The Breakfast Club (Serious Coffee)

Welcome to The Breakfast Club! We’re a disorganized group of rebel lefties who hang out and chat if and when we’re not too hungover we’ve been bailed out we’re not too exhausted from last night’s (CENSORED) the caffeine kicks in. Join us every weekday morning at 9am (ET) and weekend morning at 10:30am (ET) to talk about current news and our boring lives and to make fun of LaEscapee! If we are ever running late, it’s PhilJD’s fault.

AP’s Today in History for November 17th

President Richard Nixon says ‘I am not a crook’; Elizabeth I becomes Queen of England; Suez Canal opens; Congress holds first DC session; Sculptor Auguste Rodin dies; Film director Martin Scorsese born.

Breakfast Tune Eagles – Earlybird – Live Popgala 1973

Something to think about, Breakfast News & Blogs below

Senate Democrats Join GOP to Back ‘Automatic Austerity’ Bill That Would Gut Social Programs, Hamstring Bold Policies
Jake Johnson, Common Dreams

A handful of Senate Democrats joined forces with Republicans last week to advance sweeping budget legislation that would establish an “automatic deficit-reduction process” that could trigger trillions of dollars in cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, food stamps, and other social programs—and potentially hobble the agenda of the next president.

The Bipartisan Congressional Budget Reform Act (S.2765), authored by Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), passed out of the Senate Budget Committee on November 6. The legislation is co-sponsored by five members of the Senate Democratic caucus: Whitehouse, Mark Warner (Va.), Tim Kaine (Va.), Chris Coons (Del.), and Angus King (I-Maine).

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), the ranking member of the Senate Budget Committee and a 2020 Democratic presidential candidate, issued a statement last week opposing the legislation and warning it “could be used by Republicans to unilaterally cut programs like Medicare, Medicaid, and nutrition assistance—all supposedly to reduce the deficit.”

“This new proposed process comes less than two years after Republicans on this Committee showed no hesitation in adding $2 trillion to the deficit in order to pass the Trump tax cuts for the wealthiest families and the most profitable corporations in America,” said Sanders.

As The American Prospect’s David Dayen noted Thursday, passage of S.2765 would severely hamstring Sanders’ ability to implement his agenda should he win the White House in 2020.

“If a Democrat wants to extend free public college to all Americans, or move toward a universal healthcare system, or amass resources to fight the climate crisis,” Dayen wrote, “they’re going to run into the deficit scolds, the ‘No, We Can’t’ brigade. Republicans like Enzi want to build that ‘No, We Can’t’ presumption into the budget process itself. It makes no sense for Democrats to help them.”

…

• Bernie dominates new Latino poll
  The Hill

• PETE BUTTIGIEG TOUTED THREE MAJOR SUPPORTERS OF HIS DOUGLASS PLAN FOR BLACK AMERICA. THEY WERE ALARMED WHEN THEY SAW IT.
  Ryan Grim

• Did Obama Make a Mistake by Deporting 3 Million People? Bernie Sanders: ‘Yes’
  Jon Queally

• Ruling Class “Crisis of Legitimacy” is Behind “Bernie Blackout”
  Black Agenda Radio with Nellie Bailey and Glen Ford

• ‘Grand American Tradition of Immunizing Its War Criminals’ Continues as Trump Pardons US Soldiers
  Jon Queally

• BART Apologizes After Police Detain A Man For Eating A Sandwich On A Train Platform
  Kimberley Richards

• Analysis of Primetime MSNBC Programs Finds Sanders Received ‘Least’ and ‘Most Negative’ Coverage of Top 2020 Democrats
  Jake Johnson

• I Got Kicked Out Of Starbucks For Brushing My Teeth. Here’s Why It Matters.
  Stevie Trujillo

• We Asked a Simple Question. What We Received Was Shocking.
  Melinda St. Louis

Something to think about over coffee prozac

 
Naomi Klein Endorses Bernie Sanders for President
 

… because I know that he’s a fighter …

Don't wait to see which way the wind is blowing – make the weather! https://t.co/ZpBrGKVK6W

— Naomi Klein (@NaomiAKlein) November 15, 2019