Take Heart! July 17, 2022 But first . . . CORRECTION: I said save “Wednesday” for the prime time hearing that will reveal how the former commander-in-chief was (or was not) attempting to rescue Congress from the armed mob he summoned to Washington and incited to overthrow the election. I meant Thursday. Sorry. Senior moment. Also . . . THE BEAT GOES ON: Take a 48 -second tour of WheelTug’s chalet overlooking the airfield at this week’s biennial Farnborough Air Show. WheelTug has been demonstrated to work . . . but we’ve known that for a long time. Will the company secure adequate financing to complete its FAA certification and then successfully enter into service? If so, we long-suffering BOREF shareholders should — eventually — be rewarded. Not to mention the applause we can expect from passengers, airlines, and airports. But mainly . . . UNPRECEDENTED: Robert Hubbell this past Friday (thanks, Lev): . . . As we head into the weekend, I expect a spate of doomsday articles copycatting the NYTimes front-page treatment of its most recent polling about the midterms with Sienna College. I won’t go into detail because I think the poll is essentially an excuse for journalists to write about their pet theories on the current state of politics. Anyone who fails to see that this moment is unlike any in the last hundred years must look up from their smartphone and spreadsheets to engage in a few moments of reflection. The January 6th hearings are extraordinary. The [abortion] ruling in Dobbs is extraordinary. The confluence of the “concealed carry” ruling in Bruen with mass killings in Buffalo, Uvalde, and Highland Park is extraordinary. The dissolution of the separation of church and state in Bremerton is extraordinary. The effort of GOP legislators to turn women into fugitives is extraordinary. Any journalist who ignores those facts to write a story that views the midterms through the lens of gas prices and Joe Biden’s favorability ratings is incurious, lazy, and in the wrong profession. We are living in a moment like no other in the last century. Journalists ignore that truth at their peril. To be clear, I am not saying we are guaranteed to win in 2022 and 2024. We are not. But let’s at least acknowledge that the American people are not unidimensional cogs whose political thinking starts and ends with “Gas prices high, vote for Republican.” Please give us a little more credit than that. So, as always, I urge you to focus on the task at hand and avoid excessive worry about headlines crafted to maximize clicks. Your work is real; headlines are information for consideration, nothing more, nothing less. Stay strong, get some rest over the weekend, and show up Monday morning ready for duty! Have you joined your local chapter of the League of Women Voters? Joined Field Team 6? Joined Vote Forward? Done all you can to fund the early organizing effort that is our best chance of saving democracy and moving the nation forward toward better times? Have a great week. Save Thursday!