Aoc2bak
4 26 CAPT
primary 11/18 on nca4
merri ok
SEE GREEN NEW DEAL
AOC big ginni clarence crits, leader on impeachment
SEE MILLER 3 RIDICULE
https://www.alternet.org/incitement-violence-aoc-tucker-carlson/
https://www.alternet.org/aoc-alito/
BAK 4 26
an 4 26
Although Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (https://www.commondreams.org/tag/alexandria-ocasio-cortez) took criticism (https://www.thewrap.com/morning-joe-rips-alexandria-ocasio-cortez-over-amazon-pull-out-she-only-cares-about-herself/) from some mainstream media pundits after she helped rally public opinion against the construction (https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/02/14/anything-possible-declares-ocasio-cortez-after-defeat-amazons-corporate-greed-new) of Amazon’s HQ2 in Long Island City, new data revealed this week has seemingly vindicated her skepticism of the project.
Virginia Business (https://virginiabusiness.com/amazons-hq2-hiring-stalled-in-2025/) reported on Thursday that a filing submitted to the Virginia (https://www.commondreams.org/tag/virginia) Economic Development Partnership this week showed that Amazon created no jobs at its HQ2 in Arlington County last year, and thus “will not seek a state payment” under the state’s workforce grant incentives.
Last year, reported Virginia Business, Amazon requested more than $6.4 million through the grant program for adding just under 293 jobs in 2024.
“The hiring slowdown follows earlier signs that Amazon’s HQ2 buildout has fallen short of initial expectations,” Virginia Business explained. “The company originally projected it would create 10,000 jobs by 2024, but hiring totals fell well short of that mark. The company currently has nearly 8,500 employees who work out of HQ2.”
In 2018, Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) joined with local activists to oppose the construction of HQ2 in Long Island City, and they pointed to the billions of dollars in tax incentives offered (https://cbcny.org/research/breaking-down-amazon-hq2-deal) by New York City (https://www.commondreams.org/tag/new-york-city) and New York state as an example of wasteful corporate welfare (https://www.commondreams.org/tag/corporate-welfare) being given to one of the world’s richest companies.
Amazon canceled (https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/02/14/anything-possible-declares-ocasio-cortez-after-defeat-amazons-corporate-greed-new) its plans to build HQ2 in New York in February 2019, prompting Ocasio-Cortez to take a victory lap.
“Anything is possible,” the then-freshman congresswoman wrote (https://x.com/AOC/status/1096117499492478977) in a social media (https://www.commondreams.org/tag/social-media) post. “Today was the day a group of dedicated, everyday New Yorkers and their neighbors defeated Amazon’s corporate greed (https://www.commondreams.org/tag/corporate-greed), its worker exploitation, and the power of the richest man in the world.”
Amazon would subsequently move construction of HQ2 to Virginia after being offered hundreds of millions in potential tax incentives, but it delayed construction of the facility in 2023, which again led Ocasio-Cortez to declare vindication.
“When I opposed this Amazon project coming to New York because it was a scam of public funds, the whole power establishment came after us,” she wrote (https://x.com/AOC/status/1631706682597179405). “Billboards went up in Times Square denouncing me. Powerful pols promised revenge. Op-eds and CEOs insulted my intelligence. In the end, we were right.”
MMA
Prime-time Fox shows gave less than a minute of airtime to the Pentagon’s $200 billion Iran funding request
Written by Matt Gertz (https://www.mediamatters.org/author/matt-gertz)
Research contributions from Rob Savillo (https://www.mediamatters.org/author/rob-savillo), Harrison Ray (https://www.mediamatters.org/author/harrison-ray) & Tyler Monroe (https://www.mediamatters.org/author/tyler-monroe)
Published 03/20/26
Fox News isn’t bothering to sell the staggering cost of the ill-conceived war President Donald Trump launched against Iran.
The Trumpist propaganda network provided roughly 11 minutes of coverage through Thursday to the administration’s request for an eye-popping $200 billion in supplementary spending from Congress — and less than 1 minute of discussion on its prime-time block, according to a Media Matters review.
The Washington Post reported (https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2026/03/18/iran-cost-budget-pentagon/) Wednesday night that the Pentagon “has asked the White House to approve a more than $200 billion request to Congress to fund the war in Iran,” a figure subsequently confirmed by other news (https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/19/world/middleeast/pentagon-200-billion-iran-war-funding-hegseth.html) outlets (https://apnews.com/article/iran-war-us-pentagon-972ec1bd956a2c3633e6ab7fff389791). Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth did not dispute the number at a Thursday morning press conference, though he indicated it “could move.”
The request “is expected to face a rocky path in Congress,” according to The Wall Street Journal (https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/pentagon-will-ask-for-more-money-to-fund-iran-campaign-b1a58c27), as lawmakers say “they want to see more details of the proposal amid concerns that the U.S. could become embroiled in another costly long-term war,” and even Republicans are expressing skepticism about its odds of passage.
But so far, Trump’s Fox propaganda wing isn’t engaged in trying to make the case for the funds.
The $200 billion figure has not been mentioned on the programs of Fox stars Laura Ingraham, Sean Hannity, or Greg Gutfeld, or on the panel show The Five.
On Jesse Watters Primetime, guest host Charlie Hurt spent 44 seconds of Thursday’s show accusing Democrats who refuse to support the spending of siding with Iran and against the troops.
“The Pentagon is asking for more money to eliminate the bad guys, and it's not just for Iran,” Hurt claimed. “Trump says it's for keeping the whole world safe. And guess whose side the Democrats are on?”
He then aired a video of a reporter telling Rep. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), “They're asking for $200 billion now for this war,” and Ocasio-Cortez responding that she won’t support the request because “this administration has plunged the American people into a war that we don't want to be in.”
“Soldiers are risking their lives to do what every president of either party, going back decades, said had to be done,” Hurt responded. “The Democrats don't want to give them the money to finish the job.”
That was the only discussion of the $200 billion war funding figure on Fox’s 8-11 p.m. prime-time block.
Video
Citation
From the March 19, 2026, edition of Fox News' Jesse Watters Primetime
The request for war funding drew only 19 seconds of coverage on Thursday’s edition of the popular morning show Fox & Friends, with co-host Brian Kilmeade noting (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4038673) the $200 billion figure and asking, “Are Democrats gonna look to defund a war again?”
The remainder of the network’s coverage of the figure through Thursday consisted of reports from correspondents on America’s Newsroom and Special Report; a handful of passing mentions; and panel discussions on Special Report and Fox News @ Night.
Such lackluster coverage might suffice to help Trump ram a war spending bill through Congress if the war were popular, the consequences at home limited, and Republicans lawmakers united. But under the present circumstances, the network’s propagandists are going to need to develop some talking points if they hope to pull it across the finish line over the weeks to come.
Methodology...
---}:
prompted by no kings fail? mamdami?
mma
10/23/2025
by
Peter Montgomery (https://www.peoplefor.org/spokespeople/peter)
President Donald Trump has launched a new “Anti Communist Club,” a fundraising gimmick that doubles as a smear campaign against his political opponents, who he calls communists and the “radical left.”
The message (https://secure.winred.com/never-surrender/lp-hf-sms-dn-anti-communist-club-v1-s2-sms-3) sent to Trump supporters makes a mockery of MAGA leaders’ recent disingenuous warnings about the dangers of divisive rhetoric:
After careful consideration, I want to present you with the ANTI-COMMUNIST CLUB Membership! It’s the highest honor I can bestow upon such an important supporter who DESPISES the radical left!
This membership is not just for anyone; YOU qualified because your profile showed you HEAVILY DESPISE known Communists like Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, and AOC!
Trump’s message says that would-be members must “PROVE you’re a TOP MAGA PATRIOT, and not a slimeball communist” by answering a few questions. The questions in Trump’s quiz lay the groundwork for justifying attacks on freedom of speech and academic freedom in pursuit of his “anti communist” mission. In addition to a couple questions about China, the quiz includes these:
Do you AGREE that Communism has NO PLACE in the United States of America?
YES – It’s evil and un-American
NO – I side with the Radical Left (disqualifies membership)
Do you SUPPORT President Trump’s plan to BAN Marxist indoctrination in schools and universities?
YES – Save our children
NO – Let the Left brainwash them
Should anyone caught BURNING the American flag be PUNISHED?
YES – 100%
NO – Free speech for Communists
Do you AGREE that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris pushed a SOFT COMMUNIST AGENDA on our country?
Absolutely
Not sure
No – I trusted them (disqualifies membership)
Would you SUPPORT President Trump declaring a National Anti-Communist Day to honor those who fought tyranny?
YES
NO
Which slogan BEST represents YOU?
GOD, GUNS, FREEDOM
COMMUNISM, CHAOS, CONTROL
Donations sent by MAGA supporters who want to join Trump’s new “club” go to Never Surrender Inc., Trump’s leadership PAC, which reported (https://www.fec.gov/data/committee/C00828541/?tab=summary) nearly $40 million cash on hand at the end of June.
AN NO LNX
You cannot debate a liar like Stephen Miller
Stephen Miller, senior advisor to President Donald J. Trump, speaks during a Trump rally at Madison Square Garden, in New York, U.S., October 27, 2024. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File Photo
John Stoehr
October 09, 2025
Today, I have a few things to say about that putz Stephen Miller. First, he’s been on TV a lot lately, because that’s how he pours more poison onto the president’s already-poisoned brain. He doesn’t whisper lies into the ear of the old and demented sovereign the way Wormtongue does in Tolkien's epic. King Théoden didn’t have a TV. King Donald can’t stop watching his. So Stephen Miller delivers poison that way.
Over the weekend, the White House advisor wrote on Twitter there’s “a large and growing movement of leftwing terrorism in this country. It is well organized and funded. And it is shielded by far-left Democrat judges, prosecutors and attorneys general. The only remedy is to use legitimate state power to dismantle terrorism and terror networks.”
In the days since, Miller has repeated a variation of that “insurrection” theme during numerous TV appearances. Last night, for instance, he told a CNN anchor that ICE protesters are “actually, as we speak, trying to overthrow the core law enforcement function of the federal government. … ICE officers have to street battle against antifa, hand-to-hand combat every night, to come and go from their building.”
Every word here, including “and” and “the,” is a lie.
But today, we saw the fruit of Miller’s labor.
“Chicago Mayor should be in jail for failing to protect Ice Officers,” Trump wrote on his social media site. “Governor Pritzker, too.”
I have talked a lot before about how Trump has dementia and how growing public awareness of his disease could make him vulnerable to the allegation that he’s not really in charge – that malicious and unaccountable forces are pulling his strings. But I haven’t talked about how. Well, this is how. And Stephen Miller is doing it in plain sight.
The second thing I want to say about that putz is about his personality, specifically, about the character of a man who goes on TV to goad an old, demented president into invoking the Insurrection Act to impose martial law. (Miller seems to believe if he says “insurrection” on TV enough times, something in Donald Trump’s head will finally click.)
Before they lie to anyone else, liars like Stephen Miller lie to themselves. They must, because they cannot face the truth. However, I don’t mean just any old truth. I mean capital-T truth, which is to say, the whole truth about themselves. If they had to face it, they would die. (They believe they would die, because they have no faith.)
So they lie, as if their lives depend on it.
What truth? In Stephen Miller’s case, I can’t say I know for sure, but it’s probably that he’s a mediocrity. He’s neither exceptionally intelligent nor exceptionally gifted. Let’s say he’s bland-looking. He’s short by Washington standards. (He says he’s 5 foot 10.) Of course, there are plenty of men who are born of average appearance, talent and smarts, but who accept who they are and lead decent, honorable, happy lives.
Not Stephen Miller. Why? Titanic ego. The truth shall never be true! So he lies to himself, about himself. I would surmise that from a very early age, he began living his life as if he were surviving an endless series of traumatizing events. Do this long enough and you end up not knowing who you are, what you want or what you stand for. And because the lies you tell yourself, about yourself, literally prevent you from feeling joy or satisfaction, always present in life is a desperate, junkie need.
I would suggest this junkie need is the root of hatred. Miller looks around at others who are living their best lives according to the truth about themselves. He sees you doing you better than he’s doing him – and it makes him mad. You cannot do that to him. It’s an injustice. You must be stopped. Indeed, the only way he’s going to feel better is if you are forced to accept the lies he tells himself, about himself. The Stephen Millers of the world, including the president of the United States, are not mediocrities. They are not even human. They are gods. You shall obey. And if you refuse, they will “use legitimate state power.”
I’m dwelling on this facet of Stephen Miller’s personality, as well as on the nature of the totalitarian mind, for a reason. What he’s doing – goading an old, demented president through TV appearances into imposing martial law – is scary. But manipulating the president only gets Miller and the rest of the regime so far. If they are going to take control of the republic, which is their objective (make no mistake), they must convince the American people there’s no use in fighting back – that resistance is futile. And they are going to do that by lying.
During TV appearances this week, Stephen Miller made Donald Trump seem like a sovereign lord endowed by the law and the Constitution (and perhaps by God) with the divine right (“plenary authority,” Miller told CNN) to do whatever he wants in the name of his people, and that any opposition to his divine rule is not only pointless but punishable.
Greg Sargent put it this way. Miller “believes that if he supercharges the debate over Trump's abuses of power with enough propaganda, he can polarize it and force low-info voters to embrace authoritarianism.” (Greg’s latest in The New Republic is about how Democratic Governors JB Pritzker and Gavin Newsom are taking Miller’s “theory of fascist power politics” at face value and devising a strategy to combat it.)
In other words, Miller is lying in order to get you (and “low-info voters”) to give up. And he’s doing that, because surrender is strategically vital. That is, without surrender, Miller and the rest of the regime got nothing. They lie, believing that you will believe their lies, and you end up doing their work for them – by conquering yourself.
But they can’t conquer you if you don’t believe them.
The moment you stop believing them is probably their most vulnerable moment, as we saw when Stephen Miller was asked by a Fox host to respond to comments made about him by New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. In a stream for constituents, AOC discussed the critical role of ridicule in fighting fascism. For instance, she said:
“Laugh at them. Stephen Miller is a clown. I’ve never seen that guy in real life but he looks like he’s 4’ 10”. He looks like he’s angry about the fact that he’s 4’ 10”. He looks like he is so mad that he is 4’ 10” that he’s taking that anger out at any other population possible. Laugh at them.”
Fox’s Laura Ingraham played that clip, right there on live TV. The written word cannot do justice to the face Miller made while watching it. (You have to see it for yourself.) All I can say is he looked wounded, as if AOC had stabbed him, and that’s because the injury was very real.
She did the unforgivable: refused to accept the lies Stephen Miller tells himself, about himself, and she deepened that wound by daring to enjoy herself while doing it. She not only hurt him, emotionally and psychically, but she reminded him of his misery he endures daily.
I’ll close with this. You cannot debate a liar like Stephen Miller. You cannot persuade him with logic or facts. You cannot find common ground with him. There is no compromise. They are too weak to be worthy of trust, and therefore, they can only be opposed. Trump said JB Pritzker should be jailed. In reply, Pritzker said come and get me.
Low-info voters might not understand much.
But they can understand that.
BERNIE OLIG TOUR
Musical performances have accompanied many of the tour's rallies. Laura Jane Grace (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laura_Jane_Grace) and duo Kinsella & Pulse LLC performed at the March 7 event in Kenosha, Wisconsin, and Poliça (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poli%C3%A7a) opened for the March 8 event in Altoona. During the March 8 rally in Warren, Michigan, hardcore punk band the Armed (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Armed) performed, beginning their set with a cover of the Stooges (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Stooges)' "Search And Destroy (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Search_and_Destroy%28The_Stooges_song%29)".\55] Indie rock band Calexico (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calexico%28band%29) introduced the March 22 event in Tucson.\6] Neil Young (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neil_Young) took the stage during the April 12 rally in Los Angeles, which also featured performances by Jeff Rosenstock (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Rosenstock), Dirty Projectors (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dirty_Projectors), Indigo De Souza (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indigo_De_Souza), the Red Pears, and Raise Gospel Choir. Young led a "Take America Back" chant, then played his song "Rainbow of Colors (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainbow_of_Colors)" and a solo rendition of "Rockin' in the Free World (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rockin%27_in_the_Free_World)" on electric guitar, accompanied by Joan Baez (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joan_Baez) and [Maggie Rogers (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maggie_Rogers).[56] Talia Keys and [I Dont Know How But They Found Me (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Dont_Know_How_But_They_Found_Me) played at the April 13 Salt Lake City rally.[57]
For his walk-on song, Sanders continued to use John Lennon (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Lennon)'s "Power to the People (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_to_the_People_%28song%29),\58] as he did in his presidential primary campaigns of 2016 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernie_Sanders_2016_presidential_campaign) and [2020 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernie_Sanders_2020_presidential_campaign).[59]
BANKING
AN 6 25
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts), Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York), Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Washington) and others on the left have often said that one of the painful lessons of the Great Recession is that the United States needs more regulation of banks, not less. But according to Politico's Michael Stratford, the second Trump (https://www.alternet.org/2020/11/trump) Administration is "gearing up to deliver a major win to Wall Street banks" by "easing rules imposed on megabanks in response to the 2008 financial crisis."
:{:{In an article published by Politico on May 31 (https://www.politico.com/news/2025/05/31/trump-administration-prepares-to-ease-big-bank-rules-00377347), Stratford reports, "Trump-appointed regulators are nearing completion of a proposal that would relax rules on how much of a capital cushion the nation's largest banks must have to absorb potential losses and remain solvent during periods of economic stress.}:
The plan — being developed jointly by the Federal Reserve, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation — could be released in the coming months, according to two people familiar with the discussions who were granted anonymity to discuss plans that aren't yet public. The forthcoming proposal would represent the latest policy win for the banking industry, which has been closely scrutinized and regulated since the 2008 global financial meltdown."}:
Stratford adds, "The move would be the first major banking regulation that Trump-appointed regulators take up as they advance policies they say will lead to greater economic growth."
READ MORE: How Trump is 'undercutting' America’s 'status' with 'all kinds of nuttery' (https://www.alternet.org/trump-taco-rubin-acosta/)
The Politico reporter notes that under former President Joe Biden, "regulators" proposed "that large banks increase the size of their capital cushions" — a plan that was "detested by" the banking industry. And the Trump Administration's plans, according to Stratford, would be a major departure from Biden-era banking policies.
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Politico's reporting is receiving a lot of discussion on X, formerly Twitter.
Financial writer Michael Zaccardi tweeted (https://x.com/MikeZaccardi/status/1928960989275292145), "Deregulation on the way? Trump administration is said to move to ease capital rules for big banks."
X user and MAGA critic Stephen Herling commented (https://x.com/ThrillHouseXXV/status/1928916744376037477), "What’s the worst that can happen? Asking for the people back in 2007."
READ MORE:Signs the tide is turning on Trump (https://www.alternet.org/signs-the-tide-is-turning-on-trump/)
Another X user, Jarmo Laitinen, posted (https://x.com/coachlaitinen/status/1928985063502336209), "We all remember what happened last time they cut regulations."
X user Richard Brown wrote (https://x.com/cypherbob/status/1929090208550490372), "Don't protect your constituents. R.I.P. them off. Hey MAGA did you vote for this?"
Jayapal has been outspoken about the second Trump Administration and banking regulations.
The progressive congresswoman tweeted (https://x.com/RepJayapal/status/1924466860315091254), "After the Great Recession — which cost millions of jobs and destroyed countless lives — our government put regulations in place to make sure it never happened again. Now, Trump is getting rid of those rules. What could possibly go wrong?"
READ MORE:'Existential crisis': Trump has business owners in key swing state feeling 'out of control' (https://www.alternet.org/georgia-tariffs-trump/)
*Read Michael Stratford's full article for Politico at this link (https://www.politico.com/news/2025/05/31/trump-administration-prepares-to-ease-big-bank-rules-00377347).
AN 5 25 COMM DR
U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (https://www.commondreams.org/tag/alexandria-ocasio-cortez) castigated House Republicans for pursuing massive cuts to Medicaid "in the dead of night" as a committee markup hearing on the GOP's legislation dragged on into the early hours of Wednesday morning.
Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) said it is shameful that Republicans are rushing ahead with their proposal "at 2:38 in the morning, when everyone is asleep, when we've asked for the opportunity to do this in the light of day so that people can call their representatives' offices in order to stop this disaster."
As the House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing kicked off Tuesday afternoon, demonstrators gathered (https://www.commondreams.org/news/republican-bill-to-cut-medicaid) in the Rayburn House Office Building and more than two dozen people were arrested for protesting the GOP's Medicaid proposal, which would cut the program by around $800 billion over the next decade and leave around 8 million more people uninsured.
But attention on the hearing naturally dwindled as it continued into the night and early Wednesday morning. As of this writing, the critical
(https://youtu.be/_FHQYxz_8LY).
During her remarks at the hearing, Ocasio-Cortez said Republicans have looked to the state of Georgia as a model for their Medicaid proposals—particularly their push for work requirements that advocates say would endanger coverage for millions of people who are eligible for benefits.
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Ocasio-Cortez noted that Georgia is among the states with the highest uninsured rates in the nation.
"The Republican majority has looked at the state with the third-highest number of uninsured Americans and said, 'That's what we want to model our Medicaid system after—this catastrophic failure,'" said the New York Democrat.
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) noted (https://www.cbpp.org/research/health/harsh-work-requirements-in-house-republican-bill-would-take-away-medicaid-coverage) Tuesday that beginning in 2029, the GOP bill would "require states to deny coverage to people applying for Medicaid if they are not already working (or participating in another qualifying activity) at least 80 hours per month, as well as terminate Medicaid for people already enrolled if they cannot document that they are meeting work requirements."
"Evidence shows that much of the coverage loss due to work requirements would occur among people who work or should qualify for an exemption but nevertheless would lose coverage due to red tape (states should be able to exempt most people with children automatically, but many others who should be exempt, such as people with disabilities, would not be automatically exempted)," the group observed.
CBPP estimated that the Republican plan would put between 9.7 million and 14.4 million people at risk of losing Medicaid coverage by 2034.
"Let me be clear—this is not a moderate bill, and it is not focused on cutting 'waste, fraud, and abuse,'" said Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (D-N.J.), the ranking member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. "Instead, Republicans are intentionally taking healthcare away from millions of Americans so they can give giant tax breaks to the ultra-rich who don’t need them."
Politicoreported (https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2025/05/14/congress/democrats-take-aim-at-gops-medicaid-work-requirements-00347673) early Wednesday that "after hours of debate, Republicans in unison voted down a Democratic amendment that would have required the Health and Human Services Secretary to certify that the GOP bill would not reduce any Medicaid benefits offered by states, pointing to President Donald Trump's repeated pledges to protect the program."
Republicans started several markup sessions for key pieces of their reconciliation package at around the same time on Tuesday, reportedly (https://prospect.org/health/2025-05-07-medicaid-cuts-in-republican-bill-would-charge-poor-people/) a deliberate effort to disperse and weaken the opposition.
"Down the hallway, they are trying to finance tax cuts for people who are inheriting $22 million houses," Ocasio-Cortez said Wednesday, referring to the House Ways and Means Committee's marathon hearing on the tax section (https://www.commondreams.org/news/republican-tax-bill-2025) of the reconciliation bill.
Republicans also held a hearing Tuesday for their proposal (https://www.commondreams.org/news/republicans-cutting-snap) to slash the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) by hundreds of billions of dollars. The
(https://youtu.be/0dM2KDf1zJw) lasted more than three hours and is expected to resume Wednesday morning.
"Tonight, you're taking food away from single moms with 7-year-olds at home—as if being a single parent raising a young child wasn't hard enough already. And farmers, too, will suffer from your direct attacks on SNAP," Rep. Angie Craig (D-Minn.), the top Democrat on the House Agriculture Committee, said at the hearing. "Benefits will get cut—and for what? To fund tax breaks for everyone but the middle class."
NOW READ:How MAGA got brainwashed: The science behind the right-wing’s 50-year propaganda campaign (https://www.alternet.org/alternet-exclusives/maga-brainwashing/)
an 525
'The stuff of nightmares': AOC apparently 'lives rent-free' in JD Vance's head (https://www.alternet.org/aoc-jd-vance-fox-news/)
an 2 25
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (https://www.commondreams.org/tag/alexandria-ocasio-cortez) on Monday dared Trump (https://www.alternet.org/2020/11/trump) immigration czar Tom Homan to pursue an investigation against her after he attacked the New York Democrat in two television appearances and said he has asked the Justice Department to "look into" whether she violated the law by holding a webinar (https://www.facebook.com/repAOC/videos/2608651289481502) informing constituents of their rights.
"This is why you fight these cowards. The moment you stand up to them, they crumble," Ocasio-Cortez wrote (https://bsky.app/profile/aoc.bsky.social/post/3ligcewocfc2z) on social media after Homan, former acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), called her "the dumbest congresswoman ever elected to Congress" in an interview on the far-right network Newsmax.
The resort to a personal attack, said the New York Democrat, shows that "Homan has nothing."
"The Fourth Amendment is clear and I am well within my duties to educate people of their rights," she added. "He can threaten me with jail and call names all he wants. He's got nothing else."
Less than an hour later, Ocasio-Cortez wrote (https://bsky.app/profile/aoc.bsky.social/post/3ligegzbsqk2z) "go ahead" in response to a separate interview in which Homan told Fox News host Sean Hannity that he has asked the deputy attorney general to examine whether the New York congresswoman's webinar amounted to teaching people "how to evade ICE arrest."
"Let the people see you for what you are," Ocasio-Cortez wrote in response.
Homan, whom President Donald Trump (https://www.commondreams.org/tag/donald-trump) has tasked with spearheading the new administration's mass deportation efforts, has repeatedly attacked (https://www.msnbc.com/the-reidout/reidout-blog/aoc-immigration-ice-webinar-tom-homan-rcna192282) Ocasio-Cortez in recent days as the White House zeroes in on New York City (https://www.politico.com/newsletters/new-york-playbook/2025/02/13/trumps-red-light-for-new-york-immigration-policies-00204009) with the help of disgraced Democratic Mayor Eric Adams, the beneficiary of an out-in-the-open quid pro quo (https://www.commondreams.org/news/trump-justice-department-eric-adams) arrangement that is now at the center of a legal and political controversy.
On her congressional website, Ocasio-Cortez—who represents parts of the Bronx and Queens—has a page (https://ocasio-cortez.house.gov/services/immigration-know-your-rights) devoted to informing her constituents of their legal rights when faced with ICE agents.
"ICE does not have the right to enter your home without a valid warrant signed by a judge," reads a flyer produced by Ocasio-Cortez's office, a message that was echoed during last week's webinar (https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?ref=watch_permalink&v=2608651289481502).
Days after the webinar, Homan said (https://bsky.app/profile/acyn.bsky.social/post/3li3yj66krn2o) in a Fox News appearance that he "sent an email" to the deputy attorney general asking whether Ocasio-Cortez is illegally "impeding our law enforcement efforts."
"Maybe he can learn to read," the New York Democrat wrote (https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:p7gxyfr5vii5ntpwo7f6dhe2/post/3li42lco6b22h) in response. "The Constitution would be a good place to start."
MMA IRONY IS DEAD
February 13, 2025, edition of Fox News'The Five
JESSE WATTERS (HOST): There's a new DOJ in town and they're not messing around. Attorney General Pam Bondi just threw down the legal gauntlet, suing New York and its squad of lawfare junkies. Governor Kathy Hochul and AG Letitia James for straight up ignoring immigration laws and hooking up illegals with driver's licenses.
...
AG Bondi should probably look into this. AOC's office is now giving webinars for illegals on how to avoid Trump's deportation raids.
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If Democrats want to win, they need to fight like AOC
John Stoehr January 24, 2025
The thing that keeps me up at night is not totalitarian drift. It’s the lack of fighting spirit among people who say they love this country.
I mean, I get that right now the congressional Democrats don’t have any power. I get that there’s nothing they can do in the face of Donald Trump’s illegal and unconstitutional executive orders. Ditto for his disgusting pardon of traitors, liars, thieves and murderers. And I get that the Democrats are outnumbered by Senate Republicans who are bent on confirming the unworthiest administration of our lifetimes.
Powerlessness, however, isn’t the same thing as impotence. There’s a lot the Democrats can do, the most important of which is saying no to Donald Trump and telling the truth about America’s totalitarian drift.
Bill Kristol put it well when he asked: “What can [the Democrats] do now? Tell the truth — and do it clearly, and do it loudly. Tell the truth about Pete Hegseth and Kash Patel. Tell the truth about Trump’s cruel and damaging immigration policies. Tell the truth about Trump’s plutocrats and corruption and grift. Tell the truth about Trump’s assault on the rule of law. For now, the public’s wondering what to think about Trump. Explaining how damaging and dangerous Trump’s policies will be would be important. Do it forcefully. Do it often.”
Here, though, is another problem – the part about “the truth.”
That’s a complicated subject for liberal types, because we don’t agree on what it is. We don’t agree because the truth about the truth is usually tied up in who we think we are as individuals. It can get so complicated that liberals talk themselves out of a united front. That’s a problem these days – when one side seeks common ground in spite of differences while the other side seeks the other side’s annihilation.
I was thinking of this yesterday while watching a video posted by New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. I’m guessing you recognize AOC as one of the most outspoken liberals and one of the best communicators in today’s Democratic Party. In the video, she responded to Elon Musk giving the Nazi salute on Inauguration Day. She responded by flipping populism around so the “us” in “us versus them” is patriotic Americans and the “them” is fascists like Musk.
“This is the United States of America,” Representative Ocasio-Cortez said. “I don’t care what Elon Musk is doing behind the presidential seal, [but] in this country, we hate Nazis. Kind of like a foundational, defining thing. Two of the foundational things about American history is that we beat the Confederates and we beat the Nazis” (my bold).
She went on:
“I don’t know what side people may be on today, but I still am not rocking with anyone sympathetic to Nazis. And I will do that until I am six feet in the ground. Kind of foundational to me as a human being.
https://bsky.app/profile/acyn.bsky.social/post/3lgcfqzjipl2a
This is the fighting spirit that we need. Tolerating the intolerant is what got us here. We now have a demented criminal president who is:
threatening to withhold federal funding from blues states;
suppressing federal research on viruses, including the covid;
using pardons to encourage murders and other criminals;
purging the government of “DEI hires,” aka non-white people;
demanding interest rates bend to his moods and whims;
redefining the meaning of citizenship in terms of whiteness;
and in general restoring the original white-power order.
It’s time to stop asking the haters to stop hating.
It’s time to hate them.
Unfortunately, some of the reaction to AOC’s commentary suggests that too many people still don’t get it. They’d rather argue about “the truth” instead of telling it. They would rather be right than fight. It seems the most important thing is not stopping evil and all those who will serve evil, but appearing virtuous in the eyes of their peers. The consequence of this is the impossibility of speaking with one voice.
I mean, with friends like these, who needs enemies?
If you are telling me that, ackshully, America has always been friendly to Nazis and to rightwing authoritarianism in general, you are not telling me anything I don’t already know. The genocide of indigenous Americans inspired Adolf Hitler – yes. The Jim Crow sadism of the former slaver states inspired Adolf Hitler – yes. Henry Ford’s antisemitism inspired Adolf Hitler – yes. All true. There is no debate. But I guess some people can’t help themselves. They gotta debate even though debating is beside the point of fighting totalitarian drift.
What I like most about AOC’s commentary is that it puts evil at the center of our attention. She doesn’t say evil is a distraction from the real issues. She doesn’t say evil prevents us from finding compromise on things that matter to all of us. She doesn’t say evil is “playing politics” while she and the Democrats are trying to get things done.
No, she’s saying evil is evil, and we should hate evil.
That’s the fighting spirit we need right now.
NOTE CULT WAR PIVOT TO CEO CORP
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While Republicans claimed a bill restricting transgender girls' participation in school sports was aimed at protecting "our culture and civilization" on Tuesday, U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (https://www.commondreams.org/tag/alexandria-ocasio-cortez) said the legislation benefits the corporate class as it distracts from true life-threatening emergencies faced by communities across the country.
"Thank you for your concern about women for the first time that I've seen," said the New York Democrat on the House floor, noting that Republicans have consistently voted against the Violence Against Women Act and backed abortion bans that have stripped women of the ability to control their own bodies proven deadly (https://www.commondreams.org/news/texas-abortion-ban).
But contrary to the GOP's claims that barring transgender girls and women from playing on sports teams that align with their gender will protect girls from assault, Ocasio-Cortez suggested, the biggest beneficiaries of the legislation include corporate executives whose companies do far more harm to American families than transgender athletes.
"I know who loves this bill," said the congresswoman. "Yes, bigoted folks love this bill. Assaulters love this bill. But also, CEOs love this bill. Because Los Angeles (https://www.commondreams.org/news/wildfires-los-angeles)is on fire right now, and this is the number one priority this majority has."
The bill passed 218-206, with the entire Republican caucus supporting it and all but two Democrats voting no. If the legislation is signed into law, schools that receive federal funding would be barred from allowing transgender girls from playing on girls' sports teams.
Republicans have poured $111 million on political ads regarding the issue in the past year, as communities in the Southeast have suffered catastrophic hurricane damage (https://www.commondreams.org/news/milton-florida-hurricane) andhomelessness (https://www.commondreams.org/news/how-many-homeless-in-us)has soared by 18%.
Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-Ore.) agreed with Ocasio-Cortez's comments about the distraction caused by the transgender sports bill.
"Republicans fearmonger about the trans community to divert attention from the fact they have no real solutions to help everyday Americans," said (https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2025/01/14/transgender-students-sports-bill-house/) Bonamici. "Transgender students, like all students, they deserve the same opportunity as their peers to learn teamwork, to find belonging and to grow into well-rounded adults through sports."
Ocasio-Cortez added that the bill, which lacks an enforcement mechanism, would open the door to "genital examinations" of student athletes as it would force schools to confirm the sex assigned at birth of each member of a school sports team.
"What this also opens the door for is for women to try to perform a very specific kind of femininity for the very kind of men who are drafting this bill, and to open up questioning of who is a woman because of how we look, how we present ourselves, and yes, what we choose to do with our bodies," said Ocasio-Cortez.
The so-called Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act was the subject of a letter (https://civilrights.org/2025/01/13/400-civil-rights-groups-reject-anti-trans-legislation-demand-congress-vote-no-on-h-r-28/#) signed by more than 400 civil society groups on Monday, who urged members of Congress to reject the "discriminatory proposal."
"Although the authors of the legislation represent themselves as serving the interests of cisgender girls and women, this legislation does not address the longstanding barriers all girls and women have faced in their pursuit of athletics," said the groups, led by the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. "We firmly believe that an attack on transgender youth is an attack on civil rights."
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wanted: ‘a very nasty and very public civil war’ among the Democrats
Pelosi and other senior leaders can’t adapt.
I think I am done with Nancy Pelosi. I think I am done with the rest of the senior leadership of the Democratic Party, too. They had a good run. Indeed, I have called Pelosi the greatest House speaker of the 21st century. In 2022, I celebrated the transformational productivity of the so-called “gerontocracy.”
That was then, though.
This is now.
I am done.
Pelosi is no longer the speaker, but she still acts like she is. She advocated openly for Virginia Congressman Gerry Connolly, 74, to be the next ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, after Maryland’s Jamie Raskin left it. She and other “veteran lawmakers,” according to Axios, chose Connolly because he was next in line.
They could have picked New York’s Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, 35, who would have come to the leadership with her “far-reaching public platform, her ability to communicate and her energetic support for colleagues in recent congressional elections,” Axios reported.
In other words, they could have chosen a Democrat capable of leading the opposition against the incoming obscenities of Donald Trump.
Instead, they chose an elderly (and sick!) Democrat who is, according to Missouri’s Emanuel Cleaver, 80, a “ranking member-in-waiting.” (Ocasio-Cortez also lost a vote to be on the Democrats’ Steering and Policy Committee, a vital arm of the party’s House leadership.)
The news is an example of the depth of institutional decay within the Democrats. They said Trump was a menace to democracy and the rule of law. They said his victory would corrupt society and profane norms.
But with this vote, they are suggesting that they didn’t really mean it. They are suggesting that the most important thing is making sure the guy who’s been waiting in line gets his turn. (They actually comforted Ocasio-Cortez, telling her don’t worry, your turn will come soon.)
I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to hear this. In the teeth of what will be the most criminal and corrupt administration of our lifetimes, I don’t want to hear about how Connolly is, on the merits, the best person for the job, about his loyalty or his fundraising prowess. I don’t want to hear some bullshit about how he kept Virginia blue.
I don’t want to hear about the importance of internal group cohesion, because the Democrats lost, they lost everything, and they lost everything because they didn’t take the Republicans’ information warfare seriously enough. If there were ever a time for “Democrats in disarray,” as Stephen Robinson wrote this morning, now is that time.
This week, the Democrats had a chance to elevate one of the foremost minds in information warfare – to bring forward a practitioner who could bring them all into 21st-century communications strategy. As AOC’s ally, Vermont Congresswoman Becca Balint, told Axios: “I know Gerry will do a great job. But there's no substitute for having someone in that position that literally has millions of Americans following her.”
Indeed, there is no substitute for an institutional shake-up.
Unless you’re a “veteran lawmaker” in that institution.
In which case, the substitute is the status quo.
No one would accept this in any other field of serious competition. If the football team continued losing, game after game, no one would say the head coach should keep his job. No one would say he’s dedicated his life to the team, so firing him wouldn’t be fair. No one would accept that, because no one would put the interests of one man above victory. Somebody must be held responsible. Somebody’s head must roll.
Not so for the Democrats. There has been no accountability as far as I can tell. There has been no punishment for losing the presidency, the Senate and the House. Instead, they decided to keep New York’s Chuck Schumer, 74, as the Senate’s minority leader. They decided to let Nancy Pelosi, 84, influence their choice of who to put on the House Oversight Committee. With outcomes like this, what’s the incentive for success?
There should be, as Alternet’s Carl Gibson said recently, “a very nasty and very public civil war between the young fighters and the old and tired [Pelosi-Schumer] wing.” Carl went on to say: “They got us into this mess and it's time for them to go.” But apparently, the institution’s hierarchy is so strong it can withstand, or even suppress, an uprising.
When the former House speaker threw her weight behind Gerry Connolly, it was widely seen as a counteroffensive against a nascent “generational revolt that saw several of Democrats' septuagenarian committee leaders pushed out of their roles.” Evidently, after seeing that a rank-in-file rebellion was brewing, Pelosi moved to crush it.
(You could say accountability came for New York’s Jerry Nadler, 77. He was the ranking member on the House Judiciary Committee. He stepped aside for Maryland’s Jamie Raskin, 61. While Raskin is a fighter, Connolly is replacing him on the Oversight Committee. Is that a shake-up or a reestablishment of the status quo? The latter, I think.)
News broke yesterday of House Speaker Mike Johnson being once again in the position of balancing the demands of leadership with the demands of the base. Trump, by way of Elon Musk, wants Johnson to scrap a funding bill at the risk of shutting down the government on Christmas week. While it’s fun to watch Johnson beclown himself, there’s one thing you can say. His party never lets institutional inertia get in the way of achieving its goals, however harmful they may be.
The Democrats, meanwhile, do not have anything outside the party (namely, a media apparatus of their own to match the Republicans’) that’s constantly menacing them, keeping them on their toes every day, and providing the ever-present incentive to continually innovate, even at the expense of the party. The Democrats do not have such a thing, perhaps because they do not want it. The status quo is so much easier.
Since 2016, I have defended Pelosi and the party’s senior leadership against allegations of elitism and being out of touch. I have defended them, because I believed, and still believe, that the policies offered and enacted by the Democrats, especially after Joe Biden’s election, are the best thing to have happened to ordinary Americans since the 1960s.
But given the way things are going in the aftermath of Donald Trump’s victory, I have to admit the allegations are not without merit. Who else but political elites are immune from the outcomes of politics? Who else but elites have no fear of being held accountable for failure? Who else but elites can play their fiddles while the rest of Rome burns?
I defended the Democrats because I believed defending them was the part I could play in the larger defense of democracy. I don’t see any point, however, in defending a party that cannot change – that didn’t really believe it when it said Donald Trump was an existential threat.
Pelosi had a good run. I honor her past achievements.
That was then, though.
I am done.
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After losing the White House and Senate in November, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) says the Democratic Party needs a facelift. And she’s volunteering for the role as she challenges a senior party member for the top Democratic slot on the House Oversight Committee.
“We should be going after corporations. We need to be going after corruption,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) told Raw Story while walking through the U.S. Capitol. “Also, of course, there’s an incoming Trump (https://www.alternet.org/2020/11/trump) administration that’s been bought out the wazoo, so we have to highlight that.”
With Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) slated to become the top Democrat — or ranking member — on the Judiciary Committee, Ocasio-Cortez is jockeying to take over as the ranking member on the high-profile Oversight Committee.
The three-term, 35-year-old congresswoman is running against eight-term, 74-year-old Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA) for the new role. While she’s reportedly locked in the support of most of her colleagues, she also needs to overcome a last-minute, behind-the-scenes lobbying blitz from former Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
ALSO READ:[Agenda 47: Alarm sounded about Trump’s dystopian plans for his second term]
The contest is representative of the broader debate engulfing Democrats as the party reckons with losing to former President Donald Trump once again. However, Ocasio-Cortez says the debate is about more than age and representation. She says Democrats need to show workers they’re on their side by aggressively going after corporations.
Many Democrats' campaigns this cycle lacked that anti-corporate message, which Ocasio-Cortez says was a mistake.
“I think so, and I think that we shouldn't be afraid to lean into the sources of a lot of people's economic pain, and we need to be forthright,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “We need to be forward and assertive about the fact that inflation doesn't come from anywhere, it's corporations that are trying to squeeze Americans for every dime that they've got in their pockets.”
With Tesla, SpaceX and X CEO Elon Musk out there promoting the new, non-governmental Department of Government Efficiency — or DOGE — along with the handful of other billionaires Trump tapped to fill out his cabinet — from former World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) CEO Linda McMahon at the Department of Education to investment banker Howard Lutnick at the Commerce Department — critics fear the foxes are in the hen house.
“How worried are you seeing the billionaire class becoming a part of the incoming Trump administration cabinet, basically?” Raw Story asked.
“Of course, very, very. And what we’re seeing at the Los Angeles Times (https://duckduckgo.com/?q=Los+anglees+times+edit+op+ed+raw+story+&ia=web) and the takeover of media, it's extremely concerning,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “I think that there are areas where they do intersect.”
However, Congress is a majoritarian institution, and the minority party on Capitol Hill has limited formal tools. Still, Ocasio-Cortez is unfazed,
The Bronx representative rose to prominence by taking on the Washington establishment through grassroots organizing. She says her party needs to use unconventional tools—from TikTok to Telegram—to beat the GOP in the two parties' daily headline war, whether on new media or in legacy news outlets.
“Yeah, it is, but I think we've demonstrated this term, even being in the minority, we've been able to thoroughly dismantle a lot of the Republican initiative and really take the wind out of their sails and build new momentum,” Ocasio-Cortez said.
While Republicans will wield the gavels in the new year after Trump carried the party to victory in November, Ocasio-Cortez feels empowered. Whether as the top Democrat on the Oversight Committee or in her unofficial role as the voice of the party’s restive progressive rank, she’s itching for a fight with her GOP counterparts.
“A lot of it has to do with using our bully pulpit to ring the alarm and let the American people know what's going on,” Ocasio-Cortez told Raw Story. “I feel like we have so much leverage where we can do that much more thoroughly and much more expansively.”
NOW READ:The reckoning: Plenty of hurts coming for the people who didn't care about their country (https://www.rawstory.com/raw-investigates/trump-voter-reckoning/)
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House Oversight Committee hearing erupted into a war of words on Thursday when Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) exchanged slights during a contempt hearing for Attorney General Merrick Garland for blocking the release of audio tapes related to an impeachment inquiry into President Biden (https://www.rawstory.com/chop-them-up-distort-them-white-house-slams-improper-threats-as-it-blocks-hur-tapes-2668282863/).
In this case, their furious exchange was prompted by Greene's decision to personally insult Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX).
Earlier in the proceeding, Crockett had sought an answer from Chairman James Comer (R-KY) with a hypothetical question about rules violations that doubled as a thinly veiled shot at Greene: “I’m just curious, just to better understand your ruling: If someone on this committee then starts talking about somebody’s bleach blonde bad built butch body, that would not be engaging in personalities, correct?”
Later on, Greene got into a spat with Crockett when she launched an attack on the daughter of Judge Juan Merchan, who is overseeing former President Donald Trump's hush money trial in New York.
"I would like to know if any of the Democrats on this committee are employing Judge Merchan’s daughter," Greene quipped.
Crockett countered: "What does that have to do with Garland?"
Greene told her, "I don’t think you know what we’re here for. I think your fake eyelashes are messing up your reading."
READ MORE:Democratic congressman commits massive stock law violation (https://www.rawstory.com/raw-investigates/david-trone-money/?utm_source=superhead)
That insult prompted Ocasio-Cortez to demand Greene's insult be stricken from the record.
"I do have a point of order, and I would like to move to take down Ms. Greene’s words. That is absolutely unacceptable. How dare you attack the physical appearance of another person... move her words down," she said.
"Are your feelings hurt?" Greene taunted.
"Oh girl, baby girl!" Ocasio-Cortez shot back. "Don’t even play!""
AOC continued to tell off Greene: "That is absolutely unacceptable. How dare you attack the physical appearance of another person? Move her words down—"
"Are your feelings hurt?" Greene asked. "Aw!"
Ocasio-Cortez's comeback: "Oh girl, baby girl! Don’t even play!"
That had AOC demanding Greene apologize.
But Greene, who permitted her comments to be deleted from the record made clear she wasn't going to say sorry.
"I’m not apologizing," she said. "Why don’t you debate me?"
"That’s self evident," AOC told her
Greene then told her: "Yeah, you don’t have enough intelligence."
AOC then requested that the last jab be stricken too.
:{Watch the video below or at this link (https://www.rawstory.com/aoc-mtg-video)
an 3? 24 schools ted cruz on const law? //
During an impeachment-related hearing on Wednesday, March 20, House Republicans featured witness Tony Bobulinski — a former business partner of President Joe Biden's son Hunter Biden — in the hope of making a case for impeaching the president.
Progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York) hammered Bobulinski relentlessly (https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1770505232834773413) during her questioning, asking him to "specifically" name the crimes he witnessed Hunter Biden commit. When Bobulinski mentioned "RICO," AOC reminded him that "RICO is not a crime — it is not a category."
In response to video of AOC questioning Bobulinski (https://twitter.com/mazemoore/status/1770497247454617709), far-right Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) implied that she thought RICO offenses were not illegal — which wasn't what she said. Ocasio-Cortez told Bobulinski that RICO isn't one particular offense, but rather, an entire "category" of offenses. The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act was passed by Congress in 1970 and signed into law by President Richard Nixon.
READ MORE:[Revealed: Texts shed light on anti-Biden witness’ 'connections to Russia'
Fulton County, Georgia District Attorney Fani Willis, for example, is using RICO laws against former President Donald Trump and his co-defendants in her election interference case.
In a March 21 post on X (https://twitter.com/tedcruz/status/1770664035060510961), formerly Twitter, Cruz wrote, "This is bizarre. RICO — the Racketeer Influenced & Corrupt Organizations Act, 18 U.S.C. §§ 1961-1968 — is most assuredly a crime. It often results in massive felony sentences. And yet @aoc — eager to defend Joe Biden — insists it's not a crime."
But Ocasio-Cortez set Cruz straight with a tweet of her own.
The Bronx/Queens congresswoman told Cruz (https://twitter.com/AOC/status/1770841932354199656), "Wrong! RICO is a statute under which specific crimes may be considered - kidnapping, robbery, arson, etc. You need to name the crimes in order to substantiate RICO. So… since you're the expert, what RICO crimes and evidence does House GOP have? Since they don't seem to know."
X user Diana Manister tweeted (https://twitter.com/DianaCialino/status/1770567074806382986), "When AOC asked Bobolinski to name a crime Biden committed, he couldn't."
READ MORE:Donald Trump isn't finished remaking the Supreme Court (https://www.alternet.org/donald-trump-isnt-finished-remaking-the-supreme-court/)
*Watch the full video below or at this link (https://www.alternet.org/aoc-cruz-rico).
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Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez takes a 'victory lap' after making Republicans see red
Matt LasloandRaw StoryApril 05, 2024
WASHINGTON — Republicans can’t stop thinking about Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY). They see her everywhere — including in the sheen of their recently retired green congressional pins.
Turns out, when Republicans see green these days, they see a flash of Ocasio-Cortez and the Green New Deal she’s championed. That proved to be the driving reason behind why the GOP-controlled House of Representatives scrapped the official congressional lapel pin — which help Capitol Police officers quickly identify lawmakers — during the 118th congressional session.
“I hated the color,” Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC) — while rocking a large defund the World Health Organization button — told Raw Story while walking across the Capitol grounds. “It reminded me too much of the Green New Deal.”
ALSO READ: Lauren Boebert’s high school has canceled the congresswoman
Like most of her Democratic colleagues, Ocasio-Cortez says this political pin drama shows how unserious, hypocritical and out of touch today’s Republican Party has become.
But the AOC-Green New Deal dust-up itself was “news” to Ocasio-Cortez.
“I don't know why they changed the pin,” Ocasio-Cortez told Raw Story while walking to cast her vote on the House floor last week. “I had heard it was maybe a [George] Santos thing, but then, like, he can still use his pin, so I don’t know.”
When Raw Story caught up with her, Ocasio-Cortez was pinless — “I have the front, but I don’t have the magnetic back!” — and initially perplexed when informed her that a fellow Democrat had indeed picked green to in part signify environmentalism.
“Usually they don’t make political statements with them,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “But if that's what it is, I'll take a victory lap!”
While Ocasio-Cortez’s head is high, many on the right are embarrassed that the retired green pins were replaced with new, dark blue-and-gold ones that cost an extra $40,000 — even as the party regularly berates Biden over the ballooning national debt.
Embarrassment aside, House Republicans have left a lot of their actual work undone, which Democrats are quick to point out.
ALSO READ: A neuroscientist reveals how Trump and Biden's cognitive impairments are different
“It's bizarre, isn't it? Why when we haven't funded Ukraine are we worrying about the color of the pin?” Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) told Raw Story.
In the last Congress, when Democrats were in charge, Lofgren chaired the House Administration Committee where she tried to mix things up by literally going green.
“I just thought, it's usually, like, either red or blue, right? Which fits in with the divide in the country. I thought, well, let’s have something that's neutral,” Lofgren said. “Green is agriculture. Green is the environment. Green is in the middle. Why not?”
Pin politics are real
Lofgren seems to have underestimated the juvenile nature of the contemporary Congress.
“I know what it was, the pins were designed when Democrats were in the majority so it was thought it was, you know, the Green New Deal,” Rep. Glenn Thompson (R-PA) told Raw Story from behind his shiny green pin. “I thought it was whining, and I thought it was a waste of money to redo them mid-term. We don't have that kind of money here.”
As chair of the House Agriculture Committee, Glenn’s one of the rare Republicans embracing the green pins, which are still official 118th Congress pins — just this Congress now has two official pins.
“It's a Farm Bill year, so I own the green one. Given the fact that 92 percent of all planted acres are represented by Republicans, every Republican should embrace it, and I don't like wasting money,” Thompson said, before divulging his plan for what he sees as unnecessary replacement pins. “Never taken out of the envelope, but it's beautiful. It’s going in my collection, but I'm not gonna wear it.”
Thompson’s not just an outlier in the GOP. The green pins were initially off-putting to many Democrats, too.
“Originally it was kind of like, ‘Huh?’” Rep. Donald Payne (D-NJ) told Raw Story.
But many Democrats — or at least their wardrobes — just evolved along with the gaudy green pins.
“Everybody started buying green clothes. I went and bought a green suit,” Payne said, before ripping on pouting Republicans. “Ridiculous. Just live it out.”
While the new pins are reported to cost an estimated $40,000, no one in power seems to want to talk about that price tag, let alone petty pin politics, in general. Raw Story’s requests for comment from the Architect of the Capitol (the office charged with running all things Congress, including the pin program), House Administration Committee and Speaker Mike Johnson’s office were not returned.
Washington’s pin culture
Washington is weird. That’s not news. But Capitol Hill has a particular fetish for pins and buttons.
This Congress kicked off with many Republicans rocking aggressive AR-15 lapel pins, which did the trick and offended their gun-control supporting colleagues on the other side of the aisle.
“It’s hard to imagine they put AR-15 pins on,” Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) told Raw Story at the time.
Not all pins are meant to personally offend the opposing party, although lawmakers are all about making statements.
Some plug their home states, such as Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-WI), whose lapel pin is the shape of his home state.
“I don’t know — might have been the cheesemakers — but it was some Wisconsin group and I put it on to show how appreciative I was,” Grothman said.
Other pins may not be head turning, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t hyper-political.
Take these little red heart pins with two baby feet in the center, which signal support for a national abortion ban covering any human fetus whose heartbeat has been detected.
It’s not meant to offend, said Rep. Mike Kelly (R-PA), who added that he doesn't mind if his liberal colleagues are offended regardless.
“Everything though is gonna have a political bent to it, right?” Kelly told Raw Story. “We can't do anything normal.”
Former history teacher Rep. John Larson (D-CT) is on his 13th term in the House, so he’s ditched the official congressional pin for years now. In its place: a rectangular JFK pin — paying perpetual homage to his political hero of a bygone era.
“I haven’t worn anything but this since 2017,” said Larson, who also now wears a blue and yellow pin to show his solidarity with the people of Ukraine. “I’ve been around long enough, so people recognize you.”
Of course, American flag pins abound, along with solidarity pins showing the American flag alongside U.S. allies. Washington Post foreign policy columnist Josh Rogin even found a North Korean-American flag solidarity pin for sale at the State Department that he couldn’t resist wearing regularly at the Capitol — or even while traveling to the DMZ with former Vice President Mike Pence.
An array of rainbow flags are also everywhere in the Capitol these days. And if you keep your eyes peeled, you’ll likely see at least one neon bicycle pin, which is worn — and peddled to visitors! — by Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR). Blumenauer co-chairs the Bike Caucus, as well as the Cannabis Caucus, but for the latter role, he usually rocks a marijuana leaf-dotted bow tie.
It’s rare, but occasionally you’ll catch a campaign button, such as those on the made-for-clicks outfit Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) wore at this year’s State of the Union address.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology-trained inventor Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) sports an ever-rolling digital clock on his lapel.
What does it signify?
“Debt clock, I built it,” Massie told Raw Story. “It’s got WiFi. Goes to Treasury [Department] once a day and calibrates.”
“Where we at right now?” Raw Story asked Massie on the Capitol steps last week.
“34,585,640,78-dot-dot-dot-dot,” we read along with Massie.
“I wanted to induce anxiety in my colleagues,” Massie said.
As for the new pin? Massie may be a millionaire from his time in tech, but he’s also always looking to make a buck.
“Mine's new in the wrapper. I didn't take it out. It's still on the placard with the spouse pin. One day when everything blows up, I'm gonna sell it on eBay,” Massie said. “And the bonus. Just wait, there's more: The Republicans thought they were so ugly, they made their own pin. So now I got a three pin set, new in the wrapper, never-been-worn-before condition.”
‘I'm trying to think of what else they've done, and I can't’
Pins and buttons may make statements, but members of Congress were sent to Washington to make policy.
No pin can mask this Congress’ historical level of dysfunction-induced gridlock.
Like other conservatives — including Greene, who dropped the same motion to vacate on Speaker Johnson that was used to oust McCarthy — Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) is still upset GOP leaders broke the party’s 72-hour rule and released the final $1.2 trillion government funding measure last Thursday before bringing it to a vote on Friday.
“Now we're a little bit back to the usual way of doing things where things are cooked up behind closed doors or dropped on us,” Roy told a gaggle of reporters after last week’s last House vote. “We need to get back to what we're doing last year. It was working, and let's try to do that.”
“You forgot, you all were able to change the color of the congressional pin!” Raw Story reminded Roy as he was walking back to his office across the street from the Capitol.
“I know,” Roy replied through a smile. “That is one thing!”
Democrats weren’t impressed with how the GOP functioned — or dysfunctioned? — last year, but they can’t help but agree that this do-nothing Congress has now accomplished one tangible thing: Republicans successfully lobbied to ditch their green pins.
“Literally. I'm trying to think of what else they've done,” Ocasio-Cortez told Raw Story. “And I can't.”
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Greg Gutfeld says Rep. Ocasio-Cortez supports immigrants because she's “horny” for “young, virile men who are coming here in droves” | Media Matters for America (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/greg-gutfeld-says-rep-ocasio-cortez-supports-immigrants-because-shes-horny-young-virile)
Greg Gutfeld calls Nikki Haley "a pandering phony" because she talked about experiencing racism | Media Matters for America (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/greg-gutfeld-calls-nikki-haley-pandering-phony-because-she-talked-about-experiencing)
Aoc short doc how we avoided the apocalypse
A Message From the Future With Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
(https://youtu.be/d9uTH0iprVQ)
(https://youtu.be/2m8YACFJlMg) pt II naomi klein
tuber Andrew senior political analyst "Don't Walk Run Productions"
foxic public citizen
Ad Hominem Attacks
In the past six months, those who advocate climate action have been subjected to personal attack by Fox News hosts.
U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) has served as a regular punching bag for Fox News hosts and their guests. In one exchange between Sean Hannity and former Democratic National Committee Chair Donna Brazile, she jabs the network for its obsession with AOC, joking that programs have mentioned ”AOC well over 3,000 times.” For Ocasio-Cortez’s acknowledgment of the climate crisis and support for the Green New Deal, Fox News has accused her of “capitalizing on a fear” and “pushing doom and gloom day and night.” She’s been called a “radical nut job”, “Scary-o-Cortez” and “dumb and totally ignorant of everything.”
While Ocasio-Cortez is by far the most vilified and attacked climate advocate, she is not the only one. Another example is provided by science communicator Bill Nye. After appearing on John Oliver’s HBO program, “Last Week Tonight,” Nye was Hannity’s “Villain of the Day.” A guest on “The Ingraham Angle” suggested that calling Bill Nye a scientist was akin to referring to “George Clooney as a doctor or Harrison Ford as an archaeologist.” Tucker Carlson suggested that Nye’s appearance was just a stunt to get his own Netflix series.
Hunter Walker and Josh Kovensky @ Talking Points Memo (https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/aoc-challenger-helped-lead-encrypted-chat-group-filled-with-proud-boys-and-racial-slurs): AOC Challenger Helped Lead Encrypted Chat Group Filled With Proud Boys And Racial Slurs
The group chat provides a vivid example of how the MAGA movement is encouraging people who are comfortable with the violent fringe, and who see it as part of their base, to run for office.
no lnx 8 23 an
House Democrats call on Clarence Thomas to resign over 'stunning' corruption
Jake Johnsonand Common Dreams August 11, 2023
Several House Democrats on Thursday pushed U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas to immediately resign after the investigative outlet ProPublica revealed fresh details about the powerful judge's billionaire-funded—and undisclosed—luxury vacations.
Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.), a member of the House Judiciary Committee, said in a statement that Thomas' "alleged actions are not just shocking, they are illegal."
"Disclosure laws like the ones Justice Thomas allegedly violated are meant to provide transparency and prevent corruption," Lieu added. "Justice Thomas' alleged actions don't just appear corrupt, they are corrupt because of the unprecedented scale of his ethical and legal violations. Justice Thomas has brought shame upon himself and eroded the credibility of the Supreme Court. Justice Thomas should resign immediately."
ProPublica reported Thursday that Thomas has taken at least 38 luxury trips on the dime of ultrawealthy executives and Republican donors, some of whom have had business interests reach the high court.
The outlet noted that "while some of the hospitality, such as stays in personal homes, may not have required disclosure, Thomas appears to have violated the law by failing to disclose flights, yacht cruises, and expensive sports tickets."
ProPublica's detailed account of the gifts Thomas has received for decades from a group of right-wing executives renewed outrage over the Supreme Court's lack of ethical standards. Unlike every other federal court in the U.S., the Supreme Court does not have a binding code of ethics, providing an opening for justices to take dozens of private jet flights and stay at luxury resorts with the help of conservative billionaires.
"No justice should accept these types of gifts,"Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) said Thursday. "Thomas has repeatedly brought dishonor and ethical malpractice to our highest court. I reiterate my call that he must resign. This is exactly why we need SCOTUS ethics reform."
Rep. Pramila Jayapal(D-Wash.), the chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, called Thomas' conduct "unprecedented," "stunning," and "disgusting," writing that it is "the height of hypocrisy to wear the robes of a SCOTUS [justice] and take undisclosed gifts from billionaires who benefit from your decisions."
"Resign," she added.
Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-N.J.)joined his colleagues in demanding Thomas' resignation, slamming the right-wing justice as "corrupt as hell."
Thomas insists that he has "always sought to comply with the disclosure guidelines," but the justice has a long history of failing to disclose key items, such as income that his wife has received from right-wing organizations.
In April, after ProPublicareported that Thomas has been taking undisclosed yacht and private jet trips funded by billionaire GOP megadonor Harlan Crow for more than two decades, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez(D-N.Y.) toldThe Lever that she would be willing to draft articles of impeachment against Thomas if no other House member did so.
To date, no House lawmaker has unveiled articles of impeachment even as the Supreme Court's ethical crisis spirals further out of control. An impeachment vote against Thomas would stand no chance in the House, which is controlled by Republicans.
A few House Democrats nevertheless voiced support for an impeachment vote on Thursday.
Rep. Summer Lee (D-Pa.) noted that she "called for a vote to impeach Justice Thomas if he would not resign back in April—before we even knew just how much farther his corruption goes thanks to ProPublica's reporting."
Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), for her part, wrote Thursday, "Today's a good day to impeach Clarence Thomas."
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As NYC is inundated with wildfire smoke, Rupert Murdoch’s WSJ calmly shows link to climate crisis, while Murdoch's Fox News mocks it
WRITTEN BY JOHN WHITEHOUSE
RESEARCH CONTRIBUTIONS FROM SAGE HODIL
PUBLISHED 06/07/23
New York City is currently inundated with a hazardous level of wildfire smoke, making the skies appear yellowish-orange.
The smoke is from wildfires in Canada, which scientists say are “becoming bigger and more frequent” due to climate change, as reliably explained by Rupert Murdoch’s Wall Street Journal:
Wildfires like those ravaging Canada are becoming bigger and more frequent as forests around the world increasingly dry out amid the warming climate, many scientists say.
Some of the biggest fires are breaking out in the boreal forests of the Northern Hemisphere such as most of the ones in Canada. That is because the Arctic region has warmed nearly four times faster than the rest of the world, said Carly Phillips, a Boston-based research scientist at the Union of Concerned Scientists.
In the boreal areas—mostly conifer forests with long winters and short summers—of Canada and Alaska, she said the annual area burned has nearly doubled in the past 60 years, along with an increase in the frequency of large fires. Russia’s vast Siberian forests have been consumed by giant fires too. Phillips said this year’s outbreak, while unprecedented in size, is just following the trend.
“I don’t know if it’s a tipping point, but what this underscores is that the climate crisis is here and now,” Phillips said.
The link is so obvious and uncontroversial that Journal staff members have no problems tweeting it.
And yet, over at Murdoch’s Fox News Channel, this is just another reason for hosts to punch left, this time at frequent target Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), who dared to point out that the country has work to do to adapt to the climate crisis.
Video file
Video CitationFrom the June 7, 2023, edition of of Fox News' Outnumbered
None of this is novel. Fox News (and the Journal’s right-wing editorial board) have for years pushed climate denial on the body politic. Now that the effects of the climate crisis are impossible to miss, the network is still refusing to recalibrate.
Like the Dominion case shows, it’s not clear if Fox’s audience — or whatever is left of it — will allow the network to speak the truth.
Either way, I’d recommend that people working at Fox News headquarters in Manhattan buy some high-quality masks. They might even still have some sitting around.
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06/08/23 9:27 AM EDT
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Newsmax's Greg Kelly praises the smoke from Canadian wildfires: “It's a beautiful, interesting aura”
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06/07/23 The Wall Street Journal
Wall Street Journal
Climate deniers
biden all in on "ej"
mma 4 23 note victim rev discrim BS
GREG GUTFELD (CO-HOST): What does environmental justice mean? AOC laid out perfectly: the environment is now tied to racism, which is what they did with ESG -- environmental social governance. It's a scorecard, another scorecard that takes measures on how companies act responsibly. So, they marry the environment to race because it couldn't be believed alone, the numbers weren't working. The projections weren't working. But you know what works? Being scared of being called a racist.
So, environmental justice, if you do not agree with it, if you don'tswallow the climate agenda, if you don't agree with AOC, you probably don't just hate the planet, you probably hate non-white people as well.
And the consequences of that, we've talked about it before, with every aspect of life being filled with racism or injustice. The roads are racist we found out this week. Pollution is racist, we just found out. Cheap energy, fossil fuels, that's racist because it hurts non-white people. If you don't want to be looted, that's racist, too, because looting is mere redefinition of justice.
Basically, you're telling people that they can -- you're sanctioning crime. You're sanctioning riots. That's why the politicians in Chicagosaid as much and said that this was their way of evening the score. Because when you tell everybody, and you program their brain with this language that the world sucks and it's this group of people behind it, now it's in climate. Now it's in climate.
https://www.alternet.org/rank-corruption-aoc-calls-for-clarence-thomas-impeachment-following-bombshell-report-on-megadonor-gifts/
an 3 23
https://www.alternet.org/aoc-republicans-horrifying-woke-agenda/
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York) admonished House Republicans during a Thursday hearing on what constitutes "woke."
Ocasio-Cortez criticized conservatives for assigning the term to anything that they believe is too progressive or unnecessary without establishing a consensus on what the moniker actually means.
"We're having a hearing right now, and it's about what the, that the federal government is too woke. I mean, that's seriously what we're hearing, and then there's no definition of what woke is," Ocasio-Cortez said.
READ MORE: 'A bit cringe': These young Republicans think their older counterparts are saying 'woke' too much (https://www.alternet.org/feels-a-bit-cringe-these-young-republicans-believe-their-older-counterparts-are-overusing-the-term-woke/)
"But on paper, what's actually being criticized in this hearing is that the so-called woke policies are remote work for federal workers – especially those that live in rural areas – and those who have disabilities paying interns so that critical opportunities don't just go to privileged kids whose parents can afford to pay for their rent while they, while they go on a free internship. That's, that is what is woke here. That is what the other side is calling woke here," Ocasio-Cortez continued.
"Making sure that O[ffice] of P[ersonnel] M[anagement] makes – can create opportunities and federal careers for partners of military service members? That's woke," the congresswoman explained. "This is the woke alleged takeover that we have, that, that we wantwildland firefighters who are putting their lives at risk,increasingly so year after year that we wanna make sure that they stay on the job and have dignified conditions and not leave because they can earn more money as a greeter at Walmart? This is what is, this is what this whole term woke means. Or diversity and inclusion so that the people who work in our federal workforce are actually in proportion to the people that live in this country. This is this, this horrifying woke agenda that the other side is trying so hard to block."
Watch below or at this link (https://www.alternet.org/aoc-republicans-horrifying-woke-agenda).
Liberty or death in the time of 'woke communism' › (https://www.alternet.org/liberty-or-death-woke-communism/)
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'Makes him look very small': GOP strategists question DeSantis’ 'ridiculous' anti-woke campaign against the NHL › (https://www.alternet.org/its-just-ridiculous-gop-strategists-question-desantis-anti-woke-campaign-against-nhl/)
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win amazon HQ
https://www.alternet.org/ocasio-cortez-2659498319/
an 2 23
United States Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York) on Thursday evening denounced House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-California) for installing cantankerous right-wing Republicans onto powerful committees. Ocasio-Cortez also reiterated her impassioned admonishments of Republicans for having ousted Representative Ilhan Omar (D-Minnesota) from the Foreign Affairs Committee.
"These individuals that Kevin McCarthy has appointed, chosen to appoint to committees. George Santos claimed that his grandparents were in the Holocaust. That was a lie. A disgusting lie. Marjorie Taylor Greene regularly trafficking in antisemitic conspiracy theories.Paul Gosar inciting – these are individuals, Marjorie Taylor Greene included – inciting violence against specific members in the body," said Ocasio-Cortez, herself a target of Gosar (https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/republicans-gosar-trump-ocasio-cortez/2021/11/08/ead37b36-40ca-11ec-9ea7-3eb2406a2e24_story.html) and Greene's antagonizing antics. "He has appointed all three of them. Two House committees. Not just one, but multiple. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who was engaging in 911 conspiracy theories, Kevin McCarthy appointed her to the Homeland Security Committee. So there is really no consistency here. And it needs to be very well known that this targeting of Ilhan Omar is because the Republican base finds it easy. The Republican base finds it politically self-rewarding."
Seventy-seven minutes after that CNN interview, Greene accused Ocasio-Cortez of lying and then demanded that her colleague "be an adult and actually debate me on policy instead of run your mouth like a teenage girl."
READ MORE: 'This is about targeting women of color': AOC blasts Republicans following Ilhan Omar's committee ousting (https://www.alternet.org/aoc-blasts-gop-ilhan-omar/)
aOC hits back at Republican House member who told her to 'educate herself' (https://www.alternet.org/climate-change-republicans/)
Maya Boddie (https://www.alternet.org/author/mayaboddie)
New York Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez did not mince words when South Carolina GOP Rep. Jeff Duncan urged her (https://www.huffpost.com/entry/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-republican-call-to-educate-herself_n_63d3394fe4b01e928869c73b)to “educate herself” after she proposed...
biz insider
...In March, Rep. Ilhan Omar, a Minnesota Democrat, wrote in a Twitter post that "Clarence Thomas should be impeached."
Ocasio-Cortez threatened Thomas with impeachment if he refused to resign.
"Clarence Thomas should resign," the New York Democrat wrote on Twitter. "If not, his failure to disclose income from right-wing organizations, recuse himself from matters involving his wife, and his vote to block the Jan 6th commission from key information must be investigated and could serve as grounds for impeachment."
author notes repeated demonization by tucker and morano:
Tucker Hosts Climate Denier, Calls Green Energy a 'War Against People'- Yahoo News
Yahoo News
Marc Morano. Political activist. Fox News. Tucker Carlson opened his Tuesday show railing against environmentally friendly means of energy ...
Carlson opened his Tuesday show railing against environmentally friendly means of energy production, and then hosted a climate change denier to discuss how green energy is part of a “war against people.”
Carlson began by discussing the ongoing public revolt (https://www.thedailybeast.com/sri-lanka-president-gotabaya-rajapaksa-manages-to-flee-country-on-military-jet) against political leaders in Sri Lanka amid food and fuel shortages. The protests are the result of (https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/11/asia/sri-lanka-crisis-whats-next-explainer-intl-hnk/index.html) a combination of factors (https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/happening-sri-lanka-rcna37768) including excessive government borrowing, heavy monsoons, depleted tax and tourism revenue, the decreased value of the rupee, anda government ban on chemical fertilizers that limited harvests.Carlson honed in on this final cause.
What has happened in the island nation is an example of a country being “driven into the ground by green energy schemes thought up by morons like… \Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez] AOC,” Carlson said, marking yet another instance (https://www.thedailybeast.com/tucker-carlson-rants-that-he-doesnt-care-about-alexandria-ocasio-cortez-during-minute-long-rant-about-aoc) of the New York congresswoman’s name [being mentioned derisively (https://www.thedailybeast.com/tucker-carlson-mocks-aocs-riot-fear-sandys-heart-is-still-beating-fast) on the primetime Fox show.
"We are watching countries around the world… collapsing and entering into a state of revolution because thesemorons tampered with their energy grids. But they don’t care,” Carlson said. “They are going to continue doing it unless someone stops them—until exactly the same thing happens here.”
Marc Morano, a global warming denier (https://www.mediamatters.org/rush-limbaugh/climate-change-misinformer-year-marc-morano) whom Carlson did not introduce as such, had a similar point of view.
“I think green energy and this whole war on agriculture… the voters cannot support this anymore,” Morano said.
“We are seeing what’s happening in Sri Lanka, we are seeing what’s happening in the Netherlands, there are protests in other countries growing, \and] Canada is following the same line with fertilizer. This is a war against modern civilization,” he added, reminiscent of [past criticisms (https://www.thedailybeast.com/fox-and-friends-alexandria-ocasio-cortezs-green-new-deal-would-be-civilizational-suicide) of Ocasio-Cortez’s proposals from Fox figures.
“It is a war against people,” Carlson chimed in. Life expectancy will “drop to the floor” if decision makers even so much as “tamper with” fossil fuels, which are “our greatest blessing,” he added.
“How do we allow people like [Ocasio-]Cortez and [Joe] Biden, who do not know what a carburetor is, to lecture us about something as complex as energy policy? Like, this is insane,” Carlson huffed.
Morano responded by blaming individuals in the World Economic Forum and U.S. climate envoy John Kerry, who “can go to the CEOs of major corporations and get them to sign a climate pledge, which then commits them to all of these green goals.”
“They believe that us, the unwashed masses, if left to our own devices, will create inequity, racism, environmental destruction, [and] the climate crisis,” Morono claimed. “They literally want to regulate not just our farming but every aspect of our lives, and that is really what the World Economic Forum and the United Nations is after here, is controlling humans.”
6 22
bkgd grfx childless, penniless, joyless (pink)
fox News' Tucker Carlson is attempting to spin a new conspiracy theory with a tall accusation involving the United States government.
During his latest segment of "The Tucker Carlson Show" on Tuesday, the conservative primetime host claimed the U.S. government will be lacing the country's water supply with "SSRIs – selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors – in an effort to placate an increasingly dissatisfied population," Mediaite reports (https://www.mediaite.com/tv/tucker-carlson-predicts-the-government-will-lace-the-water-supply-with-antidepressants-to-pacify-americans/).
Broadcasting from Rio de Janeiro, Carlson expressed concern about the United States' low fertility rates. On multiple occasions, Carlson has leveled attacks at Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) over her concerns about having children. In fact, last year, the Fox News host reportedly said claimed: "some liberals are 'offended by fertility and nature and the idea that people reproduce.'”
During Tuesday's segment, Carlson revisited the same argument but went a step further this time.
[READ MORE:Adam Kinzinger roasts Lindsey Graham after he criticizes Cassidy Hutchinson's testimony (https://www.alternet.org/2022/06/man-up-lindsey-adam-kinzinger/)
“The more atomized and unhappy American society becomes, theeasier it is for them to control,” said Carlson. “Fewer marriages and babies and family-owned homes means more rootless and dissatisfied people. It means an entire nation of desperately unhappy grad students. Sandy Cortezcould become the queen of a country like that.”
Carlson went on to highlight the inflated cost of having a family as he insisted that the issue is no longer just a temporary problem, but rather a new staple in American society.
“Families are for the tech tycoons in Napa, they’ve got a ton of kids,” he continued. “And for the Haitians huddled underneath the bridges at the border in south Texas, they’ve got a ton of kids too. But for you, a middle-class American, sorry. Your deepest desires are far beyond reach.”
The host concluded with a conspiratorial prediction about what the U.S. government may do next to "numb the public into accepting their childless fate," per Mediaite.
“You have to wonder, how long before Democrats sponsor legislation to distribute free cats to young people in the cities, placebos to replace the families they can no longer have,” he said. “That’s coming, along with SSRIs in the water supply, so you don’t have to think too much about it. We’re finally getting to see what their utopia feels like. Hope you feel better.”
Watch the video below or at this link. (https://www.alternet.org/2022/06/tucker-carlson/)
On January 19, 2019, American Congresswoman (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_House_of_Representatives) Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandria_Ocasio-Cortez) (Democrat (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Party%28United_States%29) from New York (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York%28state%29)) tweeted "All your base (are) belong to us" in response to a poll by Hill–Harris indicating that 45% of the Republicans (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republican_Party_%28United_States%29) who were polled approved of Ocasio-Cortez's suggested implementation of a 70% marginal tax rate (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marginal_tax_rate) for individuals making more than $10 million per year.[6]
https://www.alternet.org/2022/06/aoc-american-terrorism-january-6th/
'This is what American terrorism looks like': AOC blasts participants and enablers of January 6th coup
no lnx twt]
David Badash and The New Civil Rights Movement June 10, 2022
U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez came out swinging after watching Thursday night’s House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack, lambasting both her Republican congressional colleagues and “right-wingers” in general.
“AOC,” as the New York Democrat is often called, tweeted what appears to be her own cellphone recorded clip of a portion of the 11-minute documentary the Committee included in Thursday’s hearing. In that tweeted video someone, presumably the Congresswoman, can be heard saying, “Jesus Christ” when viewing the insurrectionists on the Capital grounds.
“In the days and weeks after the attack, right-wingers tried to downplay what happened,” she tweeted. “They said it was small. They accused us of lying by saying the attack was ‘only’ @ the dome. No. They were everywhere. The screams were everywhere. This is what American terrorism looks like.”
Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez, like most members of the House and Senate, was at the Capitol on January 6. Her commentary reveals how difficult it is for those who were there to relive the experience.
Tweeting out another clip, AOC reminds that U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) was “tweeting the Speaker’s location as this was all happening.”
:{:{}:
}:
“When I spoke of my fear of being raped again while locked in my office bathroom,” she adds, Fox News propagandist Tucker Carlson “mocked it. So did Boebert.” South Carolina GOP Congresswoman Nancy Mace “insinuated to her supporters it was a lie.”
https://www.alternet.org/2022/04/aoc-elon-musk-2657242582/
:{:{}:
}:
Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez pilloried the world's richest person and Twitter's new owner (https://www.commondreams.org/news/2022/04/26/elon-there-are-rules-eu-says-twitter-must-comply-new-digital-services-act), Elon Musk, on Friday after he used the social media platform to equate the far-right and the far-left, implying that both are hateful.
"The far-left hates everyone, themselves included!" said Musk, the chief executive of Tesla whose net worth has skyrocketed (https://www.commondreams.org/news/2022/04/05/millionaires-humanity-calls-forbes-list-slap-face-society) to more than $200 billion during the Covid-19 pandemic. "But I'm no fan of the far-right either. Let's have less hate and more love."
"In Texas, Republicans passed a law allowing rapists to sue their victims for getting an abortion," Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) responded incredulously. "Can anyone name a 'far-left' policy that extreme implemented anywhere? We can't even get our party to import cheaper prescription drugs from Canada."
Musk's Friday comments came less than 24 hours after he shared an image arguing that a "conservative" occupies the same ideological territory today as in 2008 while a "liberal" has moved increasingly leftward and become a "woke 'progressive'" unrecognizable to a centrist who once had more in common with the left but is now closer to the right.
Musk's argument about a supposed leftward shift couldn't be further from reality, according to critics.
Setting aside the fact that the Democratic Party as a whole has moved toward (https://www.commondreams.org/views/2009/12/09/liberals-i-do-despise) former President Ronald Reagan on many economic, carceral, and immigration policies since the late 1970s—resulting in more than four decades of bipartisan neoliberalism (https://www.jacobinmag.com/2016/07/david-harvey-neoliberalism-capitalism-labor-crisis-resistance/), which has only recently been challenged (https://www.commondreams.org/views/2020/02/11/here-they-come-again-kind-neoliberal-democrats-who-prefer-trump-sanders) by a growing minority of progressive lawmakers—the Republican Party's rightward shift, which has been intensifying for decades, is completely ignored by Musk.
Georgetown University professor Don Moynihan responded to Musk's post by sharing evidence from thePew Research Center that shows how increasing political polarization in the U.S. Congress is being driven primarily by Republicans moving further and further right—not the other way around.
According to (https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2022/03/10/the-polarization-in-todays-congress-has-roots-that-go-back-decades/) Pew's March analysis of lawmakers' roll-call votes, "Democrats and Republicans are farther apart ideologically today than at any time in the past 50 years." While Democrats have become slightly more liberal on a two-dimensional spectrum, Republicans have become "much more" conservative.
To take just one example of the GOP's creeping authoritarianism (https://www.commondreams.org/news/2022/01/03/calling-trump-just-warm-act-professor-warns-democratic-collapse-us), Republican senators in 2006 voted (https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2021/11/republicans-once-supported-the-voting-rights-act-today-they-voted-against-its-restoration/) unanimously to reauthorize the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Last November, only Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) joined (https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/11/03/dems-told-kill-filibuster-after-all-senate-republicans-one-block-john-lewis-voting) Democrats in a failed bid to restore the landmark pro-democracy law.
Fueled by former President Donald Trump's "Big Lie (https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/05/27/fears-mount-gops-big-lie-2020-just-test-run-what-comes-next)" that the 2020 presidential election was stolen, Republican lawmakers at the state level have embarked on a nationwide assault on the franchise, passing (https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/voting-laws-roundup-december-2021) 34 voter suppression laws in 2021 and introducing (https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/voting-laws-roundup-february-2022) dozens more this year.
The GOP has also gone on an unprecedented censorship binge (https://www.commondreams.org/news/2022/04/08/1100-banned-books-across-26-states-report-shows-shocking-censorship) in recent months, banning books and threatening the job security of teachers across the nation. In addition, Republicans have been attacking abortion rights (https://www.commondreams.org/news/2022/04/29/abortion-providers-sue-block-oklahoma-gops-insidious-bans) at a dangerous clip, as Ocasio-Cortez alluded to, as well as LGBTQ+ rights (https://www.commondreams.org/news/2022/04/21/alabama-parents-seek-emergency-court-order-block-criminalization-trans-youth-care).
Meanwhile, progressive lawmakers who are advocating for universal access to healthcare—during a pandemic that has killed (https://www.commondreams.org/news/2022/04/08/drop-life-expectancy-speaks-volumes-about-how-us-handled-covid-expert) nearly one million Americans—and an accelerated clean energy transition to secure a livable planet are being stymied (https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/09/29/new-report-exposes-corporate-scheme-derail-biden-agenda-and-upend-democracy) at every turn by corporate lobbyists and lawmakers in both parties.
thiel maga mini me's // bannon ~ fed gov't
https://www.alternet.org/2022/02/a-return-to-jim-crow-aoc-fears-the-us-will-cease-to-be-a-democracy/
an 11 21
congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was among those who shouted backed overnight during the historic and "unhinged (https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/11/19/kevin-mccarthy-derided-over-unhinged-8-hour-speech-against-build-back-better-act)" marathon speech by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy when the Republican from California stated that there was no person in the country who voted for President Joe Biden last year who did so because they hoped he would act like former President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who ushered through the 20th century New Deal.
Quoting a recent comment from Rep. Abigail Spannberger (D-Va.) during his speech in order to argue that Democrats are misguided to make sweeping social investments as part of their Build Back Better Act—which received a final vote in the House on Friday morning—McCarthy stated, "Nobody elected Joe Biden to be FDR."
From the gallery in response, a voice can be heard responding, "I did." Later it was confirmed (https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/1461530931991252992) that this was Ocasio-Cortez.[2 ppl did]
https://www.alternet.org/2021/11/ocasio-cortez-gosar/
put in context of hugwe surge in death threats and 1/6 attack; gabby scalise shot; how signif is that this is pix? cartoon? anime genre? trump WWF vs CNN?
gosar censored for aoc kill anime, also biden; tired to blame staff? alt rt ploy just kidding? shooting bills in ads cliche si he just escalated to clainming that he was killing a rep/symbol of their policies [that are destroying am // scott perry freedom cock?]
pretty good speech:
Rep. Paul Gosar of Arizona, a far-right MAGA Republican and conspiracy theorist who has never been shy about making inflammatory remarks (https://www.cnn.com/2021/11/17/politics/controversy-paul-gosar-congress/index.html), has been drawing vehement criticism from Democrats (https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/republicans-gosar-trump-ocasio-cortez/2021/11/08/ead37b36-40ca-11ec-9ea7-3eb2406a2e24_story.html) for posting a cartoon that depicts him murdering Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York City and inflicting harm on President Joe Biden. He has previously been criticized for appearing at a conference organized by white supremacists (https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/gosar-racism-remarks/2021/02/27/64f8ffa4-7901-11eb-948d-19472e683521_story.html).
Many House Republicans, however, have been silent about the controversies. And Ocasio-Cortez, during a speech on the House floor this week, called them out them out for it.
The congresswoman, during her speech, made it clear that a much more vehement response from House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and other GOP leaders is needed.
AOC: "It's a sad day in which a member who leads a political party in the United States of America cannot bring themselves to say that issuing a depiction of murdering a member of Congress is wrong, and instead decides to venture off into a tangent about gas prices and inflation"pic.twitter.com/fi13Jb396s
— Justin Baragona (@Justin Baragona)1637178021
AOC: "Does anyone in this chamber find this behavior acceptable? Would you allow depictions of violence against women, against colleagues? Would you allow that in your home? ... And if it\u2019s not acceptable there, why should it be accepted here?!"pic.twitter.com/Bas9dS5dfo
— Justin Baragona (@Justin Baragona)1637178312
Ocasio-Cortez told fellow House members, "What I believe is unprecedented is for a member of House leadership of either party to be unable to condemn incitement of violence against a member of this body. It is sad, it is a sad day in which a member who leads a political party in the United States of America cannot bring themselves to say that issuing a depiction of murdering a member of Congress is wrong…. What is so hard, what is so hard about saying that this is wrong?"
READ:A growing threat is emerging from the theocratic wing of the GOP — but many liberals are missing it (https://www.alternet.org/2021/11/gop-theocracy/)
The Democratic congresswoman added, "This is not about me. This is not about Rep. Gosar. But this is about what we are willing to accept."
Gosar has maintained that the anti-AOC cartoon was meant to be a joke, but Ocasio-Cortez stressed that depictions of murder should never be taken lightly.
"This nihilism runs deep," Ocasio-Cortez explained. "It conveys and betrays a certain contempt for the meaning and importance of our work here — that what we do, so long as we claim it is a joke, doesn't matter."
jihad squad: https://www.alternet.org/2021/11/rep-ilhan-omar-torches-lauren-boebert-following-bizarre-rant-on-house-floor/
https://newrepublic.com/article/154879/misogyny-climate-deniers
no lnx
Martin Gelin/August 28, 2019
The Misogyny of Climate Deniers
Why do right-wing men hate Greta Thunberg and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez so much? Researchers have some troubling answers to that question.
Teenage activist Greta Thunberg (Kirsty Wigglesworth/AFP/Getty Images)
Climate skeptic Bjørn Lomborg has built his global brand on keeping his cool. “Cool it,” his best-selling book told those worried about the warming planet. For some reason, however, he seems to have difficulty sticking to the blasé tone when it comes to a 16-year-old climate activist from Sweden.
Lomborg has repeatedly mocked and criticized Greta Thunberg, the prominent young activist who has been sailing across the Atlantic to attend the UN’s Youth Climate Summit and other meetings in the U.S. In June, he tweeted out a cartoon that implied Greta was only useful to climate activists because being young made her unassailable—in four years, it joked, she’d be replaced with someone younger still. Earlier in the year, he’d asked why the World Economic Forum was listening to her at all, and approvingly shared a Quillette article which called Thunberg a fanatic and “absolutist” and which argued adults had a duty to correct her childlike naiveté.
And Lomborg’s on the more civil end of Thunberg’s critics. In April, while tweeting that her policies were “unrealistic” and “costly,” he added that, “of course, she should be treated respectfully, just like all participants in the climate debate.” Several of his followers didn’t seem to care for the caveat, attacking Thunberg with comments about her age and mental health in replies.
As Thunberg approached America, she was followed by a tsunami of male rage. On her first day of sailing, a multi-millionaire Brexit activist tweeted that he wished a freak accident would destroy her boat. A conservative Australian columnist called her a “deeply disturbed messiah of the global warming movement,” while the British far-right activist David Vance attacked the “sheer petulance of this arrogant child.”
In the U.S., former Trump staffer Steve Milloy recently called Thunberg a “teenage puppet,” and claimed that “the world laughs at this Greta charade,” while a widely shared far-right meme showed Trump tipping The Statue of Liberty to crush her boat. We can expect a surge of similar attacks in the U.S. as she arrives in New York this week.
While these examples might feel like mere coincidence to some, the idea that white men would lead the attacks on Greta Thunberg is consistent with a growing body of research linking gender reactionaries to climate-denialism—some of the research coming from Thunberg’s own country. Researchers at Sweden’s Chalmers University of Technology, which recently launched the world’s first academic research center to study climate denialism, have for years been examining a link between climate deniers and the anti-feminist far-right.
In 2014, Jonas Anshelm and Martin Hultman of Chalmers published a paper analyzing the language of a focus group of climate skeptics. The common themes in the group, they said, were striking: “for climate skeptics … it was not the environment that was threatened, it was a certain kind of modern industrial society built and dominated by their form of masculinity.”
The connection has to do with a sense of group identity under threat, Hultman told me—an identity they perceive to be under threat from all sides. Besieged, as they see it, both by developing gender equality—Hultman pointed specifically to the shock some men felt at the #MeToo movement—and now climate activism’s challenge to their way of life, male reactionaries motivated by right-wing nationalism, anti-feminism, and climate denialism increasingly overlap, the three reactions feeding off of one another.
Climate science, for skeptics, becomes feminized—or viewed as “oppositional to assumed entitlements of masculine primacy.”
“There is a package of values and behaviors connected to a form of masculinity that I call ‘industrial breadwinner masculinity.’ They see the world as separated between humans and nature. They believe humans are obliged to use nature and its resources to make products out of them. And they have a risk perception that nature will tolerate all types of waste. It’s a risk perception that doesn’t think of nature as vulnerable and as something that is possible to be destroyed. For them, economic growth is more important than the environment” Hultman told Deutsche Welle last year.
The corollary to this is that climate science, for skeptics, becomes feminized—or viewed as “oppositional to assumed entitlements of masculine primacy,” Hultman and fellow researcher Paul Pulé wrote in another paper.
These findings align with similar ones in the United States, where there is a massive gender gap in views on climate change, and many men perceive climate activism as inherently feminine, according to research published in 2017. “In one experiment, participants of both sexes described an individual who brought a reusable canvas bag to the grocery store as more feminine than someone who used a plastic bag—regardless of whether the shopper was a male or female,” marketing professors Aaron R. Brough and James E.B. Wilkie explained at Scientific American. “In another experiment, participants perceived themselves to be more feminine after recalling a time when they did something good versus bad for the environment,” they write.
In the past year, young women such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in the U.S. and Thunberg in Europe have become the global faces of climate activism, often with tremendous political impact. In the United States, Ocasio-Cortez has helped transform what was once considered a bit of fringe rhetoric—the Green New Deal—into a topic of regular conversation. Across the Atlantic Ocean, in a recent poll, one out of three Germans said that Thunberg has changed their views on climate change.
The rise of Thunberg and Ocasio-Cortez has generated a predictable backlash among conservative men. In the U.S., Ocasio-Cortez has become an obsession on right-wing media. Fox News mentioned her an average of 76 times a day during her first month in Congress. Now, Greta Thunberg is becoming a similar target for European nationalists. In Germany, the far-right Alternative für Deutschland party seems to have coordinated their attacks on Thunberg with the right-wing European Institute for Climate and Energy think tank.
Climate change used to be a bipartisan concern, the first Bush senior presidency famously promising to tackle global warming. But as conservative male mockery of Thunberg and others shows, climate politics has quickly become the next big battle in the culture war—on a global scale.
As conservative parties become increasingly tied to nationalism, and misogynist rhetoric dominates the far-right, Hultman and his fellow researchers at Chalmers University worry that the ties between climate skeptics and misogyny will strengthen. What was once a practical problem, with general agreement on the facts, has become a matter of identity. And fear of change is powerful motivation.
This article has been updated with specifics on Lomborg’s writings on Thunberg, as well as the removal of a reference to an April 24 tweet by Lomborg. The tweet referred to the author of an article defending Thunberg—not to Thunberg herself, as this story originally stated.
Martin Gelin @M_Gelin
Martin Gelin is a journalist based in New York.
==
manchin he just got CoC $ https://www.salon.com/2021/06/10/joe-manchins-highly-suspicious-reversal-on-voting-bill-follows-donation-from-corporate-lobby/
https://www.alternet.org/2021/06/aoc/
cent am immigration policy trms
border partrol pix rape?
trump had wwf wrestle ~ cnn, action hero pirate guy
Top historian explains how Gosar's disturbing anime video underscores the GOP's real threat to US democracy
Meaghan Ellis November 10, 2021
A top historian is explaining how Rep. Paul Gosar's (R-Ariz.) disturbing anime video clip underscores the real threat Republican lawmakers pose to the United States' democracy.
On Tuesday, November 9, Joanne Freeman, a top historian at Yale University specializing in the early structure and history of American politics and government culture, put Gosar's tweet into perspective as she highlighted how disturbing his subliminal threat of violence really is.
"Threats of violence lead to actual violence. They clear the ground. They cow opposition. They plant the idea, Freeman tweeted, "They normalize it. They encourage it. They maim democracy. And run the risk of killing it."
The critical remarks came shortly after Gosar shared the video which featured an anime version of himself killing Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.). The Democratic lawmaker fired back with a fiery rebuke of Gosar and the video. Other Democrats also weighed in to slam the far-right Arizona lawmaker.
"This is sick behavior from Rep. Paul Gosar," Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) tweeted.
Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colo.) also slammed Gosar as he called on the House to impose some form of consequences for the lawmaker's threat.
“This is grotesque and demands action by the House of Representatives and social media companies. Glorification & incitement of violence is not just toxic to our democracy, but dangerous for my friends and colleagues. Enough is enough!" Crow tweeted.
Rep. Illhan Omar (D-Minn.) also called for Gosar to be reprimanded for his behavior.
She tweeted, "This man should not serve in Congress. Fantasizing about violently attacking your colleagues has no place in our political discourse and society.
Despite the critical reactions, Gosar's digital director has stood by the production of the clip insisting it is being taken too seriously.
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An all-out attempted coup’: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez recalls the ‘terrorist’ horrors of January 6 in new interview (https://www.alternet.org/2021/05/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-recalls-the-terrorist-horrors-of-january-6-this-was-an-all-out-attempted-coup/)
Alex Henderson (https://www.alternet.org/author/alex-henderson)
Rep. Jody Hice, Rep. Andrew Clyde (https://www.businessinsider.com/gop-rep-says-calling-january-6-insurrection-is-a-bold-faced-lie-2021-5) and other far-right Trumpistas in the Republican Party have been claiming that the January 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol Building was "not an...
https://www.alternet.org/2021/02/alexandria-ocasio-cortez/
As U.S. lawmakers on Thursday prepared to take to the floor of the House of Representatives to tell their stories of the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez blasted Republicans who cast aspersions upon her experiences on that deadly day.
Right-wing media and pundits have called into question (https://nypost.com/2021/02/04/aoc-blasted-for-exaggerating-capitol-riot-experience/) accounts by Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) that she feared for her life during the storming of the Capitol by a murderous mob inflamed by President Donald Trump and his lie that the 2020 presidential election was "stolen."
In a January 13 Instagram Live video (https://www.instagram.com/tv/CJ-OkgNAO1N/), Ocasio-Cortez said, "I can tell you that I had a very close encounter where I thought I was going to die" as the pro-Trump invaders rampaged through the Capitol complex,fatally beating (https://www.uscp.gov/media-center/press-releases/loss-uscp-colleague-brian-d-sicknick) a Capitol police officer, trampling a woman to death (https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-deaths/trump-to-blame-for-death-of-woman-trampled-in-capitol-riot-family-member-says-idUSKBN29D2B1?edition-redirect=uk), and chanting threats including "hang \
(https://youtu.be/GuCysTdbn94) and["take me to the traitors." (https://www.vice.com/en/article/n7vq9k/youre-scared-now-watch-parler-videos-posted-by-rioters-inside-the-capitol)
On Monday, Ocasio-Cortez
(https://youtu.be/fWNWoNaImQA) a new Instagram Live video in which she provided more details of how she was traumatized during the Capitol attack, including how she hid silently with her legislative director, Geraldo Bonilla Chavez, in the office of Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.) and feared she would have to run for her life.
"I thought I was going to die," she said (https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/02/02/republicans-who-incited-insurrection-still-danger-their-colleagues-warns-aoc). [vid]
although many members of Congress—both Republican and Democrat—recounted (https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2021/02/capitol-riot-january-6-trauma-terror-attack.html) their own terror on January 6, and although a member of the mob who advocated for the assassination (https://abcnews4.com/news/nation-world/doj-texas-man-urged-assassination-of-rep-ocasio-cortez-after-storming-capitol) of Ocasio-Cortez was arrested by the FBI, numerous Republicans have challenged the congresswoman's story of what happened that day.
Ocasio-Cortez hit back at one of them, Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.), on Thursday after the conservative congresswoman—who intially said (https://www.thestate.com/news/politics-government/article248343115.html) she barricaded herself inside her office and slept there overnight in fear of the mob—changed her story in order to call the Democrat a liar....
accused of hysterical overreation to 1/5 she relates sex assault survivor; on floor of house? male dem leader steny hoyer shownd mtg poster squad worst nightmare ar15 aviators // seal team action hero
https://www.alternet.org/2021/01/capitol-riot-2649927261/
no lnx twt
https://www.alternet.org/2021/01/capitol-riot-2649927261/
These Republican representatives are accused of helping to plan January 6 insurrection
U.S. Congressman Paul Gosar speaking with supporters at the 2018 election eve rally hosted by the Arizona Republican Party at the Yavapai County Courthouse in Prescott, Arizona, photo via Gage Skidmore.
Mark Sumner and Daily Kos January 13, 2021
It's obvious that many Republicans—including Josh Hawley and Ted Cruz in the Senate, and dozens in the House, including minority leader Kevin McCarthy—actively inflamed Donald Trump's white supremacist mob and encouraged their deadly assault on the Capitol. However, it now seems that some Republicans in Congress may have done more than knowingly fan the flames. In the days since the rotunda was cleared of debris and the halls were cleaned of the literal human excrement smeared there by Trump's biggest fans, information has appeared that indicates some Republicans may have actively been involved in planning or carrying out the assault.
On Tuesday evening, Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill conducted a Facebook live session for her constituents during which explained her support resulting in calling on Mike Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment. During that webcast, Sherrill made an astounding accusation. She claimed to have witnessed Republican members of Congress leading Trump supporters on, not a tour, but a "reconnaissance" of the Capitol. "We can't have a democracy," said Sherrill, "if members of Congress are actively helping the president overturn the elections results."
As reported by USA Today's northerjersey.com, Sherrill's accusation was as astounding as it was direct.
“Not only do I intend to see that the president is removed and never runs for office again and doesn't have access to classified material, I also intend to see that those members of Congress who abetted him; those members of Congress who had groups coming through the Capitol that I saw on Jan. 5—a reconnaissance for the next day; those members of Congress that incited this violent crowd; those members of Congress that attempted to help our president undermine our democracy; I'm going to see they are held accountable, and if necessary, ensure that they don't serve in Congress."
Sherrill has not so far detailed what she means by this reconnaissance, or given names of Republicans who were involved. However, it's become increasingly clear in the days since the insurrection that the situation at the Capitol was much more dire than was originally reported.
The accusations of involvement by Republican members of Congress aren't just coming from Democrats, they're coming from those who were involved in the assault.
As The Washington Post reports, Ali Alexander, the right-wing activist who formed the "Stop the Steal" movement, did so with the help of three Republican members of Congress: Andy Biggs, Mo Brooks, and Paul Gosar. "We four schemed up of putting maximum pressure on Congress while they were voting," said Alexander. Biggs' staff has denied any contact with Alexander—but the involvement of all three Republicans is certainly worthy of investigation.
Completely disowning Alexander's claims could be difficult. He and Gosar appeared together at a "Stop the Steal" rally in Phoenix on December 19. At that same rally, Alexander played a recorded message from Biggs, who he described as a "friend." In both the live and recorded messages, Gosar and Biggs singled out January 6 for action.
Gosar would go on to promote other "Stop the Steal" events more than a dozen times, as well as pumping out tweets and emails promoting the January 6 gathering in D.C. Typical of Gosar's statements was an op-ed on the site Revolver, Gosar called simply counting the legal electoral vote a "Third World coup d'etat." According to Gosar, Biden's win involved "statistically impossible" spikes in the voting and "We will not tolerate this." Far from distancing himself from Alexander's group, Gosar claimed ownership. "As many of you know, I helped organize the very first 'Stop the Steal' rally," he wrote. "… Patriotic warriors joined together to gather evidence and tell the Left we will not accept a coup and a usurper in the White House."
All three Republicans continued to be involved in "Stop the Steal." As The New York Times reports, In the hours immediately before the assault on the Capitol, Brooks addressed the "Stop the Steal" rally in D.C. "Today is the day American patriots start taking down names and kicking ass," said Brooks. "Are you willing to do what it takes to fight for America? Louder! Will you fight for America?"
Gosar, Biggs, and Brooks are far from the only Republicans connected to Alexander's group, or the only ones who both inflamed Trump supporters through lies about the election and demands to attend the January 6 event.
On December 30, Alexander tweeted what would happen if Congress voted to approve the count of the Electoral College vote. "If they do this, everyone can guess what me and 500,000 others will do to that building. 1776 is always an option." The use of "1776" appeared in a number of statements from hard-line Trump representatives right up to the insurrection. Both Q-supporting Reps Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert directly called the insurrection an "1776 moment."
On Tuesday evening, The Washington Post reports that Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said she feared some of her Republican colleagues would not only open the doors to rioters, but direct them straight to her. "I can tell you that I had a very close encounter where I thought I was going to die," she said. "I did not know if I was going to make it to the end of that day alive." According to Ocasio-Cortez, she can't go into specifics because of security concerns. But it's clear there were very good reasons to be concerned. And it's clear that multiple Republicans in both the House and Senate did more than enough to justify removing them from the halls of Congress. In fact, several of them may well deserve a new office—in very small room surrounded by bars.
Wednesday, Jan 13, 2021 · 9:27:10 AM Eastern Standard Time · Mark Sumner
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Working to shut out progressives': Here's how House Democrats blocked AOC from a key committee seat (https://www.alternet.org/2020/12/aoc-2649563638/)
Jake Johnson (https://www.alternet.org/author/jake-johnson) Common Dreams (https://www.alternet.org/author/common-dreams)
December 20, 2020
In an early indication (https://twitter.com/lhfang/status/1339768555466760198) of which ideological faction of the Democratic Party will control the policy agenda in the upcoming Congress, a House body tasked with deciding committee assignments overwhelmingly voted Thursday to deny progressive Rep. Alexandria Oca...
no twt
https://www.alternet.org/2020/12/aoc-twitter-abc-veritas/
walter kos
Racial disparities in society are only accentuated by emergencies like the COVID-19 pandemic. In fact, all inequities in our society have just been exposed that much more by the current crisis. Our system is a capitalist one that has relied on racism and concentration of capital and wealth to control a massive population of have nots. One of the symptoms of this racism is that small businesses owned by Black and Latino Americans have been frozen out (https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/4/24/1940033/-Black-business-owner-on-COVID-19-small-business-loan-program-We-re-just-screwed) of an already rigged process of COVID-19 stimulus relief. This is due in part to the fact that historically and presently, people of color have a considerably harder time getting loans from banks.
Not having a relationship with a bank makes getting Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) stimulus money considerably harder and as a result, while small businesses in general have been mostly kept out of the Republican, big business-focused package, it has been much harder on businesses of color. (Disclosure: Kos Media received a Paycheck Protection Program loan (https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/5/21/1946815/-Kos-Media-receives-Paycheck-Protection-Program-loan).) Already undercapitalized, Black-owned businesses weren't going to ask for the large amounts that other bigger small businesses were going to ask for—and banks make bigger fees on bigger loans. NBC News' Olivia Solon (https://twitter.com/oliviasolon)pointed out that while fiscal conservative, anti-"welfare" crusaders like the fake news makers over at Project Veritas decry the big government spending of the CARES package, they didn't seem to have an issue with taking more than half a million of taxpayer money to keep their lights on.
The "non-profit" organization, most recently known for hyping up a completely empty and veryquickly debunked election fraud "exclusive," (https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/11/11/1994947/-Postal-worker-and-Project-Veritas-falsely-claimed-fraud-gave-Graham-Barr-fuel-for-investigations) received $558,900 in PPP stimulus, according to searchppp.com. (https://searchppp.com/company/project-veritas-mamaroneck-ny-10543)The right-wing, make-em-up investigative organization is fronted by James O'Keefe—a sort of older version of pathetic GOP fraudster Jacob Wohl (https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/10/27/1990054/-Republican-fraudsters-indicted-on-15-new-counts-of-fraud-and-bribery-in-racist-robocall-campaign). He's best known for hiring people to say they were sexually assaulted in order to discredit real victims of sexual assault (https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2017/11/28/1719109/-James-O-Keefe-hired-a-woman-to-lie-about-being-sexually-assaulted-to-discredit-actual-victims). It's this kind of dirtbaggery that gets Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas' ultra right-wing wife to present you with an award at the Trump Hotel in Washington, D.C. (True story (https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2017/12/6/1721834/-Here-s-a-picture-of-Clarence-Thomas-s-wife-giving-an-award-to-James-O-Keefe-in-Trump-s-hotel-today).)
democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez boosted this story, synthesizing the racism and hypocrisy wrapped up in a holiday season bow.
This led to some right-wingers rubbing their tiny braincells together to attack Rep. Ocasio-Cortez for selling $58 "Tax the Rich" sweatshirts on her campaign's website. Unfortunately, there's math and the small factor of paying workers living wages. Not everything can be made for cheap in China, guys who seem to want to have a trade war with China but don't understand how costs work....
aoc: Black-owned small businesses were widely shut out from accessing PPP loans, yet right-wing disinfo org PV took half a million in public money while decrying direct federal assistance as “radical socialism.”
Republicanism in a nutshell.
https://www.alternet.org/2020/10/aoc-bank/
no twt lnx
"It's long past time to open doors for people who have been systematically shut out and provide a better option for those grappling with the costs of simply trying to participate in an economy they have every right to—but has been rigged against them."
That's according to Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), who along with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and a handful of other progressives in Congress introduced legislation on Friday they say "would provide a much-needed financial lifeline to states and municipalities, as well as unbanked and underbanked residents, that have been left in dire straits by the Covid-19 pandemic."
:{:{}:
}:
Specifically, as a joint statement from the congresswomen explains, the Public Banking Act (pdf) would enable "the creation of state and locally administered public banks by establishing the Public Bank Grant program administered by the secretary of the Treasury and the Federal Reserve Board which would provide grants for the formation, chartering, and capitalization of public banks."
"We spent $30 trillion in the global crisis from 2007-2009 propping up financial institutions that held the country hostage for their reckless behavior. Only $8 trillion dollars has been committed thus far in the Covid-19 pandemic," Tlaib noted. "These banks have been, are, and will continue to depend on the public dollar. It is time for this relationship to be reciprocated and have the banks work for the people and not solely privatized profits wreaking havoc on communities of color."
In addition to allowing the Treasury secretary and the Fed's board to give grants to public banks for "bank formation, capitalization, developing financial market infrastructure, supporter operations, covering unexpected losses, and more without the requirement to provide matching funds," the bill:
Allows the Federal Reserve to charter and grant membership to public banks, and in conjunction with the appropriate federal agencies, establish a separate regulatory scheme with respect to these.
Establishes public banking incubator program to provide technical assistance to public member banks to develop technologies, practices, and data that promote public welfare.
Establishes new liquidity and credit facilities at the Federal Reserve to provide direct federal support to state and local public banks and their communities;
Prohibits investment in fossil fuel projects.
Tlaib and Ocasio-Cortez argue that public banks not only would benefit city and state governments and aspiring entrepreneurs due to lower interest rates and fees, but also could result in broader community benefits by, for example, funding public infrastructure projects. Ocasio-Cortez called their legislation "monumental."
"Public banks are uniquely able to address the economic inequality and structural racism exacerbated by the banking industry's discriminatory policies and predatory practices," she said. "The creation of public banks will also facilitate the use of public resources to construct a myriad of public goods including affordable housing and local renewable energy projects. Public banks empower states and municipalities to establish new channels of public investment to help solve systemic crises."
mark r: Yes! Get the money grabbers out of your pockets! Banking for the People. We should call these women, “#ThePeoplesSquad” because every single thing they do is on behalf of us. Not big corporations. Thank you @AOC and @RashidaTlaib.
:{:{}:
}:
The other half of the Squad—Congresswomen Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) and Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.)—and Reps. Jesús G. "Chuy" García (D-Ill.), Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), Al Green (D-Texas), Bennie G. Thompson (D-Miss.), Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), and Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) are backing the bill, as are 29 outside groups.
Organizations supporting the measure include the California Public Banking Alliance (CBPA), Take on Wall Street, Americans for Financial Reform, Beneficial State Foundation, Communications Workers of America,Friends of the Earth, Food & Water Action, Americans for Financial Reform, California Reinvestment Coalition, Center for Popular Democracy, Community Change, Farm Aid, Institute for Policy Studies, Jobs With Justice, NJ Citizen Action, Oil Change International, Oil Change International, People's Action, Strong Economy for All, UNITE HERE, Working Families Party, Democracy Collaborative, ACRE, and Public Citizen.
Climate Justice Alliance policy coordinator Anthony Rogers-Wright expressed excitement that "our values regarding the need for a rapid Fossil Fuel phaseout" are represented in the bill, highlighting evidence that economically, "Big Oil is in big trouble and the people don't want the money they keep in their banks utilized to bailout or finance an industry that's killing people and planet."
Take on Wall Street campaign director Porter McConnell explained that her group supports the Public Banking Act "because public banks can create jobs and boost the local economy, save cities and states money, and lend counter-cyclically to blunt the impact of Wall Street booms and busts."
"As we learned recently from the Paycheck Protection Program, when you pay big Wall Street banks to provide public goods, they inevitably reward themselves and their friends at the expense of white, Black, and brown working families," McConnell said, referencing the business loan program established in March by Congress' last Covid-19 relief measure. "We deserve a financial system for working families, not the big banks."
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funny, ithink it was harvard fascist guy or something on alt rt milita portland kenosha suggested next phase is round up dem leaders // Qanon:
https://www.alternet.org/2020/09/gop-candidate-and-qanon-supporter-posts-threatening-picture-targeting-democratic-lawmakers/
no pix twt
one of the summer’s biggest political shockers came when QAnon extremist Marjorie Taylor Greene won a GOP congressional primary in Georgia. Considering how overwhelmingly Republican her district is, she is likely to win the general election and be sworn into the U.S. House of Representatives in January — and Greene, who has a history of racist, anti-Semitic and Islamophobic remarks, now appears to be directing threatening congresswomen of color she is likely to be colleagues with next year.
On her Facebook page, Greene posted an image of herself holding a gun alongside images of three Democratic progressives — Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York City, Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota — and wrote: “We need strong conservative Christians to go on the offense against these socialists who want to rip our country apart.”
Facebook removed Greene’s post, describing it as a terms of service violation. And Omar is speaking out about the post, accusing her of inciting violence.
Omar tweeted, “Posting a photo with an assault rifle next to the faces of three women of color is not advertising. It’s incitement. There are already death threats in response to this post. Facebook should remove this violent provocation.”
In a different Facebook post attacking those congresswomen, Greene wrote, “Hate America leftists want to take this country down. Politicians have failed this country. I’m tired of seeing weak, establishment Republicans play defense. Our country is on the line. America needs fighters who speak the truth.”
Given Greene’s willingness to promote the unhinged QAnon conspiracy cult, Omar is right to be concerned. QAnon believes that an international ring of pedophiles and Satanists has infiltrated the United States’ federal government and that President Donald Trump was chosen to combat the ring. The “Q” is a reference to an anonymous figure who supporters of the cult believe is giving them updates on Trump’s battle. And the FBI has linked QAnon to acts of violence.”
Ocasio-Cortez, Tlaib and Omar, along with Rep. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, comprise the four congresswomen of color who are known as The Squad in the House. All of them were elected during the huge blue wave in the 2018 midterms that gave Democrats control of the House.
==
==
https://www.alternet.org/2020/07/aoc-pushes-to-ban-military-recruiting-on-video-game-streaming-platform-twitch/
==
ted yoho f biotch
==
Ocasio-Cortez to introduce bill that will mandate identifying info on officer uniforms: US ‘should not have secret police’ (https://www.alternet.org/2020/07/ocasio-cortez-to-introduce-bill-that-will-mandate-identifying-info-on-officer-uniforms-us-should-not-have-secret-police/)
Eoin Higgins (https://www.alternet.org/author/eoin-higgins/) / Common Dreams (https://www.alternet.org/author/common-dreams/)July 21, 2020
Citing increased fears of an authoritarian crackdown, Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Eleanor Holmes Norton announced Monday they are introducing a bill this week requiring federal law enforcement officials to wear identification…
==
an 420
why the Democratic Party must support Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez against her cynical primary challenger (https://www.alternet.org/2020/04/why-the-democratic-party-must-support-alexandria-ocasio-cortez-against-her-cynical-primary-challenger/)
Common Dreams (https://www.alternet.org/author/common-dreams/)
Since Super Tuesday, it has been clear that barring some completely unexpected development, the Democratic presidential nominee will be Joe Biden. And in the past two weeks, there has been…
==
https://www.alternet.org/2020/04/it-is-a-joke-ocasio-cortez-tears-into-republicans-shameful-servility-to-corporate-interests-during-the-pandemic/
==
https://theintercept.com/2020/04/15/aoc-primary-challenger-cabruso-cabrera-wall-street
lee f
wall STREET TITANS are financing a direct challenge to firebrand progressive lawmaker Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in the New York primary on June 23.
Disclosures show that over four dozen finance industry professionals, including several prominent private equity executives and investment bankers, made early donations to Michelle Caruso-Cabrera, a former CNBC contributor who is challenging Ocasio-Cortez. Caruso-Cabrera was a registered Republican until a few years ago and authored a 2010 book advocating for several conservative positions, including an end to Medicare and Social Security, which she called “pyramid schemes.”
The donors include Glenn Hutchins, the billionaire co-founder of Silver Lake Partners; James Passin of Firebird Capital; Bruce Schnitzer of Wand Partners; Jeffrey Rosen of Lazard; and Bradley Seaman, managing partner of Parallel49 Equity. The chief executives of Goldman Sachs, PNC Bank, and Virtu Financial, are also among the Caruso-Cabera donors....
==
fox
News’ Laura Ingraham tried to insult Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez — but it completely backfired (https://www.alternet.org/2020/04/fox-news-laura-ingraham-tried-to-insult-alexandria-ocasio-cortez-but-it-completely-backfired/)
Walter Einenkel (https://www.alternet.org/author/walter-einenkel/) / Daily Kos (https://www.alternet.org/author/daily-kos/)April 3, 2020
Early Friday morning, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tweeted out a reminder that while viruses do not by nature care what race or class or position you hold in society, the pandemic adversely affects…
==
==
https://www.alternet.org/2020/03/new-report-details-how-alexandria-ocasio-cortez-is-learning-to-wield-power-in-congress-without-burning-it-down/
220 richard w interview ; occupy --> bernie --> AOC
https://kpfa.org/episode/letters-and-politics-march-2-2020/
==
Ocasio-Cortez calls out Fox News host Tucker Carlson as a ‘white supremacist sympathizer’ (https://www.alternet.org/2019/12/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-calls-out-fox-news-host-tucker-carlson-as-a-white-supremacist-sympathizer/)
Matthew Rozsa (https://www.alternet.org/author/matthew-rozsa/) / Salon (https://www.alternet.org/author/salon/)
==
endorse bernie (also the squad did? pressly Liz w)
fox Nation host Tomi Lahren dresses as AOC for Halloween
https://nypost.com › 2019/10/31 › fox-nation-host-tomi-lahren-dresses-as-...
Oct 31, 2019 - Conservative Fox Nation commentator Tomi Lahren kept it political for ... Controversial Costume Didn't Go Over Very WellMarketwatch.com.
--
fox News’ Tucker Carlson smears Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as an ‘unapologetic bigot’ toward white people (https://www.alternet.org/2019/11/fox-news-tucker-carlson-smears-alexandria-ocasio-cortez-as-an-unapologetic-bigot-toward-white-people/)
Matthew Rozsa (https://www.alternet.org/author/matthew-rozsa/) / Salon (https://www.alternet.org/author/salon/)
== (https://www.alternet.org/2019/10/resigning-rep-katie-hill-decries-double-standard-in-her-last-speech-on-the-house-floor/)
== (https://www.alternet.org/2019/10/resigning-rep-katie-hill-decries-double-standard-in-her-last-speech-on-the-house-floor/)
https://www.alternet.org/2019/10/ocasio-cortez-takes-aim-at-joe-kennedy-over-senate-challenge-to-green-new-deal-champion-ed-markey
crowley fundraiser
==
https://www.alternet.org/2019/10/doesnt-rule-out-potential-mental-issue-says-ocasio-cortez-after-learning-eatthebabies-was-stunt-by-pro-trump-trolls/
no lnx
‘Eat the Children’: Trump supporter’s wild stunt revealed at Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez event
Written by Jon Queally / Common Dreams October 4, 2019
After an exchange with a covert Trump supporter during a local town hall event in her congressional district Thursday night kicked off the viral hashtag #EatTheBabies, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called for compassion and told right-wingers waging attacks to “knock it off” in the name of decency.
The incident began when a questioner in the audience asked Ocasio-Cortez about the planetary climate crisis. The woman warned that “we only have a few months left” to act and began to speak about the need to eat human babies in order to solve global warming. As the woman spoke, she removed her coat to reveal a t-shirt that read: “Save the Planet, Eat the Children.”
Though it was obvious the congresswoman, her aides, and others in the room were growing increasingly uncomfortable, the woman was treated with sympathy and dignity as the microphone was taken away. Ocasio-Cortez then attempted to address the issues raised while also seeming to reassure the crowd—and the woman herself—that “if we act in a positive way there’s space for hope. We are never beyond hope.”
Following the event, as footage of the incident began to spread online, mostly pushed by right-wing journalists and media operatives, Ocasio-Cortez took to her Twitter account to acknowledge what had occurred.
Hey everyone!
We had a fabulous town hall tonight & I’ll be highlighting some moments from it.
At one point I was concerned there was a woman in crisis & want to ensure we treat the situation compassionately.
Let’s not mock or make a spectacle. &let’s work on Medicare for All!
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) October 4, 2019
“This person may have been suffering from a mental condition,” she added, “and it’s not okay that the right-wing is mocking her and potentially mak[ing] her condition or crisis worse. Be a decent human being and knock it off.”
Some observers surmised the individual may have been acting the part of someone who was unstable to troll the congresswoman in order to discredit her support for a Green New Deal, but it would have been difficult to know that in the moment. Reporting now suggests the whole thing was staged by a pro-Trump group:
That viral #EatTheBabies video from AOC’s town hall?
The woman was a plant and a pro-Trump fringe group that has been described as “a bizarre political cult” is claiming credit for planning the stunt.https://t.co/FUJP7ojfF6
— Allyson Chiu (@_allysonchiu) October 4, 2019
Gizmodo journalist Matt Novak reports Friday morning that “LaRouche PAC, a far-right group that supports Donald Trump, has taken credit for trolling Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez during a town hall meeting yesterday.” According to Novak:
The connection of this stunt to LaRouche was first noted by London-based Matthew Sweet, author of the book Operation Chaos, which looks at conspiracy theorists of the late 1960s, including Lyndon LaRouche Jr., the late cofounder of the group. LaRouche, who was perhaps best known for his antisemitic conspiracy theories, died this past February. LaRouche claimed that Jews were actually funding the KKK and said that the Queen of England wanted to have him killed.
“It is textbook stuff,’ Sweet told Gizmodo via Twitter DM, referring to yesterday’s bizarre stunt. “They have been in this game for decades.”
In a new tweet on Friday morning, Ocasio-Cortez acknowledged that the reporting was likely accurate:
Turns out the woman yelling was a Trump supporter ???????
Doesn’t rule out potential mental issue (Drs do that) but good to know they were not in crisis.
Earlier this year I was stalked & very nearly hurt by a disturbed person. I don’t take chances & immediately try to de-escalate. https://t.co/kgWFvigJhy
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) October 4, 2019
Others credited AOC for handling the way she did in the moment.
“Ocasio-Cortez handled the situation at her townhall with the same uncommon empathy & class that she has demonstrates in office every day,” tweeted one online observer. “The last thing to do with someone clearly experiencing a mental health crisis is antagonize or shame them. Well done.”
The congresswoman’s Thursday night plea, however, did not keep the provocative hashtag from proliferating in the right-wing echo chamber as Republicans continued to eat it up.
“The Democrats like @AOC want to kill and #EatTheBabies,” declared Omar Navarro, a Republican challenging Rep. Maxine Waters for her seat in California, on Twitter. “It’s a sick plan. Our @POTUS @realDonaldTrump should have an easy time winning in 2020.”
==
AOC calls out Barbara Boxer for helping Lyft fight against California labor bill (https://www.alternet.org/2019/08/aoc-calls-out-barbara-boxer-for-helping-lyft-fight-against-california-labor-bill/)
Jessica Corbett (https://www.alternet.org/author/jessica-corbett/) / Common Dreams (https://www.alternet.org/author/common-dreams/)
== (https://www.alternet.org/2019/08/trump-is-desperately-trying-to-blame-weak-companies-for-the-havoc-he-created/)
https://www.alternet.org/2019/08/ocasio-cortez-lays-out-why-an-electoral-college-system-that-perpetuates-inequality-is-a-scam/
no lnx
Ocasio-Cortez lays out why an Electoral College system that perpetuates inequality is a scam
Written by Julia Conley / Common Dreams August 21, 2019
45
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez injected humor into her commentary on the Electoral College, which she posted on Instagram Monday night, but her message was serious: the 232-year-old system which allowed Presidents George W. Bush and Donald Trump to win their elections with less support from voters than their Democratic opponents, gives precedence to white people’s votes over those of people of color.
The progressive New York Democrat narrated a video taken from a car driving through a stretch of an empty desert road, showing no houses, cars, people, or businesses—saying the image illustrated why the Electoral College should be abolished in favor of of a “one person, one vote” system.
“We’re coming to you live from the Electoral College,” Ocasio-Cortez said in the video. “Many votes here as you can see. Very efficient way to choose leadership of the country.”
Public Citizen
?
@Public_Citizen
.@AOC: We're coming to you live from the Electoral College - many votes here, as you can see. ??????
Embedded video
1,584
6:55 AM - Aug 20, 2019
Twitter Ads info and privacy
794 people are talking about this
The freshman congresswoman went on to call the Electoral College a “scam” and a holdover from the so-called democracy of the 18th and 19th centuries, during which “the Founding Fathers also brought you the 3/5th compromise, [denied] women the right to vote, and wealthy landowners [had] disproportionate political power.”
“The first attempts at establishing our nation actually denied rights to pretty much everyone, including lower-income white men,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote in her Instagram Story post.
Fifteen states and the District of Columbia have joined the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, which would give the electoral votes of all the member-states to the winner of the popular vote in a general election. Currently, the Compact has a total of 196 electoral votes and needs 270 to take effect in the 2020 election.
While proponents of the Electoral College insist that each state must have a set number of votes corresponding to their populations in a national election in order to keep large states from having too much power and ensure that rural voters are not forgotten by candidates, Ocasio-Cortez suggested that conservatives actually want the system kept in place in order to give white voters a greater say in who wins elections.
“Due to severe racial disparities in some states the Electoral College effectively weighs white voters over voters of color,” the congresswoman wrote.
“The rural representation argument doesn’t hold up either,” she added, “as there are rural parts of virtually every state, and popular vote elections show that candidates still visit and center rural communities’ needs.”
“Facts are facts, America,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “The Electoral College has to go.”
biz insider
https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-employees-letter-protest-palantir-ice-camps-2019-7
Monday, Amazon Web Services (https://www.businessinsider.com/category/amazon-web-services) employees circulated an internal letter demanding that Amazon stop working with big data company Palantir and that it take a stand against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
On Thursday, immigration rights protesters blocked traffic and interrupted an AWS conference in New York City because ofAWS (https://www.businessinsider.com/category/aws)'s ties with ICE.
Palantir (https://www.businessinsider.com/category/palantir) runs its software on Amazon's cloud, and has about $50 million in contracts with ICE.
A year ago, Amazon faced similar pressure from employees over its sales of facial recognition services to law enforcement, as well as its dealings with Palantir.
Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories (https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet).
On Monday, a group of Amazon employees sent out an internal email calling on Amazon to stop working with the big data company Palantir, which works with federal agency Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
This email, sent to employee mailing lists within Amazon Web Services, demanded that Palantir be removed from Amazon's cloud for violating its terms of service. It also called on Amazon to take a stand against ICE by making a statement establishing its position against immigration raids, deportations, and camps for migrants at the border.
ICE is preparing to begin nationwide raids of undocumented families on Sunday, the New York Times reported (https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/11/us/politics/ice-families-deport.html). This operation had previously been postponed.
"The world is watching the abuses in ICE's concentration camps unfold. We know that our company should, and can, do better," the letter said.
Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Palantir, a prominent data analysis startup that counts several government agencies as customers, has about $50 million in contracts (https://www.businessinsider.com/burning-man-protestors-palantir-amazon-ice-2018-8) with ICE, which reports indicate entails providing software to gather data on undocumented immigrants' employment information, phone records, immigration history, and similar information. Its software is hosted in the AWS cloud.
The letter alleges that this is a violation of the AWS terms of service, which states that "[a]ny activities that are illegal, that violate the rights of others, or that may be harmful to others, our operations or reputation" may be grounds to "suspend or terminate" use of our services.
The letter said that Palantir enables ICE to "violate the rights of others," and working with the company is "harmful to our reputation."
The employees say in the letter that their protest is in the spirit of similar action at companies including Wayfair (https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/wayfairs-response-to-employee-outrage-at-sales-to-furnish-migrant-detention-centers-is-wrong--experts-say-7652993), Microsoft (https://www.businessinsider.com/microsoft-ice-contract-draws-criticism-calls-for-boycott-2018-6), and Salesforce, (https://www.businessinsider.com/salesforce-employees-protest-work-customs-border-protection-agency-2018-6) where workers have protested their employers' ties to ICE and US Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
"Workers across industries continue to resist having their labor used to power these abuses and Amazonians are proud to stand with them. Employees at Wayfair have walked out in protest of their company's contract with ICE, while Microsoft and Salesforce employees are organizing to stop their companies' respective border contracts. The time to act is now," the letter said.
"When members of Congress visited a facility recently, they learned that detained women were 'told by agents to drink from the toilets' if they wanted water. This is a horrifying violation of human rights —and it's powered by AWS," the letter said, alluding toRep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's reports from her tour of a CBP facility in Texas (https://www.businessinsider.com/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-accused-border-patrol-officials-abusing-female-migrants-2019-7).
A person familiar with the matter tells Business Insider that the letter has sparked fierce debates on the employee mailing lists.
Meanwhile, on Thursday, protesters blocked traffic (https://abc7ny.com/politics/immigrant-rights-protesters-block-traffic-disrupt-amazon-meeting/5388849/) at an AWS Summit event in New York City and interrupted Amazon CTO Werner Vogels' talk, demanding that the cloud platform cut ties with ICE, ABC7NY reported (https://abc7ny.com/politics/immigrant-rights-protesters-block-traffic-disrupt-amazon-meeting/5388849/).
The last letter
The origins of this week's letter date back to June 2018, when a group of Amazon employees sent a letter (https://www.businessinsider.com/over-100-amazon-employees-sign-letter-jeff-bezos-stop-selling-facial-recognition-software-police-2018-6) to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and AWS CEO Andy Jassy demanding that the company stop providing its Rekognition facial recognition software to police, and that it stop its dealings with Palantir.
That original letter was signed by 500 employees, according to the new letter circulated this week.
This new letter claims that Jassy responded to these concerns at an all-hands meeting, saying that Amazon had no intention of making changes to its Rekognition business. According to the letter, Jassy later said: "Just because tech could be be misused doesn't mean we should ban it and condemn it."
Just May, protesters demonstrated a (https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-shareholder-meeting-protestors-colorful-2019-5)t Amazon's shareholder meeting over the treatment of its employees and environmental issues.
Read the full letter below:
In June 2018, a group of concerned Amazonians sent a letter to Jeff Bezos and Andy Jassy, demanding that AWS:
- Cease sales of surveillance technology to law enforcement and government agencies
- Stop providing infrastructure to Palantir and any other Amazon partners who enable ICE, and
- Implement strong transparency accountability measures for the sale and user of our services.
Since then, the company has shied away at every opportunity from acknowledging this letter signed by more than 500 employees. When confronted on these questions at a company all hands, Andy Jassy said "we feel really great and really strongly about the value that Amazon Rekognition is providing our custom res of all sizes and types of industries in law enforcement, and out of law enforcement." More recently, he added that "just because tech could be be misused doesn't mean we should ban it and condemn it," comparing Rekognition to a knife: "you could use a knife in a surreptitious way." As Amazonians, we are told to take Ownership for our work, meaning we "never say 'that's not my job.'" Passing the buck on responsibility for the effects of our work is not Ownership.
Our demands have become even more urgent given recent news. The US government has been detaining people, including young children, in concentration camps under horrific conditions. Reports have described extreme overcrowding (one facility was holding 900 people, in a space designed for only 125), freezing temperatures (facilities are regularly referred to as "hieleras" or "iceboxes"), and cruelty from guards at these detention centers. When members of Congress visited a facility recently, they learned that detained women were "told by agents to drink from the toilets" if they wanted water. This is a horrifying violation of human rights -- and it's powered by AWS.
Palantir, which runs on AWS services, provides the technical infrastructure used by ICE to collect and process information about people targeted for deportation. A 2016 court disclosure revealed that Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), the primary deportation arm of ICE, uses Palantir's systems to gather information for its cases.
The AWS Acceptable Use Policy states that "[a]ny activities that are illegal, that violate the rights of others, or that may be harmful to others, our operations or reputation" may be grounds to "suspend or terminate" use of our services.
Palantir directly enables ICE to "violate the rights of others" by powering the deportation processes that are rounding up immigrants and putting them in concentration camps. Additionally, hosting Palantir is "harmful to our reputation" because it hurts customer trust and leads to negative publicity. By continuing to host Palantir despite clear documentation of ongoing rights abuses that result from their products, AWS is choosing not to enforce its Terms of Service.
AWS has already kicked other customers off the platform for similar violations. WikiLeaks was kicked off for potentially "putting innocent pe eople in jeopardy." If WikiLeaks crossed a line by posting leaked documents (because AWS felt they might contribute to harm), Palantir has certainly crossed that line by directly collaborating with an agency that is demonstrably putting vulnerable people in jeopardy.
Workers across industries continue to resist having their labor used to power these abuses and Amazonians are proud to stand with them. Employees at Wayfair have walked out in protest of their company's contract with ICE, while Microsoft and Salesforce employees are organizing to stop their companies' respective border contracts. The time to act is now.
We demand that Palantir be removed from AWS for its violation of our terms of service. We call on Amazon to take a public stand against these human rights violations and make a statement establishing their position against the ICE camps, mass raids, and deportations.
The world is watching the abuses in ICE's concentration camps unfold. We know that our company should, and can, do better.
Join us in calling for a stop to our collaboration with ICE by signing onto the We Won't Build It Letter.
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no lnx twt
Ocasio-Cortez blasts Fox News host for comparing migrant camps to ‘a house party’: Where did you drink ‘out of a toilet?’
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Brian Kilmeade.
written by David Badash / The New Civil Rights Movement July 2, 2019
U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is going after Brian Kilmeade, after the Fox News host likened the deplorable conditions in federal government-run concentration camps for migrants to a “house party.”
AOC visited several camps in Texas on Monday, reporting back to the American people the horrific conditions, including tremendous overcrowding, guards telling detainees to drink out of toilets because there was no water – then laughing at them, and other disgraceful instances of inhumane abuse.
The Democratic Congresswoman from Queens and The Bronx just posted this tweet:
Hey, @kilmeade:
What was the last “party” you went to where you:
– Were locked in a cage under armed guard
– Drank out of a toilet
– & given food of such poor nutritional value, for so long, that it gave you mouth sores? https://t.co/UfO8EQzRbI
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) July 2, 2019
She links to this video of Kilmeade on “Fox & Friends,” making his disturbing remarks:
Fox & Friends’ Brian Kilmeade likens overcrowded detention facilities at the border to having a house party with 100 people and only two and a half bathrooms: pic.twitter.com/tfOJ49b55N
— courtney hagle (@CourtneyHagle) July 2, 2019
“Here’s the thing,” Kilmeade says. “Picture yourself, you have a house, family of five. You have a party, you have 30 people over. Maybe you have a big party and you have 100 people over and you have two and a half baths. In the beginning, it would be OK with 30. Then after 100 people, it would be a little bit taxed, maybe you got to get an outdoor facility. Can you picture 5,000? You can have the best facilities in the world but they are so overstocked.”
As Media Matters reports, Kilmeade’s guest host, Griff Jenkins later says AOC calling the migrant camps concentration camps “isn’t fair because all the people that are in our custody came on their own accord.”
Jenkins clearly has no knowledge of Hitler’s Germany.
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This was the week that a “controversy” continued over what to call the facilities where the United States government is housing migrant children who have been separated from their parents in filthy, disgusting, unsafe and unhealthy conditions. Last week, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called the detention facilities run by the Trump administration “concentration camps” and was immediately attacked by Republicans like Representative Liz Cheney of Wyoming for making light of the Holocaust.
And this was the week that we learned the government is spending $775 per child per day (https://www.gq.com/story/trump-detention-camps-cost) to house migrant children in the temporary tent camps it is running along the border and in southern Florida.
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https://www.alternet.org/2019/06/from-ghettos-to-concentration-camps-the-battle-over-words/
HNN
"What’s in a name?,” Juliet famously asks in Act II of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. For Juliet, the answer is perfectly obvious: nothing. It should not matter that her sweetheart Romeo is a Montague and she a Capulet, feuding families in the strife-riven city of medieval Verona. “Tis but thy name that is my enemy,” Juliet assures Romeo. He could cease to be a Montague, he could cease even to be Romeo, and he would remain her beloved. “O! Be some other name: What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”
Juliet’s answer is difficult to square not only with the ultimate fate of the star-crossed lovers in Shakespeare’s play but also with the controversies that frequently attend the application to someone or some thing of a highly charged label. We tend to think we have minimized the scope of disagreement when we boil a debate down to semantics. The reality is that so many of our cultural arguments manifest as arguments over words, over what they mean, how they are used, and who gets to define them.
The past week has offered yet another reminder of this truth. On Tuesday, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the fiery left-wing freshman Democrat from New York, blasted the Trump administration on Twitter for creating “concentration camps on the southern border of the United States for immigrants, where they are being brutalized with dehumanizing conditions and dying.” Her description of immigration detention centers as “concentration camps” precipitated a riposte from Representative Liz Cheney of Wyoming, the chairwoman of the House Republican Conference, who, likewise in a tweet, scolded Ocasio-Cortez for betraying the memory of the six million Jews murdered in the Holocaust with her choice of words. The days since have seen further sharp exchanges on this issue, as politicians from opposing sides of the aisle, op-ed columnists, Jewish organizations, cable news journalists, and, of course, the Twitterati on the right and the left have weighed in on whether the “concentration camp” designation is appropriate or misplaced.
This is far from the first time the usage of a term with Holocaust associations has provoked a backlash. Some of the same arguments that are now being made to rebut the labeling of detention facilities as “concentration camps” were trotted out in the past to resist the naming of segregated African American neighborhoods as “ghettos.” In 1964, the American Jewish intellectual Marie Syrkin wrote, “In the immediate as well as historic experience of the Jews the ghetto is not a metaphor; it is a concrete entity with walls, stormtroopers, and no exit save the gas chamber.” Syrkin penned this jab at the transference of the word “ghetto” from Jews to African Americans at a time when the black referent for the term was only beginning to become mainstream. Yet, nearly three decades later, the American Jewish author Melvin Jules Bukiet expressed the same pique. In April 1993, on the eve of the gala opening of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC, Bukiet published an editorial in the Washington Postthat was bitingly critical of the museum, which he judged a well-intentioned but insidious attempt to absorb the Holocaust melting-pot style into a vocabulary of American politics and culture and to sap it of its Jewish specificity. “Something similar,” he wrote, “has also begun to happen with other elements of the Jewish tradition. Take the word ‘ghetto,’ which is commonly used as a synonym for slum. A ghetto is a an enclosed, preferably walled-in, domain within a city, and despite the invisible walls around Harlem, there is no barbed wire across 125th Street and there are no guard towers.”
Both of these attempts to limit the word “ghetto” to its Holocaust meaning skipped over the fact that, prior to the Holocaust, the term had a long history of being used to refer to both coercive and non-coercive Jewish quarters. Its early uses centered on two cities: Venice, where it referred to the segregation of the Jews in 1516, and Rome, where the ghetto survived until the fall of the Papal States in 1870, long after it had ceased to exist elsewhere. The ghettos of the early modern Italian peninsula were compulsory, segregated, and enclosed Jewish spaces, and while they were kept under round-the-clock surveillance, there was no “barbed wire,” which had yet to be invented; nor were there “guard towers” (which may have been a feature of some Nazi concentration camps, but were likewise absent in Nazi ghettos). Even after the original mandatory ghettos disappeared with the legal emancipation of Western and Central European Jews, the term “ghetto” was resurrected near the turn of the twentieth century to refer to densely packed but voluntary Jewish immigrant neighborhoods such as London’s East End, New York’s Lower East Side, and Chicago’s Near West Side. Moreover, over the course of the nineteenth century, “ghetto” came increasingly to be used especially by Jews as a metaphor for an old-world, traditional Jewish society and mentality believed to be disappearing.
One argument that has been made on the left to defend Ocasio-Cortez — which she herself has now adopted — is that the term “concentration camp” also has a history that predates (and coincides with) the Holocaust. It first became prominent during the Second Boer War from 1900 to 1902, when it was applied to the internment camps established by the British in South Africa. Later, in the 1940s, it was widely used in discussing the American internment of Japanese-Americans during World War Two. The difficulty with this argument is that it is clear that Ocasio-Cortez intended to mobilize memory of the Holocaust by appropriating a term that, since 1945 at least, has become indelibly associated with the destruction of European Jewry. The day before her tweet that went viral, she posted an Instragram video where, in addition to using the word “concentration camps,” she invoked the slogan “Never Again,” which is commonly used to refer to the importance of remembering the Holocaust. By 1945, the term “ghetto” was sufficiently venerable and versatile in its signifying capacity that efforts to reserve it for the Holocaust were unsuccessful. The label “concentration camp” did not have a similarly long history of changing and contested meanings. While academics may continue to employ the term to designate the general phenomenon of camps in which people not guilty of a crime are interned by the state, in the popular lexicon today, “concentration camps” cannot be used without effectively conjuring the Holocaust.
...
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partner w. cruz on birth control?
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https://theintercept.com/2019/06/13/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-campaign-training-school/
Lead ORGANIZERS FROM Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s 2018 campaign are taking on the consultant class with a new initiative to train the next generation of progressive organizers and staffers. Movement School, a 10-week professional development program launched by Organize for Justice, the sister organization of Justice Democrats, is teaching fellows how to work as campaign managers, communications directors, and field directors.
The Campaign Fellows program is meant to create a pathway for young activists from working-class backgrounds to enter official campaign roles and to preserve the lessons grassroots campaigns have learned throughout the years by passing them down to future staffers — all while setting up an alternative political infrastructure that operates outside of the Democratic Party.
Ironically, the progressive movement’s work to build its own political infrastructure may have been inadvertently accelerated by a policy designed to suppress the party’s insurgent wing. In March, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee announced a new policy (https://theintercept.com/2019/03/27/progressive-caucus-slams-dccc-head-cheri-bustos-for-her-assault-on-primary-challengers/) to blacklist any firms working for primary challengers, effectively protecting the party’s white, male incumbents in safe blue seats.
As a result of the DCCC blacklist, several consultantsdropped the primary campaign (https://theintercept.com/2019/04/26/dccc-blacklist-marie-newman-dan-lipinski/) of Marie Newman, the pro-abortion rights progressive who has launched a second challenge to Illinois Rep. Dan Lipinski, one of the few anti-abortion Democrats in the House. Despite the blacklist, organizations like EMILY’s List, NARAL Pro-Choice America, and the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, have still rallied behind Newman’s challenge. A Movement School participant even went on to work for Newman after the trainings....
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Ocasio-Cortez blasts Kris Kobach for history of ‘racism’ and ‘voter suppression’ during epic statement at House Oversight hearing (https://www.alternet.org/2019/06/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-blasts-kris-kobach-for-history-of-racism-and-voter-suppression-during-epic-statement-at-house-oversight-hearing/)
Alex Henderson (https://www.alternet.org/author/alex-henderson/)
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https://www.alternet.org/2019/04/watch-ocasio-cortez-calls-out-gop-for-attacking-green-new-deal-as-socialism-while-bankrolling-big-oil-with-billions-in-subsidies/
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https://www.alternet.org/2019/04/fox-news-is-doing-to-ilhan-omar-and-alexandria-ocasio-cortez-exactly-what-it-did-to-hillary-clinton/
For decades, Fox News’ programming has revolved around the need to identify and target Democratic demons, who are then used to frighten Republican viewers. And for most of the network’s existence, Hillary Clinton has served as a perennial rogue, depicted as a villainous, criminal scoundrel who can’t be trusted with America’s future. With Clinton now receding from public life, Fox News has seamlessly transferred its vile attacks onto a new generation of Democratic women, led by Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York.
“Fox News needs an opponent, a detractor, an enemy to add conflict and edge to its broadcasts,” noted (https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/03/22/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-grown-men-fox-news-are-obsessed-with-me/?utm_term=.c231192a6694) theWashington Post’s Erik Wemple. In other words, Fox is in the business of scripted entertainment—under the guise of “news”—and needs long-running characters that it can return to again and again. It crafts targets of hate who rile up viewers and keep them tuned in to the different storylines.
For Fox, Clinton, Omar, and Ocasio-Cortez represent perfect targets in terms of riling up its intolerant base: Clinton is a woman of a certain age, while Ocasio-Cortez and Omar are women of a certain heritage. And yes, there’s something in the Fox News DNA over the years that has meant that women political opponents spark a deeper sense of outrage and hate. You could make an argument that during eight years in the White House, it was Michelle Obama who suffered sharper, more personal Fox News attacks than did her husband. It’s all part of an endless, dehumanizing campaign to silence opponents, and specifically to silence and intimidate Democratic women.
This week, Fox News’ sister print outlet, the Rupert Murdoch-owned New York Post, published an incitement on the front page, which depicted the World Trade Towers bursting into flames and falsely claimed that Omar, who is Muslim, had belittled the Sept. 11 attack. The reckless pile-on has been relentless. Days earlier, Fox & Friendshost Brian Kilmeade questioned (https://www.mediamatters.org/video/2019/04/10/foxs-brian-kilmeade-smears-rep-ilhan-omar-d-mn-you-have-wonder-if-shes-american-first/223393) Omar’s loyalty, saying, “You have to wonder if she is an American first.” Over at Fox Business News, Lou Dobbs claimed (https://www.mediamatters.org/video/2019/04/10/lou-dobbs-rep-ilhan-omar-sounds-she-hates-america-jews-and-israelis/223410), “She sounds like she hates America.” Those comments echoed those made by another Fox host, Jeanine Pirro, who suggested (https://www.mediamatters.org/video/2019/03/10/foxs-jeanine-pirro-says-rep-omars-hijab-may-mean-shes-against-constitution/223095), “Omar wears a hijab. … Is her adherence to this Islamic doctrine indicative of her adherence to sharia law, which in itself is antithetical to the United States Constitution?”
Pirro was actually suspended from hosting her Saturday night show for two weeks because of her tawdry attack on Omar. But her suspension has obviously done nothing to curtail the mindless, racist attacks on the Democratic congresswoman. All this has happened while threats against (https://twitter.com/JordanUhl/status/1116536657677828096) Omar’s life continue to escalate.
To date, Fox News’ obsession (https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/03/22/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-grown-men-fox-news-are-obsessed-with-me/?utm_term=.c231192a6694) with Ocasio-Cortez, for the most part, hasn’t been as overtly dangerous as its smear campaign against Omar, but the negative attention has been unending.
When Ocasio-Cortez appeared on Seth Meyers’ late-night show in March, the host wondered about all the creepy interest she’s getting from the cable network. “They talk about you a lot. Are you surprised with the speed at which they seem to have shifted all their attention and programming to you?” he asked. “I mean, it’s weird. Why are so many grown men just obsessed with this, like, 29-year-old?” she wondered.
Obsessed (https://www.mediamatters.org/blog/2019/02/01/prime-time-fox-shows-have-mentioned-rep-alexandria-ocasio-cortez-over-4-times-more-senate-majority/222733), indeed. Fox News regular Mike Huckabee has claimed (https://www.mediamatters.org/video/2019/03/21/fox-friends-mike-huckabee-suggests-rep-alexandria-ocasio-cortez-manchurian-candidate/223202) she’s a “Manchurian Candidate,” boosted by “dark forces” behind her. Fox’s Brit Hume belittled her as “adorable in sort of the way that a 5-year-old child can be adorable,” one Fox guest told Ocasio-Cortez to “stick to knitting,” and another guest on Laura Ingraham’s show mocked the congresswoman as “this little girl from Brooklyn.” Her politics are wildly denounced as “radical left” and “progressives gone wild,” and Tucker Carlson has attacked her as a “moron (https://chicago.suntimes.com/entertainment/carlson-tucker-hayes-chris-aoc-feminist-inners-fox-news/?utm_campaign=ChicagoSunTimes&utm_content=1554230362&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter).”
All of this likely sounds familiar to Clinton, who has without question been the longest-running villain over Fox News’ two decades of programming. Even after her loss in 2016, the network tried desperately to drag (https://www.vox.com/2018/7/11/17526836/hillary-clinton-fox-news-villain) her back into the spotlight, to juice up its long-running narrative that she’s a an all-powerful force of marauding feminist evil, which viewers embrace with lust. (https://www.etsy.com/listing/398013123/hillary-for-prison-anti-clinton-gag?gpla=1&gao=1&&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=shopping_us_e-art_and_collectibles-collectibles-memorabilia-souvenirs_and_events&utm_custom1=0e90a2ed-1c16-466d-8dff-db12714532d3&utm_content=go_304499915_49619376864_196697050705_pla-316730450793_c__398013123&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI_KLH4Puf4QIVg2SGCh2pbw0xEAQYASABEgJ9CvD_BwE) There’s no doubt during the last campaign that decades of right-wing media attacks on Clinton transformed her from crusader for women’s rights into a major target of contempt. The right wing simply picked up where it left off in the 1990s. Back then, “The New York Times‘ William Safire wrote that she was both a “congenital liar” and a “vindictive political power player.” Elsewhere she was derided as a selfish, untrustworthy, incompetent, ball-breaking “bitch,” a “closet lesbian” and a terrible mother,” Janet Reitman noted (https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/hillary-vs-the-hate-machine-how-clinton-became-a-vessel-for-americas-fury-103997/) in Rolling Stone.
Unfortunately, the harassment works. Just as the Fox News smears helped drive down Clinton’s once-sky high approval rating (https://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2013/01/17/wsjnbc-poll-hillary-clinton-exits-with-69-approval-rating/) after she entered the 2016 campaign race, recent polling suggests Fox’s unyielding attacks on Ocasio-Cortez have hurt her image. A recent Quinnipiac poll (https://poll.qu.edu/national/release-detail?ReleaseID=2611) found that 23 percent of Americans view the New York Congresswoman favorably, while 36 percent viewer her unfavorably. A look (https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/3/28/18285533/aoc-alexandria-ocasio-cortez-poll-favorables-media) at the data shows the overwhelmingly negative view that Republicans/Fox News viewers have of Ocasio-Cortez is what’s driving up her unfavorable rating. Indeed, the Quinnipiac poll showed that the self-identified democratic socialist member of Congress is far better known (https://poll.qu.edu/national/release-%3E%20https://twitter.com/BrettLoGiurato/status/1111283082190094336) among Republican voters than she is Democratic ones.
“It’s almost as though there is a directed + concerted far-right propaganda machine with a whole cable news channel, and a dark-money internet operation propped up by the Mercers et al dedicated to maligning me & stoking nat’l division, reported on by @JaneMayerNYer (https://twitter.com/JaneMayerNYer) or something,” Ocasio-Cortez recently tweeted (https://twitter.com/AOC/status/1111429235976003584), referring to a New Yorker expose on Fox News and its propaganda ties to the Republican Party.
If there is a small sliver lining to these latest grotesque attacks, it’s that progressives and Democrats all across the political spectrum now understand the danger that Fox News poses—not only to politicians as their reputations which are relentlessly attacked, but to the greater good of our country and a preferred progressive agenda. In the past, when Clinton was a primary target of the dirty hits, some factions of the Democratic coalition didn’t seem to pay it much attention because they weren’t supporters of hers.
It’s paramount now, as Fox News and the right-wing noise machine try to take down a new generation of Democratic women leaders, that everyone understands the strategy in play.
Eric Boehlert is a veteran progressive writer and media analyst, formerly with Media Matters and Salon. He is the author of Lapdogs: How the Press Rolled Over for Bush and Bloggers on the Bus. You can follow him on Twitter @EricBoehlert (https://twitter.com/EricBoehlert?lang=en).
This post was written and reported through our Daily Kos freelance program (https://www.dailykos.com/freelance).
https://www.alternet.org/2019/04/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-calls-out-how-congress-lets-americans-get-ripped-off-when-they-file-their-taxes/
Tax returns are due to the IRS on April 15th this year. And as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) pointed out on Tuesday, when taxpayers across the country pay their due, they’ll be victims of a fundamental injustice in the American tax system.
That’s because the IRS could actually do most Americans’ taxes for them — eliminating wasted expenditure of time and, for many people, on professional tax preparers and services.
Ocasio-Cortex noted in a speech on the House floor that she wanted to lodge some of her “concerns” about the issue, as discussed by Vox’s Dylan Matthews. She quoted from his recent article, though she left out the names of the specific companies:
It is a huge scandal that Congress has not yet instructed the IRS to automatically prepare taxes for the vast majority of Americans. The IRS has all the information required to do that for all but a few taxpayers, and the main reason it hasn’t to date islobbying by companies like TurboTax and H&R Block.
“The reason it doesn’t may have to do with the role of money in politics,” she said. “I would like to commend the advancements we have made for working class people, but long-term, we should be looking at a solution where everyday people do not necessarily have to spend hours every year preparing tax returns when the majority of Americans have relatively simple and straightforward returns.”
Matthews noted that there’s a bipartisan bill that would prevent the IRS from making tax-filing software and interfaces that could compete with services like TurboTax. It is, essentially, a massive giveaway to these companies, he argued. And it would be a blatant way for the American people to get ripped off by their own legislature.
“Banning the IRS from offering an equivalent product to those companies for free would hurt consumers, provide no social value, and purely serve to increase ill-gotten rents for two of the most pointless companies currently involved in American capitalism,” Matthews wrote. “There is no excuse for Congress passing this provision.”
Watch the clip below:
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Ocasio-Cortez urges small donors to circumvent the DCCC and give directly to candidates — enraging establishment Democrats (https://www.alternet.org/2019/03/ocasio-cortez-tells-small-donors-to-bypass-dccc-and-give-directly-to-candidates-instead/)
Common Dreams (https://www.alternet.org/author/common-dreams/)
=== (https://www.alternet.org/2019/03/beto-orourke-signed-this-pledge-on-oil-money-did-he-break-it/)
AN (https://www.alternet.org/2019/03/beto-orourke-signed-this-pledge-on-oil-money-did-he-break-it/)
no lnx twt (https://www.alternet.org/2019/03/beto-orourke-signed-this-pledge-on-oil-money-did-he-break-it/)
Here’s why Trump Jr. is so terrified of a 29-year-old Latina
written by Common Dreams March 29, 2019
Hillary Clinton is no longer the most targeted Republican foe—that dubious honor, ahead of the 2020 election, belongs to freshman Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. The New York Democrat’s rise to prominence…
Hillary Clinton is no longer the most targeted Republican foe—that dubious honor, ahead of the 2020 election, belongs to freshman Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
The New York Democrat’s rise to prominence in the GOP mind was on full display Thursday evening in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where President Donald Trump held a “rambling and lie-filled rally,” as Common Dreams reported early Friday.
Before the president took the stage, however, his son Donald Trump, Jr., warmed up the crowd by taking potshots at Ocasio-Cortez.
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“Think about the fact that every mainstream, leading Democratic contender is taking the advice of a freshman congresswoman who three weeks ago didn’t know the three branches of government,” Jr. said, referring to the Green New Deal. “I don’t know about you guys, but that’s pretty scary.”
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Those comments were met with a chant of “AOC sucks” from the pro-Trump crowd.
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“You guys, you’re not very nice,” said Jr. “And neither is what that policy would do to this country.”
Washington Post reporter Isaac Stanley-Becker noted that Ocasio-Cortez may be replacing Clinton as the president’s party’s primary foe heading to 2020. Chants about the New York Democrat “testified to the first-term congresswoman’s rapid ascent to GOP public enemy No. 1, a position that took Clinton slightly longer to reach,” said Stanley-Becker.
Ocasio-Cortez’s place at the top of conservative horror stories is due in part to a concerted campaign in right wing media against the freshman Democrat. In a piece on the rise of the New York Democrat to the front of the right wing mind, Washington Postanalyst Philip Bump put it simply:
Ocasio-Cortez is polarizing and vocal. So Fox News and conservatives make her the “face of the Democratic Party” and focus their rhetoric on her. As a result, Republicans are more likely to know who she is. And what they know, they don’t like.
The congresswoman, on Twitter, wryly noted the push by the right to attack her.
“It’s almost as though there is a directed + concerted far-right propaganda machine with a whole cable news channel, and a dark-money internet operation propped up by the Mercers et al dedicated to maligning me & stoking [national] division, reported on by @JaneMayerNYer or something,” said Ocasio-Cortez.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
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@AOC
It’s almost as though there is a directed + concerted far-right propaganda machine with a whole cable news channel, and a dark-money internet operation propped up by the Mercers et al dedicated to maligning me & stoking nat’l division, reported on by @JaneMayerNYer or something
Brett LoGiurato
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@BrettLoGiurato
It's ... interesting ... that only 23% of Republicans haven't heard enough about @AOC to form an opinion, compared to a sizable 44% of Democrats https://poll.qu.edu/national/release-detail?ReleaseID=2611 …
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Other commentators noted the right wing obsession with Ocasio-Cortez and questioned where it comes from.
“Wow @realDonaldTrump really hates women,” tweeted Oregon writer Nick Jaynes.
Nick Jaynes
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@NickJaynes
'AOC sucks!' chant breaks out at Trump's Michigan rally against @AOC. Wow @realDonaldTrump really hates women. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2019/03/28/trump-rallygoers-chant-aoc-sucks-against-alexandria-ocasio-cortez/3304962002/ …
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'AOC SUCKS!' chant breaks out at Trump rally as Trump Jr. blasts Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Trump rallygoers chant 'AOC SUCKS' against Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's Green New Deal 'AOC SUCKS!' chant breaks out at Trump rally against Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's Green New Deal
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See Nick Jaynes's other Tweets
“So terrified of a 29 year old Latina,” observed political analyst Andy Ostroy.
Andy Ostroy
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@AndyOstroy
So terrified of a 29 year old Latina... https://apple.news/AUm0ZPH-RT8WdvjN12k2Nzw …
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Trump rally crowd hits Ocasio-Cortez with 'AOC sucks' chant in Michigan
Part of the crowd at a Trump rally in Michigan started chanting "AOC sucks," referencing Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), after Donald Trump Jr. criticized her ideas.
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But, as reporter Colby Itkowitz pointed out, the focus on Ocasio-Cortez didn’t mean that Clinton was completely forgotten.
“It’s going to be a long 19 months,” said Itkowitz.
Colby Itkowitz
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@ColbyItkowitz
To recap Trump's rally last night: crowd chanted "AOC sucks," "lock her up" (still about Clinton), Trump claimed "total exoneration," warned of a deep state coup, mocked asylum seekers... It's going to be a long 19 months... https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/the-russia-hoax-is-finally-dead-at-michigan-rally-trump-declares-victory-in-mueller-investigation/2019/03/28/715b6b64-51a9-11e9-a3f7-78b7525a8d5f_story.html?utm_term=.dc160aa7e102 …
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‘The Russia hoax is finally dead’: At Michigan rally, Trump declares victory in Mueller investiga...
The president attacked Democrats and the news media for “a sinister effort” to sabotage his 2016 election.
washingtonpost.com
50 people are talking about this...
== (https://www.alternet.org/2019/03/beto-orourke-signed-this-pledge-on-oil-money-did-he-break-it/)
=== (https://www.alternet.org/2019/03/beto-orourke-signed-this-pledge-on-oil-money-did-he-break-it/)
In a welcome change, MSNBC (https://www.alternet.org/2019/03/beto-orourke-signed-this-pledge-on-oil-money-did-he-break-it/)had a town hall (http://click.e.mediamatters.org/?qs=925e0f4f734fe6a032c31cff4d8936385cdd89c76e062359df4b2ca9101a8575ca8619c042b9a6b1d112cb7dcf9bedefe834296d4bf364d4) directly related to climate change. Chris Hayes talked with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) about the Green New Deal, and debunked a lot of right-wing smears. Fox News has already had a meltdown about it. Rep. Ocasio-Cortez made the sensible point that America had a massive response to thousands of Americans dying on September 11, 2001, but has not had much of a response at all to thousands of Americans dying in Puerto Rico as a result of climate-linked Hurricane Maria. Fox & Friends was furious (http://click.e.mediamatters.org/?qs=925e0f4f734fe6a04951c62bc2a6d9d2269b044435f5892837b6993c7d80e0cd665381ef29196d40423a222a9327c9a33f1e2ef54c8a0796) at the comparison, with a guest even calling her "shrill" and then declaring that man-made climate change is a hoax. This entire episode matters: Fox News is driving conversation (http://click.e.mediamatters.org/?qs=925e0f4f734fe6a06c45d108caf51842b381b9db3e77627dab65ac4431284c7987fd007a556c5eda7702b5333bedc2e18f9cb98602b38c01) around the Green New Deal because other news outlets generally are sitting out the discussion. So it's important to call this out and have a real, serious discussion about climate change.
==
EJ ACW
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) has quickly become a powerful voice in the Democratic Party, and a new video showing a speech she delivered in a hearing on the importance of environmental protection and the threat of climate change makes clear why.
Addressing the charge that environmental concerns are “elitist,” she dispatched with the attack quickly.
“One year ago, I was waitressing in a taco shop in downtown Manhattan. I just got health insurance for the first time a month ago,” she said. “This is not an elitist issue — this is a quality of life issue.”
She continued: “You want to tell people that their desire for clean air and clean water is elitist? Tell that to the kids in the South Bronx, which are suffering from the highest rates of childhood asthma in the country. Tell that to the families in Flint whose kid’s — their blood is ascending in lead levels. Their brains are damaged for the rest of their lives. Call them elitist. You’re telling them, that those kids are trying to get on a plane to Davos? People are dying! They are dying! And the response across the other side of the aisle is to introduce an amendment five minutes before a hearing in a markup? This is serious! This should not be a partisan issue.”
==
fox hurts #'s
AN
Over the weekend, Fox News published a story (3/17/19 (https://www.foxnews.com/politics/ocasio-cortezs-unfavorable-rating-sky-rockets-most-people-view-her-negatively-new-poll-shows)) on a recent Gallup poll that asked the public about their opinions on Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. The headline claimed that her unfavorable rating had “skyrocketed”—rising 15 points since last September—and that “most people” now viewed her negatively.
In doing so, the network committed two notable journalistic sins—one of commission and one of omission. First, the headline itself was a sloppy falsehood, as the Gallup poll (https://news.gallup.com/poll/247820/rep-ocasio-cortez-better-known-image-skews-negative.aspx) from February only found a plurality of the public (41 percent vs. 31 percent)—and not a majority, or “most people”—rating Ocasio-Cortez unfavorable rather than favorable.
But second—and more importantly—the story conveniently left out the key role that Fox News itself has played in damaging the public reputation of the congressmember, thanks to a relentless propaganda campaign over the past six months. It’s a chilling case study in the self-fulfilling nature of the right-wing messaging machine.
Ever since her shocking primary upset of Democratic Party fixture Rep. Joe Crowley last fall in New York’s 14th District, Ocasio-Cortez has drawn the white-hot spotlight of the press. Young, outspoken, and, at times, unfiltered or imprecise, the representative has quickly built a national presence after only a few months in office, thanks in part to her push for unapologetically big and uncompromisingly progressive platforms, like the Green New Deal and Medicare for All. In addition, she’s become a media phenomenon thanks to her massive social media following, which has in turn spawned numerous (https://twitter.com/AOC/status/1071115755041800192)ham-handed (https://twitter.com/AOC/status/1027729430137827328) attempts (https://twitter.com/AOC/status/1067216682391875585) by conservatives to attack her online, which consistently backfire (https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/01/03/video-ocasio-cortez-dancing-college-leaked-internet-finds-it-adorable/).
Conventional right-wing media outlets don’t bother with engaging her directly, however. As her profile has risen, so too have their concerted attempts to target her with unflattering, distorted coverage. And perhaps no place in the conservative media firmament is as obsessed with tracking Ocasio-Cortez as Fox News. Her name appears so frequently on the network, in fact, that she even has her own keyword tag (https://www.foxnews.com/category/person/alexandria-ocasio-cortez) to allow online readers to follow their coverage.
Fox News also has keyword tags for two other outspoken freshman female Democrats in Congress, Rep. Ilhan Omar (https://www.foxnews.com/category/person/ilhan-omar) and Rep. Rashida Tlaib (https://www.foxnews.com/category/person/rashida-tlaib)—both of who are practicing Muslims and are also strongly in favor of policies like the Green New Deal. So it’s a not-so-subtle signal about Fox News’ institutional assessment of threats to conservatism that it gives the same organizational treatment to three young, newly elected women of color as it does for the Democratic speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, and the Democratic Senate minority leader, Chuck Schumer.
This kind of audience guide is admittedly necessary when your news organization is executing a non-stop propaganda campaign. In the 134 days since Election Day, Ocasio-Cortez’s name appeared in 1,173 separate stories on Fox News (https://www.foxnews.com/search-results/search?q=ocasio&ss=fn&sort=latest&min_date=2018-11-06&max_date=2019-03-18&start=0) alone. Even if many of those stories referenced her only tangentially, that still adds up hundreds upon hundreds of stories or segments focused squarely on her. (This sensationalistic stalking has not gone unnoticed by Ocasio-Cortez, who jokingly calls the network “AOC TMZ (https://twitter.com/AOC/status/1106954540287442944)”—”no offense to TMZ.”)
To be clear, bird-dogging a politician’s policies or rhetoric is fair game, if the motivation is to hold him or her accountable. But even a cursory perusal of Fox News’ output finds that an overwhelming majority are not good-faith efforts at accountability. Instead, they are intentionally framed to fearmonger or distort Ocasio-Cortez’s policies, if not heap contempt and insults on her personally. Since many Fox Newsviewers are already psychologically primed to disbelieve, if not outright disdain Democrats, the cumulative effect of a campaign of this magnitude is utterly predictable: Many Republicans who had never heard of Ocasio-Cortez before the midterm elections have now absorbed and accepted Fox News’ incessant denunciations of her.
To see a microcosm of how the right-wing messaging congealed around—and against—Ocasio-Cortez, consider Fox News primetime host Tucker Carlson (https://fair.org/home/colleagues-defend-tucker-carlsons-ideas-that-iraqis-are-monkeys-child-rape-is-commitment-to-love/)’s own personal journey. Just days after the midterm election (11/14/18 (https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2018/11/14/tucker_carlson_ocasio-cortez_has_a_very_good_point_about_amazon_deal_with_nyc.html)), he was on-air sheepishly admitting Ocasio-Cortez “has a very good point” in her criticism of the unfair aspects of the New York/Amazon deal.
Three months later, however, there was little interest in making common cause with her left-wing populism. Instead, Carlson (2/13/19 (https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2019/02/13/tucker_carlson_screechy_moron_alexandria_ocasio-cortez_not_demanding_china_to_adopt_green_new_deal.html)) could be found mocking her as a “screechy moron” and a “theocrat,” while fueling conspiracy theories that she would use the Green New Deal to give “control of the entire US economy to the Democratic Party.” And this kind of vicious, unhinged coverage is the rule, not the exception.
During just the past week, for example, Fox News has run more than three dozen separate stories or video segments focused on or referencing Ocasio-Cortez—an average of more than five a day. By comparison, the network had just 21 similar stories listed under its Nancy Pelosi (https://www.foxnews.com/category/person/nancy-pelosi) tag during the same period. Below is just a sampling of the “straight news” coverage of Ocasio-Cortez on Fox News this week:
AOC Draws Ire Ripping ‘Your Thoughts and Prayers’ After Christchurch Mosque Shootings(3/15/19 (https://www.foxnews.com/politics/aoc-draws-ire-ripping-your-thoughts-and-prayers-after-christchurch-mosque-shootings))
Former Adviser: Reagan Would Be ‘Angry’ Over Ocasio-Cortez’s Insuration \sic] He Was Racist([3/13/19 (https://www.foxnews.com/politics/former-adviser-reagan-would-be-angry-over-ocasio-cortezs-insuration-he-was-racist))
Company Founded by Ocasio-Cortez in 2012 Still Owes $1,870 in Taxes(3/10/19 (https://www.foxnews.com/politics/company-founded-by-ocasio-cortez-in-2012-still-owes-1870-in-taxes))
The opinion programming on Fox (and Fox Business News) during the past week is if anything even more relentless and less subtle:
Ocasio-Cortez’s Ignorance Proves Admissions Fraud Is the Symptom, Not Cause, of America’s Education Crisis(3/16/19 (https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/ocasio-cortezs-ignorance-proves-admissions-fraud-is-the-symptom-not-cause-of-americas-education-crisis))
Ocasio-Cortez Again Proves She’s Clueless on Economics(3/15/19 (https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/ocasio-cortez-again-proves-shes-clueless-on-economics))
Stuart Varney: Ocasio-Cortez Is So Far Out of Line That She Must Surely Be a ‘Bubble’(3/14/19 (https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/stuart-varney-ocasio-cortez-is-so-far-out-of-line-that-she-must-surely-be-a-bubble))
John Stossel: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Pushes Tax Myths That Will Bring Economic Disaster(3/13/19 (https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/john-stossel-alexandria-ocasio-cortez-pushes-tax-myths-that-will-bring-economic-disaster))
Puzder: AOC Doesn’t Know What Socialism, Capitalism Are (3/13/19 (https://video.foxnews.com/v/6013225843001/))
Former Greenpeace Official: Green New Deal Is Completely Crazy(3/12/19 (https://video.foxnews.com/v/6012817385001/))
Fox News is, of course, far from alone here. Ocasio-Cortez has now supplanted Nancy Pelosi as the go-to bogeyman and punching bag for the conservative press, no matter how absurd the depths they must sink to to make it so. (One standout example: a long, rambling March 2 New York Posthit piece (https://nypost.com/2019/03/02/gas-guzzling-car-rides-expose-aocs-hypocrisy-amid-green-new-deal-pledge/?sr_share=facebook&utm_medium=SocialFlow&utm_campaign=SocialFlow&utm_source=NYPFacebook&fbclid=IwAR3va43mr7TNbQ2bfsIoXbZQX0eRWUPEU_dt2agPIjyM9ubpiwwTWNN1af4&fbclid=IwAR2kEvqU1tl91Z6P5otP6Pbwyw1s-LtltRoYEp9x6e9J_kNvuztudQi52IY) that bashed Ocasio-Cortez for hypocrisy because she a) rides in cars and planes, and b) failed to compost a sweet potato peel and threw away two plastic garbage bags in an Instagram cooking video.)
But there is a payoff—and the Gallup poll is the manifestation of Fox News’ successful propaganda campaign. For, in this latest poll, only 22 percent of Republicans now had no opinion or hadn’t heard of Ocasio-Cortez, a mark notably lower than the 32 percent of independents and 29 percent of those from her own party who said the same. Last fall, Gallup (10/5/18 (https://news.gallup.com/poll/243539/americans-maintain-positive-view-bernie-sanders.aspx)) found 43 percent of Republicans had no opinion.
Tellingly, the number of Republicans who rated her unfavorably increased by 21 percentage points—from 52 percent to 73 percent—which happens to be the exact same percentage of Republicans who formed an opinion of her between the fall and winter. That is some powerful convergence.
Fox News wasn’t alone in effectively erasing those who like Ocasio-Cortez. The CNN write-up (3/16/19 (https://edition.cnn.com/2019/03/16/politics/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-polls-like-trump-poll-of-the-week/index.html)) of the Gallup poll used a clickbaity headline—“Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Polls Like Donald Trump: Poorly”—that failed to acknowledge that members of Congress generally fare poorly (https://www.usnews.com/news/politics/articles/2019-01-03/americans-dont-like-the-congressional-leadership) in nationwide polling. Another pundit’s summation of the poll, which the congressmember herself called out (https://twitter.com/AOC/status/1106953015804731393)on Twitter (and which has since been deleted (https://twitter.com/NumbersMuncher/status/1107046990473498626)), offered a telling bit of demographic gerrymandering around who counts as the default to the press: “AOC is underwater with every group except women, nonwhites and 18–34 year olds.” This works out to “everyone”—meaning white men 35 and older—being roughly one-fifth of the adult population.
And because Ocasio-Cortez’s net fav/unfav ratings fell slightly among independents and rose by a net 8 percentage points among Democrats, the Gallup poll’s result stands as a proxy for the effectiveness of right-wing partisan branding. Or, as the Gallup survey notes, “The fact that Republicans are more likely to have an opinion of her than Democrats helps explain her overall net-negative rating.”
That inconvenient truth, not surprisingly, never made it into this weekend’s Fox News write-up. But the urgency behind the network’s round-the-clock anti–Ocasio-Cortez campaign shows no sign of relenting. Perhaps most especially because of one of the few, not-so-negative headlines to pierce the veil of Fox News’ propaganda back in January. And it’s worth pointing out that this story’s headline about “most voters” actually got it right this time:
Most Voters Back Ocasio-Cortez Plan to Tax Richest Americans Up to 70 Percent: Poll(1/16/19 (https://www.foxnews.com/politics/most-voters-support-70-percent-tax-hike-on-richest-americans-poll))
==
Ocasio-Cortez confound this Trump appointee after she demands to know why the administration is ‘violating the law’ (https://www.alternet.org/2019/03/watch-alexandria-ocasio-cortez-confound-this-trump-appointee-after-she-demands-to-know-why-the-administration-is-violating-the-law/)
Julia Conley (https://www.alternet.org/author/julia-conley/) / Common Dreams (https://www.alternet.org/author/common-dreams/)
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) left Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross flustered on Thursday during a House Oversight Committee as she refused to accept his attempts to meddle with the U.S. census. The freshman…
Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) left Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross flustered on Thursday during a House Oversight Committee (https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/03/14/marie-antoinette-comes-house-hearing-so-commerce-secretary-wilbur-ross-has-partner) as she refused to accept his attempts to meddle with the U.S. census.
The freshman congresswoman showed evidence that Ross had lied to Congress multiple times when he claimed (https://www.huffpost.com/entry/wilbur-ross-2020-citizenship-question_n_5c8ac692e4b0d7f6b0f12b98) he merely wanted to add a citizenship question to the census to fulfill a Justice Department request.
Ross was called before the committee to testify about his attempt to add a question to the 2020 census reading, “Is this person a citizen of the United States?”—an item that has not been included in the 10-year accounting of U.S. residents since 1950.
Nearly seven hours into the hearing, Ocasio-Cortez crystallized the Democrats’ central argument against the question: in addition to being discriminatory, the addition of the citizenship question was attempted illegally.
While changes to the census must be made through the U.S. Census Bureau, Ocasio-Cortez noted, Ross consulted with anti-voting rights players in the Trump administration—particularly former Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, who was serving on President Donald Trump’s election integrity commission in July 2017 when he corresponded with Ross about the question. The exchange took place at the urging of former Trump advisor and white supremacist Steve Bannon.
Kobach “encouraged President Trump to add a question about citizenship to the census in the early weeks of Trump’s presidency,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “Shortly thereafter, in April of 2017, Steve Bannon asked you to speak to Mr. Kobach about his, quote, ideas about including a citizenship question on the 2020 census.”
“It’s all there in black and white,’ she said of the email exchange. “Why are we violating the law to include any question whatsoever in the 2020 census?”
==
https://www.democracynow.org/2019/3/13/headlines/dems_grill_wells_fargo_ceo_over_abusive_practices_dapl_private_prisons (https://www.democracynow.org/2019/3/13/headlines/dems_grill_wells_fargo_ceo_over_abusive_practices_dapl_private_prisons)
Dems Grill Wells Fargo CEO over Abusive Practices, DAPL, Private Prisons (https://www.democracynow.org/2019/3/13/headlines/dems_grill_wells_fargo_ceo_over_abusive_practices_dapl_private_prisons)
Capitol Hill, Democratic lawmakers grilled Wells Fargo CEO Timothy Sloan Tuesday over the bank’s practices of predatory lending, misleading and defrauding customers, and its relationship to the NRA, private prisons and the fossil fuel industry. California congressmember and Financial Services Committee Chair Maxine Waters called Wells Fargo “a recidivist financial institution.” After the hearing, she told reporters she would call a vote on a bill to break up megabanks found liable for repeated consumer violations. This is New York Congressmember Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez questioning Sloan over the bank’s role in climate change and its financial backing of the Dakota Access pipeline, which she noted has leaked at least five times since it started transporting oil in 2017.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: “Should Wells Fargo be held responsible for the damages incurred by climate change due to the financing of fossil fuels and these projects?”
Timothy Sloan: “I don’t know how you’d calculate that, Congresswoman.”
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: “Say, from spills or when we have to reinvest in infrastructure, building sea walls from the erosion of infrastructure, or cleanups, wildfires, etc.”
Timothy Sloan: “Related to that pipeline? I’m not aware that there’s been any of what you described that’s occurred related to that pipeline.”
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: “How about the cleanups from the leaks of the Dakota Access pipeline?”
Timothy Sloan: “I’m not aware of the leaks associated with the Dakota Access pipeline.”
==
happily takes on FANG
Ironically, when Google was criticized last month by Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez(D-NY) and Chellie Pingree (D-ME) for supporting a conference promoting climate science denial, a Google spokesperson replied, “Google has long been a leader in sustainability. Since 2007, we have operated as a carbon neutral company and in 2017, we reached 100 percent renewable energy for our global operations.”
Google clearly has a different definition of “leader in sustainability” and “carbon neutral company” if it includes helping Big Oil produce more climate-destroying, carbon-intensive fossil fuels.
==
Green New Deal: The scale of the spending shouldn’t scare you — inaction should
by Marshall Auerback February 27, 2019
Extreme weather variations and increasingly dire scientific reports have spurred surprisingly robust policy proposals for a Green New Deal. Rather admirably, the resolution sponsored by Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) and…
The Green New Deal can work — here’s how
by Jeremy Brecher February 25, 2019
The following is based on a new discussion paper 18 Strategies for a Green New Deal: How to Make the Climate Mobilization Work (pdf)from the Labor Network for Sustainability. The Green New Deal resolution recently…
1st long coverage of grn new deal was fox
from gmail tag: note all in small unknown outlets
https://senecastandard.com/climate-guru-im-calling-bullst-on-ocasio-cortez-climate-fakery/30724/
==
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=h810bO-4LIs (https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=h810bO-4LIs)
In a critique of campaign finance laws that has now gone viral, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) this week showed how the United States has “a system that is fundamentally broken” due to the pervasive influence of corporate money that infects every aspect of the nation’s democracy.
The take-down—which took just under 5 minutes—occurred Wednesday during a hearing held by the House Oversight Committee. To make her point, she played “a lightning round game” with the watchdogs on the panel, including Common Cause’s Karen Hobert Flynn, CREW’s Walter Shaub, and Brennan Center for Justice’s Mehrbani Spitzer.
With her creative attack, said (https://twitter.com/CommonCause/status/1093234347174436864) Common Cause, the freshman lawmaker “exposes just how much ‘bad guys’ can get away with under the shameful state of our campaign finance laws.”
Watch the video below:
....
==
https://yyy.theguardian.com/environment/2019/feb/07/green-new-deal-alexandria-ocasio-cortez-plan
no lnx many
Green New Deal: Ocasio-Cortez unveils bold plan to fight climate change
Blueprint for a carbon-neutral economy has been embraced by prominent Democrats and evokes FDR’s famous legacy
Emily Holden and Lauren Gambino in Washington
Thu 7 Feb 2019 07.18 EST Last modified on Fri 8 Feb 2019 04.45 EST
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez at the Women’s March in January as activists call for a Green New Deal.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is releasing a broad outline of a vision for the Green New Deal, a plan to battle economic and racial injustice while also fighting climate change.
The new congresswoman’s blueprint, co-introduced by Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey, aims to develop a carbon-neutral economy in 10 years, which would require huge strides in reducing the US’s reliance on oil, gas and coal. It does not set a date for ending the use of fossil fuels.
Specifically, the resolution says it is the duty of the federal government to craft a Green New Deal “to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions”. That includes getting all power from “clean, renewable and zero-emission energy sources”.
Green New Deal: what is the progressive plan, and is it technically possible?
Read more
The document also endorses universal healthcare, a jobs guarantee and free higher education – a huge shift in messaging from nearly a decade ago, when Democrats were advocating for a cap-and-trade system to limit greenhouse gases by allotting industry permits for pollution.
Sixty members of the House and nine senators are co-sponsoring the resolution, including several presidential candidates, according to a fact sheet from congressional aides that did not include a list of supporters. However, any legislation would be dead-on-arrival with Republicans in control of the Senate and the White House, and would be difficult for Democrats to implement even if they controlled government. In supporting documents staffer acknowledge the investment required would be “massive”.
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi said a select committee on climate change, which she has announced the members of, will not be tasked with writing a specific bill and called the Green New Deal a “suggestion”.
“It will be one of several or maybe many suggestions that we receive,” Pelosi said in an interview with Politico. “The green dream or whatever they call it, nobody knows what it is, but they’re for it right?”
Discussions on what shape the plan would take also involved major environment, justice and labor organizations, as well as the youth-run Sunrise Movement. Backers hope the six-page resolution will push Democrats vying for the White House in 2020 not just to sign on to the general idea, but to lay out specific legislative goals.
Some environmental groups, including Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace, said they were encouraged by the movement on climate change but that the resolution does not do enough to confront fossil fuels. The Sierra Club, however, welcomed the document.
Ocasio-Cortez, a democratic socialist from New York who has been in Congress for just over a month, centered her campaign on climate change and a Green New Deal.
But the resolution itself focuses on the tenets of a progressive policy platform as much as it does on climate change.
It is both a framework for a cleaner-energy future and a plan for a large-scale mobilization that would rival in scale and scope the progressive New Deal policies ushered in under President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in response to the Great Depression.
One of its goals is “to promote justice and equity by stopping current, preventing future, and repairing historic oppression of indigenous peoples, communities of color, migrant communities, deindustrialized communities, depopulated rural communities, the poor, low-income workers, women, the elderly, the unhoused, people with disabilities, and youth”.
Students in Belgium demonstrate against climate change inaction.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Students in Belgium demonstrate against climate change inaction. Photograph: Alexandros Michailidis/Alamy
The resolution says significant portions of the American population are suffering from declining life expectancy, exposure to pollution, and lacking access to healthy food, healthcare, housing, transportation and education. It spotlights wage stagnation, lacking socio-economic mobility, income inequality, a racial wealth divide, a gender pay gap and weakened bargaining power for workers.
The resolution text comes as Donald Trump frequently questions the science that shows humans burning fossil fuels are causing temperatures to rise and exacerbate extreme weather. He did not mention climate change in his annual address to Congress this week, despite increasing warnings from scientists.
Democrats, who hold a majority in the House, are trying to raise awareness of climate change as an impending crisis, with two committees holding hearings this week and a third to follow next week. But Republican lawmakers remain resistant to any legislation to limit greenhouse gas emissions.
House Democrats hold hearings to increase pressure on climate change
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Republicans in dual climate change hearings called by House Democrats yesterday attacked the as-yet unwritten Green New Deal, charging that it would be far too expensive and would worsen poverty. Ocasio-Cortez and her supporters say the strategy is designed to do the opposite – to create jobs in a green economy.
Meanwhile, Trump’s agencies continue to roll back climate regulations enacted by the Obama administration. US carbon emissions increased last year, according to analysis by the economic firm Rhodium Group.
Ocasio-Cortez elevated the Green New Deal when she joined activists at a protest outside the then minority leader Nancy Pelosi’s office last year. The activists are planning to protest at Democratic debates in an effort to ensure the proposal, which was until now largely a liberal rallying cry for action on climate change, is a prominent issue for the 2020 election.
Before the text was released, several presidential candidates had already embraced the notion of a Green New Deal, including senators Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren, Cory Booker, and Kirsten Gillibrand. The former San Antonio mayor Julián Castro committed to the plan during his campaign announcement.
The Democratic congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, who is the co-chair of the House progressive caucus and a sponsor of the legislation, said the resolution defined the scale and scope of what must be done to combat global warming.
“We really need an urgent and comprehensive approach,” said Jayapal.
Such legislation has little chance of becoming law as long as Republicans control the Senate and Trump is president. But Jayapal said Democrats would continue to lay the groundwork for a Green New Deal while pushing more incremental legislation.
“This is a moment for us to push a comprehensive view of the challenge before us,” she said, “and therefore to offer the solution that we need to address that challenge.”
Supporters of Ocasio-Cortez’s Green New Deal rally in Washington in December.
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Supporters of Ocasio-Cortez’s Green New Deal rally in Washington in December. Photograph: Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA
The world has already warmed about 1C since the industrialization in the 19th century and is barreling toward exceeding a 1.5C increase, which climate scientists say will significantly worsen the risks of extreme heat, drought, floods and poverty.
Already, the process for drafting the brief documents has outlined the fights ahead, even among progressives who want climate action.
A background summary prepared by staffers said the plan “sets a goal to get to net-zero, rather than zero emissions, at the end of this 10-year plan because we aren’t sure that we will be able to fully get rid of, for example, emissions from cows or air travel before then”.
But climate justice advocates who represent the communities seeing the worst of environmental damages and pollution already want to quickly phase out all fossil fuels. Many also oppose nuclear power that uses mined uranium but represents a huge portion of the US’s zero-carbon energy.
Angela Adrar, the executive director of the Climate Justice Alliance, a coalition of communities dealing with environmental problems, said her group supported the vision of the Green New Deal, even though members were concerned about what they saw as loopholes to allow some fossil fuels use.
mma 119
We've gone over Fox's obsession with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. For months, the network has been obsessed with attacking her, even though the attacks keep backfiring and instead make her (http://click.e.mediamatters.org/?qs=5785cb8985a64aeccb184f0914722e891e94ffbd04156685487d201831af9d0c47a5f76b2746bcc8527c731d13fb0334d155506587eca5f3) look better (http://click.e.mediamatters.org/?qs=5785cb8985a64aec236b794ca59087a6351366cf70ec800536dc10664a033ccaaf3207d0008e373f4d2b3ccc0fa2db9e39b0483299cf9403).
Now we have some numbers (http://click.e.mediamatters.org/?qs=4ff937ca7e82d59239012ae5e5d03f49f2d33c6906ae1e0154dd6507fd9bb9dd5ef0ae8038fe8187255a2a63233577c31063a2441d32e16a) to show how deep it goes. During the month of January, Fox's prime time shows spent nearly an hour and a half on Ocasio-Cortez in January, while barely mentioning Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell at all. In fact, the person on Fox prime time who mentioned him the most was Ocasio-Cortez -- in clips of her trying to confront McConnell over the government shutdown.
And there is plenty about McConnell to discuss, starting with how he singlehandedly kept the shutdown going by categorically refusing to vote on any legislation that might override Trump's veto. McConnell also derided a bill by House Democrats that would make voting easier, and complained that making Election Day a federal holiday would be a "power grab" by Democrats.
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early marie claire mag
If you haven't yet heard of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, you soon will. The 28-year-old powerhouse is running for congresswoman in New York’s 14th District. O already won her primary on June 26, and now she's fighting to unseat longtime incumbent Joe Crowley.
A Latina from the Bronx, as well as a former Bernie Sanders organizer, Ocasio-Cortez self-describes as a “Democratic socialist.” When pressed about this identifier, Ocasio-Cortez explained to Stephen Colbert on The Late Show: “I believe that in a modern, moral, and wealthy society, no person in America should be too poor to live.”
Basically, Ocasio-Cortez is a force to be reckoned with. Since her political rise plunged her into the public eye, however, a few Twitter-centric spats and bumps have sprung up; commentators and conservative politicians alike have attempted to undermine her popularity.
And here's how she responded.
July 1
Conservative TV host John Cardillo tweeted a Google Street View picture of Ocasio-Cortez’s childhood home, claiming that it is a “far cry from the Bronx hood upbringing she’s selling.” He wrote, as a description of the picture, that “this is the Yorktown Heights (very nice area) home @Ocasio2018 grew up in before going off to Ivy League Brown University.”
View image on Twitter
View image on Twitter
John Cardillo
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@johncardillo
This is the Yorktown Heights (very nice area) home @Ocasio2018 grew up in before going off to Ivy League Brown University.
A far cry from the Bronx hood upbringing she’s selling.
4,228
8:46 AM - Jul 1, 2018
6,592 people are talking about this
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Cardillo’s choice to share images of a congressional candidate’s childhood home on Twitter speaks volumes about the political climate we exist in—and how it exists, at least partially, on social media. Ocasio-Cortez belittled his Tweet with her own.
John Cardillo
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@johncardillo
Jul 1, 2018
This is the Yorktown Heights (very nice area) home @Ocasio2018 grew up in before going off to Ivy League Brown University.
A far cry from the Bronx hood upbringing she’s selling.
View image on Twitter
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
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@AOC
Hey John,
- I didn’t go to Brown or the Ivy League. I went to BU. Try Google.
- It is nice. Growing up, it was a good town for working people. My mom scrubbed toilets so I could live here & I grew up seeing how the zip code one is born in determines much of their opportunity.
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9:53 AM - Jul 1, 2018
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Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
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@AOC
Jul 1, 2018
Replying to @johncardillo
Hey John,
- I didn’t go to Brown or the Ivy League. I went to BU. Try Google.
- It is nice. Growing up, it was a good town for working people. My mom scrubbed toilets so I could live here & I grew up seeing how the zip code one is born in determines much of their opportunity.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
?
@AOC
- Your attempt to strip me of my family, my story, my home, and my identity is exemplary of how scared you are of the power of all four of those things.
65.4K
9:54 AM - Jul 1, 2018
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July 21
Florida Representative Ron DeSantis, Republican, referred to Ocasio-Cortez in a speech as “this girl... or whatever she is." He then proceeded to undermine her campaign and general intelligence: “She’s in a totally different universe… It’s basically socialism wrapped in ignorance.”
Ocasio-Cortez took to Twitter in response, wielding a few choice words about what, exactly, she is.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
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@AOC
Rep DeSantis, it seems you‘re confused as to “whatever I am.”
I am a Puerto Rican woman. It‘s strange you don’t know what that is, given that ~75,000 Puerto Ricans have relocated to Florida in the 10 mos since María.
But I’m sure these new FL voters appreciate your comments!
Amanda Terkel
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@aterkel
GOP Rep. calls Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez “this girl…or whatever she is” http://bit.ly/2v5I3px by @jbendery
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11:52 AM - Jul 23, 2018
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Nydia M. Velázquez, incumbent congresswoman of New York’s 7th District, came quickly in defense of Ocasio-Cortez. Girl power.
Nydia M Velázquez
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@ReElectNydia
.@rondesantisFL who is running for Gov in FL has called @Ocasio2018 "this girl...or whatever she is."
She isn't a girl, she's a woman and soon she will be a Congresswoman.
You should apologize not just to her, but to all the women in Florida your comments have offended.
6,992
2:56 PM - Jul 23, 2018
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July 24
Conservative Review TV (CRTV) spliced Ocasio-Cortez’s PBS interview with Margaret Hoover with fake questions from a CRTV “interviewer.” Ocasio-Cortez responded, per usual, with a fantastic Tweet. “Here’s one bonafide truth,” she writes. “Election day is November 6th.”
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
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@AOC
Republicans are so scared of me that they’re faking videos and presenting them as real on Facebook because they can’t deal with reality anymore.
Here’s one bonafide truth:
Election Day is November 6th.
Shane Goldmacher
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@ShaneGoldmacher
This faked interview of @Ocasio2018 by @CRTV has nearly 1 million views on Facebook. In less than 24 hours.
Interview didn't happen. It takes clips from @MargaretHoover's show and edits in faux questions.
Not labeled satire (other than a ?? emoji).https://www.facebook.com/allieCRTV/videos/2289485394657512/ …
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5:34 AM - Jul 24, 2018
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Shane Goldmacher, chief political correspondent of the New York Times Metro Desk, also responded to the video on Twitter.
Shane Goldmacher
?
@ShaneGoldmacher
This faked interview of @Ocasio2018 by @CRTV has nearly 1 million views on Facebook. In less than 24 hours.
Interview didn't happen. It takes clips from @MargaretHoover's show and edits in faux questions.
Not labeled satire (other than a ?? emoji).https://www.facebook.com/allieCRTV/videos/2289485394657512/ …
5,562
5:17 AM - Jul 24, 2018
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6,220 people are talking about this
Flashback to July 10: Ocasio-Cortez won the primary in her neighboring 15th District, that day, too, in a write-in campaign.
She’s not even running in that district.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
?
@AOC
Shockingly - and I’m told this is not a joke - we have ALSO won a primary in the neighboring 15th Congressional District via write-in campaign on the Reform line!
While I am honored that so many Bronxites are excited about our campaign, I will remain the Dem nominee for NY-14.
ken lovett
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@klnynews
EXCLUSIVE: @Ocasio2018 with another surprise election win - in a district she wasn't even running in http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/ny-pol-ocasio-cortez-serrano-crowley-reform-20180710-story.html …
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4:25 PM - Jul 10, 2018
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RELATED STORY
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...But something else was unfolding at the same time, something even more symbolic. A new crop of progressive congressional representatives arrived in Washington, D.C., earlier this month. Getting the most press among the newbies is 29-year-old Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Bronx-born, Twitter-native, and worm in the heads of right wing pundits. She made waves calling for a Green New Deal (https://www.yesmagazine.org/new-economy/with-the-green-new-deal-have-we-regained-bold-vision), proposing a top marginal tax rate of 70 percent (https://www.mediaite.com/tv/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-calls-for-super-wealthy-to-be-taxed-70-to-fund-green-new-deal/) to pay for it, and, last week, marched in the second anniversary Women’s March, worked to end the federal shutdown, and called in to a 57-hour livestreamed game of Donkey Kong 64 to support trans rights (https://www.theguardian.com/games/2019/jan/22/how-a-57-hour-donkey-kong-twitch-stream-struck-a-blow-against-gamergate).
That’s Donkey Kong, the Nintendo video game from the ’80s. The online game was organized as a fundraiser for Mermaids, a U.K. charity that supports trans youth. It was run by Harry Brewis, known online as “Hbomberguy” and for a series of “Measured Response” videos in which he calmly dissects right-wing talking points and conspiracy theories (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClt01z1wHHT7c5lKcU8pxRQ). Brewis ended up raising about $340,000 for the charity.
Most remarkable about the event—besides a congressional representative showing up—is that the video game community has long been seen as a refuge of misogynistic, right-wing “GamerGate (https://www.yesmagazine.org/people-power/why-you-need-to-know-about-a-gross-thing-called-gamergate)” types. That some people are turning that around and opting for inclusion is a sign of culture shift and progress.
The worlds of Davos and Donkey Kong could not be farther apart. There’s the obvious: the world’s wealthiest assembled in one resort location to save the world for capitalists, and a group of gamers raising money for a cause that benefits a marginalized community.
...
PMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon and Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon privately met with Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., a fierce Wall Street critic who now heads the powerful House Financial Services Committee, CNBC (https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/24/jamie-dimon-and-david-solomon-met-with-wall-street-critic-maxine-waters.html) reported.
The two banking tycoons met with Waters to offer their views on various economic topics as she prepared to take over the committee that oversees their firms after the Democrats won back the House majority in November.
Waters did not mention the banking executives by name but told CNBC that she has an “open-door policy.”
“I frequently meet with advocates for consumers, investors and vulnerable families, representatives of large banks, regional banks, community banks, and credit unions, and other stakeholders. They are all welcome in my office to share their concerns,” she said.
Dimon and Solomon have good reason to have concerns. Waters recently added (https://www.axios.com/ocasio-cortez-set-to-join-house-financial-services-committee--7eafb803-0319-4fbe-a05f-9ea895ca8000.html) Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., and Rep. Katie Porter, D-Calif., to her committee. All four are freshman members elected as progressives, who repeatedly hit out at Wall Street billionaires during their campaigns.
Ocasio-Cortez said (https://www.salon.com/2019/01/22/as-usual-alexandria-ocasio-cortez-is-right-there-should-be-no-billionaires/) at an event on Martin Luther King Jr. Day that “a system that allows billionaires to exist when there are parts of Alabama where people are still getting ringworm because they don’t have access to public health is wrong.”
The self-declared Democratic socialist has proposed (https://www.salon.com/2019/01/22/as-usual-alexandria-ocasio-cortez-is-right-there-should-be-no-billionaires/) rectifying some of that inequality by taxing income above $10 million at a 70 percent marginal rate. CNBC reported (https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/22/davos-billionaires-are-scared-of-alexandria-ocasio-cortez-tax-proposal.html) that billionaires attending the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, were “scared” by the proposal and even more concerned by the “momentum” the proposal may have by next year’s presidential election.
“It’s wild that some people are more scared of a marginal tax rate than the fact that 40% of Americans struggle to pay for at least one basic need, like food or rent,” Ocasio-Cortez quipped (https://twitter.com/AOC/status/1087748236436275201) on Twitter in response to the report.
Pressley has vowed (https://www.boston.com/news/politics/2018/11/21/ayanna-pressley-photos-first-week-washington-dc) to combat “entrenched disparities” caused by banking and housing laws. Tlaib has embraced (https://forward.com/fast-forward/417708/rashida-tlaib-on-instagram-uncle-bernie-gets-me/) Sen. Bernie Sanders’ calls for corporations to pay their “fair share.” Porter, a former law professor who represented California families in foreclosure cases during the Great Recession, has been compared (https://thehill.com/homenews/house/425764-ocasio-cortez-freshmen-poised-to-take-on-wall-street) to Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., a longtime consumer rights advocate and now a 2020 presidential candidate.
Waters herself vowed to fight Wall Street lobbying efforts to weaken financial regulations like the post-recession Dodd-Frank bill in her first policy speech as the committee’s head.
“All of these reforms were designed to help prevent a future financial crisis,” she said (https://financialservices.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=401718). “The committee will be paying close attention to whether financial regulators try to weaken these important reforms, and keeping an eye on the big banks and their activities, including by holding many hearings.”
Waters has had run-ins with Dimon in the past over JPMorgan’s millions in lobbying efforts to derail parts of Dodd-Frank in 2012. Waters grilled Dimon (https://www.c-span.org/video/?306502-102/jpmorgan-chase-trading-loss-jamie-dimon-testimony) on why he lobbied for reduced regulations overseas even though he admitted that might harm shareholders at home.
“Lobbying is a constitutional right,” Dimon replied.
“Well, I’m not questioning your right to lobby. I’m questioning what’s in the best interest of the American public,” Waters shot back.
AN 119
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The attacks on Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez from the far right—and some centrist establishment Democrats as well—have ranged from hysterical to downright silly. And all of this silliness, Rolling Stone’s irreverent Matt Taibbi asserts in his latest article, shows how threatened they are (https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-media-781571/) by the 29-year-old congresswoman.
“The real problem most of Washington has with AOC,” Taibbi writes, is that “her self-generated popularity and large social media presence means she doesn’t need to ask anyone’s permission to say anything.”
Taibbi explains that if the New Yorker’s critics “were smart, they’d ignore her”—and the more this “ongoing freakout over newcomer Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez” occurs, Taibbi stresses, the more pathetic those detractors show themselves to be.
“All of AOC’s supporters sent her to Washington precisely to make noise,” Taibbi explains. “There isn’t a cabal of key donors standing behind her, cringing every time she talks about the Pentagon budget. She is there to be a pain in the ass, and it’s working. Virtually the entire spectrum of Washington officialdom has responded to her with horror and anguish.”
One of the Ocasio-Cortez critics Taibbi takes aim at is former Connecticut Sen. Joseph Lieberman, who complained that if she is the Democratic Party’s “new face,” Democrats can forget about having a “bright future.”
Taibbi writes, “How many Democrats, do you think, heard that and immediately thought the opposite—that if Joe Lieberman disapproves, Ocasio-Cortez must be on the right track? Sixty percent? Seventy?”
Taibbi notes that because Ocasio-Cortez is new to Congress, it remains to be seen how much she will accomplish on the job. But the fact that many establishment figures in Washington, DC feel so threatened by Ocasio-Cortez, according to Taibbi, speaks quite well of her.
“I have no idea if Ocasio-Cortez will or will not end up being a great politician,” Taibbi asserts. “But it’s abundantly clear that her mere presence is unmasking many, if not most, of the worst and most tired Shibboleths of the capital.”
==
AN 119
Whether or not Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is ultimately an effective congressperson remains to be seen, writes New York Times columnist Paul Krugman (https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/05/opinion/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-tax-policy-dance.html), but she’s already doing a great job of advancing tax policy.
Ocasio-Cortez has advocated a tax rate of 70 to80 percent on very high incomes, which Krugman says seems “crazy”—except to the world’s leading expert on public finance.
“It’s a policy nobody has ever implemented, aside from … the United States, for 35 years after World War II — including the most successful period of economic growth in our history,” he writes.
The government should look at taxation as a way to raise revenue for the government.
“When taxing the rich, all we should care about is how much revenue we raise,” he explains. “The optimal tax rate on people with very high incomes is the rate that raises the maximum possible revenue.”
According to a fellow Nobel laureate in economics, “the optimal rate” for taxing the rich is 73 percent.
“So AOC, far from showing her craziness, is fully in line with serious economic research,” he writes. “She definitely knows more economics than almost everyone in the G.O.P. caucus.”
Read the full article here (https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/05/opinion/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-tax-policy-dance.html).
The most important thing we must do to save our democracy is get big money out of politics. It’s a prerequisite to accomplishing everything else.
Today, big money continues to corrupt American politics – creating a vicious cycle that funnels more wealth and power to those at the top and eroding our democracy.
In the 2018 midterm elections, wealthy donors and Super-PACs poured millions into the campaigns of the same lawmakers who voted to pass the 2017 tax cuts, which gave them huge windfalls.
Consider conservative donors Sheldon and Miriam Adelson, whose casino business received an estimated $700 million windfall, thanks to Trump and Republicans’ tax cuts. The couple then used some of this extra cash to plow more than $113 million dollars into the 2018 election, breaking the record for political contributions by a single household.[vid]
That’s not a bad return on investment – for them. All told, almost 40 percent of total contributions in the 2018 midterms came from people who donated $10,000 or more. Yet these mega-donors comprise a tiny 0.01 percent of the U.S. population.
It’s a worsening vicious cycle: Lawmakers cut taxes and slash regulations for their wealthy campaign donors. Mega-donors and corporations funnel some of that money back into our political system to keep their lackeys in power. Politicians then propose another round of tax cuts, subsidies or bailouts to secure even more donations.
If this isn’t corruption, I don’t know what is. It also breeds cynicism in our democracy. The game seems rigged because it is. A 2015 poll (https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fnews.gallup.com%2Fpoll%2F185918%2Fmajority-americans-congress-touch-corrupt.aspx&t=Mzg3ZTc1M2ZlNDIxODE0NDQ3YWFiMzUyNTk5ZjEwNWUxZTQxODRhZSxFWXZKTlVQNg%3D%3D&b=t%3AhQ9Ds4P3Iv6D7mgEr8WMqg&p=http%3A%2F%2Frobertreich.org%2Fpost%2F181719843490&m=1) found that the majority of Americans say lawmakers are corrupt, out of touch with their constituents, and beholden to special interests.
In the 2018 midterms, Americans demanded an end to the corruption. And there are signs lawmakers are finally getting message.House Democrats’ first piece of legislation aims to end the big-money takeover.
We must end this vicious cycle in order to reclaim our democracy. We must get big money out of politics. Now.
==
AN
Ocasio-Cortez touts highest portion of 2018 small-dollar donors: 'Being people-funded frees me to put people first' (https://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/ocasio-cortez-touts-highest-portion-2018-small-dollar-donors-being-people-funded)
https://www.ecowatch.com/new-green-deal-ocasio-cortez-2621867003.html
many lnx
Ocasio-Cortez's Green New Deal Proposal Now Backed by 15 House Democrats
Calls for a Green New Deal (https://www.ecowatch.com/midterm-results-environment-climate-change-2618493194.html) are gaining traction in the two short weeks after the young climate (https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change/) activists of the Sunrise Movement (https://www.sunrisemovement.org/) and Representative-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez stormed (https://www.ecowatch.com/ocasio-cortez-pelosi-climate-change-2619674477.html) Democratic House Leader Nancy Pelosi's Capitol Hill office.
Fifteen members (https://www.sunrisemovement.org/gnd) of Congress have now backed Ocasio-Cortez's proposal to establish a "select committee (https://ocasio2018.com/green-new-deal)" in the House of Representatives to develop a plan to—basically—reduce greenhouse gas (https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/greenhouse-gases) emissions and to transition the U.S. to 100 percent renewable energy (https://www.ecowatch.com/renewable-energy) sources within 10 years of passing the Green New Deal legislation.
Supporters in the House include John Lewis, the civil rights leader and Democratic congressman from Georgia, and trailblazers Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar, the first two Muslim women ever elected to Congress.
--- no lnx
As ThinkProgress reported, Democratic congresswoman Chellie Pingree of Maine joined the growing list of backers on Tuesday.
"We don't need another report to tell us climate change is a threat to our health, environment and economy," she said in a statement on her website. "We must take urgent action to end our nation's reliance on fossil fuels and stop the damage greenhouse gases have done to our way of life."
Pingree, an organic farmer and member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior and the Environment, said the effects of climate change have greatly impacted her state.
"Look no further than Maine's lobster industry to see the looming economic crisis facing our state due to rapidly warming waters," she said. "Meanwhile rates of asthma and tick-borne illness in Maine have dramatically spiked because of fossil fuel emissions and rising temperatures. I see the crisis of climate change every day in my state and believe a new committee dedicated exclusively to this crisis can support the long-standing work of other House committees and help to fast-track solutions."
Here are the 15 House Democrats supporting the measure:
Jared Huffman (CA-02)
Ro Khanna (CA-17)
Ted Lieu (CA-33)
John Lewis (GA-05)
Joe Neguse (CO-02)
Chellie Pingree (ME-01)
Jamie Raskin (MD-08)
Ayanna Pressley (MA-07)
Rashida Tlaib (MI-13)
Ilhan Omar (MN-05)
Deb Halland (NM-01)
Carolyn Maloney (NY-12)
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14)
José E. Serrano (NY-15)
Earl Blumenauer (OR-03)
The proposal also has the support of nearly 100 environmental, economic and social justice organizations, according to the Sunrise Movement.
To build momentum, the youth climate group is organizing another mass action at the Capitol on Dec. 10, right before Congress breaks for the holidays, "to make sure Ocasio's Select Committee on a Green New Deal makes it on the agenda for 2019," Sunrise Movement founder Varshini Prakash said in an emailed press release.
The group launched the effort only yesterday and 230 people have already signed up to participate. (You can also join the action in DC, or if you're on the West Coast, you can sign up for the action in Nancy Pelosi's office in San Francisco.)
Last week, the National Climate Assessment report—compiled by 13 federal agencies and more than 300 scientists—warned that climate change could kill thousands of Americans each year and slash the GDP by more than 10 percent by 2100.
President Donald Trump, who is fixated on fossil fuels, dismissed his own government's report by saying "I don't believe it."
"People are going to die if we don't start addressing climate change ASAP. It's not enough to think it's 'important.' We must make it urgent," Ocasio-Cortez tweeted after the report's release. "That's why we need a Select Committee on a Green New Deal, & why fossil fuel-funded officials shouldn't be writing climate change policy."
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==
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandria_Ocasio-Cortez (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandria_Ocasio-Cortez)
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez\a] (born October 13, 1989), sometimes referred to by her initials AOC,\2][3][4] is an American politician and educator.[5][6] She is the [U.S. Representative (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_House_of_Representatives)-elect for [New York's 14th congressional district (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York%27s_14th_congressional_district), elected on November 6, 2018.
On June 26, 2018, Ocasio-Cortez won the Democratic (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Party%28United_States%29) primary (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_House_of_Representatives_elections_in_New_York,2018#District_14) in New York's 14th congressional district covering parts of the Bronx (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bronx) and Queens (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queens) in New York City (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_City), defeating the incumbent (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incumbent) Congressman, Democratic Caucus Chair (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Caucus_Chairman_of_the_United_States_House_of_Representatives) Joe Crowley (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Crowley), in what was described as the biggest upset (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upset%28competition%29) victory in the 2018 midterm election primaries (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_elections,2018).\12] Ocasio-Cortez is a member of the [Democratic Socialists of America (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Socialists_of_America).[13]
When she takes office on January 3, 2019, at the age of 29, Ocasio-Cortez will be the youngest woman to serve in Congress in the history of the United States,\14] a distinction that was previously held by New York Republican (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republican_Party%28United_States%29) Elise Stefanik (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elise_Stefanik), who was elected at age 30 in [2014 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_House_of_Representatives_elections_in_New_York,2014).[15]
1Early life and education (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandria_Ocasio-Cortez#Early_life_and_education)
2Early career (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandria_Ocasio-Cortez#Early_career)
3U.S. House of Representatives (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandria_Ocasio-Cortez#U.S._House_of_Representatives)
3.12018 election (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandria_Ocasio-Cortez#2018_election)
3.1.1Primary election (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandria_Ocasio-Cortez#Primary_election)
3.1.2Media coverage (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandria_Ocasio-Cortez#Media_coverage)
3.1.3General election (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandria_Ocasio-Cortez#General_election)
4Tenure (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandria_Ocasio-Cortez#Tenure)
4.1116th Congress (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandria_Ocasio-Cortez#116th_Congress)
5Political positions (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandria_Ocasio-Cortez#Political_positions)
5.1Education (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandria_Ocasio-Cortez#Education)
5.2Environment (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandria_Ocasio-Cortez#Environment)
5.3Healthcare (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandria_Ocasio-Cortez#Healthcare)
5.4Immigration (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandria_Ocasio-Cortez#Immigration)
5.5Criminal justice reform (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandria_Ocasio-Cortez#Criminal_justice_reform)
5.6Electoral reform (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandria_Ocasio-Cortez#Electoral_reform)
5.7Impeachment of President Trump (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandria_Ocasio-Cortez#Impeachment_of_President_Trump)
5.8Israeli–Palestinian conflict (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandria_Ocasio-Cortez#Israeli%E2%80%93Palestinian_conflict)
5.9Puerto Rico (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandria_Ocasio-Cortez#Puerto_Rico)
5.10Social issues (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandria_Ocasio-Cortez#Social_issues)
5.11Amazon HQ2 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandria_Ocasio-Cortez#Amazon_HQ2)
6Awards and honors (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandria_Ocasio-Cortez#Awards_and_honors)
7Personal life (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandria_Ocasio-Cortez#Personal_life)
8Notes (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandria_Ocasio-Cortez#Notes)
9References (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandria_Ocasio-Cortez#References)
10External links (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandria_Ocasio-Cortez#External_links)
Early life and education
Ocasio-Cortez was born in The Bronx (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bronx), New York City (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_City), on October 13, 1989, to Blanca Ocasio-Cortez (née (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Given_name#Name_at_birth) Cortez) and Sergio Ocasio.\16] Her father, an architect of Puerto Rican descent, was born in the Bronx, while her mother was born in Puerto Rico (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puerto_Rico).\17]\18] Until age five, Ocasio-Cortez lived with her family in an apartment in the neighborhood of [Parkchester (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parkchester,Bronx).[18] The family then moved to a house in [Yorktown Heights (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yorktown_Heights,New_York), a suburb in [Westchester County (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westchester_County,_New_York).[18] Growing up, Ocasio-Cortez regularly visited her extended family in the Bronx.[19]
Ocasio-Cortez attended Yorktown High School (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yorktown_High_School%28New_York%29), graduating in 2007,\20] where she won second prize in the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_International_Science_and_Engineering_Fair) with a microbiology (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microbiology) research project on the effect of antioxidants (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antioxidant) on C. elegans (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C.elegans)' lifespan.\21] As a result, the International Astronomical Union (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Astronomical_Union) named a small asteroid after her: 23238 Ocasio-Cortez (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/23238_Ocasio-Cortez).\22]\23] In high school, she took part in the National Hispanic Institute (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Hispanic_Institute)'s Lorenzo de Zavala (LDZ) Youth Legislative Session. She later became the LDZ Secretary of State while she attended Boston University (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_University). Ocasio-Cortez had a John F. Lopez Fellowship (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Hispanic_Institute#John_F.Lopez_Fellowship%28JFL%29).[24] In 2008, while Ocasio-Cortez was a sophomore at Boston University, her father died of lung cancer.[25][26] During college, she was an intern in the immigration office of U.S. Senator [Ted Kennedy (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Kennedy).[27] She graduated [cum laude (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latin_honors#Types) from Boston University's [College of Arts and Sciences (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_University_College_of_Arts_and_Sciences) in 2011 with a bachelor's degree in[international relations (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_relations) and a minor in economics.[24][28][29]
Ocasio-Cortez has described her background as working-class, and relates many of her political positions to it. When her father died intestate (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intestate) of lung cancer in 2008,\30] she became involved in a long [probate (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Probate) battle to settle his estate. She has said that the experience helped her learn "firsthand how attorneys appointed by the court to administer an estate can enrich themselves at the expense of the families struggling to make sense of the bureaucracy".[31]
Early career
After college, Ocasio-Cortez moved back to the Bronx, while she worked as a bartender in Manhattan and as a waitress in a taqueria (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taqueria). Her mother, meanwhile, cleaned houses and drove school buses. After her father's death, Ocasio-Cortez and her mother struggled to fight foreclosure (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreclosure) of their home.\32][33] With financial backing from [Sunshine Bronx Business Incubator (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunshine_Bronx_Business_Incubator), she established a publishing firm, Brook Avenue Press, which specializes in children's literature that portrays the Bronx in a positive light.[34] She worked as lead educational strategist at GAGEis, Inc.[35] Ocasio-Cortez was also an educator at the nonprofit National Hispanic Institute,[36] in which role she served as the Educational Director of the 2017 Northeast Collegiate World Series, where she participated in a panel on Latino leadership.[24]
In the 2016 primary (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primary_election), Ocasio-Cortez worked as an organizer for Bernie Sanders's 2016 presidential campaign (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernie_Sanders_presidential_campaign,2016).\37] After the general election, she traveled across America by car, visiting places such as Flint (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flint,Michigan), Michigan, and Standing Rock (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standing_Rock_Indian_Reservation), and speaking to people affected by the human rights violations related to the Flint water crisis (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flint_water_crisis) and the [Dakota Access Pipeline (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dakota_Access_Pipeline_protests).[38] In an interview she recalled her visit to Standing Rock as a tipping point, saying that before that, she had felt that the only way to effectively run for office was if you had access to wealth, social influence, and power. But her visit to North Dakota, where she saw others "putting their whole lives and everything that they had on the line for the protection of their community", inspired her to begin to work for her own community.[39]
U.S. House of Representatives
2018 election
Main article: United States House of Representatives elections in New York, 2018 § District 14 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_House_of_Representatives_elections_in_New_York,_2018#District_14)
Ocasio-Cortez was among a slate of nationwide Justice Democrats (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justice_Democrats)/Brand New Congress (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brand_New_Congress) candidacy announcements livestreamed on May 16, 2017.[40] In August 2017, she attended the Netroots Nation Conference in Atlanta, appearing on a panel with fellow candidates on "how to run a grassroots campaign that puts people above party".[41][42].
Ocasio-Cortez was the first person since 2004 to challenge the Democratic Caucus Chair (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Caucus_Chairman_of_the_United_States_House_of_Representatives), Joe Crowley (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Crowley), in the Democratic primary. She faced a significant financial disadvantage, but said, "You can't really beat big money with more money. You have to beat them with a totally different game." Nearly 75% of her donations were small individual contributions, while less than one percent of Crowley's contributions were.[31] The Ocasio-Cortez campaign spent $194,000 to the Crowley campaign's $3.4 million.[43]
On June 15, the candidates' only face-to-face encounter during the campaign occurred on a local political talk show, Inside City Hall (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inside_City_Hall). The format was a joint interview conducted by Errol Louis (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Errol_Louis), which NY1 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NY1) characterized as a debate.\45] On June 18, a debate in the Bronx was scheduled, but Crowley did not participate. He sent former New York City Council (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_City_Council) member [Annabel Palma (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annabel_Palma) in his place.[46][47][48]Ocasio-Cortez has not previously held elected office,[17] and her campaign video began with her saying "Women like me aren't supposed to run for office."[44]
Ocasio-Cortez was endorsed by progressive and civil rights organizations such as MoveOn (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MoveOn),\49] Justice Democrats (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justice_Democrats),\50] Brand New Congress (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brand_New_Congress),\51] Black Lives Matter (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Lives_Matter),\52] and [Democracy for America (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democracy_for_America),[37] and by gubernatorial candidate [Cynthia Nixon (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cynthia_Nixon), who, like Ocasio-Cortez, also challenged a longtime incumbent, [Andrew Cuomo (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Cuomo), in the [2018 New York gubernatorial election (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_gubernatorial_election,_2018).[53]
Governor Cuomo endorsed Crowley, as did both of New York's U.S. Senators, Chuck Schumer (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_Schumer) and Kirsten Gillibrand (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirsten_Gillibrand), as well as New York City Mayor (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayor_of_New_York_City) Bill de Blasio (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_de_Blasio), 11 U.S. Representatives, 31 local elected officials, 31 trade unions, and progressive groups such as the Sierra Club (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sierra_Club), Planned Parenthood (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planned_Parenthood), the Working Families Party (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Working_Families_Party), NARAL Pro-Choice America (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NARAL_Pro-Choice_America) and Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Everytown_for_Gun_Safety), among others.\54] California representative [Ro Khanna (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ro_Khanna), like Ocasio-Cortez a Justice Democrat,[55] initially endorsed Crowley, later also endorsing Ocasio-Cortez in an unusual dual endorsement.[56]
Following her win, Ocasio-Cortez explained her campaign strategy:
I knew that if we were going to win, the way that progressives win on an unapologetic message is by expanding the electorate. That's the only way that we can win strategically. It's not by rushing to the center. It's not by trying to win spending all of our energy winning over those who have other opinions. It's by expanding the electorate, speaking to those that feel disenchanted, dejected, cynical about our politics, and letting them know that we're fighting for them.[57]
Primary election
Bernie Sanders (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernie_Sanders) congratulated her, saying, "She took on the entire local Democratic establishment in her district and won a very strong victory. She demonstrated once again what progressive grassroots politics can do."\11] Noam Chomsky (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noam_Chomsky) saw her victory as "a quite spectacular and significant event". He believes her win shows a split in the Democratic Party and he thinks that "she was right in saying that the policies she's outlined should have broad appeal to a very large segment of the population."\64]On June 26, 2018, Ocasio-Cortez received 57.13% of the vote (15,897) to Joe Crowley's 42.5% (11,761), defeating the 10-term incumbent by almost 15 percentage points.\58]Time (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time%28magazine%29) called her victory "the biggest upset of the 2018 elections so far";\59] CNN (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CNN) made a similar statement.\8] The New York Times (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_New_York_Times) described Crowley's loss as "a shocking primary defeat on Tuesday, the most significant loss for a Democratic incumbent in more than a decade, and one that will reverberate across the party and the country".[37] [The Guardian (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Guardian) called it "one of the biggest [upsets (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upset%28competition%29) in recent American political history".[60] Her victory was especially surprising as she was outspent 18–1.[61] [Merriam-Webster (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merriam-Webster)reported that searches for the word "socialism" spiked 1,500% after her victory.[62] In a sign of her outsider status, as of 11 p.m. on election day Crowley had not phoned Ocasio-Cortez; she believed he did not have her phone number and stated that she did not have his. Earlier in the evening, however, Crowley, an amateur guitarist, had played a cover of [Bruce Springsteen (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Springsteen)'s "[Born to Run (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Born_to_Run_%28Bruce_Springsteen_song%29)" at his election night watch party by way of conceding defeat, having dedicated it to Ocasio-Cortez.[63]
At 28 years old, Ocasio-Cortez was one of the youngest nominees for Congress.[citation ^needed]
Several commentators noted the similarities between Ocasio-Cortez's victory over Crowley and Dave Brat (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave_Brat)'s 2014 victory over Eric Cantor (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Cantor) in the Republican primary for Virginia's 7th congressional district (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia%27s_7th_congressional_district).[65][66] Like Crowley, Cantor was a high-ranking member in his party's caucus.[67] After her primary win, Ocasio-Cortez endorsed several progressive primary challengers to Democratic incumbents nationwide,[68] leveraging her fame and spending her political capital in a manner not usually seen even in unexpected primary winners.[69]
Without campaigning for it, Ocasio-Cortez won the Reform Party (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reform_Party_of_the_United_States_of_America) primary as a write-in candidate (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Write-in_candidate) in a neighboring congressional district, New York's 15th (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York%27s_15th_congressional_district), albeit with a total vote count of nine. She said she appreciated the show of support, but would decline the nomination.[70][71][b]
Media coverage
After her primary win, Ocasio-Cortez quickly garnered nationwide media attention, including numerous articles and TV talk-show appearances. She appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Late_Show_with_Stephen_Colbert)\75] and The View (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_View%28talk_show%29) in the first few days after the primary\76] and later on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Daily_Show_with_Trevor_Noah).\77]Many journalists faulted the traditional national news media (with a few exceptions such as CBSN (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CBSN)) for not identifying, or even recognizing, the newsworthiness of Ocasio-Cortez's campaign.\72][73] [Brian Stelter (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Stelter) wrote that progressive media outlets such as [The Young Turks (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Young_Turks) and [The Intercept (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Intercept) "saw the Ocasio-Cortez upset coming".[66] [Margaret Sullivan (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Sullivan%28journalist%29) said that traditional metrics of measuring a campaign's viability, like total fundraising, were contributing to a "media failure".[73] Ocasio-Cortez was barely mentioned in print-media coverage until her primary election win.[74]
Ocasio-Cortez also drew a great deal of media attention when she and Bernie Sanders (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernie_Sanders) campaigned for James Thompson (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Thompson%28Kansas_politician%29) in Kansas in July 2018. A rally in Wichita (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wichita,Kansas) had to be moved from a theater with a capacity of 1,500 when far more people said they would attend. The event drew 4,000 people, with some seated on the floor. In The New Yorker (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_New_Yorker)Benjamin Wallace-Wells wrote that while Sanders remains "the de-facto leader of an increasingly popular left, [he is unable to] do things that do not come naturally to him, like supply hope." Wallace-Wells suggested that Ocasio-Cortez has made Sanders's task easier as he can point to her success to show that ideas "once considered to be radical are now part of the mainstream".[78]
Ocasio-Cortez received backlash after barring members of the media from attending her "listening tour" on August 8 in the Bronx (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bronx) and August 12 in Corona, Queens (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corona,_Queens).[79][80][81]
Ocasio-Cortez has been the subject of negative press coverage from right-leaning media outlets since her Democratic primary win in June 2018.\82] Some news outlets, such as Fox News (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fox_News) and the Washington Examiner (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Examiner), were criticized for their coverage that mocked Ocasio-Cortez's outfit choices.\83][84] In July 2018, conservative news outlet [CRTV (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conservative_Review)published a doctored video that featured footage of Ocasio-Cortez from a previous interview with [PBS (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PBS), spliced to appear as answers to questions read by CRTV commentator Allie Stuckey.[85] CRTV later added a discaimer that labeled the video as satire as well as providing a link to the original PBS interview.[85][86]
General election
Crowley also remained on the ballot, as the nominee of the Working Families Party (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Working_Families_Party) (WFP). Neither Crowley nor the party actively campaigned, with both having endorsed Ocasio-Cortez after her Democratic primary victory.\93] On July 17, former Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Lieberman), who himself won reelection on a third-party line after losing the Democratic Primary in 2006 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Senate_election_in_Connecticut,2006), expressed hope that Crowley would actively campaign on the WFP ballot line (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballot_access) in a column in the Wall Street Journal (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wall_Street_Journal).\94] Dan Cantor (https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dan_Cantor&action=edit&redlink=1), Executive Director of the WFP, wrote an endorsement of, and apology to, Ocasio-Cortez for the New York Daily News (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_Daily_News), and called on voters not to vote for Crowley if his name remained on the general election ballot.\95]Ocasio-Cortez faced Republican nominee Anthony Pappas in the November 6 general election.\87] Pappas, who lives in Astoria (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astoria,Queens), is an economics professor at St. John's University (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St.John%27s_University%28New_York_City%29). According to the [New York Post (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_Post), Pappas did not actively campaign. The Post wrote that "Pappas' bid was a long shot," since the 14th has a [Cook Partisan Voting Index (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cook_Partisan_Voting_Index)of D+29 and registered Democrats outnumber Republicans by almost six to one.[88][89][90] Ocasio-Cortez was endorsed by various politically [progressive (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Progressivism_in_the_United_States#Progressivism_in_the_21st_century) organizations and figures, including former President [Barack Obama (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_Obama) and U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernie_Sanders).[91][92]
In August 2018, Ocasio-Cortez spoke at the Netroots Nation (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netroots_Nation) conference in New Orleans.[96]
Ocasio-Cortez won the election with 78% of the vote (100,044) to Pappas's 13.8% (17,762).[97] Her election was part of a broader Democratic victory in the 2018 midterm elections, as the party gained control of the House by picking up at least 39 seats.[98]
After the election, Ocasio-Cortez chose Justice Democrats co-founder Saikat Chakrabarti as her chief of staff.[99]
Tenure
116th Congress
On the first day of congressional orientation, Ocasio-Cortez participated in a climate change protest outside the office of House Minority Leader (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_Minority_Leader) Nancy Pelosi (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nancy_Pelosi).\100] Ocasio-Cortez backs Pelosi for [Speaker of the House (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speaker_of_the_United_States_House_of_Representatives)once the Democratic Party reclaims the majority in 2019, under the condition that she "remains the most progressive candidate for speaker."[101]
Ocasio-Cortez enters Congress with no seniority (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seniority) but with a large social media (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_media) presence that could increase her influence in the House. Axios (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axios_%28website%29) has credited her with as much social media clout as her fellow freshman Democrats combined. As of November 2018 she has 1.38 million Twitter (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twitter) followers and just under a million Instagram (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instagram) followers.[102]
Political positions
Ocasio-Cortez is a self-described democratic socialist (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_socialist).\103] She is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Socialists_of_America).\13] She supports progressive (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Progressivism_in_the_United_States#Progressivism_in_the_21st_century) policies such as Medicare for All (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medicare_for_All), a job guarantee (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Job_guarantee),[104] tuition-free public college, ending the [privatization of prisons (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prison%E2%80%93industrial_complex), and enacting [gun-control policies (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_politics_in_the_United_States).[105]
Education
Ocasio-Cortez campaigned in favor of tuition-free universities (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuition-free_college) and public schools (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_school),\106] saying that "\f]or the cost of the [GOP's tax bill (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tax_Cuts_and_Jobs_Act_of_2017), we could forgive ALL the [student loan (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Student_loan) debt in the United States."[106][107]
Environment
Ocasio-Cortez is a self-described hardliner on environmental issues, calling climate change the "single biggest national security threat" facing the United States. She advocates for the United States to transition by 2035 to an electrical grid running on 100% renewable-energy (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renewable_energy) production and end the use of fossil fuels (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fossil_fuel). She also calls for a Green New Deal (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_New_Deal) in the United States, in which the federal government would invest in the construction of large-scale green-infrastructure projects (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_infrastructure).[108]
Ocasio-Cortez has proposed "a select committee in the House to draft a plan that fits the proposal’s standards". Outlined in a draft resolution on her website, the proposal would mean "using nothing but renewable energy for electricity generation" and transitioning to renewable sources of energy "within 10 years of passing Green New Deal legislation", but does not provide details about how the US would move away from non-renewable power sources. It would also roll out a nationwide “smart” electrical grid (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_grid) and "mass energy-efficient building upgrades". Twelve Democrats in the new Congress have supported this resolution: Representatives Jared Huffman (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jared_Huffman), Ro Khanna (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ro_Khanna), John Lewis (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Lewis%28civil_rights_leader%29), Carolyn Maloney (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carolyn_Maloney), Jose Serrano (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_E.Serrano), Earl Blumenauer (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earl_Blumenauer), Deb Haaland (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deb_Haaland), Joe Neguse (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Neguse), Ayanna Pressley (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayanna_Pressley) and Rashida Tlaib (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rashida_Tlaib). Frank Pallone (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Pallone) does not believe the committee should have legislative authority.[109]
Healthcare
Ocasio-Cortez supports transitioning to a single-payer healthcare (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single-payer_healthcare) system, calling healthcare a human right (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_rights).\110][106] She says that a single government insurer should ensure that every American has insurance, while reducing costs overall.[104] On her campaign website, Ocasio-Cortez says "Almost every other developed nation in the world has [universal healthcare (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_health_care). It's time the United States catch up to the rest of the world in ensuring all people have real healthcare coverage that doesn't break the bank."[106]
Immigration
Ocasio-Cortez supports a "path to citizenship" for immigrants who entered the United States legally and illegally.\111]\112] She supports abolishing the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S.Immigration_and_Customs_Enforcement) agency (ICE), calling it "a product of the Bush-era (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presidency_of_George_W.Bush) Patriot Act (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patriot_Act) suite of legislation" and "an enforcement agency that takes on more of a paramilitary (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paramilitary) tone every single day".\113] She later clarified that this does not mean abolishing deportations.[114]She has called immigration detention centers operated by the [Department of Homeland Security (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Department_of_Homeland_Security) "[black sites (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_sites)", citing limited public access to those locations.[115] Two days before the primary election, Ocasio-Cortez attended a protest at an ICE child-detention center in [Tornillo (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tornillo,_Texas), Texas.[116]
Criminal justice reform
Ocasio-Cortez supports federal legalization of marijuana, banning private prisons and detention centers, releasing all nonviolent drug offenders, ending cash bail, and automatic, independent investigations whenever someone is killed by a police officer.[117]
Electoral reform
Ocasio-Cortez has called for public financing of elections and a constitutional amendment overturning Citizens United v. FEC (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizens_United_v.FEC), Buckley v. Valeo (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buckley_v.Valeo), and Speechnow v. FEC (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speechnow_v._FEC).[117] She also supports the replacement of the Electoral College with a National Popular Vote.[118]
Impeachment of President Trump
On June 28, 2018, Ocasio-Cortez told CNN she would support the impeachment of President Trump (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impeachment_of_Donald_Trump), saying, "I think that, you know, we have the grounds to do it." She cited Trump's alleged violations of the Emoluments Clause (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Title_of_Nobility_Clause).[119][120]
Israeli–Palestinian conflict
After 60 Palestinian protesters participating in the 2018 Gaza border protests (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_Gaza_border_protests) were killed on May 14, 2018, Ocasio-Cortez criticized the Israel Defense Forces (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel_Defense_Forces)' use of deadly force,\121] tweeting,\122] "This is a massacre. I hope my peers have the moral courage to call it such. No state or entity is absolved of mass shootings of protesters. There is no justification. Palestinian people deserve basic human dignity, as anyone else. Democrats can't be silent about this anymore."\123] In a subsequent interview, she said, "The idea that we are not supposed to talk about people dying when they are engaging in political expression just really moved me", and said that many constituents, including Jewish Americans (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_Americans), had thanked her for taking that position.[124] In an interview with the [PBS (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PBS) series [Firing Line (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firing_Line_%28TV_series%29), Ocasio-Cortez clarified that she is "a proponent of a [two-state solution (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two-state_solution)".[125]
After her primary victory, J Street (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J_Street) President Jeremy Ben-Ami (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Ben-Ami) expressed his support for "a new generation of candidates who are more outspoken about their opposition to the policies of Netanyahu (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Netanyahu)'s far-right coalition and are eager to see the US play a more constructive role in making life better for both Israelis and Palestinians".[126]
Puerto Rico
Ocasio-Cortez calls for "solidarity with Puerto Rico". She has advocated for granting Puerto Ricans further civil rights, regardless of Puerto Rico's legal classification. She also advocates for both voting rights and disaster relief. Ocasio-Cortez was critical of FEMA (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FEMA)'s response to Hurricane Maria (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Maria) and the federal government's unwillingness to address Puerto Rico's political status (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_status_of_Puerto_Rico).[127] She believes the federal government should increase investment in Puerto Rico.[105]
Social issues
Ocasio-Cortez is supportive of the LGBT community (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_community), thanking its members for their role in her grassroots campaign (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grassroots_campaign).\128][105] She spoke at a [Black Lives Matter (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Lives_Matter) rally in 2017.[129]
Amazon HQ2
In mid-November 2018, Ocasio-Cortez came out against the selection of Long Island City (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_Island_City) in Queens as one of the two locations for Amazon HQ2 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon_HQ2). She expressed concern that Amazon would receive tax breaks while critical infrastructure, such as the New York City Subway (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_City_Subway) was deteriorating and the city's public-school and health-care systems were underfunded. Ocasio-Cortez has also raised concerns about the affordability of housing in Queens, since housing prices around the HQ2 campus would rise as a result of the campus's construction.[130][131]
Awards and honors
The International Astronomical Union (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Astronomical_Union) named the asteroid (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asteroid) 23238 Ocasio-Cortez (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/23238_Ocasio-Cortez) after Ocasio-Cortez when she was a senior in high school in recognition of her second-place finish in the 2007 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_International_Science_and_Engineering_Fair).\22][23] Ocasio-Cortez was named the 2017 National Hispanic Institute Person of the Year by [Ernesto Nieto (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernesto_Nieto).[24]
Personal life
Ocasio-Cortez has family in Puerto Rico, where her grandfather lived in a nursing home\127] before dying in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Maria).\132] After Ocasio-Cortez's father's death in 2008, her mother and grandmother relocated to Florida due to financial hardship.\17]\32] She described her [Catholic (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholic_Church) faith and its impact on her life and her campaign for [criminal justice reform (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criminal_justice_reform_in_the_United_States) in an article in [America (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/America_%28magazine%29), the magazine of the [Jesuit (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesuit) order in the United States.[133]
During the 2018 election campaign, Ocasio-Cortez resided in a one-bedroom apartment in Parkchester, Bronx (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parkchester,_Bronx),[6] with her boyfriend, Riley Roberts. They met at Boston University.[134]
Notes
https://www.alternet.org/heres-dire-climate-change-report-trump-white-house-didnt-want-you-see
[another art'l on blk friday release AN]
in a move environmentalists and journalists denounced as a blatant effort to bury facts that conflict with the president's denialism and pro-fossil fuel agenda, the Trump administration used the Friday after Thanksgiving to quietly releaseVolume II of the Fourth National Climate Assessment (https://nca2018.globalchange.gov/) (NCA4), which warned "Earth's climate is now changing faster than at any point in the history of modern civilization" and concluded that "greenhouse gas emissions from human activities are the only factors that can account" for planet-threatening warming.
"Climate change is spawning more extreme weather, causing irreparable harm to communities, costing billions of dollars a year, and leading to countless deaths. We can stop climate destruction, but only if we act quickly to end the use of fossil fuels."
—Wenonah Hauter, Food & Water Watch
"The decision to release this damning report when families are beginning to celebrate the holidays and newsrooms are short-staffed is a brazen attempt to bury the truth from the public that we must act now to move off fossil fuels and stabilize the climate," Wenonah Hauter, executive director of Food & Water Watch, said in a statement.
"Releasing this report when no one is looking, tweeting his annual nonsense about global warming and cold weather, and announcing that he'll use the upcoming U.N. climate meetings as a fossil fuel tradeshow, Trump is doubling down on his climate denial for the holidays—as many families are still reeling from unnatural climate disasters across the country," Hauter continued. "The science is way past in on climate change... We must prepare for our climate future in spite of Trump."
From deadly wildfires to catastrophic hurricanes and other extreme weather events, the "impacts of global climate change are already being felt in the United States and are projected to intensify in the future," notes the congressionally mandated report—the first of its kind released since President Donald Trump took office in 2017.
Authored by officials from over a dozen federal agencies, the report warns that in the absence of aggressive action to quickly slash carbon emissions, the climate crisis will continue to have increasingly devastating effects on the environment, wildlife, and human health.
"It is very likely that some impacts, such as the effects of ice sheet disintegration on sea level rise and coastal development, will be irreversible for many thousands of years, and others, such as species extinction, will be permanent," the report warns.
Using the hashtag #ClimateFriday, environmentalists worked to overcome the Trump administration's attempt to hide the NCA4 amid the chaos of the holidays by highlighting the report's findings and stressing its dire implications if ambitious and global climate action is not taken.
"This report makes it clear that climate change is not some problem in the distant future," Brenda Ekwurzel, the director of climate science at the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), said in a statement. "It's happening right now in every part of the country."
The Washington Post summarized the report's key findings with regard to major regions of the U.S.:
Already, western mountain ranges are retaining much less snow throughout the year, threatening water supplies below them. Coral reefs in the Caribbean, Hawaii, Florida, and the U.S.'s Pacific territories are experiencing severe bleaching events. Wildfires are devouring ever larger areas during longer fire seasons. And the country's sole Arctic state, Alaska, is seeing a staggering rate of warming that has utterly upended its ecosystems, from once ice-clogged coastlines to increasingly thawing permafrost tundras.
The federal report comes as climate activists and progressives like Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) are pushing for the Democratic Party to combat the Trump administration's fossil fuel agenda with ambitious climate action centered around a Green New Deal.
"It's not enough to think it's 'important.' We must make it urgent," Ocasio-Cortez wrote (https://twitter.com/Ocasio2018/status/1066067657278070785) on Twitter. "That's why we need a Select Committee on a Green New Deal, and why fossil fuel-funded officials shouldn’t be writing climate change policy."
"Climate change is spawning more extreme weather, causing irreparable harm to communities, costing billions of dollars a year, and leading to countless deaths. We can stop climate destruction, but only if we act quickly to end the use of fossil fuels and transition to 100 percent clean renewable energy," concluded Hauter of Food & Water Watch. "This transition is not only possible, but necessary for the health and prosperity of people and the planet."
==
https://www.alternet.org/corporate-bribery-lands-amazon-hq2-queens-alexandria-ocasio-cortez-says-new-york-community-outrage
After a year-long race-to-the-bottom competition (https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2018/11/amazons-hq2-spectacle-should-be-illegal/575539/) to determine which city and state lawmakers would most subserviently grovel at its feet (https://theweek.com/articles/806601/why-new-york-dc-should-tell-amazon-take-hike) and offer the most generous taxpayer-funded gifts, Amazon on Monday reportedly chose Queens, New York and the Northern Virginia suburb of Crystal City as the split locations for its second headquarters, sparking anger among those who believe the online retailer will drive up already soaring housing prices and worsen unsustainable inequality.
"We've been getting calls and outreach from Queens residents all day about this," Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) wrote in a Twitter thread late Monday. "The community's response? Outrage."
Highlighting Amazon's enormous size and wealth—the company recently reached a trillion dollars in market value (https://www.cnbc.com/2018/09/04/amazon-hits-1-trillion-in-market-value.html)—Ocasio-Cortez added that the "idea that it will receive hundreds of millions of dollars in tax breaks at a time when our subway is crumbling and our communities need more investment, not less, is extremely concerning to residents here."
Displacement is not community development. Investing in luxury condos is not the same thing as investing in people and families.
Shuffling working class people out of a community does not improve their quality of life.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@Ocasio2018) November 13, 2018 (https://twitter.com/Ocasio2018/status/1062209376398819328?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)
We need to focus on good healthcare, living wages, affordable rent. Corporations that offer none of those things should be met w/ skepticism.
It’s possible to establish economic partnerships w/ real opportunities for working families, instead of a race-to-the-bottom competition.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@Ocasio2018) November 13, 2018 (https://twitter.com/Ocasio2018/status/1062210420830810113?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)
Lastly, this isn’t just about one company or one headquarters. It’s about cost of living, corps paying their fair share, etc.
It’s not about picking a fight, either. I was elected to advocate for our community’s interests - & they‘ve requested, clearly, to voice their concerns.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@Ocasio2018) November 13, 2018 (https://twitter.com/Ocasio2018/status/1062213685219864576?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)
Amazon's search for a second home (HQ2) on top of its current headquarters in Seattle—where the company has successfully crushed efforts by city lawmakers (https://www.commondreams.org/news/2018/06/13/shameless-capitulation-amazon-seattle-lawmakers-repeal-tax-aimed-tackling) to impose a small tax to fight homelessness—set off what the New York Times described as a "frenzied bidding war (https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/12/business/amazon-hq2-cities.html)," which produced such debasing stunts as New York Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo's suggestion that he would be willing change his name to "Amazon Cuomo (https://patch.com/new-york/new-york-city/amazon-cuomo-governor-offers-name-change-land-new-hq)" to secure the company's presence in his state.
In addition to the public pronouncements of city and state officials, lawmakers have also been negotiating with Amazon behind closed doors and offering tax incentives that have not faced public scrutiny.
Amazon—which is headed by Jeff Bezos, the world's richest man—is expected to officially announce the HQ2 locations on Tuesday, but it is unclear if any details of the deals with Queens and Crystal City will be made public.
According to one report (https://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/ny-pol-cuomo-amazon-20181030-story.html), Cuomo offered Amazon hundreds of millions of dollars in state subsidies to set up shop in Queens.
"Citizens have no idea what their elected officials have promised to a company headed by the richest person on earth," Greg LeRoy, executive director of Good Jobs First, noted in a statement (https://www.goodjobsfirst.org/news/releases/good-jobs-first-statement-amazon-hq2-site-location-reports) last week. "We don't know what special new subsidies have been promised that will require state or local enactments. We don't know if gentrification buffers—especially affordable housing—are included. We don't know if clawbacks or other safeguards are included. We don't know the cost per job. But we do know that both deals were negotiated in secret, without any public input."
Some of the taxpayer-funded incentive packages that were made public during the "bidding process" were eye-popping: According to (https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/amazon-in-advanced-talks-about-putting-hq2-in-northern-virginia-those-close-to-process-say/2018/11/02/9be831d6-d7c0-11e8-aeb7-ddcad4a0a54e_story.html) the Washington Post, Maryland offered $8.5 billion and Newark offered $7 billion.
"We shouldn't be giving billions away to one of the biggest companies in the world when our schools are already at capacity and our transit crumbling across the region," Alex Howe of the Metro D.C. branch of the Democratic Socialists of America said in a statement (https://twitter.com/FenitN/status/1062338754311061504). "We must hold a genuine process of community input and enact strict safeguards, such as a significant annual contribution toward a community land trust, to make sure HQ2 doesn't displace our existing communities and increase already rampant inequality."
It is likely that public education, transit, social services, &/or a variety of other public goods in New York & Virginia will suffer for years to come as a result of the corporate subsidies Democratic governors @andrewcuomo (https://twitter.com/andrewcuomo?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) & @RalphNortham (https://twitter.com/RalphNortham?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) have excitedly promised to @amazon (https://twitter.com/amazon?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw).
— Ben Spielberg (@BenSpielberg) November 13, 2018 (https://twitter.com/BenSpielberg/status/1062224371081572353?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)
Derek Thompson, staff writer for The Atlantic, argued (https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2018/11/amazons-hq2-spectacle-should-be-illegal/575539/) on Monday that lawmakers' efforts to lure Amazon to their states constitutes a form of "corporate bribery" that is deeply harmful to the public and should be banned outright by Congress.
"Every year, American cities and states spend up to $90 billion in tax breaks and cash grants to urge companies to move among states. That's more than the federal government spends on housing, education, or infrastructure," Thompson notes. "And since cities and states can't print money or run steep deficits, these deals take scarce resources from everything local governments would otherwise pay for."
"Corporate America is getting all the help it doesn't need," Thompson concluded. "You and I may not like it. But executives such as Jeff Bezos have no reason to care. They are winning by the rules of a broken game."
==
AN Even though she's running in a solidly blue district that has no chance of flipping to the GOP, it seems that Republican just can't quit Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
The latest example of this phenomenon, which could be aptly dubbed Ocasio-Cortez Derangement Syndrome, was demonstrated by the Republican National Committee when it sent out an email that explicitly compared the aspiring congresswoman to a dictator. The letter wrote that "leading The Democrat Party To The Left With Nothing More Than An Unsubstantiated, Factually Incorrect Socialist Wish List" and was referred to her as the "Mini-Maduro Foreboding The Future Of Democrats."
As CNN described (https://www.cnn.com/2018/08/16/politics/rnc-maduro-alexandria-ocasio-cortez/index.html) Nicolás Maduro, the Venezuelan strongman being conflated with Ocasio-Cortez in that email: [vid?]
Maduro is the successor to Hugo Chávez, who ruled from 1999 to 2013. His government is nominally socialist, but with Maduro's assorted power grabs and silencing of critics, Venezuela is not governed democratically. It is currently in the grips of a devastating economic and political collapse owing in large part to a drop in oil prices.
Conservative critics, especially online, routinely reference Venezuela's dire state of affairs when arguing against progressive left policies.
"The RNC knows that the American people support our policies by wide margins. They want universal health care. They want Wall Street to pay their fair share of taxes. They want to raise the minimum wage," Corbin Trent, the communications director for Ocasio-Cortez's campaign, told CNN. "I guess if you can't beat our ideas, you have to lie about them. Meanwhile, the Republican Party is standing in lock step behind a President who abuses human rights and wants to crush the free press which, to me, sounds like a Mini Maduro in the making."
It isn't just the official apparatus of the Republican Party which is taking this stand against Ocasio-Cortez.
"I think the Democrats are radicals," Sam Nunberg,a former adviser for Donald Trump during the 2016 presidential election, told Salon. "They are going so far to the left. Now the media doesn't understand that, or they don't accept it, or they actually are supportive it. Regular Americans, actual rank-and-file Americans, are not. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, by all means, please stay out there. Please campaign hard. Elizabeth Warren. Please. Please. Go everywhere you can. Do us a favor. At least [House Minority Leader Nancy] Pelosi is smart enough that all she does is hide and raise boatloads of money."
Last month Rep. Ron DeSantis, a Republican from Florida running for governor, also took a high-profile swipe at Ocasio-Cortez during one of his rallies.Then there was Ben Shapiro, the right-wing pundit who founded the website The Daily Wire. He offered Ocasio-Cortez $10,000 that she could give to her campaign or charity in return for debating on his program for one hour, according to The New York Times (https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/15/nyregion/men-women-candidates-debates.html). Although he claimed that he did this in order to make "America a more civil and interesting place," Ocasio-Cortez interpreted his offer differently, writing on Twitter (https://www.salon.com/2018/08/10/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-shuts-down-ben-shapiro-and-his-calls-for-a-debate_partner/) that "just like catcalling, I don’t owe a response to unsolicited requests from men with bad intentions. And also like catcalling, for some reason they feel entitled to one."
"You look at this girl, Ocasio-Cortez or whatever she is, I mean, she’s in a totally different universe," DeSantis told his supporters. (https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2018/07/27/ocasio-cortez_the_gops_midterm_boogeyman.html) "It's basically socialism wrapped in ignorance. ... You're repeating canned left-wing talking points and you're somehow the savior of the Democratic Party? Good Lord."
Around that same time Fox News contributor Tomi Lahren facetiously praised Ocasio-Cortez (https://insider.foxnews.com/2018/07/22/tomi-lahren-alexandria-ocasio-cortez-its-always-interesting-watch-trainwreck), arguing that she would be a boon to Republican Party candidates in the future.
"I used to love it when Hillary Clinton would come on TV because I thought that it would make it so much easier for [Republicans] in November and in 2020," Lahren said. "But I'm over Hillary. This is my new girl."
But then Ocasio-Cortez spoke, followed by Bush, and I saw something truly terrifying. I saw just how easy it would be, were I less involved and less certain of our nation’s founding and its history, to fall for the populist lines they were shouting from that stage.Perhaps most infamously, there was this piece of ripe hyperbole (https://dailycaller.com/2018/07/23/conservative-alexandria-ocasio-cortez-rally/) from Virginia Karuta of The Daily Caller, one that was widely mocked for minimizing the legitimate needs that Ocasio-Cortez has spoken to:
I saw how easy it would be, as a parent, to accept the idea that my children deserve healthcare and education.
I saw how easy it would be, as someone who has struggled to make ends meet, to accept the idea that a “living wage” was a human right.
Above all, I saw how easy it would be to accept the notion that it was the government’s job to make sure that those things were provided.
There are three important takeaways here:
First, it is clear that the Republican Party views Ocasio-Cortez as a boogeyman they can hold up to scare their base into voting. Part of this is because of her democratic socialist views, which the GOP clearly believes are anathema to most Americans; yet there is also a racialized dimension to their approach, as evidenced by the comparison between Ocasio-Cortez and a Latin American dictator in the RNC email (Ocasio-Cortez is of Puerto Rican descent herself) or the calloused way that DeSantis dismissed her last name as "Ocasio-Cortez or whatever she is."
Second, it seems likely that this is the type of rhetoric one should anticipate from Republicans if another self-proclaimed democratic socialist captures the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020 (Ocasio-Cortez herself will be too young to run in that year). It remains to be seen whether this would hurt that hypothetical nominee's candidacy or not, but it is at the very least noteworthy.
Third, and perhaps most important, is the fact that Ocasio-Cortez has transformed the Overton Window of American politics. The Overton Window is the idea that politicians can only voice opinions within a certain spectrum of ideas before being branded as "fringe." Beyond Ocasio-Cortez herself, conservatives like Karuta from The Daily Caller are obviously concerned that Ocasio-Cortez's candidacy has further normalized a set of ideas that began to enter the mainstream with Bernie Sanders' campaign in 2016.
==
https://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/here-are-5-reasons-why-aging-gen-xers-and-boomers-need-democratic-socialism
https://theintercept.com/2018/07/24/conservative-network-says-fake-interview-alexandria-ocasio-cortez-satire/
CRTV, a streaming service (http://get.crtv.com/liberty/) that offers conservative punditry guaranteed to be “100% free of anti-American propaganda,” spent part of Tuesday arguing that a fake interview it created with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez — in which the congressional candidate appeared to be stumped by questions she was not, in fact, asked — was a satire, rather than a hoax.
The network, which has verified accounts on Facebook and Twitter, had initially given viewers no way of knowing that they were not watching an embarrassing interview with the democratic socialist running to represent New York’s 14th Congressional District. In fact, the fictional interview with one of the network’s hosts, Allie Stuckey, was created by splicing in answers Ocasio-Cortez had given to different questions during a recent appearance (http://www.pbs.org/wnet/firing-line/video/alexandria-ocasio-cortez/) on the PBS show “Firing Line.”
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Ocasio-Cortez Becomes Most Ambitious Climate Democrat After Surprise Primary Win
After what CNN called (https://edition.cnn.com/2018/06/26/politics/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-joe-crowley-new-york-14-primary/index.html) a surprise primary victory Tuesday over 10-term incumbent Representative Joe Crowley in New York's 14th congressional district, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez just became the leading Democrat on fighting climate change (http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/climate-change), The Huffington Post reported (https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/ocasio-cortez-climate-change_us_5b3307a5e4b0b5e692f25e18).
Ocasio-Cortez, a 28 year old Democratic Socialist, is now likely to win November's general election in the historically Democratic district that stretches from the Bronx to Queens, meaning she will join Congress with some of the most ambitious climate plans of any current representative, according to The Huffington Post.
In an email to The Huffington Post, she explained her plans for a Green New Deal to help America switch to 100 percent renewable energy (http://www.ecowatch.com/renewable-energy/) by 2035, which advocates say (https://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/insight/100-percent-renewable-energy-2035-how-we-get-there) is our best shot of keeping warming below 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels.
"The Green New Deal we are proposing will be similar in scale to the mobilization efforts seen in World War II or the Marshall Plan," she wrote. "We must again invest in the development, manufacturing, deployment, and distribution of energy, but this time green energy."
Ocasio-Cortez's climate plans dovetail with some of the other progressive points on her platform (https://ocasio2018.com/issues), such as a Federal Jobs Guarantee and Solidarity with Puerto Rico following the devastation of Hurricane Maria (https://www.ecowatch.com/harvard-study-hurricane-maria--2573661010.html).
Ocasio-Cortez told The Huffington Post that the island would be the ideal place to test-run a Green New Deal to help with recovery efforts.
"Our fellow Americans on the island have suffered horrendous losses and need investment at a scale that only the American government can provide," she said.
On her platform, Ocasio-Cortez also links the fight against climate change with her commitments to economic justice and immigrant rights.
"Rather than continue a dependency on this system that posits climate change as inherent to economic life, the Green New Deal believes that radically addressing climate change is a potential path towards a more equitable economy with increased employment and widespread financial security for all," her platform reads.
Her platform also says fighting climate change is necessary "to avoid a world refugee crisis." Concern for immigrants is a large part of her platform. She supports abolishing the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) which was created in 2003 in the post-9/11 escalation of national security operations and executive power and operates outside the Department of Justice, unlike previous immigration enforcement.
The link between the potential for global warming to increase the number of climate refugees (http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/climate-refugee) and the need to improve the treatment of current immigrants, many of which are already fleeing (https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-refugees-trump-2580057839.html) deteriorating environmental conditions, is something picked up by the Democratic Socialists of America, the group to which Ocasio-Cortez belongs, on the platform for its climate and environmental justice working group, according to The Huffington Post.
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