The only way to control mass (or any) shootings is to regulate gun ownership. It is a fantasy to think we can control mental illness as a means to control shootings, pure fantasy as a way to avoid what we must do. We are enabling the weaponizing of people whose mental disturbance is seemingly normal, like Trump and his supremacist, anti-people followers. Maine's latest crazy shooter is what we get under current fantasy thinking.
We are in deep doodoo with Mike Johnson as Speaker of the House. Trump, the mob boss, is the most exhausting president I have ever encountered, and the rest of his mob with him. I cannot believe how I did not vote for him and he did not win, and yet, it is as if my vote cannot really count because Trump will not allow the will of the people to stand. The brain deterioration of Trump as evidenced by his speech is concerning. To think of someone that lacking in functioning as determining what is going on in the House, or any branch of government is criminal. I do see that Biden is between a rock and a hard place. Israel has traditionally been the most democratic nation in the region, just as Ukraine is the more democratic nation among the former Soviet States that are not part of the EU or NATO. Under Netanyahu, is Israel like the US under Trump, a backsliding democracy? In any case, that is the basis for support of Israel, over the religious support of Jews. I don't trust illiberal leaders to do what is in the best interests of the people, so I do not trust Netanyahu, just as I do not trust Trump, or any Republican for that matter. We know that Johnson is a supporter of Right-wing Israel, which Netanyahu represents, and so let us hope that the bundle that Biden is asking for which includes aid to Israel and Ukraine together will be approved. Let us hope that there can be pressure on Tommy Tuberville, Paul Rand and Ted Cruz to allow the filling of military and diplomatic posts. We need both in the region. I am just shocked at how Republicans are able to hold this up, and it shows us the holes in our system of government that individuals can block appointments like this, but they are backed by a dysfunctional network, of totalitarian seeking Republican elected representatives, and the right wing billionaire's club that seeks to destroy our democracy. I do not think Republicans are intelligent enough to regret their choice, and after wreaking many more months of havoc on the US and world, we will see whether they even connect losing seats (if it happens) to their choice to back Trump's guy, Mike Johnson.
Republicans have indeed made a grievous mistake in electing Mike Johnson as Speaker of the House. Unfortunately, that's not just because he "will be an albatross around the neck of every vulnerable Republican in districts won by Joe Biden in 2020."
It is a grievous mistake because he is particularly unsuited to the task of protecting the House of Representatives from the ongoing assault by MAGA extremism. Indeed, he's likely to be complicit.
All of us now need to be more vigilant than ever. We must stand ready to defend the institution at the heart of our self-governing democracy, whatever form that defense may take.
Just read this from Jennifer Rubin and I believe captures what the real situation is in this country. “ When a sizable portion of one of the major political parties, aided by a right-wing propaganda machine and infused with religious fervor, rejects the basis for multiracial, multicultural democracy, we face a severe crisis. Even if Trump does not return to the White House, this radicalized segment will not disappear. How we reintegrate millions of Americans into reality-based, pro-democracy politics in a diverse country remains the great challenge of our time“
If the "activists" of the far left constitute 1% of campus Democrats I will be amazed. 50 years ago, in a situation that called people to political action even more strongly than today does, there was never more than 10% of students who were involved as antiwar activists in any meaningful way - and the "anti-imperialist" left - the equivalent of today's "anti-colonialists" was something less than 1% of those involved. They seemed like more because their monkey screeching was louder. The same is true today with the entitled twits of the far left.
In 2016, when the Supremes vacated former Virginia Governor Robert McDonnell's conviction for honest services fraud and for extortion, they explained that "setting up a meeting, calling another public official, or hosting an event does not, standing alone, qualify as an official act." Now that we know so much more about the extent to which Supreme Court Justices Thomas and Alito and, perhaps others, have received benefits from "friends," it raises questions about the 2016 decision. Even though the decision was unanimous, some of the Justices may have been more conscious than others of the extent to which certain of their behaviors were no longer "official acts."
It will surprise me not at all if, down the road, we learn that Tom Emmer and his family received scary threats - like those inspired by loyalists to Jim Jordan recently. A reasonable RINO bows out of the Speaker's race? When he had been a long time member of leadership and very much in contention? I think he was scared off. And maybe I would have done the same thing if I thought my wife or kids were actually at risk. And that is such a totally disastrous commentary on the current state of MAGA Republican politics. And would be so typical of the thuggish Trump followers. If I'm right. Throw the bums out in 2024!!!!
"We should expect nothing less from President Biden—or any other president." I'd make that ...other elected official. Far too many view their responsibility as getting re-elected rather than governing to the best of their ability and that needs to change.
You wrote: "He should do what he believes is in the best interests of the U.S. without regard to the effect on his personal political prospects." I want to point out that it's not just his "personal political prospects" that are at risk if whichever path he takes alienates voters. We are ALL at risk. Our democracy, and the personal freedoms it provides and protects, are at even greater risk. Most of us will be hurt if Biden's handling of this predicament alienates enough voters to award Trump a second term. Judging from the (still-growing) havoc Trump wrought during his first term, I doubt we'd survive a second. HOWEVER, since some voters will be alienated no matter what path Biden chooses, he may as well go with his own best judgement, which is what he appears to be doing. I agree ... we should appreciate and applaud him. BRAVO 👏. ... and UH-OH .... 😱.
(I have some ideas about messaging to mitigate the age issue.)
Regarding Biden's support of Israel, I agree that he, along with the rest of us, faces an impossible predicament -- it's :"damned if you do, and damned if you don't". I'm grateful that his steady hand is at the helm as the currents become dangerous, and the sea begins to rumble.
At the heart of every "ism" is the desire for it to be easy - easy solutions, easy reasons, easy explanations, easy victims, easy hate, easy messages, easy identification, easy solidarity, and the list goes on. Life is not easy. Life is a struggle for all who breathe. We have been blessed (?) with the gift of reason and choice, yet we find reasons why not to choose or use our intellect, or trust our deepest hearts and intuition, or do the hard work of questioning. We are naturally flawed, yet we want to be right all the time. We are by nature all related, yet we seek differences..We want peace, yet if inside we are in turmoil, if inside we feel blameless and wish to blame others; if inside we cannot stand the pain, we then look for what's easy.
The question I have regarding the new speaker is - what are the prospects of passing bills to fund our government and fund Ukraine and Israel? If he is beholden to MAGA, what are the prospects of that happening? The general dysfunction that will likely happen will help in elections next year, but significant damage can be done this year if the government shuts down and Ukraine loses ground because funding stops.
It is beyond belief that even one Democrat would not vote for Biden because of his support for Israel? Fine if you don’t like how he is handling this issue. Or, any other issue! Or, if you think he’s too old! Or, you wouldn’t want to have dinner with him! Do these “I’m not going to vote for Biden” or “I’m not going to vote at all” realize the alternative is DONALD TRUMP!!!
When will all of this stop? Just today we have another mass shooting in Lewiston Maine, a Supreme Court Justice who received a loan forgiven of $ 247,000 from a person who has interests before the court, we have an election denier a fanatical articulate MAGNA advocate as the next Speaker of the House , a war in the Middle East and states like North Carolina creating extreme gerrymandered voting districts just to name a few things going on. I have excluded the Trump criminal clown show because frankly people have moved on and everyone knows he is guilty as charged. Here’s the thing we are all asking at a certain level “ when will the Supreme Court return back to creditably and not be totally politicized and when will Thomas being held accountable. When will the House govern instead of being held hostage by a small group of radical right wing members. When will be really return our country to the greatness we had before Newt Gingrich and the Republicans morphed into the radical party they have become. I asked a friend this question and he answered “ when average people get off their fat ass and vote and send a resounding message that this is not who we are. We can fix this, we have in the past we need to fix it now. Will we?
Thank you Robert. I rely upon your sober assessments on a daily basis. I usually feel better and calmer after reading your Newsletter.
The only way to control mass (or any) shootings is to regulate gun ownership. It is a fantasy to think we can control mental illness as a means to control shootings, pure fantasy as a way to avoid what we must do. We are enabling the weaponizing of people whose mental disturbance is seemingly normal, like Trump and his supremacist, anti-people followers. Maine's latest crazy shooter is what we get under current fantasy thinking.
We are in deep doodoo with Mike Johnson as Speaker of the House. Trump, the mob boss, is the most exhausting president I have ever encountered, and the rest of his mob with him. I cannot believe how I did not vote for him and he did not win, and yet, it is as if my vote cannot really count because Trump will not allow the will of the people to stand. The brain deterioration of Trump as evidenced by his speech is concerning. To think of someone that lacking in functioning as determining what is going on in the House, or any branch of government is criminal. I do see that Biden is between a rock and a hard place. Israel has traditionally been the most democratic nation in the region, just as Ukraine is the more democratic nation among the former Soviet States that are not part of the EU or NATO. Under Netanyahu, is Israel like the US under Trump, a backsliding democracy? In any case, that is the basis for support of Israel, over the religious support of Jews. I don't trust illiberal leaders to do what is in the best interests of the people, so I do not trust Netanyahu, just as I do not trust Trump, or any Republican for that matter. We know that Johnson is a supporter of Right-wing Israel, which Netanyahu represents, and so let us hope that the bundle that Biden is asking for which includes aid to Israel and Ukraine together will be approved. Let us hope that there can be pressure on Tommy Tuberville, Paul Rand and Ted Cruz to allow the filling of military and diplomatic posts. We need both in the region. I am just shocked at how Republicans are able to hold this up, and it shows us the holes in our system of government that individuals can block appointments like this, but they are backed by a dysfunctional network, of totalitarian seeking Republican elected representatives, and the right wing billionaire's club that seeks to destroy our democracy. I do not think Republicans are intelligent enough to regret their choice, and after wreaking many more months of havoc on the US and world, we will see whether they even connect losing seats (if it happens) to their choice to back Trump's guy, Mike Johnson.
Republicans have indeed made a grievous mistake in electing Mike Johnson as Speaker of the House. Unfortunately, that's not just because he "will be an albatross around the neck of every vulnerable Republican in districts won by Joe Biden in 2020."
It is a grievous mistake because he is particularly unsuited to the task of protecting the House of Representatives from the ongoing assault by MAGA extremism. Indeed, he's likely to be complicit.
All of us now need to be more vigilant than ever. We must stand ready to defend the institution at the heart of our self-governing democracy, whatever form that defense may take.
.
Just read this from Jennifer Rubin and I believe captures what the real situation is in this country. “ When a sizable portion of one of the major political parties, aided by a right-wing propaganda machine and infused with religious fervor, rejects the basis for multiracial, multicultural democracy, we face a severe crisis. Even if Trump does not return to the White House, this radicalized segment will not disappear. How we reintegrate millions of Americans into reality-based, pro-democracy politics in a diverse country remains the great challenge of our time“
If the "activists" of the far left constitute 1% of campus Democrats I will be amazed. 50 years ago, in a situation that called people to political action even more strongly than today does, there was never more than 10% of students who were involved as antiwar activists in any meaningful way - and the "anti-imperialist" left - the equivalent of today's "anti-colonialists" was something less than 1% of those involved. They seemed like more because their monkey screeching was louder. The same is true today with the entitled twits of the far left.
In 2016, when the Supremes vacated former Virginia Governor Robert McDonnell's conviction for honest services fraud and for extortion, they explained that "setting up a meeting, calling another public official, or hosting an event does not, standing alone, qualify as an official act." Now that we know so much more about the extent to which Supreme Court Justices Thomas and Alito and, perhaps others, have received benefits from "friends," it raises questions about the 2016 decision. Even though the decision was unanimous, some of the Justices may have been more conscious than others of the extent to which certain of their behaviors were no longer "official acts."
It will surprise me not at all if, down the road, we learn that Tom Emmer and his family received scary threats - like those inspired by loyalists to Jim Jordan recently. A reasonable RINO bows out of the Speaker's race? When he had been a long time member of leadership and very much in contention? I think he was scared off. And maybe I would have done the same thing if I thought my wife or kids were actually at risk. And that is such a totally disastrous commentary on the current state of MAGA Republican politics. And would be so typical of the thuggish Trump followers. If I'm right. Throw the bums out in 2024!!!!
"We should expect nothing less from President Biden—or any other president." I'd make that ...other elected official. Far too many view their responsibility as getting re-elected rather than governing to the best of their ability and that needs to change.
You wrote: "He should do what he believes is in the best interests of the U.S. without regard to the effect on his personal political prospects." I want to point out that it's not just his "personal political prospects" that are at risk if whichever path he takes alienates voters. We are ALL at risk. Our democracy, and the personal freedoms it provides and protects, are at even greater risk. Most of us will be hurt if Biden's handling of this predicament alienates enough voters to award Trump a second term. Judging from the (still-growing) havoc Trump wrought during his first term, I doubt we'd survive a second. HOWEVER, since some voters will be alienated no matter what path Biden chooses, he may as well go with his own best judgement, which is what he appears to be doing. I agree ... we should appreciate and applaud him. BRAVO 👏. ... and UH-OH .... 😱.
(I have some ideas about messaging to mitigate the age issue.)
Regarding Biden's support of Israel, I agree that he, along with the rest of us, faces an impossible predicament -- it's :"damned if you do, and damned if you don't". I'm grateful that his steady hand is at the helm as the currents become dangerous, and the sea begins to rumble.
At the heart of every "ism" is the desire for it to be easy - easy solutions, easy reasons, easy explanations, easy victims, easy hate, easy messages, easy identification, easy solidarity, and the list goes on. Life is not easy. Life is a struggle for all who breathe. We have been blessed (?) with the gift of reason and choice, yet we find reasons why not to choose or use our intellect, or trust our deepest hearts and intuition, or do the hard work of questioning. We are naturally flawed, yet we want to be right all the time. We are by nature all related, yet we seek differences..We want peace, yet if inside we are in turmoil, if inside we feel blameless and wish to blame others; if inside we cannot stand the pain, we then look for what's easy.
Now is not, now cannot be a time for easy.
The question I have regarding the new speaker is - what are the prospects of passing bills to fund our government and fund Ukraine and Israel? If he is beholden to MAGA, what are the prospects of that happening? The general dysfunction that will likely happen will help in elections next year, but significant damage can be done this year if the government shuts down and Ukraine loses ground because funding stops.
It is beyond belief that even one Democrat would not vote for Biden because of his support for Israel? Fine if you don’t like how he is handling this issue. Or, any other issue! Or, if you think he’s too old! Or, you wouldn’t want to have dinner with him! Do these “I’m not going to vote for Biden” or “I’m not going to vote at all” realize the alternative is DONALD TRUMP!!!
Exactly, Robert. Joe Biden is being a leader. And Republicans are being damn fools.
When will all of this stop? Just today we have another mass shooting in Lewiston Maine, a Supreme Court Justice who received a loan forgiven of $ 247,000 from a person who has interests before the court, we have an election denier a fanatical articulate MAGNA advocate as the next Speaker of the House , a war in the Middle East and states like North Carolina creating extreme gerrymandered voting districts just to name a few things going on. I have excluded the Trump criminal clown show because frankly people have moved on and everyone knows he is guilty as charged. Here’s the thing we are all asking at a certain level “ when will the Supreme Court return back to creditably and not be totally politicized and when will Thomas being held accountable. When will the House govern instead of being held hostage by a small group of radical right wing members. When will be really return our country to the greatness we had before Newt Gingrich and the Republicans morphed into the radical party they have become. I asked a friend this question and he answered “ when average people get off their fat ass and vote and send a resounding message that this is not who we are. We can fix this, we have in the past we need to fix it now. Will we?