Category Archives: Regional

Ro Khanna’s amendment voted down – see how your rep(s) voted

The Progressive Wing Posted on by

Go here to see the vote. Unfortunately, it looks like nine Democrats also “blocked” Ro’s amendment, but I’m glad that my Rep. Joe Courtney voted with Ro. Tulsi Gabbard and Beto O’Rourke also voted with Ro.

For your reference, here is a list of all of the House Representatives, sorted by name.

Here is a list of off of the Members of the Armed Services Committee, sorted by party.

We need to do something to help Yemen. I very much appreciate Rep. Ro Khanna’s efforts on Yemen’s behalf.

11/29 News Roundup – Bernie Debuts A ‘Marshall Plan’ For Puerto Rico, Sanders Clashes With Cruz On Taxes & More

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Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren Propose $146 Billion “Marshall Plan” for Puerto Rico

Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren on Tuesday unveiled a massive $146 billion “Marshall plan” for Puerto Rico with several other senators. The plan includes immediate relief for the island’s cash-strapped government, billions more for economic development and renewable energy and Medicaid and Medicare parity, a key priority for the island.

“More than two months after Hurricanes Irma and Maria struck Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, half of the people there—American citizens all—still have no electricity,” Sanders said at a press conference Tuesday morning.

“Many are struggling to get clean drinking water, and more than 100,000 people have left Puerto Rico alone. This is not acceptable, and we are here today to tell the people of Puerto Rico and tell the people of the Virgin Islands that they are not forgotten, they are not alone, and that we intend to do everything possible to rebuild those beautiful islands.”

The far-reaching legislation would grant $62 billion to the governments of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, $27 billion to renovate infrastructure, and $13 billion in additional FEMA funding to rebuild the electric grid “with more modern, resilient technologies,” instead of the Stafford Act’s requirements that the grid be restored to its condition before the storms, according to a summary of the bill from Sanders’s office.

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“The bill that Senator Sanders has introduced in the United States Congress is a comprehensive plan that provides the blueprint for the transformation of Puerto Rico,” Carmen Yulín Cruz, mayor of San Juan, Puerto Rico, said in a statement. “Senator Sanders also shows a great deal of respect and faith in us when claiming that the recovery or Puerto Rico must be in Puerto Rican hands.”

More news/video/etc. in the comments, including:

*Jealous names Susan Turnbull, a former vice chair of the DNC, as his running mate
*FEMA forced to cancel $30 million contract to another newly formed two-man firm
*Nina Turner On 2020 and the Fight Within the Democratic Party
*In ‘Blow to American Consumers,’ Trump-Appointed Judge Sides With Trump on CFPB
*Study Shows Corporate Cable Networks Largely Ignoring FCC Plan to Kill Net Neutrality
*Pipeline updates, Water Protector News & More

(Still fighting a bug in the comments, so if they do not load try clicking the ‘sort by newest/oldest’ option and they should pop-up)

Bernie to visit University of Toronto on Oct. 29 – tickets sell out in the blink of an eye!

The Progressive Wing Posted on by

In support of Bernie, who takes regular beatings from so-called liberal Democrats, but keeps right at it, and to cheer myself up a bit, I’m posting a little story today about a visit he has planned to head up north. US Senator and 2016 presidential candidate Bernie Sanders will speak about health care on October 29 at Convocation Hall in an event titled “What the U.S. Can Learn From Canadian Health Care.” Tickets for the event became available at 10am this morning and ‘sold out’ (they were free) in seconds. The comments under one story about the event were almost entirely … Continue reading →

TPW News Roundup – Sanders To View Relief Efforts In Puerto Rico Instead of Women’s Convention Appearance, The GOP’s ‘Horrific’ Tax Vote & More

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Bernie Sanders will not attend the women’s convention, but instead will travel to hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), whose selection as a major speaker at the upcoming Women’s Convention set off a heated debate among feminists, said he won’t attend the event, but will instead visit Puerto Rico, which is still struggling to recover from the extensive damage left by back-to-back hurricanes.

In a statement issued by his office Thursday, Sanders said: “I want to apologize to the organizers of the Women’s Convention for not being able to attend your conference next Friday in Detroit. Given the emergency situation in Puerto Rico, I will be traveling there to visit with San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz and other officials to determine the best way forward to deal with the devastation the island is experiencing. The U.S. Congress cannot turn its back on the millions of people in Puerto Rico who, four weeks after the hurricane, are still without electricity, food and running water.

The convention, scheduled for Oct. 27-29, is the first major event since last January’s Women’s March, in which millions of women across the country took to the streets to protest the election of President Trump, and vowed to fight policies that they said would hurt women and families, including repealing the Affordable Care Act, cracking down on undocumented immigrants and curbing abortion rights.

When organizers announced last week that Sanders would speak on the opening day of the convention, some women criticized the choice. Some were still angry at Sanders, who they say ran a negative primary campaign against Democrat Hillary Clinton in her bid to become the first woman to win a major party presidential nomination. Others simply argued that it was an insult for a man to be the opening speaker at a national gathering of women.

Organizers noted that Sanders was one of only two male speakers at the gathering and that he was not the headliner. That honor went to Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), whose unrelenting criticism of the president has made her the most popular figure of the opposition to the Trump administration.

Via twitter from@WomensMarch:

I’d of course love to hear your thoughts and reactions in the comments section where I’ll also have more of the days news, including:

*”People Are Dying’ But Trump Gives Himself Perfect ’10’ for Puerto Rico Response”
*Who Profits from the Opioid Crisis? Meet the Secretive Sackler Family Making Billions from OxyContin
*’Ecological Armageddon’: Warnings From Scientists as Flying Insects Disappear
*Concern of Progressive Purge as Bernie Wing ‘Left in the Cold’ at DNC
*A month after Stockley verdict, demonstrators stay in the streets
*Water Protector News, Pipeline Updates & More

10/6 News Roundup – Sanders to Trump: End Insulting Tweets and Start Rebuilding Puerto Rico & More

The Progressive Wing Posted on by

Happy Friday friends!

Starting the day off with Sanders to Trump: End Insulting Tweets and Start Rebuilding Puerto Rico:

In an op-ed directed at President Donald Trump on Thursday, Sen. Bernie Sanders called on the president to quit with the insulting tweets and start doing a better job to help rebuild the storm-ravaged and economically-devastated island of Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory that’s home to millions of American citizens.

In the guest column for the local El Nueva Dia newspaper—titled “Trump: Less Tweets, More Help”—Sanders declares that the people of Puerto Rico “are entitled to the same kind of response as the people of Texas, Florida, Vermont and other regions of the country that have been hit hard by natural disasters. President Donald Trump should be focusing his energies on helping to rebuild Puerto Rico, not attacking San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz.”

Sanders excoriates the president—who during his visit to the island earlier this week said the disaster was throwing the federal “budget out of whack” and “costing a lot of money”—for being so grossly insensitive to the dire situation in Puerto Rico while at home pushing a budget that adds tens of billions of dollars to already bloated Pentagon spending and proposing massive giveaways in tax cuts to the nation’s wealthiest individuals and corporations.

“When Congress just passed an almost $700 billion defense bill and is now debating a Republican proposal to give up to $5 trillion in tax cuts to the wealthy and large corporations,” writes Sanders, “we have the resources to provide the help to Puerto Rico that we always do when states and communities are hard hit by hurricanes.”

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As a growing chorus of renewable energy experts and climate advocates are urging, Sanders also called for the island to be built back with a strict focus on green technologies that make more sense for the island’s long-term economic health and resilience.

“As an island with extraordinary solar and wind capabilities, a new distributed energy system must be built which is based on sustainable energy, not expensive fossil fuel,” Sanders argues. “Not only will this provide less expensive electricity, but it will enable Puerto Rico to better withstand future natural disasters.”

More news, videos, etc. in the comments, including:

*Sanders blasts proposed Medicare cuts: These ‘will kill people’
*‘We’re walking down a dark path’: Biden hammers Trump in scathing speech
*House GOP Passes Budget That ‘Should Not Be Allowed in a Humane Society’
*What I Saw in Puerto Rico by Tom Perez
*Barred From Testifying for ‘Valve Turners,’ Renowned Climate Scientist Speaks Out
*New wave of protest leaders emerged after Ferguson
+ Water Protector news, pipeline updates, candidate news and more!

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Will Monday’s Healthcare Debate Help ACA? Will it help kill Medicare For All?

The Progressive Wing Posted on by

This morning I awoke to the news that Bernie Sanders and Amy Klobuchar are going to debate Lindsey Graham and Bill Cassidy about healthcare on CNN this Monday evening. My first reaction was along the lines of Sheri’s: Can't wait to watch!? #MedicareForAll https://t.co/M9rhYHv0eb — Sheri ◀#RESIST▶ (@Sher_Bear64) September 22, 2017 Yay, I thought to myself. Let’s get it all in the open. Fight it out for all to see. Well, it would seem that wasn’t everyone’s reaction: Ex-Obama spokesman: Sanders debate with GOP on health care not a good idea Former President Obama’s National Security Council spokesman said Thursday … Continue reading →

9/21 News Roundup – Bernie Heads To California, Medicare For All’s Strong Support & More

The Progressive Wing Posted on by

Good morning friends. I’ve been pretty much out of commission since yesterday but wanted to at least put some content up gradually through the day as I am able. There is plenty of Bernie news, single payer articles, a pretty good selection of youtube vids (if I had to say so myself), and of course the latest water protector/pipeline actions.

Starting the day off though with something a little different. Well if you think about it, its not too very different at all. As the pattern goes: ARTICLE CLAIMS RUSSIA HACKED U.S. > MAJOR MEDIA COVERAGE > Story slowly dies > Turns out Russia didnt do anything > no/to few corrections issued. MOA actually wrote about this not too very long ago in a post titled The Undeniable Pattern Of Russian Hacking>The Undeniable Pattern of Russian Hacking.

Russian hack attempt on Dallas County computers never happened.

Earlier this summer, Dallas gained national attention when county officials claimed Russians tried to hack their voter registration rolls.

Tried but failed.

It was national news when the story broke last June. It was news again when the story re-surfaced on a network newscast just days ago. But emails obtained by WFAA indicate that the information coming from Dallas County officials and circulating around the country was wrong.

The headlines stem from an FBI visit to Dallas County officials in the fall of 2016, prior to the November presidential election.

Agents armed with a list of suspected Russian hackers that may have tried to penetrate Dallas County voter rolls.

For months, there was no word from county officials as to what became of that information, until this past June.

Then, suddenly, the story of a Russian hack attempt was confirmed to the entire North Texas media.

The confirmation was coming from Dallas County elections administrator Toni-Pippins Poole. Pippins-Poole told the news media that her IT department confirmed 17 attempts by Russians to hack into the Dallas County voter rolls.

It quickly became national news then and again just days ago on MSNBC.

But WFAA has obtained internal Dallas County emails indicating the Russian hack attempt likely never happened.

Now everything else will be in the comments. Would love to hear your opinions on this story though. First person to find a MSNBC retraction wins bonus mojo!

Also in this post:

*Where do Texas Democrats Stand on Single-Payer Health Care?
*Bernie Sanders Sets His Sights On The Foreign Policy Establishment
*How Bernie Sanders is cultivating California for 2020
*As Warren and Sanders Jockey for Support, One Takes a Road More Traveled
*Gun Stocks Surge as Trump Pushes to Ease Export Regulations for Assault Weapons
*Ohio increases fines to $2.3M against pipeline developer
*More

Wab Kinew Elected New Leader Of Manitoba NDP

The Progressive Wing Posted on by

Rookie politician, Indigenous rights activist and author Wab Kinew was elected leader of the Manitoba NDP Saturday, and vowed to rebuild the opposition party as he continues to face questions about his troubled past.

Party members elected Kinew, 35, over veteran cabinet minister Steve Ashton by almost a 3-1 margin — 728 to 253.

“It’s a new day for the NDP and it’s a new day for Manitoba,” Kinew declared to cheers following the vote. “This is a tremendous honour.”

“I will take this role tremendously seriously and conduct myself with the greatest honour, integrity and honesty.”

More beyond the link, including Kinew’s victory speech.

Continue reading →

Roza Calderon’s Campaign For Congress (CA-04)

The Progressive Wing Posted on by

Meet Roza Calderon, the Justice Democrat backed candidate for California’s 4th district.

As a geoscientist, activist, and single mother, Roza Calderon knows that we need leaders who represent real people’s needs over party interests. That means combating climate change, fighting for Medicare for All, and building an inclusive economy – not because it’s popular, because it’s the right thing to do for California’s 4th District.

Raised in the “All-American City” of Lincoln, CA, she planted her roots and is raising her family in Congressional District 4. Roza values hard work and understands the importance of restoring the faith in the American Dream. She is dedicated to standing up for working, blue-collar families to secure their livelihoods. The American Dream is rooted in the ideas that every child deserves equal opportunity to excel and that individuals who work hard should have a fair shot to get ahead, no matter where they started in life.

​We are a nation united by civic values. These beliefs help build our national character and our economy. When we provide equal opportunity for all, our economy does better for everyone. Roza will fight for every Californian and American to make sure the American Dream is there for the next generation and many more to come.

What Roza Will Fight For:

Invest in rural America & rebuild American industry
◦Offer tuition-free education to qualified students at all public colleges & trade schools
◦Strengthen unions & worker’s rights
◦Raise the minimum wage to $15/hour o Repair our country’s crumbling infrastructure
◦Create millions of new high-wage jobs in high-value industries like renewable energy & tech

Healthcare
*Single-payer healthcare through Medicare for all
◦Fight to protect veteran’s benefits
◦Stop insurance & big pharmaceuticals from controlling and destroying lives
◦Increase the number of doctors, clinics, and hospitals o Stop the American medical association(AMA) from creating doctor shortages for profit

Fight for American families
*Get money out of politics to ensure representation – your vote should count!
◦Fight for equity in our K-12 system – it’s our nation’s foundation
◦Support working families & fight to increase our vanishing middle class to Eliminate regulations that favor of big business over small businesses
◦Cut taxes for middle and lower income Americans
◦Defend our natural resources & protect our environment – stop mismanagement that risks lives o Fight for net neutrality & end the digital divide

Immigration◦
*Secure roadmap to citizenship
◦Implement an employment verification system
◦Reduce immigration backlog & secure our borders

Human Rights◦
◦Be a champion for LBGTQ, BLM, Women’s Rights, and every person who is disenfranchised
◦Defend free speech and expression
◦Combat homelessness
◦Promote diplomacy not war

Roza On Facebook Roza On Twitter
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Dr. Kim Schrier’s Campaign For Congress (WA-08)

The Progressive Wing Posted on by

From: Dr. Kim Schrier For Congress:

Send me to Congress and I will stand up for the families in Washington’s 8th Congressional District. These are the families I’ve had the pleasure of serving for the past 16 years as a pediatrician in Issaquah, and I know how to listen. I will look at the issues facing our district as a scientist, doctor, and parent, with an eye towards making sure that the patients I take care of today have access to great, affordable healthcare, clean air and water, an excellent public education, and a shot at the American Dream. I am not a slick career politician. I am a pediatrician, a wife, and a mom who thinks it is time to bring some basic common sense to Congress.

I am the daughter of an elementary school teacher and an aerospace engineer. I have been a pediatrician in Issaquah for 16 years, and I am committed to my community. Since the age of 16 when I was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, I have understood what it means to worry about health and health insurance. I believe that healthcare is a right, not a privilege. My family and friends span the political spectrum, and I’ve spent my life bridging divides. I have been fortunate to benefit from excellent public primary and secondary education, including my degrees in Astrophysics and medicine. I met my husband, David, at our 10-year high school reunion, and we teach our 8-year-old son, Sam, how important it is to stand up for things that matter and pursue a life of purpose.

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Dr. Mai Khanh Tran’s Campaign For Congress (CA-39)

The Progressive Wing Posted on by

Dr. Tran has a big fight ahead of her against not only Ed Royce, but self-financed Insurance executive (but single-payer advocate with a knack for making great ads) Andy Thorburn but she certainly has the resume and the message to win this race.

Here is an MSNBC interview about Tran:

From: Doc Tran 2018

Congressman Royce has turned his back on us, and his vote for Trumpcare is a giveaway to big insurance companies and the wealthy at the expense of families struggling to afford basic care.

As a physician I am saddened by Ed Royce’s callousness, as a mom I am hurt, and as a citizen I am angry. Americans deserve better and I want to do something about it.

In addition to the forty or so times he’s voted to boot tens of thousands of his own constituents off affordable health coverage, he recently voted to wipe away guaranteed protections for those with pre-existing conditions – and to put a massive new tax burden on Californians who would have to pick up the bill.

Even if the State of California does find a way to create and afford new so-called high risk insurance pools, the premiums for those with pre-existing conditions will absolutely skyrocket.

There is simply no way many of the families that I serve as a pediatrician will keep their insurance coverage.
Congressman Royce is not just wrong on healthcare. He’s voted with Donald Trump nearly 96 percent of the time.

He has taken millions of dollars from corporate special interests and has a failing record on safeguarding our environment from climate change and pollution.
He’s failed us on women’s rights, human rights and common sense gun safety too.

Congressman Royce cannot justify earning an A rating from the NRA, especially considering the devastating gun violence we’ve experienced in San Bernardino, Riverside and throughout our State and Country.

Ed Royce’s votes to slash funding for our K-12 public schools, colleges and universities strip too many kids of the same opportunities that allowed me and millions of others to strive toward our American Dream.

Almost none of Congressman Royce’s stances on the issues make sense for Southern California. It’s not who we are and I’m ready to force him into a real debate on these critical issues.
The voices of working and middle class communities who live across California’s 39th district have been missing in Washington and they need a strong voice now more than ever. Our campaign will be about them.

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Could the world’s largest democracies descend into sectarian violence?

The Progressive Wing Posted on by

Over a year ago, I wrote about how Trump reminds me of a politician I know from my youth, Bal Thackeray: Bal Thackeray adopted a hodge-podge of ideological positions. His party controlled trade unions while he openly admired strongmen and dictators (including Hitler). The one constant throughout his career was the use of ethnic and religious divisions. His real talent was tapping into economic discontent, frustration and anger at corruption. He rose to prominence by fomenting resentment towards “immigrants” from other states in India. Bombay had been a melting pot for decades, attracting people from all over India who spoke a … Continue reading →

As Trump ponders a coup in Venezuela, report says 165 military coups since ’70 involved DoD trainees

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Calls for a US backed military coup in Venezuela have emanated from the Trump White House. Meanwhile, NPR has given coup advocates a platform to advocate for a coup, positioning it as “humanitarian intervention”. It’s worth discussing the history of coups the US has been associated with. Last week, new documents revealed that the UK government had repeatedly asked the US to foment a coup in Iran in 1952. This is from the NSArchive project at GWU: 1953 Iran Coup: New U.S. Documents Confirm British Approached U.S. in Late 1952 About Ousting Mosaddeq State Department Temporarily Declined, in Part Because U.S. Was … Continue reading →

This Single Payer Supporting Health Insurance Executive Just Kicked Off His CA-39 Campaign With A $2 Million Dollar Loan

The Progressive Wing Posted on by

This could potentially be interesting for a multitude of different reasons. Thoughts on if he’s the real deal or not? Please add any research to the comments!

New challenger for Rep. Ed Royce kicks off race with a $2-million loan to his campaign

Villa Park health insurance executive Andy Thorburn is entering the 39th Congressional District race against Rep. Ed Royce, and he’s loaned his campaign $2 million to get started.

The Democrat’s $2-million personal loan gives him a war chest far greater than anyone else in the race, except for Royce, who had $3.1 million on hand at the end of last month.

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Thorburn was raised in New Jersey and went to college in Pennsylvania. He taught English at a high school in Newark, N.J., then worked in leadership at the American Federation of Teachers.

He was sentenced to 30 days in jail for contempt of court during a strike for better teacher wages in 1970, something he cites as a life-changing moment in a campaign video accompanying his announcement.

Thorburn later left teaching for insurance. He is director of strategic planning at Orange County-based Global Benefits Group Inc., an international health insurance company in which he bought a controlling stake of in 2005.

He expects healthcare to be a prominent issue in the campaign, and he said he wants the country to keep the Affordable Care Act in place and to see it move toward single payer healthcare.

“I’ve been in the health insurance business since ’99 and I’ve seen it operate all around the world,” Thorburn said. “I can tell you from firsthand knowledge this system is not efficient.”