SAY NO TO THE PARTY OF NO!

        It is incredible to me that this mid-term election could result in a Republican controlled Senate, as well as a Republican controlled House of Representatives. What a disheartening prospect that is, even frightening, when you realize how many Republicans would owe their victories to their States’ voter restriction laws and the Koch brothers’ millions.

Mitt Romney sounding off again. Associated Press photo.

        How could any reasonable person see such an outcome as being good for America? What has “the Party of No” done to deserve anyone’s confidence in their ability to govern? Mitt Romney claims such an outcome would end the gridlock in Washington. He conveniently ignores, as he is wont to do, the fact it is his own party that is responsible for the gridlock!
       It is the Republican controlled Congress that has blocked every constructive piece of legislation that has come before the House. They blocked the American Jobs Act, they have opposed raising the minimum wage, they oppose gun control legislation, they have continually tried to repeal the Affordable Care Act, they have blocked the infrastructure bill, they have rejected immigration reform, they have fought campaign finance reform, they have opposed closing the gender pay gap, they have opposed the President’s economic stimulus plan, and they have been against everything and anything the Obama administration has brought to them.

SHORT MEMORIES

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker

       Too many American voters have short memories.
       Take the Wisconsin electorate as an example. In April, 2012, more than a million Wisconsinites signed a petition to recall Governor Scott Walker. They were infuriated by the Governor’s attacks on the public service unions, by his administration’s misleading preelection tactics, by his enactment of a restrictive voter ID law and a law requiring women to have an ultrasound before having an abortion, and by his continual misrepresentation of the facts.
       Thanks partly to an inordinate amount of special interest money from out of State, Walker survived the recall election. Perhaps an even more important reason for the failure of the recall was the reluctance of many Wisconsinites to go that route. According to the exit polls the majority of voters were concerned about the divisiveness of the election. Two fair-minded friends of mine whose opinions on the matter I had sought, responded along those lines. Their feeling was that the better solution was to vote the Governor out of office in the next election.

TIME IS GENTLE

My grandson, Seth Olsen, writes beautiful poetry. Here is a sample. He sent me this poem a couple of days ago, and with his permission I am posting it on Minding What Matters, for I am confident that you will find it as profoundly moving and thought-provoking as I did. I am adding Seth's name to my list of Guest Contributors, in hopes that he will continue to share his artistic gifts with us from time to time. Be sure to read the entire poem.

Time is gentle;                                                       
and when we need compression
for our gaping wounds,
we cry for it to push harder,
and we fear that it will let us bleed out;

But time is gentle,
and it meets our cries
with the caress of soft hushing,
until finally we fall asleep,
and it abandons us to our dreams,

where we toss and turn,
confined to burn inside a mind
that just might never learn,
no matter how many times it awakens.