Hey, Robert, and all. For the past couple weeks I have been contacting President Biden daily to urge him to contact the Archivist to authorize her to publish our fully ratified [Equal Rights] 28th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. I was on the Zoom call last evening that discussed the history of the ERA, among other things. Interestingly, the ERA will positively affect transgender people as well as biological females. "The ERA (Equal Rights Amendment) could allow challenges to state laws that discriminate against transgender people based on the interpretation of the word 'sex.' Despite their efforts, transgender people, especially transgender women of color, continue to face disproportionate abuse, incarceration, homelessness, and murder. Shifts in discourses on transgender identity and legal protections have impacted how transgender people describe their gender, oppression, and community engagement."
We have 47 days left in President Biden's administration. According to Senator Gillibrand, if we don't get this done in the days remaining, it will literally be generations before we will get another chance of passage.
The senator addressed timing as an issue but pointed out that the time limit was discussed in the preamble to the legislation, not the actual legislation that was voted on by the 50 states. To illustrate the point about timing, she reminded us that the 27th Amendment was introduced by James Madison in 1789! That after Congress passed the proposed amendment by the necessary two-thirds vote, ratification by three-fourths of the states was not accomplished until 1992. That's 203 years!
She also noted that even if/when we get publication of the 28th Amendment, this won't be the end of the matter; that lawsuits still will be filed, and plenty of them! But the point is don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good. So, it is in that spirit that I provide this link to get we citizens involved in getting this amendment published before time runs out:
I wrote President Biden a letter asking that he take Presidential action to get the ERA published by the archivist. I got a wishy washy letter back listing all the things Biden does for women's rights, but no mention of the ERA. Disappointed
Thanks, Lynell! I learned about this through Voteequality.us. I listened to both sides of the argument (wait or urge) and became convinced by the argument that because the ERA has been ratified by the required 38 states, that there is no mention of time limits in the Fifth Amendment (how to amend) and that the archivist did certify Illinois & Nevada, even though they ratified outside of the 10 year, arbitrarily imposed deadline, that I wanted to support the efforts to publish now.
A "proposed amendment becomes part of the Constitution as soon as it is ratified by three-fourths of the States (38 of 50 States). When the OFR verifies that it has received the required number of authenticated ratification documents, it drafts a formal proclamation for the Archivist to certify that the amendment is valid and has become part of the Constitution."
Robert, your character, your intelligence, your depth of knowledge, your excellent communication skills, and your balanced guidance continue to inform and sustain me. As well, cogent comments from fellow readers round out and lead me in useful actions. I am deeply grateful to you, Jill, and so many compatriots who read and respond to you. As Joyce reminds us every time she writes, we're in this together. Thank you all.
I will add to this my appreciation that Robert is also offering ideas for action -- witness his suggestion today about a tactic to get the ERA published. We need more of these ideas from readers, (as well as from Robert!). Here's my idea for today: rather than continue to wallow in our despair, rejoice in the fact that we are living in one of the most consequential times in our nation's history since its founding. We have the opportunity in this moment to move the idea of America significantly further toward its ideal -- equality, freedom and justice. What a blessing!
Thanks for your comment. I hadn’t thought of such a positive reframe for my despair.love it. Since we are living in interesting times we should embrace it and move forward with some power. Love this group and Robert & Jill.
Robert - I noticed earlier today the following story on the Times homepage - "Justice Department’s Apolitical Tradition Is Challenged by 2 Presidents". It's still there several hours later. I couldn't choose between cursing or shaking my head in despair. I went with both! How can someone with a sense of integrity and basic intelligence frame a story that could well become this year's model for the most brainless example of "Both Sides!!". It fits nicely with what you and Lucian were writing about. I gather Trump is unhappy with the drinking issues coming out with Hegseth. That one is baffling as well. He's not bothered by the sexual assault reports but draws the line at alcohol problems. Sometimes this all seems just too surreal to process. I just dropped a Substack last week by a D pundit who kept mentioning the need for "difficult conversations" while not specifying what those were. I suspect they related to defense of transgender rights. I became convinced that if the "difficult questions" were too difficult to openly address then it was too difficult for me to try reading between the lines. :-)
Let me add something that is baffling as well, at least for international observers. Opposition to Hegseth centers almost totally on his philandering, sexual assault cases and heavy drinking. Practically no attention is getting the fact that a possible future Secretary of Defence has openly pushed the idea that the US Army should not be bound by the Geneva Conventions and that he was fine with US soldiers committing war crimes. A position that was roundly rejected by the military as they rightly, among other reasons, were concerned that in the future wounded and/or captured US soldiers might be treated as members of a rogue militia who wouldn't fall under the protection of the Geneva Conventions.
Well, knowing what their leader thinks about wounded or captured soldiers, the MAGA crowd, including a possible future Sec of Def couldn't care less.
Thank you, Stefan. In fact he was far more than fine with war criminals. He was the main Fox host who successfully lobbied the orange felon in his first term to pardon them after they were convicted. I'm sure you know this, I'm just sharing it for other readers who may not.
Alcohol is a tender matter for Donald Trump. His older brother, who might otherwise have been in line to head up the Trump empire instrad of Donald, became an alcoholic and, I understand, died because of alcoholism.
I googled around and learned that 6 mega corporations control the major media outlets. They will never provide fair/balanced coverage of events that impact our lives, UNLESS there is a way it will add to their profits.
With respect, following only one news source - as we once did when the Fairness Doctrine was still in force - is not advisable, whether its the NY Times or Fox News. If one wants to understand a complex issue, it requires reading from multiple sources - large and small.
News organizations are also not charitable organizations and survive by selling content that will capture ears and eyeballs. As a result, reading multiple sources is about your only chance to gain a fuller understanding of an event or issue.
That said, there are news sources that I do not follow, especially a certain news organization that recently paid north of $800M in settlement of defamation claims that were made on air. I am also loath to accept much of what is said on social media, which is predominantly opinion, based on either no facts or a misunderstanding of facts.
In short, being an accomplished news reader today requires time, effort and no small amount of skill, which, sadly, too few consumers of news today can muster.
When Robert writes "Dobbs wasn’t only about abortion. It was about reproductive liberty, contraception, same sex marriage, parental rights for same sex couples, and marriage between members of different “races,”" I can't wait for our conservative justices to re-wrestle the "Loving" decision. Why not?
Thank you for continuing to call out the legacy media in their awful coverage. I’m personally offended by their attacks on President Biden, who is a decent man who has passed incredible legislation in a bipartisan manner with narrow Congressional margins. He is a wonderful representative for the ideals of the American people. Sigh. And Dump gets a pass. I’m astonished how the US has managed the Dump situation. Merrick Garland ran the damn clock out for Dump. DOJ has decided that Presidents can’t be criminals? SCOTUS has given Dump expanded immunity? sick. At least his awful picks are being rejected and he was forced into signing the transition papers. I want to see Emily Murphy prosecuted for not allowing President Biden a smooth transfer. Anyway, that’s the least of our troubles. I shudder to think of Dump pardoning all the J6 defendants and creating a center of angry and loyal insurrectionists. We must keep fighting. Are we Ukraine and South Korea? Or will we lay down. No!
Their goal is not "the pursuit of happiness" as our Declarartion of Inedependence calls for. Their goal is the pursuit of misery, anger, retribution (however misdirected). Ask them, go ahead, what would make them happy and they will not have a true answer.
I have been holding my upset for candidates that are finalized. Allowing the FBI to vet them is more efficient than letting the press do it. And, if the non-right wing Press migrates to Blue Sky, then they might even get their message across.
I stopped being a mainstream media consumer years ago little by little. It started when the Des Moines Register was gobbled up. That once venerable publication is a thin tissue today. Anyway, haven’t owned a television for about 10 years now and became a regular Substack reader about 7 years ago, starting with HCR. I think, as with many things in our world, we are at an inflection point when it comes to sharing of information. News networks have fallen prey to the “entertainment model” and the whims of the monied elite. Rejection of those presentations results in platforms like SubStack, Patreon, Bluesky. I have begun to regularly post to individuals like Lawrence O’Donnell and Joy Reid (and others) that they should just leave MSNBC and start their own independent news station. Finally, as in South Korea, it takes each of us to be willing to suit up and show up, in whatever way we are able. I have never used any social media platforms (FB for a few years but shut that down due to the ZuckSuck), but signed on to Bluesky (I do love the blue butterfly!).
“The events in Seoul also cemented the shift in social media from X to Bluesky, where news was breaking faster than anywhere else, in a way that echoed what Twitter used to be. Since Twitter was a key site of democratic organizing until Elon Musk bought it and renamed it X, that shift is significant.” HCR
Thanks Robert. I urge people to support NPR and the PBS NewsHour, both fair in their reporting and in danger of blowback from the incoming administration. They need our help.
I want to turn more toward the lesser-known, perhaps, media outlets. Not sure of all of these but I'm learning toward getting my 'news' from: The Meidas Touch Network, Vox, The Guardian, BBC, ProPublica. What else am I forgetting here? P.S. I actually don't like NPR and PBS as much as I used to in that they've become pretty both-sidesing of late...
The PBS Newshour covers only a little of the news, and devotes much time to cultural events (e.g., art shows). In my household, we follow PBS Newshour with CNN Erin McNeil (sp.?); depending on topics reported (generally good reporting on Ukraine), we hang on for much of the next hour. It’s inefficient, but usually it covers most of what we deem important (along with some that isn’t).
CNN in the evening has panels that offer interesting perspectives and background (less so, recently).
Having had a few weeks now to lick my wounds, I'm recovering. So, I really don't take kindly to whomever wants Democrats to "tone down" - in fact, that sounds to me like advice from the "tone deaf" and particularly those whose ability to read the room is nonexistent.
For Christmas, my MAGAt/fascist relatives are getting books: Caste, War, Prequel, Too Much and Not Enough, The January 6th Committee Report, Laboratories of Autocracy, Strongmen, and On Tyranny. That's it. No cookies. No "stuff." And that's going to be it until 2026 when we make some significant changes in Congress. And until 2028 when we kick the pigs out of their pigpen.
yet another great argument for strengthening our own extremely independent media! Like many middle class, progressive leaning Americans, I donate to my favorite non-profits every December. This year, independent media is getting a much larger share than usual- we need to keep our important and insightful writers employed!
Pay for some of the best substack accounts, think about that important story you read in THE NATION, COMMON DREAMS, MOTHER JONES, DISSENT, ... the list goes on.
And if you have non-corporate local media, support them too. If you have no effective, hard hitting local media, corruption is pretty easy to hide.
Thanks for your list! I'm compiling one (in a comment above) but knew I was missing some important players -- and these are so obvious I don't know why I'd 'forgotten' them. Temporarily, I assure you. I also really like The Meidas Touch Network, The Guardian, and of course ProPublica, TPM (paywalled).
"It is incumbent on each of us to amplify those voices condemning Trump and defending democracy. Do whatever you can...be loud and proud about Democratic victories and policies; and call out Trump's anti-democratic efforts in plain, unreserved language." Yes, we need to marinate the country in our talking points (maybe the DNC should circulate Talking Point of the Day), just as FOX & Co have done for years. As I write songs, here's my contribution for today:
Hey, Robert, and all. For the past couple weeks I have been contacting President Biden daily to urge him to contact the Archivist to authorize her to publish our fully ratified [Equal Rights] 28th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. I was on the Zoom call last evening that discussed the history of the ERA, among other things. Interestingly, the ERA will positively affect transgender people as well as biological females. "The ERA (Equal Rights Amendment) could allow challenges to state laws that discriminate against transgender people based on the interpretation of the word 'sex.' Despite their efforts, transgender people, especially transgender women of color, continue to face disproportionate abuse, incarceration, homelessness, and murder. Shifts in discourses on transgender identity and legal protections have impacted how transgender people describe their gender, oppression, and community engagement."
We have 47 days left in President Biden's administration. According to Senator Gillibrand, if we don't get this done in the days remaining, it will literally be generations before we will get another chance of passage.
The senator addressed timing as an issue but pointed out that the time limit was discussed in the preamble to the legislation, not the actual legislation that was voted on by the 50 states. To illustrate the point about timing, she reminded us that the 27th Amendment was introduced by James Madison in 1789! That after Congress passed the proposed amendment by the necessary two-thirds vote, ratification by three-fourths of the states was not accomplished until 1992. That's 203 years!
She also noted that even if/when we get publication of the 28th Amendment, this won't be the end of the matter; that lawsuits still will be filed, and plenty of them! But the point is don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good. So, it is in that spirit that I provide this link to get we citizens involved in getting this amendment published before time runs out:
https://www.bidenpublishtheera.org/
Thank you… as ever. Have shared and shared your comment and the link with my version of social media (family and friends).
I will add May All that is Good in the Universe ✨ bless, thank, and protect President Joe Biden and his family. 💫
Couldn't be easier, took less than a minute to complete all 5. Please take a quick minute to support this effort. Thanks for the link Lynell!
You are right, very easy and I hope everyone follows this link and does the same.
thanks, Lynell.
I wrote President Biden a letter asking that he take Presidential action to get the ERA published by the archivist. I got a wishy washy letter back listing all the things Biden does for women's rights, but no mention of the ERA. Disappointed
UGH!
Thanks, Lynell! I learned about this through Voteequality.us. I listened to both sides of the argument (wait or urge) and became convinced by the argument that because the ERA has been ratified by the required 38 states, that there is no mention of time limits in the Fifth Amendment (how to amend) and that the archivist did certify Illinois & Nevada, even though they ratified outside of the 10 year, arbitrarily imposed deadline, that I wanted to support the efforts to publish now.
A "proposed amendment becomes part of the Constitution as soon as it is ratified by three-fourths of the States (38 of 50 States). When the OFR verifies that it has received the required number of authenticated ratification documents, it drafts a formal proclamation for the Archivist to certify that the amendment is valid and has become part of the Constitution."
https://www.archives.gov/federal-register/constitution#:~:text=After%20Congress%20proposes%20an%20amendment,106b.
Robert, your character, your intelligence, your depth of knowledge, your excellent communication skills, and your balanced guidance continue to inform and sustain me. As well, cogent comments from fellow readers round out and lead me in useful actions. I am deeply grateful to you, Jill, and so many compatriots who read and respond to you. As Joyce reminds us every time she writes, we're in this together. Thank you all.
I will add to this my appreciation that Robert is also offering ideas for action -- witness his suggestion today about a tactic to get the ERA published. We need more of these ideas from readers, (as well as from Robert!). Here's my idea for today: rather than continue to wallow in our despair, rejoice in the fact that we are living in one of the most consequential times in our nation's history since its founding. We have the opportunity in this moment to move the idea of America significantly further toward its ideal -- equality, freedom and justice. What a blessing!
Thanks for your comment. I hadn’t thought of such a positive reframe for my despair.love it. Since we are living in interesting times we should embrace it and move forward with some power. Love this group and Robert & Jill.
Robert - I noticed earlier today the following story on the Times homepage - "Justice Department’s Apolitical Tradition Is Challenged by 2 Presidents". It's still there several hours later. I couldn't choose between cursing or shaking my head in despair. I went with both! How can someone with a sense of integrity and basic intelligence frame a story that could well become this year's model for the most brainless example of "Both Sides!!". It fits nicely with what you and Lucian were writing about. I gather Trump is unhappy with the drinking issues coming out with Hegseth. That one is baffling as well. He's not bothered by the sexual assault reports but draws the line at alcohol problems. Sometimes this all seems just too surreal to process. I just dropped a Substack last week by a D pundit who kept mentioning the need for "difficult conversations" while not specifying what those were. I suspect they related to defense of transgender rights. I became convinced that if the "difficult questions" were too difficult to openly address then it was too difficult for me to try reading between the lines. :-)
Let me add something that is baffling as well, at least for international observers. Opposition to Hegseth centers almost totally on his philandering, sexual assault cases and heavy drinking. Practically no attention is getting the fact that a possible future Secretary of Defence has openly pushed the idea that the US Army should not be bound by the Geneva Conventions and that he was fine with US soldiers committing war crimes. A position that was roundly rejected by the military as they rightly, among other reasons, were concerned that in the future wounded and/or captured US soldiers might be treated as members of a rogue militia who wouldn't fall under the protection of the Geneva Conventions.
Well, knowing what their leader thinks about wounded or captured soldiers, the MAGA crowd, including a possible future Sec of Def couldn't care less.
Thanks for this important, but sad reminder, Stefan.
Dayum. Learned something new. Thanks for the info.
Thank you, Stefan. In fact he was far more than fine with war criminals. He was the main Fox host who successfully lobbied the orange felon in his first term to pardon them after they were convicted. I'm sure you know this, I'm just sharing it for other readers who may not.
Alcohol is a tender matter for Donald Trump. His older brother, who might otherwise have been in line to head up the Trump empire instrad of Donald, became an alcoholic and, I understand, died because of alcoholism.
I googled around and learned that 6 mega corporations control the major media outlets. They will never provide fair/balanced coverage of events that impact our lives, UNLESS there is a way it will add to their profits.
Maybe by writing the truth people would return to reading them$.
With respect, following only one news source - as we once did when the Fairness Doctrine was still in force - is not advisable, whether its the NY Times or Fox News. If one wants to understand a complex issue, it requires reading from multiple sources - large and small.
News organizations are also not charitable organizations and survive by selling content that will capture ears and eyeballs. As a result, reading multiple sources is about your only chance to gain a fuller understanding of an event or issue.
That said, there are news sources that I do not follow, especially a certain news organization that recently paid north of $800M in settlement of defamation claims that were made on air. I am also loath to accept much of what is said on social media, which is predominantly opinion, based on either no facts or a misunderstanding of facts.
In short, being an accomplished news reader today requires time, effort and no small amount of skill, which, sadly, too few consumers of news today can muster.
When Robert writes "Dobbs wasn’t only about abortion. It was about reproductive liberty, contraception, same sex marriage, parental rights for same sex couples, and marriage between members of different “races,”" I can't wait for our conservative justices to re-wrestle the "Loving" decision. Why not?
I think they have been stalling on that one until the odious Clarence Thomas dies (may it be soon) or finally steps away from his cash cow of a job.
Would he recuse?
I think they will wait- he is old and greedy, but he trump will force him out to replace him with a younger model, so they will then have no conflict.
Doubtful, he hasn't reclused on other cases where many think he should have.
Thank you for continuing to call out the legacy media in their awful coverage. I’m personally offended by their attacks on President Biden, who is a decent man who has passed incredible legislation in a bipartisan manner with narrow Congressional margins. He is a wonderful representative for the ideals of the American people. Sigh. And Dump gets a pass. I’m astonished how the US has managed the Dump situation. Merrick Garland ran the damn clock out for Dump. DOJ has decided that Presidents can’t be criminals? SCOTUS has given Dump expanded immunity? sick. At least his awful picks are being rejected and he was forced into signing the transition papers. I want to see Emily Murphy prosecuted for not allowing President Biden a smooth transfer. Anyway, that’s the least of our troubles. I shudder to think of Dump pardoning all the J6 defendants and creating a center of angry and loyal insurrectionists. We must keep fighting. Are we Ukraine and South Korea? Or will we lay down. No!
We can’t even get everyone to freaking vote.
I agree. Can't get like button to work.
Excellent points, Robert. Forget the labels! Human rights for all!
Especially LOVE the history lesson on the Crab Nebula today!
I'm imaging being in 1054 and being so in awe of the unusual phenomenon as to record its occurrence.
Can you recommend a good book on the topic of astronomy?
Hakeem Jeffries should be Speaker of the House of Representatives.
The GOP is the MAGA cult, with no real interest in governing for the good of the people of the nation. ijs
Their goal is not "the pursuit of happiness" as our Declarartion of Inedependence calls for. Their goal is the pursuit of misery, anger, retribution (however misdirected). Ask them, go ahead, what would make them happy and they will not have a true answer.
I have been holding my upset for candidates that are finalized. Allowing the FBI to vet them is more efficient than letting the press do it. And, if the non-right wing Press migrates to Blue Sky, then they might even get their message across.
I stopped being a mainstream media consumer years ago little by little. It started when the Des Moines Register was gobbled up. That once venerable publication is a thin tissue today. Anyway, haven’t owned a television for about 10 years now and became a regular Substack reader about 7 years ago, starting with HCR. I think, as with many things in our world, we are at an inflection point when it comes to sharing of information. News networks have fallen prey to the “entertainment model” and the whims of the monied elite. Rejection of those presentations results in platforms like SubStack, Patreon, Bluesky. I have begun to regularly post to individuals like Lawrence O’Donnell and Joy Reid (and others) that they should just leave MSNBC and start their own independent news station. Finally, as in South Korea, it takes each of us to be willing to suit up and show up, in whatever way we are able. I have never used any social media platforms (FB for a few years but shut that down due to the ZuckSuck), but signed on to Bluesky (I do love the blue butterfly!).
“The events in Seoul also cemented the shift in social media from X to Bluesky, where news was breaking faster than anywhere else, in a way that echoed what Twitter used to be. Since Twitter was a key site of democratic organizing until Elon Musk bought it and renamed it X, that shift is significant.” HCR
Robert….Do what you can to get Biden to pardon all those in Trump’s line of fire for prosecution,e.g., Jack Smith , Gen.Milley, John Kelly, etc….
Thanks Robert. I urge people to support NPR and the PBS NewsHour, both fair in their reporting and in danger of blowback from the incoming administration. They need our help.
I want to turn more toward the lesser-known, perhaps, media outlets. Not sure of all of these but I'm learning toward getting my 'news' from: The Meidas Touch Network, Vox, The Guardian, BBC, ProPublica. What else am I forgetting here? P.S. I actually don't like NPR and PBS as much as I used to in that they've become pretty both-sidesing of late...
I find PBS to be quite timid regarding politics. The nature documentaries and special interest programming are definitely worthwhile.
I stopped listening to NPR after the 2016 election. They had already begun pulling their punches.
The PBS Newshour covers only a little of the news, and devotes much time to cultural events (e.g., art shows). In my household, we follow PBS Newshour with CNN Erin McNeil (sp.?); depending on topics reported (generally good reporting on Ukraine), we hang on for much of the next hour. It’s inefficient, but usually it covers most of what we deem important (along with some that isn’t).
CNN in the evening has panels that offer interesting perspectives and background (less so, recently).
They're not that fair.
Having had a few weeks now to lick my wounds, I'm recovering. So, I really don't take kindly to whomever wants Democrats to "tone down" - in fact, that sounds to me like advice from the "tone deaf" and particularly those whose ability to read the room is nonexistent.
For Christmas, my MAGAt/fascist relatives are getting books: Caste, War, Prequel, Too Much and Not Enough, The January 6th Committee Report, Laboratories of Autocracy, Strongmen, and On Tyranny. That's it. No cookies. No "stuff." And that's going to be it until 2026 when we make some significant changes in Congress. And until 2028 when we kick the pigs out of their pigpen.
Love it!!
yet another great argument for strengthening our own extremely independent media! Like many middle class, progressive leaning Americans, I donate to my favorite non-profits every December. This year, independent media is getting a much larger share than usual- we need to keep our important and insightful writers employed!
Pay for some of the best substack accounts, think about that important story you read in THE NATION, COMMON DREAMS, MOTHER JONES, DISSENT, ... the list goes on.
And if you have non-corporate local media, support them too. If you have no effective, hard hitting local media, corruption is pretty easy to hide.
Thanks for your list! I'm compiling one (in a comment above) but knew I was missing some important players -- and these are so obvious I don't know why I'd 'forgotten' them. Temporarily, I assure you. I also really like The Meidas Touch Network, The Guardian, and of course ProPublica, TPM (paywalled).
I know- so many great journalists are never going corporate!
"It is incumbent on each of us to amplify those voices condemning Trump and defending democracy. Do whatever you can...be loud and proud about Democratic victories and policies; and call out Trump's anti-democratic efforts in plain, unreserved language." Yes, we need to marinate the country in our talking points (maybe the DNC should circulate Talking Point of the Day), just as FOX & Co have done for years. As I write songs, here's my contribution for today:
My country tis of thee
Sweet land you used to be
Who crowned Trump king?
Land where corruption rules
Led by the rich and cruel
Let's honor them with ridicule
And let freedom ring!
DeSantis????? The man has practically ruined Florida. How on Earth can he be responsible for the defense of the entire country and our allies?????
Perhaps that is their point and main goal?