Iran has been a problem country for the whole world for a very long time. It was part of George W. Bush’s Axis of Evil – Iraq, Iran and North Korea. A country run by religious zealots, who believe they are serving the will of God, they have very deep convictions on their beliefs, with many willing to fight to death if necessary to defend what they believe is right.
I don’t see how we win by stirring up a fight in the Middle East. Iran’s government, while obnoxious and a global nuclear threat, mostly was self-contained beyond stirring up trouble in Israel. Leaving them alone mostly kept the oil flowing, kept peace and order in the Middle East. And now that over, we are at war, hitting people in the pocket books in multiple inflationary ways from the gas pump to groceries and everything else that moves by truck and is produced by burning oil.
One of the great laws they’ve adopted in recent years in New York is Early Vote By Mail, where you can sign up once a year to have all the election ballots for the year mailed to your home address in a post-paid returned envelope. It’s so convenient, as about a month and half before the election, you get your ballot mailed to you in the mail. Included with the ballot is a privacy envelope, simple instructions, and postage-paid return envelope which you can use to drop your completed ballot in any USPS Collection Box, USPS Post Office or your home mail box.
I am a busy professional, and while I have Election Day off as a State Holiday, I often volunteer or work my other job with the campaign committee on Election Day. Primary Days I usually have to be in the office doing state work. But sometimes I travel on Election Day so I am no where near my polling place. Plus they moved my polling place further away from my house, to save money. So it’s really just a whole lot easier to fill out the ballot, in the privacy of my bedroom, without anyone looking over my shoulder or waiting to use the privacy booth, and then surrender the completed ballot at the USPS Collection Box on my way to work. And you can track both when the County Board mailed you your ballot, and when it was returned to the County Board.
While most of Watson's East Triangle is accessed only by seasonal dirt roads, this 1,650 acre detached parcel along Long Pond road provides access to Franch Ponds and the West Branch Oswegathie River. A handful of campsites can be accessed along the river.
Markets in Asia and Europe tumbled on Monday, and U.S. futures were down, as a spike in oil prices reflected global fears of a prolonged U.S.-Israeli war with Iran. Meanwhile, Iran projected defiance by naming a son of its slain supreme leader as his successor. Oil prices briefly surged early Monday to almost $120 per barrel, their highest level since the Covid pandemic, as President Trump’s plans for the next steps in the war, let alone its endgame, remained unclear, and Iran showed no sign of bowing to his demand for unconditional surrender.
Facing the possibility of big losses for Republicans in the midterm elections, President Trump has reiterated his unfounded assertions of electoral fraud. He has also begun speaking of the need to “nationalize” elections, and for Republican officials to “take over” voting procedures in parts of the country. This rhetoric is often vague, coming across as a hint of plan, rather than an actual one. But a map of potential targets may be coming into focus and includes the swing states Michigan, Georgia, North Carolina and Arizona. Voting experts, government officials and others have identified a host of conditions that could make those places ripe for meddling from the Trump administration or its allies.
