Have I told you how much I hate these people? - Mike Malloy. It is every thinking person’s responsibility not to side with his or her executioners. - Albert Camus. Popular democracy anywhere threatens fascism everywhere. - The Scallion. A fascist junta of neocons using George W. Bush as its shill has taken over America by bloodless coup. What will it take for us to stage a revolution and take our country back? - Dot Calm. Drive a hybrid. Leave a lighter footprint on the planet. - Dot Calm.
Like Granny D, I have watched my own beloved country change, and I am angry beyond words about what I see. I grew up seeing America as the equivalent of the movie good guy, the hero in the white hat who came to the rescue of those in need around the world. I have watched in silent horror as the corporations, the captains and the kings of industry, used a comparatively small outlay of cash to buy the Republicans to use as their shills. George W. Bush is the puppet cowboy-king of shills, the proverbial emperor with no clothes. Every day, I watch these evil men legalize, legitimize, and institutionalize robbing the poor to pay the rich. They are carving up America like a giant carcass and doling out choice chunks of its meat to themselves and their cronies. Since the Democrats have been sipping at the same corporate teat where the Republicans have been gorging for the past generation, the fascists are free to do their worst; there is no longer any opposition. There is no one left to stand up for the rights of the American people, the Constitution, or the democracy, which I fear will be replaced by a fascist dictatorship in my lifetime. Wake up, America: we need a REVOLUTION NOW!
Greetings, fellow Dot Calm Readers, Freedom Fighters, and Truth Crusaders!
Am I the only one bothered by the media's portrayal of Bernie as some kind of left-wing extremist?
The corporate media and their message are warped for good, if unfortunate, reason: remember, the Christo-fascist Republicans and their corporations started buying up the media when Reagan got into office. They have invested decades and megabucks in shaping--and misshaping--what you and I see and hear on TV, in the newspapers, and on the radio. Greg Palast, one of my favorite investigative reporters, calls NPR "National Petroleum Radio." If you follow independent media, you'll see what he means: NPR is very, very careful in what they omit and include when presenting their stories because they are beholden not to their listeners but to their corporate masters. That's right: despite the name, NPR is corporate, not public. And even though NPR is the best and most accurate of a bad lot of American media, that isn't saying a whole lot.
This is why Bernie is snubbed, ignored, and misrepresented in the media. A Bernie Sanders presidency would be the best boon you and I could possibly receive no matter where in the world we live, and the rich and powerful are rightly terrified that he would rein them in--as he should. The fascists have already turned this country into an oligarchy, and they're not going down without a fight. In fact, they want to dismantle the rest of the New Deal, and they're only too happy to get there by pandering to Christian fundamentalist extremists, whose zeal focuses on repealing over 150 years' worth of civil rights and fights for equality for all Americans. The mutual back-scratching goes both ways. No less greedy than their rich and corporate counterparts, the Christian fundamentalists are only too happy to cite "prosperity gospel" "teachings" to justify sacrificing the poor and the weak to the rich and the powerful. Just like Jesus wanted!
In other words, what makes Bernie a left-wing "extremist" is that, like Dwight Eisenhower, Bernie firmly supports the New Deal and refuses to sit idly by and watch those who are poor through no fault of their own suffer at the hands of the rich and greedy. A quotation from the link: "As Ike said in a November 1954 letter to his conservative brother Edgar Eisenhower, who had also accused the President of selling out to the New Dealers: 'Should any political party attempt to abolish social security, unemployment insurance, and eliminate labor laws and farm programs, you would not hear of that party again in our political history. There is a tiny splinter group, of course, that believes you can do these things. ...[But] their number is negligible, and they are stupid.'" This is why the corporatists hate Bernie--he wants the corporations and the idle rich to pay their fair share, and he wants the government to work for the people instead of the other way around.
The reason the Christian fundamentalists hate Bernie is that he believes that all Americans deserve equal treatment under the Constitution--including women, people of color, people of all beliefs and no beliefs, LGBTQ, poor people, young people, old people--everyone. Even Christian fundamentalists! They hate Bernie because Bernie does not hate. How sick and sad is that?!
Bernie is in it for the long haul, and so are his supporters. He rightly says that he can't tell his supporters to vote for Hillary if he loses the nomination because they wouldn't listen to him if he did--it's up to her to earn their support. It is going to be interesting to see what happens--I for one won't risk a Trump or Cruz presidency, but I also know that there are a lot of Bernie supporters out there whose principles won't let them vote for Hillary. It's crazy...both Democrats and Republicans hate Trump, and both Democrats and Republicans hate Hillary. And they are the front-runners! Oi...or, as Dot Calm would say, "Oh, my bleeding gums." (She never had bleeding gums, but she liked that saying as a funny lament...and so do I, so I'm stealing it. Thanks, Dot Calm--peace wherever you are!)
Time to slog on with the blog...
Don't forget to read Dot Calm's shadow's favorite independent sources of news and information:
Thanks for reading, and thanks for being you. Have a great weekend! - Dot Calm's shadow
********************************************
ATTENTION, REPUBLICANS! Obama is coming for your guns 'n' Bibles November 8, 2016. DO NOT LEAVE YOUR HOUSE THAT DAY FOR ANY REASON! The rights you save may be your own! ********************************************
Boehner on Ted Cruz: "I have never worked with a more miserable son of a bitch in my life"
(Click here for the original article. -- Dot Calm's shadow)
Former Speaker of the House John Boehner really, really, really hates Ted Cruz. During a candid talk at Stanford University, Boehner unloaded on the Republican senator and presidential hopeful, comparing him to the devil.
When specifically asked his opinions on Ted Cruz, Boehner made a face, drawing laughter from the crowd.
"Lucifer in the flesh," the former speaker said. "I have Democrat friends and Republican friends. I get along with almost everyone, but I have never worked with a more miserable son of a bitch in my life."
And if that didn't make the point quite sharply enough, Boehner — who described Donald Trump as a "texting buddy" — said he'd vote for Trump if he were the Republican nominee, but that he wouldn't vote for Cruz.
Boehner's dislike of Cruz is well-known, and deeply rooted. The Texas senator made his life miserable in office, exciting Boehner's caucus by championing government shutdowns and debt ceiling fights over Obamacare and Planned Parenthood. While Boehner strived for compromise with President Barack Obama to keep the government open, Cruz believed that compromise was surrender.
Boehner wasn't exactly secretive about this while he was in office. He called Cruz a"jackass"at a fundraiser — an insult he later repeated onFace the Nation. But saying that he wouldn't vote for Cruz in the (unlikely) event that Cruz becomes the Republican nominee is still a very strong statement from the man who was the highest-ranking Republican in office for most of the Obama presidency.
Boehner called Ted Cruz "Lucifer in the flesh," and said, "I have never worked with a more miserable son of a bitch in my life." He admitted he would vote for Donald Trump, if it came to it, but not for Cruz.
He repeatedly called the House Freedom Caucus — the loose group of anti-establishment conservatives who are thought to have forced him out of the speakership — "knuckleheads" and "goofballs."
"I love all these knuckleheads talking about the party of Reagan," Boehner continued. "He would be the most moderate Republican elected today."
It's easy to laugh this off. After all, didn't everyone kind of believe this is what Boehner would say after a couple of glasses of Merlot?
But don't laugh it off. John Boehner was the Speaker of the House as recently as a single year ago. He is, himself, a conservative Republican. And he is saying, flatly, that the Republican Party has been captured by morons, goofballs, and "Lucifer." He is saying that the party has moved so far to the right that Ronald Reagan wouldn't recognize it.
Boehner is validating one of the most persistent and controversial critiques of the modern Republican Party. And he has the authority to do so.
and
In 2012, the congressional scholars Thomas Mann and Norm Ornstein wrote a column for the Washington Post diagnosing what they saw to be the central problem in modern American politics.
"The GOP has become an insurgent outlier in American politics," theywrote. "It is ideologically extreme; scornful of compromise; unmoved by conventional understanding of facts, evidence and science; and dismissive of the legitimacy of its political opposition.
"When one party moves this far from the mainstream, it makes it nearly impossible for the political system to deal constructively with the country’s challenges."
The op-ed hit like a bomb. Mann and Ornstein were institutionalists with wide respect in both parties — Ornstein, in fact, worked (and still works) for the conservative American Enterprise Institute. For them to call out one party as "the core of the problem" in American governance was to violate all the rules of polite Washington society. Their diagnosis was controversial at the time, to put it lightly.
Tell Congress: “Pass the Lead-Safe Housing for Kids Act. It’s time to update
our standards and act on new health guidelines to keep children safe
from lead exposure.”
Coming out of last night's
results, in which we won Rhode Island but came up short in four others,
I want to pose to you three things that I know to be true:
Young people – the future of our country – continue to vote for our
campaign in overwhelming numbers. It's remarkable, and honestly quite
humbling.
When we compete in open primaries that encourage the participation of
independents, new voters, and young people, we do very well.
What remains in front of us is a very narrow path to the nomination.
In the weeks to come we will be competing in a series of states that are
very favorable to us – including California. Just like after March 15 – when we won 8 of the next 9 contests – we are building tremendous momentum going into the convention.
That is the reality of where we are right now, and why we are going to
fight for every delegate and every vote. It is why I am going to
continue to speak to voters in every state about the very important
issues facing our country. Our country cannot afford to stop fighting
for a $15 minimum wage, to overturn Citizens United, or to get universal
health care for every man, woman, and child in America.
I'm asking you to help me continue to lead these fights. We have an FEC deadline on Saturday and another primary on Tuesday.
Every vote we earn and every delegate we win is a testament to our
ideas, to our movement, to our political revolution, and our willingness
to take this campaign for the Democratic nomination all the way to the
convention.
Will you contribute to help us continue to speak to voters about the incredibly important issues facing our country? Your support right now before two big deadlines will send an unmistakable message that our voices will still be heard.
If you've saved payment info with ActBlue Express, your donation will go through immediately:
There is no doubt in my mind that what you and I have done together up
to this point is nothing short of historic. And I know that if we are
going to work together, we will continue making history.
Donald Trump, the Republican front-runner for President, stated in an
interview that he would support “some form of punishment” for women who
have an abortion, were it outlawed.
This is not a statement to dismiss lightly, like most Donald Trump
positions tend to be. This is a direct assault on women’s healthcare
rights.
This fight for women’s healthcare isn’t new. Republicans have attacked
Planned Parenthood for years, completely discounting the lifesaving
services the group provides to millions of women.
While Donald Trump is the one who most overtly voiced his anti-abortion
position, it can’t be forgotten that all of the GOP candidates stand
with him as fierce anti-abortion politicians.
Republicans are unified in the fight to limit women’s healthcare rights.
We need to stand together to make sure women have their voices heard.
Petition to Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew: "Exercise your full authority to investigate whether any U.S. or
U.S.-linked company or person involved with Mossack Fonseca may have
facilitated money laundering, terrorist financing, or other illegal
activity, including with any U.S.-designated persons."
Trump actually said this about Hillary Clinton -- "the only thing she's got going is the woman's card."
We know that 70 percent of women already don't like Trump, and it looks like he wants to make it 100 percent!
Honestly, Donald Trump has proven yet again that he does not deserve one
woman's vote. But I'll tell you who does: Hillary Clinton and all the
great women Senate candidates who will help us take back the majority
this November.
How about if we show Trump how we feel about his "woman's card"
by electing women to the Senate from all over America, including Katie
McGinty in Pennsylvania, Maggie Hassan in New Hampshire, Tammy Duckworth
in Illinois, Catherine Cortez Masto in Nevada, Ann Kirkpatrick in
Arizona, Deborah Ross in North Carolina, Patty Judge in Iowa, and, of
course, Patty Murray in Washington!
This morning, the CREDO Action team joined Bay Area activists and our
friends at ColorOfChange, UltraViolet, Bend the Arc, Center for Media
Justice, Daily Kos, Courage Campaign, and Free Press Action Fund to
deliver 500,000 petition signatures urging Google not to sponsor a
Donald Trump-led Republican convention.
Here are some great pictures of the event (and of the plane that circled
Google headquarters while we were delivering the petitions):
Our message was clear: Google’s sponsorship of a Trump-led convention
would not only align Google’s brand with Trump’s toxic candidacy, but
would help legitimize and normalize Trump’s racism, misogyny, xenophobia
and hate.
But we had barely left Google headquarters when we got the news that
Google’s YouTube will be the official livestream provider at the
Republican convention in Cleveland in July.1 It’s a
slap in the face to the hundreds of thousands of people who have urged
Google not to align themselves with Trump’s hate, and a clear message
from Google that access to political power is more important than
standing up for its own principles against racism, xenophobia and
misogyny.
If you are on Twitter you can immediately ramp up the pressure on Google by sharing any of these suggested messages:
Google is paying close attention and we are not going to let them get
away with their sponsorship of hate. If you’re not on Twitter, you can
forward this email to your friends to let them know about Google’s
terrible decision, and to encourage them to become a part of the strong
community opposing it. Here’s the link if they want to sign on:
http://act.credoaction.com/sign/Trump_Google_Microsoft
In the next few days, we’ll be working with our allies to escalate our
campaign against Google and any other corporations that want to sponsor
and promote Trump’s fascism.
We’re grateful for your activism so far and hope you’ll continue to join us in this fight.
Best,
Heidi Hess, Senior Campaign Manager CREDO Action from Working Assets
Something amazing happened in Congress yesterday: In this era of partisan gridlock, the House passed the Email Privacy Act by a vote of 419–0.
This bill would protect your private photos, texts and emails from
warrantless government snooping. Now it goes to the Senate Judiciary
Committee, whose chairman, Sen. Chuck Grassley, hasn’t yet committed to
moving the bill forward.
But momentum’s on our side … and we’re going to do everything we can to ensure that the Email Privacy Act becomes law.
Stay tuned!
Sandy
P.S. Help us keep the fight for your privacy rights going strong: Chip in $5 today. Thanks!
A major breaking story in Businessweek this morning raises questions many of you have been raising for a while:
T-Mobile has formed what appears to be a fake,
company-dominated union instead of meeting with the real T-Mobile union -
but T-Mobile workers are fighting back, electing their own
representatives and working to win a meeting with T-Mobile management!
Can you please help us spread the word and share the story on Facebook, or tweet the story out? Or, if you're not on either of these networks, can you forward the story to your friends?
The "company union" is a very old and very crooked anti-union tactic.
And it's a very interesting development: T-Mobile understands its
employees want a voice at work. Apparently, it wants to control that
voice.
But there's good news on the horizon: Elections at the real union,
T-Mobile Workers United (TU), are almost complete, and they'll soon have
chief stewards that they have democratically elected to meet with the
company about workplace issues. TU has already reached out to the
company to set up meetings with management. We're hoping that T-Mobile
will agree to those meetings soon. The more this story gets out, the
more it can't be ignored.
This is a huge breaking story about the growing power of
T-Mobile workers. Can you please share the story now, so we can get the
word out? Click here to share the story on Facebook. Click here to tweet it out. Click here to email it out.
Thank you so much for all you do.
Sincerely,
Hae-Lin Choi, Justice At T-Mobile
Team Other98 has been kicking butt to save our climate for years now. We played a key role in beating the Keystone XL pipeline and forcing Shell out of the Arctic. Now we’re in the center of the fight to keep our remaining fossil fuels safely in the ground.
Shell wants to build one of the largest oil train
terminals on Earth in the Pacific Northwest. We’re organizing a
kayaktivist crew to stop them.
The
Mosquito Fleet is a crew of paddlers, sailors, artists, and anyone who
can’t sit on the sidelines while Shell and friends turn the West Coast
into an export corridor for oil, gas and coal.
We’re working with local allies on a three-day mass
action at Shell’s refinery in Anacortes, WA where Shell wants to build
one of the biggest oil train terminals in North America. The Mosquito
Fleet will be out in force, challenging Shell’s tankers on the water.
The climate movement has reached a boiling point.
Big Oil has plans to drill to the ends of the Earth. It’s time to use
nonviolent direct action to break up Big Oil, stabilize the climate for
future generations, and begin the just transition to clean energy.
Sometimes fighting climate change feels hopeless. Ice sheets
are melting, communities around the world are experiencing both flooding
and droughts, bleached coral reefs are threatening ocean life.
And through all this, Republicans like the presidential front-runners are denying basic climate science.
Last week on Earth Day, President Obama signed the Paris Agreement on climate change. But in order for it to become U.S. law, the Senate must now ratify it. And all of Congress must actually act to implement the bold policies we need.
A.J., we can still stave off the worst impacts of climate
change. And we must. We owe it not just to future generations, but to
people who are alive right now -- including people in the U.S. We need
to speak up to tell our government we won’t wait.
Ever since the landmark ruling in Roe v. Wade legalized
abortion in this country, anti-choice politicians have done whatever
they can to limit women's access to reproductive health care. They've
even passed laws regulating how some people SPEAK in the hopes that
we'll all just forget abortion is an option for women.
One such censored group is AmeriCorps, the civil service program,
which has come under fire this week because some of its staffers
supported women seeking abortion services, including by serving as
clinic escorts in New York City.1 Tell Congress to repeal the gag rule that prevents AmeriCorps volunteers from referring women for abortion care.
AmeriCorps volunteers work to strengthen communities that need it the
most, and the community health centers they staff often serve
low-income people and people of color. But if a woman goes to one of
these centers seeking abortion care, AmeriCorps volunteers are
prevented—by law—from helping her by providing full information about her reproductive health care options. By law, they have to play dumb. This goes against the organization's ENTIRE core mission: to help people. Sign
the petition to tell Congress to repeal the gag rule preventing
AmeriCorps staffers from providing reproductive health care referrals to
people who need them.
Thank you for all you do for reproductive freedom.
Sasha Bruce
Senior Vice President, NARAL Pro-Choice America
From Daily Kos: criminalizing miscarriage health care
Oklahoma Republicans are trying to make
it a felony for doctors to perform abortion. This is the latest attempt
by state Republicans to ban a legal procedure through twisted
loopholes.
Conservative lawmakers now want to imprison and strip medical licenses from doctors who provide safe, legal health care services.
Senate bill 1552 also grossly misrepresents
the surgical removal of fetal tissue after a miscarriage as an
abortion. If it becomes law, SB 1552 would also outlaw this very
necessary procedure and put many women in grave danger.
SB 1552 was sent back to the state Senate to approve changes before being sent to Governor Mary Fallin. Please take a moment to call Governor Fallin and tell her “Stop this brutal attack on women’s rights and their lives.” Here is her number and a sample script:
Governor Mary Fallin’s office number: (405) 521-2342
Hello, my name is _______ and I’m calling from _________. Do
not sign Senate bill 1552 into law. This bill not only attacks doctors
performing perfectly legal services, but it also denies women the right
to choose when and how to start a family. The overly broad definition of
abortion will seriously endanger women who’ve had miscarriages. Veto
the dangerous legislation.
The petition to President Obama reads: "The unprecedented merger of ChemChina and Syngenta will put
much of American and global food production in the hands of a single
major multinational corporation. Block this proposed merger and protect
our food system."
Elizabeth Warren is in Chicago campaigning with Tammy today! Here's what she's said about our race:
"The fight to take back the Senate starts in Illinois, and it is
absolutely critical that Tammy has our full support. Tammy is a proven
leader and dedicated public servant, and I know she will fight alongside
me in the Senate on the issues that matter most."
Tammy and Elizabeth Warren are partners in the fight for
middle-class priorities. Help defeat Mark Kirk and send Tammy to the
Senate by making a contribution today:
If you've saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your donation will go through immediately:
During an event Tuesday
at the Brooklyn Public Library, Noam Chomsky, the world-renowned
political dissident, linguist, author and professor, was asked about
Bernie ... Read More →
As
the White House is backing calls for Greece to continue to implement
widespread austerity measures, we spend the hour with former Greek
Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis. ... Read More →
We
speak with former Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis about the
refugee crisis in Europe, and so-called hot spots that are registration
centers for refugees in his ... Read More →
We
continue our conversation with former Greek Finance Minister Yanis
Varoufakis as the White House is backing calls for Greece to continue to
implement widespread ... Read More →
The
International Monetary Fund is demanding additional austerity measures
from Greece if it does not hit its budget targets. It's the latest
impasse in years of fierce political ... Read More →
This
week, University of California President Janet Napolitano placed the
chancellor of University of California, Davis, Linda Katehi, on
investigatory administrative leave, ... Read More →
Sunday
is May Day, and organizers and activists across the United States are
planning celebrations to mark the 10th anniversary of the massive May
Day marches of 2006. ... Read More →
Students
at Northern Arizona University, or NAU, are in the midst of a sit-in to
call on their school to divest from fossil fuels. At least eight
students have been arrested after they ... Read More →
Amid
a presidential election cycle marked by anti-immigrant rhetoric, we
take a look at how the national campaigns are affecting state politics
in Arizona. A number ... Read More →
As violence broke out at a Trump rally in Costa Mesa, California, on Thursday night, we take a look at the increasingly hostile atmosphere that protesters are ... Read More →
Hey, Voters! Do you have your Woman Card yet? If Republicans win, it will be good for 20% off on all pay and having your reproductive health decisions dictated by Republicans.
“I
think he’s leaving the race today, by the way,” Trump told an undecided
Indiana voter and Town Hall attendee waffling between him and Sanders. READ MORE»
U.S.
air strikes and Iraqi Army artillery “kill us along with ISIL fighters.
There is no difference between what they do and the mass killings by
ISIL.”
READ MORE»
When
the average American woman has about one-third the number of orgasms
men enjoy, something’s not adding up. Or rather, certain someones aren’t
going down. READ MORE»
Former
Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell’s Supreme Court corruption appeal will
help decide whether the First Amendment protects average Americans or
special interests. READ MORE»
With
recent research showing that reducing meat intake could result in two
thirds less food-related CO2 emissions—and save millions of lives—there
are few excuses left to justify having meat at every meal. READ MORE»
In
STI support communities, many refer to the person who gave them herpes
as their "gifter." This might sound strange, but it's an apt term. READ MORE»
Srsly...doesn't Rafael, Jr., always look like he's squeezing something out of his sphincter? ********************************************
Movies!
"On "Inside Amy Schumer" on Comedy Central, it was time for her annual pap smear, but to her horror she found that her doctor was replaced by...The Congressional Women's Health Committee. Doctor Congress!" Thanks to Conservative Clown Car for posting that introduction along with this video...although I had to hunt it down on YouTube to embed it here...I do it all for you (hurr, hurr)!
And another goodie from Conservative Clown Car that I hunted up on YouTube to post here: Pieces of Shit for Donald Trump ("It's perfect for him!" "Reminds me of his hair!")...
And now, because I enjoyed the last one so much, here's another episode of "The Supersizers Eat..."!
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