If only Republicans were as anti-abortion as they are anti-gun deaths.....

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Monday May 30, 2022 · 1:59 PM PDT

2022/05/30 · 13:59

Some common-sense, Republican solutions for abortion (in the spirit of common-sense, Republican “solutions” for the epidemic of gun violence in America):

1. Thinking of having an abortion? You have our thoughts and prayers.

2. Thinking of having an abortion? Your fetus has our thoughts and prayers.

3. Legal prohibitions are not a solution, since some women will have abortions no matter what laws are passed. So no anti-abortion laws should be passed.

4. Women thinking of having an abortion should seek mental health treatment.

4A. But no public funding for mental health treatment is necessary, or appropriate.

5. Abortions are not the problem. Male ejaculate is the problem.

6. The solution for bad women having abortions is more good women having abortions.

7. Make no-restriction abortions available at private clinics, and at traveling abortion shows.

8. Abortions available, on credit, at every participating Wal-Mart, Target, and similar shops, pharmacy chains and health stores nationwide.

9. Concealed, stop-carry (of viable fetuses) without restriction or licensure.

10. Did we think and pray enough? No — more thoughts and prayers.

11. Now is not the time to talk about abortions. We should wait for a more opportune time.

12. Now is not the time to politicize abortions. We need to wait for a more opportune time.

13. Let’s give it some more thoughts. And prayers.

14. The abortion pill is not abortion. It’s pre-abortion abortion prevention.

15. Divorce and evangelical multiple-father-ers are the problem. And video games, too. Somehow.

16. Abortions are not the problem. Men impregnating women are the problem.

17. Law-abiding women should not be punished with abortions laws and restrictions just because other women have had abortions.

18. About time to have thoughts and prayers again.

Why we must stay engaged!

rbzbos

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Thursday May 03, 2018 · 10:12 AM PDT

2018/05/03 · 10:12

If you’re like me, you’ve been enjoying Rudy’s Follies and Trump’s Idiocy around the Mueller investigation and Stormy travail immensely. If you have any doubt that the upcoming election(s) are crucial, and winnable OR loseable, though, check out the below email from one of my Republican friends who is just ducky with the Lyin’, the Cheatin’, the Stealin’, the Corrupshun, the Chaos, and all the rest that flows from Trump and the modern Republican Kleptocracy. By the way, he’s big on locking up and shooting black guys — Law and Order — but had gone strangely quiet about the recent revelations. When I called him on it, here’s his reply:

“The media's obsession with porn stars and collusion is certainly a distraction, but while they focus on this they are ignoring the things this administration has done about which they should be all excited. I don't have time to research them all as I would rather be working on my tan (I am in Miami Beach).

”EPA-Undoing almost all the mischief Obama did in eight years in 1

“Interior-shrinking Obama's federal land grabs to prevent oil and mineral exploration. Utah is thrilled.

“Okaying the pipelines

“Labor-more great anti-union stuff

“Consumer Finance Bureau-cut the new funding request to 0. Making Cordray a 0 as well.

“Immigration-enforcing existing laws-What a novel concept

“Judges- record number of lifetime appointments to Federal judgeship's. Waiting for Kennedy to retire soon.

“Moved the Embassy to Jerusalem-watch how many other countries follow.

“N. Korea-who knows where this goes, but has done more than Clinton, Bush or Obama.

“Out of the Paris Climate Accord.

“Tax bill-by the way, every 1%er in NY, CA, MA, NJ & CT with a house and/or mortgage will be paying more.

“Drilling in Alaska

“No more Obamacare Individual Mandate or Medical Device taxes

“Iran-thanks to Mossad, Trump now has the final reason to pull out. He was going to do it anyway. France, Germany and GB will go along. I look forward to a joint venture by Israel and the US to bomb Iran soon.Nobody really complained when the Israelis did that in 1981.

”Too much winning and not enough sun. Off to the beach.”

Sooooooo…...if the above list horrifies you, just remember — about a third to 4/10s of the electorate finds the above list — or some part of it — a good enough reason to vote FOR Republicans and to SUPPORT Trump. Don’t think for a minute they’ll grow a recognizable conscience. Don’t think for another minute they won’t get out and vote, and won’t hesitate to steal elections any way they can either — whether by foreign money and influence, voter suppression, voter fraud, dirty tricks, you name it.

STAY VIGILANT AND ENGAGED!!!!

"Let's hope cooler heads prevail."

rbzbos

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Wednesday April 04, 2018 · 8:06 AM PDT

2018/04/04 · 08:06

I’m an attorney. This morning I received a “morning briefing” from a broker. He’s been sending me similar briefings recently every time the stock market wildly gyrates. Until this morning, the briefings have been comforting, basically advising people that “the fundamentals” remain good; to take the long view; ride out the storm.

This morning’s briefing took a darker tone, noting that overnight the Chinese responded to Trump’s slapping tariffs on China by — totally predictably — slapping tariffs right back on the US. The briefing noted how such things can quickly get out of hand, damaging the world economy “perhaps permanently”, and included the phrase “Let’s hope cooler heads prevail.”

I happen to regularly correspond about political/economic matters with a well-to-do client of mine – he’s usually at one of his homes either in France, or NYC, or Miami. BIG right-wing Republican. Jewish (as am I). In his 70s now. Tickled pink with Trump, who he knows is an idiot asshole (early on, he told me numerous times that he’d vote for Donald Trump OR Donald Duck over “Killary”). HATED “Barry”. LOVES him his Gorsuch, and pipelines, and a neutered EPA, and “draining the swamp” (of liberals, not corruption, just in case you’re wondering). You know the type.

So I forwarded this morning’s briefing to him. He responded by telling me he switched ten years ago to investing for his kids and grandkids – takes a 40-50 year investment view – and advised me to do the same.

Here’s my reply to him:

I do keep my eye on the longer-term.

Here’s some “big picture” info for you:

We’re at the end of a nine-year bull market (I know Republicans never ever ever ever ever noticed, or even now admit that, but it’s true – look at the numbers). That’s way longer than normal, historically.
We have a President (enabled by a Congress of the same party) who has single-handedly started a trade war – and who says “trade wars are easy to win”.
Trade wars are NOT easy to win.
Quite possibly next come one or two “hot” / “real” / “shooting” wars. Think Korea, Iran, Syria, Bolton.
The President, and the enabling Congress, are Republicans. Actually, radical right-wing Republicans. John Bircher types.
Radical right-wing Republicans historically are GREAT at driving the US economy into the ditch. It’s basically what they do. Check back over the last 100 or so years of history.
The Republicans just passed a trillion dollar plus deficit busting tax give-away to large corporation and rich Republicans – unnecessarily, of course, since corporations and rich Republicans were all already wallowing in cash. At the end of a nine-year bull market. Completely unnecessarily. Just because.
If you think you’re taking the “big picture” view – you’re seriously deluding yourself. You’re actually sticking your head in the sand.

Coda: A little true story for your 40-50 year investment horizon. My family was rich. Lived in Germany, from the 1300s into the twentieth century. Nazis came to power – by bashing immigrants, bashing religious minorities, bashing liberals and Commies, claiming they’d get the lagging economy humming again (which – again, check your history – they actually did) (until they left the country literally in ruins, but “if only” Hitler hadn’t started that nasty war….). Get the picture? In a matter of six years after a free election, in a Western, European democracy, my “rich” family escaped with the clothes on their back. Their chauffeur literally drove them to the border in their Mercedes; they walked across with just the clothes on their backs, and chauffeur drove back home in HIS Mercedes. About 70 years later, I bought a Mercedes – as my way of saying “Fuck you” to the Nazis.

Moral of the story: You might want to expand your long-term investment horizon to 60 - 70 years. Shit happens.

Additional coda to my story:

I also wrote back to my broker this morning. Quoting the briefing he sent me, I wrote to him:

“Let’s hope cooler heads prevail”???? Have these guys not noticed who is in charge of the US Government?”

Broker replied: “To be honest … ‘who’ [is in charge] is the question…this dummy is not even in charge of his own mouth, much less other body parts.”

To which I replied: “Republicans, is the answer. Radical right-wing ones, too. Never good for the economy.”

Our task is now easy

rbzbos

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Wednesday November 09, 2016 · 4:30 AM PST

2016/11/09 · 04:30

Our task is now easy. We are angry. We STAY angry. Don’t accept, don’t go through all the stages of grieving. We are angry. We STAY angry. It’s THEIR job to make us happy.

Our task is now easy. They promised to “repeal and replace”. And not just replace — replace with something “GREAT!”. Ok, assholes — let’s see it. And on Day One — you’ve had 8 years to come up with it, so no time to waste. And it better be GREAT. And much, much cheaper. And did I mention great, and cheaper? Hurry up — we’re waiting.

Our task is now easy. You Republirats have the House, the Senate, the White House, the Supreme Court. Well, let’s see it. Enact your agenda. All of it. Immediately. All of it. And it better be good. Jobs, jobs, jobs. Winning, winning, winning till we’re tired of winning. Our incomes better go up, up UP — and immediately, too. Let’s see it.

And all that waste and corruption? It now belongs to YOU, Republirats. Cause you’ve got all the power. YOU fix it. Fix everything. And fix it NOW, assholes.

And Iran. You’ve got one hour after Inauguration. Get rid of the treaty. Then negotiate a non-nuclear Iran. NOW, dammit!!! Let’s see some action. Let’s see your “change”.

Our task is easy. Make Trump a one-term President. Oppose everything the Republirats try to accomplish. Oppose EVERYTHING! And you know who’s fault our opposition will be? THEIRS! They need to compromise with US if they want our help (which they can’t have, but whatever...). If they don’t convince us, that’s their problem, and their fault.

ConMan Donald is such a great negotiator — let’s see him negotiate his way now. Cause he doesn’t get to sit back and claim after the fact he would have done better — he needs to DO better, the first time, and every time. And you know what? He can’t. Because everything bad that happens, and maybe some stuff bad that doesn’t happen — it’s all his fault. It’s THEIR fault. And our job is to make sure we say that, and repeat it, repeat it again, repeat it again, and don’t listen to reason, and don’t ever ever EVER give one single fucking inch on our complaints, our anger, our pointing out that they are liars, and cheaters, and corrupt, and useless sons and daughters of bitches. Cause you know what? They are.

And that’s now our task.

Labor on Veteran's Day

rbzbos

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Tuesday November 11, 2014 · 12:25 PM PST

2014/11/11 · 12:25

I don't want to seem unsupportive of Veterans, on this day or any day. However, I'm reminded today of something that I noticed back in September. Something that struck me as discordant then.

In the lead up to Labor Day, and on Labor Day itself, many events and a lot of mentions in the media that I heard concentrated on the military, to the exclusion of workers or labor. I'd never noticed this happening before this year -- and yet, this year, I heard more about "honoring the military" on Labor Day than I heard about honoring Labor.

I meant to write about it then, but the day slid by. Again, not to be unsupportive of Veterans, but did anyone else notice Labor Day being "invaded" by the military? If so, what can or should be done about it? Just wondering....

Cheney doesn't miss a trick

rbzbos

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Wednesday November 12, 2008 · 12:57 PM PST

2008/11/12 · 12:57

Ever hear of the "Plum Book"? It’s published after every Presidential election, and lists all the political appointments, who’s in them, how much the position pays, etc.

http://www.gpoaccess.gov/...

The very last item in the current book, and the 2004 book published after Bush/Cheney were reelected, is "Office of Vice President". It contains a blurb to the effect that the OVP is "neither executive nor legislative", and then gives no specific info about personnel or rates of pay (as is true with thousands of other positions in all the other agencies listed in the Plum Book).

The Plum Books from 2000 and before list OVP exactly where you’d expect, in the Executive Department. Tricky Dick doesn’t miss a trick!@#$!

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