Great examples, Robert, from two different centuries illustrating what working as a team in the best interest of all can accomplish. John Adams and I agree on his statement that "There is nothing which I dread so much as a division of the republic into two great parties . . . This, in my humble apprehension, is to be dreaded as the greatest political evil under our Constitution." We're proving him right in this century. https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/01/two-party-system-broke-constitution/604213/ And, here's another quote by him I found this evening that also fits our time. “I fear that in every elected office, members will obtain an influence by noise not sense. By meanness, not greatness. By ignorance, not learning. By contracted hearts, not large souls . . . There must be decency and respect.” As a bit of trivia when I worked at Digital Equipment Corporation in Massachusetts, one of our vice presidents was John Adams, the first son of the first son back to the founding father. We,the People, all of us together this time.
The credit for the slogan goes to artist Jeff Carpenter. https://jcarpenterstudio.com/ His environmental and climate crisis art in particular has a wonderful message. He did a show not long ago where they actually flooded the gallery and gave people galoshes while they walked around the exhibit. Let's leave no one out this time.
Hi, Cathy, John Adams has always fascinated me--very complicated man--and surprisingly intuitive as he identifies the enemies: "noise, meanness, ignorance, and contracted hearts." Not too many have that level of understanding of the points in our human nature where we are most vulnerable. With that knowledge, we can don our armor and win all the battles.
There is no respect offered or received in Congress today because the leader of the Republican Party and his cult legislators follow his lead which does not include the word respect. The January 6th hearings will offer finally a view the total corruption of the party and the guilty legislators some of whom are running for office.
I have lived on the Gulf Coast for over 20 years and have observed Mr Thompson. Thank you for giving him the kudos he deserves. He is a very good man and a very good American.
Thank you Robert. Next week, the hearings will continue to be prominent but Ginni Thomas! How Roberts and his colleagues can still do nothing about Clarence Thomas's voting on relevant coup topics will go down in history as another Supreme Court mystery. Anyone who has been married for more than 10 years is likely to agree with me when I observe that maintaining two separate lives is a whole lot easier in the imagining than it is in the doing.
Thanks, Swbv. What is inconceivable to me is that there is no accountability for blatant breaches of the most fundamental ethics for the Supreme Court of the United States. They have no rules! Clarence Thomas has been a disgrace since before even us old people knew he existed. That Ginni has surfaced as almost a parody of herself (who can possibly be that really awful?) and that. Clarence has ramped up his willingness to flaunt any semblance of the dignity of his office is not a surprise. Although, I will admit, these two are many times worse than even the worst I could imagine.
That might be the longest, wordiest, most rambling thing I've posted since the last one :-(
At a minimum, Clarence Thomas should have the basic decency to recuse himself from relevant cases. Otherwise, everyone will believe the decision making has been poisoned. Robert’s should actually step up
Unfortunately, while Roberts could speak to Thomas, he could not force him to resign. What might be effective would be if the other justices, particularly the yahoos on the court, would let Thomas know that they think he should recuse himself. Although he's such a curmudgeon (and I speak as one who had rights to www.oldcurmudgeon.com for some years) that he would likely ignore them. On the other hand, if his wife were indicted, as she ought to be...
I m matching with a full heart and ardent conviction. Tho i do not hold out a good deal of hope for the Senate I make phone calls of commendation, and then of conviction to perhaps be a voice of reason to those who love their guns more than humanity. I feel we need the same fervor that was demonstrated to pass the affordable care act now. What America is facing now is one act of violence after the other. We CANNOT BECOME NUMB TO THIS AND MUST ELECT THOSE WHO HOLD GUN SAFETY DEAR. I could go on and one but believe me I m in this fight to at least rid households of AR 15 weapons now. peace☮️☮️☮️☮️
Good morning, Jill. Although I, too, hold out little hope for significant gun measures, we simply cannot afford to let despair paralyze us. And it can so easily. It is one of the fundamental weapons of an encroaching authoritarianism--this pounding of our minds and senses until we are numb. The human psyche can only maintain outrage for a limited time. We who are pushing back have held out for an amazingly long time. We have to keep on, just. until we've rounded the corner!!
I absolutely agree with you. Outrage is exhausting, but the determination to persist is strengthening. We need to support one another. Just remembering Trump's nasty little face is enough to remind me how important it is not to be "governed" by that group ever again.
I watched the hearing, gavel to gavel and thank you, C-Span! The testimony of Caroline Edwards was particularly heart-rending. My thoughts were: "This could have been my kid", and I would have been proud-and furious. Thank you for this extra newsletter.
Good morning, Thank you for presenting that information about Adams and Jefferson and how the drafting of the Declaration of Independence occurred. I did not know about this collaboration between those two men, and your comparison to Thompson and Cheney was perfect.
The way you started this I looked at the top to check that I wasn't reading Heather Cox Richardson.. (I read you both each morning.) Yes indeed Liz Cheney was the obvious messenger and I'm sure the committee as a whole agreed. Off to the march in Vermont!
Thanks! The history is more complicated than my two paragraph summary, but the essential point is there. Jefferson, who was a proud and vain man who always had his eye on history, denied the story. Jefferson said that everyone recognized by acclamation that he was a brilliant writer. But Adams's story has the ring of truth. Adams said that in addition to the geographic advantage in having Jefferson write the declaration, he told Jefferson, "I am obnoxious and unpopular, and you are the opposite." No one writes that about themselves unless they are telling the truth. And, of course, having Jefferson write the declaration did bring along the Southern colonies to join the revolution.
It wasn't until I watched Hamilton streaming on Disney+ at the beginning of the pandemic that I had any idea Thomas Jefferson was anything less than perfect! I went to UVA for my master's and several years ago the Alumni Magazine covered slavery and how Jefferson had owned slaves. There were several rather current book reviews, too, that got into the slavery issue, but I was still left with the feeling that Jefferson was a product of his time and no more. Hamilton, and your comparison to John Adams, has added to my perspective. And the thing is, I've read or watched a lot of material over my lifetime that glossed over many, many historical truths. It seems apparent now that all this suppression of history in our schools and in the movements finally gaining some really good traction, is coming unraveled and it has Republicans working overtime to keep us all in the dark because it serves their greedy needs.
Thanks for the Saturday morning treat it was greatly appreciated. Please note that in my opinion the “ bad guy with a gun vs the good guy with a gun “ has been replaced by Republicans with “ it’s a mental health issue” Everyone wants to blame the mass shootings on everything but the gun. Every country has mental health issues but our easy access and over abundance of guns makes the situation deadly. By blaming mental health challenges we conveniently don’t have to deal with gun safety laws and regulations.
Yes, you are right. A good way to look at the demise of the "bad guy with a gun" myth. The new mantra is mental health. I look forward to the flood of investment in red states into mental health programs, including Medicaid, homelessness prevention, food insecurity prevention, drug rehabilitation. . . .
Good to see that Sen. Lummis is reviewing her position on possible gun control measures. Even better to see that she's doing so based on input from her constituents, a very rare motivating factor for most politicians these days. It will be interesting to see if that worries the NRA enough for them to ramp up lobbying/bribery activities in her state.
Marching in NYC today. Appreciate your encouragement to join a protest, because it’s an effort to get there. But, I want to add my physical presence to the protest against gun violence. It’s the least I can do for the victims of this uniquely American disease. Repeal the 2nd Amendment. Buy back all guns. That’s my wish sent into the Universe. ❤️🤍💙
Jun 11, 2022·edited Jun 11, 2022Liked by Robert B. Hubbell
Robert, I am glad you hinted at a few flaws in John Adams' character. Your point here is well taken, but whenever I see his name I think of poor Abigail, managing all he left behind while he attended the Continental Congress, or was negotiating in Europe. (It's interesting to note that so many of our founding fathers lived the good life in England and France, months on end, while their wives struggled on our early frontiers, or with diseases borne of contagion and poor sanitation. In early days, pre-and- post revolution, there were very few amenities.)
Adams was a great but deeply flawed man. Jefferson was worse, but there is a towering monument to Jefferson on the National Mall and NO monument to Adams. Without Adams, there would be no America. He literally hectored the delegates into declaring independence, which is why he was unpopular among his contemporaries. Jefferson spent most of administration trying to undo the idea of the United States, and then spent the next three decades writing letters that revised his role in history to make him look better than Adams.
Wow! Jefferson was quite a character. I've also read that he left his wife at home and took Sally Hemings, then aged thirteen, with him to Europe. Thanks for the deep understanding of Adams. So many complex characters in our history...not just Hamilton!
Marching in Beacon NY today. Doing nothing is not an option. Inspiring to read that others are marching too! “It doesn’t matter how strong your opinions are. If you don’t use your power for positive change, you are indeed part of the problem.” ~ Coretta Scott King
1) some 20 million viewed the hearings, 2) Cheney was powerful, concise and well spoken, any thoughts on wearing a blue suit? 3) DJT "didn't even know it was airing"?? 4) Don't forget about Ginni Thomas.
Great examples, Robert, from two different centuries illustrating what working as a team in the best interest of all can accomplish. John Adams and I agree on his statement that "There is nothing which I dread so much as a division of the republic into two great parties . . . This, in my humble apprehension, is to be dreaded as the greatest political evil under our Constitution." We're proving him right in this century. https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/01/two-party-system-broke-constitution/604213/ And, here's another quote by him I found this evening that also fits our time. “I fear that in every elected office, members will obtain an influence by noise not sense. By meanness, not greatness. By ignorance, not learning. By contracted hearts, not large souls . . . There must be decency and respect.” As a bit of trivia when I worked at Digital Equipment Corporation in Massachusetts, one of our vice presidents was John Adams, the first son of the first son back to the founding father. We,the People, all of us together this time.
I’ve meant to write for some time that I haven’t come across a better “slogan”: “We the People, All of Us This Time”. ❤️🤍💙
The credit for the slogan goes to artist Jeff Carpenter. https://jcarpenterstudio.com/ His environmental and climate crisis art in particular has a wonderful message. He did a show not long ago where they actually flooded the gallery and gave people galoshes while they walked around the exhibit. Let's leave no one out this time.
Hi, Cathy, John Adams has always fascinated me--very complicated man--and surprisingly intuitive as he identifies the enemies: "noise, meanness, ignorance, and contracted hearts." Not too many have that level of understanding of the points in our human nature where we are most vulnerable. With that knowledge, we can don our armor and win all the battles.
There is no respect offered or received in Congress today because the leader of the Republican Party and his cult legislators follow his lead which does not include the word respect. The January 6th hearings will offer finally a view the total corruption of the party and the guilty legislators some of whom are running for office.
I have lived on the Gulf Coast for over 20 years and have observed Mr Thompson. Thank you for giving him the kudos he deserves. He is a very good man and a very good American.
And IMO brilliant
❤️
Thank you Robert. Next week, the hearings will continue to be prominent but Ginni Thomas! How Roberts and his colleagues can still do nothing about Clarence Thomas's voting on relevant coup topics will go down in history as another Supreme Court mystery. Anyone who has been married for more than 10 years is likely to agree with me when I observe that maintaining two separate lives is a whole lot easier in the imagining than it is in the doing.
Thanks, Swbv. What is inconceivable to me is that there is no accountability for blatant breaches of the most fundamental ethics for the Supreme Court of the United States. They have no rules! Clarence Thomas has been a disgrace since before even us old people knew he existed. That Ginni has surfaced as almost a parody of herself (who can possibly be that really awful?) and that. Clarence has ramped up his willingness to flaunt any semblance of the dignity of his office is not a surprise. Although, I will admit, these two are many times worse than even the worst I could imagine.
That might be the longest, wordiest, most rambling thing I've posted since the last one :-(
My long, wordy, rambling thoughts EXACTLY, Dean!!
What Ginni Thomas did is—at best—very close to several federal crimes, including sedition.
At a minimum, Clarence Thomas should have the basic decency to recuse himself from relevant cases. Otherwise, everyone will believe the decision making has been poisoned. Robert’s should actually step up
Unfortunately, while Roberts could speak to Thomas, he could not force him to resign. What might be effective would be if the other justices, particularly the yahoos on the court, would let Thomas know that they think he should recuse himself. Although he's such a curmudgeon (and I speak as one who had rights to www.oldcurmudgeon.com for some years) that he would likely ignore them. On the other hand, if his wife were indicted, as she ought to be...
I m matching with a full heart and ardent conviction. Tho i do not hold out a good deal of hope for the Senate I make phone calls of commendation, and then of conviction to perhaps be a voice of reason to those who love their guns more than humanity. I feel we need the same fervor that was demonstrated to pass the affordable care act now. What America is facing now is one act of violence after the other. We CANNOT BECOME NUMB TO THIS AND MUST ELECT THOSE WHO HOLD GUN SAFETY DEAR. I could go on and one but believe me I m in this fight to at least rid households of AR 15 weapons now. peace☮️☮️☮️☮️
Good morning, Jill. Although I, too, hold out little hope for significant gun measures, we simply cannot afford to let despair paralyze us. And it can so easily. It is one of the fundamental weapons of an encroaching authoritarianism--this pounding of our minds and senses until we are numb. The human psyche can only maintain outrage for a limited time. We who are pushing back have held out for an amazingly long time. We have to keep on, just. until we've rounded the corner!!
I absolutely agree with you. Outrage is exhausting, but the determination to persist is strengthening. We need to support one another. Just remembering Trump's nasty little face is enough to remind me how important it is not to be "governed" by that group ever again.
I watched the hearing, gavel to gavel and thank you, C-Span! The testimony of Caroline Edwards was particularly heart-rending. My thoughts were: "This could have been my kid", and I would have been proud-and furious. Thank you for this extra newsletter.
Good morning, Thank you for presenting that information about Adams and Jefferson and how the drafting of the Declaration of Independence occurred. I did not know about this collaboration between those two men, and your comparison to Thompson and Cheney was perfect.
My wife and I are traveling from MA to NJ today for a wedding but will march in Princeton before the wedding.
Bring the bride! It would be a good way to start a marriage, and a great story for the children.
The way you started this I looked at the top to check that I wasn't reading Heather Cox Richardson.. (I read you both each morning.) Yes indeed Liz Cheney was the obvious messenger and I'm sure the committee as a whole agreed. Off to the march in Vermont!
Thanks! The history is more complicated than my two paragraph summary, but the essential point is there. Jefferson, who was a proud and vain man who always had his eye on history, denied the story. Jefferson said that everyone recognized by acclamation that he was a brilliant writer. But Adams's story has the ring of truth. Adams said that in addition to the geographic advantage in having Jefferson write the declaration, he told Jefferson, "I am obnoxious and unpopular, and you are the opposite." No one writes that about themselves unless they are telling the truth. And, of course, having Jefferson write the declaration did bring along the Southern colonies to join the revolution.
It wasn't until I watched Hamilton streaming on Disney+ at the beginning of the pandemic that I had any idea Thomas Jefferson was anything less than perfect! I went to UVA for my master's and several years ago the Alumni Magazine covered slavery and how Jefferson had owned slaves. There were several rather current book reviews, too, that got into the slavery issue, but I was still left with the feeling that Jefferson was a product of his time and no more. Hamilton, and your comparison to John Adams, has added to my perspective. And the thing is, I've read or watched a lot of material over my lifetime that glossed over many, many historical truths. It seems apparent now that all this suppression of history in our schools and in the movements finally gaining some really good traction, is coming unraveled and it has Republicans working overtime to keep us all in the dark because it serves their greedy needs.
Same for me! The whole first half! Great history lesson, Robert!
Thanks for the Saturday morning treat it was greatly appreciated. Please note that in my opinion the “ bad guy with a gun vs the good guy with a gun “ has been replaced by Republicans with “ it’s a mental health issue” Everyone wants to blame the mass shootings on everything but the gun. Every country has mental health issues but our easy access and over abundance of guns makes the situation deadly. By blaming mental health challenges we conveniently don’t have to deal with gun safety laws and regulations.
Yes, you are right. A good way to look at the demise of the "bad guy with a gun" myth. The new mantra is mental health. I look forward to the flood of investment in red states into mental health programs, including Medicaid, homelessness prevention, food insecurity prevention, drug rehabilitation. . . .
I see a "Flood of investment in Red States into mental health programs," now there's an affirmation I can get behind!!
I will march with other grandmothers. This is insanity. Register guns just like we do cars.
Another grandmother against guns!
Good to see that Sen. Lummis is reviewing her position on possible gun control measures. Even better to see that she's doing so based on input from her constituents, a very rare motivating factor for most politicians these days. It will be interesting to see if that worries the NRA enough for them to ramp up lobbying/bribery activities in her state.
Marching in NYC today. Appreciate your encouragement to join a protest, because it’s an effort to get there. But, I want to add my physical presence to the protest against gun violence. It’s the least I can do for the victims of this uniquely American disease. Repeal the 2nd Amendment. Buy back all guns. That’s my wish sent into the Universe. ❤️🤍💙
Thank you! I’m marching in Saugerties NY today. Recently finished the tome John Adams. They don’t make many folks like that any more.
Well, there’s Adam Schiff and Jamie Raskin. And Liz Cheney.
Absolutely, there are a few. ❤️
I'll add Bennie Thomas, Adam Kinzinger, and some of our younger congresswomen, AOC and the squad.
Robert, I am glad you hinted at a few flaws in John Adams' character. Your point here is well taken, but whenever I see his name I think of poor Abigail, managing all he left behind while he attended the Continental Congress, or was negotiating in Europe. (It's interesting to note that so many of our founding fathers lived the good life in England and France, months on end, while their wives struggled on our early frontiers, or with diseases borne of contagion and poor sanitation. In early days, pre-and- post revolution, there were very few amenities.)
Adams was a great but deeply flawed man. Jefferson was worse, but there is a towering monument to Jefferson on the National Mall and NO monument to Adams. Without Adams, there would be no America. He literally hectored the delegates into declaring independence, which is why he was unpopular among his contemporaries. Jefferson spent most of administration trying to undo the idea of the United States, and then spent the next three decades writing letters that revised his role in history to make him look better than Adams.
Wow! Jefferson was quite a character. I've also read that he left his wife at home and took Sally Hemings, then aged thirteen, with him to Europe. Thanks for the deep understanding of Adams. So many complex characters in our history...not just Hamilton!
That's exceptionally creepy. What's the deal with old guys and thirteen-year-olds?
Marching in Beacon NY today. Doing nothing is not an option. Inspiring to read that others are marching too! “It doesn’t matter how strong your opinions are. If you don’t use your power for positive change, you are indeed part of the problem.” ~ Coretta Scott King
Hey neighbor. I'm marching in Saugerties
1) some 20 million viewed the hearings, 2) Cheney was powerful, concise and well spoken, any thoughts on wearing a blue suit? 3) DJT "didn't even know it was airing"?? 4) Don't forget about Ginni Thomas.
Wonderful parallel in today’s column, Robert. I absolutely appreciate your daily counterbalancing of the horrors of each morning’s news.