I made the mistake of coming directly to this thread to post something that had me all upset, and failing to read all of the compassionate and passionate posts first.
@anumidium, I too wish I could help you with your situation. It is upsetting to think you can't afford good healthy food. When I was a student, it was many decade ago and the costs were different. The country was more like what Bernie wishes it could be now. The minimum wage was the highest it has been ever since (in real dollars). I put myself through university by living off campus in a big old farmhouse with five roommates where the total rent was cheap and my share was affordable, as was tuition. I got my textbooks used for next to nothing and had a part-time job that paid for my needs.
For now, I want to send you all my highest wishes and tell you that I believe you will find a good life that is both affordable and happy.
I also want to point out that I have a nephew who just completed university debt-free in the very expensive northwest without any help from parents or anyone. He lived off campus the whole time with roommates (as I had done) and worked part-time.
Thank you all. I have had a lifetime of not being heard; some deep childhood traumas. I just want to feel heard. Thank you. I just don’t trust Joe Biden. I just don’t. I don’t trust the un-democratic process of power maneuvering that’s put him where he is today. I feel like I will never have allies as powerful as that. Why should they care about little ol me.
I don’t know what’s going to happen. I went to the food bank and they had apples. I might have to pay my rent with a credit card next month. I just really really want to feel that people know that people like me exist when they vote. I just feel so lost. And terrified. Really, really terrified.
Jeanne, and that bs article from Nov. 2016 "Investigating Donald Trump, FBI sees no clear link to Russia."
That still makes me mad. It did so much damage.
@anumidium. I agree that Biden is weak. In addition to @natalie's list of grievances with Biden, which was long and true, he also presided over the unforgettable Clarence Thomas SCOTUS confirmation hearings in 1991. He chaired the Senate Judiciary Committee and had the power to be sure that the other witnesses to Judge Thomas's disgusting abuse of women would be heard. The whole country watched those hearings. I wasn't particularly politically minded at the time, but I was glued.
The best I would say about him is that if elected he may be able to bring some peace, as some have posted here, unless he caves once again to the aggressive take-no-prisoners GOP.
I felt angry too so I wrote a response to that article (as did many others) pointing out that it was 31 years ago and as you said that was an effort encouraged by Ronald Reagan who has been hailed for his relationship with the Kremlin during his administration to put an end to the Cold War. It has zero to do with Donald Trump's over 7 year relationship with Vladimir Putin which has weakened our national security and benefited oligarchs. I told the NYT they should be ashamed for trashing Bernie.
Needless to say they haven't posted my response yet, but others who felt like you and I do did get their thoughts across.
The "driverless car" that is the election process of the establishment is trying to make everyone feel like we can't save our democracy if we don't vote for Biden. I'm still pulling the lever for Bernie, but If I don't get the chance to do so since we in CT don't even get to vote in the primary until late April, then my only hope is Biden picks someone like Elizabeth who can get things done with Bernie's help.
Here's the last thing I'm going to say about Sanders and Biden before I step away from this forum, political discussion, reading about the coronavirus, ect, for a while. I need a break from everything.
Biden acted like an ass during the Hill hearings. He did. He apologized for it and I think he is genuinely sorry. People change. Biden's behavior was in 1991, Sanders in 2016.
My problem with Sanders, other than the Russian connections, is this. He calls for unity, but trashes Democrats every chance he gets. He stayed silent when his high-profile supporter Susan Sarandon was making ridiculous and untrue claims about Hillary. He doesn't reprimand his supporters who call for violence. How is that any different than Trump? If I'm wrong, I welcome evidence.
I watch Maddow's interview with Warren about the attacks on her supporters from Bernie Bros. Maddow asked her if she thinks candidates have some responsibility for the online behavior of their supporters,and she said yes. Maddow asked her if she had spoken with Sanders about it, and she said yes, and that the conversation was "short"
I agree Thomas is a creepazoid.
Personal opinion. Yes, I think if Sanders is the nominee, we get creamed in the general election. If T. is still around, and he is installed again, that's when you get terrified. Really, really terrified.
Peace to all.
@polarberry Here’s an article from mid February about Sanders calling out his supporters engaging in bully behavior against the culinary union leaders:
https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/18/politics/bernie-sanders-online-bullying/index.html
But of course nothing he says will ever be enough to stop the trolls acting in bad faith, nor quell criticism from those who are organized against him. I genuinely believe that despite his faults, Bernie is our single best shot at reclaiming this country and bringing about lasting positive change for the better - and the more I hear people try to tear him down, the more it tells me that he’s doing the right thing.
As someone who used to be a grocery store checker for several years (but in the late 80's/early 90's)....What kinda apple costs $3.99 per pound?
When I buy fruit, it is usually bananas (my favorite) and they are less than $1.00 per pound. I'd have to look up apple prices next time I'm at the store, but I'm having a hard time seeing all apples being this expensive. Maybe some "specialty" apples might cost that much (Cosmic Crisp or Honey Crisp), but I would think a Fuji apple wouldn't.
I never aligned myself with any of the Democratic candidates for various reasons that are too complicated to go into here (although @herondreams and @jaidy mirror my sentiments). I'm voting blue no matter who, but I'm not endorsing Biden or Bernie at this stage in the game. So don't interpret what I'm about to say as an endorsement.
Last Saturday, I met up with an old friend at a cafe in downtown Boston. I arrived early because I wanted to walk around Boston Common a bit on my own. So I emerge from the T station at the southeastern corner of the Common, and it turns out there's a Bernie Sanders rally that's just getting started nearby (I had no idea he was in the city). Even before I figured out what was going on, the energy I felt when I emerged from the T station into a crowd of enthusiastic supporters was palpably exciting and benevolent. I couldn't get anywhere near the grandstand where Bernie was speaking, but I lingered at the back of the crowd and watched all of the people who were coming out to see him: families, senior citizens, people of color, women wearing headscarves, grungy college kids, intellectual types. You get the picture.
Seeing all of this, I realized I haven't felt this much goodwill in a racially and socioeconomically diverse gathering of people (pretty much a picture of the American nation) since the Obama years. And I miss that uncomplicated, hopeful camaraderie. I feel like a passenger on a jet that is traveling through turbulence, holding my breath and white-knuckling my armrest without even being aware of it.
These past 4 year have been so taxing on our spirits and energy, and you don't have to be a dyed-in-the-wool woke progressive to be sensitive to this. In conversation, I'm finding that many self-identified moderates and conservatives feel the same way as well. So, my point is, no matter who the Democratic nominee is, many, many formerly unenthusiastic people will vote for him simply because they're tired of being tense all the time while interacting with their fellow citizens. That's something to be hopeful about.
Around the time of the first debate, when Marianne Williamson had made a splash in the news, I was daydreaming about how wonderful it would be if the Love candidate actually won the election. All of a sudden, I was prompted by Spirit to "pray" for the candidate who serves the Greatest and Highest Good to win the election; and that is exactly what I did in that Moment. Ever since then, I have mostly just observed the race from afar. I'm still obsessed with finding out what is going to happen, but I know that whatever does occur will be for the Greatest and Highest Good and I'm am no longer afraid. I urge everyone else to pray for the same thing and then let God and let go. ❤️