Sunday, November 2, 2008

Nov. 2nd edition of Forward Forum

By: John Quinlan
ELECTION SPECIAL EDITION FEATURING THE PRINCE MYSHKINS PERFORMING LIVE IN STUDIO;
OPEN PHONES AND ANALYSIS OF THE ELECTION SEASON JUST PASSED; 
WITH AN EMPHASIS ON THE IMPORTANCE THE ROLE OF EACH OF US IN WHAT LIES AHEAD

John Quinlan here for my co-host Harry Waisbren and producer Stephanie Woods, inviting you to join us this Sunday evening on Forward Forum, from 7-9 pm--broadcasting on WTDY, 1670 am and streaming live at www.wtdy.com.  (Please also join Stephanie for her "Sunday Night Live" show, which now immediately precedes us at 6pm!)

Please join us for a fascinating and fun-filled pre-election version of Forward Forum, featuring the marvelously moving and meaningful musical stylings of the nationally-renowned, but Madison-based, political folk music duo, The Prince Myshkins (www.princemyshkins.com). ; We'll also be featuring a potpourri of local and national political and civil rights leaders who will share compelling reminders of why this election not only matters, but is a rare opportunity to make history.  We'll be returning to the subject of last week's show, and offering practical advice on how to protect precious voting rights in the face of evidence of insidious examples of voter suppression and other illegal and unethical attempts to disenfranchise you.  And, lastly, we'll remind you that Nov. 4th is just the beginning--and the real grassroots work to ensure accountability and action on the path to social justice begins November 5th.

"STOP VOTER SUPPRESSION!"  ORGANIZING UPDATE 

But first, an important reminder from Forward Forum's co-host (and proud community organizer) Harry Waisbren about how you can play your part in countering efforts to suppress the vote.   
New tools have allowed activists to work on election day to aid in efforts to directly prevent voter suppression on election day. With time of the essence though, we need to work quickly to spread word of these resources as quickly as possible.There are a myriad of others ways to participate however, and here is a link to the Voter Suppression wiki's press release which has aggregated many of the different ways this can be done: http://www.pamshouseblend.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=7890.  A particularly powerful tool to do this is Credo Action's Immediate Response Network while will direct activists via text message alerts as to urgent issues requiring help in their area, and the link to sign up for this is here: http://act.credoaction.com/election/

You can also download a 
flier that is being spread as far as possible that provides all of the information a citizen needs to prevent the suppression of their vote as well as what they can do to help others.  Go to http://www.forwardforum.net/one_page.doc .  For further information, go to www.madprogress.com -- also a blog where you can offer feedback about your local experiences on election day itself.

ABOUT THE PRINCE MYSHKINS (www.princemyshkins.com)

The Prince Myshkins, guitarist/vocalist Andy Gricevich and accordianist/vocalist Rick Burkhardt, make their home in Madison, but spend much of their time on the road
touring nationally to play and sing "at antiwar demonstrations, union rallies, schools, coffeehouses, living rooms, community centers and major urban intersections."  They've just come back from one such tour through the swing state territory of Ohio and Pennsylvania, performing alongside such progressive folk icons as John McCutcheon and Holly Near.  Here are some of their recent reviews:
Brilliant musicians and astonishing political songwriters...
their wordplay is unrelentingly sidesplitting.
Peter Berryman, Whither Zither
 
The songs are meticulous masterpieces, lyrically and musically.
The Prince Myshkins are true American queer music revolutionaires....
each song an American epic unto itself.
Scott Free, Outvoice reviews
 
Musically gripping, lyrically acerbic....
The Prince Myshkins have been compared to Mark Russell as
political satirists in song and Romanovsky and Phillips as a Gay folk duo
singing original material, but in this interviewer's opinion they're far ahead
of that level and within hailing distance of their self-proclaimed
(or self-confessed) influences:  the Marx Brothers, Tom Lehrer,
Monty Python.  Catch them as soon as you have the opportunity.
Zenger's magazine
 
 
It's hard to think of a more fitting way to end this never-ending campaign season than to hear live in studio from our friends Rick and Andy--both in song and in word--as they share their encounters with people in every corner of the country who are behind the new movement for social justice that underlies this presidential campaign.  As we enter these final several days, it's a night when we hope to inspire and motivate you to persevere in the face of long lines at the polls--and to continue to push for positive change in the months and years to come.  Please join in our conversation by calling 321-1670 locally, *123 for US Cellular phone users toll-free, and 1-877-867-1670 if calling from further afield.
 
Other guests and segments pending at press time.  With new events breaking constantly, we're trying to stay on top of things, so this show is still a work-in-progress.... for further updates, please return to www.forwardforum.net for further details at weekend's end.

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