Biden or Trump?; US vs. Amazon; AI in the crosshairs | by Josh Bernoff - Jan. 2024 |

We are about to enter the extended, loud, contentious, and tedious US presidential election season. In some election years this is a difficult choice. But this year, it's not.

By all indications, the election will be a rematch between ex-President Donald Trump and incumbent President Joe Biden. News media are doing everything possible to create drama around the primary election season, but unless the polls are way off, it's a pretty long shot for any other candidates to get the nomination.

The last time two incumbents faced off against each other was in 1892, when ex-President Grover Cleveland defeated incumbent President Benjamin Harrison in a rematch of the previous election cycle. This year's election features a few things now that were missing from that election -- like cars, the internet, and women voting -- so the historical record has little to teach us.

The wave of political repression Kamala Harris would bring should be obvious.

Not only has my book been removed from Amazon & Lulu, bu the Biden administration is prosecuting @HandsOffUhuru. They face 15 years in prison!

This case should be the center of everyone's attention. pic.twitter.com/RHBeBoyJz4

— Caleb T. Maupin (@RealCalebMaupin) July 26, 2024

Pravda: The truth behind Caleb T. Maupin

'Sapere aude'

ChatGPT v.2. How Kamala Harris side-eyed California's criminal justice revolution "neutrality principle"

"Kamala's caution in terms of getting too directly engaged in some of these issues may prove wiser than we assume," said Gil Duran, a frequent Harris ["]critic["] since he worked for her as a spokesperson in 2013, but who recently said he wants her to win the presidential race.

Time may be running out on that type of caution. Since entering the presidential race just a few days ago, Harris has forcefully contrasted her law enforcement credentials with former President Donald Trump's record as a CONVICTED FELLON. That messaging dynamic is could make it difficult for her to maintain a strategic silence on the issues she claims to know best.

"These are weird people on the other side," Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz says in the the [MSNBC] interview. "They wanna take books away, they wanna be in your exam room, that's what it comes down to and don't, you know, get sugar-coating this, these are weird ideas. Listen to them speak, listen to how thy talk about things."

The following day, the Harris campaign posted an edited video of Vance's viral remarks about Diet Mountain Dew and racism, with the caption "It's getting weird..." Since then, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, and others in the democratic Party have mirrored the mesage in news interviews.

THESE GUYS ARE JUST WEIRD.

JD Vance and his Project 2025 weirdos want to control your bedroom. Will you let them? pic.twitter.com/JnNbuRzkAH

— Won't PAC Down (@wontpacdown) July 29, 2024

Travis Helwig, a former head writer for Crooked Media—best known for hit podcast "Pod Save America" hosted by former Barack Obama staffers—now heads up the writers' room for the PAC, which was formed to help boost the Democratic nominee's appeal to millennials and Gen Z.

Last week, Moms Demand Action founder Shannon Watts organized a massive Zoom meeting—"White Women: Answer the Call"—for Kamala Harris. On the call, which drew over 200,000 participants, reportedly raised $2 million and has been dubbed the largest Zoom in history, Watts declared (with great humility, of course): "White women, we have 100 days to help save the world." [...] "BIPOC women have tapped us in as white women to step up, listen, and get involved this election season," [TikTok influencer Arielle Fodor alias Mrs. Frazzled] said.

thehill | ["Celeb-led] 'White Dudes for Harris' call raises over $4 million, 28-29 July illustrated

Additionally, over 190,000 participants joined the call Monday and 150,000 people joined [?] the group. The call was put together by a number of Democratic organizers [volunteers?] not affiliated with Harris's campaign. [...] The meeting is the latest demographic-based mobilization push in support of Harris.
[...]
"The vibes right now are incredible," [DOT Sec. Peter] Buttigieg told participants on the call, referring to the mood among Democrats.
[...]
A number of famous figures, including actors Jeff Bridges, Mark Hamill, Bradley Whitford, Josh Gad, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, [Reid Hoffman, filmmaker J.J. Abrams,] and Paul Scheer along with singers Lance Bass and Josh Groban also joined the call. Whitford quipped at the "variety of whiteness" on the Zoom, describing it as a "rainbow of beige."

thehill | Harris campaign announces $50 million ad buy ahead of DNC (30.07.24)
The 60-second ad touts Harris' record as a prosecutor and California attorney general [!], as well as her work as vice president in the Biden administration. The ad will air on local and national television stations across battleground states, the campaign said. It will air during Olympics coverage and during shows like Big Brother, The Daily Show, The Simpsons, and The Bachelorette.