11/06/23
Good morning! It’s Monday, November 6th. We turned our clocks back over the weekend. Listen, don’t do what I did. For a moment, for the briefest little moment, I got excited about that extra hour of sleep. But then I woke up and remembered - the time change is still absurd! We still don’t need it!
And now, the news.
Israel-Hamas War
Let’s start with the Israel-Hamas war, where Secretary of State Anthony Blinken met with Palestinian Authority President Abbas, as well as key Middle Easter leaders, all with the hopes to, again, ask for a humanitarian pause to allow fuel and aid into Gaza.
The meetings took place the same weekend where Israeli warplanes killed at least 40 people when they struck a refugee camp.
It’s a tricky tour, Blinken found himself on, because the leaders he met with demanded a cease-fire, and while Blinken continued to state his belief that Israel much stuck to the laws of war as well as protect citizens and allow aid into Gaza, he also continued to state his believe that Israel has a right to defend itself, which it does but again, that’s a very tricky conversation and you have to be clear about what that defense looks like, and how defending yourself from Hamas is very different than warplanes striking refugee camps.
And although the leaders Blinken met with demanded a cease-fire, Blinken said the US would not push for one because, obviously, Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu doesn’t want one.
So that was Anthony’s weekend…
FBI Investigating Texas Sheriff
-via AP News
The FBI is investigating a Texan Sheriff who faced corruption complaints from his own deputies, including neglecting basic police work while pursuing asset seizures that boosted his office’s multi-million dollar budget but don’t always hold up in court. He also ignored his deputy’s misconduct.
And the reason for this investigation is because a woman is claiming that the Sheriff botched an investigation into the search for Francisco Oropeza, who earlier this year shot and killed five people, including an eight year old, after a neighbor asked him to stop firing his gun off in his yard. You may remember that this was one of a string of really scary, and deadly, incidents where people were killed by their neighbors for things like asking them not to shoot their gun off, grabbing a ball that rolled into their yard, or accidentally turning into the wrong driveway.
The sister of one of Oropeza’s victims has helped kickstart this overall investigation into the Sheriff’s wide-ranging misconduct.
Iowa Governor Endorses DeSantis
-via NBC News
In “oh no, both of these people are bad” news… Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds, who does not deserve to share a name with me, frankly, is endorsing Ron DeSantis, who does not deserve to share a name of Ron Swanson, frankly.
DeSantis is currently a casual 27 points behind Trump in the polls, and tied to Nikki Haley for second place. So we’ll see what the Reynolds endorsement does for him.
It’ll be interesting because she is, somehow, a popular governor – with an 81% favorability rating, she’s more popular than any of the candidates, so this could help him a little.
On the other hand, this is a conversation taking place in make-believe land because, again, Trump is way ahead of literally everyone.
DeSantis is betting big on Iowa though, so I’m sure he’s having a nice day knowing he’s nabbed this is endorsement. And you know what we say, a nice day for him, is a bummer for us.
Your Vote Matters
-via NY Times
Okay, I’m going to tell you something that’s going to sound scary, but I would love if you would do be a favor and hear all of my words.
Because of our outdated electoral college system, a 50-state election often comes down to a handful of states. And in five of those key states, Trump is leading Biden in head-to-head polling.
Now these numbers, to be, are scary. They’re concerning.
It’s my job to be concerned.
You have a different job.
Because polls don’t decide elections.
YOU decide elections.
Voters decide elections.
If you live in, or have friends, family, or followers in Nevada, Georgia, Arizona, Michigan, or Pennsylvania, your whole entire job is to talk to those folks about their election and make sure they understand that they, and only they, are the deciders of that state’s elections. Not the polls. Not the ads. Not the endorsements.
The voters.
And here on this show, I make a lot of partisan jokes (we do it for the comedy!), but if you’re looking for a way to get folks involved in politics, in those states or truly anywhere, my nonprofit has built Raising Voters, a nonpartisan (I know, it sounds wild to think I’m doing something nonpartisan if you’ve only heard this show, but I’m telling you, the whole board and I are committed to nonpartisanship as an organization) way to make sure you’re Election Day ready and, not only that, but to help you get your friends, family, and followers out there voting as well.
Head to www.raisingvoters.org for more information.
K. Thanks.
And that’s it. That’s the news.
Hey remember when Senators weren’t paying attention last year and they accidentally signed the Sunshine Protection Act to make daylight savings time permanent?
The bill has yet to be taken up in the House and although Senator Marco Rubio reintroduced it in the Senate, it’s currently dying a slow death by committee there as well.
So now we all have to suffer not only through the time change, but me complaining about the time change.
But you know what? I’m still proud of the extra hour of sleep we all got.
And more than that, because you’ll do something good with that extra hour, like go to raisingvoters.org and just take a little look-around at least, I’m proud of you.