Phone banking is not in my comfort zone, but I decided to step out of that zone and, in the last week (too late for postcards) do so with Fair Fight. These are targeted call lists, and I have found the call recipients to be appreciative and even inspiring. Also, these are mostly landlines, so no opportunity to text.
Cathy, thanks for doing your part and stepping outside your comfort zone! And thanks for the link. I am pinning your comment to the top so that others will see!
Nov 30, 2022·edited Nov 30, 2022Liked by Robert B. Hubbell
I'm with you on the "comfort zone" issue! And I too didn't want to end my efforts once it was too late for postcards.
Here's another phone banking opportunity with great need. GA Votes is specifically reaching out to voters who got a mail-in ballot and either didn't get it in time to send back or need info on how to get to a drop box or cancel the mail-in (they can do it at the polling place) so they can vote on site.
They still have many shifts left and there's a training at the beginning of each shift. I've heard some inspiring stories from folks who are already calling and I'm (gulp!) going to start on Friday. BTW the site says Votes Cure Phonebank but it's not. I'm inspired enough that I'm overcoming my fear of learning the technology and the process of finding answers for folks!
That is wonderful Chaplain Terry! Your efforts will help to ensure that every vote is counted! And don’t sweat the technology - the training is good and there are always mentors to help those who are new to the phone bank platform. Thank you!
Yay Cathy! Welcome to phone banking! You chose well - I find calling in Georgia very rewarding and uplifting. GA voters are conscientious, consistent and resilient no matter what type of voter suppression is levied against them. They. Will. Vote. Thank you for joining in this important work. 🤜🤛
Nov 30, 2022·edited Nov 30, 2022Liked by Robert B. Hubbell
Bernie Sanders seemed to have a certain air of confidence when he told Chris Hayes tonight not to count out the health care reform for the railroad unions passing the senate. Perhaps everyone saying it won't overcome a filibuster is like everyone repeating the "common wisdom" that the coming Red Tsunami was going to wipe out Democrats?
Musk is about to get a baseball bat smacked in his face, and it could be literally. Tesla dropped value again today and car sales are approaching a 20% loss, as they are no longer the Official Cars of Rich White Lib'ruls. Space-X has a problem in controls, which may turn into a bigger problem. All good since Bad News For Elon = good news for the rest of us. He's already shed $30 billion in paper net worth, and when the Twitter loans come due in March, he may just find his golden touch has tuned to shit. People he doesn't want to cross are now shorting the stock of his companies because they want to hurt him.
And Apple is contemplating kicking Twitter out of the App Store, which would be the kiss of death to him. And there isn't a damn thing he can do about it.
Thanks for the information on Tesla prices; seemed only a matter of time. I have heard from readers who have decided to purchase other electric vehicles because of Musk's hard-right turn and some who have said they will never purchase / lease a new Tesla at the end of their current term.
When a brand is based on the mythology of the founder's genius and it turns out the founder is a jerk, it has to hurt the brand. I continue to be amazed that leaders at Tesla and Space X are not trying to rein in Musk. Tesla's stock PE ratio has plummeted in the last year. Why aren't the Board and investors demanding action??
Musk does march to his own drummer, but he is part and parcel of a cabal of enormously wealthy persons in the world who are hellbent on destroying democracy here and everywhere. Their goal is to establish by any means fascist-type regimes in democratically controlled countries for the purpose of controlling nearly all the wealth in the world. Without exception these people are megalomaniacs in the truest sense.
If somehow Musk is financially wiped-out, it would be a devastating setback for the plutocrats and every right-wing political party in the world.
Musk’s misadventure with Twitter is the very definition of putting your money where your mouth is. It also is a great reminder of the wise advice to think carefully and responsibly before speaking. He has turned $44 billion into a dumpster fire and continues to throw fuel into the conflagration. His every utterance continues to demonstrate the same lack of responsible thought or action. He has turned from a being seen as a genius business success to become the village idiot turned arsonist. It remains to be seen if there is a first responder team that will appear to address the fires he has lit, or if townspeople will merely assemble as spectators to watch him burn it all down.
+1 to not letting up on the effort to elect Warnock. I just returned from a visit to Atlanta. While I was there a friend showed me 2 handwritten postcards she had received encouraging her to vote. When I mentioned to another woman that I had been writing postcards and letters, she said, "oh, I got one of those postcards. I liked it. I wondered if a real volunteer had written it. And yeah, I voted."
I posted somewhere, can't remember which Substack, that as we were watching TV and the voting lines in GA, my husband said to me, "They must have gotten your postcard."
Robert I want to thank you for alerting me to the Civics Center. Wow! Their postcards for the runoff were colorful and classy. I plan to stay involved w them. Their founder and chairperson clerked for RBG btw
I was very happy about the jury’s verdicts against Rhodes and the others. Didn’t realize he had 5 children. They despise him as he abused them and their mother for many years. His son calls him “Stuart” not dad. Their mother and the kids escaped with one pet from a remote cabin. They are now free from his threats which gives me a lot of satisfaction. They are all pigs! My hope is that Jack Smith and the DOJ nails all of their asses to the wall where they belong. Real justice is when Trump, his kids, his associates, and Congress members all get indictments and serve prison time.
Re: Supreme Court. If Roberts is really interested in preserving the legitimacy of the Supreme Court he can resign. Biden appoints a new Chief Justice who can clean up the ethical issues. True Christians would recognize this self-sacrifice. "Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will keep it."
I agree, and would add Gorsuch and Kavanaugh to the justices who should resign, given the circumstances of their appointment and deception during the confirmation process.
I've been saying that from the get-go. What about Barrett, who, if the did not outright lie, prevaricated about her position on Roe v. Wade and then voted with the majority on Dobbs?
<sigh> Yes, should. Not holding my breath. The Federalist Society will allow them to only if they consider resignation to be in their best interests. Of the three, I suspect that only Roberts might be free enough in his ethics to choose to resign of his own accord.
Not sure that passage is in the propaganda favored by the members of the arch catholic Federalist Society. They obviously not only want to preserve their lives but also be exalted!
We are making incremental progress, but we are also seeing some not so incremental setbacks. Though we dodged a bullet in the midterms, yes, maybe even did better than that, Stewart Rhodes will go to jail, and Kevin McCarthy found it within his shallow heart to condemn Fuentes and Ye, but not The Godfather himself, we are still seeing the far right make creepy inroads into the political landscape. They are in the House, in Florida, and are shielded by 99% of Republicans. Clearly they are speaking the quiet part out loud for a lot of people, and those people are enough to abet or create actual physical danger for many of us. As much as I wish I could relax, and certainly felt enormous relief after Nov 8, I do not feel we are at all out of the woods. The Jewish Community ("Don't say The Jews", Dave Chapelle) is, alas, the proverbial canary in the coal mine, and knows all too well what this current atmosphere could portend.
In France there is a law against hate speech, which came about because of their complicity in WWII. I believe Germany has similar "limits" on free speech for obvious reasons. Ye, Fuentes, Trump and their ilk would have been condemned, made to pay fines, and possibly limited in their public activities. Perhaps this flies in the face of the American way, but on the other hand, it's beginning to seem like a welcome safeguard. It is not that difficult to recognize hate speech for what it is, distinct from regular and diverse political opinions.
Hi, NC. Thanks for your comments. I would add that it is incumbent on those who are not the targets of hate speech to vigorously defend those who are. Every. Single. Time. It is unacceptable that any American should live in fear because of their religious beliefs, nationality, gender identity, or sexual orientation.
Mitch McConnell and Mitt Romney, one long week later, have condemned Trump and his disgusting friends, so I will revise the number of Republicans who shield the extreme right to 97.5%. Still....
Very late in the game, mind you, that Mitch and Romney finally made their comments. Qevin has yet to do so. His frozen tongue is stuck on Trump’s derriere.
Nov 30, 2022·edited Nov 30, 2022Liked by Robert B. Hubbell
I've long admired and detested the right's mastery of false equivalencies. So here's one to ponder: As Jim Jordan sharpens his pencils to investigate Hunter Biden, I'd think that he'd think that Jared Kushner accepting $2bn from the Saudis is ripe for investigation. Talk about being out in the open with people whose support of the US is at best squishy? But have lots of money? Saying nothing about the Twin Towers.
I continue to firmly support our Democratic leaders in Congress and the Biden administration. I am proud that following the outstanding leadership of Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the first woman Speaker of the House, we are about to elevate by voice acclimation vote the first black man, Hakeem Jeffries, to Speaker. Those firsts by strong and unified Party votes stand in strong contrast to the disarray and chaos within the Republican Party.
Democrats have proven in the last two years that even with a thin majority they are able to govern effectively for the American people. It remains to be seen if Republicans can do likewise. The prospects of effective governance by Republicans seem slim in the shadow of Republican chaos, but I remain confident that even as a minority party, Democrats are capable of uniting in a bipartisan way with responsible Republicans to keep the ship of state on course despite the storms we are likely to face.
Recent events and legislation passed and pending provide hope for progress despite threats. My wish for us all as we enter the holiday season is taken from the refrain that has echoed in this season for over two thousand years - Peace on Earth and Good Will Toward All.
Merry Christmas and a best wishes for a happy, healthy, and prosperous New Year.
I received a letter this morning, from my friend Margriet K. She wrote inside it this quotation and then later something else. 'Existing is drinking yourself without being thirsty / Exister, c'est ça: se boire sans soif.'
'To return to Sartres quote, true, existing is drinking yourself without being thirsty, but living is being thirsty.'
Maybe those like Musk have lost the thirst. Some things have no meaning and soul gets sad. I have seen this myself, in life. I wish more families would intervene when they see such need and I hope he gets the help he needs.
There is a kind of dog, (also in our letters) that herds by leaning against your lower legs. I felt this one August in Provence, my host's dog a young Pyrenées named Dusty (sur le Soleil de Mont Ventoux) leaned against my legs during the intitial tour by my lovely host, and I felt the most amazing calmness. This makes me curious about the nerves in the lower legs and if they are attached somehow to the heart. My friend also writes about 'naive curiousity'. She is a writer and artist in the Netherlands. She had the same experience with two dogs....who were hearding sheep alone and they met in a walk.
When my daughters were young, we adopted a Swiss cattle dog. Whenever the girls went into the back yard, he ran past them and nipped at them until they were standing in a tight little knot in the center of the yard. Then he would calmly sit down and watch over them, ensuring they did not stray from the herd. His instinct was strong.
Roberts sits in the chair, but the Federalists and the mega billionaire libertarian money people OWN the 6 corrupt voters occupying seats on the ‘stench court’!
Twitter! What a despicable use of the internet! Freedom of speech yet they hide behind obnoxious ‘handles’! Boycott advertisers on Twitter!
The response by Chief Justice Roberts to the letter from Sen. Whitehouse, as pointed out by Ruth Marcus of the WaPo was truly disgusting. But it is also totally in line with the volume of evidence of a captured and corrupt Supreme Court laid out in the recently released book 'The Scheme' by Sen. Whitehouse. This book should be on the must read list for all who care about justice at our highest court.
"Musk’s behavior is not normal....a decline in Musk’s ability to exercise self-restraint—a sign of a brewing personal crisis that begs for intervention by family members and friends." Red flag law? Seriously, though, there seems to be quite a few personal crises brewing these days that are affecting the country writ large - Musk, Trump, Walker, Rhodes, Flynn, Lake, etc. Kanye is a pathetic mess.
Nov 30, 2022·edited Nov 30, 2022Liked by Robert B. Hubbell
Regarding the conviction of the Oath Keepers, it is a win for the DOJ and the country, however it is not going to diminish the group or discourage its members. By itself this is a publicity win for their cause. Martyrs make heroes. Dying for a cause, writing letters and books from prison, hunger strikers, standing in the path of a tank,...are all heroic acts if done for what one believes in. It affirms how righteous and how brave they are. In my reading about the trial, the defendants never said they were mistaken and wrong. They stood by their beliefs and argued that it wasn't a crime.
It isn't arrests of leaders that will bring these groups down. It is important that they do not appear brave and committed to a cause as they go to prison.
If every American worker deserves paid time off for medical appointments and illnesses, the choice is easy. The very profitable rail carriers can certainly afford to provide it. Fighting on behalf of the rail workers is what’s not easy. Is Biden taking the easy way out by asking the workers to take it on the chin?
That's one easy way out. The other is to ask tens of millions of Americans to take it on the chin. Whatever Biden does, people will suffer. It is certainly fair game to criticize Biden for his choice, but in doing so, we should recognize that had he done otherwise, he would also be criticized for his decision.
Thank you for this. President Biden may done a "greater good/harm" approach. Driving home yesterday I was pondering just what you said. The catastrophic outcome from medicines, formula, clean water (and all the unbelievable number of things that need clean water in order to be manufactured. And the medical operations put on hold. It really does boggle the mind.
"Biden is faced with a difficult choice that presents unacceptable alternatives no matter which way he turns. The rail workers—like every American worker—deserve paid time off for medical appointments and illnesses. But a national rail strike would inflict significant damage on the economy. Per The Guardian, a rail workers strike could “cost” the economy about $2 billion per day and would result in 700,000 job losses in the manufacturing and retail industry. Such losses would remove any doubt about whether the US is in a recession; it would be."
Given the reality of the filibuster, there are no easy answers for Biden to pursue.
I don't believe he is taking any "way out." I don't see Biden viewing this as a choice to stay out of trouble. He is doing what is best for the Country he pledged to take care of.
The media, and the public-at-large, are FINALLY paying attention to the fact that Herschel Walker is a legal resident and voter in Texas. That means something, even to those who personally dislike Raphael Warnock. The law is paramount, even in the reddest parts of the Deep South.
Phone banking is not in my comfort zone, but I decided to step out of that zone and, in the last week (too late for postcards) do so with Fair Fight. These are targeted call lists, and I have found the call recipients to be appreciative and even inspiring. Also, these are mostly landlines, so no opportunity to text.
These are happening every night—here’s a sample link (for tonight). Use this link to sign up: https://www.mobilize.us/mobilize/event/543401/?referring_vol=44135&rname=Cathy×lot=3797963&share_medium=email_link&share_context=email_1
Cathy, thanks for doing your part and stepping outside your comfort zone! And thanks for the link. I am pinning your comment to the top so that others will see!
I'm with you on the "comfort zone" issue! And I too didn't want to end my efforts once it was too late for postcards.
Here's another phone banking opportunity with great need. GA Votes is specifically reaching out to voters who got a mail-in ballot and either didn't get it in time to send back or need info on how to get to a drop box or cancel the mail-in (they can do it at the polling place) so they can vote on site.
They still have many shifts left and there's a training at the beginning of each shift. I've heard some inspiring stories from folks who are already calling and I'm (gulp!) going to start on Friday. BTW the site says Votes Cure Phonebank but it's not. I'm inspired enough that I'm overcoming my fear of learning the technology and the process of finding answers for folks!
https://www.mobilize.us/gavotes/event/537437/
That is wonderful Chaplain Terry! Your efforts will help to ensure that every vote is counted! And don’t sweat the technology - the training is good and there are always mentors to help those who are new to the phone bank platform. Thank you!
Thanks, Angela!!! That is so encouraging!!!
Thank you for the info. Have done some postcards. Not sure if I have time for phone banking but if I do....
Whatever each of us can do adds up to a whole lot of action/energy!!
Thanks for considering Rich! Fingers crossed that a time window or two opens up for you.
Yay Cathy! Welcome to phone banking! You chose well - I find calling in Georgia very rewarding and uplifting. GA voters are conscientious, consistent and resilient no matter what type of voter suppression is levied against them. They. Will. Vote. Thank you for joining in this important work. 🤜🤛
Yeah I had to break out of mine also! Stretching ourselves is good. Thanks for inspiration!
Bernie Sanders seemed to have a certain air of confidence when he told Chris Hayes tonight not to count out the health care reform for the railroad unions passing the senate. Perhaps everyone saying it won't overcome a filibuster is like everyone repeating the "common wisdom" that the coming Red Tsunami was going to wipe out Democrats?
Musk is about to get a baseball bat smacked in his face, and it could be literally. Tesla dropped value again today and car sales are approaching a 20% loss, as they are no longer the Official Cars of Rich White Lib'ruls. Space-X has a problem in controls, which may turn into a bigger problem. All good since Bad News For Elon = good news for the rest of us. He's already shed $30 billion in paper net worth, and when the Twitter loans come due in March, he may just find his golden touch has tuned to shit. People he doesn't want to cross are now shorting the stock of his companies because they want to hurt him.
And Apple is contemplating kicking Twitter out of the App Store, which would be the kiss of death to him. And there isn't a damn thing he can do about it.
Thanks for the information on Tesla prices; seemed only a matter of time. I have heard from readers who have decided to purchase other electric vehicles because of Musk's hard-right turn and some who have said they will never purchase / lease a new Tesla at the end of their current term.
When a brand is based on the mythology of the founder's genius and it turns out the founder is a jerk, it has to hurt the brand. I continue to be amazed that leaders at Tesla and Space X are not trying to rein in Musk. Tesla's stock PE ratio has plummeted in the last year. Why aren't the Board and investors demanding action??
Musk does march to his own drummer, but he is part and parcel of a cabal of enormously wealthy persons in the world who are hellbent on destroying democracy here and everywhere. Their goal is to establish by any means fascist-type regimes in democratically controlled countries for the purpose of controlling nearly all the wealth in the world. Without exception these people are megalomaniacs in the truest sense.
If somehow Musk is financially wiped-out, it would be a devastating setback for the plutocrats and every right-wing political party in the world.
“he is part and parcel of a cabal of enormously wealthy persons in the world who are hellbent on destroying democracy here and everywhere“
I’ve posted this before (including yesterday). It is an apt response to your quoted text above:
“We can have democracy in this country, or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can’t have both.”
-SCOTUS Justice Louis Brandeis
Keep posting Brandeis's words!
They are over my head. I wish under my foot.
Musk’s misadventure with Twitter is the very definition of putting your money where your mouth is. It also is a great reminder of the wise advice to think carefully and responsibly before speaking. He has turned $44 billion into a dumpster fire and continues to throw fuel into the conflagration. His every utterance continues to demonstrate the same lack of responsible thought or action. He has turned from a being seen as a genius business success to become the village idiot turned arsonist. It remains to be seen if there is a first responder team that will appear to address the fires he has lit, or if townspeople will merely assemble as spectators to watch him burn it all down.
Who did not see this coming and why do we open barn doors that should be kept closed?
+1 to not letting up on the effort to elect Warnock. I just returned from a visit to Atlanta. While I was there a friend showed me 2 handwritten postcards she had received encouraging her to vote. When I mentioned to another woman that I had been writing postcards and letters, she said, "oh, I got one of those postcards. I liked it. I wondered if a real volunteer had written it. And yeah, I voted."
Keep it up.
I posted somewhere, can't remember which Substack, that as we were watching TV and the voting lines in GA, my husband said to me, "They must have gotten your postcard."
I would take that as a sign of respect and admiration for your hard work!
Indeed. He foolishly adores me. 🤗
Robert I want to thank you for alerting me to the Civics Center. Wow! Their postcards for the runoff were colorful and classy. I plan to stay involved w them. Their founder and chairperson clerked for RBG btw
Wonderful story! Thanks for sharing!
I was very happy about the jury’s verdicts against Rhodes and the others. Didn’t realize he had 5 children. They despise him as he abused them and their mother for many years. His son calls him “Stuart” not dad. Their mother and the kids escaped with one pet from a remote cabin. They are now free from his threats which gives me a lot of satisfaction. They are all pigs! My hope is that Jack Smith and the DOJ nails all of their asses to the wall where they belong. Real justice is when Trump, his kids, his associates, and Congress members all get indictments and serve prison time.
Re: Supreme Court. If Roberts is really interested in preserving the legitimacy of the Supreme Court he can resign. Biden appoints a new Chief Justice who can clean up the ethical issues. True Christians would recognize this self-sacrifice. "Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will keep it."
I agree, and would add Gorsuch and Kavanaugh to the justices who should resign, given the circumstances of their appointment and deception during the confirmation process.
I've been saying that from the get-go. What about Barrett, who, if the did not outright lie, prevaricated about her position on Roe v. Wade and then voted with the majority on Dobbs?
<sigh> Yes, should. Not holding my breath. The Federalist Society will allow them to only if they consider resignation to be in their best interests. Of the three, I suspect that only Roberts might be free enough in his ethics to choose to resign of his own accord.
That would be amazing. And good.
Not sure that passage is in the propaganda favored by the members of the arch catholic Federalist Society. They obviously not only want to preserve their lives but also be exalted!
We are making incremental progress, but we are also seeing some not so incremental setbacks. Though we dodged a bullet in the midterms, yes, maybe even did better than that, Stewart Rhodes will go to jail, and Kevin McCarthy found it within his shallow heart to condemn Fuentes and Ye, but not The Godfather himself, we are still seeing the far right make creepy inroads into the political landscape. They are in the House, in Florida, and are shielded by 99% of Republicans. Clearly they are speaking the quiet part out loud for a lot of people, and those people are enough to abet or create actual physical danger for many of us. As much as I wish I could relax, and certainly felt enormous relief after Nov 8, I do not feel we are at all out of the woods. The Jewish Community ("Don't say The Jews", Dave Chapelle) is, alas, the proverbial canary in the coal mine, and knows all too well what this current atmosphere could portend.
In France there is a law against hate speech, which came about because of their complicity in WWII. I believe Germany has similar "limits" on free speech for obvious reasons. Ye, Fuentes, Trump and their ilk would have been condemned, made to pay fines, and possibly limited in their public activities. Perhaps this flies in the face of the American way, but on the other hand, it's beginning to seem like a welcome safeguard. It is not that difficult to recognize hate speech for what it is, distinct from regular and diverse political opinions.
Hi, NC. Thanks for your comments. I would add that it is incumbent on those who are not the targets of hate speech to vigorously defend those who are. Every. Single. Time. It is unacceptable that any American should live in fear because of their religious beliefs, nationality, gender identity, or sexual orientation.
Absolutely.
Mitch McConnell and Mitt Romney, one long week later, have condemned Trump and his disgusting friends, so I will revise the number of Republicans who shield the extreme right to 97.5%. Still....
Very late in the game, mind you, that Mitch and Romney finally made their comments. Qevin has yet to do so. His frozen tongue is stuck on Trump’s derriere.
I've long admired and detested the right's mastery of false equivalencies. So here's one to ponder: As Jim Jordan sharpens his pencils to investigate Hunter Biden, I'd think that he'd think that Jared Kushner accepting $2bn from the Saudis is ripe for investigation. Talk about being out in the open with people whose support of the US is at best squishy? But have lots of money? Saying nothing about the Twin Towers.
there are so many moving parts to actual news these days!
we are between midterm elections and the Georgia runoff election.
At least there appears to be some awareness the current radical extremism of the MAGA GOP is out of step with the majority of people.
there seems to be a glimmer of light -
* repudiation of TFG's claim his Secret Service detail allows any unsavory character to waltz into lunch with him not knowing who that person is
* convictions (!) of seditionists using their own words and real-time communications
* Jack Smith preparing to launch "real" investigations into the "Big Lie" about the 2020 Election,
January 6, 2021 Capitol attack to interfere with the Electoral College certification,
and "handling" of classified documents.
Hope to finally affirm no one is above the law.
I continue to firmly support our Democratic leaders in Congress and the Biden administration. I am proud that following the outstanding leadership of Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the first woman Speaker of the House, we are about to elevate by voice acclimation vote the first black man, Hakeem Jeffries, to Speaker. Those firsts by strong and unified Party votes stand in strong contrast to the disarray and chaos within the Republican Party.
Democrats have proven in the last two years that even with a thin majority they are able to govern effectively for the American people. It remains to be seen if Republicans can do likewise. The prospects of effective governance by Republicans seem slim in the shadow of Republican chaos, but I remain confident that even as a minority party, Democrats are capable of uniting in a bipartisan way with responsible Republicans to keep the ship of state on course despite the storms we are likely to face.
Recent events and legislation passed and pending provide hope for progress despite threats. My wish for us all as we enter the holiday season is taken from the refrain that has echoed in this season for over two thousand years - Peace on Earth and Good Will Toward All.
Merry Christmas and a best wishes for a happy, healthy, and prosperous New Year.
I received a letter this morning, from my friend Margriet K. She wrote inside it this quotation and then later something else. 'Existing is drinking yourself without being thirsty / Exister, c'est ça: se boire sans soif.'
'To return to Sartres quote, true, existing is drinking yourself without being thirsty, but living is being thirsty.'
Maybe those like Musk have lost the thirst. Some things have no meaning and soul gets sad. I have seen this myself, in life. I wish more families would intervene when they see such need and I hope he gets the help he needs.
There is a kind of dog, (also in our letters) that herds by leaning against your lower legs. I felt this one August in Provence, my host's dog a young Pyrenées named Dusty (sur le Soleil de Mont Ventoux) leaned against my legs during the intitial tour by my lovely host, and I felt the most amazing calmness. This makes me curious about the nerves in the lower legs and if they are attached somehow to the heart. My friend also writes about 'naive curiousity'. She is a writer and artist in the Netherlands. She had the same experience with two dogs....who were hearding sheep alone and they met in a walk.
All very interesting, thanks for sharing.
When my daughters were young, we adopted a Swiss cattle dog. Whenever the girls went into the back yard, he ran past them and nipped at them until they were standing in a tight little knot in the center of the yard. Then he would calmly sit down and watch over them, ensuring they did not stray from the herd. His instinct was strong.
I admire your interesting friendships.
Roberts sits in the chair, but the Federalists and the mega billionaire libertarian money people OWN the 6 corrupt voters occupying seats on the ‘stench court’!
Twitter! What a despicable use of the internet! Freedom of speech yet they hide behind obnoxious ‘handles’! Boycott advertisers on Twitter!
The response by Chief Justice Roberts to the letter from Sen. Whitehouse, as pointed out by Ruth Marcus of the WaPo was truly disgusting. But it is also totally in line with the volume of evidence of a captured and corrupt Supreme Court laid out in the recently released book 'The Scheme' by Sen. Whitehouse. This book should be on the must read list for all who care about justice at our highest court.
"Musk’s behavior is not normal....a decline in Musk’s ability to exercise self-restraint—a sign of a brewing personal crisis that begs for intervention by family members and friends." Red flag law? Seriously, though, there seems to be quite a few personal crises brewing these days that are affecting the country writ large - Musk, Trump, Walker, Rhodes, Flynn, Lake, etc. Kanye is a pathetic mess.
Question: Who hires the SCOTUS counsel?
The Court. He is a government employee. He represents the American people, not the Justices. He appears to be confused about that fact.
Thank you for clarification. If that's the case, confused indeed!
Regarding the conviction of the Oath Keepers, it is a win for the DOJ and the country, however it is not going to diminish the group or discourage its members. By itself this is a publicity win for their cause. Martyrs make heroes. Dying for a cause, writing letters and books from prison, hunger strikers, standing in the path of a tank,...are all heroic acts if done for what one believes in. It affirms how righteous and how brave they are. In my reading about the trial, the defendants never said they were mistaken and wrong. They stood by their beliefs and argued that it wasn't a crime.
It isn't arrests of leaders that will bring these groups down. It is important that they do not appear brave and committed to a cause as they go to prison.
If every American worker deserves paid time off for medical appointments and illnesses, the choice is easy. The very profitable rail carriers can certainly afford to provide it. Fighting on behalf of the rail workers is what’s not easy. Is Biden taking the easy way out by asking the workers to take it on the chin?
That's one easy way out. The other is to ask tens of millions of Americans to take it on the chin. Whatever Biden does, people will suffer. It is certainly fair game to criticize Biden for his choice, but in doing so, we should recognize that had he done otherwise, he would also be criticized for his decision.
Damned, if he does. Damned, if he doesn’t.
Thank you for this. President Biden may done a "greater good/harm" approach. Driving home yesterday I was pondering just what you said. The catastrophic outcome from medicines, formula, clean water (and all the unbelievable number of things that need clean water in order to be manufactured. And the medical operations put on hold. It really does boggle the mind.
"Biden is faced with a difficult choice that presents unacceptable alternatives no matter which way he turns. The rail workers—like every American worker—deserve paid time off for medical appointments and illnesses. But a national rail strike would inflict significant damage on the economy. Per The Guardian, a rail workers strike could “cost” the economy about $2 billion per day and would result in 700,000 job losses in the manufacturing and retail industry. Such losses would remove any doubt about whether the US is in a recession; it would be."
Given the reality of the filibuster, there are no easy answers for Biden to pursue.
I don't believe he is taking any "way out." I don't see Biden viewing this as a choice to stay out of trouble. He is doing what is best for the Country he pledged to take care of.
The media, and the public-at-large, are FINALLY paying attention to the fact that Herschel Walker is a legal resident and voter in Texas. That means something, even to those who personally dislike Raphael Warnock. The law is paramount, even in the reddest parts of the Deep South.