Prepare for a Couple Months of Possible ‘Civil Unrest’; Gannett Newspapers Join the List of Endorsement Cowards–Coachella Valley Independent’s Indy Digest: Oct. 31, 2024

Indy Digest: Oct. 31, 2024

I received this email from one of the Independent’s insurance companies yesterday:

Folks, we’re in for an interesting couple of months. No matter what happens on Election Day, there will certainly be protests and lawsuits and—I mean this in the worst sense of the word—shenanigans.

Earlier today, CNN published a story headlined “‘January 6th is going to be pretty fun’: How MAGA activists are preparing to undermine the election if Trump loses.”

Here’s an excerpt:

MAGA activists have been planning to undermine a potential Harris victory well in advance of the election, with some even arguing that state legislators should simply ignore the election results and award electoral votes to Trump by default.

Congress passed a measure in 2022 that makes it harder to overturn a certified presidential election, and with Trump now out of office, he and his allies cannot wield levers of the executive branch to try to influence the election. But experts say that the people involved in these conspiracy theory-driven efforts appear to be better organized, more determined and, in some cases, more extreme than four years ago.

Federal law enforcement officials are also ringing alarm bells. A bulletin put out earlier this month by the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Bureau of Intelligence warned that extremist rhetoric about the election could motivate people to “engage in violence, as we saw during the 2020 election cycle.”

Marc Harris, a former investigator for the House select committee that investigated January 6, 2021, told CNN he’s concerned that the tactics to undermine the election have evolved since 2020, even with the safeguards put into place since then.

“Those looking to overturn the election are way ahead of where they were in 2020,” said Harris. “But on the flip side, the pro-democracy defenders are also more prepared. How that shakes out is not clear to me.”

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous about whatever the next couple of months are going to bring. All any of us can do is be ready, and be prepared—because our democracy is at stake.

—Jimmy Boegle

More News

• Add the parent company of The Desert Sun to the list of cowardly newspaper companies who have, at the last minute, decided not to make presidential endorsements. CNN explains: “Gannett, owner of the nation’s largest newspaper chain, announced that its more than 200 publications, including USA Today, will not publish presidential endorsements in the run-up to the November 5 election. In a statement, Gannett said that while its USA Today Network of publications nationwide will not issue presidential endorsements this year, the outlets may still endorse candidates at the state and local levels at their own discretion. ‘Why are we doing this? Because we believe America’s future is decided locally – one race at a time,’ Gannett chief communications officer Lark-Marie Antón told CNN in a statement. ‘And with more than 200 publications across the nation, our public service is to provide readers with the facts that matter and the trusted information they need to make informed decisions.’ The decision not to endorse was made last year by Gannett Media chief content officer Kristin Roberts, a person familiar with the matter said. … ‘This was an editorial decision, it had nothing to do with Gannett corporate,’” Antón told CNN. ‘The perception that our corporate team influenced editorial is not accurate.’” Whatever happened, the fact it was not revealed until a week before the election speaks massive, honking volumes.

• Consider this Calmatters piece to be a friendly reminder that even though we’re in California, our rights can still be threatened: “Beverly Hills officials delayed permit approvals and pressured the landlord to prevent an abortion clinic from opening in the city last year, violating state constitutional protections for reproductive rights, according to an investigation by the California Department of Justice. The city must now conduct comprehensive training for its employees about state and federal protections for abortion clinics and develop a procedure for reporting potential future violations to the state under a stipulated judgment announced today by Attorney General Rob Bonta. It is the first complaint the state has brought under Proposition 1, a measure approved by voters in 2022 that added ‘reproductive freedom’ to the California constitution. … ‘Unfortunately, it’s a reminder that anti-reproductive freedom actions don’t just happen in Texas or red states that are cracking down on reproductive health care, but it can happen right here in California, even though we have some of the strongest reproductive health laws in the nation,’ Bonta said in an interview with CalMatters.”

• A new rule has gone into effect requiring airlines to compensate passengers who deal with significant delays. CBS reports: “Airlines are now required to give customers automatic refunds, under a new Department of Transportation rule that went into effect this week. While the new regulation won’t make grappling with flight delays and cancellations less hellish, you are at least guaranteed to get your money back when an airline doesn’t transport you from point A to B as promised, without having to file any paperwork. The law is also designed to incentivize airlines to minimize disruptions, Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said Wednesday when the rule went into effect. … For the first time, the new rule sets a standard for what constitutes a ‘significant change’ to a flight. Previously, definitions varied from one carrier to another. A significant change to a flight now includes a three-hour or longer delay for domestic flights, and at least a six-hour delay on international flights. If an airline changes a flight’s departure or arrival airport, or adds a connection, that also counts.” The story explains other rules that just went into effect as well; it’s worth a read.

• Today’s recall news involves … baby powder! ABC News says: “A type of baby powder distributed in 35 states and sold online through Amazon is being recalled due to potential contamination with asbestos. The Dynarex Corporation said Monday that its earlier recall of Dynacare Baby Powder, initiated in September, had expanded from 12 states to 35, according to a company announcement on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration website. The company said the recalled Dynacare Baby Powder products were sold on or after Jan. 18, 2024, in Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, Montana, North Carolina, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin and online through Amazon.com.” Yikes!

• We don’t often have sports news in this section of the Digest, but given my Los Angeles Dodgers fandom, and the fact that the Dodgers are now the champions after beating the New York Yankees in the 2024 World Series, four games to one, we’re making an exception. World Series MVP Freddie Freeman, the Dodgers first baseman, homered in the first four games of the series despite dealing with a serious ankle sprain. Well, he thrived despite dealing with yet another serious injury. ESPN explains: “(On) Oct. 4, after Freeman finished a news conference in which he declared himself ready to play despite the ankle injury, he retreated to the batting cage at Dodger Stadium. He wanted to take some swings in preparation for a live batting-practice session. His side tingled with each of his first dozen swings. On the 13th swing, Freeman felt a jolt through his body and crumpled to the ground. Unable to even pick himself off the floor, Freeman was helped into the X-ray room next to Los Angeles’ dugout. The results were inconclusive, and around 9:30 p.m., he received a call. The Dodgers wanted him to drive to Santa Monica for more imaging. He hopped in the car, then in an MRI tube. Around 11:30 p.m., the results arrived: Freeman had broken the costal cartilage in his sixth rib, an injury that typically sidelines players for months. Devastation set in. Walking hurt. Breathing stung. Swinging a bat felt like an impossibility. … ‘I actually told him to stop,’ (his father), Fred said. ‘I said, “Freddie, this is not worth it. I know you love baseball. I love baseball. But it’s not worth what you’re going through.” And he looked at me like I was crazy, and he said, “Dad, I’m never going to stop.”’” Good lord!

• And finally … we will go back to CNN one more time for a story about Google facing a massive fine in Russia. OK, “massive” is an understatement: “Google reportedly owes the Kremlin more than 2 undecillion rubles—a 2 followed by 36 zeroes—after refusing to pay fines that are now accruing for blocking pro-Russian channels on YouTube. The virtually unpronounceable penalty amounts to $20 decillion—or around $20 billion trillion trillion. That dwarfs the size of the global economy. At $110 trillion, according to International Monetary Fund figures, world gross domestic product looks modest in comparison. Google parent Alphabet, meanwhile, has a market value of around $2 trillion. Russian state media TASS reported this week that a Russian court had earlier ordered Google to restore the YouTube channels—several of which have been blocked since 2022—or else face mounting charges, with penalties doubling every week. Asked about the lawsuit during a call with reporters Thursday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov admitted that he ‘can’t even pronounce this figure right” but said that the eye-watering sum was ‘filled with symbolism.’ Google ‘should not be restricting the actions of our broadcasters on its platform,’ he added. CNN has contacted Google for comment. In quarterly earnings published this week, the company referred to ‘ongoing legal matters’ relating to its business in Russia.”

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