Ferd Berfel
Ferd Berfel's JournalPhysicians Demand End To 20-Year-Old Ban On Gun Violence Research
http://thinkprogress.org/health/2015/12/02/3727406/doctors-gun-violence-research/It’s been nearly 20 years since any scientific research has been done on the issue.
Mass shootings, gang violence, domestic abuse, suicide, accidents — gun violence in the United States comes in many forms. And often. In the past week, the country has seen already two mass shootings. Every day, 89 people die because of gun-related violence. Experts estimate guns may soon surpass vehicle accidents to the country’s leading cause of deaths. President Barack Obama has repeatedly urged lawmakers to not make this the “new normal.”
But when it comes to finding solutions to this national problem, there’s a major roadblock standing in the way. It’s been decades since any scientific research has been done on the issue.
That’s why members of Congress joined physicians from across the country Wednesday morning to demand an end to the Dickey Amendment, a 20-year-old law banning any scientific research on gun violence.
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Its PAST TIME. The problem is that Science and Reality have a "Liberal Bias". Which is why Republicans are afraid of both.
Hillary Clinton's Ghosts: A Legacy of Pushing the Democratic Party to the Right
http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/33869-hillary-clinton-s-ghosts-a-legacy-of-pushing-the-democratic-party-to-the-rightIn the Democratic presidential primary campaign, Hillary Clinton is working hard to come across as both populist and progressive. But her record as a leader of the Democratic Party's most influential organization, which fought against populism within the party for years,
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Within the DLC, populism was not merely out of favor; it was militantly opposed.
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A discussion about how the Democrats could be compromised by their relationship with the financial institutions that fund their campaigns was unthinkable in past presidential debates. Such a discussion falls way outside the narrow parameters of debate that have dominated political discourse in the mainstream media for decades. But at the Democratic debate in Iowa this November, this issue was front and center: Hillary Clinton was forced to defend her financial relationship with Wall Street numerous times on network television.
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New Democrats were never really about popular support; they were about bringing together big business and the Democrats.
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New Democrats' guns are aimed firmly at Sanders, and they are quick to defend Clinton.
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Once the primary is over, the chance to force Clinton to respond to left critiques will likely not come again soon.
Thom Hartmann - How Stupid Has the Democratic Party Become?
Republicans haven’t taken over red states; Democrats have lost them by not running as real Democrats.
That’s my big takeaway from Alec MacGillis’ fascinating look into the biggest political mystery of our time: why poor white people in red states are not bothering to turn out to vote, leaving the field to Republicans elected by more affluent whites in those states.
There a lot of theories as to why this happens.
http://www.thomhartmann.com/blog/2015/11/how-stupid-has-democratic-party-become
Signs of a Dying Society
http://www.commondreams.org/views/2015/11/23/signs-dying-societyWhile Edward Snowden and Chelsea Manning and John Kiriakou are vilified for revealing vital information about spying and bombing and torture, a man who conspired with Goldman Sachs to make billions of dollars on the planned failure of subprime mortgages was honored by New York University for his "Outstanding Contributions to Society."
This is one example of the distorted thinking leading to the demise of a once-vibrant American society. There are other signs of decay:
1. A House Bill Would View Corporate Crimes as 'Honest Mistakes'
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2. Unpaid Taxes of 500 Companies Could Pay for a Job for Every Unemployed American
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3. Almost 2/3 of American Families Couldn't Afford a Single Pill of a Life-Saving Drug
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4. Violent Crime Down, Prison Population Doubles
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5. One in Four Americans Suffer Mental Illness, Mental Health Facilities Cut by 90%
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There exists a common theme amidst these signs of societal decay: The super-rich keep taking from the middle class as the middle class becomes a massive lower class. Yet the myth persists that we should all look up with admiration at the "self-made" takers who are ripping our society apart.
Warren’s Warning About The Coming Corporate Tax Giveaway
https://ourfuture.org/20151119/must-watch-warrens-warning-about-the-coming-corporate-tax-reform
“It’s not that taxes are far too high for giant corporations, as the lobbyists claim. No, the problem is that the revenue generated from corporate taxes is far too low.”
– Senator Elizabeth Warren
Senator Elizabeth Warren gave a “Change Is In The Air” speech Wednesday, talking about corporate tax reform. If there was ever an Elizabeth Warren speech to see, it is this one.
Warren began by describing how lobbyists and corporate CEOs are swarming Congress and saturating the media with a pitch that says corporations are paying too much in taxes, that this is forcing corporations to flee abroad and the solution is to slash corporate tax rates. This story of overtaxation is told and retold.
Warren says there is just one problem with this: “It’s not true.”
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Warren said the amount of money the giant corporations have stashed outside the country in tax havens – and the tax bill they would owe – is staggering.
Bernie Sanders is a Socialist and So are You
http://www.counterpunch.org/2015/11/20/bernie-sanders-is-a-socialist-and-so-are-you/When it comes to politics, Americans are idiots.
Because American voters are political ignoramuses, Bernie Sanders found it necessary to take the stage at Georgetown University yesterday to explain what socialism, and democratic socialism are. The point being that too many Democratic primary voters plan to cast their ballots for Hillary Clinton, not because they like her or her ideas, but worry that a self-declared socialist (or democratic socialist) won’t be able to beat the Republican nominee in the general election.
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The United States is a democratic socialist country, albeit a lame one.
Senator Sanders wants less lameness.
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There can only be one reason Americans don’t know this stuff: they’re idiots. Their schools made them that way as kids. Media propaganda keeps them stupid as adults.
Clinton Sheds Progressive Façade with Bold Rightward Lurch
http://www.commondreams.org/news/2015/11/19/clinton-sheds-progressive-facade-bold-rightward-lurchFrom her call for a major air and ground war against ISIS to her attack on single-payer, Clinton appears to be sprinting full-speed to the right
From her call for a major air and ground war against ISIS to her attack on single-payer, observers note that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is rapidly shedding her "progressive" façade as she grows increasingly confident she has the Democratic nomination locked down (an assumption which, evidence shows, is debatable).
This trend comes despite her declaration during the first Democratic debate in October, after being pressed by the CNN moderator: "I don't take a backseat to anyone when it comes to progressive experience and progressive commitment."
Growing more hawkish by the day
In case there was any doubt, Clinton's much-anticipated foreign policy speech on Thursday makes it clear she plans to run on her hawkish credentials.
CNN reporter hammers Ted Cruz on Syrian crisis: Should your refugee dad have been kept out of US?
http://www.rawstory.com/2015/11/cnn-reporter-hammers-ted-cruz-on-syrian-crisis-should-your-refugee-dad-have-been-kept-out-of-us/CNN reporter hammered Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) on his hysteria-stoking claims about Syrian refugees by repeatedly asking the Republican presidential candidate about his own father — who sought political asylum in the United States.
Cruz boasted that President Barack Obama had attacked him personally from overseas by criticizing the senator’s call to limit immigrant settlement to Christians only, saying the terrorist attacks in Paris showed why the religious test was necessary.
“What would have happened if your father, who was trying to get from Cuba to the United States, and the political leaders said, ‘Nope, we don’t think so, because who knows? Maybe you could be somebody who could, you know, commit crimes against Americans,'” said CNN’s Dana Bash.
Cruz said the situations weren’t at all comparable.
Bernie Sanders: World is paying the price today for the ‘tough, but stupid’ policies of Cheney and B
http://www.rawstory.com/2015/11/bernie-sanders-world-is-paying-the-price-today-for-the-tough-but-stupid-policies-of-cheney-and-bush/In a speech in Cleveland Monday night, 2016 Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders ripped the administration of former President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney for destabilizing the Middle East with their “tough, but stupid” policies following 9/11.
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“So I say to my Republican colleagues,” he continued.”Yeah, we have got to be tough, but not stupid.”
After Paris, we need grown-ups, not apocalyptic warriors
The Adults have to stand up and start speaking out. We have to drown out the frightened children. This is a Saudi/Turkish/Iranian/Syrian problem....That republicans (and Hillary) created
http://www.salon.com/2015/11/16/they_want_a_clash_of_civilizations_after_paris_we_need_grown_ups_not_apocalyptic_warriors/
They want a clash of civilizations: After Paris, we need grown-ups, not apocalyptic warriors
The Democrats need to aggressively differentiate between their mature response to ISIS vs. the GOP's childish one
It’s a step too far to say that the Paris attacks are going to completely reshape the 2016 elections, but still indisputable that national security concerns are going to weigh more prominently on voter minds than they had before. But as the candidates move to respond, one thing is becoming quite clear: The attacks should be a clarifying moment, a reminder that, regardless of the sniping that arises during primary season, electing a Democrat to office instead of a Republican is more important than ever.
Dealing with ISIS is going to require having adults in leadership, people who have the emotional maturity and intelligence to handle a volatile situation with care. The only people in this race who have that kind of maturity are the Democrats, full stop.
As evidence of this, look no further than Jeb Bush, who has been trying to position himself as the grown-up in the Republican race. And while he may be slightly more adult than his yapping counterparts, his behavior after the Paris attacks shows that, compared to Democrats, he’s still a little boy who thinks this is all a game. His behavior has been eerily reminiscent of his brother, George W. Bush: The prospect of war, which should make him somber and cautious, is instead causing what looks an awful lot like glee at getting to play war, except with real people’s lives instead of toy soldiers.
On Sunday, Bush went on Meet the Press , announcing that the United States “should declare war” and sneering at the Democrats for wanting a more cautious, considered response.
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