Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

[marc]

It's funny,,, Racists sometime excuse their racism by glorifying their 'European Heritage'. But when you want to make the country more like Europe, well then we can't have any of that European socialism!!!! And when you want to talk about how well socialist programs can work in government, suddenly those same people forget all about Europe and only know of Venezuela.

 

[angelo]

It's funny,,, Racists sometime excuse their racism by glorifying their 'European Heritage'. But when you want to make the country more like Europe, well then we can't have any of that European socialism!!!! And when you want to talk about how well socialist programs can work in government, suddenly those same people forget all about Europe and only know of Venezuela.

Europe is not the socialist utopia you think it is. It's economy is based on the capitalist ideology. Besides, some of the biggest multinational corporations on Earth are European, and are capitalistic in nature, not socialist. Whatever you deem as been socialist in countries such as the Scandinavian countries you're alluding to, like free public health for example isn't free at all, but paid for from a much higher taxing system than exists in the US.

 

[marc]

It's funny,,, Racists sometime excuse their racism by glorifying their 'European Heritage'. But when you want to make the country more like Europe, well then we can't have any of that European socialism!!!! And when you want to talk about how well socialist programs can work in government, suddenly those same people forget all about Europe and only know of Venezuela.

Europe is not the socialist utopia you think it is. It's economy is based on the capitalist ideology. Besides, some of the biggest multinational corporations on Earth are European, and are capitalistic in nature, not socialist. Whatever you deem as been socialist in countries such as the Scandinavian countries you're alluding to, like free public health for example isn't free at all, but paid for from a much higher taxing system than exists in the US.

Perfect example. Try and enact a European style system such as universal health care and cries of socialism ring out. Point out how well those systems work in Europe, suddenly they are all strictly capitalist countries, ignoring that all economies are mixes of both. And ending with the heart of the matter, they want stuff for free. They want all the benefits of being in a first world nation, but don't want to actually have to pay for it, the cost of living in a modern society. Well either that or just plain greedy/selfish/racist assholes who can't stand the thought of the money they pay in taxes going to help someone else, especially someone not like them. Or simply Kool-Aid drinkers, fed a steady diet of propaganda that they accepted without actually looking into the facts. (got a couple of them in my relatives)

 

[lpetrich]

In effect, it's capitalism if Europeans do it and socialism if Americans do it.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "The US is in denial over how many people are living in poverty.
Our poverty line assumes:
$0 healthcare costs
$0 childcare costs
$0 rent increases
No geographic diff
Even w that lie, 40 million people live in *recognized* poverty.
& we have no idea how many are actually poor. https://t.co/u54yYp24Eu" / Twitter
noting
Public Citizen on Twitter: ".@AOC: 40 million Americans live in what the government recognizes as poverty. That’s one in ten. https://t.co/d3wrAuzIJW" / Twitter
with AOC at a hearing

Sandhya Raman on Twitter: ".@aoc on her bill at House Oversight: "I believe we do not want to recognize the level of poverty in this country because if we did it would be a national scandal."" / Twitter

Robert Reich on Twitter: "Important point by @AOC: "It’s a physical impossibility to lift yourself up by a bootstrap."
She's right. 60% of all wealth in America is inherited.
“Pull yourself up by the bootstraps” is a cruel joke. https://t.co/UNmo0ttHwu" / Twitter


On a more pleasant subject,
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "The haters told me to go back to bartending, so I did!
Now I can serve the people in Congress *and* from behind a bar. In Timbs. With a floater of GOP tears.
See you tomorrow @SHODesusAndMero https://t.co/Uwpdh0TkTd" / Twitter
noting
DESUS & MERO on SHOWTIME on Twitter: "On the next #DESUSandMERO it's a BX reunion with U.S. Rep @AOC.
Thursday 11/10c, only on @Showtime. https://t.co/skJxsh7G4r" / Twitter

 

[Derec]

AOC Meets with Pine Ridge Delegation - YouTube - 2019 Jun 13 - Lakota Peoples Law Project - We joined Oglala Sioux Tribe President Julian Bear Runner's delegation to meet with Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. We talked about KXL, the Green New Deal, and the need for positive change.

Pipelines are a necessary part of energy infrastructure. This kneejerk anti-pipeline attitude by Leftists and Indians is ridiculous.

AOC credits going to the Standing Rock camp with starting her political career. As she left, she felt prepared to give all she had. She also describes how the camp showed that "another world" is possible - a different kind of society.

A different kind of society where everything is made up and the points facts don't matter.

But it's likely difficult to scale a society like that camp, and the camp's society was a very incomplete one.

To say the least. The whole camp was
- based on falsehood and misinformation
- most campers drove/flew long distances using lots of gasoline or diesel
- the camp was so disorganized they ended up polluting the camp site far more than the pipeline ever will

AOC's own theological beliefs seem rather vague and ambiguous. In that talk, she talked a lot about her "faith", but it was her ethical/moral/social beliefs.

Like everything else about her, it's a hot mess.

 

[angelo]

Hot mess is putting it mildly and giving her the benefit of the doubt. In reality she's a wild eyed ideologue that would destroy the American way of life and turn it into another giant Venezuela like catastrophe.

 

[lpetrich]

Pipelines are a necessary part of energy infrastructure. This kneejerk anti-pipeline attitude by Leftists and Indians is ridiculous.

But if DAPL was good enough for Standing Rock, it ought to be good enough for Bismarck. So why was it redirected from near Bismarck to near Standing Rock?

Seriously.

Given many right-wingers' attitude toward oil pipelines, one would have expected the citizens of Bismarck to welcome that pipeline passing near their town.


Mother Jones on Instagram: “Reps. @aoc (D-N.Y.) and @ayannapressley (D-Mass.) are boycotting Trump's State of the Union, refusing to “normalize Trump’s lawless…” with a nice picture of the two together.

DESUS & MERO on SHOWTIME on Instagram: “On the next #DESUSandMERO it's a BX reunion with U.S. Rep @aoc. Thursday 11/10c, only on @showtime. ” - walking down the Bronx Stairs, AOC being a bartender again.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

It's funny,,, Racists sometime excuse their racism by glorifying their 'European Heritage'. But when you want to make the country more like Europe, well then we can't have any of that European socialism!!!! And when you want to talk about how well socialist programs can work in government, suddenly those same people forget all about Europe and only know of Venezuela.

Europe is not the socialist utopia you think it is. It's economy is based on the capitalist ideology. Besides, some of the biggest multinational corporations on Earth are European, and are capitalistic in nature, not socialist. Whatever you deem as been socialist in countries such as the Scandinavian countries you're alluding to, like free public health for example isn't free at all, but paid for from a much higher taxing system than exists in the US.

Gee, thanks for clearing that up. I thought all of Europe had corporations solely owned by the workers.

Meanwhile, in the US, if you quite your job without an immediate replacement, your family has no health insurance.

 

[lpetrich]

AOC retweeted
Chris Hayes on Twitter: "The single-minded cruelty that Trump has displayed towards Puerto Rico is just disgusting. https://t.co/Apnoe5M2mN" / Twitter
noting
White House threatens to veto Puerto Rico earthquake aid package ahead of House vote - The Washington Post


Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "We have no idea how many people in the US are living in poverty.
That’s bc the “poverty line” doesn’t measure true poverty at all.
Our Recognize Poverty Act directs the gov to actually find out how many Americans are struggling. Ask yourself why there’s resistance to doing so. https://t.co/wlXi3YpKU0" / Twitter
noting
NowThis on Twitter: "‘This is a moral wrong’ — @AOC got personal while fighting for the Recognizing Poverty Act, which would expand and correct the definition of poverty in America https://t.co/GiMVl8RCZP" / Twitter
with some video of her in action. AOC is the author of H.R.5069 - 116th Congress (2019-2020): The Recognizing Poverty Act | Congress.gov | Library of Congress - a bill that features an improved calculation of the poverty line:

(1) Adjusted for family size using the best available equivalence scales that consider economies of scale.

(2) Adjusted for differences in the cost of goods and services among States, sub-State non-metropolitan areas, and metropolitan areas based on the best available data.

(3) Adjusted to account for data on levels of spending on goods and services in prior years and adjusted for cost changes from said prior years to the current year.

(4) Increased for needs related to health insurance for family members, work expenses for the family, and child care needs for each child under the age of 13 in the family, including identification and consideration of “new necessities” such as internet access and funds needed to secure children’s equal educational opportunity.

...
(1) relevant empirical data on prevalence at various income levels of material hardships such as food—

(A) insecurity,

(B) falling behind on rent, mortgage, or utility bills, eviction or overcrowding, and

(C) experiencing homelessness or living doubled up in another person’s home,

(2) past Lower Living Standards implemented by the Department of Labor,

(3) the supplemental poverty measure of the Bureau of the Census,

(4) the Self Sufficiency Standards initially developed by Diana Pearce and Wider Opportunities for Women,

(5) the Census Bureau’s Survey of Income and Program Participation, and

(6) other standards of income adequacy created by experts and public commissions.

 

[lpetrich]

A Threat to America’s Children: The Trump Administration’s Proposed Changes to the Poverty Line Calculation | House Committee on Oversight and Reform

On February 5 and 6, 2020, the Committee on Oversight and Reform will be conducting an in-depth, two-day series of hearings held by four of its subcommittees to examine the negative effects of regulations proposed by the Trump Administration relating to children. This unique and extensive series of hearings will assess the detrimental impact of the Administration’s actions on child poverty, housing, hunger, and health.

AOC's statement for it - "Ending poverty should not be a partisan issue. ... We are at our richest point and we are at our most unequal. ... Poverty is not just an income number- it is a lived struggle. ... In a modern, moral, and wealthy society, no American should be too poor to live."

How many Americans live in recognized poverty:

• Plain: 40 million ~ 1/10 total population
• Extreme: 18.5 million
• Absolute: 5.3 million

Poverty rates among AOC's constituents:

• Elmhurst, South Corona, Queens: households: 22.3%
• Bronx: household: 28.4% - 10% more than the citywide avg
• Bronx: children: 40.1% - the highest

Just for fun:
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "NONE. Get out of here with that https://t.co/l4x9HAY04r" / Twitter
noting
DESUS & MERO on SHOWTIME on Twitter: ".@AOC's most controversial policy yet: no ketchup on her baconeggncheese.
#DESUSandMERO https://t.co/WW8ZpxU2ZE" / Twitter

 

[J842P]

It's funny,,, Racists sometime excuse their racism by glorifying their 'European Heritage'. But when you want to make the country more like Europe, well then we can't have any of that European socialism!!!! And when you want to talk about how well socialist programs can work in government, suddenly those same people forget all about Europe and only know of Venezuela.

Europe is not the socialist utopia you think it is. It's economy is based on the capitalist ideology. Besides, some of the biggest multinational corporations on Earth are European, and are capitalistic in nature, not socialist. Whatever you deem as been socialist in countries such as the Scandinavian countries you're alluding to, like free public health for example isn't free at all, but paid for from a much higher taxing system than exists in the US.

No shit, Sherlock. But you are the one calling these things socialist when. It suits you.

 

[Derec]

Poverty rates among AOC's constituents:

• Elmhurst, South Corona, Queens: households: 22.3%
• Bronx: household: 28.4% - 10% more than the citywide avg
• Bronx: children: 40.1% - the highest

People who are poor should not be having children. Much less multiple children.

 

[Derec]

But if DAPL was good enough for Standing Rock, it ought to be good enough for Bismarck. So why was it redirected from near Bismarck to near Standing Rock?

Not this shit again! How often will this particular falsehood be repeated on this forum? No matter how often I debunk it, it gets brought up again.

The pipeline was not "redirected". That implies that a route was set and then changed. Nothing like that happened. The north of Bismarck and south of Bismarck routes were both considered and the southern route was chosen because it was better in every regard: shorter, has fewer water crossings, traverses less populated and less built up area, follows an existing pipeline right of way.
Even Snopes acknowledges that the story as repeated by NoDAPL people is bogus.

DAPL following an existing pipeline route in the vicinity of Standing Rock and Bismarck:


And as you can see, the route that was eventually built is still closer to Bismarck than to most of Standing Rock Reservation.

Given many right-wingers' attitude toward oil pipelines, one would have expected the citizens of Bismarck to welcome that pipeline passing near their town.

I am not a right winger, but I do support pipelines, as they are the best way to transport large volumes of fluids over long distances. That doesn't mean that pipelines should be routed through suburban areas when better routes are available. And by the way, I live just a few miles from a major product pipeline.

 

[Jarhyn]

I am not a right winger

Seriously though, got any other good lines?

 

[lpetrich]

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "I see that the right is worked up that we pointed out the myth of bootstrapping when 60% of the wealth in this country is *inherited.*
But hey, if you think I’m hopelessly dumb, try listening to MLK talk about “bootstrapping” & the racial wealth gap, too: https://t.co/RHdSfzaJzH" / Twitter
MLK explains why American blacks have had so much trouble. They were enslaved, and they didn't get very much when they were freed. As opposed to white ones who got oodles of land in the West and Midwest by way of the Homestead Act.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "
What does “bootstrapping” mean to the GOP?
That you didn’t go to public school?
That you didn’t enlist in the military, which is funded by the gov?
That you never got a tax break for starting a business or buying a home?
That your parents never used food assistance to feed you?
" / Twitter

Right-wingers enjoy whining "I didn't need anyone's help."

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "Question for the GOP: Does starting a business with a 60 million dollar loan from your dad count as “bootstrapping?”
Does getting a $2 trillion dollar corporate handout from the GOP count as “bootstrapping?”
Asking for a corrupt president & his friends." / Twitter

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "I worked my butt off to get elected against all odds, without any special connections or money. I worked double shifts and wore through my shoes, outspent 10:1 to get elected.
Even w/ all that hard work, it would be narcissistic to pretend I “bootstrapped” it alone & w/o others." / Twitter

AOC is very right about that. Very very very right. She didn't make it alone. She had the assistance of a LOT of other campaigners, and she credited them when she won. She even says in "Knock Down The House": "I don't want to let them down".

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "“Tick-Tock”
- @RepKatiePorter https://t.co/y1VWJUB4Of" / Twitter
noting
Public Citizen on Twitter: "This is incredible.
@RepKatiePorter held up Maine’s SNAP Benefits eligibility form and asked the conservative who ran the program to disclose the same intrusive and burdensome info required by the form.
#ProtectKids https://t.co/DZa2bD5Pah" / Twitter

 

[lpetrich]

Rep. Katie Porter on Twitter: "Here’s what the research shows: increasing the administrative burden on working Americans, such as excessive paperwork requirements, decreases the number of people who access the benefits they deserve—even if they’re eligible. https://t.co/0LWLSXNOBJ" / Twitter

It's evident to me that right-wingers love bureaucracy and paperwork when it's convenient for them.

Rep. Katie Porter on Twitter: "Wow, what an honor to be named Toughest Questioner in this 2019 roundup in the @washingtonpost!
But here’s the tea: my questions are only “tough” if witnesses come to Congress unprepared or unwilling to tell the truth to the American people. ️️️ https://t.co/kibi0lS9c7" / Twitter
What the freshman class of House Democrats accomplished in office - Washington Post - AOC won in social-media reach, and Katie Porter in committee-hearing questioning, though AOC has been good there also.


Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "Well, New York elected a bunch of “far-left radical socialists” and look at what happened. Brokers fees are now eliminated, saving working people thousands of dollars per move.
What’s next, affordable childcare? Cheaper medicine? Legal marijuana??
Truly scary developments. https://t.co/t3GWseRk0A" / Twitter
noting
Cliff Levy on Twitter: "This is a very big deal:
NY just effectively banned broker fees for renters. https://t.co/wHeNMJcwW8" / Twitter
noting
Surprise for New York Renters: No More Broker Fees - The New York Times - "Regulators unexpectedly banned broker fees for renters, which in the city have long amounted to as much as 15 percent of the annual lease."


Just for fun:
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "Welcome to the Bronx, where your local Congresswoman will get you in trouble with the MTA and make you a margarita after to make up for it https://t.co/ndYJYzWFte" / Twitter with Desus and Mero in the Bronx

 

[blastula]

Katie Porter should be getting more press than anybody in the squad.

 

[lpetrich]

Katie Porter should be getting more press than anybody in the squad.

Doing very good in hearings? I like her use of posters and other such props - AOC is rather lacking there. Some of them seem more cute than explanatory, however, like her oversized bingo cards.


Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "This could be us, if we want it to be. https://t.co/qknpLrSJVb" / Twitter
noting
The New York Times on Twitter: "Finland will now give all new parents the same amount of leave — 164 days, paid — regardless of gender. Single parents will also have the right to use the parental leave quotas of both parents. https://t.co/zAD7QguLps" / Twitter

with response
Ayanna Pressley on Twitter: "Why do you insist on being so radical in your thinking? https://t.co/cZyaw3CIX3" / Twitter
and
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "@AyannaPressley
Affordable childcare & paid family leave?
Ending mass incarceration and for-profit detention?
Paying people enough so they can actually envision a future?
Fighting for public education and people with disabilities?!
How dare we even think of it. The audacity." / Twitter

On why she called these policies radical,
Ayanna Pressley on Twitter: "@Ney_Christophe I was bring facetious. Apparently, deadpan doesn't read well on Twitter. The Rep. is often characterized (inaccurately & unfairly) as "radical"." / Twitter
So AP had the decency to concede that her attempt at humor did not come off well. I say "decency" because she didn't treat it as a "gotcha".

 

[lpetrich]

A blast from the past: How Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Caught Fire And Took Down The 'King Of Queens' | HuffPost

Just six weeks ago, when Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was still campaigning in relative national obscurity, the progressive challenger’s team was tempering its expectations.

If Ocasio-Cortez broke 30 percentage points, the campaign speculated, maybe it would dash New York Rep. Joe Crowley’s hopes of becoming House Speaker. If she broke 40 points, it might loosen Crowley’s grip on the Queens County Democratic Party ― and create space for a more fruitful run at the seat in two years’ time.

Never in their wildest dreams did they imagine a victory, let alone a 15-point romp.

That was before AOC released her "Courage to Change" ad. It portrayed herself as a populist with big-money opposition. But it got her a lot of campaign contributions, like that medieval abbot who became rich from his vow of poverty.

Though Joe Crowley was asleep at the wheel for most of AOC's campaign, he woke up a month or so before the election and started campaigning.

In a populist moment, when Democratic voters are at once highly mobilized and looking for fresh leadership, there was little that Crowley, the embodiment of the party establishment, could do to channel the zeitgeist.

He certainly tried. He touted his opposition to Donald Trump’s xenophobia in ads and subsequently collapsed from heat exhaustion during a White House protest of Trump’s immigration policy, which he denounced as “fascist.” He even cut a two-minute, first-person ad of his own that toured his district’s multicultural neighborhoods and dramatically concluded with a Colombian-American mother thanking Crowley in Spanish for standing with her when her son was killed in an anti-gay hate crime.

...
Crowley knew he had a race on his hands. He spent $1.5 million on TV ads, direct mail and a massive canvassing operation that dispatched 25 volunteers a night and reached 165,000 doors.

A poll that his campaign commissioned showed him 36 points ahead, though it was of likely voters.

Ocasio-Cortez’s team was playing a different game entirely, focusing its efforts heavily on 76,000 infrequent primary voters and millennials with or without a primary voting record. Each of those voters was contacted by her campaign at least three times ― once by phone, once over email and once in person.

And unlike Crowley, whose volunteers were often drawn from the ranks of the Queens machine, Ocasio-Cortez’s were fellow progressive ideologues and first-time activists inspired by her candidacy.

Like the Democratic Socialists of America.

Almost every person I talked to while canvassing for Alex had an excitement and enthusiasm for her that I did not see in the people supporting Joe Crowley,” Haby said.

Her youth, public-speaking skill, and rejection of real-estate money all helped. Then she started getting media attention. Ro Khanna endorsed her as well as JC, some celebrities endorsed her, and MoveOn also campaigned for her.

National horror at the Trump administration’s family separation policy served as yet another gust of wind at Ocasio-Cortez’s back. While Crowley vehemently opposed Trump’s policy, Ocasio-Cortez advocated abolishing the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.

She visited one of the camps a few days before the election.

This seeking new voters was an important part of her victory - AOC claims a 68% increase in turnout.

 The Literary Digest describes its effort at predicting the outcome of the 1936 Presidential election. While it did a massive polling effort, consulting numerous car registration lists and the like, it failed. It predicted Republican Alf Landon winning, while it was Franklin Delano Roosevelt who won, becoming re-elected. It failed because it looked at more affluent people, and those people tended to favor AL over FDR. So the massive effort failed because of the polling methods having built-in biases that were not corrected for.

AOC's win was like that also. I think that it's a lesson for the Democratic Party more generally. It should seek out new voters, rather than likely ones who are fence sitters.

 

[lpetrich]

James Woods returns to Twitter, immediately goes on tirade against AOC, others | Fox News

Ocasio-Cortez spoke about the common expression "to pull yourself up by your bootstraps," which is used to describe achieving success without any outside help.

“You know this idea this metaphor of a bootstrap started off as a joke," she said. “Because, it’s a physical impossibility to lift yourself up by a bootstrap, by your shoelaces, it’s physically impossible. The whole thing is a joke."

Tom Elliott on Twitter: ".@AOC on America’s rags-to-riches ideal: “It’s a physical impossibility to lift yourself up by a bootstrap, by your shoelaces? It’s physically impossible. The whole thing is a joke.” https://t.co/9WNf8UE06T" / Twitter
noting
Cody Johnston on Twitter: "Lots of folks triumphantly sharing this to say that it's just a phrase and AOC, the moron bartender, shouldn't take it literally. The phrase "pull yourself up by your bootstraps" was originally coined to point out the absurdity of the mindset behind it. Anyway, bad website. Bye. https://t.co/ATtNEsaj9P" / Twitter

Araxiel on Twitter: "@drmistercody In German we have the same saying "sich am eigenen Schopf aus dem Sumpf ziehen" pull yourself out of the swamp by your own hair; but it's a joke, highlighting the absurdity.
It originates from the Monty-Python-esque stories of Baron Münchhausen [url]https://t.co/UyJrGZ6J0i https://t.co/C1nBH6yYNn" / Twitter[/url]

Peter Wood on Twitter: "@drmistercody I know it's obvious at this point, but the vast majority of the "AOC is a moron!" commentary is made by people who are, at some level, aware she is much brighter than they are." / Twitter

I find it interesting that right-wingers like to believe that about her. Even that she's an actress, that she is speaking others' lines.

But she is a young woman who lets herself look like a young woman and who even sometimes acts like many young women.