Praise the lords, pass the ballots | Rose
In another bipartisan bro-hug moment, Gov. Andy and Secretary of State Mike appear to have agreed on a great voting plan. The election board still needs to endorse, but... it would let anyone concerned about contracting the virus during voting to vote by mail. Your ballot must be postmarked by Nov. 3 and received by county clerks by Nov. 6. You can drop your ballot at the county clerk’s office if you don’t want to mail it. And early voting begins three weeks before the Nov. 3 election including Saturdays! No word on how many polls will open, but each county must have a “super center.”
Say no to plywood condoms | Thorn
The debate about whether protesters have made downtown too scary to visit is ridiculous. The reason downtown is deserted is because nearly everyone is working from home to avoid getting sick. The protests have been largely peaceful, except for when the police have provoked and provided the violence. The isolated vandalism and looting many weeks ago is no reason for all of those tower owners and businesses to break out the plywood condoms, making downtown seem even more inhospitable.
Cops, No knock on your way out! | Rose
If the police union opposes your bill, you know you are right. State Rep. Attica Scott has pre-filed a bill to ban no-knock warrants statewide. The Kentucky Fraternal Order of Police posted on social media: “The unintended consequences will be so severe, likely a mass exodus of great cops all across this Commonwealth. Yet again, cops have been made out to be the enemy of the people and used as no more than #PoliticalPawns.” Well, maybe we do not want those cops, so the door is over there... The city already has banned such warrants, after one was used to bust down Breonna Taylor’s door, leading to her death. U.S. Sen. Rand Paul is pushing a federal bill to “effectively end” them. State Senate President Robert Stivers, a Republican, has proposed sharply limiting their use. Could there be a deal between Scott and Stivers? She said she hopes Stivers would “follow the lead of Black women,” The Courier Journal reported. “Listen to the people who are feeling the pain, who’ve experienced it right here in Louisville and follow our lead. We can work together. And you can actually be humble enough to say, ‘I don’t really know what’s going on here. I live nowhere near Jefferson County, so I don’t know this pain. I don’t really hear these cries for justice every day. So it’s important to me to listen to the people who are deeply rooted in the community.’”
Corona coincidence? | Thorn
COVID-19 has now killed just about as many Americans as the Kentucky Derby’s record attendance of 170,000, notes former LEO columnist Erica Codey-Rucker.
