Lewis County Democrats

10/06/2026

10/06/2026

https://www.wwnytv.com/video/2026/10/03/10-new-measles-cases-lewis-county/?outputType=amp

**This is why vaccines matter.**

Lewis County Public Health has now reported **10 additional cases of measles.**

And there is one fact we cannot ignore:

**All 10 cases were in unvaccinated individuals.**

These cases were linked to the first recently reported measles case in Lewis County—which was also in an unvaccinated person.

Measles isn't simply a childhood rash.

It is one of the most contagious diseases we deal with. According to Lewis County Public Health, approximately **9 out of every 10 unvaccinated people exposed to measles will become infected.**

The virus can remain infectious in the air for up to **two hours** after an infected person has left the room.

And this is exactly why vaccination isn't only about protecting yourself.

It's about protecting the newborn who is too young to be fully vaccinated.

It's about protecting the pregnant woman who may be at increased risk from infection.

It's about protecting the child undergoing cancer treatment.

It's about protecting someone with a weakened immune system who may not be able to receive a live vaccine.

It's about protecting our classrooms, families and community.

The MMR vaccine works.

According to the CDC, **two doses are about 97% effective at preventing measles.**

We are fortunate to live in a time when many of us have never watched diseases like measles devastate our communities.

But that didn't happen because these diseases magically disappeared.

**Vaccination helped make them rare.**

Lewis County Public Health currently says the overall risk to the general public remains low, particularly for people who are fully vaccinated.

But 10 new cases in our own community should remind us why maintaining that protection matters.

Please check your family's vaccination records. If you're unsure whether you or your children are protected, talk with your health-care provider or public health officials.

And if you believe you've been exposed or develop symptoms, **call your health-care provider before going into an office, urgent care or emergency room** so precautions can be taken to protect other patients.

Vaccines aren't only individual protection.

**They're community protection.**

And right now, our community is seeing firsthand why that matters.

10/05/2026

**No badge. No agency. No administration should be above the law.**

The latest reporting from *The New Yorker* about ICE should concern Americans regardless of where they stand on immigration.

The article describes an immigration-enforcement system that has expanded dramatically—and raises serious questions about whether accountability and oversight have kept pace.

It reports shootings involving federal immigration agents, cases in which U.S. citizens were allegedly mistaken for immigration targets, questions about the government's accounts of confrontations, and growing difficulty for families and attorneys trying to locate some people in immigration detention.

And the scale of this operation is enormous.

According to the article, ICE arrests reached nearly **51,000 in August alone.**

The federal government plans to hire another **5,000 ICE officers.**

And billions of dollars are being committed to additional detention capacity.

But expanding the government's power must also mean expanding its accountability.

Immigration laws can be enforced without abandoning due process.

Federal officers can do their jobs while still being accountable when force is questioned.

Being undocumented does not eliminate a person's basic legal rights.

And being an American citizen shouldn't leave you wondering whether you'll be mistakenly detained because someone decided you "looked" like the person they were searching for.

One of the most troubling parts of this reporting goes beyond immigration.

*The New Yorker* reports that DHS has pursued approximately **1,600 voter-fraud cases** since last year and that the administration has sought voter-roll information from states.

In Nevada, DHS reportedly claimed roughly **16,000 noncitizens were registered to vote.** State officials reviewed the list and, according to the article, determined that **every person on it was actually a U.S. citizen.**

Think about the implications of getting something like that wrong.

This isn't about whether America should have immigration laws.

**Of course it should.**

The question is whether the government enforcing those laws must follow the Constitution, respect due process, operate transparently and answer for abuses of power.

The answer to that should transcend political parties.

Government power needs guardrails precisely because government power is enormous.

We should demand independent investigations when force is used.

We should demand transparency about detention.

We should demand accurate information from our government.

We should protect citizens and noncitizens from unlawful treatment.

And we should never accept the idea that enforcing the law somehow puts the people doing the enforcing **above the law.**

**Accountability isn't anti-law-enforcement.
Accountability is part of the rule of law.**

And the more power we give our government, the more important that principle becomes.

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/10/12/ice-is-everywhere-and-acting-with-impunity?utm_mailing=tny_nl_6667_daily_100426_ey1cx0d73b&utm_source=nl&utm_brand=tny&utm_campaign=aud-dev&utm_medium=email&utm_content=tny_nl_6667_daily_100426_ey1cx0d73b&cndid=68987138&utm_term=6667

10/05/2026

**When does someone have enough?**

That is one of the questions at the center of a fascinating fight happening right now in California.

A proposed billionaire tax is forcing Americans—and Democrats in particular—to confront an uncomfortable question:

**Should people with extraordinary levels of wealth be required to contribute more to the society that helped make that wealth possible?**

According to *The New Yorker*, most Democratic voters support higher taxes on billionaires.

But some Democratic politicians, union leaders and major figures in California politics oppose the proposal.

And that's where this debate becomes about much more than a tax.

Silicon Valley billionaires have also been enormously important political donors.

So what happens when the policies voters want conflict with the financial interests of the people writing some of the biggest political checks?

That's a conversation worth having.

We are talking about billionaires.

Not someone who worked hard, bought a home and saved enough to retire comfortably.

Not a small-business owner.

Not a farmer whose land increased in value.

Not a family with a healthy retirement account.

**Billionaires.**

One billion dollars is **1,000 million dollars.**

Someone could spend $100,000 every single year for 100 years and still spend only $10 million—just **1% of a billion dollars.**

Meanwhile, ordinary Americans are worrying about groceries, housing, child care, health insurance and whether they'll ever be able to retire.

The policy debate over exactly *how* a wealth tax should work is legitimate. There are real questions about implementation, constitutionality, valuation, people moving assets or leaving a state, and unintended economic consequences.

Those questions deserve serious answers.

But there's another question we shouldn't lose:

**How much influence should extraordinary wealth buy in our political system?**

If voters support making billionaires contribute more, their voices shouldn't become less important simply because the people opposing that policy can write enormous campaign checks.

Government should work for teachers.

For nurses.

For farmers.

For firefighters.

For brewery workers and small-business owners.

For parents trying to afford groceries.

For seniors trying to stay in their homes.

And yes, for successful entrepreneurs and businesses too.

But democracy cannot become a system where having the most money means having the loudest voice.

We can debate the details of a billionaire tax.

We should debate them.

But asking the wealthiest people in America to contribute more shouldn't be considered radical simply because some of the people who would have to pay it are politically powerful.

**Being extraordinarily wealthy should give you financial freedom.

It shouldn't give you more democracy than everyone else.**

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/10/12/the-battle-to-pass-a-billionaire-tax?utm_mailing=tny_nl_6667_daily_100426_ey1cx0d73b&utm_source=nl&utm_brand=tny&utm_campaign=aud-dev&utm_medium=email&utm_content=tny_nl_6667_daily_100426_ey1cx0d73b&cndid=68987138&utm_term=6667

10/05/2026

🌊 **Is a BLUE WAVE building across America?**

We are one month away from Election Day, and some of the newest polling is showing something remarkable:

Democrats aren't just competitive in traditional battlegrounds.

They're leading in places Republicans have counted on for years.

🔵 TEXAS: Democrat Gina Hinojosa is polling ahead of Republican Gov. Greg Abbott.

🔵 IOWA: Democrat Rob Sand has opened up the largest Democratic lead among the states surveyed.

🔵 OHIO: Democrat Amy Acton has moved ahead after the race was tied earlier this summer.

🔵 ALASKA: Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins leads in the Times/Siena ranked-choice simulation.

And Democrats are competitive in Senate races across these same states.

Think about what that means.

Texas.

Iowa.

Ohio.

Alaska.

These aren't states anyone would normally group together and describe as Democratic strongholds.

Something is shifting.

Voters surveyed are expressing frustration with the economy, political extremism and President Trump. And Democratic candidates appear to be gaining support from independents—and even some people who previously voted for Trump.

In Ohio, for example, the poll found **11% of Trump's 2024 voters currently supporting Democrat Amy Acton for governor.**

In Iowa, Democrat Rob Sand is viewed positively by more than half of likely voters—including more than 20% of Republicans.

That's how political change happens.

Not by writing people off because they live in a "red" county or a "red" state.

Not by assuming someone's political identity can never change.

It happens by talking about the issues affecting people's actual lives: affordability, public education, government accountability, health care and the economy.

There is still a month to go. Polls are snapshots, not election results, and several of these races remain close enough that nobody should treat their outcome as predetermined.

But if these numbers are showing us anything, it's this:

**There may be no such thing as an unreachable community.**

From Texas to Iowa.
From Ohio to Alaska.
And yes—from the reddest parts of New York, too.

🌊 **A blue wave isn't something that simply "comes." It's something voters decide to create at the ballot box.**

Vote. Organize. Talk to your neighbors. And never assume a district, county or state is permanently out of reach.

10/05/2026

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/02/us/politics/trump-ads.html?campaign_id=60&emc=edit_na_20261005&instance_id=183059&nl=breaking-news®i_id=195223346&segment_id=227557&user_id=3811bb578678dd608b015be10751596e

**This is exactly why government accountability laws matter.**

According to reporting detailed in this article, President Trump personally instructed his budget director to find government money for television advertisements praising his presidency.

Then $20 MILLION in Customs and Border Protection funding was shifted into another budget category.

The very next day, CBP awarded a $20 million advertising contract.

And taxpayers picked up the bill.

Let’s be very clear about why this deserves scrutiny.

Federal taxpayer dollars are not supposed to be a politician’s personal advertising budget. There are federal restrictions specifically intended to prevent public money from being used for publicity or propaganda.

Yet these ads prominently promoted Trump — and one was reportedly identical to a video originally produced for his 2024 presidential campaign.

The White House argues that these are legitimate “public service announcements” and that they are legal because they don't tell anyone to vote for a candidate.

But that explanation should not end the conversation.

When a president reportedly says he wants advertisements promoting his presidency, orders government officials to find the money, and $20 million in taxpayer funds is subsequently redirected to pay for those advertisements, Congress, inspectors general, and other appropriate oversight authorities should examine exactly what happened and whether federal law was violated.

And we need to distinguish corruption concerns from bribery: **this reporting does not establish that anyone accepted a bribe.** What it does raise are serious questions about potential misuse of public money, government propaganda restrictions, contracting, and the use of public office for personal or political promotion.

Public money belongs to the PUBLIC.

It should fund border security, schools, infrastructure, veterans, health care, emergency services and the countless other responsibilities Americans expect their government to fulfill.

It should not become a taxpayer-funded PR account for the person sitting in the White House — Republican, Democrat, or anyone else.

Accountability shouldn't depend on which party controls Washington.

If this spending complied with the law, the government should be able to demonstrate that through complete transparency.

If it violated federal law, there should be consequences.

**No president should be above the law.
No administration should be allowed to turn taxpayer dollars into personal propaganda.
And $20 million of the public’s money deserves $20 million worth of accountability.**

10/05/2026

What happened at Cornell should force us to have a much bigger conversation about accountability — not just at one university, but across New York State and across our country.

According to reporting on Cornell’s internal disciplinary process, consequences for the seven men accused in this case ranged from educational requirements and reflection papers to suspension and expulsion. Two men were expelled, two were suspended, one former student was barred from campus, and two received lesser sanctions.

None of the seven men has been criminally convicted, and they have denied wrongdoing. Those facts matter, and due process matters.

But so does this question:

**Are our laws and institutions doing enough to protect students and ensure serious allegations of sexual violence are thoroughly and independently investigated?**

A university disciplinary process cannot be a substitute for a functioning justice system.

When allegations involve potential criminal conduct, survivors should not have to depend on whether a university handles an investigation correctly, whether information gets passed to the appropriate authorities, or whether an institution is more concerned about protecting its reputation than demanding accountability.

We need stronger accountability laws.

We need clear requirements for how universities respond to allegations of sexual violence and preserve and share evidence with appropriate authorities.

We need meaningful independent oversight when an institution fails to follow those requirements.

We need consequences for institutions that fail students.

And when an independent criminal investigation produces evidence sufficient to prove that someone committed sexual assault, the consequences should come from our justice system — not simply a reflection paper, training assignment, suspension, or the loss of campus privileges.

Governor Kathy Hochul has now appointed Attorney General Letitia James as special prosecutor to investigate this case. That investigation should be thorough, independent, and guided by the evidence.

But whatever its ultimate findings, this moment should lead to a serious examination of our laws.

Students should be able to attend college without fearing sexual violence. Survivors who report assault deserve to know that their allegations will be taken seriously and investigated competently. And people accused of crimes deserve a fair process that determines responsibility based on evidence.

**Accountability and due process are not opposing ideas. We need both.**

If our current laws allow serious allegations to fall through gaps between universities, campus police, local law enforcement, and prosecutors, then those laws need to change.

We can protect due process while demanding stronger protections for survivors.

We can require transparency while respecting victims' privacy.

And we can create a system where universities know that failing to properly respond to sexual violence carries real consequences.

**A college campus should never be a place where accountability ends.**

09/20/2026

💙 A Little Thank You to Our Republican Followers! ❤️

We have noticed something interesting lately—the number of Republicans who take the time to follow our page and comment on our posts!

We want to sincerely thank you for your continued engagement, for taking the time to read what we share, and for participating in the conversation. Whether you agree with us or not, we appreciate that you are here!

It is wonderful to know that our posts are reaching people beyond party lines and creating opportunities for conversation, learning, and different perspectives.

At the end of the day, we are all members of the same community, and staying informed and engaged is something we can all appreciate.

Thank you for following along, joining the conversation, and helping us reach beyond party lines! 💙❤️

— Lewis County Democratic Committee

Send a message to learn more

09/19/2026

Come See Us at the Cream Cheese Festival! 💙

The Lewis County Democrats are at the Cream Cheese Festival today! Stop by our booth, say hello, meet some of our committee members, and learn more about what’s happening in Lewis County.

We’d love to see some familiar faces and meet some new ones!

📍 Cream Cheese Festival | Lowville, NY
📅 Saturday, September 19

See you at the festival! 🧀💙