Hey, Mama Frog, look here! This looks like a great place to raise our pollywogs.� “Yes, dear, but look over there. It looks like the neighbors are trying to get our attention.� “Oh...I think they’re just having a good time.� “I don’t know, dear. Those aren’t lovey-dovey, pollywog-making croaks I hear. That doesn’t look like a happy home to me.� “Hmmm. I thought they were jumping for joy but it looks like they’re trying...to...jump out...(gasps)...but they can’t!� *Is the boiling water what killed the frog? Absolutely. But what really killed it was its inability to decide when it had to jump out. cartoonkate.co.uk Mama Frog recognizes danger when she sees it. Many Americans aren’t sure that this year’s mid-term elections are fraught with existential concerns for democracy. We must pay attention. Personally, I’m not a fan of oppressive minority rule that toes a rigid autocratic line through bullying, intimidation, violence and lies with the intent of eradicating American democracy as we know it. Six years of Trump and decades of the Republican party’s “will-to-win-at-any-cost� platform, have brought us to this moment of degradation of American society and citizens’ faith in the institutions of government that keep it civil. Decades of the drip, drip, drip of alienating rhetoric have sucessfully divided Americans until now, when “the enemy within� blatantly reveals itself. Our last resort to keep democracy as the guiding light of our Republic is to know that the candidates we will be voting for on November 8 are not “2020 election deniers� or extreme “MAGA Republicans� who would change voting laws to stay in power. Joel Bellman’s insightful column explains why in “This is the Democratic Moment.� (Page 12 ) Also In This Issue Thank you, Kat High, for informing us of California Native American Day and your Little Free Library and book signing event. “Indian Day� was designated in 1939 by Gov. Culbert Olson, and evolved into California Native American Day in 1968 by Gov. Ronald Reagan and California tribal leaders. (Page 4)