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magsview

Good luck Orl!
(good timing on the condo sale)

I look forward to hearing how you made out.

magsview

Oz’s belittling attempts don’t seem to be landing:

magsview

The City Of Philadelphia Could Decide The Pennsylvania Senate Race

PHILADELPHIA — When the Rev. Mark Tyler, pastor of a predominantly Black church and host of a drive-time radio show, spoke at Senate candidate John Fetterman’s campaign rally in northwest Philadelphia on Saturday, he addressed the elephant in the room: that Saturday’s event was Fetterman’s first rally in Pennsylvania’s largest city since he began his run for Senate in February 2021.

Earlier in the day, Tyler had heard someone ask why it had taken Fetterman, a Democrat, so long to hold a rally in the city, the pastor recalled to over 600 attendees assembled in a Mount Airy gymnasium.

“I said, ‘That’s ridiculous! Everybody knows that you save the best for last,’” Tyler quipped, drawing roars of approval from the racially diverse crowd.

“The stakes are always incredibly high,” Fetterman campaign manager Brendan McPhillips told HuffPost in a pre-rally interview. “Philly has to turn out at a high margin.”

Fetterman’s decision in June to hire McPhillips, a South Philadelphia resident who was President Joe Biden’s state director for Pennsylvania, was an early sign of the candidate’s eastward pivot following the Democratic primary.

McPhillips, in turn, prioritized bringing aboard Joe Pierce, a veteran Philadelphia Democratic strategist with close ties to Black elected officials and organized labor, as the campaign’s political director. Both men operate out of a second Philadelphia headquarters that the Pittsburgh-centered campaign opened following the primary.

Tyler’s participation was especially remarkable. He has gone from being a critic of Fetterman’s during the Senate primary to an ally, who also recorded an interview with Fetterman on his radio show this past Thursday.

I hope Fetterman does well in the debate!

Paul ADK

He’s going to be just fine.

jcitybone

Fetterman agrees

wi65

Multiple times, the women that are pissed about RvW can have the first kick(s)

LieparDestin

Take care orl!!

jcitybone

Take care orl

Here’s a good site for hurricane information. They haven’t come out with their daily update yet but the comments after each update have the latest info.

https://yaleclimateconnections.org/topic/eye-on-the-storm/

The NHC just moved landfall a little south of Tampa Bay to around Sarasota/Venice but looks like they have it coming in stronger still as a major hurricane..

jcitybone

Paul ADK

Yeah, it’s amazing what happens when courts order election districts to be drawn more reasonably.

Of course it hasn’t happened yet. If anyone can snatch defeat from the jaws of victory it’s a Democrat.

wi65

unfortunately they do it all to well…

jcitybone

Bernie on CBS this morning

jcitybone

Doubt he’s running but there’s no benefit to say that he’s definitely not.

https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/3662791-sanders-leaves-door-open-to-2024-white-house-run/

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on Monday said he hadn’t yet decided whether he will make another bid for the White House.

“That’s a big — you know, I haven’t made that decision,” Sanders said on “CBS Mornings.”

Sanders, an Independent who caucuses with Senate Democrats, mounted his first presidential campaign as a Democrat in the 2016 general election, ultimately losing the party’s nomination to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

He ran again in the 2020 election cycle but suspended his campaign before the primaries concluded, ceding the Democrats’ nomination to now-President Biden.

He said his priority now is traveling around the country to get “often young progressives” elected.

Asked what he thinks about a potential reelection bid for Biden, Sanders insisted “that’s his decision.”

He also responded to circulating concerns about the age of elected officials. Biden’s age has been a big factor in conversations about a possible 2024 bid, and recent polling has indicated many voters want to see age limits for politicians in power.

Watch live: Biden delivers remarks on lowering health care costs Watch live: White House news briefing with FEMA administrator

“Look, this is what I think. You can’t categorize everybody. You’re different than everybody, you know. We’re all different. We’ve got to look at the individual. But what I think we do, guys, is we look too much at race, at gender, at age. What does somebody stand for? What are their views? Do you agree with them?” Sanders said on CBS.

“And obviously you want people who are competent, capable, have the energy — I mean, my god, to be president of the United States requires an enormous amount of energy — but I would say, first of all, take a look at what people stand for. And we don’t do that enough. We’re too much into personality.”

Aint Supposed to Die A Natural Death
Aint Supposed to Die A Natural Death

Personally, my choice would be Bernie for president with Robert Reich for vice president. But of course people would say he’s too old and Reich is to short. Sadly, too wealthy and too corrupt is never an issue.

magsview

I would be just fine with that combo.

Obviously…I would love female candidates, and hopefully some of our progressive reps of the female persuasion will step up soon, but, for now, during the transition, we need champions for climate concerns who are not afraid to take on big oil (at the very least).

Benny

He did a good job deflecting the agism premise..and I’m glad Gayle King decided it wasn’t worth it to challenge him since he’s not likely to run.

jcitybone

Bernie on Seth Myers last night

wi65

He still looks more able/healthy than Byedone being 2 years older. He must have great genes as he doest look like the a typical 80 year old worn down by life…

magsview

Bernie seems to have some kind of inner power supply, a will, to keep trucking right along.

Benny

Seth Meyers knows how to bring out Bernie’s humor better than most talk show hosts.

Aint Supposed to Die A Natural Death
Aint Supposed to Die A Natural Death

I liked the show in the last campaign when he challenged Bernie to some hoops.

magsview

Ted Cruz booed by Texas crowd for saying more police needed to make schools safer

“Two weeks ago, I stood on the Senate floor and tried to pass legislation I’ve introduced that would double the number of police officers in school,” Cruz said, prompting boos. Some audience members also appeared to get up and leave. “If we want to keep our kids safe, and I desperately want to keep our kids safe, the most effective step we can do is to have police officers there to protect them who can intercept a mass murderer before he gets into the school and stop them.”

Some members of the audience also noted law enforcement’s failed response to the May 24 Robb Elementary School mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, one person shouting: “It didn’t happen.” A Texas House committee’s report showed that nearly 400 local, state and federal officers waited in the hallway or outside the building for 77 minutes before finally breaching the classrooms and killing the gunman. Footage released from the scene coincided with the findings, showing heavily armed police standing in the hall outside the classrooms as the gunman went on his rampage.

However, Cruz claimed that the Uvalde shooter was successful in getting into the school because there wasn’t a police officer on campus to stop him from entering through an open backdoor.

“Look, if you have a solution to stop the deranged evil murderers, I’d love to hear it,” Cruz said. My solution is to throw them in jail…Stop them before they commit these crimes. There are some we won’t know beforehand, and the single best step to stop them is to have armed officers on campus that can stop them before they kill our kids.”

In response to more shouting from the audience, Cruz continued: “But look, instead you guys can instead sing kumbaya with them and hope they’ll just stop, but what you’re proposing doesn’t work.” The crowd applauded when a person from the audience then yelled: “Eighteen-year-old boys don’t need an AR-15.”

https://www.chron.com/politics/article/Ted-Cruz-gun-reform-booed-17467268.php

Aint Supposed to Die A Natural Death
Aint Supposed to Die A Natural Death

I just received an email stating that William Rivers Pitt of Truthout has died at 51 years old. I’ve been a Truthout fan for years. I’m really saddened by this news. And a few weeks ago I got the news that comedian and producer David Arnold died at the age of 54. I didn’t know of David before then but I’ve been enjoying his YouTube videos, mostly about his family, since then. They said he died of natural causes. WTH is happening 😳???

magsview

Awwww, sad news 🙁

Truthout (and Common Dreams) helped me get through the GWB/Cheney years.

“(Will Pitt) left his job as a high school English teacher to tackle the horrors of the Bush era, writing with a pure, raging fire, dutifully cataloguing every injustice the Republicans of that epoch perpetrated. As the Bush regime ended, Will urged us not to lose our memory of those injustices, in an open letter to the former president: “We have tasted the soot and smelled the blood on the wind; we have seen how fragile our way of government is when placed in the hands of low men such as you, and because of that, you will be remembered for all time.”

Will was not a commentator for comment’s sake: He wanted his words to spur deeds. He urged readers to go beyond simply reading, no matter how small their actions, and he recognized that even seemingly small actions can save lives. “There is much to be done just within reach of your arm,” he was fond of saying, when speaking of the climate crisis. “Do that, and you’ll have one hell of a story, along with, perhaps, people left to hear the telling.”

Will wrote of how that great love hummed at the core of his being: “I came into this world a human tuning fork, humming with the tones surrounding me entirely against my will. I cannot stop it, and would not if given the chance. Mine is wonder, and awe, and I am overtaken by it, as if the air itself is transformed into high waves breaking on the beach. I drown daily, hourly, in minutes and in seconds, I drown in moments, and smile as I sink, because it is beautiful beyond words and space and time.” He contrasted that love with the remorseless darkness that, too, pervades the world. But, Will assured his readers, even in the face of horror and heartbreak, “You are not alone. Reach for the light, always. It is there. I know. I’ve seen.”

https://truthout.org/articles/william-rivers-pitt-dared-to-hope-for-our-future-lets-do-right-by-his-memory/

Aint Supposed to Die A Natural Death
Aint Supposed to Die A Natural Death

Very, very sad news. He helped me get thru the GWB/Cheney years as well. I’m holding back the (years) TEARS.

magsview

Hi Aint – thank you for introducing me to David Arnold (I don’t get around much) –

did you see his video called:

HOW WE WAKE OUR KIDS UP IN THE MORNING!

I would never have seen that if not for you – thank you

Aint Supposed to Die A Natural Death
Aint Supposed to Die A Natural Death

You’re welcome, mags. He, with Julie’s assistance, is so funny. My favorite though is one of his long videos, Daughters 4. Probably because I just love the Celine Dion song that he uses to express his love for his family.

BTW, how’d you do that? – Make the title of the video link to the youtube video?

jcitybone
Benny

Benny

Another ATM withdrawal by Ukraine.

wi65

Just another “Private little War” courtesy of the 2 MIC’s. Though on the surface the Russian military isnt the force that public here thought they were. Years of the red scare propaganda.I wonder what “condition” their nuke force is in if their Army is any indication?

Benny

Banks fined $1.8B for illegal app use

Eleven brokerages and banks, including Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, have been ordered by regulators to pay $1.8 billion in fines as a result of traders using unauthorized messaging apps that breached record-keeping rules. The Securities and Exchange Commission said that some supervisors, and the banks themselves, were aware staff were using unauthorized messaging apps rather than email for work-related communications — in some cases even encouraging the practice. The fines are larger than expected; the SEC typically only hands out such high fines in fraud cases, highlighting the regulator’s stringent approach to wrongdoing.

Benny

Good luck Orl! I hope it won’t be as bad as what’s forecasted at the moment.

Benny


Abortion funds have been out of a job since June. Will a federal judge put them back in action?

Story photo for Frozen since June, Texas abortion funds seek court order to resume their work
Frozen since June, Texas abortion funds seek court order to resume their work
Texas abortion funds want to help people seeking the procedure in states where it’s still legal. But right now, they’re not helping anyone.

That’s because state officials have threatened legal action against the groups, pointing to an old Texas statute that makes it illegal to “(furnish) the means for procuring an abortion.” The threats are debilitating, the activists argue — and also unconstitutional.

Leaders of the state’s most prominent abortion funds told a federal judge yesterday that charitable donations are protected by the First Amendment, and they should be allowed to continue providing aid to pregnant Texans.

The groups provide funding for travel, lodging, meals, child care and other expenses incurred while a person seeks an abortion.

jcitybone

jcitybone

https://www.thenation.com/article/world/jair-bolsonaro-brazil-coup/

Sanders, Raskin Want Congress to Get Serious About Averting a Coup in Brazil

Polls from Brazil show that President Jair Bolsonaro, the Donald Trump–like authoritarian who has run the country disastrously since his election in 2018, is trailing far behind his leftist challenger, former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, in the run-up to the first round of voting on Sunday. But Bolsonaro is claiming that if he doesn’t win by a landslide, it will be because “something abnormal” happened with the voting process—echoing Trump’s false narrative from before he lost the 2020 election in the United States.

“Only God will remove me [from power],” said Bolsonaro, who launched his reelection bid with an announcement that, “The army is on our side. It’s an army that doesn’t accept corruption, doesn’t accept fraud.”

That’s an ominous signal for a country that has experienced military coups in the past. So, too, is the rallying behind Bolsonaro by international right-wing forces that have shown disdain for democracy. Notably, Trump has given his “complete and total endorsement” to the Brazilian president who the former US president celebrates as the “Tropical Trump.”

Bolsonaro’s record of attacking democratic institutions, and his incendiary language during the current campaign, has members of Congress who actually care about democracy justifiably concerned. They know that response of Bolsonaro and his allies to an election defeat could be even more dangerous and destructive than the deadly January 6, 2021, insurrection that Trump initiated.

Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders has been raising the alarm for months, arguing that the Senate should pass a resolution that would take a stand for democracy and “make it absolutely clear that [the US government] will not support any government that comes to power in Brazil through undemocratic means.”

Reuters reported recently that US diplomats have assured Lula that Washington will quickly recognize the winner of the election, “seeking to avert any attempt to contest a legitimate result or sow chaos after the vote.” But Sanders and a number of other Democrats in the Senate and House want Congress to back that up with a strong message in advance of the election. That’s the point of the resolution, says Sanders, who argues, “It would be unacceptable for the United States to recognize a government that came to power undemocratically, and it would send a horrific message to the entire world.”

Virginia Senator Tim Kaine, the 2016 Democratic vice presidential nominee who currently chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, agrees. Said Kaine, “The United States and Brazil are two of the largest democracies in the Western Hemisphere. At a time when democracy is under attack in Brazil, America, and in countries around the world, we have a duty to stand up for peoples’ fundamental right to shape their futures by having a voice in their government, without fear of political violence or retribution. This resolution sends a powerful message that Congress is committed to linking arms with the people of Brazil in [defense of democracy] and that we will not be silent in the face of any attempts to undermine Brazil’s electoral system.”

A number of prominent Democrats have also rallied behind the resolution, including Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), as well as Representatives Jamie Raskin of Maryland, Raúl M. Grijalva of Arizona, and Hank Johnson of Georgia. That’s not surprising, as the resolution is anything but radical. It simply calls on the US government to “speak out against efforts to incite political violence and undermine the electoral process in Brazil”; “to immediately recognize the outcome of the election in Brazil, if that election is determined by international observers and organizations to have been free and fair”; and “to make unequivocally clear that the United States considers bilateral United States assistance to Brazil to be predicated on the historic and ongoing commitment of the government and people of Brazil to democratic principles and human rights.”

Unfortunately, Republicans are erecting roadblocks to the measure. “We’ve not been able to get one Republican member of the Senate to make it clear that there must be free and fair elections in Brazil,” said Sanders, who told The Washington Post last week that he suspected “my Republican colleagues do not want to antagonize Trump.”

Sanders added, “That tells us a little bit about the state of democracy in this country and the Republican Party.”

It does.

Republicans used to make a big deal about political differences ending at the nation’s borders. But this is no longer the Republican Party of the past, which for better or worse embraced bipartisan diplomacy. It is the Republican Party of Donald Trump. And Trump champions Bolsonaro as “a wonderful man” who, the former US president says, called him more than any other world leader when both men were in office.

That’s what Trump says.

But the leader of the House team that prosecuted the former president for his coup attempt says Congress needs to take a stand on the side of democracy in Brazil.

“As the people of Brazil prepare to vote this fall, right-wing forces are trying to undermine the integrity of the electoral system and poison the process with authoritarian rhetoric that echoes the violent incitement we heard in America before January 6,” says Raskin. “This bicameral resolution insists that the upcoming elections in Brazil be free and fair, transparent and peaceful. Democracy is under attack around the world, and we must vigorously defend it everywhere against autocracy, insurrection and disinformation.”