Oh, boy! People need to get a sense of humor! Readers are upset over this line: "proving only that he (Hegseth) is a clone of Donald Trump without Trump’s charm and intelligence."
It was a joke, people. I thought about putting in a footnote to say, "Obviously, I am joking," but thought people would be put off by that heavy-handed approach.
Sadly, that is the reality of the internet as observed in Poe's Law:
Without a clear indicator of the author's intent, any parodic or sarcastic expression of extreme views can be mistaken by some readers for a sincere expression of those views.
I missed the sarcasm, partly because I believe the MAGA people actually find the president both charming and intelligent. To me, that explains why they're willing to forego criticizing his actions.
Now that John Roberts has been successful disenfranchising millions of Black and Brown voters, I’d be glad if he did the same with Clarence Thomas’s vote on the Supreme Court…
Voter suppression and vote manipulation by hackers are what put the orange excrement in the White House. Both tactics and more will be used in the midterms to manufacture blood red MAGA mega majorities in both houses of Congress, unless we take these threats seriously and stop them. Www.electiontruthalliance.org
Behold, the festering carcass of American rot shoved into an ill-fitting suit: the sleaze of a conman, the cowardice of a draft dodger, the gluttony of a parasite, the racism of a Klansman, the sexism of a back-alley creep, the ignorance of a bar-stool drunk, and the greed of a hedge-fund ghoul-all spray-painted orange and paraded like a prize hog at a county fair. Not a president. Not even a man. Just the diseased distillation of everything this country swears it isn't but has always been-arrogance dressed up as exceptionalism, stupidity passed off as common sense, cruelty sold as toughness, greed exalted as ambition, and corruption worshiped like gospel. It is America's shadow made flesh, a rotting pumpkin idol proving that when a nation kneels before money, power, and spite, it doesn't just lose its soul - it shits out this obscenity and calls it a leader.
Robert, ypu did a great job pleading the case for expanding and reforming the Supreme Court. It's a wonderful idea to expand the court with Justices committed to overturning the 10 cases in your list. The brief parenthetical comments are a nice reminder of what these cases were about and why they are so important.
One more thing. Keep the Pro Democracy Photos coming. they are inspirational.
My wife and I, on our evening walk, just listened to a brilliant conversation between Timothy Snyder and Lawrence Lessig. https://snyder.substack.com/p/thinking-live-with-lawrence-lessig About a legal case now being considered at the 1st Circuit that Lawrence thinks will allow the Supreme Court to ban Super-Pacs, notorious for channeling dark money into politics, without overturning Citizens United. In fact he says that the very logic of the Citizens United decision should allow or require SCOTUS in this case to rule against Super Pacs.. Highly recommended, very interesting, and the website of this effort is https://equalcitizens.us/
This is a fabulous Robert post! Great explanations of the SCOTUS Callais decision, the history of Robert's perfidy in his comments at confirmation hearing, his destructive decisions and what can be done to fix it all if we WIN! The list of bad decisions is great info. We need to win to get back our democracy. Hegseth is a disgrace for sure. He went full Bondi. I appreciated the analysis of the Iran situation and what would happen if the Strait was opened tomorrow. Still plenty of problems. I also appreciate greatly the analysis of the Callais decision for the midterms which helps us digest what it is ahead. Some of the redistricting will backfire on the Republicans. We can then go forward to fight in re 2028. Protest pics are something. One man is holding a sign that Comey is being prosecuted about!
Crazy that anyone who reads your newsletter would think you admire Trump’s charm and intelligence. My goodness. I love your constant reminders to us that we are not “potted plants.” No we are not. It’s a tragedy that millions who voted for Biden in ‘20 stayed home in ‘24. This makes me crazy on a frequent basis, when daily we see the results of such stupidity. I get that Dems often disappoint. Of course they do! Of course they should do better! I’m furious that 42 Dems in House voted to approve FISA renewal without protecting people’s data…creepy and shameful. However, whenever one has to choose a candidate to vote for, and in our country there’s two choices, choosing the Democrat will 99.99% of the time be the wise choice if one cares about average folks. One of my favorite progressive radio talk show hosts, Thom Hartmann, brilliant guy who has written a gazillion books on political issues/history, has an ongoing contest in which he offers the gift of a free book to any of his listeners who can name one piece of legislation, passed by Republicans, under a Republican administration, whose focus was on improving the lives of average working folks. Just one bill. No one has been able to win the free book! Repubs’ legislation always makes things worse for most of us. Remember the G.W. Bush “Clean Skies” legislation, that lifted regulations for oil and gas refiners so that more pollution could be released into the air? They are super clever in naming these bills as helping when they inevitably do harm. I will never forget a conversation I once had with a union member during the attempt at recalling Gov Scott Walker in WI. He admitted that after being disappointed w the Democratic governor who preceded Walker, he voted for Walker and regretted it shortly thereafter. I reminded him that no matter how Dems disappoint us, by not doing enough, or by sometimes being in thrall to big corporations themselves, they will always, always be less harmful and damaging to average folks than Republicans. Only recently have I learned Rebecca Solnit’s incredibly sage advice to us all, “our vote is a chess move, not a valentine.” Totally love that!
Thank you Robert! Yesterday was a tough day, but I know we'll get through this and be stronger for it together. If people are wondering what they can do, Amanda Nelson also has some great ideas! These are Instagram and YouTube posts, but she also has a Substack and posts on Threads.
Richard Hansen's shift from resisting to supporting adding more justices to SCOTUS seems to be a trend. Granted, he hasn't released the video of last night's call, but if I remember correctly, Simon Rosenberg, who has resisted more aggressive actions such as primarying centrist Dems in safe blue districts, voiced tentative support for adding justices to SCOTUS after the gutting of the VRA on top of what we've learned about the Shadow Docket and Robert's corruption.
My hope is that Obama and Holder will push for adding justices as well since, as Hansen observed, SCOTUS has become an enemy of Democracy.
With regard to Court reform, think about your goal. Do you want hoped for reform (if all would go well meaning the right President to appoint and Senate to confirm) in the distant future after you may be long gone? That is term limits, age, ethics (which also assumes this Court would not invalidate whatever you did). Or, do you want reform in the nearer future? That means the first thing is enlarging the Court immediately so that all other actions cannot be invalidated by Roberts. Make it large so a huge number of Justices are appointed now and make them younger so any future retrenchment by R's would take many, many years to gain a majority during which time reform laws would be entrenched (although not did not stop the end of many precedents).
Oh, boy! People need to get a sense of humor! Readers are upset over this line: "proving only that he (Hegseth) is a clone of Donald Trump without Trump’s charm and intelligence."
It was a joke, people. I thought about putting in a footnote to say, "Obviously, I am joking," but thought people would be put off by that heavy-handed approach.
Oh geez - "without Trump's charm and intelligence" says only less for anyone because we all should know he has zero, zip, nada.
I like your sense of humor.
I'm so relieved that you were joking. Sadly, not "getting it" exemplifies my current location: on the edge.
I thought it was pretty obviously a joke.
Sadly, that is the reality of the internet as observed in Poe's Law:
Without a clear indicator of the author's intent, any parodic or sarcastic expression of extreme views can be mistaken by some readers for a sincere expression of those views.
I got it!! Tongue firmly planted in cheek ... we all need to take a deep breath, folks. Robert's comment was stellar snark 💙
Took it as a joke. Really needed it.
I missed the sarcasm, partly because I believe the MAGA people actually find the president both charming and intelligent. To me, that explains why they're willing to forego criticizing his actions.
I look forward to your newsletter every day. Thank you being a voice of reason and hope. Much needed!
Now that John Roberts has been successful disenfranchising millions of Black and Brown voters, I’d be glad if he did the same with Clarence Thomas’s vote on the Supreme Court…
Voter suppression and vote manipulation by hackers are what put the orange excrement in the White House. Both tactics and more will be used in the midterms to manufacture blood red MAGA mega majorities in both houses of Congress, unless we take these threats seriously and stop them. Www.electiontruthalliance.org
Behold, the festering carcass of American rot shoved into an ill-fitting suit: the sleaze of a conman, the cowardice of a draft dodger, the gluttony of a parasite, the racism of a Klansman, the sexism of a back-alley creep, the ignorance of a bar-stool drunk, and the greed of a hedge-fund ghoul-all spray-painted orange and paraded like a prize hog at a county fair. Not a president. Not even a man. Just the diseased distillation of everything this country swears it isn't but has always been-arrogance dressed up as exceptionalism, stupidity passed off as common sense, cruelty sold as toughness, greed exalted as ambition, and corruption worshiped like gospel. It is America's shadow made flesh, a rotting pumpkin idol proving that when a nation kneels before money, power, and spite, it doesn't just lose its soul - it shits out this obscenity and calls it a leader.
Oliver Kornetzke
Robert, ypu did a great job pleading the case for expanding and reforming the Supreme Court. It's a wonderful idea to expand the court with Justices committed to overturning the 10 cases in your list. The brief parenthetical comments are a nice reminder of what these cases were about and why they are so important.
One more thing. Keep the Pro Democracy Photos coming. they are inspirational.
My wife and I, on our evening walk, just listened to a brilliant conversation between Timothy Snyder and Lawrence Lessig. https://snyder.substack.com/p/thinking-live-with-lawrence-lessig About a legal case now being considered at the 1st Circuit that Lawrence thinks will allow the Supreme Court to ban Super-Pacs, notorious for channeling dark money into politics, without overturning Citizens United. In fact he says that the very logic of the Citizens United decision should allow or require SCOTUS in this case to rule against Super Pacs.. Highly recommended, very interesting, and the website of this effort is https://equalcitizens.us/
Best post yet. Thank you.
I completely missed your comment, but I have lived by the maxim that when you see hoofprints, don't think zebras.
This is a fabulous Robert post! Great explanations of the SCOTUS Callais decision, the history of Robert's perfidy in his comments at confirmation hearing, his destructive decisions and what can be done to fix it all if we WIN! The list of bad decisions is great info. We need to win to get back our democracy. Hegseth is a disgrace for sure. He went full Bondi. I appreciated the analysis of the Iran situation and what would happen if the Strait was opened tomorrow. Still plenty of problems. I also appreciate greatly the analysis of the Callais decision for the midterms which helps us digest what it is ahead. Some of the redistricting will backfire on the Republicans. We can then go forward to fight in re 2028. Protest pics are something. One man is holding a sign that Comey is being prosecuted about!
Thank you! We are not potted plants❤️
Crazy that anyone who reads your newsletter would think you admire Trump’s charm and intelligence. My goodness. I love your constant reminders to us that we are not “potted plants.” No we are not. It’s a tragedy that millions who voted for Biden in ‘20 stayed home in ‘24. This makes me crazy on a frequent basis, when daily we see the results of such stupidity. I get that Dems often disappoint. Of course they do! Of course they should do better! I’m furious that 42 Dems in House voted to approve FISA renewal without protecting people’s data…creepy and shameful. However, whenever one has to choose a candidate to vote for, and in our country there’s two choices, choosing the Democrat will 99.99% of the time be the wise choice if one cares about average folks. One of my favorite progressive radio talk show hosts, Thom Hartmann, brilliant guy who has written a gazillion books on political issues/history, has an ongoing contest in which he offers the gift of a free book to any of his listeners who can name one piece of legislation, passed by Republicans, under a Republican administration, whose focus was on improving the lives of average working folks. Just one bill. No one has been able to win the free book! Repubs’ legislation always makes things worse for most of us. Remember the G.W. Bush “Clean Skies” legislation, that lifted regulations for oil and gas refiners so that more pollution could be released into the air? They are super clever in naming these bills as helping when they inevitably do harm. I will never forget a conversation I once had with a union member during the attempt at recalling Gov Scott Walker in WI. He admitted that after being disappointed w the Democratic governor who preceded Walker, he voted for Walker and regretted it shortly thereafter. I reminded him that no matter how Dems disappoint us, by not doing enough, or by sometimes being in thrall to big corporations themselves, they will always, always be less harmful and damaging to average folks than Republicans. Only recently have I learned Rebecca Solnit’s incredibly sage advice to us all, “our vote is a chess move, not a valentine.” Totally love that!
I just read that our GOP powered national debt now exceeds our GDP.
Thank you Robert! Yesterday was a tough day, but I know we'll get through this and be stronger for it together. If people are wondering what they can do, Amanda Nelson also has some great ideas! These are Instagram and YouTube posts, but she also has a Substack and posts on Threads.
"Republican seats we can eliminate before 2028 (without California)": https://www.instagram.com/amandasmildtakes/reel/DXwrXHNuE6Y/
"How you can help the South (today, from anywhere)": https://www.instagram.com/amandasmildtakes/reel/DXwtZUFO0l-/
"What to do about the VRA Supreme Court Ruling": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxPToqvDkRM
Richard Hansen's shift from resisting to supporting adding more justices to SCOTUS seems to be a trend. Granted, he hasn't released the video of last night's call, but if I remember correctly, Simon Rosenberg, who has resisted more aggressive actions such as primarying centrist Dems in safe blue districts, voiced tentative support for adding justices to SCOTUS after the gutting of the VRA on top of what we've learned about the Shadow Docket and Robert's corruption.
My hope is that Obama and Holder will push for adding justices as well since, as Hansen observed, SCOTUS has become an enemy of Democracy.
With regard to Court reform, think about your goal. Do you want hoped for reform (if all would go well meaning the right President to appoint and Senate to confirm) in the distant future after you may be long gone? That is term limits, age, ethics (which also assumes this Court would not invalidate whatever you did). Or, do you want reform in the nearer future? That means the first thing is enlarging the Court immediately so that all other actions cannot be invalidated by Roberts. Make it large so a huge number of Justices are appointed now and make them younger so any future retrenchment by R's would take many, many years to gain a majority during which time reform laws would be entrenched (although not did not stop the end of many precedents).