OBAMA MAKES ECONOMY MOVE FOR PROGRESSIVES IN 2016

Bernie Sanders is The Progressive and President Barack Obama is doing everything in his power to pave the way for a winning economy for the Progressives in 2016. By the way, what happened to all the nay-sayers who said Obama would bring the country to Armageddon? Notables like John Boehner and Mitch McConnell plus a lot more of their GOP numbnuts. The U.S. added 223,000 jobs in April, unemployment fell to 5.4%. It was 7% when Obama took office. There isn't the shadow of a doubt that Republicans had no hand in this improvement, if anything, they have fought tooth and nail everything this administration tried to do. And yet it has survived and prospered. The stock market is making gains and wages are finally on the upswing. Obama said: "If you are persistent you'll get it. If you are consistent you'll keep it." It's now time for Bernie Sanders to take up the mantle.

GOP FRUITCAKE REMAINS THE ENVY OF THE IDIOTS

California Republican Darrell Issa commented recently to MSNBC that the poor people of the U.S are the envy of the world. To be fair, they are no doubt better off than their counterparts in 3rd world countries. But that doesn't give this numbnuts the right to belittle the less-fortunate in America. Especially when the man has a net worth of $350 million. He was being questioned about income equality in the U.S., which, of course, he would know nothing about. Issa is one of those GOP radicals that attacks anything Democratic, whether it has merit or not. Like accusations the IRS purposely investigated the Tea Party. Congressional probe of former Atty. Gen. Eric Holder on "Operation Fast and Furious" to list a couple. Like Republican Mitch McConnell in the Senate, he is simply out to get Obama.

MOTHER'S DAY SCARRED BY CHILDREN GUN DEATHS

Happy Mother's Day

We can thank the National Rifle Assn. for bloodying an otherwise joyous Mother's Day for some who have either lost or had their kids maimed by guns. Yes, the NRA refuses to allow simple methods to stop this violence like background checks and the banning of assault weapons that have been used in many of the massacres on children. Another primary reason is irresponsible parents who don't secure their guns so the children can't play with them and kill themselves. The problem of unsecured guns is significant and was highlighted recently when a child found a loaded gun in House Speaker John Boehner's office. Everytown for Gun Safety and Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America announced "there have been at least 80 unintentional shootings involving children, resulting in 57 injuries and 24 deaths since January 1, 2015. In many cases the parents are not charged and they very well should be. It's useless to say there are too many guns out there in the wrong hands because the American public continues to allow the NRA and Congress to proliferate more on the streets. Until you realize what you are doing, there will just be more bloody Mother's Days.

ANOTHER OBAMA HATER...THIS TIME FROM IOWA

U. S. Representative Steve King from Iowa has just blamed the Baltimore riots on President Obama. Another Bible thumper, his reasoning is that if we had had a different President, one that would have come out with fire and brimstone, telling the public that God would want them to be nice to each other and go home to their beds, they would have done just that. Iowa has enough problems with its other lunatic, Joni Ernst, now they have a new one. Here's what King said about Obama's middle name and a connection to Islam in 2008:

"I don't want to disparage anyone because of their race, their ethnicity, their name—whatever their religion their father might have been, I'll just say this: When you think about the optics of a Barack Obama potentially getting elected President of the United States – I mean, what does this look like to the rest of the world? What does it look like to the world of Islam? I will tell you that, if he is elected president, then the radical Islamists, the al-qaida, the radical Islamists and their supporters, will be dancing in the streets in greater numbers than they did on September 11."

Well, none of what he predicted happened. But what kind of conservative religious right would condone comments like this? And I will say it again, President Barack Obama has lived through some of the most racist times of this country since the 1960s and has always stayed far above radicals like Steve King.

POLICE ON THE STREETS WITH ALMOST NO TRAINING

The only training Nancy Cummings received in the Alexander, Arkansas police dept. to become a cop was whether or not she could hit a target 25 yards away 80% of the time. Hell, in the rural areas of that state most anyone can do that. And it's all legal, state law, as a convenience for small police departments that desperately need officers. In Nancy Cummings case her lack of training resulted in her shooting a black man in the back, killing him, during an arrest for which she was later charged with manslaughter. But Arkansas isn't the only state; in Indiana the cop can be on the job a year before requiring any training, except for firearms. This is not only a case of stupid law but is also a slap in the face to well-trained police officers across the country. At a time when cops are under such close scrutiny in alleged racial situations, the good ones don't need this crap.

DOES BERNIE SANDERS NEED TO TAKE A STRONG STAND ON GUN CONTROL?

We need to know now, today, where Bernie sanders stands on basic gun control. He has taken positions for background checks and banning assault rifles but Slate reports that he, "supported the most odious NRA–backed law in recent memory—one that may block Sandy Hook families from winning a lawsuit against the manufacturer of the gun used to massacre their children." Further, it says that he is skeptical of gun control and "invested" in the interests of both gun owners and gun manufacturers. THIS IS NOT GOOD! Sen. Sanders needs to qualify this because Slate is calling him a gun nut, to which he replied on CNN that this wasn't possible since his rating with the National Rifle Assn. is a big "F." He added that he supports hunting and target shooting and that Vermont, his home state, is relatively free of gun violence, exclaiming though, that there is a big difference between Vermont and Baltimore and Los Angeles. But as an example, where does he stand on closing the gun show loophole and would he vote to require training before someone can buy a gun? In any Progressive administration, gun control must be a priority. PERIOD!

I'M NOT READY TO DIE YET

I haven't even learned how to fully use my smartphone yet, so although I am 82-years old, I can't pass away until I have at least mastered this modern technology. And there's much more in the making so I don't know when I'll be ready to go. Just today I found there is a semi-truck that drives itself; self-driving cars have already been around for a while. Although I don't have diabetes, I might try Google's contact lens that monitor your blood sugar level, just in case. And skateboards came along way after I quit being a kid but I'm willing to take my chances on the new hoverboards that never touch the ground. I've played around with artificial intelligence already in a computer modeling program with outcomes that were downright scary. I want to see at least one drone come to my house from Amazon.com delivering my order before I check out. Genome editing has been done in China and I'm hoping to see that performed here on radical conservatives turning them into progressives. There's more and this just shows what a great age we live in today, something apparently even the U.S. Congress can't fuck up.

GUNS ARE BLASÉ EVEN IN THE U.S.CAPITOL

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Along with being the clown of the U.S. House, it would seem that John Boehner now has egg on his face. When leaving his suite in the U. S. Capitol recently, Boehner left a loaded Glock pistol, no safety, unattended. A 7-year-old visiting the building found it. No word from the National Rifle Assn. if the Speaker is a member. If he is, he must not have taken the training course. "In January, a member of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's security detail left a Glock in a Capitol Visitor Center bathroom, with the magazine removed but stuffed inside a toilet seat cover holder," said the Daily News. Apparently the gun was in plain sight in one of the stalls. Gun control groups exclaim that these are just more examples of a careless adult public being irresponsible with firearms. "At least 100 children aged 14 and under were killed in unintentional shootings in the United States during the 12 months that followed the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut," according to a report published Wednesday by the gun control group Everytown for Gun Safety, from MINNREPOST. Are we just stupid or will someone do something about this?

BERNIE SANDERS WILL RESTORE THE MIDDLE CLASS

Bernie Sanders stands for the middle class and this is nothing new, it has been his mantra for the 25 years he has spent in Congress. If you're looking for consistency, Bernie is it. As the middle class has declined, the wealthy have just gotten wealthier, at the sake of the middle class and the poor. When we have corporate CEOs in this country making upwards of $300 million annually and over 600 thousand in the U.S. homeless, not to mention the 16% of the population below the poverty level, there is something very wrong. The middle class demise was accelerated by the Wall Street crash of 2008, with Sen. Sanders exclaiming that no bank should be allowed to get too big to fail.

To quote the candidate: "Today, we have more wealth and income inequality than any major country on earth. We have one of the highest childhood poverty rates and we are the only country in the industrialized world which does not guarantee health care for all. We once led the world in terms of the percentage of our people who graduated college, but we are now in 12th place. Our infrastructure, once the envy of the world, is collapsing." Wages and total income for the working public are decreasing while the rich get richer. As President, Bernie sanders would demand that Congress address these issues and you can depend on him keep driving until the job is done. 

IMMATURITY OR JUST PLAIN STUPID?

A mother of one of these dull-wits in the picture said she thinks it's just immaturity. It is this kind of apathy that spawns acts like that of James Eagan Holmes just miles from where this prom was being held when he killed 12 and injured 70 in an Aurora movie theatre. It's not funny and these young people are old enough to know that. The Confederate Flag represents defiance and the guns represent hostility and when the two are shared by a group, it can get out of hand and lead to, well, another Aurora. To begin with, if they are real, where the hell did they get the assault rifles? If it's from their dull-witted parents, then, we can probably thank the National Rifle Assn. for its demand for loose gun laws. It is one thing to be the country with the most gun deaths, it is another to be the country with the most gun nuts.

STUPID ARIZONA (JOE ARPAIO) VOTERS

Arizona is the worst run state in the country. It treats its Hispanic population like crap, has the loosest gun laws in the U.S., extremely low educational standards and completely ignores its battered children, to name only a few flaws. The recent outgoing governor Jan Brewer was twice selected as America's lousiest in that job. And then there is Sheriff Joe Arpaio. In a recent Arizona Republic article it was reported that despite current federal contempt-of-court proceedings against him, delusional Arizona supporters continue sending money to his reelection campaign. $5.5 million in the last two years. Do they know something that we don't or are they just more of the stupid Arizona voters? I think it's the later.  At the time of this deluge of dollars the Sheriff is being held in contempt of court for ordering his deputies to harass Hispanics...just because they are Hispanic. He was ordered not to do this by a federal court.

There are 16 hate groups in Arizona as documented on this So. Poverty Law Center map. You have to wonder if one of those clusters might be the ones who are funneling so much money to the man known for persecuting Hispanics.

HUGE CHASM BETWEEN GOP AND DEMS ON WHAT TO DO IN CONGRESS

Republicans say the priority of Congress is national security and terrorism. The Dems say it's jobs creation and economic growth. As far as I know we are doing everything possible to prevent a terrorist threat, as evidenced by some recent captures of bad guys before they had the chance to act. We can't possibly know everything that's going on but Homeland Security seems to be doing its job. What we do know is that the GOP throws out the terrorism threat for basically two reasons. One, keep their electorate scared so they can drum up the issue during elections for votes. Two, if they can keep the American public anxious, they can pass more defense spending that goes right in the pockets of their supporters. For Republicans, terrorism was followed by the deficit and government spending, job creation and economic growth and religious and moral values. For the Dems, second was health care, climate change and then national security and terrorism. Take your pick but I would much rather live in a country of full employment, with the sick and needy taken care of and breathe air that won't asphyxiate me. Any of the three would probably kill me before any terrorist threat.

CAN WE SAY REVOLUTION TODAY? BERNIE SANDERS DID

There was a time when to say revolution would have put you behind bars. But then there was the Tea Party revolution and everyone knew the word had become a joke. Yesterday presidential candidate Bernie Sanders called for a revolution against the billionaire class. I predict Progressives are standing in line all over the country to join; I am one of them. And the implication seems to be that Hillary Clinton is in that class. Sen. Sanders is a Democratic Socialist who has been standing up for working families for the last 30 years. Since he won't take the billionaires' "vulgar" money, as he puts it, how can the average person out there not vote for him? If you are afraid of the Socialist label, don't be. Even though he is calling for a revolution, it will be affected by White House and congressional action not on the streets.

GUN CONTROL ADVOCATES SHOULD LOVE BERNIE SANDERS...I THINK

The Senator from Vermont who is running the Democratic nomination against Hillary Clinton has voted for more background checks and to ban assault weapons and magazines of over 10 rounds. But on the other hand he voted against the Brady bill, voted to block lawsuits against gun manufacturers, and voted to allow guns to be transported in checked baggage on Amtrak trains and to prohibit foreign aid from going to any international efforts to restrict gun ownership. Not sure where Sanders stands on open and concealed carry and so far cannot find where he has voted for or against. The latter is a hot issue and is now being voted on in the house to drop some of the requirements on getting a permit. This is my sore spot because there are so many cowboys on the street carrying around a gun in a holster or concealed who have not had one iota of training. Anyone who stands for that does not deserve to be President.

CARLY FIORINA-HEWLETT PACKARD SLAYER

Carly Fiorina brought Hewlett Packard to the bottom of the barrel with her style of management. She laid off 34,000 workers and then another 16,000 had to be let go. After six years and signs of her faltering business methods she was fired. NOW SHE WANTS TO BE PRESIDENT AND PUT THE WHOLE COUNTRY IN THE TANK. Where does the GOP come up with these people? Oh, by the way, she was an adviser to the John McCain presidential campaign in 2008. So far, she's batting 1000. Right now her major push is anti-Hillary, as if Jeb Bush, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Rand Paul, ad infinitum weren't anti-Hillary. Fiorina keeps saying, "I'm ready for Hillary," which I, and am sure millions more Americans, doubt very much. What's she's ready for is the pasture and it's time to put her there.

TED CRUZ CONSPIRACY MONGER

Anyone remember the movie, Viva Max, with Peter Ustinov, John Astin, Pamela Tiffin and Jonathan Winters? Ustinov, a Mexican General, along with his sidekick Astin, with soldiers march from their country to San Antonio, Texas, where they plan to retake the Alamo. It is a hilarious comedy of blunders from both countries with an eventual outcome...well, you should really see the movie. Ted Cruz, who probably doesn't even know what the Alamo is since he is actually from Canada, thinks the exercise called “Jade Helm 15” is a conspiracy against the people of Texas. The implication is the feds are holding these domestic military training exercises in Texas to implement martial law, seize Americans’ guns, and imprison political dissidents. His lunacy, along with other touched Texans, mimics the antics of Jonathan Winters in the movie, who plays a Brigadier General in the National Guard. The locals bumble through everything they do but the Mexican troops eventually return home. At least Peter Ustinov's threat was real, although a farce in the making. Ted Cruz wouldn't know a real conspiracy if it ran over him.

U.S. ELECTION LAW IS CRAP

Election laws have come under scrutiny for years but this approach takes the cake. Presidential hopeful Jeb Bush has decided to thwart campaign finance rules by raising tons of money before announcing his candidacy. It's legal, as long as he hasn't said he's a candidate. He can raise all the money he wants, any way he wants until then. It's farcical and I am sure another presidential contender by the name of Sen. Bernie Sanders would agree. He described billionaire money to finance elections as "vulgar." It's more than vulgar, it's obscene when big business can go out and buy an election so the recipients are in their back pockets. A classic example of this is the National Rifle Assn. who has bought Congress for years. 288 members of Congress have an "A" rating from the NRA, meaning they get top dollar from the organization. There are 535 members of Congress which means the NRA "As" equals more than 50% of those who represent us. The system is broken and needs to be fixed.

IF GAY MARRIAGE LOSES SUPREME COURT LOSES

I am curious if there is any leeway in the process of a SCOTUS decision to hedge on the side of what's right? I mean if Chief Justice John Roberts leaned in favor of the gay issue once before, something must have urged him in that direction. And all of a sudden, even some anti-gun legislation that was blasphemy a few years ago has favored the gun control advocates. Plus, the feds are leaving the marijuana controversy alone for the time being. I mean, if you really want to find a loophole in the Constitution, SCOTUS is the one to do it. Gay rights should be a slam dunk though, based on the 14th Amendment. It clearly forbids "the states to restrict the basic rights of citizens or other persons." But, then, there's that Bible thing saying  "You shall not lie with a male as one lies with a female; it is an abomination." This is the conservative, radical, religious ideology that has been controlling the right of the Supreme Court for the last few years. It could be that SCOTUS senses the importance of being morally right today, as well as constitutionally correct, and their timing is right if they don't want to start a revolution

BERNIE SANDERS DOESN'T WANT THE "VULGAR" BILLIONAIRE BUCKS

Presidential contender Bernie Sanders says he neither needs nor wants the tainted money that comes from billionaire donors like the Koch Bros. I believe him, and here's why. In a post yesterday, we uncovered some 30-million potential Progressives in this country. There are another 40-million Democrats, not necessarily Progressive, but most of whom don't want to see another Republican president. If you hit all 70-million for $5.00 twice, that's more than Barack Obama spent on reelection in 2012. For those of you who question my numbers, sure, all 70-mil won't give but with $5.00 as a standard, the range could be anywhere from $1.00 to $100 or more and the total amount could be even higher. Sen. Sanders actual words about the issue were, "Frankly, it is vulgar to me that we're having a war of billionaires." This is the kind of statement Progressives have been looking for for years. Now that you have it, run with it.

BERNIE SANDERS OUT-RAISES GOP OPPONENTS

In his first 24-hours in the race to be the Democratic nominee for president, Bernie Sanders raised over $1.5 million, outdoing all his Republican challengers. Hillary Clinton declined to release the figures on her first day. Now that's a good thing and very positive for someone who is relatively unknown, but Bernie has a long way to go. In 2012, Barack Obama raised $715,677,692 and spent $683,546,548. Mitt Romney raised $446,135,997 and spent $433,281,516. What his first day proves is that Sanders has an excellent base to which he can appeal and they are responsive. I do not know exactly how many Progressives there are in the U.S., but based on a series of reliable sources, I am projecting some 30 million. President Obama received a popular vote of 65,915,796 in 2012. So Bernie Sanders will need a portion of the balance of Democratic voters; some 40 million not necessarily considered Progressive. His chances are looking better each day.

WHO SAYS BERNIE SANDERS CAN'T WIN?

Sen. Bernie Sanders is running for President as a Democrat, when actually he is an independent from Vermont whose political philosophy is Democratic Socialism. Finally, a Progressive. An MSNBC article says it is important that he run, even if he can't win. I think he can win. Progressives have ultimately realized that the only way we can get what we want is to come out and vote to elect the President and Congress that will get it done. Actually there were 70 Democratic Socialists counted in the Congress in 2010, among them Raúl M. Grijalva of AZ, Dennis Kucinich, OH, Elijah Cummings, MD, John Lewis, GA, Ed Markey, MA, Charles Rangel, NY, Maxine Waters, CA, and of course Bernie Sanders. You can see them all here. Now that's pretty impressive and a good number to start with for 2016. What you Progressives have to understand is that you are not alone. Our views aren't anti-American like some conservatives would have you believe. They are right for this country and it is time that they are expressed nationally.

BALTIMORE RISING

Marilyn Mosby, Baltimore State Atty., has brought the Freddie Gray matter back into perspective for the city of Baltimore as well as the rest of the country. The 35-year-old is only in her fourth month on the job but she has acted quickly in charging six of the city's police officers from murder to manslaughter to assault. She found theFreddie Gray, arrest was even illegal since the knife Gray was arrested for was not a switchblade; it was legal. In reflecting on the riots now, there is justification for the unrest of the black community but not justification for the rioting. But when you think about it, tension builds emotions which have to be expressed, and often, these days, it all tends to go in the wrong direction. In Ferguson, MO, it was blatant racism from the police chief on down. If the white people of this country think the blacks are going to continue to take this without a more disastrous retaliation, they are going to be sorrowfully wrong.

WHICH VERSION OF THE BIBLE DO YOU FOLLOW?

There are hundreds of translations of the Bible and I would think that would be a nightmare for devout Christians, especially fundamentalists, although they say they don't take all scriptures literally. So if they pick and choose, what does that say about the Bible as a whole? Even Jesus said, "You have heard it said...but I say to you..." The site Biblica states there are two views on how the translation should be conducted. On the one hand the "translation should stick just as closely as possible to every word of the original Hebrew and Greek." On the other it, "should transfer the message, that is, the exact thought and emotion of the original text." For those who favor the King James Version, dating back to 1611, if you tried to interpret its scriptures literally you would be a lost soul. And then there is the Apocrypha (meaning hidden), a second set of booklets that were never included in the Bible nor talked of by Jesus and the Apostles. It is full of history and can be fascinating to read.

My point here is that no matter what version of the Bible you follow, you must face up to the fact that it was written by human beings, no doubt divinely inspired, so there is always the possibility of inaccuracies. Faith is a good thing, as long as it is tempered by facts.

INSTANT CITIZENSHIP-IS IT RIGHT?

It is one thing when immigrants who have been here for years, contributing to the U.S., become citizens through the legal process. It is another when an immigrant crosses the border into this country with her unborn baby with the express purpose to birth it here for citizenship. But the 14th Amendment clearly states, " All persons born or naturalized in the United States..." It makes no distinction to who they are or how they got here, it's an open invitation that GOP members of Congress are now questioning. As is the rage over the 2nd Amendment, we haven't yet heard the shouts about what the "Founding Fathers" meant. Just what Republicans want to do to put another barrier up against the Hispanic movement. And this whole issue would not be flaring up again in a completely new venue if the GOP would help pass immigration reform.

Incidentally, if you're in the changing mood, you should focus on the 2nd Amendment and either revise it drastically or get rid of it altogether.

THIS POPE IS AWESOME

Pope Francis took a stand on homosexuality, although not endorsing it, rather, lightening the load on the church's LGBT community. He acknowledged climate change and the need to do something now. And his latest cause is to support women's rights to be paid the same as men. The homosexuality issue is progressing through the Supreme Court right now, climate change seems to be getting more attention, even around the world, but a woman's right to make the same kind of money as her male counterpart is going nowhere. Despite the Equal Pay Act of 1963, women working full time earn only 77% as much as the guy in the next office doing exactly the same job. How do you justify that in a civilized nation? You don't, you just write it off to those insecure bubbas out there who apparently aren't too sure about their masculinity.