What Kind Of World Are We Building?

This week, we take a look at the most vulnerable in our society. How does it define us as a people if we treat those who are powerless or without privilege with contempt? How are we made "great" by in turn making others "small"?

"The Doctor" from the BBC's Doctor Who hits the nail on the head with his above comment. How much value do Americans place on a human life? Even more unsettling, why have we allowed ourselves to become so mercenary? Why can't we show our fellow human beings compassion?

Your thoughts and feedback are required. Leave them in the comments below and share this blog with others to get the dialogue going. Start out by asking yourselves the following question:

What Kind of World Are We Building 
For Future Generations?
by C.A. Matthews 

The little revolutionary in the photo above was present at last January's Unity March. The day itself wasn't half cold, and the numbers of marchers were great and enthusiastic.  As this year's planned Unity March is coming together, I wonder what kind of a turnout can be expected. The weather will probably be colder and snowier than last year, but will the events of 2017 have an even greater dampening effect on the hearts and minds of progressive marchers and tempt them to stay home?

This beautiful photograph of a tiny marcher got me thinking about the new grandbaby in our family. My brother and sister-in-law have recently become grandparents. As I enjoy looking at photos of their little bundle of joy, a sadness comes over me. What sort of world are building for my great-nephew and his friends? Will there even be potable water or breathable air by the time he reaches adulthood? Will he and his friends curse us for the gutted and polluted planet we've left to them? Will they shake their heads at our selfish stupidity for burning fossil fuels until they ran out, wasting valuable time we could have used for transitioning to green energy systems?

If we allow nuclear brinkmanship to continue, will there even be a world left for anyone to worry about? I'm told I take a lot of things too seriously. But I have to ask myself over and over again, "How have we become so complacent and flippant about these potential horrors? What do we gain as a people by remaining silent? Why do we place so little value on human life itself?"

Our children are our future. Why are we okay with bankrupting their futures through our selfish and destructive behaviors? Why do some scream "Don't kill the babies!" outside of women's clinics, yet do little to nothing to take care of the needs of these children once they're brought into the world? Is it all some sort of horrible game to them, a game of who can yell the loudest but make the least amount of difference in the lives of the very young and vulnerable? Why is sentencing children to a life of poverty and hunger preferable to providing everyone with free access to birth control? Sister Joan Chittister, O.S.B., sums up the hypocrisy in the so-called "pro-life" movement in this statement:

 I do not believe that just because you're opposed to abortion, that that makes you pro-life. In fact, I think in many cases, your morality is deeply lacking if all you want is a child born but not a child fed, not a child educated, not a child housed. And why would I think that you don't? Because you don't want any tax money to go there. That's not pro-life. That's pro-birth. We need a much broader conversation on what the morality of pro-life is.

What does it say about a country that cannot provide even the bare minimum in health care for its little ones? It's bad enough we have an orange buffoon in the White House bragging about his "big nuclear button" like a spoiled toddler, but we can't deny we've also elected a legislative branch made up of members willing to accept millions in corporate cash from the health insurance industry and Big Pharma lobbyists while allowing our children to go without health care. Are Americans saying children aren't important in the scheme of things?

That's something to be real proud of, huh?

A recent U.N. survey gives the U.S. the lowest marks in the

modern world for how it addresses the needs of its most vulnerable populations.  Sorry, but we don't get any points for how good the top 1% have it at the expense of the remaining 99%. We are the laughingstock of the planet for giving wealthy corporations "welfare" instead of our own people who are homeless and hungry. 

I know I'm not laughing.

That's the kind of world we are building. How can some shout "We're making America Great Again!" while allowing it to fall into an abyss of greed? It makes no sense. If greed is our country's creed, we were never truly "great" in the first place.

I'm sorry to express such dark and depressing thoughts, but a very long, cold winter and a very dark, cold outlook for ordinary Americans has something to do with it. I'd like to help build a better world for my great-nephew to live in. I want our children to be loved, well-fed, well-taken care of (health care for all) and have a chance to make something of their lives without falling into massive college loan debt like their poor parents' have. Their parents' generation deserves a break, too.

We can't continue to sit at home, trying to keep warm this winter. We're all needed in the streets, in the town halls, in the vaulted halls of our state houses and Congress, pressuring those in power by telling them we will not allow our children's future to be stolen by mostly older, super-rich, white males. We need to march, unite, call, write, and fight back against the immorality of our current culture.  Agreed, the stakes are high, but the end will be worth it.

After all, a child--a whole generation of children--is a terrible thing to waste.

Some related articles that might be of interest:

https://talkpoverty.org/2017/12/12/u-s-eliminate-child-poverty-cost-senate-tax-bill/

https://www.nationofchange.org/2018/01/05/f-35-jet-program-budget-exceeds-406-billion-yet-universal-healthcare-costly/

https://splinternews.com/time-to-make-life-hard-for-the-rich-1821384779

http://www.truth-out.org/opinion/item/21228-americas-real-welfare-queens

***
Ways you can help to build a better world this week...

From 314 Action:

EMERGENCY PETITION: Demand Congress PERMANENTLY fund the Children’s Health Insurance Program →

We need your immediate attention:

4.9 million children are about to lose their healthcare. 4.9 MILLION.

Congress refuses to permanently fund the critical Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).

And unless they do something by the end of the month, states will have no choice but to cancel the healthcare of millions of kids.

This is a public health EMERGENCY.  So we’re gathering 25,000 signatures to demand Congress permanently fund the Children’s Health Insurance Program →

SIGN HERE: Tell Congress to fund Children’

Top medical groups -- including the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Family Physicians -- say funding CHIP is absolutely imperative.

Healthcare that kids need and deserve hangs in the balance. It’s despicable that Congress would play politics with something as fragile as children’s lives.

That’s why we’re launching this petition to Congress. As pro-science activists committed to ending attacks on healthcare, it’s up to us to stand up for children everywhere and ensure they get the care they need.
 
If you’re with us, sign our petition right away and help us reach 25,000 signatures to SAVE children’s healthcare:

SIGN HERE → https://secure.314action.org/Fund-CHIP

Your help is needed,

314 Action

 ***

From Friends of the Earth:
 As families gathered to celebrate the holidays, Trump was busy making it easier for Big Oil to attack the environment.

Trump’s administration overturned regulations to protect communities from fracking. It weakened rules that were designed to prevent another Deepwater Horizon spill. And it announced that it will no longer hold the fossil fuel industry accountable for harming protected migratory birds -- all while Congress was standing by.

Meanwhile, Trump took to Twitter to mock climate change after a record-breaking year of hurricanes and wildfires. And EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt is ramping up his efforts to destroy our protections for the air, water and climate.

2017 may have seemed like a long year. But Trump’s advisors say that 2018 is when he will really pursue his radical agenda. We need your Senators to stand up, not stand by, as Trump increases his attacks this year. As Senators return to Washington to start the new year, we need your help to push them to act! 

Tell Congress: Stop the Trump administration from letting polluters poison our communities!

Scott Pruitt is a climate denier who has spent his career suing the Environmental Protection Agency. Now that he’s leading that same agency, he’s spent his first year in office remaking it to the benefit of Big Oil.

Pruitt pushed out more than 700 agency staff and started monitoring the emails of anyone who expressed concerns with the agency’s direction. He took steps to gut the Clean Power Plan. And he is spending more time courting fossil fuel industry executives than holding them accountable for destroying our air, water and climate.

Together Trump and Pruitt pose the gravest threat to our environment and public health that we've ever seen. We need your help to fight back.

Tell your Senators to stand up to Trump’s attacks on our environmental protections!

Trump has stacked his government with anti-science extremists, billionaires and fossil fuel industry shills. Now, they’re using their positions to advance their corporate interests -- not the interests of the American people.

Trump is already poised to further gut our environmental protections in 2018. Congress could stand up and stop him, but instead, it’s standing by while he destroys our environment to help corporate polluters.

We need you to urge your Senators to do their jobs and stand up to Trump!

Tell your Senators: Stop Trump’s anti-science, anti-environmental agenda!

Standing with you,
Ben Schreiber,
Senior political strategist,
Friends of the Earth

 ***

Donald Trump is at it again. On Tuesday night Trump took to Twitter to threaten North Korea and, by consequence, most likely the rest of the world, with nuclear annihilation:

This rhetoric is extremely dangerous. This is not how the person controlling our nuclear arsenal should speak -- we don’t know how the North Koreans or our allies will perceive Trump’s reckless tweet, and it undermines the diplomatic efforts being made by our own State Department.
 
We should all be extremely worried and concerned about what the President will do next. It is time to act.

Urge your Members of Congress to take steps to prevent Trump from launching a nuclear war. 

Right now, two members of Congress, Rep. Ted Lieu and Sen. Ed Markey, have introduced legislation to prevent the U.S. president from launching a nuclear war without a declaration of war by Congress. While the President would still be able to defend from an attack against America, he or she could no longer launch the deadliest weapons ever invented just because they wanted to.

We can not overstate the destruction of a nuclear war, and we are closer to that horror today than we have ever been since the Cuban Missile Crisis. We owe it to ourselves and to future generations to take action now to step back from the brink of nuclear war.

No one person - and definitely not someone as erratic and reckless as Donald Trump - should ever be able to single-handedly start such a deadly war. Please sign today.

Thank you for working for peace,
Erica, Ben, Amy, and the Win Without War team

 ***

In June the Trump administration took Yellowstone-area grizzly bears off the list of animals protected by the Endangered Species Act. But there's been a big problem with the legality of that decision that's at last being addressed — and it could save these bears from dying in cruel, state-sponsored trophy hunts.

Tell the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to act on this evidence and reverse its earlier decision to stop protecting grizzlies.

The Service is asking the public to weigh in on the legality of its delisting rule because of a recent case in the D.C. Court of Appeals. The D.C. court rightly voided a rule stripping protections from Great Lakes wolves because of the harm that rule would cause other recovering wolf populations. The flaws are identical to those in the grizzly bear rule.

Take a minute to tell the Service it can't paper over these legal flaws and must restore protection to Yellowstone's grizzlies.  

***

EMERGENCY: In a matter of days, the House will vote on whether to turn the internet into a massive spying tool for the Trump administration. This is not a drill: Click here to demand Congress close the "backdoor search loophole" in S. 139.

We’re only just days into the new year but already, Congress is moving to turn the internet into a giant spying tool for Trump to snoop on Americans.

And both Republicans – and some Democrats – are on board with this.

Call Congress right now, and tell them to vote to close the "backdoor search loophole" in S. 139 that would let Trump use the internet to spy on Americans.

This is not a drill. Last year, Congress had a deadline to re-authorize Section 702 of the FISA Amendments Act that uses the internet as a massive spy tool to snoop on Americans without a warrant or probable cause. Activists just like you signed petitions and called Congress to block this and push for strong reforms to protect our privacy from the prying eyes of government.

Now Trump-aligned Republicans – and some turncoat Democrats – want to force this through in the new year. There’s a not a lot of time to fight back. We need to use our voices now and tell Congress not to turn the internet into a giant spy tool for an unstable Trump administration.

Call Congress right now, and tell them to vote to close the "backdoor search loophole" in S. 139 that would let Trump use the internet to spy on Americans.

Thanks for taking action,

Reuben and the team at Demand Progress

You Say You Want a Revolution? (Then Fight For It!)

Don't leave yet! Bernie hasn't conceded, people.
 
I thought I'd post this meme and information at the start of this week's blog to help clear up some of the confusion we've all experienced this past week. Bernie Sanders has not thrown in the towel--he's still in the running for the White House--but he has to play the game by the rules the DNC has set up in order to attend the convention. Yes, they're pretty dirty rules that were created (along with superdelegates) to keep the power in the party bosses' hands, but every candidate has to follow them or else they're not allowed to speak to the convention and have their delegates counted.  Bernie spoke to his delegates via a teleconference and assured them he wants and needs them all in Philadelphia. If he's not there, he won't be able to rally his delegates (and a few hundred more) to win the nomination.  So, Bernie is wise and played the "game" of standing on a stage with Mrs. Clinton in New Hampshire in order to keep his candidacy alive. Now that the "endorsement ordeal" is over, several informed persons have been helping those of us not versed in how Democratic Party politics work understand what he did and why he had to do it before the convention. Here's what they say:

As per DNC rules, a candidate with an active campaign is not allowed to deny an endorsement of another campaign. Doing so would result in forfeiture of said candidate's superdelegates, and the loss of access to the convention floor stage.

 Bernie is not conceding, folks! He has to play the game by the DNC's rules which state he wouldn't be allowed to take the podium at the DNC convention and his delegates wouldn't be allowed in if he didn't "endorse the frontrunner." (Those are the DNC's rules!) His campaign hasn't stopped--he didn't say "I quit/concede." Listen to what he said--he says we're going to the convention and we are. Have faith and read up on history: FDR in 1932 won a contested convention like this one. FDR "endorsed" his opponent on the first ballot and, four ballots later, he was nominated. FDR went on to win by a landslide--and won the presidency four times. So, don't panic. Stay the course and #feelthebern.

You must come to understand that the nature of politics is to subtract meaning from language. Although Bernie Sanders is a statesman, he's still a politician. Have a bit of patience, and wait for Bernie Sanders to make his case at the Democratic National Convention. By "endorsing" Hillary Clinton, Sanders is actively preserving his options and buying time.

 Q: Bernie can actually still win??

A. Yes. And if he wasn't still trying to win, he would have conceded. The only option he had to get to the convention with his delegates behind him and have a chance to still win was to do what he did today. He is not a traitor. He didn't sell us out. He did the only possible thing he could have done to keep fighting for the nomination.

Read this blog, and I guarantee you'll feel better: Ignore the mainstream media gloating. Bernie is still in it to win it!

There you have it. Now is not the time to quit, whine or throw a temper tantrum. Now is the time for all good Berners to get on their feet and march in protest and solidarity--in Philadelphia, your city, your neighborhood, anywhere you can make some noise and let the world know that #WeThePeople have spoken. #OurRevolution has begun and it will continue until we've brought about the progressive worldview that Bernie Sanders and all of us believe in. A future to believe in.

Now it's time for a "pep talk" and some words from two wise Bernie delegates on the eve of the convention.

https://youtu.be/ozq5PcqPQFA 
https://youtu.be/BGLGzRXY5Bw
You Say You Want a Revolution?

(Then Fight For It!)

by Bern Notice

It's time for a pep talk folks. At the beginning of this election season, we saw a lot of new voters calling for a political revolution. The number swelled and then more people jumped on the "political revolution" bandwagon. Hope was in the air, and we had a candidate we actually believed in. Times were good.

Then here comes the Sanders endorsement of Hillary Clinton. I saw a lot of people who were “the happy revolutionaries” all of a sudden fell into a fit of sadness or anger. Some actually said they would vote for Donald Trump. To say hearing a progressive say this is mind-blowing would be a profound understatement.

Welcome to the real revolution. I have said repeatedly that this is not a Bernie Sanders political revolution. This is our political revolution. Yet at the first sign of adversity you quit. You go home. You say you'll vote for Donald Trump.

If no one has said this to you, let me be the first: Political revolutions are hard. They are riddled with a lot of tears, frustration and heartbreak. No entrenched power ever surrenders it willingly, and it sure as hell won't do it the first time you raise your voice.

If you thought that political revolutions would come quickly and easily then you are insanely naive. I don't usually speak about myself, but in this case, I will make an exception. I'm no spring chicken, and I have voted third party for over a decade. I did so because I think that you should vote for a candidate not against one.

I thought that I was the only one willing to do so in spite of  popular thinking. Then along comes the Bernie Sanders campaign. For the first time in my life, I register as a Democrat because the platform he espoused is closer to mine than any candidate in the major parties has been in my lifetime. And, for the first time, I wasn't a single voice in a crowd but a chorus of many.

Please note, I changed for the platform. And now that Bernie has officially thrown his weight behind Hillary guess what I'm doing? I'm voting third party--again. Meanwhile, so many of those who claimed to want a political revolution are now ready to throw in the towel. I'm not. And I won't be until I'm in the dirt, and even then If I could I'd fight on.

I respect a people who will stand by their principles and fight for what they believe. I respect the people who fought for gay rights, civil rights, women's rights and other worthy causes not because it was easy but because it was right. Yet some so-called "political revolutionaries" who like to point to these people as their inspiration are so eager to say, "Screw it! I give up!"

The people who fought for and won equality didn't give up. Oh, and they faced arrest, water hoses, bullets, attack dogs and bomb threats. Some of you are willing to give up over a setback. Some of you think that this fight can't be won. You're wrong. It can be won, but we must persist.

So, to those of you who are throwing in the towel right now, I ask you "Who are you?" Are you the person who is willing to stand for something, or are you the person who quits when the going gets tough? You say you want a revolution, but do you really? If you do, then prove it. Don't quit. Fight for it and keep fighting. Vote third party. Write in Bernie if you want to, but for crying out loud take a stand. 

There is an easy way to know if you are a revolutionary or not. Revolutionaries don't surrender. They fight until their last or until the fight is won.

***

And now a word from two Bernie Delegates from Ohio's 5th congressional district.

Voice of Nature: Bernie Sanders in the White House
by Dennis Slotnick

In the calm and centered moments, when the noise and chatter of the race is distant, quietly we sit and envision President Sanders there in the oval office with his warm welcoming smile. There with his razor focus on the progressive agenda.

Just hold onto that vision for a moment. The rest is details. Details nature herself will take care of. And yet, we act. We go forth knowing that nature is on our side. Behold the transformation. For the nature of the times is with Bernie Sanders.

Here are the indicators:

Global warming with its droughts, floods, melting ice caps, record number of climate refugees, is calling out like never before for a close to the fossil fuel era. Only Bernie's message holds any hope of ending the carbon based energy supply.

Shrinking of the middle class, economic strain on college graduates, urban youth and working families, and the massive shift of wealth to the very few is unsustainable. Bernie's voice is loud and clear and gaining more and more support. The message not a fad, it is the truth.

On every issue, from fracking, TPP, single-payer health care and college education, the truth of an unsustainable corporate-dominated system is coming out. Only Bernie's message offers remedies.

Here is the evidence that people are ready.

It is contributions from the seven million in small amounts that fuels the campaign.

It is a massive grassroots operation, like never seen before, getting thousands of people politically engaged. It says the time is right for the transformation.

At evermore popular rallies, the message resonates over and over, reverberating between Bernie and audience like masterful music. And Bernie rolls on as the great conductor of the trends of time.

(Those of us who have been to the rallies and worked door-to-door and phone banks "feel the Bern" deep inside when someone else lights up with the message. There are few feelings more rewarding than to be in the sweet resonance of this lively transformation.)

I am inspired to resonate with Michael Grom, Ohio 15th congressional district Sanders delegate when he says, "Truth is on our side. There are millions of people along the east coast within a short distance from Philadelphia. We can turn this convention around." Michael and I share this quiet vision of Bernie in the White House.

This is why we are to keep clear in our centered moments the transformation is the need of the times; we create it with our thoughts and intentions. Not to mind what media says, the real news is that we are the future as we envision Bernie Sanders in the White House.

The rest is details. We attend to them and carry on his message. 

 And now a word from The Bernie Blog co-founder and Ohio Bernie delegate Barb McMillan.

Written to those who feel betrayed:
 

Bernie has not lied to us. Fifty years of putting himself on the line for his fellow human beings. How dare anyone berate his efforts. 

From the beginning he made promises, among them that he was going to run as a Democrat and not be a spoiler. This was the conclusion. He was not going to destroy the party and he was not going to berate HRC. He was pushing the progressive agenda and trying to open the party to the progressive future. He continued to fight after the votes were in, after his colleagues spit on him, after exhausted each day he fell into bed to start again. 

He has asked for a roll call at the convention. We need to have a show of our strength. We need to say from the inside of that convention center we are here! In numbers. A coward walks away crying, "They cheated." A courageous man says, "They fought effing hard, and we still have a chance to forward our goals."

I'm standing behind this man. His work has been heroic. He holds his head high. So do I. 

***

We'll See You in Philly!

 Here's a link to a page full of events in and around Philadelphia for the next two weeks: https://www.facebook.com/notes/1029197360493523/Philly%20Events/1068289859917606/ 

Check out our "March on DNC--See You in Philly" page on the sidebar for other helpful links.

Please donate to our GoFundMe campaign if you can help The Bernie Blog get to Philly. Thanks!  (And don't forget to chat with us if you see us there.)

Now, get yourself psyched up for the convention with this great anthem. We're still standing and we're #StillSanders. #FeeltheBern everyone.

 

We'll Rise and Follow Bernie!

We'll Rise and Follow Bernie!

It's Super Tuesday this week--and many voters will rise and follow Bernie to the polls. Our authors  give their reasons why they feel confident to "follow the leadership" of Bernie Sanders as he takes on corporate-owned, establishment candidates and the greed of the Wall Street billionaire banksters. As Bernie says, "Democracy is not a spectator sport." So, get out and vote #AmericaTogether !

Also, we have another installment of "This Woman is Bernie Strong!" and the editor's reflections on seeing Bernie Sanders and Nina Turner at the recent A Future to Believe In Rally in the Cleveland area.

 http://youtu.be/iStLqEaKNCI

Bernie's Song

Sung to the traditional Scottish air, Sound the Piobrach

                          Lyrics by Manus Brennan from Donegal, Ireland

Hear the people, Hear them roar
From great Vermont to the Texan shores
Let every and woman sing
We'll rise and follow Bernie!

Chorus:
With Bernie's song we sing along
With Bernie's strength we will march on
To Bernie's dream we all belong
We'll rise and follow Bernie.

The USA belongs to We
The people of this great country
And not to Billionaires they'll see
US rise and follow Bernie

Our young must have fair chance in life

Without the worry and the strife

Of poverty and broken lives

We'll rise and follow Bernie

Chorus:

With Bernie's song we sing along

With Bernie's strength we will march on

To Bernie's dream we all belong

We'll rise and follow Bernie.

No more their lies and blatant greed

The banks will meet the people's needs

And corporations pay their share

We'll rise and follow Bernie

Instead of bombing foreign lands

We'll help them with determined hands

Our strength will  lift the common man

We'll rise and follow Bernie

Chorus:

With Bernie's song we sing along

With Bernie's strength we carry on

To Bernie's dream we will march on

We'll rise and follow Bernie.

He lit a the torch in Burlington

We the people pass it on

From state to state to Washington

We rise and follow Bernie

Hear your people hear them roar 

From coast to coast, from shore to shore

The revolution has begun

We'll rise and follow Bernie

Chorus:

With Bernie's song we sing along

With Bernie's strength we will march on 

To Bernie's dream we all belong

We'll rise and follow Bernie.

* * *

Bernie Sanders: From Political Science Fiction to a Force Set to Radically Disrupt the Political Marketplace
by Hugh Campbell
 
In his article Is Bernie Sanders the ‘Star Wars’ of politics? David J. Adams compares Bernie Sanders to Star Wars’ Obi Wan Kenobi who awakens Luke Skywalker to his own potential. Sanders is demonstrating that the common folk, the everyday working families, the farmhands in remote parts of the political galaxy, actually do have power, that they can influence the political system and bring about change, that they can liberate themselves from perceived oppressors and have the better world they want.

As with Star Wars, the Sanders’ brand, his story, taps into our deepest longings. We want to believe the promise of  "a new hope." We want to believe a better world is possible. We want to believe that by uniting together as a people we can awaken a force that can defeat the dark side.

Unlike any candidate in recent memory including Obama, Bernie has ignited the imagination of possibility, of the eyes-wide-wow of what if… What if he can win? What if this political revolution, this grassroots movement is for real? The fact that an independent, self-declared, democratic socialist is on the verge of upsetting a candidate entrenched in the Establishment is proof for even the most skeptical to question whether there might be something real about this thing called "the force". Perhaps "of the people, by the people, for the people" isn’t just some fairy tale notion passed down through the colonies. It’s true. All of it.

Bernie Sanders:  This campaign is not about me; it is about you.

Bio: Hugh Campbell is a seasoned financial professional, currently providing subject matter expertise on a variety of regulatory topics, including the Dodd-Frank Act, the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) and overall compliance monitoring. Hugh has previously held positions as Chief Risk Officer (CRO), Chief Audit Executive (CAE) and Director of Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) Compliance.

* * *

This Woman is Bernie Strong!
a weekly commentary from Bernie Sanders' female supporters

This week we continue with Part 2 of Allison Place's "Dear Mrs. Clinton" letter.

Dear Mrs. Clinton,

You attempt to utilize the rhetoric that works so well for Mr. Sanders and try to apply it to your own campaign. To your chagrin, however, you’ve probably noticed that it doesn’t work.

Why doesn’t it work? Well, it doesn’t work because we have brains. Yes, the word is out: the American people, the young feminists of the world, the people who go out and vote actually have brains. Mrs. Clinton, you undoubtedly have your supporters for one reason or another, and I have no intention to discredit what they see in you. Perhaps they are drawn to the fact that you are a woman running for office, or maybe they think that your years of experience make you the most suitable candidate.

I don’t really see that, though. I don’t care about your experience. All your experience tells me, from when you were the wife of a governor in Arkansas on the board for Walmart and Tyson meats to where you are now with your obscene speaking prices being funded directly from Wall Street, is that you can be bought. Mrs. Clinton, this is a problem. I don’t know how you let yourself get this deep without knowing that this a problem, but it is.

I will not vote for a candidate who is owned by corporations. These corporations are the very entities that make it impossible for a living, working wage. These corporations are responsible for 65% of new income going to the top 1%. These corporations are responsible for the ghastly conditions of sweat shop labor in other countries. These corporations are responsible for treaties like NAFTA, which deeply damaged the American economy by sending domestic labor to other countries to do for cheap. These corporations are responsible for the corrupt political system we have today and they are part of the reason that young feminists will not vote for you.

Bio: Allison Place says this about herself:
"I am 19 years old; I am a Media Studies major at UC Berkeley; I have worked in social media brand management. I am from Redding (the most conservative county in California). My support for Bernie and my interest in politics took off once I came to UC Berkeley for school. Ever since Bernie started running, I have been considering a minor or double major in political science. I usually write comedy articles for my blog, but since getting more involved in politics I do a mix of both comedy and political pieces now."

 ***

I Shook Nina Turner's Hand! 
(And Bernie Smiled at My Sign)

by Cindy A. Matthews
photos by Adrian J. Matthews

We did it again--we attended our second A Future to Believe In Rally within two weeks and survived.  We braved treacherous snow-covered roads in our county on our early-morning two hour trip to Berea, Ohio. Baldwin-Wallace University's Lou Higgins Rec Center, a slightly smaller venue to last week's Eastern Michigan's Convocation Hall, was jam-packed with Berners all the same. We estimated at least 2,000 in attendance, but it could have been more. Best of all, this time we didn't have to stand two hours+ outside in line in sub-freezing temps. However, after our bone-chilling experience in Ypsilanti, my husband and I were overdressed and could really "feel the burn" once everyone was crammed into the older basketball gymnasium.

For a very last minute rally, it was well attended by a variety of people. College students were there--of course--but also young families with babies in arms and toddlers in tow. There were retirees and proud veterans wearing their emblem hats and jackets, and of course there were progressive Baby Boomers wearing our political revolution t-shirts. The Nurses United union members showed up in their customary red shirts, and I even spied one young person wearing a banana costume... What can I say? You see all types at a Bernie Sanders rally.

A pre-rally concert of energetic jazz violin got the ball rolling.  Nina Turner introduced Bernie with an inspirational cheer. She is pure poetry in motion. Even in the muddy acoustics in the gymnasium we understood her perfectly.  Feel the Bern! This time we sat much closer to the podium, and at a very interesting angle. We sat behind Bernie and slightly to his right on the lower bleachers overlooking the podium stage.  I have to admit it was different. Watching Senator Sanders deliver his stump speech while staring at his bald spot in the midst of his silver-white mane, you really do get a feel for how he gets into his message via his body language. He uses his whole body to wave his arms and hands about--those gestures are coming from his heart, from deep down in his soul. You can't fake that level of sincerity, and it's why so many connect instantly with him.

Another thing we learned from our vantage point behind the podium is that Bernie wears  brownish-green colored pants with his navy suit jacket. Who needs to match suit pieces when you're standing in front of a podium? His own "GQ Look" as he likes to joke about isn't off-putting at all. In fact, he reminded me of my dad who also dressed in differing colors of suit pants and jacket. Bernie Sanders comes across as an ordinary guy who'd rather wear comfy casual slacks and a well-worn sweater any day of the week. Who wouldn't want to sit down and share some barbecue and a beer with him?

www.youtube.com/embed/2G0IJIamHk4
( Nina's introductory remarks in Cleveland. It's much easier to hear and see her from this angle.)

I counted at least eight to ten Secret Service personnel surrounding the very small podium platform where Bernie gave his remarks. We also spied at least a couple of military-fatigue-wearing "Bomb Squad" officers. Along with local sheriff's deputies and the TSA running security at the doors, once again we felt, that while we may have been in the middle of a large crowd,  it was probably the safest place in America to be.

Bernie's stump speech seemed slightly abbreviated from the one he gave at E.M.U., but that could be because I've memorized large portions of it. Last time we saw him, Bernie had just come from Flint, Michigan, and he had been visibly upset about the experience. This time he was traveling from the Cleveland area up to Flint to run a town hall with the citizens of that community. I really think Nina Turner convinced Bernie that he needed to return to the Buckeye State if only for a brief visit. A new poll by Baldwin-Wallace University of  "likely Ohio voters" shows Bernie with a 1% lead over Clinton. We've got to keep the momentum going, Ohio! Get out and canvass, phone bank or flyer today.

With the Ohio primary on March 15th, I took a chance after the rally to shake Nina Turner's hand and was bold enough to ask her to convince Bernie to come to the Toledo-side of the state. We desperately need Bernie Sanders in Northwest Ohio. NAFTA has drained away the well-paying union factory jobs, the car industry and other disastrous Republican policies have all but decimated our communities. She said she'd like Bernie to come to western Ohio, so we'll see. (I'm thinking they'll do a rally in Cincinnati/Dayton in the southwest corner. Campaigns gravitate toward the bigger metro areas, but I think Nina would be pleasantly surprised at the turn out in our corner of the state.)

What really made our long and snowy drive to Cleveland worth it to me was when Bernie--after shaking hands of the young people standing up around the podium area, signing posters and taking selfies with co-eds--started toward the gym exit with his Secret Service detail. Most of our section of the bleachers had cleared out, so we moved down several rows to watch Bernie shaking hands with the kids down on the gym floor. All of a sudden, a man in a crisp black suit and sporting an ear piece was standing next to me. I realized he was a Secret Service agent and his job probably was to make sure no one threw anything on top Bernie and Jane as they exited from the gym directly below us.  I asked if I needed to move and the agent told me that I was fine where I was. (How nice of him. Bernie's security detail are very pleasant.) 

I waved my "NW Ohio (hearts) Bernie 2016" sign and shouted, "Bernie! Come and visit us sometime!" just as Bernie and Jane walked under us. Then it happened: Bernie looked up and smiled directly at me! Yeah, he was smiling broadly and chuckling at my crazy Valentine-inspired sign with his face in the middle of the heart. I hope it made his day.

Next time we get a chance to attend a rally, I want to shake Bernie's hand. Maybe he'll even remember my crazy sign with the heart. It's a fan girl moment of "squee" for certain, but it's a lifetime memory to be able to say, like Larry David, I made the next President of the United States laugh.