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.

I recently watched an episode of Finding Your Roots, with guests Nathan Lane and Leslie Odom, Jr. As they often do, the storylines and research encounter twists and turns and dead ends, along with emotional discoveries and a realization that we are all products of generations who have come before, often standing on the shoulders of giants, or something less dramatic than that.

The guests will often try to sum things up at the end, after the big scroll containing the family tree is rolled out and some blanks are filled in, knowledge is gained about relatives these people didn’t know they had—people who came from all over the world, from places and situations both expected and unexpected.

Nathan Lane summed things up by saying something like, “Isn’t this what America is all about? Isn’t this who and what we are—a nation of people who have come from somewhere else dreaming of a better life?”

And I got to thinking about Donald Trump, of all people, and how ugly and unappreciative he is, willingly clueless about America and what America means to the people he so offhandedly declares to be scum and who must be sent back to where they’ve come from.

And, as maddening as it was to be reminded of such a twit, I realized that to vote him into office for another four years would not only add insult to injury, but would also be irresponsibly myopic and even sinful. It would be a vote for ignoring a glaring reality: that America is in no small part what it is because of the very people who Trump so little values. These are people who have traversed oceans and mountains, who have left behind oppression and persecution in hopes of finding some peace, of having a chance to actually live in a place that appreciates them and, if necessary, helps them get on their feet so they can thrive and find their happiness.

These are the people who are motivated to excel and contribute, and who know and love America so much more than the native born, provincial idiots like Trump who choose not to see.

The Tunkhannock Viaduct, also called the Nicholson Bridge, in Nicholson, PA, is a behemoth of a structure that looms large as one drives north on State Route 11. According to the front page article in the November 6, 1915 afternoon edition of the Scranton Times, it was touted as the greatest concrete bridge in the world (and would remain so for 50 years, according to Wickipedia).

It is an impressive thing to see, and might take drivers by surprise as it comes into view. It served and still serves the purpose of shortening the rail route between Scranton, PA and Binghamton, NY by 3.6 miles. The rail bed itself (two tracks) is 240 feet above Tunkhannock Creek, 300 feet above bedrock. It was built by the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad, an expanse of 2375 feet, using 1140 tons of reinforced steel, 167,000 cubic yards of concrete, weighing in at 670,000,000 pounds. Begun in 1912, completed in 1915, and currently owned by Norfolk Southern Railway.

All this while smaller type revealed that Germany was sinking British, French, and Italian vessels in the early days of WWI.

It trumps not going there, that forbidden space where no one can say anything bad about Israel without incurring the wrath of those who would shout “antisemite!”

Eradicating Hamas is a fool’s errand, and in the process of trying to do it, Netanyahu has taken on the persona of an ogre who listens to no one, while thousands of Gazans face unimaginable hardships and loss. They have next to nothing to live on or return to.

Civilians are the victims of a cowardly Hamas tactic that has made it difficult for the Israelis to be “surgical” and instead leads to merciless, indiscriminate bombing and shelling and horrendous injury and destruction.

I have to believe that much of the protesting has been because of Israel’s relentless response that has shifted in perception from righteously retaliatory to heinously excessive. I’m not sure where the flag-waving, pro-Palestinian voices come from. Perhaps it is because there still exists a segment of the population who will always be irrationally suspicious of Jews. Or perhaps its ranks are growing because of an innate human response to the suffering of the Gazan people.

Either way, people are growing more familiar with what they’re looking at, and the plight of Gazan civilians is looking more and more like blatant cruelty.

I recently played in a golf tournament that we’ve played in for three years running now. I love the sense of anticipation and optimism with which we always start a round. You have a tendency to feel like this is the day we go low.

Turned out that wasn’t the case this time around. We struggled mightily. We could get to the green most times with a shot at birdie, but usually had long putts. We each had two mulligans and ended up using the last three on the last hole to try and get an eagle, but to no avail. Golf is hard.

Personally, I have no reason to get mad about any aspect of my game—this was the second time I played in 2024. Still great to be out, though, to be with friends, get some relatively fresh air and exercise. And there’s always the hope that maybe next time will be the time we put it all together.

*or yellow, or blue, or pink, or red

Political discourse in this country, of late—well, really since Trump landed in a heap on our doorstep—might be characterized as rough around the edges, lacking in substance.

OK… uncivil and immature, pants-on-fire, loud, accusatory, rapid-fire mindlessness.

I guess other nations have had worse moments, but ours has been one long slog since Trump made his grand entrance back in 2015. Think about that moment—DJT and Melania descending as if from on high, coming to earth to grace our presence and cure our ills. What a huge record scratch, a choreographed joke.

Fast forward to the present and what we see is a 78-year-old tyrant toddler who has lost his grip on reality. He’s got zero business being included in the conversation for POTUS, yet he’s still here. Still fucking here! We have to let it play out and try not to panic, play the long game, do whatever we can to throw our own share of sand in the gears of the Republican plan to grease the skids for Stop the Steal 2.0.

Planting election deniers on local election boards, compounding the lies, telling us we’re not seeing what we’re seeing, implementing Project 2025– it’s all in the service of a grotesque, medieval government takeover, and another round of delays and lawsuits and misdirection. And trying to keep the 78-year-old dictator wannabe out of jail.

It’s as if they’ve already lost, without even minimal effort at hammering out a legitimate platform. For Trump and the co-opted Republican party, it’s never been about capable governance. It’s simply about leverage, and a power grab.