kpete
kpete's JournalThe left must remember that leaders do not make movements; rather, movements make leaders.
SUNDAY, JAN 4, 2015 03:58 AM PST
Three secrets to revitalizing liberal America
New year, same old problems
SEAN MCELWEE
2014 was not a good year for the left. Republicans now have a stranglehold on the House, where they control the most seats they’ve had since 1948. That lead will likely last for decades. Democrats didn’t just lose the Senate, they have significantly diminished their chance of regaining it in 2016. Republicans control 31 governorships, as well as 68 of 98 legislative chambers. And of, course, the Democratic party has shown itself to be only nominally liberal, with the current frontrunner for 2016 raising money from Wall Street financiers. The left then has two problems: how to get Democrats winning and how to get Democrats to avoid becoming a party permanently in the callous hands of capital.
Currently, much of the hope for a more liberal Democratic party rests on the shoulders of Elizabeth Warren, who is being drafted to run against Hillary Clinton. While Warren is formidable, it was only six years ago that the left laid its hopes for victory on a single individual and found itself sorely disappointed. The left must remember that leaders do not make movements; rather, movements make leaders. Instead of vacillating from one hero to another, the left must create a formidable power base from which to both defeat Republicans and shift Democrats to the left. This will require a three-pronged approach: mass mobilization of the non-voting population, a stable of progressive leaders and a reduction in the influence of money in politics.
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........... a progressive America will require work. While it is easy to crown Obama or Warren savior and wait in anticipation for change, those who do so are waiting for Godot. There have been successes over the last year: the Working Families Party helped re-elect Governor Malloy, a consistent progressive (something possible partially because of public financing. Demos (my organization) has been doggedly ensuring that states comply with Motor Voter and we’ve had victories on Same-Day registration. These wins were difficult, but they compound into more victories down the road. But simply anointing another progressive to lead the movement will only lead to disappointment.
Much More About The Three secrets to revitalizing liberal America:
Let's get to work:
http://www.salon.com/2015/01/04/three_secrets_to_revitalizing_liberal_america/
Would it surprise you to learn that the Senate’s 46 Democrats got 20 million more votes than it’s 54
The Senate's 46 Democrats got 20 million more votes than its 54 RepublicansUpdated by Dylan Matthews on January 3, 2015, 10:00 a.m. ET @dylanmatt dylan@vox.com
On Tuesday, 33 US senators elected in November will be sworn in by Vice President Joe Biden — including 12 who are new to the chamber. The class includes 22 Republicans and 11 Democrats, a big reason why the GOP has a 54-46 majority in the Senate overall.
But here's a crazy fact: those 46 Democrats got more votes than the 54 Republicans across the 2010, 2012, and 2014 elections.
According to Nathan Nicholson, a researcher at the voting reform advocacy group FairVote, "the 46 Democratic caucus members in the 114th Congress received a total of 67.8 million votes in winning their seats, while the 54 Republican caucus members received 47.1 million votes."
Here's what that looks like in chart form:
https://cdn2.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/3tA5DxkuvO1yOmr9sBFd7LmlInM=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn0.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/2898306/Senate_votes_seats.0.png
story here:
http://www.vox.com/2015/1/3/7482635/senate-small-states
New Year Reflections
http://www.truthdig.com/cartoon/item/new_year_reflections_20150103
Suggested New Year's Resolutions For The NRA
1. We will stop referring to ourselves as a “civil rights” organization that defends “human rights.” It is a sacrilege to people actually killed or harmed by civil and human rights abuses.
2. We will stop pointing at Chicago and saying gun laws don’t work. We will admit the majority of Chicago crime guns are trafficked from states and counties with loose laws.
3. We will stop saying “the government is going to take your guns” to block federal laws. The confiscation we announced 7 years ago never happened.
4. We will stop blaming “mental health” problems for U.S. gun violence. We admit every country in the world has mental health problems but they don’t have Newtowns and Virginia Techs.
5. We admit fighting universal background checks arms criminals and that “armed criminals” sells more guns to “good guys.” Ka-ching.
6. We acknowledge that “outlaws” don’t have guns in the 28 EU countries, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Japan and other countries with strict gun regulations. We also admit, grudgingly, they are not “tyrannies.”
7. We will stop our insulting comparison of guns to knives, hammers, cars and swimming pools–none of which kill when used as directed. On the same day as the Sandy Hook massacre, 20 Chinese school children were attacked with a knife and none died.
8. We accept responsibility for the armed vigilante movement popularized by George Zimmerman and Michael Dunn. We admit “carry” laws are the biggest revenue infusion since “Obama is going to take your guns.”
9. We will stop defending sales to civilians of non-defensive weapons like TrackingPoint’s “can’t miss” sniper rifle. We admit they are ready-made for insurrectionists, terrorists and hate groups.
10. We regret our work to help suspected domestic abusers keep their guns while under orders of protection. We admit this costs many women’s lives and that our sleazy sales pitch to tell women to arm themselves too just makes things worse.
http://gunvictimsaction.org/blog/new-years-resolutions-for-the-nra-2015/
CLEVELAND-Manner of death of a woman who died in Cleveland police custody has been ruled a homicide.
CLEVELAND - The manner of death of a woman who died in Cleveland police custody has been ruled a homicide.
A report released Friday by the Cuyahoga County medical examiner says the woman died after she was physically restrained in a prone position. A heart condition and bipolar disorder were also factors, according to the report.
Tanisha Anderson died Nov. 12 after losing consciousness in the custody of officers while having a mental-health episode. Relatives say the 37-year-old was schizophrenic and claim an officer used excessive force.
Her family said at a news conference nearly two weeks ago that they wanted more answers about what happened and that Cleveland officers need better training on dealing with mentally ill people.
more:
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/cleveland-womans-death-in-police-custody-ruled-homicide/
"If their god is God, why do they feel it necessary to defend the Creator From Neil deGrasse Tyson?"
"If their god is God (as Yul Brynner might say), why do they feel it necessary to defend the Creator of the Universe from Neil deGrasse Tyson? Presumably, God is perfectly capable of taking care of himself, and is even less threatened by what Darwin Tyson thinks than Jefferson would be. Unless (as you guessed), it's not God who is threatened." http://digbysblog.blogspot.ca/I'm sure lots of us have noted this odd notion and behavior from those on the christian right (or with fundamentalists in other faith groups). God, being all powerful, all good and all-knowing isn't going to be wounded by what some guy in Poukeepsie says about Him. His Plan isn't going to go down in flames because there's a non-believer in Saskatchewan.
So why do so many fundamentalists get so worked up about what they see as slights or lack of "proper" deference to Him? He can take care of Himself. Obviously.
What's going on here is something else. It is the attempt to control other peoples' behavior and to constrain their speech and their ideas in order to enforce a particular consensus. It isn't about God. It's about coercion.
way more:
http://digbysblog.blogspot.ca/
Prediction For 2015:
Sometime, likely towards the end of the year, there will be a house-fire somewhere in the United States. In this house there will be a brood of new puppies. They will be saved, at great personal risk, by Jeb Bush.
"This is just who we are", he will explain. "I am no hero. This is the Bush brand"
from a comment at:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2015/01/02/morning-plum-a-scotus-decision-gutting-obamacare-could-cause-widespread-disruptions/
Piketty refuses Legion of Honor: "I don't think it the role of government to decide who's honorable"
Piketty Refuses French Honor, Says Nation Should Focus on Growth
Thomas Piketty, the economist who criticized income inequality in a best-selling book, refused to accept France’s highest decoration, saying the nation should focus on reviving economic growth rather than issuing awards.
“It isn’t up to the government to decide who’s honorable,” the 43-year-old professor at the Paris School of Economics told Agence France-Presse. “They would do better to concentrate on reviving growth.”
Founded by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1802, the Legion d’honneur is France’s highest honor and recognizes achievements in fields including public service, economics and culture. By turning down the award, Piketty joins a diverse group including writer Jean-Paul Sartre and Maurice Ravel, the composer of Bolero.
Piketty’s “Capital in the Twenty-First Century,” published in English last year, tapped into a global debate about inequality. The issue was also raised by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen in October when she questioned the disparities of wealth and income growth.
http://www.lemonde.fr/culture/article/2015/01/01/l-economiste-thomas-piketty-refuse-la-legion-d-honneur_4548309_3246.html#meter_toaster
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