June 4, 2016


News and Views


http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/politics/gov-hickenlooper-on-running-with-hillary-clinton-youd-be-a-fool-not-to-consider-it-very-strongly

Gov. Hickenlooper on running with Hillary Clinton: You'd be a fool not to consider it very strongly
Marc Stewart
8:56 PM, Jun 3, 2016

Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper has been the focus of recent political chatter about taking on the role of Hillary Clinton’s running mate on the Democratic ticket.

Denver7 reporter Marc Stewart spoke with the governor about his future ambitions.

"I know you've not been approached by the Clinton campaign, but you're not ruling this out either?” asked Stewart. “No, obviously if someone feels you would add great value to service to your country, I think you'd be a fool not to consider it very strongly," said Hickenlooper.

"I'm asking you this question with utmost respect: Do you think that you would be qualified to be Vice President?” asked Stewart.

“That depends on what your range of assessment is right? So my international experience is economic development, mostly businesses, trying to figure out ways to further relationships," said Hickenlooper. “Do I have the same international experience as somebody who’s been on the foreign relations committee of the U.S. Senate? Probably not? There's all different metrics by which you look at that,” he said.

Last month, a blog from TheHill.com listed Hickenlooper as a possible contender.

You can watch Marc Stewart’s interview on Denver7 at 10 p.m.



Hickenlooper may not be a bad, bad person, but the stance that both he and Hillary are taking on fracking disturbs me greatly. I’m with the Leave It In The Ground group! I understand that in the short term a less “dirty” fuel is better than the coal, oil and gasoline that we are now burning; in the long run, however those fuels are still harming the environment. What we should be structuring our system around is the renewables which put NO greenhouse gas up into our (presently) clear blue sky.

Solar has proven in some US cities so effective that the local power grid has repeatedly had to try to work out a bargain with homeowners rather than charging them the max in profits, and they don’t like that. They say it makes difficult bookkeeping, but I’ll bet some of their brilliant business geniuses can figure it out in a way that’s fair to all. I think a homeowner’s discount plan based on a fixed percentage of the cost of a kilowatt hour for their whole month’s use might work, and it would be easy.



GOOD NEWS – IMPROVEMENT ON POLICE METHODS


http://www.npr.org/2015/06/04/412046914/gloucester-mass-police-program-provides-treatment-for-drug-users

Gloucester, Mass., Police Program Provides Treatment For Drug Users
Heard on All Things Considered
DEBORAH BECKER
June 4, 2015 4:33 PM ET


Drug addicts have begun turning themselves into the police department in Gloucester, Mass., after the police chief announced an amnesty program. Addicts who turn themselves in and hand over their drugs will go right into treatment, without criminal charges.

MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

And now to Gloucester, Mass., where police are trying out a different way of dealing with drug users. This comes amid a rising number of fatal opioid overdoses. Instead of arresting users, police are helping them get treatment. Since the program went into effect on Monday, four people have come to police asking for help. From member station WBUR, Deborah Becker reports.

DEBORAH BECKER, BYLINE: With five fatal overdoses since January in this seaside city of about 29,000 people, Gloucester police Chief Leonard Campanello says it's time to admit that the war on drugs has failed.

LEONARD CAMPANELLO: We can take a drug dealer down and three will replace him. And that drug dealer that's taken off the street does not affect the user at all. What we see now with the coming to light of the addiction issue is that we need to be involved on that side of it, on the demand side of it.

BECKER: Under Gloucester's so-called Angel program, someone can go to police asking for addiction treatment. Police would then call an angel. That's a volunteer who waits with that person at the local hospital for what is usually publicly-funded treatment unless there's private insurance.

CAMPANELLO: To do a short intake with the person who comes to the station. We contact an angel. We transport the person to the hospital where they're met by the angel and then they're fast-tracked towards a treatment.

BECKER: When the first person came to police asking for help this week, 57-year-old George Hackford got the call at about 3:30 a.m. He met the 31-year-old man at the hospital and waited with him for about 11 hours.

GEORGE HACKFORD: It's a very sensitive time for them because they've, you know, they've come in. They've decided that they're going to change their lives, and so it's a critical point. So they just wanted somebody to sit with them and chat to them.

BECKER: Although officials say they will not turn anyone away, the program does have some exceptions. It will not accept anyone with an outstanding arrest warrant or anyone with a history of serious drug offenses, like trafficking. Police will allow someone to turn in their drugs without being charged if that person gets treatment. Some prosecutors question whether police can make that promise.

MICHAEL O'KEEFE: Police do not have the authority to confer immunity.

BECKER: Cape Cod District Attorney Michael O'Keefe says agencies besides law enforcement need to step up.

O'KEEFE: This is a hydra-headed monster. The police's role, prosecutor's role, is in interdiction. We certainly have to do something about the demand, and we have to do something to treat those that are already addicted, but that has got to come from a far broader swath of society than police.

BECKER: Some say prosecutors' concerns could deter people from trusting police enough to ask for help. But they also say the program should not be measured by the number of participants. Kathy Day is with Learn To Cope, a support group for loved ones of those addicted.

KATHY DAY: The success in this program will be the conversation it's generated, the language, the use of addiction as a disease. It may be breaking some of the stigma that stops people from getting help.

BECKER: More than 1,000 people died of drug overdoses in Massachusetts last year. Another part of Gloucester's program involves using drug forfeiture money so those without insurance can get the overdose reversal drug Narcan for free from participating pharmacies. Alex Doyle, owner of Conley's Drug Store in Gloucester, feels it's his responsibility to help.

ALEX DOYLE: I would love to never have to dispense this. I wish that we didn't have an opiate problem in this country. This medication is an emergency response tool, and it's a medication that will save a life.

BECKER: Chief Campanello says it's his responsibility to do something about his officers repeatedly arresting the same people for being sick.

CAMPANELLO: We shouldn't really even have to be at this point where the police are involved in this, but we recognize addiction as a disease and so other entities as well should.

BECKER: Campanello has met with state and federal officials about steering more drug forfeiture dollars toward treatment and about expanding his program beyond Gloucester. For NPR News, I'm Deborah Becker in Boston.



“Drug addicts have begun turning themselves into the police department in Gloucester, Mass., after the police chief announced an amnesty program. Addicts who turn themselves in and hand over their drugs will go right into treatment, without criminal charges. …. This comes amid a rising number of fatal opioid overdoses. Instead of arresting users, police are helping them get treatment. Since the program went into effect on Monday, four people have come to police asking for help. From member station WBUR, Deborah Becker reports. …. Gloucester police Chief Leonard Campanello says it's time to admit that the war on drugs has failed. We can take a drug dealer down and three will replace him. And that drug dealer that's taken off the street does not affect the user at all. What we see now with the coming to light of the addiction issue is that we need to be involved on that side of it, on the demand side of it. …. To do a short intake with the person who comes to the station. We contact an angel. We transport the person to the hospital where they're met by the angel and then they're fast-tracked towards a treatment. …. It will not accept anyone with an outstanding arrest warrant or anyone with a history of serious drug offenses, like trafficking. Police will allow someone to turn in their drugs without being charged if that person gets treatment. Some prosecutors question whether police can make that promise. …. . The police's role, prosecutor's role, is in interdiction. We certainly have to do something about the demand, and we have to do something to treat those that are already addicted, but that has got to come from a far broader swath of society than police. BECKER: Some say prosecutors' concerns could deter people from trusting police enough to ask for help. …. Campanello has met with state and federal officials about steering more drug forfeiture dollars toward treatment and about expanding his program beyond Gloucester.”


“It's a very sensitive time for them because they've, you know, they've come in. They've decided that they're going to change their lives, and so it's a critical point. So they just wanted somebody to sit with them and chat to them.” This is what, in AA, is called “experience, strength and hope.” Of course everybody in AA is an alcoholic and that may not be true in this case, but if the Angels will talk to the person some, but more importantly, let them talk. AA maintains a call center in virtually every town and city in the country, and sometimes people do call in to ask for help. Volunteers will do exactly what these Angels do – offer support and information and, of course, a meeting schedule.

Kathy Day’s statement about the way we think about addictions, and mental problems of all kinds, actually, is the heart of the matter. Shaming and stigma kill hope. Jailing people for it ignores the nature of the condition, and simply pacifies those who want to see a punitive society. It isn’t a “war.” That was a Republican word – Nixon to be specific. We have too much big talk in this country from our leaders, and not enough caring and common sense. I am so glad to see that this police force has done such a RADICAL thing as dealing with “perps” as human beings of innate value, rather than as street trash. Hip, hip, hooray for Gloucester, Mass.



https://www.yahoo.com/gma/teen-driver-sued-faces-criminal-charges-over-alleged-181854832--abc-news-topstories.html

Good Morning America
Teen Driver Sued, Faces Criminal Charges Over Alleged Use of Snapchat
ABC NEWS,Good Morning America 22 hours ago
June 3, 2016

Related -- Woman arrested for larceny & reckless driving, WKBW - Buffalo Scripps
Tweens and Technology: What Parents Should Know About Apps
Plastic Surgeon Uses Snapchat to Record His Surgeries Live in the Operating Room


A Georgia teenager faces multiple charges and is at the center of a lawsuit after she was involved in a car crash while allegedly using the speed filter on Snapchat.

An arrest warrant was issued Wednesday by a judge in Clayton County, Georgia, for Christal McGee, 19, who was behind the wheel of a Mercedes last September when her car rear-ended a car driven by Wentworth Maynard.

According to ABC Atlanta affiliate, WSB-TV, two passengers in McGee’s car said the teenager was using the speed filter on Snapchat just before the crash.

“She said, ‘Well, I’m just going to hit 100, and then I’m going to slow down,’” one of the passengers, Heather McCarty, told ABC Atlanta affiliate WSB-TV last month.

McGee was charged Wednesday with reckless driving, super speeder, driving too fast for conditions and serious injury by vehicle, a felony, according to WSB.

McGee was injured in the crash, even posting a photo of herself with her injuries on Snapchat after the crash. Maynard spent weeks in a coma and suffered permanent brain damage because of the crash, according to his family.

Maynard’s family has filed a lawsuit against both McGee and Snapchat, claiming negligence and hardship.

“The family would like Snapchat to take the speed filter down immediately so no other family will have to go through what they're going through,” the Maynard family’s attorney, Michael Neff, told ABC News.

Snapchat's speed filter works by having users take a photo on Snapchat and a filter then recording the speed of motion on the screen. The filter has become popular for teens to send photos of those speeds to each other to compete for the highest number.

Snapchat issued a statement to ABC News in response to the lawsuit, saying, “"We actively discourage our community from using the speed filter while driving, including by displaying a 'Do NOT Snap and Drive' warning message in the app itself."

McGee admitted to driving 90 miles per hour in newly filed court records obtained by ABC News.

McGee’s lawyers claim she was not using Snapchat before the crash. In court filings, the teenager’s attorneys said the damage to the victim was caused solely by his own negligence.

A 30-day stay in the Maynard family's lawsuit against McGee and Snapchat was granted on May 26th after Snapchat contended in court filings that "Activity Logs demonstrate that McGee was not in fact using the Snapchat Application at the time of or immediately prior to the collision."

Attorneys for the Maynard family are now assessing the Snapchat records.


“An arrest warrant was issued Wednesday by a judge in Clayton County, Georgia, for Christal McGee, 19, who was behind the wheel of a Mercedes last September when her car rear-ended a car driven by Wentworth Maynard. According to ABC Atlanta affiliate, WSB-TV, two passengers in McGee’s car said the teenager was using the speed filter on Snapchat just before the crash. “She said, ‘Well, I’m just going to hit 100, and then I’m going to slow down,’” one of the passengers, Heather McCarty, told ABC Atlanta affiliate WSB-TV last month. McGee was charged Wednesday with reckless driving, super speeder, driving too fast for conditions and serious injury by vehicle, a felony, according to WSB. ….


Is this another Affluenza case?? I saw her image in the rear view mirror and she’s pretty, well dressed, and smiling while driving at 100 mph. I understand why the plastic surgeon mentioned above can make good use of Snapchat, but I believe nobody under 21 years of age should be able to get their hands on it, and I think I would like to see a minimum sentencing plan on the Snapchat device and on the equally stupid and irresponsible act of texting while behind the wheel.

Even if the driver is at a stoplight at the moment, the stoplight can change in a heartbeat and cause a wreck. I was in the car with my brother in law and he reached down, taking his eyes off the road, to change the radio station when the woman ahead decided to stop at the yellow light -- as the law says we should. In 5 seconds he hit her car in the rear, which can be deadly to the driver of the car in front causing a broken neck, or at least “whiplash,” in which case the spine wobbles around uncontrollably. Those people can end up as paraplegics. Folks, for goodness sake, use some common sense! Just because something is fun doesn’t mean it’s good!



DAN RATHER AND TOM BROKAW ON THE ELECTION AND TIMES – TWO ARTICLES


https://www.facebook.com/theDanRather/?fref=nf&pnref=story

Dan Rather
June 3, 2016 10 hrs ·

I want to thank all of you who responded to my recent post on Donald Trump and the press. I plan on having more to say on this topic in the days, weeks and months ahead.

This is one of the most consequential moments in American history I have ever witnessed, and I have been around long enough to have witnessed many. For some of my newer followers, I thought you might enjoy one of my musings on this topic I posted earlier this year.

It is no accident that our monuments and institutions of government in Washington, D.C. are made out of marble. They are cathedrals to our democracy - impressive, imposing, and built to last. They are also beacons to our improbable aspirations. When our predecessors planned and constructed these buildings, our republic was still quite young. It still is, by the measure of most societies on earth. The old saying may remind us that Rome wasn't built in a day, but much of Washington D.C. was built over the course of a few decades.

Rome is a provocative comparison because the remnants of that ancient society remain standing centuries after the empire that built them crumbled and died. For while buildings are important, the heart of a nation lies with its people. Marble may last but the strength of a society must be constantly reinforced.

For the years I lived in Washington, and ever since on return visits, I have loved walking amongst the city's wide boulevards and past its famous addresses. And yet covering the men and women who wielded power from their marble perches is to be reminded that as permanent as our nation can seem, we can never take its future for granted. The strength of our institutions lie within us, and our representatives.

I have seen this nation's spirit of self-evidence challenged in the past, with World War II, the Civil Rights Movement, Vietnam, Watergate, 9/11 and the wars that followed, just to name a few. Some of these struggles were largely foreign in origin, others sprouted from our own imperfections.

I believe that we are once again at an inflection point. This presidential election, with its bitter partisan divide and often irresponsible rhetoric, threatens to crumble some of the foundations of our democratic institutions. The drama being played out over the unexpected vacancy on the Supreme Court undermines some of our Constitutional legitimacy. We cannot simply slough off these worries with incantations that everything will work out. The dictionary lists "democracy" as a noun, but because it requires action to be, I like to think of it more as a verb.

We should not expect or even hope to agree on policy or priorities. Fostering healthy and respectful debate is one of the strengths of our system of government. But when we seek to undermine our political adversaries by attacking their right to participate in our national discourse we risk causing long-term harm to the rationale behind the nation we all claim to love.



“For while buildings are important, the heart of a nation lies with its people. Marble may last but the strength of a society must be constantly reinforced. …. And yet covering the men and women who wielded power from their marble perches is to be reminded that as permanent as our nation can seem, we can never take its future for granted. …. I believe that we are once again at an inflection point. This presidential election, with its bitter partisan divide and often irresponsible rhetoric, threatens to crumble some of the foundations of our democratic institutions. The drama being played out over the unexpected vacancy on the Supreme Court undermines some of our Constitutional legitimacy. …. Fostering healthy and respectful debate is one of the strengths of our system of government. But when we seek to undermine our political adversaries by attacking their right to participate in our national discourse we risk causing long-term harm to the rationale behind the nation we all claim to love.”


Maybe Rather is pointing the finger at Sanders’ persistent and strongly fought conflict in itself; or maybe at the DNC for refusing to let Sanders claim his role as a legitimate candidate, as he is advancing ideas that in my view are absolutely valid and needed; or perhaps the fact that everybody at once is piling down on Donald Trump. Or maybe it’s that everybody, including the citizens on whichever side they fall. We do need respectful discourse, and not bare knuckled power plays, but not the exclusion of a legitimate candidate who has a right to continue until the convention. It’s like the practice of “blackballing” a pledge by fraternity members. And finally, this idea that every individual must knuckle under to the will of “the big boys” is simply despicable. I’m referring to both Trump and Hillary here. Both have used strong-arm tactics. In a fair system, that would disqualify them rather than making them a winner.

True, Sanders is a fighter too, but he’s brilliant and honest; we need the influence and leadership of such thinkers. Our democratic thinking and societal structure have been eroded badly with decades of apathy and lack of public concern over the takeover of social structure -- government, religion, the school systems, the police forces across the country, the many and usually unnecessary wars, the massive decline into poverty which is pulling our Middle Class down as well, and our abysmal educational scores – caused by the greed of the few. I’m proud of Bernie Sanders. I want him to fight up to the last at the convention, gathering votes and delegates as he can.

As for his ideas being “unrealistic,” maybe they are and maybe they aren’t. If you mean by that “The Republicans are too strong to oppose them,” well I can understand that. If you mean, however, that the Democrats no longer care about the “common folk,” I can only say that we have already lost our democratic principles and honor if that is so, and I think it’s time to try a separate Progressives party. I would much prefer, though, to see the honest and decent Democrats to open up the party membership, election rules, and platform to the reform which is so highly needed.

That’s why I want to see major change, and Sanders is a good leader. I believe he can command his “army,” as one of these several articles today said, and bring more progressives into the government. There have already been several new names emerging in the last couple of months as Progressives, which I’m delighted to see. The enthusiastic Millennials will hopefully select a better set of legislative members than the Ultrarightist Tea Party has, and even step up to run for office themselves. Some of them are undoubtedly lawyers and professors, and can handle the writing of laws. Sanders has promised not to be “a spoiler” and run on an Independent ticket against Hillary, though many would like for him to do just that, so lighten up and relax! Enjoy the horserace. This one is the most interesting in my lifetime, and gives the greatest promise of a genuinely important economic improvement for the lower 90% of our citizens!

The way the DNC preselected their choice of Hillary by stealth and without an honorable and fair method is unforgiveable to me. I no longer want to be a part of the Democratic Party if this is to continue. I am seriously considering writing the DNC and withdrawing my membership after November. The voters had nothing to do with Hillary’s coronation. If this were a court of law, it would be called a lack of “due process.” If it were a Latin American nation it would be called a coup. In either case, I hate it. I agree with Sanders that there should be no Superdelegates or Caucuses. Too many legal voters can’t make it to the Caucus; and I can only figure one logical reason for “superdelegates” at all – to overthrow the actual will of the populace, as expressed in our free elections by secret ballot. It’s just like the Electoral College.

In this case, the role of the Superdelegates was to declare their choice, Hillary Clinton, the Party’s candidate, even before the primaries are finished. That, I think, is because a large number (but not all) felt that it is “her turn.” That just ain’t the way it should be working! I don’t think this is a time for Sanders to step down so Hillary can be free of his competition, on the theory that she will then beat Donald Trump. I’m far from convinced that she can beat Trump at all, and there is a strong indication that Sanders can. Sanders’s leadership, I think, will be the way we can save the country as it used to be, and not the destruction of it.



http://www.breitbart.com/2016-presidential-race/2016/06/02/tom-brokaw-bernie-sanders-can-win-nomination-wins-california/

Tom Brokaw: Bernie Sanders Can Win Nomination if He Wins California
by DUSTIN STOCKTON
2 Jun 2016

Veteran newsman Tom Brokaw told the Breitbart News Daily audience on Thursday that Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders could potentially capture the Democratic Party’s nomination if he beats former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the California primary.

When asked about Sanders’ chances by SiriusXM host Stephen K. Bannon, Brokaw, who has covered every presidential election since Nixon-Kennedy, responded:

My favorite theory of politics, every cycle, is what I call the UFO theory — the unforeseen will occur. I never get involved in who’s going to win and who’s going to lose at the beginning or even midway through, but what I try to do is describe the consequences of what may happen and what the possibilities are here. Bernie Sanders is on a roll. He’s ramping up at this point, and she’s got difficulties.

The country is half-cocked in the ticked off position. They’re willing to pull the pin on the grenade and roll it into the process and kind of frag the process if you will. So that means that the younger voters in California who have no attachment to Hillary — she’s been around for a long time. This guy comes along and says a lot of unrealistic things about free healthcare, free college, that kind of thing, but he’s obviously touching a big political nerve.

Bannon followed up by asking if the political establishment in both parties and the intellectual and cultural elite have failed the country and thus paved the way for the populist uprisings in both the Republican and Democrat primaries. Brokaw responded by saying:

I think what they’ve done is separate themselves from the country. I think they didn’t listen to the country before this cycle. It’s become a kind of self-continuing process in Washington. Everybody, because of gerrymandering, Democrats and Republicans are generally in good shape about getting back.

They live good lives. They spend a lot of their time just raising money. You know, when I was growing up, the Congressmen would come back and walk Main Street. Now they go to a country club and raise dough. So, I think there is a real profound separation. On the other hand, I think there are so many more strengths in this country than people are now willing to acknowledge. We’re in better shape than most people think that we are, in terms of prosperity, and we’re making gains in medical care and other areas.

Brokaw also spoke about the challenges and changes faced by the American working and middle classes:

Ten, twelve years ago I was out in the middle of Ohio talking about the lost American dream; about manufacturing disappearing from places like Toledo, Ohio, which is the home of Libby Glass at that time, and other places; about how the working class had changed in Detroit. Now everybody was on the run. They’d get an assignment in the morning, and they’d have to go to Cincinnati or they’d have to go to different places. On the other hand, you do see those sounds where they said, ‘Okay, we’ve got to reinvent ourselves, you know, that era is gone. We’ve got to find a new way of doing things.’ They’ve been enterprising at doing it.

A perfect example right now for me is that because of this anti-tax attitude, when gas prices got down to where they are, I thought why couldn’t we have a five cent gasoline tax for public works — it’s not going to hurt anybody, really, in the long haul — and start working on our infrastructure? I was just in Europe, and a lot of the European countries have better highways than we do, you know, more secure bridges. We need to do that. We need to do the work in this country, and that would have created some jobs.

When I was eight-years-old, we moved to the center of South Dakota where they were building an enormous flood control and hydroelectric dam, Fort Randall. Three thousand workers moved in there. These were people who came out of the Depression, fought the war, and were looking for a good job, and they got a good job for ten years. Their children, me included and my friends, who went on to become journalists, lawyers, doctors and others and are giving back in a new way. That was a big government project that at the time was needed and at the time that the government was deep in debt. We gotta have a little more flexibility is what I think.



“My favorite theory of politics, every cycle, is what I call the UFO theory — the unforeseen will occur. I never get involved in who’s going to win and who’s going to lose at the beginning or even midway through, but what I try to do is describe the consequences of what may happen and what the possibilities are here. Bernie Sanders is on a roll. He’s ramping up at this point, and she’s got difficulties. The country is half-cocked in the ticked off position. They’re willing to pull the pin on the grenade and roll it into the process and kind of frag the process if you will. So that means that the younger voters in California who have no attachment to Hillary — she’s been around for a long time. This guy comes along and says a lot of unrealistic things about free healthcare, free college, that kind of thing, but he’s obviously touching a big political nerve. …. I think what they’ve done is separate themselves from the country. I think they didn’t listen to the country before this cycle. It’s become a kind of self-continuing process in Washington. Everybody, because of gerrymandering, Democrats and Republicans are generally in good shape about getting back. They live good lives. They spend a lot of their time just raising money. You know, when I was growing up, the Congressmen would come back and walk Main Street. Now they go to a country club and raise dough. So, I think there is a real profound separation. …. Brokaw also spoke about the challenges and changes faced by the American working and middle classes: Ten, twelve years ago I was out in the middle of Ohio talking about the lost American dream; about manufacturing disappearing from places like Toledo, Ohio, which is the home of Libby Glass at that time, and other places; about how the working class had changed in Detroit. Now everybody was on the run. They’d get an assignment in the morning, and they’d have to go to Cincinnati or they’d have to go to different places. …. I was just in Europe, and a lot of the European countries have better highways than we do, you know, more secure bridges. We need to do that. We need to do the work in this country, and that would have created some jobs. …. That was a big government project that at the time was needed and at the time that the government was deep in debt. We gotta have a little more flexibility is what I think.”


I do like Brokaw’s commentary more than Rather’s. Brokaw is acknowledging the reasons why we need change and not seeming to blame someone, probably dear old Bernie, for failing to roll over and play dead on the DNC’s command! He compares us to the way Europe has done things. Many Americans down here in the Deep South would be ready to fight me if I said that Europe does things better than we do. To me we have become so arrogant that we are no longer capable of actually learning anything new, and our old wisdom is, pardon me folks, unethical in that Classism, Religionism and Racism are rapidly taking over the reins and driving this buggy at a frightening speed down toward the creek! We are not moving toward fairness and good sense.



For Hickenlooper and Clinton on Fracking – Multiple Articles -- Go to “Hickenlooper …” in today’s secondary blog.


http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/06/03/sanders-clinton-yes-trumps-foreign-policy-ideas-are-scary-so-are-yours

Sanders to Clinton: Yes, Trump's Foreign Policy Ideas Are Scary. But So Are Yours
'We need a foreign policy based on building coalitions... [not] perpetual warfare in the Middle East'
By Nadia Prupis, staff writer
byCommon Dreams
Published on Friday, June 03, 2016

Photograph -- "When it comes to foreign policy, we cannot forget that Secretary Clinton voted for the war in Iraq...and that she has been a proponent of regime change, as in Libya, without thinking through the consequences." (Photo: Michael Vadon/flickr/cc)


Bernie Sanders responded to Hillary Clinton's foreign policy speech on Thursday with a hit at her credentials, including her involvement in the Iraq War and so-called "regime change" in Libya.

"We need a foreign policy based on building coalitions and making certain that the brave American men and women in our military do not get bogged down in perpetual warfare in the Middle East," he said in a statement. "That's what I will fight for as president."

Earlier Thursday, Clinton gave a speech that laid out her own foreign policy agenda and criticized presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump for his "thin skin" and "dangerously incoherent" ideas.

"Americans aren't just electing a president in November, we're choosing our next commander-in-chief, a person we count on to answer questions of war and peace, life and death," Clinton said. "The person the Republicans have nominated for president cannot do the job."

On that point, Sanders agreed.

However, he added, Clinton wasn't much better.

"I agree with Secretary Clinton that Donald Trump's foreign policy ideas are incredibly reckless and irresponsible," he said in his statement. "But when it comes to foreign policy, we cannot forget that Secretary Clinton voted for the war in Iraq, the worst foreign policy blunder in modern American history, and that she has been a proponent of regime change, as in Libya, without thinking through the consequences."

His comments fell in line with much of the progressive sector's response to Clinton's speech, which included criticism from journalists and policy experts such as Jeet Heer of The New Republic, Glenn Greenwald of The Intercept, and Sam Husseini of the Institute for Public Accuracy.

As Jeffrey D. Sachs, director of The Earth Institute and a steadfast critic of Clinton's hawkish foreign policy record, tweeted after her Thursday speech:

On Friday, the Sanders campaign tweeted out a new campaign video, featuring Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii), titled simply "Judgement." Gabbard, still on active duty for the U.S. Army and a veteran of the Iraq War, stresses in the ad that her support for Sanders stems from his proven reluctance to put lives at risk in overseas misadventures. "[Sanders] has foresight," she says, "when it comes to making these most critical decisions that affect us all about war or peace." Watch:

As Common Dreams reported on Thursday, "Pew Research Center surveys have laid bare how Sanders and Clinton supporters differ on foreign policy issues," with polls conducted in April and May finding that 66 percent of Clinton's Democratic supporters believe world problems would be "even worse" without U.S. intervention, with only 49 percent of Sanders supporters saying the same.

A report this morning placed Colorado Gov John Hickenlooper on Hillary's "short-list" for VP. The connection is very meaningful given Hillary's record selling and supporting fracking to the world as SOS (and millions in campaign-contribution bribes from the oil & gas industry/lobbyists) and Hickenloopers support for fracking.

Hickenlooper famously "drank" or sipped what was claimed to be "fracking fluid" to show it was "perfectly safe", not toxic carcinogenic poison - the connection between Clinton and Hickenlooper and fracking/gas production at a time when governments are "trying" (or claiming to try) to reduce fossil fuels use to limit global warming is a very telling connection, giving further reason to shout "Never Hillary"!

I guess a VP as intellectually-truth challenged as Hickenlooper, who would either actually drink fracking fluid or falsely claim to, makes Clinton look good by comparison - he also reportedly drank Animas River water after the mine-plug spill contamination - freakin idiot, perfect for Hillary VP........

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Emphyrio11 hours ago



MAUREEN MONAHAN – THE FIRST CROSSOVER


http://journalstar.com/news/state-and-regional/federal-politics/nebraska-superdelegate-chooses-sanders/article_1900af09-7344-5b13-91d2-8c7af04d02d1.html

Nebraska superdelegate chooses Sanders
DON WALTON Lincoln Journal Star
June 3, 2016 Updated 8 hrs ago

Maureen Monahan of Omaha, an uncommitted superdelegate to the Democratic national convention, announced Thursday she will support Bernie Sanders for her party's presidential nomination.

"I am encouraging all still unpledged superdelegates to support Senator Sanders as well," Monahan said in a written statement.

Sanders, the Vermont senator, won Nebraska's Democratic presidential caucus in March, defeating Hillary Clinton with 57 percent of the vote.

Clinton subsequently won the Democratic presidential primary election in Nebraska last month, but allocation of Nebraska's Democratic delegates already had been determined at the party caucus.

Nebraska's five superdelegates -- Rep. Brad Ashford of Omaha and four party officials -- are not bound by either the caucus or the primary vote.

With Monahan's declaration for Sanders, Nebraska's Democratic delegation is now divided 16-13 in favor of Sanders over Clinton.

Democratic State Chairman Vince Powers of Lincoln remains the only uncommitted superdelegate and he said he'll withhold a pledge for now.

"There is a time for it," he said, "and it's not right now."

Monahan said her job is to "grow and build the party" and Sanders is doing that with his campaign. Sanders has "brought in thousands of new people to the Nebraska Democratic Party," she said.

"His determination to end the income inequality that plagues our economy, rebuild our aging infrastructure, establish universal health care as a right, and slash the cost of attending college has struck a chord with millions, particularly the young," Monahan said.

"We need new, energetic people in the Democratic Party to spread our effective message," she said. "Together, we can win in 2016 and beyond."

Monahan's position as party vice chair will be on the line at the Democratic state convention in Kearney later this month. Sanders supporters hold a majority of convention delegates as a result of his victory in the party caucus.

Sanders emerged from the caucus with 15 committed national convention delegates compared to 10 committed to Clinton.

Three of the five superdelegates previously committed their support to Clinton.

Already in the Clinton camp were Ashford, National Committeewoman Patricia Zieg of Omaha and National Committeeman Ron Kaminski of Omaha.

Reach the writer at 402-473-7248 or dwalton@journalstar.com.



USA TODAY
New poll shows Clinton leads Sanders by just two points in California

Sanders’ focus on the state hasn’t gone unnoticed by Clinton’s campaign. Clinton, who defeated Barack Obama in the 2008 California primary, changed her schedule to be in California on Thursday rather than in New Jersey, which also holds its primary Tuesday. Clinton's California state director, Buffy Wicks, sent out a May 16 fundraising letter telling supporters that although the primary is “all but over,” “Bernie’s team is working hard to pull off a big upset here to try and make some trouble.”

“We need to be strong enough to take on Bernie’s grassroots army and Donald Trump at the same time,” Wicks wrote.

Clinton has a strong ground game and support from all major Democrats in the state, said Mindy Romero, director of the California Civic Engagement Project at the University of California, Davis, Center for Regional Change. On Tuesday, Gov. Jerry Brown endorsed her, citing her “long experience,” “firm grasp of the issues” and preparedness.



BAH, HUMBUG! THE GENERAL ELECTION HAS NOT STARTED!


USA TODAY
Gov. Jerry Brown says he'll support Clinton, says general election has started


But California has seen an unprecedented surge of newly registered voters — 1.1 million between January and April — driven largely by an easier online registration process launched in 2012, Romero said. Millennials aged 18-34 comprise more than 53% of those voters. That could bode well for Sanders, whose coalition includes young people and independents.

“We think that these voters are particularly motivated, they’re registering in big numbers, and because they’re young, we know from polls that they’re going to favor Bernie,” she said. “He has to seal the deal and get them to actually turn out.”

Sanders said on Meet the Press on Sunday that his strategy is to win California, perform “very, very well” in the five other states, and go to the convention with a majority of pledged delegates. That would require winning 67% of those remaining, which Sanders acknowledges is an “uphill fight.”

Hillary Clinton speaks at a rally in San Francisco on May 26, 2016. (Photo: Josh Edelson, AFP/Getty Images)

He also aims to win the support of superdelegates from states where he won landslide victories — such as Washington, Minnesota, Colorado and New Hampshire — and make the case to many others that he would be the stronger candidate against Trump. He highlights polls that show him outperforming Clinton against Trump in general election matchups.

“We’re going to fight till the last vote is cast and try to appeal to the last delegate that we can,” Sanders said on Meet the Press.

Already, some of his supporters are making that case for him.

On Tuesday, Jim Zogby, a Democratic National Committee official who will represent Sanders on the committee drafting the party platform, said he and others are starting to make calls “in earnest” to uncommitted superdelegates and to those who committed to Clinton early on. The message: “Take another look."

“If he wins California, I think it sends a very powerful message to the country as a whole, but also to Democrats, to superdelegates — some of whom made their mind up way too early and some of whom are still undecided — that this is a guy whose momentum is growing and they need to take a look at (him),” Zogby said. “Win or lose, I think he still has a compelling message to make. But I think if he wins it, it’s a compelling message writ large.”