On July 4, praise to Langston Hughes: "Let America Be America Again"

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Tuesday July 04, 2017 · 3:41 PM PDT

2017/07/04 · 15:41

The handprints of the children of farmworkers, including that of American labour leader and civil rights activist Dolores Huerta, are seen on a wall as part of a mural project launched for the youth by her foundation in farming community of Arvin, California on January 31, 2017. .Huerta, 86, the subject of Peter Bratt's documentary "Dolores", celebrating the accomplishments of her eventful and still-active life, officially began her career as an activist in 1955 by helping Frank Ross start the Stockton, California Chapter of the Community Service Organization, which fought for economic improvements for Latinos. In 1962, she co-founded the National Farm Workers Association with labour leader and civil rights activist César Chávez, which would later become the United Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee. / AFP / Frederic J. Brown / TO GO WITH AFP STORY BY VERONIQUE DUPONT (Photo credit should read FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images)

Let America be the dream the dreamers dreamed—

Let it be that great strong land of love

Where never kings connive nor tyrants scheme

That any man be crushed by one above.

(It never was America to me.)

O, let my land be a land where Liberty

Is crowned with no false patriotic wreath,

But opportunity is real, and life is free,

Equality is in the air we breathe.

—

Let America Be America Again

(1935), Langston

Hughes

The Clock is Ticking ... Please Comment NOW on National Monuments

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Saturday May 13, 2017 · 5:37 PM PDT

2017/05/13 · 17:37

Yesterday the Department of the Interior opened the upcoming review of national monuments for public commentary. For those who want to jump right in, you can comment at this link (button on top right corner)

COMMENT ON NATIONAL MONUMENT REVIEW <-----— HERE!!

In one of his infamous Executive Orders, the Orange A**hole ordered Ryan Zinke, the new Secretary of the Interior, to review 27 National Monuments created or expanded since 1996, with a goal to reversing, developing, and/or destroying them. The full list of these places of beauty, both on land and under the sea is:

Basin and Range National Monument, Nevada, 2015.

Bears Ears National Monument, Utah, 2016.

Berryessa Snow Mountain, California, 2015.

Canyons of the Ancients National Monument, Colorado, 2000

Carrizo Plain National Monument, California, 2001.

Cascade Siskiyou, Oregon, established 2000, expanded 2017.

Craters of the Moon, Idaho, established 1924, expanded 2000

Giant Sequoia National Monument, California, 2000.

Gold Butte National Monument, Nevada, 2016.

Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument, Arizona, 2000.

Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Utah, 1996.

Hanford Reach National Monument, Washington, 2000.

Ironwood Forest National Monument, Arizona, 2000.

Katahdin Wood and Waters, Maine, 2016

Mojave Trails National Monument, California, 2016.

Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument, New Mexico, 2014.

Rio Grande del Norte National Monument, New Mexico, 2013

Sand to Snow National Monument, California, 2016.

San Gabriel Mountains, California, 2014

Sonoran Desert National Monument, Arizona, 2001.

Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument, Montana, 2001.

Vermilion Cliffs National Monument, Arizona, 2000.

___

MARINE MONUMENTS

Marianas Trench Marine National Monument, Pacific Ocean, 2009.

Northeast Canyons & Seamounts Marine National Monument, off the coast of New England, 2016.

Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument, Pacific Ocean, established 2009, expanded 2014.

Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, Pacific Ocean, established 2006, expanded 2016.

Rose Atoll Marine National Monument, Pacific Ocean, 2009.

This is driven by T***p’s pathological need to undo anything related to Obama (notice how many were established or expanded under Obama’s administration). But those eager to profit from public lands are pushing for this too.

I wish I had time to include photos from all of these areas, which are publicly-owned and preserved (at least for now). I’ll paste a couple below, along with links to articles. But you know what to do next — let’s flood that dam’ comment box!!! The deadline for commenting on Bear’s Ears in Utah is May 26!!! . The deadline for commenting on the other monuments is July 10 (but never put off ‘till tomorrow the chance to save a monument today!).

Mother Jones Article on Monuments Review (nice photos!)

DOI Press Release on Review (more info on monuments)

"Field & Stream" Article (pro-monuments)

Again, the link to the DOI website for public COMMENTS is HERE!!

To ensure consideration, written comments relating to the Bears Ears National Monument must be submitted before May 26, 2017. Written comments relating to all other National Monuments must be submitted before July 10, 2017.

Papahanaumokuakea Marine Nat. Monument, Pacific Ocean

Poll

48 votes Show Results

Have you visited any of these monuments?

48 votes Vote Now!

Have you visited any of these monuments?

Yes

35 votes

1 vote

No, but I'd like my kids to be able to...

12 votes

American Nero

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Wednesday February 08, 2017 · 4:10 PM PST

2017/02/08 · 16:10

Screen_Shot_2017-02-08_at_4.07.59_PM.png — Image from August 2016 article by David Isakson in The ModCon blog

Trump as Nero

Europe Must Defend Itself Against A Dangerous President

The headline above is from an editorial by Klaus Brinkbäumer, the editor-in-chief of Der Spiegel (Europe’s largest newsweekly, considered center to left politically). The entire column is worth reading — a brief portion was already diaried by Eryk — but I wanted to call it out again and highlight certain statements.

Germany must stand up in opposition to the 45th president of the United States and his government. That's difficult enough already for two reasons: Because it is from the Americans that we obtained our liberal democracy in the first place; and because it is unclear how the brute and choleric man on the other side will react to diplomatic pressure.

I find it incredibly sad and ironic that Germany is now looking to take the lead in opposing a proto-fascist in the White House, given how much the US and the Allies sacrificed in World War II to make it possible for Germany to build a democracy out of the ashes of fascism.

It is literally painful to write this sentence, but the president of the United States is a pathological liar. The president of the U.S. is a racist (it also hurts to write this). He is attempting a coup from the top; he wants to establish an illiberal democracy, or worse; he wants to undermine the balance of power. He fired an acting attorney general who held a differing opinion from his own and accused her of "betrayal." This is the vocabulary used by Nero, the emperor and destroyer of Rome. It is the way tyrants think.

Did anyone ever imagine that these words would be said about “our” president, not by far-left protesters in the street, but by the editor of the largest and well-respected European newsweekly? The world has changed so radically in the last 2 ½ months, it is almost hard to believe. Leaders are abandoning the niceties of diplomatic language (and diplomacy) because this man is systematically destroying the domestic and international social contract.

A Serious Threat

Donald Trump and his fire-starter Stephen Bannon discriminate against certain people by decree, but not against those from countries in which Trump does business. The contempt the president of the United States and his most important adviser have for science and education is so blatant that it's almost difficult to write. But their disdain for climate and environmental policies has to be stated, because four or eight years of it could become a serious threat.

We know this.

This is not a threat that will somehow resolve itself. The German economy has become the target of American trade policy and German democracy is ideologically antithetical to Trump's vision. But even here, in the middle of Germany, right-wing extremists are trying to give him a helping hand. It is high time that we stand up for what is important: democracy, freedom, the West and its alliances.

It seems to me the next world war is starting, one that I hope will not be fought militarily but through ideas and actions. Are our institutions and people strong enough to not only resist Trump and Trumpism, but to overcome it? I am very saddened to see how many Republicans have either jumped on board Trump’s train, or are holding their fire, waiting to see. Yes, we should keep pressuring our representatives, but we also need to start working now to remove them from office if they don’t disavow Trump. This might even require looking for moderate Republicans who will stand up for democracy to dislodge the ones who won’t in deep red states. Are there alliances we should be looking to make beyond Dkos (given that this site is about electing better Democrats)? What about organized vote swaps for 2018 across state lines? I am not well-versed in political action, but I will join with my local Indivisibles to see what I can do. But I think we need to reach out , somehow, to our fellow democrats in Germany and the rest of the world as well. Ideas?

Poll

29 votes Show Results

Would you work to elect a moderate Republican if it removed a Trumpist?

29 votes Vote Now!

Would you work to elect a moderate Republican if it removed a Trumpist?

Hell No

3 votes

Nope, not my job

4 votes

Possibly

11 votes

Yes, we've got to do everything we can

7 votes

Hell yes

4 votes

Deadly anthrax outbreak in Siberia due to climate change

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Tuesday August 02, 2016 · 9:01 AM PDT

2016/08/02 · 09:01

As if mystery sinkholes and rubbery ground were not warnings enough, climate change and unusual warming have brought new threats to the north of the planet. Anthrax, also known as the “Siberian plague,” has re-emerged after more than 70 years in an inhabited region above the Arctic circle in Russia. A 12-year-old boy and his grandmother have died, nearly 90 people have been hospitalized for observation, and over 2000 reindeer have been killed by the disease. Temperatures have risen to over 95°, thawing the permafrost where dead animals and people are buried, and “waking” the anthrax spores.

Anthrax outbreak triggered by climate change sickens dozens in Arctic Circle

Climate Change Blamed for the Anthrax Outbreak in Russia

Not with a bang but with a whimper…

Finally, the NY Times puts a positive article about Bernie on the front page!

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Monday March 14, 2016 · 7:46 PM PDT

2016/03/14 · 19:46

Screen_Shot_2016-03-14_at_7.47.09_PM.png

Screen_Shot_2016-03-14_at_7.44.08_PM.png

Although the title of the article tries to downplay his accomplishments, the NYT has finally put a positive article about Bernie Sanders’ accomplishments as a member of Congress on its front page:

For Sanders, a Big Agenda Pursued by Modest Means

in spite of persistent carping that Mr. Sanders is nothing but a quixotic crusader — during their first debate, Hillary Clinton cracked, “I’m a progressive, but I’m a progressive who likes to get things done” — he has often been an effective, albeit modest, legislator — enacting his agenda piece by piece, in politically digestible chunks with few sweeping legislative achievements in a quarter-century in Congress.

Over one 12-year stretch in the House, he passed more amendments by roll call vote than any other member of Congress. In the Senate, he secured money for dairy farmers and community health centers, blocked banks from hiring foreign workers and reined in the Federal Reserve, all through measures attached to larger bills.

Of course, some of us already knew that Bernie was the Amendment King, and that his victories were not always so modest:

He worked with Senator Charles E. Grassley, Republican of Iowa, to prevent foreign workers from replacing Americans at banks that have had a federal bailout, and with former Representative Ron Paul of Texas, who shared his zeal for monitoring the Federal Reserve.

Mr. Sanders’s most notable partnership with a Republican was also one of his greatest successes. In 2014, Mr. Sanders, as chairman of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, worked out an accord with Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona, on a bill to expand veterans’ access to health care after a scandal involving veterans’ hospitals across the country.

One of the important things highlighted by the article was Sanders’ consistency and persistence in focusing on working-class Americans, income inequality, veterans, students, and the environment, even working across the aisle to get things done:

“The reason he has been so successful is that he built very strong left-right coalitions, ” said Warren Gunnels, a longtime policy adviser who now works on Mr. Sanders’s campaign. “He doesn’t see himself as on the left. He sees himself exclusively as fighting for working people.”

Bernie was about the 99% long before even Occupy Wall Street (although of course OWS raised the country’s awareness in a way that Bernie hadn’t done at that point) — whether he gets the nomination or not, he has kept the spotlight on economic injustice through his breakthrough campaign.

“Bernie has been talking about income inequality since 1981,” Mr. Welch said. “And now that is a message whose time has come.”

2.5 million people have voted for Bernie Sanders so far. Do we really want to alienate them?

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Sunday March 06, 2016 · 8:03 PM PST

2016/03/06 · 20:03

People vote in the Super Tuesday primary at Centreville High School March 1, 2016, in Centreville, Virginia..Voters in a dozen states will take part in "Super Tuesday" -- a series of primaries and caucuses in states ranging from Alaska to Virginia, with V

According to Dan Diamond of Politico Pulse, 2.5 million people have voted for Bernie Sanders so far. Let’s put aside the question of whether Bernie can or will win the nomination. Those votes will be needed in the general election. Many — but certainly not all — of the people casting those votes are young, progressive voters, the kind that one would think would be welcome on a site like DKos. I certainly found this site in 2007-8 when Obama was first coming up, and was very happy to find other like-minded folks to talk to. Although by no stretch of the imagination was I a young person, I was and am proudly progressive.

But I am very troubled by Kos’ most recent (and somewhat confusing) posting about something that’s supposed to take place March 15, long before the end of the primaries. We’re supposed to stop “malicious” postings about Hillary. That’s great — why not stop malicious postings on both sides, starting now? And why ban terms like “oligarchy,” “neocon” and “warmonger?” These refer to the very issues that go to the heart of what has happened to the Democratic party (in my opinion).

Of course I support (trying to) create a united front once there is a nominee. But we are not there yet, and cutting off or limiting discourse before there is one (regardless of “the math”) just feels wrong to me.

What troubles me most is something that another Kossack posted in Kos’ story:

Old Man from Scene 24 theone718
Mar 04 · 02:09:58 PM

If you’re a liberal, and you find yourself in a protracted discussion about what you are and aren’t “allowed” to say, you know you’re in the wrong place.

Is that the kind of site we’ve turned into? Do we really want to spend so much of our energy wondering if something we say is or is not going to get us banned, or watching like a hawk to see if someone else is saying something bannable? This is Markos’ site, of course, but maybe he’d like to think about taking a couple of steps back from the recent pronouncement. Because I really hope that this site can be a home to who knows how many new voters that Bernie has inspired to come out and caucus and vote for him. They will be part of any real solution, including preventing Trump or Cruz from gaining the White House.

$500k spent by school district on ... gunfire detectors

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Monday February 29, 2016 · 1:13 PM PST

2016/02/29 · 13:13

I was gobsmacked to read that a school district in Fresno (that’s California, ranked 42 in education) has voted to give $500,000 to the police department to pay for a gunfire tracking system! Not just for the schools (although each school site will now be a “detection center” — how’s that for multi-use?), but for a total of 6 square miles of surrounding neighborhood.

Somehow I don’t think this is quite what John Dewey had in mind...

Fresno Unified Invests $500,000 in ShotSpotter

(PS — Some teachers did object)

Can you share positive reasons to support your candidate?

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Sunday February 28, 2016 · 5:06 PM PST

2016/02/28 · 17:06

151013215526-bernie-sanders-democratic-debate-sick-of-hearing-about-hillary-clinton-emails-19-00005521-exlarge-169.jpg — Each will support the other in the General...

Reflecting on a conversation I had with my haircutter recently, I realized that she was not at all interested in the current political process, until I mentioned some specific policy commitments of the candidate that I support. Then she was interested, even said I might have convinced her to vote.

I am sure this would not have happened if all I did was trash the other candidate, or talk about things that happened 25 years ago, or argue based on identity politics. Which seems to be what we are doing a lot of here on Dkos.

So ok, in the interests of trying something different, here’s your assignment, if you choose to accept it:

Share a positive reason that you support your candidate
Make it policy based
Don’t trash the other candidate
Don’t drag in history or identity politics
Or pie

Can it be done? I guess we will see...

A bit of restorative justice for Reverend Barber - Support the NAACP!

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Saturday February 13, 2016 · 1:30 PM PST

2016/02/13 · 13:30

Rev. Dr. William J. Barber, II Pastor, Greenleaf Christian Church, Goldsboro, N.C, Moral Mondays

I’m just catching up with what apparently went on early this morning with a now-removed diary saying that Sanders supporters were not welcome at Reverend Barber’s 10th Annual Moral Mondays march in South Carolina today. I have to admit, I don’t understand why someone would even post something like that, but it sowed confusion and mistrust between groups that should be allies.

People here have been understandably outraged, and the staff did in the end remove the diary, but not before it hit the Most Shared list and reddit. The Moral Monday movement and Reverend Barber did not deserve this, and who knows how and whether it might have harmed that movement.

In a comment, Fish Out of Water stated:

What we can do now if we haven’t done it already is join the NAACP. Rev. Barber has reignited the fire in the NAACP. The NAACP is fighting hard for everyone’s right to vote and they deserve our support and involvement.

I wholeheartedly agree, and I immediately made a donation to the NAACP. I’d like to challenge/encourage as many of us as possible to donate to or join the NAACP. This might help in repairing the relationship between Daily Kos and Reverend Barber. Plus, it’s the right thing to do, given the on-going attacks on the voting rights of blacks and the poor.

I’d love to see how many pick up the banner on this, and whether we can make a positive impact on Moral Mondays, even if we can’t be there !!!

Once again, here’s the link to DONATE TO OR JOIN THE NAACP!! Let’s do it!!

Or if you prefer to donate to the North Carolina branch directly, go to https://naacpnc.nationbuilder.com/donate

tubacat

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Friday February 12, 2016 · 9:00 AM PST

2016/02/12 · 09:00

Supposedly, he’s an idealist, a dreamer, with no idea how to accomplish what he is proposing in his speeches. Although he says at every opportunity that he will not be able to make the admittedly massive changes he proposes without the active participation of millions of us in a political revolution, he is nevertheless criticized for promising things that he has no chance of delivering. This criticism is often accompanied by the question above: what has Bernie actually ever accomplished.

Well, let’s take a look, shall we?

tubacat

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Friday January 29, 2016 · 8:00 AM PST

2016/01/29 · 08:00

It’s getting very hard to sift through the attacks between Bernie and Hillary supporters to find actual information, which is why I joined Dkos in the first place. I remember being so amazed and grateful when I first started reading this site, because I could find out so much about what was going on around the country politically, things that I would never learn in the mainstream media. What’s sad now is that we seem to be devolving into semi-rational tribes, flinging crap at each other that doesn’t really have much to do with the dire political, economic and environmental situation we are in.

I think the differences between Sanders and Clinton have been stated clearly and documented copiously here. And I really appreciate the folks who have been careful to find reliable links to support their characterizations. I don’t appreciate the posters who:

make unsubstantiated negative claims
accuse others of doing so (when said claims have been substantiated)
demonize “the other side”
accuse supporters of “the other” candidate of being liars, smug, hypocrites, toadies, and on and on and on…

Really, if someone did a textual analysis of the verbiage posted on the site over the past few weeks, they would see an ever increasing proportion of posts made up of direct insults between individuals and negative generalizations about groups (I thought we didn’t do that), with less and less material devoted to the real issues.

Are we on the verge of a true “political revolution,” or is an idealistic but deluded old crank leading our youth astray?

Are we looking at a bought-and-paid-for member of the political establishment as the next nominee, or a feminist heroine who stands up for women, children and the nation with pragmatic wisdom?

Does it matter?

Yes, it does, very much. But does it matter so much that we are willing to lower ourselves to the level of drunken football fans brawling in the parking lot, or vicious harpies stabbing each other in the back, or bigots casting aspersions about “those” people? I hope not...

Are we destroying our village to (try to) save it? After all, each one of us will be needed once the primaries are over, if we want to keep Tr*mp or Cr*z (or whoever the Republicans end up choosing) out of the White House.

#YouAintNoAmericanTrump

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Wednesday December 09, 2015 · 8:00 AM PST

2015/12/09 · 08:00

Just in case you hadn’t heard, a passenger on the London Tube shouted “You ain’t no Muslim, bruv” on Monday to a man who stabbed 3 people. The hashtag based on this took off.

I think we can all agree that Trump has disqualified himself from being considered a true American — he is clearly rejecting the values and the very Bill of Rights on which the country was founded.

I put this up on Twitter, but I don’t do much there, and have almost no followers. So if you are so inclined, please send it onward and outward….

@realDonaldTrump Who would follow you, after you've spit on the founding values of America? #YouAintNoAmericanTrump pic.twitter.com/mwxjt43UZr
— L. D. Edwards (@tubacat) December 9, 2015

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On July 4, praise to Langston Hughes: "Let America Be America Again"

The Clock is Ticking ... Please Comment NOW on National Monuments

American Nero

Deadly anthrax outbreak in Siberia due to climate change

Finally, the NY Times puts a positive article about Bernie on the front page!

2.5 million people have voted for Bernie Sanders so far. Do we really want to alienate them?

$500k spent by school district on ... gunfire detectors

Can you share positive reasons to support your candidate?

A bit of restorative justice for Reverend Barber - Support the NAACP!

What has Bernie ever accomplished?

Really? Do we have to do this?

#YouAintNoAmericanTrump