Our country is in pretty rough shape at the moment. We are suffering through a pandemic. We are in an ever worsening climate crises. Many are unemployed, hungry and homeless. In spite of all that, many members of Congress continue to focus on themselves and holding on to power. For the past 10 years or so the Senate, led by Mitch McConnell, has been a roadblock for important legislation that is supported by a majority of citizens and passed by the House of Representatives. That’s a real problem and it must stop. Nearly all Americans agree that we have a…

December 18, 2020

I have spent the past week talking with 15 different U.S. Senate staffers, both Republicans and Democrats. I was working with a faith-based group to better understand the possibility of new voting legislation to support some of the broadly adopted improvements from this year’s election: early voting, voting by mail, on-line voter registration. All of these improvements facilitated the largest voter turnout we have ever seen for both major political parties. Nearly 160 million citizens voted in the midst of a worldwide pandemic. Truly this was an amazing accomplishment. …

November, 2020

Donald J. Trump, The White House, Washington, DC

Dear Mr. Trump:

We regret to inform you that we will not be renewing your contract for another four years in your role as President of the United States. The character you have created for this role has certainly been unique — a president who cares only about himself and his ratings, lies frequently to excite his base of support, and is able to bend an entire political party to his will. This character generated more interest, more emotion, more love, more hate than any previous character we have had…

For the past four years the President of the United States has done his best to divide us. He has encouraged white supremacists, separated immigrant children from their parents, failed to take actions that would have reduced the severity of the coronavirus, worked to suppress voters, turned back environmental protections, and lied incessantly. He has brought out the worst in all of us. He has encouraged his supporters to hate the Democrats, the media, non-white people, and anyone who disagrees with him. In doing all of this he has created in those who do not support him a depth of…

The Tragedy We Are Witnessing

This week we have all witnessed a tragedy that we will not forget. George Floyd, a black man, being slowly and methodically killed in plain sight by a white officer of the law, while fellow police officers allowed this to happen. His cries to breathe were ignored by all of them, and he died.

As awful as this event is, it is made much worse by the connection to so many similar events in the past, and the dreadful symbolism it represents. For me, it takes me back to the 60’s when the country exploded…

With apologies to Abraham Lincoln.

Twelve score and three years ago our forefathers “brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure.”

We are once again involved in a great civil war. Our civil war today is quite unlike the one of which Lincoln spoke. Our battles are fought not with guns in a field in Gettysburg, but with words and images displayed…

An Open Letter to Senator Mitch McConnell

Dear Senator McConnell,

I am an Independent, writing to you in your role as Senate Majority Leader. Let me start by wishing you a belated Happy 77th Birthday! That is an important milestone and a good time for reflection. I too am in my 70’s and thinking about the legacy I am leaving behind. I think about my children, my young grandchildren, the work I have done, the relationships I have made, and what I have done to help the world. …

Motivated by the will of the people expressed during the midterms, Nancy Pelosi, John Sarbanes and others introduced House Bill H.R. 1 on January 4. It includes a number of useful provisions to restore our democracy including:

• making it easier to vote (easier registration and access, reaffirmation of voting rights act, improvements to election infrastructure)
• ending the dominance of big money in our politics (donation disclosure, honest ads, small contribution incentives)
• ensuring public officials work for the public interest (ethics and conflict of interest laws)

Their approach is to utilize the Democratic majority to pass it in the House, and…