African-Americans should think twice before voting for Hillary Clinton-2

Bernie Sanders involved in civil rights in early years

In Michelle Alexander's The Nation article she said, They {the Clintons didn't take extreme political risks defending blacks, didn't fight right-wing demagoguery about the black communities, did not give black communities the hope they needed after industrialization devastation of their neighborhoods. In fact, the writer claims, they did just the opposite. And then I proceeded to separate Hillary from Bill's deeds...sort of.

But the connection continues. "...Clinton declared that 'the era of big government is over' and immediately sought to prove it by dismantling the federal welfare system known as Aid to Families With Dependent Children (AFDC). Hillary Clinton supported this move and continued to call it a success as recently as 2008. Clinton said in one of the Democratic debates, “The economy does better when you have a Democrat in the White House.”

The above was said in reference to her husband’s record of lifting wages and creating jobs, both of which are in question when it comes to black communities. But for years these two have have been adored by African-Americans as if all during this time no one else has championed civil rights for blacks. Bernie Sanders has been working quietly all during this period and, of course, he is Hillary Clinton's opponent for the Democratic nomination.

Here are the Bern's accomplishments: In 1962 as a student at the University of Chicago, he was arrested for desegregation; He participated in the March on Washington;  Achieved high ratings from leading Civil Rights Organizations; Endorsed Jesse Jackson the first competitive black candidate for the Democratic nomination for the presidency; Strongly condemned police violence over the past year. There's much more and you can see it in the above link.

The point here is that Bernie Sanders doesn't just talk the talk, but he goes into the street to back up his words. That's why he deserves the nomination over Hillary Clinton.

Bernie Sanders Sayings

A growing number of communities do not trust the police. Law enforcement officers have become disconnected from the communities they are sworn to protect. Violence and brutality of any kind, particularly at the hands of the police meant to protect and serve our communities, is unacceptable and must not be tolerated. We need a societal transformation to make it clear that black lives matter and racism will not be accepted in a civilized country.

African-Americans should think twice before voting for Hillary Clinton

Rosa Parks famous bus ride

In The Nation, Michelle Alexander, an African American journalist, writes: "The Clinton's legacy has been the impoverishment of black America--so why are we still voting for them?" The article comes at a time when Hillary is using black Americans as her "firewall" again opponent Bernie Sanders, who also is proud of his civil rights background. And the South Carolina Primary February 27, will be the first battleground to test the mettle of both candidates before blacks.

"What have the Clintons done to earn such devotion?, Alexander asks. Her answer...Not take extreme political risks defending blacks, not fight right-wing demagoguery about the black communities, not give black communities the hope they needed after industrialization devastation of their neighborhoods. In fact, the writer claims, they did just the opposite. It is true Clinton should not be held accountable for what her husband's administration did. Or should she be?

Hillary Clinton supported Bill Clinton's 1994 crime bill using, "...racially coded rhetoric to cast black children as animals. 'They are not just gangs of kids anymore,' she said. 'They are often the kinds of kids that are called ‘super-predators.’ No conscience, no empathy. We can talk about why they ended up that way, but first we have to bring them to heel.'” This kind of discourse is a far cry from what she is saying in South Carolina today.

And while on the recent campaign trail, "...she continues to invoke the economy and country that Bill Clinton left behind as a legacy she would continue."

Alexander goes on, "When Clinton left office in 2001, the true jobless rate for young, non-college-educated black men (including those behind bars) was 42 percent. This figure was never reported. Instead, the media claimed that unemployment rates for African Americans had fallen to record lows, neglecting to mention that this miracle was possible only because incarceration rates were now at record highs." Likely because of the 1994 crime bill Hillary supported.

More on this tomorrow, including Bernie Sanders record on civil rights.

Bernie Sanders Sayings

The cost of college education today is so high that many young people are giving up their dream of going to college, while many others are graduating deeply in debt.
 

How Bernie Sanders will pay for his programs

I have read several instances of where people have questioned how Bernie Sanders will pay for the free programs he is proposing, like college tuition, universal healthcare, expansion of Social Security and more. You can see a full explanation of all issues by the candidate here but let me cover the above three in this post. For those of you who follow the Bern, you probably know that his aspirations are quite lofty, but that he believes sincerely in his ability to reach for and attain these goals. And in each case he has a specific solution to fund each program.

What the general public has to understand--something Bernie's supporters already know--is that these reforms have been so long coming that the momentum of needed change is now on their side. The time has come to rid this country of the corporate and wealth control that has been building for so many years now. The people need America delivered back to them and this is exactly what Bernie Sanders plans to do. There will be a fight and ideologues like Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan, plus the bulk of the conservative right, will have to be dealt with. We can only hope the people will win.

First, free college tuition for all will cost around $75 billion a year. It will be paid for by imposing a tax on Wall Street speculators that would generate about $300 billion in revenue. See the link here for detailed information.

Second, healthcare coverage for every American, paid for by a 6.2 percent income-based health care premium paid by employers, a 2.2 percent income-based premium paid by households, progressive income tax rates, taxing capital gains and dividends the same as income from work, limiting tax deductions for the rich, adjusting the estate tax, and savings from health tax expenditures.

Three, the expansion of Social Security Paid for by lifting the tax on taxable income over $250,000 so that the wealthy pay the same percentage of their income into Social Security as working people. More information here.

A Bernie Sanders presidency will give us the chance to catch up with other Social Democracies around the world that already offer these programs to their people. But it is up to the people of the U.S. to make this happen.

NOTE: I do plan to repost this randomly.

Bernie Sanders Sayings

Do the elected officials in Washington stand with ordinary Americans - working families, children, the elderly, the poor - or will the extraordinary power of billionaire campaign contributors and Big Money prevail? The American people, by the millions, must send Congress the answer to that question.

Mitch McConnell is Senate token asshole

Mitch McConnell the village idiot at work

It takes the language of a sailor--used to be one--to describe this numbnuts who has opposed everything Barack Obama has done from the first day he took office. Most likely Mitch McConnell is a racist, but it is confirmed that he hates the President and makes me ashamed that Kentucky is my birth state. It is beyond me how McConnell was ever elected to Congress, then became Senate head? This jerk is the epitome of what is wrong with the GOP Congress, actually the Republican Party in general.

Apparently there is nothing we can do to get rid of him now, but it should prove to Republican voters what is wrong with their side of the aisle, and to Progressives that we need to get to the polls in November to vote conservatives like him out of office. But I can't imagine those on the right coming to their senses when 35% of them support Donald Trump, with Ted Cruz even in the double digits. This country is fucked up and will only survive under a Progressive President like Bernie Sanders, with much of the unrest pointing certain segments of the population in his direction.

The naysayers are already condemning the Bern for his Nevada loss. Clinton should have won that state with a unanimous vote but she didn't and Sanders walked away with 15 delegates to her 19. Do you remember that Bernie was once behind by 40 points in Nevada? And by the way, here's where Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders stand in the pledged delegates that will choose the Democratic nominee...they are tied at 51 delegates apiece. But Sanders still needs more money to fight off Clinton's Super Pacs and you can contribute here.