9/15 News Roundup & Open Thread

The Progressive Wing Posted on by

A GoFundMe campaign is underway for the vet who spoke up at Bernie’s town hall in Nevada the other day.

The donation link is here.

Its goal is $150,00 and I’ve been watching it steadily climb, small donation by small donation. Bobi Haley just gave in the most recent donation, of $5, and Linda Ganz, also $5, succinctly commented most recently:

No one should kill themselves because of medical bills.

It’s currently up to over $15,000. After hearing that man’s plea for help I hope that goal is met. Heartstrings pulled.

 

“Hearing his voice, that was really powerful. It was a wake-up call,” Weigel said. “I know he cares. He’s always cared about veterans.”

 

UPDATE:

People are posting pics too:

9/12 …And Then There Are Ten: DNC 2019 Debate #3 Live Blog

The Progressive Wing Posted on by

Tonight is the 3rd DNC sanctioned debate. Some basics (courtesy of NPR and NYT):

  • When & Where? 7-10 p.m. ET, Texas Southern University, Houston, TX

    The debate will begin at 8 p.m. Eastern (7 p.m. Central) and last until 11 p.m. Eastern, so the debate will be three hours long. It’s worth noting that the debate this month is estimated to last 30 minutes to an hour longer than the July debates.

  • What channel is it on? ABC and Univision (with Spanish translation); also via websites for Good Morning America and Five Thirty-eight.com, Hulu Live, Apple TV, Apple News, Amazon FireTV, The Roku Channel, YT, and Twitter. (Note: it’s all ABC sites, except for Univision).
  • Debate format? The debate format will be one minute and 15 seconds for direct responses to questions and 45 seconds for responses and rebuttals. Candidates will have the opportunity to deliver opening statements, but there will be no closing statements.
  • Who are the moderators? ABC’s George Stephanopoulos, David Muir, Linsey Davis and Univision’s Jorge Ramos
  • Who’s on the stage? Fmr VP Joe Biden, Sens. Cory Booker of New Jersey, Kamala Harris of California, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, as well as South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Obama Housing Secretary Julián Castro, former Rep. Beto O’Rourke of Texas and tech investor Andrew Yang.

(photo: NYT)

The media’s eyes are on Biden and Warren, who will share the center space. However, Andrew Yang promises something different:

Meantime, the horse race state polls continue, this one out of NH:

Any predictions about the other candidates and how they will get noticed? Will Bernie be ignored?

Please join us in the comments.

9/11

The Progressive Wing Posted on by

Some good articles on The Nation today related to 9/11.

How the US Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Forever War

In the 18 years since 9/11, war has become this country’s permanent condition, with no peaceful end in sight.

This September 11 marks the 18th year since hijackers seized four US airliners, plowing three of them into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon and the fourth into a field in southern Pennsylvania. The attacks killed nearly 3,000 people and deranged our national politics. In the fraught months that followed, US leaders declared one war after another, miring this country in conflicts from Central Asia to the Middle East. There is still no end in sight.

The longest of these conflicts—in fact, the longest war in US history—is the one that George W. Bush launched against the Taliban less than a month after 9/11. He called it “Operation Enduring Freedom” and claimed its mission was “to disrupt the use of Afghanistan as a terrorist base of operations and to attack the military capability of the Taliban regime.” He spoke of “freedom.” He trumpeted the “generosity” America would show the Afghan people. But many of us knew what this really was: a war of vengeance, waged against an impoverished country some 7,000 miles away, with no meaningful vision for peace.

But far too many people just went along with it.

Wars without end expand the prerogatives of the president and the budgets of the national security state. Presidents from both parties have repeatedly invoked the post-9/11 Authorization for Use of Military Force to dispatch troops across the globe. In today’s dollars, the Pentagon’s budget now exceeds its levels at the height of the Cold War.

Forever war is an affront to our Constitution. The founders, worried that the executive had an inherent propensity for war, gave the power to declare it to Congress, believing that this decision should be made only by the people’s representatives after debate and deliberation. Now, war is our permanent condition, and Congress has essentially abandoned its constitutional responsibilities.

Who will have the guts to change this “condition”? I can think of one person who might fit that bill.

 

9/10 News Roundup & Open Thread – Sanders Rallies 10,000+ In Denver, Greta Thunberg Headlines ‘Right to a Future’ Event in NYC & More

The Progressive Wing Posted on by

“Help me transform this country”: Bernie Sanders rallies thousands of supporters in downtown Denver

Thousands of people sojourned to Civic Center park early Monday night, where they loudly and proudly cheered on Bernie Sanders as the progressive presidential contender denounced insurance companies, the fossil fuel industry and America’s military industrial complex.

The rally had a rock concert atmosphere, with strumming guitarists, volunteers throwing T-shirts to a front row of superfans, and chants of “Bernie!” before, during and after. State Rep. Emily Sirota, a Denver Democrat whose husband is a Sanders speechwriter, introduced the candidate by saying, “To all the CEOs out there, hear us loud and clear: Your greed is coming to an end.”

The 78-year-old democratic socialist senator from Vermont, a darling of liberals young and old, made a loud return to Colorado, 11 months after he stumped for now-Gov. Jared Polis and U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse last October in Boulder and Fort Collins.

“I am here in Denver asking your support for more than just defeating Trump,” Sanders told the cheering crowd in a raspy, cracking voice. “I am here to ask you to help me transform this country and create an economy and government that works for all of us, not just the 1 percent.”

“Please don’t tell me that the United States cannot provide health care to all as a human right,” he said later in the night. “Don’t tell me we can’t make public colleges and universities free and cancel all student debt.”

For the Sanders faithful who poured into the park, Monday’s rally was an opportunity to cheer on a man they believe can bring about massive, institutional reforms, such as single-payer health care, a Green New Deal, a $15-per-hour minimum wage and a restructuring of the nation’s trade deals.

“I remember Bernie from the 1970s and I’ve always liked him a lot, because he stands for something,” said Kelly Duncan, who recently moved to Colorado, as she sold Sanders buttons and flags before the event.

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Colorado’s Democratic and unaffiliated voters will cast ballots March 3 in the Democratic presidential primary. Sanders easily won Colorado during the 2016 Democratic contest against Hillary Clinton, but the state used a caucus system then, which favored him and his dedicated supporters. Next year, Colorado returns to a primary system for the first time in two decades.

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9/9 News Roundup & Open Thread – Tailgating With Bernie: University of Iowa, Sanders’ Loteria Night With LULAC & More

The Progressive Wing Posted on by

Presidential Candidate Bernie Sanders Campaigns at ISU

Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders spent his 78th birthday campaigning across Iowa, making his first stop at Iowa State University.

Sanders called for the mobilization of voters under 35, saying in order to enact change, they must become politically involved. In 2018’s midterm elections, after historically low voter turnouts, the United States saw an increase in voters ages 18 through 29. One of Sanders’ goals is to keep that momentum through the 2020 elections.

“In America we have one of the lowest voter turnouts in any major country on earth,” said Sanders. “One of the reasons for that is that young people don’t vote in any way in the numbers that they should be voting.”

During his speech, the senator emphasized his platforms on medicare for all, free college tuition, and fighting climate change amongst other topics. Sanders called out people for calling his policies “crazy” and unachievable, stating variations of his policies already existed in several states and countries abroad. One of those policies being raising the minimum raise to $15 an hour.

“Here is the reality. If you make $15 an hour, you won’t be rich, but at least you can have a minimum standard of living,” said Sanders. “Four years ago I said we are going to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour, and you know what has happened since? Seven states have raised the minimum wage to $15 an hour and so has the House of Representatives.”

Sanders said similar changes have happened involving free college tuition with states and major cities such as Oregon, California, New York, Chicago, and Detroit, which all have enacted some form of free tuition program.

“There is not a question in my mind about whether, in the near future, all public colleges and universities will be tuition free. That’s going to happen. The only question is if whether or not you are going to stand up and fight to make that happen sooner rather than later,” said Sanders.

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Sanders will complete his “Tailgate Tour” of Iowa’s three state universities Monday at University of Northern Iowa.

More news/videos/tweets/etc. in the comments.