Month: February 2016

John Oliver delivers strong rebuttal to Donald Trump’s presidential campaign and business record

Yesterday, Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders sent out this tweet in response to Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump refusing to condemn former Ku Klux Klan (KKK) Grand Wizard and failed 1991 Louisiana gubernatorial candidate David Duke, who has publicly praised Trump:

Bernie’s rival for the Democratic nomination, Hillary Clinton, had absolutely nothing to add, so, in an extremely rare move, she retweeted Bernie’s tweet.

On the other hand, John Oliver, the host of the HBO comedy show Last Week Tonight and not a politician, had a lot to add. Oliver devoted nearly an entire episode of his show to Donald Trump’s record of bigotry, mocking people, failed business ventures, hypocrisy, dishonesty, and being a total jerk. I encourage everyone to watch the entire Oliver segment on Trump here:

I have absolutely nothing else to add.

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TULSI!

U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) has officially endorsed Bernie Sanders for the Democratic presidential nomination, citing Bernie’s sound foreign policy judgement:

This endorsement is a win-win-win for Bernie. Not only does Bernie receive his fourth congressional endorsement (the other three are Rep. Keith Ellison (DFL-MN), Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ), and Rep. Peter Welch (D-VT)), Tulsi is officially a pro-Bernie superdelegate (even though she resigned her DNC post, she is still a U.S. Representative and member of the House Democratic Caucus, so she retains DNC superdelegate status), and Gabbard is a potential Democratic vice-presidential candidate should Bernie win the Democratic nomination (Gabbard will be 35 years of age on the date of the general election, meaning that she would be eligible to run for vice-president this year). Gabbard was born in American Samoa (even though people born in American Samoa are not automatically U.S. citizens, Gabbard’s mother was born in Indiana, so Gabbard is a natural-born U.S. citizen), so Gabbard’s endorsement of Bernie could help Bernie in the American Samoa Democratic territorial caucuses on Super Tuesday.

I would argue that Bernie should go ahead and pick Tulsi as a running mate (although doing so would be conditional on Bernie being nominated by Democrats as the party’s presidential nominee).

As a progressive in a conservative region of Illinois, I can relate to people like these

AUTHOR’S NOTE: This blog post includes a blockquote from a book titled Blue in a Red State: The Survival Guide to Life in the Real America, written by Justin Krebs. The blockquote comes from an excerpt of the book published on the Salon magazine website, as I do not have the actual book in question.

As someone who lives in a conservative region of Illinois (specifically, Vermilion County, Illinois, located in the east-central part of the state), I can relate to this:

Lisa in Waukesha, Wisconsin, has two Facebook accounts. One reflects her liberal politics; the other is for acquaintances and family members to whom Lisa shows only her cat photos. Christina, in Milford, Massachusetts, has a sign in the back window of her car proclaiming support for a Democratic candidate. But as soon as she parks in the company lot, she puts it facedown on the backseat. Byron has lived in the same small town of Pomeroy, Iowa—population 662—his entire life. He brings his partner to family dinners but has never actually said to his conservative sister that he’s gay.

Lisa, Christina, and Byron are “blues in red states”—liberals who live in conservative communities that exist in every state, Republican or Democratic-leaning, across America. They and people like them are constantly reminded they aren’t quite like everyone else: from the churches they do or don’t attend, to their purchases and media preferences, to their loyalties at the ballot box. On a daily basis, liberals who have made homes, formed friendships, and participated in the civic life of conservative towns and cities are confronted with unsettling reminders that they’re different, and they’ve found myriad ways to take that truth in stride.

Although Massachusetts, Iowa, and Wisconsin aren’t exactly “red states” (MA is a blue state with a Republican governor, and IA and WI are presidential swing states with Republican governors), all three of the people featured in the above paragraphs live in areas of their states that are more conservative than the state as a whole.

For someone who is very vocal about politics online, I almost never talk about politics when I’m away from my house. In fact, I blend in surprisingly well with other people in my community, as virtually nobody outside of my immediate relatives (mostly Democrats who are not as progressive as I am) know about my political views. In fact, virtually nobody in my community knows that I’m an atheist, and that’s because I never talk about that outside of online to a receptive audience.

In fact, regarding Lisa from Waukesha, Wisconsin, I’m actually an online friend of hers, believe it or not. There’s not too many people I’m comfortable communicating with (either in person or online), but I’m more than comfortable talking with Lisa online. I don’t agree with Lisa 100% of the time (although I’ve never agreed with anyone 100% of the time and I agree with Lisa more often than not), but Lisa is far more understanding of opposing viewpoints than me or most other people.

Former Bill Clinton cabinet member endorses Bernie Sanders!

This is YUUUUGE!!! YUUUUGE!!!

Robert Reich, Bill Clinton’s former U.S. Secretary of Labor, has endorsed Bernie Sanders for the office of President of the United States:

More importantly, Reich isn’t endorsing Bernie due to some sort of soap opera-type feud with the Clintons. He’s endorsing Bernie because he knows that Bernie’s policy proposals, such as raising the minimum wage to $15/hour, making public higher education truly affordable, and investing in replacing America’s crumbling infrastructure, will make America a far better place to live.

Donald Trump launches an attack against this blog, blogging in general, and freedom of the press

This is an actual quote from Donald John Trump, the likely Republican Party nominee for President of the United States:

I’m going to open up our libel laws so when they write purposely negative and horrible and false articles, we can sue them and win lots of money. We’re going to open up those libel laws. So that when The New York Times writes a hit piece which is a total disgrace or when the Washington Post, which is there for other reasons, writes a hit piece, we can sue them and win money instead of having no chance of winning because they’re totally protected. You see, with me they’re not protected, because I’m not like other people, but I’m not taking money — I’m not taking their money. So we’re going to open up those libel laws, folks, and we’re going to have people sue you like you never got sued before.

What Donald Trump is saying goes against everything that this country stands for. Many of the people who helped build this country in its earliest years fought for, and won, freedom of the press, which is enshrined in our nation’s Constitution as part of the First Amendment. What Trump is proposing is an idea straight out of a fascist society…the idea that, if one merely criticizes someone, even if that criticism is factual in nature, the person or entity being criticized can file a defamation lawsuit and get money out of it. That is absurd, frightening, undemocratic, and likely unconstitutional.

I will assure you, that, in the coming days, weeks, and months, I will be writing a ton of blog posts criticizing Donald Trump, and I will assure you that every one of my criticisms of Trump will be absolutely 100% factual in nature.

ENDORSEMENT: “Leave” for United Kingdom European Union referendum

I proudly endorse the Brexit campaign in the upcoming European Union referendum in the United Kingdom, in which British voters will be asked whether the UK should remain part of the EU or leave the EU altogether. Therefore, I am asking British voters to vote “Leave” in the June 23 EU referendum in the UK.

The EU has played a significant role in destroying the Greek economy by imposing austerity demands on Greece. If the UK were to vote to remain in the EU, the EU will, at some point in time, impose the same austerity demands on the UK that they placed on Greece. If the UK were to remain a part of the EU, the UK will, at some point, be forced to replace the Pound sterling with the Euro, meaning higher prices on goods and services for Britons.

Furthermore, the entire concept of the EU is rooted in a German imperialist mindset straight out of the 1930’s and 1940’s. The only differences is that Britain isn’t being bombed and a full-blown fascist isn’t Germany’s leader. People should learn from history, not repeat it.

Last, but not least, remaining in the EU would further threaten the sovereignty of the UK, which is vested in the British monarchy. Britain’s national anthem isn’t “God Save Europe”, it’s “God Save The Queen”!

Black Lives Matter activist Ashley Williams EXPOSES Hillary donors as racist

Just a few days before South Carolina votes on a Democratic presidential nominee, a Black Lives Matter activist by the name of Ashley Williams interrupted a Hillary Clinton fundraiser in South Carolina to question Hillary over her past statements referring to black people as “super-predators”:

The predominantly-white group of Hillary donors booed Williams, and here’s how one of them responded on Twitter to Williams’s questioning of Hillary:

Hillary’s people think that Bernie Sanders is the most racist piece of trash on the planet (that award actually goes to Donald Trump), yet they’re the ones who are actually racist and act like they’re entitled. This is a textbook example of white privilege.

If you want a president who will fight for racial equality and not act like some privileged racist, vote for Bernie!

Why this poorly-educated American will NEVER support Donald Trump

During his victory speech following the Nevada Republican caucuses last night, likely Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said, “I love the poorly-educated!”

As someone who has no college degree, by modern standards, I am poorly-educated. I don’t love Trump back; in fact, I’d never support someone like Trump.

Trump’s entire presidential campaign is predicated on stirring up bigotry towards every group of people that isn’t white, male, Christian, heterosexual, and able-bodied. In at least one documented instance, Trump has inspired hate crimes.

On actual political issues, Trump wants to continue the Ronald Reagan tradition of redistributing wealth to the wealthiest people in this country, wants to waste taxpayer dollars on an unnecessary border fence along the U.S.-Mexico border, and wants to start unjustified wars. America simply cannot afford Trump’s dangerous ideas, and even us poorly-educated rednecks understand that. That’s why we support Bernie Sanders, because he’s the only person who can defeat Trump.

NRA-supporting DINO Ron Kind finally gets a primary challenger

For the first time in a very long time, U.S. Rep. Ron Kind of the 3rd Congressional District of Wisconsin is facing credible opposition within his own party. That’s because Myron Buchholz, a retired history teacher from the Eau Claire area, is seeking the Democratic nomination in the 3rd District of Wisconsin.

Very little is known about Buchholz, outside of the fact that he is politically aligned with Bernie Sanders and considers himself to be answering Bernie’s call for ordinary Americans to take back our country from big-money special interests. No information is available as to whether or not Bernie actually recruited Buchholz to run against Kind (I highly doubt that is the case).

Ron Kind, on the other hand, is well to the ideological right of Hillary Clinton on many political issues, including guns, where Kind has taken money from the NRA and received their endorsement in 2010. On gun issues, Kind has voted for, among other things, allowing guns in national parks and wildlife refuges. On other issues, Kind has voted the corporate Democratic line, including supporting President Obama’s free trade deals that have shipped Wisconsin and American jobs overseas.

I strongly encourage Democrats of the 3td Congressional District of Wisconsin to take a serious look at Myron Buchholz.

Morning Joe hosts caught on hot mic fawning over Donald Trump

During a commercial break of an edition of MSNBC’s Morning Joe in which Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump appeared on the program, hosts Joe Scarborough, a former Republican congressman from Florida, and Mika Brzezinski were caught on a hot microphone fawning over Trump:

In one exchange, Brzezinski calls Trump’s decision to call two men onstage to a rally last week after they confronted a protester a “wow moment.”

“You had me almost as a legendary figure, I like that,” Trump responds.

[…]

At one point, Brzezinski seems to ask Scarborough if they should ask Trump questions about deportation. Scarborough only replies that “we really do have to go to some questions.”

Trump then jokes to Brezinski, “Nothing too hard, Mika.”

If you want proof that the far-right corporate media in this country has bent over backwards to appease Donald Trump, there’s the proof. I find it absolutely disgusting that the media would do whatever it takes to appease someone who compares immigrants to rapists and is running a presidential campaign on full-blown bigotry.