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PBC News & Comment: On 50th Earth Day, 2 Very Different Podcasts

Interview with Earth Day co-founder and PBC’s hero Pete McCloskey explains history, and Carleen Cullen offers education, engagement for kids…

–the McCloskey podcast is here

–and before we dive into today’s news, here’s a great new musical satire from Roy Zimmerman: The Liar Tweets Tonight, watch it here

–Trump’s latest division and distraction device: a return to immigrant bashing

–esteemed law professor Erwin Chemerinsky co-writes op-ed challenging legality of new decree

–in sneaky, underhanded move, NY Gov. Cuomo’s budget included clause that allows election officials to remove Bernie Sanders from primary ballot

–at The Atlantic, George Packer’s essay, “We Are Living in a Failed State” is worth reading

–our daily Covid-19 update, prepared by Linda Lewis

–in Monday 4.20 podcast, PBC mistakenly mixed up 2 different items

–as prisons join nursing homes as outbreak zones, officials deploy surveillance of prisoner phone calls, new study raises serious concerns about prison death toll

–NIH report says drug treatments don’t seem to work on Covid 19

–epidemiologists share my bias: lower than projected death toll means shutdowns are helping

–passage of new relief package in House tomorrow is uncertain

–Trump’s Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is protecting the payday loan industry in these hard times

–Bill McKibben’s Earth Day column works for collapse of oil industry

–NY Times report lists the nations that are already hurting from oil market collapse

–Pepe Escobar asks what US intel knew about the “Chinese virus”

–Caitlin Johnstone slams China hysteria at ConsortiumNews,   where Joe Lauria slams NY Times for “Chinagate” coverage

–NYU Prof. Mark Crispin Miller claims scene from Sacramento anti-quarantine rally shows it’s not just right wingers; I disagree, and Steve Horn shows that mini-mob organizers are tied to well-funded climate denier groups

–Prof. Miller also hammers ConsortiumNews for posting statement from UN chief

–and “Oh, Dear” email from listener Dick Atlee chides your humble host