There is something about the people who proclaim that they are socialists that is woven into their fiber. They want to be on top while others do the dirty work underneath. Reading about W.E.B DuBois during his early years writing for the NAACP publication The Crisis he noted something to the effect that the communist and socialists wanted the blacks to be their shock troops while they remained behind the lines in their upscale New York apartments.
I’m not suggesting that all socialist/communists are likely to immediately flee when the going gets tough, I’m sure there are some who would stand around to measure the degree of danger, but in general, if you allow me to generalize, the socialists are not street fighters preferring to fight their battles over wine and cheese.
I’m speaking, of course, of Bernie Sanders fleeing from a speech he was supposed to give to several thousand people when a couple of women agitators ( yes, literally two) decided the crowd had come to listen to them rather than Bernie. Bernie was about to speak when they demanded he give them the microphone. He unhesitatingly relinquished the podium and stood confused in the background.. One of the women began a rant. Bernie after listening a bit decided to hot-foot it out of there.
Bernie said later after his safe escape: “I am disappointed that two people disrupted a rally attended by thousands at which I was invited to speak about fighting to protect Social Security and Medicare, I was especially disappointed because on criminal justice reform and the need to fight racism there is no other candidate for president who will fight harder than me.”
Incongruously, and I’m sure you noticed, in his statement he said he was invited “to speak about fighting” and “the need to fight racism” and “who will fight harder than me.” He talks about fighting right after he high-tailed it out of there when it was time to fight. That’s what I mean about the socialists type such as Bernie: they are full of fight in the safety of their living rooms.
You have to ask yourself how a guy like Bernie thinks he can sit in the Oval Office. I can just hear him now after Russia invades Poland. “I am disappointed Russia saw fit to help the Polish people establish a new form of government. Rest assured I will fight to see that the atrocities are kept to a minimum. I assure you no president will fight harder than me in doing this.”
Reading of Bernie’s abandoning the ship, I’m reminded of a time in Norfolk Superior Court where a judge cut out of the same cloth as Bernie was conducting hearings in a case involving around eight defendants who were Walpole prisoners. Most were lifers and had as much respect for the court as shark for a swimmer. At each hearing the defendants became bolder. They talked loudly, put their feet up on tables, kept standing up without reason, etc. The judge studiously ignored them.
At the penultimate hearing they all wore hats they designed in the prison. The judge pretended not to see them. They laughed and shouted. The judge pretended not to hear them. A week later they came back again with the hats and the turmoil. The judge ignored the circus in front of him. However, by this time he had some state troopers sitting in the jury box in plain clothes to protect him. One was a trooper from Walpole, Jack N. whose size and easy-going manner belied his toughness.
The judge carried on ignoring the defendants’ uproar and flouting of court order. It seemed impossible he did not notice one of them pull out a cigar and light it. He did. Jack N. didn’t. He stood up in the middle of the hearing in the jury box, walked back to the inmate who was twice his side, and said in a voice that could be heard outside the courthouse: “Put it out” The inmate inhaled and blew smoke into Jack N’s face.
Before you could say: “Jack N.,” the inmate was seen flying heads over heels over the bench. A melee broke out. The uniform troopers stationed outside the courtroom poured in and gleefully suppressed the short-lived uprising.
And the judge? That’s what reminded me of Bernie. At the first sign of trouble he fled from the bench and hid in his lobby. He’d later call for an investigation of the trooper.
Matt,
It looks to me like you ran into the Socialist philosophy in Labor Wars I & II. Might I remind you that the Democrats have been in control of Congress for many, many years, paving the way for those horrid corporate tax breaks for those horrid multi-nationals.
Shouldn’t all of your employees be paid the same? Each job is critical to the success of your blog.
In a declining workforce, Bernie will courting those multi-nationals to pay for the Nanny State.
Nope. Karl was one of the New Year’s Gang that bombed Army Math at UW Madison 1970. COINTELPRO revved up after that.
The Weathermen had a clear political line that they followed. Everyone, except for a Trot, or, two, espoused the Marxist-Leninist vision of America’s future. They were definitely into building something new atop the ruins of the old. There weren’t many anarchists around in those days (1965-1975). Trotsky spout’in Spartacus clones upheld the alternative “left contrarian” line. Anarchists couldn’t get a listen.
In contemporary times, the older “anarchists” you’ll meet are CPUSA folks in sheep’s clothing. Anarchism has an emotional appeal for the young. It’s like the first bite of a forbidden apple. Bright kids quickly get to the core of the matter.
Jerome,
Not for nothin’,….but the Archives (below) have a complete record of every post by Matt, and comment ever made on this blog all the way back to June of 2012.
It has a wealth of information.
If I remember correctly, Matt touches a lot on Whitey’s history, before and after the Chandler’s meeting, and early days in Winter Hill, and murders…including McGonagle up to Deborah Hussey.
Rather Not
Thanks. Unfortunately (at least for me) the posts have no order to them but I am thankful for ALL of Matt’s posts. Therefore I will have to start from Day 1 June of 2012) and sift through them.
Matt
Just to clarify. When I suggested the whole analysis about the Whitey Bulger murder breakdown I meant one here, one there, etc over months. Not all at once. Thanks again
Jerome, You can also search the whole site through google:
If you put: Halloran site: mattofboston.com into google
You get:
https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#safe=active&q=Halloran+site:+mattofboston.com
You can also do: Brian Halloran site: mattofboston.com or “Brian Halloran” site: mattofboston.com depending on how common the individual’s name is and other factors, you get somewhat different results.
You may know this already but everyone has some gaps in their computer knowledge.
Kerry Joyce
Thanks for the search tips. Much appreciated. I was in the courtroom when the verdict was read that convicted Whitey on 11 of 19 murders. I first became aware of this chapter in history from a friend who recommended the book BLACK MASS. After reading the book I honestly thought that Whitey Bulger would have never been seen or heard of again. I already discussed this with Matt but it is rather perplexing that Whitey Bulger did not leave the United States permanently. I dont know anywhere near as much as you and Matt but I would imagine that Bulger would never had been caught if he fled to South America or Europe. I mean he sat in Santa Monica for 16 years and thats in the USA.
There are so many interesting layers to this saga. Lest we never forget the victims but the discovery of the Top Echelon Informant program is really the most terrfiying and alarming aspect. I cant even fathom the anger, rage, and resentment that the victims families feel towards the FBI.
Kerry Joyce
As per your suggestion, what I can do going forward , is type in the murder victims name along with thetrialofwhiteybulger in google search engine. I want to go through ALL 19 murders that Whitey Bulger was accused of.
Have you written (or are you going to) a book or article(s) on what you learned from being one of the jurors. Please share any links that you feel comfortable sharing as I would like to learn from your experience and knowledge. Thanks.
Jerome,
I was not one of the jurors. I have but a passing familiarity with the case. The only book I have read about it is Matt’s, plus what I have picked up online. I only really started following this story during the trial two years ago. I salute those who served on that jury.
If you put [ Donahue site:mattofboston.com ] minus the brackets, into google, google will only display search results from mattofboston.com website.
I find it to be a handy trick. You can also use site:.nz if you only want results from New Zealand or site:.edu if you only want university results.
Jerome:
Thanks for the clarification.
Matt
Will you watch the movie BLACK MASS starring Johnny Depp this Fall? It comes out in September.
Jerome:
To tell you the truth probably not for a while. I won’t rush out to see it if that is what you are asking. I’m not in tune to much of the Hollywood way of fictionalizing reality. The picture Departed that won the Academy Award for best picture of the year was so much nonsense; aside from that, it was almost a carbon copy a a Hong Kong movie made three or so years before. I suggest it is important to keep in mind what Whitey really was: he was a big fish in a little criminal pond located mostly in Southie. He left no footprints on anything other than the families of his victims. His terror was mainly against other criminals; he let the legitimate people alone, and few in Boston knew he existed.
Matt
Hope you are enjoying your summer. Am I correct that you wont be posting about each murder that Whitey Bulger may or may not have been involved in and try to explain the most likely scenario? I think it would be fantastic to go through each murder, discussing the conflicting stories/testimony and your expert analysis. I ask because I dont think you will be posting much about Whitey Bulger/Steve Flemmi/FBI anymore.
Jerome:
I will get around to each murder but it will be down the road a bit. As you know I’m slipping through August without trying to do much work. One thing to keep in mind is that in a good percentage of them he appeared to be a bystander while Martorano did the shooting. You should know that the Wheeler murder was mostly about Martorano having a deal with Callahan; Callahan’s murder was about Martorano realizing Callahan was the only guy who could tie him into the Wheeler murder. Whitey’s involvement in those was next to nothing; of course, Martorano magnified it because it helped minimize his own involvement but keep in mind who had the gun that did the murder and then you have a good idea what the murder was about.
Matt
You deserve a vacation yourself this summer too. You put in a lot of hard work just with this blog. Thanks for the insight regarding the Callahan murder. I am looking forward to your expert analysis regarding the 19 murders Whitey Bulger was accused of during the trial. As you already know he was convicted on 11 of them but that doesnt necessarily mean he actually pulled a trigger in those 11 convictions.
I was one of 10 public people in the public section in the courtroom when the convictions were read outloud by the foreman. I regret I did not go to more days of the trial. Anyway, whats gripping about this saga is a combination of learning about the Top Echelon Informant program, the sneeky and paranoid aspect of the FBI, the fact that Whitey’s brother was/is a highly educated and successful man, the long run by Whitey and Flemmi, and Bulger himself and his LSD experiments.
Matt,
Off-topic,….but relevant, current, and deserving of a response. A former colleague of yours is mixed up in the latest developments with the Gardner museum.
This appeared today on…http://stolenvermeer.blogspot.com/
Stolen Art Watch, George Burke Will Announce “The Gardner Museum Eagle Has Landed” & Claims The $100,000 Reward Without Revealing His Client/Source
George Burke, the Ex-Norfolk County D.A. and now Defense Lawyer, is being used unwittingly as a proxy to return the Gardner Museum Eagle and to collect the $100,000 reward.
When he announced a couple of days ago to the press he has a longstanding client who has information on the mystery man seen in newly released CCTV images from the night before the Gardner art Heist, George Burke was putting into play a strategy whereby a bone is thrown to investigators, who might be able to go arrest Richard Abath and the Florida based accused, opening the way for George Burke to then, shortly, announce that he has been given the Gardner Museum Eagle to hand back and he will claim the $100,000 reward offered by the Gardner Museum without naming his client or source.
This will be done by way of getting media to attend his office whereby George Burke will allow himself to be filmed with the Gardner Museum Eagle as he calls up either Anthony Amore, Gardner Museum security director, or the FBI or the Boston D.A. Carman Ortiz to tell them he has the Gardner museum Eagle and for them to come over to collect it.
This will be followed by the media filming the actual handing over of the Gardner Museum Eagle to authorities and then George Burke will hope for the $100,000 reward to be paid Swiftly.
This scheme has been conjured up by the client of George Burke and the naming of the Florida man as the person of interest seen in the CCTV images recently released of the Gardner museum the night before the Gardner heist was done to try and link Richard Abath to this man so the Feds can arrest Richard Abath and the Florida man, thereby creating a smokescreen and a sweetener for when George Burke announces he has been given the Gardner Museum Eagle.
Plan B is George Burke is told where the Gardner Museum Eagle can be found, which will be in a Catholic Church Confession Box, so George Burke can attend with authorities to recover the Gardner museum Eagle and claim the $100,000 reward.
I must stress George Burke has done nothing wrong and will do nothing wrong, but given his history in recovering the stolen Rembrandt back in 1975 from Myles Connor he was chosen as a right man for this scheme.
Furthermore, George Burke may not even be aware of this plan until it unfolds shortly.
Speaking of the Rembrandt stolen back in 1975, it was stolen by a then sixteen year old William Youngworth on the instructions of his then mentor Myles Connor, who then used the Rembrandt as a get out jail free card when he handed it back to George Burke, who was the Norfolk County D.A. at the time.
So, if all goes to script, expect to see the Gardner museum Eagle handed back by George Burke shortly.
Then in the words of George Burke, “It has a sense of coming full circle.
Any thoughts?
Thanks,
R.N.
Rather:
I have my expert analysis of the Gardner matter scheduled for tomorrow. It does include the matter involving George Burke but not the golden eagle which very likely could be recovered. That was taken by the robbers as a souvenir and was a throw away since it had little value. Burke had nothing to do with the recovery of the Rembrandt from the Museum of Fine Arts – that was a Myles Connor/ Major John Regan deal. Youngsworth had nothing to do with the MFA heist.
Matt,
Thank you for responding.
I realize now (after further reading) that my source was an opinion blog by some guy “Turbo” Paul Hendry, a British art-crime blogger, and not credible news.
Sorry ’bout that.
It is based in fact in some regards though,…
As a former Norfolk County D.A. yourself, you must know him, correct?……
Maybe a quick call (if you haven’t already) to get the inside scoop from “Trigger” and you could be sporting some breaking news in tomorrows post………
Wishfully thinking,
R. N.
Rahter:
I knew George Burke when he was DA. Those were the days when DA’s were part time. He was nice enough to offer me one of the part time jobs – I recall I could have made a grand for a month’s work but I turned it down because I was doing criminal defense work. He had a good staff: Dick Barry and Dick Murphy two highly skilled young attorneys were his first assistants. Both died young except one is still alive but his brother Timmy did. I can see the faces of the others but can’t put their names to them. One was named Thayer something or other, another Abe Hamburger, and another had a plate with the letters ESQ after his initials.
Because I know George although I haven’t seen him for eons I would not call him; he’ll be sure to get everything he knows out for his last hurrah.
The bleating sheep of the American Right invariably make comparisons between the Democrats’ policies and Neville Chamberlain’s in appeasing Hitler whenever the Democrats stand in the way of the Republicans more robust ideas about foreign policy. (another damned war). Ironically it was the Left (the socialists, the communists, the liberals) who opposed Chamberlain’s policies and the Right who supported him.
But then, England had a draft…
https://books.google.com/books?id=3tQoAEo9Y6oC&pg=PA123&lpg=PA123&dq=sociaist+opposed+chamberlin%27s+appeasment+of+hitler&source=bl&ots=bciVq9avVf&sig=-BhoeBRi2s8a_Uo4E4jxYrHFOWA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CD0Q6AEwBGoVChMIieeqsqqmxwIVQtCACh1cJQMD#v=onepage&q=sociaist%20opposed%20chamberlin's%20appeasment%20of%20hitler&f=false
Kerry:
Dost thou suggest Winston Churchill was a man of the left?
Well he was left handed and left behind an enormous legacy, but beyond that google is no help at all. So I’m really at kind of a loss here…
Kerry:
Churchill was very much a man of the right – could not be further right than he was and he opposed Chamberlain also. I suppose the only reason the left was against Chamberlain making peace with Germany at the time was because Germany was a foe of the Soviet Union; you do know the left all became less worried about that deal once Germany and the Soviet Union signed its friendship pact.
How did I paint myself in a corner defending British Socialists of all things? Although I do appreciate “Hawkins” the British socialist in ‘Guests of the Nation’ by Frank O’Connor.
I read that some true-hearted, impressionable Brits were drawn to the Left because of the movements strong stance against Hitler, presumably without a care about Mother Russia. Maybe it was a work by Anthony Blunt’s valet or something. but somebody was supporting Chamberlain. The American Right was isolationist too and not supportive early on of FDR’s efforts to confront the Nazi’s. The Selective Service Act passed by one vote.
I actually mostly agree with your blog post. I don’t like it when politicians talk about “fighting” for this or that constituency, and whatever benefits they bring to the table the “limousine liberal” will always be a powerful recruiting tool for the Right.
Wa-llahi! I’m possessed by the spirit of Ilya Ehrenburg. Down with bourgeois fascism! The capitalist is the enemy of the proletariat. Seek him in his bed. Strike him in his lair. Workers of the world unite! You have only your chains to lose.
Socialists won’t fight? Being an old SDS Weatherman, I can tell you that that your statement is untrue. Socialists have fought tooth, and, nail, often sacrificing their lives, for the rights working people enjoy today. The eight-hour day wasn’t begged off the capitalists, it was torn from them. The only reason ten year olds don’t work 12hrs. a day in mines, and, factories, is because socialists gave their lives on the barricades to free them. Socialists fought at the Detroit Ford Plant, in the coal fields, and on the agri-business farms. I knew a couple guys, Nam vets, who dragged a hand-crank printing press around the mountains of Guatemala so the rebels, socialist rebels, could get out the word. They went down in an ambush back in ‘ 82.
MLK was socialist. Do you think he was a coward, too? How about Eugene Debbs, or, Big Bill Hill, or, Karl Armstrong? All cowards? I don’t think so.
OWS has been criticized as flash in the pan. Wrong. Wake up. It was a dry run. Next time you see those ornery kids on the street, they’ll be angry adults, and, this time, they’ll be loaded for big game. Hopefully, we’ll see Jamie Diamond’s real head stuck on the end of a pike this time.
Matt: There’s a difference between Socialism and Communism. Communism is the vanguard of the Socialist movement. Party members pledge their lives to the revolution.
I remember a witty chant from the old days;
Hey pig, you better start shak’in, today’s pig is tomorrow’s bacon.
Khalid:
Perhaps I did not make it clear; I did not intent to convey the idea that there were people who were unwilling to fight for the ideas of socialism or communism. I suggested that those who want to lead the fighters are not fighters themselves. They luxuriate in their opulent surroundings and send others off to do the dirty work. The socialist who sought to control the movement were not on the front lines but back in their upper West Side apartments.
The leaders did not want to get their hand dirty. Even the notorious Emma Goldman never ventured far from the podium into the fray. Goldman was also against the eight hour day.
I disagree with your suggestions that socialists brought us the child labor laws or the eight hour day. These were brought by the non-socialist unions such as the A F of L who negotiated some of these concessions through strikes and slow downs. The only real socialist union was the IWW (Wobblies) who brought very little except some bombings like the Weathermen. The communist/socialist idea of the violent overthrow of the U.S. capitalist government never caught on here although to be sure J. Edgar Hoover was always in mortal fear that it would.
Child labor laws would not have come about if tied to socialism. Perhaps you might want to look at someone like Mary Harris Jones (Mother Jones) who probably did more than anyone to bring about those laws with her children’s march. She was on the front line; she walked away from the IWW because she saw it really did not represent the workers.
I’m not sure MLK was a socialist. Socialism and African Americans never quite jelled. Back in the late teens and early twenties of the 20th century a push was on to convince African Americans that socialism was the answer to their woes. They rejected it almost to a person for one thing it was led by whites who did not have their true interests at heart and for another they just wanted to work and they could see socialism did not give them that opportunity. Had MLK proclaimed he was a socialist he would have seen his star sink faster than the Titanic. He may have had ideas that mirrored those of some socialists but he walked to the beat of his own drum which was made in the cloister environment of his African American religion. The black leaders of the Civil Rights movement were on the front lines with their troops; that’s how you can be pretty sure they were not socialists.
As for those Vietnam vets who wen to Guatemala, they were helping communists and not socialists if my recollection is correct. Sure they had courage but they were not running the movement.
As for the leaders you mentioned, Big Bill Haywood the leader of IWW did take off to Russia when he was out on bail. I don’t recal him doing other than speaking, teling us to look to the Soviet Union as an inspiration, and urging others onto the front lines. Debbs was a talker and not a doer. It is difficult to eell what he stood for. He told Goldman that he was an anarchist who sought the violent overthrow of America. Like many of his time he went in and out of anarchism, socialism and communism.
The problem with OWS (Occupy Wall Street) and the anarchists is they are for tearing down but have nothing to put in place of the disasters they have created. They are like children who get a kick out of pushing over a tower of Legos. Having been a Weatherman you must know the thrill of tearing down without any idea of what is to follow.
OWS is passé. Americans are content with their lot and unwilling to change that which is comfortable. That is why Bernie Sanders is really the anti-Hillary vote that appeals to those who live comfortably but want, like the Dickens mother of nine disheveled kids who worried about something she couldn’t do anything about, to worry about something that if they got they would be quite unhappy with.
By the way Karl Armstrong does not ring a bell – you weren’t referring to Jack Armstrong, the All-American Boy were you?
To say Bernie lives opulently is laughable. He did not get rich from being in congress for 25+ years, unlike many 1-2 term Congressmen who leave office and make millions.
A cartoon in a magazine depicted Hillary at the chalk board tutoring Brady on Deflategate. Point #1 was to say all the e-mails were personal. Point#2 was to say what difference does it make and #3 was to claim it was all a vast right wing conspiracy. Did Brady take that advice? Was his cell phone in Shenaya Jenkins trash bag along with the Hernandez gun? One shouldn’t equate foreign wars with republicans. The Democrats gave us WW1 and 100,000 dead Americans. They gave us WW2 and 400,000 dead Americans. They gave us Viet Name and 66,000 dead. They also gave us the war in Libya, Serbia, Korea, Somalia, Yemen and Syria. They are not the party of peace. 2. If Sanders is the nominee he will be easier to defeat than McGovern was. 58% of those polled say Hillary is untrustworthy. She is as dull as Dukakis and as honest as Madoff.
NC:
1. The mindset of Republicans and Democrats have changed over the years. Yes. Wilson got us involved in a war we should have avoided (60,000 dead); Roosevelt got us involved in one that perhaps saved democracy. I’d suggest one was optional and the other was not. Of course, Nixon had nothing to do with Vietnam. But you have to admit the present mess we are in falls into the Republican’s hands and that future involvement in the Middle of Hell aka the Middle East will more likely be a Republican deal.
The present day Republicans do seem to be enamored of war especially with going after Iran. Unlike JFK who people feared might take his orders from a foreign leader (the head guy in the Vatican), the Republicans will take their orders from a foreign leader (“my friend, Bibi” as Romney and Fiorina called him).
Hill_Billie is pure sleaze. She could teach John Martorano a lesson in lying. To be infected with the two of them would be torture; but the worst thing is we have no idea what they have already pledged to sell to enrich themselves. The only way to deal with liars is to disbelieve everything they say and if anything is certain it is that Hill_Billie play loose with the truth.
As far as using “vast right wing conspiracy” I’d suggest that has had its day. Better to say it is a “tea party vendetta being led by the KKK and other white males.”
2. Sanders is the flavor of the month; like a shooting star he’ll soon fade as his hits the Hill_Billie atmosphere. Hillary is dull and duplicitous as is Slick Willie.
Matt, are you really bashing the only candidate who is actually in the race not for himself and personal gain, but to help the middle class regain what is has gradually lost over the past 15-20 years? Sanders is not the flavor of the month. As the numbers indicate, the strength of his campaign is growing rapidly. He will likely attract all of the Elizabeth Warren voters who see Hillary for what she is, a 20th century policy maker and a corporate shill.
Obviously a purely socialistic society would never work in America. The Citizens United decision and its progeny has effectively removed the power from the people into the hands of a few. Only a small group of 130 families/corporations have donated HALF of the total amount of campaign contributions to Republican candidates. The rich are simply buying elections. That is not a Democracy, but an OLIGARCHY. As a culture we are a too competitive and entrepenurial people to completely do away with a capitalist system. It is about putting some stop signs to prevent those who would otherwise prey on the uninformed/powerless. Bernie’s main platform is income inequality and the removal of money from politics. Probably the 2 biggest issues that are a threat to our democracy right now. Much to the chagrin of the 1% and the GOP, he is opening the eyes to many people that while awful, ISIS is not what you need to worry about, it is the people buying up the politicians who in turn rig the system, making your vote and my vote virtually meaningless. A study shows that between 1980-2002, only about 1% of policy and law enacted was based on what the electorate wanted. So the steady decline from a democracy to an oligarchy was clear even as far back as 2002.
I am so sick of hearing people rant and rave about the moochers and the thieves of the welfare system, when corporate welfare is looked at as enabling growth, even though the middle class has not seen one cent of that growth. Corporate profits are at an all time high, while wages, when accounting for inflation, are lower than they were in the 70s. The GOP pits the poor against the middle class, while the rich count their money. They attempt to hide what they are doing by sowing fear, “Obama will take your guns, Obamacare will cause you to not be allow to be a Catholic, Gays, Abortion, Religion, ISIS AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!”
Why can’t I leave my wife at home to watch my kid? My father could and he didn’t even have a college degree. I went through 4 years of undergrad and law school, but here I am, along with many of my other highly educated friends, barely scraping by in this sorry excuse of an economy.
Why is my generation worse off than my parents? (I was born in ’85) It sure wasn’t Obama, it takes a lot longer than 4-8 yrs to systematically erode an entire class of people. The GOP rails against Bernie Sanders for being a “socialist.” They say the days of Lenin and Marx are coming to American if he is to be elected. They need a course in political science as Sanders is not a Marxist or a totalitarian Soviet style socialist. His style of socialism is not of a totalitarian state, he wants to take us back to our economic status of the 1950s-60s, with higher income tax rates on the super rich and the removal of corporate tax loopholes and subsidies. Since the Great Recession, the middle class’s tax burden has increased while corporations and the rich have had to bear less of a burden. How can an economy completely recover from a collapse when the very people it depends on to succeed are the ones being the hardest hit? The corporations and banks that are funding the Republican party’s and Hillary Clinton’s campaigns had no problem taking federal bailout money from the government as the sky fell around them. Now it is time to end this charade and bail out the middle class, the people who made this country what it is today. From climate change, war/foreign policy, Obamacare/abortion, it is all about MONEY.
So instead of knocking Bernie for allowing a couple of angry protesters to take the stage, talk about how important the issues he raises are to preserving democracy and revitalizing the middle class. Talk about how he had approx 100,000 people attend his 3 rallies over this past weekend. Talk about the fact he is the only candidate who has presented any viable solutions to get us out of the mess that Bush 2 and his cronies put is in.
Dave:
Sorry I have not gotten back to you on this. I hope to do so tomorrow. It gave me some good food for thought. Thanks.
The Dubois analogy applies to the republicans too. Sanders at least is not as nefarious as president Bush and Dick Cheney pretending to be tough fighters while launching wars that sacrifice the blood of marginalized young Americans on false pretenses of WMD from the comfort of the Oval Office. That’s what we’ll get again with this field of republicans.
Eyre:
Agree completely. The Republican Party has become the party of war. The two men you mention, especially Cheney are good examples of fighting from underground bunkers and having others forced into doing the fighting. While DuBois was talking about the blacks; with the Bush/Cheney we have to think of the 1% who volunteers to join the military the great majority of whom come from economically depressed poor and downtrodden areas in America. Nixon’s tricky plan to do away with a draft that had the potential to affect all American families and to gather into our Armed Forces the children of the voiceless opened the door to personal wars such as Cheney/Bush decided to use them in.
No doubt Bernie will keep us out of war but at what cost. There are some things we may just have to fight for and Bernie is apt not to recognize that is the case. My take is that Obama has it just about right at most times when it comes to the issue of war which is to avoid it at all costs until there is a real threat to our national security. In retrospect there have been a couple of minor threats over the past 70 years where the use of troops may be justified; and perhaps a time when they were not used when they might have made a substantial difference.
My real problem is I don’t want to see Hill_Billy elected since she seems to ooze sleaze and there is no telling what schemes for self-enrichment she will bring to the job. Will she also like the Republicans yearn to go to war there is no way to know. I don’t want to see any of the Republicans who would rather follow Netanyahu’s vision of what America should be than figuring out what is best from the American perspective. The only hope is that If Obama can hold onto the Iranian deal, then perhaps a Republican won’t rush off to start a war with Iran.