When you drive on a freeway and never think a moment about the possibility of the pre-stressed concrete structure collapsing under you, you can thank my father, who came up with the way to be sure a block of pre-stressed concrete was solid without breaking it open to see. The whole pre-stressed concrete industry depends on that. He was a government scientist and was asked to investigate a way to do that, so they could build dams safely with pre-stressed concrete. the patent he received for the invention was free to all since he worked for the government. As he always said, if he'd done it while working in private industry, we'd be billionaires, but if he hadn't been working for the government, no one would have asked him the question that led to the invention.
I have become a great fan of the well-expressed wisdom from TCinLA. I have, as you predicted, never thought about pre-stressed concrete. But I am always delighted to learn about one of the many examples of how government activity has led to benefits for the country, indeed for society. We need more publicity about such benefits, partly to counter the flood of right-wing propaganda to the contrary.
Jun 17, 2023·edited Jun 17, 2023Liked by Robert B. Hubbell
In that spirit, Mr. Smith, and in the spirit of Father’s day invoked by TC, I bring up the government research group, at the National Bureau of Standards (NBS - now the National Institutes of Science and Technology) my father led from ~1946 to 1964. It was established to provide various types of technical support during the development, under contract to the Bureau of the Census, of UNIVAC, the first commercial electronic digital computer.
When UNIVAC development ran into serious technical snags, Dad’s group was greenlighted to build its own computer, which was named SEAC (Standards Electronic Automatic Computer). With upgrades, it ran for fourteen years (imagine that!).
SEAC was the first “complete” computer, in that it it was a “stored program” computer, in the US (the first was in the UK). Moreover the group and allies at NBS invented the Scanner and the Disk Drive.
Government employees can make – have made – major contributions when they were allowed to.
Thank you, Mr.Alexander, for informing me of this splendid example of a major contribution to technology by a government program. Further, people should know, especially those right-wing blowhards who fill the ether with their uninformed (that's being charitable) opinions, that it was the US government's Arpanet that paid for and developed what became known as the internet. This was probably never within the capabilities of private industry, and thus we are thankful to "government" for the most profound technological advance since the telephone.
Of course the government--the National Institutes of Health--does or finances so much of the medical research that goes into drugs--and yet the drug companies charge crazy-high prices, and reap virtually all of the rewards, which should be going to the public in the form of much lower healthcare costs. We are lucky to have reasonably priced pre-stressed concrete!
Yes! We have a major challenge in front of us. How do we overcome and break the hold that DJT and Rupert Murdoch has on so many of the Republican voters. As I have said on another blog, it is crazy that these two egos and the drive for money and power has been embraced by elected leaders and an incredible number of voters who echo Trump’s being a victim with his statement, “they are coming for me and they are coming for you.”
I prefer not to toss out words like fascism, etc but when I hear about anti-trans legislation and watch as the Southern Baptist Convention votes overwhelmingly to expel churches with female preachers it strikes a very deeply unsettling cord for me. And, of course, it is imperative to add to this the extent to which state legislatures and the SCOTUS have gone to undermine women’s health and rights.
To be sure, I think we need to be alert to the willingness of good people to embrace the evil and criminal people and narratives that are undermining our institutions and faith in good people working to bring everyone up in the boat.
I'm so fortunate to share a household with two amazing Dads - my husband and my father! It was my husband who insisted that we relocate 1000 miles to my hometown last year, so that we could care for my widowed father, who was lonely, but in good health at the time. It's been a process to buy a house for all of us and get everyone moved in and settled. In the year since, Dad (85 years young) has experienced some health issues, and my husband, who has supported me through two cancer battles, has become his daily companion and caregiver, while I continue to work remotely fulltime. The fun and challenging times the three of us have had together, have been priceless. Happy Father's Day to them both!
Happy Father's Day Robert 🤍 Reading your newsletter this morning focuses my head and heart on what an extraordinary president we have at this time. With quiet dignity, he works tirelessly for Americans and the world. Yet, so few Americans appreciate him. He truly is, for me, a father watching over our country.
Well, look what damage “the entertainer” has done to OUR fine country! Biden, on the other hand, goes about his business with respect for others, honesty, and truth! Long may he live.
I’d like to suggest that it serves no one to site all the negatives that come to mind in regard to our preferred candidate. So, let’s turn our attention to highlighting the success of this administration and put the positives forward.
The clock is ticking and we need to express our support for a man who has led well during his career in government at a number of posts. Please.
Argh. We need a calendar that you and Robert share or post at least once a week. Today's list for Ohio was good and you posted VA which I already forgot. Keeping up with our life and with the life of the country requires a bigger staff in my head.
Thanks for the reminder Jessica! Very concerned about our rights here in VA. Today is the last day of early voting in VA, primary is Tuesday, the 20th.
I want to leave a note of respect for Daniel Ellsberg who died at 92. He changed the course of the Vietnam War in the face of great potential costs to himself. He was and is a hero.
Regarding the selection of the judge for the Trump documents case: it seems that experience in criminal cases would be a prerequisite. The coach of a playoff team does not roll dice to see who will guard the big man on the other team. Nor if I am to get heart surgery do I want a newbie doctor but one with experience or on staff at UCSF or other university hospital.
Add a potential bias factor, and Judge Cannon is not the one to hear the case
Totally agree. I put Robert Reich up there, too. It's interesting when Robert and Jen Rubin don't totally agree. And both are lawyers, I think? Love to hear Robert's response to her column.
Add Terri Kanefield to that list. Her calm, nonsensical approach helps understand the legal issues & not fall prey to gaslighting. I also love warrior Simon Rosenberg, who along with Jessica Craven give me a well thought out action item list with solid data to support our activism.
I read Jessica Craven's comment last week, following your issue inviting comments on climate change. I decided to try the climate action now app that she recommended as something easy but important that people could do. I have now had it for about a week and I can enthusiastically say that it is indeed possible to take several actions a day easily in around five minutes. I highly recommend this app for people who are concerned about this issue and would like to express their support for things that can be done to improve our climate. I have signed and sent many emails this week (letters which are already been prepared by the climate action now people) to the president, vice president, legislators, the EPA, and other organizations. (You can also choose the option of making a phone call and they will suggest what you can say) I am lalso learning about some important environmental ssues I wasn't even aware of as I go. I am very thankful to Jessica for suggesting it. (I should also mention that you can skip certain actions and do as many or as few as you wish to on any given day.)
Happy Father’s Day to Robert and to his and Jill’s son’s-in-law. A little over 20 years ago, I became a first-time father--at age 60! My daughter Daisy has been a constant and total joy to me and her mother these past 20 years. She is kind, loving, and joyous, and a loving daughter to her old man (literal as I am now 80.) She keeps me young and gives me huge incentive to keep on living, even in a world that contains Donald Trump.
First, Happy Father’s Day to all dads out there. I give thanks daily for the men in my life. My dad’s legacy and the one my husband will leave for his children and grandchildren are so precious. I think of this often when I see Trump enablers who will have riches and influences, to be sure, but also a damning legacy. I think of their grandchildren reading about their cowardice—no amount of power is worth that.
I also am grateful for the opportunities Robert and others give us to take action in states not our own. We can’t be fooled into thinking these extremists are content with imposing their will only close to home. I grew up in Texas, and what we are living in now is new for the first time in 50 years:
--our daughters and granddaughters with less reproductive autonomy than we had
--long guns all around us, no permit or license required
--voting being more difficult than it already was, with a 20 year felony conviction if there’s a mess-up
Don’t think Rs will stop with our states. These are changes they want to see nation-wide.
Along with other readers of this newsletter, I feel honored to be involved in this work.
Robert, thanks for the perfect blend of news, inspiration, and references to ways we can be involved!
I salute you and your managing editor. Your splendid work is heartfelt, thoughtful, honest, and of immeasurable importance. I wish for you and the Hubbell Gang what I wish for everyone; I hope we all get what we deserve.
Thanks to Robert for providing ways we can all help to defeat the Ohio GOP’s anti-democracy, anti-choice initiative that would require a 60% super-majority to amend the state Constitution. It will be on the ballot in just 53 days and defeating the initiative is the most important immediate task that progressives need to accomplish.
In addition to Robert’s suggestions, you can also help by donating to the Ohio Democratic Party at ohiodems.org. Giving money to the ODP will help us in the long-run and the medium-run as well as the short-run. One of the main reasons we have had a hard time winning elections in purple and red states is that the state democratic parties have been allowed to languish without resources and without the capacity to do grassroots organizing. Democrats have mostly focused on election year individual candidates’ media campaigns which do not build support for future elections. Donations to the ODP will help build its capacity to help win the pro-choice initiative in November 2023 and to reelect Sherrod Brown to the Senate in 2024. There is little doubt that Sherrod’s reelection will be necessary to hold the Senate in Democratic hands.
In the long run, we need to turn Ohio from red to purple and then to blue. It borders Michigan and Pennsylvania and its population is not that different from those states, which are now bluish-purple. By building the capacity of the ODP, we can also begin to make Ohio a swing state as it was in the past. Please give as generously as you can.
Within moments of the DOJ release of the report on the Minneapolis police department yesterday, my daughters, both of whom live in the city, called me. Emkae, who is Korean-American, lived just a block and a half from the corner where Floyd was killed when it happened, and Rian lived just south of there. To describe them as sad and anguished would be an understatement. The murder of a black man by a police officer, in broad daylight in their neighborhood rocked their sense of safety and wellbeing even further - it occurred in the midst of COVID and their dad and step dad, my husband Glen, was dying of ALS. Emkae was also experiencing truly ugly levels of racism because of tfg’s remarks about the “China virus.” OMG.
2020 was easily the toughest year of their their young lives. Mine too.
I grew up in Minneapolis. I don’t remember a time when the city didn’t have giant problems with racism and anti-semitism nor when cops weren’t a source of fear and anxiety for people of color - every damn day of the year.
I hope something comes of the DOJ’s report and that Mayor Frey and the City Council are shaken out of their usual patterns so real change occurs. The city is a powder keg and God knows what will ignite the next implosion. Those inner city neighborhoods are in shreds still with lots of still-visible damage from the riots. Wouldn’t take much to set off another round.
In the meantime, I will just keep on working to get out the vote and go visit my dad, father-in-law and husband at Fort Snelling National Cemetery on Fathers Day. Its a peaceful place in a world gone mad. Could use some of that today.
Happy Father’s Day to you, Robert, and thank you for sharing your insights every day.
Blessings to you Sheila, and my condolences on your losses. Our worries about our kids are a very real, and closely held concern. I hope that you will all find a sense of peace and security.
Yay for PostcardsToVoters.org for Ohio and general attention you brought to Ohio in this newsletter! Thank you Robert! And Happy Father's Day to you! And: Go Ohio!
Focusing on Ohio is reminding me about David Pepper's book, "Laboratories Of Autocracy," which uses Ohio as a lens to explain what is going on in too many states. Really important book. Highly recommend! He is a fantastic story teller. Very engaging and shocking material. And now he has written a new book called "Saving Democracy," which gives a shorter run down on the first one (but read both!) and offers ways to help change the tide. You can read about the book and his ideas here: https://savedemocracy.us/
I find writing post cards to voters soothes my soul. Especially being able to select a very small list which ultimately has caused me to write more cards than ever.
Brooks could have led his article with "No Labels is another con by the Oligarchs". David doesn't get that too many people are not interested in looking at a concept from many angles. They just want the pertinent facts. Like the idea that "No Labels" is a blatant attempt to undermine Biden's re-election - funded by Oligarchs like Harlan Crow. Funded by the people who want to deregulate even further our society. People who want to rip away environmental protections, who want to further privatize everything that is a government responsibility and seize more of the national treasure for themselves. Oligarchs who think taxes are for other people. Oligarchs who are Hell Bent on destroying our Planet.
He should have led with the truth! Then and only then, he could have lauded the concept of finding bipartisan cooperation. Then he could have asked us to eschew labels whose meanings have shifted from neutral descriptors to powerfully awful pejoratives.
There was a time when we could be liberal minded fiscal conservatives. We could be awake. to injustice. We could be respectable Republicans. We could be Evangelicals who believed in a separation of church and state. That's where David's ever hopeful mind is.
David Brooks is a well intentioned and inclusive man who is always searching for our better selves. But he lives in a la-la land of denial. There is a war going on. The people who were respected conservators of our finances and believed in small government, the rule of law and a strong defense against fascism - are now the very antithesis of all that.
Republicans want to control our bodies. They want to establish a national religion! They want to disenfranchise children and the elderly. They don't want people of color and young people to vote! They want their politicians to be above the law. They undermine our democracy by colluding with dictators. They are the ENEMIES of America.
There ain't no middle ground anymore, David Brooks. Pick a side. This is a battle royal.
I believe Brooks still struggles to find a path that serves him and the country. He has proven all too often to want to hold on to capitalism as the great way forward. He would be well served to take a “punditry rest” and truly look for a new perspective and centering of his world view. Just sayin’ David.
I am also a capitalist. One that believes in regulation. I love a nation that fosters innovation. One that provides for all its citizens. There is no conflict between free enterprise and social safety nets and progressive programs for the total population. Unless we create the battle.
Bill, I agree but right now, in this America, I’d love to see capitalism as we are experiencing it be the bad word that the right wants to make socialism be. I’m sick and tired of seeing the wealthy taking home huge equities while so many need more than a social safety net. We need big reforms that aren’t going to happen unless the greed and power aside.
As Fatherrs Day approaches, I am reminded of how often my dad would calm me down and guide me to stay on task. Thank you, Mr. Hubble, for your dad-like ways!
Father's Day is always bittersweet for me. I am not a father (I can't count the 1,000's of kids I called "My kids" as a public school music educator), and my Pop passed away in 2011. But what really captures my mind this year on this weekend is that the unthinkable has taken root in our nation. A genuine FASCIST movement has crawled out from under its rock.
Why does this have a place in my thoughts over Father's Day weekend? Following another viewing of Saving Private Ryan, I was once again brought to tears from the opening moments, the family visit to the American cemetery, until the closing salute "Private Ryan" offers at the grave of "Lt. Miller." This movie, more than any other WWII film, is a brutal reminder that my Pop (Army), and his two brothers, my Uncle Tony (Marines), and Uncle Nick (Navy) fought the Fascism of the Axis powers.
As a baby boomer and son/nephew of WWII vets I grew up detesting Fascism. believing it to be the greatest evil ever known to "civilized" people. In my 60's I've been educated by Rachel Maddow's ULTRA podcast, as well as Ken Burns' 3-part documentary, "The U.S. and the Holocaust," that Fascism has dug it's claws into American citizens before. But, to see it regain a foothold AFTER we have seen what it is capable of, is simply too much to accept.
Sadly, this is what Father's Day brings to my mind in 2023.
When you drive on a freeway and never think a moment about the possibility of the pre-stressed concrete structure collapsing under you, you can thank my father, who came up with the way to be sure a block of pre-stressed concrete was solid without breaking it open to see. The whole pre-stressed concrete industry depends on that. He was a government scientist and was asked to investigate a way to do that, so they could build dams safely with pre-stressed concrete. the patent he received for the invention was free to all since he worked for the government. As he always said, if he'd done it while working in private industry, we'd be billionaires, but if he hadn't been working for the government, no one would have asked him the question that led to the invention.
I have become a great fan of the well-expressed wisdom from TCinLA. I have, as you predicted, never thought about pre-stressed concrete. But I am always delighted to learn about one of the many examples of how government activity has led to benefits for the country, indeed for society. We need more publicity about such benefits, partly to counter the flood of right-wing propaganda to the contrary.
In that spirit, Mr. Smith, and in the spirit of Father’s day invoked by TC, I bring up the government research group, at the National Bureau of Standards (NBS - now the National Institutes of Science and Technology) my father led from ~1946 to 1964. It was established to provide various types of technical support during the development, under contract to the Bureau of the Census, of UNIVAC, the first commercial electronic digital computer.
When UNIVAC development ran into serious technical snags, Dad’s group was greenlighted to build its own computer, which was named SEAC (Standards Electronic Automatic Computer). With upgrades, it ran for fourteen years (imagine that!).
SEAC was the first “complete” computer, in that it it was a “stored program” computer, in the US (the first was in the UK). Moreover the group and allies at NBS invented the Scanner and the Disk Drive.
Government employees can make – have made – major contributions when they were allowed to.
Thank you, Mr.Alexander, for informing me of this splendid example of a major contribution to technology by a government program. Further, people should know, especially those right-wing blowhards who fill the ether with their uninformed (that's being charitable) opinions, that it was the US government's Arpanet that paid for and developed what became known as the internet. This was probably never within the capabilities of private industry, and thus we are thankful to "government" for the most profound technological advance since the telephone.
Thanks!
And thank you too for sharing the account of your father’s important and monetary sacrificial service for the public good, not to mention safety.
Of course the government--the National Institutes of Health--does or finances so much of the medical research that goes into drugs--and yet the drug companies charge crazy-high prices, and reap virtually all of the rewards, which should be going to the public in the form of much lower healthcare costs. We are lucky to have reasonably priced pre-stressed concrete!
Yes! We have a major challenge in front of us. How do we overcome and break the hold that DJT and Rupert Murdoch has on so many of the Republican voters. As I have said on another blog, it is crazy that these two egos and the drive for money and power has been embraced by elected leaders and an incredible number of voters who echo Trump’s being a victim with his statement, “they are coming for me and they are coming for you.”
I prefer not to toss out words like fascism, etc but when I hear about anti-trans legislation and watch as the Southern Baptist Convention votes overwhelmingly to expel churches with female preachers it strikes a very deeply unsettling cord for me. And, of course, it is imperative to add to this the extent to which state legislatures and the SCOTUS have gone to undermine women’s health and rights.
Moreover, all of these actions have been reported to be heavily supported by big money from religious groups and parishioners. A spiritual life is fine but the dogma of those who want to embrace Biblical scriptures in a distorted manner is disconcerting regardless of faith. Christiane Amanpour did a 3 part series on CNN in 2007 that resonated with me. This NY Times review seems to suggest she didn’t go deep enough, yet she began to explore how religious faith had been hijacked. We see that today. https://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/21/arts/television/21warr.html?unlocked_article_code=f8BRHR-350XbRlOM9mh3_7BX5CqzdO1f0lc6qBVGcgDaSAbbfVgtT42uyo9GibXMr-vUPKEpq6vfwzzRKXuQr-IE7hLDm25eP566b9pYpA-jkjyXbY9v1Ndnj-GA78d9DHMDMoWqV6FG5gYBZPc5baaAWhlBNXU7vJKW1jhhxzDMohy66YCGbCEPNuoRaIkmAXED3ihSSjf_G8i9g3PDMNCXW7ZkapCEgAy3JXEsEd74iO5WmRaOzRyw1TCMsX5kV4DIJvl1INKqKkaohkdg3KR833Ot9bVgJcGg-NzfQ5zDQOvSm567vLKTLwOS8al1Mhf4TmRvbdM&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare
To be sure, I think we need to be alert to the willingness of good people to embrace the evil and criminal people and narratives that are undermining our institutions and faith in good people working to bring everyone up in the boat.
Dam, Tom --what a great story!
Happy Father's Day Rob! Thank you for all you do.
I'm so fortunate to share a household with two amazing Dads - my husband and my father! It was my husband who insisted that we relocate 1000 miles to my hometown last year, so that we could care for my widowed father, who was lonely, but in good health at the time. It's been a process to buy a house for all of us and get everyone moved in and settled. In the year since, Dad (85 years young) has experienced some health issues, and my husband, who has supported me through two cancer battles, has become his daily companion and caregiver, while I continue to work remotely fulltime. The fun and challenging times the three of us have had together, have been priceless. Happy Father's Day to them both!
Wow! This is a great Fathers’s Day story. Thanks for sharing it.
Love your story, Denise. We had similar experience with my dad. It was truly life-changing...
Happy Father’s Day to them both !💙
You and your husband are gems. May you have a very sweet Father’s Day.
Happy Father's Day Robert 🤍 Reading your newsletter this morning focuses my head and heart on what an extraordinary president we have at this time. With quiet dignity, he works tirelessly for Americans and the world. Yet, so few Americans appreciate him. He truly is, for me, a father watching over our country.
Americans crave entertainment above all. Joe is not entertaining.
Well, look what damage “the entertainer” has done to OUR fine country! Biden, on the other hand, goes about his business with respect for others, honesty, and truth! Long may he live.
A very sad truth. For so many it's about the glitz the glam the shock the new is old in a second.
I’d like to suggest that it serves no one to site all the negatives that come to mind in regard to our preferred candidate. So, let’s turn our attention to highlighting the success of this administration and put the positives forward.
The clock is ticking and we need to express our support for a man who has led well during his career in government at a number of posts. Please.
It was meant as a positive. The negative is that Americans are hooked on infotainment.
And don’t forget there are critically important primary elections in VA next week! Abortion rights are on the ballot!
Argh. We need a calendar that you and Robert share or post at least once a week. Today's list for Ohio was good and you posted VA which I already forgot. Keeping up with our life and with the life of the country requires a bigger staff in my head.
Tell me about it!
Yes! Carole, “ a bigger staff in my head.” What a brilliant idea!
And there's a postcard campaign in Florida. All voters who want to vote by mail in 2024 have to request it again (I hope I have that correct).
Thanks for the reminder Jessica! Very concerned about our rights here in VA. Today is the last day of early voting in VA, primary is Tuesday, the 20th.
On it, Jessica!
I want to leave a note of respect for Daniel Ellsberg who died at 92. He changed the course of the Vietnam War in the face of great potential costs to himself. He was and is a hero.
Regarding the selection of the judge for the Trump documents case: it seems that experience in criminal cases would be a prerequisite. The coach of a playoff team does not roll dice to see who will guard the big man on the other team. Nor if I am to get heart surgery do I want a newbie doctor but one with experience or on staff at UCSF or other university hospital.
Add a potential bias factor, and Judge Cannon is not the one to hear the case
The always insightful Jennifer Rubin has added a convincing column on this topic. She ends with these words, "the risk that a wildly misguided and slipshod judge could have reformed is far too great to entrust her with the most important criminal case in our lifetimes. She and the 11th Circuit owe both Trump and the American people an expertly run trial free from the appearance of bias." I'm afraid I agree. Love to hear Robert respond specifically to her point of view. Not sure this will work, but here's a link to her column. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/06/13/judge-cannon-recuse-trump-documents-indictment/?utm_campaign=wp_rubinletter&+utm_medium=email&+utm_source=newsletter&+wpisrc=nl-rubinletter
Jennifer Rubin and Heather Cox Richardson and Robert are my polestars of truth. Essential reading every day.
Totally agree. I put Robert Reich up there, too. It's interesting when Robert and Jen Rubin don't totally agree. And both are lawyers, I think? Love to hear Robert's response to her column.
Add Terri Kanefield to that list. Her calm, nonsensical approach helps understand the legal issues & not fall prey to gaslighting. I also love warrior Simon Rosenberg, who along with Jessica Craven give me a well thought out action item list with solid data to support our activism.
Thanks Traci!
No, thank you!! Grateful to you warriors who help us stay hopeful, focuses, & navigate these challenging times.
Thank you, Jim, for your follow up comment. And link to Jennifer Rubin.
Unfortunately, I am infected by Trump, and there is no known vaccine.
I read Jessica Craven's comment last week, following your issue inviting comments on climate change. I decided to try the climate action now app that she recommended as something easy but important that people could do. I have now had it for about a week and I can enthusiastically say that it is indeed possible to take several actions a day easily in around five minutes. I highly recommend this app for people who are concerned about this issue and would like to express their support for things that can be done to improve our climate. I have signed and sent many emails this week (letters which are already been prepared by the climate action now people) to the president, vice president, legislators, the EPA, and other organizations. (You can also choose the option of making a phone call and they will suggest what you can say) I am lalso learning about some important environmental ssues I wasn't even aware of as I go. I am very thankful to Jessica for suggesting it. (I should also mention that you can skip certain actions and do as many or as few as you wish to on any given day.)
So happy to hear this! It truly is an outstanding app. And in case anyone wants to download it you can do so here! https://apps.apple.com/us/app/climate-action-now/id1497924893
Happy Father’s Day to Robert and to his and Jill’s son’s-in-law. A little over 20 years ago, I became a first-time father--at age 60! My daughter Daisy has been a constant and total joy to me and her mother these past 20 years. She is kind, loving, and joyous, and a loving daughter to her old man (literal as I am now 80.) She keeps me young and gives me huge incentive to keep on living, even in a world that contains Donald Trump.
First, Happy Father’s Day to all dads out there. I give thanks daily for the men in my life. My dad’s legacy and the one my husband will leave for his children and grandchildren are so precious. I think of this often when I see Trump enablers who will have riches and influences, to be sure, but also a damning legacy. I think of their grandchildren reading about their cowardice—no amount of power is worth that.
I also am grateful for the opportunities Robert and others give us to take action in states not our own. We can’t be fooled into thinking these extremists are content with imposing their will only close to home. I grew up in Texas, and what we are living in now is new for the first time in 50 years:
--our daughters and granddaughters with less reproductive autonomy than we had
--long guns all around us, no permit or license required
--voting being more difficult than it already was, with a 20 year felony conviction if there’s a mess-up
Don’t think Rs will stop with our states. These are changes they want to see nation-wide.
Along with other readers of this newsletter, I feel honored to be involved in this work.
Robert, thanks for the perfect blend of news, inspiration, and references to ways we can be involved!
I salute you and your managing editor. Your splendid work is heartfelt, thoughtful, honest, and of immeasurable importance. I wish for you and the Hubbell Gang what I wish for everyone; I hope we all get what we deserve.
Truly,
Ted Croll
Thanks to Robert for providing ways we can all help to defeat the Ohio GOP’s anti-democracy, anti-choice initiative that would require a 60% super-majority to amend the state Constitution. It will be on the ballot in just 53 days and defeating the initiative is the most important immediate task that progressives need to accomplish.
In addition to Robert’s suggestions, you can also help by donating to the Ohio Democratic Party at ohiodems.org. Giving money to the ODP will help us in the long-run and the medium-run as well as the short-run. One of the main reasons we have had a hard time winning elections in purple and red states is that the state democratic parties have been allowed to languish without resources and without the capacity to do grassroots organizing. Democrats have mostly focused on election year individual candidates’ media campaigns which do not build support for future elections. Donations to the ODP will help build its capacity to help win the pro-choice initiative in November 2023 and to reelect Sherrod Brown to the Senate in 2024. There is little doubt that Sherrod’s reelection will be necessary to hold the Senate in Democratic hands.
In the long run, we need to turn Ohio from red to purple and then to blue. It borders Michigan and Pennsylvania and its population is not that different from those states, which are now bluish-purple. By building the capacity of the ODP, we can also begin to make Ohio a swing state as it was in the past. Please give as generously as you can.
Steve Schear
"Read Hubbell, Carry Water"... I appreciate your list of actions to take, Robert!
And I hope you have the chance to take your own advice to put aside The News for a time so you can enjoy Father's Day.
Within moments of the DOJ release of the report on the Minneapolis police department yesterday, my daughters, both of whom live in the city, called me. Emkae, who is Korean-American, lived just a block and a half from the corner where Floyd was killed when it happened, and Rian lived just south of there. To describe them as sad and anguished would be an understatement. The murder of a black man by a police officer, in broad daylight in their neighborhood rocked their sense of safety and wellbeing even further - it occurred in the midst of COVID and their dad and step dad, my husband Glen, was dying of ALS. Emkae was also experiencing truly ugly levels of racism because of tfg’s remarks about the “China virus.” OMG.
2020 was easily the toughest year of their their young lives. Mine too.
I grew up in Minneapolis. I don’t remember a time when the city didn’t have giant problems with racism and anti-semitism nor when cops weren’t a source of fear and anxiety for people of color - every damn day of the year.
I hope something comes of the DOJ’s report and that Mayor Frey and the City Council are shaken out of their usual patterns so real change occurs. The city is a powder keg and God knows what will ignite the next implosion. Those inner city neighborhoods are in shreds still with lots of still-visible damage from the riots. Wouldn’t take much to set off another round.
In the meantime, I will just keep on working to get out the vote and go visit my dad, father-in-law and husband at Fort Snelling National Cemetery on Fathers Day. Its a peaceful place in a world gone mad. Could use some of that today.
Happy Father’s Day to you, Robert, and thank you for sharing your insights every day.
Sheila, My condolences on your losses.
Blessings to you Sheila, and my condolences on your losses. Our worries about our kids are a very real, and closely held concern. I hope that you will all find a sense of peace and security.
Heartbreaking, Sheila. I'm so sorry.
This piece by David Brook's was also a good one pushing back against No Labels, though I wish he made more clear his angle up top: he has supported No Labels in his journalism for ten years but says it would be terrible for the 2024 election: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/08/opinion/third-party-president-election-2024.html
Yay for PostcardsToVoters.org for Ohio and general attention you brought to Ohio in this newsletter! Thank you Robert! And Happy Father's Day to you! And: Go Ohio!
Focusing on Ohio is reminding me about David Pepper's book, "Laboratories Of Autocracy," which uses Ohio as a lens to explain what is going on in too many states. Really important book. Highly recommend! He is a fantastic story teller. Very engaging and shocking material. And now he has written a new book called "Saving Democracy," which gives a shorter run down on the first one (but read both!) and offers ways to help change the tide. You can read about the book and his ideas here: https://savedemocracy.us/
I find writing post cards to voters soothes my soul. Especially being able to select a very small list which ultimately has caused me to write more cards than ever.
http://postcardstovoters.org/
It was hateful that he seemed to give it a measure of legitimacy in his article, however.
Brooks could have led his article with "No Labels is another con by the Oligarchs". David doesn't get that too many people are not interested in looking at a concept from many angles. They just want the pertinent facts. Like the idea that "No Labels" is a blatant attempt to undermine Biden's re-election - funded by Oligarchs like Harlan Crow. Funded by the people who want to deregulate even further our society. People who want to rip away environmental protections, who want to further privatize everything that is a government responsibility and seize more of the national treasure for themselves. Oligarchs who think taxes are for other people. Oligarchs who are Hell Bent on destroying our Planet.
He should have led with the truth! Then and only then, he could have lauded the concept of finding bipartisan cooperation. Then he could have asked us to eschew labels whose meanings have shifted from neutral descriptors to powerfully awful pejoratives.
There was a time when we could be liberal minded fiscal conservatives. We could be awake. to injustice. We could be respectable Republicans. We could be Evangelicals who believed in a separation of church and state. That's where David's ever hopeful mind is.
David Brooks is a well intentioned and inclusive man who is always searching for our better selves. But he lives in a la-la land of denial. There is a war going on. The people who were respected conservators of our finances and believed in small government, the rule of law and a strong defense against fascism - are now the very antithesis of all that.
Republicans want to control our bodies. They want to establish a national religion! They want to disenfranchise children and the elderly. They don't want people of color and young people to vote! They want their politicians to be above the law. They undermine our democracy by colluding with dictators. They are the ENEMIES of America.
There ain't no middle ground anymore, David Brooks. Pick a side. This is a battle royal.
I believe Brooks still struggles to find a path that serves him and the country. He has proven all too often to want to hold on to capitalism as the great way forward. He would be well served to take a “punditry rest” and truly look for a new perspective and centering of his world view. Just sayin’ David.
I am also a capitalist. One that believes in regulation. I love a nation that fosters innovation. One that provides for all its citizens. There is no conflict between free enterprise and social safety nets and progressive programs for the total population. Unless we create the battle.
Bill, I agree but right now, in this America, I’d love to see capitalism as we are experiencing it be the bad word that the right wants to make socialism be. I’m sick and tired of seeing the wealthy taking home huge equities while so many need more than a social safety net. We need big reforms that aren’t going to happen unless the greed and power aside.
Third way is scary---- another obstacle.
As Fatherrs Day approaches, I am reminded of how often my dad would calm me down and guide me to stay on task. Thank you, Mr. Hubble, for your dad-like ways!
Father's Day is always bittersweet for me. I am not a father (I can't count the 1,000's of kids I called "My kids" as a public school music educator), and my Pop passed away in 2011. But what really captures my mind this year on this weekend is that the unthinkable has taken root in our nation. A genuine FASCIST movement has crawled out from under its rock.
Why does this have a place in my thoughts over Father's Day weekend? Following another viewing of Saving Private Ryan, I was once again brought to tears from the opening moments, the family visit to the American cemetery, until the closing salute "Private Ryan" offers at the grave of "Lt. Miller." This movie, more than any other WWII film, is a brutal reminder that my Pop (Army), and his two brothers, my Uncle Tony (Marines), and Uncle Nick (Navy) fought the Fascism of the Axis powers.
As a baby boomer and son/nephew of WWII vets I grew up detesting Fascism. believing it to be the greatest evil ever known to "civilized" people. In my 60's I've been educated by Rachel Maddow's ULTRA podcast, as well as Ken Burns' 3-part documentary, "The U.S. and the Holocaust," that Fascism has dug it's claws into American citizens before. But, to see it regain a foothold AFTER we have seen what it is capable of, is simply too much to accept.
Sadly, this is what Father's Day brings to my mind in 2023.