Tuesday, 1 April 2025
Celebs
This was sent to me by someone about two years back. Thought it is worth sharing.
đ *It is wonderfully written.*
I never understood one thing that what do these film actors or actresses do that they get 50 crores or 100 crores for each film?
In a country where top scientists, doctors, lawyers,engineers, professors, officers etc. get 10 lakh to 20 lakh rupees per year, in that country a film actor earns 10 crore to 100 crore rupees per year.
*What does he do after all? What is their contribution in the development of the country?*
After all, what does he do that he earns so much in just one year that it might take 100 years for the top scientist of the country!
_Today, the three areas which have fascinated the new generation of the country are cinema, cricket and politics._
The earning and prestige of the people belonging to these three fields is beyond all limits.
These three areas are the ideals of modern youth, while their credibility is currently under question.
So it is useless for the country and the society.
_Drugs and prostitution in Bollywood, match fixing in cricket, hooliganism and corruption in politics. Money is the main reason behind all this and it is we who bring this money to them._
We are doing our own harm by burning our own money. This is the height of stupidity.
Till 70-80 years back, famous actors used to get normal salary.
Till 30-40 years ago, the earnings of cricketers were also not special.
Till 30-40 years ago, there was not so much loot in politics.
*Slowly they started robbing us and we kept robbing ourselves happily.*
By getting caught in the clutches of these mafia, we are destroying the future of our children and our country.
_Till 50 years back, movies were not made so vulgar and sloppy. Cricketers and politicians were not so arrogant. Today he has become our God (?). Now there is a need to lift them from the head and slam them so that they can know their status._
Once , when the then Vietnamese President Ho-Chi-Minh came to India, in a meeting with Indian ministers, he asked -
_"What do you guys do?"_
These people said - "We do politics."
He could not understand this answer, so he asked again -
"I mean, what is your profession?"
These people said - _"Politics is our profession."_
Ho-Chi Minh got a little annoyed and said - *"Maybe you people do not understand my meaning. I do politics too, but by profession , I am a farmer and I do farming. Farming makes my livelihood. In the morning and evening I go to my fields. I work. I do my responsibility for the country as President during the day."*
_When Ho-Chi-Minh asked the same thing again, a member of the delegation shrugged and said - "Politics is our profession."_
It is clear that Indian leaders had no answer to this. Later a survey revealed that the livelihood of more than 6 lakh people in India was supported by politics. Today this number has reached in crores.
_Just a few months ago, when Europe was being devastated by Corona, the doctors were not getting even a little leave for several months in a row, then a Portuguese doctor said angrily - "Go to Ronaldo, to whom you would give millions of dollars to watch. I only get a few thousand dollars."_
I firmly believe that in a country where the ideals of young students are not scientists, researchers, educationists, but actors, politicians and sportsmen, they may have their own economic progress, but the country will never progress.
Socially, intellectually, culturally, strategically, the country will always remain backward. The unity and integrity of such a country will always be in danger.
The country in which the dominance of unnecessary and irrelevant sector continues to grow, that country will be weakening day by day.
_The number of corrupt and anti-nationals will continue to increase in the country. Honest people will be marginalized and nationalists will be forced to lead a difficult life._
*We need to create an environment to groom and promote talented, honest, conscientious, social worker, belligerent, patriot citizens..*
Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Show respect to people even when they don't deserve it. Respect is a reflection of your character, not theirs.
Don't be disappointed if people refuse to help you. Remember the words of Einstein - I am thankful to all those who said no. Because of them, I did it myself.
You don't have to tell everyone everything. Not because it is a secret, but because it is none of their business.
There is a difference between somebody who wants you and somebody who would do anything to keep you.
If you don't leave your past in the past, it will destroy your future. Live for what today has to offer, not what yesterday has taken away.
The golden rule of all relationships is to correct each other in private and defend each other in public.
Lucknow
The grand finale Ramzan Food walk on Saturday night in old Lucknow.After couple of Ramzan outings, we,a group of friends decided to explore the streets,food,lights,people,shops and festivities as Ramzan is coming to finale and Eid about to come.As Navratri is starting so we decided to go on Saturday night.
We started the walk with newly constructed Hussainabad Food Court near Clock Tower.The Food court had newly placed shops like Wahid Biryani,Kabeers but the highlight was legendary Haleem from Hyderabad famed Pista House.The mutton Haleem was lip smacking with chunks of meat,hearty mixture of spices, pulsed and also had few small bones in it.A bit spicy as compared to the Haleems available by other online restaurants here,yet I can safely say the Haleem was excellent and was available only for Ramzan.The Hussainabad street was lighted with Food shops,some temporary stalls,loads of people,vehicles and all making the festivities look grand. There was a festival mela also going on next to Ghanta Ghar with giant wheel and other rides.
Our next destination was Paatnala at the famous Lucknow Idrees Biryani where we had the Pulav and mutton qorma, they were also baking fresh kulchas and the crowd there ensured that there was no sitting place available so we finished the yum dish standing.
The entire street till Nakhaas was full of people,restricted traffic and several temporary shops selling clothes,footwear and other stuff. Even the regular shops were open in late night and customers were doing last minute purchasing for Eid.
The lovely weather added to the walk mood and we headed to Mandu Shikanji towards Raja Bazaar from Paatnala lanes.This famous shop in tiny lane served excellent Pudina Shikanji ,though there were several flavours available and hordes of youth quenching thirst post midnight.
As we headed more towards Nakhaas,the newly grand Mubeen with all Tikkas,Tandoori items looked great but we were full till that time.
The walk continued in Akbari Gate where more crowd was there shopping and eating at legendary Raheems,old Mubeens and also some temporary shops selling Biryani and other.
We took the inside lane from there which heads towards Gol Darwaza and entire shopping area had shops of caps,kurtis and others with people enjoying Ramzan mood.
As we reached Gol Darwaza we saw the preparations starting for Chaitra Navratri with the decor.There were stalls of Kulfi open till late and we had the Makhan Malai milk to end this beautiful journey.
The overall walk till late night was a complete one not only Food wise, but also capturing the entire essence of festivities and our city and will be long remembered!!!
THE PURE IN HEART
THE PURE IN HEART
Around the Year with Emmet Fox
March 31
Blessed are the pure in heart:
for they shall see Godâ
Matthew 5:8
This is one of those wonderful gnomic sayings
in which the Bible is so rich.
It is a summing up in a few words
of a whole philosophy of religion.
Let us begin by considering
what the promise in this Beatitude is.
It is nothing less than to see God.
To "see" in the sense referred to here,
signifies spiritual perception,
and spiritual perception
is just that capacity to apprehend
the true nature of Being that we all so sadly lack.
We live in God's world,
but we do not in the least know it as it is.
Heaven lies all about usâ
but because we are lacking in spiritual perception,
we are unable to recognize it, to experience it,
and, therefore, so far as we are concerned,
we may be said to be shut out of Heaven.
We are very much in the position of a color-blind man
in a beautiful flower garden.
All around him are glorious colors;
but he sees only blacks, whites, and grays.
If we suppose him to be also devoid of the sense of smell,
we shall see what a very small part
of the glory of the garden exists for him.
Yet it is all there, if he could but sense it.
Our task is to surmount these limitations
as rapidly as may be,
until we reach the point
where we can know things as they really areâ
experience Heaven as it really is.
That is what is meant by "seeing God."
To see God is to apprehend Truth as it really is,
and this is infinite freedom and perfect bliss.
83 Noble prize winners are from Stanford University till now
A lady in a faded grey dress and her husband dressed in a home made suit walked in timidly without an appointment into the Harvard University President's outer office.
The secretary could tell in a moment that such backwoods individuals had no business at Harvard and probably did not even deserve to be in Harvard.
"We want to see the President" the man said softly. "He will be busy all day" the lady secretary snapped. "We will wait" the lady replied.
For hours the secretary ignored them hoping that the couple would finally become discouraged and go away. They did not and the secretary grew frustrated and finally decided to disturb the president.
"Maybe if you see them for a few minutes, they will leave" she said to him. The president. stern faced and with dignity strutted towards the couple.
The lady told him "We had a son who attended Harvard for one year. He loved Harvard. He was happy here. But about a year ago he was accidentally killed. My husband & I would like to erect a memorial for him, somewhere on the campus".
The president was not touched, in fact he was shocked. "Madam" he said gruffly "We cannot put up a statue for every person who attended Harvard and died. If we did, this place would look like a cemetery".
"Oh No..No.." the lady explained quickly. "We do not want to erect a statue. We thought we would like to give a building to your Harvard in his fond memory".
The president rolled his eyes. He glanced at the lady's dress and man's suit and then exclaimed: "A Building?"
Do you have any earthly idea how much a building costs? We have over seven and a half million dollars in the physical buildings here at Harvard. For a moment the lady was silent. The president was pleased. Maybe he could get rid of them now.
The lady turned to her husband and said quietly "Is that all it costs to start a University? Why don't we just start our own?" Her husband nodded. The president's face wilted in confusion and bewilderment.
Mr. & Mrs. Leland & Jane Stanford got up and walked away, travelling to Paolo Alto, California where they established the University that bears their name: Stanford University - a memorial to a son that Harvard no longer cared about.
Most of the time we judge people by their outer appearance which can be misleading. And in the impression, we tend to treat people badly by thinking they can do nothing for us. Thus we tend to lose out potential good friends, employees or customers.
Though, it may not be convenient for you, but still do your best to always be supportive. Especially to those even if you think they can't offer you anything.
Arrogance is a killer .... a soft word turns away wrath! Humility is a virtue, so, please continue with it.
*By the way,
83 Noble prize winners are from Stanford University till now !!!*
Stave of Depressing Thoughts and Emotions
https://www.dailypioneer.com/2025/columnists/staving-off-depressing-thoughts-and-emotions.html
Thursday, 27 March 2025
Speech by Bernie Sanders âŠ
Speech by Bernie Sanders âŠ
A few hours ago on the floor of the Senate, Bernie Sanders torched billionaires, scorched Trump, and burned every shred of political cowardice in his path.
Here is his fiery speech, word for word:
Mr. President,
In the last couple of weeks, I've had the opportunity to travel in many parts of our country. And I have been able to talk to folks in Nebraska, in Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan, Nevada, Colorado, and Arizona. And what I am hearing from in all of these states and in fact all over the country is that our nation right now faces enormous crises, unprecedented crises in the modern history of our country.
And how right now at this moment we respond to these crises will not only impact our lives, it will impact the lives of our kids and future generations. And in terms of climate change, the well-being of the entire planet.
And Mr. President, what I have to tell you is that the American people are angry at what is happening here in Washington, DC and they are prepared to stand up and fight back. In my view and what I have heard from many, many people is that they will not accept an oligarchic form of society where a handful of billionaires control our government, where the wealthiest person on Earth, Mr. Musk, is running all over Washington, DC slashing the Social Security Administration so that our elderly people today are finding it extremely difficult to access the benefits that they paid into.
Where Mr. Musk and his friends are slashing the Veterans Administration so that people who put their lives on the line to defend us will not be able to get the health care that they are entitled to or get the benefits that they are owed in a timely manner. Slashing the Department of Education. Slashing USAID.
And why is all of this slashing taking place? It is taking place so that the wealthiest people in this country can receive over $1 trillion dollars in tax breaks.
Now, I don't care if you are a Democrat, a Republican, or an Independent. There are very few people in this country who think that you slash programs that working families desperately need in order to give tax breaks to billionaires.
Mr. President, I am the former chair of the U.S. Senate Committee on Veteransâ Affairs, and I have had the honor of meeting with veterans in my own state of Vermontâall over Vermontâbut all over the country. These are the men and women who put the uniform of this country on and have been prepared to die to defend our nation and American democracy.
And these veterans and Americans all over our nation will not accept an authoritarian form of society with a president who undermines our Constitution every day. Every day there's something else out there where he's undermining our Constitution and threatening the very foundations of American democracy. That is not what people fought and died to allow to happen.
Mr. President, I am not a historian, but I do know that the founding fathers of this country were no dummies. They were really smart guys. And in the 1780s, they wrote a Constitution and established a form of government with a separation of powers.
A separation of powersâwith an executive branch, the president; a legislative branch, the Congress; and a judicial branch.
These revolutionaries in the 1780s had just fought a war against the imperial rule of the King of England who was an absolute dictator, the most powerful person on Earth. And these revolutionaries here in America forming a new government wanted to make absolutely sure that no one person in this brand new country that they were forming would have unlimited powers.
And that is why we have a separation of powers. That is why we have a judiciary, a Congress, and an executive branch. In other words, way back in the 1780s, they wrote a Constitution to prevent exactly what Donald Trump is trying to do today.
So, let us be clear about what is going on. Donald Trump is attacking our First Amendment and is trying to intimidate the media and those who speak out against him in an absolutely unprecedented way.
Mr. President, he has sued ABC, CBS, Meta, the Des Moines Register. His FCC is now threatening to investigate NPR and PBS. He has called CNN and MSNBC âillegal.â
In other words, the leaderâor the so-called leaderâof the free world is afraid of freedom. He doesn't like criticism. Well, guess what? None of us like criticism. But you don't get elected to the Senate, you don't get elected to the House, you don't become a governor, you don't become a president of the United States unless you are prepared to deal with that criticism.
And the response to that criticism in a democracy is not to sue the media, is not to intimidate the media. It's to respond in the way you think best.
But Mr. President, it is not just the media that Trump is going after. He is going after the constitutional responsibilities that this body, the United States Congress, has. And I will say it amazes me, it really does, how easily my Republican colleagues here in the Senate and in the House are willing to surrender their constitutional responsibilities. Give it over to the president.
Trump has illegally and unconstitutionally withheld funds that Congress has appropriated. You can't do that. Congress has the power of the purse. We make a decision. We argue about it here. Big debates, vote-aras, the whole thing. Make that decision. That money goes out. The president does not have the right to withhold funds that Congress has appropriated.
Trump has illegally and unconstitutionally decimated agencies that can only be changed or reformed by Congress. You don't like the Department of Education, you don't like USAID, fine. Come to the Congress. Tell us what reforms you want to see. You do not have the right to unilaterally do away with these agencies.
Trump has fired members of independent agencies and inspectors general that he does not have the authority to do.
But Mr. President, it is not just the media that he is trying to intimidate. It is not just the powers of Congress that he wants.
Now, in an absolutely outrageous, unconstitutional and extraordinarily dangerous way, he is going after the judiciary. His view is that if you don't like a decision that a judge renders, you get rid of that judge. You try to impeach that judge. You intimidate judges so that you get the decisions that you want.
You know, I'm thinking back now as someone who is not a supporter of the Roberts court, and I'm thinking about one of the worst Supreme Court decisions that has ever been renderedâthat is Citizens United. I'll say more about that in a moment. And I'm thinking about the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, taking away American women's right to control their own bodies.
In my view, these were outrageous decisions, unpopular decisions. But it never occurred to me, because maybe I'm old-fashioned and conservative, and I believe that you live by the rule of law, to say, âHey, look at the decision Roberts made. We're going to impeach him.â
No, we try to elect a new president who's going to appoint new Supreme Court justices. That is the system that people have fought and died to defend.
But it's not just the movement toward oligarchy, which is outraging millions of AmericansâDemocrats and Republicans, by the wayâand it's not just the movement toward authoritarianism that we are seeing. The American people, especially with Mr. Musk and 13 billionaires in the Trump administration running agency after agency...
The American people are saying as loudly as they can that they will not accept a society of massive economic and wealth inequalities, where the very richest people in our country are becoming much richer while working families are struggling to put food on the table.
Having gone all over this country, I can tell you that the American people are sick and tired of these inequalities and they want an economy that works for all of usânot just the 1%.
You know, Mr. President, we deal with a whole lot of stuff here in the Congress, and you know, virtually all of it is important in one way or another.
But let's do something, you know, fairly radical today. Let's try to tell the truthâthe real truthâabout what is going on in our society today. Something that we don't talk about too much here in the Senate. We don't talk about it too much in the House. We don't talk about it too much in the corporate media.
But the reality is that today we have two Americas. Two very, very different Americas.
And in one of those Americas, the wealthiest people have never ever had it so good. In the whole history of our country, the people on top have never ever had it so good as they have it today.
Today, we have more income and wealth inequality than there has ever been in the history of America. Now, I know we don't discuss it. You don't see it much on TV. You don't hear it talked about here at all. But the American people do not believe that it is appropriate that three peopleâone, two, threeâMr. Musk, Mr. Bezos, and Mr. Zuckerberg, three Americans, own more wealth than the bottom half of American society. 170 million people. Really? Three people own more wealth than 170 million people? Anybody here think that is vaguely appropriate?
And by the way, those very same three peopleâthe three richest people in Americaâwere right there at Trumpâs inaugural, standing right behind the president. So, you want to know what oligarchy is? I know there's some confusion out there. What is oligarchy? Well, it starts off when you have the three wealthiest people in the country standing right behind the president when he gets inaugurated.
The top 1% in our country now own more wealth than the bottom 90%.
CEOs make 300 times more than their average worker.
And unbelievablyâreal inflation-accounted-for wages todayâthe average American worker, if you can believe it, despite a massive increase in worker productivity, is lower today than it was 52 years ago. And during that period, there was a $75 trillion transfer of wealth that went from the bottom 90% to the top 1%. That is the reality of the American economy today. And you know what? Maybe we might want to be talking about that.
And in our America today, in that top America, that one America, the 1% are completely separate and isolated from the rest of the country. You think they get on a subway to get to work? Think they sit in a traffic jam for an hour trying to get to work? Not the case.
They fly around in the jets and the helicopters that they own. They live in their mansions all over the world in their gated communities. They have nannies taking care of their babies. They don't worry about the cost of child care. And they send their kids to the best private schools and colleges.
Sometimes they vacation not in a Motel 6, not in a national park, but on the very own islands that they have. And on occasion, for the very very richestâjust to have for a kick, have a little bit of funâmaybe they'll spend a few million dollars flying off into space in one of their own spaceships. Sounds like fun.
But it is not just massive income and wealth inequality that we're dealing with today. We have more concentration of ownership than ever before. While the profits on Wall Street and corporate America soar, a handful of giant corporations dominate sector after sectorâwhether it's agriculture, transportation, media, financial services, etc., etc.
Small number of huge corporationsâinternational corporationsâdominating sector after sector. And as a result of that concentration of ownership, they are able to charge the American people outrageously high prices for the goods and services we need.
Mr. President, we don't talk about it too much. Maybe we should. But there are three Wall Street firmsâBlackRock, Vanguard, and State Streetâthat combined are the major stockholders in 95% of our corporations. Got that? Three Wall Street firmsâthreeâare the major stockholders in 95% of American corporations.
So, Mr. President, that is one America. People on top doing phenomenally well. Not only do they have economic power, they have enormous political power. Thatâs whatâs going on there. They live like kings. Thatâs one America.
But there is another America.
And in that other America, 60% of our people are living paycheck to paycheck. And millions of workers from one end of this country to the other are trying to survive on starvation wages.
And unlike Donald Trump, I grew up in a family that lived paycheck to paycheck. And I know the anxieties that my mom and dad had, living in a rent-controlled apartment. Can we afford to buy this? Why did you buy that?
And thatâs the story taking place all over America.
What does living paycheck to paycheck mean?
It means that every single day, millions of Americans worry about how they're going to pay their rent or their mortgage. All over the country, rents are skyrocketing. And people are wondering: What happensâwhat happens to me and my kids if rent goes up by 20% and I can't afford it? Where do I live? Do I have to take my kid out of school? Where do I put my kid? In worst case scenario, do I live in my car?
Letâs be clear. There are many people who are working today who are living in the back of their cars.
How do I pay for child care?
I talked to a cop, a guy the other dayâa police officerâspending $20,000 a year for child care.
How do I buy decent food for my kids when the price of groceries is off the charts?
What happens if I get sick or my kid gets sick or my mother gets sick and I got a $12,000 deductible and I canât afford to go to the doctor?
How, at the end of the month, am I going to pay my credit card billâeven though I am being charged 20 or 30% interest rates by the usurious credit card companies?
People are worrying about simple things. What happens if my car breaks down and the guy at the repair shop says itâs going to cost $1,000 and I donât have $1,000 in the bank? And if I donât have a car, how do I get to work? And if I donât get to work, how do I have an income? And if I donât have an income, how do I take care of my family?
Those are the crises that millions of Americans are experiencing today.
But itâs not just working-age Americans.
Today, in our country, half of older workersâolder workersâhave nothing in the bank as they face retirement. And theyâre watching TV and theyâre saying, âMr. Musk is firing Social Security workers,â and actually worrying whether Social Security will be there for them.
And itâs not just older workers with nothing in the bank wondering what happens when they retire. Twenty-two percent of seniors are trying to survive on $15,000 a year.
I dare anybody in this countryâlet alone somebody whoâs old, who needs health care, needs to keep the house warmâtry to survive on $15,000 a year. And there are people here, by the way, talking about cutting Social Security.
Mr. President, it is not just about income and wealth inequality. It is about a health care system which everyone in the nation understands is broken, is dysfunctional, and is outrageously expensive.
I hear my Republican friendsâyou know, I donât know where they are todayâwanting to destroy the ACA. And my Democratic friends say, âOh, we got to defend the ACA.â ACA is broken. It doesnât work.
In my state, the cost of health care is going up 10, 15%. In America today, you got 85 million people uninsured or underinsured.
Function of the health care system today is not to do what a sane society would doâguarantee health care to all people in a cost-effective wayâsomething which, by the way, every other major nation on Earth manages to do.
The function of our health care system, as everybody knows, is to make billions of dollars in profits for the insurance companies and the drug companies.
So I say to my Democratic friends: Itâs not good enough to defend the Affordable Care Act. Itâs a broken system. You got to have the guts to stand up and allow us to do what every other major nation doesâguarantee health care to all people as a human rightânot allow the drug companies and the insurance companies to make massive profits every year.
And Mr. President, I want to touch on an issue that gets virtually no discussion, but I think it is enormously importantâand it says a hell of a lot about whatâs going on in our society today.
In America, according to international studies, our life expectancyâhow long we live as a peopleâis about four years lower than other countries. Most European countriesâpeople there live longer lives. Japanâthey live even more longer lives than in Europe.
So, question number one: Why is that happening?
We spend $14,000 a year per person on health careâalmost double what any other country spends. And yet people around the world are living, on average, four years longer than we do.
But here is the really ugly factâeven worse than that.
And that is that in this country, on average, if you are a working-class person, you will live seven years shorter lives than if you're in the top 1%. If youâre a working-class person, your life will be seven years shorter than if you are wealthy.
In other words, being poor or working-class in America today amounts to a death sentence.
Mr. President, it's not only a broken health care system.
We have got to ask ourselves a simple questionâand the Biden administration began a little bit of movement in this directionâand that is: Why are we living in a nation where one out of four people can't even afford the prescription drugs their doctors prescribe?
Why are we in some cases paying ten times more than our neighbors in Canada or in Europe? How does that happen?
And the answer of course has to do with the greed of the pharmaceutical industry and their power right hereâall of the campaign contributions that they makeâwhich has prevented us from negotiating prices.
But itâs not just health care or prescription drugs.
When we look at whatâs going on in Americaâin Vermont and throughout this countryâwe have a major housing crisis. Here we are, the richest country on Earth: 800,000 people sleeping out on the streets, and 20 million people are spending more than 50% of their limited incomes on housing.
Can you imagine that? Youâre a working person, spending 50% of your income on housing. How do you have money to do anything else? And the cost of housing is soaring.
Do not tell me, Mr. President, that in a nation which could spend a trillion dollars on the militaryâa nation that gives massive tax breaks to the richâthat we cannot build the millions of units of housing that we desperately need.
So, Mr. President, why is all of this happening?
Why do we have a health care system that is broken? Prescription drugs that are the most expensive in the world? A housing system? Education in deep trouble?
Talked to educators in Vermont, all over the country. Talked to a principal the other day from Vermont. Their starting salary at a public school? $32,000 a year. But donât worryâthey canât afford to even bring people in because they canât afford the housing in the community.
Why have we let education sink to the level that it has?
So I think the bottom line of all this is: The American people, I think, are catching on. And Mr. MuskâI must thank himâbecause he has made it very clear we are living in an oligarchic form of society.
If anybody out there thinks that Mr. Musk is running around out of the goodness of his heart trying to make our government more efficient, you have not a clue as to what is going on.
What these guys want to do is destroy virtually every federal program that impacts the well-being of working peopleâSocial Security, Medicare, postal service, public education, you name itâso they can get huge tax breaks for the rich and eventually make government so inefficient that they will have the ability, as large corporations, to come in and privatize everything that is going on.
So, Mr. President, this is a pivotal moment in American history. And I sense that the American people have had it up to here.
They are prepared to fight back.
They do not want a government run by billionaires who have it allâwhose greed is uncontrollable.
You know, we have in Vermontâand I think a lot of this countryâserious problems with addiction, with drugs. People drinking too much alcohol. People smoking too many cigarettes.
But the worst form of addiction that this country now faces is the greed of the oligarchy.
You might think that if you had 10, 20 billion dollars, it would be enough. You knowâkind of enough to let your family live for the next 20 generations.
But itâs not.
For whatever reasonâwhatever compulsive reason they haveâthese guys want more and more and more, and they are prepared to destroy Social Security, Medicare, nutrition programs for hungry people in order to get even more.
That, to me, is disgusting.
So, Mr. President, we are at a pivotal moment in American history. But having been all over this countryâor many parts of this countryâI am absolutely confident that the American people (and I'm not just talking about Democrats, who are as complicit in the problems that we have right now as our Republicans, because we got a two-party system which is basically corrupt)...
You got Mr. Musk over on the Republican side saying to any Republican who dares to stand up and defy the Trump agenda, we are going to primary you.
And on the Democratic side, you got AIPAC and you got other super PACs saying, you stand up for working peopleâyouâre in trouble as well.
We got a corrupt campaign finance system in which billionaires are able to buy elections. And thatâs why all over this country, people are not happy with our two-party systemâthe Republicans and the Democrats.
So, Mr. President, this is a pivotal moment in American history.
But we have had difficult moments before. And I am confident, from the bottom of my heart, that if we stand together, and we do not allow some right-wing extremists to divide us up by the color of our skin, or our religion, or where we were born, or our sexual orientation...
If we stand together, we can save this country. We can defeat oligarchy. We can defeat the movement toward authoritarianism. And in fact, we can create an economy and a government that works for allânot just a few.
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