Join us here tonight for our debate pre-game show at 8:30 PM Eastern Time. How appropriate that this final excursion into the surreal is going to be in Las Vegas, a place that actually knows how to run casinos. (Wise showgirls should practice their kung fu before Donald Trump arrives.) Perhaps he will duplicate the Time magazine cover for real on stage. |
Today’s comic by Matt Bors is Ken Bone, hero or villain?
• Twenty days remain until the election. Click here to make sure you're registered to vote. In the majority of states, if you haven’t yet registered, you’ve missed the deadline. Below is a list of deadlines in the 23 states where there is still time to register, including the 13 where you can register on Election Day or don’t need to register.
Today is the last day to register on line, by mail or in person in Massachusetts.
Alabama: Oct. 24 on line, by mail, and in person; California: Oct. 24 on line, by mail, and in person; Colorado: Nov. 8 in person, Oct. 31 on line and by mail; Connecticut: Nov. 8 in person, Nov. 1 on line and by mail; Idaho: Nov. 8 in person; Illinois: Nov. 8 in person, Oct. 23 on line; Iowa: Nov. 8 in person, Oct. 24 by mail, Oct. 29 on line; Maine: Nov. 8 in person; Maryland: Nov. 3 in person; Minnesota: Nov. 8 in person; Montana: Nov. 8 in person; Nebraska: Oct. 21 on line and by mail, Oct. 28 in person; New Hampshire: Nov. 8 in person, Oct. 29 by mail; North Carolina: Nov. 5 in person; North Dakota: No registration required; South Dakota: Oct. 24 by mail and in person; Utah: Nov. 1 on line and in person; Vermont: Nov. 2 on line, by mail, and in person; Washington: Oct. 31 in person; Washington, DC: Nov. 8 in person; Wisconsin: Nov. 8 in person, Oct. 19 by mail; Wyoming: Nov. 8 in person: Oct. 25 by mail.
• Poll: Gov. Chris Christie hits an all-time low in approval ratings—21%.
• Marco Rubio hedges his denierism, but just a tad:
“I am 100 percent in favor of mitigation, if in fact sea levels are rising.”
The Florida senator and former presidential candidate argued against policies to reduce carbon emissions at adebate against challenger Rep. Patrick Murphy on Monday, not paying mind to the irony that rising seas nearly lapped at his feet.
• Yeah, sure, haven’t you heard, it’s all about honoring American Indians:
The Cleveland Indians are on their biggest national stage since their last visit to the ALCS in 2007, and the franchise is celebrating by rubbing its racism in the faces of every person tuning in to watch baseball at the peak of its season. It’s a very strange thing.
The Indians have chosen to wear their Chief Wahoo caps, which depict a widely-derided racist caricature, in each of the five games they’ve played in the postseason thus far. This is even more ridiculous than it appears at first, because in April of this year—the beginning of the baseball season—Indians owner Paul Dolan said the team would move away from using the demeaning depiction of a supposed Native American, instead making the block-letter “C” the team’s primary logo. I’m not sure what definition of “secondary” the Indians are using, but centering the team’s visual identity around Chief Wahoo by using him on the team’s main postseason cap doesn’t fit any definition I’m aware of.
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• Number of Americans receiving food stamps falls again: From an average 46.6 million in 2012, the number of Americans receiving SNAP benefits (what the food stamp program has been called since 2008) has fallen to 43.4 million in the latest report. During the Great Recession, the number of recipients rose sharply from 26 million in 2007 in part because of loosened eligibility requirements. At least a bit of the drop has come about because some states have reinstated a three-month limit on benefits for unemployed adults without children. As of July 2016, 4.4 million fewer people participated in SNAP than in December 2012, the highest month of participation. The Congressional Budget Office predicts SNAP spending will continue to fall as a share of the economy in the coming years, reaching 1995 levels in 2019.
• Researchers say climate change has doubled wildfires in the western U.S. According to their study, higher temperatures causing greater aridity have kindled fires across an additional 16,000 square miles more than they otherwise would have. That’s an area larger than Massachusetts and Connecticut combined. The authors say that this situation is going to grow exponentially over the next few decades.
• Annual mock election by schoolchildren gives Clinton 436 electoral votes to Trump’s 99: The mock election has been held every year since 1940. And since 1964, the way the kids have voted has aligned with the actual election results. This time, 52 percent of the young voters picked Hillary Clinton, while 35 percent chose Donald Trump, with 13 percent going for Libertarian Gary Johnson and the Green Party’s Jill Stein. The percentage going to third parties was considerably higher than usual, which probably will be replicated when the tally of grownups is counted.
• On today’s Kagro in the Morning show, Greg Dworkin & Joan McCarter pre-game the last debate. Polls & projections continue to implode for Trump. Ryan may be finished no matter what happens in the House. A.V. Club applauds KITM! Filibuster reform to make a comeback? GunFAIL’s impact grows.
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