Letters to the editor

Nothing is normal about 2020. Family, friends and neighbors are struggling with unemployment and meeting basic human needs for food, shelter and security. In the midst of all this the most important election of our lifetime will be held in just a matter of days. Our expectations for day-to-day life in 2020 have changed dramatically. Our expectations for the 2020 election need to change accordingly. Namely, unless it is a landslide, it is quite likely we will not know the results of the presidential election on the evening of November 3. According to the Wisconsin Elections Commission, record numbers of Wisconsinites are voting by mail this year. Over 1,400,000 people have requested absentee ballots. Because of security and safety measures it takes more time to verify and count absentee ballots than ballots cast by electronic voting machines. In addition, election officials in Wisconsin cannot even begin to count absentee ballots until election day. Across the country record numbers of Americans are registered to vote and are participating in this election. There is much at stake. Every single one of these votes must be counted. One of the foundations of our democracy is a free and fair election process and that means every eligible voter should have their voice heard and their vote counted. We should not accept an announcement of either presidential candidate’s victory until every single vote has been verified and counted. We must prepare ourselves to be patient, to adjust our expectations about the timing of the election results, and to allow our electoral process to unfold as it needs to in these unprecedented times. We need to allow time for every last vote to be verified and counted, whether that takes a day, a week, or much longer.   Michele Isaacson Sauk Prairie   We must make no mistake: Abortion is the preeminent moral issue of our time. It is the black hole that out-masses every other issue. Presenting any other issues as if they were proportionate to it is nothing but smoke and mirrors. St. John Paul II said “Above all, the common outcry, which is justly made on behalf of human rights -- for example, the right to health, to home, to work, to family, to culture -- is false and illusory if the right to life, the most basic and fundamental right and the condition for all other personal rights, is not defended with maximum determination.” Pope Benedict said “Life is the first good received from God and is fundamental to all others; to guarantee the right to life for all and in an equal manner for all is the duty upon which the future of humanity depends.” Pope Francis said “Those who have been conceived are children of the whole of society. Their killing in huge numbers, with the endorsement of states, is a serious problem that undermines the foundations of the construction of justice, compromising the proper solution of any other human and social issue.” Bishop Hying said “I cannot vote for a presidential candidate who advocates for the continued legalization of abortion.  If a candidate is fundamentally wrong on such a basic and preeminent human rights issue of grave consequence to the most innocent in our society and to our own future, how can I trust the candidate to make moral and prudent decisions on many other important social justice issues pertaining to the common good?” Our priest, Fr. Miguel Galvez said “There is no single issue that threatens innocent human life more directly, consistently, imminently, and urgently than the deliberate killing of baby boys and baby girls in their mother’s womb.  Nothing can justify the killing of just one innocent child”. All of our good leaders agree and have been courageous in publicly speaking that the intrinsic evil of abortion, which kills one baby every 96 seconds, surpasses all other concerns we might have as voters.   Sincerely, Nick & Kay Ringelstetter Prairie du Sac   Herd Immunity is  Currently NOT a Solution to COVID-19   Herd immunity is the concept that if most people (the herd) become immune to a disease, then the spread of the disease from person to person becomes unlikely, protecting the whole community. There are two ways to achieve herd immunity: through infection or vaccine. Vaccines can provide herd immunity without people getting sick, but currently there is no vaccine for COVID-19. Herd immunity through COVID-19 infection would be a catastrophic failure.  COVID-19 is a highly contagious disease that would require most of the herd to get infected before the whole community is protected. Experts estimate that 7 out of 10 people would need to recover from COVID-19 for herd immunity. That is over 45,000 Sauk County residents. This amount of infection would have tragic consequences in our communities: • Our healthcare systems would be overwhelmed. Hospitals and clinics would be unable to care for the sick and dying. Healthcare workers would get sick, too.  • Many sick people would have severe complications, especially vulnerable populations. Even young people without pre-existing conditions can take months to recover from COVID-19, and may have long-term problems with their hearts, lungs, and brain functioning. • Thousands of our friends, neighbors, and family members would die. Even after all this devastation, herd immunity for COVID-19 through infection would fail because infected people can get infected again. We do not yet know how long immunity lasts for a person who has recovered from COVID-19. There is no evidence that COVID-19 is like other diseases that provide long-term immunity to those who recover from it.  Until there is a safe COVID-19 vaccine that is widely available, the best thing we can do to slow the spread is not get sick.  Avoid large crowds and events, stay 6 feet apart from others, wear a mask, wash your hands often with soap and water, stay home, and if you are exposed or have symptoms, get tested and quarantine yourself. Together, we can overcome COVID-19 by limiting infection.    Sauk County Public Health, Reedsburg Area Medical Center, Sauk Prairie Healthcare, and SSM Health St. Clare Hospital   This year, due to Covid 19, there is a massive number of mail-in ballots to be processed. Wisconsin is among the states that does not allow processing of mail-in ballots until election day.  It is reasonable, therefore, to expect a delay in getting the final election results, maybe even up to a week or two. Please “keep calm and carry on” and allow time for ALL the votes to be counted. Want to know if your ballot was counted? Go to myvote.wi.gov and click on Track My Ballot. This will let you know if it was received. After the election you can click on My Voter Record at the same website to find out if your ballot was counted. I urge anyone who has questions about the election process to check out myvote.wi.gov.  It has a lot of information. You can also check with your town clerk, whose contact info can also be found at this website if you click on Find My Polling Place. Your vote is your voice. Please participate in our democracy.   Wendy Carlson Sauk City, WI