What a difference between the headline here at Hubbell;
“Biden searches for a pathway to peace” and the NYT “White House scrambles to keep shifting Gaza peace talks afloat”.
One engenders confidence in a genuine effort for peace and the other imagines an ineffective effort to save a sinking ship. Do you wonder why Biden’s approval ratings are a problem? I don’t blame Biden for not giving the NYT an exclusive interview. They’re only out for themselves and have a hidden agenda that is proven by continually making bad nchoices of news. They’ve been behind in the Vietnam War, the Pentagon Papers, WMDs in Iraq, Hillary’s emails and now Biden’s efforts for peace. Enough!
We subscribed to the Times for a month so we could write letters to the editor complaining about their coverage of the Biden Administration. Then we canceled our subscription and wrote a letter explaining why. We never heard anything back of course.
What Kahn misses is that the “scramble” opinion of the headline is not a report of news. It’s an opinion agreeing with the right wing description of Biden as not strong enough to be President. And that’s just one word in the headline and article. The NYT will respond to subscription losses. That’s the only answer in my book.
I cancelled my subscription mid to late last year. Their only response is to flood my inbox with "limited-time" offers of a 1-yr subscription for $50. And limited time was not accurate, since I am still receiving the same offer daily many months later.
I worked for over 40 years. Roberts writes "Both programs also rely on current payroll tax collections to meet current obligations to beneficiaries". I never understood why payroll deductions for Medicare and SS cut out at about $130,000 of income - and that therefore those who luckily make more than that threshold effectively get a raise, unlike the millions of workers who don't make 6 digits. Why in heavens name don't all incomes up to infinity get to contribute to SS? It's not like you're suffering if you're make $1,200,000/yr. But if you are, you don't contribute to SS after 2 months of a new year. Does this "gift" to high earners even seem logical or moral?
I worked for an investment management firm and witnessed how my fellow managers bragged about how they p[ayroll taxes were completed by March or sooner because of their high salaries and they laughed all the way to the ban when they collected their bonus which was classified as a share of the "carried interest" taxed as the capital gains at 15% rather than the more appropriate ordinary income rate of 36% for high earners. I took the money also and tried to justify it by making larger charitable contributions to groups like Planned Parenthood. My hypocracy still bothers me since I also deducted the gifting for tax purposes At the time I was part of the .1% high earners and felt exceptional. Everything I did was perfectly legal but morally suspect. It's amazing how you can rationalize actions when wealthy.
Rick, thank you for sharing. You are part of an important cohort that has grown and learned. Please continue to share the story of your transition. You have the unique ability to help communicate this message.
Karen, I have many stories about working with the Titans of the Universewhich would make your stomach churn. Some of these are well known personalities. One complained about how the Democrats would increase his tax burdened by millions once they understood the tax cheating with the "carried interest loophole He claimed that he would quit working if his rate increased from 15% to 36%. Since his carried interest income was~$500 million he would only have an after tax income of~$320milion rather than the ~$425 million at the capital gains rate. This so-called "brilliant man" claimed that he would walkaway from ~$320million if forced to pay an additional $105 million in taxes. Unfortunately that is not the most obscene story of my experiences with the ultra-wealthy exceptionalism's.
Exactly. It always bothered me to see my tax burden reduced part way through the year. Then I’d see police officers and then construction workers up in the scaffolding as I made my way to GCT to return home. Talk about us and them
Much like your experience, my SS taxes were paid off in April. I was a highly paid medical professional who didn't pay those taxes for the rest of the year while most of the nurses and other personnel continued to pay. Not many people understood this basic fact, rather falling for the line that SS would be bankrupt soon and we must do something quickly i.e., raise the age to collect SS or decrease the amounts paid or even worse to privatize the system. Arise workers and claim what is yours! The rich get that way through many underhanded means and this is just one of them.
Amen brother, I know exactly what you are saying. I will start drawing SS next year and every dollar will go to charity. We are so fortunate to be able to do that!
Years ago, I worked in R&D for a manfacturing company that went to a base compensation + year end bonus that was based partially on company performance (size of the bonus pool) and partially on individual performance. (Bonuses were taxed as normal salary, though). This was probably the late 80s or early 90s. I was an "individual contributor" and was promoted to a job on par with a low-level manager. That's when I realized that managers not only got bigger salaries, but they were eligible to get a higher percentage of that salary as a bonus! (Goodness only knows what the high muckety-mucks were getting!)
This put me in the position of hitting the maximum FICA tax for the SS part for years with good bonuses. I too thought that it didn't make sense to have a cut off that low and think it would be a no-brainer to bump it up to solve the current Social Security funding crisis. Much better IMO than raising the retirement age to collect full benefits (again). And I think the GOP plan has a much shorter "runway" than the last time which was phased in more gradually.
Good questions, and even though the cap has been adjusted to $168,600 for 2024, your point is well made and one that each of us should be asking our elected representatives.
I would point out that the anxiety over the long-term viability of the Social Security (includes Medicare) Trust Funds has been a periodic "hot topic" for well over 50 years. For example, the 1984-5 Reports of the Trustees forecast that, "without changes," Medicare would be out of money in 8-10 years. Hospitals, doctors and, subsequently, well-organized senior organizations (AARP) have been among those who have persistently fought a rear guard effort to avoid the most draconian Republican plans to gut the public programs. Congress and the Programs themselves have ALWAYS found rational solutions like the ones Biden proposes.
But why do the Republicans keep seeking to slash benefits? I get that their billionaire benefactors are in favor of it. But isn’t their core demographic older white voters? Especially those who have retired, have time on their hands, and watch Fox?
They have figured out it is easier and more profitable to do what you and your donors want than to do what your voter base wants and then just ensure your voter base thinks you are serving them by keeping them misinformed and badly educated so they accept lies coming from their preferred sources without question. Eventually, they are so bought into it that to question it is to threaten their personal narratives and self images.
Trump was right that the game is rigged. But it's rigged by people like him, the millionaires and billionaires and their cronies in Congress, against the rest of us. How is the deduction for interest on a second home anything but welfare for the rich? We have government of, by, and for the rich, super rich and ultra rich
BTW, I have been writing postcards since 2018 and my comment doesn't mean I'm not working like crazy to save our democracy!
I would hope that it is possible to convince many younger eligible voters that supporting the people of israel and the palestinian people is not a zero-sum situation. Correcting this false assumption and filtering out all the surrounding lies and disinformation along with highlighting the dystopic plans of candidate DirtBag should—I would think—help these reluctant voters to understand the true nature of the stakes and act responsibly. It will take patience and dedication.
Hamas DID NOT accept the terms as written, thus sentencing innocent Palestinians to the consequences. Once most protestors are shown that Project 2025 targets Palestinians, they have an attitude adjustment.
Yes. It sounds like Robert is putting all of the blame for the collapse of the cease fire talks on Netanyahu, which is a likely outcome if his source is the NYTimes. For more fair reporting on the ceasefire talks, I recommend reading The Times if Israel.
It’s not about the candidates per se but about policies and platform and neither candidate has connected with younger voters who are discussed with politics in general and don’t believe it will change. We need to give them a reason for them to want to vote.
Speaking of a Trump gag order jail stint, check out Lucian Truscott's post today, "What Happens if it Happens?" for an insider's look at what that might look like.
Hello from Amsterdam where my husband and I are traveling. A lovely young tour guide, when we briefly mentioned the election that is concerning us, nodded thoughtfully and made the respectful suggestion that other countries’ citizens should be allowed to vote for our president since the choice so deeply effects the entire free world. We had to agree. We thought you would be interested to hear about that exchange. Loved the galaxy photo.
My brother knows a guy who went to NZ after Trump was elected. He had a t-shirt made up for himself that said "I didn't vote for Trump" in both English and Maori.
I bet you would find that most educated people in Europe know far more about American politics than the average American with an equivalent amount of education!
If you have not heard Rachel Maddow last night you need to watch it. The premise of her opening comments were that our country is under attack from Republicans at multiple levels and the Democrats have to be more aggressive and play offensive instead of defense and stop just being the keeper of law and order which is under attack everyday in various ways but needs to be more assertive and push back harder. It’s not ok to threaten judges, juries and poll workers and there needs to be a major campaign and push back about election integrity. Trump and a host of Republicans have said out loud they will not accept the results of the free election of course unless they won. Instead of getting discouraged or depressed we need to get more engaged. The best thing we all can do is get connected and engaged in your local states politics and initiatives and campaigns. We cannot let them bully us and scare us. We are in this together.
Stephen, you clearly articulate what we all must do today — and every day until Nov. 6th — to protect our democracy. We must not cower to Extremists. We must stop honoring the Defendant by calling him the “former President.” We must be vocal and impassioned with everyone we meet that President Biden is a good president and must be re-elected. No equivocation. No soft support. We must stand up and be counted as Democracy Defending Democrats — loud and proud!
I heard an interview with Rachel Bitecofer this morning and she was definitely on the same page with Rachel Maddow about going on offense. She's in favor of saying "Republicans are killing women with their Draconian abortion bans", "Republicans want to take away your Social Security and Medicare while Dems want to lower prescription drug costs.
And when the GOP goes off on a tirade about gender affirming care being child abuse, we need to counter with an attack that kids aren't safe from gun violence in their schools because GOP offers "thoughts and prayers" instead of sensible gun reform.
I just started her book, but I suggest you check it out:
"While no one is satisfied with the current situation, we should recognize Biden’s efforts to help bring about peace."
Yes and no. Yes, Biden is doing a good job in an extremely difficult situation. And no, one party to the conflict is quite satisfied with how things are going. What we are witnessing right now has been carefully scripted by Hamas. After years of simply shooting rockets into Israel inviting Israeli surgical counterstrikes in return they staged the horrible massacre of October 7 which didn't have any military strategic valor whatsoever but one goal only: Shaking Israel and its people to the core and forcing them to react - and hopefully to overreact. Hamas knew fully well that that would lead to an unproportionally high number of civilian casualties – and that was part of the plan. They didn't just hide behind the civilian targets or in their tunnels. Their goal is a Free Palestine from the river to the sea, they are in for the long haul and if they have to burn one or two generations of Palestinians, so be it. And Netanyahu fell into that trap, indeed lets himself be instrumentalized, even seems to be a willing actor in Hamas' script.
In return we have the international condemnation of Israel – again according to script. Israel has lost a good part of goodwill and support, probably forever. And people taking to the streets unfortunately let themselves be instrumentalized by Hamas as well, adopting the Free Palestine slogan. Demonstrating against the war in Gaza is fine and, looking at the number of victims, actually called for. But demonstrators should direct their anger and wrath not just towards Israel but also the architect of the current nightmare: Hamas.
In any case those criticizing Biden for his even-handed policy should refrain from handing Hamas, the Mullahs and Putin the biggest price they could imagine: pushing the US over the brink by supporting Trump. AOC two weeks ago had a very convincing and thoughtful message to those contemplating to punish Biden (and themselves!) by withholding their vote in November
Hamas' strategy of embedment into the daily life of the Palestinians, hiding in tunnels beneath schools and hospitals, created the most depraved and morally vacuous situation witnessed in human history. Israel stepped into this doo-doo and now appears oblivious to the trick, while Hamas accepts the killing of some 35 K Palestinians, and the destruction of some 80K homes. This trick has blindsided the collegiate protestors, who appear functionally illiterate and historically myopic.
I recently heard my daughter-in-law's 19 year old brother say he was thinking of not voting. Because of this newsletter, Joyce Vance's and Heather Cox Richardson's I was prepared with bullet points to tell him why I felt he should vote for Biden. He listened. I'm hopeful. Thank you, Robert.
Some sage once told me "Out on Neptune nobody has even heard of your problems!". Over the years I have recalled this when getting bogged down with various challenges. We sometimes take ourselves too seriously; we don't need to worry all the time. Doing so just exercises and strengthens that bad habit. Robert's clear explanation about the Social Security non-crisis is such a refreshing antidote to the daily fear-mongering abetted by the mainstream media. And it's a reminder not to give them the time and energy that are more productively spent elsewhere.
Know what you stand for, or you'll fall for anything. In my view a lot of Americans continue to stand for something which is rotted to the core. Our personal core strength, and conditioning has become daily subject in news feeds for good reason. My well-used spine now requires that I build core strength in order to manage daily living activities. This is so just as we all must now continue to build, and amass the psychic core strength necessary to preserve our democracy. Core strength is the element central to anyone, or anything. Much as we abhor tfg, through his madness we have learned a good deal about what was missing from our collective understanding of the magnitude of what mountains of work are required to keep our country free from tyranny. Until now! Like I've learned to exercise my own core muscles, I've learned I must engage my awakened self to the core of what I can contribute to our collective effort to abort the efforts of people who wish to abandon our good ship USS America. I thank you Robert Hubbell, and the many readers, and thinkers here who've helped me in these harsh times. Life is indeed a Growth School.
The frustration and hurt we are experiencing from people turning their backs to Biden. Seriously- I’ve contemplated reaching out here on Today’s Edition for several days. I am perplexed and angry! Read on or scroll by, it’s not my intention to upset anyone with my opinions or with all that I don’t know. I have my thoughts, and no one knows the secret handshake that will bring peace to the Middle East, so there is that.
Dear God- I wish someone did.
My dearest gal pal of 35 yrs is from Canada. After Oct 7th she started to watch documentaries about the Palestinian’s plight. I have another friend who, some time ago, told stories of the years that he spent documenting the treatment of the Palestinians at the hands of Israel. So- come Oct 7, I was aware of the dark underside that many of us in our tidy country, had not focused on.
As my gal pal started to voice the horrors that the Palestinians endure- I was quick to agree. Many(most?)Americans had no idea about the truly ugly parts of this unfolding crisis till Oct 7. Again, that is my opinion and I don’t think I’m wrong.
When my pal started to say that the U.S. is a rich country and we can put a stop to this. Canada is poor and can do nothing to fix this but the U.S. can, Biden can. I thought “WHAT”? Over the last few months the conversation has become focused on one thing: Biden not fixing it. Or Biden giving Billions to Israel. Initially I tried to validate my friends concerns and also say:
Me - ‘If trump wins it will be so much worse’
Answer: ‘well that’s true but babies are starving and Biden can fix it’
Me ‘Palestinians voted Hamas in. 60-70% of Arabs including the Palestinians support Hamas’
Answer: ‘what else could these desperate people do?’
Me - ‘have you joined a group to try and help Palestinians. Have you sent $25 to help with food?’
Answer: ‘….. ‘ (no answer, just hands in lap and staring down). ‘But Biden…’
Me – ‘why have you never mentioned the children of Sudan, Afghanistan? … my word, there is a disturbing list of countries with severe malnutrition. You might feel better getting involved’.
Answer: ‘….. ‘ (no answer).
I continue to become angry with my friend. This intelligent woman is behaving in a way that perplexes me. When did we ever approach a problem by focusing on one side of the problem and refusing to, at the very least, look at the other facets. How can this be happening.
I am bullshit. My friend will stay up nights watching videos of the ravages of the Palestinian crisis… turn herself into knots worrying for a little boy and his donkey collecting plastic bits so that he can sell and feed his grandma and himself. It’s truly horrible- and elicits an emotional reaction. But, when it comes to doing one tangible thing – nuttin. I admire her empathy, I am an empath myself but we must not succumb to the pieces and parts. We cannot let emotion take over because emotion does not fix.
I want to tell her that she is acting like a member of a cult. This would hurt her terribly as she was raised in a cult religion and she broke free and has lived a great life. But actually turning your face away when a fact is brought to you and responding to the wall that ‘but, babies are starving’. GEEZUZ. What in the actual *&^%$#! Can you see, I’m stuck in irons here, I don’t know what to do. This thinking is everywhere.
This thinking is on College campuses … they push to divest. Not to give money to Israel.
The U.S. paid for the Israels iron dome… if Iran’s bombs hit Israel we would be at war. Right now.
It is my opinion that the students are single focusing and ignoring matters they really have no idea about. Please school me- but please know that I know that this is the classic no win situation. This is complicated and as is evidenced by where we are – no one has moved this foot ball down the field. Not yet.
((And if you haven’t notice the similarity to trump’s minions blindly following his one sided talking points then I did a crap job of telling my story)
Karen, you make many valuable points here, and to have to cope with your gal pal's tunnel vision must be emotionally draining. I see passion and frustration and a lot of heart in your story. That's what our comments section is all about! We are all here for each other, and we understand. Stay soft and stay strong!
You are right, it is a no win situation, for Israel as well as for the Biden administration. And Hamas is unscrupously instrumentalizing the demonstrators who are quite rightly incensed by the thought of starving babies. Ask your friend to explain why Hamas attacked the border crossing at Keren Shalom yesterday, killing three Israeli soldiers. The border crossing was only opened a few days ago to allow more humanitarian assistance into Gaza. Because of the attack the border crossing was closed – as was to be expected. Perhaps your friend has a good explanation why Hamas tries to stop humanitarian assistance to reach starving Palestinians. I have one, but it would probably not be the same one your friend might come up with.
For more, please read my comment I posted some hours ago.
I apologize for going off topic, but I saw this link to a substack story about Merrick Garland on Joyce Vance's substack. Many people have been critical of AG Garland for his slow walk toward prosecuting the MAGA crowd. This piece by Mueller She Wrote (someone I have casually followed for a few years) says it isn't so.
"Two months later, June 2021, Garland was growing frustrated with the slow pace of the investigation. The FBI trump allies were refusing to execute search warrants, so Merrick garland called a meeting and set up a task force to investigate Trump called the “investigations unit”. But they didn’t yet have Biden’s DC US Attorney to assist and provide resources. The agency was still filled with Trump holdovers and Jim Jordan allies, so the amount of people investigating was relegated to a small group of people Garland could trust. What was taking the Senate so long to confirm the new DC US Attorney?" Read on to find out who actually was doing the slow-walking.
Having protested the Vietnam war as a young adult, I certainly understand the frustration students feel at the war between Israel and Hamas. But I would like to remind these students that they’re anger is misdirected. Their anger should be directed completely at Netanyahu and at the leaders of Hamas. Biden from the very beginning, tried to convince BiBi Netanyahu of the need to use restraint and follow the rules of law in his waging war against Palestine. Hamas is to blame for using Palestinians as human shields, putting many of their underground tunnels under hospitals in Palestine, and doing absolutely nothing to promote peace between Palestine and Israel. The goal of Hamas is simple; the elimination of Israel in the Middle East. Since Israel is the only country in the Middle East that has democratic principles, it is imperative that we in the United States support them. To me this is very simple and I don’t understand why college students cannot grasp the importance of maintaining relationships with Israel. We have long-standing agreements with Israel to provide military aid and that is what Biden is doing, he is honoring our commitments. at the same time, Biden has been tireless in talking to Netanyahu about the for fair treatment of Palestine and for a ceasefire agreement. This is a complex issue and I really wish the students that are protesting and especially those that are using this as cover for anti-Semitic diatribes , would take some time, do some reading, and try to understand a very complex situation. Choosing not to vote for Biden would be a disaster for the United States!
I’m afraid many college students do not view Israel in the way you describe Israel. It’s my impression that they have been taught a very different view of Israel and its history - a very ideological and often ahistorical view.
As a partial aside: It’s often said that “higher” education is supposed to teach students how to think. If the protesters are any evidence, they are being taught bad modes of thought (rigid ideologies, rather than empiricism, for example).
What a difference between the headline here at Hubbell;
“Biden searches for a pathway to peace” and the NYT “White House scrambles to keep shifting Gaza peace talks afloat”.
One engenders confidence in a genuine effort for peace and the other imagines an ineffective effort to save a sinking ship. Do you wonder why Biden’s approval ratings are a problem? I don’t blame Biden for not giving the NYT an exclusive interview. They’re only out for themselves and have a hidden agenda that is proven by continually making bad nchoices of news. They’ve been behind in the Vietnam War, the Pentagon Papers, WMDs in Iraq, Hillary’s emails and now Biden’s efforts for peace. Enough!
I know, it’s really disgusting. I'm about ready to give up on the NYTIMES entirely. They’re playing with fire.
We subscribed to the Times for a month so we could write letters to the editor complaining about their coverage of the Biden Administration. Then we canceled our subscription and wrote a letter explaining why. We never heard anything back of course.
You may well have accomplished more than you realize. My guess is they are aware of this kind of thing happening. So thank you for this!
I hope so. In fact, if all 20,000+ of Robert's subscriber's did the same thing, maybe they WOULD pay attention.
I hold the non-Fox News media fully culpable for the peril our democracy is in.
I haven't systematically thought it through, but I do feel they've done a very lousy job.
Here's Dan Pfeiffer's take on the NYT:
https://open.substack.com/pub/messagebox/p/more-thoughts-on-the-nyt-democracy?r=6pp8t&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email
Bottom line: Keep complaining to the editors.
What Kahn misses is that the “scramble” opinion of the headline is not a report of news. It’s an opinion agreeing with the right wing description of Biden as not strong enough to be President. And that’s just one word in the headline and article. The NYT will respond to subscription losses. That’s the only answer in my book.
I cancelled my subscription mid to late last year. Their only response is to flood my inbox with "limited-time" offers of a 1-yr subscription for $50. And limited time was not accurate, since I am still receiving the same offer daily many months later.
Me too.
I think it's time for Robert to go out of retirement and start writing for the paper. Make that many different papers. We love you Robert!
I worked for over 40 years. Roberts writes "Both programs also rely on current payroll tax collections to meet current obligations to beneficiaries". I never understood why payroll deductions for Medicare and SS cut out at about $130,000 of income - and that therefore those who luckily make more than that threshold effectively get a raise, unlike the millions of workers who don't make 6 digits. Why in heavens name don't all incomes up to infinity get to contribute to SS? It's not like you're suffering if you're make $1,200,000/yr. But if you are, you don't contribute to SS after 2 months of a new year. Does this "gift" to high earners even seem logical or moral?
I worked for an investment management firm and witnessed how my fellow managers bragged about how they p[ayroll taxes were completed by March or sooner because of their high salaries and they laughed all the way to the ban when they collected their bonus which was classified as a share of the "carried interest" taxed as the capital gains at 15% rather than the more appropriate ordinary income rate of 36% for high earners. I took the money also and tried to justify it by making larger charitable contributions to groups like Planned Parenthood. My hypocracy still bothers me since I also deducted the gifting for tax purposes At the time I was part of the .1% high earners and felt exceptional. Everything I did was perfectly legal but morally suspect. It's amazing how you can rationalize actions when wealthy.
Rick, thank you for sharing. You are part of an important cohort that has grown and learned. Please continue to share the story of your transition. You have the unique ability to help communicate this message.
Karen, I have many stories about working with the Titans of the Universewhich would make your stomach churn. Some of these are well known personalities. One complained about how the Democrats would increase his tax burdened by millions once they understood the tax cheating with the "carried interest loophole He claimed that he would quit working if his rate increased from 15% to 36%. Since his carried interest income was~$500 million he would only have an after tax income of~$320milion rather than the ~$425 million at the capital gains rate. This so-called "brilliant man" claimed that he would walkaway from ~$320million if forced to pay an additional $105 million in taxes. Unfortunately that is not the most obscene story of my experiences with the ultra-wealthy exceptionalism's.
Exactly. It always bothered me to see my tax burden reduced part way through the year. Then I’d see police officers and then construction workers up in the scaffolding as I made my way to GCT to return home. Talk about us and them
Much like your experience, my SS taxes were paid off in April. I was a highly paid medical professional who didn't pay those taxes for the rest of the year while most of the nurses and other personnel continued to pay. Not many people understood this basic fact, rather falling for the line that SS would be bankrupt soon and we must do something quickly i.e., raise the age to collect SS or decrease the amounts paid or even worse to privatize the system. Arise workers and claim what is yours! The rich get that way through many underhanded means and this is just one of them.
Amen brother, I know exactly what you are saying. I will start drawing SS next year and every dollar will go to charity. We are so fortunate to be able to do that!
Years ago, I worked in R&D for a manfacturing company that went to a base compensation + year end bonus that was based partially on company performance (size of the bonus pool) and partially on individual performance. (Bonuses were taxed as normal salary, though). This was probably the late 80s or early 90s. I was an "individual contributor" and was promoted to a job on par with a low-level manager. That's when I realized that managers not only got bigger salaries, but they were eligible to get a higher percentage of that salary as a bonus! (Goodness only knows what the high muckety-mucks were getting!)
This put me in the position of hitting the maximum FICA tax for the SS part for years with good bonuses. I too thought that it didn't make sense to have a cut off that low and think it would be a no-brainer to bump it up to solve the current Social Security funding crisis. Much better IMO than raising the retirement age to collect full benefits (again). And I think the GOP plan has a much shorter "runway" than the last time which was phased in more gradually.
Good questions, and even though the cap has been adjusted to $168,600 for 2024, your point is well made and one that each of us should be asking our elected representatives.
I would point out that the anxiety over the long-term viability of the Social Security (includes Medicare) Trust Funds has been a periodic "hot topic" for well over 50 years. For example, the 1984-5 Reports of the Trustees forecast that, "without changes," Medicare would be out of money in 8-10 years. Hospitals, doctors and, subsequently, well-organized senior organizations (AARP) have been among those who have persistently fought a rear guard effort to avoid the most draconian Republican plans to gut the public programs. Congress and the Programs themselves have ALWAYS found rational solutions like the ones Biden proposes.
But why do the Republicans keep seeking to slash benefits? I get that their billionaire benefactors are in favor of it. But isn’t their core demographic older white voters? Especially those who have retired, have time on their hands, and watch Fox?
They have figured out it is easier and more profitable to do what you and your donors want than to do what your voter base wants and then just ensure your voter base thinks you are serving them by keeping them misinformed and badly educated so they accept lies coming from their preferred sources without question. Eventually, they are so bought into it that to question it is to threaten their personal narratives and self images.
Lying is pretty crucial to the storyline
Trump was right that the game is rigged. But it's rigged by people like him, the millionaires and billionaires and their cronies in Congress, against the rest of us. How is the deduction for interest on a second home anything but welfare for the rich? We have government of, by, and for the rich, super rich and ultra rich
BTW, I have been writing postcards since 2018 and my comment doesn't mean I'm not working like crazy to save our democracy!
I would hope that it is possible to convince many younger eligible voters that supporting the people of israel and the palestinian people is not a zero-sum situation. Correcting this false assumption and filtering out all the surrounding lies and disinformation along with highlighting the dystopic plans of candidate DirtBag should—I would think—help these reluctant voters to understand the true nature of the stakes and act responsibly. It will take patience and dedication.
Hamas DID NOT accept the terms as written, thus sentencing innocent Palestinians to the consequences. Once most protestors are shown that Project 2025 targets Palestinians, they have an attitude adjustment.
Yes. It sounds like Robert is putting all of the blame for the collapse of the cease fire talks on Netanyahu, which is a likely outcome if his source is the NYTimes. For more fair reporting on the ceasefire talks, I recommend reading The Times if Israel.
Not clear how this relates to my post?
It’s not about the candidates per se but about policies and platform and neither candidate has connected with younger voters who are discussed with politics in general and don’t believe it will change. We need to give them a reason for them to want to vote.
I fail to understand why young female and male voters would need ANY other issue than reproductive rights to vote against the GOP.
Speaking of a Trump gag order jail stint, check out Lucian Truscott's post today, "What Happens if it Happens?" for an insider's look at what that might look like.
https://luciantruscott.substack.com/p/what-happens-if-it-happens?
Thanks for the link David. It provides a number of interesting insights.
Edited to give correct credit.
It's "David," Dave!
Sorry, too early in the morning.
Loved this column and it answers some of the questions about how Trump would be jailed.
no makeup team to put on the bronzer and blow dry that hair....he will arrive in court looking like even more of a clown.....I can't wait......
Hello from Amsterdam where my husband and I are traveling. A lovely young tour guide, when we briefly mentioned the election that is concerning us, nodded thoughtfully and made the respectful suggestion that other countries’ citizens should be allowed to vote for our president since the choice so deeply effects the entire free world. We had to agree. We thought you would be interested to hear about that exchange. Loved the galaxy photo.
Love that comment, Susie. We're headed to Belgium and the Netherlands, ending in Amsterdam, in early June. Can't wait!
My brother knows a guy who went to NZ after Trump was elected. He had a t-shirt made up for himself that said "I didn't vote for Trump" in both English and Maori.
Susie,
I bet you would find that most educated people in Europe know far more about American politics than the average American with an equivalent amount of education!
If you have not heard Rachel Maddow last night you need to watch it. The premise of her opening comments were that our country is under attack from Republicans at multiple levels and the Democrats have to be more aggressive and play offensive instead of defense and stop just being the keeper of law and order which is under attack everyday in various ways but needs to be more assertive and push back harder. It’s not ok to threaten judges, juries and poll workers and there needs to be a major campaign and push back about election integrity. Trump and a host of Republicans have said out loud they will not accept the results of the free election of course unless they won. Instead of getting discouraged or depressed we need to get more engaged. The best thing we all can do is get connected and engaged in your local states politics and initiatives and campaigns. We cannot let them bully us and scare us. We are in this together.
Stephen, you clearly articulate what we all must do today — and every day until Nov. 6th — to protect our democracy. We must not cower to Extremists. We must stop honoring the Defendant by calling him the “former President.” We must be vocal and impassioned with everyone we meet that President Biden is a good president and must be re-elected. No equivocation. No soft support. We must stand up and be counted as Democracy Defending Democrats — loud and proud!
Register Democrats = save the world.
https://www.fieldteam6.org/
I heard an interview with Rachel Bitecofer this morning and she was definitely on the same page with Rachel Maddow about going on offense. She's in favor of saying "Republicans are killing women with their Draconian abortion bans", "Republicans want to take away your Social Security and Medicare while Dems want to lower prescription drug costs.
And when the GOP goes off on a tirade about gender affirming care being child abuse, we need to counter with an attack that kids aren't safe from gun violence in their schools because GOP offers "thoughts and prayers" instead of sensible gun reform.
I just started her book, but I suggest you check it out:
https://www.bookbub.com/books/hit-em-where-it-hurts-by-rachel-bitecofer
I will watch it on You Tube.
"While no one is satisfied with the current situation, we should recognize Biden’s efforts to help bring about peace."
Yes and no. Yes, Biden is doing a good job in an extremely difficult situation. And no, one party to the conflict is quite satisfied with how things are going. What we are witnessing right now has been carefully scripted by Hamas. After years of simply shooting rockets into Israel inviting Israeli surgical counterstrikes in return they staged the horrible massacre of October 7 which didn't have any military strategic valor whatsoever but one goal only: Shaking Israel and its people to the core and forcing them to react - and hopefully to overreact. Hamas knew fully well that that would lead to an unproportionally high number of civilian casualties – and that was part of the plan. They didn't just hide behind the civilian targets or in their tunnels. Their goal is a Free Palestine from the river to the sea, they are in for the long haul and if they have to burn one or two generations of Palestinians, so be it. And Netanyahu fell into that trap, indeed lets himself be instrumentalized, even seems to be a willing actor in Hamas' script.
In return we have the international condemnation of Israel – again according to script. Israel has lost a good part of goodwill and support, probably forever. And people taking to the streets unfortunately let themselves be instrumentalized by Hamas as well, adopting the Free Palestine slogan. Demonstrating against the war in Gaza is fine and, looking at the number of victims, actually called for. But demonstrators should direct their anger and wrath not just towards Israel but also the architect of the current nightmare: Hamas.
In any case those criticizing Biden for his even-handed policy should refrain from handing Hamas, the Mullahs and Putin the biggest price they could imagine: pushing the US over the brink by supporting Trump. AOC two weeks ago had a very convincing and thoughtful message to those contemplating to punish Biden (and themselves!) by withholding their vote in November
https://twitter.com/mehdirhasan/status/1781120448186462407
A powerful statement, especially as AOC resonates with those taking to the streets. Pass it on.
Hamas' strategy of embedment into the daily life of the Palestinians, hiding in tunnels beneath schools and hospitals, created the most depraved and morally vacuous situation witnessed in human history. Israel stepped into this doo-doo and now appears oblivious to the trick, while Hamas accepts the killing of some 35 K Palestinians, and the destruction of some 80K homes. This trick has blindsided the collegiate protestors, who appear functionally illiterate and historically myopic.
I recently heard my daughter-in-law's 19 year old brother say he was thinking of not voting. Because of this newsletter, Joyce Vance's and Heather Cox Richardson's I was prepared with bullet points to tell him why I felt he should vote for Biden. He listened. I'm hopeful. Thank you, Robert.
Aside from your insightful missive this photo is what I needed this too early hour in North Carolina-thank you!
Ditto (also from NC) Diane. Robert's columns get my too-early day started with a sane perspective and hope!
Some sage once told me "Out on Neptune nobody has even heard of your problems!". Over the years I have recalled this when getting bogged down with various challenges. We sometimes take ourselves too seriously; we don't need to worry all the time. Doing so just exercises and strengthens that bad habit. Robert's clear explanation about the Social Security non-crisis is such a refreshing antidote to the daily fear-mongering abetted by the mainstream media. And it's a reminder not to give them the time and energy that are more productively spent elsewhere.
I wonder, now, whether the MSM reporting on Social Security is fear-mongering: I’m beginning to think a lot of it is ignorance and incompetence.
Not mutually exclusive, but you may have a point, Michael.
I agree with you, Tom, about the worrying. It just makes one sick and lose sleep! Action is the answer!
Know what you stand for, or you'll fall for anything. In my view a lot of Americans continue to stand for something which is rotted to the core. Our personal core strength, and conditioning has become daily subject in news feeds for good reason. My well-used spine now requires that I build core strength in order to manage daily living activities. This is so just as we all must now continue to build, and amass the psychic core strength necessary to preserve our democracy. Core strength is the element central to anyone, or anything. Much as we abhor tfg, through his madness we have learned a good deal about what was missing from our collective understanding of the magnitude of what mountains of work are required to keep our country free from tyranny. Until now! Like I've learned to exercise my own core muscles, I've learned I must engage my awakened self to the core of what I can contribute to our collective effort to abort the efforts of people who wish to abandon our good ship USS America. I thank you Robert Hubbell, and the many readers, and thinkers here who've helped me in these harsh times. Life is indeed a Growth School.
Here, here, Jim! Mobility, balance, strength, longevity - it's all about the core. Great comparison.
OK, Robert’s photo! Can I just say Wow.
Not WOW! Cool. But, ‘wow, woah, man. the wide deep wonder kind of wow…
The frustration and hurt we are experiencing from people turning their backs to Biden. Seriously- I’ve contemplated reaching out here on Today’s Edition for several days. I am perplexed and angry! Read on or scroll by, it’s not my intention to upset anyone with my opinions or with all that I don’t know. I have my thoughts, and no one knows the secret handshake that will bring peace to the Middle East, so there is that.
Dear God- I wish someone did.
My dearest gal pal of 35 yrs is from Canada. After Oct 7th she started to watch documentaries about the Palestinian’s plight. I have another friend who, some time ago, told stories of the years that he spent documenting the treatment of the Palestinians at the hands of Israel. So- come Oct 7, I was aware of the dark underside that many of us in our tidy country, had not focused on.
As my gal pal started to voice the horrors that the Palestinians endure- I was quick to agree. Many(most?)Americans had no idea about the truly ugly parts of this unfolding crisis till Oct 7. Again, that is my opinion and I don’t think I’m wrong.
When my pal started to say that the U.S. is a rich country and we can put a stop to this. Canada is poor and can do nothing to fix this but the U.S. can, Biden can. I thought “WHAT”? Over the last few months the conversation has become focused on one thing: Biden not fixing it. Or Biden giving Billions to Israel. Initially I tried to validate my friends concerns and also say:
Me - ‘If trump wins it will be so much worse’
Answer: ‘well that’s true but babies are starving and Biden can fix it’
Me ‘Palestinians voted Hamas in. 60-70% of Arabs including the Palestinians support Hamas’
Answer: ‘what else could these desperate people do?’
Me - ‘have you joined a group to try and help Palestinians. Have you sent $25 to help with food?’
Answer: ‘….. ‘ (no answer, just hands in lap and staring down). ‘But Biden…’
Me – ‘why have you never mentioned the children of Sudan, Afghanistan? … my word, there is a disturbing list of countries with severe malnutrition. You might feel better getting involved’.
Answer: ‘….. ‘ (no answer).
I continue to become angry with my friend. This intelligent woman is behaving in a way that perplexes me. When did we ever approach a problem by focusing on one side of the problem and refusing to, at the very least, look at the other facets. How can this be happening.
I am bullshit. My friend will stay up nights watching videos of the ravages of the Palestinian crisis… turn herself into knots worrying for a little boy and his donkey collecting plastic bits so that he can sell and feed his grandma and himself. It’s truly horrible- and elicits an emotional reaction. But, when it comes to doing one tangible thing – nuttin. I admire her empathy, I am an empath myself but we must not succumb to the pieces and parts. We cannot let emotion take over because emotion does not fix.
I want to tell her that she is acting like a member of a cult. This would hurt her terribly as she was raised in a cult religion and she broke free and has lived a great life. But actually turning your face away when a fact is brought to you and responding to the wall that ‘but, babies are starving’. GEEZUZ. What in the actual *&^%$#! Can you see, I’m stuck in irons here, I don’t know what to do. This thinking is everywhere.
This thinking is on College campuses … they push to divest. Not to give money to Israel.
The U.S. paid for the Israels iron dome… if Iran’s bombs hit Israel we would be at war. Right now.
It is my opinion that the students are single focusing and ignoring matters they really have no idea about. Please school me- but please know that I know that this is the classic no win situation. This is complicated and as is evidenced by where we are – no one has moved this foot ball down the field. Not yet.
((And if you haven’t notice the similarity to trump’s minions blindly following his one sided talking points then I did a crap job of telling my story)
Karen, you make many valuable points here, and to have to cope with your gal pal's tunnel vision must be emotionally draining. I see passion and frustration and a lot of heart in your story. That's what our comments section is all about! We are all here for each other, and we understand. Stay soft and stay strong!
Thank you for your kind validation!
You are right, it is a no win situation, for Israel as well as for the Biden administration. And Hamas is unscrupously instrumentalizing the demonstrators who are quite rightly incensed by the thought of starving babies. Ask your friend to explain why Hamas attacked the border crossing at Keren Shalom yesterday, killing three Israeli soldiers. The border crossing was only opened a few days ago to allow more humanitarian assistance into Gaza. Because of the attack the border crossing was closed – as was to be expected. Perhaps your friend has a good explanation why Hamas tries to stop humanitarian assistance to reach starving Palestinians. I have one, but it would probably not be the same one your friend might come up with.
For more, please read my comment I posted some hours ago.
Thanks Stefan… I’ll check for your post. Going out in my garden for now. It’s sunny and Mother Nature will work her magic on me (again)!
Exactly!
I apologize for going off topic, but I saw this link to a substack story about Merrick Garland on Joyce Vance's substack. Many people have been critical of AG Garland for his slow walk toward prosecuting the MAGA crowd. This piece by Mueller She Wrote (someone I have casually followed for a few years) says it isn't so.
"Two months later, June 2021, Garland was growing frustrated with the slow pace of the investigation. The FBI trump allies were refusing to execute search warrants, so Merrick garland called a meeting and set up a task force to investigate Trump called the “investigations unit”. But they didn’t yet have Biden’s DC US Attorney to assist and provide resources. The agency was still filled with Trump holdovers and Jim Jordan allies, so the amount of people investigating was relegated to a small group of people Garland could trust. What was taking the Senate so long to confirm the new DC US Attorney?" Read on to find out who actually was doing the slow-walking.
https://muellershewrote.substack.com/p/the-facts-about-merrick-garland
Having protested the Vietnam war as a young adult, I certainly understand the frustration students feel at the war between Israel and Hamas. But I would like to remind these students that they’re anger is misdirected. Their anger should be directed completely at Netanyahu and at the leaders of Hamas. Biden from the very beginning, tried to convince BiBi Netanyahu of the need to use restraint and follow the rules of law in his waging war against Palestine. Hamas is to blame for using Palestinians as human shields, putting many of their underground tunnels under hospitals in Palestine, and doing absolutely nothing to promote peace between Palestine and Israel. The goal of Hamas is simple; the elimination of Israel in the Middle East. Since Israel is the only country in the Middle East that has democratic principles, it is imperative that we in the United States support them. To me this is very simple and I don’t understand why college students cannot grasp the importance of maintaining relationships with Israel. We have long-standing agreements with Israel to provide military aid and that is what Biden is doing, he is honoring our commitments. at the same time, Biden has been tireless in talking to Netanyahu about the for fair treatment of Palestine and for a ceasefire agreement. This is a complex issue and I really wish the students that are protesting and especially those that are using this as cover for anti-Semitic diatribes , would take some time, do some reading, and try to understand a very complex situation. Choosing not to vote for Biden would be a disaster for the United States!
I’m afraid many college students do not view Israel in the way you describe Israel. It’s my impression that they have been taught a very different view of Israel and its history - a very ideological and often ahistorical view.
As a partial aside: It’s often said that “higher” education is supposed to teach students how to think. If the protesters are any evidence, they are being taught bad modes of thought (rigid ideologies, rather than empiricism, for example).
Can Trump be put in house arrest rather than jail? Can house arrest be without internet access and media?
Trump has already compared himself to MLK and Mandela who’s prison sentences were part of the story ( as was Hitler’s).
House arrest for Trump would have the same effect as sanctioned boycotting of his trial.