Letter to the Editor

The common good

Letter to the Editor

My family has been in East Boston for three generations. We had a typesetting company that owned half of the Times Free Press for just a short time.

As a teen I learned first hand that newspapers are not always neutral but are subject to economic and political forces. Main street newspapers can be a great asset to democracy, unlike corporate media that has the viewer vote against their own interests. “Get Your facts first, and then you can distort ’em as much as you please” Mark Twain.

Corporations are profit-driven, with no concern for environmental issues or for the common good.

Remember doctor-recommended cigarettes, the science about cancer was in, but junk or tobacco science countered the truth.

Bernie Sanders’ agenda for America, 12 Steps Forward, is an honest agenda based on facts. Pope Francis, Dalai Lama, Greenpeace, The Union of Concerned Scientists are only a but a few people who want us to deal with climate change, people driven by reason not profit.

We have to rebuild America,  I’m on a flood watch group for this community, and if we are to avoid costal flooding, we must build flood barriers soon.

Reversing climate change is our only option, New York and New Orleans have been forgotten. To date no flood fortification or dealing with the cause of flooding has been taken by Reagan, Clinton, Bush and Obama. Their elections were funded by big money. Another  Clinton, who had better tell us if she was funded by big oil, because too much CO2 endangers life on earth.

Bernie is funded by the people, for the people and no junk science.

The Pope also wants to reduce the wealth gap. This should not be a surprise, considering that 62 billionaires own as much wealth as half the world’s population.

President Jimmy Carter said roughly a year ago that our nation is an oligarchy. Measures like $15 an hour minimum wage, expanding social security, and making health care a right and real tax reform that will close the wealth gap.

FDR called the wealth gap “government by organized money is just as dangerous as government by organized crime” . The wealthy disliked FDR for the same reason Trump called Bernie a maniac. According to Trump, Bernie wants to give it all away — “it” being our money given back to us. He always opposed the TPP some people call it a corporate cue others call it Obama Trade while many were never told about it by corporate media.

FDR stated that “Democracy can only thrive only when it enlists the devotion of those whom Lincoln called the common people”. Bernie Sanders, Martin O’Malley and Jill Stein all swore an oath not to accept money from coal and oil, the two interests are prime agents of climate change.

I saw two years of Brunch With Bernie, on Free Speech TV. He likes talking to us the people: minorities, veterans, victims of job loss, environmentalists, scientists and no banksters. He didn’t get $2.9 million for 12 speeches  to the big banks. A common question he was asked was to run for office, I hoped he or Elizabeth Warren would run, it’s not about gender or race, but dealing with issues that benefit the voter.

He was never paid off by Trump, he owns a house in Vermont, he’s not part of the millionaires club that now runs against him. Only a real democracy will reverse climate change, not friends of oil, big banks, wall street, Monsanto, big pharma or billionaires. Mass extinction is profitable, so is economic inequality, mass incarceration and war by those who invest in elections and media for personal gain.

Bernie has given the democratic party a soul. Send Mr, Smith to Washington. I wont worry about flooding if Bernie gets in, I may move inland if he doesn’t get in.

Frank Tarbi

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