“There I was, minding my own business, when …” That’s the beginning of many a tall tale, a friend recently reminded me.
It doesn’t have the popularity of preambles like “Once upon a time,” or “Did you hear about,” or the classic heft of “In the beginning.” But it has more predictive power — you know that something disruptive is about to happen — and it’s likely to be funny. Wise listeners will perk up their ears.
Someone may be saying it right now.
“There I was, minding my own business, when JD Vance walked in with a camera crew to buy some donuts.”
It wasn’t employed often during last week’s well-orchestrated Democratic National Convention in Chicago, at least not on stage. I didn’t watch the convention live — there were stars that required my attention before sunrise, so I couldn’t stay up late — but I tried to catch up on the following days via news, video clips, friends, Heather Cox Richardson, etc. Every morning I felt more elated and light-hearted than the one before.
Some stories from it are sticking with me, like that of Amanda Zurawski, a Texas mother who almost died because doctors were reluctant to treat her premature labor — a direct result of the state’s extreme abortion ban. It warmed my heart to see former Rep. Gabby Giffords — who was shot at a public event in her Arizona district in 2011, an unfortunate precursor to more deadly events to come — and who is the very picture of determination and resilience. Nowhere is the contrast between the two major parties so stark as where Democrats fight to save children from gun deaths — the leading cause of death in youth between 0 and 24 — and Republicans fight to save guns from life-saving regulations.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz continued to prove his worth on the presidential ticket during his rousing acceptance speech on Wednesday. As if his life story and accomplishments as governor weren’t substantial enough, the fact that the Republicans in the U.S. House have opened an investigation into him legitimizes him like nothing else. If they’re wasting time and tax money on Walz, he’s a heavy hitter.
His speech generated another story as his 17-year-old neurodivergent son, Gus, stood with tears in his eyes to proudly proclaim, “That’s my dad!”
You teared up. You know you did. You’re doing it right now. Any human being with a beating heart would. (More on that in the “Overflow” section below.)
Then, on Thursday, to wild acclaim, Vice President Kamala Harris told her story, summarizing her values and goals in the phrase she first used as a prosecutor: “Kamala Harris, for the people.”
It sure beats “You’re fired.”
Yet my favorite story from the week, I must confess, was the one singer/songwriter Pink, a hell of a woman, sang: “What About Us,” accompanied by bandmates and her 13-year-old daughter, Willow. Pink wrote the song, she says, when she “was angry about what’s happening in the world.” (President Pink, 2032?)
Harris has been talking about her plans for a few weeks now, including at a rally in Raleigh on Aug. 16. They include reducing the cost of health care, a national ban on price gouging (many states, including North Carolina, already have similar bans) and immigration reform. She says she’ll sign and pass the strict bipartisan bill that former president and convicted felon Donald Trump nixed for his selfish political advantage. Her opponents have mischaracterized these positions as “price fixing” and “open borders,” as her opponents will do. Reporters were quick to ask for details. Quicker than they seemed to be about her opponent’s plan, which amounts to “end inflation” and “drill baby drill.” Oh, and to use tariffs to raise expenses on Americans while pretending they don’t.
It’s good that the press should scrutinize Harris, though. It’s part of the job.
I’m not too worried about the details. At this point in any campaign, a platform is going to be more aspirational than practical; a wish list, a statement of values, a promise made to the public that this is what I care about. A lot of her success would depend on Congress working with her and the Supreme Court curbing its activist excesses. She’d have to work around obstacles, like President Biden did when he began to relieve the burden of debt being carried by college students, which prevented them from contributing to the economy and society.
But as Harris explains her aspirations, they meet my approval. I, too, want to see a country in which all Americans have opportunities. And I, too, see a country of beauty and potential, one that she is energizing with joy rather than fear.
I’ll tell you one story I’m sick of hearing, though: It’s the story that America is not “ready.”
We weren’t “ready” for a Black president.
Now we’re not “ready” for a female president.
We’re probably not “ready” for a clean environment or an economic system that compensates working people adequately.
The hell with that. I’m ready for it and I’ll bet you are, too. I’m ready for solutions to the challenges that have persisted for far too long, from providing affordable health care to the entire populace to halting the climate change that threatens our planet’s future. I’m so tired of problems that want to be solved — that we need to be solved — but can’t be solved because of politics and money. Enough with the people who want to keep us up to our thighs in the swamp of ignorance. Enough with the people who think that Gus Walz is “fair game” and that real men don’t cry. Enough with the people who have never left their small-town borders but think they’re experts on the world because of something they heard Sean Hannity say. We’re ready. Kamala Harris wants to get shit done. Let’s get some shit done.
There are competing stories about America today, our nature, our history and our purpose. One goes, “God gave us this land to rule,” “us” being white Christians. It’s reflected in Trump’s deal to empower evangelicals, autocrats and oil moguls, expressed in Project 2025, and persecute anyone who doesn’t go along.
The other goes, “Our nation, however imperfectly formed, was founded on the dual principles of freedom (religious and otherwise) and equality. Let’s work together to make that a reality for everyone.” That’s Harris’s version.
I’m with her.
…….
Overflow:
“Hello, fellow donut eaters.”
Being an over-educated know-it-all, I have to offer the proper way to order two dozen donuts:
“Which are the freshest? Give me six of those, please. And six glazed. Three chocolate-covered. Three crullers. What’s your favorite? OK, three of those. Two cinnamon. And an apple fritter. Thanks.”
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Here’s Trump’s plan to fix inflation:
https://trumpcereal.com/products/trump-cereal-1
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If you believe that every picture tells a story, consider that the headline on the front page of the Wall Street Journal in this picture, taken on Aug. 15, reads, “Inflation Hits Lowest Level Since 2021.”
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Price gouging is already illegal in that socialist bastion, North Carolina:
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You’ve probably heard about the ugliness that ensued from the vilest of far-right corners in response to Gus Walz’s exuberance — and the slap-downs then experienced by those trolls. If not, this is an excellent summary:
Let me just add that those gross reactions are not representative of all Republicans, many of whom, probably the majority, were also offended by them. Many Republican officials, like our own state Sen. Joyce Krawiec, have fought for years to increase and improve resources for people with learning disabilities.
Now if they’d just stop supporting access to the weapons used to murder children:
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"I believe in the idea of amnesty for those who have put down roots and lived here, even though sometime back they may have entered illegally.” — Ronald Reagan, 1984
“We can live up to our proud heritage as a nation of immigrants and reform our broken immigration system. We can create an earned pathway to citizenship and secure our border.” — Vice President Kamala Harris, 2024
But she’s the radical.
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On Friday, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. officially endorsed Trump, leading five of his siblings to sign a statement saying, in part, “Our brother Bobby’s decision to endorse Trump today is a betrayal of the values that our father and our family hold most dear. It is a sad ending to a sad story.”
"Kamala Harris declined to meet or even to speak with me." — Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
“Well, she’s got my vote.” — me
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Several prominent Republicans spoke at the Democratic National Convention, denouncing Trump and endorsing Kamala Harris:
But those who only get their news from Fox didn’t see any of them:
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Kid Rock and Lee Greenwood together couldn’t do this:
I discuss these and similar topics in my book, Stardust and Scar Tissue, available from my friends at Bookmarks, the Book Ferret, the Central Library or directly from the publisher, Press 53.
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Thanks for putting into words and videos the things the rest of us were thinking but didn't know how to say. Oh, wow, Mick. I may be 85 next month and I can't go door to door, or march around at a Juneteenth gathering with an Obama sign in Texas or sit on the floor putting pamphlet pack together, but I can phone call and by God I'm doing it this weekend.
Thanks for putting into words and videos the things the rest of us were thinking but didn't know how to say. Oh, wow, Mick. I may be 85 next month and I can't go door to door, or march around at a Juneteenth gathering with an Obama sign in Texas or sit on the floor putting pamphlet pack together, but I can phone call and by God I'm doing it this weekend.
P.S. I sent you the following video of an interview wherein Martin Sheen talks about the DNC convention and is moved to tears by a Wesst Wing scene he never saw before. And here's an article pointing out the difference between RNC and DNC signage at the conventions.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/audience-signs-and-chants-at-the-dnc-were-all-about-america-at-the-rnc-it-was-the-trump-show/ar-AA1pnt73?ocid=socialshare&pc=HCTS&cvid=faa7fd1d8a6c4bd4987f93dd3f35d9a3&ei=13