GRIID is taking a break for a week
From now through July 25 GRIID will be taking a break from posting, but will resume writing independent news, providing news analysis and documenting local justice campaigns beginning July 26.
(This article by Dave Lindorff is re-posted from Common Dreams.)
The smoking ruin that is the Obama White House, and the rotting corpse that is the Democratic Party, have, incredibly, together been boxed into a corner by, of all things, the certifiably insane Republican Party.
This amazing situation has resulted not through any brilliant strategy on the part of the Republicans, but by the self-inflicted wounds of the Democrats.
Faced with a collapsing economy that is at serious risk of performing a reprise of the Great Depression, Congressional Democrats and President Obama were in a perfect position to grab the flag and run home with it by declaring war on unemployment and on the party that has unequivocally declared itself openly to be the standard bearer of the wealthy and powerful.
All the president and Congressional Democrats had to do was announce that Social Security, Medicare, education and programs to protect the poor were all off limits in any discussion of the federal budget, and to declare an immediate 25% cut in military spending, as called for earlier by Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA), the ranking member of the House Financial Services Committee.
How hard would that have been to do? The polls show it’s what the public wants. Any elected official who did this, particularly someone elected and re-elected as a Democrat, would have been hailed by voters for such a bold action.
According to a Pew Research Center poll conducted in late May and released June 11, 60% of Americans correctly attribute the nation’s enormous deficit primarily to military spending, which eats up 52% of every tax dollar (Social Security and Medicare are entirely funded by separate payroll taxes, and not only have not contributed a single dollar to the federal deficit, but have been routinely borrowed from by the government to finance the deficit in the government’s operating budget caused by military spending). Only 24% blame the deficit on domestic spending other than military (and probably every one of those is a Republican or right-wing independent who likely believes that the earth was created 6000 years ago, and is flat, and who will never vote Democratic no matter what).
That same poll showed that the vast majority of Americans (73%) object to proposals to cut the budget by reducing federal funding for social programs, or federal funding to the states for education, or by reducing Social Security benefits (59%), for example by raising the retirement age.
What the Pew poll finds Americans do support is raising the cap on income subject to the Social Security Tax (FICA), from its current meager level of $106,000, to cover all income (66% in favor). They also favor raising taxes on those households that earn more than $250,000 a year (65% in favor), and they favor getting rid of tax deductions for corporations, which have allowed many wildly profitable companies like Exxon, GE and News Corp to pay no corporate taxes despite earning billions of dollars in profits (62% in favor). They also overwhelmingly favor reducing America’s military operations overseas, where the US currently maintains over 800 bases in countries all over the world, including wealthy allies such as Europe and Japan (62% in favor).
After being deluged with poorly written, simplistic and often ideologically-driven news stories all year hyping the supposed budget “crisis,” the percentage of Americans who say they are worried about the budget deficit has crept up from 24% to 28%, but far more Americans say they are worried about the jobs crisis (38%, up from 34% in March).
If you were a political advisor in the White House, or in the Democratic Congressional Committee or the Democratic National Committee, one would think that seeing those numbers, the strategy going forward would be obvious: declare the country to be facing New Depression, call the Republican Party out as a bunch of know-nothings, end the wars, bring the troops home, slash military spending, call for higher taxes on the rich, and, in Congress, introduce a public jobs program every day of every week, forcing the Republicans to vote them down, one after another through the next election day.
But the Democratic Party, as I said, is a rotting corpse, and it certainly is not an organization that sees itself as fighting for the common man and woman.
As for the White House political team, and the president himself, they seem to have long since lost their grip on reality.
The president has been hanging around with Wall Street bankers, taking their money and their self-serving ideas, for so long now he actually thinks like them. Congressional Democrats, like their Republican colleagues, are so covetous of corporate campaign cash and lobbyist perks that, with a few exceptions, they can’t imagine crossing any corporate interests.
This is not a case of Democrats being stupid. You’d have to be far worse than stupid not to see the correct political strategy to adopt at this point.
What has happened is that the Democratic Party is no more. It is, at this point, all about current incumbents gaining the favor of the corporate elite, lulling the public into a non-voting torpor or stupor, and of course, arguing that people worried about the nation’s future should vote for them yet again because “the Republicans are worse.”
In a press conference on Friday, President Obama made some incredible statements, all demonstrably untrue. He said “We are all part of the same country,” and yet he surely knows that when it comes to the leaders of America’s biggest corporations, including GE, whose chairman Jeffrey Immelt he appointed to head his Jobs Council, this is demonstrably false. While many of these leaders may be Americans by birth, the companies they run and represent earn the majority of their revenues and profits from operations abroad, and are thus, technically speaking, foreign enterprises, with foreign interests that trump any US interests. Obama said, “We are all in this together,” speaking of the supposed debt “crisis,” but of course, he has announced himself ready to cut Social Security and Medicare and Medicaid programs, upon which poor and working class families depend, while leaving the rich largely unscathed. He has said it is the “will of the people” to cut the budget, but to the extent that that is even true, which is highly debatable, the will of the people is actually to cut military spending, not to cut Social Security or Medicare or even budgets for education or Medicaid.
The good news is that an increasing number of Americans appear to be finally realizing that this president is a fraud–a shill for bankers, the corporate interests and the neo-con military establishment who has just been posing as a man of the people.
The bad news is that there is little likelihood of any Third Party arising before 2012 that could seriously contest the national election, meaning that we are probably headed for either more of the same or a for Republican-led government.
The hope has to be that the blatant sell-out of the public interest and the national interest by both parties and by the president is becoming so self-evident that the American public will actually wake up from its media-induced somnolence and will abandon them both.
The institutional obstacles to such an unprecedented rebellion are of course enormous, but then, these are unprecedented times.
Based on the book by Pepi Leistyna, Class Dismissed navigates the steady stream of narrow working class representations from American television’s beginnings to today’s sitcoms, reality shows, police dramas, and daytime talk shows.
Featuring interviews with media analysts and cultural historians, this documentary examines the patterns inherent in TV’s disturbing depictions of working class people as either clowns or social deviants — stereotypical portrayals that reinforce the myth of meritocracy.
7 p.m. Thursday July 21
IATSE Labor Hall
931 Bridge St NW
Grand Rapids, Michigan
Donations are welcomed. The screening will be followed by a discussion.
This event is co-sponsored by the Grand Rapids IWW and The Bloom Collective.
New Media We Recommend
Below is a list of new materials that we have read/watched in recent weeks. The comments are not a “review” of the material, instead sort of an endorsement of ideas and investigations that can provide solid analysis and even inspiration in the struggle for change. All these items are available at The Bloom Collective, so check them out and stimulate your mind.
Howard Zinn on History – This newly released collection of essays is another marvelous tribute to the man who gave us another way of viewing history in his seminal work A People’s History of the United States. These essays cover 5 decades and include themes like direction action, freedom schools, Columbus, beyond voting, radicalism, socialism and the US as Empire. Zinn’s style and personal commitment to working for systemic social change make these essays timeless and are a real tribute to how history can be both documented and taught. Highly recommended!
Stop Signs: Cars and Capitalism on the road to economic, social and ecological decay, by Bianca Mugyenyi and Yves Engler – For anyone concerned about the future of the planet and particularly global warming, this book clearly demonstrates that we need to make a radical shift in transportation. The co-authors show that more than any other consumer items cars have had more of a damaging ecological impact than any other commodity we have used in the past 100 years. Their book is written somewhat like a travelogue as they both attempt to move across the US and find that it is nearly impossible without a car. More importantly they look at the economic, class and sociological impact of cars and not just the environmental impact. Stop Signs is an important and sobering book about the urgency of our times.
Ours to Master and to Own: Workers’ Control from the Commune to the Present, by Immanuel Ness and Dario Azzellini – This book was one of those history books that leaves you feeling mad that you were not taught this information in school. There is such a rich history of worker councils, workers communes and worker owned enterprises that gives one hope that more of this could happen if we were just aware of it. The co-authors take us through the last 150 years to show that all over the world workers have been deeply committed to creating structures based on cooperation for the purpose of wanting more than just better wages. Worker run operations are also highly committed to different economic models, models that are in direct conflict with Capitalism. Ours to Master and to Own is an inspiring book that demonstrates we don’t have to follow the so-called free market model and attend business school in order to provide basic services for our fellow humans. This book can provide us with lessons on how we need to restructure our economic system that is not simply limited to buying local.
The Inconvenient Truth Behind Waiting for Superman (DVD) – This new documentary is a powerful film about the real status of public education in this country and a scathing respond to the privatize mantra that is the core message of last years’ film Waiting for Superman. The film is produced by New York educators and includes lots of information on campaigns to fight the privatization of public education. The film relies heavily on both parent and student perspectives, which gives the film more authenticity than just having experts comment. An important film for all communities faced with budget cuts and private sector forces that want to take over public education.
(This video is re-posted from ZNet.)
In the following video, linguist, philosopher, political activist and MIT Professor Noam Chomsky speaks about how there has been a concerted (and successful) public relations campaign to convince the public that climate change is a liberal hoax.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the American Petroleum Institute and other businesses are said to be involved in this campaign. Chomsky also criticizes mainstream media outlets, such as the New York Times, for running articles in the name of “fabled objectivity”. These present two sides of a climate change debate equally, when the reality of scientific consensus is quite different. This results in a distorted picture of climate science.
Alabama Tops Them All With Harsh New Anti-Immigrant Law
When Arizona passed SB-1070, people across the country were stunned by its open declaration of war on undocumented workers in this country. States run by conservative politicians started lining up to imitate the law. So far, 1,538 similar bills and resolutions have been generated by various states and are pending votes. At the start of the summer, four states had passed extensive anti-immigrant laws like SB-1070.
Then, at the beginning of June, Alabama Governor Robert Bentley successfully oversaw the passage of a law in his state more severe than Arizona’s. SB-1070, meet your sadistic younger cousin: HB-56. One introductory part of the bill states:
The State of Alabama finds that illegal immigration is causing economic hardship and lawlessness in this state and that illegal immigration is encouraged when public agencies within this state provide public benefits without verifying immigration status.
HB-56 enables police to stop anyone who they believe could be an illegal immigrant, thus legitimizing racial profiling. They must also demand proof of citizenship from anyone they stop for another offense, from jaywalking to speeding. People can be detained if they don’t have papers proving they were born in this country or have official immigration status. However, Alabama’s new law goes beyond police involvement. It also mandates the complicity of the state educational system, businesses, and landlords.
Starting September 1, all immigrants in Alabama will be guilty of a state crime if they do not carry documents proving their legal status. Not a misdemeanor—a crime. And they can be held indefinitely until they provide the proper paperwork.
It will also be a crime in Alabama to give a ride to an undocumented worker—this includes rides from friends, from church organizations, from carpool groups, and even from school buses. To further hinder the “illegal transportation” of workers, the bill has a clause making it a crime to pick up farm laborers for transport on buses if the vehicle that is stopped blocks traffic in any way. Obviously, this allows police to swoop in and check everyone’s papers; but it also means that farm employers will have problems offering transport to their workers to the fields each day.
Alabama teachers and school administrators must collect copies of birth certificates or sworn affidavits of citizenship from every student, starting with kindergarteners. Colleges may not have undocumented immigrants as students—not even those who are seeking political asylum.
It will be a crime to rent an apartment to any family that includes an undocumented immigrant—making it impossible for families with even one member without papers to find a place to live.
And no more immigrant guests in your Alabama home. “Harboring” an undocumented worker, even for a single night, can lead to your arrest as well as the arrest of your guest.
In addition, Alabama businesses must use the federal program E-Verify to prove that every employee is a citizen of the United States or a “legal” immigrant. Anyone who has ever used E-Verify knows that it is filled with inaccurate and misleading information; it is also costly. The program has an error rate of about 10 percent and in some cases, even higher. In 2008, 33.5 percent of firings of immigrant workers occurred because of false E-Verify information. But the Supreme Court has upheld Arizona’s mandate to employees for its use, so that part of this law is not open for challenge.
The ACLU and the Southern Poverty Law Center filed suits to contest HB-56, but a judicial remedy is a lengthy process, and with the courts still stacked with Bush appointees, a risky one. An immigration attorney named David Isaacs wrote a lengthy analysis of whether the law is unconstitutional. It included this observation:
Among other things, the law appears to bar refugees fleeing political persecution from Alabama’s public universities; make it illegal to provide housing or transportation to someone so that they can attend a proceeding at which the federal government has specifically demanded they be present; and generally attempt to rewrite the Immigration and Nationality Act….
Isaacs goes on to comment that the law actually deprives immigrants of guaranteed rights that should be protected until they have had the time to have their status reviewed by federal authorities. And states do not have the right to amend federal laws.
Governor Bentley has no qualms about HB-56, as he crowed to the press that the new law was a “jobs creation bill for Americans. This will put thousands of Alabamians back in the work force.” There are currently an estimated 120,000 undocumented immigrants in Alabama. Most of them pick tomatoes in Alabama’s ghastly summer heat or work in chicken processing plants. It will be interesting to see how many native-born Alabama residents line up for those jobs once they’re vacated. In the meantime, a shortage of workers at harvest time could deep-six Alabama’s already sinking agricultural economy.
A reader of the Birmingham News wrote to the paper’s editor shortly after the law was passed, reporting that Latino friends of hers had already been harassed—both by residents and the police. The harassers clearly felt that that the new law empowered them in their bigotry toward minorities. One instance involved the police, who stopped a Latino man and demanded “to see his papers.” This, the letter writer noted, despite the fact that the law doesn’t even go into effect until September 1.
And an Alabama legislator named Mo Brooks is obviously feeling empowered as well. This week, Brooks stated, “I will do anything short of shooting them [undocumented immigrants]. Anything that is lawful, it needs to be done because illegal aliens need to quit taking jobs from American citizens.” Brooks also said that undocumented workers have “victimized” Americans by their very existence in the state.
Will HB-56 become the new gold standard as state after state attempts to adopt these racist laws? It seems likely that, unless the law is successfully challenged in the federal courts, states will follow the Alabama example. They will push the envelope as far as they can, using the economy as an excuse to justify an ongoing witch hunt against immigrants and minority workers.
A new report from the Center for Responsive Politics shows that there has been an increase of former lobbyists now working as staff for members of Congress.
From Hired Guns to Hired Hands “details the pervasiveness of former lobbyists working in some of the most powerful staff positions in the 111th and 112th Congresses. These lobbyists — some of whom previously represented upward of 100 clients — can be found in the offices of Republicans and Democrats, senior and junior congressional members and in the staff offices of many powerful congressional committees.”
The report shows that the number of former lobbyists more than doubled from the 111th Congress to the 112th Congress – from 68 lobbyists turned Congressional staff in the 111th Congress to 128 in the 112th Congress. Along partisan lines, Republicans have a slight edge.
Based on the research from the Center for Responsive Politics, one can see that there are certain committees with an influx of ex-lobbyists (page 8 of the report) and certain companies (page 13 of the report) that have former lobbyists now representing those corporate interests as is shown in the following 2 charts.
Michigan
In looking at ex-lobbyist coming to Congress and working for Michigan members we see that Congressman Bill Huizenga has hired a former lobbyist for the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies.
Senator Carl Levin has hired a former lobbyist from the American Forest & Paper Association and the law firm of Lockridge, Grindal & Nauen. Michigan Senator Debbie Stabenow has hired an ex-lobbyist from the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America and the National Breast Cancer Coalition.
The obvious conclusion to draw from this new report is that corporate power and corporate interests will be better represented in Congress.
The Meaning of Bastille Day
Today is le quatorze juillet, the French national holiday which English-speaking people call “Bastille Day.” This celebration marks the day in 1789 when French peasants and the workers of Paris stormed the King’s prison. By doing so, they symbolically rejected the monarch’s power and authority over the lives and welfare of his subjects. Although only seven prisoners were freed in the bloody battle, afterward an army of peasants destroyed the prison itself. This symbolic act sparked the true beginning of the French Revolution. It created a platform for the people’s Declaration of the Rights of Man. It also launched the “reign of terror,” a period of time when aristocrats who had subjected peasants and farm workers to poverty and slave-like working conditions were put to death on the guillotine.
The clueless King Louis XVI had gone hunting that 14th of July and wrote the word “nothing” as his diary entry—meaning he had not bagged any game. When he heard about the destruction of the Bastille, Louis asked an advisor if the act could be considered a revolt. The minister replied, “No, Majesty—this is a revolution.”
Today, the 1789 toppling of elitist power is celebrated throughout France and particularly in Paris. A parade down the Champs-Elysees is a popular event. A spectacular fireworks display in the evening is televised across the nation. People in towns and villages hold dances to memorialize the revolutionaries, who broke into spontaneous dancing when their siege of the prison was successful. French families often put together “peasant” meals on which to picnic: rustic bread, cheeses, wine, and clafoutis, a bread pudding made with cherries.
But not everyone in France celebrates Bastille Day. Wealthy French families, particularly those with titles, often quietly leave Paris and even France, vacationing in Tuscany or Seville until the holiday is over. The reason is obvious: as the descendants of the courtiers and aristocrats who once held all of France’s power, they would be participating in celebrating the beheadings of their own ancestors. Le quatorze juillet serves as a yearly reminder of the power of a united working class, something that many upper-class French would prefer to forget.
In recent years, conservative French politicians have joined in this snubbing of Bastille Day to cater to their elitist base. The most visible boycotter is France’s current president, Nicolas Sarkozy.
Sarkozy, a hyper-conservative, has attempted since his election to shift power to capitalists and the wealthiest French citizens via policies that include the cutting of worker health care, the lengthening of work weeks without additional pay, and the raising of the retirement age. He has launched anti-immigration policies and advocates for stronger homeland security. He has also declared that France, a republic, is intended to be a “Christian nation.” Under this rationalization, Sarkozy has acted against French Muslims by attempting to take over Islamic mosques and place them under government control. He has labeled protesters against his policies “thugs” and “scum.” Many of his policies and beliefs will be familiar to Americans: here, a similar agenda is supported by conservative elements like the Tea Party, the Koch Brothers, the DeVos and Prince families, and Snyder’s Mackinac Center-fueled regime in Michigan.
Traditionally on Bastille Day, the French president participated in three events: a garden party for his political supporters; a speech to the people of France (similar to the U.S.’s state of the nation speech); and the public pardoning of prisoners. Sarkozy continues to hold the garden party. But he has refused to give the speech or to pardon any prisoners since his election in 2007. These choices send a message to his wealthy and titled supporters about his alliance with the elite and his lack of interest in the working-class citizens of France.
But far from being successful in launching Draconian policies in his country, Sarkozy has been met at every turn by strong resistance. Parisian streets have been swamped with workers who went out on general strikes to protest the lengthening of the work week. In 2009, hundreds of thousands of workers protested Sarkozy’s policies to aid capitalists instead of ordinary French citizens duriug their “economic crisis.” An article in the UK’s Guardian explained:
Train drivers, airport staff, teachers, postal workers and tax inspectors joined private-sector employees including bank clerks, car workers, ski-lift operators, supermarket check-out staff and even employees from the company that operates France’s stock exchange [are all participating]…With lawyers and journalists from state TV and radio also walking out, the various groups are protesting for job protection and better wages and against a raft of Sarkozy’s reforms, ranging from justice to hospital and school reforms, and changes to the running of state TV.
Another paralyzing strike by transportation workers occurred in 2010, and a huge general strike protesting the raising of the retirement age shut down high schools across France, as students took to the streets to show solidarity with workers. These and other general strikes have drawn the approval of up to 70 percent of French citizens, with a conservative minority of 30 percent consistently against—a breakdown of power brokers versus workers that is similar to the one in this country.
Why have the French been so successful in their resistance, while in America we allow a minority to continue transferring public wealth in to private hands?
Perhaps one reason is Bastille Day: a celebration which reminds people across France that they have destroyed an elitist, authoritarian power base before…and they can do it again.
The Limits of Green Capitalism in West Michigan
For the past year we have been looking at the limitations of Green Capitalism, particularly as it relates to what is being promoted in West Michigan. We have dissected stories about Dow Chemical, Whirlpool, Kellogg and other corporate claims of being green as well as what the public sector is doing that promotes Green Capitalism.
We subscribe to e-newsletter from MiBiz, which tends to provide plenty of examples of why Green Capitalism not only has limitations, it is deceptive and ultimately unsustainable. The most recent edition from MiBiz is a perfect example of the flawed thinking behind the idea that Capitalism can somehow be sustainable.
The first story worth looking at was about the public/private effort to get electric car charging stations installed throughout West Michigan. The article sites both private and public officials who make claims that providing electric car charging stations will make cities cleaner.
While there will be less air pollution from electric cars than fossil fuel based cars, there are serious limitations to promoting this kind of transportation. If you are using electricity in the Grand Rapids area you are most likely going to be using electricity that was generated from the burning of coal. Not exactly a sustainable energy source. Secondly, there is generally no discussion about the ecologically unsound practice of electric car battery production, which includes mining and all the energy needed to manufacture such items.
Lastly, there is the problem of perpetuating this individual consumer mentality, which says we can purchase our way out of the global warming dilemma. If there is a shift from fossil fuel cars to electric cars, it will mean more mining for materials to build the cars, continual need for road and parking construction and for people to have to spend roughly a quarter of their annual income on the cost of owning a car. As Bianca Mugyenyi and Yves Engler make clear in their recent book Stop Signs: Cars and Capitalism, if we are serious about ecological sustainability then we need to shift from cars to mass transit, bicycling and walking.
A second story that merits some attention was about a “Go Green” golf outing that was being hosted by the West Michigan Sustainable Business Forum (WMSBF). The golf outing is a fundraiser for education scholarships for future students who want to pursue a career in “sustainable business.” The WMSBF promotes the “goal to encourage the adoption and implementation of sustainable development business practices aimed at improving corporate profitability.” The notion that one can be sustainable and profitable is one of the most basic flaws of Green Capitalism in that it is premised on perpetual growth.
In addition to the flawed green capitalism message in this second story the fact that this group is having a fundraiser at a golf course should raise red flags for everyone. Golf courses require a tremendous amount of maintenance, which means the use of fossil fuels for mowing, often pesticides and toxic fertilizers for maintaining the grass and a tremendous amount of water is consumed in order to keep the golf course perfectly green. Plus, golf courses are one of the most inefficient uses of land, land that could be left alone for wildlife habitat or transformed into nature preserves.
The last article worth looking at was about Cascade Engineering and their “sustainable” water filter product. The article talks about the daughter of the company who was in Honduras and how she was able to provide some assistance to people who hand no access to clean water.
Cascade Engineering, which is traditionally an auto parts manufacturer, has now added water filters to their product line. The company made this decision a few years ago when they made a financial partnership with the WindQuest Group, a private investment firm of the DeVos family. Now Cascade and WindQuest can promote their humanitarian efforts around the global. However, this sustainable effort is not so simple.
Nowhere in the article are readers provided with any analysis or historical context to why so many people around the world don’t have access to safe drinking water. Humans have been contaminating water for centuries, but with the onset of industrial capitalism the amount of water contamination has skyrocketed.
Industrial capitalism has contaminated water through mining, deforestation, road building, toxic dumping, pesticide and fossil fuel fertilizer use and the creation of a consumer culture that has brought with it the increase of garbage.
Cascade Engineering has made its money from the production of car & truck parts, one of the most insidious aspects of industrial capitalism and now they want to cash in on trying to make a product that will solve the problem of water contamination…..or are they?
One basic premise of ecological sustainability is to be able to do something that will not harm the ecological integrity of any ecosystem. Providing water filters to people, who live near water systems that are contaminated, is not sustainable. Addressing the root of the problem – the source of the water contamination – would be a sustainable outcome. This might mean the elimination of toxic dumping by factories or the elimination of pesticide and fossil fuel fertilizer use from industrial agriculture. The only problem with these kinds of solutions is that there is no profit to be made. Why stop the problem when you can make a new product and more profits by providing people with what only seems like a solution?
If we are serious about the future of the planet then we cannot afford to support the claims of sustainability that Green Capitalism offers. Green Capitalism simply isn’t sustainable.
The Neighborhood Network Bash this Saturday – July 16
This Saturday, (July 16) The Network will host its Second Annual Neighborhood Network Bash in the street by their office at 343 Atlas in Eastown.
The event runs from 1pm – 10pm with information booths, a silent auction and entertainment from 2pm til 9:30pm.
Entertainment Stage
2-3pm- DJ DigiMark
3-4pm- Music Entertainment
5pm- Grand Illusions Drag Show
5-6pm- Carnivalette Dancers
6-7:30pm- Miss West Michigan Equality Pageant
7:30pm-8:30pm- Fashion Show
8:45pm-9:30pm- Girlz on Fire
We will also be there conducting more interviews for the Grand Rapids LGBTQ People’s History Project from 1 – 5pm, so if you haven’t had a chance to tell your story, here is another chance. If you want to do an interview on our studio just send us an e-mail to schedule a time – jsmith@griid.org.
