Media Cyphers Kalamazoo

We talk with local organizer Euan from the Southwest Michigan Democratic Socialists of America to talk about their successful campaign to lobby the city to build more public restrooms downtown.

 

In 2019, several candidates- including those who would go on to win that election- pledged to install public bathrooms downtown. After a single unit was installed in 2020, it seemed that the push for public bathrooms was all but flushed down the toilet. Local organizers took up the issue and pushed the city to follow through with additional bathrooms.

 

We talk about why and how SWMI DSA took up the charge, some of the controversies surrounding their campaign, and how their efforts bore fruit.

 

https://swmidsa.com/

 

Andy and Lawrence discuss some critical local issues. Larry Bell cajoles the city to more strictly enforce trespassing by the houseless, Michigan State Police give us a textbook example of systemic racism, and we spend some time talking about the Grammys.

 

SOURCES/ FURTHER READING

‘Fed up’: Brewery founder wants Kalamazoo city manager fired over homeless issue

https://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/2024/01/fed-up-brewery-founder-wants-kalamazoo-city-manager-fired-over-homeless-issue.html

 

Study: ‘Informal quota’ fuels racial disparity of Michigan State Police stops

https://www.bridgemi.com/michigan-government/study-informal-quota-fuels-racial-disparity-michigan-state-police-stops

 

We are joined by local organizers with We The People Michigan Tristen and K to discuss a plan by the City of Kalamazoo to use ARPA (American Rescue Plan) funds- originally allocated for COVID-19 relief- to fund a project to renovate and "secure" the Arcadia Creek Festival Site.

 

We talk with them about why they feel relief funds should be used differently, the actual plan that would involve selling off part of the park to private developers, and how this speaks to larger issues of gentrification and the use of public space.

 

https://wethepeoplemi.org/

 

Fund Housing Not Festivals

Rallying Outside Kalamazoo City Hall

Monday, February 19th @ 6:00PM

https://fb.me/e/58LWqTi2l

 

On today's show we provide some updates on the ongoing legislative assault on trans people across the country. Maine walks back legislation that would've made them a sanctuary state for trans folks, and a recent expose reveals leaked audio from Michigan and other lawmakers about their endgame to ban trans people entirely.

We provide a quick update on the recent COVID-19 surge then spend much of the hour providing updates on the genocide in Gaza. The International Court of Justice orders Israel to desist in active genocide, but falls short of calling for a ceasefire. At home college protestors are being assaulted with chemical weapons, congress votes to condemn the ICJ, and Nancy Pelosi speculates that the national campaign for a ceasefire comes from the Kremlin.

We then look at the fascist crisis on the border. Texas is defying a Supreme Court order to remove razor wire and more insidious torture traps from the border, and 25 states have indicated their support of Texas- up to and including calling for Civil War. We look at how the U.S. as a country got to this point and ask why the mainstream media barely covered this.

We close on a more light-hearted topic looking at the abject foolishness that is Tom MacDonald and Ben Shapiro's "rap song" "Facts."

 

01:00- 13:20 LGBTQ+ Rights Update

 

13:20- 17:00 COVID-19 Update

 

17:30- 1:06:40 Gaza Updates

 

1:06:40- 1:38:00 The Fascist Crisis on the Border

 

1:38:00- 1:48:00 A Hip-Hop Farce: Ben Shapiro and Tom MacDonald Drop Rhymes

 

SOURCES/ FURTHER READING

 

Democrats Vote Down Trans Refuge Bill In Maine After Right-Wing Attacks
https://www.erininthemorning.com/p/democrats-vote-down-trans-refuge

 

Ohio, Michigan Republicans In Released Audio: "Endgame" Is To Ban Trans Care "For Everyone"
https://www.erininthemorning.com/p/ohio-michigan-republicans-in-released

 

International Court of Justice Orders Israel to Prevent Genocide in Gaza But Fails to Order Ceasefire
https://www.democracynow.org/2024/1/26/icj_provisional_ruling_israel_genocide_gaza

 

Columbia Scolds Students for “Unsanctioned” Gaza Rally Where They Were Attacked With Chemicals 
https://theintercept.com/2024/01/22/columbia-university-palestine-protest-skunk/

 

62 House Dems Join GOP in Condemning South Africa’s Genocide Case Against Israel
https://truthout.org/articles/62-house-dems-join-gop-in-condemning-south-africas-genocide-case-against-israel

 

The Palestine Laboratory: How Israel Exports the Technology of Occupation Around the World
By Antony Loewenstein
https://www.versobooks.com/products/2684-the-palestine-laboratory

 

Texas and fascist governors are defying the federal government
https://www.jphilll.com/p/were-seeing-a-quiet-constitutional

 

The Media Cyphers team and special guests Emily and Sable go over the year that was.

In our final live episode of 2023 we look at how litigation may bear fruit for the working class in Michigan. Separate cases are working their way through the courts- one that could restore the bite of a ballot proposal on minimum wage that Michigan Republicans infamously defanged with their (at the time) majority in Lansing, and a suit that could have implication for wages of caregivers across the state.

 

We look at several stories about how Pro- Palestinian voices are under attack on campus, here in Michigan and around the country. We also spend some time with Media Cyphers co-host Lawrence breaking down mainstream media coverage of Gaza and the recent vote for a ceasefire at the U.N.

 

We talk about the fascist clown show that was the most recent Republican Party debate, and ask some probing questions about the opposition. With a Republican nominee likely to be an orange narcissist openly talking about making themselves a dictator, where will Biden and the Democrats stand after 4 years of broken promises and a compulsion to be authoritarian when it comes to restricting primaries and other challenges to their status quo?

 

3:00- 8:20 Local Palestine Solidarity Events

 

8:30- 16:00 Minimum Wage Increase Defanged by MI Republicans Goes to MI Supreme Court

 

16:00- 25:30 Lawsuit Could Mean a Pay Raise for Michigan Caregivers

 

27:30- 1:00:00 Pro- Palestine Speech Under Fire on Campus- Here in Michigan and Across the Country

 

1:00:00- 1:18:00 The Gaza Genocide, Mainstream Media, and the U.N.

 

1:18:00- 1:24:00 Brief Comments on Kissinger

 

1:24:00- 1:38:00 Dictator Trump and The Republican Debate Fiasco

 

1:38:00- 1:50:00 The Anti- Democracy in the Democratic Party

 

SOURCES/ FURTHER READING

 

Michigan high court weighs case that would raise minimum wage for 305K workers
https://www.bridgemi.com/michigan-government/michigan-high-court-weighs-case-would-raise-minimum-wage-305k-workers

 

Lawsuit could mean more pay for some Michigan caregivers, relief for families
https://www.bridgemi.com/michigan-health-watch/lawsuit-could-mean-more-pay-some-michigan-caregivers-relief-families

 

Peter Beinart & Omer Bartov on UPenn President Resignation, Gaza & the Weaponization of Antisemitism
https://www.democracynow.org/2023/12/11/campus_antisemitism_and_resignations

 

University of Michigan Administration Caves to Zionist Pressure, Students Fight Back
https://www.leftvoice.org/university-of-michigan-administration-caves-to-zionist-pressure-students-fight-back/

 

Vetoing Gaza ceasefire resolution, Biden administration upholds genocide as state policy
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2023/12/11/heng-d11.html

 

Local music legend Adam Danis joins us to talk about a new benefit album they've put together with their band Fake Baseball and an all-star lineup of Michigan musicians. The album, "Cartoon Covers" is a compilation of nostalgic cover songs with the aim to raise money for the Kalamazoo River Watershed Council.

 

We have an in-depth conversation about the intersection of art and politics, the role area musicians should play in activism geared against environmentally destructive projects (e.g., Line 5, the Asylum Lake Car Wash), and the genesis of their delightful musical 'team-up' with groups like Katy Needs a Life, Jake Simmons & the Little Ghosts, Jes Kramer, and many more.

 

https://fakebaseballpresents.bandcamp.com/album/cartoon-covers-by-michigan-artists-a-benefit-for-the-kalamazoo-river-watershed-council

We open after our hiatus with some reflections on the siege of Gaza. In the weeks since we were last on-air, the situation has deteriorated immensely. That said, there may be a ray of hope in the unprecedented opposition to Israel's air war on Gaza- and even some mainstream media are starting to ask tough questions about the misery exacted on Palestinians.

 

We then pivot to a deep dive on the recent local elections. With a political win largely for the "liberal capitalist" status quo, we look at how working people in Kalamazoo did (and didn't) vote, and how this was an election defined more largely by ballot initiatives than candidates.

 

We then circle back to Gaza. We talk about how local groups like Kalamazoo Non-Violent Opponents of War are speaking truth to power. We also look at how Michigan politicians are reacting- from Attorney General Dana Nessel clouding the air on the true meaning of "from the river to the sea" to the censure of Michigan's own Rashida Tlaib.

 

Nationally, we look at how the Anti-Defamation League is trying to stick accusations of "anti-semitism" onto Jewish lead peace groups.

 

01:00- 16:00 Opening Thoughts on the Siege of Gaza

 

17:10- 53:00 Local Election Post- Mortem

 

53:45- 1:04:30 From the Kalamazoo River to the Sea- How Our City is Mobilizing Resistance

 

1:04:30- 1:15:00 Dana Nessel Throws Rashida Tlaib Under the Bus

 

1:15:00- 1:24:00 Rashida Tlaib Censured in Congress

 

1:24:00- 1:32:00 Anti-Defamation League Defames Jewish Voice for Peace

 

SOURCES/ FURTHER READING

 

Kalamazoo County Election Results
https://www.kalcounty.com/clerk/elections_voting/elections/results.php?election=2023-11-07#con1

 

Michigan AG urges Rep. Rashida Tlaib to refrain from language that could incite violence
https://www.cbsnews.com/detroit/news/dana-nessel-urges-rashida-tlaib-refrain-from-language-that-could-incite-violence/

 

Rashida Tlaib Censure is an Attack on the Entire Movement for Palestine
https://www.leftvoice.org/rashida-tlaib-censure-is-an-attack-on-the-entire-movement-for-palestine/

 

Anti-Defamation League Maps Jewish Peace Rallies With Antisemitic Attacks 
https://theintercept.com/2023/11/11/palestine-israel-protests-ceasefire-antisemitic/

 

We start our show with an article from WOODTV 8 that covers a lawsuit filed by a former worker at Deja Vu, alleging the company is shorting dancers by classifying them as "independent contractors" and engaging in other nefarious tactics to push down their effective wages. In the shadow of recent moves by folks on the west coast to successfully unionize, could this lead to similar organizing of sex workers here in Kalamazoo?

 

We then give you updates on the siege on Gaza in the wake of Hamas' attack. We look at a story from the east side of the state that shows the very real and dangerous consequences of one-sided media propaganda that paints Palestinians as "violent animals" deserving of collective punishment. We talk about the lack of context and boggling ignorance on display from many in the west on this tragedy, and look a little deeper into Hamas. In recent days some have pointed out the peculiar historical relationship between Hamas and the Israeli government, which can draw on some parallels with how the U.S. helped fund the Taliban in the 1980s. By trying to marginalize leftist, class-based liberation organizations in Palestine with more geopolitically divisive "Islamist" groups, the Israeli government helped plant the seeds for the most recent violence.

 

Media Cypher co-host Norah then interviews Ellie Moon, a Starbucks union organizer from St. Louis. They also spend time discussing the state of trans issues in the state of Missouri.

 

1:00- 6:45 Strippers of Kalamazoo Unite! Deja Vu Bosses Engage in Wage Theft

 

6:45- 9:00 Michigan Man Threatens to "Hunt Palestinians" in Dearborn

 

9:00- 29:00 Update on Gaza: Media Coverage, Hamas

 

29:30- 59:55 Interview w/ Ellie Moon

 

SOURCES/ FURTHER READING

 

Kalamazoo strip clubs accused of denying workers minimum wage 
https://www.woodtv.com/news/kalamazoo-county/kzoo-strip-clubs-accused-of-denying-workers-fair-wages/

 

Amid Gaza war, Dearborn police arrest man for threat to 'hunt Palestinians'
https://www.bridgemi.com/michigan-government/amid-gaza-war-dearborn-police-arrest-man-threat-hunt-palestinians

 

How Israel Helped Create Hamas
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2014/07/30/how-israel-helped-create-hamas/

 

Does Supporting Palestinian Resistance Mean Supporting the Strategy and Methods of Hamas?

https://www.leftvoice.org/does-supporting-palestinian-resistance-mean-supporting-the-strategy-and-methods-of-hamas/

 

 

We start with some local updates, including some good news about how the work of houseless folks and their advocates is paying off in potential legislation over in Lansing.

In the Saginaw area a man pleads "insane" after making violent threats towards Governor Whitmer, the FBI, and LGBTQ+ people on social media. We trace the stochastic terrorism of right-wing corporate media that radicalizes men like him and the structure and motivation behind it.

Local pharmaceutical company Pfizer is making access to the newest COVID-19 booster more difficult via the privatization of the process. We tie this into a longer standing critique of the company that has engaged in vaccine profiteering.

We give you some quick updates about the struggle of autoworkers at UAW and its expansion to workers at Mack Trucks.

We then spend most of the hour deconstructing the western media narrative about the recent incursion of Hamas fighters in Israeli settlements. Lacking any historical context or nuance, most outlets are painting Israel as the one sided victim of these recent hostilities. They are purposefully leaving out the oppression of the people of Gaza, who have been living in conditions referred to as an open-air prison, and the people of Palestine more generally living under apartheid. With Israeli and Palestinian citizens caught in the middle, the ongoing settler-colonial violence perpetrated by the Israeli government has come home to roost- a government that is responding to the Hamas attack by promising and delivering a laundry list of its own war crimes against the people of Gaza.

We close with a story from TruthOut that asks deeper questions about Indigenous People's Day, and the importance of discontinuing our culture's more vile legacies in the form of "green colonialism."

 

1:55- 13:30 Homeless Bill of Rights Introduced in Michigan House

 

13:40- 21:00 Saginaw Man Pleads Insanity After Threatening Whitmer, FBI, LGBTQ+ People

 

21:20- 32:00 Pfizer's Vaccine Profiteering Gets in the Way of Booster Access

 

33:35- 38:30 UAW and Autoworkers Update

 

38:30- 1:22:00 From Kzoo to the Sea: Speaking Out on the Latest in the Israel/ Palestine Conflict

 

1:22:45- 1:28:00 To Honor Indigenous People's Day We Cannot Usher in "Green Colonialism"

 

SOURCES/ FURTHER READING

 

‘Homeless bill of rights’ would protect against theft, arrest in public spaces
https://www.mlive.com/public-interest/2023/10/homeless-bill-of-rights-would-protect-against-theft-arrest-in-public-spaces.html

 

Michigan man accused of threatening Whitmer, LGBTQ+ people on YouTube to pursue insanity defense
https://www.mlive.com/news/saginaw-bay-city/2023/10/michigan-man-accused-of-threatening-whitmer-lgbtq-people-on-youtube-to-pursue-insanity-defense.html

 

Commercialization Is Making Access to the New COVID Vaccine More Difficult
https://truthout.org/articles/commercialization-is-making-access-to-the-new-covid-vaccine-more-difficult/

 

UAW strike 2023 update: Walkout spreads to Kentucky Truck, Ford's most profitable factory
https://www.bridgemi.com/business-watch/uaw-strike-2023-update-autoworkers-strike-date-contract-expiration-demands

 

Historian Rashid Khalidi: Palestinians “Living Under Incredible Oppression, … It Had to Explode”
https://www.democracynow.org/2023/10/9/rashid_khalidi_palestine_israel_explosion

 

Netanyahu and the U.S. Prepare Bloody Counterattack Against Gaza Strip
https://www.leftvoice.org/netanyahu-and-the-u-s-prepare-bloody-counterattack-against-gaza-strip/

 

Plowshares into Swords: From Zionism to Israel
By Arno Mayer
https://www.versobooks.com/products/2053-plowshares-into-swords

 

From the River to the Sea: The Palestinian Liberation Struggle
From Revolutionary Left Radio
https://revolutionaryleftradio.libsyn.com/best-of-from-the-river-to-the-sea-the-palestinian-liberation-struggle

 

Dismantling Columbus’s Legacy Requires More Than Changing a Holiday’s Name
https://truthout.org/articles/dismantling-columbuss-legacy-requires-more-than-changing-a-holidays-name/