MORT'S MUSINGS

AP FACT CHECK / TRUMP, addressing Biden: “You didn’t do very well on the swine flu. H1N1. You were a disaster.” / THE FACTS: Trump frequently distorts what happened in the pandemic of 2009, which killed far fewer people in the United States than the coronavirus is killing now. For starters, Biden as vice president wasn’t running the federal response. And that response was faster out of the gate than when COVID-19 came to the U.S. / Then, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s flu surveillance network sounded the alarm after two children in California became the first people diagnosed with the new flu strain in this country. / About two weeks later, the Obama administration declared a public health emergency against H1N1, also known as the swine flu, and the CDC began releasing anti-flu drugs from the national stockpile to help hospitals get ready. In contrast, Trump declared a state of emergency in early March, seven weeks after the first U.S. case of COVID-19 was ...

AP FACT CHECK / VIRUS DEATH TOLL / 9.30.20 / TRUMP, addressing Biden on U.S. deaths from COVID-19: “If you were here, it wouldn’t be 200,000 people, it would be 2 million people. You didn’t want me to ban China, which was heavily infected.... If we would have listened to you, the country would have been left wide open.” / THE FACTS: The audacious claim that Biden as president would have seen 2 million deaths rests on a false accusation. Biden never came out against Trump’s decision to restrict travel from China. Biden was slow in staking a position on the matter but when he did, he supported the restrictions. Biden never counseled leaving the country “wide open” in the face of the pandemic. / https://apnews.com/article/virus-outbreak-ap-fact-check-joe-biden-donald-trump-health-cbc3c669510b06475fef63fe766542b7?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=AP%20Morning%20Wire%20Update&utm_term=Morning%20Wire%20Subscribers

On Behalf of WEA’s More Conservative Members #84 / Columbian Recommends Kim Wyman for Secretary of State / Columbian 9.23.20 / 9.30.20 / Perhaps the biggest selling point for Kim Wyman’s campaign to be reelected as Washington’s secretary of state is her list of endorsements. The Columbian’s Editorial Board joins that list in recommending that Wyman be elected to a third term as the state’s top elections official. / In Wyman, voters will find a Republican candidate who has bipartisan support from the people who best know what her job entails. Three former Washington secretaries of state have endorsed her (all Republicans). So has a Democratic former secretary from Oregon. And so have sitting auditors in 24 of the state’s 39 counties, elected officials of all variety of political stripes; at the county level, auditors run elections. / The reason for that support is the admirable job Wyman has done during a particularly important time in American history. / https://www.columb...

On Behalf of WEA’s More Conservative Members #83 / Pellicciotti better suited to lawmaking and fraud investigations than State Treasurer / Walla Walla Union-Bulletin / Sept. 23, 2020 / 9.29.20 / Pellicciotti is highly critical of the way Davidson delegates his duties to those in his office. And he voices those concerns with gusto — to the point of absurdity. For example, he attacks Davidson for sending his deputies in his place to board and commission meetings associated with his office. Pellicciotti contends that Davidson is shirking his duty by getting haircuts instead of attending these meetings. / Aside from the fact that Davidson has little hair, the treasurer offers a very reasonable explanation for sending deputies to these meetings. Those deputies are experts in the various areas of finance and thus bring a depth of knowledge and experience in dealing with the matters on the agenda. / Davidson does not cede decisions or responsibility, he is simply delegating. It se...

“New poll shows 10-point jump” https://www.washingtonpolicy.org/publications/detail/new-poll-shows-10-point-jump-in-popular-support-for-school-choice./ I hope this message finds you well and beginning to enjoy a brief return to sunny days and warmer weather. It may be our last window into clear skies, as our West Coast Marine Climate takes control for fall and winter./ As always, I read your postings with interest. Once again, you have documented your sources, for which I thank you. I’ve noted that it is a unique characteristic of agenda driven publications to quote themselves or their parent organization. Haven’t quite gotten used to that, but it’s common enough that it is becoming the expectation. More's the pity. / This sentence represents the thrust and core of your article: “The new poll shows an astounding recent rise in support for school choice programs, from 67 percent of public school parents in April to 77 percent today.” / And it may well be reasonably ac...

On Behalf of WEA’s More Conservative Members #82 / We urge voters to re-elect Davidson to another term in office / Walla Walla Union-Bulletin Sept. 23, 2020 / 9.28.20 / Under Davidson’s leadership, the state earned its first triple-A credit rating — the highest possible — from Moody’s Investment Service. This rating saves state and local taxpayers millions in interest fees when various government entities seek loans. / Davidson runs the Treasurer’s Office in a fiscally prudent manner that benefits the public. We see no need for a change. / https://www.union-bulletin.com/opinion/editorials/duane-davidson-should-be-re-elected-state-treasurer/article_d1854fe2-1593-5a2a-bfdc-1d1bd70618c8.html

On Behalf of WEA’s More Conservative Members #81 Duane Davidson Should Be Re-elected State Treasurer Walla Walla Union-Bulletin Sept. 23, 2020 9.26.20 "State Treasurer Duane Davidson has done an excellent job overseeing the public’s money, and he manages the state Treasurer’s Office well. Voters should re-elect without reservation Davidson, the former Benton County treasurer, to another four-year term." “Has done an excellent job overseeing the public’s money” “Manages the state Treasurer’s Office well” “Oversees the state’s money without a thought of partisanship” “His office is well managed and operates under budget” https://www.union-bulletin.com/opinion/editorials/duane-davidson-should-be-re-elected-state-treasurer/article_d1854fe2-1593-5a2a-bfdc-1d1bd70618c8.html