Wow. Probably the best convention I've ever watched. Tuned in every night and not disappointed one bit.

I loved the roll call, it was a party! So much fun! All the headline speeches were top notch. Biden, the Clintons, the Obamas, Oprah. Tim Walz! And Kamala's speech was a revelation to me. I've never seen her speak like this before. I thought it hit all right notes, and was well thought out.

Top notch and stellar convention.

Excellent. And I don’t usually watch TV. I’ve been watching a few clips, but had to watch some in real time tonight.

I felt as if I were watching avatars of human beings evoking feel good vibes.

I saw a string of billionaires and millionaires, telling tall tails about their concern for the common man.

I saw a convention top heavy with woke identity politics, and devoid of any substantive foreign or domestic policy discussion.

It shouldn't be surprising domestic policy received no real attention when the Democrats' donors seem to have no intention of doing anything differently if Harris is elected.

It shouldn't be surprising foreign policy received no real attention. The Biden administration sent $28,000,000,000. to Israel about a week ago to continue its genocide. What else would the Democrats do except sweep their unwaivering support for genocide under the carpet?

It's strange how two people can view the same thing and come to diametrically opposed points of view.

However, personally, it was nothing more than a qrotesque spectacle.

Kamala was very good. All speeches are sermons to me. When I got enough of her talking I wandered off. I got enough of sermons long ago.
Thought Kinzinger was very good.

Talking Heads

"The Democratic Circus"

https://youtu.be/rWFgadu7250?si=otoi5587KBX_bmpo

Call me cynical. I don't care. I watched the coup in 2000 a) generally because I cared a lot about the outcome and b) especially because it happened in Florida (and DC). I made it twenty four years before I had enough.

Kudos to me for managing to care about US politicians for almost a quarter century as things went from bad to worse!

I think I deserve a nice present. I'm thinking gold, white gold, diamonds, heated sapphires, or some combination of the above.

No offense.

quote:

Originally posted by Daniel:
I felt as if I were watching avatars of human beings evoking feel good vibes.

I saw a string of billionaires and millionaires, telling tall tails about their concern for the common man.

I saw a convention top heavy with woke identity politics, and devoid of any substantive foreign or domestic policy discussion.

It shouldn't be surprising domestic policy received no real attention when the Democrats' donors seem to have no intention of doing anything differently if Harris is elected.

It shouldn't be surprising foreign policy received no real attention. The Biden administration sent $28,000,000,000. to Israel about a week ago to continue its genocide. What else would the Democrats do except sweep their unwaivering support for genocide under the carpet?

It's strange how two people can view the same thing and come to diametrically opposed points of view.

However, personally, it was nothing more than a qrotesque spectacle.

I saw some billionaires and millionaires who care about and show empathy for their fellow travelers. Not all rich people are cut from the same cloth. There is nothing inherently wrong with being rich. Those who work hard can attribute their success to the system which allows people to amass large (sometimes inordinate) sums of money. That's not a personal shortcoming, it's a question of the system and that's what we should look at if it doesn't seem right or fair. Those who inherit money are blessed with good fortune, the accident of birth applies to rich and poor alike. Whether or not people deserve to be rich is another matter. Anyway, I saw a lot more ordinary people than you, apparently.

And what's this problem with woke? I saw a whole lot of Americans celebrating our diversity without being in your face.

I thought Kamala handled the tightrope walk of Israel/Gaza perfectly. It's a complicated, difficult subject and she pulled it off brilliantly. It does not sound to me like she's sweeping anything under the rug.

Kamala knocked it out of the park. I was going to vote for her only reluctantly. But in her speech last night she showed us a new kind of presidential--very feminine, while powerful. It's this that Hillary couldn't pull off, no doubt because in her day, the way to be powerful was to deny your femininity. Kamala manages to charm while clearly having a titanium spine. And I loved how she prosecuted the case against Trump--a foretaste of the Sept 10 debate, and how she would handle it. I am definitely warming to her. I still don't have a clear idea of her specific policies, but her number one job right now is to eviscerate Trump and take him out of the running, and I can't think of anyone who could do a better job of that.

Would she be a great president? That's my usual measure of who to vote for. I have no idea. But will she have a clear shot at winning this election? Last night she convinced me that she can. And that's as far as I need to look ahead right now--getting Trump out of our hair for good.

quote:

I thought Kamala handled the tightrope walk of Israel/Gaza perfectly. It's a complicated, difficult subject and she pulled it off brilliantly.

Ditto. I also thought her husband's speech reveals him to be a total mensch. To have a fighter against anti-semitism in the administration is a huge plus as far as I'm concerned.

Bernard,

There is not a dime's worth of difference between Biden and Harris on the genocide in Gaza and the atrocities in the West Bank.

The difference with Harris is tone not content.

And I will never understand how people who claim to support Western Enlightenment values for people in our society could not give a **** about Israel's crimes against humanity.

The last ten months should suffice for any sentient human being to understand it is an ongoing genocide and both Biden and Harris have and are backing it 100% to this day.

I don't need lessons about income inequality, sexism,or racism from Oprah.

I'll tell you what the problem is with woke and identity politics.

They are being used to displace any serious discourse about economics while our society becomes more and more impoverished as a whole.

The upper-middle class is a sliver of the US population. I think most (not all) of its members do not remember, do not understand, or simply do not care about the economic well being society.

I want concrete domestic policy to begin to reverse the downward slide happening in this country.

I do not want a bunch of virtue signaling about my identity.

It doesn't put food on the table.

Delegates cover their ears.

https://youtu.be/BxqqFmV86M4?si=aq_OUf3O8n3omNh4

Harris doesn't allow Palestinians to speak.

https://youtu.be/ke7dHmJm7R0?si=j8fanWXUVWoGLGqn

I didn't expect anything more from them.

They've written off entire demographics.

Good luck with that.

Well Daniel, I don't know what to say.

On the one hand you paint with such a broad brush ("...how people who claim to support Western Enlightenment values ... could not give a **** ..."). You clearly are not exposing yourself to much varied reporting or discussions on the topic if that's your take. In all I've read over the past several months, moral anguish has been center stage. (And Kamala even acknowledged it in her speech).

On the other hand, you pigeon hole so many people ("... Biden and Harris have and are backing it 100%..."). The middle east is highly complicated; a misstep could blow up efforts to establish a solution and end up igniting a regional war. I can't imagine that's what you want. (Again, in her speech, Kamala emphasized the need for Palestinian autonomy.)

There's too much hyperbole and strawman in your grievances for me to go on. Your every point is in terms of black and white and you short-shrift an awful lot of people. In every case, the reality is far more nuanced and complex.

But one last thing. The DNC was quite right not to allow Palestinians to speak at the convention. None of the speakers was there to focus specifically and entirely on one side or the other. The administration was in the middle of brokering a cease-fire. The result of giving such a huge audience to a a speaker focused on Palestinians or a speaker focusing on Israelis could have been devastating. Again I can't imagine that's what you want.

Good luck.

Actually, you are not correct.

There were negotiations about allowing one Palestinian elected official speak for five minutes.

The Palestinian group was told the official would not be allowed to speak and was offered a private meeting.

An Israeli family was allowed to speak.

Your post says I'm presenting it was a black and white issue.

My response would be:

A) Israel is committing genocide.

B) The U.S. is aware of this fact. To claim it is not would be disingenuous and/ or ignorant. The ICJ has ruled on it. The relevant agencies and personnel from the U.N. have reported it. Every human right group has documented it. It has been happening for almost a year.

C) Biden has repeatedly sent Israel the weapons it is using to commit genocide against the the Palestinians. He knew what Israel was doing with them and kept sending them. The most recent transaction was $20 billion.

D) It would be nonsensical to claim Harris as his vice president has not been complicit.

These are the facts, Bernard.

I get my information from both the alternative and the corporate media. I have not closed myself off to any source of information.

Anyone could learn a lot about this topic by reading some of the posts I've made in my Palestine thread. I've researched this topic in depth and followed these events closely for almost a year.

https://youtube.com/shorts/c_t...?si=SwGLXUAYaO8sidLy

I'm sorry. The ask was for two minutes.

Anyone else looking forward to the Harris/ W. interview? Isn't this her first sit down interview since she became the nominee? I admit I don't really enjoy their personalities but I'll watch it if I can find it on YouTube.

I want to watch it. I could only find a partial transcript at CNN's site.

“We have set goals for the United States of America and by extension, the globe, around when we should meet certain standards for reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, as an example. That value has not changed,” she said.

"...set goals for the United States of America, and by extention the globe..."

Set goals? Where are these goals written? But worse than this nebulous assertion-- "and by extension the globe." The globe follows our policy by extention?