Bernie's Priorities - Continuing gjohnsit's excellent essay and comments

https://caucus99percent.com/content/i-disagree-bernies-run-was-pointless

The essay and comments IMO were mostly right-on. However, there were some points missing.

Apologies to those who dislike religious references, but I never saw Bernie as the jesus. I always saw him as the "John the Baptist" = the voice calling out in the wilderness. I believe we are the jesus. The ones who will make a change.

IMO, Bernie dropped out for two reasons.

  1. The coronavirus took out his ability to campaign. No rallies. No door-to-door canvassing. No groups getting together to phone bank.
  2. But maybe more significant is that he has more important work to do now. He has to get a second stimulus package passed that will actually save the people and the economy. There is no time to do that and campaign. He has a phone town hall on that at 5 PM today (Eastern time?) Five experts will be with him.

Personally, I am glad he never went the asshole route. Don't we have enough of those already?

And, like Raggedy Ann, I hold out that we will evolve to a higher level of consciousness. It's up to us. For my part, I have taken extra tomato plants and extra eggs to friends. And I will participate in and contribute to any little right-wing church in the area taking care of folks.

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He has to get a second stimulus package passed that will actually save the people and the economy.

A huge infrastructure bill would certainly help, but I think it's obvious that we are beyond that now. We need to change the political and economic power dynamics in our country/society. This depression is going to expose that.

Personally, I am glad he never went the asshole route.

I'm not convinced that being nasty would have been enough to change the outcome.

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mhagle's picture

@gjohnsit

But maybe that is OK. Show the good effort, but the rest will have to be up to us. When I brought eggs to one of my friends, her elderly mother said, "this is just like how we did it in the depression. One person had eggs, another had bread, another had veggies . . . and we just shared."

And the very rich need to be exposed.

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Marilyn

"Make dirt, not war." eyo

thanatokephaloides's picture

@mhagle

And the very rich need to be

...... amerced. Once one has money (or its equivalents) at the level that its only application is unearned power over others, one needs to be deprived of those superfluous assets.

A kick in the assets, as it were. Biggrin

No human being needs to possess or control hundreds of billions of dollars.

And this is no violation of any legitimate rights. When one uses his gun to maim or rape or murder, we deprive him of all his guns, and the right to ever have a gun again. Assets in excess of any conceivable human need or desire are no different: when one abuses these to violate the rights of others, we should do with them as we do with the guns, and for the same reasons.

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"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar

"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides

@mhagle
And chump change for the people.

Seeing the inflation already. $2 a roll for toilet paper if you can find it. $12 a pound for chuck roast. $12 a pound (sale price) for two black lamb chops I wouldn't feed to a dog.
$6 a pound for ground turkey. $10 a pound for Chilean blackberries. $12 a pound for CHICKEN WNGS!

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I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.

mhagle's picture

@The Voice In the Wilderness

I hope that is not true.

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Marilyn

"Make dirt, not war." eyo

@mhagle
Down the street from the hospital that took the first two COVID patients in IL.

My daughter says the same about the prices. Looking forward to moving to Lookout's area. But I probably won't be able to sell my house. If I live, of course.

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I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.

thanatokephaloides's picture

Personally, I am glad he never went the asshole route. Don't we have enough of those already?

Bernie was correct when he said we needed a revolution. He was working towards a peaceful one through the political system.

Unfortunately, Vladimir Ulyanov (Lenin) spoke the truth when he said: "A revolution is not a tea party". One must break eggs to make that sort of omelet.

And Bernie was too nice to his opponents to do that.

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"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar

"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides

Cassiodorus's picture

@thanatokephaloides I know I've said this in a previous post, but here goes:

When Congress passes a law requiring everyone to eat a sh*t sandwich, Bernie Sanders follows up with an amendment to have the sh*t sandwiches inspected for COVID-19 before they can be distributed.

That's what he does. That's his role. He's better than any of the other excuses for human being in the Senate. He's the Amendment King. He has some limited uses, or at least he had them.

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"I'm starting to believe that they want Donald Trump to get elected." -- Compton Jay

mimi's picture

@thanatokephaloides
the internet and twitter. Mostly they are not peaceful, but violent to a degree. So, I would say, if someone tells you, one needs a revolution, that is a rhetorical device. Do you really want a revolution on the streets? I would hide in my private bunker in the hinterlands, if it should come to this. With all the guns and bombs and mind manipulation techniques, no way.

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@mimi

Understand your point mimi, but the new rebellion is being fought
in the trenches of the the inner tubes via twits and face hooks
getting heads tasered by the military policia may make a statement
as the yellow vests are proving it takes perseverance to make change

hunker down if it makes you feel safe

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mimi's picture

@QMS
as I was expressing myself not comprehensibly enough. The yellow vesters were on the streets, afaik. They wouldn't have had the same influence just tweeting about their kind of protest.

In other words, if I were to fight for a revolution on the streets, I do that in Germany not in the US. (So far we have not the death penalty over here and I appreciate that) I am and was a guest in the US for a long time (38 years). I am also a guest here, so I do not rock the boat and keep my peace with JtC (at least nost of the time).

Heh, sorry, I am not a yellow vested Jean D'arc either. Sigh, If I weren't such a coward ...

You have to understand my relationship I have to the US.
I will answer you with the words of Goethe's Faust: (I didn't find a good translation for this, but it should be in here somewhere.

Zwei Seelen wohnen, ach! in meiner Brust,
die eine will sich von der andern trennen:
Die eine hält in derber Liebeslust
sich an die Welt mit klammernden Organen;
die andre hebt gewaltsam sich vom Dust
zu den Gefilden hoher Ahnen.

May be lotlizard will find the translation in above link for this quoted paragraph.

Peace.

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mhagle's picture

@mimi

I actually started to think in German. Lost now, but love your quotes and references.

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Marilyn

"Make dirt, not war." eyo

mimi's picture

@mhagle
and if I do, I will post it here. Sorry, for that. I am reading the EB right now and then I have to go to bed.

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mimi's picture

@mhagle

Two souls live, oh! in my chest,
one wants to separate from the other:
The one holds in rough love
to the world with clinging organs;
the other rises violently from the dust
to the realms of high ancestors.

Does that help?

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mhagle's picture

@mimi

Thanks!!!!!

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Marilyn

"Make dirt, not war." eyo

@mimi
I propose a counter-revolution to that.

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I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.

mimi's picture

@The Voice In the Wilderness

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orlbucfan's picture

@mimi West," was/is a gigantic curse!! Rec'd!!

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5 users have voted.

Inner and Outer Space: the Final Frontiers.

Jesus was an anti-freethinking asshole.

I am a freethinking asshole.

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"Without the right to offend, freedom of speech does not exist." Taslima Nasrin

mhagle's picture

@Fishtroller 02

All of your religious training taught that he was that. And the disciples were fucked up. And the old testament is just a collection of mostly terrible stories. I would recommend a book by Adyashanti called "Resurrecting Jesus." He is a dude from the Zen tradition, but a former professional bicyclist normal guy in his late 50s now.

I don't take the bible literally. And I only read the Jesus stories. But they are pretty cool, most of them.

Don't be offended please. Smile

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Marilyn

"Make dirt, not war." eyo

Dawn's Meta's picture

@mhagle I don't like proselytizing but religious references to me (agnostic/pagan) are so good, especially if they make our case. I would much rather have a convert.

It's one of those purity test thingys: purge religion. So many are and the biblical lessons are really inclusive. We need not be afraid to use the lessons from any tradition that seems right.

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A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they know they shall never sit. Allegedly Greek, but more possibly fairly modern quote.

Consider helping by donating using the button in the upper left hand corner. Thank you.

Cassiodorus's picture

@mhagle Acts 4 32-35, KJV:

32 And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common.

33 And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all.

34 Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold,

35 And laid them down at the apostles' feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need.

The Church of We Met During COVID-19 And Caused Lots Of Death would rather you believe they were all Aramaic-speaking versions of Efrain Rios-Montt.

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"I'm starting to believe that they want Donald Trump to get elected." -- Compton Jay

mhagle's picture

@Cassiodorus

. . . prove themselves as being fucked up.

Jesus and the disciples were traveling through Samaria and a city did not invite them in. The disciples said, "should we call down rain from heaven on them?" And Jesus rebuked them saying, "you do not know what spirit you are of."

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Marilyn

"Make dirt, not war." eyo

@mhagle

I found the character of Jesus, however, to be very offensive to my sense of morality.

Just one of many examples.... Jesus told his disciples to go into towns to proselytize, but, he said, if those towns reject the disciples teachings, then it will be worse for those towns than what God did to Sodom and Gomorrah. Apparently Jesus thought that what God did to Sodom and Gomorrah was perfectly acceptable.

Or, Jesus told his disciples to drop their jobs and leave their families high and dry to follow him. And when one asked to attend a family funeral before he left, Jesus told him the funeral wasn't important..."let the dead bury their dead".

Or we can just cut to the chase and get to the whole meaning of Jesus's life... to die for one's sins and grant eternal life in the nice place. However, one must not question the deal or the deal's author, one must blindly go along and promise loyalty to Jesus and his Dad. And if you don't, into the fire you go. Jesus mentioned hell many times, by the way, and had no problem with that concept or using it to pressure people.

So yeah, not a freethinking character.

And no surprise there, since he wasn't real and was totally hatched out of the minds of bronze age pagan people who cobbled a bunch of stories together to create this character and woo people's minds.

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1 user has voted.

"Without the right to offend, freedom of speech does not exist." Taslima Nasrin

EyeRound's picture

in these pages, but Bernie made his announcement on the first day of Passover (April 8, 2020). My understanding of religions could use improvement, but I believe that Jewish Passover is a time for taking up the struggle for liberation once again. Perhaps we should all be thinking of taking up the struggle, again.

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Cassiodorus's picture

@EyeRound It will probably have to start after the November election, though, because everyone will have their knickers in a knot about which one will win.

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"I'm starting to believe that they want Donald Trump to get elected." -- Compton Jay

longtalldrink's picture

regarding "what to do next". Yes, it will be hard as hell to pull off, but like my Mom used to say "no pain no gain"...or was that Arnold Schwarzenegger who said that?
Anyway...the article is very "solutions oriented".

https://www.counterpunch.org/2020/04/09/why-we-need-a-new-progressive-pa...

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Well done is better than well said-Ben Franklin

@longtalldrink One thing the New Progressive Party can't do is caucus with the dems. The dems should not be able to count on anything without negotiation. It can focus on what's important to families and individuals and make that their platform. Health care, environment, education, all the neglected aspects of government.

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orlbucfan's picture

@Snode surviving political party in the country. Me thinks its expiration date has long since expired.

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7 users have voted.

Inner and Outer Space: the Final Frontiers.

MsDidi's picture

Nick Brana has been trying to organize a People's Party and is now begining in earnest to hold national calls. Does anyone have a point of view on this effort? I want to work to build a 3rd party for progressives. Don't need anyone to prove for more than a 3rd time that the Democratic Party can not be reformed or taken over from within. In addition to the serious charges already enumerated, their candidate -- ala Trump -- has called voters fat and "dog-faced pony soldiers."

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Unabashed Liberal's picture

@MsDidi @MsDidi

but, as I've posted numerous times, he's worked to elect both John Kerry and Terry McAuliffe--so, sorta leery of his progressive credentials.

Good luck!

Pleasantry

[Edited: Sorry! Ms--not Miss-Didi! Smile ]

Mollie

THANK YOU America's Physicians & Nurses, All Medical Personnel, First Responders, To Include Medical (EMT/Paramedics/Ambulance), Pharmacy Personnel, Fire Depts, Police Depts, Retailers/Grocers--Especially, To Marginally-Paid Frontline Retail Cashiers & Clerks.

Last, but not least,

THANKS to America's Truckers/Delivery Persons, Especially, To Over-The-Road/Long Haul Truckers Who Obviously Have The Capacity To Shut Down The Entire Country, If They Were To Choose To Sit Out The Current Public Health Crisis, In Order To Protect Their Own.

You are all truly heroes.

Godspeed. Give rose

FYI

From the website Concierge Medicine Today,

Concierge Care for Congress: Attending Physician of the United States Congress

July 15, 2014

OAP provides members of Congress with physicals and routine examinations, on-site X-rays and lab work, physical therapy and referrals to medical specialists from military hospitals and private medical practices. When specialists are needed, they are brought to the Capitol, often at no charge to members of Congress.[4]

Members of Congress do not pay for the individual services they receive at the OAP, nor do they submit claims through their federal employee health insurance policies. Instead, as of 2009, members pay a flat, annual fee of $503 for all the care they receive. The rest of the cost of their care is paid for by federal funding, from the U.S. Navy budget. The annual fee has not changed significantly since 1992.[4]

and,

Yearly Fee

One aspect of the office’s operations which remains unclear is just how the annual $503 fee is determined.

Until 1992, OAP services were free to members of Congress. But after former Sen. Harris Wofford of Pennsylvania angered members by introducing a bill to make Congress members pay market rate prices for using the OAP, a compromise was reached.

Instead of charging for each service, Wofford said, members of the House and Senate agreed to hire independent consultants to determine the average value of the services offered and to use that amount to determine an annual fee.
“We thought of the pricing much like an HMO,” Wofford said of the compromise pricing model. “The attending physician at the time told me he had no interest in handling insurance or billing for each service available.”

But Wofford said the House and Senate committees tasked with determining the fee each insisted on hiring their own consultants, leading to a split pricing system. According to press accounts from 1992, the Senate set the fee at $520; the House fee was set at $263 for the same care. At some point, sources say, the separate rates were scrapped and replaced with the single fee, now set at $503.

The Office of the Attending Physician refused to comment on the fee or why it has not changed significantly in 17 years, despite rampant inflation in all other areas of health care costs.

Anderson refused repeated requests for the Committee on House Administration to provide details of how the rate is determined or who determines it.

“Members pay an annual fee determined by an independent actuary for use of the OAP services,” Anderson responded each time he was asked about the pricing model.

Gotta put an end to this Congressional Perk, if we hope to ever have a decent healthcare program.

IOW, our lawmakers' current excellent OAP healthcare program allows them to be exempt from any austerity/managed care tools that they seek to impose on the masses, as evidenced by several Dem Party MFA/public option proposals

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Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.

mhagle's picture

@MsDidi

definitly

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Marilyn

"Make dirt, not war." eyo

This is where there the going gets tough
and the tough get going
handing it over to the rest of us
was not an easy thing to do
this is not a throw away

more like a toss up
get elsewhere while we can

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10 users have voted.

I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.

mhagle's picture

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3 users have voted.

Marilyn

"Make dirt, not war." eyo

@mhagle
"No I am Spartacus!"

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6 users have voted.

I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.

Bernie's vote on the first stimulus bill was against everything he was preaching about corporations and concentrated power. From what Matt Stoller and others have said, it was Bennett who wrote the part for worker stimulus and that the White House was against the Lindsey Graham actions anyway. In the end all Sanders as a political leader was reduced to "I am going to propose some laws..." He did not use the power he had as a Senator nor as a leader of a movement.

At this point it is good he got out the race so he has les influence to sheep dog people into voting for Biden.

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mhagle's picture

@MrWebster

He is just dealing with his current reality. He is doing the best he can do with what is available.

Stop the sheepdog shit. Who do you have out there who is better??????

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Marilyn

"Make dirt, not war." eyo

@mhagle based on bernie's support for him?

dealing with current realities is an apologist argument for the status quo.

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mhagle's picture

@MrWebster

Nope. If he had Nina or Tulsi as a running mate maybe. Maybe not.

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Marilyn

"Make dirt, not war." eyo

enhydra lutris's picture

stand for the boycott and not the ballot, the raised clenched fist should hold a monkey-wrench.

be well and have a good one

edit" fixed a typo

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

@enhydra lutris but the biggest boycott will happen. People on our level will not be buying stuff. They won't have the will or the money. All faith that somehow the government will fulfill its purpose is gone. After Obama, then Trump, if your life hasn't been ruined in some way, you know someone who has suffered. Next time it could be you. The depression was a long, slow economic drought. The past 40 years have been random economic tactical nukes rained down on the middle class.

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Not Henry Kissinger's picture

John the Baptist was beheaded and famously served to a spiteful woman on a silver platter.

Difference is, Bernie avoided a similar fate in 2016.

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The current working assumption appears to be that our Shroedinger's Cat system is still alive. But what if we all suspect it's not, and the real problem is we just can't bring ourselves to open the box?