Phyllis Beveridge Nissila

There will no doubt be several days’ worth of political drama that will ensue over what happened today, May 8, 2019, when the U.S. House Judiciary Committee voted to hold Attorney General Barr in contempt of Congress for not handing over the un-redacted Mueller Report that, by law, he cannot do (the legal explanation of why he cannot do this is detailed several times by various committee members).

The proceedings, as recorded in the video, linked here, published today by the Breitbart News Network, reveal exactly what took place.

I encourage the listener to pay careful attention to what constitutes the rule of law regarding the topic.

It is sometimes very frustrating to get to the truth underneath the political hoopla, the subject-shifting, the word-salad, the gaslighting, the propaganda, the obfuscation, and the rest of the Congressional “sausage making,” but I believe it is essential to do so if we are to return to civil discourse in this country.

I am also inviting visitors to view this congressional hearing because despite the sharply divided opinions,  it is a good example of the professionalism that has been the mainstay of how and why our system of governance in the United States has weathered many storms, survived extremist temper tantrums, and forestalled its many enemies for over 240 years and counting, all the while addressing and solving its problems, some already concluded, others, works in progress.

Were I back in the classroom teaching citizenship, I would lesson plan around this example of the good, the bad, and the ugly (to borrow the famous tag line and title from the movie). And I would encourage my students to resist the emotionalism gone rabid today, employ critical thinking, and access primary sources for the truth.

I would also encourage those old enough to vote, to vote.

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On a personal note, I suspect it might be wise not to poke the Barr…