WIN of the WEAK

WIN of the WEAK (Aug.13/2016)

A count-up of five stories that celebrate 'Progressive Wins' or 'Weak Excuses'; or are just plain full of irony and much needed comic relief.

WIN of the WEAK: WEAK NBC Commentator Sparks Controversy By Refusing To Call Gymnast Simone Biles' Adoptive Parents her 'Parents'

Apparently someone didn't get the memo; It is the year 2016, but not at NBC Sports. Families come in all shapes and sizes, all possible configurations and skin colour or ethnicity may a part in that. But when a young athlete, Simone Biles, a woman of colour, nailed some of the most remarkable gymnastic routines seen at any Olympic Games, going on to win several events, NBC felt the need to explain that the family supporting Biles was actually her 'adoptive family'. Why is this a WEAK excuse for journalism? Because to Simone and her Parents, they are a family in every way that matters. Rather than asking Simone about her family, the network felt the need talk down to their audience. There is obviously room to improve in the reporting about what NBC must see as a 'non-traditional' family, but by directing the dialogue to helpful facts or information about adoption, or asking the adoption community how they wish to be represented, they miss out on an opportunity to have a really important and necessary conversation. This is the sort of think that makes us all WEAK as a society.

Simone cleared up her feelings on the matter later in the week while being interviewed by Us Weekly magazine. This girl is a champion, through and through, something quite obvious when she responded with this absolute WIN of a statement;

“I personally don’t have a comment,” the gymnast told Us Weekly exclusively on Tuesday. “My parents are my parents and that’s it.”

Number Two: WIN Jimmy Dore Hilariously Eviscerates Bill O'Reilly Over "Whitehouse Slave" Comments

After FLOTUS Michelle Obama's momentous speech at last week's DNC Convention, in which she spoke passionately about waking up each day in a house 'built by slaves', the ever crude and endlessly tone deaf O'Reilly felt the need to correct the First Lady's assertions. His arguments about the 'slaves' being 'well treated' according to his research illustrated exactly how biased O'Reilly is on the subject of human slavery, which was sadly predictable. What makes this segment of The Jimmy Dore Show so hysterical is that while pointing out the sheer hypocrisy of O'Reilly, his absolute detachment from reality, Jimmy makes us laugh at a very difficult period in American history, while reminding us that we still have a very long way to go. This may be my favorite Jimmy Dore video analysis to date and makes it an absolute must-watch Progressive WIN.

Number Three: WEAK Donald Trump 'Jokes' About A Second Amendment Solution if Hillary Clinton Chooses Future Supreme Court Justices

Another day, another reason for any remaining doubt about candidate Trump's allegiance to country or constitution to be shattered. This week brought on a barrage of bizarre comments from Trump himself, his campaign releasing incongruent explanations for said comment or it's true meaning, and the man seeming to double down against the advice of his campaign managers. Rumors continue to swirl about the discord within the campaign staff itself, but the fallout on the side of Trump's fellow Republicans has been deafening. Not only has RNC Committee Chair Reince Priebus even introduced Trump at one of his many rally stops. It's clear that their is no bottom to the GOP party, they are not willing to risk a four year Clinton presidency to preserve their party or any shred of integrity they might still have. But far worse than Trump's normal lies and conspiracy theories, he seemed to cross a line this week when he put a call out for a 'second amendment solution', a barely coded call for an assassination attempt should Hillary Clinton begin to nominate liberal supreme court justices for consideration. If there is a more dastardly and despicable volley of words from a Presidential candidate, I don't know that I have ever seen recorded proof. The man reeks of, to paraphrase MSNBC's Joe Scarborough, "talk big and carry a teeny tiny little stick." Yes, Mr. Trump, you are WEAK.

Number Four: WIN A South Korean Athlete Takes a Selfie With Her North Korean Counterpart

I have to continue to remind myself that there are other things going on in the world, things besides the 2016 US Elections. While the results of the Election will have major repercussions around the world, there are still other reasons to have hope. For a few moments theses two teenagers were acting exactly like teenagers. Lee Eun-ju of South Korea and Hong Un-jong of the North took a quick shared selfie during a practice session. But the media noted that this one image is the perfect summary of the purpose and pride of the Olympic Games, since technically North and South Korea are still at war with each other. While I don't imagine that this small, normal, gesture is not a potential political hot potato for one or both of these athletes, I do love the apparent heart and sheer normalcy of fellow gymnasts taking a snapshot to help them remember a very remarkable moment in both of their lives. A lovely WIN of a moment.

Number Five: WEAK Hillary Clinton Continues To Endorse 'Troubled' House Candidate Debbie Wasserman Schultz

Despite recent evidence linking Wasserman Schultz to what essentially amounts to a smear campaign against the wildly popular Democratic Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clinton is still rooting for her 'gal pal' to return for a 7th term in that office. Adding further insult to the injury perpetrated against Millennials in particular, but certainly extending to all Bernie Supports. It would appear that candidate Clinton thinks she's got this election in the bag, and by continuing to support (and silence?) Debbie Wasserman Schultz, she is basically giving all those who support Wasserman Schultz' direct competitor, in the person of Tim Canova, the middle finger. It would have been far more appropriate for Wasserman Schultz to have separated herself from the Clinton inner-circle, and to drop out of her race while publicly apologizing for any role she, or her office had in manipulating the Democratic primary process. That would have been the right thing to do, and any other year, it would be a larger issue. Unfortunately, with a reckless baffoon heading the Republican ticket, the Democrats seem to think they can get away with murder while the media focuses on blunder after blunder from the Trump camp.  Perhaps Clinton has every right to think thusly, the strategy seems to have been working fine for her up until now. Secretary Clinton, this reveals just how WEAK your morals and ethics really are.

Are We 'Progressives' or 'Regressives'?

Yesterday I read the actual Republican Party Platform as posted online, just for kicks. As I was reading through an endless list of punchy titles (I actually physically recoiled several times), it struck me just how un-American this document seems. So many barely veiled religious references, the discussion of removing essential resources from those most in need, I actually has a visceral reaction to what I was reading. What shocked me most of all was the negative, narrow, limited vision of what America could be.

The third paragraph of the GOP platform 'preamble' states in no uncertain terms the "the American dream is at risk." This is followed by reams of positions that seem to be entirely regressive, not just a matter of maintaining the status quo. For instance, the platform seeks to eradicate abortion access, ban pornography, and return to a traditional judeo-christian definition of marriage as that between a man and a woman exclusively. In the same vein it seeks to reduce taxation on corporations as a means of remaining globally competitive, preventing something the GOP refers to as debt explosion, while at the same time suggesting that it is critical that the United States has a highly trained and skilled workforce. I'm not sure if the GOP missed the memo about the state of the student debt crisis, but they apparently think that highly trained and skilled workers evolve in an education vaccum. Does that even resemble the American anyone wants, knows, or loves? I doubt many dictatorships could top this initial 'wish list'. It seems so backwards that I can only say it is the exact opposite of a progressive way of thinking, it is infact a regressive way of thinking and acting.

Out of fairness, I also looked into the Democratic Party Platform. Here the difference are stark just in the choice of words and the broad range of ideas and issues presented. For instance, the Democratic document speaks of "too many being left out or left behind" in the current political climate. I think all Americans can identify with that sentiment, which is why candidates like Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders hold so much appeal as outsiders. The platform focuses more on ways to help America achieve the so-called 'American Dream', as opposed to stressing that the concept is under attack. With the help of Bernie Sanders guiding the platform in a progressive direction, one at least feels somewhat hopeful when coming away from the document, even if they note (rightly so) that it is still not progressive or proactive enough. It's not that I am all about an exclusively progressive outlook for the Democratic Party of the future, but currently I am caught by just the differences in tone. This is not about the presidential candidates, it's just about the ideas and language in the document as presented. While reading this second document, I came away with a very different feeling.

America is not about one side of the aisle or the other, it's about the very best of ideas coming together. I understand the two-party system, the checks and balances, and that no single party has yet managed to achieve an entirely 'utopian' [if we take their platforms to be a model] society. The red team wins some games, sometimes it is the blue team. The balance is what we see today, it is 'western' culture, this mix of ideals and ideas. However, what happens when this system breaks down? 

What if, let's imagine for a moment,  the blue team uses steroids or other performance enhancing drugs, and the red team does not (or vice versa), would we be ok with that? You can easily see these 'influences' as a matter of the moneyed interest driving candidates to vote against their constituents interests. What if it happened for eight years in a row. America would look very different, as it always does, when a two-term President with a majority house and senate leaves office.

Human Beings are fascinating creatures when you think about the way we form societies. For example, the power of the US Supreme Court is pivotal for shaping policy and precedents. We need to recognize our own limitations, but also give ourselves enough credit for having the bravery to reach higher and be better. This wired-in world is so different from the one that I was met with back in the early 1970s. With information comes knowledge, knowledge bringing empowerment, it gives us a more realistic picture of the actual urgency and priority of issues.

So if we have any one party with an eight year stranglehold on government, eventually a lot on their wish list is brought forward for debate. Let's step away from the American two-party system, and open the doors to other parties, independents like Bernie Sanders, and imagine how remarkable these debates would be if instead of just two teams on the field, we see a round-robin tourney of multiple viewpoints representing the nuanced positions that real people, the voters in this case, care about. That is where ideas like the Brand New Congress hold great appeal for those who can see beyond the two-party system. Even if the small handful of independents or third parties in congress can't sway the vote, at least their positions can be heard and evaluated by the people. That is the America I want to see, the America that the people deserve, and the America that is bound in the living breathing document that is the United States Constitution. So the question we should really be asking is not if we are Democrat or Republican, but are we Progressive or Regressive as a society.

Dear Bernie Sanders Supporters & Progressives Everywhere

Dear America,

As a Canadian looking on, let me first say that I adore Bernie Sanders, he is my conscious and my heart in human form, and it hurts to see that anyone would think he was such a threat to the Democrats and democracy that they had to stoop so low to undermine his campaign. They Democratic Party has destroyed itself, and that is not a bad thing, but in the immediate future, we need to prevent Trump from happening. I say this with full love and respect to all my fellow Bernie supporters, you have been wronged, but your hours of work, your financial investment on behalf of his campaign, and your passion have not been for nothing.

Bernie Sanders has got people woke to a Progressive movement that we need more than ever. While people feel that they cannot in good conscious vote for Hillary Clinton, I fully understand and would be in your same boat. But while the United States of America may survive a Trump presidency, the environment and the disenfranchised can not. Do whatever you need to do to be right with your conscious, yes, but don't hand over the position of the highest office in your country to a man who is divisive, a fraud, a bully, and thinks climate change is a hoax. He will make the world far less safe and livable for future generations around the world.

The so freshly abused and humiliated Bernie Sanders supporters need time to grieve the loss of a beautiful thing that united so many for all the right reasons. Grief is different for each and every one of us, but most importantly, we need to recognise that it takes time to move through the stages of grief when we are ready. Some may never be ready to vote for Hillary Clinton, and that is OK with me. But we must hold the Democrats to their promises to Bernie, his supporters, and to the left-leaning additions in the new Democratic Party Platform. Vote for Progressives you have vetted up and down the ticket, take back the house and senate from those who refuse to represent the people, and never let the movement Bernie Sanders brought to the people of world end until the work is done. We are better than Trump or Clinton, we are better than an out of touch government, but we can't stop now. If those fighting to end segregation had given up after their biggest setbacks, we would still be fighting for the most basic human rights in American today.

So yes, beloved Bernie supporters, you have done amazing things, you have worked harder than others will ever realise, your time and financial investments have not been wasted on me or the millions of people you have reached with your message and movement, in both the US and worldwide. I grieve with you, I stand with you, I still hope with you that real change can happen in my lifetime. I see you, your hopes and dreams, your right to quality affordable health care and debt free education, a sustainable clean environment, to a livable minimum wage, to giving a hand up and not a hand out, to freedom of religion, a right to practise cultural traditions with pride and not fear, to reform your for-profit prisons and to decriminalise addiction, to stop throwing money at a 'military solution' that solves nothing, to give everyone access to automatic voter registration, to bring back the opportunity and promise of the country you are trying really hard to love and make better. 

I see the pain you are in, the abuse you have taken, and the humiliation of the very best example of true humanity, Bernie Sanders. Grieve this moment, the world grieves with you, and then get mad as heck, and never accept anything less than your conscious will allow. The time for making bargains with the DNC is over, a new movement has been born, and you need to raise this Progressive baby to be a part of the American political landscape from this point forward. Be it Republican, Democrat, Libertarian, Green Party, or a new Progressive party founded on the movement a truly great man, Bernie Sanders, has sacrificed and fought for his whole life. 

When the grief and despair ends, and you are ready to fight once more, do it for Bernie, for all his supporters, for future generations, for those who cannot fight for themselves, for the Progressives around the world that Bernie has inspired, and for those not yet awake.

Sincerely,
The International Progressive Community You Have Inspired

Trump vs Clinton: A Democratic Disaster

Myles Dyer breaks down the "Democratic Disaster" that is the current political scene in America. This is a must-watch video that will give you a moment of clarity. Myles recognizes that we all have been disenfranchised, and that it is absolutely essential that Bernie Sanders supporters are treated with respect and understanding, not derision and dismissal.

Please continue to support independent media like The Young Turks and Myles Dyer so that you have access to unbiased and balanced information and commentary.

Lisa Ann Magerman