Another way to offset the RNC election subversion via trained-to-be-disruptive pollworkers is for people of integrity among us to sign up as election workers. In 2020, it was one of the best things I ever did, and I'm up for it again starting this weekend.
I've been thinking about the 2nd Amendment. When that amendment was originally written and ratified, there was no such thing as a semi-automatic, let alone a fully automatic weapon or one that is specifically designed to kill people as rapidly as possible. If there were no 2nd amendment and such an amendment was just being written today, you can bet your last nickel the it would be loaded with numerous limitations and stipulations, including (with legalese provided by lawyers):
1. All semi- and fully automatic weapons are outlawed (as in Canada and New Zealand and . . )
2. Whenever a gun changes ownership, there must be a background check of the new owner. No exceptions.
3. Guns will be treated like cars. If you want to drive a car on public streets, you must pass written and oral tests and a driving test. All cars must be registered. The same will apply to guns.
In your column yesterday, you pointed out, once again, the venal, cruel hypocrisy of the Republicans regarding their non-support of mental health, while blaming mental disease for the executions. As I psychiatrist I am confronted with this every day. The insurance companies (with Republican support) obstruct at every opportunity to provide mental health care. Submitting claims is a nightmare, with arbitrary rejections, requiring hours on the phone listening to terrible music and then after a 20 minute wait, being told that this is the wrong number. Prescribing medications I commonly use has become a nightmare. Meds that patients have received for years are refused, either suggesting using an alternative or requiring a 'prior authorization.' Patients think the authorization comes from me. Not so. I have to fill out forms and 'request' that the drug be allowed. This is no way to provide care for people with any issue around their mental health (or medical illness for that matter) Finally, it's ludicrous to think that 'spotting these people in a mental health clinic' is realistic. People who shoot to kill will not show up for help.
You and many others have been opining that "the core issue [is]—too many guns designed to kill people quickly and efficiently." Of course this is an important issue, and its importance is underlined by the "natural experiment" in Australia. But is this really the "core" issue? Isn't the core issue the American fascination with / need for guns?
Like other American boys, when I was young, my hero wielded a gun--though I must say, the fact that my hero--Roy Rogers--always shot to disarm the bad guys by shooting their guns out of their hands, seemed both wonderful and absurd to me. When I was older--during the years of air-raid drills in the school hallways and basements--I drew pictures of missile trajectories and collected cards of Russian and American fighter jets.
But how did I acquire this fascination with shooting and violent imagery? It wasn't because I knew anything about the 2nd Amendment. But throughout my childhood, American films promoted the glories of WWII and of the Wild West where men could be men. And throughout my whole life the Pentagon budget has grown, year by year--except for a short period during the Obama years--to absurd proportions, while American presidents have promoted wars all over the globe.
It seems to me that, even if State governments were to restrict the legal sale of destructive weapons, the American idea that the courageous reaction to fear, sorrow and pain is to attack one's (supposed) enemies with deadly force, as long as "standing one's ground" is the American thing to do, as long as the example which our government and our film and internet gaming industry constantly "bombard" us with images of violence... we should not be surprised that some American men--and it is men, not women(!)--will turn to violence rather than learning to bear the pains of being human.
Though guns and abortion are hot button issues, a CNN poll shows that the uppermost concern for voters is inflation. My dark suspicion is that as soon as the congress turns back over to Republicans, the Saudis will ease oil prices. After all, Trump treated them with incredible "respect" despite the fact that they murdered dismembered a journalist, and Jared Kushner just got a gigantic payback from the Saudis to invest in his more than dubious investment firm. they roll back prices, inflation decreases, and the GOP takeover of the USA will be complete. Please tell me there's no way this would happen.
Retired teacher here, with a question: When Ted Cruz insists there should only be a single, fortified door per school, is that literal? What if there’s a fire? My district had weekly fire drills for the first month of school and then once a month for the remainder of the school year. Our goal was to empty the school in under 3 minutes. If the entire school population had to use the same door?? One time in my teaching career we had a gas leak scare and the school was immediately evacuated. Again, with everyone using one door? I’d also like more information from the Arm the Teachers supporters. Exactly where is this gun supposed to be stored in a classroom? It would have to locked away unloaded (a loaded gun in a classroom is utter insanity). So—if a teacher hears gunshots or is informed there’s an armed intruder in the school, they must get their keys, unlock the gun, locate the bullets and load the gun, and prepare to possibly shoot a human while their students watch? Gosh, what could go wrong? What if the teacher is still shot and a student grabs the gun and accidentally shoots a classmate? I could go and on with the horrible possibilities that could happen. I just don’t understand why Arm the Teachers and Mass Shootings Will Stop proponents are pretending that’s a viable solution. It’s beyond comprehension.
I appreciate your almost daily efforts, Mr. Hubbell, thank you.
I have a question for Robert and other subscribers. What extraordinary election countermeasures does the DNC and the DSCC have in place, or in the works? Better, what measures or tactics are the DNC or DSCC going to employ to affect the outcome of upcoming elections and when are they going to start? I'm not talking about 'get out the vote' or other routine actions that have been taken every election since before we were born. When are Democrats going to start to be as aggressively proactive as Republicans have been for the last 40+ years? When Republicans are in power they spend the entire time prosecuting Democrats and particularly the most powerful ones. Republicans use government to attack Democrats and protect Republicans. Barr is one obvious example.
The reason I appreciate the Today's Edition is because it connects the dots and reminds me about the Republican's endless unethical and often criminal activities. I get overwhelmed and I simply can't recall everything that has happened with any specificity. For decades now the Republicans have methodically worked to thwart majority rule and permanently install a plutocratic/kleptocratic state. Their actions are unambiguously duplicitous and subversive and basically un-American. To a greater and lesser degree, every Republican is in violation of their oath of office. Why require an oath of office if it isn't enforced??
My enduring frustration is the complete failure of Democrats to combat and defeat a political party that has clearly and demonstratively gone off the rails and is utterly corrupt. The minority Republican Party is willing and determined to overthrow our government! Hello? I'm mostly focused on the Democratic politicians, but I see too many Democratic faithful (present company excluded) defending and enabling the weak and feckless Democratic leadership. I wish I had a dollar for every excuse I've read or heard!
So, I get the fact that we need to come together to preserve our democratic values. But, I strongly suggest the reason we don't come together is because too many in the Democratic Party and particularly the Democratic leadership are not progressives and are constantly engaged in triangulation. There is a reason the moderates in the party are called corporate centrists. Nancy Pelosi weakly touts key progressive common sense programs while behind the scenes she is smoothing the ruffled feathers of wealthy donors and promising them that she will protect their interests. Democratic leadership is notorious for squashing progressive voices. Schumer, unlike McConnell cannot unite his caucus because he and most members are joined at the hip with their wealthy donors and/or are protecting their personal financial interests. At some point, talk is cheap Chuck! Republicans have been quick to dethrone RINOs; Democrats "put up" with DINOs even as they undermine and weaken the entire party.
We shouldn't be where we are today - struggling to preserve democracy. If we don't resolve our differences, this party will never unite in a common cause - a common destiny. The Democratic Party is either solidly progressive upholding long-held liberal Democratic values or it is a hodge-podge of competing views that ultimately divide and undermine the party.
"Preserving democracy" is not a kitchen table issue, particularly in a society that is focused on self-gratification and self-preservation. It's a dog-eat-dog world and the idea of what's best for the country does not resonate with most people. Republicans pick issues that resonate even if they are minority issues and they do whatever is necessary to bring home the bacon.
Six months out from another election and I see nothing different or proactive occurring in the Democratic Party that will expose, prosecute and convict the criminal Republican cabal. Forget about the courts, especially this Supreme Court abomination. Biden and the Democrats can't even agree to expand the court. Forget about Garland and the Justice Department indicting Trump and many Republicans in Congress. Garland won't even take the step to enforce Congressional subpoenas. I could go on and on and in fact, I could make a list of thousands of failings of the Democratic Party to proactively combat the relentless attack of a minority far-right, ultra-extreme political party who without question has blood on their hands, and who is responsible for the needless deaths of 100's of thousands of Americans.
Frankly, for the last 40+ years I've gotten zero return on my votes and contributions.
Jun 2, 2022·edited Jun 2, 2022Liked by Robert B. Hubbell
Needing something to hold the people of the country together under a strong national government, James Madison, in 1789, drafted a deliberately weak and ambiguous 2nd Amendment that delivered a vague gesture of the idea of the importance of state militia. Until recently, I’ve imagined we’ve been prisoners of this virtually meaningless text that, regrettably, plays directly into the crisis of gun violence in this country. However, as of late, I’ve come to believe that we’re being held hostage by white rural and ex-urban voters, whose votes Republicans fear they’d lose were they to support any meaningful gun control restrictions.
Adding insult to injury, imagine my delight when I learned earlier today that the RNC is placing mostly 2020 election deniers into positions of authority within election administrative systems and training them, in largely swing state Democratic precincts, on how to contest voters as well as voting processes.
On this last point, Ellie Kona, who posted earlier, smartly suggested that people of integrity could help offset RNC subversive tactics by signing up as election workers. One just must be sure he or she is putting his or her commendable intentions to work in a swing state.
Jun 2, 2022·edited Jun 2, 2022Liked by Robert B. Hubbell
How common are mass shootings in the U.S.? -
A mass shooting is defined as any incident of gun violence in which 4 or more persons are wounded or killed not including the gunman who may have been injured or killed during the incident.
On May 24th, just over one week ago, 21 people, including 19 school children and two teachers were killed, and another 17 were wounded. This is the second deadliest elementary school shooting in U.S. history.
But do you know how many mass shootings there have been in the U.S. since the Uvalde school shooting on May 24th? There have been 18 mass shootings in the U.S. just since the Uvalde tragedy - 18! In those 18 mass shootings, 13 people have been killed and 84 wounded. And that is just in the last week!
So far in 2022, there have been 230 mass shootings according to this definition. In the full year of 2021 in the U.S., there were 818 mass shootings resulting in the deaths of 920 individuals and 3,141 injured. And these numbers are only through the first week following the Uvalde shooting and do not yet include yesterday’s Tulsa shooting.
It should not be clear that we in the U.S. have a serious gun violence problem. Gun violence is now the leading cause of death among children. more than motor vehicle accidents, more than cancer, the leading cause of children's deaths - gun violence!
We cannot accept that there is nothing we can do or try in an attempt to reduce gun violence. There are solutions we could at least try.
At the request of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, the legislature allocated $10 million to form a 400 member Florida State Guard. The state is asking for 400 volunteers and seeking a director with experience in military-style operations. It appears the governor is seeking his own vigilante militia that can sew chaos wherever the Republicans think necessary. I find this very frightening and think of the Nazi Brownshirts who terrorized Germany.
Beto seems to be focusing his campaign on guns—or perhaps gun insanity is a better term—and Stacey Abrams is going after Brian Kemp on guns and abortion rights. They might just strike sparks. If they do, in Texas and Georgia, it might just change the whole political equation.
The Womens political committee just had a zoom with speaker pelosi and she offered three most important things: 1.own the ground game canvassing 2.clarity of message. 3. Money …to insure a Democratic victory! Marcia herman. LA
Thank you as always Robert for your useful and thorough comments and perspectives!
Extra good letter, Robert.
Another way to offset the RNC election subversion via trained-to-be-disruptive pollworkers is for people of integrity among us to sign up as election workers. In 2020, it was one of the best things I ever did, and I'm up for it again starting this weekend.
I've been thinking about the 2nd Amendment. When that amendment was originally written and ratified, there was no such thing as a semi-automatic, let alone a fully automatic weapon or one that is specifically designed to kill people as rapidly as possible. If there were no 2nd amendment and such an amendment was just being written today, you can bet your last nickel the it would be loaded with numerous limitations and stipulations, including (with legalese provided by lawyers):
1. All semi- and fully automatic weapons are outlawed (as in Canada and New Zealand and . . )
2. Whenever a gun changes ownership, there must be a background check of the new owner. No exceptions.
3. Guns will be treated like cars. If you want to drive a car on public streets, you must pass written and oral tests and a driving test. All cars must be registered. The same will apply to guns.
4. No magazine may hold more than 10 rounds.
In your column yesterday, you pointed out, once again, the venal, cruel hypocrisy of the Republicans regarding their non-support of mental health, while blaming mental disease for the executions. As I psychiatrist I am confronted with this every day. The insurance companies (with Republican support) obstruct at every opportunity to provide mental health care. Submitting claims is a nightmare, with arbitrary rejections, requiring hours on the phone listening to terrible music and then after a 20 minute wait, being told that this is the wrong number. Prescribing medications I commonly use has become a nightmare. Meds that patients have received for years are refused, either suggesting using an alternative or requiring a 'prior authorization.' Patients think the authorization comes from me. Not so. I have to fill out forms and 'request' that the drug be allowed. This is no way to provide care for people with any issue around their mental health (or medical illness for that matter) Finally, it's ludicrous to think that 'spotting these people in a mental health clinic' is realistic. People who shoot to kill will not show up for help.
You and many others have been opining that "the core issue [is]—too many guns designed to kill people quickly and efficiently." Of course this is an important issue, and its importance is underlined by the "natural experiment" in Australia. But is this really the "core" issue? Isn't the core issue the American fascination with / need for guns?
Like other American boys, when I was young, my hero wielded a gun--though I must say, the fact that my hero--Roy Rogers--always shot to disarm the bad guys by shooting their guns out of their hands, seemed both wonderful and absurd to me. When I was older--during the years of air-raid drills in the school hallways and basements--I drew pictures of missile trajectories and collected cards of Russian and American fighter jets.
But how did I acquire this fascination with shooting and violent imagery? It wasn't because I knew anything about the 2nd Amendment. But throughout my childhood, American films promoted the glories of WWII and of the Wild West where men could be men. And throughout my whole life the Pentagon budget has grown, year by year--except for a short period during the Obama years--to absurd proportions, while American presidents have promoted wars all over the globe.
It seems to me that, even if State governments were to restrict the legal sale of destructive weapons, the American idea that the courageous reaction to fear, sorrow and pain is to attack one's (supposed) enemies with deadly force, as long as "standing one's ground" is the American thing to do, as long as the example which our government and our film and internet gaming industry constantly "bombard" us with images of violence... we should not be surprised that some American men--and it is men, not women(!)--will turn to violence rather than learning to bear the pains of being human.
Though guns and abortion are hot button issues, a CNN poll shows that the uppermost concern for voters is inflation. My dark suspicion is that as soon as the congress turns back over to Republicans, the Saudis will ease oil prices. After all, Trump treated them with incredible "respect" despite the fact that they murdered dismembered a journalist, and Jared Kushner just got a gigantic payback from the Saudis to invest in his more than dubious investment firm. they roll back prices, inflation decreases, and the GOP takeover of the USA will be complete. Please tell me there's no way this would happen.
Retired teacher here, with a question: When Ted Cruz insists there should only be a single, fortified door per school, is that literal? What if there’s a fire? My district had weekly fire drills for the first month of school and then once a month for the remainder of the school year. Our goal was to empty the school in under 3 minutes. If the entire school population had to use the same door?? One time in my teaching career we had a gas leak scare and the school was immediately evacuated. Again, with everyone using one door? I’d also like more information from the Arm the Teachers supporters. Exactly where is this gun supposed to be stored in a classroom? It would have to locked away unloaded (a loaded gun in a classroom is utter insanity). So—if a teacher hears gunshots or is informed there’s an armed intruder in the school, they must get their keys, unlock the gun, locate the bullets and load the gun, and prepare to possibly shoot a human while their students watch? Gosh, what could go wrong? What if the teacher is still shot and a student grabs the gun and accidentally shoots a classmate? I could go and on with the horrible possibilities that could happen. I just don’t understand why Arm the Teachers and Mass Shootings Will Stop proponents are pretending that’s a viable solution. It’s beyond comprehension.
I appreciate your almost daily efforts, Mr. Hubbell, thank you.
I have a question for Robert and other subscribers. What extraordinary election countermeasures does the DNC and the DSCC have in place, or in the works? Better, what measures or tactics are the DNC or DSCC going to employ to affect the outcome of upcoming elections and when are they going to start? I'm not talking about 'get out the vote' or other routine actions that have been taken every election since before we were born. When are Democrats going to start to be as aggressively proactive as Republicans have been for the last 40+ years? When Republicans are in power they spend the entire time prosecuting Democrats and particularly the most powerful ones. Republicans use government to attack Democrats and protect Republicans. Barr is one obvious example.
The reason I appreciate the Today's Edition is because it connects the dots and reminds me about the Republican's endless unethical and often criminal activities. I get overwhelmed and I simply can't recall everything that has happened with any specificity. For decades now the Republicans have methodically worked to thwart majority rule and permanently install a plutocratic/kleptocratic state. Their actions are unambiguously duplicitous and subversive and basically un-American. To a greater and lesser degree, every Republican is in violation of their oath of office. Why require an oath of office if it isn't enforced??
My enduring frustration is the complete failure of Democrats to combat and defeat a political party that has clearly and demonstratively gone off the rails and is utterly corrupt. The minority Republican Party is willing and determined to overthrow our government! Hello? I'm mostly focused on the Democratic politicians, but I see too many Democratic faithful (present company excluded) defending and enabling the weak and feckless Democratic leadership. I wish I had a dollar for every excuse I've read or heard!
So, I get the fact that we need to come together to preserve our democratic values. But, I strongly suggest the reason we don't come together is because too many in the Democratic Party and particularly the Democratic leadership are not progressives and are constantly engaged in triangulation. There is a reason the moderates in the party are called corporate centrists. Nancy Pelosi weakly touts key progressive common sense programs while behind the scenes she is smoothing the ruffled feathers of wealthy donors and promising them that she will protect their interests. Democratic leadership is notorious for squashing progressive voices. Schumer, unlike McConnell cannot unite his caucus because he and most members are joined at the hip with their wealthy donors and/or are protecting their personal financial interests. At some point, talk is cheap Chuck! Republicans have been quick to dethrone RINOs; Democrats "put up" with DINOs even as they undermine and weaken the entire party.
We shouldn't be where we are today - struggling to preserve democracy. If we don't resolve our differences, this party will never unite in a common cause - a common destiny. The Democratic Party is either solidly progressive upholding long-held liberal Democratic values or it is a hodge-podge of competing views that ultimately divide and undermine the party.
"Preserving democracy" is not a kitchen table issue, particularly in a society that is focused on self-gratification and self-preservation. It's a dog-eat-dog world and the idea of what's best for the country does not resonate with most people. Republicans pick issues that resonate even if they are minority issues and they do whatever is necessary to bring home the bacon.
Six months out from another election and I see nothing different or proactive occurring in the Democratic Party that will expose, prosecute and convict the criminal Republican cabal. Forget about the courts, especially this Supreme Court abomination. Biden and the Democrats can't even agree to expand the court. Forget about Garland and the Justice Department indicting Trump and many Republicans in Congress. Garland won't even take the step to enforce Congressional subpoenas. I could go on and on and in fact, I could make a list of thousands of failings of the Democratic Party to proactively combat the relentless attack of a minority far-right, ultra-extreme political party who without question has blood on their hands, and who is responsible for the needless deaths of 100's of thousands of Americans.
Frankly, for the last 40+ years I've gotten zero return on my votes and contributions.
Needing something to hold the people of the country together under a strong national government, James Madison, in 1789, drafted a deliberately weak and ambiguous 2nd Amendment that delivered a vague gesture of the idea of the importance of state militia. Until recently, I’ve imagined we’ve been prisoners of this virtually meaningless text that, regrettably, plays directly into the crisis of gun violence in this country. However, as of late, I’ve come to believe that we’re being held hostage by white rural and ex-urban voters, whose votes Republicans fear they’d lose were they to support any meaningful gun control restrictions.
Adding insult to injury, imagine my delight when I learned earlier today that the RNC is placing mostly 2020 election deniers into positions of authority within election administrative systems and training them, in largely swing state Democratic precincts, on how to contest voters as well as voting processes.
On this last point, Ellie Kona, who posted earlier, smartly suggested that people of integrity could help offset RNC subversive tactics by signing up as election workers. One just must be sure he or she is putting his or her commendable intentions to work in a swing state.
How common are mass shootings in the U.S.? -
A mass shooting is defined as any incident of gun violence in which 4 or more persons are wounded or killed not including the gunman who may have been injured or killed during the incident.
On May 24th, just over one week ago, 21 people, including 19 school children and two teachers were killed, and another 17 were wounded. This is the second deadliest elementary school shooting in U.S. history.
But do you know how many mass shootings there have been in the U.S. since the Uvalde school shooting on May 24th? There have been 18 mass shootings in the U.S. just since the Uvalde tragedy - 18! In those 18 mass shootings, 13 people have been killed and 84 wounded. And that is just in the last week!
So far in 2022, there have been 230 mass shootings according to this definition. In the full year of 2021 in the U.S., there were 818 mass shootings resulting in the deaths of 920 individuals and 3,141 injured. And these numbers are only through the first week following the Uvalde shooting and do not yet include yesterday’s Tulsa shooting.
It should not be clear that we in the U.S. have a serious gun violence problem. Gun violence is now the leading cause of death among children. more than motor vehicle accidents, more than cancer, the leading cause of children's deaths - gun violence!
We cannot accept that there is nothing we can do or try in an attempt to reduce gun violence. There are solutions we could at least try.
https://www.gunviolencearchive.org/reports/mass-shooting
At the request of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, the legislature allocated $10 million to form a 400 member Florida State Guard. The state is asking for 400 volunteers and seeking a director with experience in military-style operations. It appears the governor is seeking his own vigilante militia that can sew chaos wherever the Republicans think necessary. I find this very frightening and think of the Nazi Brownshirts who terrorized Germany.
MA has the lowest gun deaths and the strictest gun laws.
https://www.vox.com/2018/11/13/17658028/massachusetts-gun-control-laws-licenses
How can we also get Congress to rescind the law(s) that gives the death merchants aka gun industry liability protection against these mass shootings ?
We should all sign up to be poll workers as well.
Check out this site and select your state: https://www.eac.gov/help-america-vote
Beto seems to be focusing his campaign on guns—or perhaps gun insanity is a better term—and Stacey Abrams is going after Brian Kemp on guns and abortion rights. They might just strike sparks. If they do, in Texas and Georgia, it might just change the whole political equation.
The Womens political committee just had a zoom with speaker pelosi and she offered three most important things: 1.own the ground game canvassing 2.clarity of message. 3. Money …to insure a Democratic victory! Marcia herman. LA
Thank you as always Robert for your useful and thorough comments and perspectives!
All in plain sight, and the MSM yawns. Our "free press" is aiding and abetting the coup. Shame on them all (a hefty percentage)