A continuation of events surrounding the drug war and related social issues of Baja California and Mexico. Keeping an eye on Seig Heil Trump. We are still trying to restore all blogs from 2006 which were hacked by Linton Robinson and his team, famous for supporting the Baja Trump Towers on one of his real estate sites. Highlights of Paris-Simone's favorite music !!
Yesterday I was in Mira Mesa to get my cat-scan finally - the problem is a hernia probably from lifting Christmas boxes full of decorations and carrying them up the stairs. The old grey mare ain't what she used to be. But I must have talked with at least a dozen people at the Center (which is very nice) about the night before , Super Tuesday Dos. Sorry to say, but not one of them thought Biden could beat Trump. So the much later veggie burger at Carl's didn't go down very well. Here's a look at Bernie's speech. Meanwhile, wear your Bernie button proud...could be he turns around and forces the DNC to reevaluate their platform and what exactly they stand for.
"After a disappointing showing in Tuesday night’s primaries, Senator Bernie Sanders addressed his future in the 2020 primary race in a news conference Wednesday afternoon.
He said he planned to stay in the race through Sunday night’s debate, where he will face off against former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr.,
and he posed a series of questions to Mr. Biden about how he would
address a range of issues facing the nation should he get the Democratic
nomination.
Here’s a full transcript of his speech:
Thank you all very much for being here. Let me begin by reiterating what
I have said from Day 1 of this campaign, and that is that Donald Trump
is the most dangerous president in the modern history of our country and
he must be defeated.
Tragically, we have a president today who is a pathological liar and who
is running a corrupt administration. He clearly does not understand the
Constitution of the United States and thinks that he is a president who
is above the law. In my view, he is a racist, a sexist, a homophobe, a
xenophobe and a religious bigot, and he must be defeated, and I will do
everything in my power to make that happen.
Last night, obviously, was not a good night for our campaign from a
delegate point of view. We lost in the largest state up for grabs
yesterday, the state of Michigan. We lost in Mississippi, Missouri, and Idaho. On the other hand, we won in North Dakota and we lead the vote count in the state of Washington,
the second-largest state contested yesterday. With 67 percent of the
votes having been counted, we are a few thousand votes on top.
What became even more apparent yesterday is that while we are currently losing the delegate count,
approximately 800 delegates for Joe Biden and 660 for us, we are
strongly winning in two enormously important areas which will determine
the future of our country.
Poll after poll, including exit polls, show that a strong majority of
the American people support our progressive agenda. The American people
are deeply concerned about the grotesque level of income and wealth
inequality in this country, and the American people want the wealthy and
large, profitable corporations to start paying their fair share of
taxes. Overwhelming support for that.
The American people understand that the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an
hour is a starvation wage. They want to raise the minimum wage in this
country to a living wage of at least $15 an hour. And the American
people understand that if our kids are going to make it into the middle
class of this country, we must make public colleges and universities and
trade schools tuition-free.
The American people understand that we cannot continue a cruel and
dysfunctional health care system. And it is amazing to me to see that
even in conservative states like Mississippi, there is an overwhelming
understanding that we are now spending twice as much per capita on
health care as do the people of any other country, while 87 million of
us remain uninsured or underinsured. And this crisis, this absurd health
care system, is becoming more and more obvious to the American people
as we face the challenge of a coronavirus pandemic that we are currently
experiencing. Imagine facing a pandemic and having 87 million people
who are having a difficult time going to a doctor when they need.
And the American people know, unlike Donald Trump, that climate change
is an existential threat to our country and the planet and that we need
to transform our energy system away from fossil fuel to energy
efficiency and sustainable energy.
And the American people also know that we need fundamental
transformation of a broken and racist criminal justice system as well as
a cruel immigration system that keeps millions of people living in
fear.
But it is not just the ideological debate that our progressive movement
is winning. We are winning the generational debate. While Joe Biden
continues to do very well with older Americans, especially those people
over 65, our campaign continues to win the vast majority of the votes of
younger people. And I am talking about people not just in their 20s,
but in their 30s and their 40s, the younger generations of this country
continue in very strong numbers to support our campaign.
Today, I say to the Democratic establishment, in order to win in the
future, you need to win the voters who represent the future of our
country, and you must speak to the issues of concern to them. You cannot
simply be satisfied by winning the votes of people who are older.
While our campaign has won the ideological debate, we are losing the
debate over electability. I cannot tell you how many people our campaign
has spoken to who have said — and I quote — “I like what your campaign
stands for. I agree with what your campaign stands for. But I’m going to
vote for Joe Biden because I think Joe is the best candidate to defeat
Donald Trump.” End of quote. We have heard that statement all over this
country. Needless to say, I strongly disagree with that assertion, but
that is what millions of Democrats and Independents today believe.
On Sunday, I very much look forward to the debate in Arizona with my
friend, Joe Biden. And let me be very frank as to the questions that I
will be asking Joe.
Joe, what are you going to do for the 500,000 people who will go
bankrupt in our country because of medically related debt? And what are
you going to do for the working people of this country and small
businesspeople who are paying on average 20 percent of their incomes for
health care?
Joe, what are you going to do to end the absurdity of the United States
of America being the only major country on earth where health care is
not a human right? Are you really going to veto a Medicare for all bill,
if it is passed in Congress?
Joe, how are you going to respond to the scientists who tell us we have
seven or eight years remaining to transform our energy system before
irreparable harm takes place to this planet because of the ravages of
climate change?
Joe, at a time when most young people need a higher education to make it
into the middle class, what are you going to do to make sure that all
of our people can go to college or trade school, regardless of their
income? And what are you going to do about the millions of people who
are struggling with outrageous levels of student debt?
Joe, at a time when we have more people in jail than communist China, a
nation four times our size, what are you going to do to end mass
incarceration and a racist criminal justice system? And what are you
going to do to end the terror that millions of undocumented people
experience right now because of our broken and inhumane immigration
system?
Joe, what are you going to do about the fact that we have the highest
rate of childhood poverty of almost any major country on Earth and are
living with the fact that 500,000 people tonight are homeless and 18
million families are spending half of their income to put a roof over
their heads?
Joe, importantly, what are you going to do to end the absurdity of
billionaires buying elections and the three wealthiest people in America
owning more wealth than the bottom half of our people?
So, let me conclude the way I began. Donald Trump must be defeated, and I
will do everything in my power to make that happen. On Sunday night, in
the first one-on-one debate of this campaign, the American people will
have the opportunity to see which candidate is best positioned to
accomplish that goal. Thank you all very much."
~~~~
One of these days I will be back with the local drug war events.
BTW, this is not a drug song folks. Do I think Bernie is Mr. Tambourine Man ? Yes, although not in the Fellini sense. Love you Bernie.
Late last night I was feeling defeated, shame on me. I surfed over to the Intercept and read Ryan Grimm's report on the Rev. Jackson's endorsement of Bernie...and I was lifted up ! BTW, you can sign up for all of Ryan's reports, they are as the following all superlative.
"Michigan holds a special place in the memory of Jesse Jackson and the supporters of his insurgent 1988 presidential campaign. It was Jackson’s Nevada, the moment that the party establishment realized this campaign it had long written off might just seize the nomination. At a rally in Michigan on Sunday, Jackson will endorse Sanders ahead of a do-or-die primary for the Vermont senator.
Jackson’s Michigan contest in 1988 fell on March 27. After more than three dozen primaries and caucuses, a crowded presidential field had been winnowed down to three serious contenders: Michael Dukakis, the Massachusetts governor and presumed frontrunner; Missouri Rep. Dick Gephardt; and Jackson, a former close aide to Martin Luther King Jr. and the public bearer of the civil rights movement’s torch.
Joe Biden, then a senator from Delaware, had dropped out of the race following a plagiarism scandal and dismal polling numbers.
Given Gephardt’s hard-hat, working-class brand, he badly needed a win in Michigan. He threw everything he had left into the state. Dukakis, too, wanted Michigan — to show that his appeal extended beyond the liberal confines of Harvard Square, and that he could win back those Reagan Democrats whose defection had cost Jimmy Carter reelection.
Jackson spent that election day touring Detroit, hitting black churches and five different housing projects. The New York Times’ legendary political reporter, R.W. Apple, was on hand for the last minute push. Jackson, Apple observed in his election night dispatch, “had drawn surprisingly large crowds of both blacks and whites in the last few days,” adding that despite the black establishment’s support of Michael Dukakis — Detroit Mayor Coleman Young was backing Dukakis — Jackson won some Detroit neighborhoods by 15 or 20 to one. “But the surprise was the Chicago clergyman’s powerful showing in predominantly white cities like Lansing, Flint, Kalamazoo and Battle Creek, several of which he carried.”
Indeed, Jackson did more than get out the black vote. Progressive white voters in the state also rallied hard to his cause. (Dean Baker, now a prominent progressive economist, was district director for Jackson in Ann Arbor.)
The energy of the moment comes through in the Times dispatch. “So dramatically did [Jackson] seize the public imagination that he was able to counter successfully the notion that Mr. Dukakis was the Democrat with the best chance of nomination,” the Times wrote.
Jackson, after 37 primaries and caucuses, was now effectively tied with Dukakis in the delegate count — a stunning moment in American politics that has gone down the memory hole. The victory generated two polar opposite responses in Washington, D.C., and Burlington, Vermont, both of which would have profound implications for the future of the party.
In Burlington, the city’s independent mayor, an outspoken supporter of Jackson, had to decide if he would engage directly with the Democratic Party in order to help Jackson win. After the Michigan victory, Bernie Sanders went all in, calling a local press conference and announcing that he would be participating in the April Democratic caucus to back Jackson. “I am the only non-Democrat, non-Republican, independent progressive mayor in the United States of America. OK, it is awkward, I freely admit, it is awkward for me to walk into a Democratic Party caucus, believe me, it is awkward. I am not a Democrat. Period,” he said. But he said the stakes were too high, and the opportunity too great, to stand aside on principle. Jackson, he argued, could remake the Democratic Party in an image of social justice. “So while in fact, he may end up losing some conservative white votes, some racist white votes, I think there is a real chance that he could do what [Walter] Mondale couldn’t do in a million years. That is to bring millions and millions of poor people and working people into the political arena who in the past never participated.”
'Pick up your sling shot, pick up your rock, declare our time has come, a new day has begun!’ — Rev. Jesse Jackson's iconic ‘David and Goliath’ speech from 1984 is just as relevant today pic.twitter.com/uCbW2W5UFy
In Washington, though, the reaction was pandemonium. Just as party leaders melted down publicly after Sanders’s win in the Nevada caucuses, they did so after Jackson’s triumph in Michigan. Talk in the top echelons of the Democratic Party turned to panic, with David Espo of the Associated Press reporting that the establishment feared a general election blowout if Jackson was the nominee. Plans were being drawn up, he reported, to draft New York Gov. Mario Cuomo to challenge Jackson at the convention if Dukakis couldn’t stop the reverend. E.J. Dionne, then reporting for the New York Times, captured the sense of dread.
White Democratic leaders who do not support Mr. Jackson admitted they were in a quandary, wondering how to confront the growing movement toward Mr. Jackson without appearing to be racist and without alienating the large core of activists, including many white liberals, that he has attracted…. Around Washington, the words used by leading white Democrats to describe their party’s situation included crisis, disarray, disaster, consternation, mess, and wacky. “You’ve never heard a sense of panic sweep the party as it has in the last few days,” said David Garth, an adviser to Senator Albert Gore Jr. of Tennessee. Mr. Garth predicted that ‘”the anti-Jackson constituency, when the reality of his becoming President seeps in, may be a much bigger constituency than there is out there right now.”
Jackson, the Democratic political class argued, was simply unelectable, so the party should go with a winner like Dukakis. Rep. Barney Frank’s sister, Ann Lewis, was working for the Jackson campaign, but Frank was backing his home state governor. He explained to Dionne that there were two reasons Jackson couldn’t win. “One, there is unfortunately still racism in the country. … That doesn’t mean the whole country’s prejudiced. It means that if there’s an irreducible 15 or 20 percent prejudice against a particular group, you’re giving away an awful lot,” Frank said. “Two, he’s still to the left of the country, especially on foreign policy.”
Jackson’s opponents had argued that his proximity to the nomination would paradoxically push some white Democrats away from him. It’s all fine and good to vote for the charismatic black guy with the unifying message in 1988 — indeed, it was an anti-racist badge of honor — just not if he actually might win. The party establishment pulled the fire alarm. I asked Jackson, in an interview for my recent book, “We’ve Got People,” what kind of pressure he felt after his Michigan win. “The pressure was not on me,” he said. “It was the so-called Reagan Democrats who began sewing discord and spreading lies.”
At the April Democratic caucus in Vermont, Sanders spoke on Jackson’s behalf. The interloper’s speech did not go over well with every Democrat. As he headed back to his seat, a woman in the audience slapped him across the face, he later recounted in his 1997 book, “Outsider in the House.”
“Bernie represents direction not complexion. He stood up for me in ’88, and we won Vermont — the whitest state in the country,” Jackson recently recalled to Jeremy Scahill. On the back of the progressive coalition Sanders had organized in Vermont, Jackson won the Vermont caucuses 46 to 45 percent.
Outside of Vermont, it didn’t go as well. Jackson had been polling ahead in the next state on the calendar, Wisconsin, but the party consolidation behind Dukakis, fueled by the panic, flipped the momentum, and Dukakis took the state.
Over the next month, Dukakis would win Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio, and Indiana, and while Jackson continued picking off a state here and some delegates there, the nomination contest was effectively over. As is often the case, political wisdom failed the party elite, and Dukakis was crushed by the unpopular George H.W. Bush.
Jackson’s endorsement comes in the wake of Elizabeth Warren’s departure from the race. “I will not go against Bernie, but I’ve not made a decision to endorse anybody,” Jackson said in a February episode of Intercepted. “And when we talk, I share with him observations. Same with Warren, share observations. I’m not endorsing either one at this point.”
But Jackson was clear on who he would not be supporting. “I think the idea that somehow Biden has largely inherited the black vote in South Carolina is not sound judgment,” he said. “We were saying no to Clarence Thomas; he said yes to Clarence Thomas. We were saying no to the crime bill. He said yes to the crime bill. No to the Iraq War. He said yes to the Iraq War. He’s on a different side of history. It’s his right to be there, but he might as well own up to his side of history.”
Jackson said that Biden had taken on the aura of Obama, though that misunderstood the role Biden had played on the Obama’s ticket. “Joe Biden is seen as connected to Barack. He was put on the ticket to balance the ticket not to enhance it. Barack was against the Iraq War. He was for the Iraq War. Barack was against the crime bill. He was for the crime bill. Barack was supporting Anita Hill, and Biden let Clarence Thomas on the Supreme Court as a monument to his leadership in that committee. So his proximity to Barack gives the impression he is active in civil rights is clearer than it is,” Jackson said. “Biden was Barack’s right wing. With Barack out, there’s nothing left but the right wing.”
Biden isn’t offering a vision that meets the moment, Jackson said. “His message does not address the pain of our people. I’m not sure what moderate means if people don’t have affordable health care. I’m not sure what moderate, ‘I’m a moderate’ means to us. In fact, it means very little to us,” he said.
Just as Biden isn’t moderate, Jackson argued, Sanders isn’t on the left. “What Sanders represents is not the left wing,” he said. “It’s the moral center. Health care for everybody is moral. Education even for the poor without student loan debt is the moral center. Middle East policy where you recognize Israel and Palestine is the moral center.”
Here is the Rev. Jackson's full statement - and BTW, just noticed Ryan Grim is covering yet another important endorsement of Bernie, "The Working Families Party'"
~~~~~
At some point I will be back with the local drug war events
Meanwhile...you know, I was saving this for Elizabeth Warren...well, if she ever comes around (???) we can put it up again...and I adore Jesse Jackson, always have thank you Rev !~!!
~~~~~~~
One last thing...you might be interested in signing this petition !
Marjorie -
I know that we have a number of important primaries tomorrow, but I want to take a moment to write about the growing threat of COVID-19, otherwise known as the coronavirus — something I will be discussing at a roundtable in Michigan at 3:15pm Eastern today. I hope you will tune in online to watch.
Then, at the end of the email I am going to ask you to take action to make it clear that once a coronavirus vaccine is developed, it will be made available for FREE — something Trump’s Health and Human Services Secretary could not agree to. And, any testing, treatment, or quarantine should be free too.
If you’re ready to sign that petition, you can do so here. And then I’ll talk more about this crisis and the steps we must take as a country going forward.
Right now in the United States, reports suggest over 500 confirmed cases across many different states and Washington, D.C., and at least 22 deaths. But the truth is, we cannot be sure about these numbers because the Trump administration has completely mismanaged making coronavirus testing available, and local clinics and hospitals are still woefully unprepared to diagnose potential cases.
And, unfortunately, the more we know about this developing crisis, the more it is becoming clear that not only is the Trump administration incompetent, but that our current dysfunctional health care system is vastly underprepared for this pandemic.
To start, we should not be having someone like Vice President Pence leading the task — somebody who, to be charitable, is not a great advocate for science in general.
Sadly, I have very little confidence in the Trump administration to do anything that is right or decent, or certainly based on science.
I know that we have a brilliant president who has clearly studied this issue very intently, but this is the guy, Donald Trump, who thinks climate change is a hoax, and just last month was telling us that this crisis would somehow magically end in April.
This is the guy, Donald Trump, who said he didn’t “necessarily agree with proactive testing,” and that we’d find out where people were infected “by waiting.”
This is the guy, our president, who said that we have “hundreds of thousands of people that get better, just by, you know sitting around and even going to work.”
And this is the guy who, at the Centers for Disease Control, said, “maybe I have a natural ability” to understand the deadly illness.
So no. I am not very confident in the president’s ability to manage this crisis.
The truth is, we need real scientists and health care professionals in charge of the coronavirus response and communicating updates to the public.
But we also need to acknowledge what the Trump administration has not been able to ignore: under our current, dysfunctional for-profit health care system, people don’t go to the doctor if they cannot afford it. And during an infectious health crisis like this one, that means that potential carriers of the virus may not get checked out if they’re showing symptoms.
And the truth is, even the Trump administration has figured out that maybe it’s not a great idea to have people who might have the virus walking around the streets and going to work if they can’t afford health care and to get a checkup from a doctor.
I think even they have figured out that it’s a good idea to make sure that people who feel sick or may have some of the symptoms actually go into a doctor’s office.
They’ve even proposed using federal funds to pay for medical treatment of people who lack insurance.
Sounds a little bit like Medicare for All.
Imagine that.
But I’m glad at least that they recognize it’s totally insane and dangerous to our society that if you’re walking around and infecting other people and you’re not going to the doctor when you should because you don’t have insurance that is counterproductive for the whole society.
I’m glad they at least recognize that.
Small steps...
So yes, this crisis is another clear example of why we must guarantee health care as a right for every single man, woman and child in this country. While some won’t get the treatment they need because they can’t afford it, others will be hit by massive medical bills simply for doing the right things. People will face bills in the hundreds of thousands for hospitalization, treatment and quarantine if they need it. That must end.
This crisis is another example of why we need universal paid family leave in this country, so people who are sick can stay home, recover, and prevent the virus from spreading.
This crisis is another example of why we must take on the greed of the pharmaceutical industry. It is outrageous that during his Congressional testimony, Trump’s HHS Secretary would not guarantee that a coronavirus vaccine would be affordable to all.
The vaccine, once developed, should be free. And testing, treatment, and quarantine should be free too.
Health experts agree that the spread of the coronavirus will likely get worse before it gets better.
Donald Trump must stop spreading lies and fear, and leave the science to scientists and health professionals, not politicians. We must make certain that we are prepared for a pandemic, just as we do with FEMA and natural disasters.
Thank you for reading.
In solidarity,
Bernie Sanders
~~~~~~~
For the Working Class Families !
Hey Elizabeth, I have one with Bono and Springsteen...interested ???
Late last night I was feeling defeated, shame on me. I surfed over to the Intercept and read Ryan Grimm's report on the Rev. Jackson's endorsement of Bernie...and I was lifted up ! BTW, you can sign up for all of Ryan's reports, they are as the following all superlative.
"Michigan holds a special place in the memory of Jesse Jackson and the supporters of his insurgent 1988 presidential campaign. It was Jackson’s Nevada, the moment that the party establishment realized this campaign it had long written off might just seize the nomination. At a rally in Michigan on Sunday, Jackson will endorse Sanders ahead of a do-or-die primary for the Vermont senator.
Jackson’s Michigan contest in 1988
fell on March 27. After more than three dozen primaries and caucuses, a
crowded presidential field had been winnowed down to three serious
contenders: Michael Dukakis, the Massachusetts governor and presumed
frontrunner; Missouri Rep. Dick Gephardt; and Jackson, a former close
aide to Martin Luther King Jr. and the public bearer of the civil rights
movement’s torch.
Joe Biden, then a senator from Delaware, had dropped out of the race following a plagiarism scandal and dismal polling numbers.
Given Gephardt’s hard-hat,
working-class brand, he badly needed a win in Michigan. He threw
everything he had left into the state. Dukakis, too, wanted Michigan — to
show that his appeal extended beyond the liberal confines of Harvard
Square, and that he could win back those Reagan Democrats whose
defection had cost Jimmy Carter reelection.
Jackson spent that election day
touring Detroit, hitting black churches and five different housing
projects. The New York Times’ legendary political reporter, R.W. Apple,
was on hand for the last minute push. Jackson, Apple observed in his election night dispatch, “had
drawn surprisingly large crowds of both blacks and whites in the last
few days,” adding that despite the black establishment’s support of
Michael Dukakis — Detroit Mayor Coleman Young was backing Dukakis —
Jackson won some Detroit neighborhoods by 15 or 20 to one. “But the
surprise was the Chicago clergyman’s powerful showing in predominantly
white cities like Lansing, Flint, Kalamazoo and Battle Creek, several of
which he carried.”
Indeed, Jackson did more than get out
the black vote. Progressive white voters in the state also rallied hard
to his cause. (Dean Baker, now a prominent progressive economist, was
district director for Jackson in Ann Arbor.)
The energy of the moment comes through
in the Times dispatch. “So dramatically did [Jackson] seize the public
imagination that he was able to counter successfully the notion that Mr.
Dukakis was the Democrat with the best chance of nomination,” the Times
wrote.
Jackson, after 37 primaries and
caucuses, was now effectively tied with Dukakis in the delegate count — a
stunning moment in American politics that has gone down the memory
hole. The victory generated two polar
opposite responses in Washington, D.C., and Burlington, Vermont, both of
which would have profound implications for the future of the party.
In Burlington,
the city’s independent mayor, an outspoken supporter of Jackson, had to
decide if he would engage directly with the Democratic Party in order
to help Jackson win. After the Michigan victory, Bernie Sanders went all
in, calling a local press conference and announcing that he would be participating in the April Democratic caucus to back Jackson. “I
am the only non-Democrat, non-Republican, independent progressive mayor
in the United States of America. OK, it is awkward, I freely admit, it
is awkward for me to walk into a Democratic Party caucus, believe me, it
is awkward. I am not a Democrat. Period,” he said. But he said the stakes were too high,
and the opportunity too great, to stand aside on principle. Jackson, he
argued, could remake the Democratic Party in an image of social
justice. “So while in fact, he may end up losing some conservative white
votes, some racist white votes, I think there is a real chance that he
could do what [Walter] Mondale couldn’t do in a million years. That is
to bring millions and millions of poor people and working people into
the political arena who in the past never participated.”
'Pick
up your sling shot, pick up your rock, declare our time has come, a new
day has begun!’ — Rev. Jesse Jackson's iconic ‘David and Goliath’
speech from 1984 is just as relevant today pic.twitter.com/uCbW2W5UFy
In
Washington, though, the reaction was pandemonium. Just as party leaders
melted down publicly after Sanders’s win in the Nevada caucuses, they
did so after Jackson’s triumph in Michigan. Talk
in the top echelons of the Democratic Party turned to panic, with David
Espo of the Associated Press reporting that the establishment feared a
general election blowout if Jackson was the nominee. Plans were being
drawn up, he reported, to draft New York Gov. Mario Cuomo to challenge
Jackson at the convention if Dukakis couldn’t stop the reverend. E.J. Dionne, then reporting for the New York Times, captured the sense of dread.
White Democratic leaders
who do not support Mr. Jackson admitted they were in a quandary,
wondering how to confront the growing movement toward Mr. Jackson
without appearing to be racist and without alienating the large core of
activists, including many white liberals, that he has attracted…. Around Washington, the words used by
leading white Democrats to describe their party’s situation included
crisis, disarray, disaster, consternation, mess, and wacky. “You’ve never heard a sense of panic
sweep the party as it has in the last few days,” said David Garth, an
adviser to Senator Albert Gore Jr. of Tennessee. Mr. Garth predicted that ‘”the
anti-Jackson constituency, when the reality of his becoming President
seeps in, may be a much bigger constituency than there is out there
right now.”
Jackson, the Democratic political
class argued, was simply unelectable, so the party should go with a
winner like Dukakis. Rep. Barney Frank’s sister, Ann Lewis, was working
for the Jackson campaign, but Frank was backing his home state governor.
He explained to Dionne that there were two reasons Jackson couldn’t
win. “One, there is unfortunately still racism in the country. … That
doesn’t mean the whole country’s prejudiced. It means that if there’s an
irreducible 15 or 20 percent prejudice against a particular group,
you’re giving away an awful lot,” Frank said. “Two, he’s still to the
left of the country, especially on foreign policy.”
Jackson’s opponents had argued that
his proximity to the nomination would paradoxically push some white
Democrats away from him. It’s all fine and good to vote for the
charismatic black guy with the unifying message in 1988 — indeed, it was
an anti-racist badge of honor — just not if he actually might win. The
party establishment pulled the fire alarm. I asked Jackson, in an interview for my recent book, “We’ve Got People,”
what kind of pressure he felt after his Michigan win. “The pressure was
not on me,” he said. “It was the so-called Reagan Democrats who began
sewing discord and spreading lies.”
At the April Democratic caucus in
Vermont, Sanders spoke on Jackson’s behalf. The interloper’s speech did
not go over well with every Democrat. As he headed back to his seat, a
woman in the audience slapped him across the face, he later recounted in
his 1997 book, “Outsider in the House.”
“Bernie
represents direction not complexion. He stood up for me in ’88, and we
won Vermont — the whitest state in the country,” Jackson recently recalled to Jeremy Scahill. On the back of the progressive coalition Sanders had organized in Vermont, Jackson won the Vermont caucuses 46 to 45 percent.
Outside of Vermont, it didn’t go as
well. Jackson had been polling ahead in the next state on the calendar,
Wisconsin, but the party consolidation behind Dukakis, fueled by the
panic, flipped the momentum, and Dukakis took the state.
Over the next month, Dukakis would win
Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio, and Indiana, and while Jackson continued
picking off a state here and some delegates there, the nomination
contest was effectively over. As is often the case, political wisdom
failed the party elite, and Dukakis was crushed by the unpopular George
H.W. Bush.
Jackson’s endorsement comes in the
wake of Elizabeth Warren’s departure from the race. “I will not go
against Bernie, but I’ve not made a decision to endorse anybody,”
Jackson said in a February episode of Intercepted. “And when we talk, I
share with him observations. Same with Warren, share observations. I’m
not endorsing either one at this point.”
But Jackson was clear on who he would
not be supporting. “I think the idea that somehow Biden has largely
inherited the black vote in South Carolina is not sound judgment,” he
said. “We were saying no to Clarence Thomas; he said yes to Clarence
Thomas. We were saying no to the crime bill. He said yes to the crime
bill. No to the Iraq War. He said yes to the Iraq War. He’s on a
different side of history. It’s his right to be there, but he might as
well own up to his side of history.”
Jackson said that Biden had taken on
the aura of Obama, though that misunderstood the role Biden had played
on the Obama’s ticket. “Joe Biden is seen as connected to Barack. He was
put on the ticket to balance the ticket not to enhance it. Barack was
against the Iraq War. He was for the Iraq War. Barack was against the
crime bill. He was for the crime bill. Barack was supporting Anita Hill,
and Biden let Clarence Thomas on the Supreme Court as a monument to his
leadership in that committee. So his proximity to Barack gives the
impression he is active in civil rights is clearer than it is,” Jackson
said. “Biden was Barack’s right wing. With Barack out, there’s nothing
left but the right wing.”
Biden isn’t offering a vision that
meets the moment, Jackson said. “His message does not address the pain
of our people. I’m not sure what moderate means if people don’t have
affordable health care. I’m not sure what moderate, ‘I’m a moderate’
means to us. In fact, it means very little to us,” he said.
Just as Biden isn’t moderate, Jackson
argued, Sanders isn’t on the left. “What Sanders represents is not the
left wing,” he said. “It’s the moral center. Health care for everybody
is moral. Education even for the poor without student loan debt is the
moral center. Middle East policy where you recognize Israel and
Palestine is the moral center.”
Here is the Rev. Jackson's full statement - and BTW, just noticed Ryan Grim is covering yet another important endorsement of Bernie, "The Working Families Party'"
~~~~~
At some point I will be back with the local drug war events
Meanwhile...you know, I was saving this for Elizabeth Warren...well, if she ever comes around (???) we can put it up again...and I adore Jesse Jackson, always have thank you Rev !~!!
~~~~~~~
One last thing...you might be interested in signing this petition !
Marjorie -
I know that
we have a number of important primaries tomorrow, but I want to take a
moment to write about the growing threat of COVID-19, otherwise known as
the coronavirus — something I will be discussing at a roundtable in
Michigan at 3:15pm Eastern today. I hope you will tune in online to
watch.
Then, at
the end of the email I am going to ask you to take action to make it
clear that once a coronavirus vaccine is developed, it will be made
available for FREE — something Trump’s Health and Human Services
Secretary could not agree to. And, any testing, treatment, or quarantine
should be free too.
If you’re
ready to sign that petition, you can do so here. And then I’ll talk more
about this crisis and the steps we must take as a country going
forward.
Right now
in the United States, reports suggest over 500 confirmed cases across
many different states and Washington, D.C., and at least 22 deaths. But
the truth is, we cannot be sure about these numbers because the Trump
administration has completely mismanaged making coronavirus testing
available, and local clinics and hospitals are still woefully unprepared
to diagnose potential cases.
And,
unfortunately, the more we know about this developing crisis, the more
it is becoming clear that not only is the Trump administration
incompetent, but that our current dysfunctional health care system is
vastly underprepared for this pandemic.
To start,
we should not be having someone like Vice President Pence leading the
task — somebody who, to be charitable, is not a great advocate for
science in general.
Sadly, I
have very little confidence in the Trump administration to do anything
that is right or decent, or certainly based on science.
I know that we have a brilliant
president who has clearly studied this issue very intently, but this is
the guy, Donald Trump, who thinks climate change is a hoax, and just
last month was telling us that this crisis would somehow magically end
in April.
This is the
guy, Donald Trump, who said he didn’t “necessarily agree with proactive
testing,” and that we’d find out where people were infected “by
waiting.”
This is the
guy, our president, who said that we have “hundreds of thousands of
people that get better, just by, you know sitting around and even going
to work.”
And this is
the guy who, at the Centers for Disease Control, said, “maybe I have a
natural ability” to understand the deadly illness.
So no. I am not very confident in the president’s ability to manage this crisis.
The truth
is, we need real scientists and health care professionals in charge of
the coronavirus response and communicating updates to the public.
But we also
need to acknowledge what the Trump administration has not been able to
ignore: under our current, dysfunctional for-profit health care system,
people don’t go to the doctor if they cannot afford it. And during an
infectious health crisis like this one, that means that potential
carriers of the virus may not get checked out if they’re showing
symptoms.
And the
truth is, even the Trump administration has figured out that maybe it’s
not a great idea to have people who might have the virus walking around
the streets and going to work if they can’t afford health care and to
get a checkup from a doctor.
I think
even they have figured out that it’s a good idea to make sure that
people who feel sick or may have some of the symptoms actually go into a
doctor’s office.
They’ve even proposed using federal funds to pay for medical treatment of people who lack insurance.
Sounds a little bit like Medicare for All.
Imagine that.
But I’m
glad at least that they recognize it’s totally insane and dangerous to
our society that if you’re walking around and infecting other people and
you’re not going to the doctor when you should because you don’t have
insurance that is counterproductive for the whole society.
I’m glad they at least recognize that.
Small steps...
So yes,
this crisis is another clear example of why we must guarantee health
care as a right for every single man, woman and child in this country.
While some won’t get the treatment they need because they can’t afford
it, others will be hit by massive medical bills simply for doing the
right things. People will face bills in the hundreds of thousands for
hospitalization, treatment and quarantine if they need it. That must
end.
This crisis
is another example of why we need universal paid family leave in this
country, so people who are sick can stay home, recover, and prevent the
virus from spreading.
This crisis
is another example of why we must take on the greed of the
pharmaceutical industry. It is outrageous that during his Congressional
testimony, Trump’s HHS Secretary would not guarantee that a coronavirus
vaccine would be affordable to all.
The vaccine, once developed, should be free. And testing, treatment, and quarantine should be free too.
Health experts agree that the spread of the coronavirus will likely get worse before it gets better.
Donald
Trump must stop spreading lies and fear, and leave the science to
scientists and health professionals, not politicians. We must make
certain that we are prepared for a pandemic, just as we do with FEMA and
natural disasters.
Thank you for reading.
In solidarity,
Bernie Sanders
~~~~~~~
For the Working Class Families !
Hey Elizabeth, I have one with Bono and Springsteen...interested ???
BTW, the transcripts of these interviews are available in Spanish - just click the "Espanol" button on the top right of the page. (For our Mexican amigos)
Biden swept the old south and swept up the black vote yesterday on Super Tuesday, which shocked many of us and we were left wondering, why ? Does Bernie scare them? I don't think so, I think it was a massive vote in support of Barrack Obama, the icon of the black people who has been insulted and ridiculed and every piece of good legislation which was enabled during his terms has been either wiped out completely, obliterated or is in the process of being terminated by Donald Trump. The overall Black Communities across the USA deeply loved Barrack and Michelle, and they still do and always will, forever. (Don't say nuthin bad about my baby !...or That's How Strong My Love Is !)) To them, Biden represents an extension of Barrack, even though it is an emotional nostalgic extension and unfortunately for the Black Communities represented in the Southern block, it is misguided and misplaced support:
As far as being scared, hell yes, Trump scares the shit out of them (as he does all the rest of us) and they are weary from being beaten down. Having every powerful Democratic political figurehead endorsing Biden after South Carolina was no help; that was well planned and a pressure cooker ready to blow, which it did. There is a complete and rampant mis understanding of Democratic Socialism not only in the Black Communities, but also in White Communities. Here's a look at some very important interviews addressing this issue of the Black mindset, and I promise to find more. And, goodbye and good riddance to Bloomberg.
BTW, the transcripts of these interviews are available in Spanish - just click the "Espanol" button on the top right of the page. (For our Mexican amigos)
Biden swept the old south and swept up the black vote yesterday on Super Tuesday, which shocked many of us and we were left wondering, why ? Does Bernie scare them? I don't think so, I think it was a massive vote in support of Barrack Obama, the icon of the black people who has been insulted and ridiculed and every piece of good legislation which was enabled during his terms has been either wiped out completely, obliterated or is in the process of being terminated by Donald Trump. The overall Black Communities across the USA deeply loved Barrack and Michelle, and they still do and always will, forever. (Don't say nuthin bad about my baby !...or That's How Strong My Love Is !)) To them, Biden represents an extension of Barrack, even though it is an emotional nostalgic extension and unfortunately for the Black Communities represented in the Southern block, it is misguided and misplaced support:
As far as being scared, hell yes, Trump scares the shit out of them (as he does all the rest of us) and they are weary from being beaten down. Having every powerful Democratic political figurehead endorsing Biden after South Carolina was no help; that was well planned and a pressure cooker ready to blow, which it did. There is a complete and rampant mis understanding of Democratic Socialism not only in the Black Communities, but also in White Communities. Here's a look at some very important interviews addressing this issue of the Black mindset, and I promise to find more. And, goodbye and good riddance to Bloomberg.
Not because of this hernia-muscle thing (BTW, I could not take the tramodol, it made me sick) but I was stunned by the So. Carolina results. I knew it was going to be tight, but that was a complete blowout. After the shock wore off, I kept asking, "...wait a minute, don't these black folks remember that it was Bernie who marched, organized and demonstrated for Civil Rights and was actually arrested ? NOT JOE BIDEN." It is disturbing.
Bernie Arrested Chicago August 1963
Same time, Same Place and I don't See Hillary, Barack O'bama, Biden, Pete or Amy: Where The Fuck Are They ??? Oh right almost forgot, Hillary was getting ready to work for Barry Goldwater the white racist from Arizona and his buddies, the John Birch Society.
"Although Sanders did attend the 1963 March on Washington, at which Lewis spoke, most of his work was in and around Hyde Park, where he became involved with the campus chapter of CORE [Congress of Racial Equality] shortly after transferring from Brooklyn College in 1961. During Sanders’ first year in Chicago, a group of apartment-hunting white and black students had discovered that off-campus buildings owned by the university were refusing to rent to black students, in violation of the school’s policies. CORE organized a 15-day sit-in at the administration building, which Sanders helped lead. The protest ended when George Beadle, the university’s president, agreed to form a commission to study the school’s housing policies. That spring, with Sanders as its chairman, the university chapter of CORE merged with the university chapter of SNCC [Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee]. Sanders announced plans to take the fight to the city of Chicago, and in the fall of 1962 he followed through, organizing picketers at a Howard Johnson in Cicero. Sanders told the Chicago Maroon, the student newspaper, that he wanted to keep the pressure on the restaurant chain after the arrest of 12 CORE demonstrators in North Carolina for trying to eat at a Howard Johnson there. Sanders left his leadership role at the organization not long afterward; his grades suffered so much from his activism that a dean asked him to take some time off from school. But he continued his activism with CORE and SNCC. In August of 1963, not long after returning to Chicago from the March on Washington, Sanders was charged with resisting arrest after protesting segregation at a school on the city’s South Side. He was later fined $25, according to the Chicago Tribune."
1964: Sister Rosetta !!!
~~~~~~
In case you are interested here's more bad news:
Pete & Amy, and the great almighty O'Rourke from Texas DNC Loyalists all have dropped out and endorsed fucking Biden. They were joined by: ~ From CNN: The Stop Sanders Movement Has Gone Public Analysis by Chris Cilliza who is just another DNC Loyalist Corporate Asshole Spokesperson Just a sampling:
"Front-runner Bernie Sanders held a massive rally Thursday in Spartanburg, South Carolina, where he called his campaign a “movement that cannot be stopped.”
Sen. Bernie Sanders: “It is a movement for economic justice, for social justice, for racial justice, for environmental justice. And when millions of people stand up and fight back, nothing on Earth can stop us.”
Sanders also rallied Thursday at Winston-Salem State University in North Carolina, where he led a march of hundreds of students to an early-voting site. Later Thursday, thousands of Sanders supporters packed a rally in Richmond, Virginia — another Super Tuesday state.
The New York Times interviewed dozens of Democratic establishment leaders who will serve as “superdelegates” at the party’s nominating convention in July, and found the vast majority are so opposed to Bernie Sanders’s candidacy, they’re willing to risk damage to the Democratic Party.
Of 93 superdelegates surveyed by the Times, nearly all said they would vote against Sanders in a brokered convention, if Sanders were to arrive with a plurality — and not a majority — of pledged delegates.
Many of the superdelegates are corporate lobbyists with healthcare clients opposing Sanders’s Medicare for All legislation. The Intercept’s Lee Fang reports one of them, Democratic National Committee member William Owen, donated exclusively to Republican Senate candidates during the last election cycle — including an $8,500 contribution to a joint fundraising committee designed to benefit Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. Owen is backing former Vice President Joe Biden for the Democratic nomination in 2020."
~~~~~
~ From The Intercept: Please if you haven't already, read the related articles at the end of this report:
Well, here's some good news, I hope these gals are right: (Mike in background "....don't forget Amy has been bought off by Big Agriculture !") I don't think Amy eats organic popcorn either. Ah ! the Duopoly strikes again.
Not because of this hernia-muscle thing (BTW, I could not take the tramodol, it made me sick) but I was stunned by the So. Carolina results. I knew it was going to be tight, but that was a complete blowout. After the shock wore off, I kept asking, "...wait a minute, don't these black folks remember that it was Bernie who marched, organized and demonstrated for Civil Rights and was actually arrested ? NOT JOE BIDEN." It is disturbing.
Bernie Arrested Chicago August 1963
Same time, Same Place and I don't See Hillary, Barack O'bama, Biden, Pete or Amy: Where The Fuck Are They ??? Oh right almost forgot, Hillary was getting ready to work for Barry Goldwater the white racist from Arizona and his buddies, the John Birch Society.
"Although Sanders did attend the 1963 March on Washington, at which
Lewis spoke, most of his work was in and around Hyde Park, where he
became involved with the campus chapter of CORE [Congress of Racial
Equality] shortly after transferring from Brooklyn College in 1961.
During Sanders’ first year in Chicago, a group of apartment-hunting
white and black students had discovered that off-campus buildings owned
by the university were refusing to rent to black students, in violation
of the school’s policies. CORE organized a 15-day sit-in at the
administration building, which Sanders helped lead. The protest ended
when George Beadle, the university’s president, agreed to form a
commission to study the school’s housing policies.
That spring, with Sanders as its chairman, the university chapter of
CORE merged with the university chapter of SNCC [Student Nonviolent
Coordinating Committee]. Sanders announced plans to take the fight to
the city of Chicago, and in the fall of 1962 he followed through,
organizing picketers at a Howard Johnson in Cicero. Sanders told the Chicago Maroon,
the student newspaper, that he wanted to keep the pressure on the
restaurant chain after the arrest of 12 CORE demonstrators in North
Carolina for trying to eat at a Howard Johnson there.
Sanders left his leadership role at the organization not long
afterward; his grades suffered so much from his activism that a dean
asked him to take some time off from school. But he continued his
activism with CORE and SNCC. In August of 1963, not long after returning
to Chicago from the March on Washington, Sanders was charged with
resisting arrest after protesting segregation at a school on the city’s
South Side. He was later fined $25, according to the Chicago Tribune."
1964: Sister Rosetta !!!
~~~~~~
In case you are interested here's more bad news:
Pete & Amy, and the great almighty O'Rourke from Texas DNC Loyalists all have dropped out and endorsed fucking Biden. They were joined by: ~ From CNN: The Stop Sanders Movement Has Gone Public Analysis by Chris Cilliza who is just another DNC Loyalist Corporate Asshole Spokesperson Just a sampling:
"Front-runner
Bernie Sanders held a massive rally Thursday in Spartanburg, South
Carolina, where he called his campaign a “movement that cannot be
stopped.”
Sen. Bernie Sanders: “It is a movement for economic
justice, for social justice, for racial justice, for environmental
justice. And when millions of people stand up and fight back, nothing on
Earth can stop us.”
Sanders also rallied Thursday at Winston-Salem State University in
North Carolina, where he led a march of hundreds of students to an
early-voting site. Later Thursday, thousands of Sanders supporters
packed a rally in Richmond, Virginia — another Super Tuesday state.
The New York Times interviewed dozens of Democratic establishment
leaders who will serve as “superdelegates” at the party’s nominating
convention in July, and found the vast majority are so opposed to Bernie
Sanders’s candidacy, they’re willing to risk damage to the Democratic
Party.
Of 93 superdelegates surveyed by the Times, nearly all said they
would vote against Sanders in a brokered convention, if Sanders were to
arrive with a plurality — and not a majority — of pledged delegates.
Many of the superdelegates are corporate lobbyists with healthcare
clients opposing Sanders’s Medicare for All legislation. The Intercept’s
Lee Fang reports one of them, Democratic National Committee member
William Owen, donated exclusively to Republican Senate candidates during
the last election cycle — including an $8,500 contribution to a joint
fundraising committee designed to benefit Senate Majority Leader Mitch
McConnell. Owen is backing former Vice President Joe Biden for the
Democratic nomination in 2020."
~~~~~
~ From The Intercept: Please if you haven't already, read the related articles at the end of this report:
Well, here's some good news, I hope these gals are right: (Mike in background "....don't forget Amy has been bought off by Big Agriculture !") I don't think Amy eats organic popcorn either. Ah ! the Duopoly strikes again.
Okay, this was my last day on ibuprofen, but I'm afraid to take the tramadol...we'll see how it goes.
Meanwhile somehow I found these Bernie ads which were put together by "GreenBlackLogic" on You Tube; GreenBlack Logic says:
" GreenBlackLogic Pinned by GreenBlackLogic GreenBlackLogic 22 hours ago It's officially passed 100,000 views! Many thanks to Kyle Kulinski, Michael Moore and everyone else who shared this ad to help spread the word, and there's more ads coming. Bernie 2020! "
Also, John Oliver on "Medicare For All". Locally down here - even nationally there doesn't seem to be much interest in the US election, and I imagine there is no interest in "Medicare For All" at all especially since the plan is to build huge Hospital facilities (at least in Tijuana where the construction has already started under the guise of "Medical Tourism") for the surplus millions of gringos who can't afford to pay the US Insurance and Hospital costs.
1. "Thank You | Bernie 2020 Ad" by, Jack Green
2. "Bernie vs. Trump | Bernie 2020 Ad" By, Jack Green
3. "Medicare For All: Last Week Tonight With John Oliver (HBO) - 02/16/20 (19 minutes)
From Zeta - BTW, click Noticias del Dia, another Radio host (and his wife) blown away. Here is the previous one just a few days ago in Juarez. See no evil,Hear no evil, Speak no evil.
Poor Mike has been picking up the slack around here.. he brings me acai sorbets, he's been buying out Sprouts & Vons.......I think it is going to be tight in So. Carolina on Saturday, we'll see. You can vote here regarding last night's debate:
Okay, this was my last day on ibuprofen, but I'm afraid to take the tramadol...we'll see how it goes.
Meanwhile somehow I found these Bernie ads which were put together by "GreenBlackLogic" on You Tube; GreenBlack Logic says:
" GreenBlackLogic
Pinned by GreenBlackLogic
GreenBlackLogic
22 hours ago
It's officially passed 100,000 views! Many thanks to Kyle Kulinski, Michael Moore and everyone else who shared this ad to help spread the word, and there's more ads coming. Bernie 2020! "
Also, John Oliver on "Medicare For All". Locally down here - even nationally there doesn't seem to be much interest in the US election, and I imagine there is no interest in "Medicare For All" at all especially since the plan is to build huge Hospital facilities (at least in Tijuana where the construction has already started under the guise of "Medical Tourism") for the surplus millions of gringos who can't afford to pay the US Insurance and Hospital costs.
1. "Thank You | Bernie 2020 Ad" by, Jack Green
2. "Bernie vs. Trump | Bernie 2020 Ad" By, Jack Green
3. "Medicare For All: Last Week Tonight With John Oliver (HBO) - 02/16/20 (19 minutes)
From Zeta - BTW, click Noticias del Dia, another Radio host (and his wife) blown away. Here is the previous one just a few days ago in Juarez. See no evil,Hear no evil, Speak no evil.
Poor Mike has been picking up the slack around here.. he brings me acai sorbets, he's been buying out Sprouts & Vons.......I think it is going to be tight in So. Carolina on Saturday, we'll see. You can vote here regarding last night's debate:
