In the Know with Moe

Five Strategies to Support U.S. Democracy with Dr. Rachel Kleinfeld

Moe begins today's show with his 'Moe-ment of Truth," where he decries the cruel political stunt that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis orchestrated to essentially kidnap migrant families through deception in order to fly them to Martha's Vineyard and then abandon them there, as well as the bigger point it also makes as to how the GOP treats immigrants. For the remainder of the show, Moe is joined Dr. Rachel Kleinfeld, a Senior Fellow in the Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. There she focuses on issues of rule of law, security, and governance in post-conflict countries, fragile states, and states in transition. Today we're discussing Dr. Kleinfeld's new paper for the Carnegie Endowment, titled, "Five Strategies to Support U.S. Democracy." (Link here: https://carnegieendowment.org/2022/09/15/five-strategies-to-support-u.s.-democracy-pub-87918) [https://carnegieendowment.org/2022/09/15/five-strategies-to-support-u.s.-democracy-pub-87918)] Dr. Kleinfeld's Twitter handle is @RachelKleinfeld.

How the Inflation Reduction Act Will Fight Climate Change

Moe begins today's show with his 'Moe-ment of Truth," where he talks about the power of women being on display during yesterday's primary elections being held across the U.S. For the remainder of the show, Moe is joined by Tim Zenk, President of Molecule, LLC. Tim explains how the 'Inflation Reduction Act' will fight climate change. Some of the ways it will do so is by: - Including huge investments in clean energy - Keeping President Biden's goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030 within reach - Curbing methane emissions, which have been responsible for about 30% of global warming since pre-industrial times - Emphasizing environmental justice - Signaling to the global community that the U.S. is serious about doing its part to fight climate change Tim has worked in renewable energy project development and policy for two decades to build new technologies for difficult to decarbonize sectors. Presently, he is the president at Molecule LLC where he works at the nexus of policy, finance, and technology to fight climate change and support an industrial transformation that is required for the U.S. to remain globally competitive in a zero-carbon future. Here in the U.S., he represents renewable fuels leader Neste, and Hydrogen logistics and aviation pioneer, Universal Hydrogen, among other clients. He is the founder and Executive Director of the Washington Green Hydrogen Alliance and Clean Fuel Washington. He was a senior executive at Sapphire Energy, a company that invented renewable crude oil (green crude) from algae. Earlier in Tim’s career he served in several government roles in the Clinton/Gore White House, in Congress for Rep. Norm Dicks, and on the staff of Washington’s 19th Governor, Booth Gardner. His Twitter handle is @GreenCrude.

187 Minutes of Treason

Moe begins today's show with his 'Moe-ment of Truth," where he praises President Biden for how he has managed his relationship with Senator Joe Manchin, a key swing vote in the Senate. This comes on the heels of a new legislative agreement between Manchin, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, and President Biden, called "the Inflation Reduction Act." The bill would bring in $739 billion in revenue and invest $433 billion in spending in areas like clean energy, tax credits, and reducing health care costs. It also addresses Manchin’s goal of reducing the deficit and would do so by $300 billion or more. The bill still needs to garner 50 votes through the Senate's reconciliation process next week, including Senator Kyrsten Sinema, the other Democrat in the Senate whose vote has been tough for Schumer and Biden to count on. However, the agreement between Manchin, Schumer and Biden is a huge breakthrough for the current legislative session. For the remainder of the show, Moe is joined by John Nichols, a pioneering political blogger, who writes about politics for 'The Nation' as a national affairs correspondent. His pieces have been circulated internationally, quoted in numerous books, and mentioned in debates on the floor of Congress. The two discuss his recent piece for 'The Nation' about former President Trump's during the January 6th Capitol insurrection. The piece is titled, "187 Minutes of Treason." They also talk about the news out this week that the Justice Department is investigating Trump's actions as part of its criminal probe of efforts to overturn the 2020 election results. John Nichols is a contributing writer for 'The Progressive' and 'In These Times' and the associate editor of 'the Capital Times,' the daily newspaper in Madison, Wisconsin. His articles have appeared in The New York Times, Chicago Tribune, and dozens of other newspapers. Nichols also has written many great books, with his most recent being, "Coronavirus Criminals and Pandemic Profiteers: Accountability for Those Who Caused the Crisis." The website for 'The Nation' is www.TheNation.com [http://www.TheNation.com] and their Twitter handle is @TheNation. John's handle is @NicholsUprising. You can watch this episode in the following places: Twitter - https://twitter.com/i/broadcasts/1DXGyDjaPldKM [https://twitter.com/i/broadcasts/1DXGyDjaPldKM] YouTube - https://youtu.be/YrcYhQK6RSM [https://youtu.be/YrcYhQK6RSM] Facebook - https://fb.watch/ez84Uz7kUS/ [https://fb.watch/ez84Uz7kUS/] (Image Credit: Sipa via AP images)

Father Honors Daughter's Legacy By Working to Stop Gun Violence

Moe is joined by Andy Parker, Director of the SuperPAC, "Andy's Fight," and Author of the book, "For Alison: The Murder of a Young Journalist and a Father's Fight for Gun Safety." On August 26, 2015, the lives of Andy and Barbara Parker changed forever when their daughter Alison, a journalist for WDBJ7, was murdered on live television near Roanoke, Virginia. Vowing to do whatever it takes, Andy turned his anger into outspoken activism and action to fight gun violence. From branding the NRA a terrorist organization to publicly calling out legislators for their cowardice, Andy is willing to say what others only think. With assistance from the Georgetown University Civil Rights Law Clinic, he has now taken on Google in an effort to remove the video of Alison's murder from YouTube. Moe and Andy discuss his new SuperPAC, "Andy's Fight," which launched earlier this month. Andy's Fight is different from other gun-violence prevention groups, in both focus and tactics. Andy believes: A. Disinformation plays an enormous role, with violent imagery organizations like Facebook not only unwilling in trying to to stop, but actively promoting for engagement/clicks, killing us. No country's perfect, but other democracies like Germany, U.K., Canada, etc have at least tried to rein in disinformation from Q-anon types. B. Andy goes further than other gun reform groups that seek to put band-aids on gaping wounds. They will call for universal background checks and red flag laws, but often stop short of fully supporting an assault weapons bans and high capacity magazine bans. Andy thinks both of these measures are essential. C. Aggressiveness. Andy's Super-PAC will not be playing nice with Republican Senators like Pat Toomey or Susan Collins in the hope for bipartisan legislation. If you are failing to protect your constituents, they don't care who likes you, or about bipartisanship, or that you're a good golfer. They're coming for you to tell your constituents what kind of ghoul you are. The website for the PAC iswww.AndysFight.com [http://www.AndysFight.com] Moe and Andy alson discuss his most recent piece for 'The Independent,' which is titled, "My daughter was killed by a shooter. None of us want Republicans’ thoughts and prayers." (Link here: https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/daughter-killed-shooter-uvalde-texas-gun-control-b2092170.html) [https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/daughter-killed-shooter-uvalde-texas-gun-control-b2092170.html)] Andy's Twitter handle is @AndyParkerVA. (Image Credit: Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)

Creative Conflict Resolution in Action on the World Stage

Moe begins today's show with his 'Moe-ment of Truth," where he condemns today's decision by the Supreme Court striking down a New York gun law that had restricted 'conceal carry.' He is then joined by Jacopo Bencini, who since 2019 works closely with Rondine - Cittadella della Pace, in the role of Campaign and Advocacy Advisor under the wider Leaders for Peace campaign project. The two discuss Rondine and its incredible work. Rondine - Cittadella della Pace, is a non-profit organization based in Tuscany, Italy. Through its restored medieval hamlet 15 minutes by car from Arezzo, it hosts university students coming from conflict and post-conflict areas from all over the world, especially the Caucasus, the Balkans, the Middle East, West Africa, and South America, together with students from all over the Mediterranean and Italy. Rondine’s approach is based on a methodology developed over more than twenty years of activity, called the Rondine Method for creative conflict resolution. At the core of the Methodology lies the residential experience, living and sharing rooms with the “enemy”, and the deconstruction of the “enemy” itself as a poisonous concept. Rondine’s programs last for one or two years, and – as far as we know – are the longest, globally, in the field of creative peacebuilding. Once back home, all Rondine alumni receive support to implement local impact projects, especially if involving communities from the other side of the border. Rondine’s students understood that this very experience could not remain a small, yet successful experiment in the Tuscan countryside and, in December 2018, went to the United Nations in NYC to launch a global campaign, called 'Leaders for Peace.' Through the campaign, Rondine’s students asked all 193 UN Governments to invest more in peace education and the teaching of human rights in national school systems. So far, the campaign has been endorsed by Italy, Costa Rica, the European Economic and Social Committee, and Pope Francis. In 2021, Rondine gained the status of special observer at the U.N. Economic and Social Council. In April 2022, a delegation of Rondine was received in NYC by U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres, right before his trip to Russia and Ukraine. Rondine is currently opening its horizons overseas and it is looking forward to hosting students from the United States for short residential experiences, building on successful experiences with Canadian universities over past years. Their website is www.rondine.org/en [http://www.rondine.org/en] and their Twitter handle is @RondineNobel. Jacopo's handle is @JacopoBencini. Jacopo is an international relations, campaign and advocacy consultant based in Florence, Italy. He has a background in International Relations and several work and research experiences around the world with the European Commission, the African Union Commission, Chatham House, the European Economic and Social Committee, the German Development Institute, and others. He has co-authored studies for the UNFCCC and other intergovernmental institutions. Moreover, he has been Youth Ambassador for the ONE Campaign for three years. You can watch this episode in the following places: Twitter - https://twitter.com/i/broadcasts/1YpKkZNmrBYxj [https://twitter.com/i/broadcasts/1YpKkZNmrBYxj] YouTube - https://youtu.be/A1Nq9fJEXms [https://youtu.be/A1Nq9fJEXms] Facebook - https://fb.watch/dQU6LDt_y8/ [https://fb.watch/dQU6LDt_y8/]