As always, please feel welcome and encouraged to share pix of the fuzzy, feathered, or scaled members of your family in comments.
Daily Dose of Cute
As always, please feel welcome and encouraged to share pix of the fuzzy, feathered, or scaled members of your family in comments.
LOVE
This video aired at the Democratic convention on Tuesday night, but I only saw it late last night. So, in case you missed it, too, here it is!
Actress Elizabeth Banks and a bunch of her celeb friends (many of whom I don't recognize, because I'm old and haven't lifted my head from my laptop in fully one million years at this point) got together and made a video of an a cappella performance of "This Is My Fight Song" for Hillary Clinton. And it's pretty great!
Video Description: A bunch of people create a performance of the song using only their voices to recreate the sounds of absent instruments, percussion, etc. They are each pictured singing in their own "box," with a solid colorful background, and all the different boxes pop up and disappear and reappear onscreen either individually or in combination with other people in their boxes.
Banks posted it on Facebook with the note: "We believe in Hillary Clinton. We love the sound of the first woman president!"
ME TOO.
An Observation
Anyone who is watching this Democratic convention is seeing just a ceaseless parade of intelligent, respected, ethical, and trusted people, some of whom are elected politicians and some of whom are private citizens, telling stories about the Hillary Clinton they know.
They are saying, each of them, how profoundly decent a human being she is. How caring and loyal and steadfast and hardworking and kind and determined and talented and indomitable.
And still there are people watching this convention who stubbornly believe that Hillary Clinton is a monster.
It's one thing to believe she's a liar, despite all evidence to the absolute damn contrary.
But, at this point, to maintain that opinion of Clinton, you are necessarily asserting that every one of the speakers at this convention is a liar, too.
Suffice it to say, that seems unlikely.
Democratic Convention Day Three Wrap-Up!
HOT DAMN. The hottest of all damns. That was quite a convention night.
I again did some live-tweeting of the primetime speakers, and I've Storified those tweets for anyone who wants to read them.
There were a lot—and I mean a lot—of amazing moments last night, but GOOD MAUDE did I ugly cry so hard when President Obama finished his indescribably extraordinary address, and Hillary Clinton surprised us by walking out onstage to greet him, and they gave each other the biggest, squeeziest hug. LET'S ALL JUST WATCH THIS OVER AND OVER FOREVER.
Hillary Clinton walks onto the stage to the sound of roaring applause, pointing at President Obama. (In another angle, it was visible that he was pointing back at her, and they were both grinning broadly.) As she walks toward the President, she stretches her arms wide. They embrace each other in a warm, extended hug, rocking back and forth. They pull apart and look at each other. The President says something to her; it looks like, maybe, "Now you've just got to win." She rests her head on his shoulder and they both look full of emotion. They walk to the edge of the stage, waving to the crowd, his arm wrapped around her shoulders.I'm never going to recover.
President Obama has passed the torch to his friend, Hillary. Tonight, she gives her address. And then we head to November.
Democratic Convention Day Three Thread
Instead of doing Questions of the Day during the conventions, I'm going to be posting Convention Threads, since the big speeches happen in the evenings, and I thought we might all want a place to discuss.
Here is a partial schedule of speakers for this evening.
All I can say is that I hope every single single at the Democratic convention tonight makes this point:
.@realDonaldTrump's entire campaign has been based on fearmongering, but today he's made it clear the thing we have to fear most is him.
— Melissa McEwan (@Shakestweetz) July 27, 2016
Because it needs to be made. Again and again and again.
Quote of the Day
"He's completely unqualified to be president and would be a menace if he were to get there. I do wish more prominent Republicans would step forward and say that."—Dr. Eliot Cohen, State Department counselor during George W. Bush's second term (and organizer of the open letter from a number of Republican national security leaders denouncing Donald Trump) on Trump's unfathomably reckless comments today.
I also wish more prominent Republicans would step forward and speak as bluntly as Dr. Cohen. In fact:
Is there any point at which former CIA director and president George H.W. Bush will just come out & endorse Hillary for good of the nation?
— Melissa McEwan (@Shakestweetz) July 27, 2016
I'm not being facetious. At some point, a prominent Republican needs to lead the way in unifying behind her in wholesale rejection of Trump.
— Melissa McEwan (@Shakestweetz) July 27, 2016
And his entire movement. At this point, even forcing him out and installing a "moderate" GOP replacement isn't good enough.
— Melissa McEwan (@Shakestweetz) July 27, 2016
The GOP can't put a bandage on this mess. A full-throated repudiation of everything that has happened in this election is necessary.
— Melissa McEwan (@Shakestweetz) July 27, 2016
Trump is not a joke. This is grim.
— Melissa McEwan (@Shakestweetz) July 27, 2016
Daily Dose of Cute
As always, please feel welcome and encouraged to share pix of the fuzzy, feathered, or scaled members of your family in comments.
In the News
My time continues to be tight because of convention stuff, so let's continue to crowdsource this! Please feel free to use this thread to share news items of interest you've seen in your travels 'round the web today.
(As always, please be sure to add relevant content notes. Thanks!)
Here are a couple of links of interest:
[Content Note: Misogyny] Roundup of Newspapers That Illustrated Hillary Clinton's Nomination with Pictures of Her Husband.
Clinton Running Mate Kaine Endorses Repeal of Hyde Amendment on Abortion.
So We Counted All the Women and People of Color at the DNC and the RNC…
Obama Chooses Historic Jackson Park as Library Site.
Searches for 'Donald Trump Treason' Spike Following Russia Comments.
[CN: Video may autoplay at link] Aide: Trump 'Will Not Be Releasing' Taxes.
[CN: Violence] Would-Be Reagan Assassin John Hinckley Jr. to Be Freed After 35 Years.
Philae Lander: Farewell Messages to Philae as Life Support Ends.
What Donald Trump Just Did Is Tantamount to Treason
At a press conference earlier today, Donald Trump said: "Russia, if you're listening, I hope you're able to find the thirty thousand emails that are missing. I think you will probably be rewarded mightily by our press. Let's see if that happens."
.@RealDonaldTrump on @HillaryClinton's emails: Russia, 'I hope you find the 33,000 emails that are missing.' pic.twitter.com/zlOhFme3X1
— POLITICO (@politico) July 27, 2016
This is utterly gobsmacking. As is most of the media's lack of concern in covering this story meaningfully. I have been tweeting about it, and I've Storified those tweets for anyone who wants to read them.
I also have a new piece at BNR about it: "BIG: Former CIA Director Says Trump's Loyalty to U.S. in Question."
This comes in the context of increasingly alarming connections between Donald, his campaign co-chair Paul Manafort, Russian hackers, and Russian lenders with ties to Putin.Meanwhile, in other fucking alarming news: "Buried news today: Trump would consider recognizing Crimea as legally part of Russia."
...We cannot state this any more plainly: Donald is an existential threat to the United States. He cannot be elected president.
Further, in saying that Russia will be "rewarded mightily by our press," Donald is openly acknowledging – and exploiting – the media's demonstrated hatred of Hillary.
It should utterly chill members of the media that Donald is (understandably) assured he can exploit their hatred of Hillary to collude with a foreign government.
...This is the man the Republican Party chose as their nominee. Is the Party of Reagan going to sit idly by while their candidate suggests that foreign government hackers should infiltrate the U.S. government?
If so, the entire party has abdicated all pretense of allegiance to this nation.
And if the national media can spend months hammering Hillary for her emails and give Donald a pass for this, then they are openly trying to elect him.
Every new day brings fresh evidence that Donald Trump is, quite literally, running on a platform of being Putin's puppet.
Is our media going to wake up and address this with the gravity it deserves? Is the Republican Party going to do something about the traitorous dirtbag they chose as their nominee?
TRUMP MUST BE STOPPED. That is not hyperbole. This is grim.
Rage. Seethe. Boil.
[Content Note: Police brutality; death; racism. Video may autoplay at link.]
Prosecutors have dropped all pending charges on the officers who had yet to be tried in the death of Freddie Gray:
Prosecutors dropped all remaining charges against three Baltimore police officers accused in the arrest and death of Freddie Gray in a downtown courtroom on Wednesday morning, concluding one of the most high-profile criminal cases in Baltimore history.This cavernous lack of accountability is utterly enraging, even though it is hardly surprising.
The startling move was an apparent acknowledgement of the unlikelihood of a conviction following the acquittals of three other officers on similar and more serious charges by Circuit Judge Barry G. Williams, who was expected to preside over the remaining trials as well.
It also means the office of Baltimore State's Attorney Marilyn J. Mosby will secure no convictions in the case after more than a year of dogged fighting, against increasingly heavy odds, to hold someone criminally accountable in Gray's death.
Freddie Gray's family still has the opportunity to pursue a civil case, but that is, for a variety of reasons, not the same as a criminal case. Which is why they are separate in the first place.
There will never, ever, be justice without meaningful accountability. And real justice is not just consequences for the killers of Freddie Gray, but no more people killed in acts of police brutality ever again.
"Issues"
[Content Note: Bigotry; fearmongering.]
So, Donald Trump has added an "Issues" page to his campaign website. I don't know when it was added; I haven't looked at his website for awhile. [H/Ts to Jen Statsky and Ginger McKnight.] And it is really something.
The entire page is just a series of short videos, with Trump talking directly to the camera about something (while cinematic Action President! music plays), and a short paraphrase beneath each video.
There are literally ZERO policy details. Here, for example, is Trump on the issue of "The Military," the description of which on the page reads: "I will make our Military so big, powerful and strong that no one will mess with us."
Trump: I'm gonna make our military so big, so powerful, so strong, that nobody, absolutely nobody, is gonna mess with us. We're gonna take care of our vets, and we're gonna get rid of ISIS. We're gonna get rid of 'em fast.THAT'S LITERALLY IT. He is, however, minimally more loquacious when it comes to making sure he conveys that he will definitely be a total shit to marginalized people.
I have a great education. I went to an Ivy League college. But I'm not politically correct. Because to be politically correct just takes too much time. It takes too much effort. We have to get things done in this country, and you're never gonna get it done if we just stay politically correct.At first blush, this might seem hilarious, but that's one of the most sinister things about Donald Trump: He seems like a joke upon cursory examination, but his pithy hatred is scary. Reducing his authoritarian nationalism into small, digestible bites for people who will just uncritically follow and cheer him as long as he speaks (literally) to their lizard brains is not funny. It's terrifying.
"She has made history."
[Content Note: Misogyny.]
I've got a new piece up at BNR: "SHE DID IT!!! Hillary Overcame the Haters with Grace and Dignity."
A friend of mine, a professor of women's history, once said to me during a conversation about women trailblazers that history looks back on these women through a lens that often filters out the vast array of difficulties they had to navigate on the way to their remembered achievements.Head on over to read the whole thing, because to truly honor the profundity of Hillary's achievement, we must acknowledge the full landscape of her journey to get there.
The destination is what we celebrate, and while it's generally agreed that the path must have been tough, rarely are the details, in their specificity and scope, so well-recalled.
It has taken 227 years for a woman to achieve what Hillary achieved today. For the most part, people agree that she had to overcome some obstacles to get here.
But will history remember how truly plethoric and pervasive those obstacles were?
Democratic Convention Day Two Wrap-Up!
OH MY MADAM PRESIDENT, THAT WAS QUITE A DAY!
As you might have heard, via the news or via the reverberating sound of my celebratory sobs carried on the winds of history, Hillary Clinton officially captured the Democratic nomination yesterday, making her the first woman in the nation's history to be the presidential nominee of a major party.
Woo. What a time to be alive!
At the end of the evening, Clinton made a quick appearance at the convention via satellite from New York:
Video Description: A video that was showing all the male presidents from George Washington to Barack Obama on a huge screen in the convention hall "shatters," revealing Hillary Clinton with a HUGE smile on her face. The crowd cheers as celebratory music plays!I again did some live-tweeting of the primetime speakers, and I've Storified those tweets for anyone who wants to read them.
Clinton: Hello, Philadelphia! I am so happy. It's been a great day and night. What an incredible honor that you have given me. And I can't believe we just put the biggest crack in that glass ceiling yet! [cheers] Thanks to you and to everyone who's fought so hard to make this possible. This is really your victory; this is really your night. And, if there are any little girls out there who stayed up late to watch, let me just say [the camera pulls back to reveal that she's in a room full of supporters] I may become the first woman president, but one of you is next! Thank you all! I can't wait to join you in Philadelphia! Thank you! [cheers and applause]
Once again, I'll just remark upon how almost indescribably different the Democratic convention is from the Republican convention. I am buoyed by the messages of hope, optimism, and commitment to the hard work of making progress happen together that emanate from every speaker at the Democratic convention. My people.
Democratic Convention Day Two Thread
Instead of doing Questions of the Day during the conventions, I'm going to be posting Convention Threads, since the big speeches happen in the evenings, and I thought we might all want a place to discuss.
Here is the schedule of speakers for this evening.
Y'all, when I started blogging 12 years ago, I honestly didn't think I'd see this day in my lifetime. I had the same thought in 2008. To have gotten to see these two historic nominations back-to-back is overwhelming. I have cried my head dry.
I can't quite put into words what it feels like to have spent so much of the last ten years researching and writing about Hillary Clinton—first, just as her defender against misogyny; then as her hesitant admirer; then as her ardent supporter—and to now sit in this moment, celebrating the history she has made.
I have spent a lot of time with her, although we've never met. I have burdened myself with the task of being her champion, and I have burdened her with the task of being mine.
And I have never been disappointed.
This is an incredible moment. This entire convention has been incredible for me. Just having the opportunity to watch so many people speak positively about a woman is rare, no less the opportunity to watch them speak about a woman who may be our next president.
Hillary Clinton is officially the nominee. And I am officially overwhelmed.
* * *
Among tonight's speakers is former President Bill Clinton. There have been former presidents who spoke in support of a presidential nominee before, and spouses who spoke in support of a presidential nominee before, but tonight, in another historical first, a former president who is also a spouse will speak in support of a presidential nominee. Whoa.
She Did It!
I will say once again: Thank You, Hillary.
ROLL CALL!
This is it, y'all! The roll call to officially nominate the Democratic presidential nominee is about to begin at the Democratic convention! Eeeeeeeeeee!
