Links to today’s show transcripts:
Historian of Fascism: Why Trump Firing FBI Director Comey Amid Russia Probe is So Worrisome
More details are coming to light about Donald Trump’s firing of FBI Director James Comey, which reportedly came just days after he asked the Justice Department for more resources to expand the bureau’s investigation into Russia’s meddling in the presidential election. Ruth Ben-Ghiat is a professor of history and Italian studies at New York University. Her recent piece for CNN is headlined “Trump at his most dangerous,” and she is currently working on a book entitled “Strongmen: From Mussolini to Trump.”
Kshama Sawant: Don’t Wait for Authoritarian Trump to Be Impeached, This is the Moment to Revolt
Kshama Sawant, a Socialist city councilmember, responds to President Trump’s firing of FBI Director James Comey. “I would say that it is really indicative of the deep instability of his administration,” Sawant says. “But we, as ordinary people, as social movements, we cannot wait for whether or not there will be a smoking gun that will be found in the investigations, which, of course, should go forward. The question is: What do we do now? And I think that right now the time is ripe to really build social movements.” Sawant helped win a $15/hour minimum wage for all workers in Seattle. She is also a member of Socialist Alternative.
Human Rights Lawyers Are Fighting a Justice Department Order to Stop Legal Aid for Immigrants
A federal appeals court in Richmond, Virginia, heard arguments Monday over President Trump’s second travel ban, which sought to ban all refugees and citizens of six majority-Muslim nations from entering the United States. The panel of 13 judges appeared to be divided. Matt Adams is lead counsel for the class action lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s executive order. Adams is legal director of the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project. He also describes how he is taking on U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions after the Department of Justice ordered his group to “cease and desist” from assisting unrepresented immigrants in deportation proceedings.
Workers Fear Radiation Exposure After Nuclear Waste Storage Tunnels Collapse in Washington
In Washington state, the Department of Energy declared a state of emergency at the Hanford nuclear site after a tunnel storing contaminated radioactive materials collapsed. The collapse, which was discovered Tuesday, forced hundreds of workers to take cover to avoid potential exposure. Hanford is the nation’s most polluted nuclear weapons production site. The site has been leaking radioactive waste on and off for years. The Energy Department claims no radioactive contamination has been reported so far from Tuesday’s tunnel collapse. But Edwin Lyman from the Union of Concerned Scientists said, “Collapse of the earth covering the tunnels could lead to a considerable radiological release.” Now the Washington state Department of Ecology’s Nuclear Waste Program has announced on Twitter that it has taken legal action against Hanford.
Column | Donald Trump’s Ajit (Pai)-prop
“You’re fired!” When Donald Trump ousted FBI Director James Comey Tuesday night, it was more than just another of Trump’s shocking executive actions. Comparisons to Watergate are chillingly relevant; Comey was investigating potential collusion between the Russian government and Trump’s presidential campaign. Just days earlier, Comey asked the Justice Department, run by Trump crony Attorney General Jeff Sessions, for more resources for the investigation. Trump’s termination of Comey echoed President Richard Nixon’s firing of the special prosecutor investigating Watergate, Archibald Cox, in what was called “The Saturday Night Massacre.”
Web Exclusive | Voices from NYC Protest Against House Speaker Paul Ryan’s Visit to NYC Charter School
In New York City, hundreds of people protested House Speaker Paul Ryan’s visit to a Harlem charter school Tuesday. The protesters were demonstrating against Congressmember Ryan’s healthcare plan, which would strip healthcare from millions of Americans, and his backing of charter school companies, such as Success Academy, which operates the Harlem school and 33 other schools across New York City.
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