Heading into the election!
Election Day is a mere five days away! In case you are new here, I just want to make it clear which way I am voting. Feel free to disagree with me; this is America, and we are all entitled to vote however we want.
I watched in complete disbelief last month as Alex Wagner on MSNBC spent some time with a group of UA (The United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipefitting Industry) union members in Lansing, Michigan, an important swing state. Some were solidly Trump or Harris, but most were undecided. Most also had no idea what was going on in the world. Many of them were getting all their [dis]information via social media. Some knew nothing about Trump and all the court cases he’s involved with, and even worse, the ones who knew didn’t seem to care. Some didn’t have any opinions on Jan. 6th or didn’t understand why it was a big deal. Many were concerned with immigration, but none were very clear on what the problems were. These were union members with good jobs, and one young man said that immigrants were taking “all the jobs.” Not his, apparently.
A couple of weeks ago I watched Jimmy Kimmel send a “reporter” to a Trump rally at Coachella. The “reporter” asked people their opinions on a variety of issues, from critical race theory to fracking to D.E.I. All the Trump supporters had strong opinions on these topics, so the reporter followed up by saying, “What is “critical race theory [or whatever the topic was] for people who don’t understand it?” Not one of those people with strongly held beliefs could explain them; they just knew they were bad. To be fair, there probably were people there who could explain some of these topics, but for comedy’s sake, they didn’t show any of them. It’s funny as hell if you’re not a Trump supporter, and Kimmel is playing to his audience. I point this out because this is the type of disinformation that is so prevalent today.
As an academic librarian, I try to teach my students how to determine the trustworthiness of their sources. How to tell the difference between information, misinformation, and disinformation. It is becoming more difficult to parse through all the noise and find the kernels of truth. AI has made it exponentially more complicated, which is why information literacy is so vitally important.
I realize that most people don’t follow the news like I do. I read three newspapers a day, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post. I don’t read them cover to cover, but I get their newsletters and feel I have a pretty good idea of what is happening in the world. I watch probably too much MSNBC, some CNN, and some YouTubers like David Pakman and The Young Turks. I also follow late-night comedians like Jimmy Kimmel, John Oliver, Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, and Seth Meyers – all are available on YouTube, and when the news is especially brutal (looking at you, Netanyahu,) they make me laugh.
I am a “super voter,” a term I had never heard until I worked for the Obama campaign. It was the second campaign I ever worked on; my first was Jimmy Carter, and I didn’t turn 18 until a month after his election so I couldn’t even vote for him! But I have voted in every election since. Local and national. And apparently, that makes me a “super voter.” I love that! We are so privileged in this country, and it kills me that so many people don’t vote. This is from the Pew Research Center:
The elections of 2018, 2020 and 2022 were three of the highest-turnout U.S. elections of their respective types in decades. About two-thirds (66%) of the voting-eligible population turned out for the 2020 presidential election – the highest rate for any national election since 1900. The 2018 election (49% turnout) had the highest rate for a midterm since 1914. Even the 2022 election’s turnout, with a slightly lower rate of 46%, exceeded that of all midterm elections since 1970.
I also find it interesting that other democracies around the world have much higher voter turnout than we do. The Institute for Responsive Government, “composed of industry-leading experts, the Institute’s team works across disciplines to build a new approach to governance that centers efficiency, efficacy, and accessibility” put out this report: What Other Countries Can Teach Us About Turnout
Their report investigates the roles different voting structures around the world play in increasing turnout among eligible voters. The purpose is to surface several alternatives the United States could explore as a way of confronting its voting challenges and increasing turnout. Instead, we have Republicans suppressing as many voters as possible – especially voters of color. The rulebook on winning fairly has been incinerated; the sickening new way to win? Any means possible.
Please vote! Our future depends on it.
We Put 12 Strangers in a Group Chat About the Economy . . . It Got Personal
The Wall Street Journal did a little something out of their lane – a sort of social experiment. I found it completely fascinating! The reporter, Rachel Wolfe, chose twelve people she felt were representative of a broad swath of America, but who didn’t know one another.
“What would happen, we wondered, if we asked 12 people diverse in thought, background and identity to talk to each other every day about the economy?”
Then she fed them prompts and recorded the results.
“Over five weeks and 1,300 text messages, our recruits sparred over student loans, presidential candidates and inflation. They also shared their successes, painful stories—and drink coupons.”
Hope you find it worth reading as well.
Book News
For ‘Perfect Couple’ author Elin Hilderbrand, book organization is optional
At her home in Nantucket, the bestselling author keeps her collection personal, including where she puts her books: “Nobody else has to understand it.” [I love looking at other people’s bookshelves!]
Warner Bros pulls plug on Harry Potter events at library
This is so sad! The Harry Potter books get so many kids to read. For years, the publisher encouraged these types of events, but no longer. This library got a “cease and desist” letter from the movie studio so they had to cancel one of their most popular events.
What Is a Shadow Library?
Millions of books circulating in the shadows of the internet are shedding light on the current realities of accessing information.
Food News
Frozen spinach deserves more respect. Here’s how to best use it.
Pack nutrition into a wide range of dishes with this budget-friendly staple. [I use it all the time!]
Stanley Tucci wants to cook for you
How the actor built a culinary identity, one project at a time.
Other News
Doctor running half marathon sees woman collapse, saves her, finishes race
I got to spend Rosh Hashanah with my family in New York. My grandson is three and was lucky enough to get into the “3K” program that the city runs – it’s a lottery process for preschool through the city school system. It’s not perfect – he cries sometimes during the day, and he got sick a week or two into it, but there has been some improvement since he started going in early September. The plus side is they got to keep their fabulous nanny, whose primary job is now my six-month-old granddaughter. They are coming to visit for Thanksgiving, and I can hardly wait!
As always, thanks for reading, and stay safe.
Thanks to The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal for allowing me to “gift” my readers with free access to these articles, a lovely perk for subscribers.
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