Porkins Policy Review
Pearse Redmond returns to the show to help us all take a look around at the strange place we find ourselves in now. QAnon has come a long way since the days that Pearse and Robbie Martin would talk about it on a weekly basis. American foreign policy has taken a political backseat as Trumpism focuses in on all things domestic.
In the first hour of our Tuesday show Authors, Mike Swanson and Carmine Savastano discussed Thomas Jefferson. When did the narrative of judgment shift on this founding father? Has the revision of American history gone amok?
Are Jefferson’s ideas about racial identity anything special when compared to his contemporaries? Is the icon or demon of the past anything like the reality?
Pearse Redmond arrived in the second hour to discuss the trend of depression among independent content creators. Is Agitated apathy the new normal? Is mass-mental-illness driving what we observe?
How is the mantra of death and disease affecting you? Are we still at war?
Show Notes:
Man Linked to Killing at a Portland Protest Says He Acted in Self-Defense
DOJ charges American Boogaloo Bois with attempting to provide material support to Hamas
Two Self-Described “Boogaloo Bois” Charged with Attempting to Provide Material Support to Hamas
In the first hour, Mike Swanson and Chuck struggle to make sense of the money games. What will the future hold? Is there a generational shift in the casinos? Is video poker ready to be the next generation job for those riding a collapsing economy?
Are you ready to boogie? Is the symbol-minded public merely fighting for and against the icons of history almost no one knows?
Are reformation and reparation anything like they said it would be? Will Pearse do a LIVE radio show again?
This week I addressed some editorial issues regarding the radio show and the types of guests I will not support or promote. I talked about the backlash I received for calling Ryan Dawson a “racist grifter” and why I continue to stand by that statement. I discussed my own journalistic integrity and why I will not allow myself to be tainted by right-wingers simply because they do “good research.”
In the second hour, I took a call from Dimitri who questioned my decision to have Lucien Greaves on the show and take much of what he was saying at face value. We talked about Greave’s’ problematic past which I, admittedly, did not research before when I had him on. I talked about my own reservations now about having him back on, and how this is an inevitable problem when it comes to radio journalism. Later we talked about another controversial figure that people ask me about Dr. Joylln West, whom Jon Atack knew and has talked about on the show before. I talked about the theories regarding West and the Oklahoma City Bombing and how much of that story doesn’t hold up. Chuck helps me finish off the show by talking about the problems that we face as journalists and radio hosts.
Show Notes:
This week I am joined by Robbie Martin and Pearse Redmond to review and analyse the low budget conspiracy thriller Operation Terror. We analyse the plot – where a member of the Council on Foreign Relations recruits a CIA officer to prepare and carry out the 9/11 attacks – and why this is unrealistic. We note several examples of how the film incorporates elements from all over 9/11 conspiracy lore, but especially from Pilots for 9/11 Truth, one of the more wacky parts of the ‘truth’ movement. We ask whether the film is fan service for 9/11 truthers, and conclude that it reflects and represents a lot of the real characteristics of the 9/11 movement. This is a lengthy and very funny discussion that you won’t want to miss.
Show Notes:
Operation Terror Youtube Channel (full of weird conspiracy nonsense)
Chuck Ochelli joins me to discuss the aftermath of the violence in Charlottesville and the rise of right wing racist groups. We begin by breaking down the initial protest over the taking down of a statue Robert E Lee. Chuck and I offer up our thoughts not only on America’s new found love of statues from the 1950’s but the make up of this crowd of alt-right protesters. Next Chuck and I explore the racist and racialist history of America and its deep roots in our society. Chuck explains the difference and how racialism has infected most of the population. We talk about the casual racism that persists in America and how it has morphed into the extreme forms that we are seeing at the moment.
In the second hour we discuss self proclaimed white nationalist Chris Cantwell and his bizarre saga which ended with him crying on YouTube. I talk about his strange trajectory from sweaty, unfunny libertarian “stand-up”, to neo-nazi skinhead “activist”. Chuck and I explore how a man as insignificant as Cantwell gravitates to a racist ideology. We then touch on how the alt-media has slowly been infiltrated and co-opted by these right-wing fascist groups. We also look back historically to the 1990’s when the FBI and other groups began infiltrating and radicalizing the Patriot and Militia movements. Chuck and I debate whether the government may be preparing us for another major act of right-wing domestic terrorism by looking at the bizarre case of Jerry Drake Varnell in Oklahoma City. I also touch on Johnny Bangerter, his history as a spokesperson for the White Power Movement, and the efforts by the government to involve him in the OKC Bombing. Chuck and I try to end on a positive note by offering up our own thoughts on how to combat this problem and grow as a nation.
Show Notes:
FBI Criminal Complaint against Jerry Drake Varnell
Neo-Nazi Christopher Cantwell Cries After Learning He’s Wanted For Arrest. “I’m Terrified”
Warrants out for arrest of white nationalist in Vice documentary
Right-Winger Jack Posobiec, Retweeted by Trump, Is Navy Intel Officer
From Our Interesting Times:
Pearse Redmond of Porkins Policy Review joins the show. We discuss his monthly series Porkins Great Game and the series he does with the UK’s Tom Secker CIA and Hollywood. We talk about the CIA’s involvement in the entertainment industry and deleterious effects it has had on society. Later we talk about Pearse’s research into the OJ Simpson murder trial and the several interviews he conducted with journalist Stephen Singular who wrote the book Legacy of Deception: An Investigation of Mark Fuhrman and Racism in the L.A.P.D.
Porkins Policy Review 