Talking Politics With Mom

Columbus Day, once an innocuous holiday (for some), has in recent years become a flash point for our never-ending culture war. Many (rightly) point out that Christopher Columbus was an evil man - and unleashed a genocide on Native Americans unparalleled in human history. While others (wrongly) want to celebrate this man as an American hero, who sailed the ocean blue in 1492, etc... and deny the atrocities associated with his legacy.But there is more to the history of the formation of this holiday that is worth discussing. A little known history that involves race, class, power, and the largest mass lynching in American history. It is a story about White Supremacy, and how the rich and powerful divide people to make a profit. It is a story that celebrates Italian Immigrants... It is a story that asks: who is allowed to be considered an American, and why? It is a story that continues to this day - as federal ICE agents terrorize immigrant communities as they police entry into the American story.

Pete Hegseth renamed the Department of Defense the Department of War, and has said that the Military's sole mission is "war fighting." Meanwhile, Donald Trump has mused about "the war within" and sent federal troops into even more cities across America, including Portland and Chicago, and threatened to arrest elected officials if they don't cooperate. ICE continues to terrorize immigrants and citizens alike - raiding apartment buildings and acting like a bunch of thugs. And Trump has even threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act (oh the irony!) to bypass the judges who have blocked his misuse of force. They continue to fear monger about crime, carting out classic racists tropes to justify their extreme measures. This is what a fascist authoritarian takeover looks like.A couple months ago, we talked with our friend Matt - a Marine Veteran following the DC military takeover - and things have just gotten worse since then. In fact - we seem to be on a war footing with Venezuela, which could give Trump even more power to silence and purge his domestic enemies. So we thought it would be a good idea to check back in with Matt, who is currently protesting the National Guard deployment in Washington DC to see how we can resist this blatant power grab.Please follow Matt and his comrades who are doing amazing work fighting back against a looming dictatorship. @usmcangryveteran  @Jolly_good_ginger @usarmyoverlord ​

A little over 2 weeks ago, Charlie Kirk was murdered while speaking in front of thousands of people - and a video of the horrific act spread across the internet. The event has shaken the nation - and created an atmosphere of tension and fear. But instead of trying to ease that tension and fear, and try to unify the country - Trump, his administration and the Right Wing media have instead ratcheted up the tension and used this horrific act to blame their political enemies - pushing a narrative that the rhetoric of the lunatic left Democrats has radicalized a network of trans Antifa terrorists - and is the cause of this political violence… labelling not just people who were insensitive in the aftermath of Kirk’s assassination - but anyone who disagreed with the things he promoted throughout his career - as complicit in his murder.Of course, the Republican Party and Trump specifically would never engage in violent or extreme rhetoric or the demonization of their opponents… quick side note - on the same day that Kirk was shot there was another school shooting in Colorado committed by a White Supremacist… oh, also Democratic lawmakers were murdered back in June in Minnesota by an anti-abortion activist.And yet, with another shooting the other day at an ICE facility in Dallas - the Trump administration has become even further emboldened to use the full force of the Federal Government to silence their critics, go after their enemies - and further entrench their, yes, authoritarian, power. Using the FCC to force Jimmy Kimmel off the air, and attack our freedom of speech. They've labeled antifa a terrorist organization, they indicted James Comey, they are going after the funding of Democrats - and they are saying that anyone who criticizes ICE are promoting violence against law enforcement. Trump, JD Vance, Stephen Miller, Pete Hegseth, Cash Patel, and the Right Wing media apparatus that supports them are intentionally adding gasoline to the fire in order to justify their authoritarian purge of their political enemies. It's kinda fascist to be honest...Things are bleak folks. And the nation feels more divided than ever - which is, of course, their goal. But are we really as divided as it feels? And is there a way for us to come back together on the things we can all agree on? Well it starts by engaging in some truth telling. So that’s what my mom and I are going to try to do today - because she has lived through the era of extreme political violence of the 1960s - and being a former conservative in the McCarthy era - knows full well the authoritarian playbook for attacking free speech - so I think she can provide us with some valuable insight into this moment in our history.(  / talkingpoliticswithmom  )

Donald Trump has deployed federal agents and the national guard into Washington D.C. to take over the local law enforcement to supposedly combat crime in the city, despite the fact that crime rates are at historic lows. He already did something similar in Los Angeles. These actions, in combination with the massive increase to the ICE budget and activity have us a little bit worried... So we reached out to our friend Matt, aka ‪@usmcangryveteran‬ to help give us some perspective. Is Trump preparing the US population to accept martial law? Will he extend military occupation to other cities? How far will this fascist authoritarian power grab go? Just how worried should we be?Please show Matt some love and follow him on Youtube, TikTok, Instagram, Substack, etc. - usmcangryveteran(https://linktr.ee/usmcangryveteran)And please consider contributing to us on Patreon:(  / talkingpoliticswithmom  )

Trump Regret is real... whether it's because they had a family member deported, their business is suffering because of tariffs, they are on the brink of losing their healthcare, or they are mad that the Epstein Files haven't been released - former Donald Trump supporters are regretting their vote. And some are even going online and confessing their transgression, and trying to make amends for the mistake they made. So what now?Those of us who saw this all coming have a variety of responses. One of the most common reactions, propagated by creators and commenters alike is that of FAFO... it serves you right! These are the consequences of voting for fascism.But is that doing any good? Is that going to help us defeat MAGA? Should we just forgive and forget? Or tell them that it serves them right? That these are the natural consequences for their actions... They didn't seem to care when we all told them that this was going to happen, or they thought it was going to happen to someone else... so why should we show them any sympathy now?Luckily, we have a former conservative who can provide us some insight into the mindset of a conservative, and can help illuminate the process of deconstruction and conversion from an ideology of hierarchy based on lies - to a place of empathy, compassion, and truth. The journey is not a straight line. And the fact is that we are in an emergency... there is a limited window of time to stem the tide of authoritarianism... and it is going to require a broad coalition of people to fight that fight. The demagogue wants us to fight amongst ourselves, but we need to stop looking at our neighbor - and look up at the oligarchs who threaten all of us.If you someone who regrets your vote for Trump - please consider visiting the following sites:(https://indivisible.org/)(https://leavingmaga.org/)(https://www.nokings.org/)And if you are getting something out of our work - please consider supporting us on patreon.(https://www.patreon.com/talkingpoliticswithmom)

There IS a threat to women and girls sports in America, but it's not coming from trans people. It turns out that the real threat is the anti-trans movement itself.That, and of course, money. Participation in youth sports in particular is increasingly becoming a privilege afforded only to the wealthy.And the nexus between money and bigotry is harming women and girl's sports far more than the participation of a small number of people in a heavily discriminated group ever could...Transphobes like Riley Gaines act as if they are protecting women, but they are actually putting a target on the back of elite women athletes - as demonstrated by her recent fight with Simone Biles.And the arguments from these anti-trans activists really fall apart when they decry the participation of trans women in a game like pool (that offers them no perceivable advantage) and continue to rail against a trans girl (AB Hernandez) even after a California rule change ensured that no cis girls would lose their spot on the podium. And their hypocrisy is made even more clear when they are nowhere to be found when a 16 year old Black girl named Clara Adams is stripped of her title for her victory celebration.Transphobia and Misogyny are inextricably linked, and this agenda, heavily funded and expertly enacted by far right groups has made it's way all the way up to President Trump. And the agenda is clear - they want to police women - and send our nation back to the 1950s.(http://www.patreon.com/talkingpoliticswithmom)

My mom loved sports growing up, in fact we was very good at them. But there were very few opportunities for elite women's athletes when she grew up. She spent a good portion of her life trying to help create a world that would create more opportunities for women in sports. So when the trans athletes in women's sports debate popped up - she came to that issue with a lot of strong emotions stemming from her past that influenced her opinion on the controversy.But she decided that she would try to move beyond her initial reaction and get to the bottom of the issue... and what she discovered is that the same people that restricted her opportunities when she was younger - are the same people doing it to trans people today... and they wont stop there.Either everybody matters, or nobody matters.( www.patreon.com/talkingpoliticswithmom)

In the very first episode of this show - we examined the source of my mom's conservative ideology - which largely came from red-scare propaganda about how secret communists were plotting to destroy America... But it was clear in that discussion that my mom had also internalized many of the lies sold to her about race.Since that first episode - my mom has reflected on those beliefs, and she has asked herself some difficult questions about why she held onto those beliefs for as long as she did.The truth is that racial prejudice, bigotry, and racism - whatever you want to call it - particularly among individuals, is more complex than we sometimes acknowledge. As a nation, we adopt a certain set of values and ideals that are hard to shake... particularly around the meritocracy. And we are also denied the uncomfortable reality of our history of discrimination, coupled with the denial of the important role of government action on advantaging certain groups, while denying opportunity for others.But ultimately - my mom changed her perspective - and this video explores that transformation.( www.patreon.com/talkingpoliticswithmom)

Polls show that most people believe that DEI programs benefit Black people the most. But the truth is that DEI programs are designed to provide opportunities for a wide array of under-served communities. And it turns out that those under-served communities actually include a whole lot of White people - including our new Vice President: JD Vance.

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The concept of DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) has become an all-purpose scapegoat for Republicans in recent years - responsible for everything from the LA fires to the recent plane crash in Washington DC. In this episode, Mom and I discuss the origins of how this concept became the default reactionary bugaboo, and how it is designed to distract from Trump's effort to dismantle the administrative state to support his inner circle of billionaire buddies like Elon Musk. DEIA (they like to forget about the A) is a pretense to allow them to plunder the federal government. And none of this will benefit the American people.The Right-Wing frames the issue of DEI around the idea of "The Meritocracy" while they place the least qualified people imaginable into positions of power. To Trump - Merit is defined by loyalty to Trump...

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