Although I risk being exposed as an NSA plant for revealing this:
Jeff Boss lives in Richfield Park, New Jersey, in a home that he believes has been compromised. He holds a number of highly cynical opinions regarding the federal government, and in particular the National Security Agency, the latter of which he says orchestrated the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. This belief qualifies Boss as a “Truther”, a member of an informal group that believes the US government is directly responsible for 9/11.
Boss takes every available opportunity to denounce the NSA and inform the public that he has evidence proving their involvement in the September 11th attacks, including DVD recordings and affidavits from over 500 people in the know admitting that the NSA paid them $20,000 for their silence. Because of his campaign to expose the truth, Boss believes that the NSA is making daily attempts on his life, and that it has bugged his home and altered his plumbing to poison the water supply. The seven people living closest to him are all NSA agents, he says, and are monitoring him. He also believes that the NSA controls the media in order to prevent his message from being heard, that it has covered up misdeeds in George W Bush's past (and is also trying to kill Boss for revealing that, as well), and that it intercepts and tampers with his telephone calls so that some people believe they have had phone conversations with him when in fact it was not him at all.
Yesterday at the July 4th party, I discovered that it was time to choose in the Democratic presidential primary. Or at least get behind somebody for now.
I'm getting behind Bernie Sanders.
I would love to be going all out for a woman. But the contrast seems to be too great between Hillary and Bernie.
I also reserve the right to change my mind. Listen to what the guy has to say.
But I have been wanting to say (outloud) for some time now: Vicious attacks on Hillary by (some) Sanders supporters are already getting on my nerves. Bernie's ideas are just fine on their own, there doesn't need to be an "evil" counterpart to make those ideas seem better.
And those Sanders supporters who promote memes from dubious sources, with accusations against the Clintons that range from corruption to even more sinister activities, are (imo) just as bad as the right-wing nut-jobs clinging to their Benghazi bullshit. And frankly, the more the tone harshens, the less I want to learn about Bernie.
That may not be a "defensible" reason for not paying attention, but when one strives to evoke emotion, don't be surprised when emotions rule over logic.
I know what you mean. Some of the infighting is just horrible. Actually all of it is just horrible. If Bernie weren't in the race I would be already firmly on the Hillary bandwagon. I have zero patience for anybody who wants to tear down either one of these people.
What about Clinton surrogates attacking Bernie in the media directly? I think the Sanders campaign has done an admirable job of staying positive, and yet here's Claire McCaskill on my screen calling Sanders some kind of extremist? For thinking that thieves in the financial sector should actually be held to account?
If it's wrong for random people off the street to be attacking Clinton, surely it's doubly wrong for the Clinton campaign to be instructing surrogates to attack Sanders, yes?
And I'm not linking you to a Google page to be glib, I just want you to see that that is how every major political media outlet is describing her.
Again, I agree with you--Sanders supporters shouldn't engage in character assassination against Clinton, especially (but not exclusively) when it entails using points of attack that the right wing has been mobilizing against her for 20+ years. That's wrong. I'm just asking whether you agree it's wrong for Clinton's *actual campaign*, via surrogates, to smear Sanders for standing up for values that Clinton, when she is speaking for herself, claims to hold as well. Do you agree with that?
McCaskill was wrong for saying it, and not just because of the pending Primary. Democrats in the Senate need to support efforts by both Sanders and Warren to hold Wall Street accountable, and calling Bernie "extreme" and harping about him being a Socialist is exactly the kind of attention-diverting the banksters love.
p.s. The reason I brought that DNC thing up is because I came across her name on that list before you made your comment, so it was on my mind. But even if she was running, what she said wouldn't be okay.
I assume this means I'm also safe from being made fun of on Tuesday for all of my Sanders tweets. We're all looking forward to welcoming you to team #feelthebern when you're ready, Steve. ;)
Unless you retweet that picture with Bernie in Founding Father's clothes holding a bald eagle in one hand and a minigun in the other. That's just begging for some pithy commentary. ;)
the Bernie Sanders campaign is at least on solid footing, if not actually neck-and-neck with Hillary Clinton's. I think we can at least say he's "viable," although that may expose me to ridicule over making assumptions based on a blog poll... :)
What I hear from insiders is a bunch happy-talk about how Sanders is too socialist/radical/old/fringed/whatever to be considered a serious candidate. Comparisons are being made to McGovern or Howard Dean.
I don't know if they'll prove right or not, but in the meantime, I like what Bernie is saying and I like what he stands for. If you look at all the candidates from both parties, Sanders is the only one who is addressing our two greatest challenges: poverty/inequality and environmental threats.
I like Bernie, and I liked McGovern. My first vote for US President was for George McGovern.
Probably the best of the 15 Democrats who ran in '72 was Ed Muskie of Maine, who dropped like a lead balloon in the polls after it was reported in the media that he had wept in public.
I still think Bernie will fade away as did Gene McCarthy and his faithful followers in 1972. Politics is not a fair game these days, and image is more important than substance in many -- maybe most-- cases. Sanders cannot get away from the "socialist" label.
You know that as a PR guy, James.
NPR News @nprnews 31 minutes ago (on Twitter)
Clinton campaign is "worried" about Bernie Sanders, but should it be? Analysis by @JessicaTaylor @tamarakeithNPR http://n.pr/1G7JeQF
Nationally, Sanders still trails her by more than 40 points on average, but national polls can be skewed by name ID — and nominations are not determined by national polls. NPR
and his priorities turn out to be based on rock-solid Democratic Party principles. He doesn't run from the label, he says try it, you'll like it, and the kids don't care. Independents and true conservatives appreciate the straight talk. Veterans love him. He can build a coalition to win not just the White House but also flip Congress. If enough of us get organized.
Comments
Here's one of the others:
Although I risk being exposed as an NSA plant for revealing this:
Ooookay...
Yesterday at the July 4th
Yesterday at the July 4th party, I discovered that it was time to choose in the Democratic presidential primary. Or at least get behind somebody for now.
I'm getting behind Bernie Sanders.
I would love to be going all out for a woman. But the contrast seems to be too great between Hillary and Bernie.
I also reserve the right to change my mind. Listen to what the guy has to say.
I'm still sitting on the fence
But I have been wanting to say (outloud) for some time now: Vicious attacks on Hillary by (some) Sanders supporters are already getting on my nerves. Bernie's ideas are just fine on their own, there doesn't need to be an "evil" counterpart to make those ideas seem better.
And those Sanders supporters who promote memes from dubious sources, with accusations against the Clintons that range from corruption to even more sinister activities, are (imo) just as bad as the right-wing nut-jobs clinging to their Benghazi bullshit. And frankly, the more the tone harshens, the less I want to learn about Bernie.
That may not be a "defensible" reason for not paying attention, but when one strives to evoke emotion, don't be surprised when emotions rule over logic.
I know what you mean. Some of
I know what you mean. Some of the infighting is just horrible. Actually all of it is just horrible. If Bernie weren't in the race I would be already firmly on the Hillary bandwagon. I have zero patience for anybody who wants to tear down either one of these people.
I can respect that, but I have to say...
(Bernie supporter here, full disclosure)
What about Clinton surrogates attacking Bernie in the media directly? I think the Sanders campaign has done an admirable job of staying positive, and yet here's Claire McCaskill on my screen calling Sanders some kind of extremist? For thinking that thieves in the financial sector should actually be held to account?
If it's wrong for random people off the street to be attacking Clinton, surely it's doubly wrong for the Clinton campaign to be instructing surrogates to attack Sanders, yes?
Not so sure she's speaking for Hills
The DNC has Claire listed as a potential Presidential candidate herself, though I'm not sure how they developed their "maybe" list.
I'm not trying to play
I'm not trying to play "gotcha," I thought you'd concede the point right away. Are you contending that it's ok for McCaskill, who is identified in every article on the subject as a Clinton surrogate, to attack Sanders on the basis that the DNC claims she is a "potential" candidate?
And I'm not linking you to a Google page to be glib, I just want you to see that that is how every major political media outlet is describing her.
Again, I agree with you--Sanders supporters shouldn't engage in character assassination against Clinton, especially (but not exclusively) when it entails using points of attack that the right wing has been mobilizing against her for 20+ years. That's wrong. I'm just asking whether you agree it's wrong for Clinton's *actual campaign*, via surrogates, to smear Sanders for standing up for values that Clinton, when she is speaking for herself, claims to hold as well. Do you agree with that?
I definitely agree
McCaskill was wrong for saying it, and not just because of the pending Primary. Democrats in the Senate need to support efforts by both Sanders and Warren to hold Wall Street accountable, and calling Bernie "extreme" and harping about him being a Socialist is exactly the kind of attention-diverting the banksters love.
p.s. The reason I brought that DNC thing up is because I came across her name on that list before you made your comment, so it was on my mind. But even if she was running, what she said wouldn't be okay.
That's a relief
I assume this means I'm also safe from being made fun of on Tuesday for all of my Sanders tweets. We're all looking forward to welcoming you to team #feelthebern when you're ready, Steve. ;)
Relatively safe... :)
Unless you retweet that picture with Bernie in Founding Father's clothes holding a bald eagle in one hand and a minigun in the other. That's just begging for some pithy commentary. ;)
If this poll is any indication,
the Bernie Sanders campaign is at least on solid footing, if not actually neck-and-neck with Hillary Clinton's. I think we can at least say he's "viable," although that may expose me to ridicule over making assumptions based on a blog poll... :)
The pundits are punditing
What I hear from insiders is a bunch happy-talk about how Sanders is too socialist/radical/old/fringed/whatever to be considered a serious candidate. Comparisons are being made to McGovern or Howard Dean.
I don't know if they'll prove right or not, but in the meantime, I like what Bernie is saying and I like what he stands for. If you look at all the candidates from both parties, Sanders is the only one who is addressing our two greatest challenges: poverty/inequality and environmental threats.
I expect him to continue to gain momentum.
McGovern in '72
I like Bernie, and I liked McGovern. My first vote for US President was for George McGovern.
Probably the best of the 15 Democrats who ran in '72 was Ed Muskie of Maine, who dropped like a lead balloon in the polls after it was reported in the media that he had wept in public.
I still think Bernie will fade away as did Gene McCarthy and his faithful followers in 1972. Politics is not a fair game these days, and image is more important than substance in many -- maybe most-- cases. Sanders cannot get away from the "socialist" label.
You know that as a PR guy, James.
NPR News @nprnews 31 minutes ago (on Twitter)
Clinton campaign is "worried" about Bernie Sanders, but should it be? Analysis by @JessicaTaylor @tamarakeithNPR http://n.pr/1G7JeQF
Martha Brock
Bernie explains what Democratic Socialism is
and his priorities turn out to be based on rock-solid Democratic Party principles. He doesn't run from the label, he says try it, you'll like it, and the kids don't care. Independents and true conservatives appreciate the straight talk. Veterans love him. He can build a coalition to win not just the White House but also flip Congress. If enough of us get organized.