I just sent Governor Scott a scathing review of his law. Thank you, Robert. I think that Biden’s actions re: Ukraine raise his historical standing Among U.S. Presidents to an upper circle. He is acting Presidential. He is a leader. He is not perfect because no humans are perfect. But he is human, whereas I have doubts about his predecessor.
Feb 24, 2022·edited Feb 24, 2022Liked by Robert B. Hubbell
As I’m sure you agree, this is the most menacing development globally since the end of WWII. I take Putin at his word that he is ready to respond to countries getting in the way of his invasion of Ukraine. He said,
"Whoever tries to interfere with us, and even more so, to create threats for our country, for our people, should know that Russia's response will be immediate and will lead you to such consequences that you have never experienced in your history.“
If Putin decides to escalate this conflict in response to sanctions or whatever excuses he devises, the difference between today and prior eras is that he can land missiles in cities all across Europe in a matter of minutes. And, speaking of “consequences that you have never experienced in your history,” Putin can also hit New York or DC, or Boston with supersonic missiles that there are simply no defenses against.
We in the US are used to being too far away from Europe or most any flashpoints to suffer harm to our homeland. This no longer applies. Putin has become unhinged. Don’t think he wouldn’t like an excuse to send a missile or two into the US and watch the America people panic.
Our homegrown authoritarians are on Putin’s side in this. Expect Putin’s actions to embolden them. It already has if you read what Trump and others are saying.
Yesterday, we stepped into a whole new era that we are not going to like. I just wrote this up in a new substack post of my own here: (Is it OK to share this sort of link here?)
Leon Panetta the Gold Standard for great Statesman of our generation and a deeply studied Historian on International affairs said last night we must apply the lessons learned from WWII. He must be stopped now. Obviously I am para phrasing but that was his message. I have never heard someone, former CIA Director and SecDef give such a black and white message.
Todays focus is on how we do that now and maintain the pressure that creates unacceptable losses both militarily and economically. God help us.
“ Let’s give Biden the best chance of achieving a satisfactory outcome: support the president as he navigates a difficult situation with no easy or obvious answers. As in all things, Joe Biden is doing his best to protect the interests of all Americans. We cannot ask for more.”
I have both friends and family in Ukraine who are now in significant and immediate danger. I cannot at present reach them and have only the various news reports to rely upon for information. Please pray for them and all Ukrainians and for their safety. Let us hope somehow for an end to hostilities with as little loss of life at possible. The dangers to all in Ukraine at present are grave.
As to what to do to bring about a cessation of hostilities as quickly as possible with minimal loss of lives and just and sustainable peace, I confess that I have neither the background nor knowledge to make helpful suggestions. However, I do believe and have confidence in President Biden and the team surrounding him to make the best decisions possible and put them in place as quickly as possible. I also believe in the importance of his recent efforts to unite as many nations as possible in the Western Alliance to take appropriate next steps. I am trying hard not to respond only emotionally and likely irrationally to the situation. While left to only my own impulses to respond I would advocate for the immediate expulsion of Russia from the UN and the Security Council in particular, I realize that could be unwise and counterproductive and trust in cooler heads than my own to assess the best next moves.
I am also acutely aware that the ravings of our former President and his far-right political allies, those in his circle of advisors, and the sycophant media talking heads on Fox News should be both condemned and then disregarded as offering any helpful advice or perspective. The best approach to DJT is to pay him as little attention as possible. Any utterances from him or those around or supporting him are unlikely to be either informed or helpful.
At times like this, it is best to rely on facts and the assessment of those with the background and capabilities to be helpful and to disregard those who have neither the information nor expertise to provide a helpful perspective or advice.
I just received a text from Peter Schorsch who is deeply imbedded in Florida politics. It reads: Scott launches seven figure ad buy. Rick Scott is out with a new ad promoting his "Rescue America plan for the upcoming election cycle. "Our border's being invaded, inflation's raging and our shelves are empty. Crime's rampant. Police are being killed. And God-fearing people are being silenced". The ad begins airing Friday and is backed up by a seven-figure national TV and digital buy, per a release.
I won't post the link to the ad here because it will make you nauseous and you can find it if you like. I do hope the Dems jump all over this.
Todays edition once again proved what Robert discussed a few days ago and that is the Republicans don’t have workable and effective solutions and a platform that supports them. When my friends recently were critical of President Biden and the sanctions and what he should have done etc I simply ask “ what is your solution.” They don’t have an answer. Senator Scott is a walking example of that. We should ask all candidates to explain what they see are the issues and more importantly their recommended solutions. If we can change the dialogue to solutions rather than personal attacks we will win.
Slam Joe Biden — while the self-absorbed likes of Rick Scott, Ron DeSantis, Greg Abbott, and the SCOTUS majority — roll merrily along? Robert, thanks for the action reminders.
Putin, to my wary eyes, has always been the re-enactment of Adolf Hitler, or Chingiz Khan. Unencumbered, he will move to retake the Baltic States, then the two remaining independent states of the Caucasus region (Armenia is his client state, unoccupied only by dint of his agreement with Erdogan),and the nations of central Asia. Iran is also in his crosshairs-as is Mongolia, pending a nod from Xi Jinping. Then, there are ALL the nations of east central Europe. Hitler, 2.0?
My mind is going to seeing parallels in Putin's "reasoning" for attacking Ukraine and the need for its "denazification" with the actions of Texas's Governor Abbot. With Governor Abbot clearly becoming more authoritarian by the day and denying rights to women and LBGTQ citizens and controlling the minds of youth just short of issuing brown shirts, it looks like Putin's next target should be Texas where there is real evidence of autocracy. Texas also has oil resources which would be another attraction for Putin. The other parallel that came to mind is Putin's rambling speech sounding like what we would hear from TFDG. Would love to hear Mary Trump's analysis of Putin's mental health. I hope Ukraine holds onto its move toward democracy and that Texas gets on a path back to democracy.
Re: Russia: I just hope our tech people are better than their tech people because it's the cyber warfare I fear. Disrupting us domestically could make our divisions worse.
The question, in broad lines, is Democracy or Autocracy. Now is the time for our country to step up and support President Biden wholeheartedly. He is a wise and savvy man and runs a tight ship. We are fortunate to rely on him and his staff for our Commander-in-Chief. He has spent his whole life preparing for the glitches and set-backs of public service. I admire him greatly.
You wrote: "The GOP is united only in its conviction that whatever President Biden has done or will do is wrong. Worse, some factions of the GOP cheer Putin as he unleashes an illegal war that will kill tens of thousands of innocent Ukrainians lawfully defending their nation."
I think it is time to call out those factions, repeatedly and loudly. We can make some "good trouble" by shining the light on them and the harm they are doing.
I just sent Governor Scott a scathing review of his law. Thank you, Robert. I think that Biden’s actions re: Ukraine raise his historical standing Among U.S. Presidents to an upper circle. He is acting Presidential. He is a leader. He is not perfect because no humans are perfect. But he is human, whereas I have doubts about his predecessor.
As I’m sure you agree, this is the most menacing development globally since the end of WWII. I take Putin at his word that he is ready to respond to countries getting in the way of his invasion of Ukraine. He said,
"Whoever tries to interfere with us, and even more so, to create threats for our country, for our people, should know that Russia's response will be immediate and will lead you to such consequences that you have never experienced in your history.“
If Putin decides to escalate this conflict in response to sanctions or whatever excuses he devises, the difference between today and prior eras is that he can land missiles in cities all across Europe in a matter of minutes. And, speaking of “consequences that you have never experienced in your history,” Putin can also hit New York or DC, or Boston with supersonic missiles that there are simply no defenses against.
We in the US are used to being too far away from Europe or most any flashpoints to suffer harm to our homeland. This no longer applies. Putin has become unhinged. Don’t think he wouldn’t like an excuse to send a missile or two into the US and watch the America people panic.
Our homegrown authoritarians are on Putin’s side in this. Expect Putin’s actions to embolden them. It already has if you read what Trump and others are saying.
Yesterday, we stepped into a whole new era that we are not going to like. I just wrote this up in a new substack post of my own here: (Is it OK to share this sort of link here?)
https://jonthinks.substack.com/p/the-going-is-gonna-get-tough?r=mrvx1&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
Leon Panetta the Gold Standard for great Statesman of our generation and a deeply studied Historian on International affairs said last night we must apply the lessons learned from WWII. He must be stopped now. Obviously I am para phrasing but that was his message. I have never heard someone, former CIA Director and SecDef give such a black and white message.
Todays focus is on how we do that now and maintain the pressure that creates unacceptable losses both militarily and economically. God help us.
This:
“ Let’s give Biden the best chance of achieving a satisfactory outcome: support the president as he navigates a difficult situation with no easy or obvious answers. As in all things, Joe Biden is doing his best to protect the interests of all Americans. We cannot ask for more.”
Thank you..
Ukraine and Russia
I have both friends and family in Ukraine who are now in significant and immediate danger. I cannot at present reach them and have only the various news reports to rely upon for information. Please pray for them and all Ukrainians and for their safety. Let us hope somehow for an end to hostilities with as little loss of life at possible. The dangers to all in Ukraine at present are grave.
As to what to do to bring about a cessation of hostilities as quickly as possible with minimal loss of lives and just and sustainable peace, I confess that I have neither the background nor knowledge to make helpful suggestions. However, I do believe and have confidence in President Biden and the team surrounding him to make the best decisions possible and put them in place as quickly as possible. I also believe in the importance of his recent efforts to unite as many nations as possible in the Western Alliance to take appropriate next steps. I am trying hard not to respond only emotionally and likely irrationally to the situation. While left to only my own impulses to respond I would advocate for the immediate expulsion of Russia from the UN and the Security Council in particular, I realize that could be unwise and counterproductive and trust in cooler heads than my own to assess the best next moves.
I am also acutely aware that the ravings of our former President and his far-right political allies, those in his circle of advisors, and the sycophant media talking heads on Fox News should be both condemned and then disregarded as offering any helpful advice or perspective. The best approach to DJT is to pay him as little attention as possible. Any utterances from him or those around or supporting him are unlikely to be either informed or helpful.
At times like this, it is best to rely on facts and the assessment of those with the background and capabilities to be helpful and to disregard those who have neither the information nor expertise to provide a helpful perspective or advice.
I just received a text from Peter Schorsch who is deeply imbedded in Florida politics. It reads: Scott launches seven figure ad buy. Rick Scott is out with a new ad promoting his "Rescue America plan for the upcoming election cycle. "Our border's being invaded, inflation's raging and our shelves are empty. Crime's rampant. Police are being killed. And God-fearing people are being silenced". The ad begins airing Friday and is backed up by a seven-figure national TV and digital buy, per a release.
I won't post the link to the ad here because it will make you nauseous and you can find it if you like. I do hope the Dems jump all over this.
Todays edition once again proved what Robert discussed a few days ago and that is the Republicans don’t have workable and effective solutions and a platform that supports them. When my friends recently were critical of President Biden and the sanctions and what he should have done etc I simply ask “ what is your solution.” They don’t have an answer. Senator Scott is a walking example of that. We should ask all candidates to explain what they see are the issues and more importantly their recommended solutions. If we can change the dialogue to solutions rather than personal attacks we will win.
Have written to my senators, representative and DOJ. Feels good to take some positive actions. Thanks.
Slam Joe Biden — while the self-absorbed likes of Rick Scott, Ron DeSantis, Greg Abbott, and the SCOTUS majority — roll merrily along? Robert, thanks for the action reminders.
Get politically active!
Putin, to my wary eyes, has always been the re-enactment of Adolf Hitler, or Chingiz Khan. Unencumbered, he will move to retake the Baltic States, then the two remaining independent states of the Caucasus region (Armenia is his client state, unoccupied only by dint of his agreement with Erdogan),and the nations of central Asia. Iran is also in his crosshairs-as is Mongolia, pending a nod from Xi Jinping. Then, there are ALL the nations of east central Europe. Hitler, 2.0?
Greg Abbott is a child abuser with an unhealthy interest in children’s sexuality.
My mind is going to seeing parallels in Putin's "reasoning" for attacking Ukraine and the need for its "denazification" with the actions of Texas's Governor Abbot. With Governor Abbot clearly becoming more authoritarian by the day and denying rights to women and LBGTQ citizens and controlling the minds of youth just short of issuing brown shirts, it looks like Putin's next target should be Texas where there is real evidence of autocracy. Texas also has oil resources which would be another attraction for Putin. The other parallel that came to mind is Putin's rambling speech sounding like what we would hear from TFDG. Would love to hear Mary Trump's analysis of Putin's mental health. I hope Ukraine holds onto its move toward democracy and that Texas gets on a path back to democracy.
Re: Russia: I just hope our tech people are better than their tech people because it's the cyber warfare I fear. Disrupting us domestically could make our divisions worse.
From Millicent Gray
The question, in broad lines, is Democracy or Autocracy. Now is the time for our country to step up and support President Biden wholeheartedly. He is a wise and savvy man and runs a tight ship. We are fortunate to rely on him and his staff for our Commander-in-Chief. He has spent his whole life preparing for the glitches and set-backs of public service. I admire him greatly.
You wrote: "The GOP is united only in its conviction that whatever President Biden has done or will do is wrong. Worse, some factions of the GOP cheer Putin as he unleashes an illegal war that will kill tens of thousands of innocent Ukrainians lawfully defending their nation."
I think it is time to call out those factions, repeatedly and loudly. We can make some "good trouble" by shining the light on them and the harm they are doing.