You Know it is a Democrat Convention When

[BobCatholic]

Again, maybe we live in different universes.

A Google of...

Remember, Google makes customized search results depending on who the person is searching. You will not see the same results even if you enter the same search terms. This is done using cookies.

[peregrinator]

I can't say it is out of the realm of possibilities that a family with a Jamaican dad in the academic field during those same years would have celebrated Kwanzaa.

The Harrises separated around 1970 and Kamala and her sister Maya were raised by her mother. I think it's extremely unlikely that Harris's Tamil Brahmin single mother had large gatherings spanning generations of family, friends, and neighbors for Kwanzaa as VP Harris claims. I admit to being cynical but this is "pics or it didn't happen" territory. And neither Donald Harris nor Maya Harris has ever corroborated it to the best of my knowledge. I'd be more likely to believe that she celebrated Diwali growing up.

[peregrinator]

Another good example is Joe Biden's claim that he's been in favor of same-sex "marriage" since he saw two men in business suits kissing one another goodbye as his father dropped him off for school.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics ... -gay-kiss/

Now I grew up in a kissing family so I don't necessarily think that two men kissing one another goodbye implies anything about whether they're a "couple", and I don't think it would have looked all that strange at the time (early 60s).

[Kage_ar]

During the election cycle, my research time really focuses on "Candidate Bob Whoever said that he will make cat juggling legal if he is elected" claims. I could not care less what holidays Kamala Harris celebrated when she was a kid, just like I could not care less if Mr Trump was a bully in school.

[peregrinator]

During the election cycle, my research time really focuses on "Candidate Bob Whoever said that he will make cat juggling legal if he is elected" claims. I could not care less what holidays Kamala Harris celebrated when she was a kid, just like I could not care less if Mr Trump was a bully in school.

If a politician will lie about the things that don't matter, and don't affect their reputation in any way, then why should we trust them to tell the truth about the things that do matter?

I also don't care whether Kamala Harris celebrated Kwanzaa, but I do care whether she didn't but claimed to anyway.

I don't care whether Tim Walz retired from the National Guard as master sergeant or command sergeant major, but I care whether he claims to have retired as a rank that he didn't earn.

It doesn't matter to me whether Paul Ryan ran a sub-3:00 marathon, but it matters whether he falsely claimed to have done so.

Etc.

[Kage_ar]

During the election cycle, my research time really focuses on "Candidate Bob Whoever said that he will make cat juggling legal if he is elected" claims. I could not care less what holidays Kamala Harris celebrated when she was a kid, just like I could not care less if Mr Trump was a bully in school.

If a politician will lie about the things that don't matter, and don't affect their reputation in any way, then why should we trust them to tell the truth about the things that do matter?

I also don't care whether Kamala Harris celebrated Kwanzaa, but I do care whether she didn't but claimed to anyway.

I don't care whether Tim Walz retired from the National Guard as master sergeant or command sergeant major, but I care whether he claims to have retired as a rank that he didn't earn.

It doesn't matter to me whether Paul Ryan ran a sub-3:00 marathon, but it matters whether he falsely claimed to have done so.

Etc.

If we are counting untrue, our former POTUS ought to have a nose 17 miles long - and the falsity fatigue makes it just not make that big of a deal to people. I find it ironic that those who back Mr Trump forgive his untruths while demanding lie detectors from any other politician.

People exaggerate, and people try to paint themselves in a good light. I have been told over and over that if I want a perfect person as a politician I will be grossly disappointed.

Mr Waltz's service record seems to be pretty well covered in this AP article:

https://apnews.com/article/walz-militar ... 4bd7598a19

I do not know the military well enough to understand how someone can serve as a command sergeant major but not hold that rank. Maybe it is like when I was with a company called Connect. We were going out of business, and needed to wrap up operations for about 6 months. My boss decided to resign and have me fill his role for that last effort, he also wanted me to have it on my resume - so, for the last 6 months I was the Director of IT. I served in that role. People could challenge that I never held that role, because, by the time we got to that skeleton crew there was no more HR department to update my HR record with the new title.

Maybe Ms Harris went to a Kwanzaa party once when she was a teen, or maybe she never heard of Kwanzaa, I just don't see that as a deal killer any more than I see

[peregrinator]

I do not know the military well enough to understand how someone can serve as a command sergeant major but not hold that rank. Maybe it is like when I was with a company called Connect. We were going out of business, and needed to wrap up operations for about 6 months. My boss decided to resign and have me fill his role for that last effort, he also wanted me to have it on my resume - so, for the last 6 months I was the Director of IT. I served in that role. People could challenge that I never held that role, because, by the time we got to that skeleton crew there was no more HR department to update my HR record with the new title.

No, it's more like this, you get promoted temporarily but there are still requirements to fulfill afterwards, and if you retire without meeting those requirements you get demoted. Walz continued to claim the rank after he was retired/demoted.

Maybe Ms Harris went to a Kwanzaa party once when she was a teen, or maybe she never heard of Kwanzaa, I just don't see that as a deal killer any more than I see

I never said it was a deal-killer. Of all the reasons not to vote for Kamala Harris that's probably pretty far down on the list.

[Kage_ar]

Pretty sure I found the source of the idea that Mr Waltz wants a big agency to record everything people say. This commentator said something to the effect of (sorry, I watched it last night and may have it a bit off) the Harris administration would be a huge federal agency devoted to curbing dissident speech.

https://youtu.be/EYvj7l3Sa3E?si=0_HEGj79suT_Eccb

BTW, the back and forth between these two commentators sounds like my son and I at the dinner table.

[gherkin]

Unsurprisingly, the AP article actually doesn't clear up the question of Walz's military rank. The statement from Walz that he retired as a CSM implies two things. First, that he was an E9, second that he had a special status as an E9. E9 is a pay grade that comprises two separate ranks: Sergeant Major (SGM) and Command Sergeant Major (CSM). The quotation from some retired COL in the MN Guard suggests that Walz actually retired as an E8. In that case, Walz's statement would be double false, for he'd be claiming not just CSM status, but E9 status. But for all the article says, it's possible that Walz retired as an SGM (E9), but not a CSM. In that case, there would be only the one falsehood. (This is all assuming, as the article seems to grant, that Walz was not in fact a CSM.)

It's perfectly possible to hold an "acting" position without holding that specific rank. In my small unit, our top NCO was a Master Sergeant (E8), but we always referred to him as our First Sergeant (also an E8 position). First Sergeants are oftentimes referred to by their troops (and officers) as "Top," and it's definitely a different rank from Master Sergeant, even though the pay grades are both E8. If our "first sergeant" were to claim to have retired as a first sergeant, that would be technically false, even though he more or less did serve as our first sergeant, and was treated as such. I frankly do not know exactly what the difference is between 1SG and MSG, despite my 6 years of service as an enlisted man. I never got beyond E4 myself, and was happy to stay below the level of E5 because I didn't want the responsibility of becoming a sergeant. But these things do matter.

It's not a big deal, and I'm only weighing in because military pay grades/ranks can be confusing to non-service members (and as I just admitted, even a bit mysterious to former service members). I still don't know if Walz ever made E9, or if he retired as an E8, based on that AP article. One knows that journalists don't know anything, and one doesn't expect them to clarify anything. This article is a good example.

I would say, though, that it's quite possible that Walz retired as a CSM even if he didn't hold that rank while he served. They may conceivably have boosted him, so to speak, as a retirement gift. It could happen. It can also happen (and I think this is normal, but don't take my word for it) that if he was temporarily promoted to CSM while he served, but then stepped out of that position, that he nevertheless retired as a CSM, because you often retire at the highest rank you've held, even if you've been moved downward while in service. (Eg. If Custer had retired just before the Last Stand--not a bad idea, as it turned out--he might have retired as a General, even though he died as an LTC, because he'd been a general during the War Between the States. But again, don't take my word on this one. I never got to a point where I was thinking about retirement in the military.)

[peregrinator]

I don't think there's any doubt that Walz retired as a master sergeant. Which is fine - I don't really understand the seeming need to exaggerate one's accomplishments, but maybe that's why I'm so bad at writing resumes. I also don't understand the need to appear relatable with hard-to-believe/impossible to verify anecdotes (e.g. Harris celebrating Kwanzaa, Harris working at McDonald's, Hillary Clinton carrying hot sauce in her purse, etc.).

[Kage_ar]

I used to have a keychain that had a little bottle of siracha on it, so, I carried hot sauce in MY purse.

[gherkin]

I don't think there's any doubt that Walz retired as a master sergeant. Which is fine - I don't really understand the seeming need to exaggerate one's accomplishments, but maybe that's why I'm so bad at writing resumes. I also don't understand the need to appear relatable with hard-to-believe/impossible to verify anecdotes (e.g. Harris celebrating Kwanzaa, Harris working at McDonald's, Hillary Clinton carrying hot sauce in her purse, etc.).

Well, if he retired as an E8 then claiming he retired as a CSM was a pretty blatant lie. I guess I don't understand why a public figure who knows he can be checked on it would try on a whopper like that. Possibly something to do with knowing that the media will never out a D as a liar?

[peregrinator]

I think the usual narrative is that dem lies don't matter, while Trump lies are evil and Machiavellian and a threat to democracy.