Humans are still evolving

From this article. See it for details.

"Evolution is an ongoing process, although many don’t realize people are still evolving. It’s true that Homo sapiens look very different than Australopithecus afarensis, an early hominin that lived around 2.9 million years ago. But it is also true that we are very different compared to members of our same species, Homo sapiens, who lived 10,000 years ago — and we will very likely be different from the humans of the future.

"What we eat, how we use our bodies, and who we choose to have kids with are just some of the many factors that can cause the human body to change. Genetic mutations lead to new traits — and with the world population now above 7 billion and rising, the chances of genetic mutations that natural selection can potentially act on is only increasing. Don't believe us? Inverse presents three examples of recent changes to the human body."

Richard Rohr on spiritual universality

From this article:

"More conservative Christians tend to orient their theology around Jesus—his death and resurrection, which made salvation possible for those who believe. Rohr thinks that this focus is misplaced. The universe has existed for thirteen billion years; it couldn’t be, he argues, that God’s loving, salvific relationship with creation began only two thousand years ago, when the historical baby Jesus was placed in the musty hay of a manger, and that it only became widely knowable to humanity around six hundred years ago, when the printing press was invented and Bibles began being mass-produced. Instead, in his most recent book, The Universal Christ, which came out last year, Rohr argues that the spirit of Christ is not the same as the person of Jesus. Christ—essentially, God’s love for the world—has existed since the beginning of time, suffuses everything in creation, and has been present in all cultures and civilizations. Jesus is an incarnation of that spirit, and following him is our 'best shortcut' to accessing it. But this spirit can also be found through the practices of other religions, like Buddhist meditation, or through communing with nature. Rohr has arrived at this conclusion through what he sees as an orthodox Franciscan reading of scripture. 'This is not heresy, universalism, or a cheap version of Unitarianism,” he writes. 'This is the Cosmic Christ, who always was, who became incarnate in time, and who is still being revealed.'"

Beat Dump or beat up Bernie supporters?

If this Emerson polling is true, that a significant % of Bernie supporters won't vote for Biden in the general election if he's the nominee, then it could cost a Dem loss to Dump. So would you rather a loss to Dump so you can blame Bernie voters or would you rather beat Dump? Can you put aside your dislike of Bernie supporters to vote for him if you want to beat Dump? If that polling is true then voting for Bernie in the primary might be the only viable way to ensure a general election victory.

The Lincoln Project

As mentioned in the last post, here's their website. Their mission:

"Defeat President Trump and Trumpism at the ballot box. We do not undertake this task lightly nor from ideological preference. Our many policy differences with national Democrats remain. However, the priority for all patriotic Americans must be a shared fidelity to the Constitution and a commitment to defeat those candidates who have abandoned their constitutional oaths, regardless of party. Electing Democrats who support the Constitution over Republicans who do not is a worthy effort."

Maher: Do the wrong thing

He's right that Dems need to play dirty too if they want to win. This intellectual nice guy shit playing by Robert's Rules just doesn't cut it when your dealing with the likes of Dump and the Repug Party. Maher gives us some tips on how to do it, complete with a mock ad. And then he has a copy of the pee tape at the end!

In Overtime a member of the Republican Lincoln Project discusses how they will use every dirty trick in the book against Dump.

Seder makes fun of Biden's social security handout

Biden's staff knows how inept Joe is in dealing with questions so they prepared a written handout to give to people asking him about his social security record. Sam has obtained a copy of that handout.

Is Bernie's party over?

This article shows how Bernie is different:

"There is a difference in kind between Bernie and the other Democratic candidates, a difference unlike the differences among them. It’s the difference between a principled Social Democratic program to meet human needs, based on and supported by a mass movement, and a program of neoliberal tinkering to protect profit-making possibilities, based on and supported by capitalist donors/the donor class."

The article also notes that the Dem Party itself will try anything and everything to prevent Bernie's nomination, which is the sad truth. But the author also notes that if that's the case, again, then it's the death of the Dem Party and Bernie and company will need to form a Third Party. Hopefully the Progressive Caucus will join that effort.

Help RBG retire

Vote out those working for the 1%, vote in those who want to preserve and expand on what's left of our democracy.

The Onion: Biden's call for Party unity

Not far off given Biden's repeated, aggressive responses to legitimate town hall challenges:

OTTUMWA, IA—As part of his effort to reinvigorate the coalition that once put Barack Obama in the White House, presidential candidate Joe Biden issued a moving plea for party unity when he told a Democratic voter “You’re a piece of shit and I hope everyone like you dies,” reports confirmed Thursday. “Look here, pal, fuck you and fuck anybody who thinks like you,” the former vice president said to a town hall participant in what political experts have hailed as a rousing call for Democrats, independents, and even moderate Republicans to join together in harmony and overcome the divisiveness and rancor that have characterized the Trump era. “If that’s what you believe, you’re clearly an idiot, and I don’t need your vote. Seriously, you and every single person in this fucking town deserves to die. Now back the hell up before I tear your throat out with my goddamn teeth.” After the event, a screaming, red-faced Biden reportedly continued to share his inspiring vision by informing a group of unwitting Iowans that he could beat their asses with one hand tied behind his back.

Ball on the Dem generational divide

Excellent analysis of how it applies to Bernie v. Biden. We know younger voters favor Bernie and older ones Biden. But why? Partly because with the increasing funneling of wealth to the top younger people are getting screwed with college debt and no good job opportunities when they graduate. Older voters grew up during a time when we did have more economic equality, union jobs and secure retirement plans, so they fear change. However Bernie is making some inroads with seniors, pointing out how Biden supported cuts to social security while Bernie has always supported expanding it.

Bottom line: There is a real generational gap in the Dem Party and it's playing out in this match up. The future of the Party seems clearly on Bernie and AOC's side. But is that future starting now with a Bernie nomination? It is if the youth have anything to say about it. Let's hope they get out to vote in the primaries.