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smokey nj

(43,853 posts)
Fri May 29, 2015, 04:21 PM May 2015

Bernie Sanders Pledges To End No Child Left Behind, Shut Down For-Profit Prisons

Last night, Bernie Sanders did a series of events in New Hampshire, with the largest being in Portsmouth, where he spoke to 800 people at a local church.

Much of the territory he covered was the traditional Sanders spiel: raise taxes on the wealthy who have long dodged their tax responsibilities, make education and health care free, combat rising political and economic inequality.

But during the question and answer session he divulged from his normal territory and took on a few new areas: education, the prison industrial complex, and immigration, staking out left-wing positions that are bolder than any major party nominee in recent memory.



http://www.alternet.org/bernie-sanders-pledges-end-no-child-left-behind-shut-down-profit-prisons
39 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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Bernie Sanders Pledges To End No Child Left Behind, Shut Down For-Profit Prisons (Original Post) smokey nj May 2015 OP
Go Bernie!! darkangel218 May 2015 #1
YES! daleanime May 2015 #2
Let's add - TBF May 2015 #3
Those are the kinds of policies I'm looking for! FiveGoodMen May 2015 #4
every educator should throw a few bucks his way yurbud May 2015 #5
He will win the nomination if people vote for him. It's that simple really. sabrina 1 May 2015 #24
I agree. My point was for the benefit of the fatalists yurbud May 2015 #35
Great news! Go Bernie Go! RufusTFirefly May 2015 #6
Journalists awoke_in_2003 May 2015 #37
I agree with virtually everything this guy says! world wide wally May 2015 #7
Well said. calimary May 2015 #36
Would love to see an end to the prison industrial complex Politicub May 2015 #8
Can a president do that? Let's do it now!!!! nt valerief May 2015 #9
A president cannot do it alone. He needs a Congress that will work with him. JDPriestly May 2015 #23
JDP, if Bernie is not too old to run for President, Bohunk68 May 2015 #30
+1 daleanime May 2015 #34
Very good. My Congressman is one of the most progressive in Congress, so I support him in Congress. JDPriestly May 2015 #38
+1 daleanime May 2015 #33
Private prisons shouldn't exist. Go Bernie! Cheese Sandwich May 2015 #10
Kicked and recommended a whole bunch! Enthusiast May 2015 #11
What a breath of fresh air Fritz Walter May 2015 #12
Bernie!! AzDar May 2015 #13
K&R MissDeeds May 2015 #14
BOOM BrotherIvan May 2015 #15
Here is the interchange for those who don't click the link BrotherIvan May 2015 #16
What a great answer. Bernie is a clear thinker, a moral thinker and truly the best statesman JDPriestly May 2015 #25
'Yes, yes and yes'! Go BERNIE! He is a dream come true for ANY Democrat, on almost sabrina 1 May 2015 #26
Each and every day, Paka May 2015 #17
I agree. We have to help him as best we can. nm rhett o rick May 2015 #18
Sorry to be picky, but leftieNanner May 2015 #19
Kick and R. BeanMusical May 2015 #20
This is the kind of straight-talk on BIG policies that our current crop of pols avoid like a plague! nikto May 2015 #21
After hearing this news, I am more optimistic than ever that Sanders will win and surprise the JDPriestly May 2015 #22
It's already happening. On Social Media people are working harder than I've ever seen for a sabrina 1 May 2015 #28
go bernie! TheNutcracker May 2015 #27
Go Bernie Go... SoapBox May 2015 #29
K&R Our prisons should never be given a profit incentive unless it is for rehabilitation. raouldukelives May 2015 #31
Ending for profit prisons will help black and hispanic citizens who are the ones most likely tblue37 May 2015 #32
NCLB was, basically a RW conspiracy, done out in the open nikto Jun 2015 #39
 

darkangel218

(13,985 posts)
1. Go Bernie!!
Fri May 29, 2015, 04:24 PM
May 2015

You're speaking for us all!!! Hopefully, you will have the chance to make those changes we desperately need!

Thank you for all your life long battle for what is right!!!

TBF

(31,919 posts)
3. Let's add -
Fri May 29, 2015, 04:51 PM
May 2015

legalization of cannabis
transition to sustainable energy methods
rebuild infra-structure (jobs programs - can be through military or civilian corps - or some combo)
welfare assistance in the form of free child care & bus passes
no new trade agreements until we've cleaned our own house
assistance w/housing and student loans (lower interest rates)
stop shooting people (ie cameras on every officer)

This is just a start that took me three minutes to write. There is so much more that needs to be done as well.

yurbud

(39,405 posts)
5. every educator should throw a few bucks his way
Fri May 29, 2015, 05:27 PM
May 2015

even if he doesn't get the nomination, it will send a message to Democrats to stop selling out our kids and teachers to Wall Street.

world wide wally

(21,718 posts)
7. I agree with virtually everything this guy says!
Fri May 29, 2015, 06:07 PM
May 2015

And I'll probably vote for him too.
But I do NOT hate Hilary by any stretch of the imagination. It will play out however it plays out and I'll be voting for whoever the Dems put up against the leader of the clown car posse.

calimary

(80,693 posts)
36. Well said.
Sat May 30, 2015, 02:16 PM
May 2015

If Bernie is our nominee, I will eagerly and enthusiastically support him. AND I WILL vote for him. Unless it's Hillary. Then I WILL vote for her. Eagerly and enthusiastically.

Our absolute WORST Democrat is still LIGHTYEARS better than the so-called "best" the other side's got. And remember - it's not just them, it's WHO THEY BRING IN WITH THEM. Remember that! jeb bush will be bringing in paul wolfowitz sitting on one shoulder, and his lame-ass war-criminal brother sitting on his other shoulder. And rand paul will bring all the flakes and dingdongs of his father's orbit, AND his flake dingdong dad in with him. He'd probably figure, like dubya did, that HE can avenge his dad's defeats. "Well, daddy, you didn't go all the way. I'M gonna try it and I'M gonna make it work (and show both you and Mom HOW IT'S DONE at the same time)."

Politicub

(12,163 posts)
8. Would love to see an end to the prison industrial complex
Fri May 29, 2015, 06:17 PM
May 2015

It's so incredibly immoral and sick to make incarceration a business opportunity for someone.

Glad he's addressing the issue and I hope it gets people to think.

JDPriestly

(57,936 posts)
23. A president cannot do it alone. He needs a Congress that will work with him.
Sat May 30, 2015, 01:02 AM
May 2015

Our job now is to find good candidates to run as Democrats for a Congress of Bernie supporters.

In this age of the internet, we can do this if we try.

I'm too old to start a political career.

I hope some younger Bernie supporters will throw their hats in the ring and form a slate of candidates who support Bernie.

Bohunk68

(1,364 posts)
30. JDP, if Bernie is not too old to run for President,
Sat May 30, 2015, 07:07 AM
May 2015

then you and I are NOT too old to run. People our age did start our political career years ago by being activists. I agree that we have to get the generations coming after to get involved, and I believe they will. But, we have to show that we are not sitting back in the old rocking chair on our previous work. No, we need to follow Bernie's example and continue to be involved and keep the juices flowing. Yeah, we're tired, but, we all die someday and I want to go out like Dylan Thomas said, unquiet.

JDPriestly

(57,936 posts)
38. Very good. My Congressman is one of the most progressive in Congress, so I support him in Congress.
Sat May 30, 2015, 05:57 PM
May 2015

He wins by huge percentages and is second maybe only to Bernie in terms of his ability to communicate with voters. He is just the greatest in my opinion: Xavier Becerra. I hope that DUers and other progressive/liberal Bernie supporters in more conservative districts take your lead.

Fritz Walter

(4,281 posts)
12. What a breath of fresh air
Fri May 29, 2015, 06:51 PM
May 2015

Into the fetid dialog that our electoral process has become!

Stay strong, Bernie!
Sir!

BrotherIvan

(9,126 posts)
16. Here is the interchange for those who don't click the link
Fri May 29, 2015, 07:40 PM
May 2015
QUESTION: We have a law enforcement quota, 34,000 immigrants are to be detained daily. Congress mandates that for a price tag of 2 billion dollars a year. About 60 percent of that is going to two corporations, Corrections Corporation of America and GEO. We are detaining people that present no threat, immediate threat to themselves or us. And then we see a certain Senator accepting campaign donations,

SANDERS: She's not talking about me so be clear (laughter and applause from audience)

QUESTION:– then he's voting against his own comprehensive immigration reform bill. I would like to know would you help us shut down the for-profit prisons, would you you shift money away from detaining people to other more humane methods, immigration judges for examples […] and would you work for comprehensive immigration reform?

SANDERS: The answer is, yes, yes ,yes. Clearly one of the crises we face in our nation is that we have more people behind bars than any other country on earth […] China is a nation that is 3 or 4 times larger than us population wise, it is an authoritarian country Communist country, and we have far more people behind bars than does China. And what we do in our jails is we run a great educational system, we education people how to be even better criminals. So it seems to me that rather than spending huge amounts of money on jails and on private corporations who are incentivized to keep people in jail, it might make a lot more sense to spend money on job training and education so that people do not end up in jail in the first place. And yes I'm certainly in favor of comprehensive education reform.

JDPriestly

(57,936 posts)
25. What a great answer. Bernie is a clear thinker, a moral thinker and truly the best statesman
Sat May 30, 2015, 01:08 AM
May 2015

of our day.

Go, Bernie. I feel sorry for the candidates who run against Bernie.

Bernie hits every question out of the ball park.

I predict that the other candidates will become very frustrated and very negative.

That's what people do when they see that they are losing and cannot win. Bernie can say what he says, he can be honest and forthright because he is not indebted to the corporations or to corrupt politicians or corrupt donors.

Thank God for Bernie Sanders. We have a chance to save our country. Bernie is the only one who can help us.

sabrina 1

(62,325 posts)
26. 'Yes, yes and yes'! Go BERNIE! He is a dream come true for ANY Democrat, on almost
Sat May 30, 2015, 01:09 AM
May 2015

every single issue.

No wonder people are growing more and more excited about him.

Paka

(2,760 posts)
17. Each and every day,
Fri May 29, 2015, 08:37 PM
May 2015

I'm grateful I lived long enough to support this man for POTUS. What joy every time I hear him speak.

 

nikto

(3,284 posts)
21. This is the kind of straight-talk on BIG policies that our current crop of pols avoid like a plague!
Sat May 30, 2015, 12:45 AM
May 2015

Bernie puts the uselessness and cowardice of BOTH parties' politicians in clear perspective.

He seems more real and genuine than ever, going back to videos taken back in the early 90s.

Other pols look slimier and slimier, by the day, in comparison.

All he has to do is BE HEARD, and folks will flock to him, as they more clearly begin to see
the shallowness of the gang of phony-balonies he is competing against.



JDPriestly

(57,936 posts)
22. After hearing this news, I am more optimistic than ever that Sanders will win and surprise the
Sat May 30, 2015, 12:55 AM
May 2015

stodgy, nasty pundits. Go, Bernie.

sabrina 1

(62,325 posts)
28. It's already happening. On Social Media people are working harder than I've ever seen for a
Sat May 30, 2015, 01:13 AM
May 2015

candidate, to make sure he wins the nomination, then on to the GE which I think he would win in a landslide.

And all that work is paying off. He is now beating every single Republican currently running for the WH.

A few months ago, few people even knew who he was was.

SoapBox

(18,791 posts)
29. Go Bernie Go...
Sat May 30, 2015, 01:16 AM
May 2015

is right!

I can't even believe that he is talking about all this stuff...it's like a dream!

raouldukelives

(5,178 posts)
31. K&R Our prisons should never be given a profit incentive unless it is for rehabilitation.
Sat May 30, 2015, 12:41 PM
May 2015

It is sick enough, in my mind, to profit from the incarceration and punishment of guilty people. Sick enough to have it banished.
But to profit from the innocent? To profit from entrapment, dishonesty & profiling? From the torture and outright bondage of our fellow countrymen?
From shareholders to kickbacks & lobbying to more profit to more corporate prisons, more draconian laws, more needless suffering, only for more money. That is evil. No other word for it.

It is the same in our education system. It is the same in our labor. It is the same in our defense. It is the same in our environment. It is taking what could have been a good thing, or at the very least at it's time of implementation considered a necessary thing for the life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness of all Americans (you know, the foundation of Democratic ideals) and it has been twisted by the malignant forces of dark money to serve them only to the detriment of all who come in contact. Now and until the ever beckoning, ever louder song foretelling the end of our run on this planet has finished.

If we don't start changing things now, we quite realistically may never get another chance.

tblue37

(64,979 posts)
32. Ending for profit prisons will help black and hispanic citizens who are the ones most likely
Sat May 30, 2015, 12:55 PM
May 2015

to be targeted to meet the 95% full promise corrupt politicians have promised the corporations that run those prisons (and the ones that use prisoners--again, especially POC) as slave labor.

And since the availability of prison slave labor helps depress wages generally, drying up that huge pool of prisoners would also benefit US workers.

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