Feeling Hopeful for Bernie on New York Primary Morning!

What we have witnessed in the last month is truly remarkable. From Bernie Sanders' Kick off in the Bronx (15,000), to Washington Square Park (27,000-48,000) and Prospect Park (28,000), not to mention countless more rallies across our state; no one inspires as much passion as Bernie. While Bernie had 28,000 cheering, Hillary Clinton spoke to 500 people. Here are 2 videos from Senator Sanders' rally in Poughkeepsie, NY. "Why Trump Will Never Be President- Words of Wisdom from Senator Sanders" and "Senator Sanders Rocks Poughkeepsie, NY"

But if you have been tuned into Mainstream Media, you may think it is looking hopeless for Senator Sanders. As reported here earlier, the media have been very deceitful on how they report the delegate count. Most continue to include superdelegates that haven't even voted yet and can change their minds. You can see in this article some are still reporting that Clinton has an unbeatable lead (CBS- 695, NBC- 664), but the truth is Clinton is only ahead by only 194 delegates!


There is also some news that polls may have been rigged in New York to favor Senator Clinton, and discourage Bernie supporters. Really Marist College- is it true that you only polled in districts that Hillary won in 2008?

So Bernie supporters, take heart and get out there and vote and drive a few folks to polling places!

I'll leave you with an excerpt from Senator Sander's speech at the Vatican. The media, of course did a terrible job in reporting the substance of the talk, which calls for a moral economy that can only happen when big money is removed from our politics. You can trust the man who has eschewed corporate, billionaire and Super PAC money. Hillary has taken in  over $224 million for her campaign from Wall Street, the fossil fuel industry, big Pharma, the arms industry and more. They will expect a return on their investment. Bernie Sanders only has to answer to us, the voters! To paraphrase the Senator, "Let us move boldly toward the common good in our time."

"I am told time and time again by the rich and powerful, and the mainstream media that represent them, that we should be “practical,” that we should accept the status quo; that a truly moral economy is beyond our reach. Yet Pope Francis himself is surely the world’s greatest demonstration against such a surrender to despair and cynicism. He has opened the eyes of the world once again to the claims of mercy, justice and the possibilities of a better world. He is inspiring the world to find a new global consensus for our common home.

I see that hope and sense of possibility every day among America’s young people. Our youth are no longer satisfied with corrupt and broken politics and an economy of stark inequality and injustice. They are not satisfied with the destruction of our environment by a fossil fuel industry whose greed has put short term profits ahead of climate change and the future of our planet. They want to live in harmony with nature, not destroy it. They are calling out for a return to fairness; for an economy that defends the common good by ensuring that every person, rich or poor, has access to quality health care, nutrition and education.

As Pope Francis made powerfully clear last year in Laudato Si’, we have the technology and know-how to solve our problems – from poverty to climate change to health care to protection of biodiversity. We also have the vast wealth to do so, especially if the rich pay their way in fair taxes rather than hiding their funds in the world’s tax and secrecy havens- as the Panama Papers have shown.

The challenges facing our planet are not mainly technological or even financial, because as a world we are rich enough to increase our investments in skills, infrastructure, and technological know-how to meet our needs and to protect the planet. Our challenge is mostly a moral one, to redirect our efforts and vision to the common good. Centesimus Annus, which we celebrate and reflect on today, and Laudato Si’, are powerful, eloquent and hopeful messages of this possibility. It is up to us to learn from them, and to move boldly toward the common good in our time."

Let's do this!

Muslim Americans coming out to support Senator Sanders

Media Are Deceiving You- Bernie Is on a Roll!

Corporate media have been bashing Bernie (16 negative stories in the Washington Post in 16 hours is just the tip of the anti-Bernie bias) and trying to coronate Clinton from the beginning. They continue to do so by adding the undemocratic "superdelegates" (made up of Democratic members of Congress, Democratic governors, party officials and registered lobbyists) into the totals. There has never been a case where a person won the popular vote, but lost due to superdelegates. The system is designed to allow superdelegates, also known as "unpledged delegates" to switch votes to reflect the popular vote; so why are they counted at all at this point? In 2008, Hillary had a lead of superdelegates against Obama too- but when Obama began sweeping states, the superdelegates switched allegiance, or went with him for the first time and many think the same thing will happen in this election.

In addition to using misleading delegate numbers, the media have also given Clinton twice as much free media as Sanders - $741 million dollars worth for Clinton, versus Sander's $321 million. Trump has benefited from mainstream, corporate media the most with $1,898 million- six times the free media that Sanders has received.

But in spite of all that, look at Bernie's two latest landslide wins. In Utah and Idaho he roughly beat Clinton 80 to 20% (yes, he lost Arizona*, but so did Obama). Now we are headed for Bernie country- California, Washington and Oregon and others where he could continue to win "Yugely".

Yet Obama recently told donors that the Sanders campaign was nearing the end and that we should all line up like little ducks behind Clinton- the Wall Street, biotechnology (GMO producers) defense industry pick.  Would he have quit at this point when he was running? No, of course not. Between this sell out and the even worse one of his pushing TPP, Obama's true corporate colors are showing.

Then there is the terrible prospect of a Trump presidency. A CNN/ORC (3/22) shows Bernie is our best bet to defeat him! Sanders now trounces Trump by almost 20 points! Clinton beats him by just 12 points and Trump has been within just a couple of points of her in other polls. It is also hard for Clinton to overcome her high unfavorable ratings (not to mention the ongoing FBI investigation). People having an unfavorable view of Clinton has now climbed to 54%. Many find her not honest or trustworthy, or not caring about their needs and problems. 

Bernie supporters- Don't buy the hype! Stay strong. Work harder than ever. As Bernie says when we all stick together and vote together- there is nothing we can't accomplish!

*Here is a video of Democratic voters having to wait for hours to vote in Sheriff Arpaio's Maricopa County in Arizona. https://www.facebook.com/geoff.woods.148/videos/10205656258717439/

There are also reports that Independent voters (who cannot vote in the Democratic Primary in Arizona) were turned away or given provisional ballots that were not counted. Demand an investigation- https://petitions.whitehouse.gov//petition/investigate-voter-fraud-and-voter-suppression-arizona-3222016-democratic-party

And please sign the petition, Superdelegates: Don't Deny Democracy

An article from FAIR- calling out the NY Times for including superdelegates in delegate totals- something they did not do in 2008- NYT Used to Report Delegate Count as if It Was Voters Who Mattered http://fair.org/home/nyt-used-to-report-delegate-count-as-if-it-was-voters-who-mattered/

Delegate count from Wikipedia "Democratic Primary Results" on 3/23/16