Bernie Sanders Enters the Race

Last week, Vermont U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders made it official: He is seeking the 2020 Democratic Party nomination—and to win in the general election—for president of the United States. (Video announcement is above.)

When I think about this, I want to respond in at least two ways: 1) He and Hawaii’s Tulsi Gabbard are the only two candidates I am interested in from that party; 2) He and Gabbard are the only two who have an agenda, and can provide the leadership, that is necessary to persuade the voting electorate to unseat Donald Trump by electing one of them. In Gabbard’s case, it is because she is now against more wars. So, she is the anti-war candidate. In Sanders’s case, it is because of domestic policies for which he was the first to offer them and, of course, that he has the base of support.

The reason why Sanders and Gabbard are being smeared is because the Democratic Party Establishment, with help from their allies in the Deep State and in mainstream media, are threatened by the actual change a Sanders or Gabbard presidency promises to bring. (I say “promises” because I can’t say guaranteed.) So, of course, all sorts of narratives get tossed around. Ultimately, it is a con of Democratic Party machine politics, yes, but also the political establishment as a whole.

No way would a “socialist” get elected president of the United States? Well, Brexit was unthinkable. This is about capitalism failing—and its greed. And the powers that be want to scare people about the evils of socialism. But the thing is—when people are being drowned economically, socialism isn’t the scary thing about which a former president like Ronald Reagan or the current president who is Donald Trump warns. After all, we have forms of socialism anyway. If this was 1999 looking forward to 2000, I would agree—Bernie Sanders could not get elected. But we are in 2019 and are looking toward 2020. The oligarchs are destroying this county. So, we are in a different time indeed. This is what I recognize to be an example of realignment.

I have in mind writing, in a future blog entry, more about this. In the meantime, I am pleased Bernie Sanders is running for president of the United Sates.







Remembering Bill Hicks


This Tuesday, February 26, 2019, marks the 25th anniversary of the death of comedian Bill Hicks.

Born December 16, 1961, in Valdosta, Georgia, Bill Hicks, who died February 26, 1994, in Little Rock, Arkansas, was a comedian of great promise. He was edgy. He was daring. He was insightful.

If you want to read more on Bill Hicks, here is source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Hicks.

Bill Hicks, when it came to politics, was able to distinguish how people think and react here in the United States: [Speaking mockingly] “I believe the puppet on my left is more to my liking. I believe the puppet on my right is more to my liking.”

Some more quotes:

 • “Listen—the next revolution is gonna be a revolution of ideas.”

 • “I hate patriotism! I can’t stand it! It’s a round world last time I checked.”

 • “If you’re so pro-life, do me a favor: Don’t lock arms and block medical clinics. If you’re so pro-life, lock arms and block cemeteries.”

 • “If you don’t think drugs have done good things for us, then take all of your records, tapes, and CDs…and burn them.”

 • “We are the facilitators of our own creative evolution.”


A stand-up comedy performances:

Happy Birthday, Ralph Nader!

This Wednesday, February 27, 2019, will be the 85th birthday of consumer advocate and former United States presidential nominee Ralph Nader.

I posted a thread, last year, and will provide a link: http://progressiveschat.blogspot.com/2018/02/happy-birthday-ralph-nader.html.

• SPECIAL • The 91st Academy Awards

This Sunday, February 24, 2019, ABC will broadcast live the 91st Academy Awards.

I watched the Oscar ceremonies from 1983 (honoring 1982 film achievements), at which time I was 11 going on 12, and continued doing so through 2015 (honoring 2014 film achievements), at which time I was 43 going on 44. So, I was at it a long time.

I became tired. I also lost a lot of interest in films. They haven’t been as good as the ones I grew up with. I also felt like I may have lost touch. Some of the people we are told are our stars—well, I don’t see why. Back in the 1970s, there was an old Hollywood star who looked at the actors and actresses who had arrived or were coming up. I don’t remember if he or she named anyone specific. The old Hollywood star had an observation which has stayed in my memory.

“They look like my neighbors!”

That is a feeling I get with a good number of today’s supposed stars.

I anticipate, on Sunday night, two actresses I do like will win Oscars: Glenn Close, with her seventh nomination for performance in Björn Runge’s The Wife, as Best Actress; Regina King, with her first nomination, for her performance in Barry Jenkins’s If Beale Street Could Talk, as Best Supporting Actress. (The above photo, which included several other actresses, was edited and comes from Hollywood Reporter.)

Close was first nominated for the year, and for a film, when I first started watching the Academy Awards. That was 1982 and The World According to Garp. She had five of her seven nominations in that decade alone: 1983’s The Big Chill and 1984’s The Normal, each time in the supporting category and, moved up to lead, in 1987’s Fatal Attraction and 1988’s Dangerous Liaisons. (Close was nominated as well for 2011’s Albert Nobbs.) And if she wins, Close will become the 25th person to have won the Triple Crown of Acting: Oscar, Tony, and Emmy. This has been a trend this decade with the likes of Frances McDormand, Jessica Lange and, last year, Glenda Jackson having complete the trio.

For King, she has won three Emmys over the last four consecutive years—two for ABC’s American Crime followed by Netflix’s Seven Seconds. So, the television academy really digs King. I understand. Her performances are honest and humane.

If these two actresses end up winning, I may tune in in time to catch those category presentations. But, in the meantime, I would like to avoid a ceremony where more neoliberal Hollywood elites suck up precious air time basically stating that the problems with the U.S. come only from the fact that Donald Trump is its president. Oscar has a long history of controversial and political speeches. I don’t actually mind that. I’m just not interested in neoliberal Democrats preaching to the choir while not sincerely expressing concern for people who are living paycheck-to-paycheck (if they didn’t, they could go see more of the stars’ movies), are drowning from debt of health insurance or no health insurance and the need Medicare for All, as well as the continuation of more wars. But, of course, they’re not expressing concern for those issues.


In the meantime, as I did with last year’s Oscar-related thread (• SPECIAL • Oscar Weekend), here are some video clips of films and performances—actually tied in with anniversaries—honored from the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Science in the distant past:

50 Years Ago

In the Best Actress contest for 1968, a tie result: Katharine Hepburn, with the third of her four Oscars, for her performance in Anthony Harvey’s The Lion in Winter; and, making her big-screen debut, a 26-year-old Barbra Streisand in William Wyler’s Funny Girl.

30 Years Ago

For the year 1988, Rain Man captured Best Picture, Director (Barry Levinson), Actor (Dustin Hoffman, with the second of his two Oscars), and Original Screenplay (Barry Morrow and Ronald Bass).

25 Years Ago

Steven Spielberg, who has two Oscars for Best Director, won his first for the Best Picture of 1993: Schinder’s List. (He repeated, five years later, for Saving Private Ryan.) Schindler’s List was the first film to win the top prize from all four main film groups: National Board of Review, Los Angeles Film Critics Association, New York Film Critics Circle, and National Society of Film Critics. At the Academy Awards, it won seven, including those already mentioned as well as Best Adapted Screenplay (Steven Zaillian).

20 Years Ago

The winner of the 1998 Oscar for Best Supporting Actress was Judi Dench in John Madden’s Shakespeare in Love. It won seven statues, also including Best Picture, Best Actress (Gwyneth Paltrow), and Best Original Screenplay (Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard). Dench, who received her first nomination at age 63 for Best Actress of 1997 in Mrs. Brown, has since been nominated seven times. The number eight springs to mind because that is how many minutes she appears on screen in her Academy Award winning performance.

10 Years Ago

More than three decades after Peter Finch was posthumously awarded 1976’s Best Actor in Sidney Lumet’s Network, Heath Ledger, who died at age 28 on January 22, 2008, won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for 2008 as The Joker in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight.




If any readers of Progressives Chat feel like posting in the comments a scene from a motion picture he or she appreciates—and it doesn’t have to be from one that received Academy Awards recognition—I invite readers to do so.

Kim Iversen

I have been coming across that a recommendation for an actual progressive: Kim Iversen.

According to https://everipedia.org/wiki/lang_en/Kim_Iverson/, Kim Iversen, born March 28, 1980, in Boise, Idaho, “is a nationally syndicated American radio personality best known for United Stations Radio Network nightly syndicated program Your Time with Kim Iversen and Premiere Radio Networks nightly syndication, The Rendezvous with Simon and Kim.”

Here is the link to her website: https://www.kimiversen.com.

Although Iversen’s videos have been available only for a month, I have now added Kim Iversen’s YouTube home page to the “Recommendations” list.

Here are some videos:

Jordan Chariton Interviews Michigan Auto Workers

While my area’s Detroit, Michigan local news has devoted lots of coverage to death and funeral of former U.S. Rep. John Dingell, whose seat is now held by his widow Debbie, and this is from my congressional district, Michigan #12, Status Coup uploaded numerous video interviews, between Jordan Chariton and numerous workers in the auto industry. I certainly am not seeing any of this content on local news. That is, of course, intended. The first video is two hours. The rest have running times more friendly for Progressives Chat readers to spend some time viewing.

‘Smugnorant’

During last Saturday’s [February 9, 2019] “Solid Chat Saturday,” from the live-streaming The Jimmy Dore Show, I sent in a comment thanking the program for the video “NYTimes Journo Melts Down On Joe Rogan’s Show” [published February 4, 2019]—already one the year’s best Jimmy Dore videos (re-posted above)—and praising a particular comedian, Paul Gilmartin, for the term smugnorant applied to New York Times columnist Bari Weiss. (He says it at the mark of 15:40.)

It turns out, as mentioned by Ron Placone, the term smugnorant is now in Urban Dictionary.

(Link: https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=smugnorant.)

I love this term, smugnorant, because it applies not only to Bari Weiss but to just about every single person who spouts opinions aligned with the corrupt, corporate, Democratic Party Establishment. This is the same corrupt, corporate Democratic Party Establishment which pushed for and shoved Hillary Clinton as the 2016 nominee for president of the United States. It still holds the power. There is no sincerity—and no credibility—with their opinions. But, they still express them. And, so, they have earned this label—this term—which I do welcome. 

Smugnorant.

Niko House: ‘Jimmy Dore Discusses Presidential Prospects, Smearing of Tulsi’

The above video, titled “Jimmy Dore Discusses Presidential Prospects, Smearing of Tulsi,” is a discussion between host Niko House and guest Jimmy Dore.

It was published to YouTube just yesterday [Thursday, February 7, 2019].



Note: There is a second thread today, “The 61st Grammy Awards.” The ceremony is this weekend. If you want to post related comments, perhaps some music videos, it may interest you.

• SPECIAL • The 61st Grammy Awards

This Sunday, February 10, 2019, are the 61st Grammy Awards on CBS.

I lost track of music.

But, below are videos for the eight nominees for Record of the Year.

The 2020 Primaries

One year from now are the Iowa caucuses for the 2020 elections.

The first contest is scheduled for Monday, February 3, 2020.

I expect Republican incumbent U.S. president Donald Trump will win re-nomination.

The Democratic side is the one somewhat in question.

The declared candidates (as of February 3, 2019):
 • Cory Booker (04.27.1969, Washington, D.C.) of New Jersey; former Mayor of Newark; junior U.S. Senator of New Jersey
 • Pete Buttrieg (01.19.1982, South Bend, Indiana) of Indiana; Mayor of South Bend
 • Julián Castro (09.16.1974, San Antonio, Texas) of Texas; former Mayor of San Antonio; former U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
 • John Delaney (04.16.1963, Wood-Ridge, New Jersey) of Maryland; former U.S. Representative of Maryland #06
 • Tulsi Gabbard (04.12.1981, Leloaloa, American Samoa) of Hawaii; U.S. Representative of Hawaii #02
 • Kirsten Gillibrand (12.09.1966, Albany, New York) of New York; former U.S. Representative of New York #20; junior U.S. Senator of New York
 • Kamala Harris (10.20.1964, Oakland, California) of California; junior U.S. Senator of California
 • Elizabeth Warren (06.22.1949, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma) of Massachusetts; senior U.S. Senator of Massachusetts



I have no interest in any corporate Democrats.



The following video, published to YouTube on January 26, 2019 by The Real News, is about this topic. Its description: “Jacqueline Luqman, Editor-in-Chief of the Luqman Nation talks about potential presidential candidates and how they can serve the black community, realistic goals, and what the black community should demand from them and issues to focus on.”

James Ingram (1952–2019)

February is Black History Month. It is also the month of Valentine’s Day.

My first blog entry for February 2019 combines both as a singer—with a powerful and romantic voice—I grew up listening to, from the 1980s, died this past Tuesday, January 29, 2019.

Two-time Grammy winner James Ingram died, at age 66, from brain cancer. (Here is a report: https://variety.com/2019/music/news/rb-star-james-ingram-dies-at-66-1203122641/.)

Ingram, born February 16, 1952, in Akron, Ohio, was more prominent during the 1980s. He recorded on Quincy Jones’s album, The Dude, and received a 1981 Grammy nomination for Best New Artist before recording an album of his own. Ingram went on to become a solo artist starting with It’s Your Night in 1983. 

In 1990, he teamed with producer Thom Bell (who won Grammys’ first Producer of the Year, for 1974) to record Ingram’s sole No. 1 Billboard hit, “I Don’t Have the Heart.” It garnered Ingram a Grammy nomination for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. That year’s release of Jones’s Back on the Black, which went to win the Album of the Year Grammy for 1990, featured Ingram collaborating with Barry White, Al B. Sure, and El Debarge on “The Secret Garden.”

As one of the co-writers, Ingram received a 1993 Oscar nomination for Best Original Song for “The Day I Fall in Love,” from Beethoven 2. One year later, and again as one of its co-writers, Ingram received a 1994 Oscar nomination for Best Original Song for “Look What Love Has Done,” from Junior.

James Ingram won two Grammys: 1981 Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for “One Hundred Ways,” one of the tracks from Quincy Jones’s Album of the Year nominee The Dude; and 1984 Best Duo or Group R&B Vocal Performance, for his terrific collaboration with Michael McDonald, for “Yah Mo B There.”

Here are some videos: