The best day yet—with more to come!

August 7, 2024

Kamala Harris was faced with an array of great choices for vice president and managed to make the best of all choices: Tim Walz. Harris’s introductory speech before an enthusiastic crowd in Philadelphia was terrific. And then Tim Walz gave a barnburner of a speech that exceeded everyone’s high expectations and gave us the best moment of the 2024 campaign to date: Kamala Harris watching Tim Walz hit the ball out of the park and the parking lot, thinking to herself, “Oh, boy! Did I ever make the right choice!” The unrestrained glee, pride, and delightful surprise on Kamala Harris’s face was a joyful moment—of which there will be many more.

Harris’s selection of Tim Walz demonstrated confidence—in herself, in Democrats, and the American people. Rather than selecting a running-mate who maximizes the potential for victory in a single state, Harris picked a running mate who maximizes the possibility of a commanding victory in the popular vote and the Electoral College. She made the best choice among many right choices.

The selection of Tim Walz also reinforced the joyful, positive tone of the Harris campaign—adding a double-dash of rapier wit accompanied by a knowing wink.

The reaction of the party and media has been enthusiastic. Among the many fine essays on the selection of Tim Walz is that by Jess Piper in her Substack, The View from Rural Missouri, Tim Walz!

Jess Piper writes,

Walz is so perfect for the job of VP. He’s a rural progressive. He’s my people. A dirt road Democrat. He’s a liberal guy who lives among conservative folks. He’s a veteran, a teacher, a lawmaker, and a dad. Walz can speak to Republicans and can likely help pull in Independent votes.

He can show up to an event in a tee and a hat and a Carhart jacket and not look like he’s trying to be something he isn’t.

Walz is the guy who could install your gutters and snake your drain and patch a hole in your drywall. He can also sign a bill into law to feed every kid in your state breakfast and lunch for free. How can you not love the guy?

Well said! See also Lucian K. Truscott IV, who wrote about the joyfulness of the rally in Philadelphia in his Substack post, The political power of the smile. As noted by Truscott,

The political electricity of two candidates with great big wide smiles on their faces filled that arena with the theme of the night:  “Thank you for bringing back the joy,” Governor Walz said to Vice President Harris right after she introduced him.

The crowd went wild. Joy about the brand-new Democratic ticket was on everyone’s faces as they listened to Harris and Walz.

In his inaugural speech, Walz touched on two important topics: reproductive freedom and gun safety. As to both, he immediately redefined the issues for the remainder of the campaign.

As to reproductive liberty, Walz managed to create a rallying cry that will stick: “While we might not agree with your choices, there’s a golden rule: Mind your own damn business!” That is a slogan that will resonate with people across the political spectrum.

As to gun safety legislation, Walz demonstrated his gun owner credentials by noting that he held the title of “best shot” in the annual congressional marksman competition. Who knew such a competition existed? Walz then stated that Minnesotans believed in the Second Amendment “but we also believe in common sense.”

The selection of Tim Walz drew praise from all corners of the Democratic Party, including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Joe Manchin, President Biden, Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi, Josh Shapiro, Pramila Jayapal, The Lincoln Project, and The Bulwark. See The Guardian, Tim Walz earns praise from Democrats – and anti-Trump Republicans.

Trump has buyer’s remorse—literally—over forcing Joe Biden out of the race. Trump posted a demented comment on Truth Social fantasizing that Joe Biden will “crash” the Democratic Convention and “try to take back the Nomination, beginning with challenging me to another debate.”

You can smell the fear wafting from Trump's desperate wish that he could go back to running against Joe Biden. That train has left the station—and the light coming through the tunnel at Trump is a freight train loaded enthusiasm and hope. Trump's post was a cry for help—but sadly (for Trump), he has no friends.

Fox “News” attempted to dump a load of “opposition research” about Tim Walz—but the effort was a dud. See Five controversies surrounding vice presidential nominee Tim Walz, from DUI to COVID fraud | Fox News. The alleged “controversies” include (a) an arrest for DUI in 1995 that resulted in a misdemeanor for reckless driving, (b) allegedly being “too slow to act” in calling out the National Guard following civil unrest after the murder of George Floyd; (c) being “too strict” with COVID lockdowns; (d) allegedly failing to act aggressively to stop pandemic relief fraud; and (e) alleged interference in a police shooting investigation.

Tuesday was the best day yet—with more to come! On Wednesday, Kamala Harris and Tim Walz start a whirlwind tour of six battleground states over the next week (Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Arizona and Georgia). (Trump, on the other hand, will enjoy six days of cheating at golf at Mar-a-Lago and will make one appearance in Montana.) One week later—on August 19—Democrats will begin the national convention—which should be a joy-filled event that will control the news cycle for the week.

With any luck, Kamala Harris will have controlled the news cycle on her terms since July 21, when Joe Biden endorsed his vice-president. Even better, the Trump campaign does not yet know what to do with an opponent they did not expect and who is running on a message of hope and joy. With the addition of Tim Walz, the Democratic ticket has become stronger and tougher to beat. It doesn’t get much better than that!

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Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals upholds Maryland’s ban on military assault-style weapons

In a potentially significant and far-reaching application of the Supreme Court’s decision in New York State Pistol & Rifle Club v. Bruen (2022), the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals (sitting en banc), upheld Maryland’s ban on military assault-style weapons. See Bianchi v. Brown | USCA 4 | 21-1255.

The opening paragraph of the opinion summarizes the Fourth Circuit’s reasoning:

With the respectful consideration and benefit of Bruen, we now uphold the judgment below. The assault weapons at issue fall outside the ambit of protection offered by the Second Amendment because, in essence, they are military-style weapons designed for sustained combat operations that are ill-suited and disproportionate to the need for self-defense.

Moreover, the Maryland law fits comfortably within our nation's tradition of firearms regulation. It is but another example of a state regulating excessively dangerous weapons once their incompatibility with a lawful and safe society becomes apparent, while nonetheless preserving avenues for armed self-defense.

For these reasons, we decline to wield the Constitution to declare that military-style armaments which have become primary instruments of mass killing and terrorist attacks in the United States are beyond the reach of our nation's democratic processes.

In so holding, we offer no view on how a state should regulate firearms. Nor do we do anything to impose Maryland's regulations upon other states. We do hold, however, that Maryland was well within its constitutional prerogative to legislate as it did.

A key part of the Fourth Circuit’s ruling was its reliance on the concurrence of Justice Alito in Bruen, in which Alito claimed that Bruen “decides nothing . . . about the kinds of weapons that people may possess. Nor have we disturbed anything that we said in Heller or McDonald ... about restrictions that may be imposed on the possession or carrying of guns."

The Fourth Circuit took Justice Alito at his word, ruling that Maryland’s effort to ban “a kind of weapon that people may possess” was constitutional under the Supreme Court’s prior decisions in Heller and McDonald.

The Fourth Circuit’s rationale could provide a template for other states to impose similar bans. The Supreme Court would then decide whether Justice Alito’s protestations of innocence in Bruen were genuine.

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Update on Justice Thomas’s continued failure to disclose travel on billionaire’s jet

I reported yesterday on Justice Thomas’s failure to disclose travel on Harland Crow’s private jet in 2010. The failure is part of a drip-drip-drip pattern of Justice Thomas refusing to disclose such travel unless an enterprising journalist or legislator discovers the illegal gifts through years of investigative work.

As you know, I can be a harsh critic of the Supreme Court, and readers do not always share my opinions about the Court. So, I was gratified to see Joyce Vance post the following on Twitter today:

It's not going to stop. At a minimum, he needs to step down.

Joyce Vance is the model of prudence, impartiality, and decorum to which every lawyer should aspire. For that reason, her opinions carry extra weight. She is cautious in offering opinions and forming conclusions, always acknowledging that there could be additional facts that might affect her views. When she speaks, we should listen.

Her comment contains three important elements:

1.    It’s not going to stop.

2.    He needs to step down.

3.    “At a minimum . . . .”

Joyce Vance is right. We will continue to learn of more illegal travel and gifts as long as journalists and legislators invest time in searching for more undisclosed gifts. And the appropriate remedy is for Thomas to step down.

But it is the third clause that deserves attention. “At a minimum . . .” meaning that there are other steps that should be considered. Vance is careful not to specify what those additional steps are, but they include (a) an impeachment inquiry in the House, (b) a DOJ investigation, and (c) a public investigation by the Judicial Conference. Anything less will allow a cloud of suspicion to hang over every decision that includes Justice Thomas.

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Concluding Thoughts

It is difficult to describe what happened over the last three weeks. Kamala Harris’s campaign has transcended politics to become a cultural movement. (See Josh Marshall at TPM.) Without taking anything away from Harris’s brilliant navigation of an unprecedented moment in US politics, it appears that Americans are emerging from a years-long period of dread and anxiety and finally feel a sense of joy and possibility. (Even Joe Biden’s victory was marred by the slow-rolling coup and insurrection of January 6.)

If true, that fact bodes well for democracy. Americans are investing their hopes for the future in Kamala Harris and Tim Walz. They are looking for something more than political victory. They are searching for redemption, healing, purpose, and unity. Those are powerful motivations that cross generations, cultures, and political parties.

Continuing the movement necessarily involves defeating Trump in November. Everything hinges on achieving that victory. But if we can do so, we have the opportunity to jump start the end of the MAGA movement in America, which twitched to life in response to the election of our first Black president in 2008.

The key to the movement is the sense of joy and optimism. As Tim Walz said to Kamala Harris in his inaugural speech, “Thank you for bringing back the joy.” Let’s resolve to hold onto that sense of joy and optimism over the next ninety days. We will experience some tough days and disappointments before November, and will need to guard against cheating by Trump, but if we remain confident, joyful, and hopeful, we will be able to shake off those disappointments and drive to victory in November!

Talk to you tomorrow!

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The three photos below show the process of balancing the exposure of stars and dim nebulae. Not all photos require this level of processing, but the Western Veil Nebula is in a dense starfield—and the stars control the exposure in the photo.

Photo: Original, with bright stars and dark space dominating the exposure.

Second Photo (below): The nebula gas cloud is isolated by removing the starfield. The exposure is then increased for the nebula’s gas cloud, revealing its colors and nebulosity. (Isolated as a layer in Photoshop using StarXTerminator.)

Third Photo (below): Starfield is added back to the photo at 40% exposure. (Actually, it is 40% opacity for the starfield layer in Photoshop; but you get the point.)

I won’t burden you with technical processing details in the future, but I want you to know that the photos I publish require some processing to highlight the astronomical target against the blackness of space and the brightness of the stars.

But sometimes, removing the stars entirely reveals dramatic details. I will publish some of those photos later this week!