Welcome once again to $27 Quotes — 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.
First up, here’s a little music to enjoy while you read tonight’s quotes:
Here’s tonight’s title quote:
At this moment in our history despair is not an option. I've got four kids and seven grandchildren. I can't give up. You can't give up.
~ Bernie Sanders
He’s right. Now is not the time for despair. Now is the time to work together to bring about the changes we need to see. And here’s a very enjoyable 2-minute video (starring Ted Danson) which spotlights some of those changes:
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Green and Blue New Deals
Incremental change is not enough. We are going to enact a Green New Deal because we have no other option if we want to save our planet.
~ Bernie Sanders
We are already seeing the devastating effects of the climate crisis. We must act now so that devastating floods, extreme weather events, and stronger storms won't be our new normal.
~ Elizabeth Warren
A Green New Deal is the only plan bold enough to confront the climate crisis.
The political establishment may not understand that, but the young people of the Sunrise Movement do.
Their leadership is going to save the planet.
~ Bernie Sanders
We don’t have time for inaction. The countries of the world must come together to defeat the climate crisis. A Warren administration will fight for climate justice at home and abroad.
~ Elizabeth Warren
The United States must rise to the moral challenge of our time: climate change. We can bring countries together, harness America's know-how to transition the world to sustainable energy, and protect our planet. That is what real global leadership is about.
~ Bernie Sanders
The future of our planet depends on healthy oceans—and we don’t have time to waste. We need a Blue New Deal to protect and restore our oceans and make them a part of the climate solution.
~ Elizabeth Warren
We need a Green New Deal to fight the climate crisis—and we need a Blue New Deal to protect and restore our oceans so they are a part of our climate solution, and so we can rebuild our blue economy…
Climate change has pushed our oceans to the brink. By restoring our oceans and rebuilding our blue economy, we can create good, high-paying union jobs, protect a crucial source of food, and fight climate change.
As we transition our economy to 100% clean energy, my administration will prioritize offshore renewable energy. I'll fight to fully restore America's fish stocks—supporting up to 500k additional jobs—and invest in regenerative ocean farming that will help fight climate change.
Coastal and marine habitats are our best natural defense system in the fight against climate change, storing more carbon than tropical forests and acting as cheaper and more effective sea walls. My administration will restore marine ecosystems and expand marine protected areas.
I’ll work to reduce marine plastic pollution and ocean trash. And I'll hold Big Ag accountable for polluting our oceans and waterways, which has exacerbated toxic algal blooms, harmed marine life, and contaminated our drinking water.
On day one of my presidency, I'll end all new fossil fuel leases offshore and on public lands—and phase out all existing offshore drilling. I'm committed to leaving no worker behind as we transition to clean energy, and will focus on transitioning workers to offshore wind energy.
Finally, we must mitigate the damage that has already been done as a result of climate change—and prepare for sea level rise, droughts, and extreme weather events. Disaster assistance must be distributed equitably, and we must ensure that everyone gets the help they need.
Starting on day one of my presidency, I’ll take bold action to fight climate change. That includes harnessing the power of our oceans to be a key part of our solution to the climate crisis. The future of our planet depends on healthy oceans—and we don’t have time to waste.
~ Elizabeth Warren
NDAA
This past week the house passed the NDAA (National Defense Authorization Act) setting the amount of money for next years military spending. And again they increased an already bloated military — this time by 120 billion dollars.
The senate will be voting on the NDAA next week. Here are statements from two courageous senators who intend to vote no:
The Pentagon’s budget has been too large for too long. I cannot support a defense bill that’s a $738 billion Christmas present to giant defense contractors and undermines our values and security.
The NDAA does nothing to end our disastrous and inhumane support for Saudi ops in Yemen, nothing to prevent a war with Iran, and permits the deployment of a destabilizing low yield nuke weapon. For that and 738 billion other reasons, I don’t support the bill.
~ Elizabeth Warren
For the price of increasing Trump's Pentagon, Congress could provide all our children with free school meals and tuition-free public college.
Instead, we're voting on a $738-billion bill that lets Trump continue to help Saudi Arabia bomb Yemeni children.
~ Bernie Sanders
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Human Rights Day
The Trump Admin planned on separating over 26,000 families under their Family Separation agenda.
This was planned, intentional government-sanctioned cruelty. Don’t forget and don’t look away this Human Rights Day.
~ Ilhan Omar
71 years ago, Eleanor Roosevelt led the world in adopting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. On International Human Rights Day, we recommit to an America that advocates for justice, protects the rights of all people, and lives up to its values—at home and abroad.
~ Bernie Sanders
Nativity
Karen Clark Ristine is senior minister at a United Methodist Church in Claremont, California. Here is a picture of the nativity scene appearing at her church this Christmas season:
Shortly after the birth of Jesus, Joseph and Mary were forced to flee with their young son from Nazareth to Egypt to escape King Herod, a tyrant. They feared persecution and death, What if this family sought refuge in our country today?
Imagine Joseph and Mary separated at the border and Jesus no older than two taken from his mother and placed behind the fences of a Border Patrol detention center. In the Claremont United Methodist Church nativity scene this Christmas, the Holy Family takes the place of the thousands of nameless families separated at our borders.
~ Karen Clark Ristine
The Minnesota I know doesn’t just welcome refugees -- it sent one to Congress.
I will always push for our cities, state, and country to welcome people seeking a better life with open arms.
~ Ilhan Omar
Homes For All!
Criminalizing homelessness is an inhumane practice that only makes finding stable housing more difficult.
My Homes For All Act will make housing a human right in the eyes of the law.
~ Ilhan Omar
A reminder as Minnesota experiences winter storms and bitter cold: On any given night last year, a record high of more than 10,000 Minnesotans experienced homelessness.
Every single person deserves a stable home and shelter from weather like this. Homes For All!
~ Ilhan Omar
Health Care For All!
Puppies aren’t separated from their moms until about 8 weeks. Less than that is thought of as harmful or abusive.
One of the most common lengths of US paid family leave is about 6 weeks.
So yes, when we “let the market decide” on parental leave, “the market” treats people worse than dogs.
At a bare minimum, we need to fight for 3 months paid family leave in the United States.
Ideally, I believe we should have 6-12 months of paid leave — just as many other industrial nations do.
~ Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Our health care system works extremely well for health insurance executives looking to get rich.
For everyone else, it is an outrage.
Medicare for All now.
~ Bernie Sanders
The insurance companies are lying about Medicare for All.
Medicare for All means freedom.
It is the freedom to go to the doctor, hospital or clinic of your choice.
It's the freedom to see a doctor when you need to, regardless of your income or zip code.
~ Bernie Sanders
I don't think Democrats should be using health insurance industry talking points to scare Americans about Medicare for All.
The bottom line: Medicare for All will save the average American thousands of dollars a year and guarantee comprehensive coverage to all.
~ Bernie Sanders
We could eradicate HIV/AIDS in America. What’s standing in the way? The greed of the pharmaceutical industry.
An $8 HIV drug in Australia costs $2,000 in America. That is immoral. We need affordable, generic HIV medicine. Now.
~ Bernie Sanders
Here’s an idea: In one of the richest countries in the world, no one should have to put off serious medical treatment simply because they can’t afford it.
Medicare For All can’t wait.
~ Ilhan Omar
And yes — health care for all needs to mean health care for all. What’s been happening to children in ICE custody is inexcusable:
Children are dying in CBP custody due to the flu. Refusing to administer flu vaccines is neglectful and cruel. I'll end the unnecessary detention of children and families—and enforce strict standards for medical care for anyone in our care.
~ Elizabeth Warren
Corporate Greed
Some people dismiss any investment in middle-class families as “free stuff.”
You know who's getting free stuff? Amazon, which had $10 billion in profits this year and is paying $0 in federal income taxes.
Working families are paying their fair share. Let’s invest in them.
~ Elizabeth Warren
The thin slice of folks at the top who benefit from our rigged economy push policies that help themselves and push the costs off on everyone else. And they tag any attempt to reform this system as "divisive" and "extreme"—no matter how many Americans agree with it.
~ Elizabeth Warren
Right now, millionaires and billionaires pay the same amount of money into Social Security as someone making $133,000.
Why does the burden of Social Security taxes fall more heavily on those who make less? That is wrong and it has got to change.
~ Bernie Sanders
Disney CEO Bob Iger's pay: $65.6 million
Disney workers: Living out of their cars
When we consider this grotesque inequality in wealth and power, ultimately we are asking a moral question: What kind of nation will we be?
~ Bernie Sanders
Over 50 years, the bottom half's annual income only grew by $8,000. Today, 50% of America makes $27,000 a year.
- But the top 1%'s income tripled, to $1,000,000 a year.
- Top 0.1% grew 400%—to $5,000,000.
- Top 0.01% grew 500%—to $24,000,000.
We need a political revolution.
~ Bernie Sanders
Quickie Quotes
"If you have the facts on your side, pound the facts. If you have the law on your side, pound the law. If you have neither on your side, pound the table."
Today, Republicans are pounding the table.
~ Ilhan Omar
No working strategy—and no transparency. The war in Afghanistan is the longest armed conflict in U.S. history, costing the lives of thousands of U.S. service members and Afghan civilians. It’s time to bring our troops home.
~ Elizabeth Warren
Our campaign is built on the idea of human solidarity, that we are stronger when my family cares about your family and your family cares about my family.
~ Bernie Sanders
If we want to stop being caged lions, then we must begin roaring.
~ Ilhan Omar
What We Need To Do
I don’t want us to just go back to where we were before Trump. I want us to ask some hard questions that we as a nation rarely do:
- How is health care not a right in the richest country in the world?
- Why do one in six of our children go hungry?
- Why are more than half a million people homeless?
~ Bernie Sanders
When young people say they want to go to college without taking on mountains of debt, we must listen.
When young people say they want to end the criminalization of marijuana, we must listen.
When young people say they want a planet that is healthy and habitable, we must listen.
~ Bernie Sanders
I haven’t quoted Tom Steyer before, but he’s very right about this:
It’s not enough to get rid of Trump. We need to replace this corrupt administration with one focused on doing the right thing, even when it’s politically inconvenient.
~ Tom Steyer
And here’s one last quote for the night:
Despair is not an option. Stand up, get involved, organize. That is the only way we defeat Trump.
~ Bernie Sanders