Litmus Test

 I remember, as I am sure you do, the litmus test for Supreme Court Justices, how they would vote on abortion; the test then turned to gun control, then gay rights. The republicans decried these tests, at least when democrats would bring them up.

Now the dour faced Republican party has a litmus test of it's own, one that could destroy the party; indeed, it's even now fracturing and splintering as the more vocal members of the party apply it to legally elected members of Congress.

I'm referring, of course, to the Big Lie. It now is apparent to any thinking person that you must swear allegiance to former President Trump's continued falsehood of election fraud, and agree with him that the election was stolen, and that President Joe Biden is not,in fact, the legally elected President of The United States of America, if you want to remain in Congress, or as governor of your state.

How the leaders of a party traditionally based on conservative values-the rule of law, strong military capabilities, unbreakable ties with our allies-can, in a space of 4 years, redefine the party into a cult based upon one man staggers the imagination.

America had never been, even in it's infancy, a cult worshiping one leader. We are a country founded upon the rule of law, and a strong believe the the core value of democracy; that right of the people to decide their leader in free, honest, and open elections.

The great challenges that faced our country during the pandemic forced our state and local officials to explore and expand opportunities for voters to cast their legal ballot, and I truly believe those leaders performed a Herculean task successfully; more Americans cast their ballot than in any preceding election.

Those American voters, and you are most likely one of them, elected Congressmen, Senators, and Governors of both parties to office; indeed, both houses of Congress are more equally balanced than at any time in recent history. And yes, those American voters elected Joe Biden President of The United States of America at the same time.

For the first time in decades, both parties have an equal opportunity to present their policies and values to the public. Both parties have the ability now to entice voters to support them, based upon what their parties can do for America.

Instead of giving Americans ideas and policies that could benefit all of us, the Republicans have chosen to present a party of cult worship.

I don't think this can end well for the party of Lincoln.

Thank you for reading, your thoughts and comments are always welcome!

R.M. "Bob" Hartman

Mass Hysteria, Fueled By Mass Ignorance

Really, people? Hoarding toilet paper? I was at my local Sam’s club this morning, there was a waiting line to get in-limiting the number of people in the store. Ok, that I can understand-distance is a way to contain the spread of viruses. Toilet paper in 36 roll packages was limited to 2 per person.  I saw families lined up, mom, dad, 5 kids; each person had a basket to put their 2 packages of toilet paper in. How much toilet paper do they normally buy in a shopping trip?

No diapers or feminine protection products available. No baby 

formula, no milk. No coffee, no bottled water; plenty of soda pop and snack crackers.

Where I work, a store that sells sporting goods, hardware, clothes, 

toys-we are out of 55-gallon water barrels, toilet paper-including RV toilet paper, any type of face mask, Kleenex, gas cans, any form of sanitizing cleaner, even bleach.

It’s a virus that affects the respiratory system, not your intestinal 

tract. It’s an air-borne virus, not a water-spread virus. It can’t live in our treated tap water.

It does spread though social contact, I understand that. I applaud 

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints for cancelling the General Conference and suspending all local worship services for the time being. They probably did the best thing possible to avert the spread of the virus!

Our State government has closed all K-12 schools for two weeks, 

again a very positive move in my opinion. Classes have been moved to on-line wherever possible. There will be sack breakfasts and lunches available for children who need them. Again, a good response.  

Gun and ammunition sales at our store are up, way up over a year 

ago. Some types of ammunition are out of stock. I spoke to one of my regular customers, he told me he was stocking up on ammo because of the riots. I changed the subject.  

Hysteria runs rampant in our population. In many ways, it is 

probably worse than the virus.

Why? One can only surmise. Our government has been kind of 

slow on the response; in my opinion, they should have let the CDC handle the information, get the facts out rather than the speculation. 

At this time, during this crisis, we need a leader who will calm the 

people, who will work to make sure the proper tests and treatments are available to all who need them. We need a leader that will help people understand what they need to do, and what they don’t need to do. We need a leader who will unite us and bring Americas great resources to bear on the problem at hand. We need a leader that doesn’t cut funding to the CDC and other health organizations, a leader who supports community hospitals, doctors and nurses. We need a President of the People, for the People, and by the People.

We need a Washington, Lincoln, Roosevelt, Kennedy. Our reality 

TV star is not getting the job done.

Thanks for reading. Of course, these are only my opinions. I’d like

to hear yours, agree or disagree with me.

R.M. “Bob” Hartman

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