Shep Smith.

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Capitalize on this good fortune, one word can bring you round ... changes.

Shep Smith.

Nice catch.

Meanwhile, over the border in Georgia, A growing conflict over voting rights is playing out in Georgia, where the presidential race is tightening

Slow voter registration, still 100,000 not done, out of 250,000 submitted by the deadline, Oct 11th.
Refusal to extend voter registration in counties hit by Matthew.
Only one center, in Atlanta, for early voting, waiting times up to 3 hours.

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SOP Jim Crow tactic. Why does it work? Poor folk move, wealthy folk don't.

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Please forgive me if my quote of the day does not belong in this thread.

Now I know what a statesman is; he's a dead politician.
We need more statesmen.
- Bob Edwards

Nature is not exactly your standard media outlet.
http://www.nature.com/news/divisive-campaigning-damages-democracy-1.20866

Whatever the result of the US election, one outcome seems certain: record numbers of people will consider it unfair. Although Donald Trump’s allegations that the process is rigged are unfounded, analysis of previous elections shows that there is likely to be a swell of voter dissatisfaction with how it was run. This loss of trust in democracy could have important implications for policy­making, at both a national and a local level, and it must be addressed.

Peaceful transfer of power depends on the acquiescence of losing candidates and parties, and on the belief of their supporters that the electoral process was fundamentally fair. Yet supporters of losing candidates and parties consistently have less trust in the integrity of the process following an election. This is true even in democracies with long histories of free and fair elections.

This gap becomes troubling when distrust is amplified so that large numbers of citizens openly question whether the winners can govern legitimately. In this light, several features of the current US election campaign are concerning.

First, both presidential candidates are reasonably well-liked by their core supporters, but seemingly despised by supporters of the other candidate, to an extent not seen in a generation.
...
If trust in US democracy falls, it could severely constrain the policy options available to elected officials. When citizens don’t trust their government in the abstract, they won’t support governmental efforts, in areas ranging from alleviating racial inequality to combating international terrorism.

Furthermore, a lack of trust may encourage citizens to support candidates who promise fundamental disruptions to the system — sometimes at the expense of key democratic principles, including the freedom of the press and independence of the courts. Although the root causes of Trump’s rise to political prominence will be studied for years, early public-opinion data suggest a link between support for him in the Republican primaries and low levels of political trust. At the most extreme, distrust of the electoral process may produce disruptive forms of protest or even violence. Already, city officials in Philadelphia are worried that Trump’s calls for his supporters in other parts of Pennsylvania to monitor the city’s polling places could lead to voter intimidation or worse on election day.

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