While I try to post a picture on weekends, I don’t want to fail to put in this record that today’s testimony by Jeffrey A. Rosen, acting attorney general during the Trump administration, before the Senate Judiciary Committee, strikes me as being a game-changer.
While I always appreciate the beautifully serene photographs that you send us on a Saturday night, I must tell you how much I have appreciated tonight's letter. It has lifted me from a dispirited moodiness into a sense of relief and, dare I say, hope. It pleases me no end to think that today's news is, indeed, a game changer. I'm crossing everything that is crossable! Thank you so much for these rosy tidings.
“….strikes me as being a game changer.” I am going on record that I hope you are correct. However, I am not sure what is meant by the statement. Are all these people that blindly supported and continue to support Trump and his form of the Republican Party going to all of a sudden wake up and admit rather than he being the savior of “America”, he is actually the most destructive and divisive president ever to be elected? I do not think so. The greatest failure of the public education system in the United States is the failure to teach people that it is ok to accumulate information and learn from that information. Instead, we have whole swaths of the country that are influenced by superficiality(Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, etc.) and once indoctrinated would rather fight than do the right thing. The problem is ego. When you force people to observe just how ignorant they have been, the result is the opposite of what it should be. They become even more intrenched with their original attitude rather than accepting the reality. So, I agree that some of the testimonies SHOULD be game changers, but how do you get people to accept just how stupid and manipulated they have been for the past several years?
As regards El Blobbo del Mar A Lardo, it's time to recall Napoleon's statement to his generals during the Battle of Asuterlitz (perhaps his greatest military victory) when they advocated he take a move against the Austrian Army: "Never interfere with an enemy who is defeating himself."
Someone advised El Blobbo that in light of the information out there, for him to make any move to block Rosen et al from testifying would be to insure even some of his supporters realized he had something to hide. And the fact that 18 Republican Senators voted as they did is important, though I would be more interested in knowing the votes of those R Senators who will be running for re-election next year. If any of them were among the 18, that is really important.
I'll make my prediction again about 2024. Trump won't be running for president because he will be either (a) dead due to one too many hamberders; (b) already in prison following conviction; or (c) in the midst of either the political trial in Fulton County over the phone call, or in NYC on major tax fraud.
I would like to go on the record saying that your weekend photos are something that I look forward to..... alot. It's something from you that I can look at and see a calm, beauty.
It's very difficult to watch a Nation sitting on the ledge of disaster.
As we all watch the direction of the tide for Trump, I just don't know how far it will go. In any other country this would spell a definitive fall that would produce prosecution and appropriate reprimand. In this country, I'm just not sure.
Most definitely the testimony from Rosen is spectacular. This isn't just hearsay, it's testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee with not one syllable in Trump's favor. Let's hope this is the spark that burns down the curtain that protects Trump.
Although I miss your photo tonight, this is a gem. We have all known what trump was trying to pull off and here is the proof. Thank You Heather! Also your letter last night was one of the best genuine history lessons I have received in my 67 years.
It's gratifying to see evidence that The Cheeto may be wearing orange over his skin as well as on it, but that isn't the point of all this.
The point is to observe the US American legal immune system put up a response to an infection.
Trump was an infection, and if the US system of governance cannot fight off that kind of infection, it doesn't matter if we succumb to this infection, or rally. With no response to infection, our collective future as a nation will be short and brutal.
It isn't about Trump. It's about definitively kicking an attempt at dictatorship to the curb. That it couldn't happen to a nicer guy is just a bonus.
Morning, all!! Morning, Dr. R!! Now this Letter is worth losing sleep over! Add to it, this buffer: "The Right to Vote Act, introduced in the House by Rep. Mondaire Jones (D-N.Y.) and in the upper chamber by Sens. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) and Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), would for the first time establish a statutory right to vote in federal elections, shielding Americans from laws making it harder to cast ballots.
"Amid ongoing nationwide Republican voter suppression efforts, a trio of congressional Democrats on Wednesday introduced a bill described by its lead Senate sponsor as the 'first-ever affirmative federal voting rights guarantee for all U.S. citizens.'"
Can anyone explain what a "statutory right to vote" means?
But wait...there's more! DNC's Chair Jaime Harrison introduces Welcome to the Party podcasts:
"Welcome to the Party is a new podcast from the Democratic National Committee that breaks down some of the biggest issues facing America today with the people who are fighting to address them. Each episode, DNC Chair Jaime Harrison talks to an influential member of the party about leadership and the ways Democrats across the country are delivering for the American people. Chair Harrison will also highlight the work that is being done by volunteers, local elected leaders, and races to watch."
The first such podcast conducts an interview with Beto O'Rourke. About the last 2+ minutes of this podcast, Rena Walters-Morgan, the DNC's voting rights/voter protection guru, describes how past practices of filing lawsuits after an election will give way to real time support by partnering with organizations who register voters:
I appreciate being able to read the reflections of a careful scholar and being able to go to this newsletter and find that on a regular basis. Rarely does one find such among the talking heads and agenda-pushing editorial producers featured on corporate mainstream media.
A friend, a district court judge, told me a couple of years ago that if the Rule of Law held we would be all right. It is somewhat reassuring that the Rule of Law held in the DOJ last January and the then-president (love the sound of that) backed off from the people in DOJ who held to principal. We still need to see SCOTUS uphold the Rule of Law versus dismantle precedent. Then maybe it will be time to breath a little easier but not yet.
Thank you for being a true recorder of our current history. You help all of us follow and understand the events of these tumultuous times. This one brings me hope. May we all sleep well and awake refreshed so that we can continue to fight the good fight to secure a democracy for everyone.
I think that the information Professor Richardson Cox outlined today will be a “game changer” - for historians of this period. It’s long past the time, if ever there was one, when irrefutable evidence and honest testimony is going to effect things on the ground one iota. Believers gonna believe. It’s a stretch for me to believe that cultists are going to leap off the Trump train in droves upon hearing about Rosen’s testimony, if indeed they do hear about it.
I see no connection between that news and the infrastructure bill possibly being passed. Those aren’t defectors from Trump voting for it, if indeed they do. Those are Senators making a cold calculation that it is important that a bill be passed that a:) bears some Republican influence, b:) will be supported by Americans, and c:) comes after as much delay as possible . I’m sure it doesn’t come as a surprise to them that Trump tried to influence the DOJ to corrupt the election results.
We are more than halfway through 2021. There is no movement of note on the voting bills. The 2022 elections loom.
Meanwhile red states run amok with legislation of a type that will obviate the need for a future Trump to have to try to overthrow an election. Individual states will do that for him.
If the second infrastructure bill passes by means of Reconciliation, that will be a game changer in the lives of millions of Americans.
But the voting rights bills remain the top priority for the long term. Climate change is here with a vengeance. Ceding power to the Republicans to be the ones who grapple with it is terrifying.
There’s a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in. Leonard Cohen
Leonard Cohen: "There's crack, a crack in everything; that's how the light gets in."
Dear Prof. HCR,
While I always appreciate the beautifully serene photographs that you send us on a Saturday night, I must tell you how much I have appreciated tonight's letter. It has lifted me from a dispirited moodiness into a sense of relief and, dare I say, hope. It pleases me no end to think that today's news is, indeed, a game changer. I'm crossing everything that is crossable! Thank you so much for these rosy tidings.
“….strikes me as being a game changer.” I am going on record that I hope you are correct. However, I am not sure what is meant by the statement. Are all these people that blindly supported and continue to support Trump and his form of the Republican Party going to all of a sudden wake up and admit rather than he being the savior of “America”, he is actually the most destructive and divisive president ever to be elected? I do not think so. The greatest failure of the public education system in the United States is the failure to teach people that it is ok to accumulate information and learn from that information. Instead, we have whole swaths of the country that are influenced by superficiality(Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, etc.) and once indoctrinated would rather fight than do the right thing. The problem is ego. When you force people to observe just how ignorant they have been, the result is the opposite of what it should be. They become even more intrenched with their original attitude rather than accepting the reality. So, I agree that some of the testimonies SHOULD be game changers, but how do you get people to accept just how stupid and manipulated they have been for the past several years?
As regards El Blobbo del Mar A Lardo, it's time to recall Napoleon's statement to his generals during the Battle of Asuterlitz (perhaps his greatest military victory) when they advocated he take a move against the Austrian Army: "Never interfere with an enemy who is defeating himself."
Someone advised El Blobbo that in light of the information out there, for him to make any move to block Rosen et al from testifying would be to insure even some of his supporters realized he had something to hide. And the fact that 18 Republican Senators voted as they did is important, though I would be more interested in knowing the votes of those R Senators who will be running for re-election next year. If any of them were among the 18, that is really important.
I'll make my prediction again about 2024. Trump won't be running for president because he will be either (a) dead due to one too many hamberders; (b) already in prison following conviction; or (c) in the midst of either the political trial in Fulton County over the phone call, or in NYC on major tax fraud.
These 1000 words are as pretty as a picture! Enjoy your weekend.
Thank you Heather.
I would like to go on the record saying that your weekend photos are something that I look forward to..... alot. It's something from you that I can look at and see a calm, beauty.
It's very difficult to watch a Nation sitting on the ledge of disaster.
As we all watch the direction of the tide for Trump, I just don't know how far it will go. In any other country this would spell a definitive fall that would produce prosecution and appropriate reprimand. In this country, I'm just not sure.
Most definitely the testimony from Rosen is spectacular. This isn't just hearsay, it's testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee with not one syllable in Trump's favor. Let's hope this is the spark that burns down the curtain that protects Trump.
Be safe, be well.
Although I miss your photo tonight, this is a gem. We have all known what trump was trying to pull off and here is the proof. Thank You Heather! Also your letter last night was one of the best genuine history lessons I have received in my 67 years.
Lovely news!
Something to keep in mind (notes to self).
It's gratifying to see evidence that The Cheeto may be wearing orange over his skin as well as on it, but that isn't the point of all this.
The point is to observe the US American legal immune system put up a response to an infection.
Trump was an infection, and if the US system of governance cannot fight off that kind of infection, it doesn't matter if we succumb to this infection, or rally. With no response to infection, our collective future as a nation will be short and brutal.
It isn't about Trump. It's about definitively kicking an attempt at dictatorship to the curb. That it couldn't happen to a nicer guy is just a bonus.
Morning, all!! Morning, Dr. R!! Now this Letter is worth losing sleep over! Add to it, this buffer: "The Right to Vote Act, introduced in the House by Rep. Mondaire Jones (D-N.Y.) and in the upper chamber by Sens. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) and Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), would for the first time establish a statutory right to vote in federal elections, shielding Americans from laws making it harder to cast ballots.
"Amid ongoing nationwide Republican voter suppression efforts, a trio of congressional Democrats on Wednesday introduced a bill described by its lead Senate sponsor as the 'first-ever affirmative federal voting rights guarantee for all U.S. citizens.'"
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/08/05/democrats-introduce-right-vote-act-beat-gop-voter-suppression-blitz?utm_term=AO&utm_campaign=Daily%20Newsletter&utm_content=email&utm_source=Daily%20Newsletter&utm_medium=Email
Here's the 7-page bill:
https://www.ossoff.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Right-to-Vote-Act.pdf
Can anyone explain what a "statutory right to vote" means?
But wait...there's more! DNC's Chair Jaime Harrison introduces Welcome to the Party podcasts:
"Welcome to the Party is a new podcast from the Democratic National Committee that breaks down some of the biggest issues facing America today with the people who are fighting to address them. Each episode, DNC Chair Jaime Harrison talks to an influential member of the party about leadership and the ways Democrats across the country are delivering for the American people. Chair Harrison will also highlight the work that is being done by volunteers, local elected leaders, and races to watch."
The first such podcast conducts an interview with Beto O'Rourke. About the last 2+ minutes of this podcast, Rena Walters-Morgan, the DNC's voting rights/voter protection guru, describes how past practices of filing lawsuits after an election will give way to real time support by partnering with organizations who register voters:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/welcome-to-the-party/id1579080348?link_id=6&can_id=fd80a86766186aa12fbef1b71efa86b9&source=email-my-july-newsletter-4&email_referrer=email_1253495&email_subject=click-for-capture-firstname3-firstname-sanitize-endcapture-if-firstname3-firstname-sanitize-s-else-your-endif-august-team-joe-newsletter
The website below helps you find whether you are registered to vote and helps you register if you are not.
https://iwillvote.com/
Happy Sunday, Everyone!
I appreciate being able to read the reflections of a careful scholar and being able to go to this newsletter and find that on a regular basis. Rarely does one find such among the talking heads and agenda-pushing editorial producers featured on corporate mainstream media.
May those cracks which are beginning to separate some Republicans from the twice impeached former president rival the Grand Canyon.
A friend, a district court judge, told me a couple of years ago that if the Rule of Law held we would be all right. It is somewhat reassuring that the Rule of Law held in the DOJ last January and the then-president (love the sound of that) backed off from the people in DOJ who held to principal. We still need to see SCOTUS uphold the Rule of Law versus dismantle precedent. Then maybe it will be time to breath a little easier but not yet.
Thank you for being a true recorder of our current history. You help all of us follow and understand the events of these tumultuous times. This one brings me hope. May we all sleep well and awake refreshed so that we can continue to fight the good fight to secure a democracy for everyone.
I think that the information Professor Richardson Cox outlined today will be a “game changer” - for historians of this period. It’s long past the time, if ever there was one, when irrefutable evidence and honest testimony is going to effect things on the ground one iota. Believers gonna believe. It’s a stretch for me to believe that cultists are going to leap off the Trump train in droves upon hearing about Rosen’s testimony, if indeed they do hear about it.
I see no connection between that news and the infrastructure bill possibly being passed. Those aren’t defectors from Trump voting for it, if indeed they do. Those are Senators making a cold calculation that it is important that a bill be passed that a:) bears some Republican influence, b:) will be supported by Americans, and c:) comes after as much delay as possible . I’m sure it doesn’t come as a surprise to them that Trump tried to influence the DOJ to corrupt the election results.
We are more than halfway through 2021. There is no movement of note on the voting bills. The 2022 elections loom.
Meanwhile red states run amok with legislation of a type that will obviate the need for a future Trump to have to try to overthrow an election. Individual states will do that for him.
If the second infrastructure bill passes by means of Reconciliation, that will be a game changer in the lives of millions of Americans.
But the voting rights bills remain the top priority for the long term. Climate change is here with a vengeance. Ceding power to the Republicans to be the ones who grapple with it is terrifying.
At last, at long last, the record finally begins to document Trump’s actual seditious acts, with much more evidence surely to follow.