DEM POTUS Candidate Life Experience Profile #7: John K. Delaney
The plan was to write these “life experience” diaries at a rate of one per week as candidates announced. However, candidates have been announcing quickly and so we’ve had to increase the rate in order...
View ArticleDEM POTUS Candidate Life Experience Profile # 8: Andrew Yang
I admit it, until this week, I had never heard of Andrew Yang. But he is running for President of the United States (apparently he announced last November), so I will profile him in this series. For...
View ArticleDEM POTUS Candidate Life Experience Profile #9: Pete Buttigieg
On Wednesday, the mayor of South Bend, IN, Pete Buttigieg (Boot-edge-edge), announced the formation of an exploratory committee to run for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States....
View ArticleSCOTUS Seems Poised to Strike Down Roe v. Wade This Week
I am not a lawyer, so I don’t know how worried to be. But it seems from the reporting on ThinkProgress, that the right wing 5 on the SCOTUS appear poised to overturn Roe v. Wade in a new case June...
View ArticleKamala Harris is Exciting, but Her CNN Town Hall was Unsatisfying
So far, the two 2020 candidates who excite me the most are Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Sen. Kamala Harris. Harris seems to have more of the “it factor,” the magic that we need to win. (Warren has some...
View ArticleYes, Northam Must Resign, But I Hurt for Him. WRONG--NOT ANYMORE
I am a 56 year old white man. I grew up in the Civil Rights movement, literally. I was carried on my father’s shoulders in the march from Selma to Montgomery in 1965. Yet, I was not as “woke” as a...
View ArticleDEM POTUS Candidate Life Experience Profile #10: Cory Booker
Gee, Cory, you couldn’t have announced yesterday (Thursday), so I could have this profile ready to go today (Friday)? Senator Booker announced his candidacy today. Usually, I post these candidate life...
View ArticleLooking Forward to Tomorrow's Good News Roundup
Since November, I have been more optimistic about the future of this country than at any time since Drumpf’s “election.” Democrats took back the House in a huge wave, despite losing a few more Senate...
View ArticleBooks by Democratic POTUS Candidates
Although many are often written using a ghostwriter, books by presidential candidates are often informative. A few of our U.S. presidents have been great writers: Thomas Jefferson, James Madison,...
View ArticleElizabeth Warren Makes Surprise Appearance at Native American Conference: Is...
Huffpo reports that Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) made a surprise appearance today at the National Indian Women’s “Supporting Each Other” lunch. She was there to introduce Cheryl Andrews-Maltais, the...
View ArticleDEM POTUS Candidate Profile #11: Amy Klobuchar
As readers of this series know, late last December I wrote a diary suggesting that one metric for sifting through the very large crowd of Democratic candidates for the 2020 POTUS nomination should be...
View ArticleNot Just Beating Trump: Dems Need to Work for 2nd Blue Wave in 2020
Writing in Salon and reprinted in Alternet.org, Paul Rosenberg writes that beating Donald Trump in 2020 might not be Democrats’ most important task. Yes, retaking the White House is essential, but for...
View ArticleSuddenly Feeling Much Less Optimistic About 2020
I voted for Sen. Sanders in 2016 and Sec. Clinton in the general. But the entrance of Sanders in the 2020 race fills me with dismay. So does Kos poll showing him getting a plurality of support from...
View ArticleProgressive Taxation: Do All of It
There have been numerous progressive tax proposals by progressive Democrats recently. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY-14) wants to return the top marginal tax rate (for incomes over $10 million per...
View ArticleDem POTUS Candidate Profile #12: Bernie Sanders
In this diary, I advocated that one metric for sifting through the very large list of Democratic candidates for President was to examine their backgrounds, looking at “broad life experience” for...
View ArticleElectric Airplanes: A Game Changer for the Green New Deal
Over on ThinkProgress, Joe Romm has a great article titled, The Green New Deal Doesn’t Need to Choose Between Planes or Trains: Here’s Why. Fromm notes that one of the RWNJ attacks on the Green New...
View ArticleMeghan McCain's GOP Hubris: "I'm a Highly Educated Woman."
The late Sen. John McCain’s daughter, Meghan McCain, has become increasingly unhinged on The View. Her dual role of “anti-Trumper” and GOP-defender has become increasingly impossible. She keeps...
View ArticleBernie's Running in the 2020 Democratic Primaries--but has Filed to Run in...
If DailyKos is still a site for electing “more and better Democrats,” then we cannot support the candidacy of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT). He is not a Democrat and seems to be plotting the downfall of...
View ArticleDem POTUS Candidate Profile # 13: John Hickenlooper
In this diary I wrote last December, I advocated that one metric for sifting through the very large list of Democratic candidates for President was to examine their backgrounds, looking at “broad life...
View ArticleDEM POTUS Candidate Profile # 14: Beto O'Rourke
Last December, it was already clear that there would be a huge 2020 field of Democratic primary candidates and in this diary I suggested that one metric we might use for sorting through them was to...
View ArticleThe MSNBC Gillibrand Town Hall in Michigan
I’m watching the Gillibrand Town Hall and I am more impressed than I expected to be. She’s doing better than she did at the CNN Town Hall or in her interview with Rachel Maddow. In both of those...
View ArticleWait? No More Mueller Indictments??????
Wait? The Mueller Report is in without any further indictments??? Where’s the indictment of Wilbur Ross? Erik Prince? Jared Kushner? Ivanka Trump? Donald Trump, Jr.? Eric Trump? Jeff Sessions? WTF?
View ArticleCould the Death Penalty be Abolished in the USA in the Next Decade?
I was born into a civil rights family and a family opposed to the Vietnam War, but the earliest social justice cause I took up on my own was the abolition of the death penalty. I have been opposed to...
View ArticleNew Hampshire Senate Repeals Death Penalty!
They Did IT! The Senate in New Hampshire just repealed the death penalty with a veto proof majority. The NH House had already done so. Last year, an identical bill passed both chambers of the state...
View ArticleTrump Gets Primaried: Ex-Gov. Bill Weld (R-MA) to Challenge for GOP Nomination
This is huge. No, Bill Weld is not going to win the GOP nomination. The Rs will re-nominate Trump.But if Weld can mount a credible campaign—possibly win an early state like NH—he’ll weaken Trump going...
View ArticleQuick Transition to Renewables & Electric Vehicles Could Save Planet...
Rapid transition to clean energy and electric cars could not only save the planet, but could save the global economy $160 trillion USD by 2050. Part of this is because falling battery costs will soon...
View ArticleIANAL: Why Doesn't This Amount to Conspiracy with the Russians?
So, I’ve read much of the Mueller Report (Redacted Version) now and I think it’s clear that the only reason Drumpf isn’t indicted for obstruction is the OLC memo saying that a sitting POTUS cannot be...
View ArticleWarren's Education Plan is Amazing!
Elizabeth Warren announces a plan to end student debt and make higher education affordable for all. Now, I was a big fan of Bernie Sanders’ tuition free public college plan and still am. It’s a very...
View ArticleJay Inslee Calls for a Climate Only Primary Debate
Gov. Jay Inslee (D-WA) is challenging his Democratic rivals to a “Climate Change Only” Primary debate. Although Inslee is not my first choice for nominee, his commitment as a climate hawk is the...
View ArticleWho LOST @ "She The People?" The Candidates Who Didn't Show Up!
There was a great diary on yesterday’s “She The People” Candidate Forum in Houston, TX. It highlighted some of the good candidate moments. In the comments, some, including me, debated who did well...
View ArticleInslee's Bold Plan to Tackle Climate Change is Amazing!
Gov. Jay Inslee (D-WA), candidate for the Democratic nomination for POTUS is near the back of the pack, polling at 1%. But his new Evergreen Economy Initiative is so very bold, matching the size of the...
View ArticleBreaking: New Hampshire Becomes 21st State to Abolish the Death Penalty!!
Back in April, I wrote a post reviewing the progress in recent years in abolishing the death penalty, and a follow up when New Hampshire’s legislature passed repeal by veto proof majorities in both...
View ArticleBiden Once Thought Clarence Thomas Would Be "Reasonable" on Abortion
Democratic activists have been understandably bewildered and angry at POTUS frontrunner VP Joe Biden’s repeated claims that Trump is an aberration and that he can work with Republicans, all evidence to...
View ArticleMcGrath's Flip-Flop Shows How Tricky Her Path to Victory Will Be
The Louisville Courier-Journal lets us know that Amy McGrath flip-flopped today on whether she would have voted to confirm Kavanaugh. Early yesterday, she said she would’ve voted to confirm Kava-Nope,...
View ArticleAnd All in 4 Short Years: The Accomplishments of Pres. Carter
Richard Moe of the History News Network has an excellent article on Alternet called Why Jimmy Carter Was Actually One of the Most Consequential Presidents in Modern History. It is well worth a read....
View ArticleThe Nobel Prizes: 2019
As a slight respite from the juggernaut of impeachment news (and all Trump scandals), the looming Brexit showdown, gloomy ecological news, etc., I thought I’d remind folk that the winners of the 2019...
View Article2019 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine Awarded to Hypoxia Researchers
The Karolinska Institute in Sweden announced today that three (3) scientists have won the 2019 Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine. They are William Kaelin, Jr. at Harvard University, Sir Peter...
View Article2019 Nobel Prize in Physics
Continuing my brief diaries on the week of Nobel announcements, today we have the Nobel Prize in Physics. Prof. Goran Hansson of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced that ½ of the 2019 Nobel...
View Article2019 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has announced that the 2019 Nobel Prize has been awarded to three (3) scientists for work leading to the development of lithium-ion batteries. Lithium-ion...
View Article2018 & 2019 Nobel Prizes in Literature
Because of a scandal involving sexual assault last year, there was no Nobel Prize awarded in literature. So this year, two Nobel Prizes in literature are being awarded. The Swedish Academy announces...
View Article2019 Nobel Peace Prize
Berit Reiss-Anderson, Chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, has announced that the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to Abiy Ahmed, the Prime Minister of Ethiopia. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed...
View ArticleState Rep. Charles Booker (D-KY-43), Kentucky's Youngest Black Lawmaker, to...
For those (including myself) who have been underwhelmed by the campaign of Lt. Col. Amy McGrath against Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Moscow) in the 2020 U.S. Senate campaign, and who have been frustrated...
View ArticleCO and VA Take Steps Against Capital Punishment
Two purple states (both rapidly growing bluer) 1600 miles apart are taking major steps against capital punishment. Colorado has been under a moratorium on executions since 2013. Historically, this has...
View ArticleNon-Covid-19/Non-Election GOOD NEWS!: CO Becomes 22nd State to Abolish the...
3 times before since 2000, CO has come close—only to fall 1 to 2 votes short. So, I was ecstatic earlier this year when both chambers of the state legislature voted to abolish capital punishment for...
View ArticleKY Will Be Able to Vote by Mail in June Primary
Good News! Kentuckians will be allowed to vote-by-mail in the June 23rd primary! Gov. Andy Beshear (D-KY) had previously issued an executive order to this effect only to have the state legislature (GOP...
View ArticleA Suggestion for Biden on Police Reform
Vice President Biden says (and I believe him) that he decided to run for POTUS after Charlottesville and, specifically, after Trump equated the actions of Neo-Nazis and those Antifa members who...
View ArticleI Bailed Out My Daughters and Their Friends This Weekend
In my youth (and even into middle age), I was in my share of protests. I probably will be again, but at this point, I am doing more to support others. This weekend I spent my hard earned money to pay...
View ArticleI Knew Rev. C. T. Vivian
Both Rep. John Lewis (1940-2020) and Rev. C. T. Vivian (1925-2020) were heroes of mine. But I only met Rep. Lewis once—and that was at a conference in the early 2000s where I got him to sign my copy of...
View ArticleUgh, I Just Got Switched to the New Daily Kos Format!
And I absolutely hate it. Anyone know how I can switch back? Please?
View ArticleBiden Should Accuse Trump of Attacking His Catholic Faith (Which is Probably...
Many of us saw that insanely weird OH Trump speech in which the Cheeto-in-Chief accused former VP of being “against God,” and claimed that a Biden presidency would “hurt God” and “hurt the Bible.” It...
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