Jul 28, 2022·edited Jul 28, 2022Liked by Robert B. Hubbell
Robert,
Re: the younger generation, just before the Post and Times ran stories about how the younger generation is frustrated with and disappointed by Democrats—they control everything but can do nothing—my son’s friend explained to me those same points. I tried to explain that the Dems actually have done a lot, that politics is the art of the possible rather than the art of the perfect, and that structural problems prevented the Dems from doing more.
He responded that the issue was not the facts but rather perceptions and feelings. So I said, ok, your generation feels that way. What do you do with that? Sit at home and let the GOP take over? Or work your ass off to get more Dems elected? He had no answer to that. He could not predict what others would do.
My daughter, on the other hand, wants to burn it all down (read filibuster in particular).
I’m a fact-based guy, and if I can’t use facts in a discussion, I am at a loss. I of course agree with my daughter’s critique of the filibuster and the unrepresentativeness of one cow, one vote over one man, one vote. But she doesn’t have a suggestion for changing the system and was a defender of defund the police as a campaign slogan, showing a lack of understanding of politics (and she is much smarter than I am).
This is a generation that is both right (hearts in the right place based on their partial understanding of the way the world does and doesn’t work) and clueless about how to fix the ills they see. They need to understand the system to know what to overhaul and how to do it. But they are too impatient to listen to that. They just want it done. Yesterday. What do we do with that?
thanks for sharing your discussion with daughter, and good for you for engaging.
I think each new generation feels the same urgency for change. I suspect you did, too, when you were your daughter's age. As I said in today's newsletter, model the path forward. Hope that she follows. You may not see the results immediately, but you may be surprised how your actions imprint on your children.
Thank you. I have written postcards and plan to do so again. My son heads up digital operations for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, so I have not lost my entire generation of offspring. My daughter actually is an activist but not in traditional political processes. Both have hearts in the right place.
Hello, Robert, I would say only that one looming fact separates us from this generation and that is the great octopus of technology. Not just the fact of it, not even the convenience of it or its seductive powers. Not even that I believe it caught up with us and left us standing in the road while it sped past. The difference I see--and thank goodness there are some shining exceptions--is that it has slowly robbed this generation of attention span, patience, and most seriously of vocabulary. Sorry if I sound like my usual downer. I don't mean to be in this case. I just, as an old English teacher, see the loss of language by whatever means as possibly the biggest problem we have and certainly the greatest loss for these young people.
To Stan, bless you. Your daughter is a very fortunate young woman.
I want it done yesterday, and I’m old. We have to live with what we have and work like hell to make it better. Tell her to get out and support Two more Senate candidates who can make a whale of a difference. It’s that or whine…. BTW defund the police slogan hurt way more than it helped. First rule. When you’re in a hole, stop digging…
Jeri, As for the slogan “defund the police,” I would warn, particularly young people, that when trying to communicate, if something can go wrong, it will. Hence, the importance of taking the time and effort carefully to choose our words to have the best shot at being understood.
For me, what would work is "Cops on the Street Plus," meaning I would like to see the addition of service personnel in afflicted neighborhoods...you know, the neighborhoods that scare us white folks and why some of us fear reduction of police services. (Not based on logic, of course.)
Neighborhood meetings were a tactic Obama used when he was a community organizer in Chicago. He would be a tremendous resource in developing a national program. It's powerful stuff when poor people have a voice. They are the ones who know where crime happens and who dun it. The one size fits all paradigm of policing, kill and ask questions later, really needs correcting especially given the ongoing harm to BIPOC.
I love this idea of a National Neighborhood Meetings program with Pres. Obama as the lead Neighbor! And this could be about more than crime - it could be a real way to counter the lies that the far right spreads so effectively on social media and their press. How do we make this happen? I'm starting with a letter to the White House. Thanks and blessings!
Thank you, let's keep in touch re: National Neighborhood Meetings! Actually, I would love for Pres Obama to be in the public service mode again. He's too good to let retire.
I checked Barack's Twitter feed and found that he retweeted Michelle's tweet about her new book (November) The Light We Carry. So I tweeted them both, asking how we could get a National Neighborhood Meetings program modeled after Barack's in Chicago.
Fantastic! Chaplaincy at its best. Thank you! Wouldn't it be wonderful? If (when) you get a response, say we need him and you can give my name too if you wish.
A little more: "The best way for communities to foster more inclusivity is to volunteer and collaborate to help those most in need. An important part of the work is bringing homeowners, renters, and the unhoused together in shared spaces to foster compassion for the community members in most need. They say changing a community begins with acknowledging the prejudices one might have of the unhoused, homeless, poor, and people of color, to ensure the work you are doing is intentional."
This is "lifted" from an ad hoc organization in East Palo Alto, Ca.
Hope, While I greatly appreciate your concept, regrettably, slogans are not served up with explainers. Hence, particularly complex ones, are especially difficult to nail down.
Are you saying my catchy title doesn't quite do it? Your point is well taken. See Chaplain Terry's wonderful clarification. What do you think of something completely apart from policing, but with some solutions to causes for crime inherent, i.e, what I meant by "Plus."
How about "Safer Neighborhoods, Done Right"? That implies that:
a) it's about safety/security, and not just about more or less policing, and
b) LOTS of good thinking needs to go into a framework for what is right for different types of neighborhoods, and how to implement.
I love idea of Obama as leader!! Imagine him leading a team developing comprehensive plans for stabilizing, and then improving, our most challenged communities. :-)
Hope, In my view, for a slogan to be effective, its meaning must be readily transparent. “Plus” by itself is not self explanatory. That said, I loved Champlain’s reply, including her idea to expand the content of the neighborhood meetings program.
What I’ve found with slogans apart from simplicity—keep them positive! The GOP turned the concept into a negative slogan and, sadly, it worked(ing). “Plus” is along the right idea; albeit I don’t have a perfect, simple and positive meme to share.
Totally agree with you about the defund the police slogan. That was a dumb one. And I love the expression "when you're in a hole, stop digging..." Thanks for that.
Ah one of my favorites The First Rule of Holes. Jeri, for two old broads we seem to stay pretty feisty. When my friends tell me they don't keep up with the news because there's nothing they can do to make any difference, I always have the same response, "Lick envelopes." One step at a time; one day at a time; one Senate candidate at a time. Last I checked the Big Picture wasn't on my job description.
The really important question is why am I up at 10:30 doing laundry and eating Skittles?
Stan, I would suggest amplifying that the 117th U.S. Congress, which began on January 3, 2021 and will end on January 3, 2023, so far has passed 159 bills, most of which have remained stalled in the Senate, principally due, excluding Republicans, to 2 Senate Democrats, who either oppose the legislation or who have refused to consider even a modest modification of the filibuster (e.g., allotting both sides 100 speaking hours before moving to an up or down majority vote) on legislation they claim to support (e.g., the Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act).
I would add that if Dems, this fall, hold the House and pick up 2 Senate seats, a host of legislation, including robust gun control measures, the codification of Roe, $50,000 dollars of student debt forgiveness, $15 minimum wage, the Pro Act, the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, affordable, quality childcare, universal Pre-K, investments in housing, in elder care, and in climate, and more likely would become law.
I also might inject, that if Dems lose either one or both Houses, the loss could precipitate a fatal weakening of the key mechanisms of democracy in the U.S. Were you to gain your children’s attention, you could continue by enlisting ways they could get involved.
Note I haven’t even touched on our needing poll workers and other local election officials—county clerks and election judges—who can help people to ensure that their votes are counted. Additionally, we’ll have to out-organize Republicans, who ruthlessly are organizing to fill state and local positions with their own people—people who don’t believe in free and fair elections.
You’re right, Jon. I generally remember to include the 50 Republican Senators when I make this comment. Admittedly, however, this is not the first time I’ve been called out on this oversight.
Great info in your first 2 paragraphs. Taking it a step further, it would be interesting to have a list of every House-passed bill of the last 18 mos. that has then stalled in the Senate due to GOP opposition. (Remember, usually only 2 of them had to vote with Dems.) If each bill's goals were summarized in 1 sentence, it seems like that list would be a very compelling thing to show all despairing &/or cynical voters - young and old. Even if they read only 5-10 items, they'd get the picture of what Dems keep coming very close to getting over the finish line.
Another way of framing this is: About 99% of Dem House members and 95% of Dem Senators supported these great ideas for improving America. Zero % of Republicans did. Lets make it crystal clear that the real obstacle is the GOP. Manchin and Sinema have just been the final straw legislatively. In summary,
a) The great ideas exist
b) The will among Congressional Democrats and Biden exist
c) We just need a 2 more Dems to overcome the Senate's institutional obstructions.
An analogy: you must have an A in a course to keep your scholarship. If you currently have an 89 avg., you just need a little more effort and success before the semester ends! You're SO CLOSE!
I'm frustrated that there's not simple, very strong messaging being done on this, just 3 mos. out from voting.
Tyler, My apologies for not responding sooner to your thoughtful reply. Because I currently am slammed with commitments, I probably will be unable to write until later tonight.
Tyler, To start, I would clarify that the purpose of my reply to Stan was to present ideas for motivating his kids to engage in the political process. I also would add, to ensure you and I are on the same page, that only the Senate Parliamentarian is able to determine which provisions relate to the budget and, thus, can be included in a budget reconciliation package that can pass with only 50 Senate votes plus the VP to cast the tie breaking vote. All other legislation requires a vote total that exceeds the 60-vote threshold unless a majority of Senators agree to modify the Senate filibuster rule. For Democrats, that means 50 Senators plus the VP.
Additionally, it should be noted that, typically, budget reconciliation can only be used once a year. Hence, the Senate Dems, for one reason only, had to cram Biden’s entire climate and social spending legislative agenda into one bill that could pass through this procedural maneuver: because the Republicans refused to allow regular order—bringing a bill to the floor for debate and an up or down majority vote.
With the foregoing in mind, I wish to reprint an excerpt from a comment I had posted shortly after the climate and social spending reconciliation package (BBB) failed, this past January, to pass by 2 votes (Manchin & Sinema). I also would note that I had refashioned this comment as letters I repeatedly had sent to White House staff and to Congressional leadership.
Here’s the comment:
“When the climate and social spending reconciliation package (BBB) failed to pass, this past January, by 2 votes (Manchin & Sinema), Democrats, rightly, expected Biden and Democratic leadership to go make the argument in West Virginia, and also in the red parts of Mississippi and Alabama, and in other states and say, ‘This is what we have tried to deliver and these folks have voted against it.’ Simply put, Democrats have to be willing to engage in war. The other side has shown that it will do whatever is necessary to attain power. Therefore, it is incumbent upon Democrats, receipts in hand, to say to the country, ‘America, when they didn’t care about you, we did.’
“Imagine the impact if everyday people across the country has been asked: ‘Who do you want here—somebody who doesn’t want to cut the price of insulin or those who do?’ ‘Somebody who doesn’t want to expand the child tax credit or those who do?’ ‘Doesn’t want to provide affordable, quality childcare and universal Pre-K or those who do?’ Doesn’t want to make investments in housing, in eldercare, in expanded ACA subsidies, and in climate or those who do?’ My point, and note I haven’t mentioned what Biden and the Party, indeed, have accomplished, is that Democrats have an extraordinary narrative, if only they would deliver it.”
Update: Tyler, I write, because this past weekend, I received word from a trusted source, contrary to the view I held when I wrote the foregoing comment, that, were the Dems to hold the House and pick up 2 Senate seats, the current 48, including Centrists, are prepared to modify, if not abolish, the Senate filibuster rule to move most, if not all, of the legislation that has passed in the House to the Senate floor for debate and an up or down majority vote.
Hence, contrary to my previous comment, which focused specifically on messaging relative to the budget reconciliation climate and social spending package, which failed this past January, I’m now focused on the more robust vision you presented in your comment.
I'm old, no longer a clueless young person. That said, I'm STILL clueless about the failure of Congress to address an antiquated Electoral College system (which is now being eviscerated and turned upside down by clever and ruthless GOP politicians) and absolutely gobsmacked by a Senate that has such allegiance to its filibuster rules its members cannot and will not exercise their duty to pass laws that will benefit those who put them in office.
My son, listening to his friend who went to a prominent US university, said they agreed that the education from high school was much better -- that the purchase of a degree might be part of the problem. These are very intelligent people who I was very happy to listen to and sit amongst on the few occasions I was able to. They see it -- impermanence, faulty hierarchies, and corruption. It may be that they have loving parents and this is all the difference. Their task is different.
Nothing new about that attitude among the young, I’m afraid. We saw it more than 50 years ago, when I was your daughter’s age, and it will be the same when she is your age and complaining that her children don’t understand the real world. As the old story has it, when I was 21 my father didn’t know anything. When I was 30 I was amazed how much the old man had learned in nine years.
Good morning and thank you AGAIN for your insightful, researched, encouraging and motivating write ups; I hope you do realize how important you are to so many (all, and mean all my contacts are converts!!)
I have a family living (renting) in an apartment below us for a year. The husband and wife (and two kids, 3 and 6 months… yes, 1 is an American citizen!) are both neurosurgeon from Paris, here for a year’s special transfer/study program with Mass General Hospital. Janet, my wife and I have become quite close, spending lots of time. During a discussion last night, Pierre, the husband, mentioned that he doesn’t believe we Americans realize how much France and virtually all European countries watch every move, action, decision made here by our government and how each so impacts their lives. He said, “you know Bob, we really should have a vote in your presidential elections because we are so impacted by that results.”
They are thrilled with what our current President has accomplished….. and would vote for him if they could!
They are likely as fearful as I am about the machinations of the minority. The threat is not over, as they well know. America, for better or worse, still is the best predictor of earth’s future. Unless an alien invasion is in the offing…
I really like to hear that. I know France has a right-wing party that is pretty menacing, but ours seems really behind the eight ball in terms of foreign relations and probably every other form of relations out there.
The video of Jake Tapper interviewing Secretary Pete Buttigieg caused my eyes to water up. What a wonderful and eloquent man! I believe that his steady, super intelligent and compassionate leadership could make him one of the most loved and successful Presidents the United States has ever experienced. The power of carefully chosen and well spoken words cannot be over-stated.
While I will support and applaud President Biden from start to finish - with enthusiasm! - I look forward to a time when we will be led by someone with "Pete's" skills and values.
I celebrated the first woman VP, but if Pres Biden runs again I would like Pete to be his VP. Given the president's age, in the event of his dying in office, I do not think Kamala Harris is up to the job. She was a good senator, however. Without shame, she could return to that office.
Actually, I agree with you. Kamala Harris is really smart and talented. We need her in the Senate and Pete B is a calming and really together person. Plus, I think his experience as Secretary of Transportation during the Covid era would be really helpful. We'll see.
Couldn't agree more. If you want to have a really good laugh, and also see a really wonderful side of Pete Buttigieg, watch Trevor Noah's interview with Pete B when he was running for office. It's still on youtube and it's wonderful. It will make your day.
It appears a significant house cleaning of the Secret Service is in order. What a shame it has come to this. And isn't it disheartening to see how the Trump sickness spread so successfully through our government. Loyalty to person over country was never supposed to be in the Secret Service's guidebook. Someone specifically in the Secret Service is the instigator. It is essential to identify that very bad apple and his/her conspirators and send them packing (off to jail).
I agree. They have always been there, lurking in the background, but T brought them out in droves with his fall claims to be "saving the country." Cheney hit on that at the last hearing. T took advantage of their love of country and patriotism to feed them poison. Kind of like Jim Jones. We have a lot of work to do.
"Shockingly, the bill will be financed, in part, by imposing a minimum 15% tax on corporations with annual revenues greater than $1 billion." This corporate tax fulfills a 2021 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) agreement for a world-wide 15% minimum tax intended to discourage using low or non-existent taxes to lure corporations from one country to another.
I thought that's what I'd remembered. I couldn't imagine that the Republicans would do anything other than cut taxes on the wealthy if they had a choice.
Not only is it uplifting to know this 23 year old gentleman reads the opinion in WaPo, he also engages with Robert Hubbell! I didn't find Robert until I was almost 64 years old, and when I was 23 I was not engaging one iota in what was happening in anything other than my own little world. I uphold that there will be leaders from this young man's generation that will step up and lead others, and as we grow old, we will look to them with gratitude. I know too many fine people who have raised good citizens who seek a just and peaceful world and understand the importance of bending the moral arch of the universe ourselves, especially after all we have had to endure since 2016. Yes, let's have them see us helping lead the way to achieving a better world for all.
In my view, our highest priority is to avert the existential threat of minority rule over the will of the majority. Indeed, the J6th Committee’s mighty impressive probe has served as an invaluable contributing factor as will DOJ, presuming it holds the J6th command structure up to and including Trump criminally accountable.
That said, I write today to assert that the newly-coined Inflation Reduction Act, if implemented, could have the most profound impact on the midterms and beyond, especially if its passage is presented to voters as a sizable downpayment of more to come if Dems hold the House and pick up at least 2 Senate seats. This “more-to-come” would involve much of the legislation passed in the House that has remained stalled in the Senate, including all the provisions contained in budget reconciliation (BBB), the Freedom to Vote:John R. Lewis Act, the PRO Act, the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, and more.
The foregoing notwithstanding, I would be remiss were I not to mention Democracy Docket Founder Marc Elias’s warning of a Republican election subversion plan he expects will be enacted as early as this fall. Admittedly. Elias is not suggesting that local and state Republican election officials are laying the groundwork blatantly to declare their candidates the winner whether or not the candidate wins enough votes. He views the Republican election subversion plan as more sophisticated than that. Instead, Elias anticipates that Republicans will use “false allegations of fraud as a pretext to remove ballots from the vote totals and then certify those incomplete results.”
Though I don’t doubt that when litigation ensues Elias and his team will mount arguments whose conclusions can be nailed to the post with confirming evidence, I am not as confident that our courts will stand for the beacons of democracy that we need them to be.
Agree, Barbara, re this potential bill. It is more difficult for Ds to pass this sort of legislation than it is for Rs to just cut programs, especially when the messy negotiating is covered daily, which (wrongly) gives the appearance of incompetence. This would be a great accomplishment AND combat that perception of disarray. I believe it is Terry Kanefield who is always saying that democracy is messy.
As a grandmother, I am drawn to action and take opportunities to engage with younger people.
Last night I joined members of the League of Women Voters in moderating a candidate forum with 5 candidates for the county School Board. There were a handful of students attending as well as a diverse group of adults. The “young” (young compared to me) leaders of the PTA were noteworthy.
They demonstrated the power of people using their time and energy for the greater good of the entire community. It’s clear that our support and service was much appreciated and demonstrated that they are not alone.
Thank you for posting the link to Pete Buttigieg’s response to Marco Rubio. I have long been a Pete fan, including volunteering for his 2020 presidential campaign. He is smart as a whip and quick on his feet, often demolishing the “bait” questions posed to him. Who, besides me, would pay good money to hear a presidential debate between him and the clumsy, belligerent Ron DeSantis?
Oh boy would that be good. I actually met someone during my workshop in Italy who told me with a straight face that she thought Ron DeSantis was intelligent. I did manage to change the subject, but that comment boggled my mind from what I have seen and read about the man. But then again, there was a woman in the same workshop who told me loudly and with great confidence that Covid came from a lab in China and that wearing masks didn't make a bit of difference.
Yes we need to model hard work and hope for the younger generation. Thanks for motivating us. Thanks for caring so much for our country that you write this newsletter.
If your primary news source is your Facebook news feed, you are not an informed consumer of news -
For my friends who rely on Facebook as one of their primary news sources, please be aware of a significant change in Facebook’s “news feed.”
Meta (Facebook) has announced they are “deemphasizing its investment in news content.” What does that turn of phrase actually mean? It means that Facebook will no longer be paying for news content from reliable journalism sources. In fact, they are even abandoning the term “news feed.”
Instead of a user's "news feed" being composed primarily of content from friends and other accounts a user has chosen to follow, the main feed on a user's Facebook page will be an algorithmically-filtered collection of content from anywhere, and posts from a user's friends will be moved to a separate page.
What the heck does that mean? It means that Facebook will now decide what content to put in front of you based on their “best guess” about what they think you want to or should see, instead of allowing you to make your own choices.
Facebook will use its profit-driven “algorithms” to decide what “news” they think is most important for you to see. Here is a more thorough explanation of this change from the Columbia Journalism Review. If you are a Facebook user, please read this carefully and consider what it means for you.
People have long told me that Facebook is completely safe because you can control who your friends are and what you see on Facebook. Is that really true, when Facebook will use its private, profit-driven motives, and undisclosed “algorithms” to decide what content you should see in your “main feed”?
Facebook’s new “investment priority” is to decide what you should see in your Facebook feed, not to leave that decision to you as a Facebook member.
Remember, if you are not paying for a service, YOU are the product.
Last week, Meta, the parent company of Facebook, announced a major change to its flagship social media platform. Instead of a user's "news feed" being composed primarily of content from friends and other accounts a user has chosen to follow, the "main feed" on a user's Facebook page will be an algorithmically-filtered collection of content from anywhere, and posts from a user's friends will be moved to a separate page. Mark Zuckerberg, Meta's CEO, wrote about the proposed changes in late April, referring to the news-feed change as one of the company’s “investment priorities”; now the redesigned feeds are in the process of being rolled out to Facebook's three billion daily users.
As part of these changes, Sara Fischer of Axios also reported that the term "news feed" is being retired as a descriptor for the main feed on a user's page. Facebook first introduced the news feed in 2006, as a way of making it easy for users to see what all their friends were doing in one place, and while the new feature was not well received by some, it soon became the main interface for the social network, and the driving force behind Facebook's growth as an advertising vehicle.
Your comments about Hannity repeating misinformation are so important to highlight. Many in the US depend on Fox and conservative radio for their information and until that changes somewhat, we will always remain deeply divided and need to struggle for truth and accurate information. Thanks for what you do.
"Lester Holt on Prospect of Prosecuting Trump: ‘Would Arguably Tear the Country Apart’." Since the process would very much resemble the process of the January 6th committee - laying out facts and evidence, and since the effect of that process so far has not been to "tear the country apart" but to, if anything, decrease Trump's support and reduce the size of the loud, angry, vocal minority that believes the Big Lie, I cannot imagine why increasing the volume and specificity of that presentation would be anything but helpful and serve to reduce the infection. I just don't see it, and strongly believe this country badly Needs such charges to be clearly, firmly and fairly brought.
That is a really good comment. I was somewhat afraid that the January 6 hearings would be a circus, but instead, the committee presented factual, understandable, and well-documented evidence about a confusing day. Watching the insurrection on tv was not enough and having it laid out clearly was a relief. I believe that putting the evidence against T out there in a similarly coherent, dispassionate, and intelligent manner would do us all good. Watching lawmakers present evidence in a respectful, intelligent manner where no one person is grabbing the spotlight as was done during the hearings, was a relief. I realize I have used relief twice in this comment, but that is what having January 6 laid bare for me was. I suspect others felt the same way. T and his minions have to be held accountable. They are hardly special snowflakes or shrinking violets. The evidence against them should be presented as dispassionately and publicly as were the January 6 hearings. Our fellow citizens are held legally responsible for their actions every day. Why should T and Co be any different, especially since their goal was to bring down the government?
I am happy to see the info on the " Inflation Reduction Act”[finally a named bill to steal the usual Repubs stealing of titles and slogans. Hopefully it will pass quickly along with a couple of the other pieces of pending legislation , but if for some reason they don't pass, the dems should be shouting their efforts everywhere so that citizens will know what is happening. This effort should also include ways to get this legislation by voting for reps and sens who will vote accordingly.
the comments by sen. Rubio and others should come as no surprise to anyone who follows their hypocrisy, racist and homophobic past rants. It would be so good to see them voted out if only people will vote. I guess we don't do enough to convince people that voting is important and their votes do make a difference. They also need to understand that they need to be realistic and just because they can't get their whole loaf now, that they can keep coming to get more.
Altho these are perilous times, it is too soon to give up and need to keep on working as best we can for change. Electing Biden was a great first step and people need to understand how much he has accomplished even against a stacked deck and that if we give him a little more support in November how much more he can do,
My best wishes to the young adult going to Canada for grad school, though it makes me sigh with a tinge of envy (my husband and I can to move to any country in the EU, but not to Canada) and more than a tinge of sadness. Please let him know (if he's not heading there) that if he likes C.S. Lewis, he should be sure to visit Fredericton, the capital of New Brunswick, which is the true location of Narnia.
Great letter! In the category of how young people are feeling about our country: When I asked my five-year-old granddaughter if she wanted to sing with me on FaceTime, she said she wanted us to sing "Oh, Canada!" I think she just likes the melody, but it made me wonder...
Robert,
Re: the younger generation, just before the Post and Times ran stories about how the younger generation is frustrated with and disappointed by Democrats—they control everything but can do nothing—my son’s friend explained to me those same points. I tried to explain that the Dems actually have done a lot, that politics is the art of the possible rather than the art of the perfect, and that structural problems prevented the Dems from doing more.
He responded that the issue was not the facts but rather perceptions and feelings. So I said, ok, your generation feels that way. What do you do with that? Sit at home and let the GOP take over? Or work your ass off to get more Dems elected? He had no answer to that. He could not predict what others would do.
My daughter, on the other hand, wants to burn it all down (read filibuster in particular).
I’m a fact-based guy, and if I can’t use facts in a discussion, I am at a loss. I of course agree with my daughter’s critique of the filibuster and the unrepresentativeness of one cow, one vote over one man, one vote. But she doesn’t have a suggestion for changing the system and was a defender of defund the police as a campaign slogan, showing a lack of understanding of politics (and she is much smarter than I am).
This is a generation that is both right (hearts in the right place based on their partial understanding of the way the world does and doesn’t work) and clueless about how to fix the ills they see. They need to understand the system to know what to overhaul and how to do it. But they are too impatient to listen to that. They just want it done. Yesterday. What do we do with that?
thanks for sharing your discussion with daughter, and good for you for engaging.
I think each new generation feels the same urgency for change. I suspect you did, too, when you were your daughter's age. As I said in today's newsletter, model the path forward. Hope that she follows. You may not see the results immediately, but you may be surprised how your actions imprint on your children.
Robert,
Thank you. I have written postcards and plan to do so again. My son heads up digital operations for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, so I have not lost my entire generation of offspring. My daughter actually is an activist but not in traditional political processes. Both have hearts in the right place.
Hello, Robert, I would say only that one looming fact separates us from this generation and that is the great octopus of technology. Not just the fact of it, not even the convenience of it or its seductive powers. Not even that I believe it caught up with us and left us standing in the road while it sped past. The difference I see--and thank goodness there are some shining exceptions--is that it has slowly robbed this generation of attention span, patience, and most seriously of vocabulary. Sorry if I sound like my usual downer. I don't mean to be in this case. I just, as an old English teacher, see the loss of language by whatever means as possibly the biggest problem we have and certainly the greatest loss for these young people.
To Stan, bless you. Your daughter is a very fortunate young woman.
I want it done yesterday, and I’m old. We have to live with what we have and work like hell to make it better. Tell her to get out and support Two more Senate candidates who can make a whale of a difference. It’s that or whine…. BTW defund the police slogan hurt way more than it helped. First rule. When you’re in a hole, stop digging…
Jeri, As for the slogan “defund the police,” I would warn, particularly young people, that when trying to communicate, if something can go wrong, it will. Hence, the importance of taking the time and effort carefully to choose our words to have the best shot at being understood.
Well said. Words can backfire.
For me, what would work is "Cops on the Street Plus," meaning I would like to see the addition of service personnel in afflicted neighborhoods...you know, the neighborhoods that scare us white folks and why some of us fear reduction of police services. (Not based on logic, of course.)
Neighborhood meetings were a tactic Obama used when he was a community organizer in Chicago. He would be a tremendous resource in developing a national program. It's powerful stuff when poor people have a voice. They are the ones who know where crime happens and who dun it. The one size fits all paradigm of policing, kill and ask questions later, really needs correcting especially given the ongoing harm to BIPOC.
I love this idea of a National Neighborhood Meetings program with Pres. Obama as the lead Neighbor! And this could be about more than crime - it could be a real way to counter the lies that the far right spreads so effectively on social media and their press. How do we make this happen? I'm starting with a letter to the White House. Thanks and blessings!
Thank you, let's keep in touch re: National Neighborhood Meetings! Actually, I would love for Pres Obama to be in the public service mode again. He's too good to let retire.
I checked Barack's Twitter feed and found that he retweeted Michelle's tweet about her new book (November) The Light We Carry. So I tweeted them both, asking how we could get a National Neighborhood Meetings program modeled after Barack's in Chicago.
Fantastic! Chaplaincy at its best. Thank you! Wouldn't it be wonderful? If (when) you get a response, say we need him and you can give my name too if you wish.
A little more: "The best way for communities to foster more inclusivity is to volunteer and collaborate to help those most in need. An important part of the work is bringing homeowners, renters, and the unhoused together in shared spaces to foster compassion for the community members in most need. They say changing a community begins with acknowledging the prejudices one might have of the unhoused, homeless, poor, and people of color, to ensure the work you are doing is intentional."
This is "lifted" from an ad hoc organization in East Palo Alto, Ca.
"Cops on the Street Plus" makes a lot of sense. It helps. We've got a great police chief here in Oakland, California who is trying to do just that.
Hope, While I greatly appreciate your concept, regrettably, slogans are not served up with explainers. Hence, particularly complex ones, are especially difficult to nail down.
Are you saying my catchy title doesn't quite do it? Your point is well taken. See Chaplain Terry's wonderful clarification. What do you think of something completely apart from policing, but with some solutions to causes for crime inherent, i.e, what I meant by "Plus."
How about "Safer Neighborhoods, Done Right"? That implies that:
a) it's about safety/security, and not just about more or less policing, and
b) LOTS of good thinking needs to go into a framework for what is right for different types of neighborhoods, and how to implement.
I love idea of Obama as leader!! Imagine him leading a team developing comprehensive plans for stabilizing, and then improving, our most challenged communities. :-)
Nice, Tyler!
Hope, In my view, for a slogan to be effective, its meaning must be readily transparent. “Plus” by itself is not self explanatory. That said, I loved Champlain’s reply, including her idea to expand the content of the neighborhood meetings program.
What I’ve found with slogans apart from simplicity—keep them positive! The GOP turned the concept into a negative slogan and, sadly, it worked(ing). “Plus” is along the right idea; albeit I don’t have a perfect, simple and positive meme to share.
Totally agree with you about the defund the police slogan. That was a dumb one. And I love the expression "when you're in a hole, stop digging..." Thanks for that.
Ah one of my favorites The First Rule of Holes. Jeri, for two old broads we seem to stay pretty feisty. When my friends tell me they don't keep up with the news because there's nothing they can do to make any difference, I always have the same response, "Lick envelopes." One step at a time; one day at a time; one Senate candidate at a time. Last I checked the Big Picture wasn't on my job description.
The really important question is why am I up at 10:30 doing laundry and eating Skittles?
Have a good what's left of the 28th of July
Stan, I would suggest amplifying that the 117th U.S. Congress, which began on January 3, 2021 and will end on January 3, 2023, so far has passed 159 bills, most of which have remained stalled in the Senate, principally due, excluding Republicans, to 2 Senate Democrats, who either oppose the legislation or who have refused to consider even a modest modification of the filibuster (e.g., allotting both sides 100 speaking hours before moving to an up or down majority vote) on legislation they claim to support (e.g., the Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act).
I would add that if Dems, this fall, hold the House and pick up 2 Senate seats, a host of legislation, including robust gun control measures, the codification of Roe, $50,000 dollars of student debt forgiveness, $15 minimum wage, the Pro Act, the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, affordable, quality childcare, universal Pre-K, investments in housing, in elder care, and in climate, and more likely would become law.
I also might inject, that if Dems lose either one or both Houses, the loss could precipitate a fatal weakening of the key mechanisms of democracy in the U.S. Were you to gain your children’s attention, you could continue by enlisting ways they could get involved.
Note I haven’t even touched on our needing poll workers and other local election officials—county clerks and election judges—who can help people to ensure that their votes are counted. Additionally, we’ll have to out-organize Republicans, who ruthlessly are organizing to fill state and local positions with their own people—people who don’t believe in free and fair elections.
Whoa! Most bills have been stalled by two senators? What about the 50 Republicans? Do they get a pass?
You’re right, Jon. I generally remember to include the 50 Republican Senators when I make this comment. Admittedly, however, this is not the first time I’ve been called out on this oversight.
Postscript: I decided to edit the text so that it reads properly
Thanks. Heart button not working again...
Susan, I appreciate the affirmation.
Great info in your first 2 paragraphs. Taking it a step further, it would be interesting to have a list of every House-passed bill of the last 18 mos. that has then stalled in the Senate due to GOP opposition. (Remember, usually only 2 of them had to vote with Dems.) If each bill's goals were summarized in 1 sentence, it seems like that list would be a very compelling thing to show all despairing &/or cynical voters - young and old. Even if they read only 5-10 items, they'd get the picture of what Dems keep coming very close to getting over the finish line.
Another way of framing this is: About 99% of Dem House members and 95% of Dem Senators supported these great ideas for improving America. Zero % of Republicans did. Lets make it crystal clear that the real obstacle is the GOP. Manchin and Sinema have just been the final straw legislatively. In summary,
a) The great ideas exist
b) The will among Congressional Democrats and Biden exist
c) We just need a 2 more Dems to overcome the Senate's institutional obstructions.
An analogy: you must have an A in a course to keep your scholarship. If you currently have an 89 avg., you just need a little more effort and success before the semester ends! You're SO CLOSE!
I'm frustrated that there's not simple, very strong messaging being done on this, just 3 mos. out from voting.
Tyler, My apologies for not responding sooner to your thoughtful reply. Because I currently am slammed with commitments, I probably will be unable to write until later tonight.
Tyler, To start, I would clarify that the purpose of my reply to Stan was to present ideas for motivating his kids to engage in the political process. I also would add, to ensure you and I are on the same page, that only the Senate Parliamentarian is able to determine which provisions relate to the budget and, thus, can be included in a budget reconciliation package that can pass with only 50 Senate votes plus the VP to cast the tie breaking vote. All other legislation requires a vote total that exceeds the 60-vote threshold unless a majority of Senators agree to modify the Senate filibuster rule. For Democrats, that means 50 Senators plus the VP.
Additionally, it should be noted that, typically, budget reconciliation can only be used once a year. Hence, the Senate Dems, for one reason only, had to cram Biden’s entire climate and social spending legislative agenda into one bill that could pass through this procedural maneuver: because the Republicans refused to allow regular order—bringing a bill to the floor for debate and an up or down majority vote.
With the foregoing in mind, I wish to reprint an excerpt from a comment I had posted shortly after the climate and social spending reconciliation package (BBB) failed, this past January, to pass by 2 votes (Manchin & Sinema). I also would note that I had refashioned this comment as letters I repeatedly had sent to White House staff and to Congressional leadership.
Here’s the comment:
“When the climate and social spending reconciliation package (BBB) failed to pass, this past January, by 2 votes (Manchin & Sinema), Democrats, rightly, expected Biden and Democratic leadership to go make the argument in West Virginia, and also in the red parts of Mississippi and Alabama, and in other states and say, ‘This is what we have tried to deliver and these folks have voted against it.’ Simply put, Democrats have to be willing to engage in war. The other side has shown that it will do whatever is necessary to attain power. Therefore, it is incumbent upon Democrats, receipts in hand, to say to the country, ‘America, when they didn’t care about you, we did.’
“Imagine the impact if everyday people across the country has been asked: ‘Who do you want here—somebody who doesn’t want to cut the price of insulin or those who do?’ ‘Somebody who doesn’t want to expand the child tax credit or those who do?’ ‘Doesn’t want to provide affordable, quality childcare and universal Pre-K or those who do?’ Doesn’t want to make investments in housing, in eldercare, in expanded ACA subsidies, and in climate or those who do?’ My point, and note I haven’t mentioned what Biden and the Party, indeed, have accomplished, is that Democrats have an extraordinary narrative, if only they would deliver it.”
Update: Tyler, I write, because this past weekend, I received word from a trusted source, contrary to the view I held when I wrote the foregoing comment, that, were the Dems to hold the House and pick up 2 Senate seats, the current 48, including Centrists, are prepared to modify, if not abolish, the Senate filibuster rule to move most, if not all, of the legislation that has passed in the House to the Senate floor for debate and an up or down majority vote.
Hence, contrary to my previous comment, which focused specifically on messaging relative to the budget reconciliation climate and social spending package, which failed this past January, I’m now focused on the more robust vision you presented in your comment.
Consider this my heart button, since it is currently inoperable.
Ellen, Thank you for your note. I’m pleased to receive the validation, particularly since I frequently converse with young people.
I'm old, no longer a clueless young person. That said, I'm STILL clueless about the failure of Congress to address an antiquated Electoral College system (which is now being eviscerated and turned upside down by clever and ruthless GOP politicians) and absolutely gobsmacked by a Senate that has such allegiance to its filibuster rules its members cannot and will not exercise their duty to pass laws that will benefit those who put them in office.
My son, listening to his friend who went to a prominent US university, said they agreed that the education from high school was much better -- that the purchase of a degree might be part of the problem. These are very intelligent people who I was very happy to listen to and sit amongst on the few occasions I was able to. They see it -- impermanence, faulty hierarchies, and corruption. It may be that they have loving parents and this is all the difference. Their task is different.
Nothing new about that attitude among the young, I’m afraid. We saw it more than 50 years ago, when I was your daughter’s age, and it will be the same when she is your age and complaining that her children don’t understand the real world. As the old story has it, when I was 21 my father didn’t know anything. When I was 30 I was amazed how much the old man had learned in nine years.
Good morning and thank you AGAIN for your insightful, researched, encouraging and motivating write ups; I hope you do realize how important you are to so many (all, and mean all my contacts are converts!!)
I have a family living (renting) in an apartment below us for a year. The husband and wife (and two kids, 3 and 6 months… yes, 1 is an American citizen!) are both neurosurgeon from Paris, here for a year’s special transfer/study program with Mass General Hospital. Janet, my wife and I have become quite close, spending lots of time. During a discussion last night, Pierre, the husband, mentioned that he doesn’t believe we Americans realize how much France and virtually all European countries watch every move, action, decision made here by our government and how each so impacts their lives. He said, “you know Bob, we really should have a vote in your presidential elections because we are so impacted by that results.”
They are thrilled with what our current President has accomplished….. and would vote for him if they could!
Wow! Thanks for sharing the insight from your guests! That is both heartening and sobering to hear.
They are likely as fearful as I am about the machinations of the minority. The threat is not over, as they well know. America, for better or worse, still is the best predictor of earth’s future. Unless an alien invasion is in the offing…
I really like to hear that. I know France has a right-wing party that is pretty menacing, but ours seems really behind the eight ball in terms of foreign relations and probably every other form of relations out there.
The video of Jake Tapper interviewing Secretary Pete Buttigieg caused my eyes to water up. What a wonderful and eloquent man! I believe that his steady, super intelligent and compassionate leadership could make him one of the most loved and successful Presidents the United States has ever experienced. The power of carefully chosen and well spoken words cannot be over-stated.
While I will support and applaud President Biden from start to finish - with enthusiasm! - I look forward to a time when we will be led by someone with "Pete's" skills and values.
Only Pete Buttigieg can move you to tears by describing cutting a banana into small pieces for an infant. He is a phenomenal communicator.
I celebrated the first woman VP, but if Pres Biden runs again I would like Pete to be his VP. Given the president's age, in the event of his dying in office, I do not think Kamala Harris is up to the job. She was a good senator, however. Without shame, she could return to that office.
Actually, I agree with you. Kamala Harris is really smart and talented. We need her in the Senate and Pete B is a calming and really together person. Plus, I think his experience as Secretary of Transportation during the Covid era would be really helpful. We'll see.
Couldn't agree more. If you want to have a really good laugh, and also see a really wonderful side of Pete Buttigieg, watch Trevor Noah's interview with Pete B when he was running for office. It's still on youtube and it's wonderful. It will make your day.
It appears a significant house cleaning of the Secret Service is in order. What a shame it has come to this. And isn't it disheartening to see how the Trump sickness spread so successfully through our government. Loyalty to person over country was never supposed to be in the Secret Service's guidebook. Someone specifically in the Secret Service is the instigator. It is essential to identify that very bad apple and his/her conspirators and send them packing (off to jail).
Fox spews the “sickness” non stop. Worse than Covid
So true. And Trump advisor Hannity has lost his moral compass in pursuit of gold.
Are you sure Hannity had a moral compass to begin with? I'm not. I think it has always been about the gold.
I agree. They have always been there, lurking in the background, but T brought them out in droves with his fall claims to be "saving the country." Cheney hit on that at the last hearing. T took advantage of their love of country and patriotism to feed them poison. Kind of like Jim Jones. We have a lot of work to do.
"Shockingly, the bill will be financed, in part, by imposing a minimum 15% tax on corporations with annual revenues greater than $1 billion." This corporate tax fulfills a 2021 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) agreement for a world-wide 15% minimum tax intended to discourage using low or non-existent taxes to lure corporations from one country to another.
I thought that's what I'd remembered. I couldn't imagine that the Republicans would do anything other than cut taxes on the wealthy if they had a choice.
Not only is it uplifting to know this 23 year old gentleman reads the opinion in WaPo, he also engages with Robert Hubbell! I didn't find Robert until I was almost 64 years old, and when I was 23 I was not engaging one iota in what was happening in anything other than my own little world. I uphold that there will be leaders from this young man's generation that will step up and lead others, and as we grow old, we will look to them with gratitude. I know too many fine people who have raised good citizens who seek a just and peaceful world and understand the importance of bending the moral arch of the universe ourselves, especially after all we have had to endure since 2016. Yes, let's have them see us helping lead the way to achieving a better world for all.
In my view, our highest priority is to avert the existential threat of minority rule over the will of the majority. Indeed, the J6th Committee’s mighty impressive probe has served as an invaluable contributing factor as will DOJ, presuming it holds the J6th command structure up to and including Trump criminally accountable.
That said, I write today to assert that the newly-coined Inflation Reduction Act, if implemented, could have the most profound impact on the midterms and beyond, especially if its passage is presented to voters as a sizable downpayment of more to come if Dems hold the House and pick up at least 2 Senate seats. This “more-to-come” would involve much of the legislation passed in the House that has remained stalled in the Senate, including all the provisions contained in budget reconciliation (BBB), the Freedom to Vote:John R. Lewis Act, the PRO Act, the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, and more.
The foregoing notwithstanding, I would be remiss were I not to mention Democracy Docket Founder Marc Elias’s warning of a Republican election subversion plan he expects will be enacted as early as this fall. Admittedly. Elias is not suggesting that local and state Republican election officials are laying the groundwork blatantly to declare their candidates the winner whether or not the candidate wins enough votes. He views the Republican election subversion plan as more sophisticated than that. Instead, Elias anticipates that Republicans will use “false allegations of fraud as a pretext to remove ballots from the vote totals and then certify those incomplete results.”
Though I don’t doubt that when litigation ensues Elias and his team will mount arguments whose conclusions can be nailed to the post with confirming evidence, I am not as confident that our courts will stand for the beacons of democracy that we need them to be.
You nailed the threat, ignore it at our peril
Agree, Barbara, re this potential bill. It is more difficult for Ds to pass this sort of legislation than it is for Rs to just cut programs, especially when the messy negotiating is covered daily, which (wrongly) gives the appearance of incompetence. This would be a great accomplishment AND combat that perception of disarray. I believe it is Terry Kanefield who is always saying that democracy is messy.
As a grandmother, I am drawn to action and take opportunities to engage with younger people.
Last night I joined members of the League of Women Voters in moderating a candidate forum with 5 candidates for the county School Board. There were a handful of students attending as well as a diverse group of adults. The “young” (young compared to me) leaders of the PTA were noteworthy.
They demonstrated the power of people using their time and energy for the greater good of the entire community. It’s clear that our support and service was much appreciated and demonstrated that they are not alone.
Wonderful! Thanks for leading the way!
Thank you for posting the link to Pete Buttigieg’s response to Marco Rubio. I have long been a Pete fan, including volunteering for his 2020 presidential campaign. He is smart as a whip and quick on his feet, often demolishing the “bait” questions posed to him. Who, besides me, would pay good money to hear a presidential debate between him and the clumsy, belligerent Ron DeSantis?
My $ on Pete! Would also love to see Val and Rubio debate.
It was not that long ago same-sex couples in Florida were banned from adopting…I fear that will be the next attack.
Rubio is too much of a chicken. I have doubts whether he will show up for a debate with Val. Have you seen any of her hard hitting TV commercials?
Yes, and Rubio is hitting back with ads that show support of police and sheriffs, including my “constitutional” sheriff….ugh
I see Gaetz was one of 20 Repubs this week voting no to reauthorize human trafficking bill. Hope the Lincoln Project runs with that one !
Oh boy would that be good. I actually met someone during my workshop in Italy who told me with a straight face that she thought Ron DeSantis was intelligent. I did manage to change the subject, but that comment boggled my mind from what I have seen and read about the man. But then again, there was a woman in the same workshop who told me loudly and with great confidence that Covid came from a lab in China and that wearing masks didn't make a bit of difference.
Yes we need to model hard work and hope for the younger generation. Thanks for motivating us. Thanks for caring so much for our country that you write this newsletter.
If your primary news source is your Facebook news feed, you are not an informed consumer of news -
For my friends who rely on Facebook as one of their primary news sources, please be aware of a significant change in Facebook’s “news feed.”
Meta (Facebook) has announced they are “deemphasizing its investment in news content.” What does that turn of phrase actually mean? It means that Facebook will no longer be paying for news content from reliable journalism sources. In fact, they are even abandoning the term “news feed.”
Instead of a user's "news feed" being composed primarily of content from friends and other accounts a user has chosen to follow, the main feed on a user's Facebook page will be an algorithmically-filtered collection of content from anywhere, and posts from a user's friends will be moved to a separate page.
What the heck does that mean? It means that Facebook will now decide what content to put in front of you based on their “best guess” about what they think you want to or should see, instead of allowing you to make your own choices.
Facebook will use its profit-driven “algorithms” to decide what “news” they think is most important for you to see. Here is a more thorough explanation of this change from the Columbia Journalism Review. If you are a Facebook user, please read this carefully and consider what it means for you.
https://www.cjr.org/the_media_today/will-facebook-changes-leave-news-media-out-in-the-cold.php?
People have long told me that Facebook is completely safe because you can control who your friends are and what you see on Facebook. Is that really true, when Facebook will use its private, profit-driven motives, and undisclosed “algorithms” to decide what content you should see in your “main feed”?
Facebook’s new “investment priority” is to decide what you should see in your Facebook feed, not to leave that decision to you as a Facebook member.
Remember, if you are not paying for a service, YOU are the product.
Last week, Meta, the parent company of Facebook, announced a major change to its flagship social media platform. Instead of a user's "news feed" being composed primarily of content from friends and other accounts a user has chosen to follow, the "main feed" on a user's Facebook page will be an algorithmically-filtered collection of content from anywhere, and posts from a user's friends will be moved to a separate page. Mark Zuckerberg, Meta's CEO, wrote about the proposed changes in late April, referring to the news-feed change as one of the company’s “investment priorities”; now the redesigned feeds are in the process of being rolled out to Facebook's three billion daily users.
As part of these changes, Sara Fischer of Axios also reported that the term "news feed" is being retired as a descriptor for the main feed on a user's page. Facebook first introduced the news feed in 2006, as a way of making it easy for users to see what all their friends were doing in one place, and while the new feature was not well received by some, it soon became the main interface for the social network, and the driving force behind Facebook's growth as an advertising vehicle.
Thanks, Bruce. Very informative, and vitally important.
If you think Facebook is not a part of the evil empire, consider that again.
I check Facebook about as often as I check my tires.
Your comments about Hannity repeating misinformation are so important to highlight. Many in the US depend on Fox and conservative radio for their information and until that changes somewhat, we will always remain deeply divided and need to struggle for truth and accurate information. Thanks for what you do.
"Lester Holt on Prospect of Prosecuting Trump: ‘Would Arguably Tear the Country Apart’." Since the process would very much resemble the process of the January 6th committee - laying out facts and evidence, and since the effect of that process so far has not been to "tear the country apart" but to, if anything, decrease Trump's support and reduce the size of the loud, angry, vocal minority that believes the Big Lie, I cannot imagine why increasing the volume and specificity of that presentation would be anything but helpful and serve to reduce the infection. I just don't see it, and strongly believe this country badly Needs such charges to be clearly, firmly and fairly brought.
That is a really good comment. I was somewhat afraid that the January 6 hearings would be a circus, but instead, the committee presented factual, understandable, and well-documented evidence about a confusing day. Watching the insurrection on tv was not enough and having it laid out clearly was a relief. I believe that putting the evidence against T out there in a similarly coherent, dispassionate, and intelligent manner would do us all good. Watching lawmakers present evidence in a respectful, intelligent manner where no one person is grabbing the spotlight as was done during the hearings, was a relief. I realize I have used relief twice in this comment, but that is what having January 6 laid bare for me was. I suspect others felt the same way. T and his minions have to be held accountable. They are hardly special snowflakes or shrinking violets. The evidence against them should be presented as dispassionately and publicly as were the January 6 hearings. Our fellow citizens are held legally responsible for their actions every day. Why should T and Co be any different, especially since their goal was to bring down the government?
I am happy to see the info on the " Inflation Reduction Act”[finally a named bill to steal the usual Repubs stealing of titles and slogans. Hopefully it will pass quickly along with a couple of the other pieces of pending legislation , but if for some reason they don't pass, the dems should be shouting their efforts everywhere so that citizens will know what is happening. This effort should also include ways to get this legislation by voting for reps and sens who will vote accordingly.
the comments by sen. Rubio and others should come as no surprise to anyone who follows their hypocrisy, racist and homophobic past rants. It would be so good to see them voted out if only people will vote. I guess we don't do enough to convince people that voting is important and their votes do make a difference. They also need to understand that they need to be realistic and just because they can't get their whole loaf now, that they can keep coming to get more.
Altho these are perilous times, it is too soon to give up and need to keep on working as best we can for change. Electing Biden was a great first step and people need to understand how much he has accomplished even against a stacked deck and that if we give him a little more support in November how much more he can do,
My best wishes to the young adult going to Canada for grad school, though it makes me sigh with a tinge of envy (my husband and I can to move to any country in the EU, but not to Canada) and more than a tinge of sadness. Please let him know (if he's not heading there) that if he likes C.S. Lewis, he should be sure to visit Fredericton, the capital of New Brunswick, which is the true location of Narnia.
Great letter! In the category of how young people are feeling about our country: When I asked my five-year-old granddaughter if she wanted to sing with me on FaceTime, she said she wanted us to sing "Oh, Canada!" I think she just likes the melody, but it made me wonder...
Ha!