The people of Ukraine are fighting for their freedom to be independent. Today Republican Senators on the Judiciary Committee acted like bullies in the schoolyard driven by racism and their personal agenda that the judiciary is the political vehicle to promote their personal ideologies. A shameful performance.
Here in America, 52 US Senators including all Republican Senators failed to fight for the voice of Americans, their right to vote by not waiving the filibuster to pass The Freedom to Vote John R Lewis Voting Rights Act.
Our vote is our voice.
Contact every US Senator and tell them to protect our democracy and overcome the barriers to the Right To Vote (34 regressive laws passed now in 19 states taking us back to the Jim Crow legislation before the Voting Rights Act was passed. People of color, low income and students systematically have barriers to voting imposed so that these states can ensure that their legislators stay in office . Take action or your vote may be the next to be impacted.
Find a national organization where you can volunteer for voting rights and DO confront your Senators that while we help fund the democratic rights of the Ukrainian people, we don't do the same for the American voters. For shame.
At least part of the Senate's problem is that Messrs. Cotton, Cruz, Hawley and Ms. Blackburn don't find their behavior embarrassing. It is of the nature of embarrassment that one seeks to avoid a repetition of the behavior that caused it; these 4, and others of their ilk appear to look for ways to exceed their previous standards. At some point, one would expect them to hit bottom but the former president has removed what was once the sludge counterpart of the glass barrier at the top.
Robert, please add to your list of shameful inquiry Senator Marcia Blackburn's request of Judge Jackson to define what a "woman" is! Just when you think you've heard it all! "Admirable restraint," indeed! Confirmation for sure; sainthood a possibility!
I am one (older than dirt) who has watched republican fringe go republican mainstream for 40 years. I have a hard time with my optimist/pessimism balance. I continue to write letters, donate and do what I can even though I likely won’t live to see a difference if any. Hope the grands will. Thank you for the encouragement to keep trying. It matters.
Mar 23, 2022·edited Mar 23, 2022Liked by Robert B. Hubbell
For Robert and followers of Today’s edition newsletter:
I have long respected the works of Thomas Friedman, NY Times opinion columnist. I find both his books and NY Times opinion pieces both thoughtful and thought provoking. After reading today’s column here I had a number of thoughts that I wished to hear your own and this Newsletter’s followers thoughts on:
Apologies for the long link but it should permit all to view Friedman’s column even without a NY Times subscription.
Friedman also references a book written by Stanford professor, Larry Diamond, “Ill Winds: Saving Democracy from Russian Rage, Chinese Ambition, and American Complacency.” I have downloaded a digital copy of this work and just started reading it.
My thought and question of all is to consider if the present experience of watching the follies of Putin in Ukraine and also quandaries causing pause by Xi Jinping in China suggest Americans will reject the authoritarianism of Trump? Will we learn from this experience the fallacy of following those who believe themselves infallible? Will we realize the importance of exploring alternative thoughts and different perspectives? Will Americans understand that a strength of democracy is the competition of ideas? That a weakness of autocracy is the suppression of different thoughts and perspectives? Or, alternatively will America dip its toes into autocracy by restoring Trump or a Trump lite figure to power thinking American democracy either too weak or too messy to succeed?
Before any respond I also think you may find the NY Times review of Diamond’s book here adding value to Friedman’s thoughts also:
I ask your views on this as I have found your own and this group’s perspectives on issues particularly helpful to in forming and exploring my own views.
I sat amazed, outraged and disgusted with the line of questioning, some questions of which were illegal ( about religion) and the questions of Republicans Cotton, Cruz , Hawley and Graham regarding child pornography, CRT and other subjects that have nothing to do with the evaluation and selection of a Supreme Court Justice. . Voters from both parties should be disgusted and alarmed that we as a nation have stooped this low and ask themselves do we really want any of these Republicans as President in a crisis like Ukraine. What these Republicans have done is confirmed without a doubt they are unqualified for any office much less the Presidency.
I agree that many of the lines of questioning by Republican Senators were not only irrelevant, but completely embarrassing. One of those embarrassing moments was Cornyn’s comments and questions around gay marriage. They seemed to indicate that legitimizing rights of gay marriage somehow delegitimized “traditional” marriage. I wanted to say to him “Do you not understand that allowing rights for gays does not take away your rights in any way?”
Cruz, Hawley, and Cotton all criticized Judge Jackson for following the sentencing requirements mandated by statute and implemented by an independent commission created by Congress…because they are a “lawless” breed, led by a 🤡 who broke laws throughout his life and presidency and then tried incite an insurrection. Where is Merrick?
I posted this in the HCR comments as well. I think it applies here, too.
As we watch this disgusting rise of bigotry and hate, we must continue the fight on two levels. The first is uncomfortable and may lose us friends and family. The second requires time and effort.
I have found myself surrounded by like minded folks - tolerant and loving. I have walked away from those who hate and worship demagogues. It has made life more tolerable and frankly, quite pleasant. I have achieved a safer feeling. Perhaps it is time to feel less safe and confront rather than shun. Maybe we need to be louder. Maybe our outrage needs to be more obvious...with anyone we encounter. Even family and friends. Is my cozy silence a lazy complicity? We are the majority. Maybe we should start acting like it. I'll let you know how I do :)
The second level is more important. It is action. Right now, the only thing we can do to effectively push back this obscenity of a political party is to win. Ranting feels good. A therapy we all employ. But November 8 could be the tipping point that historians point to for eons. 2020 was big. But the enemy is coming over the hill again in 2022 and now they are crawling out the ground - out of the dark holes where they have been hiding.
We best be prepared with the biggest voter turnout imaginable. If every one of us drove someone to the voting booth, or encouraged a newly eligible young person to vote, or convinced a non voting relative to vote (despite his whining that the "system is broken and they are all corrupt")....if every one of us could get at least one or two people to vote - that would turn the tide. The polls tell us that our positions are overwhelmingly supported by a large majority. We have to show up and vote to prove that.
Here are just two avenues to make ourselves heard and be effective:
(Robert introduced me to Jessica. But she can't get too much credit or publicity. Her substack letters celebrate our gains and call us to concrete action. She is a warrior for the cause.)
Far worse than embarrassing - terrifying that the senators you named and whose comments & questions you paraphrased are elected leaders in this country.😱👹
In response to your question, when will the senate, our most "embarrassing body," and "broken institution," heal itself?
Unfortunately, Senators Cruz, Hawley and Cotton are products of America's "broken" democracy elected by voters who desired to have these jackals and numerous other anti-democratic Republicans represent them. Their conduct during Judge Jackson's confirmation hearing reflected not only their ignorance of the law, but their disrespectful, abusive attitudes toward the institutions of American governance as established by the Constitution. The fact that these miscreants reflect the sentiments of those who elected them raises a famous observation made by our nation's fourth president, James Madison, the founder known as the "Father of the American Constitution."
"Is there no virtue among us?" he wondered. "If there be not, we are in a wretched situation. No theoretical checks--no form of government can render us secure. To suppose that any form of government will secure liberty or happiness without any virtue in the people, is a chimerical idea."
The Jackson hearing does indeed reflect the truth of our "wretched situation," an indication that the Senate will heal itself only when the majority of the people esteem the virtues of "poise, patience, and candor" exhibited by Judge Jackson in response to her interrogators as well as the integrity and wisdom that mark her career as a jurist. As Alice Schaffer Smith says, "Our vote is our voice." It is up to us, We, the People, to follow Judge Jackson's example and stand in solidarity as citizens to honor the rule of law and promote the values of democracy in the public interest for ourselves and future generations.
Mitt Romney was always a decent guy. He proved it as Governor back in Massachusetts. That Mike Lee and FOX news and Tom Cotton and Josh Hawley denigrate him and fail to support him says much more about them than about Romney. And it's not good. Except of course to the FOX nourished based which really has gone off the rails. Putting party before country? Are they kidding?
"Two years ago, Putin published a “nuclear use” doctrine that said Russia reserved the right to use nuclear deterrence if Russia faced an existential threat." Two years ago. Who was president then? Who could have come out and made a statement that this was an alarming statement then? Who could have brought it to the attention of the American people, and explained why it was a statement that showed Putin as an outlier? Donald Trump. The man who was in thrall to Putin, who admired Putin and was, I believe, a wannabe Putin.
Just want to thank you. I’ve been reading your newsletter since the fall of 2020. You, and HCR, have given me hope and allowed me to keep calm (and sane) through that election, the insurrection, Covid and the anti-vax/anti-mask craziness, and all the “stuff” that has become our political life. I have been able to carry on with my activism, and encourage others to do so, with confidence and a clear vision.
As Russians and Ukrainians consider the siege of Mariupol and of other cities in Ukraine, they must be conscious of the Siege of Leningrad. The siege, which lasted from September 1941 to January 1944 has been likened to genocide. Russians remember that and their determination not to give in. How can they now imitate the Germans in their dealing with Ukraine?
" Senator Mitt Romney is not endorsing his fellow Republican Senator Mike Lee for re-election. Lee is being primaried by Evan McMullin, who is running as an “anti-Trump” Republican. Indeed, per an op-ed by an angry Republican in the Washington Post,"
Evan McMullin is not running in the Utah Republican primary. He is running as an independent. There is an underfunded and probably unelectable Democrat running as a Democrat. McMullin, on the other hand, is getting endorsements from prominent Democrats in Utah. (The closest poll in February showed him trailing Lee 34-24. Most of the remaining 42% are presumably undecided, not planning to vote for the Democrat.).
Would McMullin caucus with the Democrats if he won? If he were to caucus with the Democrats, would he be about as conservative, but less sensitive to criticism than Joe Manchin? If he were to caucus with the Democrats would he be about as conservative but less erratic than Krysten Sinema?
The people of Ukraine are fighting for their freedom to be independent. Today Republican Senators on the Judiciary Committee acted like bullies in the schoolyard driven by racism and their personal agenda that the judiciary is the political vehicle to promote their personal ideologies. A shameful performance.
Here in America, 52 US Senators including all Republican Senators failed to fight for the voice of Americans, their right to vote by not waiving the filibuster to pass The Freedom to Vote John R Lewis Voting Rights Act.
Our vote is our voice.
Contact every US Senator and tell them to protect our democracy and overcome the barriers to the Right To Vote (34 regressive laws passed now in 19 states taking us back to the Jim Crow legislation before the Voting Rights Act was passed. People of color, low income and students systematically have barriers to voting imposed so that these states can ensure that their legislators stay in office . Take action or your vote may be the next to be impacted.
Find a national organization where you can volunteer for voting rights and DO confront your Senators that while we help fund the democratic rights of the Ukrainian people, we don't do the same for the American voters. For shame.
www.nationalvotercorps.org has on its map national and local non partisan voting organizations.
At least part of the Senate's problem is that Messrs. Cotton, Cruz, Hawley and Ms. Blackburn don't find their behavior embarrassing. It is of the nature of embarrassment that one seeks to avoid a repetition of the behavior that caused it; these 4, and others of their ilk appear to look for ways to exceed their previous standards. At some point, one would expect them to hit bottom but the former president has removed what was once the sludge counterpart of the glass barrier at the top.
Robert, please add to your list of shameful inquiry Senator Marcia Blackburn's request of Judge Jackson to define what a "woman" is! Just when you think you've heard it all! "Admirable restraint," indeed! Confirmation for sure; sainthood a possibility!
I am one (older than dirt) who has watched republican fringe go republican mainstream for 40 years. I have a hard time with my optimist/pessimism balance. I continue to write letters, donate and do what I can even though I likely won’t live to see a difference if any. Hope the grands will. Thank you for the encouragement to keep trying. It matters.
For Robert and followers of Today’s edition newsletter:
I have long respected the works of Thomas Friedman, NY Times opinion columnist. I find both his books and NY Times opinion pieces both thoughtful and thought provoking. After reading today’s column here I had a number of thoughts that I wished to hear your own and this Newsletter’s followers thoughts on:
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/22/opinion/xi-putin-trump.html?unlocked_article_code=AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACEIPuonUktbfqYhkS1UZASbSRdkhrxqAwujOhaQhmn74aTSPVDNaieQJBozKs2H8WZ1eXfphlTKKWI0Gd7Y1WP15yuIYZxRjQgWkr8PByZgPLWBo9N66G2pq0sKIBbti_W-2NWLhcOsvjvWlsh2HERTiWqHf03AgIQl389AyJRzxhyt-luqSGfV129J-wf4gGpt7ID8AbyWJtPHiYA5sbJTENlqPr1lrBJwKHG3bjtWe6LkfcQhNCF2gTHh35W406NI0K8rdc8OKlKpFMlPS4wmsjE9c&referringSource=articleShare
Apologies for the long link but it should permit all to view Friedman’s column even without a NY Times subscription.
Friedman also references a book written by Stanford professor, Larry Diamond, “Ill Winds: Saving Democracy from Russian Rage, Chinese Ambition, and American Complacency.” I have downloaded a digital copy of this work and just started reading it.
My thought and question of all is to consider if the present experience of watching the follies of Putin in Ukraine and also quandaries causing pause by Xi Jinping in China suggest Americans will reject the authoritarianism of Trump? Will we learn from this experience the fallacy of following those who believe themselves infallible? Will we realize the importance of exploring alternative thoughts and different perspectives? Will Americans understand that a strength of democracy is the competition of ideas? That a weakness of autocracy is the suppression of different thoughts and perspectives? Or, alternatively will America dip its toes into autocracy by restoring Trump or a Trump lite figure to power thinking American democracy either too weak or too messy to succeed?
Before any respond I also think you may find the NY Times review of Diamond’s book here adding value to Friedman’s thoughts also:
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/15/books/review/larry-diamond-ill-winds.html?unlocked_article_code=AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACEIPuonUktbcoohkTlUaBibfWt8ktVqciObOzaN7gnbkNjnQRTdLyuMTD82B_0OIeqtla8B13yieQJUJFo4Tc8FI770VOV1xGU7vq4GYmZ8BLmI4-Ny-UDpr1dfEB71mtGLgMDT8Ir92mvi15E7XYWToWqDb1ycxNU0y98seAFKr3HcJw63DFfckmYUtmKd8We0pAGsIdyKIvPL3Ch9hO9_gbhvU6QA-X-ExSiiE1JfHqOpGKFMOfAqAGHBv4m8868dePccVO8v8LR0gecn5idYBG47pkEjZ3hHQPGBZemJ_zOU&referringSource=articleShare
I ask your views on this as I have found your own and this group’s perspectives on issues particularly helpful to in forming and exploring my own views.
Thank you.
I sat amazed, outraged and disgusted with the line of questioning, some questions of which were illegal ( about religion) and the questions of Republicans Cotton, Cruz , Hawley and Graham regarding child pornography, CRT and other subjects that have nothing to do with the evaluation and selection of a Supreme Court Justice. . Voters from both parties should be disgusted and alarmed that we as a nation have stooped this low and ask themselves do we really want any of these Republicans as President in a crisis like Ukraine. What these Republicans have done is confirmed without a doubt they are unqualified for any office much less the Presidency.
I agree that many of the lines of questioning by Republican Senators were not only irrelevant, but completely embarrassing. One of those embarrassing moments was Cornyn’s comments and questions around gay marriage. They seemed to indicate that legitimizing rights of gay marriage somehow delegitimized “traditional” marriage. I wanted to say to him “Do you not understand that allowing rights for gays does not take away your rights in any way?”
Cruz, Hawley, and Cotton all criticized Judge Jackson for following the sentencing requirements mandated by statute and implemented by an independent commission created by Congress…because they are a “lawless” breed, led by a 🤡 who broke laws throughout his life and presidency and then tried incite an insurrection. Where is Merrick?
I posted this in the HCR comments as well. I think it applies here, too.
As we watch this disgusting rise of bigotry and hate, we must continue the fight on two levels. The first is uncomfortable and may lose us friends and family. The second requires time and effort.
I have found myself surrounded by like minded folks - tolerant and loving. I have walked away from those who hate and worship demagogues. It has made life more tolerable and frankly, quite pleasant. I have achieved a safer feeling. Perhaps it is time to feel less safe and confront rather than shun. Maybe we need to be louder. Maybe our outrage needs to be more obvious...with anyone we encounter. Even family and friends. Is my cozy silence a lazy complicity? We are the majority. Maybe we should start acting like it. I'll let you know how I do :)
The second level is more important. It is action. Right now, the only thing we can do to effectively push back this obscenity of a political party is to win. Ranting feels good. A therapy we all employ. But November 8 could be the tipping point that historians point to for eons. 2020 was big. But the enemy is coming over the hill again in 2022 and now they are crawling out the ground - out of the dark holes where they have been hiding.
We best be prepared with the biggest voter turnout imaginable. If every one of us drove someone to the voting booth, or encouraged a newly eligible young person to vote, or convinced a non voting relative to vote (despite his whining that the "system is broken and they are all corrupt")....if every one of us could get at least one or two people to vote - that would turn the tide. The polls tell us that our positions are overwhelmingly supported by a large majority. We have to show up and vote to prove that.
Here are just two avenues to make ourselves heard and be effective:
"The Union" https://youtu.be/nMOuQKCzFRY
(a brilliant video and a worthy project)
Jessica Craven https://chopwoodcarrywaterdailyactions.substack.com/
(Robert introduced me to Jessica. But she can't get too much credit or publicity. Her substack letters celebrate our gains and call us to concrete action. She is a warrior for the cause.)
Far worse than embarrassing - terrifying that the senators you named and whose comments & questions you paraphrased are elected leaders in this country.😱👹
In response to your question, when will the senate, our most "embarrassing body," and "broken institution," heal itself?
Unfortunately, Senators Cruz, Hawley and Cotton are products of America's "broken" democracy elected by voters who desired to have these jackals and numerous other anti-democratic Republicans represent them. Their conduct during Judge Jackson's confirmation hearing reflected not only their ignorance of the law, but their disrespectful, abusive attitudes toward the institutions of American governance as established by the Constitution. The fact that these miscreants reflect the sentiments of those who elected them raises a famous observation made by our nation's fourth president, James Madison, the founder known as the "Father of the American Constitution."
"Is there no virtue among us?" he wondered. "If there be not, we are in a wretched situation. No theoretical checks--no form of government can render us secure. To suppose that any form of government will secure liberty or happiness without any virtue in the people, is a chimerical idea."
The Jackson hearing does indeed reflect the truth of our "wretched situation," an indication that the Senate will heal itself only when the majority of the people esteem the virtues of "poise, patience, and candor" exhibited by Judge Jackson in response to her interrogators as well as the integrity and wisdom that mark her career as a jurist. As Alice Schaffer Smith says, "Our vote is our voice." It is up to us, We, the People, to follow Judge Jackson's example and stand in solidarity as citizens to honor the rule of law and promote the values of democracy in the public interest for ourselves and future generations.
Mitt Romney was always a decent guy. He proved it as Governor back in Massachusetts. That Mike Lee and FOX news and Tom Cotton and Josh Hawley denigrate him and fail to support him says much more about them than about Romney. And it's not good. Except of course to the FOX nourished based which really has gone off the rails. Putting party before country? Are they kidding?
"Two years ago, Putin published a “nuclear use” doctrine that said Russia reserved the right to use nuclear deterrence if Russia faced an existential threat." Two years ago. Who was president then? Who could have come out and made a statement that this was an alarming statement then? Who could have brought it to the attention of the American people, and explained why it was a statement that showed Putin as an outlier? Donald Trump. The man who was in thrall to Putin, who admired Putin and was, I believe, a wannabe Putin.
Just want to thank you. I’ve been reading your newsletter since the fall of 2020. You, and HCR, have given me hope and allowed me to keep calm (and sane) through that election, the insurrection, Covid and the anti-vax/anti-mask craziness, and all the “stuff” that has become our political life. I have been able to carry on with my activism, and encourage others to do so, with confidence and a clear vision.
As Russians and Ukrainians consider the siege of Mariupol and of other cities in Ukraine, they must be conscious of the Siege of Leningrad. The siege, which lasted from September 1941 to January 1944 has been likened to genocide. Russians remember that and their determination not to give in. How can they now imitate the Germans in their dealing with Ukraine?
" Senator Mitt Romney is not endorsing his fellow Republican Senator Mike Lee for re-election. Lee is being primaried by Evan McMullin, who is running as an “anti-Trump” Republican. Indeed, per an op-ed by an angry Republican in the Washington Post,"
Evan McMullin is not running in the Utah Republican primary. He is running as an independent. There is an underfunded and probably unelectable Democrat running as a Democrat. McMullin, on the other hand, is getting endorsements from prominent Democrats in Utah. (The closest poll in February showed him trailing Lee 34-24. Most of the remaining 42% are presumably undecided, not planning to vote for the Democrat.).
Would McMullin caucus with the Democrats if he won? If he were to caucus with the Democrats, would he be about as conservative, but less sensitive to criticism than Joe Manchin? If he were to caucus with the Democrats would he be about as conservative but less erratic than Krysten Sinema?