MORNING MESSAGE
The
Orlando murderer used his religion the same way the Charleston murderer used his
whiteness: as a mask for bloodlust. They’re all the same inside, these killers.
They may ascribe their deeds to religion, or race, or a totalitarian social
ideal. But their real creed is narcissistic hate. They sacrifice strangers on
the altar of their own reflections ... If I could talk to the nine sweet souls
of Charleston, here’s what I’d tell them: We may not have worked it all out yet,
but we’ve learned a little since you left us. We’ve learned that economic
justice and social justice must go hand in hand, or there’s no justice at
all.
SANDERS EYES PLATFORM
Bernie
Sanders address brings attention to party platform: “…we must take [our]
energy into the Democratic National Convention … the Democratic Party must
support raising the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour … We must defeat the
Trans-Pacific Partnership and make certain that that bad trade deal does not get
a vote in a lame-duck session of Congress … we need to pass modern-day
Glass-Steagall legislation…”
And
urges supporters to run for local office: “…we need many of them to start
running for school boards, city councils, county commissions, state legislatures
and governorships … Please go to my website at berniesanders.com/win to learn
more about how you can effectively run for office…”
Democratic
establishment figures press Sanders to endorse. Bloomberg: “‘He risks
throwing it all away if he doesn’t quickly endorse Hillary Clinton,’ [former
Harry Reid aide Jim] Manley said. ‘He still thinks he’s got a lot of leverage
and every day that goes by he’s losing it. They might’ve been more inclined to
take some of his concerns more seriously than maybe they need to now.'”
The
People’s Summit meets today in Chicago to chart progressive path forward:
“…we seek to bring together activists committed to a different kind of agenda: a
People’s Agenda that can enhance and expand issue campaigns and hold all elected
officials accountable to popular demands for justice, equality and freedom … we
will plan how to move our People’s Agenda nationally and locally to help build
the broad movement for people and the planet.”
SEn. COLLINS OFFERS GUN COMPROMISE
Republican
senator tries to break gridlock on purchases by suspected terrorists. NYT:
“…the proposal by [Sen. Susan] Collins is a long-shot, but it seems to stand at
least some chance … [It] would bar the sale of guns to terrorism suspects who
appear on either the government’s no-fly list or the so-called ‘selectee’ list,
in which individuals are subjected to additional security screening before being
allowed to board an airplane … her measure does not require federal prosecutors
to demonstrate ‘probable cause’ … [She] has proposed an appeals process that
would award attorney’s fees to anyone who successfully challenged the
government’s effort to prevent the sale of a firearm.”
Sen.
Chris Murphy wants to build an “outside political movement” for new gun laws.
Roll Call: “…he pledged to use any increased fundraising and organizing
clout he may have gained from this week’s filibuster to help elect candidates
who think like him.”
PHILLY PASSES SODA TAX
How
Philly passed a soda tax. New Yorker’s Vauhini Vara: “By a vote of fourteen
to three, the city council approved a surcharge of 1.5 cents per ounce to be
applied to sugary drinks … In 2010 and 2011, [Mayor Jim] Kenney’s predecessor,
Michael Nutter, had used a health-oriented message to try to build a soda tax
into his budget. It hadn’t worked … But Philadelphia, like many U.S. cities, is
struggling to find revenue to fund its public programs, and Kenney came around
to the idea that a soda tax might not be a bad option to raise the money.”
California,
Kansas show value of progressive taxation. W. Post: “In 2012, voters in
California approved a measure to raise taxes on millionaires … Also that year,
the governor of Kansas signed a series of changes to the state’s tax code,
including reducing income and sales tax rates … California’s economy grew by 4.1
percent in 2015 … The Kansas economy, on the other hand, grew 0.2 percent in
2015.”
BREAKFAST SIDES
Sen.
Harry Reid “compliments” Sen. Mitch McConnell on Merrick Garland strategy. NYT
quotes: “If anybody can get his senators to all agree to go over a cliff and
kill themselves, that’s pretty good … If I ever suggested something as absurd
and bizarre as that to my caucus, they would revote and kick the hell out of me
out of the caucus.”
“China
Spends More on Infrastructure Than the U.S. and Europe Combined” reports
Bloomberg: “Despite a crying need for better infrastructure, investment in
it has fallen in 10 major economies, including the U.S., since the financial
crisis, according to a new study by the McKinsey Global Institute. Meanwhile,
China is still going gangbusters on roads, bridges, sewers, and everything else
that makes a country run.”
Progressive
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