The Biggest Battle Isn’t Over, But 7 Causes for Celebration Couldn’t Be Clearer

For indispensable reporting on the coronavirus crisis, the election, and more, subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily newsletter.Whatever happens tomorrow, these day-after boosts are right here:
Florida gets a raise. The Sunshine State became the first in the South to pass a $15 minimum wage, nearly doubling its current minimum in a milestone for the livable-wage movement supported by labor groups like Fight for 15. My colleague Hannah Levintova contextualizes it. 
Medicine that works. Five states have made safe medicine more available—Arizona, Montana, Mississippi, New Jersey, and South Dakota—in cannabis changes that our science reporter Jackie Flynn Mogensen rolls right up for you.
Bag it. New Jersey is the latest state to reduce its reliance on single-use plastic, seeing the stakes (and acting on them) as a climate imperative.
Native voices. Six Native Americans are heading to Congress in a historic wave that gives the House a record number of Native members. Indian Country Today reporter Dalton Walker has more.
Rising representation. New Mexico is the first state to elect all women of color to a House delegation: Deb Haaland was already one of the first Native women in Congress, and she’s joined by Teresa Leger Fernandez and Yvette Herrell, a member of the Cherokee Nation.
A hot dog is not a sandwich. As I write this, 128 of you voted “no” and 117 “yes” in yesterday’s Mother Jones poll asking, “Is a hot dog a sandwich?” Look, it’s not my fault that National Sandwich Day lands on the last day of presidential voting any more than it’s your fault. Team No is pulling ahead; polls are still open, but I’m projecting a winner.
Try not to nail-bite. A lot of “nail-biter” uses in headlines this morning. New York Times: “nail-biter.” CNN: “nail-biter.” NBC: “nail-biter.” Politico: “nail-biter.” CNBC: “nail-biter.” FiveThirtyEight: “nail-biter.” Chicago Tribune: “nail-biter.” Talking Points Memo: “nail-biter.” Mail Tribune: “nail-biter.” CNN again: “nail-biter.” Times again: “nail-biter.” I don’t endorse nail-biting but I endorse the phrase for drawing attention to behavior that needs consideration. Nails get bitten and chewed and gnawed and spit out like day-old pizza crust and unpaid interns at oppressive offices that exploit free labor. But the phrase is good. Think about it: all this free publicity about the health of your nails, smuggled through metaphor. “Learn to resist the urge” to bite, says Tara S. Peris, professor of psychiatry and biobehavioral sciences at the University of California, Los Angeles, in a piece titled “How to Stop Biting Your Nails.” In high-stress times, it’s understandable. Biting should be taken seriously as a sometimes compulsive or impulsive expression. Take Peris’ advice, if you can, to limit it. And take my advice, if you can, to keep using the phrase.

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