Stuart Bedasso Radio

Stuart Bedasso Radio

A 24 hour internet radio station, creamy podcasting goodness, & juicy internet mayhem. Enjoy!

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Friday, May 19, 2023

Punch Up, MFer

8:05 PM 0
Download the Show Here:
https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/bedasso/TSBS_May_19_2023.mp3

Dave's new endeavor to save the world has it's soft opening.  If you're on the FB, go like Cool Cats for Change!  And more is to come! Another  internet kerfuffle for Melyssa.  It's not funny if your "humor" is at the expense of the non-privileged.  Sheepdogs gonna sheepdog.  Beware of the Bern.  Support us at www.StuartBedasso.com.

 



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Sunday, May 14, 2023

Gay NASCAR

Saturday, May 6, 2023

Rochester Erotic Arts Festival 3

Saturday, April 29, 2023

If It Sounds Like A Quack

10:44 AM 0
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https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/bedasso/TSBS_April_28_2023.mp3

Our conversation with Matt Hongoltz-Hetling, author of the newly released book If It Sounds Like A Quack.  You should read this book!  How did Matt spoil puberty for Dave?  We connect Matt's book to our for-profit health care system.  Do all roads lead to libertarianism?  And we even work in garbage plates and roller derby.  Yep, we have it all!  As always, support us at www.StuartBedasso.com.


 

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Saturday, April 22, 2023

Rochester Erotic Arts Festival 2

Monday, April 17, 2023

Rochester Erotic Arts Festival 1

10:08 PM 0
Download the Show Here:
https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/bedasso/TSBS_April_17_2023.mp3

We finally made it to the Rochester Erotic Arts Festival!  Here's part 1 of our conversations with a whole lot of awesome folks who were kind enough to talk to a couple of dorks like Dave & Melyssa.  We had fun, learned a lot, and grooved to an amazing vibe.  Check out all of our internet goodness at www.StuartBedasso.com.


 

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Saturday, April 8, 2023

Jayden's Gender Journey

Thursday, April 6, 2023

How Do the Songs You Play About Sex Contribute to the Revolution?

12:02 PM 0

How Do the Songs You Play About Sex Contribute to the Revolution?

 

Glad you asked! We believe that, particularly in the United States, but thanks to globalism as part of capitalism, sexuality is used and exploited to repress some folks and/or to just make money off of us. That’s why corporations use tits to sell cheeseburgers, etc. 

 

We genuinely feel that a healthy, sex-positive attitude is necessary to overthrow our corporate overloads. First, it helps us recognize when our natural tendency to being horny is being exploited for rich peoples’ gain. Second, sex is life-affirming. We all need our lives to be affirmed once in a while. Third, having the sexy with one or more people of everyone’s choice gives us hope, which is in very short supply. 

 

OK, I get it. So how do you pick the songs about the sexy that you play on SBR? 

 

Just like all the music we play here, the sexy songs have to be listenable to us. Yes, taste in music is an individual thing. But for better or worse, if there’s a song you dig that we don’t play here there are a gazillion places to listen to it. Here’s an example:

 

WAP, by Cardi B. Who doesn’t like themselves a little Wet Ass Pussy, know what I’m saying? But the music… no. Not our jam. If there’s ever a spoken word version, hip us to it and we’ll be all up in that WAP ASAP. 

 

There are plenty of songs not about sex that we’ve heard that lyrically fit what we’re trying to do at Stuart Bedasso Radio; songs that focus on changing our society for the better, but we didn’t like the music so we don’t play them. But for ANY song that you think would fit into what we’re trying to do here, if you haven’t heard it here or you’ve created one, feel free to send it to us or let us know about it.

 

Thank you for checking out Stuart Bedasso Radio, the podcast, and all the fun stuff on the website. Please tell people you know about us and keep being a freak on the streets AND in the sheets

 


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Sunday, April 2, 2023

Finch Lab Comedy

11:23 PM 0
Download the Show Here:
https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/bedasso/TSBS_April_1_2023.mp3

Is it time to get involved yet?  Like what else needs to get worse for y'all to realize that we all have to start fighting to change the system?  Dave gets observed and does stand up. Melyssa's taking notes on gentrification. Eve's fixing people.  Now's the time to go get you a book.  Support Stuart Bedasso Radio at www.StuartBedasso.com.


 

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Saturday, March 25, 2023

Twiddling My Knobs

Sunday, March 12, 2023

My Ass Has A Memory

Tuesday, February 28, 2023

Butt Sweat Happens

Friday, February 10, 2023

The Booch

Tuesday, January 31, 2023

Strap On City

Tuesday, January 24, 2023

Sports Balls

Tuesday, January 17, 2023

Florida Woman

7:07 PM 0
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https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/bedasso/TSBS_January_17_2023.mp3

Dave's channeling those Dad jokes. Tired of those crusty old TV shows? Watch them all over with mind-altering substances. Voila! A new TV show. Be careful what you smell - who knows what's in Gwyneth's vagina. Weed is finally being legalized for sale in NYS and of course we're screwing it up. Check out all the links we talked about at www.StuartBedasso.com.


 

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Monday, January 16, 2023

Ten Songs About The Sexy on SBR

3:33 PM 0

 10 Songs About the Sexy on SBR

1.  Clarence Carter - Strokin' from Dr. CC

2.  Judith Owen - Big Long Slidin' Thing from Come On & Get It

3.  Emeli Sande - All The Young Girls Love Alice from Goodbye Yellow Brick Road Revisited & Beyond

4.  The Waitresses - Thinking About Sex Again from Just Desserts: The Best of The Waitresses

5.  Dancing With Myself - The Dollyrots from Down The Rabbit Hole

6.  Robert Cray - Fantasized from Strong Persuader

7.  Salt-N-Peppa - Sexy Noises Turn Me On from Very Necessary

8.  Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings - In The Bush from Just Dropped In

9.  Prince - Gett Off from Diamonds & Pearls

10.  5 In Love - Bubba Don't Forget Your Rubber from Electro Swingster

What are some of YOUR favorite sexy songs that we should add to the mix?  Let us know in the comments or on our social media.



 

 

 

 

 


 





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Tuesday, January 10, 2023

Vagina Week

Friday, December 30, 2022

Melyssa's Lying Ass

8:22 PM 0
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https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/bedasso/TSBS_December_30_2022.mp3

Carrie is back! She's not wearing her schoolgirl uniform, but does have some good teen drinking stories. Go Greta Thunberg, but we argue that small dick energy can run a small town. Looks like we're going to stay on Twitter...for now. We love the small businesses there, but fuck the wankers who run Etsy. You should be listening to Stuart Bedasso Radio at www.StuartBedasso.com.


 

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Tuesday, December 27, 2022

Ten Protest Songs About the Environment

10:20 AM 0

10 Protest Songs about the Environment
(As always, in no particular order)

1.  Public Enemy – Don’t Give Up the Fight from The Evil Empire of Everything.
2.  Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology) – Marvin Gaye from What’s Going On?
3.  Jello Biafra & Mojo Nixon - Where Are We Gonna Work (When The Trees Are Gone?) from Prairie Home Invasion.
4.  Koko Taylor – Pollution from Basic Soul.
5.  The Rails – Save the Planet from Cancel the Sun.
6.  Prince – Planet Earth from Planet Earth (The Sunday Mail)
7.  Johnny Cash – Don’t Go Near the Water from Ragged Old Flag.
8.  Talking Heads – (Nothing But) Flowers from Naked.
9.  Childish Gambino – Feels Like Summer from Donald Glover Presents.  
10.  Joni Mitchell – Big Yellow Taxi from Ladies of the Canyon.

You can listen to all of these (and more on Stuart Bedasso Radio!)

What are some of YOUR favorite songs about the environment?  Let us know in the comments or on our social media.


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Tuesday, December 20, 2022

Garth Fagan Says Use A Condom

Sunday, December 18, 2022

Let's Talk About Free Speech

12:31 PM 0

 Let’s Talk About Free Speech

As you may or may not have heard, one of our folks here at the Stuart Bedasso media “empire” recently lost their job, pretty much because of what they said on the podcast that we put out.  You can hear the specific podcast on our Patreon if you’re curious, &/or here’s the podcast that explains why they were
fired.

That, along with the ridiculousness over what’s happening with Twitter spurred this post.  So let’s talk about “free speech”

For people in the United States:  Our Bill of Rights grants us freedom from government interference when it comes to speech.  From the government – not private companies or individuals*.  So Twitter, Facebook, or any other privately-owned social media platform can, and does, censor whatever the hell it wants.

And you, as a private individual are allowed to tell them to fuck off, to not use their platform and therefore giving them your data.  And that’s a decision people have to make, especially those who rely on these platforms for economic survival.  Is it worth getting off of Twitter or Instagram if those platforms drive people to the platform where you make money?  This is huge for sex workers as well as independent journalists like Lee Camp, Rania Khalek, et al.  And why it is up to those of us who do not rely on the big platforms to support the folks who do in other ways.  

So when we decide to leave a platform, we have the luxury of not relying on The Stuart Bedasso Show or Stuart Bedasso Radio as revenue streams we need to survive.  It’s a much easier decision for us.  

But you, as individuals, also have the power to leave these platforms; to find other places online to exchange ideas, meet others, explore others’ art.  Building up those platforms is a (slight) form of activism.  We agree that we’re not going to consumer our way to Revolution, but this is a step.  

And as much as we like watching cat videos, getting recipes, or seeing boobies on a platform, if that platform allows hate speech, allows Nazi’s to roam free, etc., by continuing to use that platform we’re implicitly approving of that behavior – as well as approving of boobies, which if you’re reading this, you probably are down with them as well.  

*Of course there is individual behavior that IS illegal in places.  Stalking, threatening, etc.  And the big platforms are very inconsistent in how they deal with people who do these things.  And this is another reason to not use those outlets.  

The idea that your rights cannot infringe on someone else’s rights has been around since the idea of free speech began.  And hate speech infringes on other people's right to be safe.  Dave Chappelle’s shitty “jokes” about transgender people do that.  Elon Musk silencing people who criticize him does that.  By the way, the (US) government insisting on having a “permit” to assemble is also muzzling speech.  

So what’s the point here?  

Well, our brains have been trained to gravitate toward not having to do much thinking; black or white; yes or no; this or that, etc.  But very little in life is like that, including this concept of free speech.  There's almost always a lot of gray.  So we’re going to be leaving Twitter come January 1st and we’ve already started exploring other platforms.  And some of them are problematic, too.  We’re still on Facebook & Instagram…for now.  We’ve started posting our podcast on YouTube…for now.  But we’ve also looked to some lower-key places as well.  Pillowfort, Bandcamp, Minds, Patreon, & Plurk.  Yeah… Plurk.  And we’re checking out more.  

We also hope you’ll use our website as a place to exchange ideas as well.  I guess in the comments; but even if you do that, we’ll be moderating those.  For things we agree with?  No.  Just for hateful stuff.  Is that against free speech?  Not if you agree that hateful speech infringes on other people’s rights, which we do.  

So if you’re really into the idea of free speech, don’t be lazy about it.  Put ideas online that you would only say to people face-to-face.  Give your ideas time to get thought about before posting.  Maybe make sure most of your time is in listening and thinking as opposed to speaking.

Just a thought.



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Tuesday, December 13, 2022

Erik Estrada is an Honorary Bastard

Friday, December 9, 2022

Ten New Protest Songs

9:45 PM 0

Ten New Protest Songs (In no particular order) 

1. Mykki Blanco & Ah-Mer-Ah-Su – Your Feminism Is Not My Feminism 

2. Julian Taylor - Stolen Lands

3. Hellsingland Underground – Old White Men 

4. Have Gun, Will Travel – Resist the Machines

5. Simple Minds – Who Killed the Truth? 

6. Jeb Loy Nichols – Deportees  

7. Calibro 35 – The Ballad of Sacco and Vanzetti 

8. Carmen Lundy – Ain’t I Human from Fade to Black. 

9. Jimetta Rose & Voices of Creation - Operation Feed Yourself 

10. Paisley Fields - Jesus Loving American Guy (Limp Wrist)

(You can listen to all of these and more on Stuart Bedasso Radio!) 

What new protest songs have YOU heard lately? Let us know in the comments or on our social media.


 

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Wednesday, December 7, 2022

Do A Podcast Lose Your Job

9:22 PM 0
Download the Show Here:
https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/bedasso/TSBS_December_6_2022.mp3

We are back! Had to take some time off while Dave was losing his job over the podcast. Yep. We talk about it here. The website is back up, too. www.StuartBedasso.com. From there you can check out our Patreon. It's where you can listen to the old shows we had to take down. Melyssa's not like Big Lou. She's not on meds, too. Find out why. Damn, it's good to be back!


 

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Sunday, December 4, 2022

Where Did All The Podcasts Go?

9:10 PM 0

Where Did All the Podcasts Go?

If you’ve been to StuartBedasso.com in the past, you know that we had over 600 podcasts from the over 14 years of doing the show on the site.  Well, a crazy thing happened.  One of our hosts ended up losing his job because of the show.  Why?  The explanation is long and complicated, but let’s just say that because of the entire incident we decided to take most of them down.

But All the Shows are Still Up on Podcast Platforms!

Yeah.  We took down the links on OUR site, but we really don’t have control over what stays on, say iTunes for example.  The platforms in which still have the deleted shows just have dead links.  Hopefully they have some kind of bot that can clean that up.

Which Shows Did You Keep Up and Why?

We kept the handful of shows that weren’t…uh…zany?  After listening to our first show back, you’ll understand why.

So Those 600+ Shows Are Gone Forever?

Not so fast, my friend.  We have them all and will be putting a classic show once a month on our Patreon page.  And when we post each one, we’ll let you know on all of our social media sites.  If you want to get your ears on them, it’s going to cost you.  An entire dollar a

month.  Of course you can always give more a month, but that’s up to you.  

Because of the “Incident” Will You Be Changing the Show?

Nah.  But we did learn about some technical issues we didn’t know we had so everyone’s job (when he gets one) should be safe.


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Saturday, September 10, 2022

The End of Policing

4:50 PM 0
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https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/bedasso/TSBS_September_10_2022.mp3

As promised, the author of The End of Policing, Alex Vitale, is on the show and this is a MUST listen. How did policing start in the US? Should we just end policing tomorrow? Police are not an appropriate response to homelessness, drug use, sex work, and more. We have to create institutions that reduces the need for police. Listen then get the book at https://www.versobooks.com/books/3906-the-end-of-policing.


 

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Saturday, November 6, 2021

Invisible the Comic Book

10:50 PM 0
Download the Show Here:
https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/bedasso/TSBS_November_6_2021.mp3

Pat LaMarche is back to talk about her new project - her collaboration with Jason Seaux - on a comic book called Invisible, about a homeless vet superhero. Get your copy at www.invisiblevet.com. All proceeds go to help homeless vets. We talk about the process of comic book creation; Dave opens up his mouth and now he may have to start writing a comic book. How do they get statistics on homelessness? It's the government, of course it's bullshit. And it's not TSBS if we don't work in cannabis. Support Stuart Bedasso Radio at www.StuartBedasso.com.

 



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Thursday, December 24, 2020

Stuart Bedasso Logo

12:33 PM 0

 

 

We needed to post this on the internet for...a reason.  Don't ask.

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Monday, May 21, 2018

Our Talk With Lee Camp

Thursday, June 29, 2017

Kellye Gray is Rendering

11:09 PM 0
Download the Show Here:
http://traffic.libsyn.com/bedasso/TSBS_June_29_2017.mp3

Dave had a conversation with Kellye Gray whose new CD, called Rendering, is out now.  They talk about the CD, which took 2 years to create, as well as about music in general, and the fabulous musicians she's worked with throughout the years.  You also get some breaking news about what Kellye's going to be up to in the future.  Think french fries, french bread, french dressing.

Music:
Kellye Gray - Out Blows Me
Kellye Gray - God You Make Me Wonder
Sebastian Whittaker and the Creators - Searchin' For The Truth
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Sunday, October 5, 2014

A Deborah Magone Show

12:51 PM 0
Download the Show Here:
http://traffic.libsyn.com/bedasso/TSBS_October_5_2014.mp3

Deborah Magone is back!  This time with long-time friend & manager, Suzanne Fava.  We play some of her new stuff and talk about the new tunes, how one goes about becoming Grammy-nominated, her connection with Bernie Taupin and more.  It's always fun to have Deb on.  We also talk about Rochester Free Radio's Crowdfunding campaign.  You need to give them some money and get some stuff for it.  You dig?

Music:
Deborah Magone - Black On Blue
Tom Paxton - What Did You Learn Today?
Deborah Magone - Backstairs
Black Pearl (w/Deborah Magone) - Waiting For Me
Dana Countryman - Good Radio Day (Hawaiian Version)
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Monday, June 30, 2014

Editorial: Who's to Blame for SCOTUS? Democrats

11:55 PM 0
I reacted with the same amount of disgust with today’s two Supreme Court rulings as everyone else did.  Well, to be totally honest, the Harris vs. Quinn decision I have mixed feelings about.  But I’m not here to talk about the decisions per se.

Amongst the reactions was the ever-present theory that these decisions were perfect examples of how the two parties are not the same and that this is why we have to vote for a Democratic candidate for President. 

I’ve been hearing this for a while now and ranks up there with the “Nader cost Gore the election” parroting that still continues to this day.  So I decided to actually take a deeper look at this Supreme Court and see if I could draw any conclusions that are similar to “that’s why we have to vote for a Democrat for President.”

We have 9 justices: Roberts, Scalia, Kennedy, Thomas, Alito, Ginsburg, Breyer, Sotomayor and Kagan.  The first 5 are the ones responsible for the decisions everyone is upset about.  So, who is responsible for the make-up of the court who could rule in such a shitty manner?  Well, let’s see…

Presidents get to nominate candidates for the Supreme Court, but it’s the Senate that has to confirm them.  So there’s an equal responsibility here. 

In 2005, GW Bush nominated Chief Justice Roberts.  If you’re anything close to a humanist, you probably think Roberts is a tool.  Well, 22 Democrats voted to confirm him.  Now, if all those D’s voted against, he still would have gotten his seat, but this is an indicator that not all the hallowed Democrats were willing to stand up to this Republican President’s nomination.

Justice Alito was nominated and confirmed in 2006, again under GWB.  Only 3 Democrats voted for this guy and he was confirmed 58 – 42.  So we’ll say this went along party lines.  Well done, Democrats.

Now the fun really begins.  Justice Kennedy. Ronald Reagan nominated him with a Democratic majority in the Senate.  He was confirmed 97-0.  Whoops!

Not done yet… it’s so hard to decide which one is the whopper. 

Shitlord Antonin Scalia (OK, I stole the Shitlord reference) was also nominated by Ronald Reagan and while there was a Republican majority in the Senate, he was confirmed 98-0.  Let that one sink in for a minute.  Not a single Democrat opposed this turd.

But the Pièce de résistance is Justice Pube-on-a-Coke-Can.  Remember that one?  Clarence Thomas, who was nominated by HW Bush in 1991, was confirmed 52-48.  By a Senate that had a Democratic majority.  Ten Democrats voted for him. 

To recap: the Democratic Party had at least 2 chance to stop these two decisions today but chose to, instead, confirm Anthony Kennedy and Clarence Thomas when they had the majority in the Senate.  They also decided to show how much they care about women and workers by unanimously voting in Shitlord Scalia and giving 22 votes to Chief Shitlord Roberts. 

Some may say this is old news, we have to think about the “now”.  Let me show you another great example of how the Democratic Party sticks to it’s principles.

As Bruce Dixon points out, Congressman John Conyers has introduced a reparations bill in the last dozen Congresses, EXCEPT, the two where Democrats have had the majority in the House. 

There were two years where the Democrats held the White House, Congress and Senate and no major legislation was passed during that time.  Now, whoever wrote the Wikipedia entry for the 111th Congress may disagree, but it is my contention that very little legislation there truly affected the systemic issues our country faces.  (OK...none of them.  Bring on the ACA rationalization.)

All of this, combined with the unrestrained contributions to both parties, is why I draw the conclusion that the systemic inequality that is embedded in this country will never be touched until people are willing to abandon the two corporate parties.  Say they’re the same, say they are different.  But they’ve both been in power for a long, long time and the scraps we get when the Democrats are the figureheads are not worth it.

And it is with that last phrase that I take this opportunity to acknowledge that my perspective is one of almost every imaginable privilege there is and that it is easy for me to draw my conclusions and willingness to sacrifice because I am a white, straight, cisgender male.  I realize that my conclusions may not be relevant to some.  But I still contend that despite the crumbs people are given by the Democrats, it is still nowhere near what we deserve and that it is people of privilege who perpetuate this system - those in the 1% and many in the 99%.

-Dave


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Friday, November 30, 2012

Good Explanation of Palestine - Israel Problem

12:19 PM 0
The "solution" is a bit debatable, but...it's a good description of how we got here.

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Sunday, September 16, 2012

New Show - Stuart And The Dollyrots

10:25 AM 0
Download the Show Here:
http://traffic.libsyn.com/bedasso/TSBS_September_16_2012.mp3

Stuart wants Herman's Hermits, but this week we bring you an excusive interview with Kelly and Luis from The Dollyrots.  We talk about their new album and the upcoming tour...and Dave will not be following them to Liechtenstein. Dave's Dad bestwows gifts upon Dikoff Studio.  Melyssa has an ephiphany.  Epiphany and Ivory live together in perfect harmony.  DON'T feed your pet food from Purina.  More new band names for you to steal.  Hurry before The Dollyrots steal one!

Music:
The Dollyrots - F U Famous
The Dollyrots - Twist Me To The Left
Tony Joe White - Groupy Girl
The Peacocks International Guitar Band - Feresirima
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Sunday, July 15, 2012

New Show - Co-opoly

4:19 PM 0
Download the Show Here:
http://traffic.libsyn.com/bedasso/TSBS_July_15_2012.mp3

I think we may have coined a new phrase with this show - Girl Junk.  Our tribute to the late, great actor and masturbator, Ernest Borgnine kicks off the show.  What's the effing deal with Kodak?  The judge should just put them out of our misery.  Jeremy sucks, but Brian, from Co-oply rocks!  We interviewed Brian Van Slyke from the co-operative who brings you Co-opoly. We talk about the game, co-operatives in general and the history of Monopoly.  A great story!  Buy a Co-opoly from the Stuart Bedasso website and get awesome swag!  We kid you not!

Special shout out section!  Make sure you check out the book signing by TSBS friend, James Bailey.  It's on July 21, 2012 at Liftbridge Book Shop in Brockport, NY from 2-4pm.  James is there signing is debut novel, The Greatest Show on Dirt.  Tell him Stu sent ya!

Music:
Eleni Mandell - Magic Summertime
Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad - Pockets
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Wednesday, May 9, 2012

This Kool-Aid Tastes Familiar

11:55 PM 0
It's late and if I'm not going to go to bed there are a million things I should be working on, but I just can't.  Everywhere I go on the internets I see liberals plotzing over the President saying gays should be allowed to marry.  Doesn't this kool-aid taste a bit familiar? 

First of all, as Stuart mentioned on his Facebook earlier today, why is it that Barack Obama's values "evolve" while Mitt Romney flip-flops?  Kind of a double-standard don't you think?  You have to look at the "hope & change" smoke and mirrors bullshit and all the rhetoric while doing a lot of bad, nasty stuff.  This is pure calculation.  Really?  Joe Biden pushed him to come out and say this?  This was staged, pure and simple. 

OK...Obama said gays should be allowed to marry.  He's the freaking POTUS, what's he going to do about it?    Nothing, that's what.  He found his out..."but it's still up to the states to decide."  Fuck you, dude.  And all the liberals (notice I said liberals, not progressives) are swallowing this stuff all over again.  Why?

Because they've been searching for anything they can to hold on to the "hope" that he'll come around and do something liberal.  Not talk.  DO.  Hey POTUS, how about that Executive Order repealing Don't Ask Don't Tell?  Thought not. 

A lot of my Facebook friends are delirious that this has gone down.  Many of them are also my friends in real life, too.  And I know my tone with this is going to annoy them, but this is the coldest, calculatedest, political move this guy has ever done..  Look at the laundry list of issues he's "pulled the football" from.  [Note: this was written before the "revelation" was announced and I wouldn't use the word "progressive" in the context this author did, but the list is spot on.]

Yes, Barack Obama pulling this stunt does have one good part to it, even though his reason for doing it is wrong.  The President of the United States saying that gays should be allowed to marry is one tiny brick in the wall in the struggle for equality.  But really, it's not as big of a deal as many are making it.  He's a Democrat!  He's supposed to accept same sex marriage.  Think about it...this being such a big deal to so many...doesn't that tell you that maybe the bar is a bit low?

And why now?  Huh?  This wasn't really on the mainstream media's radar right now.  And as many wealthier gays had been holding out in contributing - let's see how many of them start ponying up this week.  Calculated.  Shoot, I'm wondering if another war is right around the corner.

OK...and one last point.  Even if this is legit; real "evolution".  The Green Party and all 3 of the people vying for their nomination have always been down with same-sex marriage.  And every single other issue people who are liberal or progressive claim to stand for. Just sayin.

I'm sure I'll post another time on the "lesser of two evils" anti-logic as we get closer to the election. 

Alrighty...feel free to let me have it in the comments.
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Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Musings on #OccupyRochester

10:21 AM 5
If you’ve been listening to the podcast the past couple of weeks, you know that I’ve been involved in the local Occupy movement, hereto referred to as Occupy Rochester.  I have some observations that focus just on the local movement, but could be tied to the national one or other locals as well.

There are folks who are participating and some who are just observing who are commenting that the Occupy Rochester isn’t making demand for anything and that has been frustrating for them.  I understand their frustration, but I think these folks are missing the point of what is happening here.  Those goals are relevant, but even more so is the process of how we get there (to go New Agey…the journey).  How OR operates is even more important than the specific things we want changed because we are modeling a new way of decision-making for most people.  It’s messy, it takes time and it’s hard work.  But if we don’t take the time to get our decision-making process down in a transparent manner, we risk the danger of becoming a top-down faux-movement. 

On a pragmatic note, look at the growth of Occupy Wall Street.  Their process was slow and deliberate, but it just seemed faster because they have General Assemblies (GA) every day.  They did not immediately start making demands or working on specific issues and their group became exponentially bigger.  Why?  Because when you start narrowing your focus you lose people who don’t care about those issues.  Let’s be honest, the daily GA’s in Rochester have a large number for Rochester, but do not represent the people as a whole in this town.  Far from it.  For the numbers to get bigger, we cannot start narrowing our message and right now our message is that government is broken.

Our government doesn’t listen to us, they take away our rights.  THAT is what we are fighting right now.  The occupation of Washington Square Park IS our fight at this moment.  It is a meta issue that will allow us to continue the process of democracy.  The Mayor of Rochester is saying that we can have all the free speech we want as long as it is on HIS terms.  That’s huge!

Now, the local media isn’t getting it.  They are covering this as a traditional news story.  “If there are only 4 people camping out at WSP for #occupyrochester, does it warrant so much attention?” goes one Tweet.  TV cameras come out for their 15 second backdrop shot around the 6pm news and that’s about it.  There hasn’t been an in depth look at why people are here.  They exist to make money and a long, ongoing analysis of what we are doing doesn’t make them money.  We will continue to be dismissed by them for a while, which is why we should be more focused on grassroots organizing to get more people involved.

Now, there are some things I would like to see OR do.  And as an activist my instinct is to just go ahead and do it on my own and see who wants to help, but that’s not going to benefit the movement in the long run. 

I want to see us handing out lit every day at the Liberty Pole and the Public Market on Saturdays.  If I were to just go and do that on my own, it could go against a decision of the group without me knowing it.  So I am going to get to a GA as soon as I can and try to suggest we start handing out lit that has been developed.  If the GA thinks that is a good idea, I will ask for volunteers for help in printing, folding and distributing it and together we will make a schedule for when and where it will be done.  WE will be doing this together if there are people who want to see it happen. 

There’s a perfect example of that happening right now as people posted the letter being given to the Mayor on FB about a meeting when it was agreed that it wouldn’t be publically released until 11am.  Not a huge mistake, but it is an example of how we are not working together for the greater good of the movement. 

I would also love to shout down or just ban all the spammers and trolls on the FB group, but commenting just bumps up their extraneous stuff to higher up on the page.  For better or worse, this IS what democracy looks like.  Wouldn’t it be great if Facebook had an app that would take all of your postings and put a different name on them, then make you read them so you can see if you make any sense?  I don’t know if it would be effective, but it would sure be nice to try.

Here’s the thing that most people don’t talk about in an (allegedly) free society.  You have the right to say almost anything you like, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you should say it.  There are a number of posts on the OR Facebook group that I think are off the point, destructive and show a lack of understanding of human nature.  And if I were to comment on every single one of them it would do nothing but tear down what we are trying to build.  That doesn’t mean people should keep their mouths shut, but it would be nice if folks thought more and reacted less.  I wonder if the way some people interact on FB is the way they talk to people face-to-face.  I actually hope not.

It is imperative that we have a base in which to work, to show the community what democracy looks like.  That is why our fight for Washington Square Park is so important.  Our government doesn’t dictate our rights, we dictate what our government does for us.  That is our first struggle that we have to overcome before we can get to the other stuff.  But that “other stuff” is coming, if we do this right.  We can’t compare ourselves to other Occupy movements.  Every one is unique as we all have different personalities, resources and situations.  We can learn from each other, share ideas and support, but let us not compare ourselves to each other.

We’re making a difference!  We just have to keep reminding ourselves of that.  Keep up the struggle sisters & brothers!

ADDENDUM:  A nice article from the UK that has a similar take.

                                                                                                - Dave
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Sunday, August 7, 2011

New Show - A Kinder, Gentler Facism

10:47 PM 0
Download the Show Here:
http://traffic.libsyn.com/bedasso/TSBS_August_7_2011.mp3

This week we have 2004 Presidential Candidate, David Cobb, on the show. He was the Green Party candidate, dumbass. Anyway, he's in town on his barnstorming tour to end corporate personhood, working with the Move To Amend coalition. Go there, sign the petition and if there isn't already a local chapter start one. Go. Do it now. We'll wait. We talk about hydrofracking, how much Crap-mart sucks, the Park Avenue Festival and independent businesses - and we make it fun! Get ready for links to David's presentation.

Music:

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