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OLEAN In an era of fake news accusations, a group of local progressives are hoping to separate fact from fiction with a film series about issues that cause plenty of debate in the American political landscape.

Citizens Action Network of Southwestern New York plans to show four documentaries this summer that delve into topics such as health care, the environment, voting rights and refugees. The local group, which formed in response to Donald Trumps presidential election victory, also plans to feature a panel of local experts for each film.

I think all the issues being addressed in the films are topics in which a lot of people strongly have either positive or negative feelings and where often the conversations are based on inadequate or entirely false information, said Chris Stanley, a Citizens Action Network organizer and St. Bonaventure University theology professor. And so the idea is to have films where experts who are involved in the issues are presenting facts and data in order to perhaps promote more intelligent conversations and more informed political actions on the issues.

The first film, Now Is the Time, which explains a single-payer health care system and why some feel it is the cheapest and most effective way to deliver medical care in the U.S., will be presented at 7 p.m. July 20 at the African American Center for Cultural Development.

A single-payer health care system is a system in which a public agency like the federal government provides financing for health care, but the care is still provided by private agencies, and all residents receive coverage regardless of income, occupation or health status.

After the film, Upper Allegheny Health System President and CEO Tim Finan, Olean Medical Group CEO Dan Strauch and Athena Godet-Calogeras, chairperson of the Health Care Access Coalition, will speak briefly about a single-payer system and answer questions from the audience.

Wed like to hope that people ... will attend the film and ask the actual medical professionals about what they think is going to work best rather than simply listening to politicians, Stanley said.

Finan, Strauch and Godet-Calogeras participation on the panel doesnt necessarily mean they support a single-payer system, Stanley said, adding he didnt ask them for their opinions when inviting them to the screening.

Were intentionally trying to line up diverse respondents to our films, not necessarily people who will agree with everything thats being said in the films, so that we can promote some honest conversation about issues rather than simply promoting one point of view or one agenda, he said.

The event is free, but audience members can contribute toward the screening costs if they wish. The screening is co-sponsored by the Health Care Access Coalition.

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The other three films, which will address the environment, voting rights and Syrian refugees, respectively, will be shown at two-week intervals after the first screening. Citizens Action Network of Southwestern New York will announce more details about the films at a later date.

The African American Center for Cultural Development is located at 1801 W. State St.

(Contact reporter Tom Dinki at tdinki@oleantimesherald.com. Follow him on Twitter, @tomdinki)

Originally posted here:
Olean progressives to hold film series - Olean Times Herald

Too many on the left say progressives should not be focusing on the Russian interference in our democracy. They say it is just an excuse to allow the failure of Clinton and Democratic leadership to offer the public good policies that help people instead of just helping corporations and the rich slide. Some even say it is just old 1950s-style red-baiting.

Criticism of Russia is not related to previous pre-1990s criticisms of communism or socialism. Russia is not that. Today it is a kletocracy run by one guy and a bunch of oligarchs, sort of the perfect Koch/Thiel/Trump/corporate state that Republicans are trying to bring about here.

They Did It

The Trump campaign did do this and the Republican Party is running cover for it, just so they can continue to loot us with tax cuts for the rich and taking away the things our government does to make our lives better.

Its better for progressives if the spectrum of power goes from the left to centrist Dems, instead of from centrist Dems to the far right as it does now. Using Russia to get lots of Rs out of power and move that spectrum left only helps us obtain an environment in which Medicare-for-All, free college and university, allowing everyone to vote, restoring taxation and regulation on corporations, breaking up monopolies, bringing racial and gender justice, ending privatization, finally fighting climate change and all the other things needed to heal the country and planet are possible to achieve.

We need the public to understand that conservative/Republican/corporate rule is anti-democracy and not legitimate. Focusing on Russia helps us get there.

The Russia Story Isnt Going Away

Its not like the Russia story is going to drop from the news, allowing other things to be discussed. So ride the wave instead of fighting the tide.

The Russia story actually gives us an opportunity to talk about good policies instead of policies that hurt the country, by tying that discussion to Russian efforts to hurt us. All the talk about Russia gives us the opportunity to tie Republican anti-government policies to the ways Russia hoped to benefit from their interference in our democracy. Russia helped put them there in an effort to hurt the country and Republican policies hurt the country.

The Russia story delegitimizes Republicans by exposing their lack of legitimacy. (Along with voter suppression, gerrymandering and other ways they are not legitimately in power.) The more they and their policies are delegitimized the more progressive policies fill the vacuum.

Note how Medicare-for-All is being widely discussed, even while the Russia story dominates.

All the talk about Russian interference in democracy offers us a chance to remind people of what democracy means. erference in our democracy.

. Bookmark the

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Excerpt from:
Progressives Should Focus On Russia - Seeing the Forest

Progressives dial up pressure on Republican moderates over Senate health bill Sacramento Bee Moderate Republican senators who opposed the original Obamacare replacement bill will face increased pressure from health care advocates to hold the line next week in a possible vote on the revised legislation. Republican senators who are on the fence ... and more »

Original post:
Progressives dial up pressure on Republican moderates over Senate health bill - Sacramento Bee

By KRIS CRAIG

In the aftermath of the Democratic National Committee unapologetically rigging its primaries against progressive Bernie Sanders supporters in 2016, a growing number of progressives and young voters are choosing to leave the Democratic Party, citing what they describe as irreparable corruption.

Many others, however, believe the best way to fight back is to effect a hostile takeover of the party from within. The fact that we have these competing views is not a problem.

What is a problem, however, is the prevailing assumption among both factions that these two strategies are mutually exclusive. I dont believe that they are.

Proponents of an internal revolution within the Democratic Party, led by U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, will tell you that the two-party duopoly makes any effort to run for higher office outside one of the two major parties virtually impossible. Instead, theyre focusing on taking over the party at the local levels and launching primary challenges against the establishment-supported incumbents. These are sound ideas, though detractors are quick to point out that they do have flaws.

Progressives who have decided to kick the Democrats to the curb argue that fighting for equal representation within a party that has already demonstrated that its willing to violate even its own rules in order to prevent that from happening is a futile endeavor. After all, if too many people are voting for the candidate that party leaders dont like, they can always just prevent people from voting again by altering their party affiliations in closed primary states without their consent like they did in 2016.

Thats in addition to the corporate media already declaring the establishment candidate the winner before a single vote is cast. These folks, often identified by the #DemExit label, mostly believe that starting a new party or joining an existing third party is the only answer.

Therein lies the problem, according to many Berniecrats. While theres a consensus among #DemExit supporters that its time for progressives and young people to leave the Democratic Party, nobody can seem to agree on exactly where we should all go from there. In our severely outdated first-past-the-post voting system, scattering votes across many different candidates and parties essentially guarantees that your movement will have little to no representation.

Both of these factions make valid arguments, which has led to a lot of debate and disagreement. Unfortunately, this also has resulted in a growing amount of animosity and division among progressives.

In some cases, Ive even seen outright in-fighting where each group accuses the other of not being progressive and/or trying to sabotage the movement. This needs to stop as it accomplishes nothing and plays right into the hands of those in the political establishment who would like to see us remain marginalized and ignored.

So which strategy do I think is best? Thats simple: Both. Theres no reason why we cant fight to take over the Democratic Party from within while also putting pressure on them in the form of outside challenges, especially if the two factions coordinate their efforts.

For example, Berniecrats who manage to gain enough control at the state level can push the states to adopt ranked choice instant-runoff voting, which would mean that independent and third-party candidates would no longer be at a disadvantage because lesser-evilism would no longer apply. Everyone could vote for whom they want without having to worry about helping the Boogey Man du jour win.

This will enable the #DemExit faction to start really making gains, diminishing the power and resources of the two major parties as they lose seats all across the country. That, in turn, should weaken the neoliberal party establishment enough for the Berniecrats to finally succeed in claiming the Democratic Party as their own.

The blueprint to our success lies in mutual cooperation, not converting everyone to the same way of thinking. People who want to leave the party should do so, while those who choose to remain should not be discouraged.

Instead of focusing on trying to convince the other side that your way is better, try to think of how you could use the benefits of your way to help them with what theyre trying to accomplish. Diversity of perspectives is not a weakness.

It is perhaps our greatest strength. So lets use it and work together toward our common goals.

Kris Craig is a software engineer from College Place, Wash., who is active in progressive politics. He served as both precinct captain and local delegate for U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders during the primaries.

Read the original here:
Kris Craig: Berniecrats and #DemExit progressives must work together - WatertownDailyTimes.com

To the editor:

I echo the sentiment of a previous letter-writer who called out The Sun Chronicle for being more a cheerleader for progressives than a purveyor of fair and balanced journalism.

Ive seen many changes in this newspaper over the decades, a few of them good. I would like to see more changes, that I think would give your publication broader appeal.

Well, maybe it might appeal to conservatives, if we count for anything.

Try some conservative columnists. Sure, Massachusetts is a progressive commonwealth, but Id guess 20-30 percent, maybe more, of us are conservatives. Throw us the occasional bone with columns from folks like Star Parker, a black conservative woman, or Michelle Malkin, or, heaven forbid, Ann Coulter. Or how about R. Emmett Tyrrell, Charles Krauthammer, or George Will? How about a Black conservative male columnist, like Ken Blackwell?

We conservatives are a diverse bunch. The way I see it, while liberals are always preaching diversity youre not referring to a diversity of ideas that depart from the progressive agenda in any way. How about it? Is The Sun Chronicle up for the challenge?

Sincerely,

Henry V. Soldat

Norton

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LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Sun Chronicle is a cheerleader for progressives - The Sun Chronicle