I would like to share something that I received from a friend.  It seems so  appropriate today because of  all that is going on in our world.

Original Mother’s Day Was a War Protest

Today we celebrate Mother’s Day.  As we honor our mothers we might remember Mother’s Day was founded by anti—war abolitionist Julia Ward Howe to help women who had lost their sons and husbands in the Civil War to deal with their sorrow and suffering.  Howe, who wrote the “Battle Hymn of the Republic,” was moved by the cruelty of the American, as well as the Franco-Prussian war, and declared a day to mourn those who had died.  She became a pacifist, horrified by the carnage that had been displayed during these battles. 

Howe wrote her Mother’s Day Proclamation in 1870, several years after the end of the Civil War because of the many soldiers who returned home from the war who appeared to be OK in body, but who suffered mental maladies that endured throughout their lives.  Just as today’s military return from Iraq and Afghanistan with PTSD and who commit suicide because of their internal damage, soldiers from the other wars suffered terribly from their experiences dealing with the destruction of other human beings.  As General Sherman of the Union forces had said, “war is hell.”  Anyone who thinks otherwise has never been in battle.

Mother’s Day isn’t  just a time for flowers and candy to honor our mothers; rather, it is a time to pledge that no mothers in the future will have to endure the pain of losing their families to the ravages of war. For a country that spends more money on the military than anything else in society, we would do ourselves a favor to solve our budget woes by seriously cutting our defense budget and putting that money to work to help Americans improve their quality of life.

So, let’s pledge on this Mother’s Day to honor the spirit of Julia Ward Howe and demand that our leaders stop the wars and work for peace around the world.  That would be the greatest gift…..to advocate for peace and justice instead of hatred and killing. Help your mother to remember our past, and ask her to remember the real spirit of the day.  Happy Mother’s Day.  And peace be with you.

For anyone that has been observing  the committee hearings of the  Minnesota state legislature,  it has been a trying ordeal.  First, there is little going on that improves anything for the people in Minnesota.  Second, there seems to be little serious advancement in solving Minnesota’s budget situation.  The Republicans are concentrating on issues that are hardly a problem.  They are still trying to make a big deal of Voter ID.  We have had three recent recounts in state-wide races, in addition to the recounts in  legislative races, and there was nothing said of fraud or any major improprieties.  Yet they still keep dragging out a bill trying to correct a problem that doesn’t exist.  If they are successful, it does mean money will be spent on something that doesn’t come close to being a  priority.  How does that begin to make sense when the state budget situation still needs to be addressed?  They wanted the alternative teacher license bill.   Do we have a shortage of teachers? From all accounts, school districts are letting teachers go because of budget constraints.  Again, no real problem exists.  Just a way to delay and distract.  They plan to make more cuts to higher ed.  How does that help people prepare for good jobs?   Why would businesses want to be in Minnesota if they can’t find an educated workforce?  Last, their proposed budget will cut 30,000 or more good-paying, mostly private-sector jobs and threaten our fragile economic recovery.   How does that help the job situation or Minnesota’s economy?

The Republicans apparently want the prestige of the position, but they don’t seem to understand how to govern nor do they want to take the responsibility of hard votes.  From some of their comments, it also sounds like they are unwilling to compromise.   A   number of constitutional amendments may be on the horizon so they can get what they want without doing their job.  We have had two recent constitutional amendments because of their lack of courage to take needed votes.   Remember,  most Republicans wouldn’t vote for the needed Transportation Bill, yet many were there to support the constitutional amendment.   The people of Minnesota understood that our transportation infrastructure was at a  critical stage, why didn’t the Republican leadership? The delay and distract tactic has put Minnesota is a very vulnerable position, it is time for serious action.

What is the real problem regarding health care? There is no question that we have great clinics and hospitals. We also have very talented and dedicated doctors, nurses and other health care practitioners. From my perspective, the major problem that needs solving concerns access and affordability. In order to come to a reasonable solution, we need to deal with accurate information. The article in the Star Tribune, “Health Coverage for $240 a month,” illustrates the damage that could be done if we don’t pay attention to details.

It is  no secret that our past governor placed Minnesota in an extremely vulnerable position.    First, he signed the “No New Tax Pledge.”  Not only was that an irresponsible act,  it made negotiating incredibly difficult from the start.    For the last few years of his term, he was mainly concentrating on political activities; McCain’s election, his presidential aspirations, etc.   His unwillingness or inability to negotiate is well-known.  Since he placed more emphasis on his media message than Minnesota’s future,  there was  little incentive for him to work with the legislature to  solve Minnesota’s problems.  After the punitive measures handed out to the Republican legislators who finally voted for the Transportation override vote, it was also understandable that other Republican legislators were hesitant to cross their leaders’ positions.

My hope was that with a new governor, our state would finally settle down to working out budget problems in a rational manner.    However, it seems the Republicans are still more interested in playing games than in solving problems  in a manner that will use acceptable accounting principals.   In the transportation bill, the Republicans wanted  to take the money the counties collected for transit to fund state general fund transportation expenses.  This is a tax that the county commissioners had approved and for which they take responsibility.  That is extremely unethical.  The raiding of various reserves to cover general fund expenses has been going on for some time to the extent that there is little left to raid.  In the environment bill, cuts have been made and it looks like the Chair expects the Legacy funds to replace those cuts.  The Constitutional Amendment specifically forbids that.  Since the budget problems have been going on  for the last decade, it is time to stop with  excuses that these are extraordinary times.   During the Pawlenty years, the legislature  had  to make do with shifts, fees, and other unacceptable accounting measures just to get through the budget process with a governor who refused to compromise or operate in an open manner.   It now looks like Republicans want to continue down that same path even with new leadership.   That is extremely disappointing!

The task at hand seems to be how to encourage legislators to work for the common good.

MN Senate image

Senator Ellen Anderson is a very special person indeed.  At her retirement party, speaker after speaker commented on her hard work and her leadership.   Her contributions to the energy and environment areas will long be remembered.  Senator Anderson was first elected in 1992, so her leaving will create a major change of leadership in the Senate.

Governor Dayton appointed Senator Anderson to the Public Utilities Commission.   Congratulations are in order.  With her background,  the Senator from St. Paul should be an outstanding member of the PUC.

No Ordinary Time by Doris Kearns Goodwin is  a very detailed book on Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt during the war years.  It is amazing how much was accomplished during that time to better the lives of ordinary citizens.    Bearing in mind the country had to overcome an incredible depression and then a major war effort, the outcome is impressive.  I know that many people had an attachment for the Roosevelts that seems very difficult for leaders of today to achieve.  Certainly their communication with the public resonated.  Who isn’t aware of  President Roosevelt’s fireside chats or Eleanor Roosevelt’s newspaper columns?  But even more than that, they seemed to have a vision that citizens were able to understand and were willing to work towards.   That loyalty and vision is hard pressed to find today.   Is the constant focus on money making it impossible to have a long-term vision?   There is also a major trust or credibility factor that needs to be bridged.

The drama that is taking place in Wisconsin again highlights the conflict that is seems to be causing problems for our governing process on local and federal levels.   People complain about the inability of their elected officials to work in a bipartisan manner, yet it seems that it is the short-sighted  individuals that are too often elected.   While I believe that the interests of big money interests are mainly to blame for getting people like the Wisconsin governor elected,  David Brooks’s article puts forward the issue that a lack of modesty is the source of the problem.   Some people have a such a high opinion of themselves that they fail to take into considerations the needs or feelings of other, rather like General Bullmoose.  If he is right,  how can we as a culture emphasize the importance of the community before it is too late?  If George Washington had this arrogant temperament, the United States might well have had a monarchy.  My Tree of Failure post in January provides more on this topic.

In our quest to balance the budget, are we sacrificing justice?  The manner in which cuts are impacting the judicial system make it  very difficult for the system to work effectively.   In addition, every fee that is added or increased makes it that much harder for those with limited resources to engage in the system.   Equality under the law has been essential to our country’s character and success, but that is being compromised.  The old adage rings true,  justice delayed is justice denied.

Terry Votel and Paul Godfrey present excellent examples of why we need to ensure our judicial system can operate for the good of all citizens in Jeopardizing  justice in Letters to the editor in the Pioneer Press.

It is essential that both our federal and state governments get their financial houses in order. Our future depends on making the right choices. David Brooks made some interesting comments on this topic recently in his article, The Freedom Alliance.  In particular,  his suggestion to “reform the tax code to foster growth and produce more revenue” deserves scrutiny.