ARTICLES FROM THE PERIOD LAST WEEK WHEN I WAS ILL:

PUBLISHED APRIL 18, 2018

NEWS AND VIEWS

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/michael-cohen-search-warrant-included-records-related-to-access-hollywood-tape/
CBS NEWS April 11, 2018, 8:12 PM
Michael Cohen search warrant documents mentioned Trump by name

VIDEO – Search for records in Michael Cohen raid 2:04

The FBI search and seizure warrants executed against President Trump's personal lawyer Michael Cohen mentioned President Trump's name several times, sources familiar with the documents tell CBS News' Jeff Pegues. Sources who've seen the warrants told Pegues it appeared to them that the real target of the raids was Mr. Trump. One source called it a "search and destroy mission."

The search warrants also listed records related to the release of the so-called "Access Hollywood" tape, sources familiar with the matter told CBS News' Andres Triay and Len Tepper. The New York Times first reported the connection to the tape. The warrants executed at Cohen's office, hotel room and home became public knowledge Monday.

Trump attorney says he's "not worried" by FBI raids

The FBI raid of Cohen's home, office and hotel room stemmed from information gathered during the course of special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian meddling but is part of a separate federal investigation. The searches were spearheaded by the FBI's public corruption unit.

Investigators were also looking for information related to non-disclosure agreements between Cohen and adult film star Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal. Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, is cooperating with federal investigators.

Cohen has admitted to paying Daniels $130,000 ahead of the election, although the White House has continued to deny any sexual encounter between Mr. Trump and the adult film star.

The raids were personally approved by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.

The "Access Hollywood" tape from 2005 was released in 2016, weeks before the presidential election, and included audio of vulgar comments by Mr. Trump about women.

Why are we talking about the "Access Hollywood" tape again?
Mr. Trump on Monday night called the raids a "disgrace" and part of a "witch hunt."

"It's a real disgrace," Mr. Trump said. He called it "an attack on our country," and he complained, "That is really a whole new level of unfairness."

Mr. Trump has declined to directly answer whether he will fire Mueller, but on Monday claimed "many people" have suggested he should.

"I think it's a disgrace what's going on," the president said. "We'll see what happens. ... Many people have said you should fire him."

Andres Triay, Len Tepper and Paula Reid contributed reporting.

© 2018 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.



REMEMBER WHEN, BEFORE THE ELECTION OF DONALD TRUMP, THERE WERE ALMOST NO NEWS STORIES ABOUT RUSSIAN BUSINESS CONTACTS IN THE USA. THERE WAS AN UNWRITTEN “RED LINE” THERE. THE US AND RUSSIA, WHILE THEY TRIED NOT TO BE “ENEMIES,” THEY CLEARLY WEREN’T “PALS,” EITHER, AND THEIR INCLUSION IN AMERICAN BUSINESS DEALS WASN’T ADVERTISED. IT APPEARS TO ME TO BE A CHANGE IN PATTERN, FROM TWO YEARS AGO.

THE FACT THAT, NOW THAT THEY ARE BEING ACKNOWLEDGED, THERE ARE DOZENS OF RUSSIAN CONNECTIONS NAMED NOW, AND ON AN ALMOST WEEKLY BASIS; INSIDE OR PERIPHERAL TO THE TRUMP SPHERE – INCLUDING THE RNC IN GENERAL RATHER THAN JUST TRUMP – SHOULD BE “A WORD TO THE WISE.” THAT ASSUMES THAT THE AMERICAN PUBLIC ARE “WISE,” AND I HOPE THAT IN THE AGGREGATE WE ARE; WHEN THIS IS THE CASE, WE CAN’T EXPECT THE AMERICAN PUBLIC NOT TO ASSUME THAT THE PROBE INTO THE RUSSIA/TRUMP/RNC CONNECTION IS VALID AND DEFINITELY NOT “FAKE NEWS,” OR THE LIES OF A “LIBERAL” CORPORATE NEWS STRUCTURE.

SECOND ISSUE: WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IN THE BANKING RECORDS OF A GROUP LIKE THE NRA IF I, AT 12:00 NOON, PLACED $1000 INTO THE NRA WITHOUT DECLARING IT AS A CONTRIBUTION; AND THEN AT 2:00 PM OR WELL BEFORE THE LAST BANKING HOURS FOR THE DAY, AND ESPECIALLY FROM ANOTHER BRANCH BANK IN THE CITY, I PLACED A WITHDRAWAL OF THE SAME AMOUNT, AGAIN SAYING NOTHING ABOUT THE SOURCE OR THAT IT IS A GIFT AT ALL. IS THAT HOW “MONEY LAUNDERING” IS DONE?

https://www.npr.org/2018/04/11/601534305/nra-in-new-document-acknowledges-more-than-20-russian-linked-contributors
NATIONAL SECURITY
NRA, IN NEW DOCUMENT, ACKNOWLEDGES MORE THAN 20 RUSSIAN-LINKED CONTRIBUTORS
April 11, 20181:00 PM ET
TIM MAK

Photograph -- The National Rifle Association, which exhibited at the Conservative Political Action Committee conference, has acknowledged it has more Russian contributors than it previously did.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

The National Rifle Association has accepted contributions from about 23 Russians, or Americans living in Russia, since 2015, the gun rights group acknowledged to Congress.

The NRA said in a letter to Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., unveiled on Wednesday, that the sum it received from those people was just over $2,500 and most of that was "routine payments" for membership dues or magazine subscriptions.

About $525 of that figure was from "two individuals who made contributions to the NRA."

Wyden has been querying the NRA about its Russia connections following press reports that suggest the FBI is investigating whether Russians might have tried to use the NRA or other political organizations as part of their attack on the 2016 election.

One high-profile Russian NRA supporter, state bank official Alexander Torshin, has cultivated a years-long relationship with the organization — but he was placed under sanction by the United States with other Russians last week.

The NRA acknowledged that Torshin, a Kremlin-linked politician, is a life member of the NRA, and has been since 2012. "He has paid membership dues, but has not made any contributions," NRA general counsel John Frazer wrote to Wyden.

Now, however: "Based on Mr. Torshin's listing as a specially designated national as of April 6, we are currently reviewing our responsibilities with respect to him," Frazer wrote.

RELATED: NATIONAL SECURITY -- The Russia Sanctions Saga: Weapons Dealers, Mobsters And Suitcases Full Of Cash

McClatchy* has previously reported that the FBI is investigating whether Torshin may have funneled money to the NRA

Frazer told Wyden in his letter that he believed the NRA has been more than cooperative with Wyden's questions and that this would be the last response he'll send to the senator's office.

"Given the extraordinarily time-consuming and burdensome nature of your requests, we must respectfully decline to engage in this beyond the clear answers we have already provided," Frazer wrote.

The NRA has been revising its statements on the question of foreign donations. Steven Hart, an outside counsel for the NRA, had said previously in an interview with ABC News that the NRA had received just one contribution from a Russian individual between 2012 and 2018.

RELATED: POLITICS -- NRA Says It Receives Foreign Funds, But None Goes To Election Work

Since then, it has emerged there have been more. A Wyden aide, who asked not to be identified discussing the office's investigation, said the NRA's shifting statements would prompt Wyden to consider how he might continue his questioning.

"After three letters, the NRA continually, and specifically avoided detailing what measures it takes to vet donations, including from shell companies, a known means for Russians to funnel money into the United States," the aide said.

"Sen. Wyden will be referring his correspondence with the NRA to the Federal Elections Commission to contribute to their inquiry ... As ranking member of the Finance Committee, he is considering additional oversight actions in light of this response."

RELATED: POLITICS -- John Bolton's Curious Appearance In A Russian Gun Rights Video


MCCLATCHY* -- “ONE IMPORTANT REASON WAS THAT WE SOUGHT OUT THE DISSIDENTS, AND WE LISTENED TO THEM, INSTEAD OF SERVING AS STENOGRAPHERS TO HIGH-RANKING [BUSH ADMINISTRATION] OFFICIALS AND IRAQI EXILES.[13]”

RELATED: https://www.bing.com/search?q=McClatchy+WIKIPEDIA&form=PRUSEN&mkt=en-us&httpsmsn=1&refig=14f8476f2fcc420bbcea46166c566e54&sp=-1&pq=mcclatchy+wikipedia&sc=3-19&qs=n&sk=&cvid=14f8476f2fcc420bbcea46166c566e54

The McClatchy Company is a publicly traded American publishing company based in Sacramento, California. It operates 29 daily newspapers in 14 states and has an average weekday circulation of 1.6 million and Sunday circulation of 2.4 million.[1] In 2006, it purchased Knight Ridder, which at the time was the second-largest newspaper company in the United States (Gannett was and remains the largest). In addition to its daily newspapers, McClatchy also operates several websites and community papers, as well as a news agency, McClatchyDC, focused on political news from the U.S. capital.

History[edit]

The company originated with The Daily Bee, first published in Sacramento, California on February 3, 1857 by Native American writer Rollin Ridge. James McClatchy joined Ridge as a partner and took over as editor. Known as a supporter of the people's interests against corporations and corrupt politicians, McClatchy made The Bee a bastion of progressive reformism. Upon McClatchy's death in 1883, the paper's leadership passed to James' son, Charles Kenny McClatchy, who with his brother Valentine Stuart, bought out the Ridge family's interests and brought the paper into the 20th century with the formation of McClatchy Newspapers through the founding of the Fresno Bee, and acquisition of the Modesto Bee. C.K. McClatchy's legacy to the region has been memorialized in the C.K. McClatchy High School in Sacramento, which opened in 1937, about a year after his death. . . . .

McClatchyDC is a news agency that distributes original reporting based out of McClatchy's Washington, D.C. bureau, which was acquired from Knight Ridder.[11] It is the largest client of the McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.[10]

In 2008, McClatchy's bureau chief in D.C., John Walcott, was the first recipient of the I. F. Stone Medal for Journalistic Independence, awarded by the Nieman Foundation for Journalism.[12][13] In accepting the award, Walcott commented on McClatchy's reporting during the period preceding the Iraq War:

“Why, in a nutshell, was our reporting different from so much other reporting?

One important reason was that we sought out the dissidents, and we listened to them, instead of serving as stenographers to high-ranking [Bush administration] officials and Iraqi exiles.[13]”


THIS IS UNDOUBTEDLY PAINFUL FOR A POPE TO DO, BUT IT SHOWS THAT HE IS AWARE OF THE FACT THAT, POPE OR NOT, HE IS ONE MAN. THAT MAKES ME LIKE HIM EVEN MORE THAN I DID ALREADY.

https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/04/12/601742861/pope-apologizes-for-serious-mistakes-in-handling-of-chile-s-sex-abuse-scandal
Pope Apologizes For 'Serious Mistakes' In Handling Of Chile's Sex Abuse Scandal
April 12, 20182:20 AM ET
SCOTT NEUMAN
SYLVIA POGGIOLI

Photograph -- Pope Francis arrives in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican for his weekly general audience on Wednesday.
Andrew Medichini/AP

Updated at 3:10 a.m. ET

Pope Francis has acknowledged "serious mistakes" in his handling of Chile's sex abuse scandal and summoned the country's bishops to an emergency meeting in Rome to discuss the matter.

Francis blamed a lack of "truthful and balanced information" for misjudging the situation concerning Bishop Juan Barros, who he appointed to the small diocese of Osorno in 2015 despite allegations that he had helped cover up abuse by his mentor, the Rev. Fernando Karadima.

Karadima was dismissed in 2011 after being found guilty by the church of abusing dozens of minors dating back to the 1980s. Following a canonical investigation, he was sentenced to a "life of prayer and penance" for his crimes.

In the extraordinary three-page letter, Francis also apologized for accusing abuse victims of slandering Barros.

"I ask forgiveness of all those I have offended and I hope to be able to do it personally in the coming weeks," the pope said in the letter released by the Vatican on Wednesday.

Article continues after sponsorship

Sex Abuse Scandal Isn't The Only 'Pain' For The Pope In South America
PARALLELS
Sex Abuse Scandal Isn't The Only 'Pain' For The Pope In South America
Pope Francis Apologizes To Sexual Abuse Victims, But Still Backs Bishop
THE TWO-WAY
Pope Francis Apologizes To Sexual Abuse Victims, But Still Backs Bishop
After Defending Controversial Bishop, Pope To Send Sex Abuse Investigator To Chile
PARALLELS
After Defending Controversial Bishop, Pope To Send Sex Abuse Investigator To Chile

Francis said the bishops need to "re-establish confidence in the church, confidence that was broken by our errors and sins, and heal the wounds that continue to bleed in Chilean society."

Catholic News Service says, "Several [abuse] survivors apparently have been invited to the Vatican to meet the pope."

However, there was no indication whether or not Barros would stay on in his post.

As NPR's Bill Chappell reported during the pope's visit to Chile in January:

"Pope Francis has accused victims of sexual abuse in Chile of slander, saying their attacks on a bishop who's accused of covering up the abuse amount to 'calumny.' The remarks triggered anger and demonstrations in Chile, where several churches have been firebombed in the past week.

On the last day of his visit to Chile, Francis set the simmering resentment some hold against the Catholic Church to a full boil with his defense of Bishop Juan Barros."

"I am convinced he is innocent," the pope insisted at the time.

The remarks in Chile highlighted concerns about the pope's commitment to combating sexual abuse by members of the Catholic clergy — an issue that has undermined the Church's moral authority in much of the world.

The following month, however, Francis dispatched Archbishop Charles Scicluna to lead an investigation in Chile that interviewed dozens of witnesses. The pope said when his envoys handed him the report, they were "overwhelmed with the sorrow of so many victims of grave abuses of conscience and power and, in particular, of sexual abuse committed by several consecrated persons against minors."

Francis said he feels "pain and shame" for the "crucified lives" of abuse victims.

The National Catholic Register writes:

"The Chilean bishops are meeting this week for a plenary assembly. Francis says he wanted to write to them now to 'humbly request' their help 'in discerning the short, medium and long term measures to be taken to reestablish ecclesial communion in Chile, with the objective to repair the scandal as much as possible and restore justice.'

He then says he plans to call them to Rome to discuss his 'conclusions' after reading the report Scicluna prepared following his February visit to the country."

The issue of the church's handling of sex abuse is expected to be high on the agenda of the pope's visit to Ireland in August.


https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/04/11/601685600/house-to-hold-hearing-on-controversial-census-citizenship-question
House To Hold Hearing On Controversial Census Citizenship Question
April 11, 20189:13 PM ET
HANSI LO WANG

Photograph -- Signs sit behind the podium before the start of a press conference in New York City about the multi-state lawsuit to block the Trump administration from adding a question about citizenship to the 2020 census form.

Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Officials from the U.S. Census Bureau and Commerce Department, which oversees the census, are expected to be grilled on Capitol Hill next month about the addition of a controversial citizenship question to the 2020 census form. They are set to appear before lawmakers at a public hearing scheduled for May 8, according to a statement from Republican Rep. Trey Gowdy of South Carolina, chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

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Hansi Lo Wang
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@hansilowang
House hearing on #2020Census scheduled for May 8, according to statement from Republican Rep. @TGowdySC, chair of @GOPoversight. Census Bureau & Commerce Dept officials to appear.

5:22 PM - Apr 11, 2018
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The hearing is expected to be the first public testimony by the bureau's acting director, Ron Jarmin, since Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross announced last month his approval of a Justice Department request for a question to be added to 2020 census forms. The announcement has launched lawsuits from more than two dozen cities and states that want the question removed.

The Justice Department says it needs a better count of voting-age citizens in order to better enforce the Voting Rights Act's provisions against racial discrimination. But critics of the citizenship question point to the bureau's own research suggesting that adding a citizenship question would discourage noncitizens, including unauthorized immigrants, from participating in the once-a-decade headcount of every person living in the U.S., as required by the U.S. Constitution.

The population numbers are used to reapportion seats in the House of Representatives, draw legislative districts and distribute an estimated $800 billion a year in federal funds.

THE CITIZENSHIP QUESTION ON THE 2020 CENSUS (p. 11)

Selected portion of a source document hosted by DocumentCloud

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross approved a late request from the Justice Department for a citizenship question to be added to the 2020 census. All U.S. households have not been asked such a question on the census since 1950, although smaller Census Bureau surveys have included questions about citizenship. The Justice Department says it needs a better count of voting-age citizens from the census in order to enforce protections against voting discrimination under the Voting Rights Act. But critics of the citizenship question say they're worried adding the question will discourage non-citizens, especially unauthorized immigrants, from participating in the national headcount. More than two dozen cities and states have filed lawsuits to try to remove the question.

View the entire document with DocumentCloud

The announcement of the House hearing comes after a call for a similar hearing by Democratic members of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. Republican Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, who chairs the committee, has not responded to NPR's inquiries about whether a Senate hearing is in the works.

Jarmin and the Commerce Department's deputy general counsel, Michael Walsh Jr. did provide separate closed-door briefings to Senate and House oversight committee members this week about the 2020 census and the newly added citizenship question. Democratic lawmakers on those committees have asked for the Census Bureau and the Commerce Department to give them internal documents related to the decision to add the citizenship question. NPR has filed Freedom of Information Act requests for those documents as well.

A spokesperson for the Commerce Department tells NPR that the documents will not be publicly released until they are filed in federal court as part of the lawsuits over the citizenship question. Attorneys for the Commerce Department and the bureau are required to file answers to the legal complaints against them by early June.

RELATED: NATIONAL Adding Citizenship Question Risks 'Bad Count' For 2020 Census, Experts Warn

But Democratic Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland, the top Democrat on the House oversight committee, says the Trump administration's refusal to provide these documents to members of Congress before the May 8 hearing is "unacceptable."

"We are a separate branch of government, we have our own duty to conduct oversight, and we do independent investigations all the time even when there are outside disputes among the parties," Cummings says in a written statement. "If they continue to withhold these documents from us, we hope Chairman Gowdy will issue a subpoena to obtain them as soon as possible."

Gowdy's office has not responded to NPR's inquiry about whether a subpoena will be issued to have the documents released in time for the hearing.

RELATED: NATIONAL -- The 2020 Census Questions Every U.S Household Will Be Asked, Annotated

Democratic Rep. Carolyn Maloney of New York, who attended Wednesday's briefing for House oversight committee members, says lawmakers need to review the documents to understand why the citizenship question was added despite concerns that it could lower response rates.

"This question is not about voting rights," Maloney says. "It's about intimidation. It's about singling out people who are living in the shadows and now may once again be too afraid to say, 'I am here.' "

The Census Bureau has not responded to NPR's inquiry about what Jarmin told House members during the briefing. But Maloney says she asked Jarmin whether the career staff at the Census Bureau expressed any concerns about or support for the citizenship question.

She says Jarmin told lawmakers that the staff didn't express an opinion.

Maloney's account was corroborated by Democratic Rep. Jimmy Gomez of California, who also attended the briefing and says he found Jarmin's response "strange."

"This is an organization that meticulously plans the [census] questionnaire," Gomez says. "And they're saying that they had no one raise concerns, that no one supported it, that no one objected. I find it highly unlikely. We really want to get to the bottom of what are the true reasons for doing it."


BERNIE SANDERS NEWS

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/04/what-really-happened-when-bernie-sanders-went-to-mississippi.html
DAILY INTELLIGENCER
April 11, 2018 3:09 pm
Bernie Sanders in the Deep South
By Briahna Joy Gray

Photograph -- Senator Bernie Sanders joins with others during an event to mark the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination on April 4, 2018, in Memphis, Tennessee. Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Last week, I joined Bernie Sanders in Memphis, Tennessee, and Jackson, Mississippi, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination. Sanders was overwhelmingly well received by both passersby and the local audiences who came to hear him speak. But so far, the media coverage of his trip has revolved around a brief aside, in which Sanders faulted the Democratic Party for its recent legislative failures:

“The business model, if you like, of the Democratic Party for the last 15 years or so has been a failure,” said Sanders. “People sometimes don’t see that because there was a charismatic individual named Barack Obama. He was obviously an extraordinary candidate, brilliant guy. But behind that reality, over the last ten years, Democrats have lost about 1,000 seats in state legislatures all across this country.”

Twitter erupted immediately, and critics, like former South Carolina representative Bakari Sellers, accused Sanders of “arrogance” and of “dismissing” President Obama. But Thursday’s critiques were only loosely tethered to Wednesday’s words, which, on their face, were fairly uncontroversial: Who could defend as successful the “almost unprecedented” loss of legislative seats over the last ten years, or Hillary Clinton’s defeat to game-show host Donald Trump? In Mississippi, when Sanders called the Democratic Party a “failure,” the audience erupted into applause. And of course, President Obama was a uniquely charismatic and brilliant president.

In fact, if Beale Street could talk, it would tell a very different story about Bernie Sanders than the now-familiar critique that he is insufficiently sensitive to racial issues. As I walked with Sanders down Memphis’s famous thoroughfare, his popularity, including among the predominantly black crowd attending the commemorative festivities, was self-evident. The senator was stopped every few feet by selfie-seekers and admirers. Yes: Perhaps this is to be expected of any politician with a national profile, but given his poor showing in Mississippi during the 2016 Democratic primary, in which he secured less than 17 percent of the black vote, I had thought the senator and his small cohort might go unnoticed. I was wrong.


A group of 40-something black women were among the first to spot the senator as he exited a parking garage, followed quickly by a black teenager, who endearingly apologized repeatedly to “Mr. Sanders” as he snapped a selfie. Later, at a hotel in Jackson, Mississippi, two black receptionists chatted substantively about the senator after he went upstairs to change for the evening’s event, remarking that Sanders hadn’t forgotten the people who had voted for him — the people he was fighting for. Unlike other politicians, they agreed, “Bernie hasn’t proven himself to be that way yet.”

Even though a recent poll found Sanders’s support among African-Americans and Hispanics to be strong, I was surprised. Although I, a black woman, was a supporter of Sanders in the 2016 Democratic primary, on some level, I had succumbed to the persistent narrative that Sanders has a “black problem.” The claim is that Bernie Sanders, who does indeed appear more comfortable explaining how class-based programs can benefit “the 99 percent” than discussing the struggles endemic to historically marginalized communities, simply doesn’t get us.

So I asked Sanders what he thought about critics who say he seems to care more about white voters than people of color. “It’s just not true,” he said. Sanders explained that he believes his agenda, which includes Medicare for All and free public education, will have an especially “profound and positive” effect on communities of color. And he’s right: Blacks and Latinos are, respectively, two and three times more likely to be uninsured than whites. And although black Americans are about as likely to enroll in college at a higher rate than any other racial group, we are less likely to matriculate — in part due to difficulty paying for college.

“Having said that,” he continued, “is racism a very significant and powerful force in American society that has got to be addressed? The answer is absolutely. Will a Medicare for All or single-payer system end racism in America? No, it won’t. So above and beyond moving forward on strong national programs, we’ve got to pay a special attention to communities of color, which are especially hurting right now.”

Sanders went on to cite the racial wealth gap, the disproportionate incarceration of black Americans, and the unequal public education system which plagues many low-income communities. “So it’s not either/or,” he explained, rejecting the race versus class framing that has become popular since the 2016 presidential election. “It’s never either/or. It’s both.” He continued: “It is making sure every American has high quality health care as a right — the right to excellent education. But it is also addressing the special problem of racism, of sexism, of homophobia, etc.”

When I asked for examples of identity-specific problems that cannot be resolved by class-based initiatives, Senator Sanders identified the need to improve access to homeownership, which plays a key role in the racial wealth gap, as well police reform. He specifically praised the work of Philadelphia’s progressive district attorney Larry Krasner, who now requires that incarceration costs be stated on the record at sentencing. And he emphasized the need for police reform: “What we have got to do is have national police training which says that lethal force is the last response and not the first response.”

Wednesday evening’s summit in Jackson with the, dare I say, “charismatic” 35-year-old black progressive Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba, was designed to further cement the “class and race” theme by reminding the audience of Dr. King’s emphasis on economic matters toward the end of his life. King’s economic message — “True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar; it comes to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring” — hung over the discussion both literally and figuratively, and the panel opened with a chorus of young black students demanding, “What does economic justice look like on southern soil?”

During the discussion, it was difficult to ignore the parallels between late-period King’s focus on economic equality and Sanders’s own priorities: “You have to appreciate that while [King] was [challenging President Johnson on the Vietnam War], suddenly the money for his organization starts drying up,” Sanders said. “And then in the midst of this … he said, we gotta attack racism in all its forms, but we have to deal with economic justice. I’m gonna to [sic] organize, he says, a poor people’s march – a poor people’s campaign. We’re gonna march on Washington. We’re gonna have low-income African-Americans, low-income whites, low-income Latinos, low-income Native Americans, we’re gonna stand together to demand that the United States change its national priorities — man, what courage that was.”

Over dinner afterward, Mayor Lumumba elaborated on the unique conditions of his state to Senator Sanders, highlighting why economic justice matters: The per-capita income in Mississippi is only about $19,000 per year. It is one of five states with no minimum-wage law, and despite the efforts of Democratic lawmakers, who filed 1,151 bills last year, conservative legislators blocked the vast majority of them — only 36 passed.

The city of Jackson’s infrastructure is so badly compromised that a cold snap last January froze and burst pipes, cutting off water to city hall, where port-a-potties had to be installed to service the city’s legislators. And during the half-a-day I spent in Jackson, I heard no fewer than five separate jokes about the number and depth of potholes — none of which failed to land with locals.

But few, if any, Democratic politicians have paid much attention, much less a personal visit, to the struggling state – despite the fact that, in addition to being red, Mississippi is also blackest state in the union, with a population that is 37 percent African-American.

Sanders is pushing a return to the 50-state approach to elections that Howard Dean used to help flip Congress in 2006: “When Obama ran in 2012 in Mississippi, he got approximately 44 percent of the vote … [I]f you had a Democratic Party that was a 50-state party, which was paying attention to Mississippi, and South Carolina and Georgia, as well as Kansas and Montana and Idaho, if you had a party that was putting resources and energy into every state in the country, there is no way on earth that you will not get 20 or 30 percent of white Mississippians voting for a candidate like Obama.” Combined with higher voter turnout from their large African-American populations, Sanders believes many southern states like Mississippi could soon turn not just blue, but could lead the charge of progressivism.

But in order to ensure that black voters turn out, Sanders understands that people need something to vote for, not just someone to vote against. They need to feel heard.

Mayor Lumumba’s closing remarks at the panel reinforced the theme that identity alone is not enough: “There was a time,” he explained, “where our fight was to get leadership that looked like us. Now our mission must be to have leadership that thinks like us.”

Framed this way, Sanders’s frequent focus on universal programs seems less an evasion of our nation’s obligation to remedy the harms it has inflicted on marginalized groups, and more an effort to provide the redistributive remedies people of color have long demanded. If he can convince more people of color that he’s right, he might surprise the Democratic Party again in 2020.


I’LL BET YOU DIDN’T KNOW BERNIE WAS IN A MOVIE, DID YOU? WELL, MAYBE YOU DID, BUT IT DIDN’T OCCUR TO ME THAT IT WAS POSSIBLE. IT’S LIKE WINSTON CHURCHILL AND HIS WATER COLOR PAINTING. IT’S LIKE A CAT DYED LIGHT BLUE. BEAUTIFUL, BUT UNNERVING. ALL THREE ARE INTERESTING AND THE FILM ON THE “ALPHA MALE,” WHAT HE IS REALLY LIKE, AND HOW WELL AN “ALPHA:” IS LIKELY TO ADVANCE IN A STABLE HUMAN SOCIETY. HOW ROUGH-HEWN DO THEY HAVE TO BE TO BE ALPHA?

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0761471/?ref_=ttfc_fc_cl_t17
SEE RANK
Bernie Sanders
Actor | Soundtrack

Bernie Sanders was born on September 8, 1941 in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA as Bernard Sanders. He is an actor, known for My X-Girlfriend's Wedding Reception (1999), Courting Des Moines (2016) and Undecided: The Movie (2016). He has been married to Jane Sanders since May 28, 1988. He was previously married to Deborah Shiling. See full bio »
Born: September 8, 1941 in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

I SPOTTED AT LEAST THREE OTHER POLITICOS OF NOTE IN THESE AS WELL; INCLUDING DONALD TRUMP AND HILLARY CLINTON IN BRIEF SPOTS AT THE BEGINNING. BERNIE AND OTHERS ARE ALSO IN THE COURTING DES MOINES FLICK. I WOULD REALLY LIKE TO KNOW IF THEY ALL BELONG TO A DRAMA CLUB OR SOMETHING. OR, MORE LIKELY, IF A FILM EDITOR HAS SNIPPED AND TAPED UNTIL HE GOT WHAT HE WANTED.

JUDGING BY THE FIRST 5 MINUTES, I THINK THIS IS VERY FUNNY. AN (OBVIOUSLY HIGHLY DISCRIMINATING) MAN TRASHED IT WITHOUT EXPLAINING CLEARLY WHY. SOME PEOPLE ARE LIKE BORAT – YOU’LL EITHER LOVE THEM OR HATE THEM. BUT TAKE MY WORD FOR IT, THESE MOVIES ARE FUNNY. SOME PEOPLE ARE TOO SERIOUS AND AMBITIOUS, I THINK, TO LAUGH. THAT’S THEIR PROBLEM. LET'S GO GET A TOMMY GUN AND SHOOT UP THE MOSQUE.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120488/videoplayer/vi1585821209?ref_=vi_nxt_ap
The bride's ex-boyfriend is a member of the band, a collection of musical misfits, at an Italian-Jewish wedding.
Director: Martin Guigui
Writer: Martin Guigui
Stars: Debbie Gibson, Dom DeLuise, Mo Gaffney | See full cast & crew »