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Editorial Roundup:

The (Anderson) Herald Bulletin. September 17, 2020

Hoosiers should denounce QAnon

QAnon conspiracy theories are so absurd they'd be laughable, if not for the danger they pose and the surprising number of people who are gullible enough to believe them.

While QAnon started with a fringe online following, its patently false core tenet - that a cabal of Satan-worshiping pedophiles operates a global child sex-trafficking ring and is plotting against President Donald Trump - has gained a significant following among some Trump supporters.

More than 150,000 QAnon-affiliated groups have proliferated on Facebook, with some attracting more than 100,000 members. An NBC News analysis in August found these QAnon groups, collectively, had millions of members.

And QAnon's influence is leaking into the offline world.

Indiana is not immune. Last Sunday in Anderson, about 50 demonstrators marched to call attention to the problem of child sex trafficking. While the couple who organized the demonstration downplayed any connection to QAnon, a hashtag hijacked by the movement - #SaveOurChildren - was used to congeal support for the event.

Several marchers carried signs either promoting QAnon or using slogans from the movement, such as #WWG1WGA, which stands for 'œWhere we go one, we go all.'ť

In an interview with a reporter, one of the marchers testified to her belief in a particularly ludicrous QAnon theory holding that celebrities torture young children to harvest a chemical compound called adrenochrome. The celebrities then use the compound, according to the preposterous notion, to gain 'œyouth and euphoria.'ť

QAnon targets celebrities, falsely placing Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Oprah Winfrey, Tom Hanks, Ellen DeGeneres, Pope Francis, the Dalai Lama and other political, entertainment and religious figures in a fictional underworld of Satan worshipers.

The QAnon narrative portrays Trump as America's savior from the global conspiracy. Rather than denouncing the farcical movement, the president has sought to capitalize on it. He's shared dozens of social media posts from QAnon supporters, describing them as 'œpeople that love our country'ť during a White House press briefing.

Trump has used the term 'œfuture Republican star'ť to describe Marjorie Taylor Greene, an avowed QAnon supporter who won a GOP congressional primary in Georgia and is considered a shoe-in to win November's general election in her conservative district.

Beyond spreading malicious lies, QAnon poses the danger of emboldening people to act violently to stop the monstrous conspiracies it concocts.

The FBI has identified QAnon as a potential domestic terror threat after one QAnon adherent was charged with the murder of a New York mafia boss last year. Another QAnon believer was arrested in the spring after, allegedly, threatening to kill Joe Biden, now the Democratic Party's presidential nominee.

Whether they support Trump or Biden in the presidential election, Hoosiers everywhere should recognize the danger posed by QAnon. They should join together in denouncing its farcical conspiracy theories.

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Kokomo Tribune. September 18, 2020

Be alert for deer

Attention, motorists: Indiana's big game animals mate and migrate between October and December. Deer-related traffic accidents will become more frequent next month.

Twelve years ago, Howard County sheriff's deputies reported two motorcycle collisions with deer in the first two weeks of October. Those accidents injured three people.

'œMotorcyclists operating after sunset need to use extreme caution,'ť then-Sheriff Marty Talbert said at the time. 'œIn both of these cases, the cyclist had little, if any, time to react. Motorcyclists should reduce their speed after sunset, use their bright headlight when possible, and protect themselves by wearing a helmet and adequate motorcycle attire.'ť

That's good advice. State Farm Insurance offers some of its own. Hoosier drivers can avoid involvement in deer-related accidents between now and December by taking a few precautions:

'¢ Be aware of posted deer-crossing signs. These signs are placed in known deer-crossing areas.

'¢ Be aware that deer are most active between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m.

'¢ Use high-beam headlamps as much as possible at night to illuminate roadsides where deer can linger.

'¢ Be aware that deer often move in packs. If you see one, there is a good chance several more are just a few yards behind.

'¢ Do not rely on car-mounted deer whistles. Studies show deer are not affected by these devices, State Farm says.

'¢ If a collision with a deer seems inevitable and you're driving a car or truck, it might be best not to swerve. The risk of personal injury is greatly increased by swerving, which could place you in the path of oncoming vehicles or might cause you to lose control of your vehicle.

The odds of a vehicle striking a deer in Indiana are 1 in 102, State Farm said last October.

Defensive driving can pay off during deer season. It can save you an average $3,560 '“ the average vehicle-repair cost of November animal-strike claims over the past 13 years, according to Consumer Reports '“ and it could save your life.

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(Terre Haute) Tribune-Star. September 16, 2020

Voting early this election will be wisest, safest plan

In two-thirds of U.S. states, registered voters concerned about encountering crowds at the polls this fall have an easy alternative - no-excuse voting by mail.

Some conduct elections primarily by mail. Other states are allowing any registered voter to apply for an absentee ballot to vote by mail amid the spreading coronavirus pandemic.

Indiana is among the few states conducting the Nov. 3 election without no-excuse voting by mail. Most are considered red states - solid bases for the Republican Party, now led by President Trump, who claims without evidence that voting by mail will lead to 'œmassive electoral fraud,'ť except in his new home state of Florida, where he has voted absentee by mail.

Hoosiers will need to prepare to cast ballots in person, unless they qualify for one of the previously established 11 excuses to vote absentee by mail.

A record 552,197 Hoosiers, including 1,881 from Jackson County, voted absentee by mail in the June primary. State officials suspended the requirement for an excuse to do so, and Hoosiers overwhelmingly responded. Last month, the Indiana Election Commission declined along party lines to implement a similar easing of voting restrictions this fall.

So, anyone hoping to vote by mail needs to qualify for one of the 11 state-approved excuses. Registered voters can request an absentee vote-by-mail ballot if they:

Will be absent from their home county during all 12 polling hours on Election Day

Have a disability

Are 65 or older

Have Election Day duties outside their home precinct; will be working through all 12 polling hours on Election Day

Will be confined because of illness or injury

Are caring for someone confined for the entire Election Day

Have a religious event throughout Election Day

Are a participant in the state's address confidentiality program

Are a military member or public safety officer

A state registered sex offender

Have no transportation to the polls.

Jackson County residents who meet those criteria can call the voter registration office at 812-358-6120 or visit IndianaVoters.com to apply for a mail-in ballot. Applications must be received by the county by Oct. 22. Then, once a voter receives their ballot from the county, mail it in promptly.

Everyone one else - including many people who voted by mail in June - should plan to cast ballots in person this time. Given the easier and safer option of voting by mail will not be possible for many, early voting will likely be the wisest alternative.

For Jackson County residents, early voting starts with the opening of polling sites Oct. 6 at the Jackson County Judicial Center at 109 S. Sugar St. in Brownstown and the former Jackson Superior Court building at 1420 Corporate Way in Seymour.

The hours for the Brownstown site are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays until Oct. 31 while the hours at the Seymour polling site are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays through Oct. 31. Both sites also will be open from 8 a.m. to noon Nov. 2, but closed Oct. 12 for Columbus Day.

Indiana Secretary of State Connie Lawson said counties are working to make sites as sanitary as possible. Gov. Eric Holcomb's executive order calls for face-mask wearing in indoor public spaces.

Let us hope the governor's call is well heeded.

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