During a 1992 Vice Presidential debate, Ross Perot's running mate James Stockdale famously asked, "Who am I? Why am I here? The line got a laugh because Stockdale was relatively unknown among voters. But those questions are at the core of what a politician must answer (not to mention being an existential question that confounds us all). In this shortened, unique campaign, it was our current vice president's challenge to explain to America who she is, why she's here, and most important, how she's like us. As the longtime political analyst Jeff Greenfield explains in Politico, Kamala Harris understood the assignment. "What Harris did in her acceptance speech was to tell her story and make clear she’s squarely within the American mainstream. What she told the public was essentially, I am not different from you; I come from the same roots as you do; my life is like yours. In fact, her speech was cut from the same cloth as three very different past nominees who recounted the importance of family and overcoming adversity — all of whom went on to win the presidency." Here's the full speech.

Introducing herself and relating her life to the broader American story was the key to connecting with undecided voters. I'd argue the message of the entire DNC week to diehard Democrats was very different. In addition to advising the faithful to turn the page on Trump, the combined speeches of many top Democrats, including the Obamas, along with the very presence of so many GOP speakers, spoke to the silent majority of Democrats who are tired of cancel culture, trigger warnings, and social media hurt-feelings outrage, and who are hungry for a stronger political response to the slings and arrows of Trumpism—one that includes a full embrace of patriotism and the flag. As she concluded her speech, Harris explained: "It is now our turn to do what generations before us have done, guided by optimism and faith, to fight for this country we love, to fight for the ideals we cherish and to uphold the awesome responsibility that comes with the greatest privilege on Earth: the privilege and pride of being an American. So let’s get out there, let’s fight for it. Let’s get out there, let’s vote for it, and together, let us write the next great chapter in the most extraordinary story ever told." It marked an unleashing of a pent up desire to love our country, one that was evident all week. It was frankly refreshing to see Democrats celebrating our veterans, honoring our flag, openly expressing patriotism, welcoming people with different views, and chanting USA, USA. It's a stark reversal from our recent politics and a reminder of who we are and what we're doing here. It's a simple and powerful message: This election can only be a blue wave if it’s a red, white, and blue wave.

+ One of the most impactful elements of the DNC was the daily presence of Republican leaders who have had the guts to put country over party. This is not an ordinary election and Trump is not an ordinary opponent. No one has been more courageous in that fight than Adam Kinzinger who was rightly given a prime time slot on Thursday night. "Donald Trump is a weak man pretending to be strong. He is a small man pretending to be big. He's a faithless man pretending to be righteous. He's a perpetrator who can’t stop playing the victim. He puts on quite a show, but there is no real strength there." (The saddest part of this pathetic political movement is that just about every one of Trump’s enablers agrees wholeheartedly with this assessment.)

+ Women's reproductive rights was center stage all week, and was being openly discussed by women and men in a way I've never seen on a major political stage. Harris summed up the Project 2025 plans if Trump wins: "Simply put, they are out of their minds." In one his many rambling responses to the Harris speech, Donald Trump posted, "My adminstration will be great for women and their reproductive rights." (I guess he figures if he can't beat Kamala, maybe he can beat The Onion.)

+ During the buildup to the final speech of the week, the online buzz was all about a rumored Beyonce performance at the event. Alas, it wasn't to Bey. (Donald, they didn’t use Beyonce last night because they’re saving her for a much, much bigger venue.)

+ Meanwhile, in today's least surprising news, RFK Jr. endorses Trump and drops out of presidential election. There's no vaccine for bad choices. (Kamala should have a campaign rally at his house with his relatives.)

2

Picturing the Near Future

"An explosion from the side of an old brick building. A crashed bicycle in a city intersection. A cockroach in a box of takeout. It took less than 10 seconds to create each of these images with the Reimagine tool in the Pixel 9’s Magic Editor. They are crisp. They are in full color. They are high-fidelity. There is no suspicious background blur, no tell-tale sixth finger. These photographs are extraordinarily convincing, and they are all extremely f-cking fake." The Verge: No one’s ready for this.

3

I Think I Crayon

"For a lot of companies, the weeks between July 4 and Labor Day are a quiet time, full of employee vacations and summer Fridays. Not Crayola LLC. During those months, the company’s flagship factory in Easton, Pennsylvania, churns out at least 13 million crayons every day—up more than 8% from the rest of the year—to prepare millions of kids for back-to-school season. 'That’s our Super Bowl,' says Chief Executive Officer Pete Ruggiero." Bloomberg (Gift Article) with a really fun look into a color-drenched crayon factory in Pennsylvania: Back to School Is Crayola’s Super Bowl.

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Weekend Whats

What to Watch: So many of things we've come to appreciate about prestige TV started with an awesomely written and cast show call Homicide: Life on the Street, from writers and creators who would bring you some of your favorite content. At long last, it's available via streaming on Peacock. It holds up.

+ What to Doc: Charlie Hustle on Max is an in-depth chronicle of the life and career of all-time hit leader Pete Rose and his bid for reinstatement in Major League Baseball. It's a fun look back on a very different time in professional sports and an interesting examination of a guy who finds it almost impossible to stop lying. (An element that makes it quite timely.)

5

Extra, Extra

Secrets Out: "The U.S. Secret Service has placed at least five agents on leave, including the head of the Pittsburgh field office, as a result of its investigation into last month's assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump."

+ Maduro Flame: "Venezuela’s highest court has upheld the re-election of Nicolás Maduro as president following accusations of widespread voter fraud in July's poll. The decision by the Supreme Tribunal of Justice (TSJ) comes as the United Nations warned that the court lacked independence and impartiality." This is disturbing for Venezuela and also serves as a warning for how messy our election could get.

+ Point Guard: "When Belle got a call last September that her 10-year-old had been sent to the vice principal’s office, she rushed over to the school. Her son Lee looked on anxiously as the vice principal explained the situation: The fifth grader had angrily pointed his finger in the shape of a gun. Belle scolded him for not thinking before he acted, agreeing with administrators at the East Tennessee public elementary school who felt that he had misbehaved." But that's not where things ended. ProPublica: A 10-Year-Old Pointed a Finger Gun. The Principal Kicked Him Out of His Tennessee School for a Year. (America is more strict about finger guns than real guns.)

+ Better Off Fed: "Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell sent a straightforward message to markets in a key speech on Friday, saying 'the time has come' for the central bank to begin lowering interest rates." Stop teasing us!

+ Ruffled Feathers: "For almost 20 years, a group of parrots and their owner lived at the Rutherford, a co-op apartment building in the ritzy Gramercy Park neighborhood of Manhattan. For almost as many years, the neighbors complained. The parrots shrieked and squawked, they said. The parrots shouted human words, but not clearly enough for the neighbors to follow their conversations. The parrots seemed to generally drive everyone mad. After years of complaints, the chorus of caws and cries became unbearable. So the building’s co-op board moved to evict the woman who cared for the animals." Which brings us to this from the NYT (Gift Article): The Emotional Support Parrots vs. the Co-op Board.

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Bottom of the News

"With older adults staying fit longer, many are joining their grandchildren on travel adventures like wilderness hikes, bike tours and even bungee jumping." NYT (Gift Article): Trekking 85 Miles With Grandpa, Scuba Diving With Grandma. (My eventual grandkids are going to have to settle for just "sitting here on our laptops with Grandpa.")

+ Over-70s footballers shooting for world cup glory.

+ WaPo: He needed his partner to guide him up the rock. It was a relationship built of trust and — eventually — love. (Now the song Love on the Rocks is stuck in my head. I suppose that ain't no big surprise.)

+ Tina Brown in the NYT: My Son and Gus Walz Deserve a Champion Like Tim Walz.

+ "A Southern California woman fed up with her packages getting stolen out of her post office box sent an Apple AirTag to the address and cleverly tracked down the suspected thief."