PatrickforB
PatrickforB's JournalI have served on a bunch of juries here at DU and generally think this is a good system.
However, for about the last 6 or 8 times I've been asked to serve, I click on take me there I know what I'm doing, and get this:
Thank you for choosing to serve. Unfortunately, that Jury is full.
Our community relies on people like you to help maintain a certain level of civil discourse, and we very much appreciate your willingness to spend some time serving on a Jury. Unfortunately, there was a glitch with our software and too many people were asked to serve on this Jury. We apologize for the inconvenience. We hope to fix this problem soon.
You remain eligible to serve on a Jury, and could be asked again at any time. When that happens, we hope that you will choose to serve again at that time. (Hopefully next time our software will not let you down.)
Thank you for your time, and thank you for your understanding.
Are any of the rest of you getting this message? Just wondering...
Just recused myself from a jury because it was on a post in a room from which
I've been banned. I started off with my default, which is Leave It, but then read the whole thread and discovered that it was in the Hillary room. I did not think it fair that I, who have been banned from that room, should decide on a post there.
Here's a REALLY SCARY pic of a Trump rally. Don't know if this has been posted, but it made
the little hairs on the back of my neck rise and a chill go down my spine.
http://twitter.com/wpjenna/status/706227458777993216/photo/1
Looks like they are saying 'Heil!'
TPP - "This trade deal is not about trade. It's about the transfer of power from people to
big business"
A new study published by York University's Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto has concluded that
"the beneficiaries of ISDS ... have overwhelmingly been companies with more than $1 billion per year in annual revenue - especially extra-large companies with more than $10 billion - and individuals with more than $100 million in net wealth."
Here's the complete HuffPo article with link to the actual study.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rj-eskow/new-study-confirms-privat_b_9348238.html
Robert Reich: An Open Letter to the Republican Establishment
I've always liked Reich, and now here's an open letter he has penned to Wall Street and the rest of the capitalist overlords.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-reich/an-open-letter-to-the-rep_1_b_9344914.html
Here's a couple of excerpts:
"You are the captains of American industry, the titans of Wall Street, and the billionaires who for decades have been the backbone of the Republican Party.
You've invested your millions in the GOP in order to get lower taxes, wider tax loopholes, bigger subsidies, more generous bailouts, less regulation, lengthier patents and copyrights and stronger market power allowing you to raise prices, weaker unions and bigger trade deals allowing you outsource abroad to reduce wages, easier bankruptcy for you but harder bankruptcy for homeowners and student debtors, and judges who will let you to engage in insider trading and who won't prosecute you for white-collar crimes.
All of which have made you enormously wealthy. Congratulations.
But I have some disturbing news for you. You're paying a big price -- and about to pay far more."
I just had to turn off MSNBC because they are SO PRO CLINTON
Chris Hayes interviewed a House member at a caucus who was for Clinton and she brought up how Bernie didn't vote for that bill in 2007 on immigration. BUT CHRIS DIDN'T HAVE THE DECENCY TO ALSO PRESENT THE OTHER SIDE.
When I found myself shouting at the TV because Chris Matthews is lying by omission about the tax Bernie wants to impose on Wall Street speculation. Gosh, he even praised Republicans for saying 'you can't afford this!' and finally, the straw the broke the camel's back was some talking head said Clinton is promising broccoli and Sanders ice cream.
This is bullshit. We need to challenge every fucking lie 24/7. God damn it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Why Bernie is right about single payer, and why
the only thing, THE ONLY THING, holding us back is corporate greed:
Beware of the Angry White People Supporting Hillary and Spreading the 'Bernie Bro' Myth
This HuffPo article highlights some of the experiences African Americans who came out in support of Bernie have faced at the hands of Clinton supporters in the political establishment. Here's a provocative quote from the article, which is not breaking news, but is an opinion piece, so I'm publishing it here:
"Furthermore, white female Clinton supporters, petrified of losing power and influence within America's political system, acted in the same manner towards Ohio State Senator Nina Turner. In a piece titled Every Bernie Sanders Supporter Should Read This Today, Nina Turner shares her experience with angry Clinton supporters in an interview with Terrell Jermain Starr:
When you decided to support Sen. Sanders, did you catch any heat?
"Oh, my god yes. I've had white Hillary supporters saying to me that I betrayed the Clintons and saying I'm not going to have a future in politics. I mean, they marked me for life, and I'm sitting back thinking: The Clintons never helped me to do a thing in my life, and all of a sudden they control my destiny? That was very condescending to me."
"I had a white woman here in Ohio who supported my Secretary of State run in 2014. I'll never forget this. I was at a Planned Parenthood lecture a couple of months ago and she came up to me and said how disappointed she was in me. Very condescending. And I let her know that I really didn't care about her disappointment and I'm not on the plantation. That's exactly what I told her. Then she said, 'After all we've done for you.' Now, see. That was it for me. I interpreted that as, 'After all we've done for you, Black girl, you owe us.' They would never say that to anyone else, but the fact you feel you can say that to a Black woman? I thought she was supporting me because I was the best candidate to be Secretary of State...not because you own me or I owe you."
Whoa! Here's the link: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/h-a-goodman/beware-of-the-angry-white-people-supporting-hillary_b_9250538.html?utm_hp_ref=politics
Hello. I believe I'm being stalked by a member who for some reason is an administrator on
here. This same member has banned me from posting in the Hillary Clinton group, which was probably justified. Then, this morning, I just got up and found that this SAME member has banned me from posting in the Bernie Sanders group, which I believe most emphatically is NOT justified as I'm a fervent Bernie supporter and have not said anything offensive toward Bernie or any member in the Bernie room. Honestly I don't post that much in the Bernie room anyway because like the Hillary room it is kind of an echo chamber.
I have, however, been called to be on numerous juries and usually put in a comment about why I have chosen to (mostly) leave the post in question alone. I think this member may have been offended by one of these comments, though I have no way of knowing.
So here's the request:
1. I'd like to know specifically why I got banned from the Bernie group, which I believe is bullshit
2. I'd like justification from you, the administrators, as to how one of you is allowed to act in such a partisan manner, because it is this SAME member which has banned me from both rooms, and THAT is bullshit.
Bernie and the Donald: a pre-Iowa tale of two candidates
This election cycle has been fascinating. As disappointing as it is for Clinton I think that this is the second time she's been in the wrong place at the wrong time. From what I'm hearing on the ground, the Bernie machine is getting just like Obama's, complete with the passion, enthusiasm and fervency.
But let's stand back for a second.
I read an article recently (I've forgotten the link, sorry) that made a really, really good point on which I want to elaborate.
The article says that the power of the left has been diluted because we support a thousand worthy causes. The author pointed out that we need a short list. The reason: the oligarchs know that the people are powerful. We are the only thing they really fear. So, they attack us 24/7/365 on 1,000 different fronts. The thinking is that if they divide us up so that some are strongly for issue A and others for issue B and still others for issue C, we won't be able to exert enough pressure to make any significant changes.
This is true - it is the old rule of divide and conquer. We can also see it when they try to pit groups of people against one another. If the poor whites hate, mistrust and fear people of color, for instance, then we won't stand together to force change that benefits both poor whites and people of color.
We all know this.
So here's my point:
I do not believe any establishment candidate is going to pull off this one. The American people are too profoundly angry at the status quo. Even the craziest, most heavily armed, racist, xenophobic, homophobic holy roller militia type knows that the 'game' is rigged against us ever really getting ahead.
So who is supporting Trump? The people who are really mad but basically lazy and ignorant. They want to vote for a strong leader, by gosh, and then go back to their sports, guns, bibles, militia groups whatever and forget about the government, because it's in good hands with the strong leader.
Who is supporting Bernie? The people who have realized our mistake as citizens. We've elected people to represent us for decades now and then just gone back to our lives and hoped for the best. Bernie supporters realize this attitude, this approach is literally the death knell for any type of democracy and so they are responding, and will respond in millions to Bernie's call for a political revolution whereby we all stand up together and push for a short list of really important stuff that makes our lives better and more economically secure.
Once we have some of those things, then we systematically add others to the list, keeping this list short so we can exert MASSIVE power for change for those few things. Again, once power acquiesces to our force and 'gives' us those things, then we come at them with other things. Single payer. Using the power of government to negotiate lower costs. Lifting the cap on the Social Security payroll tax and strengthening benefits for seniors. Free college tuition. Reining in Wall Street with stronger regulations, and then FUNDING the regulatory body so it can actually enforce those new regs. Splitting up the 'too big to fail' financial institutions.
That is a good start. It is a short list that may not delight everyone (it DOES delight me, but I'm a late middle aged white male), but that most Dems can live with.
So, let's put Bernie in power and start standing up and flexing our populist muscle on his short list. But then as we see victory after victory, let us add new things to this list. A president who actually will LEAD THE PEOPLE like Bernie will can help us ACCOMPLISH FAR MORE BY ATTEMPTING LESS ALL AT ONCE. But in the end we can all accomplish many things.
Am I the first person who has said this? I sincerely doubt it. But I AM saying that I fervently support Bernie and I am willing to pressure the people who supposedly represent me. And I DO believe that we can take back our government and I DO believe we can make this country and this world a decent place to live for everyone. But we have to pull the teeth of the corporate establishment first. Otherwise we have no chance.
Will we be able to pull it off? We'll see. Am I one of those unicorn idealists? Nope. But I AM an idealist. And I AM going to tilt at this windmill one last time.
Profile Information
Gender: Do not displayHometown: Not disclosed
Home country: USA
Current location: Not disclosed
Member since: Mon Apr 28, 2014, 07:28 PM
Number of posts: 14,570
