LUMPENPROLETARIAT—[Friday, 12 MAR 2021] Today is Day 52 of Mr. Biden’s first one hundred days in office. American liberals, centrists, had made a big deal about how Mr. Biden, they hoped, would usher in an FDR-like New Deal. But, back then, there was a robust political left, which has been smashed since then. Not only are there no active leftist political parties, but there is little to no militant labor movement anymore. Third parties have titillated American voters disillusioned with the two-party dictatorship for decades, but none have ever made it onto the Presidential Debate stage, since, what?, Ross Perot?
So, a robust left existed during the time of FDR, socialist and communist parties. What most pressured FDR to enact his New Deal was the wave of mass strikes across the nation. And, of course, we were reminded by various authors and experts on Pacifica Radio of how the New Deal was more of a congressional affair, than something, which came out of the White House, or God forbid, unstable and polarizing executive orders, which only lead to yo–yo policies.
Today, it is illegal to strike. The labor movement gave up its militancy in exchange for proximity to the Democrat Party long ago. But the Democrat Party, in return, has only betrayed the working class. And that betrayal has led to the lowest levels of union density, perhaps, in history. So, few labor organizers are willing to engage in wildcat strikes anymore. And that means the divided working class has no leverage.
So, it was pure Pollyannishness to believe or “hope” that Mr. Biden will represent the divided working class. As Dr. Richard Wolff has emphasized this week, the crumbs and scraps, which the divided working class will receive from the so-called Rescue Plan, will not change anything about the suffering of exploited and impoverished working class Americans. After the initial buzz of the temporary cash crumbs fade away, we will be back to the ongoing class warfare, which has kept wages stagnant since the 1970s, and which will continue to widen inequality, and continue to tighten police state controls over the poor and over black, brown, red, and, increasingly, yellow people, to use the Nixonian color coding language of Americans.
Post-Trump, the herd mentality continues to spread.
Dr. Cornel West, one of our favorite thinkers and activists, made many admirable and prescient points on Pacifica Radio’s Democracy Now! this week. The most salient for us today is the following:
The Condition for Truth is to Allow the Suffering to Speak
Today’s other salient observations:
- Pacifica Radio’s Askia Muhammad (WBAI & WPFW News) reported today that a new state law will make it illegal to talk to police officers. Protests have expressed public objection.
- Pacifica Radio’s Askia Muhammad (WBAI & WPFW News) reported today that Mr. Biden gave his first major public address last night. Pacifica Radio’s Dr. Gary Null expressed concerns regarding Mr. Biden’s neurological health, detecting slurred speech or signs of dementia. A number of us have been thinking the same thing.
- Margaret Prescod’s Sojourner Truth questioned the comparisons circulating among liberals between FDR’s New Deal and Mr. Biden’s Neoliberal Deal. As Dr. Richard Wolff argued recently on The Zero Hour with RJ Eskow, the divided U.S. working class has been pillaged since the 1970s with stagnant wages and dwindling benefits and job security. Mr. Biden’s so-called Rescue is nothing more than crumbs and scraps from the plates of the American Ruling Class because it is only a temporary fix. But the class exploitation and immiseration will continue unabated for the proletariat, the precariat.
Solidarity. Equanimity.
@LumpenProles, updated at 18:51 PDT, March 28, 2021.
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NOTES FROM A WORKING CLASS LEFT PERSPECTIVE
Friday, March 12, 2021
04:00 PST,
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“It’s Our Love” by Thee Sacred Souls, 2021.
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“Professor Richard Wolff: Imagining a Real American Rescue” by The Zero Hour with RJ Eskow, 12 MAR 2021.
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05:00 PST,
06:00 PST,
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[English translation below]
Este canal de YouTube es uno de mis favoritos este año pasado porque nos expusieron a Lord Sumption, quien articuló claramente lo que muchos estavamos pensando sobre los bloqueos estatales de las sociedades, o sea la decision de encarcelar a toda la sociedad en sus casas. Además, hicieron muchas preguntas sobre lo que estaba pensando, pero nadie más parecía estar pensando, ni siquiera preocuparse.
Si escuchas atentamente, creo que encontrarás que este canal, o al menos Freddie Sayers, puede ubicarse a la derecha del espectro político. Nosotros nos posicionamos a la izquierda. Sin embargo, el año pasado, solo la derecha ha desafiado, o al menos cuestionado, los bloqueos, la encarcelada.
Lo importante para nosotros, como decía Albert Einstein, es no dejar de cuestionar.
Por lo tanto, nos comprometemos con toda investigación crítica, ya sea de izquierda o de derecha. No estamos de acuerdo con todo lo que dicen. Pero apreciamos su disposición a ir en contra de la mentalidad de rebaño predominante.
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This YouTube channel is one of my favorites this past year because they exposed us to Lord Sumption, who articulated clearly what many of us were thinking about the state lockdowns of societies. Also, they asked many questions I was thinking, but no one else seemed to be thinking about, or even care about.
If you listen closely, I think you’ll find that this channel, or at least Freddie Sayers, can be positioned on the right of the political spectrum. I position myself on the left. Yet, this past year, only the right has been challenging, or at least questioning the lockdowns.
The important thing for us, like Albert Einstein said, is to not stop questioning.
So, we engage with all critical inquiry, whether on the left, or right. We don’t agree with everything they say. But we appreciate their willingness to go against the grain of the prevailing herd mentality.
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07:00 PST,
08:00 PST,
Music
09:00 PDT, WBAI > The Gary Null Show with Dr. Gary Null > […] 09:11 PDT, [TW] […] ‘fish oil: 3,000 mg’ Fish Oil is part of our daily stack. 09:15 PDT, on COVID-19 [TW] OPEN LETTER FROM DISSENTING DOCTORS HAS BEEN MADE PUBLIC AFTER GENE-BASED DRUG PUSHERS IGNORE CONCERNS FROM “50,000 scientists and MDs”. […] DR. NULL SEEMS TO BE SPEAKING PURE TRUTH HERE, VALID CONCERNS. PACIFICA RADIO’S LEONARD LOPATE SAID THIS WEEK PACIFICA DOESN’T NEED TO MOVE IN LOCKSTEP (ON WEDNESDAY, 10 MAR). MAYBE NOT, BUT PACIFICA BROADCASTERS MUST BE ALLOWED TO DEBATE EACH OTHER ON AIR. IF NOT, WE CALL BULLSHIT ON LOPATE AND OTHERS OF HIS GASLIGHTING ILK. PLEASE DEBATE PUBLICLY. IN THE NAME OF HUMANITY. WE REFUSE TO ACCEPT A FASCIST AMERICA. […] 09:32 PDT,
10:00 PST, WBAI > Leonard Lopate at Large > […] Lopate pushed the controversial zoonotic origins of COVID-19 myth again without qualification. We remind readers that this is an unresolved controversy, as acknowledged by Dr. Michio Kaku on Explorations earlier this week. The fact that Mr. Lopate is uncritically regurgitating the CDC’s dubious claims about a zoonotic origin of the SARS-2 virus, which causes COVID-19, is a red flag. We mustn’t forget the CDC is part of the U.S. military, which is to say part of the military-industrial complex. And let us not forget that their focus on the development of biological weapons, of which germ/microbe weaponization is a very real component. Either Mr. Lopate has an agenda to obfuscate controversy around the origins of the COVID-19, or he is uncritically and irresponsibly re: covid [] 10:17 carbs become glucose and glucose becomes lpyrovate goes jnto mitochondria […] 1024, doctor suggested interesting effects. But Lopate ignored him and instead moved to fear monger about obesity, only for the doctor to say that was wrong. […[ this chat is about weight loss, not body composition, sadly. Cf. Bikman, Why We get sick. Ben pakulski, et al. But we do concede that the more we eat, the faster our cells burn out, like Null said yesterday. […] “overtraining” […] 1046, The doctor just corroborated what we’ve been saying: fat does not make you fat. Your author practices carb cycling. Low carb days are high fat days. But be mindful of the triglyceride profiles. Beware of Omega-6 fats, which are estrogenic. Once I mastered the principles of natural bodybuilding, I always stay under 10% body fat, which is what we want to avoid various health issues associated with carrying excess fat. Of course, women’s healthy body fat percentiles are higher than men. And, ultimately, one’s ability to reduce body fat is a hormonal matter. If one hits a wall with fat reduction, the next step is to consider hormone function. But not everyone needs to be lean. And, we acknowledge, real women have curves. This doctor didn’t mention any of this. Oh, well. Again, all theory, no practice or experience. Pacifica’s Dr. Gary Null was a bodybuilder earlier in his life,270 lbs at about a 6 foot stature. Dr. Null knows from theory and from direct experience with body composition. “Weight loss” is a scam, dear readers. Please master your body composition: reduce your body fat and increase your body muscle, which will increase bone density and improve general health. […] 10:50 PST, ‘We actually produce more energy, pound for pound, than the sun does.’ Whoa. Cf. The Matrix, humans used as power cells for AI, which has plugged us into little bubbles of cognitive illusion, not unlike what society looks like today, perhaps. […] Our primary critique of Mr. Lopate is that he ignores alternative perspectives, such as his own colleague, Dr. Gary Null, who was on his own radio station WBAI in the very hour before his broadcast. This reminds us of what we have observed at other Pacifica Radio stations. It seems there are liberals within Pacifica Radio, who uncritically accept—is there any other way?—the notion of voting Democrat, which is antidemocratic because a two-party political cartel, whicy excludes alternative political parties from ballot access via Top-Two Primary laws and blocks alternative political parties from the presidential debates is antidemocratic. And it has created an acceptance in society of only two political choices, both neoliberal, both antilabor, both anti-working class. Also, two-party systems are polarizing, as we have been saying, and as must be patently clear to all by now. Yet, somehow, only Ralph Nader and a few other voices have acknowledged this reality on Pacifica Radio. And we recall when Ralph Nader was saying this, KPFA’s editorial consensus marginalized Ralph Nader, but championed the neoliberal Mr. Obama. Only people, like KPFA’s Davey D (Hard Knock Radio) aired critical voices, such as Mr. Carl Dix, who wasn’t afraid to go against the herd mentality and speak honestly about the two-party dictatorship.
Mr. Lopate, like his cognates at KPFA (e.g., Kris Welch, Brian Edwards-Tiekert, Philip Maldari, et al) seem and at KPFK (Sonali Kolhatkar, et al.) and at WBAI (Kristine Blasdale(sp?), et al and her postmodern hyperrealism, pushing magical thinking towards “wealth and abundance“, neoliberal individualism instead of individual liberty; they seem to be brainwashing the youth, millennials and post-millenials against collective action, like the whole antidemocratic “New Day” Pacifica Bylaws Referendum, which seeks to disenfranchise the Pacifica Radio listeners, who are the legal and rightful owners of Pacifica), they all tend to avoid debate. We suspect these non-grassroots, non-activist types tend to avoid debate because, were they to attempt to debate their positions, they would be exposed as frauds. When I’ve called in to Pacifica Radio stations, management at all stations have censored me once I begin to question all of this, or raise difficult questions about the internal struggles within Pacifica Radio. But some of us have seen liberals, presumably Democrat Party partisans, who have been trying to NPR-ize, or corporatize Pacifica since the 1990s. We remember during the 1999 KPFA Lockout, when many of us camped out in front of our beloved KPFA/Pacifica National Office because we felt the state was trying to shut us down. Mr. Bill Clinton even hammered on Ms. Janet Reno because he felt she wasn’t cracking down hard enough on the protestors camped out in front of KPFA. So, when we hear Democrat partisans and apologists, who look down their noses at their colleagues to the left of them, or their colleagues willing to engage in more controversial questions than them, when we see such intellectual censorship, we must call it out.
On Wednesday, Mr. Lopate (like his cognates at KPFA often attempt to do) tried to claim that he doesn’t take a position, e.g. on controversial topics. Yet, his cheerleading guest said, I’m opinionated enough for the both of us. That underscored the reality that the very selection of guests is where Mr. Lopate and other broadcasters establish their position. It’s one’s bias which drives one to select a topic or guest to emphasize. Everyone is biased. The question is whether they are transparent, or secretive, about their biases. No one is neutral. As Dr. Howard Zinn said, You Can’t Be Neutral On a Moving Train. DON’T FALL FOR IT. Mr. Lopate invited listeners to email him with questions and comments at leonardlopate@wbai.org
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“Is This a Class Reductionist?” by Jacobin, 12 MAR 2021.
“On the Jacobin Show, Ariella Thornhill discusses why and how black civil rights and labor leaders, such as Martin Luther King and Bayard Rustin fought for the types of universal, redistributive programs that some liberals today consider ‘class reductionist’.”
Tune in to the Jacobin Show every Wednesday at 18:00 ET (i.e., 6 pm ET) on The Jacobin channel.
Wow. What a wonderful video. This analysis makes our hearts sing because it expands the lines of inquiry, which we have been pursuing here at Lumpenproletariat, especially since Epoch Philosophy opened up our eyes to the postmodern hyperrealism and revisionism, which has repurposed Dr. King’s true legacy in service of capital. Maybe it’s time for grad school.
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10:55 PST, WBAI & WPFW > News Headlines with Askia Muhammad > […] ‘new law will make it a crime to taunt police officers‘?
11:00 PST, WBAI > Neurodiversity > topic: dyslexia, esp. in black and brown people
11:00 PST, KPFA > Voices of the Middle East and North Africa (VOMENA) > […] 11:07 PST, […] ‘the way Arab Jews were treated in Israel was terrible.’ […] 11:08 PST,
11:00 PST, KPFT [HD2] > […] 11:09 PST, [TW] ‘real romance means women matter’ […] On truth and reconciliation’, you can’t have reconciliation without truth. | ‘being angry at injustice doesn’t make you an angry person’ ‘censoring anger is a way to close a conversation’ | Next topic: Remembering Octavia Butler, super cool dystopian sci fi writer.
11:55 PST, new law could make it a crime to talk to police officers.
12:00 PST, KPFA > It’s Going Down > […] 12:12 PST, talk. sounds like the topic is gentrification in Houston. […] ‘mutual aid around the big Texas freeze’ due to what Dr. Michio Kaku described this week on Explorations as the wandering polar vortex, which has become destabilized due to human-induced climate change.
13:00 PST, KPFA > Project Censored with Mickey Huff > topic: big ag vs the environment […] Neoliberalism privatising the Point Reyes Seashore! […] 13:32 PST, Mickey Huff: “Local media matters.” ‘to fill the void of media deserts.’ […] One guest said he was going to be optimistic that Mr. Biden would do better than Mr. Trump. But we implore him to soul-search on that optimism. What is that optimism based upon, past political behavior of Mr. Biden, or a desire to be polite? We don’t think the man was a naive liberal. He seems more politically astute than us. When we listen to Project Censored, we listen like devoted students because they are the truth. But we are as frustrated as Dr. King by this uncritical support for Democrat Party politics, which, as Dr. Richard Wolff said recently on The Zero Hour with RJ Eskow is misguided.
14:00 PST, WPFW > Sojourner Truth with Margaret Prescod > Weekly Roundtable with Dr. Gerald Horne, et al. [TW]
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“The Resurgence of Race Reductionism – Touré Reed” by Jacobin, 12 MAR 2021.
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14:00 PST, KPFA > Terra Verde > [TW] real talk. ‘Kern County, California fossil fuel industry plans fast-track drilling of many wells’ and privatize water? […] ‘grassroots’ ‘people of color’ […] ‘This struggle goes back to 2015.’ […] ‘That’s why a second lawsuit is being filed this week.’ […] ‘A single well can have many adverse side effects…’ […] ‘Most of the public comment was opposed to the well-drilling.’ […] ‘well-drilling ordinance will cause harm to rural, unincorporated areas and the local people, as the pollution worsens and the health problems worsen’ […] ‘30,000 premature deaths were due to fossil fuel emissions’ […] The New Republic article, “This is what..” ‘Hopefully, Newsom will do right,’ said the male guest interviewee. But what is that hope based upon, past political behavior or wishful thinking?’ […] 14:29 PST, ‘Ta-Nehisi Coates speech clip’. He seems to please white liberals. But does he challenge the two-party dictatorship, which white liberals support via the Democrat Party?
14:30 PST, KPFA > Pushing Limits > Host is interviewing Adrienne Lauby, a KPFA acquaintance of mine circa 2007-2010, when I ran for the KPFA Local Station Board. After 2011 to 2012, I worked with Abby Martin on MediaRoots.org. After 2013, I was at UMKC. Now, it’s time to reconnect with our peace and justice friends. […] ‘SuperFest’ disabilities film festival. […] 14:53 PST, ‘What’s next for the Longmore Institute?’
15:00 PST, KPFA > Rising Up with Sonali Kolhatkar > News with Sonali | Sonali reported on COVID-19 with an uncritical lense, smearing Robert Kennedy for spreading baseless ‘anti-vaxxe’ rumors. Yet, in her accusation of Robert Kennedy, who has been banned from Twitter, Kolhatkar presented no evidence in her baseless smear. What’s wrong with this picture? […] 15:09 PST, music break. | Next segment: ‘American Rescue Plan’ is a $1.9 Trillion. Billions are set aside for black farmers.’ Guest: ‘John’ ‘At the turn of the century 1 million, 14% of farmers. Now, numbers are down drastically due to discrimination, unfair land practices, lending programs, and migration northward of black people.’ […] 15:12 PST,
15:00 PST, WPFW > News Views with Garland Nixon > […] 15:13 PST, ‘What do we need to know about the Haitian Constitution and why Mr. Biden wants to change it?’ documentary film: Aristide and the Endless Revolution. […] ‘It was a dirty informational war against Aristide because he posed an existential threat to US imperialism because he refused to be a political puppet, or proxy, for US imperialism.’ […] ‘US imperialism works 25 hours a day to overthrow any government they can’t control.’ […] ‘We must connect all movements for racial justice around the world.’ cf. Black Alliance for Peace. cf. Dead Pres on dreaming. cf. Malcolm X talked about the house slave vs the field slave. Many colonized minds have a house slave mentality. [TW] ‘That’s why internationalism is important.’ An injury to one is an injury to all, as the Wobblies used to say. Dr. King said something similar, decades later. […] Follow guest Mr. Danny Shaw on Twitter for coverage of Haiti. […] cf. Haïti Liberté. […] @DannyShawCUNY. cf. CodePink. Ecuadorian military may intervene against elections. […] ‘The US will never overthrow Haiti because the last little old lady left will come down from the hills and throw a rock at the imperialists, if she must. But they will never stop fighting for independence because they are very revolutioary. They know that ‘Kidnapping is a political weapon now.’ […] ‘Like Che Guevara said…’ […] call-ins invited. 15:38 PST, unable to hear broadcast any longer, as I’m on hold with WPFW to join the discussion on Haiti and the global struggle against the three evils of society on an internationalist level. […] I called in, dear readers, but I went off-topic and lost my focus, it seems. Or maybe I was censored? Maybe the host didn’t want me to expose the forces within Pacifica Radio, who are opposed to the Pacifica Mission statement, who want to eliminate democratic governance of Pacifica, who have been seeking to corporatize Pacifica since the 1990s. Patience is a virtue, they say. But Dr. King also warned us about gradualism, which is what liberals/centrists at Pacifica are keen on maintaining. […] 1549, male caller just said, ‘I have to commiserate with the gentleman, who can’t get on KPFA,’ he said, referring to your author, ‘but we can always get on WPFW.’ We hope. But what is this hope based on, past behavior evidenced, or wishful thinking?
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Thank you for reading Lumpenproletariat. Also find us at Lumpen.org
Solidarity. Equanimity.
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[12 MAR 2021]
[Last modified on 28 MAR 2021 at 20:01 PDT]
[TW = Transcript Worthy, transcription pending volunteer labor. These are segments of radio, which would make excellent short-length, easily-searchable videos of news and information from a working class left perspective.]
