I can’t imagine there’s much left to put on the table. The Dems have had their say and now we’ll see if it all makes a difference, if the energy and momentum can be sustained.

Things are liable to get ugly, and mind-numbingly, disgustingly so, but there are only another 75 days or thereabouts. Then it can be over—if the outcome leaves Trump choking on dust, having been beaten so soundly that even he can take the hint.

Polling be damned.

The DNC was one long, cathartic therapy session. A chance to unload, let it all hang out.

Some will disagree, but Donald Trump has paved the way for this bearing of souls by simply being who he is, by merely opening his mouth day after day and spewing hate and stupidity, never knowing when or how to stop, and believing that he actually had a place in the national conversation. He was due a sustained piling on.

It seems, at least from what happened at the convention, that America has had more than enough of Trump’s insistence on looking at the half-empty glass, enough of the caricatured dark pall he insists on casting. The steady stream of speakers did their job of articulating a different path, many making sure we were reminded that the source of our discomfort is Donald Trump and a deeply troubled and conflicted Republican party. 

We don’t need what they’re trying to sell.

Ronald Reagan’s 11^th Commandment, “Thou shall not speak ill of another Republican,” is such a pretentious pile of shit.

This from the mouth of an actor who often gets put on a pedestal and spoken of in hushed, reverential tones, but who was an actor who could deliver a line, who landed the biggest role of his life.

It is difficult to be humble sometimes. One might feel the love and adoration, maybe start to believe the hype, and it’s hard not to jump on the bandwagon of positive vibes and a certain invincibility.

The Dems, to me, are getting cocky, trash talking now—not that Trump doesn’t deserve the piling on he’s currently getting at the DNC. It’s just that it’s difficult to see how Dems are not stooping to the same level Trump and many Republicans operate at on a daily basis. We’re being no better than they are, in some ways, and I always fear that such hubris and over-confidence will come back to haunt us.

If one doesn’t put much stock in karma, I guess no harm done. And sometimes it is difficult not to respond to the vitriolic swill that pours from Trump and his cockeyed squad.

Still, eyes on the prize! Preach to the choir, and the congregation, and those who might be listening at the door wondering what all the hubbub is about.

Turns out I can’t watch the DNC, either, but for different reasons than the RNC. I’m tiring of the loudness and the constant reactions and applause over the same talking points. Every speaker sounds like they’re shouting, and they all sound like cheerleaders, hoping to elicit a reaction from the crowd. And I guess I’ve heard enough about Biden’s legacy and how selfless and patriotic he is. Maybe, in the end, it wasn’t as difficult a decision as people want to make it seem. And it’s not like he alone conceived Build Back Better and wrote and ratified the infrastructure bill and the rest of the legislation. It all happened on his watch, which is not insignificant, I guess.

One thing’s for sure—Donald Trump’s thin skin should be crawling by now. The Dems are bringing the hammer down and serving up a massively karmic helping of criticism and warning. Somewhere in the midst of this cathartic outpouring should be evidence that the Dems have taken the gloves off.

James Carville said recently that the only way we might be able to finally put Trump in the rearview mirror is to bury him in this election, the way Barry Goldwater got buried by LBJ in 1964. That might send a message to the Trump coat tailers that it’s time to let go. Carville wasn’t optimistic that this will happen, but one has to wonder—if Harris and Walz can maintain the energy and momentum for another 77 days—if there might maybe be a landslide in the making.

Polling apparently still says No to that, but I’m trying to swear off of polls for a while. In some ways, they contradict reason and the rest of the headlines or the palpable sense of momentum the Dems currently have.

In any event, after tomorrow night, the stretch run begins and we’ll all get to decide if we engage, or set an alarm to wake us up when it’s over. There’s little doubt that it needs to be the former.

The Dems can’t get derailed because of Gaza. People can proclaim that they’re one-issue voters, but surely they must realize that there are other important issues.

A hundred thousand voters in Michigan sounds like more than enough to make a difference in a swing state outcome, but I hope they grasp the potential consequence of their stubbornness. It’s time to give Trump no quarter. And the Middle East shit show will not be resolved because a bloc of voters in Michigan, or elsewhere, decides to stand firm.

It might be personal, but it’s more complicated than that.

Had a few ideas running through my head as the DNC unfolded last night, but can’t hit on anything in particular at the moment. I guess I should keep a note pad handy at all times.

I will say that, short of staying up for Joe Biden’s speech, Hillary Clinton won the evening with a stirring call to action and an all-around fine effort. She was poised, animated, and on point, even eliciting a poetic and fitting “Lock him up!” from the crowd, which, to her credit, she didn’t participate in. I’m sure, if Donald Trump was watching, his BP was elevated a bit. So be it.

If his name was mentioned once, it was mentioned hundreds of times, and rightfully so. It’s apparent early on that the Dems aren’t playing nice when it comes to reminding people of the object of our derision and what’s at stake this time around. They’ve got the floor and they’re gonna use it for all it’s worth.

I guess my main takeaway so far is that the Democratic party is not hurting for people who are truly stable, with heads on their shoulders, rational and smart and passionate. People who care, who speak plainly and wisely about issues we truly care about.

Apart from Shawn Fain’s fine high-octane speech but questionable reveal of a “Trump is a scab” t-shirt, there’s already an unmistakable difference between the tenor of this convention and what transpired a few weeks ago in Milwaukee. And it was a stroke of genius to have Kamala come out for an unexpected and perfectly brief appearance.

May the Dems use their remaining time in Chicago to generate enough momentum to make history, win the day, and end this nine-year nightmare.

The Republicans may be putting all their eggs in this basket. No one will be able to tell me, straight-faced, that the party of orange Jesus hasn’t been licking its chops at the opportunity to disrupt the DNC.

No doubt, there may be many who come to Chicago because they recognize an opportunity to make their case to the public about the atrocities being perpetrated in Gaza, but there will be others who are there simply to make trouble. The storm that will most likely be unleashed in the guise of Gaza-related protests looks to be gathering and getting organized, getting ready to serve as a giant distraction—to the glee of Trump and all who still support him.

Unless they can somehow hit a home run, it may not matter if Harris and Walz address the issue from the podium. It may not matter that some of the protesters will be there out of righteous anger and a sincere belief that what’s happening in Gaza is horrific and unacceptable. Let’s assume there will be influence exerted by a certain component whose only purpose will be to incite contrived anger and offense in service of making the Harris-Walz ticket look bad.

The noise and (potential) violence outside, or even inside, will most likely serve some nefarious purpose of introducing doubt and taking the shine off what has been a bit of a juggernaut since Joe Biden stepped aside. Hopefully people will see through it and recognize it for what it is—just another ploy, another cheap tactic from the party who has brought us nothing but smoke and mirrors and vanity since way before 2015.

MAGA disciples, red-hatted zealots who hope for…what? Please explain in rational terms why you’re still lovin’ Donald Trump. Because from where many of us stand, your allegiance speaks only of ignorance and a shriveled, narrow-minded vision for America.

Your “hero” and “savior” is an aged criminal who’s running scared and really couldn’t care less about actual, competent governance. He doesn’t even care about you! He’s in it to win it for himself. Think about it—why would a 78-year-old narcissist want the job, if not for the power and the attention it affords him?

If you really love America, think seriously about withdrawing your support for this huckster, this pretender, this loud-mouthed coward who long ago needed to stumble off into the sunset.

I was hit with a certain melancholy as I thought about the beginning of another school year. Our granddaughter starts first grade next week, sixty-four years after I first stepped up into the old yellow Dodge bus and met Mr. L in all his cigar-chomping glory.

But the reason for the melancholy is not as much about reminiscence and the passage of time as it is about hoping the school year goes well for everyone—without incident, without making headlines for all the wrong reasons.

It was just a momentary tinge, an ache brought on by the thought that anymore we need to keep the shields up and be mindful of the next crazed lunatic looking to make a name for himself. I realize the odds are it won’t happen here. But the odds are never totally in anyone’s favor, and this is something no one gave even a second of thought to, sixty-four years ago.

Ah, those halcyon days.