Respect to DJ Cassidy! Great job! | August 28 – September 3, 2024

In 2016, I upset some people when I said back in June of that year that I thought Trump was on track to win the presidential election. In 2020, I couldn't predict a winner. But this year, after watching the Democratic National Convention (DNC), I feel like Kamala Harris is on track to win in November. The prediction assumes that people don't lose their enthusiasm and go vote. If you forget all your mail-in ballots until the election is over, the magic won't work.

There was a lot of good about the DNC. One of the best things about it was DJ Cassidy, the guy who put together the music program for the voting of the states and territories of the country. I counted about 56 songs, one for each state and the territories of DC, Guam, Virgin Islands, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and American Samoa.

I have to admit, I'm not a huge fan of popular music, so I was completely overwhelmed by DJ Cassidy's selection until California was called at the end and I recognized “California Love” by Tupac. Then, at the last minute, I finally got it.

Washington was represented with a song by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis. I would have preferred “Baby's Got Back” by Sir Mix-a-Lot. I definitely couldn't afford “Louie Louie” by the Kingsmen. Sigh.

What finally convinced me that Kamala Harris was on track to win the whole race was the part of her nomination speech where she talked about the war between Israel and Gaza. She made a strong case for an end to the war. While that wasn't enough, it showed that she was moving in the right direction. I suspect we'll hear more about that as the campaign continues.

Not being a fan of coaches, I was prepared to dislike Tim Walz, but he won me over with “mind your own business” and the suggestion that Trump supporters are weird. The contrast with JD Vance couldn't be greater. Walz is the happy uncle who gets you. Vance is the goofy brother-in-law who thinks he has the right to run your life because he married your sister.

In an amusing development, an organization called the National Federation of Republican Assemblies (NFRA) has made the accusation that Kamala Harris is unfit for president because of Dred Scott.

The Supreme Court's 1857 decision in Dred Scott v. Sandford said slaves could not be citizens. First of all, that crazy decision was overturned by the 13th and 14th Amendments. Apparently the NFRA is unaware of this fact. But since the Emancipation Proclamation, there were technically no slaves for the Dred Scott decision to apply to anyway.

There is some speculation that Kamala Harris' father was a descendant of a Jamaican slave, which would explain the surname Harris, which is likely the name of a former slave owner. But seriously, her father was not a slave, and Kamala is not and never was a slave. She was born a free person in an Oakland hospital, so she was not a slave. Trying to apply the Dred Scott decision to her is incredibly odd.

We shouldn't care what the NFRA thinks, but apparently Ronald Reagan was a member, so that's something.

Meanwhile, Trump is pushing the idea that Democrats support not only late-term abortions, but also post-natal abortions, also known as infanticide. This is more than strange—it's bizarre.

We may not even get the chance to see Kamala Harris answer such nonsense to Trump's face because he withdrew from the ABC debate on September 10.

Trump expressed concern that “Liddle” George Slopadopolus – meaning George Stephanopolous – might be involved in the ABC debate. I don't understand why Trump would dislike George S. after the softball interview he had with him some time ago.

Trump says he's open to debates hosted by other networks like Fox, MSNBC, and even CNN. Sure, whatever. He should just say he can't participate in any debate because of his bone spur problem.

If Trump skips the debate on September 10, Kamala can show up and do the talking for both of them. That would be a win for her and a win for me. I'm looking forward to it.

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Read more in the August 28 – September 3, 2024 issue.