Several readers have noted the intelligence conclusion is that the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) fired the "errant missile" that hit the hospital in Gaza, not Hamas. In the interest of accuracy, I will note the group's name in future, but here, I think detail obscures the truth.
The PIJ is a group of 1,000 terrorists operating in Gaza--something that can only happen with Hamas's permission. PIJ has been launching missiles and mortars into Israel for the last ten days, again something that can only happen with Hamas's permission. PIJ is effectively an auxiliary of Hamas in Gaza. To make the distinction between those groups in assigning responsibility for the attack on the hospital is a distinction that blurs the essential truth: Hamas is responsible for the attack on the hospital. It controls Gaza, it controls PIJ.
I'm coming to a conclusion I never thought I would: the Press Corpse, with its willful ignorance and ill-informed self-righteousness, is as big a problem as the MAGAts are.
Thank you for this. Re the House: As Aaron Blake points out in WaPo, it is significant that a handful of GOP house members who voted against Jordan also called his camp out publicly for bullying and intimidation tactics. He should put a stop to it (all he does is talk). If it continues, let's hope that at least it peels away more votes from him. Yesterday, as suggested by Jessica Craven, I called the offices of each of the 20 GOP reps who voted no in round 1 and I thanked them. Today, I am calling and thanking each rep who spoke up in this article about intimidation. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/10/18/jim-jordan-maga-intimidation-threats/
Republicans in the House said they supported Jim Jordan for House Speaker because he was dedicated to gutting Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. The American voters should be told every day what the GOP stands for.
I really needed that. Thank you so much for being who you are and for being there for us who often feel like we are in the wilderness ( even though we might live in NYC!!!)
I realize that this has been said many times by many people. Many of those on the right are supporting efforts by their leaders who are working against their supporters best interests. Many people receive more economic benefit from their government than they pay in and yet support politicians and policies that will reduce these benefits while cutting taxes that they do no even pay. I often wonder what great improvements we could have in the quality of life in the USA and the world if the Democrats could control the White House and both houses of Congress for a long period of time. Of course I am just a progress (liberal) dreamer.
Yesterday, I posted a comment about why I thought the hospital explosion was more likely from an Israeli weapon than an errant rocket fired from Gaza toward Israel. I had seen no visual evidence of the actual damage to the hospital, but deemed it impossible for hundreds to have died without the hospital...or a portion of it...collapsing due to a large high explosive detonation. I reasoned that the smaller warheads on the Hamas rockets could not have caused the collapse of the hospital;.
Today, I wish to correct that call. I believe the Israeli judgement that an errant rocket caused the limited damage and the deaths of an unconfirmed number of people who had taken shelter in the parking lot. Why? I have now seen video of the hospital and the building did not collapse. It appears that damage was limited to the parking lot and there is no large crater that a bomb would have made. The apparent damage and fire is consistent with the detonation of the relatively small rocket warhead and the fire was probably caused by the remaining unburnt solid fuel of the rocket that crashed before its fuel had been expended.
There is also this from the New York Times today:
A correction was made on Oct. 18, 2023: An earlier version of this article described incorrectly a video filmed by a woman at the hospital after the blast. The hospital itself was not ruined; its parking lot was damaged most heavily in the blast.
I was wrong yesterday. I hope this sets the record straight. CPO
Sometimes we need to stop and realize that the type of changes we are all looking for take longer to materialize than we expect. Slowly very slowly things, small changes are happening and in most cases we don’t even notice them but they are happening. Sometimes we need a dose of reality or truth serum and I am enclosing a comment that was sent to me that I think captures a lot of what we are feeling. I do not know the author but I am including it anyhow.
The real problem is that many Republican voters have now completely internalized the cynicism of Trump and the GOP opportunists around him, and they draw no connection between national politics and the ongoing health and security of the United States. These voters rely on everyone else (including those Americans they deride as the “deep state”) to keep the country functioning. They vote for masters of performative nonsense, such as Jordan and Gaetz, who do nothing for the “forgotten” working families in the places that the MAGA movement claims have been left behind by the rest of us.
It’s not much consolation to recognize that the Republicans are now the party their voters want them to be. Their antics endanger us all, especially during multiple international crises when the United States needs to be unified and effective both at home and abroad. But to treat the GOP as merely dysfunctional is worse than a distraction; it is a fundamental error that offers the false hope that a mature and governing majority is somehow within reach, if only Jordan or Gaetz would get out of the way.”
This is why turnout and voting is the only workable solution.
THANK YOU! I am feeling exhausted, and I limit my exposure to the news (visuals of death are not helpful to my thinking process). But I am hopeful -- there are signs in the exhaustion that some people can spot the source, identify it, and shun it. And the source is not Joe Biden. As he would say, "God bless him!" He has gone into the lion's den, trying to bring some iota of sanity and calm where the blood rages and the stones cry out for vengeance. But, as Gandhi reminds us, an eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind. Hope, against all evidence and all weight of opinion, hope is what we need to cling to, knowing hope is given wings by consistent, plodding work. Thank you, Robert. Avanti!
Thank you Tom Cole: For those who thought Jim Jordan would just drive up interest rates by defaulting on our national debt and then cut cut taxes for his rich patrons, we now are told that Jordan wanted "to get at the real drivers of debt, and we all know what they are. We all know it's Social Security, we all know it's Medicare, we all know it's Medicaid." Huh. Is Cole (T-Okla) really that stupid? Has he always been this mendacious? Or has he fallen under the spell of the wizard of Mar a Lago? Or Fox?
Robert, and family, thank you for sharing so much of yourselves over the past couple of years. You have not turned away, withdrawn, or ignored the difficult situations with which we and the world are coping. I do appreciate the pep talk. I need it. I do my best to spread hope, focus on courage, justice, personal discipline, and the much larger picture.
Many people have been financially hit from the pandemic and are still struggling to get back to where they were. These factors, added with the US political instability are overwhelming for most. The world events layer on more fear and uncertainty. And yet, there are millions of refugees fleeing much worse and seeking a safe place to try and rebuild a life.
Action can be an antidote for anxiety. We can all strive to be one who spreads hope versus doom and gloom. Thanks again for being with us all through these times.
Oct 19, 2023·edited Oct 20, 2023Liked by Robert B. Hubbell
This was a great pep talk. I hope everyone else feels that way. I've tried to buck up a guy who were sounding depressed on another substack, which is not primarily focused on politics. I urged him to sign up here, and I suggested a book that I thought might make him feel better (Sebastian Junger's Tribe, which is about the conditions under which H. sapiens are our best selves). I finished by suggesting he come here, and also consider Hopium and HCR.
I am pessimistic by nature. When I was barely adolescent back during the LBJ administration, a girl around my age used to call me Frizzy Haired Eeyore (looking back after all these years, I have the feeling that name conveyed affection, and I'm touched). But I have not been feeling pessimistic lately. It's partly Biden. Two trips to Israel inside of two weeks, a fricken 12 hour flight each way for a total of nearly two days in the air!--telling Bibi what he needs to hear, and letting the Israelis know that we really do support them, and yet asserting that they need to abide by the rules of war.
Once again, our beloved President showed his steady hand and prowess in international affairs by his whirlwind trip to Israel and the results that he achieved. His departing speech to the Israeli people and their leadership (as well as to the world) is perhaps one of the best in his presidency, calling upon the humanity in all of us in navigating these difficult times. But even more directly, he reminded Israel about what sets it apart from the Hamas’ brutality and evil suddenly injected into their homes and nation. President Biden said: “You are a Jewish state, but you’re also a democracy. And like the United States, you don’t live by the rules of terrorists. You live by the rule of law. And when conflicts flare, you live by the law of wars. What sets us apart from the terrorists is we believe in the fundamental dignity of every human life-Israeli, Palestinian, Arab, Jew, Muslim, Christian-everyone. You can’t give up what makes you who you are. If you give that up, then the terrorists win. And we can never let them win....We are all human beings created in the image of God with dignity, humanity, and purpose. In the darkness, to be the light unto the world is what we’re about. You inspire hope and light for so many around the world. That’s what the terrorists seek to destroy. That’s what they seek to destroy-but not you, not Israel. Nations of conscience like the United States and Israel are not measured solely by the example of their power. We’re measured by the power of our example. That’s why, as hard as it is, we must keep pursuing peace.”
At the end of this speech, I, for one, was proud to be an American, and again challenged to do everything I can to make our country’s Democratic experiment survive and work. There was no greater example of a “pep talk” than the one given by our President yesterday to us and the rest of this world.
Several readers have noted the intelligence conclusion is that the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) fired the "errant missile" that hit the hospital in Gaza, not Hamas. In the interest of accuracy, I will note the group's name in future, but here, I think detail obscures the truth.
The PIJ is a group of 1,000 terrorists operating in Gaza--something that can only happen with Hamas's permission. PIJ has been launching missiles and mortars into Israel for the last ten days, again something that can only happen with Hamas's permission. PIJ is effectively an auxiliary of Hamas in Gaza. To make the distinction between those groups in assigning responsibility for the attack on the hospital is a distinction that blurs the essential truth: Hamas is responsible for the attack on the hospital. It controls Gaza, it controls PIJ.
I'm coming to a conclusion I never thought I would: the Press Corpse, with its willful ignorance and ill-informed self-righteousness, is as big a problem as the MAGAts are.
Thank you for this. Re the House: As Aaron Blake points out in WaPo, it is significant that a handful of GOP house members who voted against Jordan also called his camp out publicly for bullying and intimidation tactics. He should put a stop to it (all he does is talk). If it continues, let's hope that at least it peels away more votes from him. Yesterday, as suggested by Jessica Craven, I called the offices of each of the 20 GOP reps who voted no in round 1 and I thanked them. Today, I am calling and thanking each rep who spoke up in this article about intimidation. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/10/18/jim-jordan-maga-intimidation-threats/
Republicans in the House said they supported Jim Jordan for House Speaker because he was dedicated to gutting Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. The American voters should be told every day what the GOP stands for.
Wow.
Dearest Mr. Hubbell,
I really needed that. Thank you so much for being who you are and for being there for us who often feel like we are in the wilderness ( even though we might live in NYC!!!)
Warmly,
Lannyl Stephens
"To hope is to risk frustration. Therefore, make up your mind to risk frustration."
Merton
I realize that this has been said many times by many people. Many of those on the right are supporting efforts by their leaders who are working against their supporters best interests. Many people receive more economic benefit from their government than they pay in and yet support politicians and policies that will reduce these benefits while cutting taxes that they do no even pay. I often wonder what great improvements we could have in the quality of life in the USA and the world if the Democrats could control the White House and both houses of Congress for a long period of time. Of course I am just a progress (liberal) dreamer.
Michael W.
Yesterday, I posted a comment about why I thought the hospital explosion was more likely from an Israeli weapon than an errant rocket fired from Gaza toward Israel. I had seen no visual evidence of the actual damage to the hospital, but deemed it impossible for hundreds to have died without the hospital...or a portion of it...collapsing due to a large high explosive detonation. I reasoned that the smaller warheads on the Hamas rockets could not have caused the collapse of the hospital;.
Today, I wish to correct that call. I believe the Israeli judgement that an errant rocket caused the limited damage and the deaths of an unconfirmed number of people who had taken shelter in the parking lot. Why? I have now seen video of the hospital and the building did not collapse. It appears that damage was limited to the parking lot and there is no large crater that a bomb would have made. The apparent damage and fire is consistent with the detonation of the relatively small rocket warhead and the fire was probably caused by the remaining unburnt solid fuel of the rocket that crashed before its fuel had been expended.
There is also this from the New York Times today:
A correction was made on Oct. 18, 2023: An earlier version of this article described incorrectly a video filmed by a woman at the hospital after the blast. The hospital itself was not ruined; its parking lot was damaged most heavily in the blast.
I was wrong yesterday. I hope this sets the record straight. CPO
Sometimes we need to stop and realize that the type of changes we are all looking for take longer to materialize than we expect. Slowly very slowly things, small changes are happening and in most cases we don’t even notice them but they are happening. Sometimes we need a dose of reality or truth serum and I am enclosing a comment that was sent to me that I think captures a lot of what we are feeling. I do not know the author but I am including it anyhow.
The real problem is that many Republican voters have now completely internalized the cynicism of Trump and the GOP opportunists around him, and they draw no connection between national politics and the ongoing health and security of the United States. These voters rely on everyone else (including those Americans they deride as the “deep state”) to keep the country functioning. They vote for masters of performative nonsense, such as Jordan and Gaetz, who do nothing for the “forgotten” working families in the places that the MAGA movement claims have been left behind by the rest of us.
It’s not much consolation to recognize that the Republicans are now the party their voters want them to be. Their antics endanger us all, especially during multiple international crises when the United States needs to be unified and effective both at home and abroad. But to treat the GOP as merely dysfunctional is worse than a distraction; it is a fundamental error that offers the false hope that a mature and governing majority is somehow within reach, if only Jordan or Gaetz would get out of the way.”
This is why turnout and voting is the only workable solution.
THANK YOU! I am feeling exhausted, and I limit my exposure to the news (visuals of death are not helpful to my thinking process). But I am hopeful -- there are signs in the exhaustion that some people can spot the source, identify it, and shun it. And the source is not Joe Biden. As he would say, "God bless him!" He has gone into the lion's den, trying to bring some iota of sanity and calm where the blood rages and the stones cry out for vengeance. But, as Gandhi reminds us, an eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind. Hope, against all evidence and all weight of opinion, hope is what we need to cling to, knowing hope is given wings by consistent, plodding work. Thank you, Robert. Avanti!
Robert you said what needed to be said!
Thanks!
Thank you Tom Cole: For those who thought Jim Jordan would just drive up interest rates by defaulting on our national debt and then cut cut taxes for his rich patrons, we now are told that Jordan wanted "to get at the real drivers of debt, and we all know what they are. We all know it's Social Security, we all know it's Medicare, we all know it's Medicaid." Huh. Is Cole (T-Okla) really that stupid? Has he always been this mendacious? Or has he fallen under the spell of the wizard of Mar a Lago? Or Fox?
Thanks, Robert, for letting us eavesdrop on your Pep Talk to yourself and family!
Robert, and family, thank you for sharing so much of yourselves over the past couple of years. You have not turned away, withdrawn, or ignored the difficult situations with which we and the world are coping. I do appreciate the pep talk. I need it. I do my best to spread hope, focus on courage, justice, personal discipline, and the much larger picture.
Many people have been financially hit from the pandemic and are still struggling to get back to where they were. These factors, added with the US political instability are overwhelming for most. The world events layer on more fear and uncertainty. And yet, there are millions of refugees fleeing much worse and seeking a safe place to try and rebuild a life.
We can all practice a bit of VUCA 1.0 and 2.0: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/VUCA
Action can be an antidote for anxiety. We can all strive to be one who spreads hope versus doom and gloom. Thanks again for being with us all through these times.
This was a great pep talk. I hope everyone else feels that way. I've tried to buck up a guy who were sounding depressed on another substack, which is not primarily focused on politics. I urged him to sign up here, and I suggested a book that I thought might make him feel better (Sebastian Junger's Tribe, which is about the conditions under which H. sapiens are our best selves). I finished by suggesting he come here, and also consider Hopium and HCR.
I am pessimistic by nature. When I was barely adolescent back during the LBJ administration, a girl around my age used to call me Frizzy Haired Eeyore (looking back after all these years, I have the feeling that name conveyed affection, and I'm touched). But I have not been feeling pessimistic lately. It's partly Biden. Two trips to Israel inside of two weeks, a fricken 12 hour flight each way for a total of nearly two days in the air!--telling Bibi what he needs to hear, and letting the Israelis know that we really do support them, and yet asserting that they need to abide by the rules of war.
Once again, our beloved President showed his steady hand and prowess in international affairs by his whirlwind trip to Israel and the results that he achieved. His departing speech to the Israeli people and their leadership (as well as to the world) is perhaps one of the best in his presidency, calling upon the humanity in all of us in navigating these difficult times. But even more directly, he reminded Israel about what sets it apart from the Hamas’ brutality and evil suddenly injected into their homes and nation. President Biden said: “You are a Jewish state, but you’re also a democracy. And like the United States, you don’t live by the rules of terrorists. You live by the rule of law. And when conflicts flare, you live by the law of wars. What sets us apart from the terrorists is we believe in the fundamental dignity of every human life-Israeli, Palestinian, Arab, Jew, Muslim, Christian-everyone. You can’t give up what makes you who you are. If you give that up, then the terrorists win. And we can never let them win....We are all human beings created in the image of God with dignity, humanity, and purpose. In the darkness, to be the light unto the world is what we’re about. You inspire hope and light for so many around the world. That’s what the terrorists seek to destroy. That’s what they seek to destroy-but not you, not Israel. Nations of conscience like the United States and Israel are not measured solely by the example of their power. We’re measured by the power of our example. That’s why, as hard as it is, we must keep pursuing peace.”
At the end of this speech, I, for one, was proud to be an American, and again challenged to do everything I can to make our country’s Democratic experiment survive and work. There was no greater example of a “pep talk” than the one given by our President yesterday to us and the rest of this world.