Man Eat Cat Story

The Springfield City School District closed Roosevelt Middle School and evacuated Perrin Woods and Snowhill Elementary schools Friday morning after the city received two bomb threats via email, according to a city release. Cliff Park High School, a charter school outside the Springfield district, was also evacuated.

The specter of people eating pets provided a sense of the absurd to the presidential debate. 

We should not just see it as a joke. The slander of Haitians is part of a long-time anti-immigrant campaign that is a dark part of our history.  

We are a nation of immigrants. They provide a revigorating component that adds to our well-being.  It requires a lot of effort to bring them in and help them assimilate. But, that holds true.

Verbal attacks are not empty vessels that will have no effect. It might seem that way to some, who see it as a sort of game. The bomb threats show that attacks on immigrants have real consequences. 

We can use the attacks to provide a more productive analysis of what is going on. For instance, we can examine Haitian immigration, including the ongoing problems in Haiti that drove people to leave. 

And, it can be part of the discussion about a useful path forward in immigration reform. Versus slander and racist lies. 

Heather Cox Richardson provides her usual helpful context, including the origins of the whole thing and how it is being used to try to gain political control of the Senate. Ohio is a key battle. 

I remain appalled at the distinct possibility the Democrats will lose the Senate. The result would be handcuffing of President (knock on wood) Harris in many ways. Likewise, it would block change. 

Be careful about saying "nothing" could be done. No, we won't have "zero" judicial confirmations. Also, executives have a lot of power. 

Finally, the stuff that was passed during the Biden Administration stays in place. If the Democrats (as favored) win the House, we probably even will have a small movement forward when the budget and such are worked out. 

Still, the Senate is obviously extremely important. I think more attention should be given to key races. Let us hear more about Tim Sheehy, who is allegedly the presumptive future senator of Montana. 

Finally, we should have more attention -- including in places like Talking Points Memo and places like Lawyers Drug and Money -- on races where there is a chance to have an upset. The Democrats cannot put all their eggs in a 50-50 Senate basket.   

Republicans are weird and trolls. The incumbents up for election and those running for office have a lot of fodder. And, I'm not forgetting the anti-Trump guy who wants to help Trump supporters control the Senate by winning a seat in Maryland.   

This election is not just about Trump. If we "don't want to go back" and instead go forward, Democrats need to control Congress. I grant that they still will accomplish something without Congress. 

But, it would be a perennial lower expectations affair, battling for simple things like Cabinet seats.  The assholes supporting bashing immigrants and basic American values should not have the power to do that. The cowards who enable Trump and such lies should not have the power to do that. 

My feeling on the point is rather visceral.