The DNC has launched a series of town halls to better explain the “Better Deal,” and to call for public participation in crafting an even better “Better Deal” over the next few weeks, under the rubric #DNCTakeBack.
As discussed with a bi-partisan crowd of 100 in the first such town hall (seen here), the “Better Deal” includes a number of election-winning positions that polls show have widespread support across the political spectrum, and that have already been winning state and local elections nationwide, even in heavily Trump-leaning areas.
Until the recent banning of corporate donations to the DNC, the DNC was unable to support such positions because of the outsize influence of key donors, as detailed in transcript below. These positions include Medicare for all (desired by a strong majority of voters overall, and even by 41% of Republicans), free college tuition (desired by 62% of all voters), stronger unions (by an ever growing majority), and public campaign financing and the elimination of corporate lobbying (large majorities of Americans feel corporations, the wealthy, and lobbyists have far too much influence in politics).
It is not fully understood why so few people noticed these positions within the “Better Deal” when it was first unveiled last Monday.
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Outfoxed shows how the Fox News channel is used to promote and advocate right-wing views. SUBSCRIBE http://youtube.com/subscription_cente… Follow Robert Greenwald http://twitter.com/robertgreenwald Celebrate 10 years of Brave New Films with our Boxed Set: http://bravenewfilms.org/10th WATCH MORE: http://bit.ly/1znT0LQ
3:09 During the first few years that Murdoch’s ownership of Fox’s DC affiliate, he had a hands-off approach to new content; partially due to their success. One day orders came from Murdoch’s offices that the network should cut away from their regularly scheduled program and broadcast the RNC’s fawning tribute to Reagan: “we were ordered, from the top, to carry propaganda; Republican, right-wing propaganda”. It foreshadowed what Fox News would later become.
6:30 Former Fox News reporters and bookers say that they are afraid to be seen “talking to the wrong people”. Working for Fox meant you were constantly being monitored. It created a culture of fear. If you challenged the heads of the network On ideological matters, you were history.
10:45 “Some People Say” – FOX uses the phrase “some people say” to mask opinion as news.
19:04 Fox News contributors are under paid contract for their appearance; if they deviate from the party lines, they might not get asked back onto shows.
21:22 Fox News went after Richard Clarke as soon as it was apparent that he was going to paint the Bush administration in a bad light. For Fox News, “mudding” arguments is almost as good as winning them. So, they didn’t need to definitely prove that Clarke, a former member of the Bush Administration, was angling for a position in a Kerry Whitehouse, they just had to make it look like a possibility.
22:28 They put weak-looking , lesser known liberals up against photogenic, self-assured conservatives.
26:29 Republicans accounted for 83% of the guests while Democrats accounted for 17% of guest on the network’s most prestigious show. Of those democrats, most were either centrist or conservative.
27:50 Stories they Cover…Stories they Ignore – Management set the tone for stories: Jesse Jackson was always to be painted in a negative light, as were immigrants. Culture war issues – abortion, affirmative action, gay marriage – were often covered while ignoring issues regarding the economy, health care, and the environment.
34:38 O’Reilly’s show is a good example of everything that is wrong with Fox News —
Stories are selected to prop-up the Republican party and their point of view; O’Reilly is very hostile to guest who disagrees with him; and he distorts and misrepresent things.
42:00 Many Fox News stories are meant to generate fear; for example, stories about what to do if there’s a “dirty bomb” attack. Fear is a great motivator and organizer; even when there is no real evidence for it. Terrorism is the ultimate fear-baiting; and when people are fearful, they are more likely to support military interventions. Talking about terrorism also means that you can avoid talking about other issues, like the economy.
46:29 Fox made the decision to present the Iraq war as a success. “The senior producer told the two or three writers for her news hour…’now, just keep in mind that it’s all good. This is such a fair and balance issue. Keep it positive. We got to emphasize all the good we are doing”.
48:43 Knowledge Networks Poll – It’s a simple survey about fact regarding current events. The more likely people were to watch Fox News, the more misinformed they were and the more likely they were to back the Bush Administration.
50:49 Fox News repeats and propagates the Republican Party platform. It was widely known that the Fox reporter covering the 2000 Bush campaign was married to a Bush campaigner. This wouldn’t have been allowed at CNN.
52:47 Election Night 2000 – The first guy to call the election for Bush was the head of Fox’s New’s election analyze division; Bush’s first cousin. He called it a clear win, when in fact it was too close too call.
59:16 The Republican send out “the message of the day” so that conservative talk radio, Fox News, and Republican elected officials will all be talking about the same issues, in the same way.
58:41 2004 Election; coverage of Bush was always glowing, while Kerry was shown in a negative light.
1:02:51 During the 2004 election, Fox News painted a very rosy picture of the American economy and by selecting statistics which showed just that. Of course, they credited Bush for the “good” economy. When the stock market had a bad day, they claimed it was because of fear over the prospect of a Kerry presidency.
1:05:28 Murdoch is foremost a politician and this is what makes him dangerous.
1:06:57 The Fox Effect – It made other news organization more conservative because they saw how well Fox did.
1:09:13 A Call to Action – Media control is a political issue. People need to demand accuracy.
Isabella Zizi of Idle No More SF Bay joins me for an in-depth interview about a civil disobedience action that took place at the Kinder Morgan facility in Richmond on July 24.
All photos and footage of the action in this video are the copyright of Peter Menchini. — https://vimeo.com/mayamedia
Bitcoin approaches a decisive moment: are you in control of your private keys? Meanwhile, we discuss a step further: disintermediating politics.
The news we see every day are bad omen for the nation-state era: tech giants enforcing the status quo by providing surveillance tools to old powers, corrupt and innefficient nations barely being able to handle elections without being hacked, borders that make some people powerless. The bright side is many people around the world are realizing it is time to think and build alternatives outside the nation-state, and in July we met them.
At OuiShare Fest 17 in Paris, Virgile Deville and Pia Mancini from our foundation met innovators from all over Europe and the Americas. In summary, we discussed how to move on from the current political chaos:
“What I’d like to share is this notion of not feeling trapped in the existing system. There’s a way to build alternative systems.” – Watch Pia’s message for the Oui Share community below.
Aligned with this spirit, Civicist interviewed Santiago Siri for an article that tries to imagine the technologies and institutions needed to disintermediate political power: “Coding for a World Run by Liquid Democracy”. It is a time to long for an alternative government, and to despair of one.
Some concrete projects for alternative systems were hinted this month as Ethereum tokens became popular. After all, you can’t have a new political system without disrupting the global economy. How do you raise 25 million without a bank involved? We interviewed Herb Stephens about how ICOs work, the current state of Ethereum, tokens and financial sovereignty outside of the current structures of centralized banks and centralized markets.
At Def Con — an annual hacking conference held in Las Vegas — hackers were given the rare chance to crack into US voting machines. It took one person just 90 minutes to hack in and vote remotely on one of the machines.
San Jose CalCare SpeakOut Car Rally corner or Lawrence Expressway Prospect Rd 3565 Prospect Rd, San Jose, CA Saturday, April 17, 12:00 PM RSVP NOW » Mike, In just 4 days, Californians across the state will join together to call on our state legislators to support AB 1400 – the new California single-payer healthcare bill. We’re hosting Covid-safe CalCare SpeakOuts in 18 cities across the state this Saturday, April 17th. During these car rallies, we’ll hear patient stories and other speakers, and make clear to our elected leaders that Californians want health care for all. Will you join the CalCare SpeakOut event in… Continue reading →
Stand with Chesa volunteer launch Saturday, April 17 at 12:30-1:30pm Please register for yourself and also invite your friends and networks to join too! Join Zoom Meeting: https://zoom.us/w/98912747561?tk=_n6U9668MxpKeBRaCt7m8i7ksxn2Lno1X1WBX6BqHgI.DQIAAAAXB6jAKRZCYmNzRDRsQVRnMjF3cDBTTTRRYW5BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA Meeting ID: 989 1274 7561 This Saturday, the Stand with Chesa team is organizing the official volunteer program launch call, and we want you to be part of it. We’ve already built strong momentum to spread the truth about Chesa’s hard work to hold police accountable, increase support for victims, reduce incarceration, and create real public safety. But we can’t slow down now – not while white supremacists and right-wing… Continue reading →
In just 4 days, Californians across the state will join together to call on our state legislators to support AB 1400 – the new California single-payer healthcare bill. We’re hosting Covid-safe CalCare SpeakOuts in 18 cities across the state this Saturday, April 17th. During these car rallies, we’ll hear patient stories and other speakers, and make clear to our elected leaders that Californians want health care for all. Will you join the CalCare SpeakOut event in Oakland this Saturday, April 17? After you sign up, we’ll make sure you have all the information you need. Here are the details: Oakland CalCare SpeakOut Car… Continue reading →
SDBA Book Group: Saturday, April 17th, 2021, 4:30 PM. https://occupyoakland.org/event/strike-debt-bay-area-book-group-the-optimists-telescope-thinking-ahead-in-a-reckless-age/?instance_id=312698 For our April meeting we’ll be reading the first five chapters of The Optimist’s Telescope – Thinking Ahead in a Reckless Age by Bina Venkataraman. “… all of us need to know how we can make better long-term decisions in our lives, businesses, and society. Bina Venkataraman sees the way forward. A former journalist and adviser in the Obama administration, she helped communities and businesses prepare for climate change, and she learned firsthand why people don’t think aheadand what can be done to change that…” If you are not generally receiving Zoom… Continue reading →
The Institute for the Critical Study of Society at the Niebyl-Proctor Marxist Library Sunday Morning at the Marxist Library OUR CURRENT SCHEDULE (NOTE: These are all tentative and may be changed. Please check back the week before, or sign up for our weekly reminders/updates at cuyleruyle@mac.com) Sun, Dec 27, 2020: 10:30 am to 12:30 pm CONFIRMED: The Three Concepts of Freedom Synopsis: In this session we will compare and contrast the Liberal, Democratic, and the communist concepts of freedom. We will discuss that the Liberal freedom consists of the legal guarantees against outside intrusions. Democratic freedom emphasizes the right to participate in the… Continue reading →
Indivisible Marin & Common Cause For the People Phone Bank for HR1/S1: Sunday, April 18, 12–2 PM. Join Indivisible Marin every Wednesday and Sunday to phone bank in support of For The People Act and to oppose the filibuster! Sign up for a shift here.
The Future of Medicare for All: What Way Forward? Join us on Sunday, April 18 from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. for a panel discussion on the future of Medicare for All and a single-payer health care system that ensures care for all, regardless of wealth or employment status. The panel will include Dr. Susan Rogers, President, of Physicians for a National Health Program; Stephanie Nakajima, Director of Communications for Healthcare-NOW; Shamus Cooke, public sector worker, union activist and member of Portland DSA; and Michael Lighty, National spokesperson for the DSA Medicare for All Campaign, and will touch on maternal and infant mortality, life expectancy… Continue reading →
OH – Phone Banks, Our Revolution Ohio for Nina Virtual Phone Bank Time Sundays and Wednesdays6:30 – 8:30pm EST Location Virtual event Join from anywhere About this event Join us as we make calls to Congressional District 11 to help send Senator Nina Turner to Washington! Available times Sun, Jan 24, 6:30pm–8:30pm EST Wed, Jan 27, 6:30pm–8:30pm EST Sun, Jan 31, 6:30pm–8:30pm EST Wed, Feb 3, 6:30pm–8:30pm EST Sun, Feb 7, 6:30pm–8:30pm EST Wed, Feb 10, 6:30pm–8:30pm EST Sun, Feb 14, 6:30pm–8:30pm EST Wed, Feb 17, 6:30pm–8:30pm EST Sun, Feb 21, 6:30pm–8:30pm EST Wed, Feb 24, 6:30pm–8:30pm EST Sun, Feb… Continue reading →
Announcing The April Lineup for our National Organize to Win Calls! On Monday, April 12th, Sen. Jeff Merkley will kick-off our first call of the month with the latest on For the People Act and the fight against the filibuster. And on the following Mondays, don’t miss Nina Turner, Ben & Jerry’s co-founder Ben Cohen and other powerful progressive rock stars! RSVP NOW!
Join Us to Discuss National Popular Vote on Tuesday April 20 at 6:30-7:30 PM Eastern Please join the Committee of Seventy, the League of Women Voters of Philadelphia, and National Popular Vote in an interactive discussion of the National Popular Vote Bill. We will be joined by Representative Chris Rabb and citizen advocate Beth Goldstein-Huxen. Sign up for free Facebook event The National Popular Vote bill will make every vote equal in presidential elections, guarantee the presidency to the candidate who gets the most votes nationwide, and give candidates reason to campaign in all 50 states. It will ensure that every voter,… Continue reading →