This & that.....

Barney vs. Bernie: Sanders Is the Real ‘Progressive Who Gets Things Done’

LOU ROCCO VIA GETTY IMAGES

As he has so many times in recent months, Barney Frank had some harsh things to say about Bernie Sanders — this time in a recent interview with Slate.com. Frank has endorsed Hillary Clinton (a fact neither he nor Slate interviewer Isaac Chotiner saw fit to mention), and has written several nasty, petty, and personal attacks on Bernie Sanders in his capacity as a Clinton surrogate.

He stayed true to form in his Slate interview, arguing that Bernie Sanders got little done on Capitol Hill. That’s become classic Clinton spin. She and her surrogates love to claim that Bernie Sanders is just a talker, while Clinton and her allies — despite her “centrist” leanings — are “progressives who get things done.”

Here’s the truth: Hillary Clinton got very little done during her eight years in the United States Senate, while Bernie Sanders amassed an impressive record of accomplishments in both the House and Senate.

Sanders began racking up legislative accomplishments in the House of Representatives, where a 2005 analysis of legislative data revealed that he had passed more amendments in the House than any other Member of Congress over a ten-year period. In 2005, Rolling Stone called him the “amendment king.”

But as Politifact notes: “In comparison, Hillary Clinton passed zero roll call amendments during her tenure as a senator from New York from 2001-09.”

Readers who have been subjected to Barney Frank’s unsubstantiated trash talk should note this, also from Politifact: “Out of 419 amendments Sanders sponsored over his 25 years in Congress, 90 passed, 21 of them by roll call votes.”

Where has been Barney Frank been for 25 years? For Mr. Frank, and any other readers who might be unfamiliar with the Sanders record, here are some examples of his many accomplishments:

When Sanders was Chairman of the Senate Veterans Committee, it was learned that veterans were not receiving the medical care they needed in a timely fashion. Long waiting lists at the Veterans Administration led to a national scandal.

In response, Sanders built a strong coalition of veterans’ groups to back a comprehensive $21 billion bill that allowed the VA to hire more doctors and nurses, increase its operational staff, and ensure that veterans get the care they need. Republicans blocked that bill, but Sanders did not give up. Instead, Sanders workedwith Republican Senator John McCain on a compromise deal that passed the Senate 93-3.

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv “It wasn’t a perfect bill,” Sanders says of the VA deal. “I would have written it differently, and John (McCain) would have written it differently.”

“But we got it done,” Sanders adds.

McCain agrees. “Negotiating with Bernie was not a usual experience, because he is very passionate and he and I are both very strong-willed people and we spend a lot of time banging our fists on the table and having the occasional four-letter word,” McCain told The Huffington Post. “But at the end of the day, Bernie was result-oriented.”

We’ll repeat that last phrase for Mr. Frank’s benefit: “Results-oriented.”

Frank told Slate that Bernie Sanders “has been in Congress for 25 years with little to show for it in terms of his accomplishments.”

Really? The VA has hired over 14,000 new doctors, nurses, and medical staff a result of Sanders’ work on that bill alone, and the backlog in disability claims has been reduced by nearly 90 percent.

“The Amendment King”

In 2002, Sanders introduced an amendment in the House that blocked the Bush Administration from implementing a rule allowing companies to cut the pensions of older workers by as much as 50 percent.

“Little to show”? That amendment protected the pensions of countless American workers. And, through compromise and negotiation, Sanders eventually passed another amendment that helped 130,000 IBM workers regain $320 million in pension benefits.

Sanders fought to control prescription drug prices long before many of his colleagues realized there was a problem. Unlike his opponents, many of whom seem to prefer talk to action, Sanders actually did something about it. How’s this for action? In 1999 he was the first member of Congress to take constituents across the border to Canada to buy low-cost prescription drugs.

Many of these constituents were breast cancer patients who were able to purchase their medications in Canada for almost one-tenth the price being charged in the United States.

As a member of Congress, Sanders introduced legislation to allow consumers to receive free credit reports and free credit scores. When Republicans refused to go along Sanders compromised and got a deal done.

“Little to show”? Today everyone in America can get their credit reports free of charge once a year, thanks to Sanders’ efforts.

Senate Action

Once in the Senate, the Sanders record of accomplishment continued. During the debate over the Affordable Care Act, Sen. Sanders worked with Rep. Jim Clyburn and won a deal which dramatically increased access to community health centers.

“Little to show”? These centers provide primary medical care, dental care, low-cost prescription drugs and mental health counseling to more than 24 million Americans.

After the Postal Service announced it was closing 15,000 post offices, Sanders rallied an ad hoc group of more than two dozen senators and reached a compromise: these post offices would stay open, but with reduced hours. That wasn’t what Sanders wanted, but the alternative was much worse.

In 2009, when milk prices plummeted, Sanders was able to win $350 million in additional aid for struggling dairy farmers many of whom were on the brink of bankruptcy. Very few experts on Capitol Hill thought that this amendment had a chance to pass the Senate. Many thought this amendment was pie-in-the-sky. But not only did it pass the Senate, it became law.

The provisions Sen. Sanders added to a 2009 climate change bill, and his efforts in support of that bill, led to $3.2 billion in energy efficiency grants to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming. The program has made more than 86,000 buildings energy efficient, installed more than 9,500 solar energy systems, and created thousands of good-paying jobs.

In addition to concrete accomplishments like these, Bernie Sanders has used his time in Congress to significantly shift the political debate. Social Security is a good example: During 2009 and 2010, insiders in both parties were talking about cutting Social Security benefits.

In response, Sanders formed the Defend Social Security Caucus in the Senate and helped form a grassroots coalition of senior citizens, veterans, the disabled, women, and labor groups to oppose these proposed “bipartisan” cuts.

Those efforts helped dramatically change the political momentum. When Sanders offered an amendment opposing Social Security cuts in 2013 it passed the Senate by acclamation.

Beyond Dodd-Frank

Barney Frank’s failure to recognize this impressive record of accomplishment casts doubts on his powers of observation - or his objectivity. It also invites closer scrutiny of Frank’s own Congressional record - especially of the Dodd-Frank financial reform bill, his signature achievement in Congress.

While that bill represents an improvement from the conditions that led to the 2008 financial crisis, it could have been a lot better and much more work must be done to protect the economy. That’s why 170 economists have signed a letter supporting Bernie Sanders’ plan to break up too-big-to-fail banks and enact a 21st-century version of the Glass-Steagall Act.

Neel Kashkari, the “bailout czar” turned Republican politician who now runs the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, convincingly argues that “while significant progress has been made to strengthen our financial system, I believe the [Dodd-Frank] Act did not go far enough.”

“I believe,” Kashkari says, “the biggest banks are still too big to fail and continue to pose a significant, ongoing risk to our economy.”

That risk is political, as well as economic. The banks’ ongoing and growing political power was demonstrated by the passage of the so-called “Citigroup amendment,” which was largely written by lobbyists for that bank and benefited only the very largest financial institutions.

Dodd-Frank left too much authority in the hands of regulators, many of whom have yet to act on some of the bill’s key provisions. It continues to permit excessive risk-taking, potentially leaving taxpayers on the hook for future bailouts.

Before Barney Frank repeats his unfounded attacks on Bernie Sanders’ record, he may want to take a second look at his own.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rj-eskow/barney-vs-bernie-sanders_b_9624560.html

link.

Trump is the Least of Our Problems. 
We Could Have a President Clinton.

Democrats hoping for a progressive president winning the 
White House this year will be sorely disappointed unless 
Bernie Sanders is nominated and elected. If…

ARMORYOFTHEREVOLUTION.WORDPRESS.COM

The Pathetic Corporate Media PROPAGANDA Machines!

shared a link.

After Early Call For Clinton, Mainstream 
Media Silent As Sanders Flips California 
Counties

Berniecrats Are California Dreamin’ The California Democratic 
primary is tightening as uncounted ballots favor Vermont 
Senator Bernie Sanders. At press…

UNIVERSEPOLITICS.COM

 Lia Rose's photo.

‎Lia Rose‎ to Bernie Sanders is my HERO

Um, yeah. We are conducting an official survey ...

Marianne Kelly

Be warned DNC...we are legion, we are awake, we are powerful, we are unstoppable.

WE THE PEOPLE know who you are, where you are and what you are about. WE THE PEOPLE are coming to Philly to take back our country.

Join with us or get the hell out of the way.

This is our moment, this is our time, this is our country!

‪#‎PRESIDENTBERNIESANDERS‬ ‪#‎NEVEREVERHILLARY‬

Max Scotto's photo.

‎Max Scotto‎ to Bernie Sanders or Bust 2016

17 hrs · 

To all you future Berniecrats running for offices around the country! I would like to take this time to congratulate you and to thank you for your heart and courage and most of all your caring for us your family and friends!

I would like to lay out an ultimate goal for you that may catch fire quickly!

Your mission is not only to turn this country around, but to change these laws that protect the rich and powerful from prosecution!

I want you to take this thought and carry it deep in your heart! Say this to yourself and it will be so, someday! "I am going to make all these crooks and enablers of murder and genocide, pay for their crimes one day! We will one day change these laws so we can retroactively prosecute every last one of them! From Bush, to Hillary! From Chaney to even these supreme court justices who think they are beyond the reach of the law! They will all be prosecuted for their corruption!"

Bernie Sanders Activists

Remember when pressed about her Goldman Sach's speeches, Hillary Clinton said "well that is what they offered"? Turns out, that was another bold faced lie. The $225k was what she DEMANDED (Not including the round trip private chartered jet and hotel and meal accommodations). By the way its not just any chartered jet, but a Gulfstream 450 which costs about $6000 per hour minimum to fly.

Source from Clinton Foundation document Leak:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/ClfDwNzWIAAQm9H.jpg:large

Also, JOIN THIS PLEDGE TO NEVER SUPPORT HILLARY (YOU CAN LOGIN THROUGH FACEBOOK)

http://www.propcott.com/p/never-hillary-join-pledging-not-s…

‪#‎NeverHillary‬

PBS.TWIG.COM

 Daniela Ferreira shared a link.

United Nations Forced To Investigate 
Democratic Election Fraud

Thousands of American voters have signed a petition urging the 
UN to supervise…

YOURNEWSWIRE.COM|BY BAXTER DMITRY

Bernie Sanders Activists

Whoa! 91.41% of Bernie Sanders supporters will NOT support Hillary Clinton if she is nominee

Whoa! 91.41% of Bernie Sanders supporters 
will NOT support Hillary Clinton if she is 
nominee -...

Whoa! 91.41% of Bernie Sanders supporters will NOT support 
Hillary Clinton if she is nominee I have spent the last three months 
compiling data over [...]

USANEWSINSIDER.COM

Jon Ralston, who has been called “The biggest fish in Nevada” by Politico, has been let go by PBS after the network cancelled his show “Ralston Live” on Tuesday.

Ralston became nationally reviled after the Nevada Democratic Convention, in which he famously propagated the oft-repeated lie that Bernie Sanders’ delegates threw chairs in a fit of rage after state party chair Roberta Lange disqualified a large number of delegates from participating and refused to hear their appeal

While Ralston’s insistence of Sanders supporters throwing chairs was secondhand, as he left the convention early, the claim was still taken at face-value due to his status as a respected journalist in Nevada. Despite the lack of verifiable evidence, national news media ran with Ralston’s claims and printed numerous stories falsely claiming that Sanders supporters threw chairs, including trusted outlets like the Associated Press, the New York Times, and CBS.

http://usuncut.com/politics/nevada-reporter-chair-throwing/

Now clear out CNN, MSNBC, NBC, CBS, ABC --- you get it, right??!!‪#‎StillSanders‬ ‪#‎BernieorBust‬

Nevada Reporter Who Falsely Claimed Sanders Supporters Threw Chairs Just Got What He 

Deserves

A veteran political reporter who spread a viral lie demeaning Bernie Sanders delegates at the Nevada convention is now looking for a new job.

USUNCUT.COM

 Liberal And Proud Of It's post.

Donald Trump For Prison? GOP Nominee Could Face Arrest For Fraud Over Charity Claims

Donald Trump may have violated more than basic ethics by failing to donate…

REVERBPRESS.COM|BY ED HANRATTY

Merri Hall's photo.

‎Merri Hall‎ to Bernie Sanders Activists

Hit 'em where it hurts..
also join local marches

Joyce Venables shared Brooklyn For Bernie Sanders's post.

More fuckery by the Wall $treetwalker! If you are voting for her you have no ethics, no morals, no common sense and worst of all NO CONSIDERATION FOR YOUR FELLOW MAN! She just throws people away who get in her way and one day very soon YOU WILL BE IN THOSE MASSES! Still supporting her? Bend over -- NO KISS YOUR ASS GOODBYE!‪#‎StillSanders‬ ‪#‎BernieorBust‬

Brooklyn For Bernie Sanders added 2 new photos.

Today we learned something very troubling about the vanished 122,000 voters improperly purged off the Brooklyn voter rolls before the April primary - they wereunproportionally Hispanic.

Many questions remain but its good to scratch the surface of what happened at our corrupt and ineffective NYCBOE.

http://www.wnyc.org/…/brooklyn-voter-purge-hit-hispanics-h…/

Bushwick Berners Make the Road New York New York for Bernie Sanders 2016 New York City for Bernie Sanders 2016

Nuclear Energy is 100% US Taxpayer Funded, Guaranteed and protected! 

Nuclear Energy is NOT environmentally benign. 

"...Among other things, Diablo dumps daily some 2.5 billion gallons of super-heated water into the ocean, killing vast quantities of marine life and worsening the global climate crisis. The project’s chemical runoff infamously killed millions of abalone years before it operated.

Diablo is surrounded by a dozen earthquake faults. It is half the distance from the San Andreas as was Fukushima from the shock that destroyed it. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s former resident inspector Dr. Michael Peck has warned Diablo might not survive a similar quake. Such a disaster would irradiate the Central Valley, which supplies much of the U.S. with its fruits, nuts and vegetables. It would send radioactive clouds into Los Angeles within about five hours, and across virtually the entire continental U.S...."

 Friends of the Earth U.S.'s post.

If you have not liked their page PLEASE DO -- THEY ARE ACCOMPLISHED (AS YOU CAN SEE) AND THEY ENDORSE THE ONLY ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY CANDIDATE! YEP! ‪#‎BERNIESANDERS‬

Friends of the Earth U.S.

Friends of the Earth is proud to announce an historic agreement with PG&E to shut down the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant. With this agreement, the end of dangerous nuclear power in California, the sixth-largest economy on Earth, is in sight!

PG&E has agreed to replace Diablo Canyon with greenhouse gas-free renewable energy, efficiency and energy storage resources. They have also agreed to help workers and the community transition to a renewable economy by providing a $350 million package for employees, and almost $50 million to San Luis Obispo County. These two elements -- renewables replacement and Just Transition -- make the agreement a true blueprint for phasing out of both nuclear and fossil fuel power in other states and countries. The transition will occur over the next several years and be completed at the end of the plant’s current operating licenses (2024 and 2025). In the meantime, Friends of the Earth retains the right to ensure the plant complies with safe guidelines.

For more on this landmark agreement, and the “Plan B” report that sparked the negotiations with PG&E to shut down the plant, see here:bit.ly/28Ke78B.

Diablo Canyon nuclear plant to be shut down, 

power replaced by renewables, efficiency, 

storage

California, world’s sixth largest economy, going nuclear-free BERKELEY, CALIF. - An historic agreement has been reached between Pacific Gas and Electric,…

FOE.ORG

One step up from Airhead Palin!

Oh Yea of the Squiggly Light Bulbs placed on the Intelligence Committee for Unknown Reasons!

Stop Laughing!

Teanderthal Party

JUST IN: Donald Trump has just brought Michele Bachmann on board to join his campaign, while also narrowing down his list of running mates in the process, some of whom are very controversial.

Michele Bachmann joins Donald Trump 

campaign, VP list narrowed down

It looks like Michele Bachmann is not on Team Trump, as the GOP nominee's list of running mates has also been narrowed down.

US.BLASTINGNEWS.COM|BY ROBERT SOBEL

Joyce Venables

You can thank the prez and the Wall $treet whore for this! STOP THIS NOW!! ‪#‎STILLSANDERS‬ ‪#‎BERNIEORBUST‬

37 Million Bees Dead After GMO Seeds Planted Nearby

Over 37 million bees have been found dead in Canada after GMO corn was planted recently in the local area. 

YOURNEWSWIRE.COM|BY SEAN ADL-TABATABAI

Isaias Avalos.

MassReport added a new photo.

 Sandra Lee's photo.

The Bought & Paid For Democratic Party!

Contribute $5????

STOP LAUGHING!

The People For Bernie Sanders 2016

4 hrs · 

The Democratic Party didn't put Bernie Sanders on their fundraising email.