“The Rude Guy”
Everyone who is calm and sensible is insane – Rumi

CLICK HERE to listen to The Rude Guy podcast #21

The Rude Guy talks about how democracy and capitalism are incompatible, how poor people keep the economy humming along and rich people don’t, the failure of corporate media, a national strike again, things Republicans believe, shooting peasants for profit, and The Frog in the Log

or RIGHT CLICK HERE (Apple command/click) then click “Save Target As” to DOWNLOAD the podcast to your computer or playback device

[The Rude Guy talks about how democracy and capitalism are incompatible, how poor people keep the economy humming along and rich people don't, the failure of corporate media, a national strike again, things Republicans believe, shooting peasants for profit, and The Frog in the Log.]

This is The Rude Guy. And I don’t care, if you like me, or not. I got over that mommy stuff, that Shame stuff, a long time ago. I care about the truth. And in a country as brainwashed by mass media as ours, being liked for speaking the truth, is as commonplace, as being applauded for walking into someone’s house and peeing on their carpet.

Call me the radioactive radio host. I don’t care. Call me the pimple on the ass of capitalism. I don’t care. Call me the the Assassin of Ignorance. The Paul Harvey of podcasting. The Libertarian Socialist Populist… who wants the government to keep its greasy hands OFF my telephone, and library card, and email records. And STICK its greasy hands ALL OVER the papers and phone calls and emails generated by Corporate Communism, this delusional so-called Free Market, where corporations operate without scrutiny or oversight… where corporations can do whatever they want, but people can’t. Corporate Communism.

This is the show that dares to ask: Wouldn’t George Bush have done a greater service to America, by using his money, and his charm, and his VOTE-STEALING friends, to get himself elected president of Iran? That way he could have destroyed THEIR economy, and gotten the entire world to hate THEM, instead of us. How about it?

And… IF Dick Cheney was an animal what would he be? A vulture? A rat? A grumpy psychotic Grizzly bear, losing his temper, and raging out of control every few weeks or so, wiping out an entire mountainside of innocent sheep?

Your guess is as good as mine.

But here’s a news bulletin for EVERY American. Now hear this. Despite what TV and radio and newspapers have you believing, Freedom is not an American invention or an American possession. If the United States of America suddenly goes away, the rest of the world will not, I repeat WILL NOT, fall apart. Or become Nazis or communists or any of the other insane fear-fantasies, right-wingers foist upon us. In fact, in the absence of the one and only hyperpower, there’ll be a lot less killing going on out there.

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Once again I’m gonna kick off with a prayer, and end with some words of wisdom.

Lord… Make me a channel of thy peace… Grant that I may seek rather to comfort, than to be comforted… to understand, than to be understood… to love rather than to be loved… For it is by self-forgetting that we find… It is by forgiving that we are forgiven… It is by dying to ourSELF that we awaken to eternal life… St Francis of Assisi

It is by dying to ourSELF that we awaken to eternal life…

[pause]

OK… Here’s something they never taught us in school. Poor people keep the economy moving, and rich people DON’T. Rich people invest money, poor people SPEND money. Poor people keep the economy chugging along – buying food and shirts and tires. Rich people invest… speculate… they just bid UP the price of land, and stocks, and food, making everything more expensive for EVERYbody. Reducing taxes for rich people, is like feeding strawberry shortcake, to HOGS. What you get out of it, is inferior to what you put into it. The best thing we can do for our economy is make sure poor people have money to spend. Not rich people, poor people. That’s how economics works. The rest is a bunch of bullshit theories.

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I’m hoping to go to Venezuela this winter, so I just visited the Venezuelan Consul to the United States, in Chicago. After some chit chat here’s what he told me: Capitalism and Democracy are incompatible… Sounds strange to an American. Capitalism and Democracy are incompatible. Whatdoyamean by that, I asked? Said he: “Every day we wake up and go out on the streets and all around us we see economic activity: people buying, selling, working. Economics. And although we can vote for politicians who oversee a vague and crippled regulatory structure, we do NOT get to vote for the guys who RUN our economic lives. The corporate CEOs. The guys who set the prices of food and rent and cars. And that’s HOW capitalism undermines democracy.

Wow!

On an earlier show I complained about how half a million Hispanics showed up for immigration rallies in Chicago, and only a couple thousand, showed up for anti-war rallies. The Consul told me: well… Hispanic radio and TV got BEHIND the immigration rallies. Actually, they got AHEAD of the rallies. They interviewed organizers weeks ahead of time, and then went into the schools and the unions, asking people if they were gonna take off work, or school, and come out for the rallies. They pumped it up. Does that happen with anti-war rallies? he asked. Absolutely not. You’re lucky to get the media to report on an anti-war rally AFTER it’s over. Corporate media is a miserable failure. In your country, and in mine.

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I never report news on this show because this show is about ideas, and ideas don’t go out of date. However, I just went downtown to the Chicago Blues Festival on the shores of Lake Michigan, wearing the goofy Impeach Bush hat, you can see on The Rude Guy blog, and handing out podcast flyers… and someone handed me a flyer about one of my favorite subjects. A NATIONAL STRIKE. A group called World Can’t Wait has issued a call for a massive national strike on October 5, 2006. They want us to take off work, take off school, shut down the campuses. I love it. I’m in. It’s just like the immigration strikes only better. I’ve already ranted about this national strike idea on two previous shows.

Now… Is the media going to get AHEAD of this story? Nope. Not a chance. So we will have to promote it ourselves, if we expect this to be anything more than a puff of political smoke behind the barn.

Here’s what their flyer said: Right now there are young people looking for a life that matters, immigrants who want a living wage, men and women fearful of job loss, others for whom the word “Katrina” is still an open wound, GI’s who are sickened by the butchery they are being ordered to conduct. They are hanging out in bars and libraries, movie theaters and on street corners, in huge cities and tiny towns, day-labor corners and yes, even mega-churches and military bases… waiting for YOU to find them.

Grab some friends and make some banners and walk around. Organize a block party, host an art show, take a road trip, place an ad, call in to the radio. Go door-to-door and really talk with people. They’re lonely and isolated and WANT to talk! Speak out. Collect email addresses and phone numbers. Raise money. Spread the word about October 5 as the day for tens of thousands of people to muster everything they’ve got, to set a new momentum in society towards driving out the criminals in power. Unquote.

Amen. I’m all for it.

Worldcantwait.org No apostrophe in cant.

Worldcantwait.org

Street action works. That’s why I left Hawaii. To be on the streets of America.

At the Chicago Blues Festival I made hundreds of people laugh and cheer, at the American flag/Impeach Bush hat I wore. On the train going downtown the conductor made sure no one was looking, then danced a quick jig for me and mouthed the words “thank you”. And… at one point… I was walking through the food booths smelling the barbecued ribs and chicken, and a BIG black cop stepped in front of me. He bumped up against me, shoulder to shoulder, and asked what I was doing. I showed him my The Rude Guy podcast flyer. He asked what ELSE I had. I said nothing, just the flyer. And I pointed to the web address on it. He took a flyer, folded it in half and said, “OK, I’ll go to your web site and check YOU out.” Then he backed away, and stuck out his hand, and smiled, and said: “I bet you thought I was gonna fuck with you.” And I shook his hand and said: “I SURE did.” Then we both laughed, and went back to wandering through the smiling crowds, and the wafting clouds of barbecue smoke, and Chicago blues.

Ya see. Even some of the cops want to Impeach Bush.

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The idea of the week this week is something I lifted right off of Chicago’s Craig’s list. It’s called:

Things Republicans Believe… (more…)

CLICK HERE to listen to The Rude Guy podcast #20

The Rude Guy holds forth on the indispensable role of government in free markets, Bush Family Fuckups, Franklin Roosevelt’s Second Bill of Rights, how Iraq is like Vietnam, deficits DO matter, and Rush Limbaugh cab drivers

or RIGHT CLICK HERE (Apple command/click) then click “Save Target As” to DOWNLOAD the podcast to your computer or playback device

[The Rude Guy holds forth on the indispensable role of government in free markets, Bush Family Fuckups, Franklin Roosevelt's Second Bill of Rights, how Iraq is like Vietnam, deficits DO matter, and Rush Limbaugh cab drivers. ]

[Iranian/Caribbean intro/exit]

This is The Rude Guy. Assassin of paranoia. Juggler of history. Arrow in the ass of popular culture. Presenting the Reality Cult. Checking in from Chicagoland.

I’m gonna try something different. I’m gonna open the show with a prayer – like we start off most things in Hawaii – and close it with a few words of Wisdom. Something a little different.

O Great Spirit
Whose voice I hear in the winds, and whose life gives breath, to all the world.

HEAR me!

Let me walk in beauty, and make my eyes ever behold the red and purple sunset.

Make my hands respect the things you have made, and my ears sharp to your voice. Let me learn the lessons you have hidden in every leaf and rock.

I seek strength, not to be greater than my brother, but top fight my greatest enemy – MY SELF.

Make me always ready to come to you with clean hands… and straight eyes. So when life fades, as the fading sunset, my spirit will come to you without shame… Ho!… White Cloud

[chant]

Rich Zubaty got a letter posted on the Veterans Against the Iraq War web site and I want to read it to you. It’s called: Iraq is not like Vietnam.

The United States of America invaded both countries with no provocation, but Iraq is not like Vietnam.

We fought both wars to suppress “evil regimes” and “bring democracy” to the people, but Iraq is not like Vietnam.

The citizens of both countries rose up in armed insurrection against our occupation, but Iraq is not like Vietnam.

U.S. corporations profited enormously from our invasion and occupation, but Iraq is not like Vietnam.

Both countries sit near, or upon, huge oil deposits, but Iraq is not like Vietnam.

Our soldiers could not understand who they were fighting, or what they were doing there, but Iraq is not like Vietnam.

An army trained to engage the enemy on Fields of Battle, was relegated to performing police actions against civilians, in streets and alleys, but Iraq is not like Vietnam.

After years of being bogged down we were looking for any excuse at all to GET the heck out of there, but Iraq is not like Vietnam.

Finally, we just declared victory and left, leaving behind a civil war, but Iraq is not like Vietnam. (whoops, it’s still 2006, that’s still just a prophesy)

60% to 70% of Americans wanted us to “get out right now!”, yet we stayed and stayed, but Iraq is not like Vietnam.

Toward the end of it all, tens of millions of Americans were clamoring for the impeachment of the president, but Iraq is not like Vietnam.

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The idea of the week this week is: “why don’t people know this?”… “why don’t people know this?” (more…)