Morning Update: 07/21/24
Good morning, America! It’s Race Day? Or is it? Does anyone even care at this point? For the first time since 2020, The Brickyard 400 is back. And while NASCAR has tried hyping up the event, the reality is that the North 40 was less than half-full for yesterday’s Xfinity Cup race. Gates opened at 6:00 this morning. I’m pretty sure everyone in the neighborhood slept through it. I know I did. There are no cars parking in the neighborhood. I’m not even sure that the East gate to the North 40 is going to be opened.
To demonstrate just how far NASCAR and the Brickyard have fallen from social importance, look at the front page of the home of all things sports: ESPN. Scroll down. Further. Further. Past the story about the NFL Flag Football Championships. Past the part about the Hungarian Grand Prix. Go all the way to the bottom. No mention of the Brickyard or anything NASCAR. Nothing. Zip. Zero. The world just doesn’t give a fuck.
I took the dogs out just now (in case you didn’t notice the 15-minute break in writing). The only activity was a couple of squirrels playing in the tree next door and a cotton-tailed bunny scampering across the street to get away from the pups. There is no line of cars on 30th Street waiting to get into the North 40. No helicopters are whirling overhead, jockeying for the best shot for the local morning shows. Even local news stations have pushed the event way down the list of topics on a morning where a man was injured in a shooting on Indy’s northwest side, and a large fight broke out in Anderson road leading to several shot, 2 in serious condition.
Motorsport tried blaming the lack of interest on 2008’s miserable tire incident. I think it’s a little late for that conversation. NASCAR in Indy was still strong as late as 2014. That was the last year we had to park cars in our yard for the race. This morning’s showing is about as pitiful as that of some of the other races that only lure hardcore fans such as the Indy Autonomous Challenge in September or the Indy 8 Hour in October.
The truth? No one really wants the hard-drinking, confederate flag-waving, mullet-wearing, homophobic, transphobic, backward-thinking attitude that comes with NASCAR. Sure, they’ve banned Confederate flags on the cars and merchandise. But they can’t ban the attitude that leaves a trail of beer cans and DUIs in its wake. Apparently, one has to be day drunk and sunburned to enjoy NASCAR and the audience for that has gotten too old, or too poor, or too interested in other things to bother. It could also be that the absence of any kind of concert in connection with the race has limited attendance. There’s not even any noise down in Turn 3 this morning.
They’ll have to put on one helluva show today if NASCAR wants to have any chance of luring back enough fans to even fill half of the seats at IMS. The Brickyard, as it stands now, is irrelevant.
Yesterday was a bit of a bust. I fell back asleep shortly after posting yesterday’s morning update. I even slept through the scheduled posting of yesterday’s missive on what the Founding Fathers had to say about religion. I did manage to wake up right before Kat left for the weekend. I did some trimming around one portion of the fence, trying to encourage the kids to finish the job (they didn’t). I tried eating some leftovers and then crashed again. This is becoming a bit too routine. Yet, I’m not motivated to actually change anything. Where would I go? What would I do that would make for a reasonable alternative sufficient to keep me upright?
The one holdover of NASCAR tradition was our neighbor’s “Party Before The Race” last night. They had friends over, grilled out, drank a lot of Bud Light, and sang karaoke horribly right up until the noise curfew at 11:00 PM. For reasons I can’t explain, the noise from their party, which really wasn’t that intrusive, caused me to have a bit of a panic attack. That hasn’t happened before. I curled up on the bed with the animals for about an hour until the panic went away.
I can’t remember the last time I had a panic attack. That’s not part of our routine here. Nothing is going on that should trigger such an event. I’ve heard a lot of bad karaoke and it’s never resulted in a response like this. I was a basket case and the animals could tell even though the kids couldn’t. They weren’t aware that anything was wrong at all. Dad was just lying down again. The animals snuggled in closer than normal. Pinball got right up next to my face. They stayed with me until I felt like sitting back up. I don’t know what I would do without them. All of them.
What’s making headlines this morning? Last night’s WNBA All-Star Game. This is a sign of a new world, a world in which women genuinely matter even in our pastimes. Has the WNBA All-Star game ever garnered this much attention? No. It’s the top story from ESPN this morning and that’s never happened. People are interested and excited about it and for multiple good reasons.
Arike Ogunbowale of the Dallas Wings was the undisputed star of the show. She put up 34 points in the win, all of which came in the second half. Rookie superstars Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese were in the game long enough to give fans a taste of their talent, but Clark even declined to sub in for Ogunbowale because the Dallas star was on too hot of a shooting streak to disturb.
The conversation going on in private circles, however, is the fact that the WNBA All-Stars beat the US Olympic squad, 117-109. Why isn’t the All-Star team the one going to the Olympics? Why is the US sending what appears to be a second-rate team that, at best, has its work cut out for it if they’re going to medal in the games at all? Mind you, US women haven’t lost an Olympic basketball game since 1992. They go in as clear favorites despite last night’s loss. Still, it begs the question as to why the best we have aren’t playing for the team, especially Ogunbowale.
At the same time, let’s not lose sight of the fact that we have become a society where people are actually asking that question and they’re serious about the game. One can spin this in almost any direction they want and it still comes out a win for women’s sports in general, and for the WNBA specifically (if the league doesn’t blow the opportunity). Already, the WNBA is looking at a new $200 million media contract (which some think is still too low) and is considering expanding the season to 44 games next year. The Olympics will only add fuel to that movement as women dominate many of the more popular sports. The only remaining question is whether this female-positive attitude can carry over to other social aspects and even into the realm of politics.
Women are definitely the ones with the most power at this moment. Take a look at some of the headlines that have been popping up recently. From the Council on Foreign Relations: Women Voters’ Pivotal Role in Electing the Next U.S. President. AARP sponsored a poll: Women May Be the Deciding Vote. Health policy organization KFF did a poll as well and narrowed the focus more with 4 Takeaways About Black Women Voters in the 2024 Election. Fortune magazine is looking at how the Orange Felon, and the GOP in general, is weak against women with this article: After vanquishing Trump in court, E. Jean Carroll urges women to focus on the presidential election. The powerful attorney is certain that women will be who decide the race.
If this trend looks bad for anyone, it’s because the issues that matter the most to women: healthcare, abortion, and equity, are all on the line. From the non-committal ambiguity of the official Republican Platform to the frightening talk in Project 2025, women’s major issues are at risk of being gutted, overturned, and weaponized in a way we’ve not seen in the past 100 years. As they look at what they have to lose, they have to seriously question whether either party can be trusted to deliver the strong actions they want for the future.
What may ultimately move women in one direction or the other could depend on who is running on the Democratic ticket. While I generally support re-electing President Biden, in large part because I question the strategy of “changing horses midstream,” I think we’re at a point where asking questions about Kamala Harris’ ability to carry the party as the top name on the ticket is a legitimate stance. Newsweek is of the opinion that, with the right running mate, Harris can definitely win this election.
Women have been waiting a long time for a presidential candidate that adequately supported their views. They were severely disappointed in 2016 when the farcical results of the Electoral College robbed them of a win. Ms. Harris is a dramatically different personality from Mrs. Clinton and the question of whether she can pull out wins in the states necessary for an Electoral College victory is, at this point, still unanswerable. I do not doubt that it could happen; the numbers are definitely there to support such an outcome. Will enough women actually respond in the states where they need to respond? Do Democrats have a machine capable of turning out that level of voting?
There is so much at risk in this upcoming election that Democrats don’t have any spare room to stumble in their decisions. Every move has to count. Every action has to be forceful. Otherwise, we will lose our democracy to a lunatic fringe that threatens to destroy the country at its very core.
I’ve taken almost three hours to write this morning’s update. The dogs have been out twice. I’ve chatted with the kids and exchanged texts with Kat. I feel a need to get out and do something, but I’m not sure what, where, or how.
If I wasn’t on this damn chemo, I’d be sending out applications to cover the election for some under-funded online publication. For now, we’ll both have to settle with me being here. I understand if you’re disappointed.
Morning Update: 07/22/24
When we were kids, my maternal grandfather, for whom I’m named, would take my brother and me on walks. The problem was that my brother, who has been legally blind from birth, didn’t like to walk. Even with his glasses on, which were not nearly as advanced as what children receive now, he couldn’t see the ground all that well. It didn’t help that the road was rough, a dirt road with gouges cut out by runoff rainwater. So, after walking a few steps, he would sit down and refuse to budge. He wasn’t going to go into a situation where he couldn’t even see the next step in front of him. Grandpa would look at him and say, “C’mon, you balking mule.” Inevitably, Grandpa would have to carry him back to the trailer.
That’s very much how I’m feeling this morning. There’s no question that, as a nation, we need to keep moving forward after President Biden’s decision yesterday to drop out of this year’s race. However, there are too many questions, too many things going on behind the scenes that we do not know, and too many matters over which you and I have absolutely no control, for me to risk taking another step. So, I’m not. I’m balking as hard as an old mule.
One of my news aggregation subscriptions is The Skimm‘, a service that is operated and written by women. I find them to be less alarmist about most things, and this morning is certainly a good example of that. While all the major news services are coming at us with hand-wringing headlines that seem to spell doom and gloom, The Skimm’s morning briefing was somewhat calmer. It goes like this:
What’s going on: Could a former prosecutor go up against a convicted felon? The answer largely lies with the Democratic Party’s delegates. When President Biden ended his reelection bid, he released his nearly 3,900 “pledged” delegates — earned from the primary election cycle. Those delegates, who are now free agents, can do a couple of things: They can rally behind Biden’s endorsement of VP Kamala Harris (which could be the most likely outcome), even though they are under no obligation to do so. Or, they can vote for another candidate, opening the door to an open convention — a rare move in modern US politics and one that Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) called “crazy.” If the Democratic Party can’t rally behind one candidate, then the party’s 700+ “superdelegates” would have to step in and vote until there’s a candidate who wins the majority.
What it means: The clock is ticking for the Democratic Party to figure this out. The Democratic National Convention in Chicago is less than a month away, happening from Aug 19 to Aug 22. Before Biden dropped out of the race, the Democratic Party planned to approve the president’s nomination ahead of the DNC. Now, it’s unclear how the party will proceed. Especially since there are a slew of potential candidates who could put their hat in the ring against Harris, complicating the process. Looking at you, Sen. Joe Manchin (I-WV). On that note: Reuters reported that Harris’ campaign has been trying to secure delegates’ support in efforts to seal the deal. Meanwhile, The New York Times says it would be difficult for a candidate to seriously challenge Harris, as she’ll have access to the campaign’s tens of millions of dollars in cash reserves.
On the question of whether the Vice President can win, they said this:
What’s going on: A handful of polls conducted earlier this month appear to show VP Kamala Harris faring about the same as President Biden against former President Trump. For months, Biden has trailed behind Trump by a slim margin. The New York Times’ national polling averages found Harris (who is two decades younger than the president) to have a slight edge — standing two percentage points behind Trump compared to Biden’s three. Harris made history in 2020 when she became the first woman, first Black American, and first South Asian American to serve as VP. Voters had mixed feelings about yesterday’s announcement, with some excited to back a woman for the presidency while others weren’t as confident in Harris’ ability to beat Trump.
What it means: Biden’s endorsement could put Harris on a path toward becoming the nation’s first female president. Top Democrats are already standing behind Harris, with many pointing to her record. As VP, Harris has been tasked with addressing the root cause of migration from Latin America, securing voting rights, and protecting the right to abortion nationally. But despite the political experience under her belt, endorsements, and access to campaign money, some political analysts warn that Americans might not be ready for a female president. It also doesn’t help that she has struggled to clearly define a lane for herself as VP and has faced criticism for her time as a prosecutor. Meanwhile, Trump isn’t convinced that Harris is a threat to his campaign.
While Newsweek floated a quick-and-easy list of potential running mates for Harris, none of them included current Secretary of Transportation, Pete Buttigieg. The Hill and WSJ do have him on their list and, personally, he could be the best choice if former First Lady Michelle Obama can’t be convinced to run. I assume that conversation has already taken place or is taking place right now. We know that Republicans fear a race with the name Obama in it anywhere. If the Obamas ignite their get-out-the-vote machine, which they have not done to this point, winning is a lot more realistic than it appears now. What a Harris-Obama ticket would mean for women, and especially women of color, goes beyond the definition of groundbreaking.
The ultimate question is whether the people of the United States are too fucking racist for that kind of ticket. Sure, they’ll make other excuses, but at the end of the day, racism was the biggest opposition President Obama had to face in both of his elections and that situation hasn’t gotten any better in the interim. If anything, the rhetoric of the Orange Felon has made it worse.
As I mentioned yesterday, women will decide who is the next President. If women show up to vote, they will most likely elect the Democratic nominee. If they don’t… Men have a history of voting in favor of their ego, not reason.
And here we have another parallel to the 1968 election with the incumbent choosing to sit this one out. For those of you who slept through history class, that disaster of an election gave us Richard Nixon with all his corruptness. The Orange Felon seemed to surpass Nixon-level idiocy the first time around, so there’s no logical or intelligent reason to trust him with the Oval Office ever again.
What I do know is that Republicans must be stopped, from one end of the ballot to the other. They are fully committed to implementing Project 2025 at every level. Even if they don’t win the Presidency, which they’ve already said they’ll challenge. Hell, they’re ready to cause trouble even putting Harris on the ballot.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., on Sunday said Republicans would likely file legal challenges in any state possible if President Joe Biden drops off of the Democratic ticket. Republicans aren’t going to play fair. They’re going to use any minute legal hook they can to upset the election.
An overwhelming voter turnout is the only thing Republicans can’t stop. You have a right to vote. You have a responsibility to vote. All this mess, all this chaos, comes down to you. YOU hold the future of the United States in your hands.
But for this moment today, I’m sitting right here and waiting to see what the “geniuses” (I use that word loosely) at the DNC decide to do next. Let’s hope they don’t fuck it up.
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