100 days
like others, was created during the Jim Crow south as an effort to distort southern life during slavery, and perpetuate what is known as the "myth of the lost cause". It has been seen as an intimidation to people of color for decades. The current protests may have finally had some impact on the legislature in Mississippi.
by Hank Silverberg
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Most presidents are judged by how much they can get done in their first 100 days before the honeymoon with the electorate is over. A lot can happen in a hundred days--just over three months. And I note this week that we are just a bit over 100 days until the November 3rd presidential election.
There is a lot at stake. It's not just the White House but also the U.S. Senate where all good progressive bills have gone to die since Mitch McConnell became Majority Leader.
If you are a Democrat or a progressive-leaning voter in general, you are probably thrilled by the latest polls which show Joe Biden with some big leads across the country. There are also some Republican senators who are in danger of losing their seats. But there is a danger in those polls which we all must watch out for.
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Summaries of all the latest polls:
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As we found out in 2016, the pre-election polls are far from accurate.
The old adage goes: the only poll that matters is the one on election day, or, this year, for the few weeks leading up to it when people are mailing in their ballots, or for a few days after it when they are still counting ballots, or? Well, this year I just have the feeling we may not know who will be the next President the Wednesday after the election, or maybe for a few weeks after that. That also may be true of some Senate races, and therefore who controls of the Senate.
If you click on the link below you will see a map b ased on current polls giving Biden 301 Electoral College votes--a sure win in November.
But here's the danger. In the next 100 or so days, a lot of things can change. The economy could get worse, or better. The pandemic can get worse, or better. Joe Biden could make a major mistake or Donald Trump could actually do something progressive and popular. (That's not likely but I had to write it anyway.) All this could change enough people's minds to swing the election to Trump.
There's also voter indifference. Then there are Bernie voters who hate Trump but can't bring themselves to vote for Biden, or voters in some states who think the race is over who just don't go to the polls, or heaven forbid the pandemic gets so bad that people are too afraid to go out to vote.All of this could change the outcome.
There is also another scenario which some people have been writing about but praying that it doesn't happen--an election so close that it ends up in the courts. In fact, unless it's a landslide for Biden, I predict Trump will go kicking and screaming to the courts shouting fraud so loud that it will make the Bush-Gore debacle of 2000 look like the good old days.
The bottom line: FIND THE TIME TO VOTE. During the pandemic, your life could depend on it.
And then there is this: 
The "news media" of course will play a major role in the election as it always has. But the public's trust in "news media" as a whole is way down. A new poll from the highly respected Gallop organization shows record low trust from the public, specifically reporting on the coronavirus. Overall only 44% approve the news media's reporting on the pandemic and 55% disapprove of it. But like most things these days there's a political divide. Sixty-one percent of Democrats approve of the coverage, while 25% of Republicans disapprove. Looking back at last week's blog that may explain why so many people just refuse to wear masks and endanger us all. But I say again, wearing a mask is NOT a political statement.
Those who read this blog on a regular basis know that I spent almost four decades as a working journalist. That means I went out and covered stories and didn't just make things up or spout off my opinion on air. It is Journalism 101 where you are taught to ask "Who, What, When, Where, Why and How". Since taxpayers always want to know, I always added "how much" to my questions and answers. Unfortunately, the public seems to have trouble telling the difference between those who report the news and those who boviate their uninformed opinion. So, apparently, do the network executives who hired the "pundits." As a result, I am not surprised with the poll's results.
At the same time though, a new CBS poll shows approval of Trump's handling of the pandemic continues to drop. Only 43% think he is doing a good job, a drop of five points in the last three weeks, and ten points since March.
Four in ten Independents now say he is doing a very bad job.
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| (CBS graphic) |
News Brief:
Remember the border wall and the immigration debate? It seems like ancient history now. But the Trump administration lost another round in court this past week.
An appeals court has ruled that President Trump lacked the constitutional authority to transfer $2.5 billion from the military to use for construction of the wall along the U.S.- Mexico border. The three judge panel in San Francisco says such a transfer can only be done by Congress, and the administration violated the Appropriations Clause of the U.S. Constitution when it did so.
Trump had ordered that $15 billion from the Pentagon budget be used to replace about 200 miles of dilapidated wall along the border with a new one. The decision will make it harder for Mr. Trump to complete another 250 miles he had promised by November.
Yet another court case has an impact on the immigration issue as well. A federal judge has ordered ICE to release all detained immigrant CHILDREN by July 17, because of the impact of the coronavirus which has now reached three juvenile detention centers in Texas and Pennsylvania.
Both rulings went unnoticed by many people.
Update:
It's official. Mississippi has finally entered the 21st Century. Both houses of the State Legislature voted on Sunday to take down the 1894 state flag that included the confederate battle emblem. The state's voters will get to approve a new flag in November. It is the last state flag to include the divisive symbol. It will come down by July 13th. No word yet on the new designs being suggested, but it won't include anything like the Stars and Bars. This particular flag,
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| (Courtesy www.worldatlas.com) |
like others, was created during the Jim Crow south as an effort to distort southern life during slavery, and perpetuate what is known as the "myth of the lost cause". It has been seen as an intimidation to people of color for decades. The current protests may have finally had some impact on the legislature in Mississippi.
Meanwhile, the world is on fire:
While we have all been hunkered down at home trying to cut our own hair and find something worthwhile to watch on a streaming service, Climate Change has shown it's ugly head once again.
This story caught my eye while scrolling this week. It seems there's a big heat wave in Siberia. It's enough to send Russians used to sub- zero temperatures for most of the year, running to the beach to cool off. It reached 100 degrees in the town of Verkhoyansk in the previously frozen north.
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| (A satellite image of the heat wave) |
It seems the permafrost is melting enough to topple some buildings which no longer have year-round frozen ground to support them. Climate scientist Jonathan Overpeck at the University of Michigan told the PBS Newshour that prolonged Siberian warmth like this hasn't been seen in thousands of years and it amplifies Global Warning.
What's the science and the worry here? Last August, fires raged through parts of the Siberian forests and Greenpeace says with the warmer weather the permafrost thaws very quickly. That releases methane gas, a greenhouse gas which has a big impact on the overall temperature across the planet.
The impact is very long-term of course, so Baby Boomers like me don't have to worry about it affecting our lives very much. But if we care about our grandchildren, and I certainly do, then something needs to be done. Going back to the election, Mr. Trump doesn't believe in science so it's just another reason to vote against him before he negotiates with his friend Vlad to put up a Trump hotel on the new beach resorts in Siberia.
Copies of my book "The Campaign" are available. You can email me at hanksilverberg@gmail.com for instructions on how to get a a signed copy at a reduced rate)
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