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For Sept 6
Part 1:
We interview Scott Brddock, the Dean of the Austin Press Corps (NYT) about the political situation developing in Texas. There hare currently five congressmen who have decided to either retire or not to run for reelection. Bill flores, from a safe Republican district, is the latest. Will Hurd, barely won reelection last time, and with the changes to the demographics in Texas, likely doesn’t see his chances as good. Because of his background in national security, he may be asked to join a Democratic administration, should a Democrat be elected.to the presidency. Recent polling shows Biden ahead of the Democratic field, though Beto O’Rourke showed an 18% favorabilliity for him. Texas still loves Beto. Generally, there is more interest in politics than in previous years. With the mass shootings recently in Texas, this puts governor Abbott in an uncomfortable position. He is dealing with the ongoing Texas Speaker scandal, and two of the most recent shootings in Texas. He has so far done nothing. The fact that corporations (Walmart and Kroger) have made changes in how they sell ammunition shows that they are serious about tackling this problem. This may be because they know more about their customers than politicians know about voters: people want the shootings to stop. Every time there is a mass shooting, people want something done. Senator John Cornyn has reason for concern, since many Republican women are leaving the party. So these mass shootings are becoming a Democratic wedge issue, and could be important in both local and presidential elections.
Part 2:
We talk to Time Wise, author of a book about big argribusiness. The discussion centered around the way to change from large, petro-dependent farming methods such as a re used in the US to more sustainable methods for smaller farms, like those in developing countries. This could lead to agricultural diversity, rather than one-crop farming. The “push/pull” method of farming is discussed, in which complementary planting is used. Increasing farming diversity also supports food diversity, and more sustainable, in that it requires less petro-based fertilizers or pesticides. So, many farmers “feel screwed” by the system. In addition farmers in the US are often unable to repair their own equipment because of restrictions placed on them by equipment manufacturers. This has led to a “right to repair” movement. eliminating monocullture would also prevent some of the current climate problems, and the effects of climate change.
