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POSSIBLE TOPICS:Election Info; Verify: Yes, Texas will purge ‘suspense list’ voters from roll after 2024 presidential election; Tensions flare at Sugar Land community meeting over proposed natural gas plant; Whitmire administration eyes higher taxes to cover $40M local costs of derecho and Hurricane Beryl; Texas proposes first new rules for oilfield waste in 40 years; Missouri Supreme Court rules abortion rights measure will be on state ballot; Missouri sees first positive bird flu case without known animal contact; Crash dummies and robot arms: How airline seats are tested; US says alleged white supremacists tried to use Telegram to spark race war; Trump’s vow of 100% tariffs on nations that snub the dollar is a lose-lose for China and U.S., economist says; Facebook post by Robert Reich; 

Welcome to Thinkwing Radio with Mike Honig where we discuss local, state, national, and international stories. 

Thinkwing Radio with Mike Honig (@ThinkwingRadio) is now on Wednesdays at 11AM (CT) or Thursdays at 6PM on KPFT 90.1 FM-HD2, Houston’s Community Media. You can also hear the show:

1. Live online at KPFT.org (from anywhere in the world!)
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Except for timely election info, the extensive list of voting resources will now be at the end.

Welcome to Thinkwing Radio with Mike Honig on KPFT Houston at 90.1-HD2, Galveston 89.5-HD2 and our new improved Huntsville repeater at 91.9-HD2. KPFT is Houston’s Community Media. On this show, we discuss local, state, national, and international stories that may have slipped under your radar.

1. ELECTION INFO: Be correctly registered for the fall General elections, and double check at the link I’m providing to Texas Secretary of State to make sure you remain
   5. The general election is Nov. 5. The deadline for voter registration or correction of your voter registration is Oct. 7.
   6. The deadline to apply for a mail ballot is October 25. Click on the link I’m providing to HarrisVotes for the application. Please fill it out, print it, and mail it (not email or fax) before the deadline.
   7. if you are a new Texas resident, OR if you have changed your address since you last voted, OR if you have had any kind of name change for reasons such as marriage or divorce, then you MUST verify that you are still registered to vote AND you must update your voter information.
   8. The criteria required are your Voter ID number plus your date of birth, OR your Texas driver’s license number or Texas photo ID number plus date of birth, OR your name/county/date of birth.
   9. If you need to update any information, click on the voter registration link at VoteTexas(dot)gov. That will take you to an application page where you are given the option to register for the first time, OR to change your voter information, OR to replace your voter registration.
   10. Once you complete this form, you are NOT automatically registered. Instead, you MUST print it, sign it, and mail it to the address that is provided.
   11. Early Vote Centers will be open from Monday, October 21– Friday, November 1 (Mon-Sat: 7 a.m. – 7 p.m. Sun:12 p.m. – 7 p.m. )
   12. Vote Centers will accept voters from 7 a.m. – 7 p.m. on Election Day, Tuesday, November 5.
   13. Visit our “What’s on my Ballot?” page and enter your name or address to see all the contests and candidates you are eligible to vote on! (You can bring handwritten notes or printed sample ballots to the voting booth; just be sure to take it with you when you leave.)
   14. REFERENCE: Verify: Yes, Texas will purge ‘suspense list’ voters from roll after 2024 presidential election — Author: Amanda Stevenson | KHOU.COM | Published: 10:26 PM CDT August 29, 2024/Updated: 10:28 AM CDT August 30, 2024
2. From August 30^th, a story from KHOU.COM relating to making sure your voting registration is up-to-date and still valid. — KHOU Verify: Yes, Texas will purge ‘suspense list’ voters from roll after 2024 presidential election; Author: Amanda Stevenson | KHOU.COM | Published: 10:26 PM CDT August 29, 2024/Updated: 10:28 AM CDT August 30, 2024. TAGS: Voting, Texas Secretary of State, 2024 Presidential election, National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA), Voter Suspense List,
   1. A viral post with over 4 million views on X claims a voter is listed as being in “suspense,” but is allowed to vote.
   2. The Texas Secretary of State’s office told the KHOU 11 Verify Team that as of Aug. 1, 2024, there are 2,180,253 voters currently in suspense. Voters on the suspense list are still allowed to vote in the 2024 Presidential election.
   3. The suspense list was established in Texas in 1995 because of a requirement of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA). The federal law requires the 44 states that abide by NRVA to keep the voter rolls updated.
   4. MIKE: From that point, the KHOU story offers a couple of pages of information in the form of what amounts to an FAQ.
   5. MIKE: If you have any general questions about suspense lists or voter roll purges, I recommend going to this article as a starting point. The story also links to its sources.
   6. REFERENCE: Texas Election Code
   7. REFERENCE: Texas Secretary of State, Alicia Pierce, Assistant Secretary of State for Communications,
   8. REFERENCE: Brennan Center for Justice, Sean Morales-Doyle,  Director, Voting Rights Program
   9. REFERENCE: Harris County Tax Assessor-Collector & Voter Registrar
   10. REFERENCE: Fort Bend County Election Administrator, John Oldham
   11. REFERENCE: League of Women Voters, Texas
   12. REFERENCE: S. Election Assistance Commission
   13. REFERENCE: 1993 National Voter Registration Act
3. Some follow-up on a story we discussed last week — Tensions flare at Sugar Land community meeting over proposed natural gas plant; by Briah Lumpkins | HOUSTONLANDING.ORG | September 6, 2024 | 3:37 pm. TAGS: Fort Bend County, Sugar Land, Natural Gas Power Plant,
   1. Nearly 300 Fort Bend County residents packed the atrium of the Houston Museum of Natural Science at Sugar Land to make one message resoundingly clear: They do not want a natural gas power plant in their community. 
   2. The tense meeting, organized and moderated by the Telfair Homeowners Association, was part of what Mayor Joe Zimmerman called a “listening tour” to understand the concerns of the community.
   3. Residents filled rows of chairs and lined the perimeter of the room until officials determined the space was at capacity. About 50 people were not let into the building. 
   4. Many took the opportunity to ask their most pressing questions and express their fierce opposition to the project, a $146 million rapid-start natural gas plant. The city said the plant will provide “clean and sustainable” power to support the Texas energy grid. 
   5. The plant, if completed, will be located on 8 acres west of the Sugar Land Regional Airport. The land is on a 100-acre planned industrial park that formerly housed the Central Prison Unit, which closed in 2011.
   6. Several residents who asked questions identified themselves as doctors or experts on the impacts of emissions from natural gas. Many people addressed the mayor to express why the plant would not be a good fit for Sugar Land. Some even pushed for the plant to be subject to a vote to give an opportunity for residents to weigh in on a project some felt they were left out of. 
   7. “Since you had several town hall meetings on this issue, and you (and) the city council members, everyone knows the residents don’t want this. So why don’t you just stop this?” longtime resident Thurgood Johnson asked. 
   8. The question prompted cheers from the crowd and a resounding chant of “Stop This!” 
   9. Once the chanting began, Zimmerman, council members, and the city’s spokesman walked out of the meeting. …
   10. The city of Sugar Land’s spokesman, Doug Adolf, said the meeting ended once it became clear that the structure of the meeting became “difficult” to control. …
   11. Adolf said that city leadership was only scheduled to be there for an hour but ended up staying an additional 30 minutes. …
   12. Others, however, expressed disappointment to see the mayor leave the meeting prematurely. …
   13. Residents expressed concerns over the transparency of the process, the lack of pursuit of other energy options and the desire for more community input. 
   14. When asked why the decision to pursue the power plant project wasn’t on the ballot for an election, [Mayor] Zimmerman referenced low voter turnout. 
   15. “You elected us to be your representatives,” he said. “Has this council, or any other council ever made a decision that was not in the best interest of the City of Sugar Land?” …
   16. Many questions from residents went unanswered by Zimmerman. He often referenced the project being in the early stages and reiterated they were waiting for results from the feasibility study. He said that any questions they could answer would be given to their team and posted on the city’s website. [MIKE: A link to that site is embedded in the article.]
   17. Anna Lykoudis-Zafiris, one of the main and most vocal leader of a local grassroots organization called Stop Sugar Land Gas Power Plant, expressed a desire for more transparency from city leaders going forward.
   18. “The lack of transparency, it raises eyebrows as to the intent,” she said. “And again, it all comes back to what I always tell my kids. Money is the root of all evil, if you always go back to any problem, and most of the time has to deal with money. So that’s what the city’s interest is, profits over people.” 
   19. Adolf disagreed, saying that the main goal of the project is to strengthen the energy grid in the region. 
   20. “Our residents have told us — and they’ve told us clear and decisively — that something needs to be done to address the instability of power for our area,” Adolf said.
   21. MIKE: According to the story about this that I discussed on last week’s show, there will be another town meeting about this subject on Nov. 19 at 3 p.m. at the Landmark Community Center, located at 100 Louisiana St., Missouri City.
   22. MIKE: If I see more coverage on this topic, I’ll mention it.
4. Whitmire administration eyes higher taxes to cover $40M local costs of derecho and Hurricane Beryl; By Yilun Cheng, Staff writer | HOUSTONCHRONICLE.COM | Sep 9, 2024. TAGS: Hurricane Beryl, Derecho, Mayor John Whitmire, Houston, Tax Increase, Budget Shortfall,
   1. Following widespread damage from Hurricane Beryl and the May derecho, Mayor John Whitmire’s administration is considering higher-than-usual tax rate hikes to pay for nearly $40 million in recovery costs.
   2. The two disasters have left Houston with an estimated bill of $211 million, which includes the costs of debris removal, emergency efforts like flood mitigation, as well as repairs to local roads, buildings, and utilities, according to finance director Melissa Dubowski.
   3. The Federal Emergency Management Agency is anticipated to cover about three-quarters of the cost, … leaving the city responsible for the remaining $53 million, Dubowski said. Of the city’s share, about $40 million will come from the general fund, primarily supported by tax revenue, and $13 million will come from other funds tied to specific operations like airports.
   4. Houston already faces a $160 million budget shortfall for the fiscal year that began in July, and the city’s recent agreement with the firefighters union is expected to put further strain on its finances.
   5. To avoid further budget cuts and cover the $40 million from disaster-related costs, the city would need to raise the tax rate by at least 3.2 cents per $100 of property value, Dubowski said. For the average owner of a homestead property, this would mean an annual tax bill increase of about $166 from the current tax year.
   6. [Council Member Sallie Alcorn, chair of the Budget and Fiscal Affairs Committee, said during a Monday committee meeting,] “Nobody likes to raise a tax rate – we’ve been lowering it for ten years – but we’ve also been hearing complaints about city services in decline for several years. We scrubbed the budget as much as we could… If we’re talking about additional cuts, we’ll get something like the library budget, the solid waste budget.”
   7. The city is subject to two property tax revenue caps; one imposed by the Texas Legislature and a more restrictive one approved by Houston voters in 2004. 
   8. As a result of the city cap, Houston has had to cut its tax rate in nine of the last 10 years, from 63.88 cents per $100 of property value in 2014 to 51.92 cents in 2024. Altogether, the restriction has led to $2.2 billion in lost revenue over the past decade, and Houston’s current tax rate is lower than that of all major Texas cities except Austin, according to Dubowski.
   9. City and state laws, however, allow exceptions in the case of a declared disaster. So far this year, Gov. Greg Abbott has issued three disaster declarations for Harris County — one for flooding in April, another for the May derecho, and a third for Hurricane Beryl in July. This gives Houston the option to significantly raise its tax rate.
   10. On Monday, Dubowski outlined several tax rate scenarios for the upcoming tax year. At the lower limit, if the city keeps the current rate, it would need to cut an additional $86 million from its budget. At the upper limit, if the city adopts the maximum rate legally allowed under disaster exceptions, it could not only avoid cuts but also generate a $79 million surplus, which Dubowski said could further help fund disaster recovery efforts.
   11. “People want more done with their garbage collection. They want to have public safety as a priority with more officers. We saw the lack of having a contract with the fire department for so many years,” Duboswki said. “There’s both sides of the same coin. Yes, you had a lower bill, but your services have been impacted as well.”
   12. The disaster exceptions, officials said, offer an opportunity for the city to restore some financial stability. Houston invoked the same exceptions to collect more revenue after the Memorial Day Flood in 2015, the Tax Day Flood in 2016 and Tropical Storm Imelda in 2019. It did not do so after Hurricane Harvey in 2017, Dubowski said, when the city received more financial support from the federal and state governments.
   13. Some critics expressed concerns about the added burden on taxpayers. Charles Blain, president of the Houston-based nonprofit Urban Reform Institute, noted that officials from Harris County and other taxing entities are also eyeing possible tax rate increases.
   14. “It’s a heavy burden, and I understand … you really don’t have control over a lot of it, but you do have control over a little piece of it and, if possible, to not add to that burden,” Blain said to City Council. “When we talk about the revenue cap, we often speak of it negatively and talk about how much the city can’t collect and how much we’re letting taxpayers keep. But really, it’s how much they saved.”
   15. City Council has until October 28 to set the tax rate for the new year. Council Member Joaquin Martinez suggested carrying out extensive outreach before then to ensure residents understand the implications of any potential policy changes and have the opportunity to engage in the process. This is especially important, he said, as many Houstonians continue to grapple with the aftermath of multiple disasters.
   16. “I know it’s a hard conversation as a body to have to say, ‘Hey, during this time, we’re going to increase the tax rate,’” Martinez said. “My hope is that we could stand tall and say, ‘This is where we are. These are the inefficiencies. Of course, we have audits that should be coming in soon,’ but at the end of the day, really have a real honest and transparent conversation about where our tax rate should be moving forward.”
   17. MIKE: For the most part, I’m okay with most of the tax rate reductions of the past 10 years because property values have exploded. If rates had stayed the same, some property owners might have seen their tax bills go up 50-100% over that period. For most people that would be a bitter pill. For some, it could become unsustainable and even drive them out of their homes.
   18. MIKE: On the other hand, I often say that you get the government you pay for, and it’s obvious with the firefighters settlement that we’ve been getting more government than we’ve actually been paying for. Now it’s time to pay the piper.
   19. MIKE: I would vote for the maximum tax increase now and bite the bullet. It will leave the city with a vitally important surplus as a literal rainy-day fund, and future rate increases will be smaller.
   20. MIKE: I will take this moment again to say that in the absence of progressive income taxes, a progressive property tax structure would lean more on those able to pay more, while dishing out less hurt to the majority of citizens of more modest means.
   21. MIKE: Texas is effectively a flat tax state. That lets the wealthier among us pay proportionately less, while making the less affluent pay relatively more. That’s not fair, and at some future point in time I hope we can change it.
   22. MIKE: Remember, that’s just one reason why your vote matters.
5. Texas proposes first new rules for oilfield waste in 40 years; While environmentalists say the new rules don’t do enough to protect groundwater, oil and gas operators are contesting stricter requirements for waste pits near wells. By Martha Pskowski, Inside Climate News | TEXASTRIBUNE.ORG | Sept. 9, 2024/23 hours ago. TAGS: Energy, Environment, State government, Texas Railroad Commission, Oil & Gas, Pollution Regulations,
   1. Texas is inching closer to adopting revised oil and gas waste management rules for the first time in four decades.
   2. The Railroad Commission of Texas announced the draft rule at its Aug. 15 meeting and is now soliciting public comment. The rule regulates a range of disposal sites for oil and gas drilling wastes, from pits dug next to drilling rigs to large commercial facilities managing toxic waste from numerous drillers. Waste streams that fall under the rule include drilling mud, sludge, cuttings and produced water.
   3. The rule also aims to encourage more recycling of the drilling wastewater, which can be five to eight times saltier than ocean water and, like other oilfield waste, is often laced with fracking chemicals, [and] hazardous compounds such as arsenic, benzene and toluene.
   4. The existing waste rule was adopted in 1984, long before fracking revolutionized the oil and gas industry. Fracking has increased the volume of oilfield waste and changed its composition. In Texas, waste pits have been linked to at least six cases of groundwater contamination and hundreds of violations of state rules.
   5. While the need to modernize the Railroad Commission’s rules is clear, the process has proved contentious. A task force with members of the oil industry and consultants met for two years to provide recommendations before the Railroad Commission released an informal draft to the public in October 2023. That round of public comments informed the updated draft released last month.
   6. Commission Shift, a nonprofit organization focused on reforming oil and gas oversight in Texas, applauded some provisions of the latest draft, such as requiring operators to register waste pits with regulators. But the organization warned that the proposal does not provide enough protections for groundwater.
   7. Karr Ingham, president of the Texas Alliance of Energy Producers, said his group raised concerns that provisions in the informal draft would be “unworkable” and too costly for smaller independent oil and gas companies.
   8. [Ingham said in an interview,] “I believe a number of the changes that were made do address those concerns. Yes, we’re much more comfortable with the current draft than that initial draft.”
   9. The agency is now accepting written comments until Oct. 15 after extending the original deadline of Sept. 30. The Railroad Commission proposes that the new regulation, which would replace Statewide Rule 8, go into effect July 1, 2025.
   10. [Railroad Commission spokesperson Patty Ramon said in an email,] “The proposed rules include a combination of strategies to protect groundwater from pollution, including engineering and design controls, groundwater monitoring, and closure standards. In addition, the design and operational standards become more strict as waste volume increases, and also considers factors such as time in the ground, and proximity to groundwater.”
   11. While drilling an oil or gas well, oily waste, known as mud and cuttings, return to the surface. The operator digs an earthen pit alongside the rig to dispose of this waste. The pit remains open while the well is drilled and then closed once the well is complete, permanently burying the waste underground.
   12. When these pits meet certain Railroad Commission requirements, they are automatically permitted. These are known as authorized pits or reserve pits. Other types of commercial waste pits require an individual permit under the draft rule.
   13. The draft rule only requires liners in reserve pits when groundwater is within 50 feet of the bottom of the pit. These pits cannot be in a 100-year floodplain but otherwise have no setback requirements from houses and water wells. There is no limit on how close the bottom of the reserve pit can be to the underlying groundwater and no groundwater monitoring required. However, for the first time, operators will be required to register the location of their reserve pits with the Railroad Commission.
   14. Commercial pits have more stringent requirements for liners, groundwater monitoring and setbacks from water wells in the draft rule.
   15. [MIKE: I’m gonna pause here, because this sentence made me want to look up the definitions of a “commercial pit” versus a “reserve pit”. I was unable to readily find a definition for a “Commercial Pit” specifically in Texas, so I hope that this definition from Oklahoma will suffice: “[A] Commercial pit” is a disposal facility which is authorized by Commission order and used for the disposal, storage, and handling substances or soils contaminated by deleterious substances produced, obtained, or used in connection with drilling and/or production operations. This does not include a disposal well pit.(Source: Corporation Commission, Oil and Gas Conservation, Oklahoma Administrative Code 165:10, February 2013. Regulations)]
   16. [MIKE: If commercial pits have more stringent requirements, than reserve pits. In Texas, these are currently defined thusly: “[A] Reserve pit [is] used in conjunction with [a] drilling rig for collecting spent drilling fluids; cuttings, sands, and silts; and wash water used for cleaning drill pipe and other equipment at the well site. Reserve pits are sometimes referred to as slush pits or mud pits.”
   17. [MIKE: Continuing with the story …]
   18. Fracking has increased the volume of drilling waste, according to law firm Baker Botts. The contents of the waste have also changed. While operators originally used water-based drilling mud, many now use oil-based mud to drill horizontal wells for fracking. The cuttings that come to the surface can contain diesel fuel and other chemicals. Drilling waste, despite containing harmful chemicals, is largely exempt from federal regulations for hazardous waste under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.
   19. A separate section of the draft rule covers commercial facilities that handle waste from drilling companies. The rule also governs commercial recycling facilities that process the waste for reuse, and produced-water recycling facilities.
   20. Oil and gas companies are not required to report the volume of produced water generated in the state. But a 2022 report estimated that in the Permian Basin alone, 3.9 billion barrels, or more than 168 billion gallons, of produced water is generated every year.
   21. While the draft rule imposes stricter requirements than the preexisting rule, it falls short of how other states regulate drilling waste. In North Dakota, for example, open pits for liquid waste—including drilling mud and produced water—are prohibited except under specific circumstances with the regulator’s approval. New Mexico updated its waste rules in 2008 and banned unlined pits altogether. …
   22. Most landowners across Texas do not own the minerals under their land. The oil and gas companies that hold these mineral rights enter surface-use agreements with the landowners. These leases can include provisions for waste pits.
   23. “We can’t rely on mineral owners to just get a good lease every time,” Palacios said at the summit. “We’ve got to have good rules that apply across the board everywhere, so that we can ensure that groundwater is safe.”
   24. Palacios is concerned that the draft does not require operators to notify landowners when they dig authorized pits on their land. …
   25. Pits that are not properly constructed or leach into the soil can contaminate groundwater. … The commission has on record six active cases of groundwater contamination caused by waste pits and one case caused by a commercial waste facility, according to the state’s groundwater protection report.
   26. In addition to nonprofit organizations, some companies have doubts about the rule. Gabriel Rio, CEO of the waste management firm Milestone Environmental Services, told the Midland Reporter-Telegram that the draft rule is not sufficient to protect groundwater. “This very much falls short of what the industry is already doing,” he said.
   27. Milestone Environmental Services declined to comment for this story. …
   28. Several waste management professionals backed the protective measures during the informal comment period. Landowners and residents also submitted comments in support of the new regulations. …
   29. Meanwhile, comments from numerous oil and gas operators pushed back on stricter requirements for reserve pits. The Texas Alliance of Energy Producers sought an exception for liner and groundwater monitoring requirements for reserve pits that are open for less than 18 months before the waste is buried. …
   30. [Railroad Commission spokesperson Ramon said,] “As with any proposed rule, staff will review and incorporate comments.”
   31. [Virginia Palacios] saw firsthand the impacts of oilfield waste when the shale boom took off in her hometown of Laredo.
   32. At the Texas Groundwater Summit in San Antonio in August, Palacios, now executive director of Commission Shift said that the Railroad Commission should hold public hearings near waste facilities, not only in Austin. She pointed out that Reeves County in the Permian Basin, which has the most commercial waste pits in the state, is a seven-hour drive from Austin.
   33. MIKE: This article is actually about 2-3 pages longer than what I’ve read, so if you want to get more granular information, I suggest clicking on the link to the story at ThinkwingRadio[dot]com or finding the story at the Texas Tribune.
   34. MIKE: Oil and gas drilling generates a considerable amount of waste, much of it toxic, especially if it reaches water sources or agricultural land.
   35. MIKE: I think that these new draft regulations by the Texas Railroad Commission are an important first step in bringing Texas in line with best practices from other oil and gas producing states. And I like the idea of having more of these hearings close to the waste pits and disposal sites that are being discussed for regulation. Maybe regulators will smell or taste a different perspective.
   36. MIKE: As a final observation, I find it weird that the CEO of Milestone Environmental Services made an on-the-record comment while his company declined to comment. Maybe there were some interesting conversations in the executive suite when he got back to his office.
6. Missouri Supreme Court rules abortion rights measure will be on state ballot; By Gabriella Borter | REUTERS.COM | September 10, 2024@3:44 PM CDT/Updated 2 hours ago. TAGS: Missouri Supreme Court, Abortion Rights Amendment, Ballot Initiative,
   1. Missouri’s top court on Tuesday ruled that a proposed abortion rights amendment to the state constitution will appear on the ballot in November, allowing voters to decide whether to restore legal abortion in Missouri for the first time in over two years.
   2. The measure, which proposes a right to abortion in Missouri until fetal viability, will likely appear on the November ballot for voters after organizers submitted more than 250,000 petition signatures and the secretary of state’s office verified them last month.
   3. “Today’s Missouri Supreme Court decision is a victory for both direct democracy and reproductive freedom in Missouri,” Missourians for Constitutional Freedom, [the group sponsoring the measure,] wrote on X.
   4. The decision came after a lawsuit filed by anti-abortion lawmakers and advocates, where a circuit court judge on Friday ruled that the measure should not have qualified for the ballot because it did not sufficiently explain the ramifications that its passage would have.
   5. Missourians for Constitutional Freedom appealed the ruling over the weekend, and the state Supreme Court’s Tuesday decision reversed the lower court’s order.
   6. [Mary Catherine Martin, an attorney for the group challenging the measure’s validity, said in a statement,] “It is deeply unfortunate the court decided to ignore laws that protect voters in order to satisfy pro-abortion activists who intentionally omitted critical information from the initiative petition.”
   7. The decision came just hours before the deadline for Missouri’s ballot printing. On Tuesday morning, the court heard arguments from the representatives for the respondents – including Republican state senator Mary Elizabeth Coleman – and for the appellants.
   8. Missouri’s secretary of state John Ashcroft “shall certify to local election authorities that Amendment 3 be placed on the November 5, 2024, general election ballot and shall take all steps necessary to ensure that it is on said ballot,” Chief Justice Mary Russell wrote in the ruling notice.
   9. Missouri is currently enforcing a total abortion ban with exceptions for medical emergencies. The ballot measure’s proposal to enshrine the right to abortion until fetal viability – typically around 24 weeks in pregnancy – drew support from 52% of Missouri voters in a St. Louis University/YouGov poll conducted from Aug. 9-16. The measure would need more than 50% support to pass.
   10. The issue of abortion is now set to appear on ballots in nine states this November, including Missouri and a few battleground states likely to play critical roles in the presidential race and the fight for control of Congress.
   11. MIKE: I was angry that the Missouri lower court blocked this initiative, so I’m glad that it will be on the Missouri’s November ballot.
7. Speaking of Missouri — Missouri sees first positive bird flu case without known animal contact; Also first time for someone with H5 virus to be hospitalized, and CDC says it is studying patient specimen more. By Melody Schreiber | THEGUARDIAN.COM | Fri 6 Sep 2024 19.18 EDT/Last modified on Fri 6 Sep 2024 21.39 EDT. TAGS: US news, Bird flu, Missouri, US healthcare, Health,
   1. A person in Missouri with no known animal contact has tested positive for H5 bird flu, the state’s department of health and senior services said Friday.
   2. It’s the first time a patient in the US outbreak has had no known exposure to sick animals. And it is the first time someone has been hospitalized with bird flu – though it’s not clear yet whether influenza was the reason for hospitalization or it was incidental.
   3. The patient, who has underlying health conditions, was hospitalized on 22 August and tested positive for flu A. Doctors sent a sample to the Missouri state public health laboratory, where it was found to be of the H5 subtype, which is also known as highly pathogenic avian influenza – or bird flu.
   4. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed that it is H5 and said it is studying the specimen more.
   5. In past cases, officials have sought to understand whether human cases are caused by the strain that has circulated in wild birds and mammals in the US since 2022 or whether it is more closely related to the variant specifically in dairy cows. They will also likely look to see whether it has picked up mutations to make it more transmissible or virulent among people.
   6. In an exclusive interview with the Guardian in July, Nirav Shah, principal deputy director of the CDC, said there were several concerns officials were watching for in this outbreak.
   7. “One is increasing severity of disease,” such as if a person were hospitalized or died from bird flu, he said.
   8. The previous cases in the US have been mild, but they were among farmworkers, who tend to be healthy and strong. In the wider population, especially among those with other health conditions, bird flu could prove more dangerous. Globally, the mortality rate hovers at about 50% of confirmed cases – although there are likely less severe cases that go undetected.
   9. [Shah said,] “The second would be the nature of transmission. Are we seeing person-to-person transmission?”
   10. In the two decades since H5N1 was observed among people, onward transmission among people has been exceedingly rare, he said.
   11. Another major cause for concern with transmission centers on who is getting sick.
   12. [Shah said,] “If we were to see individuals with no connection to a farm whatsoever, or chicken exposure, developing signs and symptoms – that would be greatly concerning. Even if there was no other transmission route identified, that would be a sign that something else is happening.”
   13. Officials will probably continue tracing the patient’s potential exposures and contacts with other people to see how the virus spread.
   14. Bird flu is usually found in domestic and wild birds, but in recent years it has significantly expanded its range to circulate widely in mammals, including dairy cows and other livestock.
   15. Two indoor cats in Colorado recently tested positive for the virus. House mice have also tested positive.
   16. No bird flu has been detected in cows in Missouri, but it has been found in poultry and wild birds.
   17. It “can occasionally infect humans through close contact with infected animals or contaminated environments”, according to the Missouri press release.
   18. This is the 15th case of bird flu among people in the US since 2022 – and the 14th this year. This is the first known human case of bird flu in Missouri.
   19. The patient had recovered and was discharged from the hospital, the Missouri statement said.
   20. MIKE: This is obviously a developing story. We’ll have to see what further is reported.
8. For this next story, it’s going to sound like I’ll be discussing the manufacture of airplane seats, but that’s not actually the part of the story I think warrants discussion here, so please bear with me — Crash dummies and robot arms: How airline seats are tested; By Chris Baraniuk, Technology Reporter | BBC.COM | Sept 5, 2024. TAGS: Aerospace, Aviation safety, International business, Northern Ireland, Technology, Technology of Business, Work Sharing, Shared-Work Program,
   1. In a warehouse building in a quiet town in Northern Ireland, a robot arm is opening and closing an airplane meal table over and over again.
   2. It has been programmed to carry out this mundane task no fewer than 28,000 times, day and night, for more than a week. …
   3. [Thompson Aero Seating] makes first class and business class seats – the expensive kind usually at the front of passenger aircraft, with their own privacy-simulating enclosures, built-in entertainment systems, and heaps of leg room. …
   4. [T]hanks to the pandemic, demand for aircraft seats has flip-flopped dramatically of late. When Covid-19 emerged, the aerospace manufacturing industry slowed to a crawl. Globally, companies laid off thousands of workers. Thompson, for one, cut its own workforce in half, and has faced financial losses running to many millions.
   5. The world has at last opened up again, but seat manufacturers have not been able to find all the skilled workers they need, meaning that demand, globally speaking, is outstripping supply. It is a “very difficult situation”, Airbus’ chief executive said in June, referring to the slow supply of seats and other cabin parts.
   6. “The industry lost that expertise, both in terms of direct, hands-on manufacturing, but also in terms of teaching younger people how to do the job,” explains Nick Cunningham, an analyst at Agency Partners who tracks the fortunes of another seat maker, Safran.
   7. One of the problems, he adds, is that seat makers are finding it hard to get their seats tested and certified quickly by third-parties, since they are also facing labour shortages. …
   8. MIKE: There’s a lot more in the article about the demand for airplane seats and the technology involved. But I want to talk more about the portion I’ve quoted.
   9. MIKE: This part about, “The industry lost that expertise [due to layoffs], both in terms of direct, hands-on manufacturing, but also in terms of teaching younger people how to do the job…”
   10. MIKE: It’s a chronic problem in business when layoffs occur. In fact, it’s such a chronic problem that I don’t know why business has not learned ways by now to avoid or minimize the problem of lost skills and institutional knowledge. Further, I don’t know why business management schools have not specifically addressed this in their management curricula.
   11. MIKE: While the story is about companies in Ireland, I believe that the point I want to focus on has implications not only for US business, but globally for the industrialized world and beyond.
   12. MIKE: Laying off workers seems to be the only way that companies know to cut costs. Most company costs such as taxes, loan repayment, etc. are fixed, so labor costs are one of the few things that companies can control. But it seems like that is a way of continually shooting themselves in the foot when business improves, and it comes time to rehire.
   13. MIKE: Over the decades, I’ve read versions of this post-layoffs problem over and over again. It’s like a business management version of Groundhog Day. There’s a Joni Mitchell song lyric that expresses this perfectly: “Don’t it always seem to go, you don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone.”
   14. MIKE: I’ve known for many years that there are programs that offer limited subsidies to workers whose hours are reduced in lieu of actual layoffs. It’s called “short-time work sharing”.
   15. MIKE: Short-time work sharing may have started in Europe. My first recollection of it was, I believe, in Germany some decades ago.
   16. MIKE: One of the virtues of short-time work sharing is that while labor works shorter hours, workers can often qualify for supplemental unemployment benefits calculated as a percentage of their potential benefit for the percentage of hours below 40 that is cut from their schedules. The first paragraph of a US Labor Department document about short-time work sharing says this: “Short-Time Compensation (STC), also known as work sharing or shared-work program, is an alternative to layoffs for employers experiencing a reduction in available work. [Short-Time Compensation] preserves employees’ jobs and employers’ trained workforces during times of lowered economic activity. [Short-Time Compensation] allows employers to reduce hours of work for employees rather than laying-off some employees while others continue to work full time. Those employees experiencing a reduction in hours are allowed to collect a percentage of their unemployment compensation (UC) benefits to replace a portion of their lost wages. [Short-Time Compensation] cushions the adverse effect of the reduction in business activity on workers by averting layoffs and ensures that these workers will be available to resume prior employment levels when business demand increases.”
   17. MIKE: To me, that seems brilliant as a win-win for both labor and business. It should always be the first step in cutting labor costs short of actual layoffs.
   18. MIKE: Twenty-seven US states currently participate in this federal program, and even a labor-backward state like Texas is one of the participants.
   19. MIKE: The Labor Department PDF sums up the program this way: “The amount of [Unemployment Compensation] paid to individuals filing for [Short-Time Compensation] is a pro-rated portion of the UC payment they would have received if they were totally unemployed.”
   20. MIKE: The whole Labor Department document is only two pages and is pretty light reading. I’ve linked to it in REFERENCES below this story in the show blog post.
   21. MIKE: Even the Texas Workforce Commission participates in this program.
   22. MIKE: One of the benefits to a Texas employer is as follows: “The Shared Work program provides Texas employers with an alternative to layoffs. This program helps Texas employers and employees withstand a slowdown in business. Shared Work is voluntary. Shared Work allows employers to: Supplement their employees’ wages lost because of reduced work hours with partial unemployment benefits; Reduce normal weekly work hours by 10 to 40 percent for employees in an affected unit. The reduction must affect at least 10 percent of the employees in that unit; Shared Work does not subsidize a seasonal employer during the off-season. [Emphasis Mine]”
   23. MIKE: So in other words, short-time work sharing even saves a company money on its unemployment taxes while preserving skilled workers and institutional knowledge for when business turns around.
   24. MIKE: Why does business management not see this as a no-brainer? It’s good for the workers, it’s a long-term good for the company, and it’s good for the economy.
   25. MIKE: If I were to make one labor policy a high priority for a new Harris-Walz administration, it would be to emphasize and promote this program, and to do their best to encourage all US states to participate in it.
   26. REFERENCE: [US Department of Labor] Short-Time Compensation – Unemployment Insurance — OUI.DOLETA.GOV (PDF Fact Sheet)
   27. REFERENCE: Texas Workforce Commission Shared Work Program — TEXAS.GOV
   28. REFERENCE: States Offer Unemployment Alternatives to Layoffs — EMPLOYERSCOUNCIL.ORG (“Our Mission: To Partner With Employers to Grow Exceptional Workplaces”)
   29. REFERENCE: European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions, RE: Short-time work — EUROFOUND.EUROPA.EU
   30. REFERENCE: Big Yellow Taxi (The Taxi Song) — Joni Mitchell
9. US says alleged white supremacists tried to use Telegram to spark race war; By Andrew Goudsward | REUTERS.COM | September 9, 2024@4:37 PM CDT/Updated 43 min ago. TAGS: White Supremacists, Race War Incitement, U.S. Justice Department,
   1. US prosecutors unveiled criminal charges on Monday against two alleged leaders of a white supremacist gang, saying they used the Telegram social media site to solicit attacks on Black, Jewish, LGBTQ people, and immigrants aiming to incite a race war.
   2. The group, dubbed “The Terrorgram Collective”, used the site to celebrate white supremacist attacks around the world and solicit racially motivated violence, prosecutors said in an indictment unsealed in federal court in Sacramento, California.
   3. Dallas Humber, 34, of Elk Grove, California, and Matthew Allison, 37, of Boise, Idaho, each face 15 criminal counts, including soliciting hate crimes and conspiring to provide material support to terrorism. The two were in custody, officials said; it was not immediately clear if they had lawyers.
   4. The most serious charges carry a penalty of up to 20 years in prison.
   5. [MIKE: Personally, if convicted, I hope any sentences run consecutively. Continuing …]
   6. The group’s targets also included U.S. government officials and critical infrastructure sites, with an overall goal of causing societal collapse in the United States, U.S. Justice Department officials said during an online news conference.
   7. [Said Kristen Clarke, the head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division,] “This indictment reflects the department’s response to the new technological face of white supremacist violence as those seeking mass violence expand their reach online to encourage, solicit and facilitate terrorist activities.”
   8. Humber and Allison helped create and promote a document that sought to justify the group’s ideology and included detailed instructions on carrying out terror attacks, including how to build bombs, according to the indictment.
   9. The pair also collaborated on a list of “high-value” targets for assassination that included a sitting U.S. senator and a federal judge who were viewed as enemies of the white supremacist cause, prosecutors alleged.
   10. Humber and Allison became leaders of the group in 2022, helping oversee a network of Telegram channels and group chats that offered support for users to commit white supremacist violence, according to the indictment.
   11. The messaging app has been under scrutiny after its founder, Russian-born Pavel Durov, was detained in France last month as part of an investigation related to child pornography, drug trafficking and fraudulent transactions associated with the app.
   12. Durov, who has since been released, condemned the decision to detain him, which touched off a renewed debate about free speech and the culpability of social media executives for content on their platforms.
   13. Durov has vowed to tackle criticism of the app’s moderation policies. A Telegram spokesperson could not immediately be reached for comment on the indictment.
   14. MIKE: While radical Islamic terrorism is certainly a problem that requires constant vigilance, our home-grown domestic terrorism is our Job 1 problem.
   15. MIKE: While I don’t know how long these militia and domestic terrorist movements have been percolating, I know I’ve been reading about them since at least the Bill Clinton presidency. In fact, the Oklahoma City bombing occurred in 1995, in the middle of the Clinton presidency.
   16. MIKE: It has seemed to me over the decades that militia and domestic terror movements have grown each time a Democrat wins the presidency. I’m certain that tells us something, but I don’t know precisely how to explain or quantify it. Or maybe I’m afraid to.
   17. MIKE: In any case, uncovering and fighting domestic terror and militia movements are going to be one of the greatest challenges for this country, maybe for the balance of this century.
10. Trump’s vow of 100% tariffs on nations that snub the dollar is a lose-lose for China and U.S., economist says; Dylan Butts (@in/dylan-b-7a451a107) | CNBC.COM | Published Mon, Sep 9 2024@5:08 AM EDT/Updated Moments Ago. TAGS: China, United States, US Dollar, Tariffs, International Trade,
    1. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s threat to slap countries that shun the U.S. dollar with 100% tariffs is a “lose-lose” situation for both America and China, according to GROW Investment Group partner and chief economist Hao Hong. 
    2. During a rally in Wisconsin on Saturday local time, the former president promised that he would push to keep the U.S. dollar as the world’s reserve currency, if elected in November.
    3. “Many countries are leaving the dollar. They not going to leave the dollar with me. I’ll say, you leave the dollar, you’re not doing business with the United States because we’re going to put 100% tariff on your goods,” he said.
    4. The campaign promise is aimed at protecting the hegemony of the U.S. dollar in global financial markets and would present strong retaliation to those trying to unsettle it, Hong told CNBC’s “Street Signs Asia” on Monday. 
    5. “The U.S. dollar is a sort of privilege that the U.S. economy has been enjoying, and it’s sort of a liquidity tax on the rest of the globe, so I’m not surprised to see this kind of threat,” Hong said. 
    6. The U.S. dollar remains dominant in global forex reserves even though its share in central banks’ foreign exchange reserves has dropped from more than 70% in 1999, IMF data Oil, a key commodity needed by every country is priced in the U.S. dollar.
    7. In recent years, from Brazil to Southeast Asia, countries have been calling for trade to be conducted in currencies besides the greenback.
    8. Regardless of the former president’s rationale for the target tariffs, Hong expects such a move to be a  “lose-lose” situation for both Washington and it’s biggest economic rival, Beijing.
    9. “Because the Chinese export sector has been so competitive, it’s been a driving force in lowering global inflation,” Hong said.
    10. “If you put a 100% tariff on Chinese exports, for example, one could only imagine how high the U.S. inflation is going to go,” he said, adding that much of the U.S.’s trade deficit would shift to allies like Mexico and Canada.
    11. Meanwhile, for China, such high tariffs would hurt its exports at a time when export growth is already stalling, and the country’s manufacturing sector has been suffering from overcapacity, according to Hong. 
    12. Early this year, Trump had already proposed increasing tariff rates on all China imports by 60% or more if he is elected, building on the U.S.-China trade war that was launched under his first term. Separately, he has said he would impose a blanket 10% tariff on all U.S. imports.
    13. In July, economist Stephen Roach told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Asia” that those China tariffs would “most assuredly” boost inflation for the U.S.
    14. Speaking to CNBC’s Squawk Box Asia at the end of last month, Andrew Tilton of Goldman Sachs said that Trump’s proposed tariffs on China could knock 2% off Beijing’s GDP.
    15. MIKE: The unparalleled stature of the US dollar in world trade and investment is a holdover from the Allied victory in World War 2. At that time, the US was the preeminent remaining power. It was the only nation that had been virtually untouched by the war which other nations had fought with devastating effect on their own lands.
    16. MIKE: That industrial, political, and economic stature was effectively unassailable in the years immediately after the war.
    17. MIKE: Nations are run by people, and people are often creatures of inertia. If something has been working smoothly and there are no major disadvantages to doing it the way they always have, then they continue doing it the way they always have. I think that is partly why the US dollar has maintained its dominance in world trade.
    18. MIKE: Otherwise, consider the irrationality of continuing to make the US dollar a supreme currency. First, there are more dollars circulating overseas than there are in the US itself. This “dollar sloshing” around the world should make the currency less valuable, except for one thing. The dollar is hoarded my nations and foreigners as a store of value akin to gold. It rarely devalues and doesn’t fluctuate much against the major currencies. US coins and paper currency 200 years old are still honored at their face value. The US dollar has never been redenominated as has been the case in countries like India, Mexico, and Taiwan. The US has so far never defaulted on debts like countries such as Russia and Argentina.
    19. MIKE: As quoted in the story, economist Hao Hong said, “The U.S. dollar is a sort of privilege that the U.S. economy has been enjoying…”
    20. MIKE: As a privilege, the US must be careful not to squander it. That’s absolutely the case, and when American policymakers — currently we’re talking about Republicans — forget that this privilege of international confidence and acceptability of the dollar is not a given, that alone will make the dollar diminish in its world trade stature.
    21. MIKE: Republican games with the US debt limit, budget obstruction, government shutdowns, etc. only serve to shake global confidence in the security of value represented by the US dollar.
    22. MIKE: Remember what I said earlier about people and nations operating under inertia unless they have a reason to change? Well, those kinds of fiscal and policy games can provide those reasons.
    23. MIKE: A few years ago, a cliffhanger of a Congressional deal — an artificial budget crisis created by rightwing Republicans — was finally made to increase the US debt limit, but not in time to avoid a downgrading of US creditworthiness. That downgrade cost the US unnecessary expense when it sold government bonds, and also impacted American consumers when they had to borrow money.
    24. MIKE: This created ammunition for the BRICs countries — Brazil, Russia, India, and China, among others — to further agitate to dethrone the US dollar as the world’s premier currency. China especially would love to dethrone the dollar as the world’s reserve currency. Based on the trade surpluses they run, it’s not impossible. And that would add enormous geopolitical clout for them,
    25. MIKE: It’s worth noting that a very strong US dollar is a double-edged sword. It gives the US tremendous leverage on the world geopolitical and economic stage, and it reduces costs for US consumers for imported goods, but it also makes it harder for the US to compete in world trade.
    26. MIKE: Up until 1971, the postwar US dollar was crazy valuable against other major currencies. A dollar was worth about 3-1/2 Deutschmarks and about 360 Japanese yen, just as examples. In August of 1971, President Richard Nixon shocked the world, effectively drastically devaluing the dollar against other currencies overnight. He ended the guaranteed convertibility of the US dollar for gold, thus making the US dollar a true “fiat” currency, backed solely and by the full faith and credit of the US government. Silver certificates were also no longer redeemable for silver, though their face value remained unchanged.
    27. MIKE: At that time, the US dollar was still the major reserve currency of most nations, but that shock made other countries try to diversify. Fifty years later, the world is in an economically different place. After a rough introduction, the Euro settled at a value 10% above the US dollar. Countries like Brazil, Russia, India, and China have developed into significant trading nations in their own right.
    28. MIKE: Today, the US dollar is about 50% of the world’s reserve currency, down from over 70% 50 years earlier.
    29. MIKE: When someone like Trump — a former and possible future president — makes careless remarks about punishing countries that refuse to take the US dollar (and I don’t know of any countries that actually refuse dollars), he just further erodes the reliability of the dollar as a reserve currency. Just threatening it and putting it out there in the political atmosphere could have some long-term repercussions.
    30. MIKE: If you want to know more on this topic, I’ve included links to some helpful articles below this blog post at ThinkwingRadio[dot]com.
    31. REFERENCE: The Nixon Shock — From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
    32. REFERENCE: How the ‘Nixon Shock’ Remade the World Economy — INSIGHTS.SOM.YALE.EDU
    33. REFERENCE: Foreign Currency Units per 1 U.S. Dollar, 1950-2023 — PACIFIC Exchange Rate Service
11. As long as we’re discussing financial issues, this next piece was written by me in response to a Facebook post by Robert Reich (Sept. 6, 2024), which I have linked to in this blog post. TAGS: Tax-Free Loans, Robert Reich, Marginal Income Tax Rate, Unrealized Capital Gains, US Tax Policy, Taxing The Ultra-wealthy,
    1. Reich wrote in part:
    2. VP Harris has pledged to support a very important tax proposal: A 25 percent minimum tax on Americans worth more than $100 million. This 25 percent tax would apply to a combination of their regular income and their unrealized capital gains. Why is this so important? …
    3. [The ultra rich can finance their lifestyles by taking out tax-free loans backed by the stock they own.]
    4. This is why merely raising the top marginal income tax rate won’t affect [Warren Buffett’s or Jeff Bezos’s or Mark Zuckerberg’s or Elon Musk’s] tax bills. They don’t have much taxable income in the first place.
    5. It’s why the important action is found in capital gains, especially unrealized — that is, uncashed — gains.
    6. Under current law, if they hold most of their wealth until they die, their heirs can inherit it without paying a dime of capital gains taxes. That’s because it was never cashed out.
    7. Here’s the thing: According to the tax code, the basis from which capital gains are calculated — the original price of the assets — is wiped out on death. Instead, the basis automatically rises to the asset’s current market value.
    8. Which is why the United States is rapidly moving toward an aristocracy of dynastic wealth. …
    9. MIKE: Reich’s piece goes into considerably more detail.
    10. MIKE: Part of the issue that Reich describes relates to inheritance tax laws, which I’m not going to address here.
    11. MIKE: I have a real problem taxing unrealized capital gains, but I don’t consider Reich’s example above to fit that definition.
    12. MIKE: “Unrealized capital gains” is usually defined as a gain in the value of an investment asset *on paper* that has not yet been sold for cash or traded for another asset at its then-current value.
    13. MIKE: On the other hand, as soon as an asset is pledged as collateral for a loan, even if it’s not technically sold, a value has now been set upon it in order to secure that loan.
    14. MIKE: In tax parlance, that asset would now have a new “cost basis” for tax purposes.
    15. MIKE: At that point, I could see a reasonable argument for taxing that collateral-assessed value as if it had been sold since it is technically no longer under the control of the reputed owner. Rather, permission to liquidate that asset is now under the control of the lien holder until the underlying loan has been paid back.
    16. MIKE: It’s no different from not being able to sell a house without paying off the outstanding mortgage balance. There’s still a lien held by the note holder on the collateral property.
    17. MIKE: If at a future point the asset is released as collateral, it should now be considered as an asset at its new collateral-assigned “cost basis”.
    18. MIKE: I believe it would then be completely reasonable, if that asset should at some future point be sold at a profit or loss from the fixed loan value, that profit or loss could be treated for tax purposes at the prevailing capital gains rate using the newly established “cost basis” set by the loan collateral value.
    19. MIKE: This strikes me as fair and reasonable, wealth of an individual notwithstanding.
12. Finally, a short comment on Tuesday night’s debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.
    1. MIKE: As of this writing, there are stories from Trump supporters that the ABC debate moderators, David Muir and Linsey Davis, were biased against Trump.
    2. MIKE: Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) is reported in POLITICO to have told reporters that, “It was three-on-one. They continued to engage in so-called fact-checking of Donald Trump. They never did that to Kamala Harris.”
    3. MIKE: I watched the whole debate from start to finish and I noted only two examples of Muir and Davis using “facts”: 1- They framed some questions by prefacing them with facts, and 2- They only “fact-checked” Trump’s most egregious and inflammatory lies, which, according to the Politico story included, “… the viral accusation that Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio, kill and eat pets, the charge that Democratic states allow the killing of infants after birth, and Trump’s statement that crime in the country is “through the roof.”
    4. MIKE: I, for one, thoroughly approve of that kind of media fact-checking, and our nation would be far better off if the media did more of it. Lies don’t bear up well under actual scrutiny.
    5. MIKE: Gossip columnist Maxine Messager used to wrap up her reports with this statement: “If you don’t want to hear it on the radio, don’t do it!”
    6. REFERENCE: Republicans have an answer for Trump’s poor debate performance; The pile-on started before the debate was even over. By Emily Ngo, Kimberly Leonard, Natalie Allison, Jessica Piper and Holly Otterbein | POLITICO.COM | 09/11/2024 01:59 AM EDT. TAGS: Elections, Donald Trump, Donald Trump 2024, Kamala Harris, ABC, 2024 Elections, 2024 Presidential Debates, Donald Trump presidential election 2024, Kamala Harris 2024,

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