Progressive News Network

The filibuster is unconstitutional. Always was--and always will be. Now, I'm not talking about the Jimmy Stewart, "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" brand, but rather the SILENT FILIBUSTER which grants the GOP slim minority an unconstitutional veto--and thus denies ALL OF US equal representation in Congress. Now, what does this have to do with ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE? EVERYTHING. There can't be any environmental justice OR ANY JUSTICE, OR ANY LEGAL REFORMS AS LONG AS THE SILENT FILIBUSTER EXISTS. And the GOP of Trump knows it. There will never be any meaningful environmental action until we end this tool of oppression. We have been told by both sides that there is nothing we can do to end this silent filibuster. We have been told that ONLY the Senate can change this, and like any Rube Golberg device--the reforms can't begin--until the filibuster is gone--and yet--we can't get rid of it as long as a single senator employs the silent filibuster in a move to save it. Newsflash--ALL THAT IS A LIE. There is a solution, and it is quite simple. We CAN end the silent filibuster now and we don't need the GOP or turncoats like Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema.

Brook Hines, Jeanine Molloff, and Rick Spisak.

This week is all about WATER, WATER, WATER. Erin Brockovich exposed unsafe water in parts of Louisiana which rivals the crisis in Flint, Michigan. Towns such as Sulphur and Shreveport, (both in Louisiana), have orange water flowing through their taps. Other towns in Illinois report that the water smells like raw sewage. Many small cities are anticipating help from the America Rescue Plan proposed by President Biden--you know part of the infrastructure plan that the GOP is actively blocking. 

The second part of the report will deal with the issue of growing water privatization worldwide. We will touch upon the basics. Much of the environmental injustice worldwide regarding water privatization involves multilateral trade agreements that stack the deck against humanity. 

Keep in mind that water IS a human right--as the corporate world seeks to treat it as another commodity, with assistance from armies of corporate attorneys. 

Tune in. This IS the very epitome of environmental injustice. 

Jeanine

Brook Hines — pandemic gets personal. Forcing low-wage and unsafe work by cutting off unemployment benefit is cruel and stupid (i.e. totally unsurprising for Republican Governors).

SARS-CoV-2 origin: US funded gain of function research in Wuhan. Everything we thought we knew about the virus might actually be wrong.

Jeanine Molloff: The Justice Report on Vote Suppression, Constituional Crises, and COVID Karens. 

CITATIONS:

Starving people to force them back to work, Common Dreams, Jake Johnson

Biden cuts pretty much all campaign promises from next budget deal, Washington Post, Jeff Stein & Tyler Pager 

Did US-funded research in Wuhan cause the pandemic?, Current Affairs, Nathan J. Robinson

Origin of COVID: did people or narture open Pandora's Box at Wuhan, Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, Nicholas Wade

[this is the first and most important piece on pandemic origins]

This episode will speak to the way public relation firms subvert the true debate on climate change, and the corporate polluters who contributed most heavily to this looming global disaster. By deflecting the facts, public relation firms essentially 'reverse the blame' regarding global climate devastation. A new, peer reviewed study, published in the journal, One Earth, by Harvard research associate Geoffrey Supran and Harvard science historian Naomi Oreskes, confirmed these practices. I will discuss the central findings of this study, in addition to the role public relations groups have served regarding the 'greenwashing' of climate change, (or as I prefer to call this situation, 'global climate devastation'). 

Come listen. Learn. 

Jeanine Molloff

Host/Producer

The Environmental Justice Report /EJR

Greenpeace just released a report this week aptly titled : Dollars vs. Democracy: Companies and the Attack on Voting Rights and Peaceful Protest. This report details how large corporations are bankrolling the majority of anti-democracy bills being pushed in state legislatures all over the country. These bills all have a few things in common, they not only suppress the voting power of minorities, but they also criminalize voting rights activities and peaceful protest, with severe penalties often at the felony level. 

Let's expose these corporate entities and their corporate attorneys 'aiding and abetting' this attack on democratic rule.

Poets of the East -

We occaisionally focus on just one poet in a special episode, called Poet Showcase:

This Episode features the Poet

Corina Oproae - an amazing poet of Romanian heritage who has lived in Barcelona for many years."

Corina Oproae has been feted from South America across Europe and featured in Asia as well.

Tune into Our Poetry Showcase which features the Poetry of Corina Oproae

Tune In to Poet Showcase

POETS OF THE EAST - EPISODE 20 -

We bring the remarkable Corina Oproae and the talented David Leo Sirois and Dan Bonsanti of Orchestra 14

The Serene the Sublime and the Synchopated

Mircea Dan Duta Associate Producer and CoHost and Rick Spisak Producer and Co-Host welcome three talented poets to our microphones.

Corina Oproae a Romainian Poet and translator who's work has been celebrated across the globe from the Far East to Europe, Africa and the Americas. Her voice eloquence and heart deep speaks of my things from the celebration of life, the closeness of death, the celebration of love and the deep pain of loss. A voice you should hear.

We also welcome the deep spirituality of the Global poet David Leo Sirois a poet of sublimity and a seeker of the path of wisdom. His spiritual studies lend a depth to his writing that is stunning in its simplicity and sublime with a touch of wit that will cerainly make you smile.

And finally Mircea and I welcome a different kind of poet entirely a poet of sound and jazz Dan Bonsanti. An orchestra leader, arranger and composer as well as a band leader who has build a jazz orchestra with some of the finest jazz artists the world has ever know. And you can come alittle to know "The Fourteen Jazz Orchestra" the producer arranger and musical artist in his own right.

TUNE IN LIVE SATURDAY 5/8/21 or anytime during next week, when they are the featured Poets of the East Episode.

Rick Spisak, Producer, Editor and CoHost

This week on EJR, I will discuss how the EPA was de-fanged in 1995 by a GOP dominated Congress, when they allowed the "polluters pay" rule to expire. Most Americans still assume that the EPA can demand that those responsible for these environmental crimes--pay. That is not the case. 

SInce the GOP allowed the "polluters pay" rule to expire, the taxpayer has been saddled with the bill. Unfortunately, the tax base is woefully inadequate and the result is a drastically underfunded Superfund. The irony would be laughable, if it weren't such a crime against us all. 

When you calculate the fat pockets of polluters able to retain an army of corporate 'environmental law' attorneys (no, the irony isn't lost on me); you have a recipe for disaster. 

Come listen. Learn. Demand a return to the 'polluters pay' rule.

Jeanine

Brook Hines with @mugrimm on his FDRvsBiden 100 days project <-- FDRvBiden timeline on Twitter.

Also, "How the Pentagon started taking UFOs seriously," in The New Yorker (really!)

Jeanine Molloff with UN Rapporteur Marjorie Cohn on the new UN report on policing in the US.

"Commission finds anti-Black police violence constitutes crimes against humanity," Truthout, by Marjorie Cohn.