An article by Dan Weeks about Hillary Clinton - plus my comments
Talking about Hillary Clinton ...
This is a reprint (copied by me) from an election item that appeared last week in a local (to Peterborough) New Hampshire newspaper. I've put the article in quotes, just to be clear.
In preface: Dan Weeks, the author of the article is a former executive director of Open Democracy and the New Hampshire Rebellion. He is also currently running for NH Executive Council in District 5. With that, I refer you to this article regarding Dan's take on Hillary Clinton. By the way, if you'd like to learn a little more about Dan Weeks check out www.danielweeks.com I found him a refreshing voice.
Note: For those who are a little dense (as was I), the hashtag in the last paragraph refers to Mrs. Clinton's crash through ultimate glass ceiling.
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“Election 2016 - A Look at Hillary's past decisions”
“I've always believed the best way to size up politicians is by looking first at the decision they made before entering public life. Did they set out to work for self or others? Did they make meaningful sacrifices for the greater good? How true have they remained to their expressed ideals?
Hillary Clinton has been described as the most famous person you don't know. Indeed, I do not know Hillary Clinton's heart, her faith, what makes her tick.
To judge another person on those points is not my business. But I do know what she is like across the table and how she has applied the gifts she was given from day one, and I am impressed.
I know that during her student days, Hillary joined the Civil Rights Movement and protested the War in Vietnam, organizing teach-ins and working to recruit more black students and faculty to Wellesley (College).
I know she served in her church and community from an early age and displayed uncommon courage for speaking up publicly to a sitting US senator in defense of peaceful protest. The same cannot be said of Donald Trump.
I know that instead of cashing in on her fancy law degree, Hillary joined the Children's Defense Fund, ran a Legal Aid clinic in Arkansas, and began her lifelong project of advocating for “the least of these” God's children – migrant workers, people with disabilities, abused and neglected youth. The same cannot be said for Donald Trump.
I know that since entering public life Hillary has fought long and hard for universal healthcare, gender equality, security and human rights around the world, earning the respect of many Republicans, military leaders and foreign heads of state. The same cannot be said of Donald Trump.
I know she is fiercely intelligent, listens hard, studies the issues, and shows respect for diverse people and points of view – even those with whom she disagrees and those intent on ending her career. The same cannot be said of Donald Trump
I know she came together with Bernie Sanders, whose political revolution inspired millions of Americans like me to adopt a pathbreaking Democratic party platform that calls for rebuilding the middle class, combating global terrorism and catastrophic climate change, reining in Wall Street, ending poverty and systemic racism, rebuilding America's crumbling infrastructure, making college debt-free, reforming immigration, protecting the health and safety of all Americans, restoring democracy, and more. The same cannot be said of Donald Trump.
And I know that last year when I sat down with Hillary and other candidates on behalf of the nonpartisan NH Rebellion, she listened attentively and committed to support real campaign finance reform. More than that, she instructed her team to work extensively with us to fashion the most comprehensive #FightBigMoney agenda ever released by a presidential candidate.
Although she continues to receive support from big money doners in her campaign, her position is firm and I will do all that I can to hold her to it once she is elected. Donald Trump refused to meet with us.
Hillary has made mistakes along the way, as she admits. So have I.
She has made compromises I wish she never made. But that does not stop me from celebrating #HistoryMade in Philadelphia and believing fervently that Hillary Clinton, not Donald Trump must be the next President of the United States.”
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That's what Dan Weeks had to say. Here's a little postface: (which I just looked up and is the opposite of preface) ---
I would like to conclude with my own take on all this. Please don't jump to a wrong conclusion; I do not think Clinton is a darling girl and a Saint. Far from it. I'm sure she has lots of faults and has pulled her share of boners. But, I also think she has done nothing truly BAD ... as in EVIL. That's why she's still around, you know.
All that crap about murdering Vince Foster, setting up for the deaths at Benghazi, and etc. Talk about politics gone bananas. All that is just BS, pure and simple, and is created by politicians that want to bring her down. They shape the stories to suit their purposes. They use people who are hurting, convincing them that it's all HER fault. They say, ”Attack her. Hang her. Shoot her.” “Right”, they say; “You need to let it all hang out. All your hurt; your frustrations; your anger. Here's who you can direct it at. Here's who you can blame.”
You know what that's called? It's called scapegoating, and its an old, old trick. It works, because it's natural to our human nature. It works, if you can only focus it. And, it doesn't require anything like truth, or proof; totally unnecessary. Sometimes it's done innocently, just because as humans we often feel the need to have somebody to blame. Still bad, but you know what's worse? The way it's been done over the latter years of the Republican Party, that's what's worse. They're still accusing President Obama of being a traitor; of being a Muslim; of being born in a foreign country (and hence an illegal President, never mind alien), of plotting terror attacks. Trump just did it again a few days ago. You name it, and if it's bad, Obama's done it. It's enough to make any sensible person sick; and it's been more than enough to get me voting as an Independent. Oh, I'm still ready to vote for fiscally responsible candidates; but I will NOT vote for people who believe taxation is of itself evil. How stupid can you get? I will not vote for people who are blind to reality and direct all their fear and hurt and hatred at convenient figures to which they've been guided by ill-intentioned power seekers. And, I will not willingly give up America's ideals, America's real democracy, America's moral conscience, to anybody whose system for winning is primarily to demonize their opponents and anybody else they feel they can victimize. And I am definitely talking about Mr. Trump.
Here's the scoop. So long as we can hang on to law and order, the demagogues won't get what they want; because once you go to due process (that is, investigations by independent, bi-partisan panels, courts, and such) you find that there is no evidence warranting criminal prosecution. As I already pointed out, THAT'S WHY HILLARY CLINTON IS STILL AROUND.
Do I like her? Not particularly. But I certainly do like her track record. Over her entire life, she's put her butt on the line for causes she believed in, and that includes her entire professional life as well. Yeah, that"s what I like.
This is a reprint (copied by me) from an election item that appeared last week in a local (to Peterborough) New Hampshire newspaper. I've put the article in quotes, just to be clear.
In preface: Dan Weeks, the author of the article is a former executive director of Open Democracy and the New Hampshire Rebellion. He is also currently running for NH Executive Council in District 5. With that, I refer you to this article regarding Dan's take on Hillary Clinton. By the way, if you'd like to learn a little more about Dan Weeks check out www.danielweeks.com I found him a refreshing voice.
Note: For those who are a little dense (as was I), the hashtag in the last paragraph refers to Mrs. Clinton's crash through ultimate glass ceiling.
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
“Election 2016 - A Look at Hillary's past decisions”
“I've always believed the best way to size up politicians is by looking first at the decision they made before entering public life. Did they set out to work for self or others? Did they make meaningful sacrifices for the greater good? How true have they remained to their expressed ideals?
Hillary Clinton has been described as the most famous person you don't know. Indeed, I do not know Hillary Clinton's heart, her faith, what makes her tick.
To judge another person on those points is not my business. But I do know what she is like across the table and how she has applied the gifts she was given from day one, and I am impressed.
I know that during her student days, Hillary joined the Civil Rights Movement and protested the War in Vietnam, organizing teach-ins and working to recruit more black students and faculty to Wellesley (College).
I know she served in her church and community from an early age and displayed uncommon courage for speaking up publicly to a sitting US senator in defense of peaceful protest. The same cannot be said of Donald Trump.
I know that instead of cashing in on her fancy law degree, Hillary joined the Children's Defense Fund, ran a Legal Aid clinic in Arkansas, and began her lifelong project of advocating for “the least of these” God's children – migrant workers, people with disabilities, abused and neglected youth. The same cannot be said for Donald Trump.
I know that since entering public life Hillary has fought long and hard for universal healthcare, gender equality, security and human rights around the world, earning the respect of many Republicans, military leaders and foreign heads of state. The same cannot be said of Donald Trump.
I know she is fiercely intelligent, listens hard, studies the issues, and shows respect for diverse people and points of view – even those with whom she disagrees and those intent on ending her career. The same cannot be said of Donald Trump
I know she came together with Bernie Sanders, whose political revolution inspired millions of Americans like me to adopt a pathbreaking Democratic party platform that calls for rebuilding the middle class, combating global terrorism and catastrophic climate change, reining in Wall Street, ending poverty and systemic racism, rebuilding America's crumbling infrastructure, making college debt-free, reforming immigration, protecting the health and safety of all Americans, restoring democracy, and more. The same cannot be said of Donald Trump.
And I know that last year when I sat down with Hillary and other candidates on behalf of the nonpartisan NH Rebellion, she listened attentively and committed to support real campaign finance reform. More than that, she instructed her team to work extensively with us to fashion the most comprehensive #FightBigMoney agenda ever released by a presidential candidate.
Although she continues to receive support from big money doners in her campaign, her position is firm and I will do all that I can to hold her to it once she is elected. Donald Trump refused to meet with us.
Hillary has made mistakes along the way, as she admits. So have I.
She has made compromises I wish she never made. But that does not stop me from celebrating #HistoryMade in Philadelphia and believing fervently that Hillary Clinton, not Donald Trump must be the next President of the United States.”
= = = = = = = = = = = = =
That's what Dan Weeks had to say. Here's a little postface: (which I just looked up and is the opposite of preface) ---
I would like to conclude with my own take on all this. Please don't jump to a wrong conclusion; I do not think Clinton is a darling girl and a Saint. Far from it. I'm sure she has lots of faults and has pulled her share of boners. But, I also think she has done nothing truly BAD ... as in EVIL. That's why she's still around, you know.
All that crap about murdering Vince Foster, setting up for the deaths at Benghazi, and etc. Talk about politics gone bananas. All that is just BS, pure and simple, and is created by politicians that want to bring her down. They shape the stories to suit their purposes. They use people who are hurting, convincing them that it's all HER fault. They say, ”Attack her. Hang her. Shoot her.” “Right”, they say; “You need to let it all hang out. All your hurt; your frustrations; your anger. Here's who you can direct it at. Here's who you can blame.”
You know what that's called? It's called scapegoating, and its an old, old trick. It works, because it's natural to our human nature. It works, if you can only focus it. And, it doesn't require anything like truth, or proof; totally unnecessary. Sometimes it's done innocently, just because as humans we often feel the need to have somebody to blame. Still bad, but you know what's worse? The way it's been done over the latter years of the Republican Party, that's what's worse. They're still accusing President Obama of being a traitor; of being a Muslim; of being born in a foreign country (and hence an illegal President, never mind alien), of plotting terror attacks. Trump just did it again a few days ago. You name it, and if it's bad, Obama's done it. It's enough to make any sensible person sick; and it's been more than enough to get me voting as an Independent. Oh, I'm still ready to vote for fiscally responsible candidates; but I will NOT vote for people who believe taxation is of itself evil. How stupid can you get? I will not vote for people who are blind to reality and direct all their fear and hurt and hatred at convenient figures to which they've been guided by ill-intentioned power seekers. And, I will not willingly give up America's ideals, America's real democracy, America's moral conscience, to anybody whose system for winning is primarily to demonize their opponents and anybody else they feel they can victimize. And I am definitely talking about Mr. Trump.
Here's the scoop. So long as we can hang on to law and order, the demagogues won't get what they want; because once you go to due process (that is, investigations by independent, bi-partisan panels, courts, and such) you find that there is no evidence warranting criminal prosecution. As I already pointed out, THAT'S WHY HILLARY CLINTON IS STILL AROUND.
Do I like her? Not particularly. But I certainly do like her track record. Over her entire life, she's put her butt on the line for causes she believed in, and that includes her entire professional life as well. Yeah, that"s what I like.
