Ladies and Gentlemen, Today's Republican Party

Robert Reich rightly calls out the Republicans for who and what they are and work for. I love who he put on the opening screen, don't you?

President Biden and Trickle Down Economics

A lot of people, myself included, weren't sure how far Joe Biden as President would go with Progressive ideas. Last night gave great hope. We saw the disaster trickle down economics was in Kansas. We knew better.

Where We, the US, Are Now

We survived Trump.

President Biden is now on a calm, thoughtful, intelligent, responsible trajectory. The Republican Party is simultaneously tearing itself down and apart. Finally, still better yet, they, the Republicans, don't know and aren't aware of this... I'm hopeful.

On Amazon and Jeff Bezos

You're the CEO of one of America's largest & most successful corporations. You are worth nearly 200 billion dollars. You've made it. By any measurement, you're a success.

Wouldn't you be proud to offer ALL employees FULL BENEFITS? Wouldn't you be happy to support a Union for your employees?

A Republican -- On Republicans

Don't take it from me, folks.

So many former Republicans. This man, David Jolly, Bill Kristol, George Will. So many.

Difficult to Believe What Comes Out of Republicans' Mouths

Herewith, a short, short list, very short, of some of the deeply ignorant, ugly, negative things that come out of too many Republicans minds and mouths. As always, click on picture for larger picture and easier viewing/reading

Let's vote them out, America. Let's vote them all out.

Imagine Indeed

Imagine if Republicans put the same energy into doing good, positive things for the people and nation that they do fighting good things for us all. Imagine if they stopped only working to help the already-wealthy, corporations, their own political party and themselves

Missouri Senator Eric Greitens?

Eric Greitens wants to be our next Missouri US Senator?

--He sexually abused and tried to exploit and blackmail his hairdresser; --He stole from his Veterans' charity and from taxpayers; --He resigned hours after a judge ordered him to reveal his dark money donors. No. Heck no. Hell no.

What's In the For the People Act?

Know this, everyone! What the For the People Act does:

--Expands voting rights, --Limits partisan gerrymandering, --Strengthens ethics rules, and --Limits the influence of private donor money in politics. It's only bad for Republicans and the Republican Party. It is patently good to great for Americans and America. Please contact your Senators now and tell them to support it.

Quote of the Day -- On Wealth Inequality and a Stronger Nation

"We are in a moment in American history where two guys — Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos — own more wealth than the bottom 40% of people in this country. That level of greed and inequality is not only immoral. It is unsustainable." --Bernie Sanders @BernieSanders

On Republican Party Vote Suppression

--"The Republicans' new voter suppression bills are truly un-American. There's no real voter fraud. It's their naked effort to try and suppress Black, brown and Indigenous votes, to suppress any kind of votes from people who they think will not go for their far-right, 'promote the interests of the wealthy' program." --Al Gore

Quotes of the Day -- On Republicans and America

"The only thing Republicans are more scared of than facts are votes." --Middle Age Riot #VoteThemOut

"Instead of making it harder to vote...maybe Republicans should take a close look at whether they have bad ideas and people just don't want to support them." --Jen Psaki, White House Press Secretary

Mitch McConnell and the Republicans now suddenly want to protect minority voting rights in the Senate but not voting rights for minorities. Know this, America. #VoteThemOut

Republican Party Policies

38,000 gun deaths a year in US: who needs gun control?

2 cases of voter fraud in 2020: let’s pass 253 new voter suppression laws --Ari Berman @AriBerman

The Kansas Legislature is Broken

What you don't and won't hear from more mainstream media in the area like the Kansas City Star, KCUR, KCPT or certainly not from the local TV news stations. This is from Davis Hammet @Davis_Hammet of the organization Loud Light today including the headline above:

--Legislators are hiding who actually wrote bills. --Public hearings are being scheduled with less than 24 hrs notice or entirely skipped. --The day waiting period between debate and the final vote is constantly being suspended. #ksleg

Republicans Reached a New Low Yesterday

On the same day 7 women and 1 man were gunned down by a 21 year old madman in Atlanta, Georgia after purchasing a 9mm handgun EARLIER THAT DAY at a local gun shop, 172 Republicans voted against the Violence Against Women Act. The very same day. Unconscionable.

Republicans are NOT for Americans or America. They are for themselves and their own political party and money and power, period. That's it. Know this, America. Then let's vote them out.

Quote of the Day -- On All-Consuming Capitalism

-- Frederic Bastiat, 1801-1850, born Claude Frederic Bastiat, French economist, statesman, and author Mr. Bezos? Mr. Zuckerberg?

Examples of How and Why Jeff Bezos Is Now Worth About 200 Billion?

Check these out as just two examples.

Dan Price @DanPriceSeattle Dec 22, 2020 1. A small business began selling camera tripods on Amazon 2. It reached $3.5 million in sales, 0.001% of Amazon's revenue 3. Amazon copied the tripods exactly and sold them as AmazonBasics tripods 4. Amazon banned the tripod company from Amazon And number two-- Dan Price @DanPriceSeattle · Dec 22, 2020 1. A small business began selling camera tripods on Amazon 2. It reached $3.5 million in sales, 0.001% of Amazon's revenue 3. Amazon copied the tripods exactly and sold them as AmazonBasics tripods 4. Amazon banned the tripod company from Amazon These two examples came from articles in the Wall Street Journal and then CNBC, too, to be clear.

Quote of the Day -- Humanist Edition

From The Word Lady @TheRealRynnstar Dec 12, 2020 "Forever wondering if I’m truly far left or if I’m just an empathetic person living in a late capitalist hellscape where I get called a commie for saying "hey maybe poor people don’t deserve to starve.'"

The Real Reason Republicans Are Against Biden's COVID Relief Proposal

Yes, the Republicans say things about being concerned about the budget and that's why they're proposing a smaller and honestly weaker COVID relief plan but Robert Reich gets this correct.

The Real Reason the GOP Don’t Want Biden’s Plan? They Fear It Will Work

Biden’s success would put into sharp relief Trump and Republicans' utter failures on COVID and jobs

A bit from the article:

Ten Senate Republican have proposed a COVID relief bill of about $600 billion. That’s less than a third of Biden’s plan. They promise "bipartisan support" if he agrees.

Their proposal isn’t a compromise. It would be a total surrender. It trims direct payments and unemployment aid that Americans desperately need. Biden should reject it out of hand.

Republicans say America can’t afford Biden’s plan. “We just passed a program with over $900 billion in it,” groused Senator Mitt Romney.

Rubbish. We can’t afford not to. Millions of people are hurting.

Besides, with the economy in the doldrums it’s no time to worry about too much spending. The best way to reduce the debt as a share of the economy is to get the economy growing again.

Beyond COVID relief, Biden has other proposals waiting in the wings, such as repairing aging infrastructure and building a new energy-efficient one. These would make the economy grow even faster over the long term—further reducing the debt’s share.

There’s no chance that public spending will “crowd out” private investment. If you hadn’t noticed, borrowing is especially cheap right now. Money is sloshing around the world in search of borrowers.

It’s hard to take Republican concerns about debt seriously when just four years ago they had zero qualms about enacting one of the largest tax cuts in history, largely for big corporations and the super-wealthy.

If they really don’t want to add to the debt, they have another alternative: A tax on super-wealthy Americans...

The total wealth of America’s 660 billionaires has grown by a staggering $1.1 trillion since the start of the pandemic, a 40 percent increase. They alone could finance almost all of Biden’s COVID relief package and still be as rich as they were before the pandemic. So why not a temporary emergency COVID wealth tax?

Let’s be honest. The real reason Republicans don’t want Biden’s plan is they fear it will work.

This would be the Republican’s worst nightmare: All the anti-government claptrap they’ve been selling since Ronald Reagan will be revealed as nonsense.

Government isn’t the problem and never was. Bad government is the problem, and Americans have just had four years of it. Biden’s success would put into sharp relief Trump and Republicans’ utter failures on COVID and jobs.

If Biden gets his plans through, he and the Democrats would reap the political rewards in 2022 and beyond.Democrats might even capture the presidency and Congress for a generation. After FDR rescued America, the Republican Party went dark for two decades.

Further proof new President Joe Biden's plans and ideas are good and positive? 

Bolstering Reconciliation Case, Study Shows $15 Wage Would Boost Federal Budget By $65 Billion

Added to this, Joe Biden has only been President just shy of 2 weeks and his popularity is soaring, by any comparison, whether to the previous orange President or nearly any other.

Biden's Popularity Is Surging 

This is how Americans feel on our most pressing issue of the day, too.

Poll: 73 percent say Biden administration will do a good job handling coronavirus vaccine distribution

Joe Biden won by such a large margin in this election and he's so popular presently, Republicans are moving in 28 different states now, again, to make it even harder for Americans---you and I--to vote. 

Republicans Push to Make Voting Harder

The fewer people vote, the more likely they, Republicans, can get into government office and stay there. Wrap your head around that.

So don't think for a moment anyone in the Republican Party is concerned just now about keeping the national debt lower. Oh, no. They're concerned for the their own political party and for their own power, nation and people be damned, as we keep seeing from them over time, repeatedly.

Additional links to further Republican Party ugliness:

All 10 GOP Senators Behind Skimpy $600 Billion Covid Relief Offer Happily Voted for $740 Billion Military Budget

Meanwhile, we can do this.

'We Have Got to Act Now': As GOP Introduces Weak Relief Bill, Sanders Says Dems Already Have Enough Votes to Pass Stronger Package

I say again, why anyone, anyone from the middle or lower classes considers themselves a Republican and votes that way is beyond me. WAY beyond me.

Additional links:

Trump Tax Cuts Helped Billionaires Pay Less Taxes

Trump's 2017 Tax Cuts Helped Super-rich Pay Lower Rate

Trump Tax Cuts Have Failed To Deliver On GOP's Promises

Study: Trump Tax Cuts Failed to Help Anybody But the Wealthy

Trickle-Down Economics: Four Reasons Why It Just Doesn't Work

Robert B. Reich: Trickle-down economics doesn’t work

Trickle-down theory is a monstrous lie

Two Holiday Movie Classics: Rich v Poor, Republican v Democrat

Yes, there are two holiday movie classics, at least here in America, and not only do we love them, lots of us, but they also show the great struggle of rich vs poor. The first, Dickens' "A Christmas Carol.

It's a very simplified view of the movie but it is, in fact, true and accurate. It's very like a present situation where a man named Bezos is worth 200 billion dollars--and growing--but he doesn't offer all his employees heath insurance. And that's just one current day example.

And the other holiday movie classic? Why "It's a Wonderful Life", of course.

Is there any question, any question at all that George Bailey, fighting for the "little man", the working and middle classes, is a Democrat/Liberal while the obscenely greedy, already rich Mr. Potter is a Republican and conservative? If you do question it, George Bailey's speech should clear it up. 

"Just remember this, Mr. Potter, that this rabble you’re talking about, they do most of the working and paying and living and dying in this community. Well, is it too much to have them work and pay and live and die in a couple of decent rooms and a bath? Anyway, my father didn’t think so. People were human beings to him, but to you, a warped, frustrated old man, they’re cattle.”

Oh, yeah. Both good to great movies in their own ways and both show current day situations of, again, rich v poor and very well.

Happy holidays, everyone. Stay safe out there.

I hope.