LUMPENPROLETARIAT—[Tuesday, February 2, 2021] Listening to the ‘radio’ while we’re driving or doing chores around the house, or while doing chore-like or automaton jobs, is like reading a book. This is especially true when we are so privileged as to be able to pay close attention to voices of reason and wisdom. Or we can listen to podcasts of fart jokes and stay uninformed. That may be viable. We’re not sure yet. I mean Chris Hedges has been warning us since at least 2015 about the absurdity of those Berlin cabarets carrying on hedonistically, as German fascism metastasized. So, it’s looking like Ralph Nader may be correct yet again: If you turn your back on politics, politics can turn on you. We will add, if we’re not careful, the fascists may be kicking down our doors and pointing assault rifles at our kids. Oh, wait, that’s already happening. We recall Democracy Now! recently reported a COVID-19 statistician whistleblower, who survived a pre-dawn raid by assault-rifle-strapped goons, who aimed their rifles at her kids and robbed her of virtually all digital devices. Even we haven’t had time to investigate that story further. We’re all too busy fighting for cognitive sovereignty, not just to pay the bills, to fight for our families’ survival, much less move ourselves up through Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.
Usually, though, we only get to listen to bits and pieces as we navigate our day-to-day affairs, duties, and responsibilities. Of course, one of our responsibilities is to uphold our U.S. Constitution, maybe even make it better through Constitutional Amendments wherever it’s lacking, such as a Constitutional amendment, suggested by US Day of Rage many years ago, to legally mandate the democratic principle: One person, one vote. NOT, one dollar, one vote, as currently exists.
But, in order for us to pursue correct political action, we must self-educate. A healthy democracy depends upon an informed citizenry. And what better way to stay informed is there than free speech radio and free speech media? This is especially true when we are inundated by corporate media, which already saturates the public consciousness with centrist, center-right, and Far-right ideologies, but blocks and vilifies virtually all perspectives, which position themselves on the left of the political spectrum, or to the left of the Democrat Party center, or, God forbid, on a Pan-African or even revolutionary trajectory. Evil neoliberals are counting on us being so overwhelmed that we don’t stand a chance against the political gaslighting, that we will permanently suffer from historical amnesia. But we, workers of the world, do our best with honor. But we need the help from those with more time on their hands to join in solidarity. Work will not set us free. It never has, only truth, honesty, and solidarity.
No, the U.S. right-wing culture even vilifies the centrist Democrat Party as supposedly being “socialist”. That’s absurd. But that political gaslighting, along with the insincere opposition politics of the Democrat Party, ensures that the U.S. political center keeps shifting further rightward every election cycle. Obama was labeled a “socialist” by the right-wing punditry, yet he was actually to the right of right-wing icon Ronald Reagan. The notion of Obama, or any Democrat, being a socialist was not only absurd, but it was political gaslighting. We are living through the consequences of U.S. political gaslighting, post-9/11, post-January 6th.
Let us extricate ourselves from the political human magnet syndrome, which binds Americans as codependent abuse victims to the narcissistic abuse of the U.S. political class, to the abuse of the evils of neoliberalism, which feed and sustain the anti-democratic two-party system, which is more aptly called a two-party dictatorship.
Let’s wake the folk up!
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Notes for future scholarship from a California native son, notes from a working class perspective, shunning false consciousness, like Antonio Gramsci…
‘Just do your best and don’t worry…’
So, are you pro-fascist now? “Say it isn’t so,” canto Hall & Oates…
04:00 PST, WPFW > […] 04:50 PST, “The Morning Brew” with Askia Muhammad(sp?) and Brother Jamil(sp?) […] Langston Hughes archival audio. His speaking voice is reminiscent of a softer-toned version of James Baldwin‘s super erudite speaking voice. “The Negro Speaks of Rivers“, reading. […] music; “jass”, ‘I’ve Known Rivers’, inspired by Langston Hughes poem.
“The Negro Speaks of Rivers” by Langston Hughes
“The Negro Speaks of Rivers” by Afua Richardson with Waking Astronomer (NPR)
04:00 KPFT [Houston] > 04:58 PST, announcement re: KPFT LSB meetings
04:00 – 06:00 PST, KPFK > Something’s Happening B(?) > […] 04:55, Tom Hartmann […] 05:06 PST. “exposing the con in conservative,” bellowed Hartman. Is this an effective way to win over our political opponents? Can we afford to write anybody off? […] [TP] caller: ‘$2.7M in funds were gathered by various groups, including White House staffers and elected officials.’ “Council For National Policy“, group of hundreds of right-wing radio stations. ‘federal conspiracy charges’, just as the caller’s call started getting good, Tom Hartmann cut him off. Clearly, Hartmann fears being labelled a conspiracy theorist, even if it means sweeping under the rug a very real conspiracy for which evidence is blatantly obvious for all to see. That smacks of a bourgeois mindset. Does it not? […] ‘Since 1981, Republicans have pursued a campaign of voter suppression to obtain leverage in elections‘ […] 05:17 PST, ‘memo with directions to the National Guard’ ‘This is something we should be very, very, very concerned about‘ ‘see Op-Ed piece at TomHartmann.Medium.com […] 05:21 PST, ‘the empathizing mode’ and ‘the systematizing mode’ of looking at the world cf. Lef-brain vs right-brain cf. male-dominant vs female-dominant brain Prof. Richard Silverstein (British accent) “that judgment network” ‘they have greater freedom of thought’ brilliant! See voice notes […] meditation
05:00 PST, KPFA > Rising Up with Sonali Kolhatkar > Intro: Why Biden Should Cancek student debt 2. Socialist Awakening 3. How Biden Cab Advance Health Care using emergency powers. […] Notice: Dems are falling for the trap of abusing executive orders. The right-wing backlash will be severe. Won’t it? > Cody, representing “the movement”. “Why did you endorse Joe Biden? And why do you think that you can push him to do more?” Good questions. Now, let’s ask: Why do you support the two-party dictatorship, which blocks all left perspectives? […]
05:00 PST, WBAI & WPFW > Democracy Now! >
06:00 PST, WBAI > […] 06:36 PST, talk; fundraising? Dr. Gary Null on nutrition and health. “improving anti-oxidant” […] ‘arterial stiffness in sedentary individuals’ […] “Linda”
06:00 PST, KPFT [HD2 Houston] > […] 06:42 PST, weird static sound and buzzing
06:00 PST, KPFT > 06:43 PST, Kolhatkar speaks to Doug Henwood about the GameStop revolt, many MAGA memes and anti-semitic memes drove the stock stampede. Indeed. Kolhatkar’s question smacks of insidious Democrat Party apologia. [TP]
06:00 PST, KPFK > fundraising: please support your local free speech radio station. […] 06:54 PST, talk; black history, first man to reach the north pole, he was black.
06:00 PST, KPFA > Democracy Now! > […] 06:55 PST, on the pro-Navolny(sp?) demonstrations. Juan Gonzalez correctly questioned Navalny’s mixed track record, or opportunistic political flip-flopping. “He could also change his mind […]” said the uncertain pundit, Joshua Yafa, Moscow correspondent for The New Yorker.
0600 PST, WPFW > […] 06:59 PST, local announcements: ‘for more info, email MrBlackHistory@yahoo.com’
07:00 PST, WPFW > Crossroads with male host > ‘This is our first show of the month.” In the first hour, Cynthia Rosenberg. In the second hour, […]. (technical difficulties)
07:00 PST, WBAI > […] 07:03 PST, talk; politics; climate change. ‘federal government’ ‘CDC’ ‘DoD called climate change a threat multiplier’ [TP] ‘Biden has pledged to do better on climate change than his predecessor. We’ll soon see […] film: Age of Consequence. Interview by Bill McKibben with Judith […], c. Jan 2021, in The New Yorker. ‘We’re all ingesting a credit card’s worth of plastic each week.’ […] ‘So, how does this tie to the oil industry?’
07:00 PST – 08:00 PST, KPFT [HD2-Houston] > Flashpoints > […] > topic: pres of UFE, Teresa Romero, rw: ‘the battle for a better life for farmworkers’ [TP] […] Myanmar/Burma. (This sounds like the broadcast we heard last night.) […] “Grant Smith”, ‘dir of Middle East Policies’
08:00 PST, KPFT [HD2-Houston] > Background Briefing with Ian Masters.
07:00 – 09:00 PST, KPFA > UpFront > […] [TP] Chairman Fred Hampton, Jr. and filmmaker on the new film, Judas and the Messiah. […] 09:01, carol phife on Twitter, Save the Hampton house, upcoming action this week. […] For us, the proletariat and the lumpenproletariat, this is the most important broadcast anywhere so far today.
09:00 PST, KPFA > Democracy Now! > [TP]
09:00 PST, WPFW > 09:30 PST, Blues song: “No matter what I do to please you, darling/But you know I just can’t get along with you…” 09:32 PST, Lady Mirr(sp?) just chimed in on the sentiment of that song and, then, showered listeners with the warmest blanket of loving kindness ever. That made our day. […] blues song, “But you’re so high…” lol
09:00 PST, KPFT [HD2-Houston] > […] 09:50 PST, Letters and Politics (rebroadcast) […] (cf. voice notes: caller mentioned MERS confining itself to the Middle East. This prompted the host, Mitch Jeserich, to chuckle before moving on, “Hm. That’s interesting. Meanwhile, we remember recent news reports on Pacifica Radio, perhaps Democracy Now!, about ethnicity-specific covid variants being detected. As a simple police matter, the first suspects are pro-Zionist, U.S./NATO-funded Israeli labs. Are they not?
09:00 PST, WBAI > The Gary Null Show> 0936 Academy of Ideas? On Pacifica Radio? Nice. Cf. YouTube channel. Gary Null aired a clip of an AOI videos, perhaps, “George Orwell and 1984: How Freedom Dies“. We’ve been following Academy of Ideas for a few years now.
“Aldous Huxley and Brave New World: The Dark Side of Pleasure” by Academy of Ideas, 21 JUN 2018.
“George Orwell and 1984: How Freedom Dies” by Academy of Ideas, 30 DEC 2017.
“Love Your Servitude – Aldous Huxley & George Orwell” by After Skool, 2 FEB 2021.
10:00 PST, KPFA & KPFK [L.A.] > Letters and Politics with Mitch Jeserich > Myanmar/Burma Coup. [TP] Good analysis from expert from Myanmar/Burma. > Not so good analysis from Macaw(sp?), a Dem apologist? […] 1056, Kpfk got so bored they literally tuned out. Well, in all fairness, they did have to get into some emergency fundraising.
10:00 PST, WPFW > […] 10:27 PST, ‘community-based composting’
11:00 PST, KPFK [L.A.] > music; sounds like Jimi Hendrix?
11:00 PST, KPFT [Houston] > music
11:00 PST, KPFT [HD2-Houston] > music
11:00 PST, KPFA > The Talkies > […] 11:07 PST, Some news headlines > [TP] Expert on nuclear weapons, on the “Leadership Institute”
11:00 PST, KPFT > […] 11:27, > 11:30 PST, Radio Gag, a “weekly gays against guns show”, Tuesdays at 14:30 KPFT time (1130 PST?).
11:00 PST, WPFW > […] talk; human interest. (sounds sincere)
“Shine Eye Gal” (live, Rainbow Theatre, London, 1981) by Black Uhuru
12:00 PST, KPFA > Against the Grain with C.S. Soong > […] 12:12, re: anti-capitalist orientations […] ‘How do we move from a stuggle with to the struggle against? […] 1224 “accumulation” “Marx” “transforming social relations through capital” “wage labour” […] ‘What is degrowth?’ […] The second speaker featured locates the concept of degrowth within the Marxian tradition, although he acknowledged its a minority position. […] “Walter Benjamin(sp?)” 12:37 PST, “Theses on the Philosophy of History” […] 12:51, “David Ravensberger(sp?)”
13:00 PST, KPFT > 13:07 PST, [TP] ‘we cannot write them off’
14:00 PST, KPFT > real talk. […] [TP] 14:10 PST, music break: ‘healing music’, which has been used in at least one hospital, cited by the host lady, to heal people, literally. This corroborates Meredith Miller (Inner Integration). […] 14:50 PST, ‘travel as a […] act’ […] bourgeois, anti-Marxist commentary. Prof. Stephen Davis, on Politics Done Right, bloke conflated violence and extremism with Marxism and “revolutionary” struggle. He bemoaned the Marxists, which have contaminated the Socialist Democrats of America or whatnot. What a pity.
14:00 PST, KPFA > […] 14:15 PST, cover to cover? [tp] […] 14:36 PST, the written word.
14:00 PST, WPFW > […] real talk: Sierra Shine? speaks to a musician. [TP] The musician, a black-sounding bloke, gives us a gorgeous interpretation of John Lennon ‘s “Imagine”. Absolutely brilliant! Music is so healing. Pacifica Radio is so healing. Every town deserves a Pacifica Radio station on their terrestrial radio dials. Please support free speech radio. Please become a paying subscriber. KPFK host of Wisdom show said they’ve cut back their staff funding by 30% […] Yes! “Lee Oskar”, play Lotus Blossom! Please! Nope? No worries. ‘Avon Dues(sp?) & Friends interpret Michael Jackson’s, I think, “The Lady In My Life”.
“Wolff Responds: U.S. and China at an Economic Crossroads” by RicharfDWolff, 2 FEB 2021.
15:00 PST, WBAI > WBAI Evening News […] 15:14 PST, AOC drops 90-minute video narrating her experience cowering in fear on January 6th during the lynch mob mayhem at the Capitol Building. […] 15:17 PST, meanwhile ‘ideological hitman’ Tucker Carlson bashed AOC as being a fake ‘truth-teller’ […] Anchor Paul DiOrenzo(sp?)’s computer crashed; newscast interrupted. “Richie” filled in with a station I.D. What a guy!
15:00 PST, WPFW > […] 15:23 PST, music: sounds like Beyoncé, “Freedom”. […] 15:29 PST, Cierra Shine(sp?), “with a “C”, she said. Hmm. Interesting black history information: MLK’s iconic “I have a dream speech was improvised. Of course, like Miles or Coltrane or Monk. Per PBS.org, Cierra Shine said, 12.5 million African slaves were shipped during the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, but only less than half a million survived the brutal Atlantic crossing. […] 15:33 PST, on HBCUs. Yes, the best part about the university experience is the relationships we forge with like-minded people, which can build important relationships for one’s personal and professional development.
“Freedom” (live, 2016 BET Awards) by Beyoncé with Kendrick Lamar, 10 JUN 2020.
“Freedom” (official video) by Beyoncé
15;00 PST, KPFA > Rising Up with Sonali Kolhatkar > […] > 15:36 PST, man released from prison after being imprisoned for a crime he insists he did not commit, discussed his story, which he wrote about for Truthout.org.
Source: Instagram > Talib Kweli > “MAGA Man aka @SteelCageSavage is STILL CRYING”
This is sad… There’s some truth on all sides in this beef. But our sense is that Talib Kweli has the higher intellect here and, thus, must show leadership by opening up public dialogue. Even public debate beats social media sniping. How about we formulate reasoned critique? “MAGA Man” may be from the hood. But “MAGA” mythology is toxic no matter who advocates it. cf. American Mythology: The Presidency of Donald Trump.
It is difficult maintaining a dignified sense of decorum, at times. But we must catch ourselves. Is our intention to escalate, or de-escalate, hostilities? Yes, we want to call out bullshit. But we don’t want to gloat when we win because we will create more hostility, more enmity. It’s the social media equivalent of bombing a village and creating more ‘terrorists‘.
Thank you for reading Lumpenproletariat. Find our occasional appearances at the Robruken podcast. Robruken is a decent, working-class bloke in the rough trades as well as the fine arts of musicianship and harmony, with an emphasis on electronic music. Cheers. Solidarity.
“Solidarity” by Black Uhuru
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[2 FEB 2021]
[Last modified on 20 FEB 2021 at 11:53 PST]
[TW = Transcript Worthy, pending volunteer labor. These are segments of radio, which would make excellent short-length, easily-searchable videos to share and, hopefully, make viral news and information from a left, working class perspective.]
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