Political Heat

"Far more people died this year than last," Trump is now pointing out in one of his latest statements from his pseudo-campaign website . The former president is critical of President Joe Biden in his comments, saying that the coronavirus pandemic "has beaten him."  Gage Skidmore/Wikipedia Commons CC-BY-SA 2.0 The implication from him is that Biden has failed and Trump didn't, when it came to the pandemic. Of course, as is often the case when it comes to the former president, the opposite is true, for a number of easy-to-see reasons. First, an acknowledgment:  more people DID die this year than last . But it's important to note that the virus was in the U.S. for longer in 2021 (all 12 months) than in 2020 (the first reported death happened in late February , so only nine months out of that year saw substantial numbers). When you take that into account -- when you look at how many perished on a per-month basis -- 2020 was indeed a worse year . Second, you have...

A Republican congressional candidate from western Wisconsin harassed a library worker in Prarie du Chien over a display of LGBTQ-friendly books in the children's section, then complained about the books possibly depicting Republicans as not being inclusive. Throwing such a hissy-fit over these books, and checking them all out so that no one else can read them , however, suggests that Derrick Van Orden, the congressional candidate who made a scene at the Prairie du Chien Memorial Library in the first place, is not an "inclusive" GOPer. Nenad Stojkovic/Flickr , with alterations The Associated Press reports that the staffer had said Van Orden "complained loudly" about the display of books. He also filed a written complaint to the library over the inclusivity question. According to the staffer, Van Orden's "voice was loud," and he was "aggressive" toward her. The staffer described herself as feeling "very uncomfortable" during the ...