Category Archives: Bernie

Two DNC Truth-Tellers: Michelle & Bernie

NOTE: There were many fine speeches on Tuesday night, the second day of the DNC. Watching the full evening video would be a good investment of spare time.

Below I will excerpt only two, which stood out for me: that of Senator Bernie Sanders, here almost in full, and some especially pertinent points by Michelle Obama.

Rather than bask in the high spirits and enthusiasm of the DNC (which was very real and welcome, but well-covered elsewhere), they spoke of some of the hard times which preceded this upsurge, and which may well return if the Harris-Walz ticket is not successful.

Obama was the more eloquent, and brought emotion and soul to the hall; Bernie was his gruff, indomitable and determined self, summarizing many major policy tasks and tough fights which will face Kamala Harris and her team if they are elected. I believe both are useful reminders as the convention proceeds.

There will be more outstanding oratory on Wednesday evening. Before it gets fully underway, readers are invited to take a few minutes to go over these cautions and challenges laid down from Tuesday. Continue reading Two DNC Truth-Tellers: Michelle & Bernie

Bernie! Still All In (Critically) for Joe Biden

New York Times
Bernie Sanders: Joe Biden for President

By Bernie Sanders
Mr. Sanders is the senior senator from Vermont.
July 13, 2024

I will do all that I can to see that President Biden is re-elected. Why? Despite my disagreements with him on particular issues, he has been the most effective president in the modern history of our country and is the strongest candidate to defeat Donald Trump — a demagogue and pathological liar. It’s time to learn a lesson from the progressive and centrist forces in France who, despite profound political differences, came together this week to soundly defeat right-wing extremism.

I strongly disagree with Mr. Biden on the question of U.S. support for Israel’s horrific war against the Palestinian people. The United States should not provide Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing extremist government with another nickel as it continues to create one of the worst humanitarian disasters in modern history.

Continue reading Bernie! Still All In (Critically) for Joe Biden

Biden and God

In Joe Biden’s July 5 interview with George Stephanopoulos, the president brusquely rebuffed all the reporter’s promptings about quitting his race for re-election: bad poll numbers, calls from a few elected Democrats, the panicked appeals from the pundit chorus. . . .

A defiant Delaware “Meh” to them all.

Then Biden made one concession:

“Look. I mean, if the Lord Almighty came down and said, “Joe, get out of the race,” I’d get out of the race.” Continue reading Biden and God

Giving Thanks for Those Defying Hell & Sowing Hope — “From the River To The Sea”

A sun low in the sky can be seen among beige apartment buildings with terraces.
Credit…Photographs by Ofir Berman for The New York Times

New York Times
OPINION – THOMAS  L. FRIEDMAN

#1 – The Rescuers

Rahat, Israel, a Bedouin town in the Negev Desert.Credit…CreditPhotographs by Ofir Berman for The New York Times

Opinion Columnist, reporting from Rahat, Israel

I confess that as a longtime observer of the Arab-Israeli conflict, I aggressively avoid both the “From the river to the sea” activists on the pro-Palestinian left and the similarly partisan zealots on the “Greater Israel” Zionist right — not just because I find their exclusivist visions for the future abhorrent but also because the reporter in me finds them so blind to the complexities of the present.

Continue reading Giving Thanks for Those Defying Hell & Sowing Hope — “From the River To The Sea”

Voices of The Week: Compelling Quotes

David Brooks, New York Times

From “Joe Biden and the Struggle for America’s Soul,”

April 27, 2023

Joe Biden built his 2020 presidential campaign around the idea that “we’re in a battle for the soul of America.”. . .

In the video he released this week launching his re-election bid, he doubled down on that idea: We’re still, he said, “in a battle for the soul of America.” . . . Continue reading Voices of The Week: Compelling Quotes