I’m writing this comment after reading the first part of today’s message, about lying and it’s ill effects. Your email, Robert, arrived right after my late night browsing of the highlights of the day’s news. And learning of Mitch McConnell’s brief speechless moments. And he brings to mind another sidekick to that of lying: lack of courage.
At the conclusion of the post January 6th impeachment hearing, didn’t McConnell more less outright state Trump’s guilt?
And yet he kicked the can down the road saying it would be up to future proceedings to bring Trump to Justice. That could have been a moment of courage. And as with repeated lying, repeated omissions of courage eat at the sinews of democracy, as you well express it. And citizens are experiencing that long and winding road that may or may not result in a due and just outcome. It is shocking even to imagine that the instigator and catalyst of an attack on the heart of our democracy remains free and poised to be a candidate for the presidential office of the democracy he attacked (and continues to do so). Thanks to men and women of courage who step in where McConnell stepped out.
There are several keys to making the Supreme Court once again legitimate. Right now illegitimate is a legitimate description of the present Court -- at least 2/3's of it. We do have three Justices - Justices Sotomayor, Kagan and Jackson (note all women) -- who are working hard to pull the Court back to its mission of defending the Constitution and its precedents and protection of freedoms. Yes, establishing ethics as Senator Whitehouse is leading is something that perhaps can be done in this Congress. The next Congress needs to make the John Lewis Voting Rights Act into law as one of its highest priorities. With in the Voting Rights Act is campaign reform and the end of Citizens United which is basically legalized corruption of our elected officials. The Alabama legislature defying the Supreme Court even as I abhor its bias and unfairness, almost gets an attaboy from me for telling the Supreme Court to go pound sand. I will NOT live in the theocratic oligarchic kleptocracy - a theolikle -- and feel civil disobedience (with an acceptance of its consequences) has a legitimate role of defiance under this Court's blatant and knowingly twisted rulings taking away the freedoms that the Constitution guarantees. No, Robert, please stand your ground on the illegitimacy of two-thirds of this Court. Let's get legitimate defenders of the People elected to the Congress to put the much needed checks to give us back a legitimate Supreme Court. We, the People, all of us this time!
Living in NYC in 2001 I worked with local, state and national authorities dealing with the aftermath of 9/11. I don't remember Rudy Giuliani playing any significant or memorable role. He simply did his job and didn't have a nervous breakdown or stroke. But that was enough for him to systematically nurture a narrative that elevated him to the quite profitable hero status of 'America's Mayor'.
Whereas his activities in the wake of 9/11 are rather questionable his role in the insurrection is not. To quote you, Robert, he "was a key conspirator in the attempted coup." From various strange (or telling) voice messages he left during the insurrection it can be assumed that he used his phone rather carelessly. So it must be a true treasure trove for prosecutors.
I hope Freeman and Moss sue the pants off of Giuliani but he shouldn't get away with not having to surrender his phone and its content. It surely would be quite valuable for Jack Smith as well as the coming indictment in Georgia.
I watched the movie “Battleship” and yes there are aliens (recommended viewing!) they have invaded the earth and have taken earthly forms like Giuliani, Trump, DeSantis, Greene, Gaetz, Boebert and countless more.... we are all doomed ...please all spread this info before it’s too late!!!!!
Two things come to my mind after reading todays powerful newsletter. The first is that we individual Americans must keep working for serious Climate Solutions from our government, for sure. But none of us can wait another minute to alter the way we choose to live in order to participate in healing this mess. I beg of my fellow readers to keep asking ourselves if we need to flush every time, need to take an extra ride out to a movie, remember to turn lights off, use less AC, solarize if we can, take fewer airborne vacations and purchase local and sustainable and reduce plastic and generally do we really need to live the way we do? Our power of the purse can render bad companies impotent to continue. We can’t wait for good legislation and keep contributing to Climate Change ourselves. We do have a lot of power, together and collectively as consumers and in the way we live. Perhaps the Pursuit of Happiness needs a bit of a re-think.
The second point is that the other issue with Conspiracy theorist voters is that they vote on one issue, their pet issue and only that issue. If we can possibly help our anti-vax friends to consider other issues such as the environment, at least we will have tried to nudge them out of the rut of single-issue thinking. It’s not easy in my experience, but worth a try. If we have no planet we won’t even be able to address having vaccines or not.
I am so grateful for these newsletters and the knowing that all of you fellow readers are out there caring and working.
"In a culture where leading members of a major political party do not condemn lies but celebrate them, lies become a solvent that dissolves the sinew of truth that binds our nation."
Today's column is a terrific report about the legitimacy and lack of it of our institutions. The corrosive effect on our belief in our institutions is created and supported by lies like those that Rudy Giuliani admitted to. The foolishness of believing that the government has spent 75 years covering up visits by space aliens. More corrosive in our belief in the credibility of our insitutions is that some of them have earned the skepticism they get. The propriety of questioning the legitimacy of the Supreme Court -- both for its irresponsible decisions (It is too late to fix Alabama's congressional districts) and the illegitimate appointment of two of its members. Finally, it is no wonder charlatans like RFK Jr can make us skeptical of pharmaceuticals when the Sacklers' Purdue Pharma and a slew of other drug manufacturers and distributers can be sued, required to make large payments for their responsibility for the damage caused by opioids, and, somehow, still be standing as enormously wealthy people and corporations.
On the Supreme Court, I agree we should not call it illegitimate. A better word for this Court, which I learned from Katie Porter (who I believe picked up the idea from Sen. Whitehouse) is corrupt. The Court is corrupt in the way some of its members were appointed and in the way some of its members conduct themselves. That label, unlike “illegitimate”, would not follow the Court once it reforms or has new members.
It is incredible that Hunter got huge large type headline in our newspaper and Giuliani got a tiny article small type headline on page 6 upper left easy to miss. Hunter headline next to it was 4 columns and about 20 times the font headline 1/3 in length of the page. Giuliani was 1 column 1/6 in length on the page. Trying to give you a visual. If you didn’t mention it today I would have totally missed it thinking it was just another Giuliani lie not this huge deal. It should have been front page above the fold!!!
Your piece fills me with great sadness as I approach my 78th birthday. Are these not the “best of times and the worst of times.”Personally, I was born in the sweet spot of gay liberation. But politically my era has been fighting one rear guard action after another starting with the Republicans of Nixon and Reagan and on to George W and Trump. Now another battle to save democracy. Gone is my dream of a nation more like Western Europe. I will not live to see it. We seem more than ever back in ante bellum America. There was a Big Lie then, more hideous than the Trump Big Lie. It resided in a South still today fertile ground for lies, fear and white Christian nationalism. So little has changed. Of course there has been progress but it remains a question of how many more decades should America be graced with them before we have anything approaching the norms and habits of a progressive nation.
My favorite paragraph in your letter today- especially the part citing bored teenagers:
“And then there is this: Are we to believe that alien spacecraft can navigate across tens of thousands of light years of space, but crash with alarming regularity on Earth? Or how about the fact that there are 15 billion cellphones with cameras on Earth, but we still have nothing more than fuzzy, shaky, pixelated photos of objects that could be alien spacecraft or hubcaps thrown into the air by bored teenagers?”
Having so much respect both for you, Robert, and for Mr. Sykes, I feel almost like I'm having to choose one child or one parent over the other, regarding the question of Supreme Court "legitimacy."
But I think the issue ultimately comes down to a question of whether it's the institution or the individuals who are illegitimate.
1) Would increasing the number of Justices guarantee that future nominees will be truthful during their Congressional testimony? No.
2) Would term limits cause Justices to decide cases more fairly and honestly? No.
3) Would an ethics code limit the influence of wealthy individuals and corporations? Marginally.
Like Mr. Sykes, I don't deny that there's a crisis of trust at the Supreme Court. But the reason is not because of structural flaws in the Court's design. Tempting as it may be to do "something" about this crisis, the only way any institution can retain legitimacy is if those within it act with integrity. Pretending otherwise will only weaken the institution further.
I’m writing this comment after reading the first part of today’s message, about lying and it’s ill effects. Your email, Robert, arrived right after my late night browsing of the highlights of the day’s news. And learning of Mitch McConnell’s brief speechless moments. And he brings to mind another sidekick to that of lying: lack of courage.
At the conclusion of the post January 6th impeachment hearing, didn’t McConnell more less outright state Trump’s guilt?
And yet he kicked the can down the road saying it would be up to future proceedings to bring Trump to Justice. That could have been a moment of courage. And as with repeated lying, repeated omissions of courage eat at the sinews of democracy, as you well express it. And citizens are experiencing that long and winding road that may or may not result in a due and just outcome. It is shocking even to imagine that the instigator and catalyst of an attack on the heart of our democracy remains free and poised to be a candidate for the presidential office of the democracy he attacked (and continues to do so). Thanks to men and women of courage who step in where McConnell stepped out.
So, what IS on his phone he's so desperate to save?
There are several keys to making the Supreme Court once again legitimate. Right now illegitimate is a legitimate description of the present Court -- at least 2/3's of it. We do have three Justices - Justices Sotomayor, Kagan and Jackson (note all women) -- who are working hard to pull the Court back to its mission of defending the Constitution and its precedents and protection of freedoms. Yes, establishing ethics as Senator Whitehouse is leading is something that perhaps can be done in this Congress. The next Congress needs to make the John Lewis Voting Rights Act into law as one of its highest priorities. With in the Voting Rights Act is campaign reform and the end of Citizens United which is basically legalized corruption of our elected officials. The Alabama legislature defying the Supreme Court even as I abhor its bias and unfairness, almost gets an attaboy from me for telling the Supreme Court to go pound sand. I will NOT live in the theocratic oligarchic kleptocracy - a theolikle -- and feel civil disobedience (with an acceptance of its consequences) has a legitimate role of defiance under this Court's blatant and knowingly twisted rulings taking away the freedoms that the Constitution guarantees. No, Robert, please stand your ground on the illegitimacy of two-thirds of this Court. Let's get legitimate defenders of the People elected to the Congress to put the much needed checks to give us back a legitimate Supreme Court. We, the People, all of us this time!
Living in NYC in 2001 I worked with local, state and national authorities dealing with the aftermath of 9/11. I don't remember Rudy Giuliani playing any significant or memorable role. He simply did his job and didn't have a nervous breakdown or stroke. But that was enough for him to systematically nurture a narrative that elevated him to the quite profitable hero status of 'America's Mayor'.
Whereas his activities in the wake of 9/11 are rather questionable his role in the insurrection is not. To quote you, Robert, he "was a key conspirator in the attempted coup." From various strange (or telling) voice messages he left during the insurrection it can be assumed that he used his phone rather carelessly. So it must be a true treasure trove for prosecutors.
I hope Freeman and Moss sue the pants off of Giuliani but he shouldn't get away with not having to surrender his phone and its content. It surely would be quite valuable for Jack Smith as well as the coming indictment in Georgia.
I watched the movie “Battleship” and yes there are aliens (recommended viewing!) they have invaded the earth and have taken earthly forms like Giuliani, Trump, DeSantis, Greene, Gaetz, Boebert and countless more.... we are all doomed ...please all spread this info before it’s too late!!!!!
Two things come to my mind after reading todays powerful newsletter. The first is that we individual Americans must keep working for serious Climate Solutions from our government, for sure. But none of us can wait another minute to alter the way we choose to live in order to participate in healing this mess. I beg of my fellow readers to keep asking ourselves if we need to flush every time, need to take an extra ride out to a movie, remember to turn lights off, use less AC, solarize if we can, take fewer airborne vacations and purchase local and sustainable and reduce plastic and generally do we really need to live the way we do? Our power of the purse can render bad companies impotent to continue. We can’t wait for good legislation and keep contributing to Climate Change ourselves. We do have a lot of power, together and collectively as consumers and in the way we live. Perhaps the Pursuit of Happiness needs a bit of a re-think.
The second point is that the other issue with Conspiracy theorist voters is that they vote on one issue, their pet issue and only that issue. If we can possibly help our anti-vax friends to consider other issues such as the environment, at least we will have tried to nudge them out of the rut of single-issue thinking. It’s not easy in my experience, but worth a try. If we have no planet we won’t even be able to address having vaccines or not.
I am so grateful for these newsletters and the knowing that all of you fellow readers are out there caring and working.
I sincerely hope there's intelligent life on other planets, because there's clearly a dearth of it on our own!
"In a culture where leading members of a major political party do not condemn lies but celebrate them, lies become a solvent that dissolves the sinew of truth that binds our nation."
See, you do write good!
Today's column is a terrific report about the legitimacy and lack of it of our institutions. The corrosive effect on our belief in our institutions is created and supported by lies like those that Rudy Giuliani admitted to. The foolishness of believing that the government has spent 75 years covering up visits by space aliens. More corrosive in our belief in the credibility of our insitutions is that some of them have earned the skepticism they get. The propriety of questioning the legitimacy of the Supreme Court -- both for its irresponsible decisions (It is too late to fix Alabama's congressional districts) and the illegitimate appointment of two of its members. Finally, it is no wonder charlatans like RFK Jr can make us skeptical of pharmaceuticals when the Sacklers' Purdue Pharma and a slew of other drug manufacturers and distributers can be sued, required to make large payments for their responsibility for the damage caused by opioids, and, somehow, still be standing as enormously wealthy people and corporations.
On the Supreme Court, I agree we should not call it illegitimate. A better word for this Court, which I learned from Katie Porter (who I believe picked up the idea from Sen. Whitehouse) is corrupt. The Court is corrupt in the way some of its members were appointed and in the way some of its members conduct themselves. That label, unlike “illegitimate”, would not follow the Court once it reforms or has new members.
It is incredible that Hunter got huge large type headline in our newspaper and Giuliani got a tiny article small type headline on page 6 upper left easy to miss. Hunter headline next to it was 4 columns and about 20 times the font headline 1/3 in length of the page. Giuliani was 1 column 1/6 in length on the page. Trying to give you a visual. If you didn’t mention it today I would have totally missed it thinking it was just another Giuliani lie not this huge deal. It should have been front page above the fold!!!
Your piece fills me with great sadness as I approach my 78th birthday. Are these not the “best of times and the worst of times.”Personally, I was born in the sweet spot of gay liberation. But politically my era has been fighting one rear guard action after another starting with the Republicans of Nixon and Reagan and on to George W and Trump. Now another battle to save democracy. Gone is my dream of a nation more like Western Europe. I will not live to see it. We seem more than ever back in ante bellum America. There was a Big Lie then, more hideous than the Trump Big Lie. It resided in a South still today fertile ground for lies, fear and white Christian nationalism. So little has changed. Of course there has been progress but it remains a question of how many more decades should America be graced with them before we have anything approaching the norms and habits of a progressive nation.
Thanks for combing all the knots out of the confusing news!
My favorite paragraph in your letter today- especially the part citing bored teenagers:
“And then there is this: Are we to believe that alien spacecraft can navigate across tens of thousands of light years of space, but crash with alarming regularity on Earth? Or how about the fact that there are 15 billion cellphones with cameras on Earth, but we still have nothing more than fuzzy, shaky, pixelated photos of objects that could be alien spacecraft or hubcaps thrown into the air by bored teenagers?”
If there is intelligent life “out there”. I hope they run for Congress and get rid of some of the MAGA lunacy
Having so much respect both for you, Robert, and for Mr. Sykes, I feel almost like I'm having to choose one child or one parent over the other, regarding the question of Supreme Court "legitimacy."
But I think the issue ultimately comes down to a question of whether it's the institution or the individuals who are illegitimate.
1) Would increasing the number of Justices guarantee that future nominees will be truthful during their Congressional testimony? No.
2) Would term limits cause Justices to decide cases more fairly and honestly? No.
3) Would an ethics code limit the influence of wealthy individuals and corporations? Marginally.
Like Mr. Sykes, I don't deny that there's a crisis of trust at the Supreme Court. But the reason is not because of structural flaws in the Court's design. Tempting as it may be to do "something" about this crisis, the only way any institution can retain legitimacy is if those within it act with integrity. Pretending otherwise will only weaken the institution further.
.