Which southern state has the most national parks? Where did the first Mardi Gras celebration take place? What is the signature food item at the Masters Golf Tournament? If you know the answers, join us for tacos and trivia at CODA’s first Trivia Night at 6pm on Saturday May 27. (If you have no clue, answers below).
Speaking of elections, maybe you heard this story on NPR recently. It compared participating in the democratic process to keeping our vaccines up-to-date, and what happens when we don’t. Here’s the pertinent snippet:
LUCRECIA HERNANDEZ MACK: Now they are like this gonorrhea multi-resistente (ph). Before, I mean, you would give penicillin, and it would, you know, clear (laughter). And then they are starting to be resistant to all kinds of antibiotics.
PERALTA: And by that, she means that the political class here has consolidated power, and the things that used to sway them - popular protests, social media outcry, international pressure - that stuff no longer moves them. And I think you hear if nothing is ever going to change, why should I care?
We are seeing this here as well. There are certainly many politicians most of us would avoid like the plague.
Phoning, emailing, and visiting your elected representatives often seems like the political equivalent of taking an aspirin if you come down with Covid. You know it’s probably not going to help, but it’s better than doing nothing.
But the one remedy a resistant representative cannot ignore is the vote tally. They may shred your letters and erase your voicemails and block your texts, but when the votes are tallied on Election Day, there’s no ignoring the will of the people.
Bastrop area voters, take the opportunity to strengthen our political immune system by electing a Democrat for Mayor. Vote Dock Jackson when early voting begins May 29.
We need quality candidates going into 2024. No positions on the ballots should be unopposed. There’s a candidate boot camp by the NDTC (the National Democratic Training Committee) coming up on June 3 if you want to get started. Click here to find out more and to register.
Thanks to everyone who supported our yard sale last weekend. We got rid of a bunch of stuff and made a few bucks in the process. Kudos to our Yard Sale Warriors: Ruth Todd, Craig Henley, Betty Henley, Julie Cormie, Tim Cormie, Sue Cinque, Linda Allen, Sheri Godwin, Mary Stiteler, Steve Johnston, Lissa Johnston.
Trivia answers: Florida; Mobile Alabama; pimiento cheese sandwich.