Robert, what a compliment to read your your newsletter this morning and to see a quote from my comment yesterday. Humbling to say the least!
As perspective for your readers, knit night occurs at a home in Minnesota’s 2nd Congressional District - the southern suburbs of the Twin Cities. Three of us live in the district; the other two live in MN 3, which includes the western suburbs of Minneapolis (currently represented by Dean Phillips D-MN)
MN 2 was considered a swing district when I moved here 14 years ago. In 2018, we elected Angie Craig, a Democrat. Why is that important to the rest of you? Easy. Craig was the chief author of the legislation to lower the cost of insulin which was signed into law in 2021. From $600 a month to $35 a month. For a drug whose formula was donated by the scientists who formulated it for humanitarian reasons so there weren’t ongoing research costs; just giant profits!
The 2020 congressional race here was THE most expensive race in the country. The RNC and big pharma, along with untold millions of dark money, were spent trying to keep this district in the red column, and keep Angie Craig and her ideas about negotiating drug prices out of Congress. Also important was that the county I live in, Dakota, had the highest voter turnout in the country. 93%!!! So Republicans put everything they had into turning the district red again by targeting suburban women and were roundly defeated.
Knitting is a form of spiritual meditation for most knitters - respite from the storm. But as the button on my knitting bag states; “It’s all fun and games until somebody drops a stitch.” Let’s all work to make certain we don’t drop any stitches going forward by working to get out the vote. Thank you Robert and managing editor for keeping us focused and well informed!
Love, love, love your story, Sheila! Thank you so much for sharing it with Mr. Hubbell who has shared it with all of us! You give us HOPE! And the abilility to Stay Calm and Carry On!
Thank you, Sheila B, from the husband of a prodigious knitter, committed liberal, and cousin of an Arizonan who established a Liberal Ladies group in darkest Arizona.
Only fitting that you enjoyed my story a bit since I enjoyed reading YES magazine for so many years while you were publisher (and still do.) Thank you!
Shiela. How cool that you recognized my name. Yes, I was head of YES! for 19 years. Retired in 2017 and glad it is still going strong under Christine Hanna's capable leadership. Now I'm devoting my activist energies to fighting climate change -- supporting biking and walking on my island, pressuring our utility to get off of both coal and gas, encouraging churches to talk about climate change, etc. Also, an active member of the Movement Voter Project to affect our national elections.
Robert you captured perfectly the essence of the Republican soul (not that a fair number in the House GOP, actually have a soul), but as Bill Clinton said in 2022, "Republicans are pretty simple, actually. and pretty straight forward. They say I want you to be very miserable. And they say I want you to be very angry. And they say I want you to vote for us, and we'll make it worse, but we'll blame them."
Janet R, I wish I could quote Eric Swalwell's comment on CNN the other day on the Republican character, but I couldn't help thing that if GOP legislators were more like him we'd have a pretty good country. At least we would have reasonable discussions between Congressional members and real cooperation for the good of the country. Right now Republicans hate Democrats about as much as one country hates their worst adversaries. I believe more than a few of them would pick up a gun in a second if Trump became president again and urged them to do so. I said the extremists in the GOP House were devoid of a soul. Well its not scientifically provable that there is even such a thing as a soul, but if there is then obviously everyone has one, but I heard the term once that many mortals have built up a sort of corrosion around their soul that makes it virtually undetectable. The mortal human mind has completely taken over, not even a hint of spirituality is detectable. .
Ah, you did much b better than me Janet. A perfect description and so true about so many claiming to be Christian. (Like MTG). So glad you heard Rep Swalwell, and so true how Jordan and company don't want to hear what he has to say. I think it makes them very uncomfortable. I think on a certain level they recognise the truth of what he and others like him are saying and it really bothers them. (Just as Dracula shrinks from the light they shrink from truth which is as light shining on their dark souls).
I grew up ib the Christian tradition but we were not churchgoers . Later I began to question certain things in my mind that you have to believe a certain way to get into heaven even though it says in the bible by your works you shall be known, and something about faith is as tinkling bells without works. Of course the gem neral belief is you can be pretty rotten your whole life (like some of the people we are talking about), but at the last minute if you confess your sins, etc and ask forgiveness all will be well. But these people don't even realize they are real SOB's. If they could see themselves as we see them they would shrink in horror. The other thing I didn't like was the exclusivity - only Christians will reside in heaven, Well I have no interest in exclusive private clubs. ,I want to be where my dear friends are, friends of various faiths and some atheists even and agm nosy tics, but all good and kin people.
Jorden is one of the worst. He was laughing when Swalwell said his bit.
For people who believe in spirituality outside of organized religion (mostly male dominated IMO)– it is especially hard to see those politicians, who ‘claim’ to be Christian, fleecing the flock to gain power. Geez, the King James says it better than I and it perfectly describes our current scenario: “Beware of false prophets which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.” Obviously if you exchange ‘false profits for politicians it’s kinda creepy, huh?
I am not excluding ppl who are members of the Church, I’m sure the majority see how the politicians, who claim to be Christians, are manipulating for power.
More importantly, your comments about growing up in the Christian tradition really got me going.
As for getting into heaven after a living a rotten life- the early wolves in sheep’s clothing actually devised a great way to make $ - they would pardon your sins so you could get into heaven. Of course they had implemented ‘confession’ which put your actual crap sins out there and then you had no choice but to get a priest to forgive you. I’m no Theologian so I’ll stop there and just say it left a lotta room for abuse.
A few years back my good friend, Blake Gould, the acupuncturist from Stowe, VT, passed. He was trained in Asia and had pretty much left the Catholic Church for a different kinda spirituality. He was a very good person and a dear friend. I have no doubt that when my energy goes back to the pot, I will, in some form or another, be with him and my other besties.
Blake’s kids had a Catholic Funeral, which surprised all of us who know him. I was shocked when the priest opened with “Blake now sits with his father in heaven”. I was shocked and hurt. I had always been told that I wasn’t doing this or that and that I would not go to heaven. The ongoing threat that being a good person and having a conscience that keeps you good with all living things is not enough, you must be a certain way or do a certain thing or attend a certain amount of meetings or services (Rambling a bit here…). That threat stays with people their entire lives. My mum was in Catholic boarding school for 18 years. It took years of therapy for her to heal.
I felt that Blake too must have heard this threat- how can you be from a Catholic family and not hear it? Now he was dead and gone and suddenly there is a priest saying “he is with the Father in Heaven”. WTF? That is such a slap. Ugh; I can’t even!
Karen, I appreciate you thoughts on thi, you are so right. The desire for money and power corrupts many politi . They will say anything to get campaign contributions elected. I would like to have known your friend, but based on my near death type experience many years ago he is in a very good place. I was shown the various levels of consciousness on the other side. Every day we live we are creating our future both here and herafter. The lower levels I speak of are not punishment by God, but in essence self-inflicted. Heaven and Hell are within. We take who we are to the other side. ("Gather for yourself riches in heaven,' The gold and silver and positions of power we leave behind.
Thank you, Janet. I had been thinking along the same lines, that Trump will be out of the picture perhaps sooner than we think, but just as dangerous to our democratic system are his ever faithful cult-like followers who either don't believe he did anything wrong or who don't care if he did They see him as the great white saviour that will take them to an all white, all Christian promised land. You basically mentioned they don't exactly practice Christ's teachings. They probably all go to church on Sunday, smiling and nodding to eac other as if they are good and decent people, then on m Monday through Saturday they revert to their true selves, cutting people off in traffic, cussing, being nasty to employees and others and to family members, then on Sunday back to smiling and nodding to each other again :)
.I'll share something with you I came across. It is supposedly a message from Jesus so read it as though he is really saying this even though someone has probably made it up (or maybe not :) I certainly couldn't have written something so beautifully:
"During the very early years of my last life I was not aware of having had previous lives. There were certain lessons to learn and pinnacles to reach before I would be ready for this to be revealed to me. It is very much the same for the initiates of earth today. Certain things cannot be revealed until the chela, or pupil, is ready. For it to be otherwise would be most confusing.
Yes, a great deal of mystery surrounds my birth. My birth was always a mystery to me until a certain period in my life. Things were held back from me by my soul. The soul will not reveal anything unto you until you are ready.
As has been indicated earlier, I was not born into this life in the manner that has been told. I realize that many people will cling to their perception of my birth so much that they will not want to let go of this illusion. But nevertheless, there must come a time when the truth must be told. The crutch must be taken away. The people must stand on their own two feet. For too long I have been worshipped as a God, whereas I am the same as you worshippers, conceived exactly as they.
I do not wish to be worshipped. I wish only for the people to worship the principles; the teaching that was brought to them through my instrumentality, and the instrumentality of others who came before me and after me.
For too long these teachings have been ignored: Why? Because it takes a great deal of personal sacrifice to follow the teaching and tof give up habits of thought and activity which are held dear. It is much easier to assume that the Blood of the Lamb was shed for all one's sins and as long as one believes this, one shall be saved and have eternal life.
“But back to my story. My sandals trod the dust of the Holy Lands nearly two thousand years ago. My mission was to instill into the minds of the people that the meaning of life was not as complicated as they were led to believe. I traveled about the lands seeking to inspire the people and momentarily they were inspired; but unfortunately, they became entangled with material conditions and lost sight of the finer things that were being given unto them. So, I had to step aside and allow them to follow the path of their choosing. Following my brief stay, other teachers would go into the various lands to try to reach the masses of struggling humanity. But the same conditions were encountered, generation after generation. We all tried to touch those who we felt were sufficiently sensitive to become teachers, to become messengers of light unto the people. Now, over two thousand years later, I bring my Word in the hope it will be understood. Much of what I said in the past has been misinterpreted. I had come to serve humanity, like so many others before me. Many of these same teachers suffered as I did. Yes, tears of compassion flowed often, as they observed the domination of mankind and all the manifestation of evil which prevailed. I often found the same conditions and as a mortal I sought to instill the simple truths unto them. I felt that if I could explain to them these truths in the simple manner in which I received them there would be no danger of misinterpretation down through the ages. But unfortunately I was wrong.
At one time, the main topic of my conversation with people was that they must be born again, and again and again; that the lessons to be learned could not possibly be learned in one lifetime. Even this basic fact was misinterpreted. And even today, although great emphasis is placed on the idea of a spiritual rebirth — or being born again in a spiritual way — the teaching ends there: my original meaning long forgotten and, I fear, deliberately distorted by the many whom I encountered. And I feel, as I speak today, that much of what I say will not be accepted. Why the stubbornness? Why the refusal to accept? Certain beliefs can be so ingrained in human thought that when an honest attempt is made to correct the situation, great anger arises within the heart of those who are being given the opportunity to learn the truth. And so they must remain ignorant of the great majestic truths of creation and the grand plan for mankind.
I
Alas, it is not to be so for the majority. They will not heed my words any more now than they did before. But the time is not too far distant when life on planet earth — as they know it — will be no more. Evolution will begin all over again for them. They will have to endure endless physical lives — many in deep misery. All because of their stubborn refusal to rejoin their creator. It is difficult to believe this; yet it is true.
My heart is heavy when I think of all the wrong-doing on earth. And all the greed that exists.
The children of the earth shall eventually be led into a Golden Age. My mission was, and still is, to establish a universal consciousness of God upon the earth. A oneness of all mankind. God's kingdom will come, and His Will be done on earth — as it is in Heaven.
And so, dear ones. I bid you goodnight. Perhaps you will ponder all that has been given here and will adopt some of the philosophy into your daily lives. And in so doing, in your own small way you will help to make the world, a better place.”
What kind of person is embarrassed by the sight of a wounded military veteran singing God Bless America”?
A draft-dodgng liar, a service-avoiding physical coward, a career criminal with no moral compass or integrity, a malicious, malevolent, mendacious piece of shit. A traitor to any and all who stand in his way.
I still have the image of him mocking the reporter with a disability. It was shocking. Even more shocking was the apparent consensus among Trump's MAGA attendees. I just hate the ascendancy of cruelty, viciousness and lack of moral judgement among his followers and in the population as a whole. I wish Rupert's resignation meant a return to civility, but apparently there will be more of the same.
TCinLA ---- you've outdone my adjectives in describing the worthless sociopathic example of a malignant character disorder. Bravo. (and I'm sure many republicans think the same.) They suffer from a less malignant but still appalling demonstrable character disorder. "Spineless" in not an adjective that applies to them. They are a corrupt bunch of cronies only interested in power and money - whose mendacity (I love that word) is breathtaking,
He's talking to his Orcs about how scared he is of going to prison. I want his Secret Service protection canceled, then throw him in the Florence SuperMax and let him live in terror that the next guy to pass him will shank him. After which put the body in a weighted bag and dump it out of an airplane mid-Atlantic. Fish food. Like Bin Laden.
I want to share a story. I live in a retirement community of about 800 people whose average age is mid 80’s. These individuals are alert, alive and involved. The Democratic Club helps it first meeting of the fall and over 100 people attended to listen to a group called Carolina Forward. Carolina Forward is a non profit group whose is focused only on North Carolina local politics and is not involved with politics on a national basis. They recently did a survey on the key issues that voters really care about in North Carolina. What the survey revealed are the key issues are climate change ( NC is a big farming state) reproductive rights and school voucher programs and parental rights. The economy was not a burning issue. Additionally they identified that those eligible voters between 22 to 40 had an average of a 22% voter turnout in the last election. The Triangle where I live has major universities like Duke; UNC and NC State and many college students. This group of grandmother and grandfather residents decided they were going to focus on getting “ the youngsters “ out to vote and by the end of the meeting had raised money, put a strategy team in place and had a list of volunteers. The pollsters BTW list seniors over 70 as “ the silent generation “ and theses seniors will be anything but silent.
Stephen, I also live in a retirement community in western NC with active, alert, intelligent, and involved residents. We live in a blue city surrounded by rural red counties (the county next to us does not have an active Democratic party nor do they have any Democrats running for any office). Our retirement community has many Democrats that are active in our precinct and residents who write letters, postcards, phone bank and work at the polls. Another retirement community here also has involved Democrats who are very active in the party. So anyone who thinks seniors are conservative and silent are wrong! Thank you for introducing me to Carolina Forward. I am impressed by what I have read on their website.
Excellent summary of the asymmetries between the dysfunctional Republican party and the legitimately governing Democratic party. Thank you, Robert.
Following that, your second section about the heroism of General Milley made me wonder what it'll take to see similar heroism from one of the high-ranking retired military officers now serving in the House of Representatives. Defending the institution at the heart of our democracy from MAGA's current assault would be fully consistent with their training, experience and oath.
Don Bacon (R-NE) is a former Air Force Brigadier General. Mike Gallagher (R-WI) was a Marine Corps intelligence officer in Iraq. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) was embedded with Special Forces in Iraq.
If a young lieutenant can lead an infantry patrol in the mountains of Afghanistan, surely challenging Kevin McCarthy for the Speakership of the House of Representatives presents no greater risk. How about showing some courage, gentlemen?
Here in AZ we have a freshman representative from a badly-mangled CD (Eli Crane) who was a Navy SEAL and is now a full-blown MAGAt and member of the Chaos Caucus (NOT "Freedom" Caucus). How do you explain that? He swore an oath to uphold and defend the U.S. Constitution and is now effectively urinating on it. He. Must. Go.
I have explained to my European friends the American expression “all hat and no cattle”. Now you have topped that with “Kevin McCarthy is all feather and no hat”, I immediately shared that as well. (And the context you explain so well -- absent the power to control the progress of legislation the Speaker’s office is “ornamental”!)
I am stuck on the focus of the Freedom Caucus being the "villans" in the Congressional debacle. They are the voice. EVERY representative that votes with them is equally guilty. It always irks me when credit is given to the last vote on a critical issue. McCain comes to mind on Health Care. It was not i
His vote alone that made the difference but the cumulative vote. So it is here. It is ALL those who refuse to say "no" to the crazies. All of them are crazies.
Robert: Sorry to hear that your Reader event in SF on Oct 6th is packed. I live in Pacific Heights as well, and would be glad to host a second event that day for you if you have time. We have space to host about 50 people.
First, I agree with Shelia B about the number of die-hard Republicans who recognize the current “party”’s dangerous state. Here in Texas, the Paxton acquittal has enraged many, who may not vote for a Democrat but will never vote for Trump. That’s something.
I’m currently in Boston with my husband and his Vietnam buddies (and spouses), who meet annually for a reunion. We’re not on the same page politically as most of them, but I’m reminded again of how MUCH they gave up. These were not career military folks but rather draftees who also happened to be the best artillery direction outfit in the field, where they pretty much spent their whole,year. The amount of time and money I give to our democracy will never come close to these men’s service, and for many that came with very high costs of various sorts.
This weekend, I plan to walk and re-walk the Freedom Trail and bank some memories to fuel me in the months to come.
I cannot speak highly enough about joining a postcarding effort. I am in a blue state wanting to boost blue voting across the country and I welcome targeted assignments...Virginia, Ohio, wherever the need is timely and focused. Swing Left and other orgs make it easy to do from home.
Sep 22, 2023·edited Sep 22, 2023Liked by Robert B. Hubbell
History has shown us that those who have banned books, burn books. That same history has shown us that those who burn books, burn people. Let us learn from history and act on it.
Thank you, Robert! It is easier to create a sound bite than to tell the truth. This is so true and I keep trying to articulate that to all my fellow Dems who keep blaming us for the Republicans seeming messaging prowess. They deal in headlines while we deal in body of text and sometimes the body of text is deep and gray and unable to be shaped into a phrase. But we do hold our own powerful sound bites and I believe we don’t see that they are powerful and they are why the Republicans are so aggressive and frankly, afraid of us. All the words that headline what our party strives to achieve, for better or worse, such as Equity, Equality, Civil Rights, Housing for All, Medicare for All, the 1%, Women’s Rights, People of Color, White Privilege, Pro-Choice, Fair Elections, and on and on….these are the things we stand for and have messaged as our goals and vision for America that they abhor and fight against with their absurd counter-messaging. Our messaging stays solid and weaves through all the years and even through the fabric of our lives and governance. Our media loves shiny new objects so they pound new, ghastly phrases like Socialist or Big Government. We feel bad because we’re being name-called or pigeonholed and misinterpreted. But they do this because our strong, steady, determined messages never go away in our March for Democracy. I always try to come back to this center of what Democrats want for our world. It does take a lot of effort, especially when our own media stars parrot Republican messages as if they have teeth. Well, we have teeth too. I’m deeply grateful to Robert for bringing this up today. And I also agree, 100% that we can, will and should organize to win in every single small town or city we live in. Collectively we are a huge network whose messaging is solid and right. I feel inspired for my day of knocking doors! Thank you!
Really beautifully put. The Republicans have sophisticated advertising gurus at their beck and call. But their is always one powerful word they leave out. Love. Let’s use that to our advantage.
The two-party system that we have is the worst possible way of organizing a republic -- except for a one-party system. The collapse of the Rs is something that, if it happens, we will look back on with profound regret. We should hope that members of genuine republican principles will be able to bring that party back to America.
It is, but unfortunately, a two-party system is the direct result of our Constitution. Our system of government requires two functioning parties to survive. We currently have only one.
Sep 22, 2023·edited Sep 22, 2023Liked by Robert B. Hubbell
Thank you! I will have sweet dreams tonight because of all of the good news you shared. My favorite ritual before turning in is reading your newsletter.
Ahhh you must live on the left coast. It is just the opposite for me. My day begins a little more sane because I read it before I get up in the morning along with HCR.
Robert, what a compliment to read your your newsletter this morning and to see a quote from my comment yesterday. Humbling to say the least!
As perspective for your readers, knit night occurs at a home in Minnesota’s 2nd Congressional District - the southern suburbs of the Twin Cities. Three of us live in the district; the other two live in MN 3, which includes the western suburbs of Minneapolis (currently represented by Dean Phillips D-MN)
MN 2 was considered a swing district when I moved here 14 years ago. In 2018, we elected Angie Craig, a Democrat. Why is that important to the rest of you? Easy. Craig was the chief author of the legislation to lower the cost of insulin which was signed into law in 2021. From $600 a month to $35 a month. For a drug whose formula was donated by the scientists who formulated it for humanitarian reasons so there weren’t ongoing research costs; just giant profits!
The 2020 congressional race here was THE most expensive race in the country. The RNC and big pharma, along with untold millions of dark money, were spent trying to keep this district in the red column, and keep Angie Craig and her ideas about negotiating drug prices out of Congress. Also important was that the county I live in, Dakota, had the highest voter turnout in the country. 93%!!! So Republicans put everything they had into turning the district red again by targeting suburban women and were roundly defeated.
Knitting is a form of spiritual meditation for most knitters - respite from the storm. But as the button on my knitting bag states; “It’s all fun and games until somebody drops a stitch.” Let’s all work to make certain we don’t drop any stitches going forward by working to get out the vote. Thank you Robert and managing editor for keeping us focused and well informed!
Excellent! Pinning to the top!
You go girl!
Love, love, love your story, Sheila! Thank you so much for sharing it with Mr. Hubbell who has shared it with all of us! You give us HOPE! And the abilility to Stay Calm and Carry On!
Thank you, Sheila B, from the husband of a prodigious knitter, committed liberal, and cousin of an Arizonan who established a Liberal Ladies group in darkest Arizona.
don't drop any stiches ✅✅✅
This is wonderful news. You probably already knew this, but Eleanor Roosevelt always knitted in meetings, even in the UN😊
I did not know that! Thank you!!
Loved your story, Shiela, and this follow up. Go, Go, Go!
Only fitting that you enjoyed my story a bit since I enjoyed reading YES magazine for so many years while you were publisher (and still do.) Thank you!
Shiela. How cool that you recognized my name. Yes, I was head of YES! for 19 years. Retired in 2017 and glad it is still going strong under Christine Hanna's capable leadership. Now I'm devoting my activist energies to fighting climate change -- supporting biking and walking on my island, pressuring our utility to get off of both coal and gas, encouraging churches to talk about climate change, etc. Also, an active member of the Movement Voter Project to affect our national elections.
Robert you captured perfectly the essence of the Republican soul (not that a fair number in the House GOP, actually have a soul), but as Bill Clinton said in 2022, "Republicans are pretty simple, actually. and pretty straight forward. They say I want you to be very miserable. And they say I want you to be very angry. And they say I want you to vote for us, and we'll make it worse, but we'll blame them."
Bingo
Great quote.
They have no soul.
That’s a good one ☝️
Janet R, I wish I could quote Eric Swalwell's comment on CNN the other day on the Republican character, but I couldn't help thing that if GOP legislators were more like him we'd have a pretty good country. At least we would have reasonable discussions between Congressional members and real cooperation for the good of the country. Right now Republicans hate Democrats about as much as one country hates their worst adversaries. I believe more than a few of them would pick up a gun in a second if Trump became president again and urged them to do so. I said the extremists in the GOP House were devoid of a soul. Well its not scientifically provable that there is even such a thing as a soul, but if there is then obviously everyone has one, but I heard the term once that many mortals have built up a sort of corrosion around their soul that makes it virtually undetectable. The mortal human mind has completely taken over, not even a hint of spirituality is detectable. .
Ah, you did much b better than me Janet. A perfect description and so true about so many claiming to be Christian. (Like MTG). So glad you heard Rep Swalwell, and so true how Jordan and company don't want to hear what he has to say. I think it makes them very uncomfortable. I think on a certain level they recognise the truth of what he and others like him are saying and it really bothers them. (Just as Dracula shrinks from the light they shrink from truth which is as light shining on their dark souls).
I grew up ib the Christian tradition but we were not churchgoers . Later I began to question certain things in my mind that you have to believe a certain way to get into heaven even though it says in the bible by your works you shall be known, and something about faith is as tinkling bells without works. Of course the gem neral belief is you can be pretty rotten your whole life (like some of the people we are talking about), but at the last minute if you confess your sins, etc and ask forgiveness all will be well. But these people don't even realize they are real SOB's. If they could see themselves as we see them they would shrink in horror. The other thing I didn't like was the exclusivity - only Christians will reside in heaven, Well I have no interest in exclusive private clubs. ,I want to be where my dear friends are, friends of various faiths and some atheists even and agm nosy tics, but all good and kin people.
Jorden is one of the worst. He was laughing when Swalwell said his bit.
For people who believe in spirituality outside of organized religion (mostly male dominated IMO)– it is especially hard to see those politicians, who ‘claim’ to be Christian, fleecing the flock to gain power. Geez, the King James says it better than I and it perfectly describes our current scenario: “Beware of false prophets which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.” Obviously if you exchange ‘false profits for politicians it’s kinda creepy, huh?
I am not excluding ppl who are members of the Church, I’m sure the majority see how the politicians, who claim to be Christians, are manipulating for power.
More importantly, your comments about growing up in the Christian tradition really got me going.
As for getting into heaven after a living a rotten life- the early wolves in sheep’s clothing actually devised a great way to make $ - they would pardon your sins so you could get into heaven. Of course they had implemented ‘confession’ which put your actual crap sins out there and then you had no choice but to get a priest to forgive you. I’m no Theologian so I’ll stop there and just say it left a lotta room for abuse.
A few years back my good friend, Blake Gould, the acupuncturist from Stowe, VT, passed. He was trained in Asia and had pretty much left the Catholic Church for a different kinda spirituality. He was a very good person and a dear friend. I have no doubt that when my energy goes back to the pot, I will, in some form or another, be with him and my other besties.
Blake’s kids had a Catholic Funeral, which surprised all of us who know him. I was shocked when the priest opened with “Blake now sits with his father in heaven”. I was shocked and hurt. I had always been told that I wasn’t doing this or that and that I would not go to heaven. The ongoing threat that being a good person and having a conscience that keeps you good with all living things is not enough, you must be a certain way or do a certain thing or attend a certain amount of meetings or services (Rambling a bit here…). That threat stays with people their entire lives. My mum was in Catholic boarding school for 18 years. It took years of therapy for her to heal.
I felt that Blake too must have heard this threat- how can you be from a Catholic family and not hear it? Now he was dead and gone and suddenly there is a priest saying “he is with the Father in Heaven”. WTF? That is such a slap. Ugh; I can’t even!
Karen, I appreciate you thoughts on thi, you are so right. The desire for money and power corrupts many politi . They will say anything to get campaign contributions elected. I would like to have known your friend, but based on my near death type experience many years ago he is in a very good place. I was shown the various levels of consciousness on the other side. Every day we live we are creating our future both here and herafter. The lower levels I speak of are not punishment by God, but in essence self-inflicted. Heaven and Hell are within. We take who we are to the other side. ("Gather for yourself riches in heaven,' The gold and silver and positions of power we leave behind.
Thank you, Janet. I had been thinking along the same lines, that Trump will be out of the picture perhaps sooner than we think, but just as dangerous to our democratic system are his ever faithful cult-like followers who either don't believe he did anything wrong or who don't care if he did They see him as the great white saviour that will take them to an all white, all Christian promised land. You basically mentioned they don't exactly practice Christ's teachings. They probably all go to church on Sunday, smiling and nodding to eac other as if they are good and decent people, then on m Monday through Saturday they revert to their true selves, cutting people off in traffic, cussing, being nasty to employees and others and to family members, then on Sunday back to smiling and nodding to each other again :)
.I'll share something with you I came across. It is supposedly a message from Jesus so read it as though he is really saying this even though someone has probably made it up (or maybe not :) I certainly couldn't have written something so beautifully:
"During the very early years of my last life I was not aware of having had previous lives. There were certain lessons to learn and pinnacles to reach before I would be ready for this to be revealed to me. It is very much the same for the initiates of earth today. Certain things cannot be revealed until the chela, or pupil, is ready. For it to be otherwise would be most confusing.
Yes, a great deal of mystery surrounds my birth. My birth was always a mystery to me until a certain period in my life. Things were held back from me by my soul. The soul will not reveal anything unto you until you are ready.
As has been indicated earlier, I was not born into this life in the manner that has been told. I realize that many people will cling to their perception of my birth so much that they will not want to let go of this illusion. But nevertheless, there must come a time when the truth must be told. The crutch must be taken away. The people must stand on their own two feet. For too long I have been worshipped as a God, whereas I am the same as you worshippers, conceived exactly as they.
I do not wish to be worshipped. I wish only for the people to worship the principles; the teaching that was brought to them through my instrumentality, and the instrumentality of others who came before me and after me.
For too long these teachings have been ignored: Why? Because it takes a great deal of personal sacrifice to follow the teaching and tof give up habits of thought and activity which are held dear. It is much easier to assume that the Blood of the Lamb was shed for all one's sins and as long as one believes this, one shall be saved and have eternal life.
“But back to my story. My sandals trod the dust of the Holy Lands nearly two thousand years ago. My mission was to instill into the minds of the people that the meaning of life was not as complicated as they were led to believe. I traveled about the lands seeking to inspire the people and momentarily they were inspired; but unfortunately, they became entangled with material conditions and lost sight of the finer things that were being given unto them. So, I had to step aside and allow them to follow the path of their choosing. Following my brief stay, other teachers would go into the various lands to try to reach the masses of struggling humanity. But the same conditions were encountered, generation after generation. We all tried to touch those who we felt were sufficiently sensitive to become teachers, to become messengers of light unto the people. Now, over two thousand years later, I bring my Word in the hope it will be understood. Much of what I said in the past has been misinterpreted. I had come to serve humanity, like so many others before me. Many of these same teachers suffered as I did. Yes, tears of compassion flowed often, as they observed the domination of mankind and all the manifestation of evil which prevailed. I often found the same conditions and as a mortal I sought to instill the simple truths unto them. I felt that if I could explain to them these truths in the simple manner in which I received them there would be no danger of misinterpretation down through the ages. But unfortunately I was wrong.
At one time, the main topic of my conversation with people was that they must be born again, and again and again; that the lessons to be learned could not possibly be learned in one lifetime. Even this basic fact was misinterpreted. And even today, although great emphasis is placed on the idea of a spiritual rebirth — or being born again in a spiritual way — the teaching ends there: my original meaning long forgotten and, I fear, deliberately distorted by the many whom I encountered. And I feel, as I speak today, that much of what I say will not be accepted. Why the stubbornness? Why the refusal to accept? Certain beliefs can be so ingrained in human thought that when an honest attempt is made to correct the situation, great anger arises within the heart of those who are being given the opportunity to learn the truth. And so they must remain ignorant of the great majestic truths of creation and the grand plan for mankind.
I
Alas, it is not to be so for the majority. They will not heed my words any more now than they did before. But the time is not too far distant when life on planet earth — as they know it — will be no more. Evolution will begin all over again for them. They will have to endure endless physical lives — many in deep misery. All because of their stubborn refusal to rejoin their creator. It is difficult to believe this; yet it is true.
My heart is heavy when I think of all the wrong-doing on earth. And all the greed that exists.
The children of the earth shall eventually be led into a Golden Age. My mission was, and still is, to establish a universal consciousness of God upon the earth. A oneness of all mankind. God's kingdom will come, and His Will be done on earth — as it is in Heaven.
And so, dear ones. I bid you goodnight. Perhaps you will ponder all that has been given here and will adopt some of the philosophy into your daily lives. And in so doing, in your own small way you will help to make the world, a better place.”
What kind of person is embarrassed by the sight of a wounded military veteran singing God Bless America”?
A draft-dodgng liar, a service-avoiding physical coward, a career criminal with no moral compass or integrity, a malicious, malevolent, mendacious piece of shit. A traitor to any and all who stand in his way.
I still have the image of him mocking the reporter with a disability. It was shocking. Even more shocking was the apparent consensus among Trump's MAGA attendees. I just hate the ascendancy of cruelty, viciousness and lack of moral judgement among his followers and in the population as a whole. I wish Rupert's resignation meant a return to civility, but apparently there will be more of the same.
TCinLA ---- you've outdone my adjectives in describing the worthless sociopathic example of a malignant character disorder. Bravo. (and I'm sure many republicans think the same.) They suffer from a less malignant but still appalling demonstrable character disorder. "Spineless" in not an adjective that applies to them. They are a corrupt bunch of cronies only interested in power and money - whose mendacity (I love that word) is breathtaking,
Yes, I think that really is the worst. "Performative cruelty" at its most transparent.
Or it could he worse at having Lachlan at the helm.
He's talking to his Orcs about how scared he is of going to prison. I want his Secret Service protection canceled, then throw him in the Florence SuperMax and let him live in terror that the next guy to pass him will shank him. After which put the body in a weighted bag and dump it out of an airplane mid-Atlantic. Fish food. Like Bin Laden.
I want to share a story. I live in a retirement community of about 800 people whose average age is mid 80’s. These individuals are alert, alive and involved. The Democratic Club helps it first meeting of the fall and over 100 people attended to listen to a group called Carolina Forward. Carolina Forward is a non profit group whose is focused only on North Carolina local politics and is not involved with politics on a national basis. They recently did a survey on the key issues that voters really care about in North Carolina. What the survey revealed are the key issues are climate change ( NC is a big farming state) reproductive rights and school voucher programs and parental rights. The economy was not a burning issue. Additionally they identified that those eligible voters between 22 to 40 had an average of a 22% voter turnout in the last election. The Triangle where I live has major universities like Duke; UNC and NC State and many college students. This group of grandmother and grandfather residents decided they were going to focus on getting “ the youngsters “ out to vote and by the end of the meeting had raised money, put a strategy team in place and had a list of volunteers. The pollsters BTW list seniors over 70 as “ the silent generation “ and theses seniors will be anything but silent.
Stephen, I also live in a retirement community in western NC with active, alert, intelligent, and involved residents. We live in a blue city surrounded by rural red counties (the county next to us does not have an active Democratic party nor do they have any Democrats running for any office). Our retirement community has many Democrats that are active in our precinct and residents who write letters, postcards, phone bank and work at the polls. Another retirement community here also has involved Democrats who are very active in the party. So anyone who thinks seniors are conservative and silent are wrong! Thank you for introducing me to Carolina Forward. I am impressed by what I have read on their website.
Nancy I was impressed also and met the leader of the organization and felt I could and would support what they are doing. It just feels,good.
Great story. 🙏
What a great group! Yay!
Excellent summary of the asymmetries between the dysfunctional Republican party and the legitimately governing Democratic party. Thank you, Robert.
Following that, your second section about the heroism of General Milley made me wonder what it'll take to see similar heroism from one of the high-ranking retired military officers now serving in the House of Representatives. Defending the institution at the heart of our democracy from MAGA's current assault would be fully consistent with their training, experience and oath.
Don Bacon (R-NE) is a former Air Force Brigadier General. Mike Gallagher (R-WI) was a Marine Corps intelligence officer in Iraq. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) was embedded with Special Forces in Iraq.
If a young lieutenant can lead an infantry patrol in the mountains of Afghanistan, surely challenging Kevin McCarthy for the Speakership of the House of Representatives presents no greater risk. How about showing some courage, gentlemen?
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Don Bacon: (202) 225-4155 D.C. —— (402) 938-0300 District
Mike Gallagher: (202) 225-5665 D.C. —— (920) 301-4500 District
Brian Fitzpatrick: (202) 225-4276 D.C. —— (215) 579-8102 District
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Thank you for this statement and info!! Brilliant!!
Here in AZ we have a freshman representative from a badly-mangled CD (Eli Crane) who was a Navy SEAL and is now a full-blown MAGAt and member of the Chaos Caucus (NOT "Freedom" Caucus). How do you explain that? He swore an oath to uphold and defend the U.S. Constitution and is now effectively urinating on it. He. Must. Go.
Spot on Jerry.
Dear Robert, This is one of those days I can finally SMILE
after reading your "news."
Thanks so much for being a reliable and steadying voice.
Have a great weekend!
This week, President Biden has established the Climate Corps and the Office for Gun Violence Prevention.
He takes action.
The MAGAs are all "talk" and CHAOS.
I'm riding with Biden!
Nice slogan!
I have explained to my European friends the American expression “all hat and no cattle”. Now you have topped that with “Kevin McCarthy is all feather and no hat”, I immediately shared that as well. (And the context you explain so well -- absent the power to control the progress of legislation the Speaker’s office is “ornamental”!)
I have another expression that seems apropos of Subwoofer McCarthy:
He's as useless as wings on a worm!
LOL
LOL
Thank you night knitters! Knitters rise up! These stories give me hope & strengthen resolve to keep pressing on to defeat the GOP.
We knitters are yarned and dangerous! 😎
Proud to know ya, Sheila!🤣
😂
😆🫶
I am stuck on the focus of the Freedom Caucus being the "villans" in the Congressional debacle. They are the voice. EVERY representative that votes with them is equally guilty. It always irks me when credit is given to the last vote on a critical issue. McCain comes to mind on Health Care. It was not i
His vote alone that made the difference but the cumulative vote. So it is here. It is ALL those who refuse to say "no" to the crazies. All of them are crazies.
Robert: Sorry to hear that your Reader event in SF on Oct 6th is packed. I live in Pacific Heights as well, and would be glad to host a second event that day for you if you have time. We have space to host about 50 people.
Hi, Deepak. Can you email me at rhubbell@outlook.com?
First, I agree with Shelia B about the number of die-hard Republicans who recognize the current “party”’s dangerous state. Here in Texas, the Paxton acquittal has enraged many, who may not vote for a Democrat but will never vote for Trump. That’s something.
I’m currently in Boston with my husband and his Vietnam buddies (and spouses), who meet annually for a reunion. We’re not on the same page politically as most of them, but I’m reminded again of how MUCH they gave up. These were not career military folks but rather draftees who also happened to be the best artillery direction outfit in the field, where they pretty much spent their whole,year. The amount of time and money I give to our democracy will never come close to these men’s service, and for many that came with very high costs of various sorts.
This weekend, I plan to walk and re-walk the Freedom Trail and bank some memories to fuel me in the months to come.
Maybe Paxton's abominable acquittal will serve a democratic purpose to mobilize Texas D voters!!!
I cannot speak highly enough about joining a postcarding effort. I am in a blue state wanting to boost blue voting across the country and I welcome targeted assignments...Virginia, Ohio, wherever the need is timely and focused. Swing Left and other orgs make it easy to do from home.
I’m writing postcards with Seniors Taking Action. It fun and it helps keep me focused on change not frustration 😊
Here is the Markers For Democracy dedicated Postcarding email. Hot off the presses. Lots of postcarding options! https://mailchi.mp/39c9a324dd67/this-week-in-postcarding-922-issue?e=425bb662c5
History has shown us that those who have banned books, burn books. That same history has shown us that those who burn books, burn people. Let us learn from history and act on it.
I couldn’t agree more. Those of us who have an understanding of history are obligated to do the hard work required not to repeat it.
Thank you, Robert! It is easier to create a sound bite than to tell the truth. This is so true and I keep trying to articulate that to all my fellow Dems who keep blaming us for the Republicans seeming messaging prowess. They deal in headlines while we deal in body of text and sometimes the body of text is deep and gray and unable to be shaped into a phrase. But we do hold our own powerful sound bites and I believe we don’t see that they are powerful and they are why the Republicans are so aggressive and frankly, afraid of us. All the words that headline what our party strives to achieve, for better or worse, such as Equity, Equality, Civil Rights, Housing for All, Medicare for All, the 1%, Women’s Rights, People of Color, White Privilege, Pro-Choice, Fair Elections, and on and on….these are the things we stand for and have messaged as our goals and vision for America that they abhor and fight against with their absurd counter-messaging. Our messaging stays solid and weaves through all the years and even through the fabric of our lives and governance. Our media loves shiny new objects so they pound new, ghastly phrases like Socialist or Big Government. We feel bad because we’re being name-called or pigeonholed and misinterpreted. But they do this because our strong, steady, determined messages never go away in our March for Democracy. I always try to come back to this center of what Democrats want for our world. It does take a lot of effort, especially when our own media stars parrot Republican messages as if they have teeth. Well, we have teeth too. I’m deeply grateful to Robert for bringing this up today. And I also agree, 100% that we can, will and should organize to win in every single small town or city we live in. Collectively we are a huge network whose messaging is solid and right. I feel inspired for my day of knocking doors! Thank you!
Really beautifully put. The Republicans have sophisticated advertising gurus at their beck and call. But their is always one powerful word they leave out. Love. Let’s use that to our advantage.
I forgot that word!! Thank you! The most important one!
The two-party system that we have is the worst possible way of organizing a republic -- except for a one-party system. The collapse of the Rs is something that, if it happens, we will look back on with profound regret. We should hope that members of genuine republican principles will be able to bring that party back to America.
It is, but unfortunately, a two-party system is the direct result of our Constitution. Our system of government requires two functioning parties to survive. We currently have only one.
The emphasis should be on functioning parties. Extremists aren’t functional.
Gore Vidal said, we have one party with two right wings...
Thank you! I will have sweet dreams tonight because of all of the good news you shared. My favorite ritual before turning in is reading your newsletter.
Ahhh you must live on the left coast. It is just the opposite for me. My day begins a little more sane because I read it before I get up in the morning along with HCR.
We too! We go to bed too early (9pm) to read any newsletters at night, they are our morning 'newspaper' read. Also on the left coast.