Totally agree. We HAVE to let people who are fawning over DeSantis know who he really is. All anyone has to do is watch what he is doing in Florida. I live here and it’s creepy.
Your last paragraph describes exactly why I dropped my “paid” subscriptions to the NYT and WaPo and upgraded my Substack subscriptions to “paid” for HCR, JV, and your daily post. These are my first reads every morning. Your historical/legal perspectives are insightful and appreciated.
I am so, so tempted to drop my paid subs to the NYT and WaPo.
But there are still useful items there, so I'm keeping them. But I'm definitely more interested in supporting smaller, regional and local newspapers, like, in upstate NY, the Glens Falls Post-Star and, for *Georgia* election news, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
I couldn’t agree more! I still love the crinkle of my Sunday paper (which I pay for at my local C-store) so I can peruse the various sections. While I love following certain writers (Haberman and Friedman), I am dismayed that most legacy papers seem to be afraid to call out the truth and take a stand. At 72, I remember the Washington Post (Woodward & Bernstein) following the story and shining a light on the dirt in the White House. I miss that kind of newspaper, but have found voices on Substack that I trust and appreciate. For those of us who read, question sources, listen to various points of view, and use critical thinking skills to draw our own conclusions - Robert, Heather, and Joyce help us maintain our sanity.
I never have been a NYTimes fan, and recently dropped WaPo in protest of the increasingly sloppy reporting. I missed having several very good columnists to read though, and a kind friend arranged a gift sub for me. After a few weeks w/o WaPo, When I started reading it again, I realized that it (or something similar) is essential if I am to have a sense of what media in general are covering and how. It's the context that puts the other things I read into relief. Substack itself can be a silo, and I am not willing to give over all my need for different perspectives. Like you, I support my local and regional news sources, and some other non-main-stream pubs that give me an often deeper and more nuanced view than daily overviews. In the coming year, I will be making some changes in what I read and how I read, as I did this year. I am reading toward a different end now. Less likely to read comments that cycle round and round in indignation- I'm skipping past those, looking for conversation that increases my understanding of how things happen. It sure shortens the amount of time I spend reading.
I absolutely agree with you. I also worry about silos and echo chambers that provide “feel good” reporting. As a longtime business exec I like drilling down to the facts and quickly set aside sources of information that I can’t validate. I also keep trusted sources close. You’re right about keeping one eye on legacy media to compare their viewpoint with other sources you identify as trusted alternatives.
"Less likely to read comments that cycle round and round in indignation- I'm skipping past those, looking for conversation that increases my understanding of how things happen. It sure shortens the amount of reading I spend reading."
The corporate media thrive on "page views." That's why they often produce click bait articles. Get the readership "engaged" and excited and they'll come back for more.
Much of the "corporate media", yes - those owned by large media owner or by individuals with a particular focus on making money. But I've noticed here and other places a tendancy at times to divide "media" up into just three categories: corporate (or MSM), social media, and outlets like substack, really a self-selected compilation of various kinds of writing coming from a large range of individual perspectives. That is part of its appeal, and there are many more substack writers I like to read, some on a regular basis, than I can support (I have to feed my body too!).
My real treasures, though, are the small, usually non-profit publications with small staffs of underpaid, highly dedicated, skilled researchers, writers, and editors. The New Republic, High Country News (whose articles are amazing and cover issues well beyond the western high country), Yes!, ProPublica, Orion. Two recent treasures I recently stumbled into are The Narwhal and the Alaska Beacon. The Beacon especially was a surprise that led me into deeper waters about issues that affect all of us. Low budget, non-profit, highly recommend.
And, I read The Atlantic and The New Yorker, which have been with me for most of my life. Both sometimes have duds, but don't often miss. I love good writing, and even what I think of as duds show often me a side of things that I hadn't considered, and even when I disagree, they are things I need to know about and consider. Maybe even especially then.
There are some other pubs, online and off, as well, that I read when I can and wish I could afford to subscribe. That's where places like substack come in: writers who read a lot of stuff I can't get around to and let me know what they come up with in terms of putting things together. There are good observers buried in MSM, too, that do much the same thing, or who are specialists in areas that generally are ground to hamburger in the daily grind of fast-moving news. I try keep to keep up with them (why the WaPo, for instance).
I get why people need to hone down their news consumption. There have been times in my life that I had to, as well, just to keep from feeling overwhelmed. But I urge all of you to not get lost in a silo of people who basically think like you do. Include a few things outside your comfort level too. It'll help keep your mind from getting too wrapped up in the assumptions we don't realize we have.
I like the tip for Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The Los Angeles Times is an interesting alternative to the NYT and Wapo. I especially like the eye opening drought reporting.
I failed to mention The New Yorker magazine and The Atlantic as alternative reads worth pursuing. I subscribe to several newspapers and magazines considering them donations to keep them afloat for the good of society.
Like many of my fellow Hubbell fans, I gave up my NYT and WaPo subscriptions in disgust – and also to free up more money for political donations. So now, I’m much happier paying for subscriptions to Robert, HCR, and Jessica Craven (Chop Wood, Carry Water), Talking Points Memo, and donating to Vox and the Guardian when I can (they’re free). If I have the time (phone banking takes priority!), I make use of my local library’s online resources, including Atlantic on my e-reader and NYT or WaPo with renewable temporary passes.
Thank you Ellie, for all of those links. I did not know the "Carol of the Bells" is actually a Ukrainian carol called "Shchedyrk". What a beautiful rendition performed by the Children's Choir of Ukraine with striking visuals in Grand Central Station!
This is why I will not leave Twitter. Where else can I so easily follow Ambassador Bridget Brink, our US Ambassador to Ukraine, and the likes of patriot Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman?
I will be sharing that choir performance as well as the meme by Banksy. It's perfect for so many who are working so hard to save our democracy and our environment.
And Michael McFaul (frmr US Amb to Russia), The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent), a UK priest named "tern" (@1goodtern), Eric Feigl-Ding (@DrEricDing), Lawrence Tribe (@tribelaw), Harry Litman (@harrylitman), the anonymous but incisive Duty to Warn (@duty2warn).
And, I want to stick around to balance the crazies.
Ellie-Thank you so much for posting the link. I've been able to share it to my FB groups because you posted it. It's so heartbreaking and beautiful, given what's happened to Ukraine since February. Stephanie Ruehle showed it on the 11th Hour last night; she pointed out that the song is 100 years old this year.
Stephanie Ruehl closed out her show with the story and performance of "Carol of the Bells" last night - an emotional Steph, I might add, as well as this viewer.
It's such a wonderful day for the justice system and democracy itself. Judge Cannon and the Arizona commissioners were not just merely wrong; the key point was whether the Courts might cave in -- just as the Legislative and Executive leaders had done, overwhelmingly blatantly corrupt, not doing what they know is right. Would many Repub judges blow with a political wind, instead of actually caring about Law? How fragile our courts would be? It was so pivotal and most definitely not to be taken for granted. But that pillar has held up so well for democracy, and the checks and balances (of course with the singular exception of the Supreme Court). More justice to come. Yay.
Question to those in the legal profession: is there an attempt being made at law schools that Judge Cannon’ s actions are used to assure they are not repeated? Since we have seen our education system being systematically undermined, can we be sure similar work is not being done to the legal profession and law schools?
President Biden in his meeting with President Macron recalled that President Putin had said he wanted to be another Peter the Great. I find this amusing because Ukraine was not part of Russian Empire under Peter. It wasn't until Catherine the Great that Ukraine became part of the Russian Empire!
But even under Catherine the Great, the whole western part of today’s Ukraine, including the pretty city of Lviv, was not part of Russia. That western area was in a part of eastern Europe called Galicia, which was in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, & had been part of that empire since as far back as the Empress Maria Teresa. In those days Lviv was called Lemberg. Lemberg was founded 100 years before Moscow & was a cultural hub of eastern Europe.
When my Ukrainian grandfather was growing up in a village near Lemberg, he had to learn German in school, not Russian! He immigrated to the US in 1912. His 2 brothers stayed behind & were both killed in WWI fighting for the Austro-Hungarian army.
After WWI the Versailles Treaty gave the eastern part of Galicia, including the city of Lemberg to the newly independent Poland. The Poles changed the name Lemberg to Lwow. When the Germans invaded Poland in WWII, they changed the city’s name back to Lemberg. But when the Soviet army captured that area in the summer of 1944, the city was made part of Ukraine & was renamed Lvov. Ukrainians today call the city Lviv.
A wonderful book by Phillipe Sands called “East West Street” tells the story of this city & its importance in world events. In particular, I learned that 2 men who studied law in Lemberg, Rafael Lemkin & Hersch Lauterpacht, were instrumental in coining the language we still use today in assessing war crimes: Rafael Lemkin coined the term “genocide”, & Hersch Lauterpacht coined the phrase “crimes against humanity”.
So glad to see you calling out Rolling Stone for their DeSantis reporting. About a month ago someone commenting on a NY Times story wrote “Remaining objective is not the same as refusing to report the objective truth”.
Thank you for boiling the decision down. Especially liked, "not so special." I'm guessing that there's more than a tablespoon of Heinz on the orange man's breakfast nook walls.
You covered so much today, Robert, and I was able to follow everything you said. Your thinking and your writing are indeed exceptional. Hence, you are an excellent teacher! For some reason I am thinking about my now 57-year old son's explanation as to why he so liked his fourth grade teacher, Mrs. Sacks. "She explains things and she's fair." It's you, Mr. Hubbell! A+. Oh, and this adult student of yours also appreciates your pithy descriptions/evaluations. For example, your latest: "Ron DeSantis is a calculating coward." This Florida girl for the past 50 years could not have said it better herself.
Robert, I write to expand upon your concluding thoughts as to why Republican politicians are intent on distancing themselves from extremism wrapped in a Kanye or Fuentes.
Though I imagine it’s rarely, if ever, stated in the mainstream, the policies white supremacists advance and the policies Republicans advance are strikingly similar. For example, Founding Dir. of Boston Univ. Ctr. for Antiracist Research Ibram X. Kendi observes that 1) white supremacists support voter suppression and Republicans generally do too 2) white supremacists support anti- immigration rhetoric and policies and Republicans do too 3) white supremacists support rolling back reproductive health and so do Republicans.
I would imagine it nearly impossible to eradicate the virus of white supremacy from the Republican Party when the Party’s policy itself nears that of white supremacist policy. I also would imagine it important, particularly for white Americans, who largely are the target of these Republican elected officials and certainly of white supremacists, to know that one of the oldest white supremacist talking points is that white people are the true victims and that diversity, multiculturalism, and anti-racism are anti-white.
Additionally, I expect we would agree that ultimately when one looks at the core of this issue one would find it’s really an issue about power and policy and about white supremacists and even Republicans who are using bigoted ideas to gain power so they can institute policy that benefits people like them.
As a final point, I would note Professor Kendi frequently invokes novelist Toni Morrison, who oftentimes discussed the importance, particularly for those who feel oppressed and marginalized, of not becoming distracted by these bigoted, racist ideas. Rather, Kendi says, they need to figure out and see the true source of their harm, which is not people who don’t look like them. It’s typically, oftentimes people who they’re voting for, who have taught them that they are their saviors.
When someone is too hateful, cruel, and crazy, even for Alex Jones, you know that person has crossed a red line. Kanye has now shown himself to be not only hateful and anti-semitic but genocidally anti-semitic. He is now even too far over the line finally for some in the Republican Party who are beginning to denounce him and his hateful anti-semitism. After Kanye posted a swastika in a Star of David symbol, the Republicans on the house Judiciary Committee finally deleted their October 6 Tweet, "Kanye, Elon, Trump," supporting Kanye:
And Elon "Free Speech" Musk has now had Kanye's Twitter account deleted after his comments in support of Adolf Hitler on Infowars.
But has Trump yet issued a statement criticizing Kanye's anti-semitism? No, Kanye has not yet crossed Trump's red line. At least as long as he continues to support Trump.
When Dante Alighieri authored the 14th-century epic poem Divine Comedy, he envisioned Hell composed of nine concentric circles of torment within the Earth. It is described by Dante as the "realm ... of those who have rejected spiritual values by yielding to bestial appetites or violence, or by perverting their human intellect to fraud or malice against their fellowmen."
There are a lot of self-righteous a$$h***s out there who think they're going to heaven. Kanye West and Nick Fuentes are just two among them. But there are many more. So if an afterlife exists, they are probably in for a big surprise.
Dante didn't know how things would turn out when he wrote the original Divine Comedy. But he knew all about hypocrisy.
That is why Dante envisioned a particular circle of Hell for each type of sinner. Because they all deserve the company of each other and their specific form of punishment.
Dante originally envisioned nine circles of Hell. Just nine? Seriously? We're going to need more circles…How many more? I am not sure but way, way more than nine. And, Kanye, Fuentes, and a lot more we can all name will need to use that down escalator to descend a lot more levels to reach their forever afterlife home. And this time, there will be nothing "golden" about the escalator.
I apologize and confess that because I note your comment received justified attention I “comment bombed” it to hopefully bring attention to my response.
I apologize for that and hope you will accept it as a compliment and endorsement of your own remarks that I did like to attempt to promote.
Thanks Beth. I’ve heard Kendi speak on several occasions recently.. Seeing I’ve been saying for some time that if we are to end the scourge of Trumpism we will need to make fundamental changes to rid ourselves of the conditions that led to Donald Trump, I find Kendi extraordinarily clarifying.
My friends already condemn Judge Cannon. If the remedy is impeachment, please tell us how that process works and what we can do to help make it happen. Thank you -- as always!
Robert, thank you for tackling head-on the apparent pervasiveness of antisemitism in the GOP; when they tolerate it from Ye, Fuentes, Marjorie Taylor Green, Trump, and others, they implicitly endorse it.
I'm displaying a Chanukah menorah in my front window this month and hope others, Jewish or not, will join me in solidarity against hate and for this holiday, which celebrates the first-known battle for religious freedom.
Regardinging Governor De Sadist. Many historians of Hitler's rise to power have observed that it was the silence of the decent people that allowed the loud supporters of Hitler to win.
Gov. De Sadist's decision to keep silent, shows his support for the shouts of the anti-semites, the Catholic white supremacist Fuentes, and the pro-Hitler Kanye West.
Democrats continuous reliance on the "we would have helped the working class more but the other guys blocked us" tactic is what has lead to races with total nitwits like Herschel Walker coming down to the wire. Democrats need to seriously roll up their sleeves and get busy pushing meaningful legislation, raise or eliminate the debt ceiling, and get aggressive calling out Republican hypocrisy. Democrats need to make the contrast between them and the Republicans so stark even readers of the Rolling Stone can see the difference.
"The story about Ron DeSantis’s silence in the face of Trump’s antisemitism is not how that decision will affect DeSantis’s chances of becoming president—it is that DeSantis is a calculating coward who will condemn antisemitism only if and when it benefits him politically—which makes him unfit to hold any public office. That’s the story Rolling Stone missed."
Excellent comments on Rolling Stone’s failure to call out DeSantis!
Totally agree. We HAVE to let people who are fawning over DeSantis know who he really is. All anyone has to do is watch what he is doing in Florida. I live here and it’s creepy.
Agreed (((( But- EWWWWWWWW… the thought of anyone fawning over DeSantis is nauseating
🤢
Dems need to channel an image of de Santis of a wolf in sheep’s clothes early on.
Robert Hunbell,
Hooray for Truth.
Your last paragraph describes exactly why I dropped my “paid” subscriptions to the NYT and WaPo and upgraded my Substack subscriptions to “paid” for HCR, JV, and your daily post. These are my first reads every morning. Your historical/legal perspectives are insightful and appreciated.
I am so, so tempted to drop my paid subs to the NYT and WaPo.
But there are still useful items there, so I'm keeping them. But I'm definitely more interested in supporting smaller, regional and local newspapers, like, in upstate NY, the Glens Falls Post-Star and, for *Georgia* election news, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Update: The Albany Times-Union (https://www.timesunion.com) is a good source for NYS government news. As is City and State NY (https://www.cityandstateny.com).
Like you, I consider my substack subscriptions to be the first morning read.
What a gift to be able to read material direct from skillful, wise observers.
I couldn’t agree more! I still love the crinkle of my Sunday paper (which I pay for at my local C-store) so I can peruse the various sections. While I love following certain writers (Haberman and Friedman), I am dismayed that most legacy papers seem to be afraid to call out the truth and take a stand. At 72, I remember the Washington Post (Woodward & Bernstein) following the story and shining a light on the dirt in the White House. I miss that kind of newspaper, but have found voices on Substack that I trust and appreciate. For those of us who read, question sources, listen to various points of view, and use critical thinking skills to draw our own conclusions - Robert, Heather, and Joyce help us maintain our sanity.
Also Dan Rather's "Steady" on Substack.
Yep. That one, too.
I never have been a NYTimes fan, and recently dropped WaPo in protest of the increasingly sloppy reporting. I missed having several very good columnists to read though, and a kind friend arranged a gift sub for me. After a few weeks w/o WaPo, When I started reading it again, I realized that it (or something similar) is essential if I am to have a sense of what media in general are covering and how. It's the context that puts the other things I read into relief. Substack itself can be a silo, and I am not willing to give over all my need for different perspectives. Like you, I support my local and regional news sources, and some other non-main-stream pubs that give me an often deeper and more nuanced view than daily overviews. In the coming year, I will be making some changes in what I read and how I read, as I did this year. I am reading toward a different end now. Less likely to read comments that cycle round and round in indignation- I'm skipping past those, looking for conversation that increases my understanding of how things happen. It sure shortens the amount of time I spend reading.
I absolutely agree with you. I also worry about silos and echo chambers that provide “feel good” reporting. As a longtime business exec I like drilling down to the facts and quickly set aside sources of information that I can’t validate. I also keep trusted sources close. You’re right about keeping one eye on legacy media to compare their viewpoint with other sources you identify as trusted alternatives.
The better substack writers provide links to their sources, which I very much appreciate.
I like having the choice of following a link to read the source material for myself.
I rarely if ever go to a newspaper's front page and navigate from there to articles and commentary of interest.
--->>> "...links to their sources..." <<<--- ✅
"Less likely to read comments that cycle round and round in indignation- I'm skipping past those, looking for conversation that increases my understanding of how things happen. It sure shortens the amount of reading I spend reading."
The corporate media thrive on "page views." That's why they often produce click bait articles. Get the readership "engaged" and excited and they'll come back for more.
Much of the "corporate media", yes - those owned by large media owner or by individuals with a particular focus on making money. But I've noticed here and other places a tendancy at times to divide "media" up into just three categories: corporate (or MSM), social media, and outlets like substack, really a self-selected compilation of various kinds of writing coming from a large range of individual perspectives. That is part of its appeal, and there are many more substack writers I like to read, some on a regular basis, than I can support (I have to feed my body too!).
My real treasures, though, are the small, usually non-profit publications with small staffs of underpaid, highly dedicated, skilled researchers, writers, and editors. The New Republic, High Country News (whose articles are amazing and cover issues well beyond the western high country), Yes!, ProPublica, Orion. Two recent treasures I recently stumbled into are The Narwhal and the Alaska Beacon. The Beacon especially was a surprise that led me into deeper waters about issues that affect all of us. Low budget, non-profit, highly recommend.
And, I read The Atlantic and The New Yorker, which have been with me for most of my life. Both sometimes have duds, but don't often miss. I love good writing, and even what I think of as duds show often me a side of things that I hadn't considered, and even when I disagree, they are things I need to know about and consider. Maybe even especially then.
There are some other pubs, online and off, as well, that I read when I can and wish I could afford to subscribe. That's where places like substack come in: writers who read a lot of stuff I can't get around to and let me know what they come up with in terms of putting things together. There are good observers buried in MSM, too, that do much the same thing, or who are specialists in areas that generally are ground to hamburger in the daily grind of fast-moving news. I try keep to keep up with them (why the WaPo, for instance).
I get why people need to hone down their news consumption. There have been times in my life that I had to, as well, just to keep from feeling overwhelmed. But I urge all of you to not get lost in a silo of people who basically think like you do. Include a few things outside your comfort level too. It'll help keep your mind from getting too wrapped up in the assumptions we don't realize we have.
I like the tip for Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The Los Angeles Times is an interesting alternative to the NYT and Wapo. I especially like the eye opening drought reporting.
I failed to mention The New Yorker magazine and The Atlantic as alternative reads worth pursuing. I subscribe to several newspapers and magazines considering them donations to keep them afloat for the good of society.
That's such a great way to look at this!
Hear, hear!
Like many of my fellow Hubbell fans, I gave up my NYT and WaPo subscriptions in disgust – and also to free up more money for political donations. So now, I’m much happier paying for subscriptions to Robert, HCR, and Jessica Craven (Chop Wood, Carry Water), Talking Points Memo, and donating to Vox and the Guardian when I can (they’re free). If I have the time (phone banking takes priority!), I make use of my local library’s online resources, including Atlantic on my e-reader and NYT or WaPo with renewable temporary passes.
I forgot The Guardian and as a plus Robert Reich is on their opinion page.
Me too, along with Jessica Craven's Chop Wood, Carry Water for all the activism that's fit to join....and a weekly summary of actual good news!!
Thank you, Robert, for the in depth look at Judge Cannon's incompetence/corruption.
News update: Musk suspended Kanye West's Twitter account for the post of the swastika and Star of David:
https://twitter.com/BostonGlobe/status/1598590901399552000?s=20&t=UMGmZA63VJwKP4-CuNls0Q
Now enjoy two palate cleansers, Obama in Georgia and Ukrainian singers in Grand Central Station:
https://twitter.com/truthjusticehph/status/1598557927522324480?s=20&t=UMGmZA63VJwKP4-CuNls0Q
https://twitter.com/USAmbKyiv/status/1598412003034406920?s=20&t=UMGmZA63VJwKP4-CuNls0Q
And bookmark this lovely graphic by Banksy: "If you get tired, learn to rest, not to quit."
https://twitter.com/MMBrussell/status/1598466421549371392?s=20&t=UMGmZA63VJwKP4-CuNls0Q
Thank you Ellie, for all of those links. I did not know the "Carol of the Bells" is actually a Ukrainian carol called "Shchedyrk". What a beautiful rendition performed by the Children's Choir of Ukraine with striking visuals in Grand Central Station!
This is why I will not leave Twitter. Where else can I so easily follow Ambassador Bridget Brink, our US Ambassador to Ukraine, and the likes of patriot Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman?
I will be sharing that choir performance as well as the meme by Banksy. It's perfect for so many who are working so hard to save our democracy and our environment.
And Michael McFaul (frmr US Amb to Russia), The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent), a UK priest named "tern" (@1goodtern), Eric Feigl-Ding (@DrEricDing), Lawrence Tribe (@tribelaw), Harry Litman (@harrylitman), the anonymous but incisive Duty to Warn (@duty2warn).
And, I want to stick around to balance the crazies.
Absolutely Bob! Thanks!
Ellie-Thank you so much for posting the link. I've been able to share it to my FB groups because you posted it. It's so heartbreaking and beautiful, given what's happened to Ukraine since February. Stephanie Ruehle showed it on the 11th Hour last night; she pointed out that the song is 100 years old this year.
Stephanie Ruehl closed out her show with the story and performance of "Carol of the Bells" last night - an emotional Steph, I might add, as well as this viewer.
Yes, she got so emotional, she could hardly talk. I love that about her, when she is clearly moved by something.
Thank you Ellie for all of this heart/soul food! I shared the choir.
Thanks Ellie.
Banksy is wise!
I say check Cannon’s bank account.
It's such a wonderful day for the justice system and democracy itself. Judge Cannon and the Arizona commissioners were not just merely wrong; the key point was whether the Courts might cave in -- just as the Legislative and Executive leaders had done, overwhelmingly blatantly corrupt, not doing what they know is right. Would many Repub judges blow with a political wind, instead of actually caring about Law? How fragile our courts would be? It was so pivotal and most definitely not to be taken for granted. But that pillar has held up so well for democracy, and the checks and balances (of course with the singular exception of the Supreme Court). More justice to come. Yay.
Thank you Robert for another informative lesson!
Question to those in the legal profession: is there an attempt being made at law schools that Judge Cannon’ s actions are used to assure they are not repeated? Since we have seen our education system being systematically undermined, can we be sure similar work is not being done to the legal profession and law schools?
From Denialad: donbialostosky.substack.com
Still Special
Th’Eleventh Circuit’s issued its decree,
And, as expected, the judges agree
With DOJ against the special master.
They found Judge Cannon’s ruling a disaster
That made a former prez a special case
When before the law there is no place
For such an exception. Nor is it wise
That special exception to generalize
And give to everyone who has been searched
Delay while special masters do research.
This judgment must be difficult for Trump,
In legal peril and down in the dumps.
He has to think he’s special and this hurts:
Equality before the law subverts
His narcissisitic need to stand above
All others and be object of their love.
But the three-month’s delay this case has won
Found a new way to make him number one.
For though his special master has been neutered,
He now can claim a special prosecutor!
President Biden in his meeting with President Macron recalled that President Putin had said he wanted to be another Peter the Great. I find this amusing because Ukraine was not part of Russian Empire under Peter. It wasn't until Catherine the Great that Ukraine became part of the Russian Empire!
But even under Catherine the Great, the whole western part of today’s Ukraine, including the pretty city of Lviv, was not part of Russia. That western area was in a part of eastern Europe called Galicia, which was in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, & had been part of that empire since as far back as the Empress Maria Teresa. In those days Lviv was called Lemberg. Lemberg was founded 100 years before Moscow & was a cultural hub of eastern Europe.
When my Ukrainian grandfather was growing up in a village near Lemberg, he had to learn German in school, not Russian! He immigrated to the US in 1912. His 2 brothers stayed behind & were both killed in WWI fighting for the Austro-Hungarian army.
After WWI the Versailles Treaty gave the eastern part of Galicia, including the city of Lemberg to the newly independent Poland. The Poles changed the name Lemberg to Lwow. When the Germans invaded Poland in WWII, they changed the city’s name back to Lemberg. But when the Soviet army captured that area in the summer of 1944, the city was made part of Ukraine & was renamed Lvov. Ukrainians today call the city Lviv.
A wonderful book by Phillipe Sands called “East West Street” tells the story of this city & its importance in world events. In particular, I learned that 2 men who studied law in Lemberg, Rafael Lemkin & Hersch Lauterpacht, were instrumental in coining the language we still use today in assessing war crimes: Rafael Lemkin coined the term “genocide”, & Hersch Lauterpacht coined the phrase “crimes against humanity”.
KMD, Thank you for taking the time to share a history lesson and a book recommendation. Much appreciated.
Wow. Thanks for this piece of history.
Thank you!
Many thanks, KMD, for this interesting information.
Great history lesson, thanks.
Like the others, I want to also say thanks for the interesting history lesson.
Thank you for this - it's especially meaningful to me that your grandfather and family were part of the story.
So glad to see you calling out Rolling Stone for their DeSantis reporting. About a month ago someone commenting on a NY Times story wrote “Remaining objective is not the same as refusing to report the objective truth”.
Which I think sums it up nicely.
Thank you for boiling the decision down. Especially liked, "not so special." I'm guessing that there's more than a tablespoon of Heinz on the orange man's breakfast nook walls.
You covered so much today, Robert, and I was able to follow everything you said. Your thinking and your writing are indeed exceptional. Hence, you are an excellent teacher! For some reason I am thinking about my now 57-year old son's explanation as to why he so liked his fourth grade teacher, Mrs. Sacks. "She explains things and she's fair." It's you, Mr. Hubbell! A+. Oh, and this adult student of yours also appreciates your pithy descriptions/evaluations. For example, your latest: "Ron DeSantis is a calculating coward." This Florida girl for the past 50 years could not have said it better herself.
Robert, I write to expand upon your concluding thoughts as to why Republican politicians are intent on distancing themselves from extremism wrapped in a Kanye or Fuentes.
Though I imagine it’s rarely, if ever, stated in the mainstream, the policies white supremacists advance and the policies Republicans advance are strikingly similar. For example, Founding Dir. of Boston Univ. Ctr. for Antiracist Research Ibram X. Kendi observes that 1) white supremacists support voter suppression and Republicans generally do too 2) white supremacists support anti- immigration rhetoric and policies and Republicans do too 3) white supremacists support rolling back reproductive health and so do Republicans.
I would imagine it nearly impossible to eradicate the virus of white supremacy from the Republican Party when the Party’s policy itself nears that of white supremacist policy. I also would imagine it important, particularly for white Americans, who largely are the target of these Republican elected officials and certainly of white supremacists, to know that one of the oldest white supremacist talking points is that white people are the true victims and that diversity, multiculturalism, and anti-racism are anti-white.
Additionally, I expect we would agree that ultimately when one looks at the core of this issue one would find it’s really an issue about power and policy and about white supremacists and even Republicans who are using bigoted ideas to gain power so they can institute policy that benefits people like them.
As a final point, I would note Professor Kendi frequently invokes novelist Toni Morrison, who oftentimes discussed the importance, particularly for those who feel oppressed and marginalized, of not becoming distracted by these bigoted, racist ideas. Rather, Kendi says, they need to figure out and see the true source of their harm, which is not people who don’t look like them. It’s typically, oftentimes people who they’re voting for, who have taught them that they are their saviors.
When someone is too hateful, cruel, and crazy, even for Alex Jones, you know that person has crossed a red line. Kanye has now shown himself to be not only hateful and anti-semitic but genocidally anti-semitic. He is now even too far over the line finally for some in the Republican Party who are beginning to denounce him and his hateful anti-semitism. After Kanye posted a swastika in a Star of David symbol, the Republicans on the house Judiciary Committee finally deleted their October 6 Tweet, "Kanye, Elon, Trump," supporting Kanye:
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/house-judiciary-republicans-delete-kanye-elon-trump-tweet-rapper-prais-rcna59654
And Elon "Free Speech" Musk has now had Kanye's Twitter account deleted after his comments in support of Adolf Hitler on Infowars.
But has Trump yet issued a statement criticizing Kanye's anti-semitism? No, Kanye has not yet crossed Trump's red line. At least as long as he continues to support Trump.
When Dante Alighieri authored the 14th-century epic poem Divine Comedy, he envisioned Hell composed of nine concentric circles of torment within the Earth. It is described by Dante as the "realm ... of those who have rejected spiritual values by yielding to bestial appetites or violence, or by perverting their human intellect to fraud or malice against their fellowmen."
There are a lot of self-righteous a$$h***s out there who think they're going to heaven. Kanye West and Nick Fuentes are just two among them. But there are many more. So if an afterlife exists, they are probably in for a big surprise.
Dante didn't know how things would turn out when he wrote the original Divine Comedy. But he knew all about hypocrisy.
That is why Dante envisioned a particular circle of Hell for each type of sinner. Because they all deserve the company of each other and their specific form of punishment.
Dante originally envisioned nine circles of Hell. Just nine? Seriously? We're going to need more circles…How many more? I am not sure but way, way more than nine. And, Kanye, Fuentes, and a lot more we can all name will need to use that down escalator to descend a lot more levels to reach their forever afterlife home. And this time, there will be nothing "golden" about the escalator.
Bruce, While I am deeply affected by your reply, I have no idea how my comment prompted it.
Barbara,
I apologize and confess that because I note your comment received justified attention I “comment bombed” it to hopefully bring attention to my response.
I apologize for that and hope you will accept it as a compliment and endorsement of your own remarks that I did like to attempt to promote.
🙏
Bruce, Thank you for clarifying.
A great interview with him on Alex Wagner last night with exactly those 3 points.
Thanks Beth. I’ve heard Kendi speak on several occasions recently.. Seeing I’ve been saying for some time that if we are to end the scourge of Trumpism we will need to make fundamental changes to rid ourselves of the conditions that led to Donald Trump, I find Kendi extraordinarily clarifying.
My friends already condemn Judge Cannon. If the remedy is impeachment, please tell us how that process works and what we can do to help make it happen. Thank you -- as always!
Robert, thank you for tackling head-on the apparent pervasiveness of antisemitism in the GOP; when they tolerate it from Ye, Fuentes, Marjorie Taylor Green, Trump, and others, they implicitly endorse it.
I'm displaying a Chanukah menorah in my front window this month and hope others, Jewish or not, will join me in solidarity against hate and for this holiday, which celebrates the first-known battle for religious freedom.
Very good suggestion! We will follow suit!
Wonderful! Thank you!
Regardinging Governor De Sadist. Many historians of Hitler's rise to power have observed that it was the silence of the decent people that allowed the loud supporters of Hitler to win.
Gov. De Sadist's decision to keep silent, shows his support for the shouts of the anti-semites, the Catholic white supremacist Fuentes, and the pro-Hitler Kanye West.
Democrats continuous reliance on the "we would have helped the working class more but the other guys blocked us" tactic is what has lead to races with total nitwits like Herschel Walker coming down to the wire. Democrats need to seriously roll up their sleeves and get busy pushing meaningful legislation, raise or eliminate the debt ceiling, and get aggressive calling out Republican hypocrisy. Democrats need to make the contrast between them and the Republicans so stark even readers of the Rolling Stone can see the difference.
"The story about Ron DeSantis’s silence in the face of Trump’s antisemitism is not how that decision will affect DeSantis’s chances of becoming president—it is that DeSantis is a calculating coward who will condemn antisemitism only if and when it benefits him politically—which makes him unfit to hold any public office. That’s the story Rolling Stone missed."
Exactly right, Robert.