Ruth Bass

It was heartening this morning to hear Mitt Romney say he wants some election reform. It was disheartening to hear him say he had not been invited to the White House to provide input on voting questions. It was also disheartening to hear the NAACP representative totally dodge a newsman's question about whether common ground could be found across the aisle in an effort to find items that would be acceptable to Republicans. His non-answer just reiterated what's in the bill that Republicans won't vote for, thus dooming any change.

 

We can't work this way. Being adamant is the wrong road. Being a doormat is the wrong road. Somewhere between stubborn and knuckling under (i.e. giving up) is elasticity. Progressives lost momentum in the House of Representatives for Joe Biden when they for so long held the infrastructure bill hostage, insisting that reps pass the Build Back Better bill first or in tandem. They eventually allowed the vote on roads, bridges, broadband and some climate matters on the promise that BBB would get the votes it needs. And two Democratic senators have dug in their heels to deny passage of BBB -- because no Republicans will vote for it.

 

Perhaps Mitt Romney should insist on a meeting at the White House. Despite his strange history of stands and candidacy, he's a principled, intelligent man who takes his job seriously -- and has few worries about keeping it. He's the father of the Massachusetts health system that led to the Affordable Care Act, and he's also the man who pushed Acting Governor Jane Swift aside after promising her that he wouldn't run for governor. And that was a run that meant he had to figure out his tax situation because he had declared both Massachusetts and Utah as his permanent residence! He named Massachusetts -- and now has switched to Utah. He has been openly critical of the former president, who excoriates anyone who drives a chink into his ego. 

 

In a recent address at Brigham Young University, Romney urged more attention to issues surrounding China, climate and the nation's debt. He's more interested in country than self, unlike too many of his colleagues who consider re-election their major reason for being.

It was a pewter sky. Not plain, but ranging from the silvery, high-polish pewter of our Cape Cod-made salad bowl to the older, dull finish on my mother's teapot. It was sunset, with a patch or two of silver sky open in the midst of the pewter shades. Even the tree branches were pewter their usual November to March blackness softened by a layer of sticky snow that lost its whiteness in the sunset time. It was artist's light, photographer's light. But I was just there, admiring the breathtaking scene and waiting for the dog to find that exact perfect spot where he would deign to pee. Read More 

It's the capricious month. March Madness may mean basketball to thousands of people, but it works for just about everything else this month, too. The clock jumps, for instance, and the body clock -- albeit invisibly -- takes a day or two to move into the change. The weather jumps even more. Blizzard or mud are the extreme choices with a bet on plenty of ice in between. The dog prances along, caring not for falling water, puddles under his feet or dirty paws. If it's white stuff, he leaps into the air with March madness to catch snowflakes -- and succeeds. If it's cold, it's chilly damp; if it snows, the stuff is heavy, wet and perfect for snowmen; if it's a bit warmer and seems colder, it's time to look at the 40 degrees, feels like 30 part of the weather report.

On the plus side, if the  Read More