NuclearDem
NuclearDem's JournalGovernor O'Malley isn't your anti-Clinton attack dog.
Some of you seem to have some serious misconceptions about O'Malley. He's not simply in this to take shots at Clinton and subsequently validate Sanders. O'Malley supporters aren't just little Sanders supporters.
O'Malley took on the NRA and won. He ended the blight on Maryland that was the state's death penalty. He introduced bureaucratic reforms that helped take care of Maryland's veterans.
He's led the 2016 Democratic field on issues nobody else even talks about. He's personally worked with national veterans groups to develop the most comprehensive plan to address the needs of current and former servicemembers and their families--the suicide epidemic, homelessness, PTSD, and protecting our education benefits. He's led the way on addiction treatment and viewing the alcohol and drug dependent as humans who need help and not incarceration.
I'm deeply sorry Governor O'Malley said some things that upset Sanders supporters, but he's not your pet to unleash on Clinton when you want. He's a progressive, a leader, and the future of our party--and if you don't already, you need to start taking him seriously.
Calling Martin O'Malley a DLCer is as ridiculous as calling Bernie Sanders a gun nut.
Governor O'Malley has been a champion of progressive policy for years. He's been there on LGBT rights, immigration, education, gun control, criminal justice, abolishing the death penalty, and taking care of veterans.
I'm sorry he said some less than flattering things about Sanders, but Governor O'Malley is not a DLCer or a centrist by any stretch of the imagination.
I, for one, welcome the arrival of Kentucky's new Governor-elect.
We did it, my friends. Don't let the media lie to you: the Kentucky gubernatorial election was a great victory for progressives.
As I'm sure you're all aware, I've hated the Affordable Care Act since the day our spineless party proved incapable of implementing single-payer so many years ago. Our corporate-owned party sought to throw millions of Americans to the for-profit health insurance industry.
Consequently, I praise our unlikely progressive ally in Governor-elect Bevin. Though the corporate stooge Beshear constructed what many consider to be one of the great success stories of the Americans for Corporations Act, Bevin has promised to liberate Kentuckians from this tyranny by the thousands shortly into his tenure.
While this devastating blow to our corporate shill-in-chief's signature domestic legislation remains the primary victory of this election, a secondary achievement cannot be ignored.
Such a victory would not have been possible without the tireless efforts of our progressive allies to expose the corrupt DNC and its Prime Shillstress, DWS, for what they are. Together, we showed these corrupt, corporate masterswe wouldn't stand for their status quo puppet Conway or the health insurance industry.
Here's to more progressive victories in 2016!
Get over it. Seriously, get over it.
Look, I'm deeply sorry some of you got your feelings hurt by proxy a few months ago, but just get over it.
I'm really tragically upset that some people sick of seeing their friends and family butchered used some harsh words and demanded to be taken seriously, but get over it.
I'm breaking down in tears that you're still having a sad over your candidate being inconvenienced a few months ago, but maybe you should take like him and get over it.
I'm curled up in bed sobbing that Clinton wasn't confronted the exact same way that Sanders was in Seattle, but get over it.
Sure, statistically, by the time I finish writing this, a black American will have been killed by community or police violence, but we'll get to that after we thoroughly address your months-old sads.
Yeah, getting a little sick of this shit.
Just so you know, you're not fooling anybody.
Yes, you.
The one who realized how much they were concerned about racial justice issues once the candidates started fighting over the African American vote.
The one who suddenly started being concerned about how badly the VA health system was broken when the other candidate said something wrong.
The one who now praises the activists you threw under the bus a few months ago.
The one who loves endorsements but despises advocates.
Yeah, you.
You're not fooling anybody.
Either care about our issues or don't, but don't think we don't see past the cynical electioneering.
Since veterans issues are finally being discussed, let's look at what needs to be done:
The following is excerpted from Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America's (IAVA) extensive 2015 policy agenda. There's a lot to be done, and so far, none of the candidates have sufficient policy proposals to address these issues.
http://media.iava.org/policy-agenda-2015.pdf
1. Continue to Combat Suicide Among Troops and Veterans
When it comes to veteran and troop suicide there can be no misses—the stakes are too high and our national responsibility is too great. That anyone who has worn our uniform concludes that they have no support and no alternative but suicide is a national crisis and disgrace. For nearly a decade, IAVA and the veterans’ community have long called for immediate action by our nation’s leaders to end this crisis. In that time we have lost too many friends, but there has been some progress—most notably the passage of the IAVA-led Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans (SAV) Act of 2015. But there is still much work to be done. There can be no rest until every veteran and every service member has access to the best mental health care. Working with community groups, Congress and the Administration must lean the full force of the federal government into this problem to better identify and support those in crisis and dramatically improve access to and the quality of mental health care.
2. Fully Recognize and Improve Services for Women Veterans
Nearly 280,000 women have served in Iraq and Afghanistan. While the number of male veterans is expected to decline in the next five years, the women veteran population will increase, and women have taken on new roles and responsibilities throughout the services. Though the quality of care and services provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for all veterans needs to dramatically improve, women veterans especially need to see an improvement in the VA’s standard of care. Not only do women veterans encounter barriers to care and benefits, they do so in a culture that often does not accept them or fully recognize them as veterans. The VA has made some progress providing care, access and benefits for women veterans, but Congress and the VA must work to change the underlying culture and proactively identify and close gaps in care for women veterans.
3. Reform the VA for Today’s Veterans
The VA scandal of 2014 brought to light problems that veterans of all generations face in trying to get their hard earned benefits and care from the VA: a negligent log jam of claims and overdue health care. Much of the crisis was preventable and predictable and it is surely fixable; however, it will require the use of new, innovative solutions. The new Secretaries at the VA and Department of Defense (DoD) must be given the resources, authority and space to succeed—while being held accountable. State-of-the-art solutions, like IAVA’s “The Wait We Carry” (www.thewaitwecarry.org), which aggregates individual veterans’ reports on their care, can be a model for veteran outreach and accountability. At the very least, funding and key structures at the VA must be protected from short-sighted cuts and political posturing. This must be the year we all work together to create a dynamic, responsive, veteran-centric system set to meet every veteran’s needs for decades to come. Our military is the world’s most advanced; our care for our veterans must be the same.
4. Defend Veteran and Military Education Benefits
The Post-9/11 GI Bill has sent more than one million veterans to school. It has helped these veterans in their transition home but it has also trained America’s next greatest generation to lead in tech startups, Fortune 500 corporations, nonprofits and at every level of government across the country. Though wildly successful, the New GI Bill has been exploited by predators in the for-profit school sector who take advantage of veterans’ benefits and often leave veterans stuck with unnecessary debt and a subpar education. Congress must close loopholes that reward these bad actors for exploiting veterans and strengthen regulations that help veterans choose the best educational programs to meet their career goals.
This isn't a political football. This is life or death for us.
Cognitive dissonance
We're doomed in 2016 if Clinton is nominated because she doesn't inspire anyone, but those damn Clinton supporters won't listen to reason because they're too emotional.
Can we finally put this email shit to bed?
The Republicans have admitted it's a fraud.
The hack in charge of the investigation just got caught lying about this latest "bombshell."
Oh, and Sanders himself has said enough with the damn emails.
What else do you need?
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