In place of an essay today, my plan was to simply present one of my long-lost watercolors (above).
(I know.)
It’s probably better for me to stick with writing.
But then the House Republicans finally got around to electing a Speaker. They chose a guy that few people have ever heard of, with a generic-sounding name, and precious little experience in Congress.
All of which, ironically, may turn out to be a good thing. Mike Johnson doesn’t seem to have much baggage, or very many enemies. He’s deeply conservative, but there is nothing inherently wrong with that.
His first words as Speaker displayed a heavy reliance on the concept of hope.
That struck a nerve with me. Hope is something we could all use a good deal more of. Let’s hope, for starters, that Johnson is better at bipartisanship than I am at watercolor painting, for example.
As an aside, I painted the piece above after I had lost a job and had no idea what would come next for me or my family. I was depressed and scared, but for some reason in that moment I tried to paint something beautiful. I guess I was trying to be hopeful.
I think that Mike Johnson may be right — these are dark times and we need a sense of hope to reinvigorate our broken political system, not to mention our broken and tragic geopolitical situation in Ukraine and the Middle East.
If the U.S. is the greatest nation on earth, which is Johnson’s contention, as well as that of every other American politician, let’s see some actual leadership based on regaining hope. He could start by reversing his stand as an election denier. He needs to admit he was wrong about that. Joe Biden is President. Donald Trump is a liar.
But that’s probably too much to hope for, right now. So let’s hope he will just cooperate with President Biden and succeed in not shutting the government down. Baby steps. Then get back to the business of governing. Those of us who actually believe in hope will be watching and listening.
And yes, we will be hoping.
LINKS:
Lewiston, Maine, shootings leave at least 22 dead, and dozens injured (CNN)
Congressman Mike Johnson Elected Speaker of the House (House.gov)
Who is Rep. Mike Johnson, the House GOP’s latest speaker? (CNN)
With Plea Deals in Georgia Trump Case, Fani Willis Is Building Momentum (NYT)
We all ‘did it’: Third Trump lawyer confesses and flips on his RICO ‘lies’ (MSNBC)
Trump rages as former acolytes turn against him under legal heat (CNN)
Trump is fined $10,000 over a comment he made outside court in his New York civil fraud trial (AP)
Florida's DeSantis bans pro-Palestinian group from state campuses (Reuters)
What does Taiwan want? (Economist)
China’s Xi Welcomes Gavin Newsom in Beijing With Eye on U.S. Visit (WSJ)
As Gaza Barrage and Deaths Surge, Angry Accusations Fly at U.N. (NYT)
Turkey's Erdogan says Hamas is not terrorist organisation, cancels trip to Israel (Reuters)
Israel rejects cease-fire calls; U.S. to send Iron Dome systems (WP)
Russia maneuvers carefully over the Israel-Hamas war as it seeks to expand its global clout (AP)
Hurricane Otis: How a tropical storm turned into a 'nightmare scenario' overnight (NBC)
Why aliens might already know that humans exist (BBC)
Microsoft Gets Another Leg Up on Google in AI Race (WSJ)
AI-generated child sexual abuse images could flood the internet. A watchdog is calling for action (AP)
The Future of AI Is GOMA — Four companies are taking over everything. (Atlantic)
Study: Climate Anxiety Increases As Rising Sea Levels Expected To Force More People To Wear Swimsuits (The Onion)
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