Donald Trump received the highest Republican presidential vote total in Lake County, Ohio since George Herbert Walker Bush whipped Mike Dukakis in 1988. Trump beat Hillary by 15 points in that county. The Lake County News Herald pointed out that “Trump won in many communities that had traditionally voted for Democratic candidates.”

By contrast, Barack Obama lost in Lake County by less than one percent of the vote in 2012. Bill Clinton only lost by three points in that county in 1992 to Bush the Elder. Obama won 16 counties in Ohio, Hillary Clinton only won seven.

Various polls indicate that Ohio is in play once again as a swing state for the 2020 election. A recent Emerson poll of Ohioans revealed that 47 percent of Ohio voters supported impeachment while only 43 percent opposed. In a recent Baldwin Wallace University poll, Trump is trailing a hypothetical “or any” Democratic candidate by five points, with 16.3 percent undecided.

Will your vote be counted?

BANGKOK, Thailand -- International panic over the coronavirus is hyped
mostly by social media and news reports, but the actual death rate is
the same as the flu and less people will die as the virus mutates,
according to David Mabey, a professor of communicable diseases at the
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

" I think the risk of acquiring it is pretty low," Mr. Mabey said in
an interview.

"I know there have been cases reported in Thailand, but Thailand is a
big country and there are not many cases. I think if I were in Wuhan,
I probably would be wearing a mask. But as it is, I think the risk of
getting infected is low.

"I think the infection is not particularly virulent, as far as we have
learned, about 1% mortality which is the same as flu. And I don't go
around wearing a mask all the time because I might get flu."

Mr. Mabey was visiting Thailand for a week to receive the kingdom's
Prince Mahidol Award for his career in public health.

Asked if foreign countries were correct to stop flights arriving from

There are two ways to watch a show at the Shrunken Head Rock 'n Roll Club. The first is grabbing some dinner with some friends and heading over just in time to buy a drink before things get going. Sit at a table and sneak off before midnight. It’s not a bad life.

There is another way. You can show up by yourself in the late afternoon for the Head’s “happiest hour” and get yourself involved with their absurdly cheap draft beer and whiskey special. If you survive that you can stick around for their regular happy hour, and by the time the music starts you’ll be sitting criss-cross applesauce on the second stage wondering why your left eye has stopped working. This is poor decision making, especially if you are intending to write a review. But hey, what else were you going to do that’s so important anyway?

The first band tonight is Six Miles to Nellie, a six-piece country-rock band from Mt. Vernon, Ohio. Front person Courtney DeCosky sings like a house on fire. I’m not sure what I like more – her lead singing or the harmonies she drops over guitarist John Schnabel when he takes a turn at vocals. Wow – when she goes high look out.

Should the Franklin County Democratic Party (FCDP) be endorsing in a primary? Jonathan Beard (55th Ward) said “No” at the January Franklin County Democratic Party Central Committee meeting and was backed by none other than the powerhouse former FCDP Chair Bill Anthony.

When a candidate is endorsed, their name appears on the Democratic Party sample ballot. These are mailed to all potential Democratic voters, handed out by the tens of thousands at polling places, and nearly always assure victory.

Beard believes the Party should not be endorsing in the open Ohio 25th House District and that the decision should be left up to the Franklin County voters.

There were eleven people seeking the Party seat for the 25th District. The FCDP machine endorsed Dontavius Jarrells. Jarrells won strong support from U.S. Representative Joyce Beatty. It is Beard’s contention that the Dems are forcing potential supporters away from the Party by allowing prominent elected Democratic officials to secure endorsements for their supporters or staffers.