Day: January 27, 2016

But Why Bernie?

The candidates are approaching the starting line…..soon we will be off to the races…….

I have heard that question many many times……few have a good reason why Bernie is being so successful….after all he is a…..wait for it……socialist.  Actually that label is just dumb…all one has to do is look at Bernie’s track record and then tell me that you have NO idea who he is or what he stands for……..

But I have no illusions….Clinton supporters will pick apart Bernie’s platform piece by piece….but think about this…..they tried to crap all over Obama…..and her attacks fell on deaf ears….just as they are today…..

Hillary Clinton has questioned Bernie Sanders’ electability. She’s criticized his plans for health care, foreign policy and Wall Street. And she’s tagged him with flip-flopping on gun control.

None of it appears to be sticking, say some Democrats who have raised concerns that a months-long primary campaign could create lasting damage for their party.

While most believe Clinton will still capture the nomination, some say she is failing to respond effectively to Sanders, fueling both his primary rise and strengthening the Republican argument against her. Others say she got too late a start going after Sanders and is still not hitting him enough – eroding her lead in states that should be safe.

But I expect them to keep trying to defeat Bernie with misinformation….after all she is a Clinton and she excels at misinformation……plus Clinton seems to be using the same playbook she used against Obama…..her stumps are just echoes from ’08…….and we all know how that turned out…..don’t we?

But if you are still confused about Bernie then I offer this op-ed written by Jim Hightower…..

When I crossed paths with a Democratic Party campaign consultant in Austin last March, I suggested he come out to the local International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers hall to hear Bernie Sanders, adding that the Vermont senator was pondering a run for the presidency. “You gotta be kiddin’ me,” the political pro snorted. “Bernie Sanders? Let me tell ya, his chances are slim and none, and Slim don’t live in Bernie’s precinct. First of all, no one south of Greenwich Village ever heard of him.

Source: Something Is Happening | Common Dreams | Breaking News & Views for the Progressive Community

Embedded image permalink

Populism has made a comeback…..it was all the rage back in the 1920’s…..and it has slowly found a place in American politics once again……and Bernie is leading the parade……

Source: The Populist Revolution: Bernie and Beyond – LA Progressive

Can you now…..”Feel The Bern”?

Nukes: The Clock Is Ticking

The news the other day was that the “Doomsday Clock” is still at 3 minutes to midnight……

Scientists behind a “Doomsday Clock” that measures the likelihood of a global cataclysm say the world is still under grave threat.

The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists announced on Tuesday that the minute hand on the metaphorical clock remained at three minutes to midnight.

The scientists behind the bulletin adjusted the clock from five minutes to midnight to three minutes to midnight last year, the closest to midnight it has been since 1983.

The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists was founded in 1945 by University of Chicago scientists who helped develop the first atomic weapons. The clock was created two years later.

The decision to move or leave the clock alone is made by the bulletin’s science and security board, which includes physicists and environmental scientists from around the world, in consultation with the bulletin’s Board of Sponsors, which includes at least 16 Nobel laureates.

Every person that is well read knows of this prediction….but this time it is a bit ironic……it seems that Obama worried about the situations around the world has decided to upgrade the nuke weapons of the US……

The most sobering of these voices belongs to William Perry, who during the 1970s and ’80s directed the development of air-launched nuclear cruise missiles and later became secretary of defense. Now Perry is campaigning against Obama’s plan to develop and buy 1,000 new missiles with adjustable nuclear capacity, 100 new long-range bombers, and a new fleet of nuclear-armed submarines. He warns that if the plan becomes real, disputes among nations will be “more likely to erupt in nuclear conflict than during the Cold War.”

Source: Beware of Obama’s nuclear weapons plan – The Boston Globe

Is Obama and his cronies just reacting to what the Russians are planning?  I wrote about this recently…..read for yourself……

Source: Nukes Make Headlines (Again) – In Saner Thought

Are the Russians trying to do to the US what Reagan did to the USSR?  That is massive spending on “national security”…..then ask where will the cuts be to fund this dash to the past?

Finding Ways To Protect

Note:  I am pretty sure that this will attract a bunch of comments…..It seems to whenever this subject is written about by me.  I am sure about here that those people that want to pass on misinformation and their brand of bigotry will see this post and make some statements that have nothing to do with the post but want to pass on their little small  minded ideas……

One of the silliness arguments these days is the one where all Muslims are blamed for the atrocities of ISIS/AQ simply because they are Muslims….I mean that is like blaming all hamburger sellers for the one bad one you got elsewhere….or blaming all Christians when a “believer” committed an unspeakable crime……like I said …..silly.

I have read many “conservative” blogs and site that are always de-railing Muslims for not speaking out against those that are committing the barbaric acts….well it is, as usual, disingenuous…..I have reported several cases where they are speaking out and in strong words but that will fall on deaf years…..for reason and one reason only….they WANT to hate……it will not help drive their agenda if they admit that steps are being tried…..

I will try again to point out a conference being called to find a solution to the violence…

Hundreds of Muslim scholars will meet in Morocco next week to reassert the rights of non-Muslims living among them as Christians and other religious minorities flee extremism across the Middle East for safety and freedom elsewhere.

Source: Muslim leaders plan summit on protecting non-Muslims in their midst – The Washington Post

Will this be a solution?  Of course not….but at least they are addressing the problem and maybe once the conversation is opened more people will join and a workable solution can be found…..conferences and meetings will not end the violence against people….but it is a start….who knows what will come out of this effort?

Then there is this film that shows just how the extremists pervert Islam…..

Source: New film shows how extremists pervert Islam | The National

Another good attempt to try and show the world that not all Muslims are the enemy…..again there will be very little about these efforts that will make any difference to the haters…..but ignoring the facts is a traditional way to show bigotry……

Then there is this post that I wrote recently……..

Source: The Islam No One Knows – In Saner Thought

Since NO bigoted troll will applaud these efforts…..I will take this opportunity to say…I wish them luck and thank them for their effort……

I regret that I must bounce…..my classroom awaits…..back later and we will continue…….peace….out

Failed States and states of failure

With all the situations around the world it is hard to keep up with the ever changing headlines……we are told about this state that is failing and why…..then we are told that this state is fighting for its life……and then we are bombarded with what can be called what it is….propaganda……

I found an interesting peace in France’s Le Monde…..if you are interested in international relations then this article is a very good piece indeed….

One of the charms of the future is its powerful element of unpredictability, its ability to ambush us in lovely ways or bite us unexpectedly in the ass. Most of the futures I imagined as a boy have, for instance, come up deeply short, or else I would now be flying my individual jet pack through the spired cityscape of New York and vacationing on the moon. And who, honestly, could have imagined the Internet, no less social media and cyberspace (unless, of course, you had read William (…)

Source: Failed States and states of failure – Le Monde diplomatique – English edition

I made copies of this article to give to my class on US foreign policy….well written and well thought out…..

What Happened To The Democrats?

2016 election day is sneaking closer with every tick of the clock…..soon the inevitable analysis of who will vote for who and why will be on the evening news…..maybe some will have an opinion on what happened to Democrats………….

I remember the election of 1980 (yep, I am that damn old) when the white working class abandoned the Democratic Party to vote for Reagan…..there has been a debate ever since in what happened to make this possible….until someone has an adequate reason for the desertion than can be little chance of a solution…..

Bubba Clinton did not bring them back in any numbers and Obama definitely did not make any in-roads in claiming the white working class voter for the Dems……

I have heard one explanation as …..anger.  But anger over what?

I have read many articles and posts about this phenom and have yet to see what I would call anything accurate……and then I read a piece by Robt Reich that made a few excellent points to help explain just what the Hell had happened……..(read on if you are interested)……

The former secretary of labor traces the rise of the Trump conservative, from George Wallace to Barack Obama

Source: Robert Reich: Democrats have abandoned the white working class – Salon.com

Who among the 2016 candidates do you see anyone reaching these voters?