Here in our town in Germany we just went to the polls to elect a new mayor. Are we hundred percent satisfied? No. Will we ever be with other candidates? No. But that is what democracy is all about, we get a chance to be heard and the outcome is always a compromise. Important is only to get out that vote!
Mar 13, 2023·edited Mar 13, 2023Liked by Robert B. Hubbell
Regarding your observation that DeSantas is a small time politician in a gerrymandered state and his fascist ideas may not play well on the national stage in 2024, I would be more comforted by that if I hadn’t watched a small time fascist crime family-head descend the golden escalator in 2015 and ascend to the highest office.
Never underestimate the power of chicanery over gullible voters.
Being a shallow Hollywood person, I have to say that tonight I have a smile on my face because, for the first time in a long time, My Side Won. All four acting awards went to veterans who the business had either kicked aside or relegated to irrelevance, who said "fuck you!" and went on. The best picture was not "international audio-visual entertainment" as I feared it might be, but rather the strangest movie I have seen in a long time, purely creative, which left me saying to myself after I saw it, "How did they pitch that?" I got to the end of the show and said to myself, "Maybe it's not as bad as I think out there." My Side Won.
Excellent analysis of not only why DeSantis is a big fish in the small pond of national influence 😀 Hopefully his radical plans for America will remain stranded in Florida, much as the poor constituents have my sympathy for their gerrymandered nightmare 😢
Heather just released her blog about the bank failure and how Janet Yellen and President Biden are already taking care of the problem to make sure it's contained.
That's what happens when America 🇺🇸 has professionals who have spent their lives in service for the people are in charge, and why it's unthinkable in any way, shape, or form 🤔 that the GOP clown 🤡 show even attempt to hold the debt ceiling hostage, just because they want to flex their 5 member majority. Hopefully the saner members of their caucus will cross the aisle for the sake of all America 🇺🇸 🙄 🙏. Should be interesting to see what happens to the orange 🍊 behemoth in NY and Georgia grand jury investigations as well as what progress Jack Smith has made 👍 😉
Mar 13, 2023·edited Mar 13, 2023Liked by Robert B. Hubbell
Robert,
My understanding is that there were two primary causes to the Silicon Valley Bank demise:
(a) Silicon Valley Bank invested heavily in bonds without apparently considering the risk of the impact of the Fed increasing interest rates to fight inflation which reduced the value of those bonds; and,
(b) as VC funding dried up (with the impact of Covid and increasing interest rates), tech companies needed to withdraw capital to fund their ongoing operations.
Also, the government also took over Signature Bank today. Signature Bank made heavy bets on cryptocurrency deposits only to face a huge loss with the collapse of FTX and cryptocurrency values.
One lesson my father, who grew up in the Great Depression, taught me was:always keep your money in a FDIC insured institution and never exceed FDIC insured limit in any one account. And, so, I have always followed his guidance, using Insured Cash Sweep Accounts that spreads funds in excess of the FDIC insured limits to other FDIC insured banks.
Meanwhile, before ICS accounts, my father purchased T-Bills. Today, I question whether T-Bills are even secure given that the Seditious Caucus of the Republican Party is threatening to allow the federal government to default on its debt. This would be catastrophic. Interest rates will skyrocket, existing treasury values will plummet and banks (who buy and sell the majority treasuries) will find themselves insolvent like SVB.
Lastly, as I posted in yesterday's (Sunday) comments, it was 90 years ago on Sunday, March 12th, 1933, just 8 days after taking office, when Franklin Delano Roosevelt give his first "Fire Side" chat to calm the nerves of Americans and assure them that, after the failure of almost 9,000 back since 1929, the federal government was going stabilize and regulate the banking industry. From his effort came the Glass-Steagall Banking Act of 1933. Here is the link to FDR's address - it is worth a listen:
Thanks always for your steady thinking. Yes support Biden in this upcoming time of increased gop madness. And re Internet issues—Joseph Campbell said the computer is like the Old Testament god—lots of rules and no mercy!
“All history should be taught, and all history should be remembered,” Loudoun Chair Phyllis J. Randall (D-At Large) said. “Not all history should be celebrated. There are some things in our history that we probably shouldn’t celebrate."
P.S.: My brow furrowed over the Willows project decision. But I still support Biden to see us through.
I am also a big fan of President Biden. I trust him. I like him. He has rebuilt our government and our reputation in the world. Lots more to do with both of those, of course. But we need not hang our heads in shame any longer. However, he is totally wrong on both of the issues you raise.
Biden has acknowledged that earlier in his Senate career he was wrong in supporting ultra tough on crime legislation (mandatory minimum sentences, etc.). Why he opposed a long overdue new crime bill in DC is baffling to me.
The decision to allow the Willow drilling project to go forward is a mistake with enormous consequences. The only people this will please were never going to vote for a Democrat! What's the point of this backslide on the environment and the future of our energy consumption?
I have stated many times that if Joe Biden is the nominee, I will support him. But he has now taken a sledge hammer to the potential voters that may now just stay home rather than vote. Young people EXPECT Democrats to stand for no more drilling! They EXPECT bold decisions that will have an impact on a Climate Crisis they will inherit. Joe Biden's advisors are out to lunch. They are not listening to Gen Y and Z who will represent about 45% of the electorate next year.
And it gets worse. If these younger people don't show up to vote, we will lose more than Presidency, the House and the Senate. We will lose those essential down ballot, state and local races where so much of our lives are governed.
At this point, I do not believe it would be disloyal to the Democratic party to open the field up for the Presidential nomination. The greatest worry I had about the lack of youthful support for Joe Biden has just doubled.
Mr. President: you are blowing an opportunity to rally our base. I wrote to you yesterday explaining this. I usually write to you with applause and support. Not this time.
Republicans don't seem to hesitate to appeal to their base. Why do Democrats equivocate? Our base is overwhelmingly on the side of modern criminal laws and halting damage to the planet. A candidate can always tack to the middle a bit during the general campaign. But now is the time to stand tall for the principles that define us! These two decisions are like a river of cold mud flowing into an otherwise fired up enthusiastic campaign rally.
I completely agree with your comments about DeSantis. But I want to add that over time he will take additional actions that will make him even more reprehensible to the larger voting population. For example the League of Women Voters was going to hold a rally at our Capitol and discovered that DeSantis had put in place an administrative procedure that barred rallies at the Capitol unless someone in his administration agreed to sponsor them. The League found a work around and had a press conference, they had their mouths taped to protest this violation of free speech. You see the bubble that DeSantis lives in is completely covered on the inside with a mirror and he can see only himself and the tiny little world he lives in. And he has no idea about the larger world that, in reality, is an alternative universe. As time goes by he will create an ever larger pile of fascist trash which, hopefully, repulse the majority of voters.
YES on the moral hazard comments. The government working on behalf of the wealthy and ambitious start ups that have deposited way more than the protected $250,000 is working to protect the economy. That same government working on behalf of student loan borrowers to forgive up to $20,000 for those earning less than $125,000 is working to protect the economy. And YES on Joe Biden. He has been successful beyond the expectations of everyone other than Jim Clyburn and those closest to Joe Biden.
I love your column but please don’t confuse Tallahassee with the rest of Florida. Yes, the absurdly thinking legislature meets here but its members live elsewhere in the state. Tallahassee itself is a blue dot in a red state. We have three colleges here and a highly educated population who almost always vote blue. Unfortunately the gerrymandered districts include enough red counties that it dilutes the usually liberal local voting.
Another perspective that may have been a consideration in the Willow matter is the Russian-Ukrainian war impact on energy supplies and the new Saudi leadership. This is a counter-balance. Even in the shorter term, it says that the US will be a net energy producer.
A few points to make regarding "Today's Edition - March 12, 2023"
I would like to offer a "correction," if you will, of a sentiment you expressed in your article on Ron DeSantis today. You say, "The most recent Navigator Research poll suggests that DeSantis’s dreams of a fascist America will fare poorly outside of Tallahassee—the capital of Florida and the nation’s 126th largest city. I don’t mean to suggest that the size of Tallahassee disqualifies the views of its citizens." To be accurate, it fairs poorly in Tallahasse. I will point out that Tallahassee is not a friendly area of the state for Ron DeSantis. It is the state capitol, but it is also a college town, home to several universities and state colleges, and generally is one of the "bluest" areas of the state. It is areas like "The Villages" in central Florida, and the Florida panhandle, (among too many other similar communities) that are bastions of the right-wing shtick that DeSantis peddles. Being a Floridian for most of my life, as well as a teacher union activist for much of my professional life, I've become well acquainted with which areas of the state are consistently "right", which are "left", and which may swing with the winds.
As for "unwavering" support of President Biden, that for me is not a question. While I am truly saddened to see him make political decisions contrary to his environmental promises, his overall performance has been extraordinary, given the circumstances he's faced. He has my unwavering support for 2024.
That said, I may not live long enough to see it, but I dream of a day when President Pete Buttigieg is in the Oval Office!
My husband was on the Town Council of our small town of Chevy Chase, MD. Occasionally he would come home from a council meeting and say "I think we did a great job tonight. Both side were unhappy!". We need to remember that when Biden does things that are contrary to our most fervent wishes. Those of us on the further left (me) must feel unhappy at times if we are to continue to elect democrats and keep our democracy alive.
Excellent Concluding Thoughts! On balance, Biden's policy choices are light years ahead of the prior administration's. We can't know Biden's political or societal calculus, but we can have confidence that it favors democracy and fairness. In stark contrast, I recall when Trump was elected, I gave him the benefit of doubt and a chance to dispel any misgivings I had. Sadly, he kept all the benefits for himself and confirmed the worst of my concerns. Biden continues to impress, despite a few missteps, in a very fraught period in our history.
Mar 13, 2023·edited Mar 13, 2023Liked by Robert B. Hubbell
"On Sunday, the Federal Reserve and US Treasury announced that they were taking extraordinary steps ..." While we were having a weekend the Federal Government was working to avert a crisis. This is how Government should work and I remain grateful for the workhorse, no drama Biden Administration. For those folks mad that the rich folk didn't get punished I respectfully request you take a moment and consider that if one segment of the economy fails, we all go down. The liberal angst against rich people is diametrically opposed to the Republicans angst about woke people. Jeez.
Biden can't seem to win with the fuel situation in this Country. Fuel efficient cars? Oh my! Drilling for more oil? Oh my!
The best news? The Republicans aren't stoking their outrage machine at the moment. Two of their favorite things have been taken care of: big money and oil. I'm enjoying the momentary peace.
Here in our town in Germany we just went to the polls to elect a new mayor. Are we hundred percent satisfied? No. Will we ever be with other candidates? No. But that is what democracy is all about, we get a chance to be heard and the outcome is always a compromise. Important is only to get out that vote!
Regarding your observation that DeSantas is a small time politician in a gerrymandered state and his fascist ideas may not play well on the national stage in 2024, I would be more comforted by that if I hadn’t watched a small time fascist crime family-head descend the golden escalator in 2015 and ascend to the highest office.
Never underestimate the power of chicanery over gullible voters.
Being a shallow Hollywood person, I have to say that tonight I have a smile on my face because, for the first time in a long time, My Side Won. All four acting awards went to veterans who the business had either kicked aside or relegated to irrelevance, who said "fuck you!" and went on. The best picture was not "international audio-visual entertainment" as I feared it might be, but rather the strangest movie I have seen in a long time, purely creative, which left me saying to myself after I saw it, "How did they pitch that?" I got to the end of the show and said to myself, "Maybe it's not as bad as I think out there." My Side Won.
Excellent analysis of not only why DeSantis is a big fish in the small pond of national influence 😀 Hopefully his radical plans for America will remain stranded in Florida, much as the poor constituents have my sympathy for their gerrymandered nightmare 😢
Heather just released her blog about the bank failure and how Janet Yellen and President Biden are already taking care of the problem to make sure it's contained.
That's what happens when America 🇺🇸 has professionals who have spent their lives in service for the people are in charge, and why it's unthinkable in any way, shape, or form 🤔 that the GOP clown 🤡 show even attempt to hold the debt ceiling hostage, just because they want to flex their 5 member majority. Hopefully the saner members of their caucus will cross the aisle for the sake of all America 🇺🇸 🙄 🙏. Should be interesting to see what happens to the orange 🍊 behemoth in NY and Georgia grand jury investigations as well as what progress Jack Smith has made 👍 😉
Robert,
My understanding is that there were two primary causes to the Silicon Valley Bank demise:
(a) Silicon Valley Bank invested heavily in bonds without apparently considering the risk of the impact of the Fed increasing interest rates to fight inflation which reduced the value of those bonds; and,
(b) as VC funding dried up (with the impact of Covid and increasing interest rates), tech companies needed to withdraw capital to fund their ongoing operations.
Also, the government also took over Signature Bank today. Signature Bank made heavy bets on cryptocurrency deposits only to face a huge loss with the collapse of FTX and cryptocurrency values.
One lesson my father, who grew up in the Great Depression, taught me was:always keep your money in a FDIC insured institution and never exceed FDIC insured limit in any one account. And, so, I have always followed his guidance, using Insured Cash Sweep Accounts that spreads funds in excess of the FDIC insured limits to other FDIC insured banks.
Meanwhile, before ICS accounts, my father purchased T-Bills. Today, I question whether T-Bills are even secure given that the Seditious Caucus of the Republican Party is threatening to allow the federal government to default on its debt. This would be catastrophic. Interest rates will skyrocket, existing treasury values will plummet and banks (who buy and sell the majority treasuries) will find themselves insolvent like SVB.
Lastly, as I posted in yesterday's (Sunday) comments, it was 90 years ago on Sunday, March 12th, 1933, just 8 days after taking office, when Franklin Delano Roosevelt give his first "Fire Side" chat to calm the nerves of Americans and assure them that, after the failure of almost 9,000 back since 1929, the federal government was going stabilize and regulate the banking industry. From his effort came the Glass-Steagall Banking Act of 1933. Here is the link to FDR's address - it is worth a listen:
https://www.fdic.gov/about/history/fdr_fireside_chat_banking_situation_03-12-33.mp3
Thanks always for your steady thinking. Yes support Biden in this upcoming time of increased gop madness. And re Internet issues—Joseph Campbell said the computer is like the Old Testament god—lots of rules and no mercy!
As to book bans and educating our youth:
“All history should be taught, and all history should be remembered,” Loudoun Chair Phyllis J. Randall (D-At Large) said. “Not all history should be celebrated. There are some things in our history that we probably shouldn’t celebrate."
P.S.: My brow furrowed over the Willows project decision. But I still support Biden to see us through.
Robert,
I am also a big fan of President Biden. I trust him. I like him. He has rebuilt our government and our reputation in the world. Lots more to do with both of those, of course. But we need not hang our heads in shame any longer. However, he is totally wrong on both of the issues you raise.
Biden has acknowledged that earlier in his Senate career he was wrong in supporting ultra tough on crime legislation (mandatory minimum sentences, etc.). Why he opposed a long overdue new crime bill in DC is baffling to me.
The decision to allow the Willow drilling project to go forward is a mistake with enormous consequences. The only people this will please were never going to vote for a Democrat! What's the point of this backslide on the environment and the future of our energy consumption?
I have stated many times that if Joe Biden is the nominee, I will support him. But he has now taken a sledge hammer to the potential voters that may now just stay home rather than vote. Young people EXPECT Democrats to stand for no more drilling! They EXPECT bold decisions that will have an impact on a Climate Crisis they will inherit. Joe Biden's advisors are out to lunch. They are not listening to Gen Y and Z who will represent about 45% of the electorate next year.
And it gets worse. If these younger people don't show up to vote, we will lose more than Presidency, the House and the Senate. We will lose those essential down ballot, state and local races where so much of our lives are governed.
At this point, I do not believe it would be disloyal to the Democratic party to open the field up for the Presidential nomination. The greatest worry I had about the lack of youthful support for Joe Biden has just doubled.
Mr. President: you are blowing an opportunity to rally our base. I wrote to you yesterday explaining this. I usually write to you with applause and support. Not this time.
Republicans don't seem to hesitate to appeal to their base. Why do Democrats equivocate? Our base is overwhelmingly on the side of modern criminal laws and halting damage to the planet. A candidate can always tack to the middle a bit during the general campaign. But now is the time to stand tall for the principles that define us! These two decisions are like a river of cold mud flowing into an otherwise fired up enthusiastic campaign rally.
I completely agree with your comments about DeSantis. But I want to add that over time he will take additional actions that will make him even more reprehensible to the larger voting population. For example the League of Women Voters was going to hold a rally at our Capitol and discovered that DeSantis had put in place an administrative procedure that barred rallies at the Capitol unless someone in his administration agreed to sponsor them. The League found a work around and had a press conference, they had their mouths taped to protest this violation of free speech. You see the bubble that DeSantis lives in is completely covered on the inside with a mirror and he can see only himself and the tiny little world he lives in. And he has no idea about the larger world that, in reality, is an alternative universe. As time goes by he will create an ever larger pile of fascist trash which, hopefully, repulse the majority of voters.
YES on the moral hazard comments. The government working on behalf of the wealthy and ambitious start ups that have deposited way more than the protected $250,000 is working to protect the economy. That same government working on behalf of student loan borrowers to forgive up to $20,000 for those earning less than $125,000 is working to protect the economy. And YES on Joe Biden. He has been successful beyond the expectations of everyone other than Jim Clyburn and those closest to Joe Biden.
I love your column but please don’t confuse Tallahassee with the rest of Florida. Yes, the absurdly thinking legislature meets here but its members live elsewhere in the state. Tallahassee itself is a blue dot in a red state. We have three colleges here and a highly educated population who almost always vote blue. Unfortunately the gerrymandered districts include enough red counties that it dilutes the usually liberal local voting.
Another perspective that may have been a consideration in the Willow matter is the Russian-Ukrainian war impact on energy supplies and the new Saudi leadership. This is a counter-balance. Even in the shorter term, it says that the US will be a net energy producer.
A few points to make regarding "Today's Edition - March 12, 2023"
I would like to offer a "correction," if you will, of a sentiment you expressed in your article on Ron DeSantis today. You say, "The most recent Navigator Research poll suggests that DeSantis’s dreams of a fascist America will fare poorly outside of Tallahassee—the capital of Florida and the nation’s 126th largest city. I don’t mean to suggest that the size of Tallahassee disqualifies the views of its citizens." To be accurate, it fairs poorly in Tallahasse. I will point out that Tallahassee is not a friendly area of the state for Ron DeSantis. It is the state capitol, but it is also a college town, home to several universities and state colleges, and generally is one of the "bluest" areas of the state. It is areas like "The Villages" in central Florida, and the Florida panhandle, (among too many other similar communities) that are bastions of the right-wing shtick that DeSantis peddles. Being a Floridian for most of my life, as well as a teacher union activist for much of my professional life, I've become well acquainted with which areas of the state are consistently "right", which are "left", and which may swing with the winds.
I would also offer that Robert Reich does an outstanding job, as usual, in his Substack article today that helps explain the Silicon Valley Bank failure. Readers may find it a helpful addendum to your comments. https://robertreich.substack.com/p/the-silicon-valley-bank-debacle?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
As for "unwavering" support of President Biden, that for me is not a question. While I am truly saddened to see him make political decisions contrary to his environmental promises, his overall performance has been extraordinary, given the circumstances he's faced. He has my unwavering support for 2024.
That said, I may not live long enough to see it, but I dream of a day when President Pete Buttigieg is in the Oval Office!
My husband was on the Town Council of our small town of Chevy Chase, MD. Occasionally he would come home from a council meeting and say "I think we did a great job tonight. Both side were unhappy!". We need to remember that when Biden does things that are contrary to our most fervent wishes. Those of us on the further left (me) must feel unhappy at times if we are to continue to elect democrats and keep our democracy alive.
Excellent Concluding Thoughts! On balance, Biden's policy choices are light years ahead of the prior administration's. We can't know Biden's political or societal calculus, but we can have confidence that it favors democracy and fairness. In stark contrast, I recall when Trump was elected, I gave him the benefit of doubt and a chance to dispel any misgivings I had. Sadly, he kept all the benefits for himself and confirmed the worst of my concerns. Biden continues to impress, despite a few missteps, in a very fraught period in our history.
"On Sunday, the Federal Reserve and US Treasury announced that they were taking extraordinary steps ..." While we were having a weekend the Federal Government was working to avert a crisis. This is how Government should work and I remain grateful for the workhorse, no drama Biden Administration. For those folks mad that the rich folk didn't get punished I respectfully request you take a moment and consider that if one segment of the economy fails, we all go down. The liberal angst against rich people is diametrically opposed to the Republicans angst about woke people. Jeez.
Biden can't seem to win with the fuel situation in this Country. Fuel efficient cars? Oh my! Drilling for more oil? Oh my!
The best news? The Republicans aren't stoking their outrage machine at the moment. Two of their favorite things have been taken care of: big money and oil. I'm enjoying the momentary peace.