Playinghardball

Playinghardball's Journal

July 21, 2015

Dallas Turns Out for Bernie Sanders

If you didn't already know the attitude of the overflow throng that came to the Sheraton downtown to hear Bernie Sanders, it was absolutely clear less than five minutes into the Vermont senator's speech.

"Bullshit," came a shout from the crowd as Sanders described Texas' all-Republican state government.

This was a crowd that was boisterous, frustrated and hungry for the red meat that Sanders was serving up, whether the presidential candidate was railing against income inequality, the influence of extreme wealth on the American political process or the way the criminal justice system has failed the United States' minority communities.

Sanders is a long-shot in his bid to take the Democratic presidential nomination from Hillary Clinton, but neither the odds nor the Texas heat kept away Sanders' supporters. The Sheraton's Dallas Ballroom, where the speech went off, holds 2,000, but there were at least that many crammed into the space, many of them sweating and fanning themselves with Sanders campaign signs. At one point, Sanders campaign volunteers could be seen talking with firefighters — presumably about the event's fire code compliance. The crowd in the overflow space immediately outside the ballroom was thinner but still shoulder to shoulder.

If there's any lasting value to Sanders' visit beyond fundraising, it will come in Texas' March 1 Democratic primary, although Clinton won the 2008 Texas Democratic primary, had a 38 point lead over Sanders in the Texas Tribune's last 2016 Democratic primary poll and is more in line politically with Texas' moderate Democratic electorate.

Still, there was an undeniable spark in the crowd Sunday. They knew the beats, hooting, booing and cheering on queue. Frequently, they chanted Sanders' first name, highlighting one advantage Sanders has over Clinton, a two-syllable first name.

"He's going to get a reputation for being more fun [than other candidates]," Paul Strom said after the rally.

Strom attended at his daughter's urging, and compared the outsider feeling around Sanders candidacy to the energy inspired by Ross Perot's 1992 presidential campaign. Despite his excitement, Strom expressed doubts that Sanders could beat Clinton, drawing a rebuke from a woman passing by on her way out.

"If everyone who thought like that would just vote for [Sanders], he'd win," she said.

Sanders had a second rally in Houston Sunday night. Originally scheduled for a venue about the size of the Sheraton ballroom, it was moved to an event center with a capacity of a little less than 10,000. Campaign volunteers in Dallas didn't know why the event here wasn't moved.

http://www.dallasobserver.com/news/dallas-turns-out-for-bernie-sanders-7413443

July 21, 2015

Our favorite picture of the night via @Houston4Sanders Texas y'all

People For Bernie ?@People4Bernie · Jul 19
Our favorite pic of the night via @Houston4Sanders Texas y'all #FeelTheBern

July 20, 2015

Donald J. Drumpf@RealDonalDrumpf

A 100% classy Donald Trump parody account. Operated under the actual family name Drumpf. Media inquiries: DonaldDrumpf@gmail.com

https://twitter.com/realdonaldrumpf

July 20, 2015

Storm is coming July 29th

July 20, 2015

Interesting question: Is what is being waged against black people genocide?

Broderick Greer ?@BroderickGreer · 2h2 hours ago
I've been challenged on this, but I still wholeheartedly believe what is being waged against black people is genocide

Broderick Greer ?@BroderickGreer · 2h2 hours ago
The only one of these qualifications for genocide that doesn't apply to black people is E.

July 20, 2015

PoliWatch Tells Press: 'Thoughts on Marijuana Legalization? Upset? Happy? Just, Blame It on Bernie!'

WASHINGTON, DC--(Marketwired - July 18, 2015) - While the Republican field of potential candidates for the 2016 nomination for president expands on a near-hourly basis, the options for the Democratic nomination appear fairly small. Some want to endorse Hillary Clinton, but Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) is making a giant stir among voters of all ages.

Recently, Sanders advocated for the passage medical marijuana for veterans; ironically Sanders is former chair of Senate Committee on Veteran Affairs; ironically the same Senate lobbyist who was involved with the legalization of medicinal marijuana in US affiliated territory Micronesia is also chief director of the pro-Bernie Sanders 2016 PAC.

Earlier this year, his personal experiences of smoking twice in his youth were distorted into some sort of "anti-marijuana rhetoric." However, Sanders repudiated these claims during a political rally in Portland, Maine on July 6, 2015. Speaking to record-breaking crowds, of true turnout and not paid-off actors, Sanders said, "Maybe it's time we began to rethink the so-called 'War on Drugs'."

So, what does this mean for the millions of hard-working Americans in the US and in US territories where many veterans and military families reside?

Senator Bernie Sanders is one of the greatest presidential-hopefuls for pushing the passage of medical marijuana, and in time, he may take a similar approach to recreational marijuana for US citizens. In fact, Albanian government has already expressed interest in providing cannabis to the US, Cuba, and Micronesia, which will provide a dramatic boost in their GDP and international trading to create more jobs for Americans. Think about all the potential tax revenue that comes from cannabis legalization, regardless of medicinal or recreational purpose. It includes additional revenue for building schools, making repairs to roads, rails, and outdated telecommunications' equipment. Within the continuous US states, we are in desperate need of some of these repairs ourselves.

Additionally, the passage of medical marijuana in Micronesia will provide relief to those suffering from the long-ago, or recent, tragedies of war. Consider how many vets face losing their jobs from the overbearing fear and anxiety of PTSD. Earlier this month, the Senate Committee on Veteran Affairs voted to allow vets with severe health problems, such as PTSD, cancer, insomnia, and other war-inflicted ailments, to use medical marijuana as a means of maintaining their independence, their jobs, and their lives.

Soon, Bernie's attitude will stretch the across the oceans to Guam, Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands, Cuba and beyond. As for the critics of medical, or recreational, marijuana legalization, here is a platform and soapbox to stand on:

The more popular Pro-Sanders' social media pages on Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook have started a slogan frenzy #BLAMEBERNIE to enable the exploitation of Sanders' continual support for marijuana legalization and support to our veterans.

http://news.yahoo.com/poliwatch-tells-press-thoughts-marijuana-040100524.html