KingCharlemagne
KingCharlemagne's JournalThe proverbial picture is worth a thousand words:
Historical question about primary calendar: why does the
California primary come so late in the calendar that its results don't usually affect the outcome?
Who sets the schedule?
Although I am a Sanders supporter, I think Hillary would defeat him in California, were its primary first. But I think our state deserves more say-so in the party's nominee.
Sanders or Clinton: Who would be more effective with a Republican Congress?
I am a firm Sanders supporter, having donated a small amount to his campaign. One of my workmates is a firm Clinton supporter and we have had several spirited and civil discussions of the respective candidates' merits.
His principal reason for supporting Clinton is that he thinks she will be able to work more effectively with a Republican Congress. He makes a compelling case, so I am curious to see what folks here think of this issue.
Who would work better with a Republican Congress?
Does such a concern matter in deciding whom to support?
Should it matter?
Why or why not?
Does 'win the debate' mean anything ? If so, what? Does using a sports
metaphor help or hinder our understanding of last night's debate?
I would argue that 'winning a debate' means little in this context, but I'm open to hearing other people's opinions. Was anyone's mind changed by what he or she heard last night? And, if so, how would you quantify it so as to declare a 'winner'?
Is there a recent poll showing Sanders trailing Hillary by only 39-43? I thought
I saw a thread on it a few days ago, failed to bookmark it and now cannot find it.
Any assistance would be appreciated. Arguing with someone who claims Hillary has a 40-point lead.
Bernie Sanders can't get no respect! Chris Hedges dishes it out in his
latest op-ed for TruthDig:
Political theater works because many in America have been systematically indoctrinated and severed from reality. Our corporate masters have built a mass culture centered on the cult of the self, unchecked hedonism and spectacle. Neoliberal ideology infects every institution and belief system. Those who suffer deserve to suffer. Victims are responsible for their victimhood. We can all achieve wealth and prosperity with hard work. This mantra permits us to be cruel and heartless to the weak and the vulnerable, especially the poor as well as women and children, whom we discard as human refuse. Our warped neoliberal vision is defined as progress.
America celebrates itself as virtuous and good while it inflicts terrible human suffering at home and abroad on those it deems unworthy of life. The particular and self-centered definition of good that defines the primacy of American imperial and corporate power is presented as a universal good. There are Americans, especially those beset by falling incomes and a dismal future, who find in state power an expression of personal power. They see in the mythical virtue of the nation a personal virtue. Attack systems of power and this American virtue and they feel attacked and disempowered. And the state can count on those who cling to this myth to turn with fury against all of us who seek to exist in a reality-based universe. The state will stoke hatred among these patriots to incite violence against all who dissent. Standing up to the corporate state, refusing to play by its rules, will be difficult and dangerous.
~snip
http://www.truthdig.com/report/page2/the_electoral_farce_20150616 (Emphasis added)
One may disagree with Hedges about Sanders' bona fides (I do), but few can dispute the passion with which he reminds us of all those whom bourgeois America conveniently forgets or ignores.
Full piece highly recommended. I'd love to see Sanders respond to this personally and he just might! That's the refreshing thing about Senator Sanders, in my opinion.
Chris Hedges lays it out. A very powerful essay:
The pathology of the rich white family is the most dangerous pathology in America. The rich white family is cursed with too much money and privilege. It is devoid of empathy, the result of lifetimes of entitlement. It has little sense of loyalty and lacks the capacity for self-sacrifice. Its definition of friendship is reduced to What can you do for me? It is possessed by an insatiable lust to increase its fortunes and power. It believes that wealth and privilege confer to it a superior intelligence and virtue. It is infused with an unchecked hedonism and narcissism. And because of all this, it interprets reality through a lens of self-adulation and greed that renders it delusional. The rich white family is a menace. The pathologies of the poor, when set against the pathologies of rich white people, are like a candle set beside the sun.
There are no shortages of acolytes and propagandists for rich white families. They dominate our airwaves. They blame poverty, societal breakdown, urban violence, drug use, domestic abuse and crime on the pathology of poor black familiesnot that they know any. They argue that poor black families disintegrate because of some inherent defecthere you can read between the lines that white people are better than black peoplea defect that these poor families need to fix.
Peddle this simplistic and racist garbage and you will be given a column at The New York Times. It always pays to suck up to rich white families. If you are black and parrot this line, rich white people are overcome with joy. They go to extreme lengths to give you a platform. You can become president or a Supreme Court justice. You can get a television talk show or tenure at a university. You can get money for your foundation. You can publish self-help books. Your films will be funded. You might even be hired to run a company.
Rich white families, their sycophants opine, have tried to help. Rich white families have given poor people numerous resources and government programs to lift them out of poverty. They have provided generous charity. But blacks, they say, along with other poor people of color, are defeated by self-destructive attitudes and behavior. Government programs are therefore wasted on these irresponsible people. Poor families, the sycophants tell us, will not be redeemed until they redeem themselves. We want to help, rich white people say, but poor black people need to pull up their pants, stay in school, get an education, find a job, say no to drugs and respect authority. If they dont, they deserve what they get. And what the average black family ends up with in economic terms is a nickel for every dollar held by the average white family.
Continues . . .
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/the_pathology_of_the_rich_white_family_20150517
If Sanders enters the ring, the 2016 primary will get VERY interesting. I just
saw a story datelined yesterday that suggests Sanders is leaning toward entering and running as a Dem.
Sen. Bernie Sanders is only days away from making a decision on a 2016 run, and leaning towards yes, according to his top strategist.
I think were coming to the critical moment of truth here. Hes now spent enough time traveling around the country talking to people and feels there is genuinely a large audience of people who are with him, veteran Democratic strategist Tad Devine, who is advising Sanders, told msnbc.
A formal announcement of his candidacy is expected to occur later in May.
http://www.politicususa.com/2015/04/25/bernie-sanders-run-president.html (Emphasis in original)
Indiana: Luckovich Nails It in One 'Toon
http://luckovich.blog.ajc.com/2015/03/31/401-luckovich-supper-vacancies/
Sad 50th Anniversary for a Fallen Heroine: Viola Liuzzo (died March 25, 1965)
Folks and comrades:
Today marks the 50th anniversary of the death of a civil rights heroine: Viola Liuzzo. She was shot to death by a group of Alabama Klansmen this day in 1965, while driving back from the airport in Montgomery, AL. She had traveled from Detroit to Selma in response to the inspiration of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the events of Bloody Sunday on the Edmund Pettus Bridge.
The KKK assassins were initially acquitted by an all-white jury in the state trial but eventually convicted in federal court on civil rights charges.
Liuzzo's story is fascinating and so sad. The Wiki article gives a good introduction to Liuzzo's life and heroism and briefly discusses the FBI's less-than-stellar response. (One of the four KKK members on the hit squad was a long-standing FBI informant.)
The world is a better place because of Liuzzo's sacrifice.
RIP
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viola_Liuzzo
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