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Author: Kit

Kit is a gonzo journalist from Austin, Texas.

Upcoming Zine: Beyond The Concrete MilkshakePhoto: A chocolate milkshake in a mason jar, garnished with whip cream and chocolate sauce. The shake is artfully photographed in a moodily lit room, with a streak of light behind it.
Kit's upcoming zine "Beyond the Concrete Milkshake," due out in late March or April 2020 will detail nonviolent techniques for dealing with media trolls and grifters at protests and other movement events. (Vince Fleming / Unsplash, public domain)
February 24, 2020
Kit
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Upcoming Zine: Beyond The Concrete Milkshake

Posted in Journalism, Occupy Wall Street, and Zines

I’m pleased to announce the upcoming publication of a new zine, “Beyond the Concrete Milkshake: Tactics for Dealing with Media Trolls & Grifters.”

At the beginning of the year, I announced on Patreon that one of my goals for 2020 was the creation of a zine. I’ve made great progress and intend to publish by late March or early April.

One side effect of the first few years of the Donald Trump administration, with all its associated increase in far-right activity, is a hijacking of Leftist tactics for use by fascist causes. One clear example is the banner drop. Once beloved primarily by far left activists, this technique now sees regular groups by nazi and hyper-nationalist fascist groups. So too it is with the media grifter.

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Activism & Shared Social Media: How Can We Close The ‘Occupy Hole’?An activist waves a yellow and black Occupy Wall Street flag in New York City on March 23, 2012.
An activist waves a yellow and black Occupy Wall Street flag in New York City on March 23, 2012. (Flickr / B.C. Lorio, under a CC NC ND license)
February 17, 2020
Kit
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Activism & Shared Social Media: How Can We Close The ‘Occupy Hole’?

Posted in Creative Commons, Journalism, and Occupy Wall Street

I got quoted in an article about Micah White, the self-styled “Occupy Founder” that recently spent time hob-nobbing with the 1% at Davos. In passing, the article covered another issue: the problem of stolen shared social media accounts during the Occupy Wall Street movement.

During the national Occupy movement, it became routine to hear about camps with a stolen Facebook or Twitter account. One person would get into a disagreement with the rest of the social media working group and run off with the whole account.

When this happens with a commercial business, or a nonprofit or any undertaking that’s conventionally organized under capitalism, the owner can prove ownership of the account and get Twitter to give it back. With a leaderless movement like Occupy, you and your comrades are on your own.

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Announcing: The Virtual Gonzo Zine LibraryA large zine library in Denver, with rows of paper zines in magazine holders, organized by subject and alphabet.
Photo: A large zine library in Denver, with rows of paper zines in magazine holders, organized by subject and alphabet. August 26, 2010. (By Elly Blue on Flickr under a CC-NC-ND license.)
January 21, 2020
Kit
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Announcing: The Virtual Gonzo Zine Library

Posted in Zines

As part of my goal to create more zines, I want to read more zines.

I really believe some of the most useful radical political thinking, and activist strategy, appears in the pages of these self-published pamphlets.

I’ve decided to curate a regular list of new, interesting, or notable zines. I’m aiming to share this list twice a year (or more often if I get really ambitious). It will be similar to the zine list I curated for the Antifascist Month of Unity in October.

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FDA Warning Letters Hint At Future Of CBD RegulationPhoto: A white woman in a lab coat helps a white man with many tattoos, wearing a black t-shirt, select a CBD oil product in a dispensary.
Currently, the FDA doesn't regulate CBD products. But that could change someday soon. (Pixabay / altika, public domain)
December 23, 2019
Kit
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FDA Warning Letters Hint At Future Of CBD Regulation

Posted in Journalism, and Ministry of Hemp

Even as CBD’s popularity grows, so does confusion about its legal status and the Food and Drug Administration’s handling of CBD. In reality, the FDA currently does not regulate CBD.

In December, the FDA issued a “consumer update” about the safety CBD. The administration also sent 15 warning letters to CBD brands around the same time. This only added to the tension and confusion. Is CBD safe? Is it legal?

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The Felony Ban Is Hemp Legalization’s ‘Original Sin’A hemp leaf rests on a background of rough paper made from hemp or another natural textile.
The felony ban in the 2018 Farm Bill perpetuates the racism of the War on Drugs in the new legal hemp industry. (Photo: Pixabay / Wild0ne, public domain)
November 13, 2019
Kit
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The Felony Ban Is Hemp Legalization’s ‘Original Sin’

Posted in Hemp Magazine, and Journalism

My article on the “felony ban” in the law that legalized hemp in the United States was published in issue 7 of Hemp Magazine.

The felony ban in the 2018 Farm Bill perpetuates the racism of the War On Drugs in the new legal hemp industry. Under the law, many people with drug felonies are banned from being a producer in the hemp industry. At least one state even bans people with drug misdemeanors.

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Hemp Growing Licenses Up In 2019, But How Much Hemp Really Grew?While hemp growing licenses were way up in 2019, it's unclear how much hemp successfully harvested. Photo: A pair of cannabis plants growing outdoors in a field.
November 11, 2019
Kit
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Hemp Growing Licenses Up In 2019, But How Much Hemp Really Grew?

Posted in Journalism, and Ministry of Hemp

A look at the total number of hemp growing licenses issued this year gives us an important glimpse into the rapidly growing hemp industry.

More people than ever are interested in growing hemp now that the crop is legal. An amendment to the 2018 Farm Bill legalized hemp after decades of prohibition. Even though the Department of Agriculture didn’t issue formal hemp growing guidelines until late October, interest in the crop is already booming.

According to a report by Vote Hemp, U.S. states issued 16,877 hemp growing licenses in 2019, across 34 states, for a total of 511,442 licensed acres. From these numbers, we can learn a lot about the state of hemp in America, and what’s going right or wrong.

Read moreHemp Growing Licenses Up In 2019, But How Much Hemp Really Grew?