Jon Nelson hosts this episode of the Old Mole, which includes the following segments:
What Is the Main Challenge for Socialists Now? In this episode of Another World Is Possible, Norm Diamond takes off from the recent book, The Socialist Challenge Today, by Leo Panitch and Sam Gindin, with Stephen Maher. The book argues that the Left has shifted its focus from protest in the streets to participating in electoral politics, citing the Bernie Sanders phenomenon among others. Norm explores what implications this shift has, in particular for our use of state institutions.
Portland Street Response Threatened: Portland Street Response has proven itself very successful as first responders with interventions and assistance for the destitute, houseless, and people in mental health crisis. But the Portland police want to return unchallenged to their role as first responders, employing force and intimidation and in the process exacerbating the problems. And the conservative bloc in the City Council is threatening to defund Portland Street Response. How can PSR be saved? Bill Resnick talks to Jacki Yerby of the organization Friends of Portland Street Response.
Separate and Deadly: In this debut "Field Notes" segment, co-authors Sophie Smith and Parker Deighan of the No More Deaths Abuse Documentation Team discuss the original findings of their recent report, Separate & Deadly: 911 System Segregation in the Arizona Borderlands. The discussion explores the constitutional issues bound up in domination of the US Border Patrol over emergency response services for undocumented people in distress in border counties and the calls for transformation to this discriminatory and ultimately deadly system. Read the full report at http://www.thedisappearedreport.org.
- KBOO