It seems pretty obvious that if Russia wins the war against Ukraine, Ukrainian children are 100% at risk. We all hate the choices that war thrusts upon us. If Zelensky says his people want that risk, how can people in safe surroundings say no? Winston Churchill saved his nation and the world with a similar attitude. If Biden can lawfully supply those munitions, I feel that I must support the Ukrainians' leader on this. Tough times require tough choices.
We have family in Florida. We visit regularly. Oh, how things have changed. The canal behind the house was once clear and frequented by dolphins and manatees. Now it is just a murky dying waterway.
The stench from the fish kills in the Banana River is hard to put into words. A couple of years ago we had booked a vacation at Sanibel Island. The red tide caused us to cancel. The host we called said she understood. "You can't walk the beach - the toxic fumes are dangerous."
Florida is on a suicide mission. The state is owned by those large agricultural companies. They share ownership with developers. If there is a square foot available, it will be built on. Regardless of the environmental impact.
And read about the threat to drinking water here. Florida may self limit its development - just like Arizona.
Thank you, particularly for the reminder about Ohio. I donated to the Ohio Democratic Party this morning and encouraged others in today's Len's Political Note -- https://lenspoliticalnotes.com. Let's ensure that Ohio's August referendum does not pass so that in November, it only requires a majority vote to protect women's reproductive rights in Ohio.
It should be noted that taxpayers actually are funding Thomas’ private events at the SC. SC staff clean the bathrooms and public spaces. SC facilities are used to prepare and store refreshments. There may be occasional damage to property (chairs, carpets, etc.) resulting from the public use. There also are heating, electricity, and water expenses. I wonder if the Horacio Alger Association reimburse the SC for any of these expenses. On what line item are they included in the SC’s annual budget?
On another matter, all of the SC justices were required to follow the ethics guidelines for Federal justices when they served on lower courts. That they deliberately stopped following these guidelines after they joined the SC is further proof of their corruption.
Jul 10, 2023·edited Jul 10, 2023Liked by Robert B. Hubbell
Speaking of Florida and climate change🔥…DeSantis vetoed a Republican sponsored bill ( it passed with a SINGLE no vote) that would have saved the state millions.
“The Iowa caucus voters who are all about ethanol don’t see electric vehicles as something that is economically in their favor,” Eskamani said. “DeSantis is catering to his Iowa voters, not passing policy for Floridians.” Gifted article:⬇️
Jul 10, 2023·edited Jul 10, 2023Liked by Robert B. Hubbell
Thank-you once more for a most informative letter today. I live in a red county in the ruby red state of Ohio but am noticing a hope shift in Ohioans perception on Issue 1.I have seen yard signs advocating voting"No" and a lot of buzz on the news I hear from both Cleveland and Columbus.It does not matter what your party, the ability for citizens to make changes in their state Constitution and also other changes is being threatened by this Republican legislature which is being thrust upon us quickly and is slight-of-hand. Last Spring, Ohioans were told that there would be no more special elections held in August. They were too expensive and the state was not going to go there anymore. The super-majority then changed this rather abruptly and are trying to sneak this election by but the sneaking has been outed and citizens are becoming aware.Thanks for the links you provided to readers so they can help us to fight the good fight.
The citizens of Ohio are in a tough place. It's too bad that Gym Jordan has been elected and re-elected since he's no friend of the average Joe or Jane whose families may have lived there for generations. If women (especially) lose the ability to manage their own healthcare in a sop to the hard right, it'll take a strong activist orientation to choose to move there and hope to court and establish new families there.
Subject Line: Why Cluster Bombs vs other munitions?
Dear Senator Whitehouse:
From the luxury of my status as an American citizen I contacted you, yesterday, to exclaim my opinion that President Biden should not send Cluster Munitions to Ukraine.
My subjective moral high ground was just that. I have since been made aware of some sobering information. That President Zelensky made the request to receive these draconian weapons because Ukraine was running out of ammunitions. That the alternative was to be faced with generations of Ukrainians under the draconian (my words) rule of Russia. And that the promise of being invited to join NATO would thereby be denied in the foreseeable future.
My only critical question is why is Ukraine running out of ammunition from NATO with the only munitions available, from NATO, Cluster Bombs?
The courteous reply, from your office, is greatly appreciated.
Thank you, Robert, for highlighting the Ohio August referendum. Many of us are already writing Postcards to Voters, reminding Ohio voters that, though the election is on August 8, they can begin early voting on this on July 11! Pass the word...
Thank You for reminding Ohioans to VOTE NO on issue 1. Ohio's Republican dominated legislature is out of control, and is determined to prevent a majority of voters from amending the state constitution. VOTE NO on ISSUE 1 !!
One of the sources of Biden’s dilemma over cluster munitions goes back a couple of generations, and involves Democrats, Republicans and the non-political. After the Cold War and the two Gulf Wars, no one believed that the world would see another war in which old-fashioned artillery would play a vital role. As a result, the number of shells in our arsenal, and the capacity to produce them, were greatly reduced. So, as the President said Ukrainians are in danger of running out of ammunition. The question, then, is whether to let that happen. Perhaps the way to resolve the issue is to ask Ukrainians whether they’d prefer using such weapons—knowing the danger to their own land and people—or to have Russia win the war. Does anyone doubt what the result of such a poll would be?
Jul 10, 2023·edited Jul 10, 2023Liked by Robert B. Hubbell
In the nineteen eighties, in the heart of Brooklyn, New York, in the Flatbush area, there grew a population of immigrants from Jamaica. As other ethnic areas in New York, Flatbush became the center for Jamaican culture in particular. It also harbored bands of Jamaican gangs. Operating like organized crime families, many of them conducted raids, set up protection rackets and threatened local citizens who vocally objected to their presence. They were known at-large as the Jamaican Posse Comitatus. Acting within their expanded area as if so authorized, various teams of gangs (Shower Posse; Dog Posse; Spangler Posse; and branches in New York, Boston, and New Jersey) warred against one another for territorial dominance leaving untold numbers of innocent civilians dead in blood stained streets.
These gangs acted with degrees of impunity and violence the likes of which the City of New York had never seen. The brutality and cruelty were also so disproportionate to (forgive the attribution) the usual crime scene that the New York Police Department found themselves on their heels without the resources and without a plan to deal with this problem. It took years to finally get these gangs under the control of law enforcement.
Greater details are not necessary to dramatize this as analogous to the war in Ukraine. Russia's invasion of and subsequent tactics applied to the war against Ukraine is like nothing seen before. The effective appeasement of Russia in the instance of its takeover of Crimea does not permit comparison. This attack, from the outset, was a World War, even if not so acknowledged for fear of too expansive an engagement. This denial also created a disproportion that put the U.S. back on its heels. And, the recent decision by Biden, however distasteful, may be seen as the radical actions taken by the New York City Police, too late for many, only after the determination to take on the problem directly and forcefully without apology.
I am not stating an opinion here, merely reflecting on what happens when in the initial stages of a dispute so many diverse elements make us blind to the necessity of sterner action. The decision matrix is very complex. In this instance, one can easily lose sight of a bright line.
I would refer people to one of the finest tomes on war. A literal classic and an "attempt to reestablish the authority of moral rules in warfare" - "Just and Unjust Wars" by Michael Walzer.
Ohio has a lake problem too. The town of Lake St. Mary’s has a contiguous lake with algae blooms. Having failed to control farming runoff, the lake is unusable for what was once thriving place of multiple activity. My sense is that the people that made their money off the unregulated farming here (and Florida and elsewhere) do not want government intervention controlling their ability to make profits. When the situation becomes too toxic, they take their money and move on to another site. And we are left with a mess. Please recall that the Cuyahoga River caught fire in the late 1960’s.
As for our Issue #1 anti-democratic effort by the GOP, many of us are working hard to defeat this disgusting power grab.
Jul 10, 2023·edited Jul 10, 2023Liked by Robert B. Hubbell
"Republican legislators - threatening the life, health, and property of..." all of us. VOTE!
Blue Wave postcards to Ohio are sooooo easy. For $12 + postage, they send preprinted cards, preprinted address labels, and all ya gotta do is write less than a dozen words, sign your name, stamp, and walk a few blocks to the post office. 🤗 Vote Forward even easier: free download, print, write a couple sentences, sign your name, seal the envelope, stamp, and take another walk to the post office. Yeah, the cost of postage is going up, but so is the cost of losing democracy.
And thank you sharing your reader's distinction between defense of country and attack of another regarding cluster munitions. Methinks perhaps President Zelenski has a tougher decision to make in asking for the munitions to use in his own country than does Pres Biden in fulfilling the request?
Jul 10, 2023·edited Jul 10, 2023Liked by Robert B. Hubbell
I know very little about cluster bombs except what you said--that they often leave UXBs behind. (Some of us remember that term from our parents describing them, not to mention the TV show). Is it totally impracticable to search out those and neutralize them? Would financial support for bomb sniffing dogs, for example, mitigate the problem? Is there other technology now or being developed that can locate them, at least in populated areas. (I can see it as being impracticable in rough scrub areas where folks don't usually tread). I'm looking at the "long term" problem after the fighting is over, if ever. Civilians in an active war zone seem to be at major risk no matter whether one uses these bombs or not.
At least the Ukrainian government can tell people with reasonable precision where they have been deployed and how to be careful. (It isn't clear to me whether these burrow into the earth or whether one just has to avoid walking through vegetation covered areas).
It seems pretty obvious that if Russia wins the war against Ukraine, Ukrainian children are 100% at risk. We all hate the choices that war thrusts upon us. If Zelensky says his people want that risk, how can people in safe surroundings say no? Winston Churchill saved his nation and the world with a similar attitude. If Biden can lawfully supply those munitions, I feel that I must support the Ukrainians' leader on this. Tough times require tough choices.
What a loaded letter. I am reeling.
We have family in Florida. We visit regularly. Oh, how things have changed. The canal behind the house was once clear and frequented by dolphins and manatees. Now it is just a murky dying waterway.
The stench from the fish kills in the Banana River is hard to put into words. A couple of years ago we had booked a vacation at Sanibel Island. The red tide caused us to cancel. The host we called said she understood. "You can't walk the beach - the toxic fumes are dangerous."
Florida is on a suicide mission. The state is owned by those large agricultural companies. They share ownership with developers. If there is a square foot available, it will be built on. Regardless of the environmental impact.
And read about the threat to drinking water here. Florida may self limit its development - just like Arizona.
https://earth.org/florida-water-shortage/#:~:text=In%20short%2C%20water%20levels%20at,demand%20and%20meet%20future%20needs.
Thank you, particularly for the reminder about Ohio. I donated to the Ohio Democratic Party this morning and encouraged others in today's Len's Political Note -- https://lenspoliticalnotes.com. Let's ensure that Ohio's August referendum does not pass so that in November, it only requires a majority vote to protect women's reproductive rights in Ohio.
It should be noted that taxpayers actually are funding Thomas’ private events at the SC. SC staff clean the bathrooms and public spaces. SC facilities are used to prepare and store refreshments. There may be occasional damage to property (chairs, carpets, etc.) resulting from the public use. There also are heating, electricity, and water expenses. I wonder if the Horacio Alger Association reimburse the SC for any of these expenses. On what line item are they included in the SC’s annual budget?
On another matter, all of the SC justices were required to follow the ethics guidelines for Federal justices when they served on lower courts. That they deliberately stopped following these guidelines after they joined the SC is further proof of their corruption.
Speaking of Florida and climate change🔥…DeSantis vetoed a Republican sponsored bill ( it passed with a SINGLE no vote) that would have saved the state millions.
“The Iowa caucus voters who are all about ethanol don’t see electric vehicles as something that is economically in their favor,” Eskamani said. “DeSantis is catering to his Iowa voters, not passing policy for Floridians.” Gifted article:⬇️
https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2023/07/07/desantis-veto-of-electric-cars-bill-cost-taxpayers-277-million-critics-say/?share=atareslrnrdtioalhncr
He can.not.be.our.President…🔥🔥🔥🔥
Thank-you once more for a most informative letter today. I live in a red county in the ruby red state of Ohio but am noticing a hope shift in Ohioans perception on Issue 1.I have seen yard signs advocating voting"No" and a lot of buzz on the news I hear from both Cleveland and Columbus.It does not matter what your party, the ability for citizens to make changes in their state Constitution and also other changes is being threatened by this Republican legislature which is being thrust upon us quickly and is slight-of-hand. Last Spring, Ohioans were told that there would be no more special elections held in August. They were too expensive and the state was not going to go there anymore. The super-majority then changed this rather abruptly and are trying to sneak this election by but the sneaking has been outed and citizens are becoming aware.Thanks for the links you provided to readers so they can help us to fight the good fight.
The citizens of Ohio are in a tough place. It's too bad that Gym Jordan has been elected and re-elected since he's no friend of the average Joe or Jane whose families may have lived there for generations. If women (especially) lose the ability to manage their own healthcare in a sop to the hard right, it'll take a strong activist orientation to choose to move there and hope to court and establish new families there.
Sent to Senator Whitehouse this morning:
Subject Line: Why Cluster Bombs vs other munitions?
Dear Senator Whitehouse:
From the luxury of my status as an American citizen I contacted you, yesterday, to exclaim my opinion that President Biden should not send Cluster Munitions to Ukraine.
My subjective moral high ground was just that. I have since been made aware of some sobering information. That President Zelensky made the request to receive these draconian weapons because Ukraine was running out of ammunitions. That the alternative was to be faced with generations of Ukrainians under the draconian (my words) rule of Russia. And that the promise of being invited to join NATO would thereby be denied in the foreseeable future.
My only critical question is why is Ukraine running out of ammunition from NATO with the only munitions available, from NATO, Cluster Bombs?
The courteous reply, from your office, is greatly appreciated.
Sincerely puzzled, Susan
Thank you, Robert, for highlighting the Ohio August referendum. Many of us are already writing Postcards to Voters, reminding Ohio voters that, though the election is on August 8, they can begin early voting on this on July 11! Pass the word...
Thank You for reminding Ohioans to VOTE NO on issue 1. Ohio's Republican dominated legislature is out of control, and is determined to prevent a majority of voters from amending the state constitution. VOTE NO on ISSUE 1 !!
One of the sources of Biden’s dilemma over cluster munitions goes back a couple of generations, and involves Democrats, Republicans and the non-political. After the Cold War and the two Gulf Wars, no one believed that the world would see another war in which old-fashioned artillery would play a vital role. As a result, the number of shells in our arsenal, and the capacity to produce them, were greatly reduced. So, as the President said Ukrainians are in danger of running out of ammunition. The question, then, is whether to let that happen. Perhaps the way to resolve the issue is to ask Ukrainians whether they’d prefer using such weapons—knowing the danger to their own land and people—or to have Russia win the war. Does anyone doubt what the result of such a poll would be?
In the nineteen eighties, in the heart of Brooklyn, New York, in the Flatbush area, there grew a population of immigrants from Jamaica. As other ethnic areas in New York, Flatbush became the center for Jamaican culture in particular. It also harbored bands of Jamaican gangs. Operating like organized crime families, many of them conducted raids, set up protection rackets and threatened local citizens who vocally objected to their presence. They were known at-large as the Jamaican Posse Comitatus. Acting within their expanded area as if so authorized, various teams of gangs (Shower Posse; Dog Posse; Spangler Posse; and branches in New York, Boston, and New Jersey) warred against one another for territorial dominance leaving untold numbers of innocent civilians dead in blood stained streets.
These gangs acted with degrees of impunity and violence the likes of which the City of New York had never seen. The brutality and cruelty were also so disproportionate to (forgive the attribution) the usual crime scene that the New York Police Department found themselves on their heels without the resources and without a plan to deal with this problem. It took years to finally get these gangs under the control of law enforcement.
Greater details are not necessary to dramatize this as analogous to the war in Ukraine. Russia's invasion of and subsequent tactics applied to the war against Ukraine is like nothing seen before. The effective appeasement of Russia in the instance of its takeover of Crimea does not permit comparison. This attack, from the outset, was a World War, even if not so acknowledged for fear of too expansive an engagement. This denial also created a disproportion that put the U.S. back on its heels. And, the recent decision by Biden, however distasteful, may be seen as the radical actions taken by the New York City Police, too late for many, only after the determination to take on the problem directly and forcefully without apology.
I am not stating an opinion here, merely reflecting on what happens when in the initial stages of a dispute so many diverse elements make us blind to the necessity of sterner action. The decision matrix is very complex. In this instance, one can easily lose sight of a bright line.
I would refer people to one of the finest tomes on war. A literal classic and an "attempt to reestablish the authority of moral rules in warfare" - "Just and Unjust Wars" by Michael Walzer.
Ordered post cards for Ohio!
Ohio has a lake problem too. The town of Lake St. Mary’s has a contiguous lake with algae blooms. Having failed to control farming runoff, the lake is unusable for what was once thriving place of multiple activity. My sense is that the people that made their money off the unregulated farming here (and Florida and elsewhere) do not want government intervention controlling their ability to make profits. When the situation becomes too toxic, they take their money and move on to another site. And we are left with a mess. Please recall that the Cuyahoga River caught fire in the late 1960’s.
As for our Issue #1 anti-democratic effort by the GOP, many of us are working hard to defeat this disgusting power grab.
"Republican legislators - threatening the life, health, and property of..." all of us. VOTE!
Blue Wave postcards to Ohio are sooooo easy. For $12 + postage, they send preprinted cards, preprinted address labels, and all ya gotta do is write less than a dozen words, sign your name, stamp, and walk a few blocks to the post office. 🤗 Vote Forward even easier: free download, print, write a couple sentences, sign your name, seal the envelope, stamp, and take another walk to the post office. Yeah, the cost of postage is going up, but so is the cost of losing democracy.
And thank you sharing your reader's distinction between defense of country and attack of another regarding cluster munitions. Methinks perhaps President Zelenski has a tougher decision to make in asking for the munitions to use in his own country than does Pres Biden in fulfilling the request?
I know very little about cluster bombs except what you said--that they often leave UXBs behind. (Some of us remember that term from our parents describing them, not to mention the TV show). Is it totally impracticable to search out those and neutralize them? Would financial support for bomb sniffing dogs, for example, mitigate the problem? Is there other technology now or being developed that can locate them, at least in populated areas. (I can see it as being impracticable in rough scrub areas where folks don't usually tread). I'm looking at the "long term" problem after the fighting is over, if ever. Civilians in an active war zone seem to be at major risk no matter whether one uses these bombs or not.
At least the Ukrainian government can tell people with reasonable precision where they have been deployed and how to be careful. (It isn't clear to me whether these burrow into the earth or whether one just has to avoid walking through vegetation covered areas).