Tag Archives: white

Democrats and Republicans Have Mirror Image Race Problems

by SonWinburn Posted on July 26, 2016

Mother Jones

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC “-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN” “http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd”>

On Sunday, Chuck Todd asked Donald Trump about former KKK grand wizard and famous white nationalist David Duke:

On Tuesday, New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman asked about Trump’s reply to Todd:

And here is longtime Republican policy wonk Avik Roy:

“Conservative intellectuals, and conservative politicians, have been in kind of a bubble,” Roy says. “We’ve had this view that the voters were with us on conservatism — philosophical, economic conservatism. In reality, the gravitational center of the Republican Party is white nationalism.”

….He expands on this idea: “It’s a common observation on the left, but it’s an observation that a lot of us on the right genuinely believed wasn’t true — which is that conservatism has become, and has been for some time, much more about white identity politics than it has been about conservative political philosophy. I think today, even now, a lot of conservatives have not come to terms with that problem.”

Trump’s politics of aggrieved white nationalism — labeling black people criminals, Latinos rapists, and Muslims terrorists — succeeded because the party’s voting base was made up of the people who once opposed civil rights. “Trump tapped into something that was latent in the Republican Party and conservative movement — but a lot of people in the conservative movement didn’t notice,” Roy concludes, glumly.

The problem for Republicans is simple to describe: it’s not that their leaders are racist, but that they’ve long tolerated racism in their ranks. They know this perfectly well, and they know that they have to broaden their appeal beyond just whites. But they’re stuck. If they do that—say, by supporting comprehensive immigration reform or easing up on opposition to affirmative action—their white base goes ballistic. In the end, they never make the base-broadening moves that they all know they have to make eventually.

For Democrats, the problem is the mirror image. Bashing Donald Trump and his supporters for their white nationalism helps with their base, but it’s the worst possible way to attract working-class whites who might be attracted to traditional Democratic economic messages. Once you say the word “racism,” the conversation is over. Potentially persuadable voters won’t hear another word you say.

As long as this remains the case, Democrats will routinely win the presidency because their non-white base is growing every year. But Republicans will routinely win the House—and sometimes the Senate—because way more than half of all congressional districts are majority white. Result: endless gridlock.

I wish I knew the answer.

Source:  

Democrats and Republicans Have Mirror Image Race Problems

Posted in ATTRA, FF, GE, LG, ONA, Uncategorized, Venta | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Democrats and Republicans Have Mirror Image Race Problems

Bernie Sanders Delegates Threaten Convention Chaos

by DewayneE65 Posted on July 25, 2016

Mother Jones

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC “-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN” “http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd”>

“We got her. We got her.”

It’s near midnight. Democratic Party delegates are milling about the lobby bar of the Marriott in downtown Philadelphia. And on the big overhead screen, there’s a CNN report on the news of the day: Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), the chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, had given up the post after leaked emails showed that some DNC officials had discussed how to thwart Bernie Sanders’ campaign.

Sanders delegates are cheering wildly. The head of the party apparatus many of them despise is out. It’s a victory for the Sanders revolution. Off to the side, a Florida delegate for Hillary Clinton looks on sadly. “I suppose she had to go,” he says. He then sums up the relationship between Sanders delegates and Clinton delegates with one word: “acidic.”

As thousands of delegates to the Democratic convention hit the City of Brotherly Love (and Sisterly Affection), it was clear that the Clinton campaign’s talk of unity, in the wake of announcing Tim Kaine as Clinton’s running mate, was more hope than reality. Sanders delegates throughout the city were grousing about a series of perceived slights and wrongs: the selection of Kaine, with his centrist reputation; the leaked emails, which showed that, yes, the DNC favored Clinton over Sanders, but didn’t contain evidence of much underhanded activity; and Clinton’s inadequate (in their view) outreach to the Sanders crowd. At a pro-Sanders rally on Sunday afternoon, attendees chanted, “Lock her up,” echoing the mantra of Donald Trump’s convention last week. At a Monday morning gathering of the California Democratic delegation, Sanders delegates booed mentions of Clinton. And Florida Sanders delegates jeered Wasserman Schultz at their breakfast meeting.

Many Sanders folks are still grieving and not accepting Clinton’s triumph. Though Sanders nudged Clinton to the left during the campaign, demonstrated the vitality of the Democratic Party’s progressive wing, helped craft the party’s most progressive platform in decades, and won a small concession regarding the future of superdelegates within the party, many of his delegates were openly and vigorously expressing disappointment and voicing their dissatisfaction with Clinton.

Lisa Flyte, a Sanders representative on the convention credentials committee, griped that the Clinton campaign “is still taking jabs at us.” Though she noted she believed that a Trump victory would likely be bad news for low- and middle-income Americans, she said Clinton has “supported policies that hurt middle-income people here and abroad.” She blasted Clinton for supporting “oligarchs overseas and big energy companies.” She was ticked off that the Clinton campaign “is saying we’re unified without real accommodations.” She added, “We’re not ready to move on.”

Jason Brown, the vice chair of the Iowa delegation and a Sanders supporter, was peeved that the Clinton campaign has “not yet reached out to us.” He noted that Clinton’s message was not inspiring Iowans who had volunteered and voted for Sanders. “These people are looking for more from her,” he said. Brown is committed to supporting Clinton, but he remarked, “I’m not sure I can convince the Sanders volunteers with a she’s-not-Trump message. They need more.”

At the start of the convention, Sanders delegates were left to their own devices. The Sanders campaign had created a whip system to provide guidance to its delegates. But as of Monday morning, no instructions were disseminating. “That’s been frustrating,” one Sanders delegate from Florida says. “We don’t know what they want us to be saying or doing. We’re in limbo.” (Sanders was scheduled to address his delegates at a Monday afternoon meeting.) A California Clinton delegate pointed out that within her state delegation, there had been little conversation between Clinton delegates and Sanders delegates. “It’s still very raw,” she said. “They’re processing a death in the family.”

At a press conference on Monday morning, the Bernie Delegates Network, an outfit independent of the Sanders campaign that claims to represent two-thirds of the Sanders delegates, presented Sanders delegates outraged at the DNC and Clinton campaign. They were mad that Clinton has named Wasserman Schultz an honorary chairwoman of her campaign. There was talk of launching protests—”an expression of disapproval”—during Clinton and Kaine’s speeches. This could include delegates booing or walking out.

Norman Solomon, a Sanders delegate, asserted, “There is serious interest and exploration…in a formal challenge” to Kaine. Who might that be? Solomon replied that Sanders delegates have approached several politicians, but that “those who want to eat lunch at the White House, they run the other way.” So any names? “We’re working on it.” (Solomon said he has had “zero connection with the Bernie campaign.”)

At this event, Manuel Zapata, a California Sanders delegate, shared his bitter disappointment. “Since the moment we got here, people have looked down on us as we walked past people with our Bernie swag on—as if he’s not still a candidate, as if it’s wrong for us to support our candidate,” he said. He added, “It is disrespectful that a madman like Donald Trump is reaching out for the progressive vote more than Hillary Clinton is.”

Karen Bernal, a leader of the California Sanders delegation, said there would be nothing wrong with Sanders people jeering Clinton when she comes to the podium. She did note that the Sanders campaign was “pressing us not to be involved in protests and not to be so overt in our expressions…My job is to make sure that the wishes of my delegates are heard, that their opinions are heard…They have never been a group to take marching orders.”

Bernal believes Sanders’ endorsement of Clinton was a mistake. She said, “We can still be mad at Hillary Clinton and still say it’s essential to defeat Trump.” But asked if protests by Sanders delegate would help the effort to defeat Trump, Beral noted, “It absolutely helps,” because it will signal to progressives that there is a place for them within the Democratic Party. She didn’t explain precisely how deriding Clinton and her veep pick would bolster the effort to elect Clinton.

It’s uncertain what sway Sanders will have over the Sanders delegates looking to make noise at this convention. The delegates at this press conference repeatedly noted that the movement transcends the candidate and that the activists within it will determine the strategy this week. If they are asked by Sanders not to do something, Solomon said, “we’ll take that under advisement.” He added that Sanders “is not running the show…The activists at this convention will make the social change.”

Update 1:35 p.m.: Sanders addressed his delegates on Monday afternoon and highlighted the successes he achieved in his campaign, boasting of “the most progressive platform ever written in the history of the Democratic Party” and a “major victory” in reforming superdelegates. But when he told the crowd, “We have got to elect Hillary Clinton,” he was met with boos.

More:

Bernie Sanders Delegates Threaten Convention Chaos

Posted in FF, GE, Jason, LAI, LG, ONA, Radius, Uncategorized, Venta | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Bernie Sanders Delegates Threaten Convention Chaos

Water Out of the Tailpipe: A New Class of Electric Car Gains Traction

by Myrna Posted on July 21, 2016

In California, state subsidies for hydrogen filling stations are encouraging clean-energy advocates to try fuel-cell vehicles. Read More:   Water Out of the Tailpipe: A New Class of Electric Car Gains Traction ; ; ;

See the original article here: 

Water Out of the Tailpipe: A New Class of Electric Car Gains Traction

Posted in alo, cannabis, eco-friendly, FF, For Dummies, G & F, GE, global climate change, LAI, Monterey, ONA, organic, solar, solar power, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Water Out of the Tailpipe: A New Class of Electric Car Gains Traction

Obama reminds us things are getting better all the time

by EtsukoTunbridge Posted on July 20, 2016

obamaptimist

Obama reminds us things are getting better all the time

By on Jul 20, 2016Share

It’s not common knowledge, but the Obama administration has been a powerhouse in fighting poverty abroad. The president hasn’t talked much about this — probably because modern Republicans reflexively oppose anything he supports (up to and including otter cuddling). Now, he’s opening up.

At the White House Summit on Global Development on Wednesday, Obama laid out his administration’s achievements. His Power Africa initiative is on track to connect 60 million homes and businesses to the electrical grid by 2030. The Feed the Future program has brought new seeds and tools to small farmers in 19 countries, boosting incomes by $800 million. In areas where Feed the Future was operating in 2015, the number of people in poverty dropped by a quarter, and the number of children permanently injured by malnutrition dropped by as much as a third. Anti-malaria efforts have saved some 6 million lives and the goal of a completely AIDS-free generation is within reach, Obama said.

As the speakers at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland paint a picture of a world in decline, Obama pointed out that we are living in the “most prosperous, most progressive era in human history.” This world may seem like a viper pit, but it’s really a pool full of cuddly otters.

Election Guide ★ 2016Making America Green AgainOur experts weigh in on the real issues at stake in this electionGet Grist in your inbox

Read more – 

Obama reminds us things are getting better all the time

Posted in alo, Anchor, bigo, FF, GE, LAI, LG, ONA, solar, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Obama reminds us things are getting better all the time

Spotted Lake in British Columbia

by Myrna Posted on July 20, 2016

A video shot by a drone over Spotted Lake in August 2014. Originally from:  Spotted Lake in British Columbia ; ; ;

Continue reading: 

Spotted Lake in British Columbia

Posted in alo, eco-friendly, FF, For Dummies, G & F, GE, LAI, LG, Monterey, ONA, organic, solar, solar power, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Spotted Lake in British Columbia

Not Forgotten: When Men First Walked on the Moon: A Moment Relived

by Myrna Posted on July 19, 2016

John Noble Wilford, a retired Pulitzer Prize winner who still writes occasionally for The New York Times, describes covering the moon landing and Neil Armstrong’s death. Continue at source:  Not Forgotten: When Men First Walked on the Moon: A Moment Relived ; ; ;

View this article:

Not Forgotten: When Men First Walked on the Moon: A Moment Relived

Posted in alo, aquaponics, Casio, eco-friendly, FF, For Dummies, G & F, GE, LAI, Monterey, ONA, organic, solar, solar power, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Not Forgotten: When Men First Walked on the Moon: A Moment Relived

Obama tries to revive a grassroots solar program

by Micheli0919 Posted on July 19, 2016

bright spot

Obama tries to revive a grassroots solar program

By on Jul 19, 2016Share

Can the Obama administration Frankenstein a celebrated solar program back to life? The administration announced a new plan on Tuesday to bring solar power to more neighborhoods — but it’s actually an old plan, long-stymied.

The Property Assessed Clean Energy program, known as PACE, was created in 2007 when Berkeley, California, realized the same tools used by neighborhoods to pay for big projects like street paving could also be used to pay for installing solar panels. People in homes with panels had to pay more in property taxes, but they saved money through lower energy bills.

PACE was a hit, and the idea spread across the country. But in 2010, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which own or guarantee roughly 60 percent of mortgages, freaked out and warned lenders to stay away from communities using the PACE program.

They started “acting like East-Coast bankers,” said Gov. Jerry Brown of California, on a White House call to announce the plan. “After the mortgage meltdown, they’re so fearful they won’t step up to the plate.” PACE didn’t go away, but it was frozen, like Han Solo in carbonite.

So, how to fix this? As part of its “Clean Energy Savings for All” initiative, the Obama administration persuaded the Housing and Urban Development Agency and the Department of Veterans Affairs to support the program. As a result, the pool of people who can get a mortgage to buy a house with PACE-funded solar panels has widened to veterans and anyone with a HUD-backed mortgage.

“They’re doing what Fannie and Freddie say you can’t do,” said Brown. “Someday Fannie and Freddie will get on board.”

Election Guide ★ 2016Making America Green AgainOur experts weigh in on the real issues at stake in this electionGet Grist in your inbox

Visit site – 

Obama tries to revive a grassroots solar program

Posted in alo, Anchor, Anker, FF, GE, LG, ONA, Safer, solar, solar panels, solar power, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Obama tries to revive a grassroots solar program

This Is How Crazy and Bizarre the Trump Convention Is

by JuanaA940633085 Posted on July 18, 2016

Mother Jones

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC “-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN” “http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd”>

This has never happened at a national party convention: At a rally for the party’s presidential nominee, an adviser to that nominee claims that the nominee of the other party broke the law by moving a dead body in order to mount a cover-up. And this has never happened at a national party convention: At a rally for the party’s nominee, a rousing speech in favor of the nominee is given by a man who believes the last president from that party killed thousands of Americans to start a war. That is, until this week’s Republican convention in Cleveland.

On Monday afternoon, several hundred supporters of Donald Trump, many wearing “Hillary for Prison 2016” T-shirts, gathered by the Cuyahoga River to cheer on the reality-television mogul. A parade of tea party speakers hailed Trump and blasted Hillary Clinton, President Barack Obama, the US government, and the mainstream media, and the mostly older and white crowd applauded. The group Bikers for Trump provided the security for the stage, as Trumpers celebrated the downfall of the Republican establishment. The event captured the profound bizarreness of the Trump enterprise.

The headline speaker was Roger Stone, the veteran political hit man who has long been an adviser to Trump. He now says he has no official connection to the Trump campaign, but he was a chief organizer of this rally, which was originally planned when Stone and other Trumpsters feared the #NeverTrump movement might find a way to stop Trump at the convention. The always-dapper Stone—this day decked out in a beige double-breasted suit—took to the stage in front of a distinctly non-dapper crowd, and he apologized for being late. He said he had just been in meetings with Trump’s staff. Then Stone, a proud conspiracy theorist (who believes LBJ killed JFK) and author of a book excoriating the Clintons, launched into a tirade against Hillary and Bill.

The Hillary Clinton seen in public, he insisted, is not the real Hillary Clinton. She is, he exclaimed, “a short-tempered, foul-mouthed, bipolar, mentally unbalanced criminal.” (“And a reptile!” a member of the audience shouted.) One problem, Stone noted, is that the public doesn’t know about Vince Foster. He was referring to the senior White House aide who committed suicide during the Clinton presidency. Stone went on to revive the Foster conspiracy theory that was once a mainstay of the Clinton-hating right. Foster’s body was discovered in a Virginia park outside Washington, DC. But, Stone asserted, no mud or dirt was found on Foster’s shoes. However, he added, there were carpet fibers. This means, he claimed, that Foster was rolled up in a carpet and removed from the White House, and, he said, Hillary Clinton had ordered this cover-up. Her goal? To make sure that Foster’s office—which contained papers proving her illegal deeds—did not become a crime scene.

Of course, the official investigations of Foster’s tragic suicide concluded he killed himself at the park. But here was a Trump operative, fresh from huddling with Trump’s lieutenants, promoting an unfounded notion. The crowd lapped it up. (In May, Trump himself said there had been something “very fishy” about Foster’s death.)

Stone continued, maintaining that Bill Clinton had raped several women and Hillary had protected him. He asserted that the Clintons had taken money from the Chinese, the Russians, and the Saudis “for treason.” He exclaimed, “We demand the prosecution of Bill and Hillary Clinton for their crimes.” He even assailed Chelsea Clinton for being “nasty, greedy, foul-mouthed, corrupt.”

It was quite the performance, and Stone was received like a celebrity. This was no surprise, since many in the crowd were fans of Alex Jones, the nation’s No. 1 conspiracy theorist and a Trump fan. Jones was there, too.

Before Stone spoke, Jones, a sponsor of the rally and perhaps the most prominent 9/11 truther, jumped on the stage. His followers in the crowd went wild and rushed down the hill toward the stage. Throughout the event, they shouted statements demonstrating they were devotees of Infowars.com, Jones’ conspiracy-mongering website. “Go ahead and do a false flag, Obama, we’ve been waiting for you,” one attendee yelled at the sky. Jones fanned those flames, claiming Hillary Clinton is a “foreign agent of the communist Chinese, the Saudi Arabians, and others; no news carried that because it was absolute truth and would destroy her.”

Jones is a peddler of a variety of tin-foil-hat conspiracy theories. He has suggested that 9/11 was an inside job pulled off by the Bush administration, that the Sandy Hook massacre was orchestrated by the US government, and that Obama has plotted to round up dissenters in FEMA camps. Yet Trump hasn’t shied away from associating with Jones, appearing for an interview on Jones’ radio show last December. At this rally, Jones gave a full-throated endorsement of Trump. “Once the general public understands the paradigm, it’s game over!” he shouted to cheers. “Worldwide, globalism and the New World Order are in trouble.”

“The establishment, George Soros, and others have done everything they can to shut down our free speech,” Jones bellowed.

Jones was interrupted midway through his speech by comedian Eric André, apparently filming a bit for his Cartoon Network show. André had been asking questions of attendees near the stage, and Jones invited him up. Jones accused André of being from The Daily Show (perhaps confusing him for another African American comedian). “Oh no,” Jones said sarcastically, “the Democrats are never violent, like at the Black Lives Matter events.”

André went into a weird comedy route, handing Jones a key to his hotel room and asking him to have sex with his wife. He goaded Jones: “Who put the bombs in Tower 7?” Jones replied, “Well, I’ve exposed that.” Yes, an event promoting Trump for president briefly turned into a showcase for 9/11 trutherism.

Once he got André offstage, Jones warned the crowd about the master plans of the shadowy forces of globalization, noting these evildoers will try to swipe the election from Trump. “But even if they’re able to steal the election,” he said, “it doesn’t matter, because the public is waking up to their tricks, and at the state and local level people are understanding that globalism is making us poor, globalism is about controlling us, globalism is about us not being able to have our own destiny, and all over the United States and all over the world, people are saying, why can’t I have guns to protect myself?” In Jones’ view, either Trump will be elected or the New World Order globalists will succeed with their dark plots. With many members of the crowd echoing his words, Jones shouted one of his catchphrases: “The answer to 1984 is 1776!”

Jones and Stone are not outliers in Trump’s world. Stone has been tight with the mogul for decades, and he indicated he’s advising him this week. Trump, when he appeared on Jones’ radio show, praised him, saying, “Your reputation is amazing.” The fact that Jones and Stone were the heart and soul of the main pro-Trump rally of the week shows how far Trump has pulled the GOP and the Cleveland convention into the fever swamps of the right.

Continue reading: 

This Is How Crazy and Bizarre the Trump Convention Is

Posted in FF, G & F, GE, LAI, LG, ONA, Oster, Radius, Uncategorized, Venta | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on This Is How Crazy and Bizarre the Trump Convention Is

Obama: An Attack on Law Enforcement Is an Attack on All of Us

by DanutaEarnshaw Posted on July 17, 2016

Mother Jones

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC “-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN” “http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd”>

After an ambush on police in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, that left at least three officers dead and three others wounded Sunday morning, President Barack Obama spoke at the White House today, saying it is up to “all of us” to create a united front against violence.

“We as a nation have to be loud and clear that nothing justifies violence against law enforcement. An attack against law enforcement is an attack against all of us and the rule of law that makes society possible,” said Obama. “This has happened far too often.”

Obama expressed his condolences to the families of the officers killed in Baton Rouge and called on Americans to “temper our words and open our hearts” ahead of the upcoming conventions. This is the 16th time Obama has addressed the nation after a shooting.

“We have to make sure that our best selves are reflected across America, not our worst. That is up to us,” said Obama. “Only we can prove, in our own actions and words, that we will not be divided, even if we have to do it again and again and again. That’s how this country gets united. That’s how we bring this country together.”

The shooting in Baton Rouge comes just 10 days after a deadly shooting in Dallas that killed five police officers and injured seven others. Baton Rouge has been the site of several protests since the fatal shooting of Alton Sterling, a 37-year-old black man who was selling CDs outside a convenience store when he was shot by the police. On July 13, the ACLU of Louisiana along with other community groups filed a lawsuit against the Baton Rouge Police Department, alleging that police officers used excessive force against protesters.

Watch Obama’s full statement below:

Source:  

Obama: An Attack on Law Enforcement Is an Attack on All of Us

Posted in alo, FF, GE, LG, ONA, Radius, Sterling, Uncategorized, Venta | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Obama: An Attack on Law Enforcement Is an Attack on All of Us

Remembering a ‘Keystone’ Ecologist, Robert Paine

by Myrna Posted on July 14, 2016

A biologist who turned sustained tide pool studies into an enduring ecological concept is remembered. Excerpt from:  Remembering a ‘Keystone’ Ecologist, Robert Paine ; ; ;

Original article – 

Remembering a ‘Keystone’ Ecologist, Robert Paine

Posted in ALPHA, alternative energy, eco-friendly, FF, G & F, GE, LAI, Monterey, ONA, organic, solar, solar power, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Remembering a ‘Keystone’ Ecologist, Robert Paine