East Palestine, Ohio

This week's episode is dedicated to the environmental disaster in East Palestine, Ohio and its political causes and ramifications. As you have heard – or possibly have not heard, since there was an attempt to bury this story early on – on February 3, a massive derailment of a freight train containing hazardous chemicals led to the release of toxic chemicals in the Ohio town of East Palestine, in the surrounding region in Ohio and Pennsylvania, and perhaps even further afield. We do not know, because state and federal officials have refused to give forthright information about this preventable disaster. Our hearts go out to the people of the region and to the country as a whole, for we are all held hostage to this plutocracy and the broken political system it props up.   We discuss the Trump administration's destruction of railroad regulations and the Biden administrations' refusal to reinstate them – which led to Biden union-busting in December as railroad workers begged futilely for sick days and safer conditions. Many workers warned of this precise disaster. The American people can see what's happening – left, right, and center – and unfortunately, with few exceptions, officials on the left, right, and center are keeping the truth about the extent of the disaster from the public. We discuss the ramifications of gutted local media, social media networks that hide information with algorithms, and cable networks that look the other way. We also review the decades of corporate greed and horrific labor policies that led to the Chernobyl of Ohio.   On a related note, we discuss the appointment of Jeffrey Zients, an investment banker with a history of Medicare and Medicaid fraud, as Biden's new chief of staff. The appointment of Zients, who was responsible to a large extent for Biden's disastrous covid policies in 2020 and 2021, could not have come at a worse time. Zients joins a team of eugenicist advisors who believe that one's worth is solely determined by how much you contribute to the economy – and who believe that if you are elderly or disabled, your life lacks utility to the point of worthlessness. (We wish we were exaggerating, but they say this openly.) This is a terrifying time to be surrounded by, as the Ukrainians say, "oligarchs who see the people as the shit they grow their money in". We are REFUSING to be ruled by them and believe the first step is to speak truth to power and document the crimes.   Our bonus episode, available to Patreon subscribers at the Truth-Teller level or higher, is on UFOs! You know, those objects in the sky that the US government is giving us the play-by-play on while they dodge the tragedy in Ohio. We discuss China spy balloons, Project Blue Beam, and much more! We then do our weekly Q&A, answering questions sent in by our Patreon subscribers at the Democracy Defender level or higher. Topics include Erik Prince, threats to poll workers, why the Democrats choose snark over serious prosecution, and much more. Gaslit Nation is a 100% independent podcast – our Patreon subscribers keep us going! Your support allows us to continue taking on these topics and we appreciate your support and our community of listeners!   Show Notes:   Zoom screening of Mr. Jones on February 25 followed by Q&A with Andrea. Sign up for the event by going to the website: TINY.CC/mrjones. Admission is FREE Suggested donation to the Kyiv Independent - as we need to support "media AND democracy" in Ukraine (and here in the US).   Opening clip: https://twitter.com/DrEricDing/status/1625155991724605440   Closing Clip: https://twitter.com/DrEricDing/status/1625277554910273537   The Freight Rail Labor Dispute Was Never About 'Sick Days' (vice.com)   Rail Companies Blocked Safety Rules Before Ohio Derailment (levernews.com)   Zeke Emanuel on Twitter: https://t.co/c1yEfz2dMG   The Corporate Past of Jeffrey Zients - The American Prospect   Ohio woman finds chickens dead, questions chemical release from train https://www.wdtn.com/news/ohio/ohio-woman-finds-chickens-dead-questions-chemical-release-from-train/   Animals are sick and dying after Ohio train derailment https://www.wtrf.com/ohio/animals-are-sick-and-dying-after-ohio-train-derailment/?utm_source=t.co&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=socialflow   Elon Musk: We're Curbing Starlink's Use in Ukraine to Prevent WWIII https://www.pcmag.com/news/elon-musk-were-curbing-starlinks-use-in-ukraine-to-prevent-wwiii?taid=63ea57b105dea00001f6d1c9&utm_campaign=trueAnthem%3A+Manual&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=facebook   Tad Devine and Yanukovych work in Ukraine:  https://twitter.com/rachelweinerwp/status/1022594989702959104   'Sadness in the whole forest': family of Cop City activist killed by police seeks answers https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/feb/12/cop-city-manuel-paez-teran-family-mourns   Eric Feigl-Ding thread on the Norfolk Southern chemical explosion:  https://twitter.com/DrEricDing/status/1625155991724605440   American life expectancy is now at its lowest in nearly two decades https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2022/12/22/1144864971/american-life-expectancy-is-now-at-its-lowest-in-nearly-two-decades