This week's notable stories. Optimist; mid-term results; AG Jeff Sessions. 

Optimist, 11 November. Link here. Too young, too old? At a time when molds are being broken, how much of an age difference is too much? Ruth, 35 year-old, finds herself the spokeswoman for wives much younger than their husbands; hers is 70. Cheerleader -- or player? Mimi Britt decided she would rather play on -- not cheer on -- her high school football team. She's not alone in making that decision, though she is a position player, not just the team's punter or point kicker.


Notable dates in America.
     7 November 1874: Thomas Nasts'  "Republican" elephant debuted in Harper's Weekly. 1916, Janette Rankin (R, MT) became the first woman elected to Congress, the House. She was defeated in a bid for the Senate in 1918 after casting a "NO" vote on entering WW I. Re-elected to the House in 1940, she cast the lone "NO" vote against entry into WW II; she opted out in 1942.
     11 November 1918: WW I ended. 1831. Nat Turner, who led a slave revolt in VA, was executed in Jerusalem, VA.

Mid-term results. Remember Mr. Abell's dictum to his American government students: "If you don't vote, you can't b****." As to the meaning of the mid-term results, perhaps the least quoted past president (and one of the founders of the Democratic party), Martin Van Buren, said it best: "The government should not be guided by Temporary Excitement, but by Sober Second Thought." [emphasis is Van Buren's]

The government should not be guided by Temporary Excitement, but by Sober Second Thought.
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/martin_van_buren_310841

The government should not be guided by Temporary Excitement, but by Sober Second Thought.
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/martin_van_buren_310841

The government should not be guided by Temporary Excitement, but by Sober Second Thought.
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/martin_van_buren_310841

     Colorado. Significantly, the largest single block of votes are not Democratic or Republican; rather they are the "unaffiliated." Preliminary indications are that a majority of these votes went to the Democrats. Looking ahead to 2018, this huge pool will no doubt receive the attention of both major parties.
     There was a Democratic sweep of all four statewide offices: governor, secretary of state, attorney general, and treasurer. Jared Polis became the nation's first openly gay governor. Did Polis' self-contributed $23M swing the election? It certainly did not hurt his cause. In that vein, voters decided not to change (by amendment) the state's campaign finance rules/limitations.
     CO's 6th congressional district flipped with first-time Democratic candidate, Jason Crow (D), ousting long-serving Mike Coffman. As a result, in the 116th House, CO will have 4 Democrats and 3 Republicans.
     The CO house, state senate, and the executive will all be controlled by the Democratic party.
     The state's post 2020 census re-redistricting will be changed with the approval of constitutional Amendments Y& Z. 
     The age to for election as state representative will remain 25.
     Money for infrastructure will not be forthcoming. Beware the deepening mile-high potholes!
     Education will not be receiving any more dollars. Teachers' strikes may be in the future.

     Florida. An estimated 1M potential voters may be added to the voter rolls. Felons who have served their time (prison and are on parol) will now be eligible to vote. Convicted murderers and sex offenders will not be included.  
     Automatically generated recounts have been ordered in the races for governor and US Senator.

     Nationally. It was a mixed message. There will be more women in Congress than ever before: African American, Latina, Native American, Muslim, former teachers, even an ex-CIA operative. The OWM (old white male) Senate will be little changed. See E.J. Dionne for a reasonable summary and thoughts on the "new" Trumpian-Republican party. See Stephen Stromberg for the looming effect of millennials in 2020.
     US House. The Democrats are now the majority party. Two prominent questions for the party are sorting out the leadership questions  (Old Guard vs. Young Turks) and laying out a positive legislative program. (That is avoiding and overtly obstructionist anti-Trump stance. There will be a diverse group of more than 100 women in the new 116th Congress.

AG Jeff Sessions. As expected, President Trump fired his attorney general and appointed Sessions' assistant, Matthew Whitaker, who became the nation's first AG not to be confirmed by the Senate. Sessions published his resignation letter which made it clear he was being fired.

Thank you for reading. Publishing early this week as vacation calls.