“Even the noblest god-king does us no good if his first born son is an asshole.”

A Video of this speech is available on Youtube, Facebook and of course at www.majorityvillain.com.

It's no longer enough to simply be on the "right team". We need to democratize every aspect of our lives, locally, nationally and beyond. If it sounds a little funny, it’s because it was recorded live: This is my June 2017 talk with Democrats Abroad - Stuttgart, Germany.
Music by Evil Bear Boris, Damiano Baldoni and by SK via the Free Music Archive under Creative Commons licensing.

Rate and review the show at https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/majority-villain/id877298705?mt=2

Chomsky:

there are two solutions to the 'problem' of democracy. Reduce inequality or reduce democracy.

There are a number of ways to view politics. One avenue says its too bad things are the way they are, but thank god somebody is doing something about it. The other avenue is to do something about it. We could democratize our democracies, or.... we can all hail the minority hero.

Music via www.freemusicarchive.org under Creative Commons licencsing - today by Evil Bear Boris, The Joy Drops, J-K, and Damiano Baldoni. Show image via Flickr by Guille Mendia.

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Listen to Richard Wolff say “shit”, like, a half-dozen times. Seriously, it’s amazing.

Professor Wolff gets open about his formative years growing up with immigrant parents who escaped Germany during WWII and shares how their experiences helped shape his criticism of American politics and Capitalism. While Wolff begins by telling us the key for knowing if the economy is improving or not, he finishes this extremely humanist discussion by reflecting on how the Vietnam War shaped him more than anything else.

Richard Wolff is the host of Economic Update, a radio show airing nationwide discussing all the way economics affects our lives, and has written several books including Democracy at Work: A Cure for Capitalism and Capitalism Hits the Fan. A visiting professor of economics at the New School University in New York City, Richard Wolff is the founder of Democracy at Work, “a non-profit 501(c)3 that advocates for worker cooperatives and democratic workplaces as a key path to a stronger, democratic economic system.” Jackpot.

Visit their website at www.democracyatwork.info

Special audio from the March for Science from Tübingen, Germany with audio from Mayor Boris Palmer and Eberhard Karls Tübingen University professor, Nicholas Conard.

Majority Villain is a show dedicated to democratic movements, big and small. Learn more at www.majorityvillain.com and follow us on Facebook and Twitter @majorityvillain. Email Gregory at greg@majorityvillain.com. Rate and review the show at https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/majority-villain/id877298705?mt=2.

Today’s music is from Evil Bear Boris, Komiku and Learning Music via www.freemusicarchive.org under Creative Commons licensing.

For every review left for the show, a Pokémon will be released into the wild.
SAVE THE POKéMEN HERE!!!

Today’s music by Evil Bear Boris and Blue Dot Sessions via the Free Music Archive and show art from Flickr by Satragon, all under Creative Commons Licensing.

Majority Villain is produced by Gregory Haddock with production assistance from Barbara Percival and Mathieu Fournier. Kris Shapar heads our social media.

#NoMoreWar
It’s no secret I don’t like or trust Donald Trump. But you should know I never trusted Hillary. You should also know that I have a thousand problems with Obama. You should know that I don’t trust anybody in authority blindly and I don’t think you should either.

That being said, it’s irrelevant who began these wars in the Middle East. It doesn’t matter who is in charge now, because here is the truth: Most of our elected officials in DC get reelected year after year as a result of the defense industry spending millions of dollars to buy these corrupt politicians in a country where blatant legal bribery exists every day. This is not an issue isolated to Republicans. It does not exclude Democrats. The people who are meant to represent us make money every time a bomb is dropped by one of the big arms manufacturers. These firms are spread out all over the United States so as to keep pressure on all senators and representatives and keep the illusion that this is simply a “jobs program” and “just the way things are”. However, when Gallup did an international poll asking what the gravest danger world-wide was, our brothers and sisters around the globe stated plainly that it was the United States.

We know Martin Luther King, Jr. for being the “dreamer”. We know he was named for the brave and deeply hated in his time, Martin Luther, the great reformer of the church (500 years this year!). A year to the day before he died he stated he was afraid that his own government was the greatest purveyor of violence in the world. Was he wrong then? 50 years ago this month - what have we learned? Have we grown from this place? He also said with great earnest, "Let me say finally that I oppose the war in Vietnam because I love America. I speak out against this war, not in anger, but with anxiety and sorrow in my heart, and, above all, with a passionate desire to see our beloved country stand as the moral example of the world. I speak out against this war because I am disappointed with America. And there can be no great disappointment where there is not great love.” In other words, we do not challenge our country from any other place than sincere pride and the deepest affection. Political commentator, Tavis Smiley, said this was the speech that put a target on his back. I wonder why.

Our elected officials are profiting through the destruction of human lives. We should be furious.

War is being waged all over the world in your name. Children are being murdered with your tax dollars, and truly awful groups like ISIS are benefiting from every single attack as each bomb radicalizes the next human who has had everything that mattered taken from them. The best thing we can do to fight terrorism is stop our outlandish bombing campaigns in the name of democracy, freedom, and peace.

Obama dropped over 26,000 bombs in 2016 alone - that’s three per hour. Meanwhile, Trump just dropped the biggest non-nuclear bomb available to him in Afghanistan. Most of the news is focused on Syria and Iraq, but we are also creating terror in Libya, Yemen, Somalia and Pakistan. These are majority-Muslim countries where we are actively creating refugees and then giving them the middle finger when they try to leave. We are totally unaware of the consequence of these actions in our comfortable lives: 17 million people are starving in Yemen due to US-backed war efforts, and over half of the refugees from Syria are still in Syria.

We can do better, because we must do better. Our country deserves that much. The world deserves that much. I know and I agree, it feels so much more satisfying to hate and avenge those that hurt us, but as Jesus said, real or symbolic - however you feel about religion, who died on this day so many years ago so that we may know love, “Forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Love your enemies, dine with sinners, and cause no harm where it needn’t be.

Welcome to part II of II with Jose Olivas on what it's like to be a Mexican-American living in the United States under a Trump presidency.

Please please please take the time to tell a friend and rate and review the show on iTunes https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/majority-villain/id877298705?mt=2 - it helps people to find the show and is the best way for you to help us grow!

"New You May Have Missed" - check it out on YouTube! https://youtu.be/FU8ESSIbic8

Special thanks to Mathieu Fournier, Kris Shapar, Jose Olivas and the good people at the www.freemusicarhive.org

Who is Neil Gorsuch in 2 minutes? https://youtu.be/wScxhy7WTlg

Republicans have gone with the “Nuclear Option” doing away with the 60-vote threshold needed to confirm Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch. The tactical move eliminates the awkward process of filibustering nominees which has historically been an excuse for politicians desperate for attention to read children’s books aloud and urinate in public. The move came just in time for Gorsuch, a professional corporation-ass-jockey and Antonin Scalia-enthusiast, who has now been confirmed with a simple majority vote. Gorsuch’s confirmation was funded to the tune of $17 million in dark money - meaning nobody knows or is allowed to know where it came from.

Today’s show is brought to you by the word “Corruption”. Buying democracy in America since go fuck yourself.

In related news, congress voted at the end of March to eliminate Federal Communications Commission rules, now allowing internet companies to sell your browser history to advertisers. No big deal. None at all. You have nothing to hide right? Just good luck explaining to your kids what a “cuckold” is when your Facebook banner ads are littered with male enhancement “solutions”.

And that’s the neeeeeews you may have missed.

For the whole audio podcast check out MajorityVillain.com/thepodcast or just search “Majority Villain” on the podcast app you already use.


https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/04/republicans-nuke-the-filibuster-to-save-neil-gorsuch/522156/

https://news.vice.com/story/trump-is-deporting-more-people-than-obama-but-just-barely

http://www.voanews.com/a/comparing-immigration-raids-under-trump-and-obama/3727706.html

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/donald-trump-privacy-cards-against-humanity-congress-internet-history-federal-communications-a7659146.html

Part I with guest co-host Jose Olivas on what it's like to be a Mexican-American in 2017.

Leave a review for the show and you will be visited by an angel who will grant you 3 wishes, and if you leave 5 stars Bill Gates will write you a check for a bajillion dollars.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/majority-villain/id877298705?mt=2
Just open link, click on “View in iTunes” - click “write a review”. Then leave 5 stars, ya rat bastards! (Angels, wishes, Bill Gates and money not included).

News you may have missed:
-Salute a conservative. Tomi Lahren, show host of the conservative news and entertainment network “The Blaze” part of the Glenn Beck antichrist empire, has been suspended for comments she made on “The View” stating that she was pro-choice, as a part of her small-government world-view. MV salutes you, Tomi Lahren, for your courage to stick to rational arguments. (Washington Times, http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/mar/21/tomi-lahrens-show-suspended-by-glenn-becks-the-bla/)
-Senate confirmation hearings have begun for Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court this week. The appointment would give a 5-4 edge to conservatives on future rulings. Gorsuch, a rigid originalist in Constitution interpretation, ruled in favor of Hobby Lobby’s religious right to refuse birth control to employees under Obamacare - Thou shall not fuck without thine own prophylactics - He also ruled against a truck driver who sued his former company after they fired him for abandoning his trailer and its goods when the man believed that he would freeze to death otherwise. His mother, Anne Gorsuch Burford, also had a short stint with the US government as President Reagan’s Environmental Protection Agency or EPA administrator where she tried to cut up to 30% of the staff which would have resulted in $17.6M for severance pay alone (Washington Post, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2017/02/01/neil-gorsuchs-mother-once-ran-the-epa-it-was-a-disaster/?utm_term=.d6f55e53613b) and stopped filing new court cases going after big polluters. Her scandalous mismanagement of the EPA eventually led to her premature resignation. You may be wondering, “Why does this story sound so familiar?” That’s because the current administration is doing the exact same thing again today (Independent, http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-budget-clean-air-water-attack-global-warming-epa-warning-a7639181.html).

-In all of the chaos over the last 6 months, probably the smartest thing I have heard is this: Politicians strategically use distractions to keep us from looking at the core issues. Case in point. When Donald Trump accuses Obama of wiretapping him, it probably has more to do with keeping the rest of us occupied with his circus than in looking at the finer details of whatever god-forsaken thing he is pushing in Washington. Like his hair - an unnatural distraction from his mouth. So you may have heard of his disastrous budget proposal - a proposal which would give the military a 10% increase - an increase that is equal to the entire annual military budget of the United Kingdom alone.. and a budget that would slash the before mentioned EPA, Small Business Administration, Department of Justice, Meals on Wheels, NASA, National Endowment for the Arts, after school programs and basically any other agency with a vowel in their name. That’s the equivalent of taking away little Tommy’s books, food and video games - and then giving him a taser to play with.

Democrats are not much better. After squeezing Bernie Sanders out of the primaries by doing everything in their power to silence him, they have learned nothing from the loss of Hillary Clinton. Yes, she received more votes, but she still lost - voter suppression be damned. And did any of the Democratic party lose their leadership positions? No. In fact, with the recent election of former labor secretary Tom Perez to DNC chair, it appears they’re not even concerned about it. So what do they do? They claim Russia interfered with the election - a claim which finally is and should be investigated properly - but to this point remains a claim without certifiable proof. That’s because the longer the media train keeps us going down this modern DNC-led McCarthyism rabbit hole, the less today the Democratic leadership looks like a group of lemurs playing with a smart phone.


Music provided by the Free Music Archive via Creative Commons licensing; Evil Bear Boris and Gillicuddy. Additional short clips under Fair Use from YungBlu and King Lil G.

https://theconversation.com/immigration-and-crime-what-does-the-research-say-72176

https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2016-06-06/crops-rot-while-trump-led-immigration-backlash-idles-farm-lobby

Show image via Flickr by Thomas Hawk.

“Washington is nowhere as slick, or as manipulative, or as Machiavellian, or even often as competent as people in the Middle East or in Europe think. I think that, you know, there’s just a lot of cock-ups happening here all the time.” -brian dooley

This month marks the 6th anniversary since the world held their breath and watched on as the fire of revolution began to sweep across the Middle East. Today, we take a close look at Bahrain, and with the help of some excellent experts, analyze its democracy story.

A very special thanks to today’s guests; Former Bahrain Prime Minister Matar Ebrahim Ali Matar @Matar_Matar, Director at Human Rights First Brian Dooley @dooley_dooley, Exeter research fellow and key member of Bahrain Watch Marc Owen Jones @marcowenjones, and the great PM “himself” - @SheikhKhalifaPM. You guys are awesome.

Show image by Mahmood Al-Yousif @malyousif via Flickr. Music provided via www.freemusicarchive.com through Creative Commons licensing. This show’s music by Evil Bear Boris, Daizy, Sequoia, Steve Combs, Ketsa, Blue Dot Sessions, and The Owl.

Show Notes

Al Jazeera. “Bahrain: Shouting in the dark”. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xaTKDMYOBOU. Uploaded on Aug 4, 2011.

Al Jazeera. “Bahrain strips Sheikh Isa Qassim of nationality”. http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/06/bahrain-strips-religious-leader-nationality-160620122338238.html. 21 June 2016.

Bassiouni, Mahmoud Cherif, Chair, et al. Report
of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry. Manama, Bahrain. 23 November 2011.

Dooley, Brian. Interview by Gregory Haddock. Majority Villain. July 2016. Podcast.

Jones, Marc Owen. Interview by Gregory Haddock. Majority Villain. February 2017. Podcast.

Matar Ibrahim Matar. Interview by Gregory Haddock. Majority Villain. July 2016. Podcast.

Seeker Daily. “Why Do Saudi Arabia and Iran Hate Each Other”. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-dMM3HRnhY. Published on Apr 5, 2015.

http://www.slow-journalism.com/sj-site/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Arab-Spring-timeline.jpg

Vice News. “The Revolt That Never Went Away — Bahrain: An Inconvenient Uprising”. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fVF0qQU3kc&t=1055s. Published on Nov 10, 2014.

In the spring of 2011 it was almost impossible to turn on a TV and not see the scene taking place seemingly everywhere in the Arab world. Beginning in late 2010, a fruit merchant by the name of Muhammad al-Bouazizi set himself on fire in the streets of Tunisia after having his product once again arbitrarily confiscated by police. Although the protest of self-immolation was not new to the region, the act became a wildfire for wide spread unrest, and within a short amount of time thousands were out in the street protesting and rioting against corruption, unemployment and high food prices. Soon thereafter, in January of 2011 riots broke out in Algiers. Amidst demands, Tunisian president Ben Ali promised to step down by 2014, and then the very next day fled the country to Saudi Arabia. A few days go by and soon massive protests break out in Egypt, Bahrain and Libya. Dozens are killed when security forces come to qualm rising tensions, only to add to the unrest. Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak and King Abdullah of Jordan dismiss their governments and promise reform. Demonstrations erupt in Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Palestine. Morocco, Oman and Syria add their names to the list and just as if it had slipped as silently out of our conscience as it had abruptly entered - it appeared to be over. The majority of countries appeared to go back to business as usual. Tunisia was one of the lucky ones as experts deemed it a revolutionary success in Democratic reform. Unfortunately, not all could make that claim. Syria spun into total disarray and civil war that is the mess we see today. Similarly Yemen has spiraled into civil war and has been largely forgotten in the media as its people are squeezed between two powerhouses of the Persian Gulf, Saudi Arabia and Iran, as the two engage in an indirect form of conflict called a proxy war.

Millions around the world watched on televisions, newspapers and social media with warm regards of the promise of Democracy for millions. Perhaps I should only speak for myself in saying that I truly believed a great thing was in the making, and despite awful tragedies of the price being paid its citizens, I reveled in the idea that we were witnessing a sincere rebirth for many nations - a fresh start. I was wrong.

There pervades a mythology in American society that the path to Democracy is inevitable, and that one need only to get the ball rolling in the right direction. The spirit of Lady Liberty and the ghosts of our forefathers will do the rest, as if the rest of the world somehow secretly wanted (or was even ready for that matter) for a heavy dose of export ed US Democracy. If we have learned anything in this time, it is this: Democracy takes an immeasurable amount of patience, diligence, commitment, heart and courage - and in no way it is ever guaranteed.

Today on Majority Villain we look at one country’s engagement in the Arab Spring: Bahrain.

The small island nation of Bahrain lies just off the coast of Saudi Arabia, and it has like many other nations of the Persian Gulf, more humble beginnings. It was known for most of its history for its pearl fisheries, and Great Britain had long been a presence in the region before the 1931 discovery of petroleum. Rapid modernization and a series of flirtations with parliamentary politics followed thereafter.

Bahrain is a constitutional monarchy, meaning it has both a royal family and a constitution. Matar was a member of the political party Al-Wefaq, and even though the government has three separate legislatures of 40 seats each the relative strength of checks and balances is largely overpowered by the will of the King, Shaikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa. The Al-Khalifa royal family has maintained considerable control over the nation, and it wasn’t until 2006 that opposition party Al-Wefaq won a majority of seats in parliament. Matar was a member of this party.

The Bahrain Uprising: On February 4th protests erupt outside the Egyptian embassy in Manama. The 14th became dubbed the “Day of Rage” as thousands of people got out to protest in rallies. Security forces immediately began to crack down on demonstrators. That evening, one protestor by the name of Ali Mushaima is shot in the back and killed. The next days of mourning brought only more sympathizers to rally around the Pearl Roundabout, a massive monument to the country’s humble beginnings in the pearl fisheries in the days long before the discovery of petroleum.

The early hours of February 17th would come to be known as “Bloody Thursday” when nearly 1000 police came to break up the meager 1500 or so protestors who had begun camping in the area. Over 200 were hospitalized and 3 were killed. That evening, 18 members of parliament from the opposition group Al-Wefaq resigned. Matar was among them.

A vast amount of tension in the middle east stems from conflicts between Saudi Arabia and Iran. Iran is a Shia Majority nation that has become increasingly fundamentalist since their revolution in 1979. Saudi Arabia is a majority Sunni country that has an understanding of shared power between the Saudi family (literally where the country gets its name. How about that for a birthday present) and Wahhabism - an extremely fundamentalist and conservative branch of state-sponsored Sunni Islam. While Bahrain and Saudi Arabia are politically intertwined, Iran and Bahrain that are both majority Shia. This places the Bahraini movement for democracy in a peculiar place.

Betsy DeVos of the billionaire DeVos family has donated millions of dollars to Republicans over the years. Her family donated $49,800 alone to Colorado Senator Cory Gardner.

I'm gonna remember that, Cory...

*CALL TO ACTIVISM* A decision to use “State of Emergency” powers to undo the first state-wide “Anti-Corruption Act” in the South Dakota legislature have been postponed until February 1st following public outcry. Check out this link - and call South Dakota Senator Blake Curd and tell him you demand he protect the will of voters. www.represent.us 1-605-773-3821

Special thanks to all of the organizers of the January 21st Women’s March: Democrats Abroad in Heidelberg, in Washington DC, and everyone who stands for human rights across our pale blue dot. #HDWomensMarch #Heidelberg @WomensMarchHD

More thanks to DA Stuttgart, Tracy, Jessica, Veronica, Fletcher, Sally Grayson of Blackswift for amazing music, and of course White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer.

All music today provided by Creative Commons licensing via Youtube and www.FreeMusicArchive.com. Music today from Kevin Macleod and intro by Evil Bear Boris.

Show artwork CC via Flickr by @alans1948.

I’ve seen many comments on social media about people saying that we should accept the results of this election, come together, hope for the best, support our president and give him a chance. I do believe that when President Trump gets it right, we ought to let him know it. When that day comes, I will be the first to say what a tremendously huge thing is, whatever that thing is.

Until then, the question I seem to receive over and over again is “He won. It’s over. So why are you continuing to protest President Trump?” I suppose the question is fair, so let’s have at it then, shall we?

However, before we do let’s address this concern of Russian interference in the election. While there certainly remains an awful lot of accusations about it, actual “election fraud” and proof thereof remains an arduous task not yet completed. What’s more, the United States must love calling the kettle black as the USA’s own history of open election tampering in other countries, including Russia, is as colorful as the baboon ass Donald Trump calls his face. Even if it were true - it has become an extremely convenient scapegoat for the Democratic Party’s total failure during the election.

So, where does that leave us with President Donald J. Trump? For a moment set aside all talk of racism, sexism, and elitism.

And set aside brash disregard for the Emoluments clause of the constitution concerning foreign gifts and the Logan Act regarding family ties in the oval office.

Pay no attention to political gaffes regarding foreign countries and the diplomatic norms set in stone for decades, or that he dislikes reading, multiculturalism, security briefings, big gloves, and .

Ignore for a moment the handicapped impersonations, proclamations of love for the poorly educated, and endorsements of mob violence.

Take no notice of fake news’ citations and his citing that the news is fake.

Repudiate yourself about his tweeting.

Suppress your imagination of what he’s doing at 3am when he is tweeting.

Pardon the major announcements made by tweeting.

FORGIVE the TWEETING.

Overlook this one time the White House cabinet with more money than 1/3 of Americans.

Nullify your opinions on executive orders suppressing a woman’s right to choose, legalizing discrimination against LGBTQ - Just brush off the oil pipelines through native lands as nothing more than business as usual, and DO look the other way as he will on climate change.

Discount Donald’s delusions of grandeur, self-embodied as glorified savior. Neglect his smart brain full of the best words, and omit the psychologists whose public announcement prop-up the public’s sentiment the new president suffers from “Textbook narcissistic personality disorder.”

In fact, you could tune out the millions turned off during the inauguration. Let it go that three times more people protested his day one than joined in on it. Pass over the nearly 5 million people worldwide who joined one of planet Earth’s largest organized movements of our species history.

Yes, it’s true - forget all of these things and our 45th president isn’t half bad. Sticking your head in the sand is one way to move forward. Watch and wait to “see what happens”. Pay no mind the lowest approval rating in decades, avoid the number of people he’s managed to piss off in his first 72 hours, look the other way as the rich guy vows to save you from rich guys by surrounding himself with other rich guys…

OR

Do NOT ignore his frail ego -

BE AWARE of his alt-right, alt-facts, alt-universe.

RECOGNIZE a dictator-in-the-making.

RECALL your high school civics class and

REMINISCE and RESPOND First they came for the Muslims - and we said “Not this time mother fucker”.

When Andi and I went to the Heidelberg Women’s March - some people here asked us “What do you expect to change” and implied that driving 2 hours to a march in another city on the other side of the world was hardly revolutionary, hardly effective, hardly meaningful. Imagine if worldwide all 4.6 million participants thought the same thing. Don’t let anybody tell you that your actions are meaningless. We are all part of the revolution!

Special thanks to all of the organizers of the January 21st Women’s March: Democrats Abroad in Heidelberg, in Washington DC, and everyone who stands for human rights across our pale blue dot. #HDWomensMarch #Heidelberg @WomensMarchHD

More thanks to DA Stuttgart, Tracy, Jessica, Veronica, Fletcher, Sally Grayson of Blackswift for amazing music, and of course White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer.

All music today provided by Creative Commons licensing via Youtube and www.FreeMusicArchive.com. Music today from Kevin Macleod and intro by Evil Bear Boris.

Show artwork CC via Flickr by @alans1948.

OThanks Al, but no thanks.

Part II of II of the Electoral College's impending doom as the EC exposes its true impotence to do the only thing it was ever intended to do - keep the USA safe from corruption and appearance of.

Get Involved!!! www.nationalpopularvote.com

emolument
ɪˈmɒljʊm(ə)nt,ɛˈmɒljʊm(ə)nt/
nounformal
plural noun: emoluments
    a salary, fee, or profit from employment or office.
    "the directors' emoluments"
    synonyms: payment, fee, charge, consideration

Trump's Taiwan phone call preceded by hotel development inquiry

How Trump is navigating the Emoluments Clause

Music provided by www.freemusicarchive.com via Creative Commons. Today's show comes from Phemale, Evil Bear Boris, and Bacalao.

Show thumbnail by Eli Christman @gammaman on www.flickr.com via Creative Commons.

#34 - Part I of II

Created to protect the nation against both incompetence and foreign manipulation, the Electoral College is exploding on the national scene right now as a troublesome invention of the US, and this could very well be the beginning of the end of it. Setting aside for the moment any discussion of (delusional) accusations of voter fraud, (valid) concerns over election fraud (uncounted/missing ballots, voter suppression, tampered machines, etc.), or (yet-to-be-substantiated) Russian electoral intervention, the argument stands strong enough alone on Trump himself and the decisions he has made to-date. That is more than enough to end Trump before he can begin.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/dec/09/donald-trump-administration-cabinet-picks-so-far

http://qz.com/862412/trumps-16-cabinet-level-picks-have-more-money-than-a-third-of-american-households-combined/

Happy Thanksgiving to our protectors at Standing Rock.

In North Dakota, right now is the largest gathering of Native American tribes since 1876 at the Battle of Little Bighorn - also known as Custer’s Last Stand. If you don’t know that story, spoiler alert - it doesn’t end well for Custer. As these land and water protectors brave the cold, give mind to them as we enjoy all that has been given to us.

I love Thanksgiving. I love the food, I love the family and the friends, I love the atmosphere. I love the feeling about how proud I am to be American. It’s true, it’s not hokey. Family. Friends. Warm food, warm feelings. Nothing in this moment can stir that. Except in realizing that we risk continuing to bastardize this day in not acknowledging the great sacrifice American Indians have paid for us. Dakota means “ally” or “friend”. Give thanks for the land you stand on, because as the good Lord makes us stewards of the earth, it is the land of the original natives that we give thanks for. And somehow this fight continues on and on.

Support Standing Rock at www.standwithstandingrock.net. Make a phone call, sign the petition, write a check.

Music provided by the Free Music Archive with Creative Commons Licensing. Today’s music is from The Daizy Factory.

This is my real, raw, unedited reaction from the election from Donald Trump to the United States of America.

I still cannot believe it, but it is very, very real. Get involved.

Do something.

BE THE CHANGE.

email me greg@majorityvillain.com if you are like many who KNOW they need to be a part of that change, but do not know where to start. Welcome to the family.

As the 2016 presidential election comes to a close there remains at least one thing most Americans can agree on — we are glad it is almost over.

(Featured photo courtesy of Ted Eytan on Flickr)

Their candid antithesis makes most think they are deeply opposed candidates, but in the end they may not be as different as you think. Just reflect on what they haven’t discussed in the debate! Aside from a handful of minutes about climate change, nothing about Afghanistan, not one critique of Israel’s settlements in Palestine, Standing Rock and #NoDAPL, Yemen, Black Lives Matter, police violence, or economic inequality? Crickets.
That’s because the Commission on Presidential Debates or CPD limit competition from outside candidates, and because the Democrats and Republicans own the CPD, we only ever see Dems/GOP debate.
Frank Fahrenkopf Jr. helped to found the CPD and push out the League of Women Voters… He’s still there today, but it might surprise you to learn he served as president of the American Gaming Association, worked for a firm supporting the TPP and TTIP, and even sits on the board of directors for 7 NYSE companies heavily invested in media - all during his tenure as CPD chair. Wow.

http://sirrealdeal.newsvine.com/_news/2015/11/01/34582184-statement-by-nancy-m-neuman-president-league-of-women-voters-league-of-women-voters

http://www.revolvy.com/main/index.php?s=Hogan%20%26%20Hartson&item_type=topic

http://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/firmsum.php?id=D000059877&year=2013

http://www.hoganlovellsbrexit.com/_uploads/downloads/Brexit_shaping_your_future_IV.pdf

http://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/person.asp?personId=1147597&privcapId=226571820&previousCapId=6859654&previousTitle=The%20Gabelli%20Dividend%20&%20Income%20Trust

http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2016/10/climate-change-got-exactly-2-seconds-time-final-debate

Email greg@majorityvillain.com and Twitter @majorityvillain.

Happy 500th Birthday, Reinheitsgebot. Now Piss Off!

We are traveling back in time to the middle ages!! For hundreds of years Beer and Germany have been almost totally synonymous. So how is it possible that Germany has been so reluctant to ride the craft beer wave? Graham visits with German-inspired Verboten Brewing in Loveland, Colorado, and I visit with Kraftbierwerkstatt in Böblingen, Germany to find out what Reinheitsgebot is, how it impacts the way they make that sweet sweet nectar, and the challenges a craft brewer faces in the 21st century.

Hey Villains! Rate and review the show!
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/majority-villain/id877298705?mt=2
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Wealth and power inequality have put everything at risk. A small minority are stealing our future while calling themselves the heroes. This podcast up-ends all that. Because of that we are villains, but we are also the majority. Status quos are for suckers.

Majority Villain is hosted and produced by Greg Haddock, co-hosted by Graham Rue with help from Andrea Schmidt. For a full list of contributors and musicians visit the website at www.majorityvillain.com/thepodcast.

What beer are you drinking? Email me at greg@majorityvillain.com.
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Music provided by Evil Bear Boris, Pictures of the Floating World, through freemusicarchive.org under Creative Commons Licensing. Additional music via YouTube, various Oktoberfest Schlager: Ziggy Zagga Oi Oi Oi, Ein Prosit, and Wir Ham Noch Durst and Beer Commercial Music by Jonathan Reeves.

Special thanks to Josh and Angie at Verboten Brewing; Homebrewer Eric Ellzey; Vathana Thorn, Rasmus Muttscheller, and Ollie Klobenzer at Kraftbierwerkstatt; Daniela Vogl for her fantastic Reinheitsgebot Bayerisch, and Jonathan Reeves for his beer mood music.
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Liquor-law battle heads for 2016 ballot
http://bizwest.com/liquor-law-battle-heads-for-16-ballot/

Budweiser Renames Budweiser “America”
http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/nation-now/2016/05/10/budweiser-renames-cans-beer-america-anheuser-busch/84176886/

King of beer deals: Anheuser-Busch takes InBev's $52B offer
http://abcnews.go.com/Business/story?id=5367968

The National Park Service Is Selling Out to Corporations
http://truth-out.org/buzzflash/commentary/national-parks-are-losing-their-pristine-beauty-to-corporate-branding