I am honored to be by your side in this fight.
January 18, 2025
One of the most challenging tasks in writing this newsletter is settling on a title for each edition. That is especially so for today’s edition. Finding the right words on the eve of the inauguration of the first president to attempt a coup is difficult. I considered the following titles for today’s edition, all of which reflect some aspect of this fraught moment in our history:
“A republic, if you can keep it.” (Benjamin Franklin)
Meeting the moment. (Various sources)
“Never surrender.” (Winston Churchill)
The Great Capitulation (Various sources)
“The law of the land.” (Joe Biden)
“This is where we make our stand.” (Carl Sagan.)
Instead, I just want to say that I am honored to be by your side in the coming fight.
People who care about our nation and its great charter are filled with conflicting emotions on the eve of an inauguration that will be equal parts desecration of the Constitution and mockery of the rule of law.
But it is worse than that. The inauguration will be an affront to the very idea of America. A nation born of an effort to free itself from a king and his aristocracy will come perilously close to recreating those royal offices in the Capitol Rotunda on Monday.
Oligarchs will preside over the installation of their Sun(tanned) King, who serves at their pleasure, a vassal of the billionaire class. Members of the working class will be forgotten, relegated to their status as subjects of the realm who exist to be taxed.
The inauguration has a singular purpose, which is prescribed by the Constitution: To swear loyalty and faithfulness to the Constitution. Trump's oath will become a lie the moment it is uttered. His Inauguration will be a show of garish pomp and circumstance, bread and circuses, smoke and mirrors.
Leaders should rise in revulsion and contempt at the unholy sight. Instead, they will attend inaugural balls, smartly commenting on the weather and Melania’s dress, pretending not to notice the dire state of democracy. “After all,” they will think, “Democracy is for the little people. We are above all that. Trump is king, we are protected, and the people were duped once again. Life is good (for us).”
And yet somehow, we must not despair, we must not surrender, we must not give up. At the very least, we must endure, we must stand as witnesses to what is to come. That will be enough. If we can hold onto democracy, not quit, and not look away, the world will appear entirely different in four years.
But for me—and I hope for you, too—it is not enough to endure. We must fight in whatever way we can to preserve democracy. In the states, in counties, and in cities. We must contest school board elections, elect judges and justices, and regain control of state legislatures. We must note every mean-spirited, selfish, short-sighted action taken by vulnerable legislators in Congress. We must begin to prepare for the 2026 midterms on Monday, January 20, 2025.
The battle to come will not be easy. Some in the Democratic party believe the way forward is to assign blame and spot issues without offering meaningful solutions. Leave them in the dust as they chase their consulting contracts and cable-tv hits.
It is time to set aside our grief and disappointment. It is time to act. Expressing outrage is necessary and good so long as it is strategic and purposeful. Unchanneled rage and despair will discourage others. Righteous indignation with a goal will move us forward.
It is time to undertake the difficult, thankless, sacred work of reclaiming democracy. Every generation must do so. It is our turn. I will be in the fight every step of the way. And I am honored to be by your side.
President Biden declares the Equal Rights Amendment “the law of the land.”
The Constitution prescribes how proposed amendments are ratified, i.e., by the approval of three-fourths of the state legislatures. The Equal Rights Amendment has been ratified by thirty-eight states and, accordingly, is the law of the land as part of the Constitution.
Joe Biden’s recognition on Friday that the Equal Rights Amendment has been ratified is a positive step forward, though unnecessary to the effectiveness of ratification. Likewise, the ministerial act of the National Archivist in recognizing ratification can neither add nor subtract from the Constitutional prescription for ratification.
All of this is explained by Professors Laurence Tribe and Kathleen Sullivan in their post in The Contrarian (Substack), The Equal Rights Amendment at Long Last.
Professors Tribe and Sullivan write,
President Biden made official a reality that many Americans failed to recognize at the time: that Article V of the Constitution expressly makes any proposed Amendment to that document “Part of this Constitution, when ratified by the Legislatures of three fourths of the several States.”
Nothing in Article V makes the Constitution’s binding contents depend on any further official action by any branch of the federal government, whether Congress or the Judiciary or indeed the Executive.
The recent push to have President Biden “publish the ERA” or “order the National Archivist to publish the ERA” elevates a ministerial action into a substantive obstacle that must (allegedly) be overcome. The Constitution requires no such thing. Again, per Professors Tribe and Sullivan,
It is not necessary for the National Archivist to publish the ERA in order for it to be adopted according to the provisions of the Constitution. The President avoided triggering a clash with the Archivist, who recently announced her intention to defy her statutory, and purely ministerial, duty to publish the ERA.
Accordingly, our Constitution now demands that “equality of rights under the law cannot be denied or abridged by the United States or any state on account of sex.”
The Equal Rights Amendment is part of the Constitution. President Biden merely recognized that fact in his statement on Friday—long overdue recognition!
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. petitioned FDA to revoke Covid vaccine approval during pandemic
Per the NYTimes, Trump's nominee to lead the Department of Health & Human Services petitioned the FDA to revoke approval for Covid vaccines during the height of the pandemic. See Kennedy Sought to Stop Covid Vaccinations 6 Months After Rollout. (Article accessible to all.)
Per the NYTimes, Kennedy filed the petition even though estimates indicated that the vaccines had prevented 140,000 deaths. Per the Times, Kennedy’s petition
claimed that the risks of the vaccines outweighed the benefits and that the vaccines weren’t necessary because good treatments were available, including ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine, which had already been deemed ineffective against the virus.
Robert Kennedy Jr poses a danger to public health. The fact that he has been nominated to lead HHS is an insult and threat to the American people.
CBS is about to join The Great Capitulation
Various writers have used the term The Great Capitulation to describe the surrender of billionaires, business leaders, and corporations to Donald Trump. You know the list. One unexpected entrant is CBS.
Trump sued CBS over its 60 Minutes’ interview with Kamala Harris, claiming that the editing of the interview amounted to “election interference” and fraud on viewers. The lawsuit is frivolous. Trump's lawyers should be sanctioned for filing such a bad-faith lawsuit.
However, CBS is reportedly considering settling with Trump because it needs government approval for an acquisition. See WSJ, CBS Owner Discusses Settling Trump Suit, With Merger Review on Tap.
Per the WSJ,
Paramount, owner of CBS, its namesake studio and several cable channels, has a major piece of business in front of the new administration: its planned merger with Skydance Media.
It’s become clear to executives at both companies that Trump's dissatisfaction with CBS News will make the review tougher than they anticipated, and that they’ll likely need to offer concessions to win approval, people familiar with the situation said.
So, according to the WSJ, CBS will offer “concessions” (i.e., money) to Trump personally to secure government approval of a merger. That sounds suspiciously like a bribe, doesn’t it—exchanging a government approval to secure a private benefit.
Incoming Attorney General Pam Bondi should immediately open an investigation to determine if the offer of personal concessions to Trump for a government benefit violates the law.
I won’t be holding my breath. But let’s hope that the media calls out this behavior for what it is.
Trump administration planning massive immigration raids on Tuesday.
According to the WSJ (Trump's apparent PR agency), Trump is planning massive immigration raids in Chicago on Tuesday, his second day in office. See Reuters, Trump plans big immigration raid in Chicago on day 2, WSJ reports.
Per Reuters,
The raid, expected to start on Tuesday, will last all week, the newspaper said, adding the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement will send between 100 and 200 officers to carry out the operation.
These raids will be “made for t.v.” productions. Let’s hope that the media will refuse to show the mass arrests of men and women in handcuffs but will instead focus on the lives and businesses that are the targets of the raids.
Concluding Thoughts
I will hold a Substack livestream on Saturday, January 18 at 9:00 am Pacific / 12:00 noon Eastern.
On Monday, January 20, beginning at 11:45 a.m. Eastern, I will join my Managing Editor (Jill Bickett), Jessica Craven, and Jess Piper for readings and discussions of important documents, speeches, and poems about American democracy.
Join us on the Substack App. You will receive a notice in the App and an email in your inbox when we go live at 11:45 a.m. on Monday.
I don’t know about you, but I am exhausted already—and the fight is just beginning! So, we all need to practice self-care and rest when we can. This weekend is a good opportunity to do so.
We will make it through this challenging time—as long as we stick together. We must meet the moment, never surrender, make our stand, and keep our republic!
Talk to you tomorrow!
Daily Dose of Perspective
California is just beginning the long process of re-populating evacuated areas and clearing out areas ravaged by fire. The beautiful California Nebula is a testament to the citizens of California who are rebuilding their lives despite the politicization of their losses.
The California Nebula is 1,800 light years away, located in the outer Orion arm of our galaxy. It is 74 light-years in length.
Enjoy!
Thank you Mr. Hubbell for leading us through these difficult times. Yes we will not only survive but thrive if we remain together with a common purpose.
HOPE the news media does the right thing in Chicago on Tuesday?? Please, stop with the HOPE anything proper or good will come out of them, we know better. That's just as sad as "assuming" the SCOTUS will do the right thing and NOT give the rapist felon immunity. All our trusted lawyers said for months, naaaw, it could never happen, ALL of them !!! And the traitors did it. So I'm done thinking any group will do the right thing.