therealnews--2020-08-05--Trump Has A Path To Victory. It’s Voter Suppression.

This is a rush transcript and may contain errors .
It will be updated .
President Trump : This will be the most corrupt election in the history of our country .
Speaker 2 : What do we want ?
[ crosstalk 00:00:08 ] When do we want it ?
Now .
[ Crosstalk 00:00:08 ] Jaisal Noor : We ’ re less than 14 weeks away from the 2020 general election , which promises to be one of the most consequential votes of our lifetime .
The US is being ravaged by the coronavirus , historic economic crisis and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have entered their third month and they ’ re being met with growing repression , but at least we ’ ll be able to cast our ballots in a free and fair election on November 3rd , right ?
Right ?
I ’ m Jaisal Noor and on the first episode of Election 2020 , we ’ ll speak with a leading investigative journalist who says , “ The biggest threat to our elections isn ’ t from the Russians.
” Speaker 4 : That the Russian government quote perceived it would benefit @ @ @ @ @ @ @ secure the outcome .
Speaker 5 : Vladimir Putin doesn ’ t want me to be president .
President Trump : The Democrats are also trying to rig the election by sending out tens of millions of mail-in ballots- Jaisal Noor : Instead , the election is being threatened by voter suppression , millions of votes aren ’ t going to be counted .
Speaker 6 : Over 2 million ballots , not just absentees are cast and not counted , that ’ s official .
They call it spoilage .
How do @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the fridge .
There are 10 ways to spoil your vote or wipe way your registration .
Think you ’ re registered ?
This election , over 3 million of you will find your registration go , poof .
Jaisal Noor : You ’ re far more likely to get your vote thrown out if you ’ re African American .
Speaker 6 : Who ’ s votes get thrown in the spoilage dumpster ?
According to the US Civil Rights Commission , the chance of your votes spoiling is 900 % higher @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you ’ re white .
Jaisal Noor : We are joined by Greg Palast , known for his investigative reports for the BBC , The Guardian and Rolling Stone .
His bestsellers include , The Best Democracy Money Can Buy and his new book , How Trump Stole 2020 also tells you how you can steal it back .
Greg , thanks for being the first guest on Election 2020 .
You ’ ve been exposing voter fraud and suppression for a long time .
From Gore V Bush , to Georgia in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ take on then attorney general , now governor Brian Kemp .
A scale of one to 10 , just how much trouble are we in with the election less than 14 weeks away ?
Greg Palast : One to 10 , I ’ d say 11 , we ’ re in trouble .
I ’ m sorry to bring the bad news to you , but yes , Trump has already stolen 2020 .
We can steal it back .
We can take steps , but this is the most Jim Crowed election @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
It ’ s really bad .
Well , that ’ s why I wrote the book , How Trump ’ s Stole 2020 because I ’ m trying to get people to steal it back , that is bust the burglar .
I don ’ t want you to steal votes .
I want you to unsteal votes .
Jaisal Noor : Trump claims mail-in voter fraud is a huge threat to the election .
He tweeted , “ With Universal mail-in voting , not absentee voting , which is good .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ fraudulent election history .
It ’ ll be an embarrassment.
” He says , “ Delay the election until people can vote properly and safely.
” A few things to unpack here .
On one hand , his claims about voter fraud are lies .
He and his top cronies vote by mail themselves .
He doesn ’ t have power to change the election by himself thankfully .
Is there any truth to what he is saying ?
Greg Palast : Well , here ’ s the horrible thing .
He ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mail-in voting is dangerous .
It ’ s a huge problem .
It is a worst way to vote .
The only thing that ’ s worst is voting in precinct where you die from a virus , okay .
We don ’ t want to have to die to vote .
The problem with mail-in voting is not fraudulent votes from Bolivia .
You don ’ t get ballots from Bolivia .
You don ’ t get people in a basement filling out 700 ballots .
It ’ s easy to catch @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a couple times , they get nailed , you go to jail for five years .
It doesn ’ t happen .
It ’ s been studied to death .
In fact , FBI agents , everyone has been hunting this down .
They can ’ t find these fraudulent voters , but the voters get defrauded .
The voters are the victim of fraud .
Are you ready for this number ?
From How Trump Stole 2020 , I site the MIT study , which says that , “ 22 % of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in five , 22 % .
That ’ s MIT ’ s number .
This is the problem that we ’ re going to see .
We saw 3 million ballots mailed in that were chucked and never counted in a 2016 .
Key to Trump ’ s being president by the way .
Then now you multiply that by five .
I ’ m very concerned about people never getting their ballots .
That ’ s one in 10 voters who asked for a mail-in ballot and never get them .
Pretty @ @ @ @ @ @ @ if it ’ s never been mailed out to you .
The second is , one in 10 ballots that are mailed in , are never counted .
They ’ re rejected , they ’ re challenged and the vote doesn ’ t get counted .
People don ’ t understand our mail-in voting system .
People don ’ t get the ballots .
When they get them , they get challenged for goofy things .
I ’ m talking about my mother , a school teacher , lost her mail-in vote .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ her mail-in vote .
Why ?
They didn ’ t properly fill in a bubble .
Their ballot was challenged by the Republican Party and was rejected .
By the way , that flipped an election .
That was a mayoral contest in San Diego in which the Democrat won .
Then the Republicans went to court and disqualified 5,000 mail in ballots for various mismarkings .
They didn ’ t like your signature .
Postage due is a big one .
100,000 voters in ’ 16 , lost their vote for postage @ @ @ @ @ @ @ when I say postage due , like in Ohio , go ahead and mail-in your ballot .
If you put one stamp on it , you just lost your vote , you need two .
It doesn ’ t say that , but you better put on the second stamp .
Wisconsin , you got to have a witness signature and you ’ ve got to mail-in your ID , your student ID or whatever ID you have .
If you ’ re voting by mail for the first time , that ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ one more damn thing to do so that you end up losing your vote because they say , “ Oh , that ’ s the wrong ID .
Did you know that in Wisconsin , now that ’ s a swing… This is really important .
Wisconsin is the state that ’ s most likely to determine who is president of the United States in November .
That is the swing state .
For a student to vote , they ’ re going to have to mail-in a photocopy of their student ID @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have , if they want to register .
They ’ re going to have to have ready for this , proof of enrollment in good standing .
The third thing is 182,000 University of Wisconsin students have voter ID , state photo voter ID , but it ’ s not legal to use in the election .
They have to get a special voter student ID from their dean of students whose office is closed right now .
They ’ re knocking out over 100,000 student voters who are going to have trouble @ @ @ @ @ @ @ counted .
Alabama you ’ re going to have to notarize your ballot .
I mean and by the way , you say well , “ Alabama ’ s going to vote GOP.
” I don ’ t know because right now democratic Senator Doug Jones is running for reelection .
He ’ s fighting for his life and the only way he can win is by massive mail-in vote and they ’ re going to make people notarize their ballot .
Greg Palast : During a pandemic .
By the way , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s insane.
” Oh , you have an alternative .
You can have two witnesses .
Better make sure that they get tested first .
Two witnesses or a notarized ballot .
A judge said , “ That ’ s insane .
That ’ s literally dangerous , ” but the Supreme Court overturned it and said , “ No.
” Notary , hey that cost you 20 bucks , poll tax , hey , too bad .
Having to get two witnesses , that ’ s going to kill grandma when @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bad .
The GOP wants to win this election by blocking mail-in votes and blocking the count of the mail-in votes .
They ’ re creating all this distraction by saying it ’ s fraudulent , blah , blah , blah so they can go in with their guys with the Hawaiian shirts can go in and challenge votes .
That ’ s what I ’ m worried about .
Jaisal Noor : You cite the US Civil Rights Commission that says , “ You ’ re 900 % more likely to get @ @ @ @ @ @ @ re black than if you ’ re white.
” In your book , you talk about Martin Luther King ’ s cousin who had their vote challenged .
Greg Palast : Well , I was in Atlanta in 2018 when the GOP took this system of purging voters from the voter rolls , which they ’ ve done for years , but now they ’ ve got a whole new system .
They took it for a test drive in Atlanta , in Georgia in 2018 .
When Brian Kemp was secretary of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but he ’ s also running for governor as the Republican against Stacey Abrams .
The only way he won was by removing , are you ready for this ?
A third of a million voters whom he said had moved .
Now , obviously , listen , if you don ’ t live in Atlanta , you can ’ t vote in Atlanta , but I had experts go through the list and they found out that a third of a million people had never moved .
Their only crime was voting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in other words .
I went to the Atlanta polling stations on election day and there was Raheem Shabazz went into vote , thrown out .
They said , “ You ’ re no longer registered.
” Jasmine [ Bactiare 00:09:55 ] thrown out .
“ You ’ re no longer registered.
” Then Christine Jordan , 92 years old , been voting at the same school house 50 years said , “ You ’ re no longer registered get out.
” This Martin Luther King ’ s cousin .
Yes , so @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , you heard the name Raheem Shabazz and Ms. Bactiare in other words their main crime was voting while black , but they were all accused of not being proper Atlanta voters anymore .
Understand this is how they stole the election in ’ 18 , but that was the test drive for 2020 .
Now , we are all Christine Jordan , we ’ re all Martin Luther King ’ s cousin being thrown out of the polling station .
We ’ re all susceptible , 16.7 million people have been purged @ @ @ @ @ @ @ two years of records , 16.7 million people and you ain ’ t getting your ballot if you ’ re on that list because they will not send a ballot to someone who ’ s been purged from the voter rolls .
You can not get a ballot and you won ’ t even receive that little card that says , “ Would you like a ballot ?
” Anyone listening by the way , better check their registration right now .
That ’ s defense rule number one .
Jaisal Noor : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you argue Trump ’ s already stolen the election .
What is it going to take to steal it back ?
Are the Democrats going to save us ?
Greg Palast : Forget Congress .
Congress , ain ’ t going to save your vote .
Why would the GOP vote to allow millions of nonwhite people to vote ?
They know who they ’ re voting for .
They know the color of their vote .
They ’ re concerned about blueish voters .
They ’ re not going to save your @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t enough white guys to reelect Donald Trump ’ s .
So they got to get rid of the non white guys and then it ’ s certainly not going to let you mail-in your ballot easily .
That ’ s the difference .
You noticed that Trump made a distinction between absentee ballots and mail-in ballots .
Absentee ballots require a whole process .
They refer to the states that require you to have an excuse , to mail-in an excuse .
In some states like Texas , you have to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ notarize your excuse .
It ’ s crazy stuff , but simple mail-in voting , which would just save a lot of lives , no they ’ re going to block that .
You ’ re going to have to take care of your own vote , don ’ t count on Congress .
Don ’ t count on the democratic party .
Certainly don ’ t count the Republican party .
Don ’ t count on anyone , but you and voting rights activists and organizations to do anything .
You start @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Mrs. Jordan , 50 years at the same polling station .
If they can remove her , there ’ s a good chance they removed you .
Check your registration and ask for your mail-in ballot as early as you can .
If it doesn ’ t arrive within three weeks of the election , you call up your county board of elections say , “ Where is my ballot ?
” You make sure that you get that ballot .
If necessarily go in and get that ballot from your county board @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it ’ s not easy to vote anymore .
They ’ re making it difficult .
Well , too bad .
Democracy ’ s going to take some effort this time my friends .
Jaisal Noor : You mentioned the need to check your voter registration .
You ’ ve made a printable guide called the Condom Ballot .
Talk about the other steps we should all be taking to make sure our vote is protected .
Greg Palast : Yeah at the back of How Trump Stole 2020 is literally what I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ no , you don ’ t wrap it around your ballot .
What you do is you read the instructions to make sure that you don ’ t lose your vote .
Number one , I ’ m going to say it for the fifth time , check your registration , which you can do at vote.org or your state secretary of state .
Check your registration , if you ’ re not registered re-register right now online .
You can do it in every state .
Now , then you ask for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t see that little card in the mail , most states you have to ask for a mail-in ballot .
In some states they ’ ll send you a card saying , “ Do you want one ?
” In some states they don ’ t .
You contact your county board of elections and ask for that mail-in ballot .
The other reason to do that by the way is that they ’ re not sending out even those request cards for mail-in ballots to people who miss the last election @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that could be you .
Most people don ’ t vote in midterm elections , so look out .
Ask for that mail and ballot .
When you get it for God ’ s sake , be so careful .
Don ’ t be like my lawyer sister and screw it up .
Don ’ t put a check mark where it says , “ Fill in the bubble.
” Don ’ t put a smiley face or an X , fill it in .
Use a blue or black pen .
Never @ @ @ @ @ @ @ never lipstick or jelly .
Use a darn black pen .
I ’ m not joking about this ?
I was in Michigan when Hillary Clinton ’ s presidency went down the drain when they throw out the red mark ballots , I ’ m not kidding .
Fill it out super carefully .
Have someone check it over , make sure your signature is the same as when you registered .
If you ’ re not sure , re-register .
So all I ’ m telling you , you got to be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you ’ re super safe .
Do ask for that mail-in ballot .
Get it in as early as possible because the post office is going to implode under the weight of these ballots .
If you can take it in personally to a drop box , a voting center or your County Board of Elections .
I don ’ t know of any county that won ’ t accept your ballot over the counter or put out a drop box .
In other words there ’ s steps you can take .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ driving , et cetera and try to do this early .
Most states have early voting .
Drop off that ballot if you can .
These are all the simple ways to try to stop them from stealing your vote .
In the case of like I say , 16.7 million people , they ’ ve already stolen your vote and you ’ re going to have to steal it back by re-registering .
Jaisal Noor : Joe Biden currently maintains a large lead in the polls over Trump .
Are you worried @ @ @ @ @ @ @ election ?
Greg Palast : I ’ m tired of listening to guys like James Carville say , “ Oh , forget about it .
Trump doesn ’ t stand a chance.
” Well , but guess what ?
Polls don ’ t vote .
Here ’ s the thing , Hillary Clinton not only won in the polls before the election in July .
In July 2016 , she was crushing Trump .
He was a joke .
In fact , she was so far ahead that some pollsters weren ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ We ’ ve been here .
It ’ s deja vu all over again guys , they steal the vote and they stole in Wisconsin , and Michigan , and Pennsylvania and in other states , we know that from the exit polls , which the United States State Department says , “ Trust the exit polls , not the official count.
” In every state , American determines whether an election is fair or not by the exit polls .
Do they match the official count ?
In America , we don @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that Hillary Clinton won Michigan .
She won Wisconsin .
She won Pennsylvania because people know if they ’ ve voted and they tell the exit pollster how they voted .
What they don ’ t know is if their vote counted .
1.9 million votes and that ’ s official were cast in precinct in 2016 that were rejected , challenged , never counted .
Including 75,000 ballots in Detroit , seven times , seven times Trump ’ s 10,000 vote plurality .
In Michigan , he didn ’ t win that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ black ballots , Hispanic ballots .
I was there in Detroit .
Those votes were not counted and that was the presidency .
It ’ s the vote count , my friends .
It is not the polls .
It ’ s who counts the vote .
Stalin said it , by the way I checked it .
It ’ s actually not apocryphal .
Joe Stalin really did say , “ It ’ s not who wins the vote .
It ’ s who counts the vote .
That ’ s what @ @ @ @ @ @ @ You protect your vote , but they can ’ t steal all the votes all the time .
If there ’ s one point I have it in How Trump Stole 2020 , they can ’ t steal all the votes all the time .
What do you think they didn ’ t steal votes for Barack Obama ?
We calculated , when I say we , I was writing for Rolling Stone with Bobby Kennedy , we calculated 5.9 million votes were stolen from Barack Obama .
He just overwhelmed the steal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to protect your vote , but you and your family .
You ’ re going to have to protect your own vote and fight for others votes .
Help others make sure that they check other people ’ s registration in your family , please .
Jaisal Noor : Greg Palast , thank you so much for joining us and informing us about the threats that face us on Election 2020 .
Jaisal Noor : You can follow me on Twitter for updates to this new show on The Real News , Election @ @ @ @ @ @ @ m Jaisal Noor .

The real threat facing the 2020 election isn’t Russian interference or voter fraud, it’s the GOP’s massive voter suppression effort, argues journalist Greg Palast.
Story Transcript
This is a rush transcript and may contain errors. It will be updated.
President Trump: This will be the most corrupt election in the history of our country.
Speaker 2: What do we want? [crosstalk 00:00:08] When do we want it? Now. [Crosstalk 00:00:08]
Jaisal Noor: We’re less than 14 weeks away from the 2020 general election, which promises to be one of the most consequential votes of our lifetime. The US is being ravaged by the coronavirus, historic economic crisis and record unemployment.
Black Lives Matter protests have entered their third month and they’re being met with growing repression, but at least we’ll be able to cast our ballots in a free and fair election on November 3rd, right? Right? I’m Jaisal Noor and on the first episode of Election 2020, we’ll speak with a leading investigative journalist who says, “The biggest threat to our elections isn’t from the Russians.”
Speaker 4: That the Russian government quote perceived it would benefit from a Trump presidency and work to secure the outcome.
Speaker 5: Vladimir Putin doesn’t want me to be president.
Jaisal Noor: Or so-called voter fraud.
President Trump: The Democrats are also trying to rig the election by sending out tens of millions of mail-in ballots-
Jaisal Noor: Instead, the election is being threatened by voter suppression, millions of votes aren’t going to be counted.
Speaker 6: Over 2 million ballots, not just absentees are cast and not counted, that’s official. They call it spoilage. How do votes? By leaving them out of the fridge.
There are 10 ways to spoil your vote or wipe way your registration. Think you’re registered? This election, over 3 million of you will find your registration go, poof.
Jaisal Noor: You’re far more likely to get your vote thrown out if you’re African American.
Speaker 6: Who’s votes get thrown in the spoilage dumpster? According to the US Civil Rights Commission, the chance of your votes spoiling is 900% higher if you’re black than if you’re white.
Jaisal Noor: We are joined by Greg Palast, known for his investigative reports for the BBC, The Guardian and Rolling Stone. His bestsellers include, The Best Democracy Money Can Buy and his new book, How Trump Stole 2020 also tells you how you can steal it back.
Greg, thanks for being the first guest on Election 2020. You’ve been exposing voter fraud and suppression for a long time. From Gore V Bush, to Georgia in 2018, where you helped Stacey Abrams take on then attorney general, now governor Brian Kemp. A scale of one to 10, just how much trouble are we in with the election less than 14 weeks away?
Greg Palast: One to 10, I’d say 11, we’re in trouble. I’m sorry to bring the bad news to you, but yes, Trump has already stolen 2020. We can steal it back. We can take steps, but this is the most Jim Crowed election I’ve seen in my lifetime. It’s really bad. Well, that’s why I wrote the book, How Trump’s Stole 2020 because I’m trying to get people to steal it back, that is bust the burglar. I don’t want you to steal votes. I want you to unsteal votes.
Jaisal Noor: Trump claims mail-in voter fraud is a huge threat to the election. He tweeted, “With Universal mail-in voting, not absentee voting, which is good. 2020 will be the most inaccurate and fraudulent election history. It’ll be an embarrassment.” He says, “Delay the election until people can vote properly and safely.”
A few things to unpack here. On one hand, his claims about voter fraud are lies. He and his top cronies vote by mail themselves. He doesn’t have power to change the election by himself thankfully. Is there any truth to what he is saying?
Greg Palast: Well, here’s the horrible thing. He’s right in about six words, mail-in voting is dangerous. It’s a huge problem. It is a worst way to vote. The only thing that’s worst is voting in precinct where you die from a virus, okay.
We don’t want to have to die to vote. The problem with mail-in voting is not fraudulent votes from Bolivia. You don’t get ballots from Bolivia. You don’t get people in a basement filling out 700 ballots. It’s easy to catch those guys. Some people tried it a couple times, they get nailed, you go to jail for five years. It doesn’t happen. It’s been studied to death.
In fact, FBI agents, everyone has been hunting this down. They can’t find these fraudulent voters, but the voters get defrauded. The voters are the victim of fraud. Are you ready for this number? From How Trump Stole 2020, I site the MIT study, which says that, “22% of mail-in ballots never get counted.” One in five, 22%. That’s MIT’s number. This is the problem that we’re going to see. We saw 3 million ballots mailed in that were chucked and never counted in a 2016. Key to Trump’s being president by the way.
Then now you multiply that by five. I’m very concerned about people never getting their ballots. That’s one in 10 voters who asked for a mail-in ballot and never get them. Pretty hard to vote. Mail-in your ballot if it’s never been mailed out to you.
The second is, one in 10 ballots that are mailed in, are never counted. They’re rejected, they’re challenged and the vote doesn’t get counted. People don’t understand our mail-in voting system. People don’t get the ballots. When they get them, they get challenged for goofy things. I’m talking about my mother, a school teacher, lost her mail-in vote. My sister, a lawyer, lost her mail-in vote. Why? They didn’t properly fill in a bubble. Their ballot was challenged by the Republican Party and was rejected. By the way, that flipped an election. That was a mayoral contest in San Diego in which the Democrat won.
Then the Republicans went to court and disqualified 5,000 mail in ballots for various mismarkings. They didn’t like your signature. Postage due is a big one. 100,000 voters in ’16, lost their vote for postage due. By the way, and when I say postage due, like in Ohio, go ahead and mail-in your ballot. If you put one stamp on it, you just lost your vote, you need two. It doesn’t say that, but you better put on the second stamp.
Wisconsin, you got to have a witness signature and you’ve got to mail-in your ID, your student ID or whatever ID you have. If you’re voting by mail for the first time, that’s most voters. Isn’t one more damn thing to do so that you end up losing your vote because they say, “Oh, that’s the wrong ID. Did you know that in Wisconsin, now that’s a swing… This is really important. Wisconsin is the state that’s most likely to determine who is president of the United States in November. That is the swing state.
For a student to vote, they’re going to have to mail-in a photocopy of their student ID. They’re also going to have, if they want to register.
They’re going to have to have ready for this, proof of enrollment in good standing. The third thing is 182,000 University of Wisconsin students have voter ID, state photo voter ID, but it’s not legal to use in the election. They have to get a special voter student ID from their dean of students whose office is closed right now. They’re knocking out over 100,000 student voters who are going to have trouble getting their ballot or getting their ballot counted.
Alabama you’re going to have to notarize your ballot. I mean and by the way, you say well, “Alabama’s going to vote GOP.” I don’t know because right now democratic Senator Doug Jones is running for reelection. He’s fighting for his life and the only way he can win is by massive mail-in vote and they’re going to make people notarize their ballot.
Jaisal Noor: During a pandemic.
Greg Palast: During a pandemic. By the way, a federal judge said, “That’s insane.” Oh, you have an alternative. You can have two witnesses. Better make sure that they get tested first. Two witnesses or a notarized ballot. A judge said, “That’s insane. That’s literally dangerous,” but the Supreme Court overturned it and said, “No.”
Notary, hey that cost you 20 bucks, poll tax, hey, too bad. Having to get two witnesses, that’s going to kill grandma when they bring in the virus, too bad. The GOP wants to win this election by blocking mail-in votes and blocking the count of the mail-in votes. They’re creating all this distraction by saying it’s fraudulent, blah, blah, blah so they can go in with their guys with the Hawaiian shirts can go in and challenge votes. That’s what I’m worried about.
Jaisal Noor: You cite the US Civil Rights Commission that says, “You’re 900% more likely to get your vote thrown out if you’re black than if you’re white.” In your book, you talk about Martin Luther King’s cousin who had their vote challenged.
Greg Palast: Well, I was in Atlanta in 2018 when the GOP took this system of purging voters from the voter rolls, which they’ve done for years, but now they’ve got a whole new system. They took it for a test drive in Atlanta, in Georgia in 2018. When Brian Kemp was secretary of state of Georgia, the Republican, but he’s also running for governor as the Republican against Stacey Abrams.
The only way he won was by removing, are you ready for this? A third of a million voters whom he said had moved. Now, obviously, listen, if you don’t live in Atlanta, you can’t vote in Atlanta, but I had experts go through the list and they found out that a third of a million people had never moved. Their only crime was voting while black or voting while young, in other words.
I went to the Atlanta polling stations on election day and there was Raheem Shabazz went into vote, thrown out. They said, “You’re no longer registered.” Jasmine [Bactiare 00:09:55] thrown out. “You’re no longer registered.” Then Christine Jordan, 92 years old, been voting at the same school house 50 years said, “You’re no longer registered get out.”
This Martin Luther King’s cousin. Yes, so since Martin Luther King’s cousin, you heard the name Raheem Shabazz and Ms. Bactiare in other words their main crime was voting while black, but they were all accused of not being proper Atlanta voters anymore. Understand this is how they stole the election in ’18, but that was the test drive for 2020.
Now, we are all Christine Jordan, we’re all Martin Luther King’s cousin being thrown out of the polling station. We’re all susceptible, 16.7 million people have been purged from the voter rolls in the last two years of records, 16.7 million people and you ain’t getting your ballot if you’re on that list because they will not send a ballot to someone who’s been purged from the voter rolls. You cannot get a ballot and you won’t even receive that little card that says, “Would you like a ballot?” Anyone listening by the way, better check their registration right now. That’s defense rule number one.
Jaisal Noor: In the title of your book, you argue Trump’s already stolen the election. What is it going to take to steal it back? Are the Democrats going to save us?
Greg Palast: Forget Congress. Congress, ain’t going to save your vote. Why would the GOP vote to allow millions of nonwhite people to vote? They know who they’re voting for. They know the color of their vote. They’re concerned about blueish voters. They’re not going to save your vote.
They know that there aren’t enough white guys to reelect Donald Trump’s. So they got to get rid of the non white guys and then it’s certainly not going to let you mail-in your ballot easily. That’s the difference.
You noticed that Trump made a distinction between absentee ballots and mail-in ballots. Absentee ballots require a whole process. They refer to the states that require you to have an excuse, to mail-in an excuse. In some states like Texas, you have to have the doctor notarize a ballot, notarize your excuse. It’s crazy stuff, but simple mail-in voting, which would just save a lot of lives, no they’re going to block that.
You’re going to have to take care of your own vote, don’t count on Congress. Don’t count on the democratic party. Certainly don’t count the Republican party. Don’t count on anyone, but you and voting rights activists and organizations to do anything. You start with making sure you are still registered Mrs. Jordan, 50 years at the same polling station. If they can remove her, there’s a good chance they removed you.
Check your registration and ask for your mail-in ballot as early as you can. If it doesn’t arrive within three weeks of the election, you call up your county board of elections say, “Where is my ballot?” You make sure that you get that ballot. If necessarily go in and get that ballot from your county board of elections. I’m sorry it’s not easy to vote anymore. They’re making it difficult. Well, too bad. Democracy’s going to take some effort this time my friends.
Jaisal Noor: You mentioned the need to check your voter registration. You’ve made a printable guide called the Condom Ballot. Talk about the other steps we should all be taking to make sure our vote is protected.
Greg Palast: Yeah at the back of How Trump Stole 2020 is literally what I call the Ballot Condom. Obviously, no, you don’t wrap it around your ballot. What you do is you read the instructions to make sure that you don’t lose your vote.
Number one, I’m going to say it for the fifth time, check your registration, which you can do at vote.org or your state secretary of state. Check your registration, if you’re not registered re-register right now online. You can do it in every state.
Now, then you ask for your mail-in ballot. If you don’t see that little card in the mail, most states you have to ask for a mail-in ballot. In some states they’ll send you a card saying, “Do you want one?” In some states they don’t. You contact your county board of elections and ask for that mail-in ballot.
The other reason to do that by the way is that they’re not sending out even those request cards for mail-in ballots to people who miss the last election, they call them inactive voters, that could be you. Most people don’t vote in midterm elections, so look out. Ask for that mail and ballot.
When you get it for God’s sake, be so careful. Don’t be like my lawyer sister and screw it up. Don’t put a check mark where it says, “Fill in the bubble.” Don’t put a smiley face or an X, fill it in. Use a blue or black pen. Never a red pen, never crayon, never lipstick or jelly. Use a darn black pen.
I’m not joking about this? I was in Michigan when Hillary Clinton’s presidency went down the drain when they throw out the red mark ballots, I’m not kidding. Fill it out super carefully. Have someone check it over, make sure your signature is the same as when you registered. If you’re not sure, re-register. So all I’m telling you, you got to be super careful, but make sure that you’re super safe. Do ask for that mail-in ballot. Get it in as early as possible because the post office is going to implode under the weight of these ballots.
If you can take it in personally to a drop box, a voting center or your County Board of Elections. I don’t know of any county that won’t accept your ballot over the counter or put out a drop box. In other words there’s steps you can take.
I’m sorry it may involve driving, et cetera and try to do this early. Most states have early voting. Drop off that ballot if you can. These are all the simple ways to try to stop them from stealing your vote. In the case of like I say, 16.7 million people, they’ve already stolen your vote and you’re going to have to steal it back by re-registering.
Jaisal Noor: Joe Biden currently maintains a large lead in the polls over Trump. Are you worried about voters getting complacent ahead of the election?
Greg Palast: I’m tired of listening to guys like James Carville say, “Oh, forget about it. Trump doesn’t stand a chance.” Well, but guess what? Polls don’t vote.
Here’s the thing, Hillary Clinton not only won in the polls before the election in July. In July 2016, she was crushing Trump. He was a joke. In fact, she was so far ahead that some pollsters weren’t even bothering polling her against him.
We’ve been here. It’s deja vu all over again guys, they steal the vote and they stole in Wisconsin, and Michigan, and Pennsylvania and in other states, we know that from the exit polls, which the United States State Department says, “Trust the exit polls, not the official count.”
In every state, American determines whether an election is fair or not by the exit polls. Do they match the official count? In America, we don’t because the exit polls show that Hillary Clinton won Michigan. She won Wisconsin. She won Pennsylvania because people know if they’ve voted and they tell the exit pollster how they voted. What they don’t know is if their vote counted. 1.9 million votes and that’s official were cast in precinct in 2016 that were rejected, challenged, never counted.
Including 75,000 ballots in Detroit, seven times, seven times Trump’s 10,000 vote plurality. In Michigan, he didn’t win that state. 75,000 ballots in Detroit, black ballots, Hispanic ballots. I was there in Detroit. Those votes were not counted and that was the presidency.
It’s the vote count, my friends. It is not the polls. It’s who counts the vote. Stalin said it, by the way I checked it. It’s actually not apocryphal. Joe Stalin really did say, “It’s not who wins the vote. It’s who counts the vote. That’s what counts.” That’s it.
You protect your vote, but they can’t steal all the votes all the time. If there’s one point I have it in How Trump Stole 2020, they can’t steal all the votes all the time. What do you think they didn’t steal votes for Barack Obama? We calculated, when I say we, I was writing for Rolling Stone with Bobby Kennedy, we calculated 5.9 million votes were stolen from Barack Obama. He just overwhelmed the steal, but don’t expect anyone to protect your vote, but you and your family.
You’re going to have to protect your own vote and fight for others votes. Help others make sure that they check other people’s registration in your family, please.
Jaisal Noor: Greg Palast, thank you so much for joining us and informing us about the threats that face us on Election 2020.
Greg Palast: You’re very welcome.
Jaisal Noor: You can follow me on Twitter for updates to this new show on The Real News, Election 2020 with Taylor Hebden, I’m Jaisal Noor.
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therealnews--2020-08-07--California greenlights ‘Orwellian’ solar-powered fracking scheme

California-based multinational oil company Chevron landed two rounds of drilling permits from Gov .
Gavin Newsom this summer—evidence , climate advocates say , that Newsom is not committed to tackling the climate crisis .
The permits bolster Chevron ’ s position in the Lost Hills Oil Field , the sixth most prolific field in industry-heavy Kern County , and will shift drilling in the field largely towards using power from solar panels .
One critic called the way the permits use climate crisis rhetoric “ Orwellian , ” incorporating solar power into drilling operations to expand the use of fracking @ @ @ @ @ @ @ oil extracted in California is among the most greenhouse gas intensive in the world .
The town of Lost Hills has a population of 2,500 .
The community is 97 % Latino , and over 27 % of people living there have incomes below the poverty threshold .
Environmental justice advocates say the new permits , awarded during a pandemic disproportionately impacting the state ’ s Latino community in a predominantly farmworker town , further call into question Newsom ’ s commitment to environmental justice .
A representative from Greenpeace USA did not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ permits an example of “ environmental racism.
” “ These new permits , like the others , will further exacerbate air pollution and poison Black and Brown communities , worsening the dual public health crises they face , ” said Greenpeace spokesperson Katie Nelson in a press release .
“ It ’ s long past time to end the practice of treating California ’ s Black , Brown , and Indigenous communities as ‘ sacrifice zones.
’ ” According to a 2015 report by the groups Earthworks and the Clear Water Fund , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ levels of airborne toxic chemicals , including methane , acetone , dichlorodifluoromethane and acetaldehydes .
Those chemicals come from drilling and other oil industry infrastructure like that in the nearby oil field .
Recent studies by both Harvard University and Stanford University have found higher COVID-19 case numbers in communities situated near areas with high industrial pollution levels .
One of the drilling permits , given to Chevron from the California Geologic Energy Management Division ( CalGEM ) to frack 12 wells , was granted just before the Fourth of July weekend .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ California Air Resources Board ( ARB ) on June 5 , will enable a solar energy production partnership between Chevron and Wall Street titan Goldman Sachs to power drilling in the same oil field under the Low Carbon Fuel Standard program .
Newsom implemented a statewide moratorium on new fracking permits as COVID-19 spread across the state in early April .
Since lifting it , he has also already given 36 new fracking permits in Lost Hills to Aera Energy , a joint venture owned by ExxonMobil and Shell Oil .
Aera is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ connections via its lobbyists , one of them a longtime political advisor of his who headed up his gubernatorial transition team , and the other his former top policy aide when he was lieutenant governor .
Juan Flores of the Center on Race , Poverty & the Environment told The Real News that these fracking licenses make him question the sincerity of Newsom ’ s campaign promises in 2018 : “ [ Newsom ] kept talking about how we needed to stay away from corporations and him not wanting to receive money for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Aera and Shell .
He said ‘ I don ’ t want to serve my term as Governor paying back those favors.
’ And now he ’ s completely acting the opposite.
” In response to criticism , Teresa Schilling , assistant director for Public Affairs and Communications for the California Department of Conservation—CalGEM ’ s parent agency—pointed to the agency ’ s public hearings process where it considered distancing setbacks of oil wells from schools and homes as exemplifying the Newsom administration ’ s commitment to public health and environmental justice @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about the need to strengthen oversight of oil and gas extraction in California , ” she told The Real News via email .
“ CalGEM is actively working to update its regulations to protect public health and safety for communities near oil and gas operations .
CalGEM has a robust public input process and is engaging with environmental justice advocates and community representatives.
” But the public hearings Schilling mentioned—which examined the public health basis for a 2500-foot setback distance between new oil wells and places such as schools , playgrounds and homes—began @ @ @ @ @ @ @ order calling for a fracking moratorium signed by the Newsom administration in November .
That order also came just several months after the watering down of AB 345 in the California Assembly , a bill which would have mandated a 2500-foot setback , and its transformation into a two-year bill by Assembly Appropriations Chairwoman Lorena Gonzalez ( D-San Diego ) .
The amended 2020 iteration of AB 345 got voted down in an Aug. 5 Senate hearing , even though it had been amended to only call for CalGEM to “ consider ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of those who voted against it received tens of thousands of dollars from companies or labor unions who had opposed the bill .
Gonzalez has received $ 33,700 in campaign contributions from Chevron throughout her state legislature career , according to campaign finance data reviewed by The Real News .
That included a $ 4,700 contribution given by the company two days after she made AB 345 a two-year bill .
A law firm maintaining Chevron as a client also proved instrumental in spearheading a lobbying coalition between the oil industry and labor @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to water down AB 345 during the 2019 legislative season .
Before the latest fracking permits came the solar-powered drilling permit .
One advocate , on Twitter , wrote that this signifies that the “ environmental movement needs a course correction.
” Chevron and Goldman Sachs got the permit through the Innovative Crude Oil Applications program , a program within the Low Carbon Fuel Standard ( LCFS ) , administered by the ARB .
Nominally , LCFS exists to regulate and lower the carbon intensity of petroleum-based transportation fuels burned in California .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ accounting tricks to expand oil production .
In the case of the Chevron and Goldman Sachs joint permit , project proponents say using solar power to drill at Lost Hills is better from a climate mitigation perspective than powering the drilling with fossil fuels .
Critics in the climate justice space , though , see the permit as giving oil drilling in Lost Hills a false green image by only examining one aspect of the oil production and marketing lifecycle from a greenhouse gas emissions perspective .
The whole picture , they say @ @ @ @ @ @ @ impacts of oil drilling .
“ Over 90 % of oil produced in California is now very low quality heavy crude according to the EIA , ” Kyle Ferrar , western program coordinator for the FracTracker Alliance , wrote via email .
“ Both extracting and refining the tar-like crude requires highly energy-intensive techniques , resulting in a carbon footprint higher than that of Canadian tar sands.
” Ferrar pointed to a 2017 report by the Center for Biological Diversity , noting , “ California oil is some of the dirtiest on the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ credits for solar-powered drilling , the Air Resources Board utilizes a complex accounting scheme that ultimately enables the continued expansion of oil drilling .
Solar , the accounting scheme theorizes , will displace 80 % of the fossil fuel-based energy currently powering the drilling for a 20-year period .
And Chevron will then sell some of solar energy generated back to PG & E for use on the electricity grid .
Further , according to the application , the partnership will in the future add a battery energy storage facility on site , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ credits given to Chevron under the LCFS .
Gary Hughes , California policy monitor for the group Biofuelwatch , called this accounting system “ super complicated , almost intentionally so.
” Hughes pointed to a 2016 European Union analysis critiquing the opaqueness of the state ’ s cap-and-trade program as a comparison .
Past guest for The Real News Patrick Bigger , who wrote the analysis , concluded that the program is “ incredibly complicated and heavily dependent on the enrollment of specialists ” and “ forecloses participation for most people.
” It @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Chevron has put its money behind complex carbon accounting schemes adopted by the state which allow for oil drilling to proceed apace .
Recent examples include the company ’ s support for the extension of the state ’ s main climate policy—cap-and-trade—as well as on folding carbon capture and sequestration ( CCS ) into the LCFS and putting research money into direct air capture technology .
The latter was also included as part of LCFS amendments enacted in January 2019 .
Chevron External Affairs Advisor Veronica Flores-Paniagua told The Real News that solar-powered @ @ @ @ @ @ @ grid power and greenhouse gas emissions.
” In its own literature , the company says the 240-acre solar farm will be the largest contributor to the state ’ s net metering program , making consumption of solar energy more widespread .
That program offers energy bill discounts for those who utilize solar energy and feeds excess unused energy generated back onto the electricity grid .
A representative from Goldman Sachs declined to comment for the story .
In emailed comments provided to The Real News , ARB Public Information Officer Dave Clegern wrote @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for traditional fuels such as gasoline and diesel…the LCFS provides a signal for those companies to reduce the carbon footprint of those fuels as they meet the ongoing demand.
” But Hughes of Biofuelwatch calls the program both “ Orwellian ” and “ not climate friendly.
” “ The use of solar power for oil drilling activities , whether it be for electricity to power the drilling itself or solar used to heat water for use in drilling , has on paper the ability to make the drilling seem more climate friendly by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” Hughes wrote via email .
“ But , just as the cap-and-trade program does , it hides the real damage that is being done from fossil fuel use : fossil fuel emissions are a one way injection of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
” The one-way injection of greenhouse gas emissions generated at the Lost Hills Oil Field is spelled out clearly in the solar-powered drilling application .
According to the appendix of the permit application , oil extracted at Lost Hills by Chevron is currently shipped via pipeline to the Kern @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Kern County , and southward to Los Angeles-area refineries .
The two major Los Angeles-area refinery customers are PBF Energy and Chevron ’ s El Segundo Refinery .
Both Bakersfield and the Los Angeles-Long Beach area have some of the dirtiest air in the county , according to the American Lung Association , with Bakersfield ranking first for the highest level of particulate matter ( PM2.5 ) in the air .
The community living within a 3-mile radius of the Bakersfield refinery is 89 % Latino and 93 % people of color @ @ @ @ @ @ @ data , with only 3 % having a college education and over 29 % living below or near the federal poverty line .
With that broader picture in mind , Flores said that for Chevron and Goldman Sachs , the solar-powered drilling scheme ultimately provides “ an excuse to say we ’ re going to keep polluting.
” Vicki Waters , press secretary for Newsom , did not respond to repeated requests for comment for this story .
Though Democratic allies of Newsom in the California Legislature have stayed quiet as Newsom doled @ @ @ @ @ @ @ officials throughout California have taken notice and called for action .
On July 8 , the group Elected Officials to Protect America—a group of state and local level office holders pushing for expedient climate action—called for Newsom to stop issuing oil drilling permits in the state .
“ I know we are in an emergency and COVID-19 is his priority .
However , climate change is an emergency too and anything that contributes to it should stop , ” Heidi Harmon , mayor of San Luis Obispo and a steering committee member of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ California , said in a press release .
“ Now more than ever , we need to protect the health and safety of all our people.
” Harmon pointed more broadly to what she thinks is a needed reimagining of economic interests altogether in California .
“ It ’ s time the state put our lives first , not the interests of the oil and gas industry , ” Harmon said .

California-based multinational oil company Chevron landed two rounds of drilling permits from Gov. Gavin Newsom this summer—evidence, climate advocates say, that Newsom is not committed to tackling the climate crisis.
The permits bolster Chevron’s position in the Lost Hills Oil Field, the sixth most prolific field in industry-heavy Kern County, and will shift drilling in the field largely towards using power from solar panels. One critic called the way the permits use climate crisis rhetoric “Orwellian,” incorporating solar power into drilling operations to expand the use of fracking and oil production. The variety of oil extracted in California is among the most greenhouse gas intensive in the world.
The town of Lost Hills has a population of 2,500. The community is 97% Latino, and over 27% of people living there have incomes below the poverty threshold. Environmental justice advocates say the new permits, awarded during a pandemic disproportionately impacting the state’s Latino community in a predominantly farmworker town, further call into question Newsom’s commitment to environmental justice.
A representative from Greenpeace USA did not mince words, calling the new fracking permits an example of “environmental racism.”
“These new permits, like the others, will further exacerbate air pollution and poison Black and Brown communities, worsening the dual public health crises they face,” said Greenpeace spokesperson Katie Nelson in a press release. “It’s long past time to end the practice of treating California’s Black, Brown, and Indigenous communities as ‘sacrifice zones.’”
According to a 2015 report by the groups Earthworks and the Clear Water Fund, the town of Lost Hills has high levels of airborne toxic chemicals, including methane, acetone, dichlorodifluoromethane and acetaldehydes. Those chemicals come from drilling and other oil industry infrastructure like that in the nearby oil field. Recent studies by both Harvard University and Stanford University have found higher COVID-19 case numbers in communities situated near areas with high industrial pollution levels.
One of the drilling permits, given to Chevron from the California Geologic Energy Management Division (CalGEM) to frack 12 wells, was granted just before the Fourth of July weekend. The other permit, given by the California Air Resources Board (ARB) on June 5, will enable a solar energy production partnership between Chevron and Wall Street titan Goldman Sachs to power drilling in the same oil field under the Low Carbon Fuel Standard program.
Newsom implemented a statewide moratorium on new fracking permits as COVID-19 spread across the state in early April. Since lifting it, he has also already given 36 new fracking permits in Lost Hills to Aera Energy, a joint venture owned by ExxonMobil and Shell Oil. Aera is a company to which Newsom has personal connections via its lobbyists, one of them a longtime political advisor of his who headed up his gubernatorial transition team, and the other his former top policy aide when he was lieutenant governor.
Juan Flores of the Center on Race, Poverty & the Environment told The Real News that these fracking licenses make him question the sincerity of Newsom’s campaign promises in 2018: “[Newsom] kept talking about how we needed to stay away from corporations and him not wanting to receive money for his campaign from big corporations like Chevron, Aera and Shell. He said ‘I don’t want to serve my term as Governor paying back those favors.’ And now he’s completely acting the opposite.”
In response to criticism, Teresa Schilling, assistant director for Public Affairs and Communications for the California Department of Conservation—CalGEM’s parent agency—pointed to the agency’s public hearings process where it considered distancing setbacks of oil wells from schools and homes as exemplifying the Newsom administration’s commitment to public health and environmental justice.
“The Administration has been clear about the need to strengthen oversight of oil and gas extraction in California,” she told The Real News via email. “CalGEM is actively working to update its regulations to protect public health and safety for communities near oil and gas operations. CalGEM has a robust public input process and is engaging with environmental justice advocates and community representatives.”
But the public hearings Schilling mentioned—which examined the public health basis for a 2500-foot setback distance between new oil wells and places such as schools, playgrounds and homes—began as a direct result of the same order calling for a fracking moratorium signed by the Newsom administration in November. That order also came just several months after the watering down of AB 345 in the California Assembly, a bill which would have mandated a 2500-foot setback, and its transformation into a two-year bill by Assembly Appropriations Chairwoman Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego).
The amended 2020 iteration of AB 345 got voted down in an Aug. 5 Senate hearing, even though it had been amended to only call for CalGEM to “consider” the 2500-foot setback by 2022. All of those who voted against it received tens of thousands of dollars from companies or labor unions who had opposed the bill.
Amended language from AB 345. Image courtesy of California Legislative Information
Gonzalez has received $33,700 in campaign contributions from Chevron throughout her state legislature career, according to campaign finance data reviewed by The Real News. That included a $4,700 contribution given by the company two days after she made AB 345 a two-year bill. A law firm maintaining Chevron as a client also proved instrumental in spearheading a lobbying coalition between the oil industry and labor unions calling itself the Common Ground Alliance to water down AB 345 during the 2019 legislative season.
Before the latest fracking permits came the solar-powered drilling permit. One advocate, on Twitter, wrote that this signifies that the “environmental movement needs a course correction.”
Chevron and Goldman Sachs got the permit through the Innovative Crude Oil Applications program, a program within the Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS), administered by the ARB. Nominally, LCFS exists to regulate and lower the carbon intensity of petroleum-based transportation fuels burned in California. In reality, LCFS has often created accounting tricks to expand oil production.
In the case of the Chevron and Goldman Sachs joint permit, project proponents say using solar power to drill at Lost Hills is better from a climate mitigation perspective than powering the drilling with fossil fuels. Critics in the climate justice space, though, see the permit as giving oil drilling in Lost Hills a false green image by only examining one aspect of the oil production and marketing lifecycle from a greenhouse gas emissions perspective. The whole picture, they say, is needed when examining the climate impacts of oil drilling.
“Over 90% of oil produced in California is now very low quality heavy crude according to the EIA,” Kyle Ferrar, western program coordinator for the FracTracker Alliance, wrote via email. “Both extracting and refining the tar-like crude requires highly energy-intensive techniques, resulting in a carbon footprint higher than that of Canadian tar sands.”
Ferrar pointed to a 2017 report by the Center for Biological Diversity, noting, “California oil is some of the dirtiest on the planet.”
To tabulate the emissions reduction credits for solar-powered drilling, the Air Resources Board utilizes a complex accounting scheme that ultimately enables the continued expansion of oil drilling. Solar, the accounting scheme theorizes, will displace 80% of the fossil fuel-based energy currently powering the drilling for a 20-year period. And Chevron will then sell some of solar energy generated back to PG&E for use on the electricity grid. Further, according to the application, the partnership will in the future add a battery energy storage facility on site, which will add to the emissions reduction credits given to Chevron under the LCFS.
Gary Hughes, California policy monitor for the group Biofuelwatch, called this accounting system “super complicated, almost intentionally so.”
Image Credit: California Air Resources Board
Hughes pointed to a 2016 European Union analysis critiquing the opaqueness of the state’s cap-and-trade program as a comparison. Past guest for The Real News Patrick Bigger, who wrote the analysis, concluded that the program is “incredibly complicated and heavily dependent on the enrollment of specialists” and “forecloses participation for most people.”
It’s far from the first time Chevron has put its money behind complex carbon accounting schemes adopted by the state which allow for oil drilling to proceed apace. Recent examples include the company’s support for the extension of the state’s main climate policy—cap-and-trade—as well as on folding carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) into the LCFS and putting research money into direct air capture technology. The latter was also included as part of LCFS amendments enacted in January 2019.
Chevron External Affairs Advisor Veronica Flores-Paniagua told The Real News that solar-powered drilling will lower the “consumption of grid power and greenhouse gas emissions.”
In its own literature, the company says the 240-acre solar farm will be the largest contributor to the state’s net metering program, making consumption of solar energy more widespread. That program offers energy bill discounts for those who utilize solar energy and feeds excess unused energy generated back onto the electricity grid.
A representative from Goldman Sachs declined to comment for the story.
In emailed comments provided to The Real News, ARB Public Information Officer Dave Clegern wrote that because “there is still demand for traditional fuels such as gasoline and diesel…the LCFS provides a signal for those companies to reduce the carbon footprint of those fuels as they meet the ongoing demand.”
But Hughes of Biofuelwatch calls the program both “Orwellian” and “not climate friendly.”
“The use of solar power for oil drilling activities, whether it be for electricity to power the drilling itself or solar used to heat water for use in drilling, has on paper the ability to make the drilling seem more climate friendly by reducing the carbon intensity of fuels,” Hughes wrote via email. “But, just as the cap-and-trade program does, it hides the real damage that is being done from fossil fuel use: fossil fuel emissions are a one way injection of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.”
The one-way injection of greenhouse gas emissions generated at the Lost Hills Oil Field is spelled out clearly in the solar-powered drilling application.
According to the appendix of the permit application, oil extracted at Lost Hills by Chevron is currently shipped via pipeline to the Kern Refinery in Bakersfield, the biggest city in Kern County, and southward to Los Angeles-area refineries. The two major Los Angeles-area refinery customers are PBF Energy and Chevron’s El Segundo Refinery. Both Bakersfield and the Los Angeles-Long Beach area have some of the dirtiest air in the county, according to the American Lung Association, with Bakersfield ranking first for the highest level of particulate matter (PM2.5) in the air. The community living within a 3-mile radius of the Bakersfield refinery is 89% Latino and 93% people of color, according to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency data, with only 3% having a college education and over 29% living below or near the federal poverty line.
With that broader picture in mind, Flores said that for Chevron and Goldman Sachs, the solar-powered drilling scheme ultimately provides “an excuse to say we’re going to keep polluting.”
Vicki Waters, press secretary for Newsom, did not respond to repeated requests for comment for this story.
Though Democratic allies of Newsom in the California Legislature have stayed quiet as Newsom doled out the drilling permits, city-level elected officials throughout California have taken notice and called for action. On July 8, the group Elected Officials to Protect America—a group of state and local level office holders pushing for expedient climate action—called for Newsom to stop issuing oil drilling permits in the state.
“I know we are in an emergency and COVID-19 is his priority. However, climate change is an emergency too and anything that contributes to it should stop,” Heidi Harmon, mayor of San Luis Obispo and a steering committee member of the sister organization Elected Officials to Protect California, said in a press release. “Now more than ever, we need to protect the health and safety of all our people.”
Harmon pointed more broadly to what she thinks is a needed reimagining of economic interests altogether in California.
“It’s time the state put our lives first, not the interests of the oil and gas industry,” Harmon said.
Related
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therealnews--2020-08-06--Stomp Out the Establishment

Stomp Out the Establishment

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therealnews--2020-08-06--Trump’s cold war with China is heating up

This is a rush transcript and may contain errors .
It will be updated .
Marc Steiner : Welcome to the Real News .
I ’ m Marc Steiner , to have you with us .
Now , some call it the new Cold War , but this growing confrontation between China and the United States is fundamentally different than the Cold War with the Soviet Union , which ended in the downfall of most communist nations .
This is a 21st century rivalry between the world ’ s two largest economies , for global domination and control of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ guest today , see there ’ s the growing state capitalist giant in China locked in economic struggle with what some see as the waning , reigning economic free market capitalist giant , the United States .
The Trump administration now has clearly escalated this conflict and this looming economic and potential military confrontation .
So we welcome Kevin Lin , who is a Chinese labor activist and researcher , and recently coauthored with Ashley Smith an article called , China And The United States : A New Cold War for New Politics @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to have you with us once again and welcome back .
Marc Steiner : And thank you for joining us at this midnight hour .
So , I appreciate that .
So , tell us what your analysis is about what brought us to this point of confrontation ?
One of the things you point out in the article , is that George Bush , the senior , announced the rise of this new world order and U.S. World hedge money , but the fall of the Soviet Union led to this kind @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of consuming the world and dominating the world , and now China and the U.S. are the center of it .
So talk a bit about that .
How did we get here ?
Exactly , what do you think is going on ?
Kevin Lin : Yeah , absolutely .
The first thing to say is this is obviously not just a repeat of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union .
For one thing , China is not a socialist country right now .
So it ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ China is also much , much more economically strong than the Soviet Union was at the end of the Cold War .
And China and U.S. are much , much more economically entangled , so that the conflict could be much , much more destructive and detrimental to the peoples of both countries .
But how did we get here ?
After the end of the Cold War in the late 1980s and early 1990s , that was a period of neoliberal , globalization and U.S. companies flooding to China , making a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ commodities .
So there was a period of very warm diplomatic relations between the U.S. and China .
But what changed is in the 2000s , the United States , certainly the U.S. companies , felt they had been shut out of , squeezed out of Chinese markets .
They don ’ t enjoy as much access to Chinese markets as they think they will , and they started lobbying the US government for a much more confrontational approach with China .
And you may remember all this talk about currency manipulation ?
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ start of that conflict .
And then under Obama , you may remember that the pivot to Asia , which is also pretty much an economic strategy , the TPP , the Transpacific Agreement is very much a strategy to isolate China economically and put pressure on China to open up more of its markets .
But by today , I think there is a more or less a consensus in the U.S. around China , which is that they are going to go really , really hard on China .
Marc Steiner @ @ @ @ @ @ @ thing that we ’ re facing in the world , I mean , right now you ’ re seeing the Trump administration really escalating this war with China and trying to get major international corporations based in the U.S. and Western Europe , not to have dealings with the Chinese government or the Chinese businesses .
You ’ ve got China now , as you point out , is the world ’ s largest creditor and challenging the West and Japan for digital dominance , and that ’ s part of the new @ @ @ @ @ @ @ And we ’ re seeing Trump push for decoupling the economies between China and the U.S. , so if you take all those ingredients , this is a really complex affair .
I mean , A ) because it seems almost impossible to decouple really , but they are in this huge worldwide battle for dominance .
So , talk a bit about how you see that .
Why is it exploding so deeply in this moment and where do you think that ’ s going to take us ?
Kevin Lin : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is as you said , Marc , this is such an all encompassing conflict .
It ’ s not just high tax rates , it ’ s not just manufacturing or trade , or investment , or geopolitics , or even military hedge money in Asia .
It ’ s all of those things .
And that makes it really , really complex , but also really , really dangerous because it ’ s not going to go away easily .
Even if the Democrats win the presidential election , it ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ administration will shift its policy fundamentally , because the underlying issues remain the same .
But with regard to what pushed the conflict to this point , I think the pandemic really played a big role .
I think that ’ s a moment where the Trump administration saw a opportunity or saw the need to blame someone for the devastation in the U.S. and China is obviously the easy targets .
But it ’ s also a moment where , leaning toward the election , I think Trump administration is increasingly frustrated @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ] with regard to China .
For example , the trade discussion , the trade halts , is stocking so-called phase one , and who knows how many phases they ’ re going to be before there ’ s any concrete outcomes .
So I think it also reflects the frustration or the impatience of the Trump administration dealing with China .
Marc Steiner : But I want to get back to exactly what ’ s going to happen , what ’ s happening with this conflict .
I mean , it seems @ @ @ @ @ @ @ watching here is , as I said in the beginning , is this rising economy in China , even though both economies are faltering at the moment because of the pandemic and the worldwide recession , but China seems to be… Is rising , and some people argue the U.S. is waning , but still it reigns as the leading economic power on the planet .
So how is this conflict going to play out ?
And where are the conflict points ?
Because you ’ ve already seen the United States , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as well , throwing its military might into the Western Pacific , as did Obama .
That ’ s escalating more weapons to Taiwan .
So , these flashpoints can become really dangerous , both economically and militarily .
So talk a bit about what you see is at the heart of this conflict .
Kevin Lin : Yeah .
As you said , Marc , the U.S. remained the predominant economic power , but also even much more so , the military power and the U.S. has been pursuing the so-called Indo-Pacific @ @ @ @ @ @ @ encircling China in the region and it ’ s been building alliances with the U.K. , With Australia , New Zealand , and Canada , all the traditional us allies in order to conquer China ’ s influence in the region and globally .
But this is also really , as you said , it ’ s so complex because its two economies are the biggest in the world .
And on one hand you have the U.S. economy winning and the Chinese economy are actually now also running into problems .
So @ @ @ @ @ @ @ economies .
And this is actually going to fill also nationalism , both in the U.S. and in China , that overtime may favor some sort of conflict .
And as you alluded to the possibility of some accidental military conflict , it ’ s pretty real , especially in the South China Sea region , which for example , Australian government recently came out and said , we don ’ t recognize any sovereignty that is claimed by China in the South China Sea , and that is very dangerous rhetoric .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , it ’ s normal what we ’ re facing here in the world .
You ’ ve got China owns a lot of U.S. Treasury Bonds , they ’ re the world ’ s largest creditor , they have trillions of dollars invested in Africa , other parts of Asia , and in Europe as well .
And then you have this growing military , the possibility of military confrontation .
I mean , how dangerous is what we ’ re facing and what do you think this means to have what @ @ @ @ @ @ @ capitalist nation and a free market capitalist nation moving towards the right in the United States ?
I mean , I think that given the pandemic , everything that was going on , most Americans and people around the world are losing sight of the potential danger , a huge danger , that the world faces .
Kevin Lin : I think the conflicts are structural .
Again , they ’ re not going to be diffused or go away just in the next few years .
It ’ s probably going to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , in the next few decades , if the present trends continues .
And again , as you said , the two countries are so entangled economically , and it ’ s really , really hard to see the decoupling , but the potential for military conflict is still real .
And I think , as progressives , we should be preparing for that eventually even though probably neither country wants a war right now .
But I think that positionality is very much there .
Marc Steiner : So finally , when @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in your article , that when you talked about how left movements around the world should confront this and address it , I mean , there ’ s a real issue .
We had , as I told you before we started the conversation today , we had a really interesting and deep debate on an episode of Stir Crazy , a show here at the Real News on the wars between China and the United States .
I was arguing that China is a state capitalist nation , not a socialist nation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dominance .
So how do you respond ?
How do movements respond ?
How does labor respond ?
I mean , there ’ s labor unrest in China .
It may be even to a greater degree than there is labor unrest in the United States at the moment .
So , how does the left respond ?
Kevin Lin : We definitely need plenty of clarity in this moment , as you said , Marc .
I think the first thing to acknowledge is China ’ s now socialist .
People make @ @ @ @ @ @ @ because the government ’ s intervention in the economy , or the government ownership of state owned enterprises , but that ’ s not assigned socialism , it ’ s assigned state capitalism .
I think we need a clarity on that .
But second of all , we definitely should reject both the U.S. and Chinese state .
And obviously I think for leftists in the U.S. , The enemies at home , the primary responsibility is to oppose the U.S. States .
But at the same time , that should now @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the bad behaviors of the Chinese state .
The sort of solidarity and alliance is with the Chinese people and with social movement in China and labor movement in China , not with the Chinese state .
I think that ’ s so fundamental , but so important for the lefts in the U.S. and elsewhere to bear in mind .
But also , I think there ’ s things you can do within the U.S. For example , start to build alliance with Chinese-American community groups and organizers who are very similarly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
And also they are concerned about the recent racism and xenophobia in the U.S. itself .
So building those alliances , both against racism and nationalism , but also longterm against the possibility of military conflict is something that the left in the U.S. could do even within the U.S. Marc Steiner : So in closing with his quote , you pulled out from your article , which I found really interesting from the Economist , which is the Neo-liberal journal of record , I think , in the world , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the greatest era of globalization and worry about what ’ s going to take its place .
That is where we are.
” Kevin Lin : Yes , absolutely , and it ’ s a much more dangerous world and we should be prepared .
Marc Steiner : Well , Kevin Lin , it ’ s always a pleasure to talk with you .
Get some rest , it ’ s late at night , and we look forward to talking to you again and reading what you come up with next @ @ @ @ @ @ @ m Marc Steiner here , The Real News Network .
Thank you all for joining us and take care .

The world’s largest economic powers are in a battle for dominance complicated by the pandemic and Trump’s escalation.
Story Transcript
This is a rush transcript and may contain errors. It will be updated.
Marc Steiner: Welcome to the Real News. I’m Marc Steiner, to have you with us.
Now, some call it the new Cold War, but this growing confrontation between China and the United States is fundamentally different than the Cold War with the Soviet Union, which ended in the downfall of most communist nations. This is a 21st century rivalry between the world’s two largest economies, for global domination and control of the international marketplace. Some, as our guest today, see there’s the growing state capitalist giant in China locked in economic struggle with what some see as the waning, reigning economic free market capitalist giant, the United States. The Trump administration now has clearly escalated this conflict and this looming economic and potential military confrontation. So we welcome Kevin Lin, who is a Chinese labor activist and researcher, and recently coauthored with Ashley Smith an article called, China And The United States: A New Cold War for New Politics magazine.
And Kevin Lin, good to have you with us once again and welcome back.
Kevin Lin: Thank you, Marc.
Marc Steiner: And thank you for joining us at this midnight hour. So, I appreciate that. So, tell us what your analysis is about what brought us to this point of confrontation? One of the things you point out in the article, is that George Bush, the senior, announced the rise of this new world order and U.S. World hedge money, but the fall of the Soviet Union led to this kind of flood gates of capitalism, kind of consuming the world and dominating the world, and now China and the U.S. are the center of it. So talk a bit about that. How did we get here? Exactly, what do you think is going on?
Kevin Lin: Yeah, absolutely. The first thing to say is this is obviously not just a repeat of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union. For one thing, China is not a socialist country right now. So it’s not an ideological conflict, but China is also much, much more economically strong than the Soviet Union was at the end of the Cold War. And China and U.S. are much, much more economically entangled, so that the conflict could be much, much more destructive and detrimental to the peoples of both countries. But how did we get here?
After the end of the Cold War in the late 1980s and early 1990s, that was a period of neoliberal, globalization and U.S. companies flooding to China, making a huge amount of profit by manufacturing cheap commodities. So there was a period of very warm diplomatic relations between the U.S. and China. But what changed is in the 2000s, the United States, certainly the U.S. companies, felt they had been shut out of, squeezed out of Chinese markets.
They don’t enjoy as much access to Chinese markets as they think they will, and they started lobbying the US government for a much more confrontational approach with China. And you may remember all this talk about currency manipulation? That was just one sign of the start of that conflict. And then under Obama, you may remember that the pivot to Asia, which is also pretty much an economic strategy, the TPP, the Transpacific Agreement is very much a strategy to isolate China economically and put pressure on China to open up more of its markets. But by today, I think there is a more or less a consensus in the U.S. around China, which is that they are going to go really, really hard on China.
Marc Steiner: But this is a really complex thing that we’re facing in the world, I mean, right now you’re seeing the Trump administration really escalating this war with China and trying to get major international corporations based in the U.S. and Western Europe, not to have dealings with the Chinese government or the Chinese businesses. You’ve got China now, as you point out, is the world’s largest creditor and challenging the West and Japan for digital dominance, and that’s part of the new kind of capitalist warfare going on. And we’re seeing Trump push for decoupling the economies between China and the U.S., so if you take all those ingredients, this is a really complex affair. I mean, A) because it seems almost impossible to decouple really, but they are in this huge worldwide battle for dominance. So, talk a bit about how you see that. Why is it exploding so deeply in this moment and where do you think that’s going to take us?
Kevin Lin: Yes, first of all, this is as you said, Marc, this is such an all encompassing conflict. It’s not just high tax rates, it’s not just manufacturing or trade, or investment, or geopolitics, or even military hedge money in Asia. It’s all of those things. And that makes it really, really complex, but also really, really dangerous because it’s not going to go away easily.
Even if the Democrats win the presidential election, it’s not at all clear that the Biden administration will shift its policy fundamentally, because the underlying issues remain the same. But with regard to what pushed the conflict to this point, I think the pandemic really played a big role. I think that’s a moment where the Trump administration saw a opportunity or saw the need to blame someone for the devastation in the U.S. and China is obviously the easy targets. But it’s also a moment where, leaning toward the election, I think Trump administration is increasingly frustrated with the lack of [inaudible 00:05:43] with regard to China. For example, the trade discussion, the trade halts, is stocking so-called phase one, and who knows how many phases they’re going to be before there’s any concrete outcomes. So I think it also reflects the frustration or the impatience of the Trump administration dealing with China.
Marc Steiner: But I want to get back to exactly what’s going to happen, what’s happening with this conflict. I mean, it seems to me that what we’re watching here is, as I said in the beginning, is this rising economy in China, even though both economies are faltering at the moment because of the pandemic and the worldwide recession, but China seems to be… Is rising, and some people argue the U.S. is waning, but still it reigns as the leading economic power on the planet.
So how is this conflict going to play out? And where are the conflict points? Because you’ve already seen the United States, as you point out in your article as well, throwing its military might into the Western Pacific, as did Obama. That’s escalating more weapons to Taiwan. So, these flashpoints can become really dangerous, both economically and militarily. So talk a bit about what you see is at the heart of this conflict.
Kevin Lin: Yeah. As you said, Marc, the U.S. remained the predominant economic power, but also even much more so, the military power and the U.S. has been pursuing the so-called Indo-Pacific strategy, which is a way of encircling China in the region and it’s been building alliances with the U.K., With Australia, New Zealand, and Canada, all the traditional us allies in order to conquer China’s influence in the region and globally.
But this is also really, as you said, it’s so complex because its two economies are the biggest in the world. And on one hand you have the U.S. economy winning and the Chinese economy are actually now also running into problems. So there are both potential issues with both economies. And this is actually going to fill also nationalism, both in the U.S. and in China, that overtime may favor some sort of conflict. And as you alluded to the possibility of some accidental military conflict, it’s pretty real, especially in the South China Sea region, which for example, Australian government recently came out and said, we don’t recognize any sovereignty that is claimed by China in the South China Sea, and that is very dangerous rhetoric.
Marc Steiner: But you also have, it’s normal what we’re facing here in the world. You’ve got China owns a lot of U.S. Treasury Bonds, they’re the world’s largest creditor, they have trillions of dollars invested in Africa, other parts of Asia, and in Europe as well. And then you have this growing military, the possibility of military confrontation. I mean, how dangerous is what we’re facing and what do you think this means to have what some would argue is an authoritarian state capitalist nation and a free market capitalist nation moving towards the right in the United States? I mean, I think that given the pandemic, everything that was going on, most Americans and people around the world are losing sight of the potential danger, a huge danger, that the world faces.
Kevin Lin: I think the conflicts are structural. Again, they’re not going to be diffused or go away just in the next few years. It’s probably going to be building up, continuously building up, in the next few decades, if the present trends continues. And again, as you said, the two countries are so entangled economically, and it’s really, really hard to see the decoupling, but the potential for military conflict is still real. And I think, as progressives, we should be preparing for that eventually even though probably neither country wants a war right now. But I think that positionality is very much there.
Marc Steiner: So finally, when you think about, as you concluded in your article, that when you talked about how left movements around the world should confront this and address it, I mean, there’s a real issue. We had, as I told you before we started the conversation today, we had a really interesting and deep debate on an episode of Stir Crazy, a show here at the Real News on the wars between China and the United States. I was arguing that China is a state capitalist nation, not a socialist nation, so this confrontation is about economic dominance. So how do you respond? How do movements respond? How does labor respond? I mean, there’s labor unrest in China. It may be even to a greater degree than there is labor unrest in the United States at the moment. So, how does the left respond?
Kevin Lin: We definitely need plenty of clarity in this moment, as you said, Marc. I think the first thing to acknowledge is China’s now socialist. People make arguments that why Chinese are socialists, because the government’s intervention in the economy, or the government ownership of state owned enterprises, but that’s not assigned socialism, it’s assigned state capitalism. I think we need a clarity on that.
But second of all, we definitely should reject both the U.S. and Chinese state. And obviously I think for leftists in the U.S., The enemies at home, the primary responsibility is to oppose the U.S. States. But at the same time, that should now give you excuses to make excuse for the bad behaviors of the Chinese state. The sort of solidarity and alliance is with the Chinese people and with social movement in China and labor movement in China, not with the Chinese state. I think that’s so fundamental, but so important for the lefts in the U.S. and elsewhere to bear in mind.
But also, I think there’s things you can do within the U.S. For example, start to build alliance with Chinese-American community groups and organizers who are very similarly concerned about U.S.-China rivalry and the conflict. And also they are concerned about the recent racism and xenophobia in the U.S. itself.
So building those alliances, both against racism and nationalism, but also longterm against the possibility of military conflict is something that the left in the U.S. could do even within the U.S.
Marc Steiner: So in closing with his quote, you pulled out from your article, which I found really interesting from the Economist, which is the Neo-liberal journal of record, I think, in the world, and the quote was, “Wave goodbye to the greatest era of globalization and worry about what’s going to take its place. That is where we are.”
Kevin Lin: Yes, absolutely, and it’s a much more dangerous world and we should be prepared.
Marc Steiner: Well, Kevin Lin, it’s always a pleasure to talk with you. Get some rest, it’s late at night, and we look forward to talking to you again and reading what you come up with next.
Kevin Lin: Thanks Marc.
Marc Steiner: And I’m Marc Steiner here, The Real News Network. Thank you all for joining us and take care.
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therealnews--2020-08-06--Why You Should Give a F*ck | Ep. 9 | Finale

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Coming from a background in video production and filmmaking, Tunde Ogunfolaju was a studio tech for TRNN from 2018-2020. He operated, monitored, and adjusted audio, video, lighting, and broadcast equipment for the purposes of handling day-to-day production of in-studio, remote and live streamed interviews involving current political news for TRNN. He is a Baltimore native and great enthusiast of 90’s R&B as well as old school wrestling.


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