-"If you got something to say to me, say it to my face!" With that, Kamala Harris continued to taunt and dare Convicted Felon Ex-President Trump (R-apist) to gut up and debate her after chickening out on the previously-scheduled September 10 debate. Speaking before a packed-to-the-rafters rally in competitive-again GA (with Megan Thee Stallion and her Kamala pantsuited-costumed backup singers as an opening act helming "Hotties for Harris"), Harris continued to build on the momentum that exploded when she essentially replaced Joe Biden as the Democratic nominee.
-With polling continuing to show Harris has wiped out Trump's lead on Biden and even moving ahead in multiple battleground states, Harris' joyful warrior persona belied the dual-pronged approach of attacking Trump and his crimes while working to build to a future, with "We Are Not Going Back!" becoming both a rallying cry and a potential campaign slogan as August looms.
-And did Chicken Donald notice? He seems to have, with another of his patented late-night social media storms decrying that her rally was really just a music concert, spewing that Harris was "chosen as the WORST VICE PRESIDENT IN HISTORY" (apparently based on a poll of his brain worms), then going on an all-cap bender talking about all the things Chicken Trump would have stopped in the last four years. (Uh-huh.)
-More on the floundering Trump campaign in a moment, but first, fundraising continues to build for Kamala, with today being a reporting deadline and Harris already exceeding $200M in small donations since July 21. The last big Zoom-driven fundraiser, last Monday's "White Dudes for Harris," raised over $4 million while speaker Brad Whitford cheekily described the collection as "A rainbow of beige!" The White Dudes for Harris call also managed to secure the attention of weirdo billionaire oligarch MAGATrumper Elon Musk, who took their TwiX feed off his now-rancid social network for a few hours for no apparent reason. There are multiple other calls being planned, including Seniors and the suddenly all-powerful Cat Women for Harris (no word on if Michelle Pfeiffer, Halle Berry or Anne Hathaway will be on the call).
-There is also the imminent Vice Presidential pick. No official word yet, but pundits are trying to interpret two bits of news to make a guess: - the announcement that the VP pick will be introduced next Wednesday in Philadelphia, and a note from Axios today that Harris fundraisers are asking Wall Street donors to make their donations now due to limitations involving donations to sitting Governors. That combo is making people think PA Governor Josh Shapiro may be the choice, with MN Governor Tim Walz another possibility and the still-being-vetted KY Governor Andy Beshear also on the radar (and potentially taking off AZ Senator Mark Kelly, though he was on MSNBC this morning attacking Trump and his immigration 'policy.')
-All seem to be a much better point than Chicken Donald's pick, the weird and icky JD Vance. After attacking single women with cats, subsequent interviews showed Vance not really backing down on that statement - and past statements Vance made show a clear theme that Vance believes childless citizens - childless women in particular - are a drag on society and should therefore enjoy fewer rights and bear larger burdens of taxation and other obligations to those who create families. In fact, the Harris campaign found an interview of Vance promising he and Chicken Donald would "go to war" against the "sad, lonely, and pathetic" childless Americans.
-With feelings like that, is there any wonder to polling continues to show show Vance now has a -15% approval rating nationally, prompting reports that some in the MAGAGOP are continuing to wonder if dumping Vance may limit the damage that could be in the process of being done longer-term.
-And childless Americans aren't the only group of Americans Team Trump wants to alienate. Capping off a week in which Chicken Donald has groped with his wee tiny hands to find something to use against Harris, one strain he seems to think is possible is that Harris is anti-Jewish and that Jewish-Americans would be "fools" to vote for Harris. This would be news to Harris given her consideration of Shapiro and IL Governor J.B. Pritzker for the Veep job and that her husband, Doug Emhoff, is also Jewish. But Emhoff became a target by MAGA Hate Speech radio host Sid Rosenberg, who called Emhoff "a crappy Jew ... a horrible Jew" and Chicken Donald agreeing. But add Jewish-hating to the list of misogyny, racism, and more that MAGAGOP could be gearing up as the main part of the 2024 campaign.
-Or, even scarier, Trump's plans to seize power have nothing to do with what happens on November 5. Rolling Stone reported earlier this week that over 70 election officials nationally have been elected who continue to believe Chicken Donald had the 2020 election stolen from him (he did not - Joe Biden did) and that they have already been mucking into vote counts, voter rolls, registration and primary votes. The fear is that they would drag enough vote counts into confusion after Election Day that a MAGA-majority House and MAGA-loaded Supreme Court would combine to install Trump no matter what the popular vote. Rolling Stone adds that the White House and Biden/Harris (now Harris) campaign has been game-planning for 2024 since 2021, with poll watchers, volunteers, and a legal team led by Democratic super-election attorney Mark Elias ready to push back on any such moves. But it is better to know and expose and publicize so that we don't have to do what the citizens of Venezuela are now doing.
-Hundreds of thousands of citizens are in the streets of Venezuela in protest of that country's elections, which they and most of the world believe are being usurped by current President Nicolas Maduro, who claimed victory despite most believing he was blown out. At least 16 have been killed, and video shows an opposition leader apparently being kidnapped from his home. Maduro is defiantly demanding the arrest of opposition leaders Edmundo Gonzalez and Maria Corina Machado, who appeared on a bus in Caracas surrounded by protestors. There are reports that at least some soldiers took their uniforms off as a sign of solidarity with the citizens, and the situation remains tense as the protests continue.
-There is also tension around Israel, as leaders in Iran and the group Hezbollah continue to threaten to retaliate against Israel in the wake of the assassination of HAMAS leader Ismail Haniyeh. Haniyeh's home in Tehran was hit with a missile, and the political leader - who Zeteo's Mehdi Hasan claims was part of the team trying to negotiate a peace settlement - was killed instantly. Combined with a missile attack out of Lebanon that killed 12, the threat of escalation continues to loom in the area.
-Looking to today, there is a strange confluence of events happening in Chicago, where the National Association of Black Journalists are meeting. That confluence involves Harris, who strangely is NOT going to be speaking at the conference, and Trump ... who IS. NABJ leadership insists all candidates get invitations, and Trump happened to say yes while Harris claimed she had a conflict that prevented her from attending - but others via social media charge NABJ leadership never gave Harris the chance to set up a virtual call, or to even send a surrogate to speak on her behalf. Some reports indicate a virtual appearance by Harris may be in the cards, but meanwhile the idea of black journalists facing Chicken Donald today seems ... tantalizing.
-There's more, of course - Project 2025 trying to hide their tracks to say they know nothing about Chicken Donald or he them, Super MAGAGOP candidate Kari Lake winning the primary in AZ to fill the seat of Kyrsten Sinema (The "I" in Independent), Simone Biles GOATing again at the Olympics, the first NFL pre-season game amid the hoopla for the NFL Hall of Fame - but this is plenty to get you moving today after our trivia.
-Unless you're chicken, of course ...
-On this date in 1968, Elvis Presley returned to perform live for the first time since being drafted in 1961. On this date in 1971, Apollo 15 drove across the moon surface in a four-wheeled Lunar Roving Vehicle. On this date in 1975, Teamsters leader Jimmy Hoffa disappeared ... and was never seen again. On this date in 2006, Fidel Castro stepped down as President by making his brother Raul the new leader of Cuba. On this date in 2012, Michael Phelps won his record-busting 19th Olympic medal (he went on to win 28 in total, including 23 Gold Medals).
-Debuts on this date: the saxophone in a marching band (1846), "Don't Fear The Reaper" (1975), the START Treaty (1991).
-Happy Birthday to Irv Kupcinet, Milton Friedman, Curt Gowdy, Primo Levi, Whitney Young Jr., Hank Bauer, Ahmet Ertegun, Bill Bidwill, Kenny Burrell, Ted Cassidy, Norm Snead, Lobo, Gary Lewis, Evonne Goolagong Cowley, Bill Callahan, Deval Patrick, Michael Biehn, Daniel Ash, Leon Durham, Bill Berry, Mark Cuban, Stanley Jordan, Troy Murray, Wesley Snipes, Fatboy Slim, Scott Brooks, Elizabeth Wurtzel, Andre Ware, Gus Frerotte, Tim Couch, Zac Brown, Harry Potter, A.J. Green, Kyle Larson, and Lil Uzi Vert.
-Rest in Peace/Rest in Power to Franz Liszt, Charles Hires, Antoine de Saint-Exupery, Jim Reeves, Mitch Miller, Gore Vidal, Billy Pierce, Gerald S. O'Laughlin, Rowdy Roddy Piper, Jeanne Moreau, Alan Parker, Bill Russell, and Mo Ostin.
-Feed the Worms: Reagan-era scold William Bennett, Evil Horrible Pittsburgh Squeeler Kevin Greene, MAGAt actor Dean Cain, and Baltimore Ratbird Jonathan Ogden entered Earth on this date. Impeached Andrew Johnson bought it on this date.
-J.K. Rowling was born on this date. You decide if she gets a Happy Birthday or if she Feeds the Worms.