Sam and Emma host Gerald Horne, Professor of History and African American Studies at the University of Houston, to discuss his recent book The Counter-Revolution of 1836: Texas Slavery & Jim Crow and the Roots of U.S. Fascism. Then later in the show, they’re joined by  Camille Gix, member of the Initiative I-135 steering committee at House Our Neighbors, the political committee for Real Change, to discuss  I-135, the housing initiative coming before Seattle voters until Tuesday February 14th. First, Sam and Emma run through updates on the climbing death toll from last week’s earthquake in Syria and Turkey, Turkey’s response to contracting failures, the DOJ’s lawsuit to halt a Jet Blue-Spirit merger, the IRS’ dramatic service approvement, Israel expanding their West Bank settlements, and Matt Schlapp’s response to being outed as a sexual harasser, before parsing through updates on the disaster chemical spill in East Palestine, Ohio, and the environmental catastrophe cover-up that is beginning to trickle out. Professor Gerald Horne then joins as he dives right into his work taking on the pre-foundational, foundational, and developmental myths of the United States, focusing on his analysis of the Texas revolution as a “counter-revolution,” seeking to expand institutions that promote a dearth of progress (indigenous dispossession, the transatlantic slave trade) rather than reinventing their institutions in favor of progress. Continuing his analysis of the Texas revolution, Professor Horne walks through the Texan elite and their push against the “Mexican Tyranny” of emancipation, then capitalizing on the success of their revolution by launching a period of mass bloodshed as they violently dispossessed the Comanches to expand their territories and plantations. Shifting away from Texas, Horne, Sam, and Emma explore the role of America and Mexico in challenging and supporting, respectively, Texas’ role in the transatlantic slave trade, with Andrew Jackson using the Trail of Tears to force indigenous people into Texas’ surrounding areas while Texas attempted to ally with now French-Occupied Mexico to stay off pressure from the US, lasting through to the Juneteenth arrival of Black Soldiers in Galveston to not only implement Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation but to put an end to the France-Texas alliance. Continuing forward through the turn of the century, Gerald walks through the lasting impact of this era of Texas history in the rebirth of the Klu Klux Klan, before stepping back to analyze the importance of the greater historical context behind this revolution, and how to unite macro and micro lenses of history. Camille Gix then joins to walk through Seattle’s I-135 initiative, what “Social Housing” implies, and why this model can bolster the reclamation of housing from the financial world to the public realm.

And in the Fun Half: Sam and Emma watch Republicans talk around cuts to Social Security, assess the importance of raising the cap, analyze the connection between Chinese Spy Balloons and the UFOs invading US airspace this weekend, and discuss the rise and fall of 21st Century renaissance-man James O’Keef. Nova from Minnesota dives into the importance of fighting for SSDI, Owen from San Marcus talks about the reach of Matt Walsh and the issues of the computer science workforce, and Rosanne takes a note from the Babylon Bee for her newest stand-up set. They also discuss the Super Bowl, and the immediate aggrievement that the right found in it (Race War anyone?), plus, your calls and IMs!

Check out Gerald’s book here: https://www.intpubnyc.com/browse/the-counter-revolution-of-1836-texas-slavery-jim-crow-and-the-roots-of-u-s-fascism/

Check out House Our Neighbors here: https://www.houseourneighbors.org/

Check out the House Our Neighbors YouTube channel for more voting information: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVBKjRuf0UoAlbuHuC-uidg

Become a member at JoinTheMajorityReport.com: https://fans.fm/majority/join