October 30, 2024 - Not About Elections

 

Getting away from what has been occupying most media (and this blog as well) lately, here's an interesting piece that has nothing to do with what will take place on November 5 ... or does it?  This opinion piece appeared in the Oct. 25 New York Times, and addresses what the writer finally calls 'intellectual inertia.'   But look for more on the election in the next posting on Jackspotpourri.

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There’s a Very Good Reason College Students Don’t Read Anymore 

By Jonathan Malesic, author of “The End of Burnout.” He teaches writing at Southern Methodist University. 

" I taught a college class on the meaning and value of work. It was a general-education class, the sort that students say they have to “get out of the way” before they move on to their major courses. Few of the students were avid readers, and many held jobs that constrained their study time.

I assigned them nine books. I knew I was asking a lot, but the students did great. Most of them aced their reading quizzes on Henry David Thoreau’s “Walden” and Plato’s “The Republic.” In class, our desks in a circle, we had lively discussions. 

After 13 years that included a pandemic and the advent of generative A.I., that reading list seems not just ambitious but absurd. I haven’t assigned an entire book in four years. 

Nationwide, college professors report steep declines in students’ willingness and ability to read on their own. To adapt, instructors are assigning less reading and giving students time in class to complete it. 

It’s tempting to lament the death of a reliable pathway to learning and even pleasure. But I’m beginning to think students who don’t read are responding rationally to the vision of professional life our society sells them. In that vision, productivity does not depend on labor, and a paycheck has little to do with talent or effort. For decades, students have been told that college is about career readiness and little else. And the task of puzzling out an author’s argument will not prepare students to thrive in an economy that seems to run on vibes. 

Recent ads for Apple Intelligence, an A.I. feature, make the vision plain. In one, the actor Bella Ramsey uses artificial intelligence to cover for the fact they haven’t read the pitch their agent emailed. It works, and the project seems like a go. Is the project actually any good? It doesn’t matter. The vibes will provide. 

Even in the ostensibly true depictions of working life that students see, like the “day in my life” videos that were popular on TikTok a couple of years ago, intellectual labor seems optional and entry-level corporate positions seem like a series of rooftop hangouts, free lunches and team-building happy hours — less a job than a lifestyle. And of course the ultimate lifestyle job is being an influencer, a tantalizing prospect that seems always just one viral post away. 

The most visible college students are big-time athletes, who these days can earn money — in some cases, millions of dollars — through sponsorship deals. But however hard these students push themselves, their earnings are officially not for their work on the field but for their marketability off it. 

Once students graduate, the jobs they most ardently desire are in what they proudly call the “sellout” fields of finance, consulting and tech. To outsiders, these industries are abstract and opaque, trading on bluster and jargon. One thing is certain, though: That’s where the money is. 

 All in all, it looks as if success follows not from knowledge and skill but from luck, hype and access to the right companies. If this is the economy students believe they’re entering, then why should they make the effort to read? For that matter, how will any effort in school prepare them for careers in which, apparently, effort is not rewarded? 

Given all this, it’s easy to lose faith in humanistic learning. Universities themselves offer little solace. They constantly promote the idea that a degree is about earning power above all else. They embrace influencer culture and probably benefit from viral phenomena like *Bama Rush. They certainly aren’t shooing away corporate recruiters. 

But teaching is an inherently hopeful profession, and as much as students worry me, they also give me hope. I often see my writing students push themselves past what’s easy or rational. They get excited about their research projects; sometimes they even ponder whether to use a period or a semicolon to separate two sentences. 

The fact is, not all students aim to sail on vibes. Some want to do work that makes more than money. Some finance majors do, too. And others, God bless them, just want to learn what they can and worry about work later. 

It’s up to students to decide whether they’ll resist intellectual inertia. All I can do is demonstrate that it is worth it to read, to pause, to think, to revise, to reread, to discuss, to revise again. I can, in the time students are with me, offer them chances to defy their incentives and see what happens. I need to get back to assigning books. Nine is too many. But one? They can read one. Next semester, they will." 

* I cannot see why the author included this but that's what he did.

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Housekeeping on Jackspotpourri 

Forwarding Postings: Please forward this posting to anyone you think might benefit from reading it (Friends, relatives, enemies, etc.) If you want to send someone the blog, you can just tell them to check it out by visiting https://jackspotpourri.blogspot.com or you can provide a link to that address in your email to them. There’s another, perhaps easier, method of forwarding it though! Google Blogspot, the platform on which Jackspotpourri is prepared, makes that possible. If you click on the tiny envelope with the arrow at the bottom of every posting, you will have the opportunity to list up to ten email addresses to which that blog posting will be forwarded, along with a brief comment from you. Each will receive a link to click on that will directly connect them to the blog. Either way will work, sending them the link to https://jackspotpourri.blogspot.com, or clicking on the envelope at the bottom of this posting. 

Email Alerts: If you are NOT receiving emails from me alerting you each time there is a new posting on Jackspotpourri, just send me your email address and we’ll see that you do. And if you are forwarding a posting to someone, you might suggest that they do the same, so they will be similarly alerted. You can pass those email addresses to me by email at jacklippman18@gmail.com. 

Again, I urge you to forward this posting to anyone you think might benefit from reading it, particularly if they are a registered voter. Just a bit over a week remains until Election Day.   

Spread the word. 

 JL 

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October 26, 2024 - Two 'Puzzlements,' A Ride to the Polls, Does Hair Count?, the Electoral College, and Stupidity vs Ignorance.

 

Two ‘Puzzlements’

(with apologies to 'The King and I')

It puzzles me that the latest polls from Florida show Donald Trump with a slight lead over Kamala Harris, while State Constitutional Amendment Four, protecting abortion rights, has a majority of voters supporting it, although possibly not the required 60%. 

Either one or both of these polling results are wrong, or else there are Trump supporters out there who also support making abortion rights part of the Florida Constitution, something that causes me to scratch my head.  My conclusion is that it is time to ignore polls, even those that look good for those whom you support. 

Another ‘puzzlement’ is why many in the military, and veterans as well, still support Donald Trump despite his repeatedly disparaging them. For example, he has been severely criticized by former Armed Forces Joint Chiefs of Staff, Generals Mark Milley and John Kelly, a former Marine Commandant as well.  Yet many male voters in the Armed Forces, even those of color, alarmed by the support Kamala Harris is receiving, are comfortable with Trump's artificial 'machismo.'

But draft-dodger Trump’s statements speak for themselves.  Check out his preferences for Hitler’s more obedient generals and his dissatisfaction with soldiers who get wounded or get taken prisoner by an enemy, and his comments on the late John McCain.  Trump represents the opposite of patriotism.  Is it going too far to say that he is not a loyal American? 

Kelly has said that in his opinion, ‘Mr. Trump met the definition of a fascist, would govern like a dictator if allowed, and had no understanding of the Constitution or the concept of rule of law.’ 

That, from Kelly, a former Trump White House Chief of Staff who worked daily with Trump during his tenure in the White House, should be enough to turn off voters other than those whose minds have been permanently altered by some kind of poison impregnated into the fabric of their MAGA caps! 

But why do Marines and other military today (go ask one) still mostly support Trump? I suspect that it is because those in the Armed Forces are trained to unquestionably accept orders given to them and mistakenly apply that to voting as civilians as well.  It is time that America be made aware that patriotism is not the sole possession of the Trumpian liars. And too many in uniform (and veterans) still think it’s acceptable to follow Donald Trump until he orders them not to, not even accepting the fact that Joe Biden has been president since 2021, having won the 2020 election.  

Again, ignore the polls and in these last few days before the Election, get out there to actively work for those whose positions on real issues are those to which you also subscribe.  And convince others to do the same! 

JL

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Need a Lift to Be Able to Vote? 

Those who have taken advantage of early voting or voting by mail where available have done their thing. It’s now up to those who will show up at their polling location on the first Tuesday in November and cast their vote in person. If you know of anyone who might not be able to do so for physical reasons, offer to give them a lift to their voting location! 

For those who are registered to vote in my community, Cascade Lakes in Boynton Beach, Florida, I am willing to do so. My phone number is (561) 676 4924. 

JL 

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An Election Result Determined by Hairdressers?

This is going to be a close election. A few votes in a ‘battleground’ State such as Pennsylvania or Michigan can determine who will be the next president of the United States. Therefore, those who run political campaigns should discourage anything that might cause even just those few votes to be lost. They could be the ones needed to reach the magic number of 270 electoral votes.  Little Things Can Mean a Lot!

Those who take political positions, report on them, or support them, should consider their appearance. Outlandish hair styles, that have nothing to do with a political position, can turn off a voter.  Little Things Can Mean a Lot!

 Juanita Tolliver

I am reminded of that when I see Juanita Tolliver reporting on MSNBC. There will be those who are not bothered by her occasionally extremist coiffure, with 90% of her hair cascading like Niagara Falls to the left, but there will be some who will be turned off by it, taking it as going a bit too far and a tacit endorsement of an extreme progressive position, and end up voting for Republicans. I hope those who can speak to her about it will do so … and quickly!  Little Things Can Mean a Lot!

 

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And Juanita Tolliver isn’t the only one to which this applies. While the words spoken by Mollie Jong-Fast (In Vanity Fair and on  MSNBC) might be inspirational, having three-colored hair is going to cause some voters to ignore what she is saying, and conceivably lose votes for Democrats in crucial States.  

Mollie Jong-Fast

In close elections, looking like an extremist can scare away those uncommitted, middle-of-the road voters essential to a victory.  Little Things Can Mean a Lot!

JL 

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Presidential Election Result Unpredictable Due to Founding Fathers’ Fears 

THE RESULT OF THIS ELECTION IS UNPREDICTABLE, DEPENDENT ON WHAT TRIFLING OCCURANCE MIGHT TAKE PLACE IN ANY ONE OF THE 'BATTLEGROUND' STATES, tipping that State’s electoral votes toward the 270 needed for one candidate to win the presidency.  Winning a State by one vote is equal to a landslide in terms of securing all a State’s electoral votes (except in Maine and Nebraska).  

This will be a permanent problem so long as we are saddled with the Electoral College, the relic of the Founding Fathers' not having full trust in democracy.  

The nation’s long-term plan should be to get rid of the Electoral College via a Constitutional Amendment. This will not occur in our lifetimes nor in those of our children and is complicated by the Constitution’s providing two Senators for every State, regardless of population, another manifestation of the trepidation with which the Founding Fathers viewed the new nation’s democratic experiment back in 1789. 

JL

  

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Stupidity Versus Ignorance

Some people feel that those with whom they disagree politically are stupid.  Some may be, and unfortunately, nothing can be done to remedy stupidity.  Trying to correct it is a waste of time.

Often, however, what appears to be stupidity is merely ignorance, something that can be remedied by a healthy dose of truth.  That's why we have 'fact checkers' and why everyone should be very careful not to believe everything presented as being factual.  

It's too late in the game to try to cure some voters' ignorance before November 5 (that's a long term assignment), but it is not too late to make sure that everyone who recognizes the political, economic, and social truths that govern the reality in which we live casts their votes on November 5.  That includes you and those whom you might influence.

JL

  

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Housekeeping on Jackspotpourri 

Forwarding Postings: Please forward this posting to anyone you think might benefit from reading it (Friends, relatives, enemies, etc.) If you want to send someone the blog, you can just tell them to check it out by visiting https://jackspotpourri.blogspot.com or you can provide a link to that address in your email to them. There’s another, perhaps easier, method of forwarding it though! Google Blogspot, the platform on which Jackspotpourri is prepared, makes that possible. If you click on the tiny envelope with the arrow at the bottom of every posting, you will have the opportunity to list up to ten email addresses to which that blog posting will be forwarded, along with a brief comment from you. Each will receive a link to click on that will directly connect them to the blog. Either way will work, sending them the link to https://jackspotpourri.blogspot.com, or clicking on the envelope at the bottom of this posting. 

Email Alerts: If you are NOT receiving emails from me alerting you each time there is a new posting on Jackspotpourri, just send me your email address and we’ll see that you do. And if you are forwarding a posting to someone, you might suggest that they do the same, so they will be similarly alerted. You can pass those email addresses to me by email at jacklippman18@gmail.com. 

Again, I urge you to forward this posting to anyone you think might benefit from reading it, particularly if they are a registered voter. Just a bit over a week remains until Election Day.   

Spread the word. 

 JL 

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October 22, 2024 - Two Weeks to Election Day, What Trump is Up To, Signs that He Knows He's a Loser, a Poem, and a bit of Football and Baseball

 

What Trump and His Supporters Are Up To 

 

Here's an excerpt from Heather Cox Richardson’s ‘Letters from an American’ dated October 17, 2024. It pins down quite a bit, although I feel that the Christian nationalists are mostly unaware that they are being ‘used’ by the MAGA Trumpsters to add some relative respectability to their otherwise fascistic programs. I believe that the ‘tech elites’ she mentions (Peter Thiel, the financial mogul behind JD Vance, and Elon Musk) are a far greater danger.

Here's the excerpt:  ‘Although democracy has been delivering for Americans, Donald Trump and MAGAs rose to power by convincing those left behind by 40 years of supply-side economics that their problem was not the people in charge of the government, but rather the government itself. Trump wants to get rid of the current government so that he can enrich himself, do whatever he wants to his enemies, and avoid answering to the law. 

The Christian nationalists who wrote Project 2025 want to destroy the federal government so they can put in place an authoritarian who will force Americans to live under religious rule. Tech elites like Elon Musk and Peter Thiel want to get rid of the federal government so they can control the future without having to worry about regulations. In place of what they insist is a democratic system that has failed, they are offering a strongman who, they claim, will take care of people more efficiently than a democratic government can. 

The focus on masculinity and portrayals of Trump as a muscled hero‚ much as Russian president Vladimir Putin portrays himself, fit the mold of an authoritarian leader.’ 

JL 

 

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A Very Brief Column by Timothy Snyder 

                                                     

Take a minute to check out Yale history Professor Timothy Snyder’s October 19 remarks in his ‘Thinking About’ blog. You can find it at https://snyder.substack.com/p/the-loser-triad?utm_campaign=email-half-post&r=50599&utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email or by CLICKING HERE.  

Snyder addresses the three signs that will indicate that Donald Trump believes he has lost the election.

But please, don’t let that deter you from your efforts to make certain Trump’s defeat actually happens!  Nothing is automatic in today’s political environment, and that includes the election results and the reactions of the election’s winners and losers. 

Believers in democracy: Get to work! 

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Here is what you can do!  

• Start by making a list of friends and relatives who might need reminding of the danger that Donald Trump and his supporters pose to democracy.  
• Make it your business to give them a call between now and Election Day, two weeks off, reminding them of the importance of the election.  (If you know they are supporting Trump, don't bother calling them.)  
• If they live in a 'battleground' State (Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Michigan, Wisconsin, Georgia, Nevada, or Arizona), call them twice!  
• And any Floridians on your list should be reminded to vote for Debbie Muscarsel-Powell for Senator to replace Rick (anti-Medicare, anti-Social Security) Scott, and to vote 'Yes' on Amendments 3 (legal regulated marijuana) and 4 (abortion rights.)

JL 

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Local Poet Speaks Out 

Here’s a timely poem by Joyce Golden written less than a month before Election Day, 2024. 

“A Letter” 

Dearest America,

Just a few thoughts to share:

The long arm of election from years to months,

at last, the privilege of making a choice.

Yet unending preoccupation

with division, inclusion, exclusion

and indecision,

casts a wide swathe of attention:

cable ‘news’: our closest friends,

keep us company,

say what we like to hear

over and over and over again.

America, let’s regroup,

Let’s dare to enlighten, to endeavor

to co-listen and to co-learn,

to speak to what’s better, kinder, more binding.

Dare to be more hopeful, more helpful, more caring.

To be human is to EMPATHIZE:

“The action of understanding being aware and

sensitive to the feelings, thoughts and

experience of another”

For empathy will set us all free.

 

Joyce Golden

                                                     

JL 

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Another Step in the Demise of College Football 

Essential to a successful college football team are a strong defensive secondary and a strong offensive line.   Without the former, the other team will pass and run at will. Without the latter, a team’s own otherwise strong offensive tools are worthless, not being able to get off its plays. 

The remedies to this problem rest in the triad of (a) recruiting promising athletes from high and prep schools, (b) obtaining them from other colleges through the ‘transfer portal,’ and (c) retaining them from leaving for some other more lucrative offer once they have proven their worth. 

Even this is only possible if (1) a school lowers its academic standards to fit the needs of athletes who would not otherwise be admitted, and (2) generous monetary compensation is available for athletes provided by alumni and other groups through payment for use of athlete’s names, images, and likenesses (N.I.L. programs). That is the way the ‘student athletes,’ who are really employees of the college, get paid! 

Some schools can afford to do this. Most cannot. This is really what determines at what level of competition a college plays its games, the SEC, the Big Ten, the AAC, and the Big Twelve, being the highest tiers. This is why many college football coaches, the ones who know how to operate in such an environment, have salaries greater than many college presidents, and are constantly looking to move to other schools, or possibly jobs as TV commentators. 

The bottom line is that money now calls the shots in college football. (The same may be said of basketball.) Wherever money is thusly involved, gambling follows and today’s proliferation of online gambling sites includes college sports. Such gambling was once illegal but no longer is. There is no longer any need for ‘bookies at a street corner.’  They are at anyone’s fingertips.  Sooner or later this process will lead to a gambling scandal which will return college athletics to the pristine level they once occupied, and still do occupy in all nations other than the United States. Just wait and see. 

 (I don’t know if the chariot races held in ancient Rome were ‘fixed’ but their demise eventually coincided with the decline and fall of the Roman Empire.) 

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 And speaking of sports, the World Series starts on Friday. Weeks ago, I predicted that the talent-laden New York Yankees would win the World Series, although I was wrong about who their National League opponent would be. I stick with that prediction, although I will be rooting for the Los Angeles Dodgers! 

I cannot bring myself to support any team, like the Yankees, that refuses to put its players’ names on the back of their jerseys. The Yankees’ traditional arrogance prevents them from thusly identifying their players for the occasional fan who cannot recognize them by sight, implying that they do not want nor need their support. (Hopefully, the TV announcers will continue to mention the name of such unidentified Yankees when they come to the plate or make an outstanding play.) Go Dodgers! 

JL                                                   

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Housekeeping on Jackspotpourri 

Forwarding Postings: Please forward this posting to anyone you think might benefit from reading it (Friends, relatives, enemies, etc.) If you want to send someone the blog, you can just tell them to check it out by visiting https://jackspotpourri.blogspot.com or you can provide a link to that address in your email to them. There’s another, perhaps easier, method of forwarding it though! Google Blogspot, the platform on which Jackspotpourri is prepared, makes that possible. If you click on the tiny envelope with the arrow at the bottom of every posting, you will have the opportunity to list up to ten email addresses to which that blog posting will be forwarded, along with a brief comment from you. Each will receive a link to click on that will directly connect them to the blog. Either way will work, sending them the link to https://jackspotpourri.blogspot.com, or clicking on the envelope at the bottom of this posting. 

Email Alerts: If you are NOT receiving emails from me alerting you each time there is a new posting on Jackspotpourri, just send me your email address and we’ll see that you do. And if you are forwarding a posting to someone, you might suggest that they do the same, so they will be similarly alerted. You can pass those email addresses to me by email at jacklippman18@gmail.com. 

Again, I urge you to forward this posting to anyone you think might benefit from reading it, particularly if they are a registered voter. Just two weeks remain until Election Day. Spread the word. 

JL 

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October 16, 2024 - Candidate Audiences, Two Great Resources, Polls, the Electoral College, Hurricane Milton, and More

 

Candidates Seeking an Audience

A problem for political candidates is getting their messages through to where the voters they are trying to reach are. Years ago, newspapers filled this function, eventually supplemented by radio. Candidates made speeches and they were reported and that was it. Sometimes, newspapers endorsed candidates. Now, with television and the internet supplanting these earlier media choices, candidates are not as certain as they once were as to where to direct their remarks. 

Donald Trump and Kamala Harris (and their VP running mates) usually speak before audiences of their supporters, primed to wave signs and applaud and cheer. But Trump does this to firm up the loyalty of those already for him while Harris seeks a wider audience and utilizes a greater source of speaking opportunities. 

Both strategies carry risks with them. Trump uses his resources only to strengthen those already solidly for him and those sufficiently feeble-minded or bigoted to swallow his lies but does not stress expanding that base. 

Harris perhaps risks antagonizing some who would normally support her in the hope of gaining other supporters. It’s a balancing act to get their messages out to where the people they want to reach are. Age, gender, economic level, race, and educational level must all be considered, and as the King in ‘the King and I’ said, ‘is a puzzlement.’ 

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Newspapers’ One Big Advantage: 

And speaking of newspapers, they still have the wonderful advantage of enabling their readers to totally ignore the advertisements they carry. Those who follow the candidates on TV or online do not offer that opportunity. The viewer is stuck with their ads. I occasionally flip back and forth between several news channels (MSNBC or CNN or even the NBC, CBS, or ABC local outlets) to avoid four or five minutes of annoying commercials. But this alone will not enable the printed newspaper to survive very much longer. But I still get one delivered to my doorstep daily, as long as it is being printed.

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The Dripping Pita: 

And speaking of TV commercials, I get a laugh from one I frequently see from Taco Bell.  A couple seated on a sofa are eating one of their meaty, cheesy, creations (a ‘Chalupa’ maybe) and the viewer can see the filling drip down toward the guy’s clothing and probably the sofa as well. I’ve seen it often enough to know that they must be aware of this, but they don’t fix it. Could it be intentional? Warning, if you try one: Put a large dinner napkin on your lap!

JL 

             

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Two Valuable Resources 

If you were enrolled at Boston College, you probably would be on a wait list to enroll in one of Professor Heather Cox Richardson’s classes. If you were enrolled at Yale University, the same would be the case with Professor Timothy Snyder’s classes. But you are fortunate to have access to their wisdom each date on their websites, without even paying tuition (unless you want an upgraded version allowing you to make comments and read the comments of others). 

Make it a point to check out their websites daily. Snyder’s can be reached at https://snyder.substack.com/about or by CLICKING HERE. Richardson’s can be reached at https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/ or by CLICKING HERE. Make them a daily habit. 

Richardson’s posting dated October 15 well documents Donald Trump’s deteriorating mental state. Check it out. 

JL 

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Attention: Mail-in Voters

If you are voting by mail, don’t sit on your ballot, probably received by now.  If you haven’t gotten it yet, or lost it, contact the County Supervisor of Elections, in Palm Beach County at (561) 656-6208. Once you send it in, you can track its progress through their ‘system’ online. Mail-in ballots must be received by them by November 4. If you have one sitting there, complete it and send it back by mail today! Not tomorrow, TODAY! (no postage stamp is required!)  

You can call that number for all election information or visit the website at VotePalmBeach.gov or by CLICKING HERE. (That's where you can track your mail in ballot.)

JL 

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Bumper Stickers

I believe that bumper stickers on cars are valuable campaigning tools. They enable you to proudly state your election preference and encourage others to vote for your choices. But I seem to see them less frequently than in prior years. 

I have a ‘Harris/Walz’ sticker (the easily removable kind) on my rear bumper and a homemade one in my rear window reading ‘Flip Florida’ (in blue of course). ‘Yes’ votes for Amendments 3 (legal marijuana) and 4 (abortion rights) may be the locomotives that pull the entire Democratic ticket to victories in Florida. 

Search for stickers by visiting https://officialharriswalzcampaign.com/collections/sticker or by CLICKING HERE. Some are available from private vendors and some from the candidates’ campaigns. 

Since we are getting close to Election Day, be certain whatever you might order assures a prompt delivery.

JL 

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Time to Ignore Polling … and the Electoral College Problem 

At this point in time, it’s best to ignore whatever polls suggest is happening. I guarantee you that there will be States than polls predict will be in one candidate’s camp which will end up in the other candidate's pocket.  It will be a very close election.

All you can do at this point is to seriously work hard to see that your candidate wins, in your State, and in other States than might count more than yours does because of the crazy Electoral College with which we are stuck.

Someday we may get rid of the Electoral College (maybe in twenty or thirty years) by Constitutional amendment or by a sufficient number of State legislative actions to enable all of that State’s electoral vote to go to a candidate who won the election’s nationwide popular vote. Two hundred and seventy electoral votes, secured in that manner, would result in what amounts to the popular election of our president! 

But the composition of State legislatures can change and be fickle so a Constitutional amendment would be preferable. 

JL 

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Hurricane Milton and Tornadoes 

It has been a few days since Hurricane Milton.  It’s time to get one thing straight.  Hurricane Milton itself didn’t directly cause the deaths nor do the damage Palm Beach and neighboring counties on Florida’s southeast coast experienced.  Milton’s damage occurred on the Gulf Coast and along the I-4 corridor.  Tornadoes, spawned by Milton on its peripheral fringes, were the cause of deaths and damage elsewhere in Florida. But that was apart from the damage Milton directly did. 

These tornadoes were of the severity usually associated with those that plague the plains States, and not like the much milder incidental ones that occasionally strike elsewhere, including Palm Beach County.  (One such tornado struck the Kings Point community a few years ago, damaging roofs but not causing deaths) there. Preparing for a hurricane is not the same as preparing for a tornado, a near-impossible task.

Once a tornado warning is issued, there is no real way to prepare for such events in homes without basements in which to shelter, which few residences in our area include. We’re told to stay in rooms without windows. There are few such rooms in Florida homes. None of the damage done by these hurricanes could have been prevented, and specific warnings, if any, came only minutes before they struck. (The Weather Channel, on TV, broadcast general tornado warnings every two minutes for many hours on the day they struck, but there’s a limit as to how long residents can huddle in an interior windowless bathroom, one of the recommended actions.) 

Of prime concern is determining what caused tornadoes of great severity to accompany Milton on its fringes, something not usually present in Florida’s long hurricane history.   Mild, brief tornadoes … yes, but severe ones as struck on October 9, … never, at least in my recollection.  

I think the answer to that question lies in recognizing the human causes of climate change, something which has elevated water temperatures and relocated the spawning ground of North Atlantic storm centers and hurricanes. The shifting of Saharan sands, possibly connected with agriculture or deforestation there, or even elsewhere on the planet, might be involved. All that is what real scientists are studying. 

But dealing with climate change is difficult in a State where it is illegal to use the words ‘climate change’ in any legislation or regulations. Florida’s governor’s positive reaction to the damage done by Helene and Milton is to be commended, but he still ignores what might be their cause: climate change. He is a fool for doing so. 

JL 

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Housekeeping on Jackspotpourri 

Forwarding Postings: Please forward this posting to anyone you think might benefit from reading it (Friends, relatives, enemies, etc.) If you want to send someone the blog, you can just tell them to check it out by visiting https://jackspotpourri.blogspot.com or you can provide a link to that address in your email to them. 

There’s another, perhaps easier, method of forwarding it though! Google Blogspot, the platform on which Jackspotpourri is prepared, makes that possible. If you click on the tiny envelope with the arrow at the bottom of every posting, you will have the opportunity to list up to ten email addresses to which that blog posting will be forwarded, along with a brief comment from you. Each will receive a link to click on that will directly connect them to the blog. Either way will work, sending them the link to https://jackspotpourri.blogspot.com, or clicking on the envelope at the bottom of this posting. 

Email Alerts: If you are NOT receiving emails from me alerting you each time there is a new posting on Jackspotpourri, just send me your email address and we’ll see that you do. And if you are forwarding a posting to someone, you might suggest that they do the same, so they will be similarly alerted. You can pass those email addresses to me by email at jacklippman18@gmail.com. 

Again, I urge you to forward this posting to anyone you think might benefit from reading it, particularly if they are a registered voter. There’s less than three weeks remaining until Election Day. Spread the word. 

JL 

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October 10, 2024 - Retaining Control of the Senate, Hurricanes, Lies, and More

 

Hurricane Milton 

Those of us in Palm Beach County, and southward, lucked out. 

Hurricane Milton wreaked havoc elsewhere in Florida, mostly on the Gulf Coast and along the I-4 corridor, and from unexpectedly vicious tornadoes on its fringes, which caused deaths not too far north of us in St. Lucie County. 

Milton blew the roof off of the Tropicana Stadium in
St. Petersburg, home field of the Tampa Bay Rays

Adding to the damage still being dealt with from the earlier storm, Hurricane Helene, Florida has quite a recovery job on its hands. The full extent of the damage done is yet to be assessed, on this ‘morning after.’  

The long-term implications of these storms, along with the question of the involvement of’ ‘climate change’ in their genesis (officially two ‘verboten’ words according to Florida’s governor and legislature) must be addressed. Jackspotpourri will not ignore this. 

JL 

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More About Lies

The preceding posting on Jackspotpourri dealt with lies.  Please re-read it!  They are the chief weapon of what is left of the Republican Party, in its efforts to replace our democracy with an autocratic form of government.  Massive lying is their ‘weapon of  mass destruction’ aimed at our government. 

Professor Heather Cox Richardson’s posting on her daily ‘Letters from an American’ goes into this subject in great detail in her postings dated October 6 and October 8, 2024.  Please check them out by copying and pasting https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/ on your browser line or by CLICKING HERE .  It is more than frightening.  Read them both!

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The violent weather we’ve been experiencing has not been ignored by Republican liars, either.

Two weeks ago, when Hurricane Helene tore through the Southeast, leaving over 200 dead and thousands missing across North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, and Tennessee, Trump, JD Vance, and right-wing media politicized the crisis, spreading conspiracy theories that undermined rescue efforts.  I would hope they don’t do the same regarding Hurricane Milton.

At first glance, these lies may seem too absurd to take seriously. Claims that Democrats are using ‘weather manipulation’ (remember Marjorie Taylor Greene’s ‘Jewish space lasers’) or deliberately withholding aid from Republican districts might sound ridiculous, but they’re already having a dangerous impact. The head of FEMA even warned that this misinformation is “truly dangerous.”

Trump and his MAGA allies lie to make the Biden-Harris rescue responses seem ineffective and partisan, falsely claiming that the government is withholding aid from Republican voters, limiting support for Hurricane Helene victims to $750, and allocating emergency funds to migrants instead of disaster response. That’s a lie.  The $750 is an emergency, no-questions-asked, stopgap payment for those with no remaining financial resources; greater, meaningful, benefits are available through FEMA. 

And there’s even more. Trump backer Elon Musk took these lies further by spreading completely fabricated claims on ‘X’ (which he owns) that North Carolina government officials were arresting FEMA officers as claimed by JD Vance in a Wall Street Journal op-ed, quickly debunked by the public statements of Republican governors in Tennessee and Georgia who praised the Biden-Harris response.  According to a media report, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper called Vance’s op-ed ‘appalling.’ More Lies!

Now, as recovery efforts from Hurricane Milton join the Hurricane Helene efforts, FEMA officials are concerned that people might be reluctant to seek help because they believe these lies. (See the article further along in this posting about ‘low-information voters.’)

JL

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Conditioning the Public to Believe Lies                                           

And while we’re on the subject of lying, let’s not excuse the dishonest commercial advertising based on ambiguities and half-truths, on TV and elsewhere, that condition Americans to buy into real, totally fabricated, Republican lies! 

I could spend an entire posting on Jackspotpourri to describe them, but you know what they are. A typical one, for example, is boasting of savings ‘up to’ a specific amount, which of course can describe a penny of savings or even no savings whatsoever. (‘Buy now and save up to thousands of dollars.’)

These half-truths, I repeat, condition Americans to fall for the far bigger lies told by politicians, lies that threaten our democracy.

JL

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Low-Information Voters

I am no great fan of columnist Jonah Goldberg, but here’s an excerpt from his recent column entitled ‘The Strategy Lying Behind Trump’s Dark Speeches' (as it appeared in the Palm Beach Post).’

‘I don’t have a lot of respect or admiration for the sort of low-information voters who have to be duped with apocalyptic and demonizing bilge.  But I have greater contempt for the voters and especially the leaders who condone the strategy even though they know better… ‘

This fits in nicely with the Republicans’ heavy dependence upon lies in their campaigning.  Democrats must remember that a vote from one of those ‘low-information’ voters counts just as much as a vote from a well-informed, thinking, voter.  And there are many such ‘low-information’ voters in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Arizona, Georgia, North Carolina, and of course in Florida, where they form a solid majority.  Democrats must find a way of reaching them.

JL

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Retaining Control of the Senate is Vitally Important

Regardless of who wins the presidency and control of the House of Representatives, it is most crucial that Democrats remain in control of the Senate.  That is where Supreme Court nominees are confirmed and impeachments by the House are voted upon.  While financial legislation originates in the House, it must pass in the Senate as well.

Here are eleven seats that Democrats must win.  You can make that happen!

In Florida, Debbie Muscarsel-Powell is attempting to unseat Rick Scott, the wealthiest Senator of all 100, who is no friend of Social Security, Medicare, and most other programs designed to benefit ordinary people.  If you are a Florida voter, please work for her election and donate to her campaign at https://www.debbieforflorida.com/ or by simply CLICKING HERE.

Also running to capture the seats of incumbent Republican Senators are Colin Allred (Texas) and Gloria Johnson (Tennessee). 

Running to defend Senate seats presently held by Democrats are Lisa Blunt Rochester (Delaware), Ruben Gallego (Arizona), and Angela Alsobrooks (Maryland). 

Finally, these Democratic Senators are running to retain their seats: Jon Tester (Montana), Jacky Rosen (Nevada), Sherrod Brown (Ohio), Bob Casey (Pennsylvania) and Tammy Baldwin (Wisconsin).

If you have friends or relatives in these States, give them a call!  And your donations to help the campaigns of ALL Democrats running for Senate seats will be welcomed by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign at https://www.dscc.org.  You can CLICK HERE to reach their site.

JL

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New York’s Mayor in the Spotlight

I am sickened by the corruption with which New York’s mayor is being charged.  From the news accounts I have read, he was not reluctant to appoint relatives and friends to various city posts, and they seem to have shared in the actions of his lawbreaking administration.  These are not situations where resignations will suffice.  If the charges result in indictments by grand juries, there should be trials for all involved, to make sure justice is served in the interest of the people.

And watch for the vicious undercurrent which Mayor Adams’ activities have stirred up, concerning a dark period of American history. 

After the Civil War, white Southerners feared that giving the vote to former slaves would result in unqualified black dominated governments that would pilfer State treasuries for their own personal benefit.  It took Lyndon Johnson’s 1964 civil rights legislation to start to reverse State racist laws these Southern bigots had successfully put into place to lessen the influence of the freed slaves and their descendants.

Today’s Republican Party includes many who fear that the presence of many persons of color among the Democratic Party’s leadership will have the same result nationally as Southerners feared in 1865.  New York’s Mayor Adams makes it easy for that bigoted element of the G.O.P. to seek support for unspoken racists such as Trump and Vance. 

Therefore, Democrats must conspicuously lead the way in investigating Adams’ corruption and that of his hangers-on and offer them no shelter nor salvation. Not doing that will aid the Trump campaign, where some post-Civil War racist thinking persists.  Things like this influence voters, including those silent ones who only reveal their racism when they vote.

JL

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Housekeeping on Jackspotpourri 

Forwarding Postings: Please forward this posting to anyone you think might benefit from reading it (Friends, relatives, enemies, etc.) If you want to send someone the blog, you can just tell them to check it out by visiting https://jackspotpourri.blogspot.com or you can provide a link to that address in your email to them. There’s another, perhaps easier, method of forwarding it though!  

Google Blogspot, the platform on which Jackspotpourri is prepared, makes that possible. If you click on the tiny envelope with the arrow at the bottom of every posting, you will have the opportunity to list up to ten email addresses to which that blog posting will be forwarded, along with a brief comment from you. Each will receive a link to click on that will directly connect them to the blog. 

Either way will work, sending them the link to https://jackspotpourri.blogspot.com, or clicking on the envelope at the bottom of this posting. 

Email Alerts: If you are NOT receiving emails from me alerting you each time there is a new posting on Jackspotpourri, just send me your email address and we’ll see that you do. And if you are forwarding a posting to someone, you might suggest that they do the same, so they will be similarly alerted. You can pass those email addresses to me by email at jacklippman18@gmail.com. 

Again, I urge you to forward this posting to anyone you think might benefit from reading it, particularly if they are a registered voter. There’s less than a month remaining until Election Day. Spread the word. 

 

JL 

 

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