Ocasio-Cortez Points Way to Progressive Victory in Midwest, as Clintonites Balk

Fox News has joined the Hillary Clinton faction of the
Democratic Party in warning about Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez'
policy positions, (shown above). Isn't there a place where
Clinton and other deadenders can go to fuck off and die?

Corpratist Dems Trying to Throw Cold Water on Ocasio-Cortez

Madison, Wisconsin — U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Illinois) is a Clintonite acting in the tradition of other corporatist Dems who gave us the lunatic in the White House.

Thank you again for that, Hillary Clinton supporters.

Ever-desperate to halt progressive politics, in the week following Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez' wipe-out of a corrupt Democratic House incumbent, Duckworth offers a less-than-rigorous analysis concluding the entire Midwest will reject people-based politics because Ocasio-Cortez is "too far to the left," (The Hill).

Another Clintonite, Nancy Pelosi, preceded Duckworth's perils of political wisdom

Writes Emily Birnbaum:

Duckworth’s comments echoed those of Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who said people should not get 'carried away' over Ocasio-Cortez’s nomination.

What are Ocasio-Cortez' objectionable policy positions, all of which are available on Ocasio-Cortez' website, about which Pelosi and Duckworth warn us? Pelosi and Duckworth don't say.

But Ocasio-Cortez offers 15 detailed issue positions, so witness the horror and gasp: Medicare For All, Housing As a Human Right, A Peace Economy,  A Federal Jobs Guarantee, Gun Control / Assault Weapons Ban, Criminal Justice Reform, End Private Prisons, Immigration Justice / Abolish ICE, Solidarity with Puerto Rico, Mobilizing Against Climate Change, Clean Campaign Finance, Higher Education for All, Women's Rights, Support LGBTQIA+Support Seniors, Curb Wall Street Gambling: Restore Glass Steagall.

Duckworth did not specifically mention Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania which Pelosi and Duckworth's candidate, Hillary Clinton, lost in 2016 in the epic failure that gave the White House to Donald Trump; worth mentioning again because corporatists are not so big on recent history.

I think corporatist Democrats like losing. It's the only explanation for their action trying to take down a rare shining of light on the political horizon.
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If I were a Republican strategist running against Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisconsin), I would saturate the airwaves with ads pointing out Baldwin is a longtime Clinton supporter along with each and every member of Wisconsin Democratic congressional delegation, (538.com).

Speaking of Wisconsin, Randy Bryce, the progressive who looks to replace outgoing House Speaker Paul Ryan (R), offers a realtime test of the Duckworth-Pelosi hypothesis.

Asked about Ocasio-Cortez on UpFront with Mike Gousha, Bryce was unequivocal in his praise of Ocasio-Cortez. Reports The Capital Times:

That was a successful example of an 'everyday, working people' running for political office, said Randy Bryce. ... It’s an example he hopes to repeat.

'That’s what everyday candidates are trying to do, we’re trying to get that enthusiasm, get people to the polls,' he said. 'We’re one of them, we understand the struggles of everyday people.'

Bryce is going to win the Democratic Party nomination and the general election in November.

Ocasio-Cortez was quick to knock down the Clintonite nonsense as well:

With respect to the Senator, strong, clear advocacy for working class Americans isn’t just for the Bronx.

Sen. Sanders won:
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Kansas
- Nebraska
- Wisconsin
- Indiana

We then lost several of those states in the general. What’s the plan to prevent a repeat? https://t.co/99K08qr7SH

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@Ocasio2018) July 1, 2018

Back to present-day Wisconsin.

In the Democratic Party Primary race for governor, the same mopes who have demonstrated feckless disregard are now trying to torpedo the most fervent reformer of police-state Wisconsin.

I'll say it again: I think some Democrats like losing.

Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez likes winning.

I won a nearly impossible race with:

- Not taking💰from corporate lobbyists
- Spending time with people that “experts” say don’t vote
- Sticking to a bold, ambitious working-class agenda
- A majority-volunteer team

Sometimes, the right thing to do *is* the winning thing to do. pic.twitter.com/1fq9nbMJAS

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@Ocasio2018) July 2, 2018

PTSD Claims: Making the Process Easier for Our Veterans

The White House Blog -

PTSD Claims: Making the Process Easier for Our Veterans

By Tammy Duckworth

We often hear the cliché, “the fog of war”—a simplified expression used to describe the chaos and confusion so often found in a combat zone. It’s something all combat Veterans understand. Whether you’re running toward a hardened shelter during a mortar attack or gripping the wheel as your truck races through an area known for ambushes, combat is not a place where troops often stop to document the details. Those details may be forever burned into our minds, but we often don’t come away with hard copy proof of what occurred.

Unfortunately, for years now, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has required Veterans filing disability claims for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) to do just that—to document in detail what caused them to become symptomatic. We call it a “stressor.” Our rules have been even more stringent for Veterans who didn’t serve in a combat branch of the military—like the infantry, artillery, or armor. Essentially, if a former military intelligence soldier is continually late for work because he can’t sleep at night, we ask him to provide photos or a written radio log proving he was rocketed when he says he was. If he can’t, we might deny the claim. If a former medic shows signs of depression and blames it on having watched people bleed to death, we ask her to get a written statement from her former boss. Again, if she can’t, we may not award her benefits. But starting today, we’re making this process simpler and easier for all Veterans.

The previous arrangement is neither fair, nor sustainable. This is especially true in the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan where there are no static front lines and the combat zone is everywhere. In reality, life in a combat zone is both complex and it affects each of us differently—as demonstrated by a number of scientific studies. Some who’ve been in the most terrible fighting can emerge relatively unscathed. Other non-combat troops, whose wartime experience came only in the form of a blaring air raid siren, can live for decades haunted by the sound and the threat it represented. The base where I was stationed was mortared—almost on a daily basis—enough that it gained the nickname “Mortaritaville.” My physical wounds make my combat experience clear, yet other troops on my base must prove they were at an actual explosion from one of those daily attacks. At VA, we’re now moving to treat all Veterans equally when it comes to filing a disability claim for PTSD.

From this point forward, VA will not require corroboration of a PTSD stressor related to fear of hostile military or terrorist activity if a VA psychiatrist or psychologist confirms that the stressful experience recalled by a Veteran adequately supports a diagnosis of PTSD and the Veteran's symptoms are related to the claimed stressor. This means that if a Veteran was in a certain place at a certain time—and they present to us with diagnosable symptoms, then we’ll presume those symptoms were caused by their experience in combat.

By doing so, for the first time, we won’t be assuming that a truck driver is any less likely to have PTSD than an infantryman. And by giving this benefit of the doubt, we will relieve pressure on thousands of Veterans—making their trek for the benefits they deserve much easier. Instead of acting as an inadvertent obstacle, we will now aim to lift some of the heavy fog under which so many of our Veterans have lived—both in combat and after returning home. It’s something I’m proud to be a part of because I, like so many millions of Americans, believe this is the least we can do to show our gratitude for the sacrifices they have made.

Tammy Duckworth is the Assistant Secretary for Public and Intergovernmental Affairs at the Department of Veterans Affairs.