Friday, August 23, 2024

August 23, 2024

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Leading the News . . .

Harris caps off convention without releasing her own policy platform . . . Vice President Kamala Harris accepted the Democratic presidential nomination on Thursday despite failing to release a policy platform since launching her campaign. The vice president largely spoke about her personal background and attacked former President Donald Trump, while sprinkling in some vague policy positions and campaign themes. "On behalf of everyone whose story could only be written in the greatest nation on earth, I accept your nomination to be president of the United States of America," Harris said. Daily Caller

Trump responds: 'Why didn't she do the things she's complaining about?' . . . Just after Vice President Kamala Harris wrapped up her headliner speech at the Democratic National Convention Thursday, former President Donald Trump had one question. "Why didn't she do the things she's complaining about," Trump pondered during a subsequent interview on Fox News. "She didn't do any of it. She could have done it three and a half years ago. She could do it tonight by leaving the auditorium and going to Washington, DC, and closing the border. She doesn't need a bill. I didn't have a bill. I closed the border," he added. New York Post

Read Harris DNC speech in full

Politics

Harris sugar high coming to an end . . . After a boisterous four days in Chicago, the vice president faces a series of looming tests: her first sit-down media interview that she said would come by the end of the month, hundreds of millions of dollars worth of attack ads from her opponent and, perhaps most importantly, her Sept. 10 debate with former President Donald Trump. For all the newfound enthusiasm around Harris, who has revived her party's fading White House hopes, and all her strategists' optimism about her campaign's superior infrastructure and organization, Democrats recognize that the election remains far too close for comfort. Politico

Lots of hype, excitement, and "joy." But the polls have not moved much, and now the Democrats are left with a candidate who was universally viewed as flawed.

Democrats promise joy, spew vitriol at Trump . . . Democrats taking the stage of their national convention this week have labeled former President Donald Trump "dangerous," a "clear and present danger" and a "direct threat to democracy." On a giant screen, they have flashed images of Mr. Trump with convicted sex criminal Jeffrey Epstein. Former first lady Michelle Obama said Mr. Trump spewed "racist lies." New York Gov. Kathy Hochul called him "a fraud, a philanderer and a felon." Sen. Raphael G. Warnock of Georgia called him "a plague on the American conscience." Washington Times

Vivek Ramaswamy accosted by DNC mob

Harris outlines amnesty for millions of illegals . . . Vice President Kamala Harris outlined her plans to pass amnesty for 11 to 22 million illegal aliens. "I know we can live up to our proud heritage as a nation of immigrants and reform our broken immigration system," Harris said on the final night of the DNC. "We can create an earned pathway to citizenship and secure our border."That "earned pathway to citizenship" is presumably designed to allow the nation's 11 to 22 million illegal aliens to apply for green cards, and eventually, secure naturalized American citizenship via legislation that remains opposed by the majority of lawmakers in the House and Senate. Breitbart

Trump, at the border, calls Harris a "Marxist" . . . With completed border wall to his right and unused construction materials to his left, former President Donald Trump told reporters Thursday in Arizona that if he wins the Nov. 5 election and returns to office in January, he will impose the death penalty on sex traffickers. "We will seal the border, stop the invasion, and launch the largest deportation effort in American history. We will impose tough new sentences on illegal alien criminals," Trump said, adding that "these include: [a] 10-year mandatory minimum sentence for anyone guilty of human smuggling; a guaranteed life sentence for anyone guilty of child trafficking; and a death penalty for anyone guilty of child or woman sex trafficking." Daily Signal

'Central Park Five' appear at DNC to slam Trump over their infamous case . . . The so-called "Central Park Five," black men who were wrongly accused of rape at a time when GOP nominee Donald Trump called for reinstating the death penalty in New York, were showcased at the Democratic National Convention on Thursday to criticize Mr. Trump. Rev. Al Sharpton introduced the men, now known as the "Exonerated Five," to accuse Mr. Trump of racist motives in the infamous 1980s case. In 1989, after the five were arrested for raping and beating a woman in Central Park, Mr. Trump took out a newspaper ad calling for the reimposition of the state's death penalty. Washington Times

Disappointed Dems wait in vain for Beyonce . . . TMZ has acknowledged falsely reporting that Beyoncé would be taking to the stage at Thursday's Democratic National Convention. On Thursday, the celebrity gossip outlet claimed that the "Alien Superstar" hitmaker was set to perform before Vice President Kamala Harris accepted the Democratic presidential nomination inside Chicago's United Center. However, the site was forced to come clean over its inaccurate report as the event wrapped up without the 32-time Grammy winner in sight. New York Post

Trump ends feud with Georgia Gov. Kemp . . . Former President Donald Trump praised Republican Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp for supporting his election effort in the key battleground state after previously slamming the Peach State's executive as "disloyal." "Thank you to @BrianKempGA for all of your help and support in Georgia, where a win is so important to the success of our Party and, most importantly, our Country," Trump posted to Truth Social on Thursday evening. Trump had repeatedly slammed the popular Georgia governor over the last four years for opposing Trump's challenge to the 2020 election results in the state. Fox News

Vance claims Democrats' 'apocalyptic rhetoric' heightens Trump security worries . . . Speaking to reporters in North Carolina on Wednesday, Vance reflected on Trump's near brush with death last month and said even "Democrats recognize that when you say that the guy is an existential threat to American democracy, sometimes that means crazy people are going to take actions into their own hands." The Ohio senator urged "my Democratic friends to maybe pump the brakes a little bit on the apocalyptic rhetoric around Donald Trump." Washington Examiner

Culture

ADL leader slams DNC: Never imagined "Jews would have to meet in secret locations" . . . The longtime leader of the Anti-Defamation League, who now serves as director emeritus, expressed concern about Jews being forced to meet in "secret locations" at the Democratic National Convention due to security threats and anti-Semitism. "I know in my heart that in the future, it will be better, for Jews in America, then [sic] it is today. But I fear it will never be the same," said Abraham Foxman in a Twitter post on Wednesday. "After 50 years fighting anti-Semitism in America, I could not have imagined a time Jews would have to meet in secret locations in Chicago at DNC." Foxman's comments come as Jewish groups holding events on the sidelines of the convention have kept their meeting locations a closely guarded secret. Washington Free Beacon

National Security

Russia touting Walz because they think he is bad for America . . . What Moscow seeks to understand is which team, in this case – the Trump-Vance or the Harris-Walz – would be better or worse for America. Because if it's bad for America, it's good for Russia. It is clear that the Russians have concluded that a Harris-Walz presidency would mean the U.S. continuing to march toward progressive extremism and socialism. America would be overrun by crime and illegal immigration, depopulated by abortions, and economically devastated by the Democrats' socialist policies. Additionally, if anyone knows about the destructive nature of socialism, it's Russia. Rebekah Koffler in Fox News

International

Americans think it takes $2.5M to be considered rich . . . Charles Schwab's annual Modern Wealth Survey released this week found Americans now believe it takes a $2.5 million net worth on average to be considered wealthy in 2024, up from $2.2 million for the past two years. Older generations actually think $2.5 million isn't enough to be considered rich, with baby boomers saying on average that the threshold for wealth should be $2.8 million. Gen Xers said the number is more like $2.7 million. Fox Business

Money

Turns out time-honored strategy puts your retirement savings at risk . . . Most commonly understood as a 60% allocation to the S&P 500 stock index and 40% to intermediate bonds like 10-year Treasury notes, the ratio and exact holdings aren't set in stone. It is just shorthand for a mix that gets you the best return for the least choppiness, according to modern portfolio theory. But 2022's swoon was a reminder that money can still be lost: It was a 60/40 portfolio's worst year after inflation since 1974. With the Federal Reserve regularly riding to the rescue over the past quarter century, investors had been conditioned to expect bonds to act like a shock absorber, buffering a bad year for stocks. That is actually pretty rare, though, according to a 200-year retrospective by Morgan Stanley Investment Management. Wall Street Journal

You should also know

The biggest diamond in over a century found in Botswana — a whopping 2,492 carats . . . The largest diamond found in more than a century has been unearthed at a mine in Botswana, and the country's president showed off the fist-sized stone to the world at a viewing ceremony Thursday. The Botswana government says the huge 2,492-carat diamond is the second-biggest ever discovered in a mine. It's the biggest diamond found since 1905. It weighs approximately 1.1 pounds. Associated Press

Guilty Pleasures

Did toilet paper fall out of Nancy Pelosi's pants onstage at the DNC? . . . Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has gone viral over what some suspected was toilet paper falling from her pants as she walked on stage Wednesday night at the Democratic National Convention — but a source tells The Post the rampant speculation is incorrect and that it was actually notes. Pelosi (D-Calif.), 84, left behind what seemed to be a square white paper product as she walked to the podium to address thousands of Democrats — sparking the sickening theory. New York Post