$27 Quotes: "Nobody's Free Until Everybody's Free."

Welcome once again to a $27-group / Political Revolution open thread —  a weekly place where you can sit back, relax, and enjoy some inspiring quotes, good music, and (most importantly) a picture or two of Noble Fur.

Once again I didn’t have time to do any cryptoquotes. But I do have lots of quotes to share, and some music — and, if you’re very good and don’t scold me too much for how late I am in getting this posted tonight, you may even find another picture of Noble Fur farther down the page...

Several of the quotes tonight are about Texas, so I thought I’d open with a Texas song.

But which one to choose? I didn’t feel like using the Texas state song… or Deep In The Heart of Texas… or one of the songs about the Alamo…

So I did a quick search on YouTube and found this one that I thought sounded nice to start with. But it’s not about Texas, as I’d planned — instead it’s by Texas. (I had no idea Texas looked like this or sounded like this. Wonder what else our schools and the media have been hiding from us?)

x YouTube Video

And here’s a recent Texas-sized quote to go with that Texas song.

Last night, we won the Texas Democratic primary in our campaign to take on Ted Cruz and represent Texas in the United States Senate.

I am grateful for the opportunity to run this race with you over the last year, and I'm looking forward to the work ahead.

Over the next eight months, I will continue to visit with Texans wherever they are, in every part of the state, in each of Texas' 254 counties -- without regard to party, geography, or anything else that might otherwise divide us. We're going to do this the right way -- taking our direction from Texans from every walk of life, to do the important, ambitious work that the country is waiting for. Our campaign is powered by people like you. We're going to strive to ensure that any of us looking for work will be able to get the training and education that is critical to a good-paying job; to support every kid's ability to get a great public school education; to lead on immigration and the environment; to support our service members and fulfill our commitments to our veterans. And we're going to make sure that everyone can see a doctor, a therapist, and afford the medication that will allow them to lead a better life.

When we kicked off our campaign nearly one year ago, the political insiders told us we didn't stand a chance. But together, we've shown them what's possible when you reject politics as usual and put your trust completely with people. The latest polls show us within striking distance of the junior Senator from Texas, and we've already out-raised Cruz multiple times with grassroots donations alone, without taking a dollar from PACs.

We've learned that Texans turn out in record numbers when we campaign in a way that focuses on the problems and opportunities of real people - not corporations or special interests.

Thank you for being a partner in our big-hearted, people-powered race for Texas. We couldn't do it without you.

Sincerely,

Beto O'Rourke

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Speaking of Texas, here are a few Texas-quotes from someone who was speaking there recently:

If we can transform politics in Texas, we can do it in every state in America.

~ Bernie Sanders

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I've never believed in this blue-state, red-state nonsense. Yes, Lubbock voted overwhelmingly for Trump. But any county in this country, which has people who are struggling, can and must become a progressive county.

~ Bernie Sanders

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If Texans are prepared to work hard, stand up, fight back, talk to people who voted for Trump, make sure that every friend you have comes out and votes — yeah, I believe that Texas can go blue.

~ Bernie Sanders

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And here’s another quote related to Texas, this one from NBC news:

Ahead of a trip to Texas, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., is warning the campaign arm of House Democrats to stay out of party primaries after they intervened in a high-profile congressional race in the state this week.

"That to me is simply unacceptable and I hope that does not happen again," Sanders, who dealt with similar allegations of party bigfooting during his 2016 presidential primary against Hillary Clinton, told NBC News in an interview...

"I am not a proponent of negative campaigning in general," Sanders said Thursday. "I am certainly strongly opposed to the idea that the DCCC would actually do opposition research and negative campaigning against a very strong and qualified Democratic candidate."

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Speaking of strong and qualified Democratic candidates, here’s a beautiful short quote from one who’s running to be the attorney general in Michigan:

We work to change the lives of those who need it most.

~ Dana Nessel

And here are some somewhat longer but also beautiful quotes from another strong and qualified Democratic candidate — this one who’s running to be a member of congress in Illinois:

Working Families

For too long, working families are working harder and not getting ahead. Recent studies show that the top 1% of families in Illinois earned 25 times that of the bottom 99%. This is outrageous — we need a representative who will deliver for the hard working people of the 3rd district. In Congress, I’ll push to cut taxes for working families, not the 1% of earners. Further, we need to allow community banks to begin lending again to help working families prosper. When working families are treated fairly, they contribute back into the economy, which helps everyone.

I’ll advocate for livable wages and paid family leave and I’ll focus on reducing the cost of childcare. Families shouldn’t have to choose between working and paying for childcare. We must raise the salaries of childcare workers, who are currently paid less than parking lot attendants in this country.

In order to pave the way to better employment opportunities, I’ll promote the trades and vocational learning at earlier ages for our young people. Moreover, I’ll push to expand stronger job programs for our youth.

~ Marie Newman

You can read more about Marie Newman on her campaign website. Things like this:

Healthcare for All

Marie supports moving to Healthcare for All. Healthcare is a right for all Americans — not just the rich, and not a privilege.

And this:

Thinking Big with Small Business

Marie believes in putting the needs of small businesses ahead of big corporations. Growing small businesses leads to higher wages for workers and a more robust economy.

and especially this:

Protecting Rights

Marie Newman believes in true American ideals: accepting refugees and creating a welcoming environment for all. Discrimination based on race, religion, gender or sexuality must be fought tirelessly.

More quotes coming, but perhaps a short music break first…

x YouTube Video

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International Women's Day is a time to celebrate the women's movement and continue to agitate for the advancement of women. Women's History Month is a chance to recognize how far we've come and how we've come together to continue the work toward full social, economic, and racial equality.

In 2018 women should be earning the same amount as men. Unfortunately, we're still making 83 cents for every $1 a man makes. For Black, Latina, Asian, Indigenous, and LGBTQ women, it's even less.

It's time to rise up and demand with one voice—we want our whole damn dollar!

The women who came before us fought for the right to vote, go to school, earn a living, and gain recognition from society that we are entitled to the same rights as any man. In continuing this fight, we carry on the tradition of revolutionaries and radicals like Sojourner Truth, Rigoberta Menchú, and Mother Jones—women who organized not just for themselves, but for the betterment of all people.

In the words of the late great civil rights leader and labor leader Fannie Lou Hamer, “Nobody's free until everybody's free.”

~ Nina Turner

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One of the issues in recent days has been the plan by some in the house and senate to roll back banking regulations. Here are some things which a person with Texas-sized courage and persistence and had to say about that:

In the late 1990s, Senator Paul Wellstone tried to warn Congress against rolling back major federal regulations on banks. His colleagues didn't listen. They repealed Glass-Steagall and set the stage for the 2008 financial crisis.

History is repeating itself with the Bank Lobbyist Act, as Republicans and Democrats prepare to vote to roll back regulations on big banks. Don't you think we should have learned our lesson by now?

~ Elizabeth Warren

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The people of Massachusetts didn’t send me to the Senate to fight for big banks. They sent me here to fight for them. And so long as I am privileged to hold this job, that’s exactly what I’m going to do.

~ Elizabeth Warren

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Calling out members of my own party who are supporting the Bank Lobbyist Act doesn’t make me the most popular kid on the team. But that's not why I ran for the Senate.

~ Elizabeth Warren

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“Aren’t you forgetting something?”

Oh, yes. Thank you for reminding me. Here’s one more quote I selected to quote tonight:

Our message to Donald Trump, perhaps our most important message, is that we will not let bigots divide us up. Regardless of race, religion, gender or sexual orientation, we are going to stand together.

~ Bernie Sanders

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“No, not that, you silly person. The important thing!”

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Oh, Yes! I should have put this up at the top of tonight’s diary. A few hours ago, igualdad posted another excellent entry in the These Revolutionary Times series.  If you haven’t already read it, go there right now. 

All right, I’m about to hit the publish key, only 2 hours later than I’d hoped to do so. Hopefully not too many typos or errors...