Washington Indivisible Podcast

On this week's show: With primary ballots arriving this week, we talk about how (and why) to get people excited about this year’s election with chair of the Washington State Democratic Party, Tina Podlodowski.

Then, in light of escalating raids of migrants and asylum seekers by ICE, we talk with Brenda Rodriguez. She is the Eastern Washington coordinator for the Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network, and we learn about how you can get involved by taking their Rapid Response training to help migrants and their families under siege.

We also talk with the president and co-founder of Lawyer Moms of America, Tovah Kopan, about their 2nd annual Kids Take a Stand fundraiser, which encourages kids and their families all across the country to open lemonade stands to raise money for migrant children who have been separated from their families.

And we have our weekly call to action with research team leader, Stephen Wilhelm.

Links:

WA Democrats' Rise & Run program: https://www.wa-democrats.org/riseandrun

Check to see if you're registered to vote: https://votewa.gov

If you fail to receive a ballot: http://wavotingjustice.org/

Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network: https://www.waisn.org/

WAISN FB page: https://www.facebook.com/WAimmigrantsolidaritynetwork/

Sign up for WAISN's Rapid Response training: https://actionnetwork.org/forms/waisn-rapid-response-webinar-trainings

Fair Fight Bond Fund: https://fairfightbondfund.org

Lawyer Moms of America: https://www.lawyermomsofamerica.org/

Lawyer Moms Foundation: https://www.lawyermomsfoundation.org/

Host your own Kids Take a Stand lemonade stand: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1UllNWOpzUhdne7oY4iybaMErM2xhEsRJkygGEfNVv_8/edit

Lawyer Moms of America letter you can send to your member of Congress to demand compassionate treatment of migrant children: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1i-OfU6nAelBpQz1zU4TJJwiBGivpTpQQUlGPzQZT7o0/edit?link_id=0&can_id=f668219c6438434773e852c13df16ea9&source=email-demand-compassionate-treatment-of-migrant-children&email_referrer=email_577974&email_subject=demand-compassionate-treatment-of-migrant-children

This week, we continue our coverage of the ongoing humanitarian crisis at our southern border with firsthand accounts of the conditions in detention facilities for asylum seekers and their children. Dr. Amy Cohen is a child psychiatrist who specializes in trauma and immigration consultation, and she’s visited children in detention in Homestead, FL and McAllen, TX.

We also talk with Democrat Ben Stuckart. He’s the president of the Spokane City Council, and he’s currently running for Spokane mayor.

Links:

Drawings by children in detention: https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/migrant-children-draw-alarming-images-life-border-patrol/story?id=64117571

Lights for Liberty vigil locations: https://www.lightsforliberty.org/localevents

Ben Stuckart’s campaign website: https://www.benstuckart.com/

In response to the escalating humanitarian crisis at our southern border, a vigil called Lights for Liberty will take place all across the country and the world on Friday, July 12th. We talk with the event’s creator, Elizabeth Cronise McLaughlin, an activist, attorney, and host of the online program #ResistanceLive, who says the event is aimed at creating a sense of common cause around one of the most profound crises of our time.

Also, with the Senate race in Maine beginning to draw national attention, we chat with progressive Democrat Betsy Sweet about her plan to unseat Republican Susan Collins.

Links:

Find a Lights for Liberty event near you: https://www.lightsforliberty.org/localevents

A map of immigrant detention centers in the US: https://www.freedomforimmigrants.org/detention-statistics

#ResistanceLive: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC85eSMgCIdzVn4y_CBCrvag

Betsy Sweet's campaign website:

https://betsysweet.com/

On this week’s show, in observance of Seattle's PrideFest and the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, we take a look back at Seattle’s very first Gay Pride Week in 1974, with its lead organizer, David Neth.

We also talk with Andrew Villeneuve, founder and head of the Northwest Progressive Institute, a regional organization dedicated to studying and advocating for progressive legislation in the region. They’ve recently launched a feature, Last Week in Congress, that tracks how our national legislators voted each week.

Links:

https://www.seattlepridefest.org/

https://www.nwprogressive.org/

https://www.nwprogressive.org/weblog/

On this week’s show, progressive talk radio host and author Thom Hartmann. He joins us to talk about his new book, “The Hidden History of Guns and the Second Amendment.” In it, he explores the many connections between guns and our country’s history with the native American genocide, slavery, the continuing scourge of racism, and even neoliberal economic policy. We also get his thoughts on this particularly urgent moment in our country’s history, and about how we as progressives can contextualize what’s happening.

We also hear from former 41st LD representative Marcie Maxwell on her run for mayor of the city of Renton.

Links:

“The Hidden History of Guns and the Second Amendment": https://www.amazon.com/Hidden-History-Second-Amendment-Hartmann/dp/1523085991/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?keywords=thom+hartmann+guns&qid=1561050832&s=gateway&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1

Marcie Maxwell's campaign site: http://marciemaxwellforrenton.net/

Indivisible's co-Executive Director, Ezra Levin, joins us to lay out the arguments against and ultimately for House Democrats supporting an impeachment inquiry against Donald Trump.

Then, in response, we talk with Indivisible WA 8th district leader Chris Petzold to get her take on impeachment, and to get our weekly calls to action, which include a national day of action on June 15th in support of impeachment proceedings.

Links:

Indivisible's call to support an impeachment inquiry: https://indivisible.org/resource/impeaching-trump-hold-him-accountable

Rachel Maddow’s Bagman podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bag-man/id1438463967

Pre-order Ezra and Leah’s book! https://www.amazon.com/We-Are-Indivisible-Blueprint-Democracy/dp/1982129972/ref=sr_1_7?keywords=indivisible&qid=1560370274&s=gateway&sr=8-7

Rep. Rashida Tlaib’s H. Res 257: https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-resolution/257/text

Where to find a Day of Action event near you: https://www.impeach.org/event/impeachment_day_of_action_june15/search/?source=indivisible&s=0

In a recent interview, veteran journalist Carl Bernstein said that the political sides in this country are moving toward a kind of cold. civil war. But this week's first guest, veteran blogger and political operative Peter Daou, says that we’re already in a civil war, and it’s not cold. He cites the killing of Heather Heyer in Charlottesville, the violence of white nationalist groups, the Trump supporter who mailed explosive devices to prominent Democrats and CNN, and the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting as examples. One of the key fronts in this war is social media, which is the subject of Daou's new book, “Digital Civil War: Confronting the Far Right Menace.”

We're joined next by Washington State Poet Laureate Claudia Castro Luna. She's recently been named an Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellow, an honor that confers a $100,000 grant, money she’s using to fund a new project called One River, A Thousand Names, which will convene a series of workshops and readings along the Columbia River.

We also have our weekly calls to action with research team leader Stephen Wilhelm.

Links:

"Digital Civil War": https://www.amazon.com/dp/1612197876/?tag=newbooinhis-20

Peter Daou's website (scroll to the bottom for music tracks): https://peterdaou.com/

Claudia Castro Luna's Washington Poetic Routes: https://washingtonpoeticroutes.com/

We talk first this week with the new executive director of the Seattle City Club, Teresa Moore, who outlines what the organization is all about, from its community learning programs to its core mission of fostering civic dialogue about the issues that affect us most here in Washington.

Also, with this year’s legislative session in Olympia now complete, we take stock of what the Democrats were able to get accomplished. 45th LD Senator Manka Dhingra joins us to offer her perspective on some of the bigger achievements, not least of which was passage of the budget, a thing she says in and of itself speaks volumes.

We also have our weekly calls to action with research team leader Stephen Wilhelm.

Links:

Watch past Civic Cocktail events: https://seattlecityclub.org/our-programs/civic-cocktail/past-civic-cocktails/

Upcoming events: https://seattlecityclub.org/calendar

For your comments: [email protected]

This week, preventing war with Iran with 9th CD Congressman Adam Smith. He is the chair of the Armed Services Committee, and we talk about the potential fallout and ramifications of an armed escalation with a country like Iran, we get his take on why the Trump administration seems to be pushing our country in that direction, and what he and other Democrats are working to do to stop them.

Also, our coverage of the NARAL Pro-Choice Washington rally at Seattle’s city hall on Tuesday, which was in response to the now eight states that have passed laws that are increasingly restricting women’s reproductive rights. We speak with attorney general Bob Ferguson, State Senator Manka Dhingra, and others about what’s at stake and about what we can be doing here in Washington to fight back.

We also have our weekly calls to action with research team leader Stephen Wilhelm.

Links:

NARAL Pro-Choice Washington: https://prochoicewashington.org/

Northwest Abortion Access Fund: https://nwaafund.org/

Planned Parenthood Votes Northwest and Hawaii: https://www.plannedparenthoodaction.org/planned-parenthood-votes-northwest-and-hawaii

The Detention Lottery: https://www.facebook.com/GlobalLawAdvocates/posts/2127557144026797

This week, democratic socialism. What it is, what it's not, what it stands for: There are so many questions that have arisen around the issue of socialism that we’ve invited on a member of Washington’s chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America to help shed some light on the subject. Spencer Cox is a member of the Democratic Socialism Labor Commission with the Democratic Socialists of America's Washington chapter.

We also have our weekly calls to action, all of which are dedicated to the situation at our southern border, and that is with our friend Stephen Wilhelm.

Democratic Socialism Talk

King County Library System Service Center

960 Newport Way NW, Issaquah, WA 98027