Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
It's the week of May eighteenth, twenty twenty five, and
this is what's on the people's news. Criminal and corrupt
administration starts, allowing unoppressed, privileged white Africanners to come to
the US as refugees. Persians in Houston look for change
in Iran. Fresh from giving one billion dollars in tax
(00:23):
money to rich parents, the Texas GOP is going after
the hemp industry. Houston getting ready for the twenty twenty
six World Cup with football Fiesta. All that and more
on the People's News. I'm Steve Gallington. This is the
people's news, and the people's news starts now. While the
(00:47):
convicted fellon, Donald Trump travels the Middle East, accepting bribes
and gifts, continuing his criminal behavior while he's in the
White House. US Iranian talks are at a standstill. Trump's
incompetent administration does not know how to do displomacy, so
Trump has chosen to threaten over social media mostly Iran
(01:11):
that they need to come to a deal or else.
But those in the Persian community here in Texas still
think there can be a regime change. We talked to
Kareem Zangana with the Iranian American community of Texas. He
spoke on regime change without violence.
Speaker 2 (01:29):
Yes, there. So the our community here are pretty active,
as you may know. And CRI in US which is
in Washington, d C. And the OYAK which is even
American communities over the fortiest states in the United States
of America, we are supporting the origin change in Iran.
(01:51):
As you may know, just a couple of days ago,
it was a new revelation by NCRI in Washington, d C.
Speaker 3 (01:57):
I send you the link. I believe that the new
revelation that then.
Speaker 2 (02:02):
The Iranian regime again have a secret project in northeast
Iran that is just trying to build the nuclear warhead
for carrying the atomic atomic bomb. So that was a big,
big revelation that it was going on. And then on
(02:23):
following days and just about yesterday we had this resolution
h Reads one sixty six that it was the majority
of the bipartisan majority of the Member of Congress in
the United States that they support they support regime, they
(02:44):
support the Iranian people and NCRI and head of the NCR,
Miss Mariam Rajevi, which is a president elector of n CRI,
I for and her vision and her ten point plan
for future of Iran. That was a big, big news
that it was going on. That's why I try to
(03:04):
contact you and thank you very much by the way
for calling here, so that that that resolution is big
and we we're hoping that the regime changed come along
by the United States supporting Iranian people and their resistance
group and c R I m K, who are strong,
(03:26):
who are organized and powerful inside Iran, with the resistance
units all over the unit Iran, Iran and cities. They
are ready. There are boots on the ground to overthrow
the regime. And as you hear it previously that the head.
Speaker 3 (03:44):
Of the n CR I Is Maam gradually mentioned that
a few times that no weapons, no boots on the ground,
no money is needed because the people of iron are
ready to over through the regime. All we all we
need is the United States the same way. That is
a state that in this resolution one sixty six, the
(04:09):
United States should recognize the right of the Iranian people
to overthrow the regime. Right of the Iranian people and
the resistance. You need to confront the terrorist ILGC that
they are busy killing people. As a matter of fact,
escalation of the execution. It's been been huge in since
(04:34):
the new president position came in the power, which is
a less than year, about one than two hundred people
have been executed. Just just just yesterday, nineteen people including
minor and women been executed in Iran. So this is
(04:58):
this is a situation and and we just want this administration,
on any administration to be firm with the Iranian regime.
We want them to be firm to maximum pressure appeasing,
appeasing this regime because that this region being power for
(05:19):
for over four decades and the Irandom people reject this
region shortly after they came into power. So so we
hope that the region changed become on a policy of
the United States and recognize the right of Iranian people
to do that.
Speaker 2 (05:38):
That's basically what the Iranian people want.
Speaker 4 (05:40):
Thank you of the people, I mean, because you're saying
you're saying that, you're saying that the.
Speaker 2 (05:49):
Absolutely great question. That's the whole idea. Yes, because United
States should stop appeasing these stories regime. There are religious
fascist regime that they're trying to achieve the atomic bomb,
spending trillions of dollars on projects of like nuclear nuclear weapons,
(06:15):
while Iranian people are hungry. Iranian people has no bread
on the table. That was like for yesterday.
Speaker 3 (06:22):
Today they don't even have water and electricity. This regime
ACTU is powerful in killing people, in making the drone
and trying to get the atomic bomb. However, people doesn't
have bread on the table because all the money and
wealth they will spend on either suppression of them inside
(06:43):
it on or sending them to tourists practices around the world.
And now they are back to the square one where
all the practices been dismantled and.
Speaker 2 (06:57):
The regime.
Speaker 3 (06:59):
Have to back up from the atomic project. Otherwise it's
going to be a war. We don't want war. There
is no war necessary when the regime changed by Iranian
people is very wible and ready and people are ready.
So yes, American government have to recognize the right of
(07:20):
Iranian people and their resistance to confront the i ergycy
that they do killing them every time they come and
have a peaceful demonstration. Aboe, thousands of them been killed.
So yes, if they if they.
Speaker 2 (07:35):
United States recognize the right, recognize the legitimacy of the
and the right of them to to quest to to
change the government, and and they overthrew the regime and
establish democratic secular and non nuclear republic, of course, and
(07:58):
because they obviously they don't want to go back to
the previous dictatorshieve showers in the power, so they want
to they want to freedom. That then the people come
in the power and they decide for their future.
Speaker 4 (08:09):
Or they do want to just because they want to
peacement with with Israel.
Speaker 3 (08:16):
The well, the Israel of course they are the only
there are issued they have different vision to do the things.
But the Iranian people has no no issue with the
Jewish people whatever. So the factor matter is that regime
change is going to be benefit there for the entire
(08:37):
region and the entire world. So that's that's the solution
to many problems. That is not just for Iranian people,
but it's for the region and for the entire entire world.
Speaker 1 (08:49):
That was Kareem Zangana with the Iranian American Community of Texas.
You can reach them at O A i C dot
org or I A C. T. The Trump administration continues
to deport people without due process and plays games on
social media, which they say is negotiating a deal. Elect
(09:13):
a criminal to the White House and get a criminal administration.
As the criminal and corrupt Trump administration continues its policies
of deporting immigrants and US citizens to foreign gulags without
due process, openly defying the orders of the judiciary, including
(09:34):
the Supreme Court convicted felon. Donald Trump is making good
on his campaign promise to bring in the right refugees,
which means the white refugees that he feels are being oppressed. White,
privileged and unoppressed South African Africaners have been arriving from
(09:56):
South Africa where they've been given a fast track citizenship
as refugees. They were given a chartered flight to the
US and will get free housing, food, and other needs.
It is simply not true that the white Afrikaners are
victims of genocide or being oppressed in any way. This
(10:16):
has been debunked by many human rights organizations and the
South African government. Even the extreme white wing in South
Africa has spoke against these refugees going to the US.
Doctor Descheppo Mesingo Cherri is an Associate professor at the
University of Houston, a South African scholar specializing in African
(10:39):
history with a focus on racial formation, racial politics, and
religious expression.
Speaker 5 (10:45):
Just recently this week, we had about forty nine South Africans.
White South Africans land at Dallas Airport in Washington, DC.
They are classified as and identify as afric Khanas, which
are the descendants of, generally speaking, of people who settled
(11:08):
in South Africa. And the reason I say generally speaking,
and this might be of interest to sort of thinking
more in a more nuanced way about who's coming and
under what circumstances, Africanas have a history actually of being
of interracial descent. So these are they're classified as white
(11:30):
South Africans, but many Africanas in their generations back have
a multi ethnic heritage, which includes the Khoisan, who would
be the indigenous people of South Africa who were there
when the Dutch settlers came, and of course being Guni's people.
(11:53):
So we're talking about people who might identify definitely ideologically
and politically as white, but also have this longer history
that links them to African populations. But this group of
(12:13):
people in particular have really struggled post nineteen ninety four
when apartheid was abolished. And this is a group of
Africanists who really didn't find their sort of economic and
political footing post ninety four, and had generations before benefited
(12:36):
from the from the South African government who had policies
in place that supported white South Africans irrespective of their
education or their professional standing. So under apartheid, white South
Africans were always there was always an attempt to elevate
(13:00):
them above any of the other racial groups. So they
were given subsidies for domestic help, so they had domestic
laborers in their homes as well as gardeners and were
given subsidies around their homes. So, after the end of apartheid,
this position the group of people who had been largely
(13:23):
dependent on the government to fend for themselves to a
larger degree. But what's at stake right now in terms
of our political the political through line that we're talking
about is that President Donald Trump has stated that light
(13:45):
South Africans are facing a genocide in South Africa, and
much of his claims are connected to a series of
laws that question the ownership of by white South Africans
over many generations that was often taken away from black
(14:08):
South Africans as apartheid expanded. And so the idea here
is if you look at the vast inequality in South
Africa currently, where you have over seventy percent of the
land in the hands of white owners. In particular, what
we're talking about here are white farmers. The Africans have
(14:29):
a history on a heritage of tending to the land.
Then you have, you know, thirty percent of the land
doled out to the rest of South Africans. And this
is beyond just black South Africans, but they are a
plethora of other ethnic groups that call South Africa their homes.
(14:52):
So the reclamation project of the land, especially land where
there's documentation that that land was taken from black South Africans,
whether through companies or organizations or individuals themselves, is what
the South African government has had in play and has
(15:14):
been questioning and also trying to figure out ways to
create more economic equality and equity in the country. Interestingly enough,
South Africa has been known for this draconian segregationist policies
in the form of apartheid, but after nineteen ninety four
(15:39):
it actually has become even more unequal in terms of
the economics of the country itself. So this is something
that the South African population has been reckoning with for
quite some time, and there has been an economic fallout
for many Africanists who are not professionally well positioned.
Speaker 4 (16:04):
When you say, when you say that the white Africanus,
this is a history of of white Africanas as being
point blank racist for the most part against blacks and
other minority groups.
Speaker 5 (16:18):
In my curricula, absolutely, and I think that's a very
important thing just to parse out and probably something that
I am part take for granted in the history of
South Africa. But South Africa and the apartheid system, and
the apartheid system is was a was a set of
(16:40):
policies and a way of life and around the kind
of racial hierarchy with white benefiting the bult being at
the top and blacks of course, with the least benefits
being at the bottom. And the notion the idea was
for the white population to have access to free or
(17:04):
cheap labor and it was state sponsored and to position.
Speaker 4 (17:12):
White South Africans.
Speaker 5 (17:15):
To really benefit economically from the resources on South African land.
Speaker 6 (17:24):
And so it was a.
Speaker 5 (17:25):
Very it was very draconian because the measures that they
took to ensure that this happened ranged, you know, vastly.
Like so I mentioned the sort of on a micro level,
how Africanas benefited from being you know, being classified as
(17:47):
white despite their their multinational heritage, but also because the
Africanists themselves were the ones that pushed for this particular
ideology to be institutionalized and politicized, so that when there
were multiple strands of British descendants that made their home
(18:08):
South Africa as part of a white settler community, but
the Afrikaanas formed the National Party. The National Party was
a party that took over in nineteen forty eight and
created the idea of apartheid. Apartheid was only able to
be instituted into that country not only through politics and
(18:31):
the policies overall, but also through you know, a series
of ideologies that even had a theological impulse. So where
you have a country that is organized by race, but
where people are open to and accepting of the idea
(18:54):
that blacks were meant to work on behalf of white
by turning to a kind of calvinistic theology that supported
these ideas. Well, it's a distorted calvinistic theology that supported
these ideas, and so you have a very you had
a very segregated society, and it was also very brutal
(19:20):
in the sense that as people pushed back against some
of these some of the policies that were the infrastructure
for South Africa apartheid, whether that was the Group Areas Act,
where black people had to live in one section of town,
people who are classified as multiracial who are called colored
(19:41):
had to live in another section of town, Indians in
another section of town, so on and so forth along
the same kind of racial lines, and that black people
cannot be in any white areas after nine pm without
the permission of white people, or if they were or
(20:02):
unless they were working and living in a white home
as part of domestic help. Those are only I'm scratching
at the surface of how apartheid functions functions historically. Americans,
especially late eighties onward, we have a history and a
(20:23):
connection to South Africa. Of course that spans went well
beyond the nineteen eighties, but for many of us, we
would remember the nineteen eighties as a moment where we
saw on American college campuses students pushing for divestment from
a priortide and divestment from companies that supported apartheid, as
(20:47):
well as a pushback and an attempt to isolate South
Africa and its various sort of configurations.
Speaker 4 (20:57):
And that was.
Speaker 5 (20:58):
Led in large parts by HBCUs. Although there is this
kind of way in which historians turned very quickly to
pwis and white liberals who push for divestment, but you
have this long standing history of historically black colleges and
universities who were aware of what was happening in South Africa,
(21:22):
who were organizing against the partheid and then these politics
found their way beyond these campuses, and I think campuses
are only one site of opposition that African Americans in
large parts created against apartheid. You have a whole host
(21:45):
of civil rights leaders who are well aware of what
was happening in South Africa, who are in contact with
a lot of black South African leaders, and who were
working in solidarity against apartheid. This sort of reminiscent form
of what was happening here in the US under not
just under this during the Civil Rights movement, but we
(22:08):
could look at Jim crow Era. There's this kind of
strange historical kind of similarity that black South Africans and
African Americans have shared for decades. You could even see
actually HBCU students who traveled to South Africa in the
(22:30):
late nineteen and the late eighteen hundreds as a form
of kind of cultural artistic exchange. But I mentioned all
this because there's this long history of a clear opposition
to apartheid, and by default, a clear opposition to this
(22:51):
notion of Africana nationalism, which was embedded in our understanding
of who we were opposing when we're talking about the
anti apartheid regime. We weren't necessarily directly opposing Africanas, but
we were directly opposing Africana nationalism. And so what's happening
(23:11):
now is a group of people who have come through
to America are part of the descendants of who we
would call the Africana nationalists. They're part of Afro Forum.
They want to maintain the history of the kind of
Africana ideology. They feel very much undercut by the changes
(23:35):
that try to create economic equality for black South Africans.
So the idea of this white genocide is not a
new idea in the sense that it has been paraded
around for the last couple of decades, but it has
been largely dismissed because there is no genocide happening in
(23:56):
South Africa. Quite frankly, if you look at the UN
and their definition of who should be eligible for refugee status.
South Africa never ever in the last several decades was
considered eligible for that. Indeed, South Africa has a history
of violent crime that the government is attempting to work through.
(24:20):
There are all kinds of issues, but those issues hit
against all South Africans. There is nothing definitive about it
being racialized. Now, white South Africans, especially Africanas who own farms,
have been in more isolated areas. So the more you've
(24:42):
removed from an urban terrain, the more sort of volatile
they have been to you know, incidents of crime. So
those things that they are documenting as evidence of genocide
are in they're not. There is actually no statistical evidence
to that effect.
Speaker 1 (25:03):
That was the Sheppeucherry, a South African scholar specializing in
African history with a focus on racial formation, racial politics,
and religious expression.
Speaker 7 (25:14):
Hi.
Speaker 1 (25:14):
This is Steve Gallington, producer and host of The People's News.
The People's News is people powered news. We are free
to report the unvarnished and unspun truth and challenge the
status quo of corporate propaganda and social media advertising disguised
as real news. Shiny new one hour episodes of the
(25:34):
People's News drop each Sunday on the People's News podcast,
Thanks for listening, Texas Republicans. After giving a billion dollars
of Texans taxpayer money to rich, mostly white parents in
Greg Abbott's Pet Project school vouchers, the Texas legislature promised
(25:56):
they would move on to funding public schools, but instead
of doing that, they are now looking to advance the
priority of Republican Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick to crack
town on the state's booming consumable hemp market, six years
after lawmakers inadvertently permitted its rise. Cynthia Cabrera, president of
(26:19):
Texas Business Council and Chief strategy officer of Hometown hero
have been instrumental in keeping HIMP legal in Texas. She
first explained about what Hometown Heroes does so.
Speaker 6 (26:32):
Hometown hero is a hemp and candidis company with self
finished goods to consumers, obviously adult consumers, and the company's
been in existence since twenty fifteen. It's privately owned based
in Austin, was incorporated in Austin, and it's been in Austin.
Speaker 4 (26:55):
Just want to explain the Lieutenant Lieutenant Governor is gone
on a rampage against HIMP in Texas. He says he's
gone to the effect of going into stores looking for
a thing. Is stores are stelling to underage kids and
illegal products of CP CPD, And I think a lot
(27:20):
of people get confused with the different types of names.
You want to product product, educate people on it.
Speaker 6 (27:27):
Sure, So cannabis is the botanical term for a plant.
In twenty eighteen, the federal government separated out hemp from marijuana.
So marijuana continues to be a control of Schedule one
controlled substance, but hemp products that are under zero point
(27:50):
three percent delta nine THHC that's the federal government's definition.
As long as the products are below that, they are
federally legal. So people get confused because if you use
the term cannabis, which refers to the plant, not the
legal terms, it can make people confused.
Speaker 4 (28:12):
The government are also saying and different types of substances
that are being sold in stores. Is it that that
are that are that are harmful for kids? Can you
elaborate on this type of thing that he's talking about.
Speaker 7 (28:27):
Well, I'm not always exactly sure what he's talking about,
but the first thing is, yeah.
Speaker 4 (28:37):
The first thing is none of these products.
Speaker 6 (28:39):
Are intended for minors, and I know that terms like
synthetic have been brought up. And what's interesting is that
since the so just the way the federal government has
a Control Substances list, so does every state, and Texas
has one, and synthetic cannabinoids that means like K two
(29:00):
and spice, those things have been illegal since twenty eleven.
So that's why, you know, that's kind of like the
thing that I went to when you said some when
you asked what I think about some of the stuff,
he says, that's one of the things that I went
to the Texas legislature, and you know, I have to
give them props. In twenty nineteen when they passed their
(29:22):
regulations for him, they did not add in an age gate.
They did not add in a twenty one and over.
So businesses because we've tried for two sessions to get
an age gate passed.
Speaker 7 (29:36):
We've industry has tried to.
Speaker 6 (29:38):
Get this twenty one and over put in, and the
legislature has not been responsive. So a lot of the
rhetoric that you've heard is about access by minors. But
that's something that could be fixed by just putting in
a twenty one and over. It doesn't call for a ban.
I mean, that's that's like trying to kill a mosquito
(29:59):
with a ham.
Speaker 4 (30:03):
So all the rhetoric that's going around, how does it
hurt your business?
Speaker 6 (30:09):
Well, first of all, you know, regulatory instability is bad
for any business. Nobody makes you know. You want your
business partners to be comfortable and know that they're safe
operating in a state. And that's one of the reasons
that this company. So, the founder of our company moved
from California to Texas to open a business because the
(30:32):
regulations in California were so burdensome and it was so
difficult to do business there that he decided to come
to Texas. You know the Texas Miracle. Texas supports enterprise,
it supports small business, that kind of thing. So it's
very interesting that Texas is so focused on helping businesses
accept In this particular case, we're talking about a ten
(30:54):
billion dollar industry. It's got a ten billion dollar economic impact,
So you have to ask yourself why someone would look
to shut that down. It's a federally legal product, a
state legal product. It's employed its employees over fifty three
thousand people. So I it is a mystery to me
(31:15):
why there is so much vitriol.
Speaker 4 (31:21):
And you guys help a lot of people too. I
know one, I know that people have become a lot
healthier with your products.
Speaker 7 (31:32):
Well that's exactly right.
Speaker 6 (31:39):
Well and you know, no, no.
Speaker 4 (31:42):
Go ahead, no go ahead, no, I'll go ahead.
Speaker 6 (31:46):
So yes, military folks, uh suffer from PTSD, as do
some civilians. Right, people that come from difficult situations and
that kind of thing or difficult you know, Uh, traumas
also suffer from PTSD. And you know, Texas again is
the land of freedom. It is independence. It is the
(32:07):
ability to make your own decisions as an adult for
what works for you. And so basically what you and
what's interesting is at the same time that they're trying
to you know, this handful of legislators is trying to
shut down this industry, they're also working to expand the
medical marijuana industry, which you have to ask yourself, why
(32:29):
is the legislature working to expand a federally illegal industry
when they could be supporting one that is federally legal
and already state legal and has been for six years?
Speaker 4 (32:43):
Yeah, and why is that connotations with rugs the gateway
drug to other forms and I've heard I've heard leadership
say this, that we're trying to stop the kids, to
stop them from having the leadway to other harder drugs.
Speaker 6 (33:01):
Yeah, but they'll prescribe medical marijuana to minors exactly. So
how do you reconcile that, you know what I mean?
And again, all this would be fixed with an age gate.
The state already required testing, The state already requires packaging
restrictions and requirements. The state already requires that you register
(33:25):
with the state. You know, the company has to register
with the state so that they can do inspections whenever
they want. You have to agree to that in order
to get your license. I mean, there's already a ton
of regulation in there. So when they say these unregulated products,
it's interesting because they're the ones who regulated them in
twenty nineteen.
Speaker 4 (33:45):
So are we being? Are we being? Is this a
setback for the industry as a whole as far as
going to looking at other states like like like Colorado and.
Speaker 6 (33:58):
California, Well, anytime that you take freedom of choice away
from consenting adults, it's a step back. It's a step backwards. Again,
you can protect against sales to minors by making it law,
and that's easy to do, you know, but it hasn't
(34:20):
happened yet. So anytime that you strip veterans, adults with pain,
adults that are looking to make their own decisions about
either medical conditions or what it is that they need
to sleep, or anything like that, you are taking a
step backward.
Speaker 4 (34:36):
You are not.
Speaker 6 (34:38):
Texas the land of independence and freedom. You are Texas
the land of dictatorship.
Speaker 1 (34:44):
That was Cynthia Cabrera, president of the Texas Based Business
Council and chief strategy officer of Hometown Hero. Texas farmers
and ranchers benefit from federal conservation funds that are targeted
to be cut by the criminal and corrupt trub administration.
As we hear more from Free to Ross and Texas
(35:05):
News Service.
Speaker 8 (35:06):
A recent National Wildlife Federation poll shows Texas farmers and
renterers benefit from voluntary conservation programs from the US Department
of Agriculture, and many would like to see the programs expand.
Respondents say the funding helps improve their bottom line and
protect soil and water. The Federations of EVA Glaciers says
(35:27):
Texas producers use the programs in various ways.
Speaker 9 (35:30):
Prescribed greasing and brush management and range planting were very
popular practices. There's been the Working Lands for Wildlife program
that has helped with the monarch butterfly declines through voluntary
measures that farmers ranchers are doing with the help of
this funding.
Speaker 8 (35:48):
She says. Only five percent of the more than five
hundred farmers and renters polled disagree with increasing long term
funding from the USDA. Almost seventy percent of producers say
designating funds specifically to help farmers adopt climate smart agricultural
practices is a good use of federal money. Glaser says.
(36:08):
The Wildlife Federation has also created a mapping tool that
shows how much federal funding each state has received and
outlines how farmers and ranchers are using it.
Speaker 9 (36:19):
That could be a range of different practices practices like
cover crops or freezing management, or it could be a
conservation easement. It could be putting in a buffer strip.
Speaker 8 (36:30):
More than eight in ten producers support passage of the
Farm Bill. The legislation is supposed to be renewed every
five years, but the last version was passed in twenty eighteen.
I'm frieda Ross Texas news service. Find our trust indicators
at Publicnewsservice dot org.
Speaker 1 (36:49):
The local FIFA twenty twenty six World Cup Committee announced
that the East of Downtown Area or EDO will be
the spot for the World Cup FanFest during the World Cup.
Chris Canetti, president of the fife A World Cup Houston
Host Committee, says the NRG area was not an option.
Speaker 10 (37:06):
Having in nexial stadium wasn't an option, so we had
to find somewhere else.
Speaker 11 (37:11):
So there was a zero opportunity to do that.
Speaker 4 (37:16):
What about parking, You've been open for.
Speaker 12 (37:18):
Donamore games and in a situation with parking here is
always crazy.
Speaker 11 (37:22):
Yeah, there's playing parking.
Speaker 13 (37:24):
You know.
Speaker 11 (37:24):
We've mapped out all the parking offs within.
Speaker 10 (37:25):
A ten to fifteen minute walk of the fan festival,
going all the way over to the other side of town.
Speaker 11 (37:31):
We have the light rail option.
Speaker 10 (37:33):
Of course, a lot of people won't be driving their
cars because they're gonna be from out of town.
Speaker 13 (37:37):
They're staying downtown.
Speaker 10 (37:38):
We'll have a transportation system, but then to get from
downtown over here, So all of that's part of the
coordinated effort.
Speaker 12 (37:45):
I've seen where they started, metal started to the airport.
Travel from the airport to downtown.
Speaker 4 (37:52):
That's gonna help out a lot.
Speaker 11 (37:53):
Yeah, that's that's gonna help out a lot.
Speaker 10 (37:54):
It's certainly an important initiative to have trywers to be
able to get directly from the hotel to downtown. So
you know, Metro's on top of its game there and
gonna be ramping that up and making sure that all
our foreign visitors can get can get downtown easily.
Speaker 12 (38:11):
And we talked about you know, you've been to Locust
before and we talk about segregation. As far as seregating
the fans, is that something asking as you looking.
Speaker 11 (38:20):
At or not necessarily for the fan festival, I'm.
Speaker 12 (38:23):
Not gonna fan for the matches themselves.
Speaker 10 (38:26):
That's that's not in within our control. FIFA controls everything
that happens over.
Speaker 13 (38:30):
At the stadium.
Speaker 11 (38:31):
Yeah, so I'm not sure what their plans.
Speaker 4 (38:33):
Are on that.
Speaker 12 (38:34):
But the Fans Fast is gonna be the open every day.
Speaker 10 (38:37):
Yeah, thirty nine day tournament from June eleven to July.
I'm sorry, Yeah, June eleven to July nineteen. There's thirty
four match days within there. We intend to be opened
all thirty four of those match days.
Speaker 4 (38:47):
We talk about security.
Speaker 11 (38:49):
Town security is the primary concern. It's our number one priority.
Speaker 10 (38:55):
We have a large stakeholder group who's thinking about security
day in the day out, how to protect the fan
fest and make sure that we have no issues.
Speaker 1 (39:03):
Joile Quen Martinez represents District one on Houston City Council
and he is proud that the fest is coming to
the area.
Speaker 13 (39:11):
Our food, our culture.
Speaker 14 (39:13):
You know, we talk about how diversit the city of
Houston is. Well, the world's going to be able to
see that diversity, and they're gonna even be able to
see themselves here being able to be a part of
this community.
Speaker 13 (39:22):
So it's exciting to have Houston be front center. And
then on a personal level, I grew up in the
Easton just a mile away from.
Speaker 14 (39:28):
Here, So you have that in our backyard and you
can't you can't be more excited than that, right, So
growing up, I've had several friends playing soccer and so
this is this is gonna be the highlight of it
really is someone's life.
Speaker 13 (39:42):
Honestly, this be in your backyard. How do you guys
prepare for this? What do you like the preparations and
stuff in order to have everything.
Speaker 14 (39:49):
Ready to So I first want to thank the Houston
Sports Story. Here's kind of Houston sports story they've been
working on this for years, right, so when you talk
about public safety, it's top of mind talk about transportation.
How do you accommodate you know, thousands of fans coming
to the City of Houston. They're ready, h They've been
working on this uh here specifically in this area east downtown.
Speaker 13 (40:08):
We have other stakeholders that have been.
Speaker 14 (40:10):
Making sure they're making sure that the infrastructure is ready,
so make sure payment conditions for the streets that is
not a challenge, and making sure that accessibility as well.
That we've been talking to the local restaurants and bars
around here how to be prepared for that. Again, thousands,
hundreds of thousands of folks that are the need here.
It's the conversation has continued for years. But the tountdown
(40:32):
is now beginning, and so now it's really, you know,
really put in all that work that they've done for
the last couple of years into action. So the city's prepared.
So we welcome everybody from Houston. And then a court
for Baraboro.
Speaker 13 (40:45):
Last one for me, probably the biggest hurdle. When you
host an algorithm in right the heat summers of Houston
on high how are you guys going to maybe allitviate
that for fans. So part of some of the infrastructure
and that we're.
Speaker 14 (40:58):
Gonna be providing is we're gonna have can of the
shade canopy as well. So we are looking at what
does that look like around around the Panfest, but even
at the Penfest.
Speaker 13 (41:06):
So it's just gonna an opportunity for shade we're looking at.
Speaker 14 (41:09):
Of course, we live in Houston, so three digit numbers
aren't even porn to us.
Speaker 13 (41:12):
So making sure folks they hydrated.
Speaker 14 (41:14):
We'll have again public safety, we'll have first respondents here.
Speaker 7 (41:18):
Uh.
Speaker 14 (41:18):
What I would just say, everybody's come ready to have
fun T shirt shorts and that's it.
Speaker 13 (41:22):
You're good and enjoy the games. What do you talk
about having in this neighborhood and.
Speaker 4 (41:28):
You grew up here, I know the neighborhood.
Speaker 12 (41:29):
Park a huge issue here and we have construction that's
going on right down the street, just gonna dist.
Speaker 13 (41:38):
How are you gonna have this here?
Speaker 14 (41:40):
So so we're coordinating text outs at the table.
Speaker 2 (41:45):
Uh.
Speaker 14 (41:45):
We have Downtown Redevelopment Authority, the East Downtown UH Management
District as well. Everybody's on board. We're all having discussions.
Is it's all about communication. At the end of the day,
we know that there's gonna there's construction pains that are happening.
Speaker 13 (41:57):
But in any construction project, there's opportunities.
Speaker 14 (42:00):
For traffic plans to be shared and make sure folks
know how to get around right, whether it's through vehicular traffic, cycling,
whether it's walking pedestrian, there's there's gonna be several, uh,
you know, several opportunities to make sure that you get here.
Speaker 13 (42:12):
And at the end of the day, we want folks
to be here. So that's a tough priority.
Speaker 14 (42:15):
Let's make sure it's accessible to all the Houston, all
of Patonia, but quite frankly, everybody in the world, around
the world.
Speaker 13 (42:21):
How the city's plan homeless people, what do you excited
to be?
Speaker 14 (42:27):
So what I would say is that we want to
make sure that we're being compassionate about our unhouse population.
Speaker 7 (42:32):
Uh.
Speaker 14 (42:33):
We want to make sure that that we give them
opportunities to find shelter, but also social services support as well.
A lot of our homeless on house population there's mental
health issues or subcial abusive issues.
Speaker 13 (42:43):
That's priority.
Speaker 14 (42:44):
We want to make sure that we are bringing those
resources as well. We quite frankly, we don't want folks
just to be you know, out on the streets with
these these these challenges as well personal challenges. So I
think it's very comprehensive us how we want to address
unhouse population. We need community support as well to be
on board to make sure that as we are identifying housing,
(43:04):
but we also need to make sure that we're finding
funding for you know.
Speaker 13 (43:08):
Mental health and substance of use as well. We're having
a neighborhood that's gonna be a usure too well.
Speaker 14 (43:13):
Again, public stakess priority in the Harrison County Houston Harris
County sports story, They've been on top of this for
a couple of years already. They're really focused on making
sure this is a safe place being families have a
family of four want you know, that's what we're thinking
about throughout all of these you know, this event when
we're here for the thirty nine days.
Speaker 13 (43:32):
Public safety is a priority, has been a priority for
the mayor, for the administration. So I think, you know,
this is gonna be a good spot to be In June.
Speaker 1 (43:38):
July next year, the Houston Dynamo lost three to one
to the Seattle Sounders at home at Shell Energy Stadium.
Defender Femi Adusu scored his first career MLS goal in
the thirty second minute, but was shown a red card
later in the first half. Referee Victor Rivas originally to
(44:00):
the penalties to Seattle, but the decision was changed to
a free kick after the var review. However, the red
card stood. Houston manager Ben Olsen was upset with the
play in the first ten minutes of the match, even
before the red card.
Speaker 15 (44:14):
Another red card against Yeah, that's six I think six
red cards in seven games against the That's not Norman, right.
Speaker 16 (44:22):
Some of that's on us, right pector spitting right, but
three of them we've earned. So it's just the wrong call.
Speaker 15 (44:33):
It's the wrong call and he gets he makes the
call and then it ends up being something that he
has to stand by, and that's what I think. That's
a problem. I just again, I just completely disagree with
the call saying that it was. It was a really
good first half from us against the good team. Resiliency
(44:55):
to come back and get the goal, little deflection goal
and pisses me off though is are the start was
terrible and too to not be able to grind a
little bit as a group is really really disappointing. I
don't care if you're down the man, you grind, you
figure out a way to get something out of that
(45:17):
game or make it really really tough. And it was
too easy in the first ten minutes.
Speaker 7 (45:22):
Uh.
Speaker 13 (45:22):
And they get they get their two goals.
Speaker 15 (45:24):
So that is a big disappointment tonight, not the first half,
not the way we went about it.
Speaker 7 (45:30):
Uh uh.
Speaker 15 (45:31):
And then a big disappointment on the on the referees call.
Speaker 13 (45:35):
Talk about the second half.
Speaker 12 (45:37):
You guys had three what I saw was just three
storm opportunities and you just what did you tell?
Speaker 10 (45:42):
You?
Speaker 13 (45:42):
What tell you?
Speaker 12 (45:42):
Guys at the half and you ran down, which is
still seems like they still the player still came out
and played it hard.
Speaker 15 (45:52):
The teams are gonna quit. This isn't a quitting team.
We don't build a team here to you know, lay down.
Everybody's still giving everything. But you know, again the start,
if you give up two goals quickly like that and
you aren't able to grind a little bit, game zver
So uh, yeah, great, we created some chances in the
(46:12):
second half and the guys worked hard, but it was
a really really poor start, and I just don't understand
why the goals came that easy.
Speaker 13 (46:22):
So that's that's really disappointing. I didn't see you're not
see it. I've seen a few angles, pal, I didn't
see anything that they'll come up with something.
Speaker 15 (46:37):
They'll come up with some you know, explanation, and I've
heard some of it already. I just completely disagree with it.
Speaker 13 (46:43):
So we'll see. We'll say that.
Speaker 15 (46:45):
You know, I think sometimes we get bogged down by
the letter of the law, and you know, sometimes we
just don't make the obvious, the the play that doesn't
screw the game up.
Speaker 13 (46:59):
But well, we'll see.
Speaker 8 (47:00):
Maybe.
Speaker 13 (47:05):
I well, you sorry, had a long week. I want
to travel three games in one week, and so we'll
get away.
Speaker 15 (47:11):
Tomorrow, spend some time with all the mothers, and then
we'll get back to work Monday.
Speaker 1 (47:17):
Houston will play again this Wednesday before traveling to Dallas
next Saturday. In the National Women's Soccer League, the Houston
Dash are on the road in Seattle to play Seattle
rain FC. Sunday night. They are one one zero on
the road. In Major League Rugby, the Houston SaberCats are
on the road in San Diego to play the Legion,
where they won thirty seven to twenty. They will be
(47:38):
back at home next Saturday Night. House Bill fifty three
to thirty seven and its companion bill, Senate Bill sixteen,
are bills that will suppress Texas voters by requiring documented
proof of citizenship to register to vote. Is being heard
in the House Elections Committee. In response, a coalition of
organizations voice their wrong opposition. Widely criticized for creating unnecessary
(48:04):
barriers to voting, House Bill five three three seven will
disenfranchise millions of Texans, particularly young people, naturalized citizens, and
married women. We talk to Emily French with common cause Texas.
Speaker 17 (48:18):
HB fifty three thirty seven is the companion to SB sixteen.
Both of these bills are a trick aimed at making
it harder for eligible voters to register. They say that
it's about checking non citizen voter registration and making sure
that no non citizens are on the roles. But we
already have robust processes in Texas that do that, our
DPS that talks to our county elections departments constantly making
(48:41):
sure that non citizens aren't on the roles. They've been
unable to prove that that is a big problem, but
that's not going to stop them from suppressing regular, eligible
votes in order to keep people from voting. Like you said,
this bill would require everybody in Texas to be subject
to a citizenship check based on systems that we don't know,
(49:02):
that aren't particularly listed in the bill, and it would
make everyone in Texas, all eighteen point six million of
US currently registered folks in Texas might get our registration
downgraded to just two federal races and not be able
to vote on any of our state or local offices
(49:23):
unless we go into our elections offices laid in line,
go through the process right like a DPS, to show
documents that prove that we are citizens that have our
current names on them.
Speaker 4 (49:35):
What's scary is the whole aspect of required documents of
proof of citizenship. You know, so right now when you
go to vote, you have to have a driver's license,
So what else do you need? Right the.
Speaker 17 (49:50):
SB sixteen and HBE fifty three thirty seven would require
you to have an additional document that you don't just
show at the polling place, that you would have to
go show to your county office. The way the bill
is written now, they would require either a US citizenship
certificate or a birth certificate with your name on it,
or a passport. I got married in twenty twenty three.
(50:12):
I don't have a birth certificate with my current name
on it. For a long time I didn't have a passport.
Now I have one, But there are tons of Texans
in the same position who don't have a birth certificate
with their current name on it. It takes a long
time to go down to county offices. It takes money
to get birth certificates. Passports are one hundred and thirty dollars.
This seems to me to be a poll tax that
(50:33):
adds additional layers of unhelpful security just to keep people
from casting those ballots.
Speaker 6 (50:40):
I believe two and three.
Speaker 17 (50:41):
Rule voters don't have a passport. One out of three
regular voters don't have a passport. Many folks who are
college students don't have access to passports or birth certificates because.
Speaker 6 (50:51):
They vote eligibly in Texas.
Speaker 17 (50:53):
But those documents are sitting at home with their parents
in a fire stake that the kids have never seen before.
Speaker 5 (51:00):
This is just a it seems to me to just
be a pure voter suppression effort.
Speaker 4 (51:04):
Yeah, and it seems like it's a poll tax. And
for people that don't know, uh, these were restrictions on
to stop African Americans from voting up until up until
the sixties. In some places these were put in place
that you had to have, but you have to go
to a lottery. In some places to get to be
able to vote, you had to you had to know
(51:25):
somebody to vote. These are these are the type of
restrictions we had in the past during urent segregation. Is
this the same Is this going into the same pattern
of of you you've seen the same pattern because I've
heard you mentioned the poll tax.
Speaker 17 (51:39):
Absolutely.
Speaker 6 (51:40):
Uh.
Speaker 17 (51:40):
The twenty fourth Amendments of the Constitution says it is
illegal to have a pull tax, but that has not
stopped a lot of Texast legislators. So I'm trying to
sneak a poll tax in right.
Speaker 7 (51:49):
Uh.
Speaker 17 (51:49):
Driver's licenses cost money. The Fifth Circuits that we don't
want to voter ideed to be a poll tax. The
Fifth Circuit is the most conservative circuit court in America.
They even they said it's driver's license might be a
pull tax. So you have to be able to vote
if you have a reasonable impediment, like a reason you
can't get a driver's license. But there there has been
(52:09):
a bill in the past couple of weeks trying to
get rid of those reasonable impediment declarations. And I think
that this birth certificate voter birth certificate passport extra expense
definitely seems to me to be.
Speaker 6 (52:23):
A poll tax.
Speaker 17 (52:24):
I don't know if the courts would agree with me,
but if it looks like a pull tax and smells
like a poll tax and cracks like a pull tax,
you have to think it probably is.
Speaker 4 (52:33):
So this is this is coming out of committee, and
I guess tomorrow you're gonna have a hearing. How serious
is this? Passing this this leisure lead session.
Speaker 17 (52:43):
There does need to be a lot and will to
pass this. It's already been through the whole process on
the Senate side, and the Senate has done everything they
need for it to be a bill that becomes law.
It's just on the House side now that we'll have
to fight it in the House Elections Committee tomorrow April
twenty forth, as well as later on down the line
(53:03):
on the House floor.
Speaker 4 (53:05):
If this goes into it, this goes into into reality,
so to speak. Will this be taken up in the courts.
Speaker 17 (53:14):
I can't imagine it won't be taken up in the court.
So I don't litigate myself, but there are so many
red flags here. And in Kansas they passed a similar
law like this a decade ago and twelve percent of
eligible voters who tried to register for three years were
denied registration because of this documentary proof of citizenship law
(53:37):
and the Tenth Circuit where Kansas is that that this
is illegal and they can't do it. So I think
there's plenty of opportunities for judges to find this unconstitutional.
Speaker 4 (53:48):
Is this pretty much being done for publicity or for
showmanship so to speak?
Speaker 17 (53:58):
What the hardest, what the motivation is? I do think
that they are that there are folks in the legislature
who want to make non citizen voting seem like a
problem when it really is not. I do think that
there are people who just want to make it harder
for everyone to vote and reduce the pool of who
is electing our representatives, our president to the smallest number possible,
(54:19):
just like you know, the seventeen nineties, white land owning
males were allowed to vote. I think they're trying to
get it back to that number however they can.
Speaker 4 (54:28):
And this added to all the other restrictions that have
been put in place in Texas. You want to talk
about that, well, of course, there have been some folks
trying to get rid of county wide polling, which is the.
Speaker 17 (54:43):
Mechanism by which folks can vote at any polling place
in their county on election day. Harris County went to
this in twenty eighteen. In the twenty eighteen election, right
before Harris County got county wide polling, there were four
thousand people in Harris County whose votes were thrown out
just because they voted in a different neighborhood from their precinct.
As soon as Harris County went to county white polling,
(55:06):
those votes were all eligible, were all fine, Those people
were not disenfranchised the county white polling. That stuff is
stalled out on the Senate side, but we're still trying
to be wary of it. There are also a bunch
of bills that are trying to get the Attorney general
right now it's ken Paxton back into charging folks with
electron crimes, and that is a local prosecutor's job to do.
(55:28):
Harris County DA and Harris County Attorney have both clashed
with the state because the state does not agree with
their prosecutorial discretion, but that is where the decisions are
supposed to be made, not from the Attorney General's office.
There are all kinds of bills where folks are trying
to get crytial voting rights, but we're still out here
fighting them.
Speaker 4 (55:46):
Yeah, to add insult to injury, you know, Harris County
just seems like something Tim Paxson was trying to get
back in Harris County, just as the Gibbler was also
for supporting him and making it hard for Ustonians to
go out and vote. Whereas now, especially in my neighborhood,
(56:09):
you can go down the street to vote. Now you
have to go two three miles down a road to
go vote.
Speaker 5 (56:16):
Exactly.
Speaker 17 (56:17):
And I think that Harris County has been a target
of the House Elections Committee to the point where it's
almost a joke. When people bring up a bill in
House Elections sometimes they'll say, this is not a Harris
County bill, because everyone expects it to be a Harris
County bill. It is so wild that people in Harris
County have different voting rights and people in Travis County
are people where I grew up in Wichita County. This
(56:39):
is one state we're also to have the same amount
of voting rights and the reasons that the state goes
after Harris County seemed to me to be partisan motivated
and honestly, in a lot of cases racially motivated.
Speaker 1 (56:52):
That was Emily French. With Common Cause Texas, you can
reach them at common Cause All put Together dot org,
forward slash Texas. The People's News is a production of
Steve Gallington and Richard Hannah and is protected by copyright laws.
All the information broadcast on air and online, as well
(57:13):
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(57:33):
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permission to use copyrighted material, email Steve Gallington at Steve
(57:54):
at gallington dot com. Thank you
It's the week of May eighteenth, twenty twenty five, and
this is what's on the people's news. Criminal and corrupt
administration starts, allowing unoppressed, privileged white Africanners to come to
the US as refugees. Persians in Houston look for change
in Iran. Fresh from giving one billion dollars in tax
(00:23):
money to rich parents, the Texas GOP is going after
the hemp industry. Houston getting ready for the twenty twenty
six World Cup with football Fiesta. All that and more
on the People's News. I'm Steve Gallington. This is the
people's news, and the people's news starts now. While the
(00:47):
convicted fellon, Donald Trump travels the Middle East, accepting bribes
and gifts, continuing his criminal behavior while he's in the
White House. US Iranian talks are at a standstill. Trump's
incompetent administration does not know how to do displomacy, so
Trump has chosen to threaten over social media mostly Iran
(01:11):
that they need to come to a deal or else.
But those in the Persian community here in Texas still
think there can be a regime change. We talked to
Kareem Zangana with the Iranian American community of Texas. He
spoke on regime change without violence.
Speaker 2 (01:29):
Yes, there. So the our community here are pretty active,
as you may know. And CRI in US which is
in Washington, d C. And the OYAK which is even
American communities over the fortiest states in the United States
of America, we are supporting the origin change in Iran.
(01:51):
As you may know, just a couple of days ago,
it was a new revelation by NCRI in Washington, d C.
Speaker 3 (01:57):
I send you the link. I believe that the new
revelation that then.
Speaker 2 (02:02):
The Iranian regime again have a secret project in northeast
Iran that is just trying to build the nuclear warhead
for carrying the atomic atomic bomb. So that was a big,
big revelation that it was going on. And then on
(02:23):
following days and just about yesterday we had this resolution
h Reads one sixty six that it was the majority
of the bipartisan majority of the Member of Congress in
the United States that they support they support regime, they
(02:44):
support the Iranian people and NCRI and head of the NCR,
Miss Mariam Rajevi, which is a president elector of n CRI,
I for and her vision and her ten point plan
for future of Iran. That was a big, big news
that it was going on. That's why I try to
(03:04):
contact you and thank you very much by the way
for calling here, so that that that resolution is big
and we we're hoping that the regime changed come along
by the United States supporting Iranian people and their resistance
group and c R I m K, who are strong,
(03:26):
who are organized and powerful inside Iran, with the resistance
units all over the unit Iran, Iran and cities. They
are ready. There are boots on the ground to overthrow
the regime. And as you hear it previously that the head.
Speaker 3 (03:44):
Of the n CR I Is Maam gradually mentioned that
a few times that no weapons, no boots on the ground,
no money is needed because the people of iron are
ready to over through the regime. All we all we
need is the United States the same way. That is
a state that in this resolution one sixty six, the
(04:09):
United States should recognize the right of the Iranian people
to overthrow the regime. Right of the Iranian people and
the resistance. You need to confront the terrorist ILGC that
they are busy killing people. As a matter of fact,
escalation of the execution. It's been been huge in since
(04:34):
the new president position came in the power, which is
a less than year, about one than two hundred people
have been executed. Just just just yesterday, nineteen people including
minor and women been executed in Iran. So this is
(04:58):
this is a situation and and we just want this administration,
on any administration to be firm with the Iranian regime.
We want them to be firm to maximum pressure appeasing,
appeasing this regime because that this region being power for
(05:19):
for over four decades and the Irandom people reject this
region shortly after they came into power. So so we
hope that the region changed become on a policy of
the United States and recognize the right of Iranian people
to do that.
Speaker 2 (05:38):
That's basically what the Iranian people want.
Speaker 4 (05:40):
Thank you of the people, I mean, because you're saying
you're saying that, you're saying that the.
Speaker 2 (05:49):
Absolutely great question. That's the whole idea. Yes, because United
States should stop appeasing these stories regime. There are religious
fascist regime that they're trying to achieve the atomic bomb,
spending trillions of dollars on projects of like nuclear nuclear weapons,
(06:15):
while Iranian people are hungry. Iranian people has no bread
on the table. That was like for yesterday.
Speaker 3 (06:22):
Today they don't even have water and electricity. This regime
ACTU is powerful in killing people, in making the drone
and trying to get the atomic bomb. However, people doesn't
have bread on the table because all the money and
wealth they will spend on either suppression of them inside
(06:43):
it on or sending them to tourists practices around the world.
And now they are back to the square one where
all the practices been dismantled and.
Speaker 2 (06:57):
The regime.
Speaker 3 (06:59):
Have to back up from the atomic project. Otherwise it's
going to be a war. We don't want war. There
is no war necessary when the regime changed by Iranian
people is very wible and ready and people are ready.
So yes, American government have to recognize the right of
(07:20):
Iranian people and their resistance to confront the i ergycy
that they do killing them every time they come and
have a peaceful demonstration. Aboe, thousands of them been killed.
So yes, if they if they.
Speaker 2 (07:35):
United States recognize the right, recognize the legitimacy of the
and the right of them to to quest to to
change the government, and and they overthrew the regime and
establish democratic secular and non nuclear republic, of course, and
(07:58):
because they obviously they don't want to go back to
the previous dictatorshieve showers in the power, so they want
to they want to freedom. That then the people come
in the power and they decide for their future.
Speaker 4 (08:09):
Or they do want to just because they want to
peacement with with Israel.
Speaker 3 (08:16):
The well, the Israel of course they are the only
there are issued they have different vision to do the things.
But the Iranian people has no no issue with the
Jewish people whatever. So the factor matter is that regime
change is going to be benefit there for the entire
(08:37):
region and the entire world. So that's that's the solution
to many problems. That is not just for Iranian people,
but it's for the region and for the entire entire world.
Speaker 1 (08:49):
That was Kareem Zangana with the Iranian American Community of Texas.
You can reach them at O A i C dot
org or I A C. T. The Trump administration continues
to deport people without due process and plays games on
social media, which they say is negotiating a deal. Elect
(09:13):
a criminal to the White House and get a criminal administration.
As the criminal and corrupt Trump administration continues its policies
of deporting immigrants and US citizens to foreign gulags without
due process, openly defying the orders of the judiciary, including
(09:34):
the Supreme Court convicted felon. Donald Trump is making good
on his campaign promise to bring in the right refugees,
which means the white refugees that he feels are being oppressed. White,
privileged and unoppressed South African Africaners have been arriving from
(09:56):
South Africa where they've been given a fast track citizenship
as refugees. They were given a chartered flight to the
US and will get free housing, food, and other needs.
It is simply not true that the white Afrikaners are
victims of genocide or being oppressed in any way. This
(10:16):
has been debunked by many human rights organizations and the
South African government. Even the extreme white wing in South
Africa has spoke against these refugees going to the US.
Doctor Descheppo Mesingo Cherri is an Associate professor at the
University of Houston, a South African scholar specializing in African
(10:39):
history with a focus on racial formation, racial politics, and
religious expression.
Speaker 5 (10:45):
Just recently this week, we had about forty nine South Africans.
White South Africans land at Dallas Airport in Washington, DC.
They are classified as and identify as afric Khanas, which
are the descendants of, generally speaking, of people who settled
(11:08):
in South Africa. And the reason I say generally speaking,
and this might be of interest to sort of thinking
more in a more nuanced way about who's coming and
under what circumstances, Africanas have a history actually of being
of interracial descent. So these are they're classified as white
(11:30):
South Africans, but many Africanas in their generations back have
a multi ethnic heritage, which includes the Khoisan, who would
be the indigenous people of South Africa who were there
when the Dutch settlers came, and of course being Guni's people.
(11:53):
So we're talking about people who might identify definitely ideologically
and politically as white, but also have this longer history
that links them to African populations. But this group of
(12:13):
people in particular have really struggled post nineteen ninety four
when apartheid was abolished. And this is a group of
Africanists who really didn't find their sort of economic and
political footing post ninety four, and had generations before benefited
(12:36):
from the from the South African government who had policies
in place that supported white South Africans irrespective of their
education or their professional standing. So under apartheid, white South
Africans were always there was always an attempt to elevate
(13:00):
them above any of the other racial groups. So they
were given subsidies for domestic help, so they had domestic
laborers in their homes as well as gardeners and were
given subsidies around their homes. So, after the end of apartheid,
this position the group of people who had been largely
(13:23):
dependent on the government to fend for themselves to a
larger degree. But what's at stake right now in terms
of our political the political through line that we're talking
about is that President Donald Trump has stated that light
(13:45):
South Africans are facing a genocide in South Africa, and
much of his claims are connected to a series of
laws that question the ownership of by white South Africans
over many generations that was often taken away from black
(14:08):
South Africans as apartheid expanded. And so the idea here
is if you look at the vast inequality in South
Africa currently, where you have over seventy percent of the
land in the hands of white owners. In particular, what
we're talking about here are white farmers. The Africans have
(14:29):
a history on a heritage of tending to the land.
Then you have, you know, thirty percent of the land
doled out to the rest of South Africans. And this
is beyond just black South Africans, but they are a
plethora of other ethnic groups that call South Africa their homes.
(14:52):
So the reclamation project of the land, especially land where
there's documentation that that land was taken from black South Africans,
whether through companies or organizations or individuals themselves, is what
the South African government has had in play and has
(15:14):
been questioning and also trying to figure out ways to
create more economic equality and equity in the country. Interestingly enough,
South Africa has been known for this draconian segregationist policies
in the form of apartheid, but after nineteen ninety four
(15:39):
it actually has become even more unequal in terms of
the economics of the country itself. So this is something
that the South African population has been reckoning with for
quite some time, and there has been an economic fallout
for many Africanists who are not professionally well positioned.
Speaker 4 (16:04):
When you say, when you say that the white Africanus,
this is a history of of white Africanas as being
point blank racist for the most part against blacks and
other minority groups.
Speaker 5 (16:18):
In my curricula, absolutely, and I think that's a very
important thing just to parse out and probably something that
I am part take for granted in the history of
South Africa. But South Africa and the apartheid system, and
the apartheid system is was a was a set of
(16:40):
policies and a way of life and around the kind
of racial hierarchy with white benefiting the bult being at
the top and blacks of course, with the least benefits
being at the bottom. And the notion the idea was
for the white population to have access to free or
(17:04):
cheap labor and it was state sponsored and to position.
Speaker 4 (17:12):
White South Africans.
Speaker 5 (17:15):
To really benefit economically from the resources on South African land.
Speaker 6 (17:24):
And so it was a.
Speaker 5 (17:25):
Very it was very draconian because the measures that they
took to ensure that this happened ranged, you know, vastly.
Like so I mentioned the sort of on a micro level,
how Africanas benefited from being you know, being classified as
(17:47):
white despite their their multinational heritage, but also because the
Africanists themselves were the ones that pushed for this particular
ideology to be institutionalized and politicized, so that when there
were multiple strands of British descendants that made their home
(18:08):
South Africa as part of a white settler community, but
the Afrikaanas formed the National Party. The National Party was
a party that took over in nineteen forty eight and
created the idea of apartheid. Apartheid was only able to
be instituted into that country not only through politics and
(18:31):
the policies overall, but also through you know, a series
of ideologies that even had a theological impulse. So where
you have a country that is organized by race, but
where people are open to and accepting of the idea
(18:54):
that blacks were meant to work on behalf of white
by turning to a kind of calvinistic theology that supported
these ideas. Well, it's a distorted calvinistic theology that supported
these ideas, and so you have a very you had
a very segregated society, and it was also very brutal
(19:20):
in the sense that as people pushed back against some
of these some of the policies that were the infrastructure
for South Africa apartheid, whether that was the Group Areas Act,
where black people had to live in one section of town,
people who are classified as multiracial who are called colored
(19:41):
had to live in another section of town, Indians in
another section of town, so on and so forth along
the same kind of racial lines, and that black people
cannot be in any white areas after nine pm without
the permission of white people, or if they were or
(20:02):
unless they were working and living in a white home
as part of domestic help. Those are only I'm scratching
at the surface of how apartheid functions functions historically. Americans,
especially late eighties onward, we have a history and a
(20:23):
connection to South Africa. Of course that spans went well
beyond the nineteen eighties, but for many of us, we
would remember the nineteen eighties as a moment where we
saw on American college campuses students pushing for divestment from
a priortide and divestment from companies that supported apartheid, as
(20:47):
well as a pushback and an attempt to isolate South
Africa and its various sort of configurations.
Speaker 4 (20:57):
And that was.
Speaker 5 (20:58):
Led in large parts by HBCUs. Although there is this
kind of way in which historians turned very quickly to
pwis and white liberals who push for divestment, but you
have this long standing history of historically black colleges and
universities who were aware of what was happening in South Africa,
(21:22):
who were organizing against the partheid and then these politics
found their way beyond these campuses, and I think campuses
are only one site of opposition that African Americans in
large parts created against apartheid. You have a whole host
(21:45):
of civil rights leaders who are well aware of what
was happening in South Africa, who are in contact with
a lot of black South African leaders, and who were
working in solidarity against apartheid. This sort of reminiscent form
of what was happening here in the US under not
just under this during the Civil Rights movement, but we
(22:08):
could look at Jim crow Era. There's this kind of
strange historical kind of similarity that black South Africans and
African Americans have shared for decades. You could even see
actually HBCU students who traveled to South Africa in the
(22:30):
late nineteen and the late eighteen hundreds as a form
of kind of cultural artistic exchange. But I mentioned all
this because there's this long history of a clear opposition
to apartheid, and by default, a clear opposition to this
(22:51):
notion of Africana nationalism, which was embedded in our understanding
of who we were opposing when we're talking about the
anti apartheid regime. We weren't necessarily directly opposing Africanas, but
we were directly opposing Africana nationalism. And so what's happening
(23:11):
now is a group of people who have come through
to America are part of the descendants of who we
would call the Africana nationalists. They're part of Afro Forum.
They want to maintain the history of the kind of
Africana ideology. They feel very much undercut by the changes
(23:35):
that try to create economic equality for black South Africans.
So the idea of this white genocide is not a
new idea in the sense that it has been paraded
around for the last couple of decades, but it has
been largely dismissed because there is no genocide happening in
(23:56):
South Africa. Quite frankly, if you look at the UN
and their definition of who should be eligible for refugee status.
South Africa never ever in the last several decades was
considered eligible for that. Indeed, South Africa has a history
of violent crime that the government is attempting to work through.
(24:20):
There are all kinds of issues, but those issues hit
against all South Africans. There is nothing definitive about it
being racialized. Now, white South Africans, especially Africanas who own farms,
have been in more isolated areas. So the more you've
(24:42):
removed from an urban terrain, the more sort of volatile
they have been to you know, incidents of crime. So
those things that they are documenting as evidence of genocide
are in they're not. There is actually no statistical evidence
to that effect.
Speaker 1 (25:03):
That was the Sheppeucherry, a South African scholar specializing in
African history with a focus on racial formation, racial politics,
and religious expression.
Speaker 7 (25:14):
Hi.
Speaker 1 (25:14):
This is Steve Gallington, producer and host of The People's News.
The People's News is people powered news. We are free
to report the unvarnished and unspun truth and challenge the
status quo of corporate propaganda and social media advertising disguised
as real news. Shiny new one hour episodes of the
(25:34):
People's News drop each Sunday on the People's News podcast,
Thanks for listening, Texas Republicans. After giving a billion dollars
of Texans taxpayer money to rich, mostly white parents in
Greg Abbott's Pet Project school vouchers, the Texas legislature promised
(25:56):
they would move on to funding public schools, but instead
of doing that, they are now looking to advance the
priority of Republican Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick to crack
town on the state's booming consumable hemp market, six years
after lawmakers inadvertently permitted its rise. Cynthia Cabrera, president of
(26:19):
Texas Business Council and Chief strategy officer of Hometown hero
have been instrumental in keeping HIMP legal in Texas. She
first explained about what Hometown Heroes does so.
Speaker 6 (26:32):
Hometown hero is a hemp and candidis company with self
finished goods to consumers, obviously adult consumers, and the company's
been in existence since twenty fifteen. It's privately owned based
in Austin, was incorporated in Austin, and it's been in Austin.
Speaker 4 (26:55):
Just want to explain the Lieutenant Lieutenant Governor is gone
on a rampage against HIMP in Texas. He says he's
gone to the effect of going into stores looking for
a thing. Is stores are stelling to underage kids and
illegal products of CP CPD, And I think a lot
(27:20):
of people get confused with the different types of names.
You want to product product, educate people on it.
Speaker 6 (27:27):
Sure, So cannabis is the botanical term for a plant.
In twenty eighteen, the federal government separated out hemp from marijuana.
So marijuana continues to be a control of Schedule one
controlled substance, but hemp products that are under zero point
(27:50):
three percent delta nine THHC that's the federal government's definition.
As long as the products are below that, they are
federally legal. So people get confused because if you use
the term cannabis, which refers to the plant, not the
legal terms, it can make people confused.
Speaker 4 (28:12):
The government are also saying and different types of substances
that are being sold in stores. Is it that that
are that are that are harmful for kids? Can you
elaborate on this type of thing that he's talking about.
Speaker 7 (28:27):
Well, I'm not always exactly sure what he's talking about,
but the first thing is, yeah.
Speaker 4 (28:37):
The first thing is none of these products.
Speaker 6 (28:39):
Are intended for minors, and I know that terms like
synthetic have been brought up. And what's interesting is that
since the so just the way the federal government has
a Control Substances list, so does every state, and Texas
has one, and synthetic cannabinoids that means like K two
(29:00):
and spice, those things have been illegal since twenty eleven.
So that's why, you know, that's kind of like the
thing that I went to when you said some when
you asked what I think about some of the stuff,
he says, that's one of the things that I went
to the Texas legislature, and you know, I have to
give them props. In twenty nineteen when they passed their
(29:22):
regulations for him, they did not add in an age gate.
They did not add in a twenty one and over.
So businesses because we've tried for two sessions to get
an age gate passed.
Speaker 7 (29:36):
We've industry has tried to.
Speaker 6 (29:38):
Get this twenty one and over put in, and the
legislature has not been responsive. So a lot of the
rhetoric that you've heard is about access by minors. But
that's something that could be fixed by just putting in
a twenty one and over. It doesn't call for a ban.
I mean, that's that's like trying to kill a mosquito
(29:59):
with a ham.
Speaker 4 (30:03):
So all the rhetoric that's going around, how does it
hurt your business?
Speaker 6 (30:09):
Well, first of all, you know, regulatory instability is bad
for any business. Nobody makes you know. You want your
business partners to be comfortable and know that they're safe
operating in a state. And that's one of the reasons
that this company. So, the founder of our company moved
from California to Texas to open a business because the
(30:32):
regulations in California were so burdensome and it was so
difficult to do business there that he decided to come
to Texas. You know the Texas Miracle. Texas supports enterprise,
it supports small business, that kind of thing. So it's
very interesting that Texas is so focused on helping businesses
accept In this particular case, we're talking about a ten
(30:54):
billion dollar industry. It's got a ten billion dollar economic impact,
So you have to ask yourself why someone would look
to shut that down. It's a federally legal product, a
state legal product. It's employed its employees over fifty three
thousand people. So I it is a mystery to me
(31:15):
why there is so much vitriol.
Speaker 4 (31:21):
And you guys help a lot of people too. I
know one, I know that people have become a lot
healthier with your products.
Speaker 7 (31:32):
Well that's exactly right.
Speaker 6 (31:39):
Well and you know, no, no.
Speaker 4 (31:42):
Go ahead, no go ahead, no, I'll go ahead.
Speaker 6 (31:46):
So yes, military folks, uh suffer from PTSD, as do
some civilians. Right, people that come from difficult situations and
that kind of thing or difficult you know, Uh, traumas
also suffer from PTSD. And you know, Texas again is
the land of freedom. It is independence. It is the
(32:07):
ability to make your own decisions as an adult for
what works for you. And so basically what you and
what's interesting is at the same time that they're trying
to you know, this handful of legislators is trying to
shut down this industry, they're also working to expand the
medical marijuana industry, which you have to ask yourself, why
(32:29):
is the legislature working to expand a federally illegal industry
when they could be supporting one that is federally legal
and already state legal and has been for six years?
Speaker 4 (32:43):
Yeah, and why is that connotations with rugs the gateway
drug to other forms and I've heard I've heard leadership
say this, that we're trying to stop the kids, to
stop them from having the leadway to other harder drugs.
Speaker 6 (33:01):
Yeah, but they'll prescribe medical marijuana to minors exactly. So
how do you reconcile that, you know what I mean?
And again, all this would be fixed with an age gate.
The state already required testing, The state already requires packaging
restrictions and requirements. The state already requires that you register
(33:25):
with the state. You know, the company has to register
with the state so that they can do inspections whenever
they want. You have to agree to that in order
to get your license. I mean, there's already a ton
of regulation in there. So when they say these unregulated products,
it's interesting because they're the ones who regulated them in
twenty nineteen.
Speaker 4 (33:45):
So are we being? Are we being? Is this a
setback for the industry as a whole as far as
going to looking at other states like like like Colorado and.
Speaker 6 (33:58):
California, Well, anytime that you take freedom of choice away
from consenting adults, it's a step back. It's a step backwards. Again,
you can protect against sales to minors by making it law,
and that's easy to do, you know, but it hasn't
(34:20):
happened yet. So anytime that you strip veterans, adults with pain,
adults that are looking to make their own decisions about
either medical conditions or what it is that they need
to sleep, or anything like that, you are taking a
step backward.
Speaker 4 (34:36):
You are not.
Speaker 6 (34:38):
Texas the land of independence and freedom. You are Texas
the land of dictatorship.
Speaker 1 (34:44):
That was Cynthia Cabrera, president of the Texas Based Business
Council and chief strategy officer of Hometown Hero. Texas farmers
and ranchers benefit from federal conservation funds that are targeted
to be cut by the criminal and corrupt trub administration.
As we hear more from Free to Ross and Texas
(35:05):
News Service.
Speaker 8 (35:06):
A recent National Wildlife Federation poll shows Texas farmers and
renterers benefit from voluntary conservation programs from the US Department
of Agriculture, and many would like to see the programs expand.
Respondents say the funding helps improve their bottom line and
protect soil and water. The Federations of EVA Glaciers says
(35:27):
Texas producers use the programs in various ways.
Speaker 9 (35:30):
Prescribed greasing and brush management and range planting were very
popular practices. There's been the Working Lands for Wildlife program
that has helped with the monarch butterfly declines through voluntary
measures that farmers ranchers are doing with the help of
this funding.
Speaker 8 (35:48):
She says. Only five percent of the more than five
hundred farmers and renters polled disagree with increasing long term
funding from the USDA. Almost seventy percent of producers say
designating funds specifically to help farmers adopt climate smart agricultural
practices is a good use of federal money. Glaser says.
(36:08):
The Wildlife Federation has also created a mapping tool that
shows how much federal funding each state has received and
outlines how farmers and ranchers are using it.
Speaker 9 (36:19):
That could be a range of different practices practices like
cover crops or freezing management, or it could be a
conservation easement. It could be putting in a buffer strip.
Speaker 8 (36:30):
More than eight in ten producers support passage of the
Farm Bill. The legislation is supposed to be renewed every
five years, but the last version was passed in twenty eighteen.
I'm frieda Ross Texas news service. Find our trust indicators
at Publicnewsservice dot org.
Speaker 1 (36:49):
The local FIFA twenty twenty six World Cup Committee announced
that the East of Downtown Area or EDO will be
the spot for the World Cup FanFest during the World Cup.
Chris Canetti, president of the fife A World Cup Houston
Host Committee, says the NRG area was not an option.
Speaker 10 (37:06):
Having in nexial stadium wasn't an option, so we had
to find somewhere else.
Speaker 11 (37:11):
So there was a zero opportunity to do that.
Speaker 4 (37:16):
What about parking, You've been open for.
Speaker 12 (37:18):
Donamore games and in a situation with parking here is
always crazy.
Speaker 11 (37:22):
Yeah, there's playing parking.
Speaker 13 (37:24):
You know.
Speaker 11 (37:24):
We've mapped out all the parking offs within.
Speaker 10 (37:25):
A ten to fifteen minute walk of the fan festival,
going all the way over to the other side of town.
Speaker 11 (37:31):
We have the light rail option.
Speaker 10 (37:33):
Of course, a lot of people won't be driving their
cars because they're gonna be from out of town.
Speaker 13 (37:37):
They're staying downtown.
Speaker 10 (37:38):
We'll have a transportation system, but then to get from
downtown over here, So all of that's part of the
coordinated effort.
Speaker 12 (37:45):
I've seen where they started, metal started to the airport.
Travel from the airport to downtown.
Speaker 4 (37:52):
That's gonna help out a lot.
Speaker 11 (37:53):
Yeah, that's that's gonna help out a lot.
Speaker 10 (37:54):
It's certainly an important initiative to have trywers to be
able to get directly from the hotel to downtown. So
you know, Metro's on top of its game there and
gonna be ramping that up and making sure that all
our foreign visitors can get can get downtown easily.
Speaker 12 (38:11):
And we talked about you know, you've been to Locust
before and we talk about segregation. As far as seregating
the fans, is that something asking as you looking.
Speaker 11 (38:20):
At or not necessarily for the fan festival, I'm.
Speaker 12 (38:23):
Not gonna fan for the matches themselves.
Speaker 10 (38:26):
That's that's not in within our control. FIFA controls everything
that happens over.
Speaker 13 (38:30):
At the stadium.
Speaker 11 (38:31):
Yeah, so I'm not sure what their plans.
Speaker 4 (38:33):
Are on that.
Speaker 12 (38:34):
But the Fans Fast is gonna be the open every day.
Speaker 10 (38:37):
Yeah, thirty nine day tournament from June eleven to July.
I'm sorry, Yeah, June eleven to July nineteen. There's thirty
four match days within there. We intend to be opened
all thirty four of those match days.
Speaker 4 (38:47):
We talk about security.
Speaker 11 (38:49):
Town security is the primary concern. It's our number one priority.
Speaker 10 (38:55):
We have a large stakeholder group who's thinking about security
day in the day out, how to protect the fan
fest and make sure that we have no issues.
Speaker 1 (39:03):
Joile Quen Martinez represents District one on Houston City Council
and he is proud that the fest is coming to
the area.
Speaker 13 (39:11):
Our food, our culture.
Speaker 14 (39:13):
You know, we talk about how diversit the city of
Houston is. Well, the world's going to be able to
see that diversity, and they're gonna even be able to
see themselves here being able to be a part of
this community.
Speaker 13 (39:22):
So it's exciting to have Houston be front center. And
then on a personal level, I grew up in the
Easton just a mile away from.
Speaker 14 (39:28):
Here, So you have that in our backyard and you
can't you can't be more excited than that, right, So
growing up, I've had several friends playing soccer and so
this is this is gonna be the highlight of it
really is someone's life.
Speaker 13 (39:42):
Honestly, this be in your backyard. How do you guys
prepare for this? What do you like the preparations and
stuff in order to have everything.
Speaker 14 (39:49):
Ready to So I first want to thank the Houston
Sports Story. Here's kind of Houston sports story they've been
working on this for years, right, so when you talk
about public safety, it's top of mind talk about transportation.
How do you accommodate you know, thousands of fans coming
to the City of Houston. They're ready, h They've been
working on this uh here specifically in this area east downtown.
Speaker 13 (40:08):
We have other stakeholders that have been.
Speaker 14 (40:10):
Making sure they're making sure that the infrastructure is ready,
so make sure payment conditions for the streets that is
not a challenge, and making sure that accessibility as well.
That we've been talking to the local restaurants and bars
around here how to be prepared for that. Again, thousands,
hundreds of thousands of folks that are the need here.
It's the conversation has continued for years. But the tountdown
(40:32):
is now beginning, and so now it's really, you know,
really put in all that work that they've done for
the last couple of years into action. So the city's prepared.
So we welcome everybody from Houston. And then a court
for Baraboro.
Speaker 13 (40:45):
Last one for me, probably the biggest hurdle. When you
host an algorithm in right the heat summers of Houston
on high how are you guys going to maybe allitviate
that for fans. So part of some of the infrastructure
and that we're.
Speaker 14 (40:58):
Gonna be providing is we're gonna have can of the
shade canopy as well. So we are looking at what
does that look like around around the Panfest, but even
at the Penfest.
Speaker 13 (41:06):
So it's just gonna an opportunity for shade we're looking at.
Speaker 14 (41:09):
Of course, we live in Houston, so three digit numbers
aren't even porn to us.
Speaker 13 (41:12):
So making sure folks they hydrated.
Speaker 14 (41:14):
We'll have again public safety, we'll have first respondents here.
Speaker 7 (41:18):
Uh.
Speaker 14 (41:18):
What I would just say, everybody's come ready to have
fun T shirt shorts and that's it.
Speaker 13 (41:22):
You're good and enjoy the games. What do you talk
about having in this neighborhood and.
Speaker 4 (41:28):
You grew up here, I know the neighborhood.
Speaker 12 (41:29):
Park a huge issue here and we have construction that's
going on right down the street, just gonna dist.
Speaker 13 (41:38):
How are you gonna have this here?
Speaker 14 (41:40):
So so we're coordinating text outs at the table.
Speaker 2 (41:45):
Uh.
Speaker 14 (41:45):
We have Downtown Redevelopment Authority, the East Downtown UH Management
District as well. Everybody's on board. We're all having discussions.
Is it's all about communication. At the end of the day,
we know that there's gonna there's construction pains that are happening.
Speaker 13 (41:57):
But in any construction project, there's opportunities.
Speaker 14 (42:00):
For traffic plans to be shared and make sure folks
know how to get around right, whether it's through vehicular traffic, cycling,
whether it's walking pedestrian, there's there's gonna be several, uh,
you know, several opportunities to make sure that you get here.
Speaker 13 (42:12):
And at the end of the day, we want folks
to be here. So that's a tough priority.
Speaker 14 (42:15):
Let's make sure it's accessible to all the Houston, all
of Patonia, but quite frankly, everybody in the world, around
the world.
Speaker 13 (42:21):
How the city's plan homeless people, what do you excited
to be?
Speaker 14 (42:27):
So what I would say is that we want to
make sure that we're being compassionate about our unhouse population.
Speaker 7 (42:32):
Uh.
Speaker 14 (42:33):
We want to make sure that that we give them
opportunities to find shelter, but also social services support as well.
A lot of our homeless on house population there's mental
health issues or subcial abusive issues.
Speaker 13 (42:43):
That's priority.
Speaker 14 (42:44):
We want to make sure that we are bringing those
resources as well. We quite frankly, we don't want folks
just to be you know, out on the streets with
these these these challenges as well personal challenges. So I
think it's very comprehensive us how we want to address
unhouse population. We need community support as well to be
on board to make sure that as we are identifying housing,
(43:04):
but we also need to make sure that we're finding
funding for you know.
Speaker 13 (43:08):
Mental health and substance of use as well. We're having
a neighborhood that's gonna be a usure too well.
Speaker 14 (43:13):
Again, public stakess priority in the Harrison County Houston Harris
County sports story, They've been on top of this for
a couple of years already. They're really focused on making
sure this is a safe place being families have a
family of four want you know, that's what we're thinking
about throughout all of these you know, this event when
we're here for the thirty nine days.
Speaker 13 (43:32):
Public safety is a priority, has been a priority for
the mayor, for the administration. So I think, you know,
this is gonna be a good spot to be In June.
Speaker 1 (43:38):
July next year, the Houston Dynamo lost three to one
to the Seattle Sounders at home at Shell Energy Stadium.
Defender Femi Adusu scored his first career MLS goal in
the thirty second minute, but was shown a red card
later in the first half. Referee Victor Rivas originally to
(44:00):
the penalties to Seattle, but the decision was changed to
a free kick after the var review. However, the red
card stood. Houston manager Ben Olsen was upset with the
play in the first ten minutes of the match, even
before the red card.
Speaker 15 (44:14):
Another red card against Yeah, that's six I think six
red cards in seven games against the That's not Norman, right.
Speaker 16 (44:22):
Some of that's on us, right pector spitting right, but
three of them we've earned. So it's just the wrong call.
Speaker 15 (44:33):
It's the wrong call and he gets he makes the
call and then it ends up being something that he
has to stand by, and that's what I think. That's
a problem. I just again, I just completely disagree with
the call saying that it was. It was a really
good first half from us against the good team. Resiliency
(44:55):
to come back and get the goal, little deflection goal
and pisses me off though is are the start was
terrible and too to not be able to grind a
little bit as a group is really really disappointing. I
don't care if you're down the man, you grind, you
figure out a way to get something out of that
(45:17):
game or make it really really tough. And it was
too easy in the first ten minutes.
Speaker 7 (45:22):
Uh.
Speaker 13 (45:22):
And they get they get their two goals.
Speaker 15 (45:24):
So that is a big disappointment tonight, not the first half,
not the way we went about it.
Speaker 7 (45:30):
Uh uh.
Speaker 15 (45:31):
And then a big disappointment on the on the referees call.
Speaker 13 (45:35):
Talk about the second half.
Speaker 12 (45:37):
You guys had three what I saw was just three
storm opportunities and you just what did you tell?
Speaker 10 (45:42):
You?
Speaker 13 (45:42):
What tell you?
Speaker 12 (45:42):
Guys at the half and you ran down, which is
still seems like they still the player still came out
and played it hard.
Speaker 15 (45:52):
The teams are gonna quit. This isn't a quitting team.
We don't build a team here to you know, lay down.
Everybody's still giving everything. But you know, again the start,
if you give up two goals quickly like that and
you aren't able to grind a little bit, game zver
So uh, yeah, great, we created some chances in the
(46:12):
second half and the guys worked hard, but it was
a really really poor start, and I just don't understand
why the goals came that easy.
Speaker 13 (46:22):
So that's that's really disappointing. I didn't see you're not
see it. I've seen a few angles, pal, I didn't
see anything that they'll come up with something.
Speaker 15 (46:37):
They'll come up with some you know, explanation, and I've
heard some of it already. I just completely disagree with it.
Speaker 13 (46:43):
So we'll see. We'll say that.
Speaker 15 (46:45):
You know, I think sometimes we get bogged down by
the letter of the law, and you know, sometimes we
just don't make the obvious, the the play that doesn't
screw the game up.
Speaker 13 (46:59):
But well, we'll see.
Speaker 8 (47:00):
Maybe.
Speaker 13 (47:05):
I well, you sorry, had a long week. I want
to travel three games in one week, and so we'll
get away.
Speaker 15 (47:11):
Tomorrow, spend some time with all the mothers, and then
we'll get back to work Monday.
Speaker 1 (47:17):
Houston will play again this Wednesday before traveling to Dallas
next Saturday. In the National Women's Soccer League, the Houston
Dash are on the road in Seattle to play Seattle
rain FC. Sunday night. They are one one zero on
the road. In Major League Rugby, the Houston SaberCats are
on the road in San Diego to play the Legion,
where they won thirty seven to twenty. They will be
(47:38):
back at home next Saturday Night. House Bill fifty three
to thirty seven and its companion bill, Senate Bill sixteen,
are bills that will suppress Texas voters by requiring documented
proof of citizenship to register to vote. Is being heard
in the House Elections Committee. In response, a coalition of
organizations voice their wrong opposition. Widely criticized for creating unnecessary
(48:04):
barriers to voting, House Bill five three three seven will
disenfranchise millions of Texans, particularly young people, naturalized citizens, and
married women. We talk to Emily French with common cause Texas.
Speaker 17 (48:18):
HB fifty three thirty seven is the companion to SB sixteen.
Both of these bills are a trick aimed at making
it harder for eligible voters to register. They say that
it's about checking non citizen voter registration and making sure
that no non citizens are on the roles. But we
already have robust processes in Texas that do that, our
DPS that talks to our county elections departments constantly making
(48:41):
sure that non citizens aren't on the roles. They've been
unable to prove that that is a big problem, but
that's not going to stop them from suppressing regular, eligible
votes in order to keep people from voting. Like you said,
this bill would require everybody in Texas to be subject
to a citizenship check based on systems that we don't know,
(49:02):
that aren't particularly listed in the bill, and it would
make everyone in Texas, all eighteen point six million of
US currently registered folks in Texas might get our registration
downgraded to just two federal races and not be able
to vote on any of our state or local offices
(49:23):
unless we go into our elections offices laid in line,
go through the process right like a DPS, to show
documents that prove that we are citizens that have our
current names on them.
Speaker 4 (49:35):
What's scary is the whole aspect of required documents of
proof of citizenship. You know, so right now when you
go to vote, you have to have a driver's license,
So what else do you need? Right the.
Speaker 17 (49:50):
SB sixteen and HBE fifty three thirty seven would require
you to have an additional document that you don't just
show at the polling place, that you would have to
go show to your county office. The way the bill
is written now, they would require either a US citizenship
certificate or a birth certificate with your name on it,
or a passport. I got married in twenty twenty three.
(50:12):
I don't have a birth certificate with my current name
on it. For a long time I didn't have a passport.
Now I have one, But there are tons of Texans
in the same position who don't have a birth certificate
with their current name on it. It takes a long
time to go down to county offices. It takes money
to get birth certificates. Passports are one hundred and thirty dollars.
This seems to me to be a poll tax that
(50:33):
adds additional layers of unhelpful security just to keep people
from casting those ballots.
Speaker 6 (50:40):
I believe two and three.
Speaker 17 (50:41):
Rule voters don't have a passport. One out of three
regular voters don't have a passport. Many folks who are
college students don't have access to passports or birth certificates because.
Speaker 6 (50:51):
They vote eligibly in Texas.
Speaker 17 (50:53):
But those documents are sitting at home with their parents
in a fire stake that the kids have never seen before.
Speaker 5 (51:00):
This is just a it seems to me to just
be a pure voter suppression effort.
Speaker 4 (51:04):
Yeah, and it seems like it's a poll tax. And
for people that don't know, uh, these were restrictions on
to stop African Americans from voting up until up until
the sixties. In some places these were put in place
that you had to have, but you have to go
to a lottery. In some places to get to be
able to vote, you had to you had to know
(51:25):
somebody to vote. These are these are the type of
restrictions we had in the past during urent segregation. Is
this the same Is this going into the same pattern
of of you you've seen the same pattern because I've
heard you mentioned the poll tax.
Speaker 17 (51:39):
Absolutely.
Speaker 6 (51:40):
Uh.
Speaker 17 (51:40):
The twenty fourth Amendments of the Constitution says it is
illegal to have a pull tax, but that has not
stopped a lot of Texast legislators. So I'm trying to
sneak a poll tax in right.
Speaker 7 (51:49):
Uh.
Speaker 17 (51:49):
Driver's licenses cost money. The Fifth Circuits that we don't
want to voter ideed to be a poll tax. The
Fifth Circuit is the most conservative circuit court in America.
They even they said it's driver's license might be a
pull tax. So you have to be able to vote
if you have a reasonable impediment, like a reason you
can't get a driver's license. But there there has been
(52:09):
a bill in the past couple of weeks trying to
get rid of those reasonable impediment declarations. And I think
that this birth certificate voter birth certificate passport extra expense
definitely seems to me to be.
Speaker 6 (52:23):
A poll tax.
Speaker 17 (52:24):
I don't know if the courts would agree with me,
but if it looks like a pull tax and smells
like a poll tax and cracks like a pull tax,
you have to think it probably is.
Speaker 4 (52:33):
So this is this is coming out of committee, and
I guess tomorrow you're gonna have a hearing. How serious
is this? Passing this this leisure lead session.
Speaker 17 (52:43):
There does need to be a lot and will to
pass this. It's already been through the whole process on
the Senate side, and the Senate has done everything they
need for it to be a bill that becomes law.
It's just on the House side now that we'll have
to fight it in the House Elections Committee tomorrow April
twenty forth, as well as later on down the line
(53:03):
on the House floor.
Speaker 4 (53:05):
If this goes into it, this goes into into reality,
so to speak. Will this be taken up in the courts.
Speaker 17 (53:14):
I can't imagine it won't be taken up in the court.
So I don't litigate myself, but there are so many
red flags here. And in Kansas they passed a similar
law like this a decade ago and twelve percent of
eligible voters who tried to register for three years were
denied registration because of this documentary proof of citizenship law
(53:37):
and the Tenth Circuit where Kansas is that that this
is illegal and they can't do it. So I think
there's plenty of opportunities for judges to find this unconstitutional.
Speaker 4 (53:48):
Is this pretty much being done for publicity or for
showmanship so to speak?
Speaker 17 (53:58):
What the hardest, what the motivation is? I do think
that they are that there are folks in the legislature
who want to make non citizen voting seem like a
problem when it really is not. I do think that
there are people who just want to make it harder
for everyone to vote and reduce the pool of who
is electing our representatives, our president to the smallest number possible,
(54:19):
just like you know, the seventeen nineties, white land owning
males were allowed to vote. I think they're trying to
get it back to that number however they can.
Speaker 4 (54:28):
And this added to all the other restrictions that have
been put in place in Texas. You want to talk
about that, well, of course, there have been some folks
trying to get rid of county wide polling, which is the.
Speaker 17 (54:43):
Mechanism by which folks can vote at any polling place
in their county on election day. Harris County went to
this in twenty eighteen. In the twenty eighteen election, right
before Harris County got county wide polling, there were four
thousand people in Harris County whose votes were thrown out
just because they voted in a different neighborhood from their precinct.
As soon as Harris County went to county white polling,
(55:06):
those votes were all eligible, were all fine, Those people
were not disenfranchised the county white polling. That stuff is
stalled out on the Senate side, but we're still trying
to be wary of it. There are also a bunch
of bills that are trying to get the Attorney general
right now it's ken Paxton back into charging folks with
electron crimes, and that is a local prosecutor's job to do.
(55:28):
Harris County DA and Harris County Attorney have both clashed
with the state because the state does not agree with
their prosecutorial discretion, but that is where the decisions are
supposed to be made, not from the Attorney General's office.
There are all kinds of bills where folks are trying
to get crytial voting rights, but we're still out here
fighting them.
Speaker 4 (55:46):
Yeah, to add insult to injury, you know, Harris County
just seems like something Tim Paxson was trying to get
back in Harris County, just as the Gibbler was also
for supporting him and making it hard for Ustonians to
go out and vote. Whereas now, especially in my neighborhood,
(56:09):
you can go down the street to vote. Now you
have to go two three miles down a road to
go vote.
Speaker 5 (56:16):
Exactly.
Speaker 17 (56:17):
And I think that Harris County has been a target
of the House Elections Committee to the point where it's
almost a joke. When people bring up a bill in
House Elections sometimes they'll say, this is not a Harris
County bill, because everyone expects it to be a Harris
County bill. It is so wild that people in Harris
County have different voting rights and people in Travis County
are people where I grew up in Wichita County. This
(56:39):
is one state we're also to have the same amount
of voting rights and the reasons that the state goes
after Harris County seemed to me to be partisan motivated
and honestly, in a lot of cases racially motivated.
Speaker 1 (56:52):
That was Emily French. With Common Cause Texas, you can
reach them at common Cause All put Together dot org,
forward slash Texas. The People's News is a production of
Steve Gallington and Richard Hannah and is protected by copyright laws.
All the information broadcast on air and online, as well
(57:13):
as published in both print and or online, including articles, audio, clips, illustrations, graphics, photographs,
and videos, are protected by these copyright and other state
and federal intellectual property laws. Therefore, you may not use
our content in any prohibited way, including reproducing, publishing, transmitting, selling, rewriting, broadcasting,
(57:33):
or posting on the Internet without the expressed written permission
of The People's News. Prohibited use also includes publication of
our material in printed or electronic brochures, newsletters, or flyers,
as well as all website or email distribution. To obtain
permission to use copyrighted material, email Steve Gallington at Steve
(57:54):
at gallington dot com. Thank you
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