Open Letter to Bernie

Well, I agree with him about Trident (in the sense that I have always been opposed to nuclear weapons, and I think that now more than ever we should not be spending that money on them), but I agree that there were more pressing issues that he should have concentrated on, however I am considering withdrawing my support (as a Labour Party member) because of the cowardly supine way he has rolled over about Brexit. I suspect he was always in favour of it.

I'm not exactly in favour of Trident myself, but it's not people like you and me who need convincing. And as the 80s showed people think unilateralism means capitulation to Russia. That belief was so strong in Copeland it lead people to vote for hospital closures.

I agree with you on Europe, it's a bit sad when the only person talking sense about Brexit is Tony Blair.

It is sad. On the Tory side, Ken Clarke and Michael Heseltine.

It is actually a very good thing that the UK has a credible nuclear deterrent that is independent of other governments.

I hope that if the UK were ever in a fight for their existence, the US will be fighting by their side.

But what happens if the US elects a president who refuses to help the UK when they need us?

Same with France and Israel. I'd certainly support helping them if they ever need us. But I'm also glad that they have a nuclear deterrent to guarantee their survival even if the US doesn't come to their aid.

You know nothing about it. You're too scared to even come over here because it would mean leaving your guns behind.

I know, Tarzan and Fat Arse the vulture, who'd credit it.

Although I like Bernie I don't believe in the second coming of Christ.
Politics is context not people. Obama did what was fisaeble and tangible.

I'm not sure what area of information you are talking about me not knowing. But I am happy that the UK can defend themselves on their own.

Hopefully you guys wouldn't be on your own, and we'd be there with you. But you know, just in case everything goes wrong in the world, it's nice to know that you guys would survive without us.



That's not fear. That's a discomfort with lack of freedom.

Me staying on US soil won't have any bearing on whether the US joins in a war.

It definitely won't have any bearing on whether we shower an adversary with thermonuclear warheads. If the US participates in a major nuclear war, US home soil will become the front lines of the conflict.

Or over there, Izzy, to topics that make adults act like little children, sticking their fingers in their ears, yelling num-num-num-num-num-num-num-num ...
In this you and oralloy are kissing cousins.

I can give you a dandy example, oralloy. But then you'll just go num-num-num- num-num-num- num-num-num- num-num-num, ... .

"Bill Clintonn vowed not to be weaker than Republicans, so he attacked welfare, gutted our social safety net. He continued deregulating the financial industry like the Republicans before him. He introduced trade policies so corporations could manufacture their items in countries without minimum wage laws and import them back to cut costs, as well costing Americans jobs. (But it’s okay because they were helping the “job-creators.”) Clinton unleashed his “tough on crime” platform, which we rightly point to not as the root cause of mass incarceration but for exacerbating what had been done by Republicans. They did all the ground work, they loaded the gun; all Clinton had to do was pull the trigger. And pull the trigger, he did."
"The Green Party has the social democratic ideals we seek with protections against big money and corruption built into its platform,...[....].....It’s worth noting that Green candidate Jill Stein’s plan to revitalize the economy and combat the changing climate is based on #FDR’s New Deal. Young voters feel no allegiance to party labels, especially one that has undermined the one honest candidate (Bernie Sanders) since the beginning. One thing is certain: we must oust the residual #Neoliberals and #corporatists like Debbie Wasserman Schultz and learn not to repeat our mistakes. It is imperative to make this unfortunate and shameful time a mere episode in American politics, nothing more.
Democrats talk a different game, but are responsible to the same one percenters who fund Republicans, so once in office, Democrats govern pretty much like Republicans. In fact Democratic presidents and governors frequently enact the oppressive policies we won’t allow Republicans to enact. "— Bruce Dixon, Black Agenda Report

In the aftermath of an election loss, it is more important than ever to keep Shakespeare’s admonition in mind — to thine own self be true. But so far, the Democrats appear to have rejected a self-aware, detached point of view. They can’t seem to respect the legitimacy of their defeat.

Their denial crescendoed yesterday when Hillary Clinton blamed her defeat on FBI Director James Comey and emails leaked from WikiLeaks. I won’t belabor the point, but Clinton lost because she had no economic message at a time of great economic anxiety. And, 2016 was a change election and she was the opposite of change. Her candidacy embodied the status quo and celebrated more of the same.

Now she wants to be a leader of the so-called resistance? Yawn.

And, oh by the way, the Democrats’ defeat in November continues one of the most gruesome political slaughters any American political party has ever experienced. Specifically, since 2008, Democrats have lost 62 House seats, nine Senate seats, 12 governorships and 959 state legislative seats. An autopsy of the Democrats’ performance through the Obama years reveals the deep problems that the left has with white voters. Relative to the 2012 election, Slate notes that Clinton lost nearly 1 million white votes in the Rust Belt states of Iowa, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. And per a Politico report, Clinton lost rural America by a 3-to-1 margin in 2016. But Democrats don’t want to hear it. Rather than ask how they can win back the voters they’ve lost, the left seems to be saying good riddance to white, working-class Americans.

Meanwhile, the most popular “Democrat” in the United States is Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), a socialist outsider who isn’t even a true Democrat. He doesn’t embrace the Democratic Party as the vehicle for his political “movement” but has nevertheless been welcomed by the intransigent new-left as its leader. And for members of the Democratic establishment, latching onto Sanders is their only hope for maintaining some semblance of party unity — even if their change agent isn’t a committed Democrat.


While Republicans stagger around legislatively and fitfully build an administration, the Democrats are stuck carping and pursuing conspiracies of their own. Even though we are six months out from the election and no evidence suggests collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign, the left is still hopelessly looking for a silver email to strike and bring down this president. Their pursuit of a smoking gun is simply dishonest and distracting.

In Washington, it is hard being in the minority. You have competing agendas, jealousies and multiple leaders who are probing the possibility of running for president themselves. It is hard to have a spokesperson that others defer to, and it is hard to make your message heard when the majority party in the White House has superior resources at its disposal. To stand a fighting chance, the minority party must launch a forceful effort, presented by nimble and sharp, made-for-TV personalities. And above all else, a coherent agenda and party unity are required. So far, the Democrats have none of these.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/wp/2017/05/03/the-democrats-havent-learned-from-their-defeats/?utm_term=.438706ee20a6

Doesn't really answer his question though.

It does if one is not Hugh Glass, living in an uncharted wilderness.

https://amp.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jan/14/power-billionaires-bernie-sanders-poverty-life-expectancy-climate-change?__twitter_impression=true

Bernie says, “Take it back.”