Jane Sanders: Russell Simmons CALLED Bernie Sanders First

[Segami]

"...Well, I think those are Clinton Campaign talking points.." .....

Senator Bernie Sanders' wife, Jane, said Russell Simmons called Bernie Sanders to talk about an endorsement in an interview with CNN's Jim Sciutto.

.

[dchill]

2. Just wow.

Proof that Bernie is NOT over-promising. Not to Russell, not to anyone.

[DhhD]

87. It is a set up so the Clinton's can move Left by apologizing for their Privatization and

Modernization Activities of the 1980s and 1990s. Remember how the Clinton's worked with the Republicans in the 1990 to modernize, privatize and commodify food? Thankfully, they have not commodified water and air; unless allowing the dirty fuel industries to drain the fresh ground water aquifers qualifies.


http://www.allgov.com/news/unusual-news/8-policy-decisions-bill-clinton-now-regrets-150721?news=857012


http://www.agritrade.org/Publications/PolicyFocus/Farm_Bill_5_white_commodities.pdf


Clinton is using Simmons to set up another, Left of Bernie scheme. The Clinton's think that they can erase 35 years of Privatization of their own profit. Clinton's found out that the food commodity that Bill created and voted for, and endorsed though, like the Farm Bill of 2007, was not what was best for people even though it was good for his back pocketbook.

[TM99]

3. Simmons is just another asshole.

So he calls Sanders to offer an endorsement but it hinged upon doing away with meat production. Is Simmons a hardcore vegan?

Sanders says no. So he calls Clinton. Did Clinton offer another one of her two-faced promises to do that? If so, well Simmons is naive because she won't do it anymore than Sanders would. If not, then Simmons is just being a dick.

Farming and meat production has zero to do with the issues of AA's. To couch his personal beef with Sanders on this in terms of 'insensitivity towards black issues' is just assholish behavior.

Fuck him.

[Kip Humphrey]

14. I guess Hillary is going to take away all of our hoof stock?

[kristopher]

68. Hey. Hillary has an extraordinarily magnificent understanding of the cattle market.

Hillary Clinton Turned $1,000 Into $99,540, White House Says
By STEPHEN LABATON,
Published: March 30, 1994

WASHINGTON, March 29— The White House said today that in 1978 Hillary Rodham Clinton invested $1,000 in commodities futures and that the investment grew in 10 months of trading in the notoriously volatile market into a gain of nearly $100,000.

Seeking to dispel suggestions that the trades were risk-free and improperly arranged by an Arkansas lawyer who represents one of the state's most powerful companies, the White House issued a statement this afternoon that said the First Lady had put up her own money and that she bore all of the financial risks in a marketplace where three out of four investors lose money.

The officials also released a year's worth of brokerage statements from one of Mrs. Clinton's two accounts. They show winnings outrunning losses about three-to-one. 'Too Nerve-Racking'

Senior advisers to President Clinton and his wife said in a briefing this afternoon at the White House that Mrs. Clinton based her trades on information in The Wall Street Journal, and that she stopped trading by 1980, despite her success, because, as one senior aide put it, "she did not have the stomach for it any more and found it to be too nerve-racking."

The string of winning trades began in October 1978...

http://www.nytimes.com/1994/03/30/us/hillary-clinton-turned-1000-into-99540-white-house-says.html?pagewanted=all


A truly remarkable understanding ...

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

79. I remember that one.

She's just an incredible stock trader, what can you say!

[snagglepuss]

75. Sounds to me that Simmons was trying to set Bernie up. Imagine

how banning meat production would have played in rural America where Sanders has so much support.

[monicaangela]

76. Russel Simmons Business Man

Selling his vote so that he can increase his profits:

http://www.ecorazzi.com/2014/09/12/russell-simmons-do-yourself-a-favor-try-vegan/

Russell Simmons Enters Yoga Retail with ‘Tantris’ Line, Plans for Studios and Vegan Restaurants

http://yogadork.com/2012/07/09/russell-simmons-enters-yoga-retail-with-tantris-line-plans-for-studios-and-vegan-restaurants/

[Jitter65]

81. Doesn't Russell have the right to talk to the candidates before he makes and endorsement?

Had he decided to endorse BS what would this thread look like?

[monicaangela]

83. This thread would probably look like this

WHY IS BERNIE SANDERS ACCEPTING AN ENDORSEMENT FORM RUSSELL SIMMONS?

But to answer your question, yes he has the right to talk to the candidate before making a decision. And the voting public has a right to speculate as to why he made his decision since it has become so public. He not only made a decision, he felt a need to then try to racialize his decision by denigrating Bernie Sanders. Now why would a person do that if they had first tried to get a quid pro quo from that candidate? I wonder...

[2pooped2pop]

4. So when Bernie wouldn't give him false promises, he went to weathervane? n/ t

[Segami]

6. And weathervane

said 'sure, I'll give you a false promise' and Russell replied, 'You got my endorsement'........

[JackRiddler]

104. So Clinton's going to turn America vegetarian?

Wow! That is ambitious.

[Gregorian]

5. So that's what goes on with endorsements.

I thought there might be transactions.

[Lizzie Poppet]

7. Unprincipled 1%'er assbag.

Fuck Russell Simmons.

[roguevalley]

49. imagine what bill clinton promised those 1K super delegates then

[madfloridian]

8. That's amazing. Keeping this kicked for visibility.

[JDPriestly]

12. He inspired his lovely niece to become a vegetarian. So he is a vegan. (From a different

article.)

I respect his personal choice, but I am not a vegan. Neither are most African-Americans in my experience. If veganism is the litmus card for an endorsement from Mr. Simmons, I'm glad Bernie said no.

Angela Simmons spreads the message "Eating Meat Is a Sin: Go Vegetarian" in her provocative ad for PETA, which she unveiled at The Paramount Hotel (see photos from the event). Angela—a devout Christian, the daughter of Rev. Run, and the star of the hit MTV shows Run's House and Daddy's Girls—was inspired by her uncle Russell Simmons to adopt a vegetarian diet.

"I really want people to know what happens to animals … Animals have feelings, and I think it's important we take action," Angela explains. Angela believes that God's creatures deserve love and compassion and wants to raise awareness about the billions of cows, pigs, chickens, and other animals suffering on factory farms.

Animals raised for food are crammed by the thousands into filthy sheds and confined to wire cages, gestation crates, or barren dirt lots without the opportunity to ever feel grass beneath their feet or sunshine on their backs. When they have grown large enough, animals on factory farms are crowded onto trucks and transported many miles through all weather extremes to the slaughterhouse, where they have their throats slit, are scalded alive, or have their bodies hacked apart "piece by piece," as one meat inspector described.

About her vegetarian diet, Angela says, "I'm happy with it. I feel lighter—it's a good feeling." In addition to combating the cruelty of factory farming, adopting a vegetarian diet is the best thing that you can do for your health. Meat consumption has been linked to our nation's biggest ailments, including heart disease, obesity, diabetes, strokes, and cancer. The American Dietetic Association states that vegetarian or vegan diets "are healthful, nutritionally adequate, and may provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases."

https://secure.peta.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=3827

I am not a vegetarian for two reasons: 1) I tried it and became terribly weak. I was young at the time. 2) A lot of animals would not live at all were it not for the fact that we eat them. Wild cows that feed themselves? I love to drink milk. Pigs have no purpose other than their meat and few would put up with them if they couldn't be eaten.

[retrowire]

28. I can't help myself and I totally respect you JDPriestly but..

As a vegan, I've gotta reply to this one line of yours and leave it at that. You can respectfully disagree with me, but I can't go silent on it. I'm sure you'll understand as we're all passionate about what we believe in on this website.

"Pigs have no purpose other than their meat"

It physically pains me to read something like that. Pigs are smarter than dogs. Their purpose other than being food is to live their own lives and to be as they are.

That's literally all I wanted to say and get off my chest. I mean no offense. I just hate that sentence. It is my belief.

[jsmirman]

29. Hey, it's just more liberal hatred toward animals

it's a fine and long running tradition.

My friend, who is a passionate Bernie supporter and the king of FOIA requests has done a great deal of research into the topic.

I don't know why it's a virulent strain in the liberal world, but it is. I'm looking forward to reading through his research in the near future because I'd like to understand this better.

[JDPriestly]

41. I appreciate what you say about pigs. I realize that they are very intelligent.

And certainly being able to live their lives and be as they are is great if you are the pig.

But the problem is that, let's be frank, people would not raise pigs if they could not sell them for meat. Sure, we would have a few pet pigs, but not very many.

We used to have more bears, wolves and foxes than we have now.

The fact is, however much we don't like it, animals that we have in large numbers, we have because we eat them. That is the reality. No one could afford to have a lot of pigs or even a yard full of pigs if they weren't raising them to sell them for food.

I know it is sad, but it is the reality. This is a humanocentric world.

My grandfather was a farmer. He loved animals. He studied animals and healed them. The neighbors called him if one of their animals got sick. But he had to butcher his animals. That's the only way he could even afford to keep and feed them.

How many cows could you feed if you couldn't sell some for beef? That is the question for farmers.

[oberliner]

77. 115 million pigs are killed for food every year in the US

Almost 10 billion animals in total are killed for food every year in the US. The vast majority in factory farms.

[retrowire]

84. sure there's greater numbers of them because of our intervention

but I'm of the mindset of letting them do what they want, even if that means a low population that is independent of us.

[billhicks76]

30. Weak? I always Laugh At That

Last edited Sat Mar 5, 2016, 03:06 AM - Edit history (1)

Some of the strongest bodybuilders are vegan. The strongest mammals are vegetarian like gorillas. They would snap a person in two. It's all about eating properly. Of course there is a detox period also.

[JDPriestly]

40. It may depend on your DNA and make-up.

A gorilla has a slightly different DNA than I do. My teeth are those of a carnivore, not those of a vegetarian.

[navarth]

45. JD I respect you but that still fucked up

Sorry to put it so roughly but that thing you said about pigs was fucked up. They're intelligent creatures that can know despair, fear and pain. It's just wrong what you said. It ain't about what kind of teeth you have. I hope that being the honest person you are, you'll give it some thought and heart. If it doesn't make any difference, well, I felt I had to try. That's all I got.

[billhicks76]

46. Omnivore Not Carnivore

And so what...whats the appendix for?

[roguevalley]

50. personally, I cry bullshit on his vegan thing. He didn't get what he wanted from BS so he went to

Clinton. His attack on Bernie's civil rights record was personal. He's mad so he hit Bernie where Clinton told him to hit. He's a rich 1% gas bag

[billhicks76]

105. It Is Bullshit

Hillary supports BigAg...Bernie supports small farmers.

[snowy owl]

43. Pigs make great pets.

You've never lived on a farm have you? Humane isn't just for humans. Cows, goats, horses and all animals can be pets. i know a woman who lived on the next who is getting quite old. She's had her two cow for twenty or more years. Calls the vet when they get sick. Some people love life. Others make choices about what life is worthwhile and what isn't I guess.

[JDPriestly]

44. I know, but animals are expensive. One or maybe even five pigs would make nice

pets for a vegetarian. But more than that?

Wild boars live in some areas of the world, but not in large numbers in areas inhabited by a lot of people.

My grandfather was a farmer. I grew up around farms. But I didn't live on one full-time and lived in a city after I was nine. Still visited the country.

I understand about loving animals. My grandfather really, really loved them, but he sold them for meat and ate meat.

[Duppers]

52. The number of pigs is not important. Suffering is.

To me, that's the point.

It's like crazy cat ladies who have 100+ cats but they're confined and live in filth. Stop their breeding. It's best to greatly limit the number through neutering and give them quality lives.

Animals need pain-free, quality lives, just like humans. Great numbers are a big problem. The planet can no longer sustain great numbers of animals be they human or have four legged.

Farming animals, especially beef, is terrible for the environment --- an issue Bernie cares about. Guess he doesn't want to tackle the issue of meateaters vs. vegetartain. Other than this disappointment, I'm a huge supporter of Bernie.

Simons is trusting the wrong person -- a person who'll say what listeners wants to hear, not what will happen.


Feel the Bern!

[1monster]

106. Yes, wild cows can feed themselves... The whole Florida

cattle industry (the second largest in the US) got its start from wild cattle. Wild cattle roamed much of Florida during the nineteenth century. Cattle escaped from the Spanish from the 1565 on and multiplied and thrived. In the 1800s, the Florida settlers took to rounding up the wild cattle at first to survive, and then to sell them to the beef market.

The wild cattle did just fine on their own before that and didn't end up on on the dinner table.

As for pigs, again the Spanards brought pigs to Florida and released the to the wild so they would have a future food source. The pigs thrived and multiplied so much that we now have feral pigs all over the US in such numbers that they are seen as a major problem in many places. Those smart little piggies regularly out smart the human attempts to control them.

How fast can animals populate a continent as vast as North America?

Well, before the 1500s, there were no horses in North America. Spanards (again) brought horses with them. Some horses escaped or were lost and survived in the wild. Result: by the early 1800s, the horse had become the way of life for the Plains Indians -- thousands of miles from where the horses started their journeys on this continent.

I'm not going to get into the omivore vs vegetarian arguement, but I am going to suggest that you learn a great deal more about our fellow creature on this world. They are a lot more sentient than most humancentric folks think.

[desmiller]

9. Huge K & R. oooh so that's it.

Russell called sanders first for possible endorsement
Russell and sanders are on opposite ends of this issue: animal production and agricultural farming
endorsement denied
Russell came to Hillary
Russell was given talking points from Hillary to attack Bernie with.

Bottom Line:
Russell lied on live television about Bernie. Typical. Check.

[NWCorona]

10. That was a good interview

When Russ was called out and he said if I had more time I knew he was faking it.

[Arazi]

13. +10000 eom

[hopemountain]

71. yes, and he had that dws stare

and affect while reciting something memorized.

[NWCorona]

90. Haha! Yup!

[Segami]

11. "...In December, Simmons penned an open letter to Trump,..

...whom he called an old friend, urging him to “[s]top the bulls---. Stop fueling fires of hate. Don’t feed into the rhetoric created by small-minded people.”

“I wish you good luck on your path towards the White House, but as I’m sure you know, our belief systems are polar opposites on many of the issues,” he wrote. “And I will be campaigning rigorously against you. But if you win, I might still accept an invitation to your house to straighten you up every so often..."

http://www.politico.com/blogs/2016-dem-primary-live-updates-and-results/2016/03/russell-simmons-hillary-clinton-220259

Russell Simmons Verified account ‏@UncleRUSH

Yes, I believe Hillary will fight the prison industrial complex and the factory farming industry Despite taking their money

LOL!....Russell still wants to "accept an invitation" to openly racist scumbag Trump's home if he wins and endorses Hillary despite her taking monies from the "prison industrial complex and the factory farming industry".....but, but,...but said Bernie Sanders was “insensitive in a number of ways"..........

What a load coming from Russell!..............

[Segami]

15. I'm sure the beef & pork industry

also would like to know what Hillary agreed to that made Russell endorse her over Bernie.

[tomm2thumbs]

32. over promising his own sense of reason

there are a lot of weather vanes out there apparently

[Blue_In_AK]

16. Kick

[valerief]

17. K&R

[grasswire]

18. never heard of him

who is he?

[Tanuki]

26. ....

http://www.insidephilanthropy.com/glitzy-giving/russell-simmons.html#

OVERVIEW: Simmons has been a longtime supporter of human, civil, and animal rights, using his voice to help combat slavery and sex trafficking, encouraging young people to vote, and fight poverty in New York City. Along with his brothers, he runs a NYC nonprofit that provides arts education programs to disadvantaged youth and supports emerging artists.

BACKGROUND: Simmons grew up in Queens and attended the City College of New York. Starting out as a promoter for NYC musicians, Simmons eventually teamed up with Rick Rubin to create Def Jam Records, signing artists such as the Beastie Boys, LL Cool J, Public Enemy, and Run-DMC. Building a media empire under Rush Communications, Simmons went on to create the Phat Farm clothing line, numerous films and TV shows, a magazine, and an advertising agency. In 1996, he sold his stake in Def Jam to Universal Music Group for $100 million, and in 2004, he sold Phat Farm to a company called Kellwood for $140 million. Simmons also cofounded 360 Hip Hop, which was eventually sold to BET, and currently owns a majority stake in the website Global Grind.

ISSUES:

ARTS & CULTURE: Simmons started the Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation in 1995 with help from his brothers, visual artist Daniel Simmons, and Joseph Simmons, better known as Rev. Run of Run-DMC. The organization supports arts programs for toddlers all the way up to high school students, serving more than 3,000 disadvantaged urban youth annually. It also runs two galleries, supporting the work of approximately 100 emerging and community-based artists each year, with a focus on artists of color. Simmons has put at least a few million into the organization himself, but it now generates the revenue it needs to operate through fundraising events.

HUMAN & CIVIL RIGHTS: Simmons is responsible for helping create the Hip Hop Summit Action Network, bringing together entertainers, industry leaders, and civil rights groups, using hip hop as a catalyst to advocate for education and other issues that affect youth, and encouraging them to vote. In 2002, he became chairman of the board for the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding. In 2009, he was appointed Goodwill Ambassador for the U.N. Slavery Memorial. He is a non-religious practitioner of yoga, as well as transcendental meditation, and has supported the David Lynch Foundation for Consciousness-Based Education and World Peace, and also supported the Somaly Mam Foundation, and the Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking.

Simmons has also been known to help raise money for anti-violence programs, particularly those that focus on kids. He’s donated at least $10,000 from his own pocket to Life Camp, and supported numerous organizations that work to fight poverty, mostly in New York City, including the Robin Hood Foundation, Chrysalis, the Doe Fund, and ACE Programs for the Homeless.

ANIMAL RIGHTS: Simmons practices veganism, and has been known to support organizations such as PETA, Farm Sanctuary, and the Humane Society.

[Senator Tankerbell]

19. Russell Simmons runs a scam called RushCard

You pay RushCard $9.95 per month to use a pre-paid debit card. There are other predatory fees involved as well.

http://www.thewrap.com/inside-russell-simmons-debit-rushcard-debacle/

Bernie's proposal to offer banking services through the post office would probably put RushCard out of business.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/10/29/bernie-sanders-has-a-pretty-revolutionary-idea-to-change-americas-post-offices/

[haikugal]

20. So Simmons earns a living by taking advantage of the poor?!

[Senator Tankerbell]

24. You got it!

[haikugal]

27. OMG....Clinton can have him! Not one of us!!

[tomm2thumbs]

35. that cover says everything you need to know about him

and they say you can't judge a book by its cover

apparently it does however give insight to the author!

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

82. Good Lord. No wonder he considers Trump a friend. Birds of a feather. nt

[hopemountain]

72. ....

.... the self annointed leader of the church of russell simmons.

[Enrique]

99. that cover is repulsive to me

it makes me dislike Simmons, the publisher and anyone who would want to buy the book . It reminds me of the way I have always felt about Trump, before he got into politics. Whenever I saw him I would want to turn away. I didn't know anything about him but I knew I didn't want to know. I don't know anything about Simmons either, except I just learned he has a prepaid debit card scam.

[tomm2thumbs]

36. Rush out and get one

[Duppers]

54. Wow! Bingo. Follow the money. Nt.

[fourcents]

55. you should make your comment a post.

I should of read your comment before posting, because mine is similar (:

If one researches, one finds Hillary to be more and more to be not good on the banking regulations.

[kristopher]

73. Remember that payday loan bill that DWS is fighting for? Does it affect his business? nt

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1016146017

DNC Chair DWS Helpfully Illustrates Everything Bernie Sanders Hates About Democratic Establishment

*So tell me how the Democratic Party keeps from splitting apart with actions like this?

Match 1, 2016

Full title: DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz Helpfully Illustrates Everything Bernie Sanders Hates About the Democratic Establishment

One of the benefits of America’s unusually stingy welfare system is that it allows our domestic payday-loan industry to thrive. Since the safety net is too threadbare to catch the working poor when they fall on troubled times, payday lenders are able to charge them exorbitant interest on subsistence loans. Nationally, the average interest rate on a payday loan is a stellar 390 percent.

But Elizabeth Warren’s Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is dead set on sapping all of the dynamism out of the payday-loan industry. The CFPB is about to issue new regulations on payday lenders that are aimed at preventing borrowers from falling into a vicious (or viciously profitable) cycle where they take out high-interest loans just to make the interest payments on their previous high-interest loans. Fortunately, DNC chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz is co-sponsoring a bill that would gut the CFPB’s regulations and allow payday lenders to keep profiting off the desperation of the impoverished.

According to a memo obtained by the Huffington Post, Wasserman Schultz is trying to rally congressional Democrats around a bill that would delay the CFPB’s new rules for two years and nullify those rules in any state that adopts its own payday-lending law, like the DNC chair’s own home state of Florida.

The key thing about such state laws is that they’re likely to be much kinder to the profits of payday lenders than what the CFPB is crafting. In Florida, the average interest rate on a payday loan is still 304 percent, according to Pew Charitable Trusts. What’s more, 76 percent of all payday loans in the state are turned loans — loans taken out to pay back another loan — according to Americans for Financial Reform. Thus, Florida’s law has left the highly profitable vicious cycle of payday borrowing intact.

in full: http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/03/dnc-chair-lends-a-hand-to-payday-lenders.html#

[retrowire]

21. This vegan shakes his head at russel simmons.

Veganism to me, is a personal lifestyle of compassion for animals. If you wanna be a radical vegan and try pressing your belief on others through radical ideas like ending meat production, you're just as bad as radical religion wanting to force religion into our laws.

Russell, I know you're part of the elite and certainly an establishmentarian at this point... But your vegan card is either a facade or you've gone "nuts vegan" which, isn't going to happen.

Please, by all means extend compassion to animals. BOTH our democratic candidates have an excellent record on Animal Welfare and isn't that terrific!? But denying an endorsement to Bernie because he wouldn't do... quite frankly, the impossible, is... disingenuous and I feel something else is the matter.

[TexasBushwhacker]

101. No real point in expecting the impossible

I wish PETA would put some effort into pushing for factory farming reforms and higher federal budgets for animal welfare inspections. Livestock animals shouldn't have to be miserable, living in crowded, unsanitary conditions and fed unnatural diets. And don't get me started on the use of antibiotics!

And even omnivores like myself can eat LESS meat. Expecting the world to become is just unrealistic.

[MaggieD]

22. LOL! Yeah, right

[ornotna]

23. Russell Simmons is out for Russell Simmons only it seems

Why am I not surprised.

[99th_Monkey]

25. KnR nt

[bbgrunt]

31. k and r

[ciaobaby]

33. I am a happy vegan sanders supporter

I am confused and disappointed in Russell Simmons. I appreciate and respect that he brought the subject up.
However, I am certain Russell has many friends, as do most vegans, who eat meat and wear animal skin.
It is a long process for most to gain a full understanding of the cruelty of factory farming. We vegans must be a patient lot !
Had Bernie said, of course I will end factory farming for your endorsement, I would have to question my belief in Bernie's honesty.
This leads me to wonder exactly what Hillary said to gain Russell's endorsement. Bill Clinton is vegan so perhaps that was enough for Russell. Yet I would look for Russell to tell us all what vegans can expect from Hillary.
I think that information will come the same time she releases her Wall Street speeches.

Feel the Bern.

[Todays_Illusion]

34. She was impressive especially with the "I didn't know that was Hillary's position on the meat eating

thing. And I agree with Jane Sanders that Russel Simmons seemed to be repeating what he was told to say.

[madfloridian]

51. Yes, glad she got that little bit in.

She is so open and honest and believable.

[jillan]

37. Wow! That was unexpected.

[Petrushka]

38. K & R

[AzDar]

39. Russell and his family have some Goldman-Sachs/ Banking Scandals that seem right up the Clinton's

proverbial alley...http://www.democraticunderground.com/12511411722#post8

[geardaddy]

42. "Bernie doesn't say one thing to one group of people and say something else to someone else"

Boom!

[Cheese Sandwich]

47. Russell Simmons wants to ban bacon?

[Eric J in MN]

59. On CNN, Russell Simmons said that he wanted factory farming banned.

I don't know if he went further in a phone conversation with Bernie Sanders and said he wanted Sanders to try to ban meat production.

[fourcents]

48. Russell RushCard Simmons is worth 340 mil, likely against postal banking and is clueless on poor

people of color.

[roguevalley]

53. there's a thread around here where tim black kicks his ass.

[fourcents]

58. what no link? thank you i will have to check it out.

[Blue_In_AK]

67. That was truly a thing of beauty.

[Eric J in MN]

56. Factory farming causes climate change.

Ideally, every politician would be trying to end factory farming.

Neither Hillary Clinton nor Bernie Sanders is doing so.

[Vattel]

74. It causes lots of suffering too. I agree that it should be banned.

[ecstatic]

57. Why do Bernie supporters waste time smearing everyone who endorses Hillary?

It's so silly and pointless. Endorsements don't generally carry much weight, but when you do this, it makes your side look petty and vindictive.

This is something only Bernie supporters do--smear anyone who doesn't offer glowing reviews of Bernie, or in some cases, smear people who haven't made an endorsement either way (like Elizabeth Warren, Rachel Maddow, Chris Hayes, etc).

[fourcents]

60. what was the smear please?

[Eric J in MN]

61. Russell Simmons didn't just endorse Hillary Clinton

Simmons also called Bernie Sanders insensitive to blacks.

[ecstatic]

63. Well up until he got shouted off the stage by BLM, he most certainly was.

He regularly appeared on Ed Shultz's MSNBC show, and it was obvious that Bernie considered anything that wasn't related to fiscal policy to be an irrelevant wedge issue. I certainly couldn't read his mind and know his heart. I could only go by what he said.

Furthermore, like Russell said, Bernie's promises will not pass Congress. There won't be single payer, $15/hr McDonald's jobs, or free college. Even if by some miracle one of his ideas became law, then you have the numbers problem: the math doesn't add up. At least not without massive tax increases, which is fine, but tell the truth! Don't lie or sugarcoat the truth. He's setting up millions of young people to be disappointed, and they will tune out in 2020.

[Eric J in MN]

98. Bernie Sanders was the leader of the U of Chicago chapter of The Congress of Racial Equality

...and has a 100% rating for his Congressional record from the NAACP.

https://twitter.com/ShaunKing/status/704035896048353280

[TM99]

102. Making up more shit, I see.

This Simmons thing has zero to do with race or legitimate criticism. It is a rat-fucking either out of vengeance because Sanders was not going to pander to his radical vegan plans just to get an endorsement or because it is a quid pro quo with Clinton in exchange for his.

That is all. Just another wealthy self prick with scandal and malfeasance surrounding him being all chummy with a Clinton.

[madfloridian]

62. He called Bernie's campaign first. Then he called Hillary.

Then when he publicly announced his endorsement of Hillary he blasted Bernie....even though he had previously called him about endorsing.

You think that's a smear?

[ecstatic]

64. I think it's a waste of time and concern to worry about it

What's the point?

Just some friendly advice.

[madfloridian]

65. Not worry, just interesting to see how endorsements work.

I don't need "friendly" advice or otherwise.

[peacebird]

78. It totally invalidates his smear of Bernie. It also makes clear that Bernie cannot be BOUGHT! Unlike

some.

[Bluenorthwest]

92. Simmons smeared Sanders and Simmons has some interesting issues with the Consumer Financial

Protection Bureau which 'just happened' to come to a head this past Tuesday.... this has been an ongoing issue for months now. People who live in glass houses need to not throw stones.....

[Depaysement]

69. I respect the vegan lifestyle

Many do it for selfless and noble reasons. Better people than me.

But how can Simmons bemoan the slaughter of animals and support Hillary, who helped orchestrate the killing of thousands of innocent Libyans, including children?

I guess Libyan children are less worthy than animals.

[restorefreedom]

85. as a vegan, i get what you are saying...it seems hypocritical and opportunistic.

of the two, bernie is the likelier one to reduce suffering on all fronts of all species.

i just don't get it.

[Depaysement]

91. Just so I'm clear

I'm not criticizing vegans. I'm criticizing the hip-hop hypocrite Simmons.

[restorefreedom]

97. oh, yes, no worries. i got that, and i agree with you :) nt

[Eric J in MN]

100. Hillary Clinton also isn't a vegetarian and isn't trying to stop factory farming. NT

NT

[hopemountain]

70. what about endorsing monsanto and gmo's,

mr. simmons? did you ask hillary whether she endorses gmo food labeling and the use of toxic chemicals in food production?

[pdsimdars]

86. Now, THAT makes sense

It was incomprehensible that Simmons said Bernie was insensitive, etc. . . We all know Bernie's history. . .
I have lost so much respect for so many leaders in the black community. . .
Integrity . . get some.

[madfloridian]

88. Kick

[Bluenorthwest]

89. Hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons saddles customers with a financial disaster

"Like many other such cards, Simmons' RushCard comes barnacled with fees (though some have been reduced since the card's introduction): up to $9.95 to acquire the card in the first place, a monthly account fee of up to $7.95, $1 for every transaction, a $1.95 "maintenance fee" for months without transactions. For holders of legitimate bank accounts, such fees are typically zero.

Unlike other prepaid debit cards, the RushCard does offer some bank-like benefits, including the ability to pay bills. But its benefits can be oversold. Among its come-ons is that direct-deposit customers can get their money "up to two days sooner." That might have sounded like a two-day advance on their paycheck, but the fine print — and it's really fine print — reveals that this is two days sooner compared with the hold other banks might put on paper check deposits; is available only if the depositing employer notifies RushCard the deposit is coming; might not happen anyway; and the amount might be limited."
http://www.latimes.com/business/hiltzik/la-fi-mh-rap-mogul-russell-simmons-financial-disaster-20151021-column.html


RushCard’s Attempt To Throw Out Or Delay Investigation Into Mass Outage
"After users of RushCard, the prepaid debit card started by rap mogul Russel Simmons, were locked out of their account money for weeks in October, scrounging for pennies under the couch, going without meat, and falling behind on bills like rent and car payments to get by until they could access the funds, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau got involved.

But UniRush, RushCard’s parent company, hasn’t acquiesced to the CFPB’s investigation quietly. In early November it filed a petition to change or simply scrap the civil investigative demand (CID) that the CFPB sent as part of its investigation.

A CID, the bureau notes, is “a standard tool used in investigations by federal civil law enforcement agencies” when it needs to gather confidential information for an investigation. The bureau sent UniRush a list of information it sought with a deadline of 10 business days to comply."
http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2015/12/04/3728252/rushcard-cfpb-investigation/


CFPB report came out on Tuesday March 2, 2016.

[Gwhittey]

93. Bernie a Jewish-American

Comes out and Endorses anything do to with change in any policy dealing with Bacon, would be a feeding Frenzy for HRC. Chirst look what they did to a white man who was a Civil rights Activist in 1960s. If the HRC power machine can turn the message of Sanders into racist person something like that well.

[UglyGreed]

94. I would get into it if I had time

[Mufaddal]

95. I get why that's interesting, but I don't actually care.

Simmons is a jackass who preys on the poor (see RushCard). I would sincerely hope that neither candidate would want his endorsement.

[GreatGazoo]

96. "Bernie doesn't say one thing to one group of people and say something else to someone else so..."

This Clinton and media frame on race is disgusting. Age and income are the best predictors of which people of any race support his policies. Clinton has more support among older voters, incomes >$100K and people who watch a lot of cable news shows.

This guy will never start a segment with "One of the challenges for the Sanders campaign has been attracting voters with incomes over $100K...Russell Simmons just endorsed Hillary..."

Team Clinton is running a bandwagon style campaign so by strategy they HAVE to paint us all with broadbrush strokes, in other words they say 'you are in group A therefore you must like Clinton because (allegedly) everyone else in group A does.'

The truth is in the details of exit polls from MA and other primaries:

The issue of race and demographics in the campaign is fascinating. There’s absolutely no question that Clinton has a commanding lead among African American voters. She’s won that part of the electorate in every single contest thus far.

But here’s where things get interesting. Back in the fall, when the issue of the gender gap between Clinton and Sanders supporters was raised, Matt Bruenig very shrewdly pointed out that the real divide there was as much one of generation as it was one of gender: younger women voters were supporting Sanders, older women voters were supporting Clinton. A lot of the subsequent polling and primary results have confirmed his premonition.

I wonder if we’re not about to see something similar—if not quite as dramatic—with non-white voters. The cross-cutting factor here is not only age—Bruenig has also shown that younger black voters are trending toward Bernie (see the graph at the bottom of this post), and even in South Carolina, Sanders did much better with younger black voters than he did with older black voters—but also region.

http://coreyrobin.com/2016/03/02/super-tuesday-march-theses/

[Snotcicles]

103. Kick for the afternoon crew. nt