The Nicole Sandler Show

A bit of what's news for now

To counter FL Fascist Gov Ron DeSantis' attack on schools (and therefore students and  their right to learn), I invited a guest who's working hard pushing back  against the push to whitewash our history and to keep teaching our kids  a truthful, honest history from which they can actually learn. Jesse Hagopian [http://twitter.com/jessedhagopian] is above all else a teacher. An educator! He's on hiatus from the  classroom, working to ensure that teachers are able to continue teaching  our children facts– from science to history and beyond, free from the  heavy authoritarian hand that Republicans favor these days. From his website at iamaneducator.com,  [http://iamaneducator.com/]we learn that Jesse is an editor for the social justice periodical Rethinking Schools [http://www.rethinkingschools.org/index.shtml], is the co-editor of the books, Black Lives Matter at School, [https://www.haymarketbooks.org/books/1607-black-lives-matter-at-school] Teaching for Black Lives [https://rethinkingschools.org/books/teaching-for-black-lives/], Teacher Unions and Social Justice [https://rethinkingschools.org/books/teacher-unions-and-social-justice/], and is the editor of the book, More Than a Score: The New Uprising Against High-Stakes Testing. [https://www.haymarketbooks.org/books/618-more-than-a-score] Jesse serves as the Director of the Black Education Matters Student Activist Award [https://blackeducationmatters.org/], is an organizer with the Black Lives Matter at School [https://blacklivesmatteratschool.com/] movement, and is founding member of Social Equity Educators [http://socialequityeducators.org/] (SEE).  And if you liked the "Legalize Black History" hat Jesse is wearing in this interview, he's got that merch for sale here [https://iamaneducator.com/legalize-black-history-store/], with proceeds going to supporting the youth winners of the Black Education Matters Student Activist Award [https://blackeducationmatters.org/], as well as supporting the writing of a forthcoming book about the movement to stop the banning of Black history. But I invited him to join us to tell us about his work with the Zinn Education Project [https://www.zinnedproject.org/]!  Hopefully you're read or are otherwise familiar with Howard Zinn's A Peoples History of the United States.  [https://bookshop.org/a/1630/9780062397348]

A bit of what's news for now

So many legal issues in the news, and the only law classes I ever took in college were broadcast law. That's why I call on Lisa Graves [http://twitter.com/thelisagraves] so often. She's brilliant, with the legal background to prove it. Today, Lisa leads TrueNorthResearch.org [http://truenorthresearch.org/], while still overseeing Kochdocs.org and ALECexposed, and other campaign that have reported truths we need to know. She's also worked on the inside, in the DOJ, holding a few different positions through the years. But Lisa Graves was Deputy Assistant Attorney General under both Janet Reno in the Clinton Administration and John Ashcroft in the W Bush years. So much to talk about today. Lisa lives in Wisconsin where they're in the final days of the WI Supreme Court elections, which will have national ramifications (she'll explain). And I certainly want to ask about all of TFG's legal woes that appear to be piling up around him while he seems to be the guy the Republicans will again nominate to run for president in two years. Like I said, lots to talk with Lisa Graves about today!

A bit of what's news for now

Today's Thursday, so Howie Klein is here. We'll certainly discuss the Republican disconnect as the dividing line will be apparent this weekend. The MAGAt/Trump crowd will be at the CPAC gathering, while the DeSantis delusionals will be just a few miles up the road from Mar a Lago with big donors affiliated with the Club for Growth.   Chicago went to the polls Tuesday to elect a mayor and, for the first time in 40 years, the incumbent didn't make it to the runoff! I'll ask Howie about the two candidates now vying for the job.   And what about the two Democratic senators who are likely to force Joe Biden to use his veto pen for the first time? (Surprise, Sinema is NOT one of them!)

A bit of what's news for now

I don't have a guest booked today. I thought that having Attorney General Merrick Garland testifying today before the Senate Judiciary Committee would provide more than enough material to deal with for the hour. Unfortunately, much of it was unwatchable.. Republicans have become so ugly, so aggressive and confrontational, and they are just completely full of shit. They learned well from their media appendage, Fox (Not) News, because they just make shit up. And they're all preening for the cameras. It's infuriating. So I'll share some of it. But be warned. Watching idiots like Ted Cruz berate Merrick Garland was depressing in multiple ways. Yes, I'll explain on the show today. So, although I didn't have a guest booked for today, my old pal Spocko [http://mstdn.social/@spocko@mastodon.online] joined in, and it was a perfect fit, as he's an activist and media trainer who helps people do their best when appearing on TV or radio.

A bit of what's news for now

Laffy [https://mastodon.social/@GottaLaff]'s back! Hopefully the studio gremlins from last time have been exorcised and it'll be smooth sailing today. We'll see. She's also back in California, where they're gearing up for another round of storm. We're learning more about the deceit from Fox (NOT) News as the Dominion discovery filings keep coming. It's about time they're exposed. SCOTUS appears to screw all with college debt, and Magats are gathering in two places this week... So much to talk about, an hour to do it!