Unconventional Journalist

How long would it take for you to face homelessness if you're in between jobs or contracts? Do any of us feel supported by the systems we pay taxes into?

Stanford, a nurse, joins me to talk about how a false accusation at work led to 26 days in jail, job loss, and two evictions in under a year, even though the case was dismissed. He describes living with mold and water leaks while management ignored repairs, then used unpaid addendum fees to evict him after he reported conditions to the city. We break down the systemic barriers that prioritize profit over people: housing, the court system, terrible public transit, and how the apartments would not accept the limited nonprofit aid he received because he wouldn't sign the liability waiver.

Ridley Apartment Homes in Houston managed by Emerge Living were the most affordable apartments he could get while he has been in between jobs and dealing with court cases. Affordable housing shouldn't mean living in mold.

Here's his information if you're able to help him during this time:

Cash App: $Dakhi

Zelle: [email protected]

Apple Pay: [email protected]

If you're in the burbs feeling like all you can do is vote and vent about Trump, please know there is political movement happening at your local city council that you can join, support, and advocate for local change.

James has been attending city council sessions in League City to advocate for removing Flock cameras in the area. We discuss myths around "I have nothing to hide if they surveil me," along with general education of the surveillance state. We also discuss how important it is go beyond voting and engage with the local government. Part of it, we discussed, is the anxiety about showing up and not knowing how to, so we go through that as well.

If you're in League City, next time you rant about federal issues you can't control, remember you can join James and other folks who are putting pressure on city council for the Flock cameras among other issues.

When do they meet? View it here.

We are watching the federal government use our tax dollars for more surveillance, policing, and war despite public outrage. Have you taken a look at how Harris County is using our tax dollars locally? Despite it being a Democratic majority, our local tax dollars primarily go to the cops with little else going to libraries, roads, flood mitigation, infrastructure, or anything else that keeps us safe. Money from all these departments get sucked away into the policing void, and creates a yearly deficit cycle.

Alfredo, a policy organizer with People's Counsel, joins me to recap the county budget. Organizers and community members attended the budget meetings, spoke out, and were there when the commissioners took the vote. Its been about four years since there's been movement around the county's budget. Alfredo and I discuss the movement, myths, and how the budget should be regarded as a moral document for how our government takes care of us.

Our clothes are getting more expensive as the fabric gets worse, and getting that sweet, sweet dopamine hit from a random clothes purchase that we'll only wear for 2 months is contributing to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

Ellis, one of the organizers of Queer Exchange HTX, joins me to talk about FREE community events where the whole point is to "swap don't shop." The sizes we know today were invented 100 years ago by white cis dudes with data bias and nothing has changed. These community-centered events focus on ensuring folks of all sizes, ages, and genders have a place to experiment, affirm their identity, and not have to spend money on a lovely new fit.

Shoutouts to Butt Stuff, People's Data Project, and Doshi House

PicLeft to Right: Avi, Liz, Ellis, Marre

Avi: Runs Plant, Art, and Book Swap

Liz & Ellis: Organizers

Marre: Organizes Run with Purpose

In Part I, we talked about the history of war taxes, what it is, and common myths.

With Part II, Ken from National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee ⁠(NWTRCC) joins me to get into depth on what the process for a war tax resister could look like. Ken reads a letter a war tax resister sent to the IRS, and we also discuss a bill in Congress that is waiting to make war tax resistance legal.

Connect with the Houston area war tax resistance on Instagram.

There are so many ways to show up in the movement. From protests at the front lines to mutual aid and policy work, there isn't a shortage of ways to show up in whatever capacity you can. This interview focuses on combining the music community with the political community. 

Andrea is the founder of Root Cause which is a community kick back that uplifts musicians in the community and brings in social justice initiatives.

From local taxes to state and federal, the money we pay our government continues to fund atrocities that violate human rights. Our taxes continue to fund "wars" that no one asked for.

Ken from the the National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee (NWTRCC) joins me to talk about the ongoing movement to resist war taxes. We talk about the history of war tax resistance, what it looks like now, along with myths and general education.

NWTRCC is a coalition of local, regional, and national groups and individuals from across the United States. For everyone interested in or actively refusing to pay taxes for war, NWTRCC offers information, referral, support, resources, publicity, campaign sponsorship, and connection to an international network of conscientious objectors to war taxes.

When folks think about public safety, they tend to think about cops. Instead of seeing cops as a means of safety, what else can keep us safe? Housing as a human right is one of the many ways we can reimagine safety in our communities. 

Dominica and Diana from Houston Tenants Union (HTU) join me to talk about how housing is a human right and provide tips on how to read your lease.

HTU's meetings are weekly with a potluck, childcare, and an option to join online. 

As we all watch the national news, it feels helpless watching our tax dollars go to endless violence, bailing out corporations, and a random ballroom. However, every city and county has a budget season! The season for the Houston budget is here, and there is a movement demanding a budget that serves the working class.

The Houston People's Budget is a community movement to demand elected officials prioritize community safety, public infrastructure, and flood prevention for Houston and Harris County.

Felix from West Street Recovery, NAC, and the Houston People's Budget joins me to talk about how the current budget overfunds police while not paying city workers a living wage and cutting public services in general. The FY2026 budget cut $122M from public health, parks, libraries, housing, and the arts, reduced the total city workforce by 10%, and diverted $90M meant for drainage.

We talk about the ways in which you can join the movement and help with plenty of events coming up before the vote in June.

Houston city officials and police are cowardly claiming they are “just following” the 2017 SB4 (the “Anti-Sanctuary” law). However, the law mandates compliance with ICE detainers, formal requests to hold someone already in custody. It does not require, or even mention, compliance with ICE administrative warrants. 

This means HPD is doing more than the controversial state law requires, essentially volunteering for federal immigration enforcement while violating the 4th amendment.

Jennifer, a policy attorney with the Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC), joins me to break it all down. Resources so you can learn more:

• https://store.ilrc.org/ 
• https://houston-leads.org/rapid-response-training/
• https://houston-leads.org/current-campaigns/