Ironweeds

So much has happened in our absence! The end of US operations in Afghanistan shows just how little we’ve accomplished in 20 years. Well, something was accomplished at least: a massive transfer of wealth. As Covid continues to worsen, people are losing their minds in some very disturbing ways, and even Trump isn’t immune. For our wildflower, a cannabis factory is coming to the Cap District!

Mask debaters: https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Mask-debate-turns-ugly-at-Shenendehowa-board-16390215.php & https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/12/us/tennessee-covid-mask-mandate-school-board-protest/index.html 

Pot plant: https://poststar.com/news/local/moreau-planning-board-raises-concerns-about-marijuana-growing-facility/article_2efd476a-6f42-50e9-b3c4-838e7f7b3964.html 

Sean Hannity being so normal: https://www.mediamatters.org/sean-hannity/sean-hannity-plugs-my-pillow-americans-family-stuck-kabul 

Support the show! patreon.com/ironweeds

We're off this week, but please enjoy this released Patreon episode! Get more bonus content at patreon.com/ironweeds

This week we’re talking Covid, Critical Race Theory, and Cuomo. The Covid numbers are going in the absolute wrong direction and no one seems to be doing anything about it. Meanwhile people dying in hospital beds are doubling down on their right to die and kill others. Reactionaries are freaking out about CRT because they think their children will be discriminated against. And Cuomo… well, you know the story by now. We make some very incorrect predictions. But it doesnt really matter because this is a podcast and you can’t hold us accountable. Finally, Maine bans forever chemicals!

11 women, 7 years of sexual harassment: explore the timeline of Cuomo's alleged misconduct https://www.timesunion.com/state/article/cuomo-sexual-harassment-report-timeline-16367561.php

Nine (other) scandals of Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Ten-scandals-of-Gov-Andrew-Cuomo-16369547.php

Masks required in Albany County buildings, McCoy says https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Employees-visitors-must-wear-masks-in-Albany-16369764.php

Maine bans forever chemicals https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jul/15/maine-law-pfas-forever-chemicals-ban?emci=9407fc28-55ea-eb11-a7ad-501ac57b8fa7&emdi=6ca4d35b-e4ea-eb11-a7ad-501ac57b8fa7&ceid=1823627 

State won't provide health guidance to K-12 schools this fall https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/State-won-t-provide-health-guidance-to-schools-16367474.php

This week the fellas are joined by Jess Bennett, a founding member of the activist group Friends of the Mahicantuck, an organization dedicated to saving an 11 acre parcel of land from a real estate developer. The land has been used by indigenous people for thousands of years and is a unique archaeological site as well as the last patch of undeveloped riverfront land in Troy. Despite a huge outcry from the community, the city council keeps trying to move ahead with the project. On the good news front, Troy, Albany, and Schenectady are suing mortgage firms over zombie properties.

Support Friends of the Mahicantuck: http://www.friendsofthemahicantuck.org/ 

Troy, Albany, Schenectady suing firms over blighted buildings: https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Troy-Albany-Schenectady-suing-mortgage-firms-16345399.php 

New evidence suggests that the Pfizer vaccine is good at keeping you out of the hospital but less impressive when it comes to infection. Meanwhile, one random dude is apparently a major hub of covid misinformation (and a New York Times bestselling author!) The people of Hoosick Falls have received a $65 million settlement after their water was contaminated with carcinogenic PFOAs. And for our wildflower, New York City sent mental health professionals in place of cops for a month and guess what? It worked.

Pfizer vaccine: https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/564675-israel-pfizer-vaccine-allows-infection-but-preventing-severe-illness 

Joseph Mercola, tanning bed king: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/24/technology/joseph-mercola-coronavirus-misinformation-online.html?referringSource=articleShare 

$65 million settlement filed in Hoosick Falls PFOA water contamination https://www.timesunion.com/state/article/hoosick-falls-pfoa-settlement-16326755.php 

Hoosick Falls PFOA timeline: https://www.timesunion.com/projects/2021/hoosick-falls-pfoa-timeline/ 

Mental Health Emergency Response: https://www.insider.com/nyc-mental-health-emergency-response-pilot-data-shows-positive-impact-2021-7

In this very special Srsly Weeds crossover episode, the Ironweeds gang talks with the Srsly Wrong boys about library socialism, violence, and the (utopian) future of labor. 

Check out Srsly Wrong 

Library socialism episodes are 189 (Library Socialism & Usufruct), 196 (Library Socialism & The Irreducible Minimum), and 200 (Library Socialism & Complementarity).

Theme song by Spam Risk

Ever heard of scromiting? Us neither. Troy is about to lose grant money to develop prime downtown property, but it's not gonna be that easy. Are the Cuban protests authentic? Let's follow the money! And finally, the state of Maine is going some pretty neat stuff lately. 

Scromiting: https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/high-potency-weed-linked-psychotic-episodes-mysterious-vomiting-illness-young-n1273463

Troy to hire firm for Monument Square project to avoid losing state grant https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Troy-hires-for-Monument-Square-project-to-avoid-16320617.php 

U.S. Hits Highest Number of Daily New Coronavirus Cases in the World Again: Nearly 80,000

The Bay of Tweets: https://www.mintpressnews.com/documents-point-to-us-hand-in-cuba-protests/277987/

The Cuba Money Project: http://cubamoneyproject.com/2020/01/24/ned-2/ 

Meth-addled Trout: https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/06/europe/trout-drug-addiction-scli-intl-scn/index.html

https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicksibilla/2021/07/14/maine-abolishes-civil-forfeiture-now-requires-a-criminal-conviction-to-take-property/?sh=3a30d26d5cf9

Maine Appreciation 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicksibilla/2021/07/14/maine-abolishes-civil-forfeiture-now-requires-a-criminal-conviction-to-take-property/ 

https://www.wastedive.com/news/extended-producer-responsibility-packaging-maine-oregon/602479/ 

Just another week of upbeat content from your buddies at Ironweeds! Is the planet dying, or just trying to buck us like an angry bronco? Did climate change cause the South Florida condo collapse, or was it actually democracy? We talk about how these crises will keep speeding up, and our responses to them are outdated and counter-productive. Also, we must once again distance ourselves from President Biden after he has reauthorized a law that will lead to more jail time for non-violent drug offenders (where’s our promises kept??). The Boy Scouts of America have been accused of sexually abusing more than 80,000 boys, and despite what they knew, they did little to prevent it. On a happy note, the Brooklyn Museum has repatriated 1,305 artifacts to Costa Rica.

This isn’t a heatwave: https://eand.co/this-isnt-a-heatwave-it-s-a-dying-planet-ac1c9eb529d1

Biden fails to deliver on promises about drug war and incarceration: https://www.themarshallproject.org/2021/06/16/biden-could-have-taken-the-war-on-drugs-down-a-notch-he-didn-t

Miami condo collapse: https://slate.com/business/2021/06/miami-condo-collapse-florida-building-industry-crisis.html

Nearly 100 say they were abused in Capital Region Boy Scouts over decades: https://www.timesunion.com/state/article/abuse-in-the-boy-scouts-capital-region-16282312.php 

Costa Rica gets artifacts back: https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/costa-rica-archaeologists-awe-brooklyn-museum-returns-1305-artifacts-2021-07-03/

Boy Scouts rescue drowning woman: https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/03/us/missouri-boy-scouts-rescue-drowning-woman-flood-trnd/index.html

Volunteer for and donate to Marketa Edwards:https://marketafortroy.com

Support the show! https://www.patreon.com/Ironweeds

This week there’s a lot to celebrate after a series of DSA electoral wins across the state, including Kiani Conley-Wilson, and cautious optimism for Marketa Edwards’ campaign as well. And AG Letitia James settles a lawsuit with Johnson and Johnson for $230 million to ease the opium epidemic. 

Election results: https://www.troyrecord.com/news/rensselaer-county-2021-primary-election-results/article_6b09e04e-d3cd-11eb-8c8d-b72a4b1298ca.html

https://www.rensco.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/P21.html 

Take that J&J: 

https://ag.ny.gov/press-release/2021/attorney-general-james-reaches-230-million-settlement-treatment-and-prevention 

101 - New Normal, New Weird

Tired of making money the hard way, Britney, David, and Chris brainstorm what words and phrases we could trademark to make them Disney bucks. Albany Med hospital has violated human trafficking laws by turning Filipine nurses into indentured servants to avoid bargaining with the nurses’ union. Our climate is still a slow-motion trainwreck. The FBI is still using honeypot apps. But in Rochester, a restaurant has unionized, which is pretty tight.

Disney trademarking normal stuff that doesn’t belong to them: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/may/08/disney-trademark-day-dead-festival-pixar 

https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2018/12/14/676703629/swahili-speakers-horrified-by-disneys-trademark-of-hakuna-matata 

https://www.dailydot.com/unclick/disney-allegedly-files-copyright-claims-over-loki-fan-art/ 

Automatic for the Bosses by David Banks: https://reallifemag.com/automatic-for-the-bosses/

AG: Albany Med violated human trafficking law, must repay Filipino nurses https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/AG-Albany-Med-violated-human-trafficking-law-16254812.php 

The West is drying out. Things will get ugly: https://www.cnn.com/2021/06/19/politics/what-matters-climate-change-western-drought/index.html

Smile for the camera! https://www.theverge.com/2021/6/17/22538160/ai-camera-smile-recognition-office-workers-china-canon

Tierra Whack: Whack World: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EOTebhPy04g&ab_channel=TierraWhackVEVO

CBS News: FBI uses ANOM messaging app to trick criminals, dealing "heavy blow against organized crime”: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/anom-app-messaging-fbi-trojan-shield/

Nani’s Kitchen workers unionize: https://www.rochestercitynewspaper.com/rochester/nanis-kitchen-workers-unionized-and-think-more-restaurants-should/Content?oid=13239626 

Support us on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/Ironweeds