Zombie Election

All the signs are in place and the warnings have been issued. The impending midterm elections could be a disaster for America.

It is not only that Republicans will win the House and may also squeak out control of the Senate. (That one is too close to call.) It’s all those elections many people ignore at the state and local level, where hordes of election deniers appear to be poised to win control of the positions in swing states that will determine the outcome of the next Presidential election.

Reporters have documented that a massive number of GOP candidates in these races subscribe to the stolen election myth propagated by Trump and his minions. And most conservatives either agree with this myth or are not paying close enough attention to rebut their claims, so they will vote them in.

And with inflation hurting so many American families, voters already have plenty of reasons to boot incumbent Democrats out of office, and ignore what is viewed as a largely theoretical possibility that such a vote will actual damage our democracy.

Will the result be zombies in public office? Officials whose feast will hasten the death of our democratic processes?

The biggest lesson we learned in 2020 is how vulnerable our system is to manipulation. Trump waged an all-out effort to steal the vote — that he ultimately failed is a testament to the checks and balances that were in place at that time.

But the election deniers are determined to sweep away many of those checks and balances in the midterm elections.

Well, it’s that time of year, isn’t it — Halloween, the time for horror movies.

Better get ready for the worst horror movie of all.

NEWSLINKS:

• U.S. economy reverses six-month slump despite lingering recession fears (WP)

• ‘A madness has taken hold’ ahead of US midterms: local election officials fear for safety (Guardian)

• Paul Pelosi, husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, attacked with hammer at home (CNN)

• Since the violent aftermath of the 2020 presidential election, secretaries of state, county clerks and poll workers have been besieged with intimidating threats and bogus claims of misconduct. A federal task force established last year to deal with election threats has fielded more than 1,000 reports and prosecuted about a half-dozen cases. California, Vermont, Oregon and other states have passed laws to protect election workers. (Cal Today)

• Democrats’ Odds to Hold Senate Fall to 53% (538)

• Fetterman’s Debate Showing Raises Democratic Anxieties in Senate Battle (NYT)

• Democrats scramble into defensive posture in final stage of midterms (WP)

• How Mike Lindell’s Pillow Business Propels the Election Denial Movement (NYT)

• Michigan GOP gubernatorial nominee invoked conspiracy claiming Democrats sought to ‘topple’ US in retaliation for losing Civil War (CNN)

• Trump-DeSantis rivalry breaks into the open (Politico)

• Inside the Dems’ elaborate attempt to woo TikTok influencers (WP)

• A Florida judge ruled Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) must turn over records connected with his taxpayer-funded flights of migrants from Texas to Massachusetts, saying his administration failed to comply with state public records law. The governor's office intends to appeal, claiming it already provided enough information. [HuffPost]

• Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that the world faced the most dangerous decade since World War Two (Reuters)

• Russia’s Putin says he won’t use nuclear weapons in Ukraine (AP)

• Russian journalist and Putin’s rumoured goddaughter flees to Lithuania (Guardian)

• Ukrainian troops are holding out against repeated attacks by Russian forces in two eastern towns while those on the southern front are poised to battle for the strategic Kherson region, which Russia appears to be reinforcing. (Reuters)

• Mortgage rates top 7% for the first time since 2002 (CNN)

• Texas Goes Permitless on Guns, and Police Face an Armed Public (NYT)

• Immigrants' share of Canada's population has hit its highest point in the country's 150-year history and the biggest share among G7 countries, new data showed. (Reuters)

• How Elon Musk Could Actually Kill Twitter (Atlantic)

• U.N.: World ‘Nowhere Near’ Hitting Climate Targets Set In Paris Agreement (NBC)

• Saltwater is moving up the Mississippi River. Here's what's being done to stop it (NPR)

• Battle of the Alps? Water woes loom amid climate change (AP)

• How did Hurricane Ian affect 'Seashell Capital of the World'? (FMNP)

• NASA Detects More Than 50 Methane 'Super-Emitter' Zones Around The World (ScienceAlert)

• Fishermen face shutdowns as warming hurts species (AP)

• Microbes may have survived for millions of years beneath the Martian surface (CNN)

• Svalbard: The race to save the fastest-warming place on Earth (BBC)

• You might see ads the next time you take an Uber. The company is launching ads that will pop up in the app before and during your ride, and it’s testing in-car advertising screens. (WP)

• Chinese cities from Wuhan in central China to Xining in the northwest are doubling down on COVID-19 curbs, sealing up buildings, locking down districts and throwing millions into distress in a scramble to halt widening outbreaks. (Reuters)

• Why More and More Girls Are Hitting Puberty Early (New Yorker)

• Exhumations resume for DNA to ID Tulsa Race Massacre victims (AP)

• Report: Trying To Hug Oncoming Train Still Leading Cause Of Death For Nation’s Idiots (The Onion)