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BIPOC, Editorial, Five Facts, Health and Lifestyle, LGBTQIA, Local, National, Weather

Malcontentment Happy Hour: February 1, 2021

Video

Our live webcast from the Seattle Anarchist Jurisdiction

WARNING: This episode includes videos of police violence, child abuse, protest, and discusses domestic violence in detail – viewer discretion is advised.

The show from February 1, 2021, featured David Obelcz and our co-host Jennifer Smith.

  • Rochester, New York Police pepper-spray a handcuffed 9-year-old child – community outrage explodes as body camera video becomes available
  • Malcontented Minutes – our new speed round of news
    • The state of Texas has things go very wrong when they issue an Amber Alert for Chucky – yes the murderous horror movie doll Chucky
    • Redditors go after silver commodity trading as a new tactic in their fight against hedge funds
    • Missouri Museum of history launches an online exhibit of LGBTQIA history in the state of Missouri
    • Jason Raantz (Seattle) goes on a racist rant about how BLM education during Black History Month in Seattle schools is instilling the fear of police into a new generation of children
    • David Bell, a Black man, dies in a hospital parking lot in Missouri after emergency room physicians refuse to treat him on his third trip for breathing problems
    • President Biden replaces Andrew Jackson’s portrait with a Native American sculpture
    • The National Zoo in Washington D.C. releases a video of a panda playing in the snow
    • LGBTQ activist Carmen Vasquez, 72-years old, dies of COVID-19
    • Data breach exposes the private personal identification (PII) of 1.6 million Washingtonians who have applied for or received unemployment for almost all of 2020, including bank account numbers and ID information
    • Birth certificate controversy over Archie, the child of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle explodes in tabloid press
  • Chad Wheeler domestic violence assault update as his victim faces him in court for the first time
  • COVID-19 Five Fast Facts
  • Reading recommendations for Black History Month
  • David and Jennifer provide their insurrection update

BIPOC, National

Rochester, New York police officers suspended after violent arrest of 9-year old

Video

From Malcontentment Happy Hour, February 1, 2021

Outrage over the pepper-spraying of a restrained 9-year old grows in upstate New York

WARNING: This report shows violent actions against a child, domestic violence, and abuse. Viewer discretion is advised.

[ROCHESTER] – (Malcontent News) Accusations of domestic violence and child abuse flew in Rochester, New York on January 29, as police arrested, and then pepper-sprayed a restrained 9-year-old child in the back of a police cruiser. Police were called about an incident involving the child, where she initially reported to officers that her mother had stabbed her father.

During the incident caught on multiple police body cameras, the mother of the child verbally and physically assaulted the restained juvenile, before police ordered her to go into her home. They attempt to take the child into custody, after telling her she wasn’t in any trouble, and then wrestle her to the ground and handcuff her. The child refuses to put her legs into the police cruiser and begs for a female police officer on video.

As a female officer attempted to deescalate, the other officers involved only made the situation worse, until the female officer also joined in, and ultimately pepper-sprayed the handcuffed 9-year-old in the face. She was then locked in the police cruiser while begging for her eyes to be wiped.

The police union on Sunday, January 31, 2021, attempted to defend the actions, stating policing is a hard job, labeling the pepper spray as an “irritant,” and talking about the trauma of day-to-day police work. The mayor and interim police chief could find no word to defend the actions.

On Monday, February 1, 2021, it was announced an unknown number of officers have been suspended, with pay, pending an investigation. The mayor of Rochester indicated that this was the only action they can take due to the police union contract and New York state law. Despite allegations of assault and child abuse and the abuse caught on camera, after taking the nine-year-old child to the hospital, she was released back to her family. The child is black, all 9 officers who were at the scene were white.

BIPOC, Editorial, Five Facts, Health and Lifestyle, LGBTQIA, Local, National

Malcontentment Happy Hour: January 28, 2021

Video

Our live webcast from the Seattle Anarchist Jurisdiction

WARNIING: This episode includes videos of violence, protest, and discusses domestic violence in detail – viewer discretion is advised.

Editor’s comment: At the start of the show we had a software issue that resulted in about 15 to 30 seconds of no audio. We thank you for your understanding.

The show from January 28, 2021, featured David Obelcz and our co-host Jennifer Smith.

  • Update on the Tacoma Police Department officer who drove through a group of people on Saturday with a new day-of video
  • Malcontented Minutes – our new speed round of news
    • The Echo Project is turning a former Klu Klux Klan museum into a place for BIPOC to meet and a history exhibit
    • Colleen Echohawk becomes the first prominent candidate to announce she is running for mayor of Seattle
    • Dr. Joseph Sonnabend, a key figure in the identification of AIDS, passed away
    • 14 states are looking to pass anti-LGBTQIA bills targeting the transgender community
    • Phil Collins (yes that Phil Collins) has turned into “Florida man” with a bizarre story about his ongoing divorce woes
    • Pam Anderson announces she is quitting the Internet (if a tree falls in the woods and no one hears it…)
    • Jason Collier, a former police chief is in hot water for falsifying multiple documents to keep multiple wives and girlfriends from knowing about his bizarre world
    • A man from Afghanistan is attacked by a racist at a Portland convenience store, forcing the terrified man to lock himself in the cooler as he waits for the police
    • The Chinook Nation is going to receive monetary compensation and could be taking the first steps to be recognized as sovereignty again by the federal government
    • In Portland, Oregon the lumber baron and the cattle baron make up after a spicy incident over the weekend
  • COVID-19 Five Fast Facts
  • Chad Wheeler a now-former player of the Seattle Seahawks was arrested after a violent domestic violence attack – the NFL and Seahawks reaction leaves a lot to be desired
  • David and Jennifer provide their insurrection update

BIPOC, Local

Nicki Blake Chafetz discusses her book ‘My Travels in Trump Land’

Video

From Malcontentment Happy Hour, January 25, 2021

Blake spent a year traveling in the southern United States, interviewing Trump supporters

[SEATTLE] – (Malcontent News) Nicki Blake Chafetz is a retired attorney, an activist, author, and the aunt of Jacob Blake, who was shot by the Kenosha police over the summer. During a rocky part of her life in 2017, she went out for a pack of cigarettes and never came back home. Instead, she pointed her car southeast and crossed the Mason-Dixon line to start the work on her recently released book, My Travels In Trump Land.

“I had a dream the night before [I left],” Blake Chafetz started. “My father was a friend of [Martin Luther] King. I hate to say ‘I had a dream’ but I really did! My father came to me in a dream and he said, ‘would I be doing nothing about Trump if I were there? Would I be doing nothing? You’re doing nothing.’ I said, well daddy, I don’t have your charisma.”

She remembers, “He says what do you have?”

“I said I can write. So he said ‘then write something!’ So I hit the road and I drove south.”

It was then she started to interview people who self-identified as Trump supporters about racism in America. In talking about her experience, Blake Chafetz reflected, “Being totally marinated in Trump voters [was] at times terrifying. Yet, I bonded with many and I felt that many were extremely good people. Some misguided and some, calculating.”

During her travels, she asked the same set of ten questions to everyone she interviewed and then writes about it in her book. One of the biggest things she learned was that Trump supporters live in an information bubble. “What we didn’t know is that they exclusively watch [right wing] news. That means if Fox doesn’t cover it, they really don’t know it happened.”

Blake Chafetz believes that dialog between the left and right can bridge gaps, but that it is a difficult journey. Her book, My Travels In Trump Land is available at bookbaby.com

LGBTQIA, National

President Biden reverses Trump transgender military service ban

Video

From Malcontentment Happy Hour, January 25, 2021

Despite his campaign promises to defend LGBTQIA rights in 2016, Trump made a series of decisions that gutted protections

The policy change reverses a decision from 2017 when then President Trump tweeted his decision to block transgender people from serving in the military without consulting with the Pentagon. The Pentagon did not keep records on how many service people were discharged due to the decision, upheld by the Supreme Court in 2019. President Biden, with the support of the Secretary of Defense, reversed the Decision on January 25, 2021.

Editorial, National

Insurrection update for January 25, 2021

Video

From Malcontentment Happy Hour, January 25, 2021

A summary of events from January 22 to January 25, 2021

The fallout from the January 6, 2021 Insurrection continues

  • Kentucky Senator Rand Paul clashes with George Stephanopolous of ABC News in a disastrous interview
  • Mitch McConnell is still struggling to hold power in the Senate
  • Impeachment paperwork submitted to the U.S. Senate and a trial date is set for February 8, 2021
  • Rudy Guiliani is the latest person to be sued by Dominion Voting Systems
  • A scrape of Parler videos and images identified over 6,000 unique faces of people in or adjacent to the Capitol on January 6, 2021, and those pictures have been made public
  • The Department of Justice is worried about court capacity and is considering not charging some who committed more minor offenses on January 6, 2021
  • The Wall Street Journal first reported that then-President Trump considered firing acting Attorney General Rosen, and replacing him with a loyalist who would overturn Georgia election results on Presidential direction
  • Andrew Ericson of Oaklahoma arrested after Snapchat videos revealed his involvement
  • Scott Fairlamb a New Jersey gym owner arrested * Dustin Thompson of Ohio arrested after stealing a coatrack and was found by police waiting for his rideshare to pick him up
  • Kevin Strong of California was arrested after being identified by his coworkers at the FAA, during his interview, he told the FBI he had “Q” clearance
  • Bradley Weeks of Florida was arrested after recording himself and posting it on social
  • Nolan Cooke of Texas was arrested after posting on TikTok telling a woman in part, “I wouldn’t want anyone other than you with me to take on the revolution”
  • Henry Hank Muntzer of Montana was arrested after outing himself in a social media video
  • Patrick Stedman of New Jersey is a self-identified dating and relationship strategist who still lives with his parents was arrested after outing himself on social media
  • Brandon Straka of Nebraska is the founder of the WalkAway campaign and was arrested after outing himself on social media
  • Stephanie Hazelton of New Jersey, aka Ayla Wolf, and a candidate to be the Q Shaman “Dances with Traitors” spouse, was arrested after video showed her yelling for “more men” and “keep pushing” — oh my
  • Marissa Suarez of New Jersey was arrested, she is a correctional officer since 2019
Health and Lifestyle, Local

Elise Barrett discusses COVID myths and where is the flu

Video

From Malcontentment Happy Hour, January 25, 2021

Social distancing doesn’t mean you never leave home and where is the flu

[SEATTLE] – (Malcontent News) Elise Barrett RN BSN CCRN is an oncology nursing supervisor at an elite cancer treatment center. She and her staff work with vulnerable patients who are at high-risk for catching COVID, and who could face catastrophic results if they caught the disease. As part of her job, Ms. Barrett has had access to some of the leading experts on epidemiology and COVID protocols, somethings she lives with every day in the care of her patients.

“What’s going on it’s definitely not a hoax,” Barrett stated. “I have many family members who live in areas where it is sort of considered a political opinion whether this exists or not, and unfortunately this weekend I discovered that my mother and her husband have COVID and are looking at potentially a pretty rocky course in the disease.”

Barrett spoke about some of the myths surround COVID-19 and one of her answers might surprise you. “The first myth is that you have to lock yourself in your house and never go outside and never interact with another human and be living in fear. That sort of creates a degree of tension and dread and almost fatalism that’s impossible to sustain.”

“Fortunately, we’ve had a lot of work done by experts in the field to tell us how we can interact with each other safely and how we can be out of our houses, and how to avoid catching the disease.” Barrett went on to recommend following social distancing guidelines and wearing a mask, but that avoiding all human interaction as a healthy adult can have negative impacts on your mental well being.

What about the effectiveness of masks? “Wearing what we call personal protective equipment (PPE) or masks in the nursing field [is] old news. We’ve been doing that forever. We know how effective it is but, that’s still a new concept for a lot of people. There’s a lot of fear around it for a lot of people because it is tied to this concept of being medical being rigid, being under a doctor’s care, [and] having to follow orders.”

Seasonal flu numbers around the world have been historically low. Some conspiracy theories have popped up that flu numbers are being rolled into COVID numbers. “The flu is less contagious than COVID so anything that stops the spread of COVID even a little is going to impact the spread of flu much more. We’ve actually seen a significant amount of flu in the community mostly among people who are still getting out and around and moving in the community. We’ve seen much lower prevalence in the older community that typically make up most of the casualties of the flu season.” Barrett went on to explain that the older community is more likely to socially isolate and vaccinate for flu, reducing their exposure further this season.

“If you’re wearing a mask during flu season you’re actually pretty well protected against flu. it’s not as easy to catch [and] it requires a much higher viral load.”

David Obelcz contributed to this story.

BIPOC, Editorial, Local

Sunday protest in Tacoma disappoints Black Community and area protest leaders

Video

From Malcontentment Happy Hour, January 25, 2021

Protesters gathered in Tacoma marching through gentrifying Black neighborhoods

On Sunday, January 24, 2021, a diverse group of protesters from Seattle to Portland gathered in Frost Park in Tacoma after a police cruiser struck a group of people the previous evening, sending two to the hospital. Before the protest, Black Tacoma protest organizers pulled out of the event, and others who attended left in frustration as outside protesters would not listen to guidance from people from the city. We show previously unaired video and interview Azreal Graves of Black and Done (B.A.D.).

BIPOC, Editorial, Health and Lifestyle, LGBTQIA, Local, National

Malcontentment Happy Hour: January 25, 2021

Video

Our live webcast from the Seattle Anarchist Jurisdiction

The show from January 25 2021, featured David Obelcz and our co-host Jennifer Smith.

  • Update on the Tacoma Police Department officer who drove through a group of people on Saturday
  • Elise Barrett talks to us about COVID-19 myths and where is the seasonal flu
  • Nicki Blake Chafetz talks about her upcoming book My Travels In Trump Land, available at bookbaby.com
  • The Biden Administration reverses the Trump Administration ban on transgender troops in the military
  • Behind the Pole features previous unseen video from the Tacoma Police protest on Sunday, January 24, 2021, and an interview with Azreal Graves of Black and Done (B.A.D.) as the Black and Tacoma community reacts to the protest fallout
  • David and Jennifer provide their insurrection update
BIPOC, Health and Lifestyle, National

New science shines a light on ‘shaken baby syndrome’ and bias in the medical community

Video

From Malcontentment Happy Hour, January 21, 2021

Abusive Head Trauma replaced the term ‘shaken baby syndrome’ a decade ago, yet the questionable medical diagnosis is still convicting people

Over 45 years ago, a group of doctors concluded that a triad of medical conditions, bleeding around the brain, retinal hemorrhages, and brain damage, could only be caused by an adult violently shaking a baby. By the 1990s the science was being called into question even as diagnosis and convictions exploded. Today, hundreds of convictions for ‘shaken baby syndrome’ are under review, with court decisions being reversed. What doctors through was a constellation of symptoms that could only happen by shaking an infant or toddler, is now understood to happen due to a variety of medical conditions.

Further research has indicated that not only have hundreds been falsely accused over the past four decades, but parents who are poor, single-parent, ESL, and BIPOC were far more likely to be accused of AHT than wealthy two-parent households. The data indicated that there was no possible explanation beyond bias to account for these differences. This bias prevented early detection of potential abuse, as victims of AHT tend to have had previous visits to an emergency room for less severe injuries, which should have raised red flags. Worse, if doctors, nurses, or social workers made a predetermination of AHT, they would cut off the parents in any medical decision-making, including blocking tests and procedures that would have proven innocence, and helped with better treatment.

If you are overwhelmed as a parent you can text MHA to 741741 to reach the Mental Health America Hotline or text CONNECT to 741741 to reach a specialized crisis counselor for confidential support. Most child abuse advocates recommend one simple step if you’re overwhelmed, step away and catch your breath.

Child abuse is a very real problem, and nonverbal children cannot advocate for themselves. This story discusses child abuse and shows some disturbing content, viewer discretion is advised.