Media Cyphers Kalamazoo

Ep. 30: Line 5, Corporate Capture, Anti-LGBTQ Bigotry and the Media Response, and More

2022-11-30

We start our show giving an update about the contested future of Line 5- after a full term with a Governor and Attorney General trying to rid the state of the ecological ticking time bomb, and a state legislature tipped in their favor for the first time in decades, it turns out the fate of the unpopular oil pipeline will likely be decided in the federal courts. We discuss what brought us here, the questions of sovereignty when the peoples of Michigan cannot determine their own fate, and why it is a consequence of courts and judges shaped by a vision of "justice" laid out by capitalists and not working people.

In Jamestown, MI a library mileage was voted down- which will effectively mean the shuttering of the Jamestown library. This was due in large part to a hate-mongering campaign about the library's meager selection of LGBTQ books. We talk about how far-right propaganda is creating these outcomes in our communities, and broaden our discussion to the media response to the recent anti- LGBTQ terrorism in Colorado. While the far-right peddles baseless propaganda unimpeded- and even escalates in the wake of the shooting- many outlets aren't doing enough to point out how and why these disinformation tactics are coming in to play (including certain anti-capitalist news outlets).

We talk a bit about how the media is framing Donald Trump's presidential announcement, with a lot of liberal commentators welcoming it as a good thing for Democrats- for anyone who has been alive for at least the last six years you may remember why this may be a bad idea. We close out by talking about Elon Musk and Twitter- and how monopoly capitalism has put one of our biggest public spaces at the mercy of a billionaire alt-right troll going through a mid-life crisis.

01:50- 5:15 Racism in Football

5:20- 24:25 Line 5 and the Capitalist Capture of the Courts

24:30- 36:50 Jamestown, MI Defunds Library Over LGBTQ Books

36:50- 1:14:15 Media Response to Anti- LGBTQ Terrorism

1:14:20- 1:24:30 Dave Chapelle and Anti- Semitism Discourse

1:24:30- 1:32:50 Neo-Nazis In Public and In Politics

1:33:00- 1:42:00 Pied Piper Redux: Media Elevating Trump and Normalizing DeSantis

1:42:00- 1:49:00 Elon Musk and Corporate Capture of the Public Square

SOURCES

"Why Line 5 will remain open despite Democratic control in Lansing"

https://www.bridgemi.com/michigan-environment-watch/why-line-5-will-likely-remain-open-despite-democratic-control-lansing

"What residents had to say about a library closing after 2 failed millages over LGBTQ books"