"What Were They Thinking?"

"What Were They Thinking?” 17 November 2022

????????????That was the line in one of the many editorials I read with respect to the ill-timed and poorly conceived letter sent by 30 so-called progressives in the House to the President with respect to Ukraine. ?At least, they rescinded it! As someone who was in public office and who employed many staff members over a period of years, I am appalled that the letter slipped through the cracks as has been suggested.?If that is the way any of those members’ staffs are run, maybe it is time for a top to bottom housecleaning!

We have come to the point where those on the far left and those on the far right come together on certain issues.?Both factions want to reduce aid to Ukraine for totally different reasons. If we are united as a nation in supporting democracy and fighting authoritarianism, then we cannot abandon the Ukrainian people.?

In a similarly ill-conceived action, it now appears that many states have knelt at the altar of the NRA and eliminated the need for anyone to have a background check to fet a permit to carry a weapon.?We are a nation with far more guns and far more murders which result from so many guns being easily accessible than any other nation in the civilized world. Something is very wrong with this picture. What were they thinking?

Governor Glenn Youngkin of Virginia, who suffers from a bad case of “Potomac fever”, as have other governors over a period of centuries, responded in a naive and crude way when asked about the savage attack on Speaker Pelosi’s husband, it appears by a delusional male who spends time on right wing websites, some of which helped to bring about the January?6th insurrection. Maybe they are no longer teaching manners in Virginia.?Maybe he accepts such violence as part of American life.?Maybe he is but an aging frat boy.??Speaking as someone who has mobility challenges, but is not as old as Mr. Pelosi, I can attest that millions of Americans live in fear of being a victim of such a crime.

Such a tragedy provides an opportunity to sympathize.?It is better to argue for aggressive prosecution of the perpetrator of this crime.?It is an opportunity to remind those who give fealty to Youngkin that there are consequences to attacks on elderly individuals.?It should not be an opportunity to joke about violence.

There must be consequences for those who place screeds on the Internet and politicians who have forgotten the most common standards of decency. What was he thinking?