Sunday, July 24, 2016

Little Mary Sunshine vs. Donnie Darko

The poor corporate Democrats are not only stuck between a rock and a hard place, they're mired in the swamp, they're swirling in the maelstrom, they're choking on their own happy-talk effluvia.

They proclaim themselves utterly dismayed by the dark, dismal, depressing acceptance speech of Donald Trump the other night. Sunshine Superman he definitely is not. And that he didn't make God a centerpiece of his diatribe is only more proof of how un-American he truly is. Failure of a politician to constantly mention a supernatural character is a direct slap in the face to our official national motto: In God We Trust.

Trump only mentioned God once in his speech, and that was in the final sentence. Even then, he committed the ultimate faux pas, uttering "God bless you" rather than "God bless America." Kate Smith must be rolling in her grave.

Superstition has been the glue holding the bipartisan military-industrial complex together since the dawn of the Empire, and Trump threatens to turn that neocon propaganda of exceptionalism right on its overstuffed puritanical head. He wears his xenophobia on his sleeve, willfully ignoring the code of etiquette which holds that politicians' foul cores must always be masked by pretty, soothing, humanitarian words.  

  In the annals of presidential politics, the Trump horror show is making Dick Cheney look about as anodyne as folksy misanthrope Mike Pence.




Rather than agree with Trump that most people are more down and out than ever, the Democratic Party is choosing instead to shoot the messenger. They're blasting away at Donnie, that nasty brutish short-fingered authoritarian messenger of gloom and doom. Because to acknowledge the terrible reality of Dystopian America would be to unconscionably betray the last seven and half years of the Obama presidency itself.

The premature and perpetual burnishing of Obama's legacy - and the party's retention of political power - seem more important to Democratic elders than addressing such inconvenient social ills as poverty and homelessness and drug addiction and suicide and premature death rates, and past, present and future corporate malfeasance and war crimes.

 In the view of elite eyes peering out from behind their rose-colored glasses, killing the messenger certainly trumps (sorry!) killing the legacy of Barack Obama in particular, and the Neoliberal Project in general. The Democratic Party cannot possibly admit that the wealth gap has increased under Obama, that the poverty rate has increased under Obama, that the jobs created under Obama have mostly been of the low wage, service sector, temporary and precarious variety.

So instead of espousing a new New Deal and a government-sponsored jobs program for every citizen wanting employment, they're holding their ears and insisting that the kids are all right - even in lead-poisoned Flint, Michigan. They gave out free plastic filters to everybody, didn't they? So they won't even bother to sing The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow at their convention this week. As far as they're concerned, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia and for that matter, in every other corner of its inclusive, diverse Big Tent of the Free. 

Sure, they grudgingly allow,"there's still work to be done." Hillary Clinton has vowed to fight (against her own neoliberal policies?) from Day One, ensuring that every last shlub will get the chance to live up to his or her "God-given potential."

Just like Little Mary Sunshine, the Clinton party is a subversive parody of the Pollyanna genre, though unfortunately not in a feel-good, funny way.

You're Either With Her, Or You're Secretly With Donnie

You gotta believe... in incrementalism. Hope is so yesterday, and so Berniebro-ish. (just look at the DNC's leaked Sanders-trashing emails in case you still had any doubts. These flacks sound just as depraved as the "Sunny in Philly" cast. Is it too late for Bernie to still take the fight all the way to the convention?)

Donald Trump might be a fascistic strongman and a false idol, but the Sunshine Love Party of Hillary isn't exactly winning friends either, what with trying to convince us that everything is hunky-dory, and that the hunky-doryness will continue into the foreseeable future. The only influencers they seek to impress are their donors and the comfortable believers of the professional class. And that includes Republicans who are just as horrified at Trump's dark material as the establishment Dems.

 The Clintonites aren't interested in wooing hippies and lefties and poor people, and they never have been. Why else select Wall Street and TPP-friendly Tim Kaine as Clinton's running mate, and then add insult to injury by colluding with the New York Times to cynically cast him as a "progressive?"

(Now, to  be perfectly catty about the whole thing, I think that one reason she picked him is because he makes her look ten years younger.) 


 Slim,Trim,Grim, and Brim-full of Vim With Tim

New York Times columnist and Democratic factotum Paul Krugman, long a Panglossian defender of the neoliberal Obama regime, wrote a hilarious blog-post the other day, assuring his readers that because New York City's tony Upper West Side (where he owns a fortified $1.7 million co-op) is safe and secure, fear-mongering Donnie Darko has no idea what he's talking about, claiming that America is not strong or great.

If you listen to Trump, shames Krugman, it probably means that you're paranoid and delusional and perhaps even just as racist and misogynistic as he is.

Krugman writes,
If you want to feel good about the state of America, you could do a lot worse than what I did this morning: take a run in Riverside Park. There are people of all ages, and, yes, all races exercising, strolling hand in hand, playing with their dogs, kicking soccer balls and throwing Frisbees. There are a few homeless people, but the overall atmosphere is friendly – New Yorkers tend to be rushed, but they’re not nasty – and, well, nice.

Yes, the Upper West Side is affluent. But still, I’ve seen New York over the decades, and it has never been as pleasant, as safe in feel, as it is now. And this is the big bad city!

The point is that lived experience confirms what the statistics say: crime hasn’t been lower, society hasn’t been safer, in generations. Which, of course, leads us to the Trump gambit from last night. Can he raise 1968-type fears in a country that looks, feels, and is nothing like it was back then?
Krugman is an intelligent guy, so it's painfully, transparently obvious that his piece is simply a desperate liberal counter-gambit as well as an ode to the wellness regimes of the wealthy.

My published response:
Well, if all is right in Krugman's privileged world, then it naturally follows that all should revel in his self-satisfaction.

This post creepily (and hilariously) reminded me of a Patricia ("Strangers on a Train") Highsmith novel called "A Dog's Ransom." An upper middle class guy goes for an innocent stroll in Riverside Park - and everything is, well, nice. It's so perfect, in fact, that there isn't one homeless person around to blot the landscape. There are even some frisbee-throwing black and brown people on hand to lull the open-minded passer-by into thinking that bad things can never happen to good and well-off people.

But Highsmith being her usual misanthropic self, we soon learn there's a dark side to that walk in the park. She's about to do a real satiric number on affluence, the class war, and consumerism.

Little does her open-minded professional dude know that there's an urban (white) psychopath lurking nearby, and that his whole privileged world is about to crumble.. In the process, he discovers there's a world beyond the Upper West Side.

It's dawned on me that Krugman is addressing the top 10 percent of the readership as well as his own professional cohort. Little does he seem to realize, or care, that the more he contributes to the class-blind liberal classism genre, the more that right-wing populists will gleefully and correctly pounce on the elitism of the media in general and the Clinton Dems in particular.

Brace yourselves for the Talented Mr. Trump.
I didn't have room to add the text of a letter from the disaffected guy in the Highsmith novel to his particular Upper West Side target. But since it's apropos of Krugman's own clueless mind-set juxtaposed with seething working class resentments, I'll include it here, minus the annoying ALL CAPS beloved by the various and sundry angry people you meet on Yahoo comment boards, at Trump rallies, in Highsmith books, and in your own neighborhood: 
Dear Sir or "Gentleman"

I suppose you are pretty pleased with yourself? People like you disgust me and not only me but a hell of a lot of other people in this world. You are smug, you are self-suficiant (sic) you think superior to everyone else. You think. A fancy apartment and a snob dog. You are a disgusting little machine, nothing else. Your days are numbered. What right have you got to be 'superior'?
Anon (as in see you anon - HA!)                                                                           
I don't want to be a spoiler, but I do want to reassure readers that the rich assholes in the novel do survive, despite being ripped a new one or two. Evil usually triumphs in the realistic dark world of Patricia Highsmith. But it never triumphs unscathed.

This novel and others in the Highsmith oeuvre were long out of print, but are again popular thanks in large part to the film adaptation (Carol) of her early novel, "The Price of Salt."

One of them, a collection of short stories called "Little Tales of Misogyny" is especially apt in this Age of Trump. I recommend all her books, especially "The Talented Mr. Ripley," which was also made into a well-received film.

Tom Ripley was actually a more perfect psychopath than Donald Trump, who is also a clinical narcissist with a monstrous id competing with an equally monstrous ego. He is neither charming, nor literate, nor polite, nor classy.

To be a true member of the tribe of refined psychopathy, one must be the opposite of Trump, capable of oozing empathy in public and acting callously in private.

And that brings me back to (at least) one of the other major characters in this blog-post, who's managed to fool enough of the people enough of the time to earn public approval ratings above 50 percent.

But sometimes even the best of them slip up, including the law enforcement officials in the audience who laugh along appreciatively and ghoulishly:

 
If you prefer more unabashed ghoulishness:



As far as garden variety mendacity goes, Hillary still needs a lot - a whole, whole, whole lot - more practice in fooling at least some of the people some of the time:



But look over there! It's Trump, baring his bottom teeth.






30 comments:

voice-in-wilderness said...

Thanks for the reminder about Patricia Highsmith. The "Talented Mr. Ripley" movie is excellent (version with Matt Damon - there is an older French version called "Purple Noon").

The happy neighborhood of the Krugmans coincides with a 7/22 article by Vivian Marino on whether to put down $1.8 cash up front in buying in NYC and then take cash out, or to go with a mortgage. Marino's byline typically appears on articles about apartments/condos that are $15 million and up. The NYTimes sees no irony in such articles in a city where the median household income is about $50,700.

Pearl said...


Eric Bradner, CNN news


Sanders: 'Awful' DNC emails should cost party chair her job @CNNPolitics http://cnn.it/2apz2jU

Jay–Ottawa said...

Krugman sees all the pretty details when strolling through the park of his privileged bubble.

Outside that bubble, he thinks in abstractions for the globe, where people become populations, mere numbers on spread sheets, values to fit into a formula. When he writes, it is a happy poetry. When misery gets mentioned, it's just another word on the page.

He must be studying spread sheets in his lap, or texting the Times, when chauffeured through tough streets. Why give himself a downer by looking at hard times straight in the face? He already knows that poverty and misfortune, though real, are avoidable, if only people would just pay attention, work hard and invest wisely.

Pearl said...



Israel Platform in Party History http://freebeacon.com/national-security/debbie-wasserman-schultz-boasts-democrats-have-strongest-pro-israel-platform-party-history/

annenigma said...

If that spineless, gutless wonder, Bernie Sanders, can break his pledge to all of US to take OUR fight to get him nominated all the way to the convention, then he can damn well break his pledge to get Hillary Clinton elected! We didn't vote for and donate to him to get some meaningless platform planks changed. We supported him to fight to win the nomination.

The American people are sick and tired of hearing about the damn platform, Bernie! Nice fight you put up, but what about the nomination? I can't believe he didn't have the courage to make a stink about that phony AP projected win for Hillary's nomination. It still hasn't actually happened yet, and he just played along.

I'm going to demand he refund my campaign donations. I absolutely hate being betrayed, especially for the second time. We knew the Establishment wasn't going to let us have a candidate of our choice for the first time ever, but did he have to make it so easy for them?

I can't wait to hear his speech at the convention condemning the lesser of two evils, Donald Trump. When Trump said in his convention speech "I am your voice!" I could only wish someone with guts would be ours. Sad.

Neil said...

Pearl, on "Feeling the Heartbern" you wrote,

"Bernie working from the inside, keeping connections is what I see as a possibility for change..."(July 13, 2016 at 6:07 PM)

"In those negotiations surely between Bernie and Hillary, he extracted some iron clad promises from her in order to endorse her and most surely will be offered an important appointment related to his interests when she is in office." and quoting Ken Wallace, "Time will tell" (July 14, 2016 at 12:36 AM)

http://kmgarcia2000.blogspot.com/2016/07/feeling-heartbern.html

Okay Pearl, what has time told? With the release of DNC emails hostile toward Sanders, even suggesting his faith be used against him in the campaign? Do you still believe Sanders is working from the inside? Or that he extracted iron clad promises from Clinton in exchange for endorsing her?

As I see it, there is little difference between the DNC, and the Clinton organized crime family.

I appreciate your link to "Israel Platform in Party". Likewise your link to "If Not Now" some time ago. https://ifnotnowmovement.org/

Israel is the elephant in the room undermining the interests of the United States. The 1947 UN Partition Plan for Palestine, Resolution 181(II), and all that followed, were doomed from the start. I believe The Slattery Report (1940), resettlement to Alaska, had the best chance.

Neil said...

re annenigma, now you know why Trump may win.

Michael Moor is predicting Trump will win.
http://michaelmoore.com/trumpwillwin/

Here are the 5 reasons Trump is going to win:

1. Midwest Math, or Welcome to Our Rust Belt Brexit.
2. The Last Stand of the Angry White Man.
3. The Hillary Problem.
4. The Depressed Sanders Vote
5. The Jesse Ventura Effect. (the anger that so many have toward a broken political system)

Neil said...

There is an alternative Nobel prize-winning economist to follow: Joseph Stiglitz.

See Stiglitz’s book, "The Great Divide: Unequal Societies and What We Can Do About Them."

Link to a discussion of The Great Divide with Joseph Stiglitz and Robert Reich

https://youtu.be/e3aJxy9tA-w

"Economist Joseph Stiglitz and former Labor Secretary Robert Reich reminisce about opposing "corporate welfare" during their days in the Clinton Administration and talk here about problematic trade deals, income inequality and Stiglitz’s new book, "The Great Divide: Unequal Societies and What We Can Do About Them." Reich and Stiglitz are presented by the Goldman School of Public Policy at UC Berkeley"

Stiglitz should send Krugman a copy of The Great Divide to review.

Pearl said...

Annenigma and Neil: I am so happy that donations I have sent to Bernie and Tim Conova have resulted in the end of Debbie Wasserman Schultz. This is the start of destruction within the party and I would bet my bottom dollar that someone in Bernie's ensemble brought those emails to everyone's attention. Otherwise the poison of Debbie would have lingered and have you thought that this is how Bernie is wounding Hillary and will in future? Look at the chaos created for the Democratic convention already which will open eyes more to the political realities.
Also, without Hillary running with the help of Bernie supporters, we would most definitely have Donald Trump in the White House and recent quotes from others mentioned above (Michael Moore, Reich, etc,)indicate how likely it is and would suppress any attempts for left of center voters to have a voice for many years to come. We're hearing their voices now if you listen, as long as Hillary is in power and a target.
Any changes happening at the convention pushed by Bernie are opening the doors to a different Congressional set up and Bernie has outlined his plans very clearly in his emails to his supporters. I am surprised you do not catch on to the agenda in store which will continue to crack the underpinnings of the Democratic Party establishment members, brick by brick. I am sure history has many examples of how such plans have succeeded in demolishing the kind of evil our country is now facing.
Yes, time will tell and soon.

Pearl said...


Sanders, seeking unity, finds hold-outs in his movement http://wapo.st/2aqxyWx?tid=ss_tw-bottom

annenigma said...

Money is power in politics. Bernie has never paid his dues to the Democratic Party/DNC precisely because he's never been a member. By remaining technically Independent, he didn't have to raise money for the Party but instead just for himself. That's what he's done until the last few months, which means he's long broken the cardinal sin of duopoly politics. Money is only thing that count$.

Just because Bernie's making some effort recently to help the rest of the team doesn't change anything. They'll let him help them, as they did when they allowed him to run on the Democratic ticket to get new voters registered as Democrats and get his donor list. There are plenty of Democrats who paid their dues and they're going to slam the door in his face if he tries to horn in on their turf now. Democrats have only contempt for Bernie and all of his supporters. His ego won't let him see or admit. That's just human nature.

Bernie's remaining value to the Democrats, other than his newfound interest in fundraising, is his treasured donor list that DNC has claimed is actually theirs because he ran under auspices of the Democratic Party. When Debbie leaves after Hillary's coronation, he'll hand that list over to them. That list may have been what he's been using to try to win useless concessions for meaningless platform reform. The Greens could use that list. Too bad they won't get it.

So let's not attribute more power to Bernie than he actually has. Hillary and the DNC really don't need him other than to help campaign to get Hillary elected. Remember that Bernie has been trying for months to get Debbie out and hasn't succeeded. Bernie holds some ace cards, but he keeps throwing them away to win Party leaders' hearts. Despite his efforts, Debbie is still going to be on stage and will be conducting the coronation of Hillary after successfully staging her nomination. Hillary is praising her and making her honorary chair of some campaign, rubbing our faces in it. That's the arrogance of power that she's got in spades.

The Party hasn't even apologized to Bernie because they're teaching him a lesson about raw politics. Tim Kaine, sitting by the Queen's side, said he didn't see any evidence that there was a thumb on the scales during the primary election. He's a Harvard-trained lawyer, so I guess he would know.

Bernie doesn't know how to use power, maybe because he's afraid of it, and would have made a poor President. Campaigning for himself and offering amendments to legislation isn't the work experience needed for the job of President, the most powerful job in the world. Considering that Bernie lacks clout now when they really need him/us, just imagine later when they can drop all pretenses, however lame those have been all along.

You really have to hand it to Hillary. She's got power and she knows how to use it, wielding it with gusto, mostly behind the scenes but not always hidden. She could barely hide her smirk when they interviewed her about those emails revealing that the DNC was undermining Bernie.

Pearl, your donations didn't help reveal those emails which led to Debbie's resignation, WIKILEAKS did. You should consider sending some bucks their way.

Karen Garcia said...

Debbie W-S didn't get fired and she didn't resign. Her job title simply changed.

"The DNC, c'est moi," proclaimed Hillary Clinton. "Debbie's office has been moved across the hall is all. She will be handsomely rewarded to ensure her continuing loyalty to The Firm. The door to the White House will always be open to her and to whatever interests she represents, especially the sugar cartel and the private corrections industry. What difference, at this point, does it even make whether she retains her congressional seat or not? That was just a title camouflaging the real work that Debbie does."

Bernie Sanders was his usual gracious groveling self. "Debbie did the right thing. Now let's all get together and elect the woman behind the woman. Party unity is more important than Revolution. Vive L'Empire!"

Jay–Ottawa said...

Berning? Something's berning? Pearl, I don't smell anything berning. You must still be smelling the berning ashtray fire inside the DNC that put itself out weeks ago.

Is there an MSM newspaper where we can set Stiglitz up in a corner office? Stiglitz has got to preach the word in short pieces in newspaper columns if he wants to reach big numbers. Only grad students have time to read books.

Moore, Reich and Bernie could do something useful––NOW!––: endorse Jill Stein. Instead, they're still bewailing the fact that the sky is falling, or bemusedly placing their bets in the horse race of crazies, or finding it acceptable to clean stables in Hillary's barn. Cancel that last phrase; Bernie prefers barking on the short chain he's hooked himself to in front of Hillary's place, which is where I see him now.

The most dignified thing Bernie could do at this point is uncouple himself from the DNC and walk. If he'd take the extra step of endorsing Jill Stein, I'd forgive him everything. My donations would have been well spent. He would then have been sheepdogging for the Good Shepherdess. Instead, he has been and continues to be as devious as the rest of the pack he hangs with.

Neil said...

Below are my comments today as "nonlawyer" on the American Bar Association Daily News blog to "Trump's VP pick practiced law at a small firm; he wouldn't wish law school 'on a dog I didn't like'", Jul 18, 2016, by Debra Cassens Weiss

http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/trumps_vp_pick_practiced_law_at_a_small_firm_he_wouldnt_wish_law_school_on

nonlawyer said:
Posted: Jul 25, 2016 08:08 am CDT

Now there are three lawyers in the presidential race: HRC, Tim Kaine, and Mike Pence. Donald Trump is not a lawyer.

The US Supreme Court held in Ex parte Garland that lawyers are officers of the court, and members of the judicial branch of government.

Is it unconstitutional for a lawyer (judicial branch) to be president (executive branch) because it would violate separation of powers?

Ex parte Garland, 71 U.S. 333 (1866)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ex_parte_Garland
https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/71/333

Amendment XXII states in relevant part,

"No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice, and no person who has held the office of President, or acted as President, for more than two years of a term to which some other person was elected President shall be elected to the office of President more than once."

http://constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/amendments/amendment-xxii

State v. Wall held in a judicial disqualification case, marriage makes husband and wife one person. (quoting Judge Cooper for the Court in Hume v. Bank, 10 Lea, 1) ‘Affinity, as distinguished from consanguinity, signifies the relation which each party to a marriage, the husband and the wife, bears to the kindred or blood relations of the other. The marriage having made them one person, the blood relations of each are held as related by affinity in the same degree to the one spouse as by consanguinity to the other..."

State v. Wall, 49 L.R.A. 548, 41 Fla. 463, 26 So. 1020
https://www.scribd.com/document/319201519/

HRC was married to Bill Clinton during both terms of his presidency. As lawyers, HRC and Bill Clinton were officers of the court, and members of the judicial branch of government. I believe State v. Wall would consider them as one person for judicial disqualification. While not on point, I am not aware of any other case(s).

"Buy One, Get One Free" - Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton

Early in his first presidential campaign, Bill Clinton declared that he and his wife were basically a bargain deal -- "buy one, get one free."

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/clinton/chapters/1.html#5

Does Amendment XXII, and the holding of State v. Wall, where HRC and Bill Clinton are considered as one person, block HRC from the presidency in 2016?

Does the US Supreme Court holding in Ex parte Garland that lawyers are officers of the court, and members of the judicial branch of government, block HRC, Tim Kaine, and Mike Pence from being president (executive branch) because it would be an unconstitutional violation of separation of powers?

BTW, Laura Secorun Palet of Ozy.com challenges the claim that HRC would be America’s first female president if elected.

http://www.ozy.com/flashback/americas-first-female-president-been-there-done-that/61409

"Sorry, Hillary Clinton, but America has already had its first (acting) female president. Three decades before Clinton was born, Edith Wilson, Woodrow Wilson’s second wife, ran the Oval Office for 17 months. Nobody voted for her, and she never actually referred to herself as president, but she did take charge of many executive duties after her husband was left incapacitated by a massive stroke."

The Daily Beast concurs.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/02/14/sorry-hillary-america-already-had-its-first-female-president.html

Pearl said...

I keep reading about many Bernie supporters protesting and stating they may not vote for Hillary as a result of the Debbie situation which has to be ended quickly.
I would like to hear from their points of view which I don't see in the comment section of Sardonicky and wonder if they don't know we exist or do not wish to join the mainstream comments. I could not be the only Bernie supporter among many enlightened followers including Tim Canova who is well on his way to ending Debbie's job in Congress as well.

Pearl said...

Yes. Bernie's speech just given, kept his followers supporting his political revolution but not necessarily with Hillary partaking. We can be free of supporting a no lesser evil and still move ahead with Bernie who respects differences among his followers.
It is up to more than Bernie to remove Trump from winning the election and also eventually galvanize citizens to learn and handle such a situation that might occur.
Again, time will tell. And Bernie's influence has also forced the complete removal of Debbie from any part of the upcoming Convention. CNN allowed his complete pre convention speech to be broadcast which is unusual.

Neil said...

Pearl, I will never vote for HRC. I do not plan to vote for Trump either, although he appears to be the lesser of two evils. There is no way to vote for Sanders, he's out. That leaves so-called third party candidates like Jill Stein/Green Party, or independent candidates. Another option is to stay home and relax on election day.

Pearl said...

Annenigma: You suggested I send donations to WikiLeaks which unveiled Debbie's emails. WikiLeaks publishes information sent in to it or pointed out and I think it is highly possible that people supporting Bernie sent items in or led to the place to find them.
Bernie seemed to know more about it all in his response to the publication.

Elizabeth Adams said...

There are many Bernie supporters, on the inside as delegates and on the outside as non-delegates. I know a Bernie-or-Buster who is working on the DNC floor in some capacity. Many people are posting videos and commentaries on Facebook. Most of the people I follow are leaving or have left the Democratic Party. Some of these people may also have a Youtube presence, such as the Sane Progressive, Real Progressives, and Lena Danger (awesome woman who was on the platform committee in Florida and posted a heartbreaking 10-minute video related to it). Natalie Higley is a pledged delegate from California District 3, and she has a very active Facebook presence which she just made public for the convention. I wish I was able to keep up with all the activity and posts today.

annenigma said...

Bernie has asked delegates to refrain from booing and otherwise embarrassing Hillary Clinton at the convention "out of respect for me". Has he forgotten his own words already? It's not about him!

How many times did he repeat that? About as many times as he promised to take the fight all the way to the convention but then endorsed Hillary yet hasn't suspended his campaign. Bernie keeps wanting to eat his cake and have it too. He's a Democrat but he's not. He's running but he's not. Now he's telling his supporters they must support Hillary because "This is the real world we live in". What? No more unicorns and fairy dust? He's sounding more like Clinton by the minute.

Donna Brazile finally offered an apology to Bernie and all his supporters to try to calm people down. See what making a stink can do? If only Bernie would learn that lesson. They didn't apologize until his supporters rocked the boat.

I wish I could be there.

annenigma said...

Oh wow, I get it now. Bernie endorsed Hillary in exchange for financial help paying off his campaign debts. That would explain why his website is still up and running to accept donations and why he hasn't suspended his campaign despite endorsing Hillary. He's probably going to man her phone banks dialing for dollars.

That private jet he took to the Vatican with a whole flock of family members? Must have cost a bundle. That was just one example of his being profligate. I could be wrong, but I doubt it. It ALWAYS comes down to money.

Can't someone stand on principles just once?

As far as platform wins go, platforms aren't people. He won nothing if the people who will fight for them aren't in powerful positions to do something about them. Clinton-Kaine are two of the worst corporatists, real obstacles to the political revolution Sanders paid so much lip service to.

Pay no attention to what they say. Pay attention to what they do, because they're all a bunch of lying, game-playing SOBs and everyone knows it.

Karen Garcia said...

annenigma,

I got the fundraising email from Bernie as well. Say you'll be part of the Revolution and the movement by contributing $5 $10 $25 $50 $100 Other. He didn't disclose that the first step of the so-called revolution is electing a neocon to the White House. It's revolting, all right!,

I enjoyed watching the first few hours of the convention because of all the Boos You Can Believe In, but plan on taking a break and watching some light horror on Netflix till the 10 p.m. prime time hour when Michelle, Liz and Bernie are all scheduled to speak. There's only so much identity politics/true scripted confessions that a person can take in one sitting.

More later.

annenigma said...

Did I miss something? Everyone at the convention is referring to Hillary is the nominee. Did they vote already?

Elizabeth Adams said...

Annenigma, they have been referring to her as the nominee for months.

Earlier a national Bernie delegate posted on Facebook:
"It's funny. Half this crowd is Bernie. But they don't show that half the crowd.

They talk about unity. But offer nothing and ask for everything.

They don't listen but hush us like a young, black woman trying to talk about murder.

They talk about together. But their hashtag is ‪#‎imwithher‬ and ours is ‪#‎notmeUS‬.

Do not feel sad. Do not worry.

Bernie asked us to help Hillary and we responded, 1900 voices united, we love you Bernie, but no.

Bernie asked us for no protests. We said we love you Bernie, but we will be heard.

Your delegates will fight for you. Because that is why we are here. We are in this together. The amazing protestors outside in torrential downpour. The determined delegates. The faithful celebrities.

We cannot be bought.
Tomorrow bring your friends."

I am watching a live feed from a Bernie delegate in the audience. My daughter is watching the TV version. The boos on the feed are very loud, but the delegates are behind a wall, which is not being shown on TV and is greatly mitigating the boos. Also, the Bernie delegates had their Bernie signs stripped from them and replaced with "Stronger Together" signs.

Did you know that the hotel the delegates are required to go to charges $600 per room per night for the delegates? The cost for a delegate is about $6000, and many had to use Go Fund Me to raise money to get there.

Just heard: all of the Bernie delegate workshops have been cancelled.

Elizabeth Adams said...

The delegates have not voted yet, and they are still referring to her as the nominee. This is so disheartening.

annenigma said...

When is Elizabeth Warren going to shut up? The tv networks are going to cut off coverage soon so Bernie probably won't even be heard and neither will the reaction of his supporters. Just as they want!

Jay–Ottawa said...

10:51 PM DST: Bernie's at the podium.

Jay–Ottawa said...

View it easily on
VOX.com

Neil said...

Class-action lawsuit against Debbie Wasserman Schultz and the DNC.

WE FIGHT BACK: Nationwide Class-Action filed Against Democratic Party and Debbie Wasserman Schultz

https://youtu.be/hU4I6C-9JZw

Jared H. Beck, Esq. of Beck & Lee Trial Lawyers discusses the Class Action Complaint filed today, June 28, 2016 against the Democratic Party and Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz.

For more information:
www.facebook.com/DNCfraudlawsuit
and www.jamPAC.us

For court documents to download,
go to: www.jamPAC.us/DNCLawsuit

Plaintiff: CAROL WILDING et al.
Defendant: DNC SERVICES CORPORATION, d/b/a DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE and DEBORAH "DEBBIE" WASSERMANSCHULTZ
Case Number: 16-cv-61511-WJZ
Filed: June 28, 2016
Court: Southern District of Florida
County: Broward County, Florida
Judge: William J. Zloch
Nature of Suit: Class Action
Cause of Action: Fraud and Consumer
Jury Demanded: Yes

Neil said...

CLINTON CASH OFFICIAL DOCUMENTARY MOVIE ( FULL )
https://youtu.be/7LYRUOd_QoM

Published on Jul 23, 2016
**PLEASE SHARE ON SOCIAL MEDIA EVERYWHERE**

Clinton Cash, is a feature documentary based on the Peter Schweizer book that the New York Times hailed as "The most anticipated and feared book of a presidential cycle."

Clinton Cash investigates how Bill and Hillary Clinton went from being "dead broke" after leaving the White House to amassing a net worth of over $150 million, with over $2 billion in donations to their foundation. This wealth was accumulated during Mrs. Clinton’s tenure as US Secretary of State through lucrative speaking fees and contracts paid for by foreign companies and Clinton Foundation donors.

Download Link: (Wait for page to load, click green "download" button)

http://en.savefrom.net/#url=http://youtube.com/watch?v=7LYRUOd_QoM&utm_source=youtube.com&utm_medium=short_domains&utm_campaign=www.ssyoutube.com

-FACT CHECKER SHEET WITH SOURCES:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1psPUpnycllEOLCxPnWWgzqd-FVvFas3F-i5UPO6uZq8/edit?usp=sharing