Stuff YOU Should Know

Exciting Primaries in Red States

If you haven’t been paying much attention to the recent primary elections, you’re not alone: voter turnout from both parties for non-presidential primaries is always quite low. This year, however, there are exciting races to watch in many places, most notably in Georgia, Arkansas, and Kentucky. These are all historically Republican strongholds that have seen surprising shifts to the left since Trump’s election. The results of these primaries also highlight a new trend in politics: voters rejecting “traditional,” experienced politicians in favor of newcomers who are less moderate, less experienced, more passionate, and more outspoken.

In Georgia, Democrat Stacey Abrams–a former minority leader of the Georgia House–beat fellow Democrat State Representative Stacey Evans. Abrams, an outspoken progressive, rejected the traditional thinking that Democrats who want to win in the South have to appeal to moderate, white voters. She assumed Trump voters wouldn’t vote for her anyway, and so her strategy was instead to motivate young, liberal, female, and minority voters to come out to the polls. And this strategy worked overwhelmingly: she won with over 76 percent of the vote. If elected in November, Abrams will become the first black female governor of any state.

In Arkansas, where former president Bill Clinton was once governor, Democrats have lost the governorship, both Senate seats, and control of the state legislature during the Obama years. The Republican gubernatorial primary was between Asa Hutchinson, the incumbent, and Jan Morgan, a conservative gun-range owner and former television personality. Though Hutchinson won as expected, 30 percent of the vote still went to Morgan, showing that even on the Republican side, there is a shift away from traditional politicians to less-experienced, less-moderate voices.

In Kentucky, the most exciting race to watch isn’t for governor, but for who will win the Sixth District seat. Amy McGrath, another newcomer and a former Marine Corps aviator, won the hearts of Democrats nationwide when her debut campaign video went viral. She went on to raise more money than her “establishment” opponent, Lexington Mayor Jim Gray, and beat him with 48 percent of the vote. She will now face Republican incumbent Andy Barr in November.

Dig Deeper Spend some time researching the outcome of some of the recent primary races in your own state or community. Were any of the results surprising? Explain.

Mosquitos versus Drones

Remember the Zika virus scare? Back in 2016, btw brought you the story of an outbreak of the disease in Florida, and what authorities were doing to try to fight it. Fast-forward to 2018: Lee County, Florida, will become the first place in the world to use drones to control their mosquito population.

Here’s how it works: Florida already uses helicopters and other piloted aircraft to spray insecticides to kill large mosquito populations. But the drones would take things a step further, by helping spot potential breeding grounds before they become a problem. Mosquitoes lay their eggs in standing water. Sometimes waterways become clogged with vegetation. When that happens, the water stops moving. Also, when the vegetation is too thick, fish can’t get through to eat the mosquito larvae. These areas then become hotbeds of mosquito activity. Drones can help identify these potentially problematic places, which are often in dense swamps or wooded areas which humans can’t easily get to.

Though authorities signed off on the project last month, it won’t take effect until late June. Also, the number of drones in the air–as well as their size–will largely be determined by federal funding. If this pilot program is successful, it could help determine future policy for using drones this way in other places as well.

Dig Deeper Zika outbreaks first occurred in the U.S. in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The mosquito drone program is being piloted in Lee County, Florida. Locate these places on a map. Based on what you’ve learned, what other Florida counties might be good places to consider using drones to fight mosquitoes?

If Crisis Comes

If war, a terrorist attack, or a natural disaster happened tomorrow, would you know what to do? For most of us, the answer is probably no. To help with this, the government of Sweden recently released a handbook for its citizens, detailing what to do in case of just such an emergency. The handbook, entitled “If Crisis or War Comes,” was produced by the Swedish Civil Contingency Agency. It’s actually an updated version of an emergency handbook called “In Case of War,” which was last published in 1961, during the height of the Cold War–the last time that the Swedish government believed that such a guidebook was necessary.

According to the pamphlet, the most important things to have in the event of an emergency are water, food, and warmth. It will also be essential to access information from the media and to make contact with one’s relatives. The pamphlet provides lists of emergency items to keep on hand, such as nonperishable food, bottled water, sleeping bags, portable phone chargers, candles, cash, and hand sanitizer.

Despite all of this, the guidebook was written in a spirit of hope rather than of fear. In its introduction, it reminds the Swedish people that helping others during times of crisis is one of the nations most valuable assets.

Dig Deeper Download the English version of the handbook and examine the emergency preparedness checklist on pages 10-11. According to this list, how prepared are you and your family right now to handle a potential disaster? What are five simple things you could do to better prepare yourself and your loved ones for an emergency?

The Obamas Reach “Higher Ground”

Do you ever wonder what former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama have been up to since leaving office in January 2017? The answer is, a lot. Aside from working on developing the Obama presidential library, having their presidential portraits painted, and signing a book deal that paid them $65 million for their memoirs, they have now signed an agreement with Netflix to form their own production company called “Higher Ground Productions” and provide original content.

The Obamas’ goal is to provide inspirational stories through a wide variety of formats, such as films, series, documentaries, and other features. The focus will be on content that is uplifting and promotes empathy and a greater understanding of others. This new partnership with Netflix will once again give the Obamas a widespread national and international voice, but they have made it clear that they don’t plan to use this as a way to respond directly to Trump or to conservative media. Instead, they say, one of the best things about their years in public service was getting to meet new people with a diverse range of backgrounds and stories, and that working with Netflix will give them a chance to share these stories with a wider audience. Nevertheless, some conservative groups are already calling for a boycott of Netflix as a result of the deal.

Details of how much the Obamas will make from the multiyear partnership haven’t been released, though many experts guess it could be worth up to tens of millions of dollars.

What Do You Think? Why do you think the Obamas chose to name their new company “Higher Ground Productions”?  If you’re stumped, think back to the 2016 presidential election campaign and one of Michelle Obama’s most famous quotes from that time.