Editors Note: There is approximately five minutes of audio problems during our segment on Pinal County Sheriff Julian Navarrette. We apologize for the inconvenience.
The show from April 21, 2021, featured David Obelcz and our co-host Jennifer Smith.
The show from April 19, 2021, featured David Obelcz and our co-host Jennifer Smith.
[WASHINGTON D.C.] – (MTN) Federal Court District Judge Timothy J. Kelly moved to revoke bail for Proud Boy leaders Ethan Nordean and Joseph Biggs. The two stand accused of being central leaders in the January 6 Capitol insurrection that left five dead, and forced lawmakers to suspend the 2020 election certification process.
In a lengthy decision, Judge Kelly wrote, “The defendants stand charged with seeking to steal one of the crown jewels of our country, in a sense, by interfering with the peaceful transfer of power,” Judge Timothy Kelly said as he explained his decision. “It’s no exaggeration to say the rule of law and … in the end, the existence of our constitutional republic is threatened by it.”
Nordean has been released and returned to custody multiple times since his first arraignment on initial charges. A Washington District Court judge decided to release him in February, but prosecutors filed an emergency stay which was upheld. Then Judge Beryl Howell ordered Nordean released stating that the case for conspiracy was weak. Nordean was released under strict conditions.
In an indictment issued in March, Nordean, Biggs, Aach Rehl, and Charles Donohoe were charged with a litany of charges with more evidence to support the prosecutor’s claims.
Nordean was witnessed leading the Proud Boys in a march down Constitution Avenue at the same time then President Donald Trump was speaking. Nordean and the group of Proud Boys did not wear their signature black and yellow shirts. They are accused of charging the weakly defended checkpoints on the outer barricades of the Capitol.
Nordean took on a leadership role on January 6 due to the arrest of Enrique Tarrio on January 4. Tarrio is accused of a hate crime and property destruction for the burning of Black Lives Matter banners at two historic churches in Washington D.C. In an interview with CNN, Tarrio revealed he has testified before a federal grand jury about the January 6 insurrection.
Editors Note: Our show presented the police bodycam video showing the shooting of Adam Toledo in Chicago. We have provided minimal editing to respect Toldeo and his family. Some viewers may find this highly disturbing. YouTube has restricted the show to those with registered accounts over the age of 18. Viewer discretion is advised.
The show from April 15,. 2021, featured David Obelcz and our co-host Jennifer Smith.
The show from April 14, 2021, featured David Obelcz and our co-host Jennifer Smith.
The show from April 12, 2021, featured David Obelcz and our co-host Jennifer Smith.
The show from April 8, 2021, featured David Obelcz and our co-host Jennifer Smith.
[SEATTLE] – (MTN) Sixty-one years ago, the FDA approved oral contraceptives, also known as the pill, as a form of birth control in the United States. Decades later, the pill has expanded as a tool to fight moderate to severe acne, control menstrual cycles, migraines, and endometriosis. The ability to access contraceptives remains a surprising challenge in the United States. Dr. Sophia Yen, co-founder and CEO of Pandia Health, is working to change that.
Pandia Health, a Bay Area based telemedicine company that recently expanded into Washington state, provides women reproductive health services through the Internet. “We bring birth control to wherever you have Internet and a mailbox,” said Dr. Yen. “If you could imagine in rural parts of the country where the nearest doctor is two or three hours away, this is a problem with access.”
The timing of this new choice couldn’t be better for western Washington residents. Planned Parenthood recently announced they were closing its Seattle First Hill, Shelton, and Kent facilities. The closures are due to slashed Medicaid reimbursements from the federal government, making continued operation impossible. Insurance rules on when patients can refill prescriptions adds to the complexity of maintaining reproductive health.
“For just $20 once a year, you have access for the entire year for any follow-up questions as much as you want. Most birth control pills are generic, so it’s less than 50 cents a day,” Dr. Yen said. “Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, if you do have insurance, no copay, and no deductible.”
The $1.9 trillion Save America package passed by the Biden Administration capped ACA premiums at 8.5% of income, and COBRA payments are covered 100% through September. These benefits and expanded enrollment will help reverse the trend of uninsured Americans, which added 2.3 million people under the Trump Administration.
Dr. Yen explained her company serves patients in ten states and can ship birth control to all 50 states and Washington D.C.. There is an additional benefit to telemedicine; legally, you don’t have to reside in one of the ten states served by Pandia Health. Suppose you’re physically in a state where a telemedicine physician provides services when you complete your online evaluation. In that case, you can have your birth control shipped to your home state.
“We’re promoting a kind of birth control tourism. If you happen to be in Seattle at the airport, you could fill out the questionnaire. Then we can deliver it to Kansas or Arkansas or whatever state you reside in.”
In 1988, the original high-dose birth control pill was taken off the market. Today a woman can choose from 40 different birth control pills, some with low-dose and high-dose variants, that use eight possible progesterones. If that sounds complicated, it can be. The medical community is just beginning to understand the differences these options can have on the BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and Person of Color) community.
“Medicine is based on a Caucasian female model,” she continued. “It doesn’t [account] for a person of color. We are looking and asking our customers to self-report their ethnicity so we can correlate it with side effects and see which birth control works best.”
Not only is Dr. Yen an advocate of female reproductive rights and services, but her company also has a program called Pandia Health Social Good. “If you can’t afford [birth control] and you can’t afford 50 cents a day to cover your birth control, you can apply to our birth control fund. And if you have money, you can donate to the birth control fund and take a tax deduction.”
Jennifer Smith contributed to this story.
Editor’s note: This article links to content to validate our research and findings. They are in no way an endorsement or an attempt to validate disproven conspiracy theories.
[SEATTLE] – (MTN) Weeks after Joe Biden became the 46th President of the United States, ardent believers of “stop the steal” have moved to a new message – stop the vaccine. While a shrinking fringe clings to the idea that Trump is or will be President, a loose affiliation of far-right, neo-fascist, and QAnon followers has taken to the Internet using various tactics to interfere with national vaccination efforts.
Within hours after the polls have closed on November 3, groups were forming to support the message of “stop the steal.” Amy Kramer, a Tea Party activist, created a Facebook page before election coverage had even finished. Before Facebook removed the page, she had amassed more than 360,000 followers. Facebook and other social media channels removed pages as quickly as they popped up, so the movement became more decentralized.
A review of Telegram, Parler, and the darker corners of Reddit shows a begrudging acceptance of the 2020 election among the believers and architects of stop the steal. It isn’t clear if that motivation is because the message of an illegitimate election no longer resonates among a widening group of Republicans or if organizers are chasing donors. The new mission is to erode trust, discredit the government, and slow down the vaccine rollout.
For far-right and neo-fascist groups such as Boogaloo and Proud Boys groups, the message is about government overreach. They see vaccination efforts, which are voluntary even among military members, as government overreach and control. For these far-right militias and anti-government groups, the anti-vaccination message is the actions of a controlling government.
British conspiracy theorist David Icke has produced a video called Murder by Vaccine. Icke is better known for his theory that lizard people run the planet. In a rambling 1 hour and 10-minute production, Icke tries to build a case that the COVID vaccine permanently alters human DNA with lethal consequences.
For QAnon adherents, the message is a hodge-podge of beliefs. Among them are ideas steeped in the distortion of Biblical prophesy that receiving a vaccination is getting the mark of the beast. QAnon followers have been wrestling with the “great awakening” concept since former President Donald Trump endorsed getting the COVID vaccination. On social media, some have accused the former President of being part of the deep state, while others have accused him of being paid off by Bill Gates.
COVID-19 has created a perfect storm of misinformation at the same time that numerous groups either are actively trying to build distrust or inherently distrust the government. Anti-vaccination physician and founder of America’s Frontline Doctors, Dr. Simone Gold, was arrested on January 20 for her part in the Capitol insurrection. Her organization includes Doctor Stella Immanuel, who infamously stated she believes in “demon sperm” as the cause of sexually transmitted diseases and alien DNA.
America’s Frontline Doctors pushed hydroxychloroquine as a cure for COVID. An idea embraced by the Trump Administration resulting in millions of purchased doses using federal and state tax dollars. Some states have attempted to force distributors to repurchase the doses, with Oklahoma leading the charge.
The more sinister efforts are happening at the state and local levels. On Telegram, groups have organized to take advantage of vaccination schedules.
In some regions, a hodge-podge of disconnected systems finds and assigns vaccination slots. Different insurance networks, providers, government agencies, and pharmacies don’t share information across these systems.
Small but organized efforts are clogging the queues with fake appointments using fake information. On Telegram, one person in Michigan wrote, “Me and my coworkers creating fake appointments to keep people from getting the vaccine. Let’s make Biden look bad!”
Other groups have shown similar efforts, but it is hard to determine if this is online bravado or an honest attempt to disrupt and slow down distribution. Nationally, the number of no-shows for vaccination appointments is around 20%. While the Johnson and Johnson vaccine doesn’t require specialized handling, the Modera and Pfizer vaccines do and have a short shelf life.
A growing number of experts are becoming concerned that a fourth wave of COVID cases is building in the United States. Twenty-seven states show growing infection rates, with Florida leading the way. Variants from the United Kingdom, South Africa, and California are taking hold. Here in Washington state, 14 counties are outside of the requirements to remain in phase three opening, including Pierce County. Detected cases have almost doubled in the last two weeks, with schools on the brink of reopening and office workers returning to Microsoft and Facebook.
Among those recruiting new members into the anti-government movement, fear of COVID-19 and vaccine efforts is a fertile hunting ground.
[SEATTLE] – (MTN) Southwest Airlines has confirmed that a pilot was caught in a hot mic moment and is now under Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) investigation. On March 13, 2021, a crewmember of Southwest Airlines flight 531 flying from San Jose, California, to Seattle went on an expletive-laced rant broadcasted on the San Jose Air Traffic Control frequency. The website liveatc.net captured the audio.
While taxiing for takeoff, the unidentified pilot stated while stuttering and slurring some words, “Yeah, fuck this place. Goddamn liberal fucks. Suppose, like eight guns out here somewhere.” The pilot continued, “Fucking weirdos. Probably driving around in fucking Hyundais, fucking slow as shit, going slow as fuck.”
A pilot from a different aircraft contacted ATC, warning about the hot mic to no avail. The pilot continued, “You don’t have balls unless you’re fucking rolling coal.” Another person then indicates Southwest 531 is ready to switch to the departure frequency. The ranting pilot states they are switching to the departure frequency and hiccups at the end.
Rolling coal is an automobile subculture when diesel-powered vehicle owners remove the emission controls to create as much particle pollution as possible.
In a statement to NBC News, FAA spokesperson Ian Gregor stated, “FAA regulations prohibit airline pilots from talking about subjects that are unrelated to safely conducting their flight while taxiing and while flying below 10,000 feet altitude.” He went on to say that the agency has reported the incident to Southwest Airlines and was opening an investigation.
Southwest Airlines has not identified the pilot in a statement released earlier today.
“Our corporate Culture is built on a tenet of treating others with concern and dignity and the comments are inconsistent with the professional behavior and overall respect that we require from our Employees.”
“This situation was an isolated incident involving a single employee and not representative of the nearly 60,000 hardworking, respectful People of Southwest Airlines.”
There were no reports of any further incidents, and the March 13 flight of Southwest 531 arrived safely in Seattle.
