LUMPENPROLETARIAT—[Thursday, 18 FEB 2021, 04:21 PST] Forget the 24-hour news cycle. We tune in to the news of the day to stay informed. We take notes. But we also tune out to focus on the bigger picture and the longer view. News outlets are only tools for us to use in the struggle for freedom. They are not meant for us to be enslaved to them. (Having said that, we must not let them sell off any Pacifica Radio stations. Please support free speech radio with a donation.) Yesterday, on KPFA’s Against the Grain, we heard an interview about the early days of free speech radio. Once upon a time, there was a radio show called News and What To Do About It. We thought to ourselves, Yes! That’s what workers need!

The first half of the radio broadcast would address some current event or issue in need of redress. And the second half of the show would discuss ideas for direct action to mobilize workers and their allies immediately. Brilliant! That’s what we, the people, need. If the freedom of the press is to ensure an informed citizenry, then a vibrant press is to ensure a vibrant and mobile citizenry, which can mobilize for mass direct action swiftly.

“Dr. Richard Wolff on the Yellow Vest Movement” by Richard Medhurst, 17 FEB 2021.

The American working classes have been brutally punished on so many levels for decades. And Americans have been gaslit by the two-party system, or two-party dictatorship, as Ralph Nader calls it, for so long that we have been completely demobilized in America. Despair has gripped Americans by the throat for decades. But we need not despair. Where there is people, there is always hope. We just need to build bridges of dialogue, so as to foster strong social ties, and deep solidarity.

Of course, our political consciousness in the USA is severely deficient, as Dr. Richard Wolff noted yesterday in conversation with indy journalist Richard Medhurst. He cited Louis Althusser in his discussion, which contrasted the differing legacies we are living with today. In America, we are starting to see the true nature of the American Revolution. In France, they have been living their revolution to this day. It seems the American Revolution against monarchist fascism was hollow because the so-called founding fathers were not truly revolutionary. They were bourgeois elitists, racists, and slaves owners. Thomas Paine was a rare exception.

So, we have all drank the kool-aid, as it were, with regard to the nature of our nation. As noted by Dr. Wolff, the “ideological formation” at home is very important. What happens in conversations at the dinner table, and in bed before going to sleep, all those things are very important to how a working class population responds to crises. And, in the USA, we are currently drowning in crises. Yet, we have been paralyzed to act for justice. Black Lives Matter, despite all of its flaws, has proven to be the greatest threat to the fascist American police state cancer, which is foreclosing on the notion of democracy.

We, Americans, must realize what the French people have long realized. Power concedes nothing without a demand. And demands are made in the street through militant mass mobilizations and encampments.

In the USA, they say never discuss politics or religion in mixed company. If we live like that, it’s inevitable that, over time, such a social philosophy will be internalized by an increasing segment of our population. Pretty soon we won’t be discussing anything meaningful at home or work or anywhere. How many of our families nowadays actually encourage free speech and debate about the issues of the day?

Words are beautiful, but actions supreme.

#GeneralStrike

@LumpenProles, 16:42 PST

***

Notes from a working class left perspective, tuning into critical analyses…

*

Download the Pacifica Radio Network app to easily tune in to the live broadcasts of the terrestrial radio signals across the free speech radio network.

05:00 PST, WPFW [DC] & WBAI [NY] & KPFT [Houston] > […] 0540, That was Dr. Monica Ghandi. Up next, movement to cancel student debt. [TW] debtcollective.org. book, Can’t Pay, Won’t Pay […] 10-year anniversary of Nermeen Sheikh on DN!

0622, 06:00 PST, KPFA > Democracy Now! > 0622, re: Texas “We are a failed state right now, in every sense of the word.” […] 06:54 PST, Amy Goodman helps KPFA staffers, Arielle Boone(sp?), et al. , raise money for KPFA/Pacifica free speech radio. PLEASE SUPPORT FREE SPEECH RADIO KPFA AND PACIFICA RADIO. GET LANGSTON HUGHES AND MAYA ANGELOU, KNOWLEDGE IS POWER PACK. You will receive a digital file via email. “Walnut Creek”, said Amy. The lumpen know y’all got money out there in Walnut Creek. Where you at? “San Jose.” […] ‘Unfolding catastrophe, as the government tried to deny climate change’ “Cancel the debts. Power to the people!” said Tiffany in San Francisco, who just donated. […]

07:00 PST, KPFA > UpFront with Brian Edwards-Tiekert | Removing a Junipero Serra statue. It’s about time. Is it not? And more, after the news. | KPFA News Headlines with Max Pringle. | ‘Life expectancy in US dropped by one year, said CDC, worst drop since WWII. | 07:04 PST, “Northern Nigeria” […] ‘to reinforce security where the abduction took place’ | ‘Facebook’ is being forced to pay for journalism? | On California’s affordable housing crisis. A new bill, said “John Burbank(sp?)”, ‘would be focused on helping the hardest hit’ | […] 07:07 PST, […] | Max Pringle: ‘Newsom may provide $600 checks to some Calofornians?’ > TEXAS: ‘it may mean a life and death situation for many Americans in Texas.’ Texas Tribune contributor discusses the “power outages”. ‘Right-wingers tried to bash renewable energy, yet natural gas seems to be leading the outages because they’re not prepared for these extreme winters. Proper preparation would involve winterizing. When pipes freeze […] ‘Natural gas is getting hit on all sides’ | Why no winterizing? During the previous storm, lawmakers, policymakers, et al decided not to mandate legally, but to encourage voluntary upgrades. The state was warned about this a decade ago. But there were no plans to upgrade.’ | ‘Whose job was it to upgrade? Good question. Ercot(sp?), to some extent. | ‘Why is Texas walled off from the rest of the state’s grid? Texas wanted to go it alone, be the Lone Star state.’ Erin Douglas, filing from Kentucky, The Texas Tribune. | 07:16 PST, Why do the outages seem to be worsening? […] ‘We have a deregulated market.’ Why isn’t our national energy grid nationalised, and held in trust, democratically, by the people? […] 07:18 PST, ‘What effect has deregulation had on energy prices, people’s energy bills? It remains to be seen.’ Well, this morning on Democracy Now! one gentleman anticipated high energy bills, inability to pay, further shut downs, and further suffering. Where is Mr. Biden? People have already died because of this, according to news reports we heard on Pacifica Radio and elsewhere yesterday. […] ‘Texas wants a plan to insure this doesn’t happen again.’ We contend public ownership of the national energy grid is the way to go.’ […] 07:25 PST, BET fund drive mode. PLEASE SUPPORT FREE SPEECH RADIO KPFA. […] 07:40 PST, On Junipero Serra, the violent colonizer “saint“. ‘Indigenous People’s Five’ ‘felony charges’

07:00 PST, WPFW > The Collision […] 07:29 PST, ‘Chuck, Dave, and the team were contrasting the police state response to Black Lives Matter compared to the rioters of January 6th.’ […] 07:31

07:00 PST, WBAI > […] 07:31 PST, ‘revolutionary brain tap’

07:00 PST, KPFT [HD2] > Flashpoints (rebroadcast from last night) […] 07:32 PST, Palestinian struggle for liberation. Norah Barrows-Friedman interview. […] 07:37 PST,

07:00 PST, KPFK > Sojourner Truth with Margaret Prescod | […] 07:39 PST, On the “commodification” of slaves, and the slave trade. Walter Johnson, author of River of Dark Dreams. […] 07:40 PST, [..] 1960, Reconciliation of Opposites, Alan watts […] Context is important. In the context of UpFront, a show about current affairs and politics, the meaning of “the middle way” and “moderation” seems to validate liberals/centrists. Perhaps, certain white liberals feel that they are manifesting wisdom when they seek “the middle way” in American politics. However, being an American centrist is antithetical to moderation. Because only a true opposite can moderate, say, the right-wing of the political spectrum. Only the communist and socialist parties on the far left can reconcile its opposite of the far right. Our American problem is we have an imbalance. We have a stifling of opposites. The Democrat Party, a centrist political orientation, claims to be an oppositional force to Republican Party right-wing politics. But they are more similar, than dissimilar, to the Republican Party. Later, Alan Watts discussed accepting things as they are, and not desiring more than we’re going to get. If we attempt to map that logic from the individual will to the collective will, we will encounter a fallacy of composition. This notion may be valid, at the individual level. But it is a recipe for subjugation when applied to a collective will. […] 08:22 PST, fund drive mode […] 0838, clip from Fundamentals of Buddhism, 1960

09:00 PST, WBAI > The Gary Null Show with Gary Null | [TW] new study findings: flavinol found in cucumbers helps prevent Alzeimers. Also, more evidence fiber helps against colorectal cancer. […] [TW] Excellent analysis of the state of the nation. […] [TW] British bloke on “essentialism”.

*

“Lynn Parramore: Pandemic and Deaths of Despair” by The Zero Hour with RJ Eskow, 18 FEB 2021.

*

09;00 PST, KPFK > […] 0936, “The Republican lie” TH triied to blame neoliberal fail in texas on only GOP

10:00 PST, WBAI > News Headlines with Askia Mohammed(sp?) | Leonard Lopate at Large has been pre-empted by, evidently, a big seller at WBAI. Go figure. Stressed New Yorkers need help with “anti-aging”. The best advice we ever heard came from Uncle Jose back in the day: Just don’t be a pussy, man. Seth Feroce is famous for saying the same thing once in a while. Remember, it’s not the muscle, which moves the weight. It’s the mind, which fires the neurons, which move the muscles, which move the weight. As Kai Greene reminds us, thoughts become things. Increase muscle mass to increase bone density for graceful aging. Stretch and keep moving to maintain flexibility. As far as “anti-aging”, well, as Dr. King said, longevity has its place, as does moral action. (This is a rerun.) […] 10:09 PST,

10:00 PST, WPFW > […] 10:10 PST, [TW] labor. | ‘How do we take some of the lessons from Mr. Ben Fletcher, 1913 dock workers, organized, 100 black men were being lynched every year. […] 1048, ‘Laura’, the Black Freedom Struggle (?), previous segment was Peter Cole. ‘Laura Warren Hill’ […] This labor guy, Chris, sounds like Dave Palumbo. lol […] | [TW] News Headlines with Sue Goodwin: lawsuit says Trump, et al violated KKK Act, Benny Thompson of Mississippi, et al, per NAACP. | strike! upcoming, Fight for $15.

10:00 PST, KPFA > […] 10:11 labor, Peter Cole. […] 1047, today was part 2 on black radicals

“Sept. 11-style Commission to Investigate U.S. Capitol Insurrection” by Richard Medhurst, 18 FEB 2021.

11:00 PST, KPFA > The Talkies with Kris Welch > ‘Raymond Nat Turner’; ‘Cal Matters on the state of California’ | ‘Mars Rover, Perseverance, is carrying a 4-lb helicopter’ | Capitol Hill, formal introduction of immigration reform, which needs at least ten Republican votes. | Houston, fourth largest city in the U.S. | Newsom recall movement update […] 1132, “to monitor the Democrats”. Indeed, Kris. Indeed. […] Cal Matters | Newsom sweetheart deal to Blue Cross, his primary campaign funders? | poetry cited Fred Hampton. Apro po are Fred’s reminder: “Words are beautiful, but actions supreme.” And let’s not forget, as recent Jacobin chats have reminded us: Community is NOT class power. […] 11:46 PST […] 1150, pitch, KW on “reality” [TW] This broadcast made us think about white fragility for some reason. We ought to request an interview from Kris Welch. It would be mutually beneficial for white folks and for people of color. We must build bridges. […]

12:00 PST, KPFA > Behind the News with Doug Henwood > 12:04 PST, first hearings next week, in the Senate, on the sieges of January 6th | Forrest Hilton (sp?) on Bolsanaro’s attack on worker’s party. […]12:14 PST, ‘This looks more like a military dictatorship.’ […] On race, covid, and democracy […] ‘Most Brazilians are black; and blacks are being excluded from everything’ 12:30 PST, ‘Third world, 50%+ of income goes to food! Especially Brazil.’ […] 12:31 PST, fund drive mode. Others: “sensational or sophoric” […] last clip of interview. ‘The reason things look bleak is because of the lack of opposition.” Indeed. This is our challenge as well in the USA, and on the so-called ‘left’, which is NOT left because it supports, defers to, settlea for, or otherwise backs the morally bankrupt and vilely unprincipled Democrat Party. […] Forest Hilton(sp?), Professor […] 12:38 PST, BET: THIS IS A FUND DRIVE BROADCAST. PLEASE SUPPORT FREE SPEECH RADIO KPFA.

1200 wbai […] 1239, race talk, pitch.

14:00 PST, > Sojourner Truth with Margaret Prescod > Baldwin: ‘The intentions of America have always been genocidal.” “If in doubt, ask the Native Americans.’ […] Manning Marable on Malcolm X, After Mecca, he said, ‘I was just as angry as before. But now I also saw… “Anger can blind human vision.” […] 14:43 PST, Dr. Cornell West […] ‘John Brown’ ‘Miles Horton’ ‘The very idea of America makes me shake and tremble with terror.’

13:00 PST, KPFA > Fund Drive Special > Mitch Jeserich presents archival audio of Langston Hughes. ‘Exclusive’ audio from the Pacifica Radio archives. [TW] How Langston Hughes reluctantly became a poet in school. […] 13:08 PST,

*

*

“Ecuador: An Electoral Coup in the Process” by Jacobin, 18 FEB 2021. (Livestream, 15:00 PST]

*

16:00 PST, KPFA > KPFA manager in fund drive mode. PLEASE SUPPORT FREE SPEECH RADIO KPFA.

16:00 PST, WBAI > Sojourner Truth with Margaret Prescod | 16:11 PST, Margaret Prescod presented a clip of Arundathi Roy(sp?) on the state of the world, post-COVID-19. [TW] […] “How do we mobilize?’ […] ‘This pandemic is biblical.’ “What have we done?” […] 16:23 PST, ‘Combine that with the rising fascism.’ […] “We have this touchless future.” Bleak. “You can’t really think of countries anymore.” ‘It’s just hermitic elites.’

17:30 PST, KPFT [HD2] > “human extinction groups” ‘The American death culture’ […] “humanism” […] This sounds like the philosophy show.

*

“Speaking to inmate David Gilbert” by Stories From the Penitentiary, 21 OCT 2020.

*

“Hypocrisy Between Assange and Navalny Trials“, 18 FEB 2021.

*

“Who Rules America: The Rise of the Military-Industrial Complex [with Danny Schecter “The News Dissector”] | Corporations” by ENDEVR, 27 DEC 2020.

*

‘Saagar Enjeti: NYT FREAKS About Unfettered Conversations They CANNOT Control” by The Hill, 18 FEB 2021.

***

[18 FEB 2021]

[Last modified on 18 FEB 2021 at 20:45 PST]