So vexing to hear over the weekend Republicans, and even some Democrats, blaming Joe Biden for the state of the economy. As someone who spent their entire career involved with the capital markets, I can tell you that Biden has done a good job shepherding us through the pandemic and addressing inflation. Maybe not an A, but at least a B/B+.
If anyone is looking for a villain behind high interest rates and inflation, it’s not Joe Biden. It’s Jerome Powell, Chair of the Federal Reserve System. The pandemic caused bottlenecks that hurt the economy and led to higher prices, as did higher energy costs. But these were exogenous factors. Powell could have acted early and effectively to combat these inflationary pressures, but, instead, he caved into Trump’s harassment and kept interest rates far too low for far long.
After Powell first took office in 2018, he tried to do the right thing and began to raise rates in order to cool off the economy. But then Trump came down on him, hard and in public. Afraid that higher rates would derail the economy and the stock market, he harangued Powell incessantly. And Powell gave in, lowering rates in late 2019 and keeping them low through the 2020 election. Now Biden is president and Powell has presided over an unprecedented spike in rates, pushing up prices, slamming the economy and the throttling the stock market. Joe Biden has done what he could. Jerome Powell has hurt the economy, the country, and the prospects for Democrats in the upcoming election.
Why hasn't the war crimes trial of Putin started even if it means an empty chair for Putin. How can a civilized world continue to tolerate this horror to continue? Isn't there a way to penetrate the Kremlin and take him out? Why is NATO not acting in response to the possibility/probability of taking out the dam and jeopardizing so many lives with the nuclear power plants out of control? Is a nuclear power plant explosion less horrendous than a deliberately dropped nuclear weapon? When are the Russian people/oligarchs going to rebel and take Putin out of power? It is time for NATO and the UN to step in -- either Putin is removed from power or Russia is totally cut off from the rest of the world and its economy. Other than the "threat" of nuclear weapons when it seems a nuclear catastrophe is inevitable sooner than later, why are we waiting any longer for more thousands of people to die. It is time to stop Putin!
What I don't understand is Democrats not pointing out that the inflation is driven by Republicans: oil companies have made a windfall profit and have kept oil and gas extraordinarily high priced for consumers while blaming the Democrats for this. Such hypocrisy.
"What do you call it when the leader of one country tries to freeze to death an entire civilian population in order to achieve his military expansionist goals?"
You call it GENOCIDE.
And if the chardonnay-swilling, cucumber sandwish-snarfing Volvo drivers don't like it, then as we used to say in the Navy, "Take your Tough Shit card to the chaplain, and he will punch you."
As to the dumbassed traitors here, if the Dims in DC lose, and want to defuse the spending limit bomb, then in the lame-duck, they pass a spending limit that runs out in September 2024 and dare the Republicans to take it hostage during Dear Leader's re-election campaign. Or they [pass a debt limit that won't run out for 15 years and kills if effectively. Since they have Sinemannhin to deal with, they can't just carve out a filibuster exception and kill it dead. The action can be taken as "reconciliation," and they have a "reconciliation" left to use, so it only takes 50 votes in the Senate. Even Sinemanchin can figure this out.
Regarding the use of “genocide”. This was first used at the Nuremberg trials and the word was coined by Rafael Lemkin who was referring to groups of people. Hersh Lauterpact used “crimes against humanity” which was used more broadly at Nuremberg to mean individuals.
I took a media break for awhile because I was sick. Upon returning I was/wasn't surprised to see how amped up, screaming doom (on both sides), loaded words, angry faces, angry voices, illogical viewpoints, media saturation, lies (on both sides), the midterms have become. Being politically active is one thing. Allowing ourselves to be consumed by the 24 hour news cycle is a huge waste of time and is most definitely not healthy.
"In missive #21 (Don’t Believe It) on Tuesday, he addressed the issue of political fatalism, specifically the media narrative that the party in power necessarily does poorly in midterm elections.
“The effect of this kind of reporting can be jarring – it can get inside the average American’s head and scramble it,” Moore wrote. “You can start to feel deflated. You want to quit. You start believing that we liberals are a bunch of losers. And by thinking of ourselves this way, if you’re not careful, you begin to manifest the old narrative into existence.”
Thank you, again, Robert, for your wonderful support of The States Project Giving Circles! With 2 weeks until Nov. 8, this is a great reminder for how to work smart, including to support each Giving Circle's Rapid Response fundraising for last-minute state legislative electoral opportunities (like when a sure-win Dem candidate in Arizona dropped out, so now voters have to be educated to write in the name of the new candidate), ballot curing, helping with recounts, etc.
And big thanks to all donors!
Also, dear fellow Hubbell GC leaders, we'd love to hear from you to share ideas and support each other!
Ellie Kona on behalf of Tending to Democracy Giving Circle
Remember when the NRA laundered rubles for Republicans and Ron Johnson and others went to visit Putin? When Ivanka enjoyed sitting in Putin's chair? Today we have ex-generals helping out Saudi Arabia -- MBS and Putin are pals and both enjoy messing around with us. MBS tortured a friend of mine. The Putinists on Faux News and in our government are straight-up traitors. Don't even get me started. Evil is loud and proud these days.....
The Democrats have failed to deliver effective messaging, which should be EASY, given all the Republican antics. If you are not offended by profanity, I encourage you to watch this. It tells in blunt terms why you should not vote for Republicans at all. Again, if you know folks who would appreciate this message, please pass it on. (TC this should be right up your alley!)
Your point on Social Security and Medicare is well taken and the Democrats need to do much more than make statements. Some legislative action to secure future financial stability is in order and could be published even during the pre-election recess for immediate attention on their return.
Like some other posters, I don't understand or support the DoJ going to sleep until Nov. 9 in what appears to be an attempt at maintaining business as usual. The authoritarians certainly have not.
Thank you as always. I try to hold on to your exhortations to ignore (not entirely) the polls. I give money and write postcards. But --- once again the mainstream media has a corrosive impact on my emotional state. I do follow your advice - but the current drumbeat of 'Dem Disaster' engenders despair that I (and your readers) try to ignore. And -- the English language has run out of adjectives to describe the utter mendacity and moral bankruptcy of the Replicans.
While Robert Hubbell bravely offers the nation clarity and hope in his heartening daily dispatches, America burns in an information inferno fueled by the lies manufactured by the ruling elites who control the corporate, capitalistic economy. It seems pretty clear after reading Thomas Piketty's Capital in the Twenty-First Century that "The GOP's allegiance to Putin isn't front page headlines everywhere, every day" because the corrupt corporate-owned media obediently serves the interests of money and power instead of truth and justice. The situation makes one wonder if the lack of action on the DOJ's part, i.e., its reluctance to hold "Trump and his traitor accomplices" accountable," as you put it, investigate Putin's relationship with the GOP as well as the price gouging by the oil companies, are part of the same tendency of our government agencies nowadays to favor the interests of an economy rigged in favor of the plutocrats and oligarchs instead of the welfare of the American people. If true, this trend may also explain the widespread apathy among Americans who perceive that the economy is rigged against them and opt out in despair. When George Bernard Shaw famously said " The lack of money is the root of all evil" he had the gross injustice of economic inequality in mind, a symptom of the greed that's driven civilizations to worship Mammon and suffer drastic consequences throughout the ages, an insidious disease that's only cure may be the rock band Ten Years After's prescription for radial democracy: "Tax the rich, feed the poor, until there are no rich no more!"
Thank you Robert for your daily pep talks! Last Saturday's was especially effective. I've sent it to many friends to help them crawl out of their hand-wringing and get busy.
As for me, I'm headed to Milwaukee Wisconsin on November 3rd with a 30+ strong group from the Seattle area, associated with Common Power. Folks from any part of the country are welcome to join us (or if you want to be part of a CP group in another battleground state, there are options there too.) My wife and I have been part of this effort in WI in 2018 and 2020 and there is NOTHING like being on the ground, talking with voters, helping them navigate the voting system, etc. The CP group has a well-oiled relationship with the WisDems and other groups that know how to use us effectively. And when 30 or 40 of us show up at Dem headquarters we offer a meaningful boost to the local volunteers who can scarcely believe we've made the 2,000 mile trek to join them. Plus, we form a community for mutual support. Can't think of a better group to share election night with! Still time to join up and make your hotel reservation: https://community.commonpower.io/main/groups/49906/lounge/posts/930285?tab=comment
You are right, of course. Most Americans have no understanding of fiscal or monetary policy. What they understand is higher prices at the supermarket and at the pump. So it is incumbent on Democrats to convince voters that we can do more for them than Republicans to address their personal, immediate, concerns.
On the usage of the word genocide regarding Putin. I think it's also fair to point out that Putin has also been kidnapping Ukrainian children and is trying to erase their identity.
There's so much I don't understand:
1. Why the GOP's allegiance to Putin isn't front page headlines everywhere, every day.
2. Why the J6 committee and DOJ are being so polite to Trump and his traitor accomplices.
3. Why no one's been arresting for stealing government property - the White House documents stashed at Mar-a-Lago. Trump didn't do it by himself.
4. Why the J6 committee and the DOJ believe anything these scumbags say, even under oath.
5. Why no one's investigating what kompromat Putin has on Trump and the GOP leadership and members of Congress.
6.Why no Congressional committee is investigating the oil companies and other companies that are driving up prices and reaping windfall profits.
7. Why President Biden hasn't said he'll appoint a Presidential Commission to investigate J6 if the GOP takes the House next month.
8. How so many Americans aren't even following the news. Or voting. Or caring.
Thank you, Robert Hubbell, for offering hope and clarity in the midst of real fears about our future.
So vexing to hear over the weekend Republicans, and even some Democrats, blaming Joe Biden for the state of the economy. As someone who spent their entire career involved with the capital markets, I can tell you that Biden has done a good job shepherding us through the pandemic and addressing inflation. Maybe not an A, but at least a B/B+.
If anyone is looking for a villain behind high interest rates and inflation, it’s not Joe Biden. It’s Jerome Powell, Chair of the Federal Reserve System. The pandemic caused bottlenecks that hurt the economy and led to higher prices, as did higher energy costs. But these were exogenous factors. Powell could have acted early and effectively to combat these inflationary pressures, but, instead, he caved into Trump’s harassment and kept interest rates far too low for far long.
After Powell first took office in 2018, he tried to do the right thing and began to raise rates in order to cool off the economy. But then Trump came down on him, hard and in public. Afraid that higher rates would derail the economy and the stock market, he harangued Powell incessantly. And Powell gave in, lowering rates in late 2019 and keeping them low through the 2020 election. Now Biden is president and Powell has presided over an unprecedented spike in rates, pushing up prices, slamming the economy and the throttling the stock market. Joe Biden has done what he could. Jerome Powell has hurt the economy, the country, and the prospects for Democrats in the upcoming election.
Why hasn't the war crimes trial of Putin started even if it means an empty chair for Putin. How can a civilized world continue to tolerate this horror to continue? Isn't there a way to penetrate the Kremlin and take him out? Why is NATO not acting in response to the possibility/probability of taking out the dam and jeopardizing so many lives with the nuclear power plants out of control? Is a nuclear power plant explosion less horrendous than a deliberately dropped nuclear weapon? When are the Russian people/oligarchs going to rebel and take Putin out of power? It is time for NATO and the UN to step in -- either Putin is removed from power or Russia is totally cut off from the rest of the world and its economy. Other than the "threat" of nuclear weapons when it seems a nuclear catastrophe is inevitable sooner than later, why are we waiting any longer for more thousands of people to die. It is time to stop Putin!
What I don't understand is Democrats not pointing out that the inflation is driven by Republicans: oil companies have made a windfall profit and have kept oil and gas extraordinarily high priced for consumers while blaming the Democrats for this. Such hypocrisy.
"What do you call it when the leader of one country tries to freeze to death an entire civilian population in order to achieve his military expansionist goals?"
You call it GENOCIDE.
And if the chardonnay-swilling, cucumber sandwish-snarfing Volvo drivers don't like it, then as we used to say in the Navy, "Take your Tough Shit card to the chaplain, and he will punch you."
As to the dumbassed traitors here, if the Dims in DC lose, and want to defuse the spending limit bomb, then in the lame-duck, they pass a spending limit that runs out in September 2024 and dare the Republicans to take it hostage during Dear Leader's re-election campaign. Or they [pass a debt limit that won't run out for 15 years and kills if effectively. Since they have Sinemannhin to deal with, they can't just carve out a filibuster exception and kill it dead. The action can be taken as "reconciliation," and they have a "reconciliation" left to use, so it only takes 50 votes in the Senate. Even Sinemanchin can figure this out.
Regarding the use of “genocide”. This was first used at the Nuremberg trials and the word was coined by Rafael Lemkin who was referring to groups of people. Hersh Lauterpact used “crimes against humanity” which was used more broadly at Nuremberg to mean individuals.
Putin falls into both categories.
I took a media break for awhile because I was sick. Upon returning I was/wasn't surprised to see how amped up, screaming doom (on both sides), loaded words, angry faces, angry voices, illogical viewpoints, media saturation, lies (on both sides), the midterms have become. Being politically active is one thing. Allowing ourselves to be consumed by the 24 hour news cycle is a huge waste of time and is most definitely not healthy.
"In missive #21 (Don’t Believe It) on Tuesday, he addressed the issue of political fatalism, specifically the media narrative that the party in power necessarily does poorly in midterm elections.
“The effect of this kind of reporting can be jarring – it can get inside the average American’s head and scramble it,” Moore wrote. “You can start to feel deflated. You want to quit. You start believing that we liberals are a bunch of losers. And by thinking of ourselves this way, if you’re not careful, you begin to manifest the old narrative into existence.”
Michael Moore, The Guardian October 2022
Thank you, again, Robert, for your wonderful support of The States Project Giving Circles! With 2 weeks until Nov. 8, this is a great reminder for how to work smart, including to support each Giving Circle's Rapid Response fundraising for last-minute state legislative electoral opportunities (like when a sure-win Dem candidate in Arizona dropped out, so now voters have to be educated to write in the name of the new candidate), ballot curing, helping with recounts, etc.
And big thanks to all donors!
Also, dear fellow Hubbell GC leaders, we'd love to hear from you to share ideas and support each other!
Ellie Kona on behalf of Tending to Democracy Giving Circle
https://www.grapevine.org/giving-circle/1XQhnyD/Tending-to-Democracy
Remember when the NRA laundered rubles for Republicans and Ron Johnson and others went to visit Putin? When Ivanka enjoyed sitting in Putin's chair? Today we have ex-generals helping out Saudi Arabia -- MBS and Putin are pals and both enjoy messing around with us. MBS tortured a friend of mine. The Putinists on Faux News and in our government are straight-up traitors. Don't even get me started. Evil is loud and proud these days.....
The Democrats have failed to deliver effective messaging, which should be EASY, given all the Republican antics. If you are not offended by profanity, I encourage you to watch this. It tells in blunt terms why you should not vote for Republicans at all. Again, if you know folks who would appreciate this message, please pass it on. (TC this should be right up your alley!)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtQpACzZn5I
Your point on Social Security and Medicare is well taken and the Democrats need to do much more than make statements. Some legislative action to secure future financial stability is in order and could be published even during the pre-election recess for immediate attention on their return.
Like some other posters, I don't understand or support the DoJ going to sleep until Nov. 9 in what appears to be an attempt at maintaining business as usual. The authoritarians certainly have not.
Robert
Thank you as always. I try to hold on to your exhortations to ignore (not entirely) the polls. I give money and write postcards. But --- once again the mainstream media has a corrosive impact on my emotional state. I do follow your advice - but the current drumbeat of 'Dem Disaster' engenders despair that I (and your readers) try to ignore. And -- the English language has run out of adjectives to describe the utter mendacity and moral bankruptcy of the Replicans.
While Robert Hubbell bravely offers the nation clarity and hope in his heartening daily dispatches, America burns in an information inferno fueled by the lies manufactured by the ruling elites who control the corporate, capitalistic economy. It seems pretty clear after reading Thomas Piketty's Capital in the Twenty-First Century that "The GOP's allegiance to Putin isn't front page headlines everywhere, every day" because the corrupt corporate-owned media obediently serves the interests of money and power instead of truth and justice. The situation makes one wonder if the lack of action on the DOJ's part, i.e., its reluctance to hold "Trump and his traitor accomplices" accountable," as you put it, investigate Putin's relationship with the GOP as well as the price gouging by the oil companies, are part of the same tendency of our government agencies nowadays to favor the interests of an economy rigged in favor of the plutocrats and oligarchs instead of the welfare of the American people. If true, this trend may also explain the widespread apathy among Americans who perceive that the economy is rigged against them and opt out in despair. When George Bernard Shaw famously said " The lack of money is the root of all evil" he had the gross injustice of economic inequality in mind, a symptom of the greed that's driven civilizations to worship Mammon and suffer drastic consequences throughout the ages, an insidious disease that's only cure may be the rock band Ten Years After's prescription for radial democracy: "Tax the rich, feed the poor, until there are no rich no more!"
Thank you Robert for your daily pep talks! Last Saturday's was especially effective. I've sent it to many friends to help them crawl out of their hand-wringing and get busy.
As for me, I'm headed to Milwaukee Wisconsin on November 3rd with a 30+ strong group from the Seattle area, associated with Common Power. Folks from any part of the country are welcome to join us (or if you want to be part of a CP group in another battleground state, there are options there too.) My wife and I have been part of this effort in WI in 2018 and 2020 and there is NOTHING like being on the ground, talking with voters, helping them navigate the voting system, etc. The CP group has a well-oiled relationship with the WisDems and other groups that know how to use us effectively. And when 30 or 40 of us show up at Dem headquarters we offer a meaningful boost to the local volunteers who can scarcely believe we've made the 2,000 mile trek to join them. Plus, we form a community for mutual support. Can't think of a better group to share election night with! Still time to join up and make your hotel reservation: https://community.commonpower.io/main/groups/49906/lounge/posts/930285?tab=comment
You are right, of course. Most Americans have no understanding of fiscal or monetary policy. What they understand is higher prices at the supermarket and at the pump. So it is incumbent on Democrats to convince voters that we can do more for them than Republicans to address their personal, immediate, concerns.
Hi Robert,
On the usage of the word genocide regarding Putin. I think it's also fair to point out that Putin has also been kidnapping Ukrainian children and is trying to erase their identity.