Morning Update: 07/25/24
Today pretty much starts the beginning of the school season for us. While classes don’t start until Monday, the next two days are full of all those last-minute things that must be completed in order to make the start of school successful. Kat’s schedule at the salon has gotten crazy, so I’ll be taking Tipper to the PPHS main campus first, then escorting G to the Lab for his stuff. G only needs me for those things that might require a parent’s signature. I’m sure somewhere in the middle of everything we’ll do lunch because these kids have this thing going where they like to eat. A lot.
While a large part of yesterday was spent sleeping, the cats decided to be overly active. That excess energy went on through the night as Queen Bit and Fred Fredburger were hissing and fussing at each other to the point I’m not sure Kat got much sleep at all. There were things knocked off tables, things knocked over, things dug out and scattered… you know, all the things cats do in those moments when the humans in the house need to be sleeping. There’s something wrong with the bottom of my bedroom door this morning that I’ve yet to figure out, and yeah, I’m pretty sure a cat had something to do with that, too. It’s never boring.
As I was quickly browsing the various news sources, Tipper came in and read this over my shoulder from TheSkimm’.
What’s going on: Vice President Kamala Harris stands to be the first Black and South Asian female presidential candidate — a point of attack among conservatives. Right-wing politicians and media personalities have called Harris a “DEI candidate,” attributing her political career to her skin color. Harris has also been accused of sleeping her way to the top and is the target of unvalidated “birther” conspiracies due to her immigrant heritage. Meanwhile, her husband, Doug Emhoff, is on the receiving end of antisemitic attacks. Recent analysis from the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism (GPAHE) found that hateful and violent speech toward Harris rose 33% on Truth Social and 50% on Telegram from July 19 to July 21.
What it means: Harris isn’t the first candidate to face these kinds of attacks. Former President Obama and Hillary Clinton got their fair share of it. However, Harris could be getting the worst of it. Even during the 2020 Democratic primaries, the Wilson Center found that Harris faced more gendered abuse and targeted disinformation than other female candidates. Now, some congressional Republican leaders are warning their members from using that playbook against Harris, urging them to focus on her political career and policies under the Biden administration. That’s because racist or misogynistic attacks against Harris could alienate swing voters like suburban women or voters of color.
Tipper’s question was, “Why? What reason does anyone have for not wanting a black president or a woman president? It doesn’t make any sense.”
No, baby girl, it doesn’t make any sense. Nothing about the Republican party in its current state makes any sense. The overt authoritarianism, racism, and sexism have no excuse. The fact that their own leaders have to tell their members to behave shows how unreasonable, unintelligent, uncaring, and undesirable the party is. Even worse, as I’ve said before, this isn’t just at the Presidential level. Republicans are this nasty all the way down to the bottom of the ballot. For them, Project 2025 isn’t just a wish list for taking control of the government, it is a plan for taking over the world. This is why they must be stopped. The party in its current form must be destroyed. Is there room for a conservative voice in politics? Yes, but a true conservative doesn’t exist in the modern dialogue. What the GOP currently represents is chaos in all its worst forms and it must be eliminated.
Meanwhile, Mother Nature continues to fight back on the open seas as Typhoon Gaemi sinks a freighter off Taiwan, and barrels towards the Chinese seaboard. Amidst all our own noise, there are signs that the planet is getting fed up with our nonsense. News flash: the planet is going to win. Species of beings come and go. The planet is going to take care of itself if we don’t. We need to be aware of the message it is sending.
Nestle cuts sales growth outlook as consumers become increasingly cost-conscious. What can I say other than it’s about fucking time? Nestle has been especially bad about having an “anything for a dime” attitude over the past several years. CEO Mark Schneider has an attitude that all natural resources are best managed through capitalistic markets. That includes water and, yes, even clean air. Nestle has a massive portfolio of products and the company has been regularly increasing prices since 2020 to bolster their profits. So, if consumers are finally saying, “We can do without that,” then that’s a good thing.
Oh, did you see that Utah was awarded the 2034 Winter Olympics? Did you know that the award comes with a catch? The IOC would only give Utah the games after the state’s politicians signed an agreement to lobby the FBI to end its investigation into the Chinese doping scandal at the Tokyo Games. That’s right, this is the IOC attempting to interfere with US law enforcement. That seems to be a pretty bold move considering the fact that UTAH WAS THE ONLY BIDDER FOR THE GAMES. No one else wants them. So, if the FBI doesn’t back down, what the fuck is the IOC going to do? I think we need to be having conversations as to whether the Olympic Games, in their current form, are worth continuing. They’re expensive for the host city, often incurring costs that are never recovered, and upsetting the lives of the people who live there. We need to end that attitude that says sports is king and look at the reality of paid players at the amateur level and re-format the whole mess so that international athletic competition isn’t a mask for an international power move by a bunch of oligarchs, which is exactly what the IOC is.
Finally, that whole “single cat lady” thing isn’t going away, Mr. Vance. Today, it’s Jennifer Anniston who’s speaking out against the wildly ridiculous statement from the GOP Vice Presidential candidate. Don’t think celebrity comments matter? Kamala Harris has Gen Z appeal with young voters largely because of celebrity endorsements. Plus, statements like this pull women across all age groups together against a common enemy: stupid men. This is why women will be deciding this year’s election. They’re pissed and they’re registered to vote.
So, off we go now. There may be pictures on Facebook if you’re watching throughout the day. Depends on how shy the kids are feeling.
Morning Update: 09/04/24
Every parent harbors an unspoken fear of something happening to their children. When that moment comes, or it possibly has come, one has to make a decision on how to react. G tested our response yesterday, though he was never in any real danger and arrived home without our help. The “unexpected adventure” started simply enough. “I’m going to explore more of bus route 15 since I have more time today,” was the text he sent me a little before 4:00 yesterday afternoon. I told him that was fine. Having a good knowledge of the bus route is never a bad thing. But then…
When the bus got to the end of the route, he got off. The next bus heading back into town wouldn’t be there for another hour. So, G decided to walk to the nearby Home Depot and explore there for a while. Not finding the store very stimulating, he decided to walk the bus route back, catching the bus at a different stop along the way. While walking along the route, though, he was struck by a sense of nostalgia as he remembered some of the neighborhoods from when his school bus went through them. He detoured to explore a little bit.
As he walked, G’s phone died. He looked around for a public place where he might plug in his charger for a minute, but he was surrounded by retail stores, none of which were conducive to finding an open outlet. He decided to keep walking. And walking.
I didn’t grow concerned until I stepped outside to start the grill for dinner, around 6:30. I sent him a message, but got no response. To some degree, that’s not unusual. G doesn’t live with his phone in front of his face like some teens do. He frequently misses messages completely. When he still wasn’t home and I hadn’t heard anything by 7:00, though, it was time to call Kat. We discussed our options for a moment. We didn’t want to overreact. Still, we both know that Indy’s not the safest place to walk. Over 100 pedestrians were hit on the streets here just in August. After talking it over for a while, Kat decided she’d head back in from Fishers to look for him. I planned to take the meat off the grill, put Hamilton in a harness, and start walking from this direction.
As I was about to take the meat off the grill, I looked up and saw G coming down the sidewalk. I called Kat to let her know that he was safe. G trotted the rest of the way home and jumped the front fence. He had walked the entire six-plus miles from the end of the bus route. He came in, plugged in his phone, called his mom, ate leftover tacos, and fell fast asleep. Our boy was safe. We breathed a sigh of relief.
By this point, Tipper was already asleep as well. I ate my dinner alone, watched a couple of short documentaries, and went to bed thankful that we hadn’t become a statistic in the number of families who lost children. We’re fortunate that G’s a sharp kid and keeps his wits about him even when a situation doesn’t go exactly as planned.
Not everyone’s day ends on a good note. Four people who were killed on a Chicago L train on Monday were likely asleep when they were shot at close range. A Mountain lion attacked a 5-year-old at a Southern California park. Boko Haram militants on motorcycles attacked a Nigerian village, killing over 100. An 11-Year-Old Is Charged in Killing of 82-Year-Old Ex-Mayor and His Daughter. An Ex-Doctor Pleads Guilty to Manslaughter in New York Woman’s Suicide. And all that is without considering those killed in continuing wars.
We know that the world is a violent place. We live with the hope that the violence stays away from us, but statistically, we’re all eventually victims in one form or another. None of us get out of here without harm coming to us. This is the reality of the human condition. No, it’s no worse now than it was 100 years ago. The mode and means have changed, but the world has always been like this. If nature isn’t trying to kill us, we’re trying to kill each other. The world has never been safe.
We’re not necessarily the smartest creatures on the planet, either. Another boat carrying several dozen people appears to be making another attempt to cross the English Channel seemingly to Britain from northern France just a day after 12 migrants died. An Oregon hospital was hit with a $303M lawsuit after a nurse was accused of replacing fentanyl with tap water. A Philadelphia woman who was driving a partially automated Mustang Mach-E was charged with DUI homicide.
We also fall for stupid shit. Posts falsely claim video shows Harris promising to censor X and owner Elon Musk. China-linked ‘Spamouflage’ network mimics Americans online to sway US political debate. And Clearview AI was fined $33.7 million by a Dutch data protection watchdog over an ‘illegal database’ of faces.
I know you won’t take the time to click all those links. Hell, it’s rare that anyone double-checks me at all. Do you really trust me that much? Should you? I’ll keep providing the links because no one should take anyone at their word on important matters. That’s what allows us to get stuck with the stupidest of politicians in office.
Speaking of, the Times has an interesting conversation going on in their Opinion section this morning. David Brooks writes How Trump Wins (and Harris and the Democrats Blow It). Then, Ross Douthat counters with How Harris Wins (and Trump and the Republicans Blow It). Next, Thomas L. Friedman enters the fray with How Netanyahu Is Trying to Save Himself, Elect Trump, and Defeat Harris and Thomas B. Edsall winds matters up with Why Is the Presidential Election This Close? You’ll blow most of an hour reading all four pieces, but you’ll be better for doing so.
I wonder if any of us truly know what we’re doing. Maybe we’re fooling ourselves, creating an illusion of competency so that we’re not depressed by the depth of our inadequacy.
Or, maybe we just need more coffee.
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