It is a mixed bag of news.
The redistricting maps in Suffolk county were voted upon and the legal hurdles were overcome. And this just hours before the county legislature was ceded to Republican control!
But (as per Newsday), despite Friday’s vote, the fate of the map remains uncertain. The court battle is expected to continue in the new year, and County Executive Steve Bellone, whose office did not respond to requests for comment, has not said whether he will sign the legislation.
On a national scale too, Dems did not fare too badly. It’s interesting that Republicans were playing defense in some places because of demographic shifts.
As for the “bad and the ugly” consider this:
“The next US civil war is already here – we just refuse to see it”
It is a pretty convincing (and depressing) opinion piece in WaPo. I quote: “…The legal system grows less legitimate by the day. Trust in government at all levels is in freefall, or, like Congress, with approval ratings hovering around 20%, cannot fall any lower. Right now, elected sheriffs openly promote resistance to federal authority. Right now, militias train and arm themselves in preparation for the fall of the Republic. Right now, doctrines of a radical, unachievable, messianic freedom spread across the internet, on talk radio, on cable television, in the malls….”
Even our mild-mannered neighbors to the north agree and are discussing contingency plans: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-the-american-polity-is-cracked-and-might-collapse-canada-must-prepare/
I am vacationing in the Caribbean (on Turks and Caicos). This morning we encountered a turtle. It might have been a (a) leatherback (b) green (c) hawksbill or a (d) loggerhead according to local tourist websites. Some local Jet ski enthusiasts diagnosed the turtle with an injury and I contacted the local preservation society. But islanders retain a culture of turtle use, with
the current regulated and legitimate harvest likely to be one of the largest among the Caribbean
Islands. One of the presumed rescuers joked that he would catch the turtle and offer it to me for supper. I think the turtles probably have a more uncertain future than we do, civil war or not. And certainly, they don’t deserve their fate.