The Progressive thread

[agalisgv]

So you support jail time for addicts? I don't.

I don’t support passing bills to put people in jail for drugs while exempting one’s own family from the same.

I support treatment as opposed to jail fwiw. That said, when you have neglect of children involved, I think you need some type of stick, though I’m open to what that might look like.

 

[agalisgv]

You know what the lovely thing is, though? If Biden wins the presidency, we'll have an on the job view of whether or not he's cognitively declining! Isn't that just a brilliant idea?

I think it’s crystal clear now (and frankly has been for over a year). It borders on cruel to keep someone campaigning while they’re experiencing increasing cognitive decline.

For Louis, my candidates got washed out. By Super Tuesday, I was hoping if Sanders gained traction, it would cause some soul searching on the part of the DNC and reexamination of their newfound embrace of neocon foreign policy and corporate economic priorities. I’m not anti-business, so I have strong critiques about the progressive left’s enthusiasm for nationalizing major industries and sectors of the economy. But the degree to which Dems have embraced multilateral free trade deals that decimate US workers in favor of finance, Hollywood, big tech and pharma is deeply unsettling to me.

 

[Artistic Skaters]

I don't know about you guys, but I can't WAIT for such an exciting experiment!

Were you keeping up with the news during the Reagan years? That was an anxiety ridden time too, because RR loved the thug leaders just like Trump, and Nancy was probably giving him advice based on her latest fortune teller readings.

 

[Artistic Skaters]

When has Biden ever been able to rein in his family—particularly his kids? He still defends Hunter saying he did nothing wrong. He worked tirelessly to make sure Hunter and Ashley never saw jail time for their drug addictions.

Sorry, but not.

Did I miss a statement by Joe Biden when he specifically said he would commit to the public his children wouldn't do drugs? That's not what was being discussed or misrepresented. I supplied a statement made by JB directly and information from professionals about the stuttering issue and timeline.

Joe Biden wasn't my first choice either. I'm not a medical doctor or a seer like you, so I can't diagnose his mental condition over the internet or know for sure he will not keep the public promise he made about family conflicts of interest. I don't know what the future holds, except to say that I will vote for whoever is on the ballot in November whose name isn't Trump. If it's Biden and he wins it, then I don't care if he serves one month or one year after he's sworn in. I would like it if he brings along a woman for VP so if he ends up serving a partial term for any reason we could have our first woman in the presidency by default. Either way, it's mission accomplished to me if Trump is no longer in the Oval Office.

 

[VGThuy]

Twenty leading economists sign a letter in favor of Medicare for All:

20 leading economists just signed a letter arguing Medicare for All would generate massive savings for American families

Twenty of the nation's leading economists argued in favor of Medicare for All in an open letter that Business Insider first published on Tuesday...

markets.businessinsider.com

 

[topaz]

This public health issue is going to expose alot of things that folks have been ignoring about our society and how it effects them. Also, I think some people are realize just how vulnerable they really are.

 

[VGThuy]

This public health issue is going to expose alot of things that folks have been ignoring about our society and how it effects them. Also, I think some people are realize just how vulnerable they really are.

My friend works for a legal non-profit so you’d think they’d get it, but...he’s just coming back from Spain and he called and asked them about being covered for a self-quarantine and the executive director just told his supervisor to tell him that if he wants to self-quarantine, he can collect “unemployment”. Even in the legal field and in the non-profit world, people don’t have much options.

 

[allezfred]

My friend works for a legal non-profit so you’d think they’d get it, but...he’s just coming back from Spain and he called and asked them about being covered for a self-quarantine and the executive director just told his supervisor to tell him that if he wants to self-quarantine, he can collect “unemployment”. Even in the legal field and in the non-profit world, people don’t have much options.

That is horrifying.

 

[topaz]

Good commentary on the future of progressive politics.

Saagar Enjeti: The largest populist uprising in HISTORY is coming

Saagar Enjeti asks if populism will rise following the 2020 election. About Rising: Rising is a weekday morning show with bipartisan hosts that breaks the mo...

youtu.be

So many jobs created over the last 10 years or so were service industry jobs.

We're looking at two generations(Gen Z and Millennial) who will be starting their formative working/economic earning years having two catastrophic economic disasters(2008 and 2020); in debt, un-affordable housing, Climate change, working in 2 and 3 jobs to survive.

There is no choice for them but to demand progressive solutions and policies. We talk about Sanders and Warren being "radical", they ain't seen nothing yet.

 

[clairecloutier]

ProPublica has published an investigative article about high amputation rates among African-Americans due to diabetes:

The Black American Amputation Epidemic

Black patients were losing limbs at triple the rate of others. The doctor put up billboards in the Mississippi Delta. Amputation Prevention Institute, they read. He could save their limbs, if it wasn’t too late.

features.propublica.org

The article focuses on the Mississippi Delta region. I recommend it.

ProPublica is doing some really great work, bringing issues like this to light.

 

[ballettmaus]

ProPublica is doing some really great work, bringing issues like this to light.

I've seen a number of pieces by them but I'm always a bit wary about sharing as they often have stuff that none of the major outlets report on and because hardly anyone is ever linking to them here.
Of course, the former could simply be due to the fact that they're more willing to do what investigative journalists of the major outlets used to do once upon a time. (Some days I wonder if Watergate would have happened nowadays, too).

 

[clairecloutier]

I'm seeing more & more people link to ProPublica pieces on Twitter. Also, a lot of national-level politicians follow them there.

The stuff they're reporting on is different than the major outlets. NYT and WaPo focus on the big names and the events of the day or the week in D.C. ProPublica is more on the ground, behind the scenes, not reporting so much on what the power players in D.C. are doing. I think that's why there's little overlap between them and the major outlets.

 

[clairecloutier]

Journalist Dana Goldstein, who writes for the NY Times and other publications, has a thread on Twitter today where she shared links to a half dozen articles about inequality issues in schools and housing in America.

https://twitter.com/DanaGoldstein/status/1270001952739471360

If you're interested in the subject, I recommend checking out this thread.


There is a link to an article about the long history of racially segregated schools in Charlottesville, VA, that lays bare how hard it's been for African-Americans in Charlottesville to make progress academically when they're discouraged, in both small and big ways, from getting the same educational opportunities that whites get.

‘You Are Still Black’: Charlottesville’s Racial Divide Hinders Students (Published 2018)

The New York Times and ProPublica examined the Charlottesville, Va., school system, which has one of the biggest racial gaps in the country.

www.nytimes.com

Then, there's an article from the 2016 time frame about zoning and housing (and, ultimately, schools) in Chappaqua, NY, adopted hometown of Hillary and Bill Clinton. It caught my eye because my dad spent his career teaching in the highly rated public schools of Chappaqua (average home price: $840K+). The article tells about a controversial affordable housing development in Chappaqua. There is always some reason, it seems, why people in towns like Chappaqua don't want affordable housing.

The Inequality Fight Dividing Hillary Clinton’s Hometown

An affluent New York suburb was supposed to be a national model for affordable housing. Instead, it proves how hard it is even for towns that say they want to do the right thing.

www.politico.com

 

[skatingguy]

Katie Porter is so amazing.

 

[Cachoo]

Katie Porter is so amazing.

I absolutely love this woman. I'm talking to poor people who need free ********* tests everyday and they are free because she would not SHUT UP until the citizens were promised free testing.

 

[nylynnr]

There is always some reason, it seems, why people in towns like Chappaqua don't want affordable housing.

Absolutely. And it isn't because these Westchester towns are packed with conservative Republicans; Chappaqua is strongly Democratic.

 

[MacMadame]

Absolutely. And it isn't because these Westchester towns are packed with conservative Republicans; Chappaqua is strongly Democratic.

It's NIMBY-ism. They are in favor of it theoretically but not if it impacts them personally in any way.

I belong to a group called CA YIMBY. Yes in my backyard! We mostly work to pass legislation to make affordable housing easier to build. But sometimes I go to a City Council meeting and tell them why a certain project should or should not be built. Not if it's not enough density to make up for whatever it's going to tear down. i.e., putting up 5 units on a small plot of open space land full of old growth trees. Yes if it's a nice high density project with some affordable housing. i.e., a project near me that will have almost 80 units and the land is ugly and off to the side doing absolutely nothing.

 

[clairecloutier]

Here is a lengthy article about problems with the eviction system in Washington, D.C. A lot of people fail to receive eviction notices/notices of court dates that were supposedly served to them by shady process servers:

Do DC Renters Who Are Evicted Know About Their Court Dates?

Process servers are supposed to deliver summonses that tell tenants about their eviction cases. But the only evidence that they actually notify tenants of their cases are sworn documents filed by the process servers themselves, and a DCist investigation uncovered hundreds of documents in the...

dcist.com

 

[clairecloutier]

Just wanted to share here that the Washington Post recently ran a series of articles about how systemic racism affected George Floyd's life. The series is called George Floyd's America.

Each article in the series explores a different public sector (i.e., an aspect of the government and/or society) and how Floyd's interactions with that sector affected him. It's an ambitious series and well worth reading in my opinion. We hear so often about these problems, but this shows their effect on a person's life. Anyhow, I will link here to the individual articles.


Introduction:

Born with two strikes

https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/national/george-floyd-america/systemic-racism/

School/college:

Looking for his ticket out

https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/national/george-floyd-america/education/

Housing:

Segregated from opportunity

https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/national/george-floyd-america/housing/

Prison system:

Profiting from prisoners

https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/national/george-floyd-america/criminal-justice/

Healthcare:

Racism's hidden toll

https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/national/george-floyd-america/health-care/

Police:

A knee on his neck

https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/national/george-floyd-america/policing/

 

[allezfred]

Vanity Fair piece on AOC

AOC’s Next Four Years

The history-making congresswoman addresses her biggest critics, the challenges that loom no matter who wins, and what she’s taking on next.

www.vanityfair.com

 

[clairecloutier]

Vanity Fair piece on AOC

AOC’s Next Four Years

The history-making congresswoman addresses her biggest critics, the challenges that loom no matter who wins, and what she’s taking on next.

www.vanityfair.com

Rallying cry from the article:

She [AOC] is tired of incremental change, of “bullshit little 10 percent tax cuts,” she says. “I think, honestly, a lot of my dissent within the Democratic party comes from my lived experience. It’s not just that we can be better, it’s that we have to be better. We’re not good enough right now.”

 

[el henry]

Rallying cry from the article:

And here is my honest honest honest reaction:

does AOC or anyone else really think that persons who don't agree with that approach have no lived experience with poverty? No lived experience with low wage jobs? inadequate or non existent healthcare? With being dehumanized due to gender or race? With any of those other subjects?

She'll have to do better to gather everyone together with a rallying cry if those with the same lived experience disagree.

 

[clairecloutier]

And here is my honest honest honest reaction:

You can have whatever reaction you want.

Personally I agree with her, both in regard to the Democratic Party and the government's performance as a whole.

And arguably, many other people feel similarly.

Americans’ Views of Government: Low Trust, but Some Positive Performance Ratings

For years, public trust in the federal government has hovered at near-record lows. That remains the case today, as the United States struggles with a ********* and economic recession.

www.pewresearch.org

 

[BlueRidge]

And here is my honest honest honest reaction:

does AOC or anyone else really think that persons who don't agree with that approach have no lived experience with poverty? No lived experience with low wage jobs? inadequate or non existent healthcare? With being dehumanized due to gender or race? With any of those other subjects?

She'll have to do better to gather everyone together with a rallying cry if those with the same lived experience disagree.

Did you read the article?

AOC has had her lived experience denied all the time, that's why she's talking about it. She didn't deny anyone else's experience nor did she say that anyone who disagreed with her had no lived experience.

I could react this same way to a lot of stuff Joe Biden said, if I wanted to. What's he saying about people that didn't grow up in Scranton? They don't understand things? Why's he always talking about his experience as if mine was not significant?

I don't think that makes sense to read AOC that way at all.

 

[el henry]

Did you read the article?

AOC has had her lived experience denied all the time, that's why she's talking about it. She didn't deny anyone else's experience nor did she say that anyone who disagreed with her had no lived experience.

I could react this same way to a lot of stuff Joe Biden said, if I wanted to. What's he saying about people that didn't grow up in Scranton? They don't understand things? Why's he always talking about his experience as if mine was not significant?

I don't think that makes sense to read AOC that way at all.

Yes. I did read the article. I think AOC is an accomplished person and that is why I read it. I actually sympathize with much of what I think it she is trying to do. I think right wing attacks are outrageous.

But I do believe in coalitions and I do believe that the Dems are not going to go as far as she would like and that's OK, and I don't think it's a particularly good rallying cry. ETA: So maybe, in the context of the article, I am reading too much into those words, but that was my reaction and opinion and I'm sticking to it.

 

[clairecloutier]

Earlier this year, I posted in a couple threads, including this one, about how the Washington Post was running a 6-part series on systemic racism in America as seen through the prism of George Floyd's life. One of the articles was written by Robert Samuels.

It's nice to see that this series has won an award for Justice Reporting:

https://twitter.com/PolkAwards/status/1364590257291866114

Just wanted to share here that the Washington Post recently ran a series of articles about how systemic racism affected George Floyd's life. The series is called George Floyd's America.

Each article in the series explores a different public sector (i.e., an aspect of the government and/or society) and how Floyd's interactions with that sector affected him. It's an ambitious series and well worth reading in my opinion. We hear so often about these problems, but this shows their effect on a person's life. Anyhow, I will link here to the individual articles.