The Bare Bones of Life
Counting the votes – How electors pick the president
By Meg Kinnard
(August 7, 2016 05:00 p.m. ) — COLUMBIA, S.C. — It’s an institution as old as the nation itself, but the Electoral College remains an enigma to many Americans. The Founding Fathers, apprehensive about the unchecked power of the popular vote, added the extra step to the process of choosing a president.
A look at the ins and outs of the Electoral College and how its role could be even more scrutinized this year.
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Rationale for Voting for the Lesser Evil Presidential Candidate
By John Halle, Noam Chomsky
(August 6, 2016 ) — Critics of “lesser evil voting” should consider that their footing on the high ground may not be as secure as they often take for granted.
Among the elements of the weak form of democracy enshrined in the constitution, presidential elections continue to pose a dilemma for the left in that any form of participation or non participation appears to impose a significant cost on our capacity to develop a serious opposition to the corporate agenda served by establishment politicians.
The position outlined below is that which many regard as the most effective response to this quadrennial Hobson’s choice, namely the so-called “lesser evil” voting strategy or LEV. Simply put, LEV involves, where you can, i.e. in safe states, voting for the losing third party candidate you prefer, or not voting at all. In competitive “swing” states, where you must, one votes for the “lesser evil” Democrat.
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Israeli Company That Helped Build Gaza’s Wall Is Less Sure About Donald Trump’s
By Zaid Jilani, TheIntercept.com
(August 5, 2016 11:39 a.m.) — AN ISRAEL-BASED SECURITY company that provided intrusion detection technology for the barrier between Israel and the Gaza Strip has offered to help Donald Trump secure the U.S. border — but suggests that building an actual wall along every section of the border is not the way to go.
Sa’ar Koursh, the CEO of Magal Security Systems, told Bloomberg News that he would be happy to help Trump. “We would join forces with a major U.S. defense company that has experience with such projects worldwide,” he said. “We’ve done it in the past and we would definitely want to do it.”
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Cyberwar is not coming to the US – it’s already here
By Dan Tynan, TheGuardian.com
(August 4, 2016 04:59 a.m.) — As the recent hacks of the Democratic National Committee and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s campaign have shown, cyberwarfare has reached US shores – and it’s likely to get much worse, says Kenneth Geers, a senior research scientist with cyber security firm Comodo.
Speaking to an audience at this year’s BlackHat security conference in Las Vegas, Geers declared cyberwar a real and present danger.
“There is no question cyberwar exists,” he says. “Whether it rises to the level of weapons of mass disruption is another question. We don’t have a decisive answer yet.”
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OurRevolution – What is it and Where is it Going?
(August 3, 2016 20:00) — There has been a lot of talk out there as to where the frieght train of Bernie Sanders supporters will be applying their progressive energy to since Sanders now endorses Hillary Clinton.
One such place in cyberspace is OurRevolution.com.
Bernie Sanders talked about the direction he will go since endorsing Hillary Clinton in an interview last month with USA Today indicating that he plans “to launch educational and political organizations within the next few weeks to keep his progressive movement alive.”
USA Today reports:
The Sanders Institute will focus on elevating issues and ideas—through media and documentaries—that Sanders said the “corporate media” fails to focus on, including the disappearing middle class, “massive” income inequality, horrific levels of poverty and problems affecting seniors and children.
As OurRevolution.com takes hold, many facebook and twitter comments have expressed concerns about contributing money to the site because they feel funds may find their way into the DNC.
As evidence, concerned Bernie Sanders supporters point to the fact that the OurRevolution.com website contribution facilitator is the same used during Bernie Sanders’ campaign, ActBlue.com.
In any case, the site is very sparse and has limited links which include: 1) Contribute to the Revolution; and 2) a “Privacy Policy” page; and 3) a link which asks for the visitors’ email address and zip code so they can “Join the Fight.”
A quick look at the contributions page reveals the now famous average contribution amount button of $27.
In the “Contribution Rules” section of the contribution page, it indicates, “ActBlue Civics is a registered charitable organization formed to democratize social welfare giving.
Though the OurRevolution.com website does not explicitly indicate that any of its contributions will go to the DNC, given the recent state of affairs between the Sanders campaign and the DNC, in light of the email revelations released by WikiLeaks indicating the DNC engaged in a concerted effort to marginalize his campaign, it is not reasonable to expect any donations to OurRevolution will find its way back to the DNC.
None the less, the new “Sanders Institute” by way of OurRevolution.com is currently in development with many eyes watching what is does and where it goes to next.
How Third Parties Are Kept Out Of Presidential Debates
By Pete Tucker, Huffington Post
(August 2, 2016 11:13 a.m.) — This is the second in a four-part series on the televised presidential debates.
When Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton square off next month for their first debate, it’s unlikely a third candidate will join them. That’s by design, not because voters don’t want another option; nearly half say they’re open to voting for a third party.
This comes as the Democratic and Republican parties are experiencing a historic lack of support and have chosen, in Trump and Clinton, the most disliked major party presidential nominees in modern times.
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4 Part Series:
Part 1: How Presidential Debates Became ‘a Fraud on the American Voter’ By Pete Tucker, TheFightBack.org
Bernie or Bust Voters Have a Home with the Green Party’s Jill Stein
By H. A. Goodman, Huffington Post
(August 1, 2016 12:04 a.m.) — The fear tactics used by the “fall in line” folks regarding Donald Trump ignore months of false accusations and insults hurled at Bernie supporters by the Democratic establishment. While Bernie Sanders has honorably played by the rules of the Democratic Party, not all of his supporters are willing to endorse a Democratic hawk. From being labeled Bernie Bros to violent extremists, the logic behind “falling in line” rewards such vile tactics, while ignoring the WikiLeaks DNC emails showing a rigged primary. However, there’s a home for Bernie or Bust voters, even after Senator Sanders endorsed Clinton.
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Bernie Sanders Will Continue To Fight Big Money — Will His Supporters Migrate to Hillary Clinton or Jill Stein?
By Sandra Hajda, Inquisitr
(July 30, 2016 08:00 a.m.) — Many people have been asking the same question recently, “what is next for Bernie Sanders’ progressive revolution?”
There are a few different things going on, and there has been some disagreement in the Bernie Sanders community about how to proceed. However, one thing that is certain is that Sanders supporters remain united in their determination to fight the establishment and build a better America.
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#Demexit Finally Happening As Livid Progressives Begin Mass Exodus After Clinton’s Nomination
By Mohit Priyadarshi, Inquisitr
(July 29, 2016 8:00 a.m.) — Livid at Hillary Clinton’s coronation as the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee, Wikileaks, Bernie Sanders’ supporters — comprising mostly of progressives — are putting into action their plans to leave the party once and for all.
Over the course of the last two weeks, a large section of Democratic voters have been extremely vocal about the party’s seeming abandonment of progressive values, threatening to de-register from the party if Clinton — who is essentially viewed as dishonest, untrustworthy and warmongering by these voters — was anointed the eventual nominee. And now that Clinton’s nomination is officially wrapped up, establishment Democrats are waking up to the fact that these threats were not just part of some willy-nilly theatrics cooked up by Republicans, but very much a real ultimatum that had been issued by disaffected voters within their own ranks.
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Bernie Sanders Reacts To Obama’s “Feel The Bern” Comment By Humbly Acknowledging His Success
By Hillary E. Crawford, Bustle.com
(July 28, 2016 4:48 a.m.) — As one of Wednesday’s keynote speakers at the Democratic National Convention, President Barack Obama gave Hillary Clinton a mighty endorsement. But that doesn’t mean he let Bernie Sanders’ movement slip out of the spotlight. As the camera caught a glimpse of Sanders reacting to Obama’s “Feel the Bern” comment, the Vermont senator’s humbled pride shone brightly.
Refusing to react too enthusiastically, Sanders looked as though he was trying his absolute hardest to suppress a huge smile. Though the democratic socialist may not be thrilled about losing out on the party’s nomination, he’s certainly proud of how far his supporters have helped his movement come.
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