Bernie Sanders Sayings

The media, which informs and shapes our perceptions of social problems, is owned by a very small number of powerful corporations with deeply vested special interests.

Famous people who were Democratic Socialists

Did you know that Helen Keller was a Democratic Socialist?

Another mass shooting on Wednesday

Wayne LaPierre 

Well, the NRA was certainly busy yesterday as the patron to another mass shooting, this time in Savannah, Georgia. The gunman shot four people, killing one. The first one was in San Bernardino, California where at least 14 were killed and 17 injured.

ISIS changes American strategy

ISIS no longer plans attacks on the United States. The NRA gun crazies are doing their job for them. The latest from San Bernardino.

Obamacare and mental health

"Obamacare has been a huge help for mental health care," according to Alan B. Miller, CEO and Chairman of Universal Health Services. "This year, an estimated 3.7 million Americans with significant mental illnesses now have coverage and access to care through the insurance exchanges or extended Medicaid — they have moved from the shadows and into needed treatment." A sign that something is being done about this problem as has been demanded by the NRA and other gun rights organizations and supporters.

It's now time for these same people to come to grips with and support responsible gun legislation like background checks, banning assault weapons, closing the gun show loophole and halting gun straw purchases. Time to put your common sense to where your mouth is.

George W. Bush was not a legitimately elected President in 2000

Florida laws under the supervision of Sec. of State Katherine Harris, and supported by then Governor Jeb Bush, wrongly disenfranchised thousands of otherwise eligible voters that eventually swayed the election in favor of George W. Bush. The 2000 election led the way for other states controlled by Republicans to pick up on the illegal tactics used in Florida and prevent valid Democratic voters from going to the polls all over the country. An excellent article here from The Nation.

Bernie Sanders Sayings

Our democratic institutions are so endangered that a clear-eyed observer might well conclude that we live not in a democracy but an oligarchy.

Famous people who were Democratic Socialists

Did you know Albert Einstein was a Democratic Socialist?

Bernie Sanders sayings

The middle class is shrinking, the working class is scraping by, and the poor are even more deeply mired in poverty. Think about it.

Famous people who were Democratic Socialists

Did you know Martin Luther King, Jr. was a Democratic Socialist?

Bernie Sander Sayings

In America we have the most inequitable distribution of wealth in the entire industrialized world. Think about it.

Famous people who were Democratic Socialists

Did you know that novelist Jack London was a Democratic Socialist?

Bernie Sanders Cited For NOT Lying

With most politicians, particularly the GOP, you can never tell what they stand for, and if you did, it would conveniently change the next day. Enter Bernie Sanders, who hasn't changed his positions on the issues he supports since, well, the first days of his political career. I have collected a number of my blogs on this subject here. But Alternet has come up with a great assortment of crucial topics making the claim that most politicians lie about them...but not Bernie Sanders.

1. Bernie Sanders says that many in the banking system are too big to fail and should be broken up.
2. Sanders supports the Affordable Care Act or Obamacare but thinks it doesn't go far enough. He wants to establish a nationwide, government-operated single-payer system like Sweden.
3. Thumbs down on the Trans Pacific Partnership, primarily because of the loss of jobs.
4. He's hell-bent on changing the growing inequality, exclaiming that the more the American middle-class erodes, the less spending power it has.
5. Raise the minimum wage; it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure this one out.

These are the top five and the remaining five are just as important to Progressives. It will be interesting in the coming months just how important these ten issues become for the 2016 election.

UK PM David Cameron Catches Scott Walker in Lie

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who is considering running for President in 2016, says the UK's Prime Minister, David Cameron told him directly "that he’s unsatisfied with American leadership." Apparently Walker has been scurrying around the world to learn something about foreign policy, a trek that obviously failed. In trying to degrade President Obama, he told a group of Republicans "that world leaders, including Cameron, are worried about the U.S. stepping back in the world." He said he heard it from David Cameron at 10 Downing.

Cameron quickly suggested that Scott Walker "has no idea what he’s talking about." One of the Prime Minister's spokespersons added, "The Prime Minister did not say that and does not think that." Well, isn't that a revolting development for a man who wants to be President and is known for his gaffs. Back in February when he was asked about how he would handle ISIS, his response was “If I can take on 100,000 protesters, I can do the same across the globe.” The 100,000 he refers to are those labor protesters in Wisconsin. The National Review called his response "awful."

Guns and Violence-The Two Go Together

Both make headlines two days in a row. The first on Sunday at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York. Some irresponsible gun owner discharged the weapon in his pocket and the ricocheted bullet grazed a woman's head; she was probably a millimeter from death. Four other people were injured by shattered glass and debris, but there was no indication the man would be charged. Now this was an incident where someone was almost killed by a harebrained concealed gun carrier that apparently did not secure a weapon he was carrying around in his pocket. This is why gun control advocates want these guns off the street and kept in the home.

And yet another more violent incident in Columbus, Ohio, on Monday where a 16-year-old boy murdered four and injured one woman. The kid was charged with murder and kidnapping, the latter which police did not explain, nor did they disclose a motive. The same question arises, where did the boy get the gun? Until we can answer this following every gun death, the slaughter will continue.

Tattooed Christians are Doomed

A site by the name of Rapture Ready is saying real Christians shouldn't have tattoos. Here's the reference:

Lev. 19:28 says, “Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the LORD.” Yet RR adds that DEATH is the number one tattoo.

Continuing, "it's not Christian, it is associated with paganism, demonism, Baal worship, shamanism, mysticism, heathenism, cannibalism and many other pagan beliefs."

RR says the Bible also condemns all rebellion, which is only realistic in a perfect world, not the kind we live in today. Further, "the tattoo has always been an indication of a spirit of rebellion and deviancy on its wearers," claiming that the Biblical passages "declare that rebellion is as bad as witchcraft."

Okay, I personally know several people who profess to be good Christians that have multiple tattoos. The site reiterates over and over that the tattoo has its roots in beliefs and practices that are demonic and pagan, continuing..."it is intended to put the human soul in harmony with supernatural forces."

I am sure the tattooed Christians I know have no idea they are headed for hell and damnation, but even the strongest of believers should wonder about some of the statements made on this site. Rapture Ready claims the end is very near so you tattooed Christians had better start scrubbing today.

Chris Christie Just Raised Democrat Chances in 2016

No matter who runs as the Democratic candidate in the 2016 General election, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a potential Republican candidate himself, just moved the Democrats closer to the presidency. Christie said, “Listen, first off, I thought that Elizabeth Warren wasn’t running for president. But when I listened to Hillary yesterday, it sounds like liberal political consultants put together that speech.” What this means is that both Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren have moved Clinton further to the left where the Democratic voters will be in 2016.  Warren still claims she is not running but Bernie is hot on the trail and very close to being a highly competitive candidate to win the primary.

In the MSNBC article Christie questions whether Hillary Clinton really understands the everyday issues Americans face. She doesn't listen to them and she never answers questions he claimed. In a recent interview with NBC reporter Andrea Mitchell, Bernie Sanders made the remark that he didn't understand how anyone could run for president without answering questions. Bernie thrives on making it known what he stands for by being responsive to the public and the press. The big difference here seems to be that Hillary Clinton is carefully orchestrating her campaign with limitations that sometime reflect negatively on the candidate. Bernie Sanders, on the other hand, says simply this is what I am, what I stand for and ask me if there is anything you don't understand. Then, he answers them.

Bernie Sanders Shocks With New Poll

New Hampshire: BREAKING NEWS

Bernie Sanders comes withing ten points of Hillary Clinton in latest New Hampshire poll. Clinton 42%, Sanders 32%. Bernie is on the roll!

Bernie Sanders Talks Obscene Wealth

In Iowa on Saturday Bernie Sanders talked about the obscene wealth in America. He was referring to billionaires like the KOCH Bros. that just keep taking but never really giving in return. Yes, I know about the KOCH family foundations but what they offer there is far smaller than what they suck out of this nation. And part of their philanthropy is no doubt to benefit their many conservative causes which lobby against issues like universal health care and climate change. KOCH industries is the top water polluter in the U.S. with three lobbying organizations that have a key influence on U.S. public policy, which accounts for a bought and paid for Republican Congress and some Democrats.

Here are the wealthiest in the U.S., but with distinct differences in character. There is Bill Gates, #1 at $79.4 billion followed by Warren Buffett #2 at $68.9 billion, then Oracle founder and former CEO, Larry Ellison, $54.5 billion. These three are followed by the dregs of billionaires, Charles and David Koch worth $41.6 billion each. And then comes the difference. Don't know much about Ellison but do know that Bill Gates and Warren Buffett have both pledged half of their fortunes to charity. And they have done it without attempting to take over the political reins of the United States and run it as a part of KOCH Industries. And that is what Bernie Sanders was talking about to large crowds this last Saturday in Iowa.

IKEA to Invest Billion Dollars in the Environment

The Scandanavians are in the news for investing big in cleaning up the environment. IKEA, based in Sweden, announced it will spend one billion euros (1.13 billion dollars) over the next five years to address climate change. While in the U.S. a Think Progress analysis found that "over 58 percent" of congressional Republicans refuse to accept the science of climate change. Go figure. IKEA's decision was partially the result of a survey taken last year with the finding that 41% of the store's customers think the company “takes social and environmental responsibility.” Now that's a refreshing change to some American companies that simply concentrate on polluting the environment.

Forbes magazine has published an article with 11 U.S. companies that are considered best for the environment. Among them are Seventh Generation and Go Lite, but there is also the other side...our country's big polluters. Just recently Environment America released "Polluting Politics" a report that analyzes spending on federal lobbying and campaign contributions by companies releasing the most toxic chemicals into U.S. waterways. Guess who tops the list of water polluters who spend the most politically to prevent environmental policies? KOCH Industries. But they are just one; others include Tyson Foods, Dept. Of Defense, Cargill, U.S. Steel and Phillips 66. And these are only water polluters.

The environment has taken a series of hits that many climate scientists have said we cannot recover from if we don't do something now. With a GOP Congress that won't pass any laws opposed by big business, there is little hope we will ever clean up this mess.

Colin Powell Talks Republican Racism...Again

Former Sec. of State Colin Powell accused the Republicans in Jan. 2013, of having "... a dark vein of intolerance in some parts of the party." It was former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin who used the term to say that the president is "shuckin" and "jivin," referring to Barack Obama. I grew up in the South and that's about as racist as it gets. But coming from a double-digit IQ like Sarah Palin, well, what do you expect? Powell doesn't mention it by name but during that period of time the far right conservatives responsible for racial attacks were the Tea Party.

Move ahead to March of 2015 and Colin Powell again speaks out against the GOP and its continuing racist views. It was in a "This Week" interview when he said “I still see it. I still see it in the Republican Party and I still see it in other parts of our country. You don’t have to be a Republican to be touched by this dark vein. America is still going through this transformation from where we were just 50 or 60 years ago.” I lived in the South in the 50s and 60s when the phrase "shuckin" and "jivin" was only one of the offenders to black folks. They had to live with the "N" word every day, and not just behind their backs, but face to face in a confrontation they knew they could not win.

Racist have cleaned up their act slightly, mostly due to a somewhat less tolerant public, but the seething hatred is still there with little hope it will go away.

More Tea Party Lunacy

We know those in the Tea Party live in their own fantasyland of an ideology that if satisfied would close down America. Thank God they have been herded into their own corral and as long as we keep them there, all should be fine. What we can't prevent is their incessant blather carping about everything from Barack Obama to gun rights. Here are some examples:

• In a recent post from their site, former Congressman Frank Wolf implies that Christians could be going to prison in the future for their beliefs. 
• Next, the end of this month the TP newsletter exclaimed that the government was preparing to seize 401 (k) pensions setting the stage for “economic totalitarianism.” 
• TP newsletter headline: "What Obama Hates About Jesus." 
• The chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, Roy Moore, said he believes that if the U.S. Supreme Court rules in June that homosexual marriage is a Constitutional right, it “will destroy our country,” and added that “there are people who would like to see this country destroyed.”
• And finally, back to 2014, fired former Gilberton, PA, police chief Mark Kessler said, that he is a DHS/FBI plant. He was deemed psychotic for his 2nd Amendment lunacy.

The tea Party never lets up but it does provide us with a wealth of laughter in an otherwise sometimes dismal world.

The NRA Doesn't Want Public to Know Where Gun Violence Weapons Come From

The National Rifle Assn. (NRA) has pushed the limits of the Second Amendment to the extent that there is daily gun violence all over America, unabated because a gutless Congress won't enact laws to control guns in this country. The 2nd Amendment is an antique that should either be drastically modified or repealed. There is no hope for reasonable gun control until the NRA, along with its leader, Wayne LaPierre, are backed into a corner and told to shut up. 

Just yesterday I posted on my blog about the death of an innocent 19-year-old girl and asked the question I have been asking for a couple of years: Where did he get the gun? There is no answer to that because the NRA has refused to allow a gun registry that would assist law enforcement in tracing back every gun used in violent shootings. One of the reasons the gun lobby doesn't want that registry is that then many of the weapons used in gun violence might be connected to NRA members. 

Overturning Citizens Unlimited Must Come From Grass Roots Level

If there is one thing this country can do to balance the political scales in favor of the people it is to overturn the Citizens United ruling made by SCOTUS in 2010. John Roberts and his activist conservative renegades literally put the wealthy and corporations in charge of elections. The flow of dark money has been unlimited and forced some to rethink their candidacy. New Mexico Democrat Tom Udall proposed a Constitutional Amendment in 2014 that was backed by 54 Senators but was stymied by a Republican filibuster that stopped any action.

Enter Bernie Sanders, who had been an advocate for repeal since it was passed into law, who said, “I am extremely disappointed that not one Republican voted today to stop billionaires from buying elections and undermining American democracy." So now it goes back to the grass roots level to gain momentum for the proposed 28th Constitutional Amendment. John Bonifaz, president of Free Speech for People said, “We have amended the US Constitution before in our nation’s history. Twenty-seven times before. Seven of those times to overturn egregious Supreme Court rulings. For the promise of American democracy, we can and we will do it again.”

Argument Over Beer Ping Pong-Where Did he Get the Gun?

There was a party for Texas A&M graduate Landon Duke in College Station, and now 19-year-old Lacie LaRose is dead, killed by 39-year-old party-crasher Ronald McNeil. The whole problem erupted over a disagreement about the rules of Beer Ping Pong. McNeil said it was an accident but he fired off 14 shots to get the job done which might indicate a fit of rage since he had been thrown out of the party. McNeil lived across the street from Duke and was a convicted felon. I know we're talking about Texas but where did he get the .40-caliber Glock gun? 

Ronald McNeil is currently being held in Brazos County Jail on charges of murder, deadly conduct for discharge of a firearm and two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. A 19-year-old young lady's life was snuffed out just like that, once again using a gun. One of 300 million in the U.S. With many states that have extremely loose gun laws. Texas being one of them. From now on I would like to see the media leave these stories of gun violence open until it has been proved where the gun came from. Maybe then the public will understand just how stupid is the National Rifle Association's call for more guns on the street.