It is another historic morning in this already historic year!
We have a family funeral awaiting travel to an adjacent state, and this is the last weekend of summer from a social rather than calendar standpoint. We hope for a swim or two when we return, but that is still to come. The waning Super Blue Moon waved good-bye above the West Wing of our Headquarters complex this morning and Legal doesn’t show up for work until 0900 hundred and the Intern assigned to the monitor the Production Meeting at the Creative Section picnic table is still groggy and only halfway through the first cup of Chock Full O’ Nuts, an OK brand that is a little cheaper than the stuff in the little plastic thingies.
That summed up the morning. The Post headlines featured some vignettes about supermarkets- no prices, or not exactly. One was a picture of the local Whole Foods with an auto protruding from the adjacent parking structure, demonstrating a sensible need to alertness in parking for city shoppers. Another feature story reported unaccompanied under-age shoppers were banished from Giant stores after 6:00 PM.
We don’t claim to know exactly why the new policy was put in place, or how it would be enforced since the stores have been directed not to pay much attention to where the goods are going inside the store, but life is complex these days, and not just in the shopping experience.
But the most historic part? Vice President Kamala Harris formally accepted her party’s Presidential nomination last night, just weeks after President Biden dropped out of the race, partially willingly.
Noted religious and social critic Al Sharpton was there and conveyed the convention’s spirit by shouting “JOY! JOY! JOY!” in an assertive tone, encouraging us all to join. It was amplified by the fashion statement of Ms Harris’s stepdaughter, who is apparently a fashion model by trade. Some of the rumored attendants at the moment were former President Bush and renowned pop singer Beyoncé, but both were used only as part of the publicity and failed to appear.
Tunes are part of the history. State delegation votes were accompanied by songs symbolizing their homes. Wyoming was apparently surprised to hear “I Gotta Feeling” by the Black-Eyed Peas, which they had not requested. Kansas got “Carry On My Wayward Son” by rock band named after their state. Those melodies were on Day 2, but continued through that evening and through Day 4, conveying energy and hope.
Beyoncé’s song “Freedom” was played to introduce VP Harris before her 40 minute speech as she became the first woman of color to accept a major party’s nomination for Chief Executive. Amid a cacophony of cheering Democrats and a canopy of red, white and blue balloons, Vice President Kamala Harris made history. Her remarks may have been the best she has ever given, though a bit short on content of what she will do differently than the last 3 1/2 years she has helped lead the Nation.
The speech was the culmination of three days of build-up about her work as VP, as a prosecutor and her promise to chart a new way forward to a future with a strong and growing middle class. Because, as she noted, “we know a strong middle class has always been critical to America’s success, and building that middle class will be a defining goal of my presidency.” She called it a “personal” thing because “the middle class is where I come from.”
Her father, Donald Harris, is a former professor of Economics at Stanford, but could not attend.
There was apparently a list of disagreements from the opposing campaign, but Legal told us to stay away from mentioning them. Some may come up in the 73 days remaining before the election.
The LawFare jumble continues to reflect the historic change in progress. The continuing Secret Service controversy is part of a sub-plot unmentioned at the Convention. A third plot to kill Mr. Trump was revealed yesterday. He previously had been winged by a sniper in Butler, PA, and the Iranians had a guy in the country with a plan to slay him. Then a deranged Arizona criminal was arrested late in the afternoon who had a plan to shoot him on a border trip. The former President was not informed by the Secret Service, but by the press.
That isn’t the only history being made in the Executive Branch. Elsewhere, the Navy has ordered all Marines, sailors and federal civilian employees to undergo training about off-limits political activities this summer.
Here in town, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia Judge Leonie Brinkema ruled that “‘well-treated HIV’ candidates can no longer be barred from enlisting in the U.S. military.” That ruling struck down the Pentagon’s last remaining policy limiting the service of those with the virus.
Over in the DoE’s National Nuclear Security Administration, Special Assistant Sneha Nair made her contribution to the moment by vowing to incorporate something called ‘Queer Theory’ into our nuclear planning. She is committed to ensuring diversity is properly included in plans for mass incineration. She joins Sam Brinton, former director of Spent Fuel and Waste Disposition, as policy proponent at DoE. Regrettably, Mr. Brinton is no longer employed by the Office of Nuclear Energy after being charged with luggage theft containing fashion items on three separate occasions.
So, historic times. More when we get back from the unique American Road!
Copyright 2024 Vic Socotra
www.vicsocotra.com