Guest post by Katherine Fredricks
After the assault on the US Capital, we are all grateful to the courts, the election officials, the police and the military for protecting America from a failed insurrection. Unfortunately, the long term effects of misinformation and disinformation will not disburse as quickly as the Capital rioters.
I’m a member of the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS). Back in 2015, UCS invited all their members to a webinar by Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Neela Banerjee. Her research showed that Exxon has known for decades that climate change was real, human caused, and potentially catastrophic. READ MORE HERE
During that webinar, one of the speakers pointed out that the disinformation tactics used by Exxon were exactly the same as those used by tobacco companies, when they fought lawsuits against cigarettes. “They know these tactics failed, so what will they try instead?”
We’ve seen what they tried. They stacked the courts.
Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s father was an executive for Royal Dutch Shell. READ MORE HERE
According to EcoWatch, Brett Kavanaugh “accepts the science behind climate change, but has ruled against the Environmental Protection Agency’s attempts to do anything about it.” READ MORE HERE
According to American Progress, Justice Gorsuch “did not appear on President Trump’s first list of potential Supreme Court nominees in May 2016, but he appeared on Trump’s second list just weeks after writing a judicial manifesto arguing that judges should have more power to strike down federal regulations.” READ MORE HERE
And although the disinformation surrounding the 2020 Presidential election may have more to do with Trump’s ego than big oil, the disinformation handbook continues to be used by multinational corporations to protect their profits at the expense of human health and safety. READ MORE HERE
In response to all this disinformation and to the recent siege of the Capital, composer Stephen Bennett & I wrote a new song. We hope you enjoy it.
Katherine Brann Fredricks has had 6 shows in NYC festivals in the last 8 years, winning or nominated for 28 Awards. https://katherine-b-fredricks.squarespace.com/
Stephen Wagener Bennett is a writer, composer, director, and dramaturg based in Brooklyn. He has written for new and experimental theatre for the last decade, and holds an MFA from NYU’s Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program. stephenwagenerbennett.com
