senz

senz's Journal

June 11, 2016

Clinton says she can compromise on Roe v. Wade

Again, I am where I have been, which is that if there's a way to structure some kind of constitutional restriction that take into account the life of the mother and her health, then I'm open to that.

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2015/09/29/hillary_clinton_i_could_compromise_on_abortion_if_it_included_exceptions_for_mothers_health.html

Again,

During a Fox News town hall on Monday night, Clinton and Sanders were asked about their position on late-term abortions. Sanders' stance was easy to discern: He opposes abortion restrictions, full stop.

Clinton replied, "No—I have been on record in favor of a late-pregnancy regulation that would have exceptions for the life and health of the mother."

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/03/hillary-clinton-late-term-abortions

June 7, 2016

He should wait until after 2,383 delegates are reached at the convention

To win the 2016 Democratic primary, a candidate must have 2,383 delegates.

As of June 6th, Hillary has 1,812 pledged delegates and Bernie has 1,526 pledged delegates. That's a difference of 286 delegates.

To reach 2,383 before the convention, Hillary would need 571 more pledged delegates and Bernie would need 857 more pledged delegates.

The states that vote tomorrow and the number of pledged delegates available from each:

CA -- 475
MT -- 21
NJ -- 126
NM -- 34
ND -- 18
SD -- 20

D.C. has 20 delegates and votes on June 14.

http://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/election-2016/delegate-targets/

It is virtually impossible for either candidate to reach 2,383 pledged delegates from the remaining states. Since the pledged delegates alone don't confer 2,383, the superdelegate votes at the convention will make up the difference and decide the nomination.

The AP announced tonight that Hillary had "won," even though she hasn't. They made this announcement before the seven remaining primaries had been held. It will depress voter turnout and is an an act of sabotage.

May 15, 2016

Good point, nadin.

I had to look up the term dedazos.

From 1929 to 1982, the PRI won every presidential election by well over 70 percent of the vote—margins that were usually obtained by massive electoral fraud. Toward the end of his term, the incumbent president in consultation with party leaders, selected the PRI's candidate in the next election in a procedure known as "the tap of the finger" (Spanish: el dedazo). In essence, given the PRI's overwhelming dominance, the president chose his successor. The PRI's dominance was near-absolute at all other levels as well. It held an overwhelming majority in the Chamber of Deputies, as well as every seat in the Senate and every state governorship.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Institutional_Revolutionary_Party

I do believe the Party establishment chose Hillary years ago. I still don't think Obama particularly likes her. I think he's wary of her, stemming partly from her 2008 ugliness and partly from her clumsy, disastrous rebellions during his presidency (email server, foreign policy blunders).

I also believe the larger establishment (because "party" is most certainly NOT what this is all about) wants Hillary as well, which should be evident to anyone who has viewed her donor list and observed the MSM during this election year.

The establishment absolutely does not want Bernie, because he is here to take on the establishment. There are so many pieces to this, but for one tiny sample, consider Bill Clinton's 1996 Telecom Bill which allowed for even greater concentration and control of the media in the hands of a few humongous corporate monopolies. The heads of those corporations are unimaginably rich and powerful -- and grateful to the Clintons. Bernie, of course, wants to break up the media monopoly so the American people can once again have exposure to a variety of information and opinion. Of course they want to smash him.

So, yes, what Nevada experienced last night was the establishment -- the oligarchy -- exerting control over a political process that threatened to get out of hand, that is, to elect someone the establishment does not want. All the Party minions tore off the mask, and Nevadans got to see the state Democratic Party chair and a U.S. Senator scolding the part of the electorate that did not automatically accept their chosen candidate.

Dedazos.

I smell revolution in the air. I hope it's the peaceful political revolution that the people's candidate has been advocating for the past year. My little old lady self is just a tad intimidated to see it happening, but thank God we have some young, strong, genuine heroes -- smart ones, too -- on our side.

God speed.

May 5, 2016

Best explanation I've heard, thereismore.

Her diehard followers have projected themselves, their struggles, and their suffering onto her, so every criticism, EVERY FACT, is another horrible, unfair attack on one who stands, in their minds, for long-suffering womanhood everywhere. It's similar to what the RCC did with Mary; Hillary has become an archetype of religious figure, in their minds and hearts. I think Mary is sometimes called Our Lady of Perpetual Suffering -- and this name is perfect for what Hill supporters have created with Hillary, as well. OLoPS.

They haven't made this psychological transfer with any other woman, and that is why they are strangely unmoved when we tell them we prefer a different woman, like Elizabeth Warren. Sen. Warren's gender doesn't count in the same way for them. If you support EW or any female, but not Hillary, you are sexist. They see EW only as support staff for Hillary. They are unable to see the profound ideological and ethical differences between EW and HRC, but they are aware of EW's strong standing with Democrats, which they convert into an unspoken endorsement of Hillary. (Entirely ignoring EW's contrasting ideology.)

The identification, the projection, is so profound that, as you brilliantly pointed out, everything that happens to Hill happens to them, as well. Her success is their success. Her victory over that terrible man, Bernie Sanders, is their victory over all the forces of patriarchal evil. It doesn't matter that he has always been a better feminist than Hillary. That's why they call every single criticism of Hillary "rightwing" regardless of the content of the criticism.

With Hill's female supporters, as we've seen here, this projection/identification even comes down to her physical appearance, how she's doing in the female attractiveness department. During debates and speeches, they coo about how she looks, what she's wearing, while completely ignoring what she says. If anyone dares to criticize her physical appearance, they go nuts. It is strictly verboten, an instant alert, surefire hide. Even photos of her that aren't attractive are perceived as unthinkable insults to the goddess. This also explains why so many of her followers, especially females, insist on using a very old photo of her as their avatar -- because in their minds she will always be eternally young and lovely, as they wish they could be. Imagine if Bernie supporters insisted on avatar photos of him as a young man! How bizarre that would be -- yet this is what Hill supporters do.

Her behavior, her dishonesty and lack of ethics, her horrible domestic and foreign policy mistakes, simply don't count; they are not really "her," in their minds. Their goddess, like Mary, is pure. Nothing, not even her own character, her own actions, can touch her.

But there is another group of Hillary supporters, and these are the ones who are either a) on the campaign payroll, b) subdued by her (and possibly the DNC's) political power and influence, and/or c) adherents to the ideology that promotes the corporate takeover of government (replacing democracy), the exploitation of the lower middle and lower classes, and a class society. They are essentially conservative authoritarian. They are not, by any stretch of the imagination, liberal/progressive. They use social issues divisively, as rightwing talk radio does, but turned inside out. So Bernie's supporters, even those of us (a majority, I think, on DU) who are female and feminist, are in their minds, young white sexist males. Bernie's supporters who are PoC (e.g. Nina Turner, Rosario Dawson, Killer Mike, Cornell West, and others) don't count. This is the cynical manipulation of serious social issues.

So there are at least two classic types of Hillary supporter. I hope someday this phenomenon will be recognized, analyzed, and dissected in the media.

One frightening parallel with Trump followers is a strong penchant for blind adherence, blind obedience, to an authoritarian leader. That is dangerous. So with these two, Trump and Hill, we, as a people, are in a precarious position.

May 4, 2016

I'd like to see the nation wake up and acknowledge the progressive movement

a movement that is neither fringe nor unAmerican but firm and principled like the brave man who lit the spark a year ago so that we could all Feel the Bern as we went forth together on this journey.

I'd like to see thousands of working class Americans who want to take this country back from the corporatocracy and return it to the people deliver a firm ultimatum to the bought-and-sold elitists who have co-opted our party and country.

I'd like the sincerity and intensity of our deeply held convictions to strike fear in the hearts of those who grew wealthy and powerful on a rigged system -- including the Democratic nominee, if it isn't Bernie. I'd like them to feel our complete repudiation of the corrupt and undemocratic system that exploits working people and keeps them down. I'd like them to know that our numbers are large and growing and that we will not be stopped.

I'd like to see an eloquent statement of beliefs, grievances and intentions loosely patterned on the Declaration of Independence read aloud at the convention.

I'd like to see some well-known Americans stand courageously alongside us.

I'd like it to be peaceful and orderly with protection for the participants and vigilance against those on the other side would try to turn it into a riot in order to discredit us.

I'd like it to be covered on both social media and the MSM but with much support across all social networks. I'd like support from Anonymous, OWS, and all progressive organizations everywhere.

Thanks for the OP, H2O Man

April 26, 2016

Bernie Sanders' Legislative Accomplishments: A Partial List

The following is a list of every substantive bill and amendment Sanders sponsored from the floor of Congress that became law (substantive meaning legislation renaming post offices is not included). Many of the roll-call amendments he passed with majority approval — like limiting the federal government’s ability to spy on people’s library records — were removed from bills when the House and Senate negotiated over the final legislative text and did not become law.

Because the list is derived from Congress’ official database of floor actions, it does not include achievements like his insertion of funding for veterans health care into an Iraq war spending bill because that occurred off of the House floor while the bill was in conference. Nor does the list include what is perhaps his most significant achievement — providing health care to an additional 10 million mostly low-income Americans by getting Senate majority leader Harry Reid to add $11 billion in funding for community health centers that provide care regardless of a person’s ability to pay to the 2010 Affordable Care Act in exchange for Sanders rallying liberal Democrats who were considering voting against the bill once conservative Democrats removed the public option.

Those who mistakenly believe that a President Sanders would be powerless in the face of a hostile Republican Congress should bear in mind that he managed to pass these bills and amendments in spite of Republican control of both the House (1995-2006) and the presidency (2001-2008). Furthermore, it was Republicans in the House and Senate who compromised with him (not the other way around) on major veterans legislation in 2014. His original bill expanding services for veterans and fixing the scandal-ridden Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) cost $17.3 billion. The price tag of the final compromise bill? $16.3 billion.

H.R.4206 (Cancer Registries Amendment Act) enacted as S. 3312 (Cancer Registries Amendment Act).

H.Amdt. 98 to H.R. 665 (Victims of Justice Act of 1995)

H.Amdt. 210 to H.R. 830 (Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995)

H.Amdt. 1203 to H.R. 3666 Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 1997

H.J.Res.129 enacted as S.J.Res.38 (A joint resolution granting the consent of Congress to the Vermont-New Hampshire Interstate Public Water Supply Compact)

H.Amdt.174 to H.R.1757 (Foreign Affairs Reform and Restructuring Act of 1998)

H.Amdt.267 to H.R.2160 (Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1998)

H.Amdt.289 to H.R.2266 (Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 1998) -- National Guard Starbase program

H.Amdt.368 to H.R.2378 (Treasury and General Government Appropriations Act, 1998) -- Prohibit funds for the U.S. Customs Office from being used to allow the importation into the U.S. any material mined, produced, or manufactured by forced or indentured child labor.

H.Amdt.388 to H.R.2267 (Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1998)

H.Amdt.569 to H.R.6 (Higher Education Amendments of 1998)

H.Amdt.614 to H.R.3694 (Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1999) -- Reduce the intelligence budget for fiscal year 1999 by 5% with an exemption for the CIA Retirement and Disability Fund.

H.Amdt.626 to H.R.10 (Financial Services Act of 1998) -- Require the Comptroller General to report to Congress regarding the efficacy and benefits of uniformly limiting any commissions, fees, markups, or other costs incurred by customers in the acquisition of financial products.

H.Amdt.706 to H.R.4101 (Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999) -- Increase funding for nutrition programs for senior citizens by $10 million

H.Amdt.708 to H.R.4103 (Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 1999) -- Prohibit funding to be used to enter into or renew a contract with any company owned, or partially owned, by the People’s Republic of China or the People’s Liberation Army of the People’s Republic of China.

H.Amdt.724 to H.R.4104 (Treasury and General Government Appropriations Act, 1999) enacted as H.R. 2490 (Treasury and General Government Appropriations Act, 2000) -- National Archives and Records Administration improvements

H.Amdt.127 to H.R.1906 (Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2000)

H.Amdt.136 to H.R.1906 (Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2000) -- national pilot program to promote agritourism

H.Amdt.258 to H.R.2466 (Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2000) enacted as H.R.3194 (Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2000) -- deficit reduction; and reduces fossil energy research and development funding

H.Amdt.442 to H.R.2684 (Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 2000) -- health care services for veterans in rural areas

H.Amdt.791 to H.R.4577 (Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2001) -- (relating to the availability to the public of an invention and its benefits on reasonable terms)

H.Amdt.818 to H.R.4578 (Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2001) -- weatherization assistance and energy conservation programs and reduce fossil fuel energy research and development programs

H.Amdt.238 to H.R.2590 (Treasury and General Government Appropriations Act, 2002) -- Prohibit the importation of goods made by forced or indentured child labor.

H.Amdt.376 to H.R.3061 (Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2002) -- relating to the availability to the public of an invention and its benefits on reasonable terms

H.Amdt.404 to H.R.3338 (Department of Defense and Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for Recovery from and Response to Terrorist Attacks on the United States Act, 2002) -- Provide $100 million for federally qualified community health centers.

H.Amdt.255 to H.R.2691 (Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2004) -- Increase funding for weatherization assistance grants

H.Amdt.336 to H.R.2861 (Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 2004) enacted as H.R.2673 (Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2004) -- Prohibit the use of funds in the bill to implement any policy prohibiting the Directors of the Veterans Integrated Service Networks from conducting outreach or marketing to enroll new veterans within their respective networks.

S.Amdt.737 to H.R.1591 (U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans’ Care, Katrina Recovery, and Iraq Accountability Appropriations Act, 2007) -- fund weatherization assistance program

S.Amdt.1515 to H.R.6 (Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007) -- Establish an energy efficiency and renewable energy worker training program

S.Amdt.1525 to H.R.6 (Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007) -- use of solar hot water heaters in certain Federal buildings

S.Amdt.4384 to H.R.3221 (Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008) -- Increase specially adapted housing benefits for disabled veterans.

S.Amdt.1658 to S.1390 (National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010) -- re child care available to deployed members of the reserve components of the Armed Forces

S.Amdt.2271 to H.R.2997 (Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010) -- funds for the school community garden pilot program

S.Amdt.2601 to H.R.3326 (Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2010) -- veteran outreach and reintegration services

S.Amdt.3738 to S.3217 (Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2010) -- let the American people know the names of the recipients of over $2 trillion in taxpayer assistance from the Federal Reserve System

S.Amdt.306 to H.R.1 (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009) -- Require recipients of TARP funding to meet strict H-1B worker hiring standard to ensure non-displacement of U.S. workers

S.Amdt.1658 to S.1390 (National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010) -- report to Congress on financial assistance for child care available to deployed members of the reserve components of the Armed Forces.

S.Amdt.4280 to H.R.4899 (Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2010) -- make publicly available the contractor integrity performance database established under the Clean Contracting Act of 2008

S.2450 (Veterans’ Access to Care through Choice, Accountability, and Transparency Act of 2014) enacted as H.R.3230 (Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014) -- VA reform bill

S.893 (Veterans’ Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2013) -- increase rates of veterans’ disability compensation, additional compensation for dependents, etc.

S.Amdt.2146 to S.1471 (Alicia Dawn Koehl Respect for National Cemeteries Act) – re interring the remains and honoring the memory of a person in a national cemetery

https://pplswar.wordpress.com/2015/11/11/what-bernie-sanders-got-done-in-washington-a-legislative-inventory/

April 26, 2016

FACT: Bernie Sanders Got More Done in the Senate than Hillary Clinton

“I’m a progressive, but I’m a progressive that likes to get things done,” said Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in the first primary debate. Never mind that the things Clinton helped ‘get done’ — the disastrous Iraq war, the Patriot Act — should have never been done, the purpose of this jab was twofold:

Leverage her status as a Washington insider to present herself to voters as a pragmatist uniquely qualified to get things done as president.
Draw a contrast between herself and her main rival, independent Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, who she insinuated is a progressive that does not get things done.

This line of attack works because it plays on a common stereotype that socialists and progressives are more interested in ideological purity than in making real-world progress, but when we compare the first eight years of their respective Senate legislative records, it turns out Sanders got more meaningful legislation done than Clinton.

As a Senator, Clinton sponsored three bills that became law: S.3145, S.3613, and S.1241. The first of these renamed a highway in New York state, the second renamed a post office in New York City, and the third established the Kate Mullany National Historic Site in Troy, New York and authorized funding to set the site up.

During Sanders’ time in the Senate, he sponsored two bills that became law: S.885 and S.893. The first of these renamed a post office in Vermont. The second increased compensation for disabled veterans and their families.

Here's the truly impressive part:

While Sanders chaired the Senate’s Veteran Affairs committee during the 113th Congress (2013-2014), 13 of the committee’s bills became law. That may not sound like a lot until you realize that the Senate Veterans Affairs (VA) committee only passed 8.5 bills into law on average during each of the past 20 Congresses and that these 13 bills became law during the second least productive Congress in American history.

Sanders’ most significant achievement during 113th Congress was passing a $16.3 billion bipartisan VA reform bill that expanded existing and created new health care facilities, allowed veterans to go outside the VA system to private health care providers when wait times are too long or if a veteran lives more than 40 miles away from a VA facility, and made it easier to fire VA officials.

Sanders was so effective as a legislator that the (right-wing) Veterans of Foreign Wars awarded him its highest honor in 2015.

?w=1098

How many bills did Clinton successfully shepherd into law as the chair of a Senate committee? Zero. Clinton did not chair any Senate committees during the three Congresses she served in because she did not accumulate enough seniority.

If you are looking for a presidential candidate with a proven record of beating partisan gridlock to get meaningful legislation passed in Washington, D.C., then ~~Hillary Clinton~~ Bernie Sanders deserves your support.

Bernie Sanders works hard for good progressive causes, has shown proven leadership, and he gets things done.

https://pplswar.wordpress.com/2015/10/21/fact-bernie-sanders-got-more-done-in-the-senate-than-hillary-clinton/

March 16, 2016

I'm not giving up.

Why would I acquiesce to evil? What's the point in that?

Yeah, I consider oligarchs, liars, cheaters, exploiters of fellow human beings, polluters and despoilers of the earth, warmongers, phonies, asskissers, narcissists, and sociopaths evil. That means the whole big nasty rightwing/Third Way crowd out there, the ones serving the interests of the 1% at the expense of the 99%.

I'm old, this might be the last chance I will ever get to fight evil. Let my time on earth mean something.

I don't like bad guys. Screw bad guys.

Hell no. I'm not giving up.

February 24, 2016

Bernie Sanders has a lifetime of advocacy for racial and LGBT justice

Bernie has fought for minority rights since high school and has continued the fight his entire life.

The following are a few examples:

Bernie raised scholarship money for Korean orphans in the 1950s while in high school.
While in college, Bernie was active in two civil rights groups, the Congress on Racial Equality (CORE) and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). In 1962, he was arrested for protesting racial segregation in public schools.
In the 1970s, Bernie called for full gay equality. As a candidate for Vermont’s governor, Bernie advocated abolishing all laws on homosexuality.
In the 1980s, as mayor of Burlington, VT, Sanders formally protested Reagan’s aggression against Latin Americans. In 1985, he traveled to Nicaragua to condemn Reagan’s war on the Nicaraguan people which he described in his book, Outsider In The House.
Bernie opposed Republican welfare reform politics of the 1980s and 90s, condemning it for its scapegoating and bigotry. He voted against it and called it “the grand slam of scapegoating legislation,” noting that it “appeals to the frustrations and ignorance of the American people along a wide spectrum of prejudices.”
Bernie has condemned and opposed the death penalty and prisons his entire political career.
In 1991, Sanders was one of the few white members of Congress who joined with the Congressional Black Caucus in opposition to a bill that would cut prisoners off from federal education funds. It passed 351 to 39.
Bernie took the IMF to task for oppressing developing world workers. In a 1998 committee hearing, Bernie stood up for the rights of poor Black and brown workers in Indonesia. (Video link at source.)
Bernie receives high ratings from leading Civil Rights organizations. Bernie’s Civil Rights record.
Bernie voted against the PATRIOT Act and against renewing it every time. The Act has been used to violate the rights of Arab and Muslim Americans, and as a weapon in the drug war.
Bernie opposed both Iraq Wars (1991, 2003) on moral grounds, noting that ”the death and destruction caused, will in my opinion, not be forgotten by the poor people of the Third World.”
In 2007, as a new senator, Bernie went to Costa Rica to defend workers from an exploitative trade agreement. He helped Costa Rican workers organize an opposition to the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA).
He campaigned for Jesse Jackson’s 1988 presidential run, organized Vermonters, and won the state for Jackson. Sanders also supported Jackson’s advocacy for the Palestinian people.
He has strongly and repeatedly condemned police violence against minority communities. Numerous examples, including video links, can be found at the source document.
In September 2014, Bernie met supportively with immigrants when Hillary Clinton refused to talk to them.
Bernie defended voting rights against voter suppression efforts. In 2012 he called for GAO investigation of state voter ID laws and in 2015 introduced legislation to increase voter turnout.
Bernie has always been a strong supporter of LGBT rights.
Bernie called for an end to War On Drugs, is leading the war on for-profit prisons and immigrant detention quotas.
In September, 2014, Senator Sanders and Rep. John Conyers proposed a detailed strategy for reducing unemployment across America with particular emphasis on Black and Latino youth unemployment. Their “Employ Young Americans Now Act” was in keeping with the philosophy of MLK, who was dedicated to the organized labor movement and fought on behalf of the working poor across racial divides.
Bernie was the only white Congressional Representative to support and work with members of the Congressional Black Caucus to protest Republican suppression of Black voters in 2004.

The fact that Bernie Sanders has done so much for civil and minority rights, despite representing a constituency that would not naturally demand it, speaks to his strong sense of justice and a wide empathy that is exceptional among politicians.

Source: http://www.alternet.org/election-2016/20-examples-bernie-sanders-powerful-record-civil-and-human-rights-1950s I reduced the verbiage of the original list for use as an OP and appended the final item.

January 7, 2016

America's founders set up a democratic form of government.

Democracy is government of, by, and for the people. The very concept of voting, of electing representatives to govern the country, of "one man one vote," meant that citizenship and voting were not dependent on circumstances such as personal wealth, and the American government was intended to serve everyone, regardless of material wealth. (Yes, our nation's founders were limited to their 18th century worldview and didn't realize that women and AAs should be full voting citizens within the new democracy, but the Constitution they created was flexible enough to eventually expand democratic governance to include nonwhites and females.) America was created as a democratic government. That is fundamental.

Oligarchy is not democracy. Oligarchy is government or, by, and for the few. Changes in our government put in place by the Reagan administration have altered the conduct, purpose, and outcome of the government. It no longer serves the people -- the many -- as our founders intended. This has been a coup, a relatively slow, quiet, bloodless coup. Power has been transferred from the many to the few. This is an immense transformation of our country. And yet the Constitution itself has not changed – although, over time, the Supreme Court altered the meanings of some of some of the words in the Constitution. Words like "person," and "speech." So now corporations are persons and money is speech. Little changes like this have had huge effects, as power that was intended to be shared relatively equally by all has gradually flowed away from the common person and toward the wealthy few, from democracy to oligarchy. (In fact, it is a specific kind of oligarchy: plutocracy, "government by the wealthy.&quot

This is a big deal. It matters. We need to put it out in the open, talk about it, and deal with it. There are "Democrats" on this website who either refuse to see this truth or refuse to admit it. There may even be some who are unable to grasp it. But what has happened and is happening with this gradual transfer of power amounts to a slowly building oppression of "the many." Most people know something is wrong, but they don't know what or why, so they seek scapegoats in other people (races, religions, etc.) and/or in government itself. They can't see who it is that has taken the reins of our government away from them. They don't know what happened to make everyday living turn so harsh, uncomfortable, and vaguely frightening, as it is for so many today.

That's the conversation Senator Sanders is trying to start with the country.

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