If you or anyone you know lives in California, you need to know about this election that maybe more than any other state in the country it is the votes of Californians that may decide, in a very big way, the political direction of this country for the next two years. pic.twitter.com/5etXemOju3
— Maddow Blog (@MaddowBlog) October 31, 2018
Using Technology to Deepen Democracy, Using Democracy to Ensure Technology Benefits Us All
Wednesday, October 31, 2018
Rachel Maddow Has A Word For Our Fellow Californians
Barbara Lee Speaks For Me Daily
We need more women (especially women of color!) in Congress— women who aren’t afraid to take a stand, who fight for justice, who won’t back down. For more, listen to my interview on @NPRATC ⬇️https://t.co/tiVNwPHJ8E
— Rep. Barbara Lee (@RepBarbaraLee) October 31, 2018
Tuesday, October 30, 2018
Hot Take-O-Matic for Next Week
So, I wanted to set up "narrative guidelines" beforehand. Here's what I came up with (this is from Dem's POV); please suggest edits. pic.twitter.com/EaZTRUU1sO
— Micah Cohen (@micahcohen) October 30, 2018
If the title seems entirely snarky, the truth is I will indeed use this, or something much like it, as a horizon within the terms of which to initially assess the result.
Barbara Lee Speaks For Me Daily
The 14th Amendment is clear, “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside.”
— Barbara Lee (@BLeeForCongress) October 30, 2018
Another shameful attempt to spread anti-immigrant hatred before Election Day. https://t.co/c8iTcdrhLq
Monday, October 29, 2018
Barbara Lee Speaks For Me Daily
When you’re in the voting booth, don’t forget that Republicans celebrated at the White House after casting their votes to strip health care and pre-existing condition protections away from millions. Time to elect people who will work to protect and strengthen our health care. https://t.co/9W73iYIdDo
— Barbara Lee (@BLeeForCongress) October 29, 2018
Sunday, October 28, 2018
Sunday Walk
Barbara Lee Speaks For Me Daily
The strength of our party and our country lies in our diversity. Let’s do everything we can to elect inspiring women of color into office this November and keep moving forward toward equal representation in our government.
— Barbara Lee (@BLeeForCongress) October 28, 2018
Quite So
The citizen in me hates what America has become under Trump. The historian in me knows that this is what America always has been.
— David Silkenat (@davidsilkenat) October 27, 2018
Saturday, October 27, 2018
Voting Rights Are on the Ballot in Thirteen States
Amendment 4 is the most important voting-rights referenda this fall—but there are so many more that would usher in big change. https://t.co/58Jw4EpSti pic.twitter.com/E64m6mPk62
— Taniel (@Taniel) October 27, 2018
Your Lips, Goddess' Ears
November 6, 2018 could be the final blow to the Republicans’ long war on health care and a devastating message to those nationalists who believe they are taking our country.
— Andy Slavitt (@ASlavitt) October 27, 2018
Hope springs eternal.
Midterms Are A Referendum on Trump
Barbara Lee Speaks For Me Daily
As Frederick Douglass said, "Power concedes nothing without demand." This November 6th, DEMAND that your voice is heard. Vote.
— Barbara Lee (@BLeeForCongress) October 27, 2018
"The Stakes Are Dire"
What we're seeing with Trump's GOP is white supremacy and white supremacy is the furthest thing from a "fluke": it defines American history as much as any other single factor and more than most. But, yeah, girl, I kinda sorta see what you mean and we're all there, feeling the stress strobing like a pulse as the days to the election grow short. HRC should have won and nearly did and won a sizable majority of the vote, and some of the worst excesses, the Court shenanigans and immigration crimes and abandonment of international agreements would not have taken place under HRC, tho' to be honest I'm not sure Republicans majorities would not have tried to impeach Clinton by now for who knows what kind of trumped up nonsense yielding something close to the same shit-show we now face soon enough. It's all true, though, what he says. If Dems don't regain the House and enough governnor's mansions to put a check on the latest white supremacist formation of the GOP (not to mention its cruelty, sexism, homophobia, climate-change denialism, macroeconomic illiteracy, belligerence, gun-nuttery, stubborn stupid parochial death-dealing greedhead anti-intellectualism) Trump will treat it as an endorsement, a mandate, an excuse to unleash his worst authoritarian impulses. The world will rightly abandon America as an unreliable partner and fascism's spread will accelerate under the amplifying pressures of climate change beyond help or hope. It remains to be seen what a best-case outcome and its break on this runaway anti-democratizing Trump train can accomplish even if we win... Trump will likely be brazen, Dems will likely be overcautious, the left base is prone to demoralization after an exhausting couple of years of rage and fear, and the stakes in two years will either be higher than they are even now... or by then the election won't quite matter at all and people will be wondering if it's years too late to make an escape plan. In the longer term, demographics suggest revolutionary possibilities, and the realities of climate catastrophe demand revolutionary adaptations. But it feels like this election tells me whether or not I get to live to see those changes or must live through and probably die in a pointless torment of fascist violence and social upheaval first instead as the clock winds down and the Greenhouse storms arise in earnest.I have mentioned several times in recent days my anxiety about the election less than two weeks from now, one that is caused less by my sense of the likely outcome than the gravity of the stakes involved.... 2016 can be seen as a fluke. A series of perfect storm factors coming together to make Donald Trump President with a minority of the popular vote and razor thin margins in three critical states. 2018, if it’s a winning election for the Republicans, will be a choice. A ratification of everything we’ve seen over the last two years. That will be a reality we’ll all have to contend with for what it says about the state of the country. It will send a signal abroad that this is now the American political reality and unquestionably accelerate all the geo-political processes Trump has spurred or which drove him to the White House in the first place. Domestically the impact will be worse. The political message will be simple: you can do all this stuff and suffer no political consequences. It goes without saying that the climate of violent incitement against the press will accelerate. The President’s ability and willingness to protect himself and his loyalists from the law will grow and be treated as normal. It is difficult to imagine he won’t find a way to end the Mueller probe. At the end of the day, the only real restraint on officeholders isn’t norms or even laws. It’s elections.
Friday, October 26, 2018
Barbara Lee Speaks For Me Daily
Our #EastBay community is bearing the brunt of this housing crisis. This report is a wakeup call - we must work urgently to make sure that all members of our community can live with dignity. https://t.co/Cu1EcUq6xI
— Rep. Barbara Lee (@RepBarbaraLee) October 25, 2018
One Book Leads To Another...
The Phony "Caravan Crisis" Is Trump's (Latest) Reichstag Fire
President Trump is now in the process of revealing to the country that his agenda on the signature issue that he believes got him elected is a complete and abject failure. This was inevitable, because — and this is also being unmasked for all to see right now — that agenda rests on a foundation of lies. We are now learning that Trump, who is in rage over the Central American migrants straggling their way through Mexico, may declare a national security emergency in order to completely close down the southern border to Central American asylum seekers. It is perfectly legal for people to present themselves at the border and seek asylum. [emphasis added. --d] But according to The Post, the White House is considering an “executive order” that “would suspend that provision and bar Central Americans as a matter of national security” ... The idea that the migrant “caravan” represents an emergency for the U.S. is absurd. Estimates from Mexican authorities indicate that the caravan, which remains over 900 miles away, has already dramatically dwindled in size, and is now mostly made up of destitute families who are traveling with children and living off of food supplied by people along the way. Indeed, the very fact that Trump has had to lie relentlessly about the caravan’s makeup — he has claimed it is infiltrated by criminals and terrorists, which is utterly false — itself neatly illustrates that it does not present the emergency he and Republicans have hyped into existence. The backdrop to this is an even bigger lie — Trump’s constant suggestion that the border is overrun by undocumented immigrant invaders. In fact, illegal crossings are substantially lower than the levels in recent years. To turn this fake emergency into fodder for a closing campaign message, Trump and Republicans have layered additional lies on top of all those other ones: Democrats orchestrated the caravan; Democrats want to give undocumented immigrants cars and support open borders; and so on.... This is Trump’s Reichstag fire. Not in the sense that Trump is Hitler, but rather in the more general way this term is sometimes used: Trump is perverting imagery of a real event to create a false narrative about what is happening and why; to justify his chosen response to it; and to manipulate public opinion toward other ends...
Thursday, October 25, 2018
Grading, Grating
Wednesday, October 24, 2018
Today's Random Wilde
Barbara Lee Speaks For Me Daily
Here’s a clue: if you’re worried that too many people will “exercise their right to vote,” you’re on the wrong side of history. https://t.co/GTaj1rCCBC
— Rep. Barbara Lee (@RepBarbaraLee) October 23, 2018
Tuesday, October 23, 2018
Uninspired, Uninspiring, Uninspiraling
Barbara Lee Speaks For Me Daily
With so much on the line in this year’s elections, we cannot afford to sit at home — we need every eligible voter to head to the polls and help elect a new wave of Democratic leaders on November 6th. Be sure to make a voting plan today!
— Barbara Lee (@BLeeForCongress) October 23, 2018
Monday, October 22, 2018
Barbara Lee Speaks For Me Daily
Voter suppression targets communities of color. Make no mistake, what is happening in Georgia is clear proof of that. Congress must restore the Voting Rights Act so all Americans can have a say in our democracy. https://t.co/0ztRIgOEK6
— Barbara Lee (@BLeeForCongress) October 22, 2018
Sunday, October 21, 2018
Sunday Walk
Barbara Lee Speaks For Me Daily
Tomorrow is the LAST day to register to vote in California. Although there is conditional voter registration through Election Day, save yourself the lines and get registered at https://t.co/E7dLw0Do8t.
— Barbara Lee (@BLeeForCongress) October 21, 2018
Today's Random Wilde
Saturday, October 20, 2018
Barbara Lee Speaks For Me Daily
Attacks on health care & protections for preexisting conditions. Tax breaks for the wealthiest few. The rollback of some of our most basic, civil rights. That’s what Republicans in Congress have been up to these past two years. Time to elect new Democratic majorities in 17 days.
— Barbara Lee (@BLeeForCongress) October 20, 2018
Friday, October 19, 2018
A Day Off...?
Barbara Lee Speaks For Me Daily
Instead of smearing Jamal Khashoggi at President Trump’s behest, @HouseGOP should be working with us to hold Saudi leadership accountable for this atrocity and to end military support for their brutal war in Yemen. https://t.co/ZqiJ9jiDvP
— Rep. Barbara Lee (@RepBarbaraLee) October 19, 2018
Today's Random Wilde
Thursday, October 18, 2018
Barbara Lee Speaks For Me Daily
President Trump & @HouseGOP’s America: where billionaires get corporate welfare while children and seniors go hungry.
— Rep. Barbara Lee (@RepBarbaraLee) October 17, 2018
This is immoral, plain and simple. Congress can do better – by working #ForThePeople, not for the richest. https://t.co/Lz9Kcx0iSB
Bolstering
Wednesday, October 17, 2018
Barbara Lee Speaks For Me Daily
.@HouseGOP thinks massive new tax cuts for billionaires should be paid for with your Social Security and Medicare.
— Rep. Barbara Lee (@RepBarbaraLee) October 17, 2018
That’s their platform. That’s their agenda. Don’t forget. https://t.co/7J4RYF4VmP
Tuesday, October 16, 2018
Soothing
Barbara Lee Speaks For Me Daily
There are only three weeks until Election Day! Was at Ft. Valley State University with @staceyabrams yesterday and it was great to see so many people fired up and ready to vote on November 6. There’s so much at stake. No one can afford to sit this election out. pic.twitter.com/zBf7hEXhM3
— Barbara Lee (@BLeeForCongress) October 16, 2018
Monday, October 15, 2018
Barbara Lee Speaks For Me Daily
Over the past few years, we’ve seen Republican leaders try to gut health care and raise taxes on middle-class families while ensuring tax giveaways to the wealthy. They’ve looked the other way as Trump rolled back environmental protections. We need new leadership. Vote on Nov. 6.
— Barbara Lee (@BLeeForCongress) October 15, 2018
Long Teaching Day
Sunday, October 14, 2018
Sunday Walk
Barbara Lee Speaks For Me Daily
No parent should worry about their family’s safety when visiting the park or attending the movies. No American should have to weigh the risks of gun violence in their classroom or their office or their favorite club. It’s time for common sense gun safety reform.
— Barbara Lee (@BLeeForCongress) October 14, 2018
Yer Evil Phone
[C]obalt is found in every lithium-ion rechargeable battery on the planet -- from smartphones to tablets to laptops to electric vehicles. It is also used to fashion superalloys to manufacture jet engines, gas turbines and magnetic steel. You cannot send an email, check social media, drive an electric car or fly home for the holidays without using this cobalt... Such companies are collectively worth trillions of dollars. Yet according to Amnesty International in a report at the end of 2017, none of them are making sufficient efforts to ensure that their riches are not being built on the backs of the oppressed women, men and children of the Congo who toil in putrid conditions, endure pitiful wages, grave injury and risk death to mine their cobalt...[T]hey descend into darkness each day, spending up to 24 hours at a time in narrow tunnels unable to stand, hacking away for cobalt. Every minute is suffused with dread, because many tunnels have collapsed in Kasulo, burying alive everyone inside.
Saturday, October 13, 2018
"Crushing It"
With cameras in the room for a prescription-drug bill signing Wednesday, Trump introduced “the great Larry Kudlow, whose voice is so beautiful. . . . The economy, Larry, how is it doing?”
“Couldn’t be better,” replied Kudlow.
And Kudlow’s message couldn’t be otherwise:
Oct. 7: “Right now, the American economy is crushing it.”
Sept. 28: “We’re crushing it, we’re absolutely crushing it.”
Sept. 17: “We’re crushing it.”
Sept. 6: “We’re crushing it.”
Aug. 28: “America today is just crushing it everywhere.”
Also, from the article:Aug. 17: “We are crushing it. And people say this is not sustainable, it’s a one-quarter blip? It’s just nonsense.”
No doubt they'll get the numbers back up in time for the lies of November.After the Dow Jones industrials plunged 832 points on Wednesday, Larry Kudlow, President Trump’s chief economic adviser, walked up the White House driveway and proclaimed that there was no cause for concern... “Our economy and the people and the workers and entrepreneurs, they’re killing it. We’re the hottest in the world,” Kudlow proclaimed in front of the CNBC camera. “We’re crushing it right now..." But the Pollyanna performance didn’t play well on Wall Street. The Dow lost another 546 points Thursday. The index had a partial recovery Friday but finished the week down 4.2 percent, the third straight weekly decline.
Friday, October 12, 2018
One Hundred Companies Are Killing Us All
Just 100 companies have been the source of more than 70% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions since 1988, according to a new report. The Carbon Majors Report (pdf) “pinpoints how a relatively small set of fossil fuel producers may hold the key to systemic change on carbon emissions,” says Pedro Faria, technical director at environmental non-profit CDP, which published the report in collaboration with the Climate Accountability Institute... Compiled from a database of publicly available emissions figures, it is intended as the first in a series of publications to highlight the role companies and their investors could play in tackling climate change. The report found that more than half of global industrial emissions since 1988 – the year the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change was established – can be traced to just 25 corporate and state-owned entities. The scale of historical emissions associated with these fossil fuel producers is large enough to have contributed significantly to climate change, according to the report. ExxonMobil, Shell, BP and Chevron are identified as among the highest emitting investor-owned companies since 1988. If fossil fuels continue to be extracted at the same rate over the next 28 years as they were between 1988 and 2017, says the report, global average temperatures would be on course to rise by 4C by the end of the century. This is likely to have catastrophic consequences including substantial species extinction and global food scarcity risks...
Barbara Lee Speaks For Me Daily
Climate change is here, and it’s threatening all of us. California is at risk of more intense wildfires, drought, and poverty. We must address this crisis.https://t.co/Wq3gVhGTIF
— Barbara Lee (@BLeeForCongress) October 11, 2018
Wednesday, October 10, 2018
Trumpproval
Barbara Lee Speaks For Me Daily
Once again, in an effort to sabotage the health care markets, the Trump admin will be shutting down https://t.co/g3PAPOEFTr every week during open enrollment. They’re not working #ForThePeople – they’re trying to keep affordable health care out of reach.https://t.co/BpeIc6aB9t
— Rep. Barbara Lee (@RepBarbaraLee) October 9, 2018
Tuesday, October 09, 2018
Today's Random Wilde
Barbara Lee Speaks For Me Daily
Even after this incredibly difficult week, I still have hope.
— Rep. Barbara Lee (@RepBarbaraLee) September 30, 2018
Today, we are one step closer to bringing President Trump to justice and restoring checks and balances to our democracy. https://t.co/tlDgcPl2lN
Monday, October 08, 2018
Long Teaching Day, Long Teaching Week
Barbara Lee Speaks For Me Daily
Standing in solidarity today with those who first called this land home. We must remember the struggles they have endured and honor the contributions they have made to our nation. #IndigenousPeoplesDay2018https://t.co/kOqPu13q3k
— Barbara Lee (@BLeeForCongress) October 8, 2018
Sunday, October 07, 2018
Sunday
Barbara Lee Speaks For Me Daily
“If you’ve been feeling a new rage at the flaws of this country, and if your anger is making you want to change your life in order to change the world, then I have something incredibly important to say: Don’t forget how this feels.”https://t.co/j8pjPeLODu
— Barbara Lee (@BLeeForCongress) October 5, 2018
Saturday, October 06, 2018
Barbara Lee Speaks For Me Daily
9 million US citizens in Guam, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands are denied their voting rights in presidential elections and full representation in Congress. We need #Fairness4Territories — every citizen deserves a voice in our democracy. https://t.co/3p5O9Mn6Tu
— Rep. Barbara Lee (@RepBarbaraLee) October 5, 2018
Friday, October 05, 2018
That Is All (PM Dawn Edition)
Today's Nonrandom Wilde (Trump, Pence, Kavanaugh Impeachments Edition)
Barbara Lee Speaks For Me Daily
27 years ago, @HouseDemWomen marched to the Senate to support Anita Hill. It breaks my heart that we are still fighting this fight in 2018. #BelieveWomen pic.twitter.com/jkIGrzjgT3
— Rep. Barbara Lee (@RepBarbaraLee) October 5, 2018
Thursday, October 04, 2018
Barbara Lee Speaks For Me Daily
Americans deserve a comprehensive FBI background investigation — but what they got was a sham. Now Senate Republicans are rushing towards a vote. Keep up the pressure to #StopKavanaugh. https://t.co/EEdWnHAWzS
— Barbara Lee (@BLeeForCongress) October 4, 2018
Wednesday, October 03, 2018
Barbara Lee Gives Me Hope...
Exciting news from this year’s #NationalVoterRegistrationDay! People across the country are fired up and ready to vote this November. https://t.co/V6f6xEJqLa
— Barbara Lee (@BLeeForCongress) October 2, 2018
Tuesday, October 02, 2018
Barabara Lee Speaks For Me Daily
In the Trump economy, workers are getting squeezed for every penny they have. Families don’t have enough to cover the basics – groceries, prescriptions, rent. This administration is consolidating profits with the wealthy and corporations – they’re not working #ForThePeople. https://t.co/a8Pq5mdtW2
— Rep. Barbara Lee (@RepBarbaraLee) October 1, 2018