105 Comments

I have long complimented and promoted your daily newsletters to others. This one deserves framing, mounting, and hanging on the wall. I cannot thank you enough for providing this important summary of events on which all should be focused. I also emphasize the important links to other material it includes that I will likely spend a good deal of the weekend reading and considering. Thank you, thank you, thank you for your service to all of us and to democracy.

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I agree totally.

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So agree!

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Yes, indeed. Agree with all you said, Bruce.

Thank you Robert.

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Me too - sharing every day on FB and Twitter!

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The way Mitch McConnell and the Republican senators reacted today to the Schumer-Manchin agreement on a bill that Republicans "had not given Democrats permission" to move forward on, was amazingly childish, irrational and cruel. I think the next time the Senate meets, Democrats should hand out pacifiers to each Republican senator and give them a long "time-out" to think about what they have done.

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Okay, I admit. You made me laugh.

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Robert, if we can't laugh occasionally at this horror show I think we are lost!

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Me too!!!! Still laughing!!! Doesn't take away one wit from the cruelty of the vote....but it does put the behaviors in perspective - even "childish" seems like an insult to children. But the pacifiers and time out are perfect!

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The visual of Ted Cruz and Mitch with a pacifier is beautiful 😂

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Absolutely. They do behave like babies - or maybe out of control two-year-olds. Reminds me of a book I discovered way back in 2016: "No, Donald!" The front cover shows "Donald" gleefully pushing over a small table with a fish in a fishbowl on it. The gist of the story was that such children need to be told "NO!" Vigorously and often. I think Trump's niece, Mary Trump, said much the same in her book, "Too Much and Never Enough." The man needs to hear some big NO's now! The childish Republican Party does, too.

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USSS is part of DHS now. That aside, having worked for a Federal Agency for over 20 years, the 'loss' of messages from USSS and DHS cannot be accidental. It has to be intentional.

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Thanks for that! I thought that was the case and I visited the USSS official website to confirm. I clicked on "About Us," to see its agency affiliation. Unfortunately, I clicked on "History", which of course, starts with its affiliation with Treasury, I will fix in the online version

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Some rogue agents and supervisors were part of the failure by our so-called national security apparatus who aided and abetted trump led coup on Jan 6!

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I’ve long thought this. There were many inside many departments who were in on this or at least supportive of this plan.

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Glad Pence had the smarts to not get in the car! Wonder if he will ever testify...

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Pls do NOT stop talking about Trump until or unless he is disgraced to the point where he is no longer a threat. He is evil and dangerous. His supporters will keep giving him positive press. This must be countered vigorously by the truth.

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Our nervous system uses the same method that our heating and cooling systems use to keep from constantly switching on and off: hysteresis. Once a decision is made, the data has to reverse direction beyond where the most recent decision was made in order to trigger a reversal. Psychologically, this is an important factor in confirmation bias. Constant repetition can move the needle back, overcoming a previously strongly held position - hence the power of propaganda.

Independents are important, and not all Republicans are nuts. Hot air from Fox News shouldn’t be the only thing the thermostat is feeling - keep on getting the truth out about Trump!

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I so agree! I read an opinion piece from Barrack Obama awhile back saying we should immerse ourselves in all forms and sides of the news (even Fox) to understand the bigger picture…otherwise we are no different than mine-numbed Fox viewers. Trump and what he has unleashed is dangerous and we need to stay alert and vigilant.

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Momentum is a wonderful thing because it provides the energy and hope that the engaged endeavor can be successful. Professional sports teams always point to momentum as a reason for victory yet never can adequately define exactly what it is. It’s an intangible but critical to success in both sports as well as life. I believe we are seeing the Democrats and the Biden Administration beginning to build momentum as an byproduct of the J6th hearings , improvement in the economy and some legislative successes and Republicans not reading the mood and desires of the country realistically. The media has finally discovered that the Biden administration is getting stuff done for all Americans.

Social media influences voters in a variety of ways. I would like all of you on social media to post articles or stories to all of your friends and family about the positive accomplishments the Biden Administration has delivered similar to what Robert mentioned today to remind people that things that impact our lives are getting done and more importantly we can trust this administration and Democrats with governing. We need to constantly remind people everyday and every week. Think about it and do it.

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Attended a house party fundraiser tonight for two progressive candidates. Keeping the momentum going. We will prevail and elect people to lead with compassion and intelligence.

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and anyone else interested in where to get the biggest bang for the buck of donor dollars (even small ones!) can find a Giving Circle identified by The States Project. Check it out!

https://statesproject.org/

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Thanks, Ellie. I will promote StatesProject / Giving Circles soon.

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The behavior of the Republicans during this troubled period in American history indicates that there are very few grown ups in their ranks. The GOP has revealed itself to be the party of vicious, cruel, reactive babies who are incapable of making decisions that affect the common good. In a functional democratic society of mature, rational citizens, politicians like Cruz, McConnell, McCarthy, Hawley, Greene, and all their Trump-worshipping minions would never have been elected to office. I suspect that recent events indicate that their time is coming to an end. The GOP's shameful decision to turn against the people, especially veterans, was a grave miscalculation that will hopefully suffice in convincing even the recalcitrant, alienated, apolitical factions of the 100 million Americans who typically decline to vote in elections, to go to the polls and exercise their Constitutional right to excise the tumor of Trump Republicanism from the body politic once and for all. Perhaps then the government of the United States will be able to stop catering to the whims of autocrats, plutocrats and downright scoundrels and get back to the job of governing for the benefit of all the people, just as the founders intended.

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Well said!

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I just love the fact that the Republicans now appear to be the enemies of veterans, who tend to vote Republican. I do hope that the Dems make hay with that one.

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I agree with your comment, but would extend it slightly: Republicans ARE the enemies of Veterans by their constant efforts to undermine the social safety net that helps millions of veterans maintain healthy and safe lives.

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We shall. We all should.

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Consider that virtually the whole of Trump’s 2016 case against Hillary Clinton consisted of her sending emails from a non-government server. None of these emails were actually lost. Compare that to the destruction of text messages directly relating to a very specific crime, the insurrection. Hmmm.

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I confess to being ignorant on most things related to the internet or technology or even social media. I have a relative who is an expert in the field of forensics in most of those areas; she on occasion works under contract for the government or the courts to dig out things that others try to hide, delete, or otherwise disguise. I haven't talked to her about these recent "disappearances" so I don't know what her opinion would be. But she told me once that NOTHING ever truly goes away. Keeping that in mind, I remain hopeful that somehow these destroyed messages can be retrieved by someone with the smarts and knowhow to do what she does. And I wonder now that Eastman's cell phone and its contents are available to DOJ if there will be contacts with individuals in the Secret Service and DHS on that phone. I'm not a dreamer, but I do hold hope.

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More accomplishments by Joe: I was at a party last night talking with one of my neighbors. He is part of the network for the National Suicide Hotline. It used to be an 800#. Now it is 988. How did that change come about? Well, he said it passed under Trump but was unfunded. So no politician has trouble signing on to it being unfunded. This administration funded 988. He said there has been a huge uptick in people calling in. Thank you Joe for helping people who are at risk.

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Very important information. I will publicize.

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By the way, I did ask Matt, my neighbor, if it was okay to post on your blog. Affirmative. He told me about this 988 months ago. He also mentioned how important it is because many people are feeling isolated due to Covid and other issues.

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I second Bruce’s idea of framing this issue and keeping in view to help keep us remain/regain sanity.

As for the miserable act against veterans who have died, are dying and suffering so terribly from the toxic burn pits there are no words other than veterans and current military vote. And they have great power at the polls and with the voice of Jon Stewart can help put these deplorables. out of office. And there are so many military women, they too have a big stake in elections. If there are organizations to help support this effort, it would be great to share.

As always, you Robert Hubbell are inspirational!

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‘Mainstream media bias against Biden…’ add NBC evening news Lester Holt to that category..stopped watching him because of his focus on negative news!

Somewhere on another planet, trump claimed to be onsite at the destroyed twin towers helping to clean up the carnage!

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And that he saw non-existent news coverage of Muslims in New Jersey celebrating the fall of Twin Towers.

I was mightily disappointed in Lester Holt's interview with Garland--because of Holt, not because of Garland.

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Another terrific newsletter. I’d rate it 11 on a scale of 10! Robert, you are so right about the “main stream media”. Why, when gas prices for example have dropped continuously for the past month are all the TV news stories interviewing people at the gas pumps (GMA did that again just this morning)? They didn’t say how far they dropped, but rather showed everyone complaining. UGH. If we lose our democracy, the MSM will have contributed to its demise.

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Every opportunity to hammer home the fact that the Republican party has no platform, plan or intention of doing anything to assist veterans, the working class, senior citizens or any Americans other than their wealthy donors should be seized and relentlessly pursued! Hopeful signs of life from the DOJ, but much heavy lifting will be required to bring justice to all involved.

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Thanks, Daniel. As always the question is will we/the Democrats pick up that hammer and use it. This is the first moment I've seen when we really have been handed, as you say, "every opportunity" to act effectively on our own behalf and on behalf of our country. Heavy lifting and swinging a hammer require getting your hands dirty. We have been reluctant to do that. Now is the crack in their armor. The Republicans don't usually let much time pass before they figure out how to seal that crack up. Today is the day to step up

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It is this simple: (a) On January 6, the U.S. President "went rogue" and commanded an army of seditionists to violently assault the Capitol and the Congress, AND,

(b) various Secret Service agents selected by Trump for their loyalty to him personally, also "went rogue" and acted in league with Trump (later deleting their texts and emails), and

(c) recently Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller and Kash Patel, who was the chief of staff to Christopher Miller, and was the "acting Secretary of Defense" when the Capitol assault took place, both recently appointed by Trump for their personal loyalty to him (not the Constitution), also "went rogue," and acted in league with Trump and delayed/interfere width frantic calls to DoD to send the national guard to put down the resurrection.

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Have you read the story that Peter Navarro, who is part of Trump’s group working on resurrecting the “schedule 5” action, said that their group would hire Jenine Pirro as attorney general and Kash Patel as head of National Security?

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Your column today takes away the sad, depressing, steady stream of bad news we have been subjected to for too long. Thank you Sir. Just cannot thank you enough. It has made me 😊 smile.

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Stay strong, David!

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