Sure, sure, there’s an election coming up in just a few weeks. No doubt you’ve heard and seen just about all the news you care to about that. Even though Kamala and The Donald continue to dominate the media as well as the punditry of various and assorted talking heads attempting to prove they’re smarter than the average voter (mostly doubtful), please be aware there are other events taking place in the world. Some of them might even be of keener interest to you than the upcoming event on November 5th.

The World Series for one. While the games might not hold the special spotlight they once did, it’s still fun to crown a champion.

For another, Kim Jong Un, that hermit-like psychopathic puppet of Vlad “The Mad” Putin, is once again rattling sabers. Reports are that South Korea recently flew a few drones into North Korea. The purpose was to drop propaganda leaflets over the capital city of Pyongyang. Perhaps the writing on the pages was a bit incendiary, although the exact wording hasn’t been released. I’m thinking the leaflets might have said something such as, “Kim Jong Un wouldn’t know a good haircut if it stared him in the face,” or “We’ve got electricity 24/7, how about you?”

South Korea’s paper trail was apparently in retaliation for North Korea’s launch last month of hundreds of balloons that carried trash, as in household garbage, into an area near Seoul. This back and forth isn’t new. It’s been going on for the better part of a year. But Kim recently upped the rhetoric by threatening to lob a nuke or two across the border. If that were to happen, I think it’s fair to say our presidential election might not be the lead story that night on any newscast. (Don’t worry. Even Kim knows a full-blown attack might well trigger a response that would result in the annihilation of his country. But it’s good to know what’s brewing on the Asian peninsula.)

You may have been concerned recently about the possibility that the Longshoremen’s strike would result in empty shelves during the upcoming Christmas shopping season. Fortunately, the Union and shipping industry group they’re negotiating with were able to put together a tentative agreement that puts off a final vote until January. The workers’ wages will go up 62% over the life of the 6-year contract . . . which might affect price tags on your must-have presents just a tad.

One stumbling block still to be negotiated is the use of automated machinery. The union says, “Never,” while the ship owners reply, “It’s the wave of the future and inevitable.” Here’s a suggestion for both sides: Instead of just giving the dockworkers more money, why not use part of that raise to retrain them to operate the robots that could take their place? It’s a lot less dangerous and sweaty to tell a machine what to do rather than be on the front lines of a notoriously hazardous job.

Another story involves something the U.S. government did right. And by that I mean, We the People actually got our taxpaying dollars’ worth. Those of a certain age may well remember a little space probe named Voyager 2. It was launched by NASA on August 20, 1977, on a trajectory toward Jupiter and Saturn. It was so efficient with its fuel use that it kept on going out past Uranus and Neptune too. And right now, it’s right around 12 billion miles from Earth. Scientists just recently powered down some of its instruments, but four will continue to collect information about magnetic fields and particles to send back to our watery planet. The idea is to find out what we can about interstellar space. And the “little spacecraft that could” should be able to keep going into the 2030s.

And finally, there are some folks asking the question, “What does college football have to do with college?” these days. With NIL (Name, Image and Likeness) deals, billion-dollar TV contracts, long-standing conferences changing seemingly monthly, and players transferring from school to school as mercenaries open to the highest bidder, why would a “scholar-athlete” even have to attend class? Chances are good many don’t.

Now, of course, not every college player drives a Rolls-Royce and has a 7-figure bank account at the age of 19, but enough probably do. Colleges have always essentially just been the minor leagues for the NFL. Perhaps it’s time to just admit that fact of life.

Is that enough to occupy your brain for at least a moment or two before the campaigns kick it into warp speed right before the election? Hopefully these other tidbits of news give you a modicum of relief from the vicissitudes of the political season now upon us.

©MMXXIV. William J. Lewis, III – Freelance Writer