TomPaine

TomPaine https://www.dailykos.com/news/TomPaine News Community Action Copyright 2005 - Steal what you want Mon, 27 Jan 2020 03:06:10 +0000 Mon, 27 Jan 2020 03:06:10 +0000 Daily Kos rss@dailykos.com (Daily Kos) Daily Kos rss@dailykos.com (Daily Kos) Time to Stand Up: “Have You No Sense of Decency,” Mr. Trump? https://www.dailykos.com/story/2018/3/18/1750129/-Time-to-Stand-Up-Have-You-No-Sense-of-Decency-Mr-Trump Even while President Trump has been derelict in his constitutional duty to defend the Nation from ongoing Russian attacks, he continues to wage a self-interested war against the institutions of our Justice System and the people who work every day to uphold the ideals of fairness and justice that distinguish the United States from Russia by keeping it a government of laws rather than strong men. It is now clear that Russia’s attacks have for years been directed against not only our political process, but the infrastructures that run our water systems and power grids (including our Nuclear Power plants). Yet Trump has done so little to lead the nation in responding to these attacks that he has given real credence to the supposition that he may have been the perfect Manchurian Candidate, now successfully placed at the heart of our political and economic systems to further the aims of a destructive foreign power. Therefore the fundamental question on which the future of the United States now depends is: Will the people of this country rise to the challenge of defending our democratic republican institutions and institutional infrastructure from destruction by one man who, for whatever reasons, seems to be under the finger of, and acting as the right arm of, Putin--a foreign power intent on destroying the ability of the United States to stand in the way of the global aspirations of the Russian Oligarchs? Over half a century ago the Nation came to a Moment of Truth when Joseph Welch courageously interrupted several years of McCarthy’s unchallenged attacks on basic principles of American justice and due process to say: “You have done enough. Have you no sense of decency?” Will the People of this Country do the same now, in the face of a much more serious threat to this Country’s fundamental principles and institutions of democratic republican government? Similar to the way Trump has directly challenged the integrity and character of the FBI and the Justice Department, <blockquote> <a href="https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/minute/Have_you_no_sense_of_decency.htm" target="_blank" title="">In the spring of 1954, McCarthy picked a fight with the U.S. Army, charging lax security at a top-secret army facility. The army responded that the senator had sought preferential treatment for a recently drafted subcommittee aide. . . [and this controversy launched the] three-month nationally televised spectacle known to history as the Army-McCarthy hearings.</a> <a href="https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/minute/Have_you_no_sense_of_decency.htm" target="_blank" title="">The army hired Boston lawyer Joseph Welch to make its case. At a session on June 9, 1954, McCarthy charged that one of Welch's attorneys had ties to a Communist organization. As an amazed television audience looked on, Welch responded with the immortal lines that ultimately ended McCarthy's career: "Until this moment, Senator, I think I never really gauged your cruelty or your recklessness." When McCarthy tried to continue his attack, Welch angrily interrupted, "Let us not assassinate this lad further, senator. You have done enough. Have you no sense of decency?"</a> <a href="https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/minute/Have_you_no_sense_of_decency.htm" target="_blank" title="">Overnight, McCarthy's immense national popularity evaporated. Censured by his Senate colleagues, ostracized by his party, and ignored by the press, McCarthy died three years later, 48 years old and a broken man.</a> From: <a href="https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/minute/Have_you_no_sense_of_decency.htm" title="">https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/minute/Have_you_no_sense_of_decency.htm</a> </blockquote> Trump’s current attacks on people like Andrew Mccabe are similar to the attacks McCarthy directed against good people. In retrospect, however, the danger that McCarthy represented to American institutions of justice may pale in significance to the threat that Trump now poses to our Nation. McCarthy was merely one Senator who, by 1954, had become relatively isolated. As President at the central seat of power in the White House of 2018, Trump holds sway over the political nerve center of the Nation, and has the capacity to fundamentally undermine the Nation’s ability to defend itself against foreign powers that would seek to destroy its ability to continue to stand as a bulwark of freedom and Justice in the 21st century world. As it becomes ever more obvious that Trump is waging his own personal war to undermine the ability of the Justice Department and our political institutions to stand up and oppose his self-serving misuse of the Office of the Presidency, will the people and leadership of this Nation rise to the challenge of utilizing our system of political and legal tools to remove him from this Office before he destroys it? Or will we, like the people of Germany in the early 1930s, simply watch and stand by while a single man is allowed to systematically dismantle the ability of the Nation to defend itself against a corrupting systemic virus that may lead to the dismantling of all things decent and humane? People of the United States, take note: Our own historical moment of truth is at hand. Who will stand up in the Halls of Power across this great Nation to call the Question to President Trump, like Joseph Welch did during the Army-McCarthy hearings of 1954? As Trump is engaged with facing down the challenge of a former Porn Star who dares to oppose attempts to silence her, and Trump continues to direct the full force of his Presidential ire on Twitter against representatives of the Justice department who dare to tell the truth in the face of attempts to silence them, who will stand up in the Halls of Power in Washington, D.C., and across the Nation to say to President Trump: “You have done enough. Have you no sense of decency, Sir?” And then act accordingly? The completion of the Mueller Investigation and its fact-finding mission is crucial to the Nation, but not sufficient to defend our cherished institutions of justice and fairness. Unless leaders across the nation rise to the challenge of posing the words of Mr. Welch to a President who has betrayed the fundamental interests of our Nation, we will see played out in future days the spectacle of a Nation that does not live up to the fundamental challenge posed at the Founding by the wise old Benjamin Franklin. When asked whether the Constitutional Convention had established a Republic or a Monarchy at its conclusion in 1787, Franklin replied, “A Republic, if you can keep it.” Our own historical moment of truth has arrived: We will now see whether the American people of this moment have the will and the courage to keep and defend our democratic republican government of laws against the attacks of the strong men, here and abroad, who seek to destroy it. That fight must be waged by all of us. And the responsibility for leading that fight rests on all of us, not just Robert Mueller. Robert Mueller’s findings will only have meaning if we all do our parts to defend the principles that define this Nation as one that is different from the Banana Republics and Tyrannies of the past and present. Let us all do more than watch the current Spectacle in shock, which is all the strong men trust we will do. Let us rise up out of our shock and act to defend the fundamental institutions of justice, fairness, democracy, and humanity that we all hold so dear. As history has repeatedly proven, these institutions cannot be taken for granted. These institutions of humanity can be corrupted from within and destroyed when good people stand idly by and do nothing to defend them. Let us not repeat the mistakes of the past. Let us act together to show that we have the will and the love of these institutions of humanity to keep them thriving into the twenty-first century and beyond. Let us all rise up to say to Mr. Trump, each in our own way, “You have done enough. Have you no sense of decency, Sir?” And then act accordingly. The future of our common Nation and humanity depend on what we do in this moment. Let us not fail to rise to this moment’s challenge. rss@dailykos.com (tompaine2018) Army-McCarthyHearings GeneralMcCaffrey governmentoflawsnotmen haveyounodecency JohnBrennan McCabe McCarthy MomentofTruth RobertMueller RussianAttacks threattodemocracy TomPaine trump _1750129 Mon, 19 Mar 2018 06:11:49 +0000 "Dark Time in the Revolution" Lyrics https://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/7/27/1114228/--Dark-Time-in-the-Revolution-Lyrics Laurie Anderson channels Tom Paine... rss@dailykos.com (Superpole) AnotherDayinAmerica Common Sense CommonSense LaurieAnderson Music TomPaine _1114228 Fri, 27 Jul 2012 15:44:49 +0000 A fair day's wage: Locked out at Christmas, on strike on Independence Day https://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/7/5/1106415/-A-fair-day-s-wage-Locked-out-at-Christmas-on-strike-on-Independence-nbsp-Day Workers at five HealthBridge nursing homes in Connecticut are on strike after management imposed a "last, best, and final" contract offer on them in late June. Workers at one of the nursing homes had been <a href="http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/02/05/1061070/-For-evidence-of-a-war-on-workers-look-no-further-than-the-rise-of-the-lockout?detail=hide">locked out</a> from December to <a href="http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/04/07/1080339/-This-week-in-the-War-on-Workers-One-lockout-ends-another-drags-on?detail=hide">April</a> as a management pressure tactic trying to get workers to accept cuts to health care, sick days, holidays, overtime pay, and more. The contract HealthBridge is imposing on workers includes a pay raise, but cuts benefits and hours so that workers are in effect having their pay cut substantially: <div class="dkimg-c"><img src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/dk-production/images/457/large/HealthBridge_contract_cuts.jpg?1341500075" alt="Breakdown of provisions in contract imposed on HealthBridge nursing home workers" /> <div class="dkimg-cap">(SEIU 1199)</div> </div> The union is arguing that HealthBridge's imposition of its contract is <a href="http://www.ctpost.com/local/article/HealthBridge-offers-last-best-and-final-offer-3645115.php">illegal</a>: <blockquote>"Everything they have done is completely illegal and their rationale for doing this -- declaring that we are at impasse in negotiations -- is also illegal and self-serving," [union spokeswoman Deborah] Chernoff said in an email sent Tuesday. "Being 'at impasse' has a specific legal meaning. It doesn't mean what HealthBridge seems to think, which is 'we're not getting the huge cuts that we are demanding from our workers, so we're just going to force them to accept them, regardless of the law or human decency.' " </blockquote> Workers are <a href="http://www.ctpost.com/news/article/HealthBridge-workers-working-the-picket-line-3681173.php">picketing</a> the nursing homes. A fair day's wage <ul> <li><a href="http://www.businessweek.com/ap/2012-07-05/ohio-transit-workers-management-agree-on-contract">Central Ohio bus drivers and mechanics</a> have agreed to a contract, ending a three-day strike.</li> <li>Workers at Bain-owned Sensata Technologies in Illinois are fighting the company's plan to <a href="http://www.inthesetimes.com/working/entry/13483/plant_workers_fight_bain_from_outsourcing_jobs/">outsource 150 jobs to China</a>.</li> </ul> State and local legislation <ul> <li>As of Saturday, <a href="http://romenews-tribune.com/view/full_story/19190693/article-Georgia-unemployment-benefits-get-13-weeks-shorter?instance=home_news_lead_story">Georgia's unemployed</a> people will have 13 fewer weeks of eligibility for unemployment insurance.</li> <li>Florida Legal Services and the National Employment Law Project are challenging <a href="http://www2.hernandotoday.com/business/hernando-news/2012/jul/04/hanewso3-complaint-filed-over-florida-unemployment-ar-423574/">Florida</a>'s obstacles to people applying for unemployment insurance.</li> </ul> Miscellaneous <ul> <li>Even though Independence Day is past, this piece on <a href="http://www.ueunion.org/uenewsupdates.html?news=688&utm_source=buffer&buffer_share=8a550">Tom Paine's radical politics</a> is worth a read.</li> </ul> rss@dailykos.com (Laura Clawson) BainCapital Florida Georgia HealthBridge Labor TomPaine Unemployment Unions _1106415 Thu, 05 Jul 2012 16:00:07 +0000 Let's revive Tom Paine's refutation of today's Theocrats https://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/3/1/1069675/-Let-s-revive-Tom-Paine-s-refutation-of-today-s-Theocrats We honor and revere Thomas Paine for his 1776 publication of <a href="http://www.ushistory.org/paine/commonsense/">Common Sense</a>,  a pamphlet that helped unite the colonials by challenging the authority of the British government and the royal monarchy. The plain language that Paine used spoke to the average man, and they were convinced when he made the case for a war of independence. American school children are taught about Paine’s Common Sense, but unfortunately, his equally significant work, <a href="http://www.ushistory.org/paine/reason/index.htm">The Age of Reason; Being an Investigation of True and Fabulous Theology</a>  is completely ignored. That is a shame because Paine speaks truths that should be put squarely on the table today to shut up and shut down those who are thumping the Bible, acting as if the Constitution made America a Christian nation, and who seek to pass laws that are intended to make Americans obey their warped interpretations of what they claim God demands of and for Americans, and our government at all levels. rss@dailykos.com (Focusers) Abortion deists FoundingFathers Franklin Graham FranklinGraham Liberals Obama Religion ReligiousFundamentalists Republicans Santorum Theocrats TomPaine White House WhiteHouse WomensRights _1069675 Thu, 01 Mar 2012 08:53:46 +0000 Occupy Wall-Street - What do they want? https://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/10/10/1024845/-Occupy-Wall-Street-What-do-they-want Faux News commentators have been justly criticized  for their attempts to ridicule, demean and belittle the "Occupy"  movement buy questioning not only the movements objectives but the intelligence of its participants. What they want in a nutshell is what was demanded by the populist Senator Fred Harris in his Campaign for president over 40 years ago: "A fair distribution of wealth and income and power ought to be an explicit goal of governmentnt." rss@dailykos.com (Trenz Pruca) economicdemocracy Economy FredHarris Occupy Wall Street OccupyWallStreet Populism ThomasJefferson TomPaine _1024845 Mon, 10 Oct 2011 18:23:05 +0000 My friend just had a mental breakdown thanks to Sarah Palin. https://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/6/7/983064/-My-friend-just-had-a-mental-breakdown-thanks-to-Sarah-Palin Everything here is in my friend's words.  This is the gist of what was said before they became catatonic: That's it. I'm done. A line has been crossed. I was fine when the Republicans took Thomas Paine. I accepted it, even though I said quietly to my closest friends "You know Thomas Paine proposed early versions of what would today be called socialism." He was so socialist he suggested an early version of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agrarian_Justice">Social Security</a>. I put up with it when Glenn Beck titled his book "Common Sense" without reading the fucking pamphlet "Common Sense." Not a book, even! It's just a fucking pamphlet! I put up with it while they started dressing up like and invoking the names of the founding fathers, even though George Washington was a member of the Landed Gentry, Liberal Elite, who said "You know, Tom, there might be something to this Deism thing." He was not some backwoods man of the people with a musket. I understand that this is difficult. It's difficult! It's difficult understanding that Thomas Jefferson was a Deist who rewrote the bible to exclude all references to divinity, and slept with his wife's <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sally_Hemmings">half-sister</a> because he had a bad case of jungle fever and was kind of an asshole. It's difficult understanding that Benny Franklin was in love with France, including French Wine, French Philosophers, and French Prostitutes. He was an alcoholic sex addict who fucking loved France, and liked to walk around naked and take "<a href="http://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/de_london.html">Air Baths</a>." So he was a nudist, alcoholic, sex addict francophile, with connections to all sorts of bizarre secret societies and occultists (It's hard to get into this history, unfortunately, without running into illuminati new world order conspiracy theory bullshit which conservatives love). Benjamin Franklin is kind of a hero of mine, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Franklin#Inventions_and_scientific_inquiries">crazy brilliant</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advice_to_a_Friend_on_Choosing_a_Mistress">lewd</a> old man, who thought that people should <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fart_Proudly">fart proudly</a>. These were all men who were <a href="http://www.loc.gov/loc/lcib/0205/tolerance.html">fond of Muslims</a>. My point is, these were VERY complicated men. They were very difficult to take as a whole. They had complex ideas and complex life stories. Their writings are archaic and difficult to understand. In High School History, it's not standard to discuss the more controversial beliefs of the founding fathers. It's traditional and common to discuss FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEDOOOOOOOOM! AMURICA! LIBERTY! DOWN WITH TYRANNY! and all the other Tea Party Talking Points. I understand that you have to be a history fan to understand these things so I can deal with them taking the beliefs of these men out of context, and simplifying and deifying these men. But what is not complex is Paul Revere. You can't look at his myriad writings and letters and say "Oh no! Paul Revere didn't actually believe this. He's different from how the stories cast him." His story is so simple there are fucking <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Picture-Book-Paul-Revere-Biographies/dp/0823412946">first reader</a> versions! The Story of Paul Revere is pure propaganda. (Which Palin should Love.) Paul Revere is one of dozens of men and at least one girl, who went on rides to warn the minute men to assemble. They didn't warn the British. They didn't tell people to hide the guns. They told people to get their guns. They said "HEY GUYS! GET YO SHIT! THE MUTHAFUCKIN BRITISH!!" Paul Revere didn't even complete his ride. He was captured before he could do it. The only reason he's remembered is because his name was easiest to rhyme, and he had the virtue of not being a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sybil_Ludington">16 year old girl</a>. But none of that's important. Because it's history. I'm not talking about History. I'm talking about the story that every schoolchild knows. I'm talking about "Listen my children and you will hear." I'm talking about "One if by land, Two if by sea." I'm talking about asking a school child "What did Paul Revere say" and getting the response "The British are Coming! The British are Coming!" Why would Paul Revere say "HEY YOU GUYS ARE COMING!" to the British unless he was having sex with them?! At this point, my friend collapsed in a ball on the floor and started sobbing while hugging these books tightly: <div style="/*text-align: center;*/"><a href="http://img40.imageshack.us/img40/7505/reagansad.jpg"><img src="http://img40.imageshack.us/img40/7505/reagansad.jpg" /></a></div> I cannot speak to why Damer's Attacking Faulty Reasoning, a High School American History book, and John Stewart's America the Book comfort my friend, but they seem to be the only thing staving off a decline into complete despair. rss@dailykos.com (OllieGarkey) catatonia PaulRevere Rant Recommended Sarah Palin SarahPalin Snark Social Security SocialSecurity SybilLudington TomPaine _983064 Wed, 08 Jun 2011 01:25:39 +0000 The President quoted Tom Paine https://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/1/20/686557/-The-President-quoted-Tom-Paine I could not have been the only person who identified the author of the quotation that President Obama (woot!) included in his inaugural address: <blockquote> So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have traveled. In the year of America's birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people: "Let it be told to the future world...that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive...that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet [it]." </blockquote> I recollected immediately that Washington had The Crisis read to the troops: <a href="http://www.ushistory.org/Paine/crisis/c-01.htm">http://www.ushistory.org/...</a> So I looked it up. rss@dailykos.com (In Memory of Norman Bethune) BarackObama InauguralAddress President Obama TheCrisis TomPaine _686557 Tue, 20 Jan 2009 18:28:18 +0000 There Is No Staples EASY Button for Economic Justice; Fighting the Man for the Mule https://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/1/25/442488/-There-Is-No-Staples-EASY-Button-for-Economic-Justice-Fighting-the-Man-for-the-Mule Part One: What's In It For Me? Mark Thompson on "Make It Plain" Sirius Left Radio Show asked his listeners the following question:  "If Dr. King had been allowed to live would he accept the possibility of electing an African American as President as the realization of his dream?"   The "yes" votes led the "no, there is more to do" votes by 52% to 38%, the last time I looked.   Wow, that made me go back and reread the speech of Dr. King called "Where Do We Go From Here?" And to check Howard Zinn's "People's History of the United States" chapter "Or Does It Explode?" Barack Obama as President living in the big white house would be realizing one part of Martin Luther King’s dream. It would be a symbol of the pride and worth that Dr. King felt was essential for African Americans to have.  "As long as the mind is enslaved, the body can never be free."   "I am somebody".   "But where do we go from here?", asks Dr. King.  The next "challenge" was "to discover how to organize our strength into economic and political power."  And that would mean that the "forces of power demanding change" would have to "confront"... "the powerful forces of the status quo".   rss@dailykos.com (MontanaMaven) Barack Obama BarackObama Capitalism Civil Rights CivilRights Communism Economics Globalization John Edwards JohnEdwards JohnKennethGalbraith Martin Luther King Jr MartinLutherKingIII Rescued TomPaine Trade _442488 Fri, 25 Jan 2008 22:10:59 +0000 WHY the Dems Should Listen to Carter re: Palestine https://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/5/30/340788/-WHY-the-Dems-Should-Listen-to-Carter-re-Palestine Jimmy Carter was asked which of the current presidential candidates he thinks most likely to move towards negotiating peace in the Middle East. He still has hopes for Barack Obama, but won't decide who to vote for until he has a chance to speak to each of them privately, "I won't even decide who to support privately until I assess their attitude toward the Middle East. That's the number one issue for me." [1] Tony Blair has been credited with stating that 70% of the worlds problems with terrorists can be traced back to the Israeli Palestinian conflict. <blockquote> "On March 10, 1948, in Tel Aviv, eleven men had a meeting in the Red House headed by Ben Gurion. The eleven decided to expel one million Palestinians from historical Palestine. No minutes were taken, but many memoirs were written about that fateful meeting. A systematic ethnic cleansing of Palestine began and within seven months the Zionists managed to expel one half of all the Palestinian people from their villages and towns."- </blockquote> Dr. Ilan Pappe to this reporter Nov. 8, 2006. [2] rss@dailykos.com (eileen fleming) EthnicCleansing George W. Bush GeorgeWBush Human Rights HumanRights IlanPappe InternationalLaw Israel Occupation Palestine Terrorism TomPaine _340788 Wed, 30 May 2007 13:32:58 +0000 Punished for Taking Paine's Name in Vain https://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/11/24/274236/-Punished-for-Taking-Paine-s-Name-in-Vain Not that Christopher Hitchens' diminuitive reputation requires further deflation, but the neo-con fellow-traveller's infinitesimal private parts have run into a buzz-saw over at the London Review of Books. John Barrell, an expert on the blot on English liberties known as the political trials of the 1790s, takes on Hitchens' little stocking-stuffer Thomas Paine’s ‘Rights of Man’: A Biography from a position of actually knowing something about both Paine and the work of his other biographers. rss@dailykos.com (slangist) AmericanRevolution ChristopherHitchens Common Sense CommonSense EdmundBurke FrenchRevolution GeorgeGalloway KarlMarx LeonTrotsky Neocons RightsofMan TomPaine _274236 Sat, 25 Nov 2006 03:21:49 +0000 Old Tom Paine, and the origins of the welfare state https://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/1/13/178219/-Old-Tom-Paine-and-the-origins-of-the-welfare-state Whether or not the Dems grow a spine and decide to filibuster Alito, it's always worth it to go back to one of the founders of the liberal/progressive political tradition in this country. I just happened to be looking through a copy of Tom Paine's Agrarian Justice the other day, and found the following passage from the beginning of the pamphlet to be particularly well-said. <blockquote>To understand what the state of society ought to be, it is necessary to have some idea of the natural and primitive state of man; such as it is at this day among the Indians of North America. There is not, in that state, any of those spectacles of human misery which poverty and want present to our eyes in all the towns and streets in Europe. Poverty, therefore, is a thing created by that which is called civilized life. It exists not in the natural state. On the other hand, the natural state is without those advantages which flow from Agriculture, Arts, Science and Manufactures.</blockquote> More on the flip... rss@dailykos.com (litho) History TomPaine UnitedStates Welfarestate _178219 Fri, 13 Jan 2006 19:18:23 +0000