As my old football buddy Dr. Hunter S. Thompson used to say, “When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro.”

And oh my, with the feds making life wierder by the minute, it’s up to all of us to put on our game faces and citizen* some sense into things closer to home.  To wit:

The November 4 election is racing toward us. If you haven’t voted yet, go vote. If you haven’t registered, no problem. Go to the California Secretary of State website and learn about what you can do right now to get registered to vote and cast your ballot.

Now, state and national news is reporting that the feds are sending election and possibly poll monitors to five California counties at the request of the California Republican Party because reasons. And local news is reporting about the extraordinary measures undertaken by County Registrars of Voters and their teams to ensure the security and transparency of ballot handling and counting. So the back of my hand to disinfo to the contrary and those who spread it.

Food for thought. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that funding to states for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formely, food stamps) won’t be forthcoming starting November 1 because of the federal government shutdown. This is mentioned in local news because local food banks across the state are scrambling in anticipation of a huge surge in demand for food assistance. And no wonder: 13% of Californians are enrolled in SNAP, so this is expected to impact over 5 million people across the state, including 130,000 in San Joaquin County alone.

So after you’ve voted with your ballot, consider voting with your wallet and/or your time to support your local food bank and your local Community Foundation. 

And now, let us proceed to peruse The News.

* Citizen, the verb. Citizen isn’t what you are, it’s what you do.