I think we all are suffering from battle fatigue from trying to keep up with the news. We need some relief. I hope to goodness that Native Americans will be able to vote in the midterm elections. It’s unbelievable that now, in 2018, there are still people running around loose who are fighting to keep others from voting.

Native Americans in South Dakota who live on the reservations have P.O. boxes instead of street address. Suddenly, just weeks prior to the midterms, the state has made a new law to keep anyone without a street address from voting.

What? They’ve got to be kidding.

But they’re not. The party in power is afraid native Americans will not vote as the party would like, so they’re trying to rig the election.

Well, this is still America, and we must believe that sooner or later someone will do something that is right.

In Georgia, Brian Kemp, the secretary of state who is running for governor, is working hard to keep African-Americans away from the polls. As secretary of state, he has authority over state elections. As a candidate, he is blatantly involved in a serious conflict of interest.

In our own state and county, former Sen. Larry Martin was victimized by corrupt members of the state legislature and the state attorney general, Alan Wilson, according to evidence presented to a grand jury. Martin was working on tort reform, placing a cap on the maximum amount that could be awarded in a lawsuit. Since many in the state legislature are attorneys, this change would have cut the dollar amount of an attorney’s percentage of a winning lawsuit. It would have been helpful in reducing insurance premiums, but apparently that isn’t to be considered.

There’s nothing like a little greed to motivate some of our elected officials.

The underlying issue was that Larry Martin is an ethical person. And that’s why he was ousted. Those who worked to unseat him are not hampered by ethics. They have none.

Well, we didn’t earn the title of one of the most corrupt states in the nation for nothing.

We’ll see where this goes. I’m following it with interest. But when the fox is guarding the hen house, we can’t expect anybody to be laying eggs.

And these are just state issues.

Now, to add insult to injury, Big Bird, the original, is retiring from Sesame Street. When I heard this, I was stunned. Oh, no! we need someone like Big Bird. He is a beacon of hope for our country.

Yes, he is a Muppet. But there’s a lot to admire about the bird. He’s a giant yellow canary who is kind, caring, sensitive and honest. He tries to do the right thing.

And he always has a sunny day on Sesame Street.

The man who has portrayed Big Bird for almost 50 years is retiring. Big Bird will still be on the show, but will be portrayed by another actor.

I hope the new Big Bird will continue to live life on Sesame Street displaying the same admirable qualities shown by his predecessor. We could do far worse than to emulate him. He’s truly a bird to look up to.