1/ Frank Rich on Joe and the DNC convention.....insightful as always....
Biden delivering his memorable speech on Thursday. Photo: Andrew Harnik/AP/Shutterstock
Most weeks, New York Magazine writer-at-large Frank Rich speaks with contributor Alex Carp about the biggest stories in politics and culture. Today, the Democratic convention and the nomination of Joe Biden.
The Democrats staged their convention this week, officially nominating Joe Biden for president. Other than demonstrating a shared opposition to Donald Trump, what did it accomplish for the party?
2/ Sarah Cooper with the short piece she did for the DNC.....two minutes....she is wonderful!
3/ Frank Bruni with a good column on Joe's speech....
Let’s be honest. One of the big questions attending Joe Biden’s big speech at the Democratic National Convention was whether he still had enough gas and enough grip to get to the end of it without losing velocity or swerving this way and that.
He did. He absolutely did. Is he in the fleetest, shiniest, nimblest form of his very long career? No. And Donald Trump — no Ferrari himself — is constantly trying to exploit that.
4/ God I hate Mitch McConnell....a toon that speaks the truth....
5/ Seth Meyers with some excellent comedic reporting on Steve Bannon....a most amusing 17 minutes....
6/ David Wallace-Wells with some somber news on the long term after effects of Covid-19.....and he doesn't
even get into the insurance issue, which will be huge....
An Italian man suffering from fatigue after recovering from COVID-19 undergoes an ultrasound. Photo: Getty Images
The official American death toll from the coronavirus pandemic now stands at 170,000, and while there are some encouraging indications that the growth of the disease is slowing and the fatality rate declining, the U.S. death toll is likely to grow to 227,000 by just November 1, according to Youyang Gu — to date the most accurate modeler of COVID-19 in the country.
7/ The Lincoln Project is running this ad in Ohio.....the background is the Goodyear plant banned
political hats [including MAGA] at work, and Trump went ballistic....
8/ As Paul Krugman points out, just because the stock market is booming doesn't mean life is any
better for 90% of Americans....it's worse...excellent column in the Times...
On Tuesday, the S&P 500 stock index hit a record high. The next day, Apple became the first U.S. company in history to be valued at more than $2 trillion. Donald Trump is, of course, touting the stock market as proof that the economy has recovered from the coronavirus; too bad about those 173,000 dead Americans, but as he says, “It is what it is.”
9/ Trevor Noah on how Fox News is commenting on both Biden and Kamala....four pretty
good [and quite amusing] minutes....
10/ The title of this well written piece is "Why Trump Is Likely To Win Again", and he has some excellent points about the Democratic elites and how the working class has been abandoned.....I certainly hope he's wrong and the Biden Administration takes on the oligarchs.......
The Bronx of my childhood was a paradise. My street ran parallel to a section of the old Croton Aqueduct, by then long disused, which we kids called the Ackey. Along its banks grew trees and bushes and wild flowers forming a ribbon of thicket in which we played, and through which we “hiked.”
11/ Trickle down Jesus....
12/ Some sound advice on how to live with Covid....from Vox...
When states had strict stay-at-home orders and lockdowns in place, many decisions about the risk of getting the coronavirus were simple. People didn’t have to think about whether dining in a restaurant is safe if the restaurant was closed.
Now, that states are opening up — with varying degrees of precautions and adherence in place — individuals will need to weigh some risks on their own.
13/ Apparently Hannity threatened to sue over this ad from MeidasTouch....a great ad, on Trump's decline in Hannity's words......
14/ Finally, FINALLY President Obama speaks out!
Not fooling around. Photo: NurPhoto/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Barack Obama issued a dire warning during his Wednesday night Democratic National Convention speech, and Kamala Harris formally introduced herself as Joe Biden’s running mate. I spoke with political correspondent Gabriel Debenedetti about their remarks as well as the evening’s focus on women.
15/ President Obama's full speech on the third night of the DNC convention....19 wonderful minutes....
16/ This is also what a real [even though fictional] President sounds like.....Martin Sheen from the
West Wing with a Bible lesson....three excellent minutes....
17/ I'm definitely going to avoid the new Russian Covid-19 vaccine!
18/ Sam Bee on the DNC convention.....a funny four minutes.....note she tapes on Tuesday....
19/ Tom Tomorrow nails it again....
20/ With all of the pandemic news and of course Trump, climate change seems to have dropped off the radar. David Wallace-Wells with a positive story on how the discussion has changed....for the better....but also with details on weather disasters you may not have heard of....
A climate protester in Wales. Photo: PA Images via Getty Images
One plague, when big enough, occludes others, and the coronavirus pandemic has, for six months now, almost fully eclipsed the very real, very large, and very pressing threat of climate change. Even as the United States normalizes a pandemic plateau producing roughly a thousand deaths every day, with continuing national failure to contain the spread of the disease becoming maddeningly familiar old news, COVID-19 is still preventing us from seeing clearly the wreckage being done by global warming, particularly elsewhere in the world, in parts of the global South where Americans and Europeans prefer not to look.
21/ The Post Office mystery...
22/ Nowhere in the country is the wealth gap more obvious than in South Florida, so when we hear Covid is rampant in Miami it seems to leave the wealthier areas untouched.....good story from the Guardian on how unfair America is....
W
hen the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic reached southern Florida’s shores, Bal Harbour residents braced themselves. In early March, health department officials confirmed a New York man who tested positive for coronavirus had spent time in the wealthy enclave. About a week later, a pair of Bal Harbour rabbis were among the first people in Miami-Dade county to test positive for the virus.
Today's kid joke
A boss wondered why one of his most valued employees had not rung in sick one day. Having an urgent problem with a main computer, he phoned the employee’s home number and was greeted with a child’s whisper, ‘Hello?
‘Is your Daddy home?’ he asked.
‘Yes’, whispered the small voice.
‘May I speak to him?’
The child whispered ‘No.’
Surprised and wanting to talk to an adult, the boss asked, ‘Is your Mummy there?’
‘Yes.’
‘Well may I speak to her, then?’ Again the small voice whispered ‘No.’
Hoping there was somebody with whom he could leave a message, the boss asked, ‘Is anybody else there?’
‘Yes,’ whispered the child, ‘a policeman.’
Wondering what the police would be doing at his employee’s home, the boss asked, ‘May I speak to the policeman?’
‘No, he’s busy,’ whispered the child.
‘Busy doing what?’
‘Talking to Mummy and Daddy and the Fireman,’ came the whispered reply.
Growing more worried as he heard a loud noise in the background coming down the phone, the boss asked ‘What’s that noise?’
‘A helicopter’, answered the whispering voice.
‘What’s going on there?’ demanded the boss, now really apprehensive.
Again, whispering, the child answered, ‘The search team has just landed a helicopter.’
Alarmed, concerned, and a little frustrated, the boss asked ‘What are they searching for?’
Still whispering, the young voice replied with a muffled giggle… ‘ME!’
Today's teenager joke
A woman takes her 16-year-old daughter to the doctor.
The doctor says, "Okay, Mrs. Jones, what's the problem?"
The mother says, "It's my daughter Darla, she keeps getting these cravings, she's putting on weight and is sick most mornings.
The doctor gives Darla a good examination then turns to the mother and says, "Well,I don't know how to tell you this but your Darla is pregnant - about 4 months would be my guess."
The mother says, "Pregnant?! She can't be, she has never ever been left alone with a man! Have you Darla?"
Darla says, 
"No mother! I've never even kissed a man!"
The doctor walked over to the window and just stares out it. About five minutes pass and finally the mother says, "Is there something wrong out there doctor?
The doctor replies, "No, not really, it's just that the last time anything like this happened, a star appeared in the east and three wise men came over the hill. I'll be damned if I'm going to miss it this time!"
Today's Italian joke...
A Jewish man was leaving a convenience store with his espresso when he noticed a most unusual Italian funeral procession approaching the nearby cemetery.
A black hearse was followed by a second black hearse about 50 feet behind the first one.
Behind the second hearse was a solitary Italian man walking a dog on a leash.
Behind him, a short distance back, were about 200 men walking in single file.
The Jewish man couldn't stand the curiosity. He respectfully approached the Italian walking the dog and said: "I am so sorry for your loss, and this may be a bad time to disturb you, but I've never seen a funeral like this. Whose funeral is it?"
"She yelled at me and my dog attacked and killed her."
He inquired further, "But who is in the second hearse?"
My mother-in-law....She came to help my wife and the dog turned on her and killed her also.
A very poignant and touching moment of Jewish and Italian brotherhood and silence passed between the two men.
The Jewish man then asked "Can I borrow the dog?"
The Italian man replied, "Get in the line.
A second Italian joke
An elderly Italian man lived alone in New Jersey. He wanted to plant his annual tomato garden, but it was very difficult work, since the ground was hard. His only son, Vincent, who used to help him, was in prison. The old man wrote a letter to his son and described his predicament:
Dear Vincent,
I am feeling pretty sad, because it looks like I won’t be able to plant my tomato garden this year. I’m just getting too old to be digging up a garden plot. I know if you were here my troubles would be over.. I know you would be happy to dig the plot for me, like in the old days.
Love, Papa
A few days later he received a letter from his son.
Dear Pop,
Don’t dig up that garden. That’s where the bodies are buried.
Love,
Vinnie
At 4 a.m. the next morning, FBI agents and local police arrived and dug up the entire area without finding any bodies.
They apologized to the old man and left.
The next week the old man received another letter from his son.
Dear Pop,
Go ahead and plant the tomatoes now. That’s the best I could do under the circumstances.
Love you,
Vinnie
No comments:
Post a Comment