Human Rights – The Many Shades of Green

Can We De-ICE the Desert? With Bennett Burke, Yolanda Nava and George Polisner

The Protest Song is the tune which opens this episode of TMSOG. It was written and performed by Beans on Toast, which is the stage name of British folk-punk singer Jay McAllister, who frequently writes topical, protest-style folk music. The song has an anti-capitalist and pro-social meaning. The track takes direct aim at corporate greed, corrupt politicians, and globalism, advocating instead for a “people over profit, love over greed” ethos. It’s a call to action as the tune concludes that if enough ordinary people unite, they actually have the power to stop the status quo and change the world.

ICE pepper sprayed a sitting US Senator… yes, a Senator! And they still want us to believe that this is “normal” and not a government spiraling into straight up lawlessness. Do not shut up about this. Protest. Call your representatives. Push your city to stop cooperating with ICE! That was from a post on Threads on May 26th 2026 which referred to the incident involving Senator Andy Kim who was trying to keep the peace at Delaney Hall, which is an immigration detention facility in Newark, New Jersey where the conditions are horrific. There are reports of inadequate medical care, food shortages and mistreatment of those being held there. Governor Mike Sherrill was denied entry into the facility as protests occurred outside. NJ Senator Andy Kim got caught in the middle when ICE began to pepper spray protestors, and they also sprayed an unknown chemical into the air. ICE fired rubber bullets into the crowd, hitting protesters. We have had many dark times in American history, but what we are going through now is nothing I could have ever imagined. Our country is now under authoritarian rule, and it is quickly diving into fascism. This is all happening in plain sight, and from within our own government. The rule of law has disappeared. As the post on Threads said, this is not normal, and we cannot shut up about it. While we need to go about our daily lives, we cannot continue to turn a blind eye to what is going on in front of our faces. We need to take action, we need to resist, we need to pay attention, we need to do our civic duty and we must use our power. I literally cannot sleep at night, as the chaos and anguish is taking its toll on not only me, but millions of Americans who see the daily dismantling of democracy. There is strength in numbers, it’s time to take our country back!

Joining us on this episode of TMSOG is Bennett Burke who is a Catholic Priest working with PRICE: Pima Resists ICE -a volunteer group working to keep the abuses and lawlessness of ICE out of Marana and Tucson, AZ. He is a life long Social Justice Activist and Co-Founder of Matthew 25:34, a mutual aid group feeding, clothing, and advocating for people experiencing homelessness. Matthew 25:34 welcomes volunteers of all faiths and philosophies uniting around service to the marginalized and vulnerable with this tag line: “We’re not a church, we’re a movement for the marginalized.” Also on the program is Yolanda Nava a Mexican American pioneer renowned for her contributions to media and civil rights. She is the creator and host of “Do You See What I See” on You Tube. She was the first Latina on KNBC/TV and is an Emmy Award-winning journalist. Yolanda shattered barriers and illuminates stories and her career is a testament to her unwavering commitment to justice and empowerment. George Polisner also joins us. He is the founder of Civ.Works and is our resident political analyst, environmental guru and curmudgeon.

For more info from George Polisner go to https://civ.works/defend and find his articles on Substack -Leadership Matters. Also please go to https://www.priceaz.org/ to help keep the detention center out of Marana AZ.

To help defend democracy please donate if you can to help lawyers defend our constitution by going to: https://www.aclu.org/ https://www.brennancenter.org/ https://libertyjusticecenter.org/

To help protect the environment visit and please donate to https://earthjustice.org and https://action.nrdc.org/ Help save a forest by going to https://www.preservebuttonhook.org/

To listen to past TMSOG shows go to: https://hudsonriverradio.com/ https://malcolmpresents.com and https://themanyshadesofgreen.com/ Follow The Many Shades of Green on FB, Threads and Instagram @tmshadesofgreen and on Blue Sky @tmshadesofgreen.bsky.social. Listen to TMSOG podcasts on all major podcast apps.#RaiseYourEco&SocialConsciousness.

A Special shout out to Neil Richter for all of his help and engineering wizardry in getting TMSOG up and running each week.

Liberty and Justice for Some: Can More Education on Civics=A more Proactive Society? Plus Saying Adieu to Stephen Colbert’s Late Show with George Polisner of civ.works

Liberty and Justice for Some (Mitch Margo, 2000)

Spin a little spin, stay the truth to win

Suddenly it’s become liberty and justice for some

Forget Election Day, it’s equal protection day

You don’t have to vote at all

The supreme Court will handle the call

Those wise old owls in their treehouse

changed the course of history

Though there’s a song for every bird

Some of them will not be heard

The Liberty Bell has lost it’s ring

my voice don’t mean a thing

It only takes a 5-4 swing

Liberty and Justice for some

How can I trust a man

who doesn’t seem understand

that there is something inherently dumb

about liberty and justice for some

The song was written by my brother Mitch in response to the Supreme Court decision In the landmark 2000 case Bush v. Gore. The U.S. Supreme Court effectively decided the presidential election. In a 5-4 decision, the Court halted Florida’s manual ballot recount, citing a violation of the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause and ruling that time had run out to establish a valid recount standard. Since that time, SCOTUS has gotten even more rogue in a 5-4 decision overturning Roe v. Wade, and most recently, the court drastically weakened Section 2 the Voting Rights Act limiting how courts can order maps to be drawn.

To say the least, Americans feel frustrated, disconnected, and are very cynical about politics. Civic education and discourse are needed more than ever to create a proactive democracy. In this moment of time in the US of A, when it feels like we are living in the upside down world, can we find the a glimmer of light or hope that will take us through the darkness? People are realizing that we must get back to a place where civic duty is brought to the forefront. I guess when we reach our lowest point as citizens, the only thing that will save us, from us, is us! We need to take matters into our own hands, as the three branches of government are no longer working to protect and serve We The People. The American people are feeling a deep distrust of government, as the checks and balances are clearly not working. I remember taking a civics course in high school which was required back in the day, and we were taught our nation’s history, and the importance of voting was emphasized in class. There is a widening political divide in civics curriculum, states in blue and red states are reshaping what students learn in different ways, which will have an effect on the future of democracy. In recent years, civics education has become deeply politicized. Are schools preparing students to think critically, or simply reinforcing ideology? States including Florida, Texas, and Tennessee have passed laws limiting how race, gender, religion, and systemic inequality are discussed in classrooms. Other more purple states feel that students should learn why the Constitution matters, the importance of free speech, the dangers of authoritarian government, as well as the value of capitalism and personal liberty. States like California, New York, and Illinois often encourage classroom discussions about, structural racism, voting access, Climate justice, LGBTQ+ rights, protest movements, media literacy and misinformation. Educators in these states often emphasize “action civics” — encouraging students not just to understand democracy, but to actively participate in it. In this current moment in the US we have a “corrupt” Executive branch, a “do nothing Congress” and a Supreme Court which is “politicized” to such a high level, that it no longer protects American citizens. People don’t trust the government, even the Wall Street Journal editorial board had a blunt verdict on the proposed 1.7 billion so-called “anti-weaponization fund” a/k/a “slush fund” tied to Trump, they said, in a word, that it’s “Rotten.”

We are clearly in a warped political age. So what can we do? We need to educate people and push for better and more civic education in schools. We also need to stand up, resist and take action as exhibited with the millions of people who attended the No Kings rallies.

Civic education is a foundation to democracy, and we must use it in the right way to teach curriculum that includes understanding rights and responsibilities, critical thinking, media literacy, civil discourse, community engagement, the mechanics of voting, advocacy, and policymaking. Civics education when taught with facts, not fiction, teaches students how to participate, not just observe. It is clear that we must talk to each other, and try to listen to opposing views. On this episode of TMSOG George Polisner, our resident political analyst, environmentalist and curmudgeon, and founder of Civ.works joins us to discuss civics, saying farewell to Stephen Colbert’s Late Show, corruption of the US government in plain sight, the National Debt and the continued chaos that floods our newsfeeds each day. For more info from George Polisner go to https://civ.works/defend and find his articles on Substack -Leadership Matters

To help defend democracy please donate if you can to help lawyers defend our constitution by going to: https://www.aclu.org/ https://www.brennancenter.org/ https://libertyjusticecenter.org/

To help protect the environment visit and please donate to https://earthjustice.org and https://action.nrdc.org/ Help save a forest by going to https://www.preservebuttonhook.org/

A Special shout out to Neil Richter for all of his help and engineering wizardry in getting TMSOG up and running each week.

What Say the EPA About What Your Life is Worth, plus Green Day says “Know Your Enemy” with George Polisner Founder of Civ.works

The song Know Your Enemy by Green Day which was released in 2009, is about questioning authority, societal control, self-destructive tendencies, and encouraging listeners to identify the real sources of oppression, whether external (government, elites) or internal (personal beliefs, bad habits).
Green Day has many successful titles including American Idiot, and they will be the opening act for Bad Bunny at the Super Bowl halftime show. I cannot wait to see what Green Day has in store for us. It’s going to be an epic ride!

Do we know who the enemy is now? The state of Minnesota, which has far less immigrants than Texas and Florida now seems to be the enemy of the current administration, and Federal troops might be sent to the state to quell the current protests which are peaceful. ICE is using tactics to intimidate the populace of Minneapolis and St.Paul, two cities with peaceful residents trying not to be dragged out of their cars, homes, and taken from their schools. Many of those taken into custody are American citizens with no criminal records and who are legal citizens. We are now told by ICE via the Department of Homeland Security to “carry” our papers. Check out the history of Germany in the 1930s and you will see the similarities to today’s USA. This isn’t dysfunction, it’s political choice, and it’s a nightmare. ICE continues operating with enormous budgets, limited oversight, minimal accountability, and devastating human consequences. Where is Congress, where is the Supreme Court, where is the Press, and where are the checks and balances? Who is going to uphold the Constitution to stop the madness? On this episode of TMSOG our resident political analyst, environmentalist and curmudgeon, George Polisner, founder of Civ.works, joins us and gives us some insight into the why checks and balances are not working, as well as why the EPA is rolling back regulations and has determined that the value of a life is zero. Why has Congress not stopped the current administration from dismantling democracy? The powers that be are truly intent on destroying life as we know it, using violence while they disregard the law. Who is really is the enemy and who is really in charge? Who is pulling the puppet strings?

For more information on civic action go to https://civ.works/ To help defend democracy please donate if you can to help lawyers defend our constitution by going to https://www.aclu.org/ https://www.brennancenter.org/

To help protect the environment visit and please donate to https://earthjustice.org Help save a forest by going to https://www.preservebuttonhook.org/

A Special shout out to Neil Richter for all of his help and engineering wizardry in getting TMSOG up and running each week.

Dancing Frogs and Musical Mushrooms with Charlotte Ghiorse

“I’ve lived 82 years on this earth, and this is the first time ever I’ve witnessed people delighting in the suffering of others so openly, so proudly, and even recording it for the world to see.” Mick Jagger

You Can’t Always Get What You Want (Jagger and Richards 1969)

And I went down to the demonstration

To get my fair share of abuse

Singing, “We’re gonna vent our frustration

If we don’t we’re gonna blow a fifty-amp fuse”

Sing it to me, honey

You can’t always get what you want

But if you try sometimes, well, you just might find

You get what you need

The Rolling Stones got it right, and the words and music of Keith Richards and Mick Jagger written back in 1969 reflect how I have been feeling of late. The state of things are, to say the least, quite depressing, but there are cracks in the wall that might eventually turn things around. I think people are energized and are fighting back. There are hundreds of No Kings rallies set for this coming Saturday 10.18.25 (go to nokings.org for more info), not only in the US, but worldwide, as people in foreign countries are supporting those in America who are peacefully protesting. We are at an inflection point, and it seems clear that things have to change, and a new scenario has to be put into place, because what we have now is not working. Yes, the Rolling Stones put it best, “you can’t always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, well you just might find, you get what you need.” We need to take action and I am asking our listeners to be proactive, and to dump the tea into the harbor, as we are not a nation of Kings! On this week’s episode we delve into politics a bit and we talk about topics that affect us. Micro plastics are in our bodies and we have to reduce single use plastic. Behavioral + small interventions (boiling water, avoiding plastic packaging / utensils, using natural fiber clothing) are helpful, especially while larger systems scale up. We also touch on nuclear waste being dumped into the Hudson River, plus musical mushrooms, October Astrology and more. We delve into these subjects with our resident eco activist, artist, astrologer, comic, marvelous mom and founder of House of Chochlet, Charlotte Ghiorse. For more info about Charlotte go to https://www.houseofchoclet.com/

To help defend democracy please donate if you can to help lawyers defend our constitution by going to https://www.aclu.org/ https://www.brennancenter.org/ https://www.democracydocket.com/ and if you want to take more effective civic action visit https://civ.works/ If you want to help protect the environment please donate to https://earthjustice.org

To listen to past TMSOG shows go to: https://hudsonriverradio.com/ and https://malcolmpresents.com Follow The Many Shades of Green on FB, Threads and Instagram @tmshadesofgreen and on Blue Sky @tmshadesofgreen.bsky.social. Listen to TMSOG podcasts on all major podcast apps.#RaiseYourEco&SocialConsciousness. To register for a rally go to: https://nokingsday.org/

A Special shout out to Neil Richter for all of his help and engineering wizardry in getting TMSOG up and running each week.

Liberty and Justice for Some and The Shadow Docket

Liberty and Justice for Some song by Mitch Margo (2000)

Spin a little spin, stay the truth to win

Suddenly it’s become liberty and justice for some

Forget Election Day, it’s equal protection day

We don’t have to vote at all

The Supreme Court will handle the call

Those wise old owls in their treehouse

changed the course of history

Though there’s a song for every bird

Some of them will not be heard

The Liberty Bell has lost its ring

my voice don’t mean a thing

It only takes a 5-4 swing

Liberty and Justice for some

How can I trust a man

who doesn’t seem understand

that there is something inherently dumb

about liberty and justice for some

Mitch wrote that song after the U.S. Supreme Court stopped the Florida vote recount in 2000. Remember the hanging chads! The song was Mitch’s commentary on the election system, and he must have had a vision into the future, as our election process continues to be a sh*t show 25 years later. The landmark Bush v. Gore case centered on a dispute over the vote count in Florida, which was critical to determining the winner of the Electoral College and, ultimately, the presidency. It was a highly controversial decision, sparking accusations of political partisanship and raising debates about the role of the judiciary in political processes. It brought to light flaws in the U.S. election system, particularly concerning the inconsistent application of voting standards and the potential for narrow margins to create electoral uncertainty. The decision underscored the complexities of federalism and the interplay between state and federal courts in matters of election law. So here we are again, but in a different circumstance, as the head of the current regime has demanded that the electoral maps in Texas be redrawn in order to give the GOP advantage in the 2026 midterm elections. The Texas legislature was successful in their gerrymandering efforts, and as of now, the GOP has a 5 seat advantage in Congress. I am fairly certain that the Supreme Court will be getting another election case in the not too distant future, and it will politicize voter rights.

There is clearly executive overreach and checks and balances have been diminished, as both the US Congress and the Supreme Court are rubber stamping the Executive orders of the President. We are already in a Constitutional crisis and these actions will affect our democracy for generations to come. The Supreme Court is especially aiding executive overreach as it is making decisions with virtually no case law backing those orders. In an article about the SCOTUS Shadow Docket by The Brennan Center dated July 2022, Harry Black and Alicia Bannon explained that the conservative justices are increasingly using a secretive process to issue consequential decisions.

Controversial uses of the Supreme Court’s shadow docket makes it quite clear that the justices are willing to use this previously obscure procedural mechanism in ways that their predecessors did not. For better or for worse, the shadow docket is now a significant part of Supreme Court jurisprudence. The Brennan Center explainer notes that shadow docket cases “typically do not receive extensive briefing or a hearing. The decisions are accompanied by little to no explanation and often lack clarity on which justices are in the majority or minority. They are sometimes released in the middle of the night, creating a sense of palace intrigue.” This is why SCOTUS has now gone rogue, as it no longer seems to be one of the checks on the Executive branch as was intended by the framers of the Constitution. Malcolm and I delve into the Shadow Docket, and its destructive path towards the environment and the dismantling of democracy, as both Congress and SCOTUS walk in lock step with the Executive Branch. To help defend democracy please donate if you can to help lawyers defend our constitution by going to https://www.aclu.org/ https://www.brennancenter.org/

To find out how to take actions to heighten your civic duty go to https://civ.works/ Please go to the following organizations to get info and if you can, donate to https://www.ucs.org/ (Union of Concerned Scientists which helps scientists continue their valuable work). If you want to help protect the environment please donate to https://earthjustice.org/ and World Wildlife Fund: WWF

A Special shout out to Neil Richter for all of his help and engineering wizardry in getting TMSOG up and running each week.

People Have the Power with Reverend Fletcher Harper, Executive Director of GreenFaith

We started this episode of TMSOG with the song “People Have the Power” by Patti Smith, which is a song about collective empowerment and the potential for positive change through unified action. It emphasizes the idea that ordinary people, when acting together, possess the ability to shape their world and achieve their dreams. The song was written by Patti Smith and her late husband Fred “Sonic” Smith as a call to action, inspired by the spirit of the 1960s protest movements and aiming to inspire a similar sense of agency in the late 1980s and beyond. It is an anthem about the collective power of individuals to create change. It encourages listeners to recognize their own agency and work together to realize their dreams and address societal issues. The song emphasizes that meaningful transformation comes from the unified efforts of people rather than relying on external forces or authority.

People have the power to do great things, but at times it seems that humans have a propensity to mess things up, especially when it comes to the environment. There are those who are working to make things better and to help reduce the pollution of the land, air and water. We need to build community to protect the Earth. So on this week’s podcast we talk about a powerful ally in the climate movement: religious institutions. From churches to mosques, synagogues to temples, faith communities are stepping up and making a tremendous effort to protect the planet. According to our guest Reverend Fletcher Harper, Executive Director of GreenFaith, the United States stands at a crossroads, as within months, decades of climate progress have been undone. So what can we do to get the pendulum to swing back and get us on a path to creating a healthier planet for current and future generations?

For centuries, faith traditions have urged people to care for the Earth. People more likely trust their spiritual leaders more than politicians or corporations. When a pastor, rabbi, imam, or monk speaks about climate change, it can resonate in a deeply personal way. The climate crisis is causing real harm right now and Faith based groups are helping to fill a gap in climate activism by connecting the global crisis to local needs—providing disaster relief, protecting vulnerable communities, and ensuring that climate justice includes racial and economic equity. The message is clear: caring for the planet isn’t just environmental—it’s spiritual and moral. Our guest Rev. Fletcher Harper gives us his thoughts, as well as important information on how GreenFaith is working to inform faith based communities on ways to be proactive on environmental issues. Reverend Fletcher is a pioneer of the global religious environmental movement, and he helped spearhead the faith-based fossil fuel divestment movement. He organizes faith turnouts at major climate mobilizations, and a mobilization is coming up next month as the Faiths 4 Climate Justice Sun Day will take place from September 19th though the 21st, please go to greenfaith.org for more info. Rev Harper is also the founder of Shine, an international campaign that supports women and community-led renewable energy access initiatives in Africa and India. He is the author of GreenFaith: Mobilizing God’s People to Protect the Earth. You can email Rev. Amy Brooks at amy@greenfaith.org for more info on the Sun Day events.

To find out how to take actions to heighten your civic duty go to https://civ.works/

You can also donate to help lawyers defend our constitution by going to https://www.aclu.org/ https://www.brennancenter.org/

A Special shout out to Neil Richter for all of his help and engineering wizardry in getting TMSOG up and running each week.

Astrology of LA, Biodegradable Plastic, and an Homage to Brian Wilson and Sly Stone w/Charlotte Ghiorse

We lost a great one this week Brian Wilson, actually two great ones, as Sly Stone also passed away this week. Brian Wilson was a musical genius! His work is unparalleled and his song God Only Knows is one of the most beautifully crafted love songs ever written. I could have played Wouldn’t It Be Nice, Good Vibrations, God Only Knows, and so many others, but Surfin USA is light, it’s fun, it’s a feel good song, and we need to feel good in these uncertain times, as quite frankly, it’s hard to feel good in today’s America. I actually chose Surfin’ USA because of the chorus, which is “inside, outside, USA” It is hard to be inside America at this moment, as we are witnessing a breakdown of democracy. Those in other nations, are looking at us from the outside, and are wondering WTF is going on. Many of the Beach Boys songs of the early 60s were about surfing and getting the girls. You can say that the California boys loved their California Girls and lived to catch the waves and the get the gals. California has always been a place where folks could see the stars, drive on Highway 1 along the Pacific Ocean, and put the top down to enjoy the beautiful weather, but California, especially Los Angeles, City of Angels, has been dealing with some very difficult problems. In early January of this year fires destroyed the Pacific Palisades and Altadina, and lit up parts of Hollywood, the Valley and other areas. LA is still reeling from those fires, and its aftermath. But now things have gone completely mad, as peaceful protests have risen in response to the tactics of ICE being used to arrest and make immigrants disappear. LA is not a DMZ, and there is no insurrection taking place. The majority of protests are peaceful! Yes, agitators infiltrated the protests, and criminal activities have taken place in South LA, but many were caught and arrested. It is our right under the First Amendment as citizens of the US to protest, but it is not a right for masked individuals without proper IDs and warrants to take people away from their place of work, their homes, schools, or places of worship without DUE PROCESS! ICE is going into courthouses where hearings are taking place on the status of many immigrants, and they are arresting them when they leave the courtroom while trying to exit the building. Marines are on their way to LA in direct violation to the Posse Comitatus Act enacted in 1878, which prohibits the use of the U.S. military, including the National Guard, for domestic law purposes. This is not about quelling a conflict, it’s about control!

We have crossed the red line where the rule of law and checks and balances are failing, and we are losing our rights and freedoms! In this moment, I feel that I am floating though the vortex of the “upside down world”, a world where things are not as they should be, and where the established order is disrupted. We are living in a reality show, and the Mad Hatter is directing his minions to paint the roses red. Those in charge of the US are taking us backwards, which is dangerous path to go down. Citizens are taking a stand and are protesting authoritarian rule. We are living in a world where chaos reigns!

We have to take care of ourselves and take time in this scary moment to enjoy nature, look up at the blue skies, oooh ahhh at the ocean sunsets, hike on the majestic mountain ranges and listen to the birdies sing. I just don’t know what to make of the human species right now, and where we land is up to us. Are we inside or outside of the USA? Will we get through these difficult times? Can we overcome the quagmire that we are in? In the words of the Beach Boys, Wouldn’t It be Nice and God Only Knows. Surfs up, but we don’t know where the tide will take us. Our roving artist, eco activist, astrologist Charlotte Ghiorse gives us some of her thoughts on the current state of the union, environmental issues, some LA astrology and more. For more info go to https://www.houseofchoclet.com/ and Sexy Astrology on FB and YouTube.

Also please go to the following organizations to get info and if you can, donate to https://www.ucs.org/ (Union of Concerned Scientists which helps scientists continue their valuable work). If you want to help protect the environment please donate to https://earthjustice.org/ You can also donate to help lawyers defend our constitution by going to https://www.aclu.org/ and the Brennan Center for Justice https://www.brennancenter.org/ and https://civ.works/

A Special shout out to Neil Richter for all of his help and engineering wizardry in getting TMSOG up and running each week.

Who’s The Boss with George Polisner Founder of Civ.Works

The “Boss” Bruce Springsteen has been in the news of late, as he bravely tells his audiences what’s going on in America right now. He is not adverse to speaking his mind, as he sees his country and democracy slipping away in plain sight. He tells it like it is, with no holes barred. During a White House press briefing on May 15, 2025, Karoline Leavitt, White House Press Secretary, responded to Bruce Springsteen’s criticisms of DJT by saying, “Bruce Springsteen, you mean he calls himself the boss? How about the employee, because the boss is the President .” Leavitt’s statement came after Springsteen publicly criticized the current administration during a concert in Manchester, England, calling them “corrupt, incompetent, and treasonous”. DJT responded by calling Springsteen “highly overrated” and a “pushy, obnoxious jerk”. One of the Boss’ tunes “Born in the USA” has become an American Anthem, but it is actually a commentary on war and the desperation of returning veterans. The 1984 hit describes a Vietnam War veteran who returns home to desperate circumstances and few options. Listen only to its surging refrain, though, and you could mistake it for an uncomplicated celebration of patriotism. You wouldn’t be the only one. Bruce told radio host Terry Gross in 2005 “The pride was in the chorus, in my songs, the spiritual part, the hope part, is in the choruses. The blues and your daily realities are in the details of the verses.” Bruce started many shows with a really rousing, anthemic-type version of ‘Born in the U.S.A.’ With a bandanna on and a cutoff shirt and the fist-pumping, it felt like a celebration of being born in the USA — when really, it is a defiant song about ‘I was born in the USA, and I deserve better than what I’m getting.’ I think plenty of people didn’t get what it was about and it behooves us to pay attention to the lyrics of the verses of Bruce’s tunes. In current times, it is not hard to realize that we are in dystopian downward spiral and on the verge of authoritarian rule. People want to hide and wake up in 2028. So, there is much to talk about, and on this episode of TMSOG we are joined by our resident political analyst, environmentalist and curmudgeon, George Polisner, founder of Civ.works, who gives us some insight and helps us break down what is happening in the US of A, and why we must get up and stand up for our rights and find ways to counter what is going on inside the current regime in the White House. We discuss the Big Beautiful Bill a/k/a the Reverse Robinhood Bill as they are robbing from the poor to give too the rich. Plus the Middle East Crypto and 747 grift tour, Judges on the front line, the need to be proactive, the need to take care of ourselves and much more. Go to https://civ.works/and Civ.works/defend for more info. Listen to and buy music from Bruce Springsteen.

Also please go to the following organizations to get info and if you can, donate to https://www.ucs.org/ (Union of Concerned Scientists which helps scientists continue their valuable work). If you want to help protect the environment please donate to https://earthjustice.org/ You can also donate to help lawyers defend our constitution by going to https://www.aclu.org and https://www.brennancenter.org/ The Brennan Center helps protect voting rights.

A Special shout out to Neil Richter for all of his help and engineering wizardry in getting TMSOG up and running each week.

Penguins, Politics, Plastic and Protest with Charlotte Ghiorse

“You got the power, I’ve seen you use it, they say you don’t have it, that’s how you lose it.” Lyric by Mitch Margo from his song California Reggae Debate (What Can I Do?)

We must act, speak out, protest, and do everything in our power to stop the dismantling of democracy. It’s up to us!!! The current administration is banning words from research documents and reports. An online article from InvestigateMidwest.org stated that: On the day of his inauguration, DJT claimed his administration would end the “censorship of protected speech.” But actions speak louder than words. Thanks to a leaked email memo, we now know the Trump administration has drawn up a list of 110 words and phrases that have now been banned from use in the Agricultural Research Service (ARS). ARS is the division of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) tasked with providing the agricultural research, education and economic analysis that protects the health of the nation’s farmland, ensures the safety of the food we eat and develops solutions for diseases, disasters and other threats to the food supply. Here are the climate related terms that have been removed:

climate, climate change, climate-change, changing climate, climate consulting, climate models, climate model, climate accountability, climate risk, climate resilience, climate smart agriculture, climate smart forestry, climatesmart, climate science, climate variability, global warming, carbon sequestration, GHG emission, GHG monitoring, GHG modeling, carbon emissions mitigation, greenhouse gas emission, methane emissions, green infrastructure, sustainable construction, carbon pricing, carbon markets. Other topics with banned words are Pollution Remediation, Water Infrastructure, Clean Energy, Clean Transportation, Affordable Housing, and DEI (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion).

I am convinced we are in an alternate universe or a hologram, as we are living in a reality show which has no basis in REALITY! On this episode of TMSOG Charlotte Ghiorse, our art guru, eco-activist and sexy astrologist joins us to discuss banned words, the microplastic problem, the tariff on Penguins, protests, the current state of our nation, what astrology has got to do with it and more. For more info go to houseofchoclet.com, Sexy Astrology on FB and YouTube.

Go to https://www.ucs.org/ and donate to help scientists continue their valuable work. If you want to help protect the environment please donate to https://earthjustice.org/ https://www.beyondplastics.org/ You can also donate to help lawyers defend our constitution by going to https://www.aclu.org/ and the Brennan Center for Justice https://www.brennancenter.org/

A Special shout out to Neil Richter for all of his help and engineering wizardry in getting TMSOG up and running each week.

Preach, Protest and Perform with “Earth Defender” Rev Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping “Earthalujah!”

This episode of TMSOG podcast opens with the song Fabulous Unknown, which part of an amazing catalog of music performed and written by Reverend Billy Talen, and the Stop Shopping Choir. I met the Rev via a friend of mine, Rick Ulfik, founder of We, the World, who played keyboard for him for a number of years. So on this program we get up close and personal with Rev Billy, and we take a deep dive into the stories of activism, culture, and his unconventional voice which is meant to shake up the world. We talk about a movement that is as theatrical as it is radical. Rev Billy, is a performance artist, activist, and anti-consumerism preacher who leads the Church of Stop Shopping along with his partner Savitri. Since the late 1990s, he’s been spreading his gospel—literally—against corporate greed, environmental destruction, and the culture of overconsumption. He does it all with the flair of a revivalist preacher, blending satire, music, and bold public spectacles. He has recently toured with Neil Young, and will be on tour with him again this summer. He has performed and protested in many venues throughout NYC and the world. Alisa Solomon in an article written for the Village Voice about Rev Billy stated that “The collar is fake, but the calling is real.” The Church of Stop Shopping, has been referred to by academics as “performance activism,” “carnivalesque protest,” and “artivists”. Rev Billy is an Earth Defender and he preaches on stage as the gospel choir belts out songs of resistance. The Reverend Billy character isn’t so much a parody of a preacher, as it blurs the lines between performance and religious experience. “It’s definitely a church service,” Rev Billy exclaims, but, it’s “a political rally, it’s theater, it’s all three, it’s none of them.” For more info go to https://revbilly.com/ and for music go to https://revbilly.com/music/

If you can donate, please go to http://civ.works/defend/ https://www.aclu.org/ and https://earthjustice.org/

To listen to past TMSOG shows go to: https://hudsonriverradio.com/ and https://malcolmpresents.com Follow The Many Shades of Green on FB and Instagram @tmshadesofgreen and on Blue Sky @tmshadesofgreen.bsky.social. Listen to TMSOG podcasts on all major podcast apps. #RaiseYourEcoConsciousness

A Special shout out to Neil Richter for all of his help and engineering wizardry in getting TMSOG up and running each week.

TMSOG is proud to be on Feedspot’s list of the 50 Best Environmental Podcasts.

Is it Safe? Democracy is Free Falling! With George Polisner founder of Civ.works

“The rich run a global system that allows them to accumulate more wealth while leaving the majority struggling to survive.” – Naomi Klein

The government as we know it is dangling by a thread. The broligarchy has taken over and anointed a self proclaimed king. Here is a quote from the current occupant of the White House, and the dialog that ensued with MAGA MAN and the Governor of NY.

“CONGESTION PRICING IS DEAD. Manhattan, and all of New York, is SAVED. LONG LIVE THE KING!” DJ Trump

New York Governor Kathy Hochul responded by saying that President Trump’s gambit to kill congestion pricing is a direct federal “attack on New York sovereignty” by a self-proclaimed “king.” She further stated that “I’m here to say, New York hasn’t labored under a king in over 250 years, and we sure as hell are not going to start now. The streets of the city where battles were fought, we stood up to a king, and we won then. In case you don’t know New Yorkers, when we’re in a fight, we do not back down — not now, not ever.” “I’m governing the great state of New York. I don’t need to be play-wack-a-mole every time something crazy comes out of Washington,” she said. “But you came after New Yorkers, and now I have to step up on this issue.We are not subservient to a king or anyone else out of Washington,” she added. All I can say is bravo to Hochul for having the chutzpah to call out the liar in chief. While congestion pricing has its pros and cons, the fact that Governor Hochul had the balls to stand up to Trump was impressive. We need to shout from the rafters, that the US is not a Kingdom, and democracy is still alive!

We need to start dredging up the tea leaves from Boston Harbor and kick start our brains into taking action to stop the self proclaimed king and his henchmen from destroying our country. I would always think to myself, how did the people of Germany and the world let the atrocities of the Third Reich happen? It’s not quite 100 years later, yet here we are, in the US of A, experiencing a takeover of democracy in front of our eyes. Is it a coup, is it a Constitutional Crisis, will it take a Revolution or Civil War to stop it? The spineless GOP and mainstream media are in with it, after all, the golden calf needs to be milked, and power and greed are the end game. We are all in the Gulf of Despair, paddling with half a paddle. The only ones who will save us are ourselves! On this episode of TMSOG, we have our resident environmentalist, political analyst and curmudgeon, George Polisner, founder of Civ.works. on the program. George gives us some insight into the state of the world and the quick sand we find ourselves in. Where is the opposition, the media, the union soldiers? It’s time to get out of our collective funk and take action. For more info go to http://civ.works/defend/ Please donate to https://www.aclu.org/ and https://earthjustice.org/

A Special shout out to Neil Richter for all of his help and engineering wizardry in getting TMSOG up and running each week.

TMSOG is proud to be on Feedspot’s list of the 50 Best Environmental Podcasts.

https://www.spreaker.com/episode/is-it-safe-democracy-is-free-falling-w-george-polisner-founder-of-civ-works–64484514

Plastics, Politics and Pinky and the Brain with Charlotte Ghiorse, Founder of House of ChoClet

“Justice will not be served until those who are unaffected are as outraged as those who are.” – Benjamin Franklin“

“There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest.” – Elie Wiesel

“Each time a man stands up for an ideal or acts to improve the lot of others or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope.” – Robert Kennedy

On this episode of TMSOG we went off book and started the podcast with the theme song of the animated series Pinky and The Brain. The lyric of the tune is as follows:

They’re Pinky & the Brain.
Yes, Pinky & the Brain.
One is a genius, the other’s other insane.
They’re labratory mice.
Their genes have been spliced.
They’re Pinky, they’re Pinky & the Brain, Brain, Brain, Brain, Brain, Brain, Brain, Brain, Brain

Before each night is done
Their plan will be unfurled
By the dawning of the sun
They’ll take over the world.

They’re Pinky & the Brain.
Yes, Pinky & the Brain.
Their twilight campaign is easy to explain.
To prove their mousey worth
they’ll overthrow the earth.
They’re Dinky, they’re Pinky & the Brain, Brain, Brain, Brain, Brain, Brain, Brain, Brain, NARF!

So who is the genius and who is insane? Not sure what the answer is, but we are not in normal times. I feel that we are back in Germany in the 1930s, and if we don’t fight back, if we don’t resist, we are doomed. Our monthly resident artist, eco-activist and Sexy Astrologist gives her take on what’s happening in Washington DC, and co-host Malcolm Burman chimes in with some of his thoughts. Democracy is hanging by a thread, which begs us to ask; where is the opposition, where is the main stream media, and why are more people not jamming the streets and screaming? Where are the lawyers and the hackers who are on the side of the Constitution? We have a shadow president running and simultaneously ruining the country. Who is going to take a stand and stop the madness?? Since Charlotte is the Sexy Astrologist (@soulfulsexyastrology) she gives us some information on President 45/47’s astrology chart. We also talk about the danger of microplastics in our bodies, as well some innovative companies helping solve the plastic problem. For more info on Charlotte go to Sexy Astrology on Facebook and visit https://www.houseofchoclet.com/

To donate and take action go to https://www.aclu.org/ and EarthJustice https://act.earthjustice.org/ and https://civ.works/

To listen to past TMSOG shows go to https://hudsonriverradio.com/ and https://malcolmpresents.com Follow The Many Shades of Green on FB and Instagram @tmshadesofgreen and on Blue Sky @tmshadesofgreen.bsky.social. Listen to TMSOG podcasts on all major podcast apps. #RaiseYourEcoConsciousness

A Special shout out to Neil Richter for all of his help and engineering wizardry in getting TMSOG up and running each week.

TMSOG is proud to be on Feedspot’s list of the 50 Best Environmental Podcasts.