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| THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 1 – SOLEMNITY OF ALL SAINTS |
| WAGES JUMP Wages and salaries rose 3.1% in the third quarter — the highest increase in a decade. “With labor market conditions still tightening, we expect wage growth will accelerate further from here,” said Michael Pearce, senior U.S. economist at Capital Economics. READ |
| CREDIT FOR THE ECONOMY? A new Harris poll found that 47% of respondents believed that President Trump is responsible for the current economy, compared to 21% who think that Barack Obama is responsible. READ |
| BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP President Trump cited a 1993 speech by former Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid where he said “no sane country” would grant birthright citizenship to the children of illegal immigrants. After the president tweeted his remarks, Reid said: “I made a mistake.” READ |
| SENATE 2018 The Libertarian candidate in Montana’s senate race has thrown his support behind Republican Matt Rosendale in an attempt to defeat incumbent Sen. Jon Tester, D-MT. READ |
| INVESTIGATION NOW OVER? Now that Brett Kavanaugh has been confirmed to the Supreme Court, Democrats and the media have nearly abandoned any investigation into his conduct. But media critic Mollie Hemingway asks: “If the Kavanaugh confirmation circus were about justice for his alleged victims, instead of about killing his nomination by any means, we’d still be getting updates on this story, wouldn’t we?” READ |
| SUPREME PROPOSAL In the early 1950s, William Rehnquist proposed to fellow Stanford student Sandra Day. She said no and eventually become Sandra Day O’Connor. A few years later, Rehnquist married Nan Cornell and they stayed together until her death in 1991. But Rehnquist and O’Connor remained good friends and served together on the Supreme Court for 25 years. “They had a wonderful friendship their entire life,” said her son, Jay O’Connor. READ |
| DEMOCRATIC INFIGHTING Embattled Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill called a state senator in her own party a “crazy Democrat.” Well, State Sen. Maria Chappelle Nadal shot back, saying that McCaskill “deserves to lose. She is not a Democrat.” Note: The story quotes the state senator’s profanity. READ |
| DEMS WORRIED ABOUT MINNESOTA The Democratic Senate Campaign Committee is rushing $1.1 million into Minnesota to shore up Sen. Tina Smith, who was appointed to the seat by Gov. Mark Dayton after Al Franken resigned. Smith faced some backlash after refusing to attend an election debate with Republican challenger Karin Housley. Before entering politics, Senator Smith worked as an executive for Planned Parenthood in Minnesota. READ |
| ELECTION 2018 “Fun factoid: in the 17 mid-term elections since the end of World War II, the average loss for the president’s party in the House is 24 seats. The number of seats Democrats must win to control the House is 24 seats. The current RealClearPolitics projection for Dem gains? 25 seats.” -Sean Davis, The Federalist |
| MIDTERM GAINS ARE RARE There are just three times in the past century that the president’s party has gained seats in the midterm elections: 1934, 1998, and 2002. READ |
| A MODERN HERESY “One of the biggest heresies of our time has a name. It’s called ‘Affectus per solam.’ ‘By Feelings Alone.’ And it has done – and is doing – enormous damage to people’s faith,” writes Samuel Gregg. READ |
| NY BISHOP ACCUSED A New York auxiliary bishop has been placed on leave and has been removed from parish life after credible allegations of sexual abuse of a minor have been brought forward. “This was the first time any such allegation about him was ever made,” said Cardinal Dolan. READ |
| SAINT OF THE DAY While many saints have a specific feast day on which we celebrate their lives and work, the vast majority of the saints of heaven do not. Today we celebrate all of those men, women, and children who have gone before us and on whose shoulders we stand in our faith. READ |
| DAILY READINGS “Lord, this is people that longs to see your face.” (Ps 24:6) READ |
| ART The Forerunners of Christ with Saints and Martyrs by Fra Angelico. |