Agreed, Miriam.
Bernie Sanders is way out in front of the pack, in so far as social
reform is concerned. I just heard that he introduced a bill in the
Senate calling for, among other things, the forgiveness of all student
loans.
Even if Sanders only pushed a fraction of his proposals through, it
would put us in better shape than under the weak promises of the rest
of the two dozen candidates. We would still need to double down on
his foreign policies, and triple down on electing like-minded people
into the house and senate.
Now if I were King, I'd declare Donald Trump's election to be a fraud,
and I'd cancel all judicial appointments made by the Great Pretender.
...Wait!...I hear a Voice!...What? I am King? Oh thank you
Father...or Mother...or Whatever...
Carl Jarvis
On 6/23/19, Miriam Vieni <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Richard,
Please tell us what parts of Trump's methodology you think have been
successful?
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
<blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> On Behalf Of R. E. Driscoll Sr
Sent: Sunday, June 23, 2019 5:49 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: Bernie Sanders Proposes New Economic Bill of
Rights
Carl: Biden in my opinion is the symbol of a system we know is a great
failure. Some parts of Trump methodology seem to be a good success. We need
another four years to see if his errors can be corrected.
Richard Driscoll
Sent from my iPhone
On Jun 23, 2019, at 1:57 PM, Carl Jarvis <carjar82@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:candidates, those two stand out.
At this place in time, only a bit over 15 months before the 2020
primary, I can only vote for Bernie Sanders. I just don't think the
Democratic Party will allow me to do that. Joe Biden will be the "Man
of the Hour" if they can keep his good old boy mouth shut.
At this time, I also have no intention of voting for Biden as the
"lesser of two evils". The Trump forces have damaged our judicial
system almost beyond repair, but Biden would be no match for the White
Supremacists who would greet him. He'd make Barack Obama look like
"The People's Hero".
Carl Jarvis
On 6/23/19, Miriam Vieni <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
I also think that he's better than Warren because has faulty as his
foreign policy is, it's better than hher's. And as excellent as her
program suggestions are, she is still not interested in a basic
change in our system back to a true social welfare state and
certainly not, to anything more radical than that. But given the other
survive."
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
<blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> On Behalf Of Carl Jarvis
Sent: Saturday, June 22, 2019 10:03 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: Bernie Sanders Proposes New Economic
Bill of Rights
While Joe Biden puts one foot after the other in his mouth, Bernie
Sanders sends a clear message. Although I feel we need to bring
pressure on Sanders regarding his foreign relations, he certainly is
the best of the male contenders. It will be interesting to watch the
Democratic Party Leaders shoot him down.
Carl Jarvis
On 6/16/19, Miriam Vieni <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Bernie Sanders Proposes New Economic Bill of Rights
Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders addresses a rally at the
Pasadena Convention Center Sen. Bernie Sanders has proposed an
economic bill of rights affirming the right to health care,
affordable housing, education, a living wage and more.
Frederic J. Brown / AFP / Getty Images
By Marjorie Cohn, TruthoutPublished June 13, 2019
Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders delivered a full-throated
defense of democratic socialismin his June 12 speechat George
Washington University.
Sanders quoted FDR's 1944 State of the Unionaddress: "We have come
to a clear realization of the fact that true individual freedom
cannot exist without economic security and independence."
Sanders, like FDR, proposed an Economic Bill of Rights, including
the rights to health care, affordable housing, education, a living
wage and retirement.
"Economic rights are human rights," Sanders declared. "That is what
I mean by democratic socialism."
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Sanders cited figures of vast wealth disparity in the United States,
where "the top 1 percent of people own more wealth than the bottom
92 percent."
He
said there is higher income and wealth inequality today than at any
time since the 1920s. And, Sanders stated, "despite an explosion in
technology and worker productivity, the average wage of the American
worker in real dollars is no higher than it was 46 years ago and
millions of people are forced to work two or three jobs just to
further.
He also noted, "in America today, the very rich live on average 15
years longer than the poorest Americans."
Economic Rights Are Human Rights
The Universal Declaration of Human Rightssets forth two different
categories of human rights: (1) civil and political rights, and (2)
economic, social and cultural rights.
Civil and political rights comprise the rights to life, a fair trial
and self-determination; freedom of speech, expression, assembly and
religion; and freedom from torture, cruel treatment and arbitrary
detention.
Economic,
social and cultural rights include the rights to health care,
education and social security; the right to form and join unions and
to strike; and the right to equal pay for equal work, unemployment
insurance, paid maternity leave, and the prevention, treatment and
control of diseases.
U.S. policy since Reagan has been to define human rights only as
civil and political, excluding economic rights.
These two types of human rights are enshrined in two international
treaties
- the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights(ICCPR)
and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights(ICESCR).
The United States has ratified the ICCPR, but not the ICESCR. U.S.
policy since the Reagan administration has been to define human
rights only as civil and political rights, excluding economic,
social and cultural rights from the realm of human rights.
The ICESCR, which has been ratified by 169 countries, guarantees the
rights to work with favorable conditions, to the highest attainable
standards of physical and mental health, to education, to housing,
to an adequate standard of living, and to enjoy the benefits of
scientific progress and cultural freedom. It protects the rights to
form and join trade unions, social security and social insurance,
equal rights for men and women, and protection and assistance to the
family.
Cuba, whose human rights record is frequently criticizedby the U.S.
government, puts the United States to shame with its recognition of
economic rights. Cubans enjoy universal health care, universal free
education including higher education, the right to form and join
unions, and government-subsidized abortion and family planning. Cuba
has a higher life expectancy than the U.S., as well as a relatively
small ecological footprint due to low energy consumption.
Democratic Socialism vs. Corporate Socialism
Trump and his fellow oligarchs oppose democratic socialism, Sanders
said, but "they don't really oppose all forms of socialism." Indeed,
"they absolutely love corporate socialism that enriches Trump and
other billionaires."
Sanders noted that FDR and his progressive coalition were
successful, and their legacies continue to flourish.
Sanders cited the $700 billion bailout of Wall Street in 2008 by the
Treasury Department "after their greed, recklessness and illegal
behavior created the worst financial disaster since the Great
Depression - with millions of Americans losing their jobs, their
homes and their life savings
- Wall Street's religious adherence to unfettered capitalism
suddenly came to an end."
He also mentioned tax breaks and loopholes for fossil fuel
companies, pharmaceutical companies, Amazon, and the Trump family
who "got $885 million worth of tax breaks and subsidies for your
family's housing empire that is built on racial discrimination."
As Dr. King observed, the United States "has socialism for the rich,
rugged individualism for the poor."
Embracing Socialism Is a Winning Strategy
Sanders noted that FDR and his progressive coalition were
successful, and their legacies continue to flourish in programs and
protections like Social Security, regulation of Wall Street and
unemployment compensation. He pointed out that Roosevelt aimed to go
inequality."
"In 1944, FDR proposed an economic bill of rights but died a year
later and was never able to fulfill that vision. Our job, 75 years
later," Sanders said, "is to complete what Roosevelt started."
He then set forth his vision of a 21st Century Economic Bill of
Rights, which would recognize that all Americans should have:
.The right to a decent job that pays a living wage .The right to
quality health care .The right to a complete education .The right to
affordable housing .The right to a clean environment .The right to a
secure retirement
Sanders listed Democratic presidents vilified by the oligarchs of
their time for their programs of alleged "socialism." Lyndon Johnson
was attacked for Medicare, Harry Truman's proposed national health
care program was dubbed "socialized medicine," and Newt Gingrich
called Bill Clinton's health care plan "centralized bureaucratic
socialism."
55 percent of women ages of 18 to 54 would prefer to live in a
socialist country.
Although none of the other leading 2020 Democratic presidential
candidates has embraced socialism, the party's base has. Candidate
John Hickenlooper, former governor of Colorado, was roundly booedat
the California Democratic convention earlier this month when he
said, "If we want to beat Donald Trump and achieve big progressive
goals, socialism is not the answer."
Indeed, Thomas Piketty, author of Capital in the Twenty-First
Century, argues, "Without a strong egalitarian-internationalist
platform, it is difficult to unite low-education, low-income voters
from all origins within the same coalition and to deliver a reduction
in
justice."
Keith A. Spencer, writing at Salon, cites Pikettyfor the proposition
that "nominating centrist Democrats who don't speak to class issues
will result in a great swathe of voters simply not voting."
"The only way we achieve these goals is through a political
revolution."
Moreover, a 2018 Gallup poll determined that a majority of young
Americans have a positive opinion of socialism. According to a
recent Axios poll, 55 percent of women ages of 18 to 54 would prefer
to live in a socialist country.
Sanders said the U.S. and the rest of the world face two different
political paths. "On one hand," he noted, "there is a growing
movement towards oligarchy and authoritarianism in which a small
number of incredibly wealthy and powerful billionaires own and
control a significant part of the economy and exert enormous
influence over the political life of our country. On the other hand,
in opposition to oligarchy, there is a movement of working people
and young people who, in ever increasing numbers, are fighting for
After his speech, Sanders told CNN's Anderson Cooper, that real
change is generated by mass movements. He cited the civil rights
movement, the women's movement, the gay movement and the labor
movement.
"It is time for the American people to stand up and fight for their
right to freedom, human dignity and security," Sanders affirmed.
"This is the core of what my politics is all about." He clarified,
"the only way we achieve these goals is through a political
revolution
