As it becomes clear that the eventual Democratic nominee will run on Medicare For All, we can expect the policy to be attacked by the concentrated interests who benefit from our current, broken system. The NYT is right there to lend a hand, with a news (not opinion) piece carrying a scary title: Medicare for All Would Abolish Private Insurance. ‘There’s No Precedent in American History.’ Such a change would shake the entire health care system, which makes up a fifth of the United States economy, as hospitals, doctors, nursing homes and pharmaceutical companies would have to adapt to a new set of rules. …Continue reading →
On April 19, 1995, a man drove a truck full of explosives into Oklahoma City. He parked the truck at the Alfred F. Murrah Federal building. At 9:02am, the truck-bomb exploded. Among the 168 dead were 19 children, including 15 who had been in a day-care center housed in the building. The truck had been parked directly below the center. The attack was perpetrated by a domestic terrorist. I think most of us know that, but perhaps we don’t fully appreciate, just how domestic, just how American, this strain of terrorism was. And is. It was later revealed that the perpetrator was …Continue reading →
Full disclosure, I was an undergraduate student at NYU, where I very occasionally wrote for the student newspaper. In so many ways, this particular kerfuffle is happening in my backyard. On Friday, a vigil for the Christchurch victims was held at New York University. Rose Asaf is a senior at NYU. She is an Israeli-American Jewish woman, and she co-founded the Jewish Voice for Peace chapter at NYU. Rose’s best friend is Leen Dweik, also a senior at NYU. She is a Muslim Palestinian woman whose main organizing centers on Palestine solidarity efforts. When Chelsea Clinton arrived, Rose tweeted the video below, …Continue reading →
We are constantly told that this country is a meritocracy. Actress Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin are among dozens charged in a nationwide college entrance exam scandal, according to court documents filed in Boston on Tuesday. Several NCAA D-1 college coaches have also been charged in the scandal. Documents show those indicted allegedly paid millions in bribes to get their children into elite colleges. Those colleges include Yale, Stanford and the University of Southern California. Loughlin and husband, Mossimo Giannulli, are accused of paying $500,000 to USC in exchange for having their two daughters designated as recruits to the college’s …Continue reading →
Rep. Eliot Engel (NY-16) is the Democratic chair of the Foreign Relations Committee. As such, he is the Democrat with the most power over foreign policy since the Senate and White House are controlled by Republicans. Just a week ago, he spent significant chunks of his time working to pass another resolution aimed squarely at Rep. Ilhan Omar. Right wing media and Trump claimed Rep. Omar’s remark at the DC coffeehouse was anti-semitic or a “dual loyalty” allegation. Their hypocrisy on this issue was staggering, and misinformed, but Rep. Engel decided he would jump right into it without review, and condemned Rep. Omar’s remarks. Which …Continue reading →
Let us, for a moment, consider the feelings of our Israeli brothers and sisters. When a Jewish-Israeli woman remembers the shoah, can you understand her feeling? She knows that her ancestors were singled out for extermination with industrial, inhuman precision. She remembers that a society her ancestors had inhabited for centuries, one whose language, science and culture they helped enrich immeasurably, turned on them. It turned on those who had assimilated, seeking to make it their own. And it turned on those who had chosen to faithfully and visibly preserve the old ways. It turned on the young, on the old, on the infirm, …Continue reading →
Over the past few days, we have discussed how the wrong words used in service of advocacy for Palestinian rights may cause offense to some Jewish-Americans. It is right and proper to have this discussion. In the pursuit of a better world, in our search for the right path to a better foreign policy, we should not inadvertently cause harm to our allies and innocents. Nor should we further any form of bigotry. Let’s also stop for a moment and consider the feelings of Palestinians, Palestinian-Americans and their allies. They have been largely absent from most commentator’s consideration during this week’s debate. By conjunction, let …Continue reading →
For now, House leaders have backed off from the presenting a resolution aimed at rebuking, or censuring Rep. Ilhan Omar. Earlier in the day, Democrats, including some prominent African-Americans, confronted Speaker Nancy Pelosi at a testy closed-door meeting, demanding to know why they were being pushed to pass the resolution when bigoted comments by Republicans have gone unchallenged. Representative Ayanna Pressley, Democrat of Massachusetts, said she told leadership that there must be “equity in our outrage,” noting that Ms. Omar, a Minnesotan and one of the first two Muslim women elected to Congress, was being attacked for her faith. — www.nytimes.com/… …Continue reading →
If it were really about anti-semitism, the House would be censuring Rep. Jim Jordan for this blatant smear: C’mon @RepJerryNadler—at least pretend to be serious about fact finding. Nadler feeling the heat big time. Jumps to Tom $teyer’s conclusion—impeaching our President—before first document request. What a Kangaroo court. https://t.co/BpNIzdON1e — Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) March 3, 2019 Rep. Nadler is Jewish, and so is Tom Steyer. Notice the $? If it was about anti-semitism, the House would have censured Dan Quayle, who had a fondness for the 80s equivalent of “globalist”. Vice-President Dan Quayle made his contribution with his now-infamous frontal …Continue reading →
Who you think about when you think about domestic policy affects your priorities and the conclusions you reach. We know who Republicans are thinking of, their country club buddies and billionaire masters. For other politicians, it’s people like the fictional “Bailey family” of Long Island, who are relatively well-off and seem to obsessively worry about the price of gas. I have a different point of view. I am completely oblivious to the concerns of the billionaire and country club set, they can take care of themselves and will always find a way to come out on top. I am a little more concerned about the Baileys as …Continue reading →
Senate Resolution 59 is the Green New Deal. It currently has 11 Senate co-sponsors (that’s roughly 25% of the Democratic Senate Caucus). The co-sponsors include Sen. Cory Booker, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, Sen. Kamal Harris, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Sen. Bernie Sanders and Sen. Elizabeth Warren. Every single senator running for President is co-sponsoring this legislation. More importantly, the measure is overwhelmingly popular among voters. And when I say overwhelmingly, I’m not kidding: More than 80 percent of registered voters support the Green New Deal proposal being pushed by progressional Democratic lawmakers, a new poll found. The survey conducted by the Yale Program on Climate Communication and the George Mason University Center for …Continue reading →
The Sanders Institute’s “The Gathering” is underway. Jimmy and Roslyn Carter sent their best wishes to the group. Sister Turner is up on deck first.
Join our Facebook live stream today, Friday, Nov. 30th for the inaugural Sanders Institute Gathering. Today we will discuss bold progressive ideas on healthcare, the climate crisis and criminal injustice, concluding with an international roundtable. #sandersinstitutegathering18pic.twitter.com/7SYj9Fq9g4
In the past day or so on twitter, there are tweets about what progressives want and especially, what Pelosi must do to garner their support if she wants to regain the Speakership in Congress.
Winnie from People for Bernie started the wish list this way:
David Sirota went outside the box with this thought:
I'm serious here — Democrats could right now nominate @BetoORourke or @StaceyAbrams for Speaker of the House. They have legislative experience, they are from red states, and they have serious national followings. I know it may seem far-fetched, but why would that be a bad idea? https://t.co/0hkUhB5FA2
I’m making this thread separate…something we can chew, nibble, etc.
Personally, I like Sirota’s idea, but given that’s unlikely, I know one thing right away I want: amend the 2017 tax law. I want SALT (state & local taxes) to be completely tax deductible again. Additionally, raise the minimum wage and MFA. Long-game: to add more members to the House to properly represent the American people. The last revision of the numbers in the House was 1911.
Tonight we find out how much of a check the American people want to have on our Executive Branch. Or put it another way, how many of the 1000 legislative seats will the Dems gain from the last 10 years of losses? Will voters feel comfortable with the economy and overlook Trump? Will Trump’s divisiveness prevail and turn out his base?
Will we see our first women Native American Congressional Reps? First AA governor of FL and first female gov of GA? How well will the OR candidates perform in this cycle?
Of course, we hope there are no machine irregularities, but it’s anticipated that some will occur. And election lawyers will be on hand just in case.
In the Senate, Democrats are defending 26 seats while Republicans are only defending nine.
(those are predictions if they are filled in with red or blue, gold signifies toss-up)
In the gubernatorial races, there are 33 races, in which Dems could possibly pick up 9 of them.
(those are predictions if they are filled in with red or blue, gold signifies toss-up)
First polls close at 6ET in Indiana, VT and KY. Most in the MSM are saying to watch the 6th district in KY, but the bellwethers will be in VA 4 GOP races and FL 4 GOP races when the polls close at 7 ET.
Larry Sabato of Crystal Ball expects Dem pick-ups in the gubernatorial races, including Kansas.
Big races:
TX Sen – Beto vs Cruz
NV Sen – Rosen vs Heller
FL Sen – Sick Rott vs Nelson
AZ Sen – McSally vs Sinema
CA Sen – DeLeon vs Feinstein
MO Sen – Hawley vs McCaskill
TN Sen – Breesan vs Blackburn
VT Sen – Sanders vs a pack of Indies (well, not a big race, but it is Bernie’s re-up)
FL Gov – DeSantis vs Gillum
GA Gov – Kemp vs Abrams
MD Gov – Jealous vs Hogan
WI Gov – Evers vs Walker
IL Gov – Pritzker vs Rauner
AZ Gov – Garcia vs Ducey
ID Gov – Jordan vs Little
MI Gov – Whitmer vs Schulette
IA Gov – Hubbell vs Reynolds
NWIN followed Native artist the Dream Warriors (Frank Waln, Tall Paul, Lyla June, Tanaya Winder and Mic Jordan) as they brought the “Heal It” tour to Oklahoma, visting six Indigenous communities in three days. Watch as the Dream Warriors provide healing to these coummunites with music, storytelling and heartwork:
