Thank you Robert for your thoughtful and supportive comments re: the continuing attacks on LGBTQ Americans. As a parent and ally of the trans community, I am terrified at the many hateful bills and rhetoric. I’m deeply worried for my kiddo’s safety and future. These attacks are akin to the antisemitism of the 20th century. The ember of hate directed at a group of people can easily explode in violence as happened in Rwanda. This is unbearable for me to consider, and I believe it is possible, it could happen here. Also - I completely agree with the need for calm and caution regarding Ukraine. Putin is a brutal, evil, vengeful man who is playing games with nuclear deterrence. We can not survive a nuclear war, and we must never threaten it. I am very grateful Biden is measured, calm, and and deeply aware of the dangers and parameters of responsible leadership and the principle of MAD. The world can’t survive a nuclear war; we must never play games with such an outcome.
Mar 9, 2022·edited Mar 10, 2022Liked by Robert B. Hubbell
Thank you for your work. I've come to count on this newsletter at the end of the day not only for the analysis but the strong dose of hope. I feel as though I should put the concluding thoughts of all the newsletters on some kind of a loop.
I'd like to share something I just heard from an interview with Mariame Kaba: “Hope is a discipline. It’s less about 'how you feel,' and more about the practice of making a decision every day, that you’re still going to put one foot in front of the other, that you’re still going to get up in the morning. And you’re still going to struggle, (...)
It’s work to be hopeful. It’s not like a fuzzy feeling. Like, you have to actually put in energy, time, and you have to be clear-eyed, and you have to hold fast to having a vision. It’s a hard thing to maintain. But it matters to have it, to believe that it’s possible, to change the world."
Thank you so much for your full throated comments about the attacks on the LGBTQ community. I recently had to explain to a friend, who sees the world differently from me, and who feels the “problem” is so many trying to make “too many changes too fast” and that she and her children “don’t hate gays or people of other colors or races” so we should just slow it down and know that the next generation will make some more changes and we shouldn’t be trying to “push change” on folks who aren’t ready for it. I had to explain to her that my rights, and those of any other stigmatized community, do not need to wait until people who are judging us for being who we are, to be comfortable. We too, have this one lifetime and we deserve to be comfortable as well.
Racism in America (she believes we are not racist and we’re not founded with systemic racism) proves to us that people have the ability to fight their entire lifetimes to achieve what should never have been denied them, knowing full well they will never see it in their lifetimes or maybe even their children's. That is bravery, courage, and commitment. It is also proof that human rights are WORTH IT. Not something to be granted when the privileged have had time to “process and absorb” it.
Your words matter and your sharing them is deeply appreciated.
As a Clinical Social Worker for 37 years I have seen the confusion, anxiety and depression that LGBTQ children and teens struggle with as well as adults. These bills are about power and control, marginalizing the most vulnerable parts of our society as a way to act out rage and attain power mostly by powerful white men. Whether it’s people of color, those in poverty, women or the LGBTQ community, the goal is to divide and conquer. It is psychopathology at its core and it is despicable. I subscribe to Jessica Craven and guided by her email, wrote all major companies in Texas about the impact of Abbott’s bill against trans youth and parents. I will write her today about doing the same thing in FL.
Robert, you are so right that we take it one day at a day, no crystal balls, we must just act over and over again to benefit the world and the generations to come.
Thank you for your newsletters and this community!
“Coming to the defense of those being stigmatized is a moral duty, not a culture war”: magnificent, Robert! I think we should discuss Tucker Carlson and Laura Ingraham and their ilk as Lord Haw-Haw and Tokyo Rose. They are perilously close to traitors, although we are not officially at war.
Thank you for your newsletter! And for sticking up for LGBTQIA rights. This is an attack on those rights not seen since late 1970’s with Anita Bryant and the arrival of the AIDS crisis. In Texas, clinics have already stopped dispensing gender affirming to be transgender people. Between Fla, Texas, Ohio, Iowa and dozen more states, many LGBTQIA youth and adults will attempt and some succeed at suicide. One transgender activist in Lincoln, NE took his life last week trying to prevent an anti-transgender measure from being placed on the ballot there. Hate should have no place in our society.
I'd like to thank you for today's "Concluding Thoughts." So very powerful, and true. Michael J. Fox said something like, "I've learned not to worry about the worst that might happen, because if it does, then I've lived through the pain of it twice." Worry is a drain on our energy and the media thrives on feeding that fire, which only burns all our internal fuel. Instead, we must, as you say, work to SHAPE the future we desire. Thank you for your continued optimism, which is always grounded in facts and bolstered by information about ways we can all help. And THANK YOU for pushing back on readers who are "tired" of LGBTQ content. You said it best, the GOP is (across so many issues) creating a culture war. It is our moral obligation to stand up (like Zelensky) and say, "No, we will not accept that, we will not bow to your 'power,' we will fight until good prevails."
Mar 9, 2022·edited Mar 9, 2022Liked by Robert B. Hubbell
“There is much more, but I want to return to my call for calm and perspective in a dangerous situation. What is happening in Ukraine is inhumane and immoral. But the answer cannot be to start a nuclear war. Some readers continue to argue that Putin is bluffing and that we should engage in direct military confrontation in Ukraine to stop Putin. That cannot happen and (thankfully) will not happen on Joe Biden’s watch. Putin has threatened nuclear deterrence in response to direct military intervention. Anger and outrage are not substitutes for sober assessments by the US intelligence community. Though we should do all we can for Ukraine short of direct military intervention, we must stay our current course—for the sake of humanity and the world.”
I have quoted this here to emphasize the importance of this cautionary advisory. Thank goodness we no longer have an unhinged and dangerous Commander and Chief in the Oval Office. I hesitate to think what might be happening were a less thoughtful President and unqualified and inexperienced “hands on the wheel” at present.
Just as we have seen the leadership qualities of Zelenski emerge in Ukraine, so have President Biden’s come to the fore also. The Ukraine Russia crisis is bringing out the best in both Zelenski and Biden as the world responds. Now is a time requiring leadership and a steady hand. American patriotism will face a crucial test as the consequences of this crisis evolve and become more apparent and impactful. We will be tested. Our test will not be as challenging as that of Ukraine but it will nevertheless be a test. My hope is that we all show at least a small portion of the courage and resolve of Ukrainians. My fear is that while I am confident in the courage of most, I fear the weaknesses and whining of those like Tucker Carlson who are either too weak, too dumb, too selfish, or too treacherous to stand up when courage, resolve, and real thought are required of all.
Thank you again for your brilliant analyses! I often send out a sentence or two from your newsletter as the "quote of the day." Today's quote has to be RE LGBTQ - "Coming to the defense of those being stigmatized is a moral duty, not a culture war."
I simply cannot imagine the tough job that President Biden has when Fox not-news personalities broadcast Russian propaganda to millions of people and when our own Republican elected officials try to sabotage him at all times. No matter what he says, or what a good job he is doing, people pounce on it ready to distort it. Isn't there anything we can do with Rupert Murdoch and Tucker Carlson? I'm thinking Tokyo Rose here.
Now that I have gotten that off of my chest, I would like to share with you last night's "Breakdown" from the Lincoln Project. Tara Setmayer interviewed General Mark Hertling and he gave the best explanation of why we cannot implement a no-fly zone. He starts at minute 15:30 if you are short on time: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gf1luErC-8s
Thank you, Robert. I rely on "Today's Edition" too much to continue reading it for free, so I have subscribed. I've watched your publication evolve since 2020 when a friend forwarded it to me. He was trying to help me 'calm' down during the election period. I haven't stopped reading your posts since. I found everything you wrote today of import, especially the LGBTQ issue. I've ordered the book to which you provided a link. Thank you, again, for your hard work. Robert Reich's post today asked whether or not we should take a chance and support Ukraine with a no-fly zone via Germany. There was so much animus in the responses that I could not write anything for fear of stirring more anger. We've gone and will continue to go through tough times. But I believe that Ukraine standing firm as Russia attempts to scorch them may help our country, and others, regain their hearts and resolve to do good, to take 'right' actions, to be better human beings. It's only a feeling but we will more than survive this. We will emerge in victory...in time. This I do believe.
Well, I had my first Zoom meeting with fellow DFL (Democratic-Farm-Labor party in Minnesota) Monday night. I am getting involved in grass-roots, local elections and am now a delegate for our district nominating convention on April 9, and then, if elected as a delegate, the state nominating convention in May. It's unfamiliar territory for me and signed up for the committee that prepares name tags and checks people in so I can really start to see and meet others who are involved. There is little chance that I would be doing this without the encourage and direction of Robert and other readers. Thank you!
“The future is something that we can shape, but not something we can foresee. Let’s not waste energy worrying about the future. Instead, let’s put that energy into shaping it.”
We get the future we build together. And, if we work hard at that and make good choices, the future we have earned. The future, whatever it brings, will however, be the one we deserve. Worrying about the future is pointless as it is unknown and unknowable. Better to be engaged in making it.
Thank you Robert for your thoughtful and supportive comments re: the continuing attacks on LGBTQ Americans. As a parent and ally of the trans community, I am terrified at the many hateful bills and rhetoric. I’m deeply worried for my kiddo’s safety and future. These attacks are akin to the antisemitism of the 20th century. The ember of hate directed at a group of people can easily explode in violence as happened in Rwanda. This is unbearable for me to consider, and I believe it is possible, it could happen here. Also - I completely agree with the need for calm and caution regarding Ukraine. Putin is a brutal, evil, vengeful man who is playing games with nuclear deterrence. We can not survive a nuclear war, and we must never threaten it. I am very grateful Biden is measured, calm, and and deeply aware of the dangers and parameters of responsible leadership and the principle of MAD. The world can’t survive a nuclear war; we must never play games with such an outcome.
Thank you for your work. I've come to count on this newsletter at the end of the day not only for the analysis but the strong dose of hope. I feel as though I should put the concluding thoughts of all the newsletters on some kind of a loop.
I'd like to share something I just heard from an interview with Mariame Kaba: “Hope is a discipline. It’s less about 'how you feel,' and more about the practice of making a decision every day, that you’re still going to put one foot in front of the other, that you’re still going to get up in the morning. And you’re still going to struggle, (...)
It’s work to be hopeful. It’s not like a fuzzy feeling. Like, you have to actually put in energy, time, and you have to be clear-eyed, and you have to hold fast to having a vision. It’s a hard thing to maintain. But it matters to have it, to believe that it’s possible, to change the world."
Thank you so much for your full throated comments about the attacks on the LGBTQ community. I recently had to explain to a friend, who sees the world differently from me, and who feels the “problem” is so many trying to make “too many changes too fast” and that she and her children “don’t hate gays or people of other colors or races” so we should just slow it down and know that the next generation will make some more changes and we shouldn’t be trying to “push change” on folks who aren’t ready for it. I had to explain to her that my rights, and those of any other stigmatized community, do not need to wait until people who are judging us for being who we are, to be comfortable. We too, have this one lifetime and we deserve to be comfortable as well.
Racism in America (she believes we are not racist and we’re not founded with systemic racism) proves to us that people have the ability to fight their entire lifetimes to achieve what should never have been denied them, knowing full well they will never see it in their lifetimes or maybe even their children's. That is bravery, courage, and commitment. It is also proof that human rights are WORTH IT. Not something to be granted when the privileged have had time to “process and absorb” it.
Your words matter and your sharing them is deeply appreciated.
As a Clinical Social Worker for 37 years I have seen the confusion, anxiety and depression that LGBTQ children and teens struggle with as well as adults. These bills are about power and control, marginalizing the most vulnerable parts of our society as a way to act out rage and attain power mostly by powerful white men. Whether it’s people of color, those in poverty, women or the LGBTQ community, the goal is to divide and conquer. It is psychopathology at its core and it is despicable. I subscribe to Jessica Craven and guided by her email, wrote all major companies in Texas about the impact of Abbott’s bill against trans youth and parents. I will write her today about doing the same thing in FL.
Robert, you are so right that we take it one day at a day, no crystal balls, we must just act over and over again to benefit the world and the generations to come.
Thank you for your newsletters and this community!
“Coming to the defense of those being stigmatized is a moral duty, not a culture war”: magnificent, Robert! I think we should discuss Tucker Carlson and Laura Ingraham and their ilk as Lord Haw-Haw and Tokyo Rose. They are perilously close to traitors, although we are not officially at war.
Thank you for your newsletter! And for sticking up for LGBTQIA rights. This is an attack on those rights not seen since late 1970’s with Anita Bryant and the arrival of the AIDS crisis. In Texas, clinics have already stopped dispensing gender affirming to be transgender people. Between Fla, Texas, Ohio, Iowa and dozen more states, many LGBTQIA youth and adults will attempt and some succeed at suicide. One transgender activist in Lincoln, NE took his life last week trying to prevent an anti-transgender measure from being placed on the ballot there. Hate should have no place in our society.
I'd like to thank you for today's "Concluding Thoughts." So very powerful, and true. Michael J. Fox said something like, "I've learned not to worry about the worst that might happen, because if it does, then I've lived through the pain of it twice." Worry is a drain on our energy and the media thrives on feeding that fire, which only burns all our internal fuel. Instead, we must, as you say, work to SHAPE the future we desire. Thank you for your continued optimism, which is always grounded in facts and bolstered by information about ways we can all help. And THANK YOU for pushing back on readers who are "tired" of LGBTQ content. You said it best, the GOP is (across so many issues) creating a culture war. It is our moral obligation to stand up (like Zelensky) and say, "No, we will not accept that, we will not bow to your 'power,' we will fight until good prevails."
“There is much more, but I want to return to my call for calm and perspective in a dangerous situation. What is happening in Ukraine is inhumane and immoral. But the answer cannot be to start a nuclear war. Some readers continue to argue that Putin is bluffing and that we should engage in direct military confrontation in Ukraine to stop Putin. That cannot happen and (thankfully) will not happen on Joe Biden’s watch. Putin has threatened nuclear deterrence in response to direct military intervention. Anger and outrage are not substitutes for sober assessments by the US intelligence community. Though we should do all we can for Ukraine short of direct military intervention, we must stay our current course—for the sake of humanity and the world.”
I have quoted this here to emphasize the importance of this cautionary advisory. Thank goodness we no longer have an unhinged and dangerous Commander and Chief in the Oval Office. I hesitate to think what might be happening were a less thoughtful President and unqualified and inexperienced “hands on the wheel” at present.
Just as we have seen the leadership qualities of Zelenski emerge in Ukraine, so have President Biden’s come to the fore also. The Ukraine Russia crisis is bringing out the best in both Zelenski and Biden as the world responds. Now is a time requiring leadership and a steady hand. American patriotism will face a crucial test as the consequences of this crisis evolve and become more apparent and impactful. We will be tested. Our test will not be as challenging as that of Ukraine but it will nevertheless be a test. My hope is that we all show at least a small portion of the courage and resolve of Ukrainians. My fear is that while I am confident in the courage of most, I fear the weaknesses and whining of those like Tucker Carlson who are either too weak, too dumb, too selfish, or too treacherous to stand up when courage, resolve, and real thought are required of all.
Thank you again for your brilliant analyses! I often send out a sentence or two from your newsletter as the "quote of the day." Today's quote has to be RE LGBTQ - "Coming to the defense of those being stigmatized is a moral duty, not a culture war."
I simply cannot imagine the tough job that President Biden has when Fox not-news personalities broadcast Russian propaganda to millions of people and when our own Republican elected officials try to sabotage him at all times. No matter what he says, or what a good job he is doing, people pounce on it ready to distort it. Isn't there anything we can do with Rupert Murdoch and Tucker Carlson? I'm thinking Tokyo Rose here.
Now that I have gotten that off of my chest, I would like to share with you last night's "Breakdown" from the Lincoln Project. Tara Setmayer interviewed General Mark Hertling and he gave the best explanation of why we cannot implement a no-fly zone. He starts at minute 15:30 if you are short on time: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gf1luErC-8s
Finally, let me leave you with some good news. If you hadn't heard, Leonardo DiCaprio donated $10M to the Ukranian Armed Forces: https://twitter.com/OccupyDemocrats/status/1501291728900395009
Thank you, Robert. I rely on "Today's Edition" too much to continue reading it for free, so I have subscribed. I've watched your publication evolve since 2020 when a friend forwarded it to me. He was trying to help me 'calm' down during the election period. I haven't stopped reading your posts since. I found everything you wrote today of import, especially the LGBTQ issue. I've ordered the book to which you provided a link. Thank you, again, for your hard work. Robert Reich's post today asked whether or not we should take a chance and support Ukraine with a no-fly zone via Germany. There was so much animus in the responses that I could not write anything for fear of stirring more anger. We've gone and will continue to go through tough times. But I believe that Ukraine standing firm as Russia attempts to scorch them may help our country, and others, regain their hearts and resolve to do good, to take 'right' actions, to be better human beings. It's only a feeling but we will more than survive this. We will emerge in victory...in time. This I do believe.
Thank you. This is so timely on so many levels and, as always, hopeful.
Well, I had my first Zoom meeting with fellow DFL (Democratic-Farm-Labor party in Minnesota) Monday night. I am getting involved in grass-roots, local elections and am now a delegate for our district nominating convention on April 9, and then, if elected as a delegate, the state nominating convention in May. It's unfamiliar territory for me and signed up for the committee that prepares name tags and checks people in so I can really start to see and meet others who are involved. There is little chance that I would be doing this without the encourage and direction of Robert and other readers. Thank you!
Regarding paid subscription--it is an honor to be able to support your amazing work!
Great post!
“The future is something that we can shape, but not something we can foresee. Let’s not waste energy worrying about the future. Instead, let’s put that energy into shaping it.”
We get the future we build together. And, if we work hard at that and make good choices, the future we have earned. The future, whatever it brings, will however, be the one we deserve. Worrying about the future is pointless as it is unknown and unknowable. Better to be engaged in making it.