I'm the taxman, and you're working for no one but me.

It is Monday, April 15, 2019. TAX DAY in the United States. And another day for news stories from Liberal Minded Ladies of Substance. Don’t forget to recommend and share these round-ups.

It’s also poll day. I’ve included all the declared candidates thus far, including those who only just declared their candidacy. I’ll run it through tomorrow, so vote and share.

We had snow accumulation yesterday. Tomorrow, we’re supposed to hit 70. This is Spring in the midwest, I know. I’ve lived here my whole life, but this is also how we all get sick. We’re heading into the middle of April, and I just want consistent weather so I can put my plants in. I’ll probably do more whining about gardening before the month is over.

Boychild and I are also counting down the weeks to the end of his “school year.” We generally send him to a summer day camp, but I am waffling on it this year. They’ve significantly changed the format, and he’s reaching an age where it would be his last year or two to attend. I’m not sure I want to send him if he’s not going to enjoy it. Parenting is hard.

If you like having your news gathered for you from various sources, please continue to recommend these Round-Ups and consider buying me a coffee on Ko-fi.com. It helps me continue to write, homeschool, and run the political news aggregate page.

As always, there will be a thread below for new or breaking news. And please, share any thoughts you have below.

NEWS STORIES

Bernie Sanders relying on Michigan to take the White House in 2020 -- (MLive) He took Michigan in 2016, and he makes a strong case for being the candidate best equipped to get midwestern families the federal support they need. We've watched workers' rights slowly erode and unions fall by the wayside. Bernie is bringing that back to life!

‘We Just Heard Screaming.’ ICE Arrests 280 Workers in the Largest Immigration Raid in a Decade -- (Immigration Impact) They rounded up 15% of the company's workforce, isolating and removing them from their families and children. It is unlikely the company will receive any punishment, simply the workers trying to provide a better life for their families.

The American Republic Is Crumbling, Piece by Piece. Soon There Won't Be Anything Left. -- (Esquire) An impeachable offense that we're just going to continue to ignore. Trump isn't fit to even look at the White House and yet he lives there, decimating our country one ideal at a time.

As Trump Threatens to Ship Undocumented Immigrants to Sanctuary Cities, Those Cities Say: We Will Welcome Them -- (Common Dreams) This is how you handle a bully threat. These cities remembered the New Colossus:

“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she

With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

Bernie Sanders accuses liberal think tank of "smearing" progressives -- (Axios) The Center for American Progress is again proving that it learned no lessons from 2016 and attacking the candidates who embrace the leftward swing of the party. Bernie Sanders took a stand, for himself as well as Warren and Booker, against some of the propaganda and attacks they have already used against them. If the Democrats are actually interested in "unity", the time has come to stop funding divsive groups like CAP and DCCC.

Cellist Yo-Yo Ma Plays Bach In Shadow Of Border Crossing -- (NPR) Yo Yo Ma is well aware of the importance of immigrants and immigration. I love that Ma also called out to build bridges and not walls in his performance. The world becomes a better place when we care for all our brothers and sisters, when we embrace love and not fear.

Another Yo Yo Ma performance, this time with Itzhak Perlman, playing an arrangement by John Williams created especially for the Obama Inaugeration. It’s beautiful and will help recapture some of the hope we had at the time.

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Russia: World No Longer Trusts U.S. to Lead, It's Time Others Step in to Stop 'Blackmail and Pressure' -- (Newsweek) This is, I believe, what Russia was trying to do with any interference in the UK and the US. It had less to do with Trump and Brexit and more to do with destabilization of the Western influence so Russia could step in as a strongman.

Bernie Sanders and Jeremy Corbyn Might Create a Revolution -- (The Nation) I hope so. The Democrats and Labour have often shared each other's rises and falls, and it is beyond time for both countries to return to the people and topple the oligarchic and wealth-centric injustices. We have two rising generations, Millenials and Gen Z, who have become old enough to vote and recognize that they will be forced to deal with a world that is designed to grind them into a battery for the wealthy and corporations.

Is America Becoming an Oligarchy? -- (New York Times) Short answer, yes. Unlike this author, I do not think Capitalism is inherently weddable with Democracy. The focus of capitalism remains on segregation and separation of classes. Democracy has a way of slowing down the ills of capitalism, but I do not believe regulation is enough to prevent disasters like our current ones from happening. Greed will always find loopholes. That said, the time has come to overthrow the pure capitalists in office.

Democrats need to get over their fear of disrupting private health insurance -- (The Week) We have insurance through the marketplace, and I can assure you, we do not love it. When I had a job that DID provide insurance, the terms changed every year, and usually not to my benefit. Insurance companies make their money betting on the people who are safe and won't need them, but the health care industry is too expensive for the times when you DO get sick. If we have a basic right to "Life", then insurance companies need to stop killing people by denying needed medications that work or finding ways to deny people coverage.