Peter's Place

February is American Heart Month , a federally designated event designed to remind Americans to focus on their hearts and encourage them to get their families, friends. and communities involved. As anyone who has supported or followed US Senator Bernie Sanders knows, the costs associated with healthcare in the United States continue to skyrocket , while the outcomes of that care continue to decline . It's gotten so bad that major corporations are forming their own healthcare networks to help keep costs down. The American Heart Association (AHA) provides the following facts that confirm our nation's declining health and broken healthcare system: Graphic from the Go Red for Women campaign of the American Heart Association showcasing fact that heart disease is the #1 killer of women in the USA Cardiovascular disease, including heart disease and stroke, remains the leading global cause of death with more than 17.9 million deaths each year. This amounts to 2,300 Amer...

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...

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...

Ohio State Senator Nina Turner​ feels the Bern as she introduces US Senator Bernie Sanders at his Cleveland, OH campaign rally on Monday, November 16, 2015 at the Cleveland State University's Wolstein Center in Cleveland Ohio. Senator Nina Turner​ fires up the crowd, chanting, "When I say FEEL, you say BERN! FEEL! (BERN!) FEEL! (BERN!)" and telling the audience what they all know: that "enough is Enough is ENOUGH!!!" Watch Nina Turner's electrifying speech as she introduces America's next president, US Senator Bernie Sanders: https://youtu.be/vyIr_p9dgCc

If you're doing everything right but find it harder and harder to get by, you're not alone. While our people work longer hours for lower wages, almost all new income goes to the top one percent. Bernie Sanders's plan is to make Wall Street banks and the ultra-rich pay their fair share of taxes, provide living wages for working people, and ensure equal pay for women. Because together, we can make a political revolution and create and economy and democracy that works for all and not just a powerful few. #feelthebern #bernie2016

+MSNBC 's  +Morning Joe  show on October 5, 2015 discusses the latest historic and record-breaking rally that US Presidential candidate hopeful Bernie Sanders held: Over 20,000 people packed the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center on Saturday, October 3, 2015 with another 5,000 or so outside the center in an overflow area watching his nearly two-hour-long speech, reports  Morning Joe  co-host Mika Brzezinski . She says that Sanders's rally broke all records for political events in recent history, doubling the turnout of Barack Obama's 10,000 supporters in 2008. Brzezinski ponders, "and I, I don't, I mean I -- is he a celebrity and I just missed it?" As she continues to watch the footage, she says, "Look at their faces, watching on screens in an overflow area. You would think that this was a Taylor Swift concert." Finally, she asks, "What the heck is going on? But why are they there, what's drawing them?" Co-host Joe Scar...

Senator Bernie Sanders, a 2016 US Presidential Candidate, speaks with a reporter about the historic visit by Pope Francis to the USA in September 2015.

Bernie Sanders Interviewed by The Des Moines Register Editorial Board It should come as little surprise to people who know me that I am throwing my support behind United States Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), who is running on the Democratic ticket for President of the United States of America in 2016. As a Progressive Republican (f/k/a Lincoln / Hayes / Roosevelt / Eisenhower /  Rockefeller Republican ), I agree with Bernie on most of his views. More than that, Bernie is as sincere, authentic, and honest an elected official (aka politician) there ever was. In fact, not only is Sanders sincere, authentic, and honest but he has a decades-long track record that we can examine that goes back over four decades. He has been fighting for the same issues for over forty years. He has been advocating for the middle class for nearly half a century. And he has been fighting for civil and human rights for over half a century -- since he was a young student at university. ...