Peter's Place

At last night's (Feb. 18th) MSNBC   Democratic Town Hall in Las Vegas, Nevada, Secretary Clinton was asked, once again , whether she would release the transcripts of her $250,000-per-hour paid speeches to Goldman Sachs, in the interest of being transparent. Clinton responded as she did during the last debate: I am happy to release anything I have whenever everybody else does the same, because everybody in this race, including Sen. Sanders, has given speeches to private groups. Everybody else does the same because every other candidate in this race has given speeches to private groups, including Sen. Sanders. Sanders's Response: Late last night, Senator Sanders sent the following tweet out on Twitter: Bernie Sanders's campaign tweet (click the image to view a larger version), posted at 10:51pm EDT on Feb. 18, 2016 reads: This is what a paid  @BernieSanders   speech looks like: https://youtu.be/AXGM3MBT4B8 . Don't worry. The $500 payout was given to...

Democratic Presidential Candidate and US Senator Bernie Sanders's (I-VT) voice was raw in conviction as he detoured from his standard stump speech and began an hour-long, impassioned oration with a radical suggestion for bringing accountability to the Flint, Michigan water crisis : If the local government cannot protect those children, if the state government cannot protect those children, then the federal government better get in and do the right thing. Shortly before his address on Monday, February 15, 2016, Sanders  met with seven individuals from Flint, Michigan who continue to be hurt by lead poisoning as a result of the water crisis in their city. During his first campaign visit to Michigan , he questioned whether we should settle for small ideas or whether we have the courage to stand up for " Yooooge " ideas. The impact of that meeting was voluble as he delivered a commanding speech  to a standing-room-only crowd of 9,400 at the Eastern Michigan Universi...

At the Democratic Presidential Primary Debate on February 11, 2016 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Secretary Clinton essentially called Bernie Sanders a single-issue candidate. Hillary Clinton says she's not a single-issue candidate. But what does she think this single issue is? (Click image for full-size) But I'm a bit confused by this message (the sixth or so message we've heard) from Clinton. Can someone please tell me what, exactly, is Sanders's single issue? Clinton didn't specify what she thought it was. And, I can't figure out which of these 63 issues (and I probably missed a few) Sanders has raised during this campaign, which I've been tracking, she was referring to: Getting Money Out of Politics? Health Care for Everyone? Raising the Minimum Wage to $15/hr? Tuition-free public college? Campaign Finance Reform? Overturning Citizens United? Real Criminal justice reform? Combating Climate Change? Education as a Right? Income inequality? R...

Earlier today I received this e-mail response from a Hillary Clinton supporter who was in my contacts, listed as a media contact, in response to trying to promote one of my articles . It's disheartening that members of my LGBTQ community would respond in such a way, especially with respect to an issue I firmly believe is of great importance to the queer community. We cannot—and should not—allow anyone, for any purpose, to distort our history. This sort of response worries me a great deal. Certain members of our community are completely deaf to dissenting voices, afraid of damaging some fragile balance that must be maintained at all costs. The attitude that we all must fall in line, lock, step, and barrell, is more than troublesome. Our community used to celebrate our differences and value each other's uniqueness. When did we shift from celebrating our diversity to enshrining who we, the queer community, are in such a cookie-cutter definition? Further, when did we, as a ...

In an article penned by  Chris Johnson  of  The Washington Blade , Clinton surrogates NYS Senator Brad Hoylman (through his chief of staff, Peter Ajemian), former NYC Speaker Christine Quinn , and former conservative GOProud founder-turned-Clinton-lover Jimmy LaSalvia accuse Bernie Sanders of being against marriage equality because he signed a resolution in 1982 supporting "We Believe in Marriage Week": Resolution of the Board of Alderman of Burlington, Vermont   signed February 8, 1982   by Bernie Sanders, Mayor and [indecipherable] Wagner,  City Clerk The attack was initiated when  Jonathan Allen , who   first " reported " this "story," uncovered the resolution Sanders signed as mayor of Burlington, VT in 1982. Allen is a political lapdog of the Democratic Party establishment. He  worked for DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz , who was a co-chair of Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign and co-auth...

Hillary Clinton called Senator Bernie Sanders's suggestion that Wall Street's contributions to her campaign could influence her an "artful smear" against her and proclaimed her innocence, "Wall Street is NOT supporting me now!" Watch the fiery exchange that took place during the February 4, 2016 democratic presidential debate in Durham, NH: But is she the one doing the actual smearing, by accusing the Senator of smearing her and violating his pledge not to run a negative campaign, when in fact Sanders is merely stating the facts? In order to come to a resolution, it's best that we take a look at those facts: First, what exactly did Bernie say? Let's take a look and listen to the words coming out of his own mouth. As nearly everyone agrees, Bernie is pretty consistent in what he says. So in this one interview that perhaps was the latest time he spoke directly about the issue at hand, Bernie talks with CNN's Wolf Blizter  (apparently CNN...

The New Hampshire Union Leader , the leading newspaper in the state, has heeded a call from its readers who want to learn more about the Democratic candidates who are running for President this year. They announced that they will uphold a longstanding tradition and host a debate on February 4th, five days before voters in the Granite State are to go to the polls in the nation's second primary election, and have invited the three remaining Democratic candidates to participate in the debate. The New Hampshire Union Leader has selected MSNBC anchor Rachel Maddow and Meet the Press  host Chuck Todd to moderate the debate. The Union Leader advises that Martin O'Malley and Hillary Clinton have agreed to appear in the debate. Bernie Sanders, however, held off on agreeing to participate pending action by the DNC to sanction it. According to DNC rules this election cycle, any candidate participating in a non-sanctioned debate (of which there are only six--a cause of much conster...

Photo of Ben Carson by Gage Skidmore On Saturday, December 5, 2015, Ben Carson, M.D. , who currently is most well-known for his bid to become the GOP's nomination in the 2016 presidential election , published a statement on Facebook espousing the very worst of this nation: calling for Syrian refugees to be rejected by these greatest and most United States of America. In support of his call to abandon the plight of Syrian refugees , who are facing what perhaps are some of the worst atrocities we have seen in this 21st century, Dr. Carson summons fear to the forefront of his argument. In addition to using fear, he uses the tragedy of the December 2nd  terror attack in San Bernardino to bolster support: Today we learned that the female shooting suspect in California was apparently approved for a Visa from the Department of Homeland Security -- using a fake address on her application. If this does not cause an immediate stop to the President's Syrian Refugee Program, I...