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Harris’ has chosen her DEI vice president. Her pick of Tim Walz rather than Josh Shapiro shows the fear that the democrats have of the pro-Hamas crowd and confidence that the vast majority of Jews will still vote democrat regardless. The democrats take the Jewish vote for granted much like they do for blacks. Shapiro might have helped Harris carry Pennsylvania. Walz will not help carry Minnesota since Minnesota will vote democrat anyway. That Walz can help in the rust belt is debatable in that because of his record, he is not likely to have appeal beyond hard core democrats who are going to vote for Harris anyway. So the only reason for Harris to pick Walz rather than Shapiro is that Walz is not Jewish.

Harris is 59 and Walz is 60 though he looks much older. He is a younger version of Bernie Sanders – who not surprisingly backed him. The Wall Street Journal listed some of his “accomplishments.” Here they are from the August 6^th edition:

• Increasing taxes, though Minnesota already has the fifth-highest top income-tax rate among the states, 9.85% at $193,000 of earnings for a single filer. Mr. Walz added a 1% surtax on net investment income above $1 million, while reducing deductions, and the Governor wanted more. 

Minnesota is a rare state that still levies a death tax, up to 16%, on top of the federal 40% rate, which is one reason the state is losing taxpayers to better climes. 

• Making an estimated 81,000 illegal immigrants in the state eligible for driver’s licenses, along with health insurance through the MinnesotaCare public marketplace. 

• Funding “the North Star Promise Program, which provides free college for students with a family income under $80,000,” including illegal immigrants. 

• Creating a state system for paid family and medical leave, capped at a combined 20 weeks a year and funded by a 0.88% payroll tax. 

• Mandating that public utilities generate 80% carbon-free electricity by 2030, ramping up to 100% by 2040. He’s a fervent believer in “climate action.” 

• Subsidizing electric vehicles by “requiring EV charging infrastructure within or adjacent to new commercial and multi-family buildings,” as the Governor’s office bragged. 

• Passing one of the nation’s most permissive abortion statutes that has essentially no limits and no age consideration for minors. 

• Declaring Minnesota to be a “trans refuge,” with a law saying that the state will ignore a “court order for the removal of a child issued in another state because the child’s parent or guardian assisted the child in receiving gender-affirming care in this state.” 

• Establishing automatic voter registration and letting Minnesotans sign up for a permanent absentee ballot option. 

So much like Trump’s pick of JD Vance (nee: “Little Trump”), Harris has picked Little Bernie. I said previously that Trump obviously felt that Vance would help him in the Rust Belt states and didn’t see the need to broaden his appeal to non republican voters. Else he would have picked Nikki Haley – remember JFK picked LBJ – or Tim Scott. People one said that Biden’s pick of Harris meant that there was a possibility – however faint – that Harris might become president. Well that possibility is faint no longer. If Trump were elected and did not serve out his full term – remember he is 78 – then we would get a president Vance. Do you really want JD Vance as president? I don’t. But I don’t want a president Walz either. And you thought a Trump-Biden or a Trump-Hillary or a Trump-Harris race was a conundrum? A Vance-Walz campaign would produce a president worse than any of the above. How in the world do we now have a political system that produces these awful choices of deciding to vote for who you think will do less damage to the country?

Harriet Barfield Black

August 6, 1918-April 14, 2020

That Kamala Harris will win the majority of votes for president shows the wisdom of the Founding Fathers in instituting a representative republic rather than a democracy. Harris is clearly not competent to be president – but again, neither is Biden.

Trump continues to be his own worse enemy. He goes to Georgia and lambastes Brian Kemp who had magnanimously endorsed Trump at the republican convention. Trump is the reason why the democrats took control of the senate when he discouraged republican voters in Georgia from going to the polls. The election of Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossloff was the result. Trump needs to shut his mouth and not tweet about anything except the actions of the Biden Administration.

Speaking of which, where’s Waldo – er Biden? Have you heard anything from him on the tanking of the Japanese stock index, the growing threat of wider war in the Middle East or Maduro reneging on his promise to have a fair election in exchange of lifting the oil sanctions? Me neither.

By the way, even though the press was hysterical about the market correction almost impling that the US market had crashed, it was mere hyperbole. The market went down only 2%. The Japanese market fell 20%. The reason for the decline was the Japanese central bank finally raising its bank rate to a paltry 0.25%. But when you have had negative rates, I guess 0.25% looks enormous. Investors had been borrowing money in Japan at those rates and investing abroad at higher rates. Maybe the Bank of Japan was signaling that cheap money days are ending. Will the Fed now raise rates in September?

The Fed is between a rock and a hard place. Any action on its part will now be deemed political. If it had raised rates at the last Open Market Committee it would have minimized any criticism (except from Trump). Some are now saying that if the Fed cuts rates it should be by 50 basis points rather than the traditional 25 bp. That would be a bad thing. A larger than anticipated cut would roil markets by signally a stronger imminent recession. The markets would tank. Word to the Fed: Don’t do it.

Much has been made of the weak job market numbers. Of course, the Harris campaign blamed Trump. Again, the truth is that the job market has been weak for a couple of years. Most of the hiring has been in governments and services at minimum wages. Very little job growth has been in the other sectors.

The polls now tell us that Harris is now slightly favored over Trump. Talk about gaslighting! Let’s see what they say in a month. Isn’t it curious that the least popular national politician with an approval rating in the 30s is now favored to become president? Only a fool would believe that. Are we now fools?

Harris’ DEI vice president pick is Tim Walz again proving that the vp doesn’t matter. Walz is not going to counter Vance in the rust belt states. He was picked because he was Bernie Sanders’ choice. Of course, the country elected Bernie Sanders although it thought it was electing the “moderate” Joe Biden. But once in the White House, Biden adopted most of Sanders’ agenda. Like Harris and Biden, Walz supports unlimited abortion and the LBGTQ trans agenda. Harris’ selection of Walz again shows that the most influential democrat is not even a democrat. 

The press is now saying that a recession would doom Harris’ chances. That is total BS. Harris’ chances are doomed because of the Biden Administration’s disastrous term.

Lastly, my mother would have been 106 today. She died at 101 and was a wonderful person. We all miss her deeply.

Threat to democracy

The democrats have shouted “threat to democracy” since the advent of Trump. They and their media allies have done such a great job that 80 percent of the public now believes that it is true. Both republicans and democrats agree on this issue. The democrats think that the republicans – in particular Trump – pose the threat while the republicans think that the democrats pose the threat. One poll of voters in swing states found that Biden was considered a greater threat than Trump and most swing voters think that both parties are an equal threat to democracy.

The so-called threat to democracy and abortion have been the focus of the democrats’ campaign. Apparently they cannot run on their record. The republicans have mainly run on the issues, with the exception of Trump occasionally conducting a name calling personal vendetta. When the democrats cite the threats to democracy they point to January 6, voter suppression, Trump not accepting the results of the 2020 election and his comment on wanting to be dictator for a day. Of course, the democrats never accepted the legitimacy of Trump’s election either and Biden has ruled by executive order and ignored the rulings of the Supreme Court. Somehow those are considered legitimate by the democrats. Republicans fear that democrats will steal elections with ballot harvesting, ballot box stuffing and outright fraud. The democrats want to make (or keep) voting easy while the republicans want to eliminate early voting and limit voting by mail. Interestingly, this is done in many countries including England and France.

The democrats actually are threatening the republic and want to impose a quasi-democracy. They want to ignore or repeal the foundations of the country and its representative republic. They want to eliminate the electoral college in favor or a direct vote for president. They want to pack the Supreme Court. They want to make the Constitution a “living document” and repeal the second amendment. They would like open borders and allowing illegals to vote. They want an industrial policy and for the government to direct private enterprise. The democrats have conducted lawfare that would make banana republics proud. They have prosecuted many of Trump’s lieutenants and Trump himself. They have come down hard on the January 6 demonstrators while letting walk violent protestors on the left. They have tried to keep Trump off the ballot in several states. The democrats ignored the democratic process in choosing their presidential nominee. When Biden abdicated, he anointed vice president Harris. The party leaders then nominated her even though she was not selected by the voters. 

Biden and the democrats say that The MAGA movement is a clear and present danger to American democracy. It will be interesting to see what they say when Trump finally leaves the scene. 

The irony is that the party that accuses the other of being a threat to democracy is one that ignores the will of the people by imposing rules and regulations that run counter to the preferences of the people. Biden’s green energy policies that seek to ban gas powered vehicles, stoves, weed eaters, HVAC units, lawn mowers and other stuff is not embraced by the general public. The banning of natural gas, the shutting down of pipelines, solar farms, windmills and other green initiatives are not favored by the public. Title IX changes. DEI mandates across the Biden administration and the woke military would not pass a public referenda. These are clearly nondemocratic dictates but the democrats ignore that fact. If the democrats so favor democracy, then why not put all of their actions on the ballot?

Recall that the Founding Fathers feared a democracy because of the tyranny of the majority. We all know the wisdom in that fear. Public sentiment is capricious. At one time the majority of the voting public favored slavery, denying women the vote and segregation. Rule by democracy will threaten the stability of the country and civil violence will be seen as the only way to counter the dictates of the majority.

So who is the greater threat to democracy?

Kamala’s word salads

Kamala Harris is famous for her word salads. The latest being when she and Biden met the prisoners released by the Russians. She said “This is just an extraordinary testament to the importance of have a president who understands the power of diplomacy and understands the strength that rests in understanding the significance of diplomacy.” However, the release from her campaign on X was “This is an extraordinary day and I am thankful for our president. This is an extraordinary testament to the importance of having a president who understands the power of diplomacy and strengthening of alliances. This is an incredible day and you can see it in the families and in their eyes.”

Is this what they mean by gaslighting? If her campaign is going to have to interpret what she is saying they probably need to hire a full time staffer just for that purpose.

I googled some of her other words of wisdom.

“I can imagine what can be, and be unburdened by what has been.”

“I love Venn diagrams. I really do, I love Venn diagrams. It’s just something about those three circles and the analysis about where there is the intersection, right?”

“I don’t know what’s wrong with you young people, you think you just fell out of a coconut tree.” “You exist in the context of all in which you live and what you came before you.”

“Who doesn’t love a yellow school bus, right? Can you raise your hand if you love a yellow school bus? Many of us went to school on the yellow school bus, right? It’s part of our experience growing up.”

“Culture is — it is a reflection of our moment in our time, right? And in present culture is the way we express how we’re feeling about the moment.”

She declared the 2024 race for the White House “is the most election of our lifetime.”

“So, I think it’s very important, as you have heard from so many incredible leaders, for us at every moment in time — and certainly this one — to see the moment in time in which we exist and are present, and to be able to contextualize it, to understand where we exist in the history and in the moment as it relates not only to the past but the future.”

“We invested an additional $12 billion into community banks, because we know community banks are in the community, and understand the needs and desires of that community as well as the talent and capacity of community.” 

“We also recognize just as it has been in the United States, for Jamaica, one of the issues that has been presented as an issue that is economic in the way of its impact has been the pandemic.”  “So to that end, we are announcing today also that we will assist Jamaica in COVID recovery by assisting in terms of the recovery efforts in Jamaica that have been essential to, I believe, what is necessary to strengthen not only the issue of public health but also the economy.”

“it’s time for us to do what we have been doing, and that time is every day” 

“I think that, to be very honest with you, I do believe that we should have rightly believed, but we certainly believe that certain issues are just settled. Certain issues are just settled.”

 “We’ve got to take this stuff seriously, as seriously as you are because you have been forced to take this seriously.” 

“I think the first part of this issue that should be articulated is AI is kind of a fancy thing.” “First of all, it’s two letters. It means artificial intelligence, but ultimately what it is, is it’s about machine learning.”

“This issue of transportation is fundamentally about just making sure that people have the ability to get where they need to go! It’s that basic.”

“And we should always find times to express how we feel about the moment that is a reflection of joy, because as you know, it comes in the morning.”

She also spoke at a White House event for Women’s History Month to “honor the women who made history throughout history.”

And of course “The problem of solving a problem is not a problem, but when a problem solves a problem without any problem. Then the problem is not a problem at all.”

But hey, nobody is perfect.

Remember when Joe Biden wasn’t holding press conferences? It was an attempt by his aides to hide his cognitive decline. So why has Harris not even had a television interview since being anointed as the democrat nominee? Its really weird (the new technical political term) since she would be given softball questions as the interviewing democrat surrogates fawned all over her.

Harris skipped Netanyahu’s “useful idiots” speech before Congress but met with him afterwards. I don’t condemn her absence due to a scheduling conflict – she spoke to the national convention of Zeta Phi Beta sorority, a black professional sorority founded at her alma mater Howard University. Lost in some of the condemnations is that JD Vance also missed the speech due to a conflict.  However, Tlaib showed up with her ping pong paddle – maybe she was looking for a match (she is divorced). All the democrats who boycotted the speech would have been better served if all had shown up and simply sat on their hands. Not showing up was petty.

I wonder why Harris is delaying the naming of her vice president choice. The press has said that Mark Kelly, Josh Shapiro, Tim Walz, Andy Beshear and Pete Buttigieg are the finalists. Kelly’s had a rocky first marriage that ended in a messy divorce. His wife filed a restraining order against him. Of course he was an astronaut and is now married to Gabby Giffords but his divorce may be a distraction in the campaign. Shapiro is Jewish (but so is Harris’ husband). Walz is a terrible governor and it is curious why he is even in the finals. Beshear is a two term popular democrat governor of a state that will vote for Trump. He may be the best choice but his popularity is linked to his family name which may not translate to the general public. Buttigieg is the DEI Secretary of Transportation. He had an undistinguished record as a small time mayor and was derisively known as “Pothole” Pete. He has been an awful Transportation secretary – perhaps the worse in history. Remember his reaction to the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio? Or to the air safety system outage? Buttigieg has no accomplishments. His only attribute that gives him notoriety is that he is gay, All are white males. Why just white males? Is this a DEI choice? I have posted before that Michelle Obama as vice president would be a much better choice. There is also Amy Klobouchar. Or how about Julian Castro? It is difficult to see any of the “finalists” adding to the democrat ticket other than Beshear, which means he probably won’t be picked.

Trump continues to be his own worse enemy. Instead of attacking Harris’ record he goes off about her ethnicity declaring that she only recently started referring to herself as black for political gain. I guess Trump forgot that Harris went to Howard University – an HBCU – instead of Berkeley and Stanford (where her parents worked) unlike her sister. Trump posted “Crazy Kamala is saying she’s Indian, not black. This is a big deal. Stone cold phony. She uses everybody, including her racial identity!” 

Trump or Kamala? Is this a Hobson’s choice? Trump is a tiresome bully. Four more years of Trump means the re-igniting of Fake News, insulting tweets, reverse lawfare, retribution, braggadocio, posturing, tariffs on our allies, coddling of dictators but less harmful regulation, a roll back of the Green New Deal and more energy independence. Harris is Biden on steroids with more pages of regulations, more trillions to their green buddies, less economic growth, higher inflation and most importantly, less freedom.  I guess for many the choice comes down to which one will do the least amount of economic damage to the country while in office. That is also a consideration for me. But the greatest consideration is which one will do the greatest damage to the fabric of the country. Without a doubt, that person is Kamala Harris. As my other half has said “OMG! Don’t tell me I am going to have to vote for Donald Trump again!”

Nicholas Maduro was reportedly around 30 points down in the polls leading up to the election in Venezuela. So naturally after the election he declared himself the winner and moved swiftly to silence widespread protests given proof to the old adage that “Its easy to vote in socialism but you have to shoot your way out of it.”

The Wall Street Journal’s liberal opinion writer William Galston writes in the July 31 edition that JD Vance “is unfit to be vice president of the United States for many reasons, chiefly because he has shown a disregard for the constitutional balance of powers and the rule of law.” By that standard Galston should then argue that virtually every elected politician is unfit to serve. Perhaps he is ignoring Joe Biden – the ignorer in chief – who has shown a total disregard for the rule of law. Must I remind Galston of Dobbs, of presidential immunity, and student loans? What about the court rulings on Title IX and liquid natural gas? Biden has ignored all these and more – and not a peep from Galston.

Kamala Harris is accused of flip-flopping. That is about as surprising as discovering that the pope is Catholic. She was the most liberal senator in the Senate – even to the left of Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Chris Murphy. She has favored defunding the police, eliminating private health insurance, the Green New Deal, posting bail for the George Floyd demonstrators, accusing Justice Kavanaugh of rape, reinstating Roe, getting rid of the filibuster, sympathizing with the proHamas crowd, opposed fracking and offshore drilling, open borders, getting rid of ICE, gun control, abortion on demand up until birth, Supreme Court packing, increased entitlements, anti-right to work law and socialized medicine. I probably left out a few. Again Trump should ratchet back the “Lying Kamala” rhetoric and just campaign on her record. Lest we forget that as California attorney general, Harris had the home of a pro-life journalist raided and tried to put him in jail for publishing videos of Planned Parenthood discussing the selling of aborted baby body parts. This from a person that George Stephanopoulos calls “middle-of-the-road”. Stephanopoulos is “Lying George.”

Just to be “fair and balanced” I don’t like JD Vance either. Vance is fully on board with Trump’s tariffs. Contrary to what both think, evidence supports that tariffs raise prices to domestic consumers and kills jobs. Protectionism doesn’t work. Tariffs shrink economic growth and limit consumer choice. It is one of those policies intended to get votes by sounding good. As my father used to say “That sounds good – if you are interested in sounds.” Vance sounds like a democrat in backing unions and demonizing Wall Street. Vance – not Harris – said that it was great visiting the striking auto workers in Toledo. It was Vance – not Harris – who called for a $7,500 subsidy for buying a US made gas powered automobile. He is for industrial policy. Can’t he see the disaster of Biden’s industrial policy? Maybe he just thinks it is just the wrong industrial policy. He may be the only so-called conservative who admires the FTC’s Lina Kahn who seems to be the Biden administration’s most consistent loser in court. Perhaps Trump will keep her on if elected. I know that when Trump picked Vance he signaled that it was more important to shore up the voters in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan and Wisconsin rather than trying to broaden his appeal to swing voters. But Trump has also picked someone who borders on being an anti-capitalist populist. In so doing, the republican party is deviating sharply from its fundamental principles and has become a pandering pitiful caricature of itself. It is a place where free market laissez-faire conservatives – like I am – are no longer welcome.

The Beautiful US Women’s Olympic Gymnastics Team

I am a sports fan but not a fan of the Olympics. I can’t really explain why I prefer to read about its results rather than watch them. I admire the athletes, their physical prowess and mental determination. However, I do not watch any of the Olympic sports outside the Olympics and see no reason to watch them during it either. I am not a basketball fan. I don’t watch tennis. I don’t watch college gymnastics or track and field or archery or shooting or sailing or rowing or badminton or weight lifting or handball or any of the rest. But I do read about the results. I read about the disgraceful parody of the Last Supper and the LBGTQ display during the opening of the games. I shrugged it off attributing it as being typically French – who seem to have always been a bit libertine.

Nonetheless, I was struck by the picture of the US Women’s Gymnastics Team who won team gold. We all know about the star, Simone Biles. But look at the rest. If there is another better example of the American melting pot, I would like to see it. This is what DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) should be. Every one of the team members is of a different ethnic background. Remember when it was rare to see a gymnast of color? Perhaps the college programs changed when a large percentage of participants are now nonwhite. The American team is beautiful and shows all the whiners on the left that you do not have to lower standards to achieve equality. Here is the American team:

Simone Biles – black

Jade Carey – white

Jordan Chiles – black/Hispanic

Suni Lee – Hmong

Hezly Rivera – Dominican

Random thoughts

Was I the only one who throught that the patch Trump wore on his ear looked like the ones that my mother put on my skinned knees? Surely a doctor’s patch would look differently.

In a recent posting by Southern Living magazine is an article “20 Sunday recipes just like Grandma used to make” with a photo of chicken enchiladas! Neither one of my grandmothers likely had never heard the word “enchiladas” much less have made it. Also on the list were beef casserole, chicken spaghetti casserole, classic chicken tetrazzini and chicken and wild rice casserole. Please show me a southern grandmother who could even spell tetrazzini. Now pot roast, fried pork chops, fried chicken, chili, beef stew and chicken pot pie – yes! However, they left out fried oysters, fried steak and pan fried cornbread – staples in both households.

I wish Trump would stop calling his opponents names. “Lying Kamala” seems to be his current favorite for Harris. I presume this is because she – and a host of others – lied about Biden’s mental condition. This from a person that the Washington Post’s Fact Index says lied 35,573 during his four years in office. This would mean that Trump, according to the Post, lied an average of 24 times 7 days a week for 4 years. The Post found that Biden “only” lied 78 times during his first 100 days in office but then mysteriously shut down its Fact Checker for the rest of his term – likely because as we all know Joe Biden is a serial liar. As to 35,573 is it possible that the Post is lying?

As I pointed out before, the Legislative Scorecard had Harris as the most liberal senator – even more liberal than Elizabeth Warren or Bernie Sanders. Well Sanders says that Trump is lying when he calls Harris more liberal. Sanders said “It’s not true. Once again, Trump is lying. Let me just simply say that for better or for worse, Kamala Harris is not more progressive than I am.” Oops. The Legislative Scorecard says that Sanders is lying. Who knew that politicians lie? It’s hard to tell if they ever tell the truth. Remember the old saying about “How can you tell a politician is lying?”

Trump should just run on Biden’s record and point out that Harris is to the left of Biden. There is not a single progressive initiative that she opposes. The Green New Deal, universal income, banning right to work, increasing minimum wages, broadening government health care, overturning Dobbs, gun control, increasing corporate and personal tax rates and rent controls are only a few of her priorities. Her first speech after Biden’s abdication had the left salivating. She talked about her positions and each one was high on the leftist agenda. It is though both she and Trump have abandoned courting the uncommitted middle of the road independent voter. This is the milquetoast bunch that must have whiplash from changing their votes every four years.

Sanders and his ilk are salivating over the possibility of a Harris presidency. Her administration will make Biden’s look like Reagan’s. Don’t think that if the republicans hold on to the House and even retake the Senate that they would be able to stop a runaway socialist agenda. The congressional republicans have proven inept at slowing down Biden’s shift to the left through his executive orders and agency mandates. Only the republican attorney generals with their lawsuits have been able to negate some of the more egregious dictates. Expect more of the same if Harris somehow gets elected.

Don’t think that her becoming president is farfetched because of her unpopularity. The media will mold a completely new image for her. The voting public has a notoriously short memory. Trump is still Trump and will continue to be his own worse enemy. If the republicans had nominated anyone else, that person would be ahead by 20 points and would have a landslide victory similar to that of Nixon’s over George McGovern. I am reminded of the football player who in the last second breaks away for the winning touchdown only to drop the ball right before he crosses the goal line. If anyone could blow this election, it is Donald Trump.

These are a few of my favorite jokes

Some jokes

Now That I’m older………..  

My goal for 2024 was to lose 10 pounds. Only have 14 to go.

Ate salad for dinner. Mostly croutons and tomatoes. Really just one big round crouton covered with tomato sauce, and cheese. FINE, it was a pizza…. OK, I ate a pizza! Are you happy now? 

How to prepare Tofu: 

a. Throw it in the trash 

b. Grill some meat, chicken or fish

I just did a week’s worth of cardio after walking into a spider web.

I don’t mean to brag, but I finished my 14-day diet food supply in 3 hours and 20 minutes.

Kids today don’t know how easy they have it. When I was young, I had to walk 9 feet through shag carpet to change the TV channel.

Remember back when we were kids and every time it was below zero outside they closed school? Yeah, Me neither.

I may not be that funny or athletic or good looking or smart or talented. I forgot where I was going with this.

I think I’ll just put an “Out of Order” sticker on my forehead and call it a day.

Just remember, once you’re over the hill you begin to pick up speed.

It’s weird being the same age as old people.

Life is like a helicopter. I don’t know how to operate a helicopter

Chocolate is God’s way of telling us he likes us a little bit chubby.

It’s probably my age that tricks people into thinking I’m an adult.

Never sing in the shower! Singing leads to dancing, dancing leads to slipping, and slipping leads to paramedics seeing you naked. So remember…Don’t sing!

I see people mountain climbing; I feel good getting my leg through my underwear without losing my balance.

So if a cow doesn’t produce milk, is it a milk dud or an udder failure?

If you can’t think of a word say “I forgot the English word for it.” That way people will think you’re bilingual instead of an idiot.

I’m at a place in my life where errands are starting to count as going out.

Don’t be worried about your smartphone or TV spying on you. Your vacuum cleaner has been collecting dirt on you for years.

I don’t always go the extra mile, but when I do it’s because I missed my exit.

You don’t realize how old you are until you sit on the floor and then try to get back up.

We all get heavier as we get older, because there’s a lot more information in our heads. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

We celebrate Jesus brutally dying on the cross by getting a giant bunny rabbit to hide chocolate eggs.

I can’t help but feel there is a massive gap in information somewhere.

My mother a lifelong republican who detested the democrat party voted for Barack Obama. Mother did so only because Obama was black. Having grown up in the deep south with her grandmother living with her parents, mother had living evidence of what the democrat party had wroth. Her grandmother was a slave. The family had survived and prospered despite Jim Crow, the Ku Klux Klan, rampant racism and stereotyping. Mother thought she would never see the day when the public schools in Georgia would integrate. We had a lynching in the family. The Klan came after a cousin who sought refuge at the family farm. She knew the struggles to get the vote. She recalled that blacks in Jones County were not allowed to vote inside the courthouse. Rather they filled out their ballot and deposited it in a box at the courthouse door guarded by the sheriff.  She went to Fort Valley State, the closest HBCU and received their first four year degree. Her mother was the one room school marm for black kids in Jones County but only had a high school degree. Mother became a lifelong second grade teacher and along with my dad was the strongest advocate of getting an education to escape poverty. All she wanted was for whites to leave blacks alone. Left to their own devices, she felt that few blacks would leave the company of their kind, their neighborhoods, their churches, their fraternities and sororities, their brothers and sisters. That blacks were relegated to second class citizenship and openly discriminated against by southern democrats galled her. She (and Dad) insisted that the national democrat party was no better, just more subtle. Yet she voted for Obama, simply because he was black. For mother, his politics did not matter. Only his color mattered. Given all that she had seen and gone through during her long lifetime, Obama’s nomination and election would be the ultimate achievement for American blacks, once enslaved, denigrated, discriminated against, and now president. 

If she were alive, she would also vote for Kamala Harris. I wonder how many blacks who were going to vote against Biden will now vote for Harris. Of course, the vast majority of black women were going to vote for Biden regardless so Harris would get only a few additional votes from black women. But black men? One thing though is crystal clear, we are going to be inundated with the media elevating Harris to godlike status. She is going to be on the receiving end of a tremendous influx of funds from the democrats’ billionaire donors. Hollywood is going to make her a star. You think the democrat/media/academic elites gaslighted the public about Biden? You haven’t seen anything yet. All of Harris’ failures will be either explained away or ignored. Her word salads will now be cited as examples of linguistic subtlety. Her international trips will now show her grasp of foreign affairs. Her record as California attorney general will now be touted that even progressives can be tough on crime. She will be tutored not to cackle. No matter what the republicans point to as a weakness will now become a strength. 

One of the truly dumb statements now coming from the republicans is that her lying about Biden’s mental and physical conditions disqualifies her from being president. Who are they kidding? A politician lying? Who knew? Criticisms of Harris will always be countered loudly and tacitly as being racist and chauvinistic. It’s not her record that the republicans will be accused of attacking but her gender and her race (or races). This will force the republicans to tread lightly. So beware. This is now a candidate that will dominate fundraising, media fawning, Hollywood glitz and glowing headlines. She will now be St. Kamala. Despite what the republicans think, what was going to be a landslide victory for Trump will now be competitive. Who is gaslighting the public now? In many ways, Harris reminds me of Chance the gardener in “Being There.” Harris will be a formidable opponent.