No thread since morning, what’s the news? What’s everyone up too?
I have family coming to visit, so I have been cleaning, cleaning, cleaning.
Archives for 2024
Monday Morning Open Thread: There’s Much to Love in the Harris Campaign
Kamala has the exact opposite effect of Vance or Trump — the more people see and hear from her, the more they like her. https://t.co/LGFhpXFLxT
— Conor Rogers (@conorjrogers) August 25, 2024
Democrats are united and determined to deliver even more jobs, expand health care and protect freedoms. Our convention showed America how #KamalaWinsWithJoy — now each of us must volunteer and vote for Harris-Walz to deliver For The People.
Onward to a great Democratic victory! pic.twitter.com/1WAOtLtvcE
— Nancy Pelosi (@TeamPelosi) August 25, 2024
The ‘rule’ is that Democrats fall in love, Republicans fall in line; some hardcore conservatives seem to feel they can’t endorse Harris without… falling in love. The Financial Times’ U.S. correspondent on a perceived “The astonishing metamorphosis of Kamala Harris”:
… Just five weeks ago, Trump was acting as though he had already won the election. There was even talk of a landslide. In what feels like an eye blink, Trump is suddenly the old man running on a familiar script. The frequency with which he targets Biden shows he is still struggling with Harris’s lightning ascent.
To be fair to Trump, Harris is making his adjustment very hard. The Democratic National Convention in Chicago bucked tradition on many levels. The most striking of these was her party’s display of unity. All of the Democratic psychodrama of the last three decades took to the stage — from Bill Clinton, who was elected president in 1992, to Biden, who until last month was vowing he would serve out a full two terms. The star turns were the two Obamas, Barack and Michelle, who were consciously passing the torch to Harris. Even Jimmy Carter, the oldest living US president, who turns 100 in October, let it be known that he wanted to vote for Harris. From the populist left to traditional centrists, Democrats have called a truce on their fissures and personality tensions for the next 70-odd days. They have Trump to thank for that. The spectre of his return has concentrated minds.
Little of this would have worked with the wrong candidate. Harris’s metamorphosis from indifferent vice-president to the source of Obama-scale enthusiasm has caught almost everyone unawares. People did not know she had it in her. To paraphrase the adage, “cometh the hour, cometh the woman”.
It turns out that Harris is a once-in-a-generation natural. She has also learnt from the mistakes of Hillary Clinton in 2016. Though Harris would be the first woman president, and a non-white one too, her identity is not central to her campaign. In 2016, the Clinton campaign had the tagline “I’m with her”, which made it all about the candidate and her historic moment. The Harris campaign’s vibe is to convey that “she’s with you”. Let Trump turn 2024 into an ugly identity battle, is their implicit message. Harris plans to keep talking about the middle class…
The content of her relatively short address — less than half the length of Trump’s peroration in Milwaukee last month — reflected that. Harris did not try to reach for poetic heights. With a prosecutor’s directness she laid out America’s “fleeting opportunity” to save its democracy. Trump was an unserious person who posed a serious threat, she said. Her pitch was ruthlessly centrist. Gone was any mention of “Medicare for all”, open borders, attacks on the police and across-the-board tax increases. There was no hint of disapproval from her party’s left. Harris pulled off what an acceptance piece should do but rarely does — she wrapped her life story into her campaign’s larger theme: “We’re not going back”…
Monday Morning Open Thread: There’s Much to Love in the Harris CampaignPost + Comments (472)
On The Road – Albatrossity – Herons and Egrets of the World – Portraits
One of the best things about bird photography is the opportunity to create bird “portraits”, which allow viewers to see some more subtle aspects of bird coloration and even “personalities”, to coin an anthropomorphic phrase. Herons are excellent subjects for bird portraiture, since they are large, usually well-lit, and patient. Even better, they have gorgeous colors, especially their eyes! Therefore, here are some portraits of herons and egrets from a few places around the planet. Some are the same species that were featured last week in this space, others are different. To encourage reflection, I will keep the captions to a minimum. I hope you enjoy all of them!
On The Road – Albatrossity – Herons and Egrets of the World – PortraitsPost + Comments (17)
Quivira NWRJuly 11, 2024
Snowy Egret (Egretta thula). The delicate plumes on the back of the head are a feature of this bird during the breeding season, but the bright yellow lores (the region between the eyes and the base of the bill) would be orangish or even red at that height of that hormonal onslaught. Click here for larger image.
Late Night Schadenfreude Open Thread: TROMPED
(Joel Pett via GoComics.com)
Do we care?https://t.co/G1CZKK1xLA
— Barbara Tokay (@sci_writer) August 24, 2024
Well, it’s always nice to know that Karma is still working, however slowly. Per the Washington Post, “Trump allies try to energize him as he struggles to adapt to Harris”:
… [A]ides did not want a situation where he was watching the [DNC] convention every night, getting angry, and then just golfing all day and stewing, according to people who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private interactions. Trump also had grown annoyed with the news coverage that depicted him as not working as hard as his opponent, one person who talked to him said.
So the campaign launched back-to-back events over the past week, with the goal of counterprogramming the Democratic convention and securing news coverage, as other campaigns have often done, but also as a way to keep Trump busy.
The candidate, though, often appeared reluctant. He frequently departed from the policy themes assigned to each day’s event — an attempt to keep him focused on poll-tested messages over his pugnacious impulses — illustrating his continued struggle to find his footing in a changed race.
“The stakes for Trump this election are arguably the highest they’ve ever been. His criminal cases don’t go away if he loses. Yet he seems to be phoning it in, running a remarkably low-energy, undisciplined campaign,” said Alyssa Farah Griffin, a former White House spokeswoman who quit after Trump supporters attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. “From spending days off the campaign trail golfing to coming up with frankly weak nicknames like ‘Kamabala,’ it feels like he’s lost his mojo.”…
Asked about the perception that the change in Democratic candidates had thrown him off, Trump responded: “No, I think we’re doing great.” He proceeded to complain about how “unfair” the change was.
Late Night Schadenfreude Open Thread: TROMPEDPost + Comments (87)
War for Ukraine Day 914: If It’s a Day Ending in Day, the Russians Are Committing War Crimes & Crimes Against Humanity
Two quick housekeeping notes. First, Rosie is doing great. Not much more to report until her next chemo treatment a week from tomorrow. Thank you all for the good thoughts, well wishes, prayers, and donations.
Second, everything that was removed from under the bed and moved into the living room for a couple of days, which will now not fit under the new shorter frame, has now been brought back into the bedroom and stowed in the closet. I’ve done a lot of pick up, shield or farmer’s carry, put down, and then wrangle into place today. I’ve got a compression ice wrap on my arm and am going to keep this brief so I can go get cleaned up and rack out.
The Russians committed another war crime and crime against humanity in Kramatorsk today:
😔Russia killed Reuters journalist in #Kramatorsk.
The search and rescue operation is over. Six people were injured in the missile attack, including foreign journalists.
The body of the British journalist was found under the rubble after 19 hours of searching.
📹: RFE/RL pic.twitter.com/gTGWXK6VKb
— UkraineWorld (@ukraine_world) August 25, 2024
Here’s Reuters‘ statement:
— Reuters Press Team (@ReutersPR) August 25, 2024
Targeting civilian targets, like hotels, and civilians are violations of both International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and the Law of Armed Combat (LOAC).
Here is President Zelenskyy’s address from earlier today. Video below, English transcript after the jump.
Medium Cool – Celebration Songs!
Medium Cool is a weekly series related to popular culture, mostly film, TV, and books, with some music and games thrown in. We hope it’s a welcome break from the anger, hate, and idiocy we see almost daily from the other side in the political sphere.
Arguments welcomed, opinions respected, fools un-suffered. We’re here every Sunday at 7 pm.
It seems impossible that the Democratic Convention started not quite a week ago – I had to check the dates because it feels like a lot of time has passed since the convention. Is it just me who feels that way?
Anyway, tonight let’s share our favorite celebration songs!
No, we’re not prematurely celebrating a win in November. But damn, we had a great convention and a great week, so let’s celebrate that with some great music!
So, celebration songs, and nominations for songs that Harris-Walz could or should use at their public events.
Sunday Evening Open Thread: Voting Begins *Soon*
Ready or not, election season in the US starts soon. The first ballots will go out in just two weeks https://t.co/fSOKry0cPV
— The Associated Press (@AP) August 24, 2024
Warming up for a fresh week…Per the Associated Press, “The first ballots will go out in just two weeks”:
There are just over 70 days until Election Day on Nov. 5, but major dates, events and political developments will make it fly by. Think about it this way: The stretch between now and then is about as long as summer break from school in most parts of the country.
In just two weeks, Sept. 6, the first mail ballots get sent to voters. The first presidential debate is set for Sept. 10. Former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee, is scheduled to be sentenced in his New York hush money case on Sept. 18. And early in-person voting will start as soon as Sept. 20 in some states.
Here’s a look at why the calendar will move quickly now that the Democratic and Republican conventions are wrapped.
Who’s ready to vote?
The first batch of ballots typically sent out are ones to military and overseas voters. Under federal law, that must happen at least 45 days before an election — which this year is Sept. 21.Some states start earlier. North Carolina will begin sending mail ballots to all voters who request them, including military personnel and overseas voters, in just two weeks, Sept. 6.
Voter registration deadlines vary by state, with most falling between eight and 30 days before the election, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. The deadline is Oct. 7 in Georgia, one of this year’s most prominent presidential battlegrounds.
Nearly all states offer some version of in-person voting, though the rules and dates vary considerably. In Pennsylvania, another of the major presidential battleground states, voters can visit their local election office to request, complete and return a mail ballot beginning Sept. 16. For those counting, that’s about three weeks from now…
Sunday Evening Open Thread: Voting Begins *Soon*Post + Comments (79)