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.
I agree with everything that you have said except that “we help fund the democratic
rights” of the Ukrainian people. We are funding their FIGHT to maintain their democratic rights against the Russian invaders. The Ukrainians are a very brave people. I don’t believe that they would allow anyone to compromise their voting rights without a fight. I wish the American people as a whole cared as much about protecting their democratic rights as the Ukrainians do.
Virginia, In the States, regrettably, I sense both a complacency and an expectation that someone else will carry the weight for us, two tendencies we must resist, lest we risk losing much of what we seemingly take for granted.
I totally agree with you! Somehow we must get the young people energized and interested! They just don’t seem to feel that they have to participate. I have 11 grandchildren, 9 of them will be of voting age this year. None of them like politics and they don’t want to be involved.
Why aren’t the schools teaching civics, or government as it was called in my day back in the latter part of the 1960’s?
Virginia, I believe Robert Reich is developing a civic education and engagement curriculum. Once it’s completed, I imagine it will be widely distributed.
That is absolutely fantastic! I am so happy to hear that. I hope Republicans will not block its use in public schools.
I learned so much in my ninth grade World History class. We had to do term papers back then and had to research them at the library in old articles from magazines and newspapers and in books and in the encyclopedias.
I was shocked when I found out that my children and grandchildren did not have to do term papers. I chose “The Nazi Persecution of the Jews” as the subject of my term paper. I was shocked at what I learned from my research. My father fought in Europe as a young Lieutenant, but he would never talk about it. After my research, I could understand why. He did tell me that he and his men helped liberate Buchenwald.
I know what you mean. I have been up since 10:00 PM last night and my vision is so blurred that I am having trouble seeing and I am making so many typing errors.
The damn filibuster is stupid and always has been. There have been a few instances, I think, where it has helped democracy. But what body permits its minority to control its actions? The filibuster has been used to suppress civil rights and is currently being abused by the rethuglican criminal gang.
And the supreme court today did a shadow opinion on voting rights unsigned and no written statement. We can't get Judge Jackson on the court quickly enough. I loathe Hawley and his attack on this brilliant jurist.
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.
So how do we get morality back? When bad behavior is no longer embarrassing we're screwed. And I keep wondering if they accept that kind of behavior from their kids....
We start by disregarding party designations and voting for qualified and engaged people for any office assuming that there is one running. It will take a long time, but it took a long time for us to get here.
My guess is that they don't but probably spend a lot of time saying "wait until your mother hears about this".
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 did not see that exchange. I got to the point where I couldn't stand Blackburn's questioning and had to turn the sound off during her examination. Unbelievable!
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.
Stay strong, Jeri. We are going through a difficult period in which Republicans can feel their power slipping away--so they are hanging on ever more tenaciously to minority rule. This moment will pass, and we will prevail. It is just a question of time.
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.
Hi, Bruce. Thanks for the links. I read both articles. Freedman's piece is wonderful. At core, you are asking whether Americans will learn from the missteps of Xi and Putin? Will we learn that the solution to the ills of democracy is not "less democracy." I think the answer is yes. The two articles raise sweeping questions, but I will try to be brief.
First, I believe that the autocratic coups of China and Russia could not repeat themselves in America. Assume that Trump had succeeded in staying in power in 2021 despite having lost the election. What then? In Russia and China, the populations would have acceded to the coup because the coup plotters also controlled the armed forces. Not so in America. Americans would have turned out in the hundreds of millions to protest a successful coup--and the military would not have intervened, because millions of armed services members would be joining the protests.
Second, I believe Putin is doomed. Even if he stays in office, he is wounded, limited, and weak.
Third, the apparent strength of China's strong central government is a mirage. As the review of Diamond's book hints, China is a fractured collection of regions and ethnic groups that are not natural allies. How many revolutions has China endured in the last 125 years? Depending on how you count, at least three, and maybe four: Xinhai, the Communist Revolution (lasted 20 years), and the Cultural Revolution. And do we count the protests that led to the Tiananmen Square massacre as a failed revolution? Every year, China experiences approx 200,000 "mass incidents" that protest government policies. Check out Wikipedia, Protest and Dissent in China. In a society that does not tolerate protests, the fact that there are hundreds of thousands of illegal protests is what keeps Xi awake at night. The Chinese government is so repressive because it is frightened that a spark will ignite another revolution--which have roiled China with regularity over the last century and a half.
There is more, but I think that the present situation is distorted because of the ascendancy of Xi and Putin. If both were overthrown, we would see books announcing the "flowering of democracy" across the world. I think this situation is a temporary aberration.
Thank you for those thoughts. They are helpful. I share that during my business career in the software sector I travelled extensively internationally including to both Russia and China where I worked on several projects and met many people “on the ground” in both countries. One of my learnings from that experience is to separate people from their government in examining countries from afar. My own experience is that most people are basically decent and well intentioned. People everywhere have quite similar aspirations and core values regardless of those that might be held by their country’s leaders. It is that insight that provides me with the most hope for good in the world. Those in positions of power may control the moment, but inevitably it is the people and their aspirations and core value who prevail. Unfortunately those “moments” although only a flicker in history may last decades or longer and injure and damage entire nations and their people while they last.
As patience while it may be a virtue seems not to be a part of my own character, it is difficult to wait for necessary change to happen. I try my best to contribute in my own small way to hasten the arrival of a better destiny. Perhaps as more join in that effort we can see those changes we and so many wish for arrive.
Wow, I skipped that article last night. Thank you for recommending it. I think as we edge close to authoritarianism we run a higher risk of a "French revolution", an uprising of the common man against the rich. Mainly because it seems that in authoritarianism wealth is controlled by the few & power is controlled by the dictator. At what point do the sheep rebel? I've been shaped by how one speaker shouting nonsense could sway a crowd of college students. I was 19. I went back to my dorm & called my mother (during daytime long distance rates!) to ask how supposedly intelligent people could be so unaware. ( I don't remember any good response from her). Back to your question, I think mankind is extremely slow at learning from experience. Someday we might embrace learning from different perspectives.
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?
Thanks for the correction about McMullin running as an independent. I think the essential point remains--he was recruited by anti-Trump Republicans to challenge Lee, and Romney is not coming to his defense.
Also, you make a good point. A "center coalition" would be much more conservative than Democrats would like. But it might serve to return "regular order" to the Senate, whereby bills proceed through committee and are brought to the floor. It might also be able to overcome teh filibuster by bringing 60 votes to advance legislation.
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.
I agree with everything that you have said except that “we help fund the democratic
rights” of the Ukrainian people. We are funding their FIGHT to maintain their democratic rights against the Russian invaders. The Ukrainians are a very brave people. I don’t believe that they would allow anyone to compromise their voting rights without a fight. I wish the American people as a whole cared as much about protecting their democratic rights as the Ukrainians do.
Virginia, In the States, regrettably, I sense both a complacency and an expectation that someone else will carry the weight for us, two tendencies we must resist, lest we risk losing much of what we seemingly take for granted.
I totally agree with you! Somehow we must get the young people energized and interested! They just don’t seem to feel that they have to participate. I have 11 grandchildren, 9 of them will be of voting age this year. None of them like politics and they don’t want to be involved.
Why aren’t the schools teaching civics, or government as it was called in my day back in the latter part of the 1960’s?
Virginia, I believe Robert Reich is developing a civic education and engagement curriculum. Once it’s completed, I imagine it will be widely distributed.
That is absolutely fantastic! I am so happy to hear that. I hope Republicans will not block its use in public schools.
I learned so much in my ninth grade World History class. We had to do term papers back then and had to research them at the library in old articles from magazines and newspapers and in books and in the encyclopedias.
I was shocked when I found out that my children and grandchildren did not have to do term papers. I chose “The Nazi Persecution of the Jews” as the subject of my term paper. I was shocked at what I learned from my research. My father fought in Europe as a young Lieutenant, but he would never talk about it. After my research, I could understand why. He did tell me that he and his men helped liberate Buchenwald.
Agreed. Thanks.Sign of posting way too late in the night!
I know what you mean. I have been up since 10:00 PM last night and my vision is so blurred that I am having trouble seeing and I am making so many typing errors.
The damn filibuster is stupid and always has been. There have been a few instances, I think, where it has helped democracy. But what body permits its minority to control its actions? The filibuster has been used to suppress civil rights and is currently being abused by the rethuglican criminal gang.
And the supreme court today did a shadow opinion on voting rights unsigned and no written statement. We can't get Judge Jackson on the court quickly enough. I loathe Hawley and his attack on this brilliant jurist.
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.
So how do we get morality back? When bad behavior is no longer embarrassing we're screwed. And I keep wondering if they accept that kind of behavior from their kids....
We start by disregarding party designations and voting for qualified and engaged people for any office assuming that there is one running. It will take a long time, but it took a long time for us to get here.
My guess is that they don't but probably spend a lot of time saying "wait until your mother hears about this".
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 did not see that exchange. I got to the point where I couldn't stand Blackburn's questioning and had to turn the sound off during her examination. Unbelievable!
Think this might expose a tendency toward masochism on my part?!
Omg, I missed that…I could only take a few sentences after she started talking; should have stuck to the closed captioning I guess.
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.
Stay strong, Jeri. We are going through a difficult period in which Republicans can feel their power slipping away--so they are hanging on ever more tenaciously to minority rule. This moment will pass, and we will prevail. It is just a question of time.
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.
Hi, Bruce. Thanks for the links. I read both articles. Freedman's piece is wonderful. At core, you are asking whether Americans will learn from the missteps of Xi and Putin? Will we learn that the solution to the ills of democracy is not "less democracy." I think the answer is yes. The two articles raise sweeping questions, but I will try to be brief.
First, I believe that the autocratic coups of China and Russia could not repeat themselves in America. Assume that Trump had succeeded in staying in power in 2021 despite having lost the election. What then? In Russia and China, the populations would have acceded to the coup because the coup plotters also controlled the armed forces. Not so in America. Americans would have turned out in the hundreds of millions to protest a successful coup--and the military would not have intervened, because millions of armed services members would be joining the protests.
Second, I believe Putin is doomed. Even if he stays in office, he is wounded, limited, and weak.
Third, the apparent strength of China's strong central government is a mirage. As the review of Diamond's book hints, China is a fractured collection of regions and ethnic groups that are not natural allies. How many revolutions has China endured in the last 125 years? Depending on how you count, at least three, and maybe four: Xinhai, the Communist Revolution (lasted 20 years), and the Cultural Revolution. And do we count the protests that led to the Tiananmen Square massacre as a failed revolution? Every year, China experiences approx 200,000 "mass incidents" that protest government policies. Check out Wikipedia, Protest and Dissent in China. In a society that does not tolerate protests, the fact that there are hundreds of thousands of illegal protests is what keeps Xi awake at night. The Chinese government is so repressive because it is frightened that a spark will ignite another revolution--which have roiled China with regularity over the last century and a half.
There is more, but I think that the present situation is distorted because of the ascendancy of Xi and Putin. If both were overthrown, we would see books announcing the "flowering of democracy" across the world. I think this situation is a temporary aberration.
Thank you for those thoughts. They are helpful. I share that during my business career in the software sector I travelled extensively internationally including to both Russia and China where I worked on several projects and met many people “on the ground” in both countries. One of my learnings from that experience is to separate people from their government in examining countries from afar. My own experience is that most people are basically decent and well intentioned. People everywhere have quite similar aspirations and core values regardless of those that might be held by their country’s leaders. It is that insight that provides me with the most hope for good in the world. Those in positions of power may control the moment, but inevitably it is the people and their aspirations and core value who prevail. Unfortunately those “moments” although only a flicker in history may last decades or longer and injure and damage entire nations and their people while they last.
As patience while it may be a virtue seems not to be a part of my own character, it is difficult to wait for necessary change to happen. I try my best to contribute in my own small way to hasten the arrival of a better destiny. Perhaps as more join in that effort we can see those changes we and so many wish for arrive.
Thank you and others for your efforts.
Wow, I skipped that article last night. Thank you for recommending it. I think as we edge close to authoritarianism we run a higher risk of a "French revolution", an uprising of the common man against the rich. Mainly because it seems that in authoritarianism wealth is controlled by the few & power is controlled by the dictator. At what point do the sheep rebel? I've been shaped by how one speaker shouting nonsense could sway a crowd of college students. I was 19. I went back to my dorm & called my mother (during daytime long distance rates!) to ask how supposedly intelligent people could be so unaware. ( I don't remember any good response from her). Back to your question, I think mankind is extremely slow at learning from experience. Someday we might embrace learning from different perspectives.
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.
Well said! I will check out Reflections in the Frame.
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?
Thanks for the correction about McMullin running as an independent. I think the essential point remains--he was recruited by anti-Trump Republicans to challenge Lee, and Romney is not coming to his defense.
Also, you make a good point. A "center coalition" would be much more conservative than Democrats would like. But it might serve to return "regular order" to the Senate, whereby bills proceed through committee and are brought to the floor. It might also be able to overcome teh filibuster by bringing 60 votes to advance legislation.