Fighting The Power is a radio/Podcast featuring independent journalists resisting Trump's authoritarian rule. We highlight efforts to restore democracy and confront Project 2025, which aims to reduce civil liberties.

Our panelists include:

· LaNita Duke: Award-winning multimedia producer for Grassroots News Northwest.

· Dianne Johnson: Professor and journalist specializing in political journalism and the Arts.

· Althea Billings: Journalist and radio producer covering Politics and National News.

· Rev. Cecil Prescod: Talk show host focusing on social and political issues.

· Nia Gray: Civil rights advocate from Pittsburgh.

· Mary Li: Pacific Northwest bureaucrat focused on public policy and governance.

Stay strong, hopeful, and empowered. Stand together and support independent journalism. Tune in to Fighting The Power and make a difference.

Democracy dies when the Fourth Estate complies

· These are the voices on this edition of Fighting the Power:

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· Democracy suffers when the media complies with anti-democratic forces. Legacy media is failing to fact-check Trump's power grab and his dismantling of the Federal Government for billionaire tax breaks. Reliable news sources are more important than ever for accurate reporting. Fighting the Power explores these issues.

· These shifts in media consumption reflect a broader trend of disillusionment with traditional sources of information. As trust in legacy media wanes, people are seeking out alternative narratives that resonate with their experiences and values. This grassroots movement is redefining the landscape of news and information, emphasizing authenticity, accountability, and community engagement.

· Resistance Radio exemplifies this shift, providing a platform for diverse voices and perspectives that are often marginalized in mainstream discourse. By leveraging the power of social media and digital tools, these new media pioneers are fostering a more inclusive and participatory form of journalism. They are challenging the status quo and holding those in power accountable, all while empowering individuals to take an active role in shaping the narratives that define their world.

· In this evolving media ecosystem, the role of the consumer is more crucial than ever. Supporting independent and grassroots journalism is not just a passive act of consumption but a deliberate choice to uphold the principles of truth and justice. As more people tune in to these new voices, the collective power of informed and engaged citizens can drive meaningful change and counteract the forces that seek to undermine democracy.

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Let’s Talk About Race (LTAR), is an intergenerational, roundtable discussion of independent national journalists featuring rigorous conversations and analysis of news coverage and the role race plays in politics, government, economy, education, and health. LTAR currently airs on KBOO Community Radio in Portland, OR, and on Pacifica Radio Network
LTAR brings independent journalists from all over the country from New Jersey to Texas and Pennsylvania with a home base in Portland, Oregon. The hosts bring their own flavor, journalistic perspectives, and integrity.
The roundtable line-up features: LaNita Duke, an award-winning audio and video producer who has written, directed, and produced political news and commentary for Grassroots NW and KBOO Radio for over 20 years. Dianne Johnson, a journalist from Texas co-host/musicologist on From the Grassroots, a political news audio magazine. Althea Billings, current News Director at KBOO Community Radio. Rev. Cecil Prescod is a talk-show host discussing local, national, and international issues ranging from poverty in Portland, OR to politics in Africa. Nia Gray, host and blogger of The Faith Report in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. And Mary Li provides an in-depth analysis.
No taxation without rationalization.
You may have heard it said that only two things in this life are assured death and taxes. To not get too morbid, our panel is going to focus on the second of those sureties. Taxes. What is taxed, who benefits from those dollars, and why these are what we'll be discussing on the program today.

Guests: Evan Kirkpatrick. I'm the founder and CEO of Wendell Charles Financial explains why the Trickle-down economic theory does not work
Guest: Robert Reich, a former US secretary of labor, is a professor of public policy at the University of California at Berkeley.” tax code is rigged for the rich, enabling a handful of wealthy individuals to exert undue influence over our economy and democracy…
Our Panel discussed :
tying up the child tax credit, which we love to bring up on this show because it is an extremely successful public policy to Increase corporate tax breaks

We’ve left our humanity behind. So this 3 w3-weight is what I think we're seeing here. When we see something that says child tax credit and cuts for big business, that is what we're seeing in, in, in real time is the struggle to control.
Participatory budgeting is a practice where the community can weigh in on how the government spends our tax dollars and on what the government spends. Our tax dollars. Now, at the beginning of the show, I talked about this, negative image of government as a vending machine.
Now, not all entities pay taxes. Churches are nonprofits exempt from paying taxes, Reverend Cecil explains.
Senator Bernie Sanders has been a constant critic of these tax plans that don't help working families
Cordae - Taxes (Lyrics) [from the Netflix Series "We The People"]

Hope is a thing with feather-Trump fined over $350 million in civil fraud case

Let’s Talk About Race (LTAR), is an intergenerational, roundtable discussion of independent national journalists featuring rigorous conversations and analysis of news coverage and the role race plays in politics, government, economy, education, and health. LTAR currently airs on KBOO Community Radio in Portland, OR, and on Pacifica Radio Network
LTAR brings independent journalists from all over the country from New Jersey to Texas and Pennsylvania with a home base in Portland, Oregon. The hosts bring their own flavor, journalistic perspectives, and integrity.
The roundtable line-up features: LaNita Duke, an award-winning audio and video producer who has written, directed, and produced political news and commentary for Grassroots NW and KBOO Radio for over 20 years. Dianne Johnson, a journalist from Texas co-host/musicologist on From the Grassroots, a political news audio magazine. Althea Billings, current News Director at KBOO Community Radio. Rev. Cecil Prescod is a talk show host discussing local, national, and international issues ranging from poverty in Portland, OR to politics in Africa. Nia Gray, host and blogger of The Faith Report in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. And Mary Li provides an in-depth analysis.

And as we celebrate international women day -LTAR revisits the issues impacting women.
From the end of Affirmative Action , lack of family resources for child care and the challenges facing reproductive rights
However, at the same time, we celebrate women who stood up and fought and continue to fight for progressive causes:
Starting with Oregon State Sen. Avel Gordly A Portland native, Gordly became the first African-American woman elected to the Oregon State Senate in 1996, serving until 2009.
Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm: the first African-American woman elected to Congress. Chisholm was a founding member of the Congressional Black Caucus and the first African American to make a serious bid for the Presidency of the United States of America.

Mary Li did a shout-out to Yuri Kochiyama

Yuri Kochiyama was a Japanese American political and civil rights activist. During World War II, the U.S. government forcibly removed her and her family to an incarceration site for Japanese Americans. For fifty years, Kochiyama spoke out about oppressive institutions and injustice in the United States. Her activism supported the liberation and empowerment of African Americans, Asian Americans, and Puerto Ricans. She also advocated for nuclear disarmament, reparations for Japanese American incarcerates, and the release of prisoners whom she regarded as prisoners of conscience.

Althea Billings shares with us that the struggle for Women's Reproductive rights never ends with A Women's Rights vs the Supreme Court's Might

Previously On-Dyning to own the Liberals or voting against your own needs
Hope is a Thing with Feathers- Senator Mallory McMorrow