Today's News: from Biden passing the torch, to Olympic success, to Weird Trump, to White Dudes for Harris

Credit

Accurate, accurate, accurate pic.twitter.com/yEBOdysQYm

— Kim Wexler's Ponytail 🐝💛🪷🎗😺 (@MadisonKittay) July 23, 2024

Biden is the one who really took a bullet for democracy, not trump.

— Mia Michaels (@MiaMichaels77) July 22, 2024

Moving on to the Olympics, we see Canada doing great today. 

First gold for Canada at #Paris2024 and first-ever Canadian Olympic champion in judo 🇨🇦

Christa Deguchi DID THAT 🥇#MedalMoments presented by @petrocanada pic.twitter.com/RzwYqPq3KG

— CBC Olympics (@CBCOlympics) July 29, 2024

Today's News: Terrible news that Jasper is on fire

Terrible news tonight from Jasper National Park - multiple buildings in the town of Jasper are burning.. 

We always loved visiting Jasper -- it was almost as scenic as Banff, but without the crowding and the touristy kitsch (or at least, not as much). 

It was a easier drive too, from Saskatoon, especially after most of it was twinned. 

Whenever we drove to Vancouver, we usually took the easier Edmonton route, with its long and lazy valleys instead of twisting through the Calgary to Kamloops route. 

I cannot imagine how frightening and terrible it would be to get told to evacuate at 10 pm, then drive all night to get to safety. 

Such outstanding courage those people are showing us all.

...Parks Canada says firefighters continue to battle to save as many structures as possible in the Jasper townsite.

“Today has been an exceptionally difficult day for Jasperites, incident personnel and everyone who loves Jasper,” said the agency.

Crews working to save homes, businesses and critical infrastructure will be supported by “many more” structural firefighters en route to the community.

...Jasper is under attack by fires from the north and south, and the town’s 5,000 residents -- along with 20,000 park visitors -- have already left.

The northern fire was spotted five kilometres from Jasper earlier Wednesday.

The southern fire had been reported eight kilometres distant from the town, but Katie Ellsworth, with Parks Canada, said strong wind gusts swooping in behind it sent it racing.

Everything that could go wrong earlier Wednesday did go wrong.

Fire perimeters changed minute by minute.

Ellsworth said bucketing efforts by helicopter failed.

Crews using heavy equipment to build fireguards couldn’t complete the work before having to pull back for safety.

Water bombers couldn’t help due to dangerous flying conditions.

A last-ditch effort to use controlled burns to reroute the fire to natural barriers like Highway 16 and the Athabasca River failed due to “unfavourable conditions.”

The hope was that up to 20 mm of rain, forecast to begin falling in the area later Wednesday night, would bring some relief.

Alberta Forestry Minister Todd Loewen has asked the Canadian Armed Forces for help.

"We are requesting firefighting resources, aerial support to move wildfire crews and equipment and more," Loewen wrote on the social media platform X.

Jasper and Jasper National Park are treasures for the world … and they’re a special haven for those of us lucky enough to live close by. What’s happening tonight breaks my heart. Prayers for those displaced by the fire and heartfelt thanks to those fighting it. #JasperFire pic.twitter.com/y72Sq5JQv8

— Gil McGowan (@gilmcgowan) July 25, 2024

Farewell to Biden; Hello to Kamala

Biden was one of the best presidents America has had but I expect Kamala will be even better. 

Tonight, social media is full of great tweets and stories about Biden, about Kamala, about Democrats. And there was definitely a tone of relief tonight that things are settled.

I told my 11-year old daughter that Joe had dropped out and she started to cry and through her tears she asked “So who will run now?”

And I said “Kamala.”

And then she shouted “FUCK YES!!!!”

— Jo (@JoJoFromJerz) July 21, 2024

Biden, the Clintons, 26 Senators, 74 US Reps and 9 Governors along with almost all 50 state party chairs, and national convention delegations from LA, NC, NH, SC, TN and Denton Co., TX have now endorsed VP Kamala Harris.

— Scott Dworkin (@funder) July 22, 2024

I’ve gotten a lot of text messages today from Gen Zers, who are not interested in politics, asking me how they can get involved to help Vice President Kamala Harris beat Donald Trump. Something is brewing. Young people are fired up. Trump should be scared.

— Harry Sisson (@harryjsisson) July 22, 2024

Today's update: That rascally Biden!

Today it seems people are realizing the Biden-Must-Go campaign could be retitled as "Elitist Dems and Fat Cats v. Biden" - yes, Biden stumbles over his words, but his ideas and goals are clear and admirable. 

AOC speaks:

NEW

Congresswoman @AOC just did a nearly hour long live where she shared her grave concerns with replacing President Joe Biden as the Democratic nominee.

Here’s the full video minus the very short intro she did on other work she is doing at the moment. pic.twitter.com/eeVWhRUlwC

— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) July 19, 2024

And Bernie:

I am putting aside all 2016 feelings to strongly strongly urge and recommend Bernie Sanders to spend every waking minute on the media. Literally, if he is not sleeping, he should be on TV talking. All the way up until election day. https://t.co/kwwExwc8QW

— Paul Gundlach (@PaulSGundlach) July 19, 2024

Both of them understand that unions and workers have never had as good a president as Biden:

Pains me to say this, but AOC and Bernie being more sycophantic to Biden than Pelosi and Schumer turns my stomach.

— Peter Daou (@peterdaou) July 19, 2024

Biden said fuck your polls, fuck backstabbing Democratic lawmakers, fuck wealthy donors, and fuck the mainstream media. He is not stepping aside. Let's go! pic.twitter.com/EPtKsJgKoZ

— Christopher Bouzy (spoutible.com/cbouzy) (@cbouzy) July 19, 2024

Amazing pushback from MAGA over this tweet:

I’m a capitalist. If you want to make a million bucks – great.

I'm just going to make sure you pay your fair share in taxes.

And thanks to my Inflation Reduction Act, this month, the IRS crossed $1 billion recovered in past-due tax debt from millionaires.

— President Biden (@POTUS) July 19, 2024

And this is also the truth:

pic.twitter.com/ok3dtEm5gH

— Tony the antifascist swan (@TonyYvce) July 19, 2024

Today's News: Trump babbles while Biden burns

I didn't watch it - apparently a good decision - but here are some comments about the Trump speech at the Republican Convention last night:

He's insane. Boring, but insane. This is just Capt. Queeg-level crazy.

— Andrew Coyne 🇺🇦🇮🇱 (@acoyne) July 19, 2024

I’ve watched a lot of convention speeches over 40 years. The crowds are usually fired up and roaring.
This is a crowd listening to a weird old guy ramble on and looking up from their phones and remembering to hoot and clap every now and then

— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) July 19, 2024

This is absolutely correct. His brain is mush. https://t.co/cY9gq4fx3B

— George Conway (@gtconway3d) July 19, 2024

I have no idea how the public is going to react to this very bizarre speech...but I can't stop thinking about these two-paragraphs from McKay Coppins https://t.co/hotmLIkY39 https://t.co/neWWymeMrx pic.twitter.com/c8xzJTqkIb

— Michael Lovito (@MLovito) July 19, 2024

Weekend Funny Stuff and Animal Crackers

We need a break before plunging into the fresh hell of next week. 

First, some funny stuff:

Lenin said this, or maybe didn't say it, but in either case it's apt right now:

"There are decades where nothing happens. and there are weeks where decades happen."

--

— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) July 3, 2024

Why we love #Canada. pic.twitter.com/THW9VNnMna

— John O'Connell (@jdpoc) July 11, 2024

Sen John Fetterman (D-PA) about Pres Biden electoral chances

“Maybe we can encourage President Biden to bang a porn star”

— Scott MacFarlane (@MacFarlaneNews) July 9, 2024

🤷‍♀️ pic.twitter.com/9f9yTBqShI

— Sarah (@Tiogar) July 4, 2024

Today's News: Save the Last Dance For Me

 

So some Democrats may still be flirting on the dance floor, but Biden is telling them all to save the last dance for him. 

Josh Marshall describes the media frenzy around Biden and whether he will withdraw from the nomination:

...For the second half of last week I was basically certain that Joe Biden would be forced to end his candidacy and that it was simply a matter of time before he did so. Then, starting Saturday, things seemed to shift. These things work in waves. For any politician the best way to avoid being forced to resign ...is simply not to resign. It’s one of those truisms that contains more depth and nuance than one at first realizes.

One of the reasons for that shift was simply that Biden was still there. He’s still running and still the nominee. We’re in the midst of a level of feeding frenzy I’ve only seen twice as a political observer — the first week of the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal in 1998 and the one that ended Al Franken’s career in the Senate in 2018. The Washington press corps and national political press overwhelmingly and vociferously want to force Biden out of the race. I don’t say that in the sense of bias, per se — it’s not even necessarily at the level of intentionality. It’s more at the level of crowd behavior. It’s just how these feeding frenzies work. What do foxes think they’re doing when they rip through a hen house? For the DC press, this is all mixed in with ego and a sense of vindication. But again, it’s just how feeding frenzies work. But at a certain point, the feeding frenzy has been churning for days and Biden’s still running and there’s some element of a wave cresting. Like, hey we’ve been telling you all the reasons why Biden has to withdraw from the race for days but he’s still running and okay, well, maybe not — or, like, we can’t keep up this 100 yard dash forever. It’s just a cresting pattern.

At the same time I think there were the first hints of a realization that this has been overwhelmingly a conversation among media and political elites without much focus or knowledge about anything average voters are thinking or doing....

As the days go by and as Biden holds fast, the tide is turning. 

At No More Mister Nice Blog, Steve M writes

...It's striking that his poll numbers have dropped only slightly since the debate -- he trailed Trump in FiveThirtyEight's poll average by 0.2 on debate day, and trails by 2.2 now. FiveThirtyEight's forecast has Biden winning in 49 simulations out of 100. And Morning Consult's polling shows Biden gaining ground in swing states.

...When people ask about Donald Trump's baffling popularity, one frequent answer is that voters look at him and think, "He fights." I wonder whether Biden's refusal to step aside is being seen by some Democratic voters as a "He fights" moment. That might explain the polls that show only slight slippage, or even an improvement, in Biden's standing.

I think this battle is effectively over. I just hope that Biden's renewed fighting spirit doesn't dissipate once his would-be dumpers have retreated. I hope he stays invigorated, and pivots to fighting Trump with the spirit he's showing in fighting his intraparty doubters.

Today's News: Moving on from Biden?

As the days pass after Biden's disastrous debate, I'm reading more stories from people I respect, saying that Biden needs to withdraw from the presidential race. 

For a time after the debate, I dithered about this. But the problem as I see it now is this: Trump is a terrible person, and Biden is a great one. But Biden's awful debate performance demonstrated that he isn't able to rise to the occasion anymore, he has apparently lost the ability to lead, to be a president. Americans have never voted for a leader they consider weak, and the way things are going, Biden will not only lose himself, he will drag down the whole ticket with him:

The narrow current conversation about how Biden polled right after the debate obscures a much broader, much more relevant conversation about the next four months. Every Biden glitch, every misstep, every senior moment will spur another news cycle, more leaks, more recriminations.

— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) June 30, 2024

Then again..

"The president may be too old to fill his function in his next term" is a worry Americans had about Reagan, Eisenhower, FDR, and so on. It's comfortable to talk about.

"The would-be president tried to seize power in a coup once and wants to try again" - is not so comfortable.

— David Frum (@davidfrum) July 2, 2024

Today's news: Hooray for Pride Parades!

The happiest photos ever taken in Canada are from our Pride parades!

Here are photos of Toronto's Pride Parade today:

As usual, Trudeau was there!

🇨🇦🏳️‍🌈I STAND WITH TRUDEAU🏳️‍🌈🇨🇦
Happy Pride Canada
🇨🇦#Trudeau2025🇨🇦 pic.twitter.com/Q4nl0BzW1I

— BKBelton (@bk_belton) June 30, 2024

Animal Crackers!

A Dog at the Museum, by Tom Mosser

It's been one of those weeks, eh ... the Liberals lose the by-election, the Oilers lose the cup, Joe Biden loses the debate. 

So here's some funny to go on with, for the weekend:

Dog got skills..🐕🐾🛹🤯 pic.twitter.com/4r7vGzeQkh

— 𝕐o̴g̴ (@Yoda4ever) June 26, 2024

Friends come in all shapes and sizes..🦍🐾🐕😍 pic.twitter.com/wS48pgx2yK

— 𝕐o̴g̴ (@Yoda4ever) June 23, 2024

This is Éowyn. She taught herself sign language after living with her deaf human. 14/10 pic.twitter.com/JYPcoLVOKE

— WeRateDogs (@dog_rates) June 27, 2024

i think this is some sort of secret handshake
(bdeli34 IG) pic.twitter.com/2N8yUgRk6p

— theworldofdog (@theworldofdog) June 26, 2024

He owns the car now.. 😅 pic.twitter.com/E2HP6WyZYG

— Mirthful Moments (@moment_mirthful) June 26, 2024

A woman gave a hungry fox food and he came back with friends 🥹❤️pic.twitter.com/a46FgZ0jW5

— The Random Guy (@RandomTheGuy_) June 22, 2024

Happy Saturday: from Reggie Jackson to Indigenous Peoples Day; from "shark!" to Dark Brandon; some great moments in Twitter; animal crackers; & some beautiful threads to enjoy

Reggie Jackson describes the racism he had to endure when playing ball:

👉🏽 “Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.” – James Baldwin

— Coach Julio (@FitnessFoundry) June 21, 2024

For National Indigenous Peoples Day:

It is National Indigenous Peoples Day, so enjoy this thread of Indigenous leaders and activists from our history!

Elsie Knott (1922-1995) In 1954, she became the 1st woman to serve as the Chief of a First Nation following changes to the Indian Act three years earlier

🧵1/19 pic.twitter.com/c2npfh1JTP

— Craig Baird - Canadian History Ehx (@CraigBaird) June 21, 2024

American politics:

A lot of you all would’ve absolutely hated the Civil Rights Movement had you lived through it, and it shows.

— Kevin Saucedo-Broach (@kevsaucebro) April 26, 2024

I think during the presidential debate, Biden should just yell...SHARK!

— Auntie Smartassy (@AuntSassyAss) June 20, 2024

Random Roundup: trying to kibosh the capital gains tax; trying to debunk misinformation; jousting over "likes"; hearing Dr. Fauci's story; and laughing at Trump

Some interesting factoids and articles recently: 

First, some comments on how Canada's rich people are trying to kibosh the Liberal plan to increase tax rates on capital gain profits:

Why is the debate about the capital gains inclusion rate so deranged?
Because associations of very rich people have paid think tanks and foundation to operate a constant non-stop misinformation campaign about tax policy for 50+ years aimed at lowering their own tax rates. (1/3)

— Drew Yewchuk (@DrewYewchuk) June 19, 2024

It would be hard to overstate how successful this misinformation campaign has been. A huge number of North Americans believe a pack of lies are eternal truths of economics, and Alberta’s premier spent nearly her entire career working for such think thanks and foundations. (3/3)

— Drew Yewchuk (@DrewYewchuk) June 19, 2024

It's just incredible. In poll after poll, going back decades, there is majority support (usually in the 75-80% range) for making the rich pay more, but the minute you try to do it, the Conservatives swing into action and manage to convince Joe Q Public that he'll be paying more.

— 𝙲𝙹𝚃𝙾 🇨🇦 🏳️‍🌈 (@CJ_Toronto) June 19, 2024

So what you are saying, Robyn, is that a lot of Canadians are misinformed. Someone has been telling them the sky is falling when it isn't, right? Pity we don't have any journalists who could be keeping Canadians better informed.

— Dr Norlaine Thomas (She/Her) (@Norlaine) June 19, 2024

Today's News: Heatwave!

This summer's first heat wave is here.

Over 135 million people are facing a dangerous heat wave this week with the AccuWeather RealFeel Temperatures occasionally approaching the 100-degree mark. https://t.co/9aZ2r7LycJ pic.twitter.com/9QndnUU6IC

— AccuWeather (@accuweather) June 17, 2024

Today's News: About the Foreign Interference Scandal, from May, Wark, Smith, and Scrimshaw

So I've been sort of following the NSICORP (National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians) report revelations about foreign interference in Canadian politics, except there really hadn't been any, nothing concrete at any rate, about exactly who did what and to whom.

Until this happened:

https://t.co/jN71L25Yxt

— National Newswatch (@natnewswatch) June 11, 2024

@ElizabethMay says the media firestorm steaming from the NSICOP is "overblown." She says the person (on p.26 of public report) is a FORMER MP who wittingly participated should be prosecuted. She says there is no list of disloyal MPs. 1/2

— Althia Raj (@althiaraj) June 11, 2024

May says fewer than 5 MPs are named in the report.
She starts to talk talking about the Senate, but stops herself and says, no, she is just talking about people in the HoC. None of the MPs, the low number, she suggests, could be described as witting participants.

— Althia Raj (@althiaraj) June 11, 2024

The few MPs mentioned were unknowingly helped, maybe they should have asked who was paying for busloads of people showing up to nomination contests, May says, but that's not uncommon in Canadian politics (notes interference in federal PC race in '83).

— Althia Raj (@althiaraj) June 11, 2024

May says she was also surprised to see FI in the media in the form of undisclosed sponsored content.

— Althia Raj (@althiaraj) June 11, 2024

80th anniversary of D-Day: "We will remember them"

Too much going on this week to do a longer post, but here's some interesting stuff about D-Day and the 80th anniversary.  

First, posted above is the Veterans Affairs video commemorating the 80th anniversary - "We will remember them".

Next, check out historian Craig Baird's Canada on D-Day podcast:

,,,The Canadian troops had managed to push farther inland than any other force on D-Day, but only one Canadian unit made their objectives.

Regardless, the first line of German defences were completely smashed.

One Canadian journalist said,

“The German dead were littered over the dunes, by the gun positions. By them, lay Canadians in bloodstained battledress, in the sand and in the grass, on the wire and by the concrete forts. They had lived a few minutes of the victory they had made. That was all.”

In the mayhem of Normandy, progress was made...

Plus, Baird has a great story about James Doohan, who played Scotty on Star Trek!

Today in 1944, 14,000 Canadian landed at Juno Beach on D-Day. There were also 110 Canadian ships, 10,000 sailors & 15 RCAF squadrons in the assault.
On D-Day, 1,076 Canadians will be casualties, of whom 359 are killed. By Aug. 30, there will be 18,700 casualties. pic.twitter.com/W1ifiYMqdl

— Craig Baird - Canadian History Ehx (@CraigBaird) June 6, 2023

Today in 1920, James Doohan aka Scotty, was born in Vancouver. This is his story!

After moving to Sarnia, Doohan enlisted with the Royal Canadian Artillery in 1939.
During the Second World War, he stormed Juno Beach on D-Day, where he shot two snipers.

🧵1/3 pic.twitter.com/xxAaoJVHiI

— Craig Baird - Canadian History Ehx (@CraigBaird) March 3, 2023

In 1966, he gained the role of Montgomery Scott on Star Trek. He chose the name to honour his grandfather & the character became a fan favourite. Along with building the role of Scotty, he also helped develop the Klingon & Vulcan languages.
He passed away on July 20, 2005.

🧵3/3 pic.twitter.com/i46eZ2JyAO

— Craig Baird - Canadian History Ehx (@CraigBaird) March 3, 2023