By Bob Gaydos

     This is traditionally the time for resolutions, predictions or wishes for the new year. In the interest of time and uncluttering my mind, I’m going to attempt to do all three in one sitting.

      Number one resolution for me: Take care of myself. Do better at taking my vitamin supplements. Walk more regularly. Stay in touch with friends. Read more. Try not to sweat the small stuff.

      I wish and hope I can manage to do that basic minimum of self care because I know it will make life easier for me and those around me and — big and — it will make it much easier for me to enjoy it when my number one wish comes true.

      Namely, goodbye Trump. No, not a surprise. I’m not even going to express a preference for how the Donald exits the scene, whether because of failing health or constitutional disqualification. The sooner the better is the only qualifier. The nation, heck, the world needs a mental health break from the anger, deceit, bitterness and cruelty the man has left at every turn.

      I wish the millions of Americans who voted for him and still support him have their individual moments of clarity and surrender to the fact they have been duped. Admitting it is the first step to recovery.

     I wish the Republican Party would just go away. Disappear. Cowards all. At least those in Congress. Be done with disgracing the legacy of Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, Eisenhower. Heck, I’ll even give them Reagan.

    I wish only the worst for the handpicked team of sycophants and worse who have done Trump’s bidding — Bondi, Hegseth, Kennedy, Patel, Rubio, Noem, et al. They deserve to pay the price for the pain they have aggressively inflicted.

    I wish, I wish, I wish. I wish that leaders of all religions in this country could join together in a moment of healing, that gambling can be removed from sports at the professional and college levels, that owners of newspapers and electronic media honor their First Amendment privilege and duty to report the news honestly and courageously, regardless of their bottom lines and that Americans insist on it, that Elon Musk be deported, that Democrats sweep the midterm elections, that younger Americans save themselves and the rest of us from the greedy insanity of MAGA. That last I wish most all.

   I predict … gingerly, that Trump will be removed from office, not just because of his obviously failing health and deteriorating mental condition, but because the people behind him, J.D. Vance et al, want it. Republicans see the failing poll numbers and the anger in the streets. They think they can save their Project 25 with a new face. But Vance is not the right face. The cult has one leader. The underlings are there to do his bidding. Also, they don’t have the protection Trump has to keep on riding roughshod over anyone and anything in his way — he doesn’t care about anyone else and he doesn’t care, much less know, how stupid he can sound.

    So, I predict the Democrats will indeed sweep the midterms and, with the help of disaffected Republicans (especially women), begin moving America back to being the land of the free. Make America sane again. I predict this will be very good for my well-being and allow me to go back to sweating (and writing about) the small stuff.

     I wish the same for you. Thanks for sticking with me. Happy New Year. 

By Bob Gaydos

     With all the celebrating and hope that welcomed Tuesday’s blue wave election results of Democratic victories, I was rewarded with the best kind of all — a race that was a microcosm of today’s Republican Party approach to governing: Unqualified candidate, lying, deceit. Best of all, it was local. And the Democrat won.

      The Town of Wallkill in Orange County, about an hour’s drive from New York City, has been pretty much a Republican stronghold forever. It’s a bustling town that profits from a highway system and a string of malls that grew up around it. It has one of the state’s busier court systems, providing enough work for three town justices.

       When one of the senior justices retired, Republicans offered as candidate a former councilman who is not a lawyer and has no court experience. For some reason with which I am not familiar, New York State allows this. Democrats offered as a candidate a lawyer with 34 years of experience handling hundreds of cases in Family Court and other courts and who also is a key staff member of the Legal Aid Society. A woman, by the way.

      Hands-down, no contest on qualifications and experience. So Republicans, who control the town board, decided the town didn’t need a third judge after all. Couldn’t afford it, they said. They voted to eliminate the position. This, even though the retiring judge said the town really did need three judges and not filling the position would put an unfair burden on the court staff, never mind the two judges left.

      Republicans didn’t budge. However, the Democratic candidate circulated petitions asking for a special referendum reestablishing the third judge position. It passed. But not before more Republican chicanery. 

      They told the Democratic candidate that the wording of the question on the special election would ask voters whether the town should eliminate the third town justice position. So she paid for lawn signs and printed cards to pass around town urging residents to vote no. Then Republicans decided to change the wording to instead ask whether the town should retain its third judge position, making the Democrat’s election handouts extremely counterproductive.

      She went to State Supreme Court to get it changed back. A sympathetic judge said there was nothing she could do, but hoped that the Republicans would do the “decent” thing. 

     They didn’t. 

      Came Tuesday and, following a few months of intensive campaigning, of all things, the Democrat won. Big.

      That’s not all. Wallkill voters kicked out the Republican town supervisor and a councilman, giving Democrats control of the town board. A veritable local earthquake.

       This story is especially rewarding for me because I lived in the town of Wallkill for about two decades and for nearly three decades worked at the local newspaper that would have reported on this incredible local story, if there was a viable local newspaper left in town.

     But that’s another story for another day. This day belongs to Maria Patrizio, Democrat, newly elected Town Justice, Town of Wallkill, Orange County, New York.

By Bob Gaydos  

Zohran Mamdani (smiling) is the choice of NYC Democratic voters. Party leaders, however, still prefer Andrew Cuomo, rear.

  Shhh! Keep it down. Don’t let anyone know that there’s a race for mayor of New York City in which neither the current mayor nor the former governor of the state is the Democratic Party’s candidate for the job, even though both men are longtime Democrats.

   Not only that, both men, having been beaten in the primary election, are still running for the job as independent candidates and are trailing in polls among city voters, as is the Republican candidate. 

    So wow! Democrats must really be hyped that they have a candidate who can overcome two well-known party stalwarts in the campaign for this prestigious position. Right?

    Well, depends on which Democrats you’re talking about. Clearly, registered Democrats in the city are comfortable with their choice of Zohran Mamdani as their next mayor. Also clearly, establishment Democrats, party leaders, are not.

      Else, Chuck Schumer, Democratic leader in the U.S. Senate, would have already been publicly campaigning for Mamdani. Using his influence by raising funds for him. Instead? Crickets.

   And the state’s other senator, Kirsten Gillibrand, not one to avoid public commentary? AWOL.

     Actually, that’s not quiet true in either case. Both senators are apparently active behind the scenes trying to figure out how to not have Mamdani be the next mayor without alienating his many voters while kissing up to wealthy party donors who hate Mamdani because of his proposals to make the city more affordable for the non-wealthy. Those proposals require higher taxes on the rich.

     For Schumer, Gillibrand, and other establishment Democrats, this appears to be a matter of backing Andrew Cuomo, the former governor, for the job, rather than Eric Adams, the current mayor.

   The problem here is that the Adams administration has been rocked by corruption and Adams himself had federal charges dropped by the Trump Justice Department in exchange for agreeing to cooperate with ICE enforcement in the city. New Yorkers noticed and didn’t like the deal.

    Cuomo, on the other hand, an establishment Democrat his entire adult life, resigned as governor in the midst of a scandal in which several women, including staff members, accused him of inappropriate sexual advances, including touching. The state attorney general had launched an investigation. Cuomo’s been looking for a government job ever since, apparently not happy being a consultant.

     This makes supporting him a particularly touchy situation for Gillibrand, who has made a strong reputation in Congress for supporting women’s rights, especially in matters of allegations of improper sexual behavior by men.

    She worked to strengthen the rights of women in the military in such cases. More publicly, she had a big role in driving Al Franken out of the Senate over allegations similar to those made against Cuomo. How can she now justify supporting the former governor?

    Mamdani is not only a Democratic state legislator, he is also Democratic Socialist. That last word turns off a lot of establishment Democrats because Republicans always cry “socialism” when they see it even though it isn’t. In any event, establishment Democrats feel more comfortable relaxing in the middle.

   Perhaps, at a time when the Republican Party has gone so far off the right side that it’s accepting fascism from the Trump administration, Democrats might learn from Mamdani and others in the party who are promoting ideas that appeal to Americans threatened by Republican actions. That’s not socialism, it’s realism.

    It’s time for a new, more aggressive approach for Democrats and nowhere is it more apparent than in New York City.

By Bob Gaydos

Zohran Mamdani

  Mamdani’s his name. Remember it. Get it right. Two ‘m’s and then an ‘n.’ Next mayor of New York City. His first name is Zohran.

    This all needs a little explaining.

     Given a choice in the June primary of Andrew Cuomo, a former governor who had resigned in disgrace because of numerous accusations of sexual misconduct, and Eric Adams, a mayor whose administration was awash in corruption and who personally had federal bribery and corruption charges against him dropped by the Trump administration in exchange for a promise to cooperate with the ICE roundup of anyone who looks suspiciously Hispanic, New York City Democrats chose a young, Ugandan-born Democratic Socialist, Muslim, naturalized citizen, state legislator as their candidate for mayor.

    Zohran Mamdani.

    It wasn’t close and it wasn’t strictly by default. A bright, personable 33-year-old who has mastered social media skills, Mamdani also clearly had a message that resonated with New Yorkers who are finding it increasingly difficult to afford to live in the city they love.

    While Cuomo and Adams talked about their experience in government, Mamdani spoke of free bus service and free child care for children between six weeks and five years old and “baby baskets” for new parents that would include educational resources as well as diapers and baby wipes.

  He talked of a city-owned grocery store in each borough. The stores would operate on city-owned land or in city buildings, buy food wholesale and be exempt from property taxes, which would keep the cost of the food down.

    He said he would freeze rents for nearly one million New Yorkers by strategic appointments to the board which decides on increases for rent-stabilized apartments. He also promised to triple the number of available affordable housing units, with 200,000 new homes to be built over the next decade.

    You get the picture. He talked to New Yorkers about things that were really bothering them and offered a plan to pay for it all.

   Mamdani said he would raise the corporate tax rate to 11.5 percent, which he says will bring in an additional $5 billion. And, he plans a 2 percent tax on the wealthiest 1 percent of New Yorkers.

    Cuomo called Mamdani’s plans “unrealistic.“ So did the wealthy city dwellers and corporations, not to mention old guard Democratic politicians who depend on their campaign contributions. After Mamdani’s surprise victory, big money began pouring into Cuomo’s now independent campaign for mayor. They also desperately began looking for a candidate who wasn’t a – gasp! – socialist.

    In fact, establishment Democrats sounded just like typical Republicans and that’s a terrible thing for a politician in New York City and much of the country these days. Dismissing progressive ideas as too left, too radical and looking for the comfortable middle of the road, in the process offering nothing to contrast with today’s devastating Republican scorched-earth agenda, is a recipe for loss. The status quo is a no go.

    To be clear, Mamdani is a Democrat who shares the same Democratic Socialist values as Bernie Sanders, a Brooklyn boy: Tax people fairly according to their wealth for the greater good of all people. Make New York City a great place to live and work and raise a family even if you’re not super wealthy. A democracy for everyone. It’s not communism; it’s not socialism. Today, in the age of ever greater corporate power, it’s realism.

      Apparently, a lot of registered Democratic voters agree. They don’t want used or tainted goods. Since Democrats far outnumber Republicans in the city, the Democratic candidate is always heavily favored to win.

   The Republican candidate, staging a reprise of his 2021 losing campaign, is Curtis Sliwa. I honestly didn’t even know he was still around. Sliwa, now 73, is a founder of the once upon a time, Guardian Angels, who patrolled the streets of the city in the 1980s, purporting to reduce crime. Sliwa later admitted to faking some “crimes“ they had “prevented.” He also escaped a kidnapping and apparent assassination attempt by John Gotti Jr., who was charged, but not convicted after three trials. Gotti Senior apparently didn’t like something Sliwa said about him.

     Like everyone else these days, Sliwa has a podcast and, I guess, describes himself as a citizen activist. He was unopposed for the Republican nomination for mayor so you can see why Democrats are favored to win. Unless they sabotage themselves, which they have been known to do.

      The Democratic establishment quickly branded Mamdani too far left to win. Even though he just won. Even though he is young, smart and speaks his mind. Even though he may have given city voters yet another convincing reason to vote for him.

      In a direct rebuke to the Adams/Trump deal, Mamdani says New York City should strengthen its sanctuary city laws and promises to bar Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers from city facilities. Polls say that most Americans, never mind just New York City residents, would support this approach.

     Mamdani. Get it right. Next mayor of New York City.

I didn’t get one.

By Bob Gaydos

This will be short and maybe a little personal because it’s Monday and it’s hot and buggy outside and I’m still brooding over not being invited to the Bezos wedding in Venice.

I mean, yeah, it was ostentatious and not that I would’ve known how to socialize with Oprah, the Kardashians, Tom Brady, Bill Gates and a bunch of influencers I never heard of, but I don’t cause trouble, I do have Amazon Prime and it would’ve been nice to see Venice.

It certainly would’ve been more fun than following the daily doings of Trump and the dumpster fire that is the Republican Party in the Congress. The big story of course is this big, awful budget bill that Trump wants passed in one shot, instead of holding hearings on budget proposals from various departments the way Congress usually does it. Get all the lies in one basket, pass it and go home. That’s the plan.

So far, it’s not working because it’s such a cruel bill, skewed to take from the poor and give to the rich that even a few Republicans have had to say so. There’s several thousand inches of copy on it in The New York Times if you want to know all the details. Basically, poor people lose healthcare and very rich people get very richer and ICE gets to build a big special prison all its own.

All it needs is a couple more Republican senators with a bare minimum of decency to kill it, but so far there don’t seem to be any. The Trumper likes holidays, so he wants the bill passed by July 4 so he can celebrate. He’ll probably invite Bezos for a big Mac.

Oh yeah, the prison that ICE would get to build, Trump and the MaGAs would no doubt love to use as a new home for Zohran Mamdani, the Muslim Democratic Socialist who just won the Democratic primary for mayor in New York City. Trump‘s already called him a communist. A Republican senator suggested he was a terrorist. The president’s press secretary suggested he might be worth investigating since he’s a naturalized citizen. I’m surprised the men in the masks haven’t already shown up.

This is not how I like to start my week. I mean, I would’ve gone out and rented a tux if Bezos had invited me.

Too hot and buggy. Talk to you tomorrow.

By Bob Gaydos

Zohran Mamdani (smiling) left Andrew Cuomo (rear) in the dust in the Democratic primary for mayor of New York City.

That loud sound of the very ground being torn apart on the East Coast was the political equivalent of an earthquake.

Tuesday, Democrats in New York City chose a Muslim Indian born in Africa to be their party’s candidate for mayor over former New York governor Andrew Cuomo, and incumbent Mayor Eric Adams. Oh, and the chosen candidate, a naturalized citizen, is a Democratic Socialist.

Go ahead. Read that again. I’ll wait.

Zohran Mamdani, a little-known state assemblyman from Queens, shocked the political world and scared the pants off wealthy backers of Cuomo and Adams as well as many city businesses, who feared Mamdani’s basic platform issue of higher taxes on them and a lower cost of living for city residents.

Blasphemy! they cried. Communist! the MAGAs bellowed. Holy crap! Democratic leaders gulped.

Indeed, in a city where being a Democrat almost always guarantees being elected mayor, Mamdami’s victory left many of those so-called Democratic leaders befuddled in the middle, still looking for a way to fight Donald Trump and his MAGA cult without jeopardizing their own political status.

It might be just the earthquake the Democratic Party needed.

Clearly, the victory was a major rebuke to the Democratic establishment. Apparently, enough voters were finally fed up with overlooking the sins of the chosen political elite and allowing them to just move along as if nothing in their past really mattered when it came time to vote. This time, it apparently did matter.

Cuomo talked a lot about crime, which is actually down in the city. He ran a largely lackluster campaign based on his name recognition and the fact that he was a city boy from Queens who once was governor and so presumably knew best what was best for New Yorkers.

This required voters to overlook the fact that he was forced to resign as governor because of numerous allegations — by staff and other women — of sexual misconduct. He denied the charges, but the state attorney general was investigating him.

There was also his mishandling of the Covid crisis when he ordered elderly patients in overcrowded hospitals to be sent to nursing homes, where they received a lower level of care. Many died.

Plus, he was generally regarded as a bully.

None of this stopped him from running for mayor. I guess he needed the job.

For his part, the Adams administration has been a public relations disaster, marked by an almost weekly resignation by some top aide for questionable behavior.

Adams himself faced federal charges of taking illegal campaign contributions, but the Trump Justice Department, ever looking for some quid pro quo, agreed to drop the charges in exchange for Adams cooperating with ICE rounding up immigrants, or whomever, on city streets.

Apparently, that’s not exactly the way to win the hearts or votes of New Yorkers.

The big money people are rallying behind Cuomo and Adams, letting them know that the funds will be there if they want to run as independent candidates in November. Because, what do thousands of New York City Democrats know about what’s good for them? Also, that thing about higher taxes on rich people, free buses and affordable supermarkets.

Of course, Mamdani being Muslim, there are also the inevitable slurs, and fear-mongering about terrorism and accusations of anti-semitism.

For his part, he has pledged to step up efforts to combat antisemitism in the city. He says his argument is with Israeli President Bibi Netanyahu and some of his military policies, not with the Jewish people. A distinction some can’t, or refuse to, understand.

In any event, Mamdani on the East Coast shook up a static Democratic establishment by appealing directly to the people in plain language about everyday problems. Kind of like Bernie Sanders, another Democratic Socialist, did in 2016, when Democrats went for the establishment presidential candidate.

On the West Coast, a member of the Democratic establishment, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, recently struck a nerve in a somewhat moribund Democratic Party by taking on Donald Trump in plain, blunt language over ICE kidnappings in Los Angeles. Basically, calling a bully a bully, a liar a liar. Come and get me.

Polls showed a lot of Americans, not just Democrats, like Newsom‘s message.

Now, if Democrats can take off the gloves and go coast-to-coast with a message most Americans can understand and agree with, they might be able to put the fear of God (losing elections) into enough Republicans to stop the Trump onslaught on democracy and the rule of law while there’s still a country worth saving.

Start spreading the news: When New Yorkers say, “Hey, enough’s enough! Get oudda here!” it’s worth paying attention.

By Bob Gaydos

Gene Hackman roles.

Keeping up with the news is challenging, but it’s a lot more secure than a job with the federal government these days. That said, some thoughts on some recent events, with a deep bow to the late, great Jimmy Cannon.

— Maybe it’s just me, but: Chuck Schumer was right when he called the decision to vote in favor of a terrible Republican budget bill to keep the government open or to vote against it and give Trump even more power over government spending than he has already exercised “no choice at all.” Still, the Senate Minority leader had to choose and decided to vote against a shutdown and for the bill. He convinced enough Democrats to join him for the bill to proceed. In an op ed piece in The New York Times, Schumer said, “A shutdown would give Mr. Trump and Mr. Musk permission to destroy vital government services at a significantly faster rate than they can right now. Under a shutdown, the Trump administration would have wide-ranging authority to deem whole agencies, programs and personnel nonessential, furloughing staff members with no promise they would ever be rehired.” Voting against the bill would’ve shut down the government for who knows how long and Republicans would have forever blamed the Democrats, even though, as the party in control, it was Republicans’ responsibility to make something happen. Tough call. House Democrats could safely vote against the bill unanimously, knowing it still had to pass the Senate. Schumer knew he’d get heat, but chose what he saw as the lesser of two evils. Hard to argue with that.

— Maybe it’s just me, but: If Jeff Bezos is going to run a documentary autobiography of Kay Graham on Prime Video, the least he can do is watch it so he knows what the publisher of the Washington Post is supposed to act like. Graham led the paper through the Watergate and Pentagon Papers scandals in Washington, helping forge the newspaper’s reputation as a staunch defender of the truth and a fearless foe of political corruption. Bezos folded to Trump like a cheap tent you could probably get delivered overnight from Amazon Prime. Gutless.

  — Maybe it’s just me, but: It was sad to hear of the death of Gene Hackman at 94, especially considering the details of his demise. In honor of his memory, we held a mini-marathon of the two-time Oscar winner’s films. None of the really big ones. We watched “Enemy of the State,” also starring Will Smith and Jon Voight; “Get Shorty,” also starring John Travolta and Danny DeVito; and “Crimson Tide,” also starring Denzel Washington. All enjoyable. Gene hung out in good company. I got voted down on “The French Connection.”

   — Maybe it’s just me, but: I still call it the Gulf of Mexico.

   — Maybe it’s just me, but: The Yankees decision to no longer play Frank Sinatra’s “New York, New York” after a home game when the team loses was the right thing to do. A suggestion for what to play instead on those losing occasions might be Sinatra‘s “That’s Life.” They could also apply that philosophy to all the injuries the team has suffered in spring training.

  — Maybe it’s just me, but: Hawking Teslas on the lawn of the White House like some cheesy used car salesman is not only demeaning to the office of the president, but it’s probably illegal, no?

By Bob Gaydos

Survey answer: Protect the Constitution
RJ Photography

    Got my now-weekly letter from the Democratic National Committee urging me to make my 2025 Membership Contribution and fill out a survey to help the DNC “stop Donald Trump’s dangerous agenda.”

     Couple of problems here:

1. I am not now and never have been a member of the Democratic Party, or any political party for that matter. I am a registered voter and have been since I was eligible to vote more than 60 years ago. I’m not sure today, but it used to be the common practice among journalists not to register in any political party to avoid obvious complaints of bias. My opinions and leanings as an editorial writer may have been clear, but there was no way to claim favoritism to a particular party. Same with my work as a reporter or editor. So I’m not sure where the DNC got the idea that I’m a Democrat and decided to make me a pen pal, but I’m officially a registered Independent voter in Sullivan County, N.Y., and I like it that way.
2. The first question on the survey is: “Which of President Trump’s priorities do you find most troubling? (Please choose up to three.) The list includes eight of Trump’s more publicized and nasty talking points, from mass deportations to cutting taxes for the rich, gutting abortion access, limiting voting access, reversing environmental regulations, targeting the rights of LGBTQ+, dismantling federal agencies and stocking the Supreme Court with unqualified MAGA puppets.

    Umm, I’m troubled by all of them, folks, as I’ve written. But what troubles me the most about Trump is that he clearly has no grasp of separation of power and in fact shows no interest in sharing it with Congress or the courts.

   He has somehow, at least for the moment, been usurped as president by Elon Musk, who is running amok through any agency he sees as a threat to his lust for more power and money. And he seems to know even less than Trump about how government (at least ours) is supposed to function.

     And Democrats are being way too polite about it. Yes, the lawyers and civil liberties groups are doing their job, taking Trump to court and winning rulings from judges, at least temporarily stopping Trump. 

      But we need Democrats jumping up an down and getting people in the streets and on TV and social media with the same message, over and over. And I guess I’m actually answering the second question in the DNC survey: Which aspects of the Trump presidency do you find most disturbing?

      Easy. “His disregard for the U.S. Constitution.” All the other stuff stems from his ignorance, cowardice, greed, pettiness, narcissism, dishonesty and obviously failing mental faculties. They all carry a price for Americans. But the ultimate price is lack of freedom and an unchecked Trump beholden to an autistic billionaire with no loyalty to anything but himself is the ultimate threat to American democracy. And someone needs to make a lot of noise about that.

   Wall Street doesn’t care. So-called mainstream media no longer cares, or at least the one-time big names in credibility have put away their knives and First Amendment privileges out of fear and greed. What else could it be?

     The Constitution is under attack and Republicans don’t care. I’ve been writing that message for a long time now, having declared the death of the Republican Party in 2016 when it knelt meekly at the feet of Trump.

      Perhaps that’s why someone in the DNC mistakenly thought I was a registered member of the party. Sorry, no. I just want my Senators, Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, and all the rest of the Democrats to take to the ramparts and use whatever weapons they have at their command to stop this dismantling of America. Go get Musk.

     Rally the people who were lied to by Trump and voted for him, the Republicans who may be hiding quietly, too embarrassed to come out and admit they were wrong, and the millions of Americans who didn’t bother to vote for president because “they’re all the same.“

     No, they’re not.

(Note to DNC: Thanks for the survey. The opinions expressed here are free for you to use, but in keeping with my tradition, I’ll be making my donations to the ACLU, SPLC and other apolitical organizations fighting to defend and preserve the Constitution.)

By Bob Gaydos

     I was voter number 838 Sunday afternoon, Oct. 26, at the Government Center in Monticello, N.Y.. Row A, Kamala Harris and Democrats, all the way. “Yes” on New York State Proposition One extending protection against discrimination in several categories including pregnancy and pregnancy outcomes — Democrats’ preemptive effort to thwart possible Republican efforts to enact a national abortion ban.

            Republicans have forfeited any chance of consideration at the ballot box with their full-throated and conscience-free embrace of all things Trump, punctuated by the all-out salute to hatred and bigotry at his Sunday night Madison Square Garden rally. An utterly despicable display.

       In contrast, it was a pleasure casting the vote Sunday. A sunny afternoon. Lots of parking. No lines. Plenty of helpful volunteer poll workers. Name, address, signature. Smooth as silk. Well done, Sullivan.

       Of course, this is precisely the kind of thing Republicans have been trying to dismantle across the country — orderly, honest, uncomplicated voting. For all. When that happens everywhere, they tend to lose nationally because their policies don’t sit well with many Americans. Especially for the past decade when their only policy has been to oppose anything Democrats propose. It’s hard to run a two-party system of government that way.

       That’s why Trump and the MAGAs want it their way: one ruler with absolute power and a bunch of flunkies to make it happen. Essentially eliminate all marginalized citizens — non-white, non-straight, non-Christian — who might expect support from their government by eliminating their vote and the votes of those who support the concept of equal rights and opportunity (those Trump calls “the enemy within”).

       It wasn’t that long ago that women were on that list of marginalized citizens. Not anymore. They have the vote and tend to vote in larger numbers than men. They have a candidate this year who understands their concerns and those of the citizens who were targets of ugly “jokes” and comments in Madison Square Garden Sunday night.

       Early voting numbers are up in many areas of the country where it hasn’t always been as easy as it was in Monticello Sunday afternoon. I’d like to think it’s a positive sign for Kamala Harris and those who want to protect and preserve democracy in America. 

          Vote like your freedom depends on it.

rjgaydos@gmail.com

By Bob Gaydos

    “Nah, I don’t get involved in politics.”

    And with a wave of his hand, the decision was made. He wasn’t interested in a free subscription to my column. I didn’t bother to argue that I have been known to write about lots of other subjects besides politics — addiction, nutrition, food, books, health, media, TV, UFOs, sports, social customs, environment, science — because I knew it wouldn’t matter. 

    Yeah, I write about politics a lot, because, unlike my friend, I think it matters a lot. Especially today. And it really annoys me that so many people just wave it off so casually, as if it has no impact on their lives. This friend, who recently became a father, had been talking about companies failing to pay a living wage, the inability of businesses to hire help, the lack of trained help available, the red tape in workers compensation proceedings, shoddy construction jobs and how the system is rigged. You know, that system.

     That system which threatens to inflict Donald Trump on us again, unless we all start paying more attention to the politics of the day. Because whatever complaints you might have with the way things are today, you’re going to have many more if enough uninterested-in-politics voters decide not to vote or, worse, to join the bullies and racists and check the box for Trump because, you know, he tells it like it is.

       If only.

Like it or not, everything is politics in one way or another. We are a nation of laws and politicians write the laws. We either like them or we don’t. We get to vote accordingly. Hire them or fire them. That’s our basic job as citizens.

     But if you “don’t get involved in politics,” you really don’t have any right to complain, especially if you also don’t vote. Informed citizens who vote are the backbone of a democracy. Ill-informed or misinformed citizens are the obvious threat. That’s where we are this year with the Trump cult of ignorant followers, who vote.

     But the silent threat are all those who don’t want to get involved, don’t want to learn about the candidates and their positions on issues and how it might impact the lives of everyone, voters and non-voters. And, please, don’t give me that “they’re all alike” nonsense. The last eight years should have put that argument to rest.

     The Trump Republican Party is a clear and present danger to our democracy. The Democratic Party, behind its presidential candidate, Kamala Harris, is fighting to protect and preserve our democracy. It’s as simple as that. Even a minuscule, grudging amount of attention paid to what has been going on in America should make that clear to anyone who likes the idea of living in a free and democratic nation. We all have a stake in it. That’s not politics, that’s the cold, hard reality.

      This concludes your civics lesson for today. Perhaps some day we’ll elect enough politicians who think it’s a subject that should still be taught in all our schools, along with a true history of slavery, sex education and geography.

      Pay attention, please.

rjgaydos@gmail,com