A car accident on the Beltway, a truck fire on I-95, and as a result an hour and a half commute to travel 26 miles.
That's an average speed of around 18 mph.
The only time I smiled on the way to work, was when I saw this bumper sticker:
I did smile at that.
“Bernie called me the day after our election here,” Jeremy Corbyn said in an interview published Thursday by the Intercept. “I was half-asleep watching something on television. And Bernie comes on to say, well done on the campaign, and I was interested in your campaigning ideas. Where did you get them from? And I said, well, you, actually.”This amuses me no end.
Corbyn, who won the leadership of the Labour Party in 2015 and held it after a 2016 challenge, has frequently been cited by Sanders as an example of how left politics can win. This year, a snap election that began with predictions about Corbyn driving Labour into the wilderness ended with a series of surprise gains, and Prime Minister Theresa May clinging to power in a controversial deal with Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party. According to a post-election analysis by Ipsos Mori, over half of eligible British voters under age 30 turned out — double the youth turnout rate in some American elections. That led to surprising Labour gains in cities with large universities, with student turnout overturning large Conservative majorities.
When Bernie Sanders did his tour with Tom Perez in their mutual political tour, he paid his way for his expenses so as not to be beholden to the DNC:
Sen. Bernie Sanders, who clashed with the Democratic National Committee during his 2016 presidential campaign and continues to criticize the party, gave $100,000 to the DNC in May to help cover costs from his cross-country spring tour with DNC Chairman Tom Perez.Claiming that the money transfer, "Signals a thaw in a high-profile, often-icy relationship," seems to me to be a little bit clueless.
Sanders and Perez embarked on the nine-state “unity tour” earlier this year after Sanders' endorsed candidate, Rep. Keith Ellison — who supported Sanders in the 2016 presidential race — lost the race for DNC chairman to Perez. Sanders moved the money from his presidential campaign account to the DNC to help pay for the tour, according to campaign finance records and Sanders spokesman Josh Miller-Lewis.
The rare transfer of money from Sanders to the national Democratic Party comes after the unity tour and addition of Ellison as a “deputy chair” at the DNC, two changes that could signal a thaw in a high-profile, often-icy relationship. Former DNC chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Donna Brazile, who led the DNC after Wasserman Schultz resigned, were both Hillary Clinton allies — a fact that roiled Sanders supporters when hacked emails showed DNC staffers discussing Sanders unfavorably during the primary.
The Sanders campaign also filed a lawsuit against the DNC in 2016, alleging the party wrongly revoked his campaign’s access to voter data during that year's campaign. The lawsuit had marked a particularly low point in relations between Sanders and the party, which pulled Sanders campaign access to certain databases before the first 2016 primaries and caucuses, after discovering that Sanders staffers had improperly accessed data used by Clinton's rival campaign. Sanders withdrew the lawsuit last year.
But despite the unity tour and the May donation, Sanders is still outwardly critical of the Democratic Party, which he recently said needs “fundamental change” and "fundamental restructuring." During the 2016 presidential race, Sanders set up a joint fundraising committee with the DNC — but no money ever passed through it.
H/t naked capitalismCoal miner thanks bernie for advocating for him more than his own senator McConnell. looking forward to how people twist this into misogyny pic.twitter.com/4GLkdRpAIO— Katie Halper (@kthalps) March 14, 2017
Bernie Sanders has officially endorsed Hillary Clinton.
I knew that this was going to happen, but I'm still bumming.
G'night, all. pic.twitter.com/9F7Roh5v23— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) June 7, 2016
Last night, the Associated Press — on a day when nobody voted — surprised everyone by abruptly declaring the Democratic Party primary over and Hillary Clinton the victor. The decree, issued the night before the California primary in which polls show Clinton and Bernie Sanders in a very close race, was based on the media organization’s survey of “superdelegates”: the Democratic Party’s 720 insiders, corporate donors, and officials whose votes for the presidential nominee count the same as the actually elected delegates. AP claims that superdelegates who had not previously announced their intentions privately told AP reporters that they intend to vote for Clinton, bringing her over the threshold. AP is concealing the identity of the decisive superdelegates who said this.One question that is raised by all of this is who made the call to the AP to get this ball rolling.
Although the Sanders campaign rejected the validity of AP’s declaration — on the ground that the superdelegates do not vote until the convention and he intends to try to persuade them to vote for him — most major media outlets followed the projection and declared Clinton the winner.
Now he's not going to debate Bernie Sanders:
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) had a bemused response on Friday to Donald Trump’s decision to back out of a suggested debate between the two.He's a punk and a wimp, and Sanders called him out as such.
“Well, Mr. Trump, what are you afraid of?” the Democratic candidate said.
Sanders said reporters were the first to inform him that Trump pulled out of the prospective debate, shortly after a tech firm offered to put up the $10 million donation the presumptive Republican presidential nominee had named as a condition.
“Mr. Trump comes across as a big tough guy,” Sanders said. “If you’re so tough, let’s sit down and have that debate.”
Donald Trump was on Jimmy Kimmel, and in response a question from the late night host, Trump said that he would be willing to debate Bernie Sanders, and Sanders promptly picked up the gauntlet:
On ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" Trump was asked if he would consider holding a debate with Sanders. Trump agreed to the idea.I don't expect Trump to follow through, but there is no way that this is a losing proposition for Sanders.
"If he paid a sum toward charity I would love to do that," said the business mogul, noting that a Sanders vs. Trump debate "would have such high ratings."
In a campaign stop in North Dakota, Trump said Sanderrs would need to raise $10 million for charity in order for the debate to happen.
Sanders quickly responded with a tweet reading, "Game On. I look forward to debating Donald Trump in California before the June 7th primary."
Kentucky and Oregon both had primaries tonight.
These were both closed primaries, and Hilary was supposed to crush both of these.
Well, as I am writing this, Clinton is barely ahead in Kentucky (not been called yet), and Sanders has won by about 7 points in Oregon.
Hillary spent a lot of time and effort in Kentucky, so she has to feel like Pyrrhus of Epirus right now.
At the Nevada state convention, it appears that the (Hillary supporting) convention chair decided to put her thumb on the scales even though her side had already won:
Organizers of the Nevada State Democratic Convention said they had to rush to wrap up the "unruly and unpredictable" event on Saturday after security became an issue and objects, including chairs, were being thrown.Hillary Clinton really has two things going for her in the race for the nomination, her "inevitability", and her claimed ability to unify the party in November.
State party officials said authorities at the Paris casino in Las Vegas informed them around 10 p.m. that they could no longer provide the necessary security for the event, where tensions between Bernie Sanders supporters and party leaders flared up. The convention was scheduled to end at 7 p.m.
………
Sanders supporters have accused state party leaders of rigging the process against them, and they objected to procedural votes to approve the rules of the event. They also questioned a credentials committee's disqualification of 58 would-be Sanders delegates, who state party officials said didn't provide evidence about their identities or weren't registered to vote as Democrats by a May 1 deadline.
………
After casino officials told convention organizers to wrap up the event Saturday night, party chairwoman Roberta Lange accepted a motion to appoint delegates pre-approved by the Hillary Clinton and Sanders campaigns, organizers said. She also accepted a motion to elect the state central committee according to rules submitted by county party chairs.
Sanders supporters upset with the proceedings staged a protest outside the Nevada State Democratic Party headquarters on Sunday, writing in sidewalk chalk "Roberta Lange murdered democracy" and "Fire Roberta." Officials also said Lange had received hundreds of phone calls and text messages, including death threats, after her cellphone number was posted on social media.
Sanders issued a statement Friday, as tensions simmered before the convention, saying all Democrats shared the common goals of defeating Donald Trump and electing Democrats to office. "Working together respectfully and constructively on Saturday at the Nevada Democratic convention will move us closer to those essential goals," he said.
Phillip Bump of the Washington Post, who wrote that Bernie Sanders wasn't telling the truth about his average donation being $27, because the current average is actually $27.88, and some months, it has gone as high as $29.14.
Much pearl clutching ensues.
When most of the internet called him a ……… well ……… "Useless Meatbag", he whined about it the next day
QED.
Bernie Sanders walked the picket line with striking Verizon workers, and then the thin skinned CEO of the telco called the Senator contemptible.
Bernie responded that he welcomed the contempt of the these overpaid CEOs.
It a appears that the membership of the Transit Workers Union Local 100 also appreciated the contempt shown by those CEOs , because their membship overwhelmingly voted to endorse Sanders for the New York primary on Wednesday.
Not a surprise. After all, his opponent was on the board of directors for the virulently anti-union Walmart for years.
Hillary and Bernie went toe to toe in Brooklyn.
I was watching, and Charlie was hooting and hollering like it was the denouement of the next Star Wars movie.
He has Hillary pegged as being part of the Empire.
My quick take:
It was the most contentious debate yet.Bernie and Hillary in Brooklyn 14 April at 2100EDT:
Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton have finally agreed to have a high-stakes debate in Brooklyn on April 14 starting at 9 p.m., five days before New York Democrats vote in the April 19 primary.I will be watching.
The debate will be held at the Duggal Greenhouse on the Brooklyn Navy Yard, hosted by CNN and moderated by Wolf Blitzer. CNN chief political correspondent Dana Bash and NY1 political anchor Errol Louis will join in the questioning of the candidates. The debate will also be covered by NY 1, which serves the New York Metropolitan Area.
Brooklyn is an auspicious place for the two candidates to meet, as Sanders grew up in Brooklyn, and Clinton’s campaign headquarters is in downtown Brooklyn. This will be the first debate between the two candidates since the Univision-Washington Post debate in Miami on March 9.
The Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders campaigns are negotiating a time for their New York debate, and Hillary wants it tomorrow night, while the NCAA basketball finals are on the air:
The Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders campaigns are still negotiating over the timing of a debate before the New York primary on April 19th, with no resolution in sight.The Clinton campaign's 15th suggestion is in the morning.
Mrs. Clinton’s campaign released a statement Saturday saying they had offered the Sanders campaign three possible dates for what would be the ninth debate between the Democratic presidential hopefuls.
All were rejected, Clinton press spokesman Brian Fallon said in a statement.
“The Sanders campaign needs to stop with the games,” Mr. Fallon said.
In a statement issued later, Sanders spokesman Michael Briggs said the dates and locations proposed by the Clinton campaign “don’t make a whole lot of sense.”
“We have proposed other dates which they have rejected,” he added.
“We hope we can reach agreement in the near future,” Mr Briggs continued. “The people of New York and America deserve to see and hear a debate on the important issues facing the state and country.”
In his statement, Mr. Fallon said the Clinton campaign agreed to debate on April 4th, April 14th or April 15th.
With around 70%:
Senator Bernie Sanders routed Hillary Clinton in all three Democratic presidential contests on Saturday, infusing his underdog campaign with critical momentum and bolstering his argument that the race for the nomination is not a foregone conclusion.While the party establishment may not like this, it is a good thing.
Mr. Sanders found a welcome tableau in the largely white and liberal electorates of the Pacific Northwest, where just days after resoundingly beating Mrs. Clinton in Idaho he repeated the feat in the Washington caucuses, winning 73 percent of the vote. He did even better in Alaska, winning 82 percent of the vote, and in Hawaii, he had 71 percent with a few precincts still be counted, according to The Associated Press.
#BirdieSanders.
A bird landed on Bernie Sanders‘ lectern during a campaign rally today and everyone lost their freaking minds.
No, seriously, this actually happened:
Because if a topless protester shows up, Sanders lets her in, and Trump kicks her out:
Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders this week joked about a topless woman who showed up at one of his rallies recently to protest Republican rival Donald Trump.
She was also wearing "Free the Nipple" pasties.
"Well, I was trying very hard to get every detail," the Vermont senator joked during an interview with Phoenix-area radio station KTAR when asked if he could read the text on the woman's chest.
"No, just kidding," Sanders chuckled as the male radio hosts erupted into laughter.
"No, actually I was trying to focus on a couple of other things," Sanders continued, trying to stifle another laugh as he pivoted to discuss campaign issues of income inequality.
A woman who tried unsuccessfully to get into one of Trump's rallies in Arizona over the weekend opted to show up at Sanders's rally in Phoenix on Saturday instead.
The words "stop fascism" were revealed on her back and "hate speech is not free speech" were marked on her chest, as she stood on someone's back, interrupting Sanders's rally.
One of the claims made by the Clinton campaign is that she has experience, and knows how to get things done.
I'm not quite sure how this makes sense.
She has no experience in an executive elected position, and Bernie Sanders was mayor of Burlington for 8 years.
She was in Congress for 8 years, Bernie for 25 years.
What's more, all through his legislative career, he has managed to make significant legislative accomplishments despite his status as a party outsider:
As Democrats cobbled together a sweeping overhaul of the nation’s immigration law three years ago, Senator Chuck Schumer of New York was clear about one thing: His party could not suffer a single defection.And Hillary Clinton's accomplishments?
But one naysayer remained — Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who had opposed a similar effort in 2007 and once again did not like provisions in the new bill that he thought would displace American workers. And he had a price, a $1.5 billion youth jobs program.
Through wheeling and dealing, shaming and cajoling, Mr. Sanders, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, got his wish, and his favored provision was grafted incongruously onto a tough-minded Republican border security amendment and paid for by higher visa fees for some foreign travelers.
………
Yet in spite of persistent carping that Mr. Sanders is nothing but a quixotic crusader — during their first debate, Hillary Clinton cracked, “I’m a progressive, but I’m a progressive who likes to get things done” — he has often been an effective, albeit modest, legislator. He has enacted his agenda piece by piece, in politically digestible chunks with few sweeping legislative achievements in a quarter-century in Congress.
Over one 12-year stretch in the House, Mr. Sanders passed more amendments by roll call vote than any other member of Congress. In the Senate, he secured money for dairy farmers and community health centers, blocked banks from hiring foreign workers and reined in the Federal Reserve, all through measures attached to larger bills.
………
His congressional relationships with Democrats and Republicans have been largely legislative and not loving. A backscratcher he is not. Mr. Sanders is far more likely to be found alone in his apartment watching cable news than out for Chinese food with other members of Congress.
“He is not Ted Kennedy, who managed to have these personal relationships that come from the day in and day out working the halls,” said Representative Peter Welch, Democrat of Vermont, who replaced Mr. Sanders in the House. “The way he works is consistent with his temperament and his skills.”
Counter to his reputation as a far-left gadfly, Mr. Sanders has done much of his work with Republican partners, generally people with whom he has little, but sometimes just enough, in common.
In an article outlining he rather fraught relationship between Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton, Politico drops this fascinating anecdote:
It’s an illustration of the extent to which the two political outsiders, once allies, have parted ways. Nader has known Sanders for decades and the Vermont socialist once referred to him as “a good friend” during a committee hearing, but he said Sanders hasn’t returned his phone calls for the past 15 years. During his time in Washington, as Sanders has fostered congenial relations with Clinton, said Nader, “He’s totally cut people like me out.”Gee, what did Ralph Nader do about 15 years ago?
