Wednesday, April 6, 2016

HILLARY SAYS "YOUNGER" VOTERS ARE MISINFORMED?

Here's what Hillary had to say in a recent  interview with Chuck Todd;

"I feel sorry sometimes for the young people who believe this, they don't do their own research," Clinton said Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press."

Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton said she feels bad for the young people who believe what rival Bernie Sanders says about her taking money from the fossil fuel industry.



She goes on to boldly claim that the heavily propagandized Mainstream Media  "independent" is the "reliable" source to debunk any assertions made by her opponent (Bernie Sanders). This was her exact response; "And I'm glad we now can point to reliable independent analysis to say no, it's just not true."

Ironically just he opposite is true!

First off, younger people (many are new voters) are well informed because they don't use the mainstream media as a source for "real" news but rather log in to the internet where the social media network(s) provide a rich and abundant source of information not tainted by "commercialized" interests.

                         

What's also equally true is that, rather than feeling "sorry' for younger voters Hillary is "afraid" of them and the impact they are having on this election.

Never in Hillary's (or the Democratic Establishment) wildest dreams could they have predicted that an old disheveled grass roots self declared social Democrat would be able to stir the passion that is driving what he calls the "revolution" that is hell-bent on cleaning the rigged and corrupt political machine that is destroying America.

Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton said she feels bad for the young people who believe what rival Bernie Sanders says about her taking money from the fossil fuel industry.

Clinton last week accused the Sanders campaign of lying about her taking donations from the fossil fuel industry.

“I am so sick of the Sanders campaign lying about me. I’m sick of it,” the former first lady said last week.

On Sunday, Clinton said she cares "passionately" about climate change and has been working to try to move us away from fossil fuels for many years. She said Sanders claims about her taking money from the fossil fuel industry have been "debunked."

Sanders on Sunday defended the claim.

"I don't think that we are distorting reality," he said on CNN's "State of the Union." "That's the simple reality."

Monday, April 4, 2016

John Oliver's 'Last Week Tonight' dives into congressional partying with Sunlight data - Sunlight Foundation Blog

This past Sunday, the Sunlight Foundation’s Political Party Time database was featured on HBO’s "Last Week Tonight" with John Oliver.

Oliver, using Party Time data, broke down how more than 2,800 fundraising parties were held by members of Congress and candidates in 2013-2014 to support their election efforts. He also amusingly points out that 948 “breakfast fundraisers” have been held at a seafood restaurant calledJohnny’s Half Shell, which is just a short walk from the Capitol building.

The piece highlights the outsized role fundraising plays in the daily lives of our congressional representatives. This includes the estimated four hours of “call time” lawmakers go through each day to hit their fundraising goals, numbers which are set by Democratic and Republican party leadership. It's an alarming amount when you consider that means about 20 hours are spent fundraising during the average congressional work week.


John Oliver's 'Last Week Tonight' dives into congressional partying with Sunlight data - Sunlight Foundation Blog

Sunday, April 3, 2016

DOES SHE OR DOESN'T SHE?

As usual Hillary finds herself between a rock and a hard spot when it comes to who is funding her campaign;

All told, the campaign to elect Hillary Clinton for president in 2016 has received more than $4.5 million from lobbyists, bundlers, and large donors connected the fossil fuel industry.

Number of oil, gas and coal industry lobbyists that have made direct contributions to Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign: 58
 registered oil, coal and gas lobbyists have personally given $138,400 to the Clinton campaign.

Of those 58, 11 are bundlers.

11 lobbyists have bundled $1,327,210 in contributions to the Clinton campaign.

43 lobbyists have contributed the maximum allowed ($2,700).

This includes:

Lobbyists who have reported lobbying for the oil and gas industry – both in-house company lobbyists and hired lobbyists from “K-Street firms.”

IT TAKES A REVOLUTION TO STOP THIS

Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right, by Jane Mayer, Doubleday, 2016
Conspiracy theorists can breathe a sigh of relief. Turns out, there is a vast plot afoot, but it's not being orchestrated by "godless communists" or feminists eager to smash the patriarchy. Instead, it's coming from right-wing libertarians and ultra-conservative nationalists who have billions of dollars to spend and are willing to do whatever it takes to win.
Their agenda includes a desire to reduce government's function to a single item: Protection and promotion of business interests by eliminating things they consider roadblocks, such as taxes, unions, minimum wage laws, overtime protections and environmental regulations that limit toxic dumping and air and water pollution. To say that they're harkening back to the Gilded Age is an oversimplification, but it's close to the ideal put forward by a small cohort of unimaginably rich white men, and a handful of unimaginably rich white women, who are plotting to turn the US into a land of serfs and lords, with themselves in complete control of everything.
Jane Mayer's exhaustively researched look at this network makes for an essential though terrifying read.



AND THE WINNER IS.....................!

Just when you thought it couldn't get better for Bernie Nevada caught fire!





According to the Clark County Democratic Convention that occurred Saturday, Bernie Sanders has won Nevada even after losing in the February Nevada caucus. According to Las Vegas Sun reporter Megan Messerly, he is standing tall with more delegates. Read More: Bernie Sanders is Actual Winner in Nevada Caucus - NationofChange | Progressive Change Through Positive Action




Just look at how solidly voters in six of the last seven contests wanted Bernie to win, with our expected delegate hauls from each:
Democrats Abroad - 3/21
Bernie Sanders: 69% (9 delegates)
Hillary Clinton: 31% (4 delegates)
Idaho - 3/22
Bernie Sanders: 78% (17 delegates)
Hillary Clinton: 21% (5 delegates)
Utah - 3/22
Bernie Sanders: 79% (26 delegates)
Hillary Clinton: 20% (6 delegates)
Alaska - 3/26
Bernie Sanders: 82% (13 delegates)
Hillary Clinton: 18% (3 delegates)
Hawaii - 3/26
Bernie Sanders: 70% (17 delegates)
Hillary Clinton: 30% (8 delegates)
Washington - 3/26
Bernie Sanders: 73% (74 delegates)
Hillary Clinton: 27% (27 delegates)

MAINSTREAM MEDIA; TAIL WAGGING THE DOG

Hundreds Participate in #OccupyCNN to Protest the Media’s #BernieBlackout - NationofChange | Progressive Change Through Positive Action

HILLARY: PROUD TO BE "ESTABLISHMENT" CANDIDATE

Hillary Clinton is either stone cold tone deaf or blatantly arrogant in making it unabashedly clear that she is a "proud" member of a rigged and corrupt political Establishment that the majority of new, young, independent, angry  (and many more coming on board each day) voters are totally against.

She forgot to also mention that she is;

* A member of the 1% Club made up of the millionaires and billionaires she swears she has no allegiance to. Read More; Why Hillary Clinton Is Completely Oblivious to the Disappearing American Middle Class

According to Money Nation, Hillary Clinton’s net worth is $31.3 million. Her husband, Bill Clinton, has an estimated net worth of $80 million. A Forbes report found there are just over 5,000 households in the United States with a net worth of over $100 million; the Clintons are one of them. Yet despite being one of the wealthiest people in the country, Ms. Clinton wants voters to believe her interests lie with the middle class.

Ms. Clinton’s wealth has detached her from reality, particularly in regard to her definition of the middle class. With her promise not to raise taxes on households making $250,000 or less a year, she ignores the most recent U.S. Census data, which find the median household income is $53,657. Comparing the struggles of a household that makes $53,000 annually to one making nearly $250,000 annually suggests that Ms. Clinton has a complete misunderstanding of what middle class in America actually means.


* Panders to Wall Street bankers who have paid her millions of dollars for supposedly benign speeches and which she pledges to rein in once she becomes president Clinton. She has no shame in admitting she made more in one speech ($225,000) that would take an average American family to bring home in 3 years of hard work. Read More; The Clintons’ $93 Million Romance with Wall Street: a Catastrophe for Working Families, African-Americans, and Latinos

* Bankrolls her campaign by hosting elite high class funding events that some of her very wealthy donors pay up to $335,000. a plate to attend.  US election 2016: Who's funding Trump, Sanders and the rest?

There have been few candidates more criticised for where their campaign contributions come from than former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. With Bernie Sanders continually questioning the influence of Wall Street on politics, her ties to big banks have been a liability.

Though she has received a significant amount from bankers, she has raised even more from lawyers.

The Clinton campaign has taken in $11m from lawyers and law firms, including $1.33m from individuals who work at seven of the top US law firms. By contrast she has received just over $4m from the commercial banking and investment industries.

Many of the lawyers donating to Secretary Clinton's campaign represent big corporations and banks as well as "shadow banking" organisations - hedge funds, mutual funds, and limited liability companies.

This area of finance has grown significantly since the financial crisis. They have positioned themselves as alternative lenders compared to banks and have used their growing pots of money to donate to several candidate, not just Mrs Clinton.

But Mrs Clinton is one of the few candidates who has addressed the role of "shadow banking" in the financial system and the need to regulate it. She has even said shadow banking could lead to the next financial crisis.

If she is elected those organisations may need a lot more lawyers to help them cope with increased regulations and the government would like call on outside counsel to write them.


It's not at all surprising that she falls flat on her face in trying to stir up average working middle class Americans by making believe she is one of them.

Hillary Clinton wants voters in Wisconsin to know that she has been a Democrat for much of her adult life. Why? Bernie Sanders hasn't been.
Clinton said her near-lifelong membership to the Democratic Party was "important" in the nomination contest while campaigning here on Saturday, two days ahead of Wisconsin's Democratic primary.


"I am also a Democrat and have been a proud Democrat all my adult life," Clinton said. "And I think that is kind of important if we are selecting someone to be the Democratic nominee of the Democratic Party."



Hillary may not realize it but Bernie is exactly what Americans are looking for in a presidential candidate;

* He is an "outsider" and self-declared "Democratic Socialist"and proud of it!

* Not a member of either the Democratic or Republican Establishment and, as such, represents the people (voters) rather than political organizations and the special interests they pander to.  

Sanders has never been a member of the Democratic Party and is one of two independents in the United States Senate.

Sanders has caucused with the Democratic Party ever since he came to Washington as a congressman in 1991. He unsuccessfully ran for the United States Senate in 1971 as a member of Liberty Union party and, in 1981, when he successfully ran for mayor of Burlington, Vermont, he did so as an independent. 

At times, the senator identifies as a democratic (small D) socialist.

Sanders, however, listed the Democratic Party as his party affiliation in his statement of candidacy for his presidential run. He also declared as a Democrat during the New Hampshire primary.

* Is not a millionaire and has not espoused to become one. 

Bernie Sanders’ public disclosures place his net worth at between $194,026 and $741,030,Politico reported. Some media sources just take the highest number and report his net worth at $700,00, but this is inaccurate. The total is likely around $300,00, since as early as 2013 he had an estimated net worth of $330,000, NPR reported. This is far below most members of Congress, where the median net worth in 2013 was $1 million. In the Senate, the median was $2.8 million.

Compared to other political candidates, Sanders also ranks low. Hillary and Bill Clinton made more than $25 million in the first half of 2014 just from speaking engagements. According to USA Today, Donald Trump’s net worth is between $2.9 and $10 billion, Hillary Clinton’s is $15.3 to $55 million, and Ted Cruz is $1.7 to $4.5 million.  Read more: 
Bernie Sanders Net Worth: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know

* Get's paid to make speeches; usually not more than $5,000.00 the proceeds of which he gives to charity. 

* Bankrolls his campaign primarily with small donations (average $27.00) and refuses to take money from PACS, Millionaires or Billionaires. 

                                       Democratic candidates
Bernie Sanders has not shied away from criticizing Wall Street, calling out big corporate donors and condemning super PACs - ostensibly cutting off traditional places for campaign fundraising. He even returned a donation from the former chief executive of Turing Pharmaceutical, Martin Shkreli, who notoriously raised the price of one drug by 5,000%.

Instead he has received a swell of financial support from Americans giving in small amounts.

Nearly three-quarters of Senator Sanders' donations have been under $200. His campaign said the average donation in 2015 was $27.16. Only 17% of donations to rival Hillary Clinton are under $200.

Senator Sanders' has also managed to tap an unexpected group of Americans for donations - the unemployed. In 2015 his campaign raised $14m in donations from people without jobs.

Part of Senator Sanders' populous appeal is his criticism of the campaign finance system and the role of super PACs. Sanders' campaign has said, "He doesn't have a super PAC. He believes you can't fix a rigged economy by taking part in the corrupt campaign finance system in which politicians take unlimited sums of money from Wall Street and other powerful special interests and then pretend it doesn't influence them."

But there is a registered super PAC supporting Sanders' however, formed by the National Nurses United - the largest union of nurses in the US.