Minority Rule in Congress Likely to Worsen – 2020 Census Shows Dramatic Reduction in Rural Population

Jon Ponder
Percent Change in County Population 2010 to 2020
Percent Change in County Population 2010 to 2020

Slate.com: “[While] metro areas grew, vast stretches of the country continued to bleed population. About 53 percent of all U.S. counties shrank between 2010 and 2020. You can see them in the sea of burnt orange on the graph [above], rural regions and small towns that often have few residents to begin with. In total, they were home to about 50.5 million people in a nation of more than 331 million.”

“This isn’t a new story per se. Rural America and small towns have been losing residents for decades. But the trend seems to have accelerated. From 2000 to 2010, for instance, only around one-third of all counties lost residents.”

This will undoubtedly exacerbate a longstanding inequity of representation in Congress.

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Gov. Newsom Could ‘Lose’ California Recall with 49%, GOP Winner with 20%

Pensito Editors

Los Angele Times OpEd: “Opinion polls show that the vote is likely to be close on whether to recall Gov. Gavin Newsom and that if he is recalled, none of the candidates is likely to get more than 20% of the vote. The result is a virtual certainty that if Newsom is recalled, he will get far more votes — probably more than twice as many — as whoever would replace him. There easily could be a situation in which 49% of the voters want Newsom to remain, but because he is recalled, a successor who garnered less than 20% of the votes would replace him.”

Qanon Anti-Semite Propagandist ‘GhostEzra’ Identified

Pensito Editors

The Hill: “Researchers at the intelligence firm Logically have identified a key member of the QAnon community who has used his significant platform to spread anti-Semitic conspiracies. In a new report released Friday, the researchers identified the person behind ‘GhostEzra’ as Robert Smart of Boca Raton, Fla. GhostEzra has recently emerged as one of the most influential figures in far-right online spaces, amassing well over 300,000 Telegram channel subscribers since the beginning of the year.”

Dems Are Acing the Tests, but What About the Midterms?

Buck Banks

Jonathan Last: “The universe keeps setting up tests for the Democrats, daring them to show they’re not a normal political party:

  • Are you going to nominate a socialist as your presidential candidate?
  • Are you going to defund the police?
  • Are you going to pack the Supreme Court?
  • Are you going to blow up the filibuster?
  • Are you going to tolerate a sexual abuser as governor of New York?

“And every time—every single time—the Democrats have passed.”

Tucker Carlson Resorts to Fascist Propaganda on Fox

Pensito Editors

Baltimore Sun opinion writer: “If not the theme of [Fox News fascist propagandist Tucker] Carlson’s week of broadcasts from Hungary, then the leitmotif was: Look at what a ‘happy’ and ‘orderly’ country Hungary is under Mr. Orbán, as opposed to the chaos and darkness of American life under Mr. Biden. We need someone like Mr. Orbán to lead America out of that darkness. And who would that someone be but Mr. Trump, who was described as a ‘great friend of Hungary’ by the Hungarian leader in an interview with Mr. Carlson last week.”