Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

Scuba

Scuba's Journal
Scuba's Journal
December 31, 2015

Everybody and their super pac (if they have one) was sure begging for money today.

I've got over 50 emails from every organization left of the RNC asking for money today. I wonder how many address a single issue of policy that doesn't lead with "The awful Republicans just ..."

December 31, 2015

Wisconsin: Squat Wanker's 33 pieces of legislation designed to cripple honest elections

http://journaltimes.com/news/state-and-regional/timeline-changes-scott-walker-has-made-to-voting-and-elections/article_315acad4-2cba-5161-a003-c229441d9663.html?comment_form=true


Since Gov. Scott Walker took office in 2011, he has signed or made changes to 33 pieces of legislation that affect how Wisconsin residents vote, according to data from the Wisconsin Legislative Council.

Changes range from the first bill on voting rights passed in 2011 clarifying how municipal clerks must handle absentee ballots to the latest pair of bills signed earlier in December reorganizing the Government Accountability Board and lifting caps on how campaigns are financed by businesses and political action committees.

The most changes were made during the 2013-14 session when Walker signed 16 bills into law. He has signed seven into law so far this session, which ends officially in January, 2017. Scroll through the timeline and check out the legislative memos linked with each act.




Unfortunately I can't embed the slide show detailing this legislation, but it's at the link.
December 30, 2015

After No Tamir Rice Case Indictment, Bernie Sanders Calls For Federal Investigation

Despite DU's resident constitutional scholar stating (while failing to back up) the DOJ has no authority to investigate, Bernie is calling for just that. Funny no one else has mentioned how DOJ doesn't have such authority.

http://www.ibtimes.com/after-no-tamir-rice-case-indictment-bernie-sanders-calls-federal-investigation-12-2242354

After No Tamir Rice Case Indictment, Bernie Sanders Calls For Federal Investigation Of 12-Year-Old's Killing

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders has criticized an Ohio grand jury's decision Monday not to indict two police officers in connection with the death of 12-year-old Tamir Rice. “I think we need to have a federal investigation to take a hard look at that. But I will also tell you that we need, nationally, to take a hard look at the use of force,” Sanders told MSNBC host Melissa Harris-Perry Monday.

Rice was shot in November 2014 by Officer Timothy Loehmann, who has said he believed the child was a threat due to his size and because the toy gun Rice was carrying looked real. After the shooting, Loehmann and fellow officer Frank Garmback realized the gun was a toy.

Sanders, who is running for the Democratic nomination for president, has spoken out about police shootings before and has made criminal justice reform an important aspect of his platform. Earlier this month, he called for an investigation into the Chicago Police Department after a video of police officers shooting 17-year-old Laquan McDonald was released in November. The Vermont senator also called on Chicago officials to resign if they were involved in suppressing the video, and questions continue to arise about how long Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel knew the details of the video.

December 29, 2015

50,000 posts and the only mind I’ve changed is my own (reposted following lock)

(I'm reposting (with minor edits) as my original post was locked.)



But then that was the whole point when I joined DU in April of 2010 - to learn more about American politics, our parties and our candidates, our economic and social justice problems and the pathways to fix them.

I’ve been on the left side of the political spectrum since the early 1970’s when I was serving in southeast Asia in the Air Force, and began seeing through the daily ration of bullshit. In the years that followed, work and family responsibilities didn’t leave much time for politics, so despite my interest and political bent I had only a superficial knowledge of what was happening. Most of what I knew I learned by reading my state’s largest newspapers. On many issues I had been led astray and was ill-informed.

Then I retired in early 2008 and the free time allowed me to become much more active in politics. I campaigned for Barack Obama and was thrilled when he won. The day of his inauguration I felt more hope for my country than I ever had. Then came a series of disappointments – some of his cabinet picks and his failure to advocate for single-payer healthcare - or even a public option - really stuck in my craw.

(One cabinet pick I did like was Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State. I was a big fan of hers due to her advocacy for universal healthcare. I felt she would do a great job as SOS. I could have easily supported her for President had she prevailed over Obama in the 2008 primaries.)

Then in 2010 I found DU (while searching for Ducks Unlimited of all things). I was hooked on the first day and joined immediately. Wow - a progressive community discussing the issues without the lies and disruptions that right-wingers inflicted on the other sites on which I had been posting. I fell in love with DU and still love DU.

There’s no better site for vetting the information that the media spoon-feeds us every day. News stories are exposed as propaganda and alternative points of view are posted without the filters imposed by the corporate media. I learned that many of the “truths” I had long held were, in fact, bullshit.

Right now DU is fractured as supporters of the respective primary camps duke it out. This is a healthy thing and I’m glad it’s happening. Neither of our candidates is perfect and it’s great that we can learn about the positives and negatives of both so that we can make the most informed choices when we cast our votes. I don’t expect to sway anyone but I do appreciate the opportunity to post about both the positives and negatives of each of our candidates.

My own mind was changed when I learned that the Kochs and their friends founded the Democratic Leadership Council, when I learned how the leadership of the party I’d long supported had been infiltrated by moneyed interests and had abandoned working people.

So my mind has been changed, and perhaps I’ve provided a bit of ammunition for others who are like-minded. That’s what’s so great about DU.

Let the truth be your guide, and there’s no better place for determining what is true and what is not than Democratic Underground. Long may we post.

Be back later; I’ve (still) got a whole lot of snow to move.

December 29, 2015

How Donald Trump destroyed the Republican Party in 2015

Really fun read, made me smile again and again. I sure hope the title premise holds true ...



https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/how-donald-trump-is-destroying-the-republican-party/2015/12/28/747668f6-ad9e-11e5-9ab0-884d1cc4b33e_story.html

History will remember 2015 as the year when The Republican Party As We Knew It was destroyed by Donald Trump. An entity called the GOP will survive — but can never be the same.

Am I overstating Trump’s impact, given that not a single vote has been cast? Hardly. I’m not sure it’s possible to exaggerate how the Trump phenomenon has torn the party apart, revealing a chasm between establishment and base that is far too wide to bridge with stale Reagan-era rhetoric. Can you picture the Trump legions meekly falling in line behind Jeb Bush or Sen. Marco Rubio (Fla.)? I can’t either.

...

What Trump has done is call out the establishment on years of dishonest rhetoric. Progressives often asked why so many working-class whites went against their own economic interests by supporting the GOP. The answer is that Republicans appealed to these voters on cultural grounds, subtly exploiting their resentments and fears.

...

Enter Trump, who has the temerity to point out that the party establishment says one thing but does another. He launched his campaign by calling the GOP’s bluff on immigration: If the 11 million people here without documents are really “illegal,” as the party loudly proclaims, then send them home. Other candidates were put in the position of having to explain why, after claiming that President Obama was somehow “soft” on immigration, their position on allowing the undocumented to stay is basically the same.
December 29, 2015

50,000 posts and the only mind I’ve changed is my own

But then that was the whole point when I joined DU in April of 2010 - to learn more about American politics, our parties and our candidates, our economic and social justice problems and the pathways to fix them.

I’ve been on the left side of the political spectrum since the early 1970’s when I was serving in southeast Asia in the Air Force, and began seeing through the daily ration of bullshit. In the years that followed, work and family responsibilities didn’t leave much time for politics, so despite my interest and political bent I had only a superficial knowledge of what was happening. Most of what I knew I learned by reading my state’s largest newspapers. On many issues I had been led astray and was ill-informed.

Then I retired in early 2008 and the free time allowed me to become much more active in politics. I campaigned for Barack Obama and was thrilled when he won. The day of his inauguration I felt more hope for my country than I ever had. Then came a series of disappointments – some of his cabinet picks and his failure to advocate for single-payer healthcare - or even a public option - really stuck in my craw.

(One cabinet pick I did like was Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State. I was a big fan of hers due to her advocacy for universal healthcare. I felt she would do a great job as SOS. I could have easily supported her for President had she prevailed over Obama in the 2008 primaries.)

Then in 2010 I found DU (while searching for Ducks Unlimited of all things). I was hooked on the first day and joined immediately. Wow - a progressive community discussing the issues without the lies and disruptions that right-wingers inflicted on the other sites on which I had been posting. I fell in love with DU and still love DU.

There’s no better site for vetting the information that the media spoon-feeds us every day. News stories are exposed as propaganda and alternative points of view are posted without the filters imposed by the corporate media. I learned that many of the “truths” I had long held were, in fact, bullshit.

Right now DU is fractured as supporters of Hillary and Bernie duke it out. This is a healthy thing and I’m glad it’s happening. Neither of these candidates is perfect and it’s great that we can learn about the positives and negatives of both so that we can make the most informed choices when we cast our votes. I don’t expect to sway any Hillary fans but I do appreciate the opportunity to post about the positives and negatives of each.

But my own mind was changed when I learned of Hillary’s support for the Iraq War Resolution, when I learned of the Kochs and Clintons teamig up to found the Democratic Leadership Council, when I learned how the leadership of the party I’d long supported had been infiltrated by moneyed interests and had abandoned working people.

So my mind has been changed, and perhaps I’ve provided a bit of ammunition for others who are like-minded. That’s what’s so great about DU.

Let the truth be your guide, and there’s no better place for determining what is true and what is not than Democratic Underground. Long may we post.

Be back later; I’ve got a whole lot of snow to move.


December 29, 2015

Hillary supporter's new meme: Evolution in thinking is impossible

At least that's what you'd think reading all the posts complaining about Bernie trying to change the minds of Trump supporters.













The cognitive dissonance is strong at Camp Weathervane.

December 29, 2015

A few others named "Most Admired" in Gallup's poll

Source


1969: Richard Nixon

1970: Richard Nixon

1971: Richard Nixon

1972: Richard Nixon

1973: Henry Kissinger

1974: Henry Kissinger

1975: Henry Kissinger

1982: Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher

1983: Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher

1984: Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher

1985: Ronald Reagan and Nancy Reagan

1986: Ronald Reagan

1987: Ronald Reagan and Nancy Reagan (no mention of Nancy's astrologer)

1988: Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher

1989: George H. W. Bush and Margaret Thatcher

1990: George H. W. Bush and Margaret Thatcher

1991: George H. W. Bush and Barbara Bush

1992: George H. W. Bush

2001: George W. Bush

2002: George W. Bush

2003: George W. Bush

2004: George W. Bush

2005: George W. Bush

2006: George W. Bush

2007: George W. Bush





Perhaps this name recognition contest isn't that great an indicator of personal character and courage.

Profile Information

Member since: Thu Apr 29, 2010, 03:31 PM
Number of posts: 53,475
Latest Discussions»Scuba's Journal