Sanders Statement on Trump
BURLINGTON, Vt., Nov. 9 – U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) issued the following statement Wednesday after Donald Trump was elected president of the United States:
“Donald Trump tapped into the anger of a declining middle class that is sick and tired of establishment economics, establishment politics and the establishment media. People are tired of working longer hours for lower wages, of seeing decent paying jobs go to China and other low-wage countries, of billionaires not paying any federal income taxes and of not being able to afford a college education for their kids – all while the very rich become much richer.
“To the degree that Mr. Trump is serious about pursuing policies that improve the lives of working families in this country, I and other progressives are prepared to work with him. To the degree that he pursues racist, sexist, xenophobic and anti-environment policies, we will vigorously oppose him.”
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Diane Ravitch's blog 
Aha… “to the degree that Trump is serious”…that is Bernie’s way of saying , that Trump only serious concern is himself!
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That is what you hope for? POS. BERNIE is a wuss, he knows Travlegate, pardon of a traitor, and he still back “IT” http://prorev.com/connex.htm
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Help me out Db. I’m self-diagnosed AID*. What does POS mean.
*Acronym Impaired Disorder
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Thank you for issuing in the Trump era. You demonstrate all we can expect the next four years.
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I’m forever grateful to Bernie for raising the issues important to us. Be Kind.
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Dbcopp is an example of the anti-Bernie propaganda we will start to hear if Bernie becomes a threat to the right wing juggernaut. We’ll hear how corrupt Elizabeth Warren is, too.
I wonder how the Hillary-haters on here will feel when some of that is turned on their progressive candidate. I wonder if they will be frustrated trying to argue with all the people who absolutely “know” how co-opted Bernie and Sanders is. I wonder if they will despair at the smugness of the people who embrace that “Bernie and Elizabeth are corrupt” meme who just know they need to wait for a better candidate and who cares if Trump is re-elected. After all, they’ve been telling us nonstop that Trump is no worse than any imperfect Democrat who can be smeared as a lying sell-out by Db copp. So we need to wait until we get that “unslimeaable” candidate. Forever if necessary. After all, we should not support any co-opted candidate like Bernie or Warren who are no better than Trump.
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If you would just settle down, NYC parent, and stop accusing others of being “Hillary haters” we could start to heal and move forward. Your constant harping is debilitating to so many of us who are feeling like the walking wounded, but who want to move forward and plan a better outcome in 2020. Please stop it.
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Thank you Ellen!
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I wasn’t referring to you, Ellen.
I am just confused about something.
Do you think I am wrong about the lesson progressives should learn from this? Is it really just about offering up a better candidate? One who is suitably progressive without so-called baggage?
I admit, it terrifies me that seems to be the main thing that I am hearing. I would love if the next Democrat who runs against Trump is someone acceptable to progressives. But if that person is allowed to be smeared by the right wing propaganda machine to turn off voters, it will be “deja vu all over again.”
Or maybe I’m just a worry wart. I just don’t want to wait another 4 years and witness yet another sliming of a to find out I was right. And no one will be happier than me to be proven wrong.
The election depressed me to no end. The Republicans got away with co opting the FBI and very likely Russian hackers and wikileaks to do their dirty work. And everyone is already forgetting what happened. I am under no illusion that any candidate — no matter how progressive or seemingly without flaws — cannot be slimed by that juggernaut.
And it’s if it never happened as we do postmortems on how we just need a better candidate next time.
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Is it propaganda if it is true. About bernie
Please Because i can not find it, what trump said about blacks,
And what was untrue about rapist and murders getting into the USA
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Forgive me for butting into the line…but Howard Dean just announced his candidacy to lead the DNC…again.
PLEASE…all who agree with me that Russ Feingold would be the best leader for us and for the DNC, write/call him today and urge him to run against Dean.
We need a whole fresh group at the DNC…not the long time hacks who left us at this crossroads.
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And now Bernie has endorsed Kieth Ellison to lead the DNC…and Rachel Maddow tried to get Liz Warren to say she would run for it as well. Here is Bernie’s petition.
https://go.berniesanders.com/page/s/keith-ellison-dnc?source=sh161110-em
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“To the degree that Mr. Trump is serious about pursuing policies that improve the lives of working families in this country, I and other progressives are prepared to work with him. To the degree that he pursues racist, sexist, xenophobic and anti-environment policies, we will vigorously oppose him.”
Amen and amen.
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Go Bernie.
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Yes.. go Bernie! And let us not FORGET a powerhouse that at least gives me hope in these grim times… Robert Reich…
http://robertreich.org/post/152998666340
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A huge YES as to Reich.
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The Clintons are history and should fade away. For the next few years, the standard bearers of the Democratic Party should be Bernie and/or Elizabeth Warren.
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The neo-liberals need to go. Emanuel, Malloy, Cuomo, the whole DFER crowd.
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Amen to that!
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Not only the neo-liberals, but the neo-conservatives in the GOP and the libertarians controlled by the Koch brothers. There are three powerful groups wrecking havoc on this country and the 4th one is the evangelical, fundamentalist Christians who want religion in the government — something the Founding Fathers didn’t want.
There is a reason for this. The United States was colonized by many Christian denominations and religions running from the tyranny of the Catholic Church and the wars being waged for centuries between the Protestants and Catholics in Europe. They didn’t want that to repeat here.
And for more than two hundreds years, thousands of different Christian denominations and other religions have managed, for the most part, not to wage war with each other.
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Corey Booker needs to be jettisoned.
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There has to be a better way to describe the Philosophy of Milton Friedman and Ayn Rand than slandering Liberals . Has to be a right wing conspiracy.to associate the destructiveness of unregulated markets with the benevolent world view associated with liberalism.
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Lloyd Lofthouse Who is left, Putin ?
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What do you mean by who is left? If we get rid of the neo-libs, neo-cons, cloned Koch brothers libertarian minions, and fundamentalist Christians, what’s left is the progressives.
Did you know that a century ago the Republicans were the progressives?
Neo-conservatives, the Alt-Right, spent 50 years taking over the GOP and pushing the Republican progressive elements out of power in the party.
The neo-liberals have been doing the same thing in the Democratic Party, pushing the progressive element out.
That’s why both major parties look so much alike when they control the White House. How different was Obama from G. W. Bush? Bush was a neo-con and Obama a neo-lib.
Where were these two movements born? The University of Chicago.
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I agree about the Clintons whose combined baggage was mortal for the Dems, but disagree about Bernie and Liz, Lloyd, which I rarely do with you. These are my thoughts for 2020.
Yes, the beloved and respected and most effective Bernie and Liz must continue to speak for progressives. but they have their own baggage now. Liz let Hillary be the unchallenged candidate when many of us wanted/urged Warren to run. She played the worn out Dem game of hierarchy. Now, her time to run for Prez has passed.
The DNC colluded to anoint Hillary, and Bernie did the noble and political thing and supported her, which drew the ire of many of his young followers.
So, I would like to see Warren as head of the FED or of the SEC. And Bernie will find his leadership now stymied by tRump…so he will have to speak above the deplorables fray until 2020 when he could head a vital committee once more.
First, I propose that Senator Al Franken should be the next Dem candidate for Prez.
Franken is a proven progressive, but he is far younger than Liz and Bernie, with more and different recognition for the young voters, as a comedian/writer from SNL, and a Harvard grad who understands poverty plus education needs. He is reasonable and well respected on both sides of the aisle.
It is the demographic of 18 – 26 who must vote in 2020…and it is key to get to them now. We have seen in this election that they did little voting, as did the population of color. This is a huge lesson that Dems must change the scenario of selecting candidates and nurturing this group of voters. Latino political groups did amazing work to get out the vote, but this must continue in perpetuity..
Second, I propose cleaning out the entrenched, losing and/or cheating leadership of the DNC. Retire the Deans, DWS, Donna Brazile, et al. And the same goes for the talking heads who called it all wrong.
Russ Feingold is my choice for head of the DNC. He is a proven progressive, highly intelligent, who has shown the best of how a Dem and a Repub (John McCain) can work together to create outstanding legislation as with the McCain Feingold bill which served the nation well. And with his governmental experience, he would be the memory of the DNC.
Third, as for new women, Nina Turner (who was disrespected by the DNC) should run for Congress. She is erudite, verbal, and level headed and must be on the national stage.
There are many younger progressive women who recently got the attention of the electorate and must be supported. Surely among these will be our first woman Prez.
New Senator Kamala Harris from my state of Californa will certainly rise to take a place in Dem leadership. She replaces our consistent liberal leader Barbara Boxer.and as the elected AG in California, she showed her strength and intelligence. She will work well with Senator Feinstein.
Fourth, My longtime friend from Santa Barbara, California, Salud Carbajal, won Lois Capp’s seat in Congress…and he is now close in age to Al Franken, and has come up the hard way, with consistent work to learn his legislative trade. I have known Salud, and Kevin de Leon who is now Prez of our state Senate, since the early 1990’s, and both these Latinos learned and earned their governmental experience. They each are deserving of national leadership roles
So many really good people are working across the country, so many progressives who can take over the mantle of the elderly Sanders and Warren, and carry the progressive movement forward.
We must think outside the box now. And we cannot let the old Dem political hacks keep defeating the goals of We the People. No more cheating in DemLand. We need new representatives who will inspire the youth of America to follow their lead…but at the same time we need a historian like Russ Feingold to keep it all in line…all this, IMO.
Fifth…get rid of the Electoral College NOW.
I am thinking 2020, with no more post mortems, no more insults, no more regrets…. and I hope to live long enough to fight on in the next election and to at least be a gadfly for the next four years.
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Well stated, Ellen! We do need Feingold, I’ve been incredibly impressed with Franken, but nothing’s going to happen with the Electoral College. It has become the nationalization of Republican state and local gerrymandering.
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“. . . the deplorables. . .”
. . . Weren’t the Jews considered “deplorables” in Nazi Germany? I see no difference in your usage of “the deplorables” than then.
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The Deplorables referred to Neo-Nazi groups and racists. They are deplorable. The Jews in Germany were solid citizens, not hate-mongers.
Not a good analogy, Duane.
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I can say that in speaking with quite a few “solid citizens”-business owners, hard workers, professional folks-teachers, nurses, docs, etc. . . that they considered that remark to be directed at them.
Is it not deplorable to use the epithet “deplorable” to begin with for groups of people?
Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been known to use an epithet or two for some who choose/chose to be in positions of authority and power, where there is solid evidence of their misuse and abuse of that power and authority. It comes with the territory of authority and power. But to brand a whole group of folks that one doesn’t even know, well. . . let’s just say I’ve been seeing a lot of that lately and will continue to rject that type of labeling when I see it.
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I find it acceptable, and even necessary, to call groups like the KKK deplorable. But, I think HRC made a big tactical error in referring to 50% of Trump supporters that way. Maybe she meant to shore up support with the base, but I think people on the fence read that and thought she truly didn’t understand that the majority of his supporters liked his economic message (such that it was) enough to overlook the rest.
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No question that it was a tactical error. But it was also a mistake that shows a part of her true nature. And she got caught.
So many people in power now look down on blue collar workers In today’s “college and career ready” world. At best they think it’s “OK” for someone not to be college proficient. At worst they see them as dinosaurs they’d rather not have to deal with, anymore. Yet there are a lot of people who are better suited for and much happier with blue collar jobs. Some people just like to work with their hands, finish the job, and go home to their private lives.
The “New World Order” would have the blue collar jobs sent out to countries with low to no salary positions. Or converted to robotics. And the adherents to this order would say that the shift is already a done deal and irreversible.
But why does a factory HAVE to use robots? Eventually, robots will be capable of almost anything. Then where will we be? Why does a factory HAVE to relocate to countries who supply the lowest paid employees? The answer seems obvious to me: profits.
As with education, the emphasis has and continues to be shifted away from the needs and skills of people and towards technology and profits. Trying to install specific and rigid job set goals per global region is only realistic on a drawing board.
I’m not happy that Trump won. I think Diane’s comment about what he promised and what he’ll actually deliver are spot on. But Hillary represents something that many people came to resent. It’s not the only reason she lost…but it’s definitely in there.
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I would add Richard Courdray, P.G. Sittenfeld, and Charleta Tavares. Pulling from the Rust Belt will not hurt.
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Yes, it’s always best not to call out the racism and xenophobia and the people who are attracted to that in a candidate.
In the post mortem, it might be worthwhile to analyze whether Hillary was right instead of turning her very truthful remark into yet another reason to blame her. Let’s ignore what she ACTUALLY said and just focus on what the right wing meme is about it so we can say it was all her fault.
“But the other basket — and I know this because I see friends from all over America here — I see friends from Florida and Georgia and South Carolina and Texas — as well as, you know, New York and California — but that other basket of people are people who feel that the government has let them down, the economy has let them down, nobody cares about them, nobody worries about what happens to their lives and their futures, and they’re just desperate for change. It doesn’t really even matter where it comes from. They don’t buy everything he says, but he seems to hold out some hope that their lives will be different. They won’t wake up and see their jobs disappear, lose a kid to heroin, feel like they’re in a dead-end. Those are people we have to understand and empathize with as well.”
It’s a shame because everyone ignored her point. And she was right.
And she WAS offering them something, but so many people were telling them she was lying or calling them “deplorable” that they decided her Bernie platform was all a lie. It’s truly heartbreaking to me that she did not get a chance to do something and we are left with Trump.
And blaming Hillary for that “deplorable” statement being taken out of context and mis-characterized is very dangerous. And smug. Because feeling smug that your candidate’s remarks can never be taken out of context in a way that cannot be manipulated will only mean it happens again. Look at what happened to Russ Feingold.
If the right wing couldn’t grab “deplorable” out of context, they would have found something else. The only way to stop them is to stop embracing their meme and start calling out how much of a lie it is.
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How can we get rid of the electoral college? It would require the constitution to be amended. Why would the Congressional members and the state legislatures of the many smaller states go for this? They won’t. They aren’t going to give up this political power. Everyone needs to stop wasting time on this topic. We need to concentrate on the sorts of issues you raised in your other points.
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Learned that Bernie has endorsed Keith Ellison for Chair of the DNC. Here is the petition. I can live with that and I signed.
https://go.berniesanders.com/page/s/keith-ellison-dnc?source=sh161110-em
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“Where were these two movements born? The University of Chicago.”
Astute, Lloyd, astute!!
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Agree 100%. The Dems need to not not start in-fighting and rebuild. Trump will be a disaster and disappoint a large number of his followers as well. Democrats need to be ready to step in.
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Exactly, Vale Math. We must use our energy to plan ahead, and to work our plans.
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Democrats missed an opportunity. And they still haven’t learned, judging from reactions. It isn’t “whitelash” or being deplorable. Believe it or not, there are plenty of white, straight, Christian males who are not racist or sexist. I personally found Trump disgusting along with everything about his campaign. Much of Rust Belt anxiety is rooted in income inequality and economic stagnation. If hard-working Americans of all races, religious beliefs, gender, and orientation could be united under a Democratic Party banner of true Middle-class support, Trump would be a one term president and Congress returned to America.
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Trump never talked about income inequality, and his tax plan will cut taxes on the 1%.
He made promises that he can’t keep and had no intention of keeping. He will not bring back the jobs lost to automation and outsourcing.
And he can’t do anything without approval by Congress other than issuing pardons.
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“And he can’t do anything without approval by Congress other than issuing pardons.”
Unfortunately, a lot of what Obama accomplished was done by executive order, and he can reverse those on day 1.
Also, Trumps 100 day agenda talks about a few progressive things that republicans will choke on. I’ll be interested to see whether he just caves on them or sticks it to them. I don’t think he has principals and the big money didn’t support him. He will act to be popular. Not sure yet what that’s going to look like.
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“Much of Rust Belt anxiety is rooted in income inequality and economic stagnation…”
Can someone please explain to me why they re-elected all those Republicans state-wide if their vote was really about not being listened to?
If we ignore that elephant in the room, and claim that those same voters who re-elected the Republican Senators and Governors who have ignored them for the last 4 or 8 years instead of agents of change, then we are doing a great disservice to the next progressive Democratic candidate.
Funny how all those hard working white Americans were happy to re-elect the Republicans who weren’t doing anything for them. It didn’t matter whether those Republicans embraced Trump or denounced him. They were Republicans and that meant they should continue to govern. That’s not embracing change or rejecting politicians who aren’t offering you anything.
I don’t know exactly what it is, but we ignore that at our own peril in trying to lay all the blame on Hillary and Bernie’s platform just not offering them enough.
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Hear, Hear!! With you all the way, Lloyd. We’ve been without an unapologetic, forceful voice for way too long.
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I will keep my Bernie sticker on my car!
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As will I.
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Me too!
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Mine came off a while back and was replaced with one that said .
Don’t Blame me I voted for Bernie.
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The Bernie sticker is the first one that ever went on one of our cars. It’s still there.
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Right, people are really going to have their issues addressed with the billionaire swamp monster and his pet swamp monkeys. I have lost total respect for this system of governance. Good luck with YOUR new president. You are going to need it.
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If you had read the comments, you would have learned that most of the people here did NOT vote to make Trump OUR president. A lot of us have had much experience dealing with hardships as a result of neoliberal economic policies and know better than to expect help for struggling middle and lower income workers from a billionaire tax evader, born with a silver spoon, who outsources jobs for his clothing line to China and Mexico, and who has left many people he owed money to in the lurch with his five bankruptcies, while he has just gotten richer.
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I swore to myself that I would no longer bite at your comments, NYC, but here you are doing it all over again.
Your comment below….
“Bernie absolutely understands that we need to stop believing propaganda. I wish his supporters did too. And I hope they don’t start turning on Bernie next time because of Cornell West or Zogby or his historic stance on gun control. Or some new smear from the talented purveyors of right-wing propaganda that will convince them that they are absolutely right to reject that sell-out Bernie.”
Do you speak with Bernie and know, “absolutely”, his thinking?
Again you set your self up as the decider of what should be said, and if I, or others do not adhere to your rules, you “SMEAR” us as you did by calling us “Hillary haters”…and now I am called by you, “a purveyor of right-wing propaganda”…what an ego….what makes you the one to decide who is ok and who is a “sell-out”?
I would really appreciate it if you would cut this out. It is so disrespectful to many of us who don’t toe your personal line.
What is your academic and professional background that makes you so arrogant in estimating others?
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Ellen, why are you assuming everything I say is directed personally at you? It isn’t. If I called you a “purveyor of right-wing propaganda” then I believe it was unintentional. I wasn’t talking about you. I was talking about the Roger Ailes/Breitbart propaganda that successfully painted Hillary as corrupt. Almost 60% of the voters thought so.
I am obviously not a very good writer because I seem to have convinced you I am criticizing you or disagreeing with you all the time.
And I did not call you a Hillary-hater because in most of the posts I read of yours I thought you defended her very well. The Hillary-haters I refer to are twofold: 1. The disaffected Bernie supporters like MPG who repeated ad nauseam that it didn’t matter whether Hillary or Trump won since both were very bad. (I mean, how much do you have to despise Hillary to believe that Trump’s election is no worse than Hillary’s would be). And 2. The low-information voters not on this site who voted for Trump because the were utterly convinced that Hillary was corrupt and had broken the law and planned to sell-out US interests for a buck. You are neither.
What rule do you think I am enforcing? I don’t have any rules, except for myself. For the past weeks, my main goal in posting was to try to stop the Hillary-haters — NOT YOU — from helping the right wing do their dirty work by repeating non-stop their right wing propaganda that Hillary was a corrupt candidate with no redeeming qualities who was so bad that there was no point in voting for her, even if it meant Trump won. I found it very upsetting because I knew that was exactly what the right wingers wanted – because no one believes the slime they smear unless it ends with “even Democrats know how crooked Hillary is”. You may disagree with me but I believe it cost her the election. Not because of the Jill Stein votes. But because 1. it depressed turn out since Hillary was portrayed as so corrupt and hardly worth coming out for and 2. That talking point of Hillary as corrupt meant that her message was lost and many voters who might have realized she was basically offering Bernie’s platform instead voted for Trump. Because both candidates were equally corrupt they voted for “change”. I still believe if the real Hillary had been running against the real Trump, instead of the caricature “crooked Hillary” who had to run against him, she would have won in a landslide. She could escape how the right wing portrayed her and I think the fact that some on the left wing embraced it as well gave it far more traction than it would have had with the general public.
And I am extremely worried about it happening to the next progressive candidate. And I worry about Hillary’s loss being entirely blamed on her own failings with the assumption that the next candidate will be able to withstand that right wing attack machine that has already convinced many voters that Elizabeth Warren pretended to be Native American to get into college and get jobs.
I’m sorry my posts keep offending you. It’s ironic because I replied because I think you are smart and make good points and would have the same concerns that I expressed in my post. It didn’t occur to me you would twist everything I say as a personal insult to you. In fact, I naively thought you’d probably agree with me. How stupid is that?
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I encourage everyone to sign onto his newsletter to get updates on varied national issues.
http://www.sanders.senate.gov/buzz
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Bernie is continuing to fight on…thankfully.
No one has mentioned it, but I am convinced he lost many of his true believers when he appointed two radicals, Zogby and Cornell West, to represent us on the Platform Committee. Zogby is well remembered by a large contingent as bordering on terrorism. Very bad call by Bernie. He could have, and should have, appointed some visible women who supported him. His last minute international political decision did not reflect the position of many of his supporters.
But I give him kudos for being the voice of sanity in supporting a Yes on 61 in my state, to take on the vast overcharges by Big Pharma for meds that are needed to save lives, and not only the lives of the super rich. This industry, along with insurance and oil, is the richest in the world. So much for the Free Market. Due to Bernie’s ads, the hundreds of millions spent by Pharma won the day since the voters are so ignorant and only believe sound bites, but he almost got some parity for educated voters here….very telling about having a popular and respected voice of sanity as spokesperson
Dems like Tom Daschle and Dick Gebhardt went right to work for Big Pharma when they left office.
Dems can STINK too.
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I am so glad Bernie issued his statement and looking forward to him fighting on.
I voted for Bernie and will continue to support him. But let’s have some perspective here. I am not trying to smear him by saying that his position on gun control was not what I wanted to see. I get that gun control is different in Vermont than in NYC. That’s why I don’t care that he didn’t adhere to the party line of supporting the Brady Bill and other legislation that was NOT going to take away any of his constituents’ guns.
But since the primary, I am hearing this very dangerous “we need to purge the party of all people who aren’t true-believers”. And they get to define what a true believer is based on whatever they feel is important at any given time. They’ll forgive you “transgressions” if they like you, and call you a traitorous liar if they don’t. They live in certainty that they understand the corruption of those Dems they don’t like because they only allow shades of grey in the ones they do.
Yes, some Democrats were co-opted by big money. But the true believers decided that every Dem who didn’t agree that Bernie needed to be the candidate was co-opted by big money. Ignore everything that Hillary worked for her whole life and decide that she made too many speeches to make herself rich, so that means she will be beholden to all those people. Not because she had actually done anything for them yet. She pivoted left instead of right after the primary, unlike any Democrat in the last 30 years, but let’s ignore that because we know she is not a true believer. Like Bernie. Or Elizabeth. Until we are swayed by the next propaganda that they too aren’t true believers either. This election was an enormous loss to the progressive movement and yet there are still many people who do not understand how much of a loss it was. Because they had absolutely certainty that Hillary was just more of that Obama neoconservatism that needs to be purged from the party.
Bernie absolutely understands that we need to stop believing propaganda. I wish his supporters did too. And I hope they don’t start turning on Bernie next time because of Cornell West or Zogby or his historic stance on gun control. Or some new smear from the talented purveyors of right-wing propaganda that will convince them that they are absolutely right to reject that sell-out Bernie.
And let’s be very wary of purging the party of politicians because the same know-nothings who decided Hillary was a crook will buy whatever propaganda they hear about the next “not good enough” progressive candidate who just isn’t progressive enough.
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Frankly, I have lost all interest in anything you say, NYC.
You definitely are not a careful close reader, for every time you twist what I say into your own hyperbole, you show you have no depth of analysis and you go off on your own misbegotten themes. You seem to feel I and others are just too ignorant or too foolish and too easily led by right wing propaganda to make rational judgments….but only you have the ability to judge all things at all times.
Do you understand that many people here are highly educated, have been teachers for decades, and are well read, and not easily influenced by much of anything or anyone. (Caveat… maybe by Kant or Spinoza, or Buber or Tillich…or Emerson and the Transcendentalists.)
I have huge respect for my colleagues on this blog and learn from them every day.
However, a few who write here are so entrenched in their own ‘shtick’ that it makes it unpleasant for others. It would be a relief to say what I think without you coming up behind my every comment to challenge my ability to reason. When you put inaccurate words in my mouth, that is defamation.
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Ellen, I re-read my post and I don’t believe I put any words in your mouth. I wasn’t even talking about you.
I read your post above about Bernie and I thought you offered an excellent three dimensional view of a politician that seemed exactly right. It was such a model for what I hoped more people would have done in this election that I wanted to comment on it.
I was mistaken not to make that clear in the first sentence. It wasn’t intentional — I just didn’t know it would be misconstrued.
I admired that you could talk about something you believed Bernie did wrong — his appointments to the platform committee — and still appreciate all that was good about him. I know you did that with Hillary, too — recognizing that she was flawed but still with merit.
It reminded me of my “schtick” as you call it, that I am terrified that the next progressive candidate is going to lose because of the same right wing propaganda machine that destroyed Hillary Clinton. That they are so adept at taking something like an appointment to a platform committee and turning it into a meme like “Bernie will appoint terrorist sympathizers” that destroys a good candidate. I wasn’t accusing you of believing it and I never thought you would. I fear that the same people who believed their “crooked Hillary” meme would believe it. Or whatever other misleading smear they use on whatever progressive candidate runs.
I get that you don’t like me very much. Obviously there is something in the way I post that rubs you the wrong way. I doubt that will change. I’m only replying now because you should know that this post was not intended to be insulting to you. It’s just that your comment reminded me of an issue that worries me a lot.
I can’t control whether you take offense or dislike me as your clearly do. I will try to post respectfully and I hope you will too.
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http://theconversation.com/are-wealthy-donors-influencing-the-public-school-agenda-65869?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Latest%20from%20The%20Conversation%20for%20November%209%202016%20-%206004&utm_content=Latest%20from%20The%20Conversation%20for%20November%209%202016%20-%206004+CID_0cdeba6b76d1b1bf493c83e05a5a21d7&utm_source=campaign_monitor_us&utm_term=Are%20wealthy%20donors%20influencing%20the%20public%20school%20agenda
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Bernie says it so well. With all my heart I hope Trump is able to fulfill the best of his promises, like rebuilding our infrastructure. But regardless of who’s in power, we must continue to champion – and model – fairness and kindness in our schools and communities.
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Diane,
Any thoughts on a fast-track program to get a TEFL/TESOL certificate?
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Yossarian,
I am not the right person to ask. Maybe someone else on the blog can answer your question.
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If you want to teach in a public school, you should check the state education department as requirements vary from state to state. Most of the types of certificates should be listed there. If you want to go overseas, some places accept a six week quickie orientation. If you want to work in a college or university program, most only accept a master’s degree and some a doctorate. Best of luck!
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Like “retired teacher” said, it depends on where you want to teach. If you want to teach in a public school, then you will need state certification and a Bachelor’s degree. If you want to teach abroad because you want to travel, then there are many private programs that offer fast-track programs to get a TEFL certificate. There are also many universities who offer fast-track TEFL/TESOL programs. You should research the universities and programs in your area. If you want to teach in a community college or university in the US or abroad, you will need a Master’s degree.
My personal advice – please do yourself and your students a favor and do a full length program if you really intend to become a teacher. People mistakenly assume that because they speak English that they can teach English. This is like assuming that because I know how to cook a good dinner at home that I could run a restaurant kitchen. Teaching EFL/ESL requires a lot of knowledge not only of teaching pedagogy but also of language learning and multicultural learning. A good program will ensure that you have a solid foundation in both theory and practice. It is not always easy to get good professional development once you are already teaching – it is worth the time and the cost to get the development and learning upfront to be a better teacher. The better your own education is as a teacher, the more enjoyable teaching will be and the better your teaching will be.
p.s. Please don’t do an online program.
Best of luck!
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Thanks Laura for giving this valuable advice to Youssarian. I keep meeting young teachers who attended the University of Outer Space for a few months, or the counterpart online colleges, and that was the basis of their education to get a marginal credential. Then they are left in the classroom (and are even less prepared than TFA kids who at least went to reliable colleges and know the subject matter) and they wonder why they break down and cannot control the room, nor do any real teaching.
Being well educated does not mean one is turned into ‘an elite’ but it does make one a far better teacher.
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This is the education website.
I hope that all retirees, all veteran educators, lawyers and activists will groom and sponsor their children, grandchildren and all young learners to be EDUCATED in American Constitution, American Spirit in humanity and civility.
For my part, I sincerely try to understand the popular term of “voting with my conscience, NOT with understanding American Electoral System.”
Here is what I understand a little bit the meaning of Electoral Voting system and all key dates to well prepare for the next 2020 Presidential Election through the Pamphlet of 2012 Presidential Election and the current 2016 Presidential Election from some important links and American Constitution Amendment 25, Section 4
[start Amendment 25, section 4]
TWENTY-FIFTH AMENDMENT
SECTION 4.
Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide,
transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives
their written declaration that
the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office,
the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President.
[end Amendment 25, section 4]
[start FOURTEENTH AMENDMENT, section 3]
SECTION 3.
NO, NO, NO, NO, NO
person shall be … elector of President and Vice President … who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States,
shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or GIVEN AID or COMFORT to the ENEMIES thereof.
But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.
[end FOURTEENTH AMENDMENT, section 3]
Here are some important links to read in our free time:
1) https://www.archives.gov/federal-register/electoral-college/key-dates.html
The 2016 Presidential Election
2) https://www.archives.gov/federal-register/electoral-college/resources/2012-presidential-election-brochure.pdf
The 2012 presidential election
PROVISIONS OF THE CONSTITUTION AND UNITED STATES CODE
The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is proud to acknowledge its role in the Presidential election process. NARA’s Office of the Federal Register (OFR) acts as the administrator of the Electoral College on behalf of the states, the Congress, and the American people. In this role, the OFR is charged with helping the states carry out their election responsibilities, ensuring the completeness and integrity of the Electoral College documents submitted to Congress, and informing the public about the
Presidential election process.
For more information on the Electoral College, visit NARA’s web site at:
3) http://www.archives.gov/federal-register/electoral-college/.
Or
In 2016, C o n t a c t s
For more information on the Electoral College and the election responsibilities of the States and the Archivist of the United States, contact the Office of the Federal Register:
Telephone: 202-741-6030
E-mail: Electoral.College@nara.gov
Your Electoral College contacts at the Office of the Federal Register are:
Amy Bunk, Director of Legal Affairs and Policy
Miriam Vincent, Attorney-Advisor
I hope all American workers would know this important information. Most importantly, this information shall be taught to all high school students and immigrants who are going to obtain American citizenship. Back2basic
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You may recall, May, that I have been calling for universal civics classes for many years of writing here. Common Core presents only Language Arts and Math for universal study in America’s public schools, but learning what it means to be a participating citizen in the US is the most important lesson to produce progress and harmony in the diversity of our Nation.
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Bravo to Bernie. We have 2 progressives in the senate, we could have had 3 if Wisconsinites had any common sense, but no. From huffingtonpost: “I really wanted to get this done, but obviously something is happening in this country tonight,” Feingold said at his party with supporters Tuesday night. “I don’t understand it completely. I don’t think anybody does, but we as Americans have to do the best we can to deal with the pain in this country and get people to come together.”
Re-electing Feingold was also a top priority for progressives, who saw him as one of their top champions when he was in the Senate. He was the only senator to vote against the Patriot Act and the only Democratic senator to oppose former President Bill Clinton’s 1994 crime bill. He also voted against the Iraq War.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/ron-johnson-wins_us_5822922ee4b0aac6248823dd
At least NJ went for Hillary and we got rid of tea bagger wing nut Scott Garrett.
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Is there a recall provision in NJ .,
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Yes, there is a recall law in NJ but the hurdles to get a recall going are very high, especially for the governor. If you’re trying to recall the governor, NJ law mandates that voters collect the signatures of 25 percent of registered voters. That’s 1,377,762 valid signatures. And Christie could tie things up by challenging the authenticity of the signatures and there is a time limit. I think 320 days.
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I agree Joe about progressive Russ Feingold…his insight and talent must not be lost to us. He should be the new leader, the new face, of the DNC. We need unity and a loud voice now to insist on his leadership.
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http://www.alternet.org/election-2016/michael-moore-morning-after-do-list
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I saw Michael Moore on Democracy Now! He was interviewed by the terrific Amy Goodman, & excerpts of his short “Michael Moore in Trumpland” were shown & explained. Unfortunately, some copies of this were being doctored in ways to make it seem that Moore was stumping for Trump (& the wrong audience saw it!).
Moore gave a great speech to a huge crowd at Northwestern University a number of years ago-I went w/my then-teenage daughter,
& his book “Dude, Where’s My Country?” had just come out–we brought it to have it signed. After the speech, the N.U. P.R. people said that he would absolutely NOT be signing books, taking photos, etc. He responded, “No, of course I will!” sat down at a table, & began doing just that. I treasure a picture of him, shaking my daughter’s hand (& signing the book). What a great guy!
Back to Bernie, I do wish that Moore had been more vocal & active in his support of Sen. Sanders (because he was, indeed, a Sanders supporter), & had stepped up sooner. Actually, he should have made a positive movie w/Bernie–it probably would have really helped up the campaign. Not in the least, we all would have loved it!
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Michael Moore’s agent is the brother of Rahm Emanual of Chicago. Moore is a hero, but I doubt he will ever make a film about education reform.
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Know this is off-thread (I still have my Bernie stickers on, too), but I had been looking for this, & just saw article that Glenda Ritz was defeated in her re-election bid for IN State Supt. by Jennifer McCormick, GOP (& not a great description of her). Indiana–so sorry for your great loss.
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I am sorry to hear that …. R.I.P. public education in Indiana….
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getting back to work : has anyone seen these state plans? I know they always make up promises they send to WA and they lie and then they check off the box : “was there parent commitment? was there teacher commitment?” and we only see the lies after they blame us for the failures…. (when Commissioner will not be accountable)
Colorado State Board of Education pushes back deadline for submitting ESSA state plan to the feds
DENVER – The Colorado State Board of Education on Wednesday agreed to delay for about a month the submission of the state’s plan for the new federal education law, the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).
Colorado, as with other states, must develop a plan on how to implement ESSA. The Colorado State Board of Education is expected to receive a draft of the state plan by early 2017 and was planning on delivering the document to the U.S. Department of Education by March 6.
last go around I compared NJ “Plan” with what was actually going on and it was dismal; same thing in MA because of Mitchell Chester.
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this is relevant to Bernie because I commented some time ago about the anti-semitism in the election campaign.
I went to an Asperger’s dinner meeting (annual ) last week and individually asked a few members… “Please do not use the term Asperger’s ; use high functioning autism or autism spectrum”… The infamous Dr. Asperger was employed by the Nazi’s and his career was boosted (even if he was not a party member)… All that time he was identifying children, signing them into the institutions of the holocaust where they would be poisoned and a death certificate made out saying “pneumonia”…I have told my closest friends and will try to influence that group in my city.
I posted the comment on Schumer’s FB page in NY and I got the usual comments back about my trying to be “politically correct” but it has nothing to do with that…. It is about a deep sense of commitment to children and families. I know Bernie will help work on this as will Maggie Hassen, Elizabeth Warren, Tammy Duckworth, Niki Tsongas (Niki came into the news media before HRC today and I was so appreciative of her words on such a mournful morning).
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Although I have written about both Asperger’s and levels of autism for many years as part of my work, and also as part of my own life experience, I never knew about the syndrome’s name. Thanks Jean for this info.
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http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2016/01/20/463603652/was-dr-asperger-a-nazi-the-question-still-haunts-autism
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Thanks FLERP for this link. As you know, Asperger’s Syndrome was long considered to be merely misbehavior, and not given credence by many educators and physicians. Now it is known as a quite common brain disorder, a high level of autism, and behavior modification can often help (such as biofeedback). The main characteristic is the inability to empathize (and read other’s facial expressions), and often OCD is part of it. Many brilliant well known people have/had this disorder, and fall into this spectrum, yet function admirably even with high level autism.
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“Progressives” may as well get their camping gear together right now because it is going to be a Standing Rock Protest every step of the way.
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yup
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Bernie’s spot on. Do what we can to hold Donald accountable.
I heard an interesting account of the potential for conflicts of interest on the news this morning.
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Bernie’s first paragraph is very true. So I’m further baffled that voters chose the Republican candidate when it’s their party that has created these very circumstances! America is so very stupid.
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Trump’s personal short comings do not bother me as much as the cast of deplorables he surrounds himself with. I am not talking about the voters who voted for him.
There is the slimmest of possibilities that having achieved what he never expected he will not turn out to be the candidate we saw. Probably slim to none. We will know as soon as he starts naming cabinet positions .
You do not compromise with that agenda you obstruct . There are two visions of America ,one as expressed by Trump (by the people he surrounds himself with.) and almost every other Republican and one as expressed by Sanders . The American people were not given that choice in this election
“At its root, populism is a belief in the power of regular people, and in their right to have control over their government rather than a small group of political insiders or a wealthy elite. The word populism comes from the Latin word for “people,” populus. ” Vocab.com
The choice they were given was between a Billionaire faux populist and an anti populist .
The majority of the American people did not vote the darker vision and some significant portion of Americans would have voted for the enlightened populist. Had they been given the choice. They stayed home.
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Gee, Joel…does this mean you don;t want to see Guiliani as our AG…or Newt the newt as Sect. of State???
Then let’s get busy and get rid of the Electoral College.
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60 votes tough enough .. This issue obviously dates back to the colonies. I would love to get rid of the senate as well
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You always make me smile, Joel…and think. Get rid of the Senate, indeed. Have been contemplating that…not sure it is a good idea for we do get some vital balance from that smaller group. Whigs and Tories are more clearly perceived roles…but we haven’t yet had a King/Queen to be the final arbiter.
Let’s hope this is not a role tRump will appropriate Do you think tRump even knows who the Whigs and Tories are? Watched him sitting with Obama this AM and wondered if he will bring a throne into the Oval Office. He and his nude model First Lady in waiting were told this AM that they can choose what furniture that want to bring to the WH.
Have been nauseous for hours.
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http://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2016/11/9/13572172/donald-trump-white-working-class
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Very much appreciate Bernie’s statement on both counts.
Trump says one of his first actions will be a big infrastructure project, much like the one that Obama has tried to get the republican congress to pass for years. He also says he wants to get money out of politics because he knows how it works. He can do that by working to overturn Citizens United.
Not sure if this will turn into republican infighting, Trump will cave on these issues, or republicans will be OK with passing the same legislation as long as it doesn’t have Obama’s name on it. Time will tell.
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Mitch MConnell, I read last night, told Trump that his big infrastructure proposal is not on the agenda, nor is his proposal for term limits for Congress.
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Diane…what a pair of legislators they make. Will be fascinating to watch that battle for control.
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I saw that. This too on that front: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/paloma/daily-202/2016/11/10/daily-202-trumpism-and-ryanism-are-on-a-collision-course-who-blinks-first/5823d6c4e9b69b6085905def/
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The only defense we have against Trump is Ryan and Mitch MConnell. I predict that Trump will do all he can to sweep them out of his way and/or break them.
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It’s not clear to me that that would be a bad thing overall. Ryan and McConnell are just terrible.
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And even terrible is much better than Trump or Pence. Those two are walking, talking horror shows.
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I think what we’re likely to get is the worst of both worlds, except possibly on immigration. Get ready for entitlement reform.
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I hear you on this one and it’s already getting my steam up.
Putting part of my paycheck into a trust fund (that’s been illegally raided since the ’70s) since my teens and receiving a giveback when I’m ready for retirement is not an “entitlement”. It’s my rightfully expected payback for all those years of service.
But, yes…it’s almost a guarantee that they’ll be on this one in a big way. I wouldn’t be surprised if they tried to limit my teachers’ pension, as well.
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“It’s my rightfully expected payback for all those years of service.”
Precisely why you’re “entitled” to it.
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The most positive thing I’ve herd yet . Tea party republicans and progressives united on opposition to TPP . Politics could make some strange bedfellows. But I doubt it .
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Joel,
Infrastructure is not TPP. I for one hope that Trump is able to accomplish the parts of his agenda that align with progressive ideals, and infrastructure spending is one of them.
Trump won as a populist, and while I can’t stand him and disagree with many of his positions, we need to support the ones that will actually benefit the middle class. If republicans block those parts of the agenda, it will weaken them with Trump voters. If they don’t, we will get what we want and need.
Republicans decided to block things that they agreed with in order to keep Obama from getting anything done. I think dems are smarter than that, and can support Trump when he does the right thing and block him when he doesn’t.
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John .
That was the point of my comment.
However I suspect that infrastructure bill will come with some poison pills. not limited to
Right to Work
Repeal of Davis Bacon .
Terminating Project Labor Agreements .
If the Democrats cave on that they will have destroyed the Union movement in the USA. That poison pill would bring the repulicans on board . How many Democrats would turn down the rebuilding of deteriorating cities (flint) . In order to save the working class?
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Fascinating to watch the Republicans turn on themselves. Of course, now they have no one to blame except themselves.
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Its extremely telling to me that these standards never seem to be applied by Democrats to their OWN candidates! I know that many on this list attacked Obama vigorously on his education policies, but many of you also gave him a full “pass” when it came to foreign policy (drones raining down on innocent people all over the world), on his horrible environmental policies, on his bailing out of Wall Street, for his expanded wars, for his attack on whistle blowers, for his massive deportations of immigrants and on and on. And when it came to Clinton, no one would even admit to her massive failures and corruption at all! I strongly suggest that everyone on this list read these two extremely important articles that explain very clearly what happened in this election and why.
http://www.inquisitr.com/3698077/eight-lies-progressives-were-told-about-what-will-happen-if-trump-wins/
The movement to save public education is very important, but it is only one symptom of a much larger problem. I am relatively new to this movement. Most of my time has been spent building the Green Party and therefore I have been working on what I consider the CAUSES of all the problems. I hope in the future I will see more of you out in the streets on ALL the issues. If not, its going to be harder to tackle this one.
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If you go back and read comments, you will easily find criticism of both Obama and Clinton.
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Not me (lol)
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Criticism of the Obomber? Nah, I’d never do that!
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This is SUCH an informative blog, even outside of a “discussion (of) better education for all!” Thank you for the civilized forum, Diane, & thanks to all you commenters.
Norwegian Filmmaker, your news about MM’s agent is a big disappointment (isn’t Mike big enough to find another agency?!).
Also–in terms of the Howard Dean situation, & also, someone commenting that we don’t need “in-fighting” w/in the DNC, it’s not a matter of “in-fighting,” but a matter of the dire need to change the guard. Numerous people have been calling on Nancy Pelosi & Steny Hoyer to step aside (to replace, for example, Elizabeth Warren), especially due to the stunning Dem. losses in Congress, the ugly situation w/Debbie Wasserman Schultz, & then the Donna Brazile-CNN debacle. As Bernie would say, “Enough is enough!”
And he is 100% correct.
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Oh, & what is the big deal w/Al Franken?
I’m underwhelmed. Wish Paul Wellstone was here.
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Finally (I promise!)–just heard that Chris Christie might be considered for Head of Dept. of Homeland Security.
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An acquaintance is furious with her kids, who are businessmen, for voting for Trump simply because he promised to lower taxes. Anotger just wants to “burn this bitch down.”
Clearly greed and recklessness have hitched a ride with working class anger. Instead, we need a labor party devoted solely to workers’ needs, that could negotiate a coalition with whichever party best addresses their complexities, and would divest itself of Wall Street types.
Like everybody else, blue collar workers are a complex bunch. Not all are evangelical, most can’t afford a degree or retraining, some belong to unions, while others live in right-to- work states. Many have fallen off the unemployment rolls because they’ve been out of work longer than 18 months, or they are underemployed, using Phd’s as wallpaper while taking a job at 7-11, or they are homeless.
Meanwhile, thanks to Citizens United, both major parties have turned their backs on the little guy to cow tow to corporations.
Sadly, I doubt the Wall Street bunch that Trump has lined up as financial advisors can ever see ouside their own bubble, let alone sacrifice even a little self-interest for another’s sake, no matter what he’s promised. Why would these million- and billionaires agree to eliminate their favorite tax loopholes?
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