NATIONAL BOLOGNA DAY UPDATES
Sure, You May Think This Means One Thing - But It's Really About The Food (and it's also National Food Day, so there!)
-Twelve days until voting ends, and thus far it is estimated about 23 million have voted early. Demographic breakdowns say those who have voted early are generally older (50 and over), mostly Democratic (by about a 45%-38% margin or so), and heavily female (55%-45% or so). These are all trends that can be interpreted one way or another, and state breakdowns thus far in the battleground states help get more nuance (estimates are that a 400,000 vote Democratic "firewall" is being built in PA while a surprising GOP "firewall" is emerging in NV, with GA and NC returns going back and forth from mostly Dem to mostly GOP), but one thing it does not do is relieve Democratic voter anxiety about the election.
-That comes primarily from Democrats and generally sane people believing with some justification that there should be no way on this planet that Republican nominee REALLY Old Weird Convicted Felon Ex-President Trump (R-apist) should either be on the ballot or drawing more than 10% of the vote instead of dangerously close to actually being able to win or be close enough to try to steal. Trump's apparent steep cognitive decline, bizarre personal appearances, shielding from anyone vaguely contradictory of him, and full-throated embrace of truly vile dictator slash authoritarian slash strongman slash madman rhetoric (re-enforced by a number of interviews by former Trump White House officials openly calling Trump a fascist) are combining with the always-hyped-by-mainstream-media SOCLOSESOCLOSERAZORTHINSOCLOSELOOKITOURPOLLINGSEEHOWCLOSEITISWATCHUSTOREENFORCEHOWCLOSETHISRACEIS! stories and "polls" to keep anxiety and Pha-REEK!-Out levels at 111 despite whatever Kamala does or what actual experts who continue to see trends of a Harris win despite all of the above (see CNN this morning) or even the Harris campaign, who is happy to take that agita and try to use it to drive voters to the polls.
-(STANDS ON SOAPBOX)
-And, y'know? I get the anxiety. We are closer than ever to beating him, but because of 2016 and voting being voting, we won't know until the votes are cast and counted, and reading deeply into what we think we know about voting trends and primary color waves only gets us so far - or sets expectations that, if disappointed, can be even more stress-inducing, such as Republicans picking up on voting early when it was presumed that would be a massive Democratic advantage (which it still could be, but you get my point).
-Plus, the genuine fear of a fascist Trump and Project 2025-driven government is (or should be) real, and on one level we should feel that fear. On the other, to let that fear dominate our actions and ourselves is (and I have been writing with this attitude since before this became a Substack) giving in to the fascistic goals and impulses, since fear creates paralysis and depression and ultimately inaction. Exactly the circumstances which makes fascism easier to take hold.
-Fear is important but should not be primary since fear tends to make for bad decision-making. Staying sober, doing the work, and above all working to not give the right-wing goons the fear they want - and instead giving them mockery and joy and humor - drives them NUTS (they STILL can't handle being called "weird," for Christ sake!) and gives us (hopefully) the emotional buffer we need to finish the job and WIN!
-So that's what this Substack'll be doing from here on through whenever the winner is declared. If my confidence winds up being wrong I'll own up to it as we all then gear up for that potential - but if my initial instinct going back to when Biden wasn't running and the beginnings of Trump's decline was becoming obvious, I will just sigh deeply, have a shot of my best bourbon, and then really get to work.
-(STEPS OFF SOAPBOX)
-Today, Harris starts in North Carolina for an appearance with running mate Tim Walz and James Taylor, then on to a star-studded rally in Atlanta, highlighted by Bruce Springsteen but also including luminaries such as Samuel L. Jackson, Spike Lee, Tyler Perry, and Barack Obama. She will follow that up with a Houston rally ostensibly for Senate candidate Colin Allred that will feature Willie Nelson, Tina Knowles, and Tina's sister Beyonce. Another appearance with Springsteen is scheduled for Monday in Philadelphia, and then Tuesday Harris will give her "closing argument" speech, reportedly at the Ellipse in Washington, DC - the spot where Trump launched his failed coup attempt on January 6, 2021, after losing the 2020 election to Joe Biden. And surrogates are fanning out throughout the country working to get out the vote, believing younger voters will combine with a decent percentage of non-MAGAt Republicans to cross the aisle and vote for Harris.
-All this comes amid still more endorsements for Kamala. On the GOP side, former MI Rep. Fred Upton announced his endorsement, as well as a current WI GOP state Representative and, perhaps more importantly, the former GOP Mayor of Waukesha - a bellweather city and county for that state. On the dudebro side, Harris countered the apparent Trump support of Hulk Hogan and The Undertaker with former WWE stars Dave Bautista and (yesterday) Mick Foley. And in what could be the wildest endorsement to date, Harris has received the endorsement of Insane Clown Posse' Violent J, giving at least a tacit endorsement-by-association to ICP's Jugaloo Nation.
-Want more Harris good news? Sure you do! On the legal front, Harris election attorney extraordinaire Marc Elias gives us the latest tally, in which as of Wednesday, he and his teams beat MAGAGOP voter suppression and attempted manipulation cases in GA, MI, NE, PA, and WI - and are litigating 196 similar cases in 40 states.
-Back to endorsements for a second, as one place Harris did not get an endorsement was the Los Angeles Times newspaper. While their Editorial Board had voted to endorse him, that decision was reversed by Times owner Patrick Soon-Shiong, who decreed that the paper would endorse nobody for President. Soon-Shiong invented an anti-cancer drug and used his money to buy the Times, but when I tell you he just happend to be born and raised in South Africa, you begin to see that there is deep suspicion that Soon-Shiong was doing a solid for country-mate Elon Musk, who has been "acting like a dipshit" (in the words of Tim Walz) while trying to apparently buy votes for Trump and turning the social media site TwiX into a disinformation garbage scow. Times Editorial editor Mariel Garza has resigned in protest of the decision, and anecdotal reports of subscription cancellations abound.
-And Trump? Well, Trump naturally has railed at the interview conducted by former Chief of Staff John Kelly where Kelly reported about Trump's admiration for Adolph Hitler, the "good" things Hitler did, and Trump's desire to have Generals "like Hitler" (clearly not understanding that several of those Generals plotted to have Hitler killed, not to mention ignoring that Hitler's generals had their asses kicked by the U.S.) with some of the same ol' tired and repetitive insults he always has ("weak" and "dumb" and "LIES!" and yyyaaawwwnnn...).
-Earlier this week, at a staged event in his Mar-a-Lago golf course featuring fawning supplicants from the Hispanic community that made a show of "laying on of hands" of Trump (as fascists are wont to do), Trump - who has been cancelling interviews left and right over the last two weeks - decided it was time to bust out another racist trope and called Harris not being on the campaign trail (because she is still Vice President, DURR) an example of how "lazy" she is.
-And at an appearance last night at a USA Turning Point conference, Trump was introduced with one of the queasier speeches heard in quite a while - and yes, I realize that includes the now-infamous Arnold Palmer Wang Rant. Tucker Carlson, son of a frozen food magnate and former right-wing talk show host turned semi-obscure Russian-allied podcaster (not to mention someone who loves to think about what to do with your junk whether you asked or not - and we didn't), introduced Trump by drawing an icky and vile metaphor where a 15-year-old female "U.S." needed to be punished by spanking by a disciplinarian "Daddy" - "Daddy" being Trump.
-It was accompanied by an imaginary dialogue where Tuckums fantasized about how the spanking would hurt her more than Daddy Trump but it was "earned." Worst of all, the crowd ate it up and actually chanted "Daddy's Home!" when Trump got on stage. Fortunately, sort of, there were a ton of empty seats in the stands so it wasn't quite as full as it could have been, but this is where Trump is working on HIS "closing argument" as voting continues nationally.
-Ugh. But, it's what Trump has to counter The Boss and the KHive, so ...
-Overseas, Pentagon and Ukrainian sources confirm that North Korean troops are now on the ground in that country fighting alongside invaders Russia, to the utter delight of Donald Trump as he sees his BFFs modeling behavior he doubtlessly hopes to emulate if given the opportunity. The estimate is over 10,000 troops are there, though military experts are now openly unsure about whether either country can truly get a military advantage - and Vladimir Putin works with China to try to help Trump get over the finish line in first as Putin did in 2016.
-SLAVA UKRAINI!
-In music news, over $300,000 has been raised on a GoFundMe site so far for 90s indie music favorite Matthew Sweet, who suffered what his management team describes as "a debilitating stroke" performing in Toronto earlier this week. Even though he was in Canada, he still has to pay for both immediate treatment and what is expected to be a long (but, it is hoped, successful) rehabilitation once he is moved back to the states, which he has to pay for and which, being a musician, is difficult for him to do. So for those of you who fondly remember "Girlfriend" and "Sick of Myself" and his duets with Susanna Hoffs, you can chip in if you can and give his songs another listen while you're at it.
-We close with Sportsball news, the 2024 World Series begins with what Major League baseball is undoubtedly over the moon over: a matchup between the biggest franchises in the sport, the evil New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Dodgers. From the nasty one-two NY punch of Juan Soto and Aaron Judge to the international sizzle of LA's Shohei Ohtani, the potential for a ratings mega-extravaganza is high as the Series will begin in Dodger Stadium, undoubtedly with a tribute to the memory of recently passed Dodger ace Fernando Valenzuela.
-Godspeed, Fernando!
-On this date in 1922, the March on Rome began - and ended four days later with Benito Mussolini becoming dictator of Italy. On this date in 1929, the Stock Market began to crash, triggering the Great Depression. On this date in 1992, the Toronto Blue Jays became the first non-American based baseball team to win the World Series. On this date in 2003, the last flight of the Concorde took place. And on this date in 2008, over 10% of the value of the world's stock was lost in an international crash which triggered what became known in the US as The Great Recession. (A bad day for stocks.)
-Debuts on this date: transcontinental telegram communications (1861), riding down Niagra Falls in a barrel and living (1901), the 40-hour work week (1940), the United Nations (1945), THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE (1962), AMERICAN PIE (1971), THE WIZ (1978), MELLON COLLIE AND THE INFINITE SADNESS (1995), TAYLOR SWIFT (2006).
-Happy Birthday to Merian C. Cooper, Melvin Purvis, Moss Hart, Bob Kane, Y.A. Tittle, The Big Bopper, Bill Wyman, F. Murray Abraham, Ted Templeman, Kevin Kline, Kweisi Mfume, Sen. Jeff Merkley, Ron Gardenhire, B.D. Wong, Mary Bono, Tila Tequila, Wayne Rooney, Jalen Ramsey, and Jaylen Brown.
-Rest in Peace/Rest in Power to Daniel Webster, Louis Renault, Jackie Robinson, Gene Roddenberry, Raul Julia, Rosa Parks, Marcia Strassman, Maureen O'Hara, Bobby Vee, Pete Burns, Fats Domino, Robert Guillaume, Leslie Jordan, and Richard Roundtree.
-Feed the Worms: Infamous British gangster Ronnie and Reggie Kray entered Earth on this date.
-Drake and PewDiePie were born on this date. You decide if they get Happy Birthdays or if they Feed the Worms.