Thanks, we needed that! The education about the electoral process is reassuring. And your advice about life and the news is excellent. Each day I read your letter, HCR's letter, scroll the headlines - with a one coffee limit. (Big mug :)
The second coffee is enjoyed with my wife. We strategize the day (what's for dinner?) - plan the weekend, family events, etc. Then I will head to the vegetable garden. Hands and knees work cleaning up for the season, preparing the beds for spring planting. No earbuds, no news, just the sound of the wind and the birds. Break for a chat with folks walking by with their wonderful dogs. Then back to the Earth and a sketch pad of where I will sow each crop next year.
I find the last paragraph of this newsletter so hopeful. During the last few years, I have really been looking at the way the media helps to divide us by its shallow reporting and articles designed more for reaction than for thoughtfulness. I do better personally when I limit my reading and try to avoid articles that predict the future.
Yes, start with Hubbell, then Richardson, scan headlines, then leave the phone at home! It has changed my life for the better. Thank you, Robert, and have a good week-end.
I, too, thought Georgia and Texas have passed laws where the legislatures can overturn the popular vote and appoint the electors they want. But I can’t find anything on that yet online. Which is interesting that so many of us were sure it is already happening! Hmmm. Good lesson, Robert. Thanks for keeping us on track!
I think Yglesias is correct to say that Joe Manchin offers something important to the Democrats -- a way to expand the party to more conservative areas. Democrats still have a few, not just Manchin. Jon Tester of Montana is a good example. Yglesias is also right to say the Kyrsten's way is a dead end. But it is hard to think of Sinema as a "stereotypical urban educated liberal" -- even in terms of style. The story of her living for a time in an abandoned gas station without heat and running water has become widely known. Whatever her style is (and I'm certainly not going to defend her political positions during these recent negotiations), that style is a product of hard work and success in school and explorations as she attempted to find a political place for herself.
I would have some concern that a Republican-dominated legislature and Republican governor would try to overturn the state's statute requiring electors to reflect the will of the majority, but that would almost certainly be overreaching so severe that they would pay for it at the polls, and likely even before the next election. (Think of crowds in the streets.) And while I'm no expert on state constitutions (even of my own state), I suspect that such a measure would be likely to violate the state constitution. In the end, all government--even in totalitarian states--depends on the consent of the governed, and in a democracy our ultimate shield must be the attachment of most citizens to the principle of government by the people. In that, I retain my faith.
Thanks, we needed that! The education about the electoral process is reassuring. And your advice about life and the news is excellent. Each day I read your letter, HCR's letter, scroll the headlines - with a one coffee limit. (Big mug :)
The second coffee is enjoyed with my wife. We strategize the day (what's for dinner?) - plan the weekend, family events, etc. Then I will head to the vegetable garden. Hands and knees work cleaning up for the season, preparing the beds for spring planting. No earbuds, no news, just the sound of the wind and the birds. Break for a chat with folks walking by with their wonderful dogs. Then back to the Earth and a sketch pad of where I will sow each crop next year.
That's my sanity system.
I find the last paragraph of this newsletter so hopeful. During the last few years, I have really been looking at the way the media helps to divide us by its shallow reporting and articles designed more for reaction than for thoughtfulness. I do better personally when I limit my reading and try to avoid articles that predict the future.
Now that raises hope. Thank you. 😎
Yes, start with Hubbell, then Richardson, scan headlines, then leave the phone at home! It has changed my life for the better. Thank you, Robert, and have a good week-end.
This is the most recent update on restrictive voting laws that I can find so far: https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/voting-laws-roundup-october-2021
I, too, thought Georgia and Texas have passed laws where the legislatures can overturn the popular vote and appoint the electors they want. But I can’t find anything on that yet online. Which is interesting that so many of us were sure it is already happening! Hmmm. Good lesson, Robert. Thanks for keeping us on track!
I think Yglesias is correct to say that Joe Manchin offers something important to the Democrats -- a way to expand the party to more conservative areas. Democrats still have a few, not just Manchin. Jon Tester of Montana is a good example. Yglesias is also right to say the Kyrsten's way is a dead end. But it is hard to think of Sinema as a "stereotypical urban educated liberal" -- even in terms of style. The story of her living for a time in an abandoned gas station without heat and running water has become widely known. Whatever her style is (and I'm certainly not going to defend her political positions during these recent negotiations), that style is a product of hard work and success in school and explorations as she attempted to find a political place for herself.
I would have some concern that a Republican-dominated legislature and Republican governor would try to overturn the state's statute requiring electors to reflect the will of the majority, but that would almost certainly be overreaching so severe that they would pay for it at the polls, and likely even before the next election. (Think of crowds in the streets.) And while I'm no expert on state constitutions (even of my own state), I suspect that such a measure would be likely to violate the state constitution. In the end, all government--even in totalitarian states--depends on the consent of the governed, and in a democracy our ultimate shield must be the attachment of most citizens to the principle of government by the people. In that, I retain my faith.
Thanks for all the good links within your letter today. Plenty of reading ahead!
Excellent reminder to break the habit of screens. Thank you! Goin to take myself for a ride along a tree lined back road!