By Judith Gayle | Political Waves
The headlines started early in the week, beginning with examples of Republicans quietly cooperating on bits of legislation. Even more startling, common sense suddenly began to appear in political conversation, suggesting a return to rational discussion. Not that the tribal drums didn’t beat into a frenzy over the exchange of five Taliban prisoners from Gitmo for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, captive in Afghanistan since 2009. Bergdahl seems to have been a disenchanted soldier when he was seized, some say a deserter, turning what should have been a happy homecoming into an attack on the sergeant, his family, and the administration that brought him home. More on that later, but suffice to say that the vitriol is growing (think: Benghazi, Benghazi, Benghazi), and the zealots have another incident to use in their call for impeachment of the president.
Nevertheless, good news seemed to dot the headlines frequently. Independent (and self-proclaimed Democratic Socialist) Bernie Sanders of Vermont, working with GOP hawk John McCain from Arizona, previewed an upcoming bipartisan bill to reform veterans’ health care and hospitals, including building more hospitals, hiring more staff, and issuing vouchers for private physicians to treat vets who wait too long for service. As additional reports of ‘death lists’ surface, there is collective agreement that this situation must be dealt with quickly.
Over on Wall Street, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced that it was close to establishing new “rules targeting high-speed traders, less transparent trading venues and order-routing practices, a move designed to promote fairness for investors, shine more light on the markets and bolster stability.” So there’s hope floating in regard to our veterans, in regard to the privateers, and even for our judicial system: for the first time, a national poll indicated that a majority preferred life sentences rather than the death penalty for murderers. With Holder’s push for sentencing reform, and the public weariness with the failed war on drugs, big changes for the Department of Justice seem to loom.