Robert, I’m saddened that you have had to remove people over the situation in Israel. The discourse in our country has become so poisoned that I've found that the online communities built around the wise words of you, Dr. Richardson, and others have become sanctuaries for civil discussion. To learn that, even here, that type of dialogue can turn ugly is disappointing. That said, please keep doing what you do. You’re more balanced and level-headed than I or, I suspect, many of us can hope to be. We have to be able to talk to each other, and I thank you for providing a forum to do that.
Indeed the GOP is a failed state, with Trump as its warlord and its upper reaches filled with traitors.
Also, expecting any of these people to "come around" and act for the country and engage Democrats in a "bipartisan" effort to save the House is a fool's errand. Calling any of them "moderates" is a misuse of the language. They are ALL people who voted for Trump and spent 2016-2020 voting for everything he put forward, and every minute of 2021 to the present voting against everything Biden proposed. The so-called "moderates" are more accurately seen as small and medium-sized gargoyles as opposed to the big gargoyles in the Fweedumb Kawkuss. There is not one of them with the courage of any conviction, who has the inner strength to take an action that will put them on the outs for the rest of their lives with the people they have spent their lives with. They are all cowards. Wasting time, effort and thought expecting anything worthwhile from any of them is a complete waste of energy.
Hello Robert and All. I am always moved when Robert writes about receiving anger for how he writes about something. I do understand the feeling of utter helplessness in a situation and feeling not heard by another person. It can be awful. But, Freedom of speech, to my mind and heart, require the thought, heart and skill to not attempt to murder someone else’s soul or to abandon them. It’s not a free-for-all where people can annihilate each other without care or hope of empathetic understanding. Situations such as wars or wanton attacks or invasions will never be resolved by fevered attacks at other people’s attempt to explain their take on a situation. Empathy with a viewpoint, in my mind, harms no one and creates a starting place for solutions. I can totally appreciate Robert’s struggle (and the struggle of all leadership and media) to language the situation in Gaza. And for me, as the world struggles with utter pain, rage and a burning desire to make something change and end the pain, I try to keep in mind that, at the mercy of all the angry and powerful people in control, there are civilians from all backgrounds being harmed and killed. All backgrounds, some of which we don’t even imagine because we seem to need us versus them to help spur us on to action. I don’t know about my fellow readers, but I find myself afraid more and more to share my thoughts on a tough topic and it’s not a good feeling to be afraid. I want to be made to think by people I trust. Whether I like their take on a topic or not, I can listen if I know they are thoughtful and reasonable. Even sometimes if they are not just to honor their struggles to connect. I trust Robert, Heather, Joyce, Liz Cheney and so many of you. I want to read your opinions and drink of your knowledge on topics. You give me courage to have a voice. And I am glad we can have them here, together. I need thoughtful writers such a Robert to share their take on issues that I am learning about and considering. It’s up to me to not become rigid in my own stance and belief and never to become a blind follower of anyone or anything. When my chosen news writers work hard to find ways to impart the news, I appreciate the courage they model in doing so. And the offer we always get to debate and not harm each other.
Thank you, Robert, for your relentless reports about all subjects happening in our nation and in the Middle East. I am still trying to find my cousins in Israel but am not getting any help from the State Dept at this time. So I have to wait as they are focused on getting Americans out of Gaza and Israel.
In my opinion, Hamas was not counting on taking people as hostages who were not Israeli. They had no idea they were kidnapping people from, I believe, 30 nations. This puts a lot of pressure on them now. I learned today that there are something like 5 other terrorist groups within Iran. They lack the backing that Hamas and Hezbollah have, but they do exist and therefore, they are seen as yet another threat.
I like the precautions Biden and Blinken are taking. They want the Palestinians to be fed and their welfare considered as they are innocent. When I read that the Israeli military wanted the UN chief to resign, it angered me. He’s calling for peace and they are calling for retaliation. Like the 4th graders in Congress, (you will have to excuse me but...) they are all MEN! Nothing will calm these angry storms unless a level-headed person(s) step in.
Thank you, Robert, for having the courage to discuss the Israel-Hamas war. It's time we call for a ceasefire and stop the hideous and terrifying slaughter of innocent people on both sides of the border in Gaza. We need to engage in serious diplomacy that will stop the slaughter of civilians and set up some safeguards that will protect the rights of all people to live in peace. The US must become "the adult" in the room and start a conversation with others about how to create a peaceful resolution to this horror.
Robert, I feel for you, between having to wrestle with the dreadful task of writing about what's going on in the Middle East *and* the nonsense from the GOP. It's not fun to read about most of what's going on, and it must be worse to have to write about it.
I find myself wishing Trump would blow an artery--coronary or brain--I don't care, just as long as he falls down and doesn't get up, and then fighting myself because I do want to see him convicted and imprisoned because I think the country needs to see what we didn't get to see with Nixon.
Last night Jen Taub, a lawyer who is one of Mary Trump's "Nerd Avengers" said that on a scale of 1-10, Meadows' turning on Trump was an 11, which had Mary--who for anyone who doesn't know, hates her uncle--lighting up.
Robert, the vast majority of us are always grateful to you for digesting the previous day's most important events. May your coffee always be excellent, and may the gods ever smile upon you and your Managing Editor.
I will offer here a no doubt unpopular opinion: as an historian, I can say clearly that Israel was founded in the 20thC as a colonial state, whether one finds its founding justified or not. The continued extension of settlements in the West Bank instantiates that foundational principle. The US should have spoken out about settlements and cut off aid. It would now have more credibility. I wish the US would listen to Israeli peace movements rather than Netanyahu’s right wing government. Our media delivers such an impoverished picture of the issues (except for the PBS Newshour which is doing a good job I think). International media outlets provide far more nuance about the situation as well as attention to the incredible anger of many in Israel about the venality and incompetence of Netanyahu’s regime even as all condemn the brutality of Hamas.
Thank you for the kind shout-out, Robert. Covering this moment in history has been difficult beyond description and I so appreciate all you do to keep us informed. I’m humbled, too, by your praise of what I wrote--I figure there are loads of people writing what they perceive to be the “facts.” I’m opting, instead, to advocate for unity at all costs. Without it were sunk.
Thank you again, Robert, for giving us another excellent newsletter under extraordinarily difficult circumstances. I want to strongly endorse your suggestion that readers look at Jessica Craven's Chop Wood Carry Water October issue from yesterday. I also found her comments about the Middle East excellent and I really was glad I watched the video available by clicking on the red letters referring to difficulty talking about the situation in the Middle East.
I would also like to encourage readers, even if they don't read the entire issue, to scroll down to the section entitled Chop Wood Save the Planet. I am also very troubled by the discrepancy between my own great concern about the urgency of the issue of climate change and the apparent low position it seems to occupy on the radar screen of important issues that I see in so many people I personally interact with. I do do things like use the climate action app daily and am writing letters with Vote Forward which emphasize climate action as important in choosing candidates. But I agree that it is also important to not shy away from opportunities to include important climate information as well as concern about the climate in our ordinary conversations. I hope I myself can do this more frequently.
How can I read today’s Hubbell post without thinking of Jack Bailey’s godawful TV soap staple “Queen for a Day”? Indeed, Congress as dominated by the GOP has all the kitsch melodrama of the sob-fest confessional prize show, only “Queen” featured prizes contestants could keep. It’s enough to make one want a bath.
Robert, you do not want readers who huff and puff because they don’t like the way you expressed a thought; I am sure that Jill and the girls would agree that yours is a forum for ❤️🩹 healing. Let the disgruntled sulk until they get over themselves and the pain outweighs the pleasure. That’s how this works.
I’m amazed how many attorneys have violated the laws of this country to support Trump. Ellis, Giuliani, Eastman, Cohen, Powell, and Chesebro to name a few. They all created and pedaled the false statements that the election was stolen and Trump won which as we are finding out now they all knew was false. It was an orchestrated con on the American voters. What’s interesting with all the attorney spokespeople admitting the election claims were all lies, the Republicans in the House we’re still nominating mostly candidates who were election deniers and voted against the certification of the election. So what we have is the election was stolen advocates and voices admitting it was not true and Republicans supporting and electing the election deniers in the House for Speaker with the understanding they must support Trump. What is wrong with this picture? My biggest fear is voters are not paying enough attention to the fact that MAGA spokespeople lied to them consistently and asked them to donate money under false pretenses for a total fabricated lie. Talk about betrayal
We appreciate and rely on your daily email. I am very sorry and disturbed to hear you have received personal attacks about information / opinions you have shared. We hope you know thousands of people value all that you do and the sacrifices you make to help keep us informed!
This tweet links to a Business' Insider article which is behind a paywall, but apparently describes Powell as claiming her plea was coerced, conspiracy theory, etc.
Don't stop talking, Robert. Many of us here depend on your balanced reporting.
Robert, I’m saddened that you have had to remove people over the situation in Israel. The discourse in our country has become so poisoned that I've found that the online communities built around the wise words of you, Dr. Richardson, and others have become sanctuaries for civil discussion. To learn that, even here, that type of dialogue can turn ugly is disappointing. That said, please keep doing what you do. You’re more balanced and level-headed than I or, I suspect, many of us can hope to be. We have to be able to talk to each other, and I thank you for providing a forum to do that.
Indeed the GOP is a failed state, with Trump as its warlord and its upper reaches filled with traitors.
Also, expecting any of these people to "come around" and act for the country and engage Democrats in a "bipartisan" effort to save the House is a fool's errand. Calling any of them "moderates" is a misuse of the language. They are ALL people who voted for Trump and spent 2016-2020 voting for everything he put forward, and every minute of 2021 to the present voting against everything Biden proposed. The so-called "moderates" are more accurately seen as small and medium-sized gargoyles as opposed to the big gargoyles in the Fweedumb Kawkuss. There is not one of them with the courage of any conviction, who has the inner strength to take an action that will put them on the outs for the rest of their lives with the people they have spent their lives with. They are all cowards. Wasting time, effort and thought expecting anything worthwhile from any of them is a complete waste of energy.
Hello Robert and All. I am always moved when Robert writes about receiving anger for how he writes about something. I do understand the feeling of utter helplessness in a situation and feeling not heard by another person. It can be awful. But, Freedom of speech, to my mind and heart, require the thought, heart and skill to not attempt to murder someone else’s soul or to abandon them. It’s not a free-for-all where people can annihilate each other without care or hope of empathetic understanding. Situations such as wars or wanton attacks or invasions will never be resolved by fevered attacks at other people’s attempt to explain their take on a situation. Empathy with a viewpoint, in my mind, harms no one and creates a starting place for solutions. I can totally appreciate Robert’s struggle (and the struggle of all leadership and media) to language the situation in Gaza. And for me, as the world struggles with utter pain, rage and a burning desire to make something change and end the pain, I try to keep in mind that, at the mercy of all the angry and powerful people in control, there are civilians from all backgrounds being harmed and killed. All backgrounds, some of which we don’t even imagine because we seem to need us versus them to help spur us on to action. I don’t know about my fellow readers, but I find myself afraid more and more to share my thoughts on a tough topic and it’s not a good feeling to be afraid. I want to be made to think by people I trust. Whether I like their take on a topic or not, I can listen if I know they are thoughtful and reasonable. Even sometimes if they are not just to honor their struggles to connect. I trust Robert, Heather, Joyce, Liz Cheney and so many of you. I want to read your opinions and drink of your knowledge on topics. You give me courage to have a voice. And I am glad we can have them here, together. I need thoughtful writers such a Robert to share their take on issues that I am learning about and considering. It’s up to me to not become rigid in my own stance and belief and never to become a blind follower of anyone or anything. When my chosen news writers work hard to find ways to impart the news, I appreciate the courage they model in doing so. And the offer we always get to debate and not harm each other.
Thank you, Robert, for your relentless reports about all subjects happening in our nation and in the Middle East. I am still trying to find my cousins in Israel but am not getting any help from the State Dept at this time. So I have to wait as they are focused on getting Americans out of Gaza and Israel.
In my opinion, Hamas was not counting on taking people as hostages who were not Israeli. They had no idea they were kidnapping people from, I believe, 30 nations. This puts a lot of pressure on them now. I learned today that there are something like 5 other terrorist groups within Iran. They lack the backing that Hamas and Hezbollah have, but they do exist and therefore, they are seen as yet another threat.
I like the precautions Biden and Blinken are taking. They want the Palestinians to be fed and their welfare considered as they are innocent. When I read that the Israeli military wanted the UN chief to resign, it angered me. He’s calling for peace and they are calling for retaliation. Like the 4th graders in Congress, (you will have to excuse me but...) they are all MEN! Nothing will calm these angry storms unless a level-headed person(s) step in.
Yes. So many of us depend on your balanced reporting. It is a tight rope walk.
Thank you, Robert, for having the courage to discuss the Israel-Hamas war. It's time we call for a ceasefire and stop the hideous and terrifying slaughter of innocent people on both sides of the border in Gaza. We need to engage in serious diplomacy that will stop the slaughter of civilians and set up some safeguards that will protect the rights of all people to live in peace. The US must become "the adult" in the room and start a conversation with others about how to create a peaceful resolution to this horror.
Robert, I feel for you, between having to wrestle with the dreadful task of writing about what's going on in the Middle East *and* the nonsense from the GOP. It's not fun to read about most of what's going on, and it must be worse to have to write about it.
I find myself wishing Trump would blow an artery--coronary or brain--I don't care, just as long as he falls down and doesn't get up, and then fighting myself because I do want to see him convicted and imprisoned because I think the country needs to see what we didn't get to see with Nixon.
Last night Jen Taub, a lawyer who is one of Mary Trump's "Nerd Avengers" said that on a scale of 1-10, Meadows' turning on Trump was an 11, which had Mary--who for anyone who doesn't know, hates her uncle--lighting up.
Robert, the vast majority of us are always grateful to you for digesting the previous day's most important events. May your coffee always be excellent, and may the gods ever smile upon you and your Managing Editor.
I will offer here a no doubt unpopular opinion: as an historian, I can say clearly that Israel was founded in the 20thC as a colonial state, whether one finds its founding justified or not. The continued extension of settlements in the West Bank instantiates that foundational principle. The US should have spoken out about settlements and cut off aid. It would now have more credibility. I wish the US would listen to Israeli peace movements rather than Netanyahu’s right wing government. Our media delivers such an impoverished picture of the issues (except for the PBS Newshour which is doing a good job I think). International media outlets provide far more nuance about the situation as well as attention to the incredible anger of many in Israel about the venality and incompetence of Netanyahu’s regime even as all condemn the brutality of Hamas.
Thank you for the kind shout-out, Robert. Covering this moment in history has been difficult beyond description and I so appreciate all you do to keep us informed. I’m humbled, too, by your praise of what I wrote--I figure there are loads of people writing what they perceive to be the “facts.” I’m opting, instead, to advocate for unity at all costs. Without it were sunk.
Thank you again, Robert, for giving us another excellent newsletter under extraordinarily difficult circumstances. I want to strongly endorse your suggestion that readers look at Jessica Craven's Chop Wood Carry Water October issue from yesterday. I also found her comments about the Middle East excellent and I really was glad I watched the video available by clicking on the red letters referring to difficulty talking about the situation in the Middle East.
I would also like to encourage readers, even if they don't read the entire issue, to scroll down to the section entitled Chop Wood Save the Planet. I am also very troubled by the discrepancy between my own great concern about the urgency of the issue of climate change and the apparent low position it seems to occupy on the radar screen of important issues that I see in so many people I personally interact with. I do do things like use the climate action app daily and am writing letters with Vote Forward which emphasize climate action as important in choosing candidates. But I agree that it is also important to not shy away from opportunities to include important climate information as well as concern about the climate in our ordinary conversations. I hope I myself can do this more frequently.
How can I read today’s Hubbell post without thinking of Jack Bailey’s godawful TV soap staple “Queen for a Day”? Indeed, Congress as dominated by the GOP has all the kitsch melodrama of the sob-fest confessional prize show, only “Queen” featured prizes contestants could keep. It’s enough to make one want a bath.
Robert, you do not want readers who huff and puff because they don’t like the way you expressed a thought; I am sure that Jill and the girls would agree that yours is a forum for ❤️🩹 healing. Let the disgruntled sulk until they get over themselves and the pain outweighs the pleasure. That’s how this works.
I’m amazed how many attorneys have violated the laws of this country to support Trump. Ellis, Giuliani, Eastman, Cohen, Powell, and Chesebro to name a few. They all created and pedaled the false statements that the election was stolen and Trump won which as we are finding out now they all knew was false. It was an orchestrated con on the American voters. What’s interesting with all the attorney spokespeople admitting the election claims were all lies, the Republicans in the House we’re still nominating mostly candidates who were election deniers and voted against the certification of the election. So what we have is the election was stolen advocates and voices admitting it was not true and Republicans supporting and electing the election deniers in the House for Speaker with the understanding they must support Trump. What is wrong with this picture? My biggest fear is voters are not paying enough attention to the fact that MAGA spokespeople lied to them consistently and asked them to donate money under false pretenses for a total fabricated lie. Talk about betrayal
We appreciate and rely on your daily email. I am very sorry and disturbed to hear you have received personal attacks about information / opinions you have shared. We hope you know thousands of people value all that you do and the sacrifices you make to help keep us informed!
Thank you, Robert.
I have no opinion on the situation in Israrel/Gaza. I'm
not learned enough to offer
any.
I am disheartened by the
brutality on both sides and
how quickly people have been to lay blame.
I do know the Middle East has rarely, if ever, known
peace, no matter the cause.
I can't imagine 2.3 million people being foricibly
detained in an area 25 miles
long and 6 miles wide. Many
of them, for their entire lives
and the conditions they are
living under today. I am praying for their relief and
freedom.
We are ALL so very lucky to
live in the country that we do.
We are free.
I'm genuinely confused -- did Sidney Powell break her plea deal already?
https://twitter.com/real_gadfly/status/1717010879370166460
This tweet links to a Business' Insider article which is behind a paywall, but apparently describes Powell as claiming her plea was coerced, conspiracy theory, etc.