[Benjamin F. Alexander]

You don’t have to be a Democrat to answer this: Which of the two Democratic contenders do you think would make a better president? Which one do you think has a better chance of being elected president? On which basis do you think primary voters should vote?

[Trivian G.]

Of the two Democratic contenders, I am not sure which one will be a better president. I am leaning towards Bernie Sanders because he, at least, has remained constant with his message and plan. They both have plenty of political experience, so at this point I look at who is remaining consistent. Hilary Clinton may have her husband behind her as a good political support system, but she tends to change tunes depending on her audience and that is a big concern for me.

Hilary Clinton may have a better chance of becoming our next president considering her experience, political connections and that she is more known to American public than Bernie Sanders. The appeal of her becoming the first female president is a welcomed thought to some groups.

I believe the voters should vote for the candidate they feel will be more effective in keeping the country’s economy strong and growing. Voter for the candidate that will not flip flop and will not agree to policy that will ultimately hurt minorities for sake of compromise.

[Special K]

I was listening to WBAI’s Economic Update whose host is Richard D. Wolff. He reminded the audience that slavery was abolished in the U. S. with the EXCEPTION of those who are incarcerated. The 13th Amendment allowed for slavery to be continued as punishment UPON CONVICTION OF A CRIME. As Professor Wolff was talking, it started to make sense as to why the U.S. has THE most populated prisons system in the world. It also explained the surge in prison- for- profit companies that have not only denied the freedom of millions of people but has also added to their debt burden by levying fines and fees on them.
Now corporations are using prison labor to help pad their profits. One corporation that uses prison labor is Mc Donald’s. Mc Donald’s is the same company that rakes in millions of dollars in profits annually but can’t afford to give it’s employees a decent living wage or benefits. Lack of a living wage causes working Americans to have to resort to public welfare (for SNAP and medical benefits) in order to supplement their family budgets. And to add insult to injury, MC Donald’s doesn’t pay its fair share in corporate taxes.
Which candidate is benefitting from the prison -for- profit industry? Hillary Clinton is. She gave an $8,600 campaign donation to a women’s prison instead of just declining the money from the private prison lobbyists. A N.C. based federally registered lobbyist of a for profit prison “bundled $69,363 in donations” for Clinton’s campaign in February, 2016. How can Clinton be for restoring the middle class and justice for the Americans when she’s accepting money from an industry that is further impoverishing Americans?

[Special K]

The news leak of the DNC conspiring against the Sanders campaign is not news as much as it is confirmation of what everyone, including Trump, was saying. The fix was in and Clinton was the recipient of the outcome. It was obvious from the start, with the Iowa coin toss which was statistically unlikely to have occurred. Most importantly, the leak has furthered angered and alienated Democratic voters from the Clinton campaign.
There are more people who are stewing over the deceit of the Clinton campaign which will result in one of three scenarios: voters will sit out the vote in protest, voter will vote for Trump or the voters will vote for the third part candidate, Jill Stein or/ other. Allowing for any of the three scenarios, there may be a surprising victory for Trump by a significant margin despite what the national news is reporting. Either way, this country is in a fix.

[Special K]

I was listening to an interview featuring Julian Assange, on WBAI, yesterday. He said something in reference to the Democratic Party and Hillary Clinton that made me think. The gist of what he said was that the Democratic party’s approach to the campaign is basically this: yes, Hillary Clinton is embroiled in scandal regarding her Clinton Foundation, lost e- mails, band the Benghazi incident. Yes she has had a connection with arms dealers, namely in Saudi Arabia, and other suspect incidents. Considering the choice to Clinton, which is Donald Trump, we (the voters) will just have to deal with Clinton’s shortcomings.
When he framed the situation in that light, I thought to myself, Holy Crap, that sounds about right!! One moment of the DNC convention sums this sentiment best. Sarah Silverman telling the Sander voters ” You’re being ridiculous.”