What I’m Discussing Today: Kareem’s Daily Quote: Maya Angelou speaks to being mindful of what impression we leave people with. Texas abortion ban linked to 13% increase in infant and newborn deaths: Gov. Abbott promised to eliminate rape in Texas; instead, Texas leads the country in rapes and rape-related pregnancies. How that affects their near ban on abortion.
There are days I read your words for insight into a news event or a social discussion. But today I was touched by this paragraph you wrote: “It doesn’t matter whether the interaction is a minute in an elevator or an evening at a banquet, the time when we brush up against others is our opportunity to make that time—our most personal and precious commodity—joyfully memorable.”
Kareem, the gift of your time today through these words prompts me to say thank you. I appreciate your good heart, your intelligence, and your dedication to your readers.
Kareem, to answer your question, “If we continue down this restrictive road, where do you think women’s rights will be five years from now? Better or worse?” Worse! If women don’t become a cohesive unit, a politically fatal outcome awaits us in four months. Should Trump return to office, in five years, women will be without a voice, out of leadership positions, and back into kitchens. Republican males are after all forward progress. Period! But women are at the forefront of their wrath—and you defined the issue well.
The increase in early childhood deaths in Texas are the foreseeable consequence of allowing religious ideologies to control health care decisions. These are also a foreshadowing of the foreseeable consequences of the Supreme Court’s decision to invent presidential immunity from criminal prosecution. I fear that our entire nation will bear immeasurable suffering, loss and death if Trump regains the presidency and wields power with impunity.
After a week of miserable politics, I was completely moved in the other direction by Endea Owen and Jazz At Lincoln Center. A stunning composition played by unbelievable musicians. My first big smile in a while.
I cannot wait to read what you have to say and recommend we do about the most recent Supreme? Court decision. NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW! CHANGE THE LAW OR CHANGE THE COURT? Impeach the majority who seem to want a monarchy or dictatorship
Love your blog. Share it with people all the time. This morning I was reading it and thought… Kareem deserves the presidential medal of freedom. I googled it and you did get it. Well-deserved!
One more thing, while I’m here, it would be nice if individual articles in your blog could be shared. As it is, I can only share the whole thing and most often I want one particular story to be emphasized in my share.
First.... have to again, thank you for doing this column. It is such an enrichment to my life. Though you bring up what's important, I look forward to getting towards the end, where you give us video & music each time.
I, unfortunately, live in Texas, having moved here from DE, as my parents aged. I am 79 now, and will STAY in this racist state, because I care about my sisters, and will not abandon them in AGAIN, our hour of need. I and my two young daughters marched in D.C. for Roe and the E.R.A. in the 70s, and it is painful, to be redoing our work over again. Yeah, "funny" how the "LIFE" people end up killing more women & babies than they "save." abbott is a joke, but not Ha Ha funny to us Dems (yeah, we're here in numbers, and trying our damnest to replace cruz with Allred, ETC). I have an Austin Chronicle T-shirt with the 3-headed Hydra monster of abbott, paxton, & patrick. I write the day after the SC gave away our democracy to trump, so feeling down down, yet the only remedy for despair is action.
Enjoyed so much Kaitlyn Sardin's Irish & hip hop dancing -- don't know why "some" got flustered about her combo of them -- she is fabulous.
THEN, as if that wasn't enough, Endea Owens' "Ida's Crusade." Beautiful, how it slowed third of way through. Almost hate to single any one person out, because the whole was so good, but Sherman Irby on clarinet -- I like that instrument's sound. Course, Wynton!
NOW, on systemic racism. I'm a white woman, who was in Montgomery in elementary school in 1950s (military kid, so lived many places), and after an incident on the public bus, where I sat in the back, b/c I didn't know about segregation.... I went home in tears, b/c I knew I had done "something" wrong, and my Daddy explained to me about where we lived now. THAT formed me, and my lifelong career of fighting for justice. I would suggest to those whites who would like to understand systemic racism, that they read the many books on white privilege. We'll never know how all this feels, but educating selves on our automatic white privilege,.... helps.
Thanks again, Kareem, for a good newsletter. You helped raise my mood.
I’m sad and discouraged. The state of affairs seems to be just getting worse - the latest Supreme Court ruling on immunity is a travesty. The fallout from the debate (which I didn’t watch - i don’t ever watch them. I don’t see the point. I already know I would never, under even the most extreme duress, vote for Trump) has been intensely upsetting. Is this the best we can do? Is Gov. Abbott who we’ve become? Are we really going back to the 50’s and forward to the Handmaid’s Tale? Are we really going to take out regulation after regulation that protect a healthy environment? Have we become so lost in the cult of personality that we would knowingly elect a known sexual predetermined, convicted criminal, thief, liar, all around terrible expression of what it means to be a human being? I’m afraid no amount of outrage will reach those entrenched and entranced by the orange scourge. I’m afraid the outrage further emboldens them and deepens the ever-widening chasm stoked by Fox News, Newsmax, et al (and, I think by MSNBC as well). Somehow, we must find ourselves in them without any hope they will find themselves in us. (Thanks for the space to rant a bit.)
Regarding the SCOTUS ruling yesterday on presidential immunity: If a president is immune from prosecution for assassinating a political opponent as long as he(or she) can cite it as an official act; what’s to stop President Biden from having Trump assassinated? Trump has said he will be a dictator on day one if returned to the White House. Article 2 Section 1 of the Constitution in the president’s oath states he will preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. Wouldn’t having a potential dictator assassinated be defending the Constitution? President Biden could cite this, and be protected by the Constitution, as SCOTUS reads it. SCOTUS could do nothing about it. They’ve already ruled a president could assassinate a political opponent. If threatening to be a dictator and wiping out our democracy isn’t a good reason to have Trump assassinated, what is?
Hope you see this Kareem. Would love to read your thoughts on it, based on SCOTUS’s ruling.
I agree you. I just threw it out there. Not to mention Biden is a decent man, who would never even think of assassinating an opponent. For the lowlife snake, it's a dream come true.
This SCOTUS, packed with conservative, far right judges, is rewriting the Constitution as they decide cases. Democrats need to vote as if their grandchildren's lives depend on taking the Whitehouse, Senate and House of Reps. It does!
Shortly after January 6, 2021, tRump had been seized, stood up against a wall, and felled by a firing squad. A small breach of our democracy to save our republic.
I’m seeing so little hope these days. The recent Supreme Court decisions have me hoping that Kagan, Sotomayor and Jackson have good support networks. Congress can’t function. I fear that Dumpster will win in November. KAJ’s selected articles this week show that misogyny, racism, antisemitism and anti-LGBT sentiment are still prevalent. The comments on YouTube about the dancer were decidedly not all supportive.
But then I thought back to KAJ’s initial comments. Yes, I remember far too many negative, nasty comments I have received. I have also received a lot of positive comments— filled with love and kindness. Need to breathe deeply and focus on those, and on what I can control. And hug my dog. And vote.
Massive sound! Ida's Crusade. Marcus & Wynton on their horns. Brilliant sounds. And Endea Owens wrote the music. So rare to see a woman playing bass AND writing the music. Just excellent. Thank you for sharing.
What we need is a "Kill Bill" to do exactly that for all the ones who have taken away the rights of not just women, but many others as well. The bill would include Dons Rons Georges Gregs Clarences and the rest of the dregs. Punishment would be severe, from banishment in the deepest darkest everglades to the worst pig/hog farms. They would be given NOTHING to survive, not even water. No billionaire bailouts.
And the Psychic thing? Maybe the State is running low on tax revenue and they forsee psychics as a way to increase income for the state. Oh and of course, help to uplift those depressed souls, increase productivity and create more revenue for the state. It's all a big conspiracy. The psychics just don't it yet. Just mindless ideating of course.
Kareem, how we impact others and how others make us feel is all part of the human experience. You are so right in hoping that our experiences are positive because we are all uplifted and made better by the good vibes we share. Let the sunshine in. Peace and love to you always.
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, which utilizes Republican and Democrat Economists to make estimates, expects the U.S. National debt to rise from $35 trillion today to $50.7 trillion in 2034 under the status quo, which is inflationary too. With an unemployment rate hovering around 4.0% (before the release of the following employment report on July 5, 2024), any additional economic stimulus is likely to be inflationary. Thus, extending the 2017 tax cuts, which will add further stimulus to the economy by raising the national debt by $4.0 Trillion over the next 10 years (estimated by the CBO) plus an additional $250 billion if we eliminate federal taxes on all tip income, will undoubtedly add to inflation pressures. Additionally, boosting tariffs discussed in my latest Substack will boost prices Americans need to pay for imported goods by as much as 65%, which will also fan the flames of inflation. The average person does not need a Nobel Prize in Economics to come to this conclusion! (See my Substack article below, written by a Ph.D. Economist and one of Kareem's paid Subscribers to his wonderful publication!).
When I read this newsletter for the first time last night, I was immediately drawn to your words on how an albeit small act of kindness towards another can leave an everlasting and meaningful impression, one that we may never know about. I wanted to leave a comment on the newsletter thread last night, but I didn't. I felt I needed to reflect on your words, and my thoughts first. I didn't just want to leave a witty comment with the intention of getting some likes, I really wanted to reflect and consider.
This morning I read the newsletter again, and I think that my ultimate comment is it costs nothing to be kind and considerate, and I hope that I have left a legacy of kindness and consideration that people I have met remember.
There are days I read your words for insight into a news event or a social discussion. But today I was touched by this paragraph you wrote: “It doesn’t matter whether the interaction is a minute in an elevator or an evening at a banquet, the time when we brush up against others is our opportunity to make that time—our most personal and precious commodity—joyfully memorable.”
Kareem, the gift of your time today through these words prompts me to say thank you. I appreciate your good heart, your intelligence, and your dedication to your readers.
Ditto. Patti: thank you for expressing this. Kareem’s thoughts and words are always thought provoking …. In a wonderfully gentle way.
Your writing and sharing are gifts, Kareem, that inspire, soothe, motivate and envelop us in countless ways. Thank you.
I wish I had written what you wrote -- so on spot. thank you.
Kareem, to answer your question, “If we continue down this restrictive road, where do you think women’s rights will be five years from now? Better or worse?” Worse! If women don’t become a cohesive unit, a politically fatal outcome awaits us in four months. Should Trump return to office, in five years, women will be without a voice, out of leadership positions, and back into kitchens. Republican males are after all forward progress. Period! But women are at the forefront of their wrath—and you defined the issue well.
The increase in early childhood deaths in Texas are the foreseeable consequence of allowing religious ideologies to control health care decisions. These are also a foreshadowing of the foreseeable consequences of the Supreme Court’s decision to invent presidential immunity from criminal prosecution. I fear that our entire nation will bear immeasurable suffering, loss and death if Trump regains the presidency and wields power with impunity.
After a week of miserable politics, I was completely moved in the other direction by Endea Owen and Jazz At Lincoln Center. A stunning composition played by unbelievable musicians. My first big smile in a while.
I completely agree! I need something joyful and uplifting after yesterday and this was so perfect! Thank you, Kareem, as always!
I cannot wait to read what you have to say and recommend we do about the most recent Supreme? Court decision. NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW! CHANGE THE LAW OR CHANGE THE COURT? Impeach the majority who seem to want a monarchy or dictatorship
maga republicans always trying to impose their free will onto our free will. Their God gave everyone free will.
You can never impose your religion on others because it provokes defiance. Let us choose, you cannot choose for us.
Our power to choose over our bodily autonomy is not your choice. Bodily autonomy is a personal choice.
A secular society is an absolute necessary in order to have a democracy.
Love trumps hate!
Not to mention, it’s completely unconstitutional. Or at least it used to be.
Love your blog. Share it with people all the time. This morning I was reading it and thought… Kareem deserves the presidential medal of freedom. I googled it and you did get it. Well-deserved!
One more thing, while I’m here, it would be nice if individual articles in your blog could be shared. As it is, I can only share the whole thing and most often I want one particular story to be emphasized in my share.
You da bomb
First.... have to again, thank you for doing this column. It is such an enrichment to my life. Though you bring up what's important, I look forward to getting towards the end, where you give us video & music each time.
I, unfortunately, live in Texas, having moved here from DE, as my parents aged. I am 79 now, and will STAY in this racist state, because I care about my sisters, and will not abandon them in AGAIN, our hour of need. I and my two young daughters marched in D.C. for Roe and the E.R.A. in the 70s, and it is painful, to be redoing our work over again. Yeah, "funny" how the "LIFE" people end up killing more women & babies than they "save." abbott is a joke, but not Ha Ha funny to us Dems (yeah, we're here in numbers, and trying our damnest to replace cruz with Allred, ETC). I have an Austin Chronicle T-shirt with the 3-headed Hydra monster of abbott, paxton, & patrick. I write the day after the SC gave away our democracy to trump, so feeling down down, yet the only remedy for despair is action.
Enjoyed so much Kaitlyn Sardin's Irish & hip hop dancing -- don't know why "some" got flustered about her combo of them -- she is fabulous.
THEN, as if that wasn't enough, Endea Owens' "Ida's Crusade." Beautiful, how it slowed third of way through. Almost hate to single any one person out, because the whole was so good, but Sherman Irby on clarinet -- I like that instrument's sound. Course, Wynton!
NOW, on systemic racism. I'm a white woman, who was in Montgomery in elementary school in 1950s (military kid, so lived many places), and after an incident on the public bus, where I sat in the back, b/c I didn't know about segregation.... I went home in tears, b/c I knew I had done "something" wrong, and my Daddy explained to me about where we lived now. THAT formed me, and my lifelong career of fighting for justice. I would suggest to those whites who would like to understand systemic racism, that they read the many books on white privilege. We'll never know how all this feels, but educating selves on our automatic white privilege,.... helps.
Thanks again, Kareem, for a good newsletter. You helped raise my mood.
I’m sad and discouraged. The state of affairs seems to be just getting worse - the latest Supreme Court ruling on immunity is a travesty. The fallout from the debate (which I didn’t watch - i don’t ever watch them. I don’t see the point. I already know I would never, under even the most extreme duress, vote for Trump) has been intensely upsetting. Is this the best we can do? Is Gov. Abbott who we’ve become? Are we really going back to the 50’s and forward to the Handmaid’s Tale? Are we really going to take out regulation after regulation that protect a healthy environment? Have we become so lost in the cult of personality that we would knowingly elect a known sexual predetermined, convicted criminal, thief, liar, all around terrible expression of what it means to be a human being? I’m afraid no amount of outrage will reach those entrenched and entranced by the orange scourge. I’m afraid the outrage further emboldens them and deepens the ever-widening chasm stoked by Fox News, Newsmax, et al (and, I think by MSNBC as well). Somehow, we must find ourselves in them without any hope they will find themselves in us. (Thanks for the space to rant a bit.)
Yes, a rant is definitely needed!
Thanks for sharing the Jazz performance. What a joyful celebration of the life of Ida B.Wells.
Regarding the SCOTUS ruling yesterday on presidential immunity: If a president is immune from prosecution for assassinating a political opponent as long as he(or she) can cite it as an official act; what’s to stop President Biden from having Trump assassinated? Trump has said he will be a dictator on day one if returned to the White House. Article 2 Section 1 of the Constitution in the president’s oath states he will preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. Wouldn’t having a potential dictator assassinated be defending the Constitution? President Biden could cite this, and be protected by the Constitution, as SCOTUS reads it. SCOTUS could do nothing about it. They’ve already ruled a president could assassinate a political opponent. If threatening to be a dictator and wiping out our democracy isn’t a good reason to have Trump assassinated, what is?
Hope you see this Kareem. Would love to read your thoughts on it, based on SCOTUS’s ruling.
I think the flaw in your thought experiment might be that there is no guarantee whatever that this court would treat trump and Biden the same.
I agree you. I just threw it out there. Not to mention Biden is a decent man, who would never even think of assassinating an opponent. For the lowlife snake, it's a dream come true.
This SCOTUS, packed with conservative, far right judges, is rewriting the Constitution as they decide cases. Democrats need to vote as if their grandchildren's lives depend on taking the Whitehouse, Senate and House of Reps. It does!
If Only:
Shortly after January 6, 2021, tRump had been seized, stood up against a wall, and felled by a firing squad. A small breach of our democracy to save our republic.
What if this exact narrative actually becomes a open talking point on media outlets once this ruling has had time to fully sink in? Yikes!
I’m seeing so little hope these days. The recent Supreme Court decisions have me hoping that Kagan, Sotomayor and Jackson have good support networks. Congress can’t function. I fear that Dumpster will win in November. KAJ’s selected articles this week show that misogyny, racism, antisemitism and anti-LGBT sentiment are still prevalent. The comments on YouTube about the dancer were decidedly not all supportive.
But then I thought back to KAJ’s initial comments. Yes, I remember far too many negative, nasty comments I have received. I have also received a lot of positive comments— filled with love and kindness. Need to breathe deeply and focus on those, and on what I can control. And hug my dog. And vote.
Massive sound! Ida's Crusade. Marcus & Wynton on their horns. Brilliant sounds. And Endea Owens wrote the music. So rare to see a woman playing bass AND writing the music. Just excellent. Thank you for sharing.
What we need is a "Kill Bill" to do exactly that for all the ones who have taken away the rights of not just women, but many others as well. The bill would include Dons Rons Georges Gregs Clarences and the rest of the dregs. Punishment would be severe, from banishment in the deepest darkest everglades to the worst pig/hog farms. They would be given NOTHING to survive, not even water. No billionaire bailouts.
And the Psychic thing? Maybe the State is running low on tax revenue and they forsee psychics as a way to increase income for the state. Oh and of course, help to uplift those depressed souls, increase productivity and create more revenue for the state. It's all a big conspiracy. The psychics just don't it yet. Just mindless ideating of course.
Kareem, how we impact others and how others make us feel is all part of the human experience. You are so right in hoping that our experiences are positive because we are all uplifted and made better by the good vibes we share. Let the sunshine in. Peace and love to you always.
Love reading your thoughts, particularly during these challenging times. Also, very sorry for your recent losses.
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, which utilizes Republican and Democrat Economists to make estimates, expects the U.S. National debt to rise from $35 trillion today to $50.7 trillion in 2034 under the status quo, which is inflationary too. With an unemployment rate hovering around 4.0% (before the release of the following employment report on July 5, 2024), any additional economic stimulus is likely to be inflationary. Thus, extending the 2017 tax cuts, which will add further stimulus to the economy by raising the national debt by $4.0 Trillion over the next 10 years (estimated by the CBO) plus an additional $250 billion if we eliminate federal taxes on all tip income, will undoubtedly add to inflation pressures. Additionally, boosting tariffs discussed in my latest Substack will boost prices Americans need to pay for imported goods by as much as 65%, which will also fan the flames of inflation. The average person does not need a Nobel Prize in Economics to come to this conclusion! (See my Substack article below, written by a Ph.D. Economist and one of Kareem's paid Subscribers to his wonderful publication!).
https://thepeopleseconomist.substack.com/p/the-nonpartisan-congressional-budget
When I read this newsletter for the first time last night, I was immediately drawn to your words on how an albeit small act of kindness towards another can leave an everlasting and meaningful impression, one that we may never know about. I wanted to leave a comment on the newsletter thread last night, but I didn't. I felt I needed to reflect on your words, and my thoughts first. I didn't just want to leave a witty comment with the intention of getting some likes, I really wanted to reflect and consider.
This morning I read the newsletter again, and I think that my ultimate comment is it costs nothing to be kind and considerate, and I hope that I have left a legacy of kindness and consideration that people I have met remember.
Best article yet, Kareem. Thank you.