Welcome to Bernie/Independent/Third Party Land

[Pam]

Bernie and friends in Dayton, Ohio:


https://youtu.be/rRKDz6-lDqQ

[Honky Tonk]

Bernie and friends in Dayton, Ohio:


https://youtu.be/rRKDz6-lDqQ

Interesting. I haven't heard the National Anthem played on a calliope before.

[Pam]

Interesting. I haven't heard the National Anthem played on a calliope before.

I hope you watched a little bit more than that?

[Honky Tonk]

I hope you watched a little bit more than that?

I did, Pam, I watched it all the way through. Good Afternoon Everybody. But I found it a bit disappointing. A lot of rallying cries, a lot of angry promises, but little action. Everything the protesters are calling for, is already a done deal. Not one of the better Bernie speeches, IMO.

[Pam]

I did, Pam, I watched it all the way through. Good Afternoon Everybody. But I found it a bit disappointing. A lot of rallying cries, a lot of angry promises, but little action. Everything the protesters are calling for, is already a done deal. Not one of the better Bernie speeches, IMO.

What do you mean "already a done deal"? I think these type of rallys are significant because they are focusing on the issues and talking about people running for local offices etc. This is the real "resistance" not just focusing on Trump's latest dumb tweet or whatever Russia supposedly did.

[Pam]

Bernie held a live streamed town hall on health care, and meanwhile the cable news channels covered the usual garbage:

https://youtu.be/jarAhb-Dqv0

[gnome]

Pam,

I voted for Bernie in the Primary and Gary Johnson in the General.

As you may recall I have identified as a Republican but have felt they have been getting more extreme in their views over the last couple of decades.

I cannot see myself voting for another Republican ever again except in County elections.

I cannot imagine Bernie is going to run in 2020. He is 76 years old today which means he'll be 78 or 79 come Election time.

I know the good folks of Vermont are all healthy from breathing fresh air and eating cheese but even the most vigorous Vermontonians slow down in their 80s.

I'm sure Bernie will live forever and will soon start a new family, do some Ab crunches, get a hair transplant, some lasik... a nice tan...

[Pam]

Pam,

I voted for Bernie in the Primary and Gary Johnson in the General.

As you may recall I have identified as a Republican but have felt they have been getting more extreme in their views over the last couple of decades.

I cannot see myself voting for another Republican ever again except in County elections.

I cannot imagine Bernie is going to run in 2020. He is 76 years old today which means he'll be 78 or 79 come Election time.

I know the good folks of Vermont are all healthy from breathing fresh air and eating cheese but even the most vigorous Vermontonians slow down in their 80s.

I'm sure Bernie will live forever and will soon start a new family, do some Ab crunches, get a hair transplant, some lasik... a nice tan...

There are rumors that he might run again. The big question is does he run under the corrupt Dem. flag again or run under a third party? I'm not worried about his age. Even if he doesn't run again, I like that he keeps putting a spotlight on important issues.

[Pam]

Bernie will be in Michigan next weekend:

http://www.mlive.com/news/index.ssf/..._to_lansi.html

[Pam]

Sen. Sanders hosts a town hall on inequality in America.


https://youtu.be/-EV8XfM9CZo

[Pam]

Bernie was one of the sponsors of this resolution.


https://www.sanders.senate.gov/newsr...esolution-vote

WASHINGTON, March 20 – Sen. Bernie Sanders [[I-Vt.) issued the following statement Tuesday after the Senate voted to table a resolution that would have directed the removal of U.S. military forces from hostilities in Yemen that have not been authorized by Congress:

“I am deeply disappointed that Congress has once again abdicated its constitutional responsibility to authorize war. Time and time again, Congress has sat back and failed to ask the hard questions as various administrations have misled us into conflicts, including Vietnam and Iraq, with disastrous consequences. The Saudi-led intervention in Yemen, with U.S. support, has been a humanitarian disaster. Instead of supplying bombs and refueling capabilities, we should be doing everything possible to create a peaceful resolution to that civil war and provide humanitarian help.”

[oladub]

Pam, “I am deeply disappointed that Congress has once again abdicated its constitutional responsibility to authorize war" is something we should hold all our candidates to. I wish Bernie would have included Serbia, Libya, and Syria in his short list and been more anti-war during his presidential campign. Syria is crucial because Trump has perpetuated Obama's interventionism there. People there are suffering. 40% of Syrians in Syrian refugee camps had moved back home as ISIS was rolled back but now Syria and Turkey are creating thousands of new refugees fighting U.S. backed refugees. Will someone explain why we are still trying to topple Assad? Turkey is completely out of bounds. It's hard to imagine neocon SofS Pompeo improving the situation.

Bernie is a getting old though. I'm hoping that Tulsi Gabbard will be the Dems' presidential candidate in 2020. She has her head on her shoulders regarding the unconstitutional wars of which Bernie spoke. Otherwise, she is a Democrat but if Trump expands these wars, Tulsi Gabbard's strong point regarding non-interventionism might outweigh her liberal tendencies. If Bernie ran as her VP, he could bring his contingency to vote for Tulsi while she attracted independent voters and shaved off some non-neocon Republican votes.

[Canadian Visitor]

Pam, “I am deeply disappointed that Congress has once again abdicated its constitutional responsibility to authorize war" is something we should hold all our candidates to. I wish Bernie would have included Serbia, Libya, and Syria in his short list and been more anti-war during his presidential campign. Syria is crucial because Trump has perpetuated Obama's interventionism there. People there are suffering. 40% of Syrians in Syrian refugee camps had moved back home as ISIS was rolled back but now Syria and Turkey are creating thousands of new refugees fighting U.S. backed refugees. Will someone explain why we are still trying to topple Assad? Turkey is completely out of bounds. It's hard to imagine neocon SofS Pompeo improving the situation.

Bernie is a getting old though. I'm hoping that Tulsi Gabbard will be the Dems' presidential candidate in 2020. She has her head on her shoulders regarding the unconstitutional wars of which Bernie spoke. Otherwise, she is a Democrat but if Trump expands these wars, Tulsi Gabbard's strong point regarding non-interventionism might outweigh her liberal tendencies. If Bernie ran as her VP, he could bring his contingency to vote for Tulsi while she attracted independent voters and shaved off some non-neocon Republican votes.

Seems to me, that Congress has shown no inclination to use its authorization or oversight powers effectively in regards to military action, under successive presidents of both parties.

One can make all the rhetorical statements one wishes, or even pass laws or constitutional amendments, but ultimately if Congress shrugs there are no good options. At least not on the 'authorization of war' side.

But perhaps its worth discussion that much of this interventionism occurs because the U.S. has such a vast military presence across much of the world.

It simply makes it much easier to drop troops into assorted places when you have large, nearby bases, vessels, aircraft etc.

Perhaps the way to tackle this is to substantially ramp-down the number and scale of overseas bases, making it more expensive and logistically challenging for the U.S. military to be deployed on a whim?

A couple of links on the scale of U.S. international military presence.

https://www.politico.com/magazine/st...e-world-119321

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...military_bases

[Pam]

Pam, “I am deeply disappointed that Congress has once again abdicated its constitutional responsibility to authorize war" is something we should hold all our candidates to. I wish Bernie would have included Serbia, Libya, and Syria in his short list and been more anti-war during his presidential campign. Syria is crucial because Trump has perpetuated Obama's interventionism there. People there are suffering. 40% of Syrians in Syrian refugee camps had moved back home as ISIS was rolled back but now Syria and Turkey are creating thousands of new refugees fighting U.S. backed refugees. Will someone explain why we are still trying to topple Assad? Turkey is completely out of bounds. It's hard to imagine neocon SofS Pompeo improving the situation.

Bernie is a getting old though. I'm hoping that Tulsi Gabbard will be the Dems' presidential candidate in 2020. She has her head on her shoulders regarding the unconstitutional wars of which Bernie spoke. Otherwise, she is a Democrat but if Trump expands these wars, Tulsi Gabbard's strong point regarding non-interventionism might outweigh her liberal tendencies. If Bernie ran as her VP, he could bring his contingency to vote for Tulsi while she attracted independent voters and shaved off some non-neocon Republican votes.

Bernie voted against the Iraq war back in the day. He did talk about war during the campaign. Tulsi introduced him at the 2016 convention and in her speech she said she was backing him because he was also against regime change interventions. I agree she would have been a good VP choice. Unfortunately, I think any progressive candidates will get blocked again in 2020. The Dems still haven't gotten rid of super delegates and corrupt party officials. Maybe they will run as independents.

Here's Tulsi in 2016:

https://youtu.be/b87RZ_mQU6Y

[oladub]

Pam, Thank you for reminding me that Bernie voted against the Iraq war. Bernie, Dennis Kucinich, Ron Paul, and some others saw through Bush's lies. It isn't just about getting rid of things like super delegates and corrupt officials though. As you know, big money is poured onto its puppets and that same money owns the press. It seems they are driving the leadership of both parties toward more acts of war while the U.S. empire slowly collapses. Their solution is more of the same, although we are less able to afford more of the same. One spooky thing is the resurgence of McCarthyism found here and elsewhere trying to make us fear being called out for not hating Russia enough while driving Russia closer to China. Rand Paul is doing a good job of confronting police state and military interventionist policies in the Republican Party while Tulsi Gabbard and Bernie are isolated by mainstream Democrats for doing the same. I wonder how a Tulsi Gabbard/Rand Paul, either order, independent presidential campaign would fly? My guess is that they wouldn't be invited to debates.

[Pam]

Pam, Thank you for reminding me that Bernie voted against the Iraq war. Bernie, Dennis Kucinich, Ron Paul, and some others saw through Bush's lies. It isn't just about getting rid of things like super delegates and corrupt officials though. As you know, big money is poured onto its puppets and that same money owns the press. It seems they are driving the leadership of both parties toward more acts of war while the U.S. empire slowly collapses. Their solution is more of the same, although we are less able to afford more of the same. One spooky thing is the resurgence of McCarthyism found here and elsewhere trying to make us fear being called out for not hating Russia enough while driving Russia closer to China. Rand Paul is doing a good job of confronting police state and military interventionist policies in the Republican Party while Tulsi Gabbard and Bernie are isolated by mainstream Democrats for doing the same. I wonder how a Tulsi Gabbard/Rand Paul, either order, independent presidential campaign would fly? My guess is that they wouldn't be invited to debates.

The Iraq war vote was one reason I never supported Hillary. She voted for it. I know some people voted for Trump over her because she sounded like a bigger war monger during the campaign. Then Trump gets in and he's dropping bombs on Syria too. The "deep state" is real and it's running foreign policy. I think the majority of Americans are tired of endless war.

[Honky Tonk]

The Iraq war vote was one reason I never supported Hillary. She voted for it. I know some people voted for Trump over her because she sounded like a bigger war monger during the campaign. Then Trump gets in and he's dropping bombs on Syria too. The "deep state" is real and it's running foreign policy. I think the majority of Americans are tired of endless war.

I want my money back.

[Pam]

Interview with Tim Canova who is running against Debbie Wasserman Schultz in Florida:

https://youtu.be/PSBo6ymJRLQ

[Richard]

^ his biggest mistake is thinking the voters in this state [[fla) choose their elected officials,it is old school and the click decides who the faces are.

The polls are just a formality.

Unless you get greedy in robbing the public the FBI is not going to bother with it,it is what it is.

[Pam]

Some big primary wins by "Berniecrats" this week .

https://ourrevolution.com/press/our-...us-and-others/

[GMan]

Some big primary wins by "Berniecrats" this week .

https://ourrevolution.com/press/our-...us-and-others/

It's funny that their mission goals list some of the things Trump is trying to address; [[ Reversing Nafta, building infrastructure, bringing jobs back from overseas i.e.) all admirable, but then they want to give free tuition to all, make it easier to unionize the workforce, more paid time off, break up the big corporations and oh yeah, aggressively tax the same big corporations.
it's a Socialist agenda that benefits no one in the end.

" I want my Money for nothing and my chicks for free..." D.S.

[Pam]

It's funny that their mission goals list some of the things Trump is trying to address; [[ Reversing Nafta, building infrastructure, bringing jobs back from overseas i.e.) all admirable, but then they want to give free tuition to all, make it easier to unionize the workforce, more paid time off, break up the big corporations and oh yeah, aggressively tax the same big corporations.
it's a Socialist agenda that benefits no one in the end.

" I want my Money for nothing and my chicks for free..." D.S.

Money for nothing is what we have now. We're paying taxes to support the bloated defense budget and getting nothing in return. Why can't we spend something on healthcare, schools and infrastructure instead? Other countries do these things, why can't we?

[Richard]

Money for nothing is what we have now. We're paying taxes to support the bloated defense budget and getting nothing in return. Why can't we spend something on healthcare, schools and infrastructure instead? Other countries do these things, why can't we?

Actually the current administration for the last year has been working and getting ready to implement the combining of the department of labor with the department of education.

It did not cost anything and nobody has to offer free collage,which is not actually free,only the opportunity for collage grads to be able to apply their skills when graduating with experience and into a market of their training.

That is giving people the ability and chance without the everything for free promise,I think that is what most want more then the empty promise of free then being dumped into the streets with a piece of meaningless paper.

The biggest socialist countries in to world would love for us to defund the military,it makes their goals achievable.

[TKshreve]

It's funny that their mission goals list some of the things Trump is trying to address; [[ Reversing Nafta, building infrastructure, bringing jobs back from overseas i.e.) all admirable, but then they want to give free tuition to all, make it easier to unionize the workforce, more paid time off, break up the big corporations and oh yeah, aggressively tax the same big corporations.
it's a Socialist agenda that benefits no one in the end.

" I want my Money for nothing and my chicks for free..." D.S.

Yet economists and statisticians continue to prove that curbing the giant boondoggle of defense spending, perheps coupled with reversing the wasteful tax cuts given to the 1% in this country, make those aforementioned benefits viable.

Meanwhile... the national debt just eclipsed $21 trillion under Trumps watch. And yet we hear only crickets from the right, when they were the loudest proponents towards curbing gov't spending during, well... any of the last democrats tenure in office. What happened to all the outrage? Don't answer that - we all know what hypocrisy is at this point.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/under-d...rst-time-ever/

I'm all for infrastructure spending. It provides jobs and makes our country great. Every president soap boxes on it, but that's typically the last you hear of it. And the gov't crony contracts continue to roll out instead.

One thing you'll get from Bernie [[and his party) is consistency. He says what he means, and means what he thinks. You simply can not find that common decency in any other party or candidate anymore. Is it any wonder that we've reached a point where public servants are being hounded and berated in public now? There is no blood left to squeeze from this rock.

[Jimaz]

... Is it any wonder that we've reached a point where public servants are being hounded and berated in public now? There is no blood left to squeeze from this rock.

They should be grateful that tarring and feathering has not yet come back into fashion.