criticaldefiance

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Blunt Talk: Reefer Sadness in the Land of Legal Booze

Reevaluating Marijuana Prohibition: The Patchwork of U.S. Cannabis Laws In this episode of Critical Defiance, the hosts dive into the complex history and current landscape of marijuana legalization in the United States. They explore the historical context behind the prohibition of cannabis, including its connections to xenophobia and political maneuvering, and the ongoing impact of these…

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Today’s episode on marijuana prohibition is running a little late due to an editing glitch. It should be out by noon Eastern.

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The easiest way to listen to Critical Defiance is Spotify, but we're available on many platforms. Subscribe to the podcast for your weekly dose of defiance!

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In case you didn't know, we have a YouTube channel. Later this season we'll be adding some new video episodes to it as well. Come check it out!

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On this week's episode of Critical Defiance, we discussed police militarization and the upcoming explosion of ICE officers and camps.

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The Thin Blue Line Down Main Street

In the latest episode of Critical Defiance, hosts Neils, BobbySox, and Bill tackle the growing issue of police militarization in American communities. They explore the historical roots of the U.S. police force, the war on drugs, and post-9/11 security measures that have contributed to a shift from ‘protect and serve’ to an ‘us versus them’ mentality. The discussion delves into the…

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Still a crew favorite, and more important now than ever.

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Back In Business

In this episode of Critical Defiance, hosts Neils and BobbySox delve into several pressing issues affecting society today. They kick off by examining the newly enacted ‘Big Bad Bill’ and its implications on social safety nets, clean energy, and the economy. The discussion moves to the climate crisis, highlighting recent tragic events like the Texas floods and European heatwaves. The hosts then…

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After four weeks of mishaps we’re back on track here in the underground bunker and recording. In fact, Monday’s episode is in the can. See you soon. 😉

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Vesper Henry at MMFA:

Since right-wing media’s 2023 boycotts against Bud Light and Target, conservative talking heads have sought to punish businesses for supporting the LGBTQ community. After several major corporations backed off from public support of Pride events in 2025 — seemingly in fear of retaliation from the Trump administration — right-wing pundits claimed victory and urged more backlash. 

Pride celebrations persisted in 2025 despite presidential pressures

Trump administration crackdowns on diversity, equity, and inclusion policies have gutted federal funding for LGBTQ groups and had a chilling effect on corporate support for Pride. Trump’s slate of anti-transgender executive orders have strained LGBTQ organizations, often demanding they self-censor in order to grasp for funds. Corporations have scaled back DEI initiatives to comply with those same orders, with Pride programs among the many losses. Now, Trump’s federal budget proposal threatens $2.67 billion in cuts to LGBTQ programs, alongside $800 million in research cuts that have already occurred. [San Francisco Chronicle, 5/6/25; CBS News, 6/28/25; Them, 5/7/25]

Extremists threatened Pride events with vandalism, harassment, and violence in 2025. The Radical Reports podcast mapped out threats to Pride across the nation this year, showing at least eight anti-LGBTQ threats or acts of violence and 46 instances of anti-LGBTQ vandalism. In Pennsylvania and Georgia, Pride flags were stolen and vandalized from both public and private property. [Radical Reports, 5/23/25; The New York Times, 6/24/25; CBS News, 6/11/25]

In spite of threats and financial setbacks, Pride festivities still took place in abundance across the country. For many, local businesses helped fill the gap left behind by corporate pullback, and some Pride organizations even outright rejected corporate sponsorship to signal their own protests. [CBS News, 6/6/25; The New York Times, 6/10/25; Axios, 6/3/25]

Meanwhile, efforts on the right to replace Pride month remained unsuccessful. The Idaho bar shilling “Beers for Breeders” shirts in 2024 doubled down this year by hosting a “Heterosexual Awesomeness Fest” in late June. Only 50 people attended, and the event’s organizers accidentally allowed a pro-LGBTQ protester to perform a song about a transgender man onstage. [Media Matters, 6/28/24; PinkNews, 6/25/25]

[...]

Right-wing media cheered businesses backing out of supporting Pride and championed President Donald Trump’s anti-DEI and anti-LGBTQ policies. Leading up to June, right-wing media celebrated as Pride organizers from Seattle to San Francisco to St. Louis announced cuts to funding. Megyn Kelly credited right-wing pundits Chris Rufo and Robby Starbuck for winning a “huge victory in an important battle we’ve all been fighting.” [Fox News, 4/25/25; The Post Millennial; 4/27/25; The Megyn Kelly Show, 3/27/25; The Daily Signal, 3/21/25]

[...]

Right-wing media berated Pride flags, which were vandalized across the country last month. Allie Beth Stuckey disparaged the Pride flag as “so wrongly and wickedly used as a symbol of depravity” and said she chooses to call June “Noahic Covenant Month” instead. The Daily Wire published conservative backlash to Missoula, Montana’s decision to make the Pride flag the official city flag in order to thwart recent statewide legislation banning them from government property. Right-wing media even came to the defense of Atlanta teens who vandalized Pride flags. [Relatable with Allie Beth Stuckey, 6/2/25; The Daily Wire, 6/3/25; PJ Media, 6/24/25; The Daily Wire, The Matt Walsh Show, 6/26/25]

Media Matters for America analyzes how the right-wing media covered LGBTQ+ Pride Month in 2025, with their usual whining about companies that give support to Pride events and attacks on the LGBTQ+ community.

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Christopher Wiggins at The Advocate:

The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that a legislative committee unlawfully blocked rules prohibiting so-called “conversion therapy” by licensed professionals, clearing the way for a state ban on the widely discredited practice, even as thousands of LGBTQ+ youth nationwide remain at risk. In a 4-3 decision in Evers v. Marklein, the justices concluded that the committee exceeded its constitutional authority when it prevented Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’ administrative rules from taking effect. Those rules classify conversion therapy as unprofessional conduct for licensed therapists, counselors, and social workers. The ruling immediately reinstates the ban in Wisconsin, although it does not apply to religious organizations or individuals who are exempt from licensure. The practice, which encompasses attempts to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity, has been condemned as ineffective and harmful by every major U.S. medical and mental health association. Survivors frequently describe lifelong trauma, depression, anxiety, and elevated suicide risk. “This decision is a powerful step in the right direction towards ending the harmful practice of conversion therapy—a step that required incredible advocacy for over seven years by our community members and partner organizations like NASW-Wisconsin,” said Abigail Swetz, executive director of Fair Wisconsin, the state’s only statewide LGBTQ+ civil rights group. “We also still have more work to do. A bill banning conversion therapy by all licensed professions passed through the legislature and signed by the governor would be an even more powerful step. Wisconsin State Senate Bill 324 would do exactly that, and I look forward to seeing it become Wisconsin law.” [...]

SCOTUS to weigh Colorado ban

Wisconsin’s ruling comes just months before the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to hear arguments in a challenge to Colorado’s ban on conversion therapy for minors. The Colorado case, brought by licensed counselor Kaley Chiles, argues that the state’s law violates her First Amendment rights to free speech and religious freedom. Chiles contends that, while she doesn’t promise clients she can “solve” issues of sexual orientation or gender identity, her counseling sometimes touches on “Christian values about human sexuality and the treatment of their own body.”

The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled 4-3 in Evers v. Marklein that the state’s conversion therapy ban will be reinstated. The issue will be decided at SCOTUS next year in Chiles v. Salazar, in which the court is likely to rule in favor of overturning conversion therapy ban laws on “free speech” grounds.

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Read without paywall here.

“The focus of authority is absolutely necessary to run any integrated system efficiently,” Yarvin said in the interview, summarizing why he believes such a monarch would be best for the country. “You could probably put any of the Fortune 500 CEOs in (the White House) and say, ‘OK, you’re in charge of the executive branch, fix this,’ and they’d probably do fine. They wouldn’t be Hitler or Stalin.”

Yarvin’s rise is alarming scholars and experts on democracy and dictators, who note with concern how his ideas about a strongman are gaining traction among young people.

In 2012, more than a decade before DOGE (the Department of Government Efficiency) became a known acronym, Yarvin advocated on his blog and in speeches for a radical reshaping of the federal government with an idea that he dubbed RAGE, or Retire All Government Employees. In 2022, he laid out his idealized version of how the Trump administration could gain “absolute sovereignty” for the good of the country with teams of “ninjas” who would “drop into all the agencies in the executive branch” and “seize all points of power, without respect for paper protections” and in many cases, in defiance of court orders.

If that sounds familiar, it’s because it is strikingly similar to what DOGE has been doing in Washington — although not to the extent Yarvin wishes. And while Yarvin’s ideas seem horrifying to those who believe in a liberal democracy with checks and balances, Yarvin says democracy has proven too weak to address America’s biggest problems and that his ideas for a new system of government are necessary for the country’s survival.

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Plot twist! The universe decided we needed another week off from dissecting American society. 😂 No new Critical Defiance episode tomorrow. If you want to see more critical thinking (and fewer tech glitches), consider tossing a few bucks our way over at https://criticaldefiance.com/support-us/