Crawdads and Taters: Red State Rebels

In Part 2 of this series, we focus on foreign policy. In Part 1, we explained how Trump and his oligarchs enrich themselves off the backs of the world's poor and working-class at home. But in the case of foreign policy, Trump's plans involve the blatant pillaging and exploitation of other country's sovereign lands and resources. And again, this was prepared by the Biden regime and the sell-out democrats. Both parties are beholden to Zionism and the Military Industrial Complex. And Trump is just executing the next logical step in the colonial projects that the Democrats began.We cover the recent fight in the White House with Zelensky over the role of Ukraine, how Trump is continuing the Democrats Cold War on China, and Trump's plan for ethnically cleansing Gaza. Reading Notes: "Europe needs an independent foreign policy": Professor Jeffrey Sachs at European ParliamentHard truths about the Trump-Zelensky-Vance Oval Office blow-up, Responsible StatecraftZelensky's hostility to peace triggers White House meltdown, Aaron MateIt's not Russia that's pushed Ukraine to the brink of war by Seumas Milne - Before the West flipped the scriptCongress bans arms to Ukraine militia linked to neo-Nazis, Congressman Ro KhannaUS arming of Ukraine is a scandal on its own, the grayzoneThe US is arming and assisting neo-Nazis in Ukraine, while Congress debates prohibitionTrump plans to make Ukraine a US economic colony, exploiting its critical minerals - Ben NortonChina accuses US of ‘Cold War mentality' after release of Biden national security strategy , The HillBiden voters passed on Kamala Harris because of Gaza, new poll shows, Middle East Eye'Uncommitted' leaders stand by 2024 strategy after Trump floats Gaza takeover, NBC NewsRevolutionary Communists of America videoA Fighting Program for the Revolutionary Communists of AmericaManifesto of the Revolutionary Communist International RCA- Join Your Party

In our first episode during Trump's second term, we look at a short (but not comprehensive) list of horrors that the Trump MAGA coalition has unleashed on the US public and how the groundwork for this horror show was laid down by the Biden regime, along with decades of corporate Democratic failures to build any kind of real opposition to the fascist-leaning movements of the Republican Party. In fact, recent Democratic Presidential campaigns have promised to be “tougher” than Trump on certain vulnerable populations.From the destruction of the social welfare state to ICE raids, deportations, the border wall, Guantánamo, tariffs and the new trade war, along with Trump's ‘Drill Baby Drill' ambitions, we have seen complete continuity between Democratic and Republican policies– with each successive administration moving further to the right– enriching more and more billionaires and oligarchs at the direct expense of the working- class, immigrants and refugees, and the environment.We also examine how the capitalist media plays a pivotal role as a force-multiplier– profiting off of Trump's domestic terrorism and obfuscating the role of Democrats in enabling this terrorism. Together, these two corrupt parties work hand-in-glove in what has become straight-up class war.Thank you for listening to Crawdads & Taters: Red State Rebels. Please consider making a donation to support our rebellious work at patreon.com/crawdadsandtaters. We can do this work with you, but not without you.Reading Notes:How Biden set the stage for GOP budget cuts, Stephen SemlerMedicaid Removed for Nearly 25 Million Americans, NewsweekTrump Migrant Deportation Numbers Compared to Obama, Biden, NewsweekBiden is now deporting more people than Trump, ReutersBiden said he'd stop building the border wall, but is now going ahead on one piece, NPRThe Bankers on Obama's TeamPhoto of the Week: Obama, Who Let Citigroup Staff His First Cabinet, Calls for Voter Solidarity, Truth DigObama's promise to full close Guantanamo Bay, YouTube122 years of US imperialism in Guantánamo: From torture to migrant detention ,Geopolitical Economy Report Manchin Poison Pills Buried in Inflation Reduction Act Will Destroy Livable Climate, Center for Biological DiversityA Multitemporal Snapshot of Greenhouse Gas Emissionsfrom the Israel-Gaza ConflictClimate Damage Caused by Russia's War in Ukraine

In this post-mortem election breakdown, we look at bourgeois liberal and Democratic establishment reactions to Harris' spectacular electoral failure. We analyze a liberal pattern of maliciously blaming voters and spewing false narratives about why people vote the way they do. We also examine the material impacts on US voters from the Democrats' own policies of economically abandoning the working class, abandoning left/progressive issues, campaigning with war criminals, and committing mass murder in Palestine, while violently repressing students at home. We look at why a majority of voters say they are worse off than they were four years ago, by examining the failure of Biden's signature Build Back Better plan and the meager accomplishments of the Inflation Reduction Act. And finally, we tackle the counter-revolutionary role of liberalism, its obsession with identity politics, and its refusal to acknowledge our class-based society. Liberalism creates a major obstacle in building class consciousness and class solidarity. Show Notes: Against the Stream - Trump's victory: What does it mean? – A communist analysis with Alan Woods Omnia Hegazy Bidenomics Isn't Working For Working People - Stephen Semler The Economy is Fine - Stephen Semler  Most Americans think the economy is bad but they're split on whether Trump or Harris can fix it 2024 American Electorate Voter Poll- Hispanic Voters "Love Me, I'm a Liberal" (for the 2024 Election) by Ben Grosscup Why US Muslims are Abandoning Harris with Sami Hamdi  Democrats Abandoned the Working Class: Robin D.G. Kelley on Trump's Win & Need for Class Solidarity | Democracy Now!

After a bit of a hiatus, Crawdads & Taters is back to discuss the 2024 Presidential election, the ongoing genocide in Palestine and the limits of real political change under a capitalist, imperialist economic system. While identity politics are being sold to us as a smokescreen for progressive change, duping the public into believing that Kamala (as a black woman) will be the hope and change we've all been waiting for, C & T brings you back down-to-earth with a socialist perspective based in class consciousness and historical materialism. Thanks, as always, for your support and please consider becoming a subscriber for as little as $3/month at patreon.com/crawdadsandtaters. And if you can't donate, then give us a good rating on your favorite podcast platform and share us with your friends. Reading Notes: Sanders Won the War of Ideas - by Erin McCarley Democracy is dead - by Birrion Sondahl Democracy Lost: A Report on the Fatally Flawed 2016 Democratic Primaries Clinton Donors Have Picked Their 2020 Democratic Presidential Nominee | Observer Black Left Critique of Kamala Harris US Is Reportedly Working to Prevent Conference on Geneva Convention Violations Minnesota activists criticize Tim Walz for refusing to meet with Palestinians Harris shifts stance on fracking, healthcare and border 14 protestors calling on Walz to divest from Israel cited for trespassing at his residence

In this episode, we talk again about Fascism because we have entered into a Primary Election cycle where leftists of all stripes will once again be cajoled, harassed and even trolled by the neoliberal establishment to Vote Blue No Matter Who– in order to avoid Donald Trump and “Fascism.”  Many liberals feel entitled to attack leftists at election time because by their shallow, liberal definition, fascism is simply a right-wing ideology that is embodied by Donald Trump. But what the liberal establishment fails to understand time and time again is that fascism is not just an ideological project, but it is economic and political project, which is the inevitable result of working-class repression under neoliberal capitalism. Looking at fascism's economic and political roots, we can see that what is actually pushing the world toward fascism is not simply a bunch of right-wing ideologues who just appeared out of nowhere. The breeding ground for fascism, the underlying conditions for fascism, rest within a global capitalist economic structure where the transnational capitalist class helps decide government agendas… the Military Industrial Complex, Big Oil, Big Pharma…  These are transnational entities whose profit mandates influence and control government policies. And this kind of global political economy not only leads to huge concentrations of wealth at the very top of society. It also leads to mass poverty at the bottom– all over the world. And this social inequality breeds class war, which results in a perfect breeding ground for the ideology of fascism to take hold. So voting for Joe Biden will not stop fascism. And until we address the root causes of fascism, we will not be able to reverse this counter-revolutionary cycle. Reading Notes: Delving into John Pilger's 2002 documentary: 'Palestine is still the issue' The Question of Palestine- A Brief History- by the United Nations Netanyahu's corruption trial resumes amid Israeli war on Gaza. What to know Poverty rates in Israel are among the highest - opinion One-third of Israeli Holocaust survivors live in poverty, advocates say The top 1% captured nearly twice as much new wealth as the rest of the world over last two years Poll finds wide disapproval of Biden on Gaza, and little room to shift gears Global Capitalism Has Become Dependent on War-Making to Sustain Itself by William I. Robinson Antony Loewenstein explains how the “Palestine Laboratory” fuels brutal wars and colonialism all over the world Israeli weapon seen used by Neo-Nazi Ukrainian unit against Russia Palestine: a communist perspective Israeli estate agent defends ads offering beachfront villas in Gaza

Please consider making an urgently-needed donation to Crawdads & Taters, as we are ramping up coverage during this genocide. As we find ourselves in the midst of an information war, where critical voices are being censored, banned and bombed, we need your support now more than ever. Please become a subscriber for as little as $3/month at patreon.com/crawdadsandtaters. Episode Description: As the official death toll in Gaza soars to more than 8,500, with 5,500 children likely dead, and US-backed Israel prepares for a ground invasion, we bring you Part 2 of our analysis of the forces at work behind this genocide. Today, we discuss Biden's complicity with war crimes, his unwavering support for Israel, and Biden's history as a Zionist. We define Zionism, and we use a lens of Settler Colonialism, Zionism and Disaster Capitalism for understanding what Israel and the United States are now executing. We also shine a light on Israel's future capitalist development plans for a canal/corridor, and look at how these plans may be connected to the genocide happening in Gaza. As socialists, we understand how capitalism's plans for endless expansion require constant war, genocide and the destruction of nature, and the brutal oppression of the world's most vulnerable. We offer you a list of media resources to stay informed, as non-coporate, anti-war voices are being banned, censored, and bombed. Reading Notes Global Capitalism Has Become Dependent on War-Making to Sustain Itself | Truthout Peace Propaganda And The Promised Land U.S Media & the Israeli Palestinian Conflict 2004 Chris Hedges - Exterminate all the Brutes Noura Erakat: Western Leaders & Media Are Justifying Israel's “Genocidal Campaign” Against Palestinians | Democracy Now! BDS Movement  'Peace between Israel and Saudi Arabia will truly create a new Middle East': Netanyahu Al Jazeera Mondoweiss The Grayzone  MintPress News “Not in Our Name”: 400 Arrested at Jewish-Led Sit-in at NYC's Grand Central Demanding Gaza Ceasefire | Democracy Now!  Gaza Fights For Freedom (2019) | Full Documentary | Directed by Abby Martin 

In Part One one of our series on Palestine, we review the horrific events since October 7th as the death toll in Gaza reaches nearly 6,000. We analyze the US role in funding and providing political cover for Israeli settler colonialism, apartheid and genocide in the occupied territories of Palestine. We explore the history of Israel as a settler colonial regime that began in 1948. We hear from various Jewish voices for peace- Dr. Norman Finkelstein, Holocaust survivor Dr. Gabor Maté, Jewish Voices for Peace as well as historians of holocaust and genocide who describe why what's happening now in Gaza is a textbook definition of genocide. We explore the history of the Zionist land claim on Palestine and deconstruct it through a settler-colonialist lens. And we discuss Palestinian attempts at non-violent resistance that have been met with mass murder and extreme violence. Stay tuned for Part Two of this series coming later this week. We are in the midst of an information war, where non-corporate and independent voices are being highly suppressed and censored. Please support our work and become a subscriber at patreon.com/crawdadsandtaters so that we can continue to bring you independent news and analysis from a socialist lens. For as little as $5/month, you can keep us up and running!! Thank you!!! Reading Notes: Israel Has No Right of Self-Defense Against Gaza  Gaza's terrified children all too aware Israel's bombs steal their joy Hostilities in the Gaza Strip and Israel | Flash Update #17 | United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs - occupied Palestinian territory 800+ Legal Scholars Say Israel May Be Perpetrating 'Crime of Genocide' in GazaGaza by Norman Finkelstein - Paperback - University of California Press The roots of Israel's ethnic cleansing in Gaza US opposes peace as Israel ethnically cleanses Palestinians, waging war on ‘entire nation' of Gaza Outrage spreads across Middle East after attack on Gaza hospital Decolonization is always a violent phenomenon. Would that it were otherwise. Dr. Gabor Maté on Palestine

As of recording this episode, the Hollywood Labor Strike is entering its seventh week. It's the first time actors and screenwriters have been on strike together since 1960. And while 87 percent of SAG-AFTRA union members make less than $26,000/year, Barbie and Oppenheimer, together, have so far grossed $1.83 billion at the box office. This is the real-life backdrop for the release of these two summer blockbuster movies. In this episode, we focus on Hollywood's treatment of the atomic bomb in its recent blockbuster film, Oppenheimer. Because of the narrow focus of this film on Oppenheimer, the man, we feel it extremely urgent and necessary to teach a deeper history of the global and historical impacts of US nuclear proliferation. According to the Union of Atomic Scientists, the doomsday clock is closer to midnight now (that is, closer to nuclear doomsday) than it's ever been in human history. The United States has approved more than $120 billion (and counting) to Ukraine to fight a proxy war against Russia, while ramping up its hostile Cold War rhetoric against China. This corporate-backed government is taking us closer and closer to the brink of nuclear war with these two major nuclear superpowers. And it's important to remember that there's only country in the world that has ever used a nuclear bomb against civilians, and that country is the United States. At this incredibly volatile point in world history, we find many of Oppenheimer's historical omissions to be unforgivable. As entertaining as the film is, it is not the anti-war film that US audiences need in order to catalyze an anti-war movement and avoid WWIII. And given that so many people use Hollywood and the mass media as their main information source for US History, we feel compelled to clarify the historical record. So join us for another episode, and become a patron at patreon.com/crawdadsandtaters. Reading Notes Is Hollywood Still Afraid of the Truth About the Atomic Bomb?: Greg Mitchell on “Oppenheimer” Oppenheimer: The Real Plan for U.S. Nuclear Domination, Then and Now NMPBS: ‘Forever chemicals' found at Los Alamos Concerned Citizens for Nuclear Safety: Is Our Drinking Water Safe? Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium: “Unknowing, Unwilling, and Uncompensated: The Effects of the Trinity Test on New Mexicans and the Potential Benefits of Radiation Exposure Compensation Act Revealed: How U.S. Gov't & Hollywood Secretly Worked Together to Justify Atomic Bombings of Japan | Democracy Now! The War Was Won Before Hiroshima—And the Generals Who Dropped the Bomb Knew It | The Nation Downfall - Howard Zinn Foreign Relations of the United States: Diplomatic Papers, The Conference of Berlin (The Potsdam Conference), 1945, Volume I - Office of the Historian Atomic Bomb Museum: Counting the Dead The Holocaust and World War II: Key Dates Geopolitical Economy Report: Atomic bombing of Japan was NOT necessary to end WWII. US gov't documents admit it Hollywood Studios' WGA Strike Endgame Is To Let Writers Go Broke Before Resuming Talks In Fall

In this episode, we explore the manufactured debt-ceiling crisis of June 2023. Sold to the US public as a financial emergency that required immediate action in order to avoid impending doom and "the scourge of default," we look at what the debt-ceiling negotiations actually resulted in: a giant cash giveaway to big business, the war industry, fossil fuel companies and the ruling class. While feigning the need to cut federal spending across the board, military spending and funding for fossil fuel projects actually increased, while the US government slashed the budgets of the minuscule federal food stamp program and ended student debt relief. In addition, the bipartisan debt-ceiling deal included the legislative fast-tracking some of the most protested and lethal pipelines to people and the planet. As the corporate duopoly marches in lockstep in their war on the working class, the poor, and the planet, there was almost no corporate media analysis of this phony crisis and the giant financial gift to the one-percent that resulted from these debt-ceiling negotiations, which is why we provide you with a deeper analysis here. If you appreciate our in-depth reporting and analysis, please support our work and become a patron today at patreon.com/crawdadsandtaters. Show notes: Ben Norton: Debt ceiling hypocrisy: US boosts military budget while restricting food stamps for poor CNN: Hear why Cornel West is running as a third-party candidate Insider News: The debt ceiling deal could lead to 750,000 older Americans losing SNAP benefits Appalachian Voices: Mountain Valley Pipeline Democracy Now: David Sirota: Working Class Will Be “Deeply Harmed” by Biden's “Big Win” on Debt Ceiling DemocracyNow: ⁠“Turning His Back on Student Debtors”: Biden's Debt Deal Ends Freeze on Loan Payments for Millions⁠ The Guardian: Protesters to march on White House as anger mounts over Appalachia pipeline Oil Change International: ⁠The Mountain Valley Pipeline: Greenhouse Gas Emissions Briefing⁠ Center for Biological Diversity: Biden Sacrifices Climate, Working Families in Debt Ceiling Deal

In this episode, we take a deep look at the Norfolk Southern train derailment in Palestine, Ohio on Feb. 3rd, and how this incident is connected to the corporate management of the railways– a topic that we dove into, in depth, in our last episode, Off The Rails. The United States averages 1,700 train derailments per year. Since the disaster in East Palestine, there have been dozens more derailments to date. Norfolk Southern averages approximately 164 derailments and three hazardous material releases per year. This Ohio disaster was only exceptional–only widely reported – because of the incredibly dramatic, visceral and toxic nature of the event - a two-mile-long “bomb train” of 141 cars, holding up to 32,000 gallons each of highly flammable toxic chemicals. In addition to the spill, an out-of-control fire raged for days afterwards, sending the cargo up into a giant mushroom cloud above a small Ohio town of some 5,000 residents. As East Palestine residents continue their battles with toxicity-related illnesses-- headaches, nausea, rashes, and chemical pneumonia, we look at the response from the Biden Administration, the Transportation Secretary, former President Trump, and compare these responses to the donations that both parties have received directly from Norfolk Southern. On President's Day, the Proud Boys handed out water to Ohio victims whose water was poisoned. Trump promised Palestine residents they would not be forgotten. And Biden went to Ukraine to sell more weapons. It is in this upside-down world, we feel compelled to examine how Democratic failures to fight for the working-class continually create a vacuum and an opening for fascism. And finally, we talk about what Railroad Workers United is still demanding after all these months- nationalization of the railroads. Perhaps this could be a first step on the path toward socialism. Links Chris Hedges: The Age of Social Murder - scheerpost.com Music - The Revolutionary Communist Progressive Labor Party Support Public Ownership of the Railroads Pete Plays IDENTITY POLITICS While Failing at His Job  The Ohio Train Disaster: Corporate Greed & Regulatory Failure | The Problem With Jon Stewart Podcast Norfolk Southern BAILS on Town Hall in East Palestine Corporate Greed and Deregulation Fuel Threat of More Bomb Trains as East Palestine Demands Answers | Democracy Now!  Dems STRUGGLE to Defend Biden as Trump Plans East Palestine Visit - w/ Punch Up Pod Outraged Ohio residents erupt at town hall: 'Where's Pete Buttigieg?' East Palestine derailment aftermath: How worried should people be?  A History of Norfolk Southern Train Crash Reports - Columbus Underground  Spilled drink: train derails beside Montana river, tipping out cases of beer Raymond, Minnesota, train derailment: Cars carrying ethanol rupture and ignite. Now crews assess 3 more cars with highly flammable material | CNN Union Pacific reopens Cima Subdivision after derailment of runaway iron ore train Train derails in rural North Dakota and spills chemicals | AP News

In this first episode of 2023, in the midst of ongoing US wars, pandemics and record inflation, we take a deep look at "the railroad strike that wasn't" in December 2022. In this US political moment, we see an uptick of strikes, walkouts and labor organizing inside the United States. And we feel it's crucial to hear from railroad workers directly in order to understand their working conditions, as well as the role the US government played in shutting down this strike- stripping workers of their democratic rights. We take you through the timeline of railroad negotiations over the last three years, looking closely at the Biden Administration's use of the 1926 Railway Act as a strike-breaking tool, in the service of multi-billionaire railway carriers, lobbyists and their CEO's. In a time of record-breaking profits for the railway industry, we look at the basic demands of workers- a handful of paid sick time days that were denied to them through a bipartisan consensus. We also take a lens to the corporate media's coverage of the railroad issue and examine its intensely corporate bias, as it relentlessly warns of economic disaster should workers strike, yet never reports on workers' demands. Finally, we discuss the role of neoliberalism and the bipartisan betrayal of workers as a real political force pushing the country toward fascism. We hear from other socialists about the powerful history of US railroad strikes and what must be done today in terms of the labor movement and electoral politics in order to stop a fascist uprising and revitalize the labor movement inside the United States. As always, we bring you this analysis from a socialist perspective, and we very much depend on your subscriptions to continue this podcast. Please become a patron today at patreon.com/crawdadsandtaters. Reading Notes: We Rise Fighting Episode 21: Interview w/ Marilee Taylor of Railroad Workers United Fake Populists See A Real Opportunity PEB 250 - Report and Recommendations Global capitalism, global police state “Enough Is Enough”: Rail Workers Decry Biden's Push to Impose Strike-Breaking Labor Deal | Democracy Now! [Audio] The Great Railroad Strike of 1877 | NYC Marxist School 2022 - Socialist Revolution Railroad Workers United Statement Bad Faith: Episode 233 - Fraud Squad? (w/Kshama Sawant & Ryan Grim)

With the midterms coming up in a few days, the Democratic Party is promising to codify Roe v. Wade IF and only IF they win big in the midterms, even though they already have the majority in the House and the Senate, and the Presidency. Meanwhile far-right Christian fascists, in the streets as well as those sitting on the Supreme Court, are threatening to take away even more of our basic economic and human rights.  In this dire situation, we use a class-based lens to look at who, in our system of racial capitalism, has had access to reproductive rights throughout US history and who has never had access, and we discuss abortion rights as an economic bread-and-butter issue.  We also do a brief overview of reproductive rights under socialist and communist countries, whose founding doctrines have long understood that socialism and communism cannot be consolidated without the liberation of women. As early as 1913, Vladimir Lenin was advocating for protecting women's reproductive rights and warning us about the dangers of class war on poor and oppressed women if abortion was not free, safe, and legal. Here in the United States, where health outcomes for poor and working-class women are terrible, where abortion rights have never been codified, and have been eroded year after year since our relatively late legalization of abortion in 1973, we finish by looking at the sad history of the Democratic Party in protecting these rights, while they simultaneously dangle those rights above our heads like a carrot, fundraising off of them.  Of course, as socialists, we know that you can't vote your way out of a corrupt political and economic system. And we recognize the repeal of Roe v. Wade as one of many fundamental human rights that will be casualties of class war, within this ongoing global shift toward fascism. If we can understand the loss of these and other rights within this context, we can also see the urgent necessity for international socialist, communist and anti-capitalist movements to unite in order to mobilize for this battle for reproductive justice, as just one of many battles that will require our unity and solidarity as we build a socialist revolution. Reading Notes: Reproductive Rights and the Fight Against Fascism The Assistance, Not the Resistance Overturning Roe: Slavery, Abortion, Maternal Mortality and the Disparate Effect on Women of Color Abortion in Cuba vs US shows which country is truly democratic Democrats Had 50 Years to Save and Protect “Roe.” They Failed. The Hyde Amendment: Restricting Abortion Coverage for 40 Years Indigenous women face extra barriers when it comes to reproductive rights Abortion rights are economic rights Dark Money Led To This Moment

As Congress has approved almost $70 billion now in Ukraine spending and a more-than $800 billion US military budget for 2023, we look at the costs of "Forever Wars" - the financial, political, and ecological costs. And we examine how global capitalism, as a political-economic system, is becoming more and more dependent upon war-making to sustain itself. As the new Cold War rages on, and Ukraine becomes more and more of a permanent US proxy state, we look at Biden's threats against China as a history of peaceful US-China relations is shattered. We also look at Biden's escalating rhetoric against Cuba, Venezuela and other “failed states” that have in some way resisted the forces of global capitalism. We look at all of these provocations through the lens of military industrial profits and a declining US empire trying desperately to maintain unipolar world dominance. And as Biden ramps up his nuclear rhetoric, now warning of Armageddon with Russia, we finish our history lesson on US interventionism in Ukraine— this time, starting from 2019 and going to February 24, 2022— the day that US and Western Media claim that history started. Finally, given that war is one of the most carbon-intensive projects on the planet and the US cumulative emissions exceed those of any other country, we look at the environmental crisis as a crisis of military emissions— understanding that ending fossil-fuel-driven wars is absolutely essential if we are going to survive as a species in the midst of an ongoing ecological collapse. The stakes are rising for all of us, and as socialists, we see a dire need for all of our movements to come together— international, working-class, anti-colonial, environmental, racial justice and anti-war movements. It's all hands on deck now and perhaps our last hope for survival. Noam Chomsky & Vijay Prashad on Ukraine, Why U.S. Must Negotiate with Russia & What Media Gets Wrong Capitalism's Structural Crisis and the Global Revolt- w/William I. Robinson It's Time to Call It What It Is—A Capitalism-Induced Ecological Crisis- Erin McCarley Global Capitalism Has Become Dependent on War-Making to Sustain Itself Who sabotaged Nord Stream pipelines? US boasts ‘tremendous opportunity' to weaken Russia. CIA knew. Jacque Baud's US-Ukraine Timeline Biden's Threat of Armageddon CBS censors its own report on Ukraine weapons corruption ACTION ALERT: NYT Celebrates Neo-Nazi Azov Unit Doves Die in Ukraine: When Did Liberals Turn On Peace? With Eugene Puryear The Costs of War website- Neta Crawford

In Part 2 of our series on Ukraine, we pick up with the history of Ukraine starting with the aftermath of the Maidan Coup in 2014. The post-coup government in Ukraine with hand-picked Prime Minister Yatsenyuk cozied up to the EU, IMF, and US and enacted a law targeting the Russian language. These actions led to widescale protests in predominantly Russian speaking areas of Ukraine. We explain how the story we hear in the western media has been mostly propaganda and that Crimea was not invaded by Russia, but voted by general ballot to join Russia. The same is true of the independent republics of Donetsk and Luhansk who held general referendums to breakaway from Ukraine after the coup government launched a bloody civil war targeting these regions in the Donbass. And while Ukrainian neo-Nazi battalions carried out this war in the Donbass, then Vice-President Joe Biden was working closely with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko to impose IMF structural adjustment programs on Ukraine. These programs were a direct war on the working class and only served to enrich corporate interests. One of these corporations, oil and gas company Burisma, appointed Hunter Biden to their board after Joe Biden visited Ukraine. The Poroshenko/Biden friendship is one rife with corruption. The current proxy war in Ukraine was set up by the Maidan coup, orchestrated by Jake Sullivan, Victoria Nuland, and Joe Biden under an Obama presidency. The actions of Joe Biden under the Obama administration make it clear that this was set up to be continued under Hillary after 2016, though the strategy changed when Hillary was defeated. Russiagate was created to prepare the public for this war against Russia. The media-military-industrial-complex is complicit in creating this tragedy, which could have been avoided if the US had just left Ukraine alone. Related Materials 2010 Ukrainian presidential election -To give you an idea of the historical political divide in Ukraine, here is an article on the electoral split during the 2010 national election between Yanukovych and Tymoshenko. Yanukovych was democratically elected, even though he was heavily opposed by NATO and the West. This map shows how the Eastern regions of Ukraine, including the Donbass, Crimea, and Odessa (where a majority speak and identify as Russian) went heavily for Yanukovich while the more Western, EU-affiliated regions of Ukraine voted for Tymoshenko. The IMF connection with the Ukraine crisis - Details on how the IMF uses loans to impose neoliberal austerity measures Revealing Ukraine: Documentary by Oliver Stone - An important documentary on the aftermath of the Maidan, featuring Oliver Stone interviewing Ukrainian opposition leader Viktor Medvedchuk Time Documentary: Inside A White Supremacist Militia in Ukraine Joe Biden Delivers Remarks to Ukrainian Parliament- Dec. 2015 - Joe Biden addresses Ukrainian parliament Former Ukraine president returns to Kyiv to face treason charges - Former Ukrainian President Poroshenko charged with treason over his corrupt actions as president ‘This is a war of propaganda': John Pilger on Ukraine and Assange | Talking Post with Yonden Lhatoo

In Part I of our Ukraine series, we take a deep dive into the history of US interventionism in Ukraine from the dissolution of the Soviet Union to the present. We feel that this history provides essential context for understanding the current US position in reigniting a Cold War with Russia (and China). As leftists, we know that capitalist wars are always waged on behalf of the ruling class and against the world's poor and working classes, and against the natural world. The fact that this crucial political history is omitted by the mainstream corporate media is no accident. It is deliberately missing, and anyone who dares to bring it up will be shadow-banned on social media, de-platformed, outright censored, or labelled as a Kremlin propagandist-- all of this in order to prevent the public from understanding the true geopolitical and capitalist nature of the US proxy war in Ukraine, as a staging ground for a potentially decades-long global war against people and the planet. The first casualty of war is the truth, and we are in the midst of a Media Cold War. As independent journalists, Crawdads & Taters is asking for your support. The corporate media has shut down all critical debate and become a megaphone for the "uni-party"-- Democrats and Republicans (neo-liberals and neo-conservatives) all representing the same for-profit interests of the military industrial complex. This uni-party has pulled off a massive PR feat. It has weaponized public sympathy toward Ukrainians in order to reinvigorate a Cold War of unprecedented historical and financial dimensions, and unprecedented global risks: WWIII, nuclear war, and an imminent climate collapse that is already in progress, but will be accelerated with the expanded use of fossil-fuels-- something that war always requires. So join us for this critical discussion and become a patron to support our rebellious work at https://www.patreon.com/crawdadsandtaters. We can do this with you, but not without you. Related Material Colonel Doug MacGregor on the Grayzone A US-Backed, Far Right–Led Revolution in Ukraine Helped Bring Us to the Brink of War Calling Russia's Attack ‘Unprovoked' Lets US Off the Hook ‘Not One Inch Eastward:' How the War in Ukraine Could Have Been Prevented Decades Ago The IMF connection with the Ukraine crisis Ukraine's Propaganda War: International PR Firms, DC Lobbyists and CIA Cutouts The Battle for Ukraine, with ex-UN Weapons Inspector Scott Ritter Ukrainegate Impeachment Saga Worsens US-Russia Cold War Ukraine as a Pawn w/ Vijay Prashad Ukraine on Fire w/Oliver Stone Revealing Ukraine w/Oliver Stone The Masks of the Revolution by Paul Moreira

In this episode, we want to expand on our last episode, where we described what neoliberalism is, and the resulting economic inequality and class resentment that has been brewing across the global political spectrum, following 40-plus years of global capitalism and neoliberalism. Today, we want to make the case for why opposing neoliberalism is necessary in order to defeat fascism. "A government that delivers for people inoculates them against the appeals of fascist demagogues." - Nathan J. Robinson We can see, throughout recent world history, when economic inequality is surging and working-class resentment is high, fascist and right-wing demagogues are able to use conservative social values, religious conservatism, patriarchy, white supremacy, settler colonialism (in the case of the United States), and imperialism to rally their conservative base in order to obtain political power. And once in power, they enact hyper-capitalist agendas that deprive the working-class of basic material needs and shift the political spectrum to the right, while enriching transnational capitalists. Conversely, when socialist, indigenous, and working-class movements take hold politically, and there is a redistribution of wealth across classes, as well as a strong social safety net for everyone, fascists are not able to get a foothold politically, and their movements tend to dissipate or go underground. This is why we argue that opposing neoliberalism and supporting international working-class movements, as well as indigenous and abolition movements, is absolutely essential for countering global fascism and a global police state. Related Readings Almost one in three of Republicans say violence may be necessary to ‘save' US Trump Supporters at Iowa Rally See 'Civil War Coming,' Say He Will 'Save the World' The rise of domestic extremism in America Five shocking facts about extreme global inequality and how to even it up “An Outrage”: House Passes Largest Military Budget in Generations Despite End of Afghanistan War Biden is approving more oil and gas drilling permits on public lands than Trump, analysis finds US military is a bigger polluter than as many as 140 countries – shrinking this war machine is a must In 2021, the Best Way to Fight Neofascist Republicans Is to Fight Neoliberal Democrats Let's Remember How Authoritarianism Takes Hold

Crawdads and Taters have an impromptu discussion on the definition of Neoliberalism, a few ways it has played out in the US and global economy, and how it paves the way for modern-day fascism. Episode Notes Border Deaths Operation Gatekeeper and the Birth of Border Militarization From 1994-2014, over 10,000 refugees have died attempting to cross the border. Crossing Over: Enrique Morales, Founder of Border Angels Talks the on Border Crisis and How We Can Stop It, 2014. How U.S. Policy Turned the Sonoran Desert Into a Graveyard for Migrants, New York Times, 2020. In Juarez, women just disappear, 2011 Death in the Sands: The Horror of the US-Mexico Border Stop Enbridge Line 3 Stop Line 3 Chronicles Line 3- Indigenous Environmental Network Neoliberal Trade Deals fueling the “immigration crisis” NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement), 1994 TPP (Trans Pacific Partnership), (2016, but defeated by global grassroots movements) PPP (Plan Puebla Panama), 2001 CAFTA (Central American Free Trade Agreement), 2005 Reagan and privatization Reagan Plan to Privatize Government Is Gaining Support From Democrats, 1988 The History of Privatization: How an Ideological and Political Attack on Government Became a Corporate Grab for Gold Key word of new budget: 'Privatization' Privatization is at the Core of Fascism Bipartisan Senate Infrastructure Plan Is a Stalking Horse for Privatization Germany and Forced Labor Ford and GM Scrutinized for Alleged Nazi Collaboration, 1998 Ford sued over slave labor Biden and Deportation United We Dream: Stop Deportations Now

In this second part of a two-part series on Critical Race Theory, Crawdads & Taters review the way CRT, like many once-radical US social movements, has been largely captured by neoliberalism and its funding institutions, stripping it of its original class politics and its revolutionary potential for broad-based political transformation. We also review popular anti-racist literature like Ibram X. Kendi's "How to be an Anti-Racist" and imagine what Critical Race Theory might have looked like today had it maintained a solid anti-capitalist analysis over the last several decades. Finally, we offer up the work of a few key movement leaders, as a way to uplift today's revolutionary voices in the anti-capitalist, anti-racist and abolitionist left. Related links: Marxism Is Way Better Than Critical Race Theory with Vivek Chibber Critical Race Theory: An Introduction by Richard Delgado and Jean Stefancic Fred Hampton Speaks Fred Hampton on Revolution and Racism Blackshirts and Reds by Michael Parenti William I. Robinson, "The Global Police State" Angela Davis: ‘We knew the role of the police was to protect white supremacy' Episode 41: Racism and Capitalism in Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor's Race For Profit Ibram Kendi on the critical race theory culture war. Trump Says Go Back, We Say Fight Back by Robin DG Kelley Martin Luther King - The Three Evils of Society Ruth Wilson Gilmore - famous abolitionist Keeanga Yamahtta Taylor - journalist, professor, author Marc Lamont Hill - journalist, professor, activist, abolitionist Robin DG Kelley - professor, author, activist Derecka Purnell - legal scholar, activist, abolitionist Nick Estes - professor, revolutionary Lakota leader Cedric Robinson - activist, author of Black Marxism Assata Shakur - revolutionary, BPP member WEB DuBois - sociologist, scholar

In this first part of a two-part series on Critical Race Theory, Crawdads & Taters discuss what Critical Race Theory is, who's behind the war on Critical Race Theory, who's profiting from it, and how US public education is again being endangered by white-supremacist authoritarian movements to white-wash history. We also discuss how this "white-lash" fits into a broader US political terrain where the Republican Party is shifting further and further toward fascism in order to maintain political power. Please help support us by becoming a patron. Further resources: Critical Race Theory (Third Edition) by Richard Delgado Education Week What Is Critical Race Theory, and Why Is It Under Attack? White People's Fear of Critical Race Theory is Based in Ignorance How a Conservative Activist Invented the Conflict Over Critical Race Theory Marc Lamont Hill Interviews Key Opponent of Critical Race Theory Marc Lamont Hill vs Chris Rufo Nevada group suggests teachers wear bodycams to ensure critical race theory isn't being taught Oklahoma teacher says summer class canceled due to bill that bans teaching critical race theory The War on Critical Race Theory Trump Says Go Back, We Say Fight Back Oklahoma teacher says summer class canceled due to bill that bans teaching critical race theory Critical Race Theory: What It Is and How to Fight It Idaho Lt. Governor Assembling Task Force to Examine Indoctrination in Idaho Education Based on Critical Race Theory, Socialism, Communism, and Marxism Candace Owens weighs in on Biden policies and critical race theory in US schools Ted Cruz: Critical race theory is racist as 'Klansman in white sheets'

We look at how Democratic bills like HR-1, while purporting to rescue “democracy” from Republican attacks on voting rights, simultaneously increase the corporate funding of our elections, shifting more power to the ruling-class and further eliminating the chances of third parties to meaningfully participate in the US electoral system. We also talk about the Ratchet effect and the Overton Window, using HR-1 as an example of how these rightward political shifts are constantly happening in real time. Please consider becoming a sustaining member of Crawdads & Taters at https://www.patreon.com/crawdadsandtaters Related Reading: Defense Captain Mark Clark Stop the HR1 Poison Pills That Suppress Voter Choice HR 1's Campaign Finance Program: A Reform that Doesn't Reform What Happens When Politicians Who Oversee Elections Are Also the Candidates? Boss Tweed Overview Reagan's Real Legacy ‘A Racist Narrative': Biden Warned of Welfare Moms Driving Luxury Cars

Crawdads & Taters briefly review the new film Judas and the Black Messiah, as well as recent news revelations about Fred Hampton's assassination. With so much media coverage around the Black Panthers lately, why do we never hear about the Panthers' founding ideology as a Marxist, socialist organization? Fifty-plus years after Hampton's murder, why is it still taboo to tell the truth about who the Black Panthers actually were? What is the role of these corporate media omissions in obfuscating US social movement history? And what might our current political movements stand to gain, if we revealed and thoroughly discussed the class-based analysis that the Panthers utilized? Could an honest telling of this radical social movement history become a guide and an anchor for leftist social movements today? Please consider becoming a sustaining member of Crawdads & Taters at https://www.patreon.com/crawdadsandtaters Related Reading: ‘Judas and the Black Messiah' delivers justice for Fred Hampton. Thank those he left behind by By Sonaiya Kelley Ruling Class Counteroffensive in the Works: It's Capitalism, Stupid by William I. Robinson New Documents Suggest J. Edgar Hoover Was Involved in Fred Hampton's Murder by Flint Taylor & Jeff Haas Fred Hampton: Black Panther and red revolutionary by Sean Ledwith Seize the Time: The Story of the Black Panthers by Bobby Seale Primary Source: The Black Panther Party Platform (1966) Huey P. Newton (1942-1989) by Craig Collisson

Your Crawdads and Taters hosts interview each other to answer the question: Why this podcast, and why now? Erin McCarley is an independent photographer, journalist and filmmaker, based in the foothills outside Denver, Colorado. With a master's degree in photojournalism from UT Austin, her still photography, videos and writing have been published by Common Dreams, CounterPunch, Dissident Voice, Due Dissidence, Yes! Magazine, the Denver Westword, TeleSUR, Free Speech TV in Boulder, CO, KLRU TV in Austin, TX, The Christian Science Monitor, the MIT Press, the Ford Foundation, Science Daily, The Daily Texan, the University of Texas, and various non-profit organizations. Bilingual in English and Spanish, she has worked as a freelance reporter in Mexico, Guatemala and Venezuela. Birrion Sondahl is a former Bernie 2020 super volunteer, canvasser, text sweeper, and national delegate. He was also the campaign coordinator for Arn Menconi's 2020 State Senate primary. He is an activist currently living in Dillon, Colorado. He has a bachelor's degree in Military History from American Military University and has been published in Military History Online, Due Dissidence, Dissident Voice, and Real Progressives. He currently writes a column with Real Progressives. Please consider becoming a sustaining member of Crawdads & Taters at https://www.patreon.com/crawdadsandtaters