The New America Foundation: Lara Burt: TANF & Teachers: How Current Policies Are Keeping Single Mothers Down and Out of School

Posted on February 19, 2016 by Erik Schneider

New America

Source:The New Democrat

It’s not that TANF or the Temporary Assistance For Needy Families, hasn’t succeed, because it has. Take away the Great Recession and we’re not looking at a twenty-percent poverty rate today, because under TANF low-income parents are able to go back to school and get skills so they can get good jobs. We were at around ten-percent poverty in the late 1990s. Economic booms only apply to people with good skills who are prepared and qualified for good jobs. And are even leaving unemployment, or moving up for a better job.

And of course opponents of the bill from people on the Libertarian-Right who believe that government should do nothing to help people in poverty, to people on the Social Democratic-Left, who believe that self-reliance shouldn’t be the goal here and want bigger government cash payments instead, will say that the 1990s economic boom was the reason for the low poverty. But low-income adults especially need to have good skills in order to have good jobs.

TANF, was a great 1990s Welfare to Work and anti-poverty program. I believe the best government anti-poverty program ever created, because it encourages work and education over government dependence. And again without the two recessions of the 2000s TANF would have worked very well again, because President Bush supported it and even had Democratic support for it in Congress. What we need now is a Welfare to Work program that builds off of TANF. And says if you’re on Welfare, you’re going to work as soon as possible and that means taking at least one of the first jobs that you’re qualified for.

In exchange government will help you finish and further your education. As well as childcare assistance for your kids. So low-income low-skilled single-parents, have the time and the money to get a good education and to work. But not only will these new workers be going back to school as they’re entering the workforce, but they’ll continue to collect their public assistance benefits that they’re eligible for as low-income workers. Medicaid, Public Housing, Food Assistance, etc.

So we should be investing more and going further with TANF, perhaps better known as Welfare to Work. Which would be a great investment in our low-income communities, but a great investment in our economy. Because we would be moving people off of public assistance all together with all the new educated workers we would be producing. And create a larger middle class and a smaller poverty class. Creating purchasing power for millions of new Americans. Money they would spend and invest in the economy. Money they could put back in their communities instead of abandoning them.

Welfare to Work, shouldn’t be about Welfare to fast food, or retail, or janitorial work, or other low-income low-skilled jobs that don’t come with benefits after these new workers lose their childcare assistance and everything else they were getting from public assistance. But instead Welfare to the middle class and economic freedom. Which only comes through quality education and economic development.

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TruthDig: Jim Sleeper: The Blame The Campus Far-Leftists Campaign Aims at Yale

Posted on February 18, 2016 by Derik Schneider

Source:The Daily Review

I swear to God (even as an Agnostic) that the technological revolution of the last 20-25 years has really made America a lot dumber. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that America’s public education system as fallen in the same time. And keep in mind America elected Dan Quayle Vice President in 1988 and Floridian Jews accidentally voted for Pat Buchanan for President in 2000. So that’s pretty stupid and then add America went to war with Iraq over bogus evidence in 2003.

But take that up more than ten years and we now have a generation of Americans who believe that minority Americans have a right to not be offended and critiqued. Even though they live in a liberal democracy that has a guaranteed constitutional right to free speech under the First Amendment. I guess they were too busy texting their classmate who was sitting next to them, or got lost at Starbucks when they should have been learning about the U.S. Constitution. What the hell are you doing at college and drowning in student loans (because you never learned how to swim) if you don’t like debate. If you can’t handle politics that go against your own.

God help us if any of these Millennial’s ever become constitutional lawyers. Because they’ll look at the Constitution based on how they want it to read. Where their political correctness is the law of the land and there’s no such thing as Freedom of Speech, if it goes against their politics. Where the Right to Privacy doesn’t exist if people are engaged in behavior they disapprove of. I mean if I’m in college right now and I know I’m in student debt somewhere around fifty-thousand-dollars or more by the time I graduate, I’m busting my own ass (not my professor’s) to graduate and to learn as much about America and how the real world actually is. Not how I want it to be so I don’t think everything is swell when I enter the world. That I know everything won’t be paradise for me when I leave college.

But that is not the attitude of these Millennial goody two shoes who I guess got lost at a Karl Marx convention and gobbled up everything that Mr. Marx ever wrote and said. And now believe that is how the world should work if not currently works. God help us all if these kids ever to bother to graduate. Because they may end up dumber than when they went in, but now they won’t be a threat just to themselves. But if they were to ever get into power they’ll be a threat to anyone who believes in individual freedom both personal and economic. But especially when it comes to Freedom of Speech. But at least they’ll always have the latest smartphone, or computer, I’m sure paid for by someone else. And everything will still be awesome in their little worlds.

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The National Interest: Daniel R. DePetris: 10 Questions to Ask Before Intervening in Libya Again

Posted on February 18, 2016 by Rik Schneider

Libya

Source:The New Democrat

It’s not that intervening in Libya in 2011 was the wrong decision. The American, European, as well as Arab intervention there saved as many as a hundred-thousand lives from the Libyan governmental forces. It was the aftermath of that war where the United States, European Union and Arab League, all failed. We knocked out the Qadhafi Regime and handed the country over to Libyan rebels that simply weren’t ready to govern and defend a country the size of Iran and Saudi Arabia in size. The Libyan military and security forces, including law enforcement, simply weren’t ready to defend this large country even with only six-million people. Plus the fact that the National Transitional Council in Libya, only represented at most half of the country and they weren’t ready to govern and defend the entire country.

So now Libya has essentially been divided in half with an east and a west. Without any true national government. Not all that different in how America looked in the 1860s before the Civil War. Or how Vietnam looked before the Communist North took over the entire country in the mid 1970s. And because of this power vacuüm ISIS has moved into Libya and about ready to control part of this large country, because again there is no real national military, national law enforcement agency and no national government, to push back and prevent ISIS from coming in. Whatever you think of the Iraq War and I’m against it, but America didn’t bail after we knocked out the Hussein Regime. We stayed, stayed, stayed and are still there. The Iraq War would have been a hell of a lot worst for Iraq had we not stayed after we knocked out the Hussein Regime in 2003.

I believe America, Europe and the Arab League, should and need to intervene in Libya again, with coöperation from the two warring government’s there, but to put it simply we need to do it right this time. Destroy ISIS and whatever other terrorists group are there, but then stay to help a unified Libya develop their own military and law enforcement agencies and national government. As well as the provincial government’s there so they can govern and defend themselves in the future. And that would mean bringing the two government’s there together and forming a national unity government. With one executive, one legislative and one national judicial branch. As well as one government for each province and locality so this large country and govern and defend itself. And no longer be vulnerable to rebels and terrorists groups.

Libya, is in America’s and Europe’s interest, because ISIS is now there and they’re a threat to us. Not the same threat as lets say Russia, but they could hit one of our embassies or hit America inside of the United States. Libya is also in America’s and Europe’s interest, because its’ such a large country. Only Algeria has more land than Libya in Western Arabia. And it’s simply ‘too big to fail.’ (A phrase from the Great Recession) And we need to at least try to make this country work which is what we’ve done in Iraq and Afghanistan with limited success and are still trying to help those big countries succeed as well. The West and the Arab states, can’t afford to have a large country that is in chaos that is being run by terrorists, because we and them could get hit by those groups. And the United States and European Union should help Libya in the air with the Arab League on the ground, to destroy ISIS.

Posted in Foreign Affairs, The New Democrat | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Los Angeles Times: Patrick Kevin Day- Kim Novak- Hollywood Star Walk

Posted on February 17, 2016 by Erik Schneider

Kim Novak

Source:The Daily Review

When I think of pure beauty, grace, class, realism, adorableness, Kim Novak is not the only actress I think of, but she’s certainly one of my favorites. I don’t know of another actress who was that hot, baby-faced adorable and that well-built and that real. A hot 5’6 women with a great body and whose also baby-faced adorable, who played all of her roles as if she’s playing herself. If you judge an actress by how real and believable their character is, meaning do the you believe the actress playing the women or not, that alone would make Kim Novak not just one of the best actress’s of her generation that includes Angie Dickinson, Sophia Loren, Dyan Cannon, Liz Taylor and many others, Grace Kelly, but one of the best actress’s of all-time.

And I believe what makes Kim even better is that the women that she played most of the time tended to be very different from who she is in real-life. Kim, was somewhat shy and lacking in self-confidence and never quite sure of herself. Which was perfect for her in Vertigo where she plays Madeline who is very similar in personality. But look at The Man With The Golden Arm with Frank Sinatra and she’s playing the cool always sure of herself character. Whose trying to save a drug addict and gambler played by Sinatra, from himself. Which is my point about Kim that she was so good at playing her characters even people who were very different from herself. But played them so well as if she was playing herself.

I’m not saying Kim Novak is Lauren Bacall, or Liz Taylor, Rita Hayworth, Susan Hayward, but probably in the next group, or the one right after that if not the second one. Because she sort of burned out by the late 1960s and attempted a few comebacks after that without achieving the great roles that she use to have. Had she still been doing well in Hollywood in the 1970s and 1980s, maybe we’re talking about an actress who belongs in the first group of greatest actress’s of all-time. But for her time in the 1950s through the mid 1960s she was one of the best and best looking in Hollywood. And landed a lot of great movies and roles because of that. And someone who clearly belongs in the Hollywood Hall of Fame, or the equivalent of that.

Posted in Baby Kim, Hollywood Goddess, The Daily Review | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The American Prospect: Harold Meyerson- Bernie Sanders & The New Left

Posted on February 16, 2016 by Derik Schneider

BS

Source:The New Democrat

Back in 2008 when then Senator Barack Obama was running for president, the New-Left in America which were predominantly Millennial’s in their twenties and Gen-Xer’s in their thirties and forties, overwhelmingly supported Senator Obama’s presidential campaign. Why? Because they saw him as one of them, a Socialist. Instead of supporting an actual McGovernite Socialist like Representative Dennis Kucinich, they supported Senator Obama for president.

An obvious case of high school students not doing their homework, or perhaps giving their homework to their dogs and then using that as an excuse for not doing their homework. Go to a bad enough high school and you might pull that off with one of your teachers. But Barack Obama is obviously not a Socialist. Even if the whacked out Tea Party believes otherwise. What President Obama has been, is a true Progressive. In someone who believes in using government to create progress across the board. But is very practical in how to accomplish that progress.

Now go up eight years later to today and the New-Left has finally found their McGovernite Socialist. Someone who wants to almost completely transform the American economic system short of nationalizing it. Which might be somewhat disappointing for some on the New-Left. As well as Senator Bernie Sanders not being on board when it comes to political correctness, outlawing private ownership of guns and the broader nanny state in general.

If you want to call Bernie a Liberal, fine! But add Socialist to that and you got a Socialist Liberal, whose very liberal on social issues. Meaning someone who believes in limited if not small government when it comes to personal freedom issues. But someone who is very socialist on economic and foreign policy. Big believer in big centralized national government. With high taxes across the board to finance it.

If somehow Minnesota were to go through an August heat wave next week and see temperatures of a hundred degrees in February and Seattle were to run out of both coffee and water as well during the same week and Uncle Sam were to outlaw all taxation, again in the same week and Bernie Sanders somehow managed to win the Democratic nomination for president in what is still a Center-Left liberal and progressive Democratic Party and not the Far-Left Green Party, some of his supporters might actually be disappointed in him.

We’re not talking about a Communist here who wants to outlaw all forms of individual freedom and individualism here. But a Socialist-Liberal or Democratic Socialist, who is down with the New-Left perhaps on 99% of the economic and foreign policy issues. But someone who is a big believer in personal freedom. Which is something for the New-Left to think about. We’re not talking about a Communist candidate for president, but a true Democratic Socialist. Like Norman Thomas, Henry Wallace, or George McGovern.

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The Federalist: Lewis M. Andrews- Political Correctness Is A Mask For Far-Leftists Intellectual Insecurity

Posted on February 16, 2016 by Rik Schneider

The Federalist

Source:The Daily Review

I agree that political correctness is a mask for insecurity on the Far-Left, as well as the Far-Right. When Neoconservatives hear things that they view as Un-American or immoral and want stricken down and prevented from ever being heard again. But with the Far-Left they view some world in their Utopian dreamland where people they view as insecure and have been persecuted in the past to the point that they deserve governmental special protection. To the point that minority groups shouldn’t have to even hear criticism about them even when it’s true. That the only people who should be criticized are ‘The Man’, (meaning the White man) Christian-Conservatives and even right-wingers who are minorities. And they should be portrayed simply as ‘White people’ with dark complexions.

Who wouldn’t want to live in a world where everything is swell. (To quote The Beaver) Where everything is perfect, where people regardless of race or ethnicity, never have to hear anything negative about them, because everything is swell. They’re perfect. No such thing as teenage pregnancies or poverty. But that is not the world we’ll ever live in, at least in my lifetime. We have a large religious-right in this world, both Christian and Islamic. And to say that only Christian-Conservatives are bigots towards women and gays and leave Islamists off the hook, is denying facts that are right in front of you. To say that only Anglo-Saxon redneck jokes are acceptable, but if you make fun of African-American ghetto people and impersonate people from that community, you’re a bigot, but jokes and impressions of rednecks are perfectly acceptable, is a form of bigotry.

If you believe only the Christian-Right and rednecks, are the real bigots and Neoconservatives in general, but Islamists who have similar positions towards gays, women, as well as ethnic and racial minorities and in some cases would go even further and are more authoritarian and would put gays to death simply for being gay, make the case. Try to make the case that only Caucasians have bigoted views. That only the Christian-Right hates gays and believes women should be subservient to men and good luck with that. Perhaps you’ll win the lottery and win a million dollars. Become a millionaire on Wall Street by only investing only five bucks. Never get wet in a Seattle rain storm, or ever see snow in Minnesota again, even if you live there year-round, etc. Maybe you’ll just become the most bless person in the world as well.

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Conservable Economist: Timothy Taylor- Twenty Years Since The Welfare Reform of 1996

Posted on February 12, 2016 by Derik Schneider
President Bill Clinton

President Bill Clinton

Source:The New Democrat

Tim Taylor, makes some great points about the timing that Welfare to Work was done in 1996. The economy started booming again in 1994. The budget deficit was falling, unemployment was dropping. But we’ve had good economic booms where poverty didn’t fall at all and if anything went up. In the 1980s homelessness, became a national issue. Poverty went up and the prison population boomed. In the 1990s the economy boomed after the 1990-91 recession, unemployment dropped dramatically, crime dropped dramatically and poverty which is the most critical issues in any Welfare reform, also dropped dramatically. Eleven-percent poverty level by 2000. The budget deficit didn’t just fall, but we had four balanced budgets in a row by 2001 and actually started paying down the national debt.

And yes the poverty level in America is now twenty-percent again, but that isn’t because of Welfare to Work. It would be higher without Welfare to Work. You might remember 2008-09 pretty well when we had this little economic disaster called the Great Recession. Which sent middle-income working families into families on Unemployment. You don’t get rich collecting Unemployment Insurance. People on Unemployment Insurance have lost their homes. Plus there was another recession from 2001-02 from another stock market collapse and thanks to 9/11. The only way you get out of poverty which means off of public assistance for non-retired workers is with a good job. You need good skills to get a good job. If you’re a single-parent without good skills you’ll need childcare and health insurance as well. That is all part of Welfare to Work.

As much as today’s so-called Progressives (New-Left in actuality) want to paint Welfare to Work as a racist scheme to kick minority families off of Welfare and force them to fend for themselves, you couldn’t be further from the truth if you were on Planet Pluto. Welfare to Work and going further with that, with more childcare assistance, a higher minimum wage and make it more like 10-12 bucks an hour, forcing neglecting parents to at least take financially responsibility for their kids and making even low-income work pay more than Welfare, are the best things we can do for low-income families. Work should never be an option on public assistance, but instead a requirement. Along with education and childcare, requiring parents, to keep their kids in school, would be big help as well.

Welfare Insurance, or cash payments, is only the first part in a new campaign to defeat poverty. That once you’re on WI you receive it but in a real short-term and take the first job that you’re qualified for. If you didn’t finish high school, you would do that as a condition for receiving Welfare. If you have a high school diploma now you’re in community college, or some other job training. Even if you have a job, but especially if you have a job and would get childcare assistance so you would have the time to get an education and work. So instead of Welfare just being a net that catches people before they end up homeless or in jail or something, it instead is a vehicle to help people move themselves out of poverty. And once they finish their education they would even be eligible for small business loans and go into business for themselves.

Welfare and Public Housing, shouldn’t just be tools to prevent people from homelessness and starvation. But again vehicles to transport people out of poverty along with their kids. If we truly want to fight poverty in America and I sure as hell do as both a Liberal and actual Progressive who wants to use government to empower people and create real progress, then homelessness and starvation prevention insurance, is not enough. You can’t just have people living a little more comfortably while still in poverty, but instead empower them to move themselves out of poverty. And even make it a requirement that people self-improve themselves. So we know who wants to work and be productive and who simply wants to live off of hard-working taxpayers.

Posted in The New Democrat, War on Poverty | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Library of Law & Liberty: John O. McGinnis- The Political Dangers of Rising Political Correctness

Posted on February 12, 2016 by Rik Schneider

PC Police

Source: This piece was originally posted at The Daily Review: Library of Law & Liberty: John O. McGinnis- The Political Dangers of Rising Political Correctness

I have several issues with political correctness, but I believe my main issues gets to the Marxian, or Marxist angle of it. That suggest freedom of thought and speech is somehow dangerous. Which is how authoritarian regimes stay in power by preventing their regimes from having to hear from any real opposition from inside of their country. The more that communications has advanced just in the last twenty-five years makes that even more difficult. But for the life of me I can’t understand why someone who calls them self a Liberal or Progressive, would be arguing for something that is illiberal and regressive. Which is preventing free thought and education from flowing to the people these illiberal’s say they care about.

The other angle about political correctness that I hate is the pure hypocrisy of it. You make fun of the Christian-Right about their bigoted views about gays and their place in the world for women, you’re funny and progressive. You make the same jokes about the Islamic-Right or Islamists, who in some cases are even further right than the Christian-Right on those issues, you’re a bigot. You make fun of Anglo-Saxon rednecks jokes and call rednecks Jim Bob and Mary Lou and accuse them of having kids with their cousins and make kissing cousins jokes, you’re funny. You make African-American ghetto jokes about people named Tyrone Jackson and Sheneka Jackson and jokes about all the different fathers that Sheneka has had for each baby she has, you’re a bigot.

The phone booth size political correctness world that illiberal’s live in, (phone booths are booths that people use to make phone calls in) jokes about minorities and criticism even if true about is considered bigoted. But jokes about majorities even if wrong and highlighting stereotypes about Caucasians, especially Southern Anglo-Protestants, are considered progressive. Americans who can’t take a joke, should stay away from comedy, or only listen to illiberal New-Left comedians. And while they’re doing that maybe they’ll be able to learn to walk with both legs again after they get their foot out of their ass. Maybe they’ll drink more alcohol and less caffeine and take up pot and learn to relax. Perhaps go outside and see a world where not everyone agrees with them. Which is what liberal democracy is about the right for people to freely express themselves and share their viewpoints.

Remember we’re talking about liberal democracy. Not illiberal democracy or Marxist Statism. We’re talking about a society where people can freely express themselves and be very informative. Or risk sounding like a complete asshole who know everything about nothing and nothing about anything of value. And in a society like that you’re going to hear things that might offend you. That you might disagree with and even find hateful. You’re also going to hear things that are inspiring and very informative. You would be wise to pay attention to the hard information. Get out of your coffee houses and put your i-phone down from time to time and you might actually learn something. Even accidentally, but you would be doing yourself a lot of good. While you put the asshole in their place for being exactly that, but not trying to silence them simply for being ignorant.

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The Washington Post: Ishaan Tharoor- U.S. Democrats Are Embracing The Term Liberal: What it Means to be a Liberal

Posted on February 11, 2016 by Erik Schneider

LA

Source: This piece was originally posted at The New Democrat: The Washington Post: Ishaan Tharoor- U.S. Democrats Are Embracing The Term Liberal: What it Means to be a Liberal

If you’re someone who believes in the U.S. Constitution, at least most of it and the Bill of Rights, most if not all of it and you’re someone who likes to make their own decisions and choices in life and likes privacy and choice, tolerance, equality, equal rights, justice and treatment under law, quality education and infrastructure and economic opportunity for all, a safety net for people who truly need it, free speech and assembly, freedom of religion for everyone and expression, then I’ll suggest at least you’re a Liberal and might not even know that.

Because this is what liberalism is and I don’t care what country you’re talking about. But not how it’s portrayed in America by either the Right, or the mainstream media. And especially by people who are well to the left of Liberals, who have more social democratic tendencies. But don’t like the terms Socialist, Social Democrat and Democratic Socialist. Liberals aren’t Socialists, or Communists and Socialists and Communists, aren’t Liberals. Liberals believe in government and even positive and progressive government, but put real limits on what exactly what government should do for the people. And how much it should tax before it taxes too much. Socialists don’t for the most part.

I always take any polls that tries to suggest that there a certain percentage of Liberals or Conservatives in America with at least a jar of salt, because of America’s political ignorance as a country. And you’ll see polls with people saying they’re something that they don’t understand and claim to have political positions that fits another political faction other than the one that they claim. For instance you’ll have people who claim to be liberal even though they believe minorities should have the right to never be offended or hear anything that is offensive about themselves or their particular group. When the fact is political correctness is about as illiberal of a movement as you’ll see. Liberals believe in free speech, which is the cornerstone of liberalism, along with assembly and privacy.

In the first paragraph I basically laid out exactly what liberalism is and what liberal values are. If you polled a large group of Americans about how they feel about those values, those issues would do very well. So just based on that whether you’re a Democrat or a Republican, you claim a lot of liberal values in your own politics. And could be described as a Liberal. Even if you believe in lower taxes, economic freedom, using non-profits to solve societies ills and so-forth. Liberals believe in those things as well, because we don’t want to have a superstate that assumes most of the power in the country. But instead an educated society with the freedom to manage their own lives. We’re not anti-government, but anti-big government. Which is a big difference.

I’ve viewed at least as long as I’ve blogged and that only goes back to 2009, but as someone who has been a political and current affairs junky and student longer than that, that America is essentially Center-Left liberal country. That also has a strong Center-Right, but needs things to be going badly under Democratic leadership and for the Far-Left not to bother to vote, for Center-Right Republicans to win nationally in this country and to even do well in Congress. Because Americans believe in the liberal values that I mentioned that Center-Left Democrats are in favor of and push all the time. We’re not a country that wants big government in our wallets, or homes, but we do want a government that does the basics well and helps people who fall on hard times.

Americans overwhelmingly believe in free speech. Score one for Liberals. Americans believe in equality, which means equal rights, equal treatment and equality of opportunity, not result in society. Which is where things like equal rights, quality education and infrastructure for all come in. Score another one for Liberals. We tend to be forward-looking and individualistic as a country and not so much interested in conserving tradition simply for tradition, but like having the ability to try different things and educate ourselves and making our own decisions. Score another one for Liberals. We like associating with other people’s especially if we share similar values and have things in common. Where the liberal value of tolerance comes in. Instead of being afraid to associate with other people simply because they’re different. Again score another for liberals.

America looks like a very liberal country in the sense that we truly believe in liberal values. Not that we’re Far-Left and in love with socialism. But that we believe in liberal values. Which is what being a Liberal is someone who believes in liberal values. Not someone who believes in big centralized government and high taxes on everyone in exchange for a lot of public services. Liberalism is not about government and certainly not big government. But there’s another ideology on the Left that fits in well with big government. Liberalism is about individual rights and using a limited government to promote progress and equality, but not to manage people’s lives for them. And based on this we have a lot of Liberals in America. Even if most Americans aren’t aware of it.

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Plato Shrugs: The Suspension of Disbelief: Bernie Sanders as President

Posted on February 10, 2016 by Derik Schneider

Source: This piece was originally posted at The Daily Review on WordPress: Plato Shrugs: The Suspension of Disbelief: Bernie Sanders as President

I disagree with the blogger who wrote this piece over at Plato Shrugs on two key points. And I think we probably agree on the rest. But Bernie Sanders, is not the ‘liberal Ron Paul’. Bernie, is the Democratic version of Rick Santorum. Rick, being the Far-Right Big Government Neoconservative Republican, who even flirted with the idea of outlawing gambling from the Federal level. To go along with outlawing pornography and same-sex marriage in 2012. Bernie, might be liberal compared with Rick, but who isn’t. That would be like saying a politician is consistent compared with Mitt Romney. Or someone is short compared Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, or Yao Ming. You know, who isn’t. You might have to send out a search party to find anyone who isn’t consistent, or short compared with these people.

Rick Santorum, represents the Far-Right fringe of the Republican Party. The Christian-Right and Neoconservative wing of that party. Bernie Sanders, represents the Far-Left Socialist wing of the Democratic Party. That wants to transform this Center-Left party that I’m proud to be a member of, into the Democratic Socialist Party. Where what’s mine and what’s yours, is no longer mine and yours, but now subjected to our nightmare of an Uncle Sam. To decide for everyone what we should have and be forced to give up. And I’m talking about money here and not physical property. Because Bernie is not a Communist but a Democratic Socialist who wants a big centralized national government. To go along with a highly taxed and regulated private sector.

I also disagree with Plato about Bernie Sanders having no shot and even being a long shot to win the Democratic nomination. Bernie, has been an underdog his whole life starting with being the son of poor Jewish-European immigrants in 1940s New York. And then making it all the way through college in the 1960s and being part of the civil rights movement. To becoming Mayor of Burlington, Vermont in the 1980s as an Independent Socialist. To being elected to the U.S. House in 1990 and being reelected there seven times. To being elected to the U.S. Senate in 2006, again as an Independent Socialist. To being reelected there in 2012. The longest-serving Independent in Congress in his 26th year in Congress. To underestimate Bernie and root for his defeat. Is like sticking your hand in a full shark tank with your eyes close. Not worth the risk.

The Democratic Party has had a socialist wing in it and mostly democratic socialist, since the late 1960s with the emergence of the New-Left. And you could go back to the 1940s with Henry Wallace and others and people who worked for the Roosevelt Administration. The Democrats have always had a wing that believes American capitalism is immoral, that wealth and success are selfish. That the only such thing as the people’s money is money that belongs to Uncle Sam to give out to his nieces and nephews in allowances. That believes masculinity is somehow bad and that men are inferior to women. That there’s no such thing as racism towards Caucasians and perhaps even the wrong country won the Cold War. And now this movement is big enough starting with Occupy Wall Street in 2011 to have a major presidential candidate who represents them.

And I’m not putting Bernie down, because I actually personally like the man and respect him for his honesty and actually believing in what he says and his politics. And fighting all of those losing battles in Congress for over twenty-years as a result. There’s something to respect about a person whose willing to fight the lost causes, because he believes they’re right and everyone else is stupid. Sort of like the Chicago Cubs fan who refuses to root another club, because they can’t move on from the Cubs even after 50-100 years of praying for another World Series championship. Or watching games at some place other than Wrigley Field. But not only that, Bernie is a moderate compared with most of his supporters. He’s the liberal in the movement who believes in free speech and even Freedom of Choice when it comes to social issues. And not down with fascist political correctness movement on the New-Left.

So when you think of Bernie Sanders for president think of Uncle Sam, but change the name to Bernie. Our new Uncle Bernie who our parents sent us to, because they were tired of dealing with us and all of our demands that they simply couldn’t afford and we didn’t deserve anyway. So they send us to our father’s brother lets say to take care of us and we think that is going to be horrible until we get there. But then we’re there and Uncle Bernie has all of these goodies for us that he says are free. Until we find out that we’re doing all sorts of chores around the house (meaning taxes) to pay for all of these supposed goodies. That is Bernie Sanders for president. A Democratic Socialist who’ll promise you everything that you’ll pay for. As well as more stuff that you don’t want or need. And leave you with a tax bill for that as well.

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