Susan
July 25, 2024
Jim and I are on our way to Yosemite to pick up Peter and Eli who’ll finish the JMT a day earlier than planned (wow). We are hunkered down in Groveland at the All Seasons Groveland Inn (cute!), having had iced tea and iced coffee at the cafe across the street and a charming dinner at the Charlotte Hotel (cute!). We’ve justified eating multiple little chocolates because tomorrow we’ll rise at 3:20, hit the road at 4:00, and sneak into the park before officials show up to staff the entry gate (this is a thing) because we were not able to obtain a permit. Then we’ll hike to the top (well, we’ll see) of Upper Yosemite Falls (3300′ in 3.3 miles, ouch!!) and back down in time to pick up P&E at Happy Isles. Then we’ll eat dinner and drive home (like, 5 hours). So…we’ll be tired and spent. Chocolates allowed.
More on all that later!!
On our way to Yosemite, we stopped for lunch with Susan on the lovely patio at Tower Cafe. We had fun talking politics. Nobody is more well-read, informed and reasoned than Susan.
Biden Passes the Torch
July 24, 2024
We live in just plain amazing times. Every day an historic milestone. Deferring to Heather Cox Richardson tonight for a summary of today’s big event:
Tonight, President Joe Biden explained to the American people why he decided to refuse the 2024 Democratic presidential nomination and hand the torch to Vice President Kamala Harris.
Speaking from the Oval Office from his seat behind the Resolute Desk, a gift from Queen Victoria to President Rutherford B. Hayes in 1880, Biden recalled the nation’s history. He invoked Thomas Jefferson, who wrote the Declaration of Independence; George Washington, who “showed us presidents are not kings”; Abraham Lincoln, who “implored us to reject malice”; and Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who “inspired us to reject fear.”
And then he turned to himself. “I revere this office, but I love my country more,” he said. “It’s been the honor of my life to serve as your president.” But, he said, the defense of democracy is more important than any title, and democracy is “larger than any one of us.” We must unite to protect it.
“In recent weeks, it has become clear to me that I need to unite my party in this critical endeavor,” he said. “I believe my record as president, my leadership in the world, my vision for America’s future, all merited a second term. But nothing, nothing can come in the way of saving our democracy. That includes personal ambition. So I’ve decided the best way forward is to pass the torch to a new generation. It’s the best way to unite our nation.”
There is “a time and a place for long years of experience in public life,” Biden said. “There’s also a time and a place for new voices, fresh voices, yes, younger voices. And that time and place is now.”
Biden reminded listeners that he is not leaving the presidency and will be continuing to use its power for the American people. In outlining what that means, he summed up his presidency.
For the next six months, he said, he will “continue to lower costs for hard-working families [and] grow our economy. I will keep defending our personal freedoms and civil rights, from the right to vote to the right to choose. I will keep calling out hate and extremism, making it clear there is…no place in America for political violence or any violence ever, period. I’m going to keep speaking out to protect our kids from gun violence [and] our planet from [the] climate crisis.”
Biden reiterated his support for his Cancer Moonshot to end cancer—a personal cause for him since the 2015 death of his son Beau from brain cancer—and says he will fight for it, (although House Republicans have recently slashed funding for the program). He said he will call for reforming the Supreme Court “because this is critical to our democracy.”
He promised to continue “working to ensure America remains strong, secure and the leader of the free world,” and pointed out that he is “the first president of this century to report to the American people that the United States is not at war anywhere in the world.” He promised to continue rallying a coalition of nations to stop Putin’s attempt to take over Ukraine, and vowed to continue to build the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). He reminded listeners that when he took office, the conventional wisdom was that China would inevitably surpass the United States, but that is no longer the case, and he said he would continue to strengthen allies and partners in the Pacific.
Biden promised to continue to work to “end the war in Gaza, bring home all the hostages and bring peace and security to the Middle East and end this war,” as well as “to bring home Americans being unjustly detained all around the world.”
The president reminded people how far the nation has come since he took office on January 20, 2021, a day when, although he didn’t mention it tonight, he went directly to work after taking the oath of office. “On that day,” he recalled, “we…stood in a winter of peril and winter of possibilities.” The United States was “in the grip of the worst pandemic in the century, the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, the worst attack on our democracy since the Civil War.” But, Biden said, “We came together as Americans. We got through it. We emerged stronger, more prosperous and more secure.”
“Today we have the strongest economy in the world, creating nearly 16 million new jobs—a record. Wages are up, inflation continues to come down, the racial wealth gap is the lowest it’s been in 20 years. We are literally rebuilding our entire nation—urban, suburban and rural and tribal communities. Manufacturing has come back to America. We are leading the world again in chips and science and innovation. We finally beat Big Pharma after all these years to lower the cost of prescription drugs for seniors…. More people have health care today in America than ever before.” Biden noted that he signed the PACT Act to help millions of veterans and their families who were exposed to toxic materials, as well as the “most significant climate law…in the history of the world” and “the first major gun safety law in 30 years.”
The “violent crime rate is at a 50-year low,” he said, and “[b]order crossings are lower today than when the previous administration left office. I’ve kept my commitment to appoint the first Black woman to the Supreme Court of the United States of America. I also kept my commitment to have an administration that looks like America and [to] be a president for all Americans.”
Then Biden turned from his own record to the larger meaning of America.
“I ran for president four years ago because I believed…that the soul of America was at stake,” he said. “America is an idea. An idea stronger than any army, bigger than any ocean, more powerful than any dictator or tyrant. It’s the most powerful idea in the history of the world.”
“We hold these truths to be self-evident,” he said. “We are all created equal, endowed by our creator with certain inalienable rights: life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness. We’ve never fully lived up to…this sacred idea—but we’ve never walked away from it either. And I do not believe the American people will walk away from it now.
“In just a few months, the American people will choose the course of America’s future. I made my choice…. “[O]ur great vice president, Kamala Harris… is experienced, she is tough, she is capable. She’s been an incredible partner to me and a leader for our country.
“Now the choice is up to you, the American people. When you make that choice, remember the words of Benjamin Franklin hanging on my wall here in the Oval Office, alongside the busts of Dr. [Martin Luther] King and Rosa Parks and Cesar Chavez. When Ben Franklin was asked, as he emerged from the [constitutional] convention…, whether the founders [had] given America a monarchy or a republic, Franklin’s response was: ‘A republic, if you can keep it.’… Whether we keep our republic is now in your hands.”
“My fellow Americans, it’s been the privilege of my life to serve this nation for over 50 years,” President Biden told the American people. “Nowhere else on Earth could a kid with a stutter from modest beginnings in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and in Claymont, Delaware, one day sit behind the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office as the president of the United States, but here I am.
“That’s what’s so special about America. We are a nation of promise and possibilities. Of dreamers and doers. Of ordinary Americans doing extraordinary things. I’ve given my heart and my soul to our nation, like so many others. And I’ve been blessed a million times in return with the love and support of the American people. I hope you have some idea how grateful I am to all of you.
The great thing about America is, here kings and dictators do not rule—the people do. History is in your hands. The power’s in your hands. The idea of America lies in your hands. You just have to keep faith—keep the faith—and remember who we are. We are the United States of America, and there is simply nothing, nothing beyond our capacity when we do it together. So let’s act together, [and] preserve our democracy. God bless you all and may God protect our troops.
“Thank you.”
And with that, President Joe Biden followed the example of the nation’s first president, George Washington, who declined to run for a third term to demonstrate that the United States of America would not have a king, and of its second president, John Adams, who handed the power of the presidency over to his rival Thomas Jefferson and thus established the nation’s tradition of the peaceful transition of power. Like them, Biden gave up the pursuit of power for himself in order to demonstrate the importance of democracy.
After the speech, the White House served ice cream to the Bidens and hundreds of White House staffers in the Rose Garden.
And when the evening was over, First Lady Dr. Jill Biden posted an image of a handwritten note on social media. It read: “To those who never wavered, to those who refused to doubt, to those who always believed, my heart is full of gratitude. Thank you for the trust you put in Joe—now it’s time to put that trust in Kamala.”
Mobilizin’
July 11, 2024
You know people are anxious and desperado when they’ll show up to an outdoor event on a 108-degree evening to learn about how they can help in the upcoming election.
I’m telling you, it was hot, even with misters, even in the shade, even with cold drinks flowing (it was a brewery, after all). But a whole bunch of new volunteers showed up and joined our leadership group.. 45+ of us out there at Ruhstaller!
Sister District HQ (headquarters of the national org) is so smart, so inventive, so crackerjack! They see a critical need, as all grassroots political action orgs do right now, to shake the trees and mobilize waves of new volunteers to reach out to dem voters (phone banks, text banks, postcards, door knocking, voter registration, friend/fund raising) to get them to the polls to vote for dems up and down the ballot. It’s an urgent, all hands on deck imperative in these last four months of the campaign. And people are ready to be mobilized, desperate to do whatever they can to avoid a return to the hellscape of the trump years. So SD national came up with a strategy, launched it a couple weeks ago, held a zoom training session and got all the chapters across the country to focus on it for a week. Which we did. HQ sent us a list of “hot” and “warm” leads — names of folks in our area (harvested from a variety of sources) who might be willing to get involved (or re-involved). We divided that list among a handful of us and we called those folks and invited them to come to Ruhstaller tonight.
And they came out, whole bunches of them! They asked lots of questions, signed up for stuff, and thanked us profusely for giving them the opportunity to help.
Not only was our effort to engage a new crop of volunteers tonight successful, our friendraising appeal this month broke all of our previous records. (We’re raising money for Field Team 6, who registers 10s (100s?) of 1000s of new dem voters each season. People want to help, I’m telling you.
Some pics from tonight:
Risk Everywhere Ya Turn
July 10, 2024
Are we in the throes of angst and uncertainty, or what?!
Two weeks since the frightening debate (on both debaters’ parts) of June 27, we are still deep into the should he go or should he stay arguments.
It’s pundit city everywhere you look.
Tonight, Anderson talked with Joe Lockhart (Clinton Press Secretary), Kate Bedingfield (Biden WH Comms director), Jon Lovett (Obama speechwriter), and Carl Bernstein (legendary investigative journalist). A great panel of wonks if there ever was one. They covered every angle. Fun to listen to. Not fun to listen to. They don’t arrive at ready solutions. Nobody has a crystal ball. All options are a gamble.
Ugh. And I certainly don’t know the best course, but my heart seems to be rooting for a new candidate.
On another show, Josh Green (Hawaii Governor) made some good points (heavily embellished by me, below):
They’re both old men. We have one old man who will surely have some bad days. But he also has a heart, is wise, has excellent policies (and can continue to pursue them if he wins). The other is a sociopath. One cares and takes care of the people of this country. The other guy is seriously unwell, is running to stay out of jail, is immoral and indecent, and cares not a wit about people, the US or democracy.
Biden just has to have mostly good days. We have an awesome backup quarterback in Kamala and he has a great team. Reagan had bad days, too. But he had a party that loved him and a team that supported him.
Have a cognitive test, sure. But both of them should take it. But also have a psychiatric battery of tests. You’ll find similar age-related results on the first one. On the second, you’ll have one decent human with strong core strengths, and a second one who has a diagnosable malignant narcissistic personality disorder.
Thousands of other points were raised today, yesterday, and no doubt tomorrow. Some shocking polls have been released and parsed, all spell disaster. Besides dozens of pundits and as many strategies, a lot of electeds are taking sides, but far more are staying quiet.. until the next “test” (tomorrow’s is an unscripted press conference).
This is painful beyond. I hope the best and brightest will figure this out soon.
A Boy’s Dream Job
July 9, 2024
Not to go all stereotyping…. but what little boy didn’t dream of growing up to be an earth mover? All I could think of when we walked the Arb today was how much Peter would have been mesmerized by this scene when he was about, oh, 4?
This is choice dirt! And earth moving heaven!
Amirite?
More Mandela Fellows
July 8, 2024
Jim and I cohosted a Mandela Fellows dinner tonight with Margie and Wes, combining our fellows, and even adding one to the social mix! We met at M&W’s house (good choice!), and each of us hosts contributed dishes. Excellent dinner, interesting conversation and a long and leisurely evening on a warm summer Monday!
Some pics:
A perfect, warm (but not too warm) evening by the pool….
Moussa (from Guinea):
Nalu (Zambia) and Beauty (Namibia):
Bucheche from Mozambique…
Kelsey from Nigeria:
And all of us around the table (Kelsey took this photo):
Wes took one of the group from the second story balcony… I may add that one when/if I get a copy of it.
So fun, so worthwhile. Already looking forward to next year, especially as we’re getting more of a sense what the role of a host family can be!
Another Year…
July 7, 2024
… another birthday!
Happy birthday Janet!
Note: Jim’s chocolate cake! Who knew a vegan chocolate cake could be so good?
A Joint Effort
July 6, 2024
Check these out!
Our parting gift from the July 4 Middle Eastern Feast was a sack o’ pita bread dough. Our effort last year (when bequeathed with same) to turn that dough into yummy pita bread was not hugely successful. But this year… hoo boy! Can’t wait to eat it! Serving in a little while to Janet (whose birthday is tomorrow), along with Dror’s fantastic tahini. Also on the menu: a green salad and a watermelon salad and a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. I’m the salad chef tonight, Jim’s the baker.
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Joint effort because Dror made the dough and Jim baked it.
Middle Eastern 4th of July Feast
July 5, 2024
For the second year in a row, we forwent the traditional and attended (yesterday) Monica and Dror’s annual 4th of July middle eastern feast. This suited me. Middle eastern is one of my all time favorite cuisines, so that made me happy. But I also have a tinge of resentment for the hypocrisy of people celebrating a democracy so many are bent on destroying. There’s a lot of flag waving these days that flies in the face of what the flag really stands for. That is not sitting well with me. But I’m not going to go into that (again).
So.. anyway… I was content to put all the traditional stuff on the shelf and indulge in a somewhat multicultural gathering of people feasting on middle eastern fare.
Two items were missing when I took this picture.. the chicken shawarma and the pot potatoes. This just could not have been a more beautiful and delicious spread. Dror made all of it (except the green salad).
All homemade: pita bread, baba ganoush, hummus, labneh, tahini, a green salad, a tomato/cucumber salad, roasted peppers, carrots, mushrooms, a turkish (I think he said) tomato dish, hot sauce (the green stuff), corn salad, and then olives and pickles. Others brought desserts and wines.
For me, best of show: the pita, and the hummus, baba ganoush and tahini. Also loved the peppers, corn and potatoes.
Delicately Celebratory
July 4, 2024
I’ve been a huge fan of local artist Sara Post for decades. I have a whole bunch of her (with husband Tom) ceramics that I use and display daily. Love to look at it every time I enter the kitchen or sit at our kitchen table. Lately (for the last, I don’t know, twenty years?) she’s been painting. I love her paintings, too. The above — a few agagpanthus, which grow all over the hot valley — was her tribute to the 4th of July today. Fitting, I think. Delicately celebratory. That’s a bit how I feel.
Want to celebrate democracy. Been not in a celebratory mood… as democracy — everyone is urgently saying these days — is on the ballot.
I’m actually optimistic.
On this Independence day, I’m hopeful. Hopeful we’ll replace Joe. Hopeful Kamala will head the ticket with a strategically chosen VP. Hopeful we’ll rally behind them. Hopeful the conversation will be about the threat of the other guy to everything this country has aspired to (and largely achieved) over the last couple centuries-plus, and all that the democratic ticket can continue to deliver. Hopeful, hopeful, hopeful.
If delicately so.
Life of Wry 