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Audiobook Released!
Just after the Trump-Kamala debate, just in time to help you decipher the endless streams of disinformation coming from the candidates, just as the parties’ surrogates and the Red News and Blue News analysts tell you what to think, I am proud to present the completion of this labor of love.
Written and read by yours truly, in the hopes of spreading truth, clarity, compassion, and knowledge, this is an audiobook that unpacks corporate media lies and points out a path to a deeper understanding of our world.
Let me read to you, at your own preferred pace and time:
» Red White & Blind (the audiobook at Audible) «
» Red White & Blind (the audiobook at Awesound) «
Awesound.com is an alternative audiobook distributor that enables you to purchase the book outright and listen to it on any platform you like. I’m running a promo there currently.
From Bernie to Biden, from Covid to Epstein, from wars to elections, I’ve investigated dozens of recent and historical events in order to illustrate the ways we are deceived. It’s an insidious minefield out there, but I never leave you wallowing in despair over the mountains of disinformation that confront us. The book offers insights and tips from myself and others on how to develop the savvy to discern the truth behind each story—what I call media consciousness. We are in the early phases of a great unveiling, an internet-birthed era that I believe is a New Enlightenment in which we are all gradually awakening to the actual truth about many, many things.
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A 2016 Voting Guide for Thoughtful and Progressive Californians
Including Local Bay Area Elections
It has been a crazy election year: dramatic at times, ridiculous, and often infuriating. It has been a year in which millions have been extraordinarily inspired and utterly betrayed. We’ve had unexpected, refreshing moments of political truth-telling, and we’ve witnessed unexpected, mind-numbing lies in the corporate media.
So. Here we are, rolling into November, time for decisions. Below are my voting suggestions for this election, with local endorsements for the Bay Area, California. There are actually quite a few inspiring things to vote on here in the Golden State this year, and I’ve researched many of them.
In a separate piece today, I’ve summarized some of the explosive Wikileaks emails and shared independent media articles covering what the leaked emails tell us and why they’re important.
NATIONAL
President of the United States. Yes, there’s this election. Maybe you’ve heard about it. I won’t write a ton more here. Suffice it to say, there is no reason for an informed, rational progressive to vote for anyone other than Jill Stein and Ajamu Baraka. Jill Stein is a courageous, intelligent, and principled person who would make our country and planet better places. And since our flawed electoral system essentially disenfranchises us Californians from electing the president anyway, the logical thing to do is to send the message you want to send. For hard-headed strategists, there are Four Reasons Pragmatic Progressives are Supporting Jill Stein. For idealists considering the long game, This Election is the Perfect Storm for a Party: Jill Stein and the Green Party. And after all the Wikileaks, election fraud, and the corrupt behavior in Philadelphia (which I personally witnessed), we know that Nixonian Corruption in the DNC Makes It Time to Build a New Party. At the end of the day, you get to choose what your vote — your one most sacred message — communicates to this troubled democracy. You can send the message that you approve of a rigged primary and expansive collusion with the media and Wall Street banks. Or you can send a message that you want to expand world peace not war, call for genuine democracy rather than approve election fraud, urge aggressive action on climate change rather than build more pipelines, demand fair global trade rather than accept corporate rule via the TPP, and take a stand for racial and class justice down to the local level. I’m communicating with this troubled democracy by voting for Jill Stein.
CALIFORNIA
State Measure 51 — State School Bond. Yes.
This is a massive bond issue that will, as bond measures generally do, give tons of taxpayer money to big banks and generally cost the people way more than necessary for the services it provides. This measure also is written in a way that gives way too much to real estate developers who increase suburban sprawl. There’s actually a lot wrong with this one, and it’s a close call. But all things considered, given that it will provide up to $8 billion to K-12 and community college construction and modernization, it’s worth supporting.State Measure 52 — MediCal. Hospital fees to fund MediCal. Yes.
This measure continues funneling funds to MediCal from some fees paid by HMOs and large hospitals, and it raises the requirement to a two-thirds vote for the legislature to change it. It’s unusual to attempt to legislature-proof something like this, via ballot measure, but this is certainly worthwhile on balance.State Measure 53 — Revenue Bonds. Require voter approval for revenue bonds. No.
Poorly worded measure here that attempts to prevent the state from issuing more bonds without voter approval. Nearly everyone in state government opposes this, as it would hinder future state initiatives.Measure 54 — Text of Bills Online. Require publication of bills online before passage. Yes.
This requires laws in Sacramento to be online and open for public consultation for at least 72 hours being passed. While there is some concern this 72 hour period will enable more corporate lobbying time for important, emergency legislation, the benefits to deeper democracy far outweigh the potential costs.Measure 55 — Health & Schools. Extend tax on the rich for better education and healthcare. Yes.
This is structured better than Measure 51, in that this directly uses small fees and progressive taxes to redistribute enormous corporate profits or personal income to help society as a whole. Everyone — rich and poor alike — benefit when society as a whole is fairer and when all people are healthier and better educated.Measure 56 — Cigarettes. Tax cigarettes to fund healthcare. Yes.
This has worked everywhere it’s been tried to reduce social and personal harm from tobacco products. California’s tax on cigarettes is actually relatively low. Raising it and using proceeds for harm reduction is not just the right idea here, this should be the model we use for all harmful (but popular) substances.Measure 57 — More parole. Allow parole for nonviolent offenders, juvenile sentencing for juveniles. Yes.
This is sensible reform to laws that too aggressively try juveniles as adults, and that are too restrictive on parole for nonviolent offenders. State prisons are mandated to cut populations, and this does it in a sane and relatively fair way.Measure 58 — English in Schools. Multilingual learning as well as English proficiency. Yes.
While there are some studies that show benefits to fluency that come from more interaction between speakers and learners of English in schools, there are more significant benefits to allowing children to have some culture-specific education.Measure 59 — Overturn Citizens Utd. State to urge amendment to overturn. YES!
Anyone paying attention to politics in 2016 knows that we badly need to reduce corporate money in politics. This measure, while partly symbolic, helps us get there. Perhaps the dominant political issue of our time is the power corporations wield over our society. Starting with an obscure 1888 Supreme Court ruling that deemed corporations “persons” for the sake of constitutional protection, right up to today with rulings like Citizens Utd equating money with political speech, corporations have utilized the formidable power our democracy grants to people without having the real concerns that actual people have, like raising children, going on vacations, serving on juries, going to jail if they break the law, needing clean water to drink and air to breathe, etc. The beauty of this measure is that it doesn’t only petition a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens Utd; it also declares corporations aren’t people and money isn’t speech. They aren’t, and it isn’t. Democracy is priceless. Vote yes.Measure 60 — Condoms in porn. Require prophylactic use in adult film.
No.
This is the bizarre one on the ballot. There’s always one. On the surface it sounds like a good idea — common sense — to require condoms. But it turns out no one really wants this change. The industry, studios, and actors all oppose this as they suggest the industry will be forced underground and to other states and countries, when now only two states — California and New Hampshire — have legal, regulated adult film industries.Measure 61 — Medication Costs. State to pay less for prescription drugs.
YES!
Keep your eye on this gem. An obvious idea: Prevent the state from paying more for prescription drugs than paid by the Dept of Veteran Affairs — a federal office known for negotiating prices. This has Bernie Sanders written all over it. Not only is it something he would think of, but he has supported it passionately. He chaired the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee and is very familiar with how they negotiate drug prices. This will help patients throughout the state pay less for drugs; this will help the state itself pay less for drugs; and this will set a precedent for the rest of the country. Of course it will be loudly, loudly opposed by the big pharmaceutical corporations, so watch out for giant colorful smear posters to arrive in your mailbox regularly. Vote Yes.Measure 62 — End death penalty. Replace with life without parole. YES!
There are so many reasons to abolish the death penalty: logical, financial, philosophical, and spiritual reasons. For me, for the sake of this voting guide, it comes down to one single belief: our government shouldn’t be in the business of killing people. All problems flow from that. This is a rare chance to vote for something truly meaningful. Vote Yes.Measure 63 — Ammunition. Forbid large ammunition magazines. No.
This sounds like a good idea — no one needs large ammunition magazines or assault weapons in today’s America — and the country would be better if they didn’t exist. But this prohibition was already signed into law as SB 1446, and this new measure has a huge loophole — active and retired law enforcement officers are exempted, even for their personal weapons. Why do retired police need large magazines or assault weapons any more than anyone else? In a year in which police have repeatedly abused their license to kill, where black and brown people have been callously shot with impunity by trigger-happy police, we need to send a message that #BlackLivesMatter, that police do not get some special lifetime right to outgun and kill. Vote in solidarity: No.Measure 64 — Pot. Legalize marijuana for people over 21. YES.
Prohibition doesn’t work. The time has come to end the insanity and allow adult recreational use of marijuana. Much as with Meas. 56, above, the right way to deal with social harm that comes from the use of popular (but harmful) substances is to regulate and tax, and use tax proceeds to reduce harm. Study after study, of course, finds abuse of marijuana is generally less harmful than abuse of alcohol or tobacco, but in all cases the truth remains: regulate rather than prohibit. Additional benefits will be a significant reduction in organized crime, gang activity, and Mexican cartel power, as there will be one less thing for criminals to control and fight over.Measure 65 — Bags #1. Charge for carryout bags at groceries to benefit organizations. No.
This is a crafty and deceitful one. The language sounds good — sell carryout bags in groceries and send the proceeds to government organizations and environmental nonprofits. But the real intent here of the Plastic corporations who bankrolled this is to get groceries to oppose the plastic bag bans, such as Measure 67 (below). By forcing groceries to sell bags but then send every cent of proceeds to the government, the Plastic corporations think they can get us back to the bad old days of millions of plastic bags flooding our lands and waterways.Measure 66 — Prevent Death Sentence Appeals. Rework and accelerate death row. NO.
Most people on death row weren’t able to afford attorneys and had to rely on overworked court-appointed defenders. The appeal process is about the only recourse that wrongly-convicted people have to attempt to avoid being wrongly killed by the government. It would be “cruel and unusual” to eliminate or restrict the right to appeal. Vote for Meas. 62, above, to end the death penalty, then there’s no need to even listen to sponsors of this abhorrent “Kill Em Quicker” bill, as we save the most money and time by simply doing the right thing and not carrying out capital punishment at all.Measure 67 — Bags #2. Ban single-use plastic bags. Yes.
Studies show these bans work where they’ve been implemented, which is now in many parts of the Bay Area. The East Bay Times, for instance, found that San Jose saw trash go down by 59% on city streets, 89% in storm drains, and 60% in creeks. Reduce, reuse, recycle. We don’t need plastic single-use bags anymore, and we certainly don’t need the millions of them piling up and polluting our streets, rivers, and oceans. Vote yes on 67, no on 65.US Senator Loretta Sanchez (D) v Kamala Harris (D) — Because of the undemocratic Prop 14, passed in 2010, we now have top-two elections, and we have races like this, where you have to choose between two members of the same party. Could this be a further power grab by the DNC? Could be, my friend, could be. At any rate, we have Sanchez and Harris, both fairly typical Democrats in overall policy. They both sound a bit more progressive than they are. I’ve personally watched Kamala Harris climb from SF District Attorney up to Attorney General, making many deals with people I don’t trust, and I don’t trust her much either, but she’s the better alternative here, slightly better on genuine progressive issues. Vote Kamala Harris.
BAY AREA
Prop A1 — Affordable Housing. Alameda County. This will help somewhat with nearly intractable issue of housing for homeless, veterans, seniors, and disabled. Yes.
Prop B1 — Schools. Alameda City. Continue $.32/sqft tax, not to exceed $8k. This shouldn’t have the maximum, as that’s a regressive flaw that disproportionately taxes small properties and homeowners more than giant big box retailers, etc. But I’ll be voting Yes.
Prop C1 — AC Transit Tax. Keep taking $8/parcel in a tax for AC transit. AC Transit needs to break through to a new level of service and infrastructure. This isn’t much, but helps. Vote Yes.
Prop RR — BART Bond. New $3.5B BART bond, to replace cars and tracks and increase (slightly) service. Yes.
State Senate (9th Dist) — Nancy Skinner (D) vs Sandre Swanson (D) Another top two contest here between two Democrats jockeying for position in our (nearly) one-party state. This one’s a tossup, as both are reasonably liberal but neither is a true progressive. Swanson brings more labor experience and more experience with urban issues facing Oakland, and he would be the first African American elected to the State Senate from Northern California in decades. Skinner brings more energy to education, climate change, and renewable energy, and is, on balance, a bit more progressive across the board. I’m giving a slight edge here to her. Vote Nancy Skinner.
State Sen (11th) — Jane Kim (D) vs Scott Wiener (D) Along with with State Measure 61 (above), the other thing Bernie Sanders has been campaigning for in the Bay Area this month is Jane Kim, a genuine progressive and a civil rights attorney seeking her first election to the state office. She’s taking on an establishment candidate in Scott Wiener, and she absolutely deserves your vote and support and perhaps even a donation. Vote for the great Jane Kim.
State Assembly (15th) — Tony Thurmond (D) vs Claire Chiara (R) Not much to say here. Thurmond is the incumbent and isn’t facing much competition from Chiara here. Tony Thurmond.
State Assembly (18th) — Rob Bonta (D) vs Slonsky Breault (R) I spent ten hot minutes with Rob Bonta, as he’s my State Rep, at a coffeehouse during his “cafe time,” and found him to be intelligent and articulate, but not nearly progressive enough (yet) to represent fairly this area of Oakland and Alameda. He didn’t endorse Sanders and wasn’t particularly clear why, vaguely mentioning guns without really knowing Sanders position on gun reform. He’s made a few strides in the right direction during his term, however, and he’s better than Breault, so vote Rob Bonta.
US Representative (12th) — Preston Picus (D) vs Nancy Pelosi (D) In order for this democracy of ours to work (if it ever will), we need true progressives to represent the few truly progressive districts of our country. Picus is a true Sanders-style Progressive who deserves everyone’s support. Pelosi is no progressive — she passes for a lukewarm liberal in comparison to Congress of course — but if it weren’t for her deeply entrenched family connections she would have lost this seat years ago and someone much more progressive would be representing the great city by the bay. Vote for democracy and for sustainability and for the 99%, vote for Preston Picus.
US Rep (14th) — Jackie Speier (D) vs Angel Cardenas (R) Not much of a contest here. The decent Speier is in a safe seat. Trivia fact: She actually survived the Jonestown massacre in Guyana. No doubt she’ll be fine with or without your vote.
US Rep (13th) — Sue Caro (R) vs Barbara Lee (D) Well, Barbara Lee. She’s my representative in Congress and out there in the wilds of Washington DC, she passes just fine as a progressive. If I weren’t watching her so closely, I’d probably like her a lot. I was a big fan of her lone, courageous vote against the war in Afghanistan. I won’t get into the reasons I’m not her biggest fan, but I do question her role in the progressive movement if she didn’t have the courage to endorse Bernie. Nonetheless, I will vote for Barbara Lee.
That’s the big stuff. The following is some important littler stuff, a selection of local city offices and measures that I’m watching. I‘ll just mention them briefly.
OAKLAND / ALAMEDA CITY
Alameda School Board — Pick 3: Williams, Dailey, Hettich, Harris, Popalardo, Mckereghan.
I’m voting for Dailey, McKereghan, and Williams.Alameda City Council — Pick 2: Vella, Daysog, Roloff, Ashcraft, Tam.
You’d think we’d have some great candidates here, but I don’t see anyone amazing, so I’m voting for the newbies, Roloff and Vella, to give some new energy a chance on the board.Alameda Auditor — Kearney vs. Mcmahon
Close one here, but I’m staying with the incumbent, Kearney.Alameda Treasurer — Kennedy vs. Bratzler
Not significant competition here. I’m voting for Kennedy.K1 — AMP Money Transfer to City. Keep taking $3.7M from AMP & giving to city. No.
While this has been a great agreement for the city for years, at this point AMP has a better record of moving to renewable energy than does the city council, and I would prefer AMP gets to keep their money and use it to build a sustainable microgrid for the island and encourage more solar and wind energy in the city.L1 — City-written Rent Control This is “Less” Rent Control. No.
M1 — Tenant-written Rent Control This is “More” Rent Control. Yes.
A very contentious local issue, as rampant rent hikes have been decimating longtime city residents, sending them by the hundreds packing for other parts of the Bay Area or farther away. As new homeowners, and potential landlords someday, my wife and I had to think about this carefully. The city-written version has quite a few concessions to large landlords and doesn’t do enough really to preserve current tenants. The tenant-written version almost goes too far, as it regulates single home rentals nearly the same as massive profit-driven 25-unit apartment buildings, and contains muscular eviction protections. I would have preferred a few more exemptions to M1 for small landlords, but on balance, M1 is the legislation that will better preserve Alameda’s hometown character while also providing affordable housing in the dynamic (and sometimes insane) Bay Area housing world.Judge, Office #1 — Barbara Thomas vs Scott Jackson
Vote for the smarter and better-qualified Scott Jackson.AC Transit Director (At Large) — Chris Peeples vs Dollene Jones
Peeples has been around a long time, doesn’t own a car, and rides the bus everyday. He’s decent. But we need new blood at AC Transit, we need to move more swiftly to electric buses and improve scheduling and bunching. Jones is a 26-year AC Transit driver and has shown passion and interest in reform. Dollene Jones.East Bay Parks Director (Ward 2)
Here I recommend going with Dee Rosario.East Bay Parks Director (Ward 4)
I’m going with the young Daniel Chesmore, who brings youth, energy, and perspective as an LGBT person of color, to the parks commission.
SAN FRANCISCO CITY
A — New Schools. Yes
B — City College $20 parcel tax. Yes
C — Affordable Housing. Yes
D — Special Elections for vacant seats Yes
E — City streets, sidewalks, and trees Yes
F — 16yo vote in city elections! Yes
G — Police oversight already Yes
H — Office of public advocate Yes
I — Help seniors and adults w disabilities Yes
J — Homelessness & Transit plan No
This gives the mayor too much power over homelessness and other social service budgets.
K — Sales tax for special interests No
Connected to J (above) and won’t be any good.
L — Supes oversee SFMTA YES
It’s about time.
M — Housing and Development commission for supes Yes
Mayor is too conservative for this role
N — Noncitizen parents to vote in schoolboard races Yes
This is fair if they’re parents with children in the schools.
O — Candlestick and Hunters Pt redevelopment No
Why not more recreational or public benefit development here? Seems like a land grab.
P — Competitive bidding for Affordable Housing No
Won’t help and poorly written.
Q — Prohibit tents on sidewalks No
Criminalizes homelessness.
R — Neighborhood crime gestapo No
S — Hotels and food taxes for Moscone Ctr Yes
T — Restrict campaign contributions YES
U — Real estate developers define ‘affordable’ No
V — Put tax on sugar beverages Yes
W — Tax properties over $5M Yes
X — Preserve industrial arts, biz, and community spaces in soma Yes
D1 Supervisor — Sandra Lee Fewer
D3 Supervisor — Aaron Peskin
D5 Supervisor — Dean Preston
D7 Supervisor — Norman Yee
D9 Supervisor — Hillary Ronen
D11 Supervisor — Rank: #1 Francisco Herrera, #2 Kim Alvarenga
School Board — Mark Sanchez and Matt Haney
College Board — Rafael Mandelman, Tom Temprano, Shanell Williams
Superior Court Judge — Victor Hwang
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MONTEREY COUNTY
Just giving a random shout out to:
Measure Z — Ban Fracking YES!
Despite the two corporate presidential candidates’ head-in-the-sand positions, we do need to end fracking, shale gas extraction, and burning of coal now, this year, to get on track to fight climate change. There is a movement sweeping the country to ban fracking, and it’s important. Fracking pollutes vast quantities of water, causes earthquakes, and releases methane and other greenhouse gases that cause climate change. Join the movement if you’re in Monterey Co.Well, that’s what I’ve got. Those are my suggestions. Vote how you see fit. It remains crucial to vote, despite evidence of fraud in many states. If your vote is counted fairly, you’re helping elect progressive candidates and issues; if your vote isn’t counted fairly, you’re providing another piece of evidence.
And regardless of how you vote — and who wins — we all need to do more than vote. Envision the world you want for all of us, think globally, and act locally. That is the peaceful revolution.
Thank you for reading.
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This Election is the Perfect Storm for a Party: Jill Stein and the Green Party
Voters seek alternatives to the ‘choice’ between Trump and Clinton
The year 2016 is going down in history as the year the majority of American voters turned against both of the major political parties.
This year will also go down as the year a new political party spread its wings.
The Republican Party, once the “Party of Lincoln,” the party known as the Grand Old Party (GOP), has chosen an awful candidate in Donald Trump, a racist, sexist, failed businessman and television star famous for mean-spirited diatribes. Trump mocks the political system he seeks to preside over, evokes xenophobia at every turn, and calls for violence at political rallies. He is widely reviled by those who take him seriously and harshly ridiculed by those who don’t. He seems to be an awful choice for president by virtually any measure, and he might not even really want the job.
The even older Democratic Party, once the party of Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson, has also chosen an awful candidate in Hillary Clinton, a dishonest, corporate-controlled warmonger married to a former president who was impeached for dishonesty. As Secretary of State, Clinton has amassed millions via her private Clinton Foundation by sending billions of dollars in weapons to warring countries around the world in exchange for donations. Her misuse of private email servers to handle state business and classified information has resulted in scandal after scandal and leaves it unclear whether she even qualifies for basic security clearance. She seems to be an awful choice for president by virtually any measure, and she might not even qualify for the security clearance for the job.
People in this country and many around the world are amazed and horrified that these two ridiculously bad candidates are supposed to constitute “democracy” in the most powerful country on earth. Many wonder how this can even be called a choice. These two candidates support the same wrong side on so many of today’s most pressing issues.
A Perfect Storm
But all is not lost. What many view as an illegitimate choice comes at a time when both the United States and all of Planet Earth badly need an honest accounting of the issues that confront us. Collectively, Americans need real leadership to address these (more…)
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The Four Reasons Pragmatic Progressives are Supporting Jill Stein
Voters seek alternatives to the ‘choice’ between Trump and Clinton.
It’s early October, and the usual suspects in the corporate media are bellowing hyperbole about the supposed “craziness” of supporting anyone other than the two most disliked presidential candidates in history.
Why might the Paul Krugmans, Ezra Kleins, and Charles Blows of the corporate media world be veering into shriller and shriller tones?
Most likely because both practical and idealistic voters are increasingly supporting Jill Stein, and one of the jobs of the corporate media is to prop up the corporate parties. When someone doesn’t listen to you and you don’t have reason on your side, you often raise your voice.
The truth is, there are dozens of reasons not to support Trump or Clinton, ranging from the way Clinton issues dangerous military threats about Russia, Syria, and Iran; to the way Trump brashly scapegoats Muslims and immigrants; to the uncomfortable sense that the Trumps and Clintons are actually longtime friends and attend each other’s events and donate to each other. Idealists could probably list one hundred reasons to avoid these candidates.
I attended Jill Stein’s energetic event in Oakland last night, and instead of talking to the idealists, I asked the pragmatists there why they were supporting Stein.
Here is what I gathered, the four main reasons pragmatic progressives are supporting Jill Stein:
- The Electoral College. It actually doesn’t matter who you vote for if you live in any of the 41 states that aren’t contested for the presidency. Such is the system we use to elect the president that (more…)
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The Debate of Election 2016: To Surrender or to Protest
Outlook on the day of an illegitimate presidential debate.
The problem with accepting today’s debate as a legitimate democratic event is that to do so would be surrender. In fact, accepting this entire election, as currently run by the two corporate parties in collusion with the corporate media, would at this point be surrender.
The debates are illegitimate because three-quarters of Americans want more candidates in the debates, and Jill Stein and Gary Johnson were barred via disingenuous rules and flawed polls. There is no legitimate reason the debates should be run as the two older parties see fit, rather than how we the citizens see fit. Yet that’s what’s happening.
The debate will be illegitimate also because it seeks to force us to accept primaries that were a sham.
Those who followed the primaries closely know that the Clinton campaign and the DNC lied, cheated, and stole their way to the nomination. Several prominent media pundits do argue that the primary was fair, but the endless and ongoing leaks of internal emails continue to show that the primary was rigged. Now even the DNC itself, after insisting for months on its impartiality, is arguing in court that everyone knew all along that they, the DNC, favored Clinton.
Trump, on the other hand, employed the worst tactics of demagoguery — inciting violence, racism, jingoism, and actual political ignorance—to win the nomination on the Republican side. (more…)
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How Democrats and Republicans Seek to Bar Greens and Libertarians from the Presidential Debates
Millions of American voters will remember this 2016 election year as the year they left the two older political parties once and for all. After deeply problematic primaries, including epidemic fraud on the Democratic side, the two parties nominated the least-liked candidates in history. Never in modern politics has a candidate with either Hillary Clinton’s approval rating (-16) or Donald Trump’s approval rating (-18) won a nomination, let alone the White House. These two candidates are widely, historically disliked.
Meanwhile three-quarters of Americans want to see two other candidates in the presidential debates. You can’t find a lot of things that three in four Americans agree on, but polls show a stunning 76% of us want Dr. Jill Stein, nominee of the Green Party, and Gov. Gary Johnson, nominee of the Libertarian Party, to be included in the debates.
Not that this should be surprising. With our democracy fraying, corruption and election fraud on the rise, climate change encroaching on virtually every ecosystem, and income inequality at record levels, it’s a crucial juncture for the United States and for the planet. Citizens of all backgrounds long to hear a broad range of ideas before determining the optimal path forward.
With climate change a leading issue for many voters, the Green Party, which pushes for immediate action on climate change, should be heard. In light of revelations about domestic spying from whistleblowers like Edward Snowden, American citizens want personal liberty and privacy right now, and for this reason the Libertarian candidate should be heard as well. The two older parties inspire little trust on these 21st century issues.
Presidential campaigns are the only nationwide campaigns we have as a country. These political seasons are the most important avenue for large scale political exchange, inspiration, and expression. (more…)
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The Great Recognition of 2016: Nixon-level Corruption in the DNC Means It’s Time to Build a New Party
The Democratic Convention fiasco has triggered an exodus to the Green Party
Back at the end of July, as I was leaving home and traveling to the Democratic Convention in Philadelphia, I wasn’t yet certain whether the leaders of the Democratic Party — the Democratic National Committee — were simply incompetent or actually corrupt. As a writer, as a progressive, and as a citizen inspired by the Bernie Sanders campaign, I was interested to see the workings of the DNC up close.
I had already witnessed in 2016 the DNC allocate and count “superdelegates” prematurely, which favored the Clinton campaign. I had also seen tremendous irregularities and probable fraud in the primary elections, which also favored the Clinton campaign. In short, I knew the DNC wasn’t running a fair primary between Sanders and Clinton, but I wasn’t sure exactly how unfair it was, and whether it was random incompetence and peccadilloes, or whether it was concerted rigging and intentional corruption to install Hillary Clinton as the nominee.
The future of our democracy, our country, and our planet hang in the balance here in 2016, so I departed for the convention knowing that the decisions of the DNC and the superdelegates would be extremely important. (more…)
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Our Revolution Kickoff Tonight
Yes, I’ll be watching Bernie’s kickoff speech for #OurRevolution tonight. You can watch it streaming online or at one of over 2,000 watch parties around the country.
Below is a video to inspire us for tonight.
When I watch Bernie’s speech, I’ll be listening for these policy principles, which I believe we all must stand for as American human beings at this point:
- immediate transition to 100% renewable energy
- no fracking
- no TPP (world corporate supremacy ‘treaty’)
- fair elections with paper ballots and open source counting software
- racial justice, including community policing
- universal single-payer healthcare
- tuition-free public university and cancelling student debt
- an end to for-profit aggressive wars
- overturning Citizens United
Jill Stein stands for all of these things, so I will be pleased if he mentions her name.
Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump don’t stand for any of these things, so it will be disappointing if he mentions either of their names. Neither of these candidates should be anywhere near something called Our Revolution, as the peaceful revolution from its outset has been about a world not ruled by their corporate/fascist agendas.
The most important race happening right now is probably Tim Canova taking on Debbie Wasserman-Schultz in Florida. Many of us have been supporting Canova passionately. Certainly Bernie must mention Canova and call for us to help him displace the corrupt Wasserman-Schultz.
Here’s that video to inspire. Onward!
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While Publicly Seeking Unity, the DNC is Censoring a Convention and Silencing Dissent
Sanders delegates, volunteers, and supporters have felt marginalized.
The Democratic National Committee professes publicly that it longs for peace and unity between supporters of Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton. The DNC’s actions as organizers of the convention, however, have repeatedly had the opposite effect.
To begin, no one who wanted Bernie Sanders as the nominee was ever allowed near the microphone on stage. It is an open convention, regardless of the way it’s been covered in the corporate media; Hillary Clinton did not get the required 2,383 delegates required to win outright from pledged delegates. The superdelegates are casting the deciding votes this week. Bernie Sanders, although issuing an endorsement of Clinton earlier this month, hasn’t conceded the race nor released his delegates and so he could become the nominee.
Nevertheless, the entire first day of the convention — ostensibly the “Bernie Day” — featured no speakers who favored a Sanders nomination. Several one-time Sanders supporters who now favor Clinton were allowed to speak. (more…)
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Today It Begins — Democrats’ Last Chance to Ensure Victory by Nominating Bernie Sanders
Some might call it a long shot. Some might call it blasphemy. Some might call it the most brilliant and patriotic political maneuver in a generation.
Whatever one calls it, nominating Sen. Bernie Sanders remains a possibility at the Democratic Convention that starts today here in Philadelphia. Sanders provided an endorsement of Hillary Clinton a week ago in a show of party solidarity, but he has not conceded the race nor relinquished his delegates.
Thus this convention revolves around one critical question for superdelegates and members of the DNC: Which political path do they want their party to take today and in the coming decade?
Do they want their party to sweep to a landslide victory in November and add millions of diverse, enthusiastic new members who will carry the party to Democratic wins for a generation? Or do they want their party to run against the populism sweeping (more…)
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The Deeper Reason Many Intelligent Progressives and Independents Will Not Support Hillary Clinton
The “lesser-of-evils” argument might not work for independent voters this year.
For those who hope for swift unity in the Democratic Party, there are reasons to believe it won’t happen if Hillary Clinton is the nominee.
While there are serious policy differences between Clinton and Bernie Sanders, a deeper fault line must be acknowledged between their supporters.
Certainly the two candidates remain far apart on issues that matter to progressives and independents — fracking, the TPP, tuition-free public colleges, universal single-payer healthcare, racist policing, militarism in the Middle East — to name just a few. Indeed, based on policy and political strategy, many independents and Democrats see Clinton as more like a traditional Republican. Many even see it as indicative of privilege if one supports Clinton over Sanders, given the current state of the economy and the environment. Many intelligent progressives see the two candidates as representing different social classes.
Nevertheless, a debate about policy differences only partially explains the disconnect between Clinton (more…)
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