THE OL' REPUBICAN TWO-STEP

Timmy Dalrymple

tRump's America!

Not my own work but I wanted to share for thoughts.

“Until men can be trusted to take responsibility, women will always be in the precarious position of compromising the right to life of the child growing inside them.

The long term answer to the abortion question is answering another question... how can we create better men? And, many of our women have been screaming this at us in one form or another for a long time. Why aren't women confident that their babies will be cared for and that they will be cared for?

We cannot legislate away women's rights and we cannot legislate responsible men. This doesn't make abortion okay. Whether you see the unborn as a person with rights or not, it is still human life with intrinsic value and killing human life at any stage has to be the last resort.

What are we doing now to make great future fathers? What are we doing now to help our boys understand how to treat and protect the women in their lives? How are we rewarding responsible sexual behavior?

I still think abortion is a moral abomination. You don't have to hold a single religious precept or theological premise to agree that the unborn should have rights and that we should seek to protect those rights. But, there cannot be a conversation about rights without at least an equally weighted conversation on responsibility. And, it is not just the responsibility of women who bear the tremendous physical and emotional load.

There can be no clearer and obvious case for the fundamental differences between the roles of the sexes than the female demand that men take personal responsibility for their children and that they make loud pronunciations with their daily actions that they will do so and hold each other accountable to do so. Civil society depends on it.

Alabama notwithstanding - this is less about rights and way more about responsibility. And, it is way more about male responsibility, male leadership and male support than we probably realize.”

Jesus, I can’t believe ANYBODY voted for this damn idiot.

Trump’s idea of when America was “great”...before there were labor laws or workers rights.

It never occurred to his supporters that “great” is a subjective term, and means different things to different people. Because DERP!

Progressive Breakfast: “Every Darn Penny”: The GOP’s Philosophy on Death and Taxes

MORNING MESSAGE

Richard Eskow

“Every Darn Penny”: The GOP’s Philosophy on Death and Taxes

Republican Sen. Charles Grassley scorns working-class voters for "spending every darn penny they have, whether it’s on booze or women or movies." So why can't we all just be rich, like him? Grassley may defend the GOP's philosophy of rewarding those who need who need it least, but voters see right through it.

Kochs Push Hard For Tax Cuts

Conservative groups seeking support for tax cuts find it a hard sell. NYT:“A dozen high school students working for Americans for Prosperity, the conservative political network funded by Charles G. and David H. Koch, fanned out across the Little Havana neighborhood one day last week to make the case that the Republican tax bill was something to get excited about… It’s the trickle down theory of selling tax cuts to the American voter. Conservative activist groups like Americans for Prosperity, celebrating what they expect is the imminent passage of a tax package that they and the Republican Party’s corporate backers have sought for a generation, now need to convince ordinary Americans that this is good for them too… The problem, as Republicans are learning, is that most Americans do not believe that is what the tax plan will do.”

GOP Tax Plan Full Of Loopholes

‘Holy crap’: Experts find tax plan riddled with glitches. Politico:“Republicans’ tax-rewrite plans are riddled with bugs, loopholes and other potential problems that could plague lawmakers long after their legislation is signed into law. Some of the provisions could be easily gamed, tax lawyers say. Their plans to cut taxes on “pass-through” businesses in particular could open broad avenues for tax avoidance. Others would have unintended results, like a last-minute decision by the Senate to keep the alternative minimum tax, which was designed to make sure wealthy people and corporations don’t escape taxes altogether. For many businesses, that would nullify the value of a hugely popular break for research and development expenses.”

Banks Plan Share Buybacks, Not Investment

BofA plans to increase share buybacks with overseas profits. CNBC:“Bank of America announced Tuesday that it plans to buy back another $5 billion of its stock through the middle of next year, and that is proof enough that tax reform is bound to fail, according to New York Democrat Sen. Chuck Schumer. U.S. banks have been required to get Fed approval for share buybacks and dividend payments since the central bank began stress testing them after the financial crisis to make sure they had enough capital on hand to weather a severe downturn. But Schumer says the buyback plan just underscores how major corporations are likely to use the tax cuts they are due under the tax reform being pushed by Republican members of Congress. That is to say, they won’t be using their windfalls to expand business and create jobs. ‘Big corporations can smell the huge tax cut they have coming, and rather than raising workers’ pay or hiring new workers, they’re buying back stock and prepping huge dividend payments,’ Schumer said in a statement. ‘CEOs have made no secret of their intention to spend a coming tax windfall on executive bonuses, stock buybacks and dividends.'”

Senate Panel Moves To Roll Back Dodd-Frank

Senate panel moves forward with bill to roll back Dodd-Frank. The Hill:“Republicans and a block of moderate Democrats advanced on Tuesday significant proposed changes to the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. The Senate Banking Committee approved by a 16 to 7 vote a sweeping bill that would exempt dozens of banks from Dodd-Frank and loosen the rules imposed after the financial crisis on smaller firms… Liberals claimed the bill was little more than a wish list for bank lobbyists meant to boost a financial sector already reaping record profits. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) said she was ‘disturbed’ that her colleagues would consider rolling back financial rules amid the series of scandals exposed at banks such as Wells Fargo.

What’s At Stake With The CFPB

What’s at Stake in the Fight Over the CFPB. The Atlantic:“Prior to the founding of the CFPB, disputes between individual customers and their banks could be daunting and expensive pursuits. The financial industry has never been known for its transparency or accessibility, and banks managed to sneak all types of dangerous, expensive, or exploitative provisions into the fine print of contracts on everything from credit-card applications to mortgages. The subprime-debt crisis highlights just how badly that can turn out for everyone. While state-level consumer protections existed and banks were regulated by entities such as the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the CFPB was the first federal regulator to take a critical look at such a wide variety of banking practices with an eye toward fairness and protection of consumers above all else.”

Progressive Breakfast is a daily morning email highlighting news stories of interest to activists. Progressive Breakfast and OurFuture.org are projects of People's Action. more »

Barbara McQuade | It's Russia, Stupid

04 December 17 AM

It's Live on the HomePage Now: 

Reader Supported News

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Barbara McQuade | It's Russia, Stupid 

Barbara McQuade, The Daily Beast
McQuade writes: "The special counsel made something public he could've kept private. It's full of hints and carries a message to Jared Kushner: Cooperate now."
READ MORE

Jonathan Chait | The Trump Tax Cuts for the Rich Must, and Will, Be Repealed
Jonathan Chait, New York Magazine
Chait writes: "Of all the horrors Donald Trump has (and has yet to) inflict upon the republic, a huge tax cut for the rich was the most inevitable. But it is also the most easily reversible."
READ MORE

Trump Lawyer Claims the "President Cannot Obstruct Justice"
Mike Allen, Axios
Allen writes: "John Dowd, President Trump's outside lawyer, outlined to me a new and highly controversial defense/theory in the Russia probe: A president cannot be guilty of obstruction of justice."
READ MORE

Removing Any Qualifications, Trump Endorses Roy Moore
Scott Detrow, NPR
Detrow writes: "Trump's support for Moore comes despite numerous women who say that Moore pursued relationships and sexual encounters with them when he was in his thirties and they were teenagers. One woman told the Washington Post that she was 14 when Moore initiated sexual contact with her."
READ MORE

(Not) a Vindication of the Rights of Women
Madhulika Sikka, The Daily Beast
Sikka writes: "It is a time to be angry at every man who has behaved in a repugnant fashion and to be angry for all those women who were subject to Charlie Rose's indecency or Matt Lauer's sickening assaults, or Mark Halperin's obnoxious come-ons and promises of quid pro quos. The list goes on."
READ MORE

Ali Abdullah Saleh, Yemen's Former President, Killed in Sanaa
Al Jazeera
Excerpt: "Yemen's ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh has been killed near the capital, Sanaa, a development expected to have major implications for the war in the Arab world's poorest country."
READ MORE

Mixed Forests Are Healthier, but Can They Survive Climate Change?
Tim Radford, EcoWatch
Radford writes: "German researchers have confirmed once again that a good forest is a mixed forest, a natural one, with a diversity of species. The more diverse the forest, the better it becomes at doing what forests do."
READ MORE

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Senate Republicans stole your future late last night

Late last night, Senate Republicans snuck into military bases and VA facilities across the country and stole a little bit of every veterans' future.

The tax bill that just passed gives massive sums of money to some of the wealthiest people in this country, and when the final bill emerges, it likely will do so, in part, by cutting benefits for companies that hire veterans, for example.

And now that they've raised the debt by more than a trillion dollars, if you don't think Republicans are going to try do things like privatize the VA, and gut Social Security and Medicare to pay for tax cuts for the rich, then I have a bridge to sell you.

It's all very outrageous. But if you really want revenge -- if you really want them to understand how angry you are -- you have to express it in a language they understand: campaign contributions.

Donate $10 to VoteVets today to help us elect a new generation of progressive veterans challenging a good number of the Republicans who voted for these massive tax cuts for the rich.

This legislation is bad long-term news for veterans and military families. Not only are many of the scraps for working families set to expire in a way the giveaways for the rich do not, but the massive cuts to the services we rely on our next. Count on it.

Unless we stop them.

- The team at VoteVets

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MASSterLis: Veritas dupes | Pointing fingers | On the hook

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This email may be cut off by your email provider. To see today's full MASSterList, click "View entire message" at the bottom, or view the online version here. By Jay Fitzgerald and Keith Regan 11/30/2017 Veritas dupes | Pointing fingers | On the hook

Happening Today

Sonja Farak cases, Life-sciences boost, Christmas tree lighting -- ACLU of Massachusetts and the Committee for Public Counsel Services hold a press conference to discuss their petition urging the Supreme Judicial Court to dismiss all drug cases involving former state chemist Sonja Farak, who pled guilty in 2014 to tampering with evidence, ACLU ofices, 211 Congress St., 4th floor, Boston, 11 a.m. -- Boston Mayor Martin Walsh, Premier Stephen McNeil of Nova Scotia and Mayor Michael Savage of Halifax celebrate the annual donation of a holiday tree from Halifax to Boston, marking the two cities' friendship, Boston Common, 11 a.m. -- The Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging TechnologyJwill focus on the state's life sciences industry at a hearing, including legislation that would steer $500 million to support the life sciences, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Albert Sherman Center, Worcester, 11 a.m. -- Senate President Stanley Rosenberg gives the lunchtime keynote at the annual meeting of the Massachusetts Newspaper Publishers Association, Bastille Kitchen, 49 Melcher St., Boston, starts at 10 a.m. and Rosenberg’s remarks at 12:30 p.m. -- U.S. Rep. Michael Capuano is a guest on ‘Boston Public Radio,’ WGBH-FM 89.7, 12:30 p.m. -- The I-90 Allston Interchange Improvement Project Task Force will hold a meeting to discuss the draft environmental impact report that MassDOT will file with the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, Fiorentino Community Center, 123 Antwerp Street, Allston, 6 p.m. -- Boston Mayor Martin Walsh and the Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil commemorate 100 years of friendship between Boston and Nova Scotia at the 76th Annual Tree Lighting, Boston Common, 6 p.m. -- U.S. Rep. Katherine Clark, Massachusetts AFL-CIO, Massachusetts Building Trades Council and Ironworkers Local 7 host a rally and reception for Randy ‘Ironstache’ Bryce, a union ironworker who is running against U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan in Wisconsin, Common Ground Bar & Grille, 319 Broadway, Arlington, 7 p.m.

Today's News

Customer service doesn’t come first at CharlieCard store Long lines. An argument with a customer. A Dunkin’ Donuts coffee run while customers wait. CommonWealth’s Jack Sullivan saw it all during a recent visit to the T’s CharlieCard store. MBTA general manager Luis Ramirez’s customers-first campaign has a lot of work to do, it seems. CommonWealth

State may lose $295M if Congress doesn’t act soon That's a lot of money to find if the feds don't act. From Priyanka Dayal McCluskey at the Globe: “Massachusetts is on track to run out of money in January for a federal program that provides health coverage for 172,000 children in the state unless Congress moves quickly to approve new funding. Without congressional action, Massachusetts is slated to lose $295 million in annual funding, according to state health officials.” Gov. Baker yesterday sent a letter to D.C. leaders on behalf of National Governors Association, McCluskey writes. Boston Globe

Project Veritas wants state law overturned so it can dupe victims here They’re so righteous about it too. From Danny McDonald at the Globe: “Project Veritas, the group that was apparently caught red-handed this week trying to dupe The Washington Post, is challenging the legality of a Massachusetts law that makes it a crime to secretly record conversations. Project Veritas Action Fund, an affiliate of the group that uses deceptive tactics and secret taping to expose alleged bias among journalists, is suing Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley in federal court, claiming a state law on recording conversations is overly broad and tantamount to censorship.” Btw: The Washington Post is taking a blowtorch to Project Veritas this morning, exposing how the group plotted for months to entrap Post reporters and the lying text messages sent by the woman peddling the bogus Roy Moore allegations. Boston Globe

In hate crimes response, Westfield State to blanket campus with cameras The irony of Project Veritas trying to overturn private-recording laws while a state government entity goes overboard with installing security cameras. How overboard? Westfield State University trustees have voted to install more than 400 security cameras across campus in response to a rash of hate crimes in recent months, Hope E. Tremblay reports at MassLive. As they say, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. MassLive

Walsh points finger at Chang and Flynn, Battenfeld points finger at Walsh Mayor Marty Walsh is blaming Superintendent Tommy Chang for not telling him sooner about the apparent misuse of student activity accounts found in an IRS audit, reports the Globe’s James Vaznis. Walsh is even pointing a finger at former Mayor Ray Flynn. But the Herald’s Joe Battenfeld says it’s all nonsense. “So the city of Boston shells out a nearly $1 million fine to the IRS on Election Day and Mayor Marty Walsh doesn’t notice? Sure. Right. Walsh is playing dumb.” Public school officials sure heard an earful last night from angry parents, reports the Herald’s Dan Atkinson and Kathleen McKiernan.

Not even CEOs like the Republican tax plan The Globe’s Shirley Leung has a good piece about how even corporate CEOs, who are supposed to be among the biggest beneficiaries of the Republican tax-cut proposals, think the promised economic gains from the cuts are mostly bogus. “Totally ludicrous,” concludes one local CEO. Boston Globe

Cannabis Commission to get more cash A few days after signing a $15,000-per-month temporary office lease, the Cannabis Control Commission is now in line, it seems, to get an additional $2.7 million for operations. SHNS’s Katie Lannan at the Salem News reports how a spending bill began moving through the House Ways and Means Committee late yesterday, a move that would appropriate extra funds for the agency charged with developing new regulations for the recently legalized marijuana industry in Massachusetts. The appropriation, assuming it’s eventually passed, would bring the commission’s budget to $5 million, which is still short of what the agency says it needs in the long run. Salem News

‘Matt didn’t think his farts stunk’ Sorry for the crude headline, but the quote was too good to pass up regarding the arrogance of Matt Lauer, the now ousted NBC television host and former Boston broadcast veteran accused of serial sexual-harassment behavior. The Herald’s Olivia Vanni has more local media reactions to Matt’s plight. Speaking of the media, the Globe’s Joan Vennochi tallies up all the high-profile media members caught up in the #MeToo movement. The list is getting longer by the day. Boston Herald

Should taxpayers be on the hook for Beacon Hill harassment settlements? Good question. From the Herald’s Brian Dowling: “Senate President Stanley Rosenberg says a review of the state Senate’s sexual harassment policies could examine whether taxpayers should be on the hook when it comes to paying out settlements for misconduct.” Rosenberg makes a good point about the responsibility of workplace employers in such matters. Boston Herald

Meanwhile, Moulton slams sexual-harassment payouts by Congress Speaking of taxpayers being on the hook for sexual-harassment settlements, from Shannon Young at MassLive: “U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Salem, slammed a recently released Congressional Office of Compliance report, which noted that it has spent more than $17 million on 264 settlements and awards to federal employees for violations of various employment rules, including sexual harassment, since 1997.  Calling the report's findings a ‘scheme (that) is appalling and unacceptable,’ Moulton urged congressional leaders to set better standards for workplace behavior.” MassLive Baker has distanced himself from Trump, but not Republicans at the local level Gov. Charlie Baker’s trip to Fitchburg last night to campaign for Dean Tran, the GOP candidate for the state Senate seat recently vacated by Democrat Jennifer Flanagan, shows he hasn’t given up trying to elect Republicans at the local level, even though he’s distanced himself from a certain Republican leader now residing in the White House, reports SHNS’s Michael Norton at New Boston Post. Meanwhile, Leominster City Councilor Sue Chalifoux Zephir, the Democrat vying for Flanagan’s seat in the special election, is attacking Republicans for attacking her husband’s past business dealings. Here’s her Facebook video response. She’s also launching a media blitz as the campaign winds to a close. Here’s that Facebook video. New Boston Post Prosecutors modify extortion charges against Walsh aides Federal prosecutors have tweaked extortion charges against two aides to Mayor Marty Walsh in a case scheduled to go to trial early next year, possibly in a bid to protect potential guilty verdicts from being tossed on appeal, Isaiah Thompson of WGBH reports. Defense attorneys say the late changes could open doors to having the case itself challenged.  WGBH Lawrence’s Rivera endorses Matias in Third District race Lawrence Mayor Daniel Rivera isn’t waiting around to find out if the field of candidates seeking the Third Congressional seat keeps growing (it’s already at 12 on the Democratic side alone). Lisa Kashinsky of the Eagle-Tribune reports Rivera has formally endorsed state Rep. Juana Matias, noting in doing so that it’s been more than three decades since someone from Lawrence served in the U.S. House of Representatives.  Eagle Tribune Troopergate suit refocuses on Worcester DA’s office From James Russell at the Telegram: “One of the two federal lawsuits filed against top state police officials, involving accusations that troopers were told to alter records detailing the arrest of a judge’s daughter, was amended Tuesday and promises to name as defendants employees in the office of Worcester District Attorney Joseph D. Early Jr.” Telegram Harvard’s plans for Allston, explained, in broad themes CommonWealth’s Bruce Mohl reports on a meeting last night between Harvard officials and Allston residents, who have long wanted a lot more details on what exactly Harvard plans to do with the vast tracts of land that it owns in Allston. They mostly got some broad themes last night, not specific details, by the look of it. CommonWealth Meanwhile, Harvard-Yale game to be played at Fenway, not Allston This may be welcome news by some Allston residents, but we’re pretty sure the smaller venue will upset many alumni who can't find tickets. From the Harvard Crimson: “The 135th meeting of the Harvard Crimson and the Yale Bulldogs will be played at Boston’s Fenway Park instead of Harvard Stadium, Fenway Sports Management announced Wednesday morning. The annual football match has not been played at a location other than Harvard Stadium or the Yale Bowl since 1912, according to a press release from the Harvard Athletics Department.” In case you’re wondering, the Crimson's football calendar year translates into 2018, for all you who use the Gregorian calendar. Visiting Cape seashore to get more expensive The National Park Service is poised to boost entrance fees for pedestrians, bicyclists and motorcycles at the Cape Cod National Seashore next summer, though the fee for cars is expected to hold steady at $20, Christine Legere of the Cape Cod Times reports. The service is taking comments on the fees, but it sounds like a done deal to us.  Cape Cod Times Council bags plastic bags, slaps 5-cent charge on paper bags Even though some communities are reportedly reconsidering their prior bans on plastic bags, the Boston City Council yesterday unanimously approved a measure that would ban plastic shopping bags and impose a 5-cent fee on paper bags and thicker plastic bags, writes Universal Hub’s Adam Gaffin. The measure would go into effect in a year if approved by Mayor Walsh, whose office says he’s reviewing the proposal. Universal Hub Former Comptroller of the Currency and state banking commissioner lands at Nutter Thomas Curry, who recently left his post as U.S. Comptroller of the Currency and who previously served as the state’s banking commissioner, has started working as a partner at Boston’s Nutter McClennen & Fish LLP. The BBJ’s Greg Ryan takes a look into Curry’s first foray into private-practice law. BBJ Summers, Messina join advisory board of Somerville’s PillBack Inc. Two political heavyweights -- former Harvard president and U.S. Treasury Larry Summers and former Obama campaign manager Jim Messina – are hooking up with medicine delivery startup PillBack Inc., Summers as a member of the firm’s strategic advisory committee and Messina as a member of the board of directors, reports Kelly O’Brien at the BBJ. BBJ Texas kids just want to hear more about Boston’s history This is a sweet story about some kids in Texas trying to revive the lost art of letter writing – and now they’re asking Boston kids to write back to Mrs. Jones’s Fifth Grade Class in Emory, Texas, about the 1765 Stamp Act and Boston colonists. The Herald’s Jessica Heslam has the details.  Boston Herald Today's Headlines Metro Council takes first step toward building new Boston Arts Academy - Universal Hub City prepared to face Old Man Winter - Boston Herald Massachusetts North-South rail link advocates, including Dukakis, meet in Quincy - Patriot Ledger Judge denies Eagle request to release documents in Berkshire Museum case - Berkshire Eagle Rosenberg hails Senate work, eyes minimum wage hike cautiously - Hampshire Gazette State obtains judgment in data breach affecting Plainville, Norfolk and Foxboro students - Sun Chronicle Nation Project Veritas’ efforts to infiltrate Post extended back many months - Washington Post Mueller’s prosecutors are said to have interviewed Kushner - New York Times To view more events or post an event listing on Beacon Hill Town Square, please visit events.massterlist.com. Beacon Hill Town Square