"480 Minutes" - I Was Wrong

60 million Americans think it's OK for the President of the United States of America to be a sexist, misogynist, racist, anti-semitic, vengeful know-nothing bully with the emotional maturity of a spoiled child and next to zero self-control.  I guess some of those 60 million also think it's OK for white students in a Michigan middle school lunchroom to chant, "Build that wall!" driving already stressed Latino students to tears.

Trump/Pence in office (and in control of the bully pulpit, now an even more apt phrase) means particularly difficult times for our friends who are racial minorities, women, Muslims, and of course LGBTQ.  I've been to places in the U.S. where those groups were not treated as equals, and I don't expect that's going to change now.  Those of us who know that members of those now more vulnerable groups are equal humans must become the best, most steadfast allies for each other in the all-but-certain-to-be-trying days, weeks, months and years ahead.  That means not just saying the right things but doing the right things whenever we see bulling, persecution, mistreatment of any kind.  Progress toward a more equal, just society must continue.  We can take our cue from this remarkable statement from the California legislature.

I see a lot of circular firing squad stuff going on (It was Hillary's fault! It was Bernie! It was the DNC!  It was Fox News!  It was the bubbles! It was the FBI! It was political correctness!  It was neoliberalism! etc.).  Trump's victory was caused by a complex combination of factors, all of which contributed to depressed voter turnout.  The same number of Republicans voted this year as in 2012 and 2008, while the number of Democrats declined by 5 and 10 million, respectively.  In the face of the worst, most onerous Republican candidate in memory, the DNC failed to deliver the White House, the Senate, or the House because it couldn't get out the vote.  The ghost of former DNC chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz looms large over this failure.

I honestly did not believe that this country could, in 2016, vote for crass bigotry, authoritarianism, the opposite of what it says on the Statue of Liberty.   I would not accept that enough people wanted to knuckle-drag us back into times overt, active bigotry.  I was wrong.

I have lost a few listeners for speaking my mind, and while regrettable, if they can't put up with 30 seconds or so of commentary during a 10-hour music program, well, that's their problem.  Threats to tune out from listeners who contribute nothing to our operation (not even kind words!) will be met with an emphatic and heart-felt yawn.  In other words: don't bother, just leave.

For those sticking around, 480 Minutes today will feature new music by Kristin Hersh (New England/New Orleans, @kristinhersh), Rogue Wave (Oakland, CA, @RogueWaveBand), Surfer Blood (West Palm Beach, FL, @SurferBlood), Tony Molina (Millbrae, CA@TonyMolina650), TOY (London, England, @TheBandToy), and The Wedding Present (Leeds, England, @WeddingPresent).

The live-hosted, award-winning 480 Minutes program begins at 9 a.m. Eastern U.S. Time.

For those who can't listen during the live hosted hours (and those who just can't get enough of hanging with me!) the show is rebroadcast on Friday evenings beginning at 7 p.m., Saturdays at 5 a.m., and 3 p.m., and Sundays at 1 a.m. ET.

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