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Good morning Hillary supporting community! It is great to be with you today. The HNV brings you a positive roundup of news and commentary on Clinton’s campaign, every day, so if you’re tired of hearing about a certain lazy, blowhard, half-assed Dark Wizard and would prefer some good stuff about Hermione Hillary, this is the place to be!
The big event yesterday was the groundbreaking speech Clinton gave on workers, focusing largely on the needs of people with disabilities in the workplace, as well as all of the ways that the work of PWD (people with disabilities) benefits our larger American economy and society. If you missed the DK liveblogs, Part One Liveblog is here, and you can find Part Two of the Liveblog here. Big thanks to Joan McCarter for those! You can watch the whole thing here:
Clinton began by discussing the most recent fatalities in the ongoing war against black Americans. As reported by Real Clear Politics:
"There is still much we don’t know about what happened in both incidents, but we do know we have two more names to add to a list of African-Americans killed by police officers in these encounters," she said. "It’s unbearable and it needs to become intolerable.
After addressing those events, she went on to speak of the importance of building an inclusive economy. She began by acknowledging the values of a race-inclusive economy and a gender- inclusive economy. Then she moved on to her main focus: an ability-inclusive economy.
A few quotes from part one (via Joan McCarter's great summaries):
“I intend this to be a vital aspect of my presidency – bringing us together, as a nation, to recognize the humanity and support the potential of all our people…. Nearly one in five Americans lives with a disability. Some of those disabilities are highly visible, some harder to notice. If you don’t think you know someone with a disability, I promise you, you do. But their disability is just one part of who they are.”
Wednesday, Sep 21, 2016 · 2:54:33 PM EST · Joan McCarter
The disable “are running businesses, teaching children, and caring for our loved ones. They’re holding public office, making breakthrough scientific discoveries, reporting the news, and creating art that inspires and challenges us.” They’re also veterans, they’re working in the White House--Leah Katz-Hernandez who became the first West Wing receptionist who is deaf.
And from part two:
Wednesday, Sep 21, 2016 · 2:57:36 PM EST · Joan McCarter
Continuing with talking about the disabled. She’s speaking inclusively on disabilities: “not that long ago, if you had a disability—if you couldn’t see, couldn’t walk, lived with dyslexia or muscular dystrophy or some other health issue—that one fact defined your entire life.” That used to close people off, but doesn’t any more. That provides the segue to her work with the Children’s Defense Fund—her first job—to get disabled children into public school
Wednesday, Sep 21, 2016 · 3:03:07 PM EST · Joan McCarter
Says we’ve come a long way since she started on this, but “we cannot be satisfied – not when over 60 percent of adults with disabilities aren’t in the workforce. Not when businesses are allowed to pay employees with disabilities a subminimum wage.”
Stefan Becket over at Policy.Mic had some reactions from the crowd:
Following the speech, Stanton Sheogobind, a retired teacher who moved to Orlando from Brooklyn 10 years ago, said he was struck by the contrast with Trump. "The other candidate is mocking disabled people," Sheogobind said, referring to Trump's heavily condemned impression of disabled reporter Serge Kovaleski last November. "Here we have a candidate who is all for bringing them into the mainstream... I thought this was a very positive speech that I haven't heard from the campaign before."
"One of things that struck me — 1 in 5 [Americans are disabled]. Who would have thought?" Sheogobind continued, repeating an alarming statistic cited by Clinton minutes before. "You may not see it, but it's there. And I'm glad she brought this up, because my grandson is autistic. But that doesn't stop him."
… Jennifer Allender drove an hour from Daytona Beach to see Clinton on Wednesday. Using a walker, Allender said she had seen Clinton three times in Florida and didn't know what to expect in Orlando, but got the chance to shake her hand following the speech."I just met her. It was nice," Allender said. "She was very sweet. She said it was nice to meet you.
Over at ShareBlue, Melissa McEwan has a very personal reaction to the speech:
As Hillary Clinton noted in her address, 1 out of 5 Americans has a disability (or multiple disabilities), some of them more visible than others. I am one of those people, and this address meant a great deal to me.
I am fortunate that my disability has not, so far, prevented me from working. Not all disabled people are so fortunate―and it’s often not their disabilities prevent them from working, but the limited opportunities created by lack of basic accommodations.
Clinton understands this. She understands that disabled people who can work want to work. We want access to good jobs that pay a fair wage.
Speaking personally for a moment, I really love that Clinton is able to argue that what is right is also what is truly beneficial to the country. Too many conservatives bash progressive ideas as ridiculous pie in the sky; our candidate is really great at countering that with both wonkery and earnest moral appeal.
And at Shakesville, Melissa (again!) responds to the amazing ability of the media to invent stupid and false memes about Hillary:
I'm already seeing bullshit frames in the media that essentially boil down to: "She's doing this because Trump mocked that reporter." I can't stress enough that Clinton did not suddenly develop an interest in disability rights after seeing Donald Trump mock a reporter. That's certainly yet another cool way of implying she's a cynical opportunist who will do anything to win and doesn't actually care about people, though!
Clinton has a long history of disability rights work, starting as a young attorney advocating for disabled children to have access to an equal education. And she has continued that work throughout her career.
This is who Hillary Clinton is. And, frankly, given the possible outcomes of this election, anyone who has endeavored to conceal that has done something I find unforgivable.
The campaign also released a great ad, featuring Nyle DiMarco speaking in ASL (American Sign Language) about Hillary’s plan for PWD:
In other campaign news, Tim Kaine and Chelsea Clinton will be campaigning hard for HRC today, with Elizabeth Warren scheduled for a slew of activities September 24. The candidate herself is busy prepping for her upcoming debate with Trump, and, according to Rebecca Shahad at CBS news, she is preparing for two different Donald Trumps:
As Hillary Clinton prepares for the the first presidential debate on Monday evening, the Wall Street Journal reports that she’s readying her answers for two Trumps: one, the freewheeling candidate who shuns the teleprompter at some events, and one who sticks to prepared texts at others.
...John Podesta, Clinton’s campaign chairman, said he doesn’t think Trump will be sufficiently prepared. “He’s used to being on TV. He can moderate and modify his style. But I don’t think he’ll learn anything because that would take preparation that I actually think is beyond his capacity,” Mr. Podesta told the WSJ.
At the same time, the report said campaign officials expressed concern that Trump could be perceived as the winner of the debate if he doesn’t make outrageous or offensive comments
Even those who don’t like Clinton have to admit: she always does her homework, to the point of preparing for both Dr. Jekyll/Trumpemort AND Mr. Hyde/Trumpemort.
The campaign also released a new spot focusing on Clinton’s work with children:
Turning to news and views from outside the campaign, Amanda Marcotte has a fascinating interview with Joe Conason about his new book on the Clinton Foundation. As you may recall, The New York Times published the results of a study last week examining how little Americans know about what the Clinton Foundation actually does. The results were highly revealing: 56% think that the foundation sets up speaking appointments for the Clintons. (Nope!) 39% think the foundation manages the Clintons’ finances (also nope!) and 40% think it gives money to Democratic candidates (nope nope nope!) Depressingly few could identify what the foundation actually does: battling AIDS in Africa (47%--not too bad), helping women and girls via job training and educational initiatives (43%) and making sure children have healthier food choices at school (29%). That’s right: more people think the Clinton Foundation manages Clinton family moolah (false) than think it helps kids with their school lunches (true).
Conason has a few things to say about The New York Times’ role in fostering this state of misinformation:
How do you see the Clinton Foundation and [its] work? And how does that differ from the way it’s being portrayed in the media?
I’d say it’s night and day, Amanda. The media is focused on false stories about conflicts of interest, or true stories about potential conflicts of interests that don’t seem to me to matter very much. They want to know about every email that was ever sent on behalf of any donor or anybody that might’ve been a donor or attended CGI.
I’m looking at things like they’ve had 11 and a half million AIDS victims on treatment who otherwise would have died, for instance. That’s just one thing. Or, rebuilt the entire health system of the country of Rwanda. Or, you know, they’ve eliminated malaria from most of Tanzania and saved thousands and thousands of people’s lives that way.
...In the book, I talk a lot about The New York Times, which influences all media coverage basically, especially in politics. And The New York Times has been very focused on the foundation and problems that [Times journalists] allege in the foundation, such making up this whole story about Russian uranium, which was a completely fabricated, phony story taken from “Clinton Cash” that they put on the front page. You know what, they know better. Celia Dugger, who is a very good reporter for the Times, went to Africa with Clinton and saw what he did — and saw what the foundation had done. So they know, and they ran a very good story about it years ago but this is years ago. And that was one time in 15 years basically that they paid attention the real work. Meanwhile, they are constantly on this, and it’s all part of the political cycle.
I strongly encourage you to read the whole thing. And by the way, if you are still struggling with people who “just don't trust" the Clinton Foundation or just have a gut feeling it “stinks,” or other fact-free assertions, here's a nice resource from electionado.com: Part One(which demonstrates that big donor nations did not change their pattern of donation when Clinton became SoS) and Part Two (which devastates the notion of quid pro quo or pay to play.) Doesn’t cover everything, but it’s a great start.
Over at The Revelist, Evette Dionne has some analysis of Hillary Clinton's remarks last week at the Black Women's Agenda Workshop:
Hillary Clinton has finally muttered those three special words that make Black women's hearts flutter: Black girl magic.
After battling pneumonia, Clinton vigorously hit the campaign trail again. In her speech, she said Black women, in particular, can relate to this self-sacrificial behavior. "You, your daughters, your granddaughters leave the house every morning, put on that game face that we all practice, and enter a society that consistently challenges your worth ― with the images you see, the lower pay that so many take home; that try to silence your voices and break your spirits," she said. "That you remain fierce in the face of the challenges."
While shouting out Black women's resiliency, Clinton then dropped the words the line of all lines. "While your stories are often missing from the history books, make no mistake — you are the change makers, the path breakers and the ground shakers. And you are proof that, yes indeed, Black girl magic is real."
CaShawn Thompson coined the phrase Black girl magic and #BlackGirlsAreMagic in 2013 to draw attention to Black women's achievements. "I say 'magic' because it's something that people don't always understand," Thompson told The Los Angeles Times. "Sometimes our accomplishments might seem to come out of thin air, because a lot of times, the only people supporting us are other Black women."
Those of you who enjoy Michael Holman’s Sunday HNV (featuring European commentary on this election) will like this: Anthony Zurcher at the Beeb has a comparison of Hillary Clinton and His Trumpliness with other world leaders on a range of issues. There’s a nice variety of world leaders from many different continents. A sample follows. On refugees:
Hillary Clinton has called for an increase in the number of Syrian refugees resettled in the US from the current 10,000 annual mark to 65,000 - which, Mr Trump likes to point out, is a 550% increase. She cautions that the refugees should be "carefully vetted", but notes that current procedures already involve a multi-year application process and refugees don't know in which nation they will be settled. She says the US has a history of welcoming those fleeing oppression and violence, which she wants to continue.
The Syrian refugee crisis was at its peak when Justin Trudeau campaigned in the Canadian general election last October. A photo of drowned three-year-old Alan Kurdi - who had family living in Canada - made the front page of world newspapers. Mr Trudeau pledged that his nation would do more to help and, since then, Canada has accepted more than 30,000 Syrian refugees and is processing around 15,000 more.
On law and order:
Hillary Clinton has enjoyed solid support from the black community, which has insulated her from the kind of criminal justice reform protests that have bedevilled other candidates. She's spoken out against "mass incarceration" and mandatory minimum sentences and said that there is still racial bias in police departments that must be addressed. She supports laws prohibiting racial profiling and wants to emphasise rehabilitation over long prison sentences for non-violent drug offenders.
On the other end of the political spectrum from Norway is Rodrigo Duterte's Philippines. The newly elected president has been accused of ordering extra-judicial killings in order to control the nation's drug crime. He campaigned on a platform of getting tough on crime - promising to kill "100,000 criminals" - and has said that he doesn't care about human rights.
The whole thing is fascinating.
Finally, I know we are all sick of polls, which seem to be increasingly contradictory. Fox News tells us that Clinton is behind in Nevada, North Carolina, and Ohio. The Daily Kos ticker keeps trending downward. Monmouth shows that HRC is strong in New Hampshire. She’s up by 3 in Wisconsin, says Marquette! Ah, but an NBC/WSJ poll shows Clinton up by 6 points! Oh, but she hasn’t won over millennials, and *shush* about sexism!
Dear reader, if you feel frustrated, I am with you. And so, because I like to end with something fun, but also because I am sick of prognostication, I went to Free Tarot Reading.Net on behalf of Daily Kos, and asked, “Will Hilllary Win?” The results are offered here. Images are from the public domain Rider-Waite Tarot; words are selections from my reading.
Will Hillary Win?
Card One: How you feel about yourself: THE LOVERS
If faced with a choice it is an important one and could affect the rest of your life.
Very true!
Card Two: What you (us!) want most right now: The Empress
Do we even need to interpret this? NEXT
Card Three: Your fears: THE CHARIOT
The word failure isn't in your vocabulary. You are worried things are more of a struggle than you expected, with more delays and frustrations
Is this HRC or is it our many active Democratic operatives? Or just those of us who can’t understand why she isn’t crushing [you know who] in every poll? Hmmm…..
Card Four: What Is Going For You: The Hermit
The Hermit signals a warning not to make hasty decisions. Make sure you observe a period of rest and recuperation if you have been unwell.
Like seriously, pneumonia!!!!
Card Five: What is Going Against You: Strength
Your negativity and lack of self-control are your real enemies….Change your attitude and be positive and you will reap great rewards.
Hmm...maybe don’t panic.
Card Six: The Likely Outcome: JUSTICE
Justice will be done.
Decisions will go in your favour, particularly regarding partnerships or legal matters.
There you have it. Whew.
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Crossposted at HillaryHQ, an independent, progressive blog committed to the electing Hillary Clinton as the next President of the United States. If you would like to support @Scan and his work there, visit GoFundMe and make a donation.
(Header image by Barbara Kinney for Hillary for America. Used under Creative Commons License.)