It was reassuring last weekend to see that the will of the majority can prevail on issues of urgency. House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana put his short tenure at risk by finally moving security packages for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan totaling some $95 billion. The package is especially urgent for Ukraine, which is enduring a siege of bombing terror from Russia without adequate air defense.

No matter what you think of the United States being arms dealer to the world, it is good to see that a majority of Republicans in the House (including Rep. Randy Feenstra, R-Hull) joined Democrats to approve a package already endorsed on a bipartisan basis in the Senate. The package was held up by a stubborn House Freedom Caucus that wants to block aid to Ukraine. A few right-wingers have promised to unseat Johnson as speaker because of it.

The right wing ousted Kevin McCarthy of California as speaker, and ran off Paul Ryan of Wisconsin. As a result, the House has been able to accomplish nothing. The farm bill was supposed to move last year, but probably will have to wait until 2025 because the Freedom Caucus is trying to wage war on nutrition programs in the run-up to the November elections. Spending bills are passed for a matter of months as they bump up against deadlines for government shutdown.

Something or somebody has to put the Freedom Caucus in its place.

A majority of Republicans took that first step by passing aid for Ukraine. Leaders of both parties claim they stand against Russia’s invasion of a sovereign nation, and its barrage of war crimes against innocents. They made good on their word.

It’s not because Johnson had some epiphany. It’s because the GOP is about to lose the House unless it can demonstrate the ability to govern. First, the party must command its own caucus. Johnson and his allies can’t keep the gavel without at least an implicit pledge from House Democrats that they will support him. So far, it sounds like he has the support of Democratic leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York.

This is democracy at work. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green, R-Ga., has threatened to call for a vote on the speakership. Her Republican colleagues are signaling that they have had enough. Although the party is fractured, at least it was able to get its act together well enough to actually vote on a matter of keen public interest. You might not like sending arms to Ukraine, Israel or Taiwan (or Saudi Arabia, or Yemen, or maybe Pakistan or India for all we know). Most Americans clearly support defending Ukraine from Russian bombing. That required bringing in Israel and Taiwan. That’s how democracy works. The will of the majority prevailed, at long last, because elections do have consequences.

Bare cupboards

Here is one thing wrong with big-time college athletics: We were completely stoked that Storm Lake native Ben McCollum is coming home to Iowa from Northwest Missouri State to become head men’s basketball coach for the Drake University Bulldogs. He’s a proven winner and a class act.

Before McCollum could even show up for the press conference announcing his hire, he lost his starting five (including Tucker DeVries, who should be an All-American) to the transfer portal. He has to build a whole new team from scratch in a matter of weeks. So three of his players from Maryville are transferring to Drake, and he hopes to recruit another star from Wyoming. Drake is a successful mid-major program that will always be in this position — losing players to bigger arenas and endorsement money, and then taking players from lower D1 schools or D2 schools like NW Missouri.

It is a mystery to us how a 21-year-old can complete enough credits that will transfer while flying across the nation to games for three different colleges in four years. Coaches like McCollum are trying to help these players get an education. But he is forced to play his hand as best he can at a level where money surely talks. The transfer portal is not good for student-athletes. It also makes the coach’s job a lot tougher at a place like Drake. That players follow McCollum from Maryville to Des Moines indicates that he will benefit more from itinerate athletes than the average basketball recruiter. But it certainly puts him in the hole for now. It’s not good for Drake or Northwest Missouri State. We are old-fashioned that way, when education was the priority. Perhaps you get a better education by attending three different colleges in four or five years. We doubt it.