Four more days. That’s it. It’s still a lifetime in presidential politics.
But before we get into that mess, if indeed we even do, let’s check out Hurricane Zeta. As we noted Wednesday, it made landfall in Louisiana around 4:30 p.m. and then rolled across New Orleans, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, and the Carolinas before blowing itself out over Virginia. It was a booger. Over 1.2 million people are still without power. It was pretty big, size-wise, and was a monster blower. From Grand Isle to New Orleans, houses and businesses saw a lot of wind damage to roofs and buildings. The monetary costs are still being calculated.
Six people died due to the storm in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia. The folks in Louisiana still homeless due to Hurricane Laura are looking at more time in hotels as they just cannot get started on the cleanup. And it’s not over. The season lasts through November and meteorologists say the Caribbean could brew up another storm before the end of next week. It’d be called Eta, the first time we’ve gotten to the name. Man, we just can’t catch a break.
Early voting continues to smash records, particularly in Texas which has seen more early voting than it saw voting in general back in 2016. That is amazing. A lot of the voters are young, first-time voters, a group that has historically stumbled at the gate when it came to election day. That being said, there is some shifty business going on all over the country. For example, here in Mississippi, a voting place change in Madison County was basically made without actually telling the voters.
A lot of these changes are happening in districts with predominately non-white populations. Some are calling this attempts at voter suppression and some are right, I do believe. That being said, many state and local officials are putting a solid effort to keep voting open and available for the people the GOP would rather not go to the polls. It’s been said a number of times that turnout favors Democrats, but it’s still too early to give solid odds one way or another.
Despite the president and his eldest failson claiming it’s going away, COVID-19 is showing no signs of slowing down or even slacking off. Today saw over 90,000 new cases across the country, shattering all records. More and more, deaths among young people and children, some as young as five years old, are being reported. If anything, the administration’s absolute failure to do anything constructive about the pandemic and the resulting capitulation to let it burn through us is hurting Trump with undecided voters.
A couple of last things. Oregon, that land of green and green, is looking at decriminalizing other mood-enhancing chemicals beyond marijuana, including magic mushrooms and small amounts of heroin, cocaine, and LSD. This would change how people who are caught with drugs are dealt with. Rather than jail time, users would see a 100 dollar fine and access to free recovery centers. The $45 million the state made off legal pot would help fund this. While it’s opposed by some district attorneys, others are for it as is the Oregon Nurses Association, the state chapter of the American College of Physicians, and the Oregon Academy of Family Physicians. If Measure 110 goes through, it’d be similar to what countries like Portugal and the Netherlands have had much success with.
The whole Hunter Biden thing seems to be dead in the water. Fascists lapdog Tucker Carlson, a day after claiming his rock-solid evidence was lost by UPS, has said it’s time to abandon the deal and leave Young Biden alone. One wonders if the Fox legal dogs told him to button up before he got them sued again or lost them more sponsors. Psychotic Trump fans are still screaming for blood and crying about bias, but major media sources note that when pressed, players like Rudy Giuliani weren’t forthcoming with evidence.
That’s plenty for now. Supper’s almost ready, anyway. Tomorrow is Halloween and if you plan to go out, try not to be stupid and follow basic safety suggestions. COVID-19 is killing young kids, people, it ain’t no hoax.
Dear Y'all 