Political Misfits

US Eviction Crisis; Pharma Cashes in on Opioid Epidemic; Elder Abuse

A wave of evictions looms on the horizon. Can we organize and fight for housing as a right?
Sputnik

Minnie Elliott, president of the Brookland Manor/Brentwood Village Residents Association, and Paul Jones, organizer, activist, and president, Columbia Heights Village Tenant Association talk to us about the current fight at Brookland Manor stemming from a bill approved by the DC Council subsidizing the replacement of hundreds of Section 8 HUD units with mixed-income housing, how this will affect residents, the role of the DC government in gentrification and the displacement of working people, and how people can fight back in this rapidly changing city.  

Stephanie Bastek, volunteer tenant organizer with Stomp Out Slumlords, a Metro-DC Democratic Socialists of America campaign, joins Paul and the Misfits in a conversation about the looming eviction crisis in the country, the successes of organizing efforts, and building a true grassroots movement that challenges power directly and can lead to systemic change to alleviate a housing crisis that predates the COVID pandemic.   

Lee Camp, comedian, activist, journalist, host of the show “Redacted Tonight” on RT America, and author of the recent book “Bullet Points & Punch Lines,” talks to us about how big pharma is turning the opioid crisis into a profit-making venture through extremely generous tax breaks, the Democratic establishment of Nevada quitting en masse after DSA candidates won leadership positions in the state, the craven positions of the party in the minimum wage fight, and about journalists facing jail time for the crime of covering protests.    

Julie Schoen, Deputy Director of the National Center on Elder Abuse, joins our Politics of Art section to talk about elder abuse and the new Netflix Movie “I Care A Lot”, and whether it succeeds in portraying the current problems involved in guardianship. We also talk about whether current legal structures provide enough protection for the elderly against neglect and financial and emotional abuse, and how, as a society, we can work to better protect our elders and allow them a dignified life.

The Misfits also talk about Biden’s misbehaved dogs, Lula being cleared of a number of charges and the possibility of his return to politics, and the ongoing crisis in Libya.

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