Victoria Gu is the obvious choice

How could there be any question?

By Will Collette

By all the usual ways we measure the performance of public officials, our state Senator Victoria Gu (D-Dist. 38) scored nearly perfect marks in her first term and deserves to be re-elected.

She has spearheaded and won passage of vital legislation to protect the shoreline and the public’s right of access. She has held numerous constituent meetings, sent out regular newsletters and responded to voters of Charlestown, Westerly and South Kingstown better than any other elected official in my memory.

Yet for reasons I can’t fathom, she faces a rematch with ultra-MAGA Westin Place who seems to be getting a lot of backing from the town Republicans when he has no apparent qualifications for the office of state senator.

It also seems like Place made a last-minute decision to run, given that he raised no money at all before July when he started to get cash from state and local Republican groups as well as cash from unnamed individuals at GOP-sponsored fund-raisers.

His campaign finance reports also show he gets his printing done in Texas and Iowa and banks in Texas. So much for his dedication to the local economy.

It looked to me like the GOP was scrapping the bottom of the barrel to find candidates, embarrassed that so many incumbents are running unopposed.

Aside from all his Westerly roadside signs, the only other sign of Westin’s campaign was a letter that ran in the Westerly Sun that sure looks to me like it was ghosted for him. Apparently, he also sent a postcard - I didn't get one even though I am in the District.

That LETTER attacks Victoria Gu for legislation that, according to Place, would give the state control over Rhode Island’s housing market thereby driving housing prices out of control. No evidence is offered to back up this claim. He also insinuates, again without a scintilla of evidence, that Senator Gu is somehow “trying to hide the fact that she is working against the interests of our towns.”

So how is Victoria doing this? According to Place, “In just the past year, there have been an abundance of tax increases sponsored by my opponent.”

He recommends you check her record by logging onto a pay-per-view right-wing website put on on-line by some guy in West Virginia.

I went on the free state official Legislative Bill Tracker to see for myself and saw no such Gu-sponsored tax increases. To prove it, I copied the entire list of Victoria’s legislation, every bill she sponsored or co-sponsored in the past year and pasted it at the end of this article.

See for yourself that Place doesn’t know what he’s talking about.

There is one point in Place’s letter to the Westerly Sun that is true: “We don’t need politicians playing games and gaslighting their constituents like you see in states like New York and California.”

Except in this case, the game-playing and gaslighting is being done by Place and his MAGA backers, not by Victoria Gu, who has very much earned your vote.

Here is Victoria’s 2024 legislative record (162 bills) in its entirety:

Second American Revolution

For more cartoons by Jen Sorenson, CLICK HERE

It's the same with lots of other industries

Series of great concerts coming this fall at URI

Musical lineup includes jazz from 1924, music that addresses natural disasters, and a marching band presentation

By Ethan Weiner

The Department of Music at the University of Rhode Island has scheduled a variety of exciting concerts this fall starting Saturday, Oct. 26, with the Jazz Big Band featuring special guest trombonist Joseph Jefferson.

Tickets for each concert can be purchased through Eventbrite or at the box office one hour prior to the performance. General admission tickets are $15, $10 for students and seniors 60 and older. Children 12 and under get in free. All events will be held at the Fine Arts Center Concert Hall, 105 Upper College Road, Kingston. To see a full schedule of performances for the semester, check out music events.

The Jazz Big Band, directed and taught by Emmett Goods, is a 15-piece ensemble showcasing the world of jazz and what it has to offer. The concert, entitled “It Was a Very Good Year,” will feature music associated with jazz artists born in 1924 and will include a pre-concert talk by Goods. The concert starts at 3 p.m. 

The main reason for performing music from 1924, Goods said, is the abundance of significant jazz musicians, ranging from pianist and composer Bud Powell and trombonist J.J. Johnson to vocalists Sarah Vaughan and Dinah Washington. 

There will be a variety of solos taking place throughout the concert but “keep an eye out for freshman Sebastian Rosa performing a solo on the trumpet,” Goods said. 

On Sunday, Oct. 27, The American Band concert was developed around a three-movement work by Julie Giroux called Culloden, which honors the music of the Scottish Highlands in the mid-18th century, said Brian Cardany, director of the band. The American Band is one of the earliest established community bands in the country. The concert starts at 3 p.m.

Beautiful autumn weather comes with risks - watch for fire and deer

Relative humidities of around 25 to 35 percent are expected today across much of Rhode Island (excluding Block Island), along with above normal temperatures. Southwest winds are expected to be around 10 mph with gusts up to 20 mph.

When factoring in the recent lack of rainfall, conditions favoring wildfire development are again possible today. Use caution when handling and disposing of ignition sources.

It's Deer Mating Season – Be Alert For Deer Crossing Roadways

With days growing shorter, the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) is cautioning motorists to be on high alert for deer crossing roadways, particularly at dawn and dusk. The deer mating season (known as the “rut”) begins in late October and continues until early December. Deer move around more frequently during this time, and November is typically the peak period for collisions with motor vehicles.

Some tips for avoiding or mitigating auto collisions with deer include:    

• Scan the shoulders of the road in front of you; deer may dash out from the shoulder or wooded areas adjacent to the road. 
• If you see a deer while operating a motor vehicle, proceed with caution and expect more than just one deer.  
• Follow the speed limit; keeping your speed down will give you more time to respond to unexpected wildlife movements.
• Always use seat belts, since most injuries occur to drivers who are not belted. 
• If a collision is unavoidable, apply the brakes firmly and remain in your lane; swerving sharply can cause an even more serious crash.  

Anyone who strikes a deer should exercise caution when approaching the deer, as it may only be stunned, and a person could become seriously injured by a wounded animal's attempt to escape. Any deer-vehicle collision should be reported to DEM's 24-hour dispatch office at 401-222-3070, in addition to local police and the driver's insurance company. Motorists should also notify the dispatch office if they observe an injured or road killed deer as this is another way the DFW monitors the deer herd.

NOAA’s U.S. Winter Outlook Predicts Warmer Winter for Rhode Island

“La Nina” weather pattern means changes this winter

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)

Transcript (PDF): October 17 media briefing on NOAA's 2024 Winter Outlook. (335.19 KB)

A slowly-developing La Nina is favored to influence conditions for the upcoming winter across most of the country, according to NOAA’s U.S. Winter Outlook released today by the Climate Prediction Center — a division of NOAA’s National Weather Service. This outlook is for December 2024 through February 2025 and contains information on likely conditions throughout the country for temperature, precipitation and drought.  

This winter, NOAA predicts wetter-than-average conditions for the entire northern tier of the continental U.S., particularly in the Pacific Northwest and the Great Lakes region, along with northern and western Alaska. Meanwhile, drier-than-average conditions are expected from the Four Corners region of the Southwest to the Southeast, Gulf Coast and lower mid-Atlantic states.  

Election 2024 Could Stir Up Another Witch’s Brew

Why do so many support a convicted felon, sexual predator, serial liar, grifter and racist?

By Gerald E. Scorse

Eight years ago, Hillary R. Clinton seemed certain to derail Donald J. Trump’s barely begun political career. Instead, a witch’s brew of misogyny, mistakes and the Electoral College gave us our second minority-vote President of the early 21^st century. 

Eight years later, here we are in the final days of a second presidential matchup with an equally possible stark and dark outcome, Trump versus Kamala Harris.  

Demented Donald would turn America into His Own Special Hell (HOSH, not MAGA). Harris would not lead us to heaven, but she’d take us to a better place and spare us from any of Trump’s shenanigans. If she wins, she’d also finally add the United States to the list of nations together enough to elect a woman to the highest office in the land. 

Now let’s examine some aspects of Election 2024, starting with the one that tops all the others: the almost-laughable axiom that character counts in the race to the White House. This year, in the large, character counts for approximately zero. 

The Republican candidate is a convicted felon, a sexual predator, a serial liar, a grifter, a racist, a poster boy for moral bankruptcy. None of which matters: unfathomably, unbelievably, tens of millions of Americans will vote to put him back in the Oval Office for another four years. 

Underlining the point—the irrelevance of character in Election 2024—the best comes last. A 449-page book by Vincent L. Sterling, published this June, argues (seriously) that Donald J. Trump has been chosen by God.  Of course, of course; how could any character-conscious voter miss the divine clues that Sterling spies? 

The Democrats pulled off a surprise by nominating little-known Tim Walz for vice-president, and he returned the favor with a surprise of his own. The headline of one news report summed it up: “Tim Walz’s simple takedown of Republicans goes viral.” 

Walz’s plain words, stinging sharply, gave the Harris-Walz ticket an exhilarating liftoff: "These guys are creepy and yes, just weird as hell.” 

When was the last time that major members of a political party openly opposed their chosen presidential nominee?  Good for you for remembering it was only four years ago, and the candidate they couldn’t and wouldn’t vote for was Donald Trump. 

Among the non-Trumpers were scores of marquee names, headed by former president George W. Bush. The nays also included three former Secretaries of Defense (William H. Cohen, Chuck Hagel and James Mattis) and Colin Powell, the former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff who went on serve as Bush’s Secretary of State. 

The number of Republicans repelled by Trump is only half the story in 2024, and it’s the other half that’s rocked and shocked both parties. In addition to opposing The Donald, droves of GOPers have also publicly declared they’ll be voting for Harris. 

Once again there’s a glittering roster of Republican turncoats, topped off this time by one of the most committed right-wingers ever to occupy the ranks of the Right. That would be former vice-president Dick Cheney, who finally showed just a touch of the spine of his daughter Liz. 

Cheney not only matched his daughter, he out-matched the man he served as vice-president. Former President George W. Bush has no plans to endorse anybody in 2024. According to his office, “President Bush retired from presidential politics years ago.” (Note: Bush the retiree personally revealed that his vote in 2020 went not to Trump but to Condoleezza Rice.) 

National security officials normally keep their presidential politics to themselves; not so, though, in the abnormal year of 2024. 

Hundreds of high-ranking security personnel have not only thrown their support behind Harris, they’ve described Trump as ‘impulsive and ill-informed.’ They see him as lacking in leadership and subject to a ‘scary authoritarian streak.’ There were 741 signers to the letter that lays out their views, including U.S. Navy Rear Admiral Michael Smith, the president of National Security Leaders for America. 

Come November 5, none of these ingredients will decide Election 2024; that power lies solely with the Electoral College. 

America’s Founding Fathers left us so much to be proud of. The Electoral College, on the other hand, is nothing to be proud of. It’s been with us for our entire history, ever since the country was formed in Philadelphia in 1787. It was a compromise, inserted into the Constitution essentially to appease slaveholders in the colonial South.

Constitutional law expert Wilfred U. Codrington III describes it as a lasting stain: “More than two centuries after it was designed to empower southern white voters, the system continues to do just that.”

Stay tuned for Nov. 5 (or the next day, or the next…) 

This article was originally published by Common Dreams. Gerald is a regular contributor of op-eds to Progressive Charlestown. He usually writes about taxes and economics, sometimes baseball. 

Only one regret

The cheat

Cabin contaminants: the dangerous truth about toxic air on planes

You are free to gag around the cabin

By Monica Piccinini

Since the 1950s, fume events have impacted the health of thousands of pilots, cabin crew, and passengers globally, as toxic chemical compounds from the air supply, known as “bleed air,” contaminate the air in the cockpit and cabin. This is known as aerotoxic syndrome.

Synthetic engine oils and hydraulic fluids drawn from the engine or auxiliary power unit (APU) can leak into the aircraft breathing air supply (except for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner), posing a direct risk to the health of pilots, cabin crew, and passengers, and jeopardizing flight safety by potentially impairing the crew’s ability to operate the aircraft safely.

A pilot’s personal journey through aerotoxic syndrome

At the Aircraft Cabin Air International Conference 2024 in London, an event organized by the Global Cabin Air Quality Executive (GCAQE), a non-profit organization representing airline employees in relation to the issue of contaminated air on aircraft, former pilot Thorsten Bush delivered a poignant and powerful personal account of his challenging journey as a pilot who experienced fume events.

Bush had a 23-year career as an airline pilot before being placed on indefinite medical leave due to the significant effects of not just one, but two fume events.

“The loss of self, the loss of mental abilities, the loss of physical function, that happens to many flights’ crew, me included, all because of fume events,” described Bush.

Bush experienced two fume incidents on the Airbus A320, in 2019 and 2022. During the first incident in 2019, he detected a foul odour like dirty socks for about a minute. Shortly afterward, he struggled to form coherent sentences, his body temperature soared to 40-42°C, his blood pressure soared to 170 over 110, and he felt extremely intoxicated for the next three weeks. This was just the beginning of his challenges; it took him 842 days, along with extensive occupational physical therapy and cognitive assessments, to regain his pilot certification. Fortunately, he succeeded in returning to his career as a pilot.

To Bush’s astonishment, a second fume incident occurred on the same aircraft in 2022. Once again, he faced the challenges of intense rehabilitation. Following these two occurrences, Bush struggled to maintain his focus and found it difficult to carry out his daily activities. He experienced various symptoms, including memory loss, blurred vision, tremors, fatigue, and dizziness.

Bush is on a path to recovery, alongside thousands of other pilots, cabin crew, and passengers who have been impacted by fume events globally.

Look at what's trying to kill you now.

Viruses are teeming on your toothbrush, showerhead

Northwestern University

Step aside tropical rainforests and coral reefs -- the latest hotspot to offer awe-inspiring biodiversity lies no further than your bathroom.

In a new Northwestern University-led study, microbiologists found that showerheads and toothbrushes are teeming with an extremely diverse collection of viruses -- most of which have never been seen before.

Although this might sound ominous, the good news is these viruses don't target people. They target bacteria.

Harris proposes that Medicare cover more in-home health care, filling a large gap for older Americans and their caregivers

If you want to live out your days at home, this is vital

Jane Tavares, UMass Boston and Marc Cohen, UMass Boston

Vice President Kamala Harris’ proposal would allow Medicare
to expand its coverage of home health care aides for
older Americans. FredFroese/E+ via Getty Images

Vice President Kamala Harris outlined a proposal to allow Medicare to expand its coverage of home health care for older Americans. The Democratic presidential nominee announced this plan on the television talk show “The View.”

Harris explained that she aimed to take the burden off members of the “sandwich generation,” who are taking care of their kids and aging parents at the same time. She said the cost of this additional paid care could be paid for with the money the government will save by negotiating with pharmaceutical companies to reduce what Medicare pays for prescription drugs.

The Conversation U.S. asked Jane Tavares and Marc Cohen, scholars of long-term care, to assess what’s known so far about the plan.

Why is long-term care significant?

Long-term services and supports are one of the most significant expenses for older adults. They range from nonmedical assistance with food preparation, bathing, dressing and other activities of daily living to medical care in a skilled nursing facility.

Today’s 65-year-olds have a 70% chance of eventually needing some kind of long-term care as they age, and 20% will need long-term care for more than five years.

The costs associated with even one year of long-term care can prove to be unaffordable for most people. In 2023, the median yearly cost of a private room in a nursing home was US$116,796 and that of a home health care aide was $33 per hour. That’s $96,360 yearly for eight hours of daily in-home care.

The National Council on Aging has found that 80% of older adults would be unable to absorb a financial shock — such as the need for long-term care — without impoverishing themselves. The council noted that 20% of older adults had no assets at all, and another 60% would not be able to afford more than two years of either nursing home care or care in their own homes. The average length of a long-term care stay is just over three years.

Medicare currently does not cover any long-term care, but it does cover short-term professional in-home care for recovery after a qualifying illness or injury for up to 21 days and a maximum of 100 days in a skilled nursing facility after a qualifying hospital stay.

Some truly awful things Trump plans to do to the economy

Yeah, "tech" will fix it

Well said, DonOld