Thoughts On the Mueller Hearing

There are few things that can either bring citizens together or divide them like politics. In the United States, there is doubt that politically, culturally and socially, we are becoming a divided nation.

This morning, former Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller testified in front of Congress and millions of Americans about his report and the conclusions in regards to the accusations of Russian meddling in the 2016 Presidential election.

Several points hit me as I listened:

1. Mr. Mueller is an honorable man who has served his country for decades. Though it would have been easy to cross a moral or legal boundary to reach his conclusions, he chose to stay within the barriers of his position and Department of Justice protocol.
2. There is without a doubt, something not right about the way you know who and those around him acted during the campaign. It felt like the win was more important than following the rules or established political traditions.
3. Depending on where your political beliefs lie, you either believe that you know who is guilty and should be impeached or is a victim, as he calls it, a “witch hunt”.
4. Based on today’s testimony, I am still not sure that impeaching him is the right thing to do. Impeachment does not always mean that the President is forced out of office. Former President Bill Clinton was also impeached, but remained in office to complete his second term.
5. However, if the decision is to not find a way to force you know who out of office, that leaves the door open for him to possibly win the 2020 Presidential election.

Readers, what do you think? Do you think today’s hearing exonerates you know who or is just another reminder that he is unworthy of being President?

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Sisters in Law: How Sandra Day O’Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg Went to the Supreme Court and Changed the World Book Review

When one is the first at anything, especially when one is a minority or disenfranchised, they are often labelled as a hero to those who they have paved the way for. But behind that bold heroism is years, if not decades of drive, hard work and fighting against prejudice.

Linda Hirshman’s 2016 book, Sisters in Law: How Sandra Day O’Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg Went to the Supreme Court and Changed the World, tells the story of the lives and careers of Sandra Day O’Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who were the first and second women to join the Supreme Court respectively.

On the surface, the women couldn’t have been further apart. Sandra Day O’Connor was born into a Christian family who owned a large ranch in Arizona. Ruth Bader Ginsburg grew up in an immigrant Jewish family in New York City. Coming of age in era when a woman was expected to marry and raise a family while her husband brought home the literal bacon, both women defied the rules of their era by earning law degrees and dared to openly question why women were second class citizens.

Along the way, they inspired and continue to inspire generations of women in every industry to fight for their rights and the equality that is their right.

What struck me about this book is that though both Justice Ginsburg and Justice O’Connor had very different early lives, they are remarkably similar in the paths they took, the challenges they faced and the paths they blazed for future generations of women.

Though this book has moments of being a dry academic style textbook, it is also a reminder of how far women have come and how far we need to go.

I recommend it.