On the Monday after Joe Biden stepped aside, I wrote that most elections are about undecided voters while much of this one was about an undecided candidate. But Joe Biden did something unnatural for a politician, and completely unthinkable for his opponent: He ceded power. By exiting the race, Biden is left with many of the positives and none of his negatives, rising from the political ashes of his sluggish campaign to become a campaign supernova. After being greeted by a nearly four-minute ovation at the DNC, Biden accepted this role: "I promise I'll be the best volunteer Harris and Walz's camp have ever seen." None of this is to suggest that last night could have been easy for Joe Biden. The decision by a person in power to step aside is rare for a reason. And Joe Biden knows full well that those cheers he received when he walked on stage in Chicago were boosted by his decision to walk off the political stage before he wanted to. Biden wiped away a tear after the introduction by his daughter, Ashley, before listing many his administration's accomplishments and explaining that he still had much to achieve. But, ultimately, this was a speech to say goodbye: "It’s been the honor of my lifetime to serve as your President. I love the job, but I love my country more. And all this talk about how I’m angry with all those people who said I should step down—that’s not true. I love my country more, and we need to preserve our democracy." Watch and Read Joe Biden’s Full Speech.
+ "For Biden, the recent, sudden surge of enthusiasm among Democrats has been a barbed blessing; victory now seems far more likely, but there’s little doubt how desperate Democrats were for him to step aside. Over and over, the crowd rewarded him with ovations and chants of 'Thank you, Joe!' In the hours before Biden went on, one speaker after another seemed to be competing for who could praise him most lavishly. The acclaim occasionally bordered on patronizing, and Biden, one suspects, knows it; his nerve endings are especially attuned to the personal gestures and slights of politics. But, most of all, the sentiment was one of relief and gratitude." Evan Osnos in the The New Yorker: Proud and Impassioned, Joe Biden Passes the Torch at the DNC.
+ The first night's speakers were all pretty good (you can watch them here), but things started a bit late and went on a bit too long. Just ask James Taylor. He got bumped from the program. One of the early speakers was Steve Kerr (who knows something about winning teams in Chicago) who gave a very solid speech and made what I think is one of the key points of this moment in American history: "I know very well that speaking out about politics these days comes with risks. I can see the ‘Shut up and whistle’ tweets being fired off as we speak. But I also knew after being asked as an American citizen it was too important not to speak up in an election of this magnitude." Let's hope others follow that lead.
+ The most highlighted issue of the night was women's health care and the right to choose. Several women and couples who have experienced agony in Post-Roe America courageously shared their stories. None was more powerful that Hadley Duvall who shared her story of being raped by her stepfather as a child in Kentucky: "Growing up, I was an all-American girl. Varsity soccer captain, cheerleading captain, homecoming queen, and ... survivor."
+ The last time I attended a political convention was in Boston in 2004. I was among a group of the first bloggers ever to be granted press credentials to a major party convention. At our welcome breakfast in a small hotel breakout conference room, the guest speaker was a soon-to-be Senator from Chicago. His remarks to us were pretty good. His speech to the Convention a couple nights later changed the course of American history. Tonight, he's the headliner as he makes the case for Kamala Harris.
How liable is a city when one of its police officers does something horrifying? That is one of the key questions on the table as a trial in Lousiana begins. WaPo (Gift Article): A teen sexually abused by a cop sued New Orleans. Now the trial begins. Records show the officer "was hired despite an arrest for aggravated assault charges and a conviction for battery on a juvenile — a conviction that three of his family members told The Post was the result of a previous sexual relationship with a minor."
"Eleven years ago, Stephen West was stocking groceries at a Safeway warehouse in Seattle. He was 24, and had been working to support himself since dropping out of high school at 16. Homeless at times, he had mainly grown up in group homes and foster-care programs up and down the West Coast after being taken away from his family at 9. He learned to find solace in books. He would tell himself to be grateful for the work: 'It’s manual, physical labor, but it’s better than 99.9 percent of jobs that have ever existed in human history.' By the time most kids have graduated from college, he had consumed 'the entire Western canon of philosophy.' A notable advantage of packing boxes in a warehouse all day is that rote, solitary work can be accomplished with headphones on." The Atlantic (Gift Article): The Warehouse Worker Who Became a Philosopher.
"Mr. Peyton, who founded the first branch of Exit Here in the neighborhood of Chiswick in 2019 as a modern alternative to traditional funeral parlors, is a familiar face on the British hospitality scene: He was the founder of the Atlantic Bar & Grill, a West London hot spot that closed in 2006, and he served as a judge on the BBC show 'Great British Menu.'" His next big plan? I'll let the NYT (Gift Article) explain: They’re Putting Some Fun in Funerals. (Given my longstanding curmudgeonly status, there's a reasonably good chance this will be the best party I ever throw.)
As Good as Gold: In some countries, an Olympic gold medal is worth its weight in gold ... and then some. After the gold: A look at how some Olympic champions are being welcomed home. "In Pakistan, Arshad Nadeem brought home the javelin gold and reportedly got nearly $600,000 and two new cars — plus free gas for life."
+ Freak Weather Sinks Yacht: "Police divers resumed searching Tuesday for six people believed trapped in the hull of a superyacht that sank in deep seas off Sicily, including a British tech magnate who was celebrating his recent acquittal on fraud charges with the people who had defended him at trial."
+ Tony Express: Antony Blinken is continuing to build his frequent traveler points with yet another tour of the Middle East. For the Biden administration, a ceasefire is clearly the top priority. Can they get it done? Every time they get close, we realize they're not that close. Biden says Hamas ‘backing away’ from hostage-ceasefire deal, as Blinken heads to Egypt. The suffering in Gaza continues and in Israel, the protests around getting a deal done and returning the hostages have been constant and urgent. But time is clearly running out. Bodies of six Israeli hostages retrieved from Gaza.
+ Bye George: George Santos pleads guilty to fraud, which I suppose, makes this a good time to review his weirdest lies.
+ X Con: With his Twitter purchase, Elon Musk bought increased influence, a louder megaphone, and ruined the platform for many people. So I'd say that's a win for him. The bankers who backed the deal? Not so much. "The $13 billion that Elon Musk borrowed to buy Twitter has turned into the worst merger-finance deal for banks since the 2008-09 financial crisis." (Of course, some of these bankers likely participated in this weak deal to maintain access to the better ones.)
+ Plus Minused: "Disney is no longer asking a Florida court to dismiss a wrongful death lawsuit on the grounds that the victim’s family had signed up for its streaming service Disney Plus." I guess bad PR is more expensive than a lawsuit.
"Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy said last week that he hopes his players can focus on football now instead of the 'business side' of name, image and likeness with the season opener just a few days away. But Gundy is also hoping that an innovative ploy can earn his players more NIL money during the season." Oklahoma State to wear QR codes linked to NIL fund on helmets.
+ "Thirty-six flights were cancelled and 201 delayed at a Japanese airport on the weekend after a pair of scissors went missing in a store near the boarding gates." (The scissors ended up being found at the same store.)
