There are things hard to comprehend in this life: the immensity of an infinite universe, quantum mechanics (infinite in another direction), the beauty and miracle of evolving life and and all its permutations. But the most personally heartbreaking is trying to comprehend the lack of empathy and simple compassion in such a large swath of my fellow brothers and sisters. May changing that be the goal we, as our earth’s caretakers, work to achieve. Peace
Kareem, thanks for another great newsletter, from Brian Wilson's "Don't Worry, Baby: (I wish), to the Orangutan showing behavior that Secretary Noem and her goons could learn from, rather than assaulting CA Sen. Padilla, to the plan for perpetual war (and war crimes) in the Middle East, giving up on justice and peace. It is not anti-semitic to point out the fact that Israel's starving and bombing of innocent Palestinians are atrocities and crimes against humanity. Hamas are terrorists, but I always hoped for something better from the only democracy in the Middle East.
One additional sad comment about the No Kings March here in UT. Unfortunately, this state has open carry laws. STUPID! The march was going peacefully when a person ran into the crowd with a rifle. There were some "peacekeepers" with guns. One of them saw the rifleman and shot 3 times, into the crowd, hitting and killing an innocent marcher, Afa Ah Loo, a Samoan fashion designer,LDS member and former missionary, had a wife and 2 children and had appeared on Project Runway. The rifleman I believe was also injured but not seriously and was quickkly arrested for causing the death, even though he never fired a shot. So far the PK has not been charged with anything even though he killed the man.
Small correction: the political assassination was in Minnesota rather than Michigan. Not that it could not happen here in Michigan--in light of the Trump/MAGA encouragement of violence. After all, we were the state with a horrific plot to kidnap and kill our governor because she shut down gyms and other businesses to try to save people from COVID--and now Trump is musing about the possibility of pardoning the perpetrators (!?!). Kareem--many thanks for your insights and commentary.
"Unless there are some significant things that happen that change the culture, there's no room for it." I totally forgot that mike huckabee is ambassador to Israel. And the disgusting children's books- how much more obvious can he be about his racist views and indoctrination of young Innocents. And wasn't he once a Baptist preacher or minister? And of course sister Sarah, his famous daughter is following in his footsteps. There is such a stench among these religious bigots. The Palestinians have the same right to exist as the Israelis, even though Hamas is a terrorist organization. Israeli Zionists have also become terrorists and have one goal in common: exterminate Palestinians. That's it. I firmly believe that dt is an anti-semite but can't openly declare it because of Invanka and husband. Of course Jewish students are at risk at universities because dt is stoking fear and hatred. And now war between Israel & Iran. What the hell is going on? Of course the US is involved - covertly for now. I like what John Steinbeck wrote: "All war is a symptom of man's failure as a thinking animal."
The mama Orang shows the best love and care. That's what we should copy. Inter-species care for each other.
The depth of deceit and lack of decency of this administration is amoral, illegal, unconstitutional and completely despicable. May they go their own way in the darkness and plunge into the depths of their own depravity.
And to the Beach Boys Don't Worry Baby. Haven't seen that video in forever. Brian - RIP. ♥️
Thank you Kareem. Let's hope in a few days some matters will become transparently clear. We all need to be strong and stand together against the oppressors.
Huckabee's hypocrisy defines him. He is no more Christian than the orange one is but he likes to act superior. He and his daughter disgust me with their pious phoniness.
A note on using cars against protestors. Death-Santis is not the first Republican to promote vehicular homocide. Evidently, the law factory at ALEC has been promoting this idea for years. Back in 2017, legislators in North Dakota, North Carolina, Florida, Tennessee and Texas proposed bills that would make it legal for drivers to hit protesters. Clearly, these proposals sought to legitimize vehicular homocide as a means of stifling protest.
As protesting becomes more sustained, (which it will need to become if we want any chance of righting this ship) and as local as well as national law enforcement and shadowy militias become more violent, emboldened by their leaders, I would like to remind everyone, to implore everyone, to continue to stick to non-inflammatory tactics, in the tradition of MLK. What we carry into a protest and our dedication to de-escalation will be of paramount importance as the administration continues to stoke violence. The story of Garrett Foster, the Air Force veteran who was open carrying while protesting for BLM and who was killed by army sergeant Daniel Perry, who shot him from within his car that he used as protection when he drove to the protest, is continually in my mind recently. How we mentally and physically prepare ourselves to react to the Ron DeSantises and callous local sheriffs calling for violence will be of paramount importance in the coming years.
So glad you’re here to sort things out for us, Kareem. And thank you in particular for the love between species video. The news is so heavy (as we used to say) that we all need a break occasionally.
Peace, Humanity, and Kindness: Where did they go? One of the most heinous games being played nowadays is legislating laws of violence against protesters, under the pretense of “fighting terrorism, protecting property, businesses, and the innocents.” Blue states, that have “sanctuary cities,” are the latest victims, for all that encompasses. Meanwhile, DC is overflowing with political milk and honey. I agree with Rep. Jamie Raskin, that it all should be confiscated. In the past, Ill-gotten gains came with a price—ask Hunter Biden.
Thanks for all the great things you write and share. I’ve always enjoyed your writing. But I wish you wouldn’t say “the Ukraine-Russia war.” It is “Russia’s war on Ukraine.” Would you say “the old lady-robber fight” if a robber knocked down an old lady?
Love the art quote. I'm now using it as my email signature. And I absolutely agree about Di Santis desperately trying to shake off his irrelevance. Won't work, though. He's got even less charisma than JD Vance, if such a thing is possible.
As one of your loyal paid subscribers, I was thrilled to see you expose some of the myths surrounding the Big Beautiful Bill Act. As a nonpartisan Substack writer, I also strive for accuracy. Recently, I wrote an article that indicated the popular assertion that if the Act fails, it will raise federal taxes by 68% is inaccurate.
To maintain nonpartisanship, I fact-checked that assertion with two nonpartisan organizations and found it to be false. Federal tax revenue would increase by 7.5% and affect 68% of taxpayers. Finally, I compared this increase with two other historical periods when tax rates were also raised.
Top to bottom great newsletter! The quote is new and interesting to me, and I like your analysis about the powerful not wanting the herd disturbed. Mainly, I appreciate your statements of thoughts and feelings regarding the Middle East. I've found it difficult to articulate my own, but you sentence-by-sentence nailed it for me--thank you for this, Kareem!
I remember reading a post on FaceBook that listed 10 pieces of advice, addressing the crisis in our country, from Bernice Albertine King. I checked to see if she actually said this. She did when he was 45. The very first one truly resonated with me. Simply stated she wrote, "Don't use his name; EVER (47 will do). In today's newsletter, I counted seeing 47's name 27 times. Imagine how gratifying it is for a narcissist to hear and read (well, that's a stretch) his name millions upon millions of times every single day! I implore you to adopt this policy and reach out to others to do the same. Thank you!
It was a down newsletter for me today, Kareem, so I really appreciated the orangutan and tiger cubs.
I used to listen to The Beach Boys endlessly. The accompanying video showed an “innocent” time in America and an unrealistic time. A bunch of blond, white people frolicking on the beach was realistic for some people. I’m glad what was percolating underneath came to a boil and changed the country for the better.
Thank you, Kareem. You always jog my memory and help me think and reflect.
There are things hard to comprehend in this life: the immensity of an infinite universe, quantum mechanics (infinite in another direction), the beauty and miracle of evolving life and and all its permutations. But the most personally heartbreaking is trying to comprehend the lack of empathy and simple compassion in such a large swath of my fellow brothers and sisters. May changing that be the goal we, as our earth’s caretakers, work to achieve. Peace
Thank you, for this empathetic comment. It is a puzzlement why it comes so naturally to some, and others, can't comprehend.
To have “empathy & compassion” as adults, we must first receive these as children. Donald tRump didn’t, from his father…
No excuse!
Not offered as an excuse, but in my opinion empathy & compassion come from experiencing them as children.
Yes, for me too, raised in warm Danish culture, I find it just impossible to comprehend the lack of empathy and outright hatred of so many!
Kareem, thanks for another great newsletter, from Brian Wilson's "Don't Worry, Baby: (I wish), to the Orangutan showing behavior that Secretary Noem and her goons could learn from, rather than assaulting CA Sen. Padilla, to the plan for perpetual war (and war crimes) in the Middle East, giving up on justice and peace. It is not anti-semitic to point out the fact that Israel's starving and bombing of innocent Palestinians are atrocities and crimes against humanity. Hamas are terrorists, but I always hoped for something better from the only democracy in the Middle East.
One additional sad comment about the No Kings March here in UT. Unfortunately, this state has open carry laws. STUPID! The march was going peacefully when a person ran into the crowd with a rifle. There were some "peacekeepers" with guns. One of them saw the rifleman and shot 3 times, into the crowd, hitting and killing an innocent marcher, Afa Ah Loo, a Samoan fashion designer,LDS member and former missionary, had a wife and 2 children and had appeared on Project Runway. The rifleman I believe was also injured but not seriously and was quickkly arrested for causing the death, even though he never fired a shot. So far the PK has not been charged with anything even though he killed the man.
I HATE GUNS!!!
Susan, do you know who the "peacekeepers" were? Were they law enforcement? (I read about this tragedy but it wasn't clear who they were.)
How very tragic.
Small correction: the political assassination was in Minnesota rather than Michigan. Not that it could not happen here in Michigan--in light of the Trump/MAGA encouragement of violence. After all, we were the state with a horrific plot to kidnap and kill our governor because she shut down gyms and other businesses to try to save people from COVID--and now Trump is musing about the possibility of pardoning the perpetrators (!?!). Kareem--many thanks for your insights and commentary.
Thanks for the correction. My mind knows one thing but my fingers type another.
I am quite familiar with having that happen. So true for all of us, especially when we reach a certain age. Thanks.
We can all identify, Kareem. :-)
"Unless there are some significant things that happen that change the culture, there's no room for it." I totally forgot that mike huckabee is ambassador to Israel. And the disgusting children's books- how much more obvious can he be about his racist views and indoctrination of young Innocents. And wasn't he once a Baptist preacher or minister? And of course sister Sarah, his famous daughter is following in his footsteps. There is such a stench among these religious bigots. The Palestinians have the same right to exist as the Israelis, even though Hamas is a terrorist organization. Israeli Zionists have also become terrorists and have one goal in common: exterminate Palestinians. That's it. I firmly believe that dt is an anti-semite but can't openly declare it because of Invanka and husband. Of course Jewish students are at risk at universities because dt is stoking fear and hatred. And now war between Israel & Iran. What the hell is going on? Of course the US is involved - covertly for now. I like what John Steinbeck wrote: "All war is a symptom of man's failure as a thinking animal."
The mama Orang shows the best love and care. That's what we should copy. Inter-species care for each other.
The depth of deceit and lack of decency of this administration is amoral, illegal, unconstitutional and completely despicable. May they go their own way in the darkness and plunge into the depths of their own depravity.
And to the Beach Boys Don't Worry Baby. Haven't seen that video in forever. Brian - RIP. ♥️
Thank you Kareem. Let's hope in a few days some matters will become transparently clear. We all need to be strong and stand together against the oppressors.
Peace and Love to you. Stay safe.♥️✌️
Huckabee's hypocrisy defines him. He is no more Christian than the orange one is but he likes to act superior. He and his daughter disgust me with their pious phoniness.
A note on using cars against protestors. Death-Santis is not the first Republican to promote vehicular homocide. Evidently, the law factory at ALEC has been promoting this idea for years. Back in 2017, legislators in North Dakota, North Carolina, Florida, Tennessee and Texas proposed bills that would make it legal for drivers to hit protesters. Clearly, these proposals sought to legitimize vehicular homocide as a means of stifling protest.
As protesting becomes more sustained, (which it will need to become if we want any chance of righting this ship) and as local as well as national law enforcement and shadowy militias become more violent, emboldened by their leaders, I would like to remind everyone, to implore everyone, to continue to stick to non-inflammatory tactics, in the tradition of MLK. What we carry into a protest and our dedication to de-escalation will be of paramount importance as the administration continues to stoke violence. The story of Garrett Foster, the Air Force veteran who was open carrying while protesting for BLM and who was killed by army sergeant Daniel Perry, who shot him from within his car that he used as protection when he drove to the protest, is continually in my mind recently. How we mentally and physically prepare ourselves to react to the Ron DeSantises and callous local sheriffs calling for violence will be of paramount importance in the coming years.
So glad you’re here to sort things out for us, Kareem. And thank you in particular for the love between species video. The news is so heavy (as we used to say) that we all need a break occasionally.
Peace, Humanity, and Kindness: Where did they go? One of the most heinous games being played nowadays is legislating laws of violence against protesters, under the pretense of “fighting terrorism, protecting property, businesses, and the innocents.” Blue states, that have “sanctuary cities,” are the latest victims, for all that encompasses. Meanwhile, DC is overflowing with political milk and honey. I agree with Rep. Jamie Raskin, that it all should be confiscated. In the past, Ill-gotten gains came with a price—ask Hunter Biden.
Thanks for all the great things you write and share. I’ve always enjoyed your writing. But I wish you wouldn’t say “the Ukraine-Russia war.” It is “Russia’s war on Ukraine.” Would you say “the old lady-robber fight” if a robber knocked down an old lady?
Love the art quote. I'm now using it as my email signature. And I absolutely agree about Di Santis desperately trying to shake off his irrelevance. Won't work, though. He's got even less charisma than JD Vance, if such a thing is possible.
Kareem:
As one of your loyal paid subscribers, I was thrilled to see you expose some of the myths surrounding the Big Beautiful Bill Act. As a nonpartisan Substack writer, I also strive for accuracy. Recently, I wrote an article that indicated the popular assertion that if the Act fails, it will raise federal taxes by 68% is inaccurate.
To maintain nonpartisanship, I fact-checked that assertion with two nonpartisan organizations and found it to be false. Federal tax revenue would increase by 7.5% and affect 68% of taxpayers. Finally, I compared this increase with two other historical periods when tax rates were also raised.
https://thepeopleseconomist.substack.com/p/what-happens-if-the-big-beautiful
Top to bottom great newsletter! The quote is new and interesting to me, and I like your analysis about the powerful not wanting the herd disturbed. Mainly, I appreciate your statements of thoughts and feelings regarding the Middle East. I've found it difficult to articulate my own, but you sentence-by-sentence nailed it for me--thank you for this, Kareem!
Netanyahu on Iran's nearly nukes pointing at Israel:
Well, it's been building up inside of me
For oh, I don't know how long
I don't know why
But I keep thinking
Something's bound to go wrong
Everything will turn out alright!
QED Brian RIP
Kareem,
I remember reading a post on FaceBook that listed 10 pieces of advice, addressing the crisis in our country, from Bernice Albertine King. I checked to see if she actually said this. She did when he was 45. The very first one truly resonated with me. Simply stated she wrote, "Don't use his name; EVER (47 will do). In today's newsletter, I counted seeing 47's name 27 times. Imagine how gratifying it is for a narcissist to hear and read (well, that's a stretch) his name millions upon millions of times every single day! I implore you to adopt this policy and reach out to others to do the same. Thank you!
I prefer that his name becomes synonymous with his bad deeds so that if his offspring try to run for office we will recoil at the name.
I am just waiting for Don Jr to throw his hat in the ring for 2028... shudder.
It was a down newsletter for me today, Kareem, so I really appreciated the orangutan and tiger cubs.
I used to listen to The Beach Boys endlessly. The accompanying video showed an “innocent” time in America and an unrealistic time. A bunch of blond, white people frolicking on the beach was realistic for some people. I’m glad what was percolating underneath came to a boil and changed the country for the better.
Thank you, Kareem. You always jog my memory and help me think and reflect.
That was so long ago. Seems almost like make believe. ✌️