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Indivisible Santa Fe Radio

Indivisible Santa Fe Radio

by Donovan Kolbly and Gary Kowalski

News Commentary Politics

Season 1

Talking Union In Our National Parks

Thousands of positions were cut last year not just in the National Park Service but in BLM, the Geological Survey and other agencies protecting our putblic lands. This summer Park Rangers across the Western Region voted overwhelming to unionize to protect their positions and give visitors a better experience in these iconic landscapes. Donovan and Gary speak today with Charlotte Graveline, an historian at the National Park Service’s Intermountain Regional Office in Santa Fe and interim Vice President of National Employees Treasury Union 347, the labor organization now representing hundreds of park rangers and other personnel like scientists and archaeologists across the Western states to discuss how we can keep our parks open and accessible for ourselves and coming generations.

Curbing Corporate Money in Politics: A Path Forward

Last spring Hawaii passed legislation outlawing corporate spending on political campaigns. Montana is doing much the same with a citizen referendum. Could the same approach work here in New Mexico? Republicans and Democrats alike say that Super Pacs and Dark Money are corrupting our elections., but what can be done? Today Donovan and Gary speak with a trio of lawyers and activists who are drafting a statute that would rein in the flow of cash and restore power to ordinary voters, without the need for a Constitutional Amendment to circumvent Citizens United. Natlie Wright-Curley of Indivisible, John House of New Mexicans for Money Out of Politics and Dave Wheelock of Reclaim Our Democracy explain how to make it happen.

Wealth Inequality and Economic Democracy

Why are some people rich and others poor? It's not because the laws of nature or economics make it so. Our winner-take-all economy has been deliberately constructed to place more and more wealth and power into fewer and fewer hands. The consequences for our democracy. have been disastrous. Samuel Bowles, who has spent his academic career studying the problem, is Professor Emeritus of Economics at UMass Amherst and the head of behavioral sciences at the Santa Fe Institute, author of a dozen books on capitalism, poverty, educational reform and building a moral future. In conversation with Donovan and Gary, Professor Bowles explains how we arrived at this dangerous juncture and the steps forward if we are to remain a free society.

Catholics Fight Trump at the Border

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Las Cruces, New Mexico, is being sued by the federal government, which wants to erect a thirty-foot border wall across a sacred pilgrimmage site known as Cristo Rey (or Christ the King). Deacon Jim Winder of the Diocese speaks with our host Gary to explain that this is primarily a battle over symbols. The holy mountain is topped by a 29 foot statue of Christ with welcoming arms greeting the hungry, the outcast and the stranger. The wall demanded by Customs and Border Patrol is a symbol of exclusion and rejection. The legal arguments at stake revolve around religious freedom, a precept central to the First Amendment and the Bill of Rights. Tune in to learn more from Deacon Jim, who grew up on the border and knows the issues firsthand.

Protecting the Ballot with the League of Women Voters

More Americans say they don't trust elections, but for very different reasons. Debunked claims of voter fraud continue to circulate. Gerrymandering is rampant. New laws make it harder to cast a ballot. How can we restore faith in the nation's electoral system? For answers, Donovan and Gary speak with Stephanie Schlanger and Kelly Davis of the Santa Fe chapter of the League of Women Voters, a non-partisan but activist organization dedicated to protecting the Constitutionally mandated right to vote.

Christian Nationalism: A New Idolatry?

Did you know that Barry Goldwater's wife was chair of Arizona's Planned Parenthood for many years? (The Republcan Senator and 1964 Presidential candidate was himself a lifelong member of the NAACP.) Times have changed and not always for the better. Christian Nationalism is a white nativist evangelical crusade that makes yesteryear's Moral Majority seem tame, identifying the Kingdom of God with the United States (especially the red states) and idolizing Donald Trump as God's enjoy on earth. Today, Donovan and Gary speak with the Reverend Talitha Arnold, senior minister at the United Church of Santa Fe and a graduate of Yale Divinity School, about the threats this perversion of faith represents to our democratic freedoms and to the foundations of authentic Christianity.

Justice for Epstein's Victims in New Mexico?

For decades, notorious sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein operated a vast hideaway called Zorro Ranch just south of Santa Fe. Until now, no full investigation of the property ever took place. Donovan and Gary talk with Representative Andrea Romero, who chairs the newly formed NM Survivors Truth Commission, empowered to search out whatever crimes may have occurred there. Recently the Commission began issuing subpoenas and hearing testimony from Epstein's victims, including Rachel Benavidez and family members of Virginia Guiffre. Representive Romero is determined to honor their stories of abuse, hold the perpetrators accountable, and make sure such atrocities never happen again.

Up From Last Place: Improving Education in our State with Fred Nathan, Jr. of Think New Mexico

New Mexico spends more on education per pupil than most other states, but ranks near the bottom on student outcomes for math and reading proficiency. Why is that, and what can be done? The answers may surprise. Donovan and Gary talk with Fred Nathan, Jr., the founder and Executive Director of Think New Mexico, which has has been instrumental in reforming state government: successfully pushing to implement all day kindergarten, remove the sales tax on groceries, end predatory lending and most recently pushing legislation to address the acute shortage of doctors and other health care providers in our state. Fred talks about additional steps needed to bring more psychologists, EMTS, and PTs to practice here. But his analysis of our lopsided educational system--heavy on highly paid administrators while short-changing classrooms--is eye opening.

Voting Rights and Wrongs: A Conversation with Gene Grant

Earlier this month the U.S. Supreme Court destroyed what was left of the landmark 1965 Voting Rights Act that for the first time in Amerrican history gave blacks access to the ballot box and a voice in their own government. Already states across old Dixie are redrawing lines to dilute minority representation in Congress. Donovan and Gary discuss the decision and its implications with Gene Grant, Executive Director of the New Mexico Office of African American Affairs, who despite the setback sees glimmers of hope on the horizon.

Archbishop John Wester on Trump's Immoral War

When if ever is war justified? Donovan and Gary are honored to speak with the Archbishop of Santa Fe John Wester, who reflects on the dubious morality of America's war with Iran in light of Roman Catholic teachings that reach back to Augustine and Aquinas which but remain more relevant than ever. Archbishop Wester shares his vision for a better path to peace.

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