BSR Magazine Show #209 with James M. Branum from Broad SpectrumRadio.com October 27, 2017 (This is a working script, slight…
BSR Magazine Show #209
with James M. Branum
from Broad SpectrumRadio.com
October 27, 2017
(This is a working script, slight variations may be present in the recorded version)
On today’s episode of the BSR Magazine Show — we will mostly be playing some music.
But first a bit of background about the theme of this music…
And I need to give my standard disclaimer that since this commentary deals with electoral politics, it represents my views alone and not the views of any one else, or any other organization, includin my employers.
One year ago… the United States was in the midst of the final days of the election of a new President and a little more than a week after that came the terrible reality — the USA’s unfair and undemocratic electoral process had chosen Donald Trump to be our next President.
I was one of the millions of Americans who were horrified by this turn of events. I was no fan of Hillary Clinton either, as I saw her a pro-corporate pro-war establishment candidate, but Trump? How could a fascist be elected President in 2017?
The good news in the midst of the darkness was that a movement started to take root, a movement of resistance to the Trump neo-fascist agenda. Many people took to the streets in protest, but they also went to airports and ICE detention centers to protest Trump’s anti-Muslim immigration laws. National Park Rangers and other federal workers, having to use the cloak of anonymity, took action to speak out. And many, many other acts of resistance took place and are still taking place.
The struggle is not over by a long shot. Trump is still the President, the emperor, but he does not have the loyalty of many, many people… including many artists and musicians.
So today’s program will feature music of resistance, some from the past, but most from the contemporary moment. There will be music of anger, of sadness, but also of hope and resistance.
I’m playing this music today because we are nearing the one year mark of this nightmare and the struggle is not over. We need to find new resouvoirs of strength and courage to continue to work for what is right.
The first song I’ll be playing is from the Puerto Rican American Taina Asili. The song is called “No Es mi Presidente” — He is not my President. It’s a bilingual English-Spanish song, which seems so appropriate for this moment in history. (http://tainaasili.com/2017/06/07/activists-of-no-es-mi-presidente/)
And speaking of that… one of the best ways we can resist Trump is to learn and speak languages other than English, even if we start off doing it badly. So in that spirit…
Mi español esta muy malo, pero lo voy a hablar de todos modos. Usaré mi español para decir que Trump no es mi presidente y que él no representa lo que es correcto y bueno. Debemos hacer todo lo posible para resistir a él y su administración inmoral, y debemos hacer todo lo posible para apoyar a nuestros hermanos y hermanas latinos en su lucha por la justicia.
(song – http://tainaasili.com/2017/06/07/activists-of-no-es-mi-presidente/)
Sometimes in the midst of tyranny… we need to laugh, we need to say that the president is a phony, that the emperor has no clothes. In that spirit,
BSR Magazine Show #209
with James M. Branumfrom Broad SpectrumRadio.com
October 27, 2017 (This is a working script, slight variations may be present in the recorded version) On today’s episode of the BSR Magazine Show — we will mostly be playing some music. But first a bit of background about the theme of this music… And I need to give my standard disclaimer that since this commentary deals with electoral politics, it represents my views alone and not the views of any one else, or any other organization, includin my employers. One year ago… the United States was in the midst of the final days of the election of a new President and a little more than a week after that came the terrible reality — the USA’s unfair and undemocratic electoral process had chosen Donald Trump to be our next President. I was one of the millions of Americans who were horrified by this turn of events. I was no fan of Hillary Clinton either, as I saw her a pro-corporate pro-war establishment candidate, but Trump? How could a fascist be elected President in 2017? The good news in the midst of the darkness was that a movement started to take root, a movement of resistance to the Trump neo-fascist agenda. Many people took to the streets in protest, but they also went to airports and ICE detention centers to protest Trump’s anti-Muslim immigration laws. National Park Rangers and other federal workers, having to use the cloak of anonymity, took action to speak out. And many, many other acts of resistance took place and are still taking place. The struggle is not over by a long shot. Trump is still the President, the emperor, but he does not have the loyalty of many, many people… including many artists and musicians. So today’s program will feature music of resistance, some from the past, but most from the contemporary moment. There will be music of anger, of sadness, but also of hope and resistance. I’m playing this music today because we are nearing the one year mark of this nightmare and the struggle is not over. We need to find new resouvoirs of strength and courage to continue to work for what is right. The first song I’ll be playing is from the Puerto Rican American Taina Asili. The song is called “No Es mi Presidente” — He is not my President. It’s a bilingual English-Spanish song, which seems so appropriate for this moment in history. (http://tainaasili.com/2017/06/07/activists-of-no-es-mi-presidente/) And speaking of that… one of the best ways we can resist Trump is to learn and speak languages other than English, even if we start off doing it badly. So in that spirit… Mi español esta muy malo, pero lo voy a hablar de todos modos. Usaré mi español para decir que Trump no es mi presidente y que él no representa lo que es correcto y bueno. Debemos hacer todo lo posible para resistir a él y su administración inmoral, y debemos hacer todo lo posible para apoyar a nuestros hermanos y hermanas latinos en su lucha por la justicia. (song – http://tainaasili.com/2017/06/07/activists-of-no-es-mi-presidente/) Sometimes in the midst of tyranny… we need to laugh, we need to say that the president is a phony, that the emperor has no clothes. In that spirit, we’ll next play excerpts from Green Day’s American Idiot, Death Cab for Cuties’ song “Million Dollar Loan” (0:45-1:30)and, Pussy Riot’s Make America Great Again (1:20-1:51) and Fiona Apple’s “Tiny Hands chant” (15 secs) (Music excerpts) Yes, resistance needs humor, satire, mockery. Because these things can tell the truth in ways that the news won’t. We need to understand something very important… (MUSIC) -There is war going on for your mind… Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery. None but ourselves can free our mind. It is with an emancipated mind that we can see… Things change NOW. SONG: Steve Earle – The Revolution is now Closing credits at the end while song is wrapping up.