Biden Advantages

And there are some other issues in Biden's favor that are extremely salient at this time such as abortion rights and the attack on democracy, which adds up to a powerful critique of Trump and the authoritarian assault by the Republican party. (Government shutdowns and idiotic impeachments will only help illuminate their extremism) After all, Biden is facing a man who is going to be on trial during most of the campaign next year and could be running as a convicted felon. Yes, his followers will stick with him through it all but the idea that Biden's age will trump Trump's criminal status is to suggest that otherwise normal people will prefer an old man who is also a criminal to an old man who has done a good job as president. It's possible but I'm not convinced it's likely.

It's in the Democratic DNA to be nervous nellies. And maybe that's a good thing. It means they won't be complacent and will work hard to win the election. For the most part it's paid off in presidential politics for the past 30 years. But it's 14 months before the election. Nobody should be losing any sleep just yet.  

-Heather Digby Parton in Salon.com

 And I'm here to tell you that Second Amendment mythologies and revisionist history continue to result in needless firearm-related deaths, suffering and trauma. If law-abiding gun owners do not start publicly speaking up, we cannot expect to find solutions to our nation's unacceptable levels of gun-related violence.

-Rich Logis in Salon.com

 In agreeing to the Compromise of 1877, U.S. officials were willing to ignore the truth about the past and pretend that racism would not dominate governments across the South. As a result, they sacrificed the rights and liberties of newly freed enslaved people to settle a disputed election and appease Southern resentment. It’s critical for us to remember this and to learn from it. Because today, some elected officials still seem willing to sacrifice the rights of the most marginalized among us to uphold white supremacy.

The recent removal of AP African American studies from Florida high schools is not the first attempt to erase uncomfortable truths, and it won’t be the last. But we don’t have to let such things happen. Taking control of the future begins with our willingness to learn the truth of our history and to share what we have learned with our friends and families and the wider communities in which we live. Then, we can start having meaningful conversations about the country we hope to build — a place that we will only reach if we can figure out how to get there together.

-Tom Hanks in Salon.com

On Brooks and Company

 In discussing "therapeutic" culture, where we're too "coddled" to face the "real world," Brooks never mentions Trump voters, in their own therapeutic bubble of lies, obfuscations and conspiracy theory.

Many conservatives are coddled in a comfy blankie of lies, obfuscations and conspiracy theory. Fox News essentially acts as free day care for aging white right-wingers. Its viewers are constantly assured that harboring their darkest impulses about women, people of color and people with different sexual and gender identities is completely understandable, even proper. After years of this steady diet of malign disinformation, they trust their authoritarian cult leader more than their religious leaders or even family and friends.

-Kirk Swearingen in Salon.com

Real Baseball Fans

 Real baseball fans know about the "the shot heard round the world." Real baseball fans know the meaning of "Tinker to Evers to Chance." Real baseball fans know the meaning of a "perfect game." Real baseball fans know what a "slider" is. Real baseball fans know the origin of the "the seventh inning stretch." How many of you real baseball fans are out there?

Everything is at Stake

 Can't we all just get along and leave our politics at the door? Actually, NO. It's too important. Too much is at stake. What is at stake? Actually, everything is at stake. That's the rub with can't we all just get along or leave our politics at the door.

Dilettante

 noun: dilettante; plural noun: dilettantes; plural noun: dilettanti

1. a person who cultivates an area of interest, such as the arts, without real commitment or knowledge."a wealthy literary dilettante"