We can't have jobs and the environment if we give away the environment

Sometimes it's obvious to me why I'm not a politician. Today is one of those times. After winning a squeeker of an election, my Democratic congressman broke with his party to vote with House Republicans to send a bill to the Senate approving the KXL pipeline. There are two aspects of his vote that I'm not sophisticated enough to understand. First, the congressman from the Eighth District had previously wanted to require that the pipeline be built with American steel. I can understand that political trade off, since his district includes Minnesota's Iron Range. I don't support that trade off, but I do understand it. The good Congressman didn't get his amendment and voted for the bill anyhow. He claims that his constituents want to see more political compromise. I'm one of his constituents and think he fails to understand the difference between compromise and capitulation. Furthermore, the bill the House approved has a Republican's name attached to it. The Republican congressman from Louisiana who's running against Democratic Senator Landrieu. So, as I see it, at best any Senate vote for the pipeline becomes a tie affecting who wins the senatorial runoff in Louisiana. Plus, the Democrats have already lost control of the Senate for at least the next two years so are they trying for a larger minority? Clearly, I need a remedial course in political calculus. Unless this is all a strategy to make the President look strong when he vetoes the legislation, if he vetoes it.

We can have this and jobs only if we're smart

Photo by J. Harrington

All of the preceding [UPDATE: a similar perspective] mad(e) me wish I hadn't written yesterday about keeping to a minimum tantrums posted here. As an alternative, I'm going to try reverting to one of the principles my friends and I followed as teenagers growing up in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston: "Don't get mad, get even." That went nicely with "Fool me once, shame one you. Fool me twice, shame on me." I've read several recent analyses that postulated that Democrats harmed themselves by "running away" from Obama and not offering a clear vision of what they stand for. We've written here, more than once we think that we want a more of a choice than that between a moderate Republican, labeled "Democrat" for public consumption purposes, and a Tea Party Republican labeled Republican. I don't intend to not vote in the future, but I certainly won't be at all concerned about "wasting" my vote on a candidate from the Independence or Green Parties. The Democrats have fooled me once to often by pretending to support the labor and environmental standards I favor. I started out as a proud Democrat, then I became a reluctant Democrat. Now I'm a disaffected one. I suspect I'm not alone. There was an interesting Tweet on Twitter this morning. There are no jobs on a dead planet. I'd like to see the Democrats adopt that as a slogan for the 2016 elections.

What Kind of Times Are These

By Adrienne Rich 

There's a place between two stands of trees where the grass grows uphill

and the old revolutionary road breaks off into shadows

near a meeting-house abandoned by the persecuted

who disappeared into those shadows.

I've walked there picking mushrooms at the edge of dread, but don't be fooled

this isn't a Russian poem, this is not somewhere else but here,

our country moving closer to its own truth and dread,

its own ways of making people disappear.

I won't tell you where the place is, the dark mesh of the woods

meeting the unmarked strip of light—

ghost-ridden crossroads, leafmold paradise:

I know already who wants to buy it, sell it, make it disappear.

And I won't tell you where it is, so why do I tell you

anything? Because you still listen, because in times like these

to have you listen at all, it's necessary

to talk about trees.

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Please be kind to each other while you can.

The Past is Prologue...

The first post on My Minnesota arrived on November 5, 2012. Today we're uploading post number 730. That's two years worth of "daily" posts over 739 days, or an average of .99 posts per day. (We missed a few days last year while in the hospital for some surgery.) I suppose that means for the next year we could be going through the "terrible twos." (Some of you may claim we've been at that since day one.) We may experiment with some directional changes but will try to keep any tantrums to a minimum.

If you've been watching you might have noticed that the general format we've followed includes commentary and / or seasonal observations plus photographs and, most days, a poem that's relevant to the day's topic. So much for poetry not having any relevance for daily life.

hairy(?) woodpecker female

Photo by J. Harrington

With the premature arrival of Winter this year, the bears are tucked away and woodpeckers are back at the feeder. That means once again I have to brush up on the differences between downy and hairy woodpeckers. No problem distinguishing either of them from the occasional pileated.

pileated woodpecker
J. Harrington Photo

Thanksgiving and Christmas are coming up, as you know. That means it's time to take stock of what we have done and how much we appreciate life as it is. While poking about on Twitter this morning, I came across a piece that gets into how being one of the 1% isn't all good, for anybody. Not that I'm worried about becoming a 1%'er, but I have noticed some tendencies along the lines of "the more I have the more I want." Our advertising and marketing folks have been really successful with me. This season of sharing and gratitude is a good time for me to once again focus on my half-full cup instead of spending much time "supposing."

Suppose

By Phoebe Cary 

Suppose, my little lady,

      Your doll should break her head,

Could you make it whole by crying

      Till your eyes and nose are red?

And would n’t it be pleasanter

      To treat it as a joke;

And say you ’re glad “’T was Dolly’s

      And not your head that broke?”

Suppose you ’re dressed for walking,

      And the rain comes pouring down,

Will it clear off any sooner

      Because you scold and frown?

And would n’t it be nicer

      For you to smile than pout,

And so make sunshine in the house

      When there is none without?

Suppose your task, my little man,

      Is very hard to get,

Will it make it any easier

      For you to sit and fret?

And would n’t it be wiser

      Than waiting like a dunce,

To go to work in earnest

      And learn the thing at once?

Suppose that some boys have a horse,

      And some a coach and pair,

Will it tire you less while walking

      To say, “It is n’t fair?”

And would n’t it be nobler

      To keep your temper sweet,

And in your heart be thankful

      You can walk upon your feet?

And suppose the world don’t please you,

      Nor the way some people do,

Do you think the whole creation

      Will be altered just for you?

And is n’t it, my boy or girl,

      The wisest, bravest plan,

Whatever comes, or does n’t come,

      To do the best you can?

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Thanks for visiting. Come again when you can.
Please be kind to each other while you can.