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TexasTowelie's JournalFar-right militias heed Trump's call for poll watchers, and law enforcement is worried
Far-right militia promoter Josh Ellis can reach more than 20,000 members across the country in a matter of keystrokes. Many followers believe, like him, that the presidential election could be hijacked by leftists, a Trump defeat would plunge the nation into tyrannical rule, and the United States is lurching toward a violent civil war.
Ellis, who operates MyMilitia.com and goes by “AR2,” for “American Revolution 2.0,” has advised like-minded citizens to stand guard at voting stations Tuesday as part of President Trump’s “army” of poll watchers — and, if necessary, to use force.
“They are to be out there as patriots, not militias,” Ellis, of suburban Chicago, said in a phone interview before he addressed an ``American Patriot Rally" last Saturday in Florida.
“But if they see immediate danger of physical harm to someone,” he said, “they need to intercede and stop it.”
Read more: https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/10/29/nation/far-right-militias-heed-trumps-call-poll-watchers-law-enforcement-is-worried/
Elizabeth Warren's office compiled a report on the Trump administration's Hatch Act violations. They
Elizabeth Warren’s office compiled a report on the Trump administration’s Hatch Act violations. They counted more than 50.Sen. Elizabeth Warren often calls President Donald Trump’s administration the “most corrupt” in the country’s history — and not just because of the headline-grabbing stuff.
In a report Thursday shared exclusively with Boston.com, the Massachusetts senator’s office put together a list of all the confirmed and alleged violations of the Hatch Act by Trump administration officials, finding a pattern of disregard for the law with “almost no consequences.”
In short, the Hatch Act is an 80-year-old law that generally forbids federal executive branch employees from engaging in partisan political activities — like stumping for or against a candidate — while on the job so that taxpayer money isn’t effectively being used as if it were a campaign donation. There are some exceptions, including for the president and vice president, as well as even stricter rules for employees involved in national security, law enforcement, or elections.
According to the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, which enforces the Hatch Act, the law also seeks to ensure “that federal programs are administered in a nonpartisan fashion, to protect federal employees from political coercion in the workplace, and to ensure that federal employees are advanced based on merit and not based on political affiliation.”
Read more: https://www.boston.com/news/politics/2020/10/29/elizabeth-warren-trump-hatch-act-violations
MassHealth enrollment surges during pandemic
THE STATE’S MEDICAID program is experiencing a big increase enrollment, with officials worried about its long-term impact on state finances.
MassHealth, the state Medicaid program, is meant to cover the lowest income individuals in Massachusetts but in fact, it covers more than a quarter of the state’s population.
Secretary of Health and Human Services Marylou Sudders testified at a budget hearing before the House and Senate Ways and Means Committees on Wednesday that the MassHealth caseload increased by 9.2 percent since March, or 161,000 individuals. There are now more than 1.9 million people enrolled in the program, the highest number since 2016, and Sudders expects that figure to reach 2 million in fiscal 2022.
This is likely due to people becoming newly eligible for Medicaid during the pandemic as they lose jobs, income, or access to employer-sponsored health insurance. Under federal rules, Massachusetts is also not allowed to conduct redeterminations – assessing whether someone has lost eligibility for MassHealth – during the pandemic.
Read more: https://commonwealthmagazine.org/health-care/masshealth-enrollment-surges-during-pandemic/
Baker calls ranked-choice voting too complicated
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER said on Tuesday that he opposes ranked-choice voting because it’s too complicated for both voters and election officials to carry out.
The governor said voting is already complicated enough. “From our point of view, this thing [ranked-choice voting] is too complicated to have on top of that,” he said at a State House press conference. “The counting process alone could get unbelievably difficult.”
Jesse Mermell, an honorary co-chair and senior advisor to the ranked choice campaign, said ranked choice was implemented in Maine with no problems and has been in use in Cambridge since 1941.
“I think that’s insulting to Massachusetts voters,” she said of the governor’s comments.
Mermell ran for Congress earlier this year in a Democratic primary race that many considered the poster child for ranked-choice voting. Jake Auchincloss won in a field of seven with 22.4 percent of the vote. Mermell came in second with 21.1 percent.
Read more: https://commonwealthmagazine.org/politics/baker-calls-ranked-choice-voting-too-complicated/
121 Massachusetts cities and towns now at 'high risk' for coronavirus spread amid sharp rise in
The Massachusetts Department of Public Health's COVID risk assessment map as of October 29, 2020.
121 Massachusetts cities and towns now at ‘high risk’ for coronavirus spread amid sharp rise in infections
There are now 121 Massachusetts cities and towns considered “high risk” for the spread of coronavirus, according to the statewide COVID risk assessment map released on Thursday.
Changes to the statewide map are based on case data collected from Oct. 11 to Oct. 24. The communities in the high risk category have seen on average more than 8 new cases each day per 100,000 residents over a 14-day period.
Cities and towns that are designated high-risk for COVID spread on Thursday include: Agawam, Athol, Bedford, Bellingham, Beverly, Billerica, Blandford, Bolton, Braintree, Bridgewater, Brimfield, Cohasset, Danvers, Dartmouth, Dedham, Dighton, Dover, Dracut, East Bridgewater, Fitchburg, Foxborough, Freetown, Gardner, Georgetown, Granby, Hubbardston, Lakeville, Leominster, Littleton, Mansfield, Medford, Mendon, Nahant, Nantucket, Newburyport, North Attleborough, Northborough, Norton, Palmer, Peabody, Salisbury, Southborough, Swansea, Taunton, Tewksbury, Townsend, Wareham, West Boylston, West Springfield, Westborough, Westwood, Whitman, Wilmington and Winchester.
Cities and towns that were high-risk communities last week and remain in that category include: Abington, Acushnet, Ashland, Attleboro, Avon, Berkley, Boston, Boxford, Brockton, Buckland, Canton, Chelmsford, Chelsea, Chicopee, Clinton, East Longmeadow, Everett, Fairhaven, Fall River, Framingham, Gloucester, Hanover, Hanson, Haverhill, Hingham, Holliston, Holyoke, Hudson, Kingston, Lawrence, Leicester, Lowell, Lynn, Lynnfield, Malden, Marlborough, Marshfield, Methuen, Middleton, Milford, New Bedford, North Andover, Norwood, Pembroke, Plymouth, Randolph, Raynham, Revere, Rochester, Rockland, Saugus, Seekonk, Shrewsbury, Somerset, Springfield, Tyngsborough, Wakefield, Waltham, Webster, West Bridgewater, Westfield, Westport, Weymouth, Winthrop, Woburn, Worcester and Wrentham.
Reed more: https://www.masslive.com/coronavirus/2020/10/120-massachusetts-cities-and-towns-now-at-high-risk-for-coronavirus-spread-amid-sharp-rise-in-infections.html
Tanzania's president poised to be declared election winner
DODOMA, Tanzania (AP) — Tanzania’s president is poised to be declared the winner of Wednesday’s election, while the ruling party appears to have secured the two-thirds majority in parliament required to change the constitution.
Populist President John Magufuli has 83% of votes with 60% of ballots counted, the electoral commission said Friday. The ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi party has won 194 parliament seats, while opposition parties have won just two. That means upsets even in opposition strongholds, with the leaders of the two main opposition parties losing their seats.
The United States has said “irregularities and the overwhelming margins of victory raise serious doubts about the credibility of the results.” Main opposition presidential candidate Tundu Lissu with the CHADEMA party, who has received 14% of the vote so far, has rejected the election and called for protests.
The opposition alleges widespread fraud including double-voting, ballot box-seizing and the rejection of thousands of election observers from polling stations. Few international observers were allowed to watch the vote.
Read more: https://www.timesargus.com/news/world/tanzanias-president-poised-to-be-declared-election-winner/article_5239ca37-ef02-55f9-a5b9-3b3e3fbcc655.html
The Pandemic Has Opened Up Civic Life to Vermonters With Disabilities
Not long after she ran for the state legislature in 2018, Kate Larose slipped during an ice storm and hit her head. She was diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury.
Until then, the St. Albans resident had lived an active civic life — volunteering for political campaigns, working with activist organizations and engaging with local government. But she soon found that the auditory and visual stimulus of a crowded conference room or a rowdy march overwhelmed her brain.
"I realized this was not something I could do in my new reality. For a long time, a lot of my community and political activity was just shut down," Larose said. "Then the pandemic happened, and my whole world of community involvement opened up again because of the virtual opportunities."
The spread of COVID-19 has threatened the health, economic security and social connections of many Vermonters. But for some members of the disability community, it's provided new opportunities to take part in previously inaccessible activities. They can phone-bank from home, join remote campaign meetings and even take part in legislative committee hearings.
Read more: https://www.sevendaysvt.com/vermont/the-pandemic-has-opened-up-civic-life-to-vermonters-with-disabilities/Content?oid=31530761
New Zealand votes to legalize euthanasia but not marijuana
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealanders have voted in favor of legalizing euthanasia in a binding referendum. But in preliminary results they were rejecting a measure to legalize marijuana.
With about 83% of votes counted, New Zealanders emphatically endorsed the euthanasia measure with 65% voting in favor and 34% voting against.
The “no” vote on marijuana was much closer, with 53% voting against legalizing it and 46% voting in favor. That left open a slight chance the measure could still pass once all special votes were counted next week, although it would require a huge swing.
In past elections, special votes — which include those cast by overseas voters — have tended to be more liberal than general votes, giving proponents of marijuana legalization some hope the measure could still pass.
The euthanasia measure, which would also allow assisted suicide, would apply to people who have terminal illnesses, are likely to die within six months, and are enduring “unbearable” suffering. Other countries that allow some form of euthanasia include The Netherlands, Luxembourg, Canada, Belgium and Colombia.
Read more: https://www.rutlandherald.com/features/health/new-zealand-votes-to-legalize-euthanasia-but-not-marijuana/article_dc78f994-ed08-53c2-a851-a66259e7fbf0.html
Biden returns to Iowa; Trump plays defense in Mich., Wis.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — When Joe Biden was last in Iowa, his campaign was on the verge of collapse and he was soundly trounced in the caucuses by a former Indiana mayor nearly 40 years his junior. He returns Friday as the Democratic nominee, believing he's just days away from becoming president-elect.
Biden's trip reflects the growing confidence among Democrats in the closing days of the campaign. Iowa, which Trump won by 9 points in 2016, is among the clutch of GOP-leaning states that Biden is trying to bring back into the Democratic column. He'll also swing through Wisconsin on Friday while his running mate, Kamala Harris, courts voters in Texas, a longtime GOP bastion that Democrats insist is in play this year.
Trump, meanwhile, is playing defense in Michigan and Wisconsin, states he won four years ago. The president and Biden will both be in Minnesota, a longtime Democratic state that Trump is trying to flip.
The arc of Biden's rise is eclipsed only by that the challenges faced by Trump — whose confidence in his reelection was dealt a devastating blow by the pandemic this spring, with the public health and economic crises still rearing their head in the days leading up to the close of polling.
Read more: https://spectrumnews1.com/ky/louisville/ap-top-news/2020/10/30/biden-returns-to-iowa-trump-plays-defense-in-mich-wis
Can Employers Mandate their Workers Get Vaccinated?
TAMPA, Fla. – The law is on the side of public health officials when it comes time to getting everyone vaccinated, which means even companies could mandate their employees to get inoculated.
As we near the announcement of a coronavirus vaccine, health officials and lawmakers--from local to federal level-- will have to grapple with convincing the public to get immunized.
What about corporations? Can companies mandate their employees getting a vaccine?
Dr. Jay Wolfson, Senior Associate Dean at the University of South Florida’s Morsani College of Medicine said they can.
Read more: https://www.baynews9.com/fl/tampa/news/2020/10/29/can-employers-mandate-their-workers-get-vaccinated-
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