@Le Frog

Sorry, I didn't mean to hijack a thread about Tulsi, @Lookout.

I am really annoyed by the DNC stipulating requirements for candidates to participate in their debates. Tulsi declared her candidacy, so she's in - let people hear her. The ONLY reason I would want to see that smarmy Joe Biden on a debate stage as a candidate is to see and hear Tulsi lay the smackdown on his foreign policy record. Same goes for any candidate.

I spend a lot of my online time on Reddit. There are a lot of people in the Bernie subs, for example, who said that they were too young to vote in the last election but volunteered for the campaign, and they are on fire to vote this time.

@Pluto's Republic

The self-respect is spot-on. Plutocratic and conservative ideas have changed the narrative on people, that if they are poor or struggling or on the receiving end of some other discriminatory shite, it is their own fault for not working hard enough to rise up fast enough. We get the shite and we get the blame.

...voting would be a real thing. I say that with some surprise since I've never looked at an election from that perspective. I could actually "feel" something like excitement and hope for a minute there. I forgot about that feeling. Your discussion of Tulsi was the perfect vehicle to reawaken it. She stays awfully close to truth and self-awareness, doesn't she?

... in 2016 the outcome of the Alabama dim primary differed by 18 points from the exit polls (in the $hill's favor).

And, then there's that.
Lookout, that's a really high number, even in the US. By global standards, the race wouldn't likely be certified. It's just as well that most people don't know that because it's hurtful in an insidious way.

I've always been aware that Bernie is a "domestic" candidate. He is a realist about foreign policy issues: President's have no power in these matters, which are 100 percent owned and operated by a rogue faction of our corporate-owned government. It's unthinkable that a President would ever step onto that political battlefield and attempt to call the shots. He or she would be completely alone, without a single elected peer to stand beside them. Actually, I don't think that would be allowed to happen as the result of any election. It would be prevented, whatever it took.

To get to something like self-government, we the People are missing a step. We can't get there from here. It requires an electorate that truly respects itself and feels empowered and confident of their place in the civilization that they inherited from those who came before. They know they were never meant to be put in the position of dogs fighting over scraps. Always on the outside, looking in at their betters who control this place.

I think a Bernie or a Tulsi have what it takes to usher People into the self-respect and human rights they need to empower them to make the most of their individual potential; so they can stand as equals on the high plain of Liberty with the resources to compete in shaping the nation's destiny. I believe that is the original vision of the perfect nation and the ideal society we began with. I think some of the other candidates have the talent to actualize the American people into their true roles of self-government, but they may not have the vision to keep them on course. Then, there are the authoritarians candidates who want to do nothing of the kind. And, of course, there are some candidates who have no idea what I am talking about.

@dfarrah
After the convention Bernie was not the same. When he signed on with the Russia, Russia crowd, he lost my support. I'd vote for him for POTUS but on foreign policy, he is either intentionally ignorant or afraid of the MIC. I'm even a little uncomfortable with his recent focus on ID Pol. It sounds like he has decided to do whatever it takes to win this time.
Tulsi knows the cost of war first-hand and is not afraid to speak the truth about it. I don't think she will be treated fairly by the DNC but she needs to be on the debate stage.
I hope you will all hear her out, and then make a donation. She gets my $27 every month.

Caitlin can reach this conclusion about Bernie:

"under a President Sanders we can expect to see a continued escalation of the world-threatening cold war against Russia, continued starvation sanctions against nations which fail to comply with the demands of the US empire, continued military expansionism around the world, and very little pushback against the depraved agendas of military and intelligence agencies. We can expect to see him play right along with the establishment narrative if the political/media class decides that Assad is gassing civilians and needs a dose of Tomahawk missiles, and we can probably expect him to facilitate the persecution of Julian Assange as well"

@dfarrah To varying degrees I agree with almost everything she said except the part about furthering the persecution of Julian Assange and I see no reason to believe it automatically comes like it was in a package with the other stuff. I can't see Bernie arguing that the UN report which ruled Julian Assange was being "arbitrarily detained" should be ignored (which the UK did after they lost their appeal of the ruling).
However I don't hear anything about his idea of a solution to it all but he certainly can't be unaware of the treatment Chelsea Manning received (or Kiriakou or Sterling or Binney or Drake and others) and what awaits Julian Assange for exposing the crimes of governments if he is handed over to the US.
I don't think the sense of Justice is gone from Bernie Sanders by a long shot and on a case like Assange's he would have to attack him from the 'right' on civil rights, international law, and human rights which I don't expect to see in his 'toolbox'.
That's not to say Bernie could/would give it very little attention (unless a lot of public pressure happened) or any attention at all and just let it as Obama said about the DAPL fight "let it play out' aka do nothing.

Caitlin can reach this conclusion about Bernie:

"under a President Sanders we can expect to see a continued escalation of the world-threatening cold war against Russia, continued starvation sanctions against nations which fail to comply with the demands of the US empire, continued military expansionism around the world, and very little pushback against the depraved agendas of military and intelligence agencies. We can expect to see him play right along with the establishment narrative if the political/media class decides that Assad is gassing civilians and needs a dose of Tomahawk missiles, and we can probably expect him to facilitate the persecution of Julian Assange as well"

@aliasalias @aliasalias

I posted one of her tweets asking for donations for this very purpose. There is a link in to donate via Act Blue. As I said, $1 will do.

that really got my attention because I was unaware of how 'they' can, and will, keep Tulsi's voice off the stage at the debates.
He said to be eligible to participate in the debate(s) Tulsi must have 65k contributors to her campaign, the amount doesn't matter just the number. I'll post a link to it at the bottom and if you want to look just at the part I mention it is at 18:00 minute point in the twenty minute show.

So I think that message should be spread to the supporters of Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren because whether or not they will vote for Tulsi they should feel the need to support the message she can give to the people in the Country watching or listening to the debates.

Like it or not Tulsi is the only one that will be on that stage that unabashedly criticizes the regime change wars that cost so many lives,so many futures, destroys so many Countries, pollutes more than any other operation on earth and with lies sold to the general Public under a banner of humanitarianism (for killing).
What adds to it all is that she is a veteran and that makes her argument less open to the common criticism used against non vets that they don't know what they are talking about, not gonna happen here so her main points can't be easily attacked as 'uninformed'.
All while dedicated anti-war people, especially most veterans tuning in I can imagine hearing them cheering and remember that one of the things that got tRump elected were votes in regions where many had lost friends and family members and survivors still suffering from it all (on both sides).
Trump got rousing cheers when he sold the image of opposing war(s) and about how the US military should not be involved in so many wars. Of course it was all lies and not too different from what we hear from both side of the political aisle in election season which will mean more people voting.

I need to not ignore Bernie Sanders as I've cheered every time when on stage when he mentions the 'coup' in Iran in 1953 with the CIA overthrowing the Democratically elected leader, Mohammad Mossadegh and installing the the dictatorial Shah because Mossadegh wanted Iran's oil owned by the govt. and for used for the benefit of the Iranian people.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwwaaiSvxTc&feature=push-u-sub&attr_tag=...

@HenryAWallace are helping him, right?

I don't think she stands a chance.

Bernie raised 6 million in 24 hours and he might not even make it out of the primary alive. (I see nothing he has done differently than he did four years ago.)

Meanwhile, Tulsi she is pleading for $1 from everyone so she can make it to the primary debate stage. That said, I am going to donate a modest amount to her, though more than $1, simply because I do want her to make it to the debates. Anyone who thinks she should be there should also donate, regardless of which candidate he or she is backing. JMO