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From Leonard Peltier & Biden's Pardon to Greg Palast, Mass Disenfranchisement & More

We start GREEP Zoom #203 with a gorgeous poem from our Laureate MIMI GERMAN, enhanced by our meeting on BEETHOVEN’S birthday.

We then, with a shout-out from MYLA RESON, visit the horrendous case of LEONARD PELTIER, as well as the one of STEVE DONZIGER.

TATANKA BRICCA promises to contact CHASE IRON EYES for next week’s gathering.

JOHN STEINER reminds us that 34 Members of Congress have written Biden asking for Leonard’s freedom.

KARLA SAND and HEDY TRIPP report in from Minnesota on choices for a new Chair of the Democratic National Committee.

The great JERRY ASHTON reports in on his campaign to erase medical debt, having helped retire many billions in medical debt.

We are then joined by the great GREG PALAST who tells us what we do & do not know about mass disenfranchisement in the 2024 election.

ELENA RUMIANTSEVA, LYNN FEINERMAN, CHARLOTTE DENNETT, DONALD SMITH also contribute important insights.

Engineer STEVE CARUSO adds his belief that all is not well with the 2024 outcome.

YONNA PATTON & STELLA FAIR introduce the diversity issue to our screen.

ROB KALL checks in from Op Ed News.

The World Owes Palestine This Much - Please Stop Censoring Palestinian Voices

Social media censorship is a global phenomenon, but the war on pro-Palestinian views on social media represents a different kind of censorship, with consequences that can only be described as dire. 

 Long before the current devastating war on Gaza and the escalation of Israeli violence and repression in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian and pro-Palestinian voices have been censored. 

 Some date the censorship to an agreement in 2016 that, according to the Israeli government, sought to “force social networks to remove content that Israel considers to be incitement.”

Save Ohio Parks statement on Gov. Mike DeWine signing House Bill 308

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Once again, the Ohio legislature has gifted the oil and gas industry with an amendment stuffed into an unrelated bill during its last committee hearing of the lame duck session with no public notice or chance to comment -- this time extending leases to frack our public lands up to eight long years. And once again, Gov. Mike DeWine has signed such a bill against the wishes of Ohio citizens, of whom 98% commenting on fracking Salt Fork State Park were opposed.

Ohioans do not want to see our beloved state parks and wildlife areas turned into industrial zones by out-of-state corporations, ruining our beautiful natural spaces for oil and gas profits. We do not want to see our freshwater sold for one-third of one cent per gallon to the oil and gas industry, turned into toxic and radioactive waste by fracking, removed from the water cycle forever, and injected into wastewater wells where it can easily migrate.

Ohioans mobilize to defend free speech

People protesting at Statehouse

In an ongoing struggle for free speech, a dedicated coalition of Ohioans from across the state have worked diligently to defeat legislation that conflates criticism of Israel with antisemitism and ties it to heightened criminal penalties. Lawmakers attached the same provisions to multiple bills in a deceptive legislative bundling maneuver to fast-track controversial measures by contributing to ‘Christmas Tree’ bills during the lame duck session. Wednesday night December 18 marked the end of the 135th General Assembly and advocates remain energized and committed to protecting First Amendment rights in 2025. 

Holiday songs on Everybody Knows

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Dr. Bob Fitrakis and Dan-o Dougan discuss a variety of holiday songs: gratitude songs from Thanksgiving by ZZTop, William DeVaughn, and Sly Stone; Christmas-oriented songs like Father Christmas, Christmas in Prison, River, and Run, Rudolph, Run; and more!

Listen live at 11pm December 20 and 27 streaming at wgrn.org or on the radio at 91.9FM
and
Mondays at 2pm streaming December 23 and 30 at wcrsfm.org or on the radio at 92.7 or 98.3FM

Archived on Mixcloud here

Once upon a time at Serpent Mound during the Winter Solstice…

Lights lining the serpent mound

Once upon a time during the winter solstice, the Friends of Serpent Mound, a group of supporters who donated time and labor to the site’s upkeep, were allowed to light up and honor Serpent Mound with sand bagged votives (pictured above). The winter solstice, of course, is the shortest day of the year and thus the longest night of the year.

This event – that some called the “Lighting of the Serpent” – drew more people to this marvel of ancient times than all the other days of the year and all combined at its peak. Fascinating is how the Serpent’s spiraled tail aligns with the winter solstice sunrise while its head aligns with the summer solstice sunset.

Critical Action needed! Demand that Congress pass Helene relief funding NOW!

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Congress appears ready to include much-needed disaster recovery aid for Hurricane Helene survivors in a government funding bill on the floor this week. But according to reports we heard this afternoon, House Speaker Mike Johnson is considering delaying the disaster aid until next year, due to pressure from billionaire Elon Musk and some Republican lawmakers. 

Survivors of Helene don't have time for political games in DC! Some people affected by the hurricane still don’t have adequate housing or heat, and devastating economic impacts continue to ripple through the area. Federal action now could help save many devastated Appalachian communities from total collapse.

We need your help IN TWO WAYS tonight to remind Congress that Appalachian communities need disaster aid NOW.

#1 - Contact your legislators

Please contact your legislators, either by email or making a call and leaving a message on their switchboard.

We Are One-Quarter Through War’s Last Century

In thousands of movies and tv shows, a future is imagined in which full-grown adult humans with less self-control than toddlers both get into fist fights at the drop of a hat and possess the technology to obliterate entire cities or planets at the touch of a button. The fantasy of living in outerspace certainly does not help us preserve the one place we know how to live. But the most damaging fantasy here is that of maintaining widespread acceptance of violence and continuing to exist into an age of easy annihilation by the decision of a random person or of a machine. Our current luck — the number of times we have nearly had a nuclear war and avoided it — is almost unbelievable. The luck that would be required for much of science fiction to exist is not believable at all.

Nuclear Danger
Countless observers believe that we are right now closer to nuclear war than ever before. There are a number of reasons to take this seriously:

A Peachy Decision

Trump should talk to Hamas, not to Bibi or Abbas, to free the hostages

This week, President-elect Donald Trump addressed a sizeable Republican gathering, stating, "I had a good conversation with Bibi. We talked about what's coming and where things stand regarding the hostages." Trump then issued a direct warning to Hamas: "We want our hostages back. And they had better be back before I assume office, or you would pay a big price." In response, media analyst @AdemeMedia tweeted, "I see the $100 million bribe Miriam Adelson (a US-Israeli citizen) paid him during the election campaign is already paying off for the Israelis." Trump acts as "Israel's lapdog," a label many have associated with him since his initial run for office in 2016. Meanwhile, grim images of Palestinian civilians rounded up by the Israeli military in Gaza have circulated online, showcasing the ongoing human suffering in the region. The big question remains: What exactly will Trump do on January 20th if the hostages remain unreleased? Would he resort to extreme military action, risking further loss of life, including the hostages themselves?

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