Squeaky Wheel Productions
A message from Between The Lines' executive producer, Scott Harris
To Our Between The Lines Friends:
After the March 27th Nashville school shooting and subsequent gun safety protests by students and parents at the Tennessee state Capitol, the Republican super-majority ignored their constituents' demand to pass gun safety legislation and instead focused their attention on expelling two Black state Reps. Justin Jones and Justin Pearson for their participation in those protests. The third state representative, Gloria Johnson, a white woman who was involved in the same protest, narrowly survived an expulsion vote. Tennessee state GOP legislators continue to stall gun control efforts, even as the governor calls for red flag laws and issued an executive order to provide more safety from those that are a danger to themselves or others.
This latest episode of the Republican party's exercise of vicious, destructive power reminds us of the GOP's national embrace of authoritarian one-party minority rule and blatant racism, which is now systematically employing the tools of voter suppression, gerrymandering, invalidating majority votes on referendums and terminating or removing key powers of elected officials the GOP views as enemies.
The Republican party, which now controls all three branches of government in 22 states across the U.S., is using their power to impose an agenda that can only be described as fascism writ large. The GOP majorities in these states are proposing and passing literally hundreds of new laws to erase America's history of slavery and racism, ban books, defund public libraries, repeal child labor laws, stigmatize the LGBTQ community, criminalize peaceful protest, outlawing drag shows, uphold laws that permit child marriage, permit children to openly carry firearms without parental consent, reimpose execution by lynching and firing squad, outlawing life-saving MRna vaccines, and repealing anti-segregation laws.
Both the Republican party and the judges they've appointed have succeeded in realizing their misogynist goal of imposing second class citizenship on American women after their extremist U.S. Supreme Court super-majority overturned the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that federally protected women's right to abortion and reproductive rights – the first time in U.S. history that a constitutional right has been taken away.
Now, Trump-appointed Texas Judge Matthew Kascmaryk is attempting to ban mifepristone, the pill approved by the FDA 23 years ago, used for more than half of all abortions in the U.S. If upheld, this ruling would essentially impose a national, 50-state medication abortion ban. Currently 24 states have an abortion ban. Additionally, under Texas SB8 law, abortion bounty hunters can sue anyone they believe has violated the state's abortion ban and receive a $10,000 reward with a successful suit. South Carolina's proposal would charge women who have had an abortion with murder, a 30-year prison sentence or the death penalty. Idaho is the first state to criminalize minors and anyone assisting them to leave the state for an abortion, with up to a 5-year prison term.
The Republicans' shameless embrace of political violence is clearly seen in their celebration of the Jan 6th insurrectionists and terrorists as patriots, holding up Kyle Rittenhouse as an exalted hero who shot and killed two unarmed activists at a BLM protest in Kenosha Wisconsin in August 2020, and now Texas GOP Gov. Gregg Abbott is working to unconditionally pardon Daniel Parry, a U.S. Army sergeant and an avowed racist who posted his desire to kill Black Lives Matters protesters on social media, found guilty of murdering Garrett Foster, who was protesting police brutality in Austin in 2020.
Donald Trump's 2016 election set in motion the transformation of the Republican party from a political organization that attempted to camouflage their decades-long authoritarian and white supremacist agenda with benign rhetoric designed to reassure the American public that they respected democratic norms, to today's GOP where they are unashamed to say the quiet part out loud. Their politicians are clearly now in competition with one another in a race to take America back to an era of blatant racism, misogyny, homophobia, inequality, unchecked violence and exploitation of children – with the horrifying goal imposing a fascist state in the image of Donald Trump, Gov. Ron DeSantis and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, driven by hate and fear.
Over the past eight years, Between The Lines has focused our coverage on raising the alarm about this existential and imminent threat to the foundation of American democracy. Our weekly program, featuring progressive voices not generally heard on corporate media, reaches a national and international audience on more than 70 radio stations, the Pacifica Radio Network, Progressive Voices Network, TuneIn, and nine other podcasting platforms, including iTunes/Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Play, TuneIn/Alexa, iHeart Radio, Stitcher and Overcast.
In an effort to break the information blockade, we've also have made an effort in recent years to reach listeners in underserved regions dominated by right-wing media, where our program is heard on radio stations in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Fayetteville, Arkansas; Knoxville, Tennessee; Macomb, Illinois; Clay, West Virginia and Kodiak, Alaska.
In this inflection point that very well may determine the survival of America's multi-racial democracy, please consider making a tax-deductible donation to Squeaky Wheel Productions, Between The Lines' tax-exempt nonprofit organization for the Great Give 2023 from May 3-4. The Great Give is a 36-hour fundraiser sponsored by the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven and many other philanthropic organizations to help Greater New Haven area nonprofits support their social missions.Any contribution you make to Between The Lines during this critical moment in U.S. history will help us purchase the hardware, software and services necessary to upgrade and expand our online and mobile presence.
Make an online donation here
Or, you can mail us a check, made payable to Squeaky Wheel Productions and addressed to:
Squeaky Wheel Productions
P.O. Box 110176
Trumbull, CT 06611
Thanks for all your past and continued support in the struggle for a more peaceful and just world for the next generation!
For more information, we can be reached at contact @ btlonline.org or (203) 268-8446.
In Solidarity,
Scott Harris, Executive Producer, Between The Lines and Squeaky Wheel Productions
and the rest of us at Between The Lines - Melinda, Denise, Anna, Bob, Elaine, Hank, Richard, Leslie, Jeff, Susan, Mary, Cat, Marco and Ruth Anne