers who have met with Lee, proposed creating an independent commission to determine presidential capacity. “The framers foresaw a time when this could become an issue,” Raskin has said, referring to the 25th Amendment. “And we simply have to have the courage and sense of responsibility to implement the procedure they set up.” Lee has noted that this is a matter of human survival, and that psychiatrists “could be held legally liable if we don’t [speak out] when the signs are obvious.”
Guest – Professor Bandy Lee, forensic psychiatrist, an expert in violence, president of the World Mental Health Coalition and editor of “The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump.”
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CIA Sponsored Terror, Civil Liberties, Criminalizing Dissent, Human Rights, Supreme Court, Truth to Power
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Attorney Michael Tigar: Sensing Justice
Democracy and the rule of law have been in decline long before the Trump administration came at the office. The decline is accelerating. We can trace it back at least 19 years to the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. The Patriot Act resulted and put in place the surveillance state making Americans the most spied on people in history.
The Supreme Court decision in Citizens United allowed for dark money guided by the right wing Federalist Society to pack the federal judiciary with 200+ Trump appointed right wing judges, Amy Comey Barrett being the latest. Local police forces have been militarized and we have seen the results of this in the Black Lives Matter uprisings since June.
The attack on democracy has been bipartisan. The Obama administration claimed the right to assassinate anyone without due process including American citizens, even children. They put more whistleblowers in prison than ever before. Trump initiated the unprecedented prosecution of Julian Assange, a whistleblowing publisher who exposed US war crimes. Now Trump, with the backing of the Republican Party and gun toting militias have promised not to honor the results of the upcoming election if he loses.
Guest – Constitutional attorney Michael Tigar, professor emeritus from The Washington College of Law and has taught at the University of Texas and Duke University. He is the author of Mythologies of State and Monopoly Power. He has practice before the Supreme Court, arguing his first case when he was 24 years old. Tigar has written or edited more than a dozen of important books including “Law and the Rise of Capitalism.“ Since 1996 he has practiced law with his wife Jane B. Tigar. Michael Tigar’s blog Tigarbytes.
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The Chicago Seven: Attorney Bill Kunstler At Carolines Comedy Club
We hear part of the presentation by William Kunstler at Carolines Comedy Club in 1995.
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