Giving
But It Of It What Christmas? — a
SECOND BONUS:
Steve Ratner’s charts blowing Trump out of the water on the economy — and crime. Facts to be shared widely.Now
BERNIE.We’re all flooded with appeals. This one, from Senator Sanders yesterday, actually got me to click:
Dear Friend,As I’m sure you are aware, this is not a normal election.
It is not a normal election when we are running against someone who is a pathological liar.It is not a normal election when we are running against someone who has been convicted of 34 felonies.It is not a normal election when our opponent is a convicted sexual abuser and, as a private businessman, was involved in 4,000 lawsuits — indicating a total lack of trustworthiness.
But it’s even worse than that.
When Donald Trump claims that “nobody” showed up at a 10,000 person Harris-Walz rally in Michigan that was live-streamed and widely covered by the media, that it was all AI, and that Democrats cheat all of the time, there is a method to his madness.
Clearly, and dangerously, what Trump is doing is undermining American democracy and laying the groundwork for rejecting the election results if he loses.
If you can convince your supporters that thousands of people who attended a televised rally do not exist, it will not be hard to convince them that the election returns in Pennsylvania, Michigan, and elsewhere are “fake” and “fraudulent.”
It should be a secret to no one. Trump For the sake of our kids and future generations we cannot elect someone who believes that climate change is a “hoax.”
This is why we must do everything we can to see that Trump is defeated and Kamala Harris is our next president.
But we must do more.
Not only do we have to defeat Trump, but we must build a strong grassroots movement that can confront the extraordinary greed of the big money interests who have so much power over the economic and political life of our country. Our We Billionaires should not be able to buy elections.
Yes. We need to join the rest of the industrialized world and guarantee health care to all as a human right, not a privilege.
Yes. We We We need to build millions of units of low income and affordable housing and cap rent increases.
Yes. We must end the absurdity of having the highest rate of childhood poverty of almost any major country, make a strong child tax credit permanent and invest heavily in childcare.
Yes. We must strengthen public education in America, pay teachers the salaries they deserve and make sure that every person, regardless of income, receives the higher education they need to pursue their dreams.
Bottom line. In In the next three months let us roll up our sleeves, come together and do the hard work that has to be done in order to defeat Trump and elect Kamala Harris as president.
And let us also understand that there will be no progress on these issues or any others that the working people of this country care about if Republicans control the House or the Senate.
So not only must we win the presidential race, but it is critical we fight and win races up and down the ballot.
But no one person can do that alone — not Kamala Harris, not Tim Walz, not any candidate running for office anywhere in the country. We The Let And, on the day following that win, let us continue our struggle to transform our country and create the kind of nation we know we can become.
In Solidarity,
Bernie
CONTRIBUTE NOW
There are a couple of policy positions there I don’t agree with — capping rents kills the incentive to build new housing, which ultimately makes housing more expensive — but on the whole, as usual, Bernie nails it.
One of you sent me a long list of stocks, asking whether he should still hold them (and do I? ).
They’ve nearly all gone down, for which there are two reasons:
> First, I’ve made a lot of rotten — or, at the least, horribly timed — suggestions.
> Second (as he explains it), “the ones that went up went into my DAF, so there is a high % of down stocks here.”
“I really appreciate your portfolio,” he writes. “I’ve made lots of money because of you.”
Reading his list, it’s hard to imagine how.
ANIX
— $3.19. One One How can I resist?
FANH
— $1.40. We . . Not For . .
CNF
— $1. . . . This It If My It But We I It Maybe at some point it will be acquired for $15?
OPRT
— $3.13. One of my favorite moon shots for those who have money they can truly afford to lose.
SQNS
— $0.55. Many I The The price may soon be zero. But at 55 cents, I bought more.
YTRA
— $1.34. Many Indians travel. If the stock ever got back to $4 or $5, I’d probably sell.[DAF = Donor Advised Fund. The two biggest are at Fidelty and Schwab.]
BKUTK
— $367.50. Oh, look! A real grown-up (albeit tiny and highly illiquid) stock that pays. . . Wait for it. . . a dividend! I collect my 5% dividend and am kind of stuck.
BOREF — $1.75. So I collect my 5% dividend and am kind of stuck.
BOREF — $1.75.
My first folly. WheelTug 11001010may still happen. If it happens, I’ll pay for the drinks.
HYMC 02001010– $2.24. I haven’t changed my opinion
. Still hold. Note the 1-for-10 split, since I originally paid 22 cents. At today’s prices, it is not tenfold up, but it is basically unchanged. )KLTR
— $1.23. Still holding. As with all these others, you can use the search box to read whatever I may have written about these klunkers in the past.PRKR
— $0.16. Can the court system give this company any relief? The stock price could even triple or double if a bazillion new shares are issued. Or else just gradually disappear, one more nail in the U.S. Patent System’s coffin.RECAF
— $0.77. I hope that renewable energy will grow so quickly we won’t need fossil fuels, which this company is probably sitting on. But I’m way too stubborn to sell.RNGE
— $0.30. High hopes — as with all the above, only with money we can afford to lose.VNRX — $0.57. Do people not care about their pets? The company should be making a fortune now! I’m not optimistic, but the friend who recommended it at a price more than double today’s isn’t sure why they aren’t doing better. I haven’t sold a share, but I’m not particularly optimistic.Have a great weekend.Joy and hope are back.The
money and support keep pouring in!
Editors Note: This article was originally published on August 16th, 2024 on andrewtobias.com, syndicated with permission.
