Focused Agenda
Focused Read, introductory read in 2-minutes; Video in 55:20-minutes (11.26.2019)
"Kamala Harris says Trump ‘has a reason to be afraid’ of her
President Trump has nicknames for just about every one of his adversaries in Washington. There’s “Sleepy Joe,” “Pocahontas” and “Alfred E. Neuman.”
But one critic and potential 2020 rival who has yet to receive a belittling sobriquet from Trump is Sen. Kamala D. Harris (D-Calif.).
When I asked Harris if the reason for this is because Trump is afraid of her, she had not a clue about his state of mind.
But she was clear on hers.
“What I know is this.
I know he has a reason to be afraid of me. That I do know,” Harris told me in the latest episode of “Cape Up” before dropping her brief against Trump.
“He is a lawless president.
He is lawless. He has no respect for the rule of law.
He has tried to circumvent the law countless times.
I have spent my entire career enforcing the law and protecting and defending the rule of law.
He is a predator. I have had a lifetime ... career of going after predators.
He is someone who profited from a for-profit college. I put one of the biggest for-profit colleges out of business, and I could go on and on.
I am everything he is not.”
Before Harris can go toe-to-toe with Trump in the general election, she has to win the nomination.
That’s become increasingly tough since her steady slide in the polls since June.
But Harris said she isn’t paying attention to the surveys. “I don’t ride those polls, I don’t ride high. I don’t ride low, ever,” Harris said.
“We just have to be steady.
And maybe because I’ve had the experience of running very difficult campaigns before that, I’ve learned that you can’t focus on anything other than the voters.
And so that’s where my mind is, that’s where my head is.”
The interview at a hotel in Columbia, S.C., was more compelling evidence to me that the liberation of Kamala Harris is in full swing,
that the cautious campaigner has given way to the candidate of “real talk.”
Harris told me that I was reading too much into it and insisted that she hasn't changed.
“I’m the same person. The same person in terms of all the reasons I got in this race is because I do believe that these are the issues that need to be spoken and they need to be spoken in a truthful way,” said Harris.
“Even from the earliest days of my campaign I talked about that we need to speak truth uncomfortable though it may make people ...
A big challenge for Harris is one faced by every candidate in the race not named Joe Biden: African American support. The former vice president sits atop the national polls and those in South Carolina because of it. ...
What do black women voters want?
“I’m fully aware of the challenge that we and my candidacy presents, which is asking people to believe in something they’ve never seen before.
...There have been 45 presidents of the United States and not one of them looks like me,” replied Harris. “I’m well aware of the challenge before us in that regard, but this is a challenge I’ve always faced.
In every race I have run, Jonathan, I have been the first when I won.”
... Listen to the podcast
to hear Harris talk health care, the economy, criminal justice and foreign policy. She goes in on billionaires in the race for the nomination and how a trial of Trump in the Senate would impact her presidential pursuit. She talks about her Iowa Thanksgiving plans with two essential South Carolina ingredients. And she addresses head-on the criticism that she has been too cautious on the campaign trail.
“Mine has been a career of making very difficult decisions. ... Mine has not been a career of giving lovely speeches or ideas for bills that may or may not get passed,” Harris explained.
“Mine has been a career of when I say something, it actually happens and when it happens it has a direct impact on somebody’s life. So, yes, I am very thoughtful about what I say.”"
(Emphasis is mine.)
(Full disclosure, as noted on the blog's lead post I am a Kamala Harris supporter. g.)
(Full disclosure, as noted on the blog's lead post I am a Kamala Harris supporter. g.)
Focused Thought in 30 seconds
Focused Action shared in 30 seconds
(Part I)
(Part II)
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Focused Point of Interest in 2 minutes
"Almost Half Of Men In The U.S. Are Uncomfortable With A Female President
With six women running for president this election cycle, a record number of women have run for the 2020 presidential nomination.
This follows the momentum from last year when a record breaking number of women were elected to the U.S. House and Senate.
It seems like a promising time for women in politics, yet a survey published Tuesday found that just 49% of men and 59% of women in the U.S. would feel “very comfortable” with a woman as the head of government.
That's one of the findings from the second Reykjavik Index for Leadership, published by the global network of female politicians Women Political Leaders and the data consultancy Kantar.
The index measures how women and men are viewed in terms of their suitability for leadership across 22 sectors, including government and politics, media and entertainment, banking and finance, education, engineering, technology and artificial intelligence and childcare.
This year’s report covered the G7 nations — the U.S., the U.K., Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan — as well as Brazil, Russia, India and China.
The researchers surveyed 22,000 working-age adults and ranked each country on an index, with 100 meaning that there is “complete agreement that men and women are equally suited to leadership in all sectors.”
The lower the index score, the greater the prejudice.
None of the 11 countries scored a 100. Canada and France tied for first place with an index score of 77 and the U.S. came in third place with an index score of 75.
In every country, women were more likely to perceive men and women as equally suitable for leadership.
Canada and the U.K. were the only countries in which a majority of men were “very comfortable” with a woman as the head of the government: 56% of men in the U.K. and 53% of men in Canada.
Unfortunately, the data shows that women are also skeptical, though less so than men: 65% of women in Canada and 61% of women in the U.K. said they’d be “very comfortable.” The three countries with people with the lowest faith in female leaders were Germany, Japan and Russia. In Russia, just 7% of men and 9% of women would be comfortable with a woman in the top political position. (The report did not include the data for China.)
The outlook on women as CEO of major companies is a bit more optimistic. ... "
There are some interesting differences across industries.
Americans are most comfortable with female leaders in the media and entertainment, natural sciences and banking and finance ― the index score reached 82 for each, the highest for all sectors.
On the contrary, Americans are least comfortable with female leaders in gaming, automotive manufacturers and defense and policing ― the index score was 70 for each.
In all countries, childcare, education, fashion, beauty and healthcare were seen as more suited to women. Men were seen as a better fit for the auto industry, law enforcement, gaming and aerospace and engineering.
“Evidence is a crucial tool to measure our social norms. Without evidence we cannot hold ourselves, our leaders or our actions to account,” Michelle Harrison, the global CEO of the public division of Kantar said in a statement.
“This year’s study reveals that in every country studied, there are significant prejudices against women and we have a long way to go until equality is the social norm.”"
Focused Monthly Inspiration
( #itsNovember2020Now )
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THE next Democratic Party 2020 Presidential Nomination Debate will be held Thursday, December 19, 2019. You can find more information on all of the debates here
And the best candidate for the 2020 Democratic Party presidential nomination is Kamala Harris, IMO...
* Kamala is the only candidate for the Democratic Party Presidential 2020 Nomination who grasps that 100's of 1000' of the American People are drowning and need economic relief -- NOW.
You can find more information on her website here
You can follow her on facebook here
You can follow her on Twitter here
You can follow her on Instagram here
** In its effort to provide more accessibility to grassroots Democrats in determining who the Democratic Party Nominee will be, key Democratic Party criteria for being present on the Primary Debate Stage is based on the candidate's commitment to being a Democrat and to meeting increasing levels of small donors and poll numbers provided by a select number of reputable pollsters, both being reflective of increasing grassroots support for going forward.
So:
1. You can donate to my official Kamala Harris link here
(The link is shared by my co-founder and me of The People For Kamala Harris on Facebook.)
2. You can respond to major polls in favor of Kamala!
( And, you can find more information on the 6th DNC Debate criteria here )
→ Some of my favorite Direct sources & resources for Democrats:
* ( My personal favored and most informative follows are also shared here, below, with the understanding that readers will always apply their own critical thinking to any information provided anywhere by anyone. #StrongerTogether does not share sources of information lightly but -- no one is perfect! -- so always #DistrustAndVerify -- even if it's me. I am using a "star" rating that is strictly based on my situational experience with the work of the media personality specifically in relation to issues of interest to me. )
Democratic Party Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, representative of The People at home & abroad while the President of the United States is MIA...
There is no better way to get your information than to #Go2TheSource
You can find the Speaker's website here
You can find the Speaker's Twitter feed here
You can find the Speaker's Facebook Page here
The Democratic Party Website
Also, NOT exactly a Democratic Party specific source under a GOP majority but a good place to hear and to watch speeches & hearings directly, i.e. #Go2TheSource C-SPAN
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→ Some of my favorite, most active organizations:
Michelle Obama's initiative ...
"Who We Are
When We All Vote is a non-profit, nonpartisan organization that is on a mission to increase participation in every election and close the race and age voting gap by changing the culture around voting, harnessing grassroots energy, and through strategic partnerships to reach every American.
Launched in 2018 by co-chairs Michelle Obama, Tom Hanks, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Janelle Monae, Chris Paul, Faith Hill and Tim McGraw, When We All Vote is changing the culture around voting using a data-driven and multifaceted approach to increase participation in elections.
In the months directly before the 2018 midterm elections, When We All Vote organized 2,500 local voter registration events across the country, engaged 200 million Americans online about the significance of voting, and texted nearly four million voters the resources to register and get out to vote.
And we’re just getting started. We’re helping bring even more people into the voting process because when we all vote, we all do better. ... "
"Mission: National Security Action is dedicated to advancing American global leadership and opposing the reckless policies of the Trump administration that endanger our national security and undermine U.S. strength in the world. ... "
You can learn more here
(Full disclosure, I am a member!)
"Women are already the majority. Now Let's build a Supermajority.
Women are on the cusp of becoming the most powerful force in America. But to fundamentally transform this country, we need to work together. That’s where Supermajority comes in.
LET’S GET ORGANIZED
We’re building an inclusive, national membership of women who are connected, empowered, and taking action—from increasing their level of civic engagement and advocacy to voting in record numbers.
"Meet the people behind the politicians.
You can email your two Senators and your Representative in Congress in one email here
"Postcards to Voters are friendly, handwritten reminders from volunteers to targeted voters giving Democrats a winning edge in close, key races coast to coast.
What started on March 11, 2017 with sharing 5 addresses apiece to 5 volunteers on Facebook...
Now, we consist of over 20,000+ volunteers in every state (including Alaska and Hawaii) who have written close to 3 million postcards to voters in over 100+ key, close elections."
You can find Postcards to Voters here
Town Hall Project empowers constituents across the country to have face-to-face conversations with their elected representatives. We are campaign veterans and first time volunteers. We come from a diversity of backgrounds and live across the country. We share progressive values and believe strongly in civic engagement. We research every district and state for public events with members of Congress. Then we share our findings to promote participation in the democratic process.
This movement is diverse, open source, and powered by citizens. We are proud to be a part of it.
You can find Town Hall Project here
" Born from conversations between Governor Howard Dean and Secretary Hillary Clinton in the aftermath of the 2016 election, Onward Together was established to lend support to leaders — particularly young leaders — kicking off projects and founding new organizations to fight for our shared progressive values." here
Organizing for America and the Democratic National Redistricting Committee have merged in "All On The Line":
"Barack Obama Throws All His Weight Behind ‘Issue Of Singular Importance’
" Since #StandOnEveryCorner has grown, it’s become a stand by all of us to protect our democracy from corruption and treason...A stand not at your State Capitol, but in your own backyard. Not once every few months, but as often as you can here "
→ Fact checking organizations courtesy of the Society of Professional Journalists
in alphabetical order...
→ Some of my favorite, most informative
follows on Twitter include:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ US Intelligence | Author | Navy Senior Chief | NBC/MSNBC
⭐⭐⭐ Federal Government Operations | Vanity Fair | Newsweek | MSNBC Contributor | Author
⭐⭐⭐⭐ NBC News' chief foreign correspondent
⭐⭐ Foreign correspondent for @MSNBC and @NBCNews based in London
→ Some of my favorite, highly credible media -- at the moment:
→ Some of my favorite Talking Heads -- at the moment -- and their Twitter handles:
→ Some of my favorite media panelists -- at the moment -- and their Twitter handles:
✅✅✅✅✅ Wendy Sherman Director, Harvard Center for Public Leadership and Professor of Practice, Kennedy School Senior Counselor
Albright Stonebridge Group; Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs
✅✅✅ Jonathan Lemire White House reporter for AP; Political analyst for MSNBC & @NBCNews
✅✅✅✅ Joan Walsh national affairs correspondent for The Nation; CNN political contributor
✅✅✅ Heidi Przybyla USA TODAY Senior Political Reporter
✅✅✅✅ Jennifer Rubin Conservative blogger at @ WashingtonPost's Right Turn,MSNBC contributor
Intel community. @ NBCNews/@ MSNBC contributor
✅✅✅✅ Betsy WoodruffSwan Daily Beast reporter, federal law enforcement.
→ Some of my favorite legal analysts in the context of Putin attacked America to install Trump investigations, primarily seen on MSNBC:
🗒️ 🗒️ 🗒️ 🗒️ Katie Phang
🗒️ 🗒️ 🗒️ 🗒️ Glenn Kirschner
🗒️ 🗒️ 🗒️ 🗒️ Mimi Roacha
🗒️ 🗒️ 🗒️ Midwin Charles
🗒️ 🗒️ 🗒️ 🗒️ Glenn Kirschner
🗒️ 🗒️ 🗒️ 🗒️ Mimi Roacha
🗒️ 🗒️ 🗒️ Midwin Charles
→ Some of my favorite Democrat Party Leaders to follow on Twitter, not in elected office but proving knowledge & experience are positives & not negatives are:
Former First Lady Michelle Obama
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
Former Labor Secretary/Today's DNC Chair Tom Perez
Note: I rarely get involved in primary races -- outside of those in my own area and unless there is a glaring reason that can not be ignored, I support Democratic Party nominees in general elections. I don't support bashing Democrats.
→ PARTY Informational
(Full disclosure, I am a life-long, registered Democrat!)
"To Whom It May Concern: By authority of the Democratic National Committee, the National Convention of the Democratic Party is hereby scheduled to convene on July 13-16, 2020 in TBD at an hour to be announced, to select nominees for the offices of President and Vice President of the United States of America, to adopt and promulgate a platform and to take such other actions with respect to such other matters as the Convention may deem advisable. ... "
"PREAMBLE We, the Democrats of the United States of America, united in common purpose, hereby rededicate ourselves to the principles which have historically sustained our Party. Recognizing that the vitality of the Nation's political institutions has been the foundation of its enduring strength, we acknowledge that a political party which wishes to lead must listen to those it would lead, a party which asks for the people's trust must prove that it trusts the people and a party which hopes to call forth the best the Nation can achieve must embody the best of the Nation's heritage and traditions. What we seek for our Nation, we hope for all people: individual freedom in the framework of a just society, political freedom in the framework of meaningful participation by all citizens. Bound by the United States Constitution, aware that a party must be responsive to be worthy of responsibility, we pledge ourselves to open, honest endeavor and to the conduct of public affairs in a manner worthy of a society of free people. Under God, and for these ends and upon these principles, we do establish and adopt this Charter of the Democratic Party of the United States of America."
What is the CPD? The Commission on Presidential Debates (the “CPD”) is a private, nonpartisan 501(c)(3) organization. As a 501(c)(3) organization, it is eligible under federal law so serve as a debate sponsor. The CPD's primary mission is to ensure, for the benefit of the American electorate, that general election debates are held every four years between and among the leading candidates for the offices of President and Vice President of the United State. The CPD is an independent organization. It is not controlled by any political party or outside organization and it does not endorse, support, or oppose political candidates for parties. It receives no funding from the government or any political party, political actions committee or candidate. The CPD has sponsored general election presidential debates in every election since 1988. Although its plans for 2020 are in the developmental stage, it looks forward to bringing high quality, educational debates to the electorate in 2020 ...
You can read more here
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(Linked) "...is our 2016 platform...a declaration of how we plan to move America forward. Democrats believe that cooperation is better than conflict, unity is better than division, empowerment is better than resentment, and bridges are better than walls.
It’s a simple but powerful idea: We are stronger together."
Owned, Created and Curated by Gail Mountain, this blog curates is often gently edits and/or excerpts select material for quick reading, with occasional personal commentary in the form of the written word and/or in the form of emphasis noted. Network For #StrongerTogether ! is not affiliated with The Democratic Party. in any capacity. This is an independent blog and the hope is you will, at a glance, learn more about the Party and you will, with a click or two, also take action on its behalf as it is provided!
( * As a privately owned blog, I reserve the right to edit or remove inappropriate comments such as hate, vulgarity, threats of violence, racism, anti-Semitism, spam, advertising or personal/abusive attacks on other users.)
A long time Democratic Party activist, Gail Mountain is a former community organizer, journalist & personal planning coach with a focus on single moms working toward careers able to support them & their families, while working toward changing the systems that once served them through leadership training. She is a former Affordable Health Care for America Act advocate (2009!); a Hillary supporter who volunteered as a Grassroots Tweeter for Hillary, a Women's Outreach for Hillary member; an OFA Truth Team member; & a DNC Factivist member...currently a media influencer, digital activist/strategist, blogger and head of curation, editor and co-Founder of The People for Kamala Harris; an editor for Progress for Democrats on Facebook; a member of a closed group supporting Speaker Pelosi & her agenda, a member of Supermajority and a volunteer for Kamala Harris for the 2020 Democratic Party Nomination for President of the United States.
You can follow her Blog
at https://networkstrongertogether.blogspot.com & you can follow her on Twitter at GKMTNtwits
( find her on Twitter
*** Sometimes life gets in the way, and it has for me right now, delaying the release of my updated ebook but "How to Influence Media in Real Time!"is coming soon and in time to begin your conversation with media as we head into serious primary season.
What's in the book?:
( My updated ebook, "How to Influence Media in Real Time," will be ready soon. It will include updated examples of the conversations I have with some of my “media friends” and some updated indications that media can hear us! If you have left a donation toward my effort to help Democrats win in 2020, I will send you an updated copy as soon as it is ready. New donors who leaves a name and an email on my GoFundMe Page will get one as soon as it is ready to go! Thanking you in advance for your interest. I hope you will join me in helping media be the best they can be -- by being a media influencer, too, in your own way and at your own pace. )
*
See the League of Women Voters website:
*
...for Networking for Democrats today!
g. (Unapologetic Democrat)
✊ Resisting "Fake News"
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