Well, here we are. November 5th, 2024. Election Day. Months of political news and antics all come down to today (hopefully).
Polls close as early as 6 PM EST. By about 9 PM the polls will have closed in a few “battleground” states, including Georgia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin. The latter three “Rust Belt” states are particularly important, according to recent reporting.
My state is projected to go to the red team, but I’m very hopeful a much disliked red team senator — infamous for flying to a tropical destination while the majority of the state was left without power after an antarctic blast crippled the state’s independent grid (thanks, Rick Perry!) — will be unseated by a popular blue team candidate.
Although I am a small-dollar donor, I have donated several times to the campaign for the blue team candidate for U.S. Congress in my district. The incumbent has been shown to be completely worthless. I went so far as to visit her office in Washington to get her help. She ignored myriad emails asking for her support on a military veterans matter. (In fact, she ignored me so much that I wrote a blue team congressman in an adjacent district; he signed on — and is now looking to unseat the aforementioned red team senator!
I worry about our democracy. I mean actually worry.
Based on the mostly independent and some mainstream reporting I consume, I am convinced Mr. Trump will destroy our nation, staffing every federal position with sycophants and waging war against the federal and judicial subsystems which threaten his livelihood (having been convicted of 34 felonies in the State of New York, facing criminal charges in Georgia, the District of Columbia, and potentially Arizona) and the people whose duty it is to act in accordance with the law. Meanwhile, Trump has a legion of corroborators in Congress — many of whom have abused their positions to curry favor with “Orange Jesus” (a term used by a Republican Congressman to describe Mr. Trump).
I also worry for my daughter. I’ve stated on several social media posts that I cannot bear to see Conservatives turn my girl into a 3D white meat printer. If she were assaulted again, she would be forced to carry the baby to term. Because there are no care options available for her here, she would have to find care in another state — though doing so is illegal, and even planning to do so would actually expose her to citizen bounty hunters who could profit from reporting her to authorities. WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK, PEOPLE?! (By the way, the architect of Texas’ anti-abortion law? That same red team senator who left to drink margaritas while 246 of his constituents died in the freeze.) 41 states have abortion bans. 13 of them, including mine, have total bans. Texas has no exclusion for rape, incest, or viability of the fetus. 1 In theory the state has exceptions for risk to the mother, although I see news reports about women who died or cannot carry anymore because they were denied care despite those exceptions.
Would you be cool with this for YOUR daughter?
The cost of having a baby in 2024 is nearly 19,000, with about $2,500 being out-of-pocket expenses. The same source reported that the annual cost of raising a child around $26,000. 2, 3
You KNOW your kid can’t shoulder the financial burden, let alone responsibility for a baby she never asked for. Where do you think that money’s going to come from? (Hint: It’s YOU.)
But you’re okay with this, right? Suddenly having to fork over some portion of six figures by the time the baby is four. And just think — you were planning to retire on that money. Thank God for those ultraconservatives, amirite?
Ten states have abortion on the ballot today: Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New York, South Dakota. 4
1 See https://www.guttmacher.org/state-policy/explore/state-policies-abortion-bans
2 See https://www.forbes.com/advisor/health-insurance/how-much-does-it-cost-to-have-a-baby/
4 See https://www.cbsnews.com/news/states-abortion-laws-ballot-2024/
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