One year ago, as he prepared to graduate from college, my son, Jack the Younger, (also known as "That Guy" not to be confused with "The Other One", AJ the Elder), sat me down for a chat to discuss his career plans.
Wednesday, May 27, 2020
One leaf at a time
One year ago, as he prepared to graduate from college, my son, Jack the Younger, (also known as "That Guy" not to be confused with "The Other One", AJ the Elder), sat me down for a chat to discuss his career plans.
Tuesday, May 19, 2020
Democratic debates October 15, 2019
Rewinding my mind to the last greatly tedious Dems debate.
If they can't be bothered to trim the field, I can't be bothered to make new jokes about 'em. I return to the ramparts where I left off with 10 takes on 10 from The Last Truly Tedious Debate.
(And yes, of course, barbs aside, the nominee gets my vote – even if we screw up and nominate what’s his-name.)
Julian Castro. The Tex-Mex Kid took a swing at Good Old Joe and missed. For that, he has fallen from grace and must now do penance. Let it be brief and forgiveness swift. A true son of the Chicano civil rights movement, Castro is bright, accomplished, has a good heart and is true blue in a state that’s a game changer. He is too important to be sidelined for long. If he’s lucky, one day, decades from now, he may stand on another debate stage having to explain what desperate voices were rattling around in his head the night he lost his mind and mugged an elderly and infirm gentleman. #FAIRPLAYFORCASTRO
Beto O’Rourke. I have no quarrel with one whose conviction was forged by fire and blood. #RESPECT4BETO.
Liz Warren: I believe my Senator will be the nominee but, sooner than later, she’s going to have to tell us how she plans to pay for her plans. #CANLIZGOCENTER?
Joe Biden. A wonderful fellow, but never the fleetest of mind nor gifted of tongue, far too often, he looks and sounds like a man in a fugue state. #AMANOUTOFTIME
Pete Buttigieg: Along with Warren, Mayor Pete has the finest mind in the field; his language conciliatory, his tone unifying, his ideas trending moderate, his brand of Christianity an overt threat to the evangelical voting bloc. His sexual orientation may keep him off the national ticket, but his future is bright. #MAYORPETEISAKEEPER
Kamala Harris. My early favorite for her prosecutorial skills and the diversity she represents, she’s been unable to make meaningful inroads, even within the black community. An inability to articulate a comprehensive vision for the future may have something to do with it. Looks like it’s North Carolina or bust for Kamala. #PROSECUTETHECASEKAMALA
Corey Booker. Articulate, passionate, (if a trifle glib), Booker is intelligent and conciliatory and a natural preacher on the stump. But he simply cannot transcend the racial animus that inflames the land of the free. #COREYISBARACK2.0
Amy Klobuchar: A wise, moderating voice, she simply lacks the outsized personality of a lead actor. Her Senate seat is safe. That is likely where she will remain for many distinguished years to come. #AMYISFARGO
Andrew Yang. Nice fellow. Smart too. But a raffle for a thousand bucks is more befitting a game show host than a presidential candidate. #GRANDKNOWINGYOU
Bernie Sanders. No way a loud, angry, Brooklyn Jew with a funny accent and bad haircut shouting about revolution is ever going to be president of the United States. Bragging about his “damn plan” that has no chance of ever being passed into law isn’t much of a legislative accomplishment. BTW, Bern, getting an “F” rating from the NRA is easy - if you’re a Democrat. It’s only tough when you vote with the gun lobby. All that’s left for this guy is to decide whether he’s going to be the skunk at the convention party. #STOPYELLINGBERN
If they can't be bothered to trim the field, I can't be bothered to make new jokes about 'em. I return to the ramparts where I left off with 10 takes on 10 from The Last Truly Tedious Debate.
(And yes, of course, barbs aside, the nominee gets my vote – even if we screw up and nominate what’s his-name.)
Julian Castro. The Tex-Mex Kid took a swing at Good Old Joe and missed. For that, he has fallen from grace and must now do penance. Let it be brief and forgiveness swift. A true son of the Chicano civil rights movement, Castro is bright, accomplished, has a good heart and is true blue in a state that’s a game changer. He is too important to be sidelined for long. If he’s lucky, one day, decades from now, he may stand on another debate stage having to explain what desperate voices were rattling around in his head the night he lost his mind and mugged an elderly and infirm gentleman. #FAIRPLAYFORCASTRO
Beto O’Rourke. I have no quarrel with one whose conviction was forged by fire and blood. #RESPECT4BETO.
Liz Warren: I believe my Senator will be the nominee but, sooner than later, she’s going to have to tell us how she plans to pay for her plans. #CANLIZGOCENTER?
Joe Biden. A wonderful fellow, but never the fleetest of mind nor gifted of tongue, far too often, he looks and sounds like a man in a fugue state. #AMANOUTOFTIME
Pete Buttigieg: Along with Warren, Mayor Pete has the finest mind in the field; his language conciliatory, his tone unifying, his ideas trending moderate, his brand of Christianity an overt threat to the evangelical voting bloc. His sexual orientation may keep him off the national ticket, but his future is bright. #MAYORPETEISAKEEPER
Kamala Harris. My early favorite for her prosecutorial skills and the diversity she represents, she’s been unable to make meaningful inroads, even within the black community. An inability to articulate a comprehensive vision for the future may have something to do with it. Looks like it’s North Carolina or bust for Kamala. #PROSECUTETHECASEKAMALA
Corey Booker. Articulate, passionate, (if a trifle glib), Booker is intelligent and conciliatory and a natural preacher on the stump. But he simply cannot transcend the racial animus that inflames the land of the free. #COREYISBARACK2.0
Amy Klobuchar: A wise, moderating voice, she simply lacks the outsized personality of a lead actor. Her Senate seat is safe. That is likely where she will remain for many distinguished years to come. #AMYISFARGO
Andrew Yang. Nice fellow. Smart too. But a raffle for a thousand bucks is more befitting a game show host than a presidential candidate. #GRANDKNOWINGYOU
Bernie Sanders. No way a loud, angry, Brooklyn Jew with a funny accent and bad haircut shouting about revolution is ever going to be president of the United States. Bragging about his “damn plan” that has no chance of ever being passed into law isn’t much of a legislative accomplishment. BTW, Bern, getting an “F” rating from the NRA is easy - if you’re a Democrat. It’s only tough when you vote with the gun lobby. All that’s left for this guy is to decide whether he’s going to be the skunk at the convention party. #STOPYELLINGBERN
Tuesday, May 12, 2020
Democratic Debates
I’ve spent much of the past several days post debates touring other pro-Democratic sites trying to get a general sense of what folks elsewhere are thinking. I got caught up in one very lengthy thread in which Kamala Harris was excoriated in surprisingly nasty personal terms that I characterize as ranging between “how dare she ambush poor Joe” to, “Who does that F***ing B**** think she is?”.
It seems to me the reaction arises, in part, from a fundamental misunderstanding of the nature of debates; the purpose of which is to give candidates a chance to introduce themselves, present their proposed policy positions, and to challenge one’s opponents.
That holds true for every candidate, all of whom have vulnerabilities and are going to have to defend their records. The risk that this process will weaken the eventual nominee is real but that’s the price we pay for a big tent party that invited (too) many candidates to participate.
I’ve also seen repeated complaints that Harris broke a “pledge” between the candidates. The pledge was only that they would all support the eventual nominee; not that they would play nice and not engage competitively with each other.
As for the strategy of going at Biden, underdog candidates always “punch up” at the leader to get attention and expand their base of support. That’s exactly what Harris did.
Curiously, Julian Castro did the same thing to Beto O’Rourke in the previous evening’s debate when he asked the latter whether he supported repeal of sec. 1325 (the statute that criminalizes illegal entry into the country). Beto was not ready for the question and floundered – but, curiously, there was no great hue and cry over that “ambush” perhaps because they are perceived as second tier candidates.
As between the candidates, these disagreements are rarely personal. Biden and Harris will find common cause when the time comes – just as Biden found it with Eastman and Talmadge.
One of the more disconcerting aspects of the Harris/Biden exchange was that Joe didn’t have a ready response to an attack he had to know was coming. If he had simply said, “I will match my Senate record on civil rights against yours as California AG. When time permits, let’s have that discussion,” the narrative today would be completely different today. Instead, he fumbled, raising questions about his apparent lack of preparation.
Kamala Harris is a courtroom prosecutor and a good one. That’s her calling card. She has now rocked Kavanaugh, Barr and Biden, placing all three on the defensive. Joe has plenty of time to show he can counter.
We have several other talented candidates worthy of our time and attention. Rather than overreact to one issue or episode, however charged it may be, it seems to me we are best served by studying their positions and presentations, finding those whose views most closely reflect our own, and hope our chosen candidate can beat Trump.
What we do not need to do as Democrats is to destroy our candidates from within. They are quite capable of doing that to one another. As Joe is fond of saying, “that’s the deal.”
Keep on pushing.
It seems to me the reaction arises, in part, from a fundamental misunderstanding of the nature of debates; the purpose of which is to give candidates a chance to introduce themselves, present their proposed policy positions, and to challenge one’s opponents.
That holds true for every candidate, all of whom have vulnerabilities and are going to have to defend their records. The risk that this process will weaken the eventual nominee is real but that’s the price we pay for a big tent party that invited (too) many candidates to participate.
I’ve also seen repeated complaints that Harris broke a “pledge” between the candidates. The pledge was only that they would all support the eventual nominee; not that they would play nice and not engage competitively with each other.
As for the strategy of going at Biden, underdog candidates always “punch up” at the leader to get attention and expand their base of support. That’s exactly what Harris did.
Curiously, Julian Castro did the same thing to Beto O’Rourke in the previous evening’s debate when he asked the latter whether he supported repeal of sec. 1325 (the statute that criminalizes illegal entry into the country). Beto was not ready for the question and floundered – but, curiously, there was no great hue and cry over that “ambush” perhaps because they are perceived as second tier candidates.
As between the candidates, these disagreements are rarely personal. Biden and Harris will find common cause when the time comes – just as Biden found it with Eastman and Talmadge.
One of the more disconcerting aspects of the Harris/Biden exchange was that Joe didn’t have a ready response to an attack he had to know was coming. If he had simply said, “I will match my Senate record on civil rights against yours as California AG. When time permits, let’s have that discussion,” the narrative today would be completely different today. Instead, he fumbled, raising questions about his apparent lack of preparation.
Kamala Harris is a courtroom prosecutor and a good one. That’s her calling card. She has now rocked Kavanaugh, Barr and Biden, placing all three on the defensive. Joe has plenty of time to show he can counter.
We have several other talented candidates worthy of our time and attention. Rather than overreact to one issue or episode, however charged it may be, it seems to me we are best served by studying their positions and presentations, finding those whose views most closely reflect our own, and hope our chosen candidate can beat Trump.
What we do not need to do as Democrats is to destroy our candidates from within. They are quite capable of doing that to one another. As Joe is fond of saying, “that’s the deal.”
Keep on pushing.
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