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Tag: History

Gonzo Notes: The Left’s Texas Problem

Posted in Activism, Austin, Gonzo Notes, and Journalism

The American left has a Texas problem. 

Really, it’s a problem of Red vs. Blue. I’m not talking about the problem with treating decisions about how we govern society as if it was a horse race, or between teams at a sporting event. What I’m thinking about today — in the spirit of  deescalating every conflict that isn’t with our true enemies (thank you, Margaret Killjoy) — is the way misconceptions about who lives in Texas, and how we vote, encourage an attitude of disposability and dehumanization.

As a Texas journalist, one cornerstone of my work has been making people understand that what happens in this state is relevant to them, even if they live outside of it. Southern states like Texas have been a laboratory for so much of the Republican policy that’s now being implemented nationwide by the Trump regime. More so, the lives of people here matter a great deal to me, and they should matter to you too.

So why do I see liberals from other states who are willing, even eager, to abandon the people who live here?

Before ‘Lawrence’: From Sodomy to Queer Liberation

Posted in Journalism, Media, Reviews, and The Texas Observer

On August 17, 1982, LGBTQ+ Texans celebrated “Gayteenth,” as activists called it at the time—a reference to Juneteenth, which commemorates news of slavery’s end reaching Texas. On that day in Dallas, a district court judge ruled in favor of plaintiff Don Baker in Baker v. Wade, declaring our state’s sodomy law unconstitutional. Baker, who lost his job with the Dallas Independent School District after coming out on TV, had sued the state for violating his right to privacy and equal protection under the laws.

“I want gay people in Texas to understand that this is their victory—that they should internalize this and feel good about themselves,” declared Baker, who became a figurehead of the struggle to decriminalize queer relationships.

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the decision. The Supreme Court, which had recently ruled such laws constitutional in Bowers v. Harwick, declined to hear the case. Anti-sodomy laws in Texas and elsewhere would remain on the books and in effect until Lawrence v. Texas 21 years later.

How The Media Fueled The Early War On Drugs

Posted in Journalism

Honeysuckle Magazine published my article on the early history of the drug war in the media under their “Honeysuckle Magazine’s Honeypot” imprint.

Using Able-Bodied Privilege To Defend Healthcare & Human Rights

Posted in Act Out!, Creative Commons, Journalism, and Video

They’re loud, they’re fierce, and they’d rather risk death than see their — and your — health care get cut.

You’ve probably seen stories about protesters torn from their wheelchairs as they shut down Senators’ offices, resisting the devastating new Republican “health care” plan that would push even more people into ill health, bankruptcy and death.

To give you a rough idea of how many — there are currently about 29 million people uninsured under the ACA — although many who are insured still suffer from the economic burdens of trying to stay alive. That number may drop a bit by 2026 but under the proposed AHCA, revised or not, more than 50 million people would be uninsured. And we’ll get to what third option would leave no one insured but first, let’s circle back to these protests.

Organized under the hashtag #ADAPTandResist, they have spread across the U.S., from Capitol Hill to legislator’s offices around the country. We’ve all been justifiably horrified to see people defending their right to health care literally dragged to jail, and sometimes bloodied in the process. But as with anyone who places their body squarely in the path of the powers that be, these protesters don’t want our pity, they want our solidarity — because this is a struggle we should all take part in.

They also aren’t new to this struggle either — actually, disability rights advocates from groups like ADAPT are some of the fiercest, and most effective activists around, and they’ve literally transformed the world you live in, to everyone’s benefit.

The Democrats’ ‘Resistance Summer’ Is Really Resistance To Change

Posted in Act Out!, Creative Commons, Journalism, and Video

We’ve got a hot summer ahead, and I don’t just mean record-breaking temperatures thanks to climate change.

Assuming the fuck-ups in the GOP clown car, currently careening out of control across our nation, can get their act together, we’re poised to see devastating legislation targeting some of the most vulnerable people in America. People are angry, and ready to active against the system, in a way we haven’t seen in years.

And huddling in corner number two — are the Democrats. And despite their feeble attempts at both resistance and distinct alternatives, their proposed “Resistance Summer” is designed to attract new activists and bring a flood of new liberal voters to the polls in upcoming elections.

Despite the catchy, chic, goes-with-a-beach-tote name, we’ve seen this sort of thing before from the Democrats. Indeed, while the party claims to support progressive causes, Democrats have a long history of sucking the life out of grassroots movements, taking their momentum for revolutionary change and directing the energy back into the American status quo at the ballot box.

Donald Trump’s Budget, The Disappearance Of ‘Hemp For Victory’ (Black Tower Radio Interview)

Posted in Audio, Journalism, Lee Camp, and Ministry of Hemp

On the first Wednesday of every month, I appear on Black Tower Radio to discuss my latest journalism.

Donald Trump’s proposed budget would hurt the poor young people, the disabled, and children the most. How can people like this claim to be “pro-life” with a straight face?

Also discussed: How the USDA made “Hemp For Victory” to encourage patriotic hemp growing, and then made the same film disappear after World War II. Hemp growing is returning to the USA, but slowly — what’s keeping it from booming?