Rocking the vote

I talk about Harris and Trump—but also McDonald's, The Washington Post and Laquan McDonald

Drop me a line (hot news, tips, thoughts, etc.) at future3733@yahoo.com.

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—And I quote: “People who deny the existence of dragons are often eaten by dragons—from within.”—Ursula K. Le Guin

Photo by BP Miller on Unsplash

—Natural election: Don’t forget to vote!!!

—Changes: It’s been 10 years since Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke fired 16 shots at Laquan McDonald, killing him on Oct. 20, 2014. The Chicago Tribune noted that “it was the single most impactful police shooting in Chicago in more than 40 years, and perhaps ever.”

It’s hard to disagree with that, in terms of political reverberations. Rahm Emanuel declined to run for mayor again, paving the way for Lori Lightfoot; Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez lost to Kim Foxx; and Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy was fired, Politico Illinois Playbook noted. However, the Chicago Police Department has achieved only 7 percent compliance with the Justice Department’s consent decree. Even Congress moves faster than that.

Also, let’s not forget that the video of the shooting wasn’t made public until more than a year after it occurred—or that Van Dyke has now been out of jail for some time.

—Germ limits: Who would’ve thought that eating at McDonald’s would be riskier than dining at Chipotle? (Sorry, but I got food poisoning at the latter a few years ago and have not returned.)

An E. coli outbreak linked to McDonald’s Quarter Pounders has led to at least 49 illnesses across 10 states, including one death, CNN noted.

Chicken Big Mac. Image courtesy of McDonald's

Now McDonald’s is attempting to right the wrongs—and re-establish public trust, especially with a public that is becoming increasingly picky about where it spends its money as prices rise. At least the new (and limited-edition) Chicken Big Mac has no onions (the source of the previously mentioned outbreak).

—Ex factor: Ojani Noa (one of J.Lo's ex-husbands) might be a TAD bitter about things—although the way he described Diddy MAY be on point.

Ojani Noa's post about ex-wife Jennifer Lopez and Diddy. Screen shot from Noa’s Instagram account

BTW, Diddy has one or two things going on right now, but this latest lawsuit—involving a 10-year-old boy he allegedly violated—is one of the saddest. However, I’m also wondering where the parents are to prevent these (alleged) crimes from happening.

—Bottom of the barrel: If you’re surprised by “comedian” Tony Hinchcliffe calling Puerto Rico “a floating island of garbage” at Donald Trump’s NYC rally—where have you been??? 

The good thing (for the Democrats) is that some Puerto Ricans have now been pushed into voting, according to Politico. And celebrities such as Jennifer Lopez, Bad Bunny and Ricky Martin have retaliated online, posting Kamala Harris videos to their millions of followers.

If Donald Trump loses the presidential election, he may have Hinchcliffe to blame—especially given the timing.

—Post script: Trying to stem the tidal wave of people cancelling their subscriptions (200,000+), Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos issued a statement saying that endorsements “create a perception of bias.” (Bezos quashed the paper’s endorsement of Kamala Harris, which is what prompted the backlash.)

Two things: