Friday, August 23, 2024

Today's News: Kamala Harris, the Serendipity President

As I watched Kamala Harris's great speech tonight, I pondered the serendipity of the moment, the incredible chain of accident and surprise and coincidence and luck that brought her to that stage:
First, in 2020 Biden had picked her for VP, so she achieved a national profile and, eventually, hired an excellent staff.
Then, in 2023, Biden decided to seek another term, so the Democratic primaries last spring were not contested by democrats with much more political credibility and experience -- I suspect dems like Pete, Whitmer, Newsom, Booker, Warnnock, Beto, and Kelly, even AOC, might well have beaten Harris in primary voting last spring; she wasn't recognized as much of a campaigner and anyway she would have been stuck in Washington for Senate votes.
Then, the Republicans were so successful with their "he's old" smear / whisper campaign -- too successful, because it doomed Biden's reelection chances.
Then, Biden did himself no favours either. He was either so pigheaded or so poorly advised that he stretched himself too thin over the last year - agreeing to the Hur interview last Oct 8, when it looked like the Middle East would go to war, and to the June debate with Trump, even though he was sick, and exhausted from two overseas trips,  So ultimately, by July, Biden was losing so badly that even a slam-bang press conference couldn't save him, even though millions watched. So fnally Pelosi and, I think, Obama were able to persuade him to withdraw.
And the last serendipitous event: when Biden called Harris that Sunday, she was ready. She had obviously prepared for it to happen, she had set up her team, decided on her plan, and jumped into it so quickly, making hundreds of phone calls that very day, lining up endorsements and taking advantage of Zoom organizing sessions, with such verve and panache that no one else could catch up. 
And in the weeks since, she hasn't made an error or a flub.
The result was this magnificent speech:
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Thursday, August 22, 2024

Today's News: "The audacity of our hope; the vitality of our vote."

 
Here is poet Amanda Gorman's new poem The Sacred Scene at the Democratic National Convention. 
The speeches at this convention have been extraordinary. 
David Rothkopf thinks we're seeing the beginning of a new era: When the Obamas are Just Your Warm-up Act How to Make a Political Tsunami Into an American Renaissance
...It’s not easy to be at the top and then hand the stage to the next great star. Much has been written about Joe Biden’s selflessness in this regard. But Hillary Clinton and the Obamas offered further examples that all those at the pinnacle of influence in the Democratic Party—every single one of them—are throwing their best efforts and energies into the support of the Harris-Walz ticket.
What we are seeing is an unprecedented display of spontaneous, heartfelt party unity...
...all the quibbling I hear among some in DC about whether she will be more of an Obama or Biden disciple is just so much dirty bathwater. Kamala Harris will not be and should not be Obama 2.0 or Biden 2.0. She will be and must be Harris 1.0, something entirely new, elevated and informed by what has come before but not limited by it, unwilling to repeat past mistakes or to let nostalgia lead her to be blind to those errors.
And so the flow of this convention is getting it exactly right. Its narrative arc is that of the Democratic Pary as it has entered the current era. And it will culminate in the nomination of someone who owes much to the leaders who came before her on the stage but who is very different, very much her own person, very much the reason that this convention and the campaign of the past four years feel unlike anything we’ve ever seen before.
American media don't know what to make of it - they have been reduced to inane "fact-checks" about whether Trump really exchanced love letters with dictators (he did) and whether maybe we should all be offended at Obama's dick joke (we won't be). 
If you've been watching the Democratic National Convention, the story of the week has been the almost unnerving positivity, unity, and competence of the Democratic Party as they make the formal handoff ending President Joe Biden's reelection and nominating Vice President Kamala Harris to be the new torchbearer. 
If you've been reading about the Democratic National Convention, however, your most likely takeaway from this week's events is that it has somehow managed to break our big-league media "fact checkers" completely.
Because much of the "fact checking" that the press has scrambled to do, even as they ignore the ridiculous lie-a-paloozas that take place whenever Donald Trump opens his mouth, or surrogates of Donald Trump open their mouths, or partisan ultra hacks in Congress pipe up with new theories of "okay okay, our Joe Biden investigations were all duds but what if Governor Tim Walz something something communist spy," has been ... dishonest. Just straight-up dishonest.

You know, Poilievre must be terrified:

The Democrats nominated Ted Lasso for VP.

— Gerald Butts (@gmbutts.bsky.social) Aug 21, 2024 at 11:42 PM
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Wednesday, August 21, 2024

Today's News: Obama Nailed it!


Obama gave a great speech tonight at the DNC, but there was one "short" part in particular that will never be forgotten:
And today Trump tried to counter the DNC by holding his own little event, at a Michigan town known for its KKK history.
I have never before heard the term "sane-washing" but it is exactly what the media find themselves trying to do now when they report on Trump's babble: UPDATE: I just saw this, too:
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Tuesday, August 20, 2024

Today's News: "When we fight, we win"

 

The Democratic Convention speeches tonight were outstanding, but none so much as Biden's - Dark Brandon was in the house tonight, and unexpectedly, I found myself crying at the end - "America, I gave my best to you."

But already, America is moving on -- David Rothkopf writes that This is the first Convention of the Post-Trump era:
...the big difference between the Biden Era and the Harris Era to come is that the Biden Era took place in a moment in our history when the specter of Trump and MAGA and the end of democracy and a national movement founded in hate and division was always near.... part of the genius of Harris’ approach to this campaign 2024 is that she has chosen to turn the page, to look to the future rather than to respond to Trump. While her opponent in this election is Trump and MAGA, she is running this campaign as the first post-Trump, post-MAGA campaign almost a decade.
And this is the first post-Trump convention in that period. Old, tired, devoid of ideas, burdened by his horrific record and his many crimes, Trump is faint orange shadow of his former self. There is no doubt he must be stopped. But it is clear that the Vice President and the Governor of Minnesota understand that the way to stop him is to deny him the chance to set the terms of the election, to stop letting outrage at his antics and more grave threats be the core Democratic message and to say, “Enough. We will lead. We will set the terms. This is between us and the American people. We will not let extremists hijack our elections or threaten our system any longer. We will win by tapping into the idea of America that is shared by the vast majority of Americans. We will win by charting our own course.”
It is satisfying to see a candidate who you believe in be celebrated. But I think it will be hard for anyone who is under say 40 or so to understand how deeply gratifying and reassuring it is to see the hopes and dreams you had for the future seemingly be restored, to see a reality you had only imagined come into focus, to be within reach.
The new Democratic "Freedom" ad speaks to this too - "when we fight, we win": Here is AOC's speech, who I am convinced will be the Democratic presidential nominee for 2040 (after two terms each for Harris and for Walz, AOC will still only be 52): America is singing tonight:

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Monday, August 19, 2024

They pulled that creepy "morning in Canada" video? Oh, waaaahhhh!


Somebody posted Poilievre's bizarre "morning in Canada" video on You-Tube before the CPC deleted it. It is creepy, out-of-touch with reality, and absolutely full of bees! 
Is it the CPC "communications experts" who are trying to manufacture a Canada that doesn't exist? Or is it Poilievre himself? 
  
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Today's News: Kamala and Tim are cooking!

Hey, on a side note, did you know that Harris and Walz both like to cook? I think that's pretty great.
Responding to another tweet, I posted this a couple of days ago and it now has hundreds of "likes": I wonder if they'll ever do it?
Harris already has a You-Tube playlist of her cooking videos:

USA Today writes:
If Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris wins the election in November, she may be the first president with a platform on dry-brining turkey.
She's in favor, and also recommends a rub of butter and herbs under the skin.
..."I take it very seriously," Harris said about cooking ...When Harris was young, her mother told her she better learn how to cook, because anyone who loved food that much needed to know how to make it. As Harris became a national figure, she kept cooking. The vice president turned a passion for baking, broiling and sautéing, which might have sunk the prospects for female politicians of an earlier generation, into a political asset...
But she's not the only cook on the ticket -- Walz has cooked winning"hotdish" recipes for years - along with democrats Al Franken and Keith Ellison:
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Sunday, August 18, 2024

Today's News: Our wannabe Emperors

As summer turns into fall, its becoming increasingly obvious that the wannabe Emperors in our midst have no clothes.
Emperor Trump:
Meanwhile, in Canada:

Emperor Poilievre:
The #FuckTrudeau flags aren't flying anymore:
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Saturday, August 17, 2024

Weekend Reading Extravaganza: from Da Vinci to Venice; from maps to world wonders; from bridges to train stations; from rock history to Canadian history

Over the last few weeks I have seen some interesting posts about art, culture, etc. that didn't seem to fit into a daily post. So I have gathered them all together here. Enjoy! 

First, a fascinating assembly here -- did you know that Leonardo Da Vinci only did 20 paintings in his lifetime, some never finished?


And here's another fascinating DaVinci art story, about the Last Supper:
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Friday, August 16, 2024

Today's News: "Poilievre delivered a plethora of lies"


The Niagara Now newspaper committed real news this week! 
Covering a recent Poilievre speech at a Niagara-on-the-Lake food coop, reporter Richard Wright reported yesterday on Poilievre's remarks and, remarkably, also explained how wrong and inaccurate they were:
Federal Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre doesn’t believe outlets that serve the nation’s “news deserts” deserve financial help to continue giving Canadians the important and accurate information that affects the areas they work and live.
The man who hopes to be the next prime minister of Canada said the Local Journalism Initiative, which provides rural and small community news outlets with funding to hire reporters to cover specific areas outside the reach or interest of large media organizations, is nothing more than a sounding board for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s liberal government.
“It is terrible … how local journalism has done under nine years of Trudeau,” he told The Lake Report in an interview last Thursday after speaking to a Conservative-friendly crowd at a NOTL food co-operative.
“He’s tried to take it over and basically wants everyone to work for the government so that he can have regurgitated propaganda paid for by taxpayers.”
News deserts — areas that have little or no regular news coverage — have grown enormously over the past 15 years as scores of newspapers have closed.
Launched in 2019, the Local Journalism Initiative gives grants to independent publishers, such as The Lake Report.
Those organizations then hire reporters to cover specific areas, such as agriculture or civic government. Those reporters have no connection to the federal government nor does the government tell the publishers what stories should be covered.
Publications pick and choose what news items to cover without threat of reprisal from any form of government.
The Lake Report, for example, often tackles issues that do not align with the federal Liberals’ agenda and messaging.
Poilievre claimed the program threatens free speech and when asked what he would do with it if elected prime minister, he did not directly answer.
“I am looking into it. But more important than that, the question is how do we bring back free speech,” he said.
“The answer is journalists getting eyeballs so they can sell subscriptions and advertising, get sponsorships and do what media have done for, I don’t know, 3,000 years.”
“How has the media funded itself for 3,000 years?” he asked. “Subscriptions, advertising, sponsorships. That’s how it has worked for 3,000 years.”
Today’s journalists have to contend with the internet, where stories are often shared by people not trained in journalism and whose ethical standards or motivations may be suspect. Their work is often distributed free via social media and digital platforms.
This practice, combined with online giants like Google and Meta sharing legitimate news items on their platforms without compensating publications for the content, has deeply dug into news organizations’ bottom lines.
Poilieve seemed fine with letting what is often illegitimate news be the source of information for Canadians...
Does Poilievre actually think community newspapers were operating back when Menes was the pharaoh of Egypt -- funny, because papyrus had only just been invented then; The Times of London wasn't founded until 1785. And, as Niagara Now says, it was the internet that has destroyed newspaper profits.
Then in their editorial about Poilievre's ignorant and insulting speech, Niagara Now editor-in-chief Richard Harley commits more real journalism:
This Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre delivered a plethora of lies during his visit to NOTL, forcing The Lake Report to respond with the longest editorial it has ever published.
...There are a litany of problems with citizen journalism and Poilievre’s mindset that journalism is doing just fine because every Bob and Sue can post on Twitter is not appropriate for someone who wants to run this country.
Run it into the ground is more like it.
We realize this is probably the longest editorial we’ve ever published. Yet, it might be one of the most necessary editorials yet.
Because one of Poilievre’s tactics is to throw out so much misinformation, that it’s almost impossible to fact check it all, especially on the spot.
It’s why he often appears to eat journalists and other politicians alive. Because he’s on another planet and it’s almost impossible to have a rational conversation with someone who just makes things up.
So it’s our duty as a free press — one that isn’t going to take anything at face value from any political party — to call out Poilievre’s dangerous lies. Or his inability to comprehend the truth.
Either he’s lying to you and knows it. Or he’s just incompetent.
And because he’s not a stupid man, it’s not hard to figure out. If you think critically about what he says.
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Thursday, August 15, 2024

Today's News: Harris/Walz v. the national press



Once again, America's national press are whining about Kamala Harris not holding press conferences.
Oh sure.... 
Folks, its not happening, not until after next week's Democratic Convention - when the party will endorse policy positions on all sorts of things. 
Remembering, of course, that the Republicans didn't even discuss a party platform last month (hiding their support for the 2025 project ) and the Trump campaign journalists didn't care. 
In reality, the journalists shadowing the Harris campaign don't care about the FTC stuff either -- they just want Harris to give them a few off-the-cuff comments that can be turned into controversial headlines. 
The New York Times Pitchbot parody account gets it:
 At Daily Kos, Markos writes Kamala Harris doesn't owe the national press anything:
...A presidential candidate’s job is to win. That’s it! So pray tell, how does talking to The New York Times or any other national media outlet help that cause? Either journalists will ask ridiculous, shallow questions and waste everyone’s time, or they’ll fish for a gotcha quote they can use to generate “controversy” and clicks. Or they might actually ask a policy question, which … no one cares. Literally, no one. For decades, Democrats issued reams of policy white papers, and no one cared. At best, those policy proclamations are ignored; at worst, they become attack fodder for the other party.
There are two candidates this election, and no one is basing their decision on the finer points of a policy platform. They are basing it on values. Republicans have known this and wielded it to great electoral success, and now Democrats are finally there.
On his substack, Jeff Tiedrich writes hey media: Kamala doesn’t owe you jackals a press conference, so stuff it
...the Times has been pulling this crap for years. they pretend they want to “understand” an issue, so they round up five MAGA dipshits in an Arbys in Midland, Texas, listen to them pontificate on crap they know nothing about, and then write it up as here’s the scoop on what Real Amurricans think.
just once, I’d love to see the Times round up five Harris fans in a Whole Foods in Greenwich, Connecticut and ask them what they think.
but no, that would destroy The Narrative that it’s only the cOnSeRvATiVes fRoM tHe HeArTLand who are the “real” face of America....
...hey, Washington Post, I’m demanding that you sit down for an interview with me. my first question is what the fuck are you doing, publishing this misogynistic twaddle?
Without her beauty, Harris might be joining Biden in retirement. All you have to do is imagine her spoken words coming from a less-attractive package. Or put her on radio.
Harris remains the person she has been for the past 3½ years: a sometimes bumbling beauty with a stride that conveys confidence if not precisely competence.
I shit you not, this is from a Kathleen Parker hit job entitled “News flash: Kamala Harris is not a remake of Barack Obama.” Parker’s premise, in this Year of our Lord 2024, is that Kamala is a vacuous bubblehead who has been coasting on her looks.
is Kamala now supposed to reward these journalistic jackoffs with a sit-down interview? I think not.
news flash for our media:
Kamala Harris does not owe you a press conference, and you have no right to demand one.
let’s imagine that Kamala agreed to hold a presser tomorrow. we all know what would happen: it would devolve into a shit-show. the press would waste everyone’s time — and drop our collective IQ by three points — by asking worthless questions.
“Madam Vice President, Donald Trump says you only recently became Black. what is your response?”
who fucking cares? what fresh insight could possibly be gained by asking these kinds of questions? what’s Kamala going to say, that Donny’s a racist lunatic? we already know this. what would be the point of bringing up the toxic sludge that oozes out of Donny’s rancid anus-mouth
“do you still have confidence in Tim Walz despite the controversy over his military service?”
by the way, THERE IS NO CONTROVERSY. this is a 100% Republican smear job. stop legitimizing it by pretending it’s real.
“when you were Border Czar—”
the media and the wingnuts love this completely fictitious talking point: Kamala was in charge of the border and as a result, eighty skillionty illegals are now criming up a storm. they’re jimmying the lock on your frail old granny’s front door right now.
fun fact: Kamala Harris was never a “border czar.” she was tasked with —
leading diplomatic efforts to reduce poverty, violence and corruption in Central America’s Northern Triangle countries of Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.
this mission has nothing to do with administering border policy — but Republicans decided that assignment somehow made Kamala the “border czar,” and voila — now it’s right-wing gospel.
Kamala doesn’t need to cater to the banal Narrative of the national media. she’s been taking her case straight to the people, and the people fucking love her...

Two useful points:
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Tuesday, August 13, 2024

Sweeping up the Heart: Molly


Our Molly died today. 
She was diagnosed with gastric lymphoma cancer in May, and we knew from the beginning that it was incurable. We hoped we could at least have one more good summer with her, and for the most part that happened -- in the end, today was as long as she could last. 
Thank you, Molly, for being such a good dog.

The Bustle in a House 
The Morning after Death 
Is solemnest of industries 
Enacted upon Earth, – 

The Sweeping up the Heart 
And putting Love away 
We shall not want to use again 
Until Eternity.
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Today's News: Commentary on Poilievre v. journalists, and on Harris v. Trump (plus dissing Poilievre's wardrobe)


Starting with Poilievre v. journalists:

David Moscrop Why Pierre Poilievre disowns the extremists he flirts with
...Poilievre, who supported the Convoy that descended on and occupied Ottawa in 2022, keeps showing us who he is and this fits with that history. When he’s called out on that support, he simply turns the table, rails against the government and Trudeau, and attacks journalists. Pretending not to know of Diagolon gives him an opportunity to turn things around on the media and generate highly-clippable “gotchas” in a bid to control the narrative.
...Poilievre may be foolish, but he isn’t a fool. He’ll shun the media until he hears a question that allows him to frame discussions as he’d please – or else he’ll take the conversation in that direction anyway and berate journalists...
...As he attempts to portray himself as a respectable centrist, why was the leader of the official opposition cavorting with the far right? The best answer seems to be because he supports their anti-government ends....
In the face of Poilievre’s cynical politicking, the media and other observers ought to keep up the pressure. Keep asking questions, keep calling out his bullshit and flood the zone with the facts. If he gets aggressive, get aggressive right back. Bullies only understand and respond to power, and so the Conservative leader ought to get a dose of that in return every time he decides to “forget” what Diagolon is, hurls abuse at a wire service for issuing a correction as he did with the Canadian Press, or insists on taking a direct question and using it to attack the reporter who’s asking it, like he did when he attacked Akin.
This approach won’t make for elegant and conciliatory politics, but who thinks politics can always be elegant and conciliatory? And when a guy such as Poilievre shows up on the scene, the rules change. We must change right along with them.
And on a side note, before I lose track of this tweet, here is mens-wear guru Derek Guy's enjoyable critique of Poilievre's "t-shirt and jacket" look:
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Monday, August 12, 2024

Fun stuff: from Olympic horses to Olympic moments, from Fox News to other stuff, from dogs to plate tectonics. And fall is coming!



Well, the Olympics are over for another two years. Here are a few remaining odds and sods:
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Sunday, August 11, 2024

Today's news: Wanna know who is "online savvy"? That would be Trudeau, not Poilievre


So Canadian media have finally noticed Poilieve's "Bot-Gate" scandal and they just can't believe the CPC would actually do something so glaringly stupid, because Poilievre is just so "online savvy".
Oh, give me a break. 
Mr. Verb-The-Noun isn't down with the youngs at all.  Two weeks of Canadian Olympic success - the whole country is proud and excited - Canada even won a Gold Medal in Breakdancing, for heaven's sake! - and Poilievre hasn't tweeted a word of congratulations to anyone.
And could Poilievre and the Cons really be this petty? Yes, I do believe they could!
Anway, getting back to the point of this post, wanna know who actually IS "online savvy"? This simple, effective, funny tweet has 52,000 "likes", 7,000 re-tweets, and 1,500 comments:
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Saturday, August 10, 2024

Today's News: Ukraine's Kursk invasion


Here is a roundup from some of the better sources of Ukraine Russia War information, with their analysis about the recent surprising, and surprisingly successful, Kursk offensive:
Post by @ianbremmer
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As the war in Ukraine settled into a stalemate, two assumptions became prevalent among analysts: First, that it is nearly impossible to achieve any surprise on a battlefield blanketed by drones. Second, that it is nearly impossible to mount fast-moving offensive operations, given the extensive defenses erected by both sides. Ukraine has challenged both assumptions over the past few days with its surprise, lightning-fast thrust into Russia’s Kursk region — an area familiar to military historians as the site, during World War II, of the biggest tank battle in history.
The Ukrainian military shocked the entire world — and the Russian defenders — when it sent an armored column on Tuesday across the border from Ukraine’s Sumy region. There had been cross-border raids by Ukraine before, but those were much smaller operations conducted by Russian volunteers. This was something much more ambitious: a combined-arms offensive utilizing armored vehicles (some of them German- and U.S.-made), infantry, artillery and electronic-warfare equipment. Ukraine reportedly committed elements of four elite brigades to the operation....
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