Mni Wiconi

Here on the show we sometimes talk about uncomfortable and hard truths.  Well here is another one and I'm just going to throw it out there on Main St., America has  a really horrible record when it comes to it's relationship with it's indigenous peoples.  The record is long and tragic.  A few of the lowlights are: countless broken treaties, the consequences due to Manifest Destiny, Andrew Jackson's Trail Of Tears, brutal forced migrations to hellish reservations, the camp at Little Big Horn,  giving tribes smallpox infected blankets, Wounded Knee, the retaliations to the AIM movement in 1973, and the latest hit rising in the charts like a rocket, Standing Rock.

Standing Rock is fast turning into a national shame.  In the interests of corporate greed and the almighty Dollar,  the Dakota Access Pipeline threatens sacred tribal sites and tribal water resources ie. the Missouri River.  Instead of debate and dialog, Energy Transfer Partners, the company that is building the pipeline moved in private security firms to enforce their agenda and in the process manhandled and even in some cases used trained attack dogs.

As tensions have flared and we've seen an escalation in recent days, Morton County Sheriffs have pepper sprayed protesters while also using rubber bullets and water cannons in sub freezing temperatures.  So I ask myself and you a profound rhetorical question, "what are we going to do about it ??"  While we mull it over I would like to say a phrase that I would like for you to sear into, and permeate around in your brain box.

Mni Wiconi

Mni Wiconi in the Lakota language means "Water Is Life".  As essential as the air we breathe and the food we eat to sustain our human existence, water is just as fundamental. Heck, we are 65% made up of water, if we don't have water we die, as simple as that.  Factor also into the equation, that to create this pipeline means impeding upon and desecrating sacred tribal sites, sites that have been considered holy to Native Americans since before white Europeans first set foot onto the continent.

Let's go back to that question "what are we going to do about it ??".  It turns out that there is a lot we can do about it.  First of all we can pick up our phones and call our elected representatives, from the White House on down to our local representatives in congress, those fine people who we voted for to go about the people's business.  I believe in strength in numbers, I believe that if enough of us call and write letters, e-mail, sign petitions, we can bring enough pressure to bear to effect meaningful change.  If it is at all possible for you to travel to North Dakota to help protest then please do so.

But time is of the essence and I'm afraid that the timer runs out on January 20th.  You see, our President-Elect Donald J. Trump owns stock in the company "Energy Transfer Partners" which is building the Dakota Access Pipeline.  He has a vested interest that the pipeline gets built and the project gets completed.  If we are to have any success in stopping the desecration it will have to be done while President Obama is still in office.

When I was young and I read history books in school I would read about the past and say to myself, "well if I was living back then I wouldn't have done anything like that", or "if I was alive then I would have done things differently".  This is the moment and our time is now, history will judge us on if we took a stand or we simply turned our heads and ignored the cries of our brothers and sisters.

Mni Wiconi.

Post Election Thoughts & Pep Talk.

I think it's fair to say that for the majority of us it came as a huge seismic shock as we sat hunkered down in front of our TV's surrounded by our friends and loved ones witnessing what took place on election evening. It took me a little while to digest the altered national political landscape and to sift through the data and try to make sense of it all.

What did I come away with?? Well, I came away with this...... Heart beat the machine. For much of this general election we heard often that the ground game organizational machine of the Democratic Party and the Clinton campaign would carry the day in an increasingly tight race. Another term we heard frequently was "enthusiasm gap", that term being used to describe the gulf between one party's rabid vociferous support versus a more cooler moderated tone from the other side. As misguided as it is, no one can deny that those who like and support Trump aren't shy about that fact, and they will go to great lengths to make sure everybody knows it. Now I'm not saying that those who like me voted for Hillary don't feel just as passionate about our belief in our candidate, I'm not saying that at all. I am saying that it is a little more complex than that. The will of the heart will always outdo the machine. We saw that in 2008 and it's just as valid now. There are some hard truths here that we have got to come to terms with if we are to learn from this.

The first hard truth is that there are a whole lot of people out there that frankly don't like Hillary Clinton and haven't for a very long time. I voted for Hillary because I honestly think that she is more qualified, has a better temperament, and is a vastly better candidate than Trump, and if you have listened at all to the show you know that.

The second hard truth is that the Democratic Party has lost it's connection to the average blue collar working class American. Usual blue states such as Michigan, Wisconsin, and even Pennsylvania turned red in this election. Blue collar union workers for decades have been the backbone of the Democrats, and sadly their cries stemming from deep economic woes have gone largely unheard.

The third hard truth is that the leadership of the DNC has failed, failed to hear those warning signs from middle america, failed to hear different opinions from the different wings within the party. They failed to hear the voices of Vice President Joe Biden who for the last year tried to bring more awareness about the plight of working men and women. They failed to hear the voices of advocates and activists such as Filmmaker Michael Moore who's latest film "Michael Moore in Trumpland" was literally a flashcard held up to us all. And the biggest voice they failed to hear was the clarion call of Bernie Sanders. Bernie's candidacy and crusade is a bright light that resonates with millennials, us Gen X'ers, and everyone who is tired of taking it in the shorts from Big Money, Big Pharma, and the 1%'ers.

What we need as progressives to do is take these hard truths to heart. Yes, it's a bitter pill, but we will be much better for this and come out the other side focused and ready for the challenges ahead in the the next 4 years.

Now that we've heard the hard news, let's get to the inspirational portion of this monologue. I know there are a lot of us out there tonight who are scared. There are those out there tonight scared that they are going to be thrown out of the country, scared that their marriage is going to be invalidated, scared that women are no longer going to be in control over their reproductive rights, scared that they will be persecuted over the color of their skin, what their faith is, who they choose to love.

As scary as all that is, and believe me I know it's scary, we have something on our side. Math. Math can comfort us in our time of need. It let's us know that we're not alone. For example, did you know that more people voted for Hillary Clinton than Donald Trump. Yes, and if this election was a popularity contest, Hillary would've won. Sorry GOP'ers, I know for this campaign you've lived in a fact free zone but numbers don't and can't lie.

There is strength in numbers, it isn't just a cliche and we're going to need numbers and yes heart, over the next 4 years. Tuesday night I went to sleep depressed, depressed and confused. Wednesday I woke up determined and fired up. The upcoming struggle is going to be fought in the arena of principles and ideals. What can I do, you do, we all do ?? Get involved.... Get active in your own community, get involved with a non profit organization. Go down to your local democratic party headquarters and tell them you want to volunteer and help. Organize, advocate, let your voice be heard. But also listen. Listen to those who think differently than you. Don't mock (let me do that) and engage in a dialogue. Give this machine a heart, let it be known that there is a alternative to the hate and bigotry of the right. Have empathy, let them know you understand and feel for how tough things are right now. In these numbers, we can move mountains and we can make progress towards a future where the populist demagoguery of Trumpism will be read in history books with disdain.

Final Pre-Election Thoughts

Take a deep cleansing breath folks, we're almost at the end of this campaign season. It has been a long slog through the mires of negativity and hate. It has made us feel that we almost needed a bio hazard suit and a long shower to wash off the political dirt. Do me a favor though before you start the decontaminating process, VOTE. We are at a bell weather, fork in the road moment in American history. This election is a referendum on our values and on what kind of country we are going to be. This isn't just rhetorical hyperbole here, this is literally a pivotal moment which could have deep and momentous impact on our country, our society, and our loved ones. We have seen a presidential campaign unlike any other before, and this is coming from someone who was a history major in college.

Millennials, I want to talk to you for a minute. For many of you this is your first or second chance to vote, to make your voices heard. If you don't vote, your voice won't be heard. If you are silent, which voice will fill the silence? Will this voice be a voice of hate and division? Will it demean and malign those who may have a different skin color, a different gender, someone disabled? Will this voice speak of changing your reproductive rights? Or marriage equality? After you do your soul searching.... VOTE.

And I want to talk to those who don't think that this is a big deal. You may be thinking "I hate politics, they both suck and you know, my vote doesn't matter". You may be listening to this and thinking about what reality TV show you're going watch later. Am I being a little snarky here? Yeah I guess I am, but if you don't vote, you may wake up Wednesday morning with a new dark reality, and more crappy reality than you know what to do with.

Lastly, I want to talk to those who aren't going to vote at all. If you don't exercise your franchise then I don't want to hear one whiny word out of you. As far as I'm concerned you should sit in the corner the next four years thinking about how close you came to having Cheetos Hitler as your president. If he does win, then you are really in the proverbial dog house. You saw this coming and you still decided to sit this one out.

So take a deep breath people, it's almost over. We can see the light at the end of the tunnel, so VOTE to make sure that the light at the end of the tunnel isn't a train coming the other way.

Brother Bell

Doug Bell, a friend and the co-host of this show passed away this last week at the age of 47. The doctors said that he suffered a heart attack and most likely had severe brain damage as a result of no pulse and not breathing for a significant amount of time. As a few personal friends knew, Doug had been staying with me for about a month and was making good strides towards getting his life back on track. I was the person who found Doug with no pulse and not breathing and preformed CPR until the paramedics arrived. Doug never regained consciousness and was on life support for a week until he passed away.

I first met Doug a little over 3 years ago when we were both in Integrated Media out at Mount Hood Community College. We instantly bonded because of his brilliant sardonic sense of humor coupled with our mutual appreciation of obscure and arcane pop culture knowledge. I knew very early on that if I ever wanted to do a 2nd radio show, I would want to do a show with Doug. This last year I underwent a political reawakening as I saw what was afoot around the country and actively thought about the possibility of starting and building a new show that would spotlight and advocate for progressive causes and ideals. The first person I talked to about this was Doug and he enthusiastically came aboard and shared that overall vision we had for the show. With Doug's past experiences, overall philosophies, and his deep rooted belief in God, I started giving him the moniker of Brother Bell. Brother Bell, the bearded peaceable, charismatic sage who instilled a powerful, inspiring optimism that made you feel that no matter how much of the pablum was hitting the oscillating blades that everything, everything would turn out alright. I most admired his belief in a hands on, in the trenches, hammer swinging advocacy.

I believe in what we were and are trying to do here and I have decided that I will continue to do the show and continue with the vision and mission that we set out to do. I am going to make a cardinal sin in radio here, something that you are never to do, the cardinal sin of "dead air". We are going to have a moment of silence for my co-host, my friend, and my brother, Brother Bell.