Safety First

There is some encouraging news out of Oxford about a potential vaccine, but of course it isn't ready or proven yet.

On the other hand we have a dog who caught the virus in North Carolina.  So household pets are at risk but so far we are infecting them and not vice versa, at least as far as we know.

There are lots of issue that have to be dealt with  that have some real urgency.

First is getting people back on the payrolls and giving them a way to make a living.

Second is assuring that all Americans get a chance to vote.

We continue to see a widening gulf in this country between classes.  Many people who work in offices and similar jobs are in fact able to work remotely, at least to some extent.

Manual workers have to be there.  You can't drive buses, lift boxes, make products remotely, at least not yet.

Essential workers had to continue working and while some got infected, most did not.

Until there is an effective vaccine we need to make sure that the workers are protected with the measure that are proven to work.

It won't be risk free, but then again it never was. Voting is not as complex unless you don't want everyone to vote.

We clearly can send all registered voters a ballot with a unique code that they can use to vote and return by mail or in person.  One vote, one person.

Of course this would lead to allegations of voter fraud, although mostly they mean too many people got to vote.

One vote, one person is just right.

Voting

It remains to be seen how the election are going to go in 2018.

A lot is going to depend on the candidates who end up running and on a promising note we are seeing more new candidates, including many more women contesting seats.

There should be no safe seats in this country, they should all be earned.

Safe seats lead to complacency where the interests of all the constituents are often ignored for the interests of the donors.

Some think term limits are the answer, and they certainly have some impact but the real solution is simply to get participation.

The people who don't vote in this country are clearly the losers.

Many of them don't vote because they think it doesn't matter, but it really does, and not voting means its going to stay pretty much the same.

If you look at Government and wonder why they don't seem to be anything like you, well that's because you didn't vote.

Each vote is valuable, even if the candidate you vote for doesn't win.

It expresses an opinion in the only forum that the politicians care about.

Having an opponent challenge an incumbent's positions is the best way to get those positions in front of the electorate.

Of course in many elections now the only communication is via paid media ads that tend to give you very little information about the candidates, except negative information about his/her opponent.

Challenge all incumbents, get the information about their positions and exercise your right to vote.

America should reflect all Americans, not just some.