I Think Bernie's About To Take Off. Seems Warren's Campaign Is On Its Heels In Defense, Admits It Didn't Think It Needed A Healthcare Plan, And A Dark Money Campaign Event Is Held For Her In Iowa.

Submitted by Mark from Queens on Tue, 11/19/2019 - 1:48pm

There's not a lot of theorizing here. I just threw this together from various things I'm seeing, and from trying to glean as much as possible as to where it all stands in terms of moving this country Left.

My overriding interest insofar as the elections go is in watching how the narrative develops, the reactions to it and then helping to change it, by being ever vigilant to identify comrades in that struggle. If nothing else I see the odious immersion of public interest solely around the presidential election as subsequently an excellent time to both counteract the cartoonish but malicious MSM propaganda and an opportunity to educate and align with people.

That said, I really hope to see a day when the previously brainwashed American public becomes a majority, with an unequivocal admittance and acceptance and then action that Socialism is the only way forward.

Anyway I think there's a good bunch of hopeful stuff I've noticed that reflects how Bernie's message is prevailing, first as his main rival flounders:

So Liz has voted twice for Trump’s military budget expansion, and now this healthcare equivocation and her backing away from Medicare4All. Add to that the dark money event in Iowa and she's on her heels.

In the DNC's continuing effort of Anyone But Bernie they've gotten the MSM in going along with the marketing pitch that there’s no difference between her and Bernie, in an effort to get previous female Bernie supporters to identify with the Clinton-backed-and-staffed Warren campaign instead. Problem is policy, where the difference is between being given a hand-held fan to cool yourself off with during a heatwave, or a room with air-conditioning. Her penchant for equivocating and saying she'll have to "look into it" contrasts strongly with Bernie's lifetime resolve and commitment to the same things he's believed for 50 years.

Taibbi thinks Warren, as evidenced in her meltdown when Amy Goodman asked about the Dem primary order, has a simmering rage that is wearing her thin. He refers to her latest missteps and campaign tenor as #LizHolio (I guess it's a pejorative about her being an all-powerful one above criticism). Which is a reference to a few things, but namely the corny and clueless campaign decision to create something called #BigStructuralBailey, which was a monstrous blowup, inflatable street fair balloon of her dog named Bailey, whose name they then chanted while she went up and hugged it. Co-host Halpern adds that it's the second time a Dem candidate showed rage toward Amy Goodman for asking hard questions, and then they play a clip of Willie calling her "hostile and combative."

The marketing of Liz as "Bernie But Woman, With 'Plans'" is losing its legs.

And what a weird Upside Down time it is when this happens. I loathe this POS with a passion. He's essentially a hitman for lead thug Murdoch. So how then does this get through? His RW pawns were not happy about this and sought every excuse under the sun to will it away.

MSM is scared shit of a sane and non-partisan Right-Left nexus forming under Bernie. Shreds their whole divide and conquer profit strategy.

And speaking of Right-leaning dudes with big platforms waking up to a new reality:

I don't think Rogan has the talent or intellect commensurate with the massive audience he somehow has. If anything he does however allow his guests plenty of room to speak.

The Displacing Pete vs The Barking Bernie

Seems "All Lives Matter" Petey Boy is literally faking it with black support, including using a stock photo of a Kenyan woman.

Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor is yet another amazing African-American surrogate for Bernie.

This is fucking huge.

Major ramifications. Should let everyone around know that not only is Socialism competitive but it is absolutely the only way forward. Sawant is a devout Socialist and the only one elected in many years before this recent wave inspired by Bernie.

Kshama's come-from-behind win against over $1million of Amazon money, other corporate and real estate funding and a press that maligned her is a clarion call to those who want to win.

I think Kshama embodies everything I'd like to see in a candidate, and is our best elected office-holder.

And then a sampling of more Socialists on the rise...

In Texas this young lady farmer is running an excellent campaign (video clip starts with one of her ads)

How about the just-elected Socialist DA in San Francisco Chesa Boudin, son of a Weather Underground couple who are still in jail, who ran on a campaign of decarceration and reigning in police? Truly amazing.

One of my favorite pastimes these days is looking in the annals of radical history for those whose lives were committed to fighting for real truth and justice. In 2011 there was a documentary made on the youngest elected official to Parliament, Socialist Bernadette Devlin.

She survived an assassination attempt, but Bernadette Devlin is best remembered as the 21-year-old Irish republican from Ulster who, in 1972, strode across the floor of the House of Commons to punch Reginald ­Maudling, home secretary of the Conservative ­government. His grave mistake had been to suggest that the ­British army had fired only in ­self-­defence on Bloody Sunday when they shot dead 13 civil rights ­protesters.

I rose to my feet smitten with respect and love for this young radical comrade after seeing this segment on 60 Minutes from the early 70's. What a fearless, brilliant activist fighter she was/is:

'My people’ — the people who knew about oppression, discrimination, prejudice, poverty and the frustration and despair that they produce – were not Irish Americans.

They were black, Puerto Ricans, Chicanos.

And those who were supposed to be ‘my people’, the Irish Americans who knew about English misrule and the Famine and supported the civil rights movement at home, and knew that Partition and England were the cause of the problem, looked and sounded to me like Orangemen.

They said exactly the same things about blacks that the loyalists said about us at home.

In New York I was given the key to the city by the mayor, an honor not to be sneezed at.

I gave it to the Black Panthers.

Devlin and Ali are my kind of people. Real, not state manufactured, heroes:

Some protest action at Harvard in support of Palestine reminds us that public acts of defiance and humiliation are worth something. We need lots more of them.

I’ve said before, Donald Trump strikes me as nothing so much as a man who has never known a love - that he hasn’t had to pay for.

And I think that forms all of his decision making. I think that explains all of the things that we see.

This is someone who sees the world through a prism of a very, very sad lens, which is that what he is, who he is, does not today, and never has and never will, have any value.

The only thing that matters is what he has, what he can trade. And I think that really explains all of the transactional corruption that we have seen throughout this administration, is simply someone who thinks that’s what life is.

- Edward Snowden

Oh, there's supposed to be an impeachment going on. My interest is none whatsoever.

The most glaringly obvious problem is that the feckless and corrupt Democrats themselves have no moral standing upon which to stand. Being a little less corrupt and greedy than that pathetic POS is not exactly inspiring.

Plus, their own collusion against Bernie Sanders in 2016 and again for a second time, with full compliance from their counterpart courtiers in the media, is not going unnoticed by the public.

As I've been saying lately, Bernie continues to ramp up the radical rhetoric - and I fucking absolutely love it.

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Submitted by Mark from Queens on Tue, 11/19/2019 - 2:03pm
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I'm getting a rare night out for myself. And being the boring guy that I am will be headed here soon:

And man, if you only know Lee from his RT show Redacted Tonight and don't really know his comedy, you really have to check him out. I've met him a handful of times through a comedian friend of mine, seen his standup and ran into him first at Occupy Wall St; he's such a cool guy and amazing comedian. He's a bonafide rebel.

Then on Thursday I'll continue the trend in going to see this, "Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor Book Launch: Race for Profit: How Banks and the Real Estate Industry Undermined Black Homeownership," at the People's Forum, which looks like an amazing place. In fact it looks so amazing that it's almost too good to be true. As with everything will have to look into who's funding it.

I think Bernie's about to take off...

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Submitted by TaZsa on Tue, 11/19/2019 - 2:56pm
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@Mark from Queens Thanks for the uplifting essay! Exciting times we live in.
I saw Lee Camp here in Minneapolis, summer it was. No Bloomenthal or Mate! And I had to pay for it. But it was worth it and so much fun, he signed his book for me.
I don't see how they can deny Bernie the nomination... we'll see!

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Submitted by mimi on Tue, 11/19/2019 - 3:46pm
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@Mark from Queens
you had more free nights for yourself. What comes out of it is real refreshing and stories I would have never known about otherwise.

@gjohnsit
I am not so amazed that military members have donated more to Bernie than to the other candidates and Trump combined. It makes a lot of sense to me and in combination with Gabbard it would make a strong movement.

Let's hope.

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Submitted by mimi on Wed, 11/20/2019 - 2:59am
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@mimi
I think this article from truthdig's Maj. Danny Sjursen Opinion Piece explains quite well that there is a shift in military's members thinking about the endless wars they participated and supported in the beginning, experienced it personally in real time and now come out as being critical about them and opposing them.

Ending Endless Wars from the Right

Ending Endless War From the Right

(This piece originally appeared on antiwar.com.)

The entire event (BringOurTroopsHome.us opening night reception) was remarkable, and, even a few years ago, would have seemed unthinkable. What I witnessed, and took part in, represents a profound pivot point in America’s post-9/11 forever wars. As those hopeless, countless, conflicts enter their 19th year, the nation’s veterans have finally had enough. I’d noticed the first rumblings of this over the last coupe of years, when texts and phone conversations with old military buddies, and still serving officers, took on increasing frustrated, even exasperated, tones. Then, this past summer, came empirical evidence of what many had suspected, in the form polls which indicated nearly two-thirds of veterans felt the wars they’d once fought were “not worth it.” Coming from a caste of volunteers that tend to be slightly more rural, conservative, and likely to have a family legacy in the military, that’s a significant statement.

May be finally those military members show more courage to speak truth to power than the cowards in Congress. Soldiers fighting in wars that began before they were born ... No wonder Ralph Nader speaks up.

Raplh Nader: We Have a Congress of Cowards

There is the smell of change in the air or may be the wind blows from another direction now?

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Submitted by lizzyh7 on Tue, 11/19/2019 - 3:58pm

@Mark from Queens show I imagine. So wish I could be there. For a "boring guy" you picked a very cool venue for your night out!

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Submitted by lotlizard on Wed, 11/20/2019 - 3:46am
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@Mark from Queens  
Of course, active military have sent a message with their donations in the past, too, but neither of the parties were listening.

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=ron+paul+active+military+donations

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Submitted by gjohnsit on Tue, 11/19/2019 - 2:23pm

An veterans group endorsing Bernie would make a powerful visual.

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Submitted by Mark from Queens on Tue, 11/19/2019 - 3:23pm
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@gjohnsit
'What Momentum Looks Like': Sanders Becomes Fastest Presidential Candidate in History to Reach 4 Million Individual Donations

Sen. Bernie Sanders' 2020 presidential campaign announced Tuesday morning that it reached four million individual contributions faster than any presidential candidate in history, a milestone the campaign touted as evidence that the Vermont senator is surging with less than 80 days to go before the Iowa caucuses....

The Sanders campaign said it did not reach four million individual contributions in 2016 until after the New Hampshire primary in February.

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THE ONLY PROOF HE NEEDED
FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD
WAS MUSIC"

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Submitted by gjohnsit on Tue, 11/19/2019 - 4:27pm

@Mark from Queens
some things don't change

If campaign contributions are any indication of broader support, members of the military are lining up behind Democrats in the presidential race, with Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-Vt.) in the lead.

Individuals listing their employer as the U.S. Department of Defense or one of the branches of the military have given $374,600 to Sanders, more than to any other presidential candidate. Hillary Clinton comes in second behind her Democratic rival at $247,649, with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) not far behind and other failed Republican candidates following. Military support for the GOP’s last man standing, Donald Trump, has been in comparatively short supply — just $15,502. The figures include gifts from those who identified themselves as retired servicemembers.

While it may seem surprising that someone who applied for conscientious objector status to avoid serving in Vietnam would be the top choice of military donors, the support for Sanders can be partially explained by demographics,

Sanders is outside the norm

The nonpartisan organization Voice Of the People recently gave registered voters around the country the task of forming their own defense budgets, after hearing vetted pro and con arguments, and it found that more than half favored cutting defense spending at least $12 billion.

President Barack Obama, in contrast, has proposed to add $2.4 billion in 2017 to the current defense budget, reflecting core spending of $523.9 billion plus another $58.8 billion ostensibly meant for overseas contingency operations.

The major presidential candidates’ positions on defense spending are not all clear-cut, but analysts credit the top four Republican presidential candidates as supporting increased defense spending, while Hillary Clinton hasn’t staked out a clear position, and Bernie Sanders has said he would cut it substantially.

As for 2020, look at his response to a Military Times survey

What is the top personnel policy problem you see facing the armed forces today? How will you approach that issue differently from the current administration?

Every individual who swears an oath to protect and defend this nation does so with the understanding that their service and sacrifice will be respected and repaid. However, far too often, servicemembers and veterans who have put their lives on the line face bureaucracy and red tape when they try to access the benefits they have earned.

It is absolutely unacceptable that enlisted servicemembers are paid starvation wages — wages so low that they actually fall under the federal poverty level. Last year, while the CEOs of Lockheed Martin and Raytheon — two of the top four U.S. defense contractors — were each paid more than $20 million in total compensation, our military families were going hungry.

According to one survey from 2017, 15 percent of military families faced food insecurity, and many rely on federal food assistance programs or local pantries to meet their needs. However, many food insecure families are deemed ineligible for programs like SNAP or WIC. In order to make ends meet or ensure their children were fed, 24 percent of families said they skipped meals and ate less healthy food. Even still, 22 percent of children receive free or reduced lunch. In the richest and most powerful society in the world, no one should go hungry, least of all the brave individuals who serve our country and their families.

Enough is enough. We are going to reign in outrageous military contractor compensation and increase the wages of our servicemembers to a livable wage, so that they do not have to struggle to afford necessities like food. And we will expand SNAP, housing assistance, and provide year-round free breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks for all students and additional support during the summer months to ensure all our military families get the help they need. We will also direct the DOD to collect comprehensive data on military hunger and reliance on food assistance so we can understand the extent of this problem and respond effectively.

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Submitted by WoodsDweller on Wed, 11/20/2019 - 8:53pm
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@Mark from Queens
yesterday. On September 19 they announced that they had reached 1 million donors. So they've picked up 3 million new donors since then, about 2 months. If those 3 million new donors each kicked in $27, that's $81 million, with half the quarter left to go, plus whatever is raised from the previous donors.
This could easily be a $100 million quarter for the campaign. That's a big war chest to go into the primaries with.

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Submitted by Hawkfish on Wed, 11/20/2019 - 9:20pm
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@WoodsDweller

Is between donations and unique donors. The language is confusing. So it’s more like 1M unique donors with an average of four contributions per donor. (Although I’d be happy to be proved wrong!)

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Submitted by Centaurea on Thu, 11/21/2019 - 2:30am
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@Hawkfish
It's 1 million unique donors (the number of individual people who've made donations to Bernie) and 4 million donations.

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Submitted by TB mare on Tue, 11/19/2019 - 2:36pm

I hope you’ll write about the Lee Camp event too.

I’m feeling similarly optimistic about Bernie’s current trajectory (as well as Liz’s downward one.) Here’s hoping.

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Submitted by ggersh on Tue, 11/19/2019 - 4:53pm
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I so hope Shahid Buttar clocks Pelosi's arse

what an amazing person!

Thanks for the essay Mark.

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I never knew that the term "Never Again" only pertained to
those born Jewish

"Antisemite used to be someone who didn't like Jews
now it's someone who Jews don't like"

Heard from Margaret Kimberley

Submitted by snoopydawg on Tue, 11/19/2019 - 6:27pm
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Has ByeDone finally been knocked from his leading the polls perch? giggle

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Submitted by wokkamile on Wed, 11/20/2019 - 9:29am

@snoopydawg He's still stubbornly holding on to a fair-sized lead in SC, the 4th contest. Lots of traditional, moderate-minded older black folks there still giving him the thumbs up for being Obama's VP. And a lot of this group might find it difficult to shift over to Pete b/c of his sexual orientation*.

Luckily the voters in SC have a history of being influenced by what happens in earlier primary contests, so I would expect that after IA and NH have voted, presumably with Biden coming in a poor 3d or 4th place both times, there will be considerable movement away from him in SC. All the more so as Joe in the next 2.5 months will almost certainly further expose himself as a pol well past his prime, and as someone hopelessly out of touch with the current times. Which other candidate(s) benefit the most from the Biden shift isn't entirely clear, but it's possible former Biden backers will go somewhat equally to several other candidates.

* a few polls in the past year have shown either a bare majority of AAs in support of same-sex marriage or a plurality slightly against. AAs as a group lag behind other demographic groups in such support.

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Submitted by Dr. John Carpenter on Wed, 11/20/2019 - 10:10am

@snoopydawg Numbers like these seem to be common with all the polls Mayo Pete leads. Manufacturing consent.

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Submitted by wokkamile on Wed, 11/20/2019 - 10:30am

@Dr. John Carpenter in IA released the other day showing Pete with a 9-pt lead had a sample size of 500 Ds. So maybe the NH poll by another firm isn't far off the mark.

So be it. He's leading in the first 2 early states -- in November.

Let's see tonight how he does handling some of the incoming from candidates and moderators. B/c I think it's time for them to move on from targeting Liz alone. She seems to be doing a good job by herself of reversing her momentum.

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Submitted by JCWeb on Wed, 11/20/2019 - 3:09pm

@wokkamile Personally, I'm hoping Mayor Pete gets his comeuppance in tonight's debate. It's ironic that today is the same day that the other Mayor of the small town in the 2020 Dem field, a guy who gets no media attention, and in this case, it's the guy WITHOUT the racist cops running his police department (Wayne Messam) who, while not near the top of my preferred candidate list, would have been far better than the shifty-eyed, silver-tounged BS Mayor who, in 7 1/2 years at the helm in South Bend, "couldn't get it done" in terms of eradicating or dealing with systemic racism in his PD there.

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Submitted by Cassiodorus on Wed, 11/20/2019 - 6:10pm
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@wokkamile recruited outside of a Pete Buttigieg rally, then "polled" them?

I wouldn't be surprised.

They're desperate.

https://jacobinmag.com/2019/11/corporate-media-bernie-sanders-bias-msnbc...

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Submitted by ggersh on Wed, 11/20/2019 - 11:07am
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@Dr. John Carpenter

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I never knew that the term "Never Again" only pertained to
those born Jewish

"Antisemite used to be someone who didn't like Jews
now it's someone who Jews don't like"

Heard from Margaret Kimberley

Submitted by Cassiodorus on Tue, 11/19/2019 - 6:31pm
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The Democrat rank-and-file no doubt said: "we already had one candidate doing that..."

Given the sheer number of promises surrendered by Clinton One and Obama after they reached office, has anyone within the ranks noticed that "Democratic Party" is a tainted brand? And the politicians are all STILL saying: "Hey, if they looked the other way during our record-breaking surrender under Obama, maybe they'll continue to look the other way now..."

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The ruling classes need an extra party to make the rest of us feel as if we participate in democracy. That's what the Democrats are for. They make the US more durable than the Soviet Union was.

Submitted by Bob In Portland on Tue, 11/19/2019 - 6:34pm
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I don't know seasonal affective disorder, I think that's what they call it, or the news is just pulling me down. But this essay perked me up a bit. Then my inner wisdom said, "Smoke some of your homegrown."

Now I feel better.

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Submitted by Cassiodorus on Tue, 11/19/2019 - 6:51pm
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@Bob In Portland Should we schedule another c99% meetup?

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The ruling classes need an extra party to make the rest of us feel as if we participate in democracy. That's what the Democrats are for. They make the US more durable than the Soviet Union was.

Submitted by lotlizard on Wed, 11/20/2019 - 4:06am
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https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2019/11/reminder-birmingham-meetup-tomor...

Today is a holiday in Saxony, Germany — Buß- und Bettag, Protestant day of penance, always on the Wednesday eleven days before Advent. This year it’s only a holiday in the one state of Saxony, not in any of the other German states.

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Submitted by wokkamile on Wed, 11/20/2019 - 9:37am

peaked too soon. The time to do that is in the month leading up to IA, not 3-4 months out.

Possible this could happen to Pete as well. And like Liz at the last debate, he's due for some tough scrutiny and questioning by other candidates.

Bernie might be sitting fairly nicely in IA and NH, not red hot of course in the polls but well poised for a late charge in January. And it's more likely than not that all along his actual support has been underrepresented in the polls, as I recall it was in 2016.

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Submitted by wendy davis on Wed, 11/20/2019 - 11:05am
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advocate for bernie? glen ford of black agenda report. i tried (in haste) to score a link there, but failed. but one thing that irks him how the MSM disappears mention of him, as to the Ds in general.

shahid buttar is awesome' i'l grab the video for later, and hope it's not long, lol. for some reason, i have his email address, as he'd asked for mine long ago. maybe to help him on some project or other...

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Submitted by NYCVG on Wed, 11/20/2019 - 11:17am

I cross-posted it at wotb where it has been warmly recieved. (Please let me know if you object to a cross-post.)

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NYCVG

Submitted by Raggedy Ann on Wed, 11/20/2019 - 12:00pm
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to have a Mark from Queens essay! Your voice is sooooooooooooo needed here! So happy you had a night off and were able to give us a morsel.

Hug those kids for me! Pleasantry

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Submitted by Raggedy Ann on Wed, 11/20/2019 - 2:34pm
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last night.
Enjoy!

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"The “jumpers” reminded us that one day we will all face only one choice and that is how we will die, not how we will live." Chris Hedges on 9/11