Welcome once again to a $27-group / The Political Revolution open thread — a weekly place where you can sit back, relax, enjoy some inspiring quotes and good music, and (most importantly) spend time gazing at a picture or two of foresterbob’s cat Noble Fur…
(… whom I have never had the privilege of actually meeting — but isn’t she gorgeous?)
Well, drat — a blip in the power (which there have been quite a number of this year, due to a lot of thunderstorms in the area) caused me to lose a lot of the work I’d done in WordPad on tonight’s diary. So tonight’s diary will likely be a bit late again unless I can reconstruct really fast, and it will almost certainly be missing a few quotes I’d intended to include. Oh, well — let’s get started.
It’s hard choosing a title quote tonight. When I saw this one, I thought, Aha! I’ll use an excerpt from that in tonight’s title:
Political and social revolutions that attempt to transform our society never end. They continue every day, every week and every month in the fight to create a nation of social and economic justice.
...
But then a few moments later I saw this and thought, No, that’s the one I’ll use in tonight’s diary title:
Our future depends on the courageous actions of those willing to challenge the status quo and bend the arc of history toward justice.
…
Except then I saw this one, and I thought its first sentence would work nicely as a title quote:
We need a massive grassroots effort from coast to coast to revitalize democracy. We need to mobilize people in an unprecedented way at the grassroots level now more than ever.
(All three of those, by the way, are from the same person. I think you can guess who it is.)
...
So which quote did I choose? Well, you’ll know if you’re reading this as a diary, but I don’t know yet as I type this as I’m still trying to decide...
.
.
… and it’s possible I won’t use any of those three, as I’m also tempted to use as the title quote the words of Texas congressional candidate MJ Hegar: “Tattoos can show you one of the reasons I'm running for congress.” (Watch this 30 second video if you’d like to hear her say that and explain what she means.)
.
I’m also a little tempted to use this other quote from her: “Yeah, can you believe that?” And this other short video explains what she’s talking about in that quote:
.
MJ Hegar is running for congress in Texas congressional district 31 against incumbent Republican John Carter (who, despite what you may have read or heard, has not been to Mars and definitely has not been a heroic fighter for the people of that world or ours).
You can learn more about Hegar, who she is and what she stands for, on her campaign website. There are a lot of good people coming forward to run for office who aren’t conventional candidates, and Hegar is a prime example of why that’s a very good thing.
.
.
There are several phrases in this quote, too, which I’m tempted to use in tonight’s diary title:
Today’s vote [on the Kavanaugh nomination] hurts people. It hurts every victim of sexual assault who’s been ignored, every woman who’s been told to be quiet, every person who’ll be on the losing end when Brett Kavanaugh casts a gut-punching deciding vote – in favor of states that keep American citizens from voting, in favor of corporations that cheat people, in favor of gun traffickers who put our kids at risk.
We lost this one. I don’t like to lose – and this one really hurts – but I’m not sorry I got in this fight.
Because here’s the deal: When we fight, we get stronger. It doesn’t drain our batteries. It builds up our muscles. And this was a righteous fight. We called out entitled, powerful men who use their privilege to protect each other. We lifted the voices of millions of survivors of sexual assault. We refused to be women who sit down and shut up.
And we strengthened our bonds for the next fight that lies ahead. Because there will be a next fight, and another fight after that, and another fight after that. We won’t always win when we fight. But if we don’t put up a fight, we’ll always lose.
~ Elizabeth Warren
.
Here’s another quote about the results of the Kavanaugh vote:
We may be devastated.
We may be disappointed.
But we will not be deterred.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez also said:
Getting in on the ground floor. Listening. Incorporating feedback.
Building consensus.
Responding to community.
And choosing the best direction to move forward, together.
People first. People always.
That is what we’re all about.
.
I like the last line of that quote: “That is what we’re all about.” Because she does sum up very well in the preceding lines the important thing about the inspiring new candidates who have been coming forward this year which sets them apart from so many of the more traditional politicians and office-holders.
.
.
Getting back to Kavanaugh for a moment:
I don't think it's politically wise to focus on discrediting the shoddy FBI investigation. Instead Democrats should talk about, for example, the way Kavanaugh said disgusting sexual things about a woman, lied about it to the Senate, then presented himself as defending her honor.
Focus on the things we can prove, right now, with no investigation required. Kavanaugh:
- Said he didn't attend this type of gathering when he did.
- Said witnesses denied it happened when they didn't
- Said he didn't engage in crude objectification of a girl when he did
.
Nathan J. Robinson of Current Affairs magazine said that. He also said:
I honestly don't see how anyone honest can deny the following two statements:
- A judge who lies repeatedly under oath cannot continue serving as a judge.
- Brett Kavanaugh lied repeatedly under oath.
.
Robinson also said (at considerably greater length): IF THE RULE OF LAW MEANS ANYTHING, KAVANAUGH MUST BE IMPEACHED. Please click the link and read the article when you have time, if you haven’t already done so.
.
Here’s something else Robinson said recently, about a very different matter:
In honor of Jeff Bezos being shamed into paying Amazon workers more fairly, let us shame more people.
That sounds like a good idea. If you agree, you might enjoy reading an article by Lyta Gold and Lizzy Price which inspired Robinson to say that. Here’s the opening paragraph to whet your appetite:
Pets are infamously mischievous and capable of causing all manner of havoc. Hence the existence of “dog shaming” and “cat shaming,” practices designed to hold animals accountable for their misdeeds. You may have seen them: photos of guilty-looking pets with signs around their necks detailing their bad acts (e.g., “I Sneak Into The House of Our Buddhist Neighbors And Eat Their Food Offerings To Buddha”). But when you think about it, it’s a little unfair that these poor creatures are being singled out. After all, the wrongdoing of a lone pug or collie, no matter how exasperating, pales next to the crimes of the bourgeoisie. And yet the wealthy so often get off scot-free, without punitive humiliation of any kind. We propose to rectify this by introducing a new means of ensuring justice: billionaire shaming...
Here’s a link to the article itself: 11 BILLIONAIRES WHO NEED SHAMING.
.
.
Quick break for a picture of someone who does not need shaming:
.
Getting back to the recent news about Amazon raising the pay for all workers to a minimum of $15 an hour:
McDonald's made $5.1 billion in profits last year and rewarded wealthy shareholders with over $7.7 billion.
Meanwhile, many McDonald's workers need food stamps, Medicaid and public housing to survive.
That is unacceptable. McDonald's workers need $15 and a union.
.
The time is now for Walmart, McDonald's and the fast food, airline, and the retail industry in general to start paying their workers a living wage — at least $15 per hour.
.
There is a power in a union. One worker alone can beg for a wage, can beg for decent working conditions, can beg for some retirement benefits, but when workers stand together, they don’t have to beg. They can win what they rightfully deserve.
.
All of those are are quotes from Bernie Sanders. So is this:
If Amazon and Disney can pay $15 an hour, so can McDonald's, which made $5.1 billion in profits last year.
My message to McDonald's CEO Steve Easterbrook: No one in America, especially those working for a profitable corporation like McDonald’s, should be living in poverty.
.
Bernie Sanders and I introduced the Bezos Act a month ago asking billion dollar companies to pay for their employees’ public benefits. We urged Mr. Bezos to raise wages to $15. The beltway economists crucified us. But Mr. Bezos listened. Today thousands of workers are better off.
Today is a great victory for workers at Amazon and the FightFor15. Although the establishment did not take senator Sanders and me seriously with this initiative, I am glad that Jeff Bezos and Amazon did and gave their workers the raise they deserve.
~ Ro Khanna
.
On a related topic,
The 4 largest banks in this country (JP Morgan Chase, Citigroup, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo) are on average 80% larger today than they were before we bailed them out.
If these banks were too big to fail 10 years ago, what would happen if any of them were to fail today?
~ Bernie Sanders
.
No financial institution should be so large that its failure would cause catastrophic risk to millions of Americans or to our nation’s economic wellbeing.
.
The plan mentioned in that tweet is the Too Big to Fail, Too Big to Exist Act which Bernie Sanders recently introduced in the senate and which California congressional representative Brad Sherman plans to introduce in the house. If you’re interested you can read the full text of the bill (a little more than 6 short double-spaced pages) here.
I wish there were time to include a few more of the quotes I’d planned to share, but here’s one more picture of Noble Fur to make up for that ...
… and a closing song, an old Phil Ochs song which often comes to my mind these days when I hear talk of irredeemable deplorables.
(Plus, quite apart from my liking the message and thinking it’s relevant to more than the death penalty, I’m very fond of the tune. Hope you enjoy it as well.)
.