Posts Tagged ‘bernie sanders

04
Mar
20

Lessons

By Nerdy Wonka 150 Comments
Categories: All Photos
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19
Apr
16

Your Apathy Is Not Voter Suppression

By Nerdy Wonka 134 Comments
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Rikyrah

Voter Suppression is…

when you would be 42 years old, if you had stayed in the state of your birth before you’d be able to vote in this country and that’s AFTER you put on the uniform and put your life on the line for said country

when you attempt to register people to vote and wind up with a cross burning on your lawn

when you have a Bachelors and Masters degree, and are asked to inform the registrar – how many bubbles are in a bar of soap.

or how many jelly beans are in that jar.

or to recite the preamble to the U.S. Constitution..

and, even after you’ve done that, you are asked to recite the Declaration of Independence – verbatim.

Or, you have to take a test, on your state’s constitution, that lawyers, registered to practice law in your state – don’t know….

Or, being told that you can get a ‘ Free Voter ID’, but in order to get the ‘ Free ID’, you have to spent Hundreds of $$$$, and make numerous trips to various agencies to get the paperwork for the ‘ Free Voter ID’

ALL of the above is voter suppression.

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What is NOT Voter Suppression?

You being too fucking lazy to know the ins and outs of VOTER REGISTRATION DEADLINES.

You being too arrogant and believing that the laws, which have been in place – FOR YEARS – should be changed, because, well, of YOU.

They didn’t just come up with a closed primary in New York last week, last month, or last year.

And, if ‘offends’ you to register with a political party…that is YOUR RIGHT.

But, sit down, shut THE PHUCK up, and wait for you turn to vote in November.

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If you don’t like that there is no Early Voting – get the legislature to change it.
If you don’t like that there is no ‘ No Reason’ Absentee – get the legislature to change it.
If you don’t like that it’s a ‘closed Primary’ – get the legislature to change it.
If you don’t like that there is no Election Day Registration – get the legislature to change it.

IF you have not spoken up before about these things…then go somewhere and STFU.

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Rikyrah

You want to know why you should vote?

THE SUPREME COURT.

There was a post yesterday, about the woman who follows the Supreme Court for Slate, and how, THIS was supposed to be the year where the SC was going to deliver a big FU to President Obama.

In case after case, they had greased the wheels so that the SC could just deliver a number of body blows to the President.

But, then, Fat Tony went up and died.

So, you don’t like Hillary.

Hell, I don’t like Hillary.

But, there are real cases.

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The outcome will affect MILLIONS of your fellow Americans.

So, maybe they don’t affect you.

But, you don’t have enough concern for your fellow citizens that you should know better that it’s important that a DEMOCRAT fills that seat?

You don’t like Money in Politics?

CITIZENS UNITED

You don’t know why so many of us are talking about ‘Voter Suppression?’

THE GUTTING OF THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT.

Why is this hard for some people to get?

The Court is literally – IN FRONT OF YOUR EYES-hanging in the balance.

And, that’s not enough reason to get out and vote?

REALLY?
SERIOUSLY?

29
Mar
16

On revolutionary fantasies

By Liberal Librarian 63 Comments
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sarandon

Noted Bernie Sanders supporter Susan Sarandon had this to say about the prospect of a Donald J. Trump presidency:

Let me tell you a bit about revolution.

Continue reading ‘On revolutionary fantasies’

19
Jul
15

Listen, Learn, Reflect

By Nerdy Wonka 124 Comments
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Maryl1

As a white person, I know many people use the #AllLivesMatter hashtag as a way to dismiss and dis-empower the deeply felt #BlackLivesMatter tag. It seems obvious on its face that using #BlackLivesMatter is a heart-cry response to what is going on at this very moment, not some subversive attempt to deny any other group their humanity. I also believe that some white people, especially at firs, used it in the sense of “We are all important. We support and include you”.

Now, that is naive. It is pie-in-the-sky, everything-will-be-okay-if-we-just-join-hands-and-sing naivety that does not acknowledge life as some people have to live it. There are sometimes good intentions. But we all know where good intentions lead us.

crmlu150625

My point is this: even when you truly believe “AllLivesMatter” is a supportive thing to say, when the people you are trying to support tell you clearly, “No. It. Isn’t”, you have to listen. When they say “This is hurtful and dismissive”, you have to listen. When the people you are trying to support say, “This is how you support us: “BlackLivesMatter”, you have to listen. When your feelings are hurt because your support was not accepted the way you thought it would be, you have to LISTEN. You have to LISTEN and ACCEPT that they know their own lives better than you do, that their experiences are different and true. That no matter how much you wish it weren’t that way and no matter how much you want it to be different, you have to LISTEN and ACCEPT and APOLOGIZE and BE HUMBLE in the face of your ignorance.

8qEN1.AuSt.91

I respect Bernie Sanders for marching for Civil Rights in the 50s and 60s. I’m sure he did it out of a deep belief in the cause. Since then he has served an almost all white community. It’s not enough for him and his supporters to look back 50 years and rest on those laurels. It’s not okay for him to determine the battle was won because he is not aware of it any more. And when you are tone deaf enough, and so far out of touch that you can say things like “Racism is over” and ” Black people need to stop voting their color”, you need to LISTEN when the people whose support you need say “No! Wait! It’s hurtful and wrong!”. And then you need to reassess and humble yourself and say, “I’m sorry. I was wrong. Tell me what I need to know and I’ll listen.” Sanders doesn’t seem to have the slightest ability to do that and that is what worries me in his candidacy. I don’t expect a perfect candidate, I don’t expect any of them to measure up to PBO (well Joe Biden if he runs!), but I do expect a candidate who can learn, respond to new information, and most of all treat EVERYONE with respect and dignity. I think racial injustice, legal injustice, and economic injustice are three self-reinforcing evils at the root of our society. Sanders is obsessed with one at the expense of the others. It’s not good enough. I will vote for him if he is the candidate, but it will make me very sad.

As a white person, I feel that the biggest role we can play is to listen, learn, and reflect that learning to other people, and allow everyone the dignity of their own experience.

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Protester

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MadameSoph

The “All lives matter” thing has always seemed so passive-aggressively hostile to me. Of course “all lives matter”! Any true liberal is a liberal because we believe, as PBO has quoted many times that, “I am my brother’s keeper” and that we rise and fall together. PBO himself is an example of someone who truly cares about all of humanity, no matter the shade, sexual orientation or circumstances.

But those who say “All lives matter” in response to “Black lives matter” are clearly, in my mind and to my heart, retorting rather than responding. There is an inherent negation of “Black lives matter” by responding with “All lives matter” and, to me, whether those who use the “All lives matter” retort realize it consciously or not, they are being defensive. Why do you feel the need to get defensive if you are not subconsciously or secretly separating yourself out from your brothers and sisters of different shades? And for the politicians, such as HRC and BS (BS… perfect, huh?), using “All lives matter” when speaking before supporters is an obvious “Don’t worry, I’m one of you.” signal to those frightened or angered by “Black lives Matter”

To me, if all lives really did matter to these people, they would SEE what is so blatantly before them; they wouldn’t need it explained to them. If they truly felt value in all lives, they would understand the need for and reason for “Black lives Matter.”

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Message: especially to some Bernie supporters

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19
Jul
15

#BlackLivesMatter: The Truth In 140 Characters

By Nerdy Wonka 140 Comments
Categories: All Photos
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This from a Bernie Sanders supporter. This is not just one or two or three supporters. Increasingly, a large number of his supporters sound like this when they open their mouths, and it’s disturbing. Message to the other Democratic candidates: STOP TAKING BLACK VOTERS FOR GRANTED

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Time and time again, we show up. Recent example: Governor Terry McAuliffe

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Truth

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The #AllLivesMatter hashtag is such dehumanizing BS. It’s not just conservatives promoting it, but also progressives. You are not the one being murdered everyday. You are not the one facing the horrors of institutional racism, yet you want to derail a movement by centering yourself. Selfishness in a nutshell

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17
Jun
15

On chasing the “Archie Bunker voter”

By Liberal Librarian 110 Comments
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In case it hasn’t been made painfully clear, the Democrats seeking to succeed Barack Obama as president have no time for his coalition.

First, Hillary Clinton, the presumptive nominee, urges the President to “take advice” from Nancy Pelosi on the TPP trade deal. You know, just like her husband did when he was in charge. Oh, except, Mr. Clinton didn’t. Call me confused, but I thought that, aside from sheer incompetence or malfeasance, the members of a president’s party were supposed to take leadership from him, not nip at his heels over every initiative.

Then, of course, we had Senator Bernie Sanders opining yesterday that black Americans needed to stop voting based on race. The sheer audacity of this statement is mind-boggling. There would have been no Democratic wave of 2006, or two Obama landslides, without the African American vote. And these same African Americans, before the arrival of Barack Obama, voted in almost lock-step for every tired-ass white Democratic candidate which made it through the primary meat grinder. Were blacks voting based on race when they voted for Al Gore or John Kerry?

That was insulting enough. But that was just the shot. Here’s the chaser. Sen. Sanders then went on to say that Democrats had to regain the “working class vote”.

Let that sink in. A sitting United States senator, caucusing with Democrats, running for the Democratic presidential nomination, an avowed socialist, made a distinction between black votes and working class votes. In his mind, the two are mutually exclusive, not overlapping in a Venn diagram. Blacks over there, working class over here.

President Obama showed Democrats how to win. And it wasn’t by slavishly pining after the “working class vote”.

Let’s call that vote for what it is: white voters who left the Democratic coalition in droves after the Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act, and have stayed away ever since then, generation after generation giving its allegiance to the GOP.

Continue reading ‘On chasing the “Archie Bunker voter”’

11
May
15

A funny thing happened on the way to Mau-mauing Barack Obama

By Liberal Librarian 132 Comments
Categories: Articles
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So, Senator Elizabeth Warren and presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders have been on the warpath over the Trans-Pacific Partnership and its attendant fast track trade authority. In doing so, they have engendered much support among the usual—and some not-so-usual—sectors. Namely, the people who always thought Barack Obama was a sell-out to corporate special interests, evidenced by him not frog-marching Jamie Dimon and other banksters to stand for federal indictments over the 2008 meltdown.

A funny thing happened, though, which should have been predictable to anyone who has seen Pres. Obama operate for the past 7 years: he fought back.

“She’s absolutely wrong,” Barack Obama said, before I could even get the question out of my mouth.

Matt Bai of Yahoo has an illuminating interview with the President over TPP and the opposition to it from members of his own party, led by Sen. Warren.

As many of us on the “Obot” side have been saying:

“Think about the logic of that, right?” he went on. “The notion that I had this massive fight with Wall Street to make sure that we don’t repeat what happened in 2007, 2008. And then I sign a provision that would unravel it?

“I’d have to be pretty stupid,” Obama said, laughing. “This is pure speculation. She and I both taught law school, and you know, one of the things you do as a law professor is you spin out hypotheticals. And this is all hypothetical, speculative.”

It’s the idea that Pres. Obama would cavalierly undo one of his signature achievements—setting up rules so that 2008 didn’t happen again, rules which he plucked an obscure academic named Elizabeth Warren to help implement—to coddle the same Wall Street is ludicrous on its face.

Continue reading ‘A funny thing happened on the way to Mau-mauing Barack Obama’

30
Apr
15

An Open Letter

By Liberal Librarian 125 Comments
Categories: Articles
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Well, we now have two declared candidates for the Democratic presidential nomination. (If we’re being charitable, three, but who’s counting Lincoln Chafee?)

Hillary Clinton is on her “listening tour” (didn’t she do that in 2008?), and seems to be listening somewhat. She gave a speech calling for the end of mass incarceration; a mass incarceration she called for back when her husband was president. But, people change, that was 20 years ago, and being the good rationalist I am I will keep an open mind. I’m certainly not going to dismiss her out of hand if she wins the nomination, because the thought of someone more conservative and unhinged than Antonin Scalia taking his seat on the Supreme Court should give even the most side-eyed Democratic Clinton-hater a bucket-full of pauses.

And then we have Bernie Sanders. I really don’t know why he’s running. He might have made an impact as an independent; but, props to him, he didn’t want to split the left vote, so he’s giving it the old college try. But an old guy with unkempt hair who looks like he should be feeding the pigeons probably won’t have the financial wherewithal to take on the Koch/Adelson money machine (something Hillary will have no problem doing should she win). Bernie running is part vanity, and part to get his issues out beyond his acolytes. (This is assuming that the media give him any attention, even if he is running as a Democrat. The media is good at ignoring those who are inconvenient.)

Some are rooting for Deval Patrick to enter. Many are pinning their hopes on Martin O’Malley. And, of course, there’s always Jim Webb. (I jest.)

Of course, I have questions.

Continue reading ‘An Open Letter’

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