Interesting graphic

Could Georgia become the next New Mexico / Virginia? Reliably blue

I see Texas not far behind. New Mexico and Virginia used to be a swing states not that long ago but demographic changes have made them sold blue. Seems a lot of liberals are moving to Atlanta and other large cities in Georgia. Hopefully in 10 years it will be solid blue. I don't see anything important trending red either. Maybe Wisconsin or PA trending red?

Why Biden's October Poll Lead Is Different Than Hillary Clinton's Meet The Press NBC News

Ozzy Man Reviews: Racism, Police & Protests

'You're the president. You're not, like, someone's crazy uncle who can just retweet whatever' --

'You're the president. You're not, like, someone's crazy uncle who can just retweet whatever' — Savannah Guthrie lays into Trump for spreading QAnon conspiracy theories



https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=961913084331045

Biden Leads Trump By 11 Points In New General Polling Morning Joe MSNBC

Winter will make the pandemic worse. Here's what you need to know.

by David H. Freedmanarchive page
October 8, 2020
Conceptual illustration
FRANZISKA BARCZYK
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As we head into the Northern Hemisphere fall with covid-19 still raging in the US and a number of other parts of the world, two data points provide cause for extra concern.

One is that the seasonal flu—a respiratory viral infection like covid-19—is much more active in the winter. Last year in the US, there were 40 times as many flu cases in the fall and winter months as in the previous spring and summer. Historically, those cooler months see tens of times as many seasonal flu infections in temperate regions. (In tropical regions, the flu tends to peak during the rainy season, though not as strongly.)

The other is that the death toll from the 1918 influenza outbreak—the only pandemic to have killed more Americans than this one so far, and one of the deadliest in global history—was five times as high in the US during the late fall and winter as during the summer.

If the covid pandemic follows those patterns and blows up as we head into winter, the result could easily top 300,000 additional US deaths on top of the more than 200,000 so far, conservatively assuming (based on the 1918 outbreak) four times the rate of covid-19 deaths that we saw this summer.

How likely is that? “We just don’t have the evidence yet with this virus,” says Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota. Osterholm notes that some of the key variables defy scientific analysis and prediction. It’s difficult to calculate whether government policy will shift, whether the public will comply with guidelines, when a vaccine may become available, or how effective and well accepted it will be if it does.

Nonetheless, scientists are pulling together a picture of how the pandemic is likely to play out this winter. They are drawing on lab studies and a rapidly growing body of epidemiological data. In particular, they now better understand how lower temperatures and humidity affect the virus, and how different indoor conditions affect its transmission.

More:



https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/10/08/1009650/winter-will-make-the-pandemic-worse/

Is Coronavirus Worse in the Winter?

Seniors are breaking for Biden, COVID-19 might be why: Nate Silver

The Five Types of Trump Voters Who They Are and What They Believe

This is an old article but is probably still pretty relevant. I got to thinking today, other than keeping immigrants and brown people out, exactly what do Trump supporters want? Sure enough, restricting immigration is their biggest issue if you scroll to the chart a bit down the page. Mostly just a bunch of racists who are all over the place on other issues:


Key Findings

This analysis finds five unique clusters of Trump voters: American Preservationists (20%), Staunch Conservatives (31%), Anti-Elites (19%), Free Marketeers (25%), and the Disengaged (5%)
There is no such thing as “one kind of Trump voter” who voted for him for one single reason. Many voted with enthusiasm for Trump while others held their noses and voted against Hillary Clinton.
Trump voters hold very different views on a wide variety of issues including immigration, race, American identity, moral traditionalism, trade, and economics.
Four issues distinguish Trump voters from non-Trump voters: attitudes toward Hillary Clinton, evaluations of the economy, views about illegal immigration, and views about Muslim immigration.

More: https://www.voterstudygroup.org/publication/the-five-types-trump-voters