Bernie Sanders Discusses His Meeting with Joe Biden 10/30/15

Charlie Rose Hourlong Interview with Bernie Sanders (10/26/2015)

Candidate Cafe: Bernie Sanders (10/30/2015)

Senator Bernie Sanders Hosts Town Hall Meeting at Pinkerton Academy in Derry, NH (10/30/2015)

Bernie Sanders Advocates for Universal Healthcare

Todays Headlines: Friday October 30, 2015

Bernie Sanders Hires The Most Important Immigration Activist in the USA

Erika Andiola, the most well-known immigration activist in the country, is joining the Bernie Sanders campaign, according to three sources with knowledge of the hire.

It’s a big splash in the immigration movement, as Andiola is respected up and down the loosely connected advocacy apparatus that includes groups close to the Democratic establishment, groups far to the left, and undocumented immigrants in local communities, where Andiola has worked across the country. Link, En Espanol, En Espanol, Twitter

Sanders Wants to Expand Social Security, Clinton to Raise Retirement Age and Make Cuts 

During a visit to a senior center here Friday, presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders highlighted his support for expanding Social Security benefits, an issue on which he asserted he has a “strong disagreement” with Democratic front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton.

It was the third time in as many days that the Vermont senator has sought to draw attention to a policy difference with Clinton, reflecting a recent shift to a more aggressive strategy as he seeks the Democratic nomination. Link, Link, Bernie Sanders Explains Social Security Video

More Details About the Meeting Between Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders

Among the many issues they discussed was the need to address campaign finance reform so that the wealthy and powerful cannot wield undue influence in the political process. They also spoke about the need to extend public education in the United States through college so every young person in America, regardless of income, will be able to get a college education.  Link, Reddit, 

Sanders Does Not Think That The State Should Be In The Business of Killing People

Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, called for the abolition of the death penalty in a speech on the Senate floor on Thursday, a move that highlighted the issue and the fact that he is to Clinton's  left on it.

“We are all shocked and disgusted by some of the horrific murders that we see in this country, seemingly every week,” Mr. Sanders said. “And that is precisely why we should abolish the death penalty. At a time of rampant violence and murder, the state should not be part of that process.” Link, Link, Video

Video: Bernie Sanders Meets with the New Hampshire Union Leader

1000 Women in South Carolina Endorse Bernie Sanders

Charleston, S.C. – In a signal of the growing support for U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign in South Carolina, more than 1,000 women across the state have endorsed his candidacy.

“We are thrilled to have such broad enthusiasm among local women for Sen. Sanders,” State Director Christopher Covert said Wednesday. “Sanders has fought for women’s rights and economic fairness throughout his life and the support in South Carolina reflects the national movement of American women joining our campaign.”

Christale Spain, the South Carolina Director of Political Outreach, said that “as a black woman and a single mother, it was crucial to support a candidate who has demonstrated a commitment to advocating for me and the issues that impact my community. Sen. Sanders has been a champion of civil rights and economic equality for women for thirty years, and I am proud to endorse him.” Link, 

Other Endorsements Today

Fadi Abouabsi Arab-American Rapper

Thom Hartmann Progressive Journalist

In Case You Missed It

Interview by Iowa Reporter Stacey Walker

1995 Footage of Sanders Confronting Homophobia

Feel the Bern 6.0

Thom Hartmann Endorses Bernie Sanders, Compares Him To FDR

Bernie Sanders Meets With New Hampshire Union Leader (10/30/2015)

Flashback Friday: Bernie Sanders Supports the Violence Against Women Act (6/28/1994)

Bernie Sanders Featured On NPR, October 29, 2015

Todays Headlines: Thursday October 29, 2015 New Format

Bernie Sanders Praised By Sen. John McCain, Gets Things Done in a Bi-Partisan Way

John McCain: “I will say Bernie Sanders worked very hard when he was chairman of the Veterans Affairs Committee, he, he and I had many disagrements, but we were able to come together, finally, after very spirited discussions—I think my reward will be in heaven, not here on earth for that exercise,” he said. “But the fact is we were able to come together and come and pass legislation that was nearly unanimous in both House and Senate. So he does have a record of advocacy for our veterans.” Read More Here. LINK. LINK, LINK

Hillary Clinton Hasn't Learned a Thing From the War In Iraq

Clinton, it seems, failed to learn anything after supporting the disastrous Iraq War, which plunged a huge swath of the Middle East into chaos and cost her the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination. Instead of embracing diplomacy, she continued to champion ill-conceived military interventions as secretary of state. Read More Here. Link

Clinton Denial of VA Problems Makes Her Unfit to Be Presidential Candidate According to McCain, story by Military.com

McCain, R-Arizona, said he was reluctant to offer a favorite to be the Democratic nominee next year but offered that "Bernie worked very hard when he chaired the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee … He does have a record of advocacy for our veterans. I don't know of any legislative activity Hillary engaged in as a Senator." Read More Here. Link

Bernie Sanders Meets With Vice-President Joe Biden

Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders met with Vice President Joe Biden at his Naval Observatory residence for an hour Thursday, discussing issues related to campaign finance reform and education, according to a statement released through the Vermont senator's campaign.

The meeting comes more than a week after Biden announced that he would not seek the Democratic presidential nomination.  Read More Here. LINK, LINK, 

Senator Sanders Calls for End to Death Penalty

“We are all shocked and disgusted by some of the horrific murders that we see in this country, seemingly every week,” said Sanders, an independent senator from Vermont. “And that is precisely why we should abolish the death penalty. At a time of rampant violence and murder, the state should not be part of that process.”  Read More Here. LINK, LINK, VIDEO

Senator Sanders Calls for Decriminalization of Marijuana Use

"In my view, the time is long overdue for us to remove the federal prohibition on marijuana," Sanders said in a speech Wednesday at George Mason University in Virginia that was streamed live to 250 student meetings around the country.  "In my view, states should have the right to regulate marijuana the same way state and local laws now govern the sale of alcohol and tobacco."  Read More Here. LINK, LINK, VIDEO

Bernie Sanders Stands With Muslims

“Let me be very personal if I might. I’m Jewish. My father’s family died in concentration camps,” Sanders said. “I will do everything that I can to rid this country of the ugly stain of racism which has existed for far too many years.”

“Our job is to build a nation in which we all stand together as one people,” he continued. “And you are right, there is a lot of … hatred being generated against Muslims in this country. ... If we are going to stand for anything, we have got to stand together and end all forms of racism.” LINK, LINK, VIDEO

Bernie Sanders Responds to Hillary Clinton's Accusation That He is Sexist

Presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders said Thursday that some recent comments by his campaign manager about Hillary Rodham Clinton were “inappropriate,” but pushed back against suggestions that he and his team have treated the Democratic front-runner in a sexist fashion.

The Vermont senator appeared Thursday afternoon on MSNBC, where he was asked to respond to concerns raised by the president of Emily’s List, a group that promotes female candidates, after Sanders’s campaign manager joked about vetting Clinton as Sanders’s vice presidential nominee. LINK, VIDEO

In Case You Missed It: 

Sanders' National Student Town Hall Meeting

Charlie Rose Hourlong Interview of Bernie Sanders

Feel the Bern 6.0

Thomas Roberts: Bernie Sanders Responds To Hillary Clinton's Sexism Charge (10/29/2015)

Bernie Sanders: Fix Our Broken Criminal Justice System, End the Death Penalty, & Decrimalize Marijuana Use (10/29/2015)

Bernie Sanders Wants to Lift the Federal Ban on Marijuana

Students for Bernie Sanders, National Town Hall (10/28/2015)

We Have Got To Stand Together and End All Forms of Racism | Bernie Sande...

CNN: "Of Course We Are Going To Talk About Hillary Clinton's Record", Bernie Sanders to Wolf Blitzer (10/28/2015)

Ed Schultz News and Commentary: Wednesday the 28th of October

Todays Headlines and Hourlong Charlie Rose Interview: Wednesday October 28, 2015 Democratic Socialism Edition

Charlie Rose: Hourling Interview with Presidential Candidate Senator Bernie Sanders

MIC: Robert Reich Explains Why Capitalism is Broken and Why Bernie Sanders Matters

CNN: Peter Dreier, Our American Style of Democratic Socialism

CNN: Is Democratic Socialism the Right Path for the USA, You Bet It Is!

Washington Post: Sanders Plans Major Media Ad Launch in Iowa and New Hampshire Soon!

BernieSanders.com: Join National Virtual Student Town Hall Tonight

Reddit/Twitter/Morning Joe: Mika Brzezinski on Clinton Calling Sanders Sexist

Observer: Hillary Clinton Falsely Calls Bernie Sanders a Sexist, Takes the Low Road

Slate: Clinton is Trying to Swiftboat Sanders, Calling Him Sexist

National Review: Sanders Had the Perfect Response to Hillary's 'Sexist'Attack

Bloomberg: Sanders Team Has A Solid Plan to Win Nomination

Lawrence O'Donnell: Wall Street Bankers Who Support Bernie and His Vision

Bloomberg: Warren Still Not Talking About 2016 Endorsement

Raw Story: Sanders Joins Verizon Workers Picket Line in NYC

Massachusetts Daily Collegian: Students Host Rally For Bernie

Reddit: Join Veterans Day Donation Drive For Bernie Sanders

Twitter: Senate Passes Cybersecurity Bill, Sanders Votes No and Responds

Lawrence O'Donnell: Wall Street Banker for Bernie Tells You to Follow Hillary's Money (October 27, 2015)

Hillary Clinton Finally Says No to Private Prison Donations (10/27/2015)

Ed Schultz News and Commentary: Tuesday the 27th of October

On Tuesday’s show, Ed is joined by Mitch Ceasar, former Florida Democratic Party Chairman, to discuss the implosion of Jeb Bush’s Presidential campaign. We are also joined by Larry Cohen, Former President of the Communications Workers of America and Bernie Sanders Campaign Surrogate, to talk about Sen. Sanders rallying with Verizon workers in New York City. Plus Ed answers a pressing question from social media.

Charlie Rose-CBS This Morning: Bernie Sanders Interview

Todays Headlines: Tuesday October 27, 2015

The Guardian: How The Dodgers and Baseball Shaped Sanders World View

CNN: Sanders Campaign, No More Mr. Nice Guy

Salon: Bernie Sanders Will Recover From Hillary's October Charm Offensive

Huffington Post: Sanders Joins Verizon Picket Line in NYC

Politco: Sanders on Charlie Rose, "If You Want Real Change, I'm Your Candidate"

Politico: Bankers for Bernie

Washington Post: Bernie Sanders Chats It Up on The View

Rolling Stone: Roger Waters Prefers Bernie, Fears Hillary Will Start Another War

Pink News: Sanders Calls Out Clinton for Revising DOMA History

Huffington Post: Sanders Brings Back Integrity

Colorado Independent: Colorado Puts Universal Healthcare on the Ballot

The Advocate: Rachel Maddow Says There IS a Difference Between Sanders and Clinton on LGBT Issues

Huffington Post: Hillary Lies About DOMA, Gay Activists Say Bernie Sanders is Correct

TruthDig: Sanders Warns Clinton, I Will Lead Based on Principles, Not Poll Numbers

Bloomberg: The Jane Sanders Interview

Today Show: Bernie Sanders,'Glad' Hillary Clinton is moving my way on issues (10/27/2015)

Bernie Sanders on Charlie Rose: If You Want Real Change, I'm the Candidate (10/26/2015)

"I have been extremely consistent". Senator Sanders

Rachel Maddow Show: Bernie Sanders Full Interview (10/26/2015)

Bernie Sanders: What the WSJ Got Wrong (Oct. 26, 2015) | Charlie Rose

Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders explains what, according to him, a recent Wall Street Journal article got right and wrong when it estimated his social policies would cost the country $18 trillion. Charlie's interview with Sanders airs Oct. 26, 2015 on PBS. Visit www.charlierose.com for more.


The economist cited in the WSJ article, Gerald Friedman,  has also critiqued the Wall Street Journal report. Link.

Andrea Mitchell: Hillary Clinton Is Running Scared In Iowa (10/25/2015)

Bernie Sanders on Hillary Clinton (Oct. 26, 2015) | Charlie Rose

Vermont Senator and 2016 Presidential Candidate Bernie Sanders talks to Charlie Rose about the differences between him and Hillary Clinton as they vie for the Democratic nomination. "Who is going to take on the corporate interests and Wall Street and try to create a government that works for all the people in this country rather than a small number of billionaires? That’s the issue. And if people think Hillary Clinton is that candidate, go for it."

Ed Schultz News and Commentary: Monday the 26th of October

On Monday’s Show, Ed is joined by Tad Devine, Advisor to Sen. Bernie Sanders’ Presidential campaign, to discuss the Senator draw a contrast with Hillary Clinton at the Jefferson-Jackson Dinner in Iowa Saturday. We are also joined by John Nichols, Washington correspondent for the Nation, to discuss Paul Ryan’s run for Speaker and the significance of Paul Ryan gaining on Donald Trump in the polls.

CNN: Bernie Sanders on Hillary Clinton, gun control (10/25/2015) Full Interview

Bernie Sanders on The View: Taking About GOP Agenda, Social Security and Electability (10/26/2015)

Andrew Cicchetti My 2 Cents: Sanders and Clinton on DOMA and LGBT Rights

Much has been made of Bernie Sanders strong critique of Hillary Clinton's revisionism of DOMA history. Link For those of you that don't know, the so called Defense of Marriage Act was signed into law in 1996 by Bill Clinton and prevented the Federal Government from recognizing same-sex marriages and from one state needing to recognize the same-sex marriages performed in other states. This was particulary harmful to the gay community and especially hurtful because Bill Clinton ran for election promising to be an ally to the LGBT community. Clearly, he wanted our votes. Thankfully DOMA was overturned in 2013. Link

Why did Clinton support this heinous law?  In my opinion, the reason is best explained by Richard Socarides, an openly gay lawyer who was a staffer for Clinton in the 90s. Link The point Socarides makes is that Clinton wanted to avoid any blowback from having vetoed this bill during his reelection campaign.  Furthermore, to add salt to the wound,  Clinton touted his having signed DOMA into law during his campaign as though he was proud of his actions. Link. 

When Hillary Clinton was on the Rachel Maddow show last Friday, October 23, 2015, she told Rachel that both the Defense of Marriage Act and Don't Ask Don't Tell were defensive maneuvers to prevent something much worse. Link This is simply untrue and has been debunked by several prominent gay rights activists who were there and remember. Link It has been said that Clinton was revising history. 

The intentional revision of history to cast oneself in a better light is most commonly known as lying. If I am not mistaken it was David Geffen who quite famously pointed out that all politicians lie to some extent but that the Clintons do it with such ease. Link Should this be a problem for Clinton? Yes, it should, but a surprising number of people, gays amongst them, are choosing to give Clinton a pass. Clinton did not want to use any political capital to squelch this and chose instead to sign this law rather than face any blowback during his reelection campaign. This is commonly referred to as throwing people under the bus. We were thrown under the bus, my gay brothers and sisters!

But should Hillary be held responsible for her husbands presidency. Well, yes! Here's why. They sold themselves as a co-presidency. Link She actively lobbied congress to pass some laws and not others. You can be certain this decision on the part of her husband reflected her own position. In fact, in 2004 she asserted that she believed that marriage is in fact a sacred bond between husband and wife. Link 

Now, if Hillary had said in the interview with Rachel Maddow, who seems not to know her own gay history, that there was little political will to champion the cause of the gay community in the 90s she would have been accurate. However, this then elevates the importance of Sanders vote. He voted against DOMA. He voted against DADT. He called out the homophobia of his republican colleagues in 1995, most famously in a battle with Duke Cunningham. Link 

Why is any of this important? Well I think most importantly it highlights that Sanders leads based on principle and conviction. He does not follow polls or bend with the political wind. The same cannot be said of Hillary Clinton. Yes, I know she now likes to say that she stands her ground and finds common ground, but there are numerous examples of where she acts without regard to principle because it is politically convenient. Elizabeth Warren on Hillary and Working Class Women. Hillary Clinton on Reopening the Door to the TPP After Saying She Was Against It. Robert Scheer on Welfare Reform and Wall Street. On Guns. And of course, let's not forget the War in Iraq vote.

I think Sanders is the right person at this point in time for the country. Wealth and income inequality and the erosion of the middle class are perhaps amongst the greatest threats to the well-being of our great nation. He is a man of conviction. He makes political decisions based on humanistic, progressive values. This is why he has my vote. 

From the Office of Senator Sanders, United States Senator for Vermont: Newswatch Monday October 26, 2015

Senator Sanders Newswatch Retrieved from http://www.sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/newswatch/102615Monday, October 26, 2015

Generic Drugs Turing Pharmaceuticals sparked nationwide outrage and government investigations by raising the cost of Daraprim, a drug for treating AIDS and cancer, from $13.50 a capsule to $750 last month. This week, the biomedical company Imprimis Pharmaceuticals of San Diego introduced a competitor to the medication — for $1 a capsule, The Los Angeles Times reported. Imprimis plans to take the same strategy to undercut other generic drugs sold at far more than their manufacturing cost. The move comes after Sanders started investigating increasing drug prices in October of 2014. LINK

Exxon Mobil Sanders has asked Attorney General Loretta Lynch to examine whether Exxon Mobil violated federal law and engaged in "corporate fraud" by pushing "a misinformation campaign" about fossil fuels, The Houston Chronicle reported. The company is pushing back with a news release blasting the allegations as "inaccurate and deliberately misleading" and a top executive taking to Twitter to repudiate the claims - comes amid mounting calls for a federal investigation of the company. They point to corporate efforts to fill the substantial gaps in knowledge that existed during the earliest years of climate change research," Exxon’s Vice President of Government Affairs Ken Cohen tweeted at some critics, including Sanders, the Sierra Club, and 350.org founder Bill McKibben. LINK

Column: Workplace Democracy Act “We are demanding a free and fair organizing process just like the one Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is proposing in his “Workplace Democracy Act.”   Instead of going through a sham election, we should be able to join a union by just signing a union membership card. Nobody should interfere with our right to sign-up for a union just like no one can stop us from signing up for a church or political party,” Betrand Olotara and Luz Villatoro wrote in The Hill. LINK

World

Hurricane Patricia Just a day after menacing Mexico as one of history's strongest storms, Hurricane Patricia left surprisingly little damage in its wake Saturday and quickly dissipated into a low-pressure system that posed little threat beyond heavy rain, The Associated Press reported. LINK

National

Driving While Black A New York Times examination of traffic stops and arrests in Greensboro, N.C., uncovered wide racial differences in measure after measure of police conduct. LINK

Todays Headlines: Sunday October 25, 2015 Weekend Roundup Edition Jefferson-Jackson Dinner Edition

Washington Blade: Hillary Says DOMA and DADT Were Defensive Actions 

NBC News: Sanders Highlights Differences with Clinton at Jefferson-Jackson Iowa Dinner

The Advocate: Sanders Calls Out Clinton's Lies About DOMA

New Yorker: Richard Socarides Writes About Real Reason Clinton Passed DOMA (Context)

Washington Post: Sanders Contrasts Himself With Clinton, Conviction vs. Expediency

Twitter: Hilary Rosen, Note To My Friends Bill and Hillary, Please Stop Saying DOMA Was to Prevent Something Worse, It Wasn't, I Was There

Bernie Sanders Jefferson-Jackson Rally in Des Moines, Iowa (10/24/2015)

Iowa Jefferson-Jackson Dinner with Democratic Presidential Candidates Sanders, Clinton and O'Malley (10/24/2015)

According to CNN: (Des Moines, Iowa) Bernie Sanders ratcheted up his fire against Hillary Clinton on Saturday night here in Iowa, departing from his normal stump speech to draw repeated contrasts with the former secretary of state. Clinton delivered her standard stump speech at the Jefferson-Jackson Dinner and chose instead to train her focus on Republicans, not her fellow Democrats. Sanders implied that Clinton took poll-tested positions based on political expediency as he used the milestone event in the Iowa Democratic caucus race to paint himself as a more authentic and faithful fighter for liberal values. He jabbed Clinton on her 2002 Senate vote to authorize the Iraq War and her recently declared opposition to a vast pan-Pacific trade pact she championed as secretary of state, drawing deafening cheers from thousands of his supporters. "I promise you tonight as your president, I will govern based on principle. not poll numbers," Sanders said, 100 days before the first-in-the-nation caucuses. "I pledge to you that every day I will fight for the public interest, not the corporate interests. I will not abandon any segment of American society -- whether you're gay or black or Latino or poor or working class -- just because it is politically expedient at a given time," he said. Read and watch CNNs coverage of the event. LINK Bernie Sanders Prepared Remarks. Link

Gerald Friedman, Whose Research Was Cited By The WSJ, Gives You The Real Deal on the Cost of Bernie Sanders' Policy Proposals

The Video is of David Pakman's Interview with Professor Gerald Freidman

Don't Forget to Follow the David Pakman Show on youtube

Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/gerald-friedman/the-wall-street-journal-k_b_8143062.html

Gerald Friedman's research was cited in a Wall Street Journal story about Bernie Sanders's proposals for government spending. Friedman responds to that story below.

It is said of economists that they know the cost of everything but the value of nothing. In the case of the article "Price Tag of Bernie Sanders's Proposals: $18 Trillion," this accusation is a better fit for the Wall Street Journal that published it.

The Journal correctly puts the additional federal spending for health care under HR 676 (a single payer health plan) at $15 trillion over ten years. It neglects to add, however, that by spending these vast sums, we would, as a country, save nearly $5 trillion over ten years in reduced administrative waste, lower pharmaceutical and device prices, and by lowering the rate of medical inflation.

These financial savings would be felt by businesses and by state and local governments who would no longer be paying for health insurance for their employees; and by retirees and working Americans who would no longer have to pay for their health insurance or for co-payments and deductibles. Beyond these financial savings, HR 676 would also save thousands of lives a year by expanding access to health care for the uninsured and the underinsured.

The economic benefits from Senator Sander's proposal would be even greater than these static estimates suggest because a single-payer plan would create dynamic gains by freeing American businesses to compete without the burden of an inefficient and wasteful health insurance system. As with Senator Sanders' other proposals, the economic boom created by HR 676, including the productivity boost coming from a more efficient health care system and a healthier population, would raise economic output and provide billions of dollars in additional tax revenues to over-set some of the additional federal spending.

Summary of 10-year projections

Because of the nearly $10 trillion in savings, it is possible to fund over $4.5 trillion in additional services while still reducing national health care spending by over $5 trillion. With these net savings, the additional $14.7 trillion in federal spending brings savings to the private sector (and state and local governments) of over $19.7 trillion.

Projected 10 year impact of HR 676 in billions

10-year estimates of spending with the current system and HR 676 (in $ billions):

JoCo Dems Support Sanders, Get National Backing

Livestream of the Jefferson Jackson Dinner

Scheduled for Oct 24, 2015

Jefferson Jackson Dinner

Saturday Oct. 24th
Iowa Events Center, Hy-Vee Hall
730 3rd St
Des Moines, IA 50309

Program begins at 7pm CT

Rockin the Bern Concert: Bernie Sanders Full Speech, Davenport, Iowa (10/23/2015)

by Tre Ward, Retrieved from http://kwqc.com/2015/10/24/bernie-sanders-visits-davenport-with-rockin-the-bern-event/

DAVENPORT, Iowa (KWQC) – Democratic presidential candidate and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders stopped by the Adler Theater in Davenport on Friday, October 23 at an event mixing politics and music.

About 2,400 people felt the burn at Sanders’ “Rockin’ the Bern” event. Sanders took to the stage at the Adler Theater, along with a handful of musicians who he called his “all-star band.” Guitarist Wayne Kramer, Marshall Crenshaw, Iowa’s own Brother Trucker, and other artists performed in front of a full-capacity crowd.

The doors opened at 6:30 p.m. with the concert starting an hour later. Senator Sanders came on stage around 9 p.m. and spoke for about 15 minutes. He touched on subjects such as family values, how he’s the only candidate without the backing of a Super PAC, and how free tuition can strengthen the U.S.

“Our job is to stand together,” the Democratic White House hopeful said to a cheering crowd, “and to fight for an agenda that works for all people and not just a handful.”

Sanders Unfiltered with Michael Moore: What's Wrong with Capitalism Today (October 1, 2009)

MICHAEL MOORE: Hey, Bernie. It's Michael Moore. And I'd like for you to just explain to people the basic things that... what's wrong with American capitalism these days.

SEN. SANDERS: Michael, thanks very much for that very important and profound question. To do that question justice would take a lot more time than what we have today, but let me just say a few things. 

Capitalism does a lot of things well... It creates wealth, it sparks entrepreneurial spirit, and that's great. But on the other hand, what we have had, especially since the Reagan administration, is an unfettered cowboy-type capitalism which has ended up with the shrinking and decline of the middle class, a very significant increase in poverty, and the reality that the people on top, the top one percent or two percent, are making out like bandits.

The top one percent earns more income than the bottom 50 percent. That is to my mind immoral. And from an economic perspective, it is not good. You have CEOs of top corporations making 400 times more than their workers. I'd like somebody to explain to me how that makes any sense - both from a moral and an economic perspective.

The United States today has the highest rate of childhood poverty. We are the only nation in the industrialized world that doesn't guarantee health care to all of its people. When kids go to college in America, they often come out twenty, thirty, forty thousand dollars in debt. I think all of that is wrong, and I think as a nation, we can do better than that. 

Todays Headlines: Friday October 23, 2015

Business Insider: Hillary is Gunning for Bernie, Implying He Is Sexist in His Tone

In These Times: Two More Local Unions in NH Endorse Bernie Sanders

Latin Times: Sanders Campaign Hires DREAMer & Immigration Activist, Cesar Vargas

New Republic: Sanders Reddit Army Needs to Organize for Phase Two

Reddit: Bernie Sanders Will Be on The View Monday 10/26

Chicago Tribune: Sanders Op-Ed, Public College Should be Free

Truthout: Its Time for the US to Return To Democratic Socialist Policies

Al Jazeera America: Chafee Drops Out

The New Yorker: The Hillary Hearing

Huff Post Politics: Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren Go After Puerto Rico Vulture Fund Investors

Telesur TV: Sanders Got More Done Than Clinton

Twitter: Bernie Sanders Will Be On CNN's State of the Union Sunday 10/25/15

Bernie Sanders.com: NYC March to Stop Mass Incarceration Tomorrow 10/24/15

Bernie Sanders Women's Leadership Forum FULL Speech 10/23/2015

Jonathan Tasini: Bernie 101 (Author of The Essential Bernie Sanders) 10/23/2015

At the Grand Opening of the Greenville, SC Bernie Sanders for President 2016 Campaign Office. 

This video was filmed and edited by Rick Fuentes with Greenville, SC Grassroots Volunteers for Bernie Sanders.

Ed Schultz News and Commentary: Friday the 23rd of October

From the Office of Senator Sanders, United States Senator for Vermont: Newswatch Friday October 23, 2015

Retireved from http://www.sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/newswatch/102315Friday, October 23, 2015

Senator Sanders 

Puerto Rican Debt Crisis Sen. Bernie Sanders said Thursday that Wall Street financiers who loaned money to Puerto Rico may "have to take a haircut" on their returns from the fiscally troubled island. "The lenders are not going to get 100% of their dollars back. They're going to have to take a haircut -- probably a pretty significant haircut," the Vermont independent senator told CNN en Espanol's Juan Carlos Lopez on "DirectoUSA."  “Why should they get 100 percent of their investment when they are paying 30 to 70 percent for their bonds?” Sanders said in a hearing on Puerto Rico's crisis according to The New York Times, The Associated Press, The Washington Post and NPR’s All Things Considered. LINK, LINK, LINK, LINK, VIDEO, AUDIO

The Time for Real Change "The American people understand that our current economic system is rigged, and that our campaign finance system is corrupt. They know that while the very rich get much richer, millions of Americans work longer hours for lower wages, and we have the highest rate of childhood poverty of almost any major country on Earth," Sen. Bernie Sanders wrote for Concord Monitor. "Now is the time for bold action to rebuild our disappearing middle class. Now is the time to protect the most vulnerable members of our society – the elderly, the disabled and the children." LINK  

Prison Phone Calls The Federal Communications Commission on Thursday voted to slash what it called “excessive rates and egregious fees” that families have to pay to call their relatives in prison. Currently, calls to inmates can cost as much as $14 a minute.  The FCC decision comes a week after Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders and 15 other Democrats wrote a letter to the agency’s chairman Thomas Wheeler in support of his reform effort. The lawmakers were critical of the existing system, which they said has profited from charging inmates “unreasonably” high call rates, MSNBC reported. LINK  

Consistency John Dillon, news director at Vermont Public Radio, has covered Sen. Sanders for more than 25 years and says the candidate has focused on economic inequality from his earliest campaigns, Iowa Public Radioreported. “Even when he was running as a third party candidate for U.S. senator and governor in the state of Vermont back in the 70s, he talked about these issues that he’s talking about today.” LINK

Marijuana Sen. Sanders suggested on Jimmy Kimmel Live that he is open to supporting the legalization of marijuana, The Hill, MSNBC, Rolling Stone, The Week and National Journal reported. "We have large numbers of lives who have been destroyed because of this war on drugs," he stated. "I think we have got to end the war on drugs. I am not unfavorably disposed to moving toward the legalization of marijuana," Sanders said. LINK, LINK, LINK, LINK, LINK 

Free Public College Tuition Sen. Sanders promised on Thursday to “revolutionize” higher education with universal free public college tuition, because it is the “right thing to do”, The Guardian reported. Sanders argued on Thursday that “an education should be available to all regardless of anyone’s station” both as the best chance for people’s personal fulfillment and also to give the US “the best educated workforce in the world.” LINK  

Climate Change Sen. Sanders said late Wednesday that Republicans think climate change isn't real because of the Koch brothers and other big energy interests, The Hill reported. “When you have people like the Koch brothers and ExxonMobil today spending huge amounts of money trying to deny that reality, it slows up the entire world from aggressively addressing what is an international crisis,” Sanders said. "This is serious stuff." LINK  

Column: Skyrocketing Drug Prices " For most Americans, the out-of-pocket prices that we must pay for essential prescription drugs, already too high, are increasing far too rapidly for our family budgets to sustain.  The Congress has the ability to moderate these price spikes — but only a sustained national outcry from the American people will bring about reform," Rep. Elijah Cummings wrote in Afro. "For some time now, Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont and I have been investigating the skyrocketing prices for prescription drugs.  We have received evidence of repeated drug price increases with no apparent justification and with no evident link to any increase in the cost of manufacturing these drugs." LINK  

Sanders Slams Vulture Funds Ripping Off Puerto Rico (10/21/2015)

Bernie Sanders’ Campaign Enlists Prominent DREAMer

Bernie Sanders & Now This: The Full Interview Featuring Your Questions

Senator Bernie Sanders sat down with NowThis in August to talk about the high cost of education in America, gun control, #BlackLivesMatter and more. Questions were crowdsourced from our audience using social media, and Sen. Sanders answered them directly.

Ed Schultz News and Commentary: Thursday the 22nd of October

From the Office of Senator Sanders, United States Senator for Vermont: Newswatch October 22, 2015

Retrieved from http://www.sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/newswatch/102215
Thursday, October 22, 2015

Tuition-Free College “It is time to build on the progressive movement of the past and make public colleges and universities tuition-free in the United States — a development that will be the driver of a new era of American prosperity. We will have a stronger economy and a stronger democracy when all young people with the ambition and the talent can reach their full potential, regardless of their circumstances at birth,” Sen. Sanders wrote in The Washington Post. LINK

Exxon Sanders joined MSNBC’s All In with Chris Hayes about his call for the Justice Department to investigate whether ExxonMobil broke any laws by trying to sow doubt about climate change. “I happen to believe, obviously, that climate change is real and it’s one of the great planetary crises we face,” he said. “But when you have people like the Koch brothers and Exxon Mobil today spending huge amounts of money trying to deny that reality, it slows up the world from aggressively addressing what is an international crisis. This is serious stuff.” The letter cites an ongoing investigative series by InsideClimate News, which has revealed that Exxon scientists conducted rigorous climate research from the late-1970s to mid-1980s and warned top company executives about how global warming posed a threat to Exxon's core business, VICE News, Mother Jones and PolicyMic reported. VIDEO,  LINK, LINK, LINK

Worker's Compensation Ten prominent Democratic lawmakers, including Sen. Sanders are urging the U.S. secretary of labor to come up with a plan to ensure that state workers’ compensation programs are properly caring for injured workers, ProPublica and NPR reported. The lawmakers’ letter, sent Tuesday, was prompted by an investigation by ProPublica and NPR, which found that more than 30 states have cut benefits to injured workers, created daunting hurdles to getting medical care or made it more difficult for workers with certain injuries and illnesses to qualify. LINK, LINK  

Kimmel Sanders said Wednesday that he is open to the legalization of marijuana during an appearance on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” on ABC, The Washington Post reported. “We have more people in jail today than any other country on earth,” Sanders told Kimmel. “We have large numbers of lives that have been destroyed because of this war on drugs, and because people were caught smoking marijuana and so forth. I think we have got to end the war on drugs.” Sanders also pushed for his plan to make public colleges and universities free, saying, “Everybody knows that a college degree today is more or less the equivalent to what a high school degree was 50 years ago.”LINK,VIDEO

Bernanke Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told Fusion’s Jorge Ramos that he found finds some common ground with Sanders when it comes to distribution of wealth, Fusion reported. “Over the last forty years or so we’ve seen wages and wealth becoming more unequally distributed,” he told Ramos. “And it’s an important problem, one we need to address.” LINK, VIDEO

Prison Phone Rates The Obama administration wants to cap the rates and fees companies charge for prison phone service, The Huffington Post reported. Phone companies paid prisons $460 million in commissions in 2013 – payments that Sens. Cory Booker and Sanders and 14 other Democrats said last Thursday amounted to kickbacks to win contracts. LINK

Doc Brown To mark Back to the Future Day, Sanders posted a photo of himself with Christopher Lloyd, the actor who played Doc Brown in the iconic movie series, TIME Magazine, The Hill and Entertainment Weekly reported. reported. Sanders is a guest on Wednesday night’s Jimmy Kimmel Live show, which is spending the week filming from Kimmel’s hometown of Brooklyn. Kimmel’s other advertised guest for Wednesday’s Back to the Future segment—October 21, 2015—will be star Michael J. Fox, who played Marty McFly in the iconic trilogy that also co-starred Lloyd. LINK, LINK, LINK

Column: Means-Testing Entitlements “Sanders supports sufficient tax increases on the wealthy to cover the cost of universal free tuition, and then some. By raising taxes on investment income, financial transactions and the overall income of the richest Americans, as Sanders has advocated, the programs that Sanders champions would be fully paid for. Say what you will about Senator Socialist, he’s no budget buster,” Harold Meyerson wrote in The Washington Post. LINK

World

Hottest Year on Record Planet Earth is on a high temperature record-breaking tear this year, which shows no sign of relenting. 2015 is, by far, on track to become the warmest year in recorded history, The Washington Post reported. NOAA reports today the globally-averaged temperature for September 2015 was the warmest of all previous Septembers on record, dating back to 1880, and by an unprecedented margin of 0.19 degrees. LINK  

Trudeau A day after defeating Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Prime Minister-designate Trudeau told President Obama by phone that he would make good on a campaign promise to withdraw Canada’s jets from the U.S.-led bombing campaign against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, The Washington Post reported. Canada has committed a half-dozen fighter planes, a fraction of the American air power in the fight. LINK

National

Heroin Epidemic Faced with a nationwide epidemic of heroin and prescription drug abuse, the Obama administration announced Wednesday it will take steps to increase access to drug treatment and the training of doctors who prescribe opiate painkillers, The Washington Post reported. The administration hopes to double the number of doctors who can prescribe buprenorphine, a drug used to treat opiate addiction, to 60,000 from 30,000 over the next three years. More than 40 medical provider groups have committed to training more than a half million doctors, dentists and others on the safe prescription of opiate medications. LINK  

Speaker Ryan Hard-line conservatives cleared a path Wednesday for Rep. Paul Ryan to become House speaker when some of his most disgruntled fellow Republicans signaled that they would support his bid for the top job, The Washington Post. The decision to back Ryan by the House Freedom Caucus, a group of nearly 40 lawmakers that has risen in power and stature since its founding this year, came after the Ways and Means Committee chairman spent much of his day courting its support. LINK 

Vermont

Unemployment Vermont’s unemployment rose by .1 percent in September, to 3.7 percent, Vermont Public Radio reported. Of the state’s 17 labor markets, Derby had the highest unemployment rate at 5.5 percent, while the lowest was 3.2 percent in Burlington-South Burlington. Unlike the statewide rate, the local rates are not adjusted to compensate for seasonal changes in employment. LINK