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Tag: Media appearances

Texas Legislature Special Session, Activism & Respect For Politicians (Black Tower Radio)
Activists in pink t-shirts enter the Texas House on on a day of lobbying for Planned Parenthood. July 31, 2017. (Kit O'Connell, Creative Commons license)
August 2, 2017
Kit
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Texas Legislature Special Session, Activism & Respect For Politicians (Black Tower Radio)

Posted in Audio, Austin, Gonzo Notes, and Journalism

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

Texas Republicans ensured that the legislature would close earlier this year with crucial business unfinished, forcing Gov. Greg Abbott to call for a special session that reopens the door to unpopular issues like new abortion restrictions, attacks on transgender rights, and even new laws restricting unions, Planned Parenthood, and the protection of historic trees.

Also, what respect do we owe politicians and government officials? What kinds of activism are appropriate when human lives and the planet are at stake?

Read moreTexas Legislature Special Session, Activism & Respect For Politicians (Black Tower Radio)
Fighting Back At The Texas Legislature: A Conversation With Katie Klabusich
Young activists at the Texas Legislature hold signs including "Girls just want to have FUNdamental Human Rights" and "Nacho Uterus." (Kit O'Connell, CC license)
July 24, 2017
Kit
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Fighting Back At The Texas Legislature: A Conversation With Katie Klabusich

Posted in Audio, Austin, and Journalism

I just made my second appearance on the Katie Speak Show, where I talked about activism at the Texas Legislature:

The show’s host, Katie Klabusich, and I discussed the special session of the Legislature, which began last week, and the strategies Governor Greg Abbott is using to try to force through a raft of unpopular, inhumane laws. On the agenda during the next month are abortion access, transgender rights, the ability of unions to collect dues, even cities’ ability to protect historic trees from development.

At the same time, about three dozen nonprofits and activist groups have combined to form the One Texas Resistance coalition, in an effort to pool their efforts at resistance together and highlight the intersectionality of their diverse issues, from climate change to the rights of Latinx Texans. Last week’s highly publicized quinceañera protest was organized by Jolt, a member of the coalition. These tactics, and their successes or failures, can likely serve as a model for the rest of the country which is also controlled by the power hungry and bigoted GOP.

Read moreFighting Back At The Texas Legislature: A Conversation With Katie Klabusich
What Is Hempcrete? And Democrats Resistance To Change (Black Tower Radio Interview)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 Streeet flag in New York City on March 23, 2012. (Flickr / B.C. Lorio, CC NC ND license)
July 13, 2017
Kit
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What Is Hempcrete? And Democrats Resistance To Change (Black Tower Radio Interview)

Posted in Act Out!, Audio, Journalism, and Ministry of Hemp

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

Hempcrete is a simple and unique building material that creates sustainable, durable, and healthy homes. Leigh Humphries, a student at Cape Fear Community College in North Carolina used hempcrete to create a unique doghouse as her final project, but hempcrete is not just for dogs. It’s appearing in more and more buildings across the United States.

Plus, the Democrats are calling for a “summer of resistance” but the history of the party suggests they’re unable to embrace real progressive change. We look back at the history of the Wisconsin Uprising, and examine the problems in modern democracy.

Read moreWhat Is Hempcrete? And Democrats Resistance To Change (Black Tower Radio Interview)
Audio: Reportback from June 10 Anti-Muslim Rally Shutdown In Austin, Texas
Masked and helmeted antifascist activists face off with Texas State Troopers in riot armor at a June 10, 2017 counter-protest to the anti-Muslim "March Against Sharia" in Austin, Texas. (Flickr / Ann Harkness, CC license)
June 15, 2017
Kit
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Audio: Reportback from June 10 Anti-Muslim Rally Shutdown In Austin, Texas

Posted in Audio, Austin, and Journalism

In this audio reportback, It’s Going Down speaks with Kit O’Connell, of the OSWN Collective in Austin, Texas. In the interview, we discuss what happened on June 10th, and how a group of anarchists and antifascists were able to shut down a anti-Muslim rally attended by neo-Nazis and Alt-Right ‘Stickmen.’

Kit explains the context of what is happening in Austin, going back several months to talk about numerous armed demonstrations that the far-Right and Alt-Right have organized, and how people in Austin and Texas moreover have responded. We also talk about the recent debacle in Houston, where Alt-Right trolls created the threat of a fake antifascist rally to fleece far-Right supporters of thousands of dollars through crowdfunding. Popcorn time!

We end by talking about the nuts and bolts of the demonstration, how and why it was a success, and what went into making it so.

Read moreAudio: Reportback from June 10 Anti-Muslim Rally Shutdown In Austin, Texas
Donald Trump’s Budget, The Disappearance Of ‘Hemp For Victory’ (Black Tower Radio Interview)
A wild hemp plant growing at Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge. (Wikimedia Commons / US Fish & Wildlife Service, public domain)
June 7, 2017
Kit
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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?

Read moreDonald Trump’s Budget, The Disappearance Of ‘Hemp For Victory’ (Black Tower Radio Interview)
Why Austin (& The US) Must Resist Fascism & The March Against Sharia On June 10 (AUDIO)
Masked activists show their middle fingers during a protest in Sao Paolo, Brazil and February 22, 2014. (Flickr / dfactory, CC license)
June 6, 2017
Kit
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Why Austin (& The US) Must Resist Fascism & The March Against Sharia On June 10 (AUDIO)

Posted in Audio, Austin, and Journalism

On Tuesday, I appeared on the Smooth and Demented Show to discuss the March Against Sharia, an upcoming nationwide mobilization of the Islamophobic group ACT For America.

Islamophobia Monitor describes ACT For America as “an anti-Islam hate group.” According to its founder Brigitte] Gabriel, “‘every practicing Muslim is a radical Muslim,’ a Muslim ‘cannot be a loyal citizen of the United States,’ and that Arabs ‘have no soul.’ She also argues that, ‘America is at stage two Islamic Cancer.'”

ACT has called for a nationwide “March Against Sharia” in cities all over the United States on Saturday, June 10. In addition to local supporters of ACT, we expect numerous neo-nazis, alt-right fascists, and dangerous 4chan trolls to mobilize for the event. It’s crucial that communities come out to support and protect their Muslim neighbors from this bigoted event which occurs during their holy month of Ramadan.

Read moreWhy Austin (& The US) Must Resist Fascism & The March Against Sharia On June 10 (AUDIO)