Parallax Views w/ J.G. Michael

If you appreciate Parallax Views and the work of J.G. Michael please consider supporting the show through Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/parallaxviews On this edition of Parallax Views, Aaron Good, a protégé of previous Parallax Views guest Peter Dale Scott, joins us to discuss his dissertation American Exception: Hegemony and the Dissimulation of the State. Hot off his appearance on TrueAnon, Aaron explains to us his concept of the Tripartite State as it relates to ideas about the Democratic State, the National Security State, and finally (and most controversially) the Deep State (although Aaron's conception of the Deep State, much like Peter Dale Scott's, is very different than the popular QAnon formulation of the concept). In this conversation we discuss: - Peter Dale Scott's conception of the "Overworld" and Underworld of power. - How Aaron became involved in subjects related to Scott's work - The formation of the CIA and its relation to Wall Street - U.S. supported coup d'états and support of Latin American death squads - The Nixon era, Watergate, the Church Committee, the election of Ronald Reagan, and America's political realignments - The John Birch Society, the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), the Trilateral Commission and other organizations/groups - The Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI) scandal, The Safari Club, international arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi of Iran/Contra infamy, intelligence agencies, and other skullduggery - Alliances between the mob and capitalism; United Fruit Company; Meyer Lansky; Nugen-Hand Bank; CIA agent Miles Copeland's comments about a "CIA within a CIA" - The revolving door between government, particularly intelligence agencies, and the private sectors of the military-industrial-complex - John Locke, the State of Emergency and Continuity of Government (COG) - Nazi legal theorist Carl Schmitt, the Cold War, and the concepts of the Dual State, the State of Exception, and the Sovereign - The hegemonic nature of what Aaron calls the Tripartite State - Peter Dale Scott's ideas about parapolitics and deep politics; the deep political system - Aaron and Peter Dale Scott's recent CovertAction Magazine essay "Was the Now-Forgotten Murder of One Man on September 9, 2001 a Crucial Pre-condition for 9/11?"

If you appreciate Parallax Views and the work of J.G. Michael please consider supporting the show through Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/parallaxviews On this edition of Parallax Views, much has been made, on both the the political right and left, of the power big tech giants like Google, Facebook, and Twitter wield in our lives. Dublin-based lawyer Paul Tweed, known as "The Doyen of Defamation", joins us to discuss how he is taking on these big tech giants directly and why he views Facebook and Twitter as publisher rather than mere platforms. Tweed is rather well-known and a high-profile lawyer. He's represented Liam Neeson (more on that in the conversation!), Brittney Spears, "J-Lo" Jennifer Lopez, and many others. In this conversation we discuss big tech giants dodging taxes, the dangers of print media's decline, big tech as worse than George Orwell's 1984, censorship, fake news and misinformation, why Tweed considers Facebook and Twitter publishers instead of platforms, Facebook attempting to be its own judge and jury (it's own supercourt?), regulating websites like Facebook and Twitter, online revenge porn, Facebook and Twitter as creating a "Frankenstein's monster", social media sucking money out of investigative journalism, antitrust legislation, and much, much more.

If you appreciate Parallax Views and the work of J.G. Michael please consider supporting the show through Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/parallaxviews On this edition of Parallax views, boxing is known as the "Sweet Science" due to its technical aspects. Historian Gerald Horne, however, offers a different perspective on the sport and its history in The Bittersweet Science: Racism, Racketeering, and the Political Economy of Boxing. In this book Horne explodes the untold story of boxing as it relates to racism, capitalism, deregulation, and the exploitation of labor. Horne joins us on this edition of the program to delve deep into the untold aspect of the sport and thus provide a fresh take on the history of boxing in America. From the days of the slave battle royales to the stories of Sonny Liston, Muhammad Ali, Jack Johnson, Joe Gans and other legends of the ring Horne takes us on a journey that encompasses the shadows of Reagan and Nixon, the mob, the "Great White Hope" trope, boxing promoters like , the lack of unions for boxers, match-fixing, Watergate, Roy Cohn, the business-side of boxing as an example of capitalism unchained and unregulated, and much, much more. Also in this conversation, Horne explains the connection between his previous works on settler-colonialism and this latest work on the subject of boxing and the dark underbelly of its illustrious history. And yes, we do make mention of Floyd Mayweather. All that and more on this edition of Parallax Views,

If you appreciate Parallax Views and the work of J.G. Michael please consider supporting the show through Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/parallaxviews On this edition of Parallax Views, remember the Nashville bombing of Christmas 2020? You may not as it fell down the proverbial memory hole pretty quickly. However, our guest on this edition of the program, Steve O'Keefe, has had the incident on his mind. O'Keefe has an interesting perspective on the Nashville bombing due to his background: he formerly worked for the controversial publisher Loompanics Unlimited. Loompanics specialized in books that could be described as illegalist literature. Loompanics Unlimited managed to enrage leftists, liberal, libertarians, and rightists alike in the 1980s and 1990s, although it could be said that Loompanics itself was of a individualist anarchist bent in its general political philosophy. At the beginning of this conversation details the history of Loompanics, the books it published and sold, and tells us a little bit about its publisher Mike Hoy. In doing so Steve lays the groundwork for giving a different perspective on the Nashville bombing based on his editing of books that dealt with illegal activities while working at Loompanics. Recently, Steve wrote a piece for Counterpunch entitled "The Nashville Bombing, More Than Meets the Eye" which raises questions about the Nashville bombing and the fact that a single, 65 year old man like Anthony Quinn Warner could pull off such an explosion with a simple bomb and an RV. Warner's actions led to his death as well as the injury of 8 civilians and the destruction of a great amount of property in downtown Nashville. Steve explains in detail the problems that arise from the fact that Warner was, if the account of the events as it is currently understood, acting alone. That said, Steve also argues that Warner may have learned how to pull off the explosion through others and/or a network. Either way, however, Steve believes that the incident is troubling and concerning. Given Steve's experience editing literature related to bombs, weapons, and illegal activities I think he provides and interesting perspective on the Nashville bombing. This conversation delves into issues related to the AT&T building's hydrogen material that could've allowed for a bigger explosion, the question of how Warner would've know about those hydrogen materials, the vulnerabilities of telecommunications facilities like AT&T, asymmetric warfare and terrorism, the tight-lipped response of law enforcement in regards to the bombing, why after the publication of the article Steve has come to believe Warner didn't build a superbomb, Warner evading the attention of authorities, whether or not Warner worked alone, and much, much more. Additionally we have a bit of an extended discussion later on about Loompanics and whether said books should be protected by the Second Amendment, etc. NOTE: The views expressed by Steve O'Keefe are his own.

If you appreciate Parallax Views and the work of J.G. Michael please consider supporting the show through Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/parallaxviews On this edition of Parallax Views, the right-wing President of Brazil Jair Bolsonaro has often been looked at as the Brazilian equivalent of Donald Trump. But who is Bolsonaro? How did he get into power? Who are the forces that have backed his regime? Brian Mier of teleSUR English and BrasilWire joins us on this edition of Parallax Views to answer all those question and more. Brian's new documentary, Dismantling Brazil: Bolsonaro's Neoliberal Agenda, lays out how Bolsonaro has dismantled Brazil economically thus leaving the average people and the poor of Bolsonaro's Brazil in the dust. Brian explains how the the rich and wealthy have reaped all the benefits from the reign of Bolsonaro and his regime. In fact, he says Bolsonaro's Presidency has led to a massive wealth transfer to the rich, Brazilian businessmen, and international capital. In addition to discuss these matters Brian also details how the Java Lato and Operation Car Wash were used to dispose of President Lula da Silva and Dilma Rousseff and thus lead to the installment of Jair Bolsonaro. In this regard, Brian tells the story of the Brazilian judge Sergio Moro and his role in getting Bolsonaro to power. Brian makes the case that President Lula da Silva and his allies were removed via trumped up corruption charges. The true heart of corruption, however, according to Brian is Bolsonaro, who, it should be added, has styled himself as an everyday man even though he is anything but that. Brian and I mention the works of former CIA agent turned whistleblower Philip Agee of CovertAction Magazine (author of Inside the the Company: CIA Diary) and John Perkins (author of Confessions of an Economic Hitman) in the course of this conversation as being worthwhile to further understanding the U.S.'s relationship to Brazil over the years. Brian details how the U.S. has supported military dictatorship in Brazil over the decades and the ways in which Bolsonaro represents a kind of "subfascism" that subordinates itself to American interests rather than simply Brazilian nationalism. All that and more on this edition of Parallax Views!

If you appreciate Parallax Views and the work of J.G. Michael please consider supporting the show through Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/parallaxviews On this edition of Parallax Views, in late January 2021 it was reported by such legacy media outlets as Reuters, The New York Times, and The Washington Post that Enrique Tarrio, a leader of the far-right Proud Boys, had acted as an informant for both local and federal law enforcement from 2012-2014. Tarrio was arrested in Washington, D.C. on January 4th, just two days prior to the now infamous January 6th storming of the Capitol carried about by pro-Trump elements like QAnon and "Stop the Steal", on a destruction of property charge. This, however, was not the Cuban-American Proud Boy leader's first arrest and, indeed, Tarrio has prior arrest and convictions to his name dating back to 2004. Based on transcripts from a 2015 federal court hearing obtained by the new agency Reuters, journalist Aram Roston reported: "In the Miami hearing, a federal prosecutor, a Federal Bureau of Investigation agent and Tarrio’s own lawyer described his undercover work and said he had helped authorities prosecute more than a dozen people in various cases involving drugs, gambling and human smuggling." Tarrio has denied acting as an informant for law enforcement. But, given the evidence, it would appear that Tarrio's denials contradict the reality. Although his cooperation with federal law enforcement predates the January 6th Capitol siege, does Tarrio's work as an informant raise questions about how the FBI operates its confidential sources? Ret. FBI Special Agent Coleen Rowley, most known for her whistleblowing in relation to 9/11 intelligence failures culminating in her testifying before the Senate and 9/11 Commission and appearing on the cover of TIME magazine, joins us to discuss what she refers to as "problematic issues of operating confidential sources" in light of these revelations about Enrique Tarrio as outlined in her recent op-ed "Curiouser and Curiouser: The Proud Boys’ Leader as a ‘Prolific’ Law Enforcement Confidential Source". In this conversation we discuss a number of issues related to the broader problem of how confidential sources are used in the FBI including: - J. Edgard Hoover, COINTELPRO, and the FBI targeting of feminist and civil rights groups; the fall-out the FBI faced over the Church Committee investigation into these matters; Rowley's insight into these matters as someone who began working for the FBI around the time of the Church Committee fallout - The infamous case of Whitey Bulger, the Irish-American Boston organized crime boss who also acted as an informant for federal law enforcement - The motivations of confidential sources; the "Good Citizen" category; the problem of confidential sources that don't fit the "Good Citizen" category (which Coleen argues is most cases) - The story of Lindley DeVecchio, Coleen's former boss, who acted as the handler for mob informants; DeVecchio was responsible for Colombo crime family capo Gregory Scarpa - The Department of Justice Inspector General 2005 study and 2019 audit that reveal the problems of how informants are operated by federal law enforcement; the incentives for informants and problems that arise from that - Investigative journalist Trevor Aaronson's "The Terror Factory: Inside the FBI's Maufactured War on Terrorism" and how federal agencies benefit from these post-911/War on Terror operations involving confidential sources - Is there adequate control or oversight with regards to the use of these confidential sources and informants by the FBI? - The possibility for reform - And much, much more!

If you appreciate Parallax Views and the work of J.G. Michael please consider supporting the show through Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/parallaxviews On this edition of Parallax Views, the Committee for a SANE U.S.-China Policy was recently formed by Michael Klare, Senior Visiting Fellow at the Arms Control Association, and Joseph Gerson, a long-time peace organizer whose work stretches back to the days of the Vietnam War, over their concerns that the hawkish Washington D.C. consensus on U.S. foreign policy towards China has birthed a dangerous New Cold War that could, through one false move by either side, turn hot. Klare joins us on this edition of the program to describe this new organization's goals and how the U.S. could take a different approach to China. Among the topics we cover: - The fear permeating Washington, D.C. over the rise of China as a rival superpower to the United States - The military-industrial complex that benefits from a New Cold War between China and the U.S. In this regards we discuss military spending, the Pentagon, and defense contractors - The problems on both the U.S. and China sides of this New Cold War. Tensions over the South China Sea and Taiwan - The frightening potential for a World War - The challenges and potentials for the U.S. of China's rise and the alternative approaches that can be taken to dealing with China's rise rather than aggression and provocation - Can we achieve a co-existence? - The need to address the climate change crisis globally and how China and the U.S. may have to cooperate on this matter - The relationship between the U.S. and China as a clash of two nationalisms backed by militarism - Greater dialogue between the U.S. and China as a possible way forward in U.S.-China relations; discussing other forms of conflict resolutions that are mutually beneficial to the U.S., China, and the world - Policy Papers — Committee for a SANE U.S.-China Policy by Michael Klare - Track 2 and Track 1.5 diplomacy - And much, much more!

If you appreciate Parallax Views and the work of J.G. Michael please consider supporting the show through Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/parallaxviews On this edition of Parallax Views, is American an Empire? And, if it is, is that Empire decline? Noted academic Alfred W. McCoy, Fred Harvey Harrington Professor of History at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, believes the the answer to both those question is "Yes." McCoy has authored numerous books over the years including The Politics of Heroin in Southeast Asia: CIA Complicity in the Global Drug Trade, A Question of Torture: CIA Interrogation, from the Cold War to the War on Terror, Policing America’s Empire: The United States, the Philippines, and the Rise of the Surveillance State, but his most recent book, In the Shadows of the American Century: The Rise and Decline of US Global Power, deals with the idea the idea of as a declining empire most directly. Last month, McCoy penned an article for TomDispatch that supplements the observations and analysis of In the Shadows of the American Century. Entitled "While America Was Sleeping: Waking from a Four-Year Fever Dream to Find Global Power Gone", the piece explores the ramifications of the 4-year Trump Presidency on America's status as a global hegemon and what it portends for the new President Joe Biden and America as a whole. In this conversation McCoy and I discuss a number of issues including: - The idea of America as an empire - The ascension of China as a global power, the decline of American primacy, and what both together mean for the world - Obama's geopolitical strategy and the TPP (Trans-Pacific Parternship) - The imperial hubris of the George W. Bush Presidency and the Iraq War; the "unanaswerable question" of pinpointing the exact reason of U.S.'s decline in terms of global power - Trump's acceleration of the decline and why McCoy believes the full-force of said decline could be felt as soon as 2030 - Reasons for China's ascent as a global power - And much, much more.

If you appreciate Parallax Views and the work of J.G. Michael please consider supporting the show through Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/parallaxviews On this edition of Parallax Views, Paul Jay is a journalist and documentarian behind the thoughtful independent media outlet theAnalysis.News. Prior to founding theAnalysis.News, where he hosts interviews with such figures as Col. Lawrence Wilkerson, Matt Taibbi, Abby Martin, Noam Chomsky, and many others, he directed the documentary Hitman Hart: Wrestling With Shadows (concerning pro wrestler Bret "The Hitman" Hart and his relationship to the WWE and Vince McMahon) and served as the founder, CEO, and Senior Editor of The Real News Network. Paul joins us on this edition of the show to do what he does best: provide an analysis of the world and the events sweeping it today. In particular we focus on the dual process of the financialization and what Paul calls the fascistization of American culture. We delve into the long shadow of the Cold War mentality and how modern far-right movements with a penchant for the paranoid-style in American politics, like QAnon, have predecessors like the John Birch Society in the 20th century. Additionally we discuss the struggles of the political Left today and how they relate to the struggles of today. We talk about socialism and the crushing of socialist movements in the 20th century, the Soviet Union, McCarthyism, and more in this regard. Additionally, we also discuss how hyper-capitalism or a kind of capitalism-on-steroids has created a situation of multiple crises of epic proportions. In particular, Paul consider the climate crisis and the lack of time we have in dealing with said crisis. Additionally, Paul and I discuss what can be done, the Democratic Party and corporate politics, third party politics and whether they are feasible, Gore Vidal's ideas about the decline of American Empire, Russiagate, the digital revolution and digitized globalization, how financial capital and Wall Streets works in our neoliberal society, Blackrock and the irrationality of Wall Street's mentality, and much, much more!

On this edition of Parallax Views, true crime author Synova Cantrell joins us for a riveting discussion of an organized crime syndicate known as The Dixie Mafia. If you've ever seen the Walking Tall movies The Dixie Mafia are the antagonists of tough southern Sheriff Buford Pusser (portrayed in the movies by Joe Don Baker, Bo Svenson, and, in the remake, "Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson). But the story of Buford Pusser and his battle against The Dixie Mafia wasn't just the stuff of action movies. Pusser was real and so was the Dixie Mafia. In fact, the Pusser story is only one part of the Dixie Mafia saga. Synova Cantrell, in her book Silenced by the Dixie Mafia: The Anderson Files, tells not only the story of Pusser and the Dixie Mafia but a cold case that has led one woman, Phyllis Anderson, on quest for justice over the course of multiple decades. It's a story of that encompasses arson and murder-for-hire plots, police brutality and police misconduct, racist groups like the KKK, lawless southern-fried criminality in rural America that was arguably more vicious than the Italian mob, moonshine, poverty, villains resembling more serious versions of The Dukes of Hazzard characters Boss Hogg and Roscoe, Southern belles gone bad, and even the break-up of the the Allman Brothers band! We delve into a number of these areas including: - The origins of the Dixie Mafia by way of the Stateline mob - The brilliance of the Dixie Mafia and characters like Towhead White as well as the structure of the Dixie Mafia - The Dixie Mafia, "The Godfathers of Southern Rock" the Allman Brothers, and the RICO act - The real Buford Pusser and the mythology of the Walking Tall movies; Buford "The Bull" Pusser's one-man war against the Dixie Mafia and his fight to the death with Towhead White - The vicious and seductive Louise Hathcock, the Queen of the Stateline mob - And much, much more!

On this edition of Parallax Views, Jeremy Kuzmarov of CovertAction Magazine joins us to discuss his 5-part series of articles on Biden's foreign policy with a particular focus on the first in the series: "The Forgotten Story of How Joe Biden Helped Ramp Up the War on Drugs in Colombia". What was Biden's role in Reagan's War on Drugs and the awful Plan Colombia which targetted the leftist group FARC as narco-terrorists? Find out on this edition of the show as we critique Joe Biden's involvement in Plan Colombia and the devastating effects it has had on the Central American country. Additionally, Kuzmarov tells us a bit about the recently relaunched CovertAction Magazine, founded by the late CIA whistleblower Phil Agee, and gives his thoughts on U.S.-Russia relations in light of the protests that broke out in relation to Alexey Navalny. All that and more on this edition of Parallax Views that gets into foreign policy, imperialism, paramilitary juantas, corruption and drug trafficking, counterinsurgency, and much, much more!

If you appreciate Parallax Views and the work of J.G. Michael please consider supporting the show through Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/parallaxviews On this edition of Parallax Views, David H. Price is a scholar who has been studying aspects of the National Security State from the Cold War onward. In particular, he has written a great deal about the weaponizing of academic anthropology during the Cold War by the National Security establishment in America. His two books, Weaponizing Anthropology and Cold War Anthropology, cover the matters in-depth. Recently he also penned an article for Counterpunch entitled The CIA Book Publishing Operations: Fragments of Sol Chaneles’ Lost Manuscript detailing the CIA's involvement in book publishing during the Cold War (ie: the CIA's promotion of the book Doctor Zhiavago, the Ramparts investigation into the issue of CIA and the publishing world, and more). David Price joins us on this edition of the program to discuss both the weaponization of anthropology and his recent research into the CIA's involvement in the publishing industry as well as giving listeners an idea of how to file Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests and engage in quality research. We also touch on topics like MKULTRA, Don Delillo's observations about the CIA, Cold War liberals in the National Security State apparatus, and much, much more! NOTE FROM THE HOST: Late in the interview I mistakenly refer to William Casey as "Wild" Bill Casey when I was meaning to refer to OSS's "Wild" Bill Donovan.

If you appreciate Parallax Views and the work of J.G. Michael please consider supporting the show through Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/parallaxviews On this edition of Parallax Views, the U.S COVID-19 vaccine rollout has not been off to the best start. What has led to these failings that have turned obtaining the vaccine into a Hunger Games-style Darwinian competition? And how can these failings be remedied? Elisabeth Rosenthal, editor-in-chief of Kaiser Health News and a contributing writer for the New York Times, joins us to discuss these issues and more. Rosenthal, author of the book An American Sickness: How Healthcare Became Big Business And How You Can Take It Back and the recent NYT op-ed "Yes, It Matters That People Are Jumping the Vaccine Line", takes us through the problems of inequity that have arisen due to a hollowed-out public health system, the mistakes made during the Trump administration's Operation Warp Speed, the lack of central planning in dealing with the vaccine rollout, people "jumping the line" to get the vaccine, how the most in need of the vaccine are not always the first in line to receive it, and what can be done under the Biden administration to remedy these issues.

If you appreciate Parallax Views and the work of J.G. Michael please consider supporting the show through Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/parallaxviews On this edition of Parallax Views, former National Security insider Mevlin Goodman, who has worked for the CIA, the State Department, and the Department of Defense's National War College, joins us to discuss the problem of the politicization of intelligence work in the U.S. and President Joe Biden's picks for the CIA (William Burns, a career diplomat) and Secretary of Defense (Retired General and Raytheon official Lloyd Austin, who some analysts, including Goodman, will widen the the civil-military gap). We delve into Goodman's history in intelligence work and his views on what has gone wrong with how the National Security State has operated in the past few decades. We also discuss the dumbing down of America, U.S.-China relations, Michael Scheuer of the CIA's Bin Laden Unit Michael Scheuer, the idea of the "deep state", defense spending, the civil-military gap, and much, much more.

If you appreciate Parallax Views and the work of J.G. Michael please consider supporting the show through Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/parallaxviews On this bonus edition of Parallax Views, users of the "Wall Street Bets" Reddit have wreaked havoc on Wall Street hedge funds in relation to Gamestop and other stocks in the past day. What is this? The Gamestopocalypse? What should we make of this stock market mayhem? Mike Swanson of the Wall Street Window and author of the new book Why the Vietnam War (and previously The War State) joins us to discuss the matter and the problems with apps like Robinhood, which is currently coming under fire from figures like Congresswoman Rashida Taleb. Everyone from Tucker Carlson to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has chimed in on this controversy. Mike Swanson has a take you may disagree but I thought this conversation was worthwhile as some whose reactions to the events have thus far differed from Mike's own analysis.

If you appreciate Parallax Views and the work of J.G. Michael please consider supporting the show through Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/parallaxviews On this edition of Parallax Views, a quick-and-dirty rundown of where U.S. foreign policy stands at this early stage in the Biden Presidency. Dave DeCamp, news editor for Antiwar.Com, joins us to talk Biden's Secretary of State Antony Blinken, hawkish figures like Samantha Power and Victoria Nuland's involvement in the administration, the War in Yemen, the prospects for renewing the Iran deal, Biden's Defense Secretary pick Lloyd Austin, the tensions between China and the U.S. especially as they regard to the South China Sea, and much, much more.

If you appreciate Parallax Views and the work of J.G. Michael please consider supporting the show through Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/parallaxviews On this edition of Parallax Views, photojournalist Zach D. Roberts of the Palast Investigative Fund joins us to discuss the investigative journalism he and Greg Palast undertook in the aftermath of the January 6th Capitol riots. What Roberts and Palast found was the high-profile members of the GOP, including from the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) and Georgia Republican Party, had coordinated with Ali Alexander, an alt-right activist associated with Roger Stone and other far-right figures that played a role in organizing the "Stop the Steal" movement that stormed the Capitol on January 6th, 2021. We discuss this in detail as well as going over Zach and Greg's work on voter suppression, voter purges in the Georgia election, and much, much more.

On this edition of Parallax Views we continue our examination of the late New York Times journalist Neil Sheehan, this time covering a news story published in NYT after his death by reporter Janny Scott proclaiming to tell the true story of the Pentagon Papers and Sheehan's involvement in the affair that was not previously known. The article, entitled "Now It Can Be Told: How Neil Sheehan Got the Pentagon Papers", seems to treat Neil Sheehan as the true hero of the the saga while portraying the story's whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg as a fearful neurotic with a penchant for making foolish mistakes. The Pentagon Papers, which were a secret Pentagon study of the Vietnam War commissioned by Robert McNamara that exposed how the U.S. government had been deceiving the public about the war effort, is a monumental case in the history of 20th century politics and journalism. As such Janny Scott's story, in which Sheehan gives a different version of events, is an important development. Jim Naureckis of the media watchdog organization Fair and Accuracy in Media (FAIR), however, argues the Scott story is misleading. As such Naureckis and FAIR released an Action Alert to its readers entitled "What Can ‘Now Be Told’ by NYT About Pentagon Papers Isn’t Actually True". Jim joins us to discuss the problems with the NYT article purporting to tell a new truth about the Pentagon Papers as well as discussing the problems of valorizing journalists as heroes while downplaying the importance and bravery of whistleblowers like Ellsberg. All that and more on this edition of Parallax Views.

On this edition of Parallax Views, the acclaimed New York Times journalist Neil Sheehan passed away on January 7th, 2021. Sheehan is particularly known for his reporting on the Vietnam War, his bestseller A Bright Shining Lie: John Paul Vann and America in Vietnam, and his involvement in the story of whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers. Although highly regarded by most, Jim DiEugenio of Kennedys and King offered criticisms of Sheehan's journalistic oeuvre in his piece "Neil Sheehan: In Retrospect". Jim joins us on this edition of the program to offer a parallax view on the work of Neil Sheehan and his contemporary David Halberstam, author of The Best and the Brightest, as it relates to their work on the Vietnam war. DiEugenio argues in his heavily footnoted piece that, contrary to recognizing the Vietnam War as a folly, Sheenan offers a "Lost Cause" theory of the conflict that has since been taken up by journalists today like Max Boot (author of The Road Not Taken: Edward Lansdale and the Tragedy in Vietnam) and others. Additionally, DiEugenio makes thoughtful critiques of Sheehan in relation to the story of the Pentagon Papers and Sheehan's spat with attorney Mark Lane over Vietnam atrocity. This is a fascinating conversation that also manages to delve into foreign policy during the administration of President John F. Kennedy and a rundown of the story behind the Pentagon Papers. Additionally, Jim offers his thoughts on the Capitol riots of January 6th, 2021. All that and more on this edition of Parallax Views!

On this edition of Parallax VIews, Ross Benes, author of Rural Rebellion: How Nebraska Became a Republican Stronghold, joins us for a probing, sincere conversation on America's much discussed "rural-urban divide" and his experiences moving from a small-town in Nebraska to the cosmopolitan world of New York. Although Ross's book has a great deal of hard journalism and statistics regarding how the Republican Party has taken hold of Nebraska, we use the conversation to delve into the autobiographical and inter-personal elements of Rural Rebellion in this rousing discussion. Why is there such a divide between the America mid-west and the country's big cities? And can the divide be overcame? This conversation doesn't necessarily provide all the answers but it does raise important points to consider in regards to how we relate to each other in an increasingly atomizing society that is fraught with friction. This particular discussion seems particularly relevant in light of the pro-Trump elements, such as QAnon and the Stop the Steal movement, that caused much chaos on Capitol Hill on January 6th, 2021.

On this edition of Parallax Views, Conrad Hamilton, co-author of Myth and Mayhem: A Leftist Critique of Jordan Peterson (w/ Ben Burgis, Matt McManus, and Marion Trejo), joins us to give his take on the political situation in the U.S. from the perspective of someone currently watching the American turmoil from Paris, France. Conrad and I delve into the realm of theory in an attempt to explain the current situation as well as touching on areas related to left-wing debates concerning class reduction vs. identity politics, U.S. saber-rattling at China, the Capitol Hill riots, Trumpism, and much, much more. Is America in crisis? Conrad makes the case and argues that the political Left needs to step up to the plate for that very reason. All that and more on this edition of Parallax Views

If you appreciate Parallax Views and the work of J.G. Michael please consider supporting the show through Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/parallaxviews On this edition of Parallax Views, National Security scholar Nicholas Grossman recently penned an open letter to QAnon believers entitled "QAnon Woke Up the Real Deep State" warning them that the Capitol Hill riots is going to trigger a harsh reaction from the real National Security rather than the fevered conspiratorial fantasies they imagine in their minds. Nicholas joins us for a conversation about the piece and some of the points he raises in it as well as discussing the potential pitfalls of new domestic terrorist laws and elucidating what the real deep state is and how it works. Nicholas makes the case that QAnon, "Stope the Steal", and other fervent Trump supporters may have bitten off more than they can chew with the 1/6/21 incident on Capitol Hill. Is the National Security State's response going to be what QAnon and similar movements signed up for? Nicholas argues not and also discusses groups like The Oathkeepers and their relationship to the militia movements of the 1990s to help us better understand the situation involving domestic terrorism today and the National Security State's response to it. All that and more on this edition of Parallax Views.

The following was initially a video interview published by the Romanian left media outlet The Barricade. It is an discussion with Chip Berlet, a long time researcher into the movement and machinations of the American far-right, conducted after the events on Capitol Hill on 1/6/21. It is reposted here as a bonus episode for my listeners. Original description of the episode courtesy of The Barricade: On January 6th, 2021 pro-Trump supporters, from QAnon conspiracy believers to the members of the militia-oriented Oathkeepers organization, stormed Capitol Hill in the belief that sitting President Donald J. Trump had a potential second term in office stolen from him vis-a-vis election fraud. J.G. Michael, host of the Parallax Views podcast, reached out to Chip Berlet, long-time researcher into the machinations of the American far right, for comment. For decades Berlet, a former analyst at Political Research Associates and at one time Vice President of the National Lawyers Guild, has honed his skills as a scholar to become an expert on the topics of right-wing populism, fascism, and the spread of conspiracy theories in society. His writings have been features in such outlets as The New York Times, CovertAction Quarterly, The Progressive, The Public Eye, Z Magazine, and The Des Moines Register. He is also the author of Trumping Democracy: From Reagan to the Alt Right and co-author, with Matthew Lyons, of “Right-Wing Populism: Too Close for Comfort”. In this video interview, conducted exclusively for The Barricade, Berlet gives his thoughts on the Capitol Hill riots, the dangers of unleashing the National Security Apparatus in the aftermath of this event, and much more. J.G. Michael is the producer and host of Parallax Views, a program covering an eclectic variety of topics ranging from politics and pop culture to history and philosophy as well as everything in between. Previously he worked for Zero Books as the co-host of the Alternatives podcast with C. Derrick Varn. He has interviewed such well-known public figures as Noam Chomsky, Academy Award-nominated screenwriter John Sayles, Lt. Col. Lawrence Wilkerson, and many, many others.

If you appreciate Parallax Views and the work of J.G. Michael please consider supporting the show through Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/parallaxviews On this edition of Parallax Views, J.P. Sottile aka the Newsvandal joins us to unpack where America is at after the chaos on Capitol Hill last week in which angry, unruly Trump supporters, QAnon believers, Oath Keepers, and others stormed D.C. in the belief that Joe Biden's Presidential victory was the belief of election fraud and that a second term in the White House was stolen from Trump as a result. J.P., as someone who studied fascism during his years in academia and grew up in an evangelical Christian family, has an interesting take on these matters and believes that the Republican Party has unleashed a beast that has been caged since the McCarthy era. The discussion moves towards one of a philosophical nature as we delve into the idea of Victims and Perpetrators in society and politics with J.P. contending that we are all complicit in a deeply broken society. J.P. mentions the Iraq War in this regard and J.G. brings up Umberto Eco's "Ur-Fascism" essay, but the discussion goes down many different and varied rabbit holes. A deeply thoughtful conversation.

If you appreciate Parallax Views and the work of J.G. Michael please consider supporting the show through Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/parallaxviews On this edition of Parallax Views, C. Derick Varn of Zero Books makes his triumphant return to the program by providing a history lesson on the idea that "politics is downstream from culture" from the idea of cultural hegemony by the Italian Communist thinker Antonio Gramsci to its usage today. In addition, we delve into the storming of the Capitol by Trump supporters last week and attempt to tie together all the threads that lead us back to the "politics is downstream from culture" end of our conversation. Needless to say, this is an in-depth discussion that's a tour-de-force of thoughtful historical information, political conversation, and current events that you won't want to miss

If you appreciate Parallax Views and the work of J.G. Michael please consider supporting the show through Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/parallaxviews On this edition of Parallax Views, recently I reached out to Jefferson Morley after Ishmael Reed mentioned that he was the reason his op-ed "The Word on the Vine", which dealt with the claims of the late journalsit Gary Webb and others that the CIA played a role in the LA crack epidemic vis-à-vis the Iran/Contra Affair, was published in The Washington Post. Morley, in addition to being the author of such books as The Ghost: The Secret Life of CIA Spymaster James Jesus Angleton, Our Man in Mexico: Winston Scott and the Hidden History of the CIA, and Snow-Storm in August: Washington City, Francis Scott Key, and the Forgotten Race Riot of 1835, was a reporter and editor for The Washington Post. He now runs the Deep States blog and reports on issues related to government secrecy, transparency, and intelligence agencies like the CIA and FBI. Morley was at the center of the storm so to speak when Gary Webb's Dark Alliance series, which connected to the CIA's involvement with the Iran/Contra scandal to the the LA crack epidemic, and the controversy it created. Many outlets, like The Post, pushed back hard on Webb. Morley lobbied for a closer examination of what Webb may have gotten right or been on the trail of getting correct rather than simply pointing out his errors. In this conversation we begin by revisiting Gary Webb's reporting and then begin delving into other areas of interest such as how Morley began reporting on the cloak and dagger world of intelligence agencies and how they have often been unaccountable for their actions over the decades. We also discuss the origins of the term "Deep State" and how it has been transformed into a snarl word Donald Trump uses against his critics, the pros and cons of news media today and the importance of journalism to a functioning democracy, the problems of a society which deeply distrusts its media, Steven Spielberg's movie The Post, the Amazon series The Last Narc about the death of Enrique "Kiki" Camarena, classified documents related to the JFK assassination, op-eds vs. hard reporting, government secrecy and why greater transparency is needed in regards to federal agencies, Morley's lawsuit against the CIA, and much, much more. A note that this was recorded before the January 6th, 2021 pro-Trump mob breach of the Capitol. The conversation, and some of the areas we delve into, seem particularly relevant in regards to this event. I hope you as a listener will find the conversation fascinating.

If you appreciate Parallax Views and the work of J.G. Michael please consider supporting the show through Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/parallaxviews On this bonus edition of Parallax Views, economist Dr. Jack Rasmus, host of the Alternative Visions radio show and author of The Scourge of Neoliberalism: US Economic Policy from Reagan to Trump, joins us to put the January 6th 2021 pro-Trump mob breach of Capitol Hill. On January 4th, 2021, Dr. Rasmus published an article entitled "What Happens January 6th, 20th & After? America’s Declining Democracy" (also available on Counterpunch as "America’s Continuing Crisis of Democracy" in which he offered his thoughts on Trump and his cohorts like Ted Cruz's game plan for January 6th and January 20th when he is slated to leave the White House. In said op-ed Dr. Rasmus commented on how the Proud Boys and other pro-Trump elements would be on-hand at Washington, D.C. on the 6th in droves. What, though, is the end game? Dr. Rasmus offers that it is not about keeping Trump in office past January 20th, but instead part of a longer term strategy on the Trump loyalists within the GOP to keep control of the Republican Party and further mobilize and radicalize its base going into 2022 and eventually 2024. In this conversation Dr. Rasmus lay out his thoughts from this article as well giving his comment on the events of January 6th, 2021.

If you appreciate Parallax Views and the work of J.G. Michael please consider supporting the show through Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/parallaxviews On this edition of Parallax Views, Prof. William A. Darity, Jr. and A. Kirsten Mullen join us to discuss their book From Here to Equality: Reparations for Black Americans in the Twenty-First Century. What does reparations mean, who are the people fighting for it, and how can those fighting for it win in their efforts? Are there any issues with reparations? What of the controversial ADOS (American Descendants of Slavery) movement and its argument that reparations should only be afforded to the descendants of slavery in the United States? What does the term "40 acres and a mule" mean and what is it's relevance to the discussion of reparations for black Americans? Sandy Darity and Kirsten Mullen provide answers to all these questions and many more in the course of this fascinating discussion that deals with the history of slavery, the Civil War, the fight for freedom by black Americans, the racial wealth gap and the wealth differential between blacks and whites, the issue of general wealth vs personal savings and income as the key to wealth accumulation, black criticisms of reparations, the narrative that black Americans would not use reparations responsibly, savings and spending among black and white Americans, and other important subjects related to their book.

If you appreciate Parallax Views and the work of J.G. Michael please consider supporting the show through Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/parallaxviews Parallax Views returns from a New Year's break with a brand new and exciting episode detailing how one of the FBI's most successful female agents joined forces with a Japanese mobster to take down Chicago organized crime. Former FBI Agent Elaine Smith (aka E.C. Smith) joins us to discuss how she became involved in the FBI and ended up on the tail of Ken Eto, a Japanese mobster who acted as a gambling kingpin for the Chicago mob. Eto, after the mob attempted a hit on him in fear he'd rat on them, turned to Elaine Smith to get his revenge on them in court. What followed is a story that is fit for a major motion picture and led to dozens of organized crime figures to be taken down by this duo of two very different kinds of fish-out-of-water outsiders. Elaine also discusses what it was like getting into the FBI, the training (including brutal boxing matches she had to have with men), and her approach to FBI work. Did she experience sexism in her career and struggles as a female in the FBI? Find out in this fascinating conversation. If you're interested in Mafia tales, organized crime, FBI crime busts, or any other matter of true crime stories.

On this edition of Parallax Views, Les Wexner, the founder of L Brands and former CEO of Victoria's Secrets, has come under scrutiny in the past year for his close association with the late billionaire pedophile "International Man of Mystery" Jeffrey Epstein. In some ways Wexner's association with the wealthy abuser can be considered the "Ohio Connection" to the sordid saga of Jeffrey Epstein. Lawyer, professor of political science, and maverick Columbus, Ohio-based journalist Dr. Robert Fitrakis joins, who has been investigating the Wexner/Epstein story since the 1990s, joins us to discuss this aspect of the Epstein scandal. Our resident Epstein correspondent in France, Marlon Ettinger, joined J.G. to co-host this episode. In this conversation we discuss: - Bob's background in journalism and how he got on the trail of the billionaire Les Wexner in Columbus, Ohio - How Epstein and Wexner met - The 1985 mob-style murder/hit carried out against Wexner's tax attorney Arthur Shapiro and "The Shapiro Murder File" - Wexner's connections to public corruption and organized crime in central Ohio - State of Ohio Inspector General David Sturtz, who went after Epstein and Wexner and referred to Epstein as Wexner's "boyfriend" - Wexner's ties to the scandalous Iran/Contra affair through the CIA-connected Southern Air Transport (SAT) - The Wexner Foundation's involvement in the selling of the Iraq War - Epstein and sexual blackmail operations; the large sums of money transferred from Wexner to Epstein; why Bob believes that Wexner is still worth looking into rather than someone who didn't know Epstein's true nature; the arrest of Ghislaine Maxwell (does she have the goods?) and much, much more. SUPPORT PARALLAX VIEWS ON PATREON! FOR BONUS CONTENT AND ARCHIVED EPISODES!

On this edition of Parallax Views, was 9/11 preventable? Our guest on this September 11th anniversary edition of Parallax Views, Mark Rossini, who worked as the FBI's point man in the CIA's Bin Laden Unit (aka ALEC Station), makes the case it was in his piece "In Re: 9/11". As an FBI agent working in ALEC Station alongside fellow FBI agent Doug Miller, Mark became privy to the CIA's monitoring of two 9/11 hijackers, Flight 77's Nawaf al-Hazmi and Khalid al-Mihdhar, and a "Terror Summit" in Kuala Lumpur, Malyasia from January 5th-8th, 2000. Through their monitoring of these activities, the CIA discovered that the two future 9/11 terrorist had VISAs to the U.S. When Doug Miller wrote a report on the summit, however, the CIA told both he and Rossini not to send it to the FBI. For 19 years Mark Rossini has been troubled by the question of WHY the CIA did not share this vital bit of information with the CIA. His conclusions, which were independently corroborated by National Coordinator for Security, Infrastructure Protection, and Counter-terrorism Richard Clarke, is that elements of the CIA made a catastrophic decision after the Kuala Lumpur Summit that they kept under wraps to preserve their own careers and reputations. This decision, which Rossini makes a strong circumstantial case for having occurred, involved an illegal recruitment operation and Saudi Arabia's intelligence services aka the Mabahith. Rossini believes that, if this circumstantial case is true, then 9/11 may well have been preventable. And yes, this is the same Mark Rossini featured heavily in Lawrence Wright's book The Looming Tower and as a character in the TV series of the same name. PLEASE READ MARK ROSSINI'S ANALYSIS OF 9/11 https://undicisettembre.blogspot.com/p/mark-rossini-inre911.html In this conversation we discuss: - The FBI's John O'Neil, known as Bin Laden's arch-nemesis (who, after leaving the FBI shortly before 9/11 perished in the towers on that fateful day) and the conflicts between O'Neil and the CIA, specifically former BIn Laden Unit head honcho Michael Scheuer - The concept of "The Wall", which many believe led to botched communications before 9/11 between the FBI and CIA, and why Rossini believes "The Wall" isn't a sufficient explanation for the CIA's withholding information regarding the Malaysia terror summit from the FBI - The relationship between the CIA and Saudi Arabia's Mahabith; the special relationship between Saudi Arabia and the U.S. - FBI agent Steve Bongardt and his angry email to Dina Corsi in July of 2001 regarding the CIA, FBI, and al-Hazmi and al-Mihdhar; Bongardt wrote that, “Someday somebody will die—and, Wall or not, the public will not understand why we were not more effective.” - CIA Director George Tenet's comments pertaining to 9/11 - And much, much more. This Episode Brought to You By: The War State: The Cold War Origins of the Military-Industrial Complex and the Power Elite, 1945-1963 by Michael Swanson of The Wall Street Window

On this edition of Parallax Views, the multi-level marketing NXIVM has gained national infamy as the "Hollywood Sex Cult" that landed its founder Keith Raniere, Smallville actress Allison Mack, and others in prison on multiple counts related to horrifically abusive behaviors against its members. The sensational headlines, however, may not do justice to understanding the true depravity of Keith Raniere, known within the cult as "Vanguard", and the horror show of NXIVM. Joining us on this edition of the program to unravel the sordid story and provide insight into the mind of a cult leader is Keith Raniere's ex-girlfriend, the "Patient Zero" of NXIVM, Toni Natalie and journalist Chet Hardin, who has been one of the main journalists covering the cult. Together Natalie and Hardin have authored the new book The Program: Inside the Mind of Keith Raniere and The Rise and Fall of NXIVM. We discuss Toni's story from how she met Raniere through the company Consumers Byline Inc. to the gaslighting she experienced after crossing Raniere and finally bearing witness to the fall of NXIVM's founder at his trial. Chet fills us in on how he began reporting on NXIVM and his experiences with its members. Additionally, Chet notes that, while NXIVM may have connections to political campaigns of the Clinton family, Raniere and his cult's beliefs share a great deal in common with the right-wing ideologies espoused online by "incels" and "the red pill" in regards to women. Toni notes that the story of NXIVM is not over yet and that victims, like the late Kristin Snyder, still deserve justice. We close out the conversation by trying to offer some kind of light amidst all the darkness. NXIVM founders Keith Raniere and NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) expert Nancy Salzman, known within the cult as "Vanguard" and "Prefect" The Smallville actress Allison was a particularly high-profile member of NXIVM and has admitted to coming up with the idea for the human branding of NXIVM members Sara and Clare Bronfman, heiresses to the immense wealth generated by the Seagram Company, were also high-profile figures associated with NXIVM THE PROGRAM: INSIDE THE MIND OF KEITH RANIERE AND THE RISE AND FALL OF NXIVM BY TONI NATALIE W/ CHET HARDIN AVAILABLE NOW FROM GRAND CENTRAL PUBLISHING SUPPORT PARALLAX VIEWS ON PATREON! WHERE YOU CAN HEAR... PARALLAX VIEWS THE WEEK THAT WAS CURRENT EVENTS PROGRAM

If you appreciate Parallax Views and the work of J.G. Michael please consider supporting the show through Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/parallaxviews The Parallax Views holiday series concludes with an exploration of Santa Claus's dark counterpart, Krampus. Although the figure of Krampus has become embedded in the popular consciousness in the last decade, especially since the release of the Hollywood horror-comedy Krampus, the folklore of the Krampus reaches much farther back and into the most isolated part of the European Alps. Joining us to unravel this history, and explain how remote parts of Europe still celebrate the winter season with rituals related to St. Nicholas and his dark companion Krampus, is Al Ridenour, a former member of the avant-provocateur Cacophony Society and author of The Krampus and the Old Dark Christmas: Roots and Rebirth of the Folkloric Devil (Feral House; 2016). We begin by discussing Al's involvement in the Cacophony Society, which once boasted the involvement of transgressive author extraordinaire Chuck Palahniuk, and it's most famous avant-garde provocation: SantaCon. From there we delve into how the winter season has always had a dark side within the popular imagination and discuss the popularity of Christmas horror movies with Al recommending 1980's unusual Christmas Evil and discussing Michael Dougherty's Krampus and whether it is true to the folklore. We then take a deep dive into the history of the lore around Krampus and how the figure is used in festive rituals during the month of December in the Alps of Europe like Gastein in Austria. What is the function of the Krampus? His relationship to St. Nicholas? Do these rituals have an erotic and courtship element? Is there subversive, anarchic element beyond to the Krampus beyond his being used to scare children into following social norms and rules? Who are the people behind the Krampus troupes and how do they approach these events? What's the connection the the gore theatre of the Grand Guignol and these Krampus events (known as a Krampus Run or Krampuslauf)? And what can we learn from it all? All that and more on this edition of Parallax Views.

If you appreciate Parallax Views and the work of J.G. Michael please consider supporting the show through Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/parallaxviews On this edition of Parallax Views we continue our holiday series by speaking with an actress from a Christmas movie classic. Well, maybe not a Christmas movie classic in the traditional sense but in a more unorthodox one. No, I'm not talking about Bonnie Bedelia from Die Hard. Instead I'm talking about Lynne Griffin, the Canadian actress who played the iconic-if-short-lived role of the doomed Claire in Bob Clarke's 1974 horror chiller Black Christmas. Since it's release all those decades ago, Black Christmas has inspired two remakes/reimaginings and a high-profile fan film called It's Me Billy from noted voice actor David McRae. It's also a movie that really predates and arguably helped insprie elements of later horror movies like Halloween and the lesser slasher films that would follow. With a few plot elements reminiscent to When a Stranger Calls, Black Christmas centers on a sorority house being menaced by an obscene phone caller who eventually takes to picking off each of the girls one by one. In addition to Lynne Griffin, the movie also featured the talents of Romeo and Juliet's Olivia Hussey, Superman's Margot Kidder, 2001: A Space Odyssey's Keir Dullea, and the veteran rugged character actor John Saxon (A Nightmare on Elm Street, Enter the Dragon) as Police Lt. Ken Fuller. The film's director, Bob Clarke, would go on to make a more traditional holiday classic in the form of A Christmas Story as well as helming such features Porky's, Murder by Decree, and Turk 182 among others. Lynne joins us to talk not only about Black Christmas but also some of her other acting credits including the Rick Moranis comedy Strange Brew, the cult classic horror obscurity Curtains (which feels particularly relevant in the age of the MeToo movement), and April Mullen's criminally underrated 88 starring Katherine Isabelle (Ginger Snaps, Freddy Vs. Jason, American Mary) and Christopher Lloyd (Back to the Future, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, The Addams Family Values). All that and more on this edition of Parallax Views

If you appreciate Parallax Views and the work of J.G. Michael please consider supporting the show through Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/parallaxviews We begin the Christmas week run of Parallax Views with by bringing back the original Parallax Views theme as a gift to long-time listeners and then talking with filmmaker Stefanie Davis, director and writer of the unorthodox holiday-themed mumblecore movie The Christmas Ride. For the uninitiated mumblecore is a genre of independent film popularized by filmmakers like Joe Swanberg (Drinking Buddies, Happy Christmas, Kissing on the Mouth), Mark and Jay Duplass (The Puffy Chair, Cyrus, Baghead) and Andre Bujalski that generally empashizes low-budget, dialogue over plot, naturalistic acting, and heavy use of improvisation over scripting. Filmed with an outline of scenarios rather than a traditional script and featuring performance that were improvised and directed by the use of color psychology through color palettes meant to guide the actors in terms of what emotions they'd be displaying in the scene, The Christmas Ride isn't you're traditional Hollywood blockbuster for the holidays season. However, while The Christmas Ride may not be the Tim Allen-starring The Santa Clause movies or in A Miracle on 34th Street in terms of it's mumblecore characteristics or micro-budget, it does a sincere meditation on holiday hardships and what the Christmas spirit is really all about where Hollywood's holiday blockbuster sometimes manage to miss the mark. The synopsis, courtesy Stefanie Davis herself, is as follows: Georgia is a hard working young woman. On Christmas Day, she decides to spend the day driving to make some extra cash. As she takes on various riders, she finds that not everyone has a very merry Christmas. Many are not with their families, experiencing loss, and just not in the spirit. As a self-aware woman, she takes on the hardship of her riders and tries her best to overcome the energy surrounding her. Strangers have a tendency to open up to her. Will the magic of Christmas be enough to keep Georgia's spirit alive? Stefanie joins us on this edition of the show to discuss how The Christmas Ride, now available for streaming on Amazon Prime, about as well as providing details on the highly improvisational approach she took while making it including the use of color psychology and scenario outlines rather than detailed scripts in order to create a more naturalistic tone. We also delve into Stefanie's relationship to Georgia, the film's protagonist who serves as the symbolic embodiment of the Christmas spirit and experiences a crisis of faith in regards to her own holiday cheer. We also delve into the theme of active listening and empathy that pervades the film and why it is so important in this year of the COVID pandemic and political. Moreover we discuss the film's exploration of expressing vulnerability in interpersonal relationships and why we made need to apply that in our real lives much more often. All that and more on this edition of Parallax Views.

On this edition of Parallax Views, Silicon Valley is often hailed as pushing the world towards a better, more prosperous future through a model creative destruction and brave technological innovation. Economics professor Rob Larson, however, offers a competing viewpoint to this rose-colored narrative of darlings of the tech world like Microsoft, Apple, and Google in his new book Bit Tyrants: The Political Economy of Silicon Valley (Haymarket Books, 2020). In many ways picking up where his previous book, Capitalism vs Freedom: The Toll Road to Serfdom (Zero Books, 2018), left off, Rob launches a scathing but thoughtful critique on libertarian-style techno utopianism and reveals the often ignored aspect that the public sector has played in important technological innovations. Additionally, Rob details the less savory elements of the Silicon Valley story and how historically the Silicon Valley's current position of power and the effect it has on society bears a resemblance to the Gilded Age. Rob joins us to give an overview of this fascinating new book and fills us in on how it connects to his previous book Capitalism vs Freedom: The Toll Road to Serfdom in the course of this fascinating conversation. All that and more on this edition of Parallax Views. SUPPORT PARALLAX VIEWS ON PATREON! FOR BONUS CONTENT AND ARCHIVED EPISODES!

On this edition of Parallax Views, legendary writer and filmmaker John Sayles joins us to discus his new novel Yellow Earth and other assorted topics of interest. For the uninitiated, John Sayles is an Academy Award-nominated screenwriter and Golden Globe-nominated filmmaker whose social conscious cinematic credits include 1980's highly influential Return of the Secaucus 7, the critically-acclaimed 1987 coal miner union drama Matewan, 1991's City of Hope, 1992's award-winning Passion Fish, the star-studded 1996 neo-western mystery Lone Star, 1997's Men With Guns, and 2010's Philippine-American War period dram Amigo among others. Additionally, John is an accomplished short story writer and novelist whose books include Pride of the Bimbos (1975), Union Dues (1977), The Anarchists' Convention (1979), Los Gusanos (1991), and A Moment in the Sun (2011). John joins us on this edition of Parallax Views to discuss his latest novel Yellow Earth (2020; Haymarket Books), which details the volatile social changes that occur in a small town in the aftermath of a shale oil boom. A timely novel that deals with the subject of fracking, John tells us the basic plot of Yellow Earth as well giving some details on the issues that arise from fracking and the economic impacts of boom-and-bust cycles that effect people in his story as well as real life. John and I then discuss some biographical details of his life, including being raised in Schenectady, New York. We then talk about John's thoughts on film school and how gaining experiences outside of the film world is invaluable. Additionally John and I talk a little about his coal mine union drama Matewan, his involvement in the subversive world of Roger Corman "B-Movies", the monster movie he wrote called Alligator (1980), the Ayn Rand-inspired character in Yellow Earth and why Rand's philosophy of Objectivism is so attractive to some people, what keeps him from giving into cynicism, working with the legendary cinematographer Haskell Wexler, and much more. SUPPORT PARALLAX VIEWS ON PATREON! FOR BONUS CONTENT AND ARCHIVED EPISODES! AND CHECK OUT OUR SPONSOR: FAILED STATE UPDATE A NEW PODCAST FROM JOURNALIST JOSEPH FLATLEY

If you appreciate Parallax Views and the work of J.G. Michael please consider supporting the show through Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/parallaxviews On this edition of Parallax Views, a listener recently requested that I interview Jasun Horsley, a writer who has been involved in parapolitical and alternative perceptions subculture for some time now. It turns out he has a new book out, 16 Maps of Hell: The Unraveling Superculture, so I thought this would be a good time to fulfill that request. In 16 Maps of Hell Jasun explores his obsessions with Hollywood over the years and his eventual disenchantment with it over the years. He also deals with ideas of cultural engineering and conspiracy in Hollywood. This leads him to examining the history of Hollywood and its dark side with a particular focus on Roman Polanski, the Manson Family, the Tate-LaBianca murders, the mobbed up lawyer Sidney Korhsak, Jeffrey Epstein, and other sordid goings on in tinsel town that he believes may relate to cultural psyops. We discuss the nature of this thesis, how Jasun questioned it after writing the book, Jasun's cinematic obsessions (including his love of Sam Peckinpah), conspiracy theories and scapegoating, Nikolas Schreck's work on the Charles Manson case, writing as therapy or psychodrama, and much, much more in this fascinating conversation. 16 Maps of Hell by Jasun Horsley Available Here

If you appreciate Parallax Views and the work of J.G. Michael please consider supporting the show through Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/parallaxviews On this edition of Parallax Views, legendary poet, playwright, novelist, activist, social critic, and all-around iconoclast Ishmael Reed joins us to discuss his amazing life and times as well as his thoughts on a wide variety of different topics. In particular we focus on his experiences in the literary and media worlds and how the "sausage is made" so to speak in those worlds by a corporate Establishment. In particular Ishmael helps us focus in on controversies like Gary Webb and the Iran/Contra affair's connection to the LA crack epidemic (which he wrote about in the Washington Post op-ed "The Word on the Vine"), tokenism and patronage in the literary and media worlds, the weaponization of the black men as scapegoats through the black boogeyman trope, antisemitism, the the musical Hamilton (which Reed critiqued in his recent play The Haunting of Lin-Manuel Miranda), Malcolm X and the Nation of Islam, Louis Farrakhan, black feminism, diversity and the lack of diversity, academic language and the elitism of academic cliques that operate on langue games and lingo, the great filmmaker Bill Gunn who made the classic black vampire film GANJA AND HESS, gatekeeping and cultural glass ceilings, Charles Murray's The Bell Curve and media promotion of it as well as the financing of infamous Murray book, the Scotch-Irish and the betrayal of one's heritage in the name of assimilation, conspiracy theories, and much, much more.

If you appreciate Parallax Views and the work of J.G. Michael please consider supporting the show through Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/parallaxviews On this edition of Parallax Views, how did we get to this moment of social uprisings and the repressive states, represented by ICE immigration detention centers and rising authoritarianism around the globe, that color the present? Sociologist William I. Robinson provides a theoretical framework for understanding how 21st century tumult came to be in his new book The Global Police State. Robinson argues that we are living in a world in which rapidly accelerating economic inequality have led the transnational capitalist class to create systems of control and repression that will quell dissent. Additionally, he argues that this unstable situation, in which the masses are angry and the power elites divided, has led to an encroaching, creeping, 21st century fascism that threatens to engulf the world. He joins us on this edition of the program to lay out what The Global Police State is, the green zones and gray zones that separate the "haves" from the "have nots", the three factions of the global power elite and how the third factions (reformists) can be pressured by the masses, how Trump and the movement of Trumpism is not a populist movement and is in fact backed by elements of the transnational capitalist class, technologies of repression and the modern surveillance society, the Black Lives Matter Movement (BLM) and why the transnational capitalist class are directly threatened by anti-police sentiments, the cooptation of social movements by the transnational capitalist class, the militarization of policing and security organizations, the capitalist and corporate elements that benefit from private military firms (ie: mercenary) and private policing, the major difference between the 20th century and 21st century crises (hint: there is no longer a strong left/labor movement), and much, much more!

If you appreciate Parallax Views and the work of J.G. Michael please consider supporting the show through Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/parallaxviews On this edition of Parallax Views, allegations of U.S. germ warfare (or biological warfare) being used on populations in the Korean War have long been dismissed as a conspiracy theory hatched by the Soviet Union as a disinformation campaign on America. Dr. Jeffrey Kaye, author of Cover-Up at Guantanamo Bay: THE NCIS Investigation into the "Suicides" of Mohammad Al Hanashi and Abdul Rahman Al Amri, however, has been pouring over documents from the CIA's "Baptism by Fire" files on the Korean War that may lend credence to the claims of U.S. biowarfare being used in the conflict. In this conversation Dr. Kaye and I discuss his prior work on Guantanamo Bay and then take a deep dive into the history of biowarfare from Japan's Unit 731, a WWII program led by Gen. Shiro Ishii, to the claims of U.S. biowarfare in the Korean War. In regards to Unit 731, where grotesque war crimes and experiments took place, we discuss Gen. Shiro Ishii's involvement with the U.S. in the post-war period and the amnesty that was granted to Unit 731 after the war by the U.S.. We also make mention of the Tuskegee Institute Syphilis study. Biowarfare experiments of the past involved anthrax, live human dissections, cholera, plague infested fleas, dysentery, and more. From there we discuss the accusation that claims of biological warfare used by the U.S. in the Korean War are merely Soviet propaganda and hoax. Dr. Kaye makes the case that this isn't necessarily true and offers evidence to the contrary. In making this case Dr. Kaye specifically refers to the "Baptism by Fire" documents that were recently declassified by the CIA. Dr. Kaye explains in details the claims of CIA biological warfare in this time period and why the "Baptism by Fire" documents are such an important revelation.

If you appreciate Parallax Views and the work of J.G. Michael please consider supporting the show through Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/parallaxviews On this edition of Parallax Views, over the course of this program's history J.G. Michael has been fairly open about his politics leaning to the leftward, sometimes called progressive, end of the political compass. Past guests of Parallax Views, like Noam Chomsky and Bill Ayers, have reflected J.G.'s own orientation. However, J.G. doesn't want himself or his listeners to live in a bubble. As such he recently reached out to the often controversial and stylish conservative commentator Kevin D. Williamson, the roving correspondent for the National Review and author of the new book Big White Ghetto: Dead Broke, Stone-Cold Stupid, and High on Rage in the Dank Woolly Wilds of the "Real America", with an invite to appear on Parallax Views. Kevin accepted and this conversation is the result. Those expecting a debate will likely be disappointed. This is a frank conversation, co-hosted by Nathan Myers of the unfortunately defunct Clash podcast, in which J.G. and Kevin cover a wide range of topics and clarify some of Kevin's views, which, depending on what you've heard about him, may surprise you. Among the subjects we discuss and the lines of inquiry we pursue are: - How Kevin became involved in journalism and his literary influences which include the arch-conservative William F. Buckley as well as, believe it or not, the counterculture gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson and Tom Wolfe of The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test fame; J.G. draws a parallel between Thompson's work on the Hell's Angels, specifically in regards to what Thompson called "the ethic of total retaliation, and some of the themes in Kevin's new book Big White Ghetto; the attitude of James Dean-style teenage rebellion in the 60s and its relevance today; social anxiety about masculinity in a world where traditional masculinity (ie: violence, physical labor, etc.) is not as high in value as it used to be and how this ties into both the rebellions of the Hell's Angels and the cultural moment of Trumpism; why Kevin writes the way he does and his dislike for what he sees as "performative empathy" - Kevin's work covering the alt right which led him to interviewing figures like the white nationalist Richard Spencer; the sense of "disappointment", driven by social and moral entitlement, that Kevin believes drove the alt right and associated movement; the "Cowboys and Indians" nature of Trumpism and Kevin's description of Trumpism as less of an ideology than an enemy's list; what William F. Buckley thought of Trump and speculating as to what Buckley would think of Trumpism - Why Trumpism has been a tough nut to crack for many commentators and why it appeals to many people that think of themselves as conservative despite it not being, in Kevin's view, conservative in nature; Kevin's thoughts on Tucker Carlson and journalists in the Trump World who are from wealthy backgrounds that have appointed themselves as voices for the white working class, the rustbelt, and the forgotten areas of American society; the disconnect between those who know poverty and those who haven't experienced poverty; Kevin's criticisms of figures like Laura Ingraham and Sean Hannity within the conservative media - Politics as aesthetics and social affiliation; Kevin's article entitled "Acting White"; professionals pretending to be rednecks and what Kevin calls the "white minstrel show"; why Kevin included the phrase "The Real America" in the subtitle of his book; Ted Cruz and social posturing/affectation; careerism in conservative media and shifting values within said media; the ascent of the professional conservative; the different worlds that exist within conservative media; how Sean Hannity and others are terrified of there own audiences due to what Kevin calls the right-wing version of "Cancel Culture"; the problem of subservience to political power amongst journalists; Kevin's view of libertarianism; the financial pressures of AM right-wing radio and the freedom Kevin is afforded by working for the National Review rather than working in the radio-sphere. - Kevin's thoughts on paleoconservatives like Pat Buchanan as well as his thoughts on the libertarian thinker Murray Rothbard; Rothbard's idea of a pan-radical movement of antiwar activists and figures like David Duke against the Establishment; how conspiracy theories and the conspiratorial mindset of organizations like the John Birch Society rose in relation to the intellectual side of the conservative movement; the content of Rothbard being abandoned in favor of the style and rhetoric; the prevalence of a theater of "Us and Them" elites-betraying-we-the-people story-telling in the right-wing today; is paleoconservatism even conservative in an American context; conservatism in the American context as being tied to liberalism whereas conservatism in Europe is more tied to blood-and-s

If you appreciate Parallax Views and the work of J.G. Michael please consider supporting the show through Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/parallaxviews On this edition of Parallax Views, Trump supporters are currently in full force claiming the 2020 Election's results, which delivered a win to Joe Biden, are the result of election fraud and a conspiracy involving the Democratic Party, Venezuela, a software firm SMARTMATIC, and Dominion Voting Systems. Returning guest, Daniel Hopsicker has a thing or two to say about that as someone whose been following the potentially shady owners and backgrounds of voting industry companies like ES&S, Sequoia Pacific Systems, Diebold, and Dominion Voting Systems. And his view doesn't line up with that of Sean Hannity's ranting about a Venezuela/Democratic Party conspiracy to steal the Presidential Election from Trump. Instead Hopsicker has found that these companies are owned by private interests with seeming ties to organized crime or, put more simply, the mob. But before discussing that we delve into some scoops that Daniel has on Steve Bannon. Bannon was arrested on the yacht of exiled Chinese billionaire Guo Wengui. This leads to a discussion about Wengui, the company HNA Group (which has had a bit of a feud with Wengui, espionage and intelligency agency spooks, and cocaine smuggling/drug trafficking. As always, Daniel takes the conversation into some interesting directions that deal with transnational organized crime and its relationship to drug trafficking and money laundering operations. How does Steve Bannon, as well as Bannon's buddy Andrew Badolato and what Daniel calls the "Sarasota" node of this story, fit into the whole picture? Find out in the first part of our conversation with Daniel Hopsicker. As I note in the interview, Daniel was tracking Badolato before he became the subject of mainstream media scrutiny with the We Build the Wall scam. Additionally, I mention in this conversation Daniel's coverage of Huffman Aviation and Rudi Dekkers, who was eventually arrested on cocaine related charges. From there we delve into Daniel's work on election fraud as examined in his documentary The Big Fix 2000. That documentary dealt with the voting industry companies around the time of the 2000 election and discussed an important story involving a Louisiana elections commissioner named Raymond Fowler and his connections to the mobbed up Pasquale "Rocco" Ricci among other things. This also leads us into the story of Louis Wolfson, a convicted criminal who may have invented the term "cover-up", and his relationship to Sequoia Voting Systems. A number of the companies that come up in Daniel's research end up being bought out by Dominion Voting Systems. However, Daniel doesn't buy Sean Hannity's communist conspiracy line about Dominion Voting Systems and the 2020 Presidential Election. In this conversation he explains why he believes that Biden won the election fair and square even if questions surrounding Dominion Voting Systems, which were first raised by Democratic Party Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney years before any Republicans were shouting their allegations about the company, should, in Hopsicker's opinion, be examined. From Hopsicker's purview these companies are owned by private interests and his research shows ties to organized crime that is in relationship with right-wing, rather than communist, political elements.

If you appreciate Parallax Views and the work of J.G. Michael please consider supporting the show through Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/parallaxviews On this edition of Parallax Views, a recent United Nations Conference on Trade Development report warns of "another lost decade" that could repeat the same mistakes of the 07/08 financial crisis and its aftermath. Richar Kozul-Wright, one of the principal authors of the report and Director of the Globalisation and Development Strategies Division in UNCTAD, joins us to discuss the report. Titled "From Global Pandemic to Prosperity" the 2020 UNCTAD report warns of continued austerity and why it is dangerous as inequality rises globally. The report pushes back on neoliberal ideas about dealing with global crises and is primarily interested in the developing world, however, it has much to say to audiences in the developed world that are starting to more acutely feel the effects of a particular form of virulently predatory capitalism. Richard explains why "Build Back Better", the slogan of United States President-elect Joe Biden, must take not repeat the mistakes of the lost decade after the financial crisis. The pushing down of wages, government frugality, cutting of social safety nets, and more comes up in this fascinating conversation that details why it is time for society to reckon with the financial crisis of 07/08 if a better more robust recovery is to occur in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition Richard and I also talk about Biden's Treasury Secretary pick Janet Yellen vs. Trump's Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, changing opinions about neoliberalism, Modern Monetary Theory (MMT), the climate change crisis as a doomsday scenario, the Green New Deal, hyperglobalization, austerity, and more.

If you appreciate Parallax Views and the work of J.G. Michael please consider supporting the show through Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/parallaxviews On this episode of Parallax Views, President Eisenhower famously warned of the "military-industrial complex" in his farewell address. But what is the "military-industrial complex" and more broadly "The War Industry"? Christian Sorensen provides an excellent primary in his insightful new book Understanding the War Industry (Clarity Press; 2020). (Further Show Notes Forthcoming)

If you appreciate Parallax Views and the work of J.G. Michael please consider supporting the show through Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/parallaxviews On this edition of Parallax Views, filmmaker and writer Michael Lee Nirenberg joins us to discuss a tale of two American environmental disasters and the communities that fought for justice against those they deemed responsible for the incidents. Earth A.D.: The Poisoning of the American Landscape and the Communities That Fought Back is a tour-de-force oral history that chronicles the environmental devastation resulting from American Superfund sites at Tar Creek in Oklahoma and Newton Creek in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, NY. Nirenberg paints a picture that involves citizens, activists, politicians, and corporate leaders through hundreds of interviews that reveal not only the ways that wealth and racism intersect with how environmental disaster are dealt with in different communities but also how the urban-rural divide plays a role in this regard as well. Recalling the style of music journalist Legs McNeil, Nirenberg's oral history brims with a punk rock verve that extends far beyond its title referencing The Misfits. In this conversation we discuss a number of topics including the horrors of lead poisoning, environmentalism as an issue that should transcend the left/right divide, environmental racism, Michael's film work and his documentary on Hustler's Larry Flynt (as well as his interview with the controversial pornographer Al Goldstein of Screw Magazine infamy!), the Native American communities like the Quapaw tribe who are negatively impacted by environmental disasters and grassroots activists like Tar Creekkeeper Rebecca Jim and Don Ackerman, class and race as they relate to who is harmed most by environmental catastrophes, local corruption and how it effects the response to environmental disasters, nuclear power and energy needs, the difference between the Newton Creek and Tar Creek disasters, ecohorror, the influence of punk and metal on Michael's work, and much, much more.

If you appreciate Parallax Views and the work of J.G. Michael please consider supporting the show through Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/parallaxviews On this edition of Parallax Views, globalization has led to culture shocks in societies around the world. What to make of this phenomenon, its interactions with culture and the way we live our lives, and what it means for the future? Critical theorist Brian Francis Culkin, co-author with Shipibo shaman Ricardo Amaringo of The Ayahuasca Dialogues: Globalization, Plant Medicine, and the Healing of the Human Heart, joins us to unpack the topic of globalization and it's relationship to what philosopher Byung Chul Han calls "The Burnout Society". In the first part of our conversation we focus on the aforementioned burnout is producing in citizens of various different nations as well as the ways in which globalization may be altering our social lives. In particular, Brian hones in on how the ever accelerating techno-society we are creating is moving away from the nuclear family unit as its foundation for society. Additionally, we delve into Brian's experiences with the indigenous Shipibo-Conibo people of the Amazon rainforest in Peru. This leads to a discussion of his collaboration with the previously mentioned healer Ricardo Amaringo and Brian's thoughts on the psychedelic plant drug ayahuasca. In this regard we discuss the the different perspectives on ayahuasca, ayahuasca tourism and its problems, ayahuasca as not merely a drug but also a medicine, and the importance of indigenous cultures. We also chat about ideas related to the apocalypse and End times, Byung-Chul Han's concept of "the autistic performance machine", the opening of the heart and seeing the other, neoliberalism and production, the human as a cosmic phenomenon and man as stardust, spirituality and materialism, Catholicism and Christianity, the humility of Carl Sagan vs. science and atheism as a theology, the value of friendship, and much, much more.

On this edition of Parallax Views we wrap up our post-election analysis series by welcoming back Thomas Frank, author of such books as What's the Matter With Kansas, Listen, Liberal, and The People, No: A Brief History of Anti-Populism. Frank recently penned an op-ed for The Guardian entitled "Ding-dong, the jerk is gone. But read this before you sing the Hallelujah Chorus" which warned against Pollyanna-style beliefs that all is well and good in America now that Donald Trump was defeated by Joe Biden in the U.S. Presidential election. In this conversation we delve into why the Blue Wave didn't happen this year and how Frank was confident that it wouldn't occur as many had hoped it would. Additionally, he offers his historical research to unravel the history of the "Neoliberal" Democrat from the Democratic Leadership Council (DLC) onward. We even manage to work a critique of the antiwar Democratic Presidential candidate George McGovern in this regard. Believe it or not McGovern, despite his left antiwar stances, was not labor Democrat. Frank unravels the whole history of how the Democratic Party went from the "Party of the People" to the "Party of the Democrat" as well as making clear, in his lucid style, underlying ideology and aesthetics of this political formation that declares itself as being "post-politics". Moreover, Frank and I discuss Joe Biden, why the AFL-CIO endorsed Biden, and, perhaps most importantly, what Biden must do during his time in the White House. Trumpism, Frank warns, is not dead yet even if the Donald isn't in the White House.

On this edition of Parallax Views, the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election is over but politics never sleeps. Although many are celebrating the defeat of Donald Trump, the fact is that politics, organizing, and activism won't end with the defeat of Donald Trump. And, as evidenced by the recent scuffles between the moderate and progressive wings of the Democratic Party, intra-party is very much alive and well. Although many have argued that such squabbles should be put aside, the provocative and intelligent Irami Osei Frimpong, also known as "The Funky Academic", joins us on this edition of the program to argue for the merits of divisive politics and what is needed to fix what he calls the "machinery of Democracy". We also discuss matters pertaining to media and particularly left media's blind-spots as well as Irami's critiques of white, upper middle class feminism, his critique of JD Vance's Hillbilly Elegy, Nancy Pelosi and the problem of glass floor/glass ceilings in politics, Pelosi' refusal to debate challenger, incumbent vs. the electorate as an anti-trust problem, the "voter disadvantage", the Defund the Police movement, the need for a communications infrastructure and its relation to production, corporate Democrats "punching left", the need for a federal jobs guarantee, freedom and the Left, the wealthy's distorted view of reality and why it occurs, and much, much more in this fascinating and provocative conversation.

On this edition of Parallax Views we present an election post-mortem featuring journalist Albert Lanier dissecting the 2020 Presidential Election. Albert argues the election can be summed up with the humorous line "Shift Happens". From Albert's point of view the election, when analyzed, indicates big shift for Democratic Party Centrists, the renegade progressive wing of the Democratic Party, and the GOP. He also argues that the Democrats win by "losing". He'll explain what that means in the course of our conversation as well as giving an election autopsy. What led to the outcome of the 2020 election? What of voter turnout and the voter suppression tactics Repulibcans were accused of in past election? And Trump cries of electoral fraud? Where do the progressives and leftists stand in all of this and what can be made of electoral victories made by the progressive wing of the Democratic Party led by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and "The Squad"? How did the Democrats manage to pull one over on the Donald? Why didn't the Hunter Biden laptop and Burisma stories work as the GOP's "October Surprise"? How did Trump lose the election? What of the mail-in ballots and what has been called the "Red Mirage" of election night? All that and more on this edition of Parallax Views.