“We need to save our country, and Joe Biden is the best to do that. Frankly, this administration has forfeited their right to reelection based on this.”
– Sen. Kamala Harris, during Wednesday night’s vice-presidential debate
Local? Hell, Yeah!
I’ve already heard some people threatening to leave the U.S. if Donald Trump is elected to a second term. Okay, bye! I will stay and fight to make this country as good as it was getting BEFORE Trump got into office! I was born and raised here. My Spanish ancestors were the first European settlers in Texas, and my Indian ancestors were here long before them. Even my German predecessors have been in the U.S. for several generations.
I’m not going anywhere!
Newcomer: “So you’re from right here in Texas?”
Me: “Yes, I am.”
“Born and raised?”
“Born and raised.”
“Lived here all your life?”
“Not yet.”
Filed under Wolf Tales
Dialogue
Last Wednesday’s debate between Vice-President Mike Pence and Sen. Kamala Harris was a glaringly stark contrast to the crap-fest between Donald Trump and Joe Biden the previous week. For the most part, Pence and Harris showed those two other old curmudgeons how to remain relatively calm and focused during discussions about critical national issues.
I say ‘for the most part’ because of Pence’s tendency to interrupt Harris – the same way Trump repeatedly interrupted Biden – and to ramble beyond his slated time limit – again, like Trump. I feel that both Trump and Pence fit the unpleasantly stereotypical image of the angry White male: men who believe only those exactly like them are qualified to speak out on any concern facing the country and should be allowed to speak adnauseam about it.
Harris, meanwhile, showed restraint and decorum by politely stating, “I’m speaking,” with a bright grin. Many observers, especially women and non-Whites, viewed this as a typical response for someone like Harris. Women and non-Whites, it seems, are always expected to maintain a sense of calm in the face of indignity and disrespect. Otherwise, they’d be viewed as uppity or bitchy. Harris, in effect, had to stay polite and professional; for if she had done a Joe Biden and yelled, “Shut up!” to Pence, political pundits – particularly those on the conservative end who already hate her for the mere fact she’s a dark-skinned woman daring to campaign for a national office, much like they did with Barack Obama – would have mercilessly slayed her.
Pence never really answered any question from moderator Susan Page who proved as equally powerless as Chris Wallace during the Trump-Biden fiasco. But, for we independent observers – that is, those of us not satisfied with either Trump or Biden – Pence’s blatant disorientation during the debate signaled how dysfunctional the current White House administration is in the face of dual crises: the failing economy and the expanding COVID-19 pandemic.
To me Trump, Biden and Pence represent America’s past: still fighting the U.S. Civil War; the civil rights movement of the 1960s and 70s; law-and-order mantras; the Cold War; a caste society. Harris, on the other hand, represents America’s future: attacks on economic inequality and social injustices; ending war; giving ALL citizens the chance to prove their merit and their value in a 21st century world.
Time doesn’t stagnate, except in the minds of conservatives. Regardless of what one thinks of the vice-presidential debate, the 2020 presidential campaign continues. It can’t end soon enough.
Filed under Essays
Retro Quote – Sen. Bob Dole
“If there is anyone who has mistakenly attached themselves to our party in the belief that we’re not open to citizens of every race and religion, then let me remind you, tonight this hall belongs to the party of Lincoln and the exits, which are clearly marked, are for you to walk out of as I stand this ground without compromise.”
– Sen. Bob Dole, during his acceptance speech for president during the 1996 Republican National Convention
Filed under History
Word of the Week – October 3, 2020
Part of speech: noun
Origin: Latin, mid-17th century
A figure of speech by which an impossible (or highly unlikely) situation is used for emphasis; an instance of this.
Example: “All of us with at least half a brain knew the debate was just pure adynaton, but we also know it was nothing but a shit show!”
Filed under News
Most Ironic Quotes of the Week – October 3, 2020
“Don’t ever use the word smart with me.”
“I wear a mask when needed, when needed I wear masks. I don’t wear a mask like him. Every time you see him he’s got a mask. He could be speaking 200 feet away and he shows up with the biggest mask I’ve ever seen.”
– Donald Trump, to Joe Biden during Tuesday night’s debate
Filed under News
Worst Quote of the Week – October 3, 2020
“Proud Boys, stand back and stand by, but I’ll tell you what, somebody’s gotta do something about antifa and the left because this is not a right-wing problem. This is a left-wing problem.”
– President Donald Trump., at Tuesday night’s presidential debate, when asked by debate moderator Chris Wallace to disavow White supremacy.
Wallace asked if Trump would urge White supremacist groups that incited violence at nationwide protests to “stand down.” Trump said to “give me a name” when asked to denounce a specific group, and former Vice-President Joe Biden called out the Proud Boys – a violent hate group that believes, among many things, that women are subject to men and that Hitler didn’t kill enough Jews. Ironically, the group is led by a dark-skinned Hispanic man.
Filed under News
Best Quote of the Week – October 3, 2020
“Will you shut up, man.”
– Joe Biden, to President Donald Trump during the first presidential debate
Filed under News
How the World Reacted to the First 2020 U.S. Presidential Candidate Debate
“That was a shit show.” – Dana Bash, CNN, Tuesday, September 29
Be careful what you do and say, as someone may be watching and listening. When one lives a public life, such…say, politicians, caution must always be front and center. For some people like Donald Trump, caution is a folly. Last Tuesday night’s debate between Trump and Joe Biden was the most raucous and incoherent political event I’ve ever seen in my adult life. I’ve never witnessed such discord and antagonism among political figures. Trump and Biden sounded less like political opponents and more like two cranky old neighbors arguing about leaves being blown into one another’s yards.
But, after the feud in which absolutely nothing was accomplished, I pondered the viewpoints of our allies and certainly our adversaries. While many Americans don’t care what other nations think of us, I am concerned how our standing as the beacon of democracy across the globe is after that mess.
Here are just a few.
“Most Canadians are going to feel grateful that they live in this country.” – Don Abelson, an expert in Canada-U.S. relations at St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia.
“Chaotic, childish, grueling.” – Libération, France.
“The clearest loser from the first presidential debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden was America.” – The Times, U.K.
“Never had American politics sunk so low.” – La Repubblica, Italy, which also described the debate as “chaotic, rowdy, and based on mutual contempt.”
“The US embarrassed itself before the world for 100 minutes.”– AajTak, Hindi-language news channel.
“The rivals kept interrupting each other and instead of a balanced discussion they chose the path of mutual insults.” – NTV, Russia.
“[Trump and Biden] “obviously did not show an exemplary role to American people on how to engage in debates.” – Hu Xijin, editor of China’s Global Times. Xijin added: “Such a chaos at the top of U.S. politics reflects division, anxiety of U.S. society and the accelerating loss of advantages of the U.S. political system.”
“Debate? What debate? The event was not intended to change minds or elucidate issues. It was only a form of entertainment which did credit to neither the incumbent nor the challenger. It encapsulates all that has gone wrong with American politics.” – Bilahari Kausikan, a former ambassador in Singapore.
“If the president says that, everyone takes it as natural. But for a decent man like Biden to say that is a bit of a surprise.” – Ichiro Fujisaki, a former Japanese ambassador to the U.S., regarding Joe Biden’s “shut up, man” comment to Trump.
“It was very depressing.” – Marietje Schaake, a Dutch former member of the European Parliament who now serves as international policy director at Stanford University’s Cyber Policy Center. She also warned: “The U.S. can go down a lot further, even if people think it’s already intense.”
“The comments I’ve seen from various European press (outlets) is basically: ‘I’m happy I’m not an American voter this year.’ It’s just a mess.” – Jussi Hanhimaki, a Finnish-Swiss professor of International History at the Graduate Institute in Geneva.
“This debate would be sheer comedy if it wasn’t such a pitiful and tragic advertisement for U.S. dysfunction.” – Kenyan commentator Patrick Gathara on Twitter
In the Middle East, the largely domestic debate drew raised eyebrows when Biden at one point said “inshallah” as Trump hedged on saying when he would release his tax returns. “Inshallah” in Arabic means “God willing.” It also can be used in a way to suggest something won’t ever happen. Both Al-Arabiya, a Saudi-owned satellite channel based in Dubai, and The National, a newspaper in Abu Dhabi, published articles noting Biden’s use of the word.
“How did America reach this level of political decline?” – Abdulkhaleq Abdulla, Emirati political scientist, on Twitter, adding that he saw the debate as a “tumultuous verbal battle.”
“Interruptions and arguments were allowed to fill way too much time.” – Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen on Facebook. She also asked for feedback from voters about how to soften public debate, and stated, “Fortunately, it’s not like that in Denmark.”
“The first debate between would-be leaders of the free world was better suited to the Colosseum of ancient Rome or a cage fight in Las Vegas.” – The Australian.
Filed under News
Chief Writing Wolf 