Thursday, August 22, 2024

Collin Allred schools Ted Cruz

Ruth knows I've mentioned being impressed with Collin Allred who's running for the US Senate out of Texas and she saw this in a report by Aaron Parnas  (MEDIASTOUCH NEWS):


Meanwhile, Republicans got an even worse omen in the Senate polling as the poll has Texas Senator Ted Cruz up just 2 points against his Democratic challenger, Collin Allred. Given the fact that this is just a 2 point race two months before Election Day, it is not inconceivable that Allred would be able to make up the ground between now and November 5th and expand the Senate map for Democrats. 


And in case you're not getting how great Collin is, Alex Henderson reports:

Allred knows that he's fighting an uphill battle, as Texas is still a red state. But a University of Texas poll released in early August found Allred trailing Cruz by only 2 percent.

One of Allred's many lines of attack against Cruz is the far-right senator's response to the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol Building. In an interview with Baptist News, Allred recalled the day the Capitol was attacked — noting that he played in the National Football League before serving in Congress.

"When you're a former professional football player in a situation like that," Allred told Baptist News, "people will unsurprisingly look to you for protection. So I took my suit jacket off and got ready to take on whatever came through that door."

The Democratic congressman continued, "That day, we came closer to losing our democracy than a lot of people realize, and Ted Cruz is responsible for that. He spread the lie that the election was stolen and was the senator who objected to the certification of the results in an attempt to overturn the will of the American people. But when the mob stormed the Capitol, he hid in a supply closet."



He hid in a supply closet!!!  Sabina (community member who lives in Dallas) is a big Collin supporter and she says the only ad Ted's running is one attacking Collin on immigration.  I think Collin should run an ad about Ted hiding in a supply closet.  Oh, C.I. just said Collin's speaking tonight.  That's going to be something to see.  I'll post video of it tomorrow.  

From the heroic to the cowardly, Skidmarks. Travis Gettys notes:

J.D. Vance praised a “counterrevolutionary” book that calls for the repeal of the Civil Rights Act and enacting policies to discourage women from working outside the home, according to a new report.
Vance spoke in December at the launch of Up from Conservatism, an essay collection edited by the Claremont Institute's Arthur Milikh, at the U.S. Capitol visitor center in Washington, D.C., where he championed the team that put the book together and talked up the ideas they promoted, reported The Guardian.
“Congratulations on such a great book, and thanks for getting such a good crew together," Vance told the gathering. “Republicans, conservatives, we’re still terrified of wielding power, of actually doing the job that the people sent us here to do ... Isn’t it just common sense that when we’re given power, we should actually do something with it?”


He really is a disgusting creep.  



JD Vance's unpopularity is in the double digits, with a +10 unfavorability on a polling average site for the first time.

The Ohio Senator has had a difficult time in the polls since Donald Trump announced he was the Republican Vice Presidential candidate in July.



Oh.  That's too bad about Miss Sassy.  Breaks my heart.  (I'm being sarcastic.) I used to feel sorry for Mike Lindell.  Each day that becomes harder and harder.  He was duped and he's lost everything.  But he refuses to own it and continues trying to dupe others:


MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell continues to promote the false and repeatedly debunked claim that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from Donald Trump, and Georgia is among the states that Lindell claims President Joe Biden didn't really win — even though Gov. Brian Kemp and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, both conservative Republicans, have maintained that Biden's victory in the Peach State was perfectly legitimate.

Now, Lindell is being mocked on Twitter after yelling at Knowa, a 12-year-old Democratic National Convention attendee, about Georgia's 2020 election results.

Lindell, during the conservation, shouted that "257,000 votes" in Georgia "are missing from the 2020 election."

Lindell angrily told him, "This just came out. You're behind…. You need to read your news."

After talking to Lindell, Knowa told a reporter, "He provided no facts, no sources." And the reporter, in response, said, "Mike Lindell just got rolled by a 12-year-old."



He's made himself a joke.  And this time I don't feel sorry for him. 


Here's C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"


Thursday, August 22, 2024.  Day three of the convention found the momentum building.


Night three of the DNC convention in Chicago saw more speakers including Oprah Winfrey.



Good evening everybody!  Who says you can't go home again? 

After watching the Obamas last night, that was some epic fire, wasn't it? Some epic fire. We're now so fired up we can't wait to leave here and do something. And what we're going to do is to elect Kamala Harris as the next President of the United States.

I am so honored to have been asked to speak on tonight's theme about what matters most to me, to you, and all of us Americans: Freedom. There are people who want you to see our country as a nation of us against them. People who want to scare you, who want to rule you. People who'd have you believe that books are dangerous and assault rifles are safe, that there's a right way to worship and a wrong way to love. People who seek first to divide and then to conquer. But here's the thing, when we stand together, it is impossible to conquer us.

In the words of an extraordinary American, the late Congressman John Lewis, he said, "No matter what ship our ancestors arrived on, we are all in the same boat now." Congressman Lewis knew very well how far this country has come, because he was one of the brilliant Americans who helped to get us where we are. But he also knew that the work is not done, the work will never be done, because freedom isn't free. America is an ongoing project. It requires commitment, it requires being open to the hard work and the heart work of democracy. And every now and then, it requires standing up to life's bullies.

I know this. 

I've lived in Mississippi, in Tennessee, in Wisconsin, Maryland, Indiana, Florida, Hawaii, Colorado, California -- California and sweet home Chicago, Illinois. I have actually traveled this country from the redwood forest -- love those redwoods -- to the Gulf Stream waters. I've seen racism and sexism and income inequality and division. I've not only seen it --  at times, I've been on the receiving end of it.  But more often than not, what I've witnessed and experienced are human beings, both conservative and liberal, who may not agree with each other, but who would still help you in a heartbeat if you were in trouble. These are the people who make me proud to say that I am an American. They are the best of America.


And despite what some would have you think, we are not so different from our neighbors. When a house is on fire, we don't ask about the homeowner's race or religion. We don't wonder who their partner is or how they voted. No, we just try to do the best we can to save them. And if the place happens to belong to a childless cat lady, well, we try to get that cat out too.  Cause we are a country of people who work hard for the money. We wish our brothers and sisters well, and we pray for peace. 

We know all the old tricks and tropes that are designed to distract us from what actually matters, but we are beyond ridiculous tweets and lies and foolery. These are complicated times, people, and they require adult conversation. And I welcome those conversations because civilized debate is vital to democracy, and it is the best of America. 

Now, over the last couple of nights, we have all seen brave people walk onto the stage and share their most private pain. Amanda and Josh, Kaitlyn, Hadley -- they told us their stories of rape and incest and near-death experiences from having the state deny them the abortion that their doctor explained was medically necessary. And they told us these things for one reason, and that is to keep what happened to them from happening to anybody else. Because if you do not have autonomy over this --  over this -- if you cannot control when and how you choose to bring your children into this world and how they are raised and supported, there is no American dream. 


The women and men who are battling to keep us from going back to a time of desperation and shame and stone-cold fear, they are the new freedom fighters. And make no mistake: They are the best of America.

I want to talk now about somebody who's not with us tonight: Tessie Prevost Williams. Was born in New Orleans, not long after the Supreme Court ruled that segregated public schools were unconstitutional. That was in 1954, same year I was born. But I didn't have to head to first grade at the all-White McDonogh 19 School with a U.S. Marshal by my side, like Tessie did. And when I got to school, the building wasn't empty, like it was for Tessie. You see, rather than allowing McDonogh to be integrated, parents pulled their kids out of the school, leaving only Tessie and two other little Black girls, Gail Etienne and Leona Tate, to sit in a classroom with the windows papered over to block snipers from attacking their six-year-old bodies.

Tessie passed away six weeks ago, and I tell this story to honor her tonight, because she, like Ruby Bridges, and her friends, Leona and Gail -- the New Orleans Four, they were called -- they broke barriers, and they paid dearly for it. But it was the grace and guts and courage of women like Tessie Prevost Williams that paved the way for another young girl, who nine years later became part of the second class to integrate the public schools in Berkeley, California.

And it seems to me that, at school and at home, somebody did a beautiful job of showing this young girl how to challenge the people at the top and empower the people at the bottom. They showed her how to look at the world and see not just what is, but what can be. They instilled in her a passion for justice and freedom and the glorious fighting spirit necessary to pursue that passion.

And soon and very soon -- soon and very soon -- we're going to be teaching our daughters and sons about how this child of an Indian mother and a Jamaican father, two idealistic, energetic immigrants -- immigrants -- how this child grew up to become the 47th President of the United States. That is the best of America.

Let me tell you this: This election isn't about us and them. 

It's about you and me and what we want our futures to look like. There are choices to be made when we cast our ballot. Now, there's a certain candidate that says, if we just go to the polls this one time, then we'll never have to do it again. Well, you know what? You're looking at a registered independent who is proud to vote again and again and again. Because I'm an American, and that's what Americans do.

 

Voting is the best of America. 

And I have always, since I was eligible to vote, I've always voted my values. And that is what is needed in this election, now more than ever. So I'm calling on all you independents and all you undecideds. You know this is true. You know I'm telling you the truth, that values and character matter most of all -- in leadership and in life. 

And more than anything -- you know this is true -- that decency and respect are on the ballot in 2024. 

And just plain common sense. Common sense tells you that Kamala Harris and Tim Walz can give us decency and respect. They're the ones that give it to us.

So, we are Americans. 

We are Americans. 

Let us choose loyalty to the Constitution over loyalty to any individual, because that's the best of America. And let us choose optimism over cynicism, because that's the best of America. And let us choose inclusion over retribution. Let us choose common sense over nonsense, because that's the best of America.

And let us choose the sweet promise of tomorrow over the bitter return to yesterday. We won't go back. We won't be sent back, pushed back, bullied back, kicked back. We're not going back. 

We're not going back. 

We're not going back. 

So, let us choose. Let us choose truth, let us choose honor, and let us choose joy! Because that's the best of America. 

But more than anything else, let us choose freedom. 

Why? 

Because that's the best of America. 

We're all Americans, and together, let's all choose Kamala Harris!


There were many strong speakers yesterday but I think Oprah was the one who stood out the most. The theme was "A Fight For Our Freedoms."  Actress Mindy Kaling hosted the night and looked very elegant and stylish -- something you didn't see at the RNC -- and there were great musical performances by Maren Morris and John Legend and Sheila E.  And Stevie.



The one and only Stevie Wonder.  We're pressed for space but Stevie's a friend of many decades and  we're noting Stevie with the video.  And he really brought it to the floor.

Strong speeches were delivered by Colorado Governor Jared Polis, US House Rep Bennie G. Thompson, US House Rep Hakeem Jeffries, Bill Clinton, Nancy Pelosi and Senator Cory Booker.  US House Rep Grace Meng was another standout.



As everyone who's been watching this week knows, Monday night ran long.  Grace was one of the people who gave up their time as a result.  But her speech worked better for Wednesday's theme.  There is so much at stake with this election and there is so much more that Donald Trump will do to destroy this country, our rights, our democracy.  It was a theme Pete Buttigieg



We can have freedom or we can have hate.  We can grow better or we can morph into something very ugly.  Pete spoke of how we have seen our lives build and transform:


Right now the other side is appealing to what is smallness within you.  They're telling you that greatness comes from going back to the past.  They're telling you that anyone different from you is a threat.  They're telling you that your neighbor or nephew or daughter who disagrees with you politically isn't just wrong but is now the enemy.  I believe in a better politics, one that finds us at our most decent and open and brave.  The kind of politics that Kamala Harris and Tim Walz are offering.  And as you have felt these many days, that kind of politics just feels better to be part of.  There is joy in it as well as power.  And if all of that sounds naive, let me insist that I have come to this view not by way of idealism, but by way of experience, not just the experience of my unlikely career, someone like me serving in Indiana, serving in Washington, serving in uniform. I'm thinking of something much more basic. 
I'm thinking of dinner time at our house in Michigan. When the dog is barking and the air fryer is beeping and the mac and cheese is boiling over, and it feels like all the political negotiating experience in the world is not enough for me to get our three-year-old son and our three-year-old daughter to just wash their hands and sit at the table. It's the part of our day when politics seems the most distant, and yet the makeup of our kitchen table, the existence of my family, is just one example of something that was literally impossible as recently as 25 years ago when an anxious teenager growing up in Indiana wondered if he would ever find belonging in this world. This kind of life went from impossible to possible, from possible to real, from real to almost ordinary in less than half a lifetime.  
But that didn't just happen. It was brought about through idealism and courage, through organizing and persuasion and storytelling, and yes, through politics, the right kind of politics, the kind of politics that can make an impossible dream into an everyday reality. I don't presume to know what it's like in your kitchen, but I know as sure as I am standing here that everything in it, the bills you pay at that table, the shape of the family that sits there, the fears and the dreams that you talk about late into the night there, all of it compels us to demand more from our politics than a rerun of some TV wrestling death match.  
So this November, we get to choose. We get to choose our president. We get to choose our policies.  But most of all, we will choose a better politics, a politics that calls us to our better selves and offers us a better everyday. That is what Kamala Harris and Tim Walz represents. That is what Democrats represent.


The most anticipated speech of the night was that of Governor Tim Walz, the running mate of presidential nominee Kamala Harris.






Tim Walz is running for vice-president, but for a while on Wednesday night, it felt like he was campaigning to be the nation’s high school football coach.

Before he spoke, roughly a dozen of the players on the team he helped coach to a Minnesota state championship decades ago ran on stage, some wearing their old high-school jerseys, bouncing to the blasting horns of a marching band.

Once Mr Walz did appear, delegates in the packed arena waved signs that read “Coach Walz” – and the crowd chanted “coach, coach, coach!”

As this was Mr Walz's first significant opportunity to introduce himself to the nation, his speech was heavy on his personal story – his time as a football coach, of course, but also his upbringing, his enlistment in the Army National Guard, his work as a high-school teacher, and his service as a congressman and governor.

During parts of his speech his daughter Hope, 23, and son Gus, 17, were seen in tears in the front row of the arena. "That's my dad!" Gus mouthed as the television camera focused on him.



The DNC issued this press release:

Tonight, during night three of the 2024 Democratic National Convention, two new videos aired: one featuring five of Governor Tim Walz’s former students from Mankato West High School and another featuring his fellow veterans, including those who served alongside him in the United States National Guard.

In these videos, the country heard more about Governor Walz’s record of military service and storied commitment to improving the lives of American veterans, servicemembers, and their families. Encouraged by his students to run for Congress, Walz has a long history of teaching and coaching in Minnesota and Nebraska.

Students remember how Governor Walz changed their lives:

WATCH HERE

 

Fellow service members highlighted Governor Walz’s record of military service and commitment to improving the lives of American veterans:

WATCH HERE  




The convention has been something to see and the DNC issued this press release about Tuesday night's viewership:

CHICAGO – For the second night in a row, the 2024 Democratic National Convention pulled in a mammoth TV and online audience as Americans across the country tuned in to see the excitement building behind the Harris-Walz ticket. The second night of the DNC featured an energetic celebratory roll call followed by a surprise appearance from Vice President Harris live from her rally in Milwaukee. Inside the hall, former First Lady Michelle Obama, President Barack Obama, and Democrats took to the stage to underscore the stakes of this election and make the case for the Harris-Walz ticket.

Democrats are meeting people where they are, making the convention available to Americans inside and outside the hall as we tell our story to the country.  

Broadcast:

  • On TV, the second night of the DNC averaged 20.6 million viewers across 12 networks.
    • This is well above the second night of the RNC, which averaged 14.8 million viewers on its second night – and now for two nights in a row, the DNC has beaten the RNC’s ratings on TV.

Streaming:

  • Across DNC/Harris-Walz online platforms, the first two nights of the convention were streamed by over 13 million people.

Digital Content:

  • The convention garnered 55 million views on partner-created content on the second night – building on the 30 million views from the first night.
    • The 2024 Democratic National Convention credentialed over 200 content creators with a cumulative reach of 169 million people.

“The second night of the Democratic National Convention showcased the enthusiasm and energy behind Kamala Harris and Tim Walz and their vision for the future,” said DNCC Senior Director of Communications Matt Hill. “There’s a simple reason why more Americans are tuning into the Democratic National Convention than Donald Trump’s MAGA convention: the American people believe in the Harris-Walz vision for a brighter future and they want to support a campaign built on hope, joy, and progress – not a campaign built on extremism, fear, and grievance.”

The first night of the DNC reached over 57 million people, and numbers from the second night show an audience well exceeding 81 million people. Tonight, Americans will get to hear directly from Governor Tim Walz about his commitment to fighting for our freedoms.

The 2024 Democratic National Convention is giving Americans more ways to watch and engage than ever before. The 2024 Democratic National Convention is being streamed on over a dozen platforms as a part of its efforts to reach Americans everywhere they are. For the first time in convention history, the convention is hosting vertical streams across TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube, in addition to the convention being streamed online on a variety of platforms including Amazon Prime Video, TV device apps such as Apple TV and Roku TV, and traditional television broadcasts.

 





As Kamala Harris campaign continues to gain momentum,  Robert Kennedy Junior's campaign continues to collapse, Brent D. Griffiths,Alice Tecotzky (BUSINESS INSIDER0 reports:


Kennedy, whose national polling has crashed, refunded nearly $1 million to Nicole Shanahan, the Silicon Valley lawyer who joked she was picked to be Kennedy's running mate solely due to the size of her bank account. The repayment is even more notable given that the campaign only has $3.9 million on hand and the debt it owes nearly equals the money in its bank account.

According to the filing, Kennedy's campaign brought in just over $5.6 million last month and spent more than $7.2 million. Much of the money went toward trying to get Kennedy's name on ballots across the country, reflecting his recent legal challenges in New York and difficulty amassing enough signatures to appear on the ballot in key swing states.

Kennedy's campaign also owes roughly $3.5 million to private security executive Gavin de Becker.


Junior's campaign has declared he will be making a big announcement on Friday that the whole country will want to hear.  Really, not sure if I believe in assisted suicide.  But I will be listening and so will a number of a lot of us in the industry as we determine whether or not Cheryl has a future in it and whether or not we're going to continue to leak embarrassing stories about Junior to the media.  

Junior apparently wants to embrace the hate of Donald Trump, JD Vance, Ron DeSantis, etc, etc, etc.  Well that will truly make clear that Junior is no Robert F. Kennedy, just a pale, tiny, scared hate merchant.


On elections, the man who would be king clown.  Doo-Doo Ron DeSantis as Mike dubbed him.  DeSantis is back in the news because elections are taking place and DeSantis is not doing well. Greg Owen (LGBTQ NATION) notes:


Two “parental rights” candidates running for Florida school board seats who were endorsed by Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) and the anti-LGBTQ+ group Moms for Liberty (M4L) were crushed in their elections on Tuesday, while a third is headed to a runoff.

Overall, out of 23 total school board endorsements made by DeSantis, five of his candidates won, 12 lost and six advanced to the November runoff.


Incumbents Laura Hine and Eileen Long held off challengers endorsed by DeSantis and M4L, who hoped to produce a far-right majority on the Pinellas County school board in St. Petersburg.

Unofficial results revealed current school board chair Hine and her colleague Long held their seats after an ugly campaign dominated by the hectoring M4L moms arguing for their “parental rights” agenda.



Moms For Bigotry.  I thought they were unf**able -- look at them -- but then playa Bridget Ziegler let the whole world know that she and her husband invited all the freaks into their shared bed.  That news also revealed that Bridget partakes of the love that dare not speak its name in Florida thanks the likes of DeSantis and Bridget.   The hypocrites were once riding high on their high horses, "But then there were some potential signs that constant attacks on people of color or LGBTQ+ people were not winning strategies after all. Most notably, DeSantis, once seen as a formidable challenge to Trump for the top of the Republican ticket, ran on bringing his Florida agenda to the whole country and flamed out very early in the 2024 primaries," Nathalie Baptist (HUFFINGTON POST) notes.
 


Two years has been a political eternity for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

In 2022, when DeSantis was at his peak political powers and openly flirting with running for president, he used his sway to start the process of remaking local school boards into much more conservative-leaning bodies. During the that year's midterm elections, when DeSantis won re-election by a historic near 20-points, he backed 30 school board candidates, and only five lost.


Now, DeSantis is on the heels of a failed bid for president that tarnished his reputation nationally, and the power of his endorsement in Florida appears to be waning. DeSantis backed 23 school board candidates who ran during Tuesday night’s primaries, nearly half of whom did not win, while six others were forced into runoffs.

DeSantis remains a popular governor in an increasingly red-leaning state that just saw Republicans take a more than 1 million person voter registration advantage. But the primary night losses are among the biggest in-state political headwinds he has faced in years.

DeSantis-backed candidates also suffered losses in other races, while he notched victories in some state legislative contests. But the school board elections provide a snapshot of how the political dynamic has shifted for him.

DeSantis has become the first governor in state history to become so heavily involved in what have historically been considered sleepy and technically nonpartisan races.

 
Khaleda Rahman (NEWSWEEK) notes:

[Incumbent Eileen] Long said the results were a rebuke of DeSantis' agenda.

"People want sanity. People want common sense. And people believe we should educate everyone," Long told The Associated Press. "The people have spoken."



“We sent a message across this state and across this country that governors, number one, should not get involved,” said Pinellas County School Board member Eileen Long, who won re-election Tuesday.

Long, a career teacher, fought off a challenge by a candidate backed by DeSantis and the local chapter of Moms for Liberty in a closely watched race in what’s historically been one of the state’s largest swing counties, which includes St. Petersburg.

Like at school board meetings across Florida, activists aligned with Moms for Liberty in Pinellas have taken to reading aloud explicit passages from books, equating certain teaching materials to pornography and labeling educators as “groomers.”

“I think they’re losing their movement. I really do,” Long told The Associated Press. “People are sick and tired of the mean, nasty stuff that they pull.”

America is rejecting the hate of these people but Junior's gearing it up to endorse it.  

We can reject him along with the other preachers of hate.  And we can watch tonight to hear Kamala explain what's at stake.



The following sites updated:





Posted by at

Wednesday, August 21, 2024

Paul Rudnick, Olay, Barack

Let's start by noting Paul Rudnick.





And I was looking for a video to note and C.I. suggested this one.



 


While the Democrats are crushing it in Chicago, Skidmarks Vance continues to stink the Trump campaign up.  Amanda Marcotte (SALON) reports:

 

"Consistently what you’ve seen in 2016 and 2020, is that the media uses fake polls to drive down Republican turnout and to create dissension and conflict within Republican voters," Trump's running mate, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, said on Fox News Sunday. Shannon Bream of Fox News asked him about polls showing Vice President Kamala Harris edging up or even leading in various swing states, to which Vance rushed to show once again that there are no limits for him when it comes to embracing his boss's delusions or depravities.


Vance is not a dumb man, so we can guess he's lying rather than delusional. The FiveThirtyEight aggregator has Harris with a small lead of 2.9 points nationally, after correctly predicting the outcome of 2020 and even slightly underrating the Democratic turnout in 2022. But, having been on the ground at both the Republican National Convention (RNC) and Democratic National Convention (DNC), I can say he's off in the vibes department, as well. While people at the RNC  — which was before Biden dropped out of the race — were confident about the election, they seemed oddly muted for people who think they're about to sail into victory. In contrast, the DNC's enthusiasm was off the charts from the beginning. 


As Andrew O'Hehir wrote about the RNC last month, the convention was "a startlingly quiet, polite, low-energy event." We did witness the audience get hyped up for Hulk Hogan, but even that has caveats: It was the last night, so more people bothered to show up. Hogan is a professional wrestler, an expert at riling up crowds over nonsense. (Though the actual message of his speech was terrifying and fascistic.) And frankly, after four days of listlessly wandering around hoping something interesting might happen, the attendees seemed eager to feel something. But Trump destroyed Hogan's hard work with his whining, droning, weird speech. 



Poor JD Skidmarks Vance -- or Miss Sassy (that name Isaiah gave for him is starting to grow on me) -- he's come up short.  His whole life.  

Let me note Barack Obama from last night at the convention.



Betty has praised Kamala Harris' housing plan.  I agree with Betty that it's excellent and needed.  But Betty's done a joint post with Wally, Cedric, Ann, Isaiah and C.I. tonight:



She had planned to note this so I told her I'd note it for her -- it's from Giulia Carbonaro's article for NEWSWEEK:


Former President Barack Obama has called for the reform of "outdated" housing market regulations to allow the construction of new homes across the U.S. and alleviate a supply shortage that has driven up prices in the past few years.



"We can't just rely on the ideas of the past, we need to chart a new way forward to meet the challenges of today. And Kamala understands this," Obama told the crowd gathered at the United Center in Chicago for the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday.

"She knows for example that if we want to make it easier for more young people to buy a home, we need to build more units and clear away some of the outdated laws and regulations that made it harder to build homes for working people in this country," the former president added, as the crowd roared in response. "This is a priority. And she has put out a bold new plan to do just that."
The warm reception given to the former president's speech suggests that the unaffordability of the housing market is an important issue to many Americans, and one that is expected to be on many voters' minds when they head to the ballot boxes in November.


It is an important issue and, as Betty noted in "Are you ready to fight for Kamala's economic plan," it's an issue worth fighting for.


Here's C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"


Wednesday, August 21, 2024.  Michelle Obama delivers the speech of the convention and there are still two days left, Teamsters take to the stage to show their support for Kamala Harris, a member of the Trump administration reveals why she's supporting Kamala, Robert Kennedy Junior's sad, sad campaign grows more desperate with rumors that he will soon be throwing in the towel, and much more.


The Democratic Party's convention continued in Chicago yesterday and the big speech of day two was Michelle Obama's "Hope Is Making A Comeback."




OK! We got a big night ahead. Thank you all so much. Thank you so much.

OK. Hello Chicago!

Something wonderfully magical is in the air, isn't it?

You know we're feeling it here in this arena, but spreading all across this country we love. A familiar feeling that's been buried too deep for far too long.

You know what I'm talking about?

It's the contagious power of hope!

The anticipation, the energy, the exhilaration of once again being on the cusp of a brighter day.

The chance to vanquish the demons of fear, division, and hate that have consumed us and continue pursuing the unfinished promise of this great nation-the dream that our parents and grandparents fought and died and sacrificed for.

America, hope is making a comeback!

But to be honest, I'm realizing that until recently, I have mourned the dimming of that hope.

Maybe you've experienced the same feelings; it's that deep pit in my stomach, a palpable sense of dread about the future.

And for me, that mourning has also been mixed with my own personal grief.

The last time I was here in my hometown was to memorialize my mother-the woman who showed me the meaning of hard work, humility, and decency. The woman who set my moral compass high and showed me the power of my own voice.

Folks, I still feel her loss so profoundly. I wasn't even sure if I'd be steady enough to stand before you tonight.

But my heart compelled me to be here because of the sense of duty I feel to honor her memory and to remind us all not to squander the sacrifices our elders made to give us a better future.

You see, my mom, in her steady, quiet way, lived out that striving sense of hope every single day of her life.

She believed that all children, all people, have value, that anyone can succeed if given the opportunity.

She and my father didn't aspire to be wealthy. In fact, they were suspicious of those who took more than they needed.

They understood that it wasn't enough for their kids to thrive if everyone else around us was drowning.

So my mother volunteered at the local school. She always looked out for the other kids on our block.

She was glad to do the thankless, unglamorous work that for generations has strengthened the fabric of this nation.

The belief that if you do unto others, if you love thy neighbor, if you work and scrape and sacrifice, it will pay off-if not for you, then maybe for your children or your grandchildren. You see, those values have been passed on through family farms and factory towns, through tree-lined streets and crowded tenements, through prayer groups and National Guard units and social studies classrooms.

Those were the values my mother poured into me until her very last breath.

Kamala Harris and I built our lives on those same foundational values.

Even though our mothers grew up an ocean apart, they shared the same belief in the promise of this country.

That's why her mother moved here from India at 19.

It's why she taught Kamala about justice, about the obligation to lift others up, about our responsibility to give more than we take.

She'd often tell her daughter, "Don't sit around and complain about things-do something!"

So with that voice in her head, Kamala went out and she worked hard in school, graduating from an HBCU. Earning her law degree at a state school. And then she went on to work for the people.

Fighting to hold lawbreakers accountable and strengthen the rule of law, fighting to get folks better wages, cheaper prescription drugs, a good education, decent health care, childcare, and elder care.

From a middle-class household, Kamala worked her way up to become Vice President of the United States of America.

My girl Kamala Harris is more than ready for this moment.

She is one of the most qualified people ever to seek the office of the presidency. And she is one of the most dignified, a tribute to her mother, to my mother, and to your mother too. The embodiment of the stories we tell ourselves about this country.

Her story is your story. It's my story. It's the story of the vast majority of Americans trying to build a better life.

Look, Kamala knows, like we do, that regardless of where you come from, what you look like, who you love, how you worship, or what's in your bank account we all deserve the opportunity to build a decent life. All of our contributions deserve to be accepted and valued.

Because no one has a monopoly on what it means to be an American. No one!

Kamala has shown her allegiance to this nation, not by spewing anger and bitterness, but by living a life of service and always pushing the doors of opportunity open for others.

She understands that most of us will never be afforded the grace of failing forward. We will never benefit from the affirmative action of generational wealth.

If we bankrupt a business or choke in a crisis, we don't get a second, third, or fourth chance.

If things don't go our way, we don't have the luxury of whining or cheating others to get further ahead, no. We don't get to change the rules so we always win.

If we see a mountain in front of us, we don't expect there to be an escalator waiting to take us to the top.

No, we put our heads down. We get to work. In America, we do something.

And throughout her entire life, that's what we've seen from Kamala Harris: the steel of her spine, the steadiness of her upbringing, the honesty of her example, and yes, the joy of her laughter and her light.

It couldn't be more obvious: of the two major candidates in this race, only Kamala Harris truly understands the unseen labor and unwavering commitment that has always made America great.

Now, unfortunately, we know what comes next. We know folks are going to do everything they can to distort her truth.

My husband and I, sadly, know a little something about this.

For years, Donald Trump did everything in his power to try to make people fear us.

See, his limited and narrow view of the world made him feel threatened by the existence of two hardworking, highly educated, successful people who happened to be Black.

I wanna know, I wanna know: Who's going to tell him that the job he's currently seeking might just be one of those "Black jobs"?

It's his same old con: doubling down on ugly, misogynistic, racist lies as a substitute for real ideas and solutions that will actually make people's lives better.

Because gutting our health care, taking away our freedom to control our bodies, the freedom to become a mother through IVF, like I did-those things are not going to improve the health outcomes of our wives, mothers, and daughters.

Shutting down the Department of Education, banning our books-none of that will prepare our kids for the future.

Demonizing our children for being who they are and loving who they love-look, that doesn't make anybody's life better.

Instead, it only makes us small.

And let me tell you this, going small is never the answer.

Going small is the opposite of what we teach our children.

Going small is petty, it's unhealthy, and quite frankly, it's unpresidential.

So why would any of us accept this from anyone seeking our highest office? Why would we normalize this type of backward leadership?

Doing so only demeans and cheapens our politics. It only serves to further discourage good, big-hearted people from wanting to get involved at all.

America, our parents taught us better than that and we deserve so much better than that.

That's why we must do everything in our power to elect two of those good, big-hearted people. There is no other choice than Kamala Harris and Tim Walz! No other choice!

But as we embrace this renewed sense of hope, let us not forget the despair we have felt. Let us not forget what we are up against.

Yes, Kamala and Tim are doing great right now. They're packing arenas across the country. Folks are energized, we are feeling good.

But remember there are still so many people who are desperate for a different outcome. Who are ready to question and criticize every move Kamala makes, who are eager to spread those lies, who don't want to vote for a woman, who will continue to prioritize building their wealth over ensuring everyone has enough.

So no matter how good we feel tonight or tomorrow or the next day, this is going to be an uphill battle. So folks, we cannot be our own worst enemies.

No, the minute something goes wrong, the minute a lie takes hold, we cannot start wringing our hands. We cannot get a Goldilocks complex about whether everything is just right.

And we cannot indulge our anxieties about whether this country will elect someone like Kamala instead of doing everything we can to get someone like Kamala elected.

Kamala and Tim, they have lived amazing lives. And I am confident they will lead with compassion, inclusion, and grace.

But they are still only human. They are not perfect. And like all of us, they will make mistakes.

But luckily, y'all, this is not just on them.

No, uh-uh, this is up to us-all of us-to be the solution we seek. It is up to all of us to be the antidote to all the darkness and division.

I don't care how you identify politically; whether you're a Democrat, Republican, independent, or none of the above, this is our time to stand up for what we know in our hearts is right.

To stand up not just for our basic freedoms but for decency and humanity, for basic respect, dignity, and empathy. For the values at the very foundation of this democracy.

It's up to us to remember what Kamala's mother told her: Don't just sit around and complain - do something!

So if they lie about her, and they will, we've got to do something!

If we see a bad poll, and we will, we've got to put down that phone and do something!

If we start feeling tired, if we start feeling that dread creeping back in, we've got to pick ourselves up, throw water on our faces what? [Crowd: Do something!]

We have only two and a half months to get this thing done. Only 11 weeks to make sure every single person we know is registered and has a voting plan.

So we cannot afford for anyone, anyone in America to sit on their hands and wait to be called upon. Don't complain if no one from the campaign has specifically reached out to ask for your support; there is simply no time for that kind of foolishness.

You know what we need to do.

So consider this to be your official ask: Michelle Obama is asking y'all - no I'm telling y'all - to do something!

Because-You all, this is going to be close.

In some states, just a handful, listen to me a handful of votes in every precinct could decide the winner.

So we need to vote in numbers that erase any doubt. We need to overwhelm any effort to suppress us.

Our fate is in our hands!

In 77 days, we have the power to turn our country away from the fear, division, and smallness of the past.

We have the power to marry our hope with our action.

We have the power to pay forward the love, sweat, and sacrifice of our mothers and fathers and all those who came before us.

We did it before, y'all, and we sure can do it again.

Let us work like our lives depend on it.

Let us keep moving our country forward and go higher - yes, always higher - than we've ever gone before.

As we elect the next President and Vice President of the United States, Kamala Harris and Tim Walz!

Thank you all, God bless.


She then introduced her husband, former President Barack Obama.



The roll call vote took place on Tuesday.  Kamala Harris and Tim Walz are the ticket.  In March of 2003, the US invaded Iraq.   that's twenty-one years ago.  And this is the first time since the start of the Iraq War that the Democratic Party has had a presidential ticket not containing at least one person who voted for the Iraq War.  (2004's ticket of John Kerry and John Edwards had two people who voted for the Iraq War.) 


Yesterday also included Stephanie Grisham who was then-President Donald Trump's press secretary.




The Teamsters turned out with a strong presence onstage as Kenneth Stribling spoke about the need for organization and the importance of fighting for your rights.



Under the ridiculous (mis)leadership of Sean O'Brien, the Teamsters proper has yet to endorse in this election.  O'Brien made a fool of himself at the GOP and is said to be angling for a post in a Trump administration.  The Black Caucus of the Teamsters has refused to be silent or to sell out and they have endorsed Kamala Harris for president.  Listening to Kenneth Stribling's speech, O'Brien's silence is only more appalling.


Ratings for last night's prime time events are not in yet; however, yesterday the DNC released the following regarding Monday's viewership:

CHICAGO – Yesterday, tens of millions of Americans tuned in to watch and engage with content from the first night of the 2024 Democratic National Convention – hearing directly from President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, Governor Tim Walz, and voices across the Democratic coalition about the Harris-Walz vision for the future. Democrats are meeting people where they are, making the convention available to Americans inside and outside the hall as we tell our story to the country.  

Broadcast:

  • On TV, the first night of the DNC averaged 20 million viewers across 13 networks.
    • This was well above the first night of the Republican National Convention, which averaged 18.1 million viewers on its first night on the same networks.

Streaming:

  • Across DNC/Harris-Walz online platforms, over 7 million people streamed the first night of the convention.

Digital Content:

  • Through partner-created content, there were 30 million views on content created from night one alone.
    • The 2024 Democratic National Convention credentialed over 200 content creators with a cumulative reach of 169 million people. 
    • There have been over 2,200 downloads of DNC-provided content over the past week. 

“Tens of millions of voters across America are tuning in, and here is what they’re watching: a united Democratic party with a vision for an America where we build up the middle class, we protect our democracy, and we create a future of opportunity and more freedom, not less,” said DNCC Senior Director of Communications Matt Hill. “That stands in stark contrast to the very sad and smaller audience who watched Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans push their unpopular Project 2025 that will rip away reproductive freedom, take health care away from millions, and cut taxes for billionaires at the expense of the middle class.”   

As the numbers continue to come in, it’s clear that the combined viewership of the first night of the Democratic National Convention reached over 57 million Americans with numbers to only grow over the week. 

The 2024 Democratic National Convention is giving Americans more ways to watch and engage than ever before. The 2024 Democratic National Convention is being streamed on over a dozen platforms as a part of its efforts to reach Americans everywhere they are. For the first time in convention history, the convention is hosting vertical streams across TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube, in addition to the convention being streamed online on a variety of platforms including Amazon Prime Video, TV device apps such as Apple TV and Roku TV, and traditional television broadcasts.


While Kamala Harris' campaign ascends, others struggle.

Such is the case of Robert Kennedy Junior.  A campaign that initially showed promise and interest has sunk into despair and he's gone from motivational to pathetic.  In the last six days, his campaign has sent out 20 urgent e-mails to supporters -- like a stalker -- with increasingly dramatic subject headings -- such as "This is personal for me" and, especially, "I will not be deterred."  

Junior has morphed into Glenn Close's character Alex in FATAL ATTRACTION.

"I will not be deterred." 

He sounds like he's about to boil a bunny -- and I'd laugh it off but, remember, this guy's already eaten dog and dumped the corpse of a bear cub in Central Park.

 
As Elaine noted in "Robert Kennedy Junior exposes his ass yet again," Junior's said to be about to drop out and endorse Donald Trump.   I will note that he has no ethics.  He said he'd run as a Democrat.  Then he ran as an independent promising he'd be on the ballot in all 50 states.

How'd that work out?  

He's on 19.  

And how many laws did he have to break for that to happen? Last week, a court ruled he couldn't be on the ballot in New York because he lied don his campaign filings.  A huge and stinging rebuke and all the testosterone he had on hand for injecting couldn't rally him.  He staggers like the old fool he is.   Rebecca Davis O’Brien (NEW YORK TIMES) reports on the failed efforts to get on the ballot in Arizona:


In February, the PAC announced it had gathered enough signatures for ballot access in Arizona, Michigan, Georgia and South Carolina — an effort that cost at least $2.4 million, campaign finance filings show.

Three weeks after the announcement, the PAC said it would no longer pursue ballot access. The decision came after the Democratic National Committee filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission over the PAC’s ballot-access effort, and a Democratic super PAC, Third Way, filed complaints with state elections officials.



That's apparently why the campaign is  shutting down.  Grasp that.  He lied (and broke the law) in New York state with his false filings claiming to live in New York.  And despite the fact that it is illegal "Among other prohibitions, super PACs are not allowed to give “in-kind” contributions to a campaign -- basically, providing services free of charge."

As I've noted repeatedly -- here and with Ava at THIRD -- there are rules in place.  It's not Democrats throwing up road blocks, it's Democrats asking that the rules and laws be followed.  If you don't like those rules and laws?  Organize and change them.  But it's so much easier to do nothing so you can play the victim every four years instead.

Jill Stein does nothing for three years and then shows up every fourth to make another of her never-ending failed runs for president.  You shouldn't be waiting until months ahead of an election to whine about the rules already in place.  You should be doing everything you can to change them.  


And Junior grossly miscalculated when he named Nicole Shanahan his running mate because he thought she'd use some of her own millions -- her own after she bilked husbands and lovers out of the money.  Silly, Junior, gold diggers don't hand money to you, they just take it from you -- hence the term "gold" "digger."

 Isaiah's latest THE WORLD TODAY JUST NUTS "Miss Sassy Puts Junior On Blast" went up last night.


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