The Lean to the Left Podcast Bob Gatty

In this episode of the 'Lean to the Left' podcast, the Dixie Dems, composed of Arthur Hill, Robert Thompson, and the host, engage in a lively discussion on current political happenings amid Donald Trump's hush money trial and its implications.

Topics include the Republicans' challenges, Marjorie Taylor Greene's push against House Speaker Mike Johnson, and the Democrats' prospects in upcoming elections. They explore serious issues like abortion, immigration, and the influence of social media on political narratives.

The episode also covers local politics, including controversial statements by political candidates and significant investments in North Carolina. Additionally, there's talk about the effectiveness of campaigning tactics, like stamping money with political messages.

The conversation concludes with personal anecdotes and reflections on how these complex political matters impact their lives and communities.

00:00 Welcome to the Lean to the Left Podcast!

00:40 Turbulent Times in Politics: Trump's Trial and GOP Chaos

02:15 Diving into the Hush Money Trial: A Comedic Take

04:25 Serious Politics: Upcoming Primaries and Candidate Spotlights

05:25 The Border Wall Debate and Immigration Insights

07:14 Electric Cars and Environmental Moves

19:16 Abortion and Immigration: Election Game Changers?

30:09 Wrapping Up: Orioles' Victory and Final Thoughts

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Uncover the truth behind 'The Kecksburg UFO: The Story of the Century' with UFO investigator Stan Gordon. Explore the mysterious events of 1965 and beyond.

It was in the early evening of Thursday, December 9, 1965 that the night editor of the Greensburg, PA, Tribune-Review sent me to the little rural community of Kecksburg, PA, to cover the reported landing of an unidentified flying object in the woods near a farmer’s field.

When I arrived, armed soldiers blocked access to what was the reported landing site and I was told that if I ventured into that field, I would be arrested. Yet, the soldier in charge told me that “nothing” had happened.

Fast forward to today. We have with us on the Lean to the Left podcast UFO investigator Stan Gordon, a Pennsylvanian who for these past 59 years has been searching for the truth about what really happened that night.

Stan has been researching UFO sightings, Bigfoot encounters, and other mysterious events in Pennsylvania since 1959, so when the Kecksburg incident occurred, it was right in his wheelhouse.

 He is a former Pennsylvania state director for the Mutual UFO Network and produced the UFO video documentary, “Kecksburg the Untold Story.” He’s written four books, including his latest, “Creepy Cryptids and Strange UFO Encounters of Pennsylvania.”

Back in 2017, Stan invited me to speak at the annual Kecksburg Volunteer Fire Department’s UFO Festival, to recount my experience as a reporter that night. Now, it’s my turn to have him on my show. Here are questions we discussed with Stan: 

Q. So, Stan, tell us what your investigation into the Kecksburg UFO incident has revealed.

Q. What do you believe happened that night?

Q. Eye witnesses said the object appeared to be steered – it just didn’t shoot down from the sky. Do you believe those reports? If it was guided somehow, what does that tell you?

Q. There have been suggestions that this was some sort of military device that might even have been radioactive. Do you believe that?

Q. There’s a replica of the object, which looks like a giant acorn, on display at the Kecksburg Volunteer Fire Department’s grounds. It’s complete with strange markings that some eyewitnesses said they saw. What do you make of that?

Q. Since then, you’ve expanded your research to include other UFO sightings, Bigfoot encounters, and then, of course, you wrote this latest book about “creepy cryptids.” First of all, what is a cryptid?

Q. What’s this research produced in terms of solid information?

Q. You make a lot of public appearances to discuss Kecksburg and these other unexplained happenings. What’s that experience been like? Have people come forward with more info for you?

Q. In fact, you established a UFO hot-line for the public to report UFO sightings so you could investigate them. Is that hotline still in use? What is it? What’s it produced?

Q. How did the Kecksburg UFO incident lead you to expand your work from UFOs to Bigfoot and cryptids?

Q. How can people find your books? How can they reach out to you to discuss or provide information?

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Businessman Michael B. Moore is seeking the Democratic nomination to oppose MAGA Republican Nancy Mace in the 1st CD in South Carolina.

Discover how Moore is carrying the family legacy in South Carolina, seeking to follow in the footsteps of his pioneering great-great-grandfather in Congress 150 years ago.

In 2020, Republican Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina’s First Congressional District, edged out Democratic incumbent Rep. Joe Cunningham…who had been the first Democrat to flip a House seat in South Carolina in 30 years. Mace won by just 5,400 votes, or one percent.

Then, two years ago, following redistricting, Mace won reelection by 14 percent.

Since then, Mace was critical of Trump following the Jan. 6, 2021 MAGA attack on the U.S. Capitol, but she’s endorsed Trump – despite the many criminal charges against him and his conviction for sexually abusing writer E. Jean Carroll in the 1990s.

Now, Moore, a forward-thinking business executive, is one of two Democrats running in the June 11 SC primary for the chance to oppose Mace in November. As he focuses on carrying the family legacy, his opponent in the primary is attorney Mac Deford, whose interview on this podcast is now streaming.

We’re pleased to have Moore with us on the Lean to the Left podcast, but before we get to that, please visit podcast.leantotheleft.net, where you'll find thumbnails and links to all of our episodes. You can subscribe there too. And don't forget to give us a rating wherever you listen. Five stars would be super cool. 

Here are some questions we addressed with Moore, who is carrying the family legacy in SC:

Q. Michael, you come from a long line of pioneering public servants, including your great-great-grandfather, Civil War hero and Reconstruction Era Congressman Robert Smalls. In 1862, Smalls commandeered a Confederate ship in Charleston harbor, carrying his family and 15 other enslaved people to freedom. He went on to become one of the first African Americans to serve in Congress, and now you’re seeking the same House seat held by your great-great-grandfather almost 150 years ago. That’s quite a legacy, Michael. But can you give us a quick summary of your background and why it qualifies you to serve in Congress?

Q. Late last month a federal court ruled that the South Carolina elections will be held under a map already deemed unconstitutional and discriminatory against Black voters by the same three-judge panel that found that the state used race as a proxy for partisan affiliation, a violation of the 14th amendment to the Constitution. Your thoughts about that.

Q. What are your thoughts about Congresswoman Mace supporting Trump after criticizing him for the Jan. 6 insurrection?

Q. What are your top priorities for Congressional action in the next two years?

Q. Your district, District 1, is dependent on tourism, sensitive to climate issues, in need of affordable housing. It’s comprised of varied communities with different needs. If elected, how will you deal with those issues and meet those needs?

Q. How will you address the challenges of healthcare accessibility and affordability?

Q. How do you plan to engage with and represent underrepresented or marginalized groups in our district? Q. Trump and the Republicans are talking about Social Security and Medicare cuts. Your thoughts? Q. Where do you stand on the issue of reproductive rights? Q. What about immigration?

Q. Many voters are frustrated by the inability of Congress to pass legislation in recent years. Some members, including numerous Republicans, are leaving Congress because of their frustration. Why do you believe it will be any different for you?

Q. Why did you decide to take on this challenge? South Carolina isn’t exactly Democrat friendly! And why are you the best candidate to take on Congresswoman Mace? br...

Women are 51 percent of the U.S. population, but only 33 percent of state legislators across the country are women, and the way things are, it could take more than 200 years to reach parity. 

That’s where the organization Vote Run Lead comes in. Its goal is to close that gap, and so has launched an initiative called “Charting a Path to Women’s Majority,” to help achieve that.

Vote Run Lead offers training and even financial help for female candidates for local and state offices, and even U.S. Congress, who support progressive initiatives like fighting restrictions on abortion and contraception and other liberal causes.

The organization's chief political officer, is our guest on the Lean to the Left podcast.

"It's the fact that when you line up the actual population of this country and pretend that the elected representatives we have are actually fully representing those folks. It feels like a joke, right? How can you say that in a state like ... South Carolina, less than 20 percent women [are] speaking on behalf of policies that impact a population that is 51 percent women, is somehow reflective and representative. It just means that, the policymaking and the decision making in government is not actually taking into account the lived experiences and the needs and the values of the full population adequately," Shulman says.

She points out that in Southeastern states that have the fewest women in political, policymaking positions "it is a pocket of some of the most restrictive laws related to women's health care, abortion access, contraceptive access. There's an absolute correlation there of who's making the laws and who those policies are actually serving or not serving."

Vote Run Lead provides both on-line and in-person training for female candidates and campaign management personnel, helping them with every aspect of campaigning for public office, according to Shulman.

"We are a training institute," she explains. "We recruit, we support women once they're running. We are really focusing in on one of our key initiatives is called Run/51. And that has become our largest focus. It is the initiative that is aimed at women's majorities in state legislatures specifically. We're still the political home for any values-aligned woman who is interested in running, but Run/51 is really where we are putting most of our resources to recruit women to run specifically for state legislatures, giving them the training and the confidence and the tools to run a successful campaign and to be with them throughout their political journey."

For more info about Vote Run Lead, Run/51, and the many services provided by the organization, please check out this episode of the Lean to the Left podcast, "Calling Female Candidates."

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-lean-to-the-left-podcast--4719048/support.

In 2020, Republican Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina’s First Congressional District, edged out Democratic incumbent Rep. Joe Cunningham. He was the first Democrat to flip a House seat in South Carolina in 30 years.

Mace won by just 5,400 votes, or one percent. Then, two years ago, following redistricting, Mace won reelection by 14 percent. Since then, Mace was critical of Trump following the Jan. 6, 2021 MAGA-inspired attack on the U.S. Capitol, but she’s endorsed Trump – despite the many criminal charges against him and despite his conviction for sexually abusing writer E. Jean Carroll in the 1990s.

Now, attorney Mac Deford is one of two Democrats running in the June 11 SC primary for the chance to oppose Mace in November. His opponent in the primary is business executive Michael Moore.

We’re pleased to have Deford with us on the Lean to the Left podcast. Here are questions we discussed with Mac:

Q. Late last month a federal court ruled that the South Carolina elections will be held under a map already deemed unconstitutional and discriminatory against Black voters by the same three-judge panel that found that the state used race as a proxy for partisan affiliation, a violation of the 14th amendment to the Constitution. Your thoughts about that.

Q. You’re an attorney, a former Coast Guard Police Officer, and you’ve worked for a software company. You’ve also served as an attorney for Mount Pleasant and Hilton Head Island. If you should win the election, how would this experience inform your service in the House of Representatives?

Q. What are your thoughts about Congresswoman Mace supporting Trump after criticizing him for the Jan. 6 insurrection?

Q. What are your top priorities for Congressional action in the next two years?

Q. Your district, District 1, is dependent on tourism, sensitive to climate issues, in need of affordable housing. It’s comprised of varied communities with different needs. If elected, how will you deal with those issues and meet those needs?

Q. How will you address the challenges of healthcare accessibility and affordability?

Q. How do you plan to engage with and represent underrepresented or marginalized groups in our district? 

Q. Trump and the Republicans are talking about Social Security and Medicare cuts. Your thoughts?

Q. Where do you stand on the issue of reproductive rights?

Q. What about immigration?
 
Q. Many voters are frustrated by the inability of Congress to pass legislation in recent years. Some members, including numerous Republicans, are leaving Congress because of their frustration. Why do you believe it will be any different for you?

Q. Why did you decide to take on this challenge? South Carolina isn’t exactly Democrat friendly!

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-lean-to-the-left-podcast--4719048/support.

Uncover the truth behind 'Greenwashing Lies' and how they mislead consumers. Join the fight against climate change with John Pabon's eye-opening insights. "Greenwashing" lies by governments, businesses, international organizations, and even celebrities mislead consumers and weakens efforts to take meaningful, effective action in the fight against climate change.

That's the message from John Pabon, a Melbourne, Australia climate author and business advisor, who has just published a new book, “The Great Greenwashing: How Corporations, Governments, and Influencers Are Lying to You,” in an interview for The Lean to the Left Podcast.

In fact, says Pabon, "greenspeak", misdirection, and "green scamming" are now more prevalent than ever as even businesses, organizations, and celebrities, who claim to support efforts to protect our environment actually are taking actions that contribute to the climate crisis that we all face.

"Those are the three tried and true ways that greenwashing happens," Pabon says. "So the first is all this marketing speak around being eco friendly, being green. So you'll see green packaging. They love to do that as if that means anything or saying, we, we care about the earth, but not backing it up with any real meaningful statistics." That's "greenspeak."

"Misdirection is another," he says. "So look over here, not over here. Look at this cute picture of kids on the front of our sustainability report, but not the child labor we have going on in Bangladesh, right? Don't look at that part. So then that's another way they love to do that."

"And the final way is green scamming. And this is the most insidious and probably the scariest part of greenwashing that I didn't even know was going on, but big cashed up organizations, usually the big dinosaurs like oil and gas, they'll actually fund front groups that on the surface look like they're doing something good for the planet, but really they're lobbying groups to throw people off the scent."

Such groups, he says, discredit climate change, "posing as if they are scientists and expecting nobody to actually do the research and realize these aren't scientists. These are marketing teams pushing out BS statistics," he says.

Here are some surprising conclusions shared by Pabon during the interview:

The climate crisis is too serious for "kumbaya", "feel-good" claims about progress being made. "Converting people to actual action is the missing piece." He's disappointed in climate efforts of the Biden administration, saying "they've not had a strong a performance as one would assume those from the left hand side of the political spectrum would actually have had."

To uncover greenwashing lies, consumers should research "green" claims before purchasing related products or supporting candidates.

Consumers can make a big difference in the choices they make. "We're not talking about having to do everything all at once. You don't have to be a perfect environmentalist, just making these actions that move the needle in the right direction. That's good enough. There's plenty, there's billions of other people doing the right thing. You don't have to do it all."

Some major car companies, which he declined to identify, are looking to the future and considering how they can diversify so they are not exclusively reliant on selling motor vehicles. Responsible businesses will do more than government to effectively combat global warming. 

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