There were only 86 Republicans who showed up for Zelenskyy's speech, and there were more than Fraternity Freddie Gaetz and Professional Juvenile Delinquent Boobert who were assholes. Marjorie Traitor Goon didn't show up, but earlier she tweeted that foreign aid is like American taxpayers being raped every day by their leaders. Truly, when it comes to what needs to be done with her, "if my thought dreams could be seen, they'd probably put my head in a guillotine."
I see you use the word "guillotine." I used it my comments today in reference to Trump. If this were the French Revolution, after Trump's tax reveal, he'd be guillotined.
Yes indeed it is Dylan's line, and every since I first heard it, I have run across more moments than I can still remember, where saying it has been the "apropos response."
Anybody else wonder why Rs are so obsessed with sex and perversion and project their obsessions constantly? Never mind, that was a rhetorical question.
You would probably have a lot of company up there. Just finished reading the Atlantic article about MTG and came away depressed. She appears to be an empty shell whose claim to fame is spewing vitriol that like-minded people lap up like water. It is both sad and dangerous.
MTG and Bobert & Carlson et. al. "No one ever made a statue to a critic." Can you imagine being involved in a relationship with someone who complained all of the time. Contempt! Goddard, a psychotherapist , can talk with a couple for 15 minutes, and with 90% accuracy can tell you if they will be together 20 years later. The key word is contempt. These folks, and even liberals, if you have contempt, watch your relationships go out the window.
MTG did get divorced after having reconciled with her husband earlier. But she has tons of on-line followers and offers of marriage. There is a lot I don't understand in this world.
Dec 22, 2022·edited Dec 22, 2022Liked by Robert B. Hubbell
No, Murdoch has no decency. Never did, never will. Wallows in the same cesspools as Trump , Putin, and their ilk. He's a traitor to democracy, another wasted product of Reagan's decade of the 80's. All about the dollar, nothing of substance.
This was a pleasure to read. The succinct depth on a wide array of topics is much appreciated. And some snark was certainly warranted. But mostly it delivered clear-eyed dissection of very serious events.
How DID Tuck come to be such an expert on strip club manager attire anyway? What a vile contrivance. And I wager Rupey has no decency. His motives for publishing may make Tuck's motives for shooting his mouth off seem pedestrian. Interesting Times.
Once again, Robert, thank you. How you read, assimilate and then write in such a clear way is truly awesome. You thought you were retiring - and yet you are putting out, daily, an amazing collection of information that all your readers value
I still bristle at the unholy union of Putin and Trump with Christian fundamentalists, (those folks who have packed the Supreme Court, y'know...anti-abortion, anti-gay, anti-everyone but them) I love the irony that Zelensky is Jewish and this is Hanukah week.
So much to digest: I will just discuss taxes and relate it to the Insurrection.
"Let me see if I understand you correctly" is a term many of us use. In this case Trump has paid little or no Federal income taxes for years. I, a middle class citizen, still working into my golden years pays thousands of dollars in Federal taxes, not to mention my Social Security is subject to Federal taxes too. A former President, a self proclaimed billionaire, pays practically no taxes. And while occupying (using the word occupy) the White House spends millions of dollars of taxpayers money to pay his family, protect his family, live a lavish lifestyle, entertain heads of state, entertain bigots, and still has taxpayers paying to protect his billionaire lifestyle. (That be the Secret Service). The Insurrectionists, many of who most likely also pay Federal income taxes, tried to keep this leech in office on January 6. If this were the French Revolution Trump would have guillotined. This is so topsy turvy. The leech who is living off the people is being supported by a group of people who want him to continue his ripping off of them.
I'm repeating a frequent request - can Macron (now that France and the U.S. have made up!) please send us a guillotine? For Pete's sake, it'll fit on a plane - we'll even pay shipping fees.
Optics are so important and tell a story that a thousand words could not capture. The picture of Zelenskyy standing in front of a joint Congress speaking in English and quoting Churchill reminded Americans of what real leadership and courage really looks like and it was refreshing. We need to compare this to the picture of Matt Gaetz in a rumpled suit ( the same age as Zelenskyy BTW) not paying attention and on his phone and the cowardly behavior of sitting Republicans failure and lack of courage to denounce and move away from the MAGA crazies. Zelenskyy was an epitome of a “ profile in courage “ , standing up to Putin and Russia and the Republicans party today is the exact opposite. Maybe Republicans will learn something from last evening but somehow I doubt it.
Dec 22, 2022·edited Dec 22, 2022Liked by Robert B. Hubbell
Great edition of "Today's Edition" today! When I read the following paragraph, "The Ukrainian leader spoke with strength and confidence to a US Congress momentarily united by a man whose manifest courage melted partisan divides and galvanized the reluctant hearts and minds of wary politicians." In my mind, I immediately inserted this, "melted partisan divides [with a couple of notable, embarrassing, and pathetic examples]..." But, as you pointed out the absurdity of Gaetz and Boebert a few paragraphs later, I was relieved of that angst. Thank you, Robert!
That said, I want to admit that Zelenskyy brought me to tears during multiple parts of his speech. Despite his halting English, he was remarkably inspirational and showed just how intelligent and well thought out he is as a leader thrust on the world stage under the most challenging of circumstances.
Initially, I was skeptical of Ukraine: Too many Ukrainians welcomed the Nazis in 1941, and willingly did their bidding, particularly when It came to hunting down and killing Jews. (Not that such people did not exist in all of occupied Europe during WWII.). But the struggle against tyranny and the Russian invasion in 2014, and the heroism of this year, have presented a very different picture—and would have even if Ukrainians had not elected—overwhelmingly—a Jew to lead them. Truly, they are a heroic people.
Last night, Mr. Zelenskyy quoted FDR. He could also have quoted FDR’s great colleague, Winston Churchill: “Give us the tools and we shall finish the job.”
Dec 22, 2022·edited Dec 22, 2022Liked by Robert B. Hubbell
"At least it worked for me." Me, too!
The two ideas that most resonated with me: U.S. aid is not charity but an investment; don't think we're protected by the ocean. Democracy is not a one-country operation; it's aaallll of us.
Thank you for the side by side comparison of the versions of the Electoral Count Act and the proposed reform.
-->> "At long last, Mr. Murdoch, have you no decency?" <<-- And you, too, Mr Ferguson and Mr Santos and and and .....
I recently read the Wikipedia article about the Budapest Memorandum. It says basically that this was a “memorandum” that gave assurances from the Russian and Western politicos involved. It was not a “treaty” by which a nation's authorized decision-making body made “guarantees”. It certainly makes one wonder if the Ukrainians understood the weakness of these promises.
Under the law, if someone acts in reliance on a promise, the promissory is "estopped" from denying the promise or setting aside the contract. That principle applies here. Ukraine gave up its nuclear arsenal for a promise not be invaded. Ukraine "detrimentally relied" on Russia's promise ("understanding"). That memo should be enforceable.
Conversely, supporters of Putin claim that the US promised that no former USSR nations would be added to NATO if the USSR allowed German re-unification. There is no writing to that effect; indeed, Gorbachev has said that no such promise was made; Bill Clinton says that Boris Yeltsin begged him for that promise--which Clinton explained he could not make on behalf of NATO. And yet, supporters of Putin claim that was an "implicit" condition of allowing the USSR to dissolve and that Ukraine's quest of membership violates that imaginary promise. So, I think Ukraine stands on much firmer ground with the Budapest memorandum than does Putin with his non-existent promise.
The IRS is getting criticism for not auditing DT's tax returns. We need to put the blame where it belongs -- to the GOP and DT himself. The IRS is working with the same number of employees it had 50 years ago because their budget allocation from Congress has not kept up with the need. Especially under DT the IRS budget was cut so the IRS wouldn't have enough funds to audit the rich since those are complex tax returns. For my 2020 tax return I could not file online because one of the IRS forms (the Self Employment Tax) could not be used because the form did not fill in one line that was supposed to be calculated and filled in by the IRS. I reported that problem to them. So, while my tax return was filed on time and it took them three days to cash my check, the return itself wasn't processed for 11 months until April 2022. I was one taxpayer out of 2 million tax returns filing paper returns whose returns weren't processed for months and months. This cost me thousands of dollars since I couldn't refinance my mortgage to the very low rate then of 2.75% since the bank by Texas law I was told could not approve the mortgage without the current tax return. However, in my dealings with the IRS over the years I must say I was impressed with their telephone support people -- very polite, very knowledgeable, very helpful, and solved whatever issue I was calling about right then and there on the phone. I would much rather speak to the IRS than to customer support at any bank or most companies. For me they were a model of what customer support should be! So, I again blame the GOP and DT for any problems with the IRS. We, the People, all of us this time.
Thanks for saying this. I've had the same experience dealing with the IRS and with Medicare. It sometimes takes a long time to get through, but once you talk to an agent, they are polite, well-informed, and helpful. It is important for people to understand how much government budgets have been cut and how much that impacts ordinary citizens trying to "play by the rules." This really bugs me.
A beautiful essay -- thank you so much, Robert. As for Tucker and many Republicans in Congress, I have zero doubt that they are receiving laundered rubles for their service. Remember when the NRA did that? (They probably still are.)
Dec 22, 2022·edited Dec 22, 2022Liked by Robert B. Hubbell
Thank you, Robert, for showing/explaining how the Electoral Count Reform Act amends the existing Election Count Act. Now I understand the significance. I know my congressional representative, Salud Carbajal (D), supports the Reform Act. I do hope that the Omnibus legislation with the ECRA passes this week.
Also, there is absolutely no comparison between man-boy Tucker Carlson and Volodymyr Zelenskyy - one speaks to the entire free world while the other speaks to close-minded semi-fascists wishing they were all authoritarian plutocrats.
Great report as always—the cravenness of Carlson,Gaetz, and Boebert and the simple dignity of Zelensky. The clown show is nearing its end, one hopes.
In gratitude, Robert Hubbell and Editor,
a magnificent historic day for America, and recounting and interpretation magnificent historic commentary.
Watching, listening, reading -- difficult to hold back tears.
Sorry, Tucker...I stand with that tiny elderly woman with sunflower seeds in her pockets ready for planting in Ukraine.
And with the Ukrainian soldiers on Snake Island who told the Russians what they could do.
There were only 86 Republicans who showed up for Zelenskyy's speech, and there were more than Fraternity Freddie Gaetz and Professional Juvenile Delinquent Boobert who were assholes. Marjorie Traitor Goon didn't show up, but earlier she tweeted that foreign aid is like American taxpayers being raped every day by their leaders. Truly, when it comes to what needs to be done with her, "if my thought dreams could be seen, they'd probably put my head in a guillotine."
Marjorie Traitor Goon was spotted in a certain aisle in Target.
Patrick, what a great name for marjorie.
Credit to TCinLA.
LMAO
I see you use the word "guillotine." I used it my comments today in reference to Trump. If this were the French Revolution, after Trump's tax reveal, he'd be guillotined.
The guillotine line is Bob Dylan's. Credit where credit is due. TcinLA, perfectly apropos.
Yes indeed it is Dylan's line, and every since I first heard it, I have run across more moments than I can still remember, where saying it has been the "apropos response."
Anybody else wonder why Rs are so obsessed with sex and perversion and project their obsessions constantly? Never mind, that was a rhetorical question.
And I've often wondered the same thing myself...
“like American taxpayers being raped every day by their leaders”.
I’m afraid she left the door open . . I can’t wait to read the comments on that
The whoremasters of the GOP were giving style tips for Zelensky--can we dock their pay for lack of leadership?
You would probably have a lot of company up there. Just finished reading the Atlantic article about MTG and came away depressed. She appears to be an empty shell whose claim to fame is spewing vitriol that like-minded people lap up like water. It is both sad and dangerous.
MTG and Bobert & Carlson et. al. "No one ever made a statue to a critic." Can you imagine being involved in a relationship with someone who complained all of the time. Contempt! Goddard, a psychotherapist , can talk with a couple for 15 minutes, and with 90% accuracy can tell you if they will be together 20 years later. The key word is contempt. These folks, and even liberals, if you have contempt, watch your relationships go out the window.
MTG did get divorced after having reconciled with her husband earlier. But she has tons of on-line followers and offers of marriage. There is a lot I don't understand in this world.
No, Murdoch has no decency. Never did, never will. Wallows in the same cesspools as Trump , Putin, and their ilk. He's a traitor to democracy, another wasted product of Reagan's decade of the 80's. All about the dollar, nothing of substance.
Not that that's "breaking news" for anyone. :-)
Begs the question if the doc squeezed too hard on the forceps!
This was a pleasure to read. The succinct depth on a wide array of topics is much appreciated. And some snark was certainly warranted. But mostly it delivered clear-eyed dissection of very serious events.
How DID Tuck come to be such an expert on strip club manager attire anyway? What a vile contrivance. And I wager Rupey has no decency. His motives for publishing may make Tuck's motives for shooting his mouth off seem pedestrian. Interesting Times.
Once again, Robert, thank you. How you read, assimilate and then write in such a clear way is truly awesome. You thought you were retiring - and yet you are putting out, daily, an amazing collection of information that all your readers value
I still bristle at the unholy union of Putin and Trump with Christian fundamentalists, (those folks who have packed the Supreme Court, y'know...anti-abortion, anti-gay, anti-everyone but them) I love the irony that Zelensky is Jewish and this is Hanukah week.
It is always refreshing to hear someone with intelligence and courage giving a speech. I wish it were not such a rarity in America.
So much to digest: I will just discuss taxes and relate it to the Insurrection.
"Let me see if I understand you correctly" is a term many of us use. In this case Trump has paid little or no Federal income taxes for years. I, a middle class citizen, still working into my golden years pays thousands of dollars in Federal taxes, not to mention my Social Security is subject to Federal taxes too. A former President, a self proclaimed billionaire, pays practically no taxes. And while occupying (using the word occupy) the White House spends millions of dollars of taxpayers money to pay his family, protect his family, live a lavish lifestyle, entertain heads of state, entertain bigots, and still has taxpayers paying to protect his billionaire lifestyle. (That be the Secret Service). The Insurrectionists, many of who most likely also pay Federal income taxes, tried to keep this leech in office on January 6. If this were the French Revolution Trump would have guillotined. This is so topsy turvy. The leech who is living off the people is being supported by a group of people who want him to continue his ripping off of them.
There is nothing wrong with your television set! You do understand correctly!
Sounds about right!
I'm repeating a frequent request - can Macron (now that France and the U.S. have made up!) please send us a guillotine? For Pete's sake, it'll fit on a plane - we'll even pay shipping fees.
Ha!
It makes you sick to the stomach, doesn't it? And think how much we are paying in legal fees to try to bring this jerk to justice.
Optics are so important and tell a story that a thousand words could not capture. The picture of Zelenskyy standing in front of a joint Congress speaking in English and quoting Churchill reminded Americans of what real leadership and courage really looks like and it was refreshing. We need to compare this to the picture of Matt Gaetz in a rumpled suit ( the same age as Zelenskyy BTW) not paying attention and on his phone and the cowardly behavior of sitting Republicans failure and lack of courage to denounce and move away from the MAGA crazies. Zelenskyy was an epitome of a “ profile in courage “ , standing up to Putin and Russia and the Republicans party today is the exact opposite. Maybe Republicans will learn something from last evening but somehow I doubt it.
Great edition of "Today's Edition" today! When I read the following paragraph, "The Ukrainian leader spoke with strength and confidence to a US Congress momentarily united by a man whose manifest courage melted partisan divides and galvanized the reluctant hearts and minds of wary politicians." In my mind, I immediately inserted this, "melted partisan divides [with a couple of notable, embarrassing, and pathetic examples]..." But, as you pointed out the absurdity of Gaetz and Boebert a few paragraphs later, I was relieved of that angst. Thank you, Robert!
That said, I want to admit that Zelenskyy brought me to tears during multiple parts of his speech. Despite his halting English, he was remarkably inspirational and showed just how intelligent and well thought out he is as a leader thrust on the world stage under the most challenging of circumstances.
Yes, brought tears to my eyes, too. Along with the fact that there were two women behind him!
Slava Ukraini!
Initially, I was skeptical of Ukraine: Too many Ukrainians welcomed the Nazis in 1941, and willingly did their bidding, particularly when It came to hunting down and killing Jews. (Not that such people did not exist in all of occupied Europe during WWII.). But the struggle against tyranny and the Russian invasion in 2014, and the heroism of this year, have presented a very different picture—and would have even if Ukrainians had not elected—overwhelmingly—a Jew to lead them. Truly, they are a heroic people.
Last night, Mr. Zelenskyy quoted FDR. He could also have quoted FDR’s great colleague, Winston Churchill: “Give us the tools and we shall finish the job.”
Thank you for regularly providing links to relevant sources.
I am glad it is useful. It also serves a second purpose: It helps me fact-check my writing.
"At least it worked for me." Me, too!
The two ideas that most resonated with me: U.S. aid is not charity but an investment; don't think we're protected by the ocean. Democracy is not a one-country operation; it's aaallll of us.
Thank you for the side by side comparison of the versions of the Electoral Count Act and the proposed reform.
-->> "At long last, Mr. Murdoch, have you no decency?" <<-- And you, too, Mr Ferguson and Mr Santos and and and .....
Whoa! Just read Thom Hartmann's post from yesterday in which he wrote of the 1994 "Budapest Memorandum" regarding Ukraine's decommissioning of nuclear weapons with US, UK, and Russia promising "to never attack Ukraine, and to defend its borders if anybody else did." Never knew of this, although knew about Ukraine giving up its nuclear arsenal. https://hartmannreport.com/p/will-america-keep-our-word-to-ukraine?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share
Thanks for mentioning the Budapest Memorandum. I am filing that in my "story ideas" folder.
I recently read the Wikipedia article about the Budapest Memorandum. It says basically that this was a “memorandum” that gave assurances from the Russian and Western politicos involved. It was not a “treaty” by which a nation's authorized decision-making body made “guarantees”. It certainly makes one wonder if the Ukrainians understood the weakness of these promises.
Under the law, if someone acts in reliance on a promise, the promissory is "estopped" from denying the promise or setting aside the contract. That principle applies here. Ukraine gave up its nuclear arsenal for a promise not be invaded. Ukraine "detrimentally relied" on Russia's promise ("understanding"). That memo should be enforceable.
Conversely, supporters of Putin claim that the US promised that no former USSR nations would be added to NATO if the USSR allowed German re-unification. There is no writing to that effect; indeed, Gorbachev has said that no such promise was made; Bill Clinton says that Boris Yeltsin begged him for that promise--which Clinton explained he could not make on behalf of NATO. And yet, supporters of Putin claim that was an "implicit" condition of allowing the USSR to dissolve and that Ukraine's quest of membership violates that imaginary promise. So, I think Ukraine stands on much firmer ground with the Budapest memorandum than does Putin with his non-existent promise.
Ok, now I'm really intrigued. "Under the law..." Presumably that's international law? And who/what enforces the law?
Let's see what Robert pulls out of his ""story ideas" folder" 🤗
The IRS is getting criticism for not auditing DT's tax returns. We need to put the blame where it belongs -- to the GOP and DT himself. The IRS is working with the same number of employees it had 50 years ago because their budget allocation from Congress has not kept up with the need. Especially under DT the IRS budget was cut so the IRS wouldn't have enough funds to audit the rich since those are complex tax returns. For my 2020 tax return I could not file online because one of the IRS forms (the Self Employment Tax) could not be used because the form did not fill in one line that was supposed to be calculated and filled in by the IRS. I reported that problem to them. So, while my tax return was filed on time and it took them three days to cash my check, the return itself wasn't processed for 11 months until April 2022. I was one taxpayer out of 2 million tax returns filing paper returns whose returns weren't processed for months and months. This cost me thousands of dollars since I couldn't refinance my mortgage to the very low rate then of 2.75% since the bank by Texas law I was told could not approve the mortgage without the current tax return. However, in my dealings with the IRS over the years I must say I was impressed with their telephone support people -- very polite, very knowledgeable, very helpful, and solved whatever issue I was calling about right then and there on the phone. I would much rather speak to the IRS than to customer support at any bank or most companies. For me they were a model of what customer support should be! So, I again blame the GOP and DT for any problems with the IRS. We, the People, all of us this time.
His people have infiltrated deeply in all areas.
Thanks for saying this. I've had the same experience dealing with the IRS and with Medicare. It sometimes takes a long time to get through, but once you talk to an agent, they are polite, well-informed, and helpful. It is important for people to understand how much government budgets have been cut and how much that impacts ordinary citizens trying to "play by the rules." This really bugs me.
A beautiful essay -- thank you so much, Robert. As for Tucker and many Republicans in Congress, I have zero doubt that they are receiving laundered rubles for their service. Remember when the NRA did that? (They probably still are.)
You can't take it with you and they will have to answer in the end.
Thank you, Robert, for showing/explaining how the Electoral Count Reform Act amends the existing Election Count Act. Now I understand the significance. I know my congressional representative, Salud Carbajal (D), supports the Reform Act. I do hope that the Omnibus legislation with the ECRA passes this week.
Also, there is absolutely no comparison between man-boy Tucker Carlson and Volodymyr Zelenskyy - one speaks to the entire free world while the other speaks to close-minded semi-fascists wishing they were all authoritarian plutocrats.
Tucker Carlson would not last five minutes in a Putin-style regime. He doesn't know what he's talking about, but he sure talks a lot.
And unable to comprehend exactly what the plutocrats/oligarchs think of them. It's also how they think of conman 45.