LUMPENPROLETARIAT—[Tuesday, 9 MAR 2021] Today is Day 49 of Mr. Biden’s first 100 days in office. We don’t expect Mr. Biden to do anything for people of color, or for working class people, or for any oppressed people in the USA. We look forward to hearing how the so-called moderates and liberals and Democrat partisans at Pacifica Radio will spin Biden’s first hundred days. We never want to hear anyone on Pacifica Radio engaging in Democrat Party apologia ever again. It makes no sense. It is a betrayal of Pacifica’s Mission statement.
We must realize that we do not have a democracy in the USA. Firstly, we have a representative republic. But, even that reality has been overthrown by technocrats, as chillingly explained by BBC documentarian Adam Curtis in his latest series, I Can’t Get You Out of My Head (cf. “Money Changes Everything”). As Ralph Nader has long held, we have a two-party dictatorship. Even Jeremy Scahill acknowledged that in an interview with Chris Hedges on The Intercepted podcast.
We need to hear these facts about the antidemocratic two-party dictatorship, which is dividing our nation, acknowledged clearly on Pacifica Radio and woven into the discourse, especially when interviewing prominent figures, if we ever hope to dispel the myths and illusions under which white liberals and their allies operate. As we have emphasized at Lumpenproletariat before: Two-Party Systems Are Polarizing.
By now, these facts should be clear to all. Even Jimmy Dore had some “blunt talk” with “Noam Chomsky on the line” yesterday; and Jimmy got “Noam Chomsky” to admit the truth about Democrat politicians. This is the one, single bone of contention many of us have had with Dr. Noam Chomsky over the years, since Mr. Obama appeared as a wolf in sheep’s clothing. We have never understood Dr. Chomsky’s reasoning for encouraging people to vote Democrat, to vote for a two-party cartel. Perhaps, it’s longevity. We recall Dr. King acknowledging longevity, it “has its place”, he said. But longevity has nothing to do with honesty. So, Dr. Chomsky has made it into his 90s. The moment Dr. King grew disillusioned with the so-called moderates, he was abandoned by everyone, even other civil rights leaders. And it’s also the moment he became the most dangerous threat to the state and its corporate-capitalist ruling class.
We have long said that progressives and leftists must build third-party alternatives. We have known since Ralph Nader that a vote for the Democrat Party is a vote for the two-party dictatorship. But, perhaps, liberals (i.e, centrists, Dems, et al) don’t actually care about democracy, or sincere political alternatives.
“NOAM CHOMSKY“: “Jimmy, remember a while ago, when I said that once Joe Biden becomes president we can push him to the left?”
JIMMY DORE: “Yeah.”
“NOAM CHOMSKY“: “Well, I don’t think that’s gonna happen. [chuckles]“
JIMMY DORE: “[laughs heartily]“
“NOAM CHOMSKY“: “[laughter, followed by slightly sinister laughter]“
JIMMY DORE: “[laughs heartily] That’s not gonna happen?”
“NOAM CHOMSKY“: “At least not in the foreseeable future.”
JIMMY DORE: “What do you mean by foreseeable future?”
“NOAM CHOMSKY“: “Like, before the sun explodes into a million beautiful colours.”
JIMMY DORE: “[laughs] That’s not very helpful, Noam.”
“NOAM CHOMSKY“: “Speaking of the sun exploding, have you seen my lighter?”
Oy vey. We gotta love the subversive use of humor. Where’s Dave Chappelle when you need him? Recently, we’ve contemplated on the use of humor as subversion (recalling a friend’s thesis or dissertation years ago). We were glad Dave Chappelle spoke out like he did. But we can only imagine the glory and sheer poetic beauty, if Dave Chappelle went after the real enemy: The scared liberal inside of all of us, which allows the Democrat Party to act as a safety valve for pent up frustration with capitalist social relations.
Historically, only 30% to 40% or so of Americans bother to vote. When we get frustrated enough, we vote, but for the same two corporate political parties, which betray the divided American working class every time. But then we must contend with the fact that simply voting every so many years is an inadequate approach to civic engagement, much less civic responsibility.
In a letter to his spouse, Coretta Scott King, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr confided in her that, “Capitalism has outlived its usefulness.” It seems Dr. King was, perhaps, the only completely honest leader of his generation of the Civil Rights movements, or the most astute. Well, Malcolm X was honest, too; and he was assassinated. Medgar Evers was likewise assassinated, and Fred Hampton, and others. We heard on Democracy Now! about the extent of government infiltration of civil rights groups and black and brown communities, generally. It was reported there were about six informants per FBI agent.
But we will never acknowledge this fact because the Democrat Party and its subscribers stifle sincere opposition to the three evils of society, which Dr. King identified: racism, militarism, and materialism.
DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR: “Well, it depends on the level we are talking here because I think we have to make a distinction between the people, who are absolutely and genuinely committed in the white community on the question of racial equality. And I must confess that I think they are a very small minority. I think the vast majority of white Americans, uh, will go but so far. It’s a kind of installment plan for equality. And they are always looking for an excuse to go but so far.”
Instead of our schoolteachers playing us the same “I have a dream” clip of longing for togetherness, which was a nice dream, instead, we should have been played this clip over and over again. The quotation above presents us a more sincere picture, a non-Pollyannish version of Dr. King, a multidimensional Dr. King, not the papier-mâché version the historical revisionists gave us, including some of my most beloved teachers and role models of my youth, even my most prized mentors, my personal friends with PhDs, who teach at universities, who shall remain nameless. They have all disappointed people of color, and their struggle for freedom. It almost feels like betrayal, like everyone was lying, or engaging in subconscious gaslighting. Only Dr. King, Malcolm X, and a very few number of national leaders have spoke honestly to people of color.
(cf. c. 05:20)
(cf. c. 08:11)
DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR, quoting ELLA BAKER: “We have come a long way…”
EPOCH PHILOSOPHY: (c. 17:40) “So, in my opinion, the absolutely best way to understand this revisionism, this contemporary phenomenon of hyperreality is through the lens of Martin Luther King…”
DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR: (c. 19:20): “Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute understanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is more bewildering than outright rejection.”
Yes! This is it. This is what some of us have been trying to articulate since we realized the Democrat voter, the so-called white liberal, and nowadays, liberals of any color, will only go so far for justice, as Dr. King lamented. And the point to which the so-called moderate, or centrist, the Democrat voter is willing to go stops far short of the distance, which is required to achieve freedom for black and brown people, and nowadays all people, given the nature of the corporate coup de’tat, which experts, including Chris Hedges, et al, have sounded the alarm about years ago
Well, dear readers, the tyranny of the clock as Pacifica Radio’s Mitch Jeserich likes to say means that we are out of time. And, yet, again we are unsatisfied with this writing. We have not yet fully, nor clearly, nor concisely articulated what we wanted to articulate. But we are beginning to learn that old aphorism commonly attributed to Voltaire (1770): “Il meglio è l’inimico del bene“. [1]
Perfect is the enemy of the good.
Today’s salient observations:
- Back at the heterodox economics department at UMKC, Dr. L. Randall Wray taught us about how China would eventually eclipse the USA, economically, if we continued with the status quo. For some reason, Pacifica Radio, ostensibly free speech radio, never championed his accurate analysis, nor that of NY Times bestselling author, another former professor, Dr. Stephanie Kelton (The Deficit Myth: Modern Monetary Theory and the Birth of the People’s Economy), nor any heterodox economists, outside of Dr. Wolff, who is an ally of UMKC, but has always refused to acknowledge MMT. That is our main bone of contention with Dr. Richard Wolff: He obfuscates MMT, like Pacifica Radio. Had Pacifica Radio championed MMR, or at least adequately informed their listenership, rather than marginalize Guns and Butter, the only show willing to discuss MMT or the job guarantee policy proposal, we may not have the status quo continuing unabated. As further evidence of the prophetic nature of UMKC economics, The Keiser Report informed us today about how last month, February 2021, “China recorded their biggest box office month in history. Its theaters are full!” Chris Fenton (author, Feeding the Dragon): “It’s really an unbelievable situation where last month, February—which obviously had the Chinese New Year national holiday in there—the month, itself, did almost $2 billion dollars U.S. [currency] in box office [sales]. The disappointing thing about that is the amount of money, that Hollywood movies grossed during that period was a whopping $14 million of it.”
- The Keiser Report also informed us today that China is now working on 6G. The economic eclipse continues as the American economy falls apart and we had likely the worst COVID-19 response of the developed world.
@LumpenProles, updated at 08:23 PST, 12 MAR 2021
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Please support democratic governance of the Pacifica Radio Network. Please vote NO on the Pacifica Bylaws Referendum, which seeks to disenfranchise the listener-members of the Pacifica Radio Foundation, who are the legal owners of Pacifica because they pay for it through their financial contributions. This Pacifica Bylaws referendum seeks to disenfranchise listener-members by eliminating democratically-elected Local Station Boards with unaccountable, unelected elite gatekeepers. This is akin to regulatory capture. The only way Pacifica Radio can continue to be free speech radio is if, we the people, keep it accountable through democratic governance. The last time elitist gatekeepers attempted this was during the 1999 KPFA/Pacifica Lockout. Anti-free speech forces will never stop trying to censor left-of-center perspectives until everything sounds like NPR, PBS, or corporate media. People of conscience and good faith must be ever vigilant and refuse and resist any and all antidemocratic and anti-free speech forces. Solidarity.
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Notes from a working class left perspective…
0800 KPFT [HD2] > tw Galbraith on Biden’s socioeconomics; Oprah & Royal Racism; and more.
09:00 PST, KPFT [HD2] > Letters and Politics [rebroadcast] > [TW] author of book on five women, who changed the world. But the interview mainly focused on Mary Shelly and her mother. […] What a timely broadcast, not just for International Women’s Day, but for all. Personally, as a brown man, I took away so much, that I don’t have time to share my thoughts. I only have a few minutes. And, I should say, ultimately, this blog is still personal because my allies are fleeting. Once, or if I gain working allies to help with this blog, then this blog will become a collective. Until then, there is a tension between individual liberty and individualism. This interview was perfect, personally, as a father, who wants to share his experiences with, not only his son, but his whole family, so that they may, perhaps, one day understand him. As I write this, I’m still listening to KPFT [HD2], where a silky-voiced woman has soothed us into listening to beautiful music of African and African-American, or black, origin. Nina’s “Please Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood” is playing. That is our hope. Mitch Jeserich’s focus of his interview was about how a mother and daughter bonded from beyond the grave via the written word. I only hope that my family and allies and other readers, not only understand me, but help me and help all of us become better versions of ourselves every day. To that end, we seek authenticity, and we, not only avoid, but call out bullshit, deception, self-deception, and abuse. Barbarism begins in the home. “We pine…” Percy Bysse Shelly, we recall was quoted by Robert Smith in the album, Wish, if memory serves. (Or was it Disintegration? No, it was Wish.)
A standout takeaway was the realization that Frankenstein’s monster was full of self-pity and lustful for revenge. In vengeance, the mission of it, we may forget how to love. And, at that point, what good is revenge? Even justice seems illusory.
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1000 wpfw > Taking Action 1025, on grants, grant writing, etc
1000 wbai > 1036, null pitch
10:00 PST, KPFA > Letters and Politics > […] 10:37 PST, “Soul City” […] “the assassination of Martin Luther King” […] “Floyd McKissick(sp?)” […] ‘this was not a separatist community’ […] Nixon supported Soul City, perhaps, after McKissick switched to the GOP. […] 10:49 PST, Interesting history, which we’ve never heard about. “Thomas Healy” is the author.
11:00 PST, KPFA > Talkies > […] 11:13 PST, “reproductive rights” We tend to tune out when the conversation gets into hopeless Democrat Party politics. We aren’t liberals. So, we have no faith in bourgeois party politics.
11:30 > WBAI > Radio Gag, gays againstguns> 20% of charged re: 6th are military […] [TW] 11:50, black-sounding guest said the white-sounding host was the reason he retrained into intel because he saw that ‘he was safe’. So, he wanted to also work in a field where he felt safe. Guest, Omar, described all the toxic energy and racism he experienced whilst in the military. Indeed. I hope to share with you all my lifetime of experiencing racism as well as denying racism, and then internalizing the racism, and finally shedding the survivor’s guilt and finding healthier uses for the shame and pain. […] poem by Omar: ‘no longer a warrior, once an asset, now a liability, keep the veterans numb.
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“Numb” by The Cure, 1996.
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12:00 PST, KPFA > Against the Grain > On The Intellectual Lives of Children > “childhood” […] 1211, speculation is ine of the greatesr gidts of humankind.’ Interesting, and yet, we vilify those who speculate about crime, ie, conspiracy theorist. What’s wrong with this picture? […] kids ask lots of questions, including things which make parents uncomfortable, including sex. But shying away from tough topics can be deleterious to the critical thinking skill of kids. […] ‘It’s not just about letting children play.’ […] 12:44 PST, ‘the social nature of intellectual work is essential.’ […] People who made discoveries, ‘were already gathering bits of information.’ Indeed. Some of us have been trying to find solutions to racism, militarism, and materialism most of our lives.
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Let Them Play by Eek-A-Mouse
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1300 wbai dn move up Moses by Roberta flack […] ‘Dr. Donna Murphy’ on COVID-19 “vaccines”. Pacifica Radio reporters are inaccurately calling anti-COVID-19 drugs “vaccines”. Yet, these experimental drugs are NOT vaccines. What’s wrong with this picture?
14:00 PST, WPFW > Sojourner Truth with > […] 1415, Dolores Huerta with her disappointing bourgeois party politics, blindly loyal to the Democrat Party. Huerta said she’ll support whoever the Democrat candidate is because […] 14:25 PST, speaker at Women’s Day event said, We’re here for our children, too; not just for our ourselves. Indeed. […] ‘Today, is the 55-year anniversary of Bloody Sunday.” Black people were brutalized. ‘Radell Jones’ ‘Lakeisha Wilson’ and others, who have been killed by killer cops. “We have a right to fight.” “We have a responsibility to resist.” ‘And that means that, sometimes, we have women, who stand in the way, and protect killer cops, like D.A. Lacey(sp?)’ ‘Do we deserve to have guns pulled on us?’ No! Like I said dear readers, I used to get pulled over almost every day in my 1963 Chevy Impala as a teenager and young adult, often at gunpoint. “Smiley” was a black cop in San Mateo we all knew. We called him officer Smiley ‘cos he was always smiling. I’m sure he remembers me and my homies. I never resented him, probably because he was black. But he was also more laid back. But we do remember he would get in line when the white cops were around. We gotta share our stories, y’all. We are reticent to share first-person narratives for many reasons, not least of which is we don’t want to be accused of attention-seeking behavior, ego-tripping, or any other vain pursuits. But the film I Am Not Your Negro and other writings from James Baldwin affected us so powerfully, such that we aspire to speak so poignantly one day. Until that day comes, we’ll keep writing and testifying. Solidarity. […] 14:37 PST, Now, back to more coverage of the International Women’s Strike Los Angeles 2021′ Next, speakers on Palestinian rights, “freedom”, “dignity”, “equality”, and more. […] ‘20% of women in the military are sexually assaulted’ ‘And women are discriminated against at the V.A., the Veterans Affairs administration, which provides benefits to military veterans.’ ‘Check out Carly and all the good people at Code Pink.’ […] ‘Grandmothers Against the War’ rep recites a poem. […] 14:47 PST, “Your silence will not protect you.’ Indeed. ‘I’m doing my work. Are you doing yours?‘ […] 14:50 PST, [TW] ‘It’s clear that our government doesn’t care about the poor.’ This woman is a woman after my own heart; she sounds like Dr. King, in terms of gravitas and clarity. Brilliant! “Where my husband was slain…” Wait. Was that Coretta Scott King? […] 14:56, ‘I don’t know what it feels like to love without blackmail. I don’t think anyone does.” Wow. Mic drop moment. […] 14:57 PST, Free Mumia call 570 773 2158. Also call Pennsylvania D.A. […] 14:59, email info@wpfw.org for more info on any program.
15:00 PST, WPFW > Sankofa with Cierra Shine > A baby, two-year old just said, “Hello”, on air. Kanye West song “Every Hour”(?): “Sing until the power of the lord comes down”. Wow. This reminds me of The Church of the Nazarene in Kansas City. I still owe them a lot. I must write to them to tell them I am still indebted to them for taking me into their black church and accepting me, even though I confessed I didn’t believe in God. This song is hitting me to my core. I want to explain to my family, especially my son, about the important and power of spirituality. For me, Plum Village in the South of France is my spiritual home, although I’ve never been there. But so is the Church of the Nazarene in Kansas City, for no other reason than a saintly black woman bought me a meal and invited me to her church at a Kansas City black barber shop on Troost near my old Waldo Heights apartment. It’s a trip. I have always felt embraced by black people, since Lawrence Kindergarten in San Mateo. I knew many warm and kind white people since I was a. […] 15:09 PST, Cierra just admitted that song brings tears to her eyes. We hope more men can learn to express their feelings, too. […] 15:10 PST, guest on the phone line: A’Yanna Crawley.
16:00 PST, KPFA > Hard Knock Radio | News Headlines | Today’s interview guest woman, based in Las Vegas, is discussing ‘police accountability’ [TW] On the evils of the unaccountable police union contracts and language, which allows for rehiring cops who have records of misconduct, etc […] 16:13 PST, Davey D asked an excellent question: ‘Why would politicians be so hard on teachers unions and other unions, but allow corruption and racism and lack of accountability of police unions?’ The guest discussed the ‘money trail’ and lobbying. Cf. NoCashFromCops.org […] ‘More Than A Hash Tag, Las Vegas‘ […] CampaignZero […] | 16:27 PST, end of interview; music break, Biggie, ‘You’re Nobody ’til Somebody Kills You’ | 16:28 PST, Detective Russell Poole and Randall Sullivan, author of Labyrinth. topic: On the unsolved murder of Biggie Smalls. […] This narrative sounds exactly like the narrative laid out in a movie version we saw on Netflix not too long ago starring Josh Duhamel, was it? Yes: Unsolved. […] 16:55 PST, ‘Suge Knight embracing with the mayor’ […] ‘Maxine Waters stopped an investigation?’ To cover for Suge Knight?’ What?
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17:00 PST, KPFA > Flashpoints with Dennis Bernstein > Jeff Mackler(sp?) with an update on the struggle to free political prisoner Mumia Abu Jamal. […] 1999 demonstration for Mumia in SF and elsewhere. Indeed. Your author was there. My friend, Cesar and I, marched from Dolores Park to the Civic Center. At the end, as people dispersed, we met Angela Davis and John Densmore, of The Doors, who performed some Doors songs. Call DA Larry Krasner, 267.456-1000, to bring Mumia home. JMackler@lmi.net, for more info. ACTION: fri mar 12 Jackson Playground SF. […] ‘the MOVE Nine’ […] 17:18 PST, music break: “Umi Says” by Mos Def. | next topic: ‘Quinto, police murder?’ “East Bay” xmas eve 2020, Angelo Quinto’s family called for help with a mental health crisis…. guests: Diana Puente, family member, “Angelo’s aunt”. Also, Attorney Mr. Nissenbaum(sp?). “He said, Please don’t kill me.” “City of Antioch“. My family and I used to live in Pittsburg, which is adjacent to Antioch. The issue we saw there is the long-standing predominantly white and politically conservative, or right-wing, population. But, given Bay Area gentrification and skyrocketing rent prices in the Bay Area has forced many black and brown people from the East Bay (i.e., Alameda County) further into the Central Valley. Antioch is, technically, Contra Costa County, which is what we call Republican Country. As Pacifica Radio listeners […] 17:30, ‘ Officer James perkinson, had already killed before.’ ACTION: 5-7 pm, Antioch city park, Memorial Vigil on Friday (?) […] 17:38 PST, NEXT SEGMENT: Remembering Lawrence Ferlinghetti with Nadia Williams(sp?) on “the work of Ferlinghetti as an activist.’ ‘He had seen combat in the storming of Normandy. But, then, he went to Nagaseke six weeks after the nuclear bombing. And he was so shocked by what he saw. And he found a teacup, which had the flesh and bones of the person, who had been drinking from the tea cup. That deeply affected him. And he kept that tea cup on his mantle.’ […] 1745, book: […] 1754, poem by Ferlinghetti, “Pity the Nation“. [TW] […] ‘Lawrence was a committed supporter of Flashpoints, KPFA, and Pacifica.’ 1999 lockout memories. Yes, indeed. We were there that night. We remember Van Jones there, also Khalil Fantauzzi(sp?), a young, charismatic organizer, a brown man. Nadia, director(?) of Veterans for Peace(?)
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“Keiser Report | New Currency for Global Trade | E1668” by RT, 9 MAR 2021.
Max Keiser exposes the narcissistic kleptocrats, who are seeking to socialize the cost of catching up to China’s five-year tech lead, as they privatize the benefits. Capitalism doesn’t work for the divided working class. Capitalist social relations are evil because they disrespect and exploit workers through wage labor. The corporation is evil, dear readers.
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Thank you for reading Lumpenproletariat.org. Also find us at Lumpen.org!
Solidarity.
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[1] Susan Ratcliffe (2011), Concise Oxford Dictionary of Quotations, Oxford University Press, p. 389, ISBN 978-0199567072
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[9 MAR 2021]
[Last modified on 14 MAR 2021 at 23:45 PDT]
[TW = Transcript Worthy, transcription pending volunteer labor. These are segments of radio, which would make excellent short-length, searchable resources to share and, hopefully, make useful news and information from a working class left perspective.]
