Welcome to the Comment section if you are new, and welcome back if you are a regular contributor!
Please help me keep the Comment section friendly and positive by replying to this comment if you see an abusive or inappropriate post. That will allow me to quickly delete abusive posts.
Although I monitor the Comment section throughout the weekend whenever I open it to everyone, I can't do so continuously. Fortunately, abusive posts have been few and far between. Please help me keep it that way! Thanks!
Now that election season is truly upon us, I would like to propose that Robert write a dedicated piece on all (well, many) of the grassroots efforts to register voters, inform voters, support voting access, and get out the vote. There are so many important efforts going on around the country. Personally, I dislike all the money in politics, especially going to individual candidates (overturn Citizens United), so I send my financial and personal support to grassroots organizations in key areas of key states that will be there for their communities for years to come. This newsletter has highlighted several of them, but having a dedicated discussion, perhaps even a team-building session, could help build momentum.
A bit of information about WtW - Walk the Walk is an all-volunteer initiative that raises funds for strategic voter empowerment in key geographies -- to make our local, state, and federal governments work for the people and realize the promise of an inclusive U.S. democracy.
Together with a growing network of 6,000+ contributors in 47 states, we've moved nearly $5 million in the last 20 months to critical, local grassroots organizing work.
This doesn't relate specifically today's newsletter, but it needs saying. Democrats need to stop the negative criticism of Biden and his policies. Vote against them if you must but be quiet about it. Republicans understand this, otherwise they would not support Trump in spite of all his issues. Criticizing our own candidates is a gift to Republicans. And remember always, all politics is local, work for the Democrat candidates in your neighborhood even if you are not enthusiastic about them, more important now than ever. Republicans understand that, too, it's how they got in the position to control so many states as they do now.
This is to comment on your remarks on Justice Alito's remarks in Italy about religious liberty deserving special protection. The true irony is that the "Dobbs" decision is that it reduced the religious liberty of other religions that do not accept the concept of that life begins at the moment of conception. As a Jew, I am especially sensitive to this. Under traditional Jewish law, if a pregnant woman's life is in danger, an abortion is not only permitted, it is required. The First Amendment separation was required because the Founders of our nation did not want a state religion as it existed in Great Britain and wanted to protect the right of "free men" to practice religion (or not) as they felt fit. "Roe" did not restrict religious liberty because Catholic hospitals could refuse to perform abortions. The Catholic Church was free to teach that life begins at the moment of conception and that abortion is a mortal sin. I will finish this post by linking to the National Council of Jewish Women's Abortion and Jewish Values Toolkit. To be absolutely clear, as is true for just about everything in the Jewish religion, if you ask different rabbis and different Jewish denominations you will see strong disagreements as to whether abortion is permissible in situations where a woman's life is not in imminent danger. Among ultra Orthodox Jews in particular, abortion is frowned upon and some restrictions on abortion rights is supported. But the point is that respecting religious liberty requires respect for religious points of view that do not confirm to YOUR religious points of view.
Yes, holding the house is extremely important, but holding and expanding the Senate majority may be even more important. Judicial confirmations and the potential to expand the court are critical in or efforts to maintain a constitutional democracy. I feel that if Tim Ryan in Ohio and Cherie Beasley in North Carolina can take seats currently held by Republicans, we can increase our majority in the Senate.
On the flurry of anti-abortion laws passed by a number of states: I would love to see a mass exodus of residents of those states to pro-choice states. I'm thinking in terms of millions of people moving. Whether this is feasible remains to be seen. Such a development would have serious detrimental economic consequences from the states whose populations decreased by millions. (Lower tax revenue, retail revenue, house prices, etc.). Hopefully there would be enough pro-choice states to receive the emigrants that there wouldn't be excessive disruption to their economies.
Yesterday I submitted a comment about the Saudi golf tournament at Trump’s NJ golf course. I received more “likes” - by far - than to any comment I have ever submitted. Thank you. But I did get one comment that said I would have been more effective had I not “body-shamed” Trump. I think the comment is correct, and I do want to apologize. Of course, my comment about grifting and corruption, and laughter, stand.
"It's not enough to love something--or someone. Of course you love a person or art or music or the theatre. But you have to imagine that this person or this thing is trapped in a house afire, and the fire is apathy, and the fire is ignorance, and you have to go into the house all the time, day after day, year after year, and put out the flames and save the thing you love and rebuild the house in which it lives, and show it to others who will come to the rescue when you no longer can. Love is cheap and silly--a moron can love ice cream--but devotion is something worth talking about."
Once again, many thanks for your great letter. You have always noted that we need to be hopeful and that we also need to work to ensure that we can DEFY THE ODDS in November by GETTING OUT THE VOTE. I continue to think that the Movement Voter Project - raising funds to move to local grass roots organizations in key states - is the most effective way to deliver new voters. MVP supports communities over the long haul. Please check out https://movement.vote/ to learn more. MVP can get the job done and give voice to those who need it most.
The Civics Center also has a letter-writing campaign this summer (to young people who are not registered to vote) that is very simple to implement. You buy a roll of stickers with a QR code, write one sentence in the middle of a pre-printed letter, include 3 stickers, and address the envelope. The sentence encourages the person to share the stickers with friends and family and to ask them to both register and to vote ahead of Nov 8.
Great newsletter, Robert. I'm sure you've written about groups that work on getting out the youth vote. But I've forgotten the group names. Kindly mention them again or email them to me. Thanks and thanks for all your work!
A proposal to reduce deaths by assault weapons. First, repeal the ill-begotten federal legislation giving gun makers immunity from civil damage suits. Second, enact new federal legislation with the exact opposite effect: Impose "absolute liability" [a technical legal term] for money damages in civil lawsuits upon anyone or any entity in the chain of distribution of an assault weapon used to murder someone. This would not affect the right to own but would require owners to secure their weapons to avoid liability. A claimant would only need to prove loss and the chain of distribution to recover damages from those in the chain. Liability would be imposed as a matter of law on those who profit from manufacturing, distributing and selling an inherently dangerous product. I suggest this would be more effective than an attempt to ban the millions of assault weapons already in circulation.
I really appreciate your thoughtful and thought-provoking daily newsletters.
A far-right friend of mine says we're at "economic war" with Russia and China, and lays the full responsibility for it at Biden's feet. The global economy, and indeed our own, is on much more than a two year cycle. Sure, things can alter the trajectory (COVID, invasion of Ukraine, etc.). But the general direction changes slowly. The consequences of actions taken by one administration are often not felt until the next, and then the next guy gets blamed. And we fall for it every time.
I'd posit that Trump escalated an already simmering "war" with China with his punishing tariffs, which, like the border wall, were paid for by Americans, contrary to Trump's repeated assertions and promises. I'd also posit that Trump effectively started and exacerbated the “war” with Russia with his incessant pandering to Putin’s interests. While I never questioned Trump’s winning the 2016 election with more electoral votes than Clinton, it was obvious that he had help from Russia, which he welcomed and I’m sure Putin saw as an investment. Trump’s extortion of Ukraine to try to dig up dirt on Biden was probably as big a green light as Putin needed to execute his plan to take over his obstinate but independent neighbor.
In my opinion, Trump emboldened both China and Russia (and others) by weakening our democracy at virtually every turn. He tried (unsuccessfully) to weaken NATO, made nice with dictators, pulled out of several global initiatives in which we were leading, attacked and wounded the other two co-equal branches of our government, and compromised the integrity of his own branch’s DOJ and other departments. He’s made a mockery of our electoral system, the cornerstone of our democracy, campaigning against the legitimacy of our elections months before with, “The only way we’re going to lose this election is if the election is rigged,” and claiming ever since the election that he won and that it was stolen from him. Ironically, the only evidence we’ve seen of attempts to steal the election are his own.
I believe Trump’s presidency was an absolute disaster, with the last year being the worst. The pandemic, shutdown, election shenanigans, Supreme Court stacking, replacement of his most principled advisors with stooges and “echolytes,” J6, and his refusal to ensure a peaceful transfer of power are just some of the things that marked his last year and hamstrung Biden. I don’t blame Trump for the pandemic or the shutdown, or even the massive spending that he undertook to keep us afloat. But aside from Operation Warp Speed, which was an excellent initial response that he later sabotaged, much of the aftermath could have been mitigated by actions he could have taken but did not, often choosing something counterproductive instead.
I’m a centrist and a pragmatist. I agree with many of the tenets of the old GOP – smaller government, less regulation (within reason), free markets (without unfair advantage), lower taxes (but not by increasing debt, or by being inequitable), etc. I disagree with many of the progressive tenets of the other side – across the board student loan forgiveness, Medicare for all, disincentivizing giveaways, etc. But above all, I’m an incrementalist. The pendulum swings of the presidents over the past several decades have become very destructive and have to stop. Each change in party at the presidential level seems to bring a determination to undo everything their predecessor did, and often it results a one step forward, two steps back shuffle. I’m for evolution, not revolution.
I retired in 2019. I’m not a wealthy guy, so I’m susceptible to the swings of our economy. But I don’t have less money in my pocket, less food on my table, less clothes, less fun, less security, or less overall comfort than I did then. My marginal tax rate, then and now, is anything but marginal. Sure, the supply chain issues are affecting my ability to obtain some things, and those issues are certainly at the root of the current inflation, and arguably could be managed a lot better. But, the supply chain issues are in part due to the pandemic, and our economic woes can’t be resolved overnight. Each is, or should be, relatively short in duration and impact in the grand scheme of things.
In the end, history will judge Trump and Biden. My opinion won’t matter one iota, if it matters an iota now. Our democracy is just that – our democracy. It’s “Of the People, By the People, For the People.” It’s not a tool for one man to fulfill his personal ambitions at the expense of most of the rest of us, even if some of us perceive some personal benefit by riding his coattails. I’d rather have eight years of a Biden presidency than one more minute of Trump.
Well said. This is absolutely right (so tell your friend): I'd posit that Trump escalated an already simmering "war" with China with his punishing tariffs
I am one of the readers of this newsletter who, inspired by this blog, has formed a giving circle. George & Sally's Giving Circle, which I launched about 10 days ago, is dedicated to my parents, two pro-choice Minnesota Republicans who, were they alive today, would be enraged specifically by the Dobbs' decision and generally by the total disintegration of the Republican party they once knew and loved.
Not only would my mother be enraged, Sally would be doing something about it. She would be organizing, networking, and, of course, raising money. Help me channel my mother.
When I asked my dad why he voted for Obama in 2008, the first and only time he ever voted for a Democrat for POTUS, he said it was because Obama supported the United Nations and Planned Parenthood, and the Republican Party did not. Help me channel my dad.
George & Sally's Giving Circle is dedicated to keeping the MN State House blue and flipping the MN State Senate from red to blue.
The DFL-controlled House includes 69 DFLers (for non-Minnesotans, DFL stands for the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party), 64 Republicans, and one independent (134 state reps.).
The GOP-controlled Senate includes 31 DFLers, 34 Republicans, and 2 independents (67 senators).
Dear readers,
Welcome to the Comment section if you are new, and welcome back if you are a regular contributor!
Please help me keep the Comment section friendly and positive by replying to this comment if you see an abusive or inappropriate post. That will allow me to quickly delete abusive posts.
Although I monitor the Comment section throughout the weekend whenever I open it to everyone, I can't do so continuously. Fortunately, abusive posts have been few and far between. Please help me keep it that way! Thanks!
Have a good weekend, everyone!
I want to mail via USPS postcards to democrats urging them to vote in the upcoming mid term
elections....please send a link that will help me accomplish this. I have heard that your substance
Mr. Hubbell is able to help me find this way to be politically active as an aging widow! THANKYOU!
Robert and Readers,
Now that election season is truly upon us, I would like to propose that Robert write a dedicated piece on all (well, many) of the grassroots efforts to register voters, inform voters, support voting access, and get out the vote. There are so many important efforts going on around the country. Personally, I dislike all the money in politics, especially going to individual candidates (overturn Citizens United), so I send my financial and personal support to grassroots organizations in key areas of key states that will be there for their communities for years to come. This newsletter has highlighted several of them, but having a dedicated discussion, perhaps even a team-building session, could help build momentum.
So now for my plug: an organization I wholeheartedly support is Walk the Walk USA (WtW) - https://www.walkthewalkusa.org/ and at https://secure.actblue.com/donate/walkthewalk2022?refcode=web2
A bit of information about WtW - Walk the Walk is an all-volunteer initiative that raises funds for strategic voter empowerment in key geographies -- to make our local, state, and federal governments work for the people and realize the promise of an inclusive U.S. democracy.
Together with a growing network of 6,000+ contributors in 47 states, we've moved nearly $5 million in the last 20 months to critical, local grassroots organizing work.
This doesn't relate specifically today's newsletter, but it needs saying. Democrats need to stop the negative criticism of Biden and his policies. Vote against them if you must but be quiet about it. Republicans understand this, otherwise they would not support Trump in spite of all his issues. Criticizing our own candidates is a gift to Republicans. And remember always, all politics is local, work for the Democrat candidates in your neighborhood even if you are not enthusiastic about them, more important now than ever. Republicans understand that, too, it's how they got in the position to control so many states as they do now.
This is to comment on your remarks on Justice Alito's remarks in Italy about religious liberty deserving special protection. The true irony is that the "Dobbs" decision is that it reduced the religious liberty of other religions that do not accept the concept of that life begins at the moment of conception. As a Jew, I am especially sensitive to this. Under traditional Jewish law, if a pregnant woman's life is in danger, an abortion is not only permitted, it is required. The First Amendment separation was required because the Founders of our nation did not want a state religion as it existed in Great Britain and wanted to protect the right of "free men" to practice religion (or not) as they felt fit. "Roe" did not restrict religious liberty because Catholic hospitals could refuse to perform abortions. The Catholic Church was free to teach that life begins at the moment of conception and that abortion is a mortal sin. I will finish this post by linking to the National Council of Jewish Women's Abortion and Jewish Values Toolkit. To be absolutely clear, as is true for just about everything in the Jewish religion, if you ask different rabbis and different Jewish denominations you will see strong disagreements as to whether abortion is permissible in situations where a woman's life is not in imminent danger. Among ultra Orthodox Jews in particular, abortion is frowned upon and some restrictions on abortion rights is supported. But the point is that respecting religious liberty requires respect for religious points of view that do not confirm to YOUR religious points of view.
Yes, holding the house is extremely important, but holding and expanding the Senate majority may be even more important. Judicial confirmations and the potential to expand the court are critical in or efforts to maintain a constitutional democracy. I feel that if Tim Ryan in Ohio and Cherie Beasley in North Carolina can take seats currently held by Republicans, we can increase our majority in the Senate.
Instead of aggravating the Chines, Pelosi should stay home and aggravate the Republicans
by introducing a bill to raise the US minimum wage from $7.25 an hour to $10,00 an hour
and make the Republicans veto it. That should start to tell America's class who to vote for!
On the flurry of anti-abortion laws passed by a number of states: I would love to see a mass exodus of residents of those states to pro-choice states. I'm thinking in terms of millions of people moving. Whether this is feasible remains to be seen. Such a development would have serious detrimental economic consequences from the states whose populations decreased by millions. (Lower tax revenue, retail revenue, house prices, etc.). Hopefully there would be enough pro-choice states to receive the emigrants that there wouldn't be excessive disruption to their economies.
Yesterday I submitted a comment about the Saudi golf tournament at Trump’s NJ golf course. I received more “likes” - by far - than to any comment I have ever submitted. Thank you. But I did get one comment that said I would have been more effective had I not “body-shamed” Trump. I think the comment is correct, and I do want to apologize. Of course, my comment about grifting and corruption, and laughter, stand.
I thought of your optimism when I read this.
"It's not enough to love something--or someone. Of course you love a person or art or music or the theatre. But you have to imagine that this person or this thing is trapped in a house afire, and the fire is apathy, and the fire is ignorance, and you have to go into the house all the time, day after day, year after year, and put out the flames and save the thing you love and rebuild the house in which it lives, and show it to others who will come to the rescue when you no longer can. Love is cheap and silly--a moron can love ice cream--but devotion is something worth talking about."
--Eva Le Gallienne/Interview with James Grissom/
Once again, many thanks for your great letter. You have always noted that we need to be hopeful and that we also need to work to ensure that we can DEFY THE ODDS in November by GETTING OUT THE VOTE. I continue to think that the Movement Voter Project - raising funds to move to local grass roots organizations in key states - is the most effective way to deliver new voters. MVP supports communities over the long haul. Please check out https://movement.vote/ to learn more. MVP can get the job done and give voice to those who need it most.
The Civics Center also has a letter-writing campaign this summer (to young people who are not registered to vote) that is very simple to implement. You buy a roll of stickers with a QR code, write one sentence in the middle of a pre-printed letter, include 3 stickers, and address the envelope. The sentence encourages the person to share the stickers with friends and family and to ask them to both register and to vote ahead of Nov 8.
Great newsletter, Robert. I'm sure you've written about groups that work on getting out the youth vote. But I've forgotten the group names. Kindly mention them again or email them to me. Thanks and thanks for all your work!
A proposal to reduce deaths by assault weapons. First, repeal the ill-begotten federal legislation giving gun makers immunity from civil damage suits. Second, enact new federal legislation with the exact opposite effect: Impose "absolute liability" [a technical legal term] for money damages in civil lawsuits upon anyone or any entity in the chain of distribution of an assault weapon used to murder someone. This would not affect the right to own but would require owners to secure their weapons to avoid liability. A claimant would only need to prove loss and the chain of distribution to recover damages from those in the chain. Liability would be imposed as a matter of law on those who profit from manufacturing, distributing and selling an inherently dangerous product. I suggest this would be more effective than an attempt to ban the millions of assault weapons already in circulation.
Hi Robert,
I really appreciate your thoughtful and thought-provoking daily newsletters.
A far-right friend of mine says we're at "economic war" with Russia and China, and lays the full responsibility for it at Biden's feet. The global economy, and indeed our own, is on much more than a two year cycle. Sure, things can alter the trajectory (COVID, invasion of Ukraine, etc.). But the general direction changes slowly. The consequences of actions taken by one administration are often not felt until the next, and then the next guy gets blamed. And we fall for it every time.
I'd posit that Trump escalated an already simmering "war" with China with his punishing tariffs, which, like the border wall, were paid for by Americans, contrary to Trump's repeated assertions and promises. I'd also posit that Trump effectively started and exacerbated the “war” with Russia with his incessant pandering to Putin’s interests. While I never questioned Trump’s winning the 2016 election with more electoral votes than Clinton, it was obvious that he had help from Russia, which he welcomed and I’m sure Putin saw as an investment. Trump’s extortion of Ukraine to try to dig up dirt on Biden was probably as big a green light as Putin needed to execute his plan to take over his obstinate but independent neighbor.
In my opinion, Trump emboldened both China and Russia (and others) by weakening our democracy at virtually every turn. He tried (unsuccessfully) to weaken NATO, made nice with dictators, pulled out of several global initiatives in which we were leading, attacked and wounded the other two co-equal branches of our government, and compromised the integrity of his own branch’s DOJ and other departments. He’s made a mockery of our electoral system, the cornerstone of our democracy, campaigning against the legitimacy of our elections months before with, “The only way we’re going to lose this election is if the election is rigged,” and claiming ever since the election that he won and that it was stolen from him. Ironically, the only evidence we’ve seen of attempts to steal the election are his own.
I believe Trump’s presidency was an absolute disaster, with the last year being the worst. The pandemic, shutdown, election shenanigans, Supreme Court stacking, replacement of his most principled advisors with stooges and “echolytes,” J6, and his refusal to ensure a peaceful transfer of power are just some of the things that marked his last year and hamstrung Biden. I don’t blame Trump for the pandemic or the shutdown, or even the massive spending that he undertook to keep us afloat. But aside from Operation Warp Speed, which was an excellent initial response that he later sabotaged, much of the aftermath could have been mitigated by actions he could have taken but did not, often choosing something counterproductive instead.
I’m a centrist and a pragmatist. I agree with many of the tenets of the old GOP – smaller government, less regulation (within reason), free markets (without unfair advantage), lower taxes (but not by increasing debt, or by being inequitable), etc. I disagree with many of the progressive tenets of the other side – across the board student loan forgiveness, Medicare for all, disincentivizing giveaways, etc. But above all, I’m an incrementalist. The pendulum swings of the presidents over the past several decades have become very destructive and have to stop. Each change in party at the presidential level seems to bring a determination to undo everything their predecessor did, and often it results a one step forward, two steps back shuffle. I’m for evolution, not revolution.
I retired in 2019. I’m not a wealthy guy, so I’m susceptible to the swings of our economy. But I don’t have less money in my pocket, less food on my table, less clothes, less fun, less security, or less overall comfort than I did then. My marginal tax rate, then and now, is anything but marginal. Sure, the supply chain issues are affecting my ability to obtain some things, and those issues are certainly at the root of the current inflation, and arguably could be managed a lot better. But, the supply chain issues are in part due to the pandemic, and our economic woes can’t be resolved overnight. Each is, or should be, relatively short in duration and impact in the grand scheme of things.
In the end, history will judge Trump and Biden. My opinion won’t matter one iota, if it matters an iota now. Our democracy is just that – our democracy. It’s “Of the People, By the People, For the People.” It’s not a tool for one man to fulfill his personal ambitions at the expense of most of the rest of us, even if some of us perceive some personal benefit by riding his coattails. I’d rather have eight years of a Biden presidency than one more minute of Trump.
Well said. This is absolutely right (so tell your friend): I'd posit that Trump escalated an already simmering "war" with China with his punishing tariffs
I am one of the readers of this newsletter who, inspired by this blog, has formed a giving circle. George & Sally's Giving Circle, which I launched about 10 days ago, is dedicated to my parents, two pro-choice Minnesota Republicans who, were they alive today, would be enraged specifically by the Dobbs' decision and generally by the total disintegration of the Republican party they once knew and loved.
Not only would my mother be enraged, Sally would be doing something about it. She would be organizing, networking, and, of course, raising money. Help me channel my mother.
When I asked my dad why he voted for Obama in 2008, the first and only time he ever voted for a Democrat for POTUS, he said it was because Obama supported the United Nations and Planned Parenthood, and the Republican Party did not. Help me channel my dad.
George & Sally's Giving Circle is dedicated to keeping the MN State House blue and flipping the MN State Senate from red to blue.
The DFL-controlled House includes 69 DFLers (for non-Minnesotans, DFL stands for the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party), 64 Republicans, and one independent (134 state reps.).
The GOP-controlled Senate includes 31 DFLers, 34 Republicans, and 2 independents (67 senators).
If you're interested in joining this giving circle, please email me at chapillsburymbb@gmail.com.
And a final shout out and thanks to Melissa & Robert, two standard bearers of hope in this dismal time.
What a wonderful tribute to your parents! Good for you!!