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DemocracyMouse

DemocracyMouse's Journal
DemocracyMouse's Journal
April 3, 2018

God, this is it. Police state.

Is anyone else as angry as I am about the Parkland students being FORCED to use see-through backpacks? And they're talking about getting metal detectors like prisons and courthouses. What has happened to our country??? It's time for a nonviolent revolution. It is time.

CNN has the story.

https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/02/us/marjory-stoneman-douglas-clear-backpacks/index.html

"It's difficult, we all now have to learn how to deal with not only the loss of our friends, but now our right to privacy. My school was a place where everyone felt comfortable, it was a home away from home, and now that home has been destroyed," he said. 'This backpack is probably worth more than my life'
......
Senior Delaney Tarr tagged Rubio in a tweet of a picture of her bag with feminine products and the orange price tag attached to it.
"Starting off the last quarter of senior year right, with a good ol' violation of privacy!" she said in another tweet.
In addition to displaying the orange tag, senior Carmen Lo stuffed a sign into her backpack that read "this backpack is probably worth more than my life."
April 2, 2018

OK. Trump is bad. Is that enough to vote for Democrats?

We won't win votes by just yelling "GOTV."

A Daily Kos editorial is pleading with Democrats: Start rallying FOR Dem causes, not just AGAINST the president.

https://m.dailykos.com/stories/1752975

A blue wave requires that Democrats tell the American people precisely how they will make their lives better. They must inform Americans that they will solve the health care issue once and for all by instituting a single-payer Medicare for All healthcare system. They must tell their constituents that they will finally create a subsidized child care system that makes working possible for all those who want (or need) to do so. They need to show Americans that they will solve the overbearing student loan/debt crisis. They need to tell the segment of the population decimated by the justice system that they will orchestrate necessary reforms. They must be proactive on many other progressive issues that most Americans want, as well.
April 2, 2018

We won't win votes by just yelling "GOTV."

A Daily Kos editorial is pleading with Democrats: Start rallying FOR Dem causes, not just AGAINST the president and all the horror that he stands for.

And I agree. DU should not, for example, just showcase negative Trumpian news.

https://m.dailykos.com/stories/1752975

A blue wave requires that Democrats tell the American people precisely how they will make their lives better. They must inform Americans that they will solve the health care issue once and for all by instituting a single-payer Medicare for All healthcare system. They must tell their constituents that they will finally create a subsidized child care system that makes working possible for all those who want (or need) to do so. They need to show Americans that they will solve the overbearing student loan/debt crisis. They need to tell the segment of the population decimated by the justice system that they will orchestrate necessary reforms. They must be proactive on many other progressive issues that most Americans want, as well.

The Democratic narrative must be bold. Most importantly, it must be threefold:

First, for those voters who want to know what they get out of voting for Democrats, the above is good enough. It gives those voters an affirmative reason to vote.

Second, for those who want to know that the Democratic promises are possible, party leaders must provide a fiscally and politically realistic path to get there. Describing the road is not difficult, but requires informing the electorate in a more in-depth manner than they would get on cable news...
March 30, 2018

When the Blue Wave puts Democrats back in charge:

After this near-death brush with fascism and oligarchy, let's prioritize infrastructure fixes for our electoral system. Please.

Here's a starter list... it's imperfect and I welcome additions, modifications and substractions:

– Mandatory voting booths per capita (bring them back to the black and Latino neighborhoods the Republicans removed them from).

– Get rid of the electoral college.

– Use a simple mathematical formula for district lines to make extreme gerrymandering illegal.

– Paper trail.

– Voting day becomes a national holiday (or move it to Presidents' day.

– Automatic registration when getting drivers license, and same day registration when voting.

– True representation of voters so larger populations have more reps in the Senate.

– Third parties can have representation proportional to their membership.

– Overturn so-called Citizens United.

– Bring back a true progressive tax.

– Democratize the workplace through stronger unions.

– Expand civics curriculum in our schools.

– Outlaw cross-checking where citizens are omitted from registration simply for having the same name (yet different social security number)

– Bring back net neutrality and more: nationalize the net and insure privacy rights, no speed lanes, etc.

– Boost funding for education and boost, and deeoen, history and world literature so citizens understand the ROOTS and REASONS for democracy.

– Create a cabinet level position to oversee all of the above?

– Other ideas?

March 30, 2018

"Not reckoning with the George W. Bush years helped weaken American democracy"

I think this is a sobering read. History and self-reflection matters. Our progress as a society, and yes, as Democrats, depends on it. Protein for the collective brain...

Democracy Down

An interview with Timothy Snyder about what ails our country, and why so many of us can’t see it.

By ISAAC CHOTINER

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/03/timothy-snyder-on-bush-the-cold-war-and-our-weakened-democracy.html?

Isaac Chotiner: There has been a debate on the left about how much to focus on Russia—Russian meddling, Russian bots, Russian fake-news tactics—when we’re thinking about threats to our democracy. Some people, especially on the left, think the fear is too Russia-focused, and that many of our democracy’s problems are about us, not about Russia. What do you think?

Timothy Snyder: Here’s how I would characterize some of what I think is going on, on the left: I think it’s a kind of inverted nationalism. I think there’s a tendency, in the U.S. left, to think only in terms of the U.S. and to say, “Whatever’s going wrong, whether it’s abroad or whether it’s at home, let’s think just about America.” That’s comfortable, because we’re Americans. Most of us only know English, so why don’t we start from there?




March 29, 2018

New, improved PROGRESSIVE!!!

I STILL think the Democrats are awesome... But they, like all groups, have their sacred cows and I made a mistake in a recent post about being critical of one if them. Sorry mates! You'll live! I was just trying to be historically honest. It's good fer the noggin' as Pop Eye might have said.

And I still believe the Democrats are getting awesomer. A dawning of consciousness is occuring. Young and old alike in the party are realizing that maybe our traditional (and achievable) new deal, anti-war, pro-education platform is back with a vengeance.

By LEADING WITH GUSTO, not by hedging bets and pussy-footing around, we win. That's what the French economist Thomas Pickety is inferring when he wrote in a 174 page paper (with charts!) that Democrats will win more votes this November by confidently stressing the need to reverse the flow of money and power up to the 1%. Even Warren Buffett has admitted that he is taxed at a lower rate than his secretaries.

I also think that Democrats have been moving to a more progressive platform since Bush Jr. screwed up the Middle East (and produced thousands of dead US soldiers and hundreds of thousands of others deaths, displacement, refugees, etc.), and royally trounced our economy (with some help). History has proven what a disaster conservative positions on a lot of things have been: rolling back bank regulations like the Glass-Steagel Act, screwing the environment, extreme incarceration policies, the persecution of African Americans and LGTBQ Americans, the nightmarish plunge into the Middle East after a phony case for Weapons of Mass Destruction.

What is clear to many, including Picketty, is that a younger group of Democrats are HUNGRY for change and are REALLY UPSET about their dreams of a better life being dashed due to deep structural changes in the system which are pushing all the wealth up to the top tiers of society. Many of us are doing multiple jobs just to survive and eating up our savings. I think the older Democrats who grew up in boom times are starting to "get" the younger, economically disadvantaged Democrats.

The point is this:

We will win a lot more VOTES if the older and younger Democrats can find common ground and work together. I've seen local Dem meetings explode in membership and I've seen the die-hards Dems welcome the new blood – but with a touch of anxiety instead of joy. The establishment needs to start moving in more concert with this new, internet-savvy generation like the Parkland students, the Occupy generation, and Black Lives Matter.

I think, frankly, we're almost there.

NOTE: This commentary is about compassionate congealing of intergenerational resolve and self-improvement (which wins elections). It's NOT about the last election.

PS Emma for President!
(I know, I know she's still learning the ropes... and that's OK!)

March 29, 2018

Feeling PROGRESSIVE

I think the Democrats are awesome... and they are getting awesomer. A dawning of consciousness is occuring. Young and old alike in the party are realizing that maybe our traditional (pre-Bill Clinton), new deal, anti-war, pro-education platform is back with a vengeance. By LEADING WITH GUSTO, not by hedging bets and pussy-footing around. That's what the French economist Thomas Pickety is inferring when he wrote in a 174 page paper (with charts!) that Democrats will win more votes this November by confidently "moving left."

I also think that Democrats have been moving to a more progressive platform since Bush Jr. screwed up the Middle East (and produced thousands of dead US soldiers and hundreds of thousands of others deaths, displacement, refugees, etc.), and royally trounced our economy. History has proven what a disaster conservative positions on a lot of things have been: rolling back bank regulations like the Glass-Steagel Act (gee thanks, Bill C.), the environment, extreme incarceration policies (wtf Bill!), the persecution of African Americans and LGTBQ Americans, the nightmarish plunge into the Middle East after a phony case for WMDs...

What is clear to many, including Picketty, is that a younger group of Democrats (and disaffected independents) are HUNGRY for change and are REALLY UPSET about their dreams of a better life being dashed due to deep structural changes in the system which are pushing all the wealth up to the top tiers of society. Meanwhile the older, career Democrats are doing some of the right things (finally), but are emotionally behind the bulk of the Democrats.

The point is this:

We will win a lot more friggin' VOTES if the older and younger Democrats can find common ground and work together. This means the younger Dems learn about the mechanics of the ground game, and the established Dems show some EMPATHY for left-leaning, champing-at-the-bit majority. I've seen local Dem meetings explode in membership and I've seen the die-hards Dems welcome the new blood – but with anxiety instead of joy. The establishment needs to let go of the Bill Clinton era restraint (and I'm referring ONLY to the man who killed the Glass-Steagel act and supported laws that abusively pushed hundreds of thousands of African Americans into prisons) and start moving in more concert with this new, internet-savvy generation like the Parkland students and Black Lives Matter.

I think, frankly, we're almost there.

March 28, 2018

Why Piketty is right to recommend that Democrats "go left" to win votes:

French Economist, Thomas Pickety, says Democrats will win more votes if they address economic inequality and other traditional Democratic concerns about workers. A Pro Publica article underscores how messed up the economy is for average Americans:

https://www.propublica.org/article/investigating-ibm-digital-community-ex-employees

Today, we are reporting that over the past five years IBM has been removing older U.S. employees from their jobs, replacing some with younger, less experienced, lower-paid American workers and moving many other jobs overseas.

We’ve got documentation and details — most of which are the direct result of a questionnaire filled out by over 1,100 former IBMers
.
March 27, 2018

Famous French economist, Thomas Piketty, says "go left" and Democrats will win more voters

Even Bill Clinton would agree... ("It's the Economy Stupid" ), Democrats have to address the economic divide to increase voter turnout. Article about Piketty's deeply researched paper (174 pages with charts) in RawStory:

https://www.rawstory.com/2018/03/famous-french-economist-counterintuitive-idea-democrats-can-retake-america/

The author of Capital in the Twenty-First Century, a New York Times best-seller and the most-bought book in the history of Harvard University Press, has published a paper that uses exit polling data to argue that embracing economic populism would power the left toward huge electoral wins.

Piketty’s conclusion is that moving the Democratic party further to the left, at least when it comes to economics, would help it win. That’s because it would help them bring back alienated working-class and uneducated voters who either don’t vote now, or who are brought into the Republican fold through the party’s nativism and social conservatism.

Piketty’s analysis squares with what commentators from outlets like Salon, who employed the strident H.A. Goodman during the 2016 primary, have been preaching for awhile....

The future, then, would have a Democratic Party where “lower class voters” of all stripes, including lower education and lower income voters, support them while upper and middle class people formed the Republican party...

“If you look at the patterns of where gains are being made and who is creating the foundation for those gains, it’s the same: An energized Democratic base is linking arms with disaffected suburban voters,” Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel told the Times. “The president’s conduct has basically given voters this permission slip to go against the Republicans.”
March 24, 2018

Q: What do we do after the BLUE WAVE?

A: WE FLIP THE ECONOMIC PYRAMID

Q: How do we flip the economic pyramid?

A: We return to the New Deal, which worked amazingly well. We get serious about a progressive tax – which means tax the upper brackets a lot more and the lower brackets less. THEN we (smartly) allocate funds for physical and intellectual infrastructure – roads, schools, and environmental protections. We create the conditions for a robust PEOPLE's ECONOMY. Cultivate a healthy emergent system. It's really a traditional and highly effective idea with new biological theories to support it. See E.O. Wilson on emergent systems.

Q: What's a people's economy?

A: It's not one where corporations get all the concessions and tax breaks and everyone else gets crumbs and have to compete against those propped up behemoths. In a people's economy small business has leverage again – and "small" includes both a small family restaurant or plumbing outfit all the way down to an individual getting a state-funded nursing degree or electrician's license.

Return America to the Americans! Thank ALL progressive Democrats for reminding us that we abandoned what was once working in this country: the New Deal.

Same old? Hell yeah! It worked! Let's get ready to do it again – but better, with many lessons learned since the 1930s about INCLUDING women, the LGBTQ community, and all ethnicities and religious (and non-religious) persuasions.

I'm sick of doing three jobs. The pyramid must, and WILL be flipped.

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Name: Mouse de la Soul
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Hometown: New Jersey
Home country: USA
Member since: Sat Dec 9, 2017, 01:41 PM
Number of posts: 2,275
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