Voter Suppression By Any Other Name

What they don't want you to vote for...

Voter Suppression By Any Other Name

by C.A. Matthews

It stinks. There's no other name for this vile action except "voter suppression."  No matter how the "Democratic" Party tries to put a spin on it, taking a candidate's name off the ballot--a person whose political party has already submitted the required signatures, paid the fees and jump through the hoops, mind you--for political reasons right before a major election is nothing short of voter suppression.

Sure, the GOP have become experts in de-registering voters and shutting down both the number and locations of voting polls in poorer, multicultural areas. You could even claim they've raised the quality of their nefarious gerrymandering activities to a true art form. But this time the Dems have decided to bail out the establishment candidates' lackluster performances by removing Howie Hawkins of the Green Party from the Pennsylvania and Wisconsin 2020 presidential election ballots.

Did the Greens fight back in court? Yes, they did, and it was an extremely expensive endeavor for a grassroots party that accepts no corporate or Super PAC money. The money spent appealing these decisions--which the Greens did and were successful until the Dems forced the decision back into a court with a more " cooperative"  judge --could have been used for promotion and travel expenses for Howie and Angela Walker, his V.P. running mate.

Once again, the big "red/blue" bullies have shown their true colors. They have become green with envy over the growing popularity the Green Party has with voters!

There's a lot to be envious about. The Green Party is the only American political party that has consistently advocated for universal health care that covers all Americans, regardless of income, disability or job status. The Greens are the only party that has been on the record for supporting free education, pre-kindergarten through college, and for student loan debt forgiveness. 

The Greens support peaceful and diplomatic initiatives to put an end to all wars and military conflict worldwide, so there's no fear of your son or daughter being drafted into the army to defend oil rigs in the Middle East once again. And, of course, the Green Party were the creators of the original "Green New Deal" and are supporters of green energy implementation to put an end to the coal-fired plant pollution that is causing Americans to suffer from asthma more than ever before.

When you have two establishment candidates who don't offer much of a platform to run on, let alone inspire voters who are still registered to turn out and vote, these kinds of underhanded shenanigans are to be expected.  Both Trump and Biden have declared that they don't support Medicare for All. Their parties both continually vote for obscenely large military budgets and support military interventions overseas and back home by providing military-grade equipment to municipal police departments. (Yes, the Dems voted for the latest huge defense budget, too. They have gone along with every Republican ask for more money to build weapons of war, so blood is on their hands.).

You can't help but see see why the establishment candidates are so desperate to keep Americans (mostly young, poor, black and brown ones) from going to the polls.  They'll do anything to prevent the voters from having one positive presidential choice on the ballot, up to and including kicking off other viable candidates who support programs that could help ordinary people.

One of the accusations I get on a regular basis.

Surveys show that voters who support the Green Party do not automatically vote Democratic or Republican for president when they don't have a Green option on the ballot. Most Greens will simply leave that spot blank or write in their preferred candidate's name--this time Howie Hawkins for president. While some complain that "third parties" have no business running a presidential candidate (let alone such a compassionate and intelligent one as Hawkins), these people seem to forget that this is how our electoral system is set up.  Small "alternative parties" (as I call them) have to run a presidential candidate on the national ballot in order to run their candidates on state and local ballots.

There's no way around these draconian rules, so the Greens knuckle down and do their best. These tactics give more evidence to how the establishment (consisting of the strange union of the GOP and the Dems) make life harder for other parties and take away choice from the voters at all levels.

I could go on and on about how the so-called "presidential debates" are no longer run by the "unbiased" League of Women Voters (they are actually run by a private corporation owned by the DNC and RNC), but I think I'll stop there. I'll let the following videos featuring the candidate taken off the ballot in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin speak for themselves. And the good news is, at the end of the day, voters will be allowed to write in the names of "Howie Hawkins and Angela Walker" on their ballots for president and vice president if they so desire in those two states. Not all states allow write-ins, so this is fortunate.

It seems that running an honest campaign, aimed at helping the people and not corporations, makes the Green Party  come out the "winners" after all.

Krystal Ball: Dem War On Green Party Exposes Voter Suppression Hypocrisy  https://youtu.be/Jw4sOLfeHng

The following is an excellent interview with a great indie journalist who asks Howie Hawkins smart questions about how the Green Party  would work to help Americans with school lunches, the climate catastrophe, the massive wildfires out west, the handling of the pandemic, and other issues. (Ignore the video's cover image--it's pretty lame.)

 https://youtu.be/t6Nr8xSggwQ

 Jordan Chariton  interviewed Howie Hawkins on the day the decisions to kick Howie off the ballot were announced. Here's a brief snippet taken from a longer interview available on the Status Coup You Tube page.

https://youtu.be/NDchtsxrtsE

In classic Jimmy Dore epic rant style, Jimmy breaks down the hypocrisy of claiming that Americans live in a "democracy" if we as voters aren't even given the chance of voting for a candidate that isn't sanctioned by the establishment oligarchy. He makes some very insightful remarks, so hold onto your hats and listen all the way through to the end. You could discover something about our electoral system that you never realized we were missing.

https://youtu.be/zPhk16CsxEk   Related articles:   Pennsylvania Counties To Print, Send Ballots...Following State Supreme Court Decision to Remove Green Party's Presidential Candidate Howie Hawkins https://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2020/09/17/howie-hawkins-green-party-pennsylvania-ballots-vote-state-supreme-court-decision-remove-presidential-candidate/   Voters May Not Lean Biden Now That Green Party Is Off Wisconsin Ballot  https://wkow.com/2020/09/15/expert-voters-may-not-lean-biden-now-that-green-party-is-off-wisconsin-ballot     *** With Toledo City Council Introduction, #EssentialOhio Campaign Poised to Pass Essential Workers Bills of Rights Across Ohio

Toledo - The Glass City is the first in the nation to take up a resolution supporting an Essential Workers Bill of Rights as part of a new national campaign to deliver better treatment and pay to all “essential workers.” Mónica Ramírez, Founder & President of Justice for Migrant Women, announced Essential Ohio (#EssentialOH), the Ohio arm of this national campaign, today at the City Club of Cleveland and at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute 2020 Leadership Conference.  Ramírez said: “The Essential Workers Bill of Rights is a commitment to honor those we have lost to COVID-19 and to fight for the working people who truly are essential to our communities. Workers in the food supply chain, medical, and care-giving sectors, as well those who serve other vital functions that keep our nation in operation are often paid poorly and forced to work in grueling and even dangerous conditions. They are putting their health and safety on the line to care for us. The least we can do is ensure that their rights and contributions are cared for, too.” The resolution was introduced yesterday at a Toledo City Council meeting by Council Member Theresa Gadus. Eugenio Mollo, an Attorney at Advocates for Basic Legal Equality (ABLE), presented in favor of the resolution. A vote is expected in October. Council Member Gadus said: “The pandemic has pulled back the curtain and reminded many people of the importance of essential workers to a strong, robust economy. These courageous workers have stood on the frontlines, risking their health, their families, and their lives. Many essential workers have made the hard decisions to separate from their families in order to serve their communities; to provide financial stability for their families and support our economy. They deserve the dignity that comes from equity, security, protections, and benefits for their labor and for their labor to take place in a safe environment that values their contributions. I am proud to present this resolution before the Council of the City of Toledo and to support the National Essential Workers Campaign.” “Toledo is the perfect city to launch this national campaign,” Ramírez added. “Recognizing the dignity of work is a Toledo value. We applaud Council Member Gadus for taking this first step, and look forward to celebrating the resolution’s passage in October.”  By passing the Essential Workers Bill of Rights, municipalities commit to transforming their laws and standards to “ensure equity, security, and benefits for workers that are worthy of their labor and their dignity,” regardless of the workers’ status. Local governing bodies also commit to advocating for Federal and State improvements.  The Essential Ohio campaign is calling on cities across the state to follow Toledo’s lead, and introduce ordinances in their own city councils and county boards. Read the full draft of the Toledo ordinance here: http://bit.ly/EssentialToledo.  “#EssentialOH is part of a broader national push to ensure that workers who have always been essential, but are now being recognized as such, have the rights they are owed, and are treated with respect, both during the pandemic and beyond,” Mollo said. “It’s a robust set of commitments to workers, and it’s the only right thing to do. These workers have our backs, and we have to have theirs,” he added. The Essential Ohio campaign is supported by Advocates for Basic Legal Equality (ABLE), Justice for Migrant Women, the Ohio Immigrant Alliance, Cleveland Jobs with Justice, La Conexión, and Chicago & Midwest Regional Joint Board of Workers United, Local 10. We welcome others to join the efforts.  The national campaign is anchored by National Domestic Workers Alliance, Jobs with Justice, Justice for Migrant Women, and other organizations. For more information and a full list of national partners, see https://honoressentialworkers.com/. ###

From Friends of the Earth: Fires are blazing across California, Oregon, and Washington. The news is filled with images of orange haze and a post-apocalyptic landscape. Trees torched, buildings burned to the ground, and air so thick you can barely see through it. Take action to stop fossil fuel extraction from adding to the climate crisis. Meanwhile, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) plans to offer thousands of acres of land in Kern Co. California for oil and gas drilling. This will only add to climate chaos. We can’t let the BLM get away with handing over more of California’s public lands to Big Oil. C.A., will you help stop it? Tell the Bureau of Land Management: Stop exploiting public lands for Big Oil profit! Sign Now The devastating wildfires made California's hazardous smoke front page news across the country. But toxic air pollution is not a new story for San Joaquin Valley residents, who already breathe some of the most polluted air in the country. Kern County is regularly subjected to drinking water with illegal levels of toxic chemicals like arsenic, and we know more fracking will further aggravate the problem. Low-income and communities of color in California already contend with dirtier air and water due to existing pollution from the oil and gas industry. The BLM's fracking blitz is making environmental racism worse. Demand the Bureau of Land Management protect people and our planet from further climate devastation. Sign Now The wildfire smoke is causing the entire West Coast to experience the worst air quality in the world. The air is filled with hazardous levels of particulate matter that exacerbate heart and lung problems. The air is now highly dangerous to breathe.  Ash is raining down on cities, blowing into cracks of windows, doors, and other surfaces. Residents have been warned to avoid outdoor activities and remain indoors. Local lawmakers have also had to open air respite centers to aid vulnerable unhoused residents. Our country is on fire. Our planet is screaming, in bright orange hues, that we need to keep fossil fuels in the ground. The BLM owes it to the people of California to stop leasing public lands to Big Oil -- but it won’t listen without the voices of people like you. Demand the Bureau of Land Management stop the California Kern County lease sale. Sign Now Standing with you, Nicole Ghio, Senior fossil fuels program manager, Friends of the Earth

It's the End of the World As We Know It (And We'll Feel Fine)

Whoa, the map of the U.S. has broken out in a rash of blue dots! What's it all about? Go to http://map.berniesanders.com and see if there is an Our Revolution (Bernie Sanders) livestream event near you on August 24. If there isn't one, why not host an event yourself? Do it! Because...

It's the End of the World as We Know It 

(And We'll Feel Fine)

by Cindy A. Matthews

Song lyrics have a weird way of getting caught in my head lately. I can't get them out, either.

The chorus of the R.E.M. song It's the End of the World As We Know It keeps going through my mind, but not for the reasons you might think. I'm an optimist, so I'm not thinking about how a Trump presidency will bring about Armageddon (sorry) or how much I despise and loathe the treachery and corruption of the Democratic Party (because I do). I'm thinking that this particular election cycle will herald a significant achievement that's taken almost two centuries to bring about, and I can't wait for it to happen. 

Yes, I'm dreaming of the death of the establishment's "two party system" in the United States of America. (Thom Hartman explain this well in the video below.)



Thank you so very much, dyed-in-the-wool Democrats and Republicans alike.  You've actually done it! You've accomplished what many said could not be done. You've actually shown the U.S. electorate--indeed, the entire world--what childish, self-serving, greedy, racist, warmongering, entitled, corrupt corporate whores you really are. For this I--and many other Berners--will be eternally grateful to you. You've shown that, other than your monikers being spelled differently, your two groups are essentially the same where it counts, spiritually bankrupt and devoid of all morality.

So, thank you once again for at last being honest with yourselves and with us, the long-suffering American voters. We at last know that we can't--and won't--be guilt-tripped and bullied into voting for either of your corrupt and loathsome candidates.  You've made it very easy for us to vote third party and feel good about it. Bless you. 

Jimmy Dore sums it up well in this video. Truthdig does likewise in this article.

 

Even my hometown paper deep in the heart of Trumpland, the former Republican Courier and now just The Courier, wrote an editorial saying how third party candidates were necessary this election and voters should be able to vote for a candidate who doesn't make them "cringe." Wow. This admission comes from the newspaper among the first to endorse a third party upstart named Abraham Lincoln a few years ago. These times, they are a changin'!

My advice to Berners, Greens, Progressives and others is to watch the videos I've posted this week and discuss them with your friends, families and co-workers. Talk about how, once we've been made aware of the mental manipulation the so-called "two party system" has practiced for many decades,  we can't be easily bullied and scared into supporting either of their demon spawn. You can even give them a link to this blog and tell them I told you to use the words "demon spawn" to describe their candidates if you're really shy. (Go ahead. I've had my share of nasty emails already this election cycle. But first show them this funny Lee Camp, Redacted Tonight, video. It'll chill them out.)

 

If anyone dares throw the ubiquitous, "You must vote for Candidate A to avoid electing Candidate B," line at you, here's the link to our blog posting with a piece about the logical fallacy of that argument. If they throw anything at you about how, "Hillary is  more honest and trustworthy than Trump," please show them this page with links to the recent DNC e-mail Wikileaks scandal and the many, many, many (how many "manies" can I put?) off-putting controversies surrounding the Clintons and their so-called charity, The Clinton Foundation. 

You have my permission to tell anyone who bullies or scolds you, "Cindy told me to tell you that voting for the lesser of two evils is still voting for evil, and I'm not doing it."  If they tell you that Bernie didn't tell us to vote our consciences, send them to this video. (It's also posted on last week's blog.) If they ask you who "Cindy" is, tell them you don't know, but she seems like an all right chick running a progressive blog, and in spite of receiving nasty emails, she's harmless enough.

Whatever you do in the coming weeks and months, don't stop talking about the political revolution and how we all should become a part of it. (Sign up to host a Bernie live stream event here.) Your enthusiasm will inspire others to join us and bring about a future to believe in where we'll all feel fine.

It's the end of the world as we know it--and it's about time, isn't it?

*** 

Now, we take a closer look at putting the greater good over choosing the lesser of two evils.

Voting Green: It’s Not Just Win Or Lose, 

It's How You Play The Game

by Brandon L. Mouser 

"We understand the difference between a neofascist catastrophe and a neoliberal disaster... But we reject both." ~Dr. Cornel West

One of the pro-Hillary talking points this election cycle has been about "winning." It goes something like this: We live in a two-party system and there are only two legitimate choices. H.R. Clinton is the only candidate who can beat the Republicans and she is going to win, anyhow, and the third party alternatives are automatically losers. So, if you want to be a part of the winning team, you need to vote for H. R. Clinton. If you vote for a third party candidate then you are voting for a loser, and your vote is going to help elect Republicans because you are not siding with the winner. Any alternative to the two-party duopoly is unrealistic, impractical, immature, naive, fantasy, a bad choice... On and on it goes. We have been hearing this talking point from the mainstream media, from Democrats, from friends, from internet trolls, and even from Bernie Sanders himself. I call this the "win or lose narrative."

Of course, the entire regime of the two-party establishment depends on this false dilemma. It depends on keeping the masses entrenched in the ruts of shallow political theater, fighting socially-constructed boogeymen that distract from the real boogeymen. If Democrats are terrified of Republicans and Republicans are terrified of Democrats, their voters have a scapegoat to blame for all of our social problems. If Americans are focused on inter-class conflict then they have less time for class conflict; i.e., political ideology is being manufactured to keep us from achieving class consciousness and cultivating the sociological imagination.

What many progressives have come to recognize this year is that the

mainstream narratives are hollow. Consequently, we are skeptical and rarely impressed by the pundits and talking heads.

Going beyond the mainstream establishment's script, the main problem with the win or lose narrative is that progressives have already lost this election. We lost when the Democratic primaries were rigged and voters were disenfranchised. We lost when the FBI and Justice Department failed to deliver justice to H.R. Clinton. We lost when President Obama (our supposedly-progressive president we all worked so hard to elect in 2008) refused to do anything about this and stopped listening to the People.  We lost at the Democratic National Convention as progressive delegates were mocked, mistreated, and censored (and what was left of the Democratic Party essentially cheered for Republicanesque speakers and principles, including nationalism and warmongering). We lost during the roll call when we finally recognized that all of our Democratic Representatives were part of the problem. Progressives are feeling the loss, too, which is why so many Berniecrats could be seen crying throughout the convention, and the internet has been filled with anger and despair.

This is one of the main reasons that the win or lose narrative does not affect us in the way that many people assumed it would. As progressive voters, we have nothing left to lose at this point. We have hit bottom.

Of course, as Cornel West so eloquently expressed in his speech at the Green Party Convention, the win or lose narrative is short-sighted for so many

reasons. First and foremost, it is based on a bureaucratic formula that frames "winning" in statistical terms rather than spiritual or moral terms. Consequently, the win or lose narrative is a product of the neoliberal ideology itself, and it focuses on short-term victories and gains rather than putting elections and social movements into a more historical perspective. In reality, "winning" here is actually a perpetual loss--as "winning" requires us to accept the status quo rather than pushing for real change.

In other words: hegemony is maintained by defining "winning" as bowing down to our corporate masters, year after year, so that we might avoid risk by voting for the lesser evil and, somehow, feel good for voting for the candidate who actually won. The Republican Party is essentially a gun held to the head of every intelligent voter, and the Democratic Party is the purple authority figure who comes in and saves the day. After the charade, the 1% and all of our corporate masters go back to business as usual, and the American People breathe a sigh of relief. Nothing changes.

The win or lose narrative also keeps us from voting for the candidates and platforms that we really want. Anything that is not part of a mainstream party platform gets framed as illegitimate and unrealistic.

Real change? Impossible! You apparently need Democrats to make it happen, and they are not going to make it happen, so there.

Therefore, our social movements are castrated and hindered by the fact that most Americans worry more about winning an election than the actual content of the elections or who they are voting for or why. Nietzsche once said (and I am paraphrasing here) that the question is not "freedom, from what?" but rather "freedom, for what?"  Americans need to ask themselves this question: "Democracy, for what?" For if all that our elections have become is just a defense mechanism from the latest man-made evils, then we are not really a democracy at all.

This is one of the things Hillary Clinton supporters just could not fathom this election cycle. They had internalized the official narratives and talking points so much that all they seemed to care about was voting to protect their own interests. They could not understand the millions of progressives who actually wanted to vote for something and demanded real change. Issues, facts, evidence--all this became secondary to mainstream Democrats--the real fight in

their eyes was a last stand against an apocalyptic boogeyman. Progressives were just an additional threat.

Under the win or lose narrative, morality is also secondary. Evil becomes acceptable because "winning" evil is framed as better than "losing" evil. Voters accept a fascist warmonger because it is a purple fascist warmonger, which isn't as bad as a red fascist warmonger. Corruption? Corporate pollution? Well, it is just something that goes with the territory, but think how much more corruption and corporate pollution there could be!  No universal health care? Just imagine if the red fascist warmonger took away everyone's health care!  Note that few people in this game actually sit down and refuse to vote for a fascist warmonger, nor refuse to support a candidate that will not take a stand against corporate pollution. No one votes for a candidate that is promoting universal health care. Because, again, morality is secondary in "win or lose." It is something that can be dealt with down the road--right now we need to worry about being on the winning team.

The reason that we are seeing fundamental changes occur this year is because progressive voters are finally seeing beyond the win or lose narrative. We are finally recognizing that winning isn't everything, especially when a so-called victory is really just another loss. Seeing through the Democratic ideology, we have seen the truth about the Democratic Establishment--and there is no going back. We are becoming more than just registered voters: We are becoming moral agents who vote. We are asking the philosophical question: "Democracy, for what?" We are dreaming and taking action. We recognize that voting for a fascist warmonger is voting for a fascist warmonger, regardless of their party affiliation. 


 
If I vote for Jill Stein this November, she might indeed lose the election. But, again, I have already lost an entire political party. Wins and losses are always happening in life. The question is now really about how I handle this loss. Do I give up and forfeit my morality to the win or lose narrative? Do I vote for immorality, or do I keep marching forward as a moral agent and pushing for change? By voting for Stein, at least I can tell my grandchildren that I didn't support fascism (during a time when too many Americans were blindly accepting it), and that I was working hard to make this country better. At least I still walk away with my moral integrity. More importantly, voting for Stein could lead to the Green Party becoming a more viable alternative, set them up for federal funding and ballot access, help get them into future presidential debates, and set them up for future election cycles. Voting for Stein now could help sustain this social movement, even if it morphs into something larger down the road. All of this seems more worthwhile and productive, at least for me, than helping a fascist warmonger to get elected president by voting to "win."

Sometimes losing is really a victory, and vice versa.

Bio: Brandon Mouser is a public sociologist and philosopher who lives and works in Indiana. Much of his academic work focuses on understanding inequality and social problems. Growing up in a small, rural factory town in Southern Indiana, he has dedicated his life to fighting for working families.

***

So many of us Berners are over the two party system. We've had enough! We've witnessed election corruption up close. (Read Ava Kennedy's story about what she experienced at the Reno, Nevada caucus -- We Are Not Living In A Democracy.)  We've found our voter registration "switched" without our knowledge. We've been forced to wait in hours in line to vote or traveled a distance only to find our polling place has been closed. Face it--we've had it with the criminal tactics of the establishment parties. 

Fortunately, we're the majority of American voters as the above graph shows. We are independent voters, voters who know our minds and will vote our consciences. We will not be ignored. This is the year we take back our government and restore our democracy. Our Revolution has come of age. Be a part of it. 

We'll see you at the livestream meet-up on August 24th.

Staying the Course (And Justice for All)

7/12/16 Editor's note:  Yes, we've changed our banner photo and the title of this blog. We're now "Our Revolution Continues -- The Bernie Blog." We will continue providing insight and news on progressive candidates, issues and topics. Thanks for reading and sharing the blog with others, and please consider submitting your thoughts to us for publication. We want to hear from you. Our mission remains the same--only the name has changed.

We the people will not be silenced or cowed into submission by corporatists and corrupt politicians. We will continue to speak out about injustices and crimes against humanity. Our voices are strong and our vote this November...? Well, there are probably going to be some very surprised oligarchs.  (Can't wait to see the looks on their faces.)

Peace, love and progressive thinking be with you always.  --Cindy

 Staying the Course 
(And Justice for All)

by Cindy A. Matthews

One man began to speak and millions started listening...

And we are still listening.

It's been another confusing week in the Berniverse, but perhaps it's an indication of things to come. In order to clean out the corruption, we have to first expose it. FBI Director Comey listed the activities of an "extremely careless" former Secretary of State who seems entirely lacking in judgment.  That his judgment is now also called into question for not recommending charges be brought against her for her gross negligence in not keeping top secret emails secure further illuminates the depth of corruption pervading our government-- 

And our society. Two more black men were killed by police this past week simply for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, confronted by the wrong cops. According to The Young Turks, 136 Black lives have been taken by police action so far this year, and African-American teenagers are 21 times more likely to be shot by police than whites (data gathered from 2010-2012 FBI statistics). Only days later police officers were shot and killed in Dallas after a peaceful protest about the latest cop killings.  

Corruption pervades the very fabric of our justice system, a system which metes out violence to fill its private prisons to make obscene profits for its stockholders... A system  in the halls of Congress which openly doles out money from the gun lobby to our representatives without a thought to the lives taken by homicidal individuals carrying military assault weapons on our streets.  A system without morals, without mercy, and without even the decency to  acknowledge #BlackLivesMatter.

There were four Latino lives taken by police this past week according to TeleSUR with little or no mainstream media coverage as well. Our corporate media conglomerates see no profit in documenting non-white deaths. Profit is to be made solely by spinning endless drivel about the electability of a certain racist GOP candidate and his wall, a wall which symbolizes the perverse division between our actions and our humanity.

Can there be any doubt that (to quote George Orwell's Animal Farm) "Some animals are more equal than others" in our messed up society? Our thin veil of denial is gone. With Bernie's leadership, we know these harsh truths to be real, and we are empowered to speak out about them. We can protest these injustices in the streets of Philadelphia. We can bring about change by passing new laws and insisting our government enforces the good laws already on the books. Because we know that no one is above the law, and we will not rest until morality and common decency has been restored.

We are staying the course. We are standing by our chosen candidate, Bernie Sanders. We are not blindly accepting corruption.  We are fighting for justice--justice for all and not only for "some."

See you in Philadelphia.

Some Are More Equal Than Others

by Bern Notice

You know, there are moments when I really hate being right. This is one of them. I hoped that I would be proven wrong and would have to eat my words. Nothing would have made me happier than to say I was wrong about Hillary Clinton not being indicted over the e-mail fiasco. Unfortunately, I'm proven right again--much to my dismay.

http://www.cnn.com/2016/07/05/politics/fbi-director-doesnt-recommend-charges-against-hillary-clinton/index.html

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2016/07/05/fbi-recommends-no-charges-to-be-filed-against-clinton.html?intcmp=hpbt1

I'm certain that a number of Clinton supporters are dancing in the streets right now. Hillary herself is likely breathing a huge sigh of relief. While they may celebrate, they may not understand what the significance of this decision is.

Let's define a term.

Justice:
1
a : the maintenance or administration of what is just especially by the impartial adjustment of conflicting claims or the assignment of merited rewards or punishments
b : judge
c : the administration of law; especially : the establishment or determination of rights according to the rules of law or equity
2
a : the quality of being just, impartial, or fair
b (1) : the principle or ideal of just dealing or right action (2) : conformity to this principle or ideal : righteousness
c : the quality of conforming to law
3
: conformity to truth, fact, or reason : correctness

Source: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/justice
 
And let's reference a quote from the current version of the pledge of allegiance:

"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

Source: http://www.ushistory.org/documents/pledge.htm

And the text on the front of the Supreme Court.

"Equal justice under law."

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

The key to all of these references is applying justice equally, fairly and without prejudice. We have seen numerous times where the wealth and status of an individual has protected a person from repercussions that would be faced by an average citizen without the same means.

The Affluenza Teen:
http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/12/12/the-affluenza-defense-judge-rules-rich-kids-rich-kid-ness-makes-him-not-liable-for-deadly-drunk-driving-accident/

O.J. Simpson:
http://espn.go.com/espn/espn25/story?page=moments/11

These two have little in common outside of wealth and status. An average citizen would not be able to afford a robust defense that would get you an acquittal considering the evidence at hand.

This case is worse because it will never enter a courtroom. If this was an average citizen who had 1/100th of government related e-mails she had, classified or not, on a private server at their house, they would have been slam-dunked months ago. Instead, we have a highly influential politician who not only avoids facing jail time but avoids going into a courtroom.
 
I'll point back to the references I made at the beginning of this post. The common theme in all three references is that justice is supposed to be applied equally--to everyone! Yet because some Clinton supporters (and others) treat elections like it's a professional sports franchise, they are willing to grant a pass because they think it works in their favor.

This shortsightedness sets a new precedent. First, any person who at any point has a spill of government information can point to the Clinton fiasco and argue for the case to be dismissed. They will say, "Clinton had tons more information than I did, and she got away with it. I should be excused." That removes the consequences for protecting any information. And you can bet that any smart lawyer will use that to their advantage.

Second, it reinforces the mindset of "Do as I say, not as I do." Politicians are supposed to be public servants, not lords and ladies immune from the consequences of violating laws. Not only that, but now they have the mentality that they can do so brazenly and in the open without consequence. Yet if you do the same thing, there will be hell to pay. Once again, America’s greatest export--the double standard.

On my profile, I have a paraphrased quote from George Carlin. It says, "It's a big club, and you ain't in it! Oligarchy!" It is not a random quote, but it is an accurate representation of the current state of affairs in our nation.

Oligarchy starts small and stays in the shadows out of fear because they know that if the people wake up it's all over. Over time, it grows from being fertilized by indifference and apathy. Now it is completely out of hand. There is no fear. They do what they will because they think that people are too stupid to do anything about it.

Make no mistake, this is not about left versus right. This isn't about bathrooms or parties or faith or any other wedge issue that they use to divide us. It's about "The Oligarchs" versus "Everyone Else". Working class citizens need to look beyond party labels. We need to be aware and make others aware of what is staring us right in the face.

You can't have a free and civilized nation without equal justice. It is the bedrock of a free society. Right now, justice is in a coma and in critical condition. Unless we force drastic change and soon, it will be dead.

This Woman is Bernie Strong!

by Christine Orchard

Should he win or not, Bernie must stay the course. To continue the leadership toward change. The rhetoric will change,but we need the assurance that he is a leader no matter the decision. Many leaders did not get the first round; but I for one am encouraged to finally feel like there is hope. I am one of the working poor, retired now on Social Security, but I was a single mom that raised my children with the right stuff.

And I see this in Bernie. I have been a Democratic voter for 40 years and shared this important choice and action on our part. But I am also aware that change can be slow but with dedication and hope-- and work--it can be done.  

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 Others see another option for us to vote for Bernie:

My change.org petition asks those that would vote for Bernie should he run on the Green Party ticket, to sign the petition.  I need to reach 100 signatures before I can promote the post on change.org -- so I'm just trying to get it out there.  Here is the link to my petition:

Bernie Sanders: I will vote for Bernie if he runs as the Green Party candidate!

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I came across this "open letter" online that pretty much says what's on a lot of our minds... 

 We'll see you in Philly!

Do you hear the people singing in the streets? You will in the City of Brotherly Love. Enjoy the video below and sing along. We the people are strong. Feel the Bern!