Continued well wishes as you follow the course of the mighty Mississippi. And continued gratitude for your keeping us on track. Glad to see the comments on Fox correcting the record in real time. The Biden-Harris team is something to behold, keeping their eye on the ball and accomplishing real solutions for "we the people" at a time of so many distractions. That's leadership!
So Robert, You and the Managing Editor are covering a lot of ground. Good for you both! Student loans forgiveness is so very important. Most are adults now and this relief puts money back into their pockets. You what that means? They will have money to spend on essentials which feeds into the economy. It’s a wonderful trickle-down effect. I am interested in it because my two daughters are still paying their student loans and one will be until she is like 60 unless she gets some reprieve. I pray that happens for her. Hopefully, both girls will be considered in the next round.
😂😂
Lawrence O’Donnell is one of my regular “go-to’s” and the intro the other night regarding Ezra Klein, was superb. His monologue was on fire and what I have seen on X (Shitter) and beyond about it, others feel the same. I used to kind of like Ezra until he arrogantly made his comment about Biden’s age. So, shame on him on thinking he knows more about governing a nation that Joe does.
Lastly, you didn’t mention it but this evening, Judge Engoron released his decision about what Trump owes and it came to $464 million with daily interest accruing at $111,000 beginning now. It made me so happy!!!👏
The thing that collapsed me was Alina Habba-dabba-doo's statement that they had 400 million to put up so of course they would be appealing. Apparently besides sleeping through law school, Alina slept through second grade. The bond needed will be at LEAST $510.4 million (at 10% extra, or $556.8 million at 20%. Last looked at, both figures are somewhat greater than 400 million. Check out with your local second grader whether 5 million > 4 million.
How about the Dems present a bill that makes using a condum is murder and any man who uses one is a murderer!! Sounds as bazar as IVF murder. Would that enlighten GOP as to the craziness of this ruling? GOP continues to want to control women’s rights. All the progress of the 60’s and 70’s feels like it is slipping away we must keep Biden and flip the house and keep the Senate in the fall. Challenge everyone to vote and vote smart👍🏼🙏
There is a great book called Ejaculate Responsibly which frames the abortion issue from the point of view of male responsibility for pregnancies and their lack of accountability.
Thank you, Marlene. I’d just note that when I listened to Ezra’s 26 minute (unusually short for Ezra) I did not hear the arrogance you wrote of, but it was clear that Ezra had not given his thinking the extensive critical thinking he most often demonstrates. Nevertheless, I wasted no time getting a note off to him pointing out the obvious shared by many others. A. Biden is going to be and deserves to be the candidate. B. He wanted us to believe that an open convention would be (my words) “a cake walk” of great reasoned thinking rather that the dog fight of chaos. C. Ezra twisted himself in knots telling us Biden could do the presidency but not the campaign.
Most of all, Ezra stepped away from his egghead approach to thoughtfulness seeming, to instead, embrace what has come to look like a Times collective (Maureen Dowd, Ross Douthout, others) attempt to put pressure on Biden and the Dems to embrace the insanity of dumping the best president the country could have at this moment.
In fact, it was a case of Ezra falling into the depths of anxiety that we all experience but push through for the solidarity to save anyone from another term of a criminal minded authoritarian.
John, that is how I heard Klein's opinion piece as well. He was definitely making the point that Biden is up for the presidency, just not the 2024 campaign. O'Donnell did well addressing that as an absurdity.
Well Lynn, I turned on the radio today only to see that Ezra was doubling down on his push for a Biden replacement. You'd think he was running the Trump campaign even as he would go on to say, "I like Joe Biden. I think he can do the job." and then offer all the negatives. Try to listen to his Podcast of February 23 and see what you think then. Honestly, it was disheartening to listen to Ezra BUT I persisted and then returned to listening to Lawrence O'Donnell as Robert recommended. Regrettably, Ezra really did himself in with the second/follow up Podcast, coming off as Marlene had said of his first effort, as arrogant beyond my comprehension. He would offer vague responses to the callers like, "a presidential debate and campaign is different" with no effort to be more specific. He brushed aside the notion of a convention being chaotic with lines like "there is always risk." Most of all, he never took time to compare the negatives on the ledger with regard to Donald J. Trump, insurrectionist indicted 91 times, liar, election denier and twice sent from the House to the Senate for an impeachment hearing that was disgracefully ignored by the Republicans. Yes, I believed Ezra was not arrogant on his first Podcast, but he really showed a different side in Friday's Questions Podcast. In essence, he presented himself as a know-it-all prepared to bat back any questions that would undermine his "opinion."
I had skimmed the transcript of that podcast when I wrote my reply here to you, as I knew he was taking questions from listeners to address what he proposed in his Feb 16th podcast. After I read that transcript, I just brushed it off and you note my feelings for why I did that- "he presented himself as a know-it-all prepared to bat back any questions that would undermine his "opinion."
Here's what I emailed him when he was seeking questions for the Feb 23rd podcast:
"Your February 16 podcast regarding the ridiculous idea that there is someone better than Joe Biden to sit as the 2024 Democratic nominee for president is nothing short of disrespectful to the hundreds of thousands of Americans who are working hard to get him reelected.
Why don't you have a podcast to discuss Trump's promise to unleash a violent police force on yet innocent-until-proven-guilty American citizens? It seems you would better serve this country by issuing a warning regarding what Trump would bring on to this country that would be the equivalent of Hitler's Nazi Brown Shirts.
Is taking on Trump's statement encouraging Russia to 'do whatever the hell they want' to our NATO allies just too much for you to take on in discussion?
How about these dangers that Trump proposes in light of his obvious dementia, which is likely exacerbated by the stress he is enduring with his very full dance card related to court proceedings?
Start helping in the fight to preserve our freedoms."
I fully did not expect he would answer the questions I asked and realized the questions would be carefully chosen so he could answer to lead the podcast into the direction he preferred
I guess I'll email him again and make sure he listened to Lawrence O'Donnell's rebuttal and ask him if he has finally gotten past this ridiculous notion of Joe stepping down, and get on with helping to secure a win for Joe in this election.
Way to go. I’m going to write him again. No expectations that he will answer. But I think it is important for him to hear from people. His second Podcast 2/23/24 was simply a defense of the first. I was very sorry to see Ezra continuing this outlook. He has lost a lot of credibility with me. But hey, he’s not worried about me.
Regarding young voters…I think most ME readers know that Texas is ranked at or near the bottom in ease of registration and voting, and that is particularly true for young people.
I occasionally take voter registration forms, LWV information, and a couple of acrylic sign holders with “Questions about voting?” inserted and plop myself down in the center of the UTDallas campus. Yesterday, after such a shift and as I was packing up, a student approached and asked me if I had a few minutes to chat. She was registered and seemed very informed but wanted to know about me—my background, what prompted me to be there, etc. I likewise wanted to know about her—what motivated her to vote, what about her friends, etc.
So, no new registrations, but a great conversation that I suspect we will both remember. One more point. She asked early on if politics had always interested me, and I responded that politics interested me somewhat but it was mostly democracy that was my focus, and that we needed more people,:especially our young people, voting.
I hope I see my new friend next week. (and I also invited her to join the League:-))
Cathy- TY for that spot of hope and sharing your inspiring actions! I've no doubt it'll have a positive ripple effect in some people's decisions as to whom to vote for.
One of the things I liked best about O’Donnell’s brilliant takedown of the replace Biden argument was that he did it without rancor, he did it without accusations, and his arguments were airtight. One of the hallmarks of Biden's presidency has been the remarkable cohesion of Democrats, which is something of a miracle in the party that enjoys herding cats of all stripes. Now, when we need to be together more than ever, that unity seems to be fraying daily. That has to stop now.
We have critical right-wing voices at CPAC saying openly that they will end democracy. This is not a drill; this is not a joke. Go ahead and look it up. “MAGA Republican Pledges to end democracy to Rabid Cheers at CPAC” is a headline I never thought I'd see in my lifetime, and yet here we are. We don't have the luxury to fight among ourselves.
Throughout several posts I've made this week, I've tried to convey this message. When we disagree, let’s be respectful of all the voices in this big tent. O’Donnell was brilliant at this by not saying one ill word about the voices advocating replacing the President on the ticket, instead acknowledging their well-written stances and politely, but definitively, shutting down their arguments so forcefully that there was no room for rebuttal. I was particularly taken by his argument about how these fantasy candidates would start with zero money. At the same time, Biden/Harris has a considerable fundraising edge over Trump that is only growing. He mostly avoided emotional arguments and shut them down with nuts and bolts. We need more of that. This is the fight of our lives and it is going to take all of us to avoid waking up in a Christo-Fascist nightmare presided by a cruel, incoherent, narcissistic madman. I love all the work everyone here does in this fight. It’s inspiring. Now let’s find ways to get the rest of our Democraitc and independent brothers and sisters on board.
You are so right, Dean. We all must be completely onboard. The media are avoiding the truth about Republicans’ agenda to destroy America. Instead, The Hill ran a splashy story about who might be Trump’s VP. Really??? Normalizing crazy doesn’t help. It’s treasonous.
Dean the race is not over till “ the fat lady sings”or in this case the bloated former President is indicted. Republicans at every level will not stop trying to corrupt the system and Democracy until they are overwhelming voted out of office and replaced with a new generation of dedicated public servants.
Stephen --- I have loved that expression - and am always interested in origins of the expressions we use. (Like - don't throw the baby out with the bathwater)
So here is what I found about the expression:
Btw, I thought it was Yogi Berra who coined it.
The Wikipedia Article is quite is quite straightforward
To summarise, It's very similar to "Don't count your chickens before they hatch" - meaning the outcome of an event that is currently in progress cannot be guaranteed, and could (unexpectedly) change at the last moment.
The "Fat Lady" in question is the character of Brünnhilde, a Viking from Wagner's Götterdämmerung, the last of four operas in his famous Ring Cycle (1848-1874). She sings an 'aria' (or 'solo' for all intents and purposes) right at the end that lasts for twenty minutes.
Also the original version was 'the opera aint over -----
I’m originally from Philadelphia and for us the expression related to Kate Smith singing “ God Bless America “ before the Philadelphia Flyers played in the Stanley Cup series. Every time she sang the song the Flyers won at home.
O’Donnell also pointed out that polls show Gavin Newsom losing to Trump, and Newsom knows this. The description of the 1968 Democratic convention shows what excitement looks like. Rather than attracting more citizen engagement, it caused disgusted voters to stay home. Nixon watched and knew he would win.
The (actual) governing will not be televised. The Presidency is not a ceremonial office, not a performance in front of cameras. It is making decisions. Something we should remember or learn for the first time. Along with what powers a president has and does not have.
Dean - I haven't watched O'Donnell for some time and the worse for it. This segment bears watching twice, it's that good. Not flashy or ego driven, just concisely laid out points supporting his argument.
I was all-in on Warren before Biden. I was devastated and befuddled that a woman so accomplished and articulate and brilliant could fail to win even her own State of Massachusetts, a state that has been a bellwether for progress. To me, that inexplicable absolute failure can only be explained by the unconscious bias of misogyny that runs deep in the patriarchy of our country.
My nine year old daughter recently asked me after I told her about misogyny: “How can anyone hate women? Everyone is alive because of a woman!”
And yet… the most qualified candidate in history, Hillary Clinton, was upset into obscurity by the least qualified man ever to run for President.
I think about the message a Hillary presidency would have sent all the patriarchies of the world. And more so, all the women of the world. All the daughters of the world. All the sons of the world…
Imagine.
And now Biden, in running at an age that is questionable, is clearing a path like a blocking fullback to elevate an African American woman to the highest office. If Kamala does not ascend to the Presidency through Biden’s death, she will be nonetheless beautifully positioned to run in 2028 to continue the Obama/Biden/Harris legacy of leadership.
People scoff at Kamala Harris, calling her arrogant or invisible or incapable. I find these judgements to come from nowhere… as if the opinions are set in stone without facts of any sort. Merely a lack of facts is all it takes to destroy a woman’s reputation in this country.
When people want Biden to step down, I find them to lack vision, Biden’s vision of what his own death could accomplish and better yet, what he can accomplish if he stayed alive and stepped down from the Presidency after two or three years to let the idea AND PROGRESS AND GLOBAL IMPACT of a “President Harris” EXIST in people’s minds… when they vote again in 2028.
I wear a Biden/Harris t-shirt on EVERY grocery run. I will continue to be a grocery-shopping billboard for Biden until 11/5/24 because I believe in our team. And it’s up to us to bring the noise and build the excitement that our future holds. (Buy a Biden/Harris T-shirt at the links on my Substack page)
Eugene Robinson has a terrific piece up about Kamala Harris. (I tried to paste in the link, but it apparently is paywalled. Not too hard to find, though: "Why Vice President Harris is prepared to step in as Commander in Chief.") The only reason our VP seems invisible is because the press refuses to see her. She is actually very ready to lead our nation, and getting readier all the time.
I saw that piece and I agree completely. The press has helped to keep her successes and her competence from seeing the light of day. None of it makes any sense, but their coverage of Trump as a legitimate candidate doesn’t make any sense either. The press has done a great disservice to VP Harris and to all of us.
Thank you. I look forward to reading it. It flummoxes me why people, many liberals included, refuse to "see" her and recognize her intelligence and good character and empathy. I admire her.
I'm a Warren fan who voted for Biden in the MA primary. By the time we had our primary it had become clear to me that we needed to coalesce around him. Note that while there have been many women heads-of-state in democracies, I think they are all in countries with parlimentary systems where voters choose a party and the party chooses their leader. So the election seems to be less of a popularity contest.
Barbara, that is a very valid stance. And I appreciate the parliamentary edge that give other systems a chance to elevate the best leaders without having to iron out every wrinkle of misogyny in the media and the electorate.
Biden is not going to die before the end of his second term. His father lived to be 86, and his mother to 92. And people from his generation tend to live longer than their parents.
As for Elizabeth Warren, the first time I watched something on the internet that was longer than 5 minutes, it was Warren giving a speech at Berkeley, about an hour long. She IS terrific. But I think she would have been a less successful candidate than Clinton, which is why I didn't vote for her in the primary. She rubbed a lot of people the wrong way. (I voted for Bernie Sanders in the primary, and I think he would have won. There's also a good chance Clinton would have won if Jill Stein hadn't been in the race.)
I also have the BIDEN/HARRIS T-shirt. It just arrived last night, and I'm wearing it now. Gonna post a selfie on FB with the URL.
I got a couple of compliments while shopping at Whole foods for probably 20 minutes. I also got a couple while running around Fresh Pond with my dog for an hour. It's nice that the BIDEN/HARRIS is so visible!
Interesting too that the positive comments are freed while the negative vitriol that seems so pervasive online crawls back into its hidey-hole when any attack would be face-to-face. The courage of bullies comes from anonymity. It evaporates in the light of day.
I took up the Robert Hubbell challenge to tell someone (probably on the fence) that we are voting for Biden/Harris in November. She still wants us to come visit and is happy to hear our thoughts (I asked her permission). Unfortunately, it turned out that she had given up on Biden for his age. She gave up on Trump for being embarrassing. She was leaning to Kennedy! (since a colleague suggested this! I guess that is all it takes sometimes) I am hoping she is receptive to us.
Me too. Gotta say, I LOVED it when those remaining laid down their swords in SC and lifted up Biden. I felt so proud that Dems made that positive step and made “hope and history rhyme.”
We mapped where President Biden's plan to forgive Student Loan Debt would help the most people. Notice that many of the Student Loan borrowers are seniors, disabled and veterans.
Thank you for a wonderful essay this morning. I’m heading out the door to work the South Carolina primary. It’s an open primary and I’ve heard from several folks who plan to vote for Haley only to force the Trump campaign to spend more money. Should be an interesting day (as another $87,000+ in interest accrues for Trump) . . . Safe travels to you, Robert, and your managing editor.
Whew. Long day here in Beaufort County, SC where Haley beat Trump! In addition to the out and loud MAGA’s, my voting site had an Elvis impersonator and some of my like minded chums showed up to vote against Trump. One of the poll questions included on the ballot was whether folks wanted to move to a closed primary format to prevent this type of voting. Turnout was eight times larger than for the Democratic primary three weeks ago. As true blue liberals, we do feel like we’re on the island of misfit toys. Robert’s encouraging emails help keep us going.
I think it's up to $111,000. I hope Trump's hurting bad, but I wish he'd up and die already. The world will be a better place when he's no longer in it. s
Lawrence O'Donnell's commentary (The governing will not be televised) was worth the listen. The key new thoughts for me were 1) there is no realistic campaign without $$ and none of the fantasy candidates have any 2) a contested convention is incredibly high risk--1968 was a disaster 3) the important work of being president is behind closed doors which is where Biden has been excelling and 4) FDR made some of the most important decisions in history while he was dying and sometimes even nodding off in meetings. Our best bet, if we can stick to it, is to just stop reading or caring about the punditry noise and focus on doing what we can to get Democrats elected--up and down the ballot.
Thank you for a splendid weekend edition. And your trip sounds wonderful. But I write today primarily to strongly endorse your recommendation that people take the time to watch the video clip you include of Lawrence O'Donnell. I agree that it was a brilliant counter argument to those who want to dump Biden. I am personally very grateful to you because I record him every night and almost always watch. But I was away this week and would have missed it. Thank you thank you thank you!
Fertility doctors with The American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) launch campaign to raise public support to protect IVF and the RIGHT TO PARENT. Learn more
Thanks for the link to Lawrence O'Donnell's commentary. It helped me clarify my thinking around the campaign, why Biden is the better choice, and what a president does-behind the camera
Here’s something else that’s inspiring. This is a post from the journalist Scott Dworkin. Embedded in here is the preview of a film that apparently is coming out soon. This one really almost brought me to tears, in a good way. Even if you don’t want to read the article, watch this short clip embedded in here. Have a good weekend, David
Just watched the video. I'll be watching it a few more times. And I'll read the article. Natalie (border collie) can wait a few more minutes before we go running.
I’m mistaken, what’s in here is actually a political ad. I hadn’t read the whole article before I realized that it’s an ad and not a film preview, but it feels like a film preview.
Robert - I hope as you continue South along your journey, you'll learn a bit more about what animates Mike Johnson. He appears to have sold his soul to the Devil. Following the imaginings of DJT, MTG, and Steve Bannon is not a good look for someone who publicly proclaims himself a "Man of God". In fact, he'd have a hard time straying further from the path of decency, honesty, and patriotism than he has managed to do over the last 5 months. As just one example, he could decide to support Ukraine. Now.
I want to respect religion, but with the likes of Mike Johnson and the Alabama Chief Justice and their Seven Mountain religious fantasies, it’s pretty hard to conclude anything but that it’s all toxic.
Bravo! I sent that post by Ambassador McFaul to my Congressman, Paul Tonko. I urge everybody reading this to send a similar message to their Congressional representative. *Especially if they are Republican!*
Dear Congressman Tonko,
I follow Michael McFaul, former US Ambassador to Russia, on Substack.
Like Ambassador McFaul, I strongly support Ukraine's vigorous defending itself against Putin's vicious and brutal war of aggression.
In the following, Ambassador McFaul suggests amending the $95 billion aid bill recently passed by the Senate with H.R.4175, the Rebuilding Economic Prosperity and Opportunity for Ukrainians Act. This bill "authorizes the President to confiscate Russian sovereign assets, currently frozen in the U.S. banks, and then transfer them to a newly created Ukraine Support Fund “to compensate Ukraine for damages caused by the Russian invasion.”"
As Ambassador McFaul says, this would be a win-win-win for Speaker Johnson. He would make his mark on history.
My Congressperson is the Democratic whip, Katherine Clark. I'm sure she's doing everything we could want on this. Great message you're sending to Rep. Tonko. (Incidentally, I've never seen that last name before. Do you have any idea what part of the world it came from?
At the CPAC conference, conspiracy theorist, Jack Posobiec stated: "Welcome to the end of democracy. We are here to overthrow it completely". Nothing further need be said. He and his ilk are on the wrong side of history and deserve our opprobrium and our opposition.
Thanks for the O’Donnell tip. We don’t get MSNBC, so I need to hear from someone when to look for something on UTube. Our Kitchen Table postcard group has not slowed down. New folks joining......almost five hundred cards this week alone from the “rag tag group”.
Continued well wishes as you follow the course of the mighty Mississippi. And continued gratitude for your keeping us on track. Glad to see the comments on Fox correcting the record in real time. The Biden-Harris team is something to behold, keeping their eye on the ball and accomplishing real solutions for "we the people" at a time of so many distractions. That's leadership!
So Robert, You and the Managing Editor are covering a lot of ground. Good for you both! Student loans forgiveness is so very important. Most are adults now and this relief puts money back into their pockets. You what that means? They will have money to spend on essentials which feeds into the economy. It’s a wonderful trickle-down effect. I am interested in it because my two daughters are still paying their student loans and one will be until she is like 60 unless she gets some reprieve. I pray that happens for her. Hopefully, both girls will be considered in the next round.
😂😂
Lawrence O’Donnell is one of my regular “go-to’s” and the intro the other night regarding Ezra Klein, was superb. His monologue was on fire and what I have seen on X (Shitter) and beyond about it, others feel the same. I used to kind of like Ezra until he arrogantly made his comment about Biden’s age. So, shame on him on thinking he knows more about governing a nation that Joe does.
Lastly, you didn’t mention it but this evening, Judge Engoron released his decision about what Trump owes and it came to $464 million with daily interest accruing at $111,000 beginning now. It made me so happy!!!👏
The Engoron decision is called “ Justice” and unlike Trump it’s not revenge.
In this case, at least, justice delayed -- extremely delayed -- is NOT justice denied.
The thing that collapsed me was Alina Habba-dabba-doo's statement that they had 400 million to put up so of course they would be appealing. Apparently besides sleeping through law school, Alina slept through second grade. The bond needed will be at LEAST $510.4 million (at 10% extra, or $556.8 million at 20%. Last looked at, both figures are somewhat greater than 400 million. Check out with your local second grader whether 5 million > 4 million.
How about the Dems present a bill that makes using a condum is murder and any man who uses one is a murderer!! Sounds as bazar as IVF murder. Would that enlighten GOP as to the craziness of this ruling? GOP continues to want to control women’s rights. All the progress of the 60’s and 70’s feels like it is slipping away we must keep Biden and flip the house and keep the Senate in the fall. Challenge everyone to vote and vote smart👍🏼🙏
Not only condoms, but also masturbation & vasectomies - surely men are killing babies.
There is a great book called Ejaculate Responsibly which frames the abortion issue from the point of view of male responsibility for pregnancies and their lack of accountability.
IUD's will be the first to succumb once they are identified as "premeditated murder".
Wow, hadn’t thought of that. Birth Control too!
Trump's attempt to weasel out of paying judgement did not go well
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8V3t-cwR4pQ&t=637s
Thank you, Marlene. I’d just note that when I listened to Ezra’s 26 minute (unusually short for Ezra) I did not hear the arrogance you wrote of, but it was clear that Ezra had not given his thinking the extensive critical thinking he most often demonstrates. Nevertheless, I wasted no time getting a note off to him pointing out the obvious shared by many others. A. Biden is going to be and deserves to be the candidate. B. He wanted us to believe that an open convention would be (my words) “a cake walk” of great reasoned thinking rather that the dog fight of chaos. C. Ezra twisted himself in knots telling us Biden could do the presidency but not the campaign.
Most of all, Ezra stepped away from his egghead approach to thoughtfulness seeming, to instead, embrace what has come to look like a Times collective (Maureen Dowd, Ross Douthout, others) attempt to put pressure on Biden and the Dems to embrace the insanity of dumping the best president the country could have at this moment.
In fact, it was a case of Ezra falling into the depths of anxiety that we all experience but push through for the solidarity to save anyone from another term of a criminal minded authoritarian.
John, that is how I heard Klein's opinion piece as well. He was definitely making the point that Biden is up for the presidency, just not the 2024 campaign. O'Donnell did well addressing that as an absurdity.
Well Lynn, I turned on the radio today only to see that Ezra was doubling down on his push for a Biden replacement. You'd think he was running the Trump campaign even as he would go on to say, "I like Joe Biden. I think he can do the job." and then offer all the negatives. Try to listen to his Podcast of February 23 and see what you think then. Honestly, it was disheartening to listen to Ezra BUT I persisted and then returned to listening to Lawrence O'Donnell as Robert recommended. Regrettably, Ezra really did himself in with the second/follow up Podcast, coming off as Marlene had said of his first effort, as arrogant beyond my comprehension. He would offer vague responses to the callers like, "a presidential debate and campaign is different" with no effort to be more specific. He brushed aside the notion of a convention being chaotic with lines like "there is always risk." Most of all, he never took time to compare the negatives on the ledger with regard to Donald J. Trump, insurrectionist indicted 91 times, liar, election denier and twice sent from the House to the Senate for an impeachment hearing that was disgracefully ignored by the Republicans. Yes, I believed Ezra was not arrogant on his first Podcast, but he really showed a different side in Friday's Questions Podcast. In essence, he presented himself as a know-it-all prepared to bat back any questions that would undermine his "opinion."
I had skimmed the transcript of that podcast when I wrote my reply here to you, as I knew he was taking questions from listeners to address what he proposed in his Feb 16th podcast. After I read that transcript, I just brushed it off and you note my feelings for why I did that- "he presented himself as a know-it-all prepared to bat back any questions that would undermine his "opinion."
Here's what I emailed him when he was seeking questions for the Feb 23rd podcast:
"Your February 16 podcast regarding the ridiculous idea that there is someone better than Joe Biden to sit as the 2024 Democratic nominee for president is nothing short of disrespectful to the hundreds of thousands of Americans who are working hard to get him reelected.
Why don't you have a podcast to discuss Trump's promise to unleash a violent police force on yet innocent-until-proven-guilty American citizens? It seems you would better serve this country by issuing a warning regarding what Trump would bring on to this country that would be the equivalent of Hitler's Nazi Brown Shirts.
Is taking on Trump's statement encouraging Russia to 'do whatever the hell they want' to our NATO allies just too much for you to take on in discussion?
How about these dangers that Trump proposes in light of his obvious dementia, which is likely exacerbated by the stress he is enduring with his very full dance card related to court proceedings?
Start helping in the fight to preserve our freedoms."
I fully did not expect he would answer the questions I asked and realized the questions would be carefully chosen so he could answer to lead the podcast into the direction he preferred
I guess I'll email him again and make sure he listened to Lawrence O'Donnell's rebuttal and ask him if he has finally gotten past this ridiculous notion of Joe stepping down, and get on with helping to secure a win for Joe in this election.
Way to go. I’m going to write him again. No expectations that he will answer. But I think it is important for him to hear from people. His second Podcast 2/23/24 was simply a defense of the first. I was very sorry to see Ezra continuing this outlook. He has lost a lot of credibility with me. But hey, he’s not worried about me.
My favorite bumper sticker’ hire a college student while they still know everything “. What I thought reading Ezra.
Regarding young voters…I think most ME readers know that Texas is ranked at or near the bottom in ease of registration and voting, and that is particularly true for young people.
I occasionally take voter registration forms, LWV information, and a couple of acrylic sign holders with “Questions about voting?” inserted and plop myself down in the center of the UTDallas campus. Yesterday, after such a shift and as I was packing up, a student approached and asked me if I had a few minutes to chat. She was registered and seemed very informed but wanted to know about me—my background, what prompted me to be there, etc. I likewise wanted to know about her—what motivated her to vote, what about her friends, etc.
So, no new registrations, but a great conversation that I suspect we will both remember. One more point. She asked early on if politics had always interested me, and I responded that politics interested me somewhat but it was mostly democracy that was my focus, and that we needed more people,:especially our young people, voting.
I hope I see my new friend next week. (and I also invited her to join the League:-))
Yay! Great inspiration, Cathy!
That is a thrilling interaction!
Cathy- TY for that spot of hope and sharing your inspiring actions! I've no doubt it'll have a positive ripple effect in some people's decisions as to whom to vote for.
Statistics show we have the opportunity to sweep through energizing Gen Z voters.
Do they want to live in a theocracy? the answer is resoundingly NO.
Channel Taylor Swift. https://www.thecivicscenter.org/home
We have the capacity to overcome Trump, oligarchs,...
• In '22, Field Team 6 reached 5 million unregistered likely Democrats
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• The goal is to WIN. IT. ALL. To do that, we need every volunteer we can get, and we need to raise $3 million to deliver 3 million new voters!
https://www.fieldteam6.org/volunteer-ops
One of the things I liked best about O’Donnell’s brilliant takedown of the replace Biden argument was that he did it without rancor, he did it without accusations, and his arguments were airtight. One of the hallmarks of Biden's presidency has been the remarkable cohesion of Democrats, which is something of a miracle in the party that enjoys herding cats of all stripes. Now, when we need to be together more than ever, that unity seems to be fraying daily. That has to stop now.
We have critical right-wing voices at CPAC saying openly that they will end democracy. This is not a drill; this is not a joke. Go ahead and look it up. “MAGA Republican Pledges to end democracy to Rabid Cheers at CPAC” is a headline I never thought I'd see in my lifetime, and yet here we are. We don't have the luxury to fight among ourselves.
Throughout several posts I've made this week, I've tried to convey this message. When we disagree, let’s be respectful of all the voices in this big tent. O’Donnell was brilliant at this by not saying one ill word about the voices advocating replacing the President on the ticket, instead acknowledging their well-written stances and politely, but definitively, shutting down their arguments so forcefully that there was no room for rebuttal. I was particularly taken by his argument about how these fantasy candidates would start with zero money. At the same time, Biden/Harris has a considerable fundraising edge over Trump that is only growing. He mostly avoided emotional arguments and shut them down with nuts and bolts. We need more of that. This is the fight of our lives and it is going to take all of us to avoid waking up in a Christo-Fascist nightmare presided by a cruel, incoherent, narcissistic madman. I love all the work everyone here does in this fight. It’s inspiring. Now let’s find ways to get the rest of our Democraitc and independent brothers and sisters on board.
You are so right, Dean. We all must be completely onboard. The media are avoiding the truth about Republicans’ agenda to destroy America. Instead, The Hill ran a splashy story about who might be Trump’s VP. Really??? Normalizing crazy doesn’t help. It’s treasonous.
Dean the race is not over till “ the fat lady sings”or in this case the bloated former President is indicted. Republicans at every level will not stop trying to corrupt the system and Democracy until they are overwhelming voted out of office and replaced with a new generation of dedicated public servants.
I couldn't agree more. We have no choice but to win this fight, but we all have to do it together.
Stephen --- I have loved that expression - and am always interested in origins of the expressions we use. (Like - don't throw the baby out with the bathwater)
So here is what I found about the expression:
Btw, I thought it was Yogi Berra who coined it.
The Wikipedia Article is quite is quite straightforward
To summarise, It's very similar to "Don't count your chickens before they hatch" - meaning the outcome of an event that is currently in progress cannot be guaranteed, and could (unexpectedly) change at the last moment.
The "Fat Lady" in question is the character of Brünnhilde, a Viking from Wagner's Götterdämmerung, the last of four operas in his famous Ring Cycle (1848-1874). She sings an 'aria' (or 'solo' for all intents and purposes) right at the end that lasts for twenty minutes.
Also the original version was 'the opera aint over -----
It was first used in a sports broadcast in 1976.
I’m originally from Philadelphia and for us the expression related to Kate Smith singing “ God Bless America “ before the Philadelphia Flyers played in the Stanley Cup series. Every time she sang the song the Flyers won at home.
Rick Wilson posited yesterday that CPAC is basically dead. I agree.
It may be dead, but it’s corpse is screaming about ending democracy so we can't ignore it
Overdue to be buried.
Absolutely agree.
O’Donnell also pointed out that polls show Gavin Newsom losing to Trump, and Newsom knows this. The description of the 1968 Democratic convention shows what excitement looks like. Rather than attracting more citizen engagement, it caused disgusted voters to stay home. Nixon watched and knew he would win.
The (actual) governing will not be televised. The Presidency is not a ceremonial office, not a performance in front of cameras. It is making decisions. Something we should remember or learn for the first time. Along with what powers a president has and does not have.
Sadly, most political operatives and reporters consider the presidency a performance first and substantive second. That needs to change.
Dean - I haven't watched O'Donnell for some time and the worse for it. This segment bears watching twice, it's that good. Not flashy or ego driven, just concisely laid out points supporting his argument.
Agree. The O’Donnell piece was so good I’ve shared it to FB with a note that there are 255 days til 11/5. Stop your bellyaching and get on board.
For more about Biden’s progress on Student Loans, listen to the Pod Save America interview with Elizabeth Warren. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pod-save-america/id1192761536?i=1000645740936
I was all-in on Warren before Biden. I was devastated and befuddled that a woman so accomplished and articulate and brilliant could fail to win even her own State of Massachusetts, a state that has been a bellwether for progress. To me, that inexplicable absolute failure can only be explained by the unconscious bias of misogyny that runs deep in the patriarchy of our country.
My nine year old daughter recently asked me after I told her about misogyny: “How can anyone hate women? Everyone is alive because of a woman!”
And yet… the most qualified candidate in history, Hillary Clinton, was upset into obscurity by the least qualified man ever to run for President.
I think about the message a Hillary presidency would have sent all the patriarchies of the world. And more so, all the women of the world. All the daughters of the world. All the sons of the world…
Imagine.
And now Biden, in running at an age that is questionable, is clearing a path like a blocking fullback to elevate an African American woman to the highest office. If Kamala does not ascend to the Presidency through Biden’s death, she will be nonetheless beautifully positioned to run in 2028 to continue the Obama/Biden/Harris legacy of leadership.
People scoff at Kamala Harris, calling her arrogant or invisible or incapable. I find these judgements to come from nowhere… as if the opinions are set in stone without facts of any sort. Merely a lack of facts is all it takes to destroy a woman’s reputation in this country.
When people want Biden to step down, I find them to lack vision, Biden’s vision of what his own death could accomplish and better yet, what he can accomplish if he stayed alive and stepped down from the Presidency after two or three years to let the idea AND PROGRESS AND GLOBAL IMPACT of a “President Harris” EXIST in people’s minds… when they vote again in 2028.
I wear a Biden/Harris t-shirt on EVERY grocery run. I will continue to be a grocery-shopping billboard for Biden until 11/5/24 because I believe in our team. And it’s up to us to bring the noise and build the excitement that our future holds. (Buy a Biden/Harris T-shirt at the links on my Substack page)
Eugene Robinson has a terrific piece up about Kamala Harris. (I tried to paste in the link, but it apparently is paywalled. Not too hard to find, though: "Why Vice President Harris is prepared to step in as Commander in Chief.") The only reason our VP seems invisible is because the press refuses to see her. She is actually very ready to lead our nation, and getting readier all the time.
I saw that piece and I agree completely. The press has helped to keep her successes and her competence from seeing the light of day. None of it makes any sense, but their coverage of Trump as a legitimate candidate doesn’t make any sense either. The press has done a great disservice to VP Harris and to all of us.
Here's a gift link to Robinson's piece on Harris: https://wapo.st/4bNlF7K
Thank you. I look forward to reading it. It flummoxes me why people, many liberals included, refuse to "see" her and recognize her intelligence and good character and empathy. I admire her.
I'm a Warren fan who voted for Biden in the MA primary. By the time we had our primary it had become clear to me that we needed to coalesce around him. Note that while there have been many women heads-of-state in democracies, I think they are all in countries with parlimentary systems where voters choose a party and the party chooses their leader. So the election seems to be less of a popularity contest.
Barbara, that is a very valid stance. And I appreciate the parliamentary edge that give other systems a chance to elevate the best leaders without having to iron out every wrinkle of misogyny in the media and the electorate.
Biden is not going to die before the end of his second term. His father lived to be 86, and his mother to 92. And people from his generation tend to live longer than their parents.
As for Elizabeth Warren, the first time I watched something on the internet that was longer than 5 minutes, it was Warren giving a speech at Berkeley, about an hour long. She IS terrific. But I think she would have been a less successful candidate than Clinton, which is why I didn't vote for her in the primary. She rubbed a lot of people the wrong way. (I voted for Bernie Sanders in the primary, and I think he would have won. There's also a good chance Clinton would have won if Jill Stein hadn't been in the race.)
I also have the BIDEN/HARRIS T-shirt. It just arrived last night, and I'm wearing it now. Gonna post a selfie on FB with the URL.
Thanks David, fantastic explanation and POV that give me hope in humanity and hope for “huwomanity”
And, so glad your shirt arrived. If you wear it grocery shopping, I’d love to hear about it.
I got a couple of compliments while shopping at Whole foods for probably 20 minutes. I also got a couple while running around Fresh Pond with my dog for an hour. It's nice that the BIDEN/HARRIS is so visible!
I'm gonna be wearing it grocery shopping today.
Interesting too that the positive comments are freed while the negative vitriol that seems so pervasive online crawls back into its hidey-hole when any attack would be face-to-face. The courage of bullies comes from anonymity. It evaporates in the light of day.
I took up the Robert Hubbell challenge to tell someone (probably on the fence) that we are voting for Biden/Harris in November. She still wants us to come visit and is happy to hear our thoughts (I asked her permission). Unfortunately, it turned out that she had given up on Biden for his age. She gave up on Trump for being embarrassing. She was leaning to Kennedy! (since a colleague suggested this! I guess that is all it takes sometimes) I am hoping she is receptive to us.
oh, and I was all in for Warren, too...
Me too. Gotta say, I LOVED it when those remaining laid down their swords in SC and lifted up Biden. I felt so proud that Dems made that positive step and made “hope and history rhyme.”
I love the t-shirt idea. Jess Craven just posted that too, and I just ordered a Biden/Harris and one of these: https://www.customink.com/fundraising/demsmakelifebetter
We mapped where President Biden's plan to forgive Student Loan Debt would help the most people. Notice that many of the Student Loan borrowers are seniors, disabled and veterans.
https://thedemlabs.org/2024/02/23/biden-billion-dollar-relief-for-student-loan-borrowers/
Good point and thank you. Hopefully those recipients will support Biden in the election.
Super interesting.
Seniors: Dems want to forgive your student debt while the GOP wants to cut/take away SS and Medicare
Veterans: Dems want to forgive your student debt while the GOP tried to block the PACT Act
Disabled: Dems want to forgive your student debt while the GOP wants to shred the solcial safety net you depend upon
Thank you for a wonderful essay this morning. I’m heading out the door to work the South Carolina primary. It’s an open primary and I’ve heard from several folks who plan to vote for Haley only to force the Trump campaign to spend more money. Should be an interesting day (as another $87,000+ in interest accrues for Trump) . . . Safe travels to you, Robert, and your managing editor.
Thanks for you primary work, Gisela. We are right there with you in spirit. Please share your impressions post-primary!
Whew. Long day here in Beaufort County, SC where Haley beat Trump! In addition to the out and loud MAGA’s, my voting site had an Elvis impersonator and some of my like minded chums showed up to vote against Trump. One of the poll questions included on the ballot was whether folks wanted to move to a closed primary format to prevent this type of voting. Turnout was eight times larger than for the Democratic primary three weeks ago. As true blue liberals, we do feel like we’re on the island of misfit toys. Robert’s encouraging emails help keep us going.
Wow, and thanks for reporting!
I think it's up to $111,000. I hope Trump's hurting bad, but I wish he'd up and die already. The world will be a better place when he's no longer in it. s
It's not just "descent into madness and lies." It's FURTHER descent into FURTHER madness and lies.
Lawrence O'Donnell's commentary (The governing will not be televised) was worth the listen. The key new thoughts for me were 1) there is no realistic campaign without $$ and none of the fantasy candidates have any 2) a contested convention is incredibly high risk--1968 was a disaster 3) the important work of being president is behind closed doors which is where Biden has been excelling and 4) FDR made some of the most important decisions in history while he was dying and sometimes even nodding off in meetings. Our best bet, if we can stick to it, is to just stop reading or caring about the punditry noise and focus on doing what we can to get Democrats elected--up and down the ballot.
Those were some of my key points, also. His argument was unassailable.
Brilliant. Thank you.
“The governing will not be televised.”
I can’t love this statement enough.
How about an image President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris with O’Donnell’s statement?
I’ve thought for a while that Lawrence O’Donnell is one of the best broadcast journalists out there today, but this sealed it for me.
Excellent summary.
Thank you for a splendid weekend edition. And your trip sounds wonderful. But I write today primarily to strongly endorse your recommendation that people take the time to watch the video clip you include of Lawrence O'Donnell. I agree that it was a brilliant counter argument to those who want to dump Biden. I am personally very grateful to you because I record him every night and almost always watch. But I was away this week and would have missed it. Thank you thank you thank you!
Fertility doctors with The American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) launch campaign to raise public support to protect IVF and the RIGHT TO PARENT. Learn more
https://thedemlabs.org/2024/02/23/abortion-bans-alabama-ivf-right-to-parent-access-to-family-building-act/
Thanks for the link to Lawrence O'Donnell's commentary. It helped me clarify my thinking around the campaign, why Biden is the better choice, and what a president does-behind the camera
I'd go further and say that it was brilliant and inspiring!
Here’s something else that’s inspiring. This is a post from the journalist Scott Dworkin. Embedded in here is the preview of a film that apparently is coming out soon. This one really almost brought me to tears, in a good way. Even if you don’t want to read the article, watch this short clip embedded in here. Have a good weekend, David
https://open.substack.com/pub/dworkin/p/this-video-got-me-fired-up-ready?r=2vk1c6&utm_medium=ios&utm_campaign=post
Just watched the video. I'll be watching it a few more times. And I'll read the article. Natalie (border collie) can wait a few more minutes before we go running.
Correction: It’s a political ad, but powerful nonetheless.
You too, Janet (good weekend)
I’m mistaken, what’s in here is actually a political ad. I hadn’t read the whole article before I realized that it’s an ad and not a film preview, but it feels like a film preview.
it's a damn good ad!
Hello! New here. Is there a subscriber event in St. Louis?
Welcome, Carrie!
It's at 2:30. We checked and there's room. Email me at rbhubbell@gmail.com and I'll send details.
Sunday afternoon at 2:30, but I don't know if there's still space.
They should hold it in Cahokia! (JK)
Robert - I hope as you continue South along your journey, you'll learn a bit more about what animates Mike Johnson. He appears to have sold his soul to the Devil. Following the imaginings of DJT, MTG, and Steve Bannon is not a good look for someone who publicly proclaims himself a "Man of God". In fact, he'd have a hard time straying further from the path of decency, honesty, and patriotism than he has managed to do over the last 5 months. As just one example, he could decide to support Ukraine. Now.
I want to respect religion, but with the likes of Mike Johnson and the Alabama Chief Justice and their Seven Mountain religious fantasies, it’s pretty hard to conclude anything but that it’s all toxic.
About Mike Johnson. Check out Michael McFaul's message "A Win-Win-Win for Speaker Johnson, Ukraine, and Navalny Supporters" at https://michaelmcfaul.substack.com/p/a-win-win-win-for-speaker-johnson.
As McFaul says: "Speaker Johnson has the rare opportunity to make history next week; he should seize the day."
I printed this out, and I will mail it to Speaker Johnson. Others might do the same. Thanks for posting!
Speaker Johnson's mailing address is 568 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515. Phone: 202-225-2777
Bravo! I sent that post by Ambassador McFaul to my Congressman, Paul Tonko. I urge everybody reading this to send a similar message to their Congressional representative. *Especially if they are Republican!*
Dear Congressman Tonko,
I follow Michael McFaul, former US Ambassador to Russia, on Substack.
Like Ambassador McFaul, I strongly support Ukraine's vigorous defending itself against Putin's vicious and brutal war of aggression.
In the following, Ambassador McFaul suggests amending the $95 billion aid bill recently passed by the Senate with H.R.4175, the Rebuilding Economic Prosperity and Opportunity for Ukrainians Act. This bill "authorizes the President to confiscate Russian sovereign assets, currently frozen in the U.S. banks, and then transfer them to a newly created Ukraine Support Fund “to compensate Ukraine for damages caused by the Russian invasion.”"
As Ambassador McFaul says, this would be a win-win-win for Speaker Johnson. He would make his mark on history.
My Congressperson is the Democratic whip, Katherine Clark. I'm sure she's doing everything we could want on this. Great message you're sending to Rep. Tonko. (Incidentally, I've never seen that last name before. Do you have any idea what part of the world it came from?
At the CPAC conference, conspiracy theorist, Jack Posobiec stated: "Welcome to the end of democracy. We are here to overthrow it completely". Nothing further need be said. He and his ilk are on the wrong side of history and deserve our opprobrium and our opposition.
If this statement doesn't send chills through your bones, I don't know what will. The crowd cheered wildly, by the way. This is what MAGA is.
Thanks for the O’Donnell tip. We don’t get MSNBC, so I need to hear from someone when to look for something on UTube. Our Kitchen Table postcard group has not slowed down. New folks joining......almost five hundred cards this week alone from the “rag tag group”.
You should get T shirts made, that’s a great name for your group!