Good Morning.

It's two weeks to the midterm - have you voted yet?


No, I'm not thinking "early and often" like days of yore. I'm just back from the early voting location here in this city. My ballot is safe and secure in the ballot box.

But since our differently-winged friends are all so very concerned about fraud, I wonder what I could get away with here?

Well...not much. Unlike regular voting, I have to show an actual ID here to vote early. It's scanned, and then my information is verified against the city voter database to confirm my ward and precinct. A label was printed with my information, and then I got my ballot and proceeded as normal. All very efficient.

But looking at the ballot, I noticed a few curious things. Only a handful of races in this Commonwealth were challenged. Governor, Attorney General, Auditor, and Secretary of State. But downballot - the local elections are all unopposed in my district. At the State Level, our State Rep, State Senator, District Attorney, and even the mundane County Sheriff are all unopposed. It's almost as if the Republicans have given up on Massachusetts. But they also know they can't win here anyway, with current Governor Charlie Baker (RINO-MA) being the sole exception. He's really a conservative Democrat, wink wink, nudge nudge.

We have some very banal ballot questions this year, but I do expect the so-called "Millionaire's Tax" to pass. It's a 4% tax increase on those making more than $1m per year (adjusted), and also the Dental Insurance reform question to pass as well. This would make dental insurance comply with the healthcare insurance regulations in Massachusetts. It essentially forces dental payors to be "not for profit" and requires them to pay out 83% of premiums in actual coverage, instead of lining the CEO's pocket.

Of course, your mileage may vary, and as we do approach election day, make sure you know your rights at the polls. You've seen the memes circulating on Facebook about "poll watchers" and what they can and cannot do. Make sure you're aware of your state's emergency hotline number, too.

Fascism will rear its ugly head unless we all remain vigilant.