Tips, Comments, Complaints, Etc!

I of course think a trip to Puerto Rico is quite important but the whole uproar leading to the cancellation of the Womens Conference appearance actually having an effect is a pretty damn big shame. It was manufactured outrage and now the organizers look about as spineless as they are compared to corporate, anti Bernie interests

Regardless I’m glad Sanders will be in Puerto Rico with Mayor Cruz trying to help in a crisis instead, despite all the negative comments/tweets from the same people complaining he was going to the convention.

Bernie Sanders bows out of Women’s Convention to make trip to Puerto Rico

Sen. Bernie Sanders announced Thursday he will visit Puerto Rico in wake of Hurricane Maria, bowing out of his previously scheduled speaking gig at the Women’s Convention next week.

“I want to apologize to the organizers of the Women’s Convention for not being able to attend your conference next Friday in Detroit,” the Vermont lawmaker said in a statement. “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.”

In Puerto Rico, about 1 million Americans remain without running water and 3 million without power, CNN reported Wednesday.

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In a statement provided to CNN Thursday, convention organizers expressed their understanding of Sanders’ trip.

“It is unfortunate that Senator Sanders will no longer be able to join us at the Women’s Convention next week,” the organizers said in an email statement to CNN. “But the humanitarian crisis in Puerto Rico – which is being exacerbated by the inaction of our federal government – is a critical matter. We understand his leadership is needed in Puerto Rico and, as always, we deeply appreciate his commitment to communities in need. We look forward to continuing to work with him on issues that impact women and all Americans.”

Sanders concluded his statement by applauding “their historic work in putting together the march in January and all that you have done since,” he said. “My best wishes for a very successful conference.”

51 GOP Senators Just Voted To Cut $1.5 Trillion from Medicare and Medicaid To Give Super-Rich and Corporations a Tax Cut

Along strict party lines, the Republican-controlled Senate on Thursday night voted to pass a sweeping budget measure—one criticized as both “despicable” and “horrific” for providing massive giveaways to corporations and the super-rich while eviscerating funding for social programs, healthcare, education, and affordable housing.

The measure passed by 51-49 vote, with only one Republican, Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, joining every Democrat and the chamber’s two Independents who voted against it. Its approval now paves that way for massive tax giveaways to the wealthy and corporations envisioned by President Donald Trump and the GOP in both the House and the Senate.

“51 Republican Senators just voted to cut Medicaid by $1 trillion and Medicare by $500 billion so that millionaires and corporations can get a tax cut. It’s immoral and despicable,” said TJ Helmstetter, a spokesperson for Americans for Tax Fairness, in a statement immediately following the vote.

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In the wake of its passage, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.)—who earlier this week called the proposal “Robin Hood in reverse” for taking from the poor to give to the rich— said the “Republicans’ budget is not a bad bill. It’s a horrific bill.”

Republicans’ budget is not a bad bill. It’s a horrific bill.

— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) October 20, 2017

Bernie Sanders to Campaign with Local Candidates

Senator Bernie Sanders will join Somerville and Cambridge’s Our Revolution groups on Monday to support several candidates who are running for local office.

The two Our Revolution groups have endorsed 17 candidates running for Cambridge’s City Council and Somerville’s Board of Aldermen and School Committee.

“Local Our Revolution groups in Somerville and Cambridge have been organizing for months to continue the political revolution we started with the Sanders campaign,” Rand Wilson, union organizer and Our Revolution Somerville member, said in a statement. “The candidates—both incumbents and challengers—have embraced the political transformation needed to fix our broken political system and our rigged economy.”

Sanders will campaign the with slate of candidates at 9:30 Monday morning at ONCE Somerville. The event is sold out.

Bernie Sanders in Rollinsford Sunday

ROLLINSFORD — Former presidential primary hopeful and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, will be in town Sunday for the Strafford County Democratic Committee fall fundraiser.

According to the latest Granite State Poll by the University of New Hampshire Survey Center and released Wednesday, while nearly all likely Democratic primary voters are still trying to make up their minds in the 2020 New Hampshire presidential primary, Bernie Sanders, Joe Biden and Elizabeth Warren are early front-runners. Interest in the 2020 primary is greater than at this point in the last two electoral cycles.

Sanders headlined the Strafford County Democratic Committee fall fundraiser in 2014 as well when his message was about the importance of voter turnout and more than 200 packed the American Legion Hall to hear from the independent senator as he traveled around the country.

According to a statement, the annual fall fundraiser is to support efforts to elect Democratic candidates in Strafford County.

“If you’ve been paying attention you know that it is of utmost importance to participate and support our actions at this time,” the statement reads. “Please join us for food and solidarity and to hear from the man with a unique voice, who attracted record breaking crowds across the country and started a movement.”

‘People Are Dying’ But Trump Gives Himself Perfect ’10’ for Puerto Rico Response

Despite an estimated one million people still living without drinking water, 80 percent of the island wihout electricity, and fresh reports that people are “dying” on the island, President Donald Trump stirred outrage on Thursday by giving himself a perfect “ten” on his response to the crisis in Puerto Rico.

“The people in Puerto Rico are dying,” said National Nurses United (NNU) vice president Cathy Kennedy, who returned Wednesday from a two-week relief trip with the union’s Registered Nurses Response Network (RNRN). “Nurses have been going out into communities, where all they ask for is water and food. And when you have to make a decision of who’s going to get the food today or the water — we shouldn’t have to do that. The United States is the richest country in the world; Puerto Rico is part of the United States.”

Yet Trump told a different story about the recovery in the Oval Office on Thursday, speaking to reporters as Puerto Rican governor Ricardo Rossello looked on.

“I would give myself a ten,” he said. “We have provided so much, so fast.”

Brooklyn Political Roundup, October 18: Another challenger for Dan Donovan’s seat

Michael DeVito, Jr., a veteran of the U.S. Marines, is the latest candidate to throw his hat into the ring for the 2018 election for the Southwest Brooklyn-Staten Island House seat currently held by Republican U.S. Rep. Dan Donovan.

DeVito will officially announce on Saturday at a rally on Staten Island that he is running in the 11th Congressional District. He is currently an educator at the New York Center for Interpersonal Development.

“Like everyone who lives in this community, I want what is best for my family, both now and for the future. If we continue to work together, we can get the fair shake we all need and deserve. We can realistically solve our collective problems, be it jobs and economic development, the security of our nation, transportation and infrastructure issues or any problem facing us. The time for talk is done, and the time for action is now,” DeVito said in a statement.

Just for the record, from my interactions with them on internets, Michael and his wife are good people.

Bernie Sanders sides with SNP over ban on fracking

The SNP’s decision to ban fracking has been hailed as a “very significant step” by Bernie Sanders, the US senator and figurehead for the American left.

Mr Sanders, who rose to prominence after challenging Hillary Clinton for the 2016 Democratic nomination for the US presidency, posted a message on his Facebook page offering congratulations for the move, which has been hailed by environmentalists but criticised by many in the scientific community. He said: “Congratulations to Scotland for taking the very significant step to ban fracking following enormous public opposition to the practice.”

The Vermont senator went on to describe fracking as a “danger to the air we breathe and to our water supply” and claimed the technique, which is widespread in America, is “highly explosive”.

Ben Jealous brings his campaign for Maryland governor to Busboys & Poets

One of the reasons Ben Jealous is running for governor is to bring back “the Maryland dream.”

“The only thing more powerful than the American dream is the Maryland dream,” the former NAACP president said. “We’ve got to get back to Maryland being the Maryland that brought us here in the first place — the place that we knew where, if we put down roots here, our children could dream a little higher and our families could succeed a little more.”

More than 100 people came to Busboys & Poets in Hyattsville on Thursday to support Jealous’ campaign, according to event organizers, with some staying the whole time and others quickly dropping in to hear him speak. Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) was originally supposed to attend the event but was unable to come due to ongoing Senate votes.

Jealous, who announced his candidacy on May 31, has campaigned on adopting a Medicare-for-All system, raising the minimum wage to $15 and reforming the criminal justice system, among other issues.

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Jealous spoke about his plan to end mass incarceration and use the saved funds to end student debt.

Greenbelt resident Julie Phelps, a former comptroller at the University of Maryland, said this point particularly resonated with her.

“I thought he was right on … when he said our politicians never ask how much it costs to incarcerate our young people — our young men especially — but they always, always ask how much it’s going to cost to educate them,” she said.

Randall Woodfin: A son of Birmingham becomes mayor

The first line of Randall Woodfin’s official autobiography on his mayoral campaign website is: “I am a proud son of Birmingham.” In our nation’s history, Birmingham, Alabama will forever be tied to some of the most troubling and tragic imagery of the civil rights movement — from the bombing of a church that killed four innocent little girls to African Americans braving fire hoses, police batons and attack dogs in their struggle to end racial discrimination and secure basic rights. While we have yet to wipe out discrimination and its attendant consequences, our nation— including Birmingham — has made some progress. The proud son of a city once tarnished as regressive and hostile to the plight of its African-American residents, will lead its 23 communities and 99 neighborhoods on a progressive platform as its next mayor.

For many, Randall’s win was unlikely for obvious and not so obvious reasons.

Randall suffered a family tragedy during his campaign to unseat William Bell, the seven-year, two-term incumbent. He lost his nephew in a shooting death. And sadly, it was not his first brush with the gun violence plaguing Birmingham. Five years earlier he lost an older brother in a shooting death. Before running for mayor, Randall amassed an impressive resume as a public servant, but his first foray into politics proved unsuccessful, running for a seat on the Birmingham Board of Education in 2009 and losing. As he tells it, in losing, he ended up winning. He won the attention of the community and local stakeholders, and won time to prepare and hone his message for another run in 2013 that would prove successful.

When this former city attorney and board of education president decided to run for mayor, he chose to do so on a progressive platform in a region of our nation not synonymous with progressive politics. Our Revolution, a progressive political organization that works to organize and elect progressive candidates, backed his run, helping to turn out the vote with volunteers, text messages and calls, including calls recorded by Bernie Sanders endorsing Randall’s candidacy. As a Morehouse College alumnus, Randall relied on his close relationship and extensive ties to the Atlanta HBCU. Morehouse alumni held events and fundraisers on his campaign’s behalf and canvassed Birmingham, knocking on doors and getting out Randall’s message.

Democrats in 6th District race to debate Sunday in Palatine

All eight Democrats making primary bids for the 6th Congressional District are scheduled to debate Sunday in Palatine.

Officials from grass-roots organization People Over Party and The Coalition for a Better IL 6th say the 2 p.m. event at the Falcon Park Recreation Center, 2195 N. Hicks St., is the first time all declared candidates in the March 2018 primary will appear together in public.

They include Sean Casten, a scientist and clean energy entrepreneur from Downers Grove; Becky Anderson Wilkins, a Naperville City Council member and business owner; Carole Cheney, a congressional aide from Naperville; Amanda Howland, a Lake Zurich attorney and College of Lake County trustee; Kelly Mazeski, a Barrington Hills planning commission member; Jennifer Zordani, a Clarendon Hills lawyer; Grace Haaf, a small-business owner; and Palatine data analyst Ryan Huffman.

Organizers say topics include the economy, health care, immigration, education and the environment. The event is free and open to the public.

A month after Stockley verdict, demonstrators stay in the streets

“Governor Greitens, you said during your campaign that if you had been governor during Ferguson the protests would have been done in two days,” Wes Schnitker said through a bullhorn outside of the Ritz-Carlton St. Louis on Friday, October 12. He directed the 100 or so protestors to repeat after him.

“Today marks day 28,” Schnictker said, and they repeated. He said it again with such intensity that his voice cracked and his face turned red. The protestors repeated with the same fervency.

“Today marks day 28. You lied.”

There have been a few scattered self-care days, but more than a month after people took to the streets in response to the not-guilty verdict in the Jason Stockley murder trial, a diverse, multi-generation coalition of people continued to stage direct actions.

“Y’all know I don’t say much because I want the young people to speak, but you all have to keep going,” said Reverend Darryl Gray as they stood in front of the St. Louis County Justice Center in Clayton waiting to march.