I also had to stop watching the CNN train wreck. I am insulted by the blatant behavior of this criminal. Let's keep the pressure on him and our foot on his neck. I have always referred to him as Eboli....a bacteria that is hard to kill. We will win in the end but it is remarkable how shameless this man is. Shame on CNN for giving him a 1 hour commercial and for packing the audience with Trump forever supporters. It was an outrage.
May 11, 2023·edited May 11, 2023Liked by Robert B. Hubbell
Yes, I totally agree with you. Any attempt to normalize Trump will fail. He simply cannot be trusted to NOT lie about everything.He appeals to a rabid lunatic fringe and CNN put it out there - the lunatic and the fringe-for all to see.
The college (Saint Anselm College) that hosted the event is culpable as well for allowing the ‘leader’ of the rabid lunatic fringe a pulpit for his propaganda. Shame on them!
A reader who is an alumna of St. Anselm wrote a letter of protest to the president of the college. He wrote a CYA letter back that said Trump is the leading candidate for the GOP nomination. Not a word about Trump's sexual assault, white nationalism, embrace of insurrectionists and violence, misogyny, lies, etc. Shame on St. Anselm, a Catholic University that is supposed to be modeling Christian behavior.
I strongly recommend that we NOT watch this kind of coverage. It only encourages more of the same. If news organizations were really covering g major candidates, there would be equal time for Biden. I call BS.
I would make your ‘equal time’ point in a different way: Presidential speeches or news conferences (in whatever form) ought to be treated as newsworthy, deserving broadcast time. That once was the way things worked, but Biden seems to be kept off the air, so to speak (not entertaining enough for audiences that want to be entertained, rather than informed?). Is Biden being de facto ‘ghosted’? Networks should be asked.
The Cretin News Network and Christ Licht are under orders from jumped-up Reality TV honcho David Zaslav, the CEO-in-name-only of WBD, taking his jumping orders from major shareholder and far right nut John Malone, to have "CNN return to the center" (i.e., attract more Republicans). They are so deep in 3rd place in ratings that they're about to be overtaken by NewsMax and drop into #4. So they decided to follow the gameplan of Jeff Zucker in 2016 and give the network to Trump "because he brings ratings."
As for Wolf Blitzer, the man has been phoning it in since he lucked into being stuck in Baghdad. He makes Chuck Todd look like he has a brain.
Personally, I hope this is the nail in the coffin for CNN and when the ratings swoon continues, Zaslav's cost cutting goon Gunnar Widenfels, gives CNN the chop come December when WBD has a big debt payment to make.
Thanks, TC, for clarifying what's happening behind the scenes at CNN. I found this article that explains the relationship of Zaslav and Malone. Interesting indeed!
OMG, love this! You are so right about Blitzer. The whole media circus is why I cut my cable. I read my news every day, throughout the day. I can form my own opinions.
CNN has, perhaps, the best, most insightful reporting on the Ukraine War. I value it greatly.
I’m not bothered by their letting non-MAGA conservatives on their shows. We can hear their points, disagree with them, and move on. Besides, other CNN participants capably disagree with the conservatives.
Liberals/progressives shouldn’t hope for a politically monochromatic CNN: it will become predictable and boring, and surely will lose more viewers. CNN’s demise would be a conservative victory.
Your comment, better researched than mine, has said the same thing. Follow the money. John Malone right wing advocate and member of the Federalist society is pulling the strings at CNN. He's a major investor and appointed Zucker who appointed Zaslav who appointed Licht.
We stopped watching all TV news (PBS is the best, yes). Why? Because we read. The news - each morning with coffee. The rest of the day is devoted to life's joys. We used to watch the NewsHour. A good show. But they can't give us anything we have already read.
CNN was the pioneer. Now it's competing with FAUX. Goodbye Cable News. Goodbye Cable TV.
As to the CNN Trump rally, read the comment by TCinLA. It's all about John Malone pulling Chris Licht's puppet strings.
Jeffries said it well today when he observed that today's GOP isn't bothered by hypocrisy. Apparently neither is CNN. It makes me sick that women will overlook that disgusting man's sexual assault on a woman. It makes my skin crawl. Laughing about what six men and three women unanimously decided in barely three hours to be the truth of what happened that day to Ms. Carroll shows how ignorant and mean the people who support that disgusting man are. And shame on the GOP who encourage that stupidity by playing dumb themselves. A medal to Robert for watching and recounting the CNN debacle.
The orange menace simply has no filter between his brain and his loud mouth, because he defamed Ms. Carroll AGAIN last night on CNN. Hope she files suit again!
I have said before about these women, and I sure use women loosely, that they swoon over trump because they want trump grabbing their genitals. Because it's fortunate, says trump. Pop some tic tacs, says trump, and start kissing, because he's a star, again, says trump. They yearn for him to sexually assault them, except for them, they want it. They can't grasp someone doesn't want that despicable person anywhere near them. They make my skin crawl.
I have no idea what women would be willing to admit they would want his fingers inside their bodies. I wouldn't want to be within the proverbial ten foot pole of his disgusting face.
I flat out told a lady that we understood she and others wanted nothing more than what I described above. She didn't argue, didn't have a rebuttal whatsoever. I had my answer. I agree. He's the white guy I'd cross the street if I saw coming, I'd take the stairs if he was on the elevator, etc. I've never done that for anyone, except white guys.
Mr. Hubbell, like you I am unsure if CNN is now in the Trump camp or is just desperately seeking better ratings or both. I didn't watch the debacle, and I encourage my friends and anyone who will listen to boycott CNN from now on! I gave up on them in 2020 because I found their reporting uneven at best, and pandering to Trump and the far-right at worst. But my prayer is that Trump in being himself on CNN (a petty, callous, narcissistic, and sinister liar) lost some of his appeal to anyone but his most ardent sycophants, and became repugnant in their eyes. How any sane woman would support him now after he mocked E. Jean Carroll is beyond me. But I felt that way when the "Access Hollywood" tape came out, and the creep still got elected. For me, the Central Park 5 case was all I needed to see Trump for who he was and is--a racist, despicable, low life with money. In calling for the death penalty, he helped get those five innocent Black and Hispanic teenagers convicted of brutally raping a White woman. Then he went on Larry King and doubled-down by saying, "I hate them. You should hate them. Sometimes hate gets things done." Chilling then and now. You're so right. We need to fight like hell to keep him out of office, along with any other GOP candidate. Biden has said we are in a fight for the soul of our country. Indeed , we are and for our democracy as a whole.
Besides fighting for the soul of our country, I believe we are fighting for what reality is. We currently exist in 2 distinctly separate worlds where the Venn Diagram circles share no overlap. We need to share some basic reality, or this just gets harder.
CNN gave us trump back in 2016 with all the unbalanced coverage. It is about the ratings. Either that or they are not so secretly biased (esp. now with Licht in charge).
Pat sax. To change the focus for a moment: The increasing information detailing the corruption in the Supreme Court will demand action by the Justice Department. I am predicting that Justice Thomas will resign as Nixon did to avoid criminal charges. If that happens, might we consider his replacement might be the outstanding legal professor ANITA HILL?
Pat, I want to believe this, and I will cheer for it to happen, but I can't see Garland even putting a toe into this water. Every single R now uses the playbook that has worked for trump and doubles down on the grift while blaming others. I cannot see Thomas being shamed into stepping down, but oh, do I want to.
Maybe it’s because I’m not a lawyer, but I don’t see any *legally* criminal behavior on Thomas’s part. Given his pre-existing political and legal views, it’s hard to see him as having being bribed, for example. His actions are inappropriate and unethical, to be sure, but *illegal*?
If there’s a case for illegal behavior, someone please spell it out. I, for one, would be interested.
"Putting a microphone and three cameras on Trump as if he were just another candidate and not an instigator of the violent disruption of American democracy and leader of a conspiracy to overthrow the results of a national election is the height of journalistic irresponsibility." So said The Guardian journalist Siva Vaidhyanathan:
It’s too bad that Kaitlin didn’t bring up the fact that 6 men and 3 women found him guilty of being a sexual predator thus bringing harm to E Jean. Plus, she was awarded additional monies for defamation. TFG is one sick very evil puppy. CNN took a nosedive trying to pit young Kaitlin against the worse human being on this planet , other than Putin. I did not watch one ounce of this fundraiser because I did not want the producers of this to know I might be viewing. My opinion is that the R party hired paid actors to be in the audience.
Santos, another predator of sorts. Full of fraud and lies like his leader. Guess they’re birds of a feather. They all are scum.
"My opinion is that the R party hired paid actors to be in the audience." I would not doubt this for an instant, Marlene. Wish there was a way to confirm it.
Actually, I’d actually feel better believing that there were paid actors, opposed to believing that there are people out there this misguided and rude!!
Seems like Kaitlan was in way over her head. For someone who can talk non-stop for 10 minutes without taking a breath, she had trouble getting a word in edgewise with the LieMaster.
No, I think the audience was likely composed of real people. We ought to face the fact that there are lots of people who admire Trump and, to that extent, live in a different moral/political (perceptual?) world from those of us who read Mr. Hubbell’s blog.
New Hampshire, where Trump spoke, has long been a deeply conservative state (only recently infiltrated by liberals who work in the Greater Boston area).
"After a federal civil jury delivered a unanimous verdict finding that Trump sexually assaulted E. Jean Carroll, leading Republicans attacked the jury". Judge Lewis Kaplan, who kept the names of jurors secret during the trial, advised the jurors to continue to keep their service secret. He prohibited them from revealing the names of other jurors if they decided to make their own names public. Juliette Kayyem, former Homeland Security Assistant Secretary added some specificity." ... you could get killed or injured, certainly harassed, definitely trolled so don't identify yourself and don't identify anybody else. Trump's strongest legacy will always be violence as an extension of our democratic processes." Sensible people treating the trial of a political leader as if it is the trial of a mob boss -- for good reason.
By violence, intimidation, harassment and abuse, these people are destroying our society.
I'm reminded specifically of the Georgia poll workers 45 targeted who testified before The Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol. Those women had to move out of their homes due to death threats.
It was awful. He was enraged from the Carroll verdict and Collins (any woman) was most definitely in his crosshairs. I am outraged at CNN on her behalf. No one could have withstood his rage. He was out of control more than ever.
Hearing Robert Hubbell's bracing good sense was a necessary antidote to the Donald Trump cornucopia of lies CNN presented tonight. But Robert has greater intestinal fortitude than I, as I switched off Trump's delusionary rant after just ten minutes. When Robert turned his attention to the clownish George Santos, I think he found just the right tone when suggesting that brave Kevin McCarthy might also refuse to endorse Franco, Hoffa and Nixon. We need to take a mocking, ridiculing tone when trying to counter the garbage from Trump and his allies. We should not dignify these unhinged allegations by bothering to actually refute them. They and their progenitors should remain beneath contempt.
“Kevin McCarthy said that he would not expel Santos over the indictment. But in a rare display of backbone, McCarthy said that he would not support Santos for election in 2024.”
This was *not* a display of backbone. McCarthy wants the seat to remain in GOP hand — and he knows that Santos has zero chance of winning re-election. McCarthy wants a different GOP candidate, who might win, to run. That is not backbone. That’s a pragmatic choice: he’s counting GOP seats.
Totally agree with your recommendations for "essential daily reading," and thanks for restating it tonight!
"I would add Simon’s Hopium Chronicles to Jessica Craven’s Chop Wood, Carry Water, and Heather Cox Richardson’s Letters from an American as essential daily reading. Readers should feel free to recommend other Substack authors in the Comments section of today’s newsletter!"
May 11, 2023·edited May 11, 2023Liked by Robert B. Hubbell
They are all in my daily reading, along with Joyce Vance's "Civil Discourse". She ends her blog each time by reminding us "we are in this together", which always lifts me up.
Yes, I also subscribe to Joyce Vance! As well as Judd Legum (Popular Information), and Jay Kuo (Status Kuo), Steady (Dan Rather/Elliot Kirshner), and George Takei (The Big Picture).
I highly recommend Judd Legum's investigative reporting column https://popular.info/ to my "must reads" - just this week, he exposed how the "Women's Bill of Rights" model anti-LGBTQ legislation is being promoted in many states by secretive group that opposes women's rights funded by the Charles Koch https://popular.info/p/womens-bill-of-rights-created-by
Oh my gosh, YES all of those as well. Gabe is on hiatus for the next 10 days due to Finals week and moving, but he is a very capable non-partisan writer, in college and barely in his early 20s. He gives me hope for the next generation.
May 11, 2023·edited May 11, 2023Liked by Robert B. Hubbell
As a member of the audience watching from abroad and with a European background let me first emphasize that I do not intend to defend CNN in any way. They are commercial in the first place and intend to catch the sensationalistic aspect first. However, the event served people of good will on both sides of the aisle as they were forced to watch what an ugly, low base and criminal witness with mafia like behaviour he would have been in the courtroom. His defence team knew why they would not let him testify, just because of this self incriminating blabbering that Trump does. It is hard, I know, for people of good will to face the harsh reality that this has become the public face of the GOP. My Dutch background tells me that to expose this, it is best to face the music. Either intentionally or (I am afraid) rather unintentionally this town hall served that goal. Let us indeed fight this dangerous threat to democracy!
I also had to stop watching the CNN train wreck. I am insulted by the blatant behavior of this criminal. Let's keep the pressure on him and our foot on his neck. I have always referred to him as Eboli....a bacteria that is hard to kill. We will win in the end but it is remarkable how shameless this man is. Shame on CNN for giving him a 1 hour commercial and for packing the audience with Trump forever supporters. It was an outrage.
Yes, I totally agree with you. Any attempt to normalize Trump will fail. He simply cannot be trusted to NOT lie about everything.He appeals to a rabid lunatic fringe and CNN put it out there - the lunatic and the fringe-for all to see.
The college (Saint Anselm College) that hosted the event is culpable as well for allowing the ‘leader’ of the rabid lunatic fringe a pulpit for his propaganda. Shame on them!
A reader who is an alumna of St. Anselm wrote a letter of protest to the president of the college. He wrote a CYA letter back that said Trump is the leading candidate for the GOP nomination. Not a word about Trump's sexual assault, white nationalism, embrace of insurrectionists and violence, misogyny, lies, etc. Shame on St. Anselm, a Catholic University that is supposed to be modeling Christian behavior.
Perhaps the President of St. Anselm is a Christian Nationalist. If so that would be scary. Yikes!
Indeed. Enabling whatever CNN thought they would accomplish.
I strongly recommend that we NOT watch this kind of coverage. It only encourages more of the same. If news organizations were really covering g major candidates, there would be equal time for Biden. I call BS.
I would make your ‘equal time’ point in a different way: Presidential speeches or news conferences (in whatever form) ought to be treated as newsworthy, deserving broadcast time. That once was the way things worked, but Biden seems to be kept off the air, so to speak (not entertaining enough for audiences that want to be entertained, rather than informed?). Is Biden being de facto ‘ghosted’? Networks should be asked.
Not to be a nerd, but Ebola is a virus, not a bacterium. Just for future reference.😉
We always refer to Trump as the 'orange cockroach' bc of their resistance and seeming invincibility.
I refer to him as the ad model for orang-u-tan
Yet, orangutan's are, in my understanding, both highly intelligent and non-aggressive.
It's all relative. Perhaps the former is the basis for TFG's claim that he's highly intelligent.
I'm sure there are exceptions to the latter. San Diego Zoo says, "Orangutans are generally non-aggressive toward humans and each other.
Many individuals reintroduced into the wild after having been in managed care are aggressive towards humans.
Male-male competition for mates and territory has been observed between adults.
Adult males are more tolerant of subadult males than of other adult males."
p.s. Sincere apologies to any orangutans I may have offended with my original reference.
Thanks for the correction.
The Cretin News Network and Christ Licht are under orders from jumped-up Reality TV honcho David Zaslav, the CEO-in-name-only of WBD, taking his jumping orders from major shareholder and far right nut John Malone, to have "CNN return to the center" (i.e., attract more Republicans). They are so deep in 3rd place in ratings that they're about to be overtaken by NewsMax and drop into #4. So they decided to follow the gameplan of Jeff Zucker in 2016 and give the network to Trump "because he brings ratings."
As for Wolf Blitzer, the man has been phoning it in since he lucked into being stuck in Baghdad. He makes Chuck Todd look like he has a brain.
Personally, I hope this is the nail in the coffin for CNN and when the ratings swoon continues, Zaslav's cost cutting goon Gunnar Widenfels, gives CNN the chop come December when WBD has a big debt payment to make.
I know I shouldn't laugh at your comment about Blitzer and Chuck Todd. But I did,.
He makes Chuck Todd look like he has a brain.
Hahaha great line
Agree! LMAO!
Thanks, TC, for clarifying what's happening behind the scenes at CNN. I found this article that explains the relationship of Zaslav and Malone. Interesting indeed!
https://www.vox.com/2022/8/26/23322761/cnn-john-malone-david-zaslav-chris-licht-brian-stelter-fox-peter-kafka-column
thanks for the link!
Yep, Mr Wolf apparently would currently find it hard to tell you why the ocean’s near the shore. If he only had a brain.🎶
OMG, love this! You are so right about Blitzer. The whole media circus is why I cut my cable. I read my news every day, throughout the day. I can form my own opinions.
CNN has, perhaps, the best, most insightful reporting on the Ukraine War. I value it greatly.
I’m not bothered by their letting non-MAGA conservatives on their shows. We can hear their points, disagree with them, and move on. Besides, other CNN participants capably disagree with the conservatives.
Liberals/progressives shouldn’t hope for a politically monochromatic CNN: it will become predictable and boring, and surely will lose more viewers. CNN’s demise would be a conservative victory.
Your comment, better researched than mine, has said the same thing. Follow the money. John Malone right wing advocate and member of the Federalist society is pulling the strings at CNN. He's a major investor and appointed Zucker who appointed Zaslav who appointed Licht.
PBS is my news of choice. CNN is now off the menu. Sad.
We absolutely CANNOT let these lunatics win in 2024.
We stopped watching all TV news (PBS is the best, yes). Why? Because we read. The news - each morning with coffee. The rest of the day is devoted to life's joys. We used to watch the NewsHour. A good show. But they can't give us anything we have already read.
CNN was the pioneer. Now it's competing with FAUX. Goodbye Cable News. Goodbye Cable TV.
As to the CNN Trump rally, read the comment by TCinLA. It's all about John Malone pulling Chris Licht's puppet strings.
So morally bankrupt… for ratings. Unconscionable. Off the menu for good.
Jeffries said it well today when he observed that today's GOP isn't bothered by hypocrisy. Apparently neither is CNN. It makes me sick that women will overlook that disgusting man's sexual assault on a woman. It makes my skin crawl. Laughing about what six men and three women unanimously decided in barely three hours to be the truth of what happened that day to Ms. Carroll shows how ignorant and mean the people who support that disgusting man are. And shame on the GOP who encourage that stupidity by playing dumb themselves. A medal to Robert for watching and recounting the CNN debacle.
The orange menace simply has no filter between his brain and his loud mouth, because he defamed Ms. Carroll AGAIN last night on CNN. Hope she files suit again!
I think he should be arrested. He committed treason when he asked for Putin to give him Hillary’s emails. He is a menace to society.
Like I've always said, even his own mother got rid of him!
I have said before about these women, and I sure use women loosely, that they swoon over trump because they want trump grabbing their genitals. Because it's fortunate, says trump. Pop some tic tacs, says trump, and start kissing, because he's a star, again, says trump. They yearn for him to sexually assault them, except for them, they want it. They can't grasp someone doesn't want that despicable person anywhere near them. They make my skin crawl.
I have no idea what women would be willing to admit they would want his fingers inside their bodies. I wouldn't want to be within the proverbial ten foot pole of his disgusting face.
I flat out told a lady that we understood she and others wanted nothing more than what I described above. She didn't argue, didn't have a rebuttal whatsoever. I had my answer. I agree. He's the white guy I'd cross the street if I saw coming, I'd take the stairs if he was on the elevator, etc. I've never done that for anyone, except white guys.
Mr. Hubbell, like you I am unsure if CNN is now in the Trump camp or is just desperately seeking better ratings or both. I didn't watch the debacle, and I encourage my friends and anyone who will listen to boycott CNN from now on! I gave up on them in 2020 because I found their reporting uneven at best, and pandering to Trump and the far-right at worst. But my prayer is that Trump in being himself on CNN (a petty, callous, narcissistic, and sinister liar) lost some of his appeal to anyone but his most ardent sycophants, and became repugnant in their eyes. How any sane woman would support him now after he mocked E. Jean Carroll is beyond me. But I felt that way when the "Access Hollywood" tape came out, and the creep still got elected. For me, the Central Park 5 case was all I needed to see Trump for who he was and is--a racist, despicable, low life with money. In calling for the death penalty, he helped get those five innocent Black and Hispanic teenagers convicted of brutally raping a White woman. Then he went on Larry King and doubled-down by saying, "I hate them. You should hate them. Sometimes hate gets things done." Chilling then and now. You're so right. We need to fight like hell to keep him out of office, along with any other GOP candidate. Biden has said we are in a fight for the soul of our country. Indeed , we are and for our democracy as a whole.
Besides fighting for the soul of our country, I believe we are fighting for what reality is. We currently exist in 2 distinctly separate worlds where the Venn Diagram circles share no overlap. We need to share some basic reality, or this just gets harder.
I feel the same
CNN gave us trump back in 2016 with all the unbalanced coverage. It is about the ratings. Either that or they are not so secretly biased (esp. now with Licht in charge).
Pat sax. To change the focus for a moment: The increasing information detailing the corruption in the Supreme Court will demand action by the Justice Department. I am predicting that Justice Thomas will resign as Nixon did to avoid criminal charges. If that happens, might we consider his replacement might be the outstanding legal professor ANITA HILL?
Pat, I want to believe this, and I will cheer for it to happen, but I can't see Garland even putting a toe into this water. Every single R now uses the playbook that has worked for trump and doubles down on the grift while blaming others. I cannot see Thomas being shamed into stepping down, but oh, do I want to.
Pat,
Maybe it’s because I’m not a lawyer, but I don’t see any *legally* criminal behavior on Thomas’s part. Given his pre-existing political and legal views, it’s hard to see him as having being bribed, for example. His actions are inappropriate and unethical, to be sure, but *illegal*?
If there’s a case for illegal behavior, someone please spell it out. I, for one, would be interested.
One of the Obamas would make me happy, but I don't think they want the gig.
"Putting a microphone and three cameras on Trump as if he were just another candidate and not an instigator of the violent disruption of American democracy and leader of a conspiracy to overthrow the results of a national election is the height of journalistic irresponsibility." So said The Guardian journalist Siva Vaidhyanathan:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/may/10/cnn-trump-town-hall-election-media-coverage
Just a week ago, I upgraded my subscription to The Guardian. I'm so glad I did.
I agree. I subscribe to The Guardian.
It’s too bad that Kaitlin didn’t bring up the fact that 6 men and 3 women found him guilty of being a sexual predator thus bringing harm to E Jean. Plus, she was awarded additional monies for defamation. TFG is one sick very evil puppy. CNN took a nosedive trying to pit young Kaitlin against the worse human being on this planet , other than Putin. I did not watch one ounce of this fundraiser because I did not want the producers of this to know I might be viewing. My opinion is that the R party hired paid actors to be in the audience.
Santos, another predator of sorts. Full of fraud and lies like his leader. Guess they’re birds of a feather. They all are scum.
"My opinion is that the R party hired paid actors to be in the audience." I would not doubt this for an instant, Marlene. Wish there was a way to confirm it.
Actually, I’d actually feel better believing that there were paid actors, opposed to believing that there are people out there this misguided and rude!!
Me, too, MaryAnn!
There are no good republicans. Trump has destroyed the party.
I hope she sues him again for defamation after the lies on TV last night.
Seems like Kaitlan was in way over her head. For someone who can talk non-stop for 10 minutes without taking a breath, she had trouble getting a word in edgewise with the LieMaster.
HA!😁
No, I think the audience was likely composed of real people. We ought to face the fact that there are lots of people who admire Trump and, to that extent, live in a different moral/political (perceptual?) world from those of us who read Mr. Hubbell’s blog.
New Hampshire, where Trump spoke, has long been a deeply conservative state (only recently infiltrated by liberals who work in the Greater Boston area).
I did not watch the so-called "town hall" on CNN, but the usual 45 BINGO card is ALWAYS easy to predict:
Female moderator = "Nasty"
Extremes of "Greatest" and "Disaster" expected
More of "I'm the victim" (when in fact he is the arsonist) with "I'm the greatest"
Throw in some "I never knew that person"
With no plan, he always tags on "we'll have to see what happens."
Did I get it right?
PLEASE, GOD, CANCEL THIS "Reality television show."
Watching this continuing train wreck is destroying our mental health.
You missed the part about 'killing babies at 7,8, 9 months of pregnancy', and then the gun stuff.
"After a federal civil jury delivered a unanimous verdict finding that Trump sexually assaulted E. Jean Carroll, leading Republicans attacked the jury". Judge Lewis Kaplan, who kept the names of jurors secret during the trial, advised the jurors to continue to keep their service secret. He prohibited them from revealing the names of other jurors if they decided to make their own names public. Juliette Kayyem, former Homeland Security Assistant Secretary added some specificity." ... you could get killed or injured, certainly harassed, definitely trolled so don't identify yourself and don't identify anybody else. Trump's strongest legacy will always be violence as an extension of our democratic processes." Sensible people treating the trial of a political leader as if it is the trial of a mob boss -- for good reason.
WOW, this is where we are.
By violence, intimidation, harassment and abuse, these people are destroying our society.
I'm reminded specifically of the Georgia poll workers 45 targeted who testified before The Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol. Those women had to move out of their homes due to death threats.
HE should be the one IN PRISON. This is SO WRONG.
He steamrolled Collins. Someone has said it was like watching an evil sitcom. Dr. Richardson quoted President Biden.
As Biden tweeted after the performance: “It’s simple, folks. Do you want four more years of that?”
—
Collins deserves some credit. But in truth, part of the reason I stopped watching was because I felt sorry for Collins. It was a massacre.
It was awful. He was enraged from the Carroll verdict and Collins (any woman) was most definitely in his crosshairs. I am outraged at CNN on her behalf. No one could have withstood his rage. He was out of control more than ever.
Collins needed to do what Biden did in one of the 2020 debates: shout, “Will you. *Shut. Up* !?”
But she couldn’t do that, because a person in her position had to be civil. Trump knew that, and exploited it. Don’t blame or denigrate Collins.
In a Comment I contributed below, I argue that, after the dust settles (so to speak), Trump’s “open house” performance may boomerang against him.
Hearing Robert Hubbell's bracing good sense was a necessary antidote to the Donald Trump cornucopia of lies CNN presented tonight. But Robert has greater intestinal fortitude than I, as I switched off Trump's delusionary rant after just ten minutes. When Robert turned his attention to the clownish George Santos, I think he found just the right tone when suggesting that brave Kevin McCarthy might also refuse to endorse Franco, Hoffa and Nixon. We need to take a mocking, ridiculing tone when trying to counter the garbage from Trump and his allies. We should not dignify these unhinged allegations by bothering to actually refute them. They and their progenitors should remain beneath contempt.
Let’s just do a repeat of the CNN program and Dems can hire a bunch of people to LAUGH at him! I hope I get an invitation. I can laugh through tears.
“Kevin McCarthy said that he would not expel Santos over the indictment. But in a rare display of backbone, McCarthy said that he would not support Santos for election in 2024.”
This was *not* a display of backbone. McCarthy wants the seat to remain in GOP hand — and he knows that Santos has zero chance of winning re-election. McCarthy wants a different GOP candidate, who might win, to run. That is not backbone. That’s a pragmatic choice: he’s counting GOP seats.
I need to work on my delivery. That was meant as the setup for a joke.
Thanks for your report on the cnn interview. I couldn’t bring myself to watch.
Totally agree with your recommendations for "essential daily reading," and thanks for restating it tonight!
"I would add Simon’s Hopium Chronicles to Jessica Craven’s Chop Wood, Carry Water, and Heather Cox Richardson’s Letters from an American as essential daily reading. Readers should feel free to recommend other Substack authors in the Comments section of today’s newsletter!"
They are all in my daily reading, along with Joyce Vance's "Civil Discourse". She ends her blog each time by reminding us "we are in this together", which always lifts me up.
Me too ! And I I love the adventures of Cleo, Pickles,Penelope, and Scotch.🐓
I love her. Also worth reading is Lucien K Truscott IVs daily Substack piece. So many talented and intelligent people writing daily are my lifelines.
Yes, I also subscribe to Joyce Vance! As well as Judd Legum (Popular Information), and Jay Kuo (Status Kuo), Steady (Dan Rather/Elliot Kirshner), and George Takei (The Big Picture).
One more, Lucid by Ruth Ben-Ghiat.
https://open.substack.com/pub/lucid/
So many talented, articulate writers.
Also, for eclectic and deeply researched topics, Tomas Pueyo.
I highly recommend Judd Legum's investigative reporting column https://popular.info/ to my "must reads" - just this week, he exposed how the "Women's Bill of Rights" model anti-LGBTQ legislation is being promoted in many states by secretive group that opposes women's rights funded by the Charles Koch https://popular.info/p/womens-bill-of-rights-created-by
I also recommend:
Status Kuo https://statuskuo.substack.com/ political & legal analysis
George Takei's The Big Picture https://thinkbigpicture@substack.com
Gabe Fleisher's Wake Up to Politics https://www.wakeuptopolitics.com/
Katelyn Jetelina's Your Local Epidemiologist https://yourlocalepidemiologist@substack.com
Oh my gosh, YES all of those as well. Gabe is on hiatus for the next 10 days due to Finals week and moving, but he is a very capable non-partisan writer, in college and barely in his early 20s. He gives me hope for the next generation.
Whoa! Thank you.
Agree with your additional suggestions.
As a member of the audience watching from abroad and with a European background let me first emphasize that I do not intend to defend CNN in any way. They are commercial in the first place and intend to catch the sensationalistic aspect first. However, the event served people of good will on both sides of the aisle as they were forced to watch what an ugly, low base and criminal witness with mafia like behaviour he would have been in the courtroom. His defence team knew why they would not let him testify, just because of this self incriminating blabbering that Trump does. It is hard, I know, for people of good will to face the harsh reality that this has become the public face of the GOP. My Dutch background tells me that to expose this, it is best to face the music. Either intentionally or (I am afraid) rather unintentionally this town hall served that goal. Let us indeed fight this dangerous threat to democracy!