Maybe I’m the only one, but as an avid reader who loves spending time with like-minded friends new and old, I’m looking forward to spending time in an American gulag. I gleefully anticipate losing those pesky 15 pounds I simply cannot seem to shed on a strict prison diet of gruel, overcooked cabbage and the leavings from Mar-a-Lardo’s kitchen (most gulags will be in Florida, no doubt).
Win-win-win — although I doubt they’ll let me read the books I want to (currently, Robert Reich’s “Coming Up Short”), instead force-feeding us audio versions of “The Art of the Deal” while we work hand-minting dollar coins featuring the face of Dear Leader.
Still, those 15 pounds, gone! Time with those who also dare openly despise Dear Leader! Basically, I’m a glass half-full kind of gal. A positive attitude comes in very handy when one of our political parties (hint: Team Red) has gone completely bonkers. Plus, like my childhood hero and near-twin (I still look a lot like him), Alfred E. Neuman said, “What, me worry?!”
Why worry when I believe the majority of Americans are unhappy with You-Know-Who 2.0. Whatever further outrages the next few months and years bring, the moral and ethical majority of us must and shall vote these weak, Orange Moosillini worshipping nut-jobs the heck out of power, on every level and in every state.
That’s right, folks, local elections are here; early voting begins in New York state the day this column is published, Oct. 25. I will utilize my early voting option every time I can, right up until they throw me in the “Democrats are Domestic Terrorists” clink.
That style of horse pucky, coming directly out of this administration with regard to its perceived enemies, is unbelievable. It’s no joke, however; it’s a deliberate, concerted effort to turn Americans against one another, especially those who do not fit the white nationalist GOP’s definition of “True Americans”: all people of color (especially those with accents!), Democrats, the LGBTQ community and anyone else who doesn’t look or sound like Dear Leader, his gosh-awful family and overwhelmingly pale male administration. Non-Christians of any stamp, I hate to tell you, but you’re also on the list.
Is there enough chocolate, yoga and streaming comedy to get us through this nightmare? Local elections this year and next going Capital B Blue will help. Get yourselves informed about the issues, and what’s on the ballot for the state, county and your town. If you need to check your registration or election status, I recommend Ballotpedia and Voterizer. I volunteer for Voterizer, making sure the info and links are updated and working; you can check both of these resources out at the following:
https://ballotpedia.org/Main_Page
https://voterizer.org
Also of use are the individual election boards in each county, which can found by putting your county name and “board of election” or “BOE” in any search engine, although I just did that and you might want to type out “election” as there are also Boards of Education and a dozen other BOEs of many sorts all over the place. Ballotpedia lists everything, including referendums, state constitutional amendments and open races for offices where a legislator is being replaced due to death, retirement or other. The site is dense, and can be intimidating, but with patient persistence, all will be well.
Local town board, countywide and state elections are important, largely because the bulk of your personal taxes are raised (levied) and spent locally. They also matter because there are forces in this country, including within this (thankfully) blue state and our purple-red-blue counties, that are attempting to turn our politics and lives upside down. These zealots want to change our laws, policies, public institutions and schools into those in which the separation of church and state is weakened if not wholly erased; where our kids won’t be taught accurate history or science, and may not be safe from once-controlled diseases because “parental choice” run amok means we’re all at risk.
Case in point? Florida has seen a 200% increase in whooping cough cases in the last year throughout the “no vaccine mandates” state. Gov. Ron DeSantis’s kids attend private schools, by the way, which require vaccines for admittance, but you peons? You’re on your own.
Local races matter. Those who serve their county, town or school board may ultimately run for higher office, having received vital experience and training while in those roles. Even if your kids are grown or you don’t have any, even if you live part-time elsewhere, we all have a stake in how our money is spent in our towns and counties, and in the education of America’s children, who are the leaders of the future. Vote. And, for literal goodness’ sake, vote Blue. Yes, dear readers, vote Blue to keep me chubby and out of the gulag!