Martha [the pet dog] loved letters. She loved words.
At last! Now I can say:
I’m hungry.
Let’s eat.
Make mine steak.
and
Let me OUT!
Let me IN!
Let me OUT!
Let me in…
                                               from Martha Blah Blah
                                                   by Susan Meddaugh
                                                 Houghton Mifflin, 1996
                                       accessed on YouTube 5/23/21
    Who doesn’t remember January 6, 2021, 137 days ago? According to cbsnews.com as of May 6, 2021, 440 people have been arrested for the attack on our Capitol. Federal prosecutors expect to charge over 100 more. At least 47 are current or former military members. At least 10 of those arrested were either former or current law enforcement officers at the time of the violence. Most have of them have been fired.
    These individuals are charged with a variety of crimes. The Department of Justice is also investigating group activity that may have occurred before and during the attack. At least 59 alleged insurrectionists are affiliated with extremist groups.
    Over 900 search warrants have been issued, more than 80,000 reports have been reviewed, and over 15,000 hours of surveillance and body camera footage has been examined.
    This case is probably the most complex investigation the Department of Justice has ever prosecuted.
    We all watched live footage, open-mouthed. In the end, five people died including a Capitol Police officer. One hundred and forty police officers were injured. Our elected officials were traumatized. Our Capitol building itself sustained over $30 million in damages.
    On May 13, 2021, Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-Georgia) said “Watching the TV footage of those who entered the Capitol and walked through Statuary Hall showed people in an orderly fashion staying between the stanchions and ropes taking videos and pictures[.] If you didn’t know the TV footage was a video from January the 6th, you would actually think it was a normal tourist visit.” cnn.com/2021/05/13 He was not called out by his fellow Republicans. Can any sane, thinking person really believe what he said was true?
    A bill was introduced and passed in the House of Representatives on May 19, 2021, to establish a bi-partisan commission to determine the causes for the insurrection. Because, yes, it really did happen. As early as this week, the bill could be up for debate in the Senate.    
    Once a bill gets to the floor, it only needs a simple majority, 51 votes, to pass, after the debate is over. And that’s the rub. The debate could go on ad infinitum. That’s the filibuster. It takes 60 votes, a super-majority, to prevent the debate (filibuster) from occurring at all. So to prevent the lengthy, exhausting, boring, needless, and irrelevant debate, some in Congress and the general public are saying a possible debate should be nipped in the bud. But 60 is a big number in our 117th Congress.
    The United States Senate in its glossary defines filibuster “[as an i]nformal term for any attempt to block or delay Senate action on a bill or other matter by debating it at length, by offering numerous procedural motions, or by any other delaying or obstructive actions.” Senate Glossary 
    A filibuster allows a senator to block legislation, and both parties do it for their own political advantage.
    Let’s take a short look at the history of the filibuster. As early as the first session of the Senate, Pennsylvania Senator William Maclay wrote in his diary that the “design of the Virginians . . . was to talk away the time, so that we could not get the bill passed.” senate.gov 
    Filibusters became more common around the turn of the 20th century. This led to its own debate about changing the rules to restrict the practice. In 1917, the Senate adopted a rule, cloture, that allowed a two-thirds majority to end a filibuster. In 1975, the Senate reduced the number of votes required from two-thirds (67) of the senators of the 100-member Senate to three-fifths (60).
    In the normal course of events, debate is good. Both sides present their best arguments and a sane and rational vote takes place among people who have the best interest of our country at heart. And they vote the will of their constituents. 
    But under his recent change of heart, Mitch McConnell, Senate minority leader, has practically ensured a filibuster surrounding the case for the establishment of a bi-partisan commission. He has apparently changed the minds of several members of his caucus, too. And, 60 is a big number for our 117th Congress.
    Why would the US Senate balk at a bi-partisan commission whose purpose is to get to the bottom of the reasons for the January 6 insurrection? 
    The only answers I can think of are disturbing, frightening, and worrisome.
                                    -—stay curious! (and stay tuned) 
*Lyrics from The Music Man. Meredith Willson.        

    “These are all good ideas. … We can each do our part. All it takes is one person to make a difference,” [said Mr. Todd]
    One person! If all it took was one person, the she, Judy Moody, could save the world!
    She knew just where to start. With a banana peel.
                                  from Judy Moody Saves the World
                                           written by Megan McDonald
                                       illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds
                                                        Candlewick, 2010
    In 1933, when Franklin Delano Roosevelt began his first term as President, the country was flailing in the wake of the economic devastation Great Depression. The people were hungry, poor, and dispirited. The New Deal, Roosevelt’s US road to recovery, included many parts and addressed many facets of our society needing attention. Government jobs gave workers a (small) wage, a sense of purpose, and moved our country forward.    
    President Roosevelt presented the New Deal in his first 100 days of his first term as President of the United States. The New Deal came from several initiatives.
    A  important part of the New Deal, the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps), began in the spring of 1933 and lasted until WWII captured the attention and patriotism of the very same young men that the CCC had employed. They built trails, shelters, footbridges, picnic areas, and campgrounds. Now many of the recently unemployed had jobs. The projects encouraged Americans to get outdoors and enjoy nature. Local, state, and national parks across the country benefited, too.     
    The corps built roads and put up telephone lines. They fought fires, and prevented new fires by clearing brush. They also planted trees and built wildlife refuges. They reseeded grazing lands and implemented erosion controls.
    Government Relief was provided to fine artists, graphic artists, and sculptors, too. They were hired to create murals decorating Federal buildings and to create posters publicizing exhibits, activities, theatrical productions, and health and educational programs in various state and local communities. Over 900 posters are housed in the Library of Congress. Take a look: Prints & Photographs Online Catalog 
    In all, the CCC hired hundreds of thousands of young (mostly white) men and provided “relief to the millions of poor and unemployed. [It reformed] aspects of the economy that Roosevelt believed had caused the collapse.” 
    Building and repairing roads and bridges, creating informative and beautiful art, cleaning up the parks, and protecting the environment all helped individuals, towns, cities, and rural areas recover as it helped our greater society heal.
    We are facing a similar, dispiriting time. Our economy is in shambles due to the measures taken to contain COVID-19. People are out of work, out of money, and out of options.
    Government stimulus checks have been spent, businesses are reopening, people are beginning to regather.
    Just like 1933, our economy and our environment are interconnected.
    President Biden is suggesting a new CCC, Civilian Climate Corps, in the vein of FDR’s original. Jumpstarting our economy by putting people to work will help the environment while it helps individuals, cities, towns and rural areas. 
    Biden’s definition of infrastructure includes roads, and bridges. Also, wireless connections, internet access, and cyber security. Biden’s definition must be broader than anything Roosevelt could imagine.
    And, like Roosevelt’s plan, the health of our environment is once again of prime importance. President Biden has re-launched the government’s webpage dedicated to Climate Change. It was shuttered during the last administration. This past March, Michael Regan, new head of the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency), announced on the new page, “Combating climate change, it’s not optional, it’s essential at EPA.” Here’s a link to the new webpage on the EPA site: epa.gov/climate-change 
    Part of Biden’s definition of infrastructure also includes building networks of renewable energy. Factories to build solar panels in the US is a good place to begin. Staffing those factories with American workers naturally will follow. Installing those panels is important work, too. Charging stations for electric vehicles is a component of infrastructure. 
    Wind farms need to be built.
    Protection of our wild, natural places is crucial. Biodiversity depends on the health of our so many interconnected ecosystems. Identifying and eradicating invasive species, both plants and animals, is important for biodiversity to thrive. There is room in our workforce for lots people to do these important jobs. And the government seems to want to be at the forefront of creating them.
    How will people who need to work take care of their children? Biden’s answer is to make quality childcare an important piece of our recovery and a piece of his infrastructure plan.
    As we take off our masks, hug our grandchildren and grandparents, re-engage in our world full of beautiful possibilities, we all deserve the ability to take a deep breath of fresh air.
    Biden’s plan would hire American men and women of all colors and heritages. They would earn a living wage and live near where they work.
    It is true that much needs to be done, but we are (finally) on the right track again and moving in the right direction.                                     
New Yorker  (3/7/21) 
history.com 
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Franklin-D-Roosevelt/The-first-term#ref387761 
                                      -—stay curious! (and work hard)​

Taking the week off to recuperate from a wonderful weekend filled with grandchildren and pride in their accomplishments.
Thanks for visiting!
See you here next week!
​Shari

    The year 1933 was different. [Muriel’s] father, like so many others, had lost his job.
                                   .   .   .
    It would be impossible to buy all the food needed for their Passover Seder.
                                   .   .   .
Muriel started walking quicker than she had before. She ignored the Washington Monument leaning in the fading sunlight. She rushed past the White House without a second glance. Gradually the stately buildings began to recede.
    When she got to her neighborhood, her stomach grumbled as she smelled the delicious food from all the other Seders.
                                             from The Passover Guest
                                                           by Susan Kusel
                                                illustrated by Sean Rubin
  (adapted from the story “Kunstn-makher” by Isaac Leib Peretz)
                                                      Holiday House, 2021

    Alaska and Hawaii both achieved statehood in 1959. Alaska on January 3, and Hawaii on August 21. In preparation for their admittance to the Union, a high school teacher in Lancaster, Ohio, gave his students an assignment: Design an American flag to accommodate 50 states. It was a math problem for Bob Heft. He successfully arranged the 50 stars in nine horizontal rows alternating six and five stars in each row. He kept the 13 stripes and earned a B- due to “lack of originality.” Bob wrote to his congressman who convinced the government to adopt the design from over 1,000 that were submitted. His teacher changed Bob’s grade to A and Bob Heft’s 50-star flag went into production on July 4, 1960.
    At the time of his death in 2009, Bob is thought to have designed a 51-star flag, too. Let’s hear it for Puerto Rico! and Guam!
    That’s what I wrote in a post I called “You’re a Grand Old Flag.” It appeared on July 2, 2019. What was I thinking? I forgot to include Washington DC. 
    The controversy for or against DC statehood is long and heated.
    statehood.dc.gov  is admittedly pro-statehood, but the information is accurate. Here’s what I found under the “Why Statehood” tab.
    “Like [people] in all 50 states, DC residents pay federal taxes, serve in the military and on juries, start businesses and families, and contribute to our national economy. In fact, Washington’s residents pay more taxes than residents in 22 states and pay more per capita to the federal government than any state—yet they have no votes in Congress.
    “DC elects a non-voting Delegate to the US House of Representatives who can draft legislation but cannot vote [in a meaningful way]. The current Delegate for DC is Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton [who has served since January, 1991]. 
    “DC has 712,000 residents, more than Vermont and Wyoming and comparable” with some others including Delaware and Alaska.
    Size is not an issue. The Constitution (Article 1. Section 8) provides an area not to exceed 10 square miles to accommodate the Federal District as the “Seat of the Government of the United States.” The proposed National Capital Service Area would be two square miles and include federal buildings, such as the White House, Capitol, Supreme Court, and the National Mall. Precedent was set in 1846, when an area west of the Potomac River was returned to Virginia. The rest of what now is Washington, District of Columbia would become Washington, Douglass Commonwealth. 
    By becoming a state, DC would lose its mayor but gain a governor. Two Senators would watch out for their constituents’ needs and wants, and the population would have at least one Representative. These would all be voting members of the US Congress, unlike Delegate Norton, who can vote on the House floor, but not if her vote would be decisive. 
    Since the Twenty-Third Amendment was ratified on March 29, 1961, residents of Washington DC have been allowed to vote for President and Vice President. The sticky wicket here is a provision in the Amendment. Electors to the Electoral College are chosen from the District. One solution: Congress repeals the Twenty-Third Amendment. Then Electors would be chosen from the new State and no Electors would be chosen from DC. 
    Another is to admit the new state with a Constitutional Amendment of its own, a cumbersome and lengthy process which many Republicans favor. Congress has the authority to admit states into the Union. None of the 37 states since the original Thirteen Colonies has been admitted by a Constitutional Amendment.
    Here’s just a little more. In 2016, a referendum held in the District to make DC the 51st state was approved by 78% of the voters. 
    Delegate Holmes introduced H.R.51 - Washington, D.C. Admission Act last year. It passed (232-180) in the House of Representatives, was placed on the Senate’s calendar, but not voted on. This year she introduced H.R.51 - Washington, D.C. Admission Act again. This time it passed (216-208) in the House, on April 22, 2021. Its fate rests with the Senators, who now hold the slimmest possible Democratic margin. The Senate may or may not bring it up for discussion and vote. 
    Here’s the rest of the story. DC is historically overwhelmingly a Democratic stronghold. Why would any Republican worth his/her/their salt agree to add a Representative to the House, and two, count them, two Senators? All most probably would be Democrats. 
    In the Senate, Tom Carper (D-DE) has introduced a similar bill encouraging statehood. He has 44 co-sponsors, the most ever, but still short of the 51 needed for a simple majority. 
    So it comes to Party Politics, as usual. The residents of DC are disenfranchised. Granting statehood would most assuredly skew the Senate toward the Democratic Party.
    I looked hard for arguments against statehood and could only find Republicans stating the obvious. https://congressionaldigest.com/pros-cons-of-d-c-statehood/ 
    In 2020, when the Admission Act passed out of the House, Mitch McConnell said he would not take up the measure in the Senate. This year, 2021, he’s not in charge.
                                          -—stay curious! (and speak up)