Editorial by Dhiren Shah
Hello Readers,
California Governor Gavin Newsom will face a tough recall election. According to the polls Newsom should save his governorship. California’s party affiliation of voters is 46.5% Democrat, 24.1% Republican and 23.3% independent, which have no party affiliation. It is a very close divide amongst voters, as well as due to the way Newsom handled the corona situation. People are not happy. Most of the time people vote with their party candidate. So, it is a close call, but the latest poll says Newsom will survive the September 14, 2021 election.
According to CNN: “Taliban fighters used whips and sticks against a group of women protesting in Kabul on Wednesday following the announcement of a hardline, male-only interim government, in the group’s latest crackdown on dissent in Afghanistan. Videos and images received by CNN show the women chanting, ‘Long live the women of Afghanistan’… The fighters also beat a number of journalists covering the demonstration, according to witnesses.”
In the United States, we have freedom. We support women in the world and Saudi Arabia now allows women to drive cars. However, after withdrawing troops from Afghanistan, that country seems to be going in the wrong direction. Vice President Kamala Harris said that gender equality makes democracy stronger. However, what about in non-democratic countries? How will she help women’s empowerment in the world?
Eight days after Ida, over 100,000 customers do not have their power back yet in Louisiana. 70% of power came back in the Baton Rouge area. Entergy has had a hard time restoring power. At some of the houses, they cannot bring trucks to their front or back yard to reinstall the lines. So, it takes a lot longer to reinstall the lines. Also, a shortage of knowledgeable workers adds to the slow process. Ida was or was close to being the strongest hurricane that hit the mainland U.S., and it took the lives of about 100 people. When it dropped to a tropical storm, Ida took more lives in the northeastern region of the U.S., including New Jersey and New York.
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka issued an executive order for mandatory vaccination to all city employees. I understand that vaccination is necessary to living a normal regular life, as before February 2020. So, for the sake of the health of the city’s employees and citizens, he has made the executive order.
Vaccination may be a big money maker for all departments involved, as so much money will flow in the city, township, county, and state from the federal government. With the money power, everyone is trying to push for vaccination. However, people have their own mind to make decisions. Also, some of the religious leaders are advising their followers not to vaccinate; that is also wrong. When we are talking about the freedom of choice, let it be the people’s choice independently.
The U.S. has crossed 100,000 new COVID cases a day for the past few days. Tennessee and Florida have over 10,000 cases a day, while Texas has 158 deaths a day. Coronavirus cases and deaths are increasing, so we all must be very cautious every day.
Wherever I go, from grocery stores to malls, people have stopped using masks. The masks are very important to protect ourselves. Also, I talked to a few people and observed in the stores that people have stopped using hand sanitizer, and distancing is no longer in place. We all should get back to basics with what we used to do in April 2020, following CDC guidelines, masks, sanitization and social distancing. Then, let the experts work among themselves to curb the pandemic.
Have a wonderful week.
I’ll talk to you next week.
