ABC Café

Wafic Faour on the Palestinian struggle in Vermont. We talk about his journey to Vermont as a Palestinian refugee, Israeli occupation and apartheid, and how your actions can make a difference. Discussed on the show:

Vermonters for Justice in Palestine
A Threshold Crossed: Israeli Authorities and the Crimes of Apartheid and Persecution
B'Tselem (The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories)
Jewish Voice for Peace
Daniel Larison on Israel’s De Facto Annexation of Palestine (the Scott Horton show)
Max Blumenthal on the Real History of Israel-Palestine (the Scott Horton show)

Recorded on June 3, 2021
Hosted by Anthony Apodaca and Daniel Trigg

Cancel the F-35 with James Marc Leas and Ze'eva Chasan. We discuss the decision to bring the F-35 to Vermont, the major players involved in that decision, the devastating consequences for people living in the flight path, and what can be done to push back.

Discussed on the show:

https://jetlinefilm.com/
https://cancelf35.substack.com/
https://vtdigger.org/2018/03/05/leahy-staff-central-role-f-35-basing-decision/

Submit your F-35 comment: https://tinyurl.com/4zjjn39x

Results: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1tmEqEFUYQv7mxR5PnSn49mARczYZfNLObabuY1cvp6A/viewanalytics

Recorded on May 5, 2021
Hosted by Anthony Apodaca and Daniel Trigg

Interview with Elizabeth Parker, Director of Public Engagement for Sustainable Montpelier Coalition. We talk about the recent launch of MyRide by GMT, restoring city landscapes, sustainable (and affordable!) transportation, and the bygone age of the train.

https://sustainablemontpelier.org/transportation/

Recorded on January 27, 2021.

Interview with Burlington City Councilperson Zoraya Hightower. We talk about her work on the Community Development and Neighborhood Revitalization Committee as well as the historic passage of the city resolution on "Racial Justice through Economic and Criminal Justice." We also dive into some discussion on the Burlington Police Department, the interplay of race and class, and what it takes to build a movement.

Discussed in the show: https://www.haymarketbooks.org/books/778-from-blacklivesmatter-to-black-liberation

Interview with Taylor Small, Director of the Health & Wellness program at Pride Center of Vermont and current candidate for the Vermont House of Representatives. We talk about healthcare and housing as a human right, minimum wage, education, and defunding the Vermont State Police as a practical means to provide better services for our community.

Interview with Vermont State Representatives Selene Colburn, Diana González, and Brian Cina on their recent open letter to legislative colleagues calling to defund the Vermont State Police. They make the case to reduce the police budget by 20% and use those funds for strategic re-investments in Vermont's underrepresented, marginalized, and disenfranchised communities.

Show links:

https://selenecolburn.org/2020/06/10/a-call-to-defund-the-vermont-state-police/

https://www.versobooks.com/books/2426-the-end-of-policing (eBook version is free at the time this was published)

https://www.mpd150.com/star-tribune-editorial-we-must-look-beyond-police-for-community-safety/

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-017-0211-5

https://vtdigger.org/2020/06/12/legislative-leaders-signal-unwillingness-to-consider-defunding-state-police/

Interview with Helen Scott on fighting UVM's budget cuts, which hurt the lowest paid faculty and staff, even as a bloated administration sacrifices very little. Further, the cuts threaten the sustainability of the university by eroding its infrastructure. She proposes an alternative approach that is democratic, transparent, and progressive. Helen Scott is Professor of English at UVM. She is a member of United Academics AFT/AAUP and is District Vice President for Chittenden County with the Vermont AFL-CIO.

UVM Against the Cuts
https://www.facebook.com/groups/556061698629743/

Helen Scott's Blog Post
https://champlainvalleydsa.org/blog/fighting-the-cuts-at-uvm

VSCS Thrive
https://vscsthrive.org/

Interview with Dayna Stimson on the pros and cons of Vermont's response to Covid-19. Dayna, of Burlington, is a family nurse practitioner and a member of the Champlain Valley Democratic Socialists of America and Community Voices for Immigrant Rights.

Show links:
https://ethics.harvard.edu/Covid-Roadmap

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhRQxk9QA-o&t=25s

https://dfr.vermont.gov/about-us/covid-19/modeling

https://champlainvalleydsa.org/blog/no-one-is-illegal-not-one-left-behind-time-to-escalate-the-fight-for-immigrant-rights

Interview with Linda Olson, President of the Vermont State Colleges Faculty Federation, AFT Vermont. We talk about the recent proposal to close three campuses of the Vermont State Colleges System, the road that led us here, and what can be done in response.

Discussed on the show:
VSCS Thrive (https://vscsthrive.org/) - An organization and a movement to protect and ensure the vitality of the Vermont State Colleges in perpetuity.

Upcoming meeting with Vermont educators and organizers.
Fund Vermont's Future: Join the Fight for Public Education
Wednesday, May 6
https://www.facebook.com/events/716850312465746/