Crawdads and Taters: Red State Rebels Erin McCarley and Birrion Sondahl

In this episode, we talk again about Fascism because we have entered into a Primary Election cycle where leftists of all stripes will once again be cajoled, harassed and even trolled by the neoliberal establishment to Vote Blue No Matter Who– in order to avoid Donald Trump and “Fascism.” 

Many liberals feel entitled to attack leftists at election time because by their shallow, liberal definition, fascism is simply a right-wing ideology that is embodied by Donald Trump. But what the liberal establishment fails to understand time and time again is that fascism is not just an ideological project, but it is economic and political project, which is the inevitable result of working-class repression under neoliberal capitalism.

Looking at fascism's economic and political roots, we can see that what is actually pushing the world toward fascism is not simply a bunch of right-wing ideologues who just appeared out of nowhere. The breeding ground for fascism, the underlying conditions for fascism, rest within a global capitalist economic structure where the transnational capitalist class helps decide government agendas… the Military Industrial Complex, Big Oil, Big Pharma…  These are transnational entities whose profit mandates influence and control government policies.

And this kind of global political economy not only leads to huge concentrations of wealth at the very top of society. It also leads to mass poverty at the bottom– all over the world. And this social inequality breeds class war, which results in a perfect breeding ground for the ideology of fascism to take hold. So voting for Joe Biden will not stop fascism. And until we address the root causes of fascism, we will not be able to reverse this counter-revolutionary cycle.



Reading Notes:

Delving into John Pilger’s 2002 documentary: 'Palestine is still the issue'

The Question of Palestine- A Brief History- by the United Nations

Netanyahu’s corruption trial resumes amid Israeli war on Gaza. What to know

Poverty rates in Israel are among the highest - opinion

One-third of Israeli Holocaust survivors live in poverty, advocates say

The top 1% captured nearly twice as much new wealth as the rest of the world over last two years

Poll finds wide disapproval of Biden on Gaza, and little room to shift gears

Global Capitalism Has Become Dependent on War-Making to Sustain Itself by William I. Robinson

Antony Loewenstein explains how the “Palestine Laboratory” fuels brutal wars and colonialism all over the world

Israeli weapon seen used by Neo-Nazi Ukrainian unit against Russia

Palestine: a communist perspective

Israeli estate agent defends ads offering beachfront villas in Gaza

Please consider making an urgently-needed donation to Crawdads & Taters, as we are ramping up coverage during this genocide. As we find ourselves in the midst of an information war, where critical voices are being censored, banned and bombed, we need your support now more than ever. Please become a subscriber for as little as $3/month at patreon.com/crawdadsandtaters.



Episode Description:

As the official death toll in Gaza soars to more than 8,500, with 5,500 children likely dead, and US-backed Israel prepares for a ground invasion, we bring you Part 2 of our analysis of the forces at work behind this genocide.

Today, we discuss Biden's complicity with war crimes, his unwavering support for Israel, and Biden's history as a Zionist. We define Zionism, and we use a lens of Settler Colonialism, Zionism and Disaster Capitalism for understanding what Israel and the United States are now executing.

We also shine a light on Israel's future capitalist development plans for a canal/corridor, and look at how these plans may be connected to the genocide happening in Gaza.

As socialists, we understand how capitalism's plans for endless expansion require constant war, genocide and the destruction of nature, and the brutal oppression of the world's most vulnerable.

We offer you a list of media resources to stay informed, as non-coporate, anti-war voices are being banned, censored, and bombed.



Reading Notes



Global Capitalism Has Become Dependent on War-Making to Sustain Itself | Truthout



Peace Propaganda And The Promised Land U.S Media & the Israeli Palestinian Conflict 2004



Chris Hedges - Exterminate all the Brutes



Noura Erakat: Western Leaders & Media Are Justifying Israel’s “Genocidal Campaign” Against Palestinians | Democracy Now!



BDS Movement 



'Peace between Israel and Saudi Arabia will truly create a new Middle East': Netanyahu



Al Jazeera



Mondoweiss



The Grayzone 



MintPress News



“Not in Our Name”: 400 Arrested at Jewish-Led Sit-in at NYC’s Grand Central Demanding Gaza Ceasefire | Democracy Now! 



Gaza Fights For Freedom (2019) | Full Documentary | Directed by Abby Martin 

In Part One one of our series on Palestine, we review the horrific events since October 7th as the death toll in Gaza reaches nearly 6,000.

We analyze the US role in funding and providing political cover for Israeli settler colonialism, apartheid and genocide in the occupied territories of Palestine.

We explore the history of Israel as a settler colonial regime that began in 1948.

We hear from various Jewish voices for peace- Dr. Norman Finkelstein, Holocaust survivor Dr. Gabor Maté, Jewish Voices for Peace as well as historians of holocaust and genocide who describe why what's happening now in Gaza is a textbook definition of genocide.

We explore the history of the Zionist land claim on Palestine and deconstruct it through a settler-colonialist lens.

And we discuss Palestinian attempts at non-violent resistance that have been met with mass murder and extreme violence.

Stay tuned for Part Two of this series coming later this week.

We are in the midst of an information war, where non-corporate and independent voices are being highly suppressed and censored. Please support our work and become a subscriber at patreon.com/crawdadsandtaters so that we can continue to bring you independent news and analysis from a socialist lens. For as little as $5/month, you can keep us up and running!! Thank you!!!


Reading Notes:

Israel Has No Right of Self-Defense Against Gaza 

Gaza’s terrified children all too aware Israel’s bombs steal their joy

Hostilities in the Gaza Strip and Israel | Flash Update #17 | United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs - occupied Palestinian territory

800+ Legal Scholars Say Israel May Be Perpetrating 'Crime of Genocide' in GazaGaza by Norman Finkelstein - Paperback - University of California Press

The roots of Israel's ethnic cleansing in Gaza

US opposes peace as Israel ethnically cleanses Palestinians, waging war on ‘entire nation’ of Gaza

Outrage spreads across Middle East after attack on Gaza hospital

Decolonization is always a violent phenomenon. Would that it were otherwise.

Dr. Gabor Maté on Palestine

As of recording this episode, the Hollywood Labor Strike is entering its seventh week. It's the first time actors and screenwriters have been on strike together since 1960. And while 87 percent of SAG-AFTRA union members make less than $26,000/year, Barbie and Oppenheimer, together, have so far grossed $1.83 billion at the box office. This is the real-life backdrop for the release of these two summer blockbuster movies.

In this episode, we focus on Hollywood's treatment of the atomic bomb in its recent blockbuster film, Oppenheimer. Because of the narrow focus of this film on Oppenheimer, the man, we feel it extremely urgent and necessary to teach a deeper history of the global and historical impacts of US nuclear proliferation.

According to the Union of Atomic Scientists, the doomsday clock is closer to midnight now (that is, closer to nuclear doomsday) than it’s ever been in human history. The United States has approved more than $120 billion (and counting) to Ukraine to fight a proxy war against Russia, while ramping up its hostile Cold War rhetoric against China. This corporate-backed government is taking us closer and closer to the brink of nuclear war with these two major nuclear superpowers. And it's important to remember that there’s only country in the world that has ever used a nuclear bomb against civilians, and that country is the United States.

At this incredibly volatile point in world history, we find many of Oppenheimer's historical omissions to be unforgivable. As entertaining as the film is, it is not the anti-war film that US audiences need in order to catalyze an anti-war movement and avoid WWIII. And given that so many people use Hollywood and the mass media as their main information source for US History, we feel compelled to clarify the historical record.

So join us for another episode, and become a patron at patreon.com/crawdadsandtaters.



Reading Notes

Is Hollywood Still Afraid of the Truth About the Atomic Bomb?: Greg Mitchell on “Oppenheimer”

Oppenheimer: The Real Plan for U.S. Nuclear Domination, Then and Now

NMPBS: ‘Forever chemicals’ found at Los Alamos

Concerned Citizens for Nuclear Safety: Is Our Drinking Water Safe?

Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium: “Unknowing, Unwilling, and Uncompensated: The Effects of the Trinity Test on New Mexicans and the Potential
Benefits of Radiation Exposure Compensation Act

Revealed: How U.S. Gov’t & Hollywood Secretly Worked Together to Justify Atomic Bombings of Japan | Democracy Now!

The War Was Won Before Hiroshima—And the Generals Who Dropped the Bomb Knew It | The Nation

Downfall - Howard Zinn

Foreign Relations of the United States: Diplomatic Papers, The Conference of Berlin (The Potsdam Conference), 1945, Volume I - Office of the Historian

Atomic Bomb Museum: Counting the Dead

The Holocaust and World War II: Key Dates

Geopolitical Economy Report: Atomic bombing of Japan was NOT necessary to end WWII. US gov't documents admit it

Hollywood Studios’ WGA Strike Endgame Is To Let Writers Go Broke Before Resuming Talks In Fall

In this episode, we explore the manufactured debt-ceiling crisis of June 2023. Sold to the US public as a financial emergency that required immediate action in order to avoid impending doom and "the scourge of default," we look at what the debt-ceiling negotiations actually resulted in: a giant cash giveaway to big business, the war industry, fossil fuel companies and the ruling class. While feigning the need to cut federal spending across the board, military spending and funding for fossil fuel projects actually increased, while the US government slashed the budgets of the minuscule federal food stamp program and ended student debt relief. In addition, the bipartisan debt-ceiling deal included the legislative fast-tracking some of the most protested and lethal pipelines to people and the planet.

As the corporate duopoly marches in lockstep in their war on the working class, the poor, and the planet, there was almost no corporate media analysis of this phony crisis and the giant financial gift to the one-percent that resulted from these debt-ceiling negotiations, which is why we provide you with a deeper analysis here.



If you appreciate our in-depth reporting and analysis, please support our work and become a patron today at patreon.com/crawdadsandtaters.





Show notes:


Ben Norton: Debt ceiling hypocrisy: US boosts military budget while restricting food stamps for poor
CNN: Hear why Cornel West is running as a third-party candidate
Insider News: The debt ceiling deal could lead to 750,000 older Americans losing SNAP benefits
Appalachian Voices: Mountain Valley Pipeline
Democracy Now: David Sirota: Working Class Will Be “Deeply Harmed” by Biden’s “Big Win” on Debt Ceiling
DemocracyNow: ⁠“Turning His Back on Student Debtors”: Biden’s Debt Deal Ends Freeze on Loan Payments for Millions⁠
The Guardian: Protesters to march on White House as anger mounts over Appalachia pipeline
Oil Change International: ⁠The Mountain Valley Pipeline: Greenhouse Gas Emissions Briefing⁠
Center for Biological Diversity: Biden Sacrifices Climate, Working Families in Debt Ceiling Deal

In this episode, we take a deep look at the Norfolk Southern train derailment in Palestine, Ohio on Feb. 3rd, and how this incident is connected to the corporate management of the railways– a topic that we dove into, in depth, in our last episode, Off The Rails.

The United States averages 1,700 train derailments per year. Since the disaster in East Palestine, there have been dozens more derailments to date. Norfolk Southern averages approximately 164 derailments and three hazardous material releases per year. This Ohio disaster was only exceptional–only widely reported – because of the incredibly dramatic, visceral and toxic nature of the event - a two-mile-long “bomb train” of 141 cars, holding up to 32,000 gallons each of highly flammable toxic chemicals. In addition to the spill, an out-of-control fire raged for days afterwards, sending the cargo up into a giant mushroom cloud above a small Ohio town of some 5,000 residents.

As East Palestine residents continue their battles with toxicity-related illnesses-- headaches, nausea, rashes, and chemical pneumonia, we look at the response from the Biden Administration, the Transportation Secretary, former President Trump, and compare these responses to the donations that both parties have received directly from Norfolk Southern.

On President's Day, the Proud Boys handed out water to Ohio victims whose water was poisoned. Trump promised Palestine residents they would not be forgotten. And Biden went to Ukraine to sell more weapons. It is in this upside-down world, we feel compelled to examine how Democratic failures to fight for the working-class continually create a vacuum and an opening for fascism.

And finally, we talk about what Railroad Workers United is still demanding after all these months- nationalization of the railroads. Perhaps this could be a first step on the path toward socialism.





Links

Chris Hedges: The Age of Social Murder - scheerpost.com

Music - The Revolutionary Communist Progressive Labor Party

Support Public Ownership of the Railroads

Pete Plays IDENTITY POLITICS While Failing at His Job 

The Ohio Train Disaster: Corporate Greed & Regulatory Failure | The Problem With Jon Stewart Podcast

Norfolk Southern BAILS on Town Hall in East Palestine

Corporate Greed and Deregulation Fuel Threat of More Bomb Trains as East Palestine Demands Answers | Democracy Now! 

Dems STRUGGLE to Defend Biden as Trump Plans East Palestine Visit - w/ Punch Up Pod

Outraged Ohio residents erupt at town hall: 'Where's Pete Buttigieg?'

East Palestine derailment aftermath: How worried should people be? 

A History of Norfolk Southern Train Crash Reports - Columbus Underground 

Spilled drink: train derails beside Montana river, tipping out cases of beer

Raymond, Minnesota, train derailment: Cars carrying ethanol rupture and ignite. Now crews assess 3 more cars with highly flammable material | CNN

Union Pacific reopens Cima Subdivision after derailment of runaway iron ore train

Train derails in rural North Dakota and spills chemicals | AP News