Great analysis. Because Democrats are so nice they did not pursue Jared Kushner's removal of the White House Visitor's logs while his distraught property in Manhattan received a hundred year lease and all the trips to Saudi Arabia on "the peoples money" and alleged Government Business to frame up his 2 billion dollar grant of the Jared and Ivanka use of Air Force 1 or the 650 plus million Ivanka made on copyrights in China or the Trump hotel in DC profits ..........The list goes on. The GOP is bent, wholly swallowed by the dark side...so everyone needs to follow Joyce Vance's advice to call your congressmen and women, your senators, your governors, anyone who has a microphone and call this out over and over and over again about Trump's shredding the constitution and also questions about his children's contact who were part of the government. She gave the number of 202-224-3121 to call to contact your federal politicians in Washington. Thanks Robert (and thanks Joyce)!
I agree. The question is not what Republicans will say about Trump’s statement, but what will Democrats do with it? Probably little else but wring their hands and say once again, Can you believe blah, blah, blah. Where are TV ads blaring out that Trump just proposed the end of democracy? Where are the mass protests in defense of democracy? No, Democrats will do little that is commensurate with the seriousness of the statement. We, too, will react like it’s just another Trump attempt to capture our attention. Sadly, Trump has succeeded in normalizing the abnormal.
I suspect most of us (Dems and anti-Trumpers) think that the long arms of justice are just about to close around DJT. The rule of law is near. I hope, I hope. The problem with Trump is that he always equivocates; now he says he didn't really say that.
-The first clear and concise explanation I have read about Hunter Biden's laptop. Since very few details were actually published by the mainstream media for the very good reasons you mention - them being extremely wary of publishing unsubstantiated accusations. They are of the old school - honorable people with ethical standards, unlike the far right "news" sources). I loved the delightful end of the article too regarding certain babysitters :)
Dec 5, 2022·edited Dec 5, 2022Liked by Robert B. Hubbell
Republicans won't stop Dump. Voters need to do that. And the legal system needs to try. We, the voters, must to get to work and defeat all complicit Republicans. Knowing that supporting that grifter is a losing effort, they have to turn to some other MAGA candidate. BTW, this is tfg's usual grift, push the boundaries until there are no boundaries. We must also hold Republicans accountable for running a circus while blocking any legislation that might help people. The midterms stand out because many citizens voted for normality over culture wars.
I suggest that the other Republicans are worse than Trump, in the sense that he is so deranged and such a moral cripple that he is unable to discern the real meaning or implications of his words. But Republican senators and congressmen and governors are not. Their only excuse must be that the pursuit of power justifies throwing out all law and morality. They are just as morally bankrupt and ethically-bereft as Trump, but with no excuse.
Yes. Dump, Bannon and Putin are running the same playbook. Others who crave power and attention have learned that playbook, like the hundredth monkey. Except monkeys learned to wash potatoes. The MAGA, grifter, plutocrat, authoritarian caucus will take over if we let them. We must stand up to them because if we don't, it'll lead to tyranny and the awful catastrophes that must bring. We need our own playbook so we don't get overwhelmed when they "flood the zone with BS" (Bannon). That playbook is common sense, peaceful activism, and the basic civics of VOTING for sanity.
Excellent points. I have a friend that describes Rs as driven by personal good, not public good. Reminds me of my mother’s admonition when I was young, “Hurray for me. The hell with you.” She wasn’t telling me that was what she was about but letting me know I’d better move along to help others and stop my whining. :)
The contrast between a responsible investigation by the Jan 6 committee and the promised Republican clown show could not be clearer. The great legislative achievements for all Americans under Pres. Biden with the House leadership under Rep. Pelosi will show the difference between a party that csres and a party, as illustrated in Sen. Scotts 11 points, that seeks to destroy the Federal governments institutions.
Dec 5, 2022·edited Dec 5, 2022Liked by Robert B. Hubbell
I am beyond worried about all these extreme right conspiracists in places of influence. We must never forget how the Nazi regime came to power years before WW II. How for example the chancellor H. changed the police: 'After Adolf Hitler became chancellor on January 30, 1933, he worked to turn Germany into a dictatorship under his sole control. To do so, the new government reoriented Weimar Germany’s previously democratic organizations and institutions to serve Nazi ideals. This meant eliminating constitutional rights and protections for individuals. It also meant inserting Nazi ideology into all aspects of life. This process is known as Nazification' (https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/german-police-in-the-nazi-state). We must absolutely stay vigilant everywhere to detect these signs early on. We must expose them and try to hinder their influence.
Thanks so much for putting all the Elon Musk stuff into an understandable frame. I like that I can count on you to keep track of it so I don't have to. I don't mean that in a snarky way. I just can't follow it all and I trust that you will explain it to me. You always do and I'm grateful.
I am dismayed by how super rich men can grab hold of the imagination of this country and dominate our lives. I'd like to believe that it doesn't matter what Elon Musk does but then I remember that most of the clowns in Washington have given away their power to people like him and thereby have abandoned the rest of us. No amount of trying to remind them that we're expecting more of them seems to work.
After laughing over Goat Rodeo, I want to thank you for the Aftergut comments : and being so clear on the Hunter Biden debacle. Sad, indeed for all to watch dysfunctional adults, wherever they are: something the Trump and Biden families share . .
Dec 5, 2022·edited Dec 5, 2022Liked by Robert B. Hubbell
One of your best newsletters with a clear explanation of the intersections among the media, Hunter Biden’s laptop, and DT. Your exhausting and memorable weekend certainly inspired you. And made me smile despite the serious problems in our country.
I’m disappointed at a certain level that no Republican legislators who will be in office in January said a word about the Trump rant about the constitution. On the other hand I am not surprised because putting myself in a Republican legislature shoes you probably say to your self I will be quiet and say nothing and let Trump crash and burn and not engage his wrath. It’s a sad commentary on the state of the Republican Party as well as the country. Maybe it’s me but as the legal justice system grinds closer to indicting Trump the more outrageous his comments become and we can only hope voters of this country are paying attention.
Trump is now acting like a wounded cornered tiger. Nothing rational will come out of his mouth ever again. If he can call for trashing the Constitution, he can call for armed rebellion. Let's not think for a second that he is not capable of doing that. He already has.
Donald J. Trump needs to be arrested and silenced.
Robert Hubbell, you have done a great public service by calmly and clearly outlining the current situation. THANK YOU!
We will have to see if people will stop clinging to what they are being fed by a biased source that is not news, but propaganda and entertainment.
Hunter Biden never has been elected to any office (and never will be). He is trying to make money off his name as any of these other "celebrities." His father's life of public service and leadership through unimaginable tragedies and unmerited attacks and derision are completely separate from his son, and it is a real shame love for family is perverted to e a scandal.
When I look at the Biden administration vs the prior one (that fully intended to be the LAST U.S. President), here are the two choices that I would offer to anyone to consider:
A) Joe Biden wants to find a cure for cancer.
B) Donald Trump wants to build a physical wall on the entire Southern border of the U.S.
In my opinion, A - CURING CANCER - is a much more important goal.
I have been to the Great Wall of China.
My daughter was born the year the Berlin Wall came down.
I remember the fence erected around the White House that ended up being covered with protest-inspired art.
I believe more people who are undocumented in the USA are people who arrived and overstayed their visas - by plane, port, or other routes -
than were desperate enough to travel sometimes thousands of miles with no promise, just hope.
Beverly, Thank you! You said this all in such a positive way. I have a piece of the Berlin Wall with its colorful paint of protest. I was in Berlin after the wall fell a month before the two Germanys reunited. The sense of history and anxiety were palpable with poor East looking at the wealth of the West and the West looking at how would they be able to support the poorness of the East. Gorbachev and Bush were having a summit which seemed irrelevant since the unification and its impact on German people and the world was inevitable. Yes, let's tear down these walls and create well-being for all!
Thank you for this clear and concise explanation. I get an earful about it from a friend each time we walk (twice a week). I know not to respond. I also suspect that we will ultimately learn a whole lot more from the ongoing DOJ investigations than anything those Congressional jokers will be able to drum up. All such a sad waste of time, talent, resources and energy. Stay strong everyone.
Thank you Robert for this thorough synopsis of the gop/trump horror story. It is important. I hope you and Jill get some rest this week after the bouncy house and kid-time at church! You are fab grandparents, and wonderful citizens.
So. The Constitution must be terminated and the 2020 election set aside because damaging information about one of the candidates was suppressed by the media. What a coincidence! Does anyone remember David Pecker's National Enquirer? Stormy Daniels? The $130,000 check written to her to spike her story of an "affair" with Donald Trump? Or the fact that Michael Cohen went to prison for that unlawful campaign contribution? Once again, fake GOP outrage about a non-story has a real-life antecedent in their own party. The projection and the hypocrisy have become core GOP values.
Great analysis. Because Democrats are so nice they did not pursue Jared Kushner's removal of the White House Visitor's logs while his distraught property in Manhattan received a hundred year lease and all the trips to Saudi Arabia on "the peoples money" and alleged Government Business to frame up his 2 billion dollar grant of the Jared and Ivanka use of Air Force 1 or the 650 plus million Ivanka made on copyrights in China or the Trump hotel in DC profits ..........The list goes on. The GOP is bent, wholly swallowed by the dark side...so everyone needs to follow Joyce Vance's advice to call your congressmen and women, your senators, your governors, anyone who has a microphone and call this out over and over and over again about Trump's shredding the constitution and also questions about his children's contact who were part of the government. She gave the number of 202-224-3121 to call to contact your federal politicians in Washington. Thanks Robert (and thanks Joyce)!
Thanks for the information. Joyce Vance is an invaluable resource. I urge any interested in legal dimensions of current politics to subscribe. I do.
https://joycevance.substack.com/
She also has chickens, watched over carefully by Bella, her German shepherd.
https://joycevance.substack.com/p/a-saturday-with-chickens
I just subscribed this past week. She’s a great addition to the group worth reading.
I often wonder why no one is 'looking' at the Jarod and Ivanka grift!
Exhaustion and overwhelming distraction of what to look at or listen to. No excuse but understandable.
I’ve got a script for it in today’s Chop Wood, Carry Water, if anyone needs it.
And everyone should subscribe to Chop Wood Carry Water! It is a terrific resource!
https://chopwoodcarrywaterdailyactions.substack.com/
Thank you, Robert. I do my best.
As you did, Jess is publishing these while combating Covid.
YES!!!
Thanks, Jessica
I agree. The question is not what Republicans will say about Trump’s statement, but what will Democrats do with it? Probably little else but wring their hands and say once again, Can you believe blah, blah, blah. Where are TV ads blaring out that Trump just proposed the end of democracy? Where are the mass protests in defense of democracy? No, Democrats will do little that is commensurate with the seriousness of the statement. We, too, will react like it’s just another Trump attempt to capture our attention. Sadly, Trump has succeeded in normalizing the abnormal.
I suspect most of us (Dems and anti-Trumpers) think that the long arms of justice are just about to close around DJT. The rule of law is near. I hope, I hope. The problem with Trump is that he always equivocates; now he says he didn't really say that.
Well said, Susan. It is essential that we “blah, blah, blah” less and take action. It is a time of urgency!
Greetings from the "So Help Me God" stomping grounds of Mike Pence! Just left messages at the offices of Todd Young and Mike Braun .
Christopher- I agree-having one number to contact your Senators and Reps is great-I use it as well.
-The first clear and concise explanation I have read about Hunter Biden's laptop. Since very few details were actually published by the mainstream media for the very good reasons you mention - them being extremely wary of publishing unsubstantiated accusations. They are of the old school - honorable people with ethical standards, unlike the far right "news" sources). I loved the delightful end of the article too regarding certain babysitters :)
Republicans won't stop Dump. Voters need to do that. And the legal system needs to try. We, the voters, must to get to work and defeat all complicit Republicans. Knowing that supporting that grifter is a losing effort, they have to turn to some other MAGA candidate. BTW, this is tfg's usual grift, push the boundaries until there are no boundaries. We must also hold Republicans accountable for running a circus while blocking any legislation that might help people. The midterms stand out because many citizens voted for normality over culture wars.
I suggest that the other Republicans are worse than Trump, in the sense that he is so deranged and such a moral cripple that he is unable to discern the real meaning or implications of his words. But Republican senators and congressmen and governors are not. Their only excuse must be that the pursuit of power justifies throwing out all law and morality. They are just as morally bankrupt and ethically-bereft as Trump, but with no excuse.
Yes. Dump, Bannon and Putin are running the same playbook. Others who crave power and attention have learned that playbook, like the hundredth monkey. Except monkeys learned to wash potatoes. The MAGA, grifter, plutocrat, authoritarian caucus will take over if we let them. We must stand up to them because if we don't, it'll lead to tyranny and the awful catastrophes that must bring. We need our own playbook so we don't get overwhelmed when they "flood the zone with BS" (Bannon). That playbook is common sense, peaceful activism, and the basic civics of VOTING for sanity.
Excellent points. I have a friend that describes Rs as driven by personal good, not public good. Reminds me of my mother’s admonition when I was young, “Hurray for me. The hell with you.” She wasn’t telling me that was what she was about but letting me know I’d better move along to help others and stop my whining. :)
It’s ironic that a rising tide raises all boats.
The contrast between a responsible investigation by the Jan 6 committee and the promised Republican clown show could not be clearer. The great legislative achievements for all Americans under Pres. Biden with the House leadership under Rep. Pelosi will show the difference between a party that csres and a party, as illustrated in Sen. Scotts 11 points, that seeks to destroy the Federal governments institutions.
I am beyond worried about all these extreme right conspiracists in places of influence. We must never forget how the Nazi regime came to power years before WW II. How for example the chancellor H. changed the police: 'After Adolf Hitler became chancellor on January 30, 1933, he worked to turn Germany into a dictatorship under his sole control. To do so, the new government reoriented Weimar Germany’s previously democratic organizations and institutions to serve Nazi ideals. This meant eliminating constitutional rights and protections for individuals. It also meant inserting Nazi ideology into all aspects of life. This process is known as Nazification' (https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/german-police-in-the-nazi-state). We must absolutely stay vigilant everywhere to detect these signs early on. We must expose them and try to hinder their influence.
Agree 100%! It can be exhausting to call out such behavior at every turn, but we MUST do so if we hope to stop it from spreading.
Speaking common sense truth and opposing liars go hand in hand. If we focus too much attention on the liar's message, we amplify it.
You are right to be concerned. LIsten to this commentary from CBS Sunday Morning: https://www.cbsnews.com/video/rabbi-steve-leder-on-free-speech-and-anti-semitism/?ftag=CNI-11-10aaa3i
Thanks so much for putting all the Elon Musk stuff into an understandable frame. I like that I can count on you to keep track of it so I don't have to. I don't mean that in a snarky way. I just can't follow it all and I trust that you will explain it to me. You always do and I'm grateful.
I am dismayed by how super rich men can grab hold of the imagination of this country and dominate our lives. I'd like to believe that it doesn't matter what Elon Musk does but then I remember that most of the clowns in Washington have given away their power to people like him and thereby have abandoned the rest of us. No amount of trying to remind them that we're expecting more of them seems to work.
Thanks for the thorough explanation of Laptopgate.
And kudos for being primo grandparents. So glad you bounced without seriously hurting any body parts.
After laughing over Goat Rodeo, I want to thank you for the Aftergut comments : and being so clear on the Hunter Biden debacle. Sad, indeed for all to watch dysfunctional adults, wherever they are: something the Trump and Biden families share . .
One of your best newsletters with a clear explanation of the intersections among the media, Hunter Biden’s laptop, and DT. Your exhausting and memorable weekend certainly inspired you. And made me smile despite the serious problems in our country.
I’m disappointed at a certain level that no Republican legislators who will be in office in January said a word about the Trump rant about the constitution. On the other hand I am not surprised because putting myself in a Republican legislature shoes you probably say to your self I will be quiet and say nothing and let Trump crash and burn and not engage his wrath. It’s a sad commentary on the state of the Republican Party as well as the country. Maybe it’s me but as the legal justice system grinds closer to indicting Trump the more outrageous his comments become and we can only hope voters of this country are paying attention.
Trump is now acting like a wounded cornered tiger. Nothing rational will come out of his mouth ever again. If he can call for trashing the Constitution, he can call for armed rebellion. Let's not think for a second that he is not capable of doing that. He already has.
Donald J. Trump needs to be arrested and silenced.
Robert Hubbell, you have done a great public service by calmly and clearly outlining the current situation. THANK YOU!
We will have to see if people will stop clinging to what they are being fed by a biased source that is not news, but propaganda and entertainment.
Hunter Biden never has been elected to any office (and never will be). He is trying to make money off his name as any of these other "celebrities." His father's life of public service and leadership through unimaginable tragedies and unmerited attacks and derision are completely separate from his son, and it is a real shame love for family is perverted to e a scandal.
When I look at the Biden administration vs the prior one (that fully intended to be the LAST U.S. President), here are the two choices that I would offer to anyone to consider:
A) Joe Biden wants to find a cure for cancer.
B) Donald Trump wants to build a physical wall on the entire Southern border of the U.S.
In my opinion, A - CURING CANCER - is a much more important goal.
I have been to the Great Wall of China.
My daughter was born the year the Berlin Wall came down.
I remember the fence erected around the White House that ended up being covered with protest-inspired art.
I believe more people who are undocumented in the USA are people who arrived and overstayed their visas - by plane, port, or other routes -
than were desperate enough to travel sometimes thousands of miles with no promise, just hope.
To my mind, walls don't work.
Beverly, Thank you! You said this all in such a positive way. I have a piece of the Berlin Wall with its colorful paint of protest. I was in Berlin after the wall fell a month before the two Germanys reunited. The sense of history and anxiety were palpable with poor East looking at the wealth of the West and the West looking at how would they be able to support the poorness of the East. Gorbachev and Bush were having a summit which seemed irrelevant since the unification and its impact on German people and the world was inevitable. Yes, let's tear down these walls and create well-being for all!
Here's a list, completed with minimal research, mostly just remembering problematic presidential relatives.
Hunter Biden
Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner
Roger Clinton
Hugh and Tony Rodham
Neil Mallon Bush
Jenna and Barbara Bush
Sam Houston Johnson
Billy Carter
Donald Nixon
Thank you for this clear and concise explanation. I get an earful about it from a friend each time we walk (twice a week). I know not to respond. I also suspect that we will ultimately learn a whole lot more from the ongoing DOJ investigations than anything those Congressional jokers will be able to drum up. All such a sad waste of time, talent, resources and energy. Stay strong everyone.
Thank you Robert for this thorough synopsis of the gop/trump horror story. It is important. I hope you and Jill get some rest this week after the bouncy house and kid-time at church! You are fab grandparents, and wonderful citizens.
So. The Constitution must be terminated and the 2020 election set aside because damaging information about one of the candidates was suppressed by the media. What a coincidence! Does anyone remember David Pecker's National Enquirer? Stormy Daniels? The $130,000 check written to her to spike her story of an "affair" with Donald Trump? Or the fact that Michael Cohen went to prison for that unlawful campaign contribution? Once again, fake GOP outrage about a non-story has a real-life antecedent in their own party. The projection and the hypocrisy have become core GOP values.
I should have included those points in the newsletter!
Robert, thank you for explaining the insanity. The tiger has not changed his stripes.