There are so many good people who are running for political office this year who have been saying inspiring things in recent days that quite a few recent $27 Quotes diaries have been exclusively filled with quotes from candidates. So let’s start tonight’s diary with a quote from someone who isn’t a candidate this year…
Ooh! Let’s go even farther, and start with a quote which isn’t from a political candidate and which isn’t from this year…
As I reflect on the enormous amount of good work that is left undone, I cannot but say a word and look my disapproval when I hear that my country is spending millions for war and war engines -- more, I have heard, than twice as much as the entire public school system costs the nation.
The problem spoken about in that quote — bloated, excessive military spending — is still with us. But that quote is actually more than 100 years old. It’s something which Helen Keller wrote in an article for the November 1903 Ladies Home Journal. (There’s a transcript here if you’d like to read the entire article.)
And if you’d like to read more about Helen Keller, there’s an excellent diary about Helen Keller, Socialist and Political Activist, which posted earlier today. If you haven’t already seen that diary, please click the link and go read and rec it now. These quotes will still be here when you get back, along with some music and another picture or two of Noble Fur which you can enjoy at your leisure.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez continues to be a rich source for good quotes. Here are a few more things she’s said recently which I couldn’t resist sharing:
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Ever notice how the “how do you pay for it” argument is selectively employed against working class benefits?
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There was a recent bicycle event in Queens, hashtag #bikeQNS, which Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez took part in and which led her to post this comment to her Twitter account:
Although bike lanes aren’t strictly a Congressional issue, they’re certainly part of the larger picture of a just transition to a sustainable economy and city. I don’t own a bike (it’s too dangerous in the Bronx) and use public transit. Joining #BikeQNS for a ride was eye-opening!
Something else Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez did this past week was appear on the PBS program Firing Line, now hosted by Margaret Hoover, to talk about the future of Democratic Socialism, abolishing ICE, and forgiving student debt. Afterwards she said:
I really believe this conversation with Margaret Hoover, an avowed conservative, on the Firing Line show is a model for political discourse. We weren’t there to cut down or discredit one other, but to have a conversation of depth & substance - even if from different viewpoints.
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Here’s a good comment to keep in mind as we move toward November:
As dark as times may seem, we have a tremendous opportunity in front of us.
Folks are voting like never before. Primaries are seeing two times and three times the turnout.
We can take back the house in November with an energized and visionary movement. Let’s make it happen.
Here’s something important she said about another inspiring New York candidate, Zephyr Teachout:
A few weeks ago, I was too much of a risk to be around in NYC politics. No political figure would even say my name. Zephyr Teachout was the exception. She endorsed me in front of a small flower shop in Queens. No one came to cover it.
Today, things are a little different.
Zephyr Teachout took a risk because she thought it was the right thing to do. Her independence and strength to stand up to big money makes me confident that she will fight hard for working people as NY Attorney General. Politics can change if we choose to make it change.
And here’s something memorable she said about yet another inspiring New York candidate, Julia Salazar, whom some people have begun calling the next Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez:
Julia Salazar isn't the next me. She's the first HER.
Julia Salazar is running for a seat in the New York state senate, and from the excitement she’s generating she looks to have a good chance of winning. Here are a few things she said this week:
Bushwick, Williamsburg, Bed-Stuy, Greenpoint — there's almost nowhere in North Brooklyn where struggling families aren't spending up to 70 percent of their income on rent.
It's absolutely obscene. It stops now. It stops with us.
Universal Rent Control!
~ Julia Salazar
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New York has always been a city of immigrants. To protect our brothers and sisters, we have to dismantle the deportation machine and make sure that New York City is free from ICE.
Abolish ICE!
~ Julia Salazar
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The level of income inequality we see today is the product of decades of anti-union policies that prevented workers from organizing for better wages and conditions. It's time we reversed the trend and extend collective bargaining rights to all!
~ Julia Salazar
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Even in a blue state like New York, we aren’t doing nearly enough to protect the rights of immigrants. As State Senator, I will fight for:
- ➡️ Liberty Act
- ➡️ New York Dream Act
- ➡️ Driver’s License Bill
- ➡️ Ban ICE from our courtrooms
~ Julia Salazar
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There was a story in the New York papers this past week about how much the rent is for places which are officially labelled as “affordable”
City Touts 'Affordable' $2K Studios As Bushwick Home Prices Soar
"Affordable" apartments hit the NYC Housing Connect lotto the same week Bloomberg reported record-breaking rent increases in Bushwick.
BUSHWICK, BROOKLYN — The city is touting a pair of $2,000-a-month studio apartments in Bushwick as "affordable" as rents in the neighborhood skyrocket at record-breaking rates…
This sea-change in rent prices was in evidence Thursday morning when the city posted a new listing for affordable apartments at the Saint Marks — a gut-renovated church that boasts $5,700-a-month one-bedrooms — and asked for applicants who earn six-figure incomes….
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That prompted this comment from Julia Salazar:
How many North Brooklyn residents can afford to pay $2,000 a month for a studio?
When we demand affordable housing we mean housing that’s truly affordable for the working class.
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Music break!
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New York certainly has no shortage of inspiring candidates this year:
New York State is facing a crisis of skyrocketing inequality. Families are being pushed out of communities they've known for generations. It's time to start making the ultra-rich pay their fair share so we can have a New York that belongs to all of us—for the many, not the few.
~ Cynthia Nixon
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Something is fundamentally wrong when traumatized siblings being held captive in detention centers across the country aren't even allowed to hug each other. Our government should be in the business of keeping families together, not tearing them apart.
~ Cynthia Nixon
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Cuomo refuses to fund our public schools. He says we can't afford it. Meanwhile, 20% of America's billionaires reside in New York State. We CAN have a New York where all of us have what we need to thrive—if only we had the leadership willing to take on big money interests.
~ Cynthia Nixon
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The divide in our politics isn't between left versus right. It's between those on top and those on the bottom. As Jamelle Bouie [a political analyst for Slate and for CBS News] puts it, it's time to inspire our voters to vote rather than pursue stale, corporate centrism.
~ Cynthia Nixon
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Earlier this year Joseph Percoco, a top aide and personal friend of NY governor Andrew Cuomo, was convicted of accepting several hundred thousand dollars from companies seeking to do business with the state, and last week another top Cuomo administration person, Alain Kaloyeros, was sentenced to prison. You can read details of the Buffalo Billion scandal here and here. That led Cynthia Nixon to comment:
Cuomo allowed his top economic development aide, Alain Kaloyeros, to spend A BILLION DOLLARS of taxpayer money in the name of job creation upstate. Now, Kaloyeros is going to jail for handing the money straight to Cuomo’s largest campaign donors. This is crony capitalism.
and:
Every decision Andrew Cuomo makes as Governor is driven by two things: who has given him money, and who can give him even more.
It’s hard to do right when you’re getting millions of dollars from corporations to do wrong.
When I’m Governor, we’re going to put an end to cronyism and pay-to-play culture in Albany, and invest heavily in working class communities across New York State—not corporations who rig the system for the wealthy and well-connected.
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Perhaps I should mention a candidate from another state: Hawaii’s congressional candidate Kaniela Ing. (Although even there, the media wants to compare things to what’s going on in New York...)
A reporter just jabbed me with “Hawaii is not the Bronx.” Maybe not. But we share a struggle. A minority majority facing gentrification, a housing crisis, runaway inequality, and a corporate controlled Democratic Party. We are ready for change from NY to Hawaii.
~ Kaniela Ing
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Q: Why does corporate media highlight fundraising leads rather than voting records or number of volunteers?
A: The donors are their advertisers.
~ Kaniela Ing
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Many America unions begin with “International” for a reason. It’s because solidarity extends beyond our borders.
Labor’s first organizers understood that workers will only rise together. We must never lose sight of that.
Immigrant Rights are Workers Rights!
~ Kaniela Ing
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There’s an interesting Town Hall scheduled for July 16:
Senator Bernie Sanders will host a live streamed town hall Monday in Washington at 7 pm to address the enormous disparity between the wealth of corporate executives and the wages and treatment of the companies’ workers. Sanders will be joined by workers from Amazon, Disney, McDonald’s, American Airlines and Walmart, and he has invited the CEO of each company to attend.
Here are some more details, courtesy of CNN:
Sen. Bernie Sanders is inviting the corporate bosses of four major American companies to face their employees during a livestreamed town hall event in Washington on July 16.
"I really hope (the CEOs) have the guts to sit on a panel with their own employees and explain why it's acceptable that they receive huge compensation packages while their very own workers are struggling to put food on the table," Sanders said in an interview. "I hope they have the courage to do so. The invitation is sincere."
The July town hall ... will be Sanders' fourth live, online-only event this year. The first three, featuring panels on "Medicare for all," inequality and, most recently, the Iran nuclear deal, have racked up nearly 5 million views.
Original videos on Sanders' Facebook page routinely draw hundreds of thousands of viewers. A clip posted on Tuesday morning featuring a couple "faced with the choice of getting divorced or declaring bankruptcy to pay for medical bills" had surpassed 2 million views by Wednesday night...
The Town Hall should provide some interesting quotes and video clips next week. Meanwhile, here’s a preview of the kind of things to expect:
Last year American Airlines made $1.9 billion in profits. Its CEO Doug Parker is on track to make $31 million this year. They need to explain why 27% of workers at their subsidiary Envoy Air said they must accept food stamps and other public assistance to make ends meet.
I hope American Airlines CEO Doug Parker will come to our town hall tomorrow at 7 PM ET to explain why it's acceptable that he receives a huge compensation package while his employees struggle to afford food.
~ Bernie Sanders
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Walmart’s CEO Doug McMillon made about $11,000/hour in compensation last year. I'd like to hear from him why he thinks his workers don't deserve to be paid a living wage of $15/hour.
~ Bernie Sanders
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The average cashier at McDonald's would have to work for 895 years to make what the company's CEO makes in one year. That is insane.
~ Bernie Sanders
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I'd like McDonald's CEO Steve Easterbrook to explain why the company had enough money to reward its wealthy shareholders with $7.7 billion in stock buybacks, but reneged on a commitment it made to its low-wage workers to pay them at least $1-an-hour above the local minimum wage.
~ Bernie Sanders
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Last year American Airlines made $1.9 billion in profits. Its CEO Doug Parker is on track to make $31 million this year. They need to explain why 27% of workers at their subsidiary Envoy Air said they must accept food stamps and other public assistance to make ends meet.
I hope American Airlines CEO Doug Parker will come to our town hall tomorrow at 7 PM ET to explain why it's acceptable that he receives a huge compensation package while his employees struggle to afford food.
~ Bernie Sanders
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