If You Can't Win It, Steal It

This sounds like a lesson you would teach your 5 year old; The value of earning something as opposed to stealing it.

Somehow the Establishment and the Clinton Campaign haven’t learned this lesson. Apparently in the face of true competition, their true character has emerged and it isn’t pretty.

I can’t help but picture a cartoon of a child stealing a trophy from another child, so determined is she to have the prize. The entire establishment seems to be missing the point.

It’s not about the Prize, it’s about the People.

Intentionally shutting out the voice of all the people, except of course the ones on “your” side is to undermine the very foundation that our country was built on. DEMOCRACY. While the Party on one hand is screaming for democratic unity, in the other they are tearing it to shreds with less and less hope for recovery with their increasingly bold attacks on their own constituents.  

The job of guiding our country through the massive issues that we currently face into a future of real hope for future generations is going to take more than the mentality of a person who thinks a stolen victory is the same as victory earned.

The Democratic party is being torn to shreds by corrupt party leaders who would refuse even the most basic rights of the people. The right to vote.

Maybe it’s time for a new party. A party of the people.

Are We Headed for a Civil War?

Just for fun, let’s recap the Nevada Convention.

Temporary rules were implemented that would award the state delegates to the winner of the first Tier which was falsely awarded to Hillary Clinton. (20% of voters ballots were missing therefore 20% of the delegates were still up for grabs)

The temporary rules were to be voted on by paper ballot at the start of the convention, but instead were voted on 30 minutes early by primarily Clinton delegates (who were informed of the early vote). This intentionally excluded the majority of delegates for Bernie Sanders.

A motion for a re-vote was demanded and the Party Chair, Roberta Lange, held a voice vote. Despite the resounding “NAY” that can clearly be heard in the videos that are now splattered all over social media, Roberta Lange passed the temporary rules demonstrating that either she is completely corrupt promoting the will of the party and not the people, or she is completely and utterly deaf.

Two motions were made, one to remove Roberta Lange as party chair, and another to recount the vote, both of which were ignored and the meeting was adjourned with motions still outstanding.

In addition to all of this, Roberta Lange allowed the Credentials Committee to rule that 64 delegates were ineligible without offering an opportunity for 58 of them to show whether or not their credentials were in order. That decision enabled the Clinton campaign to end up with a 30-vote majority.

As if this weren’t enough, Party leaders in Nevada then came out with an accusation that the Sanders campaign has a ‘penchant for violence’ despite the fact that there have been ZERO reports of violence at any of the Campaign rallies that have been attended by tens of thousands of people. The Campaign has however, been the target of violence on more than one occasion specifically in Nevada.

When the smoke screens are removed, the corruption is clear.

Just how far will the party go to undermine democracy in order to nominate their party favorite? It appears there are no limits.

So far the political revolution has been a peaceful one with a (mostly) productive representation of people becoming increasingly involved in the political process to take action in favor of change. But with every oppressive Party action the more one wonders whether it will remain that way.

Historically, revolutions and civil wars are rooted in government corruption and oppression of the people. The facts can not be denied.

In a 2015 research by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) found strong statistical evidence that high and/or rising levels of corruption can undermine the security of a nation, and even small increases in corruption can cause civil unrest.

(full article here: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-corruption-peace-index-idUSKBN0OD23X20150528)

In all honesty, I  have a sinking feeling this is going to get much worse before it gets better.

I sincerely hope that our efforts to reclaim our democracy continue on a peaceful and productive path. But this seems increasingly like a pipedream considering our efforts to “play by the rules” of the Party are continuously met by the Party refusing to play by it’s own rules, or worse; changing them on the fly to suit their own agenda.

With every blatant act that proves our democracy is either under attack or doesn’t exist at all, what is currently a peaceful revolution is shoved ever closer toward what could easily develop into the makings of a civil war.

Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.

Here's Your Democratic Unity

The more the People and Bernie Sanders succeed, the more the Party screams for “Democratic Unity” behind the establishment candidate.

I don’t know about you, but I think the Establishment could use an education about what “Democratic Unity” means.

If the establishment were really fighting for Democratic Unity, the Party would be rallying behind the candidate who united the People, not trying to rally the people to unite behind the party.

To change a broken system, we have to address the root of the problem.

Senators and members of Congress refusing to do their jobs, the DNC promoting their own agenda, and corporate money in politics for starters. This country isn’t being run by elected officials protecting the rights of the people. It is being run by big corporations paying off members of Congress to pass policies that contribute to massive profits for the top 1%.

This is far more than just a presidential election.

This is a revolution to recover the democracy the establishment stole from us.

This week, I asked a member of congress how the People can help change a System that refuses to hear proposed policies that protect our constitutional rights.

Her response?

“Well, that’s a tough one. Next Question.”

That’s a tough one? In other words, don’t bother trying? Go back to sleep? The system can’t be changed?

That is just not an answer I am satisfied with. I have a better one; Vote them OUT!

No doubt it is going to be tough to eliminate a system of corrupt politicians. It is going to be tough to change an establishment that pursues its own interests over the interests of the people. And it’s going to be tough to change a corrupt election process that denies millions of registered independent voters their constitutional right to vote, despite the fact that the primaries are paid for with tax dollars.

Tough, but not impossible.

Statistically, if independent voters were included in the process, it’s likely the lead would be firmly in the hands of Senator Bernie Sanders.

Despite the current “lead” Hillary Clinton has in the primaries, she will not be able to clinch the nomination prior to the convention. The people have spoken, at least the people who have been allowed to participate have, and Bernie keeps winning state after state in the primaries.

Millions of people cannot be ignored forever.

Despite the best efforts of the establishment and the mainstream media to do just that, the Political Revolution is getting stronger and last I checked, ignoring a problem doesn’t solve the problem.

Our Democracy has been stolen from us. We want it back.

See you at the Contested Convention.

Public Office-Private Life

Privacy in Politics is a sticky issue fraught with controversy, and the question of whether or not the transcripts of speeches given by Hillary Clinton to Goldman Sachs should be made public is at the forefront of this debate.

Personally, I am far more concerned with what was said in those speeches than the sex scandal of the Bill Clinton Presidency. Not that the sex scandal is any less an indication of character, but I highly doubt Bill’s affair was a payment for implementing policies that benefit free sex.

If I had to draw a line between public and private in the political life of a government elected official, I would draw it there. If the action affects policy, decision making, and/or ultimately has an affect on the American People, it should be PUBLIC knowledge. When you are elected by the people, and your salary is paid by the people, you are accountable, you guessed it, TO THE PEOPLE.

Hillary’s continued refusal to make public her speeches, raises a lot more questions than is provides answers.

I have no qualms about the fact that she gave a speech, or even that she accepted upwards of $200,000 for making it. The question is, what was so valuable about her presence there that Goldman Sachs would pay that kind of money, and how do I get on the speakers list? It’s pretty obvious she wasn’t hired as a pretty face.

The fact that she made the speeches and is now running for the highest public office in our country means she is accountable to us. We have a right to know.

Game NOT Over

Die-hard Bernie supporters celebrate another “unexpected Victory winning the Indiana Primary, followed by another game changer; Ted Cruz dropping out of the Republican Race.

With Trump now the Republican nominee (shudder), this game just took a much more serious turn.

Not that there was much to laugh about in this race before, but with national polls showing Hillary LOSING to Trump in the general election, this has become downright terrifying.

All the efforts of the Clinton Campaign and the DNC to rig voting machines, disenfranchise voters, and bias mainstream media against Bernie Sanders, may backfire in a big way-- taking us all down a road of terror we can only imagine.

A Donald Trump Presidency.

It begs the question; If the goal of the DNC and the Clinton campaign were REALLY to “Unite the Party,” as they claim, wouldn’t throwing their support behind Bernie Sanders have been the obvious choice?

Instead of uniting the Party behind the democratic candidate who United the PEOPLE, the DNC and the Clinton campaign made every effort, without regard to what is legal or ethical, to shut Bernie Sanders out of the race.

First they Changed Hillary Clinton’s rhetoric to more closely match the genuine campaign platform being run by Bernie Sanders, in order to gain support in the Polls. That didn’t work because her rhetoric doesn’t add up to the facts of her political career and the YUGE discrepancies between what she says, and what she does.

When that didn’t work, they amplified the Bernie Blackout on mainstream media. When that didn’t work, they disenfranchised voters in multiple states, making it impossible for hundreds of thousands of registered democrats to vote in the primaries.

The Victory fund that raised $61 million dollars to “rebuild our parties from the ground up” provided only 1% of that fund to the party. The rest went to Hillary’s Campaign and, you guessed it, the DNC.

Details here: http://www.politico.com/story/2016/04/clinton-fundraising-leaves-little-for-state-parties-222670

The latest win by Bernie Sanders, and I dare say the American People, proves the legitimacy of the continued fight for the nomination.

#FeelTheBern

Why NOT Hillary

Hillary’s supporters have been willing to forgive her track record of continuous poor judgment and decisions that put her on the wrong side of history throughout her political career. While I disagree with their stance, I have to admire their dedication.

While Hillary has supported (and in some cases globally promoted) agendas such as Fracking, Keystone, the TPP, and the Iraq war; changing her opinion on the issues only when it started hurting her in the polls, her die hard supporters still trust her to make sound decisions despite the fact that she has demonstrated no such ability on these critical issues.

Many of these issues plague America still, with the obvious question being; Who do we trust to address the issues going forward? The person whose actions consistently contributed to the creation and/or escalation of the issues to begin with, or the person whose sound judgement and foresight has been consistently proven accurate throughout the history of their political career?

It sounds like a rhetorical question, but I assure you, for many Americans, it’s not.

In my opinion, Hillary’s less than ideal track record has proven her to be another status quo politician acting on her own self interests, and not for the greater good of the people. But there is no denying the fact that many people are still holding fast to the idea of a woman in the whitehouse.

It’s tough to face facts that disagree with your position once you’ve decided on a candidate. I get it.

It doesn’t change that fact that her judgement has been flawed and her rhetoric doesn’t match reality.

Sound judgement from the start is far greater than an acknowledgement of flawed judgement after the fact.

“Get big money out of politics,” she says, but only after Bernie Sanders brought the issue to the forefront of the conversation. Meanwhile, her biggest campaign donors are, you guessed it, big corporations like Citi Group, Morgan Stanley, and JP Morgan Chase. She even took a donation greater than $100,000 from Donald Trump!

She vows to protect the environment from fracking, but she led the movement to promote fracking all over the world.

She admits she made a mistake in supporting the Iraq war, of which we haven’t yet seen the back of, and while I admire the integrity (although I hesitate to call it that in the case of HRC), of a person who can admit their mistakes, I maintain that the issue here is her consistent inability to SEE the inevitable repercussions of her actions.

We need a government and a president who has the strength of character and foresight to truly act for the betterment of our country, our future generations, and the security and progress of our global community.

It’s Not Hillary.